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194,425 | 87ad08dc181e6a7f0edab7444fa24a826f7ab3d6 | COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado (CNN) -- President Bush told the 2008 graduating class at the U.S. Air Force Academy on Wednesday that the "only way America could lose the war on terror is if we defeat ourselves." President Bush and Air Force Academy graduate Michael Riddick of Aiken, South Carolina, celebrate graduation. Speaking on a cloudy day at Falcon Stadium, the president compared the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to America's earlier conflicts, particularly World War II. "Our nation is once again contending with an ideology that seeks to sow anger, hatred and despair: the ideology of Islamic extremism," he said. "In today's struggle, we are once again facing evil men who despise freedom and despise America and aim to subject millions to their violent rule. "We assumed this obligation before," he said, referring to the rebuilding of Germany and Japan after World War II, a conflict that saw the loss of more than 400,000 American lives. Watch more of Bush's speech » . "Germany and Japan, once mortal enemies, are now allies of the United States. And people across the world have reaped the benefits from that alliance," he said. "Today, we must do the same in Afghanistan and Iraq. ... We'll lay the foundation of peace for generations to come." But today's wars differ from those of the past, Bush acknowledged, and not only because of modern technology that allows "greater precision" in warfare. "One challenge is that in the past, in Germany and Japan, the work of rebuilding took place in relative quiet," he said. "Today, we're helping emerging democracies rebuild under fire from terrorist networks and state sponsors of terror. This is a difficult and unprecedented task -- and we're learning as we go." The measure of success in war has changed, he said. "In the past ... there were public surrenders, a signing ceremony on the deck of a battleship, victory parades in American cities. Today, when the war continues after the regime has fallen, the definition of success is more complicated." Nonetheless, he said, in Iraq and Afghanistan, there is a clear definition of success: when those countries are rid of al Qaeda, when they are economically viable, when they are democracies that can govern effectively and when they are strong allies on the war on terror. "These successes will come," he told the class. "And when they do, our nation will have achieved victory, and the American people will be more secure. " | President Bush speaks at U.S. Air Force Academy graduation Wednesday .
Bush: "Only way America could lose the war on terror is if we defeat ourselves"
He compares the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to America's earlier conflicts .
Successes in Iraq and Afghanistan "will come," he told the class . |
218,836 | a74357406884138e73534f912a8d25daf026308e | At school I always bridled at teachers who referred to us as ‘young people’. Invariably they were icky groovers, smelling of toothpaste and piety. Yesterday the same rebellion rose in my gorge while watching a creepy Sky News-Facebook TV show that forced party leaders to matey up to selected yoofs. Ed Miliband, Nick Clegg, David Cameron and that Aussie from the Greens took turns to be quizzed. The programme, Stand Up And Be Counted (did they mean the ratings figures?), was all about ‘young people’ and their alleged indifference to electoral politics. The camera angles were look-at-me edgy, all wobbly with up-the-nose shots. Oh, please. Selfie: Ed Miliband (pictured second from left) poses for a photo with the Sky News/Facebook youngsters . The late-teen/early 20s inquisitors, pretty plainly politics obsessives, soon had Mr Miliband in trouble by asking what ‘life experience’ he had to be PM. Odd Ed should have said ‘more than you, wonkface’ or ‘It’s the middle of the day, why aren’t you festering in your bed?’. Instead he scrunched his lips and claimed, in that frogman-still-wearing-a-snorkel voice, that ‘ah’ve done a number of things’. He had been a Treasury spin doctor and had briefly taught (politics) at Harvard. That had given him ‘the ability, I hope, to engage and listen to people’. Normal 20-somethings would have treated this lame answer to hog-whimpering derision and armfarts. The political trainspotters recruited by Sky heard it in respectful silence. Mr Clegg, when his turn came, discarded his tie – hey, look, I’m a cool guy! – and went all glottal-stoppy and Northern English. His Pied Piper of Hamlyn act was embarrassing, belittling, wet – just like the programme. Public school-educated Cleggy started saying ‘coontry’ instead of ‘country’, ‘loonchtime’ instead of ‘lunchtime’. We had ‘kindof’ this and ‘kinda’ that, and he gave his sentences a California-surfer uplift. What a fraud. Yet the credulous boobies fell for it. Thus is our politics infantilised. Enter David Cameron. At least he and Ed Mil’ kept their ties on. He was asked what he thought about Prime Minister’s Questions (one of the so-called youngsters, who actually looked quite middle-aged, trotted out the Establishment view that rowdiness in the Commons is disgraceful). The late-teen/early 20s inquisitors soon had Mr Miliband (pictured centre) in trouble by asking what ‘life experience’ he had to be PM . Mr Cameron was also asked about the price of tampons. The show was fronted by Sky’s political editor, one Faisal Islam. Amazing to think this chump is successor to the serious, worldly Adam Boulton. In his shiny suit, the twinkly-eyed Islam could have been an under-manager at a boutique hotel. He kept mewing about what ‘young people’ were interested in. To keep the little darlings interested, the producers had laid on ping-pong, table football, a sweetie stall. Islam’s co-presenter Jayne Secker showed us these and even announced that there was ‘a break-out zone, as young people call it’. After the show Islam and Secker repeatedly told us how ‘extraordinary’ the programme had been. Right! The Greens’ Natalie Bennett, in her session, announced she wanted ‘peaceful political revolution’. Given that this involved encouraging more immigration and scrapping council tenants’ right-to-buy, it was open to question how peaceful such a revolution could be. David Cameron (pictured) was asked about Prime Minister's Questions - and the price of tampons . Nick Clegg (pictured right) discarded his tie and went all glottal-stoppy and Northern English. His Pied Piper of Hamlyn act was embarrassing, belittling and wet . But her views went little challenged. Ms Bennett said she had been a feminist since the age of five. Haven’t we all, dear? There was no sign of Ukip’s Nigel Farage. Apparently he was in Europe. Perhaps he had spotted a stitch-up in the offing. Instead it was Ed Miliband who was kippered, and not just with that excruciating piffle about his ‘life experience’. After his main session, he was pursued by a scruffy Sky hack who in a selfie-stick interview asked what Ed had done when he was 18. Our hero said he had been just like any other teenager, really: he had lived in New York with his Marxist-historian father, had ‘cared a lot about the world, been very interested in British politics and global issues’ – and had ‘drunk a bit too much’. Do we believe him? Is the problem with Ed Miliband not that, rather like the eggheads assembled at yesterday’s patronising Sky/Facebook stunt, he has perhaps never drunk quite enough? | Leaders attended Sky News-Facebook show, Stand Up And Be Counted .
Miliband was asked what 'life experience' he had to be the Prime Minister .
Nick Clegg discarded his tie and put on an embarrasing Pied Piper act .
David Cameron was asked about PM Questions and the price of tampons . |
149,690 | 4d8c670c6fb455c8d3dae8e3caef7c62b7c4349b | A father whose four young sons could communicate only in grunts when authorities rescued them from a filthy Denver apartment was sentenced to five years in prison Tuesday after pleading guilty to his second offense of child abuse. Wayne Sperling, 67, told Judge J. Eric Elliff to do 'whatever you feel is right' when given a chance to speak before he was sentenced. Elliff said Sperling made excuses and did not accept responsibility for keeping the boys in 'horrific' conditions, and he hoped the sentence sends a message that children can't be treated like pets or possessions. Scroll down for video . Father punished: Wayne Sperling, 67, pictured here in court November 15, was sentenced to five years in prison for keeping his four sons in squalid conditions . 'They are human beings that need to be carefully nurtured,' Elliff said. 'That did not happen here.' Sperling's wife, Lorinda Bailey, was sentenced to 90 days in jail and five years of probation last month, and Sperling had sought a similar sentence. Prosecutors asked for Sperling to spend seven years in prison. Authorities said Sperling, 67, his wife and the boys lived in an apartment filled with cat feces and swarming with flies. 'They just weren’t equipped to be parents,' defense attorney Betsy Atkinson said. The children, ages 2 to 6, were malnourished when they were found in October 2013. An emergency room doctor suspected abuse when the youngest was taken to the hospital for a cut on his forehead. The doctor noticed that the boy was non-verbal, unwashed, reeked of cigarette smoke and had bruises consistent with pinching. That led authorities to the apartment, where authorities said all the surfaces were covered with flies and that about an inch of solidified cat feces covered with urine lay beneath one of the boy's beds. Authorities said the stench inside the home was overwhelming, and that the three older boys communicated by making 'infant-like noises.' Cruel: Sperling (left) and his wife, Lorinda Bailey (right), had already lost three children after being accused of child abuse in 2006 . 'Sperling stated the children have their own language and grunt at each other but were able to speak to him and Bailey,' an arrest warrant affidavit said. Prosecutors said it was one of their most horrific cases, but Colorado's child abuse laws kept them from pursuing harsher penalties because the children didn't suffer serious physical injuries. After the boys were rescued and given bagged lunches to eat, they acted as if they hadn't seen food before, patting the sandwiches and playing with the apples, a detective testified during Bailey's sentencing hearing. An adult mimed eating an apple to encourage them to eat; they licked the fruit instead. The boys are improving while living together in foster care, but they still struggle, prosecutors said. They still aren't all toilet trained, and their snack cupboard has to be kept locked to prevent them from hoarding. Sentenced: His wife Lorinda Bailey, 36, pictured last year, was sentenced to 90 days in jail last month . A judge said Sperling made excuses and did not accept responsibility for keeping the boys in 'horrific' conditions . They have breathing problems and are sensitive to light, requiring them to wear special glasses, Deputy District Attorney Anita Drasan said. 'They didn’t smile, they didn’t laugh, and they lived in constant fear and were unable to express themselves,' Drasan said. And, reading a statement from their foster mother, she added, 'these are fighters and survivors. They will grow to do great things. But they have a long battle before them.'. The latest case involving Bailey and Sperling warranted felony charges because it was a repeat child-abuse offense. The couple lost custody of other children amid similar allegations in October 2006, after passers-by reported two young children playing in the street. The children mostly grunted and pointed to communicate, and officers found a home full of trash and rotten food. Bailey and Sperling pleaded guilty in June 2007 to misdemeanor child abuse. | Wayne Sperling, 67, was arrested last year after a doctor treating one of the boys noticed the child was filthy and had bruises consistent with pinching .
Authorities found their Denver apartment covered in cat feces and urine and the boys, aged two to six, could only grunt and were not toilet-trained .
After the boys were rescued and given lunches to eat, they acted as if they hadn't seen food before, patting sandwiches and playing with apples .
The children are now living together with a foster mother .
The couple also lost custody of two other children after they pleaded guilty to child abuse in 2007 .
Sperling's wife, Lorinda Bailey, 36, was sentenced to 90 days in prison . |
122,990 | 2af8d223bb4676f21d175ca25c696c3f09e90f6b | (CNN) -- Pope Francis and Vatican officials expressed hope that Palestinians and Israelis can forge a peace agreement "as soon as possible" as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the pontiff Monday, the Vatican said. The meeting with Netanyahu at the Vatican's Apostolic Palace comes months ahead of Francis' anticipated trip to the Holy Land, a biblical region that includes Israel and the Palestinian territories. Netanyahu also met with the Vatican's secretary of state, Archbishop Pietro Parolin. The discussions focused on "the complex political and social situation in the Middle East, with particular reference to the reinstatement of negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians, expressing hope that a just and lasting solution respecting the rights of both parties may be reached as soon as possible," the Vatican said. Pope Francis calls for big changes in Roman Catholic Church . Pope Francis is expected to visit Israel on May 25-26, an official Israeli source told CNN last month. The Vatican would not confirm the exact dates of the trip. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas invited Francis to travel to the Palestinian territories during Abbas' visit to the Vatican in October. Pope Francis met with Israeli President Shimon Peres at the Vatican in April. A Vatican communique issued after that meeting said they had discussed the hope for a speedy resumption of direct talks between Israelis and Palestinians. The Pope Emeritus, Benedict XVI, visited the Holy Land in May 2009. PHOTOS: Pope Francis . CNN's Hada Messia contributed to this report. | Vatican expresses hope for Israeli-Palestinian peace talks .
Netanyahu meets with pope at Vatican's Apostolic Palace .
Pope expected to visit Israel, Palestinian territories next year . |
165,184 | 61988703c474997130a114f7a911d7c378b86c7b | By . Dominic King for the Daily Mail . Follow @@DominicKing_DM . Goodison Park will be packed to its old rafters on Saturday and somewhere among the throng there will be four Evertonians appreciating Steven Naismith. The Scotland international has endeared himself to the blue half of Merseyside with his honest performances combining hard work, deft skill and an ability to pop up with a goal when it matters, but the affection for Naismith runs deeper. He is not someone for whom the term ‘typical footballer’ could be used. VIDEO: Scroll down for Steven Naismith buys tickets to donate to unemployed fans . In form: Steven Naismith scored against Arsenal on Saturday and has started the season brightly . Naismith, for starters, is an ambassador for dyslexia in Scotland, launched an initiative some time ago to help the progress of injured ex-servicemen return to work, and he supports homeless centres in Glasgow and Liverpool. Spend time with Naismith, 27, and you discover he is a man with awareness and values and that explains why he became quickly attuned to the rancour surrounding the prices of tickets to watch matches in the Premier League and the frustration that come from spiraling costs. So he decided to try and make a difference. Before the beginning of this campaign, he bought four season tickets for Goodison Park with the ambition to give those down on their luck a chance to get matches they would have no hope of seeing. The tickets will be circulated around Merseyside, with four different fans being selected for each Everton home match. It is why, when Roberto Martinez’s side emerge for their crucial meeting with Chelsea, there will be one particular quartet in the crowd willing on Naismith. Charitable: Naismith bought four season tickets to allow less privileged fans to attend matches . ‘When I got to my mid-20s I started thinking of myself as a bit more of an established player in terms of knowing how the football world works, what’s expected of you,’ said Naismith. ‘On the other side, you know what comes with it, with all the attention on you. ‘Social media is a massive platform with Twitter and stuff. It’s so easy to get things out. ‘Even when that side of it was young, I would talk to mates and say you could literally write anything on there and within three or four days everyone would know about it. ‘So we got thinking of what we could do that could make a difference to various charities and it was pretty simple really. 'The price of football is getting more expensive and more and more fans, who would probably have gone for years, were struggling to go any more. That was the idea.' Deja vu: Naismith scored against Chelsea last season and will hope to do the same on Saturday . ‘But without being able to just go and pick people, and not knowing if you’d picked the right ones, we decided to speak to the job centres in the local areas — they would know who was working hard to get back into employment and maybe had a few setbacks and could do with a morale-booster. ‘It’s worked really well. We spoke to the people who went to the first game and they were delighted, they said it made a really big difference to them. It’s good to hear it. Prices can’t get out of hand because we are losing the spine of what football is all about.’ Though he initially struggled to adjust to the Premier League — he says he was ‘in awe’ of players like Phil Jagielka, Leighton Baines and Steven Pienaar — Naismith has blossomed in the last 12 months and it was against Chelsea last season that his Everton career really took off. Improving: Naismith scored 10 goals for Everton last season and is already off the mark this campaign . His header secured a 1-0 victory, gave Martinez his first win and set the ball rolling for them to return to Europe. Chelsea are likely to prove a different proposition to the out-of-sorts bunch that arrived last year but they will have to contain a forward whose confidence is on the up. ‘Last year there was a lot more uncertainty about how we were going to play and shape up because the manager was new,’ says Naismith. ‘This time the start of the season has been more of a disappointment rather than not understanding the system. We’ve thrown four points away.’ Should they play as they did for 60 minutes against Arsenal last week, though, Chelsea will certainly have issues to deal with and Naismith is relishing the prospect of working in tandem with Samuel Eto’o and Romelu Lukaku. New kid in town: Naismith is relishing the chance to link up with Samuel Eto'o, who signed on Wednesday . ‘Samuel is a player with a massive pedigree,’ he says. ‘Maybe he’s getting older but he still has a wealth of knowledge that could definitely be passed on. ‘As for Rom, it will be a funny day for him. This is probably the first season he is going to get that he can show them what he is made of.’ | Steven Naismith scored against Arsenal last week and is set to start on Saturday against Chelsea .
The generous forward bought four season tickets for underprivileged fans in the summer .
Different supporters use the tickets each week .
Naismith wanted to make a difference and help as many people as possible . |
281,392 | f87ea40b7b954ec38605d04c0f8adb437dc28417 | By . Tom Mctague, Mailonline Deputy Political Editor . David Cameron has been challenged to get off the beach and campaign to keep Scotland in the United Kingdom - by Alex Salmond. Mr Salmond laid down the challenge after it emerged the Prime Minister did not interrupt his summer holiday in Cornwall to watch last night’s live TV debate on Scottish independence. The Prime Minister also failed to tune in to the first clash between Mr Salmond and Alistair Darling – despite claiming it would ‘break my heart’ to see the United Kingdom broken up. Today, Mr Salmond said the PM was the real leader of the 'No' to independence campaign, adding: 'Let’s have him in Scotland now, let’s see if he can do any better that Alistair Darling did.' Scroll down for video . David Cameron, pictured on the beach in Cornwall just hours before last night's debate, has been challenged by the Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond to travel to Scotland to campaign against independence . Mr Salmond enjoys a Mars Bar outside Ferguson shipyard in Port Glasgow Invercylde today after a deal was struck to save jobs at the site . Mr Darling, the leader of the Better Together campaign, visited a factory in Paisley today following last night's mauling by Mr Salmond . The revelation risks reigniting accusations that Mr Cameron is too complacent about crucial matters of state – including Britain’s deepening role in the Iraq crisis and the possibility of the breakup of the United Kingdom. Mr Cameron returns to Downing Street tomorrow – from his third holiday this year – with less than three weeks to go before next month’s historic referendum on September 18. He will arrive back in London amid growing confidence within the ‘Yes’ to independence campaign, following last night’s crushing victory for Mr Salmond in the second and final debate on independence. Mr Salmond easily won the contest according to a snap poll for ICM. Some 71 per cent of voters said the SNP leader was the victor. Just 29 per cent thought Mr Darling had won the contest. Today, a confident Mr Salmond challenged Mr Cameron to campaign against independence in Scotland. It comes after Mr Salmond accused his debate rival Mr Darling of being the ‘front man for the Conservative Party’ in last night's debate. He said: ‘Alistair Darling is in alliance with the Conservative Party in this campaign. That is what the No campaign is. ‘Let’s have the real leader of the No campaign, David Cameron. Let’s have him in Scotland now. ‘Let’s see if Mr Cameron is prepared to come to Scotland and have the debate.’ Last night's victory is a dramatic turnaround for Mr Salmond who was left flailing earlier this month after Mr Darling successfully challenged him over the economy and the future of the pound. Mr Salmond's challenge came after he clashed with Alistair Darling (left) in last night's live television debate on the BBC . First Minister Alex Salmond gets his make-make up during an interval in the second television debate last night . Former Chancellor Alistair Darling was left reeling after Mr Salmond went all out attack . But last night Mr Salmond came armed with a number of currency options for an independent Scotland, but insisted keeping the pound was the best. Mr Darling meanwhile was left repeating his criticism that Mr Salmond had not offered a plan B if Westminster stopped Scotland using sterling. A 'Yes' vote in Scotland on September 18 would trigger a political earthquake at Westminster – and could even force Mr Cameron to resign. The Prime Minister has insisted he would not resign if Scotland voted for independence. But if Mr Salmond triumphs next month, there will immediately be pressure for him to go from within his own party. Former Conservative leadership rival David Davis said a ‘Yes’ vote would be ‘particularly humiliating’ for Mr Cameron. John Curtice, professor of politics at Strathclyde University, added: "A Yes vote would destroy Cameron's place in the history books. He would become known as the prime minister who gambled on keeping Scotland in the union and lost his gamble.’ Despite the threat to his premiership, Mr Cameron’s spokeswoman indicated that the Prime Minister did not watched last night’s independence debate. ‘The Prime Minister watched news reports of the debate,’ said the spokeswoman. Asked why Mr Cameron had missed a key moment in the independence battle, she said: ‘The key moment is when people go to vote on September 18.’ The PM only watched highlights of the first debate earlier this month, which was won by Mr Darling, and perhaps he was confident of another victory by the pro-union camp. Following last night’s debate, Mr Darling admitted the battle to keep Scotland in the union would be fought ‘right down to the wire’. But the former chancellor insisted he was ‘increasingly confident’ that Scots would vote against leaving the UK when they go to the polls in just over three weeks’ time. Today, as he visited a factory in Inchinnan, Renfrewshire, Mr Darling said the No campaign had been ‘right to focus on currency’, adding: ‘One of the things that is striking in the last three weeks is the amount of people who have come up to me and said “What about this plan B?” is quite remarkable.’ When asked if changes would be made to the pro-UK campaign following last night’s debate, he insisted: ‘Absolutely not.’ Postal votes for the September 18 ballot are being sent out from today, and Mr Darling added that as the ‘finishing post’ comes into sight, Scots are increasingly focused on the decision to be made. He said: ‘There’s a very clear choice here and I think people can see that, people are very focused now, especially as they can see the finishing post. ‘I’m increasingly confident we will win, but it is our job to win well and to win well we’ve got to carry on campaigning up untill 10pm on September 18.' Mr Salmond meanwhile told Sky News he had ‘argued persuasively’ on currency, setting out his position that it was ‘common sense for a common currency’. He argued that the Yes campaign was winning ‘decisively’ on the key issues of protecting public services and creating jobs in Scotland. The First Minister said: ‘He (Alistair Darling) had his chance and he muffed it last night. The currency bluff has been called. The Scottish people are calling that bluff. ‘The No campaign had their chance, their bluff has been called. People have, I think, overwhelmingly in Scotland now in poll after poll shown that we want to keep the pound. That is the decision that the Scottish people are being asked to make.' The Scottish First Minister went on the attack immediately in last night's debate - questioning what would happen to the NHS, welfare and oil under Tory rule from London after 2015. Mr Salmond also claimed the former Labour Chancellor had made the ‘biggest revelation’ in the independence debate so far after he admitted Scotland could use the pound without the rest of the UK’s permission after independence. But Mr Darling said this would leave Scotland at the mercy of a ‘foreign country’ telling it how much it could spend like Eurozone countries which have to get their budgets signed off in Brussels. Mr Salmond also admitted for the first time that there were other options for Scotland than keeping the pound. He said: ‘I'm looking for a mandate to share sterling in a currency union.’ But he added: ‘There are other options for Scotland.’ However Mr Darling said: ‘The thing about a currency union is both sides have to agree to it. We are talking about a huge risk if we assume it’s going to fall into line. ‘It’s not a matter for Alex Salmond what the alternative is. If it’s the Panama model I want to know. If it’s the Euro I don’t want that either. I want to know what plan B is.’ But after being pressed by Mr Salmond he admitted: ‘We could us the pound.’ Mr Salmond said: ‘Alistair admitted we could use the pound anyway. They cannot stop us using the pound – the most important revelation in this debate.’ The pair also clashed over North Sea oil and the NHS. The SNP leader said every other country in Europe would give their ‘eye teeth’ for North Sea oil. But Mr Darling said: ‘Once it’s gone it’s gone. What I don’t want to see is my country so dependent on something that is so volatile.’ He added: ‘He is asking us to take his word on everything. ‘We need answers to tonight, right here right now. Are we going to place all our bets on Alex Salmond alone being right?’ Mr Darling said: ‘This is a decision for which there is no turning back.’ But Mr Salmond said: ‘This is an extraordinary time for us all. The eyes of the world and, indeed, focus is on Scotland.’ He added: There is much far too much, far too much, that is still controlled in Westminster. We couldn't stop the bedroom tax, we couldn't stop illegal wars.’ He added: ‘Three weeks on Thursday we can take things back to Scottish hands. Absolutely no-one, non-one, can run the affairs of Scotland better than the people of Scotland.’ Mr Salmond added: ‘This is our time, it’s our moment, let us do it now.’ | First Minister and ex-Chancellor took part in live 90 minute debate on BBC .
Voters to decide Scotland's fate in historic referendum on September 18 .
Snap Guardian/ICM poll showed 71% of voters thought Salmond had won .
Victory leaves future of the union in doubt ahead of next month's poll .
But the Prime Minister did not break off his holiday to watch the debate .
Mr Cameron also failed to watch the first clash between Yes and No leaders .
Scotland's First Minister today challenged the PM to campaign in Scotland . |
153,252 | 520672b303d2504e27b6e49249a56be790afc9c5 | Paris (CNN) -- It can sometimes take a lot to stir passions in France, but a shocking Facebook page and the stream of insults that followed have roused the French to a heated public debate about racism. The Facebook page belonged to a local candidate from the far-right National Front political party, and compared justice minister Christiane Taubira, who is black, to a monkey. The candidate was suspended but there were more, similar insults that followed -- including on the front page of a right-wing newspaper which featured the headline "Clever as a monkey" alongside a photo of Taubira. The attacks on such a high-profile figure eventually led lawmakers across the political divide to rise up in support of Taubira -- but they have also led to a great deal of soul-searching over the extent of racism in France. Those who study the question, like historian Pap N'Diaye, whose father was from Senegal, says there is no question racism is growing. "Racist attacks are on the rise in France," says N'Diaye."And racist slurs that used to be absolutely uncommon are becoming more and more common, if not more accepted, in growing parts of French society. So there is a lot to worry about when looking at the situation." In a country that takes pride and expends considerable energy to ensure that the principle of "egalite" (equality) is strictly adhered to, there are some racial references practically embedded in the language and culture here. "Negre" is the N-word in France, and it is used in ways that would raise eyebrows elsewhere. A "negre," for example, is a ghostwriter in French, "tete de negre" is the name for a chocolate pastry, and "petit negre" is the way one refers to poor or pidgin French. Opinion: Is France racist? Abuse shocks nation . But the recent rise of intolerance goes far beyond throwbacks to France's colonial past. At Netino, a private company that moderates and deletes racial and other objectionable postings on internet forums, websites and social pages, CEO Jeremie Mani has watched a steadily growing hardening of language. Part of it, he believes, relates to the increasing license people feel to express on the web sentiments they might hold privately but would never bring up in direct conversation. But he also thinks part of it is due to growing racism among his countrymen: When the Taubira affair came along, Mani says he saw a 10% spike in the number of racial slurs his company had to delete. Many here link more hostile attitudes toward immigration with the racism issue. But the far right National Front party is trying to separate the two. National Front Vice President Florian Philippot, who denies that his party is racist, says: "Racism is not growing in France." But in nearly the same breath he states flatly what analysts believe is the party's major selling point: "We need to end immigration." The National Front's anti-immigration platform has at least partly contributed to its growing popularity. The party was practically banished from political discourse at one point, but according to one recent poll, 42% of those questioned said they would consider voting for a National Front candidate in the coming municipal elections. That news comes at the same time as the attacks on the justice minister -- and other recent incidents where racial slurs were hurled in public (on France's football field, for example) -- have been enough to mobilize mainstream leaders and cultural figures here. There have been several rallies against racism and more are planned. Whether anti-racism demonstrations will be enough to change attitudes in France in the short term is another matter. Many like Pap N'Diaye believe a significant factor in the growing racism is the poor economy, as people try to find scapegoats responsible for the hard times. Until the economy improves, it seems doubtful that even widespread public chest-beating over the issue will have much effect. Opinion: Is France racist? Abuse shocks nation . | Spate of high-profile incidents raise racism fears in France .
Black justice minister Christiane Taubira subjected to monkey taunts online and in person .
France proud of notion of "egalite" (equality) but experts say racism is on the rise . |
282,530 | f9f11e3db0fd1f4d463daf9f6b4ae150c59927d5 | Adam Ritchie, a Domino's Pizza manager in Cheyenne, Wyoming, said he'd never received a call like the one he got Monday night. "I need to feed my whole plane," the caller told him. "Lucky me, I hear 160 people. It ended up being like 38 pizzas," Ritchie told CNN. A Frontier Airlines flight from Washington to Denver was diverted to Cheyenne because of bad weather. The plane was stuck on the ground for nearly two hours. The food on board was gone, so the pilot decided to order pizzas for everyone, a passenger told CNN affiliate KDVR. Each row got its own pie. "Next thing you know, Domino's Pizza was rolling up to the plane," passenger Logan Torres told CNN. She sent CNN photos of flight attendants passing out boxes. Frontier Airlines spokeswoman Tyri Squyres said she wasn't surprised at all by what the pilot did. "This is not unusual for our pilots to go above and beyond to care for our customers," she said. "We have some great pilots who work here." The hidden beauty of airport runways, and how to decipher them . The best ways to kill time at airports . Future of travel: Cheap flights, more rail and hands-free cars . | Flight from Washington to Denver was diverted because of bad weather .
The plane was stuck on the ground in Wyoming for about two hours .
There was no more food aboard, so the pilot decided to order pizza . |
176,019 | 6fdcb4979055ec94159207d59c6e561c16c8a1ab | By . Larisa Brown . PUBLISHED: . 14:14 EST, 13 September 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 01:25 EST, 14 September 2012 . Jo Shuter, headteacher at Quintin Kynaston School in London, has been suspended amid 'serious allegations' of financial irregularities . A headteacher awarded a CBE for services to education has been suspended from her school amid 'serious allegations' of financial irregularities. Jo Shuter, who was honoured in 2010 and won the 2007 Head Teacher of the Year award, transformed her under-achieving London comprehensive into a successful academy. But today she was asked to stay away from Quintin Kynaston School in St John’s Wood after 'serious allegations relating to the management of the school' were referred to police. Patrick Lees, chair of school governors, said: 'On receipt of serious allegations relating to the management of the school, governors took immediate action to initiate an investigation and are now referring the matter to the police. 'In order to facilitate this investigation and ensure that pupils’ education is not compromised during this process, we have now also taken the decision to suspend the headteacher. 'Governors are seeking to reassure the school community, who will be undoubtedly shocked and unsettled by this news, that the highest priority is being given to the smooth running of the school and to this end, governors are seeking to appoint an interim headteacher as soon as possible.' Ms Shuter described the allegations - which are unclear - as 'malicious and vindictive'. She told BBC London: 'There is an investigation process ongoing and I’m not allowed to comment. 'I urge people to wait and see the outcome.' A Metropolitan Police spokeswoman said: 'On Wednesday September 12 police were made aware of possible financial irregularities at Quintin Kynaston School. 'We will be discussing the matter with the school in due course. 'No crime has been recorded at this stage.' Westminster City Council, which ran the school before it was given academy status in 2011, said: 'We understand Quintin Kynaston’s board of governors has taken rapid action in carrying out an investigation into these serious allegations relating to school management, as well as suspending the headteacher pending a formal disciplinary process and reporting the matter to the police. Tony Blair makes an appearance at the the London school in 2006. Shuter, right, welcomes him with open arms . 'The welfare and continued achievement of pupils is obviously of paramount importance in the governors’ decision making. 'They are in the process of appointing an interim headteacher to ensure smooth continuation of leadership and direction at the school.' A Department for Education spokesman said: 'The suspension of the headteacher is a matter for the Quintin Kynaston Trust. Today Shuter was asked to stay away from Quintin Kynaston School in St John's Wood . Jo Shuter with students from the school. Some pupils at the school's sixth form were homeless and Shuter worked to raise money to buy a property in which to house them . 'The Trust have rightly taken responsibility for the situation and carried out a full independent investigation. 'We are confident it is taking appropriate action in response to the investigation’s findings. 'Unfortunately, no system of financial audit can guarantee it will prevent all wrongdoing. 'However, the financial accountability systems in place for academies are more rigorous than those for maintained schools and they enable swift resolution of any issues of financial impropriety. 'The spotlight of this accountability system demonstrates that academies cannot hide from their responsibilities and are held to account for their actions.' Sorry we are unable to accept comments for legal reasons. | Jo Shuter transformed under-achieving London comprehensive into successful academy .
Head asked to stay away following allegations . |
168,478 | 65e7bb725be634c3e1c06a2d30f88f6f86f9bbcb | Havana, Cuba (CNN) -- In all likelihood, the 91 Cuban health workers heading to West Africa on Tuesday will face the most perilous assignment of their careers. They are joining 165 of their colleagues already working in the region to halt the spread of Ebola. Although Cuban government officials say the majority of the health workers being sent to West Africa are veterans of previous tough postings, the risks that Ebola presents are unique. "This is the biggest challenge I have ever faced in my life, it's a very dangerous disease," said Dr. Osmany Rodriguez, a Cuban who completed previous assignments in Zimbabwe and Venezuela. Rodriguez said he will soon be sent to treat people suffering from Ebola in either Liberia or Guinea. "My family, they are a bit worried but they know I will be taking care of everything. They will trust in my daily habits and routines in order to avoid the disease," Rodriguez said. Rodriguez spoke to CNN as he trained at the Pedro Kouri Institute for Tropical Diseases in Havana, where health workers are drilled by instructors provided by the World Health Organization on how to put on and take off seven different layers of clothing that provide protection from the epidemic. "The important thing is to save lives," said Dr. Jorge Perez Avila, the institute's director. "Why are Cubans going to Africa? To save lives." Cuban medical diplomacy is as old as the revolution that first brought the Castros to power, but its motivation is not purely altruistic. Sending health workers abroad boosts the image of a country whose human rights record is criticized. And in some cases, as with a program that sent thousands of Cuban doctors to Venezuela, the island gets paid back in trade, such as oil. Cuba's Ebola efforts have already raised discussion about how it compares to what the United States is providing. "While the United States and several other wealthy countries have been happy to pledge funds, only Cuba and a few nongovernmental organizations are offering what is most needed: medical professionals in the field," the New York Times opined in an editorial. "It is a shame that Washington, the chief donor in the fight against Ebola, is diplomatically estranged from Havana, the boldest contributor. In this case the schism has life-or-death consequences, because American and Cuban officials are not equipped to coordinate global efforts at a high level," the editorial continues. Cuba's health care system was degraded by the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early '90s. In recent years, the government has sent health workers to Venezuela and Brazil, in exchange for badly needed hard currency and oil. Those programs make up one of the largest sources of income for the island. Still, the island continues to post health care workers to other developing nations and even before the Ebola crisis began, had over 4,000 doctors, nurses and technicians stationed in Africa. "Our principle has been to share what we have and not to give what we don't," Perez said. The Cuban health workers will work in West Africa for at least six months. If they themselves become infected, they have agreed not to be repatriated to Cuba for treatment, to avoid spreading the illness further. On Monday, at an emergency summit in Havana of representatives from 12 Latin American and Caribbean countries, Cuban President Raul Castro said the danger presented by Ebola transcends borders and politics. "We should try to avoid the politicization of this grave problem, which distracts us from the fundamental objective: helping to stop the epidemic in Africa and stop it from spreading to other regions," he said. In a rare conciliatory gesture to the U.S. government, which Cuban officials typically deride as an imperialist power intent on wrecking the island's economy, Castro said the fight against Ebola should unite the two governments. "Cuba is willing to work elbow-to-elbow with all countries," Castro said. "Including the U.S." Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro also penned an editorial in the state-run newspaper this week, offering to "gladly cooperate with American personnel on this task" of fighting Ebola. In a similar gesture in 2005, Cuba offered to send a team of doctors to aid in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The U.S. government ignored the request. Possibly signaling that it recognized the boost Cuba gains from medical diplomacy, the U.S. government in 2006 announced a program to entice Cuban doctors to defect. The Cuban Medical Professional Parole Program allows Cuban health professional working in a third country at the behest of the Cuban government to defect to the United States. While so far not accepting the Cuban offer to cooperate in the fight against Ebola, US officials have also praised the Communist government's efforts to stop the epidemic. "Already we are seeing nations large and small stepping up in impressive ways to make a contribution on the frontlines. Cuba, a country of just 11 million people, has sent 165 health professionals and it plans to send nearly 300 more," U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Friday. The United States has pledged some 4,000 military personnel to assist with the fight against the disease in Africa, although the troops are not expected to treat people suffering from Ebola. While help continues to pour in from around the world to West African countries reeling from the epidemic, the most basic need is doctors and nurses who can treat Ebola patients without falling ill themselves, health officials said. "There is a lack of human resources, so it has been a major contribution," said Dr. Jose Luis Di Fabio, the WHO's representative in Havana, who is coordinating the training of the Cuban health workers. "You have to identify patients, diagnose patients and treat patients. If you don't have the human resources to do that, you don't have anything," he said. "Human resources in Africa is the major thing that's lacking." Nurse Carlos Garcia Hernandez is one of the Cuban health workers training to fight Ebola. He volunteered, he said, because if Ebola isn't stopped in West Africa, it will continue to spread to other countries. "If it could show up it in developed countries like the U.S. and Spain, it can show up in undeveloped countries, too. Our families are at risk as well," he said. | Nearly 100 additional Cuban health workers heading to West Africa .
Cuba is one of the biggest contributors to the Ebola fight there .
Medical diplomacy has long been a tool of the Cuban government .
Cuba has even offered to cooperate with the United States . |
64,880 | b83d4f985543969f993f17c9c32d8475899810b9 | U.S. president Barack Obama said both he and wife Michelle are 'deeply saddened' by the damage wrought by Typhoon Haiyan in the Phillipines this weekend. In a written statement released on Sunday, Obama also said 'But I know the incredible . resiliency of the Philippine people, and I am confident that the spirit . of Bayanihan will see you through this tragedy.' Obama also wrote the U.S. is 'already providing significant humanitarian efforts' and is ready to further assist the Philippine government. Haiyan struck the eastern seaboard of the Philippines on Friday and quickly barreled across its central islands, packing winds that gusted up to 170 miles per hour. Scroll down for video . President Barack Obama, seen here on November 8, said 'I know the incredible resiliency of the Philippine people, and I am confident that the spirit of Bayanihan will see you through this tragedy' To aid in the recovery effort, a team of approximately 90 U.S. Marines and sailors headed to the Philippines on Sunday. They were part of the first wave of promised U.S. military assistance. The order was made this weekend by Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel. Hagel ordered U.S. military's Pacific Command to assist with search and rescue operations and provide air support in the wake of super typhoon Haiyan. One of the most powerful storms ever recorded, Haiyan was a maximum category-five storm with ground winds of up to 235mph. Authorities say the death toll could be 10,000 in the city of Tacloban, Leyte alone and approximately four million people are said to have been affected, according to the the country's national disaster agency. A Filipino father and his children wait for food relief outside their makeshift tent in the super typhoon devastated city of Tacloban, Leyte. The typhoon flattened homes and knocked out communications. An aerial view of the damage in the Philippines following Super Typhoon Haiyan. The death toll from a super typhoon that decimated entire towns could soar well over 10,000, authorities warned Sunday, making it the country's worst recorded natural disaster. Bodies were seen floating in flooded streets and survivors said the aftermath is like the 2004 Tsunami. The team of U.S. forces from the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Brigade left for the Philippines from a U.S. base in Okinawa, Japan. According to Marine officials, teams of Marines boarded two KC-130J Hercules transport aircrafts. Meanwhile two Florida-based Navy P-3 Orion surveillance aircrafts, which had been on a six month rotation to Misawa, Japan, have been sent to the Philippines to assist with search and rescue efforts. Last December U.S. Marines made emergency missions to the the southern Philippines to help the victims of Typhoon Bopha, which killed more than 230 people. A resident carries his bicycle past houses damaged by typhoon Haiyan, in Tacloban city, Leyte, Philippines. Typhoon Haiyan is one of the strongest storms on record. It slammed into six central Philippine provinces Friday leaving a wide swath of destruction and thousands dead. In December 2012 U.S. Marines and Philippine Army personnel work together to unload relief goods to be transported to regions affected by Typhoon Bopha from the Marine Corps KC-130J Hercules millitary aircraft inside the International Airport in Davao, Mindanao. Typhoon Haiyan is estimated to have killed at least 10,000 people in the central Philippines. Most of the deaths appear to have been caused by surging sea water strewn with debris that many said resembled a tsunami, leveling houses and drowning its victims. The typhoon is the 30th to hit China this year. As well as the massive numbers feared dead in Tacloban, there are concerns hundreds more have been killed in remote coastal areas.The typhoon is now making its way towards Vietnam and mainland China - with locals bracing themselves for the deadly storm. Chinese authorities have issued a level three emergency response throughout the country, ordering fisherman to shelter their boats to prevent any damage. On Sunday the Filipino government announced that they were considering introducing martial law to combat widespread looting sprees as homeless search for food. Filipinos rush in front of a store in the wake of super typhoon, Haiyan. Government officials have threatened martial law due to widespread looting. A boy carrying a plastic bottle of water walks past a car which slammed into damaged houses after super Typhoon Haiyan battered Tacloban city, central Philippines. Reports of lawless mobs ransacking the homes of the dead and remains of shops in Tacloban, Leyte, one of the worst hit parts of the country, has forced President Benigno Aquino to deploy police and army troops to the area to restore calm. Efforts by aid agencies to deliver food and water have been hampered by plagues of looters attacking emergency convoys and stealing from supply vans, the Philippine Red Cross have said. A TV station reported ATM machines have been broken open. President Benigno Aquino said: 'Tonight, a column of armored vehicles will be arriving in Tacloban to show the government's resolve and to stop this looting.' | Obama said on Sunday he and Michelle are both 'deeply saddened,' praised Philippine people for their resiliency .
Typhoon .
killed at least 10,000 people, affected about 4 million .
U.S. Marines and sailors .
headed to the Philippines on Sunday to assist in relief efforts .
A team of 90 U.S. forces from the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Brigade left for the Philippines from a U.S. base in Okinawa, Japan .
U.S. officials say that Marines will assist with search and rescue operations in devastated area . |
260,673 | dd8c64104e00cd0edf05f66d816e8efa63328cd5 | By . Ian Drury . PUBLISHED: . 18:53 EST, 12 April 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 18:57 EST, 12 April 2013 . Lenient? Mr Justice Wilkie has ordered rules to be relaxed on a potential suicide bomber . A judge yesterday ordered strict curbs on a potential suicide bomber to be relaxed so he could enjoy a ‘normal social life’. Mr Justice Wilkie said the alleged Al Qaeda fanatic ought to be able to mingle more freely with students at his university to avoid his ‘embarrassment and isolation’. The constraints on the 24-year-old Somali man – considered one of the country’s most dangerous terror suspects – were ‘chilling’ and ‘disproportionate’, he said. His High Court ruling ordering Home Secretary Theresa May to water down the restrictions deals a serious blow to the Government’s fight against terrorism. And it comes despite fears by the security services that the man – known as CF – will contact other Islamic extremists to plot attacks against Britain. The decision could lead to similar challenges by other terror suspects and may fuel concerns that the judiciary is chiselling away at measures to protect the UK from jihadists. ‘CF’ is one of nine people subject to Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures (TPIM) orders, introduced last year to restrict their movements, the use of computers and who they can meet. The suspect, who is thought to have tried to get to Afghanistan for terrorist training and of fighting for the feared al-Shabaab group in Somalia, is only allowed to mix with undergraduates when it is ‘exclusively for the purpose of studies’. But Mr Justice Wilkie said it was difficult for CF to avoid ‘informal social contact’ at lectures or the library. ‘They [the orders] must impose a chilling effect on CF’s participation in the life of a student on this course without any, apparent, beneficial effect on national security,’ he added. However, he threw out a bid by CF to own an MP3 player and have his curfew cut.In June last year, CF was charged with repeatedly breaking a strict ban on visiting the Olympic Games venue in Stratford, east London. He was not prosecuted. Tory MP Patrick Mercer said: ‘If this fellow was concerned about his social life then maybe he shouldn’t have been spending his time in Afghanistan and Somalia. ‘His lack of social life doesn’t keep me awake at night. The prospect of him having an opportunity to blow himself up does.’ | Al Qaeda fanatic will be able to mingle more freely with fellow students .
