id stringlengths 40 40 | article stringlengths 48 15.9k | highlights stringlengths 14 7.39k |
|---|---|---|
169ffa5f520e236179371de5b17e4680156775c8 | One of the world's weirdest fish made a rare appearance above the water in these incredible pictures. Photographer Jodi Frediani captured the bizarre-looking Mola mola fish off the coast of California when it surfaced to snack on the Velella velella - a tiny sea creature similar to a jelly fish. But short of shying from the attention, the mola appeared to pucker up for the camera. Scroll down for video . One of the worlds weirdest fish made a rare appearance above the water in these incredible pictures . Sunfish, or Mola mola, are the heaviest of all the bony fish, with large specimens reaching 14 feet (4.2 meters) vertically and 10 feet (3.1 meters) horizontally and weighing nearly 5,000 pounds (2,270 kg). Sharks and rays can be heavier, but they're cartilaginous fish. Sunfish develop their truncated, bullet-like shape because the back fin which they are born with simply never grows. Instead, it folds into itself as the enormous creature matures, creating a rounded rudder called a clavus. Mola in Latin means 'millstone' and describes the ocean sunfish’s somewhat circular shape. They are a silvery color and have a rough skin texture. Mola are found in temperate and tropical oceans around the world. They are frequently seen basking in the sun near the surface and are often mistaken for sharks when their huge dorsal fins emerge above the water. Their teeth are fused into a beak-like structure, and they are unable to fully close their relatively small mouths. Source: NationalGeographic.com . Also known as the ocean sunfish, the creature can grow up to 13 feet (four metres) long and weigh more than 4,400 pounds (2,000 kg). They are sometimes mistaken for sharks when their dorsal fin sticks up out of the water. They feed on Velella velellas, also known as the 'by-the-wind-sailors', which live on the surface and feed on plankton and small fish. Mola mola swim at depths of up to 2,000 feet (600 metres) and spend much of their lives submerged at depths of more than 660 feet (200 metres), which is why it is rare to spot them at the surface of water. Indeed, they tend to live out in the open ocean rather than near shores or the surface. Environmentalist Jodi was on board the whale watching boat the Sea Wolf II in Monterey Bay when she spotted the incredible sight. Jodi said: 'We normally see them resting just below the surface so this was very unusual. 'We were able to watch it as it honed in on one by-the-wind-sailor after another, slurping each into its open mouth, then squirting out a jet of unwanted sea water. 'They swim in a curious, rather clumsy fashion for a fish, wagging their tall dorsal and ventral fins and stubby tails. 'They prefer to feed on jellyfish, but we had the rare opportunity to see one feeding on by-the-wind-sailors.' A Mola mola has not been seen in Monterey Bay for more than eight years . Photographer and environmentalist Jodi Frediani captured the bizarre-looking Mola mola fish off the coast of California when it surfaced to snack on the Velella Velella (shown), a tiny sea creature similar to a jelly fish . Sunfish, or Mola mola, are the heaviest of all the bony fish but tend to live in deeper waters and are rarely seen near the surface . Short of shying from the attention, the Mola mola appeared to pucker up for the camera . Jodi continued: 'Using a special technique to nab the small sailors on the ocean's surface, the Mola mola raised its head out of the water, slurped up the small sailor, then spat it out.' The Mola mola isthe heaviest of all the bony fish, . While they are tame and appear listless, they're difficult to photograph because they are deceptively fast and generally do not like when divers come near them. In addition to this, the sighting was rare - a Mola mola has not been spotted in this Californian bay for more than eight years. In . this separate photo from 2012 photojournalist Daniel Botelho came . across the moon-shaped Mola mola while snapping pictures of blue whales . off San Diego . The Mola mola can grow up to 13 feet (four metres) long and weigh more than 4,400 pounds (2,000 kg) Jodi said: 'We normally see them resting just below the surface so this was very unusual' Mola mola are sometimes mistaken for sharks when their dorsal fin sticks up out of the water . | A bizarre-looking fish has been spotted off the coast of California .
The mola mola was snapped when it came to the surface to get food .
The fish can grow up to 13 feet (four metres) in size but tend to live in deeper waters and are rarely seen near the surface .
Such a fish has not been seen in Monterey Bay for more than eight years .
It was spotted by photographer and environmentalist Jodi Frediani . |
16a0add5755827a4f7d04c5c877b929af43eeb10 | HARARE, Zimbabwe (CNN) -- Some of Zimbabwe's children are "wasting away" as political turmoil and economic crisis have caused a severe food shortage, according to a report from Save the Children. Children sleep in rough conditions on the border between Zimbabwe and South Africa. The number of acute child malnutrition cases has risen by almost two-thirds in the past year, the report from the UK-based agency said in its appeal to world donors for help. "There is no excuse for failing to provide this food," program director Lynn Walker said. "The innocent people of Zimbabwe should not be made to suffer for a political situation that is out of their control." Five million Zimbabweans -- out of a population of about 12 million -- are in need of food aid now, the report said. The group is appealing for 18,000 tons of food for next month. "We have already been forced to reduce the rations of emergency food we are delivering because there isn't enough to go around," the report said. "If, as we fear, the food aid pipeline into Zimbabwe begins to fail in the new year the millions of people who rely on emergency food aid will suffer." Zimbabwe is facing its worst economic and humanitarian crisis since its independence from Great Britain 28 years ago. There is an acute shortage of all essentials such as cash, fuel, medical drugs, electricity and food. President Robert Mugabe blames the crisis on the sanctions imposed on him and his cronies by the West for allegedly disregarding human rights. But Mugabe's critics attribute the crisis to his economic policies. As the economy has faltered for almost a decade now, a cholera epidemic is raging, fueled by the collapse of health, sanitation and water services in Zimbabwe. The epidemic has claimed more than 1,100 lives and infected more than 20,000 people since its outbreak in August. Health experts have warned that the water-borne disease could infect more than 60,000 unless its spread is halted. The political crisis rose to a boil in this year when the opposition party claimed that it won the presidential election, but Mugabe's government refused to recognize the result. Instead, the race was thrown to a runoff, which was boycotted by the opposition. Mugabe signed an agreement with the opposition in September to form a unity government, but a bitter dispute over the division of cabinet seats has prevented its formation. Inflation is so severe that the government was forced to print $10 billion currency notes last week, with each expected to buy just 20 loaves of bread. | Some Zimbabwean children "wasting away" amid food shortage, aid group says .
Severe malnutrition cases rise two-thirds in year, Save the Children warns .
Almost half of 12 million Zimbabweans need food aid now, report says .
Country facing worst economic, humanitarian crisis since independence in 1980 . |
16a1278ce796e29e6c3196357206b5cdecf8e346 | (CNN)Boko Haram laughed off Nigeria's announcement of a ceasefire agreement, saying there is no such deal and schoolgirls abducted in April have been converted to Islam and married off. Nigerian officials announced two weeks ago that they had struck a deal with the Islamist terror group. The deal, the government said, included the release of more than 200 girls whose kidnapping at a boarding school in the nation's north stunned the world. In a video released Saturday, the Islamist group's notorious leader fired off a series of denials. "Don't you know the over 200 Chibok schoolgirls have converted to Islam?" Abubakar Shekau said. "They have now memorized two chapters of the Quran." Shekau slammed reports of their planned release. "We married them off. They are in their marital homes," he said, chuckling. The group's leader also denied knowing the negotiator with whom the government claimed it worked out a deal, saying he does not represent Boko Haram. "We will not spare him and will slaughter him if we get him," he said of the negotiator. It wasn't clear when the video was made. Mike Omeri, a government spokesman, said these assertions contradict those made in the group's talks with the Nigerian government. Omeri said the government will do everything possible to verify the claims made in the video. "We've heard about the video, and we can say the road to peace is bumpy -- and you cannot expect otherwise," Omeri said. "Nigeria has been fighting a war, and wars don't end overnight." Nigeria said officials met with Boko Haram in Chad twice during talks mediated by Chadian President Idriss Deby. The ceasefire deal announced on October 17 followed a month of negotiations with representatives of the group, said Hassan Tukur, an aide to Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan. After the deal was announced, the aide said final negotiations on the girls' release would be completed at a meeting a week later in Chad. That day passed without any signs of the girls. Boko Haram a growing challenge . In the video, Shekau talked not of peace but of more violence -- promising more "war, striking and killing with gun." This strategy appears to be playing out in parts of Nigeria, where Boko Haram fighters have continued deadly attacks on villages despite government claims of a ceasefire. More people have been abducted and scores killed in recent weeks, including one attack a day after the ceasefire that left eight dead. Days later, the Islamist terror group abducted at least 60 young women and girls from Christian villages in northeast Nigeria. Heavily armed fighters left 1,500 naira, or about $9, and kola nuts as a bride price for each of the women abducted, residents said. For its part, Nigeria isn't backing down. It is stepping up its military campaign against militants and criminals in some parts of the West African nation, Nigeria's defense ministry said Saturday. The military said its airstrikes and ground operations have repelled attacks against civilians in Adamawa and Borno, two states in the northeast that have been strongholds and frequent targets for Boko Haram. Officials are "studying" the latest video, even as the military continues to recognize the talks aimed at assuring the release of the kidnapped schoolgirls, the ministry said. Boko Haram, whose name translates to "Western education is sin" in the Hausa language, is trying to impose strict Sharia law across Nigeria, which is split between a majority Muslim north and a mostly Christian south. Like ISIS, it has ambitions for a caliphate, or religious state. The group's attacks have intensified in recent years in an apparent show of defiance for the nation's military onslaught. Its ambitions appear to have expanded to the destruction of the government. As part of its insurgency, it has bombed schools, churches and mosques, kidnapped women and children, and assassinated politicians and religious leaders alike. CNN's Isha Sesay, Lillian Leposo, Christabelle Fombu, Greg Botelho and Nana Karikari-apau contributed to this report. | "The road to peace is bumpy," Nigerian official says after video's release .
Boko Haram's leader says no ceasefire deal, despite Nigeria's announcement .
"We married them off," the leader, Abubakar Shekau, says of the abducted girls .
Video claims contradict those assertions made in talks, a Nigerian official says . |
16a18a1eadd27c83e3b59905d71e77682e4e65ef | By . Sally Lee for Daily Mail Australia . Owen Beddall knows he's no supermodel but he didn't think that would be an issue when he was being interviewed on TV as an author for his recently released book. So it came as a rude shock for the Sydney-sider when he was turned down by a number of shows in Los Angeles because he didn't have 'the Hollywood look'. The author of Confessions of a Qantas Flight Attendant: True Tales and Gossip From The Galley was told by U.S. producers that he needed to lose 45kg and further suggested that he sign up for reality weight-loss series The Biggest Loser. But the 38-year-old was then told he couldn't feature on the American version of the show as it would be difficult for the American audience to understand him as he doesn't speak 'proper English'. Owen Beddall worked for Qantas from 2001 to 2013. He is now the author of Confessions of a Qantas Flight Attendant: True Tales and Gossip From The Galley . Mr Beddall met Russell Brand (left) and Katy Perry (right) during his time as a first-class flight attendant for Qantas . Beddall began his five-week international book tour in July for his tell all-memoir, which documents his 12 years attending to the needs and whims of the rich and famous as a first class Qantas flight attendant. He told Daily Mail Australia that he always knew he would write a book about his high-flying experiences. The 38-year-old began writing the book in 2011 after he broke his back . 'I wanted to keep note of the funny things because flight attending isn't your average job,' he said. But it wasn't until Beddall became paralysed after breaking his back when he slipped down some stairs in 2011 that he put his plan into action. 'Those moments were dark for me as I was in hospital for two months and had to learn to walk again,' he said. 'So I wrote the book as a cathartic experience and it really helped.' While his road to recovery continues, Beddall says his medication and physical restrictions has resulted in his 30kg weight gain. Beddall, who already felt uncomfortable about his body, didn't think he would face scrutiny on his appearance whilst on a book tour. 'My agent had sent over some TV reels to the LA producers who then cancelled my interviews,' he said. 'I couldn't understand why and then was told that the producers said that I should lose 100 pounds then come back. 'It was so ridiculous because I was being held to the same standards as Kate Moss and Miranda Kerr. 'I thought as an author I would be judged on my intelligence and not for being a Victoria's Secret model. 'It really made me think that LA really is the heartland of stupidity.' It was then suggested that he apply for The Biggest Loser in the U.S. 'But then when we looked into it I was told that I spoke too fast, my humour was too bitchy and that I don't speak proper English so it would be hard for the American audience to understand what I'm saying,' he said. Beddall says his tour was an eye-opener and taught him to be 'thick-skinned'. 'I also think its important to make the point that men are equally scrutinised and criticised about their weight even if it isn't as openly discussed,' he said. Mr Beddall highlights of his 12-year career for Qantas in his tell-all memoir . Beddall reveals the experiences he had as a first-class fight attendant on Qantas . Beddall's book highlights incidents such as being on a flight with Olympic gold medalist Grant Hackett who badly affected by Stilnox on a flight. He also met comedian Russell Brand and singer Katy Perry as they returned from their 'first date' in Phuket. He said Perry was so down to earth she could have been any other passenger. He further recounted the moment British singer Lily Allen was 's***faced' from booze whilst he was on duty. The author has already started on his second book and looking creating his first into a film. The world famous landmark Hollywood sign is in Los Angeles, California . | Owen Beddall spent 12 years as a first class Qantas flight attendant .
He was in the U.S. to promote the launch of his book .
However Beddall's four TV interviews in Los Angeles were cancelled .
Producers suggested that he should sign up for reality series The Biggest Loser .
When he showed interest, he was then told that he didn't speak 'proper English' for Americans to understand . |
16a2d01f06bf4ec8c5f52a3e4f4d13dd2771728d | By . Jeff Powell . PUBLISHED: . 18:37 EST, 30 December 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 14:48 EST, 31 December 2013 . Cometh the New Year, cometh the rankings which lay the foundation for the first tranche of big fights in 2013. The principal corner-stone is the pound-for-pound rating of the best boxers in the world. Rarely has a year turned around so many diverse opinions as to who are the ten finest of them all. The most intense argument centres upon Manny Pacquiao and his rightful place in that listing. Still got it: Manny Pacquiao returned to winning ways with a comprehensive win over Brandon Rios . The Americans were quickest to write off the PacMan, who would also be president of the Philippines, when his robbery by Tim Bradley was followed by his carelessness in getting knocked cold by Juan Manuel Marquez. Yet even in the US they admit, however reluctantly, that Pacquiao remains the only authentic challenger to Floyd Mayweather as the master of his generation. Pacquiao reminded them of that by overwhelming tough young gun Brandon Rios in his comeback. Yet still The Ring magazine, the bible of boxing in America, and Boxing News, the gospel of the game in this country, relegate the PacMan to the bottom half of their top ten. Not this column. There is confusion, also, as to how best to acknowledge the talents of two other outstanding boxers. Wladimir Klitschko’s long reign as the multiple heavyweight champion has taken the edge off boxing’s marquee division. Guillermo Rigondeaux, arguably the most gifted amateur of all time, has turned pro late after leaving his native Cuba. Thus he has continued in the classical style which he does best and has quickly become the dominant figure at super-bantamweight. Even so he is criticised for failing to excite the crowds – and more importantly the TV moguls – by descending into brawls against technically inferior opponents. Just as it is no fault of Klitschko’s that they can find no-one to beat him, so Rigondeaux deserves admiration for his mastery of the noble art of self-defence. Yet he is begrudged recognition for skills similar to those of Floyd Mayweather, who is everyone’s No 1. Andre Ward is also more esoteric than exciting but he, like Mr Money, is up there in all the rankings. But then he too is American. Skills: Guillermo Rigondeaux is technically an excellent boxer - like heavyweight king Wladimir Klitschko (R) Untouchable: Floyd Mayweather cemented his position as the best in the world against Saul Alvarez . The lower ratings are complicated by the inactivity of the brilliant Sergio Martinez because of injury and the ease with which Marquez was outpointed by Bradley. And what do you do with Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez after his whipping by Mayweather? In my view he is edged out by Adonis Stevenson, the Haitian-Canadian Superman who has knocked out Chad Dawson, Tavoris Cloud, our own Tony Bellew and Darnell Boone – all four in the space of the calendar year just ending. Boxing News deserve plaudits for doffing the cap of tenth place to the prize-ring’s mini maestro. Nicaraguan . Roman Gonzalez, the world light-flyweight champion, has beaten all his . 37 professional opponents, stopping 31 of them with a dynamite left, yet . is still only 26. Brit basher: Adonis Stevenson knocked out Tony Bellew to retain his light-heavyweight world title . 1) Floyd Mayweather2) Manny Pacquiao3) Andre Ward4) Timothy Bradley5) Wladimir Klitschko6) Guillermo Rigondeaux7) Adonis Stevenson8) Sergio Martinez9) Juan Manuel Marquez10) Carl Froch . However, in common with The Ring, I reserve that tenth position for Britain’s only entrant in the pound-for-pound hierarchy. Carl Froch - still love him or not after the controversy of his ninth round stoppage of George Groves - remains the standard bearer for boxing in this country and a world champion who has taken on all the top super-middleweights on the planet. But what price Amir Khan if he were to pull off the mother and father of all upsets against the imperial Floyd? For comparison, here are The Ring and Boxing News rankings: . Ring: 1) Mayweather; 2 Ward; 3) Bradley; 4) W Klitschko; 5) Martinez; 6) Marquez; 7) Pacquiao; 8} Rigondeauz; 9) Alvarez; 10) Froch. Boxing News: 1) Mayweather; 2) Ward; 3) Bradley; 4) Marquez; 5) Martinez; 6) Pacquiao; 7) Rigondeaux; 8) Nonito Donaire, 9) W Klitschko; 10) Gonzalez.**Next week – the British top ten. (Both lists will then be updated at least monthly). Premature? Carl Froch stopped George Groves in their world title fight despite the challenger's protests . There is much sympathy for Britain’s Martin Murray who, after all, will not be making his third bid for a version of the world middleweight title in Monte Carlo on February 1. Yet in truth the time has come for the brake to be applied to the WBA’s nonsense of elevating their champions to ‘Super’ status, thereby allowing other contenders to dispute so-called ‘regular’ world titles. This has been a cynical device for the WBA to collect more sanctioning fees. It devalues the status of world champion, which is already diluted by the existence of so many alphabet bodies. Chance gone: Martin Murray (right) will not now challenge for the WBA world middleweight title in Monte Carelo . After widespread criticism, not least from this quarter, the WBA have backed away from awarding such spurious celebrity promotion to Gennady Golovkin, whose fight on that bill in the south of France against Osumanu Adama will now be a defence of his straightforward world title. Murray will still feature on the undercard, defending his ‘interim’ belt against Australia’s lightly-rated Jarrod Fletcher. Murray does deserve another title shot, after pushing both Felix Sturm and Sergio Martinez desperately close in his two previous challenges. Hopefully that will come. But for the moment he finds himself back down a lengthening middleweight queue with, at its head, Golovkin the Kazakh knock-out merchant who stopped Murray’s fellow British contender, Matthew Macklin, in the old year. Not so Super: Gennady Golovkin will now defend his regular WBA middleweight title in February . The boxing community will be deeply sensitive to the head injuries sustained by seven-time world champion racing driver Michael Schumacher. The hard old game drastically modernised its medical procedures after Michael Watson suffered severe brain trauma at the climax of his world title fight with Chris Eubank in 1991. A failure to supply oxygen in the ring, as soon as he collapsed, became the focal point of Watson’s subsequent claim for compensation. However, the speed with which Watson was transferred to hospital enabled renowned neuro-surgeon Peter Hamlyn to operate only 28 minutes after the event. Catalyst for change: Michael Watson suffered severe brain trauma after his fight with Chris Eubank in 1991 . Warning: Boxing has since overhauled its medical procedures after Watson was not given oxygen immediatley . That alerted boxing to what Hamlyn labelled ‘the golden hour.’ He stressed that surgery within those precious 60 minutes saved Watson’s life and made possible his long, painful but eventually miraculous recovery from total blindness, paralysis and deafness, to the point where he was able to slowly complete a London marathon. Worryingly, it took significantly longer than that before Schumacher underwent the procedure to remove blood clots and reduce the potentially fatal swelling and pressure of the brain within the confines of the skull. Although a helicopter reached Schumacher on an Alpine ski slope only eight minutes after he fell and crashed his head against a rock, it flew him initially to a small clinic nearby, . He was conscious at first but reports that he was in an ‘agitated state’ suggest it may have been a mistake not to take him directly to the main hospital in Grenoble. On the slopes: Michael Schumacher - pictured in 2005 - is fighting for his life after hitting his head . That did not happen until more than an hour-and-a-half after the accident, subsequent to him losing consciousness. Further time must have elapsed as the surgeons there prepared to operate, even if they did not wait for the arrival of his personal specialist from Paris. Ironically, as Schumacher lies in an induced coma, only time will tell if those time lapses were critical. The wide world of sport, boxing very much included, will be praying they were not. | Floyd Mayweather remains peerless at the top of any pound-for-pound list .
Manny Pacquiao has returned to No 2 after beating Brandon Rios .
Guillermo Rigondeaux does not get the credit his skills deserve .
The WBA were right not to promote Gennady Golovkin to 'Super' champion .
Did doctors miss the 'Golden Hour' with Michael Schumacher that saved Michael Watson? |
16a32ca77cd361480464222782f06168605433cc | San Diego, California (CNN) -- For anyone who wants to make a serious play for the Latino vote -- and not just go through the motions -- here's what you need to know: Latinos are single-issue voters. The issue is respect. Or, as we say, respeto. Nothing else matters. If you want the votes of Latinos, show some respect. Or we'll show you the door. I know what you're thinking. What's so special about this constituency? Three things: Size, geography and unpredictability. In 2008, about 10 million Latinos voted; the 2012 figure could be higher. Latinos are well represented in "battleground" states (i.e. Colorado, Florida, Nevada, New Mexico). And, in the case of the Mexicans and Mexican-Americans who make up about 66% of the U.S. Latino population, they're in play because they have shown a willingness to vote for moderate Republicans even though most are registered Democrats. Polls show that Latinos are just like other voters in that they care about education, jobs, the economy and health care. But their antennae go up when they see politicians using the immigration issue to scare up votes -- and, in the process, treating them like piñatas. That is disrespectful. And while neither President Obama nor Mitt Romney has gone that far, there is still a problem. Neither of these candidates seems to respect Latinos, as evidenced by their cynical attempts to manipulate the immigration issue and take gimmicky shortcuts to get Latino support. This is why both are having trouble with Latino voters. "Trouble" is defined differently for each candidate. In polls, Romney is having trouble getting as much as 30% of the Latino vote. Political observers note that a Republican presidential hopeful needs at least 35% to win. Obama has more than twice that level of support but his problem is that there's an enthusiasm gap and, if Latinos don't turn out for Obama, Romney will win. Romney took a wrong turn when he lurched to the right in the Republican primaries to pander to the nativist wing of the party. He portrayed illegal immigrants as takers and usurpers of public benefits and giveaways. He knows better. He is well aware of the fact that illegal immigrants -- most of whom come from Latin American countries -- are lured here by jobs offered by U.S. employers. Romney should have learned this lesson when it came to his attention, during his stint as governor of Massachusetts, that he had hired a landscaping company that employed illegal immigrants. Romney claimed that he didn't know the workers tending to his lawn were in the country illegally. Nonetheless, the experience should have illustrated for him the law of supply and demand: Without a demand for illegal immigrants, there would be no supply. Obama is not much better. Raised in a black and white world, the president doesn't know much about Latinos. And he hasn't seemed all that interested in learning. Our most important institution is the family. One good way to get on our bad side is to divide hundreds of thousands of families by deporting more than 1.2 million people in three years. And when you accomplish that feat by roping local police into the enforcement of immigration law through a program like Secure Communities in ways that invite ethnic profiling, this isn't going to win you any friends among Latinos. Finally, when you get caught in the act and these things come to light, it's not a good idea to insist that most of the folks deported were criminals, when criminal activity has been cited as a reason for deportation in only 17% of the cases last year. So far, in 2012, that figure is down to 14%. Who makes up the rest? It's likely that the answer is gardeners, housekeepers and nannies who pose no threat to society. Naturally, neither Romney nor Obama wants to talk about immigration. When Romney spoke to a Latino business group recently, he talked about education but didn't say a word about the DREAM Act, which would give legal status to undocumented students who go to college or join the military. When administration officials recently invited a group of Latina bloggers to the White House, the main topics of discussion were education and health while immigration was conspicuously left off the agenda. Guess what? Immigration came up anyway, when the bloggers asked about it during the question and answer session. That's the thing about immigration. Unless it is dealt with head-on, it seeps into the discussion of other issues. It happened during the health care debate, when what consumed many conservatives was the question of whether illegal immigrants could access benefits under "Obama-care." Gentlemen, you can run but you can't hide. You have to talk about immigration. Until you clear the air, admit what you've done wrong, and try to make it right, you can't expect Latinos to listen to what you have to say on any other subject -- or if they do, to believe what they hear. Gov. Romney, stop pandering to racists and nativists in the GOP base by portraying illegal immigrants as takers; acknowledge that the only thing that lures them here are jobs provided by U.S. employers who need to be held accountable; stop proposing simplistic solutions like saying that all illegal immigrants should "self-deport"; and take up the cause of American businesses who can't find U.S. workers to do jobs that immigrants wind up doing because parents are raising their kids to feel entitled to avoid hard work. President Obama, stop saying you don't have the executive power to stop deportations when it has been established by a slew of legal experts, including nearly 100 law professors who recently sent a memo to the White House, that you do. Stop deportations of college-age students who would have been eligible for legal status under the Dream Act and the parents of U.S.-born children; stop portraying Republicans as singlehandedly preventing immigration reform, and take your share of responsibility for not getting it done; and propose to Congress a specific plan for comprehensive immigration reform. Do all that, and we'll be able to get past immigration and move onto other topics. Jobs. The economy. Education. The environment. Whatever you want. But immigration comes first, because it lets us assess your character. Or lack thereof. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Ruben Navarrette. | Ruben Navarrette: Among Latino voters, immigration is a test of candidates' character .
He says Romney pandered to anti-immigrant forces during the primaries .
Navarrette says Obama's policy of deporting illegal immigrants has broken up families .
He urges candidates to address need for immigration reform, then deal with other issues . |
16a3362bdc112095d993f1a1ace13085652c1963 | Hamas should be removed from the EU's 'terrorist list', the organisation's second highest court has ruled, leading to widespread outrage. The court defended the ruling, saying the process which saw Hamas put on the list in the first place was flawed, as the decision was based on media reports and not analysis of facts. The EU has said it still considers Hamas to be a terrorist group, despite the court's verdict, and may appeal. Not terrorists: The General Court of the EU has ruled that Hamas can no longer be included on the EU's terrorist list as the process which saw it put on the list in 2001 was flawed . Palestinian members of al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Hamas movement, descend while being harnessed to zip lines as smoke engulfs a building during a military parade marking the 27th anniversary of Hamas' founding, in Gaza City on Sunday . Deputy Hamas chief Moussa Abu Marzouk said the EU court's ruling is is a correction of a historical mistake the European Union had made . 'The EU continues to consider Hamas a terrorist organisation,' European Commission spokeswoman Maja Kocijancic said today, adding that the EU will consider its response to the ruling. The General Court of the European Union, the bloc's second highest tribunal located in Luxembourg , said EU member states could maintain their freeze on Hamas's assets for three months, to give time for further review or to appeal the verdict. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke shortly after the ruling was announced, demanding the EU immediately restore Hamas to its terrorism blacklist. 'We are not satisfied with the European Union's explanation that the removal of Hamas from its list of terrorist organisations is a 'technical matter',' Netanyahu said in a statement from Jerusalem today. 'We expect it (the EU) to put Hamas back on the list forthwith given that it is understood by all that Hamas -- a murderous terrorist organisation, the covenant of which specifies the destruction of Israel as its goal -- is an inseparable part of this list,' he said. Conflict: The EU has said it still considers Hamas (pictured) to be a terrorist group, despite the court's verdict, and may appeal to have it put back on the list . Not in the clear: EU member states can maintain their freeze on Hamas's assets for three months, to give time for further review or to appeal the verdict, the court ruled . Celebration: Members of al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Hamas movement, take part in a military parade marking the 27th anniversary of Hamas founding on Sunday . Israel's protests were unsurprisingly followed by cheers from Hamas in the Gaza strip, as representatives welcomed the verdict. 'The decision is a correction of a historical mistake the . European Union had made,' Deputy Hamas chief Moussa Abu Marzouk said. Anger: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, pictured on Monday, has demanded the EU immediately restore Hamas to its terrorism blacklist . 'Hamas is a resistance movement and it has a . natural right according to all international laws and standards . to resist the occupation,' Marzouk said. The EU court did not consider the merits of whether Hamas . should be classified as a terror group, but reviewed the . original decision-making process. This, it said, did not include . the considered opinion of competent authorities, but rather . relied on media and Internet reports. 'The court stresses that those annulments, on fundamental . procedural grounds, do not imply any substantive assessment of . the question of the classification of Hamas as a terrorist . group,' the court said in a statement. It added that if an appeal was brought before the EU's top . court, the European Court of Justice, the freeze of Hamas funds . should continue until the legal process was complete. Appeals, which can only be based on points of law, may be . brought within two months. The appeal itself would typically . last about a year and a half. The ruling comes just days after Hamas celebrated its 27th anniversary with an elaborate military parade through Gaza City. Hundreds of masked and armed members of al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Hamas movement, marched through the city on Sunday, holding rifles and mortar shells. Hamas holds sway in the Gaza Strip and its founding charter . calls for the destruction of Israel. It has regularly clashed . with Israel, most recently in a 50-day war this summer. Most Western countries, including the United States, agree . with Israel that it is a terror organisation, pointing to . indiscriminate rocket strikes out of Gaza and waves of suicide . attacks, primarily between 1993 and 2005. Hamas says it is a legitimate resistance movement and . contested the European Union's decision in 2001 to include it on . the EU terrorist list. | European Court rules Hamas should be removed from EU terrorist list .
Ruled decision to include Hamas on blacklist was based on media reports .
Israel has demanded the EU immediately restore Hamas on list .
Today, EU said it still considered Hamas to be a terrorist group . |
16a3d34d25b082a66aa649859463e2d4830aa932 | Manchester City supporters embraced the festive cheer at the Etihad on Sunday - by taking part in a fun run dressed as sky-blue-and-white Santa Clauses! The club's fifth annual Santa Stroll saw supporters clad in City-inspired festive dress parading around the Ethiad Campus in order to raise money for charity. Adults paid £10 for a Santa suit and kids £5 as City raised money for young and vulnerable people in Greater Manchester - and comedian Jason Manford was even there. Manchester City fans dressed in sky-blue-and-white Santa suits for a charity event on Saturday . The City fans walk past the Etihad Stadium during the club's fifth annual Santa Stroll . Supporters wave at the camera dressed in their Santa suits while strolling around the Etihad Campus . One City fans in a wheelchair is guided around the Etihad Campus - both of them dressed as Santa . Supporters walk across the pathway bridge on the Etihad Campus during the Santa Stroll . Fans ran, walked, strolled and even pushed each other in wheelchairs during the event on Sunday. Children were also able to visit St Nick himself at Santa's Grotto on the Campus, as well as meet Rudolph and all the other reindeer. It must have been particularly easy for supporters to get into the festive spirit, seeing as Frank Lampard had netted the only goal in a 1-0 victory for the Premier League champions away at Leicester City on Saturday. Comedian Jason Manford (centre) poses with two City mascots during the Santa Stroll on Sunday . Frank Lampard put City 1-0 up to match Thierry Henry's all-time record in the Premier League of 175 goals . Lampard runs away in celebration after giving City the lead at the King Power Stadium on Saturday . | Manchester City supporters took part in charity Santa Stroll on Sunday .
Fans raised money for young and vulnerable people in Greater Manchester .
City fans wore sky-blue-and-white Santa Claus outfits for stroll .
The champions beat Leicester City 1-0 in Premier League on Saturday . |
16a4876204a10920f3ebd4ddc920ff3e2f74a22c | Our galaxy can be a very dusty place, and supernovae are thought to be a main source of that dust - especially in the early universe. But up until now, there has been very little direct evidence of a supernova's dust‐making capabilities. The little evidence astronomers did have could not account for the massive amount of dust detected in young, distant galaxies. Now new images of the famed Supernova 1987A have, for the first time, captured the remains of the exploding star brimming with freshly formed dust. This artist's illustration shows Supernova 1987A, based on real data with the cold, inner regions of the exploded star's remnants (in red) where tremendous amounts of dust were detected and imaged. This inner region is contrasted with the outer shell (lacy white and blue circles), where the blast wave from the supernova is colliding with the envelope of gas ejected from the star prior to its powerful detonation . If enough of this dust makes the perilous transition into interstellar space, it could explain how many galaxies acquired their dusty, dusky appearance. ‘We have found a remarkably large dust mass concentrated in the central part of the ejecta from a relatively young and nearby supernova,’ said Remy Indebetouw, an astronomer at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) in Charlottesville. ‘This is the first time we've been able to really image where the dust has formed, which is important in understanding the evolution of galaxies.’ An international team of astronomers used the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) telescope to observe the glowing remains of Supernova 1987A. This image shows the remnant of Supernova 1987A in light of very different wavelengths. The ALMA Telescope data (in red) shows newly formed dust in the centre of the remnant as Hubble (in green) and Chandra (in blue) data show the expanding shock wave . In February of 1987 astronomers observing the Large Magellanic Cloud, a nearby dwarf galaxy, noticed the sudden appearance of what looked like a new star. In fact they weren’t watching the beginnings of a star but the end of one and the brightest supernova seen from Earth in the four centuries since the telescope was invented. By the next morning news of the discovery had spread across the globe and southern hemisphere stargazers began watching the aftermath of this enormous stellar explosion, known as a supernova. In the two and a half decades since then, the remnant of Supernova 1987A has continued to be a focus for researchers around the world, providing a wealth of information about one of the Universe’s most extreme events. Located more than 160,000 light years away, the light of the catastrophic explosion only reached Earth in February 1987. Before it exploded, the star generated huge amounts of gas, including a thick, dense, clumpy ring more than a light year across. Astronomers predicted that as the gas cooled after the explosion, large amounts of dust would form as atoms of oxygen, carbon, and silicon bonded together in the cold central regions of the remnant. However, earlier observations of SN 1987A with infrared telescopes, made during the first 500 days after the explosion, detected only a small amount of hot dust. Using, the research team was able to image the far more abundant cold dust, which glows brightly in millimetre and submillimetre light. The astronomers estimate that the remnant now contains about 25 per cent the mass of the sun in newly formed dust. They also found that significant amounts of carbon monoxide and silicon monoxide have formed. ‘SN 1987A is a special place since it hasn't mixed with the surrounding environment, so what we see there was made there,’ said Dr Indebetouw. ‘The new ALMA results, which are the first of their kind, reveal a supernova remnant chock full of material that simply did not exist a few decades ago.’ Supernovae, however, can both create and destroy dust grains. As the shockwave from the initial explosion radiated out into space, it produced bright glowing rings of material, as seen in earlier observations with the Hubble Telescope. After hitting this envelope of gas, which . was sloughed off by the progenitor red giant star as it neared the end . of its life, a portion of this powerful explosion rebounded back towards . the centre of the remnant. Last year, a team of astronomers led by the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR) produced incredible high resolution radio images of the expanding SN 1987A remnant at millimetre wavelengths. In this image contours of different wavelengths of radio emissions and a Hubble space telescope image of Supernova 1987A combined to provide a unique view of its death throes . Cosmic dust consists of tiny particles of solid material floating around in the space between the stars. Unlike the dust you find in your house, it is more like smoke with small particles varying from collections of just a few molecules to grains of 0.1 mm in size. D . It helps stars form, and it is also the raw material from which planets like the Earth are created. Supernovae are thought to be a main source of that dust - especially in the early universe. But . up until now, there has been very little direct evidence of a . supernova's dust‐making capabilities, and could not account for the . massive amount of dust detected in young, distant galaxies. ‘At some point, this rebound shockwave will slam into these billowing clumps of freshly minted dust,’ said Dr Indebetouw. ‘It's likely that some fraction of the dust will be blasted apart at that point. It's hard to predict exactly how much — maybe only a little, possibly a half or two thirds.’ If a good fraction survives and makes it into interstellar space, it could account for the copious dust astronomers detect in the early universe. ‘Really early galaxies are incredibly dusty and this dust plays a major role in the evolution of galaxies,’ added Mikako Matsuura of University College London, UK. ‘Today we know dust can be created in several ways, but in the early universe most of it must have come from supernovae. We finally have direct evidence to support that theory.’ In 1987 astronomers observing the Large Magellanic Cloud, a nearby dwarf galaxy, noticed the sudden appearance of what looked like a new star. In fact they weren’t watching the beginnings of a star but the end of one and the brightest supernova seen from Earth in the four centuries since the telescope was invented. By the next morning news of the discovery had spread across the globe and southern hemisphere stargazers began watching the aftermath of this enormous stellar explosion, known as a supernova. In the two and a half decades since then, the remnant of Supernova 1987A has continued to be a focus for researchers around the world, providing a wealth of information about one of the Universe’s most extreme events. Last year, a team of astronomers led by the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR) produced incredible high resolution radio images of the expanding SN 1987A remnant at millimetre wavelengths. Supernova 1987A was the closest exploding star seen in modern times. It occurred in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a small galaxy that orbits our own Milky Way. Images taken by Nasa's Hubble Space Telescope were combined to make this composite of the blast's expanding debris . | Images of Supernova 1987A have, for the first time, captured remains of the star brimming with freshly formed dust .
Up until now, there has been very little evidence of a supernova's capability to make huge amounts of cosmic dust .
Cosmic dust helps stars form, and it is also the raw material from which planets like the Earth are created .
'Today we know dust can be created in several ways, but in the early universe most of it must have come from supernovae. We finally have direct evidence to support that theory,' said UCL's Mikako Matsuura . |
16a4d86f1eeff3efdd04551d8ddb01e6ad28b829 | (CNN) -- This week, as we mark the 13th anniversary of horrific attacks on our home soil, Americans should have no illusions about the terrorists who have repeatedly declared their intent to strike America again. We know the threat of the vicious terrorist organization known as ISIS has concerned the intelligence community for more than a year. And the group's atrocities have been well-documented since it began attacking northern Iraq, and it is deeply concerning that it has taken President Barack Obama so long to develop any kind of strategy to address these increasingly powerful terrorists who have now gruesomely killed two American journalists before the world stage. On Wednesday evening, the President will finally share with the American people his "game plan," as he calls it, to combat ISIS. It is my hope that he will propose a clear plan, consistent with the Constitution, to keep Americans safe, and that it is not laden with impractical contingencies, such as resolving the Syrian civil war, reaching political reconciliation in Iraq or achieving "consensus" in the international community. Analysis: Obama speech a do-over on 'no strategy' comment . There are three specific steps that should be taken. First and foremost, Washington should resolve to make border security a top priority finally, rather than an afterthought, of this plan in light of concerns about potential ISIS activities on our southern border, cited in a Texas Department of Public Safety bulletin reported by Fox News. As long as our border isn't secure, the government is making it far too easy for terrorists to infiltrate our nation. Second, Congress should make fighting for or supporting ISIS an affirmative renunciation of American citizenship. Numerous Americans have joined ISIS along with hundreds of others from the European Union. We know that some of them are trying to return to their countries of origin to carry out terrorist attacks. How do we know that? It's already been attempted. On May 24, a suspected French jihadist with possible ISIS ties traveled to Belgium, where he is accused of attacking innocent visitors at the Jewish Museum of Belgium in Brussels and slaughtering four people -- and it was reported earlier this week that he allegedly had been plotting a larger attack on Paris on Bastille Day. In August, an accused ISIS sympathizer, Donald Ray Morgan, was arrested at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York trying to re-enter the United States. On Monday I filed the Expatriate Terrorist Act of 2014, which would amend the existing statute governing renunciation of U.S. citizenship to include fighting for a hostile foreign government or foreign terrorist organization as an affirmative renunciation of citizenship. By fighting for ISIS, U.S. citizens have expressed their desire to become citizens of the terrorist group, which calls itself the Islamic State. We should not permit them to return to America, with a U.S. passport, to carry out acts of terror at home. It is my hope that this legislation will attract bipartisan support, and will bring Washington together with one united voice in support of keeping Americans safe from ISIS acts of terror. Third, we should do everything possible to make ISIS understand there are serious ramifications for threatening to attack the United States and for killing American civilians. While damaging ISIS' financial assets is certainly a part of this action, because of the very nature of ISIS, the response must be principally military. We should concentrate on a coordinated and overwhelming air campaign to destroy the capability of ISIS to carry out terrorist attacks on the United States. Gingrich: 10 questions for Obama on ISIS . The President's previously stated goal -- to "shrink" ISIS' "sphere of influence" until it is a "manageable problem" -- is not encouraging. The objective should not be to make ISIS "manageable"; the objective should be to protect the United States and to destroy the terrorists who have declared jihad on our nation. The White House's suggested ways of countering ISIS have, so far, been naive and ineffective. Now, faced with the growing threat of the group, Americans are being told Syria and Iran may suddenly be our friends, and ISIS is now our enemy. This is nonsense. The enemy of our enemy is not always our friend. Other possible objectives the White House is considering are equally worrisome. We must reject the notion that any U.S. action be contingent on political reconciliation between Sunnis and Shiites in Baghdad. The Sunnis and Shiites have been engaged in a sectarian civil war since 632. While we all wish the Iraqis success in their most recent attempt to form a government, it is the height of hubris and ignorance to make American national security contingent on the resolution of a 1,500-year-old religious conflict. Likewise, any action we take to stop ISIS should not be contingent on any consensus from the so-called international community. Obama to Congress: No vote needed on ISIS strategy . America is blessed to have good friends and allies who understand the threat of ISIS, and we welcome their support. Indeed, this is an opportunity to reverse the destructive policy of the last five years of reaching out and appeasing our enemies while giving our allies the cold shoulder. Instead, we should partner closely with our friends in the region who are already engaged in this fight, notably Israel, Jordan and the Kurds. This mission must be led by the United States if it is to be done right, and we cannot make the assembling of a coalition a higher priority than the execution of our mission. National security hawks call for airstrikes targeting ISIS leaders . And, leading that mission requires a clear articulation of the mission. Finally, the President appears to have ruled out making any formal authorization request from Congress to take military action. This is wrong. I ask the President to reconsider. Only Congress has the authority to declare war. While our commander in chief has constitutional authority to respond to an imminent danger, Obama has not suggested that is the case. He is reportedly planning a mission that could last as long as three years and may require a range of actions. Therefore, congressional authorization is required by the Constitution. Making this formal request would provide the President with an opportunity to present the American people with a clearly defined military objective, tethered to national security, to protect our nation and to unite everyone in the mission to eradicate ISIS. | Sen. Ted Cruz: Americans who join ISIS should be stripped of citizenship .
He says ISIS threat is a reason to increase border security .
Cruz: Obama should seek congressional authorization for campaign vs. ISIS .
