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18cf2682a86ad45533ae38bac52fd8e615fba4b7 | 'Madame': Carmen Fluker, 42, was arrested last month after a raid on her Ferguson, Missouri, bungalow where police say they discovered a stripper poll, a fully stocked bar and a VIP room . A one-time aspiring singer from Missouri has been accused of running a brothel and strip club out of her suburban home - with her own teenage son acting as a bartender. Carmen Fluker, 42, was arrested last month after a raid on her Ferguson bungalow where police say they discovered a stripper poll, a fully stocked bar and a VIP room. Officers who descended on Fluker's humble brick house in the 400 block of Warfield Avenue seized alcohol, condoms and cash. Police say they also found a teenage girl working as a dancer. The operation resulted in Fluker being indicted last week on a single felony count of promoting prostitution between May 2011 and April 2014. The 42-year-old woman, who also goes by the monickers Carmen Lacy, Carmen Simmons, Luscious and her former stage name, Araye, told St Louis Post-Dispatch Tuesday that she had been 'set up.' According to a search warrant, police got a tip in March saying that Mrs Fluker was hosting alcohol- and drug-fueled parties with strippers every night at her home where her son's room was allegedly being used for lap dances and sex. The informant told police that whenever Fluker was planning an event, she would send messages inviting prospective customers. The unnamed tipster paid two visits to Flukers' alleged sex den and recorder the goings on inside on a hidden video camera. The April arrest was was not Fluker's first run-in with the law. In 2011, her previous residence in Bel-Ridge was raided by police. Detective Michael Slaughter wrote in a warrant at the time that the woman and her then-husband were running the Yes We Can Social Club hosting nude dancers and alcohol. Scroll down for video . Den of sin: Police acting on a tip from an informant raided Fluker's brick home on Warfield Avenue, where they found naked women and her teenage son manning the bar . On her Twitter page, which has been dormant since last June, Fluker would promote her establishment, writing about drink specials, 'Bad Girlz live entertainers,' and even exchanging a few messages with rapper Nicki Minaj. Before the 2011 raid on Fluker's home, two informants attended one of her soirees and reported seeing naked women and a 10-year-old boy, presumably the suspected madame’s son, cooking food and manning the bar. In August of that year, police officers arrested 30 people in Fluker's home, but neither she nor her husband was charged. Speaking to Fox2Now after her 2011 arrest, Fluker claimed that she was having a bachelorette party when officers barged in with their guns drawn, but found no evidence of prostitution or drug use. The woman also contended that Yes We Can Social Club was an entertainment charity she had started in January 2011 to help needy families. On Monday, the 42-year-old woman said in court that she was unemployed and living off food stamps and disability payments. An Internet search has revealed that back in 2008, Fluker was trying to build a career as a singer, performing under the name Araye in honor of her late daughter. In a biography posted on the site Showcase Your Music, Fluker-Araye wrote of herself that she has 'an energetically powerful voice' and ‘a relentless determinations [sic] to succeed as an International entertainer.' According Araye's profile, she began performing live with her father's band at age 12, singing Aretha Franklin and Gladys Knight classics. The self-described 'multi-talented songstress' went on to release a CD called 'My Life' before getting an associate degree in social work. If convicted, Fluker could face up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. | Carmen 'Luscious' Fluker, 42, charged with promoting prostitution between 2011 and 2014 .
Police who raided her Ferguson, Missouri, bungalow found inside nude dancers, a stripper pole, and a full bar manned by Fluker's teenage son .
Fluker's Bel-Ridge home was raided in 2011 for similar reasons after police got a tip she was running Yes We Can Social Club out of the residence .
Suspected madame claimed it was an 'entertainment charity' intended to help the needy .
The 42-year-old has multiple aliases, including her stage name Araye . |
18cf7660e887362f828ce2da7e18101baab8fbb3 | Wojciech Szczesny is excited about the competition for Arsenal's No 1 jersey this season after the club signed David Ospina from Nice. Ospina moved to the Emirates in July after shining for Colombia as they reached the quarter-finals of the World Cup in Brazil. Szczesny says that after Lukasz Fabianski joined Swansea when his contract expired it was inevitable that Arsene Wenger would strengthen in that position during the current transfer window. VIDEO Scroll down to watch Arteta expecting great season . Relishing the competition: Arsenal's number one in action during training ahead of the new season . Battle to be number one: Szczesny has said the arrival of David Ospina has not faze him in the slightest . 'I love a challenge,' the Polish shot-stopper told Arsenal.com. 'I was expecting someone to come because Lukasz has left for Swansea and I wish him all the best. I knew someone would come in. I'm just going to do the same thing over again, I'm going to try my best in every game and every week in training. Hopefully that will be enough.' Szczesny, who played in Sunday's Emirates Cup defeat to Monaco, thinks the first-team squad are reaching the right level of fitness ahead of the new Premier League campaign. 'It would have been nice to win a cup that we play at home, but that's not what we talk about in pre-season,' he said. 'We want to prepare and make sure we are at our very best at the weekend [in the Community Shield] and then against Crystal Palace in [the Premier League]. 'Last year we had a long pre-season and we played a lot of games in Asia. This year is completely different but I think everyone is looking sharper every single day.' Pedigree: Ospina was first choice for Colombia at the World Cup as they made it to the quarter-finals . Safe hands: The 25-year-old put in some fine performances for Jose Pekerman's side during the tournament . The 24-year-old is confident that by signing the likes of Ospina, Alexis Sanchez and Mathieu Debuchy, the club can push on from their performances last season, during which they won the FA Cup, their first trophy in nine years. 'We were close to being right near the top last year in the Premier League and we managed to win the FA Cup. This year we added some players and we're looking stronger. The confidence is flying high and hopefully this year we can challenge for the Premier League.' VIDEO Arteta expecting great season . | Polish international says he loves a challenge, after Arsenal signed Ospina .
Szczesny was expecting Arsene Wenger to sign a goalkeeper after Lukasz Fabianski joined Swansea when his contract at the Emirates expired .
The 24-year-old says Arsenal squad are reaching right level of fitness ahead of the new Premier League season .
He is confident club can push on this season after winning FA Cup in May . |
18d00fb13fa4711fe3f409b73893a7aa316f9b24 | Dozens of pilot whales have died after becoming stranded on a New Zealand beach - but rescuers did manage to save another 22 of the animals. The whales came ashore at Ohiwa Harbour in the Bay of Plenty, prompting a major rescue effort involving volunteers and the local Maori community. The Department of Conservation said 25 of the whales died and 11 had to be euthanized. But the rescuers successfully released a group of 22, which swam out of the harbor to deeper water. The whales came ashore at Ohiwa Harbour in the Bay of Plenty, prompting a major rescue effort involving volunteers and the local Maori community . Wildlife conservationists from non-profit organization Project Jonah co-ordinated efforts to shepherd the whales through the channel and out to the ocean. The group wrote on its Facebook page: 'We did it! All 22 whales were shepherded through the mouth of the harbour to the ocean and were last seen heading towards deeper water. 'A tremendous effort from all those involved and a reminder of how important community can be. A huge thank you to our medics who answered the call.' Mass pilot whale strandings are common in New Zealand, but scientists unclear about why the marine mammals swim ashore in large groups. The short-finned pilot whale is known for its close-knit social groups. One theory is that if one whale gets stuck or stays behind, the others are likely to stay or even beach themselves as well. Wildlife conservationists from non-profit organization Project Jonah co-ordinated efforts to shepherd the whales through the channel and out to the ocean . The Department of Conservation said 25 of the whales died and 11 had to be euthanized. But the rescuers successfully released a group of 22, which swam out of the harbor to deeper water . The species get their name from the fact that it is thought that each pod follows a 'pilot' in the group. Daren Grover, general manager of Project Jonah told the BBC that the rates of whales stranded in New Zealand are higher than anywhere in the world. 'It's something we have lived with and we are quite geared up to respond to,' he said. 'Today was a great effort - all those that were alive were refloated.' Pilots are among the smaller of the whale species, with adult males reaching up to 18 feet in length and females 12 feet. The species is also the one most frequently involved in mass strandings. Mass pilot whale strandings are common in New Zealand, but scientists unclear about why the marine mammals swim ashore in large groups . | Department of Conservation said 25 whales died and 11 were euthanized .
Rescuers released group of 22, which swam out of harbor to deeper water .
Rescue was thanks to co-ordinated effort from volunteers and community .
Mass pilot whale strandings are common but scientists are not sure why . |
18d011d1363ae9ca0ee2e798203aa91a14cfcc1b | By . Rob Cooper . PUBLISHED: . 06:01 EST, 15 April 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 10:08 EST, 15 April 2013 . A grandmother was today named as the fifth person to die in a head-on crash which killed theree generations of the same family. Angela Cockburn, 49, died in the accident along with her husband David, 48, daughters Carley Ann, 21, and Bethany, 18, and 23-month-old granddaughter Lacie Jade Stephenson. They were travelling to a dance competition at Butlins holiday resort in Skegness, Lincolnshire, when the crash happened on Friday. Scroll down for video . Tragic: Angela Cockburn (second from the right) died in the crash along with her husband David (white t-shirt), their granddaughter Lacie Jade Stephenson and daughters Carley Ann, 21, and Bethany, 18 . Victims: Bethany Cockburn and her 23-month-old daughter Lacie Jade Stephenson both died in the crash. They are pictured here with Bethany's boyfriend . Three members of the family were . pronounced dead at the scene on the A18 near Laceby Manor Golf Club, . Grimsby, Lincolnshire while two died in the nearby Diana Princess of Wales Hospital. The driver of the lorry is thought to have sustained minor injuries. Hundreds of people left their . condolences on the R.I.P Cockburn Family page, which also features . photographs of the family, including some of Carley and Bethany wearing . dancing costumes and some of Bethany's daughter Lacie. Carley and Bethany were members of a dance school in Washington, Tyne and Wear. Floral tributes were also left outside the family home in Chester-Le-Street, County Durham. A police spokesman today confirmed that Mrs Cockburn was the fifth person to die in the crash. 'At this time . formal identification has not been carried out, however from information . obtained by police there is no doubt that the person travelling in the . vehicle was Angela Cockburn,' he said. Horror scene: The car the Cockburn family were travelling in collided head-on with a lorry on the A18 near Grimsby, Lincolnshire . Tragedy: The family's Nissan Primera is covered by fabric following the fatal crash that killed five people . The Grimsby stretch of the A18 featured in a BBC television programme, Britain's Most Dangerous Roads, in 2011, which claimed it was 25 times more dangerous than the average British motorway with 20 crashes in the previous three years. It was also found to be the UK's highest-risk stretch of road for car drivers in a nationwide survey by the Road Safety Foundation in 2010. Operations Superintendent Tracy Bradley, of Humberside Police, said: 'Our deepest thoughts go out to the family and friends of those who were tragically killed in this collision which happened on the A18 yesterday. We are working closely with relatives of those who lost their lives and are supporting them through what will be a very difficult time. 'Roads policing officers are working . closely with our collision investigation team to piece together the . evidence we have gathered in order to try and determine what led to this . tragic incident taking place and took the lives of those travelling in . the Nissan at the time. 'We have spoken to a number of key . witnesses already, however, if anyone saw the incident but has not come . forward I would ask them to do so.' Tributes: Flowers are left outside the Cockburn family home in Chester-Le-Street, County Durham . Outing: The family were on their way to Butlin's in Skegness to take part in a dance competition . The Facebook tribute page features photographs of the family, including some of Carley and Bethany wearing dancing costumes. One person left a message which read: 'So so sad xx dancing with the angels now x R.I.P xxx' Another posted: 'Dance in heaven beautiful angels x' On a photo of Lacie, who would have turned two next month, one Facebook user wrote: 'Sleep tight lacie a beautiful girl and now a precious angel'. Many people left anecdotes about the . family on the page, with one describing Mr Cockburn as 'a gentle kind . man' who was 'totally devoted to his family'. A . number of people had also posted tributes on Bethany's personal . Facebook page, on which she wrote that she was in a relationship with . Garry Stephenson, a soldier in the Scots Guards, and described daughter . Lacie as 'Our world!'. | Angela Cockburn, 49, died along with her husband David, two daughters and grandaughter .
They were on their way to Butlin's in Skegness for a dance competition .
Road featured on television show Britain's Most Dangerous Roads . |
18d0407f9fcbfe670ac7b76cdb6dcbd0ef5ff524 | She shot to fame as Hugo Taylor's petite model girlfriend on Made In Chelsea and while she was a lot more reserved than the rest of the E4 cast, Natalie Joel is making headlines now. Natalie has designed a brand new swimwear collection called Joel Swimwear - and showcases her incredibly toned body as she models a selection of pieces. The range is described by the professional model and designer as a premium beachwear label dedicated to sexy, elegant and feminine bikinis. Scroll down for video . New range: Natalie Joel, who shot to fame as Hugo Taylor's girlfriend on Made In Chelsea, has unveiled her debut swimwear collection . Speaking to MailOnline about her new range, the petite star said: 'Swimwear has always been a huge part of my life. I have been an avid collector since my early teens and having had a career as a swimwear and lingerie model has given me such a passion and enthusiasm for design in this field. 'I have always enjoyed the feminine form and feel very privileged that I can help women express themselves on the beach and by the pool. I am also very proud to say Joel Swimwear is a British brand. We are very lucky to have our garments produced in England and also having the campaign shot on an English beach.' Natalie, 23, has drawn on her cultural heritage and says that she's infused the glamour and richness of the Mediterranean with her British passion for the highest possible design craft. 'I have countless sources of inspiration: inspiring people, art, architecture, literature, history, travel, London - I try and put as much of that into my work as I can,' she said. 'Joel is about been elegant and sexy. I love the challenge. It is such a tiny piece of fabric that you have to make an impact; creativity is key.' Professional poser: Natalie works as a model, which is obvious from her latest beach-themed bikini shoot . The debut collection, which is priced at around £140 per two-piece, has seven different colourways and she hopes the 'effortlessly sexy' shape of her designs will become iconic. The designer, who knows how to accentuate her assets, has made sure her bikini bottoms have been cut in a Brazilian style to emphasise the female form, she explains. Natalie says her range is all about supporting a healthy and positive feminine mind and body. 'Strong and confident girls run the world now! I love Jennifer Lawrence and Natalie Portman. They are both fearless and inspirational. If you can dream it do it. It's this attitude that I bring to my design and my own life,' she said. Desribing her own style and how it has matured since her Made In Chelsea days, Natalie said: 'I feel that my own style is a combination of elegance and sexiness. I am not afraid to express myself. Having said that I adore comfortable and well made clothes so I am just as happy in a Balmain dress as I am in well fitted jeans and chunky knitwear. 'I am only 5’2 so I must always be careful to dress correctly so suit my proportions. I am more adventurous now. I was so shy when I was filming MIC and I naturally wore a lot of black. Nowadays I love expressing myself as my confidence has grown.' Research: Natalie says that she analysed hundreds of different colour combinations to find the correct balance to suit a wide variety of skin tones ensuring that clients feel 'happy and effortlessly beautiful at all times' Enviable curves: Natalie showcases her honed physique as she reclines on a beach in the steamy shoot . The star showcases an enviably toned physique in the campaign imagery, so what's her secret? 'I love going to work out classes with my girlfriends and cousins,' she revealed. 'We like to act silly and enjoy our workout in a happy way. I think that’s the best way. Funky Bums, Tums and thighs is a personal favourite. Food wise, I try to eat little and often. My diet focuses on fresh and seasonal produce. I am slightly panicking though as I recently discovered Cronuts. Avoiding them is a real show of restraint. If you have ever tried one, girls, you will know what I mean! 'I try not to deprive myself of anything I am craving though, I think it's important to treat yourself on occasion.' Natalie joined the show in series three as 26-year-old Hugo's girlfriend. The pair broke up in June but were seen a few weeks later kissing outside trendy hotspot, The Chiltern Firehouse. Speaking about the Taylor Morris sunglasses designer, she said: 'He adores my range. We have a little bet on to see which will be the best seller. As usual, he always thinks he is correct.' So will the young designer be gracing our screens again any time soon? 'Right now I am so content with life. I have been given a wonderful opportunity to express my creativity and also demonstrate my business skill. 'If MIC came back around I would never say never but having a fashion start up takes a lot of time and focus.' Out and about: Natalie, pictured with Hugo Taylor and friends Joseph Sherratt and Denny Knowles this summer . | Natalie shot to fame as Hugo Taylor's girlfriend on Made In Chelsea .
Model, 23, has unveiled debut swimwear collection .
Says it's inspired by her Mediterranean heritage . |
18d0e086052dbc6f885dad2fe2db3b8e963f0b8a | Tell all: Sharon Savoy has written a book about her life as a professional ballroom dancer . On the popular BBC series Strictly Come Dancing, the professional dancers and their celebrity partners are often seen to become the best of friends, supporting one another throughout the competition. The reality of competing on the ballroom dance circuit is somewhat different, according to three times world champion, Sharon Savoy, who is lifting the lift on the sequin-filled world in a new book. She told MailOnline: 'It's a competition, not a performance. So the normal tension and rivalries are heightened. It is rare to . develop a true friendship with your competitors, like you would see in a . dance company. 'Backstage is an interesting dichotomy. Beneath the . seemingly calm and composed exterior is a cauldron bubbling with nerves, . anxious tension and pent up energy. Most of the dancers pace until . their event is called and remind me of the energy of thoroughbred horses . at the starting gate.' Chicago-born Sharon, who trained at the School of American Ballet, said despite the fierce rivalry, attempts to sabotage the performance of a fellow competitor are thankfully rare. 'I have never heard of anything so . terrible and tragic as the acid incident at the Bolshoi,' she said, referring to the time in 2013 when tensions at Russia's rival ballet companies turned violent and dancer Pavel Dmitrichenko threw acid on the face of artistic director, Sergei Filin. Sharon said a dancers' worst enemy can often be the judge, rather than their competitor, as 'politics' means the best performer doesn't necessarily win. 'Many . talented ballroom dancers leave the competition circuit when they tire . of the politics. My book speaks about the politics in ballroom dance, . which has been a taboo subject. Anytime you . have a decision based on human opinion there will be controversy,' she said. 'The . winner of a ballroom competition is not defined by who crosses the . finish line first. What opens the door for "politics" to exist in . ballroom dance competitions is the fact that our current system allows . the coaches to also judge. It would be akin to allowing a barrister to . also preside as judge of a legal case.' Champ: Sharon, performing one of her routines, has won national and international titles . Politics aside, Sharon said she loves every aspect of the dance world - but success has not been easy. She's worked hard to become a U.S. and World champion, making sacrifices along the way. 'To become a top ranked professional . ballroom dancer, you must live, breath, eat dance 24/7,' she explained. 'Nothing else . can matter more, not relationships, family or comforts. Your passion . must be all consuming and borderline obsessive to make it through the . eye of the needle. 'George Balanchine, one of my early mentors, and . director of the New York City ballet said it best, "I don't want dancers . who want to dance, I want dancers that need to dance."' But Sharon said the sacrifices are worth it to reap the rewards of being a professional ballroom dancer. 'The lifestyle of a top ranked ballroom . dancer is a page out of the "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous",' she said. 'If you "make it" and become the champion, you travel all over the world to . compete, perform and teach. It's a very glamorous way to see the world . and get paid to do what you love most - dance! Glamorous: The dancer, pictured in her youth, said she never gets tired of the sequins or elaborate make-up . 'I have had the pleasure to . perform in China, Japan, Taiwan, Russia, Australia, North and South . America, Europe, The Royal Albert Hall and in Hollywood movies.' Of course, the make-up and outfits all add to the glamour and Sharon said as a professional dancer, you can never have too much sparkle, tassles or fake tan. 'There's a saying that "you can never be too rich or too thin" - in the ballroom dance world, you can never be too tan!' she joked. She added: 'Hair color is usually extreme - platinum blonde, flaming red or jet black. Make-up is exaggerated; eyelashes, eyebrows and lips are all accentuated. In a sea of competitors it's important to stand out and be the most exotic or colourful fish.' As for the costumes, they are always 'exquisite'. Political: Sharon said being the best dancer doesn't always guarantee victory . 'The amount of time and attention to detail that goes into designing these lavish creations is similar to the fashion world's obsession with every facet of a piece of clothing,' she said. As well as looking lavish, the costumes must allow the performers to have freedom to move. Sharon says she never gets fed up of the sparkly costumes or make-up that are necessary for a ballroom or Latin dance routine. 'It's part of the fun and fantasy - to become larger than life, to be sexier or more provocative or more elegant than you can be in normal daily life,' she said. Ballroom! Obsession and Passion Inside the World of Competitive Dance by Sharon Savoy is out now, published by the University Press of Florida . | Sharon Savoy has won national and international dance titles .
She said being a professional dancer is a glamorous life .
But it's also hard work and many sacrifices must be made to 'make it'
'Nothing else .
can matter more, not relationships or family,' she said .
Rivalry is fierce at competitions where tensions run high . |
18d16fb1b82f41d973349111dc1d31ef2a4abd6c | WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Sen. Mel Martinez, a Florida Republican, announced Friday that he will resign his seat as soon as a replacement can be named by the governor. Sen. Mel Martinez is the only Hispanic Republican in the U.S. Senate. "My priorities have always been my faith, my family and my country, and, at this stage of my life and after nearly 12 years of public service in Florida and in Washington, it is time to return to Florida and my family," the 62-year-old said in Orlando, Florida. "So today I am announcing my decision to step down from public office." Martinez said he is resigning "of my own free will. There is no impending reason; it's only my desire to move on and to get on with the rest of my life." He added that he is in good health and that he expects the next phase of his life will take place in the private sector. "However, I do hope that I can have a voice to speak out on issues I think are important," he said. Martinez added that he has no plans to run for any other public office. At a news conference at McDill Air Force Base in Florida, Gov. Charlie Crist said he will "undertake a very thorough, comprehensive, thoughtful process" to find a replacement for Martinez. He vowed not to appoint himself to complete Martinez's six-year term, which ends in about 17 months, and predicted that he would reach a decision before the Senate returns from recess September 8. Crist, a Republican, had announced in May that he would not seek a second term as governor and instead would run for Martinez's seat in the 2010 election. Martinez was elected in 2004. He announced in December his intention to retire at the end of his term. Martinez is the only Hispanic Republican in the Senate. He joined eight other Republicans on Thursday in voting to confirm Judge Sonia Sotomayor as the first Hispanic justice to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court. Democrats hold a tenuous filibuster-proof majority in the Senate, with 60 votes. Martinez is one of six Republicans who have stated they would not seek re-election in 2010. But the Florida senator is the second Republican who has decided to leave before the curtain drops on the 111th Congress next fall. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, recently announced her intention to quit the Senate three years before her term expires, in order to run for governor next year. The five other Republicans who are retiring are Missouri Sen. Kit Bond, Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback, New Hampshire Sen. Judd Gregg, Kentucky Sen. Jim Bunning and Ohio Sen. George Voinovich. Two Democrats will not run in 2010: Illinois Sen. Roland Burris and Delaware Sen. Ted Kaufman. Republicans must defend 19 seats next year, and Democrats must protect 18. CNN's Rick DiBella, Mark Preston and Deirdre Walsh contributed to this report. | NEW: Florida senator says there is no "impending reason" behind decision .
NEW: He has no plans to run for another office, he says .
He announced in December that he would not seek re-election .
Florida governor has said he will seek the seat . |
18d199cd53586aa6ad6e466b1a92f5baa811c860 | (CNN) -- Joe Kistel and Penny Malphrus have never met. But they are connected in a way that may help provide each of them with an answer to the same question: Could strewn pieces of metal recently found partially buried in the sandy ocean floor 20 miles off the coast of St. Augustine, Florida, be what's left of a plane that disappeared without a trace 16 years ago? The story begins on February 17, 1996. That's the day Penny's father, Stewart Dunbar, an experienced pilot, took off on a short solo flight from Swainsboro, Georgia, to Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. Dunbar was returning home after going to show his twin engine propeller-driven Piper Aerostar to a prospective buyer who, as it so happened, failed to show up for the scheduled appointment. Shortly after he took off around 7:45 p.m., Dunbar, 58, reported feeling dizzy and said he was having trouble seeing. He radioed a distress call and advised the radio control tower in Jacksonville, Florida, of his coordinates. In what would be his last communication, he said he was placing the plane on autopilot and turning toward the ocean. Though never certain, the family believes Dunbar, realizing his predicament and unable to control the light transport aircraft, wanted to steer the plane away from land and avoid hurting anyone. If her father was unconscious, Penny Malphrus, who was 24 at the time, theorizes, his body might have shifted against the controls, putting the plane down off the coast near Jacksonville. Two fighter jets were scrambled from a Navy base at Charleston, South Carolina, and got close enough to see the plane but couldn't see inside the cockpit. The fighters ran low on fuel and turned around. Despite a lengthy aerial and water search by the Coast Guard and Navy, not a single piece of Dunbar's plane was ever found. "I spend countless weeks imagining his fuselage possibly still intact, bouncing around in the ocean like a bottle thrown to sea waiting to be found," Malphrus, now 39, said quietly this week from the same Hilton Head Island home where she grew up. "If there's a chance he could still be alive somehow, he will find me here waiting, same address, same phone number as it was before and always will be," she said with a mixture of hope and resignation. "If he survived, I was certain he was out there floating around like a cork surviving on the snack pretzels, chips and soft drinks that he always kept onboard for his passengers," she reflected. Enter into the narrative: 31-year-old Joe Kistel, the executive director of TISIRI (Think It Sink It Reef It), a non-profit Jacksonville-based marine conservation company in the business of protecting the habitat and building artificial reefs. About three weeks ago, Kistel was preparing to visit reef sites off the Florida coast to take pictures for TISIRI's interactive reef map project used by researchers, tourists and maritime enthusiasts. Kistel said his depth finder detected something on the sea floor and what looked like fish 80 feet below the surface. "We decided to check it out, out of curiosity," he said. "You just never know." He and another diver put on scuba gear and went down but didn't find any fish. They expanded their search. That's when they noticed a weed-shaped object like a coat hanger, a piece of stainless steel and other debris that Kistel initially thought might have fallen off a barge. What they found were plane parts: two Lycoming piston engines, an engine block and a bent propeller, but no fuselage. Lycoming engines were used on Piper Aerostars. They took photos and, once on shore, started looking for answers. Hearing about the discovery, local fishermen led them to a second site about four miles away where there is a second plane, a larger, perhaps military-type aircraft with at least three tires. Kistel went online to post dozens of photos and video of both sites and to ask the public for help in identifying the planes. Were they remnants of World War II era planes or more recent aircraft? See the photos and videos . Kistel and his team planned to dive this weekend to bring up what they could, but bad weather forced them to reschedule. His company, with its limited budget, isn't equipped to raise heavy pieces, but he said they may be able to use a float bag to drag some of the parts to shore. If they don't work quickly, they worry a hurricane will come along and bury the site. Malphrus will be anxiously waiting. "Anything for closure," she said. She acknowledges she never stops looking, wondering. "I still check the horizon of the coastline here in Hilton Head Island every day and the newspapers every night," she said. Just this week, she and her 9-year-old son, Trent, were walking on the beach right after high tide in the moonlight to observe hundreds of turtles hatching. "We watched every single one with their cute little wiggly waddle all the way to the water where they just took off. No fear at all," she said. Around midnight, Malphrus and her son came upon something unusual partly covered in sand. Could this be it, she thought, part of her father's plane? They started digging and eventually uncovered what appeared to be a gigantic rudder from a ship. "Never a day goes by that I don't think of him," she said by phone the next day. "My Dad was the most amazing man." Her search continues. She hopes Joe Kistel finds the answer this time. | NEW: Team cancels plans to dive this weekend due to bad weather .
Penny Malphrus has wondered for 16 years what became of her father .
He disappeared over the ocean after sending a distress call from his small plane .
Diver Joe Kistel found sea-floor debris in an area where the plane might have fallen . |
18d34eed1eb891a0eeb28af002dc0f85b0ca50a2 | By . Kieran Gill for MailOnline . Follow @@kie1410 . Brazil's 1974 World Cup win over Zaire wasn't remembered as a straight-forward 3-0 win when, five minutes from time, right-back Mwepu Ilunga charged towards the stationary ball and booted it upfield. The Zairian went down in history as fans, commentators and players alike were left baffled as to why Ilunga decided to put his laces through the ball. And now the Czech First League has its own version after Zbrojovka Brno, defending a free-kick against Banik Ostrava, saw their players rush from the wall and intercept the unmoving ball. VIDEO Scroll down to see Czech defender recreate the infamous 1974 World Cup free-kick . Ready: The wall is set by the referee in the Czech First League tie between Zbrojovka Brno and Banik Ostrava . Escape: A Brno player charges from the wall towards the static ball as the Banik players look amazed . Appeal: Banik look to the referee for the infringement but play is allowed to carry on as Brno attack . He's away: Brno start a counter-attack while Banik players look towards the referee for a little help . Counter: A four-on-two attack emerges from the bizarre free-kick that replicates Brazil vs Zaire in 1974 . But unlike Ilunga 40 years ago, Brno decided to create a counter-attack and nearly scored as a result as the referee allowed play to continue. Banik wound up winning the match 1-0, but it will be remembered more for the bizarre interception. The referee can only have suspected Banik touched the ball before the free-kick was struck. Either way, it makes for strange viewing from the Synot Liga. | Brazil vs Zaire in 1974 World Cup saw latter's right-back Mwepu Ilunga storm from the wall and boot the stationary ball downfield .
Czech First League defender does the same but creates counter-attack .
Referee allows play to continue as Zbrojovka Brno hit post at the other end . |
18d430be6c978f5bb9ce3b46a7b71a04bb6001d1 | The government finally released Obamacare enrollment figures Monday and the findings could spell higher premiums for those who need coverage most. Enrollments are lower for the healthy, younger Americans are needed to keep premiums from rising because they pay more and take less from the system. According to the statistics, it's an older, costlier crowd that's signing up so far under President Obama's law and officials fear the age gap could make the government subsidized health coverage too costly for the middle-aged and older. Unexpected: The White House released Obamacare enrollment figures for the first time Monday and numbers show middle aged Americans are signing up the most despite the laws original intend to help cover uninsured young people . The White House reports that middle-aged Americans make up the bulk of the 2 million Obamacare enrollees. The major targets of the law creating subsidized health insurance were young adults, who are healthy and pay more into the system and take less thus keeping premiums down overall. However, Monday's report shows that young people are mostly passing on the new, cheaper healthcare. 33 percent of enrollees are aged 55 to 64 . 22 percent are aged 45 to 54 . 24 percent were aged 18 to 34 . And it’s the middle aged who are, for now, signing up the most. Adults ages 55-64 were the most heavily represented in the signups, accounting for 33 percent of the total. Overall, the premiums paid by people in that demographic don't fully cover their medical expenses. Some are in the waiting room for Medicare; that coverage starts at age 65. Young adults from 18 to 34 are only 24 percent of total enrollment, the administration said in its first signup figures broken down for age, gender and other details. With the HealthCare.gov website now working, the figures cover the more than 2 million Americans who had signed up for government-subsidized private insurance through the end of December in new federal and state markets. Enrolling young and healthy people is important because they generally pay more into the system than they take out, subsidizing older adults. While 24 percent is not a bad start, say independent experts, it should be closer to 40 percent to help keep premiums down.Some questions remained unanswered. For example, the administration is unable to say how of many of those enrolling for coverage had been previously uninsured. Some might have been among the more than 4.7 million insured people whose previous policies were cancelled because they didn't meet the law's standards. ‘The uninsured folks for whom the law was intended don't seem to have signed up in nearly as high numbers,’ said Richard Foster, a former statistics chief for the Health and Human Services department. ‘There is still a huge unknown aspect to this.’ US Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius could have a headache on her hands if more young people don't enroll in an Obamacare plan . But even if the age mix remains tilted toward older adults, ‘it's nothing of the sort that would trigger instability in the system,’ said Larry Levitt, an insurance expert with the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation. Premiums would go up next year for the overhaul, along with taxpayer costs per enrollee, but not enough to push the system into a ‘death spiral’ in which rising premiums discourage healthy people from signing up. Levitt and other experts expected older, sicker people to be more heavily represented in the early numbers. They would have had strong motivation to persevere in the face of website dysfunction.Still, he said ‘it underscores a need to heighten outreach efforts to young people.’ Adults ages 18-34 represent 40 percent of the target group for the health care law, according to a recent Kaiser study. Open enrollment ends March 31. Considering that the federal health care website was down most of the time in October, administration officials said they were pleased that the percentage of young adults was as high as it was. ‘We think that more and more young people are going to sign up as time goes by,’ said Gary Cohen, head of the HHS office in charge of Obama's push to cover the uninsured. And there's a hammer, too: Those who fail to sign up face a tax penalty in 2015 for being uninsured. Making bets: To keep premiums affordable, officials say they need 40 percent of enrollees to be in the 18 to 34 age group . Officials remain confident they'll be able to get young adults interested. Insurers, nonprofit groups, and advocates are moving ahead with marketing campaigns that were put on hold when the federal website that serves 36 states was struggling. Administration officials said that in the coming weeks they plan to increase outreach to young people . in 25 communities located in states served by the federal website. That effort includes a national youth enrollment day on Feb. 15 and targeted outreach by sororities and fraternities, as well as Voto Latino, which focuses on Hispanic youth. In Miami, 19-year-old college student Stacy Sylvain was one of the last-minute online signups as 2013 drew to a close. In about an hour, the part-time waitress signed up for a plan with a $158 monthly premium, with the feds kicking in $48. She has a $2,500 deductible. Sylvain said she had no trouble navigating the website. 'Many people have a preconceived notion that young people are healthy and don't need to go to the doctor,' said Sylvain, who suffered a minor injury when she fell and hit her head during an indoor soccer class in 2012. 'Not having to worry about being uninsured and the what-ifs has made an incredible impact on my life.' | New enrollment statistics show middle aged Americans the vastly outnumber young adults 18 to 34 .
The system needs younger, healthier buyers paying into the system to keep costs down for the more sickly .
More than 2 million Americans signed up for government-subsidized private insurance through the end of December . |
18d4d5ba16676577f7e41cdfb405ca45aa91dc23 | (CNN) -- The Iranian navy fired four missiles into the Persian Gulf, sinking a target the size of a warship, the country's military said, according to state-run Press TV. The missile drill comes as the United States and other military conduct massive minesweeping exercises in the Arabian Gulf. The U.S. military says these exercises are strictly "defensive," but the show of force in light of Iran's threats to mine the Strait of Hormuz is hard to ignore. The Islamic Revolution Guard Corps fired the missile simultaneously at the large target, which sank in 50 seconds, Navy Cmdr. Rear Adm. Ali Fadavi said, according to Press TV. Fadavi pointed out that Iran's missile systems can reach the entire Persian Gulf, including past where U.S. bases are located, Press TV reported. In reference to the minesweeping drill, Fadavi said Iran is keeping a "moment-by-moment watch on every move of the Americans." "Over the past years, we have not neglected to enhance our naval capabilities, particularly in the field of mines, and these capabilities are unimaginable to the Americans," Fadavi said, according to Press TV. The Pentagon did not immediately confirm if such a missile test was carried out. | Iran says a drill included the launching of four missiles .
The missiles struck and sank a target the size of a warship, commander says .
The test comes as the United States and others conduct minesweeping exercise . |
18d4f70b6b072618379e4d8df923ab8b1e356f1f | Luxury Italian lingerie label La Perla has removed a mannequin displayed in front of its New York store, after a customer complained about its overly thin frame on Twitter. The discovery was made at the brand's SoHo store on Sunday, by passing customer Michael Rudoy, who snapped a photo of the skeletal mannequin and uploaded it with the caption: 'How does #LaPerla think ribs on a mannequin is ok?!' Within hours, a representative from La . Perla swooped in and removed the offending object, claiming in a . statement released on Twitter that it 'will not be used . again by any La Perla boutique.' Ribs on show: This mannequin (pictured) displaying jutting ribs and a concave stomach, was spotted by a customer in a New York store and promptly removed by La Perla following a Twitter outcry . 'We are in . the process of redesigning all La Perla stores with a new concept image . and the mannequins that are currently displayed in our U.S. stores will . no longer be used.' 'TERRIBLE!!!' responded one tweeter, from the Alliance for Eating Disorders in Florida, when the photo first emerged. 'It's not [ok] and I'm #NotBuyingIt' wrote another. Mr Rudoy's friend, Seth Matlins, a former ad executive who is a self-described 'advocate for truth-in-advertising' also weighed in on the topic, praising La Perla for it fast response. Skinny standards: La Perla's mannequins are typically very slender, with ribs also visible in this example, displayed in a different New York store front in 2011 . Slender: Cara Delevingne (pictured) fronted the label's Spring/Summer 2013 campaign, looking lithe in the sultry set of photos . 'Was told by @LaPerlaLingerie, who replied/acted quickly, that the mannequin's been removed' he tweeted yesterday. An hour later, he tweeted again. 'Impressed by @LaPerlaLingerie commitment to change. We all make mistakes - it's if/how we fix them that counts.' The luxury label, whose bras start at $98 and run up to over $300 each, has more than 100 boutiques globally. Supermodel Cara Delevingne fronted their Spring/Summer 2013 campaign, looking lithe in a series of sultry shots. Luxury: La Perla's lingerie (pictured) is sold in over 100 boutiques worldwide and ranges from $98 to over $300 for a single bra . And it's not just La Perla that has come under fire for promoting its clothing on stick-thin mannequins. Psychotherapist Dae Sheridan was shocked when she came across a mannequin in a J.C. Penney store near her home in Florida in 2012, with matchstick narrow legs. 'We are in the process of redesigning all . La Perla stores with a new concept image and the mannequins that are . currently displayed in our US stores will no longer be used' 'The legs on the mannequin were not just “super-skinny”, they were extraordinarily, shockingly thin. So thin, that the mannequin’s leg was the same size as my arm!' Ms Sheridan wrote in a 2012 online petition, which garnered over 7,500 signatures but was never addressed by J.C. Penney. Gap, Zara and Club Monaco have also been lambasted for similar offenses in the past, with Spanish label Mango agreeing in 2007 not to display any mannequins smaller than a size 6, citing 'problems with eating disorders among Spanish women.' MailOnline contacted a representative for La Perla and is expecting a response shortly. | The luxury lingerie label announced that the mannequin will not be displayed again in any of its U.S. boutiques .
A concerned customer uploaded a snap of the mannequin to Twitter on Sunday . |
18d518eed70fb00d114605975814ed57f9f64c1b | This is the shocking moment a thug knocks out a 60-year-old man in an unprovoked attack with a single punch. Gloucestershire Police have released CCTV footage of the violent assault in an attempt to find the man responsible. The footage shows the victim walking down a deserted shopping arcade in Gloucester at 4.15am. He then stops and turns around as he appears to hear the man running up behind him. Scroll down for video . This is the horrific moment where a thug knocks out a 60-year-old man with a single punch in an unprovoked attack . A man, thought to be in his twenties, is approaches the the 60-year-old and seems to speak to him. The confrontation does not last long, but as the victim turns away and tries to leave, the aggressor punches him in the face in an unprovoked assault. The victim instantly falls to the floor and loses consciousness. He was later taken to hospital where they found he had suffered serious facial injuries and a head wound requiring eight staples. The thug is seen in the video fleeing the scene moments after delivering the knock-out punch with another man. Gloucestershire Police have released CCTV footage of the violent and unprovoked assault, pictured during a confrontation moments before the punch, in a bid to track down the man responsible . The force of the blow by the man, in his twenties, knocks the 60-year-old man's head backwards . Gloucestershire Police have released CCTV footage which has captured the assault, which took place in the early hours of Saturday, January 10, in their hunt for the attacker. He is described as being white, in his twenties, and was wearing a blue hoodie, light trousers and trainers with a white sole. He was also carrying a black coat or jacket. Police are also hoping to trace a second man, seen running off with the offender, who was described as having short dark hair and wearing a grey/green shirt, dark trousers and shoes with a white sole. Anyone recognising the men should call Gloucestershire Police. The victim is knocked unconscious and falls to the floor in the assault at a deserted arcade in Gloucester . The attacker then flees the scene, along with a second man, leaving his victim with serious facial injuries and a head wound . | Gloucestershire Police released the shocking footage in hunt for the thug .
A man in his 20s is seen approaching the victim in a deserted arcade .
He appears to confront him before punching the 60-year-old and flees .