Man has tried to get into Afghanistan on numerous occasions for terrorism training .
He also visited Olympic venues in London despite being banned . |
234,826 | bbfcd4e2d439fb840666b1c0260709cd010cf3ad | The Metropolitan Police examined the phone records of more than 1,700 journalists, lawyers and staff working for News UK, it has emerged . Scotland Yard has examined the mobile phone records of more than 1,700 journalists, lawyers and staff working for News UK, it emerged last night. In a major breach of privacy laws, Vodafone handed over data from phones belonging to journalists, lawyers, secretarial staff and senior executives working for The Times, The Sunday Times and The Sun newspapers between 2005 and 2007 to the Metropolitan Police. Detectives working on Operation Elveden, which is investigating alleged payments by journalists to ‘public officials’, requested data last October from the phone of one reporter who had been arrested. But when the telecoms giant mistakenly disclosed a mass of staff phone records, police held onto the material for seven months despite requests to return it. It is feared that the data could have compromised confidential journalistic sources. Detectives conducted an analysis of the records and built a spreadsheet listing outgoing calls made from 1,757 phones, even know they knew the information relating to innocent journalists had been passed on improperly. The data breach is now being investigated by the privacy watchdog bodies, the Information Commissioner (ICO) and the Interception of Communications Commissioner’s Office (IOCCO). The latter, which is also investigating police use of surveillance powers against journalists, said the case was of ‘very significant concern’ and it has urged the publisher News UK to take up the matter with the Investigatory Powers Tribunal. The case comes amid concerns about the extent to which police use surveillance powers under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (Ripa) against journalists and their sources. The Met used Ripa to find who leaked the police log of the Plebgate incident to The Sun while Essex Police used the law to discover a journalist’s source in the Chris Huhne speeding points affair. Yesterday Vodafone said the material was ‘a corrupted dataset’. A spokesman told The Times: ‘We wrote to the Met to express our grave concern that the police continued to retain the data released to them in error and made it clear to them that any assumption that meaningful conclusions could be drawn from any aspect of the corrupted dataset was highly questionable.’ The Met said it conducted an analysis on the ‘excess data’ to extract information about the phone contact between five more people – including journalists, lawyers and sources – who were under suspicion in police investigations into journalistic activity. A spokesman said: ‘We recognised the sensitivity of the excess data provided and ensured it was retained securely, until it was returned to Vodafone. The Metropolitan Police consulted with the Interception of Communications Commissioner’s Office, and the Information Commissioner on how this error should best be managed. ‘The Met agreed that it would only use the material for a policing purpose, when in the interests of justice to do so, and where people were already charged and facing criminal proceedings.’ An IOCCO investigation has exonerated the Met, blaming Vodafone for the error. | Scotland Yard examined phone records of more than 1,700 News UK staff .
Met Police requested data for one journalist's records during investigation .
But in major privacy breach, Vodafone mistakenly disclosed mass records .
Detectives then compiled a spreadsheet and analysis of the information .
It is feared the data could have compromised journalistic sources . |
45,860 | 813e5d2c845d250553c3bbf13738ee004b0735e7 | (CNN) -- Two Kentucky men pleaded not guilty Thursday to kidnapping and assaulting a gay man because of his sexual orientation, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Kentucky. The case marks the first use of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crime Prevention Act of 2009 to bring a case alleging a violation of the sexual orientation provision of the statute. David Jason Jenkins, 37, and Anthony Ray Jenkins, 20, were indicted late Wednesday for allegedly kidnapping and beating Kevin Pennington. The defendants, who are cousins, also are charged with conspiracy. On April 4, 2011, the defendants enlisted the help of two women to lure Pennington into a pickup truck with the Jenkins cousins, according to the indictment. The two men allegedly drove Pennington to Kingdom Come State Park and assaulted him. "David Jason Jenkins and Anthony Ray Jenkins made a plan to assault Pennington because of his sexual orientation," the indictment said. It also said the men wore clothing to try to hide their identities and disabled a light inside the truck to affect Pennington's ability to see who they were. The women allegedly encouraged the defendants as they beat Pennington, but are not charged in the indictment. Andrew Stevens, David Jenkins' lawyer, said he has not seen the government's evidence in the case, but he told CNN he finds the use of the hate crime statute troubling. "It's hard to say how you get in someone's head and say this has to do with homosexuality," Stevens said. "It's quite a burden for the government to prove, and I have a suspicion we're in for a fist fight." Stevens said his view of the case is that there was "an altercation" about a "drug deal gone bad." A lawyer for the other defendant did not immediately return a message seeking a comment. The trial for David Jenkins and Anthony Jenkins is scheduled for June 18. If convicted, the defendants face a maximum of life in prison. Shepherd was a gay teenager who died after being tied to a fence in Wyoming and beaten in 1998. Byrd was an African-American man killed in Texas the same year when he was dragged to death. | David Jason Jenkins and Anthony Ray Jenkins are accused of beating a gay man .
The case marks the first use of a sexual orientation provision of the Shepard-Byrd law .
The defendants, who are cousins, plead not guilty . |
211,438 | 9dcb66faad47675f146d78e03229c21151221f5d | Angela Nangle (pictured) spent £50,000 injury compensation on 'fine wine, fine food, male companionship and escorts', a court heard . A pensioner spent £50,000 personal injury compensation on 'fine wine, fine food, male companionship and escorts' so she would not lose her housing benefit, a court heard. Angela Nangle made withdrawals of up to £3,000 a day so that she would not have to declare the money as a form of income, Brighton Magistrates' Court was told. The 62-year-old, of Brighton, East Sussex, notified civic chiefs in 2009 that she would be receiving personal injury compensation in excess of £16,000 - the minimum amount which would deprive a person of benefit, the court heard. It was placed in a trust fund so it would not be taken into account for housing benefit purposes, council prosecutor Len Batten said. But in August 2013, Nangle failed to declare any money was being held in a trust fund on a review form, Mr Batten told the court. Questions were then raised as to what she had done with the cash, he said. The prosecutor claimed that between May 27 and June 29, 2012, Nangle had made daily withdrawals averaging up to £3,000 until the money had run out. He said: 'The defendant admitted she had been withdrawing the money in cash rather than putting it into a bank account because she knew if she did it would be included in a housing benefit claim. 'She said she had not kept receipts but had spent the money on fine wine, fine food, male companionship and escorts, and that she had withdrawn it quickly because it was more trouble than it was worth to keep it.' Nangle pleaded not guilty on November 7 last year to failing to notify Brighton and Hove City Council of a change in her circumstances between May 27 and June 29, 2012, the court was told. Angela Nangle made withdrawals of up to £3,000 a day so that she would not have to declare the money as a form of income, Brighton Magistrates' Court (pictured) was told . John Hunter, defending Nangle, claimed the wrong test as to whether it was reasonable for the pensioner to claim housing benefit had been applied by the council officer looking at the case. He said it was unclear whether an offence had been committed. Magistrates adjourned the case and told Nangle she would next appear at Eastbourne Magistrates' Court on March 6 for a pre-trial review hearing. Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article. | Angela Nangle, 62, made withdrawals of up to £3,000 a day, court was told .
Magistrates told she took money out so she would not have to declare it as a form of income .
She told council chiefs she would be receiving injury compensation in 2009 .
In 2013, she failed to declare cash was being held in a trust fund, court told .
Defence team claims she was subject to the wrong housing benefits test .
Pleaded not guilty last year to failing to notify council of a change in her circumstances . |
94,547 | 0583e64dac3eacf88e3ae1f0e8a4020c838ed44e | Fed up with social media feeds filling with how-to guides for eyeliner application - or perhaps just out of boredom - men have jumped on the 'makeup transformations' bandwagon .... and the results are hilarious. Using the Twitter hastag #MakeupTransformation, a trend of posting step-by-step parodies on 'looking like your favorite celebrity' is the latest viral craze among selfies. The four-paneled photos are a playful send up of the popular makeup tutorials that have been overwhelming the internet. Scroll down for video . Maybe he's born with it?: A Twitter follows the latest selfie craze of parody makeup tutorials, 'illustrating' how to look like Mo'Nique's hateful character in the film Precious, Mary Jones . Well the tan is about right: Another user sends up the look of Kris Jenner . Spot on: The craze is picking up countless followers under the hashtag #MakeupTransformation . The latest Internet craze is #MakeupTransformations, a step-by-step parody of how to apply makeup to look like a celebrity. Or not . This Twitter user does look somewhat like Private Practice actor Taye Diggs . On a serious note: The new trend makes fun of the popular online makeup tutorials, such as this one . The meme takes clear aim at the internet's obsession with photograph filters and celebrity culture. But it's all just a bit of fun. Among the most popular is a shot of Kardashian matriarch Kris Jenner. One of the funniest features an Instagram user pretending to emulate Mo'Nique's hateful character from the chilling drama Precious, Mary Jones. Impressive: The new trend is a play on the makeup magic some women are using to 'transform' into celebrities . The hashtag #makeuptransformation has taken over Instagram and Twitter . However not all the would-be tutorials are flattering or complimentary . Voila! This Instagram user manage to fake some stubble to look, err, kind of like The Rock Dwayne Johnson . It's also not just men getting involved with the meme craze . Popular: Makeup transformations, where women overhaul their look in a few simple steps, have become increasingly popular over the years . | Hastag #MakeupTransformtion taking over social media this week .
Twitter and Instagram users have been posting parody pictures of makeup how-to guides . |
136,767 | 3ceb77460a65f2199b635232b395a209026abb2e | ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) -- Taliban militants made their deepest incursion into Pakistan this week, seizing control of areas that are a short drive from the capital city. Pakistan has deployed paramilitary troops to a district taken over by the Taliban. A Pakistani government official said the militants fully withdrew from the Buner district on Friday, although other officials cast doubt on the extent of the pullout and how long it would last. Buner is only 60 miles outside Islamabad. The situation is particularly concerning because Pakistan is a nuclear-armed state. The Islamic republic is believed to have between 30 and 40 nuclear warheads, according to the U.N. nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Those warheads, however, are unassembled and scattered about Pakistan in areas that are not under the control of the Taliban, several analysts said. iReport: Should the U.S. intercede in Pakistan? Earlier this week, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned that Pakistan was in danger of falling into terrorist hands. But Pakistan's ambassador to the United States, Husain Haqqani, said that the situation is not as dire as Clinton described. "Yes, we have a challenge," Haqqani told CNN. "But, no, we do not have a situation in which the government or the country of Pakistan is about to fall to the Taliban." Analyst Michael Krepon said while the news out of Pakistan is "disturbing," the real concern is what happens if Pakistan decides to move the weapons components, which are closely guarded by its army. "The nuclear weapons are the most well-guarded inanimate objects in the country," said Krepon, co-founder of the Stimson Center, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank. "When they're not in motion, they're not going to be subject to hijacking or being overrun by the Taliban." Krepon, who studies Pakistan's and India's nuclear programs, said tensions between those two countries could prompt Pakistan to move its weapons components. "If there's a crisis with India ... odds increase greatly that weapons could move around, and when weapons move around, it is very worrisome," he said. Watch a former CIA official view » . However, Pakistani political consultant Hasan-Askari Rizvi downplayed the threat of the Taliban insurgency to Pakistan's nuclear weapons program. "The threat to nuclear weapons is not so imminent because they are far away from those places and secondly, they are under control of the army," Rizvi said. "Only a few people in the army know about it," he said, noting that the Pakistani army would defend their control of the nuclear weapons until the end. "It's a source of power," Rizvi said. "Whoever controls the weapons will dictate to the Pakistani government." Commentators and politicians in the West have long harbored concerns that Pakistan's nuclear weapons could be stolen by Islamic militants. A month after suspected Islamist extremists assassinated former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto in December 2007, top Pakistani security officials held a special briefing with Western journalists, insisting that the country's nuclear arsenal is secure from Islamic extremists. The January 26, 2008 news conference took place a few weeks after IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei warned that Pakistan's "many internal problems" put the country's nuclear arms at much greater risk. At the briefing, Lt. Gen. Khalid Kidwai -- head of the army division that controls Pakistan's nuclear sites and weapons -- said the country's weapons were protected by a "fool-proof" security system. Kidwai said there are 10,000 troops assigned to guard the country's nuclear facilities, including special agents who report directly to the country's intelligence services. He stressed that Pakistani military sites were equipped with security cameras; biometrics and access control; bullet-proof vehicles, high security walls; and quick reaction forces. Around 2,000 scientists working with sensitive materials and information at the sites had to undergo extensive background checks before being given security clearances, he added. "In Pakistan we have been extremely conscious of our responsibilities and obligations in this regard and we have instituted command and control structures and security measures in a manner so as to make these fool proof," Kidwai said. CNN's Tricia Escobedo in Atlanta, Georgia, contributed to this report. | Concerns over Pakistan's nuclear arsenal as Taliban make advances .
Pakistan is estimated to have 30-40 nuclear weapons .
Consultant says army would fight to the end to protect nuclear sites .
Another analyst says the weapons are the most well-guarded objects in Pakistan . |
124,871 | 2d6645d620c6df12413bf610dcae9a6f51dfb389 | A half-dozen men considered prisoners in the U.S. war on terror until yesterday now have a new designation -- refugees -- and a new temporary home: Uruguay. A U.S. medical aircraft carrying the six former Guantanamo Bay detainees landed at a military base in the Uruguayan capital, Montevideo, in the middle of the night, CNN affiliate Canal 10 Uruguay reported on Sunday. Within a few hours, a caravan of 15 to 20 vehicles, including ambulances, drove the newly freed men to hospitals. The U.S. Defense Department confirmed the transfer Sunday and said it coordinated with the government of Uruguay to make sure the transfers took place with adequate security and with humane treatment. "The United States is grateful to the government of Uruguay for its willingness to support ongoing U.S. efforts to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility," the department said. GOP congressman: We 'ought to rethink' Gitmo transfer policy . "We have offered our hospitality for humans suffering a heinous kidnapping in Guantanamo," Uruguayan President Jose Mujica wrote on his presidential website on Friday. "The unavoidable reason is humanitarian." Four of the former detainees -- Ahmed Adnan Ahjam, Ali Hussain Shaabaan, Omar Mahmoud Faraj, and Jihad Diyab -- are Syrian nationals, while Abdul Bin Mohammed Abis Ourgy is Tunisian, and Mohammed Tahanmatan is Palestinian, Pentagon press secretary Rear Adm. John Kirby said Sunday. Canal 10 reported that the United Nations refugee agency will be responsible for returning the released prisoners to their homes. Their transfers to Uruguay were unanimously approved by the United States' Guantanamo Review Task Force, which represents six departments and agencies. The review was prompted by an executive order issued by President Barack Obama shortly after his inauguration in January 2009. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel informed Congress of the intent to transfer the six men, the Defense Department said. Saturday's transfers leave only 136 detainees at Guantanamo Bay, out of more than 750. That's the lowest number of inmates at the base in Cuba since detainees started arriving in 2002. What happens when detainees leave Guantanamo Bay? At least seven detainees have died in custody over the years. In Mujica's open letter, he also called for the United States to lift its embargo on Cuba and release some Cubans and Puerto Ricans he called political prisoners. | Prisoners are transferred in the middle of the night, then taken to hospitals .
Uruguay's president calls it "hospitality for humans suffering a heinous kidnapping"
The U.S. expresses gratitude to Uruguay for supporting efforts to close Guantanamo Bay .
136 detainees remain at Guantanamo, the lowest number since 2002 . |
96,164 | 07aa9db61a6b2937c465f55ea93c107f1d45c9c0 | By . Sarah Gordon . The dream of buying a property and living abroad is no longer an option for the average British person, according to experts. The rising cost of living means that retirees looking for a new life abroad could be in for a nasty shock, with the dream of becoming an expat branded 'a luxury' by one specialist company. European destinations are more expensive than ever before and some expat hotspots, such as Canada and New Zealand, are even pricier than living in the UK. New life: The dream of moving abroad to retire is now 'a luxury' according to expat experts . According to the annual Overseas Living Price Index, Britain is still a more expensive place to live than the most popular European retirement hotspots. 1. Spain - 65.82. Italy - 77.33. USA - 77.94. Turkey - 78.65. Portugal - 80.86. France - 89.57. Cyprus - 95.78. UK - 1009. New Zealand - 113.610. Canada - 126.2 . But countries like France and Cyprus are only marginally cheaper and Canada and New Zealand are significantly more expensive. If the UK equals 100 on the index, then Spain is the cheapest destination for expats with a value of 65.8. The cost of living jumps to 77.3 on the scale for the second 'cheapest' country Italy, with the US and Turkey not far behind. Canada is the most expensive at 126.2 on the scale, compared to the UK at 100. There are an estimated 4.7 million UK citizens currently living abroad, with 173,000 in France, 411,000 in Spain and 675,000 in Canada. The price index looks at the costs of basics in each country, such as fuel, utility bills, supermarket shopping, public transport and eating out. For instance Turkey has particularly low prices for everyday groceries like milk and bread and cheap public transport. On the rise: Utilities in France can be higher than in the UK according to experts The Overseas Guides Company . But France charges the most for electricity and gas which, overall, means it is only slightly cheaper to live their than in Britain, said the guide. Portugal has the cheapest beer and is good value when eating out, along with Italy but Italy has high petrol prices. Canada and America charge the most for alcohol, even more than in Britain, but petrol is cheaper.However . public transport costs are high in Canada and New Zealand along with . grocery shopping, while many utility bills are cheaper. Richard Way, editor of Overseas Guides Company - which specialises in buying homes abroad - warned: 'Headlines about the benefits of emigrating to escape the UK's poor economy and job market could be misleading for the average Briton, especially those who fail to do proper research into their preferred destination and costs before leaving. 'A . combination of a weak pound and high cost of living mean that these . days emigrating to some countries can be more of a luxury than an option . for the average British person.' Living . abroad has previously been seen as a cheaper option for many wanting to . sell up and retire, and TV shows like A Place in the Sun have . highlighted popular areas. Home from home: The Foreign Office has also launched a campaign, warning people to investigate the costs of moving abroad . The new information comes just months after the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) started a campaign to warn Britons about the hidden financial issues expats can experience abroad. Launching the campaign, FCO Minister . Mark Simmonds explained: 'The appeal of warmer climates and experiencing . different countries and cultures is strong for many British citizens. We want to pave the way for our expatriates to have the best experience . possible when they move abroad. 'Our . consular staff across the world have dealt with a high number of . British expats requiring assistance for financial issues – whether as a . result of a house purchase gone wrong, having inadequate funds to pay . for medical bills or experiencing some other misfortune that has . resulted in financial hardship.' Fresh produce: Countries such as France and Spain are still cheaper for groceries, but other costs can mount up . The FCO staff confirmed it has had to help British expatriates with issues including property disputes, bankruptcy caused by changes in personal circumstances, pension complications and unexpected health issues. A recent FCO report also suggests that high hospitalisation and death rates occur in areas where large numbers of elderly British nationals reside, notably in Europe and South East Asia. | Living abroad 'no longer an option for average Briton' say experts .
France and Cyprus both almost as expensive at the UK .
Canada and New Zealand living costs are higher than in Britain .
Price index measured compared, fuel, utility bills, groceries and transport . |
131,285 | 35c4dfbee96f0aac6babf55f4f46ce46646e6a1c | Lynn Keesler, from Texas, lived on peanut M&Ms and drank bottled water . By . Daily Mail Reporter . Last updated at 8:19 AM on 25th January 2012 . A woman spent seven days in a rental car after she accidentally drove it into a muddy pond - then decided to stick strictly to advice that she was not to leave her vehicle if she became stranded. Lynn Keesler, . 61, took a wrong turn while looking for a hotel and drove into the water on January 15. She finally walked to a nearby house for help on January 22. Mrs Keesler . told police she had been trying to find a hotel in Burley, Idaho. She saw a body of water by a dairy factory . and thought it was the Snake River which was mentioned in her directions. As she began to drive . around the edge of the pond, the car became stuck in mud. Muddy waters: Lynn Keesler, 61, spent seven days in her car which became trapped in the mud after she tried to drive around a pond in Burley, Idaho . The . first night she was stranded she flashed her headlights until . the car's battery died. She told officers she also honked the . horn a couple times when the battery would power up enough. The woman, from Houston, Texas, survived the seven days stuck in the car by eating peanut butter M&Ms and drinking bottled water. She finally climbed out of the car when the water level in the pond began to rise on Sunday, the Times-New reported today. Sinking feeling: Mrs Keesler only left her car after the water level of the pond, which is used by a dairy factory, began to rise . Camped out: The 61-year-old managed to stay in the car for seven days by eating peanut M&Ms and drinking water . She was evaluated by emergency services but refused to go to hospital saying she just wanted 'a warm bed and a bath'. The . dairy boss told deputies that workers started filling the settling . ponds on Friday. When deputies arrived, the ponds were full and the car . was hardly visible. Representatives . from Enterprise Rent-A-Car told police officers that Mrs Keesler had rented the vehicle . on December 8 and was supposed to return it on January 5. Supplies: The woman, from Houston, Texas, took a wrong turn after being given directions to an Idaho hotel by a sheriff . Stranded: Mrs Keesler refused to go to hospital after her ordeal but instead said she just wanted a 'warm bed and a bath' | Lynn Keesler, from Texas, lived on peanut M&Ms and drank bottled water . |
203,752 | 93c7d94e36aca02f639a887e82d4f47ed5515219 | Frozen Snow Glow Elsa toys are going for as much as £79.99 online, a 130 per cent markup on their original price of £34.99 after selling out in stores . A nightmare looms for parents this Christmas with evidence there is a desperate shortage of Britain’s best-selling doll. Stores are unable to keep up with demand for Frozen Snow Glow Elsa, an interactive doll who sings, speaks and lights up, with an official price of £34.99. Many household chains and websites, such as Tesco, Toys r Us and Argos, list it as being ‘unavailable’, while any new stock is being snapped up as soon as it arrives on shelves. Such is demand from parents desperate to avoid tears on Christmas morning that eBay entrepreneurs are cashing in by charging as much as £79.99 – a mark-up of almost 130per cent. Elsa, the lead character from Disney’s Frozen film, is driving a phenomenal surge in sales in a wide range of merchandise linked to the inspirational animated fairytale. Sales of dolls and merchandise linked to the Disney film are on course to hit all-time high for any movie franchise – overtaking the phenomenally successful Toy Story. While Toy Story sales were driven by versions of Buzz Lightyear and Woody, it is the Frozen Snow Glow Elsa which is number one on wish lists this year. Elsa’s dress lights up and she will sing and speak phrases from the film when owners touch her magical snowflake necklace. The current top five toy best-selling toys also includes a Frozen Ice Skating Elsa Doll, which is £29.99, and an interactive Frozen Toddler Doll for younger children at £39.99. UK sales of all Frozen merchandise, from dressing up outfits to dolls and jigsaws, are put at £31m up until the week ending November 8, according to retail experts at The NPD Group. Global toys industry analyst for NPD, Frederique Tutt, said: ‘New items have been launched, production has been increased to meet demand, and sales are getting stronger. ‘We counted three Frozen dolls in the five best-selling toys last week alone. ‘If Frozen continues at this level until Christmas, not only will the license keep top spot and get the license of the year accolade but it will also beat the all-time record of Toy Story 3 – in 2010 - in terms of toy sales.’ Sales of Frozen toys are set to hit an all-time high, outstripping the Buzz Lightyear dolls that set a record after Toy Story was released. Frozen has already beaten Toy Story 3 to the top grossing animated movie spot . While Toy Story merchandise was most popular with boys, Frozen is clearly a favourite for girls. The storyline is inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale The Snow Queen and tells how a fearless princess sets off on an epic journey alongside a rugged iceman, his loyal pet reindeer and a snowman to find her sister, Anna, who has become trapped in a land of eternal winter. The film overtook Toy Story 3 to become the biggest grossing animated film of all time earlier this year with ticket sales of more than £1billion, while the song ‘Let it Go’ won an Oscar and became a social media phenomenon. Such is the demand for themed merchandise that there were reports of fights among women shoppers at the opening of a new Poundworld in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales. Just last week, police were called to a toy store in Dublin to calm shoppers who battling to get hold of a Snow Glow Elsa doll. Gary Grant, the boss of The Entertainer toy chain, said: ‘Demand is just unbelievable. The film launched last year, but this is the year that sales of themed products have really caught on. ‘We have major stock issues in terms of keeping up with demand. The numbers are just vast. ‘We sell more jigsaw puzzles based on Frozen than all others put together. I have never seen anything like it. I suspect even Disney has been surprised. ‘Quite frankly, you could sell empty boxes if they had Frozen written on them.’ 1. Frozen Snow Glow Elsa £34.99 . 2. Kidizoom Smartwatch £39.99 . 3. LeapPad Explorer Tablet £79.99 . 4. Frozen Ice Skating Doll £29.99 . 5. Frozen Toddler Doll (15in) £39.99 . Mr Grant said Frozen has outpaced any previous film in terms of the sales of themed toys. ‘Stocks of the dolls are coming in all the time, but if I get 2,000 of the interactive dolls they would be gone by the end of the week. It is bigger than Toy Story and Buzz Lightyear ever was.’ The other products on the top five best sellers stand out because they incorporate technology which mimics devices used by adults. The Kidizoom Smartwatch, which is made by Vtech and costs £39.99, includes a stills and video camera, a voice recorder and a series of games. Mike Lynch of Vtech said the watch will help prepare youngsters for the technology they will need and use in later life. ‘It takes adult technology and puts it into a child friendly toy. It has all the features you would want from a watch, in terms of a digital and analogue clock display as well as a stop watch. ‘There are games and a voice recorder that allows children to add some funny effects, like a robotic sound. There is a two megapixel camera for stills and video.’ Also on the list is the £79.99 LeapPad Explorer, an iPad-style tablet for toddlers, which includes eBooks, hundreds of educational games and apps, as well as a camera. | Tesco, Toys R Us and Argos all list Frozen Snow Glow Elsa as unavailable .
Doll which retails at £34.99 is being sold for as much as £79.99 online .
Frozen merchandise is on track to hit record for any movie franchise .
Previous record was held by Toy Story after first film released in 1995 . |
100,289 | 0d39415ce6157ef8e11af2f31f21a8e2d5f063e2 | By . Rupert Steiner . PUBLISHED: . 17:26 EST, 14 July 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 01:32 EST, 15 July 2013 . Waitrose is to open its first in-store restaurant following the success of smaller cafés placed within its larger supermarkets. The upmarket grocer will launch its first waitress-serviced venue at the end of next year as retailers seek to find new ways to attract shoppers into their stores. It already has 96 cafes in some of its 293 branches. Dine in: Waitrose will launch its first 'family style' in-store restaurant at the end of next year . Tesco recently bought the Giraffe chain, and has bought stakes in branded bakeries and coffee shops which it is installing across its chain. Waitrose Managing Director Mark Price said that the popularity of online shopping means retailers have to give shoppers new reasons to come to the High Street. ‘It is all about developing the role of branches in an era where online shopping is developing so strongly,’ he said. ‘We are coming up with new ideas to reinforce our commitment to offer the best possible service and give extra reasons to come into our shops.’ The Waitrose restaurant will be a relaxed family style venue offering pizza, beef-burgers and steaks using some of the products on sale in store. New offer: Mark Price, Waitrose Managing Director, wants to give shoppers a reason to return to the streets following the rise in online shopping . While not fine dining Price believes customers would be willing to pay a little extra for a premium experience, and the venue would also showcase some of the food on sale in store. A spokesman said: ‘It’s just trying something different so people can sit down and have a waiter service meal rather than self-service – it’s a different concept.’ The grocer, which is owned by its staff who are known as partners, already has a tapas bar at London’s Canary Wharf. Waitrose is also testing a concierge service in 6 stores which takes in dry cleaning and shoe repairs. In Horley in Surrey, Portishead in Somerset, Milton Keynes and Greenwich it will also wrap flowers bought as presents and offer iPads for customers to use to search for items. | Waitrose will launch 'family style'restaurant at the end of next year . |
178,844 | 738cbfbe6efb815db5e9503305beef6d0d13bc60 | A sex-obsessed doctor has had his license suspended after he was accused of a series of bizarre acts while on duty. Dr Arthur Zilberstein's 'preoccupation with sexual matters' included using medical images for sexual gratification and having sexual encounters at his workplace, it is claimed. The anesthesiologist, from Seattle, Washington, also allegedly sent explicit texts while performing C-sections and naked selfies to a patient. The charges said some of the pictures were 'depicting himself in hospital scrubs, wearing his hospital badge and exposing his genitals'. Scroll down for video . Dr Arthur Zilberstein had a 'preoccupation with sexual matters', Washington state health authorities said . Washington state health authorities said 47-year-old Zilberstein repeatedly compromised patient safety between at least April 2013 and August 2013. Authorities accused Zilberstein, who has been in practice since 1995, of issuing at least 29 unauthorized prescriptions for controlled substances and other drugs. The charges, filed with the state Medical Quality Assurance Commission, also allege that Zilberstein prescribed unauthorized narcotics to a female patient he had sex with, NBC News reported. On one day alone, June 17, 2013, he is accused of sending 64 texts, many just minutes apart, during seven surgeries, many of which had sexual innuendos. One read: 'I'm hella busy with C sections.' Another read: 'Oh. And my partner walked in as I was pulling up my scrubs. I'm pretty sure he caught me.' Dr Arthur Zilberstein is accused of sending pictures 'depicting himself in hospital scrubs, wearing his hospital badge and exposing his genitals' Swedish Medical Centre in Seattle, where Arthur Zilberstein worked, has suspended him . The charges state: 'Respondent's lack of focus on patient care while providing anesthesia services for hospital-based surgical procedures routinely fell below the standard of care and put patients at unreasonable risk of harm.' Zilberstein also demonstrated 'moral turpitude' that reflected badly on the medical profession. Zilberstein cannot practice until the charges are resolved, health officials said. He has 20 days to respond to the charges and request a hearing, officials said. He was contracted through Physicians Anesthesia Services with Swedish Medical Center to provide care, NBC News reported. Hospital spokesman Clay Holtzman said: 'The safety of our patients is our number one priority. Once we learned that the state had suspended this physician's medical license, the physician's medical staff membership and privileges were immediately suspended. 'We just recently learned of these allegations and are conducting our own internal review of the physician, who is not directly employed by Swedish.' | Dr Arthur Zilberstein had a 'preoccupation with sexual matters'
He is accused of using medical images for sexual gratification .
Anesthesiologist also allegedly sent texts while performing operations .
Washington state health authorities say he compromised patient safety . |
164,984 | 61596531b6522b924a36862049a3d060cd34142c | A Super Bowl-winning NFL player's heartfelt Facebook post written in reaction to the events in Ferguson, Missouri has been shared over 200,000 times in less than one day. New Orleans Saints tight end Benjamin Watson detailed his anger, fear, frustration and a dozen other emotions in a post written Tuesday after the black Virginia native had some time to digest what was going on in the wake of Monday's grand jury decision to not convict Darren Wilson. 'After trying to figure out how I felt, I decided to write it down. Here are my thoughts,' wrote the 33-year-old. Scroll down for video . Big hit: New Orleans Saint Benjamin Watson wrote a Facebook post about the events in Ferguson, Missouri on Tuesday that has since gone viral . He then pours his heart out and the unfiltered emotion no doubt helped the post get nearly 400,000 likes in less than one day. 'I'm angry because the stories of injustice that have been passed down for generations seem to be continuing before our very eyes,' he says. Watson also moves between feeling anger for the treatment of black Americans and frustration with the violent reactions to the decision. 'In the back of my mind I know...I could still be looked upon as a "threat" to those who don't know me. So I will continue to have to go the extra mile to earn the benefit of the doubt,' he writes. Watson's negative feelings ultimately give way to positive ones as he writes about his Christian faith. 'I'm encouraged, because ultimately the problem is not a SKIN problem, it is a SIN problem. SIN is the reason we rebel against authority,' he said. The tight end's 650-word outpouring of emotion had been shared on Facebook over 200,000 after fewer than 24 hours and received nearly 400,000 likes . At some point while I was playing or preparing to play Monday Night Football, the news broke about the Ferguson Decision. After trying to figure out how I felt, I decided to write it down. Here are my thoughts: . I'M ANGRY because the stories of injustice that have been passed down for generations seem to be continuing before our very eyes. I'M FRUSTRATED, because pop culture, music and movies glorify these types of police citizen altercations and promote an invincible attitude that continues to get young men killed in real life, away from safety movie sets and music studios. I'M FEARFUL because in the back of my mind I know that although I'm a law abiding citizen I could still be looked upon as a "threat" to those who don't know me. So I will continue to have to go the extra mile to earn the benefit of the doubt. I'M EMBARRASSED because the looting, violent protests, and law breaking only confirm, and in the minds of many, validate, the stereotypes and thus the inferior treatment. I'M SAD, because another young life was lost from his family, the racial divide has widened, a community is in shambles, accusations, insensitivity hurt and hatred are boiling over, and we may never know the truth about what happened that day. I'M SYMPATHETIC, because I wasn't there so I don't know exactly what happened. Maybe Darren Wilson acted within his rights and duty as an officer of the law and killed Michael Brown in self defense like any of us would in the circumstance. Now he has to fear the backlash against himself and his loved ones when he was only doing his job. What a horrible thing to endure. OR maybe he provoked Michael and ignited the series of events that led to him eventually murdering the young man to prove a point. I'M OFFENDED, because of the insulting comments I've seen that are not only insensitive but dismissive to the painful experiences of others. I'M CONFUSED, because I don't know why it's so hard to obey a policeman. You will not win!!! And I don't know why some policeman abuse their power. Power is a responsibility, not a weapon to brandish and lord over the populace. I'M INTROSPECTIVE, because sometimes I want to take "our" side without looking at the facts in situations like these. Sometimes I feel like it's us against them. Sometimes I'm just as prejudiced as people I point fingers at. And that's not right. How can I look at white skin and make assumptions but not want assumptions made about me? That's not right. I'M HOPELESS, because I've lived long enough to expect things like this to continue to happen. I'm not surprised and at some point my little children are going to inherit the weight of being a minority and all that it entails. I'M HOPEFUL, because I know that while we still have race issues in America, we enjoy a much different normal than those of our parents and grandparents. I see it in my personal relationships with teammates, friends and mentors. And it's a beautiful thing. I'M ENCOURAGED, because ultimately the problem is not a SKIN problem, it is a SIN problem. SIN is the reason we rebel against authority. SIN is the reason we abuse our authority. SIN is the reason we are racist, prejudiced and lie to cover for our own. SIN is the reason we riot, loot and burn. BUT I'M ENCOURAGED because God has provided a solution for sin through the his son Jesus and with it, a transformed heart and mind. One that's capable of looking past the outward and seeing what's truly important in every human being. The cure for the Michael Brown, Trayvon Martin, Tamir Rice and Eric Garner tragedies is not education or exposure. It's the Gospel. So, finally, I'M ENCOURAGED because the Gospel gives mankind hope. | New Orleans Saint Benjamin Watson wrote down all his feelings about the decision not to indict Darren Wilson on Tuesday .
The 650-word post in which the tight end enumerates each emotion he felt had been shared over 200,000 times Wednesday . |
246,112 | ca8c5f96adddb61025107907704ec344143b0088 | Russia has announced plans to send manned flights to the moon by 2030, as it pledges to keep the International Space Station in orbit for nine more years. Roscosmos, Russia's space agency, said it would launch the manned missions after reviving its lunar programme with unmanned spacecraft. The news comes three years after a leaked document from the federal agency suggested a manned mission to the moon was in the pipeline. Russia has announced plans to send manned flights to the moon by 2030, as it pledges to keep the International Space Station (pictured) in orbit for nine more years . It was the first time Moscow had set a deadline for the space plans, hoping to recapture the early glory of the first space race, when they beat the U.S. at getting a man to orbit the earth. Barack Obama previously wanted to get Americans onto Mars by 2030. A Roscosmos spokesman said: 'Close to 2030, the plan is to move over to manned flights to the Moon.' The agency also announced that it would continue to work with Nasa on the ISS until 2024, when it hopes to build its own orbital station. It says the station would aim to provide Russia 'with guaranteed access to the cosmos'. Russian government officials had indicated last year that they may end funding of the ISS in 2020, amid strained relations between the the U.S and Russia over the Ukraine sanctions row. Russia's Yuri Gagarin (pictured) was the first man in space in 1961 and Neil Armstrong of the U.S. was the first man on the Moon in 1969 . Extensive cooperation in space between Washington and Moscow came under renewed pressure after the U.S banned high-tech exports to Russia. But that proposal appears to have been rejected in favour of keeping it going for another four years, as Nasa had suggested. The space industry has been the root of fierce competition between Russia and the U.S dating back to the Cold War. The U.S and the Soviet Union were locked in the so-called 'space race' for decades. Russia's Yuri Gagarin was the first man in space in 1961 and Neil Armstrong of the United States was the first man on the Moon in 1969. But with the Cold War over, competition gave way to cooperation. Russia's subsequently deorbited its own Mir space station in 2001 as Moscow sought to concentrate its resources on the ISS. | Roscosmos, Russia's space agency, is set to revive its lunar programme .
Agency also pledged to work with Nasa to keep ISS operational until 2024 .
It came under pressure in 2014 after U.S banned high-tech exports to Russia . |
84,961 | f1003a67ff63606754f567766f5adf2a0d8366e7 | Rizana Nafeek was beheaded by sword despite pleas for a pardon from her native Sri Lanka . A maid convicted of killing a baby has been beheaded in Saudi Arabia, despite being only 17 at the time of the crime. Rizana Nafeek was beheaded by sword in Dawadmy, near the capital Riyadh, on Wednesday morning. The execution went ahead despite years of international appeals from Miss Nafeek's family and human rights groups. Supporters of the housemaid, from Sri Lanka, say the age on her passport was changed so she could get work and that according to her birth certificate she was just 17 at the time. The Sri Lankan government said it 'deplores the execution' and human rights groups also condemned her death. Miss Nafeek was sentenced to death in 2007 after her Saudi employer accused her of strangling his four-month-old baby two years earlier after a dispute with the child's mother. But Miss Nafeek always protested her innocence and said the baby had choked to death while being bottle fed. Her parents repeatedly appealed to . King Abdullah to pardon their daughter. The Sri Lankan government . also appealed against the death penalty but the Saudi Supreme Court . upheld it in 2010. It was again ratified by the Saudi interior ministry yesterday. The . Sri Lankan foreign ministry said in a statement that President Mahinda . Rajapaksa twice personally appealed to the Saudi government to halt the . execution and pardon Miss Nafeek. Rizana Nafeek's passport states she was born in 1982 but her birth certificate states she would only have been 17 at the time of the alleged killing . It added: 'President Rajapaksa and the government of Sri Lanka deplore the execution of Miss Rizana Nafeek despite all efforts at the highest level of the government and the outcry of the people locally and internationally over the death sentence of a juvenile housemaid.' The government held a minute's silence on Wednesday. Amnesty International said the passport Miss Nafeek used to enter Saudi Arabia in May 2005 stated she was born in February, 1982. However, the group said her birth certificate states she was born six years later, making her just 17 at the time of the baby's death. Human Rights Watch also condemned the execution. Nisha Varia, senior women's rights . researcher at the organisation, said: 'Saudi . Arabia is one of just three countries that executes people for crimes . they committed as children. Rizana Nafeek's mother, left, repeatedly appealed to Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah to pardon their daughter but the death penalty was ratified on Wednesday . 'In . executing Rizana Nafeek, Saudi authorities demonstrated callous . disregard for basic humanity as well as Saudi Arabia's international . legal obligations.' Miss . Nafeek said her original confession and been made under duress and there . translation services were not made available to her. Amnesty International said Miss Nafeek had no access to lawyers either during her pre-trial interrogation or at her 2007 trial. Philip Luther, the organisation's Middle East and North . Africa programme director, said the day before the execution: 'It appears that she was herself a child . at the time and there are real concerns about the fairness of her . trial.' Saudi households are highly dependent on housemaids from African and South Asian countries and there are reportedly 1.5million domestic servants working in the oil-rich country. There have been reported cases of domestic abuse in which families mistreat their maids, who have then attacked the children of their employers. Saudi Arabia is an absolute monarchy that follows the strict Wahhabi school of Islam and applies sharia law. Last year as many as 76 people were beheaded, according to The Telegraph. | Rizana Nafeek was beheaded by sword in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday .
Her native Sri Lanka and human rights groups condemned the execution .
They say the housemaid was only 17 at the time of the baby's death in 2005 .
Also claim Miss Nafeek not given access to a lawyer during 2007 trial .