The idea of partnering with Iran or Syria against ISIS would be a mistake, he says . |
16a553b56130747d09857acb15397d0a63347a2a | A trial to determine whether U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson's wife committed bigamy when she wed the congressman has been delayed because she required emergency surgery to remove breast implants. The trial had been scheduled for Thursday in Orlando but is now set for March. Lolita Grayson had been suffering chest pains. When she went to a hospital to get checked out, she was told she needed emergency surgery to remove the leaking implants and scar tissue, according to court papers filed this week. Scroll down for video . Trial delayed: A trial to determine whether U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson's wife Lolita Grayson committed bigamy when she wed the congressman has been delayed because she required emergency breast implant surgery . Invalid marriage: Alan Grayson claims his 24 years of marriage were a lie because his wife never officially divorced her ex husband . The surgery was Monday. 'Due to this medical emergency, wife is unable to prepare for or attend the trial,' her attorney, Mercedes Wechsler, said in a court filing. Lolita Grayson sued her husband for divorce last year after 24 years of marriage. But Alan Grayson says the marriage was invalid because she was never divorced from her first husband at the time of their union in 1990. Lolita Grayson says she was divorced. The delay is the latest twist in the contentious divorce proceedings between the Democratic congressman from Florida's 9th District and his wife. Last year, Lolita Grayson filed court papers alleging Alan Grayson had failed to pay for repairs for the 5,300-square-foot Orlando house where she is living with their four children. The roof was leaking, broken windows were allowing rain to get inside and the house had a significant mold problem because of the moisture, she said. Domestic dispute: Last March, Lolita Grayson was granted a restraining order against the congressman after she said Alan Grayson pushed her against the door of their home but footage show Lolita pushing Alan . Grayson's attorneys denied the allegation, saying the congressman was spending more than $10,000 a month on the home's mortgage, child support, utilities and household expenses. Last March, Lolita Grayson was granted a restraining order against the congressman after she said Alan Grayson pushed her against the front door of their home when he stopped by the house. The Orange County Sheriff's Office investigated the claim and decided there was not enough evidence to file charges. A video of the encounter taken by a Grayson staffer shows the Lolita Grayson pushing her tall husband. In a related matter, Wechsler asked the judge this week if she could withdraw from the case as Lolita Grayson's attorney. Lolita Grayson brought along another attorney last weekend to a mediation session with her husband, and 'it's clear the wife has retained and/or paid other counsel to represent her in this case,' Wechsler said in a court filing. Neither Wechsler nor the other attorney, Tushaar Desai, responded to requests for comment. Grayson's attorney, Mark NeJame, raised doubts about the timing of the surgery. 'Of course, if she has a true medical complication, we want her to take care of it,' NeJame said. 'It is ironic that in all the decades she has had the implants, on the very eve of a hearing in which there is a chance this purported marriage will be invalidated, that this issue surfaces.' | A trial to determine whether U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson's wife Lolita Grayson committed bigamy has been delayed due to breast implant surgery .
The trial had been scheduled for Thursday in Orlando but is now set for March because Lolita Grayson's implant was leaking .
Lolita Grayson sued her husband for divorce last year but Alan Grayson says marriage was invalid because she never divorced her first husband .
Last March, Lolita Grayson was granted a restraining order against the congressman after she said Alan Grayson pushed her .
A video of the encounter taken by a Grayson staffer shows the Lolita Grayson pushing her tall husband . |
16a5600c95ded4e7bcf7bd6c6d39c7aeddca0419 | Russian President Vladimir Putin has been accused of wanting to restore the Soviet Union after he sent 2,000 tonnes of humanitarian aid across the border into Ukraine. A convoy of 250 Russian army trucks, painted white, are heading towards the eastern Ukrainian city of Luhansk. The development prompted Ukrainian prime minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk that Putin's 'goal is to take the entire of Ukraine'. The trucks left Russia overnight and arrived approached the disputed frontier shortly before dawn . The convoy passes through the Ukrainian border at Izvarino without being inspected by customs officers . The aid convoy of an estimated 250 trucks crossed the border on its way to the Ukrainian town of Lugansk . He added: 'He [Putin] cannot cope with the idea that Ukraine would be a part of a big EU family. He wants to restore the Soviet Union,' Yatsenyuk said. The Russian emergency ministry, which coordinated previous humanitarian aid deliveries to Ukraine, could not be reached for comment about the convoy. Colonel Andriy Lysenko, a spokesman for the Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council, told journalists Saturday that the convoy had crossed 'illegally' onto Ukrainian territory. 'Ukraine border guards and customs were not allowed to examine the cargo and vehicles. 'Representatives of the Red Cross don't accompany the cargo, nobody knows what's inside.' Colonel Lysenko's relatively mild comments on the second convoy and the silence of more senior Ukrainian officials shows how dramatically the mood has shifted in the Kiev government since August. President Petro Poroshenko has been at pains to prove that last week's cease-fire deal has yielded improvements on the ground in east Ukraine. On Friday, he lauded the deal, which has been riddled by violations since it was imposed last week, as a 'fragile but efficient peace process.' In August, Ukrainian officials said that a first convoy of humanitarian aid from Russia would be seen as an invasion of the country, and loudly protested any attempts by Russia to unilaterally bring in the aid. Ukrainian officials fear that the convoy would have been carrying military equipment instead of food . Russian officials claimed the aid was needed because of severe shortages in the eastern city of Lugansk . Workers unloaded an estimated 2,000 tonnes of 'humanitarian aid' according to Russian officials . Eventually Russia sent its trucks across the border and into rebel-held territory without the oversight of the International Red Cross, contrary to an agreement signed between Ukraine and Russia. A representative of the ICRC's Moscow office said they had not been informed about the current convoy, either. Galina Balzamova of the ICRC said: 'We were not officially notified of an agreement between Moscow and Kiev to ship the cargo.' Colonel Lysenko said that six Ukrainian servicemen had died since the truce. He also confirmed that 12 rebel fighters had been killed by Ukrainian forces near Sea of Azov city of Mariupol, where he said they were doing reconnaissance work - the first such admission that they have inflicted casualties on the rebel side since the cease-fire began. In a statement posted online early Saturday, the Donetsk city council said that there had been fighting near the airport throughout the night. Two shells had hit residential buildings in the area but no casualties were reported. Continuous rocket fire could be heard overnight in downtown Donetsk, and a column of three GRAD rocket launchers - all its rockets still in place - was seen moving freely through the rebel-held city on Saturday morning. Yury Stepanov, a Russian official overseeing the convoy said the convoy consisted mainly of foodstuffs - rice, sugar, and canned fish and beef - but also included medicine, technical equipment and clothes. The deliveries were in closed boxes, small enough to be easily carried by one person, but rice was seen spilling from a broken bag. Stepanov said his team was responsible only for delivery, and distribution will be handled by local authorities - which for now means the separatist leaders of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic. Gennady Tsepkalo, a senior separatist official, said the aid would first and foremost be given to retirees, hospital patients and schoolchildren. He said the food would not be used to feed rebel fighters. He said: 'The militia will feed itself separately. This is for the residents of the Luhansk People's Republic.' The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's observer mission to the Russian-Ukrainian border said Saturday that they had seen 220 trucks cross into Ukraine, none of which were inspected by the Ukrainian side or accompanied by the ICRC. | Ukrainian PM Arseniy Yatsenuk claimed Putin wants a new Soviet Union .
250 Russian trucks with 'humanitarian aid' rolled across the border earlier .
Russian officials claimed the trucks contained 2,000 tonnes of food aid .
However Ukrainian customs officers were not allowed to inspect the cargo . |
16a5af728b77e2fc1acd956c1d34fd94de6abbbd | A black man is returning to the White House. Four years ago, it was a first, the breaking of a racial barrier. Tuesday night, it was history redux. And more. In the midst of national splintering and a time of deep ideological animosity, Americans elected President Barack Obama to a second term. And thousands rejoiced in his victory, one that seemed sweeter and, perhaps, more significant. "This is affirmation that his color doesn't matter and that his message resonated with people," said Yale University sociologist Jeffrey Alexander, author of "Obama's Victory and the Democratic Struggle for Power." "It is very important in that it will indicate that an African-American can be viewed for what he says and not what he is." Victorious Obama faces familiar challenges . Had Obama lost the election, he would likely have been remembered in history as the first black president, and maybe little else, Alexander said. Now, he has a chance to create a legacy rooted not in his identity, but in his ideas. University of Houston sociologist Shayne Lee agreed. "If this country wants President Obama to have another term, I'm ready to say that it's a significant moment," he said. As an African-American, Lee understood the power of 2008. But his excitement was measured. He knew the nation was tired then of two costly wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, a sinking economy and an administration that he felt excluded ordinary people. He thought Arizona Sen. John McCain was a weak candidate and that the cards were stacked in Obama's favor. Four years later, Obama traversed a much tougher road, Lee said. Americans had a strong alternative in the Republican challenger, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. The nation, he felt, was no longer in a desperate state and voters had more of a choice. Despite that, they elected a black man. Again. "They sent a message to the world that whatever racist proclivities might exist are not enough to preclude Obama from winning," Lee said. "We cannot deny that this is new social space we occupy in this country." A changing America, Lee believes, will be very much a part of Obama's national conversation in a second term. That includes a stronger stance on race relations, an issue some believe Obama had to distance himself from in his first term for political expediency. For that, he drew criticism from African-Americans with high expectations of a black president. "Can you imagine knowing you're the first black president and you have to win the Midwest to win a second term?" he said. "It's such a thin thread that holds together his ability to win as a black candidate. "The constraints are not going to be there in his second term. He's going to have much more swagger." In playwright and New York radio show host Esther Armah's estimation, Obama's re-election feels more historic than his first because of what she views as a tide of callousness toward people of color. She criticized measures like the new voter ID laws in several states, which she said obstruct participation and "desecrated" American democracy. She said re-electing Obama represented a denunciation of those measures and the Republican presidential candidate who supported them. "It's really important to recognize that this was not just a choice to put someone back into the White House," Armah said, "but a choice to reject a man who demonstrated callousness." "I have exhaled. I am breathing," she said. Americans demand more from Obama's second term . Obama's victory, said CNN contributor Van Jones, was possible because of the support of a coalition of people who reflect America's demographics. "Nobody believed four years ago that you could have black folks and lesbians and gays and Latinos and young folk standing together to move the country forward," said Jones, a former special adviser to Obama. But Obama was demonized, he said, and turned into a cartoon character. African-Americans asked if someone like Obama is not acceptable, then who is? "There is vindication here," Jones said. "This is a backlash against the backlash. You saw African-Americans stepping up, Latinos stepping up, young people stepping up ... saying we're better than we've been seeing on the attacks on this president." Opinion: Five things Obama must do . The challenge for Obama in the next four years, however, will no longer be racial in nature, Alexander said. It is certain to be ideological. Obama won't ever have to run for office again, but he will have to make his case for policies, Alexander said. "His goal has been to be a post-polarization candidate, and he naively believed he could do that as a president," he said. "He didn't want to be a highly partisan figure. As a result, he couldn't control the political debate. He's going to have to keep campaigning and not become a policy wonk." Obama seemed to recognize that in his victory speech early Wednesday in Chicago, the city where he first fostered hopes and launched dreams. He told the roaring crowd, made up of that previously improbable coalition, that he planned to sit down with Mitt Romney in the weeks ahead to chart a new course for the country. Opinion: Obama will get little time to celebrate . "We believe in a tolerant America, open to the dreams of an immigrant's daughter who pledges to our flag, to the young boy on the south side of Chicago who sees a life beyond the street corner, to the furniture worker's child in North Carolina who wants to become a doctor or a diplomat or even a president," Obama said. "We will rise and fall as one nation, and as one people. It doesn't matter if you are black or white, young or old, rich or poor. You can make it in America, if you're willing to try." It was a reflection of his own journey, of a man who'd made it as a two-term black president. | In the midst of national splintering, voters returned a black man to the White House .
Sociologists say this is affirmation that Obama's ideas mattered more than his identity .
He will have a chance now to leave a legacy beyond being the first black president .
He will take a stronger stance on race issues in his second term, some say . |
16a5cce2849246b0140919779c2f508b348b0bef | Blake Kerwin, 17, of Wigan, is believed to be the first transgender Justin Bieber lookalike . Packs of screaming girls and young fans asking for pictures are now an everyday occurrence for Blake Kerwin. The 17-year-old is a Justin Bieber look-a-like and these moments do more than just provide the college student with a taste of what life is like for his idol. For Blake the recognition provides him with hope and a lightness that has been missing from his life - for the teenager was actually born a girl named Rebecca. His decision to switch gender and live his life as a boy has seen him on and off the police protection list for five years due to a campaign of abuse that has seen him beaten unconscious and his house pelted with rocks, snowballs and metal poles. He has even attempted to kill himself in a bid to escape his tormentors. But Blake said yesterday he finds comfort in impersonating Bieber, 20, and that the Canadian pop star’s music has given him the confidence to be himself. It is believed Blake is Britain’s first transgender Bieber look-a-like. A person is transgender if they believe the body they were born with does not match how they feel as an individual. Blake said he has known he was a boy from a very young age and has now decided to undergo surgery and hormone treatment to change his body from that of a girl to that of a boy. He said: ‘I was born a boy but my body reflects differently because I’ve not had the op yet. I knew at quite a young age because I was always copying my brother and doing what he was doing and I just didn’t feel right.’ His mother Sharon, 52, also noticed early on that something didn’t seem right. She said: ‘I knew there was something because I would try and dress him up, not thinking and doing his hair with girly things. He would say I don’t like this and I would tell him it looks good and he would go along with it but he was never really happy. I knew there was something but I could never put my finger on it. Even then he would come home and take the girl clothes off and put on football, Manchester United, stuff.’ After coming across Bieber on YouTube when he was 12, Blake, who lives with Sharon and his older brother Bradley in Wigan, said he felt an immediate connection with the singer and his lyrics. He picked out the song Believe as summing up how Bieber inspires him, highlighting the words ‘It didn’t matter how many times I got knocked on the floor’ because: ‘I’ve had physical abuse and hate but Justin’s words bring me back up again’. Scroll down for video . When Blake cut his hair short into the singer’s style, his mother, Sharon, pointed out the physical resemblance between the pair and he began considering the idea of working as a lookalike. He has since worked hard perfecting the likeness, closely studying music videos and interviews to memorise Bieber’s mannerisms and spending hundreds of pounds on clothing, sometimes spending days trawling the internet to find versions of the singer’s outfits at affordable prices. However, the work has paid off and he is often mistaken for the real Bieber. He said: ‘I’ve had my shades on and my hat backwards and I went into Blackpool and a small girl came up and her mum asked if she could have her picture taken with me because she thought I really was Justin Bieber. And, when I went to Birmingham, these girls on the escalators were going crazy because they thought I was him.’ Blake has spent hours impersonating the star to copy his mannerisms and said he now gets mistaken for him . He was born Rebecca but realised he was transgender and changed his name by deed poll at the age of 16 . However, these highlights are far from the usual reaction and Blake has endured years’ of abuse from people who won’t accept him. Sharon has been forced to ring the police ‘hundreds of times’ because of different incidents. He has been forced to change school twice because of bullying and was once beaten unconscious by a girl who thought Blake was attracted to her. While he was left in need of medical attention she was only suspended for one day. On other occasions his house has been pelted with rocks, snowballs and even a metal pole that cracked the front window while Blake was sitting just inside. And while both Sharon, who is a full time carer to her mother who is recovering from breast cancer, and his brother Bradley, 19, are both accepting of Blake’s identity, other members of his family have been less supportive. Blake is due to start gender re-assignment surgery and is believed to be the first transgender Bieber lookalike . Blake says impersonating Bieber has helped him dealing with the bullying and abuse he has suffered . The teenager, pictured as Rebecca at five months old at his christening (left) and at 10 (right) came out as transgender at 16 and has passed the psychological tests and will start taking testosterone before surgery . He said: ‘It’s been terrible with my dad, he used to call me by my own name and not Blake and he’s not got me anything for my birthday or Christmas. We don’t see each other any more, he’s got a new girlfriend. He’s asked my mum why I don’t dress more girly and told her it’s embarrassing to be seen out with me.’ He has not seen his father for nearly two years. Blake, who came out as transgender at 16 and changed his name by deed poll, said this repeated rejection led to an attempt to take his own life. Already self-harming, four years ago he went further, huddling in the corner clutching a knife saying he did not want to live anymore. Sharon had to call the police as she did not know how to talk him down. Blake has been asked for his autograph and to pose for photos in Birmingham after being mistaken for Bieber . He spends hours copying the child star's moves and trawling the internet to buy similar clothes and shoes . However, he said turning to Bieber has helped him work through some of these issues, to the point where he is now able to give advice to others who are struggling with their own sexuality. He said: ‘Now I help people. There’s a group online where people can post online about when they start their operations or when they start [taking testosterone] or recent pictures before and after and I know quite a few people who are going through it. 'Some people come to me asking how they should come out to someone. It feels good to help others.’ His mother added: ‘They are saying he’s an inspiration. There was a boy whose little sister was sick, she was only three and dying from cancer, and he asked if Blake would take a picture of himself looking like Justin and put her name on and he said “thank you so much, it meant everything.”’ Blake is currently in the process of gender re-assignment and plans to get tattoos to complete the likeness . Currently studying public services at college, Blake hoped to join either the army or the fire service before deciding to try and make a career as a lookalike. These are professions he will go back to if he impersonating Bieber doesn’t go to plan. His current aim is to land jobs either modelling as Bieber or performing at children’s parties. Having passed the psychological evaluation necessary before undergoing gender reassignment surgery, he is now scheduled to begin taking testosterone before eventually having the full procedure. He hopes these next steps will help him look more masculine and therefore more like Bieber and plans to get tattoos and build muscle at the gym to make himself more like the star. | Blake Kerwin, 17, is a Justin Bieber lookalike but was actually born a girl .
Teenager from Wigan is believed to be first transgender lookalike of star .
Blake said living his life as a boy has seen him beaten and tormented .
He said impersonating Canadian pop star has given him self confidence .
Spends hours studying Bieber's moves and is now mistaken for the singer .
Blake came out as transgender when he was 16 and changed his name from Rebecca by deed poll, but his father does not accept the change .
Teenager is scheduled to take testosterone before having full surgery . |
16a681437f76d3f625c0c982162639b818287b94 | (CNN) -- The Dallas Zoo has two new cheetah cubs. And the big cats have their own puppy to help them shape up. The cubs, Winspear and Kamau, are part of the zoo's program to create awareness about endangered African animals. Zoo officials believe the Labrador retriever will keep the cubs in line as they grow up away from the wilderness. "Zoological experts have found that because dogs are naturally comfortable in public settings, Amani will provide a calming influence for the cubs, as well as another playmate as they grow to adulthood," the zoo said in a statement. In a tribute to its role, the puppy is named Amani, which is Swahili for peace. Cheetahs are an endangered species. Their numbers are estimated to be about 10,000 in the wild, the zoo said. Winspear and Kamau were born in July at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Virginia. Their puppy companion is about the same age. Before their new adventure, a team from the zoo spent nearly two weeks in Virginia bonding with the cubs. "It is a thrill to be able to tell the story about cheetah conservation and to educate Dallas Zoo guests about this magnificent species," said Sean Green, vice president of Guest Experiences for the Dallas Zoo. "Winspear and Kamau will become important animal ambassadors for the Dallas Zoo, building appreciation and awareness about cheetahs to more than 900,000 visitors each year." The balls of fur will not be small forever. When fully grown, they weigh about 140 pounds and stand 3 feet tall. A cheetah is the world's fastest land mammal, and can go from 0 to 60 mph (96 kph) in three seconds. Other zoos have coupled cheetahs with dogs, including the San Diego Zoo, which has been pairing pups with big cats for years. "Not just any dog would do. We needed one with personality, composure and pizzazz.," the San Diego Zoo says on its website. In such couplings, it says, the dog is the leader. | Zoo: Puppy will be a calming influence as the cubs grow up away from the wilderness .
The Labrador retriever will play alongside the cubs .
Cheetahs are an endangered species, with about 10,000 left . |
16a76534ef76a4a1817dfbb6e8868de5be0b2c79 | By . Dan Bloom . and Annabel Fenwick Elliott . France's . most famous brothel madam claimed John F Kennedy asked her for a . prostitute who looked like his wife Jackie - 'but hot'. The . former President joins a host of famous names said to have visited . Madame Claude, the infamous owner of a high-class escort ring who . employed hundreds of women in 1960s Paris. Claude, . now 91 and living in France, specialized in procuring call girls - whom . she referred to as her 'swans' - for the rich and famous, servicing . everyone from the actors Rex Harrison and Marlon Brando to the Libyan . dictator Muammar Gaddafi. Sensational . claims: France's most famous brothel madam was allegedly approached by . former U.S. President John F Kennedy (left) who wanted a lookalike of . his first wife Jackie, the fashion and style icon (right) - 'but hot' Surprising: It comes despite Jackie, nee Bouvier, being one of the most enduring fashion icons of her age . Famous: Pictured during her self-imposed exile in Los Angeles in 1985, Madame Claude was a cult figure . Acclaimed . biographer William Stadiem, who penned the famous book on Marilyn . Monroe, persuaded Madame Claude to co-author a tell-all book in the . 1980s. Although it was never published, he has now has opened up about . Claude and her roster of powerful clients. Despite . Jacqueline Kennedy being venerated as one of history's most elegant . women, the explosive claims do not just involve her first husband. Her . second husband, the Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis, was also . said to have visited Claude, along with his former lover Maria Callas; . 'showing up with depraved requests that made Claude blush.' 'There . was John Kennedy requesting a Jackie look-alike "but hot",' Mr Stadiem . wrote in Vanity Fair, describing Claude as being 'tiny, blonde, . perfectly coiffed and Chanel-clad.' 'There . was Marc Chagall giving the girls priceless sketches of their nude . selves, Gianni Agnelli taking a post-orgy group to Mass, the Shah and . his gifts of jewels. 'There were such disparate bedfellows on the client list as Moshe Dayan and Muammar Qaddafi, Marlon Brando and Rex Harrison.' Iconic: Jacqueline and her first husband formed one of the most recognizable couples in U.S. history . Second husband: Aristotle Onassis pictured (right) after his marriage to Jackie (left) in August 1968 . Mr . Stadiem also reveals that the C.I.A. once hired Claude's women to keep . up morale during the Paris Peace Accords of 1973, which aimed to end . U.S. military involvement in Vietnam. 'There are two things that people will always pay for, food and sex. I wasn't any good at cooking' One of . Claude's former loyal clients during the 50s and 60s was London's . then-Spectator columnist Taki Theodoracopulos, who pointed out that . 'going to a hooker' wasn't frowned upon in the days 'before the pill.' Claude . is said to have chosen mainly tall, stunning, 'failed actresses and . models' - many of them Christian Dior couture models - and favored . foreign girls, especially Scandinavians. The . brothel madam is quoted as saying: 'There are two things that people . will always pay for, food and sex. I wasn't any good at cooking.' Arresting: The claims about the lovers of Jacqueline (left) are revealed in the new edition of Vanity Fair (right) The . article investigates the fascinating journey of Madame Claude, born . Fernande Grudet in 1923, and how she allegedly turned from a . convent-raised resistance agent in the Second World War - who spent a . stint at a German Nazi concentration camp, and apparently has the 'camp . number tattoo' to prove it - to the head of France's biggest prostitute . ring. Many . of the elaborate claims Claude made about her past, however, have been . labeled as 'lies' and 'fantasy' by various sources who knew her. 'She reduced the entire world to rich men wanting sex and poor women wanting money' Ironically . given the X-rated nature of Claude's career, the eccentric character - . mother to one daughter - claimed to have 'hated sex,' and was of the . opinion that people over 40 'shouldn't have it.' She was, however, a . huge fan of plastic surgery, having had everything but her breasts . 'done.' Having . made herself a small fortune with her prostitution ring, Claude was . forced to flee France for Los Angeles in 1977 when French authorities . began hounding her over alleged tax evasion. Though . she continued working as a madam in the U.S., Claude was described as . being 'totally alone and adrift' there. She lived in a small apartment . in West Hollywood 'filled with wardrobes full of glamorous French . clothes no one would ever wear in LA.' Infamous: Madame Claude after her return to France . During . her time in Los Angeles, Claude once attempted to enlist legendary . actress and author Joan Collins as one of her 'swans.' In Ms Collins' 1997 memoir Second Act, she described Claude's proposition. 'Your . husbands don't have to know, and I believe you could make enough money . to buy yourself a few little extra baubles,' Claude allegedly said. Some of the associates Mr Stadiem spoke with were decidedly scathing when describing Claude. In . one account, Françoise Fabian - the actress who played Claude in the . 1977 film of her exploits - said she 'was like a slave driver on a . plantation in the American South', who pushed the women who worked for . her into debt. Another . account, from former-Hollywood based journalist Dany Jucaud was as . follows: 'She was vicious... She reduced the entire world to rich men . wanting sex and poor women wanting money.' Eventually, . Claude returned to her home country of France, endured a short jail . term, and now lives a life shielded from the world. | Madame Claude employed hundreds of call girls for stars in 1960s Paris .
Her clients were said to include Marlon Brando and Muammar Gaddafi .
Jackie Kennedy's first and second husbands both allegedly 'johns'
The eccentric brothel madam claimed to have spent time imprisoned in a Nazi concentration camp during the Second World War . |
16a7f36f76bd04f6ccc12f73b48649f947264e8d | Pupils and parents are being warned by head teachers about the dangers of a rapidly growing social networking site that puts teenagers at risk of vicious anonymous abuse. Schools across the country are sending out letters advising pupils not to use Ask.fm, which has more than 30 million users around the world and has been linked to suicides and serious bullying. The website lets anyone see the names, photographs and personal details of boys and girls as young as 13, then post comments or questions on their profile pages that range from insults to sexual advances and threats of violence. Warning: Pupils and parents are being told about the dangers of a rapidly growing social networking site that puts teenagers at risk of anonymous abuse . Unlike other services such as Facebook and Twitter, there is no way to report offensive comments, increase privacy settings or find out who is behind anonymous bullying. The website is based in Latvia, making it even more difficult for police to take action, while its owners dismiss any problems with the site as the result of British and Irish children being more cruel than those from other countries. Jim Gamble, head of security consultancy Ineqe, said: ‘Ask.fm has become associated with some of the worst forms of cyberbullying and has been linked to a number of recent teen suicides in Ireland and the US. ‘It is almost a stalker’s paradise. In cases like this young people need protection from those who exploit internet anonymity to intimidate, isolate and bully.’ Uncontrolled: Unlike other services such as Facebook and Twitter, there is no way to report offensive comments or find out who is behind anonymous bullying . Richard Piggin, deputy chief executive of the charity BeatBullying, said: ‘The tool that enables it to be anonymous can facilitate young people to say things that they might not say face to face or if their names were attached to it. So it releases their inhibitions, which can be very dangerous. ‘Sites like Ask.fm lack even the most basic child safety mechanisms or reporting protocols. They are of huge concern to us and the young people we work with.’ Founder Mark Terebin said: ‘We only have this situation in Ireland and the UK most of all. It seems that children are more cruel in these countries.’ | Schools across the country are sending out letters advising pupils not to use Ask.fm .
Site lets anyone see details of boys and girls as young as 13, then post comments or questions .
There is no way to report offensive comments .
Has become linked to a number of recent teen suicides . |
16a90389ed3ae947ae93af4f9bbcafa7f642488c | (CNN) -- Rescue workers are searching for more than 300 Filipino fishermen who have gone missing after a devastating typhoon that tore across the Philippines last week, killing more than 600 people, authorities said Monday. Typhoon Bopha, the strongest tropical cyclone to hit the Philippines this year, set off flash floods and landslides that engulfed people sheltering in their rickety houses in remote, unprepared regions on the southern island of Mindanao. Read more: Rescuers struggle to aid Philippines storm victims . The number of people still unaccounted for climbed sharply during the weekend as officials learned of the disappearance of boatloads of fishermen who set off before Typhoon Bopha slammed into the east coast of Mindanao on Tuesday. Rescue efforts are under way to try to find the missing fishermen, many of whom left from the port city of General Santos on the south coast of Mindanao, said Maj. Reynaldo Balido, military assistant for operations at the Philippine Office of Civil Defense. A total 780 people are missing in the Philippines as a whole, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, the country's emergency management agency, said Monday. Read more: Devastation in a Philippine valley where typhoons aren't expected . That includes the fishermen and more than 400 people in New Bataan, a town in southeastern Mindanao where flash floods triggered by Bopha's heavy rain buried large areas under mud, rocks and trees. The overwhelming majority of the 647 people killed by the typhoon are from the regions of Davao Oriental and Compostela Valley, where New Bataan is situated. Many people in those areas failed to anticipate Bopha, known locally as Pablo, the strongest storm to hit Mindanao in decades. The island experiences fewer tropical cyclones than the regions of the Philippines further north. Survivors are now struggling to find enough water, food and shelter. Relief agencies are scrambling to provide help to the worst hit areas, but damage to infrastructure like roads and communications networks is complicating their task. The scale of the challenge facing them is huge: nearly 1,500 people have been injured and more than 300,000 have been forced to seek shelter in evacuation centers or elsewhere. Philippine President Benigno Aquino III, who visited New Bataan and other severely affected areas Friday, has declared a state of national calamity, which releases emergency funds and puts price controls on basic goods. | Typhoon Bopha has so far killed 647 people in the Philippines .
A another 780 people are missing, including hundreds of fishermen .
Relief agencies are trying to help the thousands of people left homeless by the storm . |
16aa727f941822ead36fab81837855f4c5a3da54 | By . David Wilkes . Turning the semi-derelict medieval farm into a charming rural home has gobbled up her £600,000 life savings and a decade of her time. But widow Lorna Sowrey has now been told she will have to tear it down...because she should be sharing it with turkeys. The 500-year-old building in a remote hamlet on north Dartmoor is a very rare example of a Devon longhouse with a partially uncovered ‘shippon’ - an indoor area for livestock. Defeat: Lorna Sowrey's renovations to her home in Devon could be gobbled up if she refuses to keep turkeys . Disputed area: Mrs Sowrey in the farm's medieval 'shippon', which always had an agricultural use . The arrangement was common in the medieval period, when humans and animals lived together under the same roof. Dartmoor National Park Authority insists that half the shippon should have been kept for ‘agricultural use’ to preserve Middle Venton Farm’s ‘cultural significance’. Dispute: Mrs Sowrey is up against national park laws . Mrs Sowrey, 77, told the Mail: ‘I asked what I could do with the shippon if it was agricultural. I was told I could keep a cart-horse or turkeys – but they would be 6ft from my dining table. ‘It’s ridiculous, they want me to create a museum that no one will ever visit. My house is not open to the public, and I don’t want to start turkey farming at my age.’ Yesterday the authority refused her application for retrospective planning permission for the restorations. Having spent £100,000 on the shippon alone, she now faces having to spend even more undoing her hard work. If the authority has its way, half the dining area could be carpeted, but the rest of the room would have an earth floor and an unglazed window. Planning officers said the survival of half the shippon before the work was a ‘crucial feature’ when it was awarded a Grade II*-listing in 1988 – meaning it is a ‘particularly important building of more than special interest’, the next category down from a Grade I-listing. Mrs Sowrey bought the cottage in Drewsteignton, near Exeter, in 2003 for £400,000 with her husband John, a retired RAF Air Commodore and an ace fighter pilot in the Second World War. They were granted planning permission in 2009 after submitting an application which retained the agricultural character of the shippon. Before he died aged 90 in 2010, Mr Sowrey asked her to finish the restoration as his last wish. Preservation: Mrs Sowrey's home in the Dartmoor National Park pictured the way it used to look... ... and how it looks now after she spent £600,000 converting it. Her retrospective planning application failed . When the couple bought the house, part of the shippon had rush matting over an earth floor. Mrs Sowrey then laid concrete over the 15ft by 18ft area, which she uses as a storage space. But the authority says this amounts to it being used for domestic purposes and diminishes its ‘historic interest’. Last night a spokesman said unauthorised works without the prior grant of Listed Building Consent is a criminal offence under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990. A future meeting will consider whether remedial action must take place and if so, what specific works and over what time scale. Planning consultant John Milverton said: ‘I’ve never seen such a bizarre situation. To try to turn the clock back like this makes no sense whatsoever.’ Orders: Planning authorities say parts of the home including this one should be dug up again and changed . Rare: There are five or six unconverted shippons on Dartmoor and fewer than 20 converted ones . | Lorna Sowrey, 77, turned rare 500-year-old Devon longhouse into a home .
But Dartmoor National Park Authority insisted it keep an agricultural use .
They said she could keep a cart horse or turkeys 6ft from her dining table .
She said: 'It's ridiculous... I don't want to start turkey farming at my age' |
16aa7401c8e9a77cdaae2e8a718e210fcece0dc8 | By . Damian Spellman, Press Association . Aston Villa boss Paul Lambert is convinced former England international Joe Cole still has the fire in his belly to make an impact in the Barclays Premier League. The 32-year-old midfielder swapped West Ham for Villa Park last month when he agreed to become part of Lambert’s new-look set-up. Success: Joe Cole celebrates Chelsea's title win after beating Bolton Wanderers in April 2005 . The former Hammers youth product, who was regarded as one of the most gifted players of his generation when he was a youngster, has won 56 England caps during a career which has taken him from Upton Park to Chelsea, Liverpool and Lille. Cole has struggled for form and regular football over the last few years though, but Villa boss Lambert remains convinced that the experienced playmaker has what it takes to succeed at the highest level. Happier times: Cole celebrates scoring against Tottenham for West Ham in February 2013 . Back on track: Cole is looking ahead to a new challenge with Aston Villa this season . He told the Birmingham Mail: 'As soon as you start to lose the fire from your stomach as a footballer, there’s no point. 'He still wants to do really well and he’s still hungry to do really well. That’s a sign of a top, top player. Lambert added: “If you have still got the attributes at that age that you had when you were 16 or 17 starting out, you will not go far wrong. “He can make things happen. If he can perform the way I know he can, then we have got a really good player on our hands.” | Paul Lambert says Joe Cole still shows the signs of being a 'top, top player'
Former England international swapped Upton Park for Villa Park last month .
The 32-year-old made just 14 starts for West Ham last season . |
16ad34acbaae6458af52af8d3d555fd32f05b5f8 | By . Martin Robinson . PUBLISHED: . 09:42 EST, 7 February 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 15:56 EST, 7 February 2013 . Court: Man City young player Courtney Meppen-Walter arrives at Magistrates Court in Manchester to admit charges of reckless and dangerous driving which caused the deaths of Kulwant and Ravel Kaur Singh . A Manchester City footballer is facing up to five years in jail today for killing a brother and sister in a road crash while driving his Mercedes at almost 60mph in a 30mph zone. Courtney Meppen-Walter, 18, was arrested last September after his silver Elegance CDI car was travelling nearly twice the speed limit when it ploughed into a red Nissan Micra pulling out of a side street. The impact in Cheetham Hill, Manchester claimed the lives of Kulwant Singh, 32, who was driving the Micra and 37-year old sister Ravel Kaur who was a front seat passenger. Mrs Kaur's two sons Amjid and Parveen, who are 16 and 17-years-old, were sat in the back and were left fighting for life with serious injuries and had to be cut free from the mangled wreckage. They have since made a good recovery. Police initially investigated whether Meppen-Walter from Blackley, Manchester was racing a friend in a VW Golf as both cars appeared to be accelerating and slowing down apparently to avoid speed cameras. But they later ruled out the racing line of inquiry and freed the other driver without charge. It emerged the double tragedy occurred just five months after Meppen-Walker was caught speeding at 54mph in another 30mph zone in Bury. Today the £1,000-a-week defender who has been at City since 2003 and has represented England at under-17 level pleaded guilty to two offences of causing death by careless or inconsiderate driving. He asked to be dealt with at Manchester magistrates court where jail terms cannot exceed six months - but the bench instead sent to him to be dealt with by a judge at crown court as they ruled the offence was too serious and bordered on dangerous driving. Meppen Walker was given an interim driving ban pending sentencing next month. The tragedy occurred at about 10.15pm on Saturday September 1 last year on Bury New Road at its junction with Sherborne Street. At the time Mr Singh's was driving his sister and her children home from a Sikh temple and was due to return to collect his wife and their two children, aged one and three. Tragic: Scene of the crash on Bury New Road, Manchester in where Ravel Kaur and her brother Kulwant Singh died . Meppen Walker looked stony faced as defence lawyer Mr Gwyn Lewis said: 'He is a very young man. He has been able to enter and plead on the very first occasion and accepts that he is responsible for this incident. Decorated: The talented footballer has represented England and has a burgeoning career at Premier League champions Manchester City . 'His lack of driving experience contributed to a likelihood of a collision. He was driving in a straight line on the main road and he car had emerged unexpectedly. The right of way belonged with the driver on the main road but the issue arises out of the speed he was travelling at.' Adjourning the case chairman of the bench Peter O'Keefe said: 'We believe it is not suitable for magistrates for sentence. We feel it was not far short of dangerous driving in addition the aggravating factors are too young people were seriously injured.' Meppen Walker was granted unconditional bail until sentencing at Manchester Crown Court on February 28. A 19-year-old man who was driving the grey VW Golf at the time of the collision will face no further action. At the time of the crash Balinder Singh, 19, a relative of Mr Singh and Mrs Kaur spoke of the two victims having 'joy on their faces' shortly before the tragedy. He said: 'We get together every Saturday at the temple but this week there was a special ceremony because it was the first day of our Holy Book. 'It's always a happy service and it's a big day in the religious calendar. They had joy on their faces. Kulwant said he would take his sister and her children first because she lives nearby and then come back for his wife and kids. 'Kulwant's wife has been left with a one-year-old son and a three-year-old girl. He was a loving father - he would help anyone. Ravel's husband passed away a long time ago so the children have lost their father and their mother now.' | Courtney Meppen-Walter, 18, smashed into a car pulling out of a side road .
Kulwant Singh, 32, and his sister Ravel Kaur, 37, died in crash .
Her two sons Amjid and Parveen left in a serious condition but survived .
Footballer faces up to 5 years in prison after admitting 2 driving charges . |
16ae4d5a3f493708650f60d3182d27c52cd81b2f | Hong Kong (CNN) -- July 1, 2014, the 17th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to Chinese rule, is set to be a hot, possibly stormy day. But the suffocating weather won't stop pro-democracy Hong Kongers -- possibly hundreds of thousands of them -- from filling the streets, beginning at 3 p.m today. Activists are openly challenging China's vision for the city's political future, and they believe the public is on their side. In a recent unofficial referendum organized by pro-democracy activist group Occupy Central with Love and Peace (OCLP), 787,767 Hong Kongers voted in support of free elections for the city's next leader. READ MORE: Hong Kong's 'referendum' -- What you should know . The almost-800,000 figure represents about 22% of registered voters in Hong Kong, out of a total of 3.5 million registered voters, according to government figures. Before the vote began ten days ago, organizers were hoping around 100,000 people would participate. Benny Tai, a co-organiser of OCLP, said Hong Kongers were "using this opportunity to at least show Beijing how determined we are for universal suffrage." Hong Kong's former second-highest-ranked official, Anson Chan, echoed the sentiment in an interview with CNN on Monday. "Whatever Beijing says in public now I think it can hardly afford to ignore the voices of 780,000 people." But the Chinese government's reaction was decidedly more frosty, with the government declaring the poll "illegal" and its results "invalid" even before the ballots were counted. Rimsky Yuen, Hong Kong's Secretary for Justice, has previously said there is no legal basis for the vote. Yuen, as well a number of other, pro-establishment voices, declined to speak to CNN. A recent Chinese state media editorial said the poll was a "farce." Searches for the referendum have also been heavily censored on the Chinese internet. Showdown over democracy . The city's pro-democracy camp wants fully democratic elections for the city's next leader, while China insists it will only allow elections in which it gets to approve the nominees. Specifically, Beijing says it will only allow candidates who "love China." The Occupy Central referendum outlined three plans to reform the upcoming election. All three plans proposed that candidates be nominated publicly, regardless of whether the candidates have Beijing's blessing. 42% of participants picked a proposal by the Alliance for True Democracy, which said candidates for Hong Kong's chief executive should be nominated by the public, and conditions such as requiring candidates to "love China" should not be allowed. Another question asked if Hong Kong's legislature should veto any nomination process that did not meet "international standards." This was overwhelmingly approved in the referendum. The high numbers are a sign that Hong Kongers are not about to back down, said Tai. "We have an offer and we have a baseline, and this is the thing we will give to the (Hong Kong government)," he told CNN. "I think a responsible government must respond to that. I cannot see any reason for refusing to meet with us." But if negotiations fail, and no progress is made through legal means, then the group is prepared to disrupt the city to make their statement heard. As a final strategy, Tai says his group may marshal 10,000 people to sit and peacefully block traffic in downtown Hong Kong as a way to pressure Beijing into allowing Hong Kong to exercise "genuine universal suffrage." "We will only resort to the civil disobedience action as our last resort," said Tai. "Only after exhausting all the legal means and still fail to achieve our goals will we resort to civil disobedience." Grassroots support . The city is politicized like at no other time in its recent past. While the July 1st anniversary of the handover has always brought demonstrators out onto Hong Kong's hot, crowded streets, often numbering over 100,000, this year protests are expected to be super-sized. Many Hong Kongers are enraged after the recent publication of a white paper by the Chinese government which declares Beijing's "comprehensive jurisdiction" over Hong Kong. READ MORE: Alarm in Hong Kong at Chinese white paper affirming Beijing control . Chan said the white paper violates the "one country, two systems" principle enshrined in Hong Kong's constitutional Basic Law, which lets the city maintain high autonomy despite being a part of China. The white paper "makes it quite clear that whatever autonomy we enjoy is for the central government to give and to take away at its pleasure," she said. "I think this has caused real concern." The inflammatory document came days after 100,000 people showed up to an annual candlelit vigil for the victims of the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown. "(The white paper) has spectacularly backfired, it's made people even more angry," Chan said. What's next? The situation in Hong Kong is volatile. Some activists fear a crackdown on freedoms by the Chinese central government, and others look nervously to the possibility of unrest at tomorrow's mass protest. Michael DeGolyer, Director of the Hong Kong Transition Project, an independent organization that monitors governance in the territory, said the future is incredibly difficult to assess because no one is totally sure what China's officials are thinking. "We're in a situation where we have a new regime in power and much more volatile circumstances, and we have groups that are much more separatist, challenging the legitimacy of the central government altogether," he said. "In these circumstances, it is extremely difficult to tell what the central government intends and what they're thinking and how they'll react." But despite the uncertainty, Hong Kong's democracy supporters remain hopeful. "I do not think Beijing has made up its mind on universal suffrage, so let's see what happens in the months ahead," said Chan. "The government stance has a little bit softened in the last few days. There's a chance there," said Tai. "After (the July 1 protest), we may be able to see whether there's any change in the stance of the Chinese government." | Unofficial referendum on Hong Kong's political future draws almost 800,000 votes .
Results were announced just before the anniversary of the 1997 handover of power, traditionally a big day for pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong .
Hong Kongers angered by what they perceive to be Beijing's undue influence over their political destiny . |
16af263445113b3f2816c73143296374aa2d19cb | (CNN) -- Judging by the hysterical reaction in some quarters, to President Obama's handshake with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, or his bow to Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah, you would think that America's national security rested solely on body language not sound policy. The presidential handshake between Barack Obama and Hugo Chavez spurred many comments. But just for the record, let's not forget that President George W. Bush kissed and held hands with the same Abdullah after 9/11, while also looking deep into the soul of Vladimir Putin. And a generation earlier, egged on by British Prime Minister "Iron Lady" Margaret Thatcher, President "Tear Down That Wall" Ronald Reagan, decided that indeed Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev was a man he could do business with: the business of ending the Cold War. While Obama has not managed in 100 days to defeat Islamic militants, usher in a Middle East peace treaty or disarm North Korea, on these and other issues he has laid down some important groundwork. Most importantly, the global polls following his first overseas trip show he has begun restoring America's name and reputation, key ingredients to successful policy making. Even before stepping onto foreign soil, Obama began by ordering the infamous Guantanamo Bay detention center closed, thus returning the United States to upholding the very same rule of law it preaches to other nations. He also has stated over and over again that "America does not torture," thus returning the United States to leading on human rights, not cherry-picking them. To those such as former Vice President Dick Cheney who claim this will make America more vulnerable, even some former Bush administration officials now concede that rigorous but patient above-board interrogation has proven to yield better, more reliable intelligence than a rush to the waterboard. Obama has kept a campaign pledge and given a fixed date for ending the unpopular U.S. war in Iraq. "Let me say this as plainly as I can: By August 31, 2010, our combat mission in Iraq will end," he announced. Yet the perils are clear. Hundreds of Iraqi civilians have been killed in Baghdad and other cities in a surge of sectarian violence since January. The Obama administration and U.S. military leaders are playing it down, blaming the suicide bombings on a few militant cells. That brings back memories of Cheney and former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld blaming a "handful of dead-enders" as the original insurgency was getting into full swing. Much work still needs to be done to stabilize Iraq militarily and politically. Drawing down in Iraq means surging in Afghanistan, which along with Pakistan is still viewed as the central front on terror. "If the Afghanistan government falls to the Taliban or allows al-Qaeda to go unchallenged," Obama said in March, "that country will again be a base for terrorists." So he has ordered 21,000 new U.S. troops there by summer. But for all the talk of more boots on the ground, negotiating with moderate Taliban and beefing up Afghan security forces, danger will persist unless the Afghan people see more of a peace dividend. As Obama himself recognizes, "There will be no lasting peace unless we expand spheres of opportunity for the people of Afghanistan and Pakistan." Watch highlights from Obama's first 100 days » . Dire poverty still stalks the land and people desperate to feed their families will lay an IED for cash if they cannot farm or find a decent paying job. Although the Taliban had less than 8 percent support in Afghanistan at the end of 2007, according to an ABC poll, Afghan public opinion is turning against the U.S.-led coalition partly because of the rising number of civilian casualties as the U.S. military hunts down terrorists with airstrikes. The same is happening in Pakistan. When unmanned drones and other airstrikes target militants but cost many civilian lives, it turns people against the United States. One month ago, President Obama unveiled an Afghan-Pakistan strategy for stabilizing the region, and yet things have gotten so much worse in the weeks since that now he, British officials and other world leaders openly fear the Talibanization of nuclear-armed Pakistan. A furious Pakistan government accuses the United States of sowing panic among the people and insists it's in full control of its country and its nuclear arsenal. But it is hard to overdramatize the danger as this U.S. ally concedes land and appeases the Taliban, then watches as it reneges on a so-called "peace deal" and rolls ever closer to the capital, Islamabad. On May 6 and 7, Obama will be meeting in Washington with the presidents of Pakistan and Afghanistan. In the fight to deny the militants a tipping point momentum, the military tells me 2009 will be crucial. As for Iran, which even two years ago candidate Obama said would be directly engaged by his administration, there is nothing formal yet between the two sides. After 30 years of enmity, President Obama offered Iran "the promise of a new beginning" in a Persian New Year video message, and since then has clearly signaled the United States was over regime-change. The Iranian government and leadership have responded in kind, saying they are ready to engage with America if the administration is really committed to changing its Iran policy. However, much of this good will has been over the airwaves and direct or back-channel talks have yet to start. Into this vacuum are stepping all the sundry pro- and anti-Iran interest groups, experts, analysts and nations, with their often-conflicting advice and sometimes confused understanding. Yet it is widely acknowledged that a strategic realignment with Iran would benefit U.S. and regional security and stability. The new Israeli government wants to see no such thing, and wants people to believe it will bomb Iran's nuclear facilities, a belief it fosters with background briefings to journalists in the United States and presumably elsewhere. In an ironic twist, Israel's Arab neighbors are bringing their dire warnings about Iran to the White House. Meantime, Obama has named a new Middle East Peace envoy, former Sen. George Mitchell, signaling he wants to take negotiations out of the deep freeze and committing to the two-state solution for Israelis and Palestinians. Trouble is new Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not signed on to the two-state solution and is trying to fend off this pressure, even suggesting Israel won't engage with the Palestinians until the United States takes care of Iran. Last week, Obama told Jordan's King Abdullah at the White House, "My hope would be that over the next several months you start seeing gestures of good faith on all sides." He added, "We can't talk forever; at some point, steps have to be taken so that people can see progress on the ground." The president has invited the leaders of Israel, Egypt and the Palestinian Authority to the White House in coming weeks. iReport.com: Grade Obama's first 100 days . The second hundred days in foreign policy will be filled with mini-summits at the White House and major summits abroad -- Russia in July and China sometime later. With all this activity, Obama is clearly shifting the United States away from the "isolate and punish" policy of his predecessor. He is signaling that clearheaded meetings to discuss issues of mutual concern are better than hiding your head in the sand and hoping they'll go away. So amid the frothing and fulminating over Fidel, Hugo and Mahmoud, remember Nixon went to China. | Obama has laid important groundwork in key areas, Amanpour says .
President has acted on some campaign promises, but outcome still uncertain .
Next 100 days will see key meetings at White House, summits abroad .
Body language has caused chatter, but Nixon went to China, reminds Amanpour . |
16b045716a505f996f714b90436a40a38878b9b4 | By . Sarah Harris . PUBLISHED: . 21:10 EST, 20 December 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 21:10 EST, 20 December 2013 . Record numbers of parents are ending up with criminal records for letting their children skip lessons, new figures show. Truancy convictions have topped 10,000 for the first time amid a growing crackdown on youngsters missing class. The Ministry of Justice figures come as the Coalition has increasingly turned the spotlight on truancy and the problem families who continue to condone it. Spotlight: Figures released under the Freedom of Information Act show that in 2012, 12,909 parents in England and Wales were taken to court for failing to ensure their children go to school (file picture) Figures released under the Freedom of Information Act show that in 2012, 12,909 parents in England and Wales were taken to court for failing to ensure their children go to school. Of these, 10,185 were found guilty and sentenced - a 3.5 per cent rise on 2011’s figures of 9,836. Two-thirds - 6,871 were fined; 516 undertook community service and 20 were jailed. The number of convictions has risen more than fivefold from 2001 when only 2,243 were prosecuted and 1,845 found guilty and sentenced. Between 2001 and 2012, 71,552 parents have been convicted and 173 jailed. The MoJ will release figures for 2013 next May. Among the parents recently sanctioned is mother-of-six Kelly Murphy, 35, from Cardiff, who was jailed after her two teenage daughters attended fewer than a third of their school days. She was sent to prison for 16 weeks in June after pleading guilty to two offences of failing to secure the attendance of the girls aged 16 and 14. Cardiff magistrates’ court heard that the girls had made just 59 and 56 attendances respectively out of 182. Leah Griffiths, defending, told the court that Ms Murphy had withdrawn pocket money, mobile phones, laptops and even refused to buy Christmas presents in a bid to make them go to lessons. Magistrates gained new powers to deal with the parents of truanting children in 2000, when the maximum fine they could impose was more than doubled from £1,000 to £2,500. Since September 2012, head teachers have been able to impose a £60 spot fine on parents, rising to £120 if it goes unpaid. This compares to just £50 under the previous government. The time limit for paying has also slashed cut from 28 to 21 days for a £60 fine and 42 to 28 days for a £120 charge. Excuses: The results also suggested that parents might be attempting to get around the new rules by claiming sickness as the reason for absences (file picture) Meanwhile legislation came into force in England this September which scrapped a system that allowed head teachers to grant ‘authorised absences’ to pupils to go on holiday during term time. Now they can only approve days off under ‘exceptional circumstances’. A recent survey found that a quarter of head teachers have fined parents for flouting the new rules. The survey of more than 800 primary school head teachers and deputies in England - conducted by The Key consultancy service - also suggested that parents might be attempting to get around the new rules by claiming sickness as the reason for absences. Latest figures show that ‘unauthorised absences’ between September 2012 and March this year increased from 0.9 per cent to one per cent. This meant that around 63,000 youngsters were missing lessons without permission on a typical day. Professor Alan Smithers, director of the Centre for Education and Employment Research at Buckingham University, said: ‘It’s clear from the figures there’s been a crackdown. ‘It would be good to have evidence of how successful this approach is. I suspect that many of the families are dysfunctional and a criminal conviction isn’t necessarily going to be that effective in giving the young person the start in life that we would want. ‘Clearly, to get as much out of life as you can, you need the best possible education. It’s important you should be in schools. But I wonder if it would be more effective making sure that within schools there’s provision that enhances the lives of those who are deciding to truant.’ A spokesman for the Department for Education said: ‘Poor attendance at school can have a hugely damaging effect, and children who attend school regularly are nearly four times more likely to achieve five or more good GCSEs than those who are regularly absent. ‘That is why we have given schools more power to tackle poor attendance and allowed them to intervene much earlier. We have also increased the amount parents can be fined for unauthorised absences and cut the amount of time they have to pay.’ | The Ministry of Justice figures come as Coalition focuses on the issue .
More than 12,000 parents were taken to court after children missed school .
One mother from Cardiff was jailed for 16 weeks . |
16b07080d89f949396703783e939133efd991b0f | Tuscaloosa, Alabama (CNN) -- Hopes of finding trapped survivors dwindled Friday evening in Alabama, the epicenter of storms that obliterated neighborhoods and towns and claimed scores of lives across the South. Gov. Robert Bentley, speaking in Birmingham, said the long road to recovery will now begin. "We've gotten past the rescue stage," Bentley said. "We have begun the recovery stage." Earlier Friday, President Barack Obama toured rubble-strewn neighborhoods in Tuscaloosa, declaring the devastation brought by a series of powerful storms and tornadoes was beyond anything he had ever seen. The storms killed at least 326 people in six states and left entire neighborhoods in ruins. Obama promised expedited federal aid to states affected by the tornadoes. Has the severe weather affected you? Share stories, photos and video with iReport. "We're going to do everything we can to help these communities rebuild," he said. Wednesday's outbreak of severe weather brought what the National Weather Service categorized as a rare EF-5 tornado to one Mississippi town. And according to the weather service, it's possible another twister was on the ground for 200 miles from Mississippi through Alabama. The extent of the devastation became evident by Friday, when the death count in Marion County in northwest Alabama rose from three to 21, according to the state Emergency Management Agency. It said 20 people were missing. See hi-res photos of the devastation . Marion County Sheriff Kevin Williams put the number even higher -- 29 people dead in the city of Hackleburg and six in Hamilton. The Hackleburg fatalities included 16 on the scene and 13 who died at several hospitals, he told CNN. "It's pretty much wiped out," Williams said of the town. "It looks like a war zone." The possible tornadoes destroyed a Wrangler clothing plant, a pharmacy, doctor's office and three schools, officials said. Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, Virginia and Louisiana . Alabama suffered the greatest of loss of life, with fatalities in 19 counties confirmed by the state Emergency Management Agency. The agency reported Friday evening that the state's death toll had risen to at least 238. In Tuscaloosa, Obama's motorcade passed street after street of homes reduced to splinters, crushed and flipped cars, and widespread debris on the way to his first stop to visit with families affected by the storms that pounded the region Wednesday and Thursday. "I've gotta say I've never seen devastation like this," Obama told reporters. Tuscaloosa city officials reported 45 deaths as of Friday afternoon, but later revised that to 39 because of a counting error. That change was not immediately reflected in the state's total. People's lives have just been turned upside down . Nearly 450 people were unaccounted for Friday afternoon in the city, although they were not necessarily missing. The president's visit took place as emergency responders in Alabama and five other states continued to assess the damage wreaked by one of the worst outbreaks of violent weather in the southeastern United States in decades, experts said. The storms leveled neighborhoods, rendered major roads impassable and left nearly 800,000 customers still without power Friday evening. CNN iReporter Stephen Bozek, a broadcast news major at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, snapped a photo of a U.S. flag affixed to an overturned vehicle. "The neighborhood is torn to pieces and the flag flying represented the unity (of) this town," Bozek wrote. In Mississippi, where 34 were confirmed dead, Gov. Haley Barbour told reporters that some people remain unaccounted for and rescuers could still find bodies in the rubble or in the waters surrounding Smithville, where 14 of the state's known death's occurred. He said the city was a scene of "utter obliteration." On Friday, the National Weather Service said the tornado that struck Smithville on Wednesday was an EF-5 storm with peak winds of 205 mph. The last such tornado recorded in the United States struck May 25, 2008, in Parkersburg, Iowa. The scene at Tuscaloosa's 'Ground Zero' The tornado, the Weather Service said, destroyed 18 homes, a post office, a police station and a water treatment system. In addition to the 14 deaths, it caused 40 injuries, the weather service said. Obama issued a federal disaster declaration for seven Mississippi counties. The storms also left 34 people dead in Tennessee, 15 in Georgia, five in Virginia and one in Arkansas. In Alabama, emergency management officials said Friday that 35 teams have been deployed to Tuscaloosa and six other counties hit hardest by the storms to assist in recovery efforts. Officials also warned Tennessee motorists not to cross the Alabama state line without filling up their tanks first. Widespread power outages and devastation from the storms have likely rendered functioning gas stations in northern Alabama hard to find, according to a statement released by officials in both states. The storms cut swaths of death and destruction along U.S. Highway 72 in northern Alabama and Interstate 59 from Tuscaloosa County to the northeastern corner of the state. Tuscaloosa Mayor Walter Maddox said at least one strong tornado swept through the city, leaving dozens of roads impassable and destroying hundreds of homes and businesses. "It literally obliterated blocks and blocks of the city," Maddox said. The city remained under a curfew for Friday night that was scheduled to expire at 6 a.m. Saturday. City officials early Friday also advised Tuscaloosa residents who live south of the Black Warrior River and east of McFarland Boulevard to boil their tap water. Obama had signed a disaster declaration for Alabama, which enables storm victims and damaged businesses in eight counties to seek federal aid. Outbreak could set tornado record, experts say . Such aid will be critical, Birmingham Mayor William Bell told CNN affiliate WBMA. "It's beyond our local resources so we're going to have to get the federal government involved," Bell said. "The president assured us that he would do that." The storms are being compared to the "super outbreak" of tornadoes on April 3 and 4, 1974, Craig Fugate, the FEMA administrator, said Thursday. In that period, 148 tornadoes were reported in 13 states, and 330 people died. States affected were Alabama, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. | Alabama town "looks like a war zone"
Alabama death toll rises to at least 238 .
President Barack Obama: "I've never seen devastation like this"
He promises "to do everything we can" to aid rebuilding . |
16b16347f32ae745a70cf55121ec294b1d37c07c | Police are hoping to identify a man who walked into an elevator and shot a victim before calmly walking off. Terrifying footage has emerged of the hooded suspect strolling through the doors and pulling his gun out on the first floor of an apartment building in Brooklyn, New York. He then fires at one of the three men inside, hitting him the side, just seconds after they had pushed the button to close the doors and go up. Suspect: The hooded man is seen on CCTV walking into the elevator in the apartment building in Brooklyn, New York, on December 30 . Terrifying: He then pulls the weapon out and aims it at one of the men standing inside . The 25-year-old victim then keels over clutching his wound as the unidentified man walks away and the other two men turn away in shock. The injured man was taken to Kings County Hospital and is in a stable condition. He is expected to survive. The shooting took place at 8pm on December 30 at 940 Gates Avenue in Bedford-Stuyvesant. The NYPD have released the video in a bid to catch the gunman. He was last seen wearing wearing dark jeans while his gray hoodie was tucked under a blue coat. Authorities have not revealed whether the men knew each other and what the motive was behind the attack. As of Thursday evening, no arrests had been made. Target: He then edges closer to the man in the green jacket and shoots him at point-blank range . Aftermath: As the victim keels over and clutches his injury, the suspect fleas the scene. The NYPD have released the footage in a bid to catch the gunman . | WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT .
Suspect walks into the elevator inside the Bedford-Stuyvesant block .
Three men were inside and had pushed button to go up seconds before .
The man pulls out a gun and shoots the victim, hitting him in the side .
He keels over clutching his wound before the suspect fleas .
The NYPD have released the footage in a bid to catch the gunman . |
16b16e078acc4017410b49a89f213b30f12827f5 | By . Neil Ashton . Arsene Wenger said there is nothing ‘lucky’ about Arsenal's title challenge after they returned to the top of the Barclays Premier League with a 2-0 win over Crystal Palace. Arsenal will be overhauled if Manchester City beat Chelsea at the Etihad this evening but Wenger said that his men were right in the title hunt, insisting: ‘You cannot be lucky over 24 games. 'We have faced questions about our ability since the start of the season, but where we are cannot be a coincidence.’ VIDEO Scroll down to watch Arsene Wenger discuss Arsenal 2-0 Crystal Palace . Top: Arsenal players celebrates their 2-0 win against Palace in the changing room after the game . Feed the Ox: Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain scored twice to help Arsenal defeat Crystal Palace . Click here to read Matt Barlow's match report of Arsenal's win against Palace . Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain scored both Arsenal’s goals and Wenger said: 'I always believed that he could play wide and central, I said that many times that his future will be central. 'He has proven me right today, by scoring the goals but also by the quality of his performance.' The Arsenal boss intends to keep an interested eye on events at the Etihad Stadium on Monday. 'It is two competitors against us and it is always interesting to see how they behave,' he said. 'We gained some points through some . other opponents like Liverpool and Man United over this weekend, and I . think we know that our results at the Emirates (Stadium) will be . massively important until the end.' Game over: Oxlade-Chamberlain fires Arsenal into a 2-0 lead against Palace . Hot stuff: Oxlade-Chamberlain's heat map showed how much work he put in . Leading: Arsene Wenger insists his Arsenal side deserve to be top of the Premier League . Wenger also revealed that new signing Kim Kallstrom was signed on deadline day despite a scan showing the Swedish midfielder has a micro-fracture in his back. His club Spartak Moscow have agreed a compromise deal and will pay his wages for the next six weeks. ‘It . crossed my mind not to sign him on Friday night and if we had two or . three days more then maybe we wouldn’t have done it,’ admitted Wenger. ‘Let . us establish the truth. He felt his back two days . before the medical. We discovered a micro-fracture and we have all . played with them. ‘It is on his vertebrae, so the best case scenario is for him to play at the end of February, not before.’ Winners: Mikel Arteta (left) congratulates Oxlade-Chamberlain after the youngster's goal . Odd: Wenger revealed that he knew Kim Kallstrom (above) was injured before the Swede signed for Arsenal . | Arsene Wenger claims Arsenal are deserving of Premier League top spot .
Arsenal boss praises performance of two-goal Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain .
Gunners sit two-points clear of Manchester City .
Wenger admits he'll be keeping an eye on City vs Chelsea .
Kim Kallstrom was signed on deadline day despite being injured . |
16b1c3885877b1819711a2de85182366c3273542 | By . Amanda Williams . PUBLISHED: . 12:19 EST, 20 August 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 01:33 EST, 21 August 2013 . After 112 years, a stint as a summer house, and a home for pet mice, this horse-drawn tram will soon be carrying passengers for the first time since the Victorian era. The double-decker 'Leeds horse car 107', built in 1898, has been painstakingly renovated after more than a century out of use. The tram, which was being used as a garden summerhouse until the 1970s, was transformed back to its former glory by 10 volunteers from the Leeds Transport Historical Society (LTHS). This Leeds horse drawn tram was built in 1898 and ended life as derelict summer house. It has now undergone a painstaking renovation to restore it to its former glory . The car ran until 1901 when a new bridge was opened to road traffic and the electric cars were able to run . It took the team eight years to get the contraption, which went out of service the year Queen Victoria died, running again. Now their meticulous restoration is going on display over the Bank Holiday weekend where horses will be used to carry passengers for the first time since 1901. The tram, which carried 34 passengers along the tramways in Leeds, West Yorkshire, was shut down when a new bridge was opened to road traffic before being carefully converted to a static mess hut for the council Highways Department. In the 1920s, the carbody was declared redundant by the Highways Department and was given to a council employee for use as a summerhouse. It was then moved to a garden in the East End Park area of Leeds. At one point, the owner's nephew and his wife lived in the car until the 1970s. It was fitted out with a stove and given several coats of paint to keep it weatherproof. The tram was then carefully converted to a static mess hut for the council Highways Department . In the 1920's, the carbody was declared redundant by the Highways Department and was given to a council employee for use as a summerhouse . The house then changed hands and the Wilson family became the owners. Their sons used the car as a home for their collection of pet mice. The car body was seen by LTHS member Alex Brown and was identified as the last remaining Leeds Horse Car. The Society negotiated with the Wilsons who generously donated the car to the Society. The labour of love was initially salvaged by the society in 1977, and the car was then placed in a garage, where it stayed for another 28 years. The 20ft long and 7ft tall tram, which cost £45,000 to restore to its former glory, will go on display at Middleton Railway in Leeds . The tram, which was being used as a garden summerhouse until the 1970s, was transformed back to its former glory by 10 volunteers from the Leeds Transport Historical Society (LTHS) The car body was seen by LTHS member Alex Brown and was identified as the last remaining Leeds Horse Car . Project manager Jamie Guest, 60, of Leeds, said: 'It's quite a momentous occasion - it's the last remaining Leeds horse tram. 'The bodies of other trams would have been sold off as storage sheds and the scrap metal recycled. 'When . I first saw it at the back of a garage covered in blue paint as just a . shed, even then I felt it wanted something doing to it. 'So to see it now as a fully restored vehicle capable of carrying passengers again after 112 years is brilliant.' The 20ft long and 7ft tall tram, which cost £45,000 to restore to its former glory, will go on display at Middleton Railway in Leeds before heading to its final destination at the National Tramway Museum in Derbyshire. The double decker 'Leeds horse car 107', built in 1898, has been painstakingly renovated after 112 years . Andrew . Gill, chairman of the the Middleton Railway Trust, said: 'The piece of . railway track it will run on is only about three or four metres away . from the original Middelton tram, so we are recreating history almost on . the original tramline.' The . Festival of Transport on the Bank Holiday weekend will also feature . traction engines, displays, real ale, hot food, workshops and the chance . to drive one of the railway's locomotives for £5. | The double-decker 'Leeds horse car 107', was built in 1898 .
It will soon be carrying passengers for the first time since the Victorian era .
Tram was once used as a summer house, and a home for pet mice .
Now a team of experts have finished their eight year long renovation . |
16b261c802d8b7a9aa343f02b0038b4c8d825fe0 | Restaurant chain Ruby Tuesday is being sued for gender discrimination against men after only hiring women in the summer of 2013. The lawsuit filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission demands compensation for two male employees denied their applications for a transfer. It also calls for an injunction preventing the firm from favoring one gender. Sexist? Two male employees of Ruby Tuesday, Andrew Herrera and Joshua Bell, claim they responded to an internal advert for temporary roles in Park City, Utah, but were denied 'because they are men' The case comes just over a year after a court found Ruby Tuesday guilty of age discrimination at restaurants in six states, ordering the group to pay a $575,000 fine. According to Andrew Herrera and Joshua Bell, they responded to an internal advert for temporary roles in Park City, Utah, but were denied, The Oregonian reported. The positions would have come with a higher wage and free housing for two months. Their suit claims the company, based in Tennessee, clearly favored female applicants and no men were hired due to gender discrimination. Demands: The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission demands compensation for the two employees . 'It's an unusual lawsuit,' John Stanley, a supervisory trial attorney for the EEOC in Seattle who has served 27 years with the commission, told the Oregonian. 'It's rare to see an explicit example of sex discrimination like Ruby Tuesday's internal job announcement,' noted EEOC San Francisco Regional Attorney William R Tamayo, according to a statement on the EEOC website. 'This suit is a cautionary tale to employers that sex-based employment decisions are rarely justified, and are not consistent with good business judgment.' | Two men claim they were refused Utah transfer because they are men .
The job would have included a pay rise and free accommodation .
Case comes just over a year after Ruby Tuesdays was found guilty of age discrimination against over-40s, forced to pay $575,000 fine . |
16b2875396e48b4572f198c9f159a81a4efd9014 | A London-based architect has been making waves in the design industry with her vision of a stunning home powered by hydroelectricity. Margot Krasojevic's concept, Hydroelectric Tidal House, aims to harness the consistent and powerful movement of waves to generate energy. Ms Krasojevic is an avid supporter of renewable energy - previously designing an electric coral reef station and a hydroelectric prison. A London-based architect has been making waves in the design industry with her design of a stunning home powered by hydroelectricity. Margot Krasojevic's concept, Hydroelectric Tidal House, aims to harness the consistent and powerful movement of waves to generate energy . She explained that the construction will be focused around two shells - one inner and one outer. Made of concrete, the outer shell is designed to keep the house stable and will use solar cells to generate energy for the living section. The inner section, which will be made of aluminium, will move in cohesion with the tide. The section will float within the external structure as the tide rushes through it. As tides are more predictable than solar energy, Ms Krasojevic has included a two-part turbine, which, reacting with waves, will compress air to create an electrical current - similar to a wind turbine. The designer explained that the construction will be focused around two shells - one inner and one outer. Made of concrete, the outer shell is designed to keep the house stable and will use solar cells to generate energy for the living section . As tides are more predictable than solar energy, Ms Krasojevic has also included a two-part turbine (left), which, reacting with waves, will compress air to create an electrical current - similar to a wind turbine . Ms Krasojevic, 39, said: 'Designers approached me to design a surfers' beach house, which made me think of tidal power and using this dynamic in a similar way to how surfers choreograph movement through water.' Pictured is the exterior staircase of the home . The second part of the turbine uses magnets that move along a copper wire, also generating electrical energy. Ms Krasojevic, 39, said: 'The hydroelectric house is the latest in my design approach, attempting to harness renewable energy within sustainable design. 'Designers approached me to design a surfers' beach house, which made me think of tidal power and using this dynamic in a similar way to how surfers choreograph movement through water. Coral reefs are known as the ‘rainforests of the sea’ and although they only occupy a total area half the size of France, they provide a home for a quarter of all marine species on the planet. Now Margot Krasojevic has shared designs for a futuristic manmade reef with an electric field designed to attract calcium carbonate from the water in a bid to form new reefs quickly. In her vision, the reef would be formed from a framework of moveable steel girders and steel ball structures, designed in a way to support the growth of natural coral. Large ‘metal balls’ would be connected by cables to floating solar panels on the water’s surface so an electrical current can be generated.The current would draw particles of calcium to small pieces of natural coral attached to steel frames below the water, in a bid to stimulate further growth. It would be low enough for divers to swim around the structure - which looks as it if comes from a sci-fi film – but strong enough to create an electric field around the frame. The field would condense dissolved calcium carbonate in the seawater so that it could attach itself to the steel frame in order to build the limestone skeleton. And the coral fragments tied to the calcium carbonate-covered frame would help limestone skeleton growth, which is the foundation for natural corals. The inner section, which will be made of aluminium, will move in cohesion with the tide. That movement will run a turbine which will then generate electricity for living . Ms Krasojevic is a supporter of renewable energy - previously designing an electric coral reef station and a hydroelectric prison. Pictured is her latest designs . 'I believe it is vital for architects to work with cross disciplines - in particular, planning infrastructure and sustainability' Earlier this year, Ms Krasojevic unveiled a design for champagne bar that will be the toast of Paris if it is built before the French capital is threatened by another flood. Located on the banks of the Seine, the ultramodern structure – dubbed Grand Cru du Siecle – would have an enclosed circular glass bar situated over a bell mouth spillway that swallows water and sends it into underground canals. According to Ms Krasojevic's splashy proposal, the water is then diverted into outlying lakes and reservoirs. As for the bar itself, it features a monocoque shell that welcomes natural light and etched glass like that of a bottle of bubbly. The second part of the turbine (right) uses magnets that move along a copper wire, also generating electrical energy. The architect's designs are still at concept stage . The inner section will float within the external structure (pictured) as the tide rushes through it. Ms Krasojevic also unveiled designs for a floating champagne bar . | Margot Krasojevic's concept, Hydroelectric Tidal House, aims to harness the consistent movement of waves .
London-based designer explained that the construction will be focused on two shells - one inner and one outer .
Made of concrete, the outer shell is designed to keep structure stable and will use solar cells to generate energy .
Inner section will move in cohesion with the tide, and a turbine will compress air to create an electric current . |
16b2e078a98f899097b290fcd3598f34ddb5854b | By . Jill Reilly . PUBLISHED: . 10:25 EST, 2 September 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 10:37 EST, 2 September 2013 . A plan to make teenage girls undergo virginity tests in an Indonesian city has sparked outrage. Muhammad Rasyid, head of the education office in South Sumatra's district of Prabumulih, said he wants to start the tests next year to discourage premarital sex and protect against prostitution. But Indonesian officials have dismissed the proposal as unethical. Outrage: A plan to make teenage girls undergo virginity tests to enter senior high school in an Indonesian city has sparked outrage (file photo) The country's education minister Education Minister Mohammad Nuh dismissed the plans saying:'If the goal is improvement, so that our children avoid negative things, . there are more noble ways,' Education Minister Mohammad Nuh reportedly . told reporters at the State Palace in Jakarta. 'If they are not virgins, then what? Will they not be allowed to go to school?' asked the minister, according to Khabar. After the outcry Rasyid decided to clarify his statement to the Jakarta Post newspaper. Questions: 'If they are not virgins, then what? Will they not be allowed to go to school?' asked education minister . 'We never planned a virginity test for female students,' he wrote, reported Al Jazeera. 'We were only approving the request made by the parents of a student after she was accused of no longer being a virgin by a suspect in a human trafficking case.' Aris Merdeka Sirait of the National Commission for Child Protection, said the plan was 'just aimed for popularity' reported The Telegraph. 'Loss of virginity is not merely because of sexual activities. It could be caused by sports or health problems and many other factors,' Sirait said. 'We strongly oppose this very excessive move.' Indonesia is a predominantly Islamic country, with more than 200million Muslims living in the South-East Asian nation. | Head of the education office in South Sumatra's district proposed plan .
He wanted to start the tests next year to discourage premarital sex .
But Indonesian officials have dismissed the proposal as unethical . |
16b327323e24923ea27a9a145508ef022ce9f019 | Mauricio Pochettino has admitted he will have to wait until the last minute before knowing if Hugo Lloris will be fit to face the side that put 11 goals past him last season. The France goalkeeper pulled out of his country’s fixture against Armenia on Tuesday because of a thigh problem, which leaves Pochettino unsure of his fitness for Saturday’s clash at Manchester City. Lloris returned to Tottenham on Wednesday, but will undergo assessment on Friday to see if he is fit to face a side that trounced Spurs 5-1 and 6-0 last season. Hugo Lloris is a doubt for Tottenham's visit to Manchester City after missing France's game with Armenia . The Frenchman has been in fine form for Mauricio Pochettino's side in the Premier League this season . Summer signing Michel Vorm will start in Lloris's place if he fails to recover in time for Saturday's match . Asked if Lloris was able to play, Pochettino said: ‘Maybe, maybe, maybe. Hugo arrived on Wednesday but we need to analyse and to test and we have another day to decide. ‘All players are important. Hugo, yes, is our keeper that we use more than another but we need all players to be fit. We need to wait for tomorrow (Friday) to analyse and then decide.’ Michel Vorm would deputise in the event that Lloris is ruled out, while Nacer Chadli is also a significant doubt after missing Belgium’s clash against Bosnia and Herzegovina on Monday with a hip problem. Belgium international Nacer Chadli, who scored against Arsenal earlier this season, is another doubt for Spurs . Chadli scored in Belgium's win against Andorra on October 10 but missed their subsequent game with Bosnia . Tottenham travel to the Etihad Stadium with an unbeaten away record, while City have occasionally looked shaky at home in defence of their title. Pochettino, who insisted he will not dwell on last season’s hammerings, said: ‘You never know if it is a good or bad time to play them. The most important thing is we arrive in a good moment. After our victory against Southampton we need to keep the momentum and reproduce the same action during the game against Southampton and try to get the three points but you never know.’ He added: ‘The reality is I don’t remember the results (from last season). It is important this is another season. This is another philosophy, another game. We need to arrive on Saturday to get the points that is the more important thing. ‘It is not important to think in the past. It is important to look forward.’ | Hugo Lloris is a doubt for Tottenham's next Premier League fixture against Manchester City after missing France's match with Armenia on Tuesday .
Summer signing Michel Vorm will deputise if the Frenchman is ruled out .
Lloris will undergo tests on Friday to see if he is fit to play at the Etihad .
Spurs were trounced 5-1 and 6-0 by Manuel Pellegrini's side last season .
Mauricio Pochettino wants Spurs to pick up where they left off before the international break, when they beat his former team Southampton . |
16b5b36e7015c9b6e183bebf1e2517e799b33e44 | By . Tara Brady . PUBLISHED: . 02:39 EST, 7 August 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 08:05 EST, 7 August 2013 . Poor performances by Britain's elite swimmers has been blamed on them training in the 'wrong water' by a top coach. Bill Furniss, head of British Swimming, says perfect conditions at Sheffield's Ponds Forge pool hampers competitors because they cannot replicate their fast times anywhere else in the world. Britain's swimmers won less than half the expected medals at the London 2012 Olympics last year and in the recent World Championships in Barcelona. Perfect: Ideal conditions at Sheffield's Ponds Forge pool is hampering competitors because they cannot replicate their fast times anywhere else in the world . Top national and international competitions and trials are held at Ponds Forge which was built for the 1991 World Student Games. The pool is well known for recording fast times because of its design and consistency of the water. The amount of ozone and oxygen in the water helps improve buoyancy and the depth and design cuts down the resistance. But Furniss says the perfect conditions means swimmers can't reproduce their fast times. Britain's head swimming coach Bill Furniss (left) and former Olympic swimmer . Steve Parry (right) both believe training in Sheffield's Ponds Forge pool is . putting swimmers at a disadvantage . He said: 'Sheffield is a problem. I don't want trials there. In the future we will question that. I would rather use slower pools. 'It is a fast pool and these guys swim there all the way through their career.' Former British international swimmer Steve Parry agrees with Furniss. He said: 'Most people don't spend their lives in competitive swimming so to hear of a fast pool does sound daft but it's proved to be very fast. 'Ponds Forge seems to have the perfect depth of three metres because it's all to do with the resistance in the water and also there's the consistency of the water. 'Because it's got ozone and oxygen in it, it's very buoyant so that allows people to swim faster as well. 'Ponds Forge is just a fantastic facility. It is a victim of its own success because it is so good. All our swimmers go there, post really fast times and then can't replicate it later in the year. I think that's working against them.' | British swimming coach says perfect conditions at Sheffield's Ponds Forge pool hampers competitors .
Bill Furness believes swimmers cannot replicate their fast times anywhere else in the world .
The pool is known for its ideal conditions because of its design and consistency of the water . |
16b70d58e78a32be4634bfb840d474ca00f0c8e2 | By . Alex Sharp . Colombia striker Radamel Falcao is one of the hottest properties in world football and it appears that as well as having a good shot he strikes a mean baseball, too. The Monaco forward missed the World Cup with a knee injury and is continuing his rehabilitation before the start of the French Ligue 1 season begins. In a video posted on his Instagram account, Falcao displays his baseball skills and smashed one dangerously close to a friend at the other end of the nets. VIDEO Scroll down to watch Falcao nearly wipe out his friend with a baseball . Taking aim: Falcao continued his recovery from a knee injury with a baseball session . The striker will be looking to find the net when his rehabilitation is complete. However, in his absence, Monaco have been in impressive pre-season form, unbeaten and . scoring for fun. Former Spurs striker Dimitar Berbatov has been notching up the . goals whilst Falcao has been sidelined. However with fellow Colombian James Rodriguez signing for . Real Madrid, it seems the 28-year-old will be pivotal in Monaco’s pursuit of . trophies this campaign. Close call: The Monaco star can't help but laugh when his shot nearly hits his friend . Sharp shooter: Falcao is normally on target in front of goal but nearly hit his friend trying out baseball . Falcao has insisted he is . happy to remain at Monaco this season, stressing he believes in 'the . project' that is underway at the French side. Despite . reported interest from Spanish giants Real Madrid, where he would join former team-mate Rodriguez, Falcao . is not thinking of leaving the principality any time soon. He . said at a recent press conference: 'I believe in Monaco's project. I . want to stay here and play Champions League football with Monaco.' Sidelined: Monaco will be keen for Falcao, who scored nine goals in 17 appearances last season, to return to action very soon, especially with the sale of James Rodriguez to Real Madrid this week . | Missed the World Cup for Colombia with a knee injury .
Falcao is happy to stay at Monaco this season despite Real Madrid interest .
The Colombian scored an impressive nine goals in 17 appearances last season before a serious knee injury curtailed his campaign . |
16b80e877d872e43069710569643eaa70da136df | By . Anna Hodgekiss . Author Zoe Strimpel says Facebook bombards single women with pictures of 'perfect' weddings and babies, which causes envy and voyeurism . Single women should ditch Facebook because the 'perfect lives' of their friends are bad for their health, a relationship expert has warned. Author Zoe Strimpel says the social media site bombards singletons with pictures of 'perfect' weddings and babies which causes envy and voyeurism. She . said: 'What [Facebook] does is it enhances the sense that your life is . lacking and specifically, when you are single, you focus in on all those . pictures of perfect weddings, perfect babies, perfect couples. She urged single women to cut down or get rid of Facebook completely during a lecture at Cambridge’s Festival of Ideas. She . said getting rid of your profile will help 'limit that delicious but . yucky feeling of voyeurism, slight envy, maybe even narcissism.' Ms Strimpel, who wrote ‘Man Diet: One Woman’s Quest to End Bad Romance’, said the fairer sex also spends too much time monitoring potential suitors online. She said the ready availability of biographical information on Facebook encourages women to over-analyse potential dates. 'You become addicted to information that you might not need to know about, say, Joe the musician who you drunkenly snogged at a house warming, but who turns out has a girlfriend. 'Thanks to Facebook you may know his mother’s name, the details of his last holiday, the names of his exes, who he is hanging around with. 'This is not healthy or helpful information, plus it gives the impression that these men are more in your life than they actually are, which is quite corrosive. 'There’s plenty of psychology that supports taking a break from social media.' On a more positive note. The Joy of Sex rewriter Susan Quilliam told the same conference modern women have never had it better in bed. The psychologist, single at 63 after her marriage of 25 years ended, said women are free to enjoy sex - unlike her mother who didn’t know what her clitoris was. Ms Strimpel said the site 'enhances the sense that your life is lacking and specifically, when you are single, you focus in on all those pictures of perfect weddings, perfect babies, perfect couples' (file picture) She said: 'I can, if I so wish, go out and sleep with somebody tonight without opprobrium, without being told I’m a slut. 'Well there are some people who will still think I’m a slut, but largely we are lucky. 'We . are lucky post pill and post the Abortion Act to be able to know and . decide where, what, who, how and also whether and where to look for sex - . and where things are and what to do with them. 'My mother admitted to me she did not know what her clitoris was.' Ms . Strimpel and Ms Quilliam were joined by The Erotic Review founder Rowan . Pelling to discuss ‘How to be a single woman in 2013, whether you’re 25 . or 60’. Explaining the inspiration for her book, Ms Strimpel added: 'I was 28 and I just had broken up with a boyfriend - "‘Oh my God I’m single, I’d better act single". She added that the wealth of information available on Facebook encourages women to over-analyse potential dates. 'This is not healthy or helpful information, plus it gives the impression that these men are more in your life than they actually are, which is quite corrosive' 'I’ve got to in some way channel Samantha from Sex and the City. What this meant was seeing a lot of men, most of whom I didn’t particularly like, and going on dates even when I would have preferred to stay in with a cup of tea and a book. 'It meant a lot of drinking, a lot of staying out late and feeling hungover at work, which was horrible. 'It meant telling a lot of funny stories about my capers to my friends, who loved it and they wanted more and more, and spending a lot time worrying about various guys that I don’t even remember now. 'There was fun goodness and yucky badness. For some reason the badness was getting the upper hand.' | Zoe Strimpel says the social media site .
bombards singletons with pictures of 'perfect' weddings and babies, which .
causes envy and voyeurism .
Is bad for health as enhances the sense that a single person's life is .
lacking .
Wealth of information available on Facebook about potential suitors can also make women feel closer to them than they are - which is 'quite corrosive' |
16b88134069b5aa2af1397229149b6549e0e8d4d | By . Nadia Gilani . Last updated at 9:58 AM on 15th December 2011 . Miner: Foreman Trevor Steeples was overcome by methane gas while 2,300ft underground at Daw Mill in June 2006 . A judge today ordered Britain’s biggest mining firm to pay £1.2 million in fines and costs after he heard how four miners died following safety breaches in four separate incidents. UK Coal admitted offences under health and safety laws in relation to the deaths of Trevor Steeples, Paul Hunt, Anthony Garrigan and Paul Milner. Mr Steeples, Mr Hunt and Mr Garrigan died following incidents at Daw Mill colliery, near Coventry in 2006 and 2007. Mr Milner died after an incident at the now-closed Welbeck Colliery, in Nottinghamshire, in 2007. Mr Justice MacDuff said at Sheffield Crown Court he would not impose a penalty so high it would cripple a company suffering real financial problems. He said UK Coal would be fined £112,500 in relation to each incident and would pay a further £187,500 in costs in each case. But he urged the families of the dead men to focus on the total combined financial penalty for the firm. The judge said: 'These were, of course, dreadful accidents. They were preventable accidents. 'However, unlike most criminal acts, there was no intention to kill or injure. 'But the law rightly demands a high duty of care by employers for the safety of their employees and other workers. 'Mining is and will remain a dangerous occupation. These accidents all occurred in the depths of the earth.' Safety breaches: Mr Steeples, Mr Hunt and Mr Garrigan died following incidents at Daw Mill colliery pictured . 'This is not easy work - neither in conception nor in execution. But safety is paramount in the modern world. 'Long gone are the days of 60 and more years ago, when men were allowed to die and suffer dreadful injury in pursuit of profits for coal owners.' Prosecutor Rex Tedd told an earlier . hearing that the miners were in the habit of riding the train rather . than taking a long walk to the coal face but management did nothing to . stop the practice. He said: 'The practice continued . because there was no practical alternative given the gruelling nature of . the journey which otherwise had to be done on foot.' The judge today told the court: 'In each . of the cases the death would have been prevented if proper safe systems . of working had been in place - and if those systems had been enforced.' Bob Leeming, HM Inspector of Mines, left said there had been 16 deaths in pits in the last five-and-a-half years and right Andrew Mackintosh, UK Coal's director of communications . But he added: 'I am not sure that that is entirely true in respect of the death of Mr Steeples. In his case the major cause of death was dereliction of duty by a number of his colleagues who, unbeknown to senior management, unaccountably, and probably unforeseeably, failed in their duties.' Paul Hunt, 45, a contractor, of Swadlingcote, Derbyshire died after falling off an underground train at Daw Mill. He was riding on the leading car facing backwards as it reached the surface following the one-in-four climb. The driver nearly stalled the train then put on speed which jolted the cars throwing off Mr Hunt. 'He was dislodged and fell to the track and was struck by the train with tragic results,' said Rex Tedd, prosecuting. Trevor Steeples, 46, a foreman, was overcome by methane gas while 2,300ft underground at Daw Mill in June, 2006. Anthony Garrigan, 42, of Thorne, near Doncaster was killed at Daw Mill when he was trapped under a 100-tonne rock fall. Changes had been made to the roof of a tunnel and short support bolts used which put stress on the sides. Previous rock falls had been reported but the information was not passed to the Mining Inspectorate until the tragedy. Two months before his death, a miner received deep cuts to his arm as he leaped clear of a fall. Mr Garrigan, a contractor, was due to operate a bulldozer but it was under repair so he was switched to a three-man team. The others were drilling when the rock fell and buried him. despite 'exceptional' rescue efforts he died. A fourth miner Paul Milner, 44, was fatally injured at Welbeck Colliery when a shaft gave way trapping him under a rock. Production on the seam had stopped and a salvaging operation was taking place after a new code of practice had been drawn up. Mr Tedd said the code, which provided for temporary roof supports, was 'ignored' on site. The judge said he had a difficult task as UK Coal was suffering financially and had seen its share price fall from £5 to 29p in the time since the accidents. He also said the firm had made a 'massive investment in safety measures' since new senior management took over. He said there had been an enormous improvement in the defendant’s safety record. The judge said: 'Coal mining used to be a part of the fabric of our society - particularly here in South Yorkshire. 'In spite of the privatisation of the mines and the closure of so many of them in recent years, coal is still needed. 'UK Coal is an important contributor to the economy of the United Kingdom. 'Coal mined within the defendant’s mines makes a significant contribution to the generation of the nation’s electricity.' He . said the company was 'trading on the edge of viability'. He said: 'It . would be in no one’s interest if the company ceased to trade or if it . had to reduce further the scope of its operations.' Anne . Steeples the mother of Trevor Steeples said after the hearing: . 'Our . family are relieved that UK Coal has been fined over the tragic deaths . of four men but are bitterly disappointed at the outcome of the trial . regarding Trevor’s death. 'Somebody was to blame. We know who they are and they will have to live with this knowledge for the rest of their lives.' During . sentencing the judge remarked that the cause of Mr Steeples’ death was . 'dereliction of duty' by a 'number of his colleagues who unbeknown to . senior management unaccountably and probably unforseeably failed in . their duties. 'One of those fellow workmen made false recordings of oxygen and methane levels upon which reliance was placed. 'These dishonestly recorded that he had taken readings when he had not. 'I . know that he lost his job as a consequence. Another fellow workman a . ventilation officer who had all the approriate training and . qualifications negligently authorised the use of of a fan which far from . improving matters was in fact positioned so as to prevent the . circulation of fresh air. Safety breaches: Mr Steeples, Mr Hunt and Mr Garrigan died following incidents at Daw Mill colliery pictured . 'This was a major contributor to the asphyxiating conditions in which the the unfortunate Mr Steeles found himself.' In respect of the other three deaths the judge said risk were taken, codes of practice not enforced and safe systems of working were either 'not in place or were not followed', . Bob Leeming, HM Inspector of Mines said afterwards: 'We are concerned about safety in pits. 'Over the last five-and-a-half years there have been 16 fatalities whereas before Trevor’s death there was only one in five years. 'The series of fatal accidents we have had have caused us great concern and we are putting pressure on the industry to reverse that trend. | UK Coal admitted offences under health .
and safety laws in relation to the deaths of four miners at Daw Mill and Welbeck Colliery .