Victim was left unconscious and suffered wounds to the face and head . |
18d5fcd264059ff923fd2e1d15b6610824cfdcdf | By . Associated Press Reporter . and Ted Thornhill for MailOnline . Just hours after introducing himself to L.A. Clippers fans with a 'larger than life' performance at a rally, the former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer announced that he is stepping down from the company's board. Ballmer's decision brings to a close 34 years with the software giant. He said he plans to devote more time not only to his new basketball team, but also civic contributions, teaching and study. Microsoft published Ballmer's resignation letter on its website on Tuesday along with a response from current CEO Satya Nadella thanking him and wishing him well. Scroll down for video . Something to shout about: After 34 years at Microsoft, former CEO Steve Ballmer has announced that he is stepping down to focus on his latest role as the owner of the L.A. Clippers . The 58-year-old says he plans to hold on to his Microsoft stock and will continue to offer feedback on products and strategy. With 333.3 million shares worth $15 billion, Ballmer's 4 percent stake in the company makes him the largest individual holder of Microsoft shares. A few institutional investors hold slightly more. ‘I bleed Microsoft - have for 34 years and I always will,’ Ballmer wrote. ‘I will be proud, and I will benefit through my share ownership. I promise to support and encourage boldness by management in my role as a shareholder in any way I can.’ Ballmer stepped down as chief executive in February, and since then Microsoft shares have risen about 24 percent. He says his resignation from the board is timely as the company prepares for its next shareholder meeting set for sometime this fall. Nadella thanked Ballmer for his support during the transition period and used the opportunity to reiterate the company's new focus on mobile devices and cloud computing. Ballmer's enthusiasm was clear to see, with the Clippers' new owner even chest-bumping fans . New Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer, center, fires up the crowd as he speaks at the Clippers Fan Festival on Monday in Los Angeles . ‘Under your leadership, we created an incredible foundation that we continue to build on - and Microsoft will thrive in the mobile-first, cloud-first world,’ Nadella said. Ballmer made a memorable entrance at the Staples Center on Monday evening. With Eminem's Lose Yourself playing over the PA, he made his way through the crowd exchanging high-fives and chest-bumping as he took the stage in front of 4,500 fans. Ballmer paid a record $2 billion for the team in a sale that was confirmed by a judge last week. The name of disgraced former owner Donald Sterling, who controlled the team for 33 years before being banned for life by the NBA for racist remarks, was never uttered during the rally. 'We're looking forward,' Ballmer proclaimed, having removed his blue Clippers hat. 'Everything is about looking forward.' Ballmer's fervor was in stark contrast to Sterling, who never spoke to the media and was famously frugal when it came to spending on the team during decades of losing - despite having amassed a fortune through real estate. 'Today is about this other guy who just happened to have two billion dollars in his pocket,' coach Doc Rivers joked on stage. 'I asked him are you sure it went through and he said, "I know my bank account is minus two billion so I know something went through."' Satisfied: Ballmer applauds after his rousing speech, which he gave to a crowd of around 4,500 people . An enthusiastic Ballmer, right, shakes hands with head coach Doc Rivers after speaking at the Clippers Fan Festival . Ballmer gave out his email address during the televised rally and was quick to assure fans he won't move the team to Seattle, where he's lived for 34 years. He was nearly an NBA owner last year before league owners chose to keep the Kings in Sacramento, rather than allow them to be sold to a group that included Ballmer and moved to Seattle. 'I love Los Angeles,' he said. 'Yes, I live in Seattle. We're not moving the Clippers to Seattle for a hundred reasons.' Ballmer used a microphone, but his booming voice easily filled the arena without it. He prowled the stage and gestured to make his points in the enthusiastic style he was known for among Microsoft employees. 'We're going to be bold. Bold means taking chances,' he said. 'We're going to be optimistic. We're going to be hard-core. Nothing gets in our way, boom! The hard-core Clippers, that's us.' Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan were among eight players on hand, along with Rivers, who guided the Clippers to 57 wins last season, his first with the team. 'When he came through the crowd, I literally had goose bumps,' Griffin said afterward. 'I don't know if there's one good word to describe him. I know all our guys are excited about the energy he brings. It's completely different.' Ballmer took a few emailed questions from season ticket-holders, including a 26-year fan who asked how the next 26 years of the franchise would be different. 'I'll boldly say the Clippers will win many, many more Larrys in the next 26 years than they did in the last 26,' he said, referring to the Larry O'Brien trophy that goes to the NBA champion. Rivers clearly got a kick out of Ballmer's passionate display, cracking up at his new boss' proclamations after having previously seen him only on YouTube. Ballmer, center, fires up the crowd as he arrives at the Fan Festival . Ballmer listens to questions from the media during a news conference held after the Clippers Fan Festival . 'I love energy,' Rivers said later. 'You get caught up in that and that's good. That was great for our fans.' Interim CEO Dick Parsons testified during the court battle over the team's sale that Rivers would quit if Sterling was the owner going into next season. 'Sometimes you do have to take a stand,' Rivers said. 'I didn't think I was going to have to (quit), but a lot of us were willing to for sure.' He added, 'You always have to move on. I have.' Ballmer gave the title 'owner emeritus' to Sterling's estranged wife, Shelly, who negotiated the deal. She will receive two floor seats, 10 other seats and parking at Staples Center for games. 'Without her this deal does not get done,' Rivers said afterward. 'She wants to be a fan. She's no longer the owner. I'm fine with that.' Ballmer shared dinner with Rivers and some of the players a night earlier, when the discussion focused on where he'll sit during games. Sterling sat at mid-court within earshot of the players. When someone suggested behind the Clippers' bench, like Dallas owner Mark Cuban does, Rivers said, 'I don't know if I could deal with that energy.' Ballmer, right, laughs while listening to head coach Doc Rivers during a news conference . Los Angeles Clippers' new owner shares a laugh with head coach Doc Rivers, second from right, Chris Paul, third from right, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan, left . Ballmer used a microphone, but his booming voice easily filled the arena without it . | Former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has announced that he is leaving the tech giant after 34 years .
Ballmer recently bought the Los Angeles Clippers from disgraced former owner Donald Sterling .
He introduced himself to the fans in typical style on Monday night - with a rousing speech .
Ballmer paid a record $2bn for the NBA team in a sale confirmed last week .
On Monday he shouted himself hoarse and even chest-bumped fans at Los Angeles' Staples Center . |
18d674252b0dd4f1018eb71bd9b610472c2644ec | A new breed of digital pickpocket has been discovered lurking in stations and shopping centres. They come armed with technology that can effortlessly steal credit and debit card details without so much as touching your wallet. Standing just six inches (15cm) away, these criminals use radio-frequency identification (RFID) readers to harvest bank details in a practice known as ‘digital skimming’. Scroll down for video . If a readers or RFID-app enabled smartphone is within range, it can pick up the wireless signals transmitted when that card is being used to buy a product (left). David Bryan (right), a security specialist at Chicago's Trustwave, stood by crowded shopping areas with a device stashed in his backpack to show how it works . ABC7 I-Team recently revealed just how easily thieves steal personal details from cards that use ‘wave and pay’ radio technology. David Bryan, a security specialist at Chicago's Trustwave, stood by crowded shopping areas with a device stashed in his backpack that could read card numbers. ‘The technology is high-frequency RFID,’ Mr Bryan told DailyMail.com. ‘It uses 13.56 Mhz to communicate with the card and the reader. ‘In this instance, I used low power Embedded Linux Computer, and an easily purchasable RFID reader. The technology in the card, known as radio frequency identification (RFID), transmits bank details via its own radio signal. A RFID reader can pick up these details in a matter of seconds . The technology in the card, known as radio frequency identification (RFID), transmits bank details via its own radio signal. Standing just six inches (15cm) away, these criminals use RFID readers or apps to harvest bank details in a practice known as ‘skimming’. If a readers or RFID-app enabled smartphone is within range, it can pick up the wireless signals transmitted when that card is being used to buy a product. The information can then be input into a machine that can be purchased for $300-$400 to replicate the card. Cards can be protected from RFID skimmers by being wrapped in tin foil or being kept in special foil-lined wallets. ‘This was then powered by a USB Battery, and stuck into a backpack.’ As well as a device, digital pickpockets can download an RFID app onto their phone. If a reader or RFID-app enabled smartphone is within range, it can pick up the wireless signals transmitted when that card is being used to buy a product. The information can then be input into a machine that can be purchased for $300-$400 to replicate the card. Security firm Norton says that this year 70 per cent of credit cards will be vulnerable to digital pick pocketing. ‘The device can read many different RFID tags- including MiFare Cards, EMV Cards, and many type of RFID tags,’ said Mr Bryan. ‘It works with many Near Field Communication tags and devices’ Because RFID is always switched on, some payment experts say it's more vulnerable to attack than NFC. 'This demonstration shows that contactless payment card reading technology is not a silver bullet for security,' said Mr Bryan. RFID readers can be bought cheaply online. They can also be downloaded onto a smartphone from an app . 'RFID payment cards need to be backed by a mobile device that generates one-time payment card numbers for that specific transaction- rather than having a static payment card that never expires. 'In a crowded train, if someone has an RFID payment card, I could easily pull that data if I get close enough - or have a large enough antenna' As well as using it in his backpack, Mr Bryan successfully stole numbers by attaching the equipment to a laptop. ‘The three digit code on the back of the card could help,’ Marc Rotenberg, President of the Electronic Privacy Information Center (Epic) told DailyMail.com. This code can’t be read by the device, but fake cards could be created without the three digit code and presented at shops. ‘We have some questions about the implementation [of the three digit code] because it wouldn’t make sense to implement it if you don’t require presentation of the product,’ said Mr Rotenberg. Places to watch out for digital pickpockets include crowded shopping centres and busy stations where transactions are constantly being made . Special wallets that use foil can block these radio frequency signals, but the threat remains very real. Apple Pay is attempting to overcome the problem by not storing any numbers on an iPhone. A Chase Bank spokesperson also told the ABC7 I-Team that they are discontinuing the use of that radio technology on their cards. ‘It’s not necessary wrong to pursue these techniques, but more needs to be done to safeguard people,’ said Mr Rotenberg. Articulate's clutch (right) blocks RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) signals - the relatively new technology that allows us to simply wave our credit cards over a scanner to pay for goods (left) A tech-savvy accessories label has launched a clutch purse with built-in capabilities to protect against identity theft. Articulate's clutch costs $35 to pre-order and blocks RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) signals - the relatively new technology that allows us to simply wave our credit cards over a scanner to pay for goods. According to the team behind the purse - entrepreneur Kevin and his sister Lindsay, based in San Diago, California - the clutch contains a 'special material' embedded into the design to help block these pesky RFID signals. 'Criminals with very minimal technical skills have created devices similar to the scanner which vendors such as grocery stores use,' the website description reads. It comes in a range of colors and can also be worn over the shoulder thanks to the chain strap. According to the United States Federal Trade Commission, identity theft had been holding steady for the last few years, having seen an increase of 21 per cent in 2008. | Criminals use RFID and NFC wireless communication to steal numbers .
The readers can be brought online or downloaded to phone via an app .
They have to stand six inches away while a transaction is being made .
Within a matter of seconds, the technology can pick up and store data .
A $300 machine can then replicate the card so it can be used elsewhere .
It is estimated 70% cards will soon be vulnerable to digital pick pocketing .
Cards can be protected from RFID skimmers by being wrapped in tin foil . |
18d78a1096f4aa8560060d37d67f02d0ddac1504 | (CNN) -- California authorities have surrounded a wanted parolee accused of shooting federal and local officers, hitting three and wounding one more with shrapnel fragments, police said. After that initial shooting, Samuel Duran ran and hopped fences in a Roseville neighborhood as members of various law enforcement agencies converged on the scene, police said. Authorities located him at an otherwise unoccupied house in Roseville, which is 20 miles northeast of Sacramento. "I know he's pinned down," Roseville police Lt. Cal Walstad said. Duran has been sought by authorities "for the last couple of weeks," according to Walstad, who did not detail what crimes the suspect had been tied to. After determining where he was in Roseville, local police and a special agent with Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations unit went there Friday afternoon. According to Walstad, "once they made contact with him, shots were exchanged." The ICE special agent was shot in the leg and transported to a local hospital, the police spokesman said. He was reported to be stable and alert a few hours later, said ICE spokeswoman Virginia Kice. The suspect ran, firing at times and jumping fences. Three Roseville police officers ended up wounded at a third shooting site . One was struck in the jaw, one was hit in the shoulder, and the third wounded by bullet fragments, according to Walstad. One of the Roseville officers was in serious condition, while the other two were stable, he said. Chief Daniel Hahn added later Friday that none of the injuries to the officers, all of them men and veterans of the department, are considered life-threatening. Authorities from multiple agencies quickly converged on the scene looking for Duran, who Walstad said had an "assault-type weapon." Neighbors were asked not to leave their houses, but they were never evacuated. The scene was later considered "contained" -- even though police hadn't said they knew exactly where the suspect was. Now that they do, he's being surrounded by law enforcement. Hostage negotiations are on site as well, though it's not believed that the suspect has taken any hostages. Authorities are talking to the suspect by telephone, Walstad said. Brenda Bell told CNN affiliate KCRA that the suspect is in her house; she went outside after her "dogs went crazy," then she ran into a neighbor's house after seeing him run through her back gate. "(Police) keep repeating, 'We have the house surrounded. Come out with your hands up,'" Jim Stewart, the neighbor who invited Bell in, said Friday night. "They've been doing this for hours now." Placer County Sheriff Edward Bonner described the situation as "incredibly dangerous," while expressing confidence it'll be resolved as well as possible. "This is a very tough day," Bonner said. "It's unsettling for all us; no one is immune to this sort of tragedy and criminality. But here it is. "But I'll tell you what," he added. "We have a great community of law enforcement that is going to deal with this." CNN's Andy Rose contributed to this report. | NEW: Chief: None of the injuries to law enforcement officers are life-threatening .
An Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent is shot in the leg, police say .
3 Roseville, California, officers are shot in the jaw, shoulder and hurt by fragments .
Authorities had "pinned ... down" the suspect, a wanted parolee, in a house . |
18d8e9c2278dd2f980f205443ad4e69602d55adf | By . Jill Reilly . A civil servant in Mexico has been forced to quit after a web camera recorded him having sex in his office. Carlos Caamal Reyes, 47, head of the department of Civil Protection in the Emergency Centre of the state of Campeche, in south-east Mexico, told fellow workers he was not to be disturbed because he was in a meeting, and also ordered everyone to take a 30 minute break. But he then met a woman in his office and a video camera that a colleague had left on by mistake recorded him having steamy sex on his desk for nine minutes. A civil servant in Mexico has been forced to quit after a web camera recorded him having sex in his office . Carlos Caamal Reyes, 47, head of the department of Civil Protection in the Emergency Centre of the state of Campeche, in south-east Mexico, told fellow workers he was not to be disturbed . A local police officer who saw the video said: 'It doesn't leave much to the imagination. 'They were clearly enjoying themselves and didn't think about anything but the task at hand. 'But it was not a criminal offence, just one for the council to sort out with their internal disciplinary committee.' The town clerk, Carlos Moreno Hernandez, 45, said the video camera evidence was proof of 'impropriety' and added: 'Everything inappropriate act has a consequence.' According to employees, Mr Reyes regularly used his office as a boudoir for his conquests. The government are investigating who the woman is to find out if she is also a civil servant. Reyes had been working at the office since 2000. | Carlos Caamal Reyes, 47, is head the Civil Protection in Campeche .
Told fellow workers he was not to be disturbed because he was in a meeting .
Caught after co-worker left a video camera on by mistake .
Government are investigating if the woman featured is also a civil servant . |
18d97e73deff5c9d423140c7f2ac30bd34fc8c88 | It turns out you can teach an old dog new tricks. This is the heart-warming and hilarious moment a baby teaches the family pet how to jump. As baby Alexis bounds up and down in her door bouncer, Dakota the dog cautiously watches her shadow on the kitchen floor before deciding to join in. As baby Alexis bounces up and down, Dakota the dog cautiously watches her shadow on the kitchen floor . During the scene, in an unknown location, the dog repeatedly leaps in the air – with all four legs off the floor – and pounces on the little girl’s shadow. Alexis giggles in delight as the perplexed pet lands on her shadow and then steps back and leaps again. Day repeatedly leaps in the air – with all four legs off the floor – and pounces on the little girl’s shadow . The one-minute video has been watched over 20,000 times since mum Sabrina Sauve uploaded it to YouTube last Thursday. It has been a hit with viewers, with one user writing: ‘Love them both!’ Another added: ‘That moment when you realize your dog is trying to protect your baby from the monster living underneath your house. ’ The dog is actually leaping on the baby's shadow, which keeps moving on the floor, something which apparently it has always loved to do. | Baby bounces up and down in her door bouncer as dog watches shadow .
Dakota the family pet leaps in the air and pounces on the child's shadow .
Alexis giggles in delight as the dog steps back and leaps again and again . |
18d98885ca5c551319e2b792c7b0b55a28b7a09b | A Catholic Church official has said angels do exist - but that they 'do not have wings or look like cherubs'. Father Renzo Lavator, an 'angelologist', said the heavenly beings, which are 'back in fashion' thanks to New Age religions, are in fact more like shards of light. 'You do not see angels so much as feel . their presence,' he said at a conference on angels in Rome. 'They are a bit like sunlight that . refracts on you through a crystal vase.' The Catholic Church's Father Renzo Lavator official has said that angels do exist but do not have wings . Speaking at a conference in a lavishly-frescoed Renaissance palace in Rome, he added: ‘I think there is a rediscovery of angels in Christianity.' The first mention of the word ‘angelos’ came from the Mycenaean . civilisation in Greece more than 3,000 years ago. The word means ‘messenger’ in ancient Greek. The . supernatural beings are depicted in many religions and mythologies, . usually with feathered wings on their backs and halos above their heads. In Christianity, angels are generally considered messengers of God. The senior clergyman was taking part in a . debate this week on angelic art by the Fondazione Archivio Storico, an . Italian art foundation, and was held in the Vatican-owned Palazzo della . Cancelleria. ‘Following the cultural history of angels is following the history of humanity, or at least of our civilization,’ the organisers said. ‘Angels have helped drive religious and philosophical thought and have given birth to sublime forms of poetic and artistic expression,’ they said. Mr Lavatori said the popularised . image of angels is a necessary result of their being ‘back in fashion’ but is dismissive of all the angel art around Christmas. ‘There . is space for that, but you have to understand that these are not real . representations. Angels do not have wings or look like cherubs,’ he . said. The Vatican official, an 'angelologist', said: 'You do not see angels so much as feel their presence' The widely-published Catholic clergyman is also a ‘demonologist’ and says angels are more needed than ever because increasing secularisation and materialism in society have left an ‘open door’ for the devil. ‘There is a lot more interference from diabolical forces. That is why you see queues of people outside the exorcists' offices in churches,’ he said. ‘Pope Francis talks more about the devil than about angels and I think rightly so. But it's still early, he will get round to the angels too.’ | 'Angelologist' Father Renzo Lavator said the beings are 'back in fashion' thanks to the popularity of New Age religions .
Speaking at a conference on angels in Rome, Italy, he said: 'They are a bit like sunlight that refracts on you through a crystal vase' |
18dae45fcac559e8af41592ecc03e25412f0a2fc | They tour the world, party whenever they want and live truly lavish lifestyles but the hedonistic habits of musicians have a serious downside – they are likely to die younger than their vocally challenged counterparts. A professor at Sydney University has studied seven decades of popular musicians’ lifespans and found they were up to 25 years shorter than the comparable US population, in findings published on The Conversation. Dianna Kenny, Professor of Psychology and Music at University of Sydney, was eager to find out why so many pop stars die young and examined 12,665 stars from all popular genres who died between 1950 and June 2014. Tragic: Amy Winehouse, seen here performing in Los Angeles in 2007, died at the age of 27 from alcohol poisoning on 23 July 2011. The British singer had suffered from years of drug and alcohol abuse . Astonishingly 90 per cent of them, 11,478, also happened to be male. Much has been debated about the existence of a ‘27 club’, an age when a whole host of talented musicians at the height of their fame have died, often through suicide involving drug or alcohol misuse. After Kurt Cobain, who struggled with heroin addiction, illness and depression, was found dead - having shot himself in the head in April 1994 - the devastating effect fame had on his happiness was revealed. Before him, came the likes of Rolling Stones rocker Brian Jones in 1969, Alan Wilson, Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin in 1970 and Jim Morrison in 1971. Jimi Hendrix, one of the most talented electric guitarists in history, died in London in 1970 at the age of 27 . Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain's body was found in a greenhouse above the garage of his Seattle home in 1994. He shot himself in the head at the age of 27 . When British singer Amy Winehouse also died at the age of 27 from alcohol poisoning, on 23 July 2011, following years of alcohol and drug addiction, the theory was compounded. Professor Kenny found that the early 1990s were the peak years for death by suicide for musicians, with the amount of stars taking their own lives rising from 5.9 per cent in the decade before to 9.5 per cent. But she also discovered that over the six decades she studied, suicide rates were between two and seven times greater in musicians than the US population. American rock singer Janis Joplin was found dead in her Los Angeles hotel room, apparently of a drug overdose, on October 4, 1970. She was also 27 . American singer-songwriter and guitarist Jeff Buckley, seen here performing at Glastonbury in 1995, drowned in 1997 while swimming fully clothed . Brian Jones, the founder and original bandleader of iconic rock group the Rolling Stones who fell into drug and alcohol addiction, died at the age of 27 in 1969. He drowned in the swimming pool at his home in Sussex, England, after splitting from the band . As well as suicide, murder is also a big risk for musicians. The academic revealed that homicide rates were up to eight times greater amongst musicians than the US population. The fatal shootings of Tupac Shakar, who died in 1996 when he was just 25-years-old during a drive-by shooting, and The Notorious B.I.G who died at the age of 24 in 1997, are just two examples from the staggering statistics. Musician homicide rates peaked at 6.6 per cent in the 1990s after it was just 4 per cent in the 1980s and 5.9 per cent in and around 1970. Contrastingly, in the 50s and 60s more musicians died from accidents such as plane and car crashes, such as Buddy Holly and Otis Redding. Whitney Houston - the most awarded female act of all time, who sold over 200 million records worldwide – died at the age of 48 on February 11, 2012. Her body was found in a bath tub at a hotel in Beverly Hills, California . Lead singer of The Doors Jim Morrison died at the age of 27 in Paris after an alleged heroin overdose . Michael Jackson, seen here at London's Wembley stadium during his Bad world tour in 1988, died at the age of 50 while he was preparing for his comeback tour This Is It . Alan Wilson, leader of the the American blues band Canned Heat, died at the age of 27. An autopsy identified his cause of death as accidental acute barbiturate intoxication . According to Professor Kenny’s research female musicians tend to die in their early 60s rather than their 80s like the rest of us. Whereas male musicians die in their late 50s compared to non-rock stars who die around 75. Whitney Houston - the most awarded female act of all time, who sold over 200 million records worldwide – died at the age of 48 on February 11, 2012. Coroner’s ruled she had accidentally drowned in the bathtub, with heart disease and cocaine use listed as contributing factor, but her struggle with fame, drink and drugs over the decades was well documented. Rapper Tupac Shakur died when he was just 25-years-old during a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas . Rival rapper The Notorious B.I.G died in LA in 1997 in a drive-by shooting at the age of 24. He had feared for his life for some time as part of an ongoing East Coast–West Coast feud and because of his level of fame . Meanwhile, Michael Jackson also tragically died before his time at the age of 50 in 2009. The singer was preparing for his comeback tour This Is It when he died of acute propofol and benzodiazepine intoxication, after suffering from cardiac arrest. The coroner ruled his death a homicide and his personal physician Conrad Murray was convicted of involuntary manslaughter. Professor Kenny concluded that the reason musicians die younger than those that don’t make a living out of singing on stage is because the ‘pop music “scene” fails to provide boundaries and to model and expect acceptable behaviour’. She claims their lifestyle ‘valorises outrageous behaviour and the acting out of aggressive, sexual and destructive impulses that most of us dare only live out in fantasy’. | Popular musicians' lifespans are up to 25 years shorter than the comparable US population .
Research by Sydney University also found suicide and homicide rates amongst musicians rose in the 1990s .
Professor Dianna Kenny examined 12,665 dead stars from all popular genres between 1950 and 2014 .
Plane and car crashes killed stars in the 50s and 60s, such as Buddy Holly .
A number of popular musicians - including Jimi Hendrix and Kurt Cobain - have died at the age of 27 .
In the past six decades homicide rates were up to eight times greater amongst musicians than the US population .
Female musicians tend to die in their early 60s rather than their 80s .
Male musicians die in their late 50s compared to non-rockers at 75 .
She concluded that the 'pop music "scene" fails to provide boundaries and to model and expect acceptable behaviour' |
18db06ff1404ace96328c77b5e7b692197dc7f32 | By . Mark Duell . PUBLISHED: . 05:49 EST, 6 September 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 12:40 EST, 6 September 2013 . Serial thief: Joshua Bennetts, 21, from the Longlevens area of Gloucester, was blasted for his contribution to a 'crime wave of bicycle thefts' A 21-year-old serial thief walked free from court yesterday despite admitting his 70th crime. Joshua Bennetts, of Gloucester, was blasted by Judge Jamie Tabor QC for his involvement in a ‘crime wave of bicycle thefts’ in the city. He appeared at Gloucester Crown Court after stealing two bikes together worth up to £1,300 with equally-prolific offender Rhys Shardlow, 20, who now has 63 offences to his name. Judge Tabor said no sentence had yet deterred Bennetts, adding: ‘I cannot overlook your simply appalling criminal record. Sixty-nine previous offences. More than 20 of them for dishonesty.’ Bennetts and Shardlow denied burgling the property of an Adrian Harper to take the bikes, which the prosecution accepted. Both thieves had been in custody since their arrest in May, although Bennetts was recently bailed. Judge Tabor sentenced Bennetts to a five-month overnight curfew until February 1, after he had served the past few months in custody. ‘I don’t know what is going to stop you offending,’ he said. ‘All I can do is recognise the fact that you have spent some time in prison on remand for these offences. They are not trivial. Stealing bicycles in Gloucester is an epidemic and these were valuable bikes, not some old jalopies.’ He has pleaded guilty in previous years . to the likes of aggravated vehicle taking, dangerous driving, possessing . cannabis and theft. The judge adjourned sentencing on Shardlow for two weeks, telling him he would not send him to jail if he could be found suitable accommodation. But Shardlow told the judge he would refuse to go into a hostel and would rather stay in prison. He wanted to stay with friends until he found his own accommodation, he said. The judge remanded him in custody - saying if he refused to accept a hostel place, he might have to be jailed. Hearing: Judge Jamie Tabor QC said at Gloucester Crown Court that no sentence had yet deterred Bennetts . Hearing: Bennetts was one of two defendants appearing at Gloucester Crown Court (pictured) over the theft of two bikes jointly worth up to £1,300 - the other being equally-prolific offender Rhys Shardlow, 20 . The prosecution applied for a criminal anti-social behaviour order (Crasbo) against both men to restrict their freedom and movement in a bid to curb their crimes. But the defence objected to its terms. Steve Young, defending, said prosecutors' call for a two-year curfew would be such an imposition on the defendants that it could be a human rights breach. Judge Tabor said: ‘I would not impose a two year curfew but I would make a no-go area and a ban on association between them.’ He adjourned the Crasbo issue until September 19 so the defence and prosecution could discuss the order's terms. The judge added that he was concerned bicycle thefts were an ‘epidemic’ in the city. ‘These young men are part of a crime wave which is well known in the town at the moment,’ he said. ‘Theft of cycles is at epidemic proportions. I am well aware of that. Big problem: The judge said he was concerned bicycle thefts were an 'epidemic' in Gloucester (file picture) ‘These two have a remarkable number of previous convictions for dishonesty and generally bad behaviour. The court has so far failed to deter them from laying their hands on other people’s property as if it is their own. 'I cannot overlook your simply appalling criminal record. Sixty-nine previous offences. More than 20 of them for dishonesty' Judge Jamie Tabor QC . ‘They have so far singularly failed to follow anything the court directs for anything other than a short period of time.’ Sarah Jenkins, for Shardlow, said he no longer had an address to go to when he leaves prison because his family have moved and were not in contact with him. Judge Tabor said: ‘My task is to protect the public from his persistent bad behaviour. I find that very difficult to do if I don’t have an address where I can keep an eye on him.’ The judge told Shardlow: ‘I am not in a position to sentence you until I know where you are going to live. We are going to find somewhere for you.’ Shardlow retorted: ‘I won’t live in a hostel. I won’t go there. I would rather stay in prison.’ But the judge said: ‘Well, we might have to find another hostel for you downstairs.’ | Joshua Bennetts blasted for contribution to 'crime wave of bicycle thefts'
Judge Jamie Tabor QC criticises thief's 'simply appalling criminal record'
His previous crimes include dangerous driving and cannabis possession .
One of two defendants at Gloucester Crown Court for theft of two bikes .
Other was Rhys Shardlow, 20, who now has 63 convictions to his name . |
18dd12e5a12835490cfd73bd7e45bfd530117904 | By . Martin Robinson . PUBLISHED: . 08:35 EST, 10 June 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 10:30 EST, 10 June 2013 . A drug addict has admitted killing his own toddler son, who died of an overdose after swallowing a huge amount of his father's heroin. Daniel Jones, who was 23 months old, passed away after consuming a whole wrap of the Class A drug at home in May last year. Parents Emma Bradburn, 34, and Simon Jones, 30, were arrested in December after extensive tests on Daniel's body revealed there was enough heroin in his system to kill an adult. Death: Parents Simon Jones and Emma Bradburn have admitted playing a part in the death of their baby son Daniel Jones, who died of a heroin overdose last year . Further examination of hair samples from Daniel - who was known to social services - revealed he had also been exposed to a horrifying cocktail of drugs. The court heard he suffered 'chronic' exposure to cannabis and opiates and 'occasional' exposure to amphetamines and cocaine. Jones today pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of the youngster when he appeared at Wolverhampton Crown Court. Victim: Daniel was nearly two when he died, after swallowing a wrap of heroin he found . His partner had previously admitted causing or allowing the death of her child, but had denied manslaughter. Prosecutors revealed yesterday they would accept Bradburn's guilty plea to the lesser charge. Daniel was pronounced dead when paramedics were called to the £200,000 home the pair shared in Wolverhampton, West Midlands at 6.15am on May 29. Roger Blezzard, prosecuting, told the court previously: 'Both of the defendants were living together with a small child. 'Their behaviour resulted in the child taking an overdose of heroin which has caused his death. 'Substantial evidence of exposure to other controlled drugs was also found from toxicology reports from the child's hair. 'There is the suspicion the child had been exposed for some time to drug consumption.' The pair were remanded in custody for reports to be prepared and will be sentenced on July 3. Police revealed after the case that they had found a cannabis factory in the couple's loft following the death of Daniel. Neighbours revealed how the couple had moved to the area after Bradburn was given a hefty compensation payout following a car accident several years ago. Local resident Natalie Baker, 38, said: 'She got compensation following an accident and was in a coma for about a year. 'They bought the house outright and moved up here from Low Hill which is a more downmarket area. 'It was a bit of a shock when it all happened. 'They seemed to have a lot of support from family members who were always coming and going. 'But there were also coppers everywhere so we knew something was wrong. 'They told all of us it was cot death which seemed a bit suspicious because he was too old. 'I asked her a couple of months ago if she'd had the funeral yet but she said they were still waiting for toxicology results. Crime scene: Daniel consumed the drugs in the £200,000 home in Wolverhampton he lived in with his mother and father (pictured) until he died in May 2012 . 'I knew they smoked weed because you could constantly smell it coming from the house. 'There were lots of dodgy characters always coming and going. 'But I had no idea about the harder stuff. 'It makes me sick to think about it. Shame: Baby Daniel lived in a home strewn with drug paraphernalia, which the parents tried to hide from the authorities . 'Daniel was ever such a sweet little boy, he called himself 'Superman' because he always wore a t-shirt with the red and yellow 'S' on it.' Other residents said Daniel's death had been 'devastating' for the local community. Anthony Baker, 67, and daughter Natalie, 38, who live next door, added: 'It was devastating. 'He was an ordinary child. I used to have a laugh with him over the fence. 'He was just a normal happy child.' Another neighbour said: 'Daniel was a little sunbeam, his smile would light up a room. 'It's evil, atrocious and appalling what has happened to such a beautiful little boy.' Detective Inspector John Smith, from the Wolverhampton Public Protection Unit, said today: 'This is a tragic case where a young life has so needlessly been lost because of the carelessness of those who should have been there to ensure his safety. Officers who initially visited the scene reported finding a clean and well maintained house that looked like any 'normal' family home - but then upstairs we found a very different story. 'Away from the areas where people may visit, the main bedroom was untidy and strewn with drug paraphernalia and this is the room in which the family slept. 'It seems that during his short life, Daniel became accustomed to living amongst these items and, tragically, consumed a quantity of heroin that ultimately led to his death. 'We don't know exactly how the youngster came to ingest the illegal drug - but we do know that he should never have been exposed to them in any case. 'Those who should have been caring him for him ultimately caused his untimely and tragic death.' A spokeswoman for Wolverhampton City . Council confirmed the authority's Safeguarding Children's Board has . launched a serious case review into Daniel's death. The couple will be sentenced next month. | Daniel Jones died last May after swallowing whole wrap of Class A drug .
Father Simon Jones admits manslaughter of his young son today .
Mother Emma Bradburn admitted causing or allowing the death of her child .
Report found that Daniel ate so much heroin it would've killed an adult .
Officers also found a cannabis factory in the loft after the child's death . |
18dd596ab640f5e190dc8abbcc1150b55247e512 | It is one of the country’s most exclusive public schools, where parents pay fees of up to £36,000 a year so that their sons can follow in the footsteps of old boys such as P. G. Wodehouse, Ernest Shackleton and Nigel Farage. But pupils arriving at Dulwich College may be surprised to discover that a music teacher at this bastion of the Establishment is a card-carrying communist who hopes to teach her pupils the songs of North Korea’s brutal dictatorship. Lesley Larkum, Head of Strings at the school founded in 1619, has visited North Korea – where millions have starved to death while the ruling dynasty lives in luxury and threatens the West with nuclear weapons – and has spoken at communist rallies in London. Scroll down for video . Lesley Larkum, 49, is the Head of Strings at £39,000-a-year Dulwich College, but leads a double life as a member of the Revolutionary Communist Party of Britain and has visited North Korea . The 49-year-old is a member of the Revolutionary Communist Party of Britain (Marxist-Leninist) as well as being a cheerleader for Kim Jong Un’s reviled regime. Ms Larkum, who once led a women’s socialist choir called Velvet Fist, has even played the country’s national anthem, known as Aegukka or Patriotic Song, at events to celebrate the founding of North Korea by the ‘Great Leader’ Kim Il Sung in 1948. Speaking for the first time about her remarkable double life, Ms Larkum told The Mail on Sunday that she hoped to educate her pupils about North Korea’s music – most of which champions communism and sings the praises of the country’s ruthless leaders. Citizens risk imprisonment for tuning in to Western radio stations, and must instead listen to state- controlled numbers such as We Shall Hold Bayonets More Firmly, while marching songs on the country’s official website include Raise Your Weapons To Wave. Ms Larkum said: ‘I have performed and taught Argentinian music here. I would love to expand that repertoire to include North Korean music. Some of it is political, some of it isn’t. I think my pupils would love it. Ms Larkum said she wants to teach pupils at the south London college (pictured) songs from North Korea, almost all of which are anthems praising the country or its leader, Kim Jong Un . ‘I don’t think the school would mind at all. I haven’t made a secret of my views – Dulwich College is all about broadening young minds and teaching them about other cultures, whatever their views. 'I don’t think my views are relevant to my day job. I’m Head of Strings, for goodness sake. But North Korean politics are fascinating.’ She says she has ‘sympathy’ with North Korea and disagrees with the West’s stance on the country, which was named as part of the Axis of Evil by former U S President George W. Bush. Britain has an arms embargo against North Korea, as well as a ban on exporting luxury goods there, asset freezes on its financial institutions and travel bars on the regime’s key figures. Ms Larkum said: ‘I certainly believe the West should leave North Korea alone. What have they ever done to us? I don’t think we should ever interfere with any other country.’ Ms Larkum, who lives in a £400,000 flat near the school in South-East London, is no typical communist. Yesterday, as half-term began in the private sector, she flew out for a week’s holiday to enjoy a different sort of party – on the island of Ibiza. Dulwich College did not respond to requests for comment. | Lesley Larkum, music teacher at Dulwich College, also ardent communist .
Has spoken at far-left rallies and has also visited dictatorial North Korea .
Plans to teach students songs from nation praising leader Kim Jong Un . |
18de5b9eb32fade90cb550ca65052bc1e0095a99 | The stepson of an elderly man whose body parts were found strewn in creeks in rural Alabama has been charged with his murder, a sheriff's spokesman said on Wednesday. William A. Minton, 55, was charged with three counts - intentional killing, intentional murder and abuse of corpse - by police in the grisly death of 87-year-old Kenneth Hood in Millbrook. Minton lived with Hood and was apprehended by police while driving in a van through Millwood with Carolyn Hood, the victim's wife late on Tuesday. William Minton, 55, (pictured left) was charged with the murder of his 87-year-old stepfather (right) Kenneth Hood in Millbrook . Police were investigating at the home where the elderly man lived with his stepson - authorities believe that the dismemberment took place at the property . Investigators were digging through the victim's home and removed several bags of evidence, according to al.com. Police said that initial investigation revealed that the elderly man died of blunt-force trauma to the head, neck and chest. It is believed that the dismemberment took place at the home. Baldwin County Sheriff Huey Mack said Minton could face capital murder if evidence supports the charge. Baldwin County Sheriff Huey Mack said Monday that the torso was dumped in water underneath a bridge . Minton is listed on the Alabama Sex Offender Registry after being convicted in 1996 for four counts of sodomy and child molestation of a 14-year-old victim in Georgia. A naked and headless torso was found on Sunday a few miles from where a severed arm and hand had been discovered in a creek. Police divers then found Mr Hood's decapitated head and other body parts on Monday. He was identified using his pace-maker, investigators said. Baldwin County Sheriff Huey Mack said on Monday that the torso of a white male was dumped south of Magnolia Springs in water underneath Weeks Creek Bridge, three miles east of where the other body parts were discovered. He believed the victim had died in the 72 hours before he was killed. He told al.com: 'This is a homicide. We have no reason to expect anything else at this time.' The body was found by a local resident who had been enjoying a walk on Sunday morning. He alerted authorities Initially thinking it was an animal carcass, . The hand and arm were discovered by a resident living near the Magnolia River. Their dog pulled the arm from the river and the resident found the hand in a flower bed. Baldwin County District Attorney Hallie Dixon, described the case as 'horrific'. She added: 'Every murder is tragic. I've handled cases with newborn infants killed and I've seen a lot of bad stuff. 'This one is worse than most anything I've seen. The body was found underneath a bridge over Weeks Creek south of Magnolia Springs in Alabama . | Remains of Kenneth Hood, 87, were found floating in an Alabama creek .
William Minton, 55, is being held and question by police in the grisly death .
Minton is on the sex offender's register in Alabama after being convicted of sodomy of 14-year-old victim in 1996 . |
18e01bd55902192f42934126a0589388ac0d7737 | Editor's note: Kathleen Sebelius is secretary of Health and Human Services in the Obama administration. Kathleen Sebelius says health care costs are a huge and growing burden on the economy. (CNN) -- Today in Washington, some politicians like to suggest that the many challenges we face as a nation mean we shouldn't tackle health care reform. Nothing could be further from the truth. With more and more of America's families, businesses, and local, state and federal governments struggling with the crushing costs of health care, health care reform has never been more important. As President Obama has often said, you can't fix the economy without fixing health care. Unless we fix what is broken in our current system, everyone's health care will be in jeopardy. Health care reform is not a luxury. It is a necessity. It's important to look at the size of the problem we face and where we stand. Today, we have by far the most expensive health system in the world. We spend 50 percent more per person on health care than the average developed country, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. We spend more on health care than housing or food, the McKinsey Global Institute reported. Nearly 46 million Americans are uninsured, millions more are underinsured, and they aren't the only ones who are suffering. The high cost of care is hurting all of us. A recent study by Families USA estimates that insured families pay a hidden health tax of more than $1,000 every year. The hidden tax is the amount businesses and families with insurance have to pay in insurance premiums, taxes and donations to help cover the cost of treating uninsured Americans. Health insurance premiums for families that are covered through a job at a small business have increased 85 percent since 2000, and more small businesses are thinking about dropping health insurance benefits. Nationwide, health care costs consume 18 percent of our gross domestic product. If we continue on our current path, health care costs will consume 34 percent of our GDP by 2040, and the number of uninsured Americans will rise to 72 million, according to the Council of Economic Advisers. Even though we spend more than any other nation on health care, we aren't healthier. Only three developed countries have higher infant mortality rates. Our nation ranks 24th in life expectancy among developed countries. More than one-third of Americans are obese. These statistics are the signs of a system that is both unacceptable and unsustainable. They also show us the high cost of doing nothing. If we choose the status quo, more Americans will be uninsured, costs will continue to rise, and every American's health care will be at risk. Inaction is not an option, and reform is long overdue. The Obama administration is working to enact reform that will reduce costs for families, businesses and government; protect people's choice of doctors, hospitals and health plans; and assure affordable, quality health care for all Americans. We are guided by a simple principle: Protect what works about health care and fix what's broken, and do it in a way that does not add to the deficit. The president has already introduced proposals that will provide $950 billion over 10 years in savings to finance health care reform. Much of these resources come from wringing waste out of the current system and aggressively prosecuting fraud and abuse. We will continue to work with Congress as it explores other financing options, and the president is open to ideas about how we finance health care reform. But we are not open to deficit spending. Health care reform will be paid for, and it will be deficit-neutral over 10 years. Working together, we can pass real health care reform that gives Americans the choices they deserve and the affordable, quality coverage they need. And we know they do not want us to wait. Too many people have suffered without basic medical care or paid too much for it. For years, the American people have called on Washington to meet this challenge. They have waited long enough. The time for reform is now. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Kathleen Sebelius. | Kathleen Sebelius: Health care represents growing burden on economy .
