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### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
The Faroe Islands enjoyed their finest night in their international history while Greek football fell to its knees on Friday. A 1-0 win in Athens is comfortably their greatest victory on the world stage, but the success in European Championship qualifying group F piles on the misery for the home nation. Already down and under fire after losing at home to Northern Ireland, Joan Edmundsson's 61st-minute goal could not have arrived at a more inopportune time. Faroe Islands' Joan Edmundsson celebrates after scoring against Greece . Coach Claudio Ranieri will do well to survive such a ghastly result, while deep problems in the domestic league will add to the gloom with the Hellenic Federation on Friday suspending all professional football after an alleged off-the-field attack on a referee. While a Greek inquest will now kick-off, the Faroes can celebrate a truly memorable win. This was just their 20th win since joining the international stage in 1988 and their first competitive one since 2011. Their last competitive away win came in 2001 against Luxembourg. Victories have come against the likes of San Marino and Gibraltar, though, and never against an established, top-level nation. While Greece may be falling, they were European champions 10 years ago and this win - brought about by former Newcastle United academy player Edmundsson - is a seismic one. Faroe Islands celebrate Joan Edmudsson's strike against Greece on Friday night . It was clear something unusual was in the offing as Greece laboured in the first half, where other sides would usually be scoring goals. They did not help themselves with a tepid opening, but even when they got about their opponents, they struggled to make hay. Panagiotis Kone had their first chance, heading wide from a corner, and then Andreas Samaris drove over from inside the box. Giannis Maniatis forced a first save of the game out of Gunnar Neilsen, but from distance, while Nikolas Karelis and Lazaros Christodoulopoulos were both off target. Greek impotency invited the Faroes on and two minutes before the break they went closer than anyone as Frodi Benjaminsen had a header clawed away by Orestis Karnezis. Former Chelsea boss Claudio Ranieri has lost three of his four games in charge of Greece . Their surprising pressure continued and Greece were happy to get in level at the break as Edmundsson also forced a fine save out of the home keeper. Buoyed by their chances, the Faroes started the second half impressively. Benjaminsen took aim from just inside the area and was set to celebrate until the ball hit the post. Greece continued to be slack and Edmundsson made Karnezis work again, and eventually the pressure told. On the hour Edmundsson connected with a ball from 12 yards out and the deadlock was broken. Greece knew they were facing a real embarrassment and Kone set about trying to make amends, but hit over when well set. Kone thudded the bar too, but the Faroes had earned their luck and their moment. Temur Ketsbaia's reign as Georgia coach looked to have ended after Group B leaders Poland romped to a 4-0 victory in their Euro 2016 qualifier in Tbilisi. Ketsbaia - who had spells in England with Newcastle and Wolves as well as playing for Scottish club Dundee - declared he would resign no matter what the final outcome at the Dinamo Arena, after just one win in their opening matches left Georgia with little hope of qualification. Poland, though, remain very much on course for booking a place for the finals in France, having defeated World Cup winners Germany in their last outing. The visitors made the breakthrough at the start of the second half, when Kamil Glik headed in from a corner, before two goals in as many minutes from Grzegorz Krychowiak and Sebastian Mila ended any hopes of a comeback. Arkadiusz Milik added a fourth in stopage time, which appeared to back up the post-match claim of Ketsbaia, appointed to the job in November 2009, that 'Georgian football is dead'. After soaking up some pressure from the hosts, Poland were denied by the woodwork twice in quick succession. Poland's Grzegorz Krychowiak (right) scores past Georgia goalkeeper Giorgi Loria . First, on 17 minutes, Miliks shot from the edge of the penalty area came back off the post, with the follow-up from Kamil Grosicki also hitting the upright - much to the relief of Georgia goalkeeper Giorgi Loria. Georgia fashioned a good opening on 26 minutes when a clever backheel by Levan Mchedlidze after a thrown-in helped set up Alexander Kobakhidze for a sight of goal from just inside the box, but the Volyn midfielder blazed over. Poland coninued their dominance in the second half. Robert Lewandowski acrobative effort was tipped away by Loria, before the visitors took the lead on 51 minutes. A corner from the left was nodded back by Grzegorz Krychowiak and Glik headed it past Georgia midfielder Jaba Kankava on the line, who was afterwards booked for an attempted handball. Lewandowski drilled the ball over, before Georgia started to get a foothold back into the match as Kankava dragged a 22-yard effort just wide past diving Poland goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny. Georgia's Gia Grigalava, and Poland's Arkadiusz Milik fight for the ball during Euro 2016 qualifier . Poland, though, doubled their lead with 20 minutes left. A deep free-kick from Maciej Rybus was flicked on by Glik towards the far post, where Krychowiak arrived to squeeze the ball past Loria. It was soon 3-0 when Slask midfielder Mila curled in a superb 25-yard effort after a sublime touch from Lewandowski had killed the ball out on the right touchline. Poland were denied by the woodwork once again on 83 minutes when Solomon Kvirkvelia's header bounced back off Poland forward Milik and struck the crossbar. The Ajax forward, though, got on the scoresheet in stoppage time, when he swept the ball home after Lewandowski's angled shot was blocked . Denmark's Simon Kjaer celebrates his goal against Serbia with Nicklas Bendtner (left) Denmark recovered from a goal down to beat Serbia 3-1 away thanks to Nicklas Bendtner's double and a goal from defender Simon Kjaer in their Euro 2016 Group I qualifier in an empty stadium on Friday. Bendtner equalised on the hour and struck again in the 85th minute, with Kjaer having put them in front in the 62nd, after Zoran Tosic gave the hosts the lead four minutes into the match. The game was played behind closed doors after Serbia got a two-game crowd ban for fan violence in their last home qualifier against Albania, which was abandoned after a drone stunt triggered a player brawl and a pitch invasion by Serbian fans. The result left Denmark top on seven points from four games while Serbia, who were awarded a 3-0 walkover win over the Albanians but were also docked three points and have appealed the latter part of the verdict, have one point from two games. The defeat has piled the pressure on Serbia's Dutch coach Dick Advocaat, who said he was considering quitting.
### SUMMARY:
| Joan Edmundsson was the hero for the Faroe Islands in Athens .
Greece coach Claudio Ranieri faces the sack after humiliating loss .
Georgia boss Temur Ketsbaia could be axed after 4-0 defeat by Poland .
Nicklas Bendtner scored twice in Denmark's 3-1 victory in Serbia . |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
At least 15 people have been killed and dozens injured after the Taliban carried out two suicide bomb attacks in Afghanistan with minutes of Ashraf Ghani being sworn in as the new president. In the country's first ever democratic transfer of power - which took place after six months of bitter dispute and rows over electoral fraud - Ghani was sworn in as president. At a handover ceremony in the country's capital Kabul, Ghani formally replaced predecessor Hamid Karzai, who came into office following the 2001 U.S.-led invasion to topple the Taliban. But within minutes of Ghani taking the presidential oath, two bomb attacks left 15 people dead - the first at Kabul airport killing seven, before a second attack in Paktia province killed eight. Shortly after the attacks took place, the Taliban claimed responsibility for them, having earlier described the election as a U.S.-orchestrated sham. Scroll down for video . Swearing in: At a handover ceremony in the country's capital Kabul this morning, Ashraf Ghani (centre left) was formally named president. The event marked Afghanistan's first ever democratic transfer of power . Chaos: Minutes after Ghani took the oath of office, a bomb attack near Kabul airport killed seven (pictured) A second attack - this time in Afghanistan's eastern Paktia province - then killed eight more people (pictured) The first bomb blast this morning - a possible assassination attempt on the new president - took place on the on the road connecting the country's main airport with the presidential palace. The roadside bomb did not result in any deaths or injuries, but a second attack about half a mile along the same road - this time by a suicide bomber - killed seven people near Kabul airport. A bigger attack then took place in the eastern Paktia province, with Police Captain Mohammed Hekhlas saying a car bomb exploded near a government compound as gunmen attacked, killing eight people, including at least four police officers. The second attack sparked a gun battle in which seven Taliban militants died. The violence and insecurity remained one of the top concerns of Afghans watching the inauguration. 'I hope Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai can bring peace and the rule the law in Afghanistan as former Afghan President Hamid Karzai could not bring peace,' said Abdul Rahman, a 30-year-old police officer. 'Our people have been suffering from the instability and poverty.' Ceremony: Afghanistan's new President Ashraf Ghani (centre) arrives for inauguration as president in Kabul . Setting aside rivalries: Moments after Ghani took the presidential oath, he swore in his election challenger, Abdullah Abdullah (centre) as chief executive . Outgoing: Afghanistan's former president Hamid Karzai arrives for the inauguration of the country's new president at a ceremony in Kabul this morning . The attacks took place within minutes of the swearing-in ceremony, which a senior adviser to President Barack Obama said would allow Kabul to immediately sign a long-awaited security pact permitting U.S. forces to remain in the country past the end of the year. Moments after Ghani took the oath, he swore in his election challenger, Abdullah Abdullah, as chief executive, fulfilling a political pledge he had taken to share power and defuse election tensions that had threatened to spark violence between the country's north and southeast. In his first speech, conducted as the suicide bomb attacks were carried out, Ghani called on the Taliban and other militants to join the country's political process and lay down their weapons. 'We are tired of war,' he said in a televised address. 'Our message is peace, [but] this doesn't mean we are weak.' Ghani, a former World Bank official and Afghan finance minister, wore a dark black turban popular in the country's south as he swore in his two vice presidents and then Abdullah. Abdullah, a former foreign minister, spoke first and thanked Karzai for his service and the people of the country for casting votes in the millions despite the threat of attack from Taliban militants who tried to thwart the election process. 'We are committed as one in the national unity government,' Abdullah said. 'Our commitment will be fulfilled together as unified team to create national unity.' Attack: Afghan security personnel work at the site of a suicide attack near the international airport in Kabul this morning. The bomb attack took place within minutes of Ghani taking office and killed seven people . Blast: Afghan policemen stand guard close to the site of a suicide attack near the airport in Kabul this morning . Shattered: . The broken glass of a foreign currency exchange vendor's box is pictured at the scene of a suicide attack near the international airport in Kabul earlier today . Ghani then congratulated Karzai for a peaceful and democratic transition of power, and he thanked Abdullah for making the national unity government possible. The new president also promised to confront the country's endemic corruption. 'We want to be held accountable. I am your leader but I am no better than you. If I make mistakes, you should hold me accountable,' Ghani said. The change in presidents will allow Afghanistan to sign a deal to allow American soldiers to remain in the country past the end of the year, according to John Podesta, a senior adviser to Obama. U.S. Ambassador James Cunningham is scheduled to sign the agreement, while it was not immediately clear if Ghani or a lower member of his government would provide the Afghan signature. The deal will allow about 10,000 American troops to stay in the country after the international combat mission ends December. 31. Karzai had refused to sign it despite U.S. threats of a full withdrawal in the absence of legal protections for American forces. U.S. officials have said that the delay in the deal's signing does not affect plans for next year. Another hit: A bigger attack then took place in the eastern Paktia province, with Police Captain Mohammed Hekhlas saying a car bomb exploded near a government compound as gunmen attacked . Scene: Eight people, including at least four police officers, were killed in the bomb attack in the eastern Paktia province. The second attack sparked a gun battle in which seven Taliban militants died . Karzai - the only president Afghanistan and the West have known since the invasion - wore a wide smile as he greeted his presidential guards upon entering the palace. Karzai has said he is glad to be stepping down after more than a decade of what the U.S. ambassador recently said was one of the most difficult jobs in the world. The inauguration caps a nearly six-month election season that began when ballots were first cast in April. A runoff election in June between Ghani and Abdullah stretched on for weeks as both sides leveled charges of fraud. The United Nations helped carry out what it said was the most thorough recount in its history, a count that reduced Ghani's vote percentage from 56 per cent to 55 per cent, but still gave him the win. But the real power struggle took place in marathon talks between the two sides, often brokered by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and other U.S. officials. The political deal they agreed to created the new position of chief executive that Abdullah will now fill.
### SUMMARY:
| Deaths occurred during Afghanistan's first ever democratic power transfer .
Ashraf Ghani replaces Hamid Karzai, who had been the president since 2001 .
First bomb attack occurred on road between airport and presidential palace .
Seven people killed as a result of the blast during president's inauguration .
Seconds later a second blast rocked eastern Paktia province, killing eight .
Shortly after The Taliban claimed responsibility for both the suicide attacks . |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
author] . The tax-man would be Floyd Mayweather’s most dangerous opponent if his application for a license to promote in New York really were to mean him fighting there himself. Marcos Maidana would be unlikely to inflict as much damage on Mayweather as the IRS if they were to take a mutual bite out of the Big Apple on September 13. Speculation that Mayweather is planning to move that world title rematch from Las Vegas to the other city that never sleeps has been rife since that application was approved by the New York State Athletic Commission. VIDEO Scroll down to watch Mayweather offers Maidana September re-match . Money man: Floyd Mayweather has secured a license for New York but is unlikely to fight there himself . The far greater likelihood is that he is looking to New York as a venue for other boxers in the Mayweather Promotions stable now that he is severing links with Golden Boy. Oscar De La Hoya’s company has been fronting Mayweather’s mega-bucks fights of late but a schism has followed the acrimonious departure of chief executive Richard Schaefer from Golden Boy. Schaefer may well be hired by Mayweather to oversee his independent shows in the future, although De La Hoya is claiming that there is one fight remaining on the Golden Boy contract. If that is enforceable, the pair would make uneasy bedfellows in September. Although the man who calls himself Money . would surely find that preferable to losing a sizeable chunk of the $50 . million-plus he can expect to bank for fighting Maidana again. Rematch: Mayweather's bout against Marcos Maidana (right) is more likely to be held in Las Vegas . And that is what would happen if Mayweather boxed in either Madison Square Garden or the new Barclays Center in Brooklyn. In addition to paying US income tax Mayweather would be liable for a further 8.82 per cent state deduction from his purse, plus four per cent New York City tax. On a $50 million pay-night those state and city extras would cost him almost $6.5 million, while none of those additional levies are imposed on boxers by Nevada or Las Vegas. The question is why would Mayweather do that, when he prefers fighting in his adopted home town in the desert anyway? Almost certainly the answer is that he won’t. Another bout: After Mayweather severed ties with Golden Boy promotions, former champion turned promoter Oscar De La Hoya claims his company is owed one more bout under his banner . The MGM Grand Garden is his favourite work-place and is believed to have been reserved for him for the Mexico Independence celebration weekend, which always brings to Vegas thousands of high-rolling boxing afficionados from south of the border. Expect it to remain so for another big Mexican holiday in May, when our own Amir Khan may finally get his shot at dethroning the pound-for-pound king. Mayweather tends to delay not only hand-picking opponents but confirming the venue, presumably to crank up the site fee a little. But when push comes to punch for this man, there is no place like home. With the exquisite timing which hall-marked his halcyon years, Evander Holyfield announced his retirement on the 17th anniversary of having his ear bitten off by Mike Tyson, which came also during the weekend of the iron man’s 48th birthday. The fortunes of these two immense champions are inextricably linked and despite that outrage in the Las Vegas ring they have become firm friends. That bond has been strengthened by the way they both squandered hundreds of millions of dollars earned the hard way and are working to rebuild their lives. Friends: Evander Holyfield (left) and Mike Tyson (right) are close now despite their infamous rivalry . The many mansions are long gone, with Holyfield having moved out of his answer to Buckingham Palace on the outskirts of Atlanta to a modest downtown apartment. So are some of the wives, although both men continue to make provision for all their children, as best they can. At 51, amid concerns about his tendency to sometimes slur his words, Holyfield’s belated hanging up of the gloves comes as something of a relief to the world of boxing. Hopefully, the celebrity status built on his heroic exploits in the ring will provide a comfortable living hereafter. Controversy: Tyson infamously bites a section of Holyfield's ear off during their clash in 1997 . Reaction: Referee Lane Mills (centre) stops the fight in the third round as Holyfield checks his gnawed-upon ear . In becoming the undisputed world champion at both cruiserweight and heavyweight Holyfield fought everyone, ducked no-one. In terms of the number of times one heavyweight has won the world title, he alone surpassed Muhammad Ali when he became champion a fourth time. It would have been five had he not been robbed of a decision against Russian giant Nikolai Valuev, at the grand old age of 46. Tyson, Larry Holmes, George Foreman, Buster Douglas and Britain’s greatest, Lennox Lewis, are but a few of the huge names on Holyfield’s resume. But it is the extraordinary trilogy with Riddick Bowe - one a Fight of the Year, one including the Round of the Year, one interrupted by the crash-landing of a para-glider in the open-air Vegas ring – which marked the summit of an epic career embracing 57 fights with 44 wins, 29 of them by knock-out. Whoever nicknamed Evnander Holyfield The Real Deal could foresee the future. Not one to duck: Lennox Lewis (left) stands among the greats on Holyfield¿s esteemed resume . As Canelo Alvarez continues his comeback this Saturday from his solitary defeat by Floyd Mayweather he will not only be seeking victory over Erislandy Lara but looking to evict Mr Money from his country’s patriotic fight dates in Las Vegas. While those September and May schedules are lucrative for Mayweather, Alvarez insiss they are more relevant for himself as the poster boy for Mexican boxing. He hopes to put down a big marker to that effect with this fight in Mr Money’s favourite arena, the MGM Grand Garden. Comeback: Canelo Alvarez (left during his only defeat to Mayweather) returns on Saturday against Erislandy Lara, and if he wins could also clash with Mayweather over preferred dates for his next bout in Vegas . Having despatched the tough Alfred Angulo with a tenth round stoppage in one light-middleweight non-title fight, the Cinammon Kid hopes to inflict something similar on Lara. As it happens, a second convincing win in succession might even get him, like Marcos Maidana two months from now, a rematch with Mayweather. Then they could both pack Sin City again – and in the process make another fortune in pesos as well as dollars. Alvarez-Lara will be televised live on BoxNation late Saturday night. So Kell Brook’s long-awaited world welterweight title challenge is scheduled at last – against America’s Shawn Porter in California in August. It’s about time, gentlemen. No more injuries, Mr Brook, please. Porter-Brook will be televised live on Sky Sports on August 16. Finally: August 16 is the date locked in for Kell Brook's title challenge against American Shawn Porter .
### SUMMARY:
| Floyd Mayweather may move world title rematch with Marcos Maidana from Las Vegas to New York City .
If Mayweather were to fight Maidana in New York, he would lose a sizeable chunk of the proceeds from the fight to the IRS . |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
A house dating back to the early 1700s once lived in by the 'real Robinson Crusoe' has gone up for sale. Minards House in Oreston, Plymouth, Devon, is said to have once been lived in by Alexander Selkirk, who experts believe is the man behind the fictional castaway. Written by Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe follows the life of a wealthy adventurer as he voyages around the world and eventually ends up shipwrecked. Minards House (pictured) in Devon which dates back to the early 1700s and was once lived in by the 'real Robinson Crusoe' has gone up for sale for £395,000 . The plaque outside the property was one of several put up during the 1970s denoting Plymouth's link to the ambitious wayfarer Alexander Selkirk . Dr Bonnie Latimer, a lecturer in English at Plymouth University, said: 'What many may not realise is that the original novel isn't entirely fiction. 'One of his likely sources was the Scottish sailor Alexander Selkirk's story of being deliberately abandoned on the island of Juan Fernandez by his ship's captain after they argued. 'Selkirk only lived on his island for four years, but when rescued by a passing ship, he is supposed to have presented a wild figure, sunburnt, bearded, and clothed in goats' skins - just like Crusoe himself.' In the early eighteenth century Minards House was a pub, and Selkirk supposedly stayed there for some time before heading out to sea again on HMS Weymouth, and subsequently dying of yellow fever. Donna Pullinger, who moved into the four-bedroom, detached house 12 years ago, said: 'There's a plaque on the house, and I've got some old documents. In the early eighteenth century Minards House was a pub, and Selkirk supposedly stayed there for some time before heading out to sea again . Donna Pullinger moved into the four-bedroom, detached house 12 years ago, but has decided to put it up for sale . 'In a book someone gave me it says he stayed here. I've also got all the old deeds. 'We get quite a few people standing outside and peering in. 'I'd love to go back in time and see what it would have been like then.' The plaque outside the property was one of several put up during the 1970s denoting Plymouth's link to the ambitious wayfarer. The house is on the market for £395,000. A spokesman for Plymouth City Council said: 'Selkirk came to Plymouth aboard HMS Enterprise in October 1720 and subsequently transferred to HMS Weymouth. 'Between ships, on December 12 1720, he married local widow Frances Candish at St Andrew's Church. Frances is thought to be the landlady of an Oreston pub where he may have lodged - the Old Inn - along the quay from the Kings Arms. Minards House is said to have once been lived in by Alexander Selkirk, who experts believe is the man behind the fictional character Robinson Crusoe . The house is a 'substantial older property' close to the site of Oreston's original quayside . 'Most waterfront properties of the period have long gone. 'The plaque is on "Minards House" - a substantial older property close to the site of the Old Inn and original quayside.' Dr Latimer said: 'After Selkirk returned to Britain, in 1712 his rescuer published an account based on Selkirk's experiences. 'This caught the public imagination, and was reproduced in cheap, accessible formats for the common reader, with Selkirk himself becoming a minor celebrity. 'In the end, though, this exciting adventure didn't much change Selkirk from the rough-and-tumble sailor he was. 'He returned to sea, stopping at Plymouth on a voyage home in 1720, where he probably married and lived for a short time. 'The lure of the water was too strong for him, however, and the following year he returned to his ship, dying at sea in 1721. There is some debate over whether Selkirk ever met Daniel Defoe, but the sailor is understood to have been behind the character Robinson Crusoe . 'But his story, transfigured through the imagination of Daniel Defoe, would immortalise his life for thousands of readers around the world, and means that he is still remembered nearly 300 years after his death.' However, Nicholas Seager, a university lecturer and Defoe scholar, said: 'There is some debate about whether Defoe ever encountered Selkirk, but in short there is no proof that he did, so it's safest to assume he did not. 'And we should recognise that Defoe did not simply base Robinson Crusoe on Selkirk; he adapted and supplemented the source. 'There are many other literary sources for Crusoe, but this real-life one surely had an impact.' Mrs Pullinger said: 'When we moved in we put a lot of the character back in, as the staircase was horrid and modern, and we also put slates on the floor and put in a wood burner - so it's more like it would've been back then. 'It's a lovely house and I will miss it but I'd love to stay in the village.' Written by Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe is the story of a castaway and his adventures on a remote tropical island near Trinidad. First published in 1719, the novel recounts Crusoe's experiences on the desert island including his battle to stay alive and his encounters with cannibals, captives and mutineers. The story is widely believed to have been influenced by the life of Scottish sailor Alexander Selkirk, who was a castaway on an island in the Pacific off Chile for four years. Others have suggested he was inspired by a separate novel about a desert island castaway. Some say it was inspired by Robert Knox's account of his abduction by the King of Ceylon in 1659 . In the book, Crusoe sets sail from Hull on a sea voyage in 1651 against the wishes of his parents who want him to go into law . In the book, Crusoe sets sail from Hull on a sea voyage in 1651 against the wishes of his parents who want him to go into law. He eventually ends up shipwrecked in a storm 40 miles out to sea on an island, which he calls Despair, near the mouth of the Orinoco river in 1659. It is thought the details of Crusoe's island were probably based on the Caribbean island of Tobago, since that island lies a short distance north of the Venezuelan coast near the mouth of the river. He fetches arms, tools, and other supplies from the ship before it breaks apart and sinks and builds a home near a cave which he excavates and makes marks in a wooden cross as a makeshift calendar. Over the years, Crusoe discovers native cannibals who visit occasionally to kill and eat prisoners. When one of the prisoners escapes, he teaches him English and names him 'Friday' after the day of the week he arrived. Eventually, Crusoe escapes on an English ship before embarking for England in 1686 with Friday.
### SUMMARY:
| House once in by 'real Robinson Crusoe' has gone up for sale for £395,000 .
Minards House in Devon is said to have been lived in by Alexander Selkirk .
Scottish sailor once lived there after spending four years on desert island .
Abandoned on island of Juan Fernandez by his ship's captain after argument .
Experts say he may have been inspiration for Daniel Defoe's fictional castaway . |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
A foul-mouthed mother of four who inflicted ‘a vile onslaught of racial and homophobic abuse’ on her own children that forced neighbours to sleep in their cellars has been slapped with an Asbo. Jobless and single Lauren Beckham, 31, verbally abused her four mixed-race children - aged from one to 12 - ‘day in and day out’ since she moved into a house in Shipley, West Yorkshire, last July. Beckham - who made her neighbours’ lives ‘a living hell’ by shouting and swearing - was given a three-year anti-social behaviour order yesterday at Bradford and Keighley Magistrates’ Court. Family: Jobless and single Lauren Beckham (pictured with an unidentified man), 31, verbally abused her four mixed-race children - aged from one to 12 - 'day in and day out' since she moved into a house last July . Maxine Hoey, 42, who lived next door to Beckham until she moved out in March, said: ‘I can't even begin to describe what my family have been through since Lauren moved in. ‘Her foul language and abuse towards her children has been like poison seeping through our walls. Every day, all day, for almost eight months, those poor kids would be screamed at. ‘The things she would say are just vile. She'd call them black b****** and p****. She'd call her son a f***** and tell her daughters they were s****. On top of that there was constant swearing, shouting and banging. ‘I heard her several times scream at her daughter and threaten to break her legs. She was always so aggressive. It was awful for us neighbours but those kids are the real victims. ‘I used to phone social services on a weekly basis and ring the police around three times a week trying to stop the abuse but nothing was ever done. It might not be physical abuse but it's still abuse and it was constant - even going on right through the night.’ A thick schedule of complaints compiled by Bradford Council's Asbo officer John Crossland included reports from neighbours shocked by Beckham's high volume of verbal abuse of her children. 'The things she would say are just vile. She'd call them black b****** and p****. She'd call her son a f***** and tell her daughters they were s****' Maxine Hoey, former neighbour . Beckham, who lives on income support and . child benefits, moved out of the privately-rented house in March and . now lives in Bradford, where there have already been similar complaints, . the court heard. Neighbour Carol Gatenby, 52, was driven to complain about Beckham's tirades. She said: ‘It was just sheer hell - absolutely horrendous living next door to them. And since she left, it's heaven.’ She added: ‘Me and my husband were always arguing because we were so stressed and my grandchildren couldn't come round and visit because they would have to listen to the vile language she used. 'Sheer hell': Neighbour Carol Gatenby, 52, was one of those driven to complain by Beckham's tirades . ‘We couldn't sit in our living room . for almost eight months because of the noise and so I felt like the . heart had been ripped out of the home. She had absolutely no respect for . herself, her kids, her home or her neighbours.’ Mrs Hoey, who has three daughters, said . her family were forced to use the cellar as a living room because of the . noise - and on some nights would even be forced to sleep there. She said: ‘She has robbed us of our family life. Since the day she moved in the noise started and it never seemed to stop. We'd get half an hour of peace if we were lucky and then it would start again. ‘She was even verbally abusive to me and if I was in the front garden or street she'd shout and say she was going to kill me and she'd bang on the walls with a hammer. I never spoke to her so it was completely unprovoked. ‘We couldn't use our living room when she lived there because we could hear all her vile language and insults to her kids so we'd use our cellar as a living room. House: This is the former home of Beckham in Shipley, West Yorkshire, where she brought misery to her neighbours . ‘We'd sleep in our bedrooms but on some occasions because we'd get woken up in the early hours of the morning and wouldn't be able to get back to sleep for the noise so we'd sleep in the cellar. ‘When her baby would cry she'd just scream, shout and swear at it to be quiet. It was just a vile onslaught of racial and homophobic abuse against her children. I can't even begin to imagine what they were going through.’ Mrs Hoey said her 11-year-old daughter, who has learning difficulties, would get distressed by the abuse and her husband was struggling to work. ‘Two of my daughters, who are aged just 11 and 15, would have to listen to the filth being spouted. It was bad enough for me to listen to it but children shouldn't have to listen to that. ‘My youngest daughter has learning difficulties and so it was even harder for her to understand what was going on. She'd get really distressed by all the shouting and would often get upset about it. ‘My other daughter would spend most of the time out of the house to try and escape it. My husband works at a bank and he has a long drive to get to work each morning. ‘He was severely sleep-deprived for months and was struggling to do his job. It was also incredibly dangerous for him to be driving long distances without enough sleep. I'd worry about him constantly. ‘It has just been absolute hell for all of us. We'd have to listen to those poor children being screamed at and yet there was nothing we could do to stop it.’ Mrs Hoey said that since Beckham has moved out, it's been ‘heaven on Earth’ in the street. ‘As soon as she left there was peace and quiet,’ she added. ‘We have our home and family life back again and I'm absolutely delighted. ‘To be able to use the living room again and get a full night’s sleep is just fantastic. But I still worry about those kids. Unless they're taken away from her they'll continue to be verbally abused.’ 'As soon as she left there was peace and quiet. We have our home and family life back again and I'm absolutely delighted' Maxine Hoey . Appearing at court, Beckham accepted the order banning her from shouting, swearing, banging and upsetting neighbours. Clare Larton, prosecuting, told the bench that agreement had been reached and that Beckham was prepared to accept an order, which she had contested until that moment. Referring to the three-year ASBO and an application for costs of £300, Mrs Larton asked magistrates: ‘We simply ask you to endorse the order as sought.’ Bill Rawstron, for Beckham, said while not conceding lightly, she agreed it was an appropriate order. Beckham was told she was now prohibited from acting in any anti-social manner within the Bradford district - and specifically shouting, screaming, and banging in a place of residence. Speaking after the hearing, Mr Crossland said the council was worried for the welfare of Beckham's children, but added: ‘We will put the victims of anti-social behaviour at the top of our list.’
### SUMMARY:
| Mother-of-four Lauren Beckham, 31, verbally abused her four children .
Neighbours in West Yorkshire had to sleep in cellars to block out noise .
Beckham was there for eight months and got a three-year Asbo yesterday . |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
Fans stood on walls, climbed floodlight pylons and perched in trees. That was the day 43 years ago when little Hereford United took on mighty Newcastle United in an FA Cup replay. A young John Motson, on attachment from BBC Radio to television outside broadcasts, made his way from Hereford’s Green Dragon hotel, equidistant from the fine cathedral and the less august Edgar Street ground, for what was expected to be a small end-of-programme clip. The top-tier deities duly went ahead seven minutes from time through Malcolm Macdonald’s header. But, moments later, Ronnie Radford’s right boot twanged the ball 30 yards into the top corner at the Meadow End for 1-1. It was as sweet a strike as the old Cup has known. Ronnie Radford celebrates after scoring the late equaliser for Hereford against Newcastle . ‘What a goal, what a goal,’ exclaimed Motson. ‘Radford the scorer. Ronnie Radford.’ The hero, wearing No 11, reeled away, both hands in the air. Boys in green parkas and grown men waving black-and-white scarves flooded on to the muddy turf, where, in extra time, substitute Ricky George hit Hereford’s winner low into the far corner. The Southern League no-hopers had done it. This weekend is FA Cup fifth-round time. But Hereford will not be involved in the Cup or, indeed, any fixture. As of December 19 last year, the club, then playing in the Southern League, was wound up by the High Court in London. Hereford fans invade the pitch after a famous Cup victory for the ages against Newcastle . Hereford goalscorers Ricky George (right) and Ronnie Radford (left) beam after the game . Ninety years of existence in the lower reaches of English football had ended. Today the Edgar Street ground, in the centre of the city, is a crumbling relic. Addison’s Bar is billed as ‘Open All Day’ but is now closed permanently. The Radford Function Suite is similarly unused. An A4 piece of paper on the black door under the club badge announces that the ground, as of this month, has returned to its landlords, Herefordshire Council. With its corrugated fencing and lanky old floodlights, Edgar Street contrasts with the soulless, recently-built shopping centre — comprising Waitrose, TK Maxx and Debenhams — near the site of an old cattle market. Peering through a gap in the Edgar Street gates is Brett Parker, a former art teacher. He and his wife Julia, from rural Lydbury 40 miles away, were regular visitors here in Hereford’s footballing days. ‘We came for a day out,’ said Parker. ‘I would go to the football and Julia would go to the shops. Then we would meet afterwards at five and go for a curry. What has happened here is bad, sad and mad.’ 43 years after their famous FA Cup victory against Newcastle, Hereford went out of business . On December 19 last year, Hereford, then playing in the Southern League, was wound up by the High Court . On the off-white wall at the Meadow End written in red ink and capital letters are the words ‘Lonsdale Out’, which gets us into the nitty-gritty of this sorry tale. Andy Lonsdale was Hereford United’s last owner. The club was wound up when, despite their lawyers claiming Lonsdale could prove he had £1million to pay creditors led by HMRC, he was unable to get to court because he was supposedly stuck in traffic. For all their FA Cup heroics, Hereford United always had less cash than cachet. But while Graham Turner, the long-serving former manager, owned the club he turned a profit through good husbandry. Turner sold his majority shareholding to David Keyte, a local businessman, in 2010. From a position of solvency, the club made trading losses of about £1.5m over the next four years. The rot had set in. Then, last May, Keyte sold to Tommy Agombar, an Essex businessman who was mistrusted by fans as the guardian of a club that is situated on prime city development land. He had a conviction for lorry theft that meant he was later barred under the FA’s owners’ and directors’ test. Hereford United has gone after 90 years in existence and the gates are locked at Edgar Street . So the club briefly fell into the hands of Alan McCarthy, of Alpha Choice Finance. He was invisible, rarely if ever at games. He was soon succeeded by Agombar’s former adviser Lonsdale, from the construction and waste disposal industries, who had previously been convicted of dumping waste illegally. By now the club were in a dire mess. Off the field, they were expelled from the Conference for failing to pay a £350,000 bond, while former manager Martin Foyle was suing them for unpaid wages. On the field, it was mayhem. Unable to play in the Conference, they entered the Southern League for the 2014-15 season, using 46 players in the five months prior to liquidation. Some of the squad came from Spain, France, Georgia, America and Australia, all chasing the dream of a professional football career that was sold to them in an aggressive recruitment drive. They were paid sometimes as little as £50 or £60 a week, cash in hand. Some even slept in the Starlite function room. Although North Walian striker Cory Williams, now at Chester City, midfielder Billy Murphy, who joined Bristol City, and local boy Jarrod Bowen, who moved to Hull City, found a life in football beyond Hereford, many more players disappeared into the ether as quickly as they had appeared from nowhere. So what next? Herefordshire Council, themselves in debt, are committed — at least until the elections in May — to trying to resurrect the club at Edgar Street. Hereford lost 2-0 to Aston Villa in 2011 in the second-round of the League Cup . They have ‘invited expressions of interest’ to take on the tenancy, albeit only for two and a half years. The deadline for bidders is next Thursday, with the Council due to select who takes over the ground by March 1, the FA’s deadline for participation next season. Rumours in Hereford say there could be three bidders, though only one is in the open: a 50-50 split between the Supporters’ Trust and a group of local businessman led by Jon Hale, who made his money from polythene plant pots. Hale and his group say they are ready to commit £150,000. The Trust, whose membership of 1,700 makes their backing crucial to any bid prospering, have about £30,000 in the bank but say they could quickly raise more funds if the Council chooses them. Martin Watson, the Trust’s vice-chairman, said: ‘We are glad the last owners have gone. We don’t see it as the end for football in Hereford.’ If the bruised supporters should succeed with a phoenix club, it will be called plain Hereford Football Club and probably rejoin in the fifth tier of non-League football, the Midland Premier League. ‘A lot of work needs to be done, but we are confident we can do it,’ said Watson. He and fellow fans can take inspiration from the old club’s motto: ‘Our greatest glory lies not in never having fallen, but in rising when we fall.’
### SUMMARY:
| Hereford, then a Non-league club, beat mighty Newcastle in the FA Cup .
Ronnie Radford and Ricky George scored in famous Cup upset .
The cash-strapped club was wound up in the High Court in December . |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
A teenage girl has narrowly avoided death after smoking 'synthetic marijuana' that she bought from a gas station and suffering a series of strokes. Seventeen-year-old Emily Bauer, from Cypress, Texas, has been left with brain damage, paralysis and is unable to see after taking the synthetic weed with friends last December. Her family is now hoping to raise awareness of the dangers of the substance, which is often labelled as 'potpourri', while campaigners battle for stricter laws to make it illegal across the country. Fake weed, which is also known as 'Spice' or 'K2', is an herbal mixture doused with chemicals that trigger a high similar to smoking marijuana, according to the . National Institute on Drug Abuse. Former life: Seventeen-year-old Emily Bauer started experiencing severe migraines in December, after smoking a synthetic weed she had bought from a gas station . It is often sold as incense or potpourri, and is advertised as a legal alternative to weed. While many states have outlawed it, manufacturers have responded by slightly changing the compound so that it can return to shelves. Emily smoked the drug last December with friends and within 15 minutes, she told her boyfriend she was suffering from a migraine and needed to lay down. She suffered a series of strokes which left her in a psychotic-like state, during which she urinated on herself, ran into walls, hallucinated and acted violently, her sister told CNN's iReport. The police were called to help restrain her into an ambulance, and she was taken to Northwest Cypress Hospital, where she bit guardrails and attempted to bite medical staff. Struck down: The drug caused her blood vessels to constrict and she suffered a series of strokes . Frightening: Her family decided to take out her breathing tube - yet the teenager fought for life . 'We thought once she comes down off the . drug, we'd take her home and show her the dangers of this drug,' her older sister, Blake, said. 'We didn't think it was as big of a deal until 24 hours . later she was still violent and hurting herself. We realized you're not . supposed to stay high this long.' She was put into an induced coma as doctors carried out tests on her brain. Doctors soon found Emily's strokes had caused severe vasculitis, meaning contracting blood vessels had constricted the flow of blood and cut off oxygen to her brain. 'In four days' time, we went from . thinking everything is going to be OK and we'll put her in drug . rehabilitation to now you don't know if she's going to make it,' stepfather Tommy Bryant told CNN. Danger: Emily bought the legal 'fake weed' Klimax potpourri by Kush, above, from a gas station . Different life: Emily is now blind and largely paralysed but continues to make small improvements . Synthetic marijuana, which is known as 'Spice' or 'K2', is an herbal mixture sprayed with chemicals that create a high similar to smoking marijuana, according to the . National Institute on Drug Abuse. Advertised as a 'legal' alternative . to . weed, it's often sold as incense or potpourri. When many states . outlawed the drug, manufacturers slightly changed the compound so they . were no longer illegal. It was linked to 11,406 . drug-related emergency department visits in 2010, a study by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health . Services Administration found. Most were aged 12 to 17. The first state laws banning synthetic . drugs were established in 2010. Now at least 41 states have banned them, but that has not deterred the manufacturers. 'These drug manufacturers slightly . change the chemical compound, and it becomes a different substance . that's not covered by the law,' said NCSL policy specialist Alison . Lawrence. Common side effects from smoking synthetic . marijuana include bloodshot eyes, disturbed perceptions, a change in . mood, paranoia, raised blood pressure or hallucinations. Doctors soon found Emily's blood vessels were expanding again and while the family saw it as a sign of improvement, pressure on the teenager's brain grew rapidly - and dangerously. Surgeons had to drill a hole in her skull and insert a tube to relieve pressure. But her brain was still affected. 'We met with Neurology team who showed . us Emily's brain images,' her mother, Tonya Bauer, said. 'They told us that all white areas on images were . dead. It looked to us at least 70 per cent of the images were white.' Doctors said Emily would not be able to recognise her family and would never be able to use her arms or legs again. With this heart-breaking news, Emily's parents made the tough decision to take out her breathing tube and stopped all nourishment on December 16 - but she continued to fight. As her mother went to her room one morning, she said, 'Good morning, I love you' and was stunned to hear a hoarse voice saying: 'I love you too.' 'Even though she couldn't move, is . blind, and could hardly be aware of what was going on around her, she . laughed with us as we made jokes and listened to her soft whisper . replies,' Blake said. 'It is my little sister shining through, in every way she can manage, with every ounce of strength.' Struggle: Emily, pictured hooked up to an ECG, has started eating solid food again in an encouraging sign . New world: Emily is believed to have smoked the fake weed with friends after buying it from a gas station . Emily knows where she is and recognises her family, but every day is still shrouded in confusion. The family does not know how much control she will recover, but she is already moving her arms and legs, and two weeks ago she started eating solid food again. Emily's parents have started a . nonprofit organization called Synthetic Awareness For Emily to educate teenagers and parents about the dangers of synthetic marijuana use. 'Ee want to let kids and . parents know about the warnings signs: migraines and withdrawal,' Bryant said. 'We all know the warning signs of alcohol and cocaine, but with . this synthetic weed stuff, it's so new that nobody knows about this . stuff. We want to let other parents know about this so they don't have . to go what we've been going through.' Lack of awareness: Emily's family said they had no idea how dangerous the fake marijuana could be and are now spreading awareness to educate other teenagers and students . Bryant said he knew Emily used real marijuana occasionally, and told her she would be grounded if he ever caught her smoking. 'Had I thought that there was any chance that she could have been hurt by this stuff, I would have been a lot more vigilant. I had no idea it was so bad,' Bryant told CNN. 'I'd never have thought we'd be in this situation. If she had bought it off the street or from a corner, that's one thing, but she bought it from convenience store.' For more information about the family's . nonprofit organization, Synthetic Awareness For Emily (SAFE), visit their Facebook page.
### SUMMARY:
| Emily Bauer, 17, bought the substance from a gas station .
She suffered a series of strokes which left her in a psychotic-like state .
Nearly two months later, she is blind and dependent on family and nurses .
Family hopes to raise awareness of the dangers of the legal drug . |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
A six-year-old girl has a rare condition that means she's the size of a two-year old and weighs less than two stone. Maci Winters, from Pontefract, West Yorkshire, is just 99cm tall and wears clothes with an 18-24 month label (The average six-year-old girl is 116cm tall and weighs over three stone). Maci was born with a rare genetic condition called Russell-Silver Syndrome, a form of primordial dwarfism that affects 1 in 100,000 babies. Maci Winter (with her parents Lena and John and younger brother Ashton), has a rare condition which means she's the size of a two-year old and weighs less than two stone. Her younger brother is already taller than her . Tiny: Maci's condition means she wears clothes designed for a two-year-old and excels at hide and seek . The body is smaller than it should be even before birth and those affected also find it difficult to gain weight. But despite being smaller than her school friends and her younger brother, Ashton, 4, Maci can walk, play and boss them around like any other six year old. Last week, her parents, Lena Appleton, 30 and John Winters, 31, watched her take to the stage in the school nativity. Her mother said: 'Watching her we were so proud, but it did make us realise how big the other children were compared to Maci. 'She was all smiles in the nativity and singing along to all the songs. She lit up the room and kept waving to us begging to have more pictures taken. To us, she's our little Christmas angel.' Although Maci's mental capacity is the same as any other six-year-old, she's well below the average weight and height for her age group. Ms Appleton added; 'When Maci was born we knew something was wrong. I was terrified when she had to be induced at 36 weeks. Small: Maci (left) aged eight weeks next to a four-week-old baby (right). She suffers from a rare genetic condition called Russell-Silver syndrome . 'She weighed just 3lb 5oz and the doctors didn't have a clue why she was so small. 'I . took her home, but she didn't gain any weight when I fed her - she was . too weak to suckle properly. The doctors told us she was a small baby . but she'd catch up eventually.' As a toddler, Maci's head grew so much bigger than her body that she wasn't even able to lift it as she crawled along the living room carpet. Ms Appleton and her partner John, a retail manager at a mobile phone shop, spent the next three years visiting geneticists and dietitians, desperate to know why their little girl wasn't developing normally. At the age of three, a referral to the genetics team at Doncaster Hospital finally brought a diagnosis - Russell-Silver Syndrome. Russell-Silver Syndrome is a form of primordial dwarfism. It means that the body is smaller than it should be even before birth and those affected find it difficult to gain weight . Ms Appleton said: 'We were terrified. Maci only weighed 11lbs and it was scary watching her go through so . many tests. When they finally said that she'd tested positive for . Russell-Silver Syndrome we were so relieved - we could finally help . her.' 'With her blonde hair, cheeky smile and gorgeous blue eyes, Maci loves doing the same things as any other schoolgirl. 'She . has little steps to help with washing her hands and at home loves . nothing more than dressing up like a princess or writing mummy and daddy . notes saying "I love you". Despite being two years younger, Maci's brother Ashton is taller . She added: 'We still worry about the impact Russell-Silver Syndrome will have on Maci's life - but she's so confident and cheeky. She does get upset when people mention her size but now she's old enough to tell them off which is quite funny.' Unfortunately, passers-by and other children do comment on Maci's pint-sized form - and it's not always positive. 'In the supermarket, people used to gather around our trolley and gawp,' says Ms Appleton. 'They'd ask "what's wrong with her?" 'Then when Maci could walk they'd tell me off and say "your baby shouldn't be walking".' 'Everyone at Maci's school is so . understanding, but sometimes we'll go to play areas and other children . will call her a baby and tell her off for playing in there.' But . her younger brother Ashton is already standing up for his older sister. At 103cms, he already towers over her and their height difference makes . playing games even more fun. Their mother said: 'Maci does . get confused and asks why Ashton is taller, but he's so protective of . his sister and he'll always stick up for her. 'She usually wins at hide and seek because she can fit into a little cupboard in the bedroom where he can't find her.' Despite . her specially adapted steps to reach things at school, Maci has had . very few problems. Because of her tiny fingers, she used to find . fastening buttons difficult - but can now put her school uniform on . herself.now she puts on her school uniform all by herself. Tough: Despite being dwarfed by her school friends and her younger brother, Ashton, 4, Maci can walk, play and boss them around like any other six year old, says her mother Lena . Ms Appleton added: 'When she first started school she kept getting knocked over because people would run past and not see her. But she has a 'school buddy' to look after her on the playground and the kids are brilliant.' Maci is being treated with growth hormones to give her a bit more height and has recently had hearing aids fitted. She also finds walking long distances difficult and has a special purple wheelchair to help her along. Common physical traits of those affected include a small, triangular-shaped face and a head which grows to be disproportionate to the rest of the body. Her mother said: 'There are adults with Russell-Silver Syndrome who have led normal lives and had children of their own. We have to be positive for Maci's sake. When we look back at what she's achieved it's just incredible.' Russell-Silver syndrome is a growth disorder that causes slow growth both before and after birth. Babies with the condition tend to have a low birth weight and often fail to grow and gain weight. However, their heads grow at a normal rate meaning they often appear unusually large compared to the rest of the body. Many children with Russell-Silver syndrome are thin and have a poor appetite. The average height for a man with the condition is 4ft 11in and for a woman, 4ft 7ins. Children with the syndrome often have a small, triangular face with a prominent forehead, narrow chin and small jaw. These children are at an increased risk of learning disabilities. The condition is thought to affect about one in every 100,000 babies. It is most commonly caused by abnormalities in genes found in chromosome 7 and chromosome 11. Source: Genetics Home Reference .
### SUMMARY:
| Maci Winters is just 99cm tall and wears clothes with an 18-24 month label .
Has a form of primordial dwarfism called Russell-Silver Syndrome .
Condition means the body is smaller than it should be even before birth .
Those affected - 1 in 100,000 babies - also find it difficult to gain weight . |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
One in five graduates now go on to be worth more than £1million . One in five graduates who hold at least one university degree go on to become a millionaire, according to new data. Official figures from the Office for National Statistics show that 20 per cent of all adults who complete higher education - equivalent to more than two million people - have a wealth of £1million or more. In contrast only three per cent of people who have assets totalling more than £1million have no formal qualifications. The figures also reveal that education is becoming more important to becoming a millionaire as in 2006-07, only 16 per cent of graduates were worth more than £1million. David Willets, the universities minister said the new study reveals why going to university is a very good deal, despite rising tuition fees. He told the Daily Telegraph: 'It shows why it’s fair to ask graduates to pay back the cost of their higher education, and why increasing the number of people who go to university will spread wealth and opportunity.’ In addition the figures also show that Britain’s richest families own almost half of the country’s household wealth. The wealthiest 10 per cent of households hold 44 per cent of the total money tied up in property, pensions, possessions and hard cash. Amazingly more than one in 10 people own a second home and a similar proportion can call themselves millionaires. How the richest 10 per cent own 44 per cent of all household wealth . Pensions and property make up the biggest slice of household wealth . Since 2006-08, the proportion of families with possessions with more than £60,000 has risen sharply . In 2010-12 the combined wealth of all private households in Great Britain was £9.5 trillion, up by almost 12 per cent £8.4 trillion in 2006-08 as the financial crisis hit. The average household total wealth stood at £218,400 in 2010-12, up from £196,700 in 2006-08. Even after the financial crash, wealth is skewed towards the richest 10 per cent, who held 44 per cent of all wealth. By comparison the poorest 50 per cent of households owned just 9 per cent of total aggregate household wealth, the Office for National Statistics said. Overall 9 per cent of households have more than £1million, the same proportion who have less than £12,500. The gap between rich and poor also appears to be widening. In 2010-12, the wealthiest 10 per cent of households were 4.8 times wealthier than the bottom 50 per cent. The wealthiest 20 per cent of households had 105 times more than the least wealthy 20 per cent, up from 92 times more in 2008-10. Rachael Orr, Oxfam Head of UK Poverty Programme said: 'This is another shocking chapter in a tale of two Britains, further evidence of increasing inequality at a time when five rich families have the same wealth as 12 million people. 'We need our politicians to grasp the nettle and make the narrowing gap between the richest and poorest a top priority. It cannot be right that in Britain today a small elite are getting richer and richer while millions are struggling to make ends meet.' How household wealth varies across the country . Between 2006-08 and 2010-12, household wealth in London rose by 31 per cent, but it fell by 10.1 per cent in the North East . Private pensions and property each account for 38 per cent all wealth, with financial wealth making up 14 per cent and physical wealth – possessions – just 12 per cent. The value of physical wealth – including furniture, clothing and gadgets – varies widely. Around two per cent have household contents worth more than £100,000, while 52 per cent say their possesions are worth less than £30,000. There are also variations across the country. Average household wealth in the South East stood at £309,700 in 2010-12, more than double the £142,700 in the South East. The impact of the financial crash in 2007 has also been more dramatic in the north and Midlands. Between 2006-08 and 2010-12, household wealth in London rose by 31 per cent, but it fell by 10.1 per cent in the North East, and barely rose in the West Midlands (0.8 per cent) and East Midlands (0.5 per cent). Three-quarters of homes own a car and 7 per cent own a personalised numberplate . More than 1 in 10 people own a second property or land, including 3 per cent who have a second home abroad . Three-quarters of families own a car, and 4 per cent have a motorbike. Meanwhile 7 per cent have a personalised numberplate, up from 5 per cent in 2006-08. Separated men and women were the most likely to live in households with total wealth of less than £12,500 (23 per cent and 21 per cent respectively), the ONS said. Married men and women were the most likely to live in households with total wealth of £1 million or more (14 per cent and 13 per cent respectively). The ONS added: ‘Compared with single and cohabitating individuals, married individuals are on average older. ‘Knowing also that the earnings of older workers are higher than those of younger workers and that those older individuals will have had longer to accumulate wealth might go some way towards explaining these differences. ‘Compared with single individuals, those who were married might have accumulated more wealth if they were both working and in receipt of a higher joint income.’ Marries men are the group most likely to be millionaires . Separated women are most likely to live in homes with wealth of less than £12,500 . The under-35s were most likely to live in households with the lowest amounts of total wealth. In 2010-12, 13 per cent of 0-15 year olds and 14 per cent of 16-24 year olds and 25-34 year olds were living in households with a total wealth of less than £12,500. Just 4 per cent of people aged 55-64 years or over-65 lived in households in this lowest total wealth band. However, 22 per cent of all 55-64 year olds were living in households with total wealth of £1 million or more. The ONS said: ‘Individuals in this age group still find themselves in the wealth accumulation phase, and income, such as earnings from employment, enable opportunities to increase total wealth.’ There was also a small increase in the percentage of households who own an extra property is up from 10 per cent in 2008-10 to 11 per cent in 2010-12. This included 3 per cent with a second home, 4 per cent with a buy-to-let and 3 per cent who own land or property overseas.
### SUMMARY:
| Only 3% of millionaires have no formal qualifications new figures show .
Total household wealth in Britain rose 12% from 2006-08 to 2010-12 .
Poorest half of families own just 9% of total aggregate wealth, ONS says .
Average household wealth highest in the South East at £309,700 .
Wealth in London rose by 31% since 2006-08, but fell by 10% in North East .
11% have a second home and 7% have a personalised numberplate . |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
In 2006 everybody hailed Barcelona. They had finally relented, after more than a century of wearing that unblemished, iconic, red-and-blue striped shirt, and taken on a sponsor. Except that instead of a beer brand or appliances company it was Unicef. And they paid the charity for it too, with over £1million annually going towards its projects. On the pitch, Barcelona dived, fouled and cheated as much as any other team, but in between the gaps they played fabulous, expansive football. Purists adored them, millions dreamed of the opportunity to watch the likes of Ronaldinho, Xavi, Deco and the rest at the Nou Camp. They were everybody’s 'second team'. VIDEO Scroll down to watch Barcelona fans discuss the potential signing of Luis Suarez . Soul: Is Barcelona still 'more than a club' after its latest transfer pursuits and sponsorships? Beautiful: Barcelona's tiki-taka style has gained many admirers around the world . Mes que un club - more than a club - was the slogan they used to describe themselves. It refers to their commitment to matters beyond the football pitch, social and political affairs both local and global. The slogan was initially invented by president Narcis de Careras in 1968, concerning their backing of Catalan society, which had been attacked by Spanish dictator Franco. Franco’s dictatorship tried to end the club’s social significance, removing the Catalan stripes from the crest. Time passed, Franco died, Spain became democratic again and Barcelona wanted to apply their slogan to more than just Catalonia. ‘Barca has extended its social commitment to the rest of the planet,’ announces the club website, proudly. It heralded the Unicef deal as a specifically significant marker for this. But in recent years there have been numerous decisions made by the club which have flung it from their self-made throne and down, down into the mire, with all the other football clubs. The shirt is in danger of becoming more like a Formula One car than a football jersey. This week they have added Turkish appliances firm Beko to it, with its logo emblazoned on the sleeve. Deal: Barca's signed a deal with Qatar Airways to be their main shirt sponsor in 2013 . Generous: Previously Barca paid charity Unicef £1million a year to be able to emblazon their logo . VIDEO Xavi set to leave Barcelona to play in Qatar . In the middle of the shirt is the far more controversial Qatar Airways sponsorship. It is the successor to Qatar Foundation, which ended Barcelona’s stance of refusing commercial shirt sponsorship. The Unicef logo was been moved to another, less notable position on the shirt and from the start of the 2011-12 season Barcelona began to benefit from a £125m sponsorship deal. Late last year, Barcelona announced a new shirt sponsorship deal, with Intel advertising inside of the shirt. Intel’s marketing officer Deborah Conrad described it as 'more than sponsorship'. Perhaps a play on words on Barcelona’s club slogan, perhaps an unfortunate coincidence. But it highlighted how the attitude towards the previously pure, clean shirt had changed. And sponsorships are the tip of the iceberg. There have been some dubious practices going on at the club in recent times. The pursuit of Luis Suarez is the latest of them. This is a footballer who has been found guilty of racism by the FA. Who dives and cheats like the best of ‘em, who has recently bitten an opposition player for the THIRD time. Treble: Barca had no sponsor for more than 100 years but Turkish firm Beko have become their third . Core values: Up until 2006 Barcelona were steadfast in their determination not to have a sponsor on their shirt . And yet, despite biting Giorgio Chiellini and subsequently being issued a four-month global ban, Barcelona’s club president and sporting director both described him as ‘honourable’ and new signing Ivan Rakitic said that his apology made him ‘a noble man’. Bear in mind that this apology reads like it was spoken through gritted teeth, just days after claiming that he stumbled and fell into Chiellini. Bear in mind that Barcelona required Suarez to apologise before they could make a move for him. What Barcelona have been bearing in mind, above any qualms about Suarez compromising their club conscience, is that a front line comprised of Lionel Messi, Neymar and the Uruguayan would be nigh-on unstoppable. The Brazilian Suarez will be playing with, Neymar, came to the club under a storm cloud too. The repercussions of his transfer deal affected the club long into the season, with Barcelona paying £11.1m to the tax authorities that they had evaded during the deal. Pursuit: Barca are determined to sign Liverpool forward Luis Suarez this summer . Controversial: Barca's pursuit of Suarez is in spite of the fact he has bitten three separate opponents . VIDEO Barca's praise for sorry Suarez . Barcelona denied any fiscal wrongdoing, stating that they were merely making a complimentary donation to the government to cover 'any potential interpretation made concerning the contract'. In reality, the signing of Neymar which, initially, appeared as if it were a £49m deal, could have cost more than £71m. Barcelona’s president at the time, Sandro Rosell, resigned, and the man who followed him, Josep Maria Bartomeu, described the whole thing as ‘embarrassing’. Then, there was the treatment of Eric Abidal. The Barcelona defender claimed that he was not paid while he was recovering from a liver transplant. He said: ‘What was hard to understand was what Barcelona said during my last press conference. By saying that it was a professional choice, it made other clubs doubt. It wasn’t even a question of money. The proof being that all the months I was ill, the club didn’t pay me.’ Pay: Frenchman Eric Abidal claims Barca did not give him his wages during his recovery from cancer . Fee: Barca failed to disclose the full payments made for Neymar during his transfer last summer . VIDEO Barca charged with €9m tax fraud over Neymar transfer . Barcelona refuted this, saying that they had paid for it mostly, with only a ‘very small’ part coming from medical insurers. The reason Barcelona want to buy Suarez, as well as Ivan Rakitic, Claudio Bravo and Marc-Andre ter Stegen, is because the threat of a transfer ban still looms over them. They were given this ban for disobeying FIFA instructions over the transfers of minors, with 10 under-18 players they signed contravening legislation. On appeal, their ban has been suspended, so they are making all their necessary deals this summer in case it eventually gets upheld. All of this has left the club’s waters murky, like the sea by Barceloneta beach after the city’s famous all-night Sant Joan’s eve festival. If the good times of decades past at the Camp Nou were the party, we are currently in the madrugada - the twilight hour - knee-deep in filth, waiting for the clean-up operation to begin.
### SUMMARY:
| Barcelona did not have any sponsors on their shirts until 2006 .
Their first 'sponsorship' saw them pay charity Unicef £1million a year .
Qatar Airways now pay £125m for their five-year deal as sponsors .
Turkish firm Beko will now appear on the sleeves of Barca shirts .
Club pursuing deal for Luis Suarez despite him biting three opponents .
Eric Abidal claims Barca did not pay him during his cancer treatment . |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
Juventus progressed to the knockout stage of the Champions League after drawing 0-0 at home to already qualified Atletico Madrid, who went through as group winner. Massimiliano Allegri's side were eliminated in the final group match last season by Galatasaray, but needed just a point to qualify although victory by two goals or more would have seen the Old Lady leapfrog Atletico into top spot. The home side dominated possession but struggled to create clear-cut scoring opportunities and took almost an hour to first test Atletico goalkeeper Miguel Angel Moya. VIDEO Scroll down for Sportsmail's Big Match Stats: Juventus 0-0 Atletico Madrid . The Juventus players celebrate after sealing their progress into the last 16 of the Champions League on Tuesday night . The Juventus home crowd applaud their heroes as the Old Lady managed to qualify for the Champions League last 16 again . The Juventus squad couldn't hide their delight at progressing to the knockout stages of the Champions League on Tuesday evening . JUVENTUS (4-3-3): Buffon, Lichtsteiner, Bonucci, Chiellini, Evra, Pirlo, Vidal, Pogba, Pereyra, Tevez, Llorente . Subs not used: Ogbonna, Pepe, Morata, Giovinco, Padoin, Storari, Mattiello . Booked: Vidal . ATLETICO MADRID (4-4-2): Moya, Juanfran, Gimenez, Godin, Siqueira, Turan, Gabi, Suarez, Koke, Raul Garcia, Mandzukic . Subs not used: Tiago, Griezmann, Oblak, Niguez, Gamez, Rodriguez, Cerci . Booked: Siqueira, Suarez . Referee: William Collum . Attendance: 39, 219 . 'At the end of the day it was the result which counted,' Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri said. 'That was our first aim of the season, to get through the group, and that's never easy. 'We fought well in the first half and then in the second we tried to score but without risking anything. But we're through to the last 16. Now we'll wait for the draw and focus on the league. Juve showed it can have a great Champions League campaign.' Atletico, were content to soak up the pressure and hit Juventus on the counter, had the best of the chances and also hit the post. 'We are happy. This is the second year in a row we are in the Champions League and for the second year in a row we go through as group winner,' Atletico coach Diego Simeone said. 'The first half was very intense, with more chances for us. Then in the second half it was a tighter game, we were waiting for the opportunity to counter attack. 'I am very happy with the work of my lads. The whole squad played well in both games against Juventus.' Olympiakos finished third in Group A, a point behind Juventus, with a 4-2 win over Malmo. Juventus were unbeaten in their previous nine European home matches but Atletico, last season's runners-up, had won five of its past six Champions League away fixtures. Claudio Marchisio was a late injury absentee, with the Juventus midfielder suffering from flu. Juventus started brightly and had a chance to take the lead after just two minutes when Carlos Tevez was brought down just outside the area. There was an expectant hush as Andrea Pirlo stepped up but he drove his effort into the wall. Shortly afterwards, Juventus almost gifted Atletico a goal but Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon pulled off a save to deny Koke after a flurry of defensive errors had seen the ball arrive with the Atletico midfielder, rushing unmarked into the box. Fernando Llorente just failed to get on the end of a tantalising Paul Pogba ball into the box and Juventus also had a strong penalty appeal turned down in the 19th minute when Tevez's shot crashed off Diego Godin's arm from point-blank range. Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone makes his way to the dugout as his side took on Serie A leaders Juventus on Tuesday evening . The Juventus home crowd created a raucous atmosphere for their side on a crucial evening in the Champions League . Atletico Madrid's Arda Turan attempts to escape the attention of Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba during the Group A clash . Juventus striker Fernando Llorente directs his shot towards goal but failed to find the back of the net in Turin on Tuesday night . Juventus had Atletico pinned back inside its half but couldn't manage a shot on target and it was the Spanish side that went closest to taking the lead as Buffon had to palm a dangerous Jose Maria Gimenez header out from under his bar. Buffon was again called into action at the end of the first half, diving smartly to his left to parry Mario Suarez's stinging effort. Atletico went close again minutes after the restart when Gabi's corner cracked off the outside of the near post. For all its possession, it took Juventus nearly an hour to have its first shot on target but Moya turned Arturo Vidal's shot around the upright. Koke of Atletico Madrid challenges Juventus and Italy playmaker Andrea Pirlo as the Serie A leaders looked to progress to the last 16 . Argentina striker Carlos Tevez looks to play in a team-mate during a tense match at the Juventus Stadium on Tuesday evening . Charismatic Atletico Madrid manager Simeone complains to the officials after his side fail to win a decision in Turin . Moya couldn't hold a Pogba snapshot from distance but, with Vidal rushing in, the Atletico defence scrambled it clear to spare their goalkeeper's blushes. Juventus fans still had bad memories of last year's final group match, when Wesley Sneijder's late goal consigned it to the Europa League. But there was little danger of history repeating itself. The tempo had visibly dropped from the first half and, although Vidal and Pogba had attempts from distance, both teams appeared content to play out the draw. Pirlo whips in another trademark freekick at the Juventus Stadium on Tuesday but failed to find the target . Former Manchester United left back Patrice Evra slides in on Atletico Madrid striker Mario Mandzukic . Atletico keeper Miguel Angel Moya and defender Diego Godin manage to clear their lines after an Arturo Vidal (right) attempt on goal . VIDEO Juve deserved to progress - Allegri . Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri shouts out directions to his side as the Old Lady looked to progress in the Champions League . Miguel Angel Moya makes a save for Atletico Madrid during the 0-0 draw in Turin as Juventus secured their progress to the last 16 . Italy centre back Giorgio Chiellini takes an arm in the face during an aerial challenge with Atletico Madrid's Jose Maria Jimenez . Juventus captain Gianluigi Buffon signals to the crowd as he celebrates their last 16 qualification with Leonardo Bonucci . The Juventus squad looked relieved to qualify for the last 16 of the Champions League after a 0-0 draw with Atletico Madrid .
### SUMMARY:
| Atletico Madrid had already qualified for the last 16 of the Champions League and were joined by Juventus .
The goalless draw meant Diego Simeone's side topped Group A and Juventus had to settle for second place .
Olympiakos beat Malmo 4-2 but the result was irrelevant as Juventus hung on to claim second place in Group A . |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
Hundreds of Russian oligarchs are preparing to buy swathes of ultra-expensive property in London to protect their wealth against the country's crumbling economy, experts have said. In the past few days six buyers have contacted luxury London agents Beauchamp Estates and requested £100million homes in upmarket Mayfair, Belgravia and Kensington in order to get their money out of Moscow. In the past week Beauchamp has also seen a 10 per cent spike in requests from Russian buyers as panic about an economic collapse spread ahead of yesterday's currency plunge. The new wave of investors will further tighten Russia's grip on London's super-prime market, as they already buy one in five of the capital's most expensive properties. Scroll down for video . Ultra-wealthy Russians are buying up swathes of prime London real estate in the wake of the Russian financial crash yesterday. Flats in One Hyde Park (pictured) are among their target addresses . Two days after the first Russian sanctions came into effect in April, Penthouse D was bought for £140million by an Eastern European, sparking speculation it was a Russian trying to secure their cash . The rouble went into free-fall yesterday as its value dropped by up to 20 per cent against the dollar, an all-time low, causing tech company Apple to suspend sales of its products online today. While ordinary Russian citizens flocked to Ikea today as the budget store warned of price rises, the country's super-elite trained their sights on the London property market. Gary Hersham, managing director of Beauchamp Estates, said: 'The rouble has seen a massive collapse in value. 'Wealthy Russians are desperate to get their money out of Moscow at present, and we have seen a 10 per cent upturn in Russian clients since the decline in value and the international sanctions biting into the Russian economy. 'I currently have half a dozen Russian clients urgently looking to spend over £20million each on buying a new home in prime Central London. One London estate agent has been called by six Russians in the last few days demanding £100million properties in Belgravia, Mayfair and Knightsbridge (pictured, file image) Yesterday saw 20 per cent wiped off the value of the rouble, leading to a financial exodus from Moscow as oligarchs look to stash their wealth in safe havens such as London (pictured, One Hyde Park) 'For them the address must be Belgravia, Knightsbridge, Mayfair and Regents Park, its got to be a prestigious postcode and ideally a park side or leafy address. 'There has also been a rise in Russians looking at investment properties. Previously it was all end use real estate, but now they are starting to purchase rental investment property and commercial assets in large numbers, which has not been seen from them before.' Alisher Usmanov, Britain's richest man who is worth an estimated £13.3billion, owns a £48million mansion in North London, bought with the profits from his vast steel and telecoms empire. He also owns a 30 per cent stake in Arsenal footaball club, though he has previously complained about not having a seat on the board. Len Blavanik, who amassed an estimated fortune of £11billion through Warner Music Group, owns a house on Kensington's billionaire's row. The mansion, which has a hot tub, gym, massage room, cinema and wine cellar underneath it, could be worth £200million after it was refurbished last year. Across the road from Blavanik lives Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich, worth £9.3billion because of his interests in steel and oil. He paid £90million for the home, which includes up to 14 bedrooms. According to Adam Challis, head of residential at JLL, between 200 and 300 Russian investors could flock to the capital in the next six months looking for an investment. That number could have been far higher, but the British government's stance over Ukraine has driven buyers to Dubai and Cyprus instead, he added. In May this year an Eastern European buyer was said to be behind the purchase of Penthouse D in Hyde Park which sold for record-breaking £140million, despite having no floors, walls or furniture . The timing of the purchase, which went through two days after first round of European and U.S. sanctions against Russia were announced, sparked speculation that the buyer was looking to secure assets abroad. Katya Zenkovich, from the Russian desk at Knight Frank, said that Russians began moving money to London early this summer as word spread of an impending financial collapse. She added: 'For those that have started their search there is no indication they are abandoning their plans. Knight Frank web traffic shows the number of Russians looking at London property was 13 per cent higher in November 2014 than the same month last year. 'The figure was 9.5 per cent up from October, a monthly rise that bucks a trend of previous years when traffic has slowed over the final quarter of the year.' Figures released earlier this year showed that one in five of London's £10million-plus properties are bought by Russians, making them the largest group of foreign buyers, and only just behind Britons, who snap up one in three high-end homes. According to agents Beauchamp Estates the customers are asking for apartments in large, hotel-style developments such as this one in Mayfair . Between 200 and 300 billionaire Russian buyers are expected to come to London in the next six months, according to property experts at JLL . Russians are already buying one in five of London's £10million-plus properties (pictured, file image), with a spike in demand expected in the coming months . In 2011, billionaire Roman Abramovich, who owns Chelsea football club, bought a £90million mansion on the country's most expensive street, a stone's throw from Kensington Palace. His home in Kensington Palace Gardens, west London – known as Billionaires Row – has more than 15 bedrooms and extensive gardens. While the Russian economy has been steadily declining since the start of the year, the current meltdown began yesterday after the country's central bank suddenly hiked interest rates. The dramatic rise, from 10.7 per cent to 17 per cent, was supposed to help shore up the rouble but instead caused investors to panic, sending its value tumbling. Officials at the bank said they have spent $2billion since Monday in an attempt to prop the currency up, which will add to the $78billion they have spent since the beginning of the year. St John's Wood is among the other addresses being sought by Russians looking to get their wealth out of Moscow and into the safe haven of London . Along with a prestigious postcode, such as Knightsbridge (pictured) or Belgravia, the investors are demanding a park side or leafy address . As well as looking to store their cash in residential properties, large numbers of Russians are now looking for investment properties, which is unusual according to property experts .