Judge said he would not impose a penalty so high it would cripple a company suffering financial problems . |
16ba247491e2da5d760f36f8f8e6f54dc15514aa | By . Nazia Parveen . PUBLISHED: . 10:22 EST, 31 December 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 20:44 EST, 31 December 2012 . The girlfriend of a school prefect who disappeared weeks after becoming a father broke down in tears yesterday as she showed off their baby in an attempt to persuade him to come home. Anthony Stubbs vanished in November, shortly after his 18-year old girlfriend Charlotte Mason gave birth to their daughter Lily. He told her he was going to his mother’s home a ten-minute walk away but his family have not seen or heard from him since and his bank account remains untouched. Tearful: Charlotte Mason cries while holding daughter Lily as she tried to persuade boyfriend Anthony Stubbs at a news conference today . Missing: Anthony Stubbs with baby Lily on the day she was born but he has now been missing for more than a month . Anthony, 16, had moved in with Miss Mason and Lily, despite concern from his family that it could affect his schooling. It is believed that the Year 11 pupil . had been struggling with the pressures of fatherhood and vanished after . having a row with his girlfriend. Yesterday Miss Mason, who had been . dating Anthony for almost two years, wept as she appeared with their . baby daughter at a police press conference. She cuddled four-month-old Lily in her arms as she pleaded for her teenage boyfriend to return home. Difficult: Charlotte and Anthony's mother Denise Machin speak to the media and say they believed he would come home for Christmas . Distraught: Charlotte Mason says she is struggling to cope with what has happened and hopes their beautiful child Lily will persuade him to return . Life: Despite concerns from his family about his schooling, Anthony set up home with Charlotte and Lily at a house in Leyland, Lancashire . ‘It’s completely out of character for . Anthony to go missing,’ she said. ‘We just want to know that he is safe, . it is the not knowing which is so upsetting. ‘We’ve been together for nearly two . years now and this was Lily’s first Christmas which I know Anthony was . really looking forward to. He had even bought her a stocking before she . was born. ‘Anthony was so proud when Lily . arrived, he is a great dad and I just want him to come home and give her . a cuddle; Lily’s missing her daddy. ‘Anthony we just want to know you are safe, please just get in touch and let us know you’re OK.’ Anthony, from Leyland in Lancashire, . found out he was going to be a father when he was 15 and had just . celebrated his 16th birthday when Lily was born in September. His mother, Denise Machin, 34, said: . ‘I have still got all his presents under the tree from family and . friends. I honestly thought that he would be back Christmas Eve because . he loves Christmas. Couple: Anthony pictured with girlfriend Charlotte Mason who gave birth to baby Lily in September . Missing poster: Anthony Stubbs shown in his school uniform as police hunt for him after he vanished just after he became a father at 16 . Glimpse: CCTV images show the last known steps taken by Anthony on November 25 . ‘I just don’t know why he has done . this. It’s been very hard because me and Anthony were always close. He . could come and tell me anything. ‘This is out of character to walk out and not tell me or his family anything. It is very, very strange. ‘I just want him to come home. If he . is not ready, just ring to say he is fine. It’s the not knowing. I don’t . know where he’s gone. I just want someone to tell me my son is safe.’ The teenager was last seen as he . walked with his school bag over his shoulder near to the Seven Stars pub . in Leyland on Sunday, November 25, at 12.55pm. The day before he went missing, he failed to attend a family gathering where his grandparents were renewing their wedding vows. Disappearance: Anthony has not been seen for more than a month in a situation that has left Charlotte and the rest of the family huge upset . Close: Anthony Stubbs and girlfriend Charlotte Mason together with pet dog . Anthony, who enjoys music and outdoor pursuits, was studying for his GCSEs at Wellfield Business and Enterprise College. He is described as being of slim . build, clean-shaven, with blue eyes and around 5ft 9in tall. His natural . hair colour is mousey brown, but he dyes it black. Detective Inspector John Entwisle, of . Lancashire Police, said: ‘We are chasing down every lead and sighting . but there has been nothing positive so far. People have come forward but . not as much as we would like. We are working through all Anthony’s . contacts and we would encourage anybody with information about his . whereabouts to let us know. ‘I would also like to make a direct . appeal to Anthony: You’re not in any trouble, we just want you to make . contact with us or your family so that we know you are safe.’ | Anthony Stubbs disappeared on November 25 - just after baby Lily was born .
Charlotte Mason sobbed at press conference today as she held their child .
Teenager has not been seen at all and his bank account is untouched . |
16ba4aaf7d96240f483846054d890e83f5fe4d5a | By . Harish V Nair . Vineeta Aron, a resident of Andrews Ganj near South Extension market, is still recovering from a leg fracture she sustained in a recent scooter accident. Aron's was no ordinary accident. It was around 8 am, and the traffic was still light when the 32-year-old was chased and attacked by a pack of stray dogs. Prince and the stray dog: Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales, and Founder and Executive Director of Katha, Geeta Dharmarajan looking at a stray dog as they leave after a visit to the Katha Lab school in New Delhi . Almost . 25 residents . get bitten . by the canines . in Delhi . every day . As the snarling dogs closed in, Aron panicked and crashed her two-wheeler into a tree. She was fortunate that the pack dispersed, or dog-bite treatment would have been added to a broken leg. Across the Yamuna, 59-year-old businessman Babu Menon has stopped going for a morning walk in Patparganj's neat grid of apartment complexes. He fears the stray dogs that seem to skulk in every shadow. "Many joggers have already got bitten and I am scared," he says. Aron and Menon are but two of thousands of Delhi residents living in mortal fear of man's best friends of the stray kind. The city has already reported 8,783 cases of dog bites this year, an increase of nearly 30 per cent over last year. That's almost 25 Delhi residents being bitten by a dog-or dogs-every day of the year, or one every hour. The North Corporation area was the worst-bitten with 4,388 cases while South and East Corporation reported 2,695 and 1,700 cases. A survey conducted just before the . trifurcation of the civic body reported 3.6 lakh stray dogs in Delhi. The number has gone up to over 4 lakh since then. Their sex ratio is 51:49 (1,84,000 male and 1,28,000 female dogs). Steps at birth control have been a spectacular failure as only less than half of the animals could be sterilised. A . recent survey commissioned by civic corporations says at least 70 per . cent of the canines must be sterilised for any significant effect on the . Capital's canine population. The . Delhi High Court last week asked the Animal Welfare Board to oversee . the effort for controlling the stray dog population, and ensure ready . availability of antirabies vaccination in hospitals. The court was acting on a PIL filed by lawyer SK Singh that sought the court's intervention into the city's dog bite problem. The trigger for the PIL was 25 people falling victim to dog bites within a span of a month recently inside the AIIMS campus. Two resident doctors and a senior doctor's wife were among the victims. A survey report filed by East Delhi . Municipal Corporation in the Delhi High Court touches on the key reason . for anti-stray dog drive ending in a whimper. The . three corporations, NDMC and Delhi Cantonment Board are mainly banking . on several animal rights NGOs to carry out sterilisation drive as they . do not have the necessary resources. "While all the NGOs are willing to intensify the work to achieve the 70 per cent target, there are many shortcomings. NGOs lack infrastructure, payments to them are delayed and they are entrusted too many areas," the report says. "MCD . has created the entire problem. They have entrusted 78 veterinary units . to the animal husbandry department that has no experience of animal . birth control measures," says Sonya Ghosh, noted animal rights activist . and founder of NGO Citizens for the Welfare and Protection of Animals. There is no law in . India to tackle the . menace of stray . dogs . Parliament pooches: Some dogs take a nap on the stairs at the seat of the government . | 8,783 dog bites this year spread rabies fears .
Survey says 70 per cent of four lakh dogs need to be sterilised .
High Court wants dog numbers controlled . |
16ba9f265991a2b914555b531a671928e3ab2039 | (CNN) -- "One of the unfortunate realities of policing," New York police Commissioner William Bratton said after the killings of Officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu, "is that you put that blue uniform on and you become part of the thin blue line between us and anarchy." This "Thin Blue Line" concept, which first appeared in a 1966 police documentary, reflects the conservative worldview of police culture. Most citizens can be forgiven for going through their day without thinking of anarchy or barbarians storming the gates. But many police, especially in New York City, see themselves as a thin blue line besieged by both a liberal and criminal world, neither of which they particularly like or understand. Large protests, especially when they're anti-police, solidify this belief because police see firsthand just how thin their blue line actually is. Police know they are outnumbered and sometimes outgunned, even while presenting a front of dominance and control. At any given moment, in this city of 8.4 million people, there are close to 6,000 police officers on duty. Certainly there are more than 6,000 violent criminals. Last year there were 86,000 felony arrests in New York. Were these felons able to rise up en masse, it's not just the police who would be overwhelmed. When I was a police officer in Baltimore, I would drive around and put out one brush fire after another. It would have been easy to be overwhelmed by the lives broken by repeated bad choices, by the mentally ill, the children who grow up without hope, another murder victim, the literal stink of society's least wanted and the sheer magnitude of human idiocy. As to police danger, it shouldn't be overstated (police officers are paranoid enough as is), but the danger isn't just in the small though real risk of being attacked and killed. What screws with your head is the constant occupational demand of hyper alertness -- of having to engage with and confront danger, and always on danger's terms. When I cleared a drug corner, sometimes I couldn't help but wonder why the dealers didn't just jump me. Effective compliance is as much earned as ordered, but I don't think they obeyed me because they liked me (at least I hope not). Bluster aside, my job and safety depended on respect and deference to my authority. That said, some of the thin blue line rhetoric is less about public and personal safety than political ideology (and contract negotiations). Of course, many police hate Mayor Bill de Blasio (just as they hate President Barack Obama). Police tend to be conservative. The last time New York had both a liberal mayor and contract negotiations, police actually rioted. Drunken officers rushed the steps of City Hall, damaged cars and slandered Mayor David Dinkins with racial epithets. Reporters were attacked. Police even took over the Brooklyn Bridge. Ideology aside, there's no evidence that Democrats are worse for police. Despite the horrible assassinations of Liu and Ramos, we have not seen any sustained increase in violence directed toward New York City police officers. Nationwide and in New York, line-of-duty deaths have been on the decline since 1970 through Republican and Democratic administrations. Indeed, they've fallen during the Obama years. In a democratic society, we demand a lot from our police, as we should. We owe police and each other respect and lawful compliance. In return, and without being subservient on the job, police must remain public servants. Police need to show greater empathy and tolerance for disagreeing and even disagreeable citizens, including elected officials. But when the mayor, the President or the attorney general are seen -- incorrectly in my opinion -- as being "anti-police," this is viewed as more than a personal slight to police. Refusing a lawful order, resisting arrest or taking the side of a criminal in a fight with police is not just a "reasonable people can disagree" situation. An attack on the thin blue line is perceived as an existential threat to working policemen and women. Blame politicians for idiotic laws; blame society for racial injustice; blame the war on drugs for mass incarceration; blame a violent gun culture; blame poverty. We can improve society without blaming police officers. And we also need to move beyond the thin blue line. We can do better. | Peter Moskos: Many police see themselves as a "Thin Blue Line" besieged by criminals, liberals .
Police tend to be conservative, but no evidence Democrats are worse for police, he says .
An attack on the thin blue line is perceived as a personal and existential threat, Moskos says .
Moskos: Police must accept disagreement from citizens, officials and see beyond blue line . |
16bad8166270327da0635b3b883ade48f182e0a5 | By . Ryan Kisiel . She weighs less than 10st and wears a dress size ten. So it might be assumed a diet of fruit and vegetables play a part in Faye Campbell’s lifestyle. But she claims she hasn’t touched either for 16 years. Indeed, the 21-year-old says she has been diagnosed with a fear of fruit and vegetables. Scroll down for video . Faye Campbell, 21, only eats junk food - she has never eaten fruit or vegetables. Despite her poor diet, she is a size ten and weighs just 9st 12lb . She . says she has survived on a diet of cheeseburgers, pizza and chips. The . only ‘fruit’ she consumes is the flavouring in sugary fizzy drinks. But remarkably, despite her junk food diet, Miss Campbell, who is 5ft 8in tall, weighs just 9st 12lb. The . care worker, who lives in Stowmarket, Suffolk, was an extremely fussy . eater as a child. At her wits’ end, her mother Carolyn took her to the . doctor after failed attempts to hide vegetables in her meals. She . was apparently diagnosed with the digestive disorder gastroesophageal . reflux. The condition, which causes chronic indigestion and heartburn, . meant she was left in agony after eating. Miss Campbell developed a phobia of . food because of a painful digestive disorder she suffered from as a . child. Until she was 15 she only ate chips . Miss Campbell said: 'The thought of eating vegetables or any sort of fruit just makes me feel physically sick. Even putting them near my mouth terrifies me' But, . although it was possible to cure this, doctors found she had developed . lachanophobia – an extremely rare anxiety triggered by eating . vegetables. It is only after seeing a child psychologist that she started to eat foods such as pizza, burgers and cheese. Miss . Campbell said: ‘The thought of eating vegetables or any sort of fruit . just makes me feel physically sick. Even putting them near my mouth . terrifies me. ‘If mum is . cooking a roast dinner with vegetables I have to go into a different . room because I can’t stand the smell. 'Sometimes I have to open all the . windows to get rid of it. My family wish I could sit with them and have a . meal together, but I just can’t.’ Miss Campbell (pictured with her sister, Lauren) will leave the room if her mother is cooking vegetables as she cannot bear the smell - sometimes she has to open the windows to get rid of it . Miss Campbell's diet now consists of toast for breakfast, a large pizza from Dominos for lunch and cheeseburgers for dinner. She eats potatoes - if they're served as chips or waffles - and she can handle fruit - if it comes in fizzy drink form - but just the smell of any other vegetable is enough to turn her stomach . Miss Campbell (pictured at the age of six) had gastroesophageal reflux as a child. The condition, which causes chronic indigestion and heartburn, meant she was left in agony after eating . Miss Campbell (pictured with her sister, Lauren) said: 'I still can't bring myself to eat a roast or a home-made lasagne. It took me a good couple of years to get used to the other foods and I'm still fussy with that' Miss Campbell (pictured as a baby) has, amazingly, avoided ill health despite her poor diet . Miss Campbell (pictured aged five) said: 'I would like to eat like a normal person, but until I can overcome my phobia of food, then that day won't happen for a long time' Miss . Campbell’s typical day starts with toast for breakfast, a large . high-calorie pizza from Domino’s take-away for lunch and frozen . cheeseburgers with chips for dinner. She can only eat potatoes if they are served as waffles or chips and until she was 15 they were her sole diet. Miss . Campbell says her strange eating habits have also affected her love . life with many romantic dates being swapped from expensive restaurants . for McDonald’s.Dr Carrie Ruxton, from the Health Supplements Information . Service, said: ‘This lady is risking her health with such a restricted . diet. ‘The total lack of . fruit and vegetables is worrying as these provide essential nutrients, . such as vitamin C, for immune function support, vitamin A, for eyesight, . potassium for blood pressure control. And magnesium and calcium, for . healthy bones. ‘People with low intakes of fruit and vegetables have a higher risk of cancer, particularly bowel cancer, and heart disease.’ | Faye Campbell, 21, will only eat pizza, chips and cheeseburgers .
Until age 15 she only ate chips - she has never eaten fruit or vegetables .
Developed a food phobia after suffering a digestive condition as a child - caused her to suffer severe heartburn if she ate anything other than chips .
She is only a size 10 and says doesn't have any health problems as a result of her poor diet . |
16bca8ba118af5a6ef4250efb1c95ef8e308fed5 | (CNN) -- It was one of the worst genocides since the Nazi era. The brutal Khmer Rouge took over Cambodia in 1975 and terrorized the population for four years, killing more than one million people. One of its infamous leaders died Thursday, escaping judgment for war crimes at the hands of a U.N. tribunal. Ieng Sary passed away in the capital Phnom Penh at age 87, the United Nations-backed court for Cambodia said. He was the foreign minister under, and the brother-in-law-of, Khmer Rouge dictator Pol Pot. On Tuesday, he was hospitalized for stomach pains. The Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia -- the U.N.-backed court -- will establish the cause of death before releasing his body to his family. Ieng Sary's death leaves just two defendants facing judgment by the tribunal. His wife, Ieng Thirith, was excluded from the case after she was deemed unfit to stand trial in September 2012. But charges of torture and murder will continue against the remaining defendants -- former nominal head of state Khieu Samphan and former prime minister Nuon Chea. Proceedings halted . Following Ieng Sary's death, Amnesty International asked the court to continue with its proceedings without delay. "The news of Ieng Sary's death will be difficult for the victims of the Khmer Rouge crimes who have waited so long for justice," said Rupert Abbott of the human rights group. The court has faced criticism that it has proceeded too slowly with the trial. The defendants are more than 77 years old, and more of them could die before facing judgment. On Tuesday, proceedings came to a grinding halt after local staffers walked out, saying they will not return until they are paid wages owed by the cash-strapped court for the last three months. A bloody period . Pol Pot came to power as a communist revolutionary after toppling the U.S. backed government in Phnom Penh, when American troops left the region in 1975 at the end of the Vietnam war. For the next four years, the communist Khmer Rouge under Pol Pot was blamed for the deaths of some 1.7 million people through torture, execution, hard labor and starvation. Pol Pot's rule became known as the era of the killing fields when cities were emptied and residents slaughtered. A Vietnamese invasion in 1979 forced the Khmer Rouge to retreat back to the jungle. The dictator died in 1998 before the tribunal's existence and never faced trial. Double jeopardy? The Vietnamese who invaded Cambodia quickly put Ieng Sary on trial and convicted him in absentia in 1979. When he defected from what remained of the broken Khmer Rouge regime in 1996, the Cambodian king pardoned him. The defense for Ieng Sary once argued that the case against him should be dismissed on grounds of double jeopardy -- a defendant cannot be tried twice for the same crime. The court considered the motion. CNN's Sara Sidner contributed to this report . | He escapes justice for alleged genocide .
Genocide in Cambodia in the 1970's killed more than a million .
The defendants are all over age 77, and critics say the trial is dragging on .
People in Cambodia have shown high interest in the trial . |
16bd56259e56e9f136127ebdc7357a16a5236068 | Whether hunching shoulders come from years of sitting at a desk or - let's face it - laziness, few of us are strangers to bad posture. Now a Parisian fashion firm hopes to turn that all around by bringing out a techy T-shirt which promises to help us stand tall again. Clever elastic film bands sewn into the upper section of the top apply gentle pressure to 'remind' wearers that they need to stand with their shoulders back. Scroll down for video . UpCouture's techy t-shirt promises to help us stand up straight again with the use of clever elastic film pieces sewn into the tops . Interestingly, the special film pieces are not tailored to follow the natural curves of the shoulders, and it took an 30 prototypes to reach the ideal Up T-Shirt pattern. Paris-based firm UpCouture have created the Up T-shirt, which 'encourages the holding of the shoulders in a beautiful position, which results in a higher and more appealing profile'. But beautiful posture won't come cheap. While it comes in different styles and designs for both men and women, one very basic Up T-Shirt comes in at £105 ($172). The tops are designed to not only make wearers look more presentable but spare them from back problems through use of the innovative and patented set of elastic bands. They are integrated into the t-shirt in a way that 'allows it to be comfortable and flexible'. Apparently the T-shirt is ‘most efficient when it is fitted' - so if you're undecided, go for a smaller size. This picture and diagram shows the inner workings and technology within the top . The top comes in at £105 for a basic style . Four years ago in January 2010 designers saw a gap in the market for a fashion-forward, comfortable posture-perfecting T-shirt. One of their first challenges was to create the correct balance of elastic forces. They looked to the anatomy for guidance and embarked on months of research and development. Designers finally decided upon an extra-thin film . with the perfect stress/strain ratio and 100 per cent recovery . power. The material is both sown and bonded to the garment. After designing a top featuring the ideal mix of forces for maximum efficiency and comfort, UpCouture patented their design and set up shop. They now deliver to most of Europe, North America and rest of world. Fancier necklines and coloured, printed designs will set buyers back slightly more . UpCouture integrate special elastic film which gently reminds the wearer to stand up straight . They fuse it into the structure of the top, making the clever function invisible to the naked eye . | Elastic sections sewn into upper section of the top apply light pressure .
Aims to gently remind wearers that they need to hold their shoulders back .
Online orders delivered to most of Europe, North America and rest of world . |
16bd6c4f158045354658c03d5cb82b5a20fb66c2 | (Wired.com) -- Editorial cartoonist Mark Fiore may be good enough to win this year's Pulitzer Prize, but he's evidently too biting to get past the auditors who run Apple's iPhone app store, who ruled that lampooning public figures violated its terms of service. Fiore irked Apple's censorious staffers with his cartoons making fun of the Balloon Boy hoax and the pair that famously crashed a White House party, according to Laura McGann at the Neiman Journalism Lab. Fiore won a Pulitzer Monday for animations he made for the SFGate, the online home of the San Francisco Chronicle. But Fiore, a freelancer who runs a syndication business, was rejected by Apple in December for an app called NewToons that features his work. According to a December 21 e-mail reprinted by Neiman, Apple rejected his app because it "contains content that ridicules public figures and is in violation of Section 3.3.14 from the iPhone Developer Program License Agreement which states: Applications may be rejected if they contain content or materials of any kind (text, graphics, images, photographs, sounds, etc.) that in Apple's reasonable judgment may be found objectionable, for example, materials that may be considered obscene, pornographic, or defamatory." Neither Fiore nor Apple responded to requests for comment. The news of the rejection comes not long after Apple decided to purge its app store of content that included nudity, a retroactive ban that included apps from respected German publications such as Bild and Der Spiegel. Fiore's rejection may be especially disconcerting to news and media organizations, many of which are betting heavily on iPad apps as a way to get users to pay to read magazines and newspapers, and to get advertisers to pay print-ad prices for online content. (Online ads cost a small percentage of what ads in glossy magazines cost, in no small part because the net has almost infinite advertising space.) Apple has built a little slab of Disneyland with its iPad, which is meant to be an experience unsullied by provocative or crude material. It's beautiful and enticing -- the company has already sold more than a half million of them in the first two weeks it's been available -- but it's not the real world. Publishers, including such august organizations such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and Wired.com's parent company Condé Nast, see a solution to their declining dead-tree ad sales in building a pay-to-play attraction in that park. But they need to understand that to do so, they have to play by Mickey Mouse's rules. The signs have been there from the start, as Wired.com's Brian Chen pointed out in February. Apple banned an e-book reading application once because it figured out that iPhone users could use it to read a free version of the Kama Sutra. Then last week, Apple abruptly banned apps developed using programs that translate apps into multiple platforms. Adding the news of Fiore's ban to that, the publishing world is now officially on notice that the iPad is Apple's, and unlike with their print and web editions, they don't have the final say when it comes to their own content on an Apple device. Subscribe to WIRED magazine for less than $1 an issue and get a FREE GIFT! Click here! Copyright 2010 Wired.com. | Apple ruled that Fiore's lampooning public figures violated its terms of service .
Fiore won a Pulitzer Monday for animations he made for the SFGate .
The rejection comes shortly after Apple purged its app store of content with nudity . |
16bd95277888d897b24fa6bee0e6ff3c7d88c53e | By . Katy Winter . A mother-of-two who decided to lose 11st in weight through dieting rather than accept the offer of NHS gastric surgery has inspired her overweight family to lose 18st between them. Lisa Robinson, 33, of Blyth, Northumberland, was offered a gastric band by her GP when she reached 21st 6lb after years of struggling with her weight. But Ms Robinson decided against surgery and chose instead to lose weight by switching to portion and calorie-controlled meals instead. By July 2011 Ms Robinson, pictured before she lost weight, was wearing size 30 clothing and was suffering with constant pain in her feet and knees . The family together following their shared weight loss journey. From left to right: Amy Mitchell, 24, David Kidd, 38, Lynda Kidd, 57, Lisa Robinson, 33 and Andy Snaith, 38 . Lisa dropped from 21st 6lb and size 30 (right) to 10st 1lb and size 10 (left) by ditching her junk food diet . As the weight fell away, her efforts inspired first her mother Lynda Kidd,57, who lost 3st, then her brother David Kidd, 38, who lost more than 7st, and his partner Amy Mitchell, 24, who lost more than 4st, and finally own her partner Andy Snaith, 38, who lost 4st. Together, the fabulous fat-fighting family has lost nearly 30st in weight - all thanks to Ms Robinson’s refusal to take the option of taxpayer-funded bariatric surgery . Ms Robinson, a care assistant, said: 'I knew instinctively a gastric band wouldn’t be the quick fix it’s sometimes made out to be. I’d seen people on television having to go on milk diets and becoming really miserable. I just couldn’t bear the idea of going without nice food. 'When I told my doctor ‘thanks but no thanks’ he was sceptical. He thought there was no way I could lose the weight on my own. 'My mum decided to join a slimming club with me for moral support. She was delighted when we lost our first few pounds together, and we kept it up. 'My brother was amazed at what we were doing and decided to give slimming club a go too. He met and fell in love with his partner Amy there. He got on so well that he came to lead a group himself. 'Then I began a relationship with David’s friend Andy. He was so impressed when I’d told him all that I’d achieved that he signed up for David’s class. 'Five months later I went back to the doctor having lost 5st, and he had to eat his words. It’s amazing to think about how much we’ve all changed. Sometimes I don’t recognise myself in the mirror.' Lisa's brother's girlfriend Amy Mitchell lost more than four st, pictured left after her weight loss . Ms Robinson, who is mother to Dylan, eight, and Caitlyn, six, was taunted by bullies in her teenage years because she was overweight. She said: 'Classmates called me ‘fatty’ and made thunder sounds as I walked past them.' When she was 19 she was diagnosed with polycystic ovaries which made weight control a challenge. She said: 'I ate shortbread and cakes out of habit, which didn’t help. I was trapped in a cycle where I would overeat. I felt there was no way out.' Lisa's boyfriend Andy Snaith has slimmed down from 19st 10lb (right) to 16st 4lb (left) By July 2011, Ms Robinson was wearing size 30 clothing and was suffering constant pain in her feet and knees. She said: 'My GP said I would be in a wheelchair within a year and informed me I would be eligible for an NHS-funded gastric band operation. 'I knew I didn’t want it. I love food. I had been prone to depression over the previous few years and I didn’t know how restricting myself to half a handful of beans at mealtimes would affect me. I couldn’t have that lifestyle. We wouldn’t be able to go out for family meals, for one thing.' Ms Robinson threw out all the fatty snack food in her house and learned how to cook healthy square meals using fresh, lean ingredients. Lisa's brother David managed to lose 6st 7lb, dropping down from 20st (right) to the 13st 7lb he is today . Before beginning her weight loss journey she would typically eat two egg and bacon sandwiches for breakfast, followed by tuna sandwiches and crisps for lunch, and finally a Chinese takeaway for dinner. She would snack on a stream of cakes and chocolates. Today, breakfast is typically made up of fruit and natural yogurt, followed by a chicken salad for dinner, with beef and fresh vegetables for evening meal. Ms Robinson’s mother, Lynda Kidd, a supermarket worker, slimmed from 13st to 10st after joining the same Slimming World group and following a similar eating plan. Then her brother David Kidd, a retail salesman, decided to emulate his sister’s success by joining a group in January 2012. He managed to lose 6st 7lb, dropping down from 20st to the 13st 7lb he is today. Lisa’s mother, Lynda Kidd, shrunk from 13st (right) to 10st (left) after following a similar eating plan . Mr Kidd said: 'I’d completely fallen out of the habit of exercising and watching my food. That I regained my motivation is all thanks to Lisa. I thought, ‘if she can do this, I can too’. 'Lisa and Amy met at the slimming club and that’s how me and Amy came to be together. When I think of the positive way my life has changed, I feel like the luckiest man in the world.” Miss Mitchell, Mr Kidd’s partner, has lost 4st 4lb since starting her own slimming programme. Then, in January 2013, Ms Robinson met her partner, port worker Andy Snaith, during a night out. She said: 'Andy was a big lad then. He couldn’t believe I’d lost so much weight. He surprised himself that he got on so well in David’s class.' In total the group have lost an astonishing 30st between them and have transformed their lives . Mr Snaith has slimmed down from 19st 10lb to 16st 4lb. In the 18 months Ms Robinson shrank down to 11st 4lb. Today she is 10st 1lb and can wear size 10 dresses. In June 2013, Ms Robinson travelled to Poland for an operation to remove excess skin on her stomach which was causing constant irritation. She decided to pay £3,500 to fund the operation privately because the NHS requires a two-year waiting period for such procedures. This year Ms Robinson secured NHS funding for a final operation to remove excess skin from her chest, arms and legs. She is now looking forward to a healthy future with her new-look family. She said: 'I feel completely different. All our lives have been transformed - even my children’s. Dylan once battled with ADHD but since I removed the additives and junk food from our family diet, he’s so much better. 'I’ve had to get used to the new person I see in the mirror.. I feel just wonderful.' | Lisa dropped from 21st 6lb and size 30 to 10st 1lb and size 10 .
Turned down NHS gastric surgery, choosing to lose the weight herself .
Ditched junk food in favour of calorie and portion-controlled meals .
Her success inspired her family to overhaul their unhealthy diets .
Her mother Lynda lost 3st, and her brother lost over 7st .
Her boyfriend Andy and her brother's partner also both lost over 4st each . |
16c0b82edb035e5061ab884a8302b23ad1498a3f | PUBLISHED: . 11:16 EST, 8 January 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 12:48 EST, 8 January 2013 . Two ‘thrill seeking’ men who were racing their high performance cars at 80mph to see who had the fastest vehicle have been jailed for four years after causing the death of a cyclist. Mohammed Khan, 25, was at the wheel of a blue Audi RS3 in Bradford, West Yorkshire, at 1.45am on September 16, 2011, when he struck cyclist Vitalijs Rozenbergs, hurling him into the air and killing him almost immediately. Shajah Rehman, 31, was driving a black Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG in the outside lane, almost alongside the Audi, as the pair raced to see whose car was the quickest, Bradford Crown Court was told. Jailed: Mohammed Khan has been jailed for four years after killing cyclist Vitalijs Rozenbergs. He was racing friend Shajah Rehman in a high performance Audi RS3 in Bradford when he struck Mr Rozenbergs . Flee: Shajah Rehman did not stop following the accident but handed himself into the police the next day . Mr Rozenbergs, 22, a Latvian national who lived in Bradford, was cycling across the road on his way to Leeds for a night shift. The court heard there were no lights on his cycle and he was wearing headphones but the bike had a reflector and the road was well lit. Khan and Rehman, both pleaded guilty to causing the death of Mr Rozenbergs by dangerous driving. Khan also admitted causing death while driving uninsured. Prosecutor Richard Clews told the court on Monday that the defendants were racing at about 80mph, twice the legal speed limit. Khan’s Audi struck Mr Rozenbergs, throwing him 15 metres along the road, and causing him fatal injuries. The Audi collided with the Mercedes, as it tried to avoid a crash, and the Mercedes hit the central reservation. Khan stopped at the scene and waited for the emergency services to arrive. Rehman kept going but handed himself into the police the next day. Mr Clews said CCTV images showed the powerful cars almost side by side at high speed at the time of the impact. Khan had driven 223 miles to Bradford from Cardiff shortly before the crash at speeds averaging 85mph. He mistakenly believed he was insured to drive the Audi on a motor traders’ policy. The two men were jailed for four years today at Bradford Crown Court . In mitigation Khan’s barrister, Yunus Valli, said his client was deeply affected by what he described as a 'mindless death'. He came from a respected family and was genuinely and sincerely remorseful. Andrew Dallas, for Rehman, said he too was very sorry and his mental health had suffered. It was 'a few moments of dangerous stupidity', said Mr Dallas. Rehman had been driving for ten years with a clean licence. Judge Peter Benson said: 'Racing is a seriously aggravating feature of this type of offence.' He banned Khan and Rehman from driving for four years. After the case, Sergeant Garry Alderson, of the Major Collision Enquiry Team at West Yorkshire Police, said: 'For a few moments of thrill seeking, these two men have found themselves with a lifetime of regret, alongside a significant custodial sentence. 'Racing on West Yorkshire’s roads is extremely dangerous and will not be tolerated. The consequences of which can end lives and ruin many more, as we have witnessed in this particular case.' 'We will notice the temperature dropping over the next few days and there is a chance of snow on the high ground in the north of the country on Thursday," said Helen Chivers, of the Met Office. 'From next week temperatures will be around 5C and there will be a chance of frost at night, when temperatures could fall to minus 5C in the countryside.' | Mohammed Khan and Shajah Rehman were racing .
Khan struck and killed cyclist Vialijs Rozenbergs, 22 .
Pair have been jailed for four years . |
16c2613cfc37ac4a25d6646318c70d1912a7d3f2 | More than a million UK customers of Net-A-Porter have been left disappointed after the fashion site crashed just hours after launching its end of season sale. The webpage announced the start of its US sale at around 11am UK time, but just one hour later a message began appearing on the site saying the page was unavailable. Frustrated browsers began posting on social media, with some complaining they had been booted off the site before being able to pay for the items in their shopping cart. Denied: Customers trying to access the Net-A-Porter site have been faced with this message after the page crashed just an hour into their end of season sale . User Chrissy Rutherford wrote: 'Can the Net-A-Porter sale work yet? I'll cry if I lose my cart.' Meanwhile Monroe Steele tried to make light of the situation by adding: 'Well the site is down so I guess that's God's way of telling me to keep my money.' The company's Twitter feed is asking shoppers to send a direct message with their details so the customer service team can contact them, but is not saying how long the issue will take to fix. Speaking to Mail Online, a Net-A-Porter spokesman blamed high demand for the crash. Anger: Net-A-Porter has been advising frustrated shoppers to send their details over in a private message on Twitter, but there is no word on how long it will take the site to go back online . Discounts: The crash comes just days ahead of Cyber Monday, the biggest online shopping day of the year, with UK customers expected to spend £649million in 24 hours . The crash comes just days ahead of Cyber Monday on December 1, the biggest online shopping day of the year, with British shoppers making 7.7million purchases worth around £600million in just 24 hours last year. This year that number is expected to jump significantly as more UK retailers promote heavy discounts, with £649.6million expected to be spent. Net-A-Porter is a fashion company that has 6million visitors to its site every month, with just over 1million of those coming from the UK. The site is also popular in Australia and Hong Kong, and draws customers from other parts of Europe such as Germany and France. From one computer in a Chelsea apartment to office blocks in London, New York and Hong Kong: The rise of Net-A-Porter . Natalie Massenet, founder of Net-A-Porter, who sold the business for £350million in 2010 . Back in the year 2000, when Natalie Massenet first floated the idea of an online store for high fashion, internet shopping was in its infancy. Wireless had yet to break into the mainstream, and most people had not yet conceived of a world in which people could shop from their phones, let alone tablet computers. So when Ms Massenet suggested launching a website selling high fashion labels, she was laughed at, with investors refusing to believe that women would ever use the service. Despite this, she decided to press ahead with the idea, and set up a webpage linked to a single computer in an apartment she had rented in Chelsea. Orders came through to Ms Massenet and her team of 15 staff via a painfully slow dial-up connection. All of the stock was piled at the back of the room, and it was up to this small team to make sure everything was packaged and sent out correctly. The workload was punishing, made worse by the fact that Ms Massenet was pregnant at the time. In newspaper interviews since, she has confessed to crying every night during the first year, unable to cope with the pressure. She needn't have worried. The site was an online shopping revolution, rolling designer boutique and glossy magazine into the one product, and sales took off. In 2010 Ms Massenet sold the business to luxury group Richemont, whose stable includes luxury brands Cartier and Montblanc, for £350million - pocketing around £50million herself. At the time, she said: 'There were a lot of unimaginative private-equity people who said that women would never shop online. 'I think about those people a lot. I'm sure their wives are having Net-a-porter bags delivered to their homes every day.' Today, the website attracts 6million visitors a month from as far afield as the U.S., Hong Kong, Australia, France and Russia. Of those around 62 per cent buy all of their clothes online, with more than half using a tablet and 48 per cent using a smartphone. These days Net-A-Porter employs more than 2,000 people in offices from New York to Hong Kong. Meanwhile Ms Massenet, who is half English and half American, has been named one of the most influential women in fashion. | More than a million UK customers of Net-A-Porter blocked from website .
Page crashed at around midday an hour after company started sales in U.S.
Fashion firm blamed high demand for the crash during end season sales . |
16c349d7af338061d109c3eb8e31fcf6d940e07b | (CNN) -- The eurozone crisis has truly engulfed Italy -- but is it because the country is insolvent or simply unable to access funds easily in the financial markets? If Italy is solvent, a distinction can perhaps be drawn between it and the countries surviving on bailout funds from Europe and the International Monetary Fund -- Greece, Portugal and Ireland. The solution, in this case, would be for the European Central Bank to provide cheap liquidity -- loans, effectively -- to the Italian government for a limited period of time. The markets would then be pacified and the crisis would begin to be resolved. If only it were that easy. The distinction between being insolvent and unable to access funds easily in the financial markets might be natural to enterprises but it does not easily fit sovereign states. Italy is certainly finding it difficult to access funds -- the bond markets are gradually turning the tap off by pushing rates on ten year bonds above 7%. But how can we tell if it is insolvent? Solvency means that Italy could be reliably expected to service its national debt out of its expanding gross domestic product (GDP). If lenders were confident about growth and sufficient tax revenues, they would continue to meet Italy's public borrowing needs. If they were not, the country would have a liquidity problem, as is currently happening. Solvency and liquidity are closely connected for sovereign states. Financial markets rightly worry about Italy's solvency. They have often been wrong during the last several years, but not this time. Since the mid-1990s, Italian growth has been less than 2% a year; investment and consumption have been practically flat; increases in people's real income have been among the weakest in Europe, worse even than Germany. Italian households, traditionally conservative, have increased their borrowing to 45% of GDP. Only one word can characterize Italian performance during the years of monetary union: stagnation. The country has systematically lost competitiveness relative to Germany. The result has been one of the highest national debts in Europe, standing at around 120% of GDP. Critically, as Italian households have come under pressure, national saving has been steadily declining, making it difficult for the country to service its national debt. Lenders are justifiably worried since, in all these respects, Italy looks similar to the struggling smaller economies of the eurozone periphery. It might be a sizeable economy with a large industrial base, but that means little in this case. The European Monetary Union -- which is the system within which the euro operates -- has trapped several countries of diverging competitiveness within a rigid framework of fixed exchange rates, a single monetary policy, tough fiscal discipline, and continuous pressure on labor. The markets realize that Italy's debt predicament is similar to peripheral countries, and are sensing that the crisis is gradually moving to the core. The response of the European Union has been a testament to its weakness. To placate markets it has demanded the imposition of austerity on Italy. But the economics of austerity makes no sense at all. Italian problems have originated in a stagnant economy, not in a profligate state. Austerity would almost certainly make things worse by pushing the country into recession, thus worsening the burden of debt. Greece is an extreme case, but it shows graphically the dangers. Italy is entering a risky path -- and the markets know it. On top of that, the imposition of austerity has directly transgressed on Italian sovereignty and on the domestic democratic process, as it has done elsewhere in the periphery. The EU appears to be increasingly run by a small cabal of core countries which impose decisions on others, ignore national institutions and practices, and even force elected governments out of office in preference to so-called non-political administrators. As the liquidity crisis gets sharper and Italy threatens to be shut out of the markets, the EU has only one weapon in its armory: the European Central Bank . It must stem the unfolding collapse of the monetary union by allowing the ECB to buy large volumes of Italian debt. But this could only fix the shortage of liquidity -- Italy's solvency problem will continue and probably become worse through austerity. If, moreover, the ECB started freely to purchase the public debt of the other 16 countries, it would soil its own balance sheet, a dangerous course to adopt as there is no state to back it up. The credibility of the euro would suffer across the world, defeating the purpose of the monetary union for Germany and other countries at the core. With Italy in turmoil, the EMU is coming up against its own contradictions and probably heading for a breakup. The mix of economic malfunctioning and open disregard for national sovereignty and democracy is highly combustible. Peripheral countries, in particular, are steadily forced toward the exit, with Greece under the most intense pressure. This is probably the only way to break out of the trap of monetary union, while restoring sovereignty and reasserting democracy. Should that occur, the implications for the European and the global economy will be very severe. But those who decide EU policy would have only themselves to blame. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Costas Lapavitsas . | Costas Lapavitsas is the lead author of a new RMF report 'Breaking Up? A Route Out of the Eurozone Crisis'
He says the EU's Economic and Monetary Union is probably heading for a break up .