She always protested her innocence and said baby choked to death . |
168,780 | 6656130264607b7a62c66fe78a69858d869c2fa4 | A Rob Horne try and Bernard Foley's subsequent conversion one minute from time gave Australia a 24-23 victory over South Africa in a rain-soaked Rugby Championship encounter in Perth. The Wallabies trailed South Africa for much of the match but a 65th-minute yellow card for Bryan Habana, in his 100th Test, swung the game in the hosts' favour and their persistence paid off as the Springboks defence finally buckled in the closing stages. The result, Australia's first win over South Africa in the Rugby Championship in four attempts, means they also have their first victory of this year's competition and will look forward to next Saturday's encounter against Argentina in the Gold Coast with renewed confidence. Left it late: Michael Hooper and Adam Ashley-Cooper celebrate Australia's dramatic victory over South Africa . Try: Cornal Hendricks runs in for the Springbok only score of the game . Battle: Australia and South Africa players compete for the ball in a brutal encounter . A fortnight to reflect on a 51-20 defeat to New Zealand in Auckland saw Wallabies coach Ewen McKenzie replace Kurtley Beale with Foley at fly-half and the men in gold made a blistering start as full-back Israel Folau scored inside 90 seconds. Inside centre Matt Toomua received quick ball from the breakdown, and having stepped inside opposite number Jan Serfontein, he offloaded to Folau who gathered the low pass to dive over. Morne Steyn, also returning to the number 10 jersey in place of Handre Pollard, reduced the deficit to two points four minutes later when he kicked the first of his six penalties as the Wallabies were whistled by Irish referee George Clancy for not releasing. Cornal Hendricks put South Africa into an 8-5 lead in the 13th minute, cutting inside from the right wing to touch down after the Springboks stretched the hosts' defence with some quick passing. All over: Australia's players celebrate their win . Eyes on the prize: South Africa's Morne Steyn takes a kick at goal . Divine intervention: Hendricks celebrates his try . Pass master: Nick Phipps spins a pass out for Australia . A marauding run by outside centre Tevita Kuridrani resulted in a penalty for the Wallabies which Foley duly converted to square the match at 8-8, but South Africa were in front immediately from the restart when the Wallabies gave away a needless penalty. Steyn's second penalty of the match stretched South Africa's lead to 14-8 in the 25th minute, before Foley narrowed the gap to three points with his second penalty of the night shortly before the half-hour mark. That proved to be the final score of the half as South Africa went into the interval with a 14-11 lead. Foley hit back with a penalty two minutes after the restart to square the match at 14-14 before a scrambling Wallabies defence was forced to concede another penalty which Steyn kicked to return the Springboks into the lead. The Stade Francais lynchpin then stretched his side's lead to 20-14 in the 49th minute after a collapsed scrum before he squeezed over his final penalty just after the hour-mark to stretch the visitors' lead to nine points. Stretching: Australian try scorer Israel Folou competes for the ball with Hendricks . Solid: Australia's Michael Hooper and South Africa's Duane Vermeulen clash in Perth . The momentum then swung back in the hosts' favour when Habana was sin-binned for a high tackle with 15 minutes left on the clock and Foley reduced South Africa's winning margin to six points with his fourth penalty with 10 minutes to go. With the clock ticking down to full time, a fine, one-handed offload from Folau found Kuridrani and he passed to Horne, who cut in from the left wing to score Australia's second try with less than two minutes to go before Foley held his nerve to slot the subsequent conversion to send the majority of those assembled in the Subiaco Oval into a frenzy. | Horne's last gasp score - followed by Bernard Foley's conversion - earned Australia a dramatic win in Perth .
The boot of Morne Steyn looked like kicking South Africa to a crucial victory .
The flyhalf bagged 18 points to add to Cornal Hendricks' try .
Israel Folau had scored a try for Australia in the first minute .
Foley kicked four penalties as the home side claimed its first win of the tournament .
Springbok face New Zealand in Wellington next Saturday .
Need to win to retain realistic hopes of clinching the Rugby Championship trophy . |
205,866 | 96800386ca8d9004c1e0371c6680cd7716a518d9 | By . Damien Gayle . PUBLISHED: . 11:09 EST, 13 August 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 02:26 EST, 14 August 2012 . Gigolo: Tim Blake-Bowell was found guilty of professional misconduct by the Teaching Agency. File picture . A gigolo PE teacher who was jailed for running a brothel after class was today found guilty of professional misconduct and now faces a potential lifetime ban from his profession. Tim Blake-Powell, 51, pimped out six women - including his ex-wife - and also worked as a prostitute himself from a flat in the well-heeled cathedral city of Canterbury, Kent. He was jailed for nine months in 2009 for running the brothel. He had moonlighted as a pimp while working as a teacher at the King Ethelbert School in Birchington, near Margate, Kent, between 2004 and 2007. Yesterday Blake-Powell was found guilty of breaching the teaching code of conduct when he appeared at a disciplinary hearing of the Teaching Agency in Conventry. The father-of-two was told his actions had placed him in 'direct contravention of the teaching code of conduct. 'The existence of this conviction surely undermines public confidence in the teaching profession and affects Mr Blake-Bowell’s ability to provide an effective learning environment for his pupils,' said presenting officer Mary Page. 'It is in direct contravention of section eight of the code of conduct, which state a teacher must maintain reasonable standards in his own behaviour, always trying to maintain an effective learning environment and maintaining public trust in the profession.' Blake-Bowell had been a 'dedicated teacher' at the 700-pupil King Ethelbert School, a mixed comprehensive which takes children between 11 and 16, where he was fanatical about hockey and cricket, the panel heard. But after work he sold his body and managed a team of six other prostitutes, including his then-wife Emma, 40, from a rented flat in Canterbury. At his trial in 2009, Canterbury Crown Court heard Blake-Bowell was responsible for the financial affairs of the brothel, which was variously named 'Gem's', 'Pandora's' and 'Men For All Seasons'. He paid the women they employed and took care of day to day tasks like bills and rent. While selling your body for money is not illegal in England, profiting from others' prostitution is. Emma, 40, who had herself worked as an escort in the city since 2004, was in charge of the day-to-day running of the business. She acted as a receptionist, worked out the girls’ rotas, introduced them to clients and also prostituted herself. The couple, who have two young children, split up after their arrest in December 2007. Blake-Bowell admitted a charge of controlling prostitutes for financial gain in July 2009 and was jailed for nine months, but was released after serving just four months of his sentence. His ex-wife Emma also pleaded guilty to the charge, but her nine-month sentence was suspended, with the judge saying she had been susceptible to pressure from her husband due to her vulnerable mental health. Blake-Bowell, 47, paid £560 a month to rent the Canterbury flat and spent another £1,400 a month on advertising. The brothel was staffed from 11am until midnight with the women charging £40 for a massage, £60 for 30 minutes of sex and £100 for a full hour. Although the Blake-Bowells used only willing British women, their operation was uncovered during a Kent Police probe into illegal sex-trafficking from Eastern Europe. At her trial Emma, who has two more children by a previous husband, was described as a working prostitute who called herself ‘Brandy’. She was also the brothel's 'meeter and greeter'. Shortly after his arrest in December 2007, Blake-Bowell lost his job at King Ethelbert School, although he was allowed to stay on until the end of term. At the time, school sources said they were astonished at his involvement, with one mother describing the sports master as a 'model teacher'. Blake-Bowell shed tears as a statement from his former headmaster was read out describing him as a 'valued and trusted colleague' who had shown 'unstinting commitment to those pupils in his pastoral care'. At the Teaching Agency panel today, chairman Dr Roland Kitchen said: 'We find Mr Blake-Bowell has been convicted of a relevant offence. A decision on whether he will be banned from teaching for life is expected in two weeks time. Blake-Bowell, who attended yesterday’s hearing confirmed he had given up teaching. He said: 'I have no plans to return to the profession.' | Tim Blake-Powell was in 2009 jailed for nine months for running a brothel in Canterbury .
He now faces a lifetime ban from being a teacher, but says he has 'no plans' to return to the profession . |
87,662 | f8be2f5ce06cb4af91cbb7b6bef9835991751ef5 | By . Matt Chorley, Mailonline Political Editor . Energy companies have admitted giving dire service and baffling customers with confusing bills designed to hide the true cost of heating and lighting out homes. Energy bosses say customers have been ‘taken for granted’ and treated badly, with charges that were ‘never transparent’. The astonishing admissions, delivered anonymously to pollsters for a new report this week, sparked warnings from Downing Street that increased competition to take on the Big Six energy firms was needed to improve customer service. Energy bosses say customers have been 'taken for granted' and treated badly, with charges that were 'never transparent' Industry watchdog Ofgem last week announced it was referring the entire energy market to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) for investigation. It found ‘possible tacit co-ordination’ on prices, with the Big Six firms - British Gas, SSE, Eon, Npower, Scottish Power and EDF - apparently moving tariffs up and down at the same time. Specifically, there is new evidence that they are quick to raise prices when costs rise but slow to reduce them. Now it has emerged that behind closed doors the bosses of some of the country’s biggest energy suppliers acknowledge they have been treating their customers badly. They spoke to pollster YouGov for a report to be published at a conference this week entitled Energy, Politics and the Consumer. According to The Times, the remarks reveal a disregard for the customer and admit public anger at their treatment has fuelled Ed Miliband’s radical plan to impose a two-year freeze if Labour wins the 2015 election. The combined annual profits from the Big Six companies . Bosses from firms including SSE, E.ON UK and RWE npower took part in the survey, along with senior figures from smaller companies. Leading energy figures told YouGov interviewers: ‘Customers were taken for granted, service was poor, and no one bothered to explain the situation to them’ The report adds: ‘The industry broadly accepts it helped to create the political opportunity that Miliband seized. ‘As one would expect, there is moaning at politicians: practitioners believe that behind closed doors the politicians understand and even admit that a price freeze would be disruptive and unrealistic, and it’s been mere opportunism to invent an ogre that they can then pretend to slay.’ But it adds: ‘The industry also accepts that it has itself “prepared the ground” for what happened: billing was often confusing, never transparent, and complaints were handled badly.’ Downing Street said the problems could only be tackled if the power of the Big Six was broken up through more competition in the market. David Cameron's official spokesman said: 'There is not enough competition in this area. Competition is at the heart of the way we improve service across the board be it in terms of cost pressures, in the wider customer service, we want more competition.' The Prime Minister 'wants cost pressures coming down for all families,' the spokesman added. Soaring: This graph shows how average energy bills have risen over the past few years . Richard Lloyd, the executive director . of Which?, said: ‘It would be deeply worrying if energy industry leaders . didn’t recognise the dire state of distrust they face. ‘Our . latest consumer survey shows satisfaction in this market has plummeted . to a new low and only one in five consumers trusts suppliers to act in . their best interest. That is why it is right to refer the energy market . to a full-scale competition investigation — but suppliers should not . wait to be forced into action and should start now to put customers . first, keep costs as low as possible and trade transparently.’ Static: Fewer people switch energy suppliers after apparently giving up hope of getting a better deal . Labour’s shadow energy minister Tom Greatrex said: ‘These comments vindicate everything Labour has been saying for the last two years on the dysfunctional nature of the energy market. ‘It is unsurprising that people don't trust the industry and won't until the market is clear fair and transparent.’ ‘The only way to restore trust is to reset the energy market by freezing prices until 2017 and reforming the market to make it more transparent and competitive, as Labour has proposed.’ According to YouGov opinion polls, energy firms are less trusted than bankers. More than two-thirds of people – 67 per cent – say the energy industry operates as a cartel while 51 per cent say rising bills has forced them to turn their heating down or off in the last year. The Department for Energy and Climate Change said: 'The findings released last week by Ofgem and Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) demonstrate the need to rebuild trust and confidence in the energy market. 'Ofgem announced last week tough action based on a detailed, independent expert assessment of the state of competition in Britain’s energy markets - leading to the first ever market reference for the energy markets. 'This is just too important for people to rely on guesses about how to fix the energy markets. If we get it wrong, consumers will pay the price. 'We will give Ofgem and the CMA whatever support they need to get this done as quickly as possible. 'In the meantime, we’ll keep working to help people pay less for the energy they use - continuing to drive the competition that has seen people switching supplier in record numbers, simpler tariffs and bills, getting energy companies to give back direct debit balances, taking £50 off the average bill and making switching faster and easier than it's ever been.' | Speaking anonymously, energy bosses admit to giving poor service .
Customers are 'taken for granted' and bills are 'never transparent'
Remarks revealed in a major report on the energy market this week .
Ofgem has launched a probe into price-fixing for gas and electricity . |
57,710 | a38faf77a0ab776c0e9fb7a6e540fb709a862e43 | By . Jamie Redknapp . Cazorla is a class act . I could watch Santi Cazorla all day. He might not get the same hype that Mesut Ozil does, but Cazorla is a maestro in midfield. He could have even more success in that No 10 role but it’s tough to displace Ozil. The Spaniard scored twice on Saturday - one with his left foot, one with his right - and he is the best two-footed player in the league. He’s so good that sometimes it’s hard to know which is his stronger foot. He makes the ball talk and he’s got a football brain the size of a planet. Strike it lucky: Santi Cazorla scored both goals as Arsenal beat Fulham . Star man: Cazorla was Arsenal's match winner on Saturday . He sees the whole picture and has a fantastic understanding of the game. What I like about him is he doesn’t look like your standard footballer. He’s got an odd body shape and 10 or 15 years ago not many clubs would have gone near him. But he’s an artist and brings a real joy to the fans. If you like that kind of player, there’s nobody better to watch. Aston Villa's tripple threat . Andreas Weimann, Gabriel Agbonlahor and Christian Benteke were magnificent against Liverpool. They complemented each other so well and caused problems, particularly in the first half. Weimann gave Steven Gerrard a torrid time, working hard and pressing him into errors, Benteke led the line brilliantly and Agbonlahor was so dangerous on the break with his pace. But over the last three seasons, Villa have finished on average just five points above the drop zone, which is not good enough. They have the quality and Villa fans will now be asking why they can’t play this way every week. Three wise men: Andreas Weimann, Gabriel Agbonlahor and Christian Benteke celebrate the first goal . Benteke's back . Christian Benteke scored his second goal . in two games on Saturday, but he showed how valuable his all-round game . is. He hit the joint most passes of any player at Anfield (57), which is . unusual for a striker. He completed 37 passes. And as the map below shows, they came all over the pitch. All over: Benteke made 37 passes during the game . The power of Pulis . FOUR clean sheets kept by Crystal Palace under Tony Pulis. Tony Pulis has rejuvenated Crystal Palace and the way the Stoke fans saluted him tells you the kind of impact he can have. Since taking over, Palace have won four matches and escaped the bottom three. They’ve still scored the fewest goals in the league (14), but only Arsenal (six) have more clean sheets since Pulis took over. Making a difference: Tony Pulis has guided Palace out of the bottom three . Another Cabaye classic . I have talked about Yohan Cabaye many times in this column but I’m not ashamed to mention him again. Against West Ham he produced yet another superb performance. His all-round game was just too much for them. He plays with the No 4 on his back but he’s no sitting midfielder. He roams around the pitch and gets involved everywhere, as his pitch map shows. Special player: Yohan Cabaye celebrates his goal against West Ham . Running the show: The heat map shows how Cabaye got around the pitch . Alan Pardew will want the transfer window to shut because Cabaye gives Newcastle’s midfield an extra dimension and he now has to be worth at least £20million. I don’t think Arsenal, Manchester City or Chelsea would be in the market for him, but he could be a real target for Manchester United, particularly with their problems in midfield. United need players who are better than what they have got and, though he’s not world class, Cabaye would fit the bill. Jose crowns his king David . David Luiz took the defensive midfield role to a new level. He offered a shield in front of John Terry and Gary Cahill, denying Danny Welbeck and Adnan Januzaj any room to breathe. But at times he was so deep it was more like watching a back five than a back four. I’ve never seen a midfielder head the ball more - Terry and Cahill barely had to go up for any of David de Gea’s goal kicks. Making it his own: David Luiz impressed in his role as a defensive midfielder . I was at the game and it was clearly something Chelsea had worked on. You could see Jose Mourinho barking orders at him to hold that line. Mourinho clearly thought: ‘Luiz is going to be my base, now it’s up to my front players to go out and win it.’ With a comfortable lead Mourinho, ever the pragmatist, ended up with seven defensive players on the pitch. Job done. Three's company . Six points separate the top three Championship teams and it might be up to three forwards to fire their sides to promotion. David Nugent at Leicester, QPR’s Charlie Austin and Danny Ings at Burnley could well be the difference. Football must stick to the facts . If we needed more proof that a fifth official and video replays won’t work in football, it came this weekend. The Luis Suarez penalty debate has raged on with plenty of disagreement. People say a fifth official would solve the problem. Good luck. How can they be expected to make the correct decision each time when people can’t even agree? I was in the TV studio on Saturday with Stiliyan Petrov, who is Aston Villa through and through. We both thought it was a penalty. If Brad Guzan does not come rushing out, there is no penalty but a lot of people will disagree. Going down: Luis Suarez is fouled by Aston Villa goalkeeper Brad Guzan . On his way down: Suarez falls down after a foul by Brad Guzan . If calls like this went upstairs, you would end up waiting around and any decision would still be questioned. Goal-line technology has been fantastic. But debates are part of the reason we love football and with incidents like this, it proves they are a matter of opinion, not fact. | Cazorla outshines Ozil as Arsenal stay top .
Villa need to see more from Weimann, Agbonlahor and Benteke .
Pulis is the king of the Palace .
Luiz has made the defensive midfield role his own .
And why video replays should NOT be brought in to help officials . |
16,234 | 2e0bb6524fe3b2e7e74be6e46a17fc51a495f2ec | (CNN) -- Sebastian Vettel is on track to become Formula One's youngest double world champion after topping the qualifying timesheets for Sunday's Singapore Grand Prix. The 24-year-old headed off Red Bull teammate Mark Webber to claim his 11th pole position this season as he seeks a ninth victory from 14 races. That would give him another championship crown -- the first was clinched at the last race of 2010, but this one would be with five to go as he seeks to build on his 112-point lead in the night event. Vettel can beat the mark of second-placed Fernando Alonso, who was 25 when he won his second title with Renault in 2006. But the Spaniard could delay Vettel's celebrations if he finishes fourth on a testing Marina Bay Street Circuit where he led from the start to win last year from Vettel and Webber -- and also triumphed with Renault in 2008. How the F1 title can be won: Vettel on the verge . Alonso will have to improve on Saturday's qualifying, where he was fifth fastest ahead of Ferrari teammate Felipe Massa. Red Bull team boss Christian Horner downplayed chances of the title being decided this weekend. "The moon and stars have got to line up. We haven't booked anything for a party should we win. We're focused on the race," he told reporters in quotes carried by AFP. Vettel set the pace in the first two sessions before clocking an unbeatable one minute 44.381 seconds in his only run of Q3 to give Red Bull a perfect record in qualifying this season. Vettel fastest in Singapore practice . "I decided to abort my second run when I made a mistake because it is very easy to damage the car so I went wide," he said. "I was quite happy with my first lap. I think the circuit ramped up at the end and I think it was possible to go faster, but I'm very happy. It's a very difficult track with such a long lap to get everything right. I think we learned from our mistakes that we made last year." Webber then surged into second with 1:44.732 to push past McLaren's former world champions Jenson Button (1:44.804) and Lewis Hamilton (1:44.809). Hamilton was unable to make a second run due to a fuel problem, and watched from the pits as his time was beaten. Alonso timed 1:44.874 to be well clear of Massa (1:45.800) and the Mercedes of Nico Rosberg -- whose legendary teammate Michael Schumacher failed to set a time along with Force India's Adrian Sutil and Paul di Resta -- who both opted to conserve tires. | Sebastian Vettel wins his 11th pole position of 2011 at Singapore Grand Grix .
German heads home Red Bull teammate Mark Webber in Saturday qualifying .
Vettel is hoping to secure his second world title in 14th of 19 races this season .
Ferrari's Fernando Alonso can deny him by finishing fourth in the night race . |
90,011 | ff9eb48cb5f6687b17274ea1087b4d8126b90fd9 | (CNN) -- Police said Thursday that evidence and a surviving victim tie a man killed while trying to rob an Illinois tanning salon to a two-state shooting spree earlier this year. Gary Amaya, 48, was killed Saturday after he walked into LA Tan salon in Orland Park, Illinois, brandishing a .38 Colt revolver. A customer, Jason McDaniel, rushed at Amaya and killed him after turning the gun on him, according to surveillance video. Will County, Illinois, Sheriff Paul Kaupas said Thursday that the weapon used by Amaya in this weekend's botched robbery was similar to the one used in two shootings October 5 along the Illinois-Indiana line. One person was killed and three were wounded in those shootings, police have said. In addition, Amaya's vehicle outside the Orland Park shooting matched one seen in Washington Township, Illinois, and Lowell, Indiana, where the October incidents took place, Kaupas said. The Indiana survivor, too, told detectives it was Amaya who shot him. "The evidence at this time ... tells us that the suspect that was killed in the armed robbery at Orland Park ... does match the information from the previous homicide-slash-shooting in Lowell, Indiana," Kaupas said. Yet Kaupas did not go as far as saying definitively that Amaya was behind all three shootings, noting that he was awaiting results of more forensic tests. Police on Thursday did not expand on widespread reports that the gunman in the first two shootings randomly discussed honey bees before shooting his victims -- leading media to brand him "the Honey Bee Killer." But Kaupas did say Amaya previously worked at a hunting lodge in rural Grundy County, Illinois, where he cared for honey bees. Authorities also elaborated on Saturday's botched robbery and shooting. Orland Park Police Chief Tim McCarthy said McDaniel, who was in the shop with a worker, offered Amaya his money and explained that he had a young child. "The comment by Amaya was, 'Whatever,'" McCarthy said at the Thursday news conference. "At that point, both feared for their life, that this was going to be more than a robbery." Video shows McDaniel, 29, rushing at robber and, during the struggle, Amaya being shot. McDaniel told CNN affiliate WGN that he acted after coming to the conclusion that there was something wrong with Amaya. "There was no ... hurry," McDaniel said. "He was very calm, like he wanted to hurt somebody -- like that was his intended goal." This weekend's shooting come more than two months after a gunman killed one construction worker and hurt two in Washington Township. An hour later and about 10 miles away in Lowell, Indiana, authorities believe the same gunman struck again -- this time firing on a farmer. Keith Dahl was shot in the left shoulder, arm and elbow, and then was robbed. The farmer talked with police detectives after this weekend's incident. "Mr. Dahl has unequivocally identified Gary Amaya as the person who shot him," Lake County, Indiana, Sheriff Roy Dominguez said at Thursday's news conference. Amaya is not the first person arrested in connection with the October shootings. Lynwood, Illinois, police officer Brian Dorian was charged with first-degree murder, but four days later was released from jail after authorities were able to verify his alibi. "I feel horrible that Brian Dorian went through this," said Will County State's Attorney James W. Glasgow. "At no time did we stop looking for exculpatory evidence." | Gary Amaya was shot and killed Saturday while trying to rob an Illinois tanning salon .
Police say the gun Amaya used matches that in two shootings .
In those, a gunman killed one and wounded three near the Illinois-Indiana line .
That gunman reportedly asked his victims about bees; police say Amaya tended bees . |
127,788 | 312db5f7648d7a6c812077321264ba68f6805d9c | Washington (CNN) -- The Republican congressman spearheading a House probe of alleged Internal Revenue Service targeting of conservative political groups accused the head of the IRS on Tuesday of obstructing his panel's investigation. California GOP Rep. Darrell Issa, chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, warned acting IRS chief Daniel Werfel that if "the IRS continues to hinder the committee's investigation in any manner, the committee will be forced to consider use of compulsory process." Issa did not elaborate on exactly what steps his panel's Republican majority may be prepared to take, though he noted that impeding congressional investigators could result in a prison term of up to five years. "Obstructing a congressional investigation is a crime," Issa stressed in a letter co-signed by Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio. "Despite your promise to cooperate fully with congressional investigations, the actions of the IRS under your leadership have made clear to the committee that the agency has no intention of complying completely or promptly with the committee's oversight efforts," Issa said. "The systematic manner in which the IRS has attempted to delay, frustrate, impede, and obstruct the committee's investigation raises serious concerns about your commitment to full and unfettered congressional oversight," Issa wrote. Responding to Issa's claim, an IRS spokeswoman told CNN the agency is "aggressively responding to the numerous data requests we've received from Congress." "We are doing everything we can to fully cooperate with the committees, and we strongly disagree with any suggestions to the contrary," Michelle Eldridge said. Among other things, Issa claimed the IRS has handed over only 12,000 of the more than 64 million pages of documents initially identified as potentially relevant to the investigation into the alleged unfair targeting of conservative outfits seeking tax-exempt status. "This incredibly slow pace of production has been an unnecessary attempt to frustrate the committee's oversight efforts," he said. Edridge, in turn, argued that "while the volume of raw data collected ... is quite high, it is a misleading figure to use in order to determine the volume of material the IRS will ultimately produce." "The vast majority of it is completely unrelated to the congressional investigations," she said. "Once the data is limited to the time period in question, and the issue in question, we expect the final tally of produced documents will be far lower -- in the neighborhood of 460,000 documents or fewer." Eldridge said 70 of roughly 1,500 attorneys in the IRS chief counsel's office are currently working full time to respond to congressional inquiries into the matter. It is a "time and labor intensive review process," she said. For his part, Issa also complained that documents produced by the IRS "contain excessive redactions that go well beyond those necessary to protect confidential taxpayer information." Furthermore, Issa asserted that a senior IRS official -- Cindy Thomas -- had been "affirmatively prevented" from providing congressional investigators with relevant documents in her possession. Additionally, the chairman blasted the IRS for allegedly trying to "carefully orchestrate the public release" of information contained in a 30-day review of the matter back in June -- before providing the information to the committee. Issa and other Republicans have insisted for months that after President Barack Obama was first elected, the IRS started unfairly targeting conservative outfits seeking tax-exempt status. Democrats, however, argue the IRS improperly scrutinized groups on both the left and right as part of a clumsy attempt to administer vague election-related tax laws. IRS inspector general: Liberals also on target list . At a speech in his home state of Illinois last week, Obama ripped what he labeled Washington's "endless parade of distractions, political posturing and phony scandals." The controversy has been the subject of numerous congressional hearings. And on Monday, Issa and Jordan argued for a new investigation -- this time into alleged IRS targeting of conservative groups that already have tax-exempt status. Maryland Rep. Elijah Cummings, the top Democrat on Issa's panel, called the information underlying the new assertion "partial and incomplete," and designed to fit a pre-existing "political narrative." House GOP leaders have indicated they intend to keep publicly pressing on the issue this week, voting on a proposal to prevent the IRS from implementing or enforcing any provisions in the president's health care reform law. Top House Republicans have also suggested their members highlight the matter during the upcoming August congressional recess. | IRS spokeswoman says agency is doing everything possible to comply with congressional investigation .
GOP Rep. Darrell Issa accuses IRS chief of intentionally obstructing investigation .
GOP-run House panel investigating alleged IRS targeting of conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status .
IRS has produced only a small fraction of requested documents, Issa says . |
6,731 | 13196bd4116c8ad9fe90592b449b3df573b84484 | By . Rob Cooper . UPDATED: . 06:25 EST, 19 December 2011 . A father-of-two will celebrate his first Christmas since 1994 after a brain injury wiped out 17 years of memories. Gary Rogers, 43, did not even recognise his own daughters after suffering a heart attack and being left in a coma while on holiday. The cardiac arrest left him with memory loss, caused by a lack of oxygen to the brain. Christmas to remember: Gary Rogers, right, will celebrate December 25 with his wife Linda and daughters Lilly, 15, far left, and Olivia, 18, centre right, at their home in Basildon, Essex . Now, after months of hard work trying to re-build his life, he is preparing to celebrate the first Christmas he will remember after he woke up thinking it was 1994. He will spend December 25 with his wife Linda, who is now his full-time carer, and daughters Olivia, 18, and Lilly, 15, at their home in Basildon, Essex. The brain damage which wiped out 17 years of his life happened while he was on holiday in Turkey last summer. His wife said it has been a long re-building process since he woke up in a British hospital last September. 'Although some of Gary’s memories from longer ago have returned, he struggles to remember anything about the last year, or the two years leading up to his heart attack,' said Mrs Rogers. 'But now, he is beginning to remember important things that happen - and hopefully this Christmas will really be one to remember. 'Last year, Gary was crying in the run-up to Christmas because he knew he used to love all our celebrations - but couldn’t remember much about them, and knew he would struggle to remember the day once it had passed. Big day: The family celebrated Christmas together last year in the weeks after Gary's heart attack, however he had already forgotten it by Boxing Day. Here he is sat with daughter Lilly, 15, left, his wife Linda, and elder daughter Olivia, 18 . 'We took loads of family photos to document the whole day - but by Boxing day, Gary couldn’t remember anything. 'This year, his memory is much better, and we’re really looking forward to a lovely, memorable day together.' Gary, who used to work in building maintenance, was put in a medically induced coma after falling ill on holiday. Doctors warned his devastated family he had suffered brain damage, caused by a lack of oxygen to the brain. He remained in intensive care in Turkey until he was well enough to be flown home to the Essex Cardiothoracic Centre, where doctors woke him. Linda said the family realised just how badly his brain had been damaged in the following days. 'I asked him what year it was, and he said 1994 - he was dumbfounded when I said it was 2010, she said. 'I had to stay strong for the girls and Gary, but inside I was broken. The girls were crushed, knowing that their dad didn’t have a clue who they were. But we had to stick together and keep fighting. We knew we’d pull through it as a family. Last Christmas: Gary with Olivia and Lilly in December 2010. However, he has no recollection of the day and the last Christmas he can recall was in 1994 . 'When Gary came home, Olivia had to show him round the house - it was like he was seeing everything for the first time. 'He didn’t know where things were kept, and didn’t recognise any clothes in his wardrobe. It was absolutely awful. 'After we’d shown Gary round the house, he turned to me and said "thanks for letting me stay." 'I was devastated. I told him it was his home, but he turned to me and said: "You’re not my wife - we’ve split up, haven’t we? I’m married to someone else now." 'I tried not to show Gary how upset I was. I told him we’d been married for 25 years and had never been apart. 'He said this woman was a bit like me, but different - we think he was confusing me now with how I looked when we first got married - but it was horrible to hear him say it.' She added that in the days after he woke up he had a 'blank look' on his face and had no idea he was a father-of-two. Linda said: 'I started to talk to him about our . daughters - but he just looked at me blankly. I showed him pictures of . them, hoping he would recognise them - but he just shrugged. 'I desperately tried to get him to remember - but his memories were so vague, he couldn’t remember anything about them. 'I was devastated. When the girls came to see their dad, he just stared at them blankly - he didn’t recognise them. Slowly, Gary’s long term memory has started to return - after a lot of help from his family. Linda and his daughters bought him a diary, to help him remember what he had done - and even made a tick-chart for him so he could cross off certain tasks, like brushing his teeth. Linda added: 'Gary’s memory is still hazy, and he doesn’t remember anything at all for the 18 months leading up to his heart attack. 'He has vague memories of the past, but there are still some things that he has no recollection of. 'When we were watching the Royal Wedding, he suddenly shouted: "Princess Diana’s dead!" 'It’s been a long journey, and there is still a long way to go, but we know Gary loves us, and we will always have each other. 'Gary could have died that day - so we consider ourselves very lucky. We’re working towards getting our normal life back. 'We just want the simple life - and a family Christmas that we can all have some treasured memories is our wish come true.' Gary added: 'I don’t remember last Christmas at all or any before without the help of Linda reminding me about them and it is all very vague. 'I am hoping to remember this Christmas and the way I look at it is that I will be with my beautiful girls and loving, caring wife, family and friends and that is what is important.' | Gary Rogers, 43, was put into a medically-induced coma after suffering cardiac arrest in Turkey .
He didn't recognise his wife Linda and daughters Olivia, 18, and Lilly, 15, when he woke up .
He forgot Christmas Day by December 26 last year but his memory has improved since . |
50,735 | 8f8d17afd0146e989df9d3fc73e033880979aff6 | By . Jens Lehmann . The World Cup quarter-final and semi-final in 2006 were two of the biggest games of my career. I loved performing on the biggest stage as I knew I was a better goalkeeper under pressure. They are the matches when you know you have to deliver; that you must not fail. That is the case for France’s Hugo Lloris and Germany’s Manuel Neuer on Friday night. They, like me, will probably be nervous before the game but then the whistle blows and it is back to delivering. It’s a bigger challenge for Lloris than Neuer, as he has played fewer high-level games but the battle will be fascinating. I’ll be supporting Germany, of course, but I have taken emotion out of it for this critical assessment of the two players. Scroll down to see Manuel Neuer highlights for Germany . Top of the Stops: Goalkeepers Hugo Lloris and Manuel Neuer go hjead-to-head on Friday night . Penalty heroics: Jens Lehmann helped Germany to the World Cup semi-finals on home soil in 2006 . MENTAL STRENGTH . LLORIS: He still has to prove his mental strength. With Tottenham, every time when it mattered, the team didn’t perform. And he hasn’t had many big challenges yet for France. But one big performance in a big game can make you a different player. You learn so much in these matches. NEUER: He’s mentally very strong because he’s been successful for such a big club in Bayern. You saw that in the Algeria game, where he came out of his box so many times. His timing was perfect and it shows real mental strength to act rather than react. Something to prove: Lloris is yet to face a big challenge so far at this summer's tournament in Brazil . SHOT STOPPING . LLORIS: He is very good and agile. The only thing that worries me is that his arms are skinny, like a lot of keepers these days. That has changed from my day and not for the better. NEUER: He has better, stronger arms. It can be the difference between clawing a ball off the line or it going in. The stronger your arms, the more likely you are to save powerful shots. Brick wall: Neuer has strong arms making it more likely for him to save powerful shots at goal . DISTRIBUTION . LLORIS: He is left-footed and distributes well. He is very precise and better with that foot that Neuer is with either of his. NEUER: The German’s huge advantage is that he kicks with both feet and his distribution from his hands is the best in the world. Go long! Neuer is capable of using both feet while Lloris is particularly precise with his left foot . PRESENCE IN THE AREA . LLORIS: He’s 6ft 2in but because he is skinny, he does not have a great presence. You often have to decide at the last second whether to punch or catch the ball but you need strong arms to be able to punch with both. NEUER: He could come more often for crosses because his huge frame makes him a big presence and he can dominate. Flying high: Lloris climbs highest to punch the ball clear during France's last-16 victory over Nigeria . PENALTY SHOOTOUTS . LLORIS: I can rarely remember a shorter goalkeeper winning a shootout against a taller one. And of his 22 penalties faced in the past few years, he has saved only two. I won a shootout against Argentina in 2006 and two things were vital: the information I had on my opponents’ habits and timing my jump in the split second when it was obvious the taker could no longer change direction. NEUER: He lost the Champions League final against Chelsea - Germans are not supposed to lose penalty shootouts, I can say that as a German! But his armspan covers almost two thirds of the goal and he has saved 33 per cent of kicks since 2009 . Success: Chelsea may have got the better of Neuer but the German has saved 33 per cent of kicks since 2009 . KEEPER SWEEPER . LLORIS: He is very quick off his line. He gets down to balls quickly because he’s not that tall and is very agile. When I failed to make a save, I used to wish I was smaller but I was wrong - making saves is just a small part of what you have to do as a keeper. NEUER: Showed against Algeria what he can do and has proved it again and again at a high level. Sweeper Keeper: Neuer had to come to the aid of his back four during Germany's extra-time win over Algeria . VERDICT . Lloris wants to play at the top level, Neuer already does. This match-up is a man who is good against a man who is top-class. VIDEO All Star XI: Neuer highlights . | Goalkeepers Hugo Lloris and Manuel Neuer go head-to-head when France and Germany clash in Friday's World Cup quarter-final .
Former Germany international Jens Lehmann admits World Cup matches carry huge pressure .
Lloris faces a bigger challenge according to the former Arsenal stopper as Spurs keeper has played 'fewer high-level games' than Neuer . |
233,464 | ba3924396b9fe92b8e5bf8f40c0bb869fcad3a75 | By . Louise Boyle . PUBLISHED: . 16:48 EST, 23 October 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 16:50 EST, 23 October 2012 . Popular: Professor Paul Frampton has asked that his salary at UNC be doubled while he awaits drug smuggling charges in Argentina . A physics professor, who has spent almost a year in an Argentinian jail awaiting his drug smuggling trial, has written to his employer asking to be paid double his salary. Paul Frampton, 68, has sent a letter to the provost of the University of North Carolina saying he should have his $107,000 salary reinstated - and then be paid twice as much. The British professor is being held in a Buenos Aires prison after being caught with a case containing more than 4lb of cocaine. The scientist – who faces 16 years in . prison – claims he was tricked into believing he was carrying it for a . bikini model Denise Milani through a 'honey trap scheme'. Mark Williams, a UNC math professor, told ABC: 'Most people would think its crazy for a man in prison to ask for a raise, but if you look closely, he has a good case.' Mr Williams said that his friend of 25 years is known to be excessively naive. Mr . Frampton wrote to Provost Bruce Carney to make the point that he ranks . 18th on the pay scale of the 28 professors in his department despite the . fact he is cited the most. He has not been paid since March 1 when he was put on leave after the scandal broke. UNC declined to comment on Mr Frampton's request but said that he remained a valued member of staff. Since he has been in jail, Mr Frampton has written at least three physics' articles one of which has been published. Fake: Bikini model Denise Milani had her identity used by a drug smuggling gang who allegedly lured the physics professor into smuggling a suitcase of cocaine . Prof Frampton, who is professor of physics and astronomy, said he had been communicating online with someone claiming to be Denise Milani for 11 weeks before his arrest earlier this year. He said he had met the person he thought was the model, who was crowned Miss Bikini World 2007, on dating website mate1.com and planned to start a new life with her. In January he flew to the Bolivian capital La Paz to meet her, on a ticket he thought had been paid for by her manager, a man he spoke to by phone. But when no one turned up after ten days, he claims he was persuaded to travel to Argentina to catch up with her there instead. He says he was met instead by a Bolivian man, who gave him a suitcase to take to Buenos Aires for Miss Milani, who had apparently flown there for a modelling trip. Place of work: Dr Frampton is one of 28 physics professors at the University of North Carolina - but is 18th on the pay scale . When she did not turn up, he tried to . board a plane home, but was arrested after the cocaine was found in a . false lining of the case. Argentinian authorities insist there is no evidence the brunette was aware her identity was being used. The professor, who was born in Kidderminster, Worcestershire, is being held at Villa Devoto Prison in Buenos Aires. Leading academics including 1979 Nobel . prizewinner Sheldon Glashow, who has worked on more than a dozen . scientific papers with Professor Frampton, have written to the judge in . his case to plead his innocence. | Paul Frampton, 68, has been in a Buenos Aires prison for ten months .
A maths colleague at North Carolina defended him, saying: 'He has a good case'
The physicist has had a paper published since being in prison . |
101,845 | 0f401c57a949db486a875f857ed42a05ea259fd4 | By . Anna Edwards . PUBLISHED: . 03:19 EST, 29 June 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 10:59 EST, 29 June 2013 . Still rocking: Mick Jagger, seen performing in Los Angeles in April, mused about what could have been . He drove teenage girls wild, sold millions of albums and fronts one of the world's most popular bands. But it would seem that Sir Mick Jagger can't get no Satisfaction - and wishes he could have had a 'gratifying' tole as a teacher, instead of the 'intellectually undemanding' life of a rocker. The Rolling Stone frontman, who has earned millions from his singing career, says that the life of a teacher, journalist or politician would have been a worthy way of earning a living. In an interview on the BBC Radio 4 Today programme, the veteran rocker said he had considered a career as a dancer but was put off by the prospect of 'so many injuries'. Jagger, who was still a student at the London School of Economics when the Stones were starting out in the Sixties, told John Humphrys: 'A schoolteacher would have been very gratifying, I'm sure. 'Everyone wants to have done more things in their lives. 'It is a slightly intellectually undemanding thing to do, being a rock singer, but, you know, you make the best of it.' The 69-year-old OBE mused about his lengthy career as he and his band prepared to perform at Glastonbury this weekend. Life could have been very different for . the father-of-seven if he had pursued a more academic career. He began playing gigs in London in 1962 and is . estimated to have sold more than 200million albums. The rocker said he had considered a career as a dancer but was put off by the prospect of 'so many injuries' The musician, from Dartford, Kent, attended grammar school and said there were a 'million things' he would have liked to have pursued. Jagger was still a student at the London School of Economics when the Stones were starting out . He said in the interview: 'All these things you think of when you're a teenager, you can think, well, I would have liked to have done that but that's completely pointless but I don't feel frustrated for a lack of control at all and I'm very pleased with what I've done,' The Telegraph reported. But despite sacrificing a more challenging role in life, it would appear that the rocker is still studious when it comes to his art. The Rolling Stones may be one of the biggest acts in the world but Jagger still took his preparations for the Glastonbury festival extremely seriously. The singer studied DVDs of performances of the festival going back over the last four years to prepare for the band’s much-awaited headlining slot this weekend. Jagger wants to make sure the Stones master the famous Pyramid Stage on what will be, amazingly, their festival debut at Worthy Farm tonight. Jagger will join bandmates Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood and Charlie Wattsto perform tracks from the group's 50-year career. The Stones have been rehearsing up to 'eight or nine hours a day' ahead of their performance. | Rolling Stones singer says he considered being a teacher or journalist .
The 69-year-old rocker says that he wished he could have 'done more'
Sir Mick, who debuts at Glastonbury tonight, still 'pleased' with his career .