### SUMMARY:
| One estate agent has six buyers who each offered £100million for a house .
Oligarchs demanding homes in pricey Belgravia, Mayfair and Kensington .
Between 200 and 300 ultra-rich Russians to buy in London in six months .
Investors buying up property to protect assets from crumbling economy .
Russian thought to have bought One Hyde Park flat for £140m in May . |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
He may have been the ruler of an empire that covered most of Asia, but the final resting place of Genghis Khan remains a mystery. After dying of a sudden illness in 1227 at the age of 72, the Mongol leader was buried at a secret location that has yet to be uncovered. Legend says that as his body was carried to its final resting place, anyone encountered along the route was put to the sword before those escorting the body also killed themselves. More than 10,000 volunteers tagged stuctures, roads and rivers on satellite images as part of the project . But now scientists, aided by a team of amateur archaeologists, believe they are close to finding the final resting place of the first Mongolian emperor. By scouring more than 84,000 satellite images of the area where he suspected of being buried, more than 10,000 volunteers identified sites that looked like they might be of archaeological signficance. Genghis Khan has 16 million male descendants living today, according to DNA research. Scientists have traced a cluster of extremely similar Y-chromosomes back to a single ancestor living in Mongolia around 800 years ago. They believe the only man with the opportunity to father enough children would have been the Mongolian warlord. Within 80 years he built an empire that covered much of China, Iran, Pakistan, Korea and South Russia. The findings confirmed earlier studies that Khan's DNA fingerprint was widespread over the Asican subcontinent. The highest concentration of 'Khan chromosome' carriers was in a group of ethnic Kazakhs. Tom Robinson, an accountancy professor whose ancestors came from the Lake District, was the first man outside Asia to be identified as carrying the Khan chromosome. It was found that Professor Robinson's paternal forebears came from the Caucasus near the Black Sea. The crowdsourcing project allowed the researchers to survey an area of 6,000 sq km (2,316 square miles), an area twice the size of Yosemite National Park. In a paper published in the journal Public Library of Science One, they claim to have identified 55 potential archaeological sites that could be home to the remains of Genghis Khan. The team were then able to visit some of the sites in Northern Mongolia to carry out ground surveys and use drone aircraft to take pictures from above. Dr Albert Yu-Min Lin, the researcher who led the project at the Calfiornia Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology at the University of California, in San Diego, and a self-confessed Genghis Khan obsessive, said the work has brought them closer to finally answering the question of where Genghis Khan is buried. Dr Yu-Min Lin said that using the help of the public through crowdsourcing helped his team plough through enormous quanities of information that would would have taken years for a single archaeologist to survey all the satellite photos. He added: 'Looking at the data size challenge, we have surveyed a historically significant area of roughly 6,000km2. 'A ground survey of this detail for the entire range would have been prohibitive. 'A single archaeologist would have had to scroll through nearly 20,000 screens before covering the whole area.' Legendary: The Mongol leader built one of the largest empires ever seen in just 80 years but the location of his final resting place after he died remains a mystery (actor playing Ghengis Khan pictured) While the tomb has still to be found, monuments and statues like the one above exist all over Mongolia . The satellite images helped the archaeologists find 55 sites that were archaeologically interesting like a circular khirigsuur burial mound (labelled A and B), and stone megaliths known as 'deer stones' (labelled C) Most experts believe Khan was buried somewhere in a valley near the sacred Mongolian mountain of Burkhan Khaldun, near his birthplace in Khentii Aimag, northeastern Mongolia. Despite building up an empire that stretched from the Kaspian Sea to the Yellow Sea, little more is known about where his remains were buried. Recent research has shown that one in every 200 men on the planet is genetically related to Genghis Khan, yet his tomb remains a secret. His direct descendants who followed him as Khan are also thought to have been buried alongside him. Accounts by traders such as Marco Polo who served with the Khublia Khaan in the 13 Century describe how the great Mongol Lords were buried. He described how they were taken to a great mountain called Altai and anyone encountered on the route was killed. It is said that when Kublai Khan, the grandson of Genghis Khan, died more than 20,000 men were put to the death after encountering his body. Popular legend also says that the area around the tomb where Genghis Khan was buried was also trampled by horses for month to obliterate signs of the grave. Genghis Khan was initially called Temüjin when he was born in 1155 or 1162 near Burkhan Khaldun mountain . The Mausoleum of Genghis Khan (above), built in Xinjie Town in Inner Mongolia in 1954, attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors every year, but the location of the actual tomb that contains his remains has been lost . In an attempt to find this legendary Valley of the Khans, and the tomb of their first great leader, volunteers were asked to tag modern and historic features and structures on satellite images. Within six months 10,000 people had spent a total of 30,000 hours, or 3.4 years, tagging more than 2.3 million sites as part of the project, that was conducted with National Geographic. From these the research team were able to narrow down the list to 100 accessible locations, of which 55 appeared to have archaeological significance. These included circular 'khirigsuur' burial mounds and rectangular burial mounds ranging from the Bronze Age to the Mongol period. The search also found stone megaliths and ancient city fortifications. Genghis Khan is thought to be buried in the legendary Valley of the Khans near to Burkhan Khaldun mountain . The researchers visited some of the 55 sites and surveyed them from the air using drone aircraft . Although the researchers visited the sites identified, digging at these locations is highly controversial and previous attempts to excavate potential tombs in Mongolia have been deeply unpopular with the public. Instead the researchers may have to use ground penetrating radar and other equipment in an attempt to narrow down their search further. Dr Yu-Min Lin said: 'In total, a wide variety of archaeological material was identified from the crowd based analytics, ranging from 10 meter diameter rock piles to 200 meter wall structures.' He added that their project had also shown the power of using crowdsourcing to help scientific and archaeological studies. He said the recent attempt to locate the missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370, where 8 million participants surveyed satellite images for signs of the plane showed the power of such techniques. He said: 'The shear mass of participation in this example provides a glimpse of the potneital of our networked society. 'These crowdsourcing activities help us dive into the unknown and extract the unexpected.'
### SUMMARY:
| Final resting place of Mongol leader has remained a secret for 800 years .
His tomb is said to be near Burkhan Khaldun mountain in north Mongolia .
Scientists used crowdsourcing to scour 84,000 satellite images of the area .
More than 10,000 volunteers surveyed more than 2,300 square miles .
They identified 55 archaeological sites that could be Genghis Khan's tomb .
Archaeologists believe they are closer than ever to finding his burial site . |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
Nearly 5,000 years after it was created by a Chinese Emperor, tea remains one of the world’s most popular beverages in the US, with tens of thousands of gallons of different iced varieties being consumed every year. But beyond the preferred flavors and serving methods enjoyed in the US, there are huge varieties of other tea-based traditions, flavors and styles being served in different cultures around the world which are far more interesting than what you will find at your local Starbucks. From British tea time to Tibetan Yak Butter Tea, Pulptastic compiled a visual list of teas being served in their native countries. Unique flavor: Moroccan mint tea (pictured) is a variation of green tea made with spearmint leaves and sugar . Super creamy: Hong Kong milk tea (pictured) is black tea that is made with evaporated milk or sweetened condensed milk . According to the Tea Association of the USA, tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world next to water. While Americans can choose from varieties of teas, including black, green and white, a majority of the country prefers to drink it chilled. Considering the popularity of sweet tea, particularly below the Mason-Dixon line, it is not at all shocking that the Tea Association also reported that 85per cent of the tea consumed in the US is iced. In Steel Magnolia's, Dolly Parton's character Truvy called sweet tea the 'house wine of the South' because of its abundant consumption. Across the pond, the British drink their tea with milk, but it is also common to have it served black, with lemon or sugar. The creation of the traditional afternoon tea in the United Kingdom is credited to Anna Marie Russell, Duchess of Bedford, who in 1840 began having tea with a small snack around 4pm to fight off that 'sinking feeling'. Caloric beverage: A Buddhist nun is pictured drinking Tibetan yak butter tea, which is made from tea leaves, yak butter, water and salt . Liquid dinner: Mongolian tea or suutei tsai (pictured) is known for its distinct salty flavor. It is typically made with water, milk, black or green tea and salt . Cool cups: In South America, mate tea (pictured) is made by filling a hollow gourd with dried yerba mate leaves and hot water. It is served with a filtered straw that is usually made out of silver . But there would be no such thing as tea time, if it wasn't for the discovery of tea leaves in China. According to legend, Chinese Emperor Shen-Nung came across the beverage in 2737 BC after some tea leaves accidentally blew into his pot of boiling water. Tea originated in China as a medicinal drink and is still widely consumed for its health benefits. The Alishan tea district in Chiayi County, Taiwan is famous for its production and consumption of oolong tea, a partially-oxidized tea made from leaves that are withered in direct sunlight. Tea is also an important part of Russian culture. While the warming beverage used to be served in the afternoon, Russians now consume it throughout the day - very possibly to stave off the cold. In Russia, tea is a two-step brewing process. A large quantity of tea concentrate is first brewed in a teapot to serve several people. For their individual glasses, each person mixes a portion of the concentrate with hot water according to taste, making it stronger or weaker depending on their personal preference. Sweet drink: Thai tea, known as 'cha-yen' is made with brewed Ceylon tea that is mixed with condensed milk and sugar before being served over ice and topped with evaporated milk . Floral arrangement: Tea originated in China as a medicinal drink and is still widely consumed for its health benefits. This picture shows a tea pot filled with a Chinese herbal flower tea . Traditional Kuwaiti tea (pictured) is a variation of brewed tea leaves that are served hot with the addition of saffron and cardamom pods to enhance the flavor . In Morocco, tea is a sign of hospitality and is often served to guests. Offering tea as a means of welcoming visitors to your home was once somewhat of a ceremonial process because hosts used to elaborately prepare it in front of their guests. While tea is now commonly made in the kitchen, the traditional ceremony is still observed for more formal occasions. Moroccan mint tea, which is a variation of green tea made with spearmint leaves and sugar, is served throughout the country. For those who prefer their tea to have a creamier texture, milk teas are popular in Thailand and Hong Kong. Thai tea, known as 'cha-yen' is made with brewed Ceylon tea that is mixed with condensed milk and sugar before being served over ice and topped with evaporated milk. Meanwhile, Hong Kong milk tea is black tea that is made with evaporated milk or sweetened condensed milk. It is nicknamed 'pantyhose' or 'silk stocking' tea because it is brewed in a sackcloth bag used to filter the leaves. It is also used as a base for 'Yuanyang' or 'Yingyong', which is a beloved drink in Hong Kong that combines the creamy tea with coffee for an added treat. Pretty plates: Turkish tea (pictured) is a black tea that is served without milk. Tea is an important part of Turkey's culture and is readily available throughout the country . National product: Alishan tea district in Chiayi County, Taiwan is famous for its production and consumption of oolong tea (pictured), a partially-oxidized tea made from leaves that are withered in direct sunlight . Texas longhorns: According to the Tea Association of the USA, 85per cent of the tea consumed in the US is iced . There are also teas that are flavored with salt and even butter. Tibetan butter tea is made from tea leaves, yak butter, water and salt. The filling, calorie-rich beverage is customarily consumed throughout the day. While it may seem strange to put such a fattening substance into your tea, butter coffee is gaining popularity in the US because of claims that it energizes and burns fat in the body all day long. Mongolian tea or suutei tsai is known for its distinct salty flavor. It is typically made with water, milk, black or green tea and salt. But instead of steeping fine tea leaves, suutei tsai is made with the coarse part of the plant. Butter, rice and noodles are also commonly added when making the unique tea. And in South America, drinking mate tea is somewhat of a bonding experience. A container, usually a hollow gourd, is filled with dried yerba mate leaves and hot water and served with a filtered straw that is usually made out of silver. It is common for friends to take sips of the beverage, refill it and pass it around. British tea time: A glass of Earl Grey tea is served with lemon and side of shortbread biscuits and scones topped with clotted cream and jam . Keeping warm: This Russian dining room table is set for afternoon tea. Tea is an important part of Russian culture and is now consumed throughout the day . Metal sifter: Tea can be seen being poured in a tea room in Punjab, Pakistan .
### SUMMARY:
| Tea, which originated in China, is nearly 5,000 years old .
Legend has it that Chinese Emperor Shen-Nung discovered the beverage in 2737 BC after tea leaves accidentally blew into his pot of boiling water .
According to the Tea Association of the USA, tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world next to water .
In the US, 85per cent of the tea consumed is iced . |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
A Muslim convert who planned to behead a soldier had been radicalised by Britain’s most notorious hate preacher just weeks before, it can be revealed today. Brustholm Ziamani, 19, fell under the spell of cleric Anjem Choudary and his followers last April and became obsessed with the killers of Fusilier Lee Rigby. Months after joining the preacher’s banned terror group al-Muhajiroun (ALM), he underwent a dramatic transformation that culminated in him wandering the streets looking for a serviceman to execute in a Woolwich-style killing. Message of hate: Muslim convert Brustholm Ziamani during an Islamist protest in London in May last year . A knife was found in his rucksack when he was arrested which police said he planned to use in the attack . A hammer was also found in the bag. Police had been following him for some time before they arrested him . As Ziamani was yesterday found guilty of arming himself with a hammer and a 12-inch knife for the copycat attack, the UK’s most senior counter terrorism officer said the case illustrated how quickly disaffected young Britons could be radicalised. Police and MI5 consider the plot to be one of the most serious to have threatened the UK since the escalation of the Syrian conflict. Detectives were so concerned at the speed of his radicalisation that after his first arrest in June Scotland Yard launched the biggest counter-terrorism surveillance operation since the murder of Fusilier Lee Rigby in Woolwich, dedicating 40 officers full time to keep tabs on him. Known to his friends as Bruce, Ziamani was raised a devout Jehovah’s Witness by his Congolese parents, who took him door-to-door preaching and forced him to read the Bible daily. Inflammatory messages: Ziamani fell under the spell of cleric Anjem Choudary (pictured) and his followers . Chilling: When detectives arrested Ziamani they found a letter in which he pledged to behead British soldiers . The court heard Ziamani, 19, planned to use a black Islamic flag after he had attacked a soldier or politician . But he rebelled against his strict upbringing, leaving school with no qualifications to join a gang involved in robberies, drug dealing and procuring prostitutes. Murdered: Ziamani became obsessed with the killers of Fusilier Lee Rigby (pictured) Within two weeks of meeting Choudary’s mob at Camberwell Mosque, he was writing on Facebook: ‘Sharia law is on its way. On our streets we will implement it.’ Overnight, he converted to radical Islam, tucking his ankle-length robes underneath his clothes and stashing copies of the Koran at his girlfriend’s house to keep his beliefs hidden from his parents. Soon after, Ziamani left the family home in Camberwell and slept at the mosque before moving in with a member of the ALM group – who mentored him at secret meetings in the basement of a halal sweet shop. When detectives first arrested Ziamani in June they discovered a letter in which he pledged to behead British soldiers. Incredibly, Scotland Yard decided to release him on bail when he denied planning any attack. Killers: Ziamani was arrested in August carrying a rucksack with weapons wrapped in an Islamic flag – hoping to emulate his ‘heroes’, Woolwich killers Michael Adebolajo (left) and Michael Adebowale (right) Court sketch: Ziamani claimed he joined the radical group for somewhere to stay but was found guilty of plotting the attack . And despite close monitoring, Ziamani managed to buy a hammer. 'It was almost laughable': Ziamani’s ex-girlfriend (pictured) recalled how the ‘kind, affectionate’ teenager she loved changed within weeks . He was arrested again in Whitechapel, east London, on August 19 carrying a rucksack with weapons wrapped in an Islamic flag – hoping to emulate his ‘heroes’, Woolwich killers Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale. Ziamani’s ex-girlfriend yesterday recalled how the ‘kind, affectionate’ teenager she loved changed within weeks. The 17-year-old said he tried to convert her – showing her video tutorials on how to tie a hijab and looked up Muslim baby names. She added: ‘It was almost laughable – the night I first met him I was wearing a short dress and heels.’ As Ziamani was warned he faced a substantial jail sentence at the Old Bailey, Choudary said his protege ‘didn’t stand a chance’ because the jury was ‘biased’. Britain’s top counter-terrorism officer, Commander Richard Walton, said: ‘Ziamani was an impressionable young man who became radicalised then rapidly developed an extremist, violent mindset.’ To my beloved parents. Wat im about to do is an obligation. Forgive me for all the stress ive caused you in the past im so sorry but im a changed person but now with the current situation in Iraq and Syria and neighbouring countries my brothers and sisters are being raped, killed, tortured. Women losing their kids and husbands and it really pains me that people just stand and do nothing and this country has a big role to play in this they know exactly was they r doing they don't care and it's a duty to help my brothers and sisters because I have no means ov gettin there I will wage war against the british government on this soil the british government will have a taste ov there own medicine they will be humiliated this is ISIB Islamic States of Ireland and Britain. Im not even gonna try and be polite about this straight to the point you people will never be safe Brits and americans Russians thousands upon thousands ov muslims die daily. Now we will take a thousand ov yours then ten thousands and send you all to the hell-fire you want war you got it British soldiers heads will be removed and burend u cannot deafet the muslims we love to die the way you love to live my fellow muslim brothers these people want war lets kill them slaughter them and implement sharia in our lands and UK. Kill every gay, every Shia, every Les. Die the nonbelievers enuff iz ennuff remove evil implent good. Don't be there friends HAHAHAHAHAHA Looool!!... I will fight in the cause of Allah and I plan to die a martyr and leave this world and enter the next inshallah. I love Allah and will follow everything he orders. So please do not grieve please as I will be in paradise if I die a Shaheed . So forgive me please for the stress I caused in the past but becoming a muslim has changed me tremoundsly for the better n we must all strive to fight in Allah's cause. Do not fear dz people at all shoot them all in the face n the chest burn the pubs with people in dere do not fear them at all be strong do not mix with Christians and Jews and non believers. Kill them all no pity but do not kill the women and children dont damage any trees or nature kuffar cant fight all the Christians will have to surrender.
### SUMMARY:
| Brustholm Ziamani fell under spell of Anjem Choudary and his followers .
Walked streets looking for serviceman to murder in Woolwich-style killing .
Ziamani, 19, armed himself with hammer and 12in knife for copycat attack .
Scotland Yard had dedicated 40 officers full time to keep tabs on Ziamani .
Raised a devout Jehovah’s Witness and was known to friends as Bruce .
ALM member mentored him at secret meetings in sweet shop basement .
Ziamani’s ex-girlfriend says 'kind' teenager she loved changed in weeks . |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
Washington (CNN) -- President Obama will announce the U.S. troop strategy for Afghanistan in a speech at 8 p.m. ET Tuesday at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Wednesday. In the speech, Obama will explain why the United States is in Afghanistan, its interests there and his decision-making process, Gibbs said, but "the president does not see this as an open-ended engagement. "Our time there will be limited, and I think that's important for people to understand," he said. "We are in year nine" in Afghanistan, Gibbs told reporters. "We're not going to be there another eight or nine years." Obama will meet with members of Congress at the White House on Tuesday afternoon before the speech. Cost issues are among the topics the president will address, Gibbs said. "It's a million dollars a troop for a year," he said. "Ten thousand troops is $10 billion. That's in addition to what we already spend in Afghanistan and Pakistan. That also does not include training, and it doesn't include the maintaining of a security force. It's very, very, very expensive." But, Gibbs added, "I think the president, throughout this process, has talked about the cost in terms of American lives and in terms of the cost to our treasury, and I think he'll continue to talk about it." The president ordered more than 20,000 additional troops to Afghanistan in March. Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the U.S. commander in Afghanistan, reportedly has called for up to 40,000 more to wage a counterinsurgency campaign against the Taliban, the Islamic militia originally ousted by U.S. military action in 2001. Obama has weighed several options for bolstering the American contingent, ranging from sending a few thousand troops to the 40,000 McChrystal requested. A defense official told CNN earlier this week the Pentagon is making detailed plans to send about 34,000 more troops to Afghanistan in anticipation of Obama's decision on the 8-year-old war. There had been no final word on Obama's decision as of Tuesday, said the Defense Department official, who has direct knowledge of the process. But the official said planners have been tasked with preparing to send 34,000 additional American troops to Afghanistan with the expectation that Obama was leaning toward approving that many. iReporters sound off; share your views on sending more troops in Afghanistan . Defense Secretary Robert Gates is expected to receive the paperwork Thursday to approve orders to deploy 1,000 Marines from Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, to Afghanistan in late December -- the first of the new troops to be sent, a U.S. military official told CNN on Wednesday. The official is not authorized to talk about the plans because they have not been officially announced. The 1,000 Marines are part of a battalion task force that has been preparing and training for the deployment, the official said. The president held a lengthy meeting with top advisers Monday night, and he told reporters Tuesday that he would announce new plans for Afghanistan after Thanksgiving. McChrystal took part in the meeting Monday, along with Vice President Joe Biden, Gates, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Michael Mullen and Karl Eikenberry, the U.S. ambassador in Kabul, Afghanistan. Obama said Tuesday that the deliberations had been "comprehensive and extremely useful." "It's going to be important to recognize that in order for us to succeed there [in Afghanistan], you've got to have a comprehensive strategy that includes civilian and diplomatic efforts," he said at a news conference Tuesday with visiting Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The defense official said Tuesday that the military is planning to send three U.S. Army brigades, totaling about 15,000 troops; a Marine brigade with about 8,000 troops; a headquarters element of about 7,000; and between 4,000 and 5,000 support troops -- a total of about 34,000 troops. CNN reported last month that this was the Pentagon's preferred option. However, the official said Wednesday that the Marines are expected to deploy 8,000 combat, aviation and support troops, plus 1,000 to 1,500 Marines as part of a headquarters unit -- a total of between 9,000 and 9,500. They will be in addition to the 11,000 Marines already in Afghanistan. After the first deployment, the remaining Marines will deploy over the next three to four months, the military official said. The troops would be dispatched throughout Afghanistan but would be focused mainly on the southern and southeastern provinces, where much of the recent fighting has taken place. Currently, brigades from Fort Drum in upstate New York and Fort Campbell in Kentucky are among those next in line to deploy. About 68,000 U.S. troops are in Afghanistan, along with about 45,000 from the NATO alliance. Two U.S. military officials have told CNN that NATO countries would be asked to contribute more troops to fill the gap between the 34,000 the Pentagon expects Obama to send and the 40,000 McChrystal wants. The request is expected to come during a December 7 meeting at the alliance's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will travel to Brussels next week to meet with allies, State Department sources told CNN. Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell would not discuss specific numbers, but he said NATO would be asked for additional help. Obama's Afghanistan plan will include "very broad terms" that show how and where the United States is succeeding in the nation, a senior U.S. military official told CNN. Those points will be used to determine how and when troops can be brought home. Another senior military official said McChrystal will take his orders from Obama and will do the best he can with what he has. The question, he said, is not the number of troops, but is whether the United States has "the right resources to do what we need to do." "We can't just go and blow people up and win this war," the official said. "We have to gain the trust of the people, and that is a major part of the plan here." U.S.-led troops invaded Afghanistan in response to the al Qaeda terrorist network's September 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington. The invasion overthrew the ruling Taliban, which had allowed al Qaeda to operate from its territory -- but most of the top al Qaeda and Taliban leadership escaped the onslaught. Taliban fighters have since regrouped to the mountainous region along Afghanistan's border with Pakistan, battling U.S. and Afghan government forces on one side and Pakistani troops on the other. Al Qaeda's top leaders, Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri, remain at large and are suspected to be hiding in the same region. The conflict has so far claimed the lives of more than 900 Americans and nearly 600 allied troops. CNN's Jill Dougherty, Deirdre Walsh, Elaine Quijano and Mike Mount contributed to this report.
### SUMMARY:
| Obama to explain why U.S. is in Afghanistan, its interests there and how he made decision .
Official: Papers seeking orders to deploy 1,000 Marines next month are expected Thursday .
NATO allies will also be asked to send more troops, officials say .
Obama met with national security team Monday night to discuss Afghanistan . |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
(CNN) -- After a severe earthquake centered in Pakistan's Kashmir province killed more than 70,000 people in 2005, teams from a nonprofit architecture group based in London, England, helped the region start to rebuild. The group, Article 25, worked with local craftspeople to develop a design that could withstand earthquakes and trained them to build the structures. That experience may provide some lessons for the rebuilding of Haiti, where Article 25 is also planning to help with reconstruction, according to Robin Cross, an architect who is the organization's director of projects. As in Haiti, at least some of the death and injury in Pakistan stemmed from local building methods. "The important point is that it isn't generally earthquakes that kill people," Cross said. "It's generally buildings that kill people. Building design is a way to solve that problem." In Pakistan, Article 25 worked with local craftspeople to determine the best way to build structures that could withstand quakes and then helped train people to build them. "By the time we built 80 to 100 buildings and we pulled out, we were leaving not just buildings, but also a capacity to build," Cross said. "Each building we built there was the site of a training exercise for a team of workers -- concrete workers, carpenters, roofers, plasterers," said Cross. "They have obviously been able to take these skills away. In the long run the idea was that we would do ourselves out of a job." Cross spoke to CNN on January 29. CNN: What is the role of architects in planning the rebuilding of Haiti, based on your experience in Pakistan? Robin Cross: At this point, the focus is rightly on relief, and the provision of water, food and medical care, the basic life support system. ... What we won't be doing is clogging up that quite strained delivery system with the bricks and mortar of longer-term reconstruction. But there is going to come a point very shortly when minds need to turn to longer-term construction planning, and that's where architects and engineers have a role to play. Our work in Pakistan began quite soon after the earthquake. But the important factor is that it's still ongoing, that we need to be there for the long run. ... What we were doing there was working with local NGOs [non-governmental organizations], particularly with Muslim Aid, to identify the most vulnerable members of the community who could most benefit from our architectural and design skills, and couldn't afford to buy in their own construction expertise, and would be most marginalized and vulnerable in the future. So we worked with Muslim Aid to develop a series of earthquake-resistant buildings which could then be delivered on a range of different sites. We put people in the field to provide quality assurance, to make sure that the buildings that were built would be earthquake-resistant. After a disaster there's an enormous demand for reconstruction, a demand for materials, designers, particularly builders -- so they will tend to be drawn very rapidly into high-value commercial work, which could leave less financially strong people without access to building skills. That could lead to them building in a poor and unsafe way, so you get into a very dangerous cycle of vulnerability. By building the capacity of local work teams to build, you enable people to build for themselves and break that cycle of vulnerability. CNN: What kind of buildings did you build? Cross: We were intent on providing an earthquake-resistant home design. ... The buildings are a lightweight frame construction, which means they are able to flex in the event of an earthquake. We adopted the dhaji dewari technique, an indigenous technique developed out of the materials in that landscape. We adapted it and improved its details to make it more earthquake-resistant. ... CNN: How much do these houses cost? Cross: Approximately £4,000 [about $6,300 at current rates] per house. That compares very well with the equivalent house in concrete block, which would normally be used. It isn't just safer than a concrete-block equivalent but it's also more economical and it's quicker to deliver. CNN: What's it made of? Cross: It's made of lightweight timber frame with many cross-facing elements, and the gaps between cross-facing elements are infilled with stones and mud and then rendered over with mud. What that generates is a design which flexes when the earthquake strikes, the energy of the earthquake is dissipated through the many framing elements of the building, and the energy is lost in the friction between the timber and the stone infill. ... A concrete-block building which isn't able to flex is more apt to collapse. ... The other thing that's worth mentioning is that the buildings have a lightweight roof. In the worst eventuality, if the roof collapses, if it's lightweight, it's much less likely to kill people. ... CNN: What similarities are there between the building styles in Pakistan and Haiti? Cross: I haven't yet been to Haiti, and we'll be undertaking our first visit as soon as conditions really allow that to happen, which I think will be in February or early March. But what I think we will find is that there will be an equivalent vernacular tradition in Haiti from which we can learn a lot. I'm sure the problem that we saw in Pakistan is shared in Haiti -- in that concrete buildings have been built poorly, without adequate technical supervision, and have proved very vulnerable to the earthquake. A good architect will never decide at a distance what the right technical approach would be, because it's always important to understand the location. ... So when we go to Haiti, the first thing we will do will be to carry out participation workshops with the local communities, to carry out a needs assessment but also a skills assessment ... so we design the right buildings, appropriate to the materials available and the skills that are present. CNN: It's still early, but how do you assess the need in Haiti compared to the need in Pakistan? Cross: All of the information we have at the moment suggests that the need is even greater in Haiti. In Pakistan, the earthquake did enormous damage, but there was still a strong national government, relatively strong local government and a strong military presence in the Pakistan army with which we could collaborate. In Haiti those institutions were already weak and in many cases have been destroyed by the earthquake. The partnerships which we would look to build with local governments may be much harder. ... There's likely to be an even greater role for strong strategic planning and long-term thinking from architects. ... I should say that you should never see Haiti as a blank slate. You look at the images, you think the damage is so great, it's a clean sweep -- but you should never see it as a blank canvas on which to impose a master plan from London or North America. There remains in Haiti a social infrastructure, an economic infrastructure, even in the slum areas there's an economically vibrant infrastructure. It's those threads of the community infrastructure that we need to find and build a new Haiti around. So all of our work starts with community participation and is part of empowering the local community and making sure that what we design is compatible with their objectives. ... One of the big problems immediately after this kind of disaster is the lack of long-term investment. The funding for short-term relief is good and is needed, but very often at the point of about a year, that funding just falls off a cliff. That's what I'm hoping will be improved on in the Haiti response.
### SUMMARY:
| Earthquake centered in Kashmir region of Pakistan killed more than 70,000 in 2005 .
London-based nonprofit provided architectural help to start rebuilding .
Robin Cross says lightweight framing was used to build earthquake-resistant houses .
He says good building design can lessen the toll of an earthquake . |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
(CNN) -- Michelle Asci dreamed of capturing life through her camera lens. Asci had her sights set on being a photographer as she graduated with a bachelor of fine arts degree from Georgia State University in December. But the 23-year-old is not working as a photographer. She's at a concession stand, selling popcorn or ushering people into their respective theaters before the midnight screening. Asci's been working part-time at the same Atlanta movie theater since 2005. "It's going on to be eight years of this," she said. But working part-time at a movie theater was not what she saw herself doing with her degree, and she is not alone. Last month's surprising drop in U.S. unemployment rates from 8.2% to 7.8% gave many hopes that the economy is improving, and the lower rates even beat the expectations of some economists. But a breakdown of the latest jobs report shows that more than half of the jobs added this month are part-time. This leaves people like Asci wondering: Is the new American job part-time? From law dreams to data-entry . Every day, Dolores Casillas holds her breath as she walks into the Chicago bank where she works part-time doing data entry. It's a temporary position, and she's heard her boss say time and time again that there might not be a job for her one of these days. "There was someone at my job who was working for only three weeks, and she came in one day and didn't have a job. It's nerve-wracking," she said. The insecurity of her part-time job is one reason behind the mounting stress facing the 27-year-old, who graduated from Northeastern Illinois University in 2010 with a degree in political science. Casillas, like many adults her age, has student loans along with a laundry list of other bills she needs to pay. She lives with her mom to offset her expenses and started working as a film and television extra on the side to supplement the part-time pay she makes at the bank. This month, she is going to be an extra on a Chicago-based television show, acting as a housekeeper. It's quite a departure from her dreams of becoming a lawyer. But she says those dreams are not realistic anymore when she thinks about the average cost of higher education. "Law school's like, what, $75,000? I can't afford that. I tried looking for a paralegal job, but I couldn't find anything," she said. "I feel like we are the confused generation," Casillas said. "My mom was 24 when she got her own house and had my sister. Both my parents had jobs then, here in America. When I think about that, I think to myself, 'Wow, I don't have any of that.' " It frustrates Casillas to compare herself with her mother, who for the past 26 years has worked at a Chicago factory to support their family. "I thought I would get a better job than her because I have a degree. I never thought I would make less than my mom," she said. Still, she is grateful about her situation when she thinks about friends who are unemployed. She's persistent in applying for jobs and is willing to work random part-time jobs to help pay off her bills and loans. "If you want to keep yourself from being homeless, don't be picky with jobs," she advised. From corporate suit to story reader . When Cynthia Foust saw the "hatchet man" at her corporate job at a North Carolina mobile company one morning in 2008, she knew that someone was getting the ax. Little did she know that it would fall on her and her entire quality service department. She was shocked and mainly hurt to see her co-workers break down in tears when they got the news of their termination. Unlike them, she was financially stable even with the loss of her job, relying on her husband with a full-time job and the money she'd saved when she was working. But after using up her severance package, she decided she needed to do more. So when she came across an ad in her local paper for a job as a story reader, she considered the idea. "I thought it was really interesting," she said. "I have a son, and when I read to him, I would do the voices and make each character sound different and use an inflection in my voice, so I thought to myself, 'I can do this.' " Now, she works part-time reading to young children who attend at-risk schools and other learning programs. Foust spends her mornings using creative methods to tell stories to children. "We are trying to teach kids to love reading and love books," she said. Foust says she finds deeper fulfillment now with her part-time job as a story reader, but she remains realistic about its ability to sustain her financially. "This job would not be enough support my family solely," she said. Losing her corporate job helped her realize she wanted to spend her time differently. "I am happy in the way my life is going right now. My son is in grad school, and my husband's job is pretty secure," she said. But she knows that if she did not have her savings and her husband's income to fall back on, she would have problems. "The quality of my life improved because I have more time for my family. But the drawbacks to a part-time job are no benefits and no insurance," she said. Radio station worker turns entrepreneur . With more than 30 years of radio experience, Steve Hamilton could do practically every job in his Colorado building. Despite his years of experience, his varying skills sets and his degrees in mass media and broadcast meteorology, he lost his job. "I was disappointed at losing the 'big money,' " he said. "But I was also excited about the new prospects of starting my own station and not having to answer to anyone but myself." He took his job loss as an opportunity and decided to create his own Internet radio station, KHigh Radio, tapping into the smooth jazz genre that he knew had a long tradition in the Denver market. KHigh Radio is just one of three part-time jobs he works, and he admits he was making a lot more when he was working full-time with a radio station. "I see great possibilities with Internet radio and an opportunity to make even more than my previous full-time job," he said. "It will just take several more years to achieve it." He does think the economy was a factor in losing his full-time job, and he says he did not expect to see himself working three part-time jobs at the age of 50. "I thought I'd be full-time in radio due to my large skill set. However, I learned that economics rules," he said. From photography student to movie theater worker . Asci, the part-time movie theater employee, knows that the economy is directly affecting her employment situation. "The majority of my friends are in the same boat as me," she said, explaining that many of them work part-time jobs as babysitters and restaurant workers. But she continues to apply for jobs every day. "I feel like, if I stop looking, I wouldn't be as happy, because I will just be settling for something I don't want," she said. Her new husband, who worked part-time for several months at a furniture store, finally got offered two full-time jobs. She says that definitely gives her hope, and she has not given up on the idea of heading back to school to continue studying art and photography. "Overall, I'm happy," she said. "I'm a positive person, and if I'm at a movie theater for another year, I'll survive."
### SUMMARY:
| More than half new jobs created for the month of September were part-time jobs .
Many Americans are working several part-time jobs to support themselves .
Part-time employees usually do not receive benefits or insurance .
Some people have turned the loss of full-time employment into a career opportunity . |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
Sheremetyevo International Airport Transit Lounge, Moscow (CNN) -- It seemed like an exciting assignment -- go to Moscow on the trail of former NSA contractor Edward Snowden. After acknowledging that he leaked details to reporters about a massive U.S. government surveillance program, Snowden reportedly arrived at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport on a flight from Hong Kong on June 23, and settled in at the transit lounge. But he has remained out of sight. Could I find him? Would he be browsing the duty-free shops, amazed at the sheer volume of magnum bottles of liquor for sale? Would he be sipping cappuccinos in the coffee shop, miffed that they cost 5 euros, or $6.50, each? Is Snowden ready to take flight? Determined and anxious, I flew in under the cover of darkness on an overnight Aeroflot flight from Madrid, arriving at 6 a.m. The passport control officer told me to wait. "Sit over there," she said, and walked off with my documents. Hmmm. Would I end up in legal limbo like Snowden, whose American passport was revoked by Washington, making it difficult for him to cross borders? Out of Russia: Snowden's possible flight paths . Well, no. After about 10 minutes I was waved through, and got out of there so quickly that I forgot to ask the passport officer if she'd seen Snowden lately. But there was no entry stamp to Russia in my passport. Because, like Snowden, I had not officially entered the country; instead, I was now in the lounge for passengers who are just transiting through, along with those who enter the area to board departing flights. It's a truly international place, filled with a broad swath of humanity. Citizens from the Russian Federation, Europeans, Asians, a small number of Americans and some Cubans. Young backpackers and rich business executives. Exhausted parents with children, including a brave little boy whose legs appeared disabled, struggling to take every step, squeezing his mother's hand. All trolling the transit zone, with its gaudy emporium of high-end shops wedged next to mom-and-pop trinket stores that sell souvenirs seemingly left over from the old Soviet Union, including a fold-up metal drinking cup, which I couldn't resist. Inside Moscow Airport's 'no man's land' There are coffee shops that offer Russian pancakes and Wi-Fi, and charge in rubles, dollars or euros. There's even a Burger King and a TGI Fridays. In this enormous transit lounge, Snowden surely has plenty of places to hide. Its three terminals -- D, E and F -- form a very long, curvy rectangle, with 60 boarding gates, and flights to a lot of places that Snowden can't go, for fear of being caught. Western Europe? Not a good idea for him to fly to Paris or Berlin. New York is obviously out of the question. Tokyo or Shanghai? Nyet. Nor Tel Aviv. Even Baku, capital of Azerbaijan, is probably risky. There is an Aeroflot flight to Havana, with connections to Venezuela, a country whose leftist government has offered asylum to Snowden. Airport stakeout: Hunting Snowden . On a Friday, my first day in the transit zone, there was no Havana flight to keep an eye on, which gave me a chance to explore. Russia and other countries can designate various locations and settings, even outside of the airport, as the amorphous transit zone. There could be detention areas, medical facilities, or other locations in Moscow given that designation -- so Snowden could be miles away from the airport but still in "transit." One part of the Novotel, not connected to the terminal but visible from it, is part of the transit zone. I decided to see whether Snowden was holed up there. I reserved two rooms -- one for me, the other for a CNN camerawoman who came from Berlin. Aeroflot ground agents directed us to a bus, which rolled across the tarmac as, officially, a moving part of the transit lounge. So we were leaving the airport in Russia -- but staying in the "zone." Accompanied at all times by minders, we checked in and were directed to the second floor, the secure transit zone floor. The guard in the hall made sure we didn't go down to the lobby or gym or to other floors. The only way to get food was from room service, which is actually not such a bad idea. We walked the hallway. Snowden could have been behind any of the 40 room doors on the second floor. He did not come out. At 4 a.m. the next day, we left the hotel, accompanied at all times, until we were back in the airport terminal transit lounge for our departing flights. The rules say you can stay a maximum of 24 hours in the transit lounge and then must leave on a flight. We did. But Snowden has apparently been in the lounge for nearly three weeks. How does he do it? I would need a second trip to find out more. Interactive: Movements and asylum requests . A few days later, I was back, this time alone. On the second trip, you begin to feel like something of an authority on the transit lounge. Snowden reportedly is traveling with several laptop computers. If they're heavy, he's got a problem. So did I. There are hardly any luggage carts in the transit lounge. I finally found one, and then a woman from India followed me around until I was done with it. I searched again, up and down, and when it got to be 12:30 a.m. -- when there are no flights for several hours -- I checked into the Capsule hotel in Terminal E, renting a tiny room for the minimum four hours. Didn't see Snowden there either, nor back in the terminal, starting at 5 a.m.. I figured the best shot was the Havana flight, leaving at 2:05 p.m. It's no secret that observers are closely watching that flight. I went quite early to the boarding gate, number 22 in Terminal D. A couple of guys with beards looked vaguely like Snowden. But no, one turned out to be Danish, the other Russian. I approached both. They laughed. The Danish man said I was the second person to ask him that. It was boarding time. A veteran Russian photographer and I were working the scene. There was a lot to monitor -- the passengers getting on at the gate, the stairway from the tarmac up to the boarding walkway, for crew and possibly someone else, and a terminal elevator, inside the secure zone, from which someone might be hustled aboard down the walkway. Watching all this -- and, it also turns out, watching us -- was a mysterious, middle-aged burly man. As the boarding was in progress, he made a mobile phone call, reporting back to someone -- in Spanish -- that two photographers were taking pictures. After the boarding finished, and the plane was about to push back with no sign of Snowden, I approached the burly man. I asked him, in clear Spanish, if Snowden was aboard. He pretended not to understand. I repeated the question in Spanish. He again feigned inability to speak Spanish. So I asked him in English. He replied that he didn't know. Could he have been from Venezuela or Cuba? He didn't say. At least I could see and talk to the burly man. So far, I haven't been able to do that with Snowden.
### SUMMARY:
| CNN's Al Goodman spent time in the transit zone of Moscow's airport .
Edward Snowden is believed to be in the transit zone .
The zone can include other locations in Moscow .
The maximum stay allowed is 24 hours . |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
Moscow (CNN) -- Of Russia's 12 million immigrants, about 2-3 million of them live in Moscow, according to the U.N. It's a high proportion for a city of 11 million people. In 2013 tensions turned violent with mass street protests and several killings believed to be motivated by nationalist sentiment. Egged on by ethnically Russian residents demanding justice after an Azeri migrant allegedly killed a young Russian man, police made mass arrests of people from the Caucasus or Central Asia. Nationalist groups followed suit, hunting for people with non-Slavic faces, though they planned to do more than just detain them for questions. For a month, police conducted raids at markets throughout Moscow where illegal immigrants were believed to be working. The biggest raid was in October at the Sadovod market, when about 1,000 workers were rounded up by police. The incident was widely covered by Russian media. I saw the opportunity to do something I have always wanted to do -- see what life is like in Russia for migrant workers, or, as they are called here, "gastarbaiters". Many of these workers are from my homeland, Tajikistan. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Tajikistan was the hardest hit of the former republics. That fact is still evident today. Nearly half of Tajikistan's GDP comes from money sent home by migrant workers in Russia. The abundance of workers from Tajikistan stems from the ease with which Tajiks can find employment in Russia. All that is required is medical insurance and a work permit. So I pretended to be a migrant from Tajikistan in desperate need of a job. I found a guy named Firuz who worked at the Sadovod market where the biggest raid happened. He agreed to help me get a job as a guest worker. He also told me what the police raid was like, saying that even he was taken to the police station, despite his Russian passport. Police had taken everyone without asking questions, he said. When the detained workers arrived at the station by the busloads, policemen said anyone who did not want to go into the building could give them a bribe and leave. Three people allegedly paid 5,000 rubles ($140) and left, as Firuz and other workers at the market later told me. I repeatedly called Moscow police to check these allegations but the media office refused to give me a reply. Most of the migrants from Central Asia who were caught apparently were released the next day, as they were all working legally, and police had just neglected to check documents before detaining them. It seemed that the raids were more for show than anything else, a bid to show the public that authorities are taking action against illegal immigration. Once I started my job at the market, I had three options: to become a sweeper, a porter or a vendor. I decided to be a porter because it meant more interaction with people. I had to find clients on my own, take their luggage and bring it where they wanted. I got introduced to an elite porter, Sakhovat. I was shocked to discover he could earn 5,000-6,000 rubles (U.S. $170) a day. Most Russians with a higher education don't earn that much. In theory, Sakhovat could get up to 150,000 rubles a month (U.S. $4,500). The key to his success is that he was one of the first porters at Sadovod when it opened and he built up his own client base. It was surprisingly difficult to get a job at the market without connections. My supervisor told me that if he had not known Firuz, he would never have hired me. During the interview, I did my best to be a Tajik, but I spoke Tajik with a thick Russian accent that was hard to disguise. I had spent all my 23 years in Russia and am considered Russian. Fortunately, those 23 years did not give me away. I spent about $100 on a uniform, a permit and a trolley, then got to work. Unfortunately, my cover was blown and guards at the market figured out I was a journalist. I spent only two days there and earned just 500 rubles ($14). I would have never thought that working as a simple porter at the market was so competitive and hard. But it was harder to find a person willing to pay for the service. I was wandering through the aisles, shouting offers of assistance, but nobody responded. It was a rough feeling: you're angry and aching, you feel cold, you want to sleep. You feel devastated. When I came back empty-handed, Firuz started laughing at me. It was funny for him: a Muscovite with a higher education could not cut it as a porter. He told me that it took most migrants several weeks or months to start earning money. He said: "I am a Russian citizen but nobody hires me because I am Tajik. I have a higher education here, but when they ask about my nationality and I answer honestly, they just hang up." It must be said too that people at the market were really courteous to each other while I was there, sweepers, vendors, shoppers, porters, everyone. I didn't see anybody fighting or quarrelling. I asked about rights violations but Firuz couldn't recall any. The security guard worked well, punishing those who violated the market's rules. Articles about my experiences appeared in the Moscow Times and also in Russian Reporter magazine. The piece was republished in Tajikistan and even in the Vietnamese press (lots of Vietnamese work in Russia as labor workers too). It was the first undercover report from the market which depicted a real migrant's life by a guy from Central Asia who spent all his life in Moscow. While the debate on illegal migration dominated Moscow, I was able to see the situation from the perspective of the migrants, many of whom end up caught in the crossfire despite being here legally and just struggling to survive like everyone else. If it was hard for me, what about the 17-year-old migrants from Central Asia who don't speak Russian, don't know anyone, who have no money or support? Perhaps we should think about them when we hear politicians calling for tighter restrictions on immigrants, or see nationalists staging rallies in Red Square. The question of illegal migration in Moscow seems nonsense when the difference between a fake and original work permit is just $30. It is a question of prejudice. Unfortunately, a guy from Central Asia is seen the same as illegal migrant, even if he has spent his whole life in Russia. The media sometimes ignites this prejudice. According to the Russian science magazine Scepsis, for the last 10 years the image of undesirable migrants from Central Asia has been cultivated by journalists as an enemy or an interloper. Articles about migrants have been written with a negative focus -- crime, fraud, murder. Migrants were blamed for coming to Russia, for taking jobs that "belong" to Russians and living in apartments where Russians should have lived. But migrants themselves are just pieces on a big chess board. The Russian government needs a cheap workforce of migrants, and Tajikistan authorities need Russia because there are no jobs at home. It's a question of mutual aid for two countries. Yet, as long as everybody continues to relate to migrants as mere pawns, the issue will never be resolved. The views expressed in this article are Eradzh Nidoev's alone.
### SUMMARY:
| Journalist Eradzh Nidoev pretended to be a migrant worker in a Moscow market .
He wanted to see what life was like for Tajik migrants after tension and violence in the Russian capital in 2013 .
Nidoev says Russians need migrant workers and migrants need the jobs, so mutual respect is essential . |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
Washington (CNN) -- The Supreme Court has given big business, unions and nonprofits more power to spend freely in federal elections, a major turnaround that threatens a century of government efforts to regulate the power of corporations to bankroll American politics. A 5-4 conservative majority crafted a narrow overhaul of federal campaign spending Thursday that could have an immediate effect on this year's congressional midterm elections. The justices eased long-standing restrictions on "independent spending" by corporations and unions in political campaigns. "When government seeks to use its full power, including the criminal law, to command where a person may get his or her information or what distrusted source he or she may not hear, it uses censorship to control thought," Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote for the majority. "The First Amendment confirms the freedom to think for ourselves." The opinion radically alters the election calculus, offering greater spending flexibility for a broader range of for-profit and nonprofit groups seeking a voice in the crowded national political debate. Hours after the ruling, President Obama responded, saying the court has given "the special interests and their lobbyists even more power in Washington -- while undermining the influence of average Americans who make small contributions to support their preferred candidates." In a statement, he said he is telling his administration "to get to work immediately with Congress on this issue. We are going to talk with bipartisan congressional leaders to develop a forceful response to this decision. The public interest requires nothing less." "The Supreme Court has given a green light to a new stampede of special interest money in our politics," Obama said. "It is a major victory for big oil, Wall Street banks, health insurance companies and the other powerful interests that marshal their power every day in Washington to drown out the voices of everyday Americans." Reaction on the other side said the ruling was long overdue. "The Supreme Court's decision today is a victory for the First Amendment and the right of all Americans to participate in the political process," said Theodore Olson, who successfully argued the case for the conservative Citizens United. In a dissent to the opinion, Justice John Paul Stevens wrote, "In a democratic society, the long-standing consensus on the need to limit corporate campaign spending should outweigh the wooden applications of judge-made rules." He added, "The court's ruling threatens to undermine the integrity of elected institutions around the nation." The case was the first one heard on the bench for newest Justice Sonia Sotomayor, and she voted in dissent with her three more liberal colleagues. The issue hinged on whether corporations' ability to pour money into election campaigns could be strictly regulated, or whether corporations have free-speech rights to spend their cash to influence elections, just as individual donors do. In this ruling, the justices also nullified earlier rulings upholding the core of a 6-year-old federal law aimed at curbing corporate campaign spending. Under current law, there are severe restrictions on campaign ads used by corporations for federal elections. They generally must be issue-focused -- talking about abortion or taxes, for instance -- and not expressly supporting or opposing a candidate. Those limits have now been generally removed. The specific case grew out of a documentary on Hillary Clinton. Produced last year by Citizens United, "Hillary: The Movie" was a scorching attack on the then-presidential candidate. The filmmakers wanted to promote it during the heat of the 2008 primary season, but a federal court blocked any ads, as well as airings on cable television's video on demand. On that specific question, the justices ruled against Citizens United, saying federal restrictions on broadcast ads are appropriate. "Citizens United's narrower arguments are not sustainable under a fair reading of the statute," Kennedy wrote. The Washington-based nonprofit corporation and advocacy organization balked at campaign finance rules that would have required disclosure of its financial backers, and restrictions on when the film could air. It was financed with a mix of corporate and individual donations. Navigating the complex, ever-evolving landscape of election money rules has spurred a cottage industry of financial, political and legal armies, ready to do battle over the money and the message. The crux of this dispute, like others before it, is just how far the government may go to regulate campaign spending and campaign ads. In his opinion, Kennedy acknowledged that, but said Americans should be trusted to decide competing election issues. "The appearance of influence or access," he wrote, "will not cause the electorate to lose faith in our democracy." "Our nation's speech dynamic is changing, and informative voices should not have to circumvent onerous restrictions to exercise their First Amendment rights," Kennedy said. "The censorship we now confront is vast in its reach." But Stevens, who read part of his harsh dissent from the bench, said, "The court's opinion is thus a rejection of the common sense of the American people, who have recognized a need to prevent corporations from undermining self-government since the founding." Justice Samuel Alito and Chief Justice John Roberts were key to the ruling, agreeing with their more conservative colleagues. Alito replaced moderate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who upheld past corporate restrictions in 2003, when the high court last confronted the issue. Section 203 of the comprehensive Bipartisan Campaign Finance Reform Act of 2002, widely known as the McCain-Feingold law, bans the broadcast of "electioneering communication" by corporations, trade groups, unions and some issue advocacy groups, if the material would air close to election dates and identify candidates by name or image. The law also requires an on-screen notice of the groups financing such ads, as well as public disclosure of all who donated to the sponsoring organizations. The landmark McCain-Feingold law took effect the day after the November 2002 elections. Among its many provisions are a ban on "soft money," the unlimited and unregulated contributions to national political parties; a ban, in the 60 days before an election, on advocacy ads, those criticizing or supporting a candidate's stand on an issue; contribution limits; and donor disclosure requirements. Much of McCain-Feingold remains unaffected by the high court's latest ruling, including the current ban on large, unregulated donations to political parties and the candidates themselves by corporations. The case also does not affect political action committees, separate groups created by corporations, unions and others that can contribute directly to federal candidates. PAC money has a $5,000-per-candidate limit, and must be funded through voluntary contributions from employees, members or individuals, not by direct corporate or union treasuries. The ruling could have far-reaching effects beyond the federal arena. Twenty-two states have similar bans on corporate spending in state and local elections. Restrictions on money in gubernatorial, legislative and even judicial races could soon be a thing of the past. "Campaign 2010 was already bulked up with the potential of campaign ad spending," said Evan Tracey, president of Campaign Media Analysis Group and CNN's consultant on political television advertising. "Now it's on steroids." Excerpts of the movie and the ads can be viewed online at www.hillarythemovie.com. The case is Citizens United v. FEC (08-205).
### SUMMARY:
| NEW: Ruling gives special interests "more power in Washington," president says .
Big business, unions, nonprofits get more power to spend freely in federal elections .
Majority: "Speech dynamic is changing," and "onerous restrictions" need to be avoided .
Dissent: Need to limit spending should outweigh "applications of judge-made rules" |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
Washington (CNN) -- President Barack Obama pledged to stamp out the gremlins plaguing his administration's signature health-care overhaul Monday, saying there was no "sugarcoating" the difficulties faced by Americans hoping to sign up for insurance coverage online. "Nobody's madder than me about the website not working as well as it should, which means it's going to get fixed," Obama said during an appearance at the White House Rose Garden. But he didn't specify exactly what went wrong or who was to blame for the problems, which include long waits to log onto the federally administered website and maddeningly long wait times once online. There's "no excuse for the problems," Obama said. But he said tech industry experts were being brought in to help workers going 24/7 to fix the site, HealthCare.gov, which went live October 1. And he pointed out that the site isn't the only way to buy coverage. "You can bypass the website and apply by phone or in person," he said. "So don't let problems with the website deter you from signing up or signing your family up or showing your friends how to sign up, because it is worth it. It will save you money." A standoff with congressional Republicans over government spending and raising the federal borrowing limit -- triggered by GOP efforts to defund the program -- distracted public attention from the problems of the new health care system, popularly known as Obamacare. But with that standoff over, the GOP has turned its fire back onto the problems faced by the website and onto Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, calling for her to resign. Sebelius attended Monday's Rose Garden remarks, and the House Energy and Commerce Committee announced that she was expected to testify at an October 30 hearing on the cause of the problems. The committee is already scheduled to hold a hearing on Thursday, with website and administrative contractors CGI, Serco and Equifax set to testify on their roles in the situation. Sebelius had been invited to this week's hearing but had a scheduling conflict, her office said. White House spokesman Jay Carney defended the program on CNN's "Piers Morgan Live," saying that while HealthCare.gov is struggling, the administration's health care reform "is not failing." People who are able to submit applications through whatever means are happy with the results, he said. "Health insurance provides security that a lot of these families haven't had in the past," Carney said. Have you had trouble signing up? Let us know . Obama said "the essence of the law" -- aimed at providing access to health insurance for the roughly 48 million Americans without it -- "is working just fine." "In some cases, actually, it's exceeding expectations. The prices are lower than expected, and the choice is greater than we expected," he said. "But the problem has been that the website that's supposed to make it easy to apply for and purchase the insurance is not working the way it should for everybody," he continued. "There's no sugarcoating it. The website has been too slow. People are getting stuck during the application process." And in a shot at the law's critics, he said, "It's time for folks to stop rooting for its failure, because hardworking middle class families are rooting for its success." But Rep. Luke Messer, R-Indiana, told CNN that his staffers were trying to sign up via HealthCare.gov while Obama was speaking, "and the website didn't work." "This is one of those areas where the president's not going to be able to hide behind the rhetoric," said Messer, who supported the failed Republican effort to halt the program. HealthCare.gov: What works, what doesn't . Other Republicans kept up their attacks on the health care reforms on Monday, with the office of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell tweeting that when a visit to the Obamacare website made a trip to the Department of Motor Vehicles seem pleasant, "it's time for the President to consider delaying this rushed effort." A Washington Post/ABC News poll released Monday showed that 56% of respondents consider the website difficulties a harbinger of broader problems with the Affordable Care Act, a constant target of conservative critics who consider it the epitome of big government overreach. Obama administration officials have highlighted the fact that nearly 500,000 people have filled out applications for Obamacare, though the number who purchased coverage remains unknown. Initial difficulties have started to ease for logging on to the website for the new exchanges, some of which are run by states and others by the federal government. But problems now are occurring further along the process, with insurance industry sources having said they are getting some applications with missing information. The application portion of the website was brought down this weekend for overnight maintenance, as it has been on previous weekends and some weeknights. "To ensure that we make swift progress, and that the consumer experience continues to improve, our team has called in additional help to solve some of the more complex technical issues we are encountering," the Health and Human Services department said in a blog post Sunday. "Our team is bringing in some of the best and brightest from both inside and outside government to scrub in with the team and help improve HealthCare.gov." Logging in tough for some early registrants . The administration is still not releasing the numbers on how many people have taken the next step of enrolling: choosing a specific health care plan. The administration has said it will do that monthly, so the first tally of enrollment numbers will come in November. The Congressional Budget Office has said it expects 7 million people to enroll by April 1. Although March 31 is the deadline for people to get health insurance or face a fine, officials warn that failure to sign up by February 15 could be a problem because of the time needed for the coverage to take effect. Carney told reporters on Monday afternoon that lingering problems in signing people up could result in relief, noting that the law makes clear that "if you do not have access to affordable health insurance, you will not have to pay a penalty for not having affordable health insurance." Hope for a smoother ride on HealthCare.gov . He also repeated the President's assertion that high demand in the first weeks of the new exchanges contributed to the website problems, noting that the larger-than-expected response exposed existing "glitches and kinks." Although the administration tally of applications did not break down how many of the applications came through state-run exchanges, a CNN survey of officials with those exchanges found that at least 257,000 people had signed up for new insurance plans as of Friday afternoon. Not all of them had made a payment, and not every state responded to the CNN request. A ConsumerReports.org article last week offered tips for people trying to sign up, but had the following advice for those overwhelmed by the difficulties: . "If all this is too much for you to absorb, follow our previous advice: Stay away from HealthCare.gov for at least another month if you can. Hopefully that will be long enough for its software vendors to clean up the mess they've made." But in a statement issued Monday night, the group said its criticism of the website doesn't mean it now opposes the Affordable Care Act. Critics of Obamacare are misrepresenting the nonprofit organization's position, Consumer Reports said. 5 things that have happened since Obamacare launched . CNN's Paul Steinhauser, Kevin Bohn, Jim Acosta, Adam Aigner-Treworgy, Brian Todd and Dugald McConnell contributed to this report.
### SUMMARY:
| NEW: Obamacare "is not failing" despite website woes, White House spokesman says .
Obama says HealthCare.gov problems are "going to get fixed"
Sebelius expected to testify at a congressional hearing next week .
The government shutdown diverted attention from the problems . |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
(CNN) -- A Carnival cruise ship was adrift 150 miles off the coast of Mexico after an engine room fire. Cruise passengers were complaining about the lack of air conditioning, hot cabins, cold food and toilets that wouldn't flush. As I watched the news broadcast, I thought it was a documentary about the Carnival Splendor, which suffered a disabling engine room fire in November 2010 off Mexico. But the story was about the Carnival Triumph, which caught fire early Sunday after sailing from Galveston, Texas, with more than 3,100 passengers. The cruise industry says cruise ship fires are rare, but they are not rare. They happen with alarming frequency. In the two years between the Splendor and the Triumph fires, more than 10 cruise ship fires were reported in the media. Several cruise ships were completely disabled, including the Costa Allegra, the Bahamas Celebration and the Ocean Star. The Azamara Quest was partially disabled and had to crawl back to port in Indonesia. The Allegra and Quest broke down in waters where pirates frequent, to add to the drama. A fire aboard the Queen Mary II was later determined to have been caused by a "catastrophic explosion." Other cruise ships experienced what the industry would either deny or call "minor fires," including the Adventure of the Seas, the Crown Princess, the MSC Musica and the Allure. But there is nothing minor about a cruise ship, filled with thousands of passengers, catching on fire on the high seas, even for a matter of seconds. I have attended seven congressional hearings since 2005 regarding issues of cruise ship passenger safety. At the last hearing, before Sen. Jay Rockefeller, cruise expert and author Ross Klein said fires broke out in 79 cruise ships from 1990 to 2011. Most of these fires received little coverage in the U.S. press. It is a topic that the travel publications avoid and travel agents do not like to hear. Concordia disaster focuses attention on how cruise industry operates . The cruise industry does a remarkable job advertising that cruising is a safe and affordable family vacation. It certainly is affordable, in large part because major cruise lines such as Carnival and Royal Caribbean are incorporated in foreign countries like Panama, the Bahamas, Bermuda and Liberia. Their ships fly the flags of foreign nations and thus avoid all U.S. federal taxes, labor laws and safety regulations. In 2011, three-quarters of the nearly 16 million cruise bookings worldwide were made from the United States, according to the industry group Cruise Lines International Association, which represents 26 cruise lines, including the world's largest, Carnival and Royal Caribbean. You can't find a cheaper vacation than spending a week on one of these "fun ships." But the vacation comes with a hidden price. The cruise lines are working their crew members excessively long hours and paying them extremely low wages. The Cruise Lines International Association says its "crew members are provided wages that are competitive with international pay scales." But a cleaner aboard a Royal Caribbean ship, for example, will work 12 hours a day, seven days a week, for as little as $156.25 a week with no tips. U.S. labor laws are not applicable to provide protection to crew members at sea, nor is there any real oversight of the cruise lines' operations. The cruise industry insists that it is regulated and that the safety and security of its passengers and crew is its highest priority. Ships are subject to inspections by the countries they call on. In the United States, ships must pass initial and annual U.S. Coast Guard Marine inspections. But the Coast Guard is underfunded and understaffed and can't possibly conduct adequate inspections of the hundreds of cruise ships that call regularly on U.S. ports across the nation. And the ships are getting bigger and carrying more passengers every year. For example, Disney Fantasy -- whose safety is not in doubt -- is 14 decks high and more than three football fields long and can carry about 5,500 people. Cruise ships theoretically follow guidelines set forth by the International Maritime Organization and the recommendations in the Safety of Life at Sea. But the International Maritime Organization, a United Nations organization, does not have the authority to enforce its own guidelines, nor can it impose fines or criminal sanctions against cruise lines that flout Safety of Life at Sea recommendations. This obligation falls to flag states, like Panama. The result is that cruise lines are largely unregulated. They offer low-price cruise fares to get the passengers aboard and then make their profits from alcohol sales; casino, spa and photography activities; and shore excursions. The cruise lines operate their ships virtually 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 52 weeks a year. Cruise ships do not make money unless they are operating. The cruise lines push the ships just as hard as they push their crew members. A ship out of service for a week for routine maintenance means the loss of tens of millions of dollars and thousands of dissatisfied customers. Talk Back: How should cruise passengers be compensated? It is in this environment that the 13-year-old Carnival Triumph was trying to sail back to Galveston. Cruise ships, like their foreign-based crew members, are treated as fungible goods. When crew members get debilitating injuries because of overwork and exhaustion, they are left in their home countries. The Triumph, sailing since 1999, will eventually end up being sold to the European market, renamed and abandoned as well. The push to always keep the show on the road without long delays causes the same problems in investigations of passenger disappearances, shipboard crimes and gastrointestinal illnesses. These investigations are often rushed so the cruise is held up for as little time as possible. When there is a norovirus outbreak on a ship, cruise lines are faced with the prospect of disembarking hundreds of ill passengers, sanitizing the ship and then reloading several thousands of passengers on board. It is an impossible prospect to locate and kill the virus on the massive ships given the short turnaround on an embarkation day. But the business model of the cruise industry is: Strike up the band and hand out the daiquiris, the cruise must go on. It is also impossible for governmental entities such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to conduct a thorough, painstaking epidemiology study to ascertain the type of virus and its origin. Cruise lines quickly blame the passengers for not washing their hands, but the CDC and the Food and Drug Administration concluded long ago that the most likely and common source of norovirus is contaminated food or water. Crew members say that infected workers often do not complain of their illness out of fear of not being paid or of losing their jobs. Cruise lines tell the passengers to use hand sanitizers, but the culprit may be norovirus-laden salad. Unlike the U.S. commercial aviation industry, with strict Federal Aviation Administration oversight that can ground a fleet of aircraft, the cruise industry is largely accountable to countries like Panama or the Bahamas -- which may or may not want to offend their cruise line friends in Miami. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of James Walker.
### SUMMARY:
| James Walker: Carnival Triumph was a rerun of Splendor, which also had engine room fire .
Walker: Fires are frequent on cruise ships, investigations of illness outbreaks rushed .
He says industry avoids U.S. labor laws, taxes, oversight by incorporating in foreign nations .