Lapavitsas: The response of the European Union has been a testament to its weakness . |
16c4a27e42066259797d93d5db0239bce0a15f18 | By . Hamish Mackay for MailOnline . Follow @@H_Mackay . Roma president James Palotta has slammed Mehdi Benatia, calling him 'poisonous' and claiming he lied to his team-mates. The 27-year-old centre-back sealed a move to Bayern Munich in the summer, and suggested he did so because Roma needed the money. He said: ‘I discussed my future with Roma sporting director Walter Sabatini. He told me that the club wanted to hold on to me, but that they needed the money from a sale. That annoyed me, because I initially wanted to stay put.' Transfer: Centre-back Mehdi Benatia moved from Roma to Bayern Munich for £20m this summer . But Palotta refuted these claims, saying: 'Mehdi Benatia has obviously continued with his pattern of outright lies over the last couple of months. 'We had a verbal agreement on compensation and a raise back in July in Boston. He personally said to me that he was happy after I told him flat out with no exceptions that we wanted him to stay.' 'Lying to me was one thing which I can somewhat handle. Lying to Rudi Garcia and his team-mates was completely unacceptable to me. Claims: James Palotta called Benatia 'poisonous' and said he had lied to Rudi Garcia and the Roma players . 'I told [sporting director] Walter Sabatini he was becoming poisonous and I wanted him gone, and Rudi and Walter agreed. 'It wasn't about the money; it was about having character in our locker room. We are in a very sound financial position. 'As owners of Roma, we make difficult decisions all the time. As a fan of Roma, I am deeply disappointed that one of our players could act this way.' Rumours: Benatia suggested he had been sold because Roma needed the money, something Palotta denied . | Mehdi Benatia was sold to Bayern Munich for £20million .
27-year-old said he was forced out as Roma needed the money .
James Palotta slammed Benatia, calling him poisonous and a liar . |
16c57215e5f5e01dcce7ad6e7c6895eb44fb33a6 | By . Travelmail Reporter . UPDATED: . 09:39 EST, 28 November 2011 . Ailing holiday giant Thomas Cook has reassured its customers that their holidays are ‘in safe hands’ after it received an extra £100 million lifeline from its banks last week. But the firm may still have to close 200 of its 1,100 UK travel shops and axe 1,000 jobs in a bid to reduce its huge debt mountain. Facing the axe: Thomas Cook may have to close up to 200 of its UK travel agencies in a bid to slash costs . The group launched a publicity drive this week amid fears that negative headlines may have deterred holidaymakers from booking with the company.The debt-laden firm saw UK bookings plunge by 30 per cent last week amid uncertainty over the group’s future.Thomas Cook’s interim chief executive Sam Weihagen will publish a letter in national newspapers from tomorrow saying it is safe to book breaks with the group. Mr Weihagen's letter will begin: ‘What a week it has been for Thomas Cook,’ adding that it is now ‘an even stronger and more confident company’ and members of the public 'can be sure that your holiday really is in safe hands’.His words will play on the 170-year-old company's history and will claim it is the ‘most recognised and established name in the industry’.The letter will add: ‘I have no doubt that we will still be in another 170 years and beyond.’ Dip in profits: The debt-laden firm saw UK bookings plunge by 30% last week . The company’s share price slumped by a massive 75 per cent in one day last week amid fears of an imminent collapse.But the shares rose 30 per cent today after the company announced an extra £100 million lifeline from its banks on Friday night.The £200 million funding headroom was approved by the company's syndicate of banks, which include Barclays, HSBC, RBS and UniCredit, and will last until April 30 2013.It will replace the £100 million short-term facility announced on October 21 2011. James Hollins, an analyst at Evolution Securities, said the new lending facility had secured the company's short-term survival.He added: ‘The increased facility pushes current gross debt to £1.5 billion but fortunately all the bad press has come at a low point in the booking cycle and the group has the funds and time to restore partner and consumer confidence in its brand and survival.’Mr Weihagen suggested that the multi-million pound loan might have been repaid in full by this time next year.He admitted, however, that it ‘may take two to three years to come to an acceptable profitability’.However, he refused to be drawn on possible shop closures and speculation about thousands of job losses within the UK.He said only that the firm was evaluating its shop estate and making sure ‘the shops we do have operating are profitable’. Sign of the times: Thomas Cook, which sells more than 22 million holidays a year in the UK, has suffered from the impact of the Arab spring . In the meantime, he added, new management had been put in place in the UK, where trade has been suffering.‘The UK business this year has not really performed as good as we had hoped and not as good as competitors have performed and that was a management issue so we have replaced the management in the UK and started a turnaround plan,' he said.‘I'm very confident that plan will make sure our UK business will return to a much better profitability over time.’The travel agency, which was founded in 1841 and sells more than 22 million holidays a year in the UK, was hit by a slowdown in trade due to weak consumer confidence and unrest in North Africa.The group has suffered from the impact of the Arab spring, which has hit bookings to Tunisia and Egypt, destinations popular with France and Russia respectively, as well as UK holidaymakers. | 200 UK travel shops and 1,000 jobs could be axed .
UK bookings plunged by 30 per cent last week .
Firm has received an extra £100 million lifeline .
Chief executive to publish open letter in newspapers . |
16c5e57ae0f7bb3b77b9080e3b6ceb490870e79b | By . Steve Robson . PUBLISHED: . 11:44 EST, 25 December 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 11:49 EST, 25 December 2012 . Emergency services used ropes and specialist equipment to free the man . Paramedics had to rescue a man who fell down a 10ft manhole and injured his back. Emergency services were called after members of the public spotted the man, believed to be in his 30s, below the pavement and appealing for help at around 10pm at night on Sunday. An ambulance crew and medics from the Hazardous Area Response Team were forced to use ropes and specialist equipment to free the man on a main road in West Bromwich, the Midlands. He was treated for back pain before being taken to nearby Sandwell General Hospital. A spokeswoman for West Midlands Ambulance Service said: 'On arrival at the scene crews found a man who had fallen into a manhole. 'Using specialist equipment the man was extricated from the hole and was treated at the scene for back pain. 'The man, believed to be in his 30s, . was fully immobilised before being conveyed to Sandwell General . Hospital for further assessment and treatment.' Earlier this year a dog walker fell down a manhole which had been left exposed after thieves stole the cover. Matthew Walters, 34, suffered neck and back injuries and remained stuck down the hole in Dudley for several hours before being rescued. The man was spotted down the hole by members of the public who called an ambulance . Emergency services said the man was taken to hospital suffering from back pain after falling down the manhole covering . | Spotted stuck down hole by members of the public .
Emergency services used rope to pull him free on street in West Bromwich .
Taken to hospital with back injuries . |
16c664cd6ac1367e197b5abaebf15a346868dfc5 | (CNN) -- In a place that does not exist -- a black site -- Maya (Jessica Chastain) watches as her colleague Dan (Jason Clarke) interrogates an Arab prisoner. "If you lie to me, I hurt you," Dan says to the prisoner, who is bound, bruised, and not telling the Americans what they need to know. Soon, the prisoner will be held down on the floor with a cloth over his face and will have water poured into his mouth until he is half-drowned. This is waterboarding, and it leaves the prisoner gasping like a dying fish. But he does not give up his secrets, and will not until later in the game. We can imagine this scene played out in different ways. Imagine it, for example, with Eastern European heavies playing the interrogators and Scarlett Johansson as the prisoner. Or we could see it with Kiefer Sutherland demanding answers in "24." Scenes of torture are not rare in TV and movies, and it's not like the old days when the hero was always on the receiving end. Yet even before "Zero Dark Thirty" opened, these scenes have stirred controversy, with outspoken critiques accusing director Kathryn Bigelow ("The Hurt Locker") of endorsing torture. And although controversy is nothing new to the director of "Strange Days" and "Near Dark," these complaints seem off base. Bigelow has never shied away from violence or the vicarious pleasure of sadism, but that's not the same thing as condoning it. Look at how she filters the torture scenes through Maya's reactions: Maya is clearly out of place and uncomfortable with what she must witness, though she will also participate in it. Peter Bergen: Did torture really net bin Laden? The movie -- which is utterly gripping -- is an authoritative, precise, largely dispassionate account of how a CIA analyst in Pakistan worked for a decade tracking down Osama bin Laden. That work involved torture in the years immediately following 9/11, as a matter of historical record. Bigelow throws us in at the deep end, and rightly so. The scenes are painful to watch (but also impossible not to), and the intelligence gleaned is at best partial. Whether partial intelligence is better than none is an open question, but it's also evident in "Zero Dark Thirty" that it wasn't torture that eventually led us to bin Laden, but clear thinking, sophisticated surveillance and the determination and resources to follow every lead. Bigelow has rarely focused on women as active protagonists ("Blue Steel" is the most notable exception), but it is significant that Maya is a woman in a predominantly masculine world, compelled to renounce her sexuality to get the job done. Maya's resolve, smarts and conviction that borders on obsessive make her a fascinating and impressive character, and Chastain delivers one of the must-see performances of the year. Bergen: A feminist film epic and the real women of the CIA . Bigelow keeps the focus on process -- in a way it's like a police procedural or a detective story, but played out in foreign lands and interspersed with eruptions of violence and bomb blasts. The climax -- the SEALs raid -- is nail-biting stuff, even though we know the outcome, with exceptionally vivid nighttime photography by Greig Fraser. What's striking is the absence of triumphalism -- Bigelow doesn't shy away from showing the victims shot down in cold blood in the compound -- and we come away with the overwhelming sense that this has been a grim, dark episode in our history, a rite of passage almost, but a passage into an unknowable future, leaving scars that may never heal. | The film follows how a CIA analyst worked for a decade tracking down Osama bin Laden .
Director Kathryn Bigelow has been accused of endorsing torture .
Jessica Chastain delivers one of the must-see performances of the year, our critic says . |
16c6d19efcf4791bdbead4f663adff091c31693a | Devin Hester set an NFL record with his 20th return for a touchdown, breaking the mark he shared with Deion Sanders. Hester returned a punt 56 yards for a touchdown midway through the second quarter to give the Atlanta Falcons a stunning 35-0 lead over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Devin Hester returns a punt for his record-breaking touchdown as the Falcons routed the Buccaneers . Deion Sanders (left) was all smiles and congratulated Hester for breaking his long-standing record . Devin Hester 20 . Deion Sanders 19 . Rod Woodson 17 . Ronde Barber 14 . He took the punt at his own 44, found a seam up the middle, and zipped around the last man who had a shot at him, punter Michael Koenen. Hester high-stepped the last 20 yards or so, a hand behind his ear - the move that Sanders made famous during his Hall of Fame career. Sanders, now a television analyst, was covering the game and watched his record fall at the Georgia Dome, which he once proclaimed 'is my house.' | Hester returned a punt 56 yards for a touchdown midway through the second quarter .
Hester high-stepped the last 20 yards or so, a hand behind his ear - the move that Sanders made famous . |
16c6f100732a720c4ad2c6fe7378e84b964f8ed3 | England striker Wayne Rooney is the latest World Cup star to feature in a teaser for Nike's new animated advert. Cartoon versions of Cristiano Ronaldo, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Neymar showing off their super skills have been released during the past few days. Catch of the day: A cartoon version of Wayne Rooney stars as a fisherman in latest Nike advert . And now Rooney has taken centre stage in a nine second clip by appearing as a browbeaten fisherman who gets caught in a net. No doubt all will be explained when the full version of the mini movie is released on Monday, June 9 but some wags may suggest he is fishing for a new career. Former Manchester United team-mate Paul Scholes sparked a debate when he described him as a fading force who faces being dropped by England boss Roy Hodgson. Caught out: Rooney finds himself in the net in the animated advert . Rooney, who missed the end of the Barclays Premier League season with a groin problem, is the only outfield player to start both of England’s warm-up games. He scored their opener in the 2-2 draw with Ecuador in Miami, his first international goal since October. ‘I can play in different positions,’ said Rooney. ‘I’ve proved I can play on the left over the years. The manager didn’t have to tell me what to do. I know how to play that role. I’ve played it many times and I’ve no problem doing that. He didn’t have to explain it to me. All at sea: Is under-fire England striker fishing for a new career? ‘It is down to the manager. It’s not about me, it’s about the team. If the manager wants to play me up top, in behind, left, right, I’m happy to do that. ‘I’m ready to play. I hope to play against Honduras. I’ve trained hard, I have no injuries or any recurrence of the groin strain I had at the end of the season. ‘I always needed game time. I felt really good, especially in the heat. I’m sure the manager will have a tough decision but I’m ready.’ Mr Incredible: An animated Cristiano Ronaldo will also feature in the short film . Nuts: Brazil ace Neymar takes on a small army with his silky skills . | Wayne Rooney appears as a fisherman who gets caught in a net .
Advert follows Nike's cartoon promos of Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar and Zlatan Ibrahimovic .
England striker has recently hit back at Paul Scholes after being criticised by the Manchester United legend . |
16c75a7be0c2dc24503ac72da2a89e616f389d9e | By . Naomi Greenaway . As well as a seven-bedroom manor house and more than 10 acres of land, this quintessentially British property, on the market for £3m, comes with its own slice of history too. Rookley Manor, a Grade II-listed 18th-century house, which boasts pristine gardens, a swimming pool, and paddocks, has played host to some of the country's most famous VIPs - including royalty. Former visitors include George IV (played by Ralph Fiennes in the 2008 film The Duchess) who regularly took his mistress Maria Fitzherbert to the property when he was still the Prince of Wales. Stunning grounds: Rookley Manor in Hampshire comes with its own slice of incredible British history . For sale: The Grade II-listed house is on the market with more than 10 acres of land . And his uncle, the HRH Duke of Cumberland, rented the house as a hunting lodge from 1776-1783. Perched on the outskirts of the hamlet of Up Somborne in Hampshire, the property also attracted literary greats, with William Makepeace Thackeray writing Vanity Fair while staying at the house. Now up for sale, Rookley Manor, near the village of Kings Somborne and the market town of Stockbridge, is just an hour by train from Winchester to London Waterloo. The brochure describes the property and surrounding grounds as an idyllic country pile, with golf courses nearby, racing at Salisbury and Newbury on offer, polo at Tidworth, point to point at Larkhill, motor racing at Thruxton, fishing at the Rivers Test and Itchen, and sailing on the south coast. Quintessentially British: The avenue of apple trees that decorate the garden of the 17th-century house . Important guests: The 12-seater table set for an evening of fine dining inside the manor . The approach to the magnificent house is a sweeping gravel driveway. Through the front door, the beautiful hallway has an intricate artex ceiling, a 17th-century flagstone and marble floor, as well as a stunning open fireplace. Off the hallway is the sitting room, which again has an open fireplace as well as sash windows, a dining room and drawing room, perfect for entertaining guests. There’s also a 17th-century oak staircase and a large window with its original iron decoration. Upstairs, the principle bedroom has its original 18th-century fireplace and panelling, and an adjoining bathroom with views across the pristine gardens and on to an avenue of apple trees. The impressive hallway features an artex ceiling - and plenty of space for hats . Next to the main house is a cottage, which overlooks a small courtyard. But what the sellers are really hoping will capture the imagination of potential buyers about this historical house are the beautiful grounds. There are perfectly manicured lawns, two orchards of old apple trees, two walled gardens (one of which is a productive kitchen garden with greenhouse and fruit cage), a 300-year-old Mulberry tree, a tennis court, an L-shaped swimming pool and two fenced paddocks. The property is on the market for £2,950,000 with agents Strutt & Parker. | Rookley .
Manor is perched on the outskirts of Up Somborne in .
Hampshire .
George IV visited with mistress Maria Fitzherbert while Prince of .
Wales .
His uncle, Duke of Cumberland, rented house as .
hunting lodge from 1776 .
Grounds include seven-bedroom manor house, gardens, pool and 10 acres . |
16c7917a669fa544ff4a2c0367bc096fd3d29768 | By . Eddie Wrenn . PUBLISHED: . 04:03 EST, 5 September 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 04:03 EST, 5 September 2012 . Scientists believe they are on the verge of solving the 70-year-old mystery of dark matter. The structure of the observable universe . suggests there is a lot of matter that we simply cannot see, and astronomers, cosmologists and particle physicists have . been looking for answers to what it could be. But now the ESA Planck satellite has picked up radiation beams from the centre of the Milky Way, and scientists believe they have discovered proof that dark mater exists - otherwise the alternative would re-write physics as we know it. Pavel Naselsky, professor of cosmology at the Niels Bohr Institute at the University of Copenhagen, said: 'The radiation cannot be explained by the . structural mechanisms in the galaxy and it cannot be radiation from . supernova explosions. 'We believe that this could be proof of dark . matter. Otherwise, we have discovered absolutely new (and unknown for . physics) mechanism of acceleration of particles in the Galactic centre.' Radiation map of the skies: A false colour image of the whole sky as seen by Planck, the space observatory . In this image, the dust of the Milky Way is shown in blue, with a red band across the centre showing hot regions. The mottled yellow area above and below represents relic radiation, otherwise known as the Cosmic Microwave Background, created in the fireball of the Big Bang 13.7 billion years ago, which is the oldest light in the Universe. Such an image allows scientists to study both the origins of the Universe and the birth of stars in our galaxy. Researchers were studying data from the Planck satellite, launched in 2009. The satellite does not just remain still in space, but changes direction every hour as well as rotates once a minute on its own axis. These movements mean that it scans the entire surrounding Universe in the course of six months, using extremely sensitive instruments that can map microwave radiation in the entire sky with great precision. The latest data from the Planck mission reveals unusual radiation from our own galaxy, which open a new direction in understanding the most fundamental properties of the space, time and matter in the Universe. Naselsky said: 'We have observed a very unique emission of radio radiation from the centre of our galaxy, the Milky Way. 'By using different methods to separate the signal for very broad range of wavelengths, we have been able to determine the spectrum of the radiation. 'The radiation originates from synchrotron emission - electrons and positrons circulating at high energies around the lines of the Magnetic Field in the centre of the galaxy, and there are quite strong indications that it could come from dark matter.' Planck produced its first all-sky image in 2010, and scientists are currently working to analyse and parse the various and complex elements . Naselsky said that leading scientists like Niels Bohr professor Subir Sarkar have predicted, using calculations, that dark matter may consist of very heavy particles that are around 10 times as heavy as the Higgs particle, that is to say, 1,000 times heavier than a proton. But they have very unique properties and do not interact with ‘normal’ matter particles. Dark matter particles are also usually very scattered and do not interact with each other. 'But we know from theoretical predictions that the concentration of dark matter particles around the centre of galaxies is very high and we have a strong argument they can collide there and in the collision electrons and positrons are formed. 'These electrons and positrons start to rotate around the magnetic field at the centre of the galaxy and in doing so produce this very unusual synchrotron radiation. It has simply not been possible to observe this radiation in such detail before, as previous instruments have not been sensitive enough. But with Planck, this unusual radiation is seen very clearly.' The results have been published in ArXive.org. and submitted to the scientific journal, Astronomy and Astrophysics. | Planck satellite picks up beams of radiation from centre of Milky Way which could prove existence of 'dark matter'
Researchers at Niels Bohr Institute say radiation is either proof - or something currently unknown to physics . |
16c7dabb36040c28fa11abc09a95ed8156b8df44 | Told the select committee is not a variety show, Brand replied to MP: 'You’re providing a little bit of variety though, making it . more like Dad’s Army' By . Graham Smith . PUBLISHED: . 08:56 EST, 24 April 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 06:53 EST, 25 April 2012 . Comedian Russell Brand today gave evidence about his battle with addiction to MPs reviewing the Government's drugs policy in his own unique style. The 36-year-old arrived for the select committee hearing at Portcullis House in Westminster wearing a sleeveless t-shirt that showed off his heavily-tattooed arm, copious jewellery, cowboy boots and hat, and a long trenchcoat. His testimony was no less colourful as he addressed MPs as 'mate' and described how he became addicted to drugs because of emotional and psychological difficulties, adding 'it was rough'. Scroll down for video . Centre of attention: Comedian Russell Brand gives evidence about this own battle with addiction to MPs reviewing the Government's drugs policy in his own inimitable style today . Colourful: Brand, sat next to detox centre boss Chip Somers, told the hearing at Portcullis House in Westminster how he became addicted to drugs because of emotional and psychological difficulties . Flamboyant: Brand said society needs to change the way it views addicts . Friend: Brand said singer Amy Winehouse's death last year should become a 'force for change and good policy' When . pushed for time by chairman Keith Vaz near the end of the lively and energetic . 30-minute hearing, Brand replied: 'Time is infinite. We . can’t run out of time. 'Who’s next? Theresa May? She may not turn up. Ask her if she knows what day it is.' And when Labour MP David Winnick told Brand . the Commons Home Affairs Select Committee was not a variety show, Brand . replied: 'You’re providing a little bit of variety though, making it . more like Dad’s Army.' The flamboyant film star said addiction should be treated as a health issue rather than a criminal matter. He . called for 'abstinence-based recovery' as he gave evidence about his . own battle with addiction to MPs reviewing the Government’s drugs . policy. And he said the death of Amy Winehouse must not be 'in vain' and should prompt a major overhaul of drugs policies. Winehouse’s death last year should become a 'force for change and good policy', he added. He told the committee: 'Amy’s life should not have been in vain. It can be a catalyst and force change and good policy in this country.' Brand has given frank accounts of his battle to overcome drug addiction and has said society needs to change the way it views addicts. Brand said he was not calling for 'a free-for-all where everyone goes around taking drugs'. 'Addicts will always be able to get drugs', he said, 'whether they are illegal or not.' However, he added he was not qualified to talk about legalisation. Instead, he said addiction should be treated as an illness and society should recognise that addicts, with the proper help, can become active and useful members. He said society should not 'discard people, write them off on methadone and leave them on the sidelines'. Instead, society should 'neutralise the toxic social threat they pose as criminals'. Asked if there should be a carrot and stick approach, he said it should be more about 'love and compassion'. Outlaw: The 36-year-old arrived for the select committee hearing wearing a sleeveless T-shirt, jewelley, scruffy jeans, cowboy boots and hat, and a long trenchcoat . Speaking rapidly and addressing . committee members by their first names, Brand dismissed suggestions that . addicts cared where their drugs came from or the consequences of their . production. 'I don’t think they’re going to be affected by that because they’re normally on drugs,' he said. Asked about the role of celebrities, he said: 'Who cares about bloody celebrities?' Brand said that, instead, he wanted to offer people 'truth and authenticity'. Chip . Somers, chief executive of the detox centre Focus 12, where Brand . sought help with drug dependency, said: 'Just to park people on . methadone for four to seven years is criminal.' Abstinence was an 'admirable aim for everybody', he said, but he admitted that not everyone would achieve it. 'I don’t think methadone is a good thing.' He added he thought many methadone users were also using other drugs. Both Brand and Somers said the number of people criminalised for possession should be reduced. Man of the people: As he left Portcullis House, Brand met with children visiting the Palace of Westminster . Brand said he would back the decriminalisation of drugs, adding there was 'a degree of cowardice and wilful ignorance around this condition' Brand . said he would back decriminalisation of drugs, adding there was 'a . degree of cowardice and wilful ignorance around this condition'. 'I’m not a legal expert. I’m saying . that, to a drug addict, the legal aspect is irrelevant,' he said. 'If . you need to get drugs, you will. 'The criminal and legal status, I think, sends the wrong message. 'Being arrested isn’t a lesson, it’s just an administrative blip.' He added that he was not telling people not to take drugs if it was causing no harm, but said he wanted to see more funding for abstinence-based recovery. Members of the public packed the hearing room to hear Brand’s evidence. | Comedian said the death of his friend Amy Winehouse must not be 'in vain' and should prompt a major overhaul of drugs policies .
When told the committee was pushed for time, Brand quipped: 'Who’s next? Theresa May? She may not turn up. Ask her if she knows what day it is'
Told the select committee is not a variety show, Brand replied to MP: 'You’re providing a little bit of variety though, making it .
more like Dad’s Army' |
16c884b9c5f5c3766eac65ddfa8370c83f07ebf9 | By . Louise Boyle . PUBLISHED: . 17:41 EST, 16 January 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 17:58 EST, 16 January 2013 . A son testified against his mother on Monday as she stood trial for the murder of his father who was shot dead at his home. Donna Horwitz, 66, has been charged with first-degree murder after she allegedly shot dead millionaire businessman and ex-husband Lanny Horwitz at the luxury home they once shared. The couple's son Radley Horwitz told the court in Palm Beach, Florida that he awoke at the house when he heard nine shots ring out and his mother screaming. Scroll down for video . Accused: Donna Horwitz, 66, in court this week in Palm Beach, Florida after she allegedly shot dead her estranged husband at their lavish home in 2011 . Witness: Radley Horwitz gave evidence against his mother at her murder trial over the fatal shooting of his father Lanny . Mr Horwitz Jr, 38, found his father dying on the bathroom floor in a pool of blood and his mother near to the victim's naked body. An autopsy later revealed Mr Horwitz senior had multiple gunshot wounds to the torso and arms along with one shot fired directly in his mouth. Radley told the court on Monday: 'She [Donna] was screaming my name and she might have said ''your father, your father'' or something like that.' He added: 'He made this godawful, inhuman gurgling sound.' The Horwitzs, who had married twice and recently separated again, were reportedly having a furious row on the morning of September 30, 2011 at their home in the exclusive Admiral's Cove district of Jupiter. Lanny, a 66-year-old real estate attorney, had reportedly been packing for a weekend with a woman who was believed to be a girlfriend when he was killed. Slain: The body of Lanny Horwitz was found with nine gunshot wounds in the bathroom at his home in Admiral's Cove, Florida . According to WPBF, Radley said his father was 'sarcastic and belittling' and that his mother was deeply affected by how her treated her. It was also revealed at the trial, which began last Friday, that Radley harbored ill feelings towards his father and once owned a book on how to hire a hitman. Radley Horwitz and his father Lanny's financial affairs were in ruins at the time of the murder, the court heard and Radley stood to benefit from a $500,000 life insurance policy his father had taken out. He has denied killing his father. The defense have alleged that the 66-year-old businessman was shot either by his son or an unknown intruder. Bitter battle: Donna Horwitz had married her husband Lanny twice and the couple were separating for the second time when he was shot dead at his Florida home . Mrs Horwitz's attorney Grey Tesh said at the opening of the trial that DNA from a speck of blood was found on a gate outside the home which did not match the accused. As the prosecution brought in final witnesses today, a police detective told the jury that Mrs Horwitz had hoped for a reconciliation with her husband and was in complete despair that he seemed to be leaving her for someone else. Detective Eric Frank read from Mrs Horwitz's journal, where she wrote: 'My heart is broken and he is working on my mind, playing games with me' according to the Palm Beach Post. The jury is expected to hear closing arguments tomorrow morning. Crime scene: The Horwitzs' luxury home in Admiral's Cove, Jupiter where 66-year-old Lanny was found murdered in September 2011 . Wealth and privilege: The Horwitzs lived in the upmarket area of Admiral's Cove in Jupiter, Florida . | Donna Horwitz allegedly shot her ex-husband Lanny, 66, nine times during a row at Florida home .
Son Radley found father's naked body in master bathroom in 2011 .
Lanny had multiple bullet wounds to arms and torso along with one shot directly in the mouth . |
16c8de64fa369933e946aac7d43238e0b90ee314 | (CNN) -- Istanbul's new transcontinental train tunnel under the Bosphorus Strait had a bumpy first day of operation, a day after Turkey's Prime Minister called it a "project for whole humanity" at an inaugural ceremony. On Wednesday, Turkey's state railway confirmed reports there had been a power outage in the tunnel system. "Emergency situation procedures" were also carried out multiple times, the agency said in a statement posted online, because passengers hit emergency buttons aboard the trains. Turkish journalists complained of being barred from entry into the railway system after the breakdowns took place. "Security personnel told journalists filming video, 'We received orders. It is not allowed to film anymore,' " Turkish news agency DHA reported Wednesday. Amateur video posted on YouTube showed scores of passengers leaving a stopped train and walking down the long tube that has been constructed underneath the rushing waters of the Bosphorus Strait, effectively linking the European and Asian halves of Turkey's largest city. Turkey's Marmaray project: An ambitious plan to link Europe and Asia . Because of an unexpectedly large volume of curious first-time passengers, the railway agency also said it had decided to skip one of the stops on the train's transcontinental route. The Marmaray Tunnel is part of a $4.5 billion, 76-kilometer (47-mile) megaproject launched by the Turkish government in 2004. Speaking at a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by Japan's Prime Minister, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the project "connects history and future, past and future; as well as connecting continents, Marmaray connects people, nations and countries." The rail system, built by a Turkish-Japanese consortium, is expected to have a capacity of 1.5 million people a day, connecting the two continents in about four minutes. The 13.6-kilometer (8.5-mile) tunnel -- the deepest of its kind -- passes under the Bosphorus Strait, one of the busiest shipping arteries in the world. The world's spectacular infrastructure projects . The financial capital of Istanbul, with a population of nearly 15 million people, is often snarled with traffic, with about 2 million residents making the crossing between continents on a daily basis. Beyond the size of such an undertaking, digging for the Marmaray uncovered about 40,000 artifacts and helped archaeologists trace Istanbul's history back 8,500 years, 2,500 more than ever believed before. However, the discoveries delayed the project for four years, which frustrated the Prime Minister who, analysts and businessmen say, wants to put a permanent imprint on Turkey's financial capital. The project also had to account for Turkey's long history of violent earthquakes and the tunnel's position parallel to a major fault line. Transport minister Binali Yildirim has outlined the precautions, saying the tunnel allows movement and is designed to handle a quake of 9.0 magnitude. Connecting continents amid earthquakes . The Turkish government has also begun construction of a third suspension bridge across the Bosphorus Strait. It also plans to build a third airport for Istanbul and dredge a canal to run parallel to the Bosphorus. The massive government-backed development projects have become a politically polarizing issue in Turkey. Anti-government protests erupted last summer after the government announced plans to bulldoze a park in central Istanbul and replace it with a shopping mall. As government officials and crowds of supporters applauded the Marmaray tunnel's inauguration Tuesday, in other parts of Istanbul, riot police clashed with demonstrators protesting the Turkish government. The world's spectacular infrastructure projects . CNN's John Defterios contributed to this report. | Turkey's state railway confirms reports there had been a power outage in the tunnel system .
Passengers hitting emergency buttons prompted "emergency situation procedures," it says .
Passenger volume caused train to skip one of the stops on its transcontinental route . |
16ca37b193bf45d72b2ef484cba5db0e92417f65 | By . Mia De Graaf . PUBLISHED: . 13:13 EST, 3 March 2014 . | . UPDATED: . 14:29 EST, 3 March 2014 . Tis the season to be trimmed - in China anyway. Yesterday the nation celebrated the second lunar month, when it is good luck to get a haircut. Also known as 'the day the dragon raises its head', it is widely believed you should have your own one refashioned in tribute. Fresh start: This little boy seems not to care that his haircut is a good luck token to mark the second lunar month . Tradition: Your maternal uncle will die if you cut your hair in February, they say, so the trim is celebratory . The day is referred to as Longitao, which means 'the dragon raises its head' so a haircut honours that move . But the tradition does not seem to have gone down well with this group of children. Whereas adults and barbers took to the streets with scissors and smiles, their sons and daughters can be seen screaming and crying as they go under the razor. Some entire families get a number one, much to the infants' distaste. Others, however, use the day as a chance for a restyled trim, demonstrated by one little tear-soaked boy getting a fresh bowl cut. Despite the traditions and folklore, these children in Hefei's Leijie Square cannot help but tear up . They join thousands of Chinese people who take to the streets for a trim before parades and markets . It is a large-scale operation, but the tradition is based on a misunderstanding of a fairytale, experts claim . According to folklore academics, the legend was about a man 'thinking of his uncle' who he used to give a haircut to in February. But in Chinese, that sounds very similar to the phrase 'dead uncle' The distraught toddlers seem unconcerned with the notion that this is a luxury - for if you shave in February, your maternal uncle will die. According to folklore experts, the superstition stems from a misunderstanding. In a well-known Chinese legend, a poor barber could not afford a decent new year's gift for his uncle, so he gave him a haircut. Many children have an entire shave to celebrate, whereas some have some more outlandish styles . Unusually, this little boy grinned amongst his screaming peers as he was given a whole new look . As he seems well aware, the haircut will be followed by dancing, singing and Chinese pancakes . As the fresh rainy season comes for farmers' crops, this is seen as a fresh start for people . This little boy looks frightened and unsure as he leans away from the razor-armed hairdresser . His uncle said it was the best gift he had ever had and wanted to make it a yearly tradition. After his uncle died, the barber cried every new year thinking of him. But 'thinking of his uncle' was mistaken for 'death of his uncle' because in Chinese their pronunciations are almost the same. Reaching the end, this little boy shows off his new fringe as the barber combs the back to finish . Parents are well aware what a hassle this day can be, so are on-hand to make it easier for the hairdresser . Only one of the group in Hefei's Leijie Square, in Anhui province, seemed content as he grinned and stuck his tongue out. But their tears will have doubtless been dried later with a trip to one of the thousands of parades. Families also celebrate the day with pancakes and dumplings. | China celebrated Er Yue Er, the start of the second lunar month, on March 2 .
Good luck to cut hair for vigorous start to the spring season .
First cut for weeks as it is believed your uncle will die if you trim in February . |
16cbaac06f65abead56466df66e2e01338ef662b | (CNN) -- With 17 Grammy awards, $75 million in world record sales and a fourth world tour underway, Beyonce is one of the world's biggest names in show business. From performances at this year's Superbowl to the presidential inauguration, few celebrities have the success, drive and international cachet of the high profile soulstress. But she doesn't just dominate the music charts and the stage ... Beyonce is a global brand and works hard to keep it that way. Her name appears everywhere from fashion labels to fragrance bottles and Pepsi commercials. On the heels of her own HBO documentary 'Life Is But A Dream', she and husband Jay-Z were also named the pop music industry's first billionaire couple. Watch: How Beyonce became businesswoman . Forbes also ranked Beyonce as the 32nd most powerful woman in the world last year, estimating her earnings at $40 million, a figure likely to grow as she reaps the rewards from her Mrs Carter Show World Tour and lucrative H&M campaign. Through a carefully-managed image, the 31-year-old star shows she can do it all by portraying herself as a sexy performer, an astute businesswoman, a dutiful wife and loving mother and a girl-next-door from Texas. "Beyonce inspires others to dream because she is always reminding us that she was just a young girl from Houston, Texas, who had a dream to be a performer, and look at her now," says Cori Murray, entertainment editor of Essence Magazine. "She had a dream, she envisioned it. Hard work, determination, and this is the result," sums up Gail Mitchell, senior editor at Billboard Magazine. Family ties . The daughter of a hairdresser and an IBM marketing executive, Beyonce took to the stage early. She began performing with a girl band -- later known as Destiny's Child - at the age of eight, managed by her father Matthew Knowles and his marketing expertise. It took some years before Destiny's Child made their major label breakthrough by signing with Columbia Records in 1999 with the album "The Writing's On The Wall" and two number one singles "Bills, Bills, Bills" and "Say My Name." Matthew Knowles left his job at IBM and remained Beyonce's manager into her solo career -- which began in 2003 with her album "Dangerously In Love" -- until 2011 when the pair parted ways. Watch: Beyonce's father says he's 'proud' "It was hard for me to let her go -- it was hard for both of us to let each other go," her father later told The Sun newspaper. "This was not a normal ending of a business agreement. This was a dad and a daughter and it was incredibly painful and it had some difficulties." Aside from her music, she has mastered the art of celebrity endorsements over the years by striking lucrative deals with Pepsi and L'Oreal and launching fragrances with Tommy Hilfiger. Savvy sponsorship deals . Sealing a $50 million multi-year deal with Pepsi in December, the partnership includes commercials and print ads as well as a fund to support the singer's chosen creative projects. Far from featuring old tunes as many ads do, Beyonce's latest Pepsi commercial previews a new song "Grown Woman," which will feature on her forthcoming album. "Beyonce's influence in pop culture [is] not just in the music industry, but also in the beauty industry and in fashion," says fashion stylist June Ambrose. "She has become the poster child in terms of her brand being so well recognized." The singer and her mother Tina Knowles run a fashion label House of Dereon, named after the star's seamstress grandmother. She stays involved at every stage of her campaigns, giving her control over her own brand. "This is not a woman who just lends her name to it and then she is off to her yacht," says Murray of Essence Magazine. The control extends to her own image. In her current world tour, she refused to accredit press photographers and banned all but authorized pictures from her own entertainment company, according to several media reports. Career evolution . Beyonce is executive producer of her own HBO documentary "Life Is But A Dream" in which she tells her story through her own eyes. The film is filled with home movie clips from her childhood in Houston to her show preparations and her life with Jay-Z and 15-month-old daughter Blue Ivy. From starring in her own documentary to films such as "Dreamgirls," "Cadillac Records" and "The Fighting Temptations," the songstress has kept her name in lights by contributing to movie soundtracks, most recently film director Baz Luhrmann's "The Great Gatsby." Luhrmann wrote in Time Magazine as it named Beyonce among the world's 100 most influential people in 2013: "She and Jay Z are the royal couple of culture, and she is the queen bee. Power networking . "She's gone beyond being a popular singer, even beyond being a pop-cultural icon ... Right now, she is the heir-apparent diva of the USA, the reigning national voice." From granting Oprah an exclusive OWN interview to supporting President Obama's 2012 re-election campaign, Beyonce's proven her influence extends well beyond her voice by making friends in high places. In return, Obama called the singer "a role model for his daughters" at an election fundraiser hosted by the power couple and she performed the national anthem at his second inauguration. While stellar performances and lucrative endorsement deals far from guarantee a star's long term future in the fickle world of entertainment, one thing is for certain --Beyonce has proven she is a survivor. | Beyonce has built a global brand around being one of the biggest names in pop .
She has made her name in fashion, beauty products, film and advertising .
She remains closely involved in all the brands she endorses . |
16cbd9a93ee9067271748479378a31d24390e048 | By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 16:56 EST, 3 January 2014 . | . UPDATED: . 09:52 EST, 4 January 2014 . They may look like perfectly crafted sculptures or delicately etched pictures - but a father-daughter team say these images took far less effort. Photographer Nelson Jones and his daughter Hillary told MyFoxDC that the pair created the pictures by pressing their faces in the snow and then taking snaps of the indents. Speaking with Fox, Jones explained that the pair had been shoveling snow outside their Washington D.C. home on Friday morning and commented on how fresh it looked. Ice work: Nelson Jones and his daughter Hillary pushed their faces into the snow outside their D.C. home and snapped a picture of it. When they looked at the photo they were shocked to see it looked 3D . There's snow stopping them: They made a series of faces on the snow and were shocked at the results . His daughter suggested that they stick their faces in the snow on the roof of the car, so they gave it ago, 'and so the crazy, 3D snow face plant pic was born!', Fox reported. Jones said that the resulting image on his daughter's iPhone surprised them as the dents did not look 3D to the naked eye. While Fox insisted that the images were real, others expressed their skepticism at the level of detail. 'I take extreme issue with the very fine detail of Jones' face, one wrote on Facebook. 'You realize how clay like the snow would have to be, how firm yet soft? How much pressure would need to be applied and depth to get into the lines?' Bizarre: They said that the 3D faces weren't visible until they took photos of the snow, using a flash . Snow lies here: They insisted the indents were really created by their faces as skeptics called them fakes . He also asked why there were no . indents from items such as hats or coats. But Fox insisted the images . were created with nothing but their faces, adding of Jones: 'He was as . suprised as we are!' The . images come after the area was blanketed with snow throughout Thursday . night, with residents seeing anything between two and four inches. They . also suffered bitterly cold temperatures, with the mercury plummeting . to its lowest level so far this season of 16 degrees. Forecasters said . it felt more like -1 degree due to the wind. Snow . hit other areas across the Northeast even harder; there were between . six and 10 inches reported around New York City, nine inches in . Philadelphia and nearly 14 inches in Boston. Blanketed: A man takes a photo at the Korean War Memorial in D.C., which saw several inches of snow . Snow storm: Other areas of the country, including Atlantic City, New Jersey (pictured) were harder hit by the snow storm. Parts of Boston could see as many as 14 inches, forecasters warned . | Nelson and Hillary Jones were shoveling snow outside their D.C. home on Friday when they decided to push their faces against it .
They took a photo and were shocked that the faces looked 3D in the image . |
16cc9598ac6cbe2647694d841913800d09c43e7c | There have been 3D-printed buildings, dresses, hats, jewellery and even parts of the anatomy. And now the world has been introduced to Strati, a 3D-printed car which was created using direct digital manufacturing techniques. The car is composed of 40 parts - a significantly smaller number than that of a conventional vehicle which has more than 20,000 components. The Strati is made of only 40 parts, unlike conventional vehicles which have more than 20,000 components . Conceived of by the Arizona-based Local Motors, the printing and assembly process took 44 hours to complete and took place during the six-day International Manufacturing Technology Show 2014 in Chicago. Made of one solid piece, the Strati will have a top speed of 40mph and a battery range of between 120 to 150 miles. The chassis and the body of the car are printed using a giant 3D printer but the tires, seats, wheels, battery, wiring, suspension, electric motor and window shield were made using conventional methods. Local Motors hopes to offer 3D-printed cars for sale for between £11,000 to £18,000 ($18k to $30k) each . The car was made using a giant 3D printer which can process parts as large as 3ft by 5ft by 10ft . The battery-powered, two-passenger car is made of layers of black plastic and reinforced with carbon fiber. Local Motors CEO John Rogers told the Wall Street Journal: 'We are the first company to make a 3D-printed car using carbon fiber reinforced thermoplastic. 'The seats, body, chassis, dash, center console and hood will all be 3D printed.' Experts hope the less expensive manufacturing process will bring innovations to the market more swiftly . The company hopes to offer 3D-printed cars for between £11,000 to £18,000 ($18,000 to $30,000) each, depending on the types of optional features buyers will want. A machine tool maker, Cincinnati Inc, supplied the huge printer, much larger than the usual 3D printers, which are usually 10ins by 10ins. This particular printer is able to process parts as large as 3ft by 5ft by 10ft. Local Motors wants to launch '3D printed vehicles that will be available to the general public' Local Motors has been producing motorcycles, motorised skateboards and other vehicles since 2007, using the same method. Mr Rogers hopes that this less expensive manufacturing process will bring innovations to the market more swiftly than the usual methods of production. On their website, Local Motors says that it is planning to launch 'production-level 3D printed vehicles that will be available to the general public for purchase in the months following the show'. | Strati was conceived of by Arizona-based innovators Local Motors .
Created on a giant printer using digital manufacturing techniques .