She says that because of rising cost, existing system is unsustainable .
She says U.S. pays more, but citizens aren't healthier than in other countries . |
18e04ddf3cff47da273f22b9915c530c7489415b | When Tottenham paid £26million for Roberto Soldado they knew they were getting a quality striker with proven experience at the highest level. He'd won La Liga, he'd represented Spain. But things haven't worked out as planned for the former Valencia man. Here, Dan Kilpatrick of Spurs blog TheTottenhamWay.com shares his views on why supporters are still showing faith in the struggling forward. Tottenham forward Roberto Soldado has only managed to score four goals in all competitions this season . Striker Roberto Soldado (right) contrived to miss a chance to score against Burnley with the goal gaping . It looked like he'd reached breaking point, finally. Roberto Soldado dropped to his knees in despair, eyes wide with disbelief. Andros Townsend, sensing this was no time to mourn a lost assist, rushed over to console his teammate. Once they'd recovered from the shock, the Spurs fans, aided by the excellent 1882 movement, began singing: 'Viva Soldado, oooh-oh; he came from sunny Spain; to play with Harry Kane.' Spurs trailed Burnley 2-1 in the FA Cup and Soldado, not for the first time, had missed a sitter. With the goal gaping, the Spaniard blazed Townsend's on a plate cross into the stands from five yards out. It was no exaggeration to say it was easier to score. It was his worst miss to date and there was nothing and no-one else to blame; not the service, not the system, not the Premier League. Fortunately, Spurs went on to win 4-2 but the result hardly spared Soldado's blushes. The miss was the main talking point after the match and Townsend, Mauricio Pochettino and Soldado himself all had their say on it. The Spain international reacts to the miss by dropping to his knees as White Hart Lane . Andros Townsend (left) has revealed that he offered some words of encouragement to Soldado at half-time . For a Premier League player, it was inexcusable and it could have cost Tottenham dear. Yet support for Soldado from the terraces remained unwavering. There cannot be many players at Spurs – Kane and Hugo Lloris maybe – towards whom there is so much support and goodwill. Adoration for Kane and Lloris is understandable. They are both quality players, at the top of their games. Soldado, however, is not. The striker has scored one league goal this season, fewer than Eric Dier, and seven in his Spurs career. That's a league goal every 360 minutes or every 840 minutes excluding penalties. To his credit, Soldado did not crumble. Having already assisted Paulinho, he set-up another for Danny Rose with a pinpoint cross. This is part of the reason Spurs fans sing for Soldado. A lesser player would've hidden, allowed his head to drop, but Soldado continued to work for the team. His overall performance – which some confused with his miss – was impressive. Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino reacts after Soldado's miss during their FA Cup match against Burnley . Soldado scored 24 league goals in his final season at Valencia before securing Spurs move . His goalscoring form has been wretched, catastrophic since a £26m move from Valencia but he still continues to stay positive, give his all, revel in his teammates' successes and display a mingled sense of agony and humour about his misses (see his incredulous smile after his shot rebounded off the post allowing Benji Stambouli to score against Partizan). White Hart Lane loves a striker and, after years of yearning for a big-money forward, fans are not about to give up on Soldado. They recognise that he's a good player suffering from a sustained crisis of form and confidence, rather than a Gregorz Rasiak-type, hopelessly out of his depth. On the pitch, he is passionate and apologetic. He seems to genuinely care. He's classy. Off it, he appears humble and family-minded. These are endearing qualities to supporters, while the mocking he receives at the hands of the media and rival fans makes Spurs supporters all the more desperate to see him succeed. It's also worth saying that fans singing for Soldado are singing for the club, too. He was a huge investment and selling Bobby for a significant loss would hurt Tottenham. We are desperate to see him perform, for everyone's sake. Others simply recognise that Soldado, now more than ever, must be close to that breaking point. He needs more support than anyone and he's getting it. He will continue to get it. You can follow Dan on Twitter @TheTottenhamWay and on Facebook . | Tottenham signed Roberto Soldado from Valencia for £26m in 2013 .
But Soldado has struggled to reproduce the form he showed in La Liga .
A Tottenham blogger gives their view on the situation . |
18e093559b872181090335853e28b5dac2bd6c54 | In his youth: Sydney Swift (pictured as a Lance Sergeant), who helped bury Rifleman Horace Savage, wants his fallen comrade exhumed and re-buried . For seven decades Sydney Swift believed the soldier he buried in a battlefield after his death in front of him was given a proper military funeral and headstone in a cemetery. But when the 95-year-old British Lance Sergeant’s friends visited the Catania War Cemetery in Sicily, Italy, they could not find any memorial for Rifleman Horace Savage. The soldier was first buried in unmarked graves along with Rifleman Edwin Pearton and Lance Corporal John Biggs, close to where the three men fell during World War Two in July 1943. After the war, the bodies of Rfn Pearton and LCpl Biggs were exhumed and they were given a military funeral and headstone at the Sicily cemetery. It had been presumed that Rfn Savage was also re-buried there after a funeral following his death at Primosole Bridge in Catania, which preceded the mainland Allied Invasion of Italy. So when friends told Mr Swift they were visiting the cemetery, the great-grandfather asked them to leave flowers on the grave of Rfn Savage. But they found no headstone for the soldier. This prompted an investigation by Mr Swift, who found his fallen comrade’s name on the Cassino Memorial at the Cassino War Cemetery in Frosinone. This site is 370 miles from Sicily on mainland Italy and lists more than 4,000 Commonwealth soldiers who took part in the Italian campaign but whose graves are not known. Fallen: After the war, the bodies of Rifleman Edwin Pearton (grave left) and Lance Corporal John Biggs (right) were exhumed and they were given a military funeral and headstone at the Catania War Cemetery in Sicily, Italy . Now, despite the passing of seven decades, Mr Swift said he can pinpoint to within a few yards the location of the grave he placed the serviceman in with the help of a stretcher bearer. With the London Irish Rifles Regimental Association’s backing, he is urging Italian authorities and the Commonwealth War Grave Commission to now bury Rfn Savage with full military honours. They also want to trace the family of Rfn Savage, who was in the 1st battalion London Irish Rifles. Mr Swift, from Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, said: ‘Last year friends of mine were going to Sicily and asked them to look up the three men killed in action at Primisole Bridge in Catania. ‘They came back and said they had only found two graves. We researched his name and realised it was on the Cassino Memorial as “no known grave”. Nowhere to be seen: When the friends of British Lance Sergeant Sydney Swift visited the Catania War Cemetery in Sicily, Italy, they could not find any headstone for Rifleman Horace Savage . Site: It had been presumed that Rfn Savage was also re-buried at the Catania War Cemetery after a funeral following his death at Primisole Bridge in Catania, before the Allied Invasion of Italy, but his grave is not there . ‘Well, I know where his grave is . because I buried him in a ditch that we were holding as a position. It . was the only time I have buried somebody in my life. I am hardly likely . to forget it. The successful push into Italy began in Sicily in July 1943, which led to the collapse of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini's government. The Sicily invasion, which faced relatively little resistance, was the beginning of the Allied invasion of Axis-controlled Europe. Allied forces made it into mainland Italy by September that year, landing in the south, and the Italians agreed to surrender. But the Germans set up huge defensive lines to block any push north, and the Allied attack proved to be long-running and costly. However the Allies managed to break through and captured Rome in June 1944, two days before D-Day in Normandy, France. Germany's forces in Italy surrendered on May 1945, six days before the whole country did so. ‘I put a . marker on the grave. He must still be there. The Commonwealth War Graves . Commission have told me that if a body is discovered they can arrange . for a proper burial and a headstone. ‘Somebody needs to go and find him for that to happen. He needs a proper burial and proper grave.’ The . three men were killed when a 16-man patrol was sent out towards high . ground in Catania to make contact with the Germans. As they neared the . enemy line German machine guns opened up. Mr . Swift and a stretcher bearer recovered a mortally-wounded Rfn Savage . and carried him back to a dressing station 400 yards away, where he died . a few minutes later. Mr Swift said: ‘The men had been mown . down by machine gun fire and Savage had been shot. Two stretcher bearers . were told to recover him but one of them was too frightened so I went. ‘The Germans were very fair and didn’t . fire on us and allowed us to bring Savage back to the ambulance. He was . in a lot of pain and was delirious. Attack: Scenes during the Allied Invasion of Italy in World War Two, as British troops pick their way through the ruins of the Italian village of Cassino, where Rfn Savage is commemorated on a memorial . 'We couldn’t do anything for him and . he died at the ambulance. We buried him out of sight in the ditch. 'The Germans were very fair and didn’t fire on us and allowed us to bring Savage back to the ambulance. He was in a lot of pain and was delirious. We couldn’t do anything for him and he died at the ambulance. We buried him out of sight in the ditch' Sydney Swift on Rfn Horace Savage . ‘I . was very upset as he was a friend and it was probably due to the trauma . that I forgot to take his identity tags and personal possessions of . him. I think he had a ring on his finger. I don’t know why he wasn’t . found.’ Details of where dead soldiers ended up were often recorded contemporaneously in the regimental war diaries. After the fighting had moved on or even . after the war had finished the Commonwealth War Graves Commission . located as many men as possible and buried them in local war cemeteries. But due to the ‘fog of war’, the records were sometimes missing or incomplete and many men were forgotten about. Successful mission: File pictures of the Sicily invasion in 1943. The three men were killed when a 16-man patrol was sent out towards high ground in Catania to make contact with the Germans . London Irish Regimental Association spokesman Nigel Wilkinson said: ‘Mr Swift believes that he can still locate Savage’s grave and desperately wants to see his comrade buried beside his friends before he dies. It is right that he should be properly buried.’ Peter Francis, of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, said: ‘If a set of remains were discovered and confirmed to be a Commonwealth serviceman they would be presented to us for proper burial. We would mark the grave and care for it.’ | Sydney Swift buried Horace Savage after he died in battle in Catania, Italy .
He was buried along with Edwin Pearton and John Biggs, who died with him .
After war, bodies of Pearton and Biggs exhumed and put in Sicily cemetery .
Swift presumed Savage was too - but there is no gravestone for him there . |
18e12be4a217873936ad9555d3bca2b9309780fd | (CNN) -- I am Shane Stanford. To my family, I am a husband of 20 years and the boastful father of three. To my congregation of nearly 5,000, I am a pastor. To my readers, I am the author of nine Christian books. To my friends, I am one of the guys. And, to so many over the years who have known my story, I am a man in a race -- a race against illness, against fear, against discrimination. A race against my own body. A race against time. A hemophiliac since birth, I discovered my HIV status at 16. It was life-changing news, the result of a contaminated blood supply. And, so, the race began. It has included many twists and turns: from the joy of marrying my high school sweetheart to the sorrow of being rejected by the first church to which I was appointed as pastor. Certainly, the race has never been easy. It is often long and difficult. However, the race now impacts me in so many ways. And, oddly enough, I would not trade it with anyone. Instead, the journey affords me a glimpse into the best of what each of us can become. The race has made me a student, and no day goes by that it doesn't teach me a lesson. About time: A privilege afforded to us to make a difference in this world. About relationships: The most important things we do are not done alone. About simplicity: More, bigger, nicer, pale in comparison to gifts like sunsets and the laughter of children at play. About real meaning... and about myself: Life is more a mosaic than a measurable frame of joys and sorrows, laughter and tears. Real meaning is discovered through the composition of life's diversity. No color can adequately define a mosaic, any more than one hardship, failure or achievement can define a person's life. The diversity of these images brought together unveil who I really am. No matter how I try to describe myself, I am more than the sum of what I can say. So, I run ... for those I love and, even, for those I have never met. I run to make life matter, seeking more than the right way to go, but actually going there and watching the race mean something. | Shane Stanford is husband and father, author, and a pastor .
He is racing against illness and fear: Stanford is an HIV-positive hemophiliac .
Journey has shown relationships, simplicity, giving are most important .
"No matter how I try to describe myself, I am more than the sum of what I can say" |
18e168f108ce1ed52d37adff905ada8b7a6ad03d | Police are prepared to use plastic bullets for the first time on the British mainland if student protests planned for tomorrow erupt into violence. Scotland Yard revealed yesterday that the baton rounds have been authorised for a student fees march in London amid fears it could be hijacked by anarchists and troublemakers. Baton gun rounds have never been used on the British mainland, but they have been linked to deaths in Northern Ireland. Scotland Yard has refused to say where and when the bullets (pictured) would have been deployed . Officers stressed yesterday that they were not planning to use baton rounds and they would only be a last resort if all other tactics had failed and officers’ lives were at risk. Commander Simon Pountain says 4,000 officers will be on the street on Wednesday . Commander Simon Pountain, who is in charge of the police operation, said armoured vehicles, known as Jankels, would also be on standby if the protests saw a repeat of this summer riots or the chaos last year during the student fees demonstrations. Baton rounds were pre-authorised during August’s riots but were not used. This is the first time they have been pre-authorised for a planned protest march on the mainland. The march, organised by the National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts, is due to go from Bloomsbury in Central London to the City. It is being kept away from the St Paul’s anti-capitalism protest but activists from the cathedral camp are expected to join in. Last year, the then Met Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson was criticised for only sending out 225 officers who were overwhelmed by hordes of rampaging student protesters smashing into the Conservative Party headquarters on November 10. And on December 9, during another student protest, Prince Charles’s limousine was besieged in the worst royal security breach in a decade. The Duchess of Cornwall’s face was a mask of terror as rioters swarmed around their Rolls-Royce Phantom VI, kicking, hitting and rocking the car. One managed to poke her with a stick through a window. Demonstrators at Millbank Tower, in Westminster, central London, last year. Hundreds of arrests were made and buildings damaged following disorder . By contrast, more than 4,000 police will oversee tomorrow’s march, which is expected to attract crowds of 10,000. Police leave has been cancelled and 550 officers have drafted in from outside forces in. Mr Pountain said baton rounds and Jankels would be available in reserve after the latter proved effective when they were brought in to push back rioters in Clapham and Hackney in August. ‘I would not be putting baton rounds on the streets but I have asked for them to be available,’ he said. Jenny Jones, a Green Party member of the Metropolitan Police Authority and London Mayoral candidate reacted with horror. ‘Any officer that shoots a student with a baton round will have to answer to the whole of London,’ she said. | Rubber bullets will be used to protect officers being attacked .
4,000 officers will be on the street on Wednesday .
‘Any officer that shoots a student with a baton round will have to answer to the whole of London'
Never been used on mainland but have been linked to deaths in Northern Ireland . |
18e27665f80c64beab0e0302879f6411376e148e | (Financial Times) -- China's smog-ridden capital issued an unprecedented set of new anti-pollution measures at the weekend, as the authorities scramble to respond to rising public pressure over the city's deteriorating air quality. The far-reaching measures target everything from outdoor barbecues and dusty construction sites, to paint fumes and idling car engines, representing the city's broadest effort yet to fight the persistent pollution haze over Beijing. The Beijing city government published a draft of the new rules on its website on Saturday and asked for public feedback -- an unusual step that illustrates how carefully the government is treading around the hot-button issue. Earlier this month, an episode of extraordinarily bad pollution in Beijing sparked public outcry over air quality, as well as causing a sudden increase in hospital admissions for respiratory illnesses and heart attacks. China's double-digit economic growth in the past three decades has been accompanied by widespread environmental degradation, of which air pollution in the capital has become the latest, and most visible, symbol. Although the Beijing city government has in the past tried to conceal its pollution problem by manipulating air quality data, public pressure has forced it adopt a radically more open stance. The city government now publishes hourly pollution data and even pollution forecasts to help citizens deal with the haze. In a sign of the growing severity of the problem, the new regulations published on Saturday describe "emergency measures" for days when pollution becomes a "danger to human health", including mandatory factory closures and restrictions on vehicles. The draft rules also outline a new cap-and-trade scheme for key pollutants, and will require the largest culprits to publicly disclose their emissions -- which environmentalists said was a step toward greater transparency. "The draft law it is really trying to tackle the issue in a proactive way, trying to tackle the pollution at its source," said Ma Jun, a prominent environmentalist in Beijing and author of China's Water Crisis. However, he added that firm implementation of the rules, which has thwarted similar environmental laws in the past, would continue to be a challenge. The draft regulations, which span dozens of pages, also describe a range of smaller measures that could change some of the key features of life in the capital, if strictly implemented. Restaurants and caterers will be banned from burning coal -- a measure that will threaten Beijing's beloved lamb kebabs, known as yangrou chuan. Vehicles will be prohibited from idling their engines for more than three minutes if parked near a school or a hospital, and cars will be subject to random testing for emissions compliance. Some parts of the new regulations simply reiterate rules that were already in place -- such as requirements for dust-control measures at construction sites -- but have been poorly implemented because the environmental authorities have lacked clout. "To make this happen the key thing is oversight," said Zhou Rong, air pollution specialist at Greenpeace in Beijing. "The government put this up on the web because they understand that everyone is watching this issue -- this is a big improvement." © The Financial Times Limited 2013 . | China's smog-ridden capital issued an unprecedented set of new anti-pollution measures .
Authorities scramble to respond to rising public pressure over the city's deteriorating air quality .
Beijing published a draft of the new rules on its website on Saturday and asked for public feedback .
Earlier this month, an episode of extraordinarily bad pollution in Beijing sparked public outcry . |
18e45a7c0aafe3af43a1f43cf221ae0b98304c20 | By . Anna Edwards . PUBLISHED: . 04:14 EST, 22 November 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 04:37 EST, 22 November 2013 . Singers like Charlotte Church who blame the music industry for their own 'failures' are just refusing to take responsibility for their own career flops, a record executive had claimed. Chrysalis Group found Chris Wright claimed the Welsh singer excused her own 'career frustrations' by criticising the industry, rather than take responsibility for it. Miss Church, 27, recently attacked the music industry for coercing young women into 'sexually demonstrative behaviour'. Chris Wright accused artists like singer Charlotte Church of blaming the music industry for their own 'failures' But Mr Wright told the Daily Telegraph that Miss Church's attacks were common amongst artists who wanted to 'blame the business' for their waning careers. He said: 'The truth is its very often the artist themselves who are to blame for those problems.' In the BBC John Peel Lecture the singer - who shot to fame at age 11 - lashed out at the industry, who she claims want women to present themselves as 'hypersexualised objects'. She used fellow pop stars Rihanna and Miley Cyrus who 'acted submissive sex objects' in their videos as an example. The mother-of-two said: 'The women . generally filling these roles are very young, often previous child stars . or Disney tweens who are simply interested in getting along in an . industry glamourised to be the most desirable career for young women. 'They . are encouraged to present themselves as hypersexualised, unrealistic, . cartoonish, as objects. Reducing female sexuality to a prize that can be . won.' The singer – dubbed . the ‘Voice of an Angel’ when she first shot to fame aged 11 – admitted . she now regrets wearing revealing outfits as a teenage star. The singer - dubbed the 'Voice of an Angel' when she first shot to fame aged 11 - admitted she now regrets wearing revealing outfits as a teenage star. She claimed that because of the sexual way she was portrayed when she was younger, she can no longer promote her current style of music to the appropriate audience . She claimed in the Manchester lecture in October that because of the sexual way she was portrayed when she was younger, she can no longer promote her current style of music to the appropriate audience. She said: ‘When I was 19 or 20 I found myself in this position, being pressured into wearing more and more revealing outfits. 'And the lines I was spun again and again, generally by middle aged men, were "You look great, you’ve got a great body, why not show it off?" or "Don’t worry, it’ll look classy, it’ll look artistic". 'I felt deeply uncomfortable about the whole thing but I was often reminded by record executives just whose money was being spent. ‘The consequence of this betrayal of me is that I am being constantly abused on social media, being called slut and a whore and a catalogue of other indignities. 'Now I find it difficult to promote my music in the places where it would be best suited, because of my history.’ Miss Church has been contacted for a comment. | Chrysalis Group found Chris Wright claimed the Welsh singer excused her own 'career frustrations' by criticising the music industry .
Miss Church, 27, recently attacked the music industry for coercing young women into 'sexually demonstrative behaviour' |
18e466948dd7abab9b5b9a7582992cb8c651bec3 | By . Steve Nolan . PUBLISHED: . 16:27 EST, 8 August 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 02:40 EST, 9 August 2013 . A seven-year-old boy has claimed that a real-life Skippy The Bush Kangaroo saved him when he went missing in the Australian bush last weekend. Simon Kruger became lost when he followed a wallaby into trees at the vast Deep Creek Conservation Park near Adelaide, South Australia, as his family ate lunch nearby. But despite not being dressed for a night in the wilderness, Simon survived almost 24 hours in the bush thanks to the help of a friendly kangaroo who approached him as he picked flowers for his mother and fell asleep next to him to keep him warm. Scroll down for video . Found: Seven-year-old Simon Kruger claims that he was helped by a friendly kangaroo when he went missing in the Australian bush . Vast: Simon went missing in the Deep Creek Conservation Park near Adelaide in Australia . Natives: There are thought to be around 58 million kangaroos living in Australia . Simon's father Etienne Kruger told Seven Network: 'The kangaroo came closer to him and ate the flowers from him and then the kangaroo fell asleep next to him. 'I think god sent a kangaroo to keep him warm.' A search party, including two helicopters, attempted to find Simon throughout the night with rescuers using parachute flares in a bid to find him. But he was eventually spotted by one of the helicopters around 500 metres from where he had originally gone missing and was winched to safety. The youngster suffered just minor injuries from his ordeal and was reunited with his relieved family. His mother, Linda, said: 'I think it was a miracle, when I smell his jacket, it's kangaroo - bush and kangaroo.' Nature spotting: The family had been having a picnic at this spot on Saturday afternoon when the youngster followed a wallaby into the bush . Search: Rescuers sent up two helicopters in a bid to find the boy, but he wasn't found until nearly 24 hours after he went missing . Safe: Simon was winched to safety and reunited with his relieved family on Sunday . Relieved: Simon's father Etienne, left, and mother Linda, right, said that their son's survival was a miracle . Things could have been far worse for Simon, with temperatures at the park dipping to just 6C during the night. It was lucky for rescuers that he remained so close to where he went missing too, the park is 45 square kilometres of thick bushland. Simon's father Etienne told the Daily Telegraph in Australia that his son is recovering well from the ordeal. Australia is home to an estimated 58 million kangaroos. His encounter with the marsupial is reminiscent of the popular 1960s programme Skippy The Bush Kangaroo. Big species: There are thought to be more than 58 million kangaroos native to Australia . Hero: The boy's encounter with the marsupial is reminiscent of the popular 1960s television programme Skippy The Bush Kangaroo, which featured a kangaroo as the hero . Ninety-one shows were made there over three seasons between 1966 and 1968 filmed just outside Sydney. They were broadcast in Britain, Mexico and the US, and countless other countries in the following years. Despite debuting on black-and-white televisions, the show was filmed in colour which gave it an added longevity, becoming even more popular in repeats. | Simon Kruger went missing in the Deep Creek Conservation Park, South Australia .
He claims that he survived the night after a kangaroo slept next to him to keep him warm .
The youngster was spotted by rescue helicopters almost 24 hours later .
His parents believe that the kangaroo was sent by god to save the boy . |
18e5b2e91c680c10193df21eaa5dcbd1ba519198 | (Mashable) -- Back in December, Facebook introduced its new profiles to the world. For the first month, users could choose between the new profile and the old profile. Starting today, all accounts will be upgraded to the new profile. The new Facebook profiles feature a revamped interface, as well as easy access to photos of the user. The profiles also offer more details about work and education information, while letting users put friends into distinct categories, list various interests, and fill out a nifty new "about me" user summary. We've already seen some fantastic examples of creative Facebook profile photo hacks that really showcase just how unique and inventive these profiles can be with a little work. If you haven't already customized a new Facebook profile page for your own account, be sure to check Mashable's guide on the subject. Beverage maker Schweppes also has its own profile app that can aid in the customization process. For those users who preferred the old interface, we can't really offer you any alternatives, but remember this is Facebook. Chances are, the company will revamp this interface again anyway. Are you already using the new Facebook profiles? Have you run across any epic profile hacks? Let us know in the comments. © 2013 MASHABLE.com. All rights reserved. | Starting today all Facebook profiles will be upgraded to the new profile .
New profiles have a revamped interface that includes easy access to photos .
Profiles also offer more details about work and education information . |
18e62a1fc7bc82e6462ba17c60f483edc81b3d16 | French truckers are threatening to blockade the port of Calais in protest at steep fines imposed for British-bound migrants found hiding in their lorries. Haulage firms are fined £2,000 for each illegal immigrant they bring across the Channel from France. Drivers complain that lax border controls in Calais allow stowaways to climb into their vehicles and sneak into Britain. Penalty protest: French truckers could be set to copy British counterparts who organised a demonstration in Dover a week ago, above, claiming they were being wrongly punished for a lack of proper border controls . And the harsh penalties imposed if they are caught is driving some firms to bankruptcy. Hundreds of truckers staged a mass protest in Dover a week ago claiming they were being unfairly punished for the lack of proper checks across the Channel. David Sagnard, president of France's National Road Haulage Federation, said: 'We have reached the point of no return. 'Many firms can not afford these hefty fines if they are caught in Britain, and some are going bust. 'If those in charge do not act now to resolve this issue, we plan a blockade.' Lorry drivers are now forbidden from parking overnight within 100 miles of Calais in case immigrants sneak aboard. But many climb into lorries at service stations near the port, or break into the secure truck parking area at the ferry terminal. Truckers and their supporters gathered in Dover last week to complain about the financial penalties imposed on hauliers who are found with illegal migrants in their vehicles . Two weeks ago, Home Secretary Theresa May promised to give France £12 million to tighten security in Calais after 250 illegal immigrants stormed the ferry terminal hoping to make it across the Channel. The UK also offered Calais an 11-mile-long high security fence used at a NATO summit in Wales to keep the migrants out of the ferry terminal. Calais mayor Natacha Bouchart also recently threatened to blockade the ferry port unless Britain did more to help her town tackle the crisis. Ms Bouchart also wants the UK border to be moved from Calais to Britain, and for Prime Minister David Cameron to visit her town. She recently blamed the UK's 'generous' state benefits for refugees for the squalid migrant camps in her town. She said: 'Calais is a hostage to the British. That's enough. It's no longer tenable. It's necessary to renegotiate these accords. We're not here to do their job.' There are an estimated 2,000 migrants in Calais, where tensions have been mounting in recent months as hundreds more refugees fleeing war zones in the Middle East and poverty in Africa flood into the town. Mass brawls between rival gangs have left more than 70 people injured during July and August. Many refugees are now taking increasingly dangerous risks to sneak into the UK. Last month two migrants were plucked to safety from the English Channel after trying to climb aboard a moving ferry off Calais. Migrants have also risked their lives by smuggling themselves into refrigerated lorries, clinging to the axles of HGVs and even aboard a cargo of coffins. | Firms fined £2,000 for each illegal immigrant they bring across the Channel .
Claims that financial penalties are driving some haulage firms to bankruptcy .
Drivers complain lax border controls in Calais allow stowaways easy access .
France's Haulage Federation says 'point of no return' has been reached . |
18e7102829100fe3063e6efbfc9c21bf0dad0e13 | (CNN) -- The organization that grants academic accreditation to Penn State has warned the school that it is in danger of losing that crucial status in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal, the university announced this week. The move by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education is the latest blow for the beleaguered university, which has seen its reputation clobbered and its football program hobbled after investigators found school leaders did too little to stop the abuse. Were the commission to pull Penn State's accreditation -- which it has not done -- the school would face the loss of eligibility for federal student aid programs, guaranteed student loans, federal research grants and could lose eligibility for state aid, commission spokesman Richard Pockrass said in July. Paterno family wants to appeal Penn State sanctions . Penn State will resolve the commission's concerns, promised Vice Provost for Academic Affairs Blannie Bowen. "This action has nothing to do with the quality of education our students receive," Bowen said in a statement posted Monday to the school's website. "Middle States is focusing on governance, integrity and financial issues related to information in the Freeh report and other items related to our current situation." The commission voted August 6 to place the school on warning status. Two days later, it notified Penn State officials that the school's accreditation was "in jeopardy" based on information contained in former FBI Director Louis Freeh's report on Penn State's handling of the sex-abuse allegations against Sandusky and a National Collegiate Athletic Association action against the school. Freeh found that Penn State's leadership showed "total and consistent disregard" for youths sexually abused by Sandusky, the former assistant football coach convicted by a jury in June on 45 counts involving child sex abuse. He is scheduled to be sentenced in September. Among other things, authorities say school officials failed to properly address a report that Sandusky had been seen in a football complex shower, apparently engaged in sexual contact with a young boy. Timeline of the Penn State scandal . Last month, the NCAA fined Penn State $60 million, banned the football program from bowl games for four years, stripped scholarships and took away the team's wins from 1998 to 2011. The commission also said it had insufficient evidence that Penn State officials had followed commission rules about how schools are to be governed and whether it had provided "accurate, fair and complete information" about what was happening at the school, according to the letter. The commission asked Penn State to report by September 30 on the steps it is taking to ensure full compliance with accreditation requirements, as well as information about the school's financial capacity to meet ongoing obligations considering the potential fallout from civil lawsuits expected over the scandal. A team assembled by the commission will visit Penn State after the September report to evaluate the school's performance, the commission said. Bowen said the commission "wants us to document that steps we have already taken and are planning to take will ensure our full compliance with its requirements" and emphasized that the school expects no loss of accreditation. "It is critical to emphasize that Middle States does not issue a warning unless the commission believes that an institution has the capacity to make appropriate improvements within a reasonable period and then sustain itself to stay in compliance," Bowen said in the statement. "This certainly is true for Penn State. We're confident that our monitoring report and the site visit will confirm this to the commission." CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin said the warning seemed to be a bit of "piling on" in light of the sanctions already in place against Penn State. But it may be another factor to further motivate the university to comprehensively deal with the scandal, he said on CNN's "Starting Point." "It all creates pressure on Penn State to make sure it has policies in place to make sure nothing like this ever happens again," Toobin said. Former senator to be integrity monitor for Penn State athletics . | NEW: The warning will put more pressure on Penn State to reform, a CNN analyst says .
The Middle States Commission warns Penn State its accreditation is in jeopardy .
The warning is related to the school's governance, reporting, financial issues .
It is not about academic quality, a school official says . |
18e793b18017b5bca40eda144f0b029d2065625c | Santi Cazorla has been a bit hit and miss this season, but he was outstanding against Newcastle United. He scored twice — the perfect present on his 30th birthday — and was at the heart of an Arsenal performance that was a joy to watch. For his first goal he took an excellent touch, rode a challenge and then hit a delightful chip into the corner. It would have been very easy for him to go down in the area, but he stayed on his feet and was rewarded with a goal. Santi Cazorla didn't go down to score the first of his two goals against Newcastle on Saturday . The Spaniard also scored a cheeky 'Paneka' penalty to seal Arsenal's 4-1 victory at the Emirates . Cazorla wheels away to celebrate his goal in a victory that had Gooners singing Arsene Wenger's name . Olivier Giroud (left) is congratulated by Danny Welbeck after also scoring twice against the Magpies . That was good to see on a day where too many players were diving, including West Brom’s Sebastien Pocognoli, who took a theatrical tumble. PS The diving this weekend was bad but another problem is the high foot. Last week Eliaquim Mangala was booked for an ugly high lunge and Cheick Tiote was lucky not to be sent off for catching Alexis Sanchez on Saturday. It’s a worry because it’s the kind of challenge that can cause serious damage. West Brom’s Sebastien Pocognoli (left) was one of several players taking theatrical dives at the weekend . Cheick Tiote's (right) high footed challenge on Alexis Sanchez deserved to be shown a red card . SUPER FRANK IS AT IT AGAIN . Frank Lampard must have an invisibility cloak. That’s the only reason I can think of to explain why so many teams still let him make those late runs into the area to score. Lampard has hit plenty of 30-yard screamers in his time, but if you had to describe his winner for Manchester City at Leicester, you’d have to say: ‘Oh, just the usual.’ Frank Lampard steals in to score Manchester City's match winning goal against Leicester on Saturday . Despite scoring as many Premier League goals as Thierry Henry, opponents still struggle to pick up Lampard . Manchester City's win keeps the pressure up on Lampard's former club Chelsea at the top of the table . Arriving late in the box is his trademark, but still teams let him do it. When he is in the final third you have to mark him because if you don’t, he will punish you. Esteban Cambiasso is so experienced but the way he let Lampard in made me wonder if he’d ever seen him play before. At this level, attention to detail is everything and you cannot afford to let a player like him have five yards of space in a crowded area. He even pointed to where he wanted the ball! It’s such an obvious weapon, but Leicester didn’t do enough to try to stop it. PS It seems Man City will have ‘discussions’ with New York City about extending Lampard’s stay. Considering City own the New York club, it won’t exactly be a tricky conversation... City: Frank’s doing well, isn’t he... mind if we keep him a bit longer? NYC: Well, you do actually own us, so in a way he’s your player... City: Of course he is! Pleasure doing business with you! SZCZESNY ON SONG . Wojciech Szczesny has had his critics in the past but he made an excellent save against Papiss Cisse on Saturday night and is impressing me. He came on to our Sky panel show, A League of Their Own, last week and he struck me as a really nice young man. He was game for a laugh, got stuck in and at 24 is mature beyond his years. Wojciech Szczesny celebrates Arsenal's victory, which included an exceptional save against Papiss Cisse . The Arsenal No 1's skills between the sticks are more impressive than his singing voice . The Pole could go on to rival David Seaman (centre) as arguably Arsenal's greatest ever keeper . David Seaman was nearly 27 by the time he arrived at Arsenal and is arguably the club’s greatest goalkeeper. Szczesny has a long way to go to match that, but he has a bright future. The only downside was his singing. He had to do a duet with Chesney Hawkes. It’s a good job his goalkeeping is better than his singing! BURNLEY HIT BACK . Burnley bounced back from defeat at QPR with an excellent result against Southampton. Ashley Barnes puts his hands behind his ears after scoring the winner for Burnley against Southampton . Burnley have picked up almost a point a game on average, which would ultimately see them earn survival . Ronald Koeman has seen Saints slump after a better than expected start to his Premier League campaign . In the past 10 years, teams have needed an average of around 37 points to stay up — that’s about a point per game. So Burnley will be pleased with 15 points from 16 games, all things considered. For Southampton it was disappointing, but that shows how well they have done under Ronald Koeman. Expectations are perhaps too high because they are doing brilliantly. 1997 - Dusan Tadic was something of a penalty specialist at FC Twente, with 11 scored over two seasons. But the Serb missed the chance to give Southampton the lead from the spot at Burnley on Saturday. The last time Southampton missed a Premier League penalty was way back in April 1997, when Jim Magilton missed against West Ham. 83.3% - Juan Mata has scored five goals from just six efforts on target this season. That puts his conversion rate at an impressive 83.3 per cent. 4th - Santi Cazorla became the fourth Arsenal player to score on his birthday after Yossi Benayoun, Robert Pires and Paul Merson. 92 - It only took Stoke 92 seconds to equalise at Crystal Palace on Saturday. After James McArthur hit the opener for the home side, Peter Crouch replied just over a minute and a half later for the visitors. 3 - Tom Huddlestone's red card at Stamford Bridge means he has now been sent off in three straight seasons. He previously went seven seasons without a red. 63.3% - Crystal Palace completed just 63.3 per cent of their passes against Stoke. Only 10 times this season have teams completed less than 65 per cent — on five occasions it was Palace. 2 - It was not a good day for Aston Villa’s Kieran Richardson. His red card after 22 minutes was the second fastest this season after James Chester’s against Stoke. Also, his two PL red cards have come against his old clubs — West Brom and Man United. | Santi Cazorla stayed on his feet to score against Newcastle on Saturday .
Diego Costa, Gary Cahill and Sebastien Pocognoli were guilty of diving .
Teams still struggle to pick up Frank Lampard's trademark late runs .
Wojciech Szczesny is a far better goalkeeper than he is a singer .
Burnley are on course to stay in the Premier League after a slow start . |
18e7bbbfbff5517afd607de8c4cdd19500c628d6 | By . Associated Press Reporter and Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 08:20 EST, 6 August 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 10:28 EST, 6 August 2013 . Just days after serving as best man at his parents' wedding, a terminally ill 2-year-old boy has died from leukemia and other complications. Logan Stevenson died in his mother's arms at 8:18 p.m. on Monday at their home in Jeannette, about 25 miles east of Pittsburgh. 'He is with angels and he's in no more pain,' wrote mom Christine Swidorsky in a tribute to her brave son on Facebook. Scroll down for video . Logan Stevenson, two, passed away on Monday night just two days after he had served as best man at his parents' wedding in Jeannette, Pa . Logan's parents had brought forward their wedding because they had wanted him to see them marry and to be part of family photos . Logan's favorite stuffed toy, Bun Bun, rests on a table with his suit jacket during Saturday's wedding, while the pair were also celebrated on his parent’s wedding cake . Logan had looked dapper in a tiny tan pinstripe suit and orange shirt for Saturday's 12-minute ceremony, as his mom carried him down the isle on her shoulder. The young boy then stood with his grandmother, Debbie Stevenson, during the ceremony uniting Logan's mom and his father, Sean Stevenson. The couple had decided to abandon an original wedding date of July 2014 after learning from doctors late last month that their son didn't have long left. They wanted Logan to see them marry and for him to be part of family photos. Newlywed Christine Stevenson and Sean Stevenson smile after sharing their first kiss at Saturday's ceremony, the couple had originally planned to marry next July but wanted to share their special day with Logan . Tribute: Mom Christine Swidorsky posted about Logan's passing on Facebook hours after his death . Logan, who was born Oct. 22, 2010, was diagnosed shortly after his first birthday with acute myeloid leukemia. He suffered from Fanconi anemia, a rare disease that often leads to cancer. He endured a stem cell transplant in July 2012 and then in March had undergone surgery to remove a kidney ravaged by a tumor. During a Make-A-Wish trip to Disney World in June, Logan had fallen ill. He was hospitalized in Florida before being flown back to Pittsburgh. During a trip to the emergency room last month, a test revealed a mass in his remaining kidney, which led to his terminal prognosis. Swidorsky's daughter, Isabella Johns, . 13, served as bridesmaid and the couple's one-year-old daughter, . Savannah, was her parents' flower girl. Doctors informed Sean Stevenson, right, and Christine Swidorsky, center, that continuing treatment would not be beneficial to their son . Logan was diagnosed shortly after his first birthday with acute myeloid leukemia . Logan spent his remaining days at home, where he was showered with attention from family members. 'It hurts so bad because Logan is such a loving child... when I cry he wipes my tears away,' Swidorsky told The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review prior to her wedding. 'Logan is a mama's boy.' 'His entire life has been nothing but hospitals,' Kellie Young, the toddler's aunt told the newspaper. Last week doctors gave the little boy at best two to three weeks to live and told his devastated parents that . continuing treatment would not be beneficial. Logan spent his final days at home, where he was showered with attention from his family . Tears: Father Sean Stevenson had said he felt helpless trying to deal with his son's prognosis . They told Swidorsky and Stevenson the best thing for Logan was to be at home with his parents, that he would be in less pain there. 'For such a small person, he has touched thousands of people,' Young said. Logan's father said he felt happy he had the chance to bring his son home from hospital and spend time with him. But at the same time he said he felt helpless. 'It'll be the hardest thing I'll ever do is bury my son. You know it's coming, and you can't do anything about it,' he said. | Logan Stevenson died from leukemia on Monday night .
On Saturday he had served as best man at his parents' wedding .
Sean Stevenson and Christine Swidorsky, of Jeannette, Pennsylvania had planned to wed next July .
But moved the ceremony so Logan, who had been given only weeks to live, could participate .
His mom had carried the brave boy down the aisle at the backyard ceremony .
that also doubled as a celebration of his short life . |
18e9665463f6a864633e407e0d323df05f970c17 | New York (CNN) -- Beachgoers are being warned to stay out of the water this weekend at four popular beaches around New York City after raw sewage from a Manhattan plant spilled into the Hudson River, authorities said. Health advisories also have been issued for portions of the Hudson River, the East River, the Harlem River and the Kill Van Kull, cautioning people against participating in water-related activities such as canoeing, kayaking and swimming, according to the New York City Department of Health. The sewage spill began Wednesday after a fire began in the engine room of the North River Wastewater Treatment Plant, according to a press release Friday from the New York City Department of Environmental Protection. The sewage spill was stopped Friday night, and two of the engines damaged by the fire have been brought back online, the department said. The health advisories were issued for South Beach, Midland Beach and Cedar Grove Beach on Staten Island, and Sea Gate in Brooklyn, according to the release. The beaches are not closed, but the New York City Department of Health recommends that people not swim or enter the water at those locations. They also recommend that young and elderly people, as well as anyone suffering from a medical condition, not go near the water at those beaches. The advisories were expected to be in place until Monday. That would encompass one of this summer's hottest weekends, with the National Weather Service forecasting high temperatures Saturday of 99 degrees Fahreinheit and in the high 80s Sunday. Additionally, authorities were testing the waters in the harbor and at other aquatic locales that could potentially be affected by the sewage leak, the press release said. The plant is responsible for treating 120 million gallons of wastewater a day on Manhattan's west side. CNN's Jordana Ossad and Laura Batchelor contributed to this report. | A sewage spill at a Manhattan wastewater plant has been brought under control .