Cruises are cheap because crews work long hours for little pay, ships are run 24/7, he says . |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
(CNN) -- In April 1964, only a few months after President John F. Kennedy was assassinated, his widow Jacqueline Kennedy wrote to Kay Halle -- an old family friend of both the Kennedys and the Churchills -- and gave a glimpse of the dark melancholy that shrouded her. Jackie mentioned an Easter trip with her children, Caroline and John Jr., and expressed hope the holiday might renew her spirits. "I hope it will give me via fresh air some new energy -- as I just have had none lately & cannot even touch the ever growing piles on my desk," she wrote to Halle. "But this spring maybe everything will be better -- Love Jackie." Jackie Kennedy's letters underline the behind-the-scenes role of Halle, who urged President Kennedy to bestow honorary U.S. citizenship upon Winston Churchill at special 1963 Rose Garden ceremony. But more importantly, the Halle correspondence provides further insight into the first lady's relationship with JFK during their White House years and the painful aftermath of her husband's November 1963 killing. During the past decade, the private letters of Jacqueline Kennedy have slowly come to light. Most were kept private for many years in archives, away from public scrutiny. As a result, history has been deprived of important, albeit disturbing, facts surrounding the assassination and its effect on those closest to JFK -- especially his widow, whose grief included suicidal thoughts expressed to a priest. To be sure, a generation of Americans admired Jacqueline Kennedy's extraordinary grace and courage during her husband's funeral and were naturally protective of her privacy when she was alive. But a wealth of letters and other documents -- including an extensive oral history by Mrs. Kennedy kept under wraps at the JFK Library until 2011 -- remained out of sight, well past her death in 1994, leaving the historical record incomplete. Now a half century later, it is time for all the Jacqueline Kennedy letters to be available for historians, allowing for a more full and accurate understanding about one of the most dramatic moments in 20th century U.S. history. Efforts by the Kennedy family to keep these letters at bay only mute our comprehension of what truly happened on that tragic day in Dallas and the kind of psychological damage that gun violence can wreak on the lives of innocent survivors. The existence of Jackie's letters was unknown to me until I stumbled upon some in preparing a 2003 book about how the Kennedys' Irish Catholic immigrant background influenced their personal and public lives. During my research, three people suggested speaking with the Rev. Richard McSorley, a Jesuit friend of Robert F. Kennedy's family, though none apparently knew of McSorley's involvement with Jackie. McSorley surprisingly told me how he counseled a grief-stricken Jackie for several months beginning in April 1964. He provided "tennis lessons" to Jackie at RFK's Virginia home while helping the widowed first lady through her agony and depression. McSorley later allowed me to review his personal files at Georgetown University's library. There I found several remarkable letters and documents about Jackie Kennedy's emotional struggles. She shared her doubts about God, fate, a heavenly afterlife with her slain husband, and her children's immediate future. "Do you think God would separate me from my husband if I killed myself?" Jackie asked the priest. "It is so hard to bear. I feel as though I am going out of my mind at times. Wouldn't God understand that I just want to be with him?" Georgetown later held a press conference about the "unique historical window" McSorley's papers provided. But soon after a complaint from the Kennedy family, Georgetown access was closed to Jackie's letters in McSorley's files. Similar letters, though, would turn up elsewhere. In May 2014, a batch of 33 Jackie letters to an Irish priest, the Rev. Joseph Leonard, whom she first met in the early 1950s, were headed for auction until the Kennedys objected to their disclosure. These letters, containing sentiments similar to those Jackie confided to McSorley, were published by various publications but were eventually returned to the Kennedy family, reportedly at the direction of Caroline Kennedy, her daughter. They are no longer public. More letters from Jackie Kennedy turned up in the files of Halle, made available in June 2011 at the JFK Library. I describe them in my new book about the Churchills and the Kennedys. After Halle offered successful suggestions for JFK's 1961 inaugural celebration, Jackie Kennedy sought advice about Washington's social scene. Her letter reflects the anxiety of a woman in her early 30s wanting to please her husband in her new role as first lady. "One thing I wish you could help me with," Jackie wrote in her fragmented longhand sentences to Halle. "Is it enough to just keep doing things in a private way -- as one would do if not President -- Go to the theatres, symphonies, etc. and try to have the entertainment at the (White House) be substantial -- ... But that is so little -- Do you think we should have an enormous reception at the W. House for artists -- that seems rather treating them like freaks -- I try to work some into every State dinner -- but that's a tiny drop in the bucket -- If you have a brainstorm do tell me." Jackie let Kay Halle know how to send notes to her social secretary's attention so that she'd read them personally. "Put your name on the letter and SPECIAL -- (my code for getting my own mail!)" she instructed. After JFK's assassination and the 1965 death of Winston Churchill, Halle remained in touch with both families. She later asked Jackie and her second husband Aristotle Onassis to contribute to a book of remembrances about Winston Churchill's son, Randolph, who died in 1968. "You know how Jack and Bobby loved him -- but did you know how my son John loved him?" Jackie asked Halle about Randolph. Around her children, Jackie wrote, Randolph "was completely himself -- and never changed gears for them." In her essay for Halle's book, Jackie recalled how Randolph gave her son, John Jr., a complete set of Winston Churchill's books -- including his masterful biography about John Marlborough, a fabled Churchill ancestor -- which she kept in the Kennedys' Fifth Avenue apartment in Manhattan. "They are in the bookshelves in the dining room, beside Jack's Marlborough, which he read when he had scarlet fever as a boy, and the Churchill books he had at Harvard," Jackie recalled. Uncertain of what her son's future might bring, Jackie told Halle that she hoped President Kennedy's heir might discover lessons about greatness from these bound volumes, just as other men had. "If, when he is older, he finds in them what his father found in them -- that would be this strange, touching legacy of Randolph's," Jackie concluded. "Winston Churchill and Randolph outlived Jack -- but maybe Randolph will be the one to draw John to the books that shaped John's father." Documents like these are essential tools to gaining a clear and complete understanding our past. Surely, both JFK and Jackie Kennedy, with their keen sense of history, would have understood.
### SUMMARY:
| Thomas Maier: Jackie Kennedy letters show emotions of young first lady, later grieving widow .
Maier: She puzzled over social protocols as first lady; pondered suicide when JFK killed .
He says letters a crucial part of historical record, yet have been pulled back by Kennedy family .
Maier: Those that have been seen have been revelatory. They should be public . |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
(CNN) -- A group of Republican senators drafted an alternative stimulus measure that narrows government spending to infrastructure programs and helping unemployed Americans, addresses the housing crisis and relies mostly on tax cuts. Sen. Mel Martinez has been working with GOP senators on an alternative to the current stimulus plan. The $713 billion plan was put together by Florida Sen. Mel Martinez, who has been working with a handful of other GOP senators. The proposal includes $430 billion in tax cuts, $114 billion for infrastructure projects, $138 billion for extending unemployment insurance, food stamps and other provisions to help those in need and $31 billion to address the housing crisis. The draft Martinez put together is a broader approach than what some GOP leaders have suggested. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and other Republicans appear to want to limit the stimulus to tax cuts and addressing the housing crisis. But the draft is more narrow than the Democrats' plan because it eliminates spending on government programs that Republicans and some Democrats say shouldn't be in the bill because they don't create jobs. Martinez has just started showing the plan to his colleagues, and it is too early to tell how much traction this idea will get among other lawmakers. McConnell on Monday dismissed the idea that Republicans are trying to block passage of the economic stimulus plan. "Nobody that I know of is trying to keep a package from passing," he said at a news conference Monday. "We're trying to reform it." The House last week passed an $819 billion stimulus bill without a single Republican vote, despite Obama's efforts to work with both sides of the aisle. The House version is two-thirds spending and one-third tax cuts. Of concern for Republicans has been how much of the money will be spent in the near future. An analysis released Monday by the Congressional Budget Office estimated the stimulus plan before the Senate would use 78 percent of the proposed funding (including the lost revenue from tax cuts) by the end of fiscal year 2010. Sixty-four percent of the House bill would be put to use during the same period, according to the report. Much of the $550 billion in spending is divided among these areas: $142 billion for education, $111 billion for health care, $90 billion for infrastructure, $72 billion for aid and benefits, $54 billion for energy, $16 billion for science and technology and $13 billion for housing. Republicans have blasted numerous measures in the package, such as funding for veterans in the Philippines, sod on the National Mall and honey bee insurance. On Monday, Senate Democrats dropped two controversial spending programs in the Senate economic stimulus bill: $75 million for anti-smoking programs and $400 million for the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases and HIV. Two Democratic leadership sources told CNN on Monday that the Democrats dropped the programs as a "symbolic gesture" to show Republicans they are listening to their objections. But one of the Democratic sources also said, "It's hard to explain when you're in the midst of a crisis why these programs are important. When people are struggling and thinking about their jobs, it's hard to make that connection." Republicans, and even some Democrats, have been pointing to both of these items as prime examples of "excess spending" that doesn't belong in the stimulus bill. The CBO analysis said the stimulus plan before the Senate would increase the deficit by $885 billion over the next decade -- about $64 million more than the bill passed by the House last week. The cost difference is due in large part to a provision in the Senate bill that would "patch" for one year the Alternative Minimum Tax so that it doesn't start to hit middle- and upper-middle-income families. Sen. John McCain said Monday that he would not be able to vote for the Senate bill in its current form. Watch McCain explain why he'd vote no » . The former GOP presidential nominee said President Obama and Democrats will have to "seriously negotiate" with Republicans if they want to pass a stimulus plan with bipartisan support. "I think we are clearly prepared to sit down, discuss, negotiate a true stimulus package that will create jobs," McCain said on CNN's "American Morning." "But now it's time, after the way it went through the House without any Republican support. It's been rammed through the Senate so far. We need to seriously negotiate. We haven't done that yet." McCain said he's been working with fellow Republican senators to come up with a plan that eliminates policy changes that have nothing to do with job creation. He said the way to separate what's pork and what isn't is by asking two things: Does it take effect in the next year or so? And does it create jobs? One change already made in the Senate version is the addition of $71 billion to fix the Alternative Minimum Tax, which was intended to place a tax on the wealthy but now hits many middle-class families. The Senate bill also adds a $300 payment to seniors, disabled people and others who can't work and suspends taxes on the first $2,400 on unemployment benefits. Meanwhile, House Republican leaders put out a list of more than 30 "wasteful" provisions in the Senate version of the stimulus, including: . • A $246 million tax break for Hollywood movie producers to buy motion pictures . • $650 million for the digital television (DTV) converter box coupon program . • $248 million for furniture at the new Department of Homeland Security headquarters . • $600 million to buy hybrid vehicles for federal employees . • $1 billion for the 2010 Census . Asked if it would be better for the president to offer up two separate bills -- one for job creation and another for programs Democrats think were neglected during the Bush years -- Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Nebraska, said that "might be a better way to bifurcate the issues." "But, at times, you put things together because of the efficiency of getting something done," he said Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union." "And there's no pork in this. Let me say that right away. But there may be some sacred cows." Nelson and Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, spent the weekend scrubbing the bill of spending that does not narrowly target job and economic growth so moderate Republicans and conservative Democrats will be more likely to vote for it. President Obama said Monday that both parties need to work together so that a bill can be passed quickly. "There are still some differences between Democrats and Republicans on the Hill, between the White House and some of the products that have been discussed on the Hill," he said. "But what we can't do is let very modest differences get in the way of the overall package moving forward swiftly." Obama's remarks came after meeting with Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas, a Republican governor who supports the economic stimulus program. The president also was meeting Monday with Democratic congressional leaders. Obama said Sunday he's confident that his economic package will have Republican support once the final plan is hammered out. "I've done extraordinary outreach, I think, to Republicans because they had some good ideas. And I want to make sure that those ideas are incorporated," he said in an interview with NBC. "We're going to be trimming up -- things that are not relevant to putting people back to work right now," he said. CNN's Dana Bash and CNNMoney's Jeanne Sahadi contributed to this report.
### SUMMARY:
| NEW: Some GOP senators have put together $713 billion alternative .
Sen. Mitch McConnell wants bill "dramatically different" from House version .
Sen. John McCain says there haven't been serious talks with Republicans yet .
Bill passed in the House without any Republican support . |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
Russia and China blocked efforts of other major powers to pass a U.N. Security Council resolution on Syria Tuesday, with a dramatic dual veto thwarting a call for an immediate halt to the crackdown in Syria against opponents of President Bashar al-Assad. Nine of the 15-member council countries, including the United States, voted in favor of adopting the resolution. The Russian ambassador to the U.N. said Security Council action would be "an intervention" that would send the wrong message to the international community. "I understand that my European colleagues are upset, having not obtained a resolution which they were trying to obtain," Russia's Vitaly Churkin told reporters afterward. "Some capitals are being overly hasty in passing their judgment about the illegitimacy of the leaders in Syria," he added. U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice, meanwhile, said the United States "is outraged that this council has utterly failed to address an urgent moral challenge and a growing threat to regional peace and security." The resolution, if passed, would have called upon Syria to stop oppressing its citizens. "The unprecedented, aggressive language resorted (to) by certain ambassadors against my country, against the political leaders of my country, facilitated my task today," said Bashar Ja'afari, Syrian ambassador to the United Nations. "This aggressive discourse reveals the prejudice in certain Western capitals against my country's political leadership," added Ja'afari. Security Council member countries India, Brazil, South Africa, Lebanon abstained from voting on the resolution. "After seven months of near complete inaction in the Council, while at least 2,600 people were being killed, and thousands injured, arrested or tortured, this vote is a disgrace. By casting their veto, Russia and China are enabling the Syrian government's abhorrent repression campaign," said Philippe Bolopion, the United Nations director for Human Rights Watch. Meanwhile, another round of violence flared in Syria Tuesday, as reports of more deaths surfaced amid the relentless government crackdown on protesters. The nearly seven-month-long offensive has drawn world condemnation and calls to action against the government of al-Assad. And a newly formed group of army deserters has issued pleas for help from the international community. "This regime will stay until the last drop of blood," said Col. Riad al-Assa'ad, head of a group of army deserters that has merged into a force called the Free Syria Army. "But there can't be more bloodshed than there already is." "This is a regime built on force. And it can't be brought down but with force. We lived under it for 40 years." At a State Department briefing in Washington before the Security Council vote, spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said adoption of a U.N. resolution would send a message to the al-Assad regime that "the violence has to stop." "We've been making the strongest possible case that we can to all of the U.N. Security Council members that, given the bloodshed, given the violence, given the arrests, given the torture that the Assad regime has propagated against its own people, it is overdue for the Security Council to make its views known, and we hope that is a very, very strong message that they are receiving," Nuland said. Also on Tuesday, three Syrian army soldiers and one civilian were killed during clashes in Jabal Al-Zawiya in Idlib province, said the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Security forces chasing wanted people killed a man in the forests of Idlib between Karouma and al-Bara. The activist group, which has a network of contacts across Syria, said fighting erupted in the morning between soldiers at a military camp in the northwestern province and armed men believed to be army defectors. The corpse of a student detained by security forces in the town last month was returned to his family, the observatory said. The group also said security forces in Al-Dar Al-Kabira village in Homs province opened fire at a security checkpoint and killed three civilians. The province is in the western part of the country. It said a 12-year-old was killed in the Homs province community of Deir Baalba. The observatory says 2,365 civilians and 680 army and security forces have been killed in the unrest since mid-March. The Local Coordination Committees of Syria, another activist group, said at least nine people died, including six in Homs and three in Idlib. Government forces dispersed a student demonstration in Hasaka in the east and arrested two students and a teacher. Security forces arrested 10 youths in a demonstration in the western city of Baniyas. The LCC also reported raids and arrests in the Damascus suburbs. The activist group said there was an exchange of fire between military forces and dissident soldiers in the southern Daraa province. The state-run Syrian Arab News Agency said "an armed terrorist group" ambushed security forces in the city of Hama, in the west. Two law enforcement members were killed, and two were injured. It also said that "an armed terrorist group" was responsible for killing and mutilating five citizens in Homs after they were abducted and tortured. Activists blame violence engulfing Syria since mid-March on security personnel attacks. The Syrian government says armed terrorists are responsible. CNN is unable to independently verify such claims, because the Syrian government has denied international journalists access to the country. The Free Syria Army, meanwhile, is hoping for support from the United States, Europe and neighboring countries, such as Turkey. Al-Assa'ad is asking the international community to implement a no-fly zone and a naval blockade, measures similar to those taken by an international coalition against Libya. The Free Syria Army is also requesting weapons and wants the regime's frozen assets. "Our correct strategy is to protect the demonstrations from the security forces and the shabiha ... until we bring down the regime," he told CNN on Monday, making a reference to pro-government forces. "If we have a no-fly zone and a naval blockade and the weapons, we can secure an area to operate from and move forward with bringing down the regime." Al-Assa'ad told CNN that the Syrian army "strayed from its mission," and his group decided to make protection of the citizenry its mission. "The regime was using the military as its own private army, not an army to protect Syria and the people. They turned the army into a gang that was killing people, killing innocents, destroying homes," he said Monday. Al-Assa'ad sloughed off the government claim about armed gangs fomenting violence. "From the start of the revolution in Syria, we would get orders that there were armed gangs in the country," he said. "But there were no armed gangs." The Free Syria Army recently claimed responsibility for operations in Homs and Deir Ezzor in the east to protect the civilian population and harass army units to prevent them from operating effectively. Al-Assa'ad said military and security forces are "demoralized and tired." "We are carrying out operations on Syrian lands. There are areas that they are unable to enter. There are many areas that they are fearful about entering. We are causing them losses." Al-Assa'ad said defecting is a serious move to make because of the risks to defectors' families. But the numbers of army defectors are increasing. Asked whether any soldier with blood on his hands would be forgiven, Al-Assa'ad said, "they are killing because they are being forced to. ... Many have been executed because they refused to shoot."
### SUMMARY:
| Rice: U.S. is "outraged" after veto of Syrian resolution .
The U.S. State Department says "violence has to stop"
The Free Syria Army wants international help .
Activists and the government report deaths Tuesday . |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
A nurse's assistant in Spain -- the first person to contract Ebola outside Africa -- has taken a turn for the worse. Dr. Yolanda Fuentes, who works at Madrid's Carlos III hospital, said Thursday that Teresa Romero Ramos' condition had worsened but declined to give further details. Romero became sick after she helped treat an Ebola-stricken Spanish missionary. Her case has prompted questions from her fellow medical professionals about whether they are properly equipped to safely treat Ebola patients, and about why a week passed before she was treated. The update on her condition comes 10 days after Romero first began feeling sick and three days after she called an ambulance to take her to a hospital. Carlos III hospital indicated late Thursday that seven more people -- a doctor, three nurses, two beauticians, a doctor and a hospital staffer -- have been admitted for observation. This is in addition to seven others already in the hospital, though none of these besides Romero has tested positive for Ebola. "The reason why we are seeing so many people admitted showing no symptoms is because the 80 people or so that are being monitored outside the hospital have been given the choice to do it at home or come into the hospital," said a hospital spokeswoman, who is not named, as is customary in Spain. In addition to concerns about Romero and these individuals' health, the entire situation has raised serious questions about how the entire case was handled -- from how the nurse's assistant got the disease to how medical officials handled her care once she got sick. Physician: My protection suit was too short . One of the physicians sounding the alarm -- Dr. Juan Manuel Parra, who treated Romero at a different Madrid hospital earlier in the week -- published an open letter Thursday indicating that his staff was ill-equipped to handle her. Concerned about his exposure to Romero, Parra then checked himself into Carlos III. Parra was among five who the hospital said had no symptoms. Parra says he cared for Romero on Monday at Madrid's Alcorcon Hospital, where an ambulance had taken her that morning. He wrote that the sleeves on the protective suits available to him were too short, exposing parts of his arms. In his letter, published Thursday by Spanish news outlets, Parra wrote that Romero was in an isolation room. He said he visited her 12 times in isolation from 8 a.m. to midnight, when she was transferred to Carlos III, which specializes in infectious diseases. Her condition worsened throughout the day, and by the evening she had tested positive twice for Ebola, he wrote. But Parra said he learned of both positive results from media before hospital officials told him. Deadliest Ebola outbreak: What you need to know . He said he was told of the second positive test at 7 p.m., but it took five more hours for an ambulance to collect her for the trip to Carlos III, he wrote. Parra adds to a chorus of Spanish medical professionals who've expressed alarm. Speaking about what's unfolding in Madrid, Health Minister Ana Mato told Parliament earlier this week Spain is going to revise its protocols for handling Ebola. Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said that his country is "facing a matter that is of international concern." But that doesn't mean Spaniards should hunker down or become overly alarmed, he said, and urged them to "keep calm." How NYC is preparing for Ebola . Dismay in Madrid . The Ebola virus has infected more than 8,000 people and killed at least 3,800 in the current outbreak, according to the World Health Organization. It's also been largely confined -- as far as we know so far, every person has caught the disease in West Africa except for Romero. Romero's case began after two Spanish missionaries -- Miguel Pajares and Manuel Garcia Viejo -- contracted Ebola in West Africa. They were sent to Spain, specifically Carlos III, for treatment. Romero twice had contact with one of the priests as part of his care, on September 24 and September 25, the WHO said. Both priests eventually died at the hospital. Romero's patient died on September 25; on September 29, she began feeling ill. That Romero may have gotten Ebola at Carlos III is a major cause of concern, especially if she did -- as she told Spanish newspaper El Mundo -- follow the necessary protocols while caring for the missionaries. How did Spanish nurse catch Ebola? Dr. German Ramirez, who is among those treating her, said Romero may have been exposed while removing protective gear she'd donned to treat one of the priests. "That's what we were working on -- on the errors possibly made while removing the protective suit," Ramirez told reporters this week, saying it's possible the protective suit or gloves may have touched her face. On Tuesday -- the morning that Romero was transferred from Alcorcon to Carlos III for treatment -- angry doctors and nurses outside Carlos III said they were outraged that the two priests, almost dead when they arrived, had been brought there. Also prompting concern is how long it took for Romero to be treated -- and how long she may have exposed other people to the deadly virus while she was contagious. According to a Carlos III hospital spokeswoman, Romero started feeling ill on September 29. She went the next day to her doctor, who did not properly identify her problem and sent her home. But Romero didn't get better. She called Carlos III hospital on October 2 and was directed, per protocol, to an external medical department under the umbrella of Madrid's regional health service, the hospital spokesman said. Romero ended up back home again. On Monday, she called an ambulance, which took her to Alcorcon hospital, which diagnosed her over a 16-hour period and sent her to Carlos III. Parra's letter didn't address how long Romero might have been outside an isolation room at Alcorcon. A worker at that hospital told CNN on condition of anonymity earlier this week that Romero lay in the emergency room -- exposed to other patients as well as medical staff -- for eight hours before she was transferred to Carlos III. Romero's experience is similar to that of Thomas Eric Duncan, the Liberian citizen who was sent home from a Dallas, Texas, hospital days before eventually being admitted for Ebola. Duncan, the first person diagnosed with Ebola in the United States, died Wednesday. Romero's dog put down . Authorities said Tuesday that a total of 30 people from Carlos III Hospital and 22 others -- from the Alcorcon hospital where the woman first sought care, plus family members -- were being monitored. Madrid health authorities on Wednesday put down Romero's dog, Excalibur, despite a public outcry to save it. 'Save Excalibur' campaign fails . About 400,000 people signed an online petition to save the dog from being killed, contending that that "it would be much easier to isolate or quarantine the dog just as they have the victim's husband," rather than forcing the couple to lose "one of the family." But health authorities insisted they had to take action in case Excalibur had the disease. It's not known if Ebola can be passed through canines. The World Health Organization has said that it's infected chimpanzees, gorillas, fruit bats, monkeys, forest antelope and porcupines. Human infections, to date, have not been linked to dogs. Complete Ebola coverage .
### SUMMARY:
| 14 total are in a Madrid hospital; Romero is the only one with confirmed Ebola .
Doctor declines to give further details about Teresa Romero Ramos' condition, treatment .
Another doctor, who tended to patient, says his protective sleeves were inadequate .
The nurse's assistant treated missionaries from Africa who had Ebola . |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
When President Barack Obama took to the podium for Thursday's news conference/cum-mea culpa on the disastrous Obamacare roll out, the commander-in-chief said repairing his damaged credibility was on him and no one else. John King: For Obama, a bad turn or a tipping point? The bloodletting was a near-acknowledgment that his presidency is at a tenuous point. The Obama administration's mismanagement of his signature legislative achievement threatens to sink the rest of his second-term agenda. With more than three years left in office, Obama teeters on the brink of lame-duckedness. But the problem of a tortured second term is not unique to the 44th President. Many before Obama triumphantly won reelection only to be sunk by a scandal, a debacle or a mistake. Obamacare: Now what? 3 hurdles Obamacare fix must overcome . For George W. Bush, public weariness over wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the debacle over the government's response to Hurricane Katrina, made his second term seem longer than four years. Bill Clinton's affair with Monica Lewinsky and his impeachment by the House marked his second term. Those aren't the only instances. Ronald Reagan had the Iran-Contra scandal; Harry Truman's final years in office were dominated by the war in Korea and Richard Nixon resigned over Watergate. Related: Most former presidents look better through history's eyes . Such woes have become so commonplace that they are summed up with this moniker: the second-term curse. Gone is the energized A-team . When a President first takes office, political and other pros are lining up for jobs. The President can pick from the best and the brightest to make the wheels turn. "When you come into the White House, that is the moment of great promise," said Russell Riley, presidential scholar and associate professor at the University of Virginia's Miller Center. But ultimately the demands of working for a President take their toll and attrition sets in. "People get worn out," and leave, Riley said. "Over time, there tends to be some deterioration in the quality of the team that you are able to put together." Borger: How could Obama not have known? Obama: HealthCare.gov needs more than technical fixes . Riley points to the Reagan administration as an example. When Reagan was inaugurated in 1981, he brought with him three confidants who became "The Troika." James Baker, Ed Meese and Michael Deaver effectively ran the White House staff and it paid off with reelection and a historic 525 electoral votes in 1984. But then the team began to fray. Baker became Treasury Secretary and Meese, Attorney General, while Deaver left the White House for lobbying. Under new leadership, Act II of the Reagan White House did not hit on all cylinders. The Iran-Contra affair, in which the Reagan administration was fingered for selling arms to Iran and circumventing a congressional ban by using the proceeds to send arms and money to anti-Communist rebels in Nicaragua, became a huge scandal. "It was disaster at the White House," Riley said. "That is not a mistake you make typically in a first term. It is case where you are trying to juggle the staffing apparatus later on." Digging for dirt and sensing a lame duck . To David Nichols, a presidential historian and expert on President Dwight Eisenhower, the reason for second-term woes is a combination of leverage and time. "Their leverage on lawmakers in the Congress and with the voters is just inevitably diminished," Nichols said, pointing out that once Congress begins to smell presidential weakness, they seize on it as a way to speed up the "lame duck" process. "The longer Presidents are around and when people get to know you well, they begin to know where your soft spots are and they know what you are good and what you aren't good at," Nichols said. "People eventually begin to figure out how to get to the Presidents. That is just a function of the number of years." To Nichols, this could already be happening with Obama. Cruz talks about 'vindication' Obamacare enrollment numbers give GOP second wind . Republicans in Congress have been attacking Obama since his 2009 inaugural. And while Obama has won some legislative victories, those have been hard fought. The health care law he championed and got with only Democratic support in Congress is off to a rocky start with the public, and Republicans are sensing weakness. Poll: Approval of Obamacare drops . And with that, Nichols said, comes Republican dreams of a larger majority in the House, control of the Senate and a pathway to the presidency in 2016. "For the opposition party, the more bad stuff they can dig up, the better they make it for themselves in the next election," Nichols said. "So tearing down the incumbent is a good way to prepare the way for a change and the American public tends to keep people for a while but quickly push them out." Clinton's experience is a good example. While accusations of infidelity plagued Clinton since his time as governor of Arkansas, it wasn't until years into his presidency that an accusation of impropriety was able to stick and severely damage him politically. The chickens come home to roost . When Obama ran for office in 2008, he made a number of promises: immigration reform, healthcare, ending wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, dealing with climate change. During his first term, he addressed some of those -- ending the war in Iraq and slowly drawing down the conflict in Afghanistan. His administration also won on Obamacare. 6 things presidents wish they hadn't said . But the implications of those promises were not felt right away, Riley said. Romney on Obamacare promise: 'It was not honest' "You make policy decisions in the first term and because it usually takes a while for these things to mature and to ripen and to get enacted, you can easily be in your fifth year before the full consequences of your first term become apparent," Riley said. "When you get to the second term, the days of reckoning appear." Riley's point is that when Obama promised to reform the health care system, he and his advisers had to know there was going to be pain involved with executing the law. But as with most administrations, Riley said, the White House also knew those problems weren't going to come about for years. "Presidents will always make decisions either to defer judgment on something or will make hard decisions, recognizing the consequences won't come down on them until after reelection," Riley said. "I think it is just a general pattern." The history of two terms . Although two terms is now the law, it was once just a tradition started by George Washington. After serving two terms, Washington declined to run again. "While choice and prudence invite me to quit the political scene, patriotism does not forbid it," Washington said, acknowledging he could have run again had he wanted to. He didn't and the tradition was formed and stood until Franklin Roosevelt ran and won four times, dying soon into his final term as World War II was drawing to a close. After FDR, the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution set a two-term limit. Bachmann: 'I lost my insurance under Obamacare'
### SUMMARY:
| Obama news conference was a near-acknowledgment his presidency is at pivot point .
Problems during a second term aren't unique to the 44th President .
Historian points to staff changes as one cause for second-term drama .
Two-term presidents are also considered "lame ducks" by Congress . |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
The investigation into Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 is now classified as a criminal investigation, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing the Malaysian police chief. Inspector General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar said authorities have already recorded more than 170 statements and will interview more people for the Flight 370 probe, the Journal said. But Bakar cautioned that what happened with Flight 370 might still be unknown after the investigation. He added that the investigation into the flight simulator in the pilot's house is still inconclusive. Authorities are awaiting an expert's report on the simulator, he said. After three and a half weeks, the search for the missing plane has come down to this: a lot of floating rubbish, hundreds of heartbroken relatives and, now, quibbling over words all acknowledge offer no clues into what happened to the doomed plane. Malaysian authorities on Tuesday released the transcript of radio chatter between air traffic controllers and the plane in the hour or so before it vanished while flying from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to Beijing on March 8 with 239 people on board. The transcript shows the last voice transmission from the doomed plane was "Good night Malaysian three-seven-zero" -- not the "All right, good night" transmission authorities had previously used. The comments are "exactly what you'd expect" in a cockpit, airline safety expert John Gadzinski told CNN's "The Lead." Still, even if this new transcript offers no clues about the plane's mysterious disappearance, the discrepancy has provided fresh fodder for critics of Malaysia's handling of the investigation. Read the cockpit transcript . That authorities gave one version and let it stand uncorrected for weeks undermines confidence in the investigation, air accident investigation experts told CNN. "High criticism is in order at this point," said Mary Schiavo, a CNN aviation analyst and former inspector general for the U.S. Department of Transportation. And Michael Goldfarb, a former chief of staff at the Federal Aviation Administration, added that people following the investigation "haven't had a straight, clear word that we can have a lot of fidelity in." "We have the tragedy of the crash, we have the tragedy of an investigation gone awry and then we have questions about where we go from here," he said. Malaysian officials have defended their work, with acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein recently saying, "History will judge us well." Regardless of one's assessment of Malaysia's response, that doesn't change the immense challenge it faces -- especially given the few apparent details on altitude, speed and, of course, location. "They are looking in a vast area in very deep waters, ... and we really have no idea where it went in," Bill Schofield, an Australian scientist who helped create flight data recorders that could be key in determining what happened, told CNN. "... A needle in a haystack would be much easier to find." Inside the flight simulator . Search 'could drag on' After refocusing their search Friday to a new patch of Indian Ocean hundreds of miles from where they had been looking, authorities still haven't found anything definitively linked to Flight 370. Ten aircraft and nine ships crisscrossed a 46,000-square-mile (120,000-square-kilometer) search zone on Tuesday. With so many planes in the skies over the search zone, Australia sent an airborne air traffic control plane to guard against accidents. The search zone for Wednesday shifted eastward toward the Australian coast from what it had the day before, according to the Australian Maritime Safety Authority. While this means new territory will be covered, officials caution against expecting an imminent breakthrough. "It will take time," retired Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston, the head of the Australia's new Joint Agency Coordination Centre, said Tuesday. "It's not something that's necessarily going to be resolved in the next two weeks." The plane disappeared over the waters between Malaysia and Vietnam, after signing off with Malaysian controllers, but before checking in with their counterparts in Vietnam. Authorities don't know what happened on board after that, but radar and satellite data show the plane turned off course and flew back across Malaysia before turning south over the Indian Ocean. Based on sophisticated analysis of satellite data, investigators believe it went down in the southern Indian Ocean, but they can't pinpoint a location. A Malaysian government source told CNN on Monday that the airliner's turn off course is being considered a "criminal act," either by one of the pilots or someone else. In a background briefing given to CNN, Malaysian investigators said they believed the plane was "flown by someone with good flying knowledge of the aircraft." A senior Malaysian government official last week told CNN law enforcement analyst Tom Fuentes that authorities have found nothing in days of investigating the two pilots that leads them to any motive, be it political, suicidal or extremist. "It's one of the great mysteries of our time," Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said in a radio interview Wednesday from Perth, where he'll host his Malaysian counterpart Najib Razak later in the day. "...We owe it to the world, we owe it to those families to do whatever we reasonably can do get to the bottom of this." More help on the way . Chinese relatives of passengers got a chance Wednesday to learn how the search is unfolding and how it's been concluded that the flight ended in the Indian Ocean. Malaysia Airlines and Malaysia's Department of Civil Aviation led a closed-door briefing with the Chinese kin in Kuala Lumpur, the Malaysian government said. Technical experts from Malaysia, China and Australia were also expected to participate, as was the Chinese ambassador to Malaysia. Meanwhile, even more assets are contributing to the search. Hishammuddin tweeted the HMS Tireless, a British nuclear submarine, will take part. It'll be joined by an Australian ship with a pinger locator designed to listen for locator beacons attached to the plane's flight data recorder plus a submersible capable of canvassing the ocean floor for wreckage. Both pieces of technology come from the U.S. Navy. The equipment won't be of any use, however, until searchers are able to find wreckage from the plane to help narrow the search zone. That's because neither the pinger locator nor the submersible can quickly scan the enormous area being searched. Under the best of sea conditions, the pingers can be heard 2 nautical miles away. But high seas, background noise, wreckage or silt can all make pingers harder to detect. It will take the ship, the Ocean Shield, two more days just to get to the search zone, leaving precious little time to locate the flight data recorders before the batteries on its locator beacon run out. Time is running out: The batteries are designed to last 30 days. Wednesday is the 26th day that authorities have been looking for the plane. There's no guarantee it will be found anytime soon. For all the expertise and technology, there's still more unknown about Flight 370 than is known about it -- including its altitude, precise speed and, especially, its final resting place. As CNN aviation analyst Miles O'Brien said: "We're seeing what amounts to a big guess." Families of newlyweds still waiting . Ocean Shield: A mission of hope in search for Flight 370 . Mystery of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 surfaces pain of 1977 tragedy .
### SUMMARY:
| WSJ: Police have recorded 170 statements and will interview more people .
Search area for new day shifts eastward .
Malaysian authorities revise language used in last radio communications .
Wednesday is the 26th day authorities have been searching for Flight 370 . |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 02:31 EST, 25 May 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 04:10 EST, 25 May 2012 . Warning: Greeks are being urged to keep their money in the nation's banks and not to stash their cash at home (file picture) Greeks are being urged to keep their money in the nation's banks and not to stash their cash at home - as thieves continue to profit from the country's economic uncertainty. Police say brazen burglars are making off with hundreds of thousands of euros, on an almost daily basis, as they raid homes where money is hidden in cupboards or under the mattress. Andreas and Emilia Karabalis, both 80, are just one of the many victims targeted by unscrupulous robbers. The couple took out €80,000 and hid it in their home, on the island of Lefkada, because they thought their bank would collapse. But days later thieves came in the night. Emilia said: 'We were sleeping. The two masked burglars came to our bed and tied us up. They hit us. They robbed us - they didn't leave anything, it was torture.' Husband Andreas added: 'Our life is black now. They took our life's savings. We lost everything.' No-one knows exactly just how much cash lies stashed in Greek homes, secreted in cupboards, at the back of the ice-box, beneath the floor or under the mattress. But by any guess it is well in the billions, and burglars are after their share of loot which is both highly portable and virtually impossible to recover. Greece's debt crisis has plunged it into five straight years of economic contraction, thrown half of its young people out of work and may see it ejected from the eurozone. Civil disorder: As well as the targeting of homes, there has also been violence on the streets of Greece in recent months . In the past two years, Greeks have withdrawn from banks more than €72billion - or close to €7,000 for every man, woman and child in the country. And much of that has been taken in cash. Police say gangs who may have once eyed 'hard targets', - like the banks themselves, or jewellers - are now going after homes of ordinary people, where there is far less risk and often large stashes of cash freshly withdrawn from savings accounts. 'Many people have withdrawn their money from the banks fearing a financial crash, and they either carry it on them, find a hideout at home or in storage rooms,' said national police spokesman Thanassis Kokkalakis. He said: 'We urge people to trust the banking system, leave their money there, or at least in a safe place, not hide it at home, where they must anyway take the basic security measures. Little wonder: But with shares in Greek firms plunging, and the nation's banks having to be bailed out, many think keeping their money at home is the sensible option . 'Some people don't even lock their doors and windows.' The unexpected bonanza is attracting foreign crime networks, he said, including two from ex-Soviet Georgia which police dismantled in recent months, blaming them for 300 burglaries. Crime is just one hazard for people storing unusually large hoards of cash, most of which are not insured. Carpenter George Psychogios, 30, withdrew his savings of €8,000 and kept them in his house at Arta, a small town 200 miles from Athens and known principally for its Byzantine stone bridge and a 13th-century church. He said: 'I hid the money in two different places before leaving for a trip. When I came back it was all gone. They broke into the house through a balcony door and they took it all. 'We used to sleep outside with the doors unlocked. Now we don't feel safe even when we lock up. They break into homes, shops, businesses. There is a surge in robberies here.' In Iraklion, a working class neighbourhood of Athens, local people say some thieves have become so brazen they often prowl in broad daylight, even when a family is in. 'We were sitting on the front veranda chatting when they jumped from the roof to the back yard and got into the house,' said pensioner Mattheos Michelakakis, 61. Before he realised what had happened, they had made off with his family's gold. 'Burglars hear that people are scared and withdrawing money and they hit homes randomly hoping they will be lucky,' he said. 'I feel like I've been naive. We always used to leave all the doors open; we had nothing to worry about.' There are tales of savings going up in smoke in fires or, as in one case, being lost when a pensioner withdrew his life savings - then died suddenly, before telling his family where they were hidden. Theft, though, seems the biggest risk and the crime wave has spread far beyond the big cities into rural areas where robbery was little known. According to the central bank, Greeks withdrew €72billion from bank accounts between January 2010 and March 2012, leaving just €165billion behind. Since then, withdrawals have accelerated further after an inconclusive May 6 election led EU leaders to talk openly of Greek exit from the single currency. Some of that money was wired abroad and some spent, but much of it was hidden in homes, either in cash or converted to gold. If Greece leaves the common currency area, any money left in Greek banks would probably be turned into drachmas worth a good deal less. Euros stashed in a box at home would still be euros. 'People have already taken their money out of the bank. The rest are doing it now because they are afraid we will be kicked out of the eurozone,' said one police officer. Among cases he said he had come across in the past week: a man reported €30,000 in cash and gold stolen from a storage room next to his house and an elderly woman had her life savings of €100,000 stolen from her apartment. That woman's home also happened to be packed full of cartons of long-life milk and boxes of pasta - in case, she explained, the economic crisis led to food shortages. Stashing cash is as old as Greece. The countryside is dotted with archaeological sites where the ancients squirreled away their silver drachmas to hide them from marauding armies. Greek museums are rich in treasure whose owners never made it back. 'Hiding valuables - small or larger amounts of coins, golden, silver, even bronze - was very widespread in antiquity, especially in times of war, crisis or difficulty,' said George Riginos of the Association of Greek Archaeologists. 'Sometimes the owner would perish and this is how they reached us, hidden in the ground, in holes in the wall, small vases under the floor or leather bags.' Future archaeologists may yet stumble on some of the buried treasure of the euro zone crisis of 2012. A senior banker tells the story of a family on the island of Rhodes who recently visited their local branch, trying desperately to figure out how much their late father had withdrawn before he died. Not trusting the bank, the old man had taken out his life savings. But he hadn't told anyone where he hid it. His children were searching everywhere, tearing down walls in the house trying to find it, but with no luck.
### SUMMARY:
| Andreas and Emilia Karabalis, both 80, had €80,000 taken from island home .
Billions of euros hidden in cupboards and under floorboards across nation . |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
By . Rob Waugh . PUBLISHED: . 04:38 EST, 24 April 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 12:49 EST, 24 April 2012 . Google chiefs Larry Page and Eric Schmidt and filmmaker James Cameron are bankrolling a venture to extract precious metals such as platinum from asteroids that orbit near Earth. Planetary Resources, based in Bellevue, Washington, initially will focus on developing and selling extremely low-cost robotic spacecraft for surveying missions, the company announced today. A demonstration mission in orbit around Earth is expected to be launched within two years, said company co-founders Peter Diamandis and Eric Anderson. SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO . Cosmic quarry: A team of scientists have unveiled plans to mine asteroids for their raw materials . Mars Rover Curiosity - currently on its way to the Red Planet: The new company aims to reduce the cost of hardware for space exploration by a factor of 100 . Within five to 10 years, however, the company expects to progress from selling observation platforms in orbit around Earth to prospecting services. It plans to tap some of the thousands of asteroids that pass relatively close to Earth and extract their raw materials. A 98-foot asteroid can hold as much as $50 billion worth of platinum (£31 billion) at today's prices, said a company spokesperson. Not all missions would return precious metals and minerals to Earth. In addition to mining for platinum and other precious metals, the company plans to tap asteroids' water to supply orbiting fuel depots, which could be used by NASA and others for robotic and human space missions. 'We have a long view. We're not expecting this company to be an overnight financial home run. This is going to take time,' Anderson said in an interview with Reuters. The real payoff, which is decades away, will come from mining asteroids for platinum group metals and rare minerals. Nasa has already successsfully landed a probe on an asteroid, Eros, 196 million miles from Earth . 'If you look back historically at what has caused humanity to make its largest investments in exploration and in transportation, it has been going after resources, whether it's the Europeans going after the spice routes or the American settlers looking toward the west for gold, oil, timber or land,; Diamandis said. 'Those precious resources caused people to make huge investments in ships and railroads and pipelines. Looking to space, everything we hold of value on Earth - metals, minerals, energy, real estate, water - is in near-infinite quantities in space. 'The opportunity exists to create a company whose mission is to be able to go and basically identify and access some of those resources and ultimately figure out how to make them available where they are needed,' he said. Diamandis and Anderson declined to discuss how much money has been raised for their venture so far. In addition to Google billionaires Page and Schmidt and filmmaker Cameron, Planetary Resources investors include former Microsoft chief software architect Charles Simonyi, a two-time visitor to the International Space Station, Google founding director K. Ram Shriram and Ross Perot Jr. Planetary Resources also declined to discuss specifics about how and when asteroid mining would begin. NASA's infrared sky-scans track space objects such as asteroids. A recent scan with the NeoWISE instruments found that there were 19,000 'mid-sized' asteroids within 120 million miles of Earth . Backing: Film maker and explorer James Cameron (left) is supporting the project, as is billionaire Charles Simonyi (right) Untapped resource: NASA scientists say the high concentration of raw materials found in asteroids could supply Earth with vital stockpiles of natural resources . Space man: Entrepreneur Peter Diamandis . The shortage of sources for raw . materials on the planet has caused global inflation to spike in recent . years causing tensions to rise between nations, experts have said. The company's first step is to develop . technologies to cut the cost of deep-space robotic probes to one-tenth . to one-hundredth the cost of current space missions, which run hundreds . of millions of dollars, Diamandis said. Among the targeted technologies is optical laser communications, which . would eliminate the need for large radio antennas aboard spacecraft. Space . entrepreneurs Peter Diamandis and Eric Anderson are just two of the . names behind Planetary Resource. In a press release, the company . announced its intentions to create 'a new industry in space and a new . definition . of natural resources'. Diamandis . and Anderson - both known for their aspirations for commercial space . exploration - will host the launch event along with two former NASA . officials. A driving force behind the Ansari . X-Prize competition to spur on non-goverment space flight, Diamandis has . made no secret of his goal to one day become an asteroid miner. In an interview earlier this year with Forbes magazine, he said: 'The earth is a crumb in a supermarket of resources. 'Now we finally have the technology to . extract resources outside earth for the benefit of humanity without . having to rape and pillage our planet.' Hollywood film maker James Cameron is no stranger to daring exploration. Just . last month the director of Titanic and Avatar became the first solo . diver to reach the bottom of the Challenger Deep - the deepest point on . Earth. Radical concept, but old idea: Experts believe it is only now that we have the ability to discover and characterise a sufficient number of small near-Earth asteroids . Straight out of a sci-fi film: A scene from the movie Armageddon, where Bruce Willis's character is sent into space to mine an asteroid before it hits the Earth . It might seem like a radical concept, but scientists have been toying with the idea of mining asteroids for their natural resources for longer than the space program has been running. Experts . believe it is only now that we have the technology and ability to . discover and characterise a sufficient number of small near-Earth . asteroids (NEA). The . mining could yield a large amount of water - frozen inside the asteroids . - oxygen and metals which could not only be brought back to Earth but . could help further space exploration by allowing humans to fuel . spacecraft and build space stations. Nasa believes capturing placing an NEA . in lunar orbit could provide a unique, meaningful and easy-to-reach . destination for exploration by astronaut crews in the next decade. It is only now that the . sufficiently-powerful electric propulsion systems necessary to transport . a captured NEA are becoming available. Mining asteroids could take several forms. This includes sending humans in a . spacecraft to an asteroid to explore and mine it. Another possible scenario could involve launching a robotic spacecraft to either to mine an . asteroid directly or transport it closer to Earth so it could be reached by humans more easily. Extracting raw materials, such as iron and nickel, from the space rocks is a possibility that has been discussed for decades. However, the obstacles for such a mission has always been the cost, sufficient scientific expertise and technical prowess. It . could cost tens of billions of dollars - and could take well over a . decade - for astronauts to successfully land on an asteroid, NASA . experts have said in the past. Source: The Institute for Space Studies . NOW WATCH THE VIDEO .
### SUMMARY:
| Scientists due to unveil plans to extract raw materials from space rocks .
Plan would add 'trillions' to global GDP .
One 100-foot asteroid can contain $50 BILLION of platinum .
Spacecraft could mine near-earth rocks for platinum .
Platforms will also allow further exploration of space .
Backed by Google chiefs as well as James Cameron . |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
Some nurses do not understand basic phrases including 'nil by mouth' Strict EU laws mean nurses coming in from European countries cannot be tested on language skills . By . Sophie Borland And Rebecca Evans . UPDATED: . 20:09 EST, 9 September 2011 . Patients have told how they are being forced to use sign language because hospitals are employing foreign nurses who struggle to understand English. One nurse mistakenly handed out a trifle with nutty toppings to a patient with a nut allergy because they did not understand warnings in his medical notes. Some hospitals have resorted to sticking pictures of syringes, blankets and other medical equipment on the outside of cupboards – rather than having written lists – so all nurses know where to find everything. Frustrating: But a breakaway in communication can also be dangerous . Language barrier: Fertility expert Lord Winston has warned that nurses who cannot speak English pose a grave danger to patients (picture posed by model) The examples have come to light a day after the Daily Mail revealed the grave concerns of Lord Winston, who said the poor communication skills of some Eastern European nurses was putting patients in danger. The world-renowned fertility doctor expressed particular worries over nurses from Romania and Bulgaria who had been trained in a 'completely different way'. Clear communication: Lord Winston said nurses must be able to understand their patients . Nearly 3,000 nurses from EU countries registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Council last year, a rise of 38 per cent in just 12 months. They made up more than one in eight nurses who registered to work in Britain. But strict EU rules mean that the NMC is banned from carrying out any checks on their English or competence as this is deemed to restrict the 'free movement of labour'. Since the Mail's front page story yesterday, dozens of patients and NHS workers have got in touch to express their own concerns over nurses' inability to communicate with those in their care. One man who had recently been treated in a hospital in Manchester said he had resorted to using sign language. Another described how a foreign nurse mistakenly gave him a trifle with a nut-based topping – despite his wearing a medical bracelet stating he had a peanut allergy, a fact which was also outlined in his notes. Yesterday's Daily Mail . As a student nurse I must agree with Lord Winston. In one placement upon a neonatal unit over half the nursing staff were foreign and much of the time they only spoke their own language to one another. On one night shift I was the only English-speaker. The entire handover was done in their own language and my mentor would not communicate with me. This led to something happening to a patient that could have been avoided. Student Nurse, NHS . I heard a nurse trying to explain the difference between a 'milligram' and a 'microgram' to a doctor about to inject drugs. The difference of course is 'correct dosage' vs 'fatal overdose'. Tom, Dorset . I work as an administrator in the NHS and see examples of this every day. Many nurses cannot write English, and when they add their nursing notes, the errors are astounding. Ensure you have access to your medical notes and those of any relatives whose care you are overseeing in hospital. It really is the only way. Rosi, Croydon, Surrey . It is a disgrace and Lord Winston certainly knows what he is talking about. Medical staff who cannot speak English? It has been going on for years. I personally dread having to be admitted to an NHS hospital for this very reason. Audrey McLean, Tadworth, Surrey . In the medical profession people MUST be able to understand our language. Hiring people who can't understand is nothing short of neglect. Lindsay, Warrington . I have worked overseas in a Swiss hospital. Before I even set foot on a ward I had to complete a written test including drugs calculations and medical terminology. I was then interviewed face to face. Anyone scoring less than 80 per cent was sent back on the next plane. I worked in French all day long and was also expected to know some German. There is no reason apart from EU bureaucracy why this cannot be done in this country. Rach, UK . I know what 'nil by mouth' means. I also know the importance of the term. I do not know the translation of the term into any other European language and common sense tells me that this precludes me from seeking a medical post in any of these countries. George, Beaconsfield . I was in hospital once after a serious motorbike accident, I don't actually remember much but my wife tells me I was quite anxious as I thought something had happened to my brain or my speech as the nurses could not understand me. My wife went to speak to the sister on duty and came back and told me I was fine – the nurses could not speak or understand English! Stamp collector, London . I had a foreign nurse and doctor at A&E a few years back. They didn't understand what I was trying to tell them, and I didn't understand what he was asking of me. I was very ill, and very scared. I was left in the hall, bleeding heavily, and it wasn't until the next day I spoke to someone who understood me. He read my notes, and what was put was 100 per cent WRONG. If they had given me the medicine they tried to, I would have died, as I am allergic to it. Fed-up, Suffolk . ‘Lord Winston’s warning about foreign nurses who can’t understand instructions or speak adequate English requires an immediate response from the Government. Good communication between patient and practitioner is vital, not only for reassurance but also to ensure proper treatment is received. Now, patient safety is at risk because we have allowed EU employment law to trump our quality standards. It’s time we gave some teeth back to hospitals and allowed them to ensure that all foreign nurses reach set standards of spoken English. Anything less is a betrayal of vulnerable patients.’ - Julia Manning, founder and chief executive of the think tank 2020health.org . Read the full article here . And one elderly patient in a care . home was so cold he asked a nurse to light a fire, but as her English . was so bad she started shouting at him explaining the building . definitely wasn't burning down. The NMC yesterday admitted that the current situation 'puts patients at risk'. A spokesman added that the regulator . has 'regularly expressed concerns' about the legislation, adding: . 'Language competence is one of several aspects of the directive we wish . to see amended in the interests of patient safety.' Although in theory all other EU . countries are bound by the same rules, some, including France, manage to . get round them by ensuring candidates are tested by local health trusts . rather than by a national watchdog. Bizarrely, the rules do discriminate . against British nurses wanting to return to work after time off having . children, for example. If a British-trained nurse has not . practised for more than three years, they have to prove their medical . training is up to date or go on a course before being allowed back to . work. Howard Catton, policy director from . the Royal College of Nursing said: 'Patient safety is the overriding . principle and there is an issue here that needs to be addressed. 'The Nursing and Midwifery Council . should be allowed to test their language and also ensure their medical . training is up to date – which is equally as important. Patients need to . be confident that nurses properly understand their pain and symptoms. 'If they are trying to explain where they feel pain, the nurse needs to know exactly what they are saying.'
### SUMMARY:
| Some nurses do not understand basic phrases including 'nil by mouth'
Strict EU laws mean nurses coming in from European countries cannot be tested on language skills . |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
The 42-year-old, who is Mitt Romney's new running mate, was inspired to stay healthy after his father died of a heart attack when Paul was just 16 . He is also a fan of P90X, an extreme fitness regime which blends exercise, yoga and martial arts moves . By . Kristie Lau and Tamara Abraham . PUBLISHED: . 11:44 EST, 15 August 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 11:46 EST, 15 August 2012 . Paul Ryan has revealed himself to be a fan of a second intense fitness regime, just days after admitting that he owes his super-fit body to P90X. The 42-year-old Republican from . Janesville, Wisconsin, who is Mitt Romney's new running mate, said that he alternates with another concept, called Insanity, in a new interview. When asked how he maintains his 163lb frame, at just 6-8per cent body fat, he told the new issue of People magazine: 'I do the P90X [DVD cardio] workout and [another program called] Insanity. And I try to eat well.' Strength: Mitt Romney's vice-presidential pick Paul Ryan (above) is a big fan of the extreme fitness regime known as P90X. The extremely intense workout blends yoga, exercise and martial arts . Mr Ryan, a former personal trainer who is 6ft 2in tall, added that his one diet 'weakness' was that he liked to drink coffee in the morning - which, by most . peoples' standards, is a guilt-free indulgence. The Insanity workout claims to be 'the hardest fitness program ever put on DVD'. claiming to burn up to 1,000 calories in an hour, it is based on 'plyometric drills' - exercises that comprise of long bursts of fast and powerful movements to develop muscle power and to improve speed. Additionally, users are put through their paces with non-stop intervals of strength, power, resistance, and abdominal and core . training. The father-of-three has also revealed how has been was inspired to stay fit and healthy since the age of 16, when he found his . father dead in his bed in 1986. The 55-year-old . had suffered from a fatal heart attack. Fitness freak: Paul Ryan is seen above with P90X founder Tony Horton (left). The politician is a true devotee . Mr Ryan, the chairman of the House Budget Committee, is also a keen fan of P90X, which aims to confuse muscles by blending exercise, yoga . and martial arts moves. The regime, which, like Insanity, involves learning fitness moves from a DVD, is broken down into a range of cardio activities, pull-ups, push-ups, karate and yoga. 'I'm kind of a skinny guy', he told Politico.com in March before revealing that he leads P90X workouts along with fellow politician Bart Stupak every morning on Capitol Hill. He added: 'There's about a dozen of us who do it... It's a fantastic workout.' House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy is also said to take part in the daily workout which begins at 6am. Sounding . like a true convert, Mr Ryan, who detailed that he drinks two cups of . coffee every morning in addition to working out, said: 'It pushes your . body in many different ways so that it gets out of its plateau. It has . results. It works.' Hard-core: The workout, seen above, was created by Tony Horton, an exercise instructor from Rhode Island . Extreme: Mr Ryan is a big fan of the regime and is said to lead a workout every morning at Capitol Hill . Founded by Tony Horton, an exercise instructor from Rhode Island, P90X is a home exercise system that aims to transform a person's body in just 90 days. Muscles confusion is said to prevent a person from adapting to exercise, which results in continuous fitness improvement. As the workout changes from day to day, he added that it offers a unique take on regular fitness routines. Mr Ryan wears a heart-rate monitor when he works out and aims to hit a target heart rate of 165 beats per minute. The . youngest of four children, Mr Ryan has also described the heartbreaking . moment when he discovered his father in bed . after he was struck by the heart attack. Team: Mr Romney announced his selection at a campaign rally at the Nauticus Museum (above) after touring the USS Wisconsin in Norfolk, Virginia two days ago. The pair are on a four-day bus trip to key swing states . Overwhelming: Mr Ryan (left) was brought to tears at a campaign event in Waukesha, Wisconsin yesterday . Support: Mr Ryan was joined by his wife Janna (top right), daughter Liza (bottom middle), son Charles (bottom left) and son Sam (bottom right) during a welcome home rally yesterday . 'It was just a big punch to the gut,' he told The New Yorker magazine. 'I concluded I've for to either sink or swim in life.' The trauma of such a discovery had a severe impact on their entire family. Mr Ryan's mother, Elizabeth, was forced to go back to college to study interior design in order to support her children. His grandmother moved back into the family home in order to care for Mr Ryan and his siblings while their mother attended college. The politician now loves staying . active as much as he can and also enjoys deer hunting and skiiing, . revealing to CNN that at one stage of his life, he was forced to ditch a . chance to forge a professional career in skiing in order to pursue . politics. He even admitted that he 'sometimes' regrets the decision. More than three million copies of P90X have been sold since the program was created in 2004, raking in an estimated $420million. Active: Mr Ryan enjoys staying active and being outdoors. He is also a keen hunter (pictured) and skier . Along with DVD videos, the program comes with a nutrition guide, fitness plan and calendar. Mr Romney described Mr Ryan as man of integrity and character rooted in his middle-class Midwest upbringing as well as an intellectual leader at a time when the United States was in fiscal crisis. 'Paul is a man of tremendous character, . shaped in large part by his early life,' he said. 'Paul's father died . when he was in high school. That forced him to grow up earlier than any . young man should. 'But Paul did, with the help of his devoted mother, his brothers and . sister, and a supportive community. And as he did, he internalized the . virtues and hard-working ethic of the Midwest. 'Paul Ryan works in Washington - but his beliefs remain firmly rooted in . Janesville, Wisconsin. He is a person of great steadiness, whose . integrity is unquestioned and whose word is good.' He praised Ryan's prowess in politics, . saying that 'There are people that may disagree with Paul Ryan, but I . don't know of anyone that doesn't respect his character and judgement.' The pair are currently in the midst of a four-day bus tour of key swing states.
### SUMMARY:
| The Insanity workout claims to be 'the hardest fitness program ever put on DVD'. claiming to burn up to 1,000 calories in an hour .
The 42-year-old, who is Mitt Romney's new running mate, was inspired to stay healthy after his father died of a heart attack when Paul was just 16 .
He is also a fan of P90X, an extreme fitness regime which blends exercise, yoga and martial arts moves . |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
By . Richard Sharpe . PUBLISHED: . 06:19 EST, 4 November 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 11:34 EST, 5 November 2012 . Asda is leading the way among the major supermarkets in tough economic times by offering Christmas dinner for as little as £2.47 per person. A Christmas food prices survey saw the Walmart subsidiary chain ahead of Morrisons at £2.49, Aldi at £3.04 and Sainsbury's at £4.32. With families across Britain already suffering thanks to increasing gas bills and petrol costs, the cheap option may prove tempting. Deals: Families will be able to enjoy a cheap Christmas dinner if they want, thanks to Asda, Morrisons and Co . Three 550g turkey breast joints with Lincolnshire style stuffing will cost customers just £3 each from Asda. Along with mince pies, Christmas pudding, potatoes, stuffing, parsnips, carrots, and, of course, Brussels sprouts, the total cost is £14.84 for a meal which serves six. Some customers are already starting to . prepare by purchasing products in advance, spreading the cost of . Christmas over the weeks beforehand. By purchasing cheaper goods now, they . will not be hit with a big bill during the festive period - as long as . the products bought have long enough sell-by dates. Richard Dodd, from the British Retail Consortium, told the Sunday Express: 'A third of all groceries in supermarkets are on offer, competition for Christmas customers is intense and Christmas shopping is starting now.' But despite supermarkets slashing prices . in the hope of attracting customers with a value option Christmas . dinner, the average amount spent on a meal for up to six people will be . £93. The price of Brussels sprouts, report . the Sunday Times, has risen 42% from last year, while in Sainsbury's a . pack of six mince pies, which cost £1 last year, now is £1.65. Poor supplies thanks to wet weather mean more food is being sourced from overseas, which can contribute to rising prices. ASDA (family of six) MORRISONS (eight) ALDI (six) SAINSBURY'S (one) 3x Chosen by you turkey breast joints with Lincolnshire style stuffing £9.00 (1.65kg) Whole basted British turkey £9.00 (2.6-3.8kg) Oakhurst basted whole British turkey £9.99 (3.6-4.8kg) Bernard Matthews easy roast turkey breast £2.50 (450g) SmartPrice British potatoes £0.99 (2.5kg) Maris Piper potatoes £1.00 (1kg) Four seasons Maris Piper British roasting potatoes £0.85 (1kg) Potatoes £0.15p (100g) SmartPrice saga & onion stuffing mix £0.15 (85g) M Savers sage & onion stuffing £0.15 (85g) Chosen by you frozen button sprouts £1.00 (1kg) M Savers Brussels sprouts £0.75 (1kg) Four seasons button Brussel sprouts £0.99 (1kg) Brussels sprouts £0.25 (100g) Chosen by you frozen parsnips £0.97 (680g) M Savers parsnips £0.70 (850g) Parsnips £0.17 (100g) Smartprice mince pies £0.75 (packet of 6) M Savers mince pies £0.60 (2 packets of 6) Smartprice Christmas pudding £0.98 (454g) M Savers Christmas pudding £1.70 (for two) Specially selected Christmas pudding £3.79 (454g) Sainsbury's basics Christmas pudding £0.98p (454g) Freshly frozen baby carrots £1.00 (1kg) M Savers carrots £0.55 (1kg) Carrots £0.75 (1kg) Carrots £0.09 (100g) M Savers cranberry sauce £0.50 (85g) Ashfield farm bacon-wrapped cocktail sausages £1.89 (240g) Sainsbury's basics gravy granules £0.18 (170g) M Savers brandy butter £1.00 (200g) Icing-topped fruit cake £3.40 (900g) Total cost: £14.84 . Total cost: £19.95 . Total cost: £18.26 . Total cost: £.4.32 . Cost per person: £2.47 . Cost per person: £2.49 . Cost per person £3.04 . Cost per person £4.32 . Some shoppers have turned away from their usual stores to do their shop - with many using budget chains like Lidl. The amount of new customers more accustomed to luxury goods who shop there now had has forced the store to produce a range of deluxe products. Nick Nairn, the youngest Scottish chef to win a Michelin star, has been employed to come-up with a Christmas menu based on the Lidl range. They are set to take on the upmarket likes of Marks and Spencer, Waitrose and Sainsbury's - at a fraction of the cost. Lidl said that it had greatly expanded its luxury range 'due to customer demand.' The budget chain says Christmas would not be the same for the middle classes without 'affordable luxury'. So Nairn - who has cooked for The Queen - has produced recipes that include reindeer, lobsters, goose, pheasant and partridges. Christmas favourite: Brussels sprouts have risen 42% in price from last year - but will still fly off the shelves . 'This year we have expended our deluxe range due to customer demand,' said a spokesman for Lidl. 'It is a reflection of our growing customer base. 'They seem to be going down well with customers - where else can you get a lobster for the price we sell at? It is luxury at affordable prices and Nick has worked with that for this year's festive guide.' As mentioned earlier, people are already beginning to make their Christmas preparations with sales of puddings up 62 per cent from a similar time last year. Mince pie sales are up 32 per cent and Christmas chocolate selection boxes are up 42 per cent. These figures come from Waitrose but are likely to be replicated across other stores, which are also stocking Christmas foods and giving away festive carrier bags. On sale: Christmas puddings are being snapped up weeks in advance - last year they were hot property . The increase in sales seems to have been driven by retailers starting their Christmas sales push earlier than ever. Tesco began selling Christmas-themed confectionary as early as August 29, sparking something of a backlash. Separately, advertising watchdogs have received complaints from parents unhappy that early marketing is encouraging children to pester them far in advance of December 25. Waitrose began selling Christmas lines on September 24, which was not long after many families had returned from their summer holidays.
### SUMMARY:
| Supermarket giant cheaper than Morrisons, Aldi and Sainsbury's .
But average price of Christmas dinner will be £93 per household . |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
PUBLISHED: . 13:03 EST, 3 April 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 13:37 EST, 3 April 2013 . Apple has hit major delays with its flagship iOS software due to a radical new look and feel, it was claimed today. Experts say engineers have had to be pulled from its Mac software group so the new version can be finished in time for a rumoured summer launch. It will be the first major overhaul of its software under British designer Sir Jonathan Ive, and is believed to look completely different with a cleaner, uncluttered design. Apple's Sir Jonathan Ive in May 2012. He is now overseeing a major overhaul of the firm's iOS software, which is believed to have hit delays. Sir Jonathan was given the responsibility the software earlier this year after the company fired Scott Forstall in a move believed to be related to the firm's huge problems with its Maps app. 'What I've heard: iOS 7 is running behind, and engineers have been pulled from OS X 10.9 to work on it' said John Gruber of the Apple blog Daring Fireball. He also claimed engineers working on the project had been given special handsets. 'Word on the street is that iOS engineers with carry privileges all have some sort of polarizing filter on their iPhone displays, such that it greatly decreases viewing angles, thus making it difficult for observers to see the apparently rather significant system-wide UI overhaul.' Apple's next iPhone could go on sale in the summer alongside the new software, it has been claimed. Sources close to the electronics giant say the handset, expected to be a speed-boosted version of the current iPhone 5 with new software, will begin production within weeks and go on sale in the summer. This will break with Apple's traditional autumn unveiling of a new handset, and is likely to pave the way for a lower cost iPhone to be revealed later in the year. Customers queue up to purchase the iPhone 5 smartphone at the Apple flagship store on George street in Sydney, Australia. The firm is believed to be preparing to unveil the next version in the summer. Apple's next two iPhones had already been designed before Steve Jobs died in October 2011, it has been claimed. At a meeting with the San Francisco district attorney, George Gascón, who is keen to cut phone thefts in the region, Apple's liaison officer Michael Foulkes is reported by the San Francisco Examiner to have said the designs for the next two phones 'preceded Tim Cook [being chief executive]'. The . new model is believed to look identical to the current iPhone 5 but . include a faster processor and updated camera, according to online . reports. 'Apple plans to begin production of a refreshed iPhone similar in size and shape to its current one in the second quarter of the year, according to people familiar with the device's production, teeing up a possible summer launch for the next version of its flagship device,' claims the Wall Street Journal. 'At the same time, Apple continues to work with its manufacturing partners in Asia on a less expensive iPhone that could be launched as soon as the second half of this year, these people said.' The report is in line with the expectations of company watchers and Wall Street analysts. The iPhone 5 costs around $600 in the US, and while Apple maintains older iPhones in production, even those aren't cheap enough to compete effectively against low-end smartphones running Google Inc.'s Android software. Apple does not comment on future products before its launch events. Earlier this year it was claimed the iPhone 5S will be revealed in April and go on sale in August. It . also claims that new iPad models are set to be announced in April, . including a new version of the firm's hugely successful iPad Mini with . an upgraded screen. Already obsolete? Two models display the Apple iPhone 5 during the product's release at a store in Taipei on December 14. An analyst has claimed production of the next iPhone will begin in March for a summer launch . 'iMore has learned that Apple is planning the release of the iPhone 5S for this summer, currently for August,' the site said. 'Next generation iPads, presumably the iPad 5 and potentially the iPad mini 2, may also debut as soon as this April,' it added. Sir Jonathan Ive, who was born in Chingford, north-east London, is one of Apple's most high-profile executives and is widely credited with the unique, groundbreaking designs for the iPod, iPhone, and iPad. The 46-year-old, who was born in Chingford, north London, studied design at the University of Northumbria and joined Apple in 1992, where he has been based in California ever since.In 2003 he was named Designer of the Year by the Design Museum in London and was given the title Royal Designer for Industry by the Royal Society of Arts.He has also won the prestigious Industrial Design Excellence Award in the U.S.Sir Jonathan, who has been described as a perfectionist, first worked on the iMac, an all-in-one personal computer where all the physical components and screen were packaged together.He then led a design team in creating the iPod, iPhone, iPad and a number of other well-known products that are regarded as having turned around the firm's fortunes, transforming it from a bit-player in the computer industry to the world's biggest tech company. 'If these plans stick, we should be in for a fun spring and summer.' It . comes as Japanese Apple blog MacOtakara reported that Foxconn is . starting to ramp up production of Apple's iPhone 5 successor, according . to AppleInsider. It . claims that because the design of the 'iPhone 5S' is substantially the . same as the company's existing handset, little to no tooling is needed . to manufacture the two models on the same production lines. Leaked photo? This image purports to show the . case of the new iPhone 5S. Published by French website Nowhereelese.fr, . the differences in internal attachment points suggest an update . to the latest Apple phone . The claims echo those made by Peter Misek of investment bank Jeffries earlier this year, who said Apple will begin making a new iPhone model in March for an expected launch in June or July. Mr . Misek predicted that iPhone sales could begin to drop as customers . anticipate the arrival of the next model, but he nonetheless said he . expects around 44 million to ship in the quarter to March. 'As . word of the earlier production schedule starts to spread, we believe we . could see a slight slowing of demand CQ1 in anticipation of the new . product launch and Apple will likely start curtailing channel . inventory,' he was quoted as saying by StreetInsider. 'Therefore . we tweak down our CQ1 iPhone shipment estimate from 48M to 44M, which . is still well above widespread fears of shipments in the mid-30Ms.' The . analyst's prediction of a summer launch date for the 5S is a . reiteration of claims he made last month, when he said he expects the . new phone to ship in various colours and with improved battery life. On . rumours of an entry-level iPhone, Mr Misek claimed Apple could release a . low-cost device made of polycarbonate with no 4G Long Term Evolution . (LTE) capability. The . speculation seemed to contradict comments made by Phil Schiller, . Apple's marketing chief, who recently told Chinese newspaper the . Shanghai Evening News that 'despite the popularity of cheap smartphones, . this well never be the future of Apple's products.'