The battery-powered, two-passenger car is made from carbon fiber . |
16ce940cbfa1526d99668f18d97f489ad036ee11 | By . Liz Thomas . UPDATED: . 19:22 EST, 18 January 2012 . It's one of the nation’s best-loved television shows and has just celebrated Golden Globe success in America. But Downton Abbey has failed to impress Simon Schama, who has launched a scathing attack on the programme, claiming it’s a ‘steaming, silvered tureen of snobbery’. According to Professor Schama, one of the country’s leading historians, Downton is guilty of ‘cultural necrophilia’ and is littered with inaccuracies and cliched storylines. Clash: Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes, . left, collects a Golden Globe award for the costume drama, that . historian Simon Schama, right, has deemed 'cultural necrophilia' The 66-year-old, a professor at Columbia University in New York, said: ‘It is a servile soap opera that an American public desperate for something, anything, to take its mind off the perplexities of the present, seems only too happy to down in great, grateful gulps.’ Writing in Newsweek, he added: ‘Nothing beats British television drama for servicing the instincts of cultural necrophilia. ‘So the series is fabulously frocked, and acted, and overacted, and hyper-overacted by all the Usual Suspects in keeping with their allotted roles … . 'Hyper-overacted': Elizabeth McGovern, left, as Cora and Hugh Bonneville, right, as Robert . 'Historically inaccurate': Jessica Brown Findlay as Lady Sybil Crawley, left, Michelle Dockery as Lady Mary Crawley, centre, and Laura Carmichael as Lady Edith Crawley, right . ‘All the main plot lines were anticipated a long time ago by Upstairs, Downstairs.’ Downton regularly pulls in more than ten million viewers in Britain, and the first series has been sold to more than 100 countries. In the U.S. it is broadcast on Sunday nights on state-funded channel PBS, and attracts more than four million viewers – double the usual audience in that time slot. But Professor Schama suggested this was simply down to the ‘unassuageable American craving for the British country house’. The historian said that Fellowes had sacrificed historical accuracy for a 'bromide of romance'. 'If . Fellowes were really interested in the true drama attending the port . and partridge classes... the story on our TV would be quite different,' he added. Popular: Lady Mary in the ITV hit costume drama Downton Abbey - but she may not be too popular with Simon Schama . Blooper: Yellow parking lines are visible on the road during one of the episodes of the Edwardian period drama . Producer Gareth Neame defended the show, saying: ‘Downton is a fictional drama, not a history programme.’ The stinging attack from the respected historian comes just days after the show's creator Julian Fellowes collected a Golden Globe for the series. He was joined by Bonneville, who plays Robert Crawley, Earl of Grantham and actress McGovern, who plays his wife Cora, Countess of Grantham. Downton has been an enormous success in the U.S., doubling the Sunday evening audience for the PBS channel. Downton has suffered a torrent of . criticism over its historical accuracy. A string of blunders have . appeared in the outdoor scenes, shot mostly in the Oxfordshire village . of Bampton. They have included a television aerial fixed to a home, a modern-style conservatory appearing in shot, as well as double yellow lines on a road. Viewers even claim to have spotted a modern street sign in the background and to have noted that a piece of music which was featured in one episode not yet been written at the time the series is set. A sting of historians have also blasted the drama. The 'fantasy' portrayal of Edwardian country house life in Dowton Abbey is 'b*******, basically,' A.N. Wilson said. Best known for . Being described as 'the biggest toff in Britain' Most likely to say . Darling, fetch me the port. Then we can look out across the estate as the great unwashed go about their quaint little lives. Least likely to say . Fancy a curry tonight, luv? X Factor's on telly then it's the Gunners on Match of the Day. Family . Son a of British diplomat Peregrine Edward Launcelot Fellowes. Full name is Julian Alexander Kitchener-Fellowes, Baron Fellowes of West Stafford. Ancestors were servants. Education . Various private schools around England followed by Magdalene College, Cambridge . Career . Started out as actor in U.S. TV. First U.K break came in Monarch of the Glen, followed by Our Friends in the North, Aristocrats and other historical dramas. Appeared in several films before turning to screenplay to create Gosford Park and latterly Downton Abbey. His novel 'Snobs' was a best seller. Politics . Thoroughly conservative. Sits as a Tory peer in the House of Lords. Controversy . Angered established historians with his portrayal of upper class Edwardian life with Downton Abbey. Branded 'basically b*******'. Accused of relentless snobbery. Wealth . Unlike a true aristocrat with piles inherited wealth, he is - whisper it - a self-made man. Wife, however, is the super-posh Lady-in-Waiting to HRH The Princess Michael of Kent. Best known for . Being the thinking ladies' history heart-throb . Most likely to say . That's now how it happened! You're trampling all over history in the hunt for ratings. Least likely to say . History? Scrap all those pointless lessons in schools. We can write it how we like. Family . Born in London and moved to Essex. Son of Jewish parents with roots in Lithuania, Romania and Turkey. Father was a textile merchant working across the capital. Education . Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School then Christ's College, Cambridge . Career . Graduated with a rare 'Starred First'. Wrote several books while working as a lecturer. His characteristic presentation secured a BBC series in 1995 called Landscape and Memory. Received a CBE in 2001 and a lucrative Harper Collins contract. Produced a string of acclaimed historical documentaires. Politics . Labour. Donated £2,000 to Oona King for her London Mayor bid . Controversy . Accused by some historians of 'dumbing down' history and being a 'populist' concerned more with a glossy delivery. His highly successful 'A History of Britain' was accused of 'condensing' the past. Wealth . A humble background, winning scholarships for his education. Signed a book deal in 2003 worth £3 million - the biggest advance deal ever for a TV historian. The highest paid and most successful historian on TV. While Edwardian expert Jennifer Newby criticised Fellowes for his portrayal of servants in the country house drama, who look too clean and act far too familiar with their employers. She said the programme was 'infuriating' to watch. Oscar winner Fellowes, the son of a displomat, has previously dismissed his critics as 'socially insecure, left-wing nitpickers'. But the latest comments are from the most high-profile historian yet. And they will be particularly poignant, given that Schama and Fellowes both moved to the U.S. in the 1980s and share a passion for the country. Schama became the highest-paid historian on television and his latest series, The American Future, has proved popular. Fellowes has praised the 'mobile society' of the U.S. | Show 'is hyper-overacted' and 'cultural necrophilia'
Comes days after creator Julian Fellowes collects Golden Globe award . |
16d038ba7bd35d42e308cf41890deca93f1d8b37 | By . Adam Shergold . PUBLISHED: . 05:53 EST, 19 November 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 15:49 EST, 19 November 2012 . A security guard was burned to death when a massive fire engulfed a 15-storey office block in the heart of New Delhi's business district on Monday morning. Jai Bhagwan, 52, died on the eighth floor of Himalaya House after the fire broke out on the third floor of the building and rapidly spread upwards, the Hindustan Times reported. Thick plumbs of smoke poured from windows and flames were visible on a number of floors during the blaze, which was reportedly caused by an electrical fault at about 6.20am. Scroll down for video . Inferno: A security guard died in this enormous blaze in Himalaya House, a 15-storey office tower in the heart of New Delhi, on Monday morning . Burned out: The fire was believed to have been caused by an electrical fault on the third floor and spread rapidly to higher levels . Intense heat: Firefighters dispatched 32 engines to tackle the blaze, which was still smouldering at around midday, six hours after it started . Two other guards were rescued from the building by firefighters, who had dispatched 32 engines to the scene to douse the blaze. They were Shiv Kumar, who was rescued from the sixth floor, and Raj Kumar, who was rescued from the 11th floor. However, Mr Bhagwan, who was sleeping when the fire broke out, wasn't able to escape in time. Shrouded in smoke: A firefighter tries to reach the upper floors of Himalaya House to douse plumbs of smoke . Scorched: The fire broke out about 6.30am on the third floor and quickly spread to higher levels. The deceased security guard was asleep as the fire raged . Supply lines: A firefighter waits for waters as his colleagues in the background try to keep the flames under control . 'The body of a security guard was recovered from the building,' said AK Sharma, director of Delhi Fire services. 'He was apparently sleeping when the fire broke out and could not get out of the building. Two guards were rescued.' Casualties would have been higher had the fire broke out later in the day, as the 50-metre high is home to a number of companies. 'There was a lot of smoke. The smoke blackened the sky,' Kamal, an eyewitness, said. Big operation: Firefighters coordinate on the ground outside Himalaya House, which is home to a number of commercial companies . Risky: The Delhi Fire service said it was not known whether firefighting equipment inside the building was functional . Good view: Office workers in an adjacent building watch as the large fire burns out of control . Close quarters: The blaze was very near to other office blocks in New Delhi's business district . | Security guard dies after electrical fault causes massive blaze in 15-storey office block in the heart of New Delhi's business district .
Firefighters spent all morning dousing the flames after the fire broke out at 6.20am local time . |
16d0d5584114a74bbd6a80e6216509bd0a006a56 | Late last month, it was announced the foundation searching for a site to establish Barack Obama's presidential library had 'major concerns' about going with the University of Chicago. Then just this week, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emmanuel proposed an ordinance that would allow the university to build the library on the city park land if the school was selected. The timing of the proposal, which comes right before a selection deadline for the Obamas, has opponents of the plan upset that the Chicago machine is once again interfering in city affairs. Timing: Chicago Mayor Rahm Emmanuel proposed an ordinance this week that would allow the university to build Obama's presidential library on park land, with timing that has some opponents suspicious . 'The big guys — the mayor, the university and the president — they're all together,' said resident Robin Kaufman at a public hearing concerning the possible transfer. The city has not been keen to give up the spaces like the ones proposed for the library, 20 acres each in Washington Park and Jackson Park on Chicago's South Side, in the past. George Lucas, creator of Star Wars, proposed a $300million museum on the lakefront, but ran into the non-profit Friends of the Parks, which is currently suing in federal court over the plans. Cassandra Francis, president of Friends of the Parks, is less optimistic of her chances against Emanuel, who was the president's chief of staff until leaving in 2010 to run for mayor. With talk that Emanuel and the foundation may have used a crisis to limit public opposition to the plans, Francis said it was likely both were in talks about the space 'for a long time.' Emanuel has made the city's bid for the presidential library a central focus as he heads into the February 24 election trying to avoid a close race with upstart candidate Jesus 'Chuy' Garcia. Designs: The University of Chicago submitted a proposal for the library that included two parcels the school does not own that are part of city parks in the South Side . Machine politics: The ties between Emanuel and President Obama have opponents of the plan worried that the city will steamroll any opposition to putting in the library on parks land . Support in Chicago's South Side, where the parks are located, has been weak for Emanuel amidst worries over education and crime, but could rebound with a presidential library in the neighborhood. 'It is essential that the president's library is here in the city of Chicago and not in New York, and I will do what is necessary ... to move heaven and earth to make this happen,' Emanuel said this week. The park district board, which oversees the land in question, is headed by Bryan Traubert, who recused himself from the decision because his wife, Penny Pritzker, is US commerce secretary. 'Does anyone really think the park district won't do exactly what the mayor wants?' Delmarie Cobb, a Democratic political consultant and critic of Emanuel, said of the decision . 'This is a slippery slope that none of us can go down because this is Chicago,' she added. 'And we all know how Chicago works.' | Mayor Rahm Emanuel submitted a proposal this week to give University of Chicago the right to use park land if it wins a bid for the library .
Opponents of the plan say City Hall and the presidential library foundation were in talks over how to push through a plan to use the park space .
Time for public hearings on the plan has been short as a deadline for the selection looms . |
16d0e9810a29b4f6eef2d480785db3db845b6c00 | An intoxicated man has been caught on camera crashing his car and stripping off in front of stunned onlookers. Vincent Wade allegedly got drunk and smashed a car outside Crown Fried Chicken in Philadelphia about 10.30am Monday. But as the mercury plunged to a low 38 degrees, so did the 34-year-old's pants. The New Jersey resident got out of the silver Camry, undressed and began pleasuring himself - and it was all filmed. WARNING: Graphic video below . Choking the chicken: Vincent Wade, 34, was caught on camera playing with himself after crashing a car outside a Philadelphia chicken shop and stripping on Monday . The bemused man who shot the gripping saga on his phone assured Philly Mag that Wade was practicing self-love just 400 feet from an elementary school. 'Oh, he was most definitely making himself feel happy,' he said. According to the police report, Wade was sitting in the driver's seat when cops arrived and his clothes were torn off. He couldn't stand on his own. Witnesses told officers that Wade tried to drive off after his over-the-top display, but luckily someone removed the keys and held them until . police arrived. The Crown Fried Chicken manager said damage to the restaurant was minimal. Police charged Wade with driving under the influence. But on public lewdness charges? He got off. He was released from jail after posting a $500 bond. Once in a blue moon: When he wasn't pleasuring himself, 34-year-old Vincent Wade was bending over and flashing his backside to passersby . Too much information: Vincent Wade was charged with driving under the influence, but not public lewdness . | Vincent Wade, 34, captured on camera at a Philadelphia intersection on Monday morning .
The New Jersey resident crashed a car outside Crown Fried Chicken and stripped before 'choking the chicken'
He was charged with driving under the influence .
It was 38 degrees and the crash happened near a school . |
16d141f3f99f870f12c9afd408729cfe3dbc867b | (CNN) -- The Iowa Army National Guard's 1st Battalion, 133rd Infantry received an emotional welcome home July 25 -- more than a year and a half after leaving for Iraq. More than 600 soldiers marched on the field at Riverfront Stadium in Waterloo, Iowa, in front of thousands of friends and family members. I-Reporter Myke Goings captures Iowa National Guard soldiers celebrating their return from Iraq. The unit served 17 months in Iraq, as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom, said Master Sgt. Duff McFadden of the Iowa National Guard. Two soldiers were killed in action, both by a roadside bomb, Radio Iowa reported. I-Reporter Myke Goings captured the emotion of family members and soldiers on camera as well as the tributes to the soldiers around town. His wife works with Sara Barnard, who reunited with her husband Tim at the ceremony. "You could see the excitement of the look on her face as she finally found him in the group," Goings said. "To do that with everyone in camouflage was amazing." E-mail to a friend . | More than 600 soldiers returned to Iowa from service in Iraq on July 25 .
Thousands of friends and relatives welcomed them back at ceremony .
I-Reporter Myke Goings documented the event . |
16d1b511a1278f618cf5a3104ef29853a2799655 | By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 12:15 EST, 7 December 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 12:38 EST, 7 December 2012 . The Nevada mother-of-two who spent six days stranded in the snow-filled Sierra Nevada mountains told her doctor that she survived by eating tomatoes and snow and huddling in a hollow tree for warmth at night. Paula Lane, 46, and her boyfriend Roderick Clifton, 44, were reported missing on November 29 when their car became stuck in a snowstorm as they drove from the home of Clifton's mother in Citrus Heights, Calif., to their own home in Gardnerville, Nev. Though Clifton died trying to reach help, Lane was discovered on Wednesday by her brother who tirelessly searched the woman and never gave up hope that they would bring her home alive. Scroll down for video . Lucky to be alive: Paula Lane was missing for six days before she was found crawling along a road in the Sierra Nevada Mountains . Gone: Roderick Clifton, 44, was found dead miles from his Jeep after he and his girlfriend went off-roading inthe Sierra Nevada mountains and were trapped by a snowstorm . Mystery: Authorities are still unsure of Clifton's cause of death . Treacherous: Mr Clifton and Ms Lane were left stranded after a massive snowstorm hit in the Sierra Nevada Mountains . It is believed the couple took their Jeep off-roading when they became stranded in the Sierra Nevada mountains somewhere off Highway 88/89 on November 29. Because of limited mobile service in the high altitudes, authorities were unable to track their cell phones. 'We were told they were off four-wheel driving up that road and got . stuck,' said Citrus Heights spokesman Officer Bryan G. Fritsch. Clifton left the jeep on November 30 in an effort to seek help but he never returned. His body was discovered on Wednesday, several miles away from the highway. Clifton is survived by three daughters. Survivor: It was Paula Lane's brother Gary, left, who found her. She is being treated at a nearby hospital but is expected to survive without injury . When her boyfriend failed to return, Lane waited in the vehicle until Monday when she decided to set out to look for him. She told rescuers she found his body as she tried to make her way to the highway. A massive manhunt had been launched on December 1 to search for the pair and her brother, Gary Lane, had rented a front loader and was patrolling the roadway. 'It's been a rough haul, waiting all those days, trying to know if she'd made it or not,' Lane's older sister, Linda Hathaway, said at a news conference on Thursday at Carson Tahoe Regional Hospital, where Lane was admitted for first-degree frostbite and malnourishment, according to ABC News. Lane is the mother of 11-year-old twin sons and Hathaway said they had prepared the boys for the worst. Location: Mr Clifton and Ms Lane were traveling to their Gardnerville, Nevada, home from Mr Clifton's mother's house in Citrus Heights, California . Searching: After spending a day in the Jeep, Clifton went off on his own to find help . In an amazing turn of events, Paula Lane was found on Wednesday crawling in the snow by her brother, who knew that his sister liked to camp out in the area. 'She is mighty and she's a survivor and loves life,' Hathaway said about her sister's strength amidst the terrifying ordeal. Lane's attending physician, Dr. Vijay Maiya, said the woman told him that she sought shelter 'hiding out in a hollow tree,' in addition to eating the tomatoes the couple had packed in the car with them. She also said she ate snow to try and stay hydrated. 'She is medically stable. She's recovering nicely,' Maiya said at the news conference. He said the woman's road to recovery will include 25 per cent of physical recovery and the remaining 75 per cent will be overcoming the emotional trauma of the event. She is being treated for first-degree frostbite and malnourishment. Watch video here . Unfortunately your browser does not support IFrames. | Paula Lane, 46, was discovered crawling through the snow on Wednesday after spending six days in the wilderness .
Her family said they had prepared Lane's 11-year-old twin sons for the worst .
Lane is being treated for first-degree frostbite and malnourishment .
Her boyfriend, 44-year-old Roderick Clifton, father to three daughters, died trying to seek help .
'She is mighty and she's a survivor,' Lane's sister said . |
16d23b7896303264bbad1aa80a99545b647a341d | By . Helen Pow . PUBLISHED: . 11:07 EST, 18 December 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 15:58 EST, 18 December 2013 . Injured: Anthony Gambale, 19, and Gabriella Katanov, 17, pictured, were critically injured with second- and third-degree burns in the blast that took place inside a Marine Parkway garage in Brooklyn early Tuesday . A pair of teen sweethearts have been rushed to hospital after an experiment to make their marijuana stash more potent ended in a fiery explosion, police said. Anthony Gambale, 19, and Gabriella Katanov, 17, were critically injured with second- and third-degree burns in the blast that took place inside a Marine Parkway garage in Brooklyn, early Tuesday. The couple were trying to make what's called 'ear wax' marijuana - a version 80 per cent stronger than usual pot and highly hallucinatory - by soaking the drug in butane. However, as they were evaporating off the gas, one of them lit a cigarette and the garage went up in flames. According to the New York Daily News, the explosion rocked the sleeping residential neighborhood and residents could hear the pair begging for help. 'We could see the flames and hear people yelling for help,' next-door neighbor Pat Doyle told the Daily News. Gambale and Katanov are both in serious condition at Staten Island University Hospital. 'Their lungs are good... but from the waist up, all burned,' the girl's devastated mother, Luba Poukhova, told the Daily News. Scene: The blast occurred in the garage of a home, pictured, in Marine Park, Brooklyn . Experiment: Officials reported the explosion occurred as a result of a huge marijuana experiment involving butane. They were transported to Staten Island University Hospital North and now face drug charges . 'Her hands, too. She could be in the hospital for a year. She needs surgery. The doctors said it will get worse every day.' Poukhova said her daughter attended . Rachel Carson High School and had been dating Gambale, a friend since . childhood, for around seven months. On Monday night, Gabriella went out about 8 p.m., promising to be home by 11 p.m., the mother told the Daily News. Potent: The couple were allegedly trying to make the extremely powerful form of marijuana, known as 'ear wax,' pictured, for its yellowish color and gooey consistency . Police said the couple were trying to . make the extremely powerful form of marijuana, known as 'ear wax,' for . its yellowish color and gooey consistency. Gambale and Katanov had . filled a blue 30-gallon tub with cannabis and covered it in butane, . according to police. Officers also found pot plants, plastic storage containers, plastic tabs, coffee filters and glass pans on the premises. Drug charges are pending for the teens. Also nicknamed 'dabs,' 'honey oil,' or . 'butter,' the turbo-charged high is far stronger than normal pot . and has become a growing problem in parts of the country, according to . drug addiction specialists. 'The symptoms of wax, dabs, or butter include psychotic breaks, having hallucinations, seeing things that are not there, hearing things that are not there, having tactile sensations like something's crawling under my skin,' Jon Daily, the founder of Recovery Happens Counseling Services, told KCRA.com last month. He added: 'It's much more addictive. I think there's going to be psychological ramifications to come. I think we're going to see more psychosis with it, more anxiety with it. We're going to see more sleep problems with it.' Tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, is the drug in marijuana that induces a high. While pot contains roughly 20 per cent THC, ear wax can contain up to 90 per cent of it. | Anthony Gambale, 19, and Gabriella Katanov, 17, were critically injured with second- and third-degree burns in the massive blast that occurred inside a Marine Parkway garage in Brooklyn, early Tuesday .
The couple were trying to make what's called 'ear wax' marijuana by soaking their pot in butane, police said .
However, as they were evaporating off the gas, one of them lit a cigarette and the garage went up in flames .
The pot, which is 80 pr cent stronger than normal marijuana, is becoming a growing problem, experts have warned . |
16d2653b70b8294870547e7768d1d0b7eecc1ddf | By . Ashley Collman . The high school friend of a missing Colorado teen who gave a television interview begging for help in the search, was arrested for the 19-year-old woman's murder on Thursday. Lea Chali Porter, 19, of Pueblo was reported missing by her mother on June 5 and was last seen driving to 23-year-old friend Christopher Waide's apartment after getting into a fight with her boyfriend. In the wake of her disappearance, Waide gave a television interview saying Porter left his house in the middle of the night and he hadn't seen her since, though her car never left his apartment's parking lot. From concerned friend to number one suspect: 23-year-old Christopher Waide (right) was arrested on Thursday after confessing to killing Denver woman Lea Porter, 19. Before he was arrested, Waide gave a television interview in which he asked for help searching for the missing girl . Missing: 19-year-old Lea Porter was first reported missing on June 5 by her mother. She was last seen driving to Waide's apartment after getting into a fight with her boyfriend . But after being confronted by Porter's brother and boyfriend in a recorded conversation Thursday, Waide copped to killing the missing girl and dumping her body. Booked: Waide is currently being held without bond at the Adams County Jail on charges of first-degree murder and sexual assault. His first court appearance is scheduled for Monday . Police say Waide was always a suspect in the girl's disappearance but that they didn't have enough evidence to arrest him. While he was free, Waide gave an interview to CBS Denver reporters, in which he voiced apparent concern over his missing friend. 'Well, overall I just want her to be safe,' he said in the taped interview. 'I don’t have very many friends but the friends I do have I’m very loyal to. So even losing one is a heavy blow for me. I tried texting her. I’ve tried calling her. I’ve left her some messages on Facebook and haven’t heard anything back from her.' During the interview, the reporter noted that Waide looked on edge, and he said the investigation was putting him outside his comfort zone. 'It’s definitely intimidating because I’m more of a person to listen and not speak. So with everyone trying to get in touch with me and asking me what happened, it’s been a shock to my system,' Waide said. In addition to the television interview, Waide wrote several posts on Facebook raising awareness of Porter's disappearance. The last post was dated June 9 and said: 'Lea please come back to us'. Porter and Waide both attended Florence High School together and had recently connected on Facebook. She graduated in 2013 and was planning a move to Denver, and Waide promised to help. Waide initially told investigators that he and Porter got into a fight when she came over to his apartment, after he confronted her about having heroin. Porter's mother says she wasn't aware her daughter struggled with substance abuse. Crime scene: On Friday, police cordoned off Waide's apartment and carried out several brown bags of evidence . Mystery: Waide initially told police that Porter left his house in the middle of the night and he hadn't heard from her since. He wrote several posts on Facebook, raising awareness of Porter's disappearance (right) But Waide said she left after that and hadn't heard from her. Waide changed his story on Thursday when Porter's brother and boyfriend approached him at his apartment. He took them to a nearby park where he confessed to murdering Porter and even went into detail about how he killed her. The two men had 911 recording the conversation the whole time and Waide was arrested that evening. Police say he is being 'cooperative' and even 'helping with finding the body'. On Friday, investigators removed several brown bags of evidence from Waide's apartment, as well as trash bins in the apartment complex. They also cordoned off an area near a landfill. 'We have some good leads as to where Lea's at so we want to bring her home to her family,' Westminster Police Department spokesman Cheri Spottke told the Denver Post. Waide is being held without bond at the Adams County Jail on charges of first-degree murder and sexual assault. His first court appearance is scheduled for Monday. Confession: Waide later confessed to killing Porter after her boyfriend and brother confronted him at his apartment . | Lea Chali Porter, 19, was reported missing June 5 by her mother .
She was last reported visiting high school acquaintance Christopher Waide, 23, at his apartment .
He says she left his apartment in the middle of the night after they got into a fight .
In the days after her disappearance, police interviewed Waide and searched his home but didn't find cause to make an arrest .
On Thursday, Porter's brother and boyfriend confronted Waide and he confessed to killing her and disposing her body .
He has since been arrested and charged with sexual assault and first-degree murder .
Police say Waide is cooperating and helping investigators find Porter's body . |
16d32f5e80a786e250f915c51ced55395e1f737b | (CNN) -- Chalk another record to the United Arab Emirates' collection. The Capital Gate building in the desert kingdom's capital, Abu Dhabi, has been certified by Guinness World Records as the "World's Furthest Leaning Man-made Tower." How far does it lean? Nearly five times farther than the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy. The 35-story Abu Dhabi building has an 18-degree slope, compared with four degrees for the freestanding bell tower. But unlike the tower in Pisa, the Capital Gate building has been deliberately engineered to slant. The floor plates are stacked vertically up to the 12th floor, after which they are staggered over each other by between 300 mm to 1,400 mm -- giving the tower its lean, the owners said. "It is a signature building which speaks to the foresight of the emirate," said Sheikh Sultan Bin Tahnoon al Nahyan, the chairman of the building's owner, Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company. The mixed-use building will be ready for occupancy at the end of the year. It is featured in a new National Geographic documentary, called "Megastructures." In January, Dubai -- one of seven emirates that make up the UAE -- unveiled the world's tallest skyscraper: the $1.5 billion, 160-story Burj Khalifa, which has a height of more than 800 meters (2,625 ft). | Capital Gate building leans nearly five times farther than Leaning Tower of Pisa .
It is deliberately engineered to lean .
UAE also home to world's tallest skyscraper . |
16d3cc3921265b74181e086c6d5f121b366b86f7 | (CNN) -- An evangelical preacher killed his wife several years ago and stuffed her body in a freezer after she caught him abusing their daughter, according to police and court documents. Anthony Hopkins appeared in court Thursday to face murder, rape and incest charges. Anthony Hopkins, 37, was arrested Monday night at the Inspirational Tabernacle Church of God in Christ in Jackson, Alabama, just after he had delivered a sermon to a congregation that included his seven other children, officials said. He faces charges including murder, rape, sodomy, sexual abuse and incest. Hopkins was denied bail Thursday when he appeared before Mobile County District Judge George Hardesty. The case is set for arraignment next week, Hardesty's clerk said. The case began Monday, when the daughter, now 19, went to the Mobile Police Department's Child Advocacy Center and reported that she had been sexually abused by Hopkins since she was 11 years old, according to an affidavit filed in support of a search warrant of the preacher's home in Mobile. The affidavit related the daughter's story as follows: . Her mother, Arletha Hopkins, 36, caught her father abusing her in a bathroom in November 2004. Afterward, her parents argued, and her mother locked her father out of the house. The father came to the daughter's window and asked her to let him in, and she did so. The next morning, her father asked her to help him hide her mother's body in the freezer in the laundry room of the home. The girl said she moved out of the home about two weeks ago and was living with a neighbor. She told police that her mother's body was still in the freezer. When authorities went to the home, no one was there, as Hopkins and the other children were at the church. A body was found in the freezer, the affidavit says. Although police think the body is that of Arletha Hopkins, an identification is not expected until early next week, Mobile Police spokesman Officer Eric Gallichant said Thursday. Watch Nancy Grace's report » . Mobile Police Chief Phillip Garrett had said that an identification and autopsy results would take a few days: "obviously, the body was in a freezer." He said he was not sure of the body's condition or whether it was intact, as upon seeing the body, authorities immediately sealed the chest-type freezer. The body had been covered in the unit, he said, and the entire appliance was taken to the state Department of Forensic Science. At the Inspirational Tabernacle Church of God in Christ, Hopkins was preaching at a revival, pastor Beverly Jackson told CNN affiliate WKRG. His message, she said, was about forgiveness and not passing judgment -- and at one point, he turned to his seven children and asked them to forgive him his past, present and future. Police allowed Hopkins to finish his sermon before arresting him, Jackson said. She said she asked police why they were arresting him and was told, "he murdered his wife." She said Hopkins had told her his wife died four years ago while giving birth to their youngest son. Attempts to reach Jackson on Thursday were unsuccessful. Authorities moved quickly on the daughter's accusations to make sure the children still in the household were OK, Garrett said. They were placed in the custody of child welfare authorities. The next-oldest child is a 17-year-old female, he said. All eight were the children of Arletha Hopkins, and Anthony Hopkins fathered six of them, he said. An investigation has not found any record of Arletha Hopkins' existence since 2004, according to the affidavit. Asked how long police think the body had been in the freezer, Garrett said, "I'm thinking that she's probably been there for a number of years." He said Anthony Hopkins did not have a regular church but apparently preached in various areas around the South. "Part of the mystery here is that, apparently, none of these children were in school" but were being home-schooled, Mobile County District Attorney John Tyson said. "Home schooling, under this situation, removes almost any chances of us catching up with these kinds of things until there is a catastrophe." Pastor Jerry Porter said he used to preach with Hopkins at his church, the Williams Street Holiness Church, and knew the family. Arletha Hopkins "was very quiet," he told Mobile television station and CNN affiliate WPMI. "She was kind of secluded. She'd talk, but not much." Anthony Hopkins, he said, made statements that led him to believe all was not well at home. "He always used to tell me ... 'You're blessed in the fact that you have a wife that supports you and what you're trying to do for God,' " Porter said. He said Arletha Hopkins disappeared shortly after the couple's youngest child was born. As rumors swirled, Porter said, he confronted Hopkins and asked whether his wife was dead. Hopkins "wouldn't give me an answer," he said. After that, Porter said, he banned him from the church but remained on good terms with him. He said he visited the family a few years ago, and their home was clean and well-kept. "It was the ideal family. I mean, the children were so respectful, just so easygoing," Porter said. "Didn't seem to be no stress at all. Never got that impression, never." The children, he said, "loved their dad. They were very close to him." Of Hopkins' preaching ability, Porter said, "he was a bulls-eye prophet. If he told you something, you could pretty much bank on it." | NEW: Anthony Hopkins denied bail at initial court appearance .
Preacher is charged with murder, rape, sodomy, sexual abuse and incest .
He was arrested after delivering sermon at his Alabama church .
Case began when daughter told police she'd been sexually abused . |
16d4535a7ad99e9f868a0568f535443767216e21 | By . Anna Edwards . PUBLISHED: . 11:53 EST, 10 September 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 07:56 EST, 11 September 2013 . David Lawson, 63, from Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, pleaded guilty to two counts of harassment . A neighbour from hell who told a funeral director that his neighbour's wife had died when she was still alive has pleaded guilty to a campaign of harassment. Newton Aycliffe Magistrates' Court heard that the couple were left distressed after they were visited by the Co-operative Funeral Care following the call from David Lawson. It was said that Lawson, 63, of Newton Aycliffe, made the call after the woman’s husband was due to give evidence against him in court. Chris Bunting said: 'Lawson had gone . online and told them that funeral arrangements were needed. It caused . distress and it upset (the victim).' Mr . Bunting added that a few weeks earlier Lawson had driven into Kirkham . Close as (the victim) crossed the road in a manner which made her . worried he might hit her.' Nick Woodhouse, defending, said Lawson had tried to cancel the funeral directors, but he was too late to prevent the visit. It was also said Lawson, who pleaded guilty to two counts of harassment, targeted another neighbour after an agreement over a lawnmower turned sour. Chris Bunting, prosecuting, said: 'At one time Lawson and (the victim) were close friends. They agreed to split the cost of a lawnmower that each of them would use. Newton Aycliffe Magistrates' Court heard how Lawson targeted a neighbour after a row over a lawnmower . 'The relationship soured to a point where there was little communication between them. 'Then a text message was sent by Lawson calling, without any foundation, (the victim) a pervert and a paedophile. 'Lawson was also seen tipping a bucket of cold water onto (the victim’s) drive in December so it would make a slippery patch and a hazard. 'He then sang a rude version of the song Long-Haired Lover from Liverpool which was offensive to (the victim). The magistrates adjourned the case until Monday, September 30, so that a pre-sentence report could be prepared. | David Lawson called Co-operative Funeral Care after his neighbour's husband was due to give evidence against him in court .
Nightmare neighbour, from Newton Aycliffe, called another a paedophile and a pervert after rowing with him about a lawnmower .
Lawson, 63, pleaded guilty to two counts of harassment . |
16d4ad10ada1479423b5cb9bbfceb44499c6ef09 | The immediate assumption one has on hearing that an academic has won the Nobel Prize is that he must always have been a brilliant and hard-working individual who was marked out for golden success. In the case of the Cambridge scientist Sir John Gurdon, who won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine this week, we were roundly disabused of this notion when he let it be known that his school science report began with the word ‘Disastrous’ — and went downhill from there. ‘I believe he has ideas about becoming a scientist,’ his biology teacher wrote. ‘On his present showing this is quite ridiculous; if he can’t learn simple biological facts he would have no chance of doing the work of a specialist, and it would be a sheer waste of time, both on his part, and of those who have to teach him.’ Sir John Gurdon, who won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in October, says human cloning could happen within 50 years . Gurdon’s work was ‘far from satisfactory’. One effort ‘scored two marks out of a possible 50’. In a class of 18 at Eton College, this master placed Gurdon 18th. And yet, 79-year-old Gurdon has for decades been pre-eminent in the field of cloning and cell research. True, there are those who have questioned some of the ethical issues arising out of his work. It is as a direct consequence of his endeavours, for example, that other scientists decided to proceed with cloning Dolly the Sheep. He has also been at the vanguard of defending genetically modified crops. But no one in recent years has questioned Sir John’s brilliance, nor his dedication to his work. Even when he was the Master of Magdalene College at Cambridge University, with administrative responsibility to students and scholars, Sir John never let up in his scientific work, and was hard at it in the laboratory even on days when he had also to attend fundraising meetings and the like. 'I believe he has ideas about becoming a scientist. On his present showing this is quite ridiculous... and it would be a sheer waste of time' Some people will read this story and remark how foolish the science teacher was. Not since 1895, when a Munich science teacher said that little Albert Einstein ‘will never amount to anything’ could anyone have got a budding scientist so wrong. But there is another way of looking at it. Is it not possible that this patently honest report is one of the reasons why Gurdon went on to such great heights? In most schools today, the ethos is that children must be congratulated at all times, even when they have achieved nothing spectacular. If a small child at kindergarten rolls a piece of Plasticine into the shape of a garden worm, the class is expected to be as impressed as if he had moulded it into the shape of the Venus de Milo. At assemblies, the most feeble, inaudible lisped readings and songs are greeted with wild applause. And later on, in the modern child’s school-days, it is thought desirable to continue praising and emphasising the positive. Pre-eminent: As a direct consequence of Sir Gurdon's endeavours, other scientists decided to proceed with cloning Dolly the Sheep (pictured) Thus the recent, welcome, decision to raise the bar for English GCSEs passes and to admit finally that some children could not spell, or write grammatically, or remember the books they had been studying, was greeted with howls of outrage and seen as unfair, and even cruel. The truth is that in state schools, proper school reports are a thing of the past. The old cliche — ‘could do better’ — is no longer allowed. It’s considered too harsh for the poor dears. But the fact is that unless someone tells a young pupil that they could do better, they never will do better. They are left with the lie that they could not improve — even if they tried. In any case, trying is not something which they are encouraged to do. Conned by artificially high grades at GCSEs, which are doled out by cynical examination boards touting for custom (the boards get paid by schools which choose them, so it is in their interest to make things easy), whole generations of school-children have never received criticism of the kind stingingly — and helpfully — delivered by John Gurdon’s Eton master. 'Far from satisfactory': In a class of 18 at Eton College (pictured), Sir Gurdon's teachers placed him 18th after he 'scored two marks out of a possible 50' Indeed, many students receiving such a rebuke today would probably need counselling, or their parents would write off to a solicitor seeking redress. For his part, John Gurdon became a great scientist, not because he was a conceited, lazy boy, who thought he knew it all, when he did not. He became a great scientist when he stopped being that boy, and learned the tough lessons that his biology master wanted to teach him: get your facts right, apply yourself, learn to be humble in respect of facts, work hard. Of course, Sir John has rightly been . seen as one of a number of high achievers who were either slow starters, . or whose genius was not spotted at school. So wrong: A Munich science teacher said that little Albert Einstein 'will never amount to anything' Winston Churchill is the classic case of the boy who was largely unloved by his parents, and unappreciated by the teachers. When he was an eight-year-old attending a private school called St George’s, Ascot, Churchill was said by his teacher to be ‘a very naughty boy’ and ‘a constant trouble to everybody and is always in some scrape or other. He cannot be trusted to behave himself anywhere’. Actually, Churchill’s anarchic and ungovernable behaviour — which got him into many scrapes in his political career — were part of what made him so unpredictable and successful a warlord. When he went on to Harrow School, his housemaster despairingly wrote: ‘He is so regular in his irregularity that I really don’t know what to do.’ (By contrast, in Linz, in Austria, a schoolmaster was writing that his pupil was ‘very satisfactory’ in his ‘moral conduct . . . religious instruction, adequate; freehand drawing good’. It was, of course, Adolf Hitler). There are countless examples of school . reports of successful people which are hardly complimentary — yet which . show the teachers had seen something in their pupils that would go on . being part of their later character. Churchill could certainly make colossal . mistakes and be ‘a constant trouble to everybody’ — that turned out to . be part of his greatness. And the important thing is that his teachers . were happy to express their firmly held opinions of him. The rot set in from the Seventies . when teachers’ training colleges all started going barmy, and it was . considered wicked to correct children’s mistakes. This was also the period from which educational standards generally started to plummet. Too harsh: In schools today the ethos is that children must be congratulated at all times, even when achieving nothing spectacular but unless someone tells a pupil that they could improve, they will never do better . If you are a dedicated teacher with a passion for your subject and a real love for your pupils, you will go on and on correcting them until they achieve excellence. But this approach did not fit in with the prevailing ethos of the educational establishment, which meant core subjects suffered. In maths, science, languages, and history, it is essential to get your facts and grammar right. Unsurprisingly, there has been a marked decline in these subjects in British education across the past 40 years, and a growth in so-called subjects where there is no right or wrong answer — such as design, creative writing, media studies, international relations, business studies, fashion, psychology — subjects where no one lets facts get in their way. By contrast, life-changing medical research such as that conducted by Sir John Gurdon, depends upon actually knowing things. And knowing things is only possible if some teacher has been brave enough to tell the pupils when they have got something wrong. All through the party conference season we have been treated to the boring spectacle of politicians vying with one another to raise the number of British students in higher education. But what is the point of doing so if these students are not studying anything useful? And how can anyone be expected to study something useful unless at an early stage a school teacher has been honest enough, caring enough, to say — as that biology teacher did all those years ago to a young John Gurdon: ‘If you go on making mistakes like that, you’ll never make anything of your life . . . it would be a sheer waste of time.’ | Nobel prize winning scientist Sir John Gurdon had 'disastrous' school report .
He went on to become pre-eminent in the field of cloning and cell research . |
16d4d525883debf93fc173edc9be29ffe6d47408 | By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 06:45 EST, 30 April 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 16:37 EST, 30 April 2013 . A four-year-old Indian girl who was raped and dumped on a farm has died of her injuries two weeks after the attack. The child’s parents found her unconscious in the town of Ghansour, Madhya Pradesh, on April 18, and has been fighting for life ever since. Her condition deteriorated rapidly yesterday and staff at the Care Hospital in Nagpur, where she had been transferred on April 20, were unable to save her. The rape of a four-year-old in Madhya Pradesh is the latest in a string of sexual attacks which have sparked street protests . Security forces lined up during a protest earlier this month against the rising number of rape cases in Delhi . A spokesman confirmed that she had died from a cardiac arrest at 7.45pm on Monday night. ‘We were taking all measures’, P.A. Sriram told AFP. ‘But yesterday her condition got bad and her blood pressure went down. ‘She was not reacting to medications’. A 35-year-old man had been arrested on suspicion of raping her, reported Hurriyet Daily News. Earlier this month a five-year-old girl was raped and tortured before being left . for dead in New Delhi - one of two suspects appeared in court today . accused of the heinous crime. An 11-year-old girl is also being treated at the same hospital, having . suffered serious internal injuries when she was gang-raped last August. Today a driver of a school bus was arrested for allegedly drugging and raping a 15-year-old girl in Bikaner, reported India Today. The teenager attended a private school in Bikaner and after she reported the alleged attack a man identified as Rajesh Kumar, 35, was arrested, . 'The girl was on her way to the school on April 26 when the driver met and offered her lift to the school. The driver was alone in the bus. He gave a sedative-laced drink to the girl and raped her,' said CO Babu Lal. Change: . Activists say passing new, strong laws is not enough, and that the . government must ensure that police and the justice system crack down on . crimes against women. Publicity: . Rape has been a problem in India for many years, but the fatal gang . rape of a woman on a New Delhi bus has pushed the issue to the top of . the national agenda . Sexual assaults in India have been increasing for many years, but the fatal gang rape of a woman on a New Delhi bus has pushed the issue to the top of the national agenda. The brutal attack sparked outrage about the treatment of women in the country and has made females more aware of the danger they face. Sexual crimes against women and children are reported every day in Indian newspapers, and women often complain about feeling insecure when they leave their homes. Since the bus gang-rape incident dozens of rapes cases in India - against both Indian women and tourists have been highlighted. Clashes: Police have been criticised for using heavy handed tactics against demonstrators who are demanding better protection of women following the brutal bus gang rape . The attack forced India to confront the reality that sexually-assaulted women are often blamed for the crime, forcing them to keep quiet and discouraging them from reporting it to authorities for fear of exposing their families to ridicule. Activists say passing new, strong laws is not enough, and that the government must ensure that police and the justice system crack down on crimes against women. Women face daily harassment across India, ranging from catcalls on the streets, groping and touching in public transport, to rape. Government data show the number of reported rape cases in the country rose by nearly 17 percent between 2007 and 2011. Rape victims rarely press charges because of social stigma and fear they will be accused of inviting the attack. Many women say they structure their lives around protecting themselves and their daughters from attack. | Child was found unconscious by her parents on April 18 .
Died from a cardiac arrest last night in hospital .
Sexual crimes against women and children are reported every day in India .
Attacks have topped national agenda since gang rape of Delhi student . |
16d5978ad519ad4b63c7b9a1916d8eac3aba89d8 | (CNN) -- An Australian man who "surfed" a floating whale carcass surrounded by sharks has admitted that he was an "idiot" to attempt the foolhardy feat. Harrison Williams, 26, was on a boating excursion with friends off the coast of Western Australia over the weekend when they came across the dead whale. "Out on the boat with the boys and one of my mates thought it'd be pretty funny if I surfed the whale, so I just did it," Williams told CNN affiliate Seven Network. He launched himself into the water and clambered onto the rotting carcass. But his friends' mirth quickly turned to horror when they noticed all the sharks swimming around the whale, feasting on its flesh. "Hazza! There's sharks there! Come back!" screams one of his friends in a video of the bizarre scene. 'Mum thinks I'm an idiot' Several tiger sharks and at least one great white shark were reported to have been feeding on the carcass. Williams said he'd seen the sharks, including the great white, before he jumped in. But that didn't put him off taking the leap. "He was too busy chomping on the whale so wasn't too bad," he told Seven Network. But not everyone was impressed. The Department of Fisheries said his behavior was risky and irresponsible, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported. And Williams' parents were none too pleased. "Mum thinks I'm an idiot, Dad's not too proud either," he said. He said he now agrees with their assessment and is "pretty grateful to still be alive." Carcass brings threat to beach . Authorities say that because the whale was dead and Williams didn't remove any part of it, he won't be fined for his actions, Seven Network reported. The carcass has since washed up on a beach at Scarborough, a suburb of the city of Perth, apparently drawing sharks with it. Authorities said they had closed that beach and two others nearby, with sharks sighted in the vicinity. Williams, meanwhile, says he won't be trying any similar stunts again. "I've done it," he said. "Don't need to do it again." Could dead whales explode? | Harrison Williams, 26, climbs on whale carcass surrounded by sharks .