Band, who began performing in 1962, have sold 200million albums . |
210,866 | 9d1ccf12c77f113bda918ad493d9e82f2f7972fd | (CNN) -- The question of whether the Tea Party will have a real impact on American politics (yes!) has evolved into a new debate: Is the Tea Party really about more than taxes? Glenn Beck, who invokes the semi-mythical "Black Robe Brigade" -- fighting preachers he claims led the American Revolution -- as a model for a new generation of activists seems to think so. On public radio, Bryan Fischer, a leader of the fundamentalist American Family Association, sternly instructed a libertarian Tea Party activist that her movement was religiously rooted whether she wanted it to be or not. A recent poll by the Public Religion Research Institute backs him up, revealing that 57 percent of self-identified Tea Partiers agree that "America is and always has been a Christian nation." So is the Tea Party a religious movement, too? The answer is a little tricky. It didn't begin as one, despite the political God-talk of its heroine, Sarah Palin, but it is becoming one, thanks in large part to one man, Sen. Jim DeMint of Greenville, South Carolina, the GOP's newest and fastest rising star. DeMint, who has been out front of his party with vigorous support for Tea Party candidates from Alaska to Delaware, has been looked at as a bridge builder between the insurgent right and the establishment right, because he sympathizes with the former even as he's a Washington insider. But a better metaphor is gatekeeper: DeMint holds the key to the capital for outsider candidates like Alaska's Joe Miller and Delaware's Christine O'Donnell. And the price of admission he's charging is fealty to his religious vision of the Tea Party as a new "Great Awakening." That is, a Christian crusade akin to the 18th century evangelical movement that set the tone for so many religious surges in American life that many contemporary evangelicals call the United States a "revival nation." The Republican Party -- at least, the establishment Republican Party -- doesn't have a lock on that energy. In Alaska, Sen. Lisa Murkowski was a reliable conservative, but primary challenger Joe Miller swept past her in September buoyed by anti-abortion voters who thrilled to his pledge to oppose "the culture of death." In Delaware, Republican Rep. Mike Castle was a sure thing for Joe Biden's old Senate seat -- until he got beat by "fringe" candidate Christine O'Donnell, previously best known for her public campaign against masturbation. Liberals and centrists wring their hands over Miller and giggle about O'Donnell, hoping that her political hopelessness somehow proves that the movement isn't going. They compile lists of what they take to be her craziest statements, such as her confession that as a young woman she dabbled in witchcraft. That's a strategic mistake, because they're mocking what is, in fact, a mainstream evangelical view -- that witchcraft and "spiritual war" are real -- and a narrative with powerful resonance in American life. Consider not O'Donnell's words, but her theme: Once I was lost (making bad choices), but now I'm found. Who didn't do something stupid in their youth? But it's the "found" part that reveals the religiosity of the Tea Party movement, spirituality not at odds with the Tea Party's economics but intertwined with it. DeMint stumbled through an explanation for the Christian Broadcasting Network: "People are seeing this massive government growing and they're realizing that it's the government that's hurting us. And I think they're turning back to God in effect is our salvation and government is not our salvation and in fact more and more people see government as the problem, and so I think some have been drawn in over the years to a dependency relationship with government, and as the Bible says, you can't have two masters." DeMint's solution is to put government -- and the economy -- in the service of Jesus, to cultivate a "leadership led by God," as the religious organization that gives DeMint not only a theology but also a roof puts it. DeMint is a longtime resident of the C Street House, the "Prayboy Mansion," as some bloggers have called it, made infamous in 2009 for its role in the sex scandals of Sen. John Ensign, R-Nevada, and Gov. Mark Sanford, R-South Carolina, and maintained by a fundamentalist movement known as the Fellowship, or the Family. C Street has a singular goal, in the words of one Family leader: to "assist [congressmen] in better understandings of the teachings of Christ, and applying it to their jobs." It's C Street's understanding of those teachings, though, that mark it as a nexus for the convergence of the Tea Party's populist conservatism and insider influence of fundamentalism's elite (besides DeMint, GOP hard right leaders Sen. Tom Coburn, Ensign, Sen. John Thune, and Sen. Sam Brownback have lived there). The best way to help the weak, C Street teaches, is to help the strong, who will in turn dispense God's blessings to the rest of us. Call it trickle down religion. The rhetoric of the Tea Party is populist in style, but its economic vision so neatly aligns with the interests of the wealthy that big business is abandoning the old Republican establishment for the "insurgents" who promise to free the market's "invisible hand" from the safety net of the minimum wage and health care. And for DeMint and the new disciples he hopes to bring to Washington, that invisible hand ultimately belongs not to the market but to God. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Jeff Sharlet. | Jeff Sharlet says anti-tax Tea Party shows signs of evolving into religious movement .
He says GOP star Sen. DeMint is gatekeeper for Tea Party candidates to establishment .
Price of admission, he says, is fealty to DeMint's religious vision of Tea Party .
Sharlet: Putting government in service of religion tends to align it with interests of wealthy . |
70,969 | c939e4fd3a8107479528a255b791359a5d92e2ee | Shannon Maureen Conley's plan to join ISIS and serve as a nurse at a jihadist camp ended Wednesday with a guilty plea to a terror charge in a Colorado federal court. Conley, 19, was arrested at Denver International Airport in April as she was about to embark on a journey to Germany and eventually to an ISIS camp near the Turkish border. She told investigators that she was going to Turkey to await word from her suitor, identified in court documents as Yousr Mouelhi, an ISIS member she met on the Internet, whom she planned to marry. Conley, a convert to Islam who wore a blue and white striped jail uniform and a traditional Muslim headscarf, appeared before a federal judge Wednesday and pleaded guilty to charge of conspiracy to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization. A certified nurse aide, Conley faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison and up to a $250,000 fine. U.S. District Judge Raymond Moore set sentencing for January 23 and ordered that she have a psychiatric evaluation. As part of the plea agreement, Conley must provide law enforcement agencies with information about others looking to help terrorist organizations abroad. In a statement after the plea, Conley's federal defender Robert Pepin referred to his client as Halima Shannon Conley. "She's also a 19-year-old woman of faith who was pursuing her faith and, unfortunately, as she pursued it she was led terribly astray," the statement said. "That, in turn, led her to make some poor choices and she is now paying the price of those choices." Since her arrest, Pepin said, "the news out of the part of the world to which she was headed has been just awful." "Like all of us, Halima has been horrified to learn of the slaughter and oppression at the hands of the people controlling ISIS," Pepin said in the statement. "It was never her vision to have any role in any of that. She would like everyone to know that her heart ... and her prayers go out to ... the families of those who have been killed, and to anyone who has been oppressed by those forces. Finally, Halima is fully aware that the fact that she was arrested may have very well saved her." Conley may not be the only American fighting alongside ISIS. More than 100 Americans have tried to join various militant groups in Syria, U.S. officials say. While some are aligned with ISIS, the fighters shift allegiance and it's difficult to pin down a specific number, officials say. Douglas McAuthur McCain, a 33-year-old reared in Minnesota, died in a battle between rival extremist groups in the suburbs of Aleppo, Syria's largest city, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based group that monitors the conflict. Attorney General Eric Holder estimated this summer that there are 7,000 foreign fighters in the war-ravaged Middle Eastern nation. McCain was not the first of these American militants to die in Syria. Islamists touted the role of a 22-year-old man -- identified by State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki as Moner Mohammad Abu-Salha, who grew up and went to school in Florida -- in a northern Syria suicide bombing conducted in coordination with al-Nusra Front earlier this year. In Colorado, Conley allegedly told FBI agents that she was going to be with a member of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, that she had met online. She told federal agents she had read a book called "Al-Qaida's Doctrine for Insurgency" and intended to wage jihad against the United States, according to the criminal complaint. When she was arrested, Conley had in her possession certification papers for first aid and nursing, the U.S. Army Explorers and the National Rifle Association, according to court documents. "It's a difficult time for us," her mother, Ana Conley, told CNN last month, when court documents in the case were unsealed. According to court papers, Conley's parents were aware she had converted to Islam, but did not know about her interest in violent jihad. Her father, John, reportedly caught Shannon talking to her suitor, described as a 32-year-old Tunisian man, on Skype. Man arrested after overseas trip, accused of sympathizing with ISIS . The couple asked for the father's blessing and he refused, the court papers said. On April 1, John called FBI to report he had found plane ticket for later that month to Turkey. Her daughter was arrested on a jetway while trying to board a flight to Germany on April 8, according to a criminal complaint. California man arrested, said he wanted to join ISIS . Conley first came to the attention of authorities after the pastor and the security director at a church in Arvada, Colorado, called police and said she was acting suspiciously. Authorities interviewed her seven times over the course of five months before arresting her at the airport. "I think she realizes she made a terrible mistake," her mother told CNN. "She was clueless. She's just a teenager, young, with a big mouth." Opinion: When Americans leave for jihad . | Shannon Conley, 19, pleads guilty to conspiracy to support foreign terrorist organization .
Conley, arrested in April, revealed plan to join ISIS and serve as nurse at jihadist camp .
She faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison and up to a $250,000 fine . |
166,357 | 631c96085d83cf831da715fc1be25cc7a6fdacac | Tokyo (CNN) -- The United Nations nuclear watchdog agency said Wednesday that Japan underestimated the hazard posed by tsunamis to nuclear plants but praised the country's response to the Fukushima Daiichi crisis as "exemplary." The International Atomic Energy Agency announced a preliminary summary of safety issues related to the crippled power plant. The plant was damaged after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami that devastated northern Japan and killed more than 14,000 people and left another 10,000 people missing. An international team of nuclear experts from 12 countries participated in a fact-finding mission and completed its preliminary assessment Wednesday, the agency said. The team said nuclear designers and operators should "evaluate and provide protection against the risks of all natural hazards.". "These tsunami waves overwhelmed the defenses of TEPCO's Fukushima Daiichi facility, which were only designed to withstand tsunami waves of a maximum of 5.7 meters (18.7 feet) high. The larger waves that impacted this facility on that day were estimated to be larger than 14 meters (46 feet) high," the report said, referring to the plant's owners, Tokyo Electric Power Co. "The tsunami waves reached areas deep within units causing the loss of all power sources except for one emergency diesel generator ... with no other significant power source available on or off the site, and little hope of outside assistance." The team also said despite the "brave and sometimes novel" efforts by operational staff to control and cool reactors and spent fuel, the fuel was severely damaged and a series of explosions occurred. "The operators were faced with a catastrophic, unprecedented emergency scenario with no power, reactor control or instrumentation," the summary said. "They had to work in darkness with almost no instrumentation and control systems to secure the safety of six reactors, six associated fuel pools, a common fuel pool, and dry cask storage facilities." Team leader Mike Weightman, the UK's chief inspector of nuclear installations, said the team was humbled by massive damage caused by the tsunami. "We are also profoundly impressed by the dedication of Japanese workers working to resolve this unprecedented nuclear accident," Weightman said in an agency statement. The team also praised Japan's "long-term" response, including the "impressive and well organized" evacuation of the area around the stricken reactors. "A suitable and timely follow-up program on public and worker exposures and health monitoring would be beneficial," the team said. The draft report summary was delivered to Japanese authorities Wednesday, the agency said. A final report will be delivered to the Ministerial Conference on Nuclear Safety at the agency's headquarters in Vienna in late June. | International nuclear experts assess safety issues stemming from Fukushima Daiichi .
The nuclear power plant was crippled after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami .
Tsunami waves were 14 meters high, but the plant was only able to handle 5.7-meter waves .
The team of experts praise "brave and sometimes novel efforts" by the plant's staff . |
58,065 | a49635a6bc5f3f14cb513e308fa5a4c6e9d541da | Click here to see every World Cup's logo! The official emblem for the 2018 World Cup in Russia was unveiled by cosmonauts on Tuesday and with it, football's jokers took to Twitter to poke fun at its design. Supporters tweeted their own versions of the red, blue and gold-trimmed World Cup trophy logo, with shavers, Finding Nemo, aliens and Marge Simpson all involved. FIFA president Sepp Blatter, who insists it represents Russia's 'heart and spirit', may not be best pleased to see these best adaptations of the emblem for the 2018 tournament. VIRALS Scroll down to see all the best adaptations of the 2018 World Cup official logo . The official emblem for the 2018 World Cup in Russia was unveiled on Tuesday via a live feed by cosmonauts . Three Russian astronauts revealed the logo from the International Space Station on Tuesday . FIFA project the 2018 World Cup logo on the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow on Tuesday after the announcement . Locals check out the new 2018 World Cup logo, which is made up using the colours of the Russian flag . After unveiling the logo on a Russian state television talk show, it was then presented over video link by a crew of three Russian astronauts on the International Space Station. 'Seeing the football World Cup in our country was a dream for all of us,' cosmonaut Elena Serova said during the official announcement. The logo was simultaneously beamed on to Moscow’s Bolshoi Theatre as part of a light show, too. One user believed it resembled a shaver and posted the comparison on Twitter after the announcement . Painter Edvard Munch is mentioned as his work, The Scream, is adapted to fit the 2018 World Cup logo . 'New FIFA World Cup logo is large-jawed man eating hopeless ghost #2018WorldCup,' says one Twitter user . Comparisons are made between the 2018 World Cup logo and Finding Nemo after the official announcement . The 2018 World Cup official logo for Russia, unveiled on Tuesday, is compared to the face of this alien . The official emblem of Russia 2018 World Cup apparently resembles the alien of Mr Burns from The Simpsons . WWE wrestler Rey Mysterio apparently may not be too happy to see the new logo of the 2018 World Cup . This tweet asks does the 2018 World Cup logo for Russia have a 'subliminal message' lying beneath it... This user says she can only think of Marge Simpson 'every time I look at the #Russia2018 World Cup logo' | Official emblem for 2018 World Cup goes viral after revealing it on Tuesday .
FIFA president Sepp Blatter insists it represents Russia's 'heart and spirit'
Twitter users poke fun at its design with shavers, Finding Nemo, aliens and Marge Simpson part of the adaptations . |
228,539 | b3ebcdd63b1fdc6fdddb24ecbe26b7ec395b9345 | Another week, another photoshoot! Although my work can get pretty hectic at times, I do love being on the go, and I was particularly excited for this shoot as it was for my nail polish range Binky London. As summer is sadly on the way out, I've been thinking about launching my Autumn/Winter shades soon, replacing cute pastels and beachy brights with deep berry hues, neutral greys and smouldering metallics. The new collection will be out very soon so keep an eye out! For the shoot, I enlisted the slick skills of expert make-up artist Buster Knight, who was responsible for the super-glam look I wore in Stacey Jackson's Dance The Night Away music video. SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO . Glam: This week Binky has been on set shooting her latest campaign for her nail collection - Binky London . Buster created a soft and natural look for this shoot featuring a warm golden smokey eye, a structured lip and a beach-bronzed bod. I was delighted with the results, so thought I'd share with you how he did it: . THE FACE . A foundation with good coverage is a photoshoot essential, so Buster began by applying DiorSkin Forever Foundation to my face with the Real Techniques Buffing Brush, buffing and blending so the product merged seamlessly with my skin. After setting the base with powder, Buster used the classic Guerlain Terracotta Bronzing Powder to define my cheekbones and warm up my face. Hold on to summer: Binky wanted to soak up the last of the sun with her bronzed babe look . THE EYES . For the shoot, Buster put a summery twist on my all-time beauty fave, the smokey eye. Instead of using harsh greys and blacks, he opted for warmer golden, coppery tones, using the gorgeous Guerlain 6 Couleurs Eye Palette in Francs-Bourgeois. He swept a light base colour all over my lid, before taking a warm brown colour across my lash line, winging it slightly towards the end. Next, he took the shimmery copper shade and lightly patted it all over my lash line, again focusing on the outer corners. The perfect smokey eye presents a sexy, slightly 'worn-in' look, so there's no need to be too precise with application. Do make sure you blend each new shade into the eye well with a blending brush, though, to avoid the result looking patchy. Finally, Buster lined my upper and lower lash lines with the Clarins Crayon Kohl Long Lasting Eye Pencil in Bronze, smudging the product in slightly with a small eye brush. Lashings of Too Faced Size Queen Mascara finished off the eyes. Diet success: Binky said that she was feeling body confident on the shoot following her recent weight loss . THE LIPS . Buster lined my lips first with the Daniel Sandler Long Lasting Lip Liner in Taffy, applying the pencil in gentle brush strokes just outside the lip line to create the illusion of fuller lips. He then filled my lips in with DHC Premium Lipstick in First Blush – a slightly lighter shade – for a structured yet natural looking pout. THE BODY . I was feeling pretty body confident before the shoot – I did indulge slightly in New York (I'm only human!) but managed to keep my dieting under control by taking Forza Raspberry K2 Supplements every day, so was more than happy to get my pins out on the day. Buster applied Rimmel Sunshimmer Instant Tanning Lotion over my arms, legs and décolletage using a body brush for an all-over beach babe bronzed glow. As a final touch, he spritzed some of the Michael Kors Liquid Shimmer Dry Oil Spray down the front of my legs and along my collarbones. This luxurious oil gives the body a luminous, subtle shimmer, enveloping it with its gorgeous orange and jasmine flower scent. You can get all the products Buster used on the shoot, as well as my Binky London nail polishes, from Escentual.com. Smooth operator: Binky recommends using a dry oil to make legs shimmer while the sun's still out . I also wanted share with you some exciting news about the August GLOSSYBOX. It's GLOSSYBOX's third global anniversary, so to celebrate three years providing luxury treats to beauty junkies like me worldwide, they've given their iconic pink box a subtle makeover and filled it with some super special goodies including a bespoke Kryolan Illuminator created exclusively for GLOSSYBOX! Treasure chest: As a beauty junkie, Binky can't get enough of GLOSSYBOX . My top pick from the August Birthday GLOSSYBOX has to be Philip Kingsley Elasticiser – this hair mask is a complete godsend, giving dry, lifeless hair lustrous strength and shine. I leave it on overnight before shampooing and conditioning my hair as normal the next morning. I also adore the Lalique L'Amour fragrance – a must if you're a fan of soft, floral scents, plus the handy size makes it perfect to take on a night out. You can get your mitts on the August Birthday Glossybox for just £10 (+P&P) from www.glossybox.co.uk throughout the whole of August 2014. Until next time, . Binky xxx . | Binky Felstead has been on yet another photoshoot this week .
The campaign launches her latest range of colours for her nail collection .
She wants to celebrate the last of the summer with a golden girl look .
The August Birthday GLOSSYBOX includes: .
Kryolan Illuminator exclusive to GLOSSYBOX .
Figs & Rouge Hand Cream .
Philip Kingsley Elasticiser .
Comfort Zone Cleansing Milk .
Lalique L'Amour EDP . |
271,736 | ebf9d321215edfefc4355e9882edb6a8f7f1f31d | By . Associated Press . PUBLISHED: . 09:25 EST, 6 February 2014 . | . UPDATED: . 09:45 EST, 6 February 2014 . A lightning strike that injured an air traffic controller at Baltimore's main airport has exposed a potential vulnerability at airport towers during storms and is prompting Federal Aviation Administration officials to inspect hundreds of towers nationwide. The FAA will look for problems with the lightning protection systems for airport towers, where air traffic controllers do the vital job of choreographing the landings and takeoffs of tens of thousands of flights each day. The FAA told The AP about the planned assessments of the towers' lightning protection systems after responding to a Freedom of Information Act request about the Sept. 12, 2013, lightning strike at the Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport. Issues: Officials are looking for problems with the systems that protect the towers from lightning strikes . The FAA said in a statement that the . accident was 'the first of its kind in FAA history,' and the agency . plans on 'assessing the condition' of lightning protection systems at . the 440 air traffic control towers it is responsible for across the . country. In particular, the agency said it will examine lightning . protection at more than 200 towers that were built prior to 1978, when . the FAA first issued standards for the protection systems. Because . of their height, airport towers have a greater chance of being struck . by lightning, and tower designers plan for the bolts. Towers are built . with lightning rods and wiring to direct the electrical current from a . strike harmlessly into the ground. That protects the tower and equipment . from damage and protects the air traffic controllers working inside. Strike: The control tower at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport. A lightning strike on the tower, which also injured an air traffic controller, is prompting the Federal Aviation Administration to examine hundreds of air traffic control towers nationwide . But the system in place at BWI's . airport tower failed last Sept. 12 during an afternoon thunderstorm. As . lightning flashed and a wall of rain moved in, air traffic controller . Edward Boyd, who was working in the tower, saw sparks and heard an . electrical snap coming from a piece of equipment that controls runway . lighting. A few minutes . later, he turned on a generator to ensure the airport's runway lighting . stayed on, part of a standard procedure during a storm. Boyd had his . right hand on the generator switch when he saw lightning flash outside . and felt a shock on his ring finger. 'It . basically felt like somebody had whacked me on the tip of the finger . with a tool of some kind,' he said during a recent interview, describing . a stinging sensation. Boyd, an air traffic controller for more than 30 years, dropped to one knee and told colleagues: 'I got hit.' Boyd . was taken to the hospital and wasn't allowed to return to work for . about two months. He says lingering nerve problems in his hand will . require surgery, and he called the incident a 'fluke.' John . Dunkerly, president of BWI's chapter of the National Air Traffic . Controllers Association, said he had never heard of a similar incident . in his more than 30 years in air traffic control. Delays: Many flights at Baltimore were either delayed or canceled because of a lightning strike to the airport's air traffic control tower, leading controllers to stop all arrivals and departures at the airport for more than two hours in September last year . Air traffic controllers ultimately stopped all arrivals and departures at the airport, one of the nation's 30 busiest, for more than two hours because of concerns about the tower's safety. More than 100 flights were canceled and about 75 delayed that afternoon and evening, according to the flight tracking service FlightAware. Documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act showed that an investigation after the strike identified several electrical issues in Baltimore's tower, which was built in 1960 and renovated in 1983. For example, one cable designed to take electrical current from a lightning strike to the ground had been cut during construction at the airport, probably years ago. Chuck Graves, who heads the FAA office that oversees airport towers' lightning protection, wrote in an email to colleagues that given the 'demonstrated vulnerability of the facility,' the tower's lightning protection systems should be overhauled. The FAA told The AP it has approved $400,000 to address the tower's lightning protection systems. Preliminary work started there this week. The FAA also is working on replacing the tower itself. The agency said in 2013 that officials had begun preliminary planning for a new tower at the airport, and the FAA has a program in place to replace aging facilities. On average, air traffic control towers are 26 years old and in many cases, they do not meet today's building requirements, the FAA said in a 2013 budget document submitted to Congress. As for the assessments of other towers, it is not clear when those will begin. FAA spokesman Lynn Lunsford said they are now in the planning stages. Assessments of older towers and towers at airports where there is a lot of construction will likely take priority, and once the assessments are completed, the agency may need to request additional money to do repairs, Lunsford said. | FAA will be looking for problems with the lightning protection systems for airport towers .
At one incident in Baltimore, a controller was struck during a storm .
Lightning protection at more than 200 towers that were built prior to 1978 will be looked at . |
130,342 | 3484fe3a3d12a2b5b0887b71abde3308e8752701 | By . Ashley Collman . PUBLISHED: . 11:55 EST, 29 January 2014 . | . UPDATED: . 12:09 EST, 29 January 2014 . A Seattle marijuana grower has started selling a new strain of weed called 'Beast Mode', after the nickname of Seahawks star running back Marshawn Lynch. Nate 'Diggity' Johnson, owner of Queen Anne Cannabis Club where Beast Mode is being sold, says he is getting into the Super Bowl spirit as the city's team prepare to play on Sunday. He told the Seattle Times that the pot was named after Lynch because it's so strong, it hits you like a running back. While most medical-marijuana sold at . Seattle dispensaries have a THC level of 12-20 per cent, Beast Mode has a . THC content of 17.6 per cent making it one of the stronger strains . Washington residents can purchase. Tribute: A Seattle marijuana dispensary has started selling a new strain of pot called Beast Mode after the nickname of Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch . Top of the game: Lynch is the star running back of the Seattle Seahawks, which are due to compete in this weekend's Super Bowl championships against the Denver Broncos . Beast Mode was produced by growers Zion Gardens, who were looking to develop a strain called Girl Scout Cookies. When they tried the product at the end, however, they realized the weed was anything but sweet. Mr Johnson says the effects of the strain start off slow and build before hitting 'like Beast Mode'. Pot peddler: Nate 'Diggity' Johnson is the owner of Queen Anne Cannabis Club where Beast Mode is currently being sold . Superfans: Above, a selection of some of the other Seahawks products on sale at the dispensary. Mr Johnson said the pot-laced Seahawks cupcakes sold out quickly . 'Marshawn has gears when he’s running and it’s kind of like that. It has a little bit of a slow start and then kicks in,' Mr Johnson told the Times. The asking price for Beast Mode is $13 per gram or $150 per half ounce. Washington dispensaries technically aren't allowed to charge for their product. Donations help pay for employees pay and the cost to keep the dispensary running. As far as he knows, this is the only marijuana strain currently on the market named after a Seahawk. While there may not be any other Seattle Seahawks-inspired marijuana strains, dispensaries in Colorado were selling pot named after Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning earlier this year. Colorado was the other state where marijuana became legal this year. Competition: A dispensary in Colorado, where marijuana is also legalized, was selling a strain named after Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning earlier this year . But naming a controlled substance after a football player brings up interesting legal questions. Lynch has trademarked 'Beast Mode' for use on clothing and hats, and has further trademarks pending for sunglasses, headphones, bracelets and cleats. Marijuana manufacturers have been told by legal experts that trademarks will most likely not apply to pot since there is a federal ban on the controlled substance. Mr Johnson believes that since his business runs on donations only, Lynch won't sue for their use of his slogan. When marijuana growers Good Meds started producing and selling lines of Peyton and Eli Manning pot, representatives for the elder Manning brother threatened to sue if they continued to use his name. It's uncertain whether Good Meds has continued to sell both Peyton and Eli Manning strains. Calls to the dispensary were not immediately returned Wednesday morning. The product: Mr Johnson shows off a can of Beast Mode . | The growers of the new strain were looking to develop a weed called Girl Scout Cookies but realized the finished product didn't match the name .
Lynch has trademarked Beast Mode on several products .
It's uncertain whether trademark laws will apply to marijuana in legalized states since there is still a federal ban on the substance .
The Seattle Seahawks are playing the Denver Broncos in this weekend's Super Bowl being held in New Jersey .
A strain of marijuana has been named after Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning as well . |
74,094 | d21bf3135feaab2c3066ff0fe555fc08e43cf607 | (CNN) -- Featuring risque-looking dresses that dispense cocktails and frocks that billow smoke, the clothes on show at the "Technosensual" exhibition could be mistaken for an auction of Lady Gaga's more bizarre outfits. But it's hoped that the designs on display at Quartier21 in the MuseumsQuartier, Vienna, Austria, will pique the interest of both fashionistas and tech heads. The Bubelle dress, designed by Lucy McRae for the Dutch electronics firm Philips, reveals the wearer's emotional state using biometric sensors that trigger different light and color displays. Another dress, "Paparazzi Lover," is perfect for Hollywood starlets -- incorporating 62 LED lights that light up when the dress detects photographers' flash bulbs -- reminding crowds just who the star is, according to its creator Ricardo O'Nascimento. "(The exhibition) proves that intelligent fashion has long gone beyond being a vision of the future ..." says MuseumsQuartier director Christian Strasser. Other highlights include "Taiknam Hat," which detects radio waves and responds by activating motors that move feathers adorning the hat, and "Intimacy 2.0" -- a dress that becomes increasingly transparent based on the wearer's heart rate, according to its creators, Studio Roosegaarde. A series of lectures, performances and workshops have also been organized for the exhibition, which runs until the beginning of September. Ivana Kottasová contributed to this report. | Vienna exhibition showcases fashion incorporating cutting-edge technology .
"TECHNOSENSUAL" aims to show how technology can enhance fashion .
Smoke-billowing frocks and hats that detect radio waves are among objects on display . |
283,896 | fbce7267a31be073d5d394811141d5120b5770fd | Reindeer meat may be considered a delicacy in some countries, but 30,000 years ago our European ancestors preferred eating mammoths. Cuts of reindeer were instead saved for their canine companions, according to research at Předmostí, a prehistoric site in the Czech Republic. The Gravettian people used the bones of more than 1,000 mammoths to build their settlement, as well as creating incredible ivory sculptures. Scroll down for video . Researchers at University of Tübingen wanted to know whether the Gravettian culture harvested the bones from already dead mammoths, or if they hunted them for food. Artist's impression of a mammoth pictured . But researchers at the University of Tübingen wanted to know whether the Gravettian culture harvested the bones from already dead mammoths, or if they hunted them for food. Scientists carried out an analysis of carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes in human and animal fossil bones from the site. They then tested to see whether the Gravettian people ate mammoth meat by examining the bones alongside bones from dogs at the site. Reindeer meat may be considered a delicacy in some countries, but 30,000 years ago our European ancestors preferred eating mammoths. Cuts of reindeer were instead saved for their canine companions, according to research at Předmostí, a prehistoric site in the Czech Republic . Pictured is a Gravettian Upper Paleolithic Venus figure holding horn or cornucopia . Gravettian culture flourished 31,000 – 22,000 years ago in the European Upper Paleolithic era. The phase was characterised by a stone-tool industry with small pointed blades used for big-game hunting, such as bison, horse, reindeer and mammoth. It is divided into two regional groups: the western Gravettian, mostly known from cave sites in France, and the eastern Gravettian, with sites for mammoth hunters on the plains of central Europe and Russia. The culture appeared at a time when Neanderthals were being displaced by modern humans, who had entered Europe from Africa and the Middle East some 15,000 years before. During this process, Neanderthals retreated to the southern half of the Iberian Peninsula. The Gravettian people are famous for the many Venus figurines they created, which are widely distributed in Europe. Another famous prehistoric discovery of this period are the hand stencils in Cosquer Cave close to Marseilles. They discovered that the culture probably left behind large amounts of mammoth carcasses as shown by the finding that brown bears, wolves and wolverines also ate mammoths. Surprisingly, dogs in the settlement did not show a high level of mammoth consumption, but rather consumed reindeer meat. Scientists believe reindeers were hunted by the Gravettian people for their antlers to make tools, and their meat was also a small part of their diet. The culture appeared at a time when Neanderthals were being displaced by modern humans, who had entered Europe from Africa and the Middle East some 15,000 years before. The study confirms that mammoths were a key component of the prehistoric diet in Europe 30,000 years ago, and that dogs were already being looked after by humans. Separate research has found that the sudden appearance of dwellings built from mammoth bones was due to humans hunting alongside the earliest domesticated dogs. In May, Pat Shipman of Penn State University took a fresh look at European archaeological sites built with mammoth bones. 'One of the greatest puzzles about these sites is how such large numbers of mammoths could have been killed with the weapons available during that time,' she said. Professor Shipman used information about how humans hunt with dogs to formulate a series of testable predictions about these mammoth sites. 'Dogs help hunters find prey faster and more often and dogs also can surround a large animal and hold it in place by growling and charging while hunters move in. Both of these effects would increase hunting success,' she said. 'Large dogs like those identified by Germonpré either can help carry the prey home or, by guarding the carcass from other carnivores, can make it possible for the hunters to camp at the kill sites.' The study confirms that mammoths were a key component of the prehistoric diet in Europe 30,000 years ago, and that dogs were already being looked after by humans (artist's impression pictured) Předmostí I is a prehistoric site of the Gravettian people located near Brno in the Czech Republic . | Fossils were uncovered at prehistoric Předmostí site in Czech Republic .
Scientists studied nitrogen stable isotopes in human and animal fossils .
They found the culture left behind huge amounts of mammoth carcasses .
Dogs ate reindeer meat, probably discarded by their Gravettian owners .
The study shows how dogs were already being looked after by humans .
It also confirms importance of mammoth in the prehistoric human diet . |
151,057 | 4f4f0b48e591961522dad04c968c80470d7d71ca | Washington (CNN) -- Several veterans and conservative bloggers are taking issue with President Barack Obama choosing not to attend the Memorial Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery. Vice President Joe Biden is attending in his place. "Arlington is a place of tremendous symbolism," said Paul Rieckhoff, founder of the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. "On Monday, it's where the eyes of our entire nation will be focused," said Rieckhoff, "and unfortunately, the president and his family won't be there to stand with us." After his Friday trip to the Louisiana coast to check on the oil spill, the president will go to Chicago, Illinois, with his family to spend time with friends. Obama will mark the Monday holiday with remarks at the Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery, about an hour outside of Chicago. "President Obama has a deep respect and appreciation for our service members and veterans, clearly seen in his administration's policies, priorities and actions," said Nick Shapiro, White House assistant press secretary. A conservative blogger disagrees. On Redstate.com, Erick Erickson writes, "going to Arlington National Cemetery to lay a wreath at the tomb of the unknowns has ... everything to do with a Commander in Chief who seems to not like the military showing some basic respect to the men and women, alive and dead, who have actually kept us free." Erickson is also an analyst for CNN. But some vets groups say it's all right if the president misses this one, noting that he attended wreath-laying ceremonies at Arlington last year. Jay Agg, communications director for AMVETS, a veterans service organization, said "this really is a nonissue," calling a lot of the outrage "politically motivated." "It really does seem odd to me that such a big deal is being made out of this because he is going to a national cemetery to observe the holiday in Illinois. Bush sent Cheney to a Veterans Day event in DC," Agg said. Obama's absence from Memorial Day services at Arlington will not be unprecedented, but in recent years, it has been a common practice to attend. President Bill Clinton went every year of his presidency, and President George W. Bush went each year except for the year he was in Europe to commemorate the D-Day anniversary. Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush did not attend regularly. "AMVETS recognizes and appreciates the fact that the president has done a lot for veterans," Agg said. "He's behind the largest increase to the VA budget in history and has signed a number of critical pieces of legislation that benefit vets, including the post-9/11 GI bill, and more recently, caregiver legislation," he said. "We're in middle of two wars," argues Rieckhoff, of the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. "There will be hundreds of children there who have lost parents. Every major veterans group will be there. He should be there with his family." "We understand that President Obama is a very busy man. He has things like the oil spill and the economy to worry about," American Legion spokesman Marty Callaghan told CNN. "Obviously, it is always a good thing for our commander in chief to be in the nation's capital for Memorial Day," he said. "But other presidents have not always been here, including the first President Bush and President Reagan." "We feel like he is going to be here in spirit," Callaghan said. "He is our commander in chief." | Obama to mark holiday at Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery outside Chicago .
Vice president to attend Arlington National ceremony in Obama's place .
Blogger says absence from Arlington shows lack of respect for veterans .
But some veterans groups say absence is OK, citing that of other presidents . |
137,749 | 3e22788cbe0204bfff4fcc910273ddee34f81c27 | George Osborne today ordered the massive expansion of controversial shale gas exploration in Britain – known as fracking – despite fears it could cause earthquakes and contaminate water. To the fury of environmentalists, the Chancellor wants to encourage more companies to use the technique, which involves creating explosions deep underground to release valuable gas. Mr Osborne unveiled his 'generous new tax regime' in the Autumn Statement this afternoon to encourage fracking exploration and unlock shale gas reserves that could be worth £1.5trillion to Britain's economy. The UK's only fracking operation in Blackpool caused two tremors from its drilling last year and is waiting to hear if it can start again. Controversial: Drilling in the Blackpool area last year caused a small earthquake but the Government wants to expand the use of fracking in Britain . Fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, is the process of injecting liquid . deep underground to fracture shale rock and release gas contained in it. The Government is consulting on tax breaks for the unconventional fossil fuel extraction, which has been widely exploited in the US, leading to falling gas prices. But there are also fears that widespread use of shale gas wells will harm the look of the UK countryside, damage tourism and reduce house prices. Opposition to fracking is intensifying in Britain as the jury is still out on whether the controversial gas extraction process will poison drinking water and cause major environmental damage. In Blackpool last year, fracking was found to be the 'highly probable' cause of earth tremors. One tremor of magnitude 2.3 on the Richter scale hit the area on April 1 followed by a second of magnitude 1.4 on May 27, prompting locals and environmental campaigners to blame the fracking technique being used locally by oil and gas firm Cuadrilla. Energy companies have said the process is safe but environment groups warn it could pose human health risks. Mark Miller, chief executive of Cuadrilla, has said the process does not pose a threat to UK groundwater. But horror stories have emerged from the US, where fracking is common, including reports of tap water igniting when a match is lit and claims of contaminated water making people ill. Such concerns have led to bans or moratoria on fracking in some places. France has banned fracking from shale rock and New York state has introduced a moratorium. Environmental groups in the UK have been calling for a moratorium at least until environmental and safety impacts have been addressed. In Australia, ground water and soil contamination fears have led farmers and green groups to form an unlikely alliance against fracking. Concerns have also been raised that fracking could pose a threat to Bath’s world-famous hot springs. Bath and North East Somerset Council said in September that two resource companies have applied for planning permission to test- drill for gas but the council fears that, if allowed to go ahead, it could harm the springs. Despite this the Chancellor today told MPs: 'We must ensure we make the best use of lower cost gas power, including new sources of gas under the land. 'We don’t want British families and businesses to be left behind as gas prices tumble on the other side of the Atlantic. 'We are consulting on new tax incentives for shale gas and announcing the creation of a single office so that regulation is safe but simple.' The Chancellor is desperate to boost domestic gas exploration as a way of reducing Britain’s dependence on foreign gas supplies. The sharp decline in North Sea gas finds makes Britain more reliant on energy supplies from Qatar, Russia and the US. But . environmentalists attacked the move for undermining investment and jobs . which could be created in clean technology, as well as pushing up . energy costs for consumers as the UK would remain tied to increasingly . expensive fossil fuels. The . Office for Unconventional Gas and Oil will join up responsibilities . across government departments to provide a single point of contact for . investors and streamline the regulatory process. Even if ten per cent of the gas in unpopulated areas is extracted, it would still be worth £150billion. Nick Molho, head of energy policy at . WWF-UK, said: 'The UK’s over-reliance on gas is, environmentally and . economically, highly risky. Greenpeace . political director Joss Garman said: 'The Chancellor is misleading . people to position shale gas as the answer to UK’s energy woes.' The . consultation on tax breaks for shale gas in the UK was welcomed by . Cuadrilla, the company seeking to exploit shale resources near Blackpool . whose work was suspended last year after fracking triggered two tremors . in the area. The . Department of Energy and Climate Change is due to make an announcement . next week on whether Cuadrilla’s operations can restart. The company . wants to drill, fracture and test a small of wells in 2013. Francis . Egan, chief executive of Cuadrilla, said: 'Exploration is necessary to . have a better understanding about how shale gas can be developed safely . and sensibly from the Bowland Basin. 'Costs in a technology industry such as ours will be higher at the outset, but will reduce over time as the industry grows.' Anger: A demonstrator wears a George Osborne mask as part of protests against fracking but the Chancellor is offering huge incentives for companies to use the technique in Britain . But environmentalists have pledged to fight it. Marion Seed from Central Lancashire Friends of the Earth, said: 'Local . people are extremely alarmed by George Osborne’s fracking plans - they . could pollute our clean water and air, threaten house prices and destroy . our vital farming and tourism sectors. 'We will fight any plans that could turn a beautiful part of the Lancashire countryside into a wasteland.' Anger: Demonstrators hold placards in front of their mock fracking rig in protest outside the Houses of Parliament . | Companies offered huge tax breaks to mine Britain's underground gasfields .
But environmentalists say it causes earthquakes and contaminates water .
Only major fracking site in Britain on ice after two small tremors . |
240,938 | c3eb426cb43fa6e644e15c409b2953fa173253fb | TOKYO, Japan (CNN) -- Eleven-year-old Hiroki Ando will likely die if he does not get a new heart. Hiroki in an ambulance on the way to catch his flight to New York, where he will wait for a heart. Hiroki suffers from cardiomyopathy, which inflames and impairs the heart. The same disease killed his sister five years ago. "We have two children in our family who got a disease that happens one out of every 100,000 people. I am sorry for my children. We are having my daughter and Hiroki going through this harsh experience," said father Ryuki Ando. "We were told by his doctor at the end of last year that the heart transplant operation was the only way for him to survive," Ando said. But the law in Japan prohibits anyone under the age of 15 from donating organs -- meaning Hiroki can't get a new heart in his home country. According to the web site for Japan Transplant Network, a non-governmental group that supports changing Japan's transplant law, "this stipulation has greatly reduced the possibility of transplants to small children; heart transplants to small children have become impossible." Watch Hiroki's trip to the United States » . Lawmaker Taro Kono is spearheading efforts to change the law, which was enacted in 1997. Japan's parliament is now debating four proposed amendments-- including one that would scrap the age limit. But, beyond the age matter, the issue of organ transplantation in general, has been a difficult one for the country because of perceptions of brain death. Some refuse to accept it if their loved ones' hearts are still beating. "For a long time, it's the heart that mattered in Japan. Some religions ask us not to declare being brain dead as death. But that is not the majority," Kono said. "So it is simply that we have been doing things this way and a lot of people are very skeptical about it." Kono, who gave a kidney to his father, said a total of 81 organ transplants have been conducted in Japan since the transplant law was enacted in 1997, whereas nearly thousands of transplants occur in the United States each year. "A lot of people in Japan waiting for a transplant, waiting for a liver, a heart, other organs, most of them just die simply because they couldn't get any organs," he said. Kono said he believes the public supports changing the law to allow organ donation from children, noting that "when the parents of the child are going on the street asking for donations, they can actually raise more than a million dollars." Incredibly, that's just what Hiroki's family has done. They started a group called "helping Hiroki" and raised $1.7 million in donations. "It was very tough to get the donations, but so many people from all over Japan donated the money," he said. "It was not only the money, but so many letters and messages to energize us, sent to the group. We realized there are so many people supporting us, and they are the reason that we made it this far and will be able to continue after going to the U.S." Hiroki is now at Columbia University Medical Center in New York, awaiting a new heart. His father says he knows that the transplant issue is a difficult one for families. "The honest wish from the recipient's side is to have a donor show up as soon as possible," he said, pausing. "I still do not know whether I can make a decision to give my child's heart to someone else if I am faced with such a situation. But unless the people face the issue and think about it seriously, I do not think the time will come soon to see more people volunteering to donate organs." Ando said he hopes that one day he will be able to play baseball with his son, who is an avid sports fan. "I would like to have a fun time again with Hiroki. I would like to make it home with everyone in good health," he said. "That's the biggest hope I have now." Ando's mother wrote in a blog on her Web site (http://www.hirokikun.jp/) that Hiroki was high on the waiting list for a heart transplant in New York. "I believe Hiroki will be all right," she wrote. | Hiroki Ando, 11, suffers from cardiomyopathy, which inflames and impairs the heart .
He can't get heart in Japan because people under 15 not allowed to donate organs .