### SUMMARY:
| iOS 7 expected to have an entirely new 'clean' look and feel .
Will be first version overseen by Apple's Sir Jonathan Ive .
Expected to launch alongside an updated iPhone 5 later this year . |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 18:20 EST, 22 May 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 18:23 EST, 22 May 2012 . A Florida mother shot dead her four children at point-blank range and reloaded her revolver three times, according to a chilling new report. The medical examiner’s report shows that her four teenaged children were shot a total of 18 times with hollow-point bullets. The last shot was a self-inflicted gunshot wound to 33-year-old mother Tonya Thomas’ heart, the medical report shows. Thomas fatally shot her children Pebbles, 17,Jaxs, 15, Jazzlin, 13, and Joel, 12, before turning the gun on herself on May 15, shocking the quiet neighbourhood. Scroll Down for Video and to Hear the 911 Call . Victims: Tonya Thomas' four children are seen here in school pictures, clockwise from top left: Pebbles 17, Jaxs, 15, Joel, 12 and Jazlin, 13; the autopsy report shows they were shot a total of 18 times . Farewell: People attend a funeral service for mother Tonya Thomas and her children yesterday at the Temple Baptist church in Titusville, Florida; five white caskets sat in front of the church . Medical examiner Dr Sajid Qaiser said in his report that Jaxs was shot point blank in the chest three times, and was discovered in the family room of her Port St John, Florida home. Suicide: Tonya Thomas, seen in a a 2002 mug, shot her children a total of 18 times, an autopsy report shows . Pebbles, who was found in the front lawn, died from three gunshots fired more than three feet away, Florida Today said. Their sister Jazzlyn was shot seven times, two of which were shot directly into her chest. The teenager was discovered in the home’s foyer. Florida authorities said that Thomas’ revolver held only six clips, meaning she had to reload her gun four times. They estimate that it took her around 20 seconds each time to reload the .38-calibre revolver. Hollow-point bullets are the most dangerous, as they cause the most tissue damage and blood loss. Neighbours of Thomas made a 911 call as they responded to hearing gunfire coming from the property next door and went downstairs after their front door was knocked. 'I knew this was gonna happen you guys,' the crying female caller told the dispatcher as the deaths of the teenagers unfolded in front of their eyes. 'The boy's in our front yard - get him a towel - he's got blood on his right side.' During the chaotic phone call to dispatchers, the husband tells them that he is armed and willing to defend his house from the injured children trying to flee their murderous mother. 'I grabbed my gun and ran outside and one's laying there bleeding at the front door,' the man is heard to say. Tragic: Pebbles Johnson, 17, (pictured) was found having been shot in the front yard. She was taken by police car to an ambulance but later died from her injuries . Young: Jazlin Johnson, 13, (left), and her brother Jaxs Johnson, 15, (right) were both killed in the shootings and Jaxs tried to gain entry into his neighbours house before he was killed but was refused entry . 'I don't know who has the gun, so I'm not walking out there. I'm armed, but not going out there and putting myself in danger.' After asking the husband where the bleeding child had gone, the caller responded that 'he went back to the residence.' Soon after this the police arrived at 7245 Bright Avenue in Brevard County to see Thomas standing in the doorway of her front door holding a gun, before she went back inside. Then the deputies discovered Pebbles lying fatally injured in the front yard of her house. Shots were heard to ring out and as the deputies entered they discovered Jaxs, Jazzlyn, Joel and Tonya's bodies shot to death. Authorities said they have no motive for the killings and are not sure why the children followed the mother's orders to return back to their house. Dispatch records released on Tuesday show that authorities responded to Thomas' house on three successive days in April. Evidence: Brevard County Crime Scene Investigators look for clues at the scene of the shooting in Port St. John . Unable to speculate: Police said they don't know what the mother's motive was for killing her four children . In the first visit, on Easter Sunday, Thomas reported that her son had thrown a bicycle through a window at the house. The next day, . Thomas called to report that her son had kicked and punched her when she tried to wake him up for school. The following day, child welfare investigators visited the house to look into allegations of inadequate supervision of the children. Records also showed that Thomas was arrested in 2002 on a misdemeanor battery charge for striking the father of her children. The charge was later dropped. Two years earlier, she filed a domestic violence complaint against Joe Johnson, but that was dismissed after a hearing. Neighbour Travis St. Peter, told Florida Today that the family was known in the area for being disruptive, with police often being called to the house. 'They were just known for being hoodlums,' he said of the children, adding that they were often seen running around late at night, 'terrorizing our dogs and setting off firecrackers'. Standoff: Police were called to the Port St John scene at around 5am last Tuesday . Calm before the storm: The Port St John neighbourhood where the family lived . Jamie Hudson, whose mother lives two doors down from the family, told the Miami Herald that the boys in the family were known to shoot BB guns at a home across the street and had threatened to set it on fire. A friend of Thomas told the Sentinel that he had woken to a text message sent by the woman at around 3am to say that she wished to be cremated along with her children. He did not see the message until he woke up this morning, hours after the killings. Former Orange County Sheriff's Department officer James Copenhaver told CFNews13.com that deputies would be analysing Thomas’ phone activity in the days leading up to the shooting. ‘This may also give some insight as to why she did this,’ he said. More would be known, he said, after the 911 tapes were released, including how many emergency calls were made and potentially how many shots were fired. He said that toxicology tests would be run on her to determine whether or not she was taking drugs and added that domestic violence would likely have been involved, based on past experience of similar cases. On a live chat with the former officer someone who identified themselves only as 'G' wrote that Thomas was a 'private, independent character', adding that there were 'so many components in her life'. At least three of the children killed went to Space Coast Junior-Senior High School, according toCFNews13.com. Brevard Public Schools said grief counselors have been sent to the victims' schools. Brevard County Sheriff's spokesman Tom Goodyear said that he was having a hard time trying to understand how a mother could commit such a grisly act. 'I cannot comprehend as a parent doing this to their children ... calling them back in and shooting them,' he said.
### SUMMARY:
| Mother Tonya Thomas fatally shot her four children, ages 12-17, last week .
Autopsy report shows horrors of shooting, as some children were shot at point-blank range in chest .
Used hollow-point bullets, which cause most tissue damage and blood loss . |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
By . Oliver Tree . UPDATED: . 04:52 EST, 4 July 2011 . Capture: Cynthia Ann Parker and her daughter, Topsannah (Prairie Flower), in 1861 pictured after she was 'rescued' by government troops . Cynthia Ann Parker, aged just nine, was abducted as her family were brutally slaughtered around her. After her isolated Texan outpost was attacked by Comanche Indians, she was stripped from her mother and spirited away on horseback - brought up to live as one of the tribe. For 24 years the blue-eyed captive remained with her abductors, marrying and bearing children - even forgetting her native English tongue. But in an incredible quirk of fate, one of her sons - Quanah Parker - rose to become one the most feared Native American generals of the 1800s and the last of Comanche leaders to finally surrender the tribe to a life on the reservations under U.S. authorities. The brutal tale of abduction, bloodshed and surrender - a story that was echoed in the John Wayne classic film The Searchers - is the subject of a new book, Empire Of The Summer Moon. Author S.C. Gwynne takes up the tale . of Cynthia Parker - Nautdah to her adopted Comanche family - weaving her . unlikely narrative into the violent sweep of scalpings, raiding parties . and bloody revenge that punctuated frontier life in the mid 1800s. Cynthia's grandfather was scalped and had his genitals removed as his wife was made to watch, while in an attack on another settlement Gwynne tells of a pregnant woman was gang raped before being shot with arrows. She was then scalped alive. Gwynne begins the story of the horrors that befell the Parker family on . May 19 1836. A Comanche raiding party surrounded their ranch in . frontier Texas stormed the lightly manned station - demanding a cow to sacrifice and directions to the . nearest watering hole. Suspecting a trap, the women and children fled out the back door, into cornfields, a dried river bed or open country. As the men walked towards the saddled Comanche, unarmed and offering food, they were brutally attacked, and dismembered before their shocked family members. Fleeing with her mother Lucy and four siblings, Cynthia was run down by the pursuing Comanche, surrounded and torn away from her mother. Gwynne writes: 'The Indians caught them... forced Lucy to surrender two of her children, then dragged her, the two remaining children and one of the men back to the fort.' Ledaer: Quanah Parker, Cynthia's son, who became a feared Comanche tribal leader . Meanwhile, those who remained inside to face the marauding Comanche suffered the same fate as many other frontier settlers of the time - an agonising death. Tale: S.C. Gwynne has written a bloody and detailed narrative of the Wild West . 'The logic of Comanche raids was . straightforward: All the men were killed, and any men who were captured . alive were tortured; the captive women were gang raped. Some were . killed, some were tortured,' he wrote. 'Babies were invariably killed.' The Parkers were no different - four male family members were pinned to the ground with spears and forcibly scalped. Others who tried to run were . savagely attacked: 'Elder John Parker, his wife Sallie and her daughter . Elizabeth Kellog ...were surrounded and stripped of all their clothing. 'The Indians went to work on them, attacking the old man with tomahawks...forcing Granny Parker to watch what they did to him. 'They scalped him, cut off his genitals and killed him.' The violence was typical of that experienced in Wild West America. In an unrelated episode, Gwynne describes a similar attack on another settler family. After seizing a nine-month pregnant woman, the Comanche: 'Dragged her back to a point about two hundred yards from the cabin. 'There she was gang raped. When they were finished , they shot several arrows into her. 'They . scalped her alive by making deep cuts below her ears and, in effect, . peeling the top of her head entirely off. She lived for four days' Hunters and hunted: Texas Rangers were at the forefront of the battle for the untamed West. Pictured is Frontier Battalion 'B' around 1880 . Mounted: A Native American chief on horseback . But despite her violent introduction to the tribe, Cynthia - now known as Nautdah or 'found one' - eventually married a Comanche leader Peta Nocona. Over the next 24 years she became a fully integrated member of the tribe giving birth to three children including the infamous Quanah. 'The captive women were gang raped. Some were . killed, some were tortured. Babies were invariably killed' As the skirmishes between Texas Rangers and native Americans became more brutal, Washington took a firmer line on the raiding tribes, sending troops in ever greater numbers to hunt down the elusive master horsemen of the plains. It was in one of these raids in 1860 that Cynthia,- barely recognisable as a white woman except for her blue eyes - was 're-captured'. In fact, so integrated was Cynthia, that the only English words she could speak were: 'Me Cincee Ann'. Despite her 'rescue', Cynthia did not feel at home with her American relatives and tried to escape several times. By 1836 the Comanche empire numbered some 30-40,000 people. A vast military machine, they had crushed around 20 other tribes in their relentless expansion with one American commander labelling their soldiers 'the finest light cavalry in the world'. Highly skilled horsemen, individual soldiers could fire 20 arrows in the time it took one American soldier to load and fire a single shot. This once great military power eventually succumbed to the ravages of disease, relentless settler expansion and more frequent attacks by government troops. Heartbroken at never again seeing her two sons - who escaped in the 1860 raid - she grew more introvert and ill. When her young daughter died at the age of five her health rapidly declined, and she died lonely and alone in 1870 aged 43. Her son Quanah, however, went on to lead a Comanche tribe before he was even 20. Unusually tall and athletic for the usually diminutive Comanche, Quanah sealed his reputation in a number of daring raids . His . greatest victory came in 1871 when he outwitted a government force of . 600 soldiers, successfully attacking their camp at night while leading . an entire village to safety. But . by the mid-1870s life was becoming impossible for the nomadic Comanche, . and on June 2, 1875 Quanah led his village into captivity, the last . Comanche commander to do so. In . his remaining years Quanah enjoyed a certain celebrity and became a . successful cattle rancher as the remains of the once proud Comanche . empire collapsed around him. Empire of The Summer Moon by S.C. Gwynne is available at all good book shops . Similarity: In The Searchers, John Wayne plays Ethan Edwards, whose niece is abducted by the Comanche. By the time he finds her five years later he realises she has become one of them .
### SUMMARY:
| Parker family massacred in 1836 by Comanche Indians .
Cynthia, lived with tribe for 24 years before being re taken by U.S. Rangers .
Gave birth to last of the Comanche leaders to surrender in 1875 . |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
By . Mail On Sunday Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 16:10 EST, 18 May 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 08:06 EST, 19 May 2013 . It is 70 years since the Ministry of Food’s leaflets taught Britons to eat well on rations and stay ‘fit for the fight’ during the Second World War. But much of the long-forgotten dietary advice still stands and, says a leading nutritionist, could help improve our diet today. A new book, Eating For Victory, reproduces the leaflets distributed along with posters in the 1940s. Here is some of the advice as it was printed. It’s accompanied by wartime illustrations – with a modern interpretation of the old wisdom... A new book, Eating For Victory, contains posters which were distributed by the Ministry of Food to try and encourage Britons to eat healthily during WWII. Dr Carrot, pictured, and his companion Potato Pete were two of the Ministry of Food's most popular creations . POTATOES . There is no vegetable more useful than the homely potato. It is a valuable yet cheap source of energy, and one of the foods that help to protect us from ill-health. It contains Vitamin C and 1lb of potatoes daily will give half the amount of this vitamin needed to prevent against fatigue and fight infection. So don’t think of potatoes merely as something to serve with the meat. A stuffed baked potato can be a course in itself. Bridget Benelam, a scientist at the British Nutrition Foundation, says: ‘A medium-sized baked potato, with skin, provides a third of the recommended daily amount (RDA) of Vitamin C – twice that of an apple. It will also provide half the RDA of potassium – important for blood pressure and water balance – iron, zinc and B vitamins.’ The homely potato: Britons were encouraged to eat potatoes in the 1940s, pictured left, as they are a cheap source of energy and packed full of vitamin C. Leaflets were also distributed encouraging people to eat cheese because it is a 'concentrated energy-giving food', pictured right . CHEESE . Cheese is an A1 food because it is an excellent body-builder, better than meat for building firm muscles. It builds strong bones and teeth, too. Therefore, it is invaluable for growing children. Plenty of cheese in childhood means less dental trouble in later life. It is a concentrated energy-giving . food, especially suitable for heavy workers as it gives a large amount . of energy in small bulk. It contains a high proportion of fat and so gives a feeling of satisfaction after a meal. Eat like a granny: Bridget Benelam says much of the advice given in the 1940s is still relevant today . Bridget says: . ‘A matchbox-sized serving, 30g, of cheese provides a quarter of our . daily calcium needs – crucial for maintaining bone density – although . milk or yogurt might be better choices as they are lower in fat. ‘Cheese is as good a source of protein as meat but generally contains more fat, so should be eaten less.’ HERRINGS . ‘Of . all the fish that swim in the sea,’ runs the old saying, ‘the herring . is the king.’ Consider the herring’s food value. It is a very cheap . source of the best body-building protein. Herring . oil not only supplies an extraordinarily high number of calories and . energy-giving units, but it also contains two vitamins, A and D. Vitamin . A strengthens resistance to disease and Vitamin D is essential for . bones and teeth. Bridget says: . ‘This is still true – herrings are an excellent source of fish oil. Research since the 1940s has shown the omega 3 in oily fish is important . for good heart and brain health. 'We should eat two portions of fish a week, one oily. Nowadays other types of fish are readily available, such as tuna.’ DRIED EGGS . Dried egg is pure fresh egg with no additions, and nothing but the moisture taken away. It is pure egg, spray-dried. Eggs . contain first-class body-building material. They also help us to resist . colds and other infection because of their high protective properties. They are easily digested, and for this reason are especially good for . children and invalids. Bridget says: . ‘Transporting food is easy now so we generally eat only fresh eggs. Two . medium eggs provide your entire RDA of B12, important for blood and . brain function, and 60 per cent of our Vitamin D requirement. They are . also high in protein.’ King of the sea: Herring was a cheap, readily-available fish that provided a lot of protein and vitamins, pictured right, while Britons were encouraged to eat dried eggs for their protein, Vitamin D and B12 content, pictured right, as food transportion in the 1940s wasn't what it is today and fresh eggs were harder to come by . VITAMINS . Enemies . of Vitamins: air, water, heat. Too much of any of these will destroy . the Vitamin C. Therefore, have your vegetables as fresh as possible. Best . of all, grow them yourself. Wash your vegetables in salted water but do . not soak them overlong. Shred them before cooking to cook quickly. Bridget says: . ‘Oxidisation occurs when certain vitamins in food are exposed to heat, . air or light, meaning they degrade and become ineffective. This is . particularly true of Vitamin C, often lost in cooking water. 'It is best not to cut up veg in advance as the air will degrade the vitamins. Steaming is the best method of cooking.’ GREEN VEGETABLES . When . fresh fruit is short, we need green vegetables more than ever because . they all contain the important fresh-fruit vitamin, Vitamin C. Some have more than others. Brussels sprouts, parsley and watercress . all contain more than oranges. For healthy eating, plan to have a green . leafy vegetable at least once every day. Bridget says: ‘This . all holds true – vegetables can have just as much Vitamin C as fruit. In fact, a pepper contains double the Vitamin C of an orange and will . provide your entire daily requirement. ‘Dark . green leaves are an important source of antioxidants, which protect . cells from a host of diseases from cancer to age-related sight loss.’ Dig for Victory Now: Britons were encouraged to grow their own vegetables to help with food rationing during World War II, pictured left, while soups were suggested as a quick and healthy dinner, pictured right . SOUPS AND BROTHS . Once upon a time cooks used to think a good soup needed three or four hours’ cooking, and that to be nourishing it must be made from meat and bones. Today we know better. Tasty soups can be made quickly using vegetables and vegetable water, or stock from meat cubes or vegetable extract. Bridget says: ‘Soup has a good reputation for being healthy because it’s low-calorie but fills you up because it contains a lot of water. 'The vegetables added will provide different vitamins, which won’t be lost in cooking as they just leach into the liquid. 'Soup can also be high in fibre, which keeps the gut healthy. Stock cubes can be high in salt, though.’
### SUMMARY:
| New book, Eating For Victory, reproduces leaflets distributed in the 1940s .
Leading nutritionist Bridget Benelam gives her verdict on the advice . |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
By . Richard Kay . PUBLISHED: . 20:17 EST, 14 May 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 20:17 EST, 14 May 2013 . Royal dentist Sir Nicholas Sturridge, whose son Dominic has been stymied by Home Office officials who have refused to give his wife UK residency . As the son of the Queen’s Harley Street dentist, Dominic Sturridge had every reason to believe that returning to Britain with his new bride after six years abroad would be a formality. But Dominic, whose father Sir Nicholas Sturridge received his knighthood after 32 years as surgeon dentist to the Royal Household, faces heartache after Home Office officials refused to grant his young Thai wife residency. ‘We are a perfectly legitimate couple and really didn’t expect all this trouble,’ says Dominic, 44. ‘My troubles started when I returned from Thailand where I’ve been working with major property dealers for six years. I met Eed there and fell in love.’ Speaking at a Chelsea cocktail party, Dominic — a cousin of actor Tom Sturridge, the beau of film star Sienna Miller — tells me: ‘Eed and I got married in Bangkok but neither of our parents came. ‘I suppose my father had more conventional lifestyle hopes for me, as we come from five generations of medics and he looked after the Queen Mother’s teeth as well. ‘Even though Dad didn’t really understand my relationship with Eed, he turned up at Heathrow to greet us with a bottle of champagne when we came to England. ‘This is no bought Thai bride situation. I love her deeply.’ While Dominic is continuing to work in property in London, Eed, 24, has found work, too. ‘She is not living off me and has got a job at a Covent Garden cocktail bar and I’m proud of her,’ he says. According to Sturridge, the Home Office has rejected her request to settle here. ‘It has got very strict and said we didn’t have joint bank accounts or a joint electricity bill. ‘I’m sure my father was shocked when this all happened, but he has been brilliant and when it’s sorted out I’m thinking of having a traditional English wedding or blessing, too, so he can be there and share our happiness. ‘I just hope this doesn’t drag on for too long.’ The Home Office says it has strict entry requirements for foreign spouses of British subjects. ‘These range from financial stipulations to showing the couple have actually met and proving the relationship is genuine and subsisting,’ says a spokesman. Romantic novelist Santa Montefiore, pictured right, has had her dramas over the years — not least when she called the fire brigade and declared: ‘My name is Santa and my chimney is on fire.’ But friends of the best-selling author were a little alarmed to receive an email begging for money because she and her family had been ‘mugged in an alley by a gang of thugs’ in Naples. It said she needed £1,600 for hotel bills. Santa, a skiing pal of the Prince of Wales, was indeed embarrassed — not through a lack of funds but because the email was bogus. And, in fact, she had become the latest celebrity victim of a pernicious internet scam. ‘I was inundated all morning about it,’ mother-of-two Santa, 43, tells me from Belgium, where she is on a book tour. ‘It’s happened to me about three times in the past, so I think by now all my friends are smart enough to realise that the messages are just spam.’ Other victims have included TV presenter Claudia Winkleman, veteran newsreader Sandy Gall — who was said to have been taken prisoner — and opera impresario and restaurateur Christopher Gilmour, who was said to have been robbed on holiday in Spain. Adds Santa: ‘I’ve changed my password now. As long as no one sends any money to the hackers then we’re all OK.’ Hollywood heart-throb Leonardo DiCaprio could find himself upstaged at the Cannes Film Festival tonight by the arrival at the premier of his Great Gatsby movie of a chauffeur-driven dancing dog. Britain’s Got Talent star Pudsey will watch DiCaprio’s red carpet arrival as he prepares for his own photocall to launch Pudsey: The Movie. He and owner Ashleigh Butler drove to the South of France from Northamptonshire in agent Jonathan Shalit’s limo. ‘Pudsey went on Simon Cowell’s private jet to the U.S. to appear on TV, so his own limo is nothing less than he is accustomed to,’ says Shalit. Angelina Jolie had been anticipating the day she would undergo a double mastectomy all her adult life. After her mother Marcheline Bertrand was diagnosed with cancer — which has claimed the lives of all the maternal side of the family — Angie wrote a prescient script about the Bertrand curse. According to Andrew Morton’s 2010 biography, Jolie’s first script, Skin, written in 1999, was about a girl with a terminally-ill mother and a family history of cancer who discovers she has the disease in one breast but decides to have both removed.‘It was very hardcore,’ says a friend who read the script. Serious: Richard de la Poer and Flora Richardson . The last time the Earl of Tyrone’s polo-playing son Richard de la Poer broke a bone he had the Marquess of Milford Haven’s pretty daughter, Tatiana Mountbatten, to soothe his agony. But while his collarbone has healed, that youthful relationship has long since bitten the dust. Now Richard, 25, who bears the courtesy title Baron La Poer, has a new woman in his life even more ideally placed should he suffer another injury in the saddle. For his latest love is glamorous hospital doctor Flora Richardson, 26, whose brothers Jack and Ralf are polo players. All of which, she says, means she is brilliant at first aid. ‘We’re in love and Flora is just about to move in with me, so it’s very serious,’ says Richard at the polo season launch party at PJ’s in Chelsea. ‘Polo can be risky so it’s an added bonus that Flora is a medical lady who appreciates the game.’ Adds St Mary’s Ascot–educated Flora: ‘They have very good first aiders on duty anyway, but it does help I’m not the squeamish type!’ With his plans for a reunion tour with the Boomtown Rats in disarray after gigs Down Under were cancelled because of poor ticket sales, Sir Bob Geldof has one thing to celebrate. He has just been immortalised in oils by artist Mitch Griffiths, but with one bizarre twist — the grizzled rocker is depicted covered in rats. Griffiths has also painted actor Ray Winstone and it was the movie hardman’s daughter Lois, a friend of Bob’s daughter Fifi Trixibelle, who persuaded him to pose. But famously foul-mouthed Geldof, 61, had no idea about the rodents. Griffiths says: ‘I wanted to use the rats as a symbol of degradation and poverty so I contacted a rat breeder. I then had a body double pose up and just poured 20 rats all over him.’ The rats came as a ‘complete surprise’ to Bob when he saw the painting but, adds Mitch: ‘His response, though colourful, was thoroughly positive.’
### SUMMARY:
| Dominic Sturridge's 24-year-old Thai wife has been refused UK residency . |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
By . Sarah Ivens . PUBLISHED: . 04:21 EST, 22 April 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 04:21 EST, 22 April 2013 . Bandage dresses have never graced the rails of my wardrobe, or the contours of my size 14, post-baby body. For, while the skin-tight dresses are a favourite of svelte celebrities like Victoria Beckham and Paris Hilton, they don't seem to have been designed with the lumps and bumps of ordinary women (or the practicalities of our daily lives) in mind. Yet now a new bandage dress, which has sparked long waiting lists in the British boutiques which sell it and has reportedly attracted a following from celebrity mothers such as Gwyneth Paltrow, seems to have been designed with mums in mind. The 'S' dress (the letter stands for 'shape', something I'm certainly keen to reclaim, 21 months after the birth of my son, William) by fashion label Mooi, claims to help its wearer drop a dress size, while being made of machine-washable, crease-resistant material. Dropping a dress size: Sarah Ivens modelling the Mooi 'S' Dress with 21-month-old son William . Could this be just the thing to take body-conscious mums from playdate to dinner party? It certainly sounds too good to be true: a designer dress that not only gives you a perfect silhouette, but doesn't require splashing out on dry-cleaning bills. It just peels down over your body and supposedly works its magic. And, since having William, my wardrobe could certainly do with some sparkle. Embarrassed by my weight gain, I've assumed the shapeless and sombre disguise worn by thousands of new mums all over the country. During pregnancy, my nausea was only kept under control by Wotsit sandwiches and the promptness of the delivery men at the local Raj Mahal takeaway. As a result, my stomach resembles the sort of thing parents hire for children to bounce on at parties, while my once-pert bottom has dropped a few inches and my boobs have been left somewhat deflated - which after years of dreaming of a smaller cup size is a massive anti-climax. So being confronted with a rainbow array of super-tight dresses on the brand's website was, frankly, terrifying. Could a 39-year-old mother really wear something spray-on and above the knee? Appropriate? Can a 39-year-old mother really wear something spray-on and above-the-knee? Comfort: All of the garments are without zips, buttons or labels - no busting, no straining . I selected four dresses to road test - a bright green, sleeveless dress with a black waistband, a long-sleeved blue, a ruffled black and a tan dress - which all looked beautiful on the website. Yet, when the parcel arrived, I was utterly horrified. For, while the manufacturers promise the dresses help make the wearer appear a size smaller, it seemed to be the dresses themselves which looked shockingly tiny. 'Each garment is made with 28 per cent elastane, which creates a slimming effect and the garment appears a size smaller.' This was certainly true. I gasped in horror when I unpacked the minute dresses, checking and rechecking the labels in case I'd accidentally been given an extra small instead of the large I'd ordered to cover my generous size 14 bottom. Nope, the label said large. No mistake. I'd have to take a deep breath and squeeze myself in head first. 'All garments are without any zips, buttons or labels,' says the blurb. Correct again. There is no danger of busting any zips or straining any button holes, which was a relief. 'The fabric slips around the body, very much like lingerie,' claims the marketing blurb. Well, I certainly didn't slip into the first one I tried on, a ruffled black number, but instead spent ten minutes furiously wrestling it over my curves. And after some vigorous tugging, the 'lingerie' the dress most resembled? Spanx control knickers. While I love the shaping underwear, a Spanx-style dress felt a little claustrophobic. This was probably down to the fabric, which had a neoprene feel to it, like a wetsuit. But the rubbery, tight structure of the dress wasn't necessarily a bad thing, I decided, thinking it could even pass as sexy, in a kinky, Fifty Shades Of Grey sort of way. I ventured to the lounge to showcase my new look to my husband, Russell, wondering if it would distract him from Top Gear. You can be plastered with plasticine and still be ready for cocktail hour . 'You look nice, honey,' he commented . quite enthusiastically. 'That reminds me, I need to get the air pressure . in the tyres checked.' The next day - after discarding a beige . version of the dress which drained all the colour from my pale skin - I . donned a long-sleeved blue version of the dress and took my new look to . the streets. After all, the garments claim to have been designed to take . you from day to night, season to season. 'It is perfect for all climates,' enthuses model Victoria Fernandez, designer Tom Ford's muse, on the S-Dress website. 'I took it to Colombia, Peru, and now it is my dream dress in Paris.' But how would it fare going from Sainsbury's to a toddler play date, to my mother-in-law's house for dinner...on a rainy, grey day in England? Well, true to the manufacturer's words, it didn't crease - even when I ended up crouching on the floor, still damp from a recent downpour, to play with a train set with a group of grubby two-year-olds. And when William decided to decorate me with hummus and Dairy Lea triangles at my in-laws' house, a quick scrub with a damp cloth had me as good as new. As my final test, I chucked it into the washing machine with the family laundry, at 30 degrees centigrade as advised, and hoped for the best. I wouldn't normally dare put a £360 designer garment in with football socks or juice-stained pyjamas, but it re-emerged perfect. And, miraculously, the no-ironing promise held up. I let the dress dry on a hanger and the next day it looked pristine. So, have mums found a bandage dress which can flatter a mummy tummy and survive the sticky fingers of messy toddlers? The bright colours and flattering cuts certainly add a little va-va-voom while you vacuum, and the wipe-clean material means that you can be rolled on, jumped on and plastered with plasticine and still be ready for cocktail hour in the blink of an eye. And, most importantly of all? The body-shaping fabric whittles a waist and lifts a bottom that has seen better days, making the wearer look, if not a dress size smaller, then certainly more shapely. Which, for this mum, is worth the hefty price tag. www.s-dress.com .
### SUMMARY:
| New 'Spanx-style' bandage dress from Mooi comes in at a whopping £360 .
Designed for mums, dress is crease free and stain resistant .
Writer road tested four styles - ruffled black, bright green, blue and tan . |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 08:03 EST, 7 September 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 11:32 EST, 7 September 2013 . Dozens of people were evacuated from their homes last night while two drivers saw their cars swept away as parts of Britain saw almost a month and a half's worth of rain fall in just 24 hours. In Redcar, Cleveland, up to 60 people had to be evacuated while in nearby Saltburn part of a bridge was washed away with some areas seeing up to three inches of rain fall. And on the other side of the country a freak hail storm covered parts of Devon and Cornwall in a blanket of white creating a winter wonderland, at the beginning of September. Scroll down for video . Carpet: The hail storm made a trip to the garden shed somewhat trickier . Covered: The aftermath of an intense hail storm yesterday that turned one area of Falmouth into a winter landscape . Winter's coming: The hail storm in Falmouth was said to have lasted around 15-20 minutes . Winter wonderland: The town of Boslowick in Falmouth was carpeted in a thick layer of hailstones after a freak storm yesterday afternoon . A car is washed down the road in . Saltburn, Cleveland, after persistent heavy rain caused flash flooding . Two women look on as heavy flooding tears through Saltburn in Cleveland yesterday . In some areas of North Yorkshire as much as 75mm of rain fall over a 24 hour period, almost one and a half times the average September monthly rainfall. Durham was Britain's wettest city with over 58mm of rain. Crews from the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) in Redcar were scrambled following fears that the cars carried by flood water had their occupants inside. TOMORROW: Some heavy showers across western parts of the country, while brighter towards the east. A chance of fog in the morning before the showers move east. Maximum temperatures of 19C in the south falling to 3C at night in some parts of the north. MONDAY: Light and scattered showers across northern and eastern parts elsewhere it will be largely dry with clear bright spells. A little warmer with maximum temperatures of 19C in the south while falling at night to 4C in the north . TUESDAY: Largely dry across much of the UK with a good chance of sun in eastern parts. Highs of 18C in both the north and south falling to around 6C at night . Dave Cocks, deputy launching authority . at RNLI Redcar, said: 'There's an area at Saltburn very close to the sea . where two streams converge and then flow out to the sea. 'They were both extremely swollen with flood water, and coincidentally there was quite a high tide.'The . initial report was that a bridge had collapsed and two cars swept into . flood water, and two occupants had been carried out to sea. 'We . were preparing to launch when we got a call saying the police . helicopter and fire services were on the scene and were able to confirm . that everyone had been accounted for.' Mr . Cocks said the rain started mid-morning and 'increased in ferocity' throughout the afternoon. Flooding in Redcar began about 3pm, and badly . hit areas such as Loftus and Skinningrove, peaking about 7pm. Mr Cocks said weather systems recorded 8mm of rainfall per hour. 'It was very intense in a very short time,' he added. Cleveland . fire fighters were joined by crews from North Yorkshire and Durham and . Darlington as they carried out rescues at more than 10 different . locations. The hail storm left cars sliding on roads occurred at about 17:00 BST after a Met Office warning of heavy rain in the South West overnight . Winter wonderland: A back garden in Falmouth, Cornwall, is blanketed in white after a freak hailstorm . A flooded car park in Saltburn, Cleveland, where flooding forced drivers to abandon their cars and caused part of a bridge to collapse . Clean up: A woman mops the floor of her flooded pub in Saltburn-by-the-Sea, East Cleveland after parts of the town were devastated by flooding last night . A 4X4 drives through flood in Saltburn, Cleveland. Some areas of the northeast saw around a month and a half's worth of rain fall in just 24 hours . A Mercedes Benz car is left badly damaged badly damaged after being swept away in Saltburn, Cleveland, last night . Between 3.50pm . and 10.40pm the Fire Service received calls for assistance because of . the flooding at approximately 230 different locations, a spokeswoman . said. These were predominantly in East Cleveland and Hartlepool. She said: 'Around 200 of the calls came within the three hour period between 6pm and 9pm. 'Appliances . from across the brigade were committed to dealing with these incidents . assisted by appliances from North Yorkshire and Durham and Darlington . Fire and Rescue Services. 'We . affected the rescue of at least 20 people in over 10 different . locations where life was considered to be in danger or imminent danger . from rising flood water. Dog owner Phil Foster is helped by a passer by rescuing his Japanese Akita dog, Thai, who had fallen into the flooded river in Saltburn, Cleveland . Making the most of it: Two surfers head out with their boards into the sea of Saltburn, East Cleveland . A large amount of debris is trapped under a footbridge in Saltburn, East Cleveland after heavy rain caused floods . Water pours from a run off pipe in Saltburn, Cleveland, onto the beach following an evening of torrential rainfall that caused flooding and disruption across parts of the northeast . Flood water covers railway tracks from the miniature railway in Saltburn, Cleveland . 'This included rescues from houses and vehicles, and in some cases involved the brigade rescue boat. 'During this extremely busy period the brigade also attended two road traffic collisions and a dwelling fire.' There have been no reports of anybody being injured as a result of the flooding. For the 10,000-odd revellers at the . Bestival festival on the Isle of Wight, it looked like being a second . day of blue sky and sunshine, although anyone venturing down would still . be advised to pack their wellies. Revellers enjoy the occasional spot of sunshine today at the second day of Bestival on the Isle of Wight . Trouble brewing: An ominous looking cloud hangs above the Bestival on the Isle of Wight early this afternoon . A . Cleveland Police spokesman said properties in the Mersey Road area of . Redcar were evacuated and all occupants have now been able to return. Several bungalows occupied by elderly residents are still inhabitable and temporary accommodation has been sought. He . added: 'There was a report from harbour police that there was a male on . the roof of his car at the bottom of Tees Dock Road in Middlesbrough. He managed to get to safety.' Emergency Services said the weather in the region on Saturday was completely different - warm, sunny and dry.
### SUMMARY:
| Parts of North Yorkshire see 75mm of rain over a 24 hour period .
That is equivalent to one-and-a-half times the average September rainfall .
Durham was Britain's wettest city with 58mm rain falling over 24 hours .
60 people evacuated from their homes in Redcar, Cleveland .
Motorists abandon vehicles with two cars being washed away in the floods .
Freak hail storm covers parts of Devon and Cornwall in a blanket of white . |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
By . Associated Press . PUBLISHED: . 16:08 EST, 27 February 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 11:25 EST, 28 February 2013 . For Zaida Saleh, like for many observant Muslim women, manicures have long posed a religious problem. With prayers five times a day, and a pre-prayer ritual that requires washing the hands and arms, traditional fingernail polish has been mostly off limits because it prevents water from making contact with the nails. A new 'breathable' nail polish by a Polish company, Inglot, is changing that. The company and some Muslims say the polish is the first of its kind because it lets air and moisture pass through to the nail. A craze has built up around it with Muslim women in recent months after an Islamic scholar in the United States tested its permeability and published an article saying that, in his view, it complies with Muslim law. Manicures for all! A craze has built up around O2M nail polish after an Islamic scholar in the U.S. tested its permeability and published an article saying that, in his view, it complies with Muslim law . 'It's huge,' said Saleh, a 35-year-old who hadn't polished her nails in many years but immediately went out and bought the product in five colors, including a bright pink, a burgundy and a mauve. 'I am excited. I feel more feminine — and I just love it.' The news of Inglot's breathable polish has in recent months spread quickly from woman to woman and over the Internet. It also has given Inglot a boost in sales of the product, called O2M, for oxygen and moisture. The nail polish now stands as one of the final life achievements of Wojciech Inglot, a Polish chemist and entrepreneur who developed it to create what he billed as a healthier alternative to traditional nail enamels, which block the passage of moisture and oxygen to the nail. He died suddenly on Saturday at the age of 57 after suffering internal hemorrhaging, and is being laid to rest on Wednesday in his hometown of Przemysl. Inspired idea: Wojciech Inglot, late founder of the Polish cosmetics company Inglot, who died on Saturday, invented 'breathable' nail polish . Inglot has been the recipient of several business leadership awards for taking an enterprise that he started in 1983, when Poland was still under communist rule, and turning it into an international success. A Polish award he received last year praised him for 'proving that Poland is a country where innovative technologies go hand-in-hand with beauty.' Today his company has shops in almost 50 countries, including one at Times Square in New York City and boutiques in malls from Moscow to Istanbul to Dubai. Though the Muslim holy book, the . Quran, does not specifically address the issue of nail polish, some . Islamic scholars have said that water must touch the surface of the nail . for the washing ritual to be done correctly. Some . Muslim women might put nail polish on after finishing the last prayer . of the day before going out, and then take it off again before dawn . prayers. They can also wear it during their periods, when they are . excused from the prayers, but some find it embarrassing to do so because . it could signal they are menstruating. Some simply don't want to take . the trouble of getting a manicure that won't last long. 'It . was a big headache for me to put it on only for five days, so I didn't . wear it for a long time,' said Saleh, who was born in Sri Lanka but now . lives in Anaheim, California, where she is a teacher of preschool and . kindergarten level children. 'This was a huge breakthrough for me. We . are supposed to cover up, but nowhere does it say "don't be . fashionable."' Nobody was more surprised by the splash it made with Muslims than Inglot himself. 'I don't think there is a single Muslim living here,' Inglot said in an interview with The Associated Press nine days before his death at his factory in Przemysl, near the border with Ukraine. 'We didn't even think about this.' Inglot began about four years ago to develop the formula for the breathable enamel, which uses a polymer similar to that in the newest generation of contact lenses. Word-of-mouth success: The news of Inglot's breathable polish has in recent months spread quickly from woman to woman and over the Internet . Inglot said the chemical formula is 'tricky' and 'quite expensive' to produce, and that the profit margin on O2M is not high. However, he said he was determined to develop a breathable polish knowing that consumers are ever more focused on health and expecting them to welcome a varnish that would let the nail breathe. Low profit margin: Inglot said the chemical formula is 'tricky' and 'quite expensive' to produce . He said the enthusiastic Muslim reaction to the product began after an Islamic scholar, Mustafa Umar, published an article on his blog in November declaring it permissible. The result was a 'serious increase in the sale' of O2M. Inglot said the company was unable to immediately meet all requests for orders, but that the phenomenon was so fresh that he didn't yet have any figures on sales. 'But it looks very promising,' Inglot said. 'We were very surprised and very happy with that.' Umar, director of education and outreach with the Islamic Institute of Orange County in California, said he decided to study the matter because Muslim women had already been discussing the product in online forums. There was uncertainty over whether it would be ritually compliant, and they weren't getting any answers. 'So I decided to go ahead and write an article on this because I know how important it is for Muslim women around the world,' Umar said. The research involved putting the O2M polish and a standard polish on coffee filters, letting them both dry, and then putting water drops on top of each and seeing if the moisture seeped through. In the case of the traditional nail polish it did not, but it went through the O2M polish and even wet a second filter below. Umar said he has gotten an enthusiastic reception to his opinion from women — not only because they are reveling in the chance to accessorize with colorful varnishes. 'Usually when men give a religious ruling or verdict, they tell women that something is not allowed,' Umar, 31, said. 'They felt so good that someone was finally telling them "you are allowed to do this."' New possibilities: Muslim women are reveling in the chance to accessorize with colorful varnishes . There are still some outstanding questions, however, about how breathable the nail polish will be if multiple coats are used — say a clear bottom coat, two layers of color plus a top coat, as is common. Before his death, Inglot was working to answer this question and gather other data on the product. The company's other managers are deep in mourning over losing Inglot but plan to continue that effort. Inglot had insisted on having more data before he felt he could responsibly promote the varnish as being compliant with Islamic law. Islam has multiple schools of thought and no universally agreed-upon figure — such as the pope of the Roman Catholic church — to issue final rulings on religious legal interpretation. So it's not clear if all Islamic scholars would agree on O2M's permissibility, or on whether wearing nail polish at all is compatible with Muslim notions of modesty.
### SUMMARY:
| The nail polish now stands as one of the final life achievements of Wojciech Inglot, who died suddenly on Saturday at the age of 57 . |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
By . Harriet Arkell . PUBLISHED: . 12:56 EST, 8 November 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 04:23 EST, 9 November 2013 . The Duke of Edinburgh opened the new headquarters of armed forces charity SSAFA today - weighed down by 17 medals and decorations of his own. The 92-year-old wore a chestful of military awards as he accompanied the Queen to open the new base of the charity formerly known as the Soldiers, Sailors, and Airmen Families Association at Queen Elizabeth House in central London. The Duke, who joined the Royal Navy straight from school in 1939 and was decorated for his bravery in the Second World War before leaving when his wife ascended the throne in 1952, today joked with a young soldier who lost both legs in Afghanistan, telling him he ought to get some wheels. Heavily-decorated: The Duke of Edinburgh, who served in the Royal Navy throughout the Second World War, wore 17 medals and decorations to visit the new SSAFA charity HQ in central London today . You should get yourself some wheels: The 92-year-old Duke joked with amputee Trooper Cayle Royce, 27 . Trooper Cayle Royce, who lost both legs in a bomb blast in Afghanistan last year, said meeting Philip was an honour. 'He’s my hero,' the 27-year-old South African soldier said. 'He’s just a great person - really comedy.' Asked why he was laughing with the Duke, he said: 'He told me I should lose the feet and put some wheels on my prosthetics. 'He said it will be easier to get around.' The Duke wore his full complement of decorations to comply with organisers' request that all guests wear medals. His include the Greek War Cross Of Honour, awarded for his bravery in the Battle of Cape Matapan against the Italian Navy in 1941. Aged just 19, he operated the searchlights against the Italians during a bloody gun battle in which he said later 'all hell broke loose', and he was Mentioned in Despatches for his courage. Today Philip and the Queen both spoke to Trooper Royce, who is planning to row 3,000 miles with another amputee soldier across the Atlantic next month. Little Hayley Inns, six, whose brother Rifleman Martin Kinggett died in Afghanistan in 2010, met the Queen . Military occasion: The Queen was greeted by her cousin, the charity's president, Prince Michael of Kent . The soldier with the Light Dragoons, who now lives in Dartmouth, said he spoke to the monarch about how his Row2Recovery challenge has been supported by a grant from the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry’s charitable organisation, The Royal Foundation. Having been patron of SSAFA for 60 years, the Queen was given a medal to mark the occasion. General Sir Kevin O’Donoghue, SSAFA’s chairman, joked as he presented it to her: 'See it as a variation of a Long Service and Good Conduct Medal.' The Queen, who was greeted by her cousin, Prince Michael of Kent, who is the charity’s president, also unveiled a plaque at the charity's headquarters in St Dunstan’s Hill. After meeting various charity beneficiaries, volunteers and staff, she was given a posy by six-year-old Harley Inns, whose brother, Rifleman Martin Kinggett, was killed in Afghanistan in 2010. Rifleman Kinggett, from 4th Battalion The Rifles, died of a gunshot wound while giving covering fire for an injured colleague. Harley, who wore her brother’s service medals, said the Queen asked her: 'Are those for me?' The schoolgirl was joined by her mother, Lisa, father, Craig and sister, Georgia, 16, as she presented the Queen with the flowers, which she said was 'fun'. The Queen wore a kingfisher blue jacquard dress and wool crepe detailed coat by Peter Enriole and a matching hat by Rachel Trevor-Morgan. The 92-year-old Duke joined the Royal Navy in 1939, aged 19, and served throughout the Second World War and on until 1953, when he gave up his active career in the Navy after the Queen ascended the throne. Since then he has held various military posts, including Admiral of the Fleet and Lord High Admiral of the Royal Navy. Array of honour: The Duke of Edinburgh wore 17 medals and decorations to visit SSAFA today . The Duke's medals as seen above, left to right: . Queen’s Service Order, New Zealand: This is awarded by the Government of New Zealand for service to the country . 1939-1945 Star: A campaign medal of the British Commonwealth awarded for service during the Second World War. Atlantic Star: Awarded this in 1945 for service in the Atlantic during the Second World War . Africa Star: Awarded in 1945 for service in Africa during the Second World War . Burma Star (with Pacific Rosette): Awarded for service in the Burma Campaign in the Second World War . Italy Star: Awarded for service in Italy and surrounding areas in the Second World War . War Medal 1939-1945, with Mention in Dispatches: Awarded to those who served in the Armed Forces or Merchant Navy for at least 28 days between 1939-45. The oak leaf on the ribbon denotes the Mention in Despatches. King George VI Coronation Medal, 1937: These medals were made to commemorate the coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth . Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal, 1953: A commemorative medal made to celebrate the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II . Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal, 1977: A commemorative medal created in 1977 to mark the 25th anniversary of the Queen's accession to the throne . Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal, 2002: A commemorative medal created in 2002 to mark the 50th anniversary of the Queen's accession to the throne . Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, 2012: A commemorative medal created last year to mark the 60th anniversary of the Queen's accession to the throne . Canadian Forces Decoration (4 Bars): This honorary award was presented to the Duke in April this year . New Zealand Commemoration Medal, 1990: This was awarded only during 1990 to around 3,000 people in recognition of contributions made to New Zealand life . Malta George Cross 50th Anniversary Medal, 1992: This is a commemorative medal awarded by, or in the name of, the President of Malta . Greek War Cross, 1950: This is awarded for heroism in wartime to both Greeks and foreign allies. The Duke earned his for his bravery in fighting the Italians when they invaded Greece in 1941. Croix de Guerre (France) with Palm, 1948: A French military decoration to honour people who fought with the Allies against Axis nations in the Second World War.
### SUMMARY:
| Prince Philip wore 17 medals and decorations on official engagement today .
The 92-year-old accompanied the Queen to open new SSAFA charity HQ .
He joked with double amputee Cayle Royce, 27, that he needed wheels .
Trooper Royce, who was injured in Afghanistan, said: 'He's my hero'
Duke's medals include Greek War Cross for bravery in Second World War . |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
By . Michael Blackley . PUBLISHED: . 21:36 EST, 30 November 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 21:36 EST, 30 November 2013 . The campaign to tear Scotland out of the United Kingdom has failed to gain any ground despite the launch of the Scottish National Party’s long-awaited prospectus for independence. An exclusive poll of more than 1100 Scots for The Mail on Sunday has revealed that only 27 per cent of voters plan to vote yes in next year’s referendum, while 56 per cent intend to vote no and 17 per cent still don’t know how they will vote. It means that support for Scottish independence is still trailing far behind the pro-Union campaign – and remains at the same level as an identical Mail on Sunday poll carried out in September. The poll was the first carried out since the SNP launched its ‘white paper’ on independence, which was supposed to provide details of every aspect of what an independent Scotland would look like. Setback: Alex Salmond's launch of the white paper on Scottish independence does not seem to have boosted support for his cause . As well as asking the main question that will appear on the referendum ballot paper – 'Should Scotland be an independent country?' - the poll also found that only 23 per cent of Scots think they would be better off if Scotland went it alone. Experts say that the findings reveal that the series of pledges unveiled by Scotland’s First Minister Alex Salmond last Tuesday have failed to have any impact on voters. It leaves the yes camp staring at defeat with less than one year to go until the vote. SNP leaders had described the launch of the White Paper as a ‘key moment’ in the referendum campaign and were desperate to get a pick-up in the polls from the media blitz which followed the launch of the White Paper. Opposition: The news will be welcome for Alistair Darling, leader of the pro-Union 'Better Together' campaign . Polling expert John Curtice, a research consultant at ScotCen Social Research, said: ‘There can be little doubt that the yes side will be disappointed with this result because it does not show any evidence of any measurable swing of opinion. ‘Opinion on this has proved to be so stable in the last 12 months. All the criticism of the no side has not gone anywhere so why should we be surprised a paper by the yes side makes no difference either? ‘The yes side may say the white paper will be a slow burner but, given the intensity of the media splash following the launch, they may have hoped it would make some difference. ‘One of the reasons there has been no immediate impact is it has not immediately persuaded people that people will be better off and this is crucial.’ The Mail on Sunday’s survey, carried out by respected pollsters Progressive Scottish Opinion – the first firm to correctly predict the SNP majority victory in the 2011 Holyrood elections – is the first test of public opinion since the launch of the ‘Scotland’s Future’ document, with 1134 Scots surveyed over the course of last Wednesday and Thursday. In an identical poll carried out by the same firm in September, 27 per cent of Scots intended to vote yes while 59 per cent intended to vote no and 14 per cent did not know how they would vote. Despite an unprecedented push to attract female voters, who have traditionally been less supportive of independence than men, the poll shows that just 23 per cent of women intend to vote yes, while 56 per cent will vote no. The SNP had been hoping to secure an upturn in support from women after pledging to increase the amount of free childcare in an independent Scotland. There was also a huge difference in voting intentions depending on whether people work. Incredibly, two –thirds of unemployed people intend to vote yes, compared to just one in four of full-time workers – a clear sign that lose who have most to lose are most fearful of separation. Much of the SNP’s campaign has focused on the Westminster coalition’s welfare shake-up. The poll also asked voters how independence would affect their own household financially – a crucial aspect of the referendum campaign since the SNP claim they will secure a yes vote if people think they will be £500 better off. It found that just 23 per cent of people think that their household would be better off if Scotland became independent, while 49 per cent think they would be worse off and 13 per cent thought their finances would be the same – with the remainder not knowing how they would be affected. Debate: Scotland will go to the polls to decide its future on September 18 next year . Since last Tuesday’s launch, the SNP have come under fire for failing to provide a ‘plan B’ on currency if they fail to secure a pound-sharing currency union with the rest of the UK following a yes vote, and for failing to accept the demands that other EU countries may place on them in order to grant a separate Scotland EU membership. Alistair Darling, chairman of the pro-Union Better Together campaign, said: ‘The SNP’s manifesto for breaking up the UK completely failed to pass even the basic tests. ‘They failed to offer a plan for what currency we would use if, as seems increasingly certain, the rest of the UK say no to Scotland keeping the pound, they failed to tell us anything about how much independence would cost us and their wish list of false promises lacked any sort of price list. ‘And their claims that we could leave the UK without losing anything fell apart when the Spanish Prime Minister said that leaving the UK meant leaving the EU. ‘What was extraordinary was that the only new policy they announced was something that they could deliver now because childcare is already the responsibility of the Scottish Parliament and the SNP Government. ‘This poll confirms that Scots are choosing devolution in the UK over separation from the UK. But we cannot be complacent for one moment.’ Mid Scotland and Fife is the part of Scotland with most support for the Union, with 67 per cent of voters intending to vote no. Surprisingly, another stronghold for the Better Together campaign is North East Scotland, where the SNP has been most successful in recent years, where 64 per cent intend to vote no and only 26 per cent intend to vote yes. Support for the Union increases with age, with 63 per cent of the over-55s intending to vote no, compared to 42 per cent of 18-24-year-olds. On the question of household finances, top earners were more likely to think they would be worse off in an independent Scotland – which is a clear sign that voters fear savage tax rises – with 54 per cent of those in the ABC1 social grade thinking their household would be worse off in an independent Scotland, compared to 45 per cent of people in the C2DE social grades. Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson said: ‘We take nothing for granted and continue the fight to keep our United Kingdom together. ‘The majority of the Scottish people have seen through the empty prospectus of the white paper and have recognised it is little more than an uncosted wishlist. ‘Scotland is better off as part of one of the largest and fastest growing economies in the developed world, with a stable currency and a fully funded pensions system. ‘In stark contrast, the SNP’s White Paper featured just a single page on how a separate Scotland would be paid for, which beggars belief.’ Drew Smith, Scottish Labour's constitutional spokesman, said: ‘The SNP promised the White Paper would be a game changer but it would appear it has had no impact on the people of Scotland who just don't share the SNP's obsession with the constitution.’
### SUMMARY:
| Only 27% said they would vote for independence in Mail on Sunday poll .
More than half intend to vote to stay in UK in fresh blow for 'yes' campaign .
Public opinion doesn't seem to have been swayed by this week's white paper . |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
By . Katy Winter . A mother's photographs of her five-year-old daughter have become an incredibly touching portrayal of her child's journey through cancer treatment. Zofeya Dorgu, from Dunstable, Bedfordshire, was diagnosed with medulloblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer, last July, and her mother has been charting her progress through treatment with photographs in a blog. A professional photographer, Noemi Dorgu made the brave decision to catalogue her daughter's experience of treatment as a way making sense of the shattering news, turning what was originally a way to keep friends and family informed into a lifeline for herself and others. Zofeya Dorgu was diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer when she was just four years old . Noemi decided to record her experience of Zofeya's treatment through daily photographs and a blog . Zofeya has begun to show an interest in her mother's photography, and Noemi feels they help her make sense of what has happened . Zofeya's symptoms were mainly a loss of balance, and the family never dreamed she could have a brain tumour . Zofeya underwent surgery 10 days after diagnosis to remove the tumour, and has been undergoing chemotherapy and radiotherapy . Zofeya clasps her father's hand as she undergoes chemotherapy, which she is having at Addenbrooke's hospital in Cambridge . 'It started as a way to keep everyone updated at the beginning. Everyone texts, and of course they mean well, but you don't know how to reply, so we started a site to keep people up-to-date. 'But then it became a way of helping me work things out, to make sense of the situation. ‘You find yourself catapulted into this whole new world where even the terminology is alien. You have no control, you feel powerless. 'Being in the hospital all day with Zofeya, writing the blog was the only time I could sit alone and reflect on the day and what was happening in our lives.' A scan revealed a walnut-sized tumour in Zofeya's brain, catapulting the family into a world 'where you have no control' Zofeya has had several rounds of chemotherapy, and is due to continue until September this year . Noemi says she takes the photographs because 'there are some things you just can't put into words' Zofeya, Noemi, her husband Matthew Dorgu and their son Malacai, eight, have been provided with emotional and practical support from CLIC Sargent Social Worker Rachel Hall . Noemi says that she hopes one day the photos will help Zofeya understand the decisions they made for her . She added: 'I decided to be really honest in it. We are such a normal family that this happened to. If Zofeya or I have a bad day, I write about it.' A professional photographer who has now given up work to be Zofeya’s full-time carer, Noemi began to accompany the blog with pictures of Zofeya through treatment. ‘With the photos, for me, there are some things you just can’t put into words. ‘Some were hard to take, seeing your own child like that, especially after the operation when she was so very sick. ‘But the response has been amazing. It has shown me that when things get tough people show their very best side. It has really restored my faith in humanity. 'The support we have received from friends, family and strangers has been incredible. 'If our story helps anyone else in a similar situation, especially at the beginning, I’ll be overjoyed,' Noemi said. Zofeya . was diagnosed with medulloblastoma in July 2013, when she was four, . after her parents noticed she was becoming clumsy, tripping over and . bumping into things. They took her for a check-up with her GP and booked . her in for eyesight tests, presuming her problems stemmed from . poor vision. It didn't . occur to her parents that she may have a brain tumour as she showed no . other symptoms; she suffered her first headache only the day before . diagnosis. A . scan revealed a walnut-sized tumour in Zofeya’s brain and she was taken . straight to Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge, a specialist unit for . child oncology. She underwent surgery 10 days later to remove the tumour, and has been undergoing chemotherapy and radiotherapy since. So far she’s had several rounds of chemotherapy, which is due to continue until September this year. Before . her treatment, Zofeya had beautiful dark curly hair, which all began to . fall out when she started her chemo. So, in effort to support and normalise what her daughter was going through, Noemi decided to shave off her own hair; she . didn’t think it fair she should have long hair when her . daughter couldn’t. Before her treatment Zofeya had beautiful dark curly hair, which all began to fall out when she started her chemotherapy . Noemi says the support of friends, family, and strangers to the blog has been overwhelming . Zofeya is used to her mother, a passionate photographer, taking pictures of her . Noemi said that as her treatment continues, Zofeya has become more interested in her mother’s photography. ‘I became a professional photographer just weeks before Zofeya was diagnosed, but I've always loved photography and have taken loads of pictures, so she was very used to it. ‘At first I was careful not to show her any pictures from when she was really sick, but now she shows an interest in them. ‘They seem to help her make sense of what has happened to her. She sits and looks at one and will say “remember when that or this happened to me”. ‘I hope one day these pictures will help her understand the decisions we had to make as her parents about her treatment.' Zofeya, who turned five last Saturday and spent the day with her family - which Noemi documented on her blog - has responded well to treatment, though she remains on the journey to recovery. Zofeya, Noemi, her husband Matthew Dorgu and their son Malacai, eight, who live in Dunstable, in Bedfordshire, have been provided with emotional and practical support from CLIC Sargent Social Worker Rachel Hall who offers them advice and information on treatment. Zofeya with her brother Malacai, who is three years older than her . Zofeya is responding well to treatment, but still has a way to go on her journey to recovery . Noemi said: 'Rachel came to us really early on and she was just there whenever we needed her, when we needed answers. She gave us advice about the medical processes and practical help and financial advice as well. 'Everything’s a bit overwhelming, and we were feeling overloaded with information which we didn’t fully understand; she was great at explaining things to us and letting us know how the whole process worked and what to expect. ‘The information that CLIC Sargent provided to us was brilliant. There’s a leaflet called Mary Has a Brain Tumour which we read to Malacai so he could understand what was happening to his sister. 'It’s a story about a little girl who has a brain tumour, and who’s going through the same thing as Zofeya, so it’s also been fantastic for helping her understand what’s happening as well.'
### SUMMARY:
| Zofeya Dorgu, from Dunstable, was diagnosed with brain cancer aged four .
Had operation to remove tumour, and is now undergoing chemotherapy .
Her mother Noemi began a blog, www.zofeya.dorgu.com, to update friends .
It became an outlet for her to make sense of what was happening .
A professional photographer, Noemi recorded Zofeya's journey in photos .
Says the response and support has been overwhelming . |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
By . Sam Webb . Jack Straw's son has defended posting a photograph on Twitter celebrating an Easter tradition with Morris dancers with blacked-up faces - claiming his critics are ignorant about history. Will Straw, 32, who has been selected by Labour to fight one of the party's top target seats at next year's general election, uploaded the tweet after meeting The Britannia Coconutters on Saturday. The 32-year-old, who is hoping to win back the Rossendale and Darwen constituency in East Lancashire, has responded to the outcry - some have branded the tradition 'racist' - defending the historic performances as a vital piece of local cultural history. Controversy: Will Straw, the son of former Home Secretary Jack Straw, sparked anger after posting a picture of himself with the Britannia Coconut Dancers, after watching their traditional Easter Saturday performances in the Pennine town of Bacup . Tradition: The 32-year-old, who was selected by the Labour party to run for one of their top target seats in East Lancashire at next year's general election, has been branded a 'racist' by people responding to his tweet (pictured). Others moved to defend the group, revealing its historic connections with the area . The Britannia Coconut Dancers take to the streets of the town of Bacup every Easter Saturday, performing their folk dances across the town . The group, who dress up in turbans and red and white skirts and clogs, congregate on Easter Saturday every year in the Pennine town of Bacup. The tradition, which dates back to the turn of the century, sees the dancers perform through the streets, from one edge of the town to the other over a 12-hour period. The group's website reveals: 'The dances they perform are actually folk dances and the custom of blackened faces may reflect a pagan or medieval background which was done to disguise the dancers from being recognised by evil spirits afterwards, it may also reflect mining connections.' But being pictured with the group landed Mr Straw in hot water, after the Twitter community reacted with shock at his being photographed with the dancers. The message posted alongside the picture, reads: 'Good to talk to Neville Earnshaw of world famous Britannia Coconutters in the New Inn. Great Bacup tradition.' The tweet provoked dozens of responses, with some labeling the tradition 'racist'. Now Mr Straw, writing in the Telegraph, said accusers should 'mug up on their history before making false accusations.' He added: 'As many small towns throughout Britain struggle to maintain their identity against a tide of national retail chains, betting shops and fast food outlets, Bacup’s annual dance provides a window into a previous era. 'But it’s traditions from the past which give communities a sense of common identity for the present and the future. May the Coconutters continue for many years to come.' @VoluntaryAnarch wrote: 'Jack Straw's son @wdjstraw parachuted into Rossendale, praises a racist custom as a "great tradition" to ingratiate himself with the locals.' @PndsC added: '@wdjstraw Are you f****** serious? Jesus christ, why did you think this was a good idea?' @STYLISA tweeted: '@wdjstraw You do realise that this picture is pretty offensive don't you?' And @TonyM70 said: '@WikiGuido @wdjstraw A tradition? Like lynching used to be? Doesn't make it right.' In his defence, he tweeted: 'Just checked . back on twitter & (sic) seen torrent of ignorant tweets on Britannia . Coconut dancers. Nothing racist about it', posting a link to the . dancer's website. Will Straw (left) is hoping to follow in the footsteps of his father Jack Straw (right) and win back the key seat in next year's general election . Meanwhile others moved to show their support for the Morris dancers, recognising the tradition. @yorkierosie urged people to 'do some research before taking to stirring', offering a link to the Britannia Coconut Dancers website. Mr Straw told MailOnline the tradition must be treasured and preserved. He said: 'As many small towns throughout Britain struggle to maintain their identity against a tide of high street chains, betting shops and fast food outlets, Bacup’s annual dance provides a window into a previous era and a clear sense of local tradition. 'Whatever the origins, we should all hope it will continue for many centuries to come.' Mr Straw's target seat was held by Labour before the 2010 general election when the Tories' Jake Berry won it with a majority of 4,493. The son of the former Home Secretary, an ex-Fulbright scholar and Oxford graduate, beat five other local candidates to win the post. As a 17-year-old Straw junior was caught trying to sell cannabis to undercover reporters, while his father was in the Cabinet. He was forced to write to Mr Blair apologising for 'letting down and embarrassing the Labour Party'. Mr Straw is the first in a long line of 'red princes and princesses' whose parents are MPs, to win selection for the 2015 election. Former Prime Minister Tony Blair's son Euan is said to be targetting the ultra-safe seat of Bootle, Merseyside ahead of the election campaign. The Labour Party declined to comment. The Britannia Coconut Dancers, known as the 'Nutters', are part of the history of the small Penine town of Bacup. Every Easter Saturday the troupe of men - dressed in red and white kilts and clogs, with their faces blackened - take to the streets of the town to dance their way from one side to the other. They perform folk dances, which are said to have originated with Moorish pirates. The custom of blackened faces, reflects, according to their website, a 'pagan or medieval background' to 'disguise the dancers from being recognised by evil spirits'. The tradition is said to originate from Moorish pirates who first settled in Cornwall and moved north as the mines opened in Lancashire . It is also thought to link to the town's mining heritage. Moorish pirates who settled in Cornwall and found themselves employed in the mines are said to have brought the dances to British shores. As mines and quaries opened in Lancashire in the 18th and 19th Centuries, a number of Cornish men travelled north. With them they brought the dances and the traditions now upheld by the Nutters. The dances spread throughout the Rossendale area, and at the turn of the century four dance troupes existed. It is from the Tunstead Mill Troupe that the Britannia group descended. The dances are accompanied by the English concertina, and for Easter Saturday the group are joined by a silver band. The music, like the dance steps, has been handed down from generation to generation. The 'Nutters' have performed across the world, including taking to the stage at the Royal Albert Hall for the English Folk Dance and Song Society.
### SUMMARY:
| Will Straw tweeted a picture with members of the Britannia Coconutters .
The group were turbans and black make-up for annual Easter tradition .
But some Twitter users claimed the tradition is racist .
Mr Straw says those who are offended don't know the history behind it .
He added that traditions like this stop local identity from disappearing .
The Morris dancers perform in the town of Bacup every Easter Saturday .
Mr Straw, 32, was selected by Labour to run for one of their top target seats .