The spill occurred after a fire at the plant .
Beachgoers are urged to avoid three beaches on Staten Island and one in Brooklyn .
Authorities are warning against swimming and kayaking in the Hudson and East rivers . |
18e9d8f37dcfcdfa4632de1b978fab48991660d3 | He celebrated his 22nd wedding anniversary yesterday. Now, President Barack Obama has offered marriage advice to a bride-to-be in Princeton, Indiana. The U.S. politician warned her that it typically takes around 10 years to train a man properly, telling her: 'He'll screw up a bunch.' He added: 'Eventually we learn, but it takes us a little longer because we're not as smart.' Scroll down for video . Wedding: President Barack Obama has offered marriage advice to a bride-to-be in Indiana. It comes as First Lady Michelle Obama has tweeted a photo from the couple's wedding (pictured) on October 3, 1992 . Best wishes: The black-and-white picture was accompanied by the caption: '22 years. #HappyAnniversary . Couple Obama, pictured with his wife last month, warned the bride-to-be that it typically takes 10 years to train a man properly, telling her: 'He'll screw up a bunch.' But the politician added: 'Eventually we learn' It comes as First Lady Michelle Obama has tweeted a photo from the couple's wedding on October 3, 1992, accompanied by the caption: '22 years. #HappyAnniversary.' Obama, who met his wife while working at a Chicago law firm in 1989, commented on their marriage during a visit Millennium Steel Service in Princeton yesterday, according to USA Today. The 53-year-old described the First Lady, 50, as 'very patient', telling workers at the steel plant: 'Twenty-two years she's been putting up with me!' During the visit, held on what the administration dubs 'National Manufacturing Day', he also said the economy is improving, but the benefits are not as widespread as they should be. Visit: Obama commented on his marriage during a visit Millennium Steel Service in Princeton yesterday . Steel plant: The 53-year-old described the First Lady, 50, as 'very patient', telling workers at the steel plant: 'Twenty-two years she's been putting up with me!' The visit was held on 'National Manufacturing Day' Campaign: While Obama met workers at the plant, his wife spoke at a Governor campaign for Massachusetts Democratic gubernatorial candidate Martha Coakley at the Strand Theatre in Boston (pictured) 'There is a lot of good stuff happening in the economy. But what we all know is there are still some challenges,' he said. While Obama met workers at the plant, his wife spoke at a Governor campaign for Massachusetts Democratic gubernatorial candidate Martha Coakley at the Strand Theatre in Boston. The couple, who have two daughters, Malia, 16, and Sasha, 13, began dating after meeting at Sidley Austin in June 1989 and were engaged by 1991. Their relationship has been subject to great public scrutiny, with a number of books claiming that the couple came close to splitting in their early years together. Twenty-two-year marriage: The Obamas, who have two daughters, Malia, 16, and Sasha, 13, began dating after meeting at Sidley Austin in June 1989. They were engaged by 1991 and married in October 1992 . Family outing: Barack, Sasha, Michelle and Malia Obama walk across Lafayette Park in Washington D.C . In one, Mrs Obama is said to have even drawn up divorce papers after deciding her husband's burning political ambition was ruining their chances of domestic happiness. In 2009, veteran Washington reporter Richard Wolffe claimed that the marriage almost collapsed nine years earlier because of Obama’s political drive and the family’s shattered finances. And earlier this year, under the headline 'Obama Divorce Bombshell!', the National Enquirer claimed the Obamas' marriage had dissolved in a string of ugly fights. It said the disagreements were partly prompted by Obama taking a 'selfie' with Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt at Nelson Mandela's memorial. Claims: The couple's relationship has been subject to great public scrutiny. Earlier this year, they were said to have fallen out after Obama took this 'selfie' with Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt . It added that Mrs Obama was sleeping in a separate bedroom from her husband and only standing by him until his presidency ends. Obama will then return to his home state of Hawaii, while she will remain with their daughters in Washington, it reported. However, the National Inquirer quoted only anonymous insiders in support of the sensational claims, which the White House refused to comment on. | Barack Obama gave marriage advice to bride-to-be in Princeton, Indiana .
President warned her it typically takes 10 years to train a man properly .
Said: 'He'll screw up a bunch. Eventually we learn, but it takes us longer'
Comes as First Lady, Michelle Obama, has tweeted a photo of wedding .
Couple, who have daughters Malia and Sasha, wed on October 3, 1992 . |
18ec12e8db8af6cb7315ad3c1c2974981fb87722 | By . Rob Waugh . UPDATED: . 10:12 EST, 22 December 2011 . On the Winter Solstice, the stones at Stonehenge align perfectly with the sun. 'Pagan' worshippers gathered this year - as they do every year - at Salisbury Plain to mark the occasion. But those of us who missed it can explore Stonehenge in considerably more comfort - and detail - using a new iPhone and iPad app, the Stonehenge Experience. The app not only lets users explore Stonehenge in 3D, but also lets you 'rub' the screen to reveal different layers of prehistoric artefacts from the site - and recreates the sounds of when Stonehenge was constructed. The application offers virtual 3D 'tours' of the site - but also lets you 'dig through' layers of artefacts such as the gold breastplate found at the site . The application lets you explore around the site to give a sense of the prehistoric people that lived around it - with pictures and even sounds of the people who built Stonehenge . The site uses 3D digital 'models' so users can do things that visitors simply can't - such as excavating down through layers of the site to reveal artefacts such as a 'flesh hook' and a solid gold breast plate found at the site. All the 3D views of the site can be controlled via pinching and zooming on screen to let you 'walk' through Stonehenge - without the fences that usually keep visitors far from the stones. You can stand in the middle of the stones, and an 'acoustic model' also captures what it sounds like to stand there. Rupter Till of Huddersfield University - who 'modelled' the sounds of the app, said, . 'Creating the sound of Stonehenge as . it was when it was first built was a really interesting challenge. When . put together with the Ribui app it makes for an absorbing immersive . experience and allows people to see and hear Stonehenge as it was five . thousand years ago.' The app lets you explore 'back in time' and unearth finds such as the Amesbury Archer, a Bronze Age man whose remains were unearthed at the site in 2008 . The app also offers reconstructions of how the site was constructed, complete with sounds created by an acoustic engineeer . The app incorporates some of the latest archaeological findings, providing you with up to date explanations of the site’s purpose, based on respected academic theory. The Stonehenge Experience works on the iPhone 3GS and later and the iPad. Pinching and pulling on screen navigates you in 3D through Stonehenge . | Pulling across screen lets you explore site in 3D .
Can 'walk through' the fenced-off area around stones .
Lets you 'dig up' relics such as the Amesbury Archer .
Acoustic engineer recreated sounds of Stonehenge . |
18ec14c58833d6d9f7e7f3204f3852eeb8d640b8 | (CNN) -- Underage sex trafficking is an awful thing, on that we can all agree. But the growing clamor by individual U.S. states for the shutdown of Village Voice Media's web-based advertising site, Backpage.com, is panicky, scattershot, legally suspect and potentially just as dangerous. Backpage.com is a personals website with a special "adult" section containing a wealth of listings for escort services. Like the back pages of most alternative local news weeklies, or for that matter the Yellow Pages of the phone book, the website contains ads and pictures that make no pretense about what is being offered. These are ads for prostitutes. What has particularly upset law enforcement officials and attorneys general, however, is that these listings have been used by underage prostitutes and the pimps selling them. Some of the listings also come from brothels whose workers are either illegal aliens or trafficked sex slaves. While Backpage has attempted to exercise some level of editorial control over its listings and also cooperates with police investigations into the activities of its posters, many are arguing that the mere existence of such listings promote prostitution, an illegal activity, and child sex slavery, a heinous and intolerable practice. Most notably, Nicholas Kristof wrote a scathing piece in The New York Times, calling Backpage a "godsend to pimps, allowing customers to order a girl online as if she were a pizza." He went on to list some examples of young girls trafficked through the site, including one as young as 13. Village Voice hit back, questioning his reporting, and he responded in kind defending it. As the rhetoric heated up, arguments seemed to focus more on dates of birth and the technicalities of web launches than the crime of child prostitution or how to stop it. As usual, the horror of child abuse and mysteriousness of the Internet combined to distort rational debate and cloud reality. Meanwhile, the anonymously run website, "Village Voice Pimps," uses the most sensationalist language it can muster, along with personal attacks and dossiers on Village Voice writers and editors who have nothing to do with the parent company, Village Voice Media's advertising supplement. To me, these posts seem much more concerned with lambasting the Village Voice newspaper for its pro-gay and "immoral" stances than its ownership by the same media company that owns Backpage. In a sense, the girls and young women affected are being pimped yet again . Travel: Fighting sex trafficking in hotels, one room at a time . This is the environment in which Washington state wrote its well-meaning but ultimately ill-informed law SB 6251, making it a felony to publish "any advertisement for a commercial sex act, which is to take place in the state of Washington and that includes the depiction of a minor." Ever since Craigslist closed its "adult" section, Backpage had become the go-to online spot for sex listings. Its presence grew to be ubiquitous across the United States, making it the target of numerous law enforcement and attorneys general. Like the other states hoping to curtail the practice of underage prostitution and sex slavery, Washington state believes that the websites listing escort services should be held accountable for the listings on their pages. The problem is it's awfully hard to tell whether a person posting an ad for a 21-year-old escort is telling the truth. As written, Washington's law applies whether or not the person or business knew that minors were to be involved. So if someone were to post a comment to the article you are now reading that included a hint of how or where to find illegal sex with a minor, CNN would be feloniously liable. The Communications Decency Act, passed in 1996, was written to prevent just such blanket liability traps from hindering normal communication on the Internet. Congress determined that a free and open Internet required that the host of a site not be responsible for "third-party generated content." Congress also realized -- as the Village Voice has argued -- that the Internet actually makes it a whole lot easier to catch predators and sex traffickers. Unlike underground or street prostitution, this activity occurs out on the open Web and is highly traceable by IP addresses and other means. Ultimately, ending sex trafficking of minors is just not the best basis for developing good Internet policy. It is outlier behavior, and the very mention of its existence ends up paralyzing more rational debate and legislative specificity. In this case, it becomes an excuse to pile on a New York-based, gay-friendly, left-leaning publication with a fine history of investigative journalism. Meanwhile, Village Voice Media may be correct in challenging a law that paralyzes the Internet, but its inability to find a business model that doesn't depend on the adult sex industry is its own fault. Craigslist voluntarily removed its own "adult" section when the arguments for maintaining it just became untenable. Village Voice Media was the beneficiary of all that adult content, and is now the bearer of the karma. This sort of content is not just unbecoming of an editorial group that prides itself on promoting ethics and social justice; it is hypocritical. Like any alternative newspaper, the Village Voice can argue that an underserved subculture -- the sex industry -- deserves a forum through which to take care of its business in the safest, most traceable and transparent way possible. But the listings on Backpage don't reflect such priorities, nor do they reflect well on the integrity of the company that is hosting them. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Douglas Rushkoff. | Douglas Rushkoff: Calls to close Backpage.com are scattershot, potentially dangerous .
He says authorities say ads there peddle underage prostitutes, which is heinous .
He says federal law doesn't hold sites responsible for third-party generated content .
Rushkoff: Village Voice may be right to resist challenge but should ditch sex listings . |
18eda843670fc82c1153af3e9c1ab54f0443c37d | By . Ryan Gorman . Booked: San Francisco 49ers cornerback Christopher Culliver, who was arrested Friday March 28, 2014 on suspicion of felony hit and run and reckless driving . San Francisco 49ers cornerback Chris Culliver was tossed in jail Friday after hitting a bicyclist with his car, fleeing the scene and threatening witnesses with brass knuckles, police said. Culliver, 25, was charged with felony hit and run, reckless driving and weapons possession for the Friday morning incident in San Jose. This is not the first brush with controversy for the maligned defender, he claimed during the build-up to last year’s Super Bowl that gay players were ‘not welcome’ in NFL locker rooms – he later apologized for the remarks. Culliver was recklessly driving his Ford Mustang through an intersection just after 10.00am when he struck a pedestrian on a bicycle, police sources told SF Gate. Another motorist drove after the three year veteran and cornered him while waiting for police to arrive, said police. A police report cited by the site says Culliver then got out of his car to threaten the driver using a pair of brass knuckles. Police found the brass knuckles while searching Culliver’s car, they also discovered he was driving on a suspended license, according to KPIX. The bicyclist suffered only minor injuries, according to SF Gate. Where it happened: The San Jose intersection where police say Culliver slammed into a bicyclist before fleeing the scene . Reckless: Skid marks show where Culliver reportedly hit the bicycle rider, police said the football player was driving recklessly when the incident occured . Culliver missed all of the 2013 season after tearing his ACL during summer training camp, he had been slated to take over as one of two starting cornerbacks upon his return this year. It is not clear how this incident will affect those plans, but the 49ers released the following statement regarding this morning’s incident. ‘The 49ers organization is aware of the recent matter involving Chris Culliver. We will remain in contact with Chris and the local authorities as we continue to gather the facts regarding this situation. As this is an ongoing legal matter, we will reserve further comment at this time.’ Tainted moment: Chris Culliver, #29 of the San Francisco 49ers, watches Jacoby Jones of the Baltimore Ravens catch a 56-yard pass before running in for the touchdown during Super Bowl XLVII - the 49ers' appearance in the championship was tainted by Culliver's derogatory remarks towards gays . Culliver first drew national attention after telling comedian Artie Lang that gays were not welcome in NFL locker rooms and that they should ‘come out 10 years later.’ He made the comments only days before the 2013 Super Bowl, which the 49ers lost to the Baltimore Ravens. He apologized within hours of the remarks. ‘The derogatory comments I made yesterday were a reflection of thoughts in my head, but they are not how I feel,’ he said in a prepared statement published by KPIX. ‘It has taken me seeing them in print to realize that they are hurtful and ugly,’ he continued. ‘Those discriminating feelings are truly not in my heart. ‘I apologize to those who I have hurt and offended.’ Culliver was booked into Santa Clara County Jail, he remains behind bars as of Friday evening. | Chris Culliver faces multiple felony counts after police say he struck a bicyclist a fled the scene .
He then reportedly was cornered by another driver until police arrived but threatened at least one witness with brass knuckles .
Culliver was driving on a suspended license . |
18edf210c645f9180353310d04cd31d62a1c7f2d | (CNN) -- Former Dutch football star Edgar Davids has called on authorities to take a stronger stance against racism. Davids, who has been embroiled in a racism row with his country's soccer icon Johan Cruyff, told CNN that the problem is not being addressed despite all the recent publicity surrounding controversial remarks made by FIFA president Sepp Blatter. World football's leader was forced to backtrack after saying in an interview with CNN that there was no racism on the pitch and that any problems could be resolved with a handshake after the match. The Suriname-born Davids, who won 74 caps for the Netherlands, is unhappy with remarks the 64-year-old Cruyff made to him during a supervisory board meeting at Dutch club Ajax. Blatter: Racism row is closed . "There's a line, and if you have a racist comment somebody has to act upon it. The person who did it has to be punished and later be educated off the pitch," the 38-year-old said on World Sport on Thursday. "What Blatter said was inexcusable, but he apologized. Something like that also happened in Holland when Johan Cruyff made a racist comment. He did it but he didn't apologize. "The Dutch press let it slide a little bit, and that is what you have to condemn. When someone makes a racist remark that doesn't make him a racist, but you have to say, 'This the line, you've crossed it and you have to apologize' -- not only to the person who has been hurt but also the people who live with that racial abuse almost all their lives. I think that's unacceptable if you don't." How should football tackle racism? Football's authorities have yet to dish out major penalties for racist offenses, with Bulgaria's Football Association escaping with a €40,000 ($53,000) fine after the country's fans racially abused England players in September. And Blatter's comments have not had the impact worldwide they had in Britain, where the media quickly jumped onto the 75-year-old's remarks. "You have to condemn those things, you have to act hard and really address the problem. I think that's lacking a bit," said 1995 Champions League winner Davids, who played for AC Milan, Inter Milan, Barcelona, Ajax and Tottenham during his illustrious career. | Edgar Davids says the problem of racism in football is not being addressed .
The former AC Milan star has been involved in a war of words with Johan Cruyff .
Davids tells CNN that action must be taken when racist abuse occurs .
He says the Dutch press have "let slide" Cruyff's comments at a board meeting . |
18ee34efd5d58634558b9c6496182ad2ef2876c9 | Batsman remains in induced coma . Stuart Broad defends Sean Abbott . Sean Abbott is reportedly struggling after bowling the bouncer that has left Phillip Hughes fighting for his life in a Sydney hospital. Abbott was seen walking into Sydney Cricket Ground, where Hughes was struck on the back of the head by his short-pitched ball during a Sheffield Shield match on Tuesday. Counsellors and team-mates continue to help the 22-year-old following the accident amid concerns for the New South Wales paceman. Scroll down for video . Sean Abbott was seen walking into Sydney Cricket Ground, where the accident happened on Tuesday . The young bowler was seen on Wednesday wearing a pair of sunglasses and was flanked by team-mates . Cricket Australia's executive general manager of team performance, Pat Howard, confirmed all New South Wales and South Australia players were receiving counselling after the incident. The Australian Cricketers' Association added they were particularly focusing on Abbott. Their CEO Alistair Nicholson said: '[Abbott] has got a lot of support around him from his team-mates and also the counselling services.' 'He's someone who we're monitoring closely and we know he's got a lot of support around him.' New South Wales' Sean Abbott bowled the bouncer that hit Phillip Hughes on Tuesday . Hughes, pictured immediately after he was struck in the head and New South Wales players Abbott (right), who bowled the ball, and Steve O'Keefe are pictured in the aftermath of the incident . Hughes remains in a critical condition following scans on Wednesday morning after he had a 90-minute operation to relieve pressure on his brain the day before. Abbott attended to Hughes after the 25-year-old hit the ground face first, and Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland has said they will offer any help they can. 'It says a lot about Sean, doesn't it?' Sutherland said. 'Sean will have all the support he needs around him. 'I'm sure his team-mates and everyone doesn't feel in any way ill of him for what happened. It's a freak, freak incident.' The sporting community, including Marcus North, have come out in support of bowler Abbott . Cricket legend Glenn McGrath wrote 'our thoughts are also with Sean Abbott' after he paid tribute to Hughes . Former Australian bowler Stuart Clark told Fox Sports he understood Abbott was 'struggling a bit' and insisted the incident was not his fault. 'He's out there to get Phil Hughes out. It's a competitive sport. It's professional sport and I really feel for Sean Abbott at the moment,' he said. 'I hope he's got support. You just worry that this could jeopardise Sean Abbott and his cricket career and we don't want that.' Abbott and Hughes came up through the junior ranks of the New South Wales cricketing system together. Wednesday's Daily Telegraph in Australia write 'The day cricket stopped' on their back page . Wednesday's Daily Telegraph in Australia and the Herald Sun are both praying for Hughes . | Sean Abbott helped Phillip Hughes after his bouncer struck the batsman .
England bowler Stuart Broad tells Sportsmail it is not Abbott's fault .
Abbott was seen for the first time after the incident, walking into SCG .
Australian Cricketers' Association said it was monitoring Abbott closely .
Glenn McGrath and Marcus North have come out in support of Abbott .
'Thoughts also go out to a great young kid @seanabbott77,' North wrote .
Abbott is receiving psychological help and counselling following incident . |
18ee44beaf872d6f58023074086cbcbab7a28307 | Comedian Tracy Morgan, who was badly injured in a collision June 7, has been upgraded from critical to fair condition, his publicist said. "Happy to pass along that Tracy has been upgraded to fair condition, which is a great improvement," publicist Lewis Kay said. "His personality is certainly starting to come back as well." The actor-comedian was seriously injured after a Walmart truck slammed into a limo bus occupied by Morgan and four others on the New Jersey Turnpike. The collision killed comedian James McNair and injured the others. Morgan was hospitalized with broken ribs, a broken nose, a broken femur and a broken leg. Another of the passengers in the limo, Jeff Millea, has also improved to fair condition, Kay said. The truck driver, Kevin Roper, turned himself in to police the night of the crash and has pleaded not guilty to charges that include vehicular homicide and assault by auto. In a criminal complaint, police said Roper had been awake for more than 24 hours at the time of the crash. Morgan was a regular on "Saturday Night Live" for seven years and later received an Emmy nomination for his role in the comedy series "30 Rock." Tracy Morgan showing signs of improvement . Trucker in Tracy Morgan crash pleads not guilty amid sleep deprivation reports . Funny man Tracy Morgan has known fame and foibles . | Tracy Morgan seriously injured in a collision June 7 .
He has been upgraded to fair condition .
A Walmart truck slammed into the limo bus he was riding in .
Comedian James McNair died in the crash . |
18ee6e0e99cd1cad49d771df9cbfde2bc9c6cdac | Snout-nosed crocodiles with jaws strong enough to crush clam shells ruled the swampy wetlands that covered Peru 13 million years ago. Palaeontologists have discovered the remains of seven different species of crocodile and cayman, including three new species, in the area around the modern Amazon river. The fossils were found in the Pebas district of northern Peru. The new species of caymen Gnatusuchus pebasensis (shown in the reconstruction above) had a short but wide jaw that was powerful enough to crush clams and other shell fish. It used its snout to dig in the mud . One of the new species, named Gnatusuchus pebasensis, had blunt, peg-like teeth and used its broad snout to dig shellfish from the muddy swamp floor. It grew up to 5.2ft (1.6 metres) in length and had just 11 teeth. Most cayman, which are related to alligators, tend to have around 20 teeth. Prehistoric crocodiles escaped the jaws of predatory dinosaurs by running like dogs, according to a study published last year. The findings explain how the reptiles evolved in a dinosaur dominated world. While most modern crocodiles live in freshwater habitats and feed on mammals and fish, their ancestors ran around on land like dogs while others adapted to life in the open ocean, imitating the behaviour of whales. The study, by Bristol University, revealed how the jaws of the ancient crocodiles evolved to enable the fierce animals to survive in vastly different environments. The team examined variation in the shape and biomechanics function of the lower jaws in over 100 ancient crocodiles during the Mesozoic - a period which began 251 million years ago and covered over 170 million years. The study revealed that ancient crocodiles invaded the Jurassic seas and evolved jaws built primarily for water efficiency to capture agile prey, such as fish. After the devastating extinction that ended the Triassic period, crocodile ancestors invaded the seas and evolved jaws primarily built to efficiently swim in the water to catch agile prey such as fish. They also evolved a great variety of lower jaw shapes during the Cretaceous Period - about 145 million to 65 million years ago - as they adapted to a diverse range of niches and environments alongside the dinosaurs, including eating plants. Instead, the fossil record points towards novel adaptations in other areas of their anatomy, such as armadillo-like body armour. Another blunt nosed crocodile was named Kuttanacaiman iquitosensis, which means 'grinding or crushing machine'. The scientists estimate it grew up to 6.2ft (1.9 metres) in length. However, these new species were dwarved by two other previously known species of giant cayman whose fossils were also found nearby. Purussaurus neivensis and Mourasuchus atopus are thought to have grown up to 39ft (12 metres) in length and were more generalised predators. The researchers say that it is highly unusual to have found a habitat that had so many species of cayman living alongside each other. There are six cayman species that live in the whole of the Amazon basin today, but only three are ever found in the same area and they rarely share the same habitat. The large number of cayman found in Pebas has been described by the researchers leading the excavation as 'hyperdiverse'. Dr Rodolfo Salas Gismondi, from the University of Montpelier in France, said the huge wetland habitat that covered the area led to an explosion in the number of crocodile species. He said: 'We have uncovered this special momen in time when the ancient mega-wetaland ecosystem reached its peak in size and complexity, just before its demise and the start of the modern Amazon River system. 'At this moment, most known cayman groups co-existed. 'Ancient lineages bearing unusual blunt snouts and globular teeth along with those more generalised feeders representing the beginning of what was to come.' The fossils may now help scientists unravel the evolutionary origins of cayman that live in the Amazon basin. They describe the discovery in a paper published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B. Scientists found fossilised remains of seven ancient caymen species in Pebas, northern Peru, shown above . The fossilised skulls shown above belong to the three new snout nosed caymen species Gnatusuchus pebasensis (a) Kuttanacaiman iquitosensis (b) and the much larger Caiman wannlangstoni (c) The Gnatusuchus pebasensis name is derived from 'Natu', which is Quechua for 'small nose', along with the name of the village where it was found, Pebas, and the Greek for crocodile - Souchos. The animal, which is new to science, is thought to have used its snout as a shovel in to search for shellfish in the muddy depths of the swamps. Dr Salas Gismondi said: 'When we analysed Gnatusuchus bones and realised that it was probably a head-burrowing and shovelling caiman preying on mollusks living in muddy river and swamp bottoms, we knew it was a milestone for understanding proto-Amazonian wetland feeding dynamics.' The scientists also describe a third new species of prehistoric caymen called Caiman wannlangstoni, which they estimate grew up to 7ft (2.2 metres) long. It is thought to have resembled the broad-snouted caymen that lives in fresh water marshes and swamps thought out central and eastern south America. Caiman wannlangstoni, one of the new species, resembled the broad snouted caymen pictured above . | Scientists discovered seven species of caymen in Pebas, northern Perus .
The area at the time 13m years ago was covered in a huge swampy wetland .
The fossils show the area supported a 'hyperdiverse' crocodile population .
Three of the fossils discovered are new species of broad-snouted caymen .
One had a shovel-shaped snout and peg-like teeth for crushing shell fish . |
18eea78b6a788ed1180ce1d83a0768b8465845ca | This is the horrifying moment greyhounds charged into the traps at their top speed of around 40mph after race organisers failed to lift them from the track. Footage at Romford track in east London last week shows how the dogs were so focussed on chasing the hare several could not avoid the obstruction in front of them. Incredibly the dogs who managed to avoid the trap quickly turned round and ran back to check on their fellow greyhounds. No dogs were killed in the incident, although two are being treated for injuries by vets who will assess if they can ever race again, a source said. Collision: Two greyhounds were injured after they ploughed into the traps during a race after they failed to be lifted from the track . Aftermath: Dogs in the race turned on their heels and sprinted back to check on the other greyhounds . An investigation has been launched by Coral, the owners of the track. The bookmaker said the mechanism that lifts the stalls failed and the driver of the 'hare', which the dogs follow round the track, was not notified to stop it. Anti-dog racing campaign group Greyt Exploitations says that Romford is the country's 'worst offender' for track injuries, but bosses say they are 'more diligent' and professional than other tracks. Greyt Exploitations' figures for the first five months of 2014 show that 221 dogs were involved in track injuries or incidents at Romford, and 86 of the dogs had not raced again by October. Race: The greyhounds sped round the bend during the first lap only to be met with the large metal structure blocking the track . Accident: Coral say it was a tragic accident and lessons would be learned to ensure it didn't happen again . Campaigner Trudy Baker said: 'I am absolutely appalled by the video. How was there no procedure in place for when the trap won't lift? And if there is a procedure, why didn't it work?. 'Romford has the highest numbers for track injuries. They say that is because they are more diligent, but the film shows the complete opposite.' Coral are investigating the cause of the failures. A spokesman said: 'We have carried out an internal investigation into the events that occurred last week at Romford which resulted in injuries being suffered to two greyhounds. 'At this stage we are not certain what caused the failure in the mechanism that removes the traps from the track but we suspect that the very cold temperatures on the night may have been responsible. We are continuing to investigate the cause of this in order to reduce the likelihood of it occurring again. 'We do however have processes in place, should this mechanism fail, to alert the hare driver to stop the hare, but unfortunately these were not followed last night leading to the greyhounds continuing. This was unacceptable and avoidable and we will review these processes and carry out further training to ensure that an incident like this never happens again'. | Footage shows how several greyhounds could not avoid metal stalls .
At least two dogs were injured and are being treated by vets .
Fellow greyhounds who missed the traps turned to check on other dogs .
Investigation launched after incident at Romford track in east London . |
18eec6dc26ddadc9b154119bea32017b3b14a6b0 | Members of Islamic State have admitted for the first time that they were defeated in the Syrian town of Kobane. Airstrikes by the US-led coalition were the main reason why extremists were forced to withdraw from the town, according to two of the group's fighters. It comes days after activists and Kurdish officials said Kobane was cleared of ISIS militants, who once held nearly half of the town. Scroll down for video . Airstrikes by the US-led coalition were the main reason why extremists were forced to withdraw from the town, according to two of the group's fighters . Members of the Islamic State group have admitted for the first time that they were defeated in the Syrian town of Kobane . The failure to capture Kobane was a major blow to the extremists, whose hopes for an easy victory turned into a costly siege under airstrikes by coalition forces and an assault by Kurdish militiamen. The United States and its allies have carried out 27 air strikes against Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria since Friday, the Combined Joint Task Force leading the operation reported on Saturday. Some 13 air strikes targeted areas near Kobane in just 24 hours, it was reported on Wednesday. The failure to capture Kobane was a major blow to the extremists, whose hopes for an easy victory turned into a costly siege under airstrikes by coalition forces and an assault by Kurdish militiamen . The strikes around Kobane hit 12 Islamic State tactical . units and a vehicle, and destroyed nine fighting positions, a . staging area and three buildings, the Combined Joint Task Force . said in a statement. The Pentagon said at the time that the militants had been driven . out of 90 percent of Kobane, a city near the border with Turkey . where fighting has raged for four months. Six air strikes in northern Iraq, where Islamic State . has seized swathes of territory, targeted al Asad, Kirkuk, Mosul . and Sinjar, hitting tactical units, a checkpoint, six buildings . and six shipping containers, the task force said. | Islamic State fighters admit for the first time they were defeated in Kobane .
Two militants revealed airstrikes by US-led coalition prompted withdrawal .
Comes days after Kurdish officials said Kobane was cleared of ISIS fighters .
US and allies launched 27 air strikes across Iraq and Syria since Friday . |
18ef8b853483ab0b94dca20e44d0764a8e9b6a98 | Hollywood star was having breakfast near Dawson's home when told . Pair knew each other as teenagers and lived in same apartment complex . Former Australia's Next Top Model judge found in her Woolloomooloo unit . Dawson reportedly made a suicide attempt back in September 2012 . Police say there were no suspicious circumstances in her death . By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 02:43 EST, 22 February 2014 . | . UPDATED: . 06:27 EST, 22 February 2014 . Hollywood star Russell Crowe broke down in tears this morning when he was told the news of the death of TV personality Charlotte Dawson. The 49-year-old Crowe and 47-year-old Dawson were friends from their teenage years - both growing up in New Zealand but moving to Australia to call the country home. The pair even lived near each other in the luxury apartment complex on Finger Wharf, Woolloomooloo. Visibly upset: Russell Crowe with his sons Charles and Tennyson outside the Sienna Marina restaurant where he was given the news of Charlotte Dawson's death . Dealing with his grief: Despite being deeply saddened by the news, Crowe was clearly keen to made sure his boys were OK - at one point reassuringly holding Tennyson's head in his hands . Crowe was not far away from Dawson's apartment when police were called to the address on Saturday morning. A police spokesman confirmed a woman’s body had been found just after 11.15am, and that there were no suspicious circumstances. Crowe had been with his sons and friends at the Sienna Marina restaurant at the end of the wharf when he was told of Dawson's death by a mutual friend, Woman's Day journalist Jonathan Marshall. Apart from her work on TV, including Australia's Next Top Model, Dawson was also fashion editor for Woman’s Day and style editor for New Idea magazines. Long-time friend: Crowe had known Dawson from when they were both teenagers. Both were from New Zealand but had made Australia their home. They even lived near each other in Woolloomooloo . Heading home: Crowe walks back to his apartment with his sons. He later Tweeted: 'Charley D...Just don't understand. There's not enough kind souls as it is. Rest in peace' Crowe was visibly upset as he walked back to his own apartment in the Woolloomooloo wharf complex, and was pictured outside the restaurant with his boys - Charles and Tennyson - immediately after he was told the news. Despite his grief he clearly wanted to make sure his boys were OK, at one point reassuringly holding Tennyson's head in his hands. Reports were emerging on Saturday that Charlotte Dawson had long been suffering from depression. Tragic: Model and TV personality Charlotte Dawson has died at the age of 47. Reports are emerging that she had battled depression for years . Scene: Police were seen outside the Woolloomooloo wharf apartments where Charlotte's body was said to be found. Forensic officers were at the scene but police say there were no suspicious circumstances . In a statement to the MailOnline, Kings Cross police said there were no 'suspicious circumstances' surrounding her death, and police investigations were continuing. 'Police will prepare a report for the coroner following the discovery of a body at Woolloomooloo. About 11am today police from Kings Cross local area command were called to Cowper Wharf Rd after the body of a woman was located in a unit. More... Charlotte Dawson found dead at her Sydney home at the age of 47 . 'Rest in peace my sweetheart': Alex Perry and Jennifer Hawkins lead tributes to Australia's Next Top Model co-star Charlotte Dawson following sudden death . 'There are no suspicious circumstances and investigations are continuing.' Charlotte's spokesperson, Benji Hart of London Management, confirmed the news of the star's death to the MailOnline, saying in a statement: 'London Management is deeply saddened by the tragic loss of Charlotte Dawson. Our thoughts and sincere condolence are with her family at this difficult time.' Pictured on Thursday: Dawson pictured smiling at Woolloomooloo Wharf, near the home where she was found two days later . Last pictures: This is one of the last pictures of Charlotte, which she posted on Instagram page on Friday, just one day before she was found dead . Model and mentor: Charlotte is seen here with her fellow Australia's Next Top Model co-stars, Didier Cohen, Jennifer Hawkins and Alex Perry in July 2013 . A close friend of the star told Sydney's Daily Telegraph shortly after the news broke that Charlotte had been in 'the worst shape emotionally’ in the days leading up to her death. One friend is said to have alerted the building manager of her apartment complex after Charlotte failed to turn up to a lunch earlier this week. That with the fact her Twitter account had remained untouched for at least 19 hours sparked fears that something was amiss. 'She was in very bad shape. Terrible shape,' a friend told the publicaton. Fragile: Despite being in good spirits when photographed on February 12, Charlotte's friends have said that the star was in 'terrible shape' of late . 'She had failed to shop up to a lunch a couple of days ago and then when I had seen she hadn’t tweeted in almost a day it was clear something was wrong.' In the past, Charlotte had been open about her long-term battle with depression. The model mentor was hospitalised in 2012 after she was bombarded with bullying messages by Twitter trolls because of her involvement in an anti-bullying operation. It was reported at the time she had attempted to take her own life. Successful: Charlotte has had considerable success on Australian television following her career in modelling . Following her stay in hospital she appeared on A Current Affair and The Project in an attempt to expose the malice behind Twitter bullying. She also touched on the topic in her book, Kiss And Tell, which was released in October 2012. However, her appearance on TV prompted even more abuse on Twitter, with some social media users writing comments such as: 'please hang yourself promptly' and 'neck yourself you filthy s***.' At the time, Charlotte also revealed she had received several death threats during the ordeal. 'I’ve never had death threats of this ferocity. I’ve never had a campaign of this ferocity,' she said. Model: Charlotte, pictured here in 2005, left her native New Zealand at the age of 16 to model in Europe and with Ford Models in New York . Recently Charlotte hinted in November that she was looking to step away from the spotlight after it was reported she was axed from Australia's Next Top Model due to a cast 'shake-up'. She told the Herald Sun Confidential at the time: ‘I’m tired of the anxiety that comes with working in media, especially as a woman because you’re scrutinised daily and abused about the way you look.’ Charlotte's last Instagram post was a picture of herself, and in the caption she told how she was about to appear on the television show Mornings on Channel 9. 'About to go on @mornings9 to talk sex. As you can see I'm racking my brains & have gone blank 😳,' she wrote. Regular role: Charlotte was a judge on Australia's Next Top model for six years . Among those paying tribute to Charlotte on Saturday was her former Australia's Next Top Model co-judge and fashion designer, Alex Perry. 'WE LOST A BEAUTIFUL, BRIGHT, SHINING GIRL TODAY... REST IN PEACE MY SWEETHEART...I LOVE YOU. X,' he wrote. Meanwhile, TV host Sonia Kruger wrote: 'Deeply saddened by the loss of our friend Charlotte Dawson. Our thoughts go out to her loved ones.' Former Miss Universe Australia Jesinta Campbell reminded those that 'life is precious'. Devastated: Perry also paid tribute to the star after the news emerged . Saddened: New Zealand Prime Minister John Key said he was 'shocked and saddened' to hear of Charlotte's death . Shocked: Megan Gale said she was struggling to come to terms with the loss . 'So tragic. Life is so precious. RIP Charlotte ❤️ May heaven be a happier place for you x Jesinta Campbell,' she wrote. Kyle and Jackie O, who have long had a friendship with Charlotte, said that they were in shock. 'Heartbroken to hear news that Charlotte Dawson has died. In shock right now. U will always have a special place in our hearts Charlotte. RIP,' they wrote. | Hollywood star was having breakfast near Dawson's home when told .
Pair knew each other as teenagers and lived in same apartment complex .
Former Australia's Next Top Model judge found in her Woolloomooloo unit .
Dawson reportedly made a suicide attempt back in September 2012 .
Police say there were no suspicious circumstances in her death . |
18f0abe88b9a0bbe780ccb46a86b62ecc36d8c96 | By . Tom Kelly . PUBLISHED: . 20:22 EST, 14 November 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 05:03 EST, 15 November 2013 . Plans for a multi-million pound ‘space port’ in Britain were yesterday enthusiastically backed by the science minister David Willetts. He hailed the ‘very exciting ambition’ to construct a mini UK Cape Canaveral as a launching base for space tourists and satellites into orbit within five years. Possible locations are already being considered in the West Country, Wales and Scotland, with the plan for around one mission blasting off a month. Future: A space port similar to Cape Canaveral in Florida could be built in Britain . The portal, which would cost hundreds of millions of pounds, would be entirely privately funded but the government would be required to change existing regulations because of the dangers of space travel. Mr Willets said he hoped it could provide a European hub for Sir Richard Branson to base his Virgin Galactic space tourism programme which intends to take passengers on suborbital joyrides for around £200,000 a time. He said: ‘The space portal is a very exciting ambition. ‘It’s very important that Britain is a driving force for the growth area of low cost space travel.’ He said possible locations included a former RAF base in Scotland or a site nearer to a commercial centre. Andy Green, Chairman of the UK Space Leadership Council said if built it would be near a coastal area. Plans: The new port could provide a European hub for Sir Richard Branson to base his Virgin Galactic space tourism programme . He said: ‘For a space portal you need to be beside a long body of open water where you can’t annoy anybody. ‘You don’t want to be launching over land. It’s much safer and better for people to running out to the sea. ‘What we are asking the government is not to fund the space portal but to set a regulatory regime that allows it to be delivered.’ ‘if you’ve got crafts going up into space they need to be coordinated with the Civil Aviation Authority and everything else that’s going on in our already crowded air space. ‘You definitely need to be prepared for a higher risk profile than you have in civil aviation. ‘When you go up into space things can sometimes go wrong. That’s life.’ He added: ‘It’s important to understand that the space portal is not just for people going for jaunts into space. ‘It would enable us to put up a range of satellites which would make it easier for us to expand broadband coverage, for example. Optimism: Mr Willets said the proposals were a 'very exciting ambition' ‘These sort of things could be resolved by low cost access to space.’ ‘There are groups of people debating the possible location. ‘The belief is there is a commercial opportunity. We believe 2018 is feasible.’ He spoke at the central London launch of the UK Space Growth Action Plan, which warned: ‘Access to space is a barrier to growth for UK companies as well as a commercial opportunity. ‘The ability of UK companies to secure timely launch slots is degreasing and launch costs are increasing... ‘The UK must take action now if it wishes to host commercial space flight.’ The UK Space Agency, CAA and two government departments are currently researching plans for safe commercial plane operations in the UK, and are due to report next summer. Tycoon Sir Richard revealed last month that his Virgin Galactic division has already sold 700 tickets for people to travel into space. He said the venture was ‘within a matter of months’ of being able to launch. His rockets will be built like an airplane and should one day be able to travel to Australia in a couple of hours. Only 500 people have ever been to space but Sir Richard said he will put the same number up in the first year. Celebrities including Angelina Jolie and Russell Brand are among those said to have signed up. | Locations are also being considered in the West Country and Scotland .
Would be the launching base for space tourism programmes .
Plans enthusiastically backed by Science Minister David Willetts .