Hiroki's family raised $1.7 million in donations to send Hiroki to New York for surgery . |
50,998 | 904e99968c488edb1b72db2203a461a1ec11358f | By . Simon Walters . PUBLISHED: . 19:05 EST, 12 January 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 02:53 EST, 14 January 2013 . Trotskyite past: Left-wing Simon Fletcher once accused Gordon Brown of 'pandering to fascism' in a newspaper article . A left-wing crony of Ken Livingstone who accused Gordon Brown of ‘pandering to fascism’ and said Prince Charles talked ‘reactionary nonsense’ has been given a top job by Labour leader Ed Miliband. Simon Fletcher, who was Mr Livingstone’s chief-of-staff when he was Mayor of London, is Mr Miliband’s new adviser on trade unions. Mr Fletcher was a member of Mr Livingstone’s so-called ‘Kenocracy’, a group of close advisers when he was Mayor, and was said to be in Trotskyite group Socialist Action, which plotted to make London a ‘socialist city state’. After Mr Livingstone lost power to Boris Johnson in 2008, Mr Fletcher was deeply critical of Mr Miliband’s former boss Gordon Brown, who was then Prime Minister. In 2009, in an article in The Guardian newspaper headlined ‘Pandering to the fascists on housing’, Mr Fletcher denounced Mr Brown’s plan to make it easier for local families to get council homes. Mr Miliband, who was in Mr Brown’s Cabinet at the time, supported the scheme. Mr Fletcher wrote: ‘Gordon Brown’s plans for social housing allocation revive the myth perpetuated by the BNP that migrants force locals out. When he announced it he must have known he would reopen the debate on race and waiting lists, an issue the fascist British National Party has long sought to exploit. ‘The difficulties people encounter in getting a good affordable home are nothing to do with immigration. It is a myth. Pandering to the BNP or the lies that it has promoted and exploited does not weaken it. It strengthens it.’ He added that Mr Brown and his Government had ‘learned little from the debacle over its disastrous slogan ‘British jobs for British workers’. ‘Labour needs to start learning the lesson that defeating fascism cannot be done by first conceding to it,’ he wrote. Months earlier, Mr Fletcher rounded on Prince Charles for criticising the £3 billion development plan for Chelsea Barracks in West London by the rulers of Gulf state Qatar. Headed ‘Dragging London backwards’, he said Prince Charles’s ‘reactionary views on architecture would turn a vibrant city stale’ and told him to ‘get out of the Chelsea Barracks row’. Top job: Labour leader Ed Miliband has appointed Simon Fletcher as his £50,000-a-year trade union officer . In the same year, he backed TUC general secretary Brendan Barber in a row over plans by Mr Brown’s administration to crack down on welfare cheats. He said: ‘As Brendan Barber argued, at a time of rapidly rising unemployment, the Government needs to stop talking as if every benefit claimant is a potential scrounger. ‘Welfare debate in this country is too often dominated by an endless macho competition to see who can be toughest on “dependency culture”. ‘Labour should not chase the headline-chasing obsession with talking tough.’Mr Fletcher has been appointed Mr Miliband’s £50,000-a-year trade union liaison officer and will report directly to the Labour leader. He will be responsible for maintaining good relations between union barons and Mr Miliband.A biography of Mr Livingstone said his support for Socialist Action helped make it ‘probably the most successful and influential revolutionary Marxist organisation in Britain’. Mr Fletcher is believed to have received a six-figure payoff when he lost his job as the Mayor’s chief-of-staff in 2008. Mr Miliband’s office declined to comment. A Labour source said: ‘Simon has joined. He will be a very strong and valued addition to the team.’ | Left-wing Simon Fletcher was Ken Livingstone's chief-of-staff when he was Mayor of London .
He will be responsible for maintaining good relations between the Labour leader and union barons as Mr Miliband's trade union liaison officer . |
266,535 | e53b3b442b18ccc60395f9ae85b8dd2e06f130f1 | It has been revealed over the past two days that Canadian gunman Michael Zehaf-Bibeau was a career criminal and drug addict, but it seems that was not the case just a few short years ago. In his high school yearbook photo from 2000, taken while he was a senior at Ecole Secondaire Saint Maxime in Laval, Quebec, the teenager is seen smiling and happy. In fact, it seems he was both personable and popular judging but what his fellow students said about the young man. Scroll down for video . Popular: Said a friend of Michael Zehaf-Bibeau when he was a teenager, 'He loves to laugh, and his smile wins over the girls,' adding, 'He will go far in life' Scroll down for video . Schhol: These comments were made when Zehaf-Bibeau was a senior at Ecole Secondaire Saint Maxime (above) in Laval, Quebec . 'Mike is a sociable and intelligent guy,' wrote on his friends in the yearbook, obtained by the National Post. 'He loves to laugh, and his smile wins over the girls.' They then added, 'He will go far in life.' Zehaf-Bibeau did not go far however, and shortly after graduating was arrested for the first time, convicted of possessing a false credit card and impaired driving at the age of 19 in 2001. From there, numerous drug arrests followed, as well as ones for robbery and a weapons charge. Soon he was homeless, living in shelters, and he eventually converted to Islam. Not far: A little over 10 years after he was described as smiling and personable, Zehaf-Bibeau killed a man and opened fire on Parliament . Even then, with the religion's strict stance on drugs, he would continue to fall back into his addictions, so bad that in 2011 he actually begged a judge to put him in jail so he could kick crack and become clean. Soon, his mosque even asked him to leave, after he began sleeping there without permission. Then, on Wednesday, the 32-year-old killed a young solider, Corporal Nathan Cirillo, as he stood guard at the National War Memorial, before opening fire on Parliament. He injured three more before he was eventually shot dead. | Michael Zehaf-Bibeau seems like a much different man based on quotes from his friends in his high school yearbook .
While a senior at Ecole Secondaire Saint Maxime in Laval, Quebec, he was a 'ladies man' who 'loved to laugh'
One friend even commented that 'he would go far in life' |
113,596 | 1e93625427165e9f5ce2025b5eb58ad874f1c65d | (CNN) -- Golf's European Tour has been forced to cancel October's Andalucia Masters. The Spanish event, formerly known as the Volvo Masters, has been a fixture on the European circuit since the first staging of the tournament in 1988, but Spain is currently in the grip of recession. Tour chief executive George O'Grady expressed his disappointment that the October 18-21 event, won by Spaniard Sergio Garcia in 2011 and which is staged at the Valderrama golf club, has been called off at such late notice. "We have been long term partners with the Junta for over 25 years," O'Grady told the Tour's official website, referring to the region of Andalucia's government. "In that time we have seen together with many other events, the Volvo Masters staged in Andalucía from 1988-2008, two American Express World Golf Championships, won by Tiger Woods in 1999 and Mike Weir in 2000, and the jewel in the crown, the 1997 Ryder Cup. "We have worked together to promote the region, and the Junta de Andalucía and the European Tour have enjoyed an exceptionally strong and committed long term partnership." Despite the setback, O'Grady hoped the Valderrama tournament could return to the European Tour's calendar in the future. "We feel the disappointment not only for our members and all committed to broadcasting and reporting this tournament and the region on a global scale, but also for the many visitors, especially from northern Europe, who coincide their vacations with the tournament. "We will work with the Junta to rectify this situation both now and in the future." When Valderrama staged the Ryder Cup in 1997, Seve Ballesteros' European Team beat the U.S. 14 ½ - 13 ½. The 39th Ryder Cup match will take place later this month at the Medinnah Country Club in Illinois. | The European Tour announce the cancellation of the Andalucia Masters .
The Spanish event has been on the Tour calendar since 1988 .
The Valderrama course hosted the Ryder Cup in 1997, when Europe beat the U.S.
Europe will defend the Ryder Cup against the U.S. at Medinah this month . |
85,882 | f393681a2622e06f20212b03c9bbde5b535326e7 | Madrid (CNN) -- The alleged leader of an Islamic militant cell in Spain who escaped arrest in June when eight of his suspected colleagues were detained has been taken into custody, the Spanish Interior Ministry said Monday. The suspect, Yassin Ahmed Laarbi, a Spaniard, was arrested Monday in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta on Morocco's north coast, where the eight other suspects also were detained on June 21, an Interior Ministry statement said. The suspected cell was "a structure based in Spain, with connections in Morocco, Belgium, Turkey and Syria, dedicated to radicalizing, recruiting and sending mujahedeen (fighters) to Syria with the aim of conducting jihad and achieving martyrdom," according to a court order issued in June. In that order, Judge Ismael Moreno of Spain's National Court ruled that the eight suspected Islamic militants should remain in prison on preliminary charges alleging membership in a terrorist group. The group has connections to the Jabhat al-Nusra front, described as an active al Qaeda group in and around Syria, and to the Iraq Islamic State in Iraq, but "there are increasing references to carrying out jihad at home," the judge warned at the time, referring to potential attacks in Spain. Read more: Spain arrests suspects linked to al Qaeda . The eight suspects sent at least 12 Spanish or Moroccan males, from both Ceuta and Morocco, to fight in Syria, the judge wrote. At least five died in suicide attacks in Syria that caused numerous casualties. One of the males was a minor; it was not immediately clear if he was among those who had died. Some of the eight suspects intended to go to Syria, the judge added. Monday's Interior Ministry statement said that Laarbi also "was a candidate to join up with those terrorist groups in Syria." He was not at his home June 21 when the other suspects were arrested, the statement said. The judge's order in June identified the suspected leader as Spaniard Karin Abdeselam Mohamed, 39. But the Interior Ministry statement on Monday said Laarbi was the "suspected maximum leader" of the cell. Spanish police in June said the suspected cell was based in Ceuta and in the nearby Moroccan city of Fnideq. Ceuta is an autonomous city of Spain that borders Morocco. | Eight other suspected colleagues were arrested in June .
Suspected leader of cell taken into custody in Spanish enclave of Ceuta on Morocco coast .
Suspects have sent fighters into Syria, court order says . |
270,531 | ea644a04e3db20f8f5b288ce953f75e672cc71ea | (CNN) -- France's Pierrick Fedrigo won stage 15 of the Tour de France on Monday, as Britain's Bradley Wiggins consolidated his hold on the leader's yellow jersey. The 158.5-kilometer ride between Samatan and Pau saw a further six riders withdraw from the race as cycling's premier event entered its third and final week. Fedrigo became the fourth Frenchman to win a stage at this year's race when he beat Christian Vande Velde in a sprint to the line in Pau. The two racers had surged ahead of the leading pack with 6.5 km to go. "I don't know why I attacked, it was just instinct. But when Vande Velde stopped giving me relays in the last kilometer I knew that I would soon have to sprint," Fedrigo said. "Thankfully, I've got a little more punch than him." Wiggins edged nearer to a place in the record books with a solid, if uninspiring, ride. No Englishman has won the Tour de France before, and Wiggins' Team Sky have made it clear they value the yellow jersey above the other titles on offer. Last year's green jersey winner Mark Cavendish would have expected to be part of the pack sprinting for a stage win, but he stuck to team orders and helped protect Wiggins as he rode to maintain his overall lead. The 32-year-old, who was born in Belgium where his Australian father was based, finished in the peloton 11 minutes and 50 seconds behind Fedrigo. Wiggins remained two minutes and five seconds ahead of teammate Chris Froome, with Italy's Vincenzo Nibali third at 2:23 behind and Australia's defending champion Cadel Evans fourth (3:19). The leader described Cavendish as "a great champion and a great friend" after the race, and admitted that his teammate had "been so committed to my cause -- to the yellow jersey." Chasing down history: Wiggins' Tour quest . Team Sky will, however, try to give Olympic hopeful Cavendish a chance to win Sunday's final sprint stage in Paris. "Obviously there is still the stage to Paris for him, and we're going to lay it down in Paris for him and try to get him the win there," Wiggins said. "He's also got the Olympic road race, that's his main objective this year. In the end, we've got a difficult task on our hands to try to win the yellow jersey." With only five stages left in this year's Tour, the field is now down to 156 riders following 42 withdrawals. Sylvain Chavanel was Monday's most notable retiree. The French time trial champion was struggling to breathe as he felt the effects of a chest infection. "He's lost his voice and he'd been finding it hard to breathe," explained his team Omega-Pharma's sporting director Brian Holm. "This morning he was really sick. He spoke with the doctors of the team and they've advised him it would be best to pull out of the Tour." The riders have a rest day on Tuesday before resuming with a 197 km ride from Pau to Bagneres-du-Luchon, including four mountain climbs, on Wednesday. | Pierrick Fedrigo becomes fourth French stage winner at this year's race .
Wiggins thanks Cavendish for sacrificing himself for yellow jersey chase .
Six more riders withdraw from race as it enters the closing stages . |
213,962 | a11ada0eb6bcda40d39ecd0ce4ecbdcbec88fec3 | Marcos Rojo made his Manchester debut on Sunday afternoon as Louis van Gaal's side searched for their first three points of the season with a win against QPR. His starting role at left-back on Sunday gave the United faithful a chance to catch a glimpse of the Argentine's impressive set of tattoos. Rojo boasts a torso of tatts including a couple of tattoos in English, the most visible being 'Pride' on his right leg and 'Glory' on his left leg. 'For My Family' is also above his chest. Another is dedicated to former club Estudiantes de la Plata, where he won the Copa Libertadores trophy in 2009. VIDEO Scroll down to watch Marcos Rojo: Manchester United transfer was long and tough . Manchester United new boy Marcos Rojo showed off his haul of tattoos as he made his Old Trafford debut on Sunday . Rojo boats a torso of tatts including a couple of in English, the most visible being 'Pride' on his right leg and 'Glory' on his left leg . Angel di Maria also added to the average number of tattoos on the Old Trafford pitch , sporting ink on both of his forearms . Di Maria (above) celebrates putting Manchester United ahead in the first half with a curling free-kick . Marcos Rojo was made to wait for his Manchester United debut after delays in obtaining a work permit . | Marcos Rojo made his Manchester United debut as Louis van Gaal's side defeated QPR .
Argentine defender was made to wait for his debut after work permit issues .
Rojo has several tattoos including 'Pride' and 'Glory' above his left and right knees . |
170,199 | 684ab3b72adb63437217fe7a5bf0b7901016db63 | With their vibrant colours, pinpoint constellations and what could be brush strokes, these images are reminiscent of a great post-impressionist masterpiece. One photograph shows a beautiful star stream over the South American night sky, which looks like a huge, celestial pinwheel. Another contrasts the fire red mountains against the clear blue sky above. Photographer Kevin Zaouali, 22, shot the ethereal landscapes at the Hornocal mountain range located in northern Argentina, near the Bolivian border. The striking mountains are part of the Quebrada de Humahuaca valley, a UNESCO world heritage site. A rainbow of eleven different rock layers gives the peaks their distinctive appearance, and the best position for observation is a nearby hill which is located at an altitude of 4,300m. Besides the fantastic natural formation, you can also see remains of human settlements which are estimated to be 10,000 years old. Tracks, roads and settlements testify to the hunter-gathers, indigenous Omaguacas, Incas and Spanish civilisations that once lived here. The Argentinian photographer said: 'The mountains are magical places.They are a range of wonderful colours and sometimes don't look real. I like to take advantage of the storms, sunrises and full moon nights. The light is very variable and each moment can be unique.' Zaouali, from the Jujuy province of Argentina, takes photographs as a hobby while studying biology. Besides the fantastic natural formation at Serrania del Hornocal, you can find remains of human settlements which are estimated to be 10,000 years old . It's all in the geography: a rainbow of eleven different rock layers gives the peaks their distinctive red appearance, which contrasts with the bright South American sky . A kaleidoscope of reds: The striking mountains are located in the Quebrada de Humahuaca valley, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site . The fire red mountains in contrast to the clear blue sky above. Many civilisations have lived here historically including indigenous Omaguacas and Incas . Nature's own light show: A beautiful star stream appears in the South American night sky, looking like a huge, celestial pinwheel . Starry, starry night, paint your palette blue and gray: Photographer Kevin Zaouali captured the ethereal beauty of the landscape of the Hornocal mountain range . The Argentinian photographer said: 'The mountains are magical places.They are a range of wonderful colours and sometimes don't look real.' | Photographer Kevin Zaouali shot the ethereal landscapes at the Hornocal mountain range, near the Bolivian border .
The striking mountains are made up of eleven different rock layers which give the effect of a rainbow of reds .
Besides the natural formation, the area boasts remains of human settlements estimated to be 10,000 years old . |
158,489 | 58e71ad55f2fecf4daa9ed1b3fd40384d31c1c7c | By . Stephanie Linning . and Martin Jay In Beirut . The Lebanese wife of extremist preacher Omar Bakri, who once praised the 7/7 bombers as the 'fantastic four', is applying for UK asylum for herself, her husband and their two children. The radical Islamic cleric, who was once the subject of UK terror investigations, faces the death sentence for running a terror cell in Lebanon and claims he has been tortured, according to reports. Ruba Bakri, 30, said that she is in the . process of applying at the British Embassy in Beirut on behalf of her family, despite the fact that Bakri was permanently barred from the UK. The Lebanese wife of radical Islamic cleric Omar Bakri, pictured speaking at a 2002 rally, is applying for asylum for herself, her husband and their children - despite the fact that Bakri was permanently barred from the UK . When asked whether she was applying for asylum she said: 'In the UK and everywhere. For me, my husband and children, yes I am applying,' according to Lebanese newspaper An Nahar. Speaking last month, a home secretary said: 'Omar Bakri Muhammad was permanently excluded from the UK in 2005 on the grounds that his presence is not conducive to the public good. 'As Omar Bakri Muhammad is excluded from the UK, he will be unable to make a claim for asylum.' In 2005, Bakri told reporters in Beirut that he would never return to the UK. He is currently in . custody and is facing the death sentence in a trial which is expected to . begin in Lebanon today. Last month, he was formerly charged with being the . mastermind of a terrorist cell in Tripoli, Lebanon, and is currently in . prison awaiting trial. Bakri left behind his British wife and their seven children when when he fled Britain in 2005. He married Mrs Bakri in 2008 and later had two more children. Destruction: Wreckage of the number 30 bus that was hit during the 7/7 attacks. Mr Bakri once praised the London bombers as the 'fantastic four' and was the subject of terror investigations in the UK . Mrs Bakri claims that the cell he is living inhumane, saying that he cannot squat to use the toilet. Speaking to Lebanese press, she said: 'To say the least, I want them to change the cellar [sic] that he’s living in now, the bathroom, and that they give him the proper medication. 'I don’t understand how he deserves this treatment. He didn’t do anything to get treated so horribly.' Bakri, who holds Syrian and Lebanese citizenship, lived in Britain for 20 years and led radical group Al Muhajiroun until it was disbanded . Authorities in Lebanon believe that Bakri is linked to Al Qaeda and is responsible for a series of attacks both on Army personnel in recent months and inciting sectarian fighting in Tripoli, which left 30 dead and over 160 wounded. Bakri, who holds Syrian and Lebanese citizenship, lived in Britain for 20 years and led radical group Al Muhajiroun until it was disbanded. The group's co-founder Anjem Choudary said in an earlier interview with Lebanese press that he was hoping that Al Qaeda’s chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi would intervene and release western hostages in exchange for Bakri’s freedom. Bakri, whose real name is Omar Bakri Fustoq, was arrested on May 25 and has always denied being part of Al Qaeda although he regularly speaks highly of their affiliated groups both in Syria and in Lebanon. Bakri, who known as the Tottenham Ayatollah when he lived in London, faced possible treason charges over his support for the London bombers in 2005 and fled Britain for Lebanon. He said the British people were to blame for the terror attacks on the capital because they ‘did not make enough effort to stop its own government committing its own atrocities in Iraq and Afghanistan’. He also sparked outrage when he said on TV that he would not inform police if he knew Muslims were planning a bomb attack on a train in the UK and supported Muslims who attacked British troops in Afghanistan. | Extremist cleric Omar Bakri once praised 7/7 bombers as the 'fantastic four'
He faces death sentence for running a terror cell in Lebanon .
His wife Ruba Bakri is applying for UK asylum on behalf of her family .
The preacher left his British wife and eight children when he fled in 2005 .
Home Office spokesman said Bakri was 'permanently excluded' from the UK . |
274,496 | ef921264097e445f341f97a9e514a17303205c04 | By . Wills Robinson . and Gerard Couzens . and Louise Eccles . The two British women accused of trying to smuggle £1.5million of cocaine out of Peru will receive a dramatically shorter sentence than they could have after pleading guilty yesterday. Melissa Reid and Michaella McCollum Connolly admitted trying to board a flight from Lima to Spain on August 6 knowing they had 24lb of the class-A drug in their suitcases. The maximum sentence they can receive is six years and eight months - but if they had pleaded not guilty and been convicted, they could have faced as much as 15 years in a Peruvian prison. The women will be eligible for parole within three years, allowing them to return home, while it has also been suggested that they could be transferred to Britain to serve part of their sentences. Accused: Melissa Reid, right, and Michaella McCollum were yesterday escorted from a truck by police at Sarita Colonia prison ahead of their court appearance . Police escort: The pair were handcuffed as they were taken from Virgen de Fatima Prison on the outskirts of the capital, to a court in the city centre wearing their own clothes . Behind bars: After the pair arrived at the court, they were detained in a holding cell, surrounded by guards, as they awaited their appearance in front of a judge . The women, both aged 20, continue to claim that a gun-toting Colombian mafia forced them to act as drug mules. But, after police rubbished their ‘illogical’ story, they decided to plead guilty in the hope of securing shorter sentences, which will be decided next week. It also means they will not have to stand trial on drugs trafficking charges. Miss Reid, from Lenzie near Glasgow, has previously said, 'I don't want to be in jail until I'm 35,' adding: 'Pleading guilty is going to get me back to my family sooner rather than later.' Miss McCollum Connolly, from Dungannon, Northern Ireland, and Miss Reid both admitted drugs trafficking at a hearing closed to the Press. It took place at a men’s jail in Lima called Sarita Colonia. They were driven the short distance from the notorious prison Virgen de Fatima, where they are being held, to enter their pleas separately. The two women arrived at the court handcuffed and in their own clothes, Miss Reid carrying a plastic bag and Miss McCollum a bottle of water as they were surrounded by guards. They were led into a holding cell in the court room, awaiting their second appearance in front of a judge since they were arrested. Michaella McCollum and Melissa Reid looked down as they were led away from the prison by guards . Darkness: The pair were led into the back of a prison van as they prepared themselves for for the journey . Both Miss Reid and Miss McCollum stood up and spoke separately for half an hour after being asked their names. Miss Reid told the court: 'I feel very bad for the pain I have caused my family. I assume complete responsibility.' The pair also explained to the judge exactly how they carried out the smuggling plot, which they claim was planned under coercion. After the hearing they were taken back to the prison that has been their home since August 22. A . spokesman for the fourth criminal court of Callao, in charge of the . judicial investigation into the two women, confirmed: 'Both women have . pleaded guilty to drugs trafficking. 'It . means they automatically benefit from a sixth of the minimum jail . sentence of eight years and will be sentenced to six years and eight . months in prison. 'Sentencing will take place on October 1 at a new hearing.' The lawyer for Miss McCollum and Miss Reid refused to comment to reporters on the content of of the hearing. Supplies: Michaella McCollum, left, clutched onto a water bottle while Melissa Reid carried a plastic bag as they were let out of the van by police officers . Court: Melissa Reid stands up in a holding cell during her hearing . Home clothes: Melissa Reid, right, and McCollum Connolly both wore black leggings as they were escorted from a truck by police at Sarita Colonia prison in Callao, Peru . It has been reported the pair could serve their sentence in this country if Britain agrees to a transfer. Melissa’s . parents, energy company manager Billy, 54, and National Grid . administrator Debra, 53, insisted last week they still believed their . daughter was forced into carrying cocaine through Lima’s Jorge Chavez . airport. Mrs Reid said: ‘She was definitely carrying the drugs in her luggage. That’s for sure. ‘But we still believe she was coerced into it. Obviously now we realise she needs to plead guilty just to get her home.’ Miss Reid, speaking from the prison . earlier this month, said: ‘Pleading guilty is going to get me back to my . family sooner rather than later.’ But . a legal source close to the case said a transfer could take many . years, by which time they could be free, adding: ‘It is a very long . process and Britain does not often agree to it.’ Miss . Reid's father William, 53, from Glasgow, claimed they would apply for . her to be moved to a UK prison at the earliest opportunity, saying: 'We . could start pushing for her to be transferred to Scotland.' Miss Reid and Miss McCollum Connolly will need to show they behaved well in jail, pass 'legal, social, medical and psychological tests' and can fund their own tickets back. They are currently being held in a classification unit of a women's prison which, charities have warned, has dire conditions. However, Miss Reid has compared it to a ‘Brownie camp’, and claimed to have spent a whole day helping Miss McCollum Connolly to dye her hair brown and take out her hair extensions. The prison van drives away from the prison, on the outskirts of Lima, en route to a court in the city centre . First court appearance: Michaella McCollum and Melissa Reid were told they would be imprisoned as they awaited trial when they were in front of a judge in August . Media frenzy: An enormous group of cameras and reporters were there to meet the pair as they arrived for their first court appearance earlier this summer . The women claimed they were kidnapped . in Ibiza and forced to carry the drugs by gun-toting Colombian gangsters . who threatened them and their families. In August the pair wore each other's . clothes as they appeared in court for the first time in Lima. A judge . told them they would be imprisoned as they awaited trial. The pair looked glum and drawn as they . were led away in handcuffs through the back of the court to a holding . cell. At one point, Miss Connolly wiped a tear away from her eye. They were sent to prison because . they admitted they knew there was cocaine in their suitcases and could . flee Peru if they were bailed. The women insisted they . had no idea they were carrying drugs after police stopped them as they . tried to board an Air Europa flight to Madrid and discovered more than . five kilos of cocaine disguised as food products in each of their . suitcases. There have been continued concerns over the state of their mental health, with their lawyer claiming last month that they were being held in a 'windowless cage'. During both court appearances, the pair have looked terrified. Peru’s penal authority says 1,648 . foreigners are currently in its prisons on drug trafficking charges, 31 . of them British citizens. Arrest: Melissa Reid, right, and Michaella McCollum, left, when they were detained Jorge Chavez international airport in Callao, near Lima, Peru, allegedly carrying 11 kilograms of cocaine on their way to Madrid, Spain . Ambiguous: Reid, left, and Connolly pose with smiles on the balcony of a holiday flat in Peru before their arrest . Fun times? The pair pose with beers in the sun in Peru before the start of their ill-fated journey home . Miss . McCollum Connolly has dyed her black locks brown and had a striking bun . for a court appearance last month. The women are reported to be among the wealthier . inmates who can buy treats such as sweets, crisps and chocolate from a . food kiosk. Fellow prisoners said the Britons were being treated ‘very well’ by inmates and staff because they were foreigners. Paola . Andrade, 56, in jail for attempted murder, added: ‘The girls look so . young and innocent. I feel really bad for them because they seem so . young. ‘I can only imagine how horrible it must be to be incarcerated so far away from home and your family.’ | Melissa Reid and Michaella McCollum, both 20, were found with £1.5million worth of cocaine in their suitcases en route to Spain .
Two women were taken from the Virgen de Fatima Prison on the outskirts of Lima to a makeshift court at Sarita Coloni men's jail .
Pleaded guilty in front of a judge after speaking for half an hour each .
'I feel very bad for the pain I have caused my family,' Reid says at hearing .
Face six years and eight months in prison, down from maximum 15 years .
The pair could serve out their sentences in Britain if a transfer is agreed . |
51,489 | 91c754e76e33dc80d8db225839861f42abb31a55 | Armed police in grey and blue uniforms cluster every few yards along Avenue Interlagos, the wide and teeming road leading to the track on which Lewis Hamilton has tasted almost equal measures of euphoria and dejection. The journey in carries a frisson of fear. Favelas - the giant shanty towns of deprived millions - stand on either side of the street. And out of those shacks can run gun-toting criminals to hold up cars that stop when the lights turn red. Barely a year passes without someone from the Formula One community being robbed or shot at. Lewis Hamilton says he has no fears as he battles for the Formula One Drivers' World Championship . Hamilton goes into Sunday's Brazil Grand Prix with a 24-point lead over Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg . Inside Interlagos, home of Sunday’s Brazilian Grand Prix, is far less dangerous than outside, but the old crumpled place still possesses the most intimidating atmosphere in world motor racing. The four stands along the pit straight turn into cacophonous pits of hate, of hissing and whistling, jeering and cheering, as the cars line up to race. Hamilton knows this well. The crowd’s enmity poured down on him when he was in a title fight with a Paulista, Felipe Massa, in 2008. That year he triumphed unforgettably by passing the Toyota car of Timo Glock to finish fifth on the final, rainy lap. He had atoned for his late-season collapse 12 months earlier. So here we are again with Hamilton on the cusp of world championship glory. He leads Nico Rosberg, his fellow Mercedes man, by 24 points with only Abu Dhabi awaiting him after Sunday’s race. But this time he is visibly relaxed and scared of nobody. Lewis Hamilton has some good memories racing in Brazil - winning the Drivers' World Championship in 2008 . ‘I don’t have any fears,’ he declared. ‘Honestly, you can look in my eyes, I don’t have any fears. I feel like where I am today is not down to luck. There are reasons why we have the best car today and why we’ve had the results this year. That’s all the hard work that’s gone in. ‘In these last two races I’m going to do everything I can do, and whatever the result at the end of it, it’s the way it is, but I will know I did everything I could.’ In normal circumstances Hamilton would win the title here if he finished ahead of Rosberg, thus rendering the Abu Dhabi race in a fortnight irrelevant. But, no, points at Abu Dhabi count double. This new rule is a skewing of the sport’s integrity - please don’t laugh - and robs Sunday's race of a potential championship outcome before a wheel is turned in anger. Rosberg (pictured) and Hamilton's relationship has been tumultuous at times as they battle for the title . Rosberg can win the title at Abu Dhabi regardless of Hamilton's position in Brazil due to offer of double points . Abu Dhabi is an awful venue, double scoring or not. It is synthetic. The track is puny. The weather is predictably dry. There is no natural audience. A lot of ‘B2B’ (business to business) transactions take place in the oversized hospitality blocks but that hardly compensates for the place’s manifest inadequacies. But the Abu Dhabi rulers have written a cheque the size of the desert, c/o Mr BC Ecclestone of London SW7, in exchange for the privilege of staging the finale - and that, my capitalist friends, is that. There is simply no use arguing that Interlagos’ undulating track with its history and its fan base and its capricious weather should have that honour. Bernie Ecclestone (left) has been criticised for damaging the integrity of the sport with the double points race . Hamilton knows how special Brazilian motor racing is, being an aficionado of Ayrton Senna, an icon who appealed to the rich and poor of his nation alike. Governments come and go - former Marxist guerrilla Dilma Rousseff has just been re-elected, supposedly, with 51 per cent of the vote - but Senna’s status endures. He is buried on a grassy knoll up the road at the Morumbi graveyard. The road from Guarulhos airport into the sprawl of the city bears his name. And only this week, a giant portrait comprising a patchwork of his family’s denim jeans was unveiled at the Ayrton Senna Institute. ‘When I was younger,’ said Hamilton, ‘I used to put on this one particular video of Ayrton, Racing Is In My Blood. I watched that God knows how many times. He really inspired me as a kid and he still does today. Every now and then someone may mention my name in the same sentence as his, and I feel really proud and honoured by that. ‘I come here and I still feel his presence. He still lives on through his fans and the country. It’s one of the most special things I’ve ever seen. I met his niece this week and she said his mum is a fan, which is amazing.’ Aryton Senna won three Drivers' World Championships before his untimely death in May 1994 . Caterham have called on fans to donate £2.35million to save them from closure, the fate that befell fellow strugglers Marussia on Friday. Administrators announced that Marussia’s 200 staff at their factory in Banbury, Oxfordshire, had been made redundant. It is believed the team, whose driver Jules Bianchi remains critical but stable after his accident in Japan, had debts of £31m. Caterham, who owe £16m, have launched an ambitious crowdfunding project to try to raise funds to compete at the final race in Abu Dhabi. They will offer ‘rewards’ in return for donations. The minimum pledge is £10. By last night they had raised more than £100,000 towards their £2.35m target. Marussia have folded after administrators confirmed the British-based outfit have ceased trading . Caterham have called on fans to donate £2.35million to save them from a similar fate to Marussia's . | Lewis Hamilton leads the Formula One Drivers' World Championship .
Hamilton won the United States Grand Prix on November 2 .
Brit driver holds a 24-point lead over Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg with two races of the season remaining .
The pair will be competing at the Brazil Grand Prix on Sunday .
Season-ending race at Abu Dhabi is worth double points . |
78,547 | de93167232c62dc1335fbf50cf6c8158faab99fd | By . Sadie Whitelocks . PUBLISHED: . 11:51 EST, 5 June 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 14:28 EST, 5 June 2012 . As Jubilee celebrations drew to a close the royal family were out in full force in London today, ensuring they were aptly dressed for the occasion. While men sported classic three-piece suits to the morning service and carriage procession, each of the ladies chose to compliment their outfits with a matching hat. The Queen kicked off proceedings in a Swarovski crystal-encrusted design by her long-serving in-house couturier Angela Kelly, while the Duchess of Cambridge impressed with a £790 feminine floral-inspired creation by milliner Jane Taylor. Hats off to the royals: From left the Queen in Angela Kelly, Camilla the Duchess of Cornwall in Philip Treacy and Kate the Duchess of Cambridge in Jane Taylor . However Zara Philips, 31, turned heads . as she opted for a rather unusual piece of headgear from designer Karen . Henriksen - even her husband Mike Tindall appeared to be a little . bemused by the architectural accessory as they sat side-by-side in St . Paul's Cathedral. But it's not the first time the British monarch's eldest granddaughter has purchased wares from the London-based designer. For the Duke of Edinburgh's 90th birthday at St George’s Chapel in . Windsor last year she donned a simple, considerably flatter design. Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, who have . been berated for their choices of headwear in the past managed to get . it right today - both selecting matching lavender-coloured berets from . Stephen Jones. Mike Tindall was a little bemused by his wife's unusual headpiece as they sat together in St Paul's Cathedral today . Zara Philips confidently wore her hat throughout the morning thanksgiving service and to a three-course lunch . Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall also looked magnificent in a cream Anna Valentine coat and dress with a broad-brimmed hat by Philip Treacy. Lord Frederick's actress wife Sophie Winkleman (known as Lady Frederick Windsor since the two married in 2009), Zara Philips' sister-in-law Autumn and the Duchess of Kent, who doesn't normally attend royal events, were others to stand out thanks to their sartorial choices. Jane Taylor, the London-based designer behind the Duchess of Cambridge's hat has already started marketing the beaded cocktail model, which took more than four weeks to create. Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie arrive at St Paul's Cathedral wearing Stephen Jones headwear . Sophie Winkleman in pretty cream . Autumn Phillips in midnight blue . The Duchess of Kent in pretty mint . | The Duchess of Cambridge sports £790 floral-inspired headpiece .
Queen's eldest granddaughter opts for architectural design by London-based designer Karen Henriksen . |
17,946 | 32d6e52ec96401da568987ff14118ff0d4b08812 | By . Paul Donnelley . Forget luxury machines and expensive beans, scientists have uncovered the secret behind the perfect cup of coffee - reasonably hard tap water. Coffee-loving experts used different types of water to find out how coffee flavours differed. They found water composition made a ‘dramatic difference’ to coffee from the same bean - with certain types of hardness boosting the taste. Scroll down for video . Coffee-loving experts used different types of water to find out how coffee flavours differed . High magnesium ion levels were found to increase the extraction of coffee into water, though high bicarbonate levels were bad for flavour. Sodium rich water - such as that produced by water softeners - was also not beneficial to taste, according to chemist Christopher Hendon of the University of Bath. ‘Coffee beans contain hundreds of chemicals; the precise composition depends on the type of bean and how it is roasted,’ Mr Hendon, a PhD student at the university’s Centre for Sustainable Chemical Technologies, said. Howcast.com . ‘Coffee beans contain hundreds of chemicals; the precise composition depends on the type of bean and how it is roasted,’ say the scientists . ‘The flavour of the resulting coffee is determined by how much of these chemicals are extracted by the water, which is influenced by roast profile, grind, temperature, pressure and brew time. ‘We’ve found that the water composition is key to the proportions of sugars, starches, bases and acids extracted from a particular roast.’ The coffee industry currently uses guidelines on the ideal water for coffee extraction from the Speciality Coffee Association of Europe, which puts emphasis on measuring ionic conductivity to quantify the total dissolved solids. However, the research found it was in fact the proportions of these ions that affected the extraction, and therefore the taste, of the coffee. ‘Hard water is generally considered to be bad for coffee, but we found it was the type of hardness that mattered - while high bicarbonate levels are bad, high magnesium ion levels increase the extraction of coffee into water and improve the taste,’ Mr Hendon said. | Water composition makes a ‘dramatic difference’ to coffee from same bean .
Softened water does not a good cup of coffee make .
Java tastes analysed by scientists at University of Bath . |
275,747 | f1331defcd050e8a52e32db4c4b612a67e3a4e48 | A drunk Kate Moss is said to have 'blagged' her way on to a flight from Turkey to London without a ticket on Monday night. The supermodel arrived at Bodrum Airport, south-west Turkey, 'clearly inebriated' after vacationing at a nearby detox centre, and held up a long line of passengers at the check-in desk for an EasyJet flight to London Gatwick. An eye-witness told MailOnline that the 40-year-old spent a significant amount of time talking to the duty manager, suggesting that Moss was trying to travel without a ticket. Scroll down for video . Frequent flyer: Moss was seen looking worse for wear at the airport in Bodrum, Turkey on Monday evening . Turning on the charm: The model was seen chatting to the duty manager for some time, apparently trying to get a ticket . EasyJet representative has since dismissed claims that Kate 'disrupted' the flight following her arrival at the airport, telling MailOnline: . ‘Everybody on that flight had paid for their seat but the delay to the . flight was not related to any one passenger, it was due to a delay of . the incoming flight. ‘The . behaviour of the passenger didn’t disrupt anyone on board and there was . no cause for concern in relation to any of the passengers in terms of . safety and wellbeing.’ Kate, who had been spending time . at The LifeCo, in Göltürkbükü, where she has stayed previously, arrived . at the airport at 8.30pm on Monday. Letting her hair down: Kate Moss is believed to have spent the week at a detox centre . Chatting away: Kate was soon whisked off by the helpful member of staff before boarding the plane . She got in the queue for budget . airline EasyJet’s 9.30pm flight to London Gatwick – a surprising choice . for a multi-millionaire supermodel – and several fellow travellers . reported that she was ‘drunk’ and appeared to be either without a . boarding pass or ticket. One eyewitness told MailOnline: ‘The . general consensus was that she didn’t have a ticket but after chatting . to the manager for some time she was whisked off and ushered on to a . flight. ‘It was pretty obvious that Kate had had a bit to drink as she was talking loudly and didn’t seem worried about being seen.’ Amusing: Fellow travellers took to Titter to comment on their amusement and shock at sharing a flight with 'drunk' Kate . They added: ‘If I had showed up that drunk there’s no way I’d be let on the plane but she is Kate Moss.’ The flight was delayed and did not . take off until 11.51pm, two hours and 21 minutes behind schedule, and . subsequently arrived late at London Gatwick. However, while on-board, the . supermodel mother-of-one reportedly happily chatted away to those around . her. A number of star-struck travellers took to Twitter to say they had spotted the famous model. One user, Rayanne, wrote: ‘Just got off my flight with a very drunk Kate Moss.’ While another, Amelia shared: ‘Seen Kate moss drunk in the airport.’ Fellow holiday-goer Jess tweeted: 'Kate Moss was on the same plane as me yesterday and and she was out of it. (sic)’ A single ticket from Bodrum to London Gatwick on the same EasyJet flight next week costs £129. Images of the model in the airport see . her dressed in her typical rock chick all-black attire carting her own . cabin sized black suitcase and a blue handbag. Wellness: It's thought Kate was staying at the LifeCo Bodrum Detox Centre . Picture of health: On Tuesday Kate was seen back in London looking sprightly with daughter Lila Grace . Kate, who appears to be accompanied by . a small group of female friends, can be seen smiling away as she is . then ushered through the airport. The visit to The LifeCo is not Kate’s first – she made a trip there ahead of her 40th birthday in January of this year. The centre reportedly offers guests a chance to cut out solid foods – drinking fruit and vegetable juices. According to their website guests will ‘regain long lost vigorous youth, lose weight and toxins’ during their detox. A seven-day detox, which Kate is believed to favour, costs 3640 Euros for those wanting to stay in a suite. A spokesperson for Kate declined to comment. EasyJet also declined to comment on . the incident, adding that the company 'has a strict respect of privacy . and it is the airline policy not to comment on any of its passengers.' | Arrived 'clearly inebriated' at Turkish airport on Monday evening .
Believed to have turned on charm with duty manager to get on flight .
Flew to London on £129 EasyJet flight which was delayed by two hours .
Supermodel chatted to those seated around her on flight home .
Stayed at The LifeCo Detox Centre, in Bodrum, southwest Turkey . |
98,676 | 0b123c7e5ac2f104dac1843181b3823b7cac23fd | (CNN) -- A Florida man admitted to reporters that he killed his wife and five "innocent" children, adding that he wants to be executed "right away" so he can be buried with them on Saturday. Mesac Damas spoke with reporters in Haiti, saying a "spirit" drove him to kill his wife and children. Mesac Damas, 32, said he wanted to take his own life, but did not have the courage to go through with it, "because if you kill yourself, you're not going to heaven." Damas made the statements to a Naples Daily News reporter as he was being led into a Haitian police vehicle in Port-au-Prince. Damas was returned to the United States late Tuesday following his capture in Haiti. Damas faces six counts of premeditated first-degree murder in the deaths of his wife, Guerline Damas, 32; and the couple's five children -- Michzach, 9; Marven, 6; Maven, 5; Megan, 3; and Morgan, 11 months, police have said. The six bodies were found Saturday in the family's North Naples, Florida, home after relatives called police saying they had not been heard from. Asked by the reporter in Haiti why he killed his family, Damas responded, "Only God knows." Questioned further, he blamed the crime on his mother-in-law. "Her mom pretty much made me do it -- the devil, her spirit, whatever she worships," he said. Watch what Damas has to say » . Damas added, "When I did it, [my] eyes [were] closed but right now my eyes are open." He repeatedly asked the reporter, "Do you believe in Jesus Christ," and stated, "The devil exists." Police said an arrest warrant was issued for Damas on Tuesday "based on information and evidence collected thus far in the investigation and statements made by Damas to a federal agent after his detention in Haiti." Police have not said how the five were killed, but Collier County Sheriff Kevin Rambosk described the scene as "horrific." The Naples Daily News, citing the warrant, reported that the woman and children were stabbed and their throats were slashed. Damas had used a one-way ticket to fly from Miami to Haiti. Later, he told reporters that he had gone to Haiti to say goodbye to his family. He claimed that he had planned to turn himself in. Police had asked the FBI and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for help in locating Damas. The FBI's legal attaché in the Dominican Republic notified authorities in Collier County, Florida, that a man believed to be Damas was taken into custody Monday by the Haitian National Police. "Information obtained by [the sheriff's office] shows Damas was found hiding near a hotel in the capital city of Port-au-Prince," a sheriff's statement said Tuesday. Watch In Session's report on Damas' detention in Haiti » . Police earlier said the judge who signed the arrest warrant ordered that Damas be held without bond upon his return to Florida. If convicted of six counts of first-degree murder, Damas could face life in prison or the death penalty. Mesac and Guerline Damas had a history of domestic violence, police said. Mesac Damas was arrested in January, and in June he pleaded no contest to misdemeanor battery charges against his wife. Police said they did not believe he served any jail time, and did not think a restraining order was currently in place regarding the couple. However, an arrest warrant was issued Monday for Damas on charges of violating probation stemming from the January arrest. Guerline Damas' family released a statement Tuesday through the sheriff's office, saying she was "the best mother, sister and daughter in the world. She was caring and loving, and we miss her very much." "This is a family tragedy and we want the community to realize that domestic violence is a serious issue," said the statement from the family. "If you have friends or family who are in an abusive relationship, please try to get them help. And to those women who are being abused, please love yourself enough to get help." The family said its main concern was getting Damas back into the country "to face what he has done and get justice for our sister and daughter and her children. ... We ask that you keep our family in your prayers." The Damases had been married about 10 years, Rambosk said. He did not know how long they had lived in Naples. The six bodies were found about 6:30 p.m. Saturday, a day after police had visited the home to check on the family, Collier County sheriff's Capt. Chris Roberts said. A family member had asked police to conduct a welfare check on the home Friday, saying they had not heard from a resident there, Roberts said. Responding officers knocked on the door and got no answer, he said, but they saw nothing that aroused their suspicions. The following morning, the family member became more concerned and filed a missing persons report, Rambosk said. Later, authorities requested a key to the house from property management, as well as authorization to enter. | NEW: Warrant indicated victims were stabbed, throats slashed, paper reports .