Aims to regain the Rossendale and Darwen constituency at 2015 election . |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
By . Mark Prigg . The D-Day landings have been recreated as a virtual world to allow a new generation to experience the Invasion of Normady using 3D displays and virtual reality headsets. French researchers painstakingly scanned and recreated the landing craft, gliders and even the artificial harbour, known as the Mulberry harbour, for the virtual invasion recreation. The team today revealed their work as part of the seventieth anniversary of D-Day and the Invasion of Normandy. Scroll down for video . The Mulberry Harbor was one of the most extraordinary technological feats of WWII. Developed in part by Major Allan Beckett of the Royal Engineers, it was an artificial harbor built in England, transported across the English Channel and assembled off the coast at Arromanches to unload the vast quantities of supplies and men that were needed for battle. Tim Beckett, son of Major Allan Beckett, who designed the mile-long Mulberry Harbor bridge, stands on a virtual recreation of his father's work, long lost under the waters of Normandy, France. In order to preserve the engineering innovations that were instrumental in the war, a team of experts led by Dassault Systèmes used CATIA design software to accurately recreate the harbor, and have projected into onto giant screens and into VR goggles. Some of the innovations engineered for the invasion and now recreated are: . Landing Craft, Vehicle & Personnel (LCVP) was designed by American businessman Andrew Jackson Higgins and carried a platoon-sized CK complement of men and weapons to the beaches of Normandy. Waco CG-4A gliders were relatively small, lightweight and maneuverable planes. Most importantly, they were silent and could land troops in enemy territory during the early hours of the June 6 invasion. The glider could carry up to 13 men or a vehicle. Dassault Systèmes, the Paris firm behind the project, say it is designed to 'safeguard the memory of some of the remarkable engineering achievements of D-Day and preserve it for future generations,’ The 3D model is an accurate, scientific reconstruction of the Harbor that will allow many to see and experience a site that was destroyed after WWII. The Dassault Systèmes teams also identified, located and gathered all available data in order to create detailed 3D models of both the Waco glider and LCVP landing craft, right down to the last nut and bolt, taking careful account of the specific materials used and how they would have behaved in actual conditions. 'Virtually reconstructing the Mulberry Harbor, the LCVP landing craft and the Waco glider brings to life one of the most exciting episodes of 20th-century history for the broadest possible audience, safeguarding this valuable part of our engineering heritage – a heritage that is gradually being lost,' said Mehdi Tayoubi, Passion for Innovation Institute Director & Experiential Strategy VP for Dassault Systèmes. 'This project builds a bridge between the engineers of yesterday and today by preserving the memory of these remarkable technological innovations. The result is a fitting tribute to the engineers of then and now.' Much of the hardware deployed on D-Day was part of a huge effort among the Allies to develop the weapons, airplanes, landing crafts and other innovations that could turn the tide of the war. A beach assault required the engineering of wholly new ways to land an invading army, along with the necessary gear and supplies that the operation entailed. The LCVP or Higgins boat was a landing craft which allowed the Allies to disembark massive numbers of men on the beaches of Normandy 70 years ago. The Waco Glider was accurately recreated in 3D by Dassault Systèmes, using what remained of the original blueprints and designs. The Glider was one of many engineering innovations built specifically to enable the Allied victory in WWII. The Dassault Systèmes’ recreation of the Mulberry Harbor will be featured in an upcoming two-hour documentary, “D-Day’s Sunken Secrets,” produced by the PBS science series, NOVA. The film follows the team as they carry out the most extensive survey ever done of the seabed bordering the legendary D-Day beachheads of Normandy, revealing the ingenious technology that helped the Allies overcome the German defenses and ultimately liberate Europe from the Nazis. One of the key parts of the project was the Mulberry Harbour . The Mulberry Harbour was one of the most extraordinary technological feats of WWII. Developed in part by Major Allan Beckett of the Royal Engineers, it was an artificial harbor built in England, transported across the English Channel and assembled off the coast at Arromanches to unload the vast quantities of supplies and men that were needed for battle. World War Two, France 7th June 1944: Aerial view of the concrete Mulberry harbour in position at Normandy during the Allied D Day invasion . An artificial harbor was assembled off the coast at Arromanches — the first temporary deepwater facility of its kind ever devised and attempted. It was be used to offload no less than 2.5 million men, 500,000 vehicles and 4 million tonnes of supplies. Major Allan Beckett of the Royal Engineers developed a system of floating metal roadways mounted on pontoon units of concrete or steel, which connected the beaches to the floating pierheads, further out to sea where large vessels could berth. Thanks to legs that rested on the seabed but allowed these floating platforms to move up and down with the tide, operations could continue round the clock, which was a world first. The system used to join the floating sections gave them great flexibility, absorbing movements caused by sea swell and the weight of vehicles moving over them. The ‘kite’ anchors, which moored the floating platforms to the seabed, were designed to dig in further when the cable is pulled, keeping the structure firmly in place throughout the landing operations. Huge reinforced concrete caissons were laid in a semicircle around the artificial harbor to form a breakwater, protecting it from tide surges and storm damage. By the end of July 1944, the Mulberry B at Arromanches was the world’s busiest port in terms of traffic volumes. The Mulberry Harbor was the first temporary deep water facility of its kind ever devised. Today, nearly seventy years after D-Day, only pieces of the Harbor remain. To recreate the Harbor, the Dassault Systèmes team compiled what remained of the original plans from the Royal Engineers Museum in London, the construction and maintenance manuals, the aerial photographs taken at the time and additional information provided by Tim Beckett, the son of Mulberry Harbor designer Allan Beckett, himself a marine engineer. All of this valuable data was brought together and scrutinized over a period of almost eight months by the lab teams, to enable the son of its inventor to virtually stand on it in an immersive 3D experience. The virtual recreation allows people to stand onboard the Mulberry bridge(right) , and even see the amphibious vehicles driving onto the beach (left) Built in CATIA, the same technology used by leading manufacturers to digitally design cars, airplanes and other advanced products, people can experience these 3D recreations through a number of different technologies, from typical computer screens, to Oculus Rift virtual reality headsets, to an immersive virtual reality experience as shown here. “NOVA: D-Day’s Sunken Secrets” premieres Wednesday, May 28, 2014 at 9PM EDT on PBS (check local listings).
### SUMMARY:
| French researchers painstakingly scanned and recreated the landing craft, gliders and landscapes .
Team recreated the artificial harbour, known as the Mulberry harbour, for the virtual invasion .
Can be seen online, shown on giant screens or viewed through VR goggles . |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
By . Ryan Lipman . The head coach of Australia's athletics team has been suspended indefinitely for slamming the country's biggest track and field star, plunging the team into a 'crisis of unprecedented proportions'. Eric Hollingsworth launched an extraordinary attack on Olympic champion Sally Pearson on the eve of her Commonwealth Games 100m hurdles title defence. He said Pearson had set a 'bad example' as team captain by declining to attend a pre-Games training camp in Gateshead, England. Athletics Australia said on Thursday morning: 'We condem in the strongest terms his disparaging comments about Sally Pearson and his timing'. Scroll down for video . Australian athletics head coach Eric Hollingsworth has called track and field star Sally Pearson a bad example after she missed a pre-Commonwealth Games training camp . 'He acted without the authority of Athletics Australia and in contravention of the specific instructions of the chief executive officer,' a statement given to ABC added. They confirmed they have suspended Hollingsworth until the board can consider the matter. Hollingsworth said of Pearson: 'What's lost here is she's the team captain and there's a reasonable expectation she'd be in the camp ahead of something as major as the Commonwealth Games. 'Her no-show sets a bad example to the entire national team.' Hollingsworth also defended his right to criticise Pearson's inability to defend the world indoors 60m hurdles title in March, after which their relationship broke down completely. The comments about Pearson have sent Australian Athletics into a crisis . Former Commonwealth Games track and field medallist David Culbert said the comments had sparked a 'crisis of unprecedented proportions' The comments have caused outrage among Australia's biggest sporting identities who are rallying behind Pearson. Former Commonwealth Games track and field medallist David Culbert said the comments had sparked a 'crisis of unprecedented proportions', reported The Australian. 'I've seen plenty of stuff before in Australian athletics in the last two decades or so but this is the top of the tree I reckon,' he said. 'Having a head coach who leaks his statement on behalf of himself, when competition is underway, describing Sally Pearson, who everyone admires, as being a bad example is one of the most extraordinary things I have ever seen. 'If Eric Hollingsworth is still an employee of Athletics Australia or a member of the Australian Commonwealth Games team by the end of the day then I think the ramifications will continue.' Pearson's manager Robert Joske confirmed on Twitter that the 27-year-old was ignoring the fiasco caused by the controversial comments. 'Sally is not following the drama! She is concentrating on her prep... Professional!', he tweeted. Pearson's coach Robert Joske took to Twitter to say the track and field star was focusing on her games campaign . Nova Peris, the first Aboriginal Australian to win an Olympic gold medal, has slammed Hollingsworth's comments as a 'disgraceful attack' and called Pearson an inspiration and a leader on Twitter. Support for Pearson has also come from former U.S Olympic sprinter Michael Johnson, who weighed in by telling Channel 10 the timing of the comments was 'out of bounds'. He added that Pearson would be able to remain unaffected in the lead up to her games campaign. 'When she's competing I don't think that anything else that happens on the planet really matters to her other than what's going on in the race. So I don't think this will affect her, but that's not the point,' he said. 'The point is that you don't make the comment the day before the competition. I think that was just absolutely out of bounds and it could affect an athlete, and it could affect Sally. I don’t think it will, but I think that should have been taken into consideration before the statement was released.' There are now calls for Commonwealth Games chef de mission Steve Moneghetti to try and stop the athletics team's derailing before its campaign starts. Nova Peris also took to Twitter to rally behind the track star following the 'disgraceful attack' International and Australian track and field athletes have responded to the comments including former U.S sprinter Michael Johnson, pictured left, and former Australian Olympian Nova Peris, pictured right . Senior Athletics Australia officials are also furious with the timing and nature of Hollingsworth's comments. The body has distanced itself by stating the comments do not reflect the views of Athletics Australia (AA). 'This statement was not made on behalf of Athletics Australia but by Hollingsworth as an individual and in no way should it be read as the opinion of Athletics Australia,' AA chief executive Dallas O'Brien said in a statement. 'Given Hollingsworth's current role as a head coach of athletics on the Australian Commonwealth Games Team, we will be meeting with the Australian Commonwealth Games Association urgently to formulate a strong response, as is appropriate.' Senior AA executives were locked in an emergency meeting with Australian Commonwealth Games Association officials on Wednesday to decide whether Hollingsworth's position with the Games team remained tenable. Hollingsworth made the comments on the eve of Pearson's 100m hurdles title defence . Hollingsworth's contract with AA runs out at the conclusion of the Games. Pearson was furious that she was fined by AA for not attending the pre-Games training camp after deciding she would be better served by competing at an extra meet in London, having had her preparation interrupted by a hamstring injury. Hollingsworth also took issue with claims from Pearson's camp that she had received less medical support from AA than had been the case in the past. 'We've had a team physio travelling with Sally for the past three months, following her around Europe,' he said. 'Since May we've provided this service, and there may have been one day or so where there's been an overlap when we've changed over personnel. Senior Athletics Australia officials are angry about the timing and nature of Hollingsworth's comments . 'To say we've withdrawn support is factually incorrect and a little disappointing.' Hollingsworth said he felt compelled to speak out due to what he said was as 'a negative and incorrect picture of the events leading up to the Commonwealth Games'. He insisted he asked 'legitimate questions' of Pearson after she was beaten into second place by American Nia Ali in the defence of her world indoor title in Poland. 'She didn't like the line I was taking,' said Hollingsworth. 'So via her agent she (sought) a meeting with Athletics Australia's president, CEO and High Performance Director, which I was not aware of until the day of, or day before the meeting. Pearson was fined by Australian athletics for not attending the pre-Games training camp . 'While I thought at the time it was curious that I wasn't involved in that process in any form, Sally raised her issues, and the powers-that-be found no problems with my actions, and there was no case to answer. 'Subsequently Sally dug her heels in, as is her right, and asked for what is a new athlete performance advisor which is the conduit between the athletes and Athletics Australia.' Hollingsworth said that was the role he played with most athletes, but he had no issue with it being re-assigned to high performance director Simon Nathan in Pearson's case. 'We had a good working relationship for nearly a decade, but she decided my challenging style wasn't what she was looking for, which is her prerogative,' he said.
### SUMMARY:
| Australian athletics head coach Eric Hollingsworth criticised Sally Pearson .
He was angered the athlete did not attend a pre-Games training camp .
Officials are outraged at the timing and nature of the comments .
He was suspended indefinitely on Thursday by Athletics Australia .
Pearson is currently preparing to defend her 100m hurdles title . |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
By . Francesca Chambers . A Democratic Senator skipped his own fundraiser today to avoid being seen with President Barack Obama. Colorado Sen. Mark Udall was slated to appear at a luncheon benefiting his campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee in Denver this afternoon with the president. The fundraiser had been on the books for at least a month, and Udall, who is up for reelection this year, had touted the joint appearance to supporters. Udall's campaign suddenly announced this morning that the Senator had changed his mind and would stay in Washington today instead. The only high-ranking Democrat who would even be seen in pubic with the president during his trip to Colorado was Governor John Hickenlooper - and they ran into each other at the bar. Democratic politicians steered clear of President Barack Obama when he came to Colorado this week . None of the state's top Democrats joined the president today at Cheesman Park in Denver, where he gave a speech on the economy and spoke with locals . Udall, Hickenlooper and former Colorado state house speaker and current congressional candidate Andrew Romanoff had already said they would not attend a speech the president was giving on the economy this morning in Denver's Cheesman Park. Romanoff has been on bad terms with the White House since it tried to convince him to stay out of the Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate in 2010 to make things easier for sitting Democratic Senator Michael Bennett. A spokeman for Hickenlooper told the Denver Post on Monday that the Governor was simply booked by the time Obama scheduled his remarks. 'The governor has been confirmed since late May to attend a veterans' event on Wednesday morning in Colorado Springs,' said the spokesman, Eric Brown, adding that the governor's office had only just learned of Obama's speech. 'This . has nothing to do with wanting to be with him or not. This is just . logistics,' Udall campaign spokesman Chris Harris told the Denver Post when he asked about his boss' plans. 'If the president is in town, and the president wants to be helpful, why . would anyone want to pass that up?' Udall campaign consultant Mike Stratton said. 'I don't think one visit . by the president is going to change anything in terms of the dynamics of . the campaign.' Ahead of the Democratic Senator's fundraiser featuring Obama today, Udall sent an email to supporters telling them how much he was looking forward to introducing them to the president. 'I'm grateful for President Obama's support in this U.S. Senate race, and I'm looking forward to bringing him out to Colorado for a campaign event,' Udall said, according to the Denver Post. 'But I'm especially excited to introduce him to you, friend,' he continued. Udall's campaign announced this morning, however, that the Senator would remain in D.C. today to vote for Obama's nominee to lead the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Julian Castro. 'Mark is grateful for the president's support, and had hoped to welcome . him to Colorado in person, but his responsibilities to serve Colorado in . the Senate come first,' Harris said. But Castro was expected to be confirmed by the Senate with no extreme difficulty and ended up being approved for the post by nearly three quarters of the Senate. Sen. Mark Udall skipped his own fundraiser today and remained on Capitol Hill in Washington to avoid being seen with President Obama . Republicans . said it didn't come as a shock to them that none of the state's top Democrats . wanted to rub elbows with Obama - least of all Udall, whose race against . Republican Rep. Cory Gardner is ranked as a toss-up on polling site . Real Clear Politics. 'Actions speak louder than words,' a National Republican Senatorial Committee statement said today. 'It’s clear . that the President is beyond toxic, and Mark Udall’s campaign is running . scared.' 'It’s . hardly surprising that Gov. Hickenlooper and Sen. Udall are doing . everything they can to run away from the worst president since World War . II,' Colorado Republican . Committee Chairman Ryan Call said in a statement on Monday, referring to . a recent Quinnipiaic poll in which Obama was rated the least liked . president since 1945. Obama has a 38 percent approval . rating in Colorado, according to Quinnipiac University, and Gallup says he has a marginally higher 43 percent . approval rating nationally. 'I . don't think there are accidents when it comes to the president's . schedule, and I don't think there are accidents when it comes to . senators and members of Congress and their schedules,' Nathan Gonzales, . an analyst for the non-partisan Rothenberg Political Report, told the . Denver Post earlier this week. The only current politician who was willing to hang out with Obama in pubic was Governor John Hickenlooper, right, who ran into the president at a bar . Hickenlooper used to own the bar, Wynkoop Brewing Company, and was hanging out there when Obama dropped by . The Colorado Governor then challenged the president to a game of pool. 'I took his lunch money,' Obama told a group of donors today . Hickenlooper ended up hanging out with Obama at a bar last night, but the meet-up doesn't appear to have been preplanned. Obama . said he was having a drink nearby with some locals and decided to . drop by Wynkoop Brewing Company, an establishment Hickenlooper used to . own. The . Colorado Governor just happened to be there at the time, and invited . the president to play a game of pool. Or at least that's how Obama made the encounter sound during his remarks . at this afternoon's fundraiser. 'You can ask him how that went,' Obama said of the pool game. 'I took his lunch money.' Obama . also mentioned Udall in his remarks, saying he 'is a serious person who . is trying to do the right thing and who has the values that we share.' 'He is not an ideologue. He doesn’t agree with me on everything,' Obama admitted. 'But . he believes in the core idea that I think should be what Democrats are . all about, this idea that if you work hard you should be able to make . it,' he said. 'And that’s worth supporting.' Udall's . absence from the fundraiser was made more noticeable by the fact that . he is the only candidate whom Obama has campaigned for directly this . year. The . proceeds for other events Obama has appeared at this year went directly . to the Democratic Party. Half of the donations from today's . event - which cost as much as $15,000 a couple to attend - will go directly to . Udall. Udall is not alone, however, in his attempts to avoid the unpopular president this election year. North Carolina Senator Kay Hagen, who is also caught up in a . touch reelection battle, stayed in Washington when Obama came to her . state, too. Alaska Sen. Mark Begich said in January that if the president ever came to Alaska he wouldn't campaign with him. 'I don’t need him campaigning for me — I need him to change some of his policies,' the endangered Democrat said. 'If he wants to come up there and learn about Alaska, bring it on — . I’ll drag him around, I’ll show him whatever he wants to see,' he said, but campaigning is a no-go. 'I’m not really interested in campaigning.'
### SUMMARY:
| Colorado Sen. Mark Udall was supposed to attend a fundraiser benefiting his reelection campaign today in Denver that featured President Obama .
At the last minute the Senator decided to stay in Washington .
Two other high-profile Democrats in the state also skipped the fundraiser .
Obama's unpopularity is scaring away Democratic politicians . |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
Mal Loye . could barely grasp what he had just heard when Lancashire team-mate Lou . Vincent offered him £10,000 one day in 2008 to get out for fewer than 10 . in a Twenty20 game the following afternoon against Durham. A . chat with his mum that night helped crystallise his reasons for saying . no. 'I said: "Mum, I don't think I'd even do it for 100, 200, 300 . grand",' Loye told Sportsmail. 'Ultimately, it's about looking your . parents in the eye. They'd given all their time for me to play sport as a . kid. That was the thing - not the money.' Next . day, a few hours before the start of the match, Loye was warming up in . the nets when Vincent upped the offer. 'He said: "Look, the money's . double - £20,000." I just gave him a definite no. I said: "Louey, I . don't want any part of it". I had too much respect for the game.' Speaking out: Mal Loye says players offered bribes must tell bosses . The . 41-year-old Loye, who played seven one-day internationals for England in . early 2007, quit the game four years later and now coaches at . Wellingborough School in Northamptonshire, told no-one about Vincent's . approach other than his mum, his then girlfriend and a couple of mates, . who advised him to put it out of his mind and get on with his career. He . did precisely that, without ever feeling entirely comfortable - until . he was contacted out of the blue by the ECB's anti-corruption unit last . year, then interviewed by police. The . immediate feeling was relief. And, now that Vincent's testimony to the . ICC's own anti-corruption officials has been laid bare, Loye feels able . to talk in detail for the first time about the day, six years ago, that . threatened to turn his life upside down. Hitting out: Mal Loye in that 2008 Twenty20 game for Lancashire against Durham . India's Supreme Court has ordered a full investigation into corruption in the Indian Premier League, including the role of Narayanaswami Srinivasan, the suspended president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India. It follows an initial probe by a three-member team headed by retired judge Justice Mukul Mudgal that found Chennai Super Kings team principal and Srinivasan's sonin- law Gurunath Meiyappan guilty of being in contact with illegal bookmakers. The panel has been asked to submit its report by the end of August. 'I was a . target, a victim,' he said. 'I was in a no-win situation and I still am. I don't deserve it. I didn't deserve it. I put my heart and soul into . cricket, and it wasn't to be associated with this. I take no . satisfaction out of talking to the police last year but, in a weird way, . it was a bit of a relief. I tackled a major problem deep within my . psyche, and it all came out. I broke down just talking about it.' It . was not the first time Loye's unwanted brush with cricket's underworld . had reduced him to tears. Watching the highlights of the . Lancashire-Durham game that night at home, the stress of the day washed . over him. 'It was the only time I'd watched the game until the ECB . officers showed it me again last year.' Loye's . memories of the match remain strikingly vivid, despite the fact that, . by his own admission, he had spent the five years until spring 2013, . when the ECB contacted him, repressing the experience. Spotlight: Loye was contacted out of the blue by the ECB's anti-corruption unit last year . 'There . were two awkward situations that day which will always live with me,' he . said. 'We batted first and I was getting my pads on, clear in my mind . that I'd never been so determined in my life to get to 10.Before Lou and . I walked out to open the batting, I turned, fully padded up, to look at . my team-mates, who were pumped up and ready to go. It was a big, big . game for us, and I felt this guilt towards them that I'd never felt . before. It was the first time it hit me. 'As . we walked out to open together, I wasn't 100 per cent sure that Lou . would be up to something, but I knew after the first over. That was the . other awkward situation. 'We met in the middle after it had been bowled, and Louey just said: "You know what I've got to do." 'To . get through that day - then the whole thing came flooding back watching . the highlights that evening on Sky. That was the breakdown. And then I . moved on.' Failing to . report an approach was not the misdemeanour in 2008 that it is now, and . Loye attempted to rationalise Vincent's behaviour by putting it partly . down to his struggles with depression. But he suspects now that Vincent . targeted him because he was going through problems of his own, of a . personal nature at home, and with his testimonial season, at a time . when the recession meant people were keeping their hands in their . pockets. 'The . only time I felt angry with Louey was when it hit me that he probably . knew how vulnerable I was,' said Loye. 'It was my naivety. I genuinely . thought he was trying to do me a favour.' Against . Durham, in one of three county games now under the ICC's scanner, . Vincent fulfilled his side of the Faustian pact, steering Shaun Pollock . towards a second slip to depart for one from five balls. 'It was . brilliant how he did it,' remembered Loye, who went on to smash 53 from . 37 deliveries, ending for ever the possibility that anyone might one . day conclude he had been tempted by Vincent's offer. Dark hour: New Zealander Lou Vincent (front) has made allegations of corruption in the county game . He said: 'It's one reason why I'd like to speak to Louey now. If I'd nicked off for less than 10, where would that have put me? 'Everyone would have looked at me in a completely different light.' Why does he think Vincent got involved? 'He probably got himself into a serious hole. 'My gut feeling is that he was quite angry with the game, which was financially not as rewarding as other sports.' Out of line: Vincent threw his wicket in matches but on this occasion against Lancashire in a T20 quarter-final, defied his paymasters . What advice would Loye now offer a cricketer who received a similar approach? 'I put it out of my head,' he said. 'Yet here we are, six years down the line, and it's out there. 'As . soon as you get approached, you tell someone - and tell the right . people. Those right people have to be made clear to the players. 'The . Professional Cricketers' Association are doing a great job, and the ECB . were brilliant with me, but I still think the counties could do more.'
### SUMMARY:
| Playing for Lancashire in 2008, Loye was offered bribe to score fewer than 10 runs against Durham in Twenty20 match .
Loye forgot episode until he was contacted out of the blue by the ECB's anti-corruption unit last .
year .
Loye has urged cricketers to contact their bosses if they are offered bribes . |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
This security footage could be the last known recording of virgin killer Elliot Rodger, just hours before he went on his bloody gun rampage. A figure wearing a T-shirt, shorts and a baseball cap walks up to the door of Giovanni's pizza restaurant in Isla Vista, lingers around outside, talking on the phone for a few seconds and then walks off. Waitress Ally Kubie was working in the restaurant at the time and she is convinced she came face to face with the mass murderer on the morning of the massacre. Scroll down for video . This security footage could be the last known recording of virgin killer Elliot Rodger, just hours before he went on his bloody gun rampage . A figure wearing a t-shirt, shorts and a baseball cap walks up to the door of Giovanni's pizza restaurant in Isla Vista, lingers around outside, talking on the phone for a few seconds and then walks off . She saw the man approach the restaurant and assumed he was going to walk in and order. When he stopped short, she asked him if he needed any help, but he apparently just stared at her intensely and gave her a 'creepy smile'. Ally, 20, was so freaked out by the incident that she walked into the back of the restaurant and to her relief the man was gone by the time she came back. She put the encounter out of her mind until later that night when a friend sent her Rodger's sinister YouTube confession, in which he describes his, 'Day of Retribution.' By that stage six people were dead and 13 injured. The moment Ally watched the footage, she immediately recognized Rodger as the man she had come face to face with that morning. Speaking to MailOnline, Ally, originally . from Atlanta Georgia, said: 'I am sure it was him. He had that same . creepy smile and the same facial expressions that the killer pulled in . the YouTube video. Waitress Ally Kubie, pictured, was working in the restaurant at the time and she is convinced she came face to face with the mass murderer on the morning of the massacre . Ally, originally from Atlanta Georgia, said she is sure the man was Rodger, pictured. 'He had that same creepy smile and the same facial expressions that the killer pulled in the YouTube video,' she said . Giovanni's pizza restaurant, pictured, is a popular hangout for students in Isla Vista . 'The moment I saw the video I thought, "I know that guy," then when he started smiling, I thought, "that's the guy from Giovanni's". 'I was so freaked out by it. I couldn't sleep at all that night. I have been trying not to think about it too much, but every now and again I think, "I am really lucky. Something terrible could have happened to me."' 'I don't know why he was there, but he definitely didn't want to order pizza. I was alone in the restaurant, so I guess anything could have happened.' The footage was shot at around 11.19 a.m. on Friday morning. It is not yet known when Rodger's started his killing spree, brutally stabbing roommates Weihan Wang, 20, of Fremont, and Cheng Yuan Hong, 20, of San Jose and their friend George Chen, 19, also of San Jose. It could have been just hours before, or . even soon after the video was taken. What is known is that at around . 9.27 p.m. Rodgers, 22, shot and killed Katherine Cooper, 22, and . Veronika Weiss, 19 outside Alpha Phi sorority house. He then drove to IV . Deli Mart where he shot his final victim Chris Martinez. Ally said she saw the man, shown here in security footage, approach the restaurant and assumed he was going to walk in and order. When he stopped short, she asked him if he needed any help, but he apparently just stared at her intensely and gave her a 'creepy smile' Ally, 20, was so freaked out by the incident that she walked into the back of the restaurant and to her relief the man was gone by the time she came back . The moment Ally watched the footage, she immediately recognized Rodger's as the man she had come face to face with that morning . Ally had no idea any of this was going to unfold when she first spotted the man approaching the shop. She said: 'I was in the back and I walked out to put something on the counter. My colleague was out on a delivery, so I was on my own. 'I saw this guy in a baseball cap walk up to the door on his phone. I assumed he was going to come in and order, so I walked behind the counter. 'But he just leant against the little wall by the patio and stared at me. He kept looking at me for a few seconds. It was really creepy. I was pretty weirded out by it, so I asked him if he wanted any help. 'That's when he gave me this really creepy smile. It scared me, so I walked in the back and by the time I came back out he had gone.' Ally's reaction to the individual can be seen on camera footage, shot on a second device inside the shop. She went on: 'I got on with my shift and . later that night I was out with my friend when we heard a car crash . down the street. We ran over to see what it was and saw the cops all . round this guy.' Ally Kubie is seen on the footage watching who she now believes was Elliot Rodger . Ally stops and looks at the man, clearly finding his behavior odd . Although Ally didn't realize it at the time, she had just witnessed the aftermath of Rodger's rampage, which culminated in a gun battle with police. After letting off rounds at officers, he crashed his black BMW and by the time he had been pulled out of the wreckage he was dead, having suffered a single gunshot wound to the head. It is believed he shot himself with one of the 400 bullets he had left in his car. Ally went on: 'I was at home later that night and my friend sent me a link to the guy's YouTube video. The moment I watched it I recognized him. It was really creepy. 'Then I found out he lived just a block away from me. I used to walk past his apartment every day. It's so horrible to think he killed those people in there. 'If I'm honest I'm trying not to think about it. After all, nothing happened and I'm OK, but sometimes I do think how lucky I am that he didn't come in and do something.' The owner of the popular restaurant Matt Meczka has watched the video dozens of times and still can't be sure if Rodger is the man who walks up to the door. He said: 'It is impossible to tell. 'The next day there was a big soccer game on and we were absolutely packed at that time. He may have got the days confused and thought that was on Friday and that the restaurant was going to be busy. That is just speculation as no one really knows.'
### SUMMARY:
| Waitress Ally Kubie was working in Giovanni's pizza restaurant in Isla Vista .
She is convinced she came face to face with mass murderer Elliot Rodger on Friday, the morning of the massacre .
A figure wearing a T-shirt, shorts and a baseball cap is seen on security footage walking up to the door of the restaurant .
He lingers around outside, talking on the phone for a few seconds and then walks off .
She saw the man and assumed he was going to walk in and order .
When he stopped short, she asked him if he needed any help, but he apparently just stared at her intensely and gave her a 'creepy smile'
Later that day, Rodger shot dead six people and injured another 13 in a horror rampage . |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
The 81-year-old actor who was convinced he would be jailed 'on one count or another' Coronation Street star Bill Roache has launched a bitter attack on the judge who presided over his rape trial, accusing him of ‘bias’ and ‘working for the prosecution’. ‘He mauled me,’ said the 81-year-old actor who was convinced he would be jailed ‘on one count or another’ of the two rapes and four indecent assault charges he faced during his 17-day court case. And, extraordinarily, even at the very moment his friends and supporters celebrated his acquittal, Roache believed he was ‘going down’ – as he misheard the jury foreman’s verdict as ‘guilty’ due to a chronic hearing problem. It was only when his burly minder clapped his hands and shouted: ‘Get that man out of the dock!’ did he realise he was a free man. Roache revealed: ‘I didn’t hear the verdict properly, I didn’t hear a couple of “nots”. I thought I had gone on two [charges] – I just heard guilty, guilty. I really thought they had got me.’ The actor condemned Mr Justice Holroyde for being biased – an accusation supported by his barrister, Louise Blackwell QC, who unusually made two applications to have the jury discharged due to the ‘unfairly biased nature’ of the judge’s summing up. ‘In my view the judge wasn’t impartial. The judge was biased, he mauled me. I thought that was it,’ the star said. ‘My QC was absolutely brilliant. She challenged the judge over his summing up, it was so ridiculous. ‘The judge sent the jury out and my barrister said, “Your summing up is biased”. It was unprecedented. ‘He brought the jury in and I thought he was very different. But in the end, I thought he was still biased. The judge just didn’t like me. ‘Judges, they work for the prosecution, in my opinion. I didn’t realise this.’ His comments were made at a meeting of the Circle Of Love, a spiritualist group of which he has been a member for a number of years. He is pictured attending this meeting with his daughter Verity to the left . Asked about his costs, a jubilant Roache said: ‘I’ll get everything back. When you win, you get everything back.’ His comments were made at a meeting of the Circle Of Love, a spiritualist group of which he has been a member for a number of years. The Mail on Sunday was allowed exclusive access to the group’s meeting in Ashton-under-Lyne near Manchester just hours after the court case ended on Thursday. Relieved but exhausted, the father of four mingled with the congregation and spoke candidly of his ordeal as supporters came up to hug and congratulate him. He told them: ‘I was resigned to going down on one charge or another. It’s not about truth, or about justice, it’s a game.’ He explained how chronic tinnitus caused him to mistake the jury foreman’s fateful words. ‘My family were weeping and it wasn’t until my security man started clapping and the judge said, “You may leave the dock” that I realised I was a free man. The jury got it right.’ The father of four mingled with the congregation and spoke candidly of his ordeal as supporters came up to hug and congratulate him . It was during a break with tea, coffee and biscuits that Roache delivered his blistering attack on the trial judge . Asked about when he would return to Coronation Street, Roache said he would be back in August. He said: ‘I’m going in to have a meeting with Granada next week. They’ve said the storylines are written until July. They just can’t fit me in until August because the scripts are so far in advance.’ Asked about whether he would be taking a break, Roache replied: ‘I may pop away for a few days at a spa. I’m taking one day at a time. We’re all right now.’ The actor arrived at the meeting in a black Range Rover accompanied by his daughter Verity, 31, and her boyfriend. He hugged and kissed members as he stepped into the Seraphina Holistic Centre at Ashton-under-Lyne for the two- hour meeting. The actor arrived at the meeting in a black Range Rover accompanied by his daughter Verity, 31 . At the start of the candlelit session, a woman strummed a guitar and sang about love, then the group’s 28-year-old leader James Wood delivered a rambling sermon on love and world peace, before the group held hands and meditated. Roache closed his eyes and bowed his head. As he meditated, one of the speakers encouraged the group to ‘bring love into the room’. It was during a break with tea, coffee and biscuits that Roache delivered his blistering attack on the trial judge. The soap star, who was suspended from Coronation Street while on remand, spent much of the two hours talking intensely to founder member Ann Rogers, who earlier had talked about establishing ‘peace and love on this earth’ so subsequent generations would ‘never know fear’. Roache, the world’s longest-serving soap actor, having played Ken Barlow in Coronation Street since its launch in 1960, had name-checked group leader Mr Wood on the steps of the court after the verdict. He said: ‘I would like to thank James and the Circle Of Love for their love and energy that has brought me to this place and this time, and I look forward to being with them this Friday night.’ The pair shared an emotional reunion at the meeting, as they embraced and James offered words of support to the actor. Mr Wood became a member of the Circle Of Love three years ago, after being introduced to Ann Rogers through a mutual friend. Since then he has become a close confidant of Roache. Speaking to The Mail on Sunday, Mr Wood, of Appleton, near Warrington, Cheshire, said: ‘Bill is a dear friend and I am pleased that he has drawn support from the Circle Of Love. ‘I know we’ve been painted in the press as a weird cult, but people find our message difficult to understand, because it’s so simple.’ At the start of the candlelit session, a woman strummed a guitar and sang about love, then the group's leader James Wood delivered a sermon on love and world peace . Mr Wood explained that the ethos of the cult was to ‘bring peace to the earth through encouraging people to love each other’. Roache was first drawn to spiritualism in the late 1960s when he joined a druid movement, explaining years later that his beliefs helped him cope with the tragic death in 1984 of his 18-month-old daughter Edwina. Two years ago he joined the Circle Of Love, saying he wanted a ‘more spiritual path’. He has attended regular group meetings, even during his time on remand. Towards the end of the trial, Ms Blackwell drew up a list of 30 points which she said should not have been put before the jury in the summing up, and made an application that the trial should be scrapped. After consideration, Mr Justice Holroyde said: ‘I don’t accept the submission that the content or tone of my summary of the evidence thus far could give rise to any inference of leaning towards the prosecution or against the defence.’
### SUMMARY:
| Coronation Street star, 81, was cleared of six charges of sex abuse .
Claims that judge 'mauled' him with 'biased summing-up' at end of trial .
Reveals he couldn't hear verdict and thought he had been declared guilty . |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
Just when England thought it was safe to dip their toes back in the choppy Australian waters, up popped Mitchell Johnson to swamp hopes of registering any sort of victory against the old enemy before the World Cup. It was almost as if England had never been away as, in Johnson’s first game of the year, he took them back 12 months to their Ashes misery with a sensational, match-winning display of extreme fast bowling. The man who did most to ensure England were thrashed 5-0 last winter now put their World Cup hopes into perspective by bursting through the middle order to give Australia victory for the third time already on this tour. Australia's Mitchell Johnson (centre) celebrates with his team-mates after taking the wicket of Eoin Morgan . Moeen Ali was another victim of Johnson (right), who celebrates with his arms spread wide at the WACA . Glenn Maxwell (centre) was impressive with bat and ball as Australia beat England in the Tri-Series final . It gave Australia the Tri-series title at the WACA and a huge psychological advantage ahead of their big date in Melbourne on Valentine’s Day when they open this year’s World Cup. It should be pointed out that Johnson’s devastating burst of three wickets in 10 balls on Sunday — to virtually end England’s hopes of chasing 278 for eight — all came against batsmen who did not play in the Ashes. 1. England are getting better. Yes, don’t laugh, they really are. They don’t need to be as good as World Cup hot-favourites Australia to exceed expectations here and don’t need to peak for at least a month yet. 2. They know their best side, with Ian Bell and Steven Finn cementing their places. It would be a surprise if James Tredwell, Gary Ballance, Alex Hales and Chris Jordan are anything other than subs — but Ravi Bopara could do with a score soon. 3. Moeen Ali can now be considered a front-line spinner in one-day as well as Test cricket. He may not have fully fired as opener but he can be relied on for 10 economical overs. 4. The captain needs runs. Where have we heard that before? Eoin Morgan’s two golden ducks against Australia are worrying. If England are going to fire in the World Cup he must be at his best. 5. The defending champions won’t win it. India, who have been here for nearly three winless months, have been woeful and uninterested in this tournament. He was meant to be rusty, easing his way back after a month’s absence. In fact, he was simply too quick and too good for James Taylor, Moeen Ali and, first ball, captain Eoin Morgan, in a first spell of four highly significant overs. It must be said the first of those victims looked unlucky, with TV umpire John Ward seemingly failing to spot that Johnson had marginally overstepped, even though the on-field officials had asked him to check for a no-ball. Australia's players surround Johnson as Morgan (right) walks back to the clubhouse after being bowled . Mitchell Marsh holds his bat aloft in celebration after scoring a half-century for Australia, against England . Ian Bell walks from the crease back towards the pavilion after being dismissed for just eight runs . Once Moeen failed to get out of the way of a brutal snorter and Morgan inexplicably left his first delivery, normal service from the worst tour in England’s history had soberingly resumed. ‘I’m finding it hard to put my finger on why we batted like that,’ said Morgan. ‘At no time were we put under pressure. We made bad decisions which is disappointing. If we play near our capability we will beat them, I’ve no doubt.’ But, surely the Johnson factor was crucial? Not so, says Morgan. ‘He wasn’t at the front of our thoughts. We talked about the opposition but I don’t think we were threatened. I don’t think he swung it. It could have been anybody bowling. We just had a really bad day.’ If England are really not concerned about Johnson they should be, according to Glenn Maxwell, who, if anything, surpassed the fast bowler in scoring 95 and taking four wickets. ‘They should be worried about him,’ said Maxwell. ‘He tore through them. They can be not worried if they like but if they’re getting skittled by him they probably should be.’ Ravi Bopara (left) plays a shot during England's Tri-Series final against Australia at the WACA in Perth . Jos Buttler watches his ball race away towards the boundary on his way to 17 runs for England . Australian batsman Steve Smith shouts after playing a shot in the Tri-Series final on February 1 . This 112-run defeat should not be seen as fatal for England’s World Cup hopes because the structure of one-day cricket’s premier tournament is heavily weighted towards Test teams. But the manner of it was poor. They reduced Australia to 60 for four but hopes were initially dashed by a stand of 141 between Maxwell and Mitch Marsh and then another blast from the past from James Faulkner. Faulkner later walked off with a side injury that could rule him out of the World Cup, after smashing 50 from 24 balls. Even so, Australia barely reached par. England regained some hope after they ran out Marsh who, with Glenn Maxwell, put on an impressive show . Stuart Broad (centre) celebrates with Joe Root (left) and Bell (right) after dismissing George Bailey . Maxwell (right) plays a shot past Buttler on the way to 95 runs - Australia's top scoring batsman . Stuart Broad took a big step towards returning to his best with three wickets and Moeen was once again excellent — but this was a nightmare day for Chris Woakes, who went wicketless and conceded a thumping 89 runs to record the fourth-worst figures in England one-day international history. When Woakes was dismissed first ball by the spin of Maxwell his progress had been considerably dented. England’s hopes of registering what would have been a big victory did not look great when the form man Ian Bell edged Josh Hazlewood to Brad Haddin. Then Johnson showed there has been no lessening of his powers in the last year, at least on the home pitch that suits him perfectly. What was less excusable for England was conceding four wickets to Maxwell, who excelled with ball as well as bat as Australia wrapped things up with 65 balls to spare. Ali (second left) celebrates with his England team-mates after taking a wicket at the WACA in Perth . Broad lifts his index finger in celebration after dismissing Bailey to leave Australia on 46-3 against England . Bailey (left) was caught and bowled, but Australia went on to beat England in the Tri-Series final . Bell and Ali take to the field to open the batting for England on a warm day in Perth, Australia on Sunday . England have a week off before warm-up games against Pakistan and West Indies ahead of their reunion with Australia at the MCG. Johnson will be waiting there even though Morgan was bullish. ‘The pressure will build on them as the home team in a World Cup playing against a dangerous side. We’ll go out with all guns blazing.’ It remains to be seen whether that will be enough against what looks like a formidable Australian one-day side.
### SUMMARY:
| Australia batted out their 50 overs, scoring 278 runs for eight wickets .
Glenn Maxwell and Mitchell Marsh hit a partnership of 141 runs .
England came in to bat and Mitchell Johnson took three wickets in 10 balls .
In his first game of the year, Johnson brought back bitter memories of England's Ashes misery with an impressive display .
Australia won the watch by 122 runs after bowling England out for 166 . |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
Sir Richard Branson insists he still intends to travel to space with his family on Virgin Galactic, despite a test flight crash last week that killed one pilot. Speaking from Necker Island - his private resort in the Caribbean - Branson said surviving pilot Peter Siebold, 43, escaped serious injury and should be out of hospital in the next few days. US investigators say they have not ruled out the possibility of pilot error on board SpaceShipTwo, which crashed in the Mojave Desert in California on Friday, killing co-pilot Michael Alsbury, 39. Scroll down for video . Branson told Sky News he still intends on travelling to space with his family on the Virgin Galactic despite the fatal crash during a test flight last week . Branson the Virgin group's founder, said Virgin Galactic could 'move forward' following the disaster as he vowed to travel on board the space flight with his relatives once safety tests have been completed. Branson told Sky News: 'We've spent many, many years building a spacecraft, a mothership, a space port, that I think can do the job and do the job safely. 'We will not start taking people until we've finished a whole massive series of test flights and until myself and my family have gone up, and until we feel that we can safely say to people 'we're ready to go'.' He added: 'All I can say is we will not fly members of the public unless we can fly myself and family members. Sheriffs' deputies look at wreckage from the crash of Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo . 'We need to be absolutely certain our spaceship has been thoroughly tested - and that it will be - and once it's thoroughly tested and we can go to space, we will go to space. 'We must push on. There are incredible things that can happen through mankind being able to explore space properly.' Sir Richard insisted that 'we must push on' following the disaster that killed one pilot on Friday . Speaking on the Today show this morning, Branson insisted the team intends to continue working on the spaceship, despite what he called a 'horrible setback'. 'We have a wonderful spaceship,' he said. 'They're not going to down tools - they're going to move forward and create a spaceship company that will one day be the marvel of the world… It's worth the risks.' He added they owed it to Alsbury to carry on with the project. 'We owe it to him to continue and that we will do,' he said. 'It's a grand program which has had a horrible setback, but I don't think anyone watching this program would want us to abandon it at this stage.' He would not speculate on the cause of the crash and said he will follow the National Transit Safety Board's (NTSB) lead. Speaking to Sky News, Branson also criticised the 'irresponsible innuendo' in some of the reports of the crash, including claims there had been a mid-air explosion and that some engineers had left the project over safety concerns. 'It was incredibly hurtful to the 400 engineers who have worked so gallantly at Virgin Galactic,' he said. 'It was insulting. If the press had looked at the photographs they would have seen full fuel tanks and engines all intact on the ground and yet they were talking about a massive explosion. 'They were talking about people ejecting out of the plane and ejector seats. We don't have ejector seats. 'It was the British press at its worst and some of them should hang their heads in shame.' Speaking on the Today show this morning, Sir Richard insisted the team will continue working on the spaceship, despite what he called a 'horrible setback' Last year, Branson said he hoped to to take his children Sam (left), 29, and Holly (right), 32, into space with him aboard Virgin Galactic's first passenger spaceflight on SpaceShipTwo . Branson said there was 'overwhelming global support' for the project and he had received hundreds of supportive emails, including two people who signed up for flights on the day of the disaster. 'I'm absolutely convinced Virgin Galactic has a great future,' he added. Last year, Branson spoke about his hopes to take his children Sam, 29, and Holly, 32, into space with him aboard Virgin Galactic's first passenger spaceflight on SpaceShipTwo. 'I think any rational person would be slightly nervous, but it's going to be the most incredible experience ever,' Sam Branson told NBC in an interview. These images show the Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo rocket separating from the carrier aircraft, left, and then disintegrating, right, during a test flight on Friday . 'We've had people like myself who booked the whole spaceship for their families,' Richard Branson added, 'and I think you know it'll be just a magnificent experience for everybody.' NTSB, which is leading the probe into the crash, has revealed that seconds before the crash a safety device to slow the descent of the craft had been deployed prematurely. Investigators found that the spaceship's 'feathering' system - which lifts and rotates the tail to create drag - was activated before the craft reached the appropriate speed. The system of deployment is a two-step process, but Christopher Hart, acting chairman of the NTSB, said that, while the co-pilot unlocked the system, the second step occurred 'without being commanded'. Debris from Virgin Galactic SpaceShip 2 sits in a desert field north of Mojave, following the crash that killed one of the two pilots . Michael Alsbury (left) was killed in the crash on Friday, while co-pilot Peter Siebold (right) survived . 'After it was unlocked, the feathers moved into the deployed position and two seconds later we saw disintegration,' he told a press conference. Mr Hart said investigators would look at a wide range of issues including training, the spacecraft's design and whether there was pressure to continue testing, over the coming months to determine the cause of the crash. Asked whether investigators were 'edging' towards the possibility of pilot error, Mr Hart replied: 'We're not edging towards anything. We're not ruling anything out. 'We're looking at all of these issues to determine what was the root cause of this mishap. 'We are looking at a number of possibilities including that possibility (pilot error).' A piece of debris is seen near the scene of the crash of Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo . Virgin Galactic pilot Todd Erikson (left) shares information with NTSB Acting Chairman Christopher Hart (right) at a section of the crash site of the Virgin Galactic prototype space tourism rocket in the Mojave desert . Virgin Galactic - owned by Sir Richard's Virgin Group and Aabar Investments PJS of Abu Dhabi - plans to fly passengers to altitudes more than 62 miles (100km) above Earth. The company, which sells seats on each prospective journey for 250,000 US dollars (£156,000), has denied reports it ignored safety warnings ahead of the test flight crash. In a statement, the company said: 'At Virgin Galactic, we are dedicated to opening the space frontier, while keeping safety as our 'North Star'. This has guided every decision we have made over the past decade, and any suggestion to the contrary is categorically untrue.' Billionaire Richard Branson was speaking from his home on Necker Island - his private resort in the Caribbean .
### SUMMARY:
| Billionaire insisted he still intends to travel with his family on Virgin Galactic .
He claimed Virgin Galactic could 'move forward' despite disaster last week .
Said surviving pilot Peter Siebold should be out of hospital in next few days .
Also criticised 'irresponsible innuendo' in some reports of the crash .
On the Today show, Branson described crash as a 'horrible setback'
Branson was speaking from his private Caribbean resort . |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
Ezell Ford, 25, was shot dead by officers in South Los Angeles on Monday evening . An eyewitness to the death of Ezell Ford has claimed an officer with the LAPD shouted 'shoot him' just before the mentally ill unarmed 25-year-old was fatally shot on Monday. The Huffington Post claims witness, Leroy Hill, saw an officer with the LAPD shoot Ford three times while he was on the ground and that he saw the entire incident unfold in front of him. Hill denied that Ford had any association with Los Angeles gangs and claimed that officers ambushed him as he walked down the street. 'He wasn't a gang banger at all,' said Hill said to HuffPost. 'I was sitting across the street when it happened. So as he was walking down the street, the police approached him, whatever was said I couldn't hear it, but the cops jumped out of the car and rushed him over here into this corner. 'They had him in the corner and were beating him, busted him up, for what reason I don't know he didn't do nothing. 'The next thing I know I hear a 'pow!' while he's on the ground. They got the knee on him. And then I hear another 'pow!' No hesitation. And then I hear another 'pow!' Three times.' Ezell Ford, 25, was allegedly shot dead by officers in the Florence neighbourhood in South Los Angeles on Monday evening. A demonstrator throws back a tear gas container after tactical officers worked to break up a group of protesters in Ferguson, Missouri on Tuesday night amid ongoing demonstrations over the cop shooting of an unarmed teen . His family say Mr Ford was complying with police orders and was lying down when he was fatally shot at the intersection of West 65th Street and South Broadway at 8.12pm. According to Lietenant Ellis Imaizumi of the Los Angeles Police Department, officers were carrying out an 'investigative stop' during which a 'struggle ensued' and police opened fire. Mr Ford was taken to hospital but later died of his injuries. According to police, no officers were injured. Speaking to KTLA, Ezell Ford said her son was shot three times while he was lying on the ground and following the officers' orders. She also said they refused to tell her which hospital her son had been taken too but this has been denied by LAPD. Another relative said Mr Ford had mental health problems. He said: 'They laid him out and for whatever reason, they shot him in the back, knowing mentally, he has complications. 'Every officer in this area, from the Newton Division, knows that — that this child has mental problems. A Facebook page calling for justice for Ezell Ford has now been set up and a rally has been organised for Sunday at 3pm at LAPD headquarters. The shooting came two days after Michael Brown, an unarmed black 18-year-old, was killed by police in Ferguson, Missouri. A third . night of violent protests flared up in Ferguson, Missouri, as . police in riot gear and armored trucks trained high-powered rifles on . protesters. Police . revealed today that a woman had been shot in the head in an alleged . drive-by shooting in Ferguson on Tuesday night while in a separate . incident, a police officer reportedly shot an armed man. It was unclear whether the shootings were connected to the protests, according to NBC reports. Demonstrators protest the killing of teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri . According to WBNS, four men wearing ski masks and armed with shotguns believed to be staging a robbery were apprehended by officers. One . suspect confronted an officer with a handgun. The officer, who feared . for his life said a police spokesman, shot the armed subject. The alleged robber was taken to hospital in critical condition. In . a separate incident, a woman was shot once in the head during a . drive-by shooting, police reported. She was taken to hospital and is . expected to live. The . Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) has established a no-fly zone over . Ferguson after police said one of their helicopters was fired upon on . multiple occasions. The ban will remain in place until Monday. Following a rally by civil rights leader Al Sharpton on Tuesday, crowds confronted police and refused orders to disperse. Rev. Al Sharpton speaks during a gathering to calm tension following the shooting of black teenager Michael Brown . Police fired more tear gas on the protests but overall, the situation did not escalate as it had on previous nights. On . Sunday and Monday nights, tensions have run high in Ferguson where . crowds looted and burned stores, vandalized vehicles and taunted . police. Riot officers dressed in tactical gear shot rubber bullets and bean-bag rounds at protesters who volleyed rocks in return. At . a rally held by Reverend Sharpton on Tuesday night, the mother of . Michael Brown, Lesley McSpadden, demanded that the police officer who . shot her son come forward. 'You . take your punishment,' Lesley McSpadden said. 'If you were a man you'd . stand up, you'd be a man, you would say you was wrong.' Reverend . Sharpton added: 'The local authorities have put themselves in a . position - hiding names and not being transparent - where people will . not trust anything but an objective investigation.' The shooting in LA came two days after Michael Brown (pictured) was killed by police in Ferguson, Missouri . Her plea comes as Ferguson police refused to name of the officer in question, citing death threats made on social media. The police claim that the teenager assaulted the police officer in the street on Saturday and made a grab for his weapon. That claim is entirely refuted by Brown's friend, Dorian Johnson, who was within feet of the entire incident. Mr . Johnson, 22, said his friend fled from the officer after being shot . once, held his hands up and shouted that he was unarmed. The officer . then repeatedly fired shots at Brown, Mr Johnson said. Police admit that Brown was shot 'a couple of times' but could not give an exact number. Vigils have been planned across the U.S. on Thursday in response to recent alleged acts of police brutality including the killing of 18-year-old Brown. Organized by a movement called the National Moment Of Silence, vigils are being planned in 50 cities across 30 states. President Obama released a statement on Tuesday where he addressed the teen's shooting. He . said: 'The death of Michael Brown is heartbreaking, and Michelle and I . send our deepest condolences to his family and his community at this . very difficult time. 'As Attorney General Holder has indicated, the . Department of Justice is investigating the situation along with local . officials, and they will continue to direct resources to the case as . needed. 'I . know the events of the past few days have prompted strong passions, but . as details unfold, I urge everyone in Ferguson, Missouri, and across . the country, to remember this young man through reflection and . understanding. 'We . should comfort each other and talk with one another in a way that . heals, not in a way that wounds. Along with our prayers, that’s what . Michael and his family, and our broader American community, deserve.'
### SUMMARY:
| Ezell Ford, 25, was shot dead by officers in South Los Angeles .
His family say Mr Ford was complying with police orders .
Eyewitness claims LAPD officer shouted 'shoot him' before bullets fired .
Mr Ford was taken to hospital but later died of his injuries .
A Facebook page calling for justice for Ezell Ford has now been set up .
Rally has been organised for Sunday at 3pm at LAPD headquarters . |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
Samantha Brick, the Daily Mail writer, who sparked an avalanche of debate when she declared 'Why do women hate me for being beautiful?' is dominating the internet for a second day running - this time for her fierce reaction to her critics. In just hours Samantha's article yesterday became a worldwide sensation and today her name is still trending globally on Twitter as users continue to discuss her controversial opinion. Her fiery response posted online today, in which she says her 'detractors have simply proved my point,' has again provoked a deluge of online comments. Quite a reaction: Samantha Brick's tell-all piece about how women hate her has sparked a huge reaction around the world . Admittedly, not all were supportive with . many people saying she was 'delusional' and 'against feminism,' and others accused her of being . deliberately provocative. Some users however, rode to her defence and said she had a right to freedom of expression and several people said 'at least she is honest about her views.' The comment on today's article which received the most red arrows - meaning users did not like it- was from Christine in Salt Lake City, U.S. She wrote: 'This women has what every women wants !! SELF ESTEEM!!! Every women should be able to look at themselves as the most beautiful women in the world .You go girl!!!!' The comment which 8,240 users deemed a positive with green arrows was written by Rebs, in Dublin, Ireland. She wrote: 'We don't dislike you for thinking you are beautiful, that's fine. It's your arrogant deluded attitude that is annoying.' Samantha's original article and her response have been our two most read stories on the MailOnline for the past two days - gaining nearly 8,000 comments on the site between them and still growing. Today she stated: 'While I've been shocked and hurt by the global condemnation, I have just this to say: my detractors have simply proved my point. Their level of anger only underlines that no one in this world is more reviled than a pretty woman.' She adds that she isn't surprised Victoria Beckham has moved to Los Angeles as, as, in Samantha's words: 'She knows better than anyone how your looks can be used against you in Britain — here we reward false modesty instead and gang up against anyone who isn't suitably self-deprecating.' Sarcastic comment: Reality TV star Sally Bercow took to Twitter to post about Samantha Brick . Internet storm: Samantha, who lives with her French husband Pascal Rubinatin the Dordogne, could have had no idea what a reaction her piece would provoke . This chart shows how the search term 'Samantha Brick' exploded into life on Twitter today . Yesterday the top-rated comment . following her first piece was from Annie, in Toronto, Canada, who was . awarded an astonishing 18,000 'green arrows' from fellow readers for . saying Samantha needs a 'reality check'. But there's no doubting people found her tell-all interesting - since the confessional piece was published yesterday Samantha's story has racked up more than 1.5million hits on our site. The story has also been picked up and commented on by dozens more around the world as interest in it spread across the internet. It has been used on . everything from the The Daily Telegraph and The Independent's websites in the UK to . ABC News in the U.S. and fashion magazine Stylist. On Facebook nearly 50,000 shared it with their friends and at one point yesterday the story was the second top trend on Twitter as millions of people talked about it online. Samantha . was more discussed than James Murdoch quitting BSkyB, free ice cream . and all the other big news stories of the day and a spoof Twitter . account was also set up to poke fun at her. So what was it that got people so het up? BBC DJ Lauren Laverne posted a series of tweets about Samantha's article . Many of the comments alluded to Samantha's claim that women feel threatened by her. Speaking from her home in the Dordogne, France, Samantha . told the Mail: 'I'm not smug and I’m no flirt, yet over the years I've . been dropped by countless friends who felt threatened if I was merely in . the presence of their other halves. 'If their partners dared to actually . talk to me, a sudden chill would descend on the room. The Stylist magazine wrote a piece entitled 'We don't hate you Samantha Brick' in defence of the Daily Mail writer . She also said: 'While I’m no Elle . Macpherson, I'm tall, slim, blonde and, so I'm often told, a . good-looking woman. I know how lucky I am. 'But there are downsides to . being pretty — the main one being that other women hate me for no other . reason than my lovely looks.' These led to a strong of negative comments, but not all the reaction was against her. Figures show Samantha's story was the second top trending topic at one point today after 'Dear Nicki' India Andrews, from Los Angeles, California, said on MailOnline: 'You can't account for other people's reactions . to you. 'I'm smart, and I've intimidated people in a conversation . unintentionally many times or engendered jealousy in students during a . class unintentionally as well. 'Just live your life, and if someone tries . to get into your face about it, say "okay" and go about your life like . normal. 'Don't try to engage them in a conversation about it. My . experience is that you can't change their minds or their feelings.' In another of the best-rated comments, Alan Smyth, from Middlesbrough, said: 'Obviously a truly gorgeous person both . inside AND out. 'How sad to see the trolls sniping at her from 'neath . their gloomy bridges, they can NEVER touch her however! Sail on serenely . beautiful Ms Brick you deserve to laugh in the face of the jealous . beasts.' On Twitter, Sally Bercow, the reality TV star and the wife of Commons speaker John Bercow who is no stranger to being controversial herself, said sarcastically: 'I don't think I have had an Easter card. Ever. I bet Samantha Brick has had thousands...' BBC DJ Lauren Laverne posted a series of tweets about Samantha's article asking: 'Why do people WRITE articles lies this? And why am I reading it?' In an editorial entitled 'We don't hate you Samantha Brick' Stylist magazine also made its point. TV illusionist Derren Brown was one of a number of celebrities who took to Twitter after reading the story . It said: 'We believe Samantha Brick has had some unfortunate experiences with friends and colleagues, but this article is just another example of women attacking women - the very thing Samantha complains about. 'We're proud when our friends look their best and, we imagine, so are you. It's genuinely pleasant to watch a colleague light up when you compliment her skirt, or to walk into a room and see your closest friend looking just perfect. 'Think of the joy we all get from seeing a woman we love as a happy, sparkling bride. Let’s treat each other with generosity: let's celebrate.'
### SUMMARY:
| The Daily Mail writer provoked a strong reaction yesterday when she tried to explain why women they feel threatened by her, while men lust after her .
Her name is still trending globally on Twitter today for the second day running as users continue to discuss her controversial article .
She defiantly responded in her second article insisting that the tidal wave of angry reaction just 'proves my point' |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said that he is confident that 'social stability' can be preserved in Hong Kong and insisted that Beijing won't change its 'one country, two systems' approach to running the territory. Li met German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin on Friday as thousands of protesters arrived for a pro-democracy rally in Hong Kong - reviving the ongoing civil disobedience movement. Li said that preserving the 'long-term prosperity and stability' of Hong Kong is not just in China's interest but in that of the residents of the former British colony. Scroll down for video . Resurgence: Protesters gathered in their thousands on the streets of Hong Kong on Friday. The government has repeatedly urged protesters to withdraw from the streets and allow the city to return to normal . Solidarity: Following a week of waning support for the pro-democracy movement, Hong Kong residents flooded the streets in the centre of the city on Friday night. Yesterday the government called off talks with protesters . Keeping busy: Protesters check their laptops and phones as they wait on the streets of Hong Kong, the city's iconic skyscrapers in the background. They are demanding a greater say in choosing the city's leader . Speaking through an interpreter, he said the territory's government will protect inhabitants from 'injury or material damage.' Merkel said she hopes demonstrations remain peaceful. His announcement came as thousands of protesters flooded a main road in Hong Kong for a pro-democracy rally late Friday. The renewed support revived the civil disobedience movement a day after the government called off talks with student leaders. The resurgence came after a week that saw flagging support for the protests, which have blocked off main roads and streets in three of Hong Kong's busiest areas for the last two weeks. Some of the roads have reopened to traffic, but a main thoroughfare through the heart of the business district remains occupied. Control: Li met German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin on Friday as thousands of protesters arrived for a pro-democracy rally in Hong Kong. Mrs Merkel said that she hopes the demonstrations remain peaceful . Distant: Li visited a German supermarket with Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday as thousands of protesters rejoined mass pro-democracy demonstrations in the former British colony . Resolute: Speaking through an interpreter at a press conference in Germany on Friday, Li Keqiang, pictured with Mrs Merkel, said the territory's government will protect inhabitants from 'injury or material damage' Meanwhile, Taiwan's President used the country's National Day celebrations to urge mainland China to embrace democracy, starting with Hong Kong. President Ma Ying-jeou said Taiwan gave 'strong support' for the people of Hong Kong's struggle for the democratic election of their local government. Drawing on an ancient Chinese proverb, the Taiwanese leader and Kuomintang Party (KMT) chairman said China's 1.3 billion people 'wish to enjoy greater democracy and rule of law.' Pointedly, he said 'such a desire has never been a monopoly of the West, but is the right of all humankind.' He also suggested that Beijing should approach political reform today in the way it embraced early economic reforms three decades ago. China and Taiwan have been ruled by rival governments since 1949 when China's Civil War ended. Renewed support: Premier Li Keqiang insisted that Beijing won't change its 'one country, two systems' approach to running the territory as thousands attended a rally outside government headquarters (pictured) Determined: Billionaire and pro-democracy supporter Jimmy Lai, pictured centre, joined protesters on the streets of Admiralty, near the government offices, on Friday night . United: Men and women dressed in suits came straight from their offices in the city's financial district to join in a pro-democracy rally on Friday night. Many of those gathered were students, some wearing school uniform . Students and activists gathered on the streets of Hong Kong are demanding a greater say in choosing the city's leader have vowed to stay until the government responds. The government has repeatedly urged protesters to withdraw from the streets and allow the city to return to normal. When the government cancelled the talks, it said grounds for dialogue had been 'severely undermined' by the students' call for more people to occupy streets. Student leaders say it was up to the government to resolve the crisis. Alex Chow, from the Federation of Students, one of the groups involved in the demonstration said: 'If they do not give a just, reasonable answer to all the occupiers, there is no reason to persuade people to retreat.' Crowds gathering in the city's Admiralty district, near the city's government headquarters, chanted 'Our Hong Kong, Ours to Save.' Deadlock: Yesterday, Hong Kong government officials called off planned talks to negotiate with protesters while student groups organising the resistance insist that it is their responsibility to resolve the stalemate . Connected: A young pro-democracy protester does his homework on a table set up in the middle of one of Hong Kong's busiest thoroughfares. One schoolgirl said they were willing to 'stay for a year' if they needed to . Many of those in the main protest zone were young people, including secondary school pupils in uniforms, but there were also office workers who came straight from work. One schoolgirl, Natalie Or, said: 'We don't want to see a government that treats people this way, where thousands can protest for weeks on the street and not get any response at all. She added: 'Maybe they think if they keep delaying people will disperse on their own, but my friends and I aren't going anywhere. I'll come for months, I'll stay for a year, I'll stay for as long as it takes.' Tens of thousands of people, many of them students, have poured into the streets as part of the protests that began on September 28 to peacefully protest China's restrictions on the first direct election for Hong Kong's leader, promised by Beijing for 2017. Waning: The renewed support on Friday night comes after a week which saw the city regain some normality - with civil servants returning to work at the city's schools reopening . Challenge: The Chinese premier insisted that maintaining 'social stability' in the territory was in the interest of both the Chinese government and the residents of the former British colony. Above, protesters on Friday . Barricade: Some of the roads have reopened to traffic, but a main thoroughfare through the heart of the business district remains occupied. Above, a barrier across a road in the busy Causeway Bay district . Beijing said a 1,200-member committee stacked with pro-government elites should nominate two or three leadership candidates before the public votes. Protesters say this gives them no real choice and do not amount to genuine democracy. Earlier this week, student demonstrators said they have taken early steps to begin talks with the government on their demands for wider political reforms, but the government has since cancelled any talks. The protests are the strongest challenge to authorities in Beijing since the former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997. The protesters are also demanding the resignation of Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying, the city's current leader, but he has refused to step down.
### SUMMARY:
| Li Keqiang insisted 'social stability' was in the interest of territory's residents .
Said 'one country, two systems' approach to running Hong Kong will remain .
He promised to protect residents from 'injury or material damage'
Taiwan's president today urged Li to embrace democracy .
Comments come as thousands more protesters gather on main road in city .
Surge in numbers came after a week that saw pro-protest support waning .