"One of my mates thought it'd be pretty funny," he tells local broadcaster .
But now he acknowledges now that he's lucky to be alive .
"Mum thinks I'm an idiot, Dad's not too proud either," he says . |
16d67c6f8d718af847ec621d1537575a5822e7a7 | By . Joe Strange . Follow @@Joe_Strange . Just like a fine wine, Tim Howard is getting better with age. The 35-year-old proved as much on Tuesday evening when he put in arguably the greatest goalkeeping performance ever witnessed at a World Cup during the USA's narrow extra-time defeat to Belgium in Salvador. He conceded twice in that added 30 minutes, failing to stop Kevin de Bruyne's low strike and Romelu Lukaku's sweeping finish, but he had already won the hearts of a nation with a string of fine saves. VIDEO Scroll down to watch President Obama call to congratulate Tim Howard . Safe hands: USA goalkeeper Tim Howard made a record 15 saves in his country's World Cup defeat to Belgium . Mr Popular: Howard has been lauded as a national hero after his performance in Salvador on Tuesday . Glum: In the end Howard was unable to prevent the USA losing 2-1 in extra-time at the last 16 stage in Brazil . In total he kept Marc Wilmots' side out on 15 separate occasions - a new World Cup record - and almost helped his country reach the quarter-finals of the competition for the first time in 12 years. He has since received a congratulatory telephone call from president Barack Obama and seen a petition for his name to adorn an airport in Washington begin online. While the Tim Howard Washington National Airport is still some way off from becoming a reality, the transformation of the former MetroStars keeper from Manchester United flop to the most talked about player in world football - at least for a night - is complete. Howard began his career at Old Trafford in promising fashion after joining from Major League Soccer for around £3million in 2003, making a decisive penalty save to help the Red Devils win the Community Shield against Arsenal. He continued his impressive form in the Premier League, cementing his place as the club's No 1 goalkeeper ahead of Frenchman Fabian Barthez and Roy Carroll as Sir Alex Ferguson's side chased the title. But the honeymoon period didn't last for long. In the latter half of his first season in England, Howard fumbled a Benni McCarthy free-kick during a Champions League last 16 tie against Porto and allowed Costinha to fire home the rebound. New boy: Howard signed for Manchester United in 2003 but struggled to hold down a starting spot . Defining moment: Howard (right) looks devastated after conceding a decisive goal to Porto in 2004 . On the slide: Howard, pictured here after conceding a goal to Lyon in 2004, made a number of mistakes for United . United were out, Jose Mourinho famously ran down the touchline to celebrate and Howard's confidence was shot to bits. He lost his place in the side to Carroll but did recapture it in time to help secure a comfortable win against Championship side Millwall in the FA Cup final. The American continued his unconvincing performances during 2004-05, dropping in and out of the side as he failed to convince both Ferguson - and the United faithful - that he could be the long-term successor to the legendary Peter Schmeichel. Edwin van der Sar arrived the following summer and immediately went about doing just that. He became a commanding presence behind the Reds' talented back-four and undroppable from Ferguson's first choice lineup. Howard's brief stint in Manchester was effectively over. Fortunately for the ex-North Jersey Imperials star, he had impressed David Moyes enough for the then Everton manager to sign him on loan for the 2006-07 season. He'd be the Toffees' No 1, too. The faith shown in him by Moyes helped reinvigorate Howard's career on English soil. Gone was the nervous, error-prone keeper who appeared unable to cope with the pressure of playing for one of the world's biggest clubs, and in his place stood a man who relished the opportunity to pull on his gloves and perform each week. Faith: Everton boss David Moyes took a chance on Howard after his indifferent form at Old Trafford . On the up: Howard has revived his career at Everton and become one of the club's key players . Big impact: Howard even scored this incredible goal against Bolton at Goodison Park in January 2012 . Howard found his best form under the Scot, helping the Merseyside club qualify for the Europa League, reach the 2009 FA Cup final and consistently challenge towards the top end of the Premier League after making his move permanent a year after signing on loan. Along with Tim Cahill, Mikel Arteta and Phil Jagielka, he is viewed by many Evertonians as one of the most shrewd signings of Moyes' 11 years in charge. Some would even describe him as the club's best keeper since Neville Southall graced the blue half of Merseyside during the 1980s and 90s. That faith was tested in Moyes' final season at the helm when, uncharacteristically, he made a number of errors which cost Everton valuable points in their hunt for fourth place. A weak Kenwyne Jones header was conceded in a draw with Stoke and Fulham's Bryan Ruiz was allowed to score a lacklustre free-kick at Craven Cottage. In total, Howard could be directly blamed for at least five point-costing goals. When Roberto Martinez took over Moyes last summer, it appeared as if Everton's new boss was already planning for life without the veteran in his squad. Fresh start: Toffees boss Roberto Martinez has helped Howard find the best form of his career so far . No way through: Howard keeps out a low effort from Belgium's Divock Origi at the Arena Fonte Nova . Still got it: Howard keeps out an effort from Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud during a 1-1 draw last season . Joel Robles, a player Martinez had on loan during his time at Wigan, was signed from Atletico Madrid on a five-year deal. At just 23 when he signed, the Spaniard looked every inch like Howard's replacement. Fast forward almost a year and the picture is very different. Robles featured in just two Premier League fixtures last season as Howard - now in his mid-thirties - enjoyed his most consistent season in between the sticks. He ended the campaign with 15 top-flight clean sheets, a fifth place finish and a two-year extension on his contract, keeping him on Merseyside until at least 2018. He'll be 39 when his deal runs out. After watching Howard in action over the past year, Everton fans won't have been too surprised to see their player shine on the biggest stage of them all. Incredibly, he seems to be improving the older he gets. If he can continue the trend at club level, a final farewell in Russia in four years' time might not be such a far-fetched prospect for America's latest hero. | Howard made a record 15 saves against Belgium in the World Cup .
The Everton keeper enjoyed his best campaign at club level last season .
Howard endured a difficult period at Manchester United earlier in his career .
He has become a national hero in the USA after his performances in Brazil .
The 35-year-old signed a new contract until 2018 with Everton in April . |
16d9b8dd98677c425bd75fe30586aada8ce86890 | By . James Rush . PUBLISHED: . 04:37 EST, 16 May 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 09:43 EST, 16 May 2013 . A rock band that split in 1965 has reformed almost 50 years later - after discovering one of the members wasn't dead after all. The Hustlers lost touch after breaking up in 1965 and even wrongly thought that one of the members had died. But the group, now thought to be the country's oldest rock and roll band with all its original members, is back and playing gigs. Then: The Hustlers, pictured in 1963, lost touch after breaking up in 1965 and even wrongly thought that one of the members had died . Now: The group are now back and playing gigs together almost 50 years after they split up . The group formed in Brighton in 1960 and played at youth clubs around Sussex but split five years later as several members were getting married. The band includes lead singer Tony Burchell, 72, lead guitarist Barry Gillam, 73, bassist Richard Pearce, 69, Pete Dresch, 70, and drummer Ken White, 67. Over the years the friends lost touch and when lead singer Mr Burchell celebrated his 50th birthday he tried to contact the others on a radio station in Brighton. A caller phoned in and claimed that drummer Ken had passed away. However, 22 years later, the band members found each other on a 1960s Brighton bands' website only to realise that Mr White was very much alive and well. Bassist Mr Pearce, an upholsterer from Netley, Hampshire, was delighted when the group got back together. Rehearsal: The group played their first gig back together at the Ye John Selden pub in Worthing and are playing a variety of venues along the south coast. Pictured is singer Tony Burchell . Golden oldies: Guitarist Barry Gillam and singer Tony Burchell rehearse for one of their upcoming gigs . He said: 'It's amazing to be back together - we just started laughing because 45 years had gone and we remember it all. 'Nobody has changed that much - we've all grown older, but we haven't changed a great deal in looks. We all instantly recognised each other.' The group played its first gig back together at the Ye John Selden pub in Worthing and is playing a variety of venues along the south coast. Mr Pearce said: 'Most of our applause comes from the fact that we can stand up for two hours unaided. Rock 'n' roll: Bassist Richard Pearce and drummer Ken White are two of the original members of the band, which first formed in 1960 . 'We enjoy ourselves and hope the audience does too.' The band performs covers of classic rock and roll hits of the late 1950s and early 1960s such as songs by Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly and Cliff Richard. They said that, although there are other older bands like the Rolling Stones, they believe it's unique to have the same line-up as they did before. The men still know 70 songs and revealed that it keeps their minds active. Back from the dead: The band nearly reformed 22 years ago, but were wrongly told that their drummer had died . Richard added: 'The fact we can still do what we do is great - we may be old but we can still rock and roll.' The band now play for charity in pubs along the south coast at least once a month. And the bassist didn't rule out playing at festivals this summer. He joked: 'We'd love to get an offer from one of the big festivals this year - hopefully Glastonbury.' | The Hustlers formed in 1960 and played at youth clubs around Sussex .
They split in 1965 as several members were getting married .
Nearly reformed 22 years ago but were wrongly told the drummer had died .
They have now found each other on a 1960s Brighton bands website . |
16da18cb42bf954fc4e5656bce7db4dbe8316591 | By . James Nye . PUBLISHED: . 13:56 EST, 30 January 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 14:37 EST, 30 January 2013 . It has been revealed that secret salary records of more than one-third of Americans have been shared by their employers with the credit rating agency Equifax. Described as one of the biggest privacy breaches of the modern age, 190 million employment and salary records have been sold to debt collectors and financial service companies through an Equifax-owned subsidiary called The Work Number. Originally created as a fast and easy way to check the employment history of new staff, it has been revealed that The Work Number's database is so detailed it contains week-by-week paycheck information dating back years for tens of millions of people. Openly describing itself as a member of the Equifax family - The Work Number holds almost 200 million individual personal records of American citizens . Worryingly, The Work Number also stores other sensitive information about American citizens such as their health care provider, if they have dental insurance and if they've ever filed an unemployment claim. 'It's the biggest privacy breach in our time, and it’s legal and no one knows it’s going on,' said Robert Mather, who operates an employment background company named Pre-Employ.com. 'It's like a secret CIA.' In 2009, Equifax said the data covered 30 percent of the U.S. working population, and it now says The Work Number is adding 12 million records annually. Equifax and The Work Number obtain the information through thousands of U.S. businesses, including a large number of firms that comprise the Fortune 500. Indeed, 85-percent of civilians employed by the federal government, including staff at the Department of Defense and schools have their information freely made available to Equifax. The reason for this is to allow the credit bureau to have the latest information about the working population and in turn some of the firms that provide the information also pay Equifax to collate it. In 2009, Equifax said the data they own covered 30 percent of the U.S. working population, and it now says The Work Number is adding 12 million records annually . Larry Ponemon, a privacy expert who operates The Ponemon Institute expressed shock at firms selling data to debt collectors . At their end, Equifax sells some of the sensitive information to debt collectors. The investigation by NBCNews.com sought comment from Equifax and they declined to be interviewed. However, the firm confirmed that it shares 'employment data' with financial service and debt collecting companies, but that it does so in compliance with Fair Credit Reporting Act guidelines. 'In all cases, these entities must have a permissible purpose to request employment information,' Equifax spokesman Timothy Klein said to NBCNews.com. He added that consumers allow third parties the right to access data 'at the time of application' for credit. 'A consumer grants verifiers (creditors) and their assigned debt collectors the right to verify employment should the consumer default on their account,' he said. The reason why The Work Number has become so popular is because it gives companies a simple way to outsource the employment verification of staff. Firms dislike the drain on human resources that human resource departments endure through confirming references when a former employee applies for a new job. Therefore, they have begun to use The Work Number, which was part of St. Louis based firm TALX until Equifax purchased it for $1.4 billion in 2007. However, The Work Number is not secretive - it allows prospective landlords a simple way to verify a prospective tenants income. It's the biggest privacy breach in our time, and it's legal and no one knows it's going on,' said Robert Mather, who operates an employment background company . Some consumers have found though that the level of information available online outstrips what they are comfortable with. NBCNews.com spoke with Kathy Sandy of Sommerville, New Jersey, who looked up her own Work Number report and found it was 22-pages long. It listed every paycheck she had received for years and the first page of the report helpfully lists 'verifiers who have requested your data in the past 24-months.' Sandy saw that 'Pressler and Pressler' a law firm that specialises in debt collection was listed. 'I found out debt collectors can access this information, which is strange,' said Sandy. I assumed with The Work Number, for that information, you had to have a (passcode) … but they got in, and got it somehow without my consent.' In his statement to NBC News, Equifax spokesman Timothy Klein said that 'pay rate' information is shared with third parties, such as 'mortgage, auto and other financial services credit grantors.' He did though, deny that salary information is sold to debt collectors. 'Debt/Collection agencies may request employment information -- which may be nothing more than verifying that a consumer is working where they say they are – if it qualifies under permissible purpose,' he wrote in his statement to NBCNews.com. 'Collections agencies are not provided salary information.' Credit rating agencies are multi-billion corporations in the United States and affect the financial well-being of millions . This directly contradicts what Equifax CEO Richard Smith said in 2009, when he spoke about The Work Number. 'With FirstSearch and TALX we can provide information about a debtor’s location, income and employment,' said Smith in an interview published on NYSE Magazine’s website, referring to The Work Number’s former parent company. 'That can help prioritize which accounts to pursue first. If they’re employed, that business has a better shot at collecting what is owed to them.' To counter that, Klein said that Smith misspoke when he described TALX's services and said that salary information is not sold to debt collectors. Robert Mather has worked in the emplyment data business for over two decades and said that if American's thought that their employers gave away personal information they would be shocked. 'The story here is how (The Work Number) is getting this information,' said Mather. 'When people find out, no respectable employer will continue to do this.' Robert Mather has worked in the emplyment data business for over two decades and said that if American's thought that their employers gave away personal information they would be shocked . NBCNews.com spoke to Larry Ponemon, a privacy expert who operates The Ponemon Institute. He expressed shock at firms selling data to debt collectors. 'Are you joking? Oh my god, I'm shocked,' said Ponemon. 'This is unbelievably scary. I consider payroll information very sensitive and private.' 'If the public knew about this, there would be such outrage,' he said. 'It's just ... really depressing.' Currently, data brokers are under two separate congressional investigations and the Federal Trade Commission announced in December that it had begun an inquiry into how brokers obtain their information. However, agencies which report credit ratings, such as The Work Number are considered separate from data brokers and are governed by special rules. It is therse separate rules that are what Equifax operates its salary information under said Katrina Blodgett, a lawyer with the Federal Trade Commission. 'It’s not as easy as it should be to say whether debt collectors can get your consumer reports, because it depends on the circumstance,' she said, adding that she believed Equifax could have the right to sell the salary information to debt collectors because it is part of a credit report. 'There are special restrictions on how credit reports can be used in hiring decisions, but there are no special restrictions on how employment reports (such as salary information) is used for non-employment purposes.' 'They are a credit bureau. They sell credit information to lenders.' | Over 190 million employment and salary records of American citizens have been shared by their employers with credit rating agencies .
This allows anyone signing up to their subsidiary companies to view salary and health insurance details of one-third of adults in the U.S. |
16da6e1bb1c83b574f6cb25eb1ebdcf29d1a8f70 | San Diego, California (CNN) -- Free James Willie Jones! The world is upside down. The act of children bullying the vulnerable has become so common that many adults no longer seem to notice or care, much less do anything to stop it. But when a video clip on YouTube shows a father defending his daughter from bullies, some people go ballistic. What used to be considered unacceptable is now thought to be normal, and what used to be normal is now unacceptable. Jones is facing two misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct and disturbing a school function. He was released from jail after posting a $2,000 bond. It's all because, three weeks ago, the 42-year-old father from Lake Mary, Florida, stormed onto a school bus and -- in a screed captured on video -- threatened the bus driver and some of the students with bodily harm. "Now everybody sit down; sit down," Jones says on the tape. And then, addressing his daughter: "Show me which one. Show me which one." The girl points in the direction of a group of students, which Jones then approaches. He told them: "This is my daughter, and I will kill the [expletive] who fought her." He also threatened the bus driver. Jones obviously behaved badly. But he was trying to do the right thing. He didn't board that bus to bully students as some have suggested. This isn't a story about a grown man terrorizing kids for the fun of it. He was there to defend and protect his 13-year-old daughter, who had been terrorized by real bullies who -- according to what Jones told deputies -- teased his daughter, spat on her, poked her, pushed her, smacked her on the back of her head, twisted her ear and shouted rude comments at her. They even threw a liquid-filled condom at another girl, and fragments hit Jones' daughter. According to the sheriff's report, this abuse eventually drove the girl, who has cerebral palsy, to have an emotional breakdown and threaten suicide. Meanwhile, the officials at Greenwood Lakes Middle School have taken a break from PE and PTA to do a little CYA. School spokeswoman Regina Murray Klaers told The Associated Press in an e-mail that Jones did not share with school administrators any concerns about his daughter being bullied. Jones' wife, Deborah McFadden-Jones, told the AP that she left messages with a school guidance counselor but that she never heard back. As the father told Kiran Chetry, co-host of CNN's "American Morning," when he learned of the abuse, he acted on instinct. "She finally opened up and told me what was going on," Jones said. "And from there, you know, being a dad just loving my daughter ... and just loving all my kids, you know. ... [At] that point, my heart broke when I [saw] her standing there ... [she] wasn't going to get on the bus crying. And a dad is a dad. And I was going to be her protector that day." That's what this was: A father protecting his daughter. And if that little girl couldn't rely on her dad to protect her, just whom in this world is she supposed to rely on? At an emotional news conference this week, Jones acknowledged that his behavior was wrong and apologized for it. "If you see the tape," he said, "I feel like I was backed up against the wall as a parent. I just didn't know where else to go." Yet, Jones said, parents should not follow his example. "We definitely don't want to promote that," he said. "We don't want vigilantes going on buses, threatening kids, because kids have rights too." Oh yeah, as Americans, we have rights. We know all about our rights. We assert our rights. We don't think twice about hiring lawyers to defend our rights. But what we have trouble with is the other half of the social contract: responsibility. That includes the responsibility to treat one another with dignity and respect, and not prey on those who can't defend themselves. And the responsibility of parents to raise good kids who don't get their jollies from causing classmates mental and emotional anguish. And the responsibility of school officials to take seriously the idea that they act in loco parentis (in place of parents) and that our children's safety rests in their hands. Jones' attorney has said she is hoping to get the charges against him dropped. She has even offered to have her client give speeches against bullying as a form of community service. The attorney is half right. The charges in this case should be dropped -- immediately. And I'd like to see charges filed against the teenage bullies. In an ideal world, we'd also charge their parents for bungling the job of raising these kids. But Jones shouldn't waste his time giving speeches about bullying. Instead, he should lecture audiences about something that is really important to our society and that a lot of people don't know how to do but that he seems pretty good at: parenting. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Ruben Navarrette. | Ruben Navarrette: YouTube video shows dad yelling at kids who bullied his daughter on bus .
World upside down when dad arrested for doing what adults there should have done, he says .
Dad regrets actions; says kids have rights too. Writer: other adults had responsibilities .
Navarrette: Charges should be dropped, dad should lecture lax parents about parenting . |
16db7bc1c0a2ec95a2d310fbafc15cf49a0eace6 | PESHAWAR, Pakistan (CNN) -- Twenty well-behaved boys sit on the floor in two rows, quietly eating a humble lunch of flat bread, water and beans. The "lost boys" of Swat enjoy a humble lunch of flat bread, water and beans. Their hair is neatly combed and they are dressed in spotless Pakistani shalwar kamiz long shirts and baggy trousers. These boys are orphans, and they are lucky to be alive. "Sir, it was very dangerous," explained 15-year-old Mohammad Nawaz. Last Friday, Nawaz and his friends escaped from Pakistan's Swat Valley after their orphanage ended up on the front-line of the government's war with the Taliban. When hostilities resumed in Swat two weeks ago, Pakistani soldiers from nearby barracks commandeered the roof of the four-story orphanage in Swat's district capital, Mingora, to use it as a lookout. They built sandbag bunkers on the roof, and buried landmines in the orphanage's playground. Then, Taliban militants laid siege to the building. Nawaz said "many" insurgents armed with rocket launchers and Kalashnikov assault rifles surrounded the orphanage. Watch more on the boys' ordeal » . About 50 terrified orphans, accompanied by adult support staff, cowered in a back room on the ground floor. Shaken by the explosions and small-arms fire around their building, the older boys, some aged 16 and 17, tried to console the youngest children, some of whom are as young as seven. They were all crying. It wasn't until last Friday that the first batch of orphans were able to escape. "We had to ride on the roof of a bus," said 16-year old Mohammad Yusuf, a soft-spoken teenager with the beginnings of a beard appearing on his chin. After a creeping, traffic-choked, three-hour drive from Mingora, the boys and their teachers begged for a ride from a passing vegetable truck. Yusuf said the boys rode the rest of the way to Peshawar sitting in the back of a truck on bags of peas, stopping only when the truckers had to remove the cargo to have it washed. Watch more on the situation in the Swat Valley » . "When the peas were washed and loaded again, we all got wet," said Yusuf, laughing. Now the boys are relatively safe and receiving some counseling from therapists at a shelter in Peshawar provided by another Pakistani charity organization, the Dost Foundation. The children have seen more then their share of violence during two years of intermittent fighting around the Swat Valley. When asked about the worst moment two boys immediately responded "suicide bombers," making explosive gestures with their hands from their chests. Due to the orphanage's close proximity to a Pakistani army base in Mingora, the boys were often witnesses to the aftermath of Taliban attacks. In one incident a suicide bomber blew out all of the glass windows of the orphanage. Opinions were split among the boys about the Taliban. "They want Islam," said Nawaz, referring to the Taliban's demand for the imposition of Islamic sharia law across Pakistan. The proposal resonates with many Pakistanis, who are frustrated with corruption in the country's judicial system. "The Taliban dropped the price of public transport," Nawaz said, adding, "Plus they used to help sort out traffic jams." Watch more on the refugee situation » . "We are angry with the Taliban," argued Yusuf, the 16-year-old. "There is no rule in Islam that allows you to behead someone." Since the arrival of the boys in Pakistan's western city of Peshawar, social workers have been trying to help them relax. They spent the weekend playing cricket in the small yard of their half-way house, watching movies and on Sunday getting a tour of the city. Several boys said they were looking forward to seeing an airport for the first time in their lives. But orphanage director Muhammad Ali was wracked with worry about their future. Out of sight of the children, he broke down weeping. "I am the father of these children," Ali said. "This is not an orphanage, this is our home... now finished." Ali spent the afternoon on Sunday desperately trying to call a final group of 24 boys who were trying to escape from Mingora. They left on foot, because the road out of Mingora was mined and there was a shortage of vehicles for the evacuation of refugees. Ali said the orphans, accompanied by adult administrators, had split into groups of five, with three older boys equipped with a cell phone and cash leading two younger boys. By nightfall, the orphans had walked for hours. They spent the night on the floor of a religious school outside Mingora, after authorities re-imposed a curfew in the Swat Valley. On Monday evening the children arrived exhausted and dirty in Peshawar after traveling more than 24 hours. One of their adult chaperones estimated they had to travel on foot for more then 20 miles before eventually finding vehicle transport to complete the journey. Administrators said one of the boys, named Ubaid, somehow became separated from the rest of the group, and ended up staying behind. They say he is back at the orphanage in Mingora, being cared for by the Pakistani soldiers stationed there. "It was a long, chaotic journey and experience that I will never forget," said Imran Khan, one of the orphanage's wardens. He said he had spent part of the journey carrying on his back a boy with a spinal problem. "Swat used to be known as paradise on earth," Khan said. "Now it has become hell on earth." More than 360,000 people have fled the conflict zone since May 2. | Boys flee their Swat Valley orphanage after Taliban attack their home .
Army had set-up position in their building, mining the playground .
The boys cowered in a back room, as the fighting raged outside .
They eventually rode to safety on top of a bus and back of a vegetable truck . |
16dc00e2f400ace81189698a48c9bd71e88b4a0f | Britain's most unloved dog who was nicknamed 'Boomerang' after he was returned to a rescue centre three times by potential new owners has finally found a home. Six-year-old Flynn had lived at the shelter since he was found wandering the streets in April 2010. It took just two months for the brown Staffordshire bull terrier cross to find his first home in June that year. Six-year-old Flynn was nicknamed Boomerang by the staff at Worcestershire Animal Rescue Centre in Malvern because potential owners kept returning him . But, barely a week later, he was returned after his new owners decided that they did not have time to look after a dog. Flynn left the home again in 2011 but was returned when his second set of owners separated and last year he was brought back after a third owner developed terminal cancer. This led to desperate staff nicknaming Flynn 'Boomerang' because he always came back to the Worcestershire Animal Rescue Centre in Malvern. Lovable: Flynn is always smiling and wagging his tail. He is really good around children and as long as he has a comfy bed and a football he will be very happy . Finally last Thursday a new family arrived at the centre and took Flynn home. Speaking yesterday Jackie Turner, the animal welfare coordinator at the shelter, said: 'Flynn is such a lovely, loving dog. 'It was really sad that we weren't able to find a forever home to settle in through no fault of his own. 'We wanted to find him a family to live with because he is such a loving dog. 'When people come to look at the dogs he sat in the window with his ears flapping away. 'We are all wondering why he hasn't gone because he is so adorable and such a loving boy - he doesn't bark and jump up. 'All the staff fell in love with Flynn, he is always smiling and wagging his tail so I can't understand why he hasn't found a home. 'He's just so affectionate, he craves fuss and cuddles and will be a lovely edition to the new family. 'He was so excited when he went home with them, you could see he looked so happy and the family seemed lovely. 'They had seen his picture on our website and said they just fell in love straight away. 'Fingers crossed now we won't see him back here again. 'He loves to play with a ball and can often be found with a tennis ball in his mouth. 'He is really good around children and as long as he has a comfy bed and a football he will be very happy.' | Six-year-old Flynn had lived at the Malvern, Worcs shelter since April 2010 .
Found a home after just two months but returned after a week .
Family said that they did not have time to look after a dog .
In 2011, his second set of owners took him back when they separated .
A third owner could not look after him after developing terminal cancer .
Shelter staff hope it will be fourth time lucky for lovable canine . |
16de0e6e021887ab35546ea9578be1cdfd64de05 | By . Rob Preece . PUBLISHED: . 10:37 EST, 6 June 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 10:37 EST, 6 June 2012 . Disgraced: Civilian worker Craig Rothwell stole more than £100,000 while working at a police station . A disgraced office manager at a police station stole more than £100,000 from his own force by secretly pocketing registration fees. Craig Rothwell, a civilian worker at Greater Manchester Police, got away with his crimes for four years and was even promoted during that time. But his career with the force is over after he appeared in court and admitted theft. He will be sentenced later this month. Rothwell, 27, joined as a clerk and later became a supervisor at Greater Manchester Police's International Visitors Registration Unit, based at Bootle Street station in Manchester. Under visa regulations, some foreign visitors, including overseas students, migrant workers and academics, must notify police and pay £34 for a registration certificate. Tens of thousands of applicants paid the fee during Rothwell's tenure but, instead of banking the money for the force, he kept it for himself. It is unclear how the offences came to light. It is understood that Rothwell tried to hide the fraud by saying he had banked money without specifying how much. Rothwell, of Havenwood Road, Wigan, pleaded guilty at Manchester Crown Court to five charges of theft from Greater Manchester Police Authority. The court heard that the final figures have yet to be agreed, but the prosecution believe the total is more than £100,000. It is understood that he stole almost £40,000 in the tax year beginning April 2009 alone. The police worker was supported in court by his mother and father. Judge Michael Henshell adjourned the case for pre-sentence reports to be prepared. Offenders can expect to be jailed for up to four years in cases of theft involving a breach of trust and sums of more than £100,000. A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police said Rothwell had resigned from the force prior to disciplinary proceedings. Crime scene: Rothwell was working at Bootle Street police station in Manchester at the time of the offences . | Craig Rothwell stole the money from Greater Manchester Police while working at Bootle Street police station in Manchester .
The fees were paid by tens of thousands of foreigners who needed police registration certificates to visit the UK .
Rothwell resigned from the force before disciplinary proceedings began . |
16de41a51782724888412b3c78c723ddb14b2a5b | By . Ben Todd . Last updated at 4:37 AM on 18th August 2011 . Cashing in: Sally Bercow will receive £60,000 for her appearance in Big Brother, with around £20,000 going to her new publicist, Max Clifford . She has justified her decision to take part in Celebrity Big Brother by promising to donate a large sum to charity. But good causes will not be the only beneficiaries of Sally Bercow’s controversial appearance on the show, which begins tonight. It has emerged that Mrs Bercow, the outspoken wife of House Of Commons Speaker John Bercow, will be paid £60,000 for participating in the reality television programme. The mother-of-three will keep £40,000 and pass the remaining £20,000 to Max Clifford to act as her publicist during the show’s run. Aides have described the cash she will pocket as a ‘very small contributor’s fee’ and said she will still make a £100,000 charitable donation. But the lucrative deal is likely to anger MPs who have accused Mrs Bercow of ‘using Parliament for her own financial gain’ and going to inappropriate lengths to raise her public profile. The 41-year-old, who last year failed in her attempt to become a Labour councillor in Westminster, has hired Mr Clifford to represent her while she is on the show, which has moved from Channel 4 to Channel 5. His other clients include former girl band singer Kerry Katona and Imogen Thomas, the ex-lover of footballer Ryan Giggs. Last night Mr Clifford said: ‘I can confirm [Mrs Bercow] is giving a £100,000 fee to her chosen charity. She’s also being paid a fee a lot less than that and is paying me out of that.’ While his firm has been appointed to act as media representatives only during Mrs Bercow’s time on the show, there is a chance the arrangement could be extended. Unhappy: Mrs Bercow and the Speaker disagreed over her appearance on the show, and he will remain in India on holiday while the show is on air . The Speaker’s wife is said to be keen to explore other television projects, particularly with music mogul Simon Cowell, who is another of Mr Clifford’s clients. A source said: ‘She is keen to meet Cowell. And he’s interested in meeting her. So when she’s out of the Big Brother house, that’s going to happen. ‘Sally has some interesting ideas for TV programmes. There are also some other TV projects, including TV presenting, which she’s quite keen to pursue.’ A source also revealed that Mrs Bercow and her husband, who will remain on holiday in India while the show is on air, disagreed over her participation in the programme. Swanky: Mrs Bercow will begin her stay in the new house this evening, with the show broadcast on Channel 5 . Other contestants: Mrs Bercow will compete against Jedward in the show, who are receiving £500,000 each to appear . The source said: ‘John didn’t want her to go on the show – but she didn’t want him to be a Tory politician. So it’s give and take. ‘One of the reasons she chose to go on the show was because you can’t get much more anti-establishment than appearing on Celebrity Big Brother. And that is one of the things that appealed to her – upsetting the establishment.’ Another source added: ‘He [Mr Bercow] asked her not to do it. He thinks the show is completely dreadful. ‘They disagree on a lot of things. She doesn’t like the fact he is a Tory and he doesn’t like her being a socialist. But they love and respect each other as individuals.’ Attack: Tory MP Rob Wilson said it was not appropriate for Mrs Berow to appear on the show for financial gain . Inside the Celebrity Big Brother house, Mrs Bercow will compete with contestants including X Factor twins Jedward, who are each receiving £500,000 to take part, and reality TV personality Amy Childs, who appeared on ITV2’s The Only Way Is Essex. Celebrity Big Brother initially began as a charitable spin-off of the main programme. During its first series, in March 2001, each celebrity participated for nothing with all the money raised – a total of £500,000 – going to Comic Relief. However, by the last series, screened on Channel 4 in January 2010, celebrity participants were commanding hefty fees. Footballer turned film star Vinnie Jones was the highest paid performer in that series, receiving £350,000. He is thought to have donated some of the money to military charity Help for Heroes. Mrs Bercow’s £100,000 charity donation will go to Ambition For Autism, of which she is a patron. Her eldest child, Oliver, is autistic. When it emerged that Mrs Bercow was going into the house, Tory MP Rob Wilson said: ‘John Bercow said he wanted to restore respect and dignity to Parliament in his manifesto for Speaker. ‘I am not sure how Sally Bercow going on one of the country’s tackiest shows helps. ‘Is it really appropriate for the Speaker’s wife to use Parliament for her own financial gain?’ | Aides say Sally Bercow will pay £100,000 to charity .
MPs accuse her of using Parliament for financial gain . |
16de70f871b6577e94ba3f4d92256818169eee8c | Made from six savoury layers and four sweet ones, this 12-inch-tall pancake tower has been dubbed The Beast and contains 2,500 calories - the same as an average man's daily intake. Stuffed with cheese, cajun chicken, salami, Nutella, peanut butter, chocolate and a fried egg with maple syrup, the £15 meal has been created by chef Faisal Mayet who is challenging diners to finish it in less than 10 minutes on Shrove Tuesday. Hearty eaters who successfully battle their way through the American-style meal at Pancake Corner in Urmston, Greater Manchester, get the dish for free. Chef Faisal Mayet with The Beast, his 10-layer sweet and savoury pancake containing 2,500 calories . Diners will have to finish the £15 American-style pancake dish if they want to get it for free . Mr Mayet, 27, said: 'I think it's pretty calorific. A stack of four American pancakes with just maple syrup is about 600 calories. 'I think it has got to be possible to finish it. We did a trial a while back with a just a stack of 10 plain pancakes and two out of four people succeeded, although one didn't do it in the time. 'Obviously this is a lot more, and there are many different flavours to contest with but I reckon someone out there will take it on and do it! 'I am not sure how all these different flavours like Nutella with spinach, or chicken with chocolate or even mayonnaise with toffee sauce are going to work out. That's why it's a challenge.' The layers are made up of American-style pancakes topped with Italian tomato sauce and cheese, followed by a layer of Cajun chicken and BBQ sauce, and a layer of marinated chicken mayo and black pepper. The pancake tower also includes layers of spinach, tomato and cheese and also a pancake topped with salami. Four sweet layers of strawberry and Nutella, peanut butter and sliced banana, hazelnut, slice banana and toffee sauce and a mix of milk and white chocolate buttons complete the dish. On top of the pancake tower is a fried egg smothered in maple syrup. The tower costs £15 and must be finished in just 10 minutes with winners getting the dish for free. In order to make the tower, which takes 15 minutes, Faisal and his team follow a strict plan of assembling the tower with the savoury pancakes at the bottom because they take the longest to cook. The tower takes 15 minutes to make and is assembled with savoury pancakes at the bottom . Mr Mayet added: 'We wanted to do something different this Pancake Day. 'We have a lot of these ingredients on the menu and we thought, how weird would it be to put them all together. You see these really delicious looking pancake towers with strawberries and cream only. 'We thought what if we just did everything you could have on a pancake and made it into a tower. It is kind of like having five layer as of main course followed by a five layers of dessert. It is definitely something no one else will have thought about.' Jacob Moss tries - and fails - to demolish the calorific pancake tower, which is on sale in Greater Manchester . Challenger Jacob Moss, 24, from Salford, a council worker, said: 'I couldn't eat it, not a chance and I'm a big eater! When I first saw it I thought 'that looks easy! 'I watch Man Vs Food and it looked nothing like that. I thought "I can do this". 'Then I got stuck in and there was not a chance I was finishing it. It was much more difficult than I thought. All the fillings are really hard to get through. I was there for about 40 minutes and by that point I had only eaten a quarter. 'This is definitely a challenge to do and with all those different fillings and textures and flavours it became really hard to get through. I would have a go at it again. It is deceptively hard!' | Chef Faisal Mayet created 12-inch-tall stack as Shrove Tuesday challenge .
Sweet-savoury creation served at Pancake Corner in Greater Manchester .
Contains Nutella, banana, Cajun chicken, maple syrup and chocolate . |
16de93b089c4ffb5a86b0f83c7f03b2d77f4963c | Police have interviewed a doctor jailed for 22 years for abusing 18 children with cancer or grave blood disorders and asked him for advice on how to protect children from paedophiles, it was revealed today. In December paediatrician Myles Bradbury, 41, was found guilty of ‘gross and grotesque’ abuse of patients and having a cache of 16,000 indecent images of children at home. Bradbury exploited his job as a respected child doctor to target boys and would abuse them behind screens, sometimes with their parents in the room. Jailed: Doctor Myles Bradbury (left, outside court; and right, in his police mugshot), who abused 18 sick boys, was sent to prison for 22 years. Police have interviewed him to learn about catching paedophiles . But he is now advising police on child protection after authorities visited him in prison to learn how to avoid cases like his own, The Daily Mirror reported. Cambridgeshire Police said the prison visit was 'an attempt to gain further information from Bradbury that might help prevent it in future', adding that 'some information was given'. The revelation he is assisting police comes amid claims Bradbury has more unidentified victims, and while a NHS probe into his crimes at Cambridge's Addenbrooke's Hospital is being conducted. He was arrested in November 2013 only after the grandmother of a victim complained to the hospital. About 800 more families were told their children could have been at risk during the five years he worked for the hospital. But the shocking total includes patients he saw at two other hospitals – in Colchester and Ipswich – where he held outpatient clinics between 2008 and 2013. Police found more than 16,000 indecent images of children on a disc in Bradbury’s home. In one case he filmed the vile abuse. In the wake of his guilty plea, Addenbrooke’s launched a helpline and began contacting the families of all patients he was thought to have dealt with. Gadget: A spy pen used by Bradbury to film some of his victims as he carried out examinations on them . About 800 families were told their children could have been at risk during the five years Bradbury spent working at Addenbrooke's Hospital (pictured) in Cambridge . Police believe Bradbury targeted the boys – all of whom were ‘really poorly’ and vulnerable – in his private consulting room. Cambridge Crown Court was told that many of Bradbury's victims would be isolated from their parents and asked to remove their clothes before the doctor would grope their genitals. The depth of the examinations were often increased to meet Bradbury's sexual needs, not any medical requirement, the court heard. One said in a statement read to the court: 'I am now anxious to go to the doctor because I don’t know who I should trust. 'I have haemophilia and a pain in my side so I know I should go but I feel disgusted and weird. I didn’t think it would happen to me and I feel angry every time I think about it but also relieved it wasn’t just me but we shouldn’t have to go through it.' Another said he had regular nightmares, felt stressed and lacked confidence. 'I’d like to see Myles Bradbury and ask him why he did what he did to me,' he added. He would tell their parents they should leave the room in case their children got embarrassed, before sexually touching them for his own gratification and telling them it was a ‘legitimate examination’. As he left court after being sentenced, Bradbury said: ‘I’m so sorry’ and refused to answer further questions. Detective Superintendent Gary Ridgway said: ‘This man very cleverly and determinedly created an environment where he not only abused young people, but almost groomed colleagues and parents by being helpful – for example, seeing people outside normal consultancy hours. ‘He would see young people who were really poorly in his own consulting room and create opportunities where he was alone with them. ‘What makes this case particularly distressing is he was very plausible so he would say to young people that they needed an intimate examination. I wasn’t a case of “Don’t tell your parents”. He was putting a veneer of respectability on what he was doing and saying it was a legitimate examination.’ Mr Ridgway said there could be many other victims – including some who don’t even realise they were abused. Sentencing: Judge Gareth Hawkesworth (pictured right in this court sketch) described Bradbury (left) as 'manipulative' and said his actions had undermined the public's trust in the 'overstretched health service' | Paedophile Myles Bradbury, 41, jailed for 22 years for 'grotesque' abuse .
Authorities visited him in prison where he gave advice on child protection .
It comes amid fears the doctor has hundreds more unidentified victims .
Bradbury exploited his job as a respected paediatrician to target boys .
Would abuse them behind screens, sometimes with their parents in room .
The father-of-one took 170,000 images of his victims using spy pens .
But he is now advising Cambridge Police on how to prevent cases like his . |
16df840c68af6e2ede6f86398f41d9f0b468a697 | A 24-year-old from East London has became one of the most distinctive beat-boxers in the world, with such an extraordinary talent that scientists even asked to scan his brain. Reeps One, whose real name is Harry Yeff, is famous for his unique ability to create bass music using his vocal chords. The artist believes the key to his success is moving away from the hip-hop style that is historically associated with beatboxers, and instead towards electronic music such as grime, dubstep and drum and bass. Scroll down for video . Reeps One, whose real name is Harry Yeff, is famous for his unique ability to create bass music using his vocal chords . 'The electronic influence as a whole completed defined the way I beatbox,' he said. 'When I started doing that publicly, started not thinking about other beatboxers, not even other musicians, but what resonates with me, it really affected the entire world community.' 'I'm so honoured when people tell me "you're the reason I started beatboxing"'. After winning the UK Beatbox Championships twice in a row, Yeff moved on to touring the world, taking the place of DJs to perform high energy, hour long sets in night clubs using just his voice. Reeps One judging at the American Beatbox Championships last month in New York where he also performed . Reeps One has now recorded a documentary with Sofar Sounds, a revolutionary music organisation who set up secretive gigs in people's homes . 'I'm so honoured when people tell me "you're the reason I started beatboxing'"he said . Last month he flew to New York to judge the American Beatbox Championships alongside American actor and beatboxer Michael Winslow. Yeff also took up a residency at famous celebrity haunt, The Box, and recorded a documentary with Sofar Sounds, a revolutionary music organisation who set up secretive gigs in people's homes. 'For some reason I seem to have had a massive influence on the American community, and I've felt that in my time here so much,' he said. Yeff also took the chance to challenge New York's famous chess hustlers - who play for cash in the city's Union Square - showcasing another of his talents, honed competing in chess tournaments as a teenager. He said: 'It's the one place where you really see the semi-ghetto vibe mixing with intellectual prowess. 'I used to turn up to chess tournaments with my flat caps and tracksuits and that energy has always really appealed to me. During his visit to New York City, Reeps One also took the chance to challenge New York's famous chess hustlers - who play for cash in the city's Union Square . Cerebellum activation in Reeps One (yellow) compared to a novice (pink). Neurologists compared their brains as they beatboxed. Yeff mostly used two brain areas while the novice used many more brain areas, suggesting a need to plan each sound and a lack of automatic processing . 'To go and win a few games and hustle the chess hustlers a little bit, was something to tick off the life 'to-do' list.' So impressive are his skills, scientists at University College London asked him to have a brain scan as part of a study to find out how someone's mind changes when they become an expert. Neurologists compared the brain activity of Yeff with a novice, while they both beatboxed. Yeff mostly used two brain areas, including the cerebellum - responsible for learning complicated movements. The novice used many more brain areas, suggesting a need to plan each sound and a lack of automatic processing. Yeff can feel this natural automation as he performs, 'When I was on a project with a group of soloist musicians, a number of them said to me "When we play our instrument it's an extension, but your voice is completely close to your mind" and this is true. 'That's what makes my performance, I think, so connecting and engaging. It's not a mechanical block, it's shifting and changing and skewing all the time dependent on the reaction of the audience.' Watch the video here . | Harry Yeff, 24, from East London, works under the name Reeps One .
Famous for his unique ability to create bass music using his vocal chords .