Could become the home of Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic programme . |
18f19e1a7bdba43fcf51552a3747249af094f40f | By . Daily Mail Reporter . The Director of National Intelligence, James Clapper, has released an additional 400 pages of once-secret security documents in response to changes laid out by President Obama on Friday relating to the nation's polarizing surveillance practices. The declassification of the spy documents is part of a move by Obama to make public as much information as possible concerning the controversial bulk telephone-data-collection program that has angered many Americans over the six months. The documents were posted on the DNI's website. Going public: James Clapper, Director of National Intelligence, has declassified a raft of documents, at the request of President Obama, relating to the nation's controversial cell phone surveillance program . In a speech about the National Security Agency (NSA) on Friday, President Obama trimmed the powers of the secretive US eavesdropping agency . Furor: Protests erupted after the extent of the US cellphone surveillance program were exposed by Edward Snowden last year . Obama issued the order in response to an international firestorm over the sweeping nature of the nation's spying that kicked up last summer when former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden began disclosing details of the surveillance programs, according to Fox News. In his speech Friday, Obama said the NSA will need approval from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court each time it searches the trove of phone data. Under the current system, cleared NSA analysts have had ready access to the phone records in an online archive since 2006 when the court first approved the FBI's request to begin the bulk phone records collection. One of the newly-released documents, dated Aug. 18, 2006, details how the FISC court approved a request from then-FBI Director Robert Mueller for 'all call-detail records' or 'telephony meta data'. In the document approving the metadata collection program, the court said the data requested includes 'comprehensive routing information, including but not limited to session identifying information (e.g., originating and terminating telephone number, communications device identifier, etc.), trunk identifier, telephone calling card numbers and time and duration of call'. It also specifies that the data will not include 'substantive content of any communication' or the name, address or financial information of a subscriber or customer. In brief, phone numbers and call durations are stored, but the conversation and communication itself is not. Former CIA technical assistant Edward Snowden revealed details of top-secret surveillance conducted by the NSA regarding telecom data . A protester in a mask depicting U.S. President Barack Obama calls for the U.S. eavesdropping on the leaders of close friends and allies to be stopped . The latest declassification and release of intelligence agency records brings the total of documents made public to 2,300 pages, including orders and opinions of the FISC and pleadings before it, documents the intelligence community provided to Congress, training slides and other internal memos describing the legal basis for the programs and how they operate. Obama has been under pressure since Snowden took an estimated 1.7 million documents from the NSA and gave them to journalists around the world. The U.S. public, Congress and allies overseas were shocked to learn the extent of the NSA’s post-9/11 surveillance. Soon after Snowden’s disclosure in June, Obama promised to review the system that has changed rapidly as technology improved. On Friday, Obama defended the work of the U.S. spying apparatus as necessary to protect Americans and international allies. He left the programs mostly intact, but added restrictions . | In a speech about the National Security Agency (NSA) on Friday, President .
Barack Obama trimmed the powers of the secretive US eavesdropping agency .
As a result, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper released more previously-secret documents about the controversial cell phone surveillance program .
Among the 400 pages released on the DNI website is information showing the 'telephony meta data' was approved in April 2006 .
The documents say the program stored cell phone numbers and call durations but not 'communications data', i.e. conversations . |
18f1ded19de481dd1a28431b5fc982988e177894 | By . Chris Parsons . UPDATED: . 08:59 EST, 18 January 2012 . As three young talented brothers, there was always a chance their sporting careers would go down similar paths. But twins Rio and Cole Dasilva and their older brother Jay are unlike any other footballing family - as all three have been snapped up by Premier League Chelsea in a unique transfer deal. The talented twins, aged 12, and their 13-year-old sibling, joined Chelsea from Luton Town in separate deals each worth an undisclosed five-figure sum. Sibling rivalry: Rio, Cole (both 12) and Jay Dasilva, 13, pictured in Luton Town's colours before the move, have been snapped up by Chelsea in a unique transfer deal . The Dasilva's could also net Conference Premier side Luton a further £1million if they make the Chelsea first team. Luton's head of youth Gregg Broughton told lutontown.co.uk: 'I am hesitant to talk about the boys in the collective term because they all have wonderful unique attributes but this is a historical deal to see three brothers transferred together . 'Jay is a special talent, a fantastic student of the game whose temperament compliments his technical ability. 'Cole has strong physical attributes and is very comfortable in possession while Rio is a real livewire whose ability to play in tight areas has always allowed him to shine.' Three's a crowd: Rod, Danny and Ray Wallace all lined up together for Southampton in 1988 . Rio, Cole and older brother Jay have been part of Luton's academy since the age of seven. The compensation which Chelsea agreed to pay also includes payments should the trio rise through the ranks. The overall deal is worth a seven-figure sum if they all go on to make the Chelsea first team. The deal is not the first time Chelsea have favoured footballing siblings in transfer deals. Chelsea are not averse to sibling signings, after having brothers Graham and Ray Wilkins on their books . The 2010 Premier League Champions had Ray and Graham Wilkins play for the Blues in the 1970s, as well as Ron and Allan Harris in the 60s and John and Peter Sillett in the 1950s. English football is littered with instances of brother playing for the same team - from the Charltons for England to the Neville Brothers at Manchester United and the Toures at Manchester City to name just three pairs. To find three footballing brothers in the same side, however, you have to go back to October 1988 when Rod, Ray and Danny Wallace all lined up for Southampton against Sheffield Wednesday. Chelsea agreed to pay Luton compensation to secure the services of the three young brothers, in a deal which could earn the Conference side £1m . Gregg Broughton added: 'Following our loss in the play-offs last season we were told that the boys wished to look at other options, as was their prerogative to do so, and now after six months of uncertainty, we are delighted that they have found a club where they are settled and one that recognises the development work that Luton Town have put in over the last five years. 'Their family has a strong footballing background with older brother Ryan playing as a professional here at Kenilworth Road and father Trevor also a very talented player in the past. 'We never like to lose talented players from the club, but if players are unsettled and wish to look elsewhere, and the deal is right for all parties, then it is the most sensible way to progress. 'We would like to thank Chelsea for the professional manner in which they have conducted themselves and wish the boys the very best for their ongoing careers.' | Rio, Cole and Jay Dasilva all sign for Chelsea in unique deal .
Deal could make Luton £1m if they make Chelsea first team . |
18f37d05b32df062988fa640033130b85d85398b | By . Paul Milligan . PUBLISHED: . 12:10 EST, 30 April 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 13:06 EST, 30 April 2013 . Serial rapist Dean Goodwin was jailed for nine terms of life imprisonment but told him he must serve a minimum of 15 years in jail . A serial sex offender who raped two women - leaving one for dead - while on the run from police was today jailed for life. Judge Samuel Wiggs jailed Dean Goodwin, 32, to nine terms of life imprisonment but told him he must serve a minimum of 15 years in jail. He had been released early from prison for similar offences before he carried out the horrific sex attacks last November in Dorset and Hampshire. In 2000 Goodwin was jailed for 12 years for two sexual assaults on a 13-year-old girl and a 63-year-old woman. He served 10 years of his sentence, and his name was placed on the sex offenders’ register. He was released from prison in 2010 and was kept under observation by the Multi Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) body. Shaven-headed Goodwin sparked a massive manhunt after raping a 30-year-old woman in her flat in Poole, Dorset, in what was described in court as a degrading five-hour ordeal. The 4ft 11in victim was attacked, forced to watch child porn and raped four times by burly 18-stone Goodwin after he barged into her home pretending to be the police. During the ordeal he said: 'I’m not leaving until I get what I want.' When the attack was over he told the woman: ‘I’m off now - see you in court’. A court heard how Goodwin had no self . control and later told police he had ‘wanted to go out with a bang’ after attacking his first victim. The woman, who vaguely knew Goodwin, called the police and he became a wanted man, Bournemouth Crown Court was told. A few days later Goodwin, who was high on cocaine and steroids, lay in wait in Andover, Hampshire, and attacked a complete stranger - a 49-year-old mother-of-two on her way home to take her children swimming, Kerry Maylin, prosecuting said. She was dragged into the garden of a derelict house, raped and then beaten so badly she lost consciousness. Armed Police at the scene of one of Goodwin's sex attacks in Poole, Dorset . Miss Maylin told the court that Goodwin told her to 'watch it or I will kill you' and 'scream and I will kill you'. He then hit her repeatedly with his fists and a brick and left her for dead. 'She thought she was going to die. She thought the only way she would survive was to play dead,' the barrister explained. The victim was not found for five hours until her shocked husband, out looking for her because she had not returned home, found her hypothermic. The court was shown a picture of the woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, in hospital so badly beaten her eyes are closed. She was in court with her husband to see her attacker jailed. The court heard she has suffered what is likely to be permanent facial paralysis from nerve damage resulting from the attack and said the assault had 'destroyed my life and the lives of those I love.' Goodwin, from Poole, was later arrested in Bournemouth and told police he thought he had killed the woman in Andover. Bournemouth Crown Court heard how Goodwin had no self control and later told police he had ¿wanted to go out with a bang¿ after attacking his first victim . He admitted attempted murder, five counts of rape, sexual assault, false imprisonment, two counts of burglary and robbery. He committed his first sex offence against a five-year-old boy in 1994 when he was 14, the court was told. He later physically attacked care staff and teachers and indecently assaulted two other women as well as committing burglary, robbery and car theft offences, serving lengthy jail terms. A psychiatric report found he had a dangerous personality disorder and he told a psychiatrist “he wanted to go out with a bang” after the first rape. Jailing him, Judge Samuel Wiggs said: 'You are very dangerous indeed. It may be that you want to stop yourself but it’s plain from all the evidence that you cannot.' After the case, Detective Inspector Marcus Hester from Dorset Police said: 'Dean Goodwin was responsible for a number of heinous crimes and his victims were understandably left terrified by his vile actions. 'I believe that Goodwin poses a significant risk to the public, and this result means he will spend a minimum term of 15 years in prison. 'He will then be assessed and depending on whether it is safe to do so he may be released, or may spend the rest of his life in prison. I am certain that Dorset will be safer with Goodwin behind bars.' | Dean Goodwin had been released EARLY from jail in 2010 for similar offences .
He told his first victim 'I'm not leaving until i get what i want' and said when it was over: 'I'm off now, see you in court' |
18f45f52a44c6e6d816ec7e2c9bcf1dea7d3c5a5 | By . Rob Cooper . PUBLISHED: . 10:50 EST, 22 January 2014 . | . UPDATED: . 11:22 EST, 22 January 2014 . The elderly widow of a World War II spy who spent six months hiding in a loft from the Nazis ended her own life by taking poison, an inquest heard. Noreen Orange, 85, killed herself four years after the death of her husband John, who worked for British intelligence and spoke fluent German. Neighbours knew very little about the secretive couple who had lived together in Budleigh Salterton, east Devon, for 60 years. Inquest: Noreen orange, 85, took her own life in her home, the inquest at County Hall in Exeter (pictured) was told . But the inquest heard Mr Orange was a spy who joined the army after being forced to abandon his Cambridge University medicine degree after the war broke out in 1939. He went to Sandhurst before later working on the 'intelligence side', the coroner in Exeter, Devon was told. Friends said they believed Mr Orange had been ‘spying in the war for the Russians’ - although the family said they were mistaken and he worked for the British secret service. The retired spy had told neighbours that he was in Austria during the war when he hid from the Germans in a loft. He was shot in the left arm during the war and also in his calf but 'never discussed it', the coroner was told. It is unclear exactly what Mr Orange did in the military because he never discussed it, his niece Sarah Richards added. The family don't know whether he still worked for British intelligence after the war. 'John was a very very private person. He did not talk about what he got up to. I am sure he was not a spy for . the Russians because he was definitely a patriot. 'He was involved in British intelligence.' She added that he always wore a shirt and waistcoat because they covered the wound on his arm. He later worked in the clock-making business repairing expensive timepieces for Christies and Sothebys. Private couple: John and Noreen Orange were 'very private' people who lived down this rural road in Budleigh Salterton, Devon, the inquest heard . The coroner was told she ended her own life last February, four years after her husband had passed away. The emergency services were called to a chemical incident at her house last February. They had to wear special chemical suits and breathing gear to enter the property because of the poisonous fumes. No post-mortem examination was carried out on her body because of the chemicals. Mrs Orange, who worked as a journalist and never had any children, left a suicide note written several days before her death. Mrs Richards said her uncle John had been a 'possessive and needy' man. She added that her aunt had threatened to end her own life if she ever got a terminal illness. 'She was a very intelligent lady who would think about things very carefully and her decision would not have been taken lightly,' Mrs Richards said. The inquest heard Mrs Orange was suffering with back pain and sciatica in the days before she killed herself and had told friends that she would not see another spring. Chris Sampson, who had known the pensioner for 43 years, said she was a ‘proud and independent’ woman who had been in a lot of pain in the final weeks of her life. She said to him 'thank you for everything you have done for me’ hours before she ended her life. PC David Evans said the handwritten suicide note found at the scene was written two days before Mrs Orange killed herself. Coroner Dr Elizabeth Earland concluded that Mrs Orange had ended her own life with cyanide some time after 3pm on February 1 last year. 'John was absolutely devoted to Noreen and he was possessive because he found it difficult to socialise. He taught her German and they enjoyed socialising together,' she said. For confidential support call the Samaritans on 08457 90 90 90, visit a local Samaritans branch or see www.samaritans.org . | Noreen Orange's husband John was a British army spy, coroner is told .
He was shot in the leg during the war but 'never discussed' life in the military .
Mrs Orange, 85, ended her own life four years after her husband died .
She poisoned herself in the family home in Devon . |
18f48f8ebeb2e01cbe9aee0d98baf21ca058ff16 | By . Martin Beckford . PUBLISHED: . 15:56 EST, 24 August 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 08:59 EST, 25 August 2013 . Accused: Winston Roddick, allegedly listed his brother's address as his home instead of his house in Cardiff . Two of Britain’s controversial crime tsars face being stripped of their titles after being investigated for electoral fraud, which could trigger by-elections costing taxpayers as much as £3.6 million. The Mail on Sunday can reveal that the police watchdog mounted covert operations after being tipped off that the Police and Crime Commissioners for North Wales and Hampshire allegedly lied about where they lived. The two PCCs could face prosecution for election fraud offences if the Independent Police Complaints Commission decides they were not based inside their force area on polling day, as the law required. Winston Roddick is accused of listing his brother’s house in Caernarfon as his address when he really lives on the other side of Wales in Cardiff, and Simon Hayes is said to spend time in a Northamptonshire village with his vicar wife while having claimed he lived just outside Southampton. If both men were charged with breaching electoral legislation and then found guilty, they would be kicked out of their posts. Both are independents with no political party backing, and neither has appointed a deputy so far, so local councillors would be forced to choose unelected members of the PCCs’ staff as temporary replacements, in what critics say would make a mockery of Ministers’ promise that the new crime tsars would improve police accountability. But then fresh elections would have to be held, at further cost to voters who for the most part ignored last year’s nationwide poll. Bernard Rix, a consultant who monitors PCCs’ activity, said last night: ‘This is a further unwelcome cost to the taxpayer.’ And Tal Michael, who stood for Labour in North Wales, added: ‘The implications if a commissioner is found guilty of electoral fraud are that we will need to have another costly election the public don’t want.’ The unprecedented allegations against the . two politicians represent the deepest crisis yet for PCCs, introduced . just nine months ago in a £75 million nationwide poll that saw a record . low turnout of just 15 per cent of voters. Doubled-up: Mr Roddick has listed his brother's house, left, in Caernarfon as his home, but has allegedly been living in a housein Cardiff, right, for 20 years . Many commissioners have been accused of cronyism by giving well-paid roles to friends and political allies, while some have faced questions over their expenses. The IPCC police watchdog has the power to look into allegations of potentially criminal misconduct against crime tsars, and the PCCs in North Wales and Hampshire are the first to face the possibility of criminal charges over their conduct at the time of the ballot. The law that introduced PCCs – who have the power to set force budgets and strategies, as well to hire and fire chief constables – makes it clear that candidates must live in the police force area in which they stand. They had to be on the relevant electoral roll both on the day they were nominated and on polling day, November 15. The Electoral Commission said candidates were warned it is an offence to lie on their nomination forms, but no independent checks were made into the information given. Mr Roddick, a 72-year-old barrister, listed his address in his election literature as being in the historic coastal town of Caernarfon, within the North Wales police area. But electoral roll and Land Registry records show his main home for more than 20 years has been 175 miles away in Cardiff, South Wales. The Caernarfon house is owned by his brother and sister-in-law. Wrong address? Simon Hayes claims he lives at a Hampshire home but has been staying 115 miles away . Second homes probe: Hampshire PCC Haynes has allegedly been living with his vicar wife in Earls Barton, Northamptonshire . Earlier this summer the IPCC was told that Mr Roddick, who earns £70,000 a year as PCC, had given a false address, and began a secret operation to investigate the homes without his knowledge. Mr Roddick declined to comment yesterday, despite repeated calls to his home, office, staff and his brother. Meanwhile a similar accusation has been levelled at Mr Hayes, a former Conservative councillor who won the PCC ballot in Hampshire as an independent and who is paid £85,000 a year. He has worked in the county for many years, previously owned a house there and gave his address as a house in the small town of Bishop’s Waltham. But he does not own it, although he has been staying there. Mr Hayes’s wife, Miranda, is a vicar in the Northants village of Earls Barton, 115 miles away, and it has been alleged that he actually lives with her. A complaint was made to the Hampshire Police and Crime Panel, which scrutinises the performance of PCCs, and passed on to the IPCC. Exposed: Previous spotlight on crime tsars . The Mail on Sunday has led the way in exposing the waste of public money and questionable decisions made by PCCs. We revealed that many PCCs were creating a ‘gravy train’ by giving posts to friends and political allies, and were also holding down second jobs in councils and businesses. Teenage Paris Brown was forced to quit her £15,000 role as the first youth PCC after the MoS uncovered a series of offensive online comments. And Thames Valley PCC Anthony Stansfeld had to repay ‘incorrectly claimed’ travel expenses after our exposé. In another twist, the man Mr Hayes defeated to win the poll – former Conservative MP Michael Mates – is also under investigation for allegedly lying about his address.Police have been looking into claims that Mr Mates, who famously gave a watch to disgraced tycoon Asil Nadir inscribed ‘Don’t let the buggers get you down’, was living in West Sussex when he stood as PCC. Last night, Mr Hayes told The Mail on Sunday: ‘I am content that I completed the nomination form correctly. There is an accusation which is being investigated by the IPCC. I am quite content that it is being investigated.’ Once the IPCC has completed its investigations, a senior commissioner will decide whether to pass the file to the Crown Prosecution Service. In the event that either Mr Roddick or Mr Hayes was charged with election fraud and convicted, they would be declared ineligible to be PCCs. The law states that if a PCC is ‘incapacitated’, the local panel can choose a member of their staff as an ‘acting commissioner’. But the local election would then have to be held again. The 41 polls across England and Wales last year cost £75 million, so holding two again could cost as much as £3.6 million. An IPCC spokesman confirmed it was investigating both PCCs, adding: ‘We have received a referral and are at the early stages of an investigation. We are unable to comment further at this stage.’ Jacqui Rayment, who stood as a for Labour in Hampshire, said: ‘The cost of another election on the grounds of misconduct from the standing PCC would be hard to stomach.’ She added that it would nevertheless be wrong to appoint a member of the PCC’s staff without any discussion. | Winston Roddick listed his brother’s house in Caernarfon as his address .
The Police and Crime Commissioner for North Wales really lives in Cardiff .
Hampshire PCC Simon Hayes clams he lives outside Southampton .
His wife is registered on an address in a Northamptonshire village . |
18f4ed5c8b8f85b466db6e6ac3988a86a62cc80c | By . Rob Cooper . PUBLISHED: . 10:39 EST, 18 May 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 12:14 EST, 18 May 2012 . Bono's wealth soared today as Facebook floated on the stock exchange - boosting his stunning portfolio which includes properties, shares and even a Broadway show. The Irish rocker's investment company Elevation Partners holds a 2.3 per cent stake in the social networking site which is now worth in excess of $1.5billion. The company paid $90million for the shares in 2009 but they have rocketed in value. Elevation: The IPO will make Bono the richest pop star in the world. But the move to place Facebook on the stock market has has evoked almost as many shivers of fear in the business world as it has gasps of excitement . Today, as Facebook launched on the Nasdaq stock exchange with a valuation of $104billion, it made more than 1,000 new millionaires - and investors such as Bono even richer. It is a staggering market value - bigger than US manufacturing giants Ford and Boeing combined, and all the more incredible given that the site currently earns a fraction of what those ‘old world’ companies do. There are nine other directors of Elevation Partners and it is thought that Bono owns a little over 10 per cent of the $1.5billion stake. His band U2 are already worth $813million according to the Sunday Times Rich List. Although today will be a beautiful day for Bono, it is unclear exactly how much he is personally worth. Wealth: Bono's house in Killiney, Ireland, which had its roof removed to add a second floor and new roof terraces. He owns a number of other properties around the world . His investment company Elevation Partners, named after a U2 song, was set up in 2004 with five former senior figures from the world of business, including the former chief financial officer of Apple Computers. On top of his pot of social networking gold, Bono holds a portfolio of properties, cars and other investments. Although his investment company has seen their Facebook shares soar in value, the luck of the Irish deserted Bono when the group injected cash into smartphone manufacturer Palm in 2007. Elevation invested $480m in the firm, only to see Apple’s iPhone take the market by storm and bring Palm to its knees. They did get their money back, however, when Hewlett-Packard snapped up Palm on the cheap, as Elevation had ring-fenced their investment with a clause that guaranteed reimbursement if it was sold. French bolthole: A coastal property Bono owns in Eze-sur-Mer, France, along with other homes in Ireland and New York . Bono’s investments then got tangled in the sticky web of the Broadway Spider-Man musical, which was panned by the critics and plagued by a series of accidents. It is understood U2 invested $65million in it, which some might say was sheer folly. Though in the long run, now that the show is up and running smoothly, it could well be a money spinner. It’s not likely that Bono lost an awful lot of sleep over his investments anyway, since the money he’s made from performing is vast. Beyond his complex financial interests, the rocker has a property portfolio that includes a villa in the Southof France and a lavish Italian-style palazzo overlooking the seanear Dublin, not to mention the £15million penthouse onManhattan's Upper West side he bought from Apple founder SteveJobs. Facebook launch: Mark Zuckerberg (centre) remotely rings the Nasdaq bell as Facebook is launched on the Nasdaq stock exchange creating 1,000 new millionaires - and making Bono even richer . Lack of respect: Zuckerberg is known to turn up to meetings with investors wearing a hoody and jeans . The apartment, which takes up two floors of the 27-storey northtower of the ultra-exclusive San Remo building, is listed as one ofNew York's top 40 properties and boasts 12ft nickel and bronzedoors and floor-to-ceiling windows costing £40,000 each. The building, which is also home to Steven Spielberg, is soselect that its management committee once blackballed Madonna'sattempts to move in. Having said that, those who have visited describe Bono'sapartment, with its avant-garde stone walls and floors, as'charmless and stark'. Despite its huge sun terrace with stunning views of CentralPark, one visitor commented: 'It has absolutely no warmth.' Meanwhile, on top of his own lavish property in the upmarketKilliney district of Dublin - which he shares with his wife Ali and four children. When he decided it wasn't big enough, the star paid £3million eight years ago to buy a neighbour's house and linked the two with a corridor. Bono, whose real name is Paul Hewson, also counts a family-sizedMaserati among his fleet of luxury cars and is known for his tastefor fine food. He is also a noted wine connoisseur, who willregularly spend thousands on a single bottle at his favourite NewYork restaurants. He and the three other members of U2, Adam Clayton, Larry Mullenand guitarist David 'The Edge' Evans, also invested in Vertigo3, an Airbus A320, to fly them around in style. | U2 rocker's investment company Elevation Partners have 2.3% stake in Facebook worth $1.5bn .
Bono and his band invested $65million in the Broadway Spider-Man musical panned by critics .
He owns a number of properties and cars around the globe .
His band U2 were already worth $813million before their Facebook windfall . |
18f5b01167cd7189057deeb5f4719726b14f88b7 | By . Andy Dolan . PUBLISHED: . 07:21 EST, 12 November 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 20:58 EST, 12 November 2013 . On trial: Anxiang Du, 54, murdered a family of four with 'ruthless efficiency', a court heard . A businessman massacred a family of four in their home in revenge at losing a seven-year legal dispute, a court heard yesterday. With ‘ruthless efficiency’, Anxiang Du repeatedly stabbed university lecturer Jifeng ‘Jeff’ Ding, 46, and his wife Helen, 47, in their kitchen, before moving upstairs where daughters Nancy, 18, and Alice, 12, were cowering in a bedroom. The Dings had been former business partners with Chinese compatriot Du and his wife, but their relationship had soured, triggering a decade of legal action. Du had travelled to the £350,000 property like ‘a man on a mission’, armed with a kitchen knife and out for revenge on a couple who had left him with court costs totalling £88,000, the jury heard. The bloodbath unfolded on the day of the Royal Wedding between Prince William and Kate Middleton in April 2011. The family were stabbed a total of 51 times. A 999 call was made from Alice’s mobile phone that afternoon. Prosecutor William Harbage QC warned the jury they would have to listen to the ‘distressing’ 20-second call, in which ‘more than one female scream could be heard’. The court heard the catalyst for the horror was an injunction which had been served on Du, 54, the night before, preventing him from disposing of his assets. Mr Harbage said Du knew he ‘faced ruin’. He added: ‘He resorted to violence, to murder in order to avenge himself of the people who had caused him such grief. He did so not just by killing them – Mr and Mrs Ding – but also by murdering their wholly innocent daughters. ‘Mr Du made a plan and carried it out with ruthless efficiency.’ Deaths: Du, 55, is accused of killing Manchester Metropolitan University lecturer Jifeng 'Jeff' Ding (left), his wife, Ge 'Helen' Chui (centre), and their two daughters, Xing 'Nancy' 18 (right), and Alice, 12 (left) Mr Harbage said Du and his wife Can . Chen, both herbal medicine practitioners, had run a string of successful . shops with the Dings until the relationship soured in 2001. Du and his wife were dismissed from the business and in 2004 started legal proceedings against the ‘hard-working, decent’ Dings. Seven years of civil litigation . followed. Mr Harbage said that ‘although Du won the first battle, he . lost the last’, and was left with the five-figure costs sum to pay. Mr . Ding, who lectured in polymer science at Manchester Metropolitan . University, was stabbed 23 times, while his wife, a translator, was . knifed 13 times. Couple: Mr Ding (left) was a lecturer in polymer science at Manchester Metropolitan University while his wife (right) was a businesswoman and translator . Their daughters – both talented violinists who toured . Europe with the Northamptonshire Youth Orchestra – were stabbed a total . of 15 times. Alice was found on the bed and Nancy was in a ‘prayer . position’ on the bedroom floor. All . four had been stabbed through the heart and lungs at the property in . Wootton, Northampton. The jury heard Du’s fingerprints and other . forensic evidence littered the bloody scene. Following . the massacre, Du washed the knife and left it in the Dings’ sink before . escaping in their car. The Dings’ bodies were discovered two days . later. Du’s getaway car was found abandoned in London in May. He . travelled by coach – under his own name and passport – to Paris, from . there travelling to Spain where he took a boat to Morocco. Sisters: Xing 'Nancy' (left), 18, and Alice (right), 12, were both killed in the attack in April 2011, the court heard . He was arrested there in July 2012 and extradited back to the UK earlier this year. The . jury at Northampton Crown Court were told that Du, from Coventry, . denies murder but does not deny that he carried out the attack. He is . expected to claim that he should be found guilty of manslaughter on the . basis of either diminished responsibility or loss of control. But . Mr Harbage said the premeditated, ‘grotesque killings’ were the . ‘clearest case of murder, with the obvious motive of revenge’. He . told jurors: ‘This was a considered act of revenge executed in an . unbelievably calm and cold-blooded manner. 'He (Du) planned to kill, he . intended to kill, he did kill – four times. This is murder, nothing . less.’ The case continues. Hearing: Du is pictured (left) today at Nottingham Crown Court during his trial over four counts of murder . Scene: Du travelled in April 2011 to the family's house in Northampton (pictured) from his home in Coventry, via Birmingham, armed with a kitchen knife, the court heard . Home: Du killed the parents at their Northampton house before going upstairs to find their two daughters, Nancy and Alice, cowering in a bedroom, the court heard. He allegedly stabbed them to death as well . Sorry we are unable to accept comments for legal reasons. | Anxiang Du 'killed Jifeng Ding, Ge Chui and their children Xing and Alice'
Du 'armed himself with a kitchen knife and stabbed family to death in 2011'
He 'found couple's daughters cowering in bedroom before stabbing them' |
18f74047e9b098671c694147bf1ff625050a71e2 | By . Jim Van Wijk, Press Association . Jack Wilshere maintains Arsenal must not take it for granted they will sweep aside the challenge of Besiktas at the Emirates Stadium next week to secure their place in the Champions League group stages. The Gunners battled to a goalless draw in the play-off first-leg at the cauldron of the Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul, where midfielder Aaron Ramsey was sent off late on for a second yellow card and so will miss the return match back in England next week. Besiktas manager Slaven Bilic insists his well-organised side - who hit the bar right from kick-off through former Chelsea striker Demba Ba - are very much still in contention, although it remains to be seen if the former West Ham and Everton defender will be allowed in the dugout having been ordered to the stands late on by Serbian referee Milorad Mazic. Defiant: Jack Wilshere maintains that Arsenal will next take Besiktas for granted in the second leg . Tussle: The Gunners played out a gritty goalless draw in the Turkish captail on Tuesday night . Wilshere knows Arsenal will have to be on their guard to qualify through to the group stages for what would be a 17th consecutive European campaign. 'It was a hostile atmosphere, but I think we battled well and showed a different side to our game, especially at the end when we went down to 10 men, it was tough, so we did well,' Wilshere said. 'They worked just as hard as we did last year to get themselves into this position, so they are not going to just turn up (at the Emirates Stadium) and throw all of that hard work away . 'It is not going to be an easy game and we can't take it for granted. 'They are going to come full of confidence from their performance in the first game and we are going to have to start how they did and take the game to them.' Wilshere added: 'We always want to be in the Champions League and to attract players who can be in the Champions League. 'We know how big a game it is, and we will treat it as a cup final.' Threat: Demba Ba proved a threat up front for Besiktas all night at the Ataturk Stadium . Embrace: The former Chelsea forward had been linked with a move to Arsenal last season . Arsenal hit the woodwork themselves late on when substitute Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's angled drive was turned against the far post by Besiktas goalkeeper Tolga Zengin. Despite the loss of key man Ramsey - who netted a stoppage-time winner to beat Crystal Palace on the opening day of the new Barclays Premier League season - the Gunners will be boosted by the return of German World Cup winning trio Per Mertesacker, Lukas Podolski and Mesut Ozil, who could all feature for Saturday's trip to Everton. England midfielder Wilshere said: 'Having won the World Cup can have an impact, but the Germans have got a fantastic mentality anyway. 'Last year, you saw that - they are great characters to have in the dressing room. 'We are looking forward to getting them back and it is going to make our squad even stronger.' Oxlade-Chamberlain also feels there are plenty of reasons for Arsenal, who beat Manchester City to win the Community Shield at Wembley, to be positive. Livewire: Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain had an excellent cameo off the bench in the latter stages . Passionate: Slaven Bilic got in trouble with the referee and was sent to the stands . 'It is early in the season and you could argue not everyone is at their peak fitness yet, understandably, but that will come soon and we will get better from here,' he said. 'The technical side of our game will improve. I am confident of that, but the togetherness and the will to win is definitely there. 'That is our basis to start from and then the technical side needs to come after, so we will push on from here. 'The important thing now is to switch our concentration to Everton away at the weekend, which will be a tough game and then we think about the Champions League again next week.' As well as deciding if Bilic - who apologised immediately after the game - must serve a suspension, UEFA will see if there is a case to answer against the Turkish club, their home Vodafone Arena currently being redeveloped, after Wenger reported an object being thrown at him as he walked off the pitch. Arsenal will, meanwhile, assess the fitness of captain Mikel Arteta. The midfielder left the stadium in a protective boot around a twisted ankle and so could miss the return to his old club. VIDEO Ramsey red card unbelievable - Wenger . | Wilshere maintains Arsenal will not take Besiktas for granted in second leg .
The Gunners battled to a goalless draw in the first leg on Tuesday night .
Aaron Ramsey will miss the return game after being sent off in Istanbul .
Besiktas boss Slaven Bilic may be banned from Emirates touchline . |
18f84d21a29345dd8f8400e3c8e7479496103350 | The Chinese government is sponsoring cyber-espionage to attack top U.S. companies, according to Grady Summers, vice president of security firm Mandiant. Virginia-based Mandiant published a 60-page report detailing allegations over a six-year period against a group of hackers -- known as Comment Crew -- which Summers linked to a secret division of the Chinese military. Summers told CNN: "China is attacking the U.S. on a scale like we've never seen before... We believe that the Communist Party of China is very aware of this." Read more: Have the courage to deal with cyber war . Mandiant says the activity can be traced to four networks near Shanghai -- with some operations taking place in a location that is also the headquarters of Unit 61398, the secret military division. Summers added: "Never before have we seen one state-sponsored entity like unit 61398 of the Chinese PLA attacking helpless commercial organizations in other countries." Read more: Chinese cyber attacks on West are widespread, experts say . The espionage group mainly targeted U.S. blue chip companies in 20 separate industries from aerospace to financial services. "It's really a who's who of American companies. Of 140 victims worldwide, 115 of them were in the U.S.," Grady said. Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei dismissed the hacking charges on Tuesday, insisting that China is the victim of many cyberattacks -- most originating in the United States. "Making baseless accusations based on premature analysis is irresponsible and unprofessional," he said. "China resolutely opposes any form of hacking activities." Earlier this month, President Obama signed an executive order designed to address the country's most basic cybersecurity needs -- and highlighted the effort in his State of the Union address. Summers says a cyber offence by the U.S. is not an appropriate response to the attacks as "it creates more problems than it solves." Instead, he advocates better defense systems in organizations that are vulnerable to cyber attacks and diplomatic pressure from Washington on Beijing. The Mandiant report details 3,000 technical indicators including IP addresses, domain names and encryption certificates, that can be used to strengthen companies' defenses. | Mandiant say thousands of cyber attacks have come from one neighborhood near Shanghai .
The espionage group mainly targeted U.S. blue chip companies in 20 separate industries .
Mandiant VP Grady Summers says diplomatic pressure is needed on Beijng from Washington . |
18f8ba8cecf772f71c3228291ef99f45b614eb7a | By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 15:00 EST, 5 October 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 16:39 EST, 5 October 2013 . This is the moment an entire train carriage was taken over by drunken students who can be seen jumping on seats and banging on the roof as they sing 'We love drinking in the morning'. Up to 30 revellers, the majority of them female, appeared to simply take over the carriage on the train as it made its way from Richmond to London Waterloo. Passengers on adjacent carriages were left confused when they first heard singing on the train, and even thought it was drunk rugby fans at nearby Twickenham. SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO . Female students jump on seats and bang on the roof of the train as they appear to take over an entire carriage . Passengers on adjacent carriages at first thought the singing was coming from drunk rugby fans outside . The revellers can be heard singing 'We love drinking in the morning' on the train as it makes its way into central London . But as the train continued past the stadium it became clear the noise was coming from the train itself. Sean O'Hare, from Teddington, south west London, was on his way home from football practice at about 10pm on Wednesday when he heard the singing on the train. He said: 'I thought it was coming from outside at the time - we were at Twickenham and I thought it was a load of drunk rugby fans, but then the train started moving forward and I thought "hang on, it's actually coming from the carriage in front". 'So I got up, I went forward and looked through the window between the connecting carriage doors and it was full of all these girls on the seats, banging on the roof of the train and singing at the tops of their voices "We love drinking in the morning". 'They were obviously having a right gay old time.' Mr O'Hare said it seemed as if the entire carriage had been taken over by the partygoers. The young men and women can be seen to be banging on the roof of the train . Passengers on other carriages were left 'stunned and looking at each other in bewilderment' He said: 'There must have been about 30 of them. There didn't seem to be any other passengers, they seemed to have taken over the whole of the carriage. 'You would have thought it was some sort of private function - I've never seen anything like it. 'At first nobody really knew where it was coming from because it was so loud and you just don't expect that. 'Everyone was stunned and looking at each other in bewilderment.' | Up to 30 revellers appeared to simply take over the carriage of the train .
Train was making its way into central London when scene was captured .
Passengers on other carriages at first thought singing was by rugby fans . |
18f966d31896594b241385d267287f503d97dfe4 | By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 11:48 EST, 18 November 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 13:20 EST, 18 November 2013 . A Minnesota doctor was shot and killed on Friday by a man he helped deliver 30 years ago. Dr Stephen Larson, 74, of Orono, was found dead inside his home Friday night from multiple gunshot wounds, the Hennepin County Medical Examiner said Sunday. The suspect, who was shot dead by police at the scene of the doctor's killing, was identified as 30-year-old Ted Hoffstrom, of St. Anthony, Minnesota. Write caption here . According to ABC News, the long-time Minneapolis obstetrician and gynecologist had assisted in the birth of Hoffstrom in 1983, but authorities have yet to give a possible motive for the killing. Officers responded just before 9pm on Friday to a report of an armed man outside Larson's home on the 1000 block of Heritage Lane. Shots were fired during a confrontation and the suspect was killed outside the home, the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office said. Larson was killed before police arrived on the scene and his body was found inside the home, authorities said. Scroll down for video... Murder: Dr. Larson of Orono, Minnesota, was found dead inside his home Friday night . Crime scene: It is alleged that Larson went to the doctor's house and shot him. The suspect was then shot dead by police outside the home in Orono, Minnesota . The doctor was home alone at the time of the shooting as his wife was out of town, according to the ABC. During his 33-year career, colleagues at OBGYN Specialists in Edina and Burnsville estimated he delivered thousands of babies and won numerous awards. ‘There is no way there is anyone who would have any ill will towards him,’ said one of Larson's partners at OBGYN Specialists, Dr Suzin Cho. Good man: One of Larson's partners at OBGYN Specialists, Dr Suzin Cho said there was 'no way' anyone would have bad intentions towards the deceased doctor . The alleged killer’s family posted a note on the front door of their home Sunday, asking people to respect their privacy as they grieve for their son. The aspiring lawyer had recently passed the Minnesota bar exam, according to St. Paul Pioneer Press. His family said his actions were shocking and out of character. ‘It is with great sadness that we extend our heartfelt prayers and sympathy to the family of Dr. Stephen Larson. Our hearts are broken for all of those affected by this tragic event, said the note from the Hoffstrom family. ‘We are shocked and saddened by this news, and many questions remain unanswered. We hope that the public will understand this is a very difficult time for our family. 'We are grieving the loss of our son, and ask that you please respect our privacy at this time.’ Unfortunately your browser does not support IFrames. | Dr Stephen Larson, 74, found dead inside his home Friday night from multiple gunshot wounds .
Suspect, Ted Hoffstrom, 30, an aspiring lawyer, shot dead by police outside the doctor's home .
The Minneapolis obstetrician/gynecologist had 'assisted in the birth of Hoffstrom in 1983'
Authorities have yet to give a possible motive for the killing . |
18f9b3ee70da0f01c772f4b33b268cfe4b2ecb18 | Emoticons such as smiley and sad faces are changing the way our brain works, Australian researchers have claimed. They say the use of the punctuation faces trigger parts of the brain usually reserved for looking at real faces. They believe this may be the key to their popularity - as we process them as a real face. Researchers found that our brains adapt so that we process emoticons as if they were a real face . :P I am sticking out my tongue :^P I am sticking out tongue, and I have a nose B^P I am sticking out tongue, and I have sunglasses:{ I am having a hard time ;-) Winking at you :-D I am laughing happily @}->-- Rose for you (to show affection) |^o I am snoring >:-( I am annoyed . 'Emoticons are a new form of language that we're producing," Dr Owen Churches of the school of psychology at Flinders University in Adelaide told ABC News. 'And to decode that language we've produced a new pattern of brain activity.' The researchers say that we pay more attention to faces than most other things we see as we try to 'read' them for emotion. The team wanted to see if this was the case with emoticons. The team showed 20 participants images of real faces, smiley face . emoticons (involving the use of a colon, hyphen and parenthesis), and a . meaningless string of characters. They used electrophysiology to . determine the pattern of electrical activity in the brain when the . participants viewed the different images, and found we react to . emoticons ion the same way. Emoticons have become massively popular, being used in text message and online conversations, along with art projects such as this Banksy Exhibit . The researchers admit the were stunned by the results. 'There is no innate neural response to emoticons that babies are born with. 'Before 1982 there would be no reason that ':-)' would activate face sensitive areas of the cortex but now it does because we've learnt that this represents a face," said Churches. 'This is an entirely culturally-created neural response. It's really quite amazing.' One of the earliest appearances of the emoticon appears in an 1862 transcript of a speech by President Abraham Lincoln. The transcript records the audience's response to Lincoln's droll introduction as "(applause and laughter ;)." However, the modern usage began when a joke about a fake mercury spill at Carnegie Mellon University was posted online and mistake for a genuine warning. Following a debate,on Sept. 19, 1982, faculty member Scott E. Fahlman entered the debate with the following message: . I propose that [sic] the following character sequence for joke markers::-)Read it sideways. Actually, it is probably more economical to mark things that are NOT jokes, given current trends. For this, use::-( . Seperately the yellow smiley face symbol pre-dates and was developed independent;y, although the two have now merged in many people';s minds. A freelance artist called Harvey Ball designed the original yellow smiley face to be used on a button to try and boost morale at a recently merged insurance company. He made $45 for his design, which was eventually adopted by hippy, then rave culture where is appeared n clothing and ectasy tablets. | Emoticons first appeared in the 1980, and have become hugely popular .