Yesterday the government called off talks with student leaders . |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
Protesters marched through the streets of several major European cities today in an orchestrated show of support for besieged Kurdish fighters currently battling Islamic State (ISIS) forces in Kobane. The Kurdish city of Kobane on the border of Syria and Turkey has been the scene of fierce fighting for weeks now between Kurdish resistance forces and the advancing ISIS jihadists. In a show of solidarity for the embattled Kurds, protesters in France, Britain and Germany today called on their governments to provide further assistance to the city's Kurdish fighters. Demonstrators hold banners and signs in Parliament Square, London, in a show of support for the Kurds . The protests in Parliament Square, London, turned sour when angry demonstrators clashed with police . A man is restrained during a clash with police officers during the London demonstration . Another man is held by an officer attempting to maintain order during the impassioned protest . A demonstrator holds a placard in a show of solidarity with the inhabitants of Kobane, who are currently battling ISIS forces . Police officers and demonstrators line up face-to-face in Parliament Square, Westminster . Although the US has conducted air strikes on targets within the city, ISIS has tightened its grip on the town in recent days and thousands of Kurds face massacre should Turkey not open its border to allow the delivery of arms. The Kurds, an ethnic group spread across much of the Middle East have borne the brunt of much of the war against ISIS. In recent months Kurds in northern Iraq have defended, and in some instances successfully retaken, cities along the Iraq border from the jihadists. However, it is their attempts to halt the ISIS takeover of Kobane, in Syria, which triggered today's demonstrations. In London protesters bearing placards and flags were marshalled by police as they marched on Parliament Square, Westminster. The demonstration later became heated when the angry protesters clashed with the police force security cordons. A similar demonstration took place in Paris, with thousands marching through the city to try and force a French Government commitment to help the Kurds and pile pressure on the Turkish Government. And in Germany, more than 20,000 Kurdish immigrants undertook a demonstration in the western city of Duesseldorf. Police said the German demonstration was peaceful with people marching through the city's downtown area and waving large Kurdish flags. Similar protests in Germany last week had turned violent when Kurds clashed with supporters of a hard-line Islamic movement. The protest in Duesseldorf, Germany, comprised 20,000 people - many of whom were expatriate Kurds . Germany's large Kurdish population has been vocal in recent days with today's demonstration just the latest protest against the Turkish government's lack of assistance . Demonstrators in Duesseldorf carry a giant portrait of Abdullah Ocalan, the founder of the militant organization Kurdistan Workers' Party . Meanwhile, the Kurdish forces defending Kobane have urged the U.S.-led coalition to escalate air strikes on ISIS fighters who have tightened their grip on the border town. The Kurdish forces are now believed to face inevitable defeat in Kobane if Turkey does not open its border to let through arms - something Ankara has so far appeared reluctant to do. The U.S.-led coalition escalated air strikes on ISIS in and around Kobane, also known as Ayn al-Arab, some four days ago. The main Kurdish armed group, the YPG, said in a statement the air strikes had inflicted heavy losses on ISIS, but had been less effective in the last two days. A protest was also held in France today. The demonstrators' banner reads: 'What are you waiting for to act? A new massacre' in reference to the potential slaughter of Kurds trapped in Kobane by ISIS forces . Thousands march the streets of Paris in an attempt to force the French Government into helping the Kurds . Two protesters, wearing bright orange jumpsuits join the demonstration in Paris. Their signs translate to: 'Islamic State killed me' and 'Kobane died, France where are your great values?' A Kurdish military official, speaking from Kobane, said street-to-street fighting was making it harder for the warplanes to target ISIS positions. 'We have a problem, which is the war between houses,' said Esmat Al-Sheikh, head of the Kobane defence council. 'The air strikes are benefiting us, but Islamic State is bringing tanks and artillery from the east. We didn't see them with tanks, but yesterday we saw T-57 tanks,' he added. While ISIS has been able to reinforce its fighters, the Kurds have not. The militants have besieged the town to the east, south and west, meaning the Kurds' only possible supply route is the Turkish border to the north. ISIS has released a propaganda video purporting to show its militants fighting in the city of Kobane (pictured) The video includes this scene of a gunman firing at Kurds while stationed on a high rooftop . The U.N. envoy to Syria on Friday called on Turkey to help prevent a slaughter in Kobane, asking it to let 'volunteers' cross the frontier so they could reinforce the Kurdish forces defending the town that lies within sight of Turkish territory. Turkey has also yet to respond to the remarks by Staffan de Mistura, who said he feared a repeat of the 1995 Srebrenica massacre in Bosnia when thousands died. Kurdish leaders in Syria have asked Ankara to establish a corridor through Turkey to allow aid and military supplies to reach Kobane. '(ISIS) is getting supplies and men, while Turkey is preventing Kobane from getting ammunition. Even with the resistance, if things stay like this, the Kurdish forces will be like a car without fuel,' said Rami Abdelrahman, who runs the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an organisation that monitors the conflict in Syria through sources on the ground. A member of ISIS shoots at resistance forces with a high caliber gun in the streets of Kobane . An ISIS jihadist fires a rocket propelled grenade during the street fighting in Kobane . While much of the population has already fled Kobane, 500-700 mostly elderly people are still in the town, while 10,000-13,000 are nearby in a border area between Syria and Turkey, U.N. envoy De Mistura said. The observatory said no fewer than 226 Kurdish fighters and 298 Islamic State militants had been killed since the group launched its Kobane offensive in mid-September. It said the overall death toll including civilians was probably much higher. The Kobane crisis has sparked deadly violence in Turkey, which has a Kurdish population numbering 15million. Turkish Kurds have risen up since Tuesday against President Tayyip Erdogan's government, which they accuse of allowing their kin to be slaughtered. At least 33 people have been killed in three days of riots across the mainly Kurdish southeast, including two police officers shot dead in an apparent attempt to assassinate a police chief. The police chief was wounded. A senior Kurdish militant has threatened Turkey with a new Kurdish revolt if it sticks with its current policy of non-intervention in the battle for Kobane.
### SUMMARY:
| Protesters in Britain, France and Germany show solidarity with Kurds .
Thousands of people rail against Turkish government's lack of assistance .
Demonstration in London became heated as police clashed with protesters .
Kurdish city of Kobane remains besieged by advancing ISIS fanatics . |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
They're the type of hotels most of us only dream of staying in. New York-based private jet lifestyle magazine Elite Traveler has compiled its 13th annual list of the world's 101 most outrageously luxurious hotel suites in the world. These are the kind of suites used to hosting Hollywood royalty, rock stars and even heads of state, where you're likely to find private plunge pools, a butler service and chandeliers dripping with diamonds. Scroll down for video . Height of luxury: The Viceroy Maldives' Duplex Beach Villa made it on to the 13th annual list of the world's 101 most outrageously luxurious hotel suites in the world . Viceroy Maldives, Duplex Beach Villa - Maldives . For the princely sum of £1,393 per night, guests get to stay inside what appears to be an inverted fishing boat. Inside the 1,938 square-foot suite they'll find floor-to-ceiling windows, a master bathroom that leads to an alfresco shower - and hot tub in their own lush, private garden. Paradise: A duplex beach villa at Viceroy Maldives comes with a princely sum of £1,393 per night . Room with a view: Guests enjoy floor-to-ceiling windows, a master bathroom that leads to an alfresco shower - and hot tub in their own lush, private garden . Matakauri Lodge, Owner’s Cottage - New Zealand . It's rustic, but don't let that fool you. The devil is in the detail in this freestanding cottage. Even the woollen carpets were created by Lord of the Rings costume designers. There are six separate outdoor spaces, including a courtyard and a Jacuzzi with beautiful views over the mountains on Lake Wakatipu. Approximately £4,674 per night. Lake House: The Owner's Cottage at Matakauri Lodge in New Zealand has six separate outdoor areas with views over Lake Wakatipu . One for die hard fans: The £4,674 per night suite features woollen carpets created by Lord of the Rings costume designers . The New York Palace, The Jewel Suite by Martin Katz - New York . The Jewel Suite includes diamond-esque wall coverings and a 20-foot diamond waterfall chandelier. Guests receive a complimentary Martin Katz diamond microband ring to take home. Around £15,081 per night. Skyscraper suite: The Jewel Suite by Martin Katz at the New York Palace includes a 20-foot diamond waterfall chandelier . Time for a dip: The suite will set guests back a staggering £15,081 per night - but it does come with a rooftop hot tub . Jumeirah Himalayas Hotel Shanghai, Chairman Suite - China . A newly refurbished duplex suite with sleek modern Chinese décor. It features an enormous 20-foot-high wall of windows in the living room that flaunts the sensational Shanghai skyline. Around £902 per night. Panoramic: The duplex Chairman Suite at Jumeirah Himalayas Hotel Shanghai features a floor to ceiling wall of windows . Kempinski Hotel Taiyuan, Presidential Suite - China . Though the suite was designed based on the Chinese concept of five elements - gold, wood, water, fire, and soil - our favorite element being represented would have to be water, referring to the bathroom. It’s done in all black-and-white marble with a large freestanding soaking tub and has its very own dry and wet steam room. £8935 per night. Better than a spa: The Kempinski Hotel Taiyuan Presidential Suite treats guests to a freestanding soaking tub and private wet and dry steam room . Elemental: The stylish room is based upon the Chinese concept of five elements - gold, wood, water, fire, and soil - and costs £8,935 per night . Rosewood Abu Dhabi, Royal Suite - United Arab Emirates . Middle Eastern artwork and radiant multi-tiered crystal chandeliers. The expansive wraparound windows mean you can enjoy impressive views of Abu Dhabi from every room, even the suite’s private gym with state-of-the-art workout equipment. £4,463 per night. Views fit for royalty: The Royal Suite at the Rosewood Abu Dhabi will set guests back £4463 per night . In-room gym: The suite comes complete with state-of-the-art working equipment . Views for days: Wraparound windows give guests impressive views of Abu Dhabi . Beverly Wilshire, A Four Seasons Hotel, Beverly Presidential Suite - Beverly Hills . This recently updated top suite offers a 3,200 square feet of living space with two bedrooms, a living room, dining room, and office space. Chic in a neutral palette with jewel tone accents, the suite also has a furnished balcony with drop-dead Hollywood Hills vistas. £9048 per night. The suite that Richard Gere and Julia Roberts slept in: The 3,200 square foot Beverly Presidential Suite at the Beverly Wilshire costs a staggering £9048 per night . InterContinental Los Angeles Century City, Royal Suite - Los Angeles . A favorite of Saudi royalty, as well as actors and musicians, the two-bedroom Royal Suite’s new design includes customisable LED lighting to adjust the mood with just the touch of a button. If you rent the entire 17th floor, the suite has its own elevator with a secret entry, so you can come and go in total privacy. £4825 per night. The Royal Suite at the InterContinental in Los Angeles is a favourite with Saudi royalty . The Resort at Pelican Hill, Four-Bedroom Villa at Pelican Hill - California . The four-bedroom, four-bath villa will make you feel right at home with a fully equipped kitchen with Sub-Zero fridge, a great room with a limestone fireplace, and a furnished ocean view terrace. A 24/7 butler and personal chef are available upon request. £1176 per night . Room for the whole family: Guests feel right at home in the four-bedroom villa at The Resort at Pelican Hill with fully equipped kitchen and limestone fireplace . At your service: A 24/7 butler and personal chef are available upon request for an additional fee . The Grand Del Mar, Villa M - San Diego . The five-bedroom home boasts an oversized living area with a full wet bar and wine storage, a media screening room, and a fully equipped kitchen. The exterior is equally tricked out with a climate-controlled patio with a stainless steel grill, a fire pit overlooking the golf course’s 17th hole, a sunken Jacuzzi, and a trampoline.£5428 per night. Palace: Villa M at The Grand Del Mar is a five-bedroom home costing £5428 per night . Homey: The villa boasts an oversized living area with a full wet bar and wine storage, a media screening room, and a fully equipped kitchen . Entertainment for all: Villa M features a climate controlled patio, sunken jacuzzi, trampoline, and fire-pit overlooking the golf course .
### SUMMARY:
| New York luxury magazine releases its annual list top hotel suites .
Maldives, New Zealand and China feature alongside New York and LA .
New York Palace hotel has one of the priciest suites in the list . |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
Nearly seven weeks after Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 was shot down, the pilots of the doomed plane have been laid to rest in special military-style ceremonies. Draped in a Malaysian flag, the body of Captain Wan Amran was today carried by soldiers into Shah Alam, 15 miles west of Kuala Lumpur, where his family and dozens of mourners gathered to bid him farewell. Meanwhile, the ashes of Captain Eugene Choo were brought back to his residence in Seremban, around 46 miles from the capital, accompanied by his tearful wife and two sons. Earlier today, the pilots' remains had . been repatriated to the country from the Netherlands along with five . other Malaysians and two Dutch victims of the tragedy, who were of . Malaysia decent. Scroll down for video . A special ceremony: Draped in a Malaysian flag, the body of Captain Wan Amran is pictured being carried by soldiers into Shah Alam, 15 miles west of Kuala Lumpur . Colleagues: The pilot's body was carried by members of the Royal Malay Regiment army, before it was passed onto his colleagues, other Malaysian Airlines pilots . Special: The military-style burial for Captain Amran was held nearly seven weeks after MH17 was shot down over an area of Ukraine controlled by Russian separatists . Tearful: Captain Amran's wife Mariam Yusuf (back, second right) was spotted weeping at the ceremony, which was attended by relatives, friends and well-wishers . In prayer: Meanwhile, the pilot's young son Wan Yunus (pictured) was seen bowing his head and closing his eyes in prayer as his father was laid to rest in Shah Alam . Saying goodbye: Malaysian Muslims attend a special prayer for Captain Amran nearly seven weeks after Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 was shot down over Ukraine . Tradition: Ms Yusuf is pictured bending over as she pours rose water onto her late husband's grave under the mournful eyes of relatives, friends and well-wishers . Grave: Another relative of Captain Amran pours rose water onto the ground. An international investigation is ongoing into the MH17 tragedy, but no one has been arrested . Victims: Captain Eugene Choo (left) and Captain Wan Amran (right) were in charge of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 when it was gunned down on July 17 this year . The other bodies will now be flown by helicopter from Kuala Lumpur International airport in Sepang to their respective burial or cremation grounds to be laid to rest. During Captain Amran's burial, the pilot's body was carried in a coffin by members of the Royal Malay Regiment army, before it was passed onto his colleagues, other Malaysian Airlines pilots, and later buried. His wife Mariam Yusuf was spotted weeping as she poured rose water onto his grave under the mournful eyes of relatives, friends and well-wishers. Meanwhile, the pilot's young son Wan . Yunus was seen bowing his head and closing his eyes in prayer as his . father was laid to rest. Another ceremony: Meanwhile, the ashes of Captain Eugene Choo were brought back to his residence in Seremban, around 46 miles from the Malaysian capital, today . Official: The remains of Captain Choo, sealed in a casket and covered with a national flag, were carried into his residence by Malaysian soldiers, dressed in green caps . Emotional: The casket was later passed onto Captain Choo's son, Melvic, 13, who received the ashes from a soldier while numerous cameras captured the moment . Distraught: The pilot's wife Ivy Loi, 42, who had earlier clutched a photo of her late husband as his ashes had arrived in Malaysia, wept throughout the ceremony . Grief-stricken: Chew Lai Choo, the mother in-law of Malaysia Airlines pilot Eugene Choo, is pictured crying during a wake service at his residence in Seremban . Relatives: Mr Choo's father Ewe Keat is seen weeping at his son's funeral - nearly seven weeks after Malaysia Airlines was shot down in an attack that killed 298 people . In Serembam, the remains of Captain Choo, sealed in a casket and covered with a national flag, were carried into his residence by Malaysian soldiers and, later, his 13-year-old son, Melvic Choo. The pilot's wife Ivy Loi, 42, who had earlier clutched a photo of her late husband as his ashes had arrived in Malaysia, and his mother-in-law Chew Lai Choo both wept throughout the ceremony. Captain Choo's remains were placed on a raised surface, where they were surrounded by bright flowers, candles, photographs and an array of food. Colourful: Ms Loi places flowers near Captain Choo's urn, which was placed on a raised surface at his residence in Seremban, around 46 miles from Kuala Lumpur . Shrine: Captain Choo's casket was surrounded by flowers, candles, photographs and an array of food. Above, the pilot's sons pray in front of his urn during the service . In his thoughts: Scott Choo, 11, is pictured praying during the wake of his father. Other victims of the MH17 tragedy included 43 Malaysians and 195 Dutch nationals . Comfort: Melvic hugs his grandmother Chew Lai Choo during the service for Captain Choo, who was killed alongside Captain Amran when MH17 was gunned down . Paying tribute: Other Malaysia Airlines pilots attended both ceremonies to pay tribute to their former colleagues. Above, pilots pray at the wake of Captain Choo . Supportive:The pilots cry during a handover ceremony of the cinerary casket of Captain Choo, whose two sons, tearful wife and mother-in-law were also present . Flight MH17 crashed when it was shot down over an area of Ukraine controlled by pro-Russia separatists on a flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, killing all 298 people onboard. The victims included 43 Malaysians and 195 Dutch nationals. An international investigation is ongoing, but no one has been arrested. The tragedy has compounded Malaysian grief over the troubling and still-unexplained disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 just four months earlier. Arrival: Earlier today, the pilots' remains had been repatriated to the country from the Netherlands along with five other Malaysians and two Dutch victims of the tragedy . Too much to bear: Ms Loi was seen clutching a photo of her late husband as his ashes arrived at Kuala Lumpur International airport in Sepang, Malaysia, today . Military-style: Royal Malay Regiment army personnel are pictured carrying a coffin to a hearse during the arrival ceremony at Kuala Lumpur International airport . Tragic: The other bodies will be now flown by helicopters to their burial or cremation grounds. Above, soldiers carry caskets containing the ashes of two MH17 victims .
### SUMMARY:
| Body of .
Captain Wan Amran was today carried by soldiers into Shah Alam, 15 miles .
west of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia .
Meanwhile, .
the ashes of Captain Eugene Choo were brought back to his residence in .
Seremban in separate service .
Earlier today, the pilots' remains had .
been repatriated to Malaysia from Netherlands along with seven other victims .
Flight MH17 crashed when it was shot down over Ukraine on a flight from Amsterdam, killing all 298 people onboard . |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
Melbourne photographer Jonas Peterson has shot weddings in some of the most idyllic parts of the world but his recent assignment to Masai Mara in Kenya has blown some of the most romantic locations off the top of his impressive list. The destination wedding photographer, originally from Sweden but has called Australia home for the past decade, has travelled to at least 300 jobs around the globe but nothing could have prepared him for the magic of the African savanna. 'Some places stay with you forever. When Nina and her Sebastian asked me to shoot their wedding in Masai Mara in Kenya, I didn't know this land would touch me so deeply,' Peterson said. 'It sung to me in a way I didn't know possible, found new chords and played on strings I didn't know I had inside me.' Scroll down for video . Swedish couple Nina and Sebastian got married in September and Melbourne photographer Jonas Peterson captured the occasion . The romantic mood was further enhanced by the dark storm rolling in which made for the perfect backdrop . Nina, a wildlife photographer, has had a close connection to the Masai Mara after spending a couple of months a year in Kenya following one pride of lions for a project about the world's last wild lions . But it did not rain on the parade as the bridal party and guests made it uncover just five minutes before the brooding skies opened up . The traditional Masai Mara elements incorporated into the wedding added to the emotion on the day. 'It was very interesting to see how these cultures came together - it was beautiful and made it all the more powerful,' Peterson said. The mood was further enhanced by the storm rolling in which made for the perfect backdrop - but it did not rain on the parade as the bridal party and guests made it uncover just five minutes before the sky opened up. The wedding was held during the migration of wildebeest from Serengeti National Park in Tanzania to the Masai Mara in the neighbouring country of Kenya. 'There animals everywhere which caused a bit of a problem. We needed to have guards at the wedding so animals such as lions didn't wander in,' Peterson said. 'It was like the Garden of Eden with thousands, and probably even millions, of animals as far as the eye can see.' Peterson described the national park as 'The Garden of Eden' Surreal footage of the newly married bride and groom with a zebra strolling past either side of the couple . Nina says it was very important to the couple to incorporate some of the traditions of the Maasai culture into the ceremony . The 42-year-old, who has visited Africa a couple of times before but never to Kenya, was so blown away by the scenery that he had to keep reminding himself to take photographs. 'It was such a powerful experience - it's surprising how nature and vast savannah will do things to you.' Peterson said the location doesn't necessarily make a great wedding - it's all about the feeling. 'I've had amazing weddings in Geelong and then terrible weddings in Mexico,' he said. 'If the emotion isn't there it doesn't really matter.' Rating California, Sri Lanka and the volcanic islands outside of Sicily as some of his favourite weddings, Peterson admits that the Masai Mara is the 'most amazing place he has ever been to'. 'It was the perfect storm in many ways - it was absolutely perfect - culturally, emotionally and location-wise.' 'It sung to me in a way I didn't know possible, found new chords and played on strings I didn't know I had inside me' Peterson says . The tradionational Masai jewellery, called enkarewa, was also very special aspect of the magical ceremony . Guards were on standby throughout the day to prevent any animals wandering into the wedding . The lucky couple made it undercover just before the storm hit across the vast plains . Nina, a wildlife photographer, has had a close connection to the Masai Mara after spending a couple of months a year in Kenya following one pride of lions for a project about the world's last wild lions. 'During this time I have become very close friends and almost family with the Maasai who have welcomed me into their lives,' she said. 'Therefore and because we were planning to hold our ceremony on the land of the Maasai it was very important to us to incorporate some of the traditions of the Maasai culture into the ceremony,' 'For example the arch built is a traditional symbol of the entrance to a boma – the typical house construction of the Maasai, and after the announcement a traditional Maasai song and dance followed according to tradition. 'Some places stay with you forever. I didn't know this land would touch me so deeply': Peterson says . The occasion was made even more special by the fact the couple got to share the special day with their two-year-old daughter . The jewellery, called enkarewa, was also very special aspect of the magical ceremony. 'When I first told my closest friend in the Maasai community about our wedding early in 2014 he came back to me with a necklace and bracelets as a special gift made for me by his family, Nina said. 'The stick carried by Sebastian was also a gift from the local Maasai community.' 'But even more generously my friend then offered to bring warriors from the Maasai community to the celebration. So in the end our two cultures and nature merged in the perfect moment and the best day of our lives.' The occasion was made even more special by the fact the couple got to share the special day with their two-year-old daughter. Peterson could not have asked for a more magical backdrop as the storm drew closer . The wedding was held during the migration of wildebeest from Serengeti National Park in Tanzania to the Masai Mara in the neighbouring country of Kenya . The Maasai tribespeople have become part of Nina and Sebastian's extended family . Masai Mara is Peterson's number one destination out of at least 300 locations he has travelled to for weddings . 'In the end our two cultures and nature merged in the perfect moment and the best day of our lives,' Nina says . A Maasai friend gave Nina the customary wedding jewellery (left) and Sebastian was given the stick as a gift from Maasai community (right) Nina and Sebastian described their wedding as the 'perfect moment' when two cultures merged . Stuff that only movies are made of: Nina's loving look at her new husband while her wedding dress hangs with elephants as a backdrop . Peterson spent another five says at Masai Mara after the wedding and fell in love with the incredible sunsets and sunrises . Peterson says the destination can be pointless if there was no emotion which was not a problems on Nina and Sebastian's big day . 'It was such a powerful experience - it's surprising how nature and vast savannah will do things to you': Peterson says . Rating California, Sri Lanka and the volcanic islands outside of Sicily as some of his favourite weddings, Peterson admits that the Masai Mara is the 'most amazing place he has ever been to' 'I've had amazing weddings in Geelong and then terrible weddings in Mexico. If the emotion isn't there it doesn't really matter' : Peterson says .
### SUMMARY:
| Australian-based wedding photographer Jonas Peterson captured incredible photographs in Masai Mara in Kenya .
The destination photographer was asked to Swedish couple Nina and Sebastian got married in September .
Of the 300 locations that Peterson has photographed weddings - the scenery in Masai Mara is now the top of his list .
Melbourne resident said it's not about the location but the emotion that helps create stunning imagery . |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
Victim: Jackie (pictured) told Rolling Stone she was violently assaulted by seven men in a fraternity house two weeks into her first year at UVA . The Rolling Stone article about an alleged gang-rape at a University of Virginia fraternity is unraveling even more as three friends who supported the victim, identified as 'Jackie', have refuted key points of the account she detailed to the magazine. Friends Randall, Cindy and Andy (all pseudonyms) told the Washington Post that while they were featured prominently in Jackie's account of the night, they were never contacted by reporter Sabrina Rubin Erdely to give their side of the story, despite the article saying Randall turned down an interview 'citing loyalty to his own frat'. They said they believe something traumatic happened to Jackie the night they found her distraught, but are suspicious of the story she told Rolling Stone since it contradicts both what they saw and what she initially told them happened inside the Phi Kappa Psi house the night of September 28, 2012. In the explosive article, which prompted the university to shut down all Greek life until January, Jackie describes how in her first semester, she was lured to the frat by a brother named 'Drew' who she met working as a lifeguard at the university pool. She says the junior asked her out for dinner and a date function at the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity, and she accepted. Back at the house, Drew invited her to an upstairs bedroom, where things took a gruesome turn as she was thrown onto a glass table which shattered and then raped by seven men one after the other in what appeared to be an initiation ritual. When she later came to early Saturday morning, Jackie described fleeing the house barefoot and calling her new friends Randall, Cindy and Andy to come find her. Wrong: Jackie identified Phi Kappa Psi -known as Phi Psi for short - as the frat house where the attack took place but told the Washington Post she only did so because a friend pointed to it a year later and told her: 'That's where it happened.' Her father said she had got the detail wrong . Perhaps the most heartbreaking part of the article is how Jackie describes the trio's reaction to seeing her bleeding and in shock. Shaken by the events, she waits as the three discuss whether to report the rape to police, speaking about how it would impact their social lives, the boys' plans to pledge a fraternity and Jackie's college reputation. But in separate interviews with the Washington Post, all three refute this cold description of their behavior. Randall, Cindy and Andy say they found Jackie crying and clearly traumatized, saying her date drove her back to his fraternity, asked her to come inside and then forced her to perform oral sex on five men. Horrified by the story, the three say they urged Jackie to report the incident to police, but that she declined and asked to go back to her dorm where two of them spent the night comforting her. 'I mean obviously we were very concerned for her,' Andy told the Post. 'We tried to be as supportive as we could be.' They also added that Jackie did not appear to be injured, despite her account that she was bleeding significantly from being thrown through a glass table. Further, they also had doubts about her attacker. This past week, Jackie finally named the lifeguard who took her back to the frat to her new friends, but when a reporter gave Randall, Cindy and Andy that name, they said they had never heard of it before. University of Virginia officials also found the name suspect, saying that no one with that name has ever attended the school. The Post interviewed a man with a similar name, and he admitted to working at the pool with her, he says he never met her in person and was not a member of Phi Psi. The fraternity released a separate statement saying no Phi Psi brother was working at the aquatic center at that time and that they didn't hold an official social event on the weekend in question. At the time, Jackie's friends were under the impression that her date was a junior she met through her chemistry class that year. Jackie started talking about this mystery man when Randall rebuffed her romantic advances, wanting to stay friends. When she revealed that an older student in her chemistry class had been asking her out on dates, the three friends say they took his number from her phone out of curiosity and started texting the stranger. The person they talked to wrote about 'this super smart hot' freshman and how they both shared of a love of the band Coheed and Cambria, according to the two-year-old messages shown to the Post. 'I really like this girl,' the guy said in one message. He also sent pictures of himself, showing he had a distinct jawline and blue eyes. But the messages also hinted at Jackie's crush on Randall, since the student wrote that she was interested in someone else and refused to date her. 'Get this she said she likes some other 1st year guy who dosnt (sp) like her and turned her down but she wont date me cause she likes him. She cant turn my down fro some nerd 1st yr. she said this kid is smart and funny and worth it,' the older student wrote. Eventually, Jackie told her friends that she succumbed and accepted a date from the older student for Friday, September 28, 2012. Adding even more mystery to the already confusing story, the Post identified the man in the text messages from his pictures, and it turns out he went to high school with Jackie in northern Virginia. However, that man, now a junior at a school in a different state, says he 'never really spoke with her', did not attend UVA, was not a member of any fraternity and hadn't been to Charlottesville in at least six years. On the specific weekend when Jackie said she was raped, he was at an athletic event in a different state, and the pictures of him that were messaged to Jackie's friends appear to have been pulled from his social media accounts. Jackie's friends also had a hard time finding her crush on social media, adding that they never met him in person and now fear they had never been messaging with him in the first place. While they are skeptical of details of the night described in the Rolling Stone article, they all agree that something happened to leave Jackie terrified. 'She had very clearly just experienced a horrific trauma,' Randall said. 'I had never seen anybody acting like she was on that night before and I really hope I never have to again. ... If she was acting on the night of Sept. 28, 2012, then she deserves an Oscar. Both Randall and Andy say they've been interviewed by the Charlottesville Police, who were asked by the university to start an investigation into the alleged incident. Rolling Stone has issued an apology for the story, initially saying their trust in Jackie was 'misplaced'. They have stopped commenting on the article, while conducting an internal review. On Wednesday, the lawyer representing Jackie asked reporters to stop contacting her and her family. 'As I am sure you all can understand, all of this has been very stressful, overwhelming and retraumatizing for Jackie and her family,' Jackie's lawyer Palma Pustilnik said.
### SUMMARY:
| Friends Randall, Cindy and Andy (all pseudonyms) have spoken out .
They said they were not contacted by the magazine for their account, despite the author saying one of them turned down an interview .
Said they believe something traumatic happened to Jackie the night they found her distraught, but are suspicious of the story she told Rolling Stone .
Said Jackie did not appear to injured, despite her account that she was bleeding significantly from being thrown through a glass table .
'Randall: 'If she was acting that... then she deserves an Oscar' |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
A spectacular meteor shower lit up the skies last night with 100 shooting stars an hour as the celestial firework display reached its fiery peak. Sky-watchers across the world braved freezing temperatures to enjoy the Geminid meteor shower after astronomers said the weather conditions were close to perfect for the annual spectacle. Shooting stars were seen streaking across the night sky just after midnight in London and past the Dover Patrol Memorial in St Margarets Bay, Kent. The meteor shower was visible in both hemispheres and was spotted from Skopje in Macedonia to Washington in the US because of the clear skies. At their height, the Geminids produce between 50 and 100 shooting stars every hour and they can be seen glowing in multiple colours with occasional rapid bursts of two or three. Scroll down for video . A spectacular meteor shower lit up the skies last night with 100 shooting stars an hour, pictured along the Isle of Wight west coast near Chale . Geminid meteors can shine in different colours and may appear red, blue, green, or yellow, as seen last night in Buckinghamshire . Photographer John Baker captured the heavenly display over the wilderness in Dartmoor, Devon, and said it was 'mesmerising' The best time to see the meteors was around 2am, when the point in the sky from which the meteors appear to originate - was almost overhead, next to the constellation Gemini. But meteors, which travel at more than 22 miles per second, should have been visible throughout the night from around 10pm as they burned up about 24 miles above the Earth. Robin Scagell, vice-president of the Society for Popular Astronomy, said: 'It should be a good display, weather permitting - we might not be far off perfect conditions in the UK. 'The constellation is very high in the sky and most of the Moon will have gone away. An average of one comet a minute would be a good rate, and that's possible. You might also get little bursts of activity with two or three together.' Shooting stars were seen streaking across the night sky just after midnight in London and past the Dover Patrol Memorial, Kent (pictured) The Milky Way and the Big Dipper, also known as the Plough, are seen here reflected in an icy pond on Dartmoor last night . Sky-watchers across the world braved freezing temperatures to enjoy the meteor shower after astronomers said the weather conditions were close to perfect, pictured in Buckinghamshire . A village in Buckinghamshire was illuminated by the light of the moon and hundreds of shooting stars streaking through the sky . The best time to see the meteors was around 2am, when the point in the sky from which the meteors appear to originate was almost overhead, next to the constellation Gemini, pictured in Hastings, East Sussex . Meteor showers occur when the Earth ploughs through clouds of cometary dust, pictured is a shooting star seen from north London . Meteor showers occur when the Earth ploughs through clouds of cometary dust. The tiny particles, some no bigger than a grain of sand, burn up brightly as they enter the atmosphere. Geminids are debris from an extinct three-mile-wide comet called 3200 Phaethon, which was previously believed to be an asteroid, according to NASA. 'Basically it is the rocky skeleton of a comet that lost its ice after too many close encounters with the sun,' NASA said on its website. But it has an eccentric orbit that looks more like that of a comet than an asteroid and brings it well inside the orbit of Mercury, the closest planet to the Sun, every 1.4 years. Traditionally asteroids are made of rock and comets mostly of ice, but NASA describes Geminids as a type of 'rock comet'. 'It's not as clear-cut as it used to be,' said Mr Scagell. 'A lot of asteroids are quite icy. There are asteroids that look a bit like comets and comets that look a bit like asteroids.' At their height, the Geminids produce between 50 and 100 shooting stars every hour, pictured above the English Channel last night with the moon in the centre of the frame . Geminids are debris from an extinct three-mile-wide comet called 3200 Phaethon, which was previously believed to be an asteroid, three stargazers in Hastings . The meteors, which travel at more than 22 miles per second, were visible from 10pm above Skopje, Macedonia, as the moon rose late . Geminids are debris from an extinct three-mile-wide comet called 3200 Phaethon, pictured above Skopje, Macedonia, last night . The Geminid meteor shower was first noted in the 1860s, but over time it has become more intense. There were 20 comets per hour reported in the 1920s, rising to 50 in the 1930s, 60 in the 1940s and 80 in the 1970s. Another unusual feature of the Geminids is that they can shine in different colours. Mostly glowing white, they may also appear yellow, blue, green or red. Regardless of whether 3200 Phaethon is an asteroid or comet, it is classified as a 'potentially hazardous' near-Earth object (NEO). To be classified as potentially hazardous, an NEO must pass within 4.6 million miles of the Earth. Each year in December, the Earth is less than two million miles from Phaethon's orbit. At its closest upcoming approach on December 14 2093, the object will be 1,812,640 miles away - quite far enough to be safe. Photographer John Baker captured the heavenly display over the spectacular wilderness in Dartmoor, Devon. 'It was absolutely magnificent. The smaller meteors can be fairly common but the bigger ones are rarer and some of the bigger ones were just stunning. 'The viewing conditions on Dartmoor were almost perfect - among the best I've ever seen. 'The combination of the iconic landscape and the spectacular display was just mesmerising.' Photographer John Baker said the viewing conditions on Dartmoor were almost perfect and among the best he's seen . The Geminid meteor shower was first noted in the 1860s, but over time it has become more intense, pictured near Bulgarian capital Sofia . Traditionally asteroids are made of rock and comets mostly of ice, but NASA describes Geminids as a 'rock comet', pictured near Sofia . Astronomers observe the Gemenids meteor shower in the observatory of Avren, near Bulgarian capital Sofia last night . Regardless of whether the 3200 Phaethon is an asteroid or comet, it is classified as a 'potentially hazardous' near-Earth object .
### SUMMARY:
| Sky-watchers braved freezing temperatures last night to enjoy the Geminid meteor shower in clear conditions .
It was visible in both hemispheres and was spotted from Dover in Kent to Macedonia and across the whole of the US .
Geminids are debris from an extinct three-mile-wide 3200 Phaethon comet, previously believed to be an asteroid .
They are classed as potentially hazardous, as they pass within 4.6 million miles of Earth, burning 24 miles away .
At their height, the Geminids produce between 50 and 100 shooting stars which travel at 22 miles per second . |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
Rough Copy have missed out on a place in The X Factor final. The group lost out to Luke Friend, after the two acts received the lowest number of votes from the public after their two performances on Saturday night's show. While they were picked by their mentor Gary Barlow and Nicole Scherzinger to go through to the final, they lost out when Sharon Osbourne chose to go deadlock – allowing Luke who received the most public votes to go through to the final. Missing out: Rough Copy will not be going through to the X Factor final after losing their place on Sunday evening . The decision means Luke will join Sam Bailey and Nicholas McDonald in the final. Gary was the first judge to cast his vote and said: ‘This is harder than usual because the acts are so different. It was an emotional sing off, you’ve both done so well.’ Louis went next and said: ‘It’s very simple – Luke Friend’ Struggling Nicole said: ‘Luke you sang one my favourite songs tonight, you are such a diamond in the rough in this competition. But the act I’m sending through is Rough Copy.’ Fight: They lost out to Luke Friend after Sharon sent the vote to deadlock . Gracious: The group were hugely thankful for the opportunity given to them . Emotional: The two acts were very emotional ahead of their performances . Sharon was last to pick and after a pause said she was going to put it deadlock, meaning the act with the most votes would go through to the final, which in this case was Luke. After they were voted of Joey, from Rough Copy told Dermot: ‘Just being here is a highlight. I thank Gary for everything he has done for us.’ The band then turned the audience and shouted: ‘If you believe in us, make some noise.’ Can't decide: Sharon was unable to make a decision and sent the vote to deadlock . Moving: The two acts were very supportive of each other and hugged away throughout . Giving it their all: Rough Copy performed Boyz II Men's End Of The Road . Impassioned: Luke performed Keane's Somewhere Only We Know . Luke was the first act to take part in the sing-off and he sung a very impassioned version of Keane’s Somewhere Only We Know with his guitar in a bid to remain in the competition. His moving performance got a standing ovation from the judges. Rough Copy were the second to sing –picking Boyz II Men's End Of The Road and delighted the crowd moving around the stage. Performing on the show was X Factor alumni Leona Lewis, who . famously won the show in 2006. Shock: Louis Walsh couldn't quite believe that Rough Copy had been sent home . Too much: Nicholas also found the whole situation hugely emotional . The 28-year-old sung . her song One More Sleep from her upcoming festive album and the setting was . suitably Christmassy. While she started her performance looking like a Christmas tree . fairy with a full skirt – she took it off to reveal a sparkly Sixties style . shift dress with thigh high boots. She was joined on stage by dancers dressed as Christmas . trees and as various trinkets which can be found on a Christmas tree and even a . Santa Claus in latex. The final three: Sam, Luke and Nicholas all looked a little shell shocked about being in the final . So pleased: Sam and Sharon couldn't hide their happiness when they found out Sam was through . Following her performance she gave advice to the contestants: . ‘Oh my gosh, you’ve just give it all you’ve got. At this point it’s all about . topping every performance.’ When asked who she was backing, while at first she said she . couldn’t pick she admitted: ‘I’ve worked with Sam and we’ve been messaging on . Twitter, so Sam.’ Leona was followed by Canadian Crooner Michael Buble, who . performed alongside a full brass band. Over the moon: Nicholas let out a scream when he found out he was through . It was the second week that Luke found himself in the sing-off - last time it was with Tamera . Foster but he seemed determined to give it his all on Saturday evening. Ahead of the performance, he said: 'This is a completely . different version to the original, I'm taking a big risk with this...I'm . definitely going to channel my inner diva.' For this second performance of the evening he belted out . Something About The Way You Look Tonight but said he was worried because the . last time he sang an Elton John song, he ended up in the bottom two. Break down: The Scottish singer fell to the floor as the news sunk in . Letting their hair down: Rough Copy seemed to enjoy the group song . Rough Copy meanwhile sang an upbeat version of Destiny's . Child hit, Survivor and said the words meant a lot to them as they feel like . they have been surviving the competition. Nicole said: 'The semi-finals have finally begun. Thank you . for that. You being the excitement, the life, the energy to the show. This is . the 'RC' anthem. ‘You are survivors and you are going to survive all the way . to the finals.' But Louis angered Nicole when he said the trio should have . held something back. All together now: Sam, Luke and Nicholas sung together . Christmas cheer: Before the dreaded votes Michael Buble took to the stage . Sharon agreed with him and said: 'OK, perfect song for you, . you bring a good spirit to the show. It's all overload for me, people humping . the floor, backpacks.. just pull the reigns in a bit.' But Gary scoffed: 'This is not the time to pull the reigns . in, it's the semi-final. That was electric. The vibe in this room suddenly went . up 10 gears.' For their second song they picked Sorry Seems To Be The . Hardest Word, but admitted they were concerned that what Elton does as an . artist is very different to what they would do. Fairy: Leona Lewis looked like a Christmas fairy when she performed on the show . The moment of truth: The X Factor judges looked a little apprehensive as they made their way on stage . It was perhaps only fitting that in the worst series of The X Factor for years, the best act in the semi final was sent home. Rough Copy’s posturing, emoting and crotch thrusting may have been so overboard that they looked ludicrous, but their versions of songs by Beyonce and Elton John were easily the best on Saturday night. I’m A Survivor was modern and energetic and Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word was stripped down and, unusually for this competition, in tune. By contrast young Nicholas’ rendition of Halo was judged by everyone on the panel to be ‘pitchy’ and too weedy. He admitted himself that he couldn’t connect with the song ‘because I’ve never had my heart broken or been in love’ - except perhaps with his teddy bear. Sam’s attempt to take on Candle In The Wind left her looking less like a Leona Lewis or Alexandra Burke than a rather ordinary wedding singer. As for Luke Friend, his caterwauling version of Somewhere We Only Know was so painful it was comical. Nicholas and Luke have seemingly been voted for on their youth and, in Nicholas’ case, as Louis kept reminding the audience at every opportunity, because he was from Scotland. Sam seems to be universally popular with viewers because she’s so nice. Rough Copy will probably be more successful than all of them because there’s a huge gap in the market for a UK version of Boys II Men or a more grown-up JLS. But in terms of winning it, their big mistake was to think The X Factor was a contest about singing.
### SUMMARY:
| Sharon Osbourne took the vote to deadlock, with Luke Friend sent through with most public votes .
Luke Friend will join Sam Bailey and Nicholas McDonald in the final . |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
These shocking photos show how a young woman's life has been ruined by snorting a powerful party drug as she escaped jail over a drunken knife attack. Mikaila Tyhurst, 28, had once been an attractive blonde with clear skin, good teeth and a career plan to become an air hostess at the age of 18. But after becoming hooked on the former legal high GBL in 2009, she suffered severe liver damage and ended up on life support 15 times, claiming she had been treated like a 'rag doll' by a string of men. Scroll down for video . A young Mikaila Tyhurst (left) before her addiction to GBL and now ravaged by the drug aged 28 (pictured right, leaving Burnley Crown Court) During her addiction, her skin became blotchy and covered in spots, her eyes grew puffy and her hair turned a mousey shade of brown. Meanwhile, her front teeth were knocked out when she fell over during one drug-fuelled night and her 18-month-old daughter was taken away from her. Last March Tyhurst from Crumpsall, Manchester, went public about her addiction and claimed she had been off the drug for two years - and was determined to turn her life around and help others for the sake of her young daughter. She had been on a detox programme and was hoping to undergo a liver transplant. But on Monday she pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual body harm, possession of a knife and theft after she and two accomplices left a man seriously injured with three knife wounds during a feud at his home in Padiham, Lancashire. Tyhurst claimed she had been treated like a 'rag doll' by a string of men who suffered the horrific injuries while high on GBL . Judge Andrew Woolman said Tyhurst had turned to drugs because of the 'sustained abuse' she had suffered at the hands of men . Tyhurst could have been jailed but Judge Andrew Woolman gave her an 18 month suspended jail term instead after hearing the appalling and sustained abuse of which she had been a victim. Judge Andrew Woolman told her: 'I have read the pre-sentence report but the bold print does not reveal the full horror of your own life. Your adult life can only be described by sustained abuse at the hands of men. 'You had an appalling time and it led you to drug abuse. These facts allow me to take an exceptional course for what you have done.' Tyhurst, a former pupil of Habergham High School in Burnley, had become hooked on GBL in 2009 before it was made illegal by the Government. The drug - a component of some paint strippers, nail varnish removers and superglue solvents - gives users a feeling of euphoria, but can also reduce their inhibitions. Over a four year period, Tyhurst was taken to hospital nearly 1,000 times - and was close to death on 15 occasions. She only stopped taking the drug after doctors warned her that, if she didn't, she was likely to die. Burnley Crown Court was told the stabbing occurred during a violent fracas with Anthony Hurst after she showed up to at his house drunk and armed with a kitchen knife stashed in her coat. She shouted at Hurst: 'you'd better open the f..king door now' and when he did so, she burst in with two accomplices and began to attack and punch him. Tyhurst had once been pretty with clear skin, good teeth and a career plan to become an air hostess at the age of 18 . As Mr Hurst was pinned down Tyhurst stabbed him three times before his flat screen TV, laptop, mobile phone and wallet were stolen. Mr Brian McKenna prosecuting said: 'Mr Hurst received several blows to the head, neck and back and felt a couple of puncture wounds on his back. He realised a knife was being used on him. He says he was terrified and so scared. He was then dragged up the stairs and pushed onto a settee where he was choked with an arm placed around his neck. 'He was terrified and began to lose consciousness and couldn't breathe. He honestly thought that he might be killed.' Tyhurst said she had borrowed a a friends's kitchen knife because she wanted to scare the complainant not stab him. She told officers, 'I jabbed him..' and said that she prodded him three times with the knife - twice in the back and one time in the chest. She had convictions going back to 2000 when a juvenile for common assault in June 2007 as well as theft, breach of court orders, and common assault and battery in May 2011. GBL - or gamma butyrolactone - is a component of some paint strippers, nail varnish removers and superglue solvents. It gives users a feeling of euphoria, but can also reduce their inhibitions and produce a sense of drowsiness. Once in the body, it turns into notorious drug GHB - known as 'liquid Ecstasy' - banned in 2003 because it was being used as a date rape drug. The former 'legal high' was made illegal by the Government in December 2009. Overdoses are common, with as little as one teaspoon enough to put the user in a coma. Deaths that have been linked with GBL include that of Lynette Nock, 28, died in 2012 after taking the drug. She was at a memorial party for her friend Carl Fearon, who had died after taking the drug the day before. In mitigation defence counsel Mr William Staunton said: 'It's clear she has gone there with the intent to frighten the victim. She didn't gain from the theft of the items, she accepted that at one stage she unplugged the television. 'She is a lady who bears the scars, she was the subjected of prolonged and brutal violence. 'She has gone from one addiction to another, GBL -obtained from squeezing fluid from nail varnish. She is also the victim of violence. 'She would not wish violence on her worst enemy. She has a puncture wound to her head where her former partner struck her with a screwdriver. She has lost teeth. 'She lived effectively as a rag doll at the hands of a man. 'Custody has caused her to reflect and reflect on her destructive ways. Her determination to be drug free I submit is impressive.' Tyhurst was also sentenced to a supervision requirement of 18 months and a 12 month drug rehabilitation programme. Because of her addiction, Tyhurst's life expectancy had been reduced by at least ten years - and she admitted she looked far older than other women in their twenties. She said her liver was currently operating at a level of just 11 per cent - meaning she will need a transplant in the future. After the case she said: 'I am trying to get my life back on track and I haven't been on that stuff for a year. I wish I didn't get into trouble, I'm embarrassed for myself. I see my daughter all the time time, she doesn't know about this.' An accomplice Shaun Andrews, 28, of Burnley, admitted burglary and was jailed for six years at an earlier hearing.
### SUMMARY:
| Mikaila Tyhurst has been on life support 15 times since her addition to GBL .
The 28-year-old also claims she was used like a 'rag doll' by string of men .
She pleaded guilty to the stabbing but was given a suspended sentence .
Judge said her 'sustained abuse at the hands of men' drove her to drugs . |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
Urbanised areas are more likely to be hit by frequent thunderstorms than rural areas of the same size, according to a new study. Researchers studied the 'births' of thunderstorms - known as storm initiations - between 1997 and 2013 and found a significant increase in densely populated areas such as Atlanta. And this has been tied to the increased pollution levels and rising temperature in these regions compared to rural areas in the same geographical location. By studying the 'births' of thunderstorms (stock image) - officially known as storm initiations - experts have found they occur more frequently in urbanised areas. This is tied to increased pollution levels and rising temperature in these regions compared to rural areas of the same size in the same goegraphical location . Researchers from Northern Illinois University studied radar data to pinpoint where thunderstorm initiations occurred across the southeast US between 1997 and 2013. They found that urbanised areas such as Atlanta are 5 per cent more likely to be hit by thunderstorms, on a given day, than rural areas of the same size. 'Per year, that amounts to two or three more thunderstorms of the pop-up variety,' explained lead researcher Alex Haberlie. 'These originate over the city or downwind and are separate from large and more easily predicted weather events.' Storms were more likely to hit these urbanised areas during warmer months, in July and August, in the late afternoon and early evening. And the study found more 'births' occurred during the week than at weekends. These findings add further weight to the fact rising temperatures increase the frequency of storms, but also that increased pollution levels in urban areas play a major role. Researchers from Northern Illinois University studied radar data to pinpoint where thunderstorm initiations occurred across the southeast US between 1997 and 2013. They found that urbanised areas such as Atlanta are 5 per cent more likely to be hit by thunderstorms, on a given day, than rural areas of the same size . During the week, more businesses and factories produce emissions than at weekends, for example. Rural areas showed no significant differences between weekdays and weekends. Researchers from Northern Illinois University studied radar data to pinpoint where thunderstorm initiations occurred across the southeast US between 1997 and 2013. They found that urbanised areas such as Atlanta are 5 per cent more likely to be hit by thunderstorms, on a given day, than rural areas of the same size. Storms were more likely to hit these urbanised areas during warmer months, in July and August, in the late afternoon and early evening. And the study found more 'births' occurred during the week than at weekends. These findings add further weight to the fact rising temperatures increase the frequency of storms, but also that increased pollution levels in urban areas play a major role. In addition to pollution, the study said urbanised areas cause more storms because they create 'urban heat-islands'. Concentrations of buildings can increase temperatures causing low pressures to form above cities, compared to high pressures in rural areas. This causes a so-called 'low-level atmospheric convergence', which forces air up into thunderstorms. Buildings may also change the flow and direction of winds, which in turn changes pressure levels and affects the upward movement of air. In addition to pollution, Mr Haberlie said urbanised areas cause more storms because they create 'urban heat-islands'. Concentrations of buildings can increase temperatures causing low pressures to form above cities, compared to high pressures in rural areas. This causes a so-called 'low-level atmospheric convergence', which forces air up into thunderstorms. Buildings may also change the flow and direction of winds, which in turn changes pressure levels and affects the upward movement of air. 'City planners, meteorologists and citizens who live in or near large urban areas should be aware of the increased risk,' Mr Haberlie continued. 'These storms can produce dangerous weather hazards, including lightning, hail, strong winds and flash floods, often with little or no warning.' As air is warmed by the sun and moves closer to the Equator, the air mass near the surface 'absorbs' water through evaporation. The warmer the air mass, the more water it takes up, and as it reaches the Equator, it begins to rise through the atmosphere, eventually cooling as it radiates heat out into space. Cool air typically holds less moisture than warm air, so as the air cools, condensation occurs, and heat is released. When enough heat is released, air begins to rise even further, pulling more air behind it, which ultimately causes a thunderstorm. As a result, many experts predict that global warming will cause the number of thunderstorms to increase and they are often used as indicators of rising temperatures and climate change. Thunderstorms get energy from the heat released by the condensation of water vapour (illustrated). Using climate records, and simulations up to 2098, experts recently said warming will create more precipitation and less circulation. The number of storms will stay the same, but they will become more intense . However, earlier this month a separate study found that instead of increasing in number, storms will increase in intensity as the globe gets warmer - meaning the same number of storms will occur, but they'll be stronger. Researchers from the University of Toronto explained that the Earth's atmosphere needs fuel to work, which in this instance is energy from the sun. As air is warmed by the sun and moves closer to the Equator, the air mass near the surface 'absorbs' water through evaporation. The warmer the air mass, the more water it takes up, and as it reaches the Equator, it begins to rise through the atmosphere, eventually cooling as it radiates heat out into space. Cool air typically holds less moisture than warm air, so as the air cools, condensation occurs, and heat is released. When enough heat is released, air begins to rise even further, pulling more air behind it, which ultimately causes a thunderstorm. The 'output' of this atmospheric engine, and storms, is the amount of heat and moisture that is redistributed between the Equator and the North and South Poles. The physicists said that this is because global warming will directly affect how the atmosphere circulates air mass, heat and water using what's been dubbed 'Earth's heat engine.' Frederic Laliberté and his colleagues from the University of Toronto compared climate records from 1981 to 2012 with climate simulations. This comparison revealed that a third of the atmospheric energy is typically involved with the movement of water through the cycle. But, as a result of climate change, the atmosphere is expected to use more energy during this part of the cycle. This is because the air will be warmer, so will take up more water, which will create more evaporation and precipitation. By using more energy to move the water, less energy is used to circulate the air mass, and an increase in water vapour, put simply, will make the process less efficient. The atmosphere still needs to get rid of the precipitation it collects, but because circulation is affected, it has to do this in fewer, more intense storms. Air masses that are able to reach the top of the atmosphere are strengthened, while those that can't, are weakened.
### SUMMARY:
| Researchers studied radar data in the southeast US from 1997 to 2013 .
They found that urbanised areas such as Atlanta are 5% more likely to be hit by thunderstorms than rural areas of the same size .
Experts said this shows 'human-induced climate change' at the local scale .
Storms were significantly common on weekdays compared with weekends .
This suggests weekday pollution levels could play a role in storms .
Rural areas showed no differences between weekdays and weekends . |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
A woman who was abused by her father and went on to have his baby has revealed she is starting to rebuild her life after her attacker was jailed. Hollie Davey, 26, from Essex, was abused, molested and raped as a young girl by Paul Davey falling pregnant with his child twice - the first she lost after he carried out a home abortion. She tracked him down at the age of 13 after being raised by an adoptive family. Speaking for the first time about her ordeal since her father was jailed, Miss Davey said she will 'never get over' what he did to her after he stole her childhood away from her. Hollie Davey from Essex has revealed her harrowing experiences of being raped and molested by her father . Hollie (pictured left as a child) found out she was adopted when she was 13 and went on to track down her father Paul Davey (right) Miss Davey, who has since had three daughters, Alayla, six, Roxanne, four and Amelia, two, revealed the son she gave birth to after her father raped her was taken into care. Her harrowing experience started at the age of 13 when she found out she was adopted and decided to track down her real father after her biological mother passed away. But after excitedly showing up on his doorstep in 2001 Hollie's decision to locate Paul - who is now in prison - would turn out to be one of the biggest mistakes of her life. 'When I arrived, a man with grey hair answered the door and asked me if he could help,' she said. 'I told him I was his daughter and though he looked shocked, he pulled me in for a hug. 'He said he had been waiting for the moment he got to meet me,' she said. Miss Davey and her father spent the night catching up then he asked her to move in with him. He told Miss Davey he did not want to lose her. She said: 'With those words I felt like I belonged and I settled down in to dad's spare room.' Hollie has revealed how she rain away from her father after becoming pregnant for the second time . But while she was keen to develop a father-daughter bond, Miss Davey's father had other ideas. Within weeks he was dressing her in a wedding dress and molesting her. She said: 'One day while I was reading a magazine dad started to run his fingers though my hair. 'Then he said, "You're gorgeous, I can't believe you're my daughter". It made me feel uneasy. But I was desperate for dad to love me, so I told myself I was just being silly.' But Davey continued to behave in a way that made his daughter feel uncomfortable. After they had been living together for two months, he suggested playing the game, 'mummies and daddies'. Miss Davey said: 'I thought it was strange being that I was almost 14, but I didn't want to annoy my dad.' Davey then handed her a wedding dress and told he to put it on. Hollie said: 'I put it on and played along with him.' Hollie is now happy with her three daughters, she has no contact with the son she had with her father . Next, her father asked her to pose on the bed so he could take some photos of her wearing the gown. Miss Davey said: 'It felt wrong but what could I do?' Later that night she heard her bedroom door creak. 'Dad said, "I'll sleep here tonight so I can be with my gorgeous daughter",' Miss Davey said. 'But he started touching me. 'I told him to stop it and tried to pull away but he ignored me and carried on touching me.' Before long, Davey was visiting his daughter's room every night to molest her. She said: 'He would call me his "special girl" and I would lay in bed limp, trying to pretend it wasn't happening.' Then one morning, Davey bundled his daughter in to his car and drove her to a deserted road to rape her. Hollie said: 'He told me to shut up, tore at my clothes and held me down on the passenger seat. I waited for it to be over but dad said, "There's more where that came from". 'I wondered how he could do this to me. I thought he loved me.' At home, Davey locked his daughter in the house and forced her to wear the wedding dress again. He took more photos of her, then thrust a silver ring on her wedding ring finger and said, 'I want you to be my wife'. Miss Davey said: 'I wanted to throw up. He was sick. I felt caged up like an animal.' Hollie holds one of her girls, she made her escape from her father after finding the front door unlocked . Hollie realised she could not hide her experience in case her father was also abusing other children . After coming forward a second woman also revealed she had been molested by Paul Davey . Davey continued to rape his daughter for months to come and eventually she fell pregnant. Desperate to end it, he forced her to down a bottle of gin then performed a home abortion with a knitting needle. Miss Davey said: 'I remember blood running down my legs and it must have panicked my dad because he took me to hospital. 'I wanted to scream at the nurses, "My dad did this to me," but I was petrified of the consequences. 'But if I thought this was going to scare him in to stopping him raping me, I was wrong.' At 15, Miss Davey fell pregnant a second time, but on this occasion she hid it from her father. She said: 'Even though the baby had been created by a monster, it was my baby.' Then one night when her dad was asleep, Miss Davey noticed that the front door was unlocked and made a break for freedom. She said: 'I realised, I was finally free.' Miss Davy gave birth to a son, but social services took him away. She blamed her father and, determined not to let him destroy any more of her life, she started college and got her own flat. She went on to have three daughters, then one day she realised that her father was still out there, prowling the streets and could be abusing other children. She said: 'I realised he couldn't get away with this so I contacted a solicitor and went to the police.' She underwent DNA tests, which proved her father was in fact her son's dad, too. Then, a second woman came forward to report that she too had been abused by Miss Davey's father. In July 2013, Paul Davey, then 63, from Suffolk, appeared at Ipswich Crown Court and pleaded not guilty to rape, indecent assault and one attempt of procuring a miscarriage. He was convicted of all counts and jailed for 16 years. Miss Davey said: 'I'll never get over what my dad did. I wish I hadn't gone looking for him. He ruined my childhood. But I'm now back in touch with my adoptive family and am finally happy.'
### SUMMARY:
| Hollie Davey from Essex was abused by her father from the age of 13 .
26-year-old tracked him down in 2001 after finding out she was adopted .
Paul Davey asked her to move in with him and treated her 'like a wife'
Davey, who was jailed in 2013, asked her to wear a wedding dress .
Would also ask her to play 'mummies and daddies' and slept in her bed .
Repeatedly raped her and she fell pregnant twice .
Managed to run away and gave birth to a son who was taken into care .
She now has three daughters between the ages of two and six .
Is starting to rebuild life and has got back in touch with adoptive parents . |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
(CNN) -- Mexican President Felipe Calderon will wake up a lame duck Monday. How lame will depend largely on nationwide midterm elections Sunday. Mexican President Felipe Calderon has three years left in his six-year term. On the ballot will be 500 federal legislators, six governors and mayors and local legislators in 11 states. Although Calderon has three years left in his six-year term and is not on Sunday's ballot, many analysts see the election as a referendum on his performance and his party's nine-year reign on the presidency. By most accounts, Calderon's party will fare well. "He's going to get a positive vote," said Larry Birns, director of the Washington-based Council on Hemispheric Affairs. "The nation feels he is doing a better job than they imagined he would." Low expectations may be understandable, given the circumstances under which Calderon came to power. After a bitterly fought race that polls indicated was too close to call, the nation went to the polls July 2, 2006, to pick a successor to President Vicente Fox. The race was so close that the results were not verified until a controversial decision two months later. Calderon's margin of victory was less than 1 percent. Losing candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador refused to accept the results and announced himself the winner. Fistfights broke out in the lower house, the Chamber of Deputies. The first three years of Calderon's tenure have not been much smoother. Perhaps most famously, the president declared war on the drug cartels that have taken hold of Mexico, spreading corruption, fear and violence to all corners of the nation. The war's outcome remains uncertain, but there's no doubt about the human cost: About 10,000 people have died in drug violence since Calderon took office in December 2006. The political fallout also has been costly. One U.S. politician said Mexico was undergoing a civil war. A Pentagon report said the nation was in danger of becoming a failed state. Calderon's job got tougher when the bottom fell out of the global economy late last year and the H1N1 flu outbreak drew the world's attention to Mexico this year. But Calderon's actions in the face of such adversity have helped his standing, some analysts say. "Calderon has become increasingly popular in the country because he did project a certain amount of strength in the anti-drug war," Birns said. "He did stand up to the United States on certain things, like swine flu." Calderon's aggressive management of the swine flu crisis -- in which he shut down schools, businesses and all public gatherings for more than a week to stop spread of the disease -- has given him higher credibility, said Peter Hakim, president of the Inter-American Dialogue policy institute. But Calderon's personal popularity may not help his party in the legislative elections. "The question is whether Calderon has coattails," said Ana Maria Salazar, a Mexico City columnist and political talk show host. Calderon is head of the National Action Party, known as PAN. The other two main parties are the leftist Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD), which narrowly lost the 2006 presidential election, and the Revolutionary Institutional Party (PRI), which had a stranglehold on the presidency from 1929 until the 2000. PAN candidate Fox -- Calderon's predecessor -- broke that hold nine years ago. The PAN has the most seats in the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies but does not have a majority in either. The party could lose seats after Sunday, as most polls show the PRI holding a slight lead. "We will see the resurgence of the PRI," said Robert Pastor, a Latin America national security adviser for President Carter in the late 1970s. The PRD, he said, has largely discredited itself through internal division. "And the PAN has been overseeing a government that has shunted from one crisis to another," Pastor said. Still, some observers say PRI inroads may not make much difference. "It will not change the balance of power much in Mexico," said Andrew Selee, director of the Woodrow Wilson Center's Mexico Institute. "Felipe Calderon will still have to negotiate with one of the two opposition parties to get legislation passed." Hakim said, "It's not going to be as critical election as everyone was predicting." But as Calderon moves into the last half of his presidency and other politicians start jockeying to succeed him, he probably will find it increasingly difficult to get his legislative agenda accomplished. "Felipe Calderon will have a small window of opportunity to get in additional reforms," Salazar said. "And all of this is happening amidst a terrible economic crisis, a terrible security crisis." And then there's the issue of what many see as increasing voter distaste for the electoral process. "There's a general disenchantment about the PAN administration for the past nine years," said John Mill Ackerman, a professor at the National Autonomous University of Mexico. "They're linked to the economic crisis, the health crisis, the security crisis." But the PRI, he said, doesn't offer much of a choice. "The problem here is that the PRI is not a new PRI," Ackerman said. "They're not necessarily going to imply much change or difference." Nor is the PRI united, Salazar said. "Everybody assumes that the PRI gets along. That's not true," Salazar said, noting that the party is riven with "fractionalism." Most voters will just stay home. Election officials predict a 30 percent turnout. Others will annul their vote: They will turn in blank ballots, so officials will see that they voted but not for anyone. "There's a lack of hope of making a difference with a vote," Ackerman said. Perhaps no one will be more interested in the results than the drug cartels. Numerous news reports have detailed how narcotraffickers fund some candidates, intimidate others to stay out of races and bribe politicians after they have been elected. "The narcos definitely have taken this as another way in which they can expand their power," Ackerman said. Federal authorities have arrested more than 100 local officials in recent weeks on accusations that they have been taking money from drug cartels. The "narco-politicians" included mayors and a judge. Jose Vazquez, the former mayor of a town in Michoacan state, told a major newspaper two years ago how he had to go see the local drug boss when he decided to run. After he won, Vazquez said, he was constantly pressured to appoint officials the drug gangs wanted. "If you don't do it, they kill you, and that's that," Vazquez was quoted as telling the Excelsior newspaper. "All candidates have to suit them, whether they belong to the PRI, the PAN or the PRD. The drug gangs give their approval to candidates." Vazquez apparently fell out of favor. A group of armed men killed him in November. More recently, armed men opened fire last week in Sonora state on a PAN candidate for the lower house. He escaped, but two aides were killed. After all this, how the election and vote-counting is carried out Sunday looms as a major worry. No one wants to see a repeat of 2006. "This is a referendum on democracy," Ackerman said. "[Mexicans] may be convinced on democracy. The question is whether they're convinced that voting will lead to anything."
### SUMMARY:
| President is not on ballot, but many see vote as comment on his performance .
Party is expected to do well despite years of troubles .
Calderon has stood strong in face of adversity, analysts say .
Many see increasing voter distaste with electoral process . |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
Washington (CNN) -- The chairman of the Republican Party and a leading GOP senator called on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to give up his post Sunday, following the publication of remarks he made about President Obama's race in 2008. A new book quotes Reid, D-Nevada, as saying privately in 2008 that Obama could be successful as a black candidate in part because of his "light-skinned" appearance and speaking patterns "with no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one." The remarks were "embarrassing and racially insensitive," said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, head of the GOP's Senate campaign arm, in a statement to CNN. GOP Chairman Michael Steele, on NBC's "Meet the Press," said: "Racism and racist conversations have no place today in America." Steele also was on the defensive for a remark he made last week that members of both parties have called a racial slur. In an interview with Fox News, Steele used the phrase "honest injun." The Congressional Black Caucus has accepted Reid's apology and is dismissing calls for him to step down as majority leader. Rep. Barbara Lee, chairwoman of the caucus, issued the following statement: "I have had an opportunity to speak with Senator Reid and he apologized for his unfortunate remarks concerning the president, and he understands the gravity of such remarks. There are too many issues like the economy, job creation and energy for these regrettable comments to distract us from the work that must be done on behalf of the American people." Democrats also rejected the calls for Reid's dismissal. Gov. Tim Kaine of Virginia, chairman of the Democratic Party, said "the case is closed" following Reid's round of apologies. Douglas Wilder of Virginia, who 20 years ago became the nation's first elected African-American governor, also rejected calls for Reid's ouster. "I think that what Reid was giving was a personal opinion, which wasn't affecting the laws or the operation of the dispensation of justice in our country," Wilder told CNN's "State of the Union." But he said he believes the incident "illustrates the need for more open discussion about race." Reid's office made clear he has no plans to step down. Democrats rejected the calls for Reid's dismissal, and Reid's office made clear he has no plans to step down. "Sen. Reid will stay in his position as majority leader and will run for re-election," his spokesman said. "As the leader in the fight to pass the Voting Rights Act and legislation banning hate crimes, Sen. Reid has a long record of addressing issues that are important to the African-American community. His Republican critics who are looking to politicize the issue can't say the same." Reid's controversial quote is in the book "Game Change," due in stores Monday. The authors write that "Reid was convinced, in fact, that Obama's race would help him more than hurt him in a bid for the Democratic nomination." In a statement to CNN, Reid said, "I deeply regret using such a poor choice of words." "I sincerely apologize for offending any and all Americans, especially African-Americans for my improper comments. I was a proud and enthusiastic supporter of Barack Obama during the campaign and have worked as hard as I can to advance President Obama's legislative agenda," Reid said. In his defense, he pointed to his efforts to integrate the Las Vegas strip and the gaming industry, among other legislation favored by African-American voters. "I have worked hard to advance issues important to the African-American community," he said. And the senate leader called Obama on Saturday afternoon to apologize for the remarks. In a statement issued after the call, Obama said, "As far as I am concerned, the book is closed." "Harry Reid called me today and apologized for an unfortunate comment reported today," the president said. "I accepted Harry's apology without question because I've known him for years, I've seen the passionate leadership he's shown on issues of social justice and I know what's in his heart." An aide to the senator told CNN that Reid also offered apologies to several prominent African-American political figures, including House Democrats Jim Clyburn of South Carolina and Barbara Lee of California; the Rev. Al Sharpton; CNN political contributor and Democratic strategist Donna Brazile; NAACP chairman Julian Bond; and the head of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, Wade Henderson. Steele, the GOP's first African-American chairman, was asked about the remarks on both "Meet the Press" and "Fox News Sunday." He told NBC on Sunday he believes Reid is out of touch with "how African-Americans generally feel" about sensitive issues. Steele was asked by NBC whether he believes the situation is similar to one involving former Sen. Trent Lott, who lost his post as Senate majority leader in 2002 after saying that the nation would have been better off if one-time segregationist candidate Strom Thurmond had been elected president. "Oh, yeah. There is a big double standard here," Steele said on NBC. Steele added: "When Democrats get caught saying racist things, you know, an apology is enough." Steele said that if a Republican senator had made the same remark Reid did, Steele himself and the Democratic Party "would be screaming for his head very much as they were with Trent Lott." Cornyn, in his statement, also accused Democrats of following a "double standard," and noted that they had pushed Lott to step down. "As we await his explanation, Sen. Reid should do the right thing, follow the example that he himself set in 2002, and step down as majority leader," Cornyn said. Kaine shot back against those arguments. "Anybody looking at Trent Lott's statements praising somebody who had been a pro-segregation candidate for president will see that there is no comparison between those comments and those of Sen. Reid," Kaine told NBC. The comments "were in the context of praising the senator and acknowledging that the senator could be a great president, but they were still insensitive," Kaine said. Asked whether Reid should resign, he said, "Absolutely not. ... We're moving on." Nevada state Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford, who is African-American, affirmed his support for Reid in a statement Saturday. "While I am disappointed in Sen. Reid's comment and choice of words, I accept his apology," said Horsford, a Democrat. "I have known Sen. Reid for many years and he has consistently been supportive of advancing the interests of the African-American community as he has for all Nevadans and all Americans." Steele, meanwhile, was asked about his remark in a Fox News interview last week that the GOP platform "is one of the best political documents that's been written in the last 25 years, 'honest injun' on that." "Fox News Sunday" host Chris Wallace noted that lawmakers from both parties have called that a racial slur. "Well, if it is, I apologize for it. It's not an intent to be a racial slur. I wasn't intending to say a racial slur at all," Steele said. CNN's Dana Bash, Mark Preston and Rebecca Sinderbrand contributed to this report.