NEW: Mesac Damas admits killings, tells reporter he wants to be executed .
NEW: He blames the crime on his mother-in-law's "spirit"
Damas, 32, faces murder charges in the deaths of his wife and five children . |
280,704 | f7a68da6defc7ffcdc10f05c52c8f159c2d1df88 | By . Anna Edwards . Braintree District Council took chicken farmer Anthony Block to court after one of the residents neighbouring the farm made a complaint . A magistrate has laughed a council out of court after they hauled a rural farmer to the dock for failing to stop his chickens crowing too loudly. Anthony Block, 52, laughed when he first heard Braintree District Council's plan to drag him in front of magistrates over his free range chicken farm near Finchingfield, Essex. Mr Block is accused of falling fowl of a noise abatement order he received three years ago calling on him to prevent his chickens ‘crowing at a level likely to result in reasonable cause for complaint from occupiers of nearby residential properties'. But despite baffled magistrates refusing to enforce a fine, Mr Block has still been left with £115 legal costs and a criminal record following the barmy conviction. He said: 'What next? Are they going to complain about the birds in the trees being too noisy? 'My business has been here since 2002 and all of a sudden they are too noisy - it just doesn't make any sense. 'The magistrates laughed the case out of court as they thought it was a waste of time and money so I don't understand why the council were allowed to take it this far. 'I thought it was a joke when the council first phoned me up about a complaint from a neighbour about my chickens being too loud - it's absolute madness that I now have a conviction for it.' Mr Block claims he was 'bullied' into pleading guilty to failing to comply with the noise abatement notice after council officials threatened to involve costly lawyers and charge him for the legal bills. Mr Block claims he was 'bullied' into pleading guilty to failing to comply with the noise abatement notice . He added: 'The council have been totally against me the whole way. They threatened to get a barrister in and charge me for costs. 'I was worried it was going to end up costing me thousands so I felt bullied into accepting the charge.' Mr Block appeared in the dock charged with breaching a noise abatement notice - despite the council admitting no decibel readings were ever taken. Instead the charge was brought merely on the basis of a council officer's ‘professional opinion' following a visit to the farm. The life-long farmer was handed a conditional discharge and ordered to pay £115 legal costs at Chelmsford Magistrates' Court last week. The life-long farmer was handed a conditional discharge and ordered to pay £115 legal costs at Chelmsford Magistrates' Court . Chairman of the bench Michael Rothon said: 'I am not sure it's written down anywhere how many decibels a cockerel is allowed to make. 'It's a farm with chickens so you expect to hear noise. 'We're giving you a conditional discharge as we really don't want to waste any more time on it.' The neighbour who made the complaint against Mr Block declined to comment when approached for an interview. Wendy Schmitt, a Braintree district councillor, defended the court action saying: 'Although this is quite an unusual case, it is clear that the noise caused by the animals was excessive, often taking place over night, and as such action was required. 'Excessive noise either from a residential or commercial property can make people's lives a misery and in this case despite having a large . plot of land, the cockerels were being housed in a way that was causing upset for neighbours. 'The council will always look to act when appropriate to do so.' | Anthony Block was charged with breaching a noise abatement notice .
Braintree District Council had not taken any decibel readings .
Farmer was given conditional discharge and must pay £115 legal costs . |
218,038 | a64c9ab6f01b6e95d087e56134b5d35f92715cc7 | (CNN) -- One of the lesser-known things done by Spain's pre-Civil War left-wing government during its short rule was to legalize abortion. Banned under Franco, abortion was allowed again in 1985, and in 2010 legal abortion was extended radically by the left-wing Zapatero government. In recent years, hundreds of thousands of Spaniards have taken to the streets to demand an end to Spain's laissez-faire abortion culture. The current conservative government is now promoting a bill which restricts -- albeit with significant compromises -- legal abortion. Among protests against the bill, topless activists called "Femen" threw bloodstained underwear at Madrid's Cardinal-Archbishop as he visited a Madrid parish. Contrasting view: Spain 'heading for self-made mess' with abortion ban . If, as predicted, the bill is passed, abortion will no longer be regarded in law as a "right" but as a crime. This classification is not a draconian throwback to a previous age: Today abortion remains part of the criminal law in many Western jurisdictions, even in places with high rates of legally-permitted abortion such as Britain. Two other elements of the proposed Spanish law which mirror the British abortion law relate to doctors: A requirement that two doctors are necessary to authorize an abortion in most cases, and a right of conscientious objection for those doctors who reject abortion. These three elements send a message that abortion is not merely a medical procedure but an act of grave moral significance for all involved: Doctors, mothers and unborn children. There is nothing in international human rights law which denies or downgrades a human being's right to life based on physical development. If we recognize that unborn children are human beings, then we must recognize that abortion is Spain's leading cause of death. Even advocates of legal abortion admit that unborn children are human beings. Those advocates, however, draw arbitrary lines on legal personhood and therefore the right to life: some at 12 weeks after conception, some at 24 weeks, some at birth and a few even years after birth. There is, however, no solid foundation for such lines. A human being has at the moment of conception the same genetic identity throughout life. This is why some pro-lifers like myself have reservations about the proposed law. The bill enshrines a compromise without a rational basis. Abortion would still be allowed when doctors diagnose a threat to the mother's health or when following an allegation that the baby was conceived in a non-consensual act. When a danger is detected to the mother's health, the correct way for doctors to proceed is to "kill" the danger, not kill the child. Abortion doesn't cure any illnesses or treat any conditions. Just as we don't kill children after birth if caring for them may involve a danger to the mother's health, we shouldn't kill them before birth either. When a woman has been made pregnant through rape, an abortion punishes an innocent person -- the child. It doesn't unrape the mother. Studies and surveys suggest that many, if not most, women made pregnant through sexual assault do not choose abortion and are glad they didn't. There is evidence, albeit not yet conclusive, which suggests that legal abortion may pose an additional health risk for women. A recent meta-analysis of 36 studies of Chinese women suggests a link between abortion and breast cancer. The research of New Zealand's Professor David Fergusson, who supports a legal right to abortion, suggests a significant link between abortion and negative mental health outcomes. Today Spain is an aging nation with one of the world's lowest birth-rates. Estimates suggest that in a few years deaths (of born people) will outnumber births. The Spanish cannot afford to continue to regard children as burdensome optional extras. In the United States, the Hispanic population continues to grow in size and significance. It is an absurd irony that Spain's native population has been declining just as their ethnic brethren have been advancing in the world's richest nation. Despite the new bill's compromises, I welcome its recognition of the equality of disabled human beings through the proposed deletion of disability as a ground for abortion. The revival of eugenics has been one of the most retrograde trends in recent decades, a sinister shadow of those dark pre-1945 years in which science was abused to justify eliminating so-called "lives unworthy of life." No unborn child is unworthy of legal protection against abortion: for we were all unborn children once. Read more: 2009 -- Spanish Parliament approves abortion bill . The views expressed in this commentary are solely those of Anthony Ozimic. | Spain's proposed abortion law would restrict abortion to rape victims or women who would suffer lasting harm .
Anthony Ozimic says no unborn child is unworthy of legal protection against abortion .
Having an abortion does not "unrape" a rape victim, he says, or cure an illness .
Ozimic says if unborn children are human beings, then abortion is Spain's leading cause of death . |
25,225 | 4776213c57d709be0eb4a1ca27f411e594d1d5b5 | A guru who ordered 400 of his followers to undergo castrations he said would bring them closer to God is under investigation by police in India. The country's top crime fighting agency registered a case against Gurmeet Ram Rahim - known as the 'guru in bling' for his penchant for garish clothes and jewellery - over the operations at his ashram. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said Rahim is being investigated for criminal intimidation and causing grievous bodily hurt after an alleged 400 castrations were carried out. Scroll down for video . 'Guru in bling': Gurmeet Ram Rahim is being probed by India's Central Bureau of Investigation after a former follower alleged he ordered 400 men to submit to castrations he said would bring them closer to god . The guru, who heads the Dera Sacha Sauda organisation based in Haryana state, is already facing trial for conspiracy over the murder of a journalist in 2002, as well as with claims of sexually exploiting female followers. The latest case was filed after one of his devotees, Hansraj Chauhan, lodged a complaint in court alleging he was manipulated into having the 'painful' operation at the ashram. 'They were told that only those who get castrated will be able to meet god,' Mr Chauhan's lawyer, Navkiran Singh, told AFP. 'We will put all the facts of the case to the court and seek compensation for the victims.' Mr Singh said doctors carried out the castrations over a period from 2000, but for years his client had been too scared to come forward. The court asked the CBI to carry out an investigation into the alleged castrations. The Times of India reports that Mr Chauhan said he was castrated at Rahim's ashram by doctors acting on the guru's orders. A court-mandated medical examination determined that Mr Chauhan had indeed been surgically castrated. Rahim, 47, yesterday hit back at the accusations, telling a press conference convened to plug his new movie he is considering legal action of his own against his accusers. 'Such allegations disturb me, when I am doing good for humanity. Therefore me and my legal advisor are going to move the court challenging the allegations,' said Rahim. Colourful: The guru, who heads the Dera Sacha Sauda organisation in Haryana state, is already facing trial for conspiracy over the 2002 murder of a journalist, as well as with claims of sexually exploiting female followers . The Dera Sacha Sauda says it is a social welfare and spiritual organisation with millions of followers in India and broad. On its website, the group describes Rahim as a saint as well as an author, inventor, scientist, philosopher, philanthropist, peace activist and 'the ultimate humanitarian'. Rahim stars in an action movie to be released later this month called 'MSG: Messenger of God' in which the guru fights criminals, sings songs and is shown dousing himself in water in slow motion after a rugby game. India has been rocked by numerous scandals involving popular godmen who are mostly Hindu ascetics claiming to possess mystical powers. In November, police arrested Baba Rampal Maharaj after a long and violent siege at his ashram in Haryana when he refused to comply with court orders in a murder case. In a bizarre case, devotees of a dead guru are fighting a court battle in Punjab state to preserve his body in a freezer, insisting he is only meditating. For many Indians, gurus play an integral role in daily life. They say they offer a pathway to enlightenment in return for spiritual devotion and often give donations to ashrams, temples and charity projects. | Gurmeet Ram Rahim is already facing trial over the murder of a journalist .
And he has faced allegations that he sexually exploited female followers .
Latest investigation follows complaint from a former follower of his sect . |
107,957 | 172bd826a77d40714dec27e51f62a6a8bdd98f58 | Jerusalem (CNN) -- A new Israel Defense Forces order aimed at preventing infiltration in the West Bank is sparking angry condemnations in the Palestinian Authority. The order, which will take effect on Wednesday, poses a threat to thousands of Palestinians who will now be considered illegal under the new regulations. The new order is in fact an amendment to an existing order from 1969. It extends the definition of an infiltrator to "a person who is present in the area and does not lawfully hold a permit." The order threatens those defined as infiltrators with deportation or imprisonment of up to seven years. It is unclear from the wording of the document -- signed six months ago by the commander of the IDF in the West Bank at the time, Maj. Gen. Gadi Shamni -- exactly who would fall under the new provisions. Clauses in the order state that "a person is an infiltrator if he is present in the area without a document or a permit indicating his lawful presence in the area without reasonable justification." A permit would be a document "issued by the commander of IDF forces in the Judea and Samaria area or someone acting on his behalf, or issued by the authorities of the State of Israel," according to the document, using the Israeli terminology referring to the West Bank. The human rights organization Hamoked and nine other rights groups urgently appealed to the Israeli defense minister, demanding postponement of the implementation of the order that the groups said "will turn all residents of the West Bank into criminals." Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat said in a statement: "These military orders belong in an apartheid state. Extensive in scope, they make it infinitely easier for Israel to imprison and expel Palestinians from the West Bank. They are an assault on ordinary Palestinians, and an affront to the most fundamental principles of human rights." He added, "These orders have the effect of turning Palestinians into criminals in their own homes, while directly undermining the efforts of Palestinians to run their own internal affairs. They also open the flood gate for Israel to target foreign-born spouses, foreign workers, and even Israeli citizens as 'infiltrators', as well as anyone participating in demonstrations in support of Palestinian rights and against Israel's occupation." Erakat said the order reveals "the invidious design behind Israel's settlement policy. "The fewer Palestinians there are in the West Bank, including in occupied East Jerusalem, the more settlers there will be. Israel's endgame is not peace. It is the colonization of the West Bank." An IDF spokesman told CNN: "The purpose of the order which was signed by the ... central command and which is scheduled to become affective on April 14th, is the extradition of those residing illegally in Judea and Samaria. This is a preexisting order which has no change with regard to who is illegal or illegal. There was a correction to ensure judicial oversight of the extradition process". | Rights groups say order turns all West Bank residents into criminals .
Palestinian negotiator: "These military orders belong in an apartheid state"
Israel Defense Forces says order does not change definition of who is illegal . |
160,546 | 5b8d2d208f856ea876ded4f516bd6272f8681a3d | By . Simon Tomlinson . PUBLISHED: . 08:22 EST, 23 January 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 08:45 EST, 23 January 2013 . Hollywood's elite will chow down on vegan pizza and kale salad in addition to the traditional smoked salmon Oscars at the annual Governor's Ball after next month's Academy Awards ceremony, celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck has announced. Unveiling his menu for the year's biggest movie party, Puck said he would also serve chicken pot pie with shaved black truffles, mini Kobe burgers, Japanese baby peach salad, steamed red snapper with Thai spice, Tuna Nicoise and his signature gold-dusted mini-chocolate Oscars. Some 1,500 guests are expected at the ball immediately after the February 24 Oscars ceremony, including nominees such as George Clooney, Steven Spielberg, Jennifer Lawrence and Jessica Chastain. Feast: Masterchef Wolfgang Puck shows off the menu for this year's Oscars after-show ball for 1,500 guests . Exquisite: Sherry Yard prepares the chocolate Oscar deserts while Francois Peltereau-Villeneuve pours a Thienot Rose champagne during the preview of the 85th Academy Awards Governors Ball in Hollywood . Puck's menu could be the first chance for many of the attendees to eat since breakfast as nominees and presenters stave off food in order to squeeze into fitted gowns and tuxedos for the televised red carpet arrivals and ceremony. 'Nobody eats lunch that day, so by nine o'clock, anybody who would be on a diet is no longer on that diet,' Puck said. With Oscar-nominated films ranging from dramas to comedies and musicals, guests at the ball - the Academy's official celebration - will be dining on dishes just as varied. 'We have so many great nominated movies from Argo to Les Miserables to Silver Linings Playbook,' Puck told Reuters. 'It's a really great year for movies with lots of variety, so we are going to serve a variety of dishes.' Haute cuisine: Mr Puck cooks a lobster with black bean sauce as sous chefs Matthew Bencienvega (left) and Michael Pennick watch on . Taste test: Puck, who this year is marking his 19th year catering the ball, said there will be a strong focus on vegan dishes this year . Something for all tastes: Mr Puck said he would also serve chicken pot pie with shaved black truffles, mini Kobe burgers, Japanese baby peach salad and steamed red snapper with Thai spice . Puck, who this year is marking his 19th year catering the ball, and chef Matt Bencivenga will serve over 50 dishes from hors d'oeuvres and entrees that will be served on small plates throughout the evening. Gastronomical items will include Chinese, French, Italian dishes and others from Puck's many Los Angeles eateries. The master chef told Reuters there will also be a strong focus this year on vegan dishes, including pizza, kale salad with grilled artichoke, and a beet salad with spiced walnut among others. 'If they don't find something to eat (among our dishes) then they are really finicky,' joked Puck. Setting the scene: About 300 of Puck's staff will be in the kitchen and 650 on the dining room floor, which will be laid out with small tables and booths to create a party atmosphere rather than a black tie dinner . Fine-tuning: Event producer Cheryl Cecchetto speaks during a preview of the Governor's Ball which will host aruond 1,500 guests after the Oscars . Also attending will be nominees such as George Clooney, Jennifer Lawrence (right) and Jessica Chastain . About 300 of Puck's staff will be in the kitchen and 650 on the dining room floor, which will be laid out with small tables and booths to create a party atmosphere rather than a black tie dinner, according to Puck. Completing the setting will be a 120-foot (37m) chandelier hanging from the ceiling and an 18-foot (5.5m) golden Oscar as the centerpiece of the ballroom floor. Puck said food preparation will start a few days before the event with the making of dishes like smoked salmon and tortellini, but said: 'We cook everything as if we were cooking for an intimate party of 25 - everything at the last moment.' By midnight, Puck said the festivities would be pretty much over as attendees moved to other parties. That's when he'll get his first opportunity of the day to relax 'and hang with a few people I know, and we sit around and have some good wine.' | Dinner for 1,500 guests will be held after 85th Academy Awards next month .
Menu also includes black truffles, Kobe burgers and steamed red snapper .
Masterchef Wolfgang Puck is marking his 19th year catering for the event .
He will serve more then 50 dishes which will have a strong vegan influence . |
232,565 | b91f7bc098f159046d69cec83e2796ed88c4d9d9 | By . Stian Alexander . PUBLISHED: . 04:31 EST, 27 December 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 04:54 EST, 27 December 2013 . Banned: Serial killer Rose West is said to be 'fuming' after prison bosses banned inmates from using the showers after their gym sessions . Murderer Rose West is said to be 'fuming' after being banned from using the showers in the prison gym. Bosses at HMP Low Newton, a 336-capacity maximum security jail in Durham, outlawed inmates taking showers following workouts after a string of thefts. The ban was put in place earlier this year after a number of items of clothing and belongings were pinched while female inmates were washing. Several prisoners - including West - have complained that the ban leaves them 'feeling filthy' after a sweaty workout and they are demanding the rule is overturned. West has become an 'avid' gym user in the last year since piling on the pounds while inside. The 60-year-old, who was jailed for life in 1995 for 10 murders, is a size 20 and is thought to weigh around 15 stone. The mother-of-eight works as a tea lady for prison wardens, earning £16-a-week. But West - along with other inmates - is fuming that they leave the gym 'feeling filthy' and sweaty and are demanding to have the showers in the gym switched back on. Fellow inmates Maz Cullerton and Tracey Cutting have both complained about the ban on showers, saying it is 'disgusting'. The two prisoners, who jointly signed the letter on behalf of the 336 inmates at the prison, wrote: 'We feel the need to write in and express our disgust at the way the gymnasium is being run here. 'The most disgusting fact about the gym is that we women are no longer allowed to use the gym's shower facilities. Thefts: The ban was imposed by bosses at HMP Low Newton, a maximum security jail near Durham, earlier this year after a spate of thefts . 'They were stopped when I made a complaint that my prison-issue gym tee-shirt going missing. 'We feel we are being punished collectively for being assertive. 'Women who attend gym courses are expected to train and then go to afternoon jobs and activities feeling filthy - it is totally degrading.' She added: 'Yes, we have sinks in our rooms but these are not exactly satisfactory. 'Why should we have to strip-wash in sinks in the 21st century? 'Now the showers that were built specifically for inmates are being used by prison staff only. Killers: Rose West, pictured with her husband Fred, who committed suicide while on remand charged with 12 murders . 'Do we have a right to a shower after taking part in physical gym activity? 'Is this the only jail that fails to promote and provide good health and hygiene?' According to a source, West is a 'regular user' of the gym and has 'lent her support' to the campaign to get the shower ban overturned. The source said, however, there was no specific Prison Service Instruction (PSI) which requires jails to provide showers in jail gyms. He said: 'The PSI 2011-058 which covers physical education for prisoners does not mention shower provision.' A spokesperson for HMP Low Newton said that prisoners were 'returned' to their cells after workouts in the gym. She said: 'Prisoners are returned to their living areas after exercise.' She also said there was 'ample time' for them to wash outside the confines of the gym before starting work. West was convicted, by a unanimous jury, of the murders of 10 young women at Winchester Crown Court in November 1995. The crimes for which she was convicted took place largely between April 1973 and August 1979. She murdered Charmaine West, the daughter of her husband's previous wife Rena, in June 1971. The eight-year-old's body was buried at the West's former home, 25 Midland Road in Gloucester. One of the body's discovered at the couple's Cromwell Street home, dubbed the House of Horrors, was their daughter Heather. The 16-year-old was killed by her father after being abused by Rose and raped by Fred. She was buried under the patio at the house, which has since been torn down and paved over creating a public walkway. Demolished: The House of Horrors, the West's home in Cromwell Street, Gloucester was demolished following Rose's conviction and Fred's suicide. The couple's daughter Heather was found buried under the patio . In August 1992 Fred West was arrested after being accused of raping his 13-year-old daughter. Rose was arrested for child cruelty at the same time. But the case against the couple collapsed when the young girl refused to testify against her parents. The investigation brought to light the absence of Heather and sparked an inquiry into her disappearance. The couple had given various explanations for Heather's disappearance, telling one person she had gone to Wales with a lesbian and another that the teenager had left home after assaulting one of her siblings. Fred West hanged himself while he was on remand at Birmingham's Winson Green Prison, charged with 12 murders. Sentencing Rose, Mr Justice Mantell condemned her to spending the rest of her life in prison. Eighteen months later the Justice Secretary Jack Straw echoed the sentiment, subjecting West to a life tariff. It was only the second time a woman had been condemned to die behind bars. The other was Myra Hindley. In July the European Courts of Human Rights declared that whole life tariffs are illegal. West will now receive a new minimum term from the High Court. | Showers were banned after women's' belongings were stolen .
Size 20 and weighing 15 stone Rose West has become an 'avid' gym goer .
Murderer West and fellow inmates have written a letter of complaint .
They are fuming and claim they are left feeling 'filthy' and 'degraded'
Prison spokesman said there is 'ample' time for inmates to wash in their living areas before going to work or take part in afternoon activities . |
174,002 | 6d2c92de037017638b6f2d825f2e9a47455fde9a | Film fans can now rent movies from Sky without paying a hefty subscription. From today, movies available on the Sky Store can be streamed by anyone through a browser, as well as through the Roku and YouView set-top boxes. New releases, including Despicable Me 2 and The Lone Ranger, cost £3.49, while older titles such as Austin Powers start 99p and classics including Top Gun and The Godfather cost £1.99. The Sky Store was previously only available for Sky customers and people with a NOW TV box. From today Sky is making the online rental service, pictured, open to everyone and films can be streamed through a browser, Roku, YouView and NOW TV box . New releases, including Despicable Me 2 . and The Lone Ranger, cost £3.49, while older titles such as Austin . Powers start 99p and classics including Top Gun and The Godfather cost . £1.99. Other films available today include The Hangover Part III, pictured, Man Of Steel, Forrest Gump and Austin Powers. In the New Year the service will add White House Down, Rush and Captain Phillips. After setting up a free account on the . Sky Store website, customers can either stream online on a laptop or PC, . or login to the Sky Store app on NOW TV, Roku and YouView boxes. Other films available today include The Hangover Part III, Man Of Steel, Forrest Gump and Austin Powers. In the New Year it will add White House Down, Rush and Captain Phillips. The service was previously only available to people with a Sky subscription and through the Sky-owned NOW TV box. This announcement makes the store the latest site to offer on-demand rentals and streaming and directly competes with the likes of Tesco-owned Blinkbox, Vdio and Wuaki TV. It differs from Netflix and Lovefilm because it doesn't charge a monthly fee. Sky Store doesn’t have a huge catalogue - there are around 1,200 titles available - and it isn't available on mobile devices yet. By comparison, rival Blinkbox has around 9,000 titles as well as Android and iOS apps. The firm also said: 'We will be working to bring Sky Store to more platforms over time' but did not give a date when Android and iOS apps will be available. Virgin Media offers a similar service to Sky's new offering. Since April 2010, anyone can rent movies from its own 1,000-strong catalogue. This latest release is part of a wider drive by Sky to make its content available to more people. Older titles such as The Godfather, pictured left, and Top Gun, right, start at £1.99. In the New Year the service will add White House Down, Rush and Captain Phillips. Users need to register online and add card details to buy rentals and once a rental is bought it will be stored until the owner presses play, after which it lasts 48 hours . Nicola Bamford, director of Sky Store told MailOnline: ‘We’re delighted millions more homes can access hundreds of box office smashes alongside best-loved movie classics. All you need is an internet connection and away you go. She also took a swipe at competitors including Lovefilm: ‘With Sky Store there are no late fees and no waiting for the post. Customers simply sign up and stream the film they want to watch.’ After setting up a free account on the Sky Store website, customers can either stream online on a laptop or PC or login to the Sky Store app on the select set-top boxes. Users do need to add card details to buy rentals and once a rental has been bought it will be stored on the account until the owner presses play. They then have 48 hours to watch the rental before it gets removed from the account. Sky TV customers can continue to access Sky Store via their Sky+HD box where movies are stored for 48 hours once viewing starts. | Non-Sky customers can now rent and stream films and TV shows online .
The Sky Store will also be available on Roku and YouView boxes .
Films start at 99p for older titles and up to £3.49 for new releases .
Titles include The Hangover Part III, Man Of Steel and The Godfather .
All rentals can be watched for 48 hours once a viewer presses play . |
107,420 | 1688a3505a091911d2c0b888d47377ef581fe2aa | (CNN) -- The Federal Reserve's newly released Survey of Consumer Finances confirmed what most of us already knew: The middle class has taken a really big hit. Between 2007 to 2010, the typical family had lost nearly 40% of their wealth. And, despite that our economy was 15% larger in 2010 than in 2001, the typical family's wealth decreased by 27.1% since 2001. On top of that, income had fallen. Median family income in 2010 was down by 7.7% from its 2007 level and 6.3% from its level a decade ago. The picture looks dismal, doesn't it? But none of these numbers are surprising really. Is the average American poorer than before? Yes. The Fed's survey is picking up on the huge effect of the collapse of the housing bubble. For many middle class families, their home is by far their largest financial asset. For decades, people were encouraged to believe that it was the safest way to save for retirement or other purposes. This clearly was not true when house prices became inflated. In the years when the bubble reached levels that were clearly unsustainable, from 2002 to 2007, housing was just about the worst possible place to keep wealth. Unfortunately, tens of millions of Americans listened to experts such as former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, who assured the country that there was no housing bubble. According to reports, Greenspan has a very nice pension and a job that pays more than $1 million a year. He certainly doesn't have to worry like the typical American family. It is difficult to read through the Fed survey and not get angry at the wreckage from a completely preventable disaster. American families: How are you coping? Greenspan could have used his enormous stature to warn of the dangers of buying overvalued houses. He could have warned lenders of the risks of issuing mortgages on overvalued property. And he could have used the massive research capacities of the Fed to document without question the existence of a bubble and the damage that its collapse would cause. He also could have used the Fed's regulatory power to crack down on the epidemic of mortgage fraud that the FBI had highlighted as early as 2004. If Greenspan had acted responsibly and taken some of these steps, as some of us have urged at the time, the housing bubble could have been contained before it was too late. But if all else failed, he could have raised interest rates. To make interest rate hikes more effective, he could have told the markets that he was explicitly targeting the bubble. For example, he could have promised to raise rates until nationwide house prices fell back to their 2000 level. Greenspan's failure is history now, but we should demand that the Fed take asset bubbles more seriously in the future. There is nothing more important that the Fed can do. So, what now? It should be apparent that housing is not a safe asset, even when we are not in a bubble. Those who advocate that everyone should be a homeowner are displaying their ignorance. Homeownership in many markets can be like putting all your savings in your employer's stock. Ask an autoworker in Detroit if this is not clear. Another important takeaway is that older Americans are extremely ill-prepared for retirement. The median wealth for families between the ages of 55 to 64 is $179,400. For families between the ages of 45 to 54, it is just $117,900. This is everything they own -- all their savings, retirement accounts and the equity they have in their home. The typical retiree in the next two decades will be almost entirely dependent on his or her Social Security check. Remarkably, in Washington, all the important people think the most pressing matter is finding ways to cut Social Security and Medicare. By detailing the economic slide of the average American, the Fed survey highlights a problem that is becoming increasing clear: growing inequality in our country. While most people are hurting badly, the very rich -- whose wealth and income have grown disproportionately big in recent times -- have largely recovered from the downturn. Americans should not tolerate a society where the rules are rigged to redistribute income upward. Otherwise, expect to become poorer. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Dean Baker. | Federal Reserve released survey showing average family losing 38.8% of net worth .
Dean Baker: Few surprised that the average American is poorer than before .
He says Alan Greenspan could have tried to contain the housing bubble .
Baker: Americans should not tolerate a society in which wealth inequality widens . |
11,402 | 206de4767426d2f1180853f3b331c5999b902c26 | Rick Perry delivered a scathing indictment of Barack Obama on Thursday night in Washington, teeing up a presidential run with a speech that took little notice of presumptive Democratic favorite Hillary Clinton and instead castigated the president as feckless, clueless and gutless. Just 16 days removed from the 10,000-square-foot Texas governor's mansion, Perry is on the road and shaping the messages that will accompany a White House campaign. He stopped in Washingtonto deliver rhetorical red-meat to a friendly and very conservative audience. The early going has been kind to the Texan: While reporters can't let go of his calamitous 'Oops!' moment in 2011, he raised political eyebrows on Thursday by unveiling a list of 80 financial power brokers who will shake the trees and make rain for him. One of those financiers, who requested anonymity, told Daily Mail Online on Thursday – in advance of the governor's address to the conservative American Principles Project – that Perry is confident he can win. 'He and his wife believe they are touched by God, and that this is his time,' the donor said. 'It's like – they can't lose – that's the sense of it.' 'I don't know if he'll win the nomination, but I'm absolutely sure he'll be one of the last two Republicans standing,' he added during a phone interview. Perry got a warm reception in Washington on Thursday with themes that hammered President Barack Obama and pointed toward a second presidential run . PRESSING THE FLESH: Perry mingled in a room full of hundreds of right-wingers at an event hosted by the American Principles Project, which opposes abortion and gay marriage . Perry shunned reporters on Thursday night after his speech – Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal held a press conference after his lunchtime remarks – but his turn at the podium during the nighttime gala brimmed with that confidence – half campaign stemwinder, half inaugural address. He lifted a line from Bill Clinton's 1993 inauguration, where the 41st president said, 'There is nothing wrong with America that cannot be cured with what is right with America.' Perry's version took aim at Barack Obama. 'There is nothing wrong in America today,' he said, 'that can't be fixed with a change in leadership.' That change is sure to come in January 2017, but it's anyone's guess who will move into 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. 'Our nation is on a slow glide-path to decline,' Perry said Thursday night. And Republicans see eight more years of a Democratic administration as a political doomsday. The GOP has a deep bench, with no fewer than 20 would-be nominees talking about running. They include governors, senators, former CEOs and diplomats, and a pediatric surgeon. Democrats, on the other hand, have Hillary Clinton, the former first lady, U.S. senator and secretary of state. And few others judged as powerful enough or daring enough to challenge her. Knowing who will likely await them in America's political Super Bowl has allowed GOP White House hopefuls to keep their anti-Hillary powder dry and hold their best attacks until 2016 when they will matter most. Instead Perry and others are focusing their energy on Obama. The governor's speech on Thursday could have been the one he delivered on the stump in 2012 if his first presidential bid hadn't imploded when he couldn't remember which three federal cabinet agencies he had said he would close if he won the presidency. He hit Obama on foreign policy, on energy, on the economy and jobs, and on that distinctly Texas concern: illegal immigration. And he slapped Republicans, as Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal had earlier in the day during an American Principles Project lunch, for risking the loss of their congressional majorities by straying too close to the political middle. THREE YEARS AND ONE 'OOPS' LATER: Perry was all smiles in October 2011 when he filed the paperwork for his name to appear on the New Hampshire primary ballot . CAMPAIGN MODE: The Texas governor wound up his crowd with reliable conservative themes and spent most of his time at the podium railnig against the Obama administration . READY TO RUN? Perry is road-testing themes for future speeches when the political stakes will be as high as any in American history . Americans, he said, rejected the Obama administration in November – citing 'the VA allowing our heroes to die, the IRS targeting citizens, the administration trading five terrorists for a military deserter, the rise of ISIS, the lies upon which Obamacare was passed, (and) the weakest economic recovery in history.' 'But let’s be clear about something,' he said in the Mayflower Hotel just a mile from the U.S. Capitol: 'The American voters’ rejection of the Democrats does not mean they embraced Republicans.' 'A congressional majority is a terrible thing to waste.' Similarly, Jindal had warned against the GOP slouching toward status as 'Democrat-lite.' Both men are rock-ribbed conservatives. Along with Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, they will inhabit the right flank of the Republicans' march through next year's political playoffs. Perry spat out a litany of anti-Obama sentiments that could have come out of a tea party convention platform. 'Six years of study on the Keystone Pipeline, and still nothing happens,' he said. 'When Vladimir Putin was invading Ukraine, the president dithered when he could have sent a powerful message to the Russian president.' 'Our broken, outdated tax code has become an incubator of corruption, favoritism and bureaucratic harassment.' 'We need to stop strangling small businesses with over-regulation.' Perry, seldom soft-spoken, took special umbrage at Obama's plan to mainstream more than 5 million illegal immigrants with residency cards and work permits while hundreds of thousands more pour across the U.S.-Mexico border with drugs and human chattel. 'Those who smuggle children, enslave women, destroy lives by peddling illegal drugs and weapons, they are the face of evil,' Perry boomed. 'Texas has done more to secure the border than any state in the nation,' he exclaimed. 'And the message is clear: as long as Washington will not secure the border, Texas will.' 2016 STARTS NOW: Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal spoke earlier in the day to the American Principles Project, the same group Perry appeared with at night . Perry was loose on Thursday night, free-wheeling his words as he boasted about his state's economic boom.. 'More people have moved to Texas than any other state,' he said. 'Lemme give you a little news-flash here – it's not because of our great weather in August.' At times he strayed near the eccentricities of an infamous October 2011 speech in New Hampshire that was so disengaged and free-spirited that political observers suspected he was drunk. Perry spent a week denying it, and was rescued from the biggest headlines only by businessman Herman Cain's sexual harassment scandal. The 'Oops' collapse came less than two weeks later. On that occasion, he said later, he was on painkillers for a back ailment. But Perry has never styled himself as a practiced orator or a charm school graduate. 'If you're looking for a slick politician, or a guy with great teleprompter skills, we already have that,' he said in one 2011 commercial. 'And he's destroying our economy.' 'I'm a doer, not a talker.' | Perry appeared at the annual gala of the American Principles project, an anti-abortion, anti-gay marriage group in Washington, DC .
He unveiled a list of 80 high-powered fundraisers who will work for him as he explores the presidential landscape .
One of them said 'he and his wife believe they are touched by God, and that this is his time'
Perry warned that 'Our nation is on a slow glide-path to decline' and cautioned other Republicans that 'a congressional majority is a terrible thing to waste'
Free-wheeling style was nearly as loose as October 2011, when Perry was so off-the-cuff in New Hampshire that pundits suspected he was drunk . |
145,427 | 480ed05f26906b31180ede18e19b1d4aeb9c7df0 | (CNN) -- Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama left a White House meeting, described as at times "contentious," with no apparent financial bailout deal worked out. Obama, appearing on CNN's "The Situation Room" after the meeting, said there "has to be a sense of urgency on the part of everybody. ... We've got to move rapidly." Obama said that there will be a deal eventually but that there is still work to do, including reaching a consensus among Bush, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and House Republicans. McCain told ABC News on Thursday night that Republicans "have legit concerns. Some of those have already been satisfied, such as accountability and oversight board and CEO executive pay. Members are aware of the crisis situation that we are in." But, McCain said, "They do have concerns, which I think when you're talking about 700 billion to a trillion dollars, that need to be addressed." Obama, who will spend Thursday night in Washington, once again railed against infusing presidential politics into the negotiations over the $700 billion economic bailout. McCain's campaign said he will also stay in the Washington area for the night. "One of the concerns I've had over the last several days is that when you start injecting presidential politics into delicate negotiations," Obama said, "then you can actually create more problems rather than less." Watch more of Obama's comments » . Democratic sources said that House Minority Leader John Boehner threw a wrench into the meeting when he brought up issues from conservative Republicans that negotiators thought had been settled. But a House leadership aide said that there had been no bipartisan negotiations with House Republicans. The aide said Rep. Spencer Bachus, who had been meeting with Sen. Chris Dodd and Rep. Barney Frank, heads of the Senate and House banking committees, had no authority to speak for them. In a statement before the meeting, Bachus said that he had made it clear in the meeting that "I was not authorized by my colleagues to make any agreement on behalf of House Republicans." Boehner said that he needed more time to get agreement from House Republicans, a senior administration official said. Obama asked whether the House Republicans' proposals fit in with the four principles that the leadership had agreed on, but Boehner couldn't answer that, a Democratic source said. Multiple sources said McCain didn't say much. Two Democratic leadership aides said he didn't speak until 43 minutes into the meeting. When asked whether Friday's debate will go on if McCain doesn't show up, Obama said: "I hope he does." McCain also told ABC News that he was "very hopeful that we can [attend the debate.] I believe that it's very possible that we'll get an agreement so that I have time to fly to Mississippi." CNN has learned that the University of Mississippi -- site of the first presidential debate -- has been told by the Presidential Debate Commission to continue preparing for the event. Both McCain and Obama advance teams were seen on stage going through sound and video checks from their candidates' respective podiums. In Washington, White House press secretary Dana Perino released a statement saying, "The president appreciates the bipartisan members of the congressional leadership and the two presidential candidates coming to the White House today to discuss how to finalize the financial rescue package. There is a clear sense of urgency and agreement on the need to stabilize the financial markets, and prevent a massive financial crisis from affecting everybody in America." The statement went on to say that the group will continue to work on a deal. But according to Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Alabama, who attended the meeting, "we will not have a deal." Watch iReporters react to the bailout negotiations » . The meeting included many key players: Bush flanked at the table by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Obama and McCain on opposite ends of the table, Boehner and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell also between the two presidential candidates and Vice President Dick Cheney across from Bush. According to several Republican aides, there is still major opposition to the "agreement on fundamental principles." The fact that House Republicans are still not coming on board poses a major obstacle for any kind of deal. Pelosi and other House Democratic leaders have repeatedly said that this is Bush's bill and that he and other GOP leaders need to get Republicans to support it. McCain, who announced Wednesday that he was suspending his presidential campaign until a bailout plan was worked out, met with some Republican House members to try to bring more of them on board to back the agreement, according to a source in the room and one who was briefed on the meeting. The gist of the meeting, according to sources, was that these members "aren't there yet" on the plan the Senate Banking Committee worked out and say there needs to be greater protection for taxpayers. One Republican aide said that "not much has changed in the last 24 to 48 hours. I think it has to be pretty radically altered for House Republicans to support it." This aide stressed, "at the end of the day, these members represent the people who sent them here, and the people who sent them here are so overwhelmingly opposed to this." This aide said the calls coming into GOP offices are 90 to 1 against the plan. Boehner, R-Ohio, has tapped a group of House Republicans to develop alternative ideas. Earlier, Boehner released a statement that said, "I am encouraged by the bipartisan progress being made toward an economic package that protects the interests of families, seniors, small businesses, and all taxpayers." It's unclear whether McCain agreed with this approach, but one aide said he put the principles "in his satchel to take over to the White House." Republicans recognize that there is pressure building to get something done before the end of the week. "There sort of a tacit understanding among everyone that it has to happen before Monday," a third GOP aide said. Obama turned down McCain's suggestion that they both suspend their campaigns to focus on securing a deal on a bailout plan. He also passed on McCain's suggestion that they postpone Friday night's first presidential debate in Oxford, Mississippi. Democrats fear that McCain will take credit for bringing reluctant Republicans around to agreeing with a bailout plan in order to bolster his argument that he would be a better leader in crises than Obama. "The Democrats, of course, are very afraid that McCain is going to swoop into these delicate negotiations on Capitol Hill at the last minute and when they reach an agreement, he's going to claim credit for having brought those negotiations to a successful conclusion," CNN senior political researcher Alan Silverleib said. A McCain source insists that the Arizona senator is aware of the politics involved and recognizes that Democrats -- and even some Republicans -- are wary of having it appear that McCain is brokering a deal. CNN's Dana Bash, Peter Hamby, Ed Hornick, Suzanne Malveaux and Deirdre Walsh contributed to this report. | NEW: McCain "hopeful" he'll attend Friday's presidential debate .
NEW: "We've got to move rapidly," Obama says .
Debate preparations continue in Mississippi .