Australians experts sat they are changing our brain activity as we adapt to decode them . |
18fa228e02e9d0e91477a840d2193b713179f335 | (CNN) -- When it comes to facial hair, there are few more passionate advocates than Phil Olsen. As the "founder and self-appointed captain" of Beard Team USA, he was responsible for bringing the sport of competitive bearding to the United States in 2003. Since then, things have, well, grown. "It really is quite amazing," Olsen said from his home in California. "Interest in bearding worldwide has taken off. "You see more and more facial hair everywhere you look, and every time, it feels like a little victory for me. Men are finally liberating themselves." The weird world of 'competitive bearding' Olsen is one of the "bearders" behind the World Beard and Mustache Championships, which took place in Portland, Oregon, this weekend. Hundreds competed in categories including "full beard natural," "full beard styled mustache," "imperial" and "freestyle." World's most frustrating objects . "Men are competitive. It's in our very nature," Olsen said this month. "So why shouldn't we compete over our beards? It is our uniquely masculine quality, the one thing we can do that most women can't." The scale of this event is emblematic of the huge resurgence in beard cultivation over recent years. For Olsen -- who himself sports a 12-inch sculpted Wookiee of a thing -- this burgeoning masculine hairiness is driven by sexual politics. "For centuries, men have been pressured by women to scrape their faces daily so that they would look more like women," he says. "Finally, we have come around to realizing that we should express our masculinity in the natural way, by growing a beard." So how does he feel about men who shave? "I don't despise the clean-shaven," he said magnanimously. "I just feel sorry for them, because they're not experiencing the majesty of realizing one's full masculine potential. "As for the stubble people, they still have to go through the almost daily humiliation of keeping it at stubble length. But at least they've taken the first step and are not completely emasculating themselves." The beard as social statement . This militant pogonophilia may seem rather extreme. But according to Allan Peterkin, the Toronto-based author of "One Thousand Beards: A Cultural History of Facial Hair," the beard has always been a powerful, and often controversial, social symbol. What we can learn from the tattoos of our ancestors . "It's only recently that men had a choice about their facial hair," he said. "In the Victorian period, certain beards or sideburns were the badge of a gentleman or maybe a sportsman. It was a known quantity." In earlier periods, the climate was even more severe. Alexander the Great banned the beard so that it would not be grabbed in combat; several rulers, including King Henry VIII, Elizabeth I and Peter the Great, enforced a "beard tax," making it a rigid indicator of affluence and social status (in early 18th-century Russia, bearded men had to carry a "beard token" to prove they had paid up). "Traditionally, men have taken their grooming cues from authority figures, such as the king, politicians or clergymen," Peterkin said. "We were told by authority figures what it is to be a man, what that should look like. "There were lots of arbitrary declarations about facial hair, saying it is sinful, or virtuous or whatever. "It was always for reasons of control. Men wore their allegiance, and an indication of their class, on their faces." In many parts of the world, this is still the case. The beard is of vital importance in most Islamic societies, for example, and in Turkey, the size and twirl of a mustache shows one's political affiliations. How facial hair can be used to rebel . For these reasons, facial hair, or the lack of it, can traditionally also signify subversion. The whiskys selling for six figures . "Oscar Wilde was clean-shaven when all his contemporaries had a big Victorian beard," Peterkin said. "Just by doing the opposite, you make a statement. These days, having a beard is a bit rebellious because it departs from convention." In the postwar period, the military requirement to shave denoted respectability. Then came the Beatniks and the Hippies and the Freddy Mercury mustache of the '70s, followed by '80s designer stubble and the '90s grunge-style goatee. "Then all hell broke loose," Peterkin said. "In this postmodern period, anything goes, from trim professional beards to hipster madness. "Men in the West are freer to do whatever they want and keep their jobs, which was just not the case for our fathers and grandfathers. We can express ourselves in all kinds of ways and grow our facial hair in more ways than ever before." These days, many men grow a beard to reflect transition in their lives, such as a change of career or divorce. Al Gore, for instance, grew a beard after he lost the presidential election in 2000. By doing this he was changing his public face, demonstrating that he was becoming an academic where beards are welcome. How does a beard change how you are perceived? But despite the increasingly hirsute-tolerant atmosphere, studies have demonstrated that having a beard dramatically alters how you are perceived -- and not necessarily for the better. It has been argued that a bearded man appears more confident of his strength (since a "grabbable" beard is a disadvantage in a fight) and immune system (PDF) (since a beard can encourage parasites, bed bugs and sand fleas). He is also perceived to have a higher social status. A number of studies, however, have suggested that a beard makes a man appear more masculine and aggressive; older; and, generally speaking, less attractive to women. "Wearing a beard is a bold statement, even today," Peterkin said. "That's why it evokes so much emotion. And it is why you so rarely see a politician or a banker with a beard. They can't afford to alienate a sizable portion of the population." The strange world of toilet architecture . Olsen strenuously disagrees. "I'm a lawyer," he said, "and I've never had a negative comment about my beard, not from any client, judge or opposing counsel. "It has not been a hindrance but an asset at work. It's a distinction, something that helps people remember me. "It demonstrates someone who is willing to be an individual, to stick his neck out, to take a risk, to be bold. In many professions, that should increase one's esteem within the community." Have we reached 'peak beard'? Where now for the beard? Peterkin believes that the nature of fashion is such that every peak will be followed by a trough, and we shall soon see a decline in the level of enthusiasm for facial hair. Olsen, however, thinks the revolution is only beginning. "People need to realize that not all beards are created equal," he said. "There is a beard to suit every face. They can be groomed, they can be cleaned, and they can be tamed. "As soon as people start to realize that having a beard isn't the same as not brushing your teeth or taking a shower and that there's something for everybody, the sky's the limit. "Men need to break free. I would like to see the beard championships grow and eventually become on a par with the Olympics." Snooper's paradise: A sneak peek inside London's most prestigious private homes . Stunning 'time-slice' photos capture your favorite landmarks from sunrise to sunset . Meet the surrealist behind fashion's most memorable images . | World Beard and Mustache Championships took place in Portland, Oregon .
One analyst says a beard has always been a powerful social symbol .
Will bearding continue to rise, or is it due for a fall? Opinions differ . |
18fb58456f82c25d3820981bf31d238752f02437 | By . Charles Sale . PUBLISHED: . 18:16 EST, 19 December 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 03:01 EST, 20 December 2013 . Rio Ferdinand’s retirement at the end of the season looks all the more likely, with the top football pundit role on BT Sport waiting for him. The 35-year-old, who is on a one-year contract at Manchester United with the option for another season, is not expected to make up his mind about his playing future until much nearer the end of the current campaign . But BT Sport bosses make no secret of the fact that their main football analyst seat is being kept warm for Ferdinand, who is already under contract to the station for a variety of programming. Career change: Rio Ferdinand is being used sparingly by David Moyes but is in demand as a pundit . One more year? Ferdinand is on a one-year deal with an option to extend his stay at Manchester United . Critique: Ferdinand recently spoke out against Moyes' policy of delaying his team announcements . And the word is that the former England captain will prefer this high-profile media opportunity to fighting for his place in the United team or a final payday abroad. Ferdinand is being used more sparingly by manager David Moyes, whom Ferdinand noticeably criticised on a recent BT video diary for driving United players mad by delaying his team selections. He claimed the United squad are wasting nervous energy wondering whether they were going to be picked and intensity levels suffers as a consequence. ‘You’re just going round in circles in your head and turning into a madman,’ he said. Ferdinand has already committed to going to the World Cup as a BBC pundit, with BT Sport having no objections to him further learning the trade with another station. BT’s pundit line-up this season has suffered in comparison with those of Sky, ITV and the BBC and is need of a revamp. Leeds managing director David Haigh, who is heading a consortium in the process of agreeing a 70 per cent purchase of the club from Dubai-based owners GFH Capital, looks to have found wealthy backers to help fund a January transfer spree. One of Haigh’s partners will be insurance tycoon Andrew Flowers, whose Gibraltar-based Enterprise firm sponsor Leeds’ shirts and is valued at around £100million. Ambition: Leeds' Paul Green sports the Enterprise business logo of Andrew Flowers, one of a consortium along with David Haigh getting set to take over a majority share of the club . American TV network NBC have embraced Premier League football in their first season of coverage to the extent that in the 12 days between December 21 and January 1 they will broadcast 40 live games across their outlets. This includes the BBC’s Gary Lineker, who also works for NBC, hosting an hour-long live preview of Arsenal v Chelsea next Monday. Oceans apart: Gary Lineker headlines American network NBC's Premier League coverage . Wembley's main sponsorship deal with mobile phone network giants EE, which has been well over a year in negotiation, will finally be signed off at the start of the new year. It will see the stadium arch lit up in the EE brand colours of teal and yellow on certain occasions. Safety: England football's new security head Tony Conniford was made an MBE by Prince Charles . FA land new safety chief . The FA have made an important signing off the pitch by attracting Tony Conniford, assistant director of the UK football policing unit, to become head of security for all England teams. Conniford, who was awarded the MBE two years ago, has worked at numerous big football tournaments abroard and has all the experience necessary for the job. His first priority when he starts next month will be preparing for England’s World Cup campaign. He replaces Ray Whitworth, who is joining Major League Soccer. Conniford will no doubt be judging England’s proposed base for their pre-World Cup warm-up in the Brickell financial district of Miami. The area is a 15-minute car ride from the famous South Beach party spots. Meanwhile the FA, after the humiliation of attracting only one outside vote at the 2018 World Cup election debacle in 2010 are finally prepared to dip their toes back into bidding for FIFA competitions. Relations with FIFA have improved to the extent that the FA enquired about the possibilities of staging the Under 20 World Cup in 2017 but were told that the rotation agreement among confederations meant the tournament would be held in South Korea. Disappointment: David Beckham, Lord Coe and Andy Anson during the 2018 World Cup bid announcment . Greg Dyke said yesterday about his gaffe-prone time as FA chairman that ‘You can have a straight-laced suit, or you can have someone like me.’ But certainly a sober suit would not have left respected Kick it Out chairman Lord Herman Ouseley waiting eight weeks for an official reply to his letter to Dyke complaining about ‘injudicious’ remarks made by Danny Mills in his role as a member of the England Commission panel. Slashed: FA chairman Greg Dyke's controversial reaction to England 2014 World Cup group draw . 'Injudicious': Dyke's under fire for delaying his response to Kick it Out chairman Lord Herman Ouseley with regard to a comment made by Danny Mills (pictured), an England Commission member . | Former England captain on one-year contract at Old Trafford .
Leeds United consortium secure wealthy Gibraltar-based backers .
NBC to broadcast 40 live Premier League games in U.S. over Christmas .
FA land new security chief for World Cup . |
18fbcc08e9384885ec09ad7bdb134eff424c9429 | More people now live in London than at any point in history, Boris Johnson revealed today. The London Mayor announced 8.615million people call the capital home, overtaking the pre-Second World War peak. Growing numbers of people moving to London and having children mean than the population is on course to hit 11million by 2050. The population of London has now passed its 1939 peak and is on course to hit 11million by 2050 . London Mayor Boris Johnson today announced 8.615million people call the capital home, overtaking the pre-Second World War peak . The Greater London Authority says this city now has its 8,615,246th inhabitant, the highest population since the eve of the war in 1939. Mr Johnson said: 'London's incredible population boom is testament to the fact that this is the best big city on the planet. 'With more green space than any other European city, a thriving economy, a low crime rate and a roaring cultural scene it is no surprise that London is the place to be. 'As our incredible city continues to grow, Londoners should rest assured that we are working tirelessly to provide the homes, water, energy, schools, transport, digital connectivity and better quality of life they expect.' How London has changed: This map shows how London has expanded since 1939 . Country of birth: This graph shows how many more people from other countries now live in London, compared to 1939 . This graph shows how the age of London's population has remained rather steady since 1939, but that we now have fewer teenagers and more pensioners . He called on the government to give London greater control of its finances to fund infrastructure 'that is so vital to stimulate jobs'. Mr Johnson added: 'It is crucial that we recognise the amazing opportunities that this kind of growth can offer and step up our investment now so that London continues to be the motor of the UK economy.' Latest population figures show how London's population has expanded almost 2million people in the last 25 years. The borough of Hillingdon, in west London, has seen the most growth since 1939, up 82 per cent from 159,000 people to 289,000 in 2015. However, in a sign of the shifting shape of the capital, some areas have seen a drop in population. Islington in north London saw a 36 per cent drop between 1939 and 2015, down from 343,000 to 221,000. Barnet likely to overtake Croydon to become the borough with the most residents at almost 400,000 people. Experts have warned that this could add massive strains to already stressed infrastructure, particularly housing and transport. The biggest pressure is expected to be on housing, with an estimated 42,000 new homes needed every year to keep pace with population growth. The last population peak came after two decades of massive growth. But it began to fall almost immediately after the outbreak of war in September. This was largely due to evacuations and conscription. Even after the war, the population continued to decline, amid encouragement from planners for families to relocate. The last time London's population peaked was in 1939, on the eve of the Second World War. But how different was the UK's capital city back then? Currently, 13 per cent of people living in the UK are London inhabitants, whereas the London population accounted for 18 per cent of the UK in 1939. At that time, London was overwhelmingly white - only 2.7 per cent had been born abroad. Today, around 37 per cent of Londoners were born abroad. This shows pre-war areas in blue and post-war areas in red - the shape of London has not really changed . In 1939, with no NHS and heavy smog, life expectancy was 62. Today, Londoners can expect to live to 82. The population pyramid shows London now has fewer teenagers and more pensioners than in 1939. There are also have more adult men, due to a 'missing generation' in 1939, after the First World War. In 1939, statutory education only went up to age 14, so most of London's secondary schools had yet to be built. Before the war, only 2 per cent of people went to university and almost all of them were men. In London today, 43 per cent of people go onto university and the majority of them are women. Although the number of people working in London has not changed greatly, the industries which cater for those jobs have. The newly-built areas of London in 1939 in blue, with the newly-built areas of London today in red . In 1939, around one in three people worked in manufacturing. Now 90 per cent of these manufacturing jobs have gone and most people now work in industries that barely existed in 1939. These include 250,000 jobs in IT, with another 250,000 working in hotels and restaurants. St Paul's was the tallest building in the capital In 1939. Now St Paul's is only the 41st tallest building in the London. The tallest building is The Shard. House prices have also grown extraordinarily. In 1939, the average cost of a home was the equivalent of three years' salary; now it is around 16 years. Source: Barney Stringer . | London Mayor Boris Johnson reveals London has passed its historic peak .
Capital now has its 8,615,246th inhabitant, higher than seen in 1939 .
Growing number calling capital home is on course to hit 11million by 2050 . |
18fc2806509c995726915e8a9b6c3a726da53c0b | By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 23:52 EST, 4 August 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 03:21 EST, 5 August 2013 . Health and Safety in the workplace began with an illustrated magazine for workers on the railways 100 years ago this month, according to a historian. The magazine paved the way for today's health and safety laws, said Dr Mike Esbester, of the University of Portsmouth. The feature attempts to inform workers for Great Western Railway of the dangers they face in August 1913. Modern attempts to inform workers of the dangers they could face at work began with this illustrated magazine published in 1913 . The railway workers were reminded to carry out their work as safely as possible, whether crossing the railway line, wearing goggles to protect their eyes or loading and unloading goods. Having studied the evolution of health and safety messages over a century, Dr Esbester says that the country has seen enormous changes in the way we have been 'taught, cajoled, encouraged and warned' by the authorities to safeguard ourselves. He said: 'Before 1913, safety warnings to workers were very top-down and text heavy. 'August 1913 saw an entirely different tone and style, it was a massive change. The railway workers were reminded to carry out their work as safely as possible, whether crossing the railway line, wearing goggles to protect their eyes or loading and unloading goods . 'It spoke "man-to-man", using an informal, conversational tone and showed people how to be safe rather than just telling them what to do.' He said that initially the focus was on workplace safety, but from 1916 road safety was an increasing concern. In the 1920s thousands of people were being killed on the roads each year, and tens of thousands injured. Reducing the toll of mass motorised transport became a pressing issue. Health and safety moved into the home in the 1930s in response to more people dying and being injured in incidents at home than on the roads or at work. Dr Mike Esbester discovered the magazine which informed workers at Great Western Railway how to be safe in their jobs . Common causes of death or injury in the home were burns, trips, falls and drowning. Over the past 100 years health and safety messages have appeared on a wide selection of items, from children's handkerchiefs, beer mats, milk bottle tops, cigarette cards - which were highly coveted and collectable - and Christmas wrapping paper, to the more commonly known films, posters, leaflets and booklets. Dr Esbester became an expert in the subject after he came across the Great Western Railway feature whilst researching railway history. It included a single black and white photograph of multiple pairs of goggles which had been smashed while protecting their wearers' eyes from flying shards of metal. Similar illustrated articles were carried in the following months. He said: 'I'd never seen anything like it before, and wondered what made this a turning point - why then and there? 'It turned out the magazine feature was a response to the threat of new laws. 'The railway companies didn't want the state to tell them what to do. They were famously opposed to any new government powers, so they were trying to head off more regulation by introducing changes themselves. 'Their message was "it's up to you, as the worker, to look after yourself".' | The feature attempts to inform workers at Great Western Railway of the dangers they face in August 1913 .
The discovery was made by Dr Mike Esbester from the University of Portsmouth . |
18fc5eeed5e7a0d579812235f3d5d68524b54afb | The tumultuous history of Europe over the last Millennium, including its many revolutions and wars, has been captured in a remarkable video lasting just over three minutes. From the Crusaders until modern times, the lines on the map of Europe have been redrawn many times and tell a tale of the rise and fall of nations including the creation of vast empires to small countries fighting for their independence. The hypnotic video shows the lines on the map of Europe subtlety changing over 1,012 years as a result of major historical events. Scroll down for video . This map contains the names of long-forgotten places as well as showing the demise of the Byzantine Empire in a map that looks very different to modern Europe . The video invites viewers to test their historical knowledge as well as consider the vast human impact of major events such as the world wars, which are simply shown by the movement of boundaries on a map. The video, which contains animations and maps by the creator of the Historical Atlas, Frank Reed, begins in the year 1140 at the end of the Viking Age and the beginning of the Crusades; a time when religiously-motivated military expeditions set up small states in the eastern Mediterranean. The expeditions culminated in the Sack of Constantinople in 1204, which ended the Byzantine Empire. Europe in the 17th Century, at the end of the Renaissance. Much of northern Europe is visibly carved up into tiny states and over a few hundred years there were many wars and revolutions . The map shows how the High Middle Ages was dominated by the rise and fall of the Mongol Empire, which at its peak stretched from China to the Baltic sea in Europe, with the Mongols led by Genghis Khan. While England fought with France in the Hundred Years' War, beginning in 1337, the House of Habsburg got stronger, Russia expanded southward and eastward into former Mongol lands and the Ottoman Empire also grew in size as it swallowed up former Byzantine lands over time. The Renaissance spread throughout Europe between the 14th and 17th centuries, but despite the beginning of what many people consider to be modern Europe and the proliferation of new artistic and scientific ideas, a number of religious wars and revolutions rocked the continent, changing boundaries between small states and countries. Europe in 1913 ahead of World War One. Germany and Italy are unified nations but the boundaries between countries were set to change dramatically in just a short space of time . Between 1815 and 1871, some Balkan nations regained their independence from the Ottoman Empire and after the Franco-Prussian War, Germany and Italy unified into nation states ahead of World War One, during which time, boundary changes in Europe were dramatic and rapid. Following the war, the Treaty of Versailles altered the map of Europe and ultimately led to the outbreak of World War Two, as nations were divided, radical politics was fueled by angry citizens and countries subsequently invaded as Europe entered a second state of flux with boundaries and areas of ocupation that changed in a short and violent period of time. Since 1918, when poverty triggered the Russian Revolution, the Soviet Union had been growing and came to dominate the continent up to 1991, when smaller Soviet countries regained their independence. Following two devastating world wars, Europe looks very different in 1960 with an occupied and divided Germany and the huge Soviet Union. At the height of the Cold War, the 'iron curtain' dividing communist and capitalist Europe is clearly visible on this map . A map of Europe TODAY. The video shows the changing situation in the Balkans in recent times as well as hinting at Europe's economic integration, with the founding of the European Union . Changes on the map in the video indirectly show the ideological Cold War and divide of the Iron Curtain as well as iconic moments such as the fall of the Berlin Wall. In recent times, the video shows the changing situation in the Balkans as well as hinting at Europe's economic integration, with the founding of the European Union. | A video tracking the rise and fall of nations shows the last 1,012 years of European history .
The map in the video invites viewers to test their historical knowledge and question the impact of major events shown by moving boundaries .
It begins at a time when the Vikings still ruled modern Scandinavia and the Crusades were beginning . |
18fcaa716200c904f44f1050b9a726d182885381 | London (CNN) -- Europe's political and economic attempts to stem the eurozone debt crisis may finally be getting results, Finland's European minister Alexander Stubb has told CNN. Stubb told CNN a combination of political action and monetary intervention in the eurozone over the last month had put Europe on the road to economic recovery. "If we play our cards right, I think we will have turned the corner of this crisis," he said. Earlier this month, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi announced a program to buy bonds of fiscally-frail countries such as Spain and Italy. A week later, the German constitutional court green-lighted the European Stability Mechanism -- the region's 500 billion euro ($651 billion) permanent bailout fund -- to come into force in October this year. A victory for pro-European parties in the Dutch elections this month was also a sign that electorates in Northern European countries have not lost faith in the 17-nation currency bloc. Stubb told CNN Europe was stuck in a "vicious cycle" between politicians, the media and the markets, which was hindering the speed of economic recovery. He said the issue was: "Politicians talking loose stuff, media interpreting that loose stuff and then markets reacting to what the media reports." Ford boss: Europe's a concern for us all . Stubb said debt-ridden countries like Spain and Italy were taking the necessary steps to reform but reiterated the ECB's message of conditionality in exchange for aid. He added: "I have a lot of respect for the Spanish government because they have taken a lot of tough decisions in the past few months." The 44-year-old is in favor of a banking union -- a proposal from Brussels which would give the European Central Bank a supervisory role for more than 6,000 eurozone banks. But, he said, "we cannot be in a situation where those banks which have taken care of their funds, have a good balance sheet, would be paying for those banks which haven't done so well." UniCredit head: We need a European banking union . Stubb's comments follow his speech to The Institute of International and European Affairs in Dublin, Ireland, in which he was skeptical over calls for a more integrated Europe. Of such an idea, he said: "We do not have the time, nor can we introduce an element of further uncertainty." Such a stance runs contrary to that of European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, who told CNN Europe needed to be more unified. | Finland's European Minister Alexander Stubb tells CNN Europe's debt crisis may be abating .
European Commission President wants Europe to become more unified .
But Stubb says treaty change to solve the eurozone debt crisis is not the right approach . |
18fd7739c49ae9146b8f7d71675704fba390fb58 | (CNN) -- The French navy on Wednesday captured 11 suspected pirates off the coast of Kenya, Franc'e mnistry of defense announced, while other pirates who had held a Greek vessel for nearly a month let it go. Pirates attacked The Liberty Sun, a U.S.-flagged cargo ship, but were unable to board. The navy tracked the pirates overnight after they attacked a ship called the Safmarine Asia, then seized them at dawn Wednesday morning, the ministry said in a statement. The Greek-flagged Titan cargo ship was carrying a load of iron to South Korea when pirates seized it. Twenty-four crew members were on board -- 17 Filipinos, three Greeks, three Romanians and a Ukrainian. They are in good health, said Tilemahos Gasteratos, spokesman for the Greek Merchant Marine Ministry. The European Union, NATO and the United States have been patrolling the region since an upsurge in piracy off the coast of Somalia began last year. U.S. snipers on Sunday killed three pirates holding hostage a U.S. merchant ship captain. Richard Phillips was held in a lifeboat for five days after his ship, the Maersk Alabama, was attacked last week. The freed Maersk crew members are expected to return to the United States on Wednesday evening. Pirates in Somalia vowed revenge. Pirates said an attack Tuesday on another U.S.-flagged merchant ship, the Liberty Sun, was in response to the killing of Phillips' captors. "It was a revenge," Hassan Mohamud told a Somali journalist. "The U.S. ship escaped by a matter of chance." "We sent out 14 boats full of well-armed men and we are looking for vessels of U.S. and French nationals," said Mohamud. He is a pirate leader based Gara'ad in Puntland, a semi-autonomous Somali region with a long coastline along the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden. "The U.S. and French governments should know this because they started the aggression on us," he said. Other pirates in the region have also vowed revenge. Two days before Phillips was rescued, the French military freed four hostages, including a child, who had been held by pirates for nearly a week on a yacht off Somalia's coast. In that operation, a hostage and two pirates were killed, the French Defense Ministry said. Three pirates were captured. Separately, a court in Puntland sentenced 27 Somali pirates to prison after the judge said they had been caught red-handed. Shiekh Mohamed Abdi Aware, the presiding judge, read the verdict to the media. He said that each of the pirates would face three years in prison. A crew member aboard the Liberty Sun managed to e-mail his mother while the ship was under fire. "We are under attack by pirates, we are being hit by rockets. Also bullets." Katy Urbik said her heart stopped as she read that in an e-mail from her son Thomas. "We are barricaded in the engine room and so far no one is hurt. [A] rocket penetrated the bulkhead but the hole is small. Small fire too but put out," the message from her son continued. "Navy is on the way and helos and ships are coming. I'll try to send you another message soon. [G]ot to go now. I love you mom and dad and all my brothers and family." amFIX: Full interview with Katy Urbik . Ubrik, of Wheaton, Illinois, said her son e-mailed again half an hour later. "The Navy has showed up in full force and we are now under military escort ... all is well. I love you all and thank you for the prayers," his message said. The ordeal followed a tense week for the family, said Ubrik, who had closely followed news of the hijacking of the Maersk Alabama and the kidnapping of its captain. She said of receiving her son's shocking e-mail: . "My heart stopped as soon as I realized there wasn't going to be a 'just kidding' after his comment. Because I had heard from his earlier [Tuesday] morning, saying they had a plan with the Navy, they were being monitored, they had been practicing drills to get into the engine room." "I opened up my e-mail and it was one of those surreal moments where, am I really reading this?" After the thwarted attack on the Liberty Sun, the vessel was being escorted by the guided missile destroyer USS Bainbridge -- the same ship carrying Phillips after his dramatic rescue Sunday. Watch the tough tactics the Navy uses » . About 20 U.S. citizens are aboard the Liberty Sun. The ship was delivering humanitarian supplies from the U.N. World Food Programme, CARE and other groups, two senior defense officials told CNN. Pirates off the coast of Somalia seized two other freighters Tuesday. First, they hijacked the MV Irene EM, a 35,000-ton Greek-owned bulk carrier, according to a NATO spokesman and the European Union's Maritime Security Center. The crew of the Greek ship was thought to be unhurt, and ships have been warned to stay clear of the area for fear of further attack, the security center said. Later Tuesday, pirates on four skiffs seized the 5,000-ton MV Sea Horse, a Lebanese-owned and Togo-flagged vessel, Cmdr. Chris Davies said from NATO's Maritime Component Command Headquarters in Northwood, England. Further details about the ship and its crew weren't immediately available. The two freighters seized Tuesday are the third and fourth vessels to be hijacked in two days off the Somali coast. Pirates on Monday hijacked two Egyptian fishing boats carrying a total of between 18 and 24 people, the Egyptian Information Ministry told CNN. The Egyptian Foreign Ministry is working to end the hijacking, the information ministry said. Piracy accelerated after the fall of the Somali government in the early 1990s and began to flourish after shipping companies started paying ransoms. Those payments started out being in the tens of thousands of dollars and have since climbed into the millions. Some experts say companies are making the problem worse by paying the pirates. About 16,000 ships a year pass through the region, according to the French Foreign Ministry. CNN's Pierre Meilhan, Christine Theodorou, Niki Cook, Mike Mount and Chuck Johnston contributed to this report. | NEW: Pirates had held Greek ship and its load of iron for nearly a month .
French navy tracked pirates overnight after they attacked a merchant ship .
Greek 35,000-ton bulk carrier and Lebanese-owned, Togo-flagged freighters seized .
Pirates: Attack Tuesday on the Liberty Sun was a response to the killing of pirates . |
19018426347c8222f8cfed67b4d71093b238ff19 | (CNN) -- Basketball commentator and former hoops star Charles Barkley was arrested Wednesday in Scottsdale, Arizona, on suspicion of drunken driving, a police spokesman said. Charles Barkley was driving an Infiniti SUV through a trendy area of Scottsdale on Wednesday, police say. Barkley issued a brief statement, saying, "I am disappointed that I put myself in that situation. The Scottsdale police were fantastic. I will not comment any further as it is a legal matter." Lt. Eric Shuhandler of the Gilbert Police Department said an officer pulled Barkley over after he ran a stop sign in Scottsdale's Old Town area, a trendy spot known for its nightclubs and bars. Gilbert and Scottsdale are in the Phoenix metro area. "The officer identified the driver of the 2005 Infiniti as Charles Barkley," according to a written statement from police. "Mr. Barkley was administered the standard field sobriety tests after the odor of intoxicating liquor was detected." Watch: Barkley 'disappointed' by arrest » . At a news conference later in the day, Shuhandler said Barkley's "performance on the field sobriety test revealed there was probable cause to make an arrest." Barkley declined to take a breath test to measure his blood-alcohol level, Shuhandler said earlier. "When he arrived at the station, police administered a blood test, which is customary of our police department to do," he said, adding that Barkley consented to the blood test. It will take "a few days" for the crime lab to test the blood sample and determine Barkley's blood-alcohol level, Shuhandler said. The former NBA power forward was cited for driving while impaired and released. "It was a pretty routine arrest," Shuhandler said. Barkley's sport-utility vehicle was impounded under mandatory vehicle impound laws, police said. Shuhandler said Barkley behaved professionally during the booking and was "very respectful and cordial with our officers." Watch Shuhandler describe the arrest » . Barkley, 45, is a commentator for TNT's coverage of the NBA. In October, he told CNN's Campbell Brown that he plans to run for governor of his home state of Alabama in 2014, saying, "I can't screw up Alabama. We are number 48 in everything and Arkansas and Mississippi aren't going anywhere." Although he is well known for entertaining comments and a cocky attitude, he also compiled an impressive résumé as a professional basketball player. A Hall of Famer and 11-time All-Star, Barkley is one of four players in history to rack up more than 20,000 points, 10,000 rebounds and 4,000 assists in a career. He also earned the NBA's most valuable player designation in 1993 and brought home gold medals with the U.S. Olympic basketball team in 1992 and 1996. His commanding performance on the court earned him the nicknames "Sir Charles" and the "Round Mound of Rebound." Barkley was drafted out of Auburn University in 1984 by the Philadelphia 76ers and played 16 seasons with the Sixers, Phoenix Suns and Houston Rockets before he was permanently sidelined in 1999 with a ruptured tendon in his left knee. TNT is owned by Turner Broadcasting Corp., also the parent company of CNN. CNN's Nick Valencia contributed to this report. | NEW: Barkley says he's disappointed in himself, police were "fantastic"
Police: Sobriety test "revealed there was probable cause to make an arrest"
Outspoken commentator took field, blood tests, but not breath test, police say .
NBA Hall of Famer, Olympic gold medalist known for entertaining remarks . |
1901ff22575281ff9b3a3a5f8d4b7b750e047d30 | By . Mark Wilson for MailOnline . For Callum McGregor, this was the most brutal of comedowns after the high of his Scotland call-up. The 21-year-old spoke for the entire Celtic dressing room when he summed up the feeling of utter dejection in the wake of a dismal defeat against Maribor. The chance of Champions League group stage action - and the accompanying £15million financial influx - seemed at their fingertips following a 1-1 draw in Slovenia last week. Yet Celtic proved toothless for the most part in the return and were undone when Brazilian Marco Tavares struck the most painful of blows with 15 minutes remaining. That it came after some truly flimsy defending, not an isolated incident this season, made it all the more difficult for Ronny Deila and his players to bear. Devastating: Celtic midfielder Callum McGregor (centre) was devastated after the 1-0 loss to Maribor . Stunned: Celtic Kris Commons (left) and Virgil Van Dijk are dejected after the latter missed a late chance . Winner: Maribor's Marco Tavares (centre) scored the goal that knocked Celtic out of the Champions League . Admirably, McGregor was first out to face the media in the interview marquee erected outside Celtic Park. On the other side of the canvas, a couple of hundred fans had massed in front of the main entrance to chant ‘Sack the Board’ and direct more personal ire at chief executive Peter Lawwell. The recriminations and fall-out will linger for days to come. On Tuesday night, however, it was the immediate pain of defeat that hurt so deeply for McGregor and his colleagues. ‘It’s just devastating,’ said the Parkhead youngster. ‘It’s a really tough one to take. The dressing room was silent at the end. We couldn’t believe it. In the second half, we had a few chances but then we got sucker-punched at the other end. ‘The feeling now is a mix of everything - anger and frustration. As I said, it is devastating. All the boys are absolutely gutted. ‘I’m obviously delighted to be part of the first team but it is hard to be happy when things like that happen. The Champions League was massive for the club. But it also meant everything to all the staff and the players. Party time: Tavares (centre) celebrates scoring goal that sent the Slovenian side into the group stage . ‘We will just have to work hard to try to get better. We will look to get better over the course of this season and come back and try to qualify next season. ‘A good week for me has ended quite badly. It’s good to get that recognition from the Scotland squad so I will just keep working hard and try to keep myself in the Celtic team.’ There was understandable apprehension before kick-off but few in a near-capacity crowd expected events to unfold quite the way they did on the Parkhead pitch. Maribor pressed Celtic much higher than in the first leg and knocked Deila’s system out of sync. McGregor struck the bar early in the second half but, in truth, the Slovenians always looked the more likely scorers. From a huge roar at kick-off, the noise around the stadium gradually morphed into one of anxiety and bitter frustration. ‘Were we edgy? It felt like that a wee bit,’ admitted McGregor. ‘They were happy to sit in and defend and that made it difficult for us to try and break down. ‘Once they managed to get a few shots on target the crowd start to get on your back a bit and it becomes difficult again. Not happy: Celtic fans protest after their side were knocked out of the Champions League . Here we go! The Maribor bench celebrate as the Slovenians stun the Scottish champions . ‘But I thought the boys managed to regroup quite well at half time. We threw pretty much everything we had at them and we were unlucky at some points. Virgil (Van Dijk) had a couple of efforts and I had one that hit the bar. You can say we were a wee bit unlucky there but you have to defend well at the other end as well. ‘We had an advantage from the first leg and I think everyone expected us to go through tonight. But we conceded a sloppy goal when we were trying to get the winner and maybe we should just have sat and taken the advantage we already had.’ Having seen a Champions League reprieve slip away, Celtic are left grasping at the consolation prize provided by the Europa League. The hope for Deila is that his team can develop in the same way Neil Lennon’s did when they were involved in the secondary competition three years ago. ‘We didn’t play well against Legia and now we have been knocked out tonight,’ said McGregor. ‘Maybe the Europa League is a stepping stone for us to get better as a squad and come back stronger next year. ‘Neil Lennon’s team did quite well in a Europa League campaign a few years ago. Obviously it is hard when a new manager takes over. He is trying to implant his ideas and his own kind of work ethic into the team. That is going to take time. At a big club like Celtic you don’t have a lot of time. You have to get the results along with the performances and the progression. Maybe the Europa League will give us that platform to improve as a team.’ Talking to: The Maribor fans are spoken to by police at Celtic Park as their side . | Callum McGregor was 'gutted' by Celtic's 2-1 aggregate loss to Maribor .
Celtic will miss out on £15m after failing to reach Champions League groups .
It is a bitter-sweet week for McGregor as he was called up to Scotland squad .
Brazilian Marco Tavares scored the only goal in Maribor's 1-0 at Celtic Park .
McGregor describes defeat as 'devastating' and 'really tough to take' |
190289afc3b4c0fb0197cd3dce9ad30ceeb4667a | By . Associated Press . and Daily Mail Reporters . An adorable 3-year-old girl who suffered a heart attack during a dentist visit likely died because she was given the maximum dose of sedative drugs, according to an autopsy report. Finley Puleo Boyle, of Kailua in Honolulu, Hawaii, probably died because of the sedatives and local anesthesia that were administered during her December dental procedure, Honolulu Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Christopher Happy concluded in his autopsy report. He classified the death as an accident. The girl lapsed into a coma on December 3 in the office of Dr. Lilly Geyer at Island Dentistry for Children. She died on January 3. The office has since closed. SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO . Finley Boyle, 3, died after being given sedatives during a standard dental procedure . Finley Boyle's devastated mother Ashley (right) took the little girl to the Island Dentistry for Children in Oahu, Hawaii on December 3 . The autopsy report said the previously healthy girl had no signs of underlying heart problems or an allergic reaction to the array of sedatives and anesthetic she received in preparation for cavity fillings and root canals, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported Friday. The medical examiner noted her teeth were in good shape: 'the oral cavity has native dentition in good repair.' Finley received five drugs, according to the report, including Demerol, hydroxyzine and chlorohydrate. She was also given laughing gas and an injection of a local anesthetic, lidocaine with epinephrine. 'Immediately following the lidocaine injection, the decedent became unresponsive and went into cardiopulmonary arrest,' Happy said in his report. The girl lapsed into a coma on December 3 in the office of Dr. Lilly Geyer (center) at Island Dentistry for Children . The girl's mother Ashley Boyle (pictured) is traumatized by her daughter's death and has filed a negligence lawsuit against the dentist . Parents Ashley and Evan Boyle filed a negligence lawsuit while their only child was in a coma. Their attorney, Rick Fried, would not comment on the autopsy report. Geyer's attorney, John Nishimoto, has called the allegations 'unproven' but declined to comment further because of the lawsuit. He didn't respond to the newspaper's requests for comment on the autopsy report Thursday. Geyer was issued a license to practice dentistry in the state in July 2005, the Star-Advertiser has previously reported. As of last December, there were no records of complaints against her or her practice on file with the Hawaii Department Of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, according to the newspaper. Ms Boyle is being represented by attorney Richard Fried who called the maximum dosages of five different drugs 'grossly excessive'. He cited the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry's standards which warned that young children should be monitored every five minutes and that an extra person should be there to help in case resuscitation is needed. Immediately following the lidocaine injection, Finley Boyle became unresponsive and went into cardiopulmonary arrest . The procedure on December 3 broke both . of those rules. Instead of checking Finley's oxygen levels every five . minutes, records show she wasn't checked for 26 minutes which explains . why the brain damage was so severe. When . the girl went into cardiac arrest, a doctor from another office had to . be brought in to perform CPR - which Ms Boyle believes is the main . reason her daughter fell into a coma. Ms Boyle was left with the agonizing decision to not resuscitate her daughter, saying that although she held out hope that her daughter would recover she didn't want her to live in a vegetative state. 'Had it been initiated at the correct time, she'd be walking out of the hospital right now,' Boyle said.Finley . may not have even needed the fillings. Ms Boyle has been contacted by . others mothers who got second opinions after visiting Dr Geyer and found . out that her recommendations were 'either totally unnecessary or . somewhat unnecessary' according to Fried. Other mothers said their children had trouble walking for a few days after having work done by Dr Geyer. Ms Boyle calls the botched procedure a 'massive tragedy' that she and her family 'will have to deal with for the rest of our lives.' In January, new state rules took effect tightening oversight of dental sedation in Hawaii. Finley Puelo Boyle (pictured) is tragically missed by her mother, father, and all who knew her . Write caption he . Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article. | Finley Puleo Boyle, of Kailua, probably .
died because of the sedatives and local anesthesia that were .
administered during her December dental procedure .
The girl lapsed into a coma on December 3 in the office of Dr. Lilly Geyer at Island Dentistry for Children and died on December 3 .
Devastated parents Ashley and Evan Boyle filed a negligence lawsuit while their only child was in a coma .
The mother decided not to let her daughter live in a vegetative state .
Other children have been unable to walk for days after being treated by Dr. Geyer . |
19031bb8b57a8d95eff548495c46fb68a051c9f8 | Sri Lanka have selected key fast bowler Lasith Malinga - 'subject to fitness' - for their World Cup squad. Malinga was unavailable for Sri Lanka's 5-2 one-day international series victory over England late last year as he continued his recovery from ankle surgery. He has been named, however, alongside fit-again seamer Nuwan Kulasekara in a final 15 for the global tournament in Australia and New Zealand, which gets under way next month. Lasith Malinga has been included in Sri Lanka's World Cup as he recovers after undergoing ankle surgery . Malinga (second from right) celebrates bowling England's Alex Hales at The Kia Oval last summer . The squad also contains veteran pair Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene, back-to-form ex-captain Dinesh Chandimal and controversial off-spinner Sachithra Senanayake. Sri Lanka will complete their World Cup preparations with a seven-match ODI series against New Zealand, starting this week. A Mathews (captain), T Dilshan, K Sangakkara (wkt), M Jayawardena, L Thirimanne, D Chandimal, D Karunaratne, J Mendis, T Perera, S Lakmal, L Malinga (subject to fitness), D Prasad, N Kulasekara, R Herath, S Senanayake . Veteran wicket-keeper-batsman Kumar Sangakkara has also been included in Sri Lanka's World Cup squad . | Sri Lanka have named their final 15-man squad for the World Cup .