### SUMMARY:
| NEW: Congressional Black Caucus rejects calls for Reid to step down .
Michael Steele calls for Reid to step down, accuses Dems of "double standard"
GOP chair says Senate majority leader's language "harkens back to the 1950s and '60s"
New book quotes Reid discussing "light-skinned" Obama's lack of "Negro dialect" |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
Port-Au-Prince, Haiti (CNN) -- Like cholera itself, Haiti's protests against the United Nations spread Thursday to the capital, Port-au-Prince, as angry people took to the streets demanding the global body get out of their country. Similar demonstrations erupted earlier this week in the northern coastal city of Cap-Haitien after assertions that U.N. peacekeepers from Nepal were responsible for starting the cholera outbreak that has claimed more than 1,100 lives and spread to eight of the nation's 10 departments. The United Nations has denied that its forces were responsible for the outbreak. In Port-au-Prince on Thursday, a planned protest began peacefully in the center of the city but turned violent as it moved toward the presidential palace, with one woman overcome by tear gas, witnesses said. At the central square, Champs de Mars Plaza, several hundred young men moving in a pack blocked traffic by setting fire to tires in the street and overturning Dumpsters. Several threw rocks at a campaign poster for presidential candidate Jude Celestin, whose candidacy has been endorsed by outgoing president Rene Preval. Others threw Molotov cocktails at the poster. Some Haitians have said Celestin is a symbol of what is not working in the country, and that Preval's endorsement of him means the election -- set for November 28 -- will not be fair. Near the presidential palace, which was destroyed in the January 12 earthquake that killed more than 200,000 people and left more than 1 million homeless, stores were closed and few cars were in the streets, though pedestrians were moving about freely. A sprawling makeshift tent city that is home to thousands of people who lost their homes in the quake is located in the area. "The Haitian government is never do nothing for us," said Pierre Aliodor, a protester who lives in the camp. "And we know the international government is still spending a lot of money for the Haitian people. But Preval, with his government, he still keeps their money to take back to the United States to buy some house." Since the earthquake struck, neither he nor his wife had received any help from the government or from any of the many nongovernmental organizations that are in Haiti, Aliodor said. Aliodor called for elections to be delayed. "This is not election time," he said, adding that both Preval and the U.N. forces should depart, "because they are not good for the Haitian people." In another part of town, dozens of Haitians -- most of them young and male -- attacked a government tractor that was being used to clear barricades blocking the streets. In addition to the 1,110 reported cholera deaths, another 18,382 people have been hospitalized with the disease, the health ministry reported. The hospital death rate was 4.0 percent, far above the none to 1.0 percent that infectious disease experts said they expect in developed countries. In Washington, Mark Ward, the acting director of the Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance at the U.S. Agency for International Development, said U.S. authorities have "a lot of confidence" in the Haitian government's response to the outbreak. The U.S. government strategy for aid in Haiti is to focus on prevention, he said, citing the need for clean drinking water, the addition of chlorine to the water supply, the ready availability of oral rehydration salts, education of the populace about how to protect themselves from getting the disease, and money to expand treatment centers. "We're going to invest a lot of money in their health system in the next five years," said Thomas C. Adams, special coordinator for Haiti. "Every hour that the efforts of medical and relief workers are obstructed means more deaths of Haitians from cholera," said Dr. Mirta Roses, director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). "We understand the frustration of many Haitians with the tragic situation that has developed as a result of systemic poverty, the January earthquake and now the cholera epidemic. But relief and medical workers are as critical to saving lives as rescue teams were after the earthquake." In Cap-Haitien, a cholera treatment center at the main stadium is being operated by Medecins Sans Frontieres, also known as Doctors without Borders. Before the recent unrest, the organization was planning to open another center in a different part of town, said Dr. Lea Guido, PAHO representative in Port-au-Prince. On Wednesday alone, the center took in 100 patients. PAHO said the unrest had led it and other United Nations agencies to discontinue much of their work supporting cholera treatment centers, training health personnel, and delivering supplies to affected communities. "The last shipment of medical supplies was delivered over the weekend, and we had to postpone distribution planned for Monday," said Guido. "The airport was closed, and many roads remain blocked. We have not been able to ship new supplies to the area at all this week." Beginning Monday, residents of Cap-Haitien, which has been hard hit by the outbreak, began demonstrations against U.N. peacekeepers. The northern port city is in the North Department, the Haitian province that has the highest fatality rate from cholera, 7.5 percent. "Experience shows that without access to health care, the rate could rise to as much as five times that figure," PAHO said in a statement. Health workers at Hopital Universitaire, the city's main hospital, treated at least six patients with gunshot wounds. "MINUSTAH shot them," said a man pushing a wheelbarrow holding one of the wounded. He was referring to the U.N. forces in Haiti by their acronym. At Cap-Haitien's Justinien Hospital, Dr. Wilton Cheruben told CNN that 37 people with bullet wounds had been treated between Monday and Wednesday night. The victims included a 9-year-old and a 14-year-old who were shot in the mouth; a 6-year-old was shot in the back and an 11-year-old was shot in the arm, he said. "Right now, we don't have any anesthetics, and the people really need some help," he said. In Cap-Haitien, PAHO staff members have been confined to their living quarters since Monday. Roses said Thursday it was impossible to identify the origins of the epidemic in Haiti "with currently available data." Rita Colwell, a cholera expert at the University of Maryland in College Park and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, said the reported links between the outbreak and peacekeepers is not based on evidence. "The evidence is not clear at all to be making any charge whatsoever for importing the disease," she said. "We've been jumping to conclusions without evidence, without facts." U.N. officials said the demonstrations have disrupted logistical operations, including the supply of clean water and proper sanitation. The U.N.'s World Food Programme reported that one of its warehouses had been looted and that food supplies were burned. The private charity Oxfam suspended water chlorination projects and other private charities pulled out of the Cap Haitien area. U.N. staffers have suggested the violence is politically motivated and said it's especially troubling just ahead of Haiti's presidential elections. Journalists Dmitri Foucard and Osman Jean Junior contributed to this story from Port-au-Prince .
### SUMMARY:
| Demonstrators blame U.N. peacekeepers for the cholera outbreak .
Protests have been ongoing in the northern city of Cap-Haitien .
Aid agencies say the protests are hampering treatment . |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
(CNN Student News) -- July 1, 2011 . Download a PDF map related to today's show: . • Atlanta, Georgia . Transcript . THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED. Leadership Unplugged . CARL AZUZ, CNN STUDENT NEWS ANCHOR: Hi! I'm Carl Azuz, welcoming you back to another summer edition of CNN Student News. Got something really cool for you this week. We're talking about Leadership Unplugged. This is a program that just wrapped up. It's a partnership between a group called 21st Century Leaders and the staff of CNN and CNN Student News; and what it does is bring about 75 of Georgia's brightest high school students to the Georgia Tech campus, where they spend a week learning about everything from journalism to, of course, leadership skills. PRISSY STEWART, 21ST CENTURY LEADERS ASSISTANT DIRECTOR: That's our goal, is to help them become more comfortable as leaders. You can tell as the week progresses they have come out of their shells, they have taken some risks and learned to work with people who are very different from them. AZUZ: I had the honor and privilege of kicking things off. I talked a little bit about how I got to where I am, what we do at CNN, and some students then talked to us about their first impressions as the week started. LEJOI LANE, SENIOR: I think that what stood out most to me was the fact that we got the chance to meet so many unique people and so many different genres of CNN. TYLER MEUSE, SENIOR: Being able to sit down and talk to professionals one-on-one and ask them the most important questions. BROOKE VAUGHAN, SENIOR: What stood out to me the most was Carl Azuz. His speech was great. I love how he asked questions and actually got the audience involved in us as students. He actually cared about our answers and cared to have a conversation with normal high school students. AZUZ: As things got rolling, students learned about many different facets of media. We talked to them about some of the new technologies available to us. We talked about how social networking gets used in newscasts. These were their impressions of that. EMILY CHO, SENIOR: I learned a lot about how you have to balance between the social media and what actual news is. It's a big question as to which one comes first: determining what your audience wants to hear and what they need to hear. GRACE LITTLE, SENIOR: This panel showed me just how much social media influences the way news gets around the world, especially in areas that don't allow CNN to have cameras on the ground. It's truly essential in making accurate news reporting. PHILIP MUSEY, SENIOR: I learned that CNN uses Twitter a lot. You hear a lot about younger generations using Facebook, but Twitter is pretty well known and well used at CNN. AZUZ: A big highlight of this conference happened right here at the CNN Center in Atlanta, Georgia. Students got to listen to a dinner panel of CNN talent and executives, and they heard a few things about work and life. OLA RICHARDSON, JUNIOR: Something I really learned is that the friends you get here are the friends that you will need in life. VICTORIA PARKS, JUNIOR: Definitely that just be yourself and you can be whoever you want to be, and you can do whatever you want to do. Just follow your dreams and pursue yourself. RED DENTY, JUNIOR: Keep working at it. If you want to work in video broadcasting, you have to start low and work your way up. CHANDLER BARRE, JUNIOR: You have to have your hook and the one thing that sets yourself apart from everybody else, and make yourself the one that is remembered. Shoutout . TOMEKA JONES, CNN STUDENT NEWS: Time for the Shoutout! Who is credited with saying, "Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other"? If you think you know it, shout it out! Is it: A) Mahatma Gandhi, B) John F. Kennedy, C) Martin Luther King Jr. or D) Abraham Lincoln? You've got three seconds -- GO! That quote about leadership comes from former U.S. President John F. Kennedy. That's your answer and that's your Shoutout! Leadership Unplugged . AZUZ: Of course, the name of the program: Leadership Unplugged. A big focus is learning what it takes to be a leader. Here's what students said about that in their own words. GABRIELLE PUYAT, GRADUATED AS A JUNIOR: You have to be able to connect with all different kinds of people. And not everyone's going to like you; you're not going to like everyone. But if you have the ability to communicate and cooperate, then you can lead. FIRST BORN, JUNIOR: I think leadership is the ability to stand out above other people and give them a sense of belonging. As a leader, I don't think that you're able to have everyone like you. MACHMUD MAKHMUDOV, JUNIOR: If you want to be exceptional and create something and be really successful, you really need to persevere as a leader. And know that even though you might be going through tough times, in the end, true leaders do what it takes to be successful. AZUZ: This was the 6th year for Leadership Unplugged, but this was the first year that some of the students actually got to go on the air live on a CNN network. A few of the students were interviewed by Carlos Montero, an anchor with CNN en Espanol. CAMILA DONOSO, SENIOR: He just asked us about how we liked it and everyone was a little nervous. He said it was good. The captions were really funny because it said, you know, "young leaders changing the world." And we're like, "Oh my God!" But if you think about it, we are, because we're making a difference. Winners . AZUZ: These 75 students were divided into groups and they were given a project to work on throughout the week. That project was to pitch a story to a panel of CNN executives, so a little bit intimidating there. But they were scored on their pitch, and they were scored on things like the presentation itself, how creative the story was, how balanced the story was. And the winning pitch was a story about illegal immigration in the United States. Some members of that winning group talked to us about what it was like to win. JUSTIN WHITE, JUNIOR: I was actually afraid that we hadn't won, but when they called our name, I just knew we had it. ADEOLA ADENIRAN, SENIOR: Yeah, I was really excited. But I knew that, like, deep down, that we might have a chance because of our title. Our title was really powerful: "Undocumented and Unafraid." It gave me a little hope there. Goodbye . AZUZ: So, that was how the week wrapped up, and that is how we wrap up this special summer edition of CNN Student News. We hope to lead you back to CNNStudentNews.com, and that you'll plug in for more stories right here throughout the summer. Hope to see you soon. For CNN Student News, I'm Carl Azuz.
### SUMMARY:
| CNN Student News is producing special, web-only shows all summer long .
This week, we explore a week-long conference called Leadership Unplugged .
The program introduces high school students to the world of journalism . |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
(CNN) -- The Amateur Athletic Union kick-started a child sex abuse criminal probe against its former president when it gave Memphis, Tennessee, police the identities of three of his accusers, a spokesman for the group said Sunday. Ron Sachs spoke with CNN hours after ESPN aired, on its show "Outside the Lines," interviews with two men who accused Robert "Bobby" Dodd of abusing them in the 1980s, when he was their coach at a YMCA program in the southwest Tennessee city. According to Sachs, the Memphis police had "no reports from anybody" about Dodd until the Amateur Athletic Union -- also known as the AAU -- gave them the results of their own, nearly month-long investigation last Thursday. The group previously claimed that it alerted authorities last Friday. This included revealing the identity of a "potential third complaining victim" who was not brought up in the ESPN report, the spokesman said. "Only the AAU's contact with the Memphis police triggered what we believe is now a legitimate law enforcement investigation," said Sachs. In the ESPN report, Dodd's accusers claim he sexually abused them in hotel rooms during tournaments when they were 12 to 16 years old. CNN could not reach Dodd, 63, who was dismissed from the AAU on November 14, for comment. ESPN said it also had been unable to reach him. Dodd is distinct from the legendary, late former Georgia Tech football coach who had the same name. Memphis Police Director Toney Armstrong has said that his department is probing the claims. "Although this case has its challenges due to the amount of time that has passed, it will be thoroughly examined," Armstrong said. "And if the investigation reveals the law was violated, the person responsible will be held accountable." The allegations were made amid child sex scandals at Penn State and Syracuse universities and The Citadel; both men accusing Dodd told ESPN that the publicity from the scandals prompted them to act. Penn State's Paterno breaks pelvis in fall . Detailing its involvement, Sachs said the AAU stands by its response -- including its decision to oust Dodd, hire an investigator and then contact authorities. "These (AAU) folks dealt with these allegations -- as brief as they were, as anonymous as they were, as salacious as they were, but lacking any specificity," Sachs said. The AAU got "cryptic, brief" e-mails -- signed only as "shrimp breath" -- on November 7, 8 and 9 -- that "alleged, in a very general way, that Bobby Dodd engaged in child sexual abuse," said the spokesman. And on November 9, the organization got two brief voice-mails along the same lines. There was no name or contact information left in either case. Those messages were sent to the AAU's compliance and general counsel office, and AAU "officers" were notified on November 11. The board members, several of whom flew into Orlando, convened on the following Monday, November 14, "to confront then-President Bobby Dodd," said Sachs. In that meeting, Dodd claimed he'd gotten similar phone messages and insisted he was innocent, according to the spokesman, who said he'd spoken with several AAU officers at that meeting. "Despite those denials, the AAU officers directed that Bobby Dodd leave the premises and leave his position (as president and CEO) for an indefinite period," said Sachs. Under its acting president, Louis Stout, the AAU hired a private investigator to look into the allegations. Those findings were turned over to police earlier this month. One of Dodd's accusers, identified by ESPN as Ralph West of Miami, said he was 14 at the time of the alleged abuse. West said he was on a basketball team run by Dodd, who he said would sometimes slip into West's hotel room. West said he was talking publicly, despite the potential embarrassment to him and his family, not to "gain anything" but because he felt "the guy shouldn't be around kids anymore." West said Dodd abused him or tried to abuse him six times, including at least once in which he tried "to put his hand in my boxer shorts" while West was sleeping. Asked how Dodd could have entered the hotel room on that and other occasions, West said, "He had a key. He always somehow had a key to whatever room I was in." West said he tried to find ways to keep Dodd out of his hotel room when they were at out-of-town basketball tournaments, saying he was "afraid to even fall asleep." "He would push his way in the room and then end up, I'd see, I wouldn't see him, I would hear him, he'd lay at the floor of the bed masturbating," the man said. "And you just lay there horrified. But you don't know what to do. What, are you going to blow the lid off of this at 14 years? All you want to do is pretend it didn't happen and not address it at all. You want to hide and bury it." Another accuser, whom ESPN did not identify, said Dodd gave him alcohol before taking him to a bedroom and touching him inappropriately. "The last thing that I can really remember was him carrying me into his bedroom and I can remember him, you know, touching me in ways that I, I didn't uh, I didn't want another man touching me," the man said. That accuser said he called Dodd on November 11 and confronted him. Dodd, he said, then apologized for the alleged abuse. The network said it examined the man's phone records and verified an eight-minute phone call to Dodd's number. Both men said they had never reported the alleged incidents to police and had only recently told their families, ESPN said. Sachs criticized the half-hour ESPN report for not quoting Stout's video statement on the matter or others from the AAU. The organization, which has 80,000 adult volunteers involved in coaching and works with hundreds of thousands of young people, is asking outside experts to review its policies for protecting children, which Sachs called the AAU's "No. 1 priority." The spokesman also clarified that Dodd told his successor, Stout, that he had colon cancer and needed surgery after his November 14 dismissal. Dodd allegedly asked that he be able to retire for medical purposes -- a request that Stout denied, according to Sachs. "(Stout) told Mr. Dodd to go focus on your health, go through this surgery and we'll deal with this issue later," said Sachs. Dodd has been back at the AAU's offices one time since his ouster, contrary to the organization's earlier reports that he'd never returned. The occasion was a "forensic audit" that the spokesman called "standard" for outgoing leaders of organizations. "Bobby Dodd is no longer part of the AAU," said Sachs. "He has no continuing role (or) involvement in their programs. There's no contact with him. Whatever compensation he would have been entitled to -- accrued vacation time -- will be paid, and that's it." CNN's Joe Sutton, Meridith Edwards and Tom Watkins contributed to this report.
### SUMMARY:
| An ex-AAU CEO is accused of sexually abusing boys while he was a YMCA coach .
The AAU got "cryptic" messages in November and did its own probe, a spokesman says .
The group notified Memphis police last week, setting off its investigation, he adds .
ESPN aired a report Sunday featuring two alleged accusers of Robert "Bobby" Dodd . |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
(CNN) -- We've seen deaths, weddings, dramatic costume changes, surprise hookups and more deaths. And that's just in the past five years or so. The world of superhero comics has seen a lot of changes recently, with the demise -- and in some cases, resurrection - of Robin, Captain America, Peter Parker, Professor Charles Xavier and the Human Torch. Clark Kent walked out on his job and dated Wonder Woman. There have been revelations that multiple characters were gay, along with a same-sex wedding or two. (There also was a complete reboot in 2011 for DC Comics, which like CNN is owned by Time Warner, and a relaunch of many of Marvel Comics' books in 2012.) So, what's behind all these headline-grabbing plot twists in comic books these days? We have asked some of the creators over the years. Scott Snyder, who writes "Batman," including the most recent "Death of the Family" story arc, said he writes stories as if this was his one chance to write about a certain character: "It's not so much to make the books as dramatic as possible or to be shocking, but to try to tell the best story you can that feels organic. It's not been a marching order (from editors)." When the Human Torch died in a 2010 issue of "Fantastic Four" (only to return a year later), Marvel editor Tom Brevoort spoke to CNN about deaths in comics, "It's very easy to develop cynicism about the stories we tell. The only way to combat and conquer it is to have a story that touches on the humanness of people that has emotional resonance and truth to it. The fact of death is something every human being can relate to. I would argue that a well-told story of a character's demise is not necessarily undone by them coming back later." We recently spoke with three comic book experts, who gave us their thoughts on this phenomenon: . CNN: Why do you think we seem to see more and more of these kinds of stories and changes in comics? Alan Kistler, author/actor/comics historian: The industry's not doing so hot. Books are in danger of cancellation before the second issue even hits the stands. Sales are determined by how many books retailers order rather than how many actually sell. For some reason, we don't advertise comic books outside of comic books themselves. The TV commercial for "The New 52" didn't really tell people why they might want to check it out if they'd never read comics before, it just expected you to be excited and already know the gist of what was happening. So these headline-grabbing stories are understandable, because you want to get people talking and you want to enhance curiosity for new consumers. But I think it's a wrong approach. Does spoiling the ending of a comic in the New York Post two days before it's available for purchase really ensure higher sales than if you released that story on the same day or a day after it hits the stands? I doubt it. And it doesn't affect retailer sales because they've already ordered the books at that point. We need to advertise good stories and new-reader-friendly stories. Travis Langley, psychology professor/expert in the comic arts: Declining sales have been scaring publishers for a long time. Not just comic book publishers. Almost 30 years have passed since Egon Spengler told us, "Print is dead." These publishers have to do something to keep this medium alive, and we want them to survive. We want them to thrive! Andrea Letamendi, clinical psychologist, scientist, comic convention speaker: I don't necessarily see an increase in incidence with regards to these comic book events in recent years, but perhaps we're more likely to notice them now. These events have been going on for as long as I've been reading comics. And that's been a long time. The comic book industry shouldn't be faulted for having an equivalent to television's "sweeps week." When you need a hit, you create an event that will bring in the readers. CNN: Which recent big change or story do you think had the best payoff? Kistler: "The Death of Captain America." That story actually had people mourn and move on from the event; there was no rush to bring Steve (Rogers) back. For a few years, we really got to explore what a new Captain America would be and how the world would be different. When Steve did come back, surprise, he needed to process the whole experience rather than rush into his old role. On the flip side, we were told that Batman's "death" wasn't real, then saw a former partner questing to prove he wasn't dead, followed by advanced art for a miniseries called the "Return of Bruce Wayne." They were good stories, but the marketing approach and early advertising made Dick Grayson seem like a stand-in rather than "the new Batman." Letamendi: I strongly believe that The New 52's "Batgirl" can be seen as a great example of a major plot shift or re-imagining of a story that required readers to let go of a long-loved character (Oracle) and begin to believe in Batgirl as a new character, one who's recovered from a life-threatening attack. The character essentially presented the determination, resilience and psychological strength that she needed to put the cape back on after a severe injury, just as readers were challenging her ability to represent a strong rebooted character. It's as if we could relate to the weight on her shoulders, because we were a part of that process. Langley: The same-sex weddings. Northstar's wedding (in"Astonishing X-Men") made sense. These characters, in their fictional worlds, are celebrities. Given how many celebrities made news by marrying their same-sex partners in our world once they legally could, it would have been weird for Marvel's Earth-616 not to have had a same-sex superhero wedding. Kevin Keller's wedding in "Life with Archie" is important for the opposite reason, because it's a down-to-earth relationship. Both of those weddings reflect our times and say these characters live in worlds that remain relevant to us. CNN: Do you see even more of these plot twists on the horizon, or the possibility of comic companies trying to top each other? Langley: Competition has value, of course. DC and Marvel are working really hard to find creative new ways to outdo each other, and it's interesting to watch. Marvel's growth in the 1960s challenged DC and inspired them to tell new kinds of stories. It's an exciting time, really. The comic book industry will change, but I'm actually a lot more optimistic about its future now than I was at the start of this millennium. Everything feels so much more alive. Kistler: I see a rising impatience with this kind of headline grabbing and spoilers in the news. People are wondering why comics feel so insecure that they need to advertise the endings of major stories whereas everyone was happy to buy a "Harry Potter" and "Hunger Games" book without knowing the ending. Letamendi: I think risk-taking comes with a price, and readers of comics are particularly savvy when it comes to storytelling. But competition makes us stronger. These companies--and not just the big ones, but smaller publishers, as well-- want to be known as the best. And that's in the storytelling. So with amazing arcs and events, inevitably come happy readers.
### SUMMARY:
| From the deaths of Robin and Peter Parker to major reboots, comics see a lot of change .
Comics creators say that the most important element is a well-told story .
Three comic book experts share their views of this phenomenon . |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
Washington (CNN) -- It's August, the dog days of summer, and President Barack Obama and Congress are making a break from the nation's capital. The president heads West for a quick trip on the economy that includes a visit with Jay Leno, while federal lawmakers begin their five-week summer recess. Mitt Romney, a couple men who might have hopes of being the next Republican presidential nominee, and a first-term congressman from Arkansas also will be political stories in the week ahead. 1. Taking it to the states . While lawmakers may have left Washington for the sticky month of August, their political battles aren't taking a rest. The sniping over Obamacare, immigration and the budget is only set to amplify as outside groups hit states to rally supporters behind their causes. Like August 2009, when rowdy town halls across the country helped fuel the burgeoning tea party movement, health care will provide conservative activists with a rallying cry for smaller government and less federal spending -- though this time around, Obamacare supporters are also getting into the town hall business. Obamacare battle heads to states . Organizing for Action, the advocacy group formed from the remnants of Obama's presidential campaign, will get started Sunday with community events and house parties pegged to the president's 52nd birthday. The Obamacare rallies, part of the group's "Action August" initiative, are designed to counter conservatives who are also darting across the country to push against the president's sweeping health care law. While the 2009 rallies loudly pushed elected officials to reject the president's plans, conservative events this year will advocate defunding the law, which was enacted in 2010 and deemed constitutional last summer by the Supreme Court. Some conservative lawmakers -- including Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, Rep. Marco Rubio of Florida and Sen. Mike Lee of Utah -- are using impending budget battles as leverage, vowing to oppose any measure that provides funding for the federal government that includes funding for the health care law. The measure funding the government expires September 30, setting up another Capitol Hill budget battle between Republicans and the White House. Other Republicans, however, have voiced opposition to threatening a government shutdown in order to gut the health care law. Boehner's juggling act: Killing Obamacare and avoiding shutdown . Other groups hitting the road: the anti-Obamacare Tea Party Patriots, ForAmerica and Americans for Prosperity; and the pro-Obamacare Americans United for Change and Protect your Care. 2. Obama heads West . With economic speeches in Illinois, Missouri, Florida and Tennessee under his belt, Obama heads west Tuesday to Arizona, this time to talk housing in a market that's seeing recovery after home prices plummeted. Phoenix was one of the worst hit areas during the housing crisis, seeing home prices drop more than 50% between 2006 and 2011. But things are looking up -- a closely watched index out this week showed home prices there were up more than 20% from a year ago. CNNMoney.com: Home prices keep soaring . But homeownership around the nation is still at record lows, and according to a report this week from a federal watchdog, borrowers who received help through the government's main foreclosure prevention program are re-defaulting on their mortgages at alarming rates. "In Arizona, the president will lay out his plan to continue to help responsible homeowners and those Americans who seek to own their own homes as another cornerstone of how we can strengthen the middle class in America," White House press secretary Jay Carney said this week. The speech is a continuation of the president's push to turn back to the economy and jobs, which Americans still rate as their top issues in public polling. Republicans have largely been skeptical of the new effort, casting it as yet another "pivot" that hasn't resulted in any new proposals. While out West, the president will also drop in on Jay Leno, taping an appearance on "The Tonight Show" on Tuesday. He'll also visit servicemen and women at southern California's Camp Pendleton. 3. He's back! Mitt Romney is attending his first political fundraiser since he lost last November's presidential election. The former Massachusetts governor and 2012 GOP nominee will be the headliner at a New Hampshire Republican Party reception and fundraiser. The event will take place on Tuesday in the Granite State's lakes region, near Romney's vacation home in Wolfeboro, along Lake Winnipesaukee. The New Hampshire Republican Party told CNN that general admission tickets for the event are sold out. "The dinner will give Romney's many local supporters in New Hampshire a chance to see him again," Ryan Williams, an adviser to the New Hampshire GOP who worked on the Romney campaign, told CNN. Was Mitt Romney right about Detroit and Russia? Following November's election loss, Romney spent much of his time out of the public eye, but he recently re-entered the spotlight, holding a multiday conference in Park City, Utah, that featured several prospective 2016 presidential candidates and other national leaders, as well as some of the GOP's major donors. 4. Is the next race already under way? Two men who might aspire to be the Republican presidential nominee in 2016 head to -- you guessed it -- Iowa at the end of the week. Former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, who battled Romney deep into last year's GOP primaries, and freshman Sen. Ted Cruz will have prominent speaking roles at the 2013 Family Leadership Summit. The event's being put on by the Family Leader, a group that's influential with social conservatives in Iowa. Social conservative voters are a key constituency among Hawkeye State Republicans, and Iowa's caucuses lead off the presidential primary and caucus calendar. Santorum is well known and respected among social conservatives. Cruz, who was elected to the Senate last year thanks to strong support from tea party and other grassroots conservatives, is fast becoming a rising star on the right. Also speaking at the gathering: Donald Trump, who once again might be flirting with running for president. 5. Game on in crucial Senate battle . Get ready for what could be another crucial and bruising 2014 Senate battle, this time in Arkansas, which could ultimately decide whether the Democrats keep control of the chamber. Republican Rep. Tom Cotton is expected to announce Tuesday that he's running against incumbent two-term U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor, who is considered one of the most vulnerable Democratic senators up for re-election next year. Cotton, who served in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, is considered a rising star in the GOP and is a favorite of many neoconservatives. The representative, who was just elected to Congress this past November, has been a frequent guest on cable news channels, including CNN. Next year the Democrats will try to maintain their majority in the Senate, where they hold a 54-46 edge (including two independents who caucus with the party) over the GOP. They hope to expand that to 55-45 following October's special Senate election in New Jersey, which they are favored to win. But they most likely will be defending 21 of 35 seats up for grabs in November 2014.
### SUMMARY:
| Advocacy about Obamacare is planned by liberals and conservatives .
President Obama heads West to talk about the housing in Phoenix .
Mitt Romney returns to the political stage with a fundraiser in New Hampshire .
Former Sen. Rick Santorum and Sen. Ted Cruz address a conservative gathering in Iowa . |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
(CNN) -- A buzz ripples through the packed stadium as word quickly spreads: "He's here." The jostling crowd surges forward, camera phones held high to catch a glimpse of the superstar flanked by a dense entourage. But it's not an A-list actor or musician throwing the fans into a frenzy. Instead, a four-year-old horse called Frankel is about to make history by winning his 14th -- and final -- consecutive race. A sold-out crowd of 32,500 people watched Frankel win Champions Day at Ascot in October -- the highest number for an autumn flat racing event in Britain. It's a testament to the popularity of the celebrity colt who, much like Madonna, Prince or Beyonce, needs no last name. But it's also an indication of just how far horse racing has come in 2012. Changing perceptions . It's the second biggest spectator sport in Britain after football, with around 6 million people heading to the track every year. But the pomp and pageantry of racing -- think silly hats, freeflowing champagne and manicured gardens -- means that the general public has long viewed it as a fun day out, rather than a competitive sport. This year however, racing attracted a new audience who knew the names of horses, recognized industry heavyweights and understood the importance of big competitions. "Probably the most amazing moment of the year was Frankel winning the Champion Stakes. You had 32,000 people all on their feet, cheering him on, it was just the most emotional moment," Simon Bazalgette, chief executive of The Jockey Club, said of the horse's last race. "It's a bit of an eccentric world, horse racing. But once you understand the theater of it, once you know the big names, it becomes so much more enjoyable." Rise of the celebrity horse . A lot of the hype was due to celebrity horses such as Frankel and Australia's Black Caviar, who remains unbeaten in 22 consecutive races and even appeared on the front cover of Vogue. These were champions of a caliber rarely seen in one generation, let alone competing at the peaks of their careers in the same year. In a new digital age, their fame was carefully cultivated. Marketing teams set up Twitter accounts, Facebook profiles, and pedaled merchandise online. And it seemed to work. Attendance at races starring Frankel were up 20% on last year. Similarly, a small army of Black Caviar fans -- draped in the horse's native Australian flag or salmon pink silks -- cheered on the mare to victory at the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot in June. However, the overall figure of 280,000 for all five days was down 14,000 from last year. Meanwhile, a record 130,000 punters attended the prestigious Epsom Derby in July, which launched Queen Elizabeth's official jubilee celebrations, making it the largest sports crowd in Britain in 2012. More people were also watching horse racing on TV, with 11 million tuning in to Britain's biggest competition, The Grand National -- up 2 million on last year. Dettori's shame . However, it wasn't a flawless year for racing. The sport's poster boy, Italian jockey Frankie Dettori, was given a six-month ban earlier this month after failing a drugs test in France. The three-time champion, who earlier announced the end of his long tenure with the Godolphin stable, said it was not a performance-enhancing substance. "He's admitted it was a moment of madness," Bazalgette said. "It's a shame. He's an important face in horse racing." "When it comes to talking to the media, jockeys are a bit of a challenge. These guys are living and breathing the sport, putting in a huge number of hours. They can be difficult to pin down." Far better recognized were celebrity owners such as TV entertainers Ant and Dec, actress Judi Dench and Britain's Queen Elizabeth. Frankel's trainer Henry Cecil, who is battling cancer, was also "hugely loved," Bazalgette added. Ladies' Day . One jockey not shying away from the camera this year was Canadian Chantal Sutherland. The 36-year-old made history after becoming the first woman to compete in the world's richest horse race, the $10 million Dubai World Cup, in March. But the model perhaps garnered more attention off the track for her naked photoshoot on a horse in Vanity Fair in June. Sutherland, who did much to raise the profile of female jockeys in a traditionally male-dominated sport, retired in October. Not just a pretty face, she had more than 900 wins in a career spanning 12 years. A weighty issue . Sutherland said she was now looking forward to "cutting loose and having a cheeseburger or some pizza." "Those types of indulgences are not allowed when you constantly have to monitor your weight," she added. Jockeys are put under enormous pressure to meet miniature weight requirements, with sweat suits, saunas, hot baths and starvation are some of the methods used to keep trim. But some relief is in sight -- albeit slight -- after the British Horseracing Authority last month raised the minimum weight by two pounds to 8 stone (50 kg), from January next year. International highlights . Across the Atlantic, the winner of the United States' premier race, the Kentucky Derby, was denied the chance of a Triple Crown after being forced to retire ahead of the Belmont Stakes. I'll Have Another developed a foreleg injury that trainer Doug O'Neill described as "freakish." The three-year-old had been seeking to be the first horse in 34 years to win the treble, having triumphed at the 138th Kentucky showpiece in May and then the Preakness Stakes. Racing authorities also confirmed that the legendary Secretariat set a record time in winning the 1973 Preakness event, ending a controversy that had lasted almost four decades. In Australia, the Melbourne Cup was won by a home horse for the first time since 2009 as Green Moon headed off a strong field of "international invaders." France's Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe was won by four-year-old filly Solemia, who denied Japan's Orfevre in his bid to become the first non-European trained victor. Danedream was unable to defend her title due to an outbreak of equine infectious anaemia at the racing yard in the German city of Cologne where she is trained. Dubai's ruler Sheikh Mohammed celebrated as Mikael Barzalona rode Monterosso to victory in the the emirate's World Cup in April, but the result was somewhat overshadowed by the death of another Godolphin horse, Fox Hunt, in the inaugural Gold Cup held earlier in the meeting. Weathering the storm . The biggest challenge for the UK racing industry this year? The great British weather -- which forced the cancellation of 119 races up to the start of December. "After the Diamond Jubilee weekend it didn't stop raining until the end of July," Bazalgette said. "There was a good six weeks when we lost meetings." Whatever the weather, the outlook looks bright for horse racing in 2013.
### SUMMARY:
| 2012 is a big year in horse racing as 6 million people head to the track .
Rise of celebrity horses Frankel and Black Caviar helps create buzz .
Female jockey Chantal Sutherland in naked photoshoot before retiring .
Biggest challenge is British weather, with 119 races canceled . |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
Des Moines, Iowa (CNN) -- Representatives for leading social conservative groups in Iowa held a secret meeting Monday as part of an effort with one main goal: find and support a Republican presidential candidate who can stop Mitt Romney in Iowa. The idea: avoid splintering the conservative vote in the state by rallying around one GOP rival who could win Iowa's Jan. 3 caucus and then challenge Romney in New Hampshire and the other early voting states. Many social conservatives and other religious leaders in the state have openly labeled the former Massachusetts governor as a "flip-flopper," a criticism the campaign frequently beats back, while others have seen Romney's Mormon faith as an issue. And many of them have openly hoped for someone to emerge as a viable alternative to the former Massachusetts governor. CNN reached out to the Romney campaign for reaction to the secret meeting and the overall anti-Romney effort. "Gov. Romney is running a 50-state campaign. He's going to be competitive in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and all the other early states," said Romney campaign spokesman Ryan Williams. "He's reaching out to each and every voter." One attendee at the meeting earlier this week told CNN they wanted "to see if they could come to a consensus of who they might endorse." But the source was skeptical about the impact of Iowa social conservatives rallying behind one candidate. "If you want to stop Romney you're probably going to have to have some organization [and] some money," the source said. "Somebody who's at 5% or 6% in the polls, and they endorse, I don't think that does any good." Multiple sources have described to CNN details of the meeting and the general effort. The meeting, the group's first, took place in a private office building in Des Moines on Monday. In attendance were representatives from the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition, The Family Leader, the group Iowa Right to Life, and a representative for the Iowa chapter of Concerned Women for America. Some pastors from prominent Iowa churches also attended the meeting. The effort seems limited to Iowa, with no apparent outreach to similar groups in other states. While the concerns have been voiced before, what appears to be new is the meeting itself and organizers' hope for like-minded groups to come together against Romney, at least in Iowa. Sources say there were about 20 to 25 people present at the meeting and that another meeting is planned for Monday of next week. The effort is said to still be in the discussion phase. Participants were said to have narrowed their focus down to four candidates: Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann, Texas Gov. Rick Perry, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum. Iowa social conservatives want to find alternative . CNN spoke with Chuck Hurley, vice-president of The Family Leader, regarding the meeting. Initially, he was reluctant to discuss the gathering. "There was a statement made in the meeting not to divulge the contents of the meeting," Hurley said. Hurley said he had invited some attendees and confirmed the meeting's purpose was, in fact, to seek a consensus pick to topple Romney, who has been at or near the top of recent polls in the state. He added that the group is not trying to take on any authority role. "They're very unofficial," Hurley said. Hurley also helped to clarify why Georgia businessman Herman Cain and Texas Rep. Ron Paul were not part of the conversation. "My best recollection is that there were some issues about states' rights, as they pertained to the sanctity of human life and marriage," Hurley said, although he could not recall specific arguments against the two candidates. "I think that was more Ron Paul." Hurley also stressed many attendees praised Herman Cain. But there were concerns about "a lack of clarity with Mr. Cain... lack of consistency on issues of sanctity of life and marriage." "I think with Mr. Cain there was some concern he's maybe not quite experienced enough in civics... And maybe not quite ready for that number one job," Hurley added. The Cain and Paul campaigns challenged similar, yet separate, criticisms on Tuesday when one of the groups took both men out of consideration for its presidential endorsement. Regarding the sexual harassment claims lobbed against Cain -- claims the candidate strongly denies -- Hurley said: "That was not mentioned, that I can recall." Jenifer Bowen, the executive director of Iowa Right to Life, also attended the Monday meeting. "I was invited by the leader of The Family Leader," Bowen said, referring to Hurley. "My understanding was, I'm assuming he was the one who really spearheaded the meeting." Bowen explained that she listened to the appeals from attendees. However, Bowen said neither she nor board members of her group will endorse a candidate ahead of the caucuses. For those reasons, Bowen said she did not participate in the conversation and will not attend the upcoming meeting or others. Several groups rise up against Romney . Bob Vander Plaats, president and CEO of The Family Leader, who was not at the Monday meeting and spoke to CNN only broadly about the conservative opposition to Romney. "It's no secret that there's many conservatives throughout Iowa who are looking for the alternative to Romney, who can win Iowa, and then who can go the distance in New Hampshire and beyond and become our nominee that can beat Obama," Vander Plaats said. "Our concern is that if the conservatives stay as fragmented as they are, that Romney could win the Iowa caucuses. And if he wins the Iowa caucuses, he'll be the nominee," Vander Plaats added. "So I think there's an urgency to say, 'Well who is the person that could best challenge [Romney] then move on after Iowa?" Kerry Jech, senior minister of the New Hope Christian Church in Marshalltown, explained the opposition to the former Massachusetts governor among some Christian and social conservatives. "I think there is a concern we not splinter our support amongst several candidates to the point that somebody gets in the nomination who doesn't share our values," Jech said. Jech added that, in his view, Romney has "waffled" on two issues that social conservatives care deeply about: the definition of marriage as between one man and one woman, and abortion. Yet Jech warned, "I don't think any of us are going to find a candidate we agree with 100% on every issue." Some also feel that Romney has repeatedly snubbed this key voting group in Iowa. "I think he is sticking his finger in the eyes of the social conservatives by neglecting [them]," said Steve Scheffler, president of the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition. Romney going after 'all caucus goers' Citing the candidate's "pro-jobs, pro-growth message" and 25 years in business, Romney campaign spokesman Williams said the governor "is the strongest candidate to take on and defeat President Obama in 2012." "Gov. Romney is reaching out to all caucus goers, to all primary voters -- to everybody who intends to vote in the Republican nominating contests across the country," Williams said. As for claims that Romney is inconsistent, Williams said the former Massachusetts governor has clearly "laid out his positions in his book, on the campaign trail and in numerous policy proposals." Romney currently leads, or is near the top, in several polls for Iowa. A recent CNN/Time/ORC International poll from late October, as well as a Des Moines Register survey, both showed Romney essentially tied with Cain.
### SUMMARY:
| Social conservatives in Iowa quietly meet to find alternative to Mitt Romney .
Many Republican religious leaders in the state call Romney a "flip-flopper"
Romney campaign says candidate "is running a 50-state campaign" |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
Boston (CNN) -- An FBI official assigned to Boston to clean up corruption in the 1980s testified Tuesday he was overruled by his superiors when he suggested decades ago that James "Whitey" Bulger be shut down as an FBI informant. "They didn't do it. I didn't like it, but there was nothing I could do about it," said Robert Fitzpatrick, the former assistant special-agent-in-charge of the Boston office, who testified his bosses at FBI headquarters in Washington "felt Bulger was the person who was going to bring down the Mafia." Prosecutors have charged Bulger with participating in 19 murders in a 32-count indictment that also accuses the alleged Boston Irish mob boss of racketeering, money laundering, and extortion during some two decades. Defense witness testifies Bulger didn't seem much of an informant . During that time, according to previous testimony from a disgraced former FBI agent, Bulger was also an FBI informant instrumental in the takedown of the New England Mafia, La Cosa Nostra. Fitzpatrick, who was in charge of the drug task force in the organized crime squad, said he was not more forceful in pushing to cut off Bulger as an informant because of the FBI's "quasi-military" structure, saying it would have been a "violation of protocol" to take his concerns any higher. He testified that his recommendation on Bulger came after a 30-minute meeting in which Bulger did most of the talking. Even though he was the second-highest-ranking agent in Boston at the time, Fitzpatrick played down the scope of his authority, suggesting he was undermined by Bulger's FBI handlers, apparently unaware at the time that they were being paid off by Bulger. But Fitzpatrick testified Monday that during the 30-minute meeting, Bulger indicated that the FBI wasn't paying him, but that he was paying the FBI. Asked why he didn't investigate the alleged bribery, Fitzpatrick said, "It could just be a pay-off ... no quid pro quo." Prosecutor Brian Kelly suggested Fitzpatrick was not interested in shutting down a bad informant: "Weren't you more concerned about your own bureaucratic career than rocking the boat?" Trying to discredit Fitzpatrick's story, Kelly read passages from his book, "Betrayal," in which the former agent recounts events at which he was not present. Kelly accused him of creating "an entire imaginary conversation with James Bulger," and smirked at the notion Fitzgerald "taunted" the reputed crime boss. Although the book is portrayed as "absolutely true," its copyright page lists it as "fiction." On the stand, Fitzpatrick described it as a "memoir, a recitation of things" he believes happened. His goal, he said, was to expose corruption in the FBI, which is also, he says, why he resigned: "I didn't want to be part of the corruption." During cross-examination Tuesday, Fitzpatrick had difficulty remembering his testimony from the previous day. "Do you have trouble with your memory?" the prosecutor asked. "Not that I recall," answered Fitzpatrick, drawing some quick laughs from the court. Bulger's defense attorneys called Fitzpatrick as part of their attempt to highlight corruption within the FBI during the 1970s and '80s. Another witness testified that rogue FBI agent John Connolly had access to all FBI informant files and therefore to the identities of everyone cooperating with the government. One of them was alleged Bulger crime associate Brian Halloran. Fitzpatrick previously testified he went to strike force attorneys requesting the Justice Department be more diligent about putting Halloran in witness protection. Halloran was cooperating with law enforcement and had implicated Bulger in the murder of a wealthy Oklahoma business man. Two days later, Fitzpatrick testified, Halloran was shot to death. Bulger's former associate Kevin Weeks previously testified that Bulger fired a machine gun in the hit, along with another shooter. Pointing to Judge Mark Wolf's portrait in court, Kelly argued that in 1988, during hearings before Wolf, Fitzpatrick could not recall going to the Justice Department to help get Halloran in witness protection. The prosecutor also zeroed in on a passage in the memoir in which Fitzpatrick suggests he was present in 2000 when the body of another alleged Bulger victim, John McIntyre, was pulled from the "frozen ground." Despite writing that the image was "etched in my memory," Fitzpatrick couldn't recall whether he was actually there. Fitzpatrick was not working for the FBI at the time McIntyre's remains were exhumed in 2000. "You were trying to take credit for something you didn't do," Kelley said. The prosecution alleges Bulger ordered a hit on McIntyre, a fisherman, after learning that McIntyre was cooperating with law enforcement on the investigation of a shipment of arms Bulger intended to send to the Irish Republican Army on the fishing trawler Valhalla. McIntyre also tipped authorities to a 36-ton delivery of marijuana on the boat Ramsland in 1984, months before he was killed, prosecutors say. Developer describes threats in trial . Kelly brandished documents in court that showed Fitzpatrick vouched for rogue FBI agents during the same time he claims he complained about their behavior. Fitzpatrick apparently signed off on glowing FBI evaluations of disgraced and now-jailed Connolly, and even signed off on a recommendation for him to go to a Harvard program. On redirect questioning, Fitzpatrick defended his book to the jury. "The book is about the criminal justice system," he said. "In my estimation the criminal justice system failed, it failed during this whole situation. I wanted to bring it to light, not just for the public, for my family." Fitzpatrick, who is still fighting to receive the full amount of his pension, plans to write another book on this trial, he said in court. Jury will not be sequestered . Despite a request by the defense, Judge Denise Casper decided Tuesday not to sequester the jury, saying this late in the trial the jury was unprepared, and it could be prejudicial to both sides to have a disgruntled jury. Defense attorney J.W. Carney previously argued that there has "never been a more widely publicized or sensational case in this district," saying there has been saturated media coverage and "statements that are so hyperbolic and prejudicial towards the defendant ... unlike anything anyone has seen." The judge said her initial instructions to the jury have been reinforced "more importantly by my repeatedly advising them that they not pay attention to media accounts." She also said she does not expect a "great amount of coverage during deliberations." "We have to assume the jurors are following my instructions," she said Tuesday morning. "I am not inclined to inconvenience these jurors at this juncture," she said, particularly when they have had "no notice" of the potential of sequestration. The defense has so far called two of its estimated 15 witnesses. It took the prosecution 30 days and 63 witnesses to present its case, which it wrapped up Friday.
### SUMMARY:
| Former FBI agent says he wanted Bulger cut off, but there was nothing he could do .
The prosecutor uses the former agent's book to challenge his version of events .
The defense attorney's request for sequestration is denied .
Bulger is accused of participating in 19 murders and faces other charges . |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
Washington (CNN) -- In mid-October, political pundits wondered how House Republicans could have put their sizable majority in jeopardy by forcing a government shutdown. Polls showed Republicans getting most of the blame for the shutdown and Democrats taking a lead in generic match ups against GOP congressional candidates. But those gains were quickly wiped away by the disastrous roll out of President Barack Obama's signature health care law. Within weeks, Democrats were panicking that their support of Obamacare could cost them their Senate majority and risk losing more House seats. House Democratic campaign chief Rep. Steve Israel of New York shrugged off GOP declarations that the new health care law's failures spelled doom for Democrats in the midterms, telling CNN in an interview, "if Republicans are going to run on rooting for failure, then so be it." Instead Israel insists House Republicans owned the shutdown and "2014 will not be referendum on the President, it's a referendum on whether you want to elect a Republican who will continue to do damage, it's about a do-nothing or do-damage Congress." Poll suggests Obamacare could have cost Obama second term . GOP confident Obamacare will continue to hurt Democrats in midterms . Republican Rep. Patrick McHenry, who heads the effort to recruit GOP candidates to unseat Democrats and expand the House GOP majority, told CNN any blowback from the "brief moment" of shutdown in October will "melt away" but health care problems will persist. "The shutdown ended. Obamacare will still be painful six months from now and a year from now," he said. House Democrats need to pick up 17 GOP Congressional seats to win back the majority in the House of Representatives. But they also need to protect a list of roughly two dozen incumbent Democrats who represent red-leaning and purple districts. GOP members say while Obama isn't on the ballot, he remains a major factor in the midterms. The president's record low poll numbers and questions about his credibility after failing to follow through on a key promise about his health care plan are causing a drag on Democratic incumbents and challengers. Some already compare this midterm and Obamacare to the one that cost the Republicans their House majority in 2006, when then-President George W. Bush faced questions about his handling of Hurricane Katrina and the unpopular Iraq war pulled down his approval ratings. "President Obama is very close to the low point of where President Bush was," Rep. Greg Walden, chair of National Republican Congressional Committee, told reporters last week. "Those of us who were here in those days remember how it felt going into the '06 election and it wasn't good." Poll: Voters split over Democrats, Republicans in 2014 . The House GOP midterm playbook is a straightforward one -- highlight the problems with Obamacare and its economic impact. Walden says for now Congressional Republicans don't need to supply an alternative health care plan of their own because the Democratic-led Senate and the White House would never consider a GOP proposal. While a group of 39 House Democrats sought to put distance between themselves and the President last week by backing a House GOP bill that allows insurers to offer current health care policies for another year, House Democratic leaders continue to stress Obamacare will turn out to be a net positive for the party by next fall. "Democrats stand tall in support of the Affordable Care Act." House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi said in an interview with NBC on Sunday. Pelosi defends Obamacare claims, can't predict effect on Dems in midterms . The Democratic National Committee distributed a memo this week using examples of GOP candidates like Mitt Romney and Virginia gubernatorial candidate Ken Cuccinelli who ran against Obamacare and lost. The memo concluded, "while Republicans are campaigning to bring back a broken health care system, Democrats will be campaigning on Obamacare." For those new Democratic candidates who weren't in Washington when Obamacare was passed, Israel says he advises new candidates to run as "problem-solvers, running on solutions." And he points to internal polling across competitive districts that shows that voters prefer a candidate who wants to "fix and improve" Obamacare rather than one who vows to "repeal and defund" the law 55%-40%. But a new ABC/Washington Post poll out on Tuesday found that four in 10 Americans were more likely to oppose a candidate who backed the law, and only about one-fifth saying they are likely to vote for a politician who supports the law. McHenry points to House Republican challengers who have personal experiences with the new health care law, saying they will work tirelessly to link Democrats to it. Stewart Mills, who oversees 6,000 employees in his family's business in northeastern Minnesota, is a top GOP recruit running against Democratic Rep Rick Nolan. He talks about his company's health care costs and highlights his opposition to Obamacare as a key reason for entering the race. Republicans believe several candidates who narrowly lost to Democrats in 2012 in competitive districts in Arizona, North Carolina, and Utah will prevail in rematches in 2014 because this time House Democrats won't have the help of a presidential ticket boosting turnout. House Democrats say GOP record of dysfunction will cost them seats . The focus now is squarely on Obamacare, but Democrats believe the political debate will move into better territory for them as attention returns to fiscal fights on Capitol Hill. The short-term deal to reopen the government created a mid-December target for Congress to agree to a budget, and a January deadline for funding the government. The Treasury's borrowing authority runs out in mid-February. House Dems cool down after Obamacare meeting . The number two House Democrat complained on Tuesday that House Budget Conference Chairman Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin, and other congressional Republicans weren't serious about budget negotiations, and warned the government could again be facing a shutdown. "Paul Ryan ought to lead, not follow his caucus down a road, which would lead to shutdown. That would be irresponsible and harmful and I hope he doesn't do that," Rep Steny Hoyer told reporters on Tuesday. The Democratic Congressional campaign committee believes the shutdown was a recruiting bonanza for them, and helped contribute to some recent GOP retirements. Israel points to eight GOP seats that were put in play directly because of the extended standoff. Omaha City Councilman Pete Festersen jumped in the race against Nebraska GOP Rep. Lee Terry after Terry said he needed his government paycheck to afford his home. On his campaign website, Festersen positions himself as an outsider: "I am running for Congress to help change a dysfunctional Washington. The time has come for moderate minds and respectful leaders to work together." Democrats also say Republicans' lack of diversity and inability to reach out beyond their base -- a major factor in their national loss in 2012 -- will also hurt their chances to make inroads in Democratic districts in 2014. "The movement is underway and it takes time," McHenry admitted. But he pointed to GOP candidate Carl DeMaio in San Diego, who is challenging Democratic Rep. Scott Peters. DeMaio is openly gay and backed by the House GOP campaign arm. Seven keys to the 2014 midterms .
### SUMMARY:
| Democratic gains brought on by shutdown wiped away by Obamacare fiasco .
Republicans believe shutdown fallout will fade, but Obamacare problems will persist .
Democrats believe sentiment will swing back to them in fiscal fights ahead with GOP . |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
(CNN) -- The likely failure of Friday's Geneva 2 conference to produce a credible political process to end Syria's civil war points up the painfully obvious: Syria -- a conflict seemingly without end -- is a moral, humanitarian and strategic tragedy. But it is neither an American tragedy nor the Obama administration's fault nor responsibility. This does not mean the United States is free to ignore the Syrian conflict; nor that its continuation doesn't negatively affect American interests. What it does mean is that the President's risk-averse policy -- containment, humanitarian assistance, helping to organize and supply certain rebel groups, and keeping open the possibility of a political track -- is absolutely right. The administration should continue to ignore its critics' call for a more assertive policy, particularly if after a failed Geneva conference, there are calls for military action. Here's why: . We can't fix Syria . With 130,000-plus dead, thousands more wounded, a traumatized nation, and the social fabric of its society in shreds, Syria is beyond immediate repair or rescue. Short of a major international military intervention, followed by a massive humanitarian and reconstruction effort in the billions and thousands of peacekeepers whose stay would be measured in years not months, the Syrian conflict will go on. The notion that America can now intercede -- or at any point in the past three years, could have intervened -- in a way that would have stabilized the situation, let alone put Syria back together in some new form, is an illusion. With 140,000 U.S. forces in Afghanistan and Iraq and trillions expended over a decade, we have not been able to fundamentally alter the politics of either nation in a way that promises security or good governance. In Egypt, where the United States supposedly had leverage from $1.3 billion in military assistance over its closest Arab partner, Washington has been unable to alter the course of Egypt's politics and has become the object of antipathy by almost every faction in the country. These failures have little to do with U.S. policy, and much more to do with the reality that America doesn't control the world and cannot dictate to societies composed of corporatist, religious and tribal elements who have their own interests and vision. To think we could dictate, let alone significantly influence Syria -- the poster child for sectarian and ethnic conflict and regional intervention -- is sheer folly. We can't even help the Syrians fix Syria . The notion that in 2011, the United States had a major opportunity to avoid the current situation, pre-empt the radicalization of the country through an infusion of jihadi groups, and unify a secular or moderate Islamist opposition is also illusory. Had the Obama administration been willing to supply a vetted opposition with sophisticated weaponry, including shoulder launched ground to air missiles, sophisticated anti-tank weaponry, and been willing to neutralize President Bashar al-Assad's air force through offensive no-fly zones, there would still have been no guarantees that a divisive and inchoate opposition could have remained unified and effective. Even military strikes in the wake of Syria's use of chemical weapons would likely have had to have been followed by a sustained military campaign of some kind. And nobody in the administration, least of all Obama, was prepared to embark on such an open-ended military campaign (for which the American people have shown no appetite). At the end of the day, such an effort would still not have answered the question: Who or what would have been able to hold the country together, stop the vendettas, police the borders and intervene to stop the inexorable struggle for control between Sunnis and Alawis? Military intervention was always a trap . The liberal interventionists and neoconservatives who have accused the administration of failing to lead never laid out an effective case as to what the relationship between U.S. military action and the political end state in Syria would be. The Iraq/Afghanistan wars are a false analogy. Nobody was talking U.S. boots on the ground in Syria. Instead the correct analogy from the two longest and among the most profitless wars in U.S. history was how precisely military action was going to achieve the objective of a stable, pluralist Syria in an Arab neighborhood in which there is not one example of such a state. President Obama was right to resist the use of force and will be right again, if in the wake of Geneva's failure there is more talk of resorting to force. The horrific revelations of mass executions will only strengthen the arguments of those who see U.S. military intervention as the only recourse. Still, the last thing the United States needs right now is a proxy war with Iran, Hezbollah and Russia in a neighborhood where they have distinct advantages. Iran is the priority . Governing is about choosing. And the president clearly made a choice that preserving the possibility of a deal with Iran on the nuclear issue was much more important than involving the United States in a war with Tehran over Syria that Washington could never win. There's no evidence to support this, but I have a strong suspicion that the decision not to respond to Syria's use of chemical weapons with military force was partly shaped by this calculation, particularly the possibility that U.S. military action might have killed Iranian forces in Syria, or to be sure increased not ameliorated tensions at a time the administration was already involved in secret talks with the mullahs who control Iran. There is no foreign policy priority more important to the Obama administration right now than getting an agreement with Iran on the nuclear issue that would prevent an Israeli military strike and make an American one unnecessary. The conventional wisdom is that a proxy war with Iran in Syria would have weakened the mullahs. But it could easily have led to the opposite reaction -- increasing Iran's sense of encirclement and an acceleration of its nuclear program. Amoral but not immoral . Syria isn't Rwanda or the Nazi Holocaust. But it is an arena where mass killings and war crimes by the regime in particular, but also by its opponents, take place routinely. The Obama administration, particularly Secretary of State John Kerry, feels deeply about this. But not so deeply that it's prepared to intervene. That reluctance to intervene militarily reflects a policy that isn't immoral. America has been more active than any other nation in providing humanitarian assistance and helping organize the Syrian opposition. If any kind of sustainable local ceasefires emerge from the Geneva process, the United States will have done much to better a horrible situation. But it is an amoral approach where moral considerations do not dictate. That is to say what drives U.S. policy in the main isn't moral or ethical; instead it is shaped by a variety of other factors, including the public's opposition to military intervention, the President's own priorities for his legacy (the middle class, not the Middle East) Iran and a general sense that the last thing this country needs is another major foreign policy failure or obligation. As a result, the administration has rightly pursued a course that is risk-averse, not risk-ready; one that understands that it cannot act alone and that even multilateral action will only have limited results, and above all, one that recognizes that there are no solutions to Syria right now, only outcomes. It's certainly not a morally or emotionally satisfying course of action. But it is the right one. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Aaron David Miller.
### SUMMARY:
| Aaron Miller: Even if Geneva talks fail, U.S. shouldn't intervene in Syria conflict .
Syria is a tragedy but Obama has followed the right course, Miller says .
He says president has rightly concluded that U.S. can't resolve the conflict .
Miller: Preventing a war over Iran's nuclear program is a higher priority for U.S. |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
Jakarta, Indonesia (CNN) -- Millions of Indonesians cast their ballot for their next president in a neck-and-neck race between Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, a former furniture businessman who has drawn comparisons to U.S. President Barack Obama, and Prabowo Subianto, a well-connected former military man. Official results may take two to three weeks. Unofficial quick counts showed a slight edge for Widodo. One survey group, Lingkaran Survei Indonesia, showed 53.3% for Widodo and 46.7% for Prabowo with 99% of its data, and another group, Center for Strategic International Studies reported 52% for Widodo over 48% for Prabowo, with 95% of its data. Another independent survey group, Saiful Mujani Research and Consulting indicated 52-53% for Jokowi over Prabowo's 46% with 99% of data. Quick counts in Indonesia are usually accurate with a slim 1-2% margin of error, said Kevin Evans, a political analyst. Unlike previous Indonesian elections though, this race is a tight one. "Officially it will take us a few weeks to know if we are the actual winner so it must be official," Prabowo told CNN. "I am very confident, very confident," he said after voting. "You saw how enthusiastic the people are, how happy they are. Of course, this is my home village but most of the reports I get from all over Indonesia, we are doing very well." Over 185 million eligible voters across 17,000 Indonesian islands were eligible to vote. The campaign . Both candidates have been dogged by allegations leading up to voting day for the world's most populous Muslim nation. Earlier this year, Widodo had enjoyed double-digit lead in polls only to watch that advantage erode following smear campaigns suggesting that he is of Chinese descent, or even a Christian -- a deal breaker for many in this Muslim-majority nation. Prabowo, a career military man, had not been able shake off persistent questions about his human rights record. The current president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, will end his 10-year tenure, as Indonesian law prohibits a third term. Yudhoyono leaves office with sagging popularity as growing violence against religious minorities and high-profile scandals tarnished his presidential legacy. Voters are looking for firm leadership that they haven't received under the current president, said Douglas Ramage, an analyst from Bower's Asia Group. The next president will be inaugurated on October 20. The economy question . Yudhoyono leaves behind a slowing economy hampered by trade and budget deficits. The first and foremost issue -- like all elections -- is the economy. Indonesia's economy has slowed to 5-6% growth, which the World Bank says is not enough to provide jobs for the 15 million Indonesians joining the work force. The two candidates have touted the usual talking points, pledging economic growth, more jobs and better infrastructure. "It has the people, it has the resources, it has favorable demographics, it has rapid urbanization and it has a rising middle class," said Ndiame Diop, the World Bank lead economist for Indonesia. "And it has very good macro-economic management. I think those are ingredients that really lift the country." But there are concerns over whether the next leader will cut roughly $30 billion in annual energy subsidies. Analysts also worry over a rise of protectionism within the country. "Both candidates believe Indonesia deserves a bigger share of their national wealth," Ramage said. "Both candidates are presenting a more inward-looking vision of Indonesia." "Prabowo might be giving voters what they want to hear: a version of a muscular and assertive Indonesia whose wealth has flowed out of Indonesia and been seized by foreign countries. That message may be resonating with voters." Questions over Prabowo . Prabowo, a former son-in-law of Indonesian president Suharto, has sought to project an image of a take-charge leader. Having never served in public office, the former lieutenant general has campaigned hard on his military service. And that has appealed to the nation which has had a history of military leaders. "I think Prabowo has the character of a firm leader and at this point what Indonesia needs is a leader who is very strong," said Budi Satria, an Indonesian voter. "When I say firm, it doesn't mean someone who just speaks loudly, but someone who is decisive." Prabowo's military record has made him subject of scrutiny for his alleged involvements in controversial campaigns in East Timor, West Papua and a crackdown on pro-democracy activists in 1998. He was removed from his military post that year. In 2000, Prabowo was denied a visa to the United States, believed to stem from his human rights record. He has defended his record, describing himself as "the staunchest human rights defender in this country." It hasn't swayed Andreas Harsono, human rights researcher based in Jakarta. "Of course he makes statements about human rights, but it is murky," said Harsono of Human Rights Watch. "Someone who is accused of making human rights abuses and fired from his job as a general, now talking about human rights, is problematic." One Indonesian poll indicated about a third of voters know about the human rights questions pertaining to Prabowo. "I do think that human rights and the question over Prabowo's record has made impact on voters, particularly on swing voters' or undecided voters' political behavior," said Usman Hamid, a former student activist in 1998 and masters candidate at Australian National University. Economic class schisms . Earlier this year, Widodo appeared to be a virtual lock for the presidency as he enjoyed double-digit leads in various polls. As a political newcomer to the national stage, he climbed the ranks as mayor of Surakarta to become Jakarta governor. Projecting an image as a reformer, he became known for his spontaneous visits to slums, which drew media attention, and unannounced drop-ins at government offices to catch under-performing workers. "We want to see this election proceed in a clean, honest way so that it can produce a clean and honest leader who is willing to serve the people," he told CNN. As the campaign wore into the summer, Widodo's polling numbers took a hit. "The Prabowo camp has been effective at negatively defining Jokowi as weak on policy substance and basically not ready for the national stage," Ramage said. "In campaigns, you have to define your opponent first, and Prabowo did that very effectively." The bulk of his support came from the poorer Indonesians. "I choose Jokowi because I can see that he cares for the poor and marginalized," said Wulan, an Indonesian voter in Jakarta. Meanwhile, the bulk of Indonesia's upper class tends to back Prabowo, according to polling data. But the race may boil down to swing voters. "The 15% swing voters will be crucial, said Hamdi Muluk, a University of Indonesia professor who specializes in political psychology. "These voters, they come from the middle class, they're very skeptical and more knowledgeable... it's the key to win the election." CNN's Kathy Quiano reported from Jakarta and Madison Park repoted and wrote from Hong Kong. Intern Casey Tolan contributed to this article.
### SUMMARY:
| Unofficial quick counts show slight edge for "Jokowi" Widodo over Prabowo Subianto .
185 million voters eligible to decide president of Indonesia for next five years .
Middle class swing voters key to who wins the presidency . |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
(CNN) -- Republicans and Democrats have entered into an impeachment frenzy over the past few weeks. The impeachment wars began when a small group of Republicans started to make noise about the possibility of impeaching President Obama. The most high profile of the bunch was former Alaska governor and vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin. In her characteristic way of getting right to the partisan point, Palin published an article on Breitbart.com in which she said, without specifying the exact grounds for her argument beyond her sense of a "lawless" president, that, "It's time to impeach." Palin was not alone. Several Republicans in Congress had mentioned the possibility of impeachment in the spring, including Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann and Texas Rep. Louie Gohmert. On the Sunday morning talk shows, Majority Whip Steve Scalise refused to rule it out. Some observers believe that, even though he has denied the GOP will pursue this option, Speaker of the House John Boehner has fueled the fires by filing a lawsuit against the President over his use of executive power. Democrats have responded by using the threat of impeachment as a fundraising tool. They have blasted out a series of e-mails to supporters asking for money, warning that if Democrats don't do well in the midterm elections in November, the next two years will bring a revival of the late-1990s when House Republicans voted to impeach President Bill Clinton. In one of the messages from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the "Red Alert" warning said the speaker's lawsuit "has opened the door to impeachment," according to the White House, and that the Washington Post confirmed Boehner refused to "say impeachment is off the table." Indeed, White House adviser Dan Pfeiffer said he would "not discount the possibility" of impeachment while the White House press secretary agreed there were some Republicans "who are running for office, hoping that they can get into office so that they can impeach the President." The parties are playing games with impeachment, an unfortunate and dangerous development. The impeachment process is meant to be a tool of last resort, a constitutional mechanism through which Congress has the capacity to remove a president who has engaged in criminal behavior, committing "treason, bribery or other high crimes and misdemeanors." When it is simply not possible to wait until the next presidential election to resolve the question of whether someone who has committed serious offenses should be in the White House, this is the only tool Congress has at its disposal. Forty years ago, Congress turned to impeachment when confronted with a president, Richard Nixon, who brazenly used executive power to obstruct an investigation into wrongdoing within his administration surrounding the break-in at the Democratic headquarters at the Watergate complex. Congress never reached the point of voting to impeach him, though they would have, only because Nixon resigned 40 year ago this week. At other times "impeachment" has been much more of a political tool. Often impeachment has been a threat used by opponents of a public figure. Starting in 1961, conservative activists famously carried signs calling for the impeachment of Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren, whose court made landmark progressive rulings on issues like school segregation and the rights of crime suspects. "Save Our Republic: Impeach Earl Warren," their banners said. During Reconstruction, "Radical Republicans" attempted to impeach Republican President Andrew Johnson for having violated the Tenure of Office Act. The real reason behind their drive to impeach was a frustration with Johnson's failure to enforce the Reconstruction Acts and disagreements with him over how to handle race relations in the post-Civil War period. Most famously, and most relevant to many Republicans who are terrified about their colleagues carrying this too far, the heated partisan climate of the 1990s culminated with the House Republicans voting to impeach President Bill Clinton for lying under oath about the facts in a case involving his affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. The Senate Republicans pulled the Congress back from the brink of convicting Clinton and removing him from office. As Boehner and other Republicans remember, the impeachment backfired on the GOP as Clinton's approval ratings skyrocketed and theirs plummeted. During George W. Bush's presidency, some Democrats called for impeachment based on allegations he had misused executive authority and tricked the public into a war based on the false premise of Iraq having weapons of mass destruction. The current use of impeachment as a political tool comes at a time when all parts of the legislative process seem subject to politicization. Nothing seems to be off limits. In 2011, the nation witnessed how the decision to raise the debt ceiling, the routine process through which Congress agreed to pay for spending that they authorized, became a volatile political weapon used to extract compromises over spending cuts with the draconian threat of sending the nation, and the world, into economic chaos if Obama did not comply. Now we are seeing the same with impeachment, though still in the earliest of stages. But it is important for the leaders of both parties to push back and resist the temptation of reliving the 1990s and using this mechanism as yet another tool in the partisan wars. Fortunately, the nation has not needed to use the impeachment tool very often. Generally mechanisms such as congressional oversight and Justice Department prosecutors have been sufficient to contain presidential misbehavior. That doesn't satisfy the harshest Republican critics of President Obama. They claim he has misused executive power in making adjustments in the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, such as delaying the employer mandate. Some also say he has failed to enforce immigration control legislation. Ironically, though Republicans stood by President George W. Bush when he deployed executive power on matters of national security and domestic policy, they now claim that President Obama is circumventing Congress in excessive fashion. The complaints about growing executive power are clearly worthy of debate. Indeed, both parties, who seem to love presidential power when they have it but hate it the rest of the time, should engage in a serious discussion about what has happened to the balance of power in recent decades. But thus far what the Republicans have alleged against President Obama does not rise to the level of an impeachable offense. Yet as Nixon reminds us, it is not impossible to imagine a situation where the nation will need the impeachment process again. In 1986 and 1987, the Iran Contra scandal raised the impeachment question when it became clear that high-level national security advisers had consciously violated congressional prohibitions on providing aid to the Nicaraguan rebels. President Ronald Reagan ultimately was not impeached because there was no "smoking gun" showing Reagan knew the violations were happening. Yet the tool could have become essential. Impeachment will lose its legitimacy within the public if it becomes a totally politicized process. While it is foolish to imagine that it is possible to ever contain the forces of partisanship, there need to be some limits and political leaders need to draw some lines in the sand. As we remember the events that resulted in Richard Nixon having to step down, the anniversary should be a powerful and important reminder to our nation's leaders to keep their hands off the impeachment tool so that Congress can turn to it only in a true case of emergency. Join us on Facebook.com/CNNOpinion.