McCain, Obama meet with Bush, politicians at White House . |
108,226 | 178d3ad8733841935669e22410c333ef971c9b81 | Jose Mourinho admits that Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech is not fully happy with his current role as Blues No 2. The keeper was dropped in place of Thibaut Courtois against Burnley on Monday and the Belgian youngster looks set to retain his position for Chelsea's clash against Leicester on Saturday. Discussing Cech's situation, Mourinho said: 'He's a top professional, working as always, he is a Chelsea person. VIDEO Scroll down to hear more from Jose Mourinho's press conference . Battle: Petr Cech jumps with Thibaut Courtois during Chelsea's training on Friday . Difficult: Jose Mourinho (right) understands that Blues legend Cech is not 'totally happy' 'I don't believe he's totally happy, but that's him. 'It's hard because at the moment it's one match a week. But in September there's the Capital One Cup, Champions League and Premier League, there will be rotation so everyone feels better. 'Petr's behaviour is fantastic' Pick me: Cech (left) has attracted interest from the likes of PSG and Monaco . The Chelsea boss added that although keeping all of his players happy is a difficult task, it becomes much easier if the team are winning. He added: 'It's easier if you win. If you play one match a week it's easier for the players to feel there is first and second choice players. It's different when there's three games a week.' Legends: Chelsea captain John Terry (right) passes the ball as Didier Drogba looks to close him down . Happy camp: Mourinho believes that he can keep his squad players happy as long as the team is winning . Tackle: Gary Cahill (right) slides in to win the ball from Chelsea striker Fernando Torres . All smiles: Cech and Courtois manage to see the funny side during training on Friday . JOSE MOURINHO'S PRESS CONFERENCE AS IT HAPPENED . Host commentator . That's all we will be hearing from Mourinho today. A full write up of the best bits will follow shortly... We have to think about the players and the players deserve respect. The club is the most important, then the team, then the players. But if you can make it good for club team and players. That's he perfect scenario. Injuries . Everyone fit . Is it hard to keep players happy? It's easier if you win. If you play one match a week its easier for the players to feel there is first and second choice players. Its different when there's three games a week. It's difficult, they are champions they have a winning mentality. They know every point is important. They had a difficult start against Everton . I want to respect Dermot. Everytime a job opens there's always loads of candidates. I hope Tony Pulis can come back quickly. I hope Palace makes the right choice for them. On Balotelli... I don't comment about him. The only thing I say is I always wish my former players the best. Malky MackayI won't comment, between Malky and his lawyers. It's the 6th Premier League I start. I don't think I had a lot to learn. Every match is difficult. The results in the first round of matches were very clear. We are calm in the transfer market. My club did a fantastic job. We are calm. For us there is no tick tocking of the transfer clock. Cech is coping. Top pro, working as always, he is a Chelsea person. I . I don't believe he's totally happy, but that's him. Its hard because at the moment it's one match a week. But in sept there's capital cup CL, PL, there will be rotation so everyone feels better. Petr behaviour is fantastic. Jose in the building as we prepare to kick-off the press conference! So, Chelsea fans. Should the Blues let club legend Petr Cech leave as Courtois takes over? Click here to read more about Cech's options... As we await the arrival of Mourinho, click here to read some team news and stats ahead of Chelsea's clash against Premier League new boys Leicester. Hello and welcome to Sportsmail's live coverage of the Jose Mourinho press conference from Chelsea's Cobham training ground. Follow here for the very latest in team news and views from the Special One himself. The press conference is due to get underway at 1:30pm. In the meantime, here's some fresh training pictures from this morning's session. | Jose Mourinho reveals Petr Cech is not happy with being left on the bench .
Thibaut Courtois was selected ahead of Cech against Burnley .
Mourinho claims keeping players happy is 'easier if you win'
Chelsea play their first home game of the season on Saturday .
Blues opening day game saw a 3-1 win against Burnley . |
182,338 | 781c2b00d645cdc569257c2d6912c3cc4ebfccd7 | A 13-year-old girl from a 'troubled family' was abducted by three men and forced into becoming their sex slave. The girl was subjected to a string of assaults over four days after being trafficked from her home in London to Ipswich, prosecutor Riel Karmy-Jones told Norwich Crown Court. Suran Uddin, 28, of St Matthew's Row, Bethnal Green, London, Mohammed Sheikh, 31, of Seaton Point in Hackney, London, and Hamza Ali, 38, of Chilford Road, Waltham Forest, London, denied various sex offences during a three week trial. But following three days of jury deliberations, Uddin, Sheikh and Ali were today all found guilty of conspiracy to traffick in the UK and supplying a class B drug to the victim. The girl was subjected to a string of assaults over four days after being trafficked from her home in London to Ipswich, prosecutors told Norwich Crown Court (pictured) Uddin was also convicted of two counts of rape. Sheikh was convicted on a charge of causing a child to engage in sexual activity but was cleared of two counts of rape. Ali was found guilty of a sexual assault but not guilty of rape. The men will be sentenced at a later date. Abdul Hammed, 46, of Wellington Street, Ipswich, was cleared of supplying a class B drug and two counts of rape. The judge had earlier instructed the jury to find him not guilty of trafficking. Opening the case, Miss Karmy-Jones said: 'These men deliberately targeted her. She was an unhappy and deeply troubled child. 'They enticed her to travel with them in order to set her up as a sex slave and to use her for their pleasure. 'In order to do so, they plied her with drugs and alcohol and made promises that they would take care of her and give her anything she wanted. 'Once at the property in Ipswich, she was treated as little more than skivvy and she was raped over the course of four days.' She said that Sheikh in particular took advantage of the girl's 'youth and naivety' and she became so attached to him that at first she found it difficult to accuse him of wrong doing. However, forensic examinations proved he had sexual contact with the victim, Miss Karmy-Jones said. She added that, shortly before her abduction, the girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had been removed from her mother's care and was living with her father after concerns were raised for her welfare. The alleged attacks took place in a house in Chevallier Street, Ipswich, which had been rented just days before the girl disappeared. | The girl was subjected to a string of assaults over four days .
She was trafficked from London home after men 'deliberately targeted her'
When she got to Ipswich she was 'treated as skivvy' and 'repeatedly raped' |
225,247 | afa9919060d9407ad201626ea193b3a051bca856 | (CNN) -- The premise seemed easy enough. Let's get six kids poised to enter kindergarten together to ask what they expect from their "big" school, which is how my littlest one referred to kindergarten before she started. That's right. I have a child who entered kindergarten last year and another who started the year before, which means I should know you have to be prepared for anything with a group of six rambunctious little ones. But that was not top of mind. Neither was this thought: What was I actually thinking trying to interview kids? I had those cute AT&T commercials in my head. You've surely seen them. A guy sitting around with a small group of precocious kids who say the darndest things, like the one where the adorable girl says she wants to turn her brother into a puppy so she can take him to school and say, "Hey everybody here's my puppy brother." Priceless. I thought, let's do our own version! What's that expression about best laid plans? I quickly learned I did a better job questioning presidents during my White House days. Always wanting to be prepared, I had questions ready: "What are you excited about kindergarten?" "Who's in charge at kindergarten?" "What do you hope to do in kindergarten?" But the kids, five of whom attended Morningside Montessori School in Manhattan, the same nursery school as my daughters, had other ideas. And so, I quickly transitioned from reporter to mom and thought, "Let's play 'Simon Says.' " Everything seemed to be going along swimmingly until one of the children turned my idea on its head, as you'll see in the video above. Think of it as an orchestrated coup right there in my living room. Opinion: My view: Kindergarten redshirting different for each child . How could I possibly expect kids to sit around talking with me when there were Legos in the playroom and a "Jake and the Neverland Pirate" ship and a soccer game? You get the idea! The interview wasn't a total disaster. We did squeak out a few nuggets on what they hope to do in kindergarten (learn to read and, oh, ride a rainbow pony!), who's in charge in kindergarten (they thought that was the most obvious question of them all!) and how they simply don't know -- just yet -- what they want to be when they grow up. After all, they have plenty of time. What did I learn? Next time, never let the kids take over "Simon Says." Follow Kelly Wallace on Twitter and like CNN Living on Facebook. Produced by Mimi Schiffman. Videography by Mimi Schiffman. | Kindergarten is a major milestone for any girl or boy .
We tried to interview six kids about to enter kindergarten .
The interview turned out to be harder than questioning a head of state . |
246,813 | cb6bc13ac5a9e02877183063a4e4f5295a0deb5a | Some wear GPS devices that are constantly monitored by police. Others have fled their homes; repudiated by the local community for being a registered sex offender. And all of them - from those charged with possessing child pornography to ones caught having sex with a minor and molestation - are there to 'repent their sins'. Welcome to Miracle Village, a tiny church town spanning about 20 acres on the edge of Everglades in south Florida, which was established in 2009 as a spiritual safe haven for sex offenders and their families. With a population of about 200, it is believed to be the largest sex offender community in the United States. Scroll down for video . Spiritual safe haven: Set in the sugarcane country of south Florida, Miracle Village is a tiny town of bungalow-style houses where about 200 sex offenders and their families co-exist . Tight-knit community: The village was originally constructed for laborers who worked in the surrounding sugarcane fields, and was transformed in 2009 by the late evangelical pastor Dick Witherow, a former sex offender himself . United: The tiny community has provided a home for registered sex offenders, who struggle to find housing in Florida because they cannot come within at least 1,000 feet of children, or risk being sent to prison . Parish: Miracle Village is an intensely religious community, who welcome sex offenders based on the belief they will repent their sins . Co-existing: Many of the women who live in the town are the wives of offenders, however there is at least one female sex offender among the population of about 200 . Brooklyn-based photographer Noah Rabinowitz has captured a fascinating inside look at the town, which is surrounded by sugarcane fields and was built in the 1960s to house workers. He spent three days taking pictures and talking with the residents who gave him permission. 'There are no violent criminals in the town, [which is] a strict guideline to admission,' Rabinowitz told Feature Shoot. 'It is a deeply religious, tight knit and strictly self-governed community.' 'I wanted to treat the offenders and non-offenders in the same manner and instead think about the town as an example of a self-governed community built around common experience, whatever that might be.' While the town looks and sounds like a colony of outcasts with no other option, it is actually a highly sought-after place to live. Finding housing as a sex offender in Florida is almost impossible, with state laws forbidding them to go within 1,000 feet of schools, playgrounds, parks or any other place there might be children. Different cities and counties have increased that distance to 2,500, or half a mile. Additionally, a lot of offenders come out of prison with little to no money. 'Application numbers are very high and admission, based on a voting system, is very selective,' Rabinowitz said. 'Moral and ethical judgments aside, the residents are trying to live out their American Dream, in the only way the law and society will allow. 'Some discuss their hopes for life after their time in Miracle Village, but many find it to be a safe place and wish to stay.' Post-prison: The bungalow community offers sex offenders a place to live with their families without judgement . Unbiased: Photographer Noah Rabinowitz said he aimed to document a community that was self-governed, not what brought the people there . Home: The residents of Miracle Village greatly vary in both age and circumstance . Studies: Miracle Village offers classes, such as sexual purity and anger management, as well as psychological treatment programs . Photographer Noah Rabinowitz spent three days in the village, photographing those who gave permission to do so . Familial: A few children do live at Miracle Village. Florida's laws don't stop sex offenders from living in the same neighbourhood as minors, but probation conditions often prevent them having any contact with them . Shunned: Most of the people who live in the colony have been turned away from their homes following their convictions . Regular meetings: There are classes available that give counsel for sexual purity, anger management and other issues . Self-governed: While all the villagers chip in to help, such as maintaining the grounds, some have jobs in nearby towns . Simple: All the homes are more or less the same size and style . Distance: Surround by sugarcane fields, farmers in the background can be seen burning off the extraneous leaves around their crop . Farmland: Miracle Village looks an island in the middle of a sugarcane oasis . Miracle Village was set up by the late evangelical pastor Dick Witherow, according to ABC News. Witherow came close to being charged with statutory rape as a 18-year-old after getting his 14-year-old girlfriend pregnant. He would teach a sexual purity to those living there each week. There are also anger management and bible study classes. Most of the sex offenders are required to attended psychological treatment programs as part of the conidtions of their probation. Others have jobs in the surrounding towns, the nearest of which is two miles away. Many nearby residents relocated after Miracle Village was founded, and a bus stop that was out front of the village entrance was moved so no children would come near the community. Modest: Almost all the bungalow-style houses date back to the 1960's, when the tiny town was first built . Rudimentary: A self-made clothesline pictured at Miracle Village in south Florida . Commonality: Everyone in the religious community know each other and often socialize together . Going about their lives: Half of the residents are registered sex offenders, while the other half are spouses and family members . Supportive: The people work together to manage the grounds and help each other . Roots: The village was built on religion and centered around the church . | Miracle Village, just outside Everglades in south Florida, was established in 2009 by the late evangelical pastor Dick Witherow .
Borne out of religion, it is place where registered sex offenders can live without judgement and repent their sins .
Many offenders find it near impossible to find housing in Florida, where they are not permitted to come within 1,000 feet of children .
Brooklyn-based photographer Noah Rabinowitz spent three days in the village capturing the people who live there .
Rabinowitz says he was more interested in capturing a self-governed society, rather than what had brought them together . |
231,250 | b76625c7f698ce5892f52f5722a626f5d8e608e9 | (CNN) -- England winger Theo Walcott scored twice as Arsenal fight back from going two goals behind to sensationally thrash north London rivals Tottenham 5-2, a result that lifts Arsene Wenger's side back into fourth place in the Premier League table. Matches between the top sides in England this season have produced a host of remarkable results -- and it proved no different at The Emirates on Sunday on a glorious sunny afternoon. Third-placed Tottenham began the day 10 points ahead of their neighbors and still with designs of catching Manchester City and Manchester United at the top of the table. And they achieved the perfect start when Louis Saha's shot deflected in off defender Thomas Vermaelen to give Spurs a fourth minute lead. The visitors then doubled their advantage when former Arsenal striker Emmanuel Adebayor scored from the penalty spot after goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny was adjudged to have brought down Gareth Bale. But Arsenal rallied and two goals in the last five minutes of the half brought them level. First defender Bacary Sagna nodded home Mikel Arteta's cross, then Premier League top scorer Robin van Persie curled home a superb effort -- his 23rd league goal of the season. Arsenal maintained their momentum after the break and Tomas Rosicky put them ahead in the 51st minute when flicking the ball home from close range. By now Arsenal were rampant, and Walcott made it 4-2 after 65 minutes after Van Persie superbly laid the ball into his path. With Tottenham demoralized, Walcott then added a fifth just three minutes later, outpacing the visiting defense before firing home. To complete a miserable afternooon for Harry Redknapp's side, midfielder Scott Parker was shown a second yellow card for a late challenge on Vermaelen as Tottenham finished the match with 10 men. The result leaves Tottenham seven points ahead of Arsenal, who go back above Chelsea on goal difference, although Spurs are now eight points behind second placed Manchester United -- who closed the gap on Manchester City to just two points after a late 2-1 victory at Norwich on Sunday. City continue to lead the table on 63 points, with United still breathing down their necks in second after veteran pair Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs proved the difference against a determined Norwich side. Scholes, who came out of retirement this season at the age of 37, opened the scoring in the seventh mimute with a close-range header at the back post. But Norwich looked to have rescued a point seven minutes from time when Grant Holt fired home after his turn out-witted Rio Ferdinand. But 38-year-old Giggs, playing in his 900th competitive match for United, celebrated that milestone with a stunning winner, volleying home Ashley Young's cross in the second minute of injury time. Meanwhile, at Wembley Stadium, Liverpool defeated Championship side Cardiff City 3-2 on penalties to win the English League Cup, manager Kenny Dalglish's first trophy since returning to the club. Joe Mason had given Welsh club Cardiff a shock half-time lead but Martin Skrtel thumped home from close range after the break. Substitute Dirk Kuyt looked to have given Liverpool victory in extra time, but a late Ben Turner goal sent the match into a dramatic penalty shoot-out. Steven Gerrard and Charlie Adam missed Liverpool's first two spot-kicks, but Cardiff conspired to miss three of their own -- two of them hitting the post. In an ironic twist, the final penalty miss was by Cardiff defender Anthony Gerrard, the cousin of the Liverpool captain. | Arsenal fight back from 2-0 behind to thrash north London rivals Tottenham 5-2 .
Theo Walcott scores twice in a frantic second half after Spurs take an early lead .
Ryan Giggs celebrates his 900th game for Manchester United with a late winner .
United defeat Norwich 2-1 to close the gap on English leaders Manchester City . |
263,645 | e17897d231537c607f5c9bbc99504b383273ac5c | (CNN) -- A small boatload of graduate students endured seasickness, hypothermia and huge swells in a 16-hour swim across the English Channel to raise money for veterans on the 65th anniversary of D-Day. A group of American students rest and warm up in between turns swimming in the English Channel. They didn't make it to the shores of France, but the physical and psychological anguish was enough to remind them of the soldiers their journey was meant to commemorate. "I recognize that I have not done anything. Even an attempt to swim the Channel -- and a failed attempt at that -- is incomparable to the sacrifices people make on a day-to-day basis for our country," said Daniel Decker, a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy who is studying at Oxford University on a Marshall Scholarship from the Navy. "At the same time, I'm happy we were able to raise some money to go toward veterans and raise awareness of the sacrifices they're making," he said. "That's the best blessing I get from this -- not necessarily success for the hardship of our ordeal but the awareness raised, some recognition put toward people who really deserve it." Decker, 22, is one of five reluctant heroes who left Dover, England, around 10 p.m. Friday, and set out over the channel's choppy waters, accompanied by friends, the captain of the Suva and a representative from the Channel Swimming Association. Collectively, they swam about 23 miles in Speedos and swim caps, slathered in petroleum jelly, against strong currents in waters that neared 55 degrees Fahrenheit. Swells reaching 6-7 feet steered them off course and knocked them against the boat at times before forcing them to turn around about 1.5 miles from their destination. "I would have much rather touched French soil but, at the end of the day, we swam the English Channel," said Eric Gardiner, one of two people aboard the ship who managed to avoid vomiting. "I felt like an ant in a toilet bowl. It was kind of humbling." Yet the group, which consists of two Rhodes scholars and three Naval Academy graduates who will enter SEAL training after school, considers the mission a success, in terms of honoring veterans of the past and present. They raised $5,000 for The Mission Continues, a Missouri-based nonprofit that helps wounded and disabled veterans serving their communities after they return to the United States. "We, as a group, wanted to do this to honor the inspirational veterans of the greatest generation of the past. Most of us had grandpas that fought in World War II and as a result, this historical anniversary had a special significance to all of us," said Scott Erwin, a Rhodes scholar and former Department of Defense employee who was injured in Iraq. "We also wanted to do something to recognize today's inspirational veterans. We chose Mission Continues because all of us believe in its mission of attempting to allow veterans injured in combat operations to continue to serve causes great than themselves when they return to us," he said. The Mission Continues provides wounded and disabled veterans with paid fellowships while they pursue service and leadership roles in the community, said co-founder Eric Greitens, a Navy SEAL officer who used his combat pay to help start the organization. "There are a lot of programs for wounded and disabled veterans designed to give them many things they need, like free backpacking trips, rental cars, access to heath care facilities," he said. "But no one was giving them a challenge or an opportunity to continue their service to the country even though their wounds had cut short their military service." Erwin and Greitens, also a former Rhodes Scholar, met after Erwin returned from Iraq. Through Erwin's experiences recovering at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, he became involved in The Mission Continues, helping to raise funds after he went to Oxford. Erwin initiated the idea of the Channel swim as a fundraiser about six months ago and recruited Decker, Gardiner, Shipley and U.S. Naval Academy graduate Joseph Hess to the cause. They trained in coastal beaches throughout the winter, but nothing could have prepared them for the experience of a midnight swim in the English Channel. "I went in at 1 a.m. and it was completely black. You can't see anything other than the headlight of the boat and everywhere you look is complete blackness," said Drew Shipley, 25, another Rhodes Scholar who is working on his Ph.D. in political sociology. "We trained well but there's no way to train for those water temperatures, plus the sensory overload of being in the middle of the English Channel in the middle of the night surrounded by darkness." The five swimmers took hourlong turns in the water, using the intervals on the ship to return to normal body temperature before they prepared to return the open sea. After his third time out, one of the swimmers returned with the look of a "wild animal" in his eye, according to his teammates, and fell into violent shakes. "We got every layer of clothing we could on him, and we had to give him bear hugs to give him some body heat," said Gardiner, another graduate of the Naval Academy, who is studying at Queens University in Belfast, Ireland, on a Navy Marshall Scholarship. "He really left it all out there in the water. It was inspiring because he took it to that level." Gardiner, 22, said it has been a dream of his to swim the Channel ever since he visited the beaches of Normandy in high school -- the same trip that inspired him to join the armed forces. "It wasn't necessarily about glory, it was about D-Day and charity and doing it as a team," he said. "Compared to what those who invaded on D-Day had to encounter when they made it to the other side, this was chump change." | Swimmers fight rough currents, nausea in trip across English Channel .
Swim raised money for nonprofit that helps vets find roles in community service .
Two Rhodes Scholars, 3 Naval Academy grads say swim also honors vets on D-Day .
"I felt like an ant in a toilet bowl," swimmer says . |
164,383 | 608e6ec7587a76048c34c86a1ff8fefeb7cfa8f1 | Meet Rosalee, the 17-year-old 'girly' girl who is also the youngest female professional monster truck driver in the United States. She's been crushing cars since she turned pro at just 14 but has been interested in monster trucks since she was a toddler. Rosalee, from Watsonville, California, learned the ropes from father Kevin, 49, who is also a monster truck driver. Scroll down for video . Rosalee Ramer, 17, is America's youngest female professional monster truck driver but says she's also 'girly' Rosalee has been interested in monster trucks since she was three and turned professional at just 14 . 'I've been holding flashlights and helping work on the trucks since I was three,' she said. 'At eight, I was trying to move eight hundred pound tires that are five feet tall - it's kind of crazy. 'I started driving monster trucks professionally when I was just 14-years-old - there aren't any girls who have done that quite yet. 'There's no feeling like driving these big trucks - sometimes you just kind of forget everything and it's just you driving the truck - it's your own little world.' Rosalee, who is driving the truck pictured, has competed in more than 100 monster truck shows . Rosalee, from Watsonville, pictured posing in front of her monster truck after it overturned in California . Left, Rosalee competing in a monster truck show in August and right, pictured with her mother Janette and father Kevin . Kevin said: 'As she showed desire to drive, I put her in the truck and slowly introduced her to it - I let her coast it out of the trailer. 'She's helps me fix things whether it be a drivetrain, an engine transmission or electrical issues. 'A lot of people spend their whole lives looking for something that they enjoy and that fulfills them - and she's found it at a very young age.' Rosalee has competed in over 100 monster truck shows and has rolled her truck several times. She said: 'I've rolled my truck three times - the first thing you do is shut the fuel off - if the fuel is still running that's a hazard for a fire. 'When I got out of the truck after I rolled, I came out smiling - and everyone said I was beaming, like I just got off a ride in an amusement park. 'My dad makes sure I'm completely safe when building the truck - there's a roll cage and extra supports.' Rosalee, pictured aged nine, lifting a tire at the Watsonville Antique Fly-In and Airshow monster truck show . Rosalee, pictured at the age of three holding a flashlight for monster truck driver Sam Sturges in California . Aged eight, here Rosalee drills a tire at the Watsonville Antique Fly-In and Airshow monster truck show . And she continues to impress those around her by competing in what is considered a male-dominated sport. She said: 'I don't exactly fit the monster truck stereotype but it's what I love to do, and I'm doing it very well. 'I like painting my nails and doing girly things too - I hate when people can't understand why I love both. 'It's a passion of mine - it doesn't matter that I'm a girl. I do it just as well as all the boys.' | Rosalee Ramer turned pro at 14 and has competed in more than 100 shows .
Her father Kevin, also a monster truck driver, taught her how to drive .
She says she doesn't fit the typical stereotype but is still a 'girly' girl . |
269,055 | e88c20a806aa2e2792684788720b816e2e4214f4 | By . Francesca Chambers . and Associated Press . Segregation by force of law is no longer legally acceptable in America, but de facto segregation still plagues our schools and neighborhoods, First Lady Michelle Obama told a group of graduating students Friday night. The First Lady was expected to use the speech to celebrate diversity in America. Instead, she took racism head on, telling the Topeka, Kansas, seniors, 'by some measures, our schools are as segregated as they were back when Dr. King gave his final speech.' 'And even in schools that seem integrated according to the numbers, when you look a little closer, you see students from different backgrounds sitting at separate lunch tables, or tracked into different classes, or separated into different clubs or activities,' she said. First Lady Michelle Obama's speech marked the 60th anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court decision Brown v. the Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, that outlawed segregation in public schools . Obama told seniors that 'by some measures, our schools are as segregated as they were back when Dr. King gave his final speech' Tonight's speech marked one of the first times Michelle Obama has discussed race publicly since her husband took office. Her events Friday were . scheduled after the initial announcement of her trip last month stirred . criticism in the Kansas capital. She'd initially planned to speak . Saturday during a combined graduation ceremony for five schools, but . some parents and students were worried the arena for the speech wouldn't . be large enough to accommodate all the students' family members. Democratic . President Barack Obama received just 38 percent of the vote in . Republican-leaning Kansas in 2012. GOP Gov. Sam Brownback, a frequent . critic of the administration, was on stage for the speech. Also present . was outgoing U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, . who faced criticism after the flawed launch of the federal online . health insurance marketplace. She's a former two-term Kansas governor. The First Lady's speech marks the 60th anniversary of the landmark . Supreme Court decision Brown v. the Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, that outlawed segregation in public schools. Tonight's speech marked one of the first times Michell Obama has discussed race publicly since her husband took office . The court decided . unanimously on May 15, 1954 that 'separate educational . facilities are inherently unequal' and were a violation of the 14th . Amendment of the United States Constitution.' Obama called the graduating class of Topeka's high schools the 'living, breathing legacy' of the the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court case, which she said wasn't just 'about our history, it’s about our future.' 'Because while that case was handed down 60 years ago, Brown is still being decided every single day – not just in our courts and schools, but in how we live our lives,' she said. 'Graduates, it's up to all of you to lead the way and drag my generation and your grandparents’ generation along with you.' 'Maybe that starts in your own family, when grandpa tells that awkward joke at Thanksgiving or your aunt says something about “those people,” and you politely inform them that they’re talking about your friends,' she said. 'Or maybe it’s when you have kids of your own one day, and you go to your school board meeting and insist on integrating your schools and giving them the resources they need. She noted that her special assistant, . Kristen Jarvis, is the grandniece of Lucinda Todd, a leader with the . National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in Topeka in . the 1940s and 1950s, the first parent to sign onto the lawsuit . challenging the city's segregated schools. She said Todd, who died in . 1996, is an example of people who 'choose our better history.' Obama called the graduating class of Topeka's high schools the 'living, breathing legacy' of the the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court case . Obama said that in some cases society was going backward and many schools were becoming less and less diverse as white people move from cities to the suburbs, however. 'As a result, many young people in America are going to school largely with kids who look just like them,' she said. ' And too often, those schools aren’t equal, especially ones attended by students of color which too often lag behind, with crumbling classrooms and less experienced teachers.' 'Our laws may no longer separate us based on our skin color, but there’s . nothing in our Constitution that says we have to eat together in the . lunchroom or live together in the same neighborhoods,' Obama told students. The First Lady said blacks weren't just facing racism in schools. 'We know that today in America, too many folks are still stopped on the street because of the color of their skin, or they’re made to feel unwelcome because of where they’re from, or they’re bullied because of who they love.' Obama received her primary education after segregation had been banned in . schools, but was still prevalent in stubborn cities like her hometown . of Chicago, Illinois.It was not until 1975 that the city opened up its . first integrated school despite being legal obligated to treat black and . white students equally under the law. Michelle Obama . turned 16 in 1980, more than 25 years after legally endorsed segregation . in schools ended. The student population at her high school was 96 . percent black, however, because so many white people were leaving the . South Side of Chicago where Michelle and her family lived. 'She saw firsthand the impact of Brown v. Board of . Education in her own life,' senior White House aide Valerie Jarrett told . the New York Times ahead of Obama's speech. 'What she appreciates is . the strength of . diversity, how important it is to be in a community, a classroom, where . you are . hearing from all perspectives.' The First Lady initially planned to speak Saturday during a combined graduation ceremony for five schools, but some parents and students were worried the arena for the speech wouldn't be large enough to accommodate all the students' family members . Her educational experiences as a child evidently shaped her speech to students attending America's first racially integrated schools on Friday. She said when she gets discouraged about race relations in America, she thinks about 'all the progress I’ve seen in my short lifetime.' 'I . think about my mother who, as a little girl, went to segregated schools . in Chicago and felt the sting of discrimination. I think about my . husband’s grandparents, white folks born and raised right here in Kansas . – products themselves of segregation,' she said. 'And then I . think about how that child grew up to be the President of the United . States, and how today, that little girl from Chicago is helping to raise . her granddaughters in the White House.' Obama encouraged students to push back against racism when they see it in society and to 'never be afraid to talk about these issues, particularly the issue of race.' Because even today, we still struggle to do that,' she said. 'This issue is so sensitive, so complicated, so bound up with a painful history. ' 'Every day, you have that same power to choose our better history – by opening your hearts and minds, by speaking up for what you know is right, by sharing the lessons of Brown v. Board of Education, the lessons you learned right here in Topeka, wherever you go for the rest of your lives. 'I know you all can do it. I am so proud of all of you, and I cannot wait to see everything you achieve in the years ahead,' she said. | Speech marks the 60th anniversary of the landmark .
Supreme Court decision Brown v. the Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, that outlawed segregation in public schools .
Obama noted schools were becoming less diverse as white people move from cities to the suburbs .
Speech marked one of the first times Michell Obama has discussed race publicly since her husband took office . |
121,338 | 28da9a5ba94d4b9d01d6edaf58d159ee756166ec | By . Jill Reilly . PUBLISHED: . 03:27 EST, 22 November 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 06:37 EST, 22 November 2012 . Cleared: Former UFC fighter Jason 'Mayhem' Miller . A former UFC fighter and MTV reality show host has been cleared of vandalism after being discovered naked in a Californian church. Jason 'Mayhem' Miller was found in Mission Hills Church in Mission Viejo by the pastor who called police when he found evidence of a break-in. Orange County prosecutors said Miller, 31, was . accused of breaking at least one picture frame, spray-painting inside . the church and damaging a propane tank and other items. Court records show that Miller had the charge of a misdemeanor vandalism charge dismissed at a hearing yesterday. When the incident happened three months ago Sheriff's spokesman Jim Amormino said deputies arrived and found Miller naked on a couch. 'When they asked him his name he responded Mayhem,' Mr Amormino told the Orange County Register. They also found evidence that Miller had set off fire extinguishers inside the church, Mr Amormino said . Miller, a popular professional middleweight in the mixed martial arts . world, has fought for several organizations including UFC, but has lost . three of eight fights. Discovery: Jason 'Mayhem' Miller was found in Mission Hills Church in Mission Viejo by the pastor who called police when he found evidence of a break-in . He also hosted the MTV show Bully Beatdown a reality show where bullies . are challenged to take on professional MMA fighters for a chance to win . money. Last month walked out on The MMA Hour after bizarre behavior on set less than 20 minutes into the show. The planned one-hour segment was Miller's first interview in months, but it turned into something entirely different than anyone expected. Strange: Last month Miller walked out on The MMA Hour after bizarre behavior on set less than 20 minutes into the show . Miller showed up as his character Lucky Patrick from the upcoming movie Here Comes the Boom, but and stayed in character during the interview. He was belligerent to host Ariel Helwani, and refused several attempts to change the subject before finally leaving. | Jason 'Mayhem' Miller was found naked by the pastor at Mission Hills Church in Mission Viejo three months ago . |
24,795 | 464345595bfe7a134d60104295175a28cbb2c277 | A suicide bomber who reportedly blew himself up in Syria was a U.S. citizen who grew up in Florida, it emerged today. According to internet postings, the man - who called himself 'Abu Hurayra Al-Amriki' - carried out one of four suicide attacks on May 25 in Syria's Idlib province. He is believed to have been fighting on behalf of Jabhat al-Nusra, Al Qaeda's affiliate attempting to oust the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad. Two U.S. officials have now confirmed to CNN that the bomber was an American jihadi who grew up in Florida and went to school there. Scroll down for video . An American suicide bomber calling himself 'Abu Hurayra al-Amriki' allegedly carried out one of four suicide bombings on May 25 in Syria's Idlib province . However, the unnamed officials have not revealed the bomber's real name or any other details that would shed light on his identity. His assumed name does not offer many clues, either. Abu Hurayra was a companion of the prophet Mohammed, while Al-Amriki translates as 'the American' in Arabic. Earlier this week it was revealed that U.S. government agencies are examining social media postings . purporting to show how the American blew himself up in northern . Syria. The . officials, who declined to be identified, said U.S. agencies assessed . that the postings were likely authentic. One said some investigators . believed they knew the 'U.S. person's' true identity, but declined to . give further details. If . his identity is officially confirmed, he would be the first American known to have . committed a suicide bombing in Syria on behalf of Al Qaeda, said Laith . Alkhouri, a senior analyst with Flashpoint Global Partners, which . monitors militant websites for government and private clients. Should the bomber's identity be confirmed, he would be the first American known to have committed a suicide bombing in Syria on behalf of Al-Qaida . Alkhouri . said social media postings, including Twitter messages and a video . posted on YouTube, showed Abu Hurayra posing in a still picture with . three other suicide bombers, one of whom was Syrian. The other two were . foreigners. The . video shows a truck-sized vehicle being loaded with explosives and then . cuts to a long-shot of a fortress-like structure on top of a hill being . blown up. Shiraz Maher, a researcher with a University of London think tank, . said that last week, an Al-Qaida media outlet issued a short promotional . video about a forthcoming film related to an 'American' fighter in . Syria. The . teaser, which opens with a graphic of a burning American flag and an . exhortation to 'Join the Caravan of Jihad and Martyrdom,' promotes a . longer video featuring 'The story of an American Muhajir (visitor) in . Sham (Syria).' The . short video includes a brief sound bite in which a man with an American . or Canadian accent, whose face is blurred, declares: 'It is huq (right) on you to fight.' Maher, . whose think tank has studied the role of social media in recruiting . foreigners to join militant groups in Syria, said he had spoken to a . British fighter in Syria who confirmed the suicide bomber was American . and described him as 'a beautiful brother.' One . Twitter message included a picture of a man identified as Abu Hurayra . holding a kitten, as well as pictures of the booby-trapped truck and an . explosion. Two officials said the FBI and Justice Department were aware of the case. | Social media sites claim attacker blew himself up in Syria on May 25 .
U.S. officials say he grew up in Florida and went to school there .
But they haven't revealed any other details about him or his real name .
Abu Hurayra is companion of Mohammed, Al-Amriki means 'the American'
Do you know this man? Email MailOnline at [email protected] . |
75,439 | d5ef8f45536347e749d7fcd22543da102a4274e1 | In the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh, there exists a commodity that is worth more than gold - virginity. Wealthy men will pay thousands to have sex with an innocent girl and, as a result, 'virgin trafficking' has become big business. But not every girl is trafficked. Many others sell their virginity because they are desperate for money - and then often fall into a life of prostitution. Scroll down for video . Victim: Sukhon, 23, was forced to sell her virginity in order to pay for an operation that saved her father's life . Ordeal: Sukhon recalls her terrible experience to the former glamour model in her latest documentary . Even though many of them do it to financially support their families, many are ostracised by their relatives and by the local community. Now the shocking story of Cambodia's virgin prostitutes is to feature in a new Jodie Marsh documentary which meets some of the victims. Although her own career was built on selling sex as a glamour model, the 35-year-old says she is grateful she never had to do more than sell pictures of her body. 'Girls like Sukhon are forced to sell themselves for money time and time again,' she said. 'I have the choice to abstain from sex and I have realised what a huge privilege that is.' 23-year-old Sukhon lives in Cambodian capital Phnom Penh and now works as a prostitute after being forced to sell her virginity to pay for an operation that saved her ailing father's life. Shocking statistics: Jodie travelled to Camodia where she learnt there are 50-70,000 sex workers 40 percent of them are under age . 'I received the news that my father was ill back home,' she reveals. 'I had nowhere to go so I decided to sell my virginity. It was three years ago when I was 20 and I was paid $3,000 (£1,877) by a Chinese man. 'I was taken to a restaurant first and then a hotel. I was told to undress and take a shower. Afterwards I was told to keep my clothes off so I was covered only by a towel. 'I was shivering and didn't know what to do because I had already agreed to have sex.' Tragically, as a result of what happened, Sukhon says she is no longer close to her family - even though she did it for them. 'I'm in pain because my family keeps their distance. It hurts me but I understand because they didn't ask me to sell my virginity, they didn't want me to do that.' While Sukhon's father, who also appears in the documentary, says he is grateful that his daughter's sacrifice saved his life, he wishes there had been another way. He said after learning his daughter had sold her virginity, he felt 'anger, sadness and sorry as a parent but there was nothing I could do because it had already happened'. 'I love my daughter just like when she was born,' he added. 'I blame the mamasan [female pimp] and the situation that we are in.' Mamasans, or female pimps, are a common sight in Cambodia and care little about the women they exploit. One, who appeared on camera but asked not to be named, revealed that there is nothing that cannot be arranged for paying clients. 'If a client wants to have sex, we'll arrange the girl for them,' she said. 'Also if the client has a special request and they want to sleep with a virgin I will find the girl for them. 'I get a commission from client and girl. Sometimes the girl is very grateful for my hard work so gives me extra money.' Desperate situation: Jodie said more needs to be done to help vulnerable women like Sukhon . She admits that her career does make her feel 'bad' but she does it for the money. 'Sometimes I don't feel good about selling a virgin but I just think about the money,' she explained. 'Sometimes as a mamasan I am hit or tortured by the client if I don't find them a girl. I do have morals and sometimes I feel bad for the girl. 'When I see the client walk away with the girl I think that I have become a very bad person.' Sadly, sex trafficking and prostitution is booming in Cambodia, where an estimated 50,000 to 70,000 sex workers - 40 per cent of whom are under age - ply their trade. One charity which is trying to do something to help the underage victims of sex trafficking is Childsafe, which operates safe houses in Phnom Penh. 'Lots of young girls gather here from Kampot Province and they don't know what the city is like,' explains Sunni, an aid worker at the charity. 'They are an easy target for criminals. You can spot vulnerable people simply by their facial expressions. They might look naive or sad with problems.' But Sunni said working for the charity can be fraught with danger. 'I had a situation with a pimp when I tried to stop him taking a girl,' he recalled. 'The pimp was very angry and he threatened to shoot me. 'I was very fortunate as there was a lot of people from the charity here.' But while Sunni is safe, for Cambodia's thousands of virgin prostitutes, their ordeal goes on. | Virginity is a valuable commodity in Cambodia and other Asian countries .
Men will pay thousands of dollars to have sex with an untouched girl .
Many of the encounters are arranged by female pimps called 'mamasans'
New Jodie Marsh documentary is to shine spotlight on virgin trafficking .
Jodie Marsh on... Virgins is on Tuesday 4th November at 10pm on TLC . |
133,824 | 390a4b6e777ae73e2e4da0aaa9fdcece1f9d6408 | (CNN) -- Evangelist Billy Graham was released from the hospital Tuesday after a two-day stay and returned to his North Carolina home, Mission Hospital said. Pulmonologist Daniel Fertel said doctors caught his bronchitis early, a vital factor in his quick recovery. "Despite this illness he remains remarkably healthy for a 93-year-old man," the doctor said in a news release issued by the hospital. Graham was admitted to the hospital in the western North Carolina city of Asheville early Sunday morning. Graham said he received "exceptional care" during his stay. "I am also grateful for the prayers and letters I received from people across the country and around the world during my short stay," Graham said in the news release. "Such an outpouring of love and support is always a blessing but was especially appreciated during my hospitalization." He was hospitalized with pneumonia last November, six months after being admitted to a hospital for the same condition. Since then, he has remained "in good overall health ... though he continues to remain at home due to age-related conditions," according to the hospital and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. Graham, a resident of Montreat, about 18 miles east of Asheville, has provided counsel to generations of U.S. presidents, beginning with Harry S. Truman, and is the founder of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. The Charlotte native has preached to untold millions over six decades, beginning his missionary work in 1944 when he started speaking at rallies for the Youth for Christ/Campus Life ministry. Five years later, Graham was holding a "crusade" in tents in downtown Los Angeles. Originally scheduled for three weeks, the crusade drew so many followers it was extended to seven. His "last crusade" in June 2005 drew 230,000 people. Even with his advanced age and health issues, Graham remains "actively involved in ministry and writing projects," his evangelistic association and the hospital said. That includes writing a new book, which is almost done, "summarizing his Gospel message over the past seven decades of public ministry." He also has weighed in on hot-button issues of late, including supporting North Carolina's constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, which voters passed earlier this year, and last month defending the president of the Chick-fil-A restaurant chain for his opposition to same-sex marriage. Also in July, in a letter released by his organization, Graham leveled deep criticism at the United States and "its deceived people." "Self-centered indulgence, pride and a lack of shame over sin are now emblems of the American lifestyle," Graham wrote. But he saw hope. "The wonderful news is that our Lord is a God of mercy, and he responds to repentance," Graham said. | Billy Graham is discharged from the hospital after being treated for bronchitis .
Doctors say he is extremely fit for a 93-year-old .
Graham thanks people who sent him letters during his two-day stay . |
172,981 | 6bdc82862810bc90f7f47065f064b1af7ce42abe | (CNN)Real Madrid wrapped up a fantastic four titles in 2014 as they captured the Club World Cup crown, Saturday. It's been a glittering 12 months for the Spanish giants, who had already won the European Champions League, European Super Cup and the Copa del Rey before arriving in Morocco for the intercontinental club competition. Real were pitted against South American champions San Lorenzo in the Club World Cup final. The Argentine side are relative minnows compared to Madrid's galaxy of superstars, which includes Ballon d'Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo. At least San Lorenzo could count on the prayers of lifelong fan Pope Francis going into the showdown in Marrakesh. There was, however, to be no divine intervention for the club from Buenos Aires on a sultry winter night under Moroccan skies. Real Madrid took the lead when Sergio Ramos nodded in Toni Kroos's corner after 37 minutes. Gareth Bale added a second goal, slotting Isco's pass beyond San Lorenzo keeper Sebastian Torrico, after the break. San Lorenzo's experienced midfielder Juan Mercier tested Madrid Iker Casillas with a stinging shot late on but Real strolled to their final silverware of the year with a comfortable 2-0 victory. Real Madrid are now unbeaten in 22 matches in all competitions and will return in the new year leading the Spanish league and aiming to defend their Champions League crown. Earlier, Auckland City claimed third place at the Club World Cup after defeating Mexico's Cruz Azul 4-2 in a penalty shootout. The New Zealand club became the first Oceania team to win a medal at the tournament. | Real Madrid capture fourth title of 2014 as they triumph in the Club World Cup final .
South America champions San Lorenzo faced Real Madrid in Morocco showdown .
But Real roll out 2-0 winners over the club from Argentina .
Sergio Ramos and Gareth Bale score a goal in each half to seal the win . |
201,348 | 90b5424e3cba386a388ec60fea395db8833dcc8f | (CNN) -- Martin Kaymer increased his lead in the Race to Dubai with a superlative final round of 66 at St.Andrews to claim a three-shot victory in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship on Sunday. The German birdied the final two holes at the home of golf to hold off a determined challenge by England's Danny Willett as he finished on 17-under 271. But there was disappointment for Lee Westwood who needed a top two finish to immediately dislodge Tiger Woods as world number one, but struggled to a one-over 73 for a tie for 11th. Westwood, who has been struggling with a recurrence of a calf injury, then confirmed he will not play again until the end of the month at the latest. But due to a quirk of the rankings, it could mean the Englishman will take over at the top in three weeks' time unless Woods changes his plans and enters a tournament before next month's HSBC Champions in China. "It's just got more aggravated and achy as the week has gone on," Westwood told Sky Sports after his round. Kaymer, who claimed his first major title with victory at the PGA Championship, was winning his third straight tournament and again showed his cool under pressure. With Willett challenging, Kaymer needed to get down in two from just off the green at the famous 17th Road Hole to stay at 15 under. But he proceeded to hole his putt to suddenly open up a two-shot lead and despite finding a tricky lie on the road at the 18th hit his approach to within 10 feet. Kaymer duly holed the putt to complete one of his ambitions of winning at St.Andrews and claim his fourth title of a superb season which has seen him move nearly $1.5 million clear of Ryder Cup teammate Graeme McDowell at the top of the European Tour money list. He had his own views on the ongoing battle to top the rankings. "To be honest I think at the moment Lee Westwood is number one in the world," Kaymer said. "He plays unbelievable golf." Overnight leader John Parry of England recovered from a mid-round crisis to finish with a level-par 72 for 13-under and sole third. Another Englishman, Gary Boyd, finished a further shot back for fourth after a fine 68. | Martin Kaymer of Germany wins the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship .
The victory increases his lead over second-placed Graeme McDowell in the Race to Dubai .
Lee Westwood fails in his bid to take over as world number one from Tiger Woods .
Danny Willett of England finishes with a 67 to claim second place . |
106,742 | 15b59bc844761c6234f060b60c165e4d65606434 | Hillary Clinton is heading to Iowa as the politician that most Democrats would choose as their 2016 presidential nominee. According to a new CNN/ORC International poll, 53% of all registered Democrats contacted in Iowa said they would support Hillary Clinton if the 2016 caucuses were held today. That number far outpaces the 15% that would opt for Vice President Joe Biden, 7% who would choose Sen. Elizabeth Warren and 5% who would pick Sen. Bernie Sanders. Clinton will be visiting Iowa for the first time in six years on Sunday when she headlines the last Harkin Steak Fry. Biden, likewise, will be in the state Wednesday to speak at a liberal Catholic event in Des Moines. Although Clinton tops Biden with men and women, there is a noticeable gender split between the two politicians. Sixty-three percent of women favor Clinton, compared with Biden's 10%. With men, however, Biden is drawing 21% support -- a number more than twice his support among women. Hillary Clinton to decide on 2016 around end of year . On the Republican side, Mike Huckabee nearly laps the field with 21% of all registered Republicans contacted in the poll saying they would support the former Arkansas governor if the 2016 Iowa caucuses were held today. Paul Ryan is second with 12%, and there is a cadre of politicians -- including Sen. Rand Paul, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie -- with support in the single digits. Huckabee and Ryan are getting similar support with men -- 15% and 16%, respectively -- but it is with women that the former Arkansas governor jumps ahead of the congressman. Twenty-seven percent of registered Republican women polled said they would pick Huckabee, compared with 8% who choose Ryan. As the first-in-the-nation caucus state, Iowa is critically important to presidential hopefuls and can make or break a campaign. With almost two years until the 2016 presidential election and a little over a year before the Iowa caucuses, most Republicans and Democrats polled have openly admitted that they are toying with the idea of running for president. The CNN/ORC poll was conducted September 8-10, with 1,013 Iowa adults -- 608 likely voters -- questioned by telephone. The survey's overall sampling error is plus or minus 4 percentage points. Would Hillary Clinton top Chris Christie in New Jersey? | Hillary Clinton is tops in Iowa with 53% support from registered Democrats .
Vice President Joe Biden finished second with 15% .
The GOP field is more crowded, with almost 10 politicians in the single digits .
Former Gov. Mike Huckabee leads the Republican field with 21% . |
54,761 | 9b202cb931e864ce0a2a8ee397e0e67eec43a538 | (CNN) -- Every other year in July, the small town of Farnborough in South East England hosts the biggest names in the aviation world. Exhibitors and visitors mingle with the latest technology to hit the skies. Below, UK Editor-in-Chief of Royal Aeronautical Society's Aerospace magazine, Tim Robinson highlights the themes and big players to watch out for at this year's Farnborough International Airshow. Touch and go as F-35 aims for international début . Costly white elephant, or next-generation, sensor-fused superfighter? Whatever your view of the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, Farnborough could be the first opportunity for the general public to see the West's latest stealth fighter outside of the U.S. That's, of course, only if the aircraft overcomes a last minute fleet grounding following an engine glitch to fly across the Atlantic. The UK, as a key industrial and strategic partner for the F-35, is set to acquire the fifth generation fighter, in its 'B' vertical-lift version for the UK's Royal Air Force and Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm. This UK visit, then, could see an order being placed for the first 14 F-35Bs. While the fighter will wow the crowds with its vertical hovering in the air display, for the military top brass the most exciting features -- including its advanced sensors, helmet display and stealth -- are under the skin. Should the F-35 miss the showcase of Farnborough, this will provide extra ammunition for its detractors -- and its absence would be a big talking point. One positive point however, for the aircraft's recent engine fire, is it happened on the ground where engineers can study and solve the problem. New contenders . While the home team will be riding high -- thanks to the UK government's support for its R&D and space sector -- Farnborough is truly a global airshow and showcase for the aerospace industry around the world --with over two-thirds of 1,500 exhibitors coming from outside the UK. New countries represented this year include Malaysia, Tunisia and Thailand. While Airbus and Boeing continue to dominate the commercial aircraft industry, new entrants will be using Farnborough to show off their progress. Expect updates from Brazil's Embraer -- which will have a mockup cabin for its re-engined E2 airliner, Japan's Mitsubishi Aircraft, whose Mitsubishi Regional Jet is now in final assembly, and Russia's Irkut -- developing the MC-21 -- a rival to the A320 and 737. However, one airliner in development that will be notable by its absence at the show is Canada's Bombardier CSeries. This suffered a serious engine failure on the ground at the end of May, and although ground-testing has resumed, the aircraft now will miss the show. Finally, the airshow will also see a new military type from the U.S. making its international debut - the Textron Airland Scorpion. The two-seat, jet 'fighter' is a low-cost attack and reconnaissance platform -- aimed at bridging the gap between supersonic expensive fast jets and slower, cheaper turboprops. Will it find a niche? Read this: A century of commercial aviation . Rise of the drones . From book delivery by Amazon drone, to Google and Facebook's acquisition of 'high-altitude, long endurance' (HALE) makers, commercial UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) are now going mainstream -- and this year's Farnborough will reflect this with a focus on autonomous 'intelligent systems' and indoor and outdoor UAV flying areas. Civil UAVs are now possibly one of the fastest growing sectors in aerospace, with one estimate that in five years, commercial UAVs just in the U.S. could be a $13bn industry. However, despite the enthusiasm, challenges remain; in certification, in sharing airspace with manned aircraft and in the business models and structure of this emerging sector. So far the majority of activity has been in small UAVs like quad- and multi-copters -- but the bigger, established global aerospace players are now looking hungrily in the direction of the commercial UAV market. Can they break into this? Or will, in this fast-growing sector, the big primes be outmaneuvered by these tiny start-ups? Read this: 15 ways drones will change your life . | Farnborough airshow is one of the biggest aviation industry gatherings .
International presence is expected to be at an all-time high, says aviation expert Tim Robinson .
The F-35 will make its international debut; civil drones are on the rise . |
79,966 | e2aa3cced58987fc4ccc86d5a9f7ad3c42e79cf6 | By . Jill Reilly . A daredevil slackliner tiptoed across a tiny railing and juggled above a 30 metre drop in an awe-inspiring stunt. Flaviu Cernescu, climbed up and walked across a 4cm wide aqueduct support in Resita, Romania - with no safety equipment to prevent him from falling. The 32-year-old then continued his crossing while juggling three balls as the rail swayed under his feet. Scroll down for video . A daredevil slackliner tiptoes across a tiny railing and juggles above a 30 metre drop in an awe-inspiring stunt . Flaviu Cernescu did the death-defying stunt while juggling three balls as the rail swayed under his feet . The dizzying feat is the latest escapade of the extreme sportsman, who hails from Caras-Severin, Romania. Flaviu said: 'I passed the pipe every day and I always wanted to walk across it. 'I don't get scared - walking at that height just feels natural to me. 'The walking was difficult because it swayed as I moved across it, I had to concentrate at every step. 'When I started juggling it got a lot harder, the rail was moving underneath me and I knew that if I made one mistake I would fall.' Flaviu Cernescu, climbed up and walked across a 4cm wide aqueduct support in Resita, Romania . He had no safety equipment to prevent him from falling . The dizzying feat is the latest escapade of the extreme sportsman, who hails from Caras-Severin, Romania . Flaviu said: 'I passed the pipe every day and I always wanted to walk across it' 'I don't get scared - walking at that height just feels natural to me' he said . 'When I started juggling it got a lot harder, the rail was moving underneath me and I knew that if I made one mistake I would fall,' he said . | Flaviu Cernescu walked across a 4cm wide aqueduct support in Romania .
He had no safety equipment to prevent him from falling .
The 32-year-old juggled three balls as the rail swayed under his feet . |
99,322 | 0beb7e0e2256d6ccc8ffa22485bbd4754f3123b5 | Carlos Velasco Carballo had a good game in difficult circumstances. He is a strong referee who uses cards liberally in La Liga — but this is the World Cup. Referees have been told to be cautious with their cards and remember that a player misses a game for just two bookings. VIDEO Scroll down to watch Sportsmail's Neil Ashton and Charles Sale's verdict . Man in the middle: Spanish referee Carlos Velasco Carballo took charge of England against Uruguay . I am sure Velasco would have dismissed Diego Godin for his second yellow card in the first half but he held back and the Uruguayan captain was saved. As an England fan I was screaming at the television when Uruguayan players made heavy tackles. But there were plenty of dives by England players and Leighton Baines and Raheem Sterling were allowed to escape after strong challenges. England can have no complaints about the referee who was fair and impartial. In the book: Uruguay captain Diego Godin was shown a yellow card early on for handball . Let off: Godin was not punished for this elbow on England striker Daniel Sturridge after he had been booked . Calm down: Velasco Carballo gestures towards England captain Steven Gerrard as Luis Suarez looks on . | Uruguay beat England 2-1 to all but end the Three Lions' hopes of qualifying for the last sixteen of the World cup .
Referee Carlos Velasco Carballo could have sent off Diego Godin for a second yellow but decided not to .
The referee nonetheless had a good game . |
243,391 | c6ff7a5ea65f1929125f013cda4a39fb04be1ec6 | (CNN)Kidnapped heiress, bank robber, actress -- and dog breeder? Patty Hearst, granddaughter of powerful publisher William Randolph Hearst, was kidnapped in 1974 by the radical Symbionese Liberation Army and supposedly joined the cause. She's also one of three owners of the shih tzu named GCH Hallmark Jolei Rocket Power, which won the toy dog category Monday at the 139th Annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show at New York's Madison Square Garden. The dogs compete for best in breed and then for best in group. The seven groups are sporting, hound, working, terrier, toy, non-sporting and herding. The seven dogs named best in group compete for the overall best in show title in the finals Tuesday night. Hearst, 60, has been involved in the dog world for the past decade, a world away from the controversial revolutionary life she once led. In a 1974 bank robbery after her kidnapping, surveillance cameras showed her with a rifle. She was arrested the following year and charged with armed bank robbery and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. A jury didn't buy her defense of brainwashing and fear that she would be killed if she did not join the Symbionese Liberation Army, and she served two years of her sentence before President Jimmy Carter commuted it in 1979. President Bill Clinton granted her a full pardon. Married to her security guard shortly after leaving prison, Hearst had two daughters and dabbled in acting and writing. | Patty Hearst is one of three owners of shih tzu that won toy dog category .
The heiress is best known for being kidnapped by a radical group in 1974 .
Rocket the shih tzu will compete for best in show Tuesday night . |
154,758 | 53fdb11bfe33efe8726f8bee7e2b84f3cde107bd | LONDON, England (CNN) -- Perveen Crawford became Hong Kong's first female pilot in 1995 and is soon to be Hong Kong's first female astronaut when she blasts off to sub-orbital space as a paying customer on Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipOne. Po Toi O is in Clear Water Bay in the New Territories, Hong Kong. The Hong Kong socialite shows us around her city's favorite haunts. For the best seafood in the city, Crawford recommends Po Toi O a small fishing village at Clear Water Bay in the New Territories, Hong Kong. At the village's two seafood restaurants diners can sample the freshest fish picked from teeming water tanks and enjoy specialties such as fried mantis shrimp with peppery salt and fried rice with sea urchin. There's also a 300-year-old temple in the village and hiking trails abound in the hills around the bay. Po Toi O is a 45-minute drive from Hong Kong Island and can be reached using minibus route 16 from Po Lam and by car along the Po Toi O Chuen road. Another of Hong Kong's hidden gems is the retro-chic China Club on the 13th floor of the Old Bank of China building on Bank Street. The style is 1930s Shanghai with traditional furniture as well as contemporary Chinese art and dazzling views from the balcony. On the menu is traditional Chinese food (monosodium glutamate is completely banned) as well as Western tea, coffee and cakes during the day. China Club, The 13/F, The Old Bank of China Building, Bank Street, Central, Hong Kong. Telephone: 25218888. | Perveen Crawford, Hong Kong's first female pilot, shows us around her favorite spots .
For the best seafood try Po Toi O a small fishing village in the New Territories .
The retro-chic China Club in Central Hong Kong serves traditional Chinese food . |
99,865 | 0caaedf27dbaf70a6ddb23ed6d71ad37d8414af1 | (OPRAH.com) -- At first glance, Jeanne, Amy, Nikki and Desiree don't seem to have much in common. Jeanne is a 31-year-old hotel clerk, and Amy is a 26-year-old working mom. Desiree is an 18-year-old who dreams of becoming an FBI agent, and Nikki is a 26-year-old bartender. Despite their differences, these women are bonded by the horrors they say they experienced as children. Jeanne, Amy, Desiree and Nikki were all born into the Tony Alamo Christian Ministry, which, some say, is a cult. Oprah.com: What's it like inside a polygamist ranch? In the 1980s, Alamo, a self-proclaimed prophet of God, had thousands of devoted followers in the United States, including the parents of Jeanne, Amy, Desiree and Nikki. "When Tony would say that God spoke to him, everyone believed it," Jeanne says. At the height of the ministry's popularity, many followers lived in compounds, including one in Fouke, Arkansas. Outsiders had no idea what was going on beyond the barred windows, but these four women know all too well. Ex-followers say that by the late 1990s Alamo was living in this sprawling compound with more than a dozen women, some of whom he called his "spiritual wives." Though no legal documents were ever signed, Jeanne, Amy and Desiree say they were three of Alamo's "wives." But when they said their vows, they hardly qualified as women -- they were still girls. Oprah.com: A former polygamist speaks out . Jeanne says that when she was 15 years old Alamo, who was 59 years old and her pastor at the time, forced her to become his spiritual wife and have sex with him. Amy says Alamo made her say vows and submit to his sexual desires when she was 14. Then, Alamo reportedly did something that reportedly shocked even his most devoted followers. Desiree says Alamo made her his youngest spiritual wife when she was just 8 years old. Desiree says Alamo then forced her to have sex with him. Nikki says she was 15 years old when she realized Alamo planned to make her his next "wife." Nikki escaped the compound and fled before Alamo had the chance to act. Jeanne, Amy and Desiree say they lived as Alamo's "wives" for years and endured abuse before they were able to leave. They eventually fled the compound and left the church that once ruled their lives. Then, in July 2009, these four young women came face-to-face with Alamo once again. This time, in federal court. Despite pressure from family members and friends who still belong to Alamo's church, they testified against their former leader. A jury found Alamo guilty of transporting minors across state lines with the intent to have sex, and he's now serving 175 years in prison. Alamo's attorneys are planning to appeal the case. Oprah.com: Polygamy in America today . Many Americans have never heard of Alamo or his ministry, but Lynn LaRowe, a Texarkana Gazette reporter who's been covering Alamo's story for years, says he began making a name for himself in Los Angeles in the late 1960s. "Tony Alamo said God appeared before him in his body and told him that he needed to go spread the Lord's message or that he would surely die," Lynn says. In 1966, Alamo married Susan Lipowitz and established the Tony and Susan Alamo Christian Foundation. "Susan Alamo actually operated a television ministry," Lynn says. "Tony Alamo would make cameo appearances as a gospel singer." Their ministry gained thousands of followers and became a huge success. Then, in 1982, Susan died of cancer. Former members say that's when Alamo's dark side was unleashed. Alamo reportedly put his wife's dead body in his dining room, and former church members say he made men, women and children pray over her corpse for almost two years. They were told their prayers would raise Susan from the dead, but when it didn't work, a former member says Alamo blamed his faithful followers. Oprah.com: She escaped a polygamist community . Over time, Alamo began to exert more control over members of the Tony Alamo Christian Ministry. He turned his church it into a multimillion-dollar business, built on the backs of devoted followers. "They spent all of their time either praying or working in some capacity for the ministry," Lynn says. "They were completely physically, if not psychologically, as well, exhausted. So there was no time for independent thinking." Emboldened by his success, Alamo wasn't afraid to share his radical views with the world. During a 2008 interview with CNN anchor Rick Sanchez, Alamo ranted against the Catholic Church and argued that the Bible implies that puberty is the age of consent. "I don't know when girls reach puberty. Most of them around 10, 11, 12, 13, 14," he said during the interview. "God inseminated Mary at the age of around 10 to 12. Should we get him for having sex?" Jeanne, Amy, Nikki and Desiree say that when they lived in Alamo's Arkansas compound, he controlled every facet of his followers' lives, and threatened violence and eternal damnation if they dared to disobey him. "He was the one who laid down the rules," Desiree says. Nikki says Alamo decided everything, from who could get a driver's license to whom a member could marry. Jeanne, Amy, Desiree and Nikki say that when Alamo set his sights on a young girl in his congregation, her parents couldn't say no. In fact, some believed becoming one of his spiritual wives was an honor. "My mom had told me the only person I was going to marry was Tony Alamo," Amy says. Once Alamo "married" a girl, Jeanne says he used her to fulfill his sexual desires. "Tony Alamo had up to 13 wives. About, I would say, half were minors, and he had had sex with every single one of us," she says. "He preferred the younger ones." Four days after Alamo exchanged vows with Jeanne, his eighth "wife," she says he made her have sex with him. "I did believe that God was telling him that I was supposed to have sex with him, that I was supposed to be his wife, that anything he asked of me, I was supposed to do," she says. When Desiree was an 8-year-old little girl who loved playing with dolls, she believed Alamo was a prophet. But, she says, she still felt that what was happening was wrong. "I just remember Tony bringing me into his room at one point. He laid me on the bed, said the marriage vows, said 'I do,' got a wedding ring, and after that, what actually made it final was, instead of a marriage license, you had sex," Desiree says. "I didn't know about sex. I didn't know about any of that. What kept going through my mind was: 'How can this be right? Isn't this wrong?'" Despite what she'd been taught all her life, Nikki says she also felt that Alamo's manipulation and teachings were wrong. "I thought, 'If this is heaven and this is what's going to get me to heaven, I'm going to have to go to hell,'" she says. Nikki says that in 1999, after she realized she would become Alamo's next spiritual wife, she took action. Although Alamo had taught her to fear the outside world, she found the courage inside herself to run. Oprah.com: Island holds most dangerous child sex offenders . One afternoon, Nikki says she fled the compound. She eluded Alamo's security guards by running through thick brush for hours. "He sent every person out to look up and down the highways," Nikki says. "They went through every store, every fast food place." After running for miles through the woods, Nikki was exhausted and terrified. Finally, she spotted a house across a field and hurried to the front door. Vince and Karen Coker, strangers who lived in the house, took a leap of faith and invited her to stay the night. The Cokers offered Nikki a change of clothes, a warm bath and a bed to sleep in. "I remember laying in the bed. I felt a little bit safe," Nikki says. "I thought, 'Maybe, maybe they will really help me.'" Oprah Show producers reached out to Alamo for a statement, but he never responded. But Alamo's church, which is still in business, sent a message. This is part of it, verbatim. "Tony Alamo has no secret world or child brides. He is the least secret person in the world. His church and he are open daily to the public, and he is very outspoken, as an open book. Oprah and the government media and the Roman Catholics are in conspiracy against him and his whole church." From The Oprah Winfrey Show © 2010 . Subscribe to O, The Oprah Magazine for up to 75% off the newsstand price. That's like getting 18 issues FREE. Subscribe now! TM & © 2011 Harpo Productions, Inc. All Rights Reserved. | Jeanne, Amy and Desiree say they were "spiritual wives" of Tony Alamo .
Jeanne was 15, Amy was 14, Desiree was 8 when forced to have sex, they say .
Alamo was convicted of taking minors across state lines for sex .
Sentenced to 175 years in prison, he is appealing his 2009 conviction . |
24 | 00189f37b1c8bdc2b132b40270bb28ffcc622af1 | Glen Johnson looks destined to leave Anfield next summer after he revealed there is no prospect of his future being resolved. Johnson, like Steven Gerrard, can start talking to foreign clubs in 31 days about joining them on a Bosman at the end of the season. But whereas Liverpool are in talks with their captain about a new deal, Johnson’s situation is drifting. The full back is clearly still committed to the cause — ending up with stitches in his head after diving in to score the winning goal — but has accepted that the end may be near. Liverpool's Glen Johnson strikes late with a header to give his side a vital 1-0 victory over Stoke City at Anfield . Liverpool have not made any contact with him about extending his terms and Johnson, who has attracted interest from Roma, insists that he will not be pleading for a new deal. ‘I want to play for a club that wants me,’ said Johnson, who moved to Merseyside from Portsmouth for £17.5million in 2009. ‘I’ve seen some stuff that I have been offered half the money I am on. That’s not true. I haven’t been offered anything. ‘Time goes very quick. I’ve enjoyed my time here, the majority of the six years. There have been some good times, some bad times. But if I haven’t got a contract, I can’t stay. It does play on your mind but you have to be professional and do your best. I respect my team-mates more than anyone. Johnson celebrates scoring the vitally important winner with a thumbs up to the Anfield crowd late on . ‘I’m not going to go crawling to anybody. They know where I am and they know the situation. There were minor talks at the end of last season but nothing that I could accept or reject. ‘I don’t worry about things that I can’t control. All I can keep doing is my job. Whatever will unfold will unfold. It’s not my business to talk to other clubs. I’m concentrating on winning for Liverpool. I want to respect my contract and that’s what I will do.’ This has not been an easy season for Johnson. With Brendan Rodgers constantly chopping and changing his defence, his form has dipped and he has lost his place in the England squad. Johnson is congratulated by his Liverpool team-mates but needed treatment after taking a hit while scoring . That has led to him becoming a target for supporters’ frustrations. There were a number of growls on Saturday when he made a mistake in the third minute. Aside from that Johnson did little wrong and followed up bravely after Rickie Lambert’s effort struck the woodwork. ‘It hurts a lot less when the ball hits the net,’ said Johnson. ‘When Rickie headed it, I thought it was going to hit the bar, so I just kept going. We fought hard and I would have been very upset if we’d only drawn. We deserved to win.’ Rodgers sprinted down the touchline and celebrated the goal with supporters. Behind him, his assistants and Liverpool’s substitutes vaulted from their seats. Rodgers reflected: ‘There was a feeling of elation, probably a mixture of relief. Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard looks on from the bench during the first half after being rested for the match . VIDEO Gerrard denies Rodgers rift . ‘We’ve got to make slow steps. The scrutiny was on us in a big game against a tough side but we came through it very well.’ Stoke will consider themselves unlucky. On another day Bojan Krkic would have scored rather than hitting the post. ‘There wasn’t any real momentum behind Liverpool’s play and we dealt with that quite easily,’ said Stoke manager Mark Hughes. ‘We let ourselves down. We had three or four defenders and (Johnson) reacted quicker than we did when it bounced off the bar.’ Liverpool manager Rodgers looks cheerful after his side secured a late win at Anfield against Stoke . | Full back scored late winner as Liverpool beat Stoke 1-0 on Saturday .
Victory is the first for the Reds in the Premier League in over a month .
Glen Johnson's contract runs out at Anfield this summer .
The England international joined Liverpool from Portsmouth in 2009 . |
5,858 | 109f8ae923025094691e912db8ffa9cfd90185b7 | American Amanda Knox vowed Tuesday to fight with her head "held high" to prove her innocence after Italian Supreme Court judges ruled Tuesday she should stand trial again for the death of her former roommate in Italy. Knox spent four years in prison before an appellate court overturned her murder conviction, citing lack of evidence against her in the 2007 death of British student Meredith Kercher in Perugia. Knox, who returned to the United States in 2011 and has been living in Seattle, was not in court for Tuesday's ruling. The Supreme Court judges in Rome also ordered that her former boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, who was acquitted with her, face a new trial as well over Kercher's death. Knox said it had been "painful" to hear the news that the court had ordered a retrial, in a statement issued through the family's PR spokesman, David Marriott. Timeline: Meredith Kercher murder case . The prosecution's case against her "has been repeatedly revealed to be completely unfounded and unfair," she said in the statement, and an "objective investigation" and "capable prosecution" are needed if any questions remain about her innocence. "The prosecution responsible for the many discrepancies in their work must be made to answer for them, for Raffaele's sake, my sake, and most especially for the sake of Meredith's family. Our hearts go out to them," she said. "No matter what happens, my family and I will face this continuing legal battle as we always have, confident in the truth and with our heads held high in the face of wrongful accusations and unreasonable adversity." 'Psychological impact' Knox's attorney, Carlo Dalla Vedova, earlier told CNN that Knox was "upset and surprised because we thought that the case was over." But, he added, "at the same time, as she's done in the last five years, she's ready to continue and we are ready to fight." Dalla Vedova said he did not expect his client to leave Seattle for Italy "for many reasons," although she is free to travel. Experts disagree over extradition for Amanda Knox . "She's a very young girl and she's looking to have her life," he said. "This has a psychological impact on her." Prosecutors have argued that despite the appellate decision, they still believe Knox and Sollecito are responsible for the death of the 21-year-old student. Another man, Ivorian drifter Rudy Guede, was convicted separately of Kercher's killing. Guede admitted having sexual relations with Kercher but denied killing her. Kercher's older sister, Stephanie, said Tuesday that the family welcomed the news of the retrial because they still hoped to discover the full story behind her death. "We are never going to be happy about any outcome because we have still lost Meredith but we obviously support the decision and hope to get answers from it," she told CNN affiliate ITN from the family home in Coulsdon, south of London. "There are still so many unanswered questions. All we have ever wanted to do is do what we can for Meredith and to find out the truth of what happened that night. "Rudy Guede's conviction was on the basis that there was more than one person there so that is something that needs to be looked into." The Kerchers' family lawyer, Francesco Maresca, earlier said they wanted a retrial because they believed the ruling that acquitted Knox and Sollecito was "superficial and unbalanced." Amanda Knox: Fascination with 'the evil female' Judge Saverio Chieffi told the court he would publish the reasoning behind his decision within 90 days, after which the parties would have 45 days to present their case. The retrial is not expected until sometime early next year, to be heard in an appellate court in Florence. After that, both parties would again be able to appeal at the Supreme Court. Riccardo Montana, a law lecturer at City University London and an expert on the Italian legal system, said that the judges' decision to order a retrial is "not unusual when a case is very complex and there is a clear contrast between different accounts of the factual scenario." While the Italian Supreme Court decides on points of law, the boundaries are not always clear, Montana said. "In this specific trial, the use and interpretation of evidence was discussed," but the picture should become clearer when the full reasons for the court's ruling are issued in the coming weeks, he said. Knox may be ordered to return to Italy for the retrial. If she refuses, the Italian government could appeal to the U.S. government for her extradition. But even if it does, Knox might still not end up before an Italian court. Double jeopardy? U.S. officials might reject such a request because it violates the U.S. legal principle that a criminal defendant can't be tried twice on the same allegation, said Joey Jackson, a contributor for HLN's "In Session." Italy lacks the absolute prohibition present in U.S. law preventing authorities from retrying a criminal defendant who has been acquitted of a charge. 2011: Was Italy fair to Amanda Knox? "We have principles that are well-founded within our Constitution, one of which is double jeopardy," Jackson said. "So as a result of that, I think it would be highly objectionable for the United States to surrender someone to another country for which justice has already been administered and meted out. So I don't think or anticipate that that would happen." Another lawyer for Knox, Luciano Ghirga, said Monday that her client was confident in the Italian legal system and hoped one day to return to Italy as a free woman. The Supreme Court did not order her retrial Tuesday on a charge of defamation. Knox's conviction for defaming Patrick Lumumba, a club owner whom she accused of killing Kercher, was upheld in October 2011 by the same appeals court that cleared her of murder. 2011: Amanda Knox judge explains murder acquittal . The case began in 2007, after Knox moved to Perugia to study at the University for Foreigners of Perugia for one year. Knox, then 20, shared a room with British student Kercher. That November, Kercher's semi-naked body was found at the home, with her throat slashed. Police arrested Knox and Sollecito, who was her boyfriend at the time. Two years later, they were convicted of murder, but they were cleared when they appealed the verdicts in 2011. 'Lack of evidence' In legal paperwork published in December 2011, the judge in the case wrote that the jury had cleared the pair of murder for lack of evidence proving they were guilty. Knox's family said last year the appeal was unwelcome, but no cause for concern. "The appeal of Amanda's acquittal by the prosecution was not unexpected as they had indicated from the day of the verdict that they would appeal," a family statement in February 2012 said. 2011: Knox makes emotional return to Seattle . Knox has spent the last year and a half trying to resume a normal life, studying creative writing at the University of Washington in Seattle, her hometown, according to family spokesman Marriott. She also has written a book on her ordeal, titled "Waiting to be Heard," which will be published next month. According to Harper Collins, Knox "tells the full story of her harrowing ordeal in Italy -- a labyrinthine nightmare of crime and punishment, innocence and vindication -- and of the unwavering support of family and friends who tirelessly worked to help her win her freedom." The publisher did not have any immediate response to the news that Knox now faces a retrial. Francesco Sollecito, Raffaele's father, told CNN in a phone interview last year that the family was "not happy about the decision (to appeal). My son is trying to get back to normal life." "We can do very little in this situation," he said, but as Italian citizens, they would have to accept the court's decision. "We hope that the high court will finally put the words 'the end' to this story." | "There are still so many unanswered questions," says sister of murdered British girl .
Knox: "My family and I will face this continuing legal battle ... confident in the truth"
Decision to order a retrial in a complex case is not unusual in Italy, legal expert says .
Amanda Knox's lawyer says he does not expect her to travel to Italy at this time . |
93,585 | 04597ddda773245ff2bdf473c80c3e798c97f01b | Miss World is synonymous with scantily clad women strutting their stuff on stage. But this year the pageant will be significantly more subdued, after organisers announced that they are scrapping the traditional bikini round in a bid to avoid offending the Muslim hosts. The contest, which will crown a global beauty queen chosen from 137 participants, will take place in September on the island of Bali in Indonesia. Pageant: Miss World will not feature a bikini round this year. Last year's contest, won by Miss China, is shown . Wannabes: But whichever of these young women is selected to be Miss England will not have to take her bikini to the competition in Indonesia . The area plays host to millions of foreign tourists every year, and is known for its idyllic beaches where Western visitors are frequently to be seen sporting skimpy swimwear. However, Indonesia is a predominantly Islamic country, with more than 200million Muslims living in the South-East Asian nation. The country's top Islamic body, the Indonesian Ulema Council, has called for the Miss World pageant to be cancelled. And in a nod to conservative public opinion, organisers have decided that the contestants will not wear bikinis during the 'beach fashion' round of the event. Tradition: Miss World's 1989 finalists are pictured posing in their swimwear during the contest . Iconic: The 2003 contestants pictured posing in bikinis for a photo shoot on China's Hainan Island . Instead, they will cover up with garments such as sarongs which avoid revealing the body shape. Julia Morley, chair of the Miss World Organisation, told AAP that the decision was taken in order to show 'respect' for the hosts and other participating countries. 'I don't want to upset or get anyone in a situation where we are being disrespectful,' she said. 'We treasure respect for all the countries that take part in the pageant.' Bizarre: Tourists pictured in Bali, where foreign visitors frequently wear skimpy swimwear on the beach . The decision comes after a series of controversies surrounding Western singers performing in Indonesia. Last year Lady Gaga cancelled a concert in the country when radical Islamists threatened to burn down the venue where she was performing in protest at her outlandish outfits. | Pageant will be held on tourist island of Bali in September .
Contestants will not wear bikinis in case they offend Indonesia's Muslims . |
260,053 | dcba83d11ab1e0dbeefc2d461a37c8b6899b174b | By . Hugo Gye . PUBLISHED: . 04:51 EST, 25 June 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 05:04 EST, 25 June 2013 . Victim: Sandra Edwards has been left blind in one eye after being knocked from her moped by a teenager . A teenager who left a grandmother fighting for life in a coma after he smashed into her moped with his car has walked free from court with a fine of just £280. Ryan Matticks, 19, was yesterday given five penalty points on his licence after admitting careless driving at South-East Suffok magistrates' court. His victim, widow Sandra Edwards, described his sentence as 'ridiculous' as she spoke out about her horrific injuries which confined her to hospital for three months. The 57-year-old has been left blind . in one eye and confined to a wheelchair after the crash, in which nearly . all her teeth were knocked out and her hand was broken. She now fears she could lose her job as a carer, as she is unable to drive to her patient's homes. Matticks, . an apprentice engineer and father of one, knocked Mrs Edwards off her . Piaggio moped in Ipswich on the evening of April 9 as he made a right . turn while pulling in to his girlfriend's driveway in his Vauxhall . Corsa. Harriet . Johnson, defending, said that the teenager had suffered a 'momentary . lapse of concentration', making a mistake which 'any driver is capable . of'. She added that Matticks had been 'devastated' by the crash, and had had difficulty sleeping ever since. But . Mrs Edwards said that the accident had destroyed her life, as doctors . at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge twice told her that she was . unlikely to survive. She returned home to Ipswich yesterday after three months in hospital, with her treatment including a 10-hour operation. Fury: The widowed grandmother described the driver's sentence of a fine and penalty points as 'ridiculous' 'I think it's a ridiculous . sentence,' the victim said. 'It has ruined my life. I love my job but I . can't work because I won't be able to drive for at least another year - . and probably never again. 'I can't see out of my left eye - I can't open my eyelid. The hospital said it is unlikely it will fully recover. 'I . lost all my teeth except one. I broke my hand, my kneecap was smashed . in, I can't even bend my fingers. I've lost two stone and need to eat . liquidised foods.' She . added: 'Everything has changed now. He needs to learn from this - he . needs to learn to be more responsible for his own actions.' Mrs . Edwards was put into an induced coma for three weeks after first . arriving at Addenbrooke's as doctors battled to save her life. Happier times: Mrs Edwards, left, at the wedding of her daughter Nicola to Andy Tuck in 2005 . 'I woke up three weeks later in a hospital bed and had no idea where I was,' she said. 'I couldn't remember anything about what happened. 'I didn't know who I was - I even thought my late husband David was still alive. I was told to say goodbye to my family twice.' She will now receive daily visits from a carer from Suffolk County Council as she seeks to recover from her injuries. Her daughter Nicola Tuck, who lives with her, said: 'It has devastated our lives. We will not have the freedom we used to. 'Young drivers must check and check again on the roads.' | Ryan Matticks crashed into Sandra Edwards' moped in Ipswich in April .
Grandmother has been left in a wheelchair and is unable to return to work .
But 19-year-old escaped with just a fine and five penalty points .
'It's ridiculous', says victim as she reveals crash has 'ruined her life' |
157,501 | 57a355107ae6ecdc82cb2572609f3f3efe22f952 | Every day painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen that are flushed out into the environment are stunting the growth of important food crops, new research suggests. Scientists have assessed the impact of a range of commonly used non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medication on edible crops like lettuce and radish. They found that the drugs could change the way the roots and stems of the plants grow in the first few weeks after germinating. Some of the drugs caused radishes to grow shorter roots, which may impact on the size and quality of the food . In some cases the drugs suppressed growth and led to roots being shorter while others enhanced the growth of leaves. They could also alter the way the crops took up water. More than 30 million of these drugs are prescribed across the world every day and find their way into the environment. Dr Clare Redshaw, who led the study at the European centre for environmental and human health at the University of Exeter, said that the findings raised serious questions about how the medication we use is altering the environment around us. Long-term monitoring by the British Trust For Ornithology shows starling numbers have fallen by two-thirds in Britain since the early Eighties. The RSPB says the starling is now listed as a ‘bird of high conservation concern’. While the charity admits the cause of the decline in the UK is not clear, Dr Kathryn Arnold, an ecologist from the University of York, who has been studying the effects of our Prozac habit on starlings, suggests the anti-depressant could be partly to blame. She says the birds are ingesting fluoxetine — the drug’s active ingredient — by eating earthworms that thrive at sewage works. The level of fluoxetine in these worms is tiny, around four per cent of the equivalent average dose given to humans. But research shows even this minute dose can have a profound effect on the starlings’ brains. Dr Arnold fed worms containing the same concentration of the drug to 24 captive starlings and monitored their behaviour over six months. The experiment, on BBC2’s Autumnwatch, which is broadcast over four days this week, found that the birds suffered side-effects similar to those experienced by humans taking Prozac. Antidepressants have also been found to produce impacts on male crayfish, which become more aggressive and kill large number of females. Environmental researchers have in the past warned that hormones like estrogen from contraceptive drugs are having a devastating impact on fish and amphibian. Now the latest work suggests that many other common drugs are also having unexpected impacts on the environment and the food we eat. Dr Redshaw said: ‘These are some of the most widely used drugs in the world, yet we know very little about their effects on flora and fauna. ‘The roots and stems seemed to be the most affected in the plants we looked at, but some of the drugs had opposing effects in different plants.’ For example, diclofenac, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug used to treat arthritis and migraine headaches, seemed to suppress the growth of radishes while enhanced lettuce growth. By comparison, Ibuprofen exposure delayed the opening of lettuce leaves and had a significant influence on early root development in lettuce but enhanced the growth of radish roots. ‘We only ran these experiments for a number of weeks but if we continued for several months we may see the affects change,’ said Dr Redshaw. ‘Early development is a crucial time for plants and it is likely we would see continuing impacts in these plants. ‘Clearly it is not catastrophic, otherwise all out fields would be empty, but it is clear these drugs are changing the way plants grow.’ Dr Redshaw and her colleague Dr Wiebke Schmidt studied how six different non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs changed the germination and growth of lettuce and radish plants. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatories like ibuprofen can escape into the environment through waste water and when old unused drugs are are thrown away in to landfill, which could be having a major impact on plants . Although the researchers from Exeter University only tested the changes in lettuce and radishes, they fear painkillers and other drugs may also cause changes in the way other crops and wild plants develop . They looked at ibuprofen, diclofenac, naproxen, tolfenamic acid, meclofenamic acid and mefenamic acid - which are all used to treat arthritis, migraines or menstrual pains. They found that each of the drugs altered the way the plants photosynthesised, their overall size, their root and shoot length and how they took up water. The findings, which are published in the Journal of Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, emphasis the need to find new ways to remove medication from waste water. Dr Redshaw said although they only studied the impact of the drugs in two plants, it was clear they could also affect other crops. She added that previous work she had conducted showed that many medications are absorbed by crop plants, which leads to them being eaten again by humans. Dr Redshaw said: ‘Many drugs we use are designed to be very stable which means they are resistant and can cycle around in the food chain. Ibuprofen delayed the opening of lettuce leaves and altered the way the roots grew in early development . The researchers grew lettuce and radishes from seeds while exposing them from different medications . 'The use of these drugs is rising in western and developed countries because of the aging population demographic. 'Clearly these drugs could also be having a combined affect on plants as they will not just be exposed to a single drug or pollutant in the environment. ‘There are some 3,000 pharmaceuticals licensed for use in the UK. The next phase in our work will be to look at these mixture effects.’ The work builds on concerns that pharmaceuticals in the environment are posing a growing threat to human health and wildlife. Overuse of antibiotics, which escape into the environment, are thought to be driving the spread of antibiotic resistant bacteria. A recent special issue of the journal Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B warned the risk posed by pharmaceuticals to wildlife needed to be better explored. In freshwater habitats, for example, where drugs tend to be most commonly found, around 75% of fish and amphibians had been lost. Other research has also found that vultures in India are being wiped out by an anti-inflammatory drug given to cattle. Dr Kathryn Arnold, an environmental research fellow at the University of York who edited the issue said: ‘With thousands of pharmaceuticals in use globally, they have the potential to have potent effects on wildlife and ecosystems. ‘We believe that it is time to explore emerging challenges.’ | Common medications for arthritis and migraine altered root development .
Ibuprofen delayed opening of lettuce leaves but boosted radish root length .
Study raises concerns over risk to flora and fauna from pharmaceuticals .
Thirty million of these drugs prescribed every day around the world . |
157,041 | 570cc113dd748859e3ebf4e54b146aacd52ef2eb | Sergio Aguero returned from international duty with Argentina to training with Manchester City ahead of the Premier League champion's showdown with Arsenal on Saturday. The prolific striker was hampered by injury last season but still managed to score 26 goals in all competitions for the Blues - while he has managed two goals in three appearances (two as a substitute) this season. Aguero was on the scoresheet as Argentina gained revenge for their World Cup final defeat to Germany with a 4-2 friendly win in Dusseldorf - where his new Manchester rival Angel di Maria played a starring role. VIDEO Scroll down to see Aguero score against Germany . Guess who's back: Sergio Aguero returns to training after the international break with Argentina . Twinkle toes: Aguero teases former Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard with his dribbling skills . After burners: The Argentina international races past City defender Dedryck Boyata (L) Hold up play: Aguero fends off Fofana Seko and Samir Nasri during training . Showdown: Aguero, Lampard and Nasri hone their skills ahead of Saturday's league clash with Arsenal . Running man: Aguero looked back to full fitness after a season plagued by injury last term . On target: Aguero is congratulated by teammates after scoring in Argentina's 4-2 defeat of Germany . Tales of the unexpected: The 26-year-old made his first start of the season in City's shock 1-0 loss to Stoke . Argentina face another old enemy when they play Brazil in an international friendly on Saturday but Aguero has been allowed dispensation to stay with his club. The 26-year-old, who made his first start of the season in the shock 1-0 loss to Stoke, appeared back to full fitness as he practiced with the likes of Samir Nasri and Eliquiam Managala. Former Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard was also involved in the training session as he awaits his first appearance since leaving Samford Bridge. | Sergio Aguero returns to Manchester City training after international break .
Blues striker scored for Argentina in 4-2 defeat of Germany .
Aguero has netted twice in three Premier League games this season .
Argentina international joined Frank Lampard, Eliquiam Mangala and Samir Nasri at Carrington . |
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