Lasith Malinga is included despite missing the series win against England .
Nuwan Kulasekara and Kumar Sangakkara also made Sri Lanka's squad . |
19033db0f8e8cd5122ea351bd7b57d42d1897e4f | The Guardian has provoked anger after publishing an article that labelled the poppy artwork a ‘UKIP-style memorial’. Armed forces charities accused the left-wing newspaper of trying to politicise the tribute to those killed during the First World War. They sprang to the defence of the installation, called Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red, after the online article by a former Turner Prize judge described it as ‘trite, fake, and inward-looking’. An aerial view of the Tower of London showing the poppy installation called Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red. The Guardian has provoked anger by publishing an article that labelled the artwork as a 'UKIP-style memorial' In a provocative critique, author Jonathan Jones wrote: ‘The crowds come to remember – but we should not be remembering only our own. It’s the inward-looking mood that lets Ukip thrive. But that’s probably an overinterpretation, because the spectacle of all these red poppies is emptier than that. ‘In spite of the mention of blood in its title, this is a deeply aestheticised, prettified and toothless war memorial. Describing his preferred style of tribute, he wrote: ‘A meaningful mass memorial to this horror would not be dignified or pretty. It would be gory, vile and terrible to see. The moat of the Tower should be filled with barbed wire and bones. That would mean something.’ Social media users described the article as ridiculous, disrespectful and missing the point. In a provocative critique, former Turner Prize judge Jonathan Jones called it 'trite, fake and inward looking . And armed forces charities emphasised the way in which the artwork had caught the public’s imagination. Help for Heroes said it would not dignify an article that ‘tried to politicise a memorial’ with a response. A spokesman for armed forces charity SSAFA said: ‘The fact that hundreds of thousands of people have visited the installation to date, with many more expected as we head towards Remembrance, demonstrates how strongly the installation has resonated with the general public.’ A spokesman for the Historic Royal Palaces, which organised the memorial, said: ‘We have seen and read the article. It’s his opinion and we have nothing more to say about it. We’re just pleased with the way the public are responding to it – and that’s what’s more important to us. ‘We think it is incredibly evocative and we’ve seen people looking at it and being moved to tears just thinking about loved ones who died and the impact of war itself.’ Twitter user Jonny Wild wrote: ‘There are no words to express how disrespectful Jonathan Jones’ poppy article in the Guardian is – ridiculous piece of journalism.’ Journalist Ruth Green from Northern Ireland tweeted: ‘I saw the poppy installation last week. On so many levels Jonathan Jones has missed the point.’ But armed forces charities have emphasised they way in which the artwork has caught the public's imagination . Another user, tweeting under the name ‘Kemp1886’, said: ‘That Guardian article on the Poppy memorial is filth. Not remotely surprised though. No wonder circulation is so low.’ The article was published on what is thought to have been a record day for visitors at the memorial so far, with police brought in to help control the crowds. Visitors yesterday reported long queues to catch a glimpse of the memorial, but most were pleased to see so many keen to pay their respects. Sheila Bainbridge, 85, made the journey from Nottingham with her daughter, granddaughters and great-grandchildren. The President of the Women’s Section of the Royal British Legion in Radcliffe-on-Trent, whose late husband Sgt Laurie Bainbridge fought for the Royal Air Force on D-Day and helped liberate the Belsen concentration camp, said the sight was worth the wait. She said: ‘We don’t mind driving all the way down here and queuing to pay our respects.’ Undeterred by the crowds, her daughter Lynn Slater, 61, said: ‘It took us four hours to get here, we aren’t going to stop now.’ Visitor Angie Adriaanse, 65, from Wimbledon, told The Daily Mail: ‘I have never seen so many people.’ And one mum quipped: ‘I think the whole world has come today.’ Ray and Sue Smith, who travelled from Devizes, said it took them 30 minutes to get a good view. The couple said it was nice to see so many people take an interest, but Mr Smith, 68, said: ‘They are overwhelmed with crowds, they haven’t really planned how to cope.’ Millions of visitors have been to the installation including the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry . Retired property developer Graham Barnes, 88, who travelled from Henley-on-Thames, said: ‘(The display) is staggering, very moving, and a wonderful way of commemorating the number killed in that war.’ And he said the crowd did not surprise him, adding: ‘We are a patriotic nation.’ Adela Everiss, 34, from Hillingdon, said she would be returning with her family early on Saturday to avoid the crowd, adding: ‘It is just too busy.’ Hayes man Alan Hammond, 82, said: ‘It is a bit chaotic.’ While his wife Jane, 81, added: ‘It is lovely, it really is, but you do have a job to see it.’ The millions of visitors to the installation include the Queen two weeks ago and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in August. Artist Mr Cummins, 37, yesterday revealed he had lost a finger making one of the poppies - which were sold for £25 each - when his hand was crushed by an industrial roller. The artwork – entitled Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red - has been slowly filling the moat around the Tower since July with the help of 8,000 volunteers. It is expected to raise more than £11million for charity before it is taken down the day after Armistice Day on November 11, when the final poppy is planted. | Guardian published an article labeling the artwork as a 'Ukip-style memorial .
Written by critic Jonathan Jones, he called it 'trite, fake and inward looking'
Says that the Tower of London's moat should be replaced with bones .
Armed forces charities accuse the article of trying to politicise the tribute .
Those on social media take to Twitter to describe the article as 'ridiculous' |
190369109d274ba071b0ef4f37c3b347c996e289 | (CNN) -- The health of legendary golfer Seve Ballesteros has taken a turn for the worse, his family revealed on Friday. The 54-year-old had a brain tumor removed in late 2008, more than a year after he ended his illustrious career in the sport. "The Ballesteros family informs that Seve's neurological condition has suffered a severe deterioration," read a statement on the Spaniard's website. "The family will inform accordingly about any change in his health condition and takes this opportunity of thanking everyone for the support that both Seve and his own family have been receiving during all this time." CNN contacted Ballesteros' office in Santander to ask if he had returned to hospital, but was told that no further information would be given outside his personal website. The news came during the Spanish Open in Barcelona, one of the European Tour's founding events and a tournament that Ballesteros won in 1981 and 1985. Ballesteros met with his close friend and former European Ryder Cup teammate Jose Maria Olazabal before it teed off this week, according to the UK Press Association. "Seve's physical condition was not good when Jose Maria went to see him, but they talked about golf and everything," Olazabal's manager Sergio Gomez told PA on Friday. "Then came the call yesterday to tell him that Seve was in a critical condition." Tennis star Rafael Nadal paid tribute to his ailing compatriot on Friday. "Seve is a great benchmark for all the Spanish athletes who have been fortunate to meet him and play golf with him. I wish him well," the world number one said in quotes reported by AFP. "Life is cruel sometimes, he's had a struggle in recent years but he's still been able to do things. His foundation is an example for society and all athletes." Ballesteros made his name when he finished second at the British Open as a 19-year-old in 1976 and that year went on to win the European Tour's money list for the first of six times. He won the British Open -- one of golf's four major tournaments -- three times, and was twice victor at the Masters in Augusta. His triumph at the 1979 British Open made him the youngest winner of the event that century and the first non-British European to do so since 1907. As well as his success in stroke play tournaments, Ballesteros was also a mighty competitor in the match play format -- winning the world title five times and helping Europe claim the Ryder Cup on four occasions against the United States. He was also a victorious captain in 1997, the first year that the teams event was hosted by Europe outside of Britain and Ireland. Meanwhile, South Africa's Thomas Aiken claimed a one-shot lead at the halfway stage of the Spanish Open on Friday. The 27-year-old, seeking his first victory on the European Tour, shot his second successive four-under-par 68 at El Prat with a birdie at his final hole for the second day in a row. Ranked 104th in the world, he ended the day ahead of Spain's Pablo Larrazabal, who carded 70 on his home course. "I belong to another generation and never actually saw Seve play, but his fight these last years has been an inspiration for us all," Larrazabal, 27, told the European Tour website. "Although I was too young to watch him perform when he was at the top, I have seen all his films, and he was really spectacular, never giving up, hitting his driver and chasing the ball into the hole from everywhere." Another home hope, Alvaro Velasco, fired a flawless 66 to be on six-under 138 alongside France's Romain Wattel (71), Englishman Anthony Wall (70) and first-round leader Scott Jamieson (72). Miguel Angel Jimenez, a non-playing Ryder Cup assistant to Ballesteros in 1997, was tied for 27th on 143, while Olazabal was another shot back after also carding 72. | Seve Ballesteros' condition has deteriorated, according to his family .
The 54-year-old former golf star had a brain tumor removed in 2008 .
The news comes during the Spanish Open tournament, which he has won twice .
Fellow Spaniard Rafael Nadal is among those to pay tribute to Ballesteros . |
1904d855170ea9a003cb18f4c4351ed1b4d29bf2 | SLEEPY EYE, Minnesota (CNN) -- A 13-year-old Minnesota boy whose family has rejected chemotherapy to treat his cancer is with his mother near Los Angeles, California, and they may be planning to travel to Mexico, authorities said Wednesday. Doctors say Daniel Hauser's lymphoma responded well to a first round of chemotherapy in February. Brown County Sheriff Rich Offmann cited "reliable information" in making the announcement to reporters, adding that Colleen Hauser may be seeking treatment for her son's lymphoma just south of San Diego, California, in Mexico. "I'm confident we will find them," Offmann said. "I'm hoping for Daniel's sake we will find them." Anthony Hauser, Colleen's husband and the boy's father, has been cooperating with law enforcement, Offmann said. Earlier Wednesday the boy's father said he believed his son and his wife had already left the country. "I will say this: I have left a call to where I think they could possibly be," Anthony Hauser said from his home in Sleepy Eye, Minnesota, about 85 miles southwest of Minneapolis. Asked whether he believes that they have gone to Canada, he said, "I'm not saying it's Canada. You know, that isn't where I left my call." He made his comments a day after a Minnesota judge issued an arrest warrant for Colleen Hauser, who failed to appear with the boy at a court hearing. A judge scheduled the hearing to review an X-ray ordered by the court to assess whether Daniel Hauser's Hodgkin's lymphoma was worsening. A doctor testified at the hearing that the X-ray showed "significant worsening." In a news release, the Brown County Sheriff's Office said the father had been "cooperative" in helping them find his son but added, "the investigators cannot speculate on the sincerity of the information that Anthony Hauser has provided." The sheriff's office has been in touch with the FBI, and the boy has been entered in the Missing and Exploited Children network, it said. Anthony Hauser testified at the hearing that he last saw his wife at the family's farm on Monday night, when she told him she was going to leave "for a time." He later said he would like his wife and son to return. "I'd like to tell them, you know, 'Come back and be safe and be a family again,' " he said. "That's what I'd like to tell them." Watch father urge the pair to come back » . District Judge John R. Rodenberg of Brown County, Minnesota, said the boy's "best interests" require him to receive medical care. His family opposes the proposed course of treatment, which includes chemotherapy. "It is imperative that Daniel receive the attention of an oncologist as soon as possible," the judge wrote. During Tuesday's hearing, Dr. James Joyce testified that he had seen the boy and his mother on Monday at his office. He said the boy had "an enlarged lymph node" near his right clavicle and that the X-ray showed "significant worsening" of a mass in his chest. In addition, the boy complained of "extreme pain" at the site where a port had been inserted to deliver an initial round of chemotherapy. The pain was "most likely caused by the tumor or mass pressing on the port," testified Joyce, who called the X-ray "fairly dramatic" evidence that the cancer was worsening. Watch CNN's Dr. Gupta discuss Daniel's chances » . Rodenberg ordered custody of the boy transferred to Brown County Family Services and issued a contempt order for the mother. Philip Elbert, Daniel's court-appointed attorney, said he considers his client to have a "diminished capacity" for reasons of his age and the illness and that he thinks Daniel should be treated by a cancer specialist. Elbert added that he does not think Daniel -- who, according to court papers, cannot read -- has enough information to make an informed decision regarding his treatment. Daniel's symptoms of persistent cough, fatigue and swollen lymph nodes were diagnosed in January as Hodgkin's lymphoma. In February, the cancer responded well to an initial round of chemotherapy, but the treatment's side effects concerned the boy's parents, who then opted not to pursue further chemo and instead sought out other medical opinions. Court documents show that doctors estimated the boy's chance of five-year remission with more chemotherapy and possibly radiation at 80 percent to 95 percent. But the family opted for a holistic medical treatment based upon Native American healing practices called Nemenhah and rejected further treatment. In a written statement issued last week, an attorney for the parents said they "believe that the injection of chemotherapy into Danny Hauser amounts to an assault upon his body, and torture when it occurs over a long period of time." Medical ethicists say parents generally have a legal right to make decisions for their children, but there is a limit. "You have a right, but not an open-ended right," Arthur Caplan, director of the center for bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania, said last week. "You can't compromise the life of your child." CNN's Chris Welch contributed to this report. | NEW: Police think mom, son may be headed toward Mexico .
Dad says he called where he thinks they could be, won't say if it's Canada .
"Come back and be safe and be a family," Anthony Hauser urges wife and son .
13-year-old needs chemotherapy, doctors and court say . |
1905224afa1ab4bbb07442ddffdf3902284e77fa | By . Rachel Quigley . Last updated at 3:47 PM on 31st January 2012 . The Facebook page of a mother who abandoned her two daughters in Brooklyn was updated with a photograph of a seemingly naked man holding a bottle of champagne hours after the children were dumped. Police were looking for Dalisha Adams around Canarsie, Brooklyn, at around 6.15pm on Sunday when the image of the pink champagne was uploaded. Dominae, five, and three-year-old Diani were found shaken and confused in front of Bay View Houses - around a mile-and-a-half from their home in Breukelen Houses. Scroll down for video . Callous: This image of an apparently naked man holding a bottle of pink champagne was posted on Dalisha Adams' Facebook page hours after she abandoned her two daughters in Brooklyn . Abandoned: Dominae, five, left, and her younger sister Diani, three, said their mom Dalisha, dropped them near a busy intersection in Brooklyn and drove off . Mother: Dalisha Adams was arrested on Sunday night after abandoning her two daughters, aged five and three . Adams, 26, was arrested at around 11pm on Sunday night - more than four hours after the image was posted on her Facebook page. Two women discovered the two little girls and stayed with them until police arrived. They were bundled up warm wearing hooded down coats and Ugg boots at the housing project on Shore Parkway, the New York Daily News reported. A neighbour of the mother, who also has another eight-year-old daughter, said she often heard Adams screaming at her children. She told the New York Daily News: 'She was always yelling at the kids, "shut the f*** up". 'One day, I heard her curse out the little baby, "I'll punch you in the f***ing face".' The woman also said she heard more shouting on Sunday, shortly before the girls were abandoned. 'A kid was crying. She was saying, "stop crying, shut the f*** up. I'm gonna get you out of here",' she said. Dominae was able to remember she . lived in a blue house with flowers in front of it on 53rd street, but . did not know which borough of New York it was. She told a photographer: 'Mommy just left us on the sidewalk and drove away.' She also said her mother's name was Dalisha and she drove a white car. Abandoned: The children were left near this busy intersection in Shore Parkway, Brooklyn . The children showed no signs of physical abuse but were taken to Brookdale University Hospital for observation. Just after 10pm on Sunday night, police arrived at Adams' house and opened the door with a crow bar, but she was not at home. Adams was arrested after police matched the girls' identity with photo records from Administration for Children’s Services, where the children are currently in custody. Adams was charged with two counts of endangering the welfare of a minor, police said. Police were alerted to the the abandoned children by an elderly couple who found them standing at a busy intersection with the diapers in their arms as cars zoomed by them. Rescue: A good samaritan found the children near Bayview Housing Projects on Shore Parkway in Brooklyn, with their extra diapers and called police . Heroes: Police Officers Billy Morales and his partner Ed Centeno made sure they were safe after taking them from the two elderly woman who found them . Grandmother: Bertha Davia said she thinks it has all been a misunderstanding and Dalisha was supposed to leave the girls with her . The girls’ grandmother, Bertha Davia, said it was all a misunderstanding and is asking ACS to place them in her care. The 52-year-old told Eyewitness News that she lives in the complex next to where the children were left and the mother must have intended to leave her children in her care. She said she is furious her daughter never told her the children were coming and only realised what had happened when she saw their picture on the news. 'She left them on the corner here. I live all the way over there. And they was roaming the hallways and all that. Why would she do that to my grandkids? For what reason?' Although she is angry over the incident, she said she does not believe the two girls were abandoned on a street corner and it was just a big misunderstanding. Michelle Davis, 43, from Brooklyn, told the Daily News: 'They were wandering up and down the sidewalk for a while, just playing by themselves. 'It’s horrible. How could you leave your own children out there? They’re babies and you just leave them out there like that?' The police said both children were in good condition after being checked over in hospital and were now in the care of the ACS, who did not immediately respond to an inquiry. Young Girls Left On Street In Brooklyn: MyFoxNY.com . | Image of man holding pink champagne bottle uploaded to mother's Facebook page as police were looking for her .
Dalisha Adams, 26, arrested four hours later and charged with two counts of endangering the welfare of a minor .
Mother allegedly heard shouting at kids: 'I’ll punch you in the f***ing face'
Also heard shouting 'I'm gonna get you out of here' hours before they were abandoned . |
19054482299a62ca90d27279b7fea1ceff2dac11 | By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 13:44 EST, 31 October 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 02:53 EST, 1 November 2012 . Astronomers have discovered the oldest supernovae ever detected - two massive stars which exploded 12.5billion years ago. The cataclysmic events are known as ‘superluminous’ supernovae, and are up to 100 times brighter than other types of stellar blasts. They happened only 1.5billion years after the Big Bang which occurred 14billion years ago and their detection could eventually lead to finding the first stars that detonated. A high-resolution simulation of a galaxy hosting a super-luminous supernova and its chaotic environment in the early Universe similar to the one revealed today . A supernova begins when a star burns . out the last of its nuclear fuel and collapses under its own gravity and . blasts its outer layers into space. The star’s core is left behind in the condensed form of a neutron star or black hole. The record is reported online in Nature and easily beats the previous most distant supernova found that was 11billion years old. A supernova begins when a star burns out the last of its nuclear fuel and collapses under its own gravity and blasts its outer layers into space. The star’s core is left behind in the condensed form of a neutron star or black hole. Superluminous supernovae were discovered only a few years ago and are rare in the nearby Universe. Some are believed to occur when enormous stars undergo a nuclear explosion caused by light particles converting into electron-positron pairs - beams of matter and anti-matter heading in opposite directions. Such events probably happened more often in the early universe when massive stars were more common. This and their extreme brightness encouraged Dr Jeff Cooke and colleagues to search for superluminous supernovae when the Universe was less than four billion years old. Using images from the giant Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT) the researchers calculated superluminous supernovae were at least ten times more common then than now. Dr Cooke, of Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, said: 'Here we report the detection of two superluminous supernovae that have slowly evolving light curves. 'The extreme luminosities of superluminous supernovae provide a way of investigating the deaths of the first generation of stars to form after the Big Bang. 'The detection presents the possibility of finding the explosions of the first stars to form after the Big Bang.' | The cataclysmic death blasts occurred just 1.5bn years after the Big Bang .
New record beats the previous holder that was 11bn years old . |
1905a821fef6a6cc8adc63bd64628eab3c82306b | By . Rebecca English . An antique telephone which goes up for sale next week may finally solve the oft-told story that the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh inhabit separate bedrooms. The 1960s device, which comes in a teak case, is believed to have been Philip’s personal bedside phone at Buckingham Palace - and has a special button labelled ‘HM Bedroom’. Incredibly it was found dumped in a skip after contractors carried out refurbishment work at Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace several years ago. Scroll down for video . Separate bedrooms? This antique telephone is believed to have been the Duke of Edinburgh's personal bedside phone at Buckingham Palace - and has a special button labelled 'HM Bedroom' For sale: The antique telephone, which goes up for sale next week, may finally solve the oft-told story that the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, pictured at Royal Ascot this week, inhabit separate bedrooms . Alongside it was a bronze wall plaque engraved 'Tradesmen's Entrance to TRH The Prince and Princess of Wales' Apartment' which was once attached to the wall of Prince Charles and the late Princess Diana's Kensington Palace home. The unique items are due to go under the hammer next Tuesday at Colchester auctioneer Reeman Dansie's sale of Royal memorabilia. The phone also has hotlines to each of . the couple’s children: Prince of Wales, Prince Andrew, Prince Edward and . Sec. Princess Anne. Find: A bronze wall plaque engraved 'Tradesmen's Entrance to TRH The Prince and Princess of Wales' Apartment' was found alongside the telephone . There are also buttons labelled for . several members of Philip’s staff (known as the Dof E internally at the . palace): Dof E Equerry, Chf Clk to D of E, D of E Pt. (Private) Sec as . well as D 0f E Study. The . phone is expected to fetch £200 to £300, while the bronze plaque from . Charles and Diana's Kensington Palace apartment is estimated at £50 to . £70. Auctioneer James . Grinter said: ‘The phone from Buckingham Palace is particularly . intriguing. It not only has a line to the Queen's bedroom, but links to . all four of her children. ‘It also has lines to six of the Duke of Edinburgh's most senior staff.’ Discovery: Incredibly the phone and plaque were found dumped in a skip after contractors carried out refurbishment work at Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace several years ago . | Phone found dumped in a skip after Buckingham Palace refurbishment .
1960s device, which comes in a teak case, is believed to have been Philip’s .
The phone - from his bedside - has a special button ‘HM Bedroom’ on it . |
1906d34e9a57bb99be2133c3cde2f9d5b012b47a | By . Jessica Jerreat . PUBLISHED: . 16:37 EST, 13 August 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 05:12 EST, 14 August 2013 . A police officer called out to reports of a 'vicious dog' terrorizing the streets has ended up adopting the abandoned, affectionate pit bull. When Officer Dan Waskiewicz arrived at a Baltimore street he said he found people yelling at the frenzied pit bull, which was charging around. Realizing that the dog was just nervous and neglected, the officer called the pit bull, which immediately came over and started licking him. Scroll down for video . Police dog: Officer Waskiewicz is given a big lick by Bo in the back of his police cruiser . 'Being a dog lover, I got . out of my car and called the “vicious dog” over to me. The dog came over . with its tail between its legs and panting,' he told Modified K9. Instead of seeing a dangerous animal, Officer Waskiewicz said he realized the pit bull was scared. He offered it water and the dog licked him then jumped into his cruiser, in May last year. Concerned that the dog would be put to sleep if it was picked up by the dog pound, Officer Waskiewicz drove the affectionate pit bull to an animal shelter instead. On the way to the shelter the dog continued to lick the officer, before curling up next to him and falling asleep. Praise: Baltimore Humane Society presents Officer Waskiewicz with a certificate of appreciation . A couple of days later, when he contacted the shelter to see how the dog was settling in, he discovered it had still not been claimed - so he decided to offer it a forever home and renamed it Bo. His kind actions earned the officer a certificate of appreciation from Baltimore Humane Society last summer. 'So often we hear stories where law enforcement officers rush to judgment with violent action,' Baltimore Humane Society's Jen Swanson told CBS DC. Poster pup: Bo and Dan Waskiewicz have appeared in a campaign against animal cruelty . She added: 'When Dan Waskiewicz answered the call he first observed the situation calmly before he acted.' Bo, who had been kept outside and was filthy when the officer found him, is now settling into a new life with Officer Waskiewicz's two other dogs. The story of the rescue has been so popular that the pair appeared in Baltimore's Show Your Soft Side campaign against animal cruelty in the city. | Officer praised by animal shelter for showing compassion to nervous dog .
Dan Waskiewicz and his new pet feature in ad campaign against cruelty . |
190710f7e1cc08fd4ceb6191b9a4ba80446d901e | As these two snakes coil around each other in a seemingly affectionate tussle of mating, all is not as it seems. They are actually two male Rat Snakes who are fighting for dominance, to prove who is the strongest of the pack in Salt Lake in Kolkata, India. While no mating is involved, the two snakes perform the 'dance’ by wrapping around each other and raising their upper bodies in an attempt to subdue each other. Wrapped up: The two snakes are performing a 'mating ritual' through 'dance' by wrapping around each other in their fight for dominance . The dominant male Ptyas mucosus pins down his opponent for a few seconds before letting him go and mating with the female. The ritual can last up to an hour and while not overtly aggressive, it allows the male snakes to define their territory and defend their mates. The dance is often mistaken as the mythical ‘mating dance’ and many Indians, who worship snakes, consider the dance sacred. Dance of dominance: These two male Rat Snakes are fighting to prove who is strongest of the pack and defend their mate . Tall order: The snakes, which can grow up to eight feet long, raise their upper bodies as they fight it out for up to an hour . Ritual dance: Snakes are considered sacred in India because they are seen as entities of strength and renewal in Hindu mythology . Snakes are seen by Indians to be . entities of strength and renewal in Hindu mythology. The snake is often . used to represent the Naga, a deity or class of entity found in Hinduism . and Buddhism. The snake represents rebirth, death and mortality because of its casting of its skin which is seen as a symbolic rebirth. The snakes can grow up to about eight feet long and they eat frogs, rats, rodents, birds, lizards, turtles and bats. Their venom is not poisonous. They are one of the most common snakes found in the hills and plains throughout India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and the Indo-China region. Often mistaken as the fatally poisonous Indian Cobra and the King Cobra and so are frequently killed unnecessarily by people because of this. Snake slip up: The dance is often mistaken as the mythical 'mating dance' and many Indians, who worship snakes, consider the dance sacred . Common place: They are one of the most common snakes found in the hills and plains throughout India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and the Indo-China region . Not poisonous: Often mistaken as the fatally poisonous Indian Cobra and the King Cobra, the common Rat Snake are frequently killed unnecessarily by people because of this . | These two male Rat Snakes are attempting to subdue each other .
They are fighting to define their territory and defend their mates .
The tussle can last up to an hour and is often mistaken for mating .
The Rat Snake is one of the most common snakes countries including India . |
19076667611ddb4c10a338f7d9d7f3821d80bfee | There had been "growing concern" about former U.S. Secret Service Director Julia Pierson's leadership in the two weeks since a man with a knife managed to jump the White House fence and get into the East Room, a source tells CNN. But the "final straw," the source said, was that she and the agency did not inform the president about a September 16 breach at the CDC in Atlanta -- in which a private contractor who had a concealed gun shared an elevator with President Barack Obama -- until just before the media reported it on Tuesday afternoon. "The problems about the elevator breach were a) that it happened, b) that no one told the White House about it in the midst of two weeks of many discussions with them about security and then c) that the president didn't find out till just before the media was about to report it," the source said, agreeing that "final straw" would be an apt description of that event. Elaborate video shows entire security breach at White House . The source, who spoke to CNN anonymously so as to speak more candidly about sensitive events, said that there was every reason to believe Pierson and Secret Service leadership took the September 19 fence jumper incident "very seriously," though White House officials were not pleased with how facts and details about that incident kept changing, both in public media accounts and to them privately. That, however, could be explained and understood, the source said, given the "fog" of conflicting accounts inherent in such an intense and adrenaline-filled event. There was no such understanding about why, two weeks after the September 16 elevator incident at the CDC, the President was not informed until just before the Washington Examiner and Washington Post were prepared to share details of that event with the world. There was no going back; she had lost Obama's confidence that she was the right person to run the agency. On Wednesday, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said he had accepted Pierson's resignation and was appointing an independent panel to investigate the White House breach. Presidents are loath to publicly criticize the Secret Service for fear of straining any relations with the agents who keep them alive and protect their loved ones. So perhaps it was left to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who told reporters in Nevada on Wednesday, "I am just so disappointed in what I've seen. I can't imagine being a father of two girls and seeing this happen in my home. I'll bet Michelle is just beside herself -- they are so protective of those two girls. So I can't be a cheerleader of the Secret Service today." | Source: Concern had been growing about Secret Service director after East Room breach .
But "last straw" was not telling Obama, for more than 2 weeks, about man with gun at CDC .
DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson accepted Julia Pierson's resignation on Wednesday . |
1908b1e770f324ba2476ff513129f78496af2155 | (CNN) -- By now, we're on the same page that Mitt Romney's pick of Paul Ryan as his running mate contradicts a golden oldie of presidential election strategy -- run to the conservative (or liberal) base to win the nomination and then reposition toward the center to lure the more moderate independent swing voters who are necessary to win the general election. Ryan may be many things -- energetic, charismatic and geeky -- but no one familiar with his Full Monty conservative budgets would describe his selection as remotely moving to the center. Just the opposite -- Romney has doubled down on his move to the right during the primary battle. What gives? Did the looming prospect of defeat push Romney into a desperate gamble? Give Romney some credit. He's made a shrewd move. The Ryan choice adopts a strategy premised on supermobilizing the base and luring a smidgeon of others. Put on your thinking caps and grab an abacus, here are the numbers that could put Romney in the White House. Conservatives outnumber liberals 2 to 1 (40% to 21%). Rage against Obama has the GOP ready to walk over red hot coals to cast a ballot. A mainstay of Gallup's measure for determining who is likely to vote -- whether survey respondents are thinking a lot about the election -- shows not only that Republicans are more attentive than Democrats by 13 points but also more fired up than in recent presidential elections. To make sure they harvest the Ryan enthusiasts, the Romney campaign appears to be assembling an impressive operation to turn out the vote and to aggressively compete with the Obama team for the early vote. What makes the Romney mobilization particularly threatening to Obama is that it targets his biggest challenge -- polls consistently show him ahead but there are ominous signs that a decisive group of those supporters won't actually cast a ballot. Even with Obama's pro-immigration shift and the growing number of Latinos in competitive states, their actual turnout may flag from their record numbers in 2008. Less than half of Hispanics eligible to vote are registering and only 64% of Hispanics say they will definitely vote as compared to their 77% response in 2008 and the national average of 78% today. Ditto on youth. The percentage of voters 18 to 29 who say they will definitely vote in November (58%) is currently running 20 points or more behind the national average today (78%) or the youth turnout in 2008 (78%) or 2004 (81%). Blue collar voters -- never drawn to Obama (think Hillary Clinton in 2008 Democratic primaries) -- may desert him in numbers that approach the "Reagan Democrat" defections in 1980. This possible weakness in the Democratic coalition coincides with a bit more slippage among Obama's 2008 supporters (9%) than among McCain voters who won't vote GOP in November (5%). Bottom line: By picking the bona fide conservative Ryan, the Republican base is likely to deliver a rapturous response, which may allow Romney to succeed in exploiting Obama's greatest weakness at this point. Before you conclude this is far-fetched, think back to Karl Rove's strategy in 2004 to move right with strident social conservatism on abortion and same-sex marriage, steep tax cuts and hawkish policies in Afghanistan and Iraq. Embracing the base and scorning the rush to the middle cost George W. Bush the independent vote. But Bush also supercharged conservatives and Republicans, who turned out in droves. Refuting the conventional wisdom that Democrats do best in high-turnout elections, it was Bush who most benefited from the 16% jump in the total vote. But -- there's always a but. Even as Ryan fires up conservatives, he may also mobilize votes for Obama -- including senior citizens who reside in key swing states like Florida. Alarmed by his draconian proposals to remake Medicare, they may boost their support of Obama. Another potential risk: A good number of voters may be primed to punish the incumbent for poor economic times. Pluralities of Ohio and Florida independents report that Obama's re-election would hurt their personal financial situation. But the coming hullabaloo over Ryan's budget proposals may distract the economically pained from punishing Obama. All in all, Romney has a tough battle ahead -- even stringent counts of Electoral College votes based on polls show Obama within striking distance of winning. But using Ryan to ignite the Republican base is probably Romney's most plausible path to prevailing. And, it may produce a campaign focused a bit more on policy than on birth certificates, service records and the other side issues of recent elections. Strap in, folks, 2012 may be much more interesting and close than we'd imagined. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Lawrence R. Jacobs. | Lawrence Jacobs: Mitt Romney was shrewd in picking Paul Ryan as his running mate .
Jacobs: Ryan can supercharge conservatives, who outnumber liberals 2 to 1 .
He says there are signs that Obama supporters won't actually cast a ballot .
Jacobs: Using Ryan to ignite the GOP base is probably Romney's best chance of prevailing . |
1909be9ac6b51d2bfc62788b64cb04bde610f79a | For cycling enthusiasts, it's the ultimate holiday. But with an eye-watering £80,000 price tag, it's a trip that would break the bank. Luxury travel firm VeryFirstTo is offering travellers the chance to pedal around the 12 most fashionable cities in the world. Pedal power: The £80,000 trip takes in Paris - as well as London, New York and Rome . High-end tour: The trip also includes a top A2B electric bike, worth £2,500, which holidaymakers can keep . The high-end package, which launches in October, will give cyclists the chance to park their bikes and pop into the world's trendiest restaurants, clubs and galleries. The tour, which takes a month to complete, includes bike trips around the streets of Paris, New York, Milan, London, Barcelona, Rome, Tokyo, Los Angeles, Amsterdam, Istanbul, Berlin and Sydney. Couples will also be provided with two top A2B electric bikes, costing about £2,500 each, which they will be able to keep at the end of the trip. Luxury travel: The trip also includes a stay in the five-star Rosewood London, near Covent Garden . Wish you were here? JK Place Roma, a boutique hotel in Rome, is one of the stop-offs on the month-long trip . Marcel Knobil, founder of company VeryFirstTo, said: 'The target customer is someone who is a fashion enthusiast and who has a passion for travelling while being as environmentally-friendly as possible. 'Some of the cities are more intimidating than others to cyclists, but in each city the couple will be accompanied by an expert guide who knows the most cycle-friendly routes. 'By having a bike you can explore places really quickly and navigate certain routes which one would never be able to do by taxi.' The cost of the tour includes travel between the cities, accommodation and tour guides.However, holiday-makers will be expected to pay for their own food and souvenirs. Mr Knobil said: 'On the face of it the £80,100 cost sounds quite spectacular, but when you break it down it starts to make sense. Retail therapy: Cyclists will also get the chance to go shopping in the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan . As well as cycling, the holiday includes stop-offs at tourist attractions, luxury restaurants and bars . 'If you look at the quality of travel and accommodation, and the number of places you're going to, it's pretty reasonable. 'Unfortunately one needs deep pockets, but what you're getting in return is very fair indeed.' Mr Knobil said the cities on the itinerary were decided by a poll of VeryFirstTo's 250,000 members. He said: 'It's a really nice mix of the classic fashion cities, like Paris, and some others that have in more recent times been getting credibility for their fashion credentials in terms of food, clothing, architecture and hotels. 'There are a number of destinations I haven't yet had the pleasure of visiting - the likes of Tokyo would be an absolute treat. I know the New York Bar at the Park Hyatt would be great. Rodeo Drive! Guests on the trip will enjoy a stopover in Beverly Hills - home to boutique stores . Culture stop: The holiday also includes a night in QT Sydney hotel, renowned for its art and design . 'Sydney is now becoming quite a fashion hub - I understand Darlinghurst is absolutely spectacular for shopping.' Other highlights on the trip could include Barcelona's ABaC restaurant, the Bar della Pace in Rome, Rodeo Drive in Hollywood and the restaurants of Bel-Air in Los Angeles and the Bosphorous hotel in Istanbul. Mr Knobil said: 'We've had lots of people ask for itineraries who have told us they're thinking about what an appropriate date might be. We're hopeful and we think it's a tantalising proposition.' The trip will see holidaymakers cycle from from Paris to Sydney by way of Los Angeles, Istanbul and Tokyo. | Luxury travel company VeryFirstTo is launching the tour in October .
Trip takes in 12 cities - including London, New York, Paris and Sydney .
Guests will get to stay in high-end hotels and dine in top-class restaurants . |
190a394629d7939a151dcbc2f3c3bf1c5f159ccf | By . Emma Glanfield . A senior aide within Ed Miliband’s office who was blamed for the leader's embarrassing Hillsborough gaffe has become embroiled in an alleged bullying row, it has emerged. Anna Yearley, the Labour leader’s political secretary, has been accused of bullying Gemma Tumelty - a junior member of staff who worked as the party’s stakeholder relations manager. Ms Yearley, 35, is alleged to have treated the 33-year-old poorly, resulting in her leaving the party office last month, inside sources reportedly claimed. Anna Yearley (pictured), the Labour leader¿s political secretary, has been accused of bullying Gemma Tumelty - a junior member of staff who worked as the party's stakeholder relations manager . Ms Tumelty, the former president of the National Union of Students, is said to have received a ‘pay-off’ and signed a confidentiality agreement, The Times reported. It is alleged senior figures received an email informing them Ms Tumelty had resigned for family reasons and staff were asked not to contact her. Ms Yearley, who remains in post, works closely with Mr Miliband and acts as a liaison between the Labour leader and MPs. She became head of his political office after serving on his leadership campaign in 2010 and has previously worked as a member of Gordon Brown’s political staff. A spokesman speaking on behalf of the Labour party told MailOnline today: ‘We do not comment on staffing matters' and said Ms Yearley would not be making any comment on the matter. Gemma Tumelty, 33, who is the former president of the National Union of Students, is said to have received a 'pay-off' and signed a confidentiality agreement before leaving the position last month, it has been claimed . Ms Tumelty declined to comment when approached by The Times. The allegations come after Mr Miliband was forced to apologise last week after posing with a copy of The Sun. The Labour leader, who boasted of standing up to Mr Murdoch during the phone hacking scandal, attempted to mend fences in the run-up to the next election by posing with a World Cup souvenir edition of the tabloid. But the picture provoked anger among Labour activists, particularly in Liverpool, where the newspaper is boycotted due to its coverage of the 1989 Hillsborough disaster. Ms Yearley was blamed for failing to predict the political fallout and the Labour leader was forced to issue an humiliating apology, saying he was ‘very, very sorry’ for causing offence. The apology capped a dismal week for the party leader. His new slogan ‘Hardworking Britain Better Off’ was condemned as ‘divisive’ at a meeting of Labour’s ruling national Executive Committee (NEC). Ms Yearley was blamed for failing to predict the political fallout after Labour leader Ed Miliband came under fire for posing with a copy of The Sun, which provoked anger among Labour activists, particularly in Liverpool . NEC member Ann Black said a poll she conducted of more than 200 party members found that 98 per cent ‘hated’ it because it appeared to criticise the unemployed. She said activists described the slogan as ‘divisive, meaningless’ and ‘sounding like a Tory slogan’. On immigration, senior Labour MP John Mann said that the ‘metropolitan elite’ had no idea about its impact on the lives of ordinary people. He accused Miliband and other members of the leadership of living ‘different lives to the voters whose support they need’. He also said the Labour leadership was ‘reluctant to recognise the downsides’ of mass immigration. MailOnline has contacted Ms Tumelty for comment. | Political secretary , 35, accused of bullying a junior employee .
Gemma Tumelty is said to have left party office last month following 'pay-off'
The 33-year-old worked as stakeholder relations manager for Labour party . |
190a4a4c5ef528228be6eb8a7898c041830dc217 | By . David Mccormack . PUBLISHED: . 17:48 EST, 21 June 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 17:55 EST, 21 June 2013 . Researchers at the University of Maryland have developed a breakthrough in engineering technology that allows a robot to successfully achieve the complex aerobatic maneuvers of a bird. The artificial bird is destined to . have a military or surveillance purpose, the UMD Robotics Center, which sits within the University of Maryland, has . received funding from the U.S. Army Research Laboratory. The robot bird has the potential to become a more advanced type of . drone, it includes a tiny video camera and could be used for . reconnaissance and surveillance. Researchers at the University of Maryland have developed a breakthrough in engineering technology that allows a robot to successfully achieve the complex aerobatic maneuvers of a bird . The robot bird includes a tiny video camera and could be used for reconnaissance and surveillance by the army . 'Robo Raven' is much quieter than the . helicopter or propeller, so it could get much closer to an adversary . without revealing its presence. It is made out of carbon fiber, 3D-printed lightweight thermal-resistant plastic, Mylar foil and foam and weighs less than a can of soda. The bird uses one motor to flap both wings together in simple motions. Robot birds have been a labor of love for University of Maryland Professor S. K. Gupta for nearly a decade. The 'Robo Raven' is made out of carbon fiber, 3D-printed lightweight thermal-resistant plastic, Mylar foil and foam and weighs less than a can of soda . Along with fellow mechanical engineering professor Hugh Bruck and their graduate students, Gupta first . successfully demonstrated a flapping-wing bird in 2007. By 2010, the design had evolved through four successive models to the latest, which carries a tiny video camera. 'Nobody has flown anything with independent wing control,' before, Gupta told The Baltimore Sun. It can also be launched from a . ground robot that ARL researchers have created called the Lynchbot, which can . fly in winds up to 10 mph. From a distance, the 'Robo Raven' looks like a bird and it has even fooled a hawk, which has attacked the robot in mid-flight on more than one occasion. The 'Robo Raven' looks like a bird and has even fooled a hawk, which has attacked the robot in mid-flight on more than one occasion . The robot bird can also be launched from a ground robot that ARL researchers have created called the Lynchbot, which can fly in winds up to 10 mph . | The 'Robo Raven' is a lightweight advanced robot that can fly like a bird .
It has been developed by searchers at the University of Maryland and received funding from the U.S. Army .