Last month he flew to New York to judge American Beatbox Championship . |
16e10d5d3cab2e2c120abccd43753d22427fecf1 | Getting children to open up about sexual abuse, particularly when it involves a family member, is notoriously difficult. So one artist, going under the name of Saint Hoax, has incorporated Disney princesses into his message to young victims - a visual language he hopes will better speak to them. 'The aim of the poster series is to encourage victims to report their cases in order for the authorities to prevent it from happening again,' the artist, who is based in the Middle East, told MailOnline. Powerful message: Artist Saint Hoax aims to encourage young victims of incest and sexual abuse to report their attacks, with posters including this one, which shows Ariel from The Little Mermaid kissing her father . The impactful posters see three iconic Disney characters - Aurora from Sleeping Beauty, Ariel from The Little Mermaid, and Princess Jasmine from Aladdin - engaged in uncomfortable lip-locks with their fathers. 'I recently learned that one of my closest friends was molested by her father when she was seven,' Saint Hoax explains. 'It took her 14 years to be able to share that traumatizing experience, and that story shocked me to my core.' He goes on: 'As an artist and activist, I decided to shed light on that topic again in a new form. I used Disney princess because it's a visual language that my targeted audience would be attracted to.' Relatable character? The artist says he cast Disney princesses for his campaign because 'it's a visual language that my targeted audience would be attracted to' Saint Hoax says that before going public with the campaign, he tried reaching out to a major organization he hoped might use it for good, but never heard back. So he published the work on his own, after which a number of other foundations which fight child sexual abuse and incest shared the images. The project has sparked mixed responses. One commenter from Jezebel's site wrote: '[Children] now get to have a favorite cartoon, childhood escapism, associated with incest.' Another wrote: 'Creepy and disturbing without being actually helpful.' But others see it differently, with one supporter musing: 'Choosing Disney princesses for this campaign actually makes a lot of sense... Because of the familiarity of the characters (in both senses of the word), these images are creepy and uncomfortable, which is exactly what they need to be.' Twist: In the original version of Sleeping Beauty, written in the 16th century, the princess is actually raped by a King during her 100 year slumber, unbeknownst to most Disney fans . Saint Hoax says that today, just one day after publishing the posters, they have already made a monumental difference to at least one girl. 'I received an email from a girl thanking me for the project and telling me that she decided to report her father after seeing the posters. I actually cried,' he reveals. 'You have no idea how glad I am now that I actually published the series. If the posters could change one person's life, then it's worth it.' Interestingly, one of the Disney characters he used for the campaign turns out to be a more salient choice than he previously knew. '[One girl] told me that she decided to report . her father after seeing the posters. I actually cried' In the original story of Sleeping Beauty, which was written in the 16th Century, the princess isn't woken by the kiss from a prince at all. While she is asleep, a passing King rapes her and she subsequently births twins. The princess is actually awoken by one of her children, finding herself in a decidedly different predicament than she does in later versions of the story. Saint Hoax is based in the Middle East, and works under a pseudonym to protect himself and his provocative campaigns, in a region which enforces strict censorship. His previous work has seen cartoon characters from Aladdin appearing on 'denied' visa applications from the UK, as well as representations of political figures; including Barak Obama as Natalie Portman's Black Swan character and Kim Jong Un as Johnny Depp's Mad Hatter in Alice in Wonderland. He says he received 'a lot of threats' after he produced an image of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia in drag.Saint Hoax describes his work broadly as: 'Combining pop art with tyrants and world leaders.' | Artist Saint Hoax created the posters after learning that his friend had been molested by her father at aged seven .
One victim of incest has already been moved to report her attack after seeing the campaign . |
16e1eb8575f803566e4dd1a957e80042d9ddf20e | (CNN)What? Not enough snow, ice and cold for you? You say you STILL need some "Frozen" references in your life? Well, this ought to quench that need for freeze: Ice has suddenly blossomed across the Great Lakes, with the ice pack nearly doubling in just a little more than a week. The lakes are now more than 85% iced over, according to the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory, with Lake Erie leading the way at more than 98%. For the first time in (not quite) forever, Niagara Falls looks pretty much frozen, too. And here's the thing ... people are going there! And not in a "Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un is going, so we better go and smile, too" way. These folks are going voluntarily. Niagara Falls has been doing steady business in recent days, CNN affiliate WKBW reported. "I haven't seen it like this in a long, long time," one visitor, Maryann McCleary, told the station. Some tourists had come from as far away as Alabama and even from overseas, the station said. Niagara Falls isn't exactly frozen over; water is still flowing underneath the ice. It's not uncommon for parts of the falls to ice over in winter. The only recorded time the water flow stopped completely was in 1848, thanks to an ice jam upriver. Icy conditions are also par for the course in the Great Lakes. The current 85% coverage isn't a record; that would be 1979's 94.7%, according to the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory. Last year's 92.5% peak was No. 2, the agency says. But there's still time for this year to contend for the record. The National Weather Service says extremely cold arctic air will allow for expansion of the ice coverage in the coming days. Queen Elsa, and her pint-sized fans, would be pleased. 115 million people are shivering . CNN's Christina Zdanowicz, Jareen Imam and special to CNN Amanda Jackson contributed to this story. | Ice has suddenly blossomed across the Great Lakes, putting a record in reach .
Niagara Falls looks iced over as well, drawing even more tourists to the site . |
16e327f37f36bac876c4b19c318697e5cded9fbf | Georgia is a 16-year-old with a lousy attitude; she swears at the teachers, won’t wear her school uniform and storms out of class when she’s told off. But the platinum blonde is also the first of her family to almost reach the end of her school life without being expelled, and her teachers at the Thornhill Community Academy are proud that she’ll end up sitting her GCSEs. Georgia is one of the 'stars' of Educating Yorkshire. By turns horrifying and heartwarming, this reality TV show makes fascinating viewing even if it is, at times, a little uncomfortable. Tough job: Headteacher Johnny Mitchell stars in Educating Yorkshire along with some of his charges . Filmed over eight weeks, it shows the inner workings of the comprehensive in Dewsbury, Yorkshire, from teachers’ meetings to the school prom. Each story is compelling, from the young Asian girl cramming for her GCSEs, to the bullied boy who can’t stop lashing out with his fists. At the heart of it all is no-nonsense head teacher Jonny Mitchell, who has a penchant for singing to himself. He’s been at Thornhill for just under two years and he’s determined to give his pupils a decent education and teach them how to be model citizens; even if it’s the last thing they want. The show is made by the same people who made 2011’s hit show Educating Essex. 'There are universal themes in both shows, but I think you get a real flavour of Yorkshire in our show,' says Jonny. 'Dewsbury, to most people, has negative connotations but we wanted to do something to make our young children proud. We’re trying very hard to make their lives better under difficult circumstances.' Dewsbury has a 20 per cent unemployment rate and Jonny estimates that 10 per cent of his pupils’ parents are white collar workers; the rest are blue collar and unemployed. Half his students are of Asian, mainly Pakistani, origin while the rest are white British. TV star: But Mr Mitchell said they quickly forgot about the cameras . A former failing school which is now rated ‘good’ by Ofsted, Thornhill was forecast to get 45 per cent A-C grades at GCSE last year; it actually managed 63 per cent. 'I think we’re doing a fantastic job and I wanted to put that across,' says Jonny of his reasons for agreeing to 65 cameras being placed in almost every corner of his school. 'I think our kids are brilliant and they deserve to experience something a little bit different.' Jonny says staff and pupils were only really aware of the cameras for the first few days. 'In the first 20 minutes the kids were acting up but we told them you won’t be a TV star if you make all these obscene gestures and they stopped. 'The prom thing is ridiculous, it's . quite obscene. A lot of our families are financially . deprived but they all want to keep up with each other' 'For the first two days it felt weird, but quite exciting. Everyone was coming in with new hairdos. But then it was business as usual although, generally, behaviour improved a bit. It’s still better than it was; I think that’s because they know the show’s coming out and they don’t want to let the side down.' The programme certainly shows the ups and downs of teaching. There are huge challenges, from the children whose behaviour constantly disrupts classes to the boy with a stutter who’s terrified about how he’ll cope with his oral examinations. There are also moments of farce and pathos, such as when Jonny has to tell a boy’s shocked mother that he hasn’t behaved well enough to go to the school prom. She’d already taken out a loan and shelled out £1,500 to hire a sports car and £2,000 on a suit for her son. 'The prom thing is ridiculous, it’s quite obscene,' says Jonny. 'A lot of our families are financially deprived but they all want to keep up with each other. They spend shedloads on a dress their daughters will never wear again. It’s bonkers.' In this media savvy world, the children and staff are going to become ‘stars’ in their own right – with all the potential online bullying that comes with it. Jonny says the children have been well prepared. 'We’ll have a lot of support from the production company and Channel 4, who have given us a list of people the children can talk to individually. Lots of the kids have been briefed beforehand and told what the impact might be. There’s a huge support network.' Reality bites: The show reveals the inner workings of a comprehensive in Dewsbury . Over 100 schools volunteered to be featured, and it took ten months for Thornhill to be chosen and for its staff, pupils and parents to get to know the producers and be fully on board. 'I know some people would call it a leap of faith, but I got to know the producers pretty well during that time. I think it speaks volumes about their professionalism that I was willing to stake my reputation and that of my colleagues on two people I’ve only known for a few months.' Although consent forms had to be signed at every stage of the process, the school had no editorial control and sometimes the teachers as well as the pupils are seen making mistakes. 'It shows humanity,' says Jonny. 'Yes it shows error, but it also shows people working hard. I don’t think any of us come out of it at all badly.' Jonny, who looks like a nightclub bouncer but actually began his working life as an accountant, is hoping the show will attract more pupils as the school’s not quite fully subscribed. 'I want to pull in nearby kids, and we can only do that by improving and being successful. This show will add kudos for us. I hope it works.' Educating Yorkshire, Thursday, 9pm, Channel 4. | Educating Yorkshire makes fascinating viewing .
It shows the inner workings of the comprehensive in Dewsbury . |
16e4240b5e8a767842838bafd67c3e7bd015b866 | By . Wills Robinson . PUBLISHED: . 21:30 EST, 23 November 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 21:30 EST, 23 November 2013 . England's 1966 World Cup winner and former Manchester United player Nobby Stiles is suffering from cancer. The 71-year-old is undergoing treatment for prostate cancer, but doctors expect he has a chance of making a full recovery. The father-of -three's illness was confirmed by his son John, according to the Sunday Mirror. Great: Nobby Stiles (second left) has been diagnosed with prostrate cancer . The ex-defensive midfielder was on a routine visit to his GP when he received the news. John said: 'Thankfully it was diagnosed early and the outlook is extremely positive.' Footballers sent their support to the star, who is famous for dancing with his false teeth in his hands after the famous win at Wembley. Football pundit and formal Celtic player and Welsh international, who suffered from testicular and brain cancer four years ago, said he had no doubt the England legend could beat the illness, saying he can reproduce the strength of character from his playing career. Mike Summerbee, an ex-England and Manchester City player who has overcome the same illness, said it was encouraging that it had been diagnosed early. He added: 'I know from personal experience how you can come through this and I am sure Nobby will do the same.' Optimism: The former Manchester United player, pictured in 2000 receiving his OBE, has been told he can make a full recovery . Stiles, who was inducted into the . English Football Hall of Fame in 2007, has continued to give . after-dinner speeches around the country despite his cancer treatment. In . a 15-year career, he made 414 appearances for Manchester United, . Middlesbrough and Preston North End and made 28 caps for his country . before retiring in 1985. He . then went on to manage three teams, including the final club he played . for Preston, as well as the Canadian team Vancouver Whitechiefs and West . Bromwich Albion. Stiles . finally returned to Old Trafford in 1989 to coach the youth team, where . he mentored the likes of David Beckham, Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes. However the highlight of his career came when England beat West Germany 4-2 in extra time to win the World Cup in 1966. Twenty years ago, his teammate Bobby Moore passed away after suffering from Bowel Cancer. | 71-year-old is having treatment but doctors says he can make full recovery .
Father-of-three's illness was confirmed by his son, John .
Won 28 caps for England and also played for Manchester United . |
16e668d8691266f204c37a194783883ac2fb4c42 | By . Snejana Farberov . PUBLISHED: . 10:54 EST, 6 March 2014 . | . UPDATED: . 18:14 EST, 6 March 2014 . Gone: Long Island nursing student Jasmine Joseph, 22, was last heard from on the evening of February 24 . As far as her parents were concerned, 22-year-old Jasmine Joseph was a straight-A student studying hard to become a nurse. But it was not until the young Long Island woman vanished more than a week ago that her family discovered the truth: Jasmine Joseph had not seen the inside of a classroom at the New York Institute of Technology since May of last year. The Syosset resident went missing February 24 after calling her mother at around 5pm to tell her that she was studying in the library at the Old Westbury campus. Police later determined that Jasmine Joseph was in a Syosset gym when she placed the call to her mother. The 22-year-old never made it home that night, and her parents' calls later started going straight to voicemail. On Wednesday, Jasmine's father made an emotional plea asking his daughter to come home. 'Please come back,' Sony Joseph tearfully told the station PIX11. 'Your papa and mom are waiting for you. We don’t ask you anything.' Scroll down for video . Truth revealed: Jasmine's parents, Sony and Lovely Joseph, have learned from police that their daughter had not attended classes since last May . Web of lies: Jasmine told her mother over the phone that she was studying at the college library, but it was later determined that the 22-year-old was calling from a gym . Jasmine, whose brother is away in medical school, has been living with her parents in Syosset while pretending to attend classes at NYIT. A statement from her parents' American Express showed that the young woman used the credit card to pay her $6,000 tuition for the fall semester. However, investigators have uncovered that Miss Joseph was last seen on campus in the spring of 2013. 'That's not her character,’ said her mother, Lovely Joseph. ‘She always obeys.' Frantic search: The parents rushed to the New York Institute of Technology campus in Old Westbury to look for Jasmine, but found no sign of her . Family life: The 22-year-old has been living with her parents in Syosset . Wholesome: Mr Joseph (top) works as an electronics technician, his wife (bottom center) is a registered nurse, and their son (far left) is away in medical school . Mrs Joseph noted that there had been a few warning signs, including the fact that that her daughter was no longer bringing text books home. But the 22-year-old explained that she was doing her coursework online. Tearful plea: Sony Joseph begged his daughter to return home and promised that she will not be punished . The parents became even more concerned when Jasmine, who had been a straight-A student, failed to bring a report card this winter. ‘When her father asked to see the report card, she said there was something wrong with the computer,' said Mrs Joseph, a registered nurse with the North Shore-LIJ Health System. On the night of Jasmine's disappearance, the parents went to search for her on campus, believing that someone had kidnapped her. They found no sign of the 22-year-old or her silver Nissan. Investigators, however, do not think that Jasmine, who is legally an adult, was the victim of foul play. The woman's father, a technician with the New York Transit Authority, insisted that his daughter – whom he decribed as being ‘always happy’ - had no reason to run away because she was free to come and go as she pleased, and was not subjected to strict rules. When asked if the college junior may have been upset about a boyfriend, Sony Joseph stated that his daughter was not in a relationship with anyone. Friends, family and volunteers have spent the past week distributing 'missing' flyers and raising awareness of Jasmine's disappearance through a Facebook page. Kompassist Missing Persons Network also set up an online fundraiser on Fundly.com to finance the search efforts. Joseph is 5-foot-4 and weighing 120lbs with brown eyes and black hair. She was last seen wearing white and black sneakers, black jeans and a green sweater. Contesting theories: Police are convinced that the missing woman was not the victim of foul play, but her parents are certain that she would not have take off on her on . | Jasmine Joseph, 22, was last heard from February 24 when she called her mother to say she was studying in college library .
Police determined college junior actually placed the final call from a gym .
Joseph was enrolled in New York Institute of Technology, where she was supposed to be studying nursing .
Used her parents credit card to pay $6,000 for tuition, but she had not attended classes since last spring . |
16e7d962116be9095f7f20b098f0095ad387dd5c | You may think that appearing intelligent might be the key to getting a promotion at work. But people who want to rise to the top should concentrate on looking healthy, according to a new study. Researchers found that 70 per cent of the time, a worker with a healthy complexion is more appealing than a colleague who looks intelligent. Researchers found that 70 per cent of the time, a worker with a healthy complexion (pictured right) is more appealing than a colleague who looks intelligent (bottom row). They came to their conclusion after conducting an experiment where participants chose from different faces (shown) to pick the leader of a fictional company . They discovered that appearing intelligent is an ‘optional extra’ for workers looking for a pay rise or for politicians seeking election. In an experiment by VU University Amsterdam, 148 candidates were asked to select a future leader of a fictional firm by choosing between two digitally manipulated photographs of the same man. One image was altered to make him look healthier and the other manipulated to make him look cleverer. The experiment revealed that seven times out of 10, the man with the healthy complexion was more appealing than the intelligent looking male. ‘Here we show that it always pays for aspiring leaders to look healthy, which explains why politicians and executives often put great effort, time, and money in their appearance,’ said Assistant Professor Brian Spisak from the Department of Management and Organisation at the university. The experts discovered that appearing intelligent is an ‘optional extra’ for workers looking for a raise (illustrated with a stock image) or for politicians looking to get elected. However, people are more likely to vote for a healthy-looking politician and choose a healthy-looking boss . Office plants help workers be more creative and productive, which could result in promotion, a University of Exeter study claims. At work, humble houseplants have been proven to aid concentration, increase productivity and boost staff wellbeing by 47 per cent, according to a study undertaken in December last year. The results showed that allowing staff to make design decisions in a workspace enhanced with office plants can increase creativity by 45 per cent and boost productivity by 38 per cent. Plants have previously been proven to have positive effects in hospitals, where patients with potted plants close by said they experienced less pain, anxiety and tiredness, while houses with plant-filled rooms contain between 50 and 60 per cent fewer bacteria than other rooms without plants. ‘If you want to be chosen for a leadership position, looking intelligent is an optional extra under context-specific situations whereas the appearance of health appears to be important in a more context-general way across a variety of situations.’ In the experiment, the participants were given a job description that specified the CEO’s main challenge each time they were asked to choose between the two images. Job descriptions involved driving aggressive competition, renegotiating a key partnership with another company, leading the company’s shift into a new market and overseeing the sustained exploitation of non-renewable energy. The participants chose more healthy-looking faces over less healthy-looking faces in 69 per cent of trials and this preference was equally strong irrespective of the future CEO’s main challenge, according to the study published in the access journal Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. More intelligent-looking faces were only preferred over less intelligent-looking faces for the two challenges that would require the most diplomacy and inventiveness: renegotiating the partnership and exploring the new market. The aim of the experiment was to explore people’s implicit preferences for traits of leaders, such as health, intelligence, and attractiveness. The researchers focused on facial traits because these provide a wealth of information about individuals. In women as well as men, caring and cooperative personalities are statistically more likely to have a more ‘feminine’ face, due to higher oestrogen levels, while aggressive risk-takers tend to have higher testosterone levels and a more ‘masculine’ face. | Researchers found that 70 per cent of the time, a worker with a healthy complexion is more appealing than a colleague who looks intelligent .
They asked volunteers to choose a fictional CEO from subtly altered images .
Experts from VU University Amsterdam discovered that appearing intelligent is an 'optional extra' for workers looking for a raise . |
16e7fecab263d09e5c8c2b47fda6d2785ce60594 | By . Sam Webb . PUBLISHED: . 21:19 EST, 30 December 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 08:10 EST, 31 December 2012 . A young woman who plunged 80ft from her hotel balcony and was left horrifically injured has said it's 'miraculous' that she's walking again. Chantelle Serginson, of Middlesbrough, was told by medics that it could take 18 months for her to get back on her feet again after her terrifying fall. But seven months on from her ordeal - which saw her suffer two brain haemorrhages, a broken jaw and multiple fractures to her legs - she is once again walking. Miracle: Chantelle Serginson, from Middlesbrough, who has said it is a miracle she can walk again after falling 80ft from a hotel balcony. Pictured with mother Kimberley (right) and sister Jessica (left) The 25-year-old said: 'Things are going brilliantly. I should not be sat here having this conversation. 'I should at least be paralysed or brain damaged but I have been miraculous. 'Doctors said it would take me around 18 months to walk again but it's taken me around four-and-a-half months. 'I can't overdo it and I am still on medication but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.' Miss Serginson had operations to have metal poles and pins inserted into her legs and hips plus metal plates in her jaw following her fall while on holiday in Magaluf in May. Accident: Miss Serginson fell over the balcony as she reached for a necklace that had caught on a piece of metal. (Right) The fun-loving 25-year-old is a self-confessed exhibitionist . Now, after months of hydrotherapy and radiotherapy at Middlesbrough's James Cook University Hospital, Miss Serginson can now walk unaided. She said: 'I have gone from a wheelchair to a walking frame to crutches. 'The first time my foot touched the floor I was sobbing. I can now walk to the shops but sometimes I need a piggyback back.' She is now awaiting a further . op to remove a metal pole from her left leg, and some time in the future . expects to have a knee replacement. Still having fun: Chantelle pokes her tongue out as she recovers in hospital . Wound: This picture was taken in hospital shortly after surgery. Her injuries included fractures, two brain haemorrhages and a broken jaw . Fractures: This picture shows both her legs in plaster. She was unconscious for four days after surgery . And although her injury means she . will be unable to follow her dreams of becoming a dancer, she hopes to . put her experiences to good use. She said: 'I don't mind as I feel blessed to be here. 'I am looking into college courses. I want to become a support worker and do something for people who can't walk. 'I know what it's like as I have been through it myself and want to help.' Miss Serginson says she has had a lot of . support from mother Kim and boyfriend Marc Boden, 22, along with brother . Brian and sister Jessica during her recovery. And although she is on the . mend, sadly Kim was diagnosed with bowel cancer in August and has had to . go through chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Chantelle said: 'I can't wait to see the back of 2012, it is not been our year. I am doing my bit to help her now.' Love: Chantelle recovering at home with mother Kimberley (right). Her mother rushed to her side after the plunge. (Right) Before the accident that came so close to killing her . The Hotel Marina Barracuda. Chantelle fell from the sixth floor after she was unable to swing onto the balcony below . | Chantelle Serginson, 25, was not expected to live after her horrific six-storey fall .
She recovered and doctors told her it would take 18 months to walk again .
Now she has amazed them by getting back on her feet in just seven months . |
16e8024064fc5ef1ffb677411fd23a48ad8d71b3 | London (CNN) -- UK police charged a Polish man Tuesday in connection with the defacement over the weekend of a painting by famed artist Mark Rothko at a London museum. Wlodzimierz Umaniec, 26, will appear in a south London court Wednesday on one count of criminal damage in excess of £5,000 (about $8,000), London's Metropolitan Police said. The suspect, a Polish national who is also known as Vladimir Umanets, has no fixed address, police said. He was arrested late Monday in Worthing, on England's south coast. The painting -- part of Rothko's Seagram mural series -- was hanging at London's Tate Modern museum when a man began tagging the canvas with black paint Sunday afternoon. The alarm was raised and the museum was briefly evacuated. Rothko, a Russian-American abstract expressionist, was commissioned to do a series of paintings for the Four Seasons restaurant of the Seagram building in New York in 1958. Though he started the series of murals, he famously reneged, deciding the swanky New York restaurant wasn't an appropriate home for his art. Rothko rejected the commission but completed paintings stemming from the project, many of which made their way into the halls of museums. The murals arrived in London as Rothko killed himself in 1970 and have been on display at many of the Tate's locations, as well as the National Gallery of Art in Washington. CNN's Susannah Palk contributed to this report. | Wlodzimierz Umaniec will appear in court Wednesday charged with criminal damage .
A man defaced one of famed artist Rothko's Seagram murals on Sunday .
The painting was hanging in London's Tate Modern museum . |
16e86dc5e3fe27875ee927741542536ea7b7553b | By . Martin Robinson . PUBLISHED: . 05:21 EST, 26 June 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 11:11 EST, 26 June 2012 . David Cameron's spin doctor helped his celebrity wife run an 'avoidance' scheme that may have diverted thousands away from the tax man, it was claimed today. Craig Oliver's partner, BBC news presenter Joanna Gosling, could have pocketed an extra £22,000 a year by being paid through a private company the pair set up, according to newspaper reports. It comes just days after the Prime Minister declared comedian Jimmy Carr 'morally wrong' for putting millions in an offshore tax dodging scheme. But it appears one of his closest aides helped his wife to run a company for several years that may have reduced the tax she paid on her estimated £150,000-a-year earnings. Claims: The Daily Mirror has said a business set up to handle BBC presenter Joanna Gosling's pay was an 'avoidance' scheme . 'It is total hypocrisy and Craig Oliver should stay out of Downing Street until it is sorted out,' Labour MP John Mann told the Mirror last night. 'The Jimmy Carr publicity stunt has clearly come back to haunt the Prime Minister.' Mr Oliver, who is a former senior BBC executive, ran Paya Limited with Ms Gosling to handle her earnings. He was paid £2,999.97 to be secretary. Star: Top presenter Joanna Gosling, pictured on BBC Breakfast in a controversial short skirt, may have saved thousands by being paid through a company . The TV presenter hit the headlines herself recently after wearing a short skirt to work on the BBC Breakfast sofa. Classed as a 'TV and journalism' company, they were helped by accountant Nicholas Ridge, who says he helps TV producers 'make sure their tax bills are kept as low as possible'. Figures from Companies House seen by MailOnline show that around £150,000 a year was funnelled into Paya. If Ms Gosling had earned the cash via PAYE she would have paid around £52,000 a year in income tax and national insurance, according to the Mirror. But paying herself via a company would have allowed her to cut this to as little as £29,800, making a tax saving of up to £22,000 a year, the paper claims. These are based on figures to 2008, when the company changed the type of return it sent to Companies House. Last year Mr Oliver quit as Paya's secretary after details of the company emerged, not long after Mr Cameron's previous spin doctor and former News of the World editor Andy Coulson resigned over the hacking scandal. Mr Oliver was also in the news last . month after he was filmed giving BBC political correspondent Norman . Smith a dressing down over his coverage of the Leveson Inquiry. A source close to Mr Oliver told MailOnline today: ‘There was never any tax saving motive. It was a condition of employment by the BBC. Couple: No.10 spin doctor Craig Oliver, left, . was secretary of his wife Joanna Gosling's company, and it s has been claimed today this business would have allowed her to avoid up to £22,000 a year in tax . ‘Joanna does not have a staff job and . as a freelance presenter you are told to make this arrangement. Freelance presenters do not got maternity pay or pension benefits or . sick pay. ‘Claims about the benefits have been wildly exaggerated.’ The . BBC was last month under intense pressure to reveal how many of its . stars are channelling their pay through private companies. MPs . accused the corporation of paying senior figures ‘off-payroll’ – . meaning they can potentially cut their tax bills by thousands of pounds a . year. Replacement: Mr Oliver came into Downing Street after Andy Coulson, pictured with David Cameron, quit because of the hacking scandal . Row: Head of Communications Craig Oliver was inadvertently caught on camera berating a BBC correspondent, Norman Smith, outside No. 10 Downing St last month . Danny Alexander, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, revealed that more than 2,400 civil servants have been paid through a private company. This means they can pay the corporation tax rate of 21 per cent, rather than higher rates of income tax. But, to the fury of MPs, he said he was unable to provide similar information about public servants who work for local councils and the BBC, because they are not controlled by central government. Probe: Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander is investigating how many civil servants are avoiding tax but cannot look into the BBC's affairs . The corporation has said it pays ‘up to 3,000’ actors, editors, make-up artists and other ‘craft staff’ through service companies. Of these, 36 earn more than £100,000. But it refused to reveal how many top presenters and other talent are paid this way. In the past it has been reported that household names including Newsnight presenters Jeremy Paxman, Emily Maitlis and Gavin Esler as well as BBC News stars Sophie Raworth and Fiona Bruce have set up companies to channel their earnings, because they are on freelance contracts. This allows some high profile presenters to off-set expenses against tax, therefore dramatically boosting their net income. The corporation flatly refuses to give concrete numbers of those paid in this way, saying it was ‘commercially sensitive’ and would breach data protection laws. Mr Alexander told MPs: ‘The review could not include either local government or the BBC, who are not under the direct control of central government.' Mr Oliver is away in Mexico with the PM and declined to comment but a source close to him said his wife had not made huge savings from the company. A BBC spokesman said: 'There is no fixed rule that requires presenters to be self-employed. It wil depend on her role. But if they are then the BBC requires them to do this through a service company. This is in order to ensure they are responsible for their tax affairs. It is not done to avoid tax.' | Craig Oliver was secretary of Paya Limited, a business set up to deal with his BBC presenter partner Joanna Gosling's earnings .
Companies House figures seen by MailOnline show around £150,000 a year was paid into the firm .
The Daily Mirror claims the business could have saved her £22,000 a year in tax .
'Speculation around her financial benefits from setting up a company is wildly inaccurate,' a source close to the couple said . |
16e8cb520c874af6825d4661f6127a67efd4b6f6 | By . James Rush . These are the shocking injuries inflicted on a disabled teenager who is now scared to go out alone after being attacked twice in eight months on the same road. Michael Disley, 19, has temporarily moved back in with his mother and stepfather following the two attacks. In the latest incident, on June 4, Mr Disley, who has learning difficulties and Asperger's Syndrome, was targeted by thugs who hit his head against the pavement. WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT . Teenager Michael Disley was left with these horrific injuries after he was attacked for the second time in eight months on the same road . Mr Disley, who has learning difficulties and Asperger Syndrome, has now been left scared to go out alone following the latest attack on June 4 when he was targeted by thugs who hit his head against the pavement . The teenager, who lives an independent life, was walking along a road in Wigan, Greater Manchester, to his mother's house when two men pushed him to the ground and attacked him. He said: 'I’m really scared to go outside without someone I can trust. 'I don’t know why I was attacked on either occasion, I had my backpack with me and they didn’t try and steal anything. 'They just wanted to hurt me.' The assault comes just eight months after Mr Disley was chased by three men who cornered him in a house before beating him up. The men were arrested for the attack before being released without charge after apologising to Mr Disley. Police are appealing for anyone who may have seen anything in the area of . Lancaster Road, in Wigan, to come forward . His stepfather Les Watkinson said: 'When they arrested the other men for the first attack it didn’t get to court because they apologised. 'It cost Michael £140 for a new pair of glasses and now he has to go through it all again because they smashed them again. 'We said to the police this time that we’re not letting this one go even if it’s just to pay for his glasses. 'Michael is a vulnerable adult, he has learning difficulties and Asperger’s which is why he’s being targeted.' The latest assault comes just eight months after Mr Disley was chased by three men who cornered him in a house before beating him up . Mr Disley does not know who attacked him in the most recent incident as the men did not speak during the assault. He said: 'I was just walking back to my mum’s house when I felt something from behind. 'I just kept walking and then suddenly someone jumped me and I just went down. My face hit the pavement and as I lifted my head back up, they punched me back down again and again. 'It scared me last time but I got over it and now it has happened again. I got my own place but my mum wants me to stay at her house for a bit now, and I’ve been getting lifts to and from my friends now so I’m safe. 'Before these attacks, we never really had anything too bad. I used to just go to the skating rink and no-one had problems with me. I had silly name calling but that didn’t get to me.' Mr Disley has now temporarily moved back in with his mother and stepfather. His mother Diane Disley said: 'We dont want to bad-mouth the police because we were just lucky they were there but something needs to be done. 'He’s not a trouble-maker, he doesn't have a fighting bone in his body which is why he can’t defend himself. 'They know Michael and know he’s not a fighter so they will get a kick out of that and he’s targeted because of his disability. It’s just sick isnt it? 'We just want anyone who saw anything that night to come forward now and help catch those responsible. 'All he wants to do is lead a full and independent life but now feels he is being prevented from doing so.' Police are appealing for anyone who may have seen anything in the Lancaster Road area of Wigan to come forward. A Greater Manchester Police spokesman said: 'At 11.55pm, officers were alerted to a man who said he was going to his mum’s when two men pushed him to the ground from behind. 'When he tried to get up, they punched him back down. Unfortunately he can’t identify anyone and there is no CCTV showing the assault. 'We are appealing to anyone who may have been in the area at the time to come forward and help find those responsible.' Anyone with any information is asked to call 101 or independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111. | Michael Disley says he is too scared to go out alone following the attacks .
He has now temporarily moved back in with his mother and stepfather .
In the latest attack the 19-year-old was pushed to the ground by thugs who hit his head against the pavement . |
16ea283bf38d0a11adad38f226ca63e6f6c87a98 | By . Victoria Woollaston . Having increased security on phones is a comfort if it’s lost or stolen - but having to add fingerprints, passwords and PINs does make accessing these devices a drawn-out process. Thankfully, Apple appears to be working on a way to make this process a lot easier, without compromising on high security levels. The firm’s latest patent reveals plans to add customisable security options, based on the user’s location, meaning the phone would automatically unlock when in a ‘safe’ location. The California firm's latest patent reveals plans to add customisable security options that could, based on a user's location, automatically unlock a phone when the user is in a 'safe' zone. For example, if the device is connected to the user's home Wi-Fi network (pictured) Apple is planning to put some muscle behind its future iPhones - literally. The . Cupertino-based company published a patent last month to use . an ‘artificial muscle system’ for focusing cameras in devices such as . its iPhone and iPad. The patent claims the system would contract in a similar way to how muscles move, to focus the lens and take images. The system could allow for much slimmer . mobile systems that use less power while carrying larger camera . components, the company said. For example, if the device is connected to the user’s home Wi-Fi network, or the network inside their office, the phone will not ask for the security code or fingerprint scan, and will keep the screen unlocked. Additionally, the patent describes how the 'location' doesn't need to refer to a fixed location, and could also include a user's car. To verify the location, the phone could connect to the car's Bluetooth, navigation systems or audio displays. Alternatively, if the phone is on a mobile or public network, in a pub or café, security levels could be increased. This could add extra security levels, in addition to the PIN, passcode or fingerprint scan. The patent, titled ‘Location-sensitive security levels and setting profiles based on detected location’ was filed in December 2012 and awarded earlier this month. Additionally, the patent describes how the location does not need to refer to a fixed place, and could also include a user's car. To verify the location, the phone could connect to the car's Bluetooth, navigation systems or audio displays (pictured) Alternatively, if the phone is on a public network, security levels will be increased, in addition to the PIN, passcode or fingerprint scan (scanner pictured). The patent, titled 'Location-sensitive security levels and setting profiles based on detected location' was filed in December 2012 and awarded earlier this month . ‘To provide a reliably pleasant and secure experience for a user operating a mobile device, it can be desirable to modify security settings or other device behaviour based on a detected location,’ explained the patent. ‘Mobile devices often have security requirements, such as passwords or passcodes. ‘Security requirements help ensure that a mobile device is in the hands of the appropriate party, [but] often the security level remains the same regardless of the location of the mobile device. ‘Because some locations may be inherently more secure, such as a user's home or office, these locations may be considered ‘safe’ and require less stringent security. ‘Conversely, some locations may be considered higher risk or ‘unsecure.’ In these locations, it can be desirable to implement stronger security protections.' As with all patents, this technology may not end up on a device. | The firm’s latest patent reveals plans to add customisable security options .
Based on a user’s location, the phone could unlock when in a 'safe' zone .
For example, if the device is connected to the user's home Wi-Fi network .
Alternatively, if the phone is on a mobile or public network, security levels could be increased .
This could add extra security steps, in addition to the PIN or passcode . |
16ea5445100afc3bc27ff3524759ca5caa97eee0 | By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 08:41 EST, 9 June 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 13:19 EST, 9 June 2013 . One of the world’s most elusive big cats has been caught on camera in rare footage of it in the wild. The Siberian tiger has never been filmed in the 50-year history of the BBC Natural History Unit. But after six weeks of camping out in the world’s most hostile places, a team of scientists has filmed the carnivore for a new two-part series, Operation Snow Tiger, to be shown tonight. The Siberian tiger, pictured, has never been filmed in the wild in the BBC Natural History Unit's 50-year history . The Siberian tiger is the largest cat in the world. It preys on deer, wild boar and grizzly bears. It is the only tiger that survives most of the year in the snow. Despite its light orange coat and . black stripes, it is difficult to spot, even against . a white backdrop. However, the breed is under threat from poachers and there are now less than 350 left in the wild. A Siberian tiger can fetch as much as £30,000 on the black market. The bones are sold for Chinese medicine and the skin is hung in homes as a status symbol. The tigers, pictured, once roamed across northern Asian but now live only in the far east of Russian Siberia . The tiger has been a target for poachers and it can fetch as much as £30,000 on the black market . The Siberian tiger once roamed across . northern Asian. However, they now survive in a relatively small . area in the far east of Russian Siberia, north of Vladivostok. Tiger expert Liz Bonnin and a team of scientists travelled in -32C temperatures to gain new insight into the wilderness landscapes that are home to the carnivore for the series. They filmed the tigers by fitting 30 small cameras to trees which activated when the animals passed. They also tracked them through deep snow and sub-zero temperatures by following giant paw prints. She said: 'The Russian Far East is a . spectacularly beautiful and extremely challenging environment to work . in. It was a real privilege to work with scientists who rightly believe . that losing the tiger from this landscape is simply unacceptable, and . who work tirelessly to prevent its extinction against seemingly . insurmountable odds. 'Every day brought thrilling discoveries and . harrowing moments, and the tigers certainly kept us on our toes at every . turn. This was an adventure that will stay with me forever.' The Siberian tiger is the largest cat in the world and is the only one that survives most of the year in the snow . Despite its light orange coat and black stripes, the Siberian tiger is difficult to spot against a snowy backdrop . The team behind Operation Snow Tiger, including Dr Dale Miquelle pictured, tracked the big cat by following giant paw prints in the snow . | The elusive tiger was captured on camera for the BBC's new two-part series, Operation Snow Tiger, to be shown tonight .
There are 350 left in the wild and they fetch up to £30k on the black market .
The predator now survives in a far east corner of Russian Siberia . |
16eaf5305c580b6e69eb5de5520ba5937fbf3651 | The Supreme Court has ruled in favor of same sex marriage by striking down the Defense of Marriage Act in a landmark 5-4 decision this morning. It followed that decision with a ruling against California's controversial Proposition 8, which banned same-sex marriage in the state, meaning that gay marriage will inevitably be deemed legal in California. By striking down DOMA, the Supreme Court ruled that it was not legal to prevent same-sex spouses from receiving the same benefits that heterosexual couples receive. Scroll down for video . Victory: Crowds celebrate in June after The Supreme Court ruled that same-sex marriages should be legally recognized as valid across the U.S., but now the Texas National Guard has refused to process requests from same-sex couples for benefits . Working for the wedding: Plaintiffs Paul Katami, Jeffrey Zarrillo, Sandy Stier, and Kristen Perry were the people fighting for marriage equality in California . Just minutes after their ruling against the Defense of Marriage Act was announced, the Supreme Court declared California's Proposition 8 unconstitutional. The legal drama in California came when the state approved same-sex marriage, and that was followed months later with a Prop 8, which was put in place by the 9th Circuit Court. Prop 8 banned same-sex marriage across the state, and today, the Supreme Court ruled that the 9th Circuit Court was overstepping their bounds by putting the ban in place in the first place. Though the legal wrangling will undoubtedly continue in the coming months, the ruling suggests that California will go back to allowing same-sex marriage. If that is the case, it will be the 13th state to legally allow same-sex marriage. The plaintiffs in the Prop 8 case were two same-sex couples from California. During their celebratory interviews on the steps of the Supreme Court, one of the women received a phone call from President Obama personally congratulating them on their victory. While it does not theoretically change the fact that only 12 states and the District of Columbia are the only areas in the U.S. where same-sex marriages are granted, today's ruling means that any couples who are married in those states have to be treated the same as any heterosexual married couples under the law across the country. The broadly-written decision says among other privileges, same-sex couples can now file joint tax returns, are entitled to social security survivor benefits, have the right to make medical decisions for incapacitated partners, and will receive notification when a spouse is killed in action. Justice Anthony . Kennedy wrote the majority decision, saying that it was not legal to . consider same-sex marriages anything lesser than full legal . partnerships. 'Under DOMA, . same-sex married couples have their lives burdened, by reason of . government decree, in visible and public ways,' Justice Kennedy wrote in . the majority decision. 'DOMA's principal effect is to identify a subset of state-sanctioned marriages and make them unequal.' He . wrote that the previous law caused 'a stigma upon all who enter into . same-sex marriages made lawful by the unquestioned authority of the . states.' As was . expected, the court's four more conservative justices- Samuel Alito, . Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas, and chief justice John Roberts- voted . against the issue. President Obama is currently in . Africa on a state visit to Senegal, South Africa and Tanzania, but he . tweeted shortly after the decision was reached. Big day: The ruling over the Defense of Marriage Act was one of the most hotly-anticipated verdicts . Celebrating: Glennda Testone of The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center jumps for joy after the Defense of Marriage Act was struck down, meaning that same-sex partners will receive equal benefits . 'Today's DOMA ruling is a historic step forward for #MarriageEquality #LoveIsLove,' his official Twitter account released. He was expected to make a statement about the two rulings, and his words . will have an added twist as he will give them in Senegal, where . homosexuality is illegal. The second ruling of the day came on . the issue of Proposition 8. In that case, California had passed same-sex . marriage but then Prop 8 was put in place banning gay marriage in the . state. Today's Supreme Court decision said that Prop 8 was not legal, . and they were not legally able to put that ban into place. By removing the ban, California is now the 13th state that allows same-sex marriage. The . landmark decision comes on a busy week for the highest court in the . land, as they already handed down verdicts on similarly controversial . decisions on affirmative action, the voting rights act, and a custody . battle between a girl's Native American biological father and her . adoptive family. Crowds gathered outside of the court on Wednesday morning ahead of their 10am announcement. On the call: The White House released this picture of President Obama calling Edie Windsor from Air Force One . Waiting to hear: The court was ruling on two different cases that would decide whether gay couples are legally allowed to marry across the country . Right now, 12 states and the District of Columbia recognize same-sex marriages as legal, and it is likely that the issue will still continue to be determined on a state-by-state basis. The case itself was based around the constitutionality of denying spousal benefits to same sex partners.They are also considering the validity of the California ban on same-sex marriage. Named the United States v. Windsor, the case was filed by an elderly lesbian named Edith Windsor. She was married to her female spouse Thea Spyer but was denied estate tax when Ms Spyer died. Their 40-year love story has been a well-publicized one and a movie was made to nationalize. In light of today's landmark ruling, Windsor no longer has to pay the IRS hundreds of dollars that she was told to pay because the federal government did not recognize her same-sex marriage as valid. Edie Windsor thanked her friends and attorneys at a press conference after the ruling . Edie Windsor challenged the federal Defense of Marriage Act after she was made to pay $363,000 in inheritance taxes, after her partner of 44 years Thea Spyer died. A heterosexual would not have faced the punitive bill. She seemed hopeful after she testified in front of the court in March, and today she is undoubtedly celebrating. 'They were direct, they asked all the right questions,' she said after exiting the hearing in late March. 'I didn't feel any hostility or any sense of inferiority...I felt we were very respected and I think it's gonna be good,' she added with a smile. Two years after they were married, Spyer, a long-suffering multiple sclerosis patient, passed away. Windsor explained how weeks later she suffered a real life 'broken heart,' when she was struck down with a heart-attack. She was then hit with the massive tax bill. 'In the midst of my grief, I realized the federal government was treating us as strangers,' she said. As such, the widow challenged the DOMA and when lower courts agreed that the Act discriminatory and unconstitutional, the case was handed to the Supreme Court to make a final determination. The 1996 U.S. law denies married same-sex couples access to federal benefits by defining marriage as between a man and a woman. Kennedy referred to DOMA as "inconsistent" because it purports to give authority to the states to define marriage while limiting recognition of those determinations. -Daily Mail Reporter . | Defense of Marriage Act was struck down meaning that married same-sex couples have to receive the same benefits as heterosexual married couples .
The ruling has substantial effects when it comes to issues like survivors benefits and tax filings for married same-sex couples .
Same-sex marriage is only legal in 12 states and the District of Columbia .
California now added to that list as Prop 8 also dismissed . |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.