Has the potential to be used as a drone for reconnaissance and surveillance . |
190ac9eb4834dcea302011bdd5938abac3d2f130 | Stuart Pearce has been sacked by Nottingham Forest following the dismal 1-0 loss at home to Championship strugglers Millwall, which capped a run of three wins in 23 matches. Owner Fawaz Al Hasawi met with Pearce on Sunday afternoon culminating in the club’s legendary former player leaving after seven months in charge. Dan Petrescu is set to be interviewed for the vacancy and is in pole position to become Al-Hasawi’s fifth manager since taking control in July 2012. Stuart Pearce has left Nottingham Forest following Saturday's 1-0 defeat at home to lowly Millwall . Pearce gestures to the City Ground faithful before the match against Millwall on Saturday . The former Forest boss (left) and Millwall manager Ian Holloway share a joke before Saturday's match . Substitute Ricardo Fuller comes off the bench to earn Millwall a valuable away win at the County Ground . The Rochdale players celebrate with Peter Vincenti after his penalty gave the hosts a FA Cup win over Forest . Played 32, Won 10, Drew 10, Lost 12 . Win percentage: 31.3% . Pressure has been mounting on Pearce for a considerable period and Sportsmail reported three weeks ago how Al-Hasawi had sought counsel from players over his management style, also sending associates to watch training. The dramatic victory over rivals Derby is believed to have granted Pearce more time but the alarming first-half performance in defeat to Fulham which followed brought his position under scrutiny again. Saturday’s defeat at the City Ground made his role untenable. Petrescu, the former Chelsea defender, is known to Al-Hasawi and is keen to work in England following spells in Romania, Poland and Russia. Last month, Sportsmail revealed that Pearce's position was under severe pressure. Fawaz Al-Hasawi (centre) feels Forest need a change to their philosophy to turn around their barren run . Pearce (left) is presented as Forest boss last year with owner Al-Hasawi (centre) and John McGovern . After long discussions between owner and chairman Fawaz Al Hasawi and manager Stuart Pearce, the club has decided that Stuart will be relieved of his role as manager with immediate effect. Mr Al Hasawi has offered Stuart an alternative role at the club, which he is currently considering. The club will be making no further comment at this time. Nottingham Forest released a statement on Sunday confirming the dismissal of Pearce. It read: 'After long discussions between owner and chairman Fawaz Al Hasawi and manager Stuart Pearce, the club has decided that Stuart will be relieved of his role as manager with immediate effect. 'Mr Al Hasawi has offered Stuart an alternative role at the club, which he is currently considering. 'The club will be making no further comment at this time.' The former Notts Forest player salutes the crowd before a home match in 1996 . Owner Al Hasawi also issued a statement on Nottingham Forest's website. It read: ''I would like to place on record my gratitude to Stuart Pearce for all his endeavours during his time as manager of Nottingham Forest. My decision to relieve Stuart of his duties is the hardest footballing decision I have ever made. 'I came to that decision after a long conversation with Stuart about the best next step for the club. Unfortunately, recent results convinced me it was best to pursue alternative managerial options. 'I hope our supporters understand my decision.Stuart is someone I have always admired and that will never change. For that reason I have offered him an advisory role at the club, which I sincerely hope he accepts so we can all move forward together. 'Thank you all for your continued support.' Pearce shouts instructions from the touchline during Forest's match against Watford back in October . | Stuart Pearce has left his position as Nottingham Forest manager .
Forest lost 1-0 at home to relegation-threatened Millwall on Saturday .
Result saw Pearce's side stretch their awful run to just three wins from 23 .
The 53-year-old has been in charge at the City Ground since July last year .
Dan Petrescu, Dougie Freedman and Uwe Rosler early favourites for job . |
190b7981990d48be0bb9d4cea8f54c5f62dbdf8e | The number of stay-at-home fathers in Britain has reached a record high, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics. There are now 229,000 men who stay at home with their children - up from 111,000 in 1993. Meanwhile the number of women at home has fallen in the past year by 45,000 to 2.04million. House husband: Figures released by the Office for National Statistics revealed 229,000 men stay at home with their children - up from 111,000 in 1993 (file picture) Over the same period there has been a five per cent increase in the number of fathers giving up work. Adrienne Burgess, joint chief executive of the Fatherhood Institute, said: 'The number of women who earn as much or more than their partners is increasing, so it makes economic sense in some families for the father to be the primary carer. 'The public increasingly accepts that mothers can be employed and still be good mums - and that fathers can be good fathers without being the primary breadwinner.' Nick Wilson, 45, who has four children, gave up his job as a primary school teacher in Hull. 'We decided one of us should stay at home and as I earned a bit less I decided to leave my job,' he said. 'We are worse off financially but it is worth it for the quality time I get to spend with my children.' Family: In the last 20 years there has been a five per cent increase in the number of fathers giving up work (file picture) | Office for National Statistics say figure has increased from 111,000 in 1993 .
Meanwhile, number of women at home has fallen by 45,000 to 2.04million .
In same period, there has been a five per cent increase in number of fathers giving up work . |
190c78fa32140ab35e2bec2fdb80d6aa2aae685e | UPDATED: . 13:40 EST, 26 August 2011 . About half of both men and women in the U.S. will be obese by 2030 if current trends continue, health experts warned today. Obesity is fast replacing tobacco as the single most important preventable cause of chronic non-communicable diseases, and will add an extra 7.8million cases of diabetes, 6.8million cases of heart disease and stroke, and 539,000 cases of cancer in the U.S. within the next two decades. Some 32 per cent of men and 35 per cent of women are now obese in the U.S., according to a research team led by Claire Wang at the Mailman School of Public Health in Columbia University in New York. Epidemic: Approximately 32 per cent of men and 35 percent of women are now obese in the U.S. They published their findings in a special series of four papers on obesity in The Lancet. The findings showed Obesity is most widespread in the UK and the U.S. among the world's leading economies. In Britain, obesity rates will balloon to between 41-48 per cent for men and 35-43 per cent for women by 2030 from what is now 26 per cent for both sexes, they warned. 'An extra 668,000 cases of diabetes, 461,000 of heart disease and 130,000 cancer cases would result,' they wrote. Due to overeating and insufficient exercise, obesity is now a growing problem everywhere and experts are warning about its ripple effects on health and healthcare spending. Obesity raises the risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, various cancers, hypertension, high cholesterol, among others. Because of obesity, the U.S. can expect to spend an extra 2.6 per cent on its overall healthcare bill, or $66billion per year, while Britain's bill will grow by two per cent, or 2billion per year, Wang and colleagues warned. Health risks: Obesity raises the risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, various cancers, hypertension and high cholesterol . In Japan and China, one in 20 women is obese, compared with one in 10 in the Netherlands, one in four in Australia and seven in 10 in Tonga, according to another paper led by Boyd Swinburn and Gary Sacks of the WHO Collaborating Center for Obesity Prevention at Deakin University in Melbourne, Australia. Worldwide, around 1.5billion adults are overweight and a further 0.5billion are obese, with 170million children classified as overweight or obese. Obesity takes up between two to six per cent of healthcare costs in many countries. 'Increased supply of cheap, tasty, energy-dense food, improved food distribution and marketing, and the strong economic forces driving consumption and growth are the key drivers of the obesity epidemic,' Swinburn and Sacks wrote. The health experts urged governments to lead the fight in reversing the obesity epidemic. 'These include taxes on unhealthy food and drink (such as sugar sweetened beverages) and restrictions on food and beverage TV advertising to children,' wrote a team led by Steven Gortmaker at the Harvard School of Public Health, which published the fourth paper in the series. | By 2030 the number of obese Americans could increase from 99million in 2008 to 164million .
In the U.K. expected increase of 15million to 26million . |
190e8d3b2cf4b2fa94624b76f37234f14f000f95 | Fans of the Hobbit trilogy blockbusters were left outraged this week after being told some of the films' most beloved characters would not be attending the world premiere. New Zealand actor John Callen, who plays the dwarf named Oin in the popular series, took to Facebook on Friday to inform fans that he and his fellow local actors would not be attending the London premiere of the third movie on December 1. 'Just had the word that Warner Brothers won't be taking the Kiwi dwarves of the Hobbit to the London premier because of 'budget' considerations,' Callen wrote. 'Sorry to all...' At least four online petitions have been launched by Hobbit trilogy fans, protesting against announcements that the New Zealand dwarf actors will not be attending the world premiere of the third installment . John Callen, who plays the dwarf named Oin, was the first to inform his fans over Facebook . The news was met with outrage by hundreds of fans who slammed Warner Bros. for the decision, that would mean seven of the thirteen dwarves - Jed Brophy (Nori), John Callen (Oin), Mark Hadlow (Dori), Peter Hambleton (Glóin), Stephen Hunter (Bombur), William Kircher (Bifur), and Dean O'Gorman (Fili) - would not attend the premiere. 'This is ridiculous. And disappointing. And simply not fair. You are such an important - no, THE MOST IMPORTANT part of these movies. You, the dwarves, the company. And this is the WORLD premiere of the LAST middle earth movie. The end of an era. This makes me so angry!!' Ulrike Pröschild wrote. 'Shame on WB! The Company of Thorin Oakenshield must follow him one last time. We want all the Dwarves for the World Premiere in London. The excuse is insulting and ridicolous. They will have to face a very angry fandom,' Cristina Salvini responded. The news was met with outrage by hundreds of fans who slammed Warner Bros. for the decision that would mean seven of the thirteen dwarves would not attend the premiere . It has since been anounced the NZ dwarves will be flown to Los Angeles' premiere while the European dwarves will attend London's premiere . At least four online petitions have since been launched by fans from across the world, one of which was set up in the form of a Facebook page and has received over 700 likes since Callen's original post two days ago. Further outrage ensued due to Warner Brothers funding a six-day trip around New Zealand for 150 global competition winners, alongside Air New Zealand and Tourism New Zealand . Matt Dravitski from Wingnut Films has since told the New Zealand Herald that the New Zealand dwarves would be flown to the film's premiere in Los Angeles while the actors who play the European dwarves would attend the London premiere. Further outrage ensued due to Warner Brothers funding a six-day trip around New Zealand for 150 global competition winners, alongside Air New Zealand and Tourism New Zealand . The announcement did little to quell fans' fury however, with many simply dubbing the Los Angeles premiere as 'an inadequate substitute' for the world premiere, with petitions only slightly changing their wording to specify the location of their demands. Directed by Sir Peter Jackson, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies will be released on December 11. The first two movies in the trilogy, The Hobitt: An Unexpected Journey and The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, earned over $1 billion and $958 million respectively. | New Zealand actor John Callen, who plays Oin, told fans that he and his fellow New Zealand actors would not be attending the London premiere .
Callen said Warner Brothers cited 'budget' considerations despite the first two Hobbit movies earning $1 billion and $958 million respectively .
At least four online petitions have been launched by fans, slamming Warner Bros. and demanding the decision be reversed .
It has since been anounced the NZ dwarves will be flown to Los Angeles' premiere while the European dwarves will attend London's premiere . |
1910bc4b2c79f57daa6177fb5a75a403f6d4ba5c | (CNN) -- Japanese authorities are putting new pressure on the owner of the meltdown-stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant after its admission that highly radioactive water from the site has been seeping into groundwater and the harbor off the plant. A top official said Tuesday that the government wanted the problem solved "as soon as possible," while an official at Japan's nuclear regulatory agency told Reuters on Monday that the issue was an "emergency." Three reactors melted down at Fukushima Daiichi after the massive earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan in March 2011. The result was the worst nuclear accident since the Soviet Union's Chernobyl incident in 1986. The meltdown complicated an already historic disaster. Scientists have pointed to ongoing high radiation levels in the waters off the plant for more than a year to warn of an ongoing leak. The Tokyo Electric Power Company admitted to the problem in July, disclosing that it had found high concentrations of reactor byproducts tritium, cesium-137 and strontium-90 in test wells and in the harbor outside the coastal power plant. "It's a present reality that the contaminated water is seeping out to the bay without us being able to control it," Masayuki Ono, TEPCO's acting nuclear power chief, said this week. "This is an extremely serious issue we must tackle." Fukushima tuna study finds miniscule health risks . Ono said the company has built an underground barrier to prevent contaminated groundwater from reaching the sea, but it's a difficult problem. "We think we are containing the movement of contaminated water in general, but there is a risk of excess water going around or coming over the barrier," he said. TEPCO has been struggling to manage vast quantities of contaminated water at the plant since the tsunami, which swamped the facility. It's still pumping hundreds of tons of water a day into the plant to cool the crippled reactors, though most of that is recycled. The problem now is what to do with groundwater that's leaking into the damaged basements of the reactor buildings and passing out contaminated, said Michael Friedlander, a former nuclear plant operator and engineer. Radiation damaged more souls than bodies . "Instead of fixing the wall in the basement to stop the groundwater leakage, they can't because the building is uninhabitable," he said. The result is the company is having to store the radioactive water in massive tank farms built around the site -- a makeshift solution with no good permanent fix, Friedlander said. "Over time, they've had radioactive water leaks on the property and there's probably no question there is some seepage from the buildings themselves," he said. "At the end of the day you have radioactive materials in places where they're not supposed to be," and that contamination "will migrate into places you don't want it." The issue drew a sharp response this week from an official at Japan's Nuclear Regulatory Authority, a new agency created in the wake of the disaster. Shinji Kinjo, the head of an NRA task force, told Reuters on Monday that TEPCO's "sense of crisis is weak." "Right now, we have an emergency," he said. Man who battled Japan's nuclear meltdown dies . And Yoshihide Suga, Japan's chief cabinet secretary, said Tuesday that the government wants to see the problem fixed quickly. "We are going to put our full efforts toward resolving the issues," Suga said. Sampling results disclosed in July showed concentrations of tritium in one well as high as 500,000 bequerels -- a unit of radioactive intensity -- per liter of water. By comparison, Japan's maximum safe level of radioactivity in drinking water for adults is 300 bequerels per liter. Ken Buesseler, a U.S. marine chemist, was one of the scientists who raised alarms about ongoing contamination early on. Buesseler told CNN that building new groundwater barriers is may be a futile effort. Google maps show Fukushima nuclear ghost town . "Think of groundwater like a river," he said. "If there's a flow to the ocean, you can put up a dam, but eventually it's going to go up and over it or around to the sides ... It flows from higher to lower, and the ocean's the low point." And Friedlander said that may leave TEPCO and Japan's government with two choices sure to stoke further public anger: "You can either dump it in the ocean, or you can evaporate it." "At the end of the day, collecting 400 tons of water every single day is not a sustainable solution," he said. Federal officials allowed the Three Mile Island nuclear plant in Pennsylvania, the site of the worst American nuclear accident, to let contaminated water evaporate, Friedlander said -- but TMI was nowhere near the scale of the Fukushima disaster. "We're in uncharted territory here," he said. Japan signs deal with Turkey to build nuclear plant . CNN's Yoko Wakatsuki contributed to this report. | Tainted water seeps from Fukushima Daiichi plant, plant owner discloses .
Scientists have been warning about the problem for more than a year .
"This is an extremely serious issue we must tackle," TEPCO says .
Storing the water "is not a sustainable solution," U.S. engineer says . |
19121f4618d0de84551d1e6556a0bd3a1ef456d8 | (CNN) -- From anti-apartheid activist to climate change champion, Kumi Naidoo is a man born to make a change. He's the new International Executive Director of environmental action group Greenpeace, and he takes on his role on the eve of the critical climate talks in Copenhagen. The 44 year-old grew up in Johannesburg and had an early introduction to the world of activism. "I was defiantly the product of the society I was born in, which was apartheid South Africa...I do think that many of us who might have exceptional or out-of-the-ordinary backgrounds are not because we ourselves are exceptional people but because we were born in context of adversity and been able to somehow rise above that adversity," he told CNN. Naidoo was arrested numerous times for civil disobedience against the apartheid regime during the 1980s. He eventually left for the UK in 1987 and earned a doctorate in political sociology at Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar. After Nelson Mandela was released in 1990, Kumi returned to South Africa and worked with and founded a number of civil society NGOs. Until last year Naidoo was for 10 years the General Secretary of CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation. One of the first high profile campaigns Naidoo worked on was Make Poverty History in 2005 that gained widespread coverage and a number of celebrity supporters. After several years in the anti-poverty movement, Naidoo has come to see that struggle against poverty and combating climate change are two-sides of same coin. Since becoming head of Greenpeace in November, Naidoo is focused on using his skills as an activist to move issues from the fringes into the mainstream. "[Another] feature of activism is being able to choose the right tools and tactics for the right moment... If you can win through dialogue and engagement then that's great but sadly those with power in both government and business do not have the propensity to do the right thing unless they are pushed and that's why you have to have tools like non-violent direct action," he told CNN. Connecting individuals to ideas and in turn connecting those ideas to a greater audience is one of the things Naidoo is hoping to achieve in Copenhagen. "I don't want history to judge us as sleepwalking into a crisis when all the scientific evidence is saying that we have to stop and take notice of the way that we are living on this planet. "I feel that right now we are all at risk and being severely judged by future generation." Watch Kumi Naidoo on CNN's African Voices on Saturday, December 12, 11.30 and 18.30 GMT and Sunday, December 13, 17.00 GMT . | Kumi Naidoo is the International Executive Director of Greenpeace .
Grew up in apartheid South Africa and says he was born in activism .
Sees poverty reduction and combating climate change as part of same struggle .
One of first tasks is in Copenhagen during the COP15 summit . |
191266fa135ec5239130881232f7872b6a8c2768 | By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 21:09 EST, 27 December 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 09:57 EST, 28 December 2013 . Feeling down: Men feel less attractive if their partner takes the oral contraceptive, a study claims . It has been blamed for altering women’s moods – but it seems the Pill also has an impact on their male partners. Men feel less attractive if their wife or girlfriend takes the oral contraceptive, a study claims. British and Dutch researchers studied 14 women who were on the Pill, then stopped taking it. They were asked how attractive they felt – and their partners were asked how they saw them. The men were also asked how they rated their own looks. The team found being on the Pill made no difference to how a woman saw herself. However, the men felt more attracted to women when they were not on the Pill, which is taken by three million Britons. The researchers say this could be because the treatment stops hormonal fluctuations that make a woman particularly fertile at certain times in a monthly cycle. At these times, said Kelly Cobey, of Stirling University, women display subtle cues, such as clear skin and flirty behaviour, that men respond to subconsciously by feeling attracted to them. So why did a partner on the Pill make men feel less attractive? The scientists said men’s sense of their own appeal is based on their partner’s looks. Differing perspectives: Alternatively, being on the Pill makes no difference to how a woman sees herself . When women are off the Pill, men are more attracted to them. As a result, they get an ego boost that makes them feel good about themselves, they suggest. In the journal Biological Psychology, Dr Cobey said the results should not affect use of the Pill, but said ‘subtle psychological effects’ may have been overlooked. | Men feel less attractive if their partner takes oral contraceptive, study claims .
Alternatively, the Pill makes no difference to how women see themselves . |
1914cd0af859b99c338b63b7075560158a00aab4 | By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 16:51 EST, 15 June 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 19:27 EST, 15 June 2013 . Hamdi Ulukaya came to the U.S. with just $3,000 in his pocket and in the last five years has created a billion dollar business . To those who say the American Dream no longer exists, consider the story of Hamdi Ulukaya, a Turkish Kurd who came to the U.S. with $3,000 in his pocket and has in the last five years created a billion dollar business. Ulukaya, 41, is the man behind Chobani, a runaway success story which has become the leading Greek yogurt brand in the U.S. with annual sales of more than $1 billion. In a short space of time Ulukaya has taken an idea based on food that his parents used to make back in Turkey and turned into a one of the fastest growing brands in the country. The company currently employs about . 3,000 people around the world, user 40 million pounds of domestically . produced milk per week, and has helped turn an economically depressed . region of upstate New York into a capital of Greek yogurt production. One . of seven brothers, Ulukaya came to the U.S. in 1994 to study and learn . English. He came from Ilic, a small town in the Kurdish region of . Anatolia, 400 miles east of Ankara, where his family had tended sheep . and made cheese and yogurt. He studies took him to SUNY Albany, in upstate New York, where the rolling hills reminded him of home. After . an assignment to write an essay about making something, he wrote about . making feta cheese as his father did back in Turkey. When his father visited he complained . about the quality of the feta cheese his son bought and told him he . could make better himself. In five years Chobani has become the leading Greek yogurt brand in the U.S. with annual sales of more than $1 billion . In . 2002 Ulukaya started Euphrates, which continues to make cow’s milk feta . and sell it to wholesalers. The process of setting up a business was a . steep learning curve but he learned quickly and after several years of . struggling had established a small scale operation. ‘What . you brought wasn’t the money or the clothes, you brought what you . learned from your culture. Mine was learning from my father how he dealt . with the business, and the products which he loved,’ he told The Daily . Beast. In 2005, he . took the bold decision to take out a loan and buy a rundown 85-year-old . yogurt plant in New Berlin that Kraft was selling for several hundred . thousand dollars. For his new venture he once again looked to the foods he knew from his childhood and decided to create a strained yogurt. For decades, Pepsico, Coca-Cola, General Mills, and Kraft had pushed processed, sugary, unhealthy yogurts into stores because they thought that was what American palates demanded. Capacity at the Chobani plant in New Berlin, New York state has grown from about 55,000 cases per week to nearly two million . But with another brand of strained . yogurt - Fage - proving a success at specialty stores, Ulukaya felt the . time was right for something different. In . September 2007, after two years of testing he was finally ready to go . to market with Chobani, which means shepherd in Turkish. Part . of the yogurts subsequent success has been due to making the product . thicker but without adding sugar – a bold decision consisting American . tastes. Fortunately for Ulukaya his timing was also good as his product, offers a lot of protein without much cholesterol or carbs, appealed to health conscious consumers. Another factor in Chobani's success has been down to Ulukaya's business acumen as he insisted it should be placed in the main dairy area in supermarkets, rather than in the area for specialty and natural products. Chobani: Even Hamdi Ulukaya's German Shepherd dogs enjoy eating it . Chobani started as a coastal phenomenon - spreading from the New York area to the Eastern Seaboard before gaining traction in the Midwest and West. Capacity at the New Berlin plant has grown from about 55,000 cases per week to nearly two million. In December 2012, a new $450 million plant - twice the size of the New Berlin plant - opened in Twin Falls, Idaho, a town of 44,000 about 130 miles southeast of Boise. | Turkish Kurd Hamdi Ulukaya has created the country's leading Greek yogurt brand in just five years . |
191521415a08092e08492e2d8e009ef543282bc0 | Washington (CNN) -- A year and a half after deploying National Guard troops to counter illegal immigration on the Southwest border, the Department of Homeland Security and Pentagon told Congress Tuesday they are cutting the number of troops and changing their mission. The drawdown, which the department characterized as a "transition," will begin in January and should be completed by March. Several lawmakers told CNN the number of National Guard troops on the border will be cut from 1,200 with responsibilities mainly on the ground to 300 who will support the border mission in the air. The Department of Homeland Security said the change is possible because of a jump in the number of Border Patrol officers in the region, an increase in technology and a drop in apprehensions at the border. But several lawmakers criticized the move, saying conditions on the Southwest border merit more troops, not fewer. A deployment of 1,200 troops was "not enough to begin with, although they are doing as good a job as they can," Rep. Ted Poe, R-Texas, told CNN. Poe said the United States has "operational control" of only 44 percent of the Southwestern border. "That's not success," Poe said. Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, agreed. "If the Obama administration's goal is border security, their actions undermine their objective," he said in a written statement. "We should keep guardsmen on the ground until the Border Patrol can gain operational control of the majority of the U.S.-Mexico border." But Rep. Silvestre Reyes, D-Texas, supported the drawdown. "While I appreciate the service of our National Guard forces, requiring them to engage in border law enforcement activity is not cost effective," he said in a statement. The Homeland Security Department said that in the fiscal year ending October 1, Border Patrol apprehensions of illegal immigrants -- a key indicator of the amount of illegal immigration -- decreased to 340,252, down 53 percent since fiscal year 2008. Since 2004, the size of the Border Patrol has doubled to 21,444. In a news release announcing the change, the Department of Homeland Security and the Pentagon did not cite exactly how many troops would be pulled from the border, but said the "new strategic approach" will increase border security. That approach includes "adding a number of new multi-purpose aerial assets" equipped with the "latest surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities." In addition, the National Guard will provide helicopters and planes to the Border Patrol, "allowing for faster response capabilities," the news release said. "I did not understand or get the impression they are going to add any equipment; they're going to use what they have," said Poe, who was briefed on the changes. The Defense Department budget for the border would drop by half, from $120 million to $60 million, congressional staffers said they were told. Specifics about the ramped-up aerial surveillance are still being worked out, the staffers said. Poe said he plans to fight the change. "I'll ask the president to reconsider and then try to figure a way, bipartisan, to show that this is not a wise move," he said. | The transition will begin in January and be completed by March, DHS says .
Some lawmakers oppose the move, saying conditions merit more troops, not fewer .
DHS says a "new strategic approach" will increase border security . |
19152ca233f5a8aa5cdd8defd5d484c6603bcd78 | (CNN) -- Italy's coffee industry is being hit by the debt crisis as consumers stay home and tap quick-fix machines for their caffeine kick. Italians are increasingly buying their coffee on the shelves rather than ordering cappuccinos in the local cafes and bars, and the impact is reverberating through the industry. Budget blues . Mauricio Galindo, head of operations at the International Coffee Organization (ICO), told CNN family's budgets were being hit by the country's flailing economy. EXPLORE: How is your confidence in the euro? "People don't drink as many coffees outside because they're more expensive, a little espresso is 2 euro, 2.50," he said. "So they just buy to make it at home, and make it cheaper." One of the country's most famous brands is feeling the squeeze as coffee-drinking habits change. Lavazza boss Antonio Baravalle told CNN that "from a consumer point of view, we are facing a crisis in Italy because the market is losing 3% [to] 4%." Italy has been one of the worst hit countries in the eurozone's financial crisis. The country has had eight consecutive quarters of economic contraction and unemployment is over 12%. Coffee consumption in Italy has dropped from 5.9kg in 2008, as the crisis kicked up, to 5.6kg per person last year, according to the ICO. READ MORE: Eurostar's pitch to open Europe . According to Galinda, people associate Italy with the espresso machine because it invented the style of coffee brewed under high pressure and with very hot temperatures. However, the Mediterranean country drinks less coffee than its reputation might suggest -- Finland consumption comes in at twice the level. The single shot . The arrival of the capsule-based Nespresso machine has attracted coffee-lovers through the U.S. and the UK, Galinda noted. This move toward single-serve devices could change consumption patterns in Europe, he added. "As these machines become more popular, as they penetrate Germany and France, this could mean that people overall consume more coffee," he told CNN. WATCH: Film studio's challenges . For Baravalle, the shift creates an opportunity outside the company's home market. Lavazza currently holds 50% of the coffee market in Italy, the eurozone's third-largest economy, but is looking beyond those borders for its growth. "We want to create USA as a second market for us... our objective is to become a credible alternative to Nespresso," he told CNN. | In 2012, consumers in Italy, Europe's second biggest importer of coffee, drank 5.6kg per person .
Italians are choosing to buy their coffee on the shelves rather than ordering cappuccinos in the local cafes .
Galindo believes the single-serve devices may change consumption patterns in Europe . |
1915c9eb1b7b1ba748827b821561b1eaa97948b8 | Lewis Foster, pictured today outside court, reversed into his mother while drunk . A teenage learner driver who accidentally reversed into his mother and killed her as she begged him not to drink drive was jailed for a year yesterday. Lewis Foster, 19, arrived home drunk after a row with work colleagues and got behind the wheel of his car, despite having no licence or insurance. Deborah Jones, 47, followed him to the Citroen Saxo she had bought for him for Christmas and begged him not to drive because it would ‘ruin everything’ if he was caught. But as he revved the engine, the car jerked backwards, crushing her against a fence post under the wheels, a court heard. Foster, who was 18 at the time, was later found to be nearly twice the drink drive limit. He admitted causing death by driving carelessly under the influence of alcohol and driving without insurance. She was killed by the horrific accident on July 12 last year, and devastated Lewis was found to be twice the legal drink drive limit. He admitted causing death by driving carelessly under the influence of alcohol and driving without insurance at a previous hearing. Foster, of St Austell, Cornwall, was yesterday jailed for a year in a young offenders' institute as Truro Crown Court heard he faced a 'lifetime of mental torture'. Judge David Ticehurst told him: 'The words tragic and tragedy are often misused these days but there is no escape of the fact that this is a tragic case with a tragic result for everyone involved. 'You, Lewis Foster, will carry the burden that you killed your mother by your careless driving for the rest of your life. 'Nothing that I say or do could add to the sense of guilt that you feel and that you will always feel. 'You were only 18 at the time the offence was committed, I take into account that it was a momentary lapse. Whether your foot slipped off the clutch does not matter a great deal. 'It was not a prolonged period of driving but it was reckless, completely thoughtless, without any regard to what may happen. 'Had you spent a moment or two . thinking about the situation, had you not been so drunk, had you not . been in a temper, you would not be here.' A view of the service lane behind Dobell Road in St Austell where Lewis Foster drove into his mother . Another view of the lane where the terrible accident happened in July last year . Dobell Road: Truro Crown Court had heard that Foster spent the afternoon before the accident drinking . The court heard Foster had been out drinking with work colleagues when he got into a drunken argument with his boss. His . mother, who was also a grandmother, had previously seen him in the pub . and the pair began arguing when he got back to their home. Mr . Lee said despite Foster not having passed his test, his mother had . given him enough money to buy the car as a Christmas present. On . the night of the accident he came to their home in Dobell Road, St . Austell, at around 9.20pm, grabbed the keys, told his mother he wanted . to leave the area, and hopped into the vehicle. Police shot of Lewis Foster, 19, after the accident . After locking himself in, he began . revving the engine, prompting his mother to move from the back of the . Saxo to the nearside rear corner, shouting: 'Lewis, stop - you'll ruin . everything.' As the car shot back she was crushed against a post before being pinned under the wheels, the court heard. Frantic efforts were made to save Mrs Jones as her son got out of the car and his friend tried to move the Citroen. Mrs Jones was rushed to Derriford Hospital in Plymouth, Devon, but died from her injuries the next morning. After his arrest Lewis failed a breath test, showing 64mg of alcohol - nearly twice the legal limit of 35mg. Philip Lee, prosecuting, said: 'It is apparent from the evidence that from time to time, mother and son argued and shouted at some times and there was anger between them. 'But it is also apparent that they did have a close and loving relationship.' Piers Norsworthy, defending, said any punishment dished out to Jones was insignificant in comparison to the 'lifetime of mental torture' he faced. He added: 'At the time of the incident this young man was in a very dark place - no rational thought would have gone through his mind. 'He is a decent young man who has not always had the best start in his life, but he certainly loved his mother very dearly as she did him.' Foster was jailed for 12 months and disqualified from driving for four years. At the time of Mrs Jones' death, the family released a sentence saying: 'Debbie was a lovely person, a great mum and grandmother. She will be dearly missed.' Mrs Jones's next door neighbour, Sarah Snell, aged 46, said she was shocked and saddened by the news. She said: 'She was a lovely person who would help anyone. If you needed her help she would be there. She was always looking out for me and my children.' | Lewis Foster ignored his mother's pleas not to drive and leapt into Citroen .
He revved car and it jumped backwards, crushing Deborah Jones, 47 .
Judge jails Foster for a year saying he will carry the tragic burden for ever . |
1915dd69481b5f6033f91054ffdad42be380c215 | By . Vanessa Allen . PUBLISHED: . 19:00 EST, 24 November 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 12:21 EST, 25 November 2013 . Internet giant Amazon works its warehouse staff ‘to the bone’ in long and relentless shifts, a former employee claimed yesterday. Graduate Adam Littler, 23, said he walked up to 11 miles as he worked 10-and-a-half hour night shifts inside the online retailer’s giant distribution centre in Swansea. He was expected to collect a customer order every 33 seconds and told BBC1’s Panorama he was subjected to ‘unbelievable’ pressure to meet efficiency targets. Cardboard city: This Amazon distribution centre in Swansea covers 800,000 square feet. The complex is approaching its busiest time of the year . Risks: Experts have warned that conditions inside the warehouses could increases rates of mental and physical illness among workers . Amazon staff have previously revealed how they have been tracked by GPS tags inside the company’s eight UK warehouses and even had toilet breaks timed - claims the firm has denied. One employee at the warehouse - otherwise known as a ‘fulfilment centre’ - in Rugeley, Staffordshire, likened conditions to a ‘slave camp’. The American company, which employed 15,000 in its UK warehouses in the run-up to last Christmas, is currently approaching its busiest period of the year. Amazon has denied exploiting staff and said its productivity targets were set according to performance levels achieved by its work force. But experts, including Professor Michael Marmot, of University College London, have questioned if conditions inside the firm’s giant warehouses could increase workers’ risk of mental or physical illness. Targets: Adam Littler, a 23-year-old graduate, told BBC1's Panorama how he worked 10-and-a-half hour night shifts and was given an order every 33 seconds . Mr Littler wore a pedometer after he was given a job as a ‘picker’, pushing trolleys around and collecting customers’ orders from the shelves, at Amazon’s 800,000sq ft distribution centre in Swansea. Pickers are given handheld scanners which calculate the most efficient route to collect items, and tell them if they are hitting their targets. The documentary, due to be screened tonight, shows him racing to beat the scanner’s digital countdown to collect each item. ‘You all literally work to the bone and there doesn’t seem to be any reward or any let-up,’ he said. ‘I’ve never done a job like this before. The pressure’s unbelievable.’ Mr Littler was recruited via an agency for seven weeks’ work. He spent four weeks on the day shift, earning £6.50 an hour, before moving to night shifts on £8.25 an hour. He claimed he worked four nights a week for 10-and-a-half hours, including a paid half-hour break and two 15-minute unpaid breaks. Employment barrister Giles Bedloe said night shifts involving heavy physical work should be limited to eight hours in any 24-hour period. Mr Littler’s scanner set him a target of collecting 110 items per hour, but he said he rarely hit the target. After working one night shift, he said: ‘I managed to walk or hobble nearly 11 miles. I’m absolutely shattered.’ Former workers have claimed the firm imposed a ‘three strikes and release’ discipline system to sack workers who did not meet targets. Amazon has also come under pressure for its use of controversial ‘zero-hours’ contracts and for its tax avoidance practices. Figures supplied to the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee showed its UK sales were £7.1billion between 2009 to 2011. But its UK company, Amazon.co.uk Ltd, paid only £2.3million in corporation tax as the majority of its sales were handled through its European subsidiary in low-tax Luxembourg. 'Unbelievable' pressure: Mr Littler was employed via an agency, and was paid £6.50 an hour to work during the day and £8.25 an hour to work at night . 'Fulfilment centre': Mr Little worked at this huge complex in Swansea, inside which staff are tracked by GPS devices . Although tax avoidance is legal, Amazon’s rivals have complained it has an unfair advantage as it can offer cheaper prices. Amazon said an independent expert had advised them that its pickers experienced similar conditions to workers in other industries and did not face an increased risk of mental or physical illness, and that its safety and illness records were better than industry competitors. Recruits are warned the job is physically demanding, it said, and all shift patterns meet legal requirements. A spokesman said: ‘The safety of our associates is our number one priority and we adhere to all regulations and employment law. Independent legal and health and safety experts review our processes as a further method of ensuring compliance.’ | Adam Littler, 23, told of the 'unbelievable' pressure of working for the retailer .
Amazon staff have previously claimed they are tracked around huge warehouses via GPS - but the firm denies this .
Previous workers have told how even their toilet breaks were timed .
Employment experts have given warnings over workers' conditions .
The Panorama programme Amazon: The Truth Behind The Click is due to be shown tonight at 8.30pm on BBC1. |
1916db242de40d92eee5342e893b2635e50fed85 | By . Suzannah Hills . PUBLISHED: . 01:28 EST, 11 March 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 01:29 EST, 11 March 2013 . The Queen will sign a new charter today backing equal rights for women and gay people in every Commonwealth nation in her first official public appearance since leaving hospital. In a special ceremony to mark Commonwealth Day, she will endorse the document which includes the core values - from human rights to the rule of law - that leaders have committed to upholding. The Commonwealth Charter declares: 'We are implacably opposed to all forms of discrimination, whether rooted in gender, race, colour, creed, political belief or other grounds.' The words 'other grounds' are being seen as including sexuality. Pinning down core values: Queen Elizabeth II delivers her Commonwealth Day pre-recorded message at Buckingham Palace . However there was criticism from some human rights campaigners who said the charter appeared not to include any specific commitment to equality for gay people. The Queen is expected to sign the agreement at London's Marlborough House, the Pall Mall headquarters of the Commonwealth Secretariat. In a pre-recorded speech to be broadcast today, the monarch will say the values of the new charter have 'special emphasis' on including everyone in striving for a better future. She will say: 'Ambition and curiosity open new avenues of opportunity. 'That is what lies at the heart of our Commonwealth approach: individuals and communities finding ways to strive together to create a better future that is beneficial for all.' The Commonwealth Day ceremony will be the Queen's first public appearance since leaving the King Edward VII hospital last week . She will add: 'Our shared values of peace, democracy, development, justice and human rights - which are found in our new Commonwealth Charter - mean that we place special emphasis on including everyone in this goal, especially those who are vulnerable. Human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell said the charter was 'a step forward' but claimed much more needed to be done to protect gay rights in Commonwealth countries. He said: 'It is an important document but it does not include any explicit commitment to gay rights. 'The Commonwealth Charter is a step forward for human rights in the member states but there's still much more to be done in terms of gay rights. 'Forty-one out of 54 Commonwealth states still criminalise homosexuality. 'There appears to be a clause in the charter to prohibit discrimination on 'other grounds' - this could be interpreted to cover homophobic discrimination but it will be down to the discretion of individual commonwealth countries.' A Buckingham Palace spokesman said: 'At a Commonwealth event, the Queen will sign a charter agreed upon by the 54 members of the Commonwealth. 'The Queen, as in all matters, is apolitical but is signing the document in her capacity as head of the Commonwealth.' The charter, agreed by all Commonwealth heads of government last December, will also endorse new legislation ending discrimination against women in the line of succession to the British throne. The Government is introducing new legislation ending discrimination against women in the line of succession to the British throne. The measure will mean that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's first baby can succeed to the throne, regardless of whether the child is a girl or a boy. Ministers are set to introduce the new law after receiving consent from all the Commonwealth realms to push ahead with the change. The Succession to the Crown Bill will also end the ban on anyone in the line of succession marrying a Roman Catholic. | New charter will be signed in special ceremony to mark Commonwealth Day .
Document includes the core values leaders have committed to upholding .
It .
also ends discrimination against women in the succession to the .
throne . |
191819e6396376dc98077c4699579c612aa36fbe | By . Martin Robinson . PUBLISHED: . 10:30 EST, 15 January 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 13:43 EST, 15 January 2013 . Injured: Alleged bomb-maker Martin Middleton has lost fingers in an incident at home on Sunday . A bungling bomb maker blew off part of his hand when a home-made explosive went off at his house. Martin Middleton is in hospital being treated for his injuries while under police arrest. It is thought the 26-year-old, who is in a ‘stable’ condition, has lost several fingers following the incident on Sunday. Mr Middleton had apparently been making a pipebomb, although police, who are waiting to interview to him, are unsure why. Up to 40 homes had to be evacuated following the explosion in Bolton, Greater Manchester. Neighbours were today shocked to hear about the explosion, which could have had lethal consequences. Mr Middleton is soon to become a father after his girlfriend Kay Emerson fell pregnant. One neighbour, who asked not to be named, said: 'I couldn’t believe when I heard, it’s like something out of a movie. 'His girlfriend is pregnant, I thought he was getting his life back on track.' Another, who also wanted to remain anonymous, added: 'I see him now an again, he looks like a nice enough lad, he always says hello. 'Shocking to hear that.' Police searched two other properties in the Tonge Moor area of Bolton as part of the investigation but no explosive items were found. Officers went to a house a few doors away, which is thought to be where Mr Middleton’s mother lives. He had recently moved to the same street with his girlfriend. Address: This is the home where Martin Middleton blew off part of his hand after allegedly making a pipebomb . Mr Middleton’s injury is described as a ‘serious hand injury’ but it is not life threatening, although it is believed he has lost some of his fingers. Detective Chief Inspector Sarah Jackson, said: 'I appreciate that given the nature of this incident and the impact it had, that there will be some concern among residents, but I want to reiterate that this was an isolated incident and there was not and is not any threat to the wider community. 'We are continuing to investigate the circumstances leading up to this incident and if anyone has any information that can assist I would urge them to get in touch.' Mudasir Dean, ward councillor for Bradshaw, said: 'I am sure the police will get to the bottom of this. 'We must find out why this bomb was built. The consequences could have been devastating if a more sizable device would have detonated in this residential area.' Mr Middleton has been arrested on suspicion of causing an explosion likely to endanger life or property. Sorry we are unable to accept comments for legal reasons. | Martin Middleton, 26, is under arrest in hospital where he is in a 'stable' condition .
40 homes in Bolton were evacuated after incident on Sunday .
Middleton believed to have made a pipebomb but police are unsure why . |
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