### SUMMARY:
| Republicans raise prospect of impeachment and Dems use it for fundraising .
Julian Zelizer: Both parties are using a serious process as a partisan tool .
He says there's no serious case to be made against President Obama for impeachment .
Zelizer: 40 years ago, the U.S. saw how the Watergate case made impeachment very relevant . |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
(CNN) -- Would you go to work for nothing? More to the point, would you do so risking life and limb riding a horse in one of the world's toughest races? These days amateurs competing in professional sport are almost an extinct breed, but Sam Waley-Cohen is a throwback to a bygone era -- the archetypal "gentleman jockey." By day he runs a multimillion-dollar series of dental practices; at the weekend he rides over some of the world's toughest fences, unpaid and purely for the love of it. A modern-day jack of all trades, he boasts helicopter and plane licenses, is a keen mountaineer and is even credited as the man that got Britain's Prince William and Kate Middleton back together after a pre-wedding separation. The highlight of his weekend job is looming on Saturday: the Grand National, the world's toughest steeplechase with a prize fund of £1 million ($1.66 million). "The Grand National for a jockey is a bit like a fighter pilot in his plane in a series of dog fights," says the 31-year-old, who will saddle up on one of the favorites, Long Run. "It's a very unusual challenge of very intense periods and occasional moments of reflection. It's a race that's impossible to replicate. Every single fence is a big challenge, it's twice as long as your average race. "It's the one and only race in the world where you can say it's the best experience of your life even if you don't win." Waley-Cohen has come close -- he was second on Oscar Time in 2011 and fourth on the same mount a year ago. Long Run, meanwhile, is a winner of the prestigious Cheltenham Gold Cup and the King George VI Chase, two other jewels in jump-jockey circles. "One of my first memories is riding a rocking horse at home in which I acted out riding the Grand National," he recalls. "It's a race I love, that gives me butterflies. If you don't get that with the National, you should probably think about doing something else." Virtually every jockey in Saturday's field will be a paid-up professional, but Waley-Cohen -- who has about 30-40 rides a year -- is just happy to be competing with them. "Sometimes I watch the pros in the races and wonder how I can compete with them," he admits. "They're the best in the world, the best people that have ever ridden. It's such a buzz to line up alongside them. "And I'm very lucky to have been able to do that because of my Dad." Robert Waley-Cohen, son of the former Lord Mayor of London, owns the horses that Sam rides, and has enabled his son to pursue this hobby with, it has to be said, remarkable success. "An amateur in horse racing, in fact in all sport, is quite rare now," says Waley-Cohen Jr. "As sport is more and more professional, it's harder to compete. "Can someone that doesn't dedicate themselves to it day-to-day do it? It's a good question. I hope I've proved it's possible and I wouldn't say it's the end of an era exactly, but it's becoming more rare. Over the last 40 years there's been less and less amateur jockeys." National Hunt racing is a dangerous business. At last year's Cheltenham Festival, JT McNamara was paralyzed after fracturing two vertebrae in a fall, while last month fellow Irishman Jason Maguire, the 2011 Grand National winner, was put into a medically induced coma after a fall. Those are a mere snapshot of the sport's dangers, which makes the decision by an amateur, and one who became a parent for the first time last year, all the more surprising. "I don't go to the races thinking I'm going to get hurt or that I'm not going to come back," Waley-Cohen says. "If I felt like that I wouldn't do it. As for having a family, I think that makes it easier. It's not the be-all and end-all anymore as you have a family to go back to afterwards. "But there are tough days when you fall off and are trampled over and you wonder, 'What am I doing?'" The reason for this adrenalin junky's desire to continue racing is often attributed to his brother Thomas, who died aged 20 in 2005 from Ewing's sarcoma, a type of cancer. "That's not quite right. It wasn't so much his death that drove me on but more the way that he lived his life," explains Waley-Cohen, who still rides with his brother's initials on his saddle. "I think he'd be surprised how I've got on in the saddle, but he'd love it as the rest of my family do." Thomas would be rather more surprised with the business empire his brother has since built up. He is chief executive of Portman Healthcare, which has 20 dental practices across the UK. He employs 300 staff and has 200,000 patients in all. He is hoping to double those numbers in the next two years. It had been rumored on the circuit that the business began after he looked around the weighing room one race day and saw the battered teeth of his peers, but he dispels this as another myth. "Actually, there's a dentist's surgery on the way to one of the racecourses and I remember thinking, 'Why is it only individual practices, why aren't there chains?' and it went from there," he says. "But it's very similar to horse racing. In racing, I surround myself with the right horses; in business I've surrounded myself with the right people." Portman, he says, takes up 99% of his work time while his "second job" is usually just for weekends except for events such as Cheltenham Festival and the current Grand National week at Aintree. Should he win in the chocolate and orange colors of his father, he will be the first amateur jockey to do so since 1990, when journalist Marcus Armytage rode Mr. Frisk to victory. "I believe I can win but that's the beauty of the National as there will be 40 jockeys on the start line thinking the same thing," Waley-Cohen says. "You always need a bit of luck to get over those fences as there's so many things that can happen. But I'd say I have a great chance." If victory is his, it will almost certainly come with a royal seal of approval. It was at his family's 17th-century mansion that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were reunited during a party that he organized, having split in 2007. Waley-Cohen attended their wedding in 2011 -- although he downplays the significance of his role in getting them back together -- and the Duchess was present when he was married later that year. "Well, my comments on that have been taken out of context in the past so I'll leave my role on that one there," he says modestly. Whatever his role, Waley-Cohen is clearly a modern-day maverick, a man for all seasons.
### SUMMARY:
| Sam Waley-Cohen is credited with getting Prince William and Kate Middleton back together .
The amateur jockey will ride one of the favorites in Saturday's prestigious Grand National .
But he also runs a multimillion-dollar dental business throughout the UK .
He rides with the initials of his dead brother in his saddle after his death from cancer . |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
(CNN) -- A bad breakup: Nothing can be as emotionally tumultuous for a young heart. Except maybe finding out via your Facebook newsfeed that your college ex is dating someone from your fraternity. That was the defining moment that eventually led Brolin Walters, 24, to ultimately break up with something else: Facebook. "I didn't want to see what was going on with them," said Walters. "So I deactivated my account." With a website that boasts 901 million active users and is launching an IPO on Friday, it seems unlikely that once you get on Facebook, you'd ever leave. But deactivating from the social networking site is not that unusual. Close to half of Americans think Facebook is a passing fad, according to the results of a new Associated Press-CNBC poll. More and more people are stepping away from the technological realm and de-teching. There are even sites where they can pledge to delete their Facebook accounts. And tech writer Paul Miller from The Verge decided to leave the Internet for a year to reassess his relationship with it. We asked whether any of you had left Facebook, and the responses urged in. From privacy issues to a need for more face time, the reasons for choosing to live without Facebook ran deep. Maintaining a professional image . Although Walters, now a consultant, initially left Facebook for social reasons, he says he was also thinking about his career. "You don't want a future employer to find something that they would deem questionable," he said. Job prospects and personal privacy compelled high school student Alexander Clark, 18, to deactivate his Facebook account as well. Ever since he can remember, Clark has wanted to join the Air Force. Now, as he comes closer to making that dream a reality, he says he wants to maintain a professional image. "There are things on Facebook that I don't want my employer to see, and what I was told was 'what's on Facebook stays on Facebook.' " Despite leaving the site for privacy reasons, Clark considers Facebook to be a pioneering company. "I would totally buy their IPOs if I had the money, but I'm just not [as] into Facebook as I used to be, and I think it is from the life decisions I have made," he said. Focusing on "real" communication . Putting in the effort to make a phone call: That's what Shiela O'Dea does now after deleting her Facebook account. O'Dea's move off Facebook was gradual and started when she found the site went from being fun to being habitual. "I was literally on it all the time," she said. "When I first logged off for good, I would think about getting back on. But the more I stayed away from it, the more I realized I didn't need it." O'Dea says after deactivating from the site, she makes a greater effort to socially engage with others. "It's funny, it's called a social networking site, but we are sort of disconnecting," she said. "It is mass communicating, but we are losing something -- we are losing our interpersonal skills." Chris Andrus says he started feeling the content on Facebook became impersonal and irrelevant to his life. So he and his wife deactivated their accounts after five years on the site. He says their social lives improved after leaving Facebook because now they focus on more in-person connections. "We feel like we have strengthened relationships with close friends and family that are truly important to us, and not concerned ourselves with the other hundreds of 'friends' that really aren't important," he said. Shedding an emotional burden . A study from Utah Valley University says there is a direct correlation between the amount of time spent on Facebook and the way people perceive their lives. Users that spent more time on the site reportedly thought their Facebook friends had better lives than themselves. That definitely rings a bell for Andrea F. (who didn't want her last name used). She says Facebook made her perceive herself differently, and she felt pressured to be a certain way. The 28-year-old deleted her account 10 months ago when she realized how self-conscious Facebook made her feel. She started caring too much about what people she barely even knew thought about her profile and status updates, she explained. "To make myself feel important, I made up exaggerated posts to garner attention from friends," she remembers. "Does that make sense ... no, but maybe I was not aware that I was unconsciously doing that until I got off [the site]." Avoiding a time-waster . The average Facebook user spends more than six hours a week on the site. For some, that's just too much time. As a young mother, Evelyn Bateman, 30, said Facebook transformed into a time-waster for her. "I would sit on the computer, logged onto Facebook, looking at photos of my high school friends' baby pictures and I would think to myself, 'Wow I haven't talked to these people -- there are people I haven't spoken to in 10 years," she said. After deactivating her account, Bateman found time to sit down with classic novels and spend more them with her young children. "It is so easy to lose an hour of time on Facebook," she said. Bateman's friends and even her husband are still on the site. After deactivating from Facebook, she now notices that people are not as engaged with their real lives because they are so entranced with their cyberlives. "My husband would get these updates of his friends at a bar, and they would be updating their Facebook with photos and he said, 'I wonder what it must be like to hang out with someone that is constantly updating,' " she said. Maintaining personal privacy . Privacy was the biggest reason behind Tom Martin's deactivation from Facebook in 2011. The 23-year-old says that although the site is free to use, people are paying a price by providing their personal information. He says Facebook is swiftly making profiles more public, and he does not want to compromise his privacy. "I do not want to be a part of this apparent mission to alter the norms of society," Martin said. "Facebook has frequently changed its privacy settings in the past and will do so again, always in favor of less privacy." Despite his adamant stance on maintaining his deactivation from Facebook, Martin admits to missing the occasional social outing or party by not being a member of the site. "There is somewhat of a social price to be paid for rebelling against the trend," he says, but he believes the people who really care about him will make the extra effort to stay in touch. A downside to de-teching? Although de-teching is emerging as a trend, some people noticed a negative stigma attached to not having a Facebook account. O'Dea says people usually can't believe it when she tells them she is not on the site. "They are shocked that I no longer communicate using Facebook, almost like there is something seriously wrong with me," she said. Martin highlights similar experiences when people discover he is not on the social networking site. "Once in a while a person will respond as if you've attacked their religion and indignantly start defending the site and trying to convince me how great it is and why I should use it," he said. Walters says he gets the "I can't believe you're not on Facebook" remark often. But he prefers face-to-face conversations much more than the digital, fleeting responses he would get via Facebook. Even though he has noticed his social life change after Facebook, he says overall he is happy with his decision to deactivate. "My network is smaller but stronger," he says. CNN's Rachel Rodriguez contributed to this report.
### SUMMARY:
| It's the unlikeliest of tech trends: Deactivating from Facebook and social media sites .
Some are leaving Facebook in favor of more "real" communication, free time .
One study found that Facebook could make users more dissatisfied with their lives .
Facebook defectors say they miss out on some events but are, overall, happier . |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
(CNN) -- Academic papers tend to be dull, but I just read one that disturbed me. "A Veterinary and Behavioral Analysis of Dolphin Killing Methods Currently Used in the 'Drive Hunt' in Taiji, Japan," was published last year in the Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science. And as we'll see below, the "new" method of killing dolphins (intended to be an improvement on the old method) creates such terror and pain that it would be illegal to kill cows in this manner under Japanese law itself. The paper is viewable free online, but it's not for the faint-hearted. A little background: Each year, people kill about 22,000 dolphins and porpoises in Japan's waters. In a town called Taiji, every year they catch and kill several hundred bottlenose, striped, and Risso's dolphins, Dall's porpoises and pilot whales. (The Arctic's Faroe Islands also stages an annual pilot whale drive-slaughter for food, which has the side effect of providing the residents with high doses of mercury.) Taiji got famous in the nervy Academy Award-winning film, "The Cove." The hunting season continues through March, activists have said. Caroline Kennedy, the new U.S. ambassador to Japan, is among those critical of the hunt; she tweeted: "Deeply concerned by inhumaneness of drive hunt dolphin killing." Japanese officials have defended the hunt as legal and traditional. For some reason -- likely public relations -- officials in 2010 announced a "new killing method." Until recently, hunters speared and stabbed the dolphins to death after driving them onto the shoreline. The new method is supposed to reduce time-to-death. As such, it's bogus. On paper, the new method involves destroying the spinal cord with repeated insertion of a metal rod. Even on paper, the "new killing method" makes no attempt to damage the brain, which would at least end consciousness. In practice, the hunters splash around through the bloody water wielding their knives among the fully conscious, thrashing, squealing dolphins who have been trapped in the shallows and are being executed among their family and friends. Meanwhile, the humans have a very hard time getting into the spine. Several veterinarians and behavioral scientists who watched a covertly recorded video wrote, "This killing method . ... would not be tolerated or permitted in any regulated slaughterhouse process in the developed world." That includes Japan, oddly enough. Japanese prime minister responds to dolphin controversy . Japan's own slaughter guidelines for livestock require that the creature being killed must be made to lose consciousness and must be killed by methods "proven to minimize, as much as possible, any agony to the animal." These guidelines define "agony" as pain, suffering, fear, anxiety or depression. But those livestock guidelines do not apply to whale and dolphin killing, which is governed by Japan's Fisheries Agency, which treats dolphins and whales as nothing more than seafood with blowholes. The published Japanese description promotes this "new" method by saying it, "results in a shorter harvest time, and is thought to improve worker safety." (Faroe Islanders use a similar killing procedure.) After the Japanese drivers scare the dolphins into the shallows, they corral them and tie them together in bunches by their tails, hitch them to small boats, and drag them backward to where they'll kill them. While being dragged, the dolphins have a hard time getting their heads above water to breathe, and some drown. The killer is supposed to destroy the dolphin's spinal nerve by pushing a metal rod into the spine behind its head. But the nerve is encased in the spinal bones. Veterinarians and behaviorists who viewed a video noted that the first shove did not penetrate the spinal bone. They describe, "the animal making vigorous movements during the insertion of the rod." The man "redirects the rod and repeatedly pushes it into the animal." At this time, "the rod makes first contact with the vertebral bones of the cervical (neck) vertebrae. The rod clearly requires very significant force to push further into the tissues at this time." The hunter eventually withdraws the rod and inserts a wooden peg into the wound to prevent bleeding. This is part of the new method. Why prevent bleeding of a creature you are trying to kill? Because -- I'll quote the Japanese description so you don't think I'm making this up -- this "prevents pollution of the sea with blood." Slaughterhouse-killing rules for livestock such as cattle require "rapid bleed out." But when killing a dolphin, the workers create a massive spinal wound, then plug it to prevent the bleeding that would at least speed loss of consciousness to the dolphin, whose sensing brain remains undamaged. From this point, just to make a long and appallingly hideous story a little shorter for the sake of our comfort, the dolphin in the video who is benefiting from the new and improved killing method spends the next three and a half minutes thrashing, nodding its head rapidly, and opening and closing its mouth. The men around it ignore it; they're busy doing the same thing to other dolphins. The entire process lasts many hours, sometimes days. With some understatement, the veterinarians and behavior experts describing the video write, "the treatment of dolphins in the drive hunts sharply contradict current animal welfare standards employed in most modern and technologically advanced societies ... The systematic mistreatment of dolphins and whales, allowed and sanctioned by a highly developed country such as Japan, is in striking contrast to European Union, United States, and even existing Japanese [livestock] legislation." They note that in 2006 Japan instituted an unofficial ban on invasive chimpanzee research. They conclude by saying that there is, "no logical reason to accept a killing method that is clearly not carried out in accordance with fundamental and globally adopted principles on the commercial utilization, care, and treatment of animals." Dolphin killers have their reasons. They say it is "pest control," claiming -- as if in self-defense -- that dolphins eat too many fish; and they do it for meat to sell, and to sell live young dolphins to marine parks and swim-with-the-dolphin programs in Japan and other countries. In a word, the usual reason: money. Not tradition. Most people in Japan don't benefit, and no one would go hungry without dolphin and whale meat; in fact most people don't eat any. But, officially, Japan reacts strongly to such assaults on its tradition and culture. Assaults, bear in mind, that come mainly in the form of trying to simply film or describe what is really happening, then politely asking them to stop it. For such a thoroughly self-westernized country as Japan, with its baseball, jazz, tobacco, subways, global business and automakers, to object to criticism of its "culture" is odd. To publicly stake a seemingly large proportion of their nation's cultural identity on slaughtering dolphins and whales while westernizing in almost every way seems, to me, strange. And, mainly, cruel. Let it end, for good. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Carl Safina.
### SUMMARY:
| Carl Safina: A "new" method is being used to kill dolphins in controversial hunt in Japan .
He says the method prolongs the pain of the highly social animals .
U.S. Ambassador to Japan Caroline Kennedy tweeted her criticism of the dolphin hunt .
Safina: Methods used on dolphins would not be allowed in slaughterhouses in Japan, elsewhere . |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
Oslo, Norway (CNN) -- A rambling, 1,500-page manifesto purportedly written by the suspect in Friday's deadly terror attacks in Norway lays out right-wing extremist views and vows that a "European civil war" will lead to the execution of "cultural Marxists" and the banishing of Muslims. "If you are concerned about the future of Western Europe you will definitely find the information both interesting and highly relevant," the author writes, adding later that his "European Declaration of Independence" took him nine years to complete. While the title page of the document says "By Andrew Berwick," the writer later identifies himself as Anders Behring Breivik, the suspect in the Norwegian terrorist attacks. The document -- part political diatribe, part confessional and part action plan -- also contains a link to an online video post with the same title. CNN could not independently verify that Breivik wrote the document or posted the 12-minute video, and Norwegian authorities would not confirm that the man in their custody wrote the manifesto, saying it was part of their investigation. Police told the Norwegian newspaper VG that the document is "linked" to Friday's attacks. Text in the video rails against the "Islamization" of Europe and "cultural Marxists" and asserts that the majority of Europe's population will be Muslim by 2050 "unless we manage to defeat the ruling Multiculturalist Alliance." "Celebrate us, the martyrs of the conservative revolution, for we will soon dine in the Kingdom of Heaven," the video says. Parts of the document use the same wording as the 35,000-word anti-technology manifesto written by "Unabomber" Ted Kaczynski and published in the Washington Post in 1995. In one passage, the document published online last week uses the same wording as the Unabomber's manifesto, but substitutes the phrase "cultural Marxist" where Kaczynski used the word "leftist," and uses the word "Muslims" where Kaczynski used the phrase "black people." The document contains some of the same anti-Muslim rhetoric that has become a part of mainstream debate in Norway, according to Anders Ravik Jupskaas, a Ph.D. researcher at the University of Oslo who studies right-wing political movements in Scandinavia. "What you see here is this new European phenomenon of this anti-Islamic rhetoric, where it's not only the immigrants (who are enemies). In fact, the main enemy is the political elite," he said. "They argue that this political elite has betrayed their own country. They have imposed multiculturalism." But the writer takes such philosophies to another level, he said. "It's part of the same stream of ideas, but it's still very different in terms of extremeness," Jupskaas said. Norwegian authorities have said they are still trying to determine the motive behind the terror attacks. In the manifesto, the author vilifies Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg and his Labour Party, which has majority control in Norway's government, accusing the party of perpetuating "cultural Marxist/multiculturalist ideals" and indoctrinating youth with those ideals. The author accuses the Labour Party of embracing those ideals and therefore allowing the "Islamification of Europe." The manifesto speculates about would happen if the author were to survive "a successful mission and live to stand a multiculturalist trial." "Not only will all my friends and family detest me and call me a monster; the united global multiculturalist media will have their hands full figuring out multiple ways to character assassinate, vilify and demonize," it says. The manifesto and videoinclude photos that appear to match those of the suspect, some of which had been posted on his Facebook page and several never-before-seen images of the same man. The author leaves clues about his family and background, and also indicates that English is his "secondary language." The document and video are titled "2083: A European Declaration of Independence," a date that the author later explains is the year he believes an European civil war will end with the execution of cultural Marxists and the deportation of Muslims. This "civil war" would come in three phases, he predicts. The first runs through 2030 and includes "open source warfare, military shock attacks by clandestine cell systems (and) further consolidation of conservative forces." Between 2030 and 2070, he calls for "more advanced forms of resistance groups (and the) preparation of pan-European coup d'etats." The final stage features the deposition of Europe's leaders and "implementation of a cultural conservative political agenda." The author does not specifically explain why he chose the date 2083, though it is the 200th anniversary of the death of Karl Marx. The manifesto and video also containphotos of Breivik in what appear to be uniforms, including one in which he is wearing a U.S. Marine dress jacket decorated with an Iron Cross, Knights Templar and Free Mason medals. Another picture shows Breivik dressed in a wet suit with a patch that reads "Marxist Hunter" and holding a high-powered rifle. The author states that he was moved to action dating to "my government's involvement" in NATO's 1999 strikes during the Kosovo campaign, claiming this wrongly targeted "our Serbian brothers (who) wanted to drive Islam out by deporting the Albanian Muslims back to Albania." He also criticizes "my government's cowardly handling of the Muhammad cartoon issue" -- a reference to the Norwegian government's apology for the nation's private newspapers having repeatedly published the controversial cartoon. Another reference blasts Norway, home of the Nobel awards, for awarding a peace prize to late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. The author details his bomb-making experiments, including a theory that one should purchase a farm so that purchase of large amounts of fertilizer -- which can be used to make bombs -- is less likely to be noticed. "Be extra careful when researching for bomb schematics (fertilizer bombs), as many terms will trigger electronic alerts," he writes, one of several tips that include using an "anonymous laptop and browse free to your local McDonalds" in order to "avoid ending up on any watch list." Besides hands-on instructions, the document also functions as a running diary. It also includes references to his relatives' sexual indiscretions, entries on some of his friends' personal lives, and his own off-and-on steroid use. From July 2 on, though, the author becomes more business-like and complains that going off his testosterone supplements had ramped up his "aggressiveness." He then digs up his guns and prepares the bombs. It all leads up to July 22, the date of the Norway terror attacks. "The old saying 'if you want something done, then do it yourself' is as relevant now as it was then," he writes. "In many cases; you could do it all yourself, it will just take a little more time. AND, without taking unacceptable risks. The conclusion is undeniable. "I believe this will be my last entry. It is now Fri July 22nd, 12.51." Less than three hours later, a bomb went off in downtown Oslo. CNN's Greg Botelho, Chelsea J. Carter, Catherine Shoichet and journalist Frode Stang contributed to this report.
### SUMMARY:
| NEW: Passages in the document use the same wording as the Unabomber's manifesto .
NEW: The document also contains a link to an online video with the same title .
The author of the manifesto speculates about his possible arrest and trial .
The writer of the 1,500-page document identifies himself as Anders Breivik . |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
Beijing (CNN) -- After walking several blocks through New York's busy streets recently, I finally found Wang Juntao in the middle of Times Square, where the exiled Chinese dissident was holding a sit-down protest. Wearing a grey suit and yellow tie, Wang sits in a makeshift cage to dramatize the imprisonment of Wang Bingzhang, a fellow pro-democracy activist who has been imprisoned in China for the past 11 years. Occasionally, tourists come by to read the posters on display, which explain the plight of Wang in English and Chinese, before they walk away. Close by, a bank of giant video screens flash advertisements for a range of consumer products and, by coincidence, for Xinhua, China's state-controlled news agency. Wang's hairline is receding and his waistline has expanded, but he remains the quick-witted rabble-rouser I remember from our days as students at Peking University in China. "Armed uprisings aside, I've done all kinds on anti-establishment projects in a Communist society," he says, talking at full throttle. "And I did very well. Now I am looking forward to resuming it." I remember Wang as a "Wunderkind" who enrolled at a relatively young age as a nuclear physics student, even though his passion was in politics and the liberal arts. But in 1989, he was imprisoned for over four years for his role as one of the "Black Hands," the term Chinese state media used for demonstration organizers, in the Tiananmen protests. He was eventually released on medical grounds in 1994 and found his way to the United States, where he enrolled at Harvard and Columbia, earning a Ph.D in political science in the process. Now 53, Wang lives in New Jersey and is co-chairman of the China Democratic Party, which campaigns for change in his homeland. China's Harvard . Beida alumni like Wang are fiercely proud -- some say chauvinistic -- of the school's free-spirit tradition and its reputation as "China's Harvard." "'Conquer or die', that's one of Beida's spirit," Wang recalls. "We care more about thinking or ideology than political achievements." Peking University, known in Chinese simply as Beida from the first syllables of its Chinese name Beijing Daxue, was founded 114 years ago as a training ground for China's intellectual leaders. Over the years, the university has been a bulwark of intellectual pursuit, academic freedom and patriotism. In 1919, Beida students led street demonstrations in Beijing, known then as Peking, condemning Confucian traditions and values, as well as the foreign domination of their country. Years later, many became leaders of the so-called Red Guard -- a movement of young revolutionaries who swore allegiance to Mao Zedong -- during the convulsive Cultural Revolution (1966-76), while others became the shock troops of the 1989 Tiananmen protests, organizing discussion groups, street demonstrations and hunger strikes. Crème de la crème . When I enrolled at Beida in the fall of 1977, the university was steeped in the political ferment that followed Chairman Mao's death and the start of Deng Xiaoping's reforms. My classmates, many of whom had worked on farms or in factories during the Cultural Revolution, were viewed by many as China's crème de la crème. They belonged to the storied "Class of '77" who passed the first college entrance exams held after the Cultural Revolution. During the four years I spent at Beida, I met many other fascinating fellow students who went on to become important players in China's divisive political scene. Among them was Bo Xilai, once one of the most powerful politicians in China, now disgraced and sentenced to life in prison for corruption and abuse of power. Bo majored in world history, while I studied Chinese history. Among my classmates, Bo stood out as a charismatic and gregarious one. He was not shy in striking up conversations with foreign students like me to practice English and chat about current affairs. A princeling -- his father Bo Yibo was a revered revolutionary veteran -- Bo seemed destined for a sterling political career, but in college he seemed more intent on pursuing a career as a foreign correspondent for China's state media. After two years in Beida, he moved to the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and enrolled in a master's program in journalism. Years later, however, Bo did venture into politics, serving as a city mayor, provincial governor, minister of commerce and then a member of the powerful politburo of the Communist Party. Last year his political career crashed after his wife Gu Kailai was arrested and convicted for the murder of British businessman Neil Heywood. In September, Bo himself was convicted to life in prison for corruption and abuse of power. He is appealing his conviction but analysts say his political career is now over. Interestingly, Wang does not think Bo is finished just yet. "When Bo was arrested last year, I had said that Bo's political career had just begun. The Communist Party may have ended his political career within the party, but it has given him his political identity and charisma as a Leftist, and in a way has made him a martyr." During his time as party chief in Chongqing -- China's biggest metropolis -- Bo's red-tinged economic policies, which included millions spent on social housing, garnered him rock star status among ordinary people increasingly frustrated by the growing wealth divide. But his populist stance and high-profile personal style did not go down well with others in the party, particularly the economically liberal and reform-oriented faction, who would not have lamented his dramatic fall from grace. "Perhaps Bo will be our biggest opponent in the future," adds Wang mischievously. Rise to the top . Another Beida contemporary, Li Keqiang, has fared better. Li, who studied law and later earned a Ph.D. in Economics at Beida, is now one of the two most powerful leaders in China. Last November, he was catapulted into the top tier of the Communist Party during the party's once-in-a-decade leadership transition before being installed as China's premier in March. "He gave me a good impression then and even now," Wang tells me as he takes a break from his Times Square protest. "He exuded the spirit of Beida -- vigorous, who prevailed with reason, virtue and performance rather than race, nationality and bloodline." But Wang thinks Li has a dual character. "On the one hand, Li is keen, diligent, eloquent and open-minded, not arrogant. On the other, he is savvy, a good listener and a sharp observer of different opinions from different sides, but he never crosses the forbidden zones." After college, Li avoided political activism and dissent, or studying overseas, as many of his contemporaries chose to do. Instead, he opted to climb the ladder of the Communist Youth League -- a training ground for communist leaders -- where he became the protégé of the former President Hu Jintao. Analysts say Li is a virtual political clone of Hu. Looking back at the colorful careers of these three Beida contemporaries -- Bo on the Left, Wang on the Right and Li in the Center -- I am reminded of how our alma mater is so closely linked with China's recent history and politics.
### SUMMARY:
| Wang Juntao, Bo Xilai, Li Keqiang were all students at Peking University in the 1970s .
Wang is now an exiled dissident, Bo is in prison, while Li is China's premier .
Peking University, known in Chinese as Beida, founded as training ground for China's intellectuals . |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
The name "Ferguson" will enter America's political vocabulary alongside cities like Detroit, Harlem and South Central Los Angeles -- places where black Americans rioted in the streets following the violent mistreatment of unarmed black men at the hands of police. Despite amazing progress in some areas of race relations -- notably, the election and re-election of Barack Obama as President -- the United States also harbors a deep, durable strain of racism that occasionally flares into public consciousness, sometimes with explosive results. The summer of 2014 was one of those times the curtain was pulled back and the ugliness emerged. On July 17 in New York City, half a dozen police confronted a man named Eric Garner for allegedly selling cigarettes on the street without a license to do so. A bystander's phone camera captured video of the police pushing Garner to the ground using a chokehold as Garner, a father of six, repeatedly said "I can't breathe." He died shortly afterwards. A few weeks later on August 5, in Beavercreek, Ohio, a man named John Crawford was shot to death inside a Walmart store after police responded to an emergency call about a man waving a weapon. Crawford turned out to be holding a pellet-shooting BB gun he'd picked up from a shelf inside the store (which sells the gun). On August 9 in Ferguson, Missouri, police killed a teenager named Michael Brown and left his body uncovered in the street. Witnesses say Brown had his hands up when an officer fired six shots into his body. A week of demonstrations and violence followed. On August 11, a 25-year-old man named Ezell Ford was shot to death in Los Angeles. Police say Ford attacked an officer after his car was stopped; other witnesses say he was not resisting and was killed while lying down in the street. All around America, demonstrations have taken place to protest what some call a national epidemic of police brutality toward black men. There's no sure way of knowing whether there is a pattern of police imposing deadly force on blacks, but civil rights organizations have long complained about racial profiling -- the practice of assuming members of a racial minority group are engaged in criminal activity and detaining or arresting them for that reason alone. Such practices are illegal under the U.S. Constitution. "Racial profiling continues to be a prevalent and egregious form of discrimination in the United States," says the website of the American Civil Liberties Union. "This unjustifiable practice remains a stain on American democracy and an affront to the promise of racial equality." America has fought a long battle to ensure equal opportunity and legal treatment for descendants of the African slaves who spent centuries in bondage until the practice was outlawed in 1863. But many stories show black Americans lagging far behind when it comes to economic and educational achievement. Studies show that white families, for instance, had an average of $113,149 in household wealth in 2009 compared with only $5,677 for blacks. Educators have discovered a persistent gap between black and white students on standardized English and math tests. These gaps have existed for decades, but they seldom result in the kind of street demonstrations and riots that followed the recent killings in Missouri and elsewhere. That's because poverty and ignorance are social ills that people can battle gradually. Racial profiling and police violence, on the other hand, represents a form of injustice that is impossible to ignore. History suggests that grinding poverty and discrimination create social dynamite -- but it's police violence that triggers the explosion. Adam Serwer of Buzzfeed recently described some of this history, accurately, as 80 years of Fergusons. In 1935, a false rumor swept through Harlem that a 16-year-old, arrested for shoplifting, had been killed by police. It touched off two days of rioting. In 1962, riots went off in St. Louis -- a stone's throw from Ferguson -- when a teenager was shot to death while running from a policeman who claimed the boy had tried to grab his gun. After riots broke out in Detroit in 1967 -- five days of chaos that left 41 dead -- a presidential commission found that police aggression, along with racism and discrimination, was to blame. In 1980, the Liberty City section of Miami went up in flames after a man named Arthur McDuffie died in police custody after a motorcycle crash. One responding officer later testified that his fellow cops had beaten McDuffie with flashlights; when the officers were acquitted, rioters took to the streets. Miami burned again in 1989, after an officer shot a motorcyclist to death (the officer ended up convicted of manslaughter, although the conviction was later overturned). And in Los Angeles in 1992, the acquittal of officers who'd been videotaped beating a motorist named Rodney King led to riots that left more than 50 people dead. Then, as now, the social unrest reminds many black Americans of a time when violence -- including violence by police -- was used as a tool of social and political intimidation. In the 1960s, at the same time urban riots were taking place, police were also used to attack and brutalize African-Americans seeking the right to vote. A famous series of protests in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1963, led by Martin Luther King Jr., led to mass arrests and attacks by police using dogs, fire hoses and clubs on nonviolent demonstrators. A similarly brutal attack on demonstrators followed in Selma, Alabama, in 1965. Black political leaders are making a connection between the politically-motivated police violence of the past and the current cases of possible profiling. It was significant that two of King's children, Martin Luther King III and Bernice King, attended Mike Brown's funeral, along with the Rev. Jesse Jackson, who was at King's side the day he was assassinated. The biggest difference between past violence and the current cases is that African-Americans now have much greater political influence -- most notably, a black president. Obama sent high-ranking aides to Brown's funeral, and the nation's top law-enforcement official, Attorney General Eric Holder, made a personal appearance in Missouri, wrote an open letter to the town and deployed 40 FBI agents to investigate the killing of Brown. The nightly violence involving citizens and police in the days following Brown's killing have stopped for now, but the national debate over the politics of policing will continue long into the future. Even with a black president, this summer's cases show that suspicions of racial profiling will remain a live, lingering concern from coast to coast as long as cops apply outsized levels of force that rarely, if ever, get applied outside of black communities. Will we see more Fergusons? My guess would be yes. 80 years of history suggest that the inequality and discrimination that continue to plague black communities around America are still a kind of factory creating vast amounts of social dynamite. Those tensions can be detonated by a single clash between police and citizens in a country where encounters take place thousands of times every day. So the odds suggest there will be more times when America pays the price for maintaining a gap between the American dream and the very real nightmare of poverty and racism in our midst.
### SUMMARY:
| Errol Louis says racial divisions in America were again exposed by the shooting of Michael Brown .
Black Americans lag behind when it comes to economic and educational opportunities, studies show .
Even with a black president, suspicions of racial profiling will remain a live, lingering concern, says Louis .
Louis predicts more flashpoints like what happened in Ferguson . |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
We were not the first round of protesters this prison cell had seen. On the beige walls, former residents had scratched "OWS," "love" and an expletive about the police. At 1 Police Plaza in New York City, our cell was 5-by-7, freezing cold, with a padded bench just long enough for three of us to sit on. A fourth woman was curled on the floor. In the corner, there was a non-functioning sink and a toilet. When one woman needed to use it, we formed a line to block her from the male officers. In the 10 hours I was held, there was one meal: Four slices of bread in soggy Saran wrap, a packet of mayo and a mini carton of milk. Last year, Occupy Wall Street happened outside of my window. As a local, I was supposed to deplore those "dirty hippies." But I found I couldn't. See Crabapple's art in CNN's digital gallery . At the time, I made my living drawing for ferociously swanky nightclubs while watching the world crumble and people from Tahrir Square to London take to the streets. Everyone said that Americans were too apathetic for that sort of thing. Occupy Wall Street proved them wrong. While I was initially skeptical, Occupy soon won me over. Across the street, Zucotti Park had transformed into a mini-city where anyone could get a book, a meal and basic medical care for free. I was inspired by seeing Americans, of all backgrounds and beliefs, caring passionately about income inequality and financial corruption. I wanted to help however I could. I turned my apartment into a press room, offering coffee and Wi-Fi for journalists filing copy about the young movement. I donated money and marched in protests. While I have been political before, I never let it seep into my artwork. Now I created posters, some of which ended up on the streets as protest signs hours after I uploaded them to the Internet. These posters remain some of the work of which I am most proud. But that was 2011. This is 2012. On the morning of my arrest, I wasn't sure whether the Occupy Wall Street movement was over. I went to the demonstration out of loyalty and nostalgia for the days of the Zucotti camps. The people's library, free clothes and gourmet soup kitchen were gone now, or reduced to shadows of their former selves. But I wanted to pay homage to the movement that had brought out more of my artistic voice. At seven in the morning I was on the sidewalk outside my apartment, tweeting pictures of the marchers and police. The NYPD had turned lower Manhattan into a mess of checkpoints. In that way, they were ridiculously effective at disrupting traffic. There were hundreds of cops -- some in riot gear, some on horseback. There were trucks piled high with metal barricades. We just walked. Some were on the street, most like me cautiously stayed on the sidewalk. We shouted the shopworn protest chants that feel so meaningful when you're chanting them. At one corner, I saw a cop grabbing the arm of a woman in front of me and pulling her into the street. It was the same gesture you might use to escort an old lady, and, when the next officer did this to me, that is what I thought it was. But then, halfway across the street, he cuffed my hands behind my back. There was no warning. No Miranda rights like in the movies. At first, I was incredulous. It was not until I got my desk ticket that night for blocking traffic that I had any idea what the officer was accusing me of doing. I was a head shorter than the officer. I said to him, "You know I was on the sidewalk." He wouldn't meet my eyes. I was two blocks from my apartment. But because I was part of a protest, I was no longer a local. I was an obstruction to be cleared. Going into the police van, they snapped my picture on a Fujimax Polaroid knockoff, hipster party style. I gave them my best grin. A man in a suit passed by, looked us over, and said to the police, "nice work." In the van, there were eight people, including an elderly nurse and a legal observer in his official green cap. We had all been plucked off the sidewalk. The van door shut. I edged my cell phone out of my purse, texted friends about my arrest and then, bored, began dissecting the situation on Twitter. I regretted being such a random little duck, pointlessly arrested to stop the protests. In the police yard, we traded our bags for vouchers. We waited to have our pockets searched while our shoulders ached from an hour in zip-cuffs. The woman in front of me had wrist injuries. The searching officer yelled that her wrist braces were weapons and threatened to send her through central booking -- "the tombs" -- where everything took twice as long and was covered in filth. Jail is waiting. Depressing waiting. Humiliating waiting. Pointless, tedious waiting in a crowded cage with dead roaches and no running water, where officers processing you through the system laugh at your discomfort and fear. The women sang songs to pass the time. "Solidarity Forever." "The Sun Will Come Up Tomorrow." The booking officer screamed she'd send us all to the tombs if we didn't shut up. We sang anyway. Time seemed interminable. Soon you find yourself banging on cell bars in unison, amplifying the voice of protesters who needed medicine, or who didn't get their phone calls for eight hours. When the male prisoners burst into cheers, we shushed each other and grinned. I was the last person released from my cell. The woman who left before me, a middle-aged lawyer who had been arrested multiple times that weekend, reassured me that I'd get out soon. When I did, friends were waiting with hugs, pizza and the National Lawyers Guild. Occupiers have a strong support system for those who are arrested, whether it's in the form of food, drinks or a pro bono lawyer. I felt incredibly lucky, essentially a tourist in that miserable place. In the pizza joint across the street, we bought beer for a woman who'd been held for 38 hours. While I was alone before my release, pacing back and forth, it was almost impossible not to suspect that I was stupid, that my actions were futile. Which is the point of an arrest. Getting arrested for a social protest is like being put through aversion therapy, a punishment in and of itself. A relative of mine, an Occupy supporter, said that after my arrest, she'd never protest again. And that's the point. Me? I'd be back. Occupy Wall Street taught many middle-class white people what poor people and people of color had already known. The law is often a hostile and arbitrary thing. Speak too loudly, stand in the wrong place, and you're on the wrong side of it. My experience was infinitely easier than most. Many people arrested came out to a lost job, or they have to deal with nerve-damaged hands from being in cuffs for too long, or they face a society that believes they asked for it. While we were in the cell, after we banged too long and chanted too hard, an officer stared at us. "Look at you people," she said. "What do you hope to accomplish? You brought this on yourselves."
### SUMMARY:
| Molly Crabapple: I was arrested for taking part in an Occupy Wall Street rally .
Crabapple: I was inspired to see people care passionately about inequality issues .
She says getting arrested for a social protest is like being put through aversion therapy .
Crabapple: The movement won me over, I would protest again . |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
(CNN) -- In the cut throat world of big-time ocean racing, giant maxis are the undoubted leaders of the pack. Slicing through the water at 30 knots and more, vast distances can be covered in a few short days. But that speed comes at the price of severe discomfort for those getting the maximum out of the high tech 100 foot-plus yachts. "This is a very aggressive world. It's banging, really noisy and with each wave you have the feeling you could break a bone," sailing legend Loick Peyron told CNN's Mainsail. And 54-year-old Frenchman Peyron should know. He skippered Banque Populaire V on its record-breaking circumnavigation of the world, a 29,000 miles non-stop journey, completed in just 45 days 13 hours and 42 minutes. Set in 2012 and landing the coveted Jules Verne Trophy -- Peyron's elder brother Bruno was a twice former holder of award -- the time slashed over two days off the former record and set an incredible average speed of 26.51 knots for the entire trip. But Peyron also had assistance from 13 other crew members during their helterskelter trip around the world, which earned them personal congratulations from then French president Nicolas Sarkozy. Taking part in solo efforts at the helm of such imposing yachts requires a different level of intestinal fortitude, fitness and raw courage altogether. Peyron knew only to well of the dangers when asked at very short notice to replace an injured compatriot, Armel Le Cleac'h, in the most prestigious of all single-handed transatlantic races. Not only that, the last time Peyron had competed in the Route du Rhum in 2002 he had to abandon when his 69ft trimaran Fujifilm broke up in a "big, big, big storm" in the Bay of Biscay and he was rescued from the wreckage by a ship. In fact, in six previous attempts dating back 32 years, Peyron's best finish was fifth and he had given up hope of landing one of the only prizes to elude him in his illustrious career. And then there was his age to consider, given the physical demands. Admittedly, he's no "spring chicken," so when Ronan Lucas, the boss of the Banque Populaire team, asked him the question, Peyron's first response was an emphatic "Non." "I was not dreaming any more about doing another transatlantic (race) alone on a boat able to win it," he said. "That was the end of my dream." Peyron, who is a key member of the Swedish America's Cup team Artemis, had intended to compete in the Route du Rhum on a "little yellow trimaran" -- content to let Le Cleac'h bid for line honors with the favored Banque Populaire VII. But all that changed when Le Cleac'h injured his hand two months ahead of the challenge. Lucas had total faith in the record breaking Peyron to be the perfect substitute, given his vast experience, but there was another factor which left the coveted skipper with so much doubt. The prospect of the lack of sleep for several days and fear of losing control of the 103-foot trimaran. "Falling asleep it's really hard," he said. "A boat like that could capsize in a few seconds, as we all know. The average speed is something like 30 knots or whatever. "I'm supposed to be able to have a rest, you close your eyes, you keep the main sheet in your hand like that and you pray!" Lucas implored him to think again about his decision, but it was Peyron's wife Christine who urged him to put aside his fears. After a night spent at sea alone -- "feeding the two columns, the positive and the negative one" -- his mind was made up. He would make one final attempt to win the Route du Rhum. Two months of intensive training followed, helped by Le Cleac'h, and on November 2 the 10th edition of the famous event got underway from St. Malo in France, the fleet heading to Guadeloupe. And as the race transpired, Peyron's fears about being able to handle the boat and conditions proved gloriously unfounded. He led from the first night and after 3,542 nautical miles, he crossed the finish line in seven days, 15 hours, eight minutes and 32 seconds, comfortably a new race record. "I never imagined that I would win a Route du Rhum on a boat like this," Peyron said at the finish. But he admitted that throughout the race he was constantly on edge and his fears over falling asleep and losing control nearly came back to haunt him. "I was able to sail the boat well but was scared," he told the official Artemis Racing website. "You have to constantly manage the boat. One night I fell asleep at the helm and nearly capsized the boat." It was his 49th Atlantic crossing -- 18 of them solo -- accomplished at an average speed of over 22 knots -- and given his doubts, very special. "This is a great victory; possibly one of the nicest and breaking the record is the cherry on top of the cake," he added. Peyron, "with brilliant stories to tell," according to Artemis Racing team boss Iain Percy, will now return to his day job of helping the syndicate win the 35th America's Cup in 2017. The team is based in San Francisco -- preparing for the racing in Bermuda where it will compete with others in the Louis Vuitton Cup, with the winner of that series facing holders Oracle for the biggest prize in yachting. The team is chock full of former Olympic champions from all classes, plus sailors with previous experience of America's Cups, including Peyron. He was at the helm with the Swiss challenge Alinghi in 2010 and joined up with Artemis just before the 2013 edition, which ended with defeat to the Italian Luna Rossa Challenge. With that experience behind it, Artemis will be hoping to up its game in 2017, but the syndicate was hit by tragedy last year when former British Olympic gold medalist Andrew Simpson died while training with the team in San Francisco Bay. Simpson, 36, drowned after their catamaran capsized, leaving him trapped underneath for over 10 minutes. He had paired with Percy to win the Star Class at the 2008 Beijing Games and silver on home waters at the London Olympics of 2012. Simpson, nicknamed "Bart" after the TV character, had a foundation formed in his memory and earlier this year it held its first event. Peyron was among a number of sailing greats to support Bart's Bash, which saw over 700 sailing clubs from 68 different countries stage their own race over a standard distance to set a new Guinness World Record for mass participation. Simpson will surely stay in the thoughts of Percy and his Artemis Racing team as it eyes the ultimate prize in the sport. Peyron had been totally focused on the America's Cup bid before being handed an unexpected opportunity to resume his solo career and he proved he is not a man to let a challenge pass, however daunting. "When you know that it's part of your life to do this sort of challenge, this crazy challenge, it's normal," he said.
### SUMMARY:
| Yachting legend Loick Peyron wins Route du Rhum .
Sets race record on trimaran Banque Populaire VII .
The 54-year-old was a late replacement for injured Armel Le Cleac'h .
Peyron is helmsman and on Swedish America's Cup bid Artemis . |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
Pro-Russian gunmen seized buildings in eastern Ukraine, as new flashpoints developed in the ongoing crisis over the region's future. As tensions rose, acting President Oleksandr Turchinov held an emergency National Defense and Security Council meeting Saturday evening in the capital Kiev, according to the President's press office. In the eastern city of Kramatorsk, police and pro-Russia activists exchanged gunfire, acting Interior Minister Arsen Avakov's spokeswoman, Natalia Stativko, told CNN on Saturday. Slightly north, in the town of Slaviansk, gunmen in camouflage stormed and seized a police building early Saturday, authorities said. They arrived in two mini-buses, came to the police station and opened fire at the building before getting inside the facility through windows, the Donetsk regional police press office said. Three police officers were slightly injured. The gunmen introduced themselves as part of the Donetsk republic initiative group, police said. Their goal was to seize hundreds of weapons inside the police building; they allowed the police officers inside to leave the facility, the press office said. A CNN team in Slaviansk saw dozens of armed, well-equipped men in camouflage in control of the Ukraine Security Services (SBU) building, as well as the police building. The men did not want to be filmed. Makeshift barricades have been erected around both buildings. Locals brought food and tires to the armed men at the SBU site. "We're for democracy, for the rights of the people to express their will," one pro-Russian armed activist in Slaviansk told Reuters. "We want to create a people's republic, a real one, one in Donetsk, one in Luhansk, and in general let the people of the southeast determine what they want. We want to hold a referendum." A police building in the town of Krasni Liman also had been taken by protesters, according to Stativko, the spokeswoman for Ukraine's acting interior minister, although the CNN team saw no evidence to that effect. Special units are being sent to both Slaviansk and Krasni Liman to assess the situation, she said. Donetsk chief of regional police resigns . The latest reports come amid heightened tensions in the country's largely Russian-speaking eastern region, centered on the cities of Donetsk, Luhansk and Kharkiv. Pro-Russian protesters in those cities seized government buildings several days ago and remain barricaded in some. In Donetsk, the chief of regional police has resigned. Kostyantyn Pozhydaev announced his resignation during a pro-Russia activist rally outside the police office, the Donetsk regional police press office said in a statement Saturday. Earlier Saturday, the acting Ukrainian President's website stated that the Head of the Security Service for the Donetsk region, Valery Ivanov, was sacked. A demonstration was held in front of the Donetsk police headquarters Saturday, according to the interior ministry. Although life in most of the city continues as normal, protesters still hold government buildings. Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk paid a visit to Donetsk on Friday as he seeks to rally those in the region -- which has strong ties to Russia -- behind the interim government in Kiev ahead of elections due on May 25. He suggested that constitutional reform could give more power to the regions, though the time frame is short. "We almost don't have time to amend the constitution before the presidential election," he said, adding that they need to move fast so that any new president doesn't dictate terms. The United States has accused Russia of fomenting the separatist unrest in its neighbor as a pretext for military intervention. White House expresses concern, Kerry speaks to Lavrov . U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry spoke by phone with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov Saturday, expressing "strong concern that attacks today by armed militants in eastern Ukraine were orchestrated and synchronized, similar to previous attacks in eastern Ukraine and Crimea," a senior State Department official said. The two diplomats had met late last month in Paris to discuss the crisis. The official said that Kerry warned Lavrov there would be "additional consequences" if Russia did not take steps to de-escalate the situation in eastern Ukraine and move its troops back from its border with Ukraine. The official also noted that militants involved in Saturday's unrest in eastern Ukraine "were equipped with specialized Russian weapons and the same uniforms as those worn by the Russian forces that invaded Crimea." The White House also reacted Saturday, calling on Russian President Vladimir Putin and his government to "cease all efforts to destabilize Ukraine." "We are very concerned by the concerted campaign we see underway in eastern Ukraine today by pro-Russian separatists, apparently with support from Russia, who are inciting violence and sabotage and seeking to undermine and destabilize the Ukrainian state," said National Security Council spokeswoman Laura Lucas Magnuson, in a statement. "We saw similar so-called protest activities in Crimea before Russia's purported annexation." Vice President Joe Biden will travel to Kiev on April 22, to meet government leaders and members of the civil society. "The Vice President will underscore the United States' strong support for a united, democratic Ukraine that makes its own choices about its future path," the White House said in a statement. U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki, in a tweet, described the situation as "worrisome. "Russia again seems to be behind" the unrest, Psaki said Saturday. Meanwhile, the U.S. Treasury on Friday imposed a third round of sanctions on individuals considered to be involved in Crimea's annexation. They include six individuals classed by the Treasury as Crimean separatists, former Ukrainian official Sergey Tsekov, and the Crimea-based natural gas company Chernomorneftegaz, which the Treasury says has appropriated assets belonging to Crimea's state-run gas company. "Crimea is occupied territory. We will continue to impose costs on those involved in ongoing violations of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity," said Treasury official David S. Cohen. Diplomatic steps . Next Thursday, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton will meet in Switzerland with foreign ministers from the United States, Russia and Ukraine to discuss efforts to de-escalate the situation. That meeting will follow talks between EU foreign ministers on Monday in Luxembourg. EU defense ministers are also due to meet Tuesday, with the situation in Ukraine high on the agenda. Western powers say they want to resolve the crisis through diplomatic and political means, and have warned of tougher sanctions against Russia if it intervenes further in Ukraine. Ukraine acting Foreign Minister Andriy Deshchytsia and his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, spoke Saturday by phone to discuss preparations for Thursday's meeting, Ukraine's Foreign Ministry said. In the call, Deshchytsia demanded that Russian special services agents end their "provocative actions" in eastern Ukraine, which are intended to derail the Geneva meeting and impede efforts to resolve the crisis, the ministry said. Lavrov said Friday in a televised interview on Russian state television that there are no Russian troops or Russian secret services agents in southeastern Ukraine, the official ITAR-Tass news agency reported. He also said Russia has no intention of absorbing the southeastern regions of Ukraine, contrary to the fears of the West. Russia annexed Ukraine's southeastern Crimea region last month, following a referendum condemned as illegal by Kiev and the international community, and the West fears it may next seek to enter eastern Ukraine.
### SUMMARY:
| Secretary of State Kerry speaks to Russian foreign minister .
Joe Biden to travel to Kiev later this month .
Unidentified gunmen seize buildings in the eastern Ukraine town of Slaviansk .
Pro-Russian protesters have taken over buildings in other cities in the region in past days . |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
(CNN)Money makes the world go round, they say, but what if notes and coins were replaced with online code? Bitcoin -- the world's much talked about cryptocurrency -- is just that. It can't be printed, it can't be directly controlled by governments or central banks, but it can be sent around the world instantly at a low cost. And in sub-Saharan Africa, where 75% of the population don't have a bank account, experts say the currency could help millions of people pay bills and get to grips with their finances. Transferring cash via a bank or a Money Transfer Operator (MTOs) like Western Union or MoneyGram can be costly. According to the Overseas Development Institute, the average charge to transfer $200 to Africa using traditional money transfer services is 12%. If you send $200, you pay $24. The ODI added up all the transfers that happen in a year, and found remittance fees cost the African continent $1.8 billion a year. What if that money could be spent on things, rather than fees? As Bitcoin is a virtual peer-to-peer currency -- designed to operate on the border-less internet -- the costs of transferring money can be radically cheaper than traditional methods, and the process is much quicker. "Bitcoin can greatly alter the remittances industry and beyond," says Michael Kimani, who heads the African Digital Currency Association, a Kenya-based group launched last May to promote digital currency technologies. "From seven days [for a transaction to clear] using banks & PayPal, down to 20 minutes speaks volumes." African examples . Beam is a service in Ghana that converts Bitcoin sent from abroad into the local currency, cedi. Since launching three months ago, it has attracted 30 users who pay a 3% fee on each transaction rather than the average 12% from traditional transfer services. Ghana received $1.7 billion of remittance income in 2012 according to the Bank of Ghana, and Beam's founders are optimistic about the future. "Bitcoin is going to make a huge difference when it starts to get accepted by merchants in Ghana," says CEO Nikunj Handa. "People won't need to change Bitcoin to any other currency so there will be no broker fees involved and people can get really very low-cost transactions. But Bitcoin is in its early days yet, and we need banks and merchants to catch up." And the founders are also planning to launch "Value Remittances" -- a service which will allow people in other countries to use Bitcoin to pay the water, electricity and phone bills for their family members in Ghana. Kitiwa, a similar service in Ghana, says it has processed over $90,000 worth of Bitcoins, and BitPesa, in Kenya, is another remittance services doing the same thing but with Kenyan shillings. Another sign that Bitcoin is gaining traction in Africa came in August, when Johannesburg got the first Bitcoin ATM on the continent. The machine, which converts cash into Bitcoin, is located at the Metroman beauty salon where customers can pay in crytocurrency. But it's not the only place South Africans can spend their Bitcoin. According to South Africa-based Bitcoin startup Xoin, 30,000 online stores in South Africa now accept the cryptocurrency. "We have about five transactions a week, and in total I would estimate we have had about 250 transactions," explains Rolf Deppe, who operates the machine. "The main reason we launched the ATM was to create awareness of Bitcoin in Africa... We do expect to see more [Bitcoin] ATMs popping up." Commission charges for Bitcoin ATMs vary, but Lamassu says the average commission is 5%. And Africa's second Bitcoin ATM is set to arrive in Cape Town soon -- a city hosting a Bitcoin conference in April. Crypto-critics . But not everyone is so optimistic about Bitcoin's future in Africa. Critics say the fees associated with buying crypto-currency must be taken into account when considering the cost of remittances. As well as overcoming the technical challenges of obtaining Bitcoins at an "exchange," users have to also pay a commission. According to Lamassu, the fee is usually 0.5%, but that can vary between exchanges. Bypassing most of the online process is possible with voucher services like Azte, which charges a 4% commission for the convenience. And Xoin, based in Stellenbosch, have come up with a similar proposition involving QR codes on vouchers, which you scan with your smartphone. As well as standard charges, not all banks support Bitcoin companies yet. Some customers of British banks, for example, have to first transfer money from their bank account to a Bitcoin company's account in a European bank. To do this, they pay banking transfer charges and have to wait up to five days for the funds to clear before they get their Bitcoins. Not exactly speedy. Breaking traditions . Competition with existing, established services is also a major reason some say widespread adoption of Bitcoin in Africa is still a long way off. MoneyGram has agents in 25,000 locations across Africa, and Western Union has 32,000 registered locations across the continent. While its yellow and black outposts aren't going away anytime soon, the company is adapting to mobile money transfer. "Africa, in particular, is kind of at the frontiers of mobile," says Hikmet Ersek, chief executive of Western Union. "The people do like mobile, use it like mobile... but also as a wallet. This mobile wallet has been very successful in Kenya. We did not see a big success in other countries...but the future, I think, will be that, once the consumer figures out how to use it." It is precisely this complexity, and this issue of trust, which makes the man who founded South Africa's Bitcoin exchange ICE³X.com skeptical about it's widespread adoption on the continent. "You've got a company like Western Union, which has been around for longer than most people have been alive, and they trust that method," says Gareth Grobler. "That's a huge stumbling block for Bitcoin acceptance." For Grobler, the real value of the super-secure "blockchain" technology which facilitates Bitcoin could be in commodities trading where large sums need to be transferred across borders in a transparent way. Erratic price value . Another major issue with Bitcoin is its volatility. In January 2013, one Bitcoin was worth around $13, surging in December to a high of $1,147. But since then, its value has dropped again and at the time of writing one Bitcoin was worth $221, according to coindesk. "If I buy Bitcoin and transfer it to another person, the price is very likely to change overtime," says Grobler. "So I could send $200 worth of Bitcoin to someone, but as the price fluctuates they actually only get say $150. Bitcoin is really only going to be a better deal for someone who really understands financial markets and watches the price constantly. Further solutions need to be developed for mainstream adoption and tangible financial benefits." More from Marketplace Africa . READ THIS: Africa's 'most intelligent' city revealed . READ THIS: Gas discovery transforms Mozambique backwater .
### SUMMARY:
| It costs less to send Bitcoins overseas than traditional money .
In Sub-Saharan Africa, 75% of the population don't have a bank account .
African services like Beam and BitPesa convert Bitcoin to local currencies .
Established money transfer players pose a challenge to Bitcoin . |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
By . Stephen Wright . PUBLISHED: . 04:31 EST, 1 October 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 19:58 EST, 1 October 2012 . The finances of Labour MP Keith Vaz were investigated in 2000 and 2001 . Keith Vaz could face a Commons investigation over the revelation that he held almost £500,000 in mystery bank accounts. Scotland Yard detectives found the money during a secret investigation and regarded it as being of a ‘suspicious nature’. Now the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner has received a complaint about the former Labour minister, who denies wrongdoing. He has not faced any criminal charges over the money, which was deposited between 1997 and 2001. But the claims are a major embarrassment to the Labour MP on the second day of his party’s conference in Manchester. As chairman of the home affairs select committee, Mr Vaz holds police to account on operational matters and was scathing in his criticism of Scotland Yard over the phone hacking affair. Tory MP Andrew Bridgen said Mr Vaz had questions to answer. ‘I feel that he cannot continue to hold his role with the home affairs select committee during an investigation and call on him to stand down,’ Mr Bridgen added. Mr Vaz and his wife Maria Fernandes held seven bank accounts which were probed by Scotland Yard. There is no suggestion Miss Fernandes did anything wrong. In 2000, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards launched an inquiry into Mr Vaz over allegations he received money from businessmen in his Leicester constituency. The following year he was investigated for allegedly helping the billionaire Indian Hinduja brothers to obtain British passports. During quarter of century in parliament, Keith Vaz has never been far from the headlines.Born in 1956 in Aden Colony, a British colony now part of Yemen, he moved to Britain with his parents in 1965. He studied law Cambridge University and became a solicitor before becoming the youngest Labour MP in 1987 when he won the Leicester East seat. In 1999 he became the first Asian minister in the Commons when Tony Blair gave him a job in the Lord Chancellor’s Department before being promoted to the Foreign Office as Europe Minister. In January 2001 it emerged he had contacted the Home Office about the progress of the passport applications of business tycoons Gopichand and Srichand Hinduja. The Parliamentary Standards Commissioner, Elizabeth Filkin, launched an investigation into whether Mr Vaz had received any money from the Hinduja brothers. The brothers had given £1,200 to Mapesbury Communications, a company run by Mr Vaz’s wife, but he insisted he had not benefited personally. He left the government in June 2001, citing health reasons. Ms Filkin later cleared Mr Vaz of not registering the money received by his wife’s company but he was accused of failing to comply with the inquiry. In 2002 he was suspended from the House of Commons after falslely claiming a former policewoman, a friend of Mrs Vaz’s former personal assistant, had made intimidating phonecall to his mother. In further controversy it emerged he helped Nadhmi Auchi, an Anglo-Iraqi billionaire, in trying to avoid extradition to France. Despite his reputation having been seemingly tarnished, he bounced back and was appointed chairman of the home affairs select committee in 2007. When the following year the Labour government wanted to introduce 42-days detention without charge, Mr Vaz was initially against the idea but later supported it. A leaked letter from chief whip Geoff Hoon thanked him for his support, adding: ‘I trust that it will be appropriately rewarded!’ A formidable networker, he has hosted a string of celebrities at the Houses of Parliament, dancing with Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty and taking evidence from Russell Brand, Mitch Winehouse and Cherie Blair. Mr Vaz was cleared of receiving . illicit funds but was forced to resign as a minister for obstructing the . inquiry and failing to provide information relating to his finances. He was also suspended from . Parliament. Following the inquiry, a report on Mr Vaz was sent to the . National Intelligence Criminal Service. The Daily Telegraph says it has seen a . Scotland Yard document showing that the NICS stated: ‘News reports have . linked Vaz to the Hinduja brothers’ passport application affair and . imply that he may have received payments. ‘Investigations into credits in 1998 . show in excess of £58k was paid into the savings account and over £24k . into the current account. ‘These payments contain significant amounts of cash and do not appear to be salary payments. ‘In view of the allegations against . Vaz and reports that he did not fully comply with the Standards . Commissioner when questioned during the inquiry, we believe that the . level of funds received during 1998 are of a suspicious nature. ‘There are numerous unexplained . payments into the accounts and large transfers between accounts that . require further investigation.’ Scotland Yard said at least one . payment was made into a personal HSBC account from Mapesbury . Communications Ltd, a firm run by Mr Vaz’s wife. Last night Mr Vaz said: ‘The . Telegraph contacted me on Sunday about an investigation which may or may . not have occurred ten years ago. 'I asked them to supply me with a copy . of the report but they did not have one. ‘These matters relate to two . parliamentary inquiries which began in 1999 and concluded in 2003. 'My . finances were discussed by every newspaper in the country for a period . of three years and were the subject of extensive examination. 'I have had . no outside interests. ‘The Telegraph claim the unnamed police officer states that the payments into my account were suspicious. 'They were not suspicious in any way. They relate to the sale of a family home in London, the purchase of a . new family home and a drawdown of equity from my bank. 'When you sell a house and you buy a . new house it is normal practice for the money to be paid into your . account and the money then paid out.’ Scotland Yard refused to comment on the leaked documents. A spokesman for John Lyon, the . Parliamentary Standards Commissioner, said he is considering a complaint . on the issue and a decision on whether he will launch a probe is . expected by the end of the week. Four months ago one of Mr Vaz’s former friends was booted out of the legal profession and ordered to pay £1.4million in costs. Shahrokh Mireskandari, 51, had faked . his legal qualifications and hid his criminal convictions while . representing celebrity clients. The conman was found guilty of a 104 . breaches of the rules governing solicitors’ conduct by a disciplinary . tribunal. The tribunal hearing took place after . a Mail investigation revealed Mireskandari lavished hospitality on Mr . Vaz, who publicly described him as a ‘very, very dear friend’ and also . as the ‘best lawyer in Britain’. As chairman of the home affairs select committee Mr Vaz is one of the most high profile Labour backbenchers. Yesterday Ed Miliband praised him from the conference platform for his 25 years in Parliament .
### SUMMARY:
| Scotland Yard documents suggest Keith Vaz received 'significant amounts of cash' of a 'suspicious nature' between 1997 and 2001 .
Tory MP Andrew Bridgen writes to Parliamentary Standards Commissioner to demand an inquiry and says Mr Vaz should to stand down as chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee .
Mr Vaz denies any wrongdoing and says the money is from property deals . |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
By . Victoria Wellman . PUBLISHED: . 10:25 EST, 3 October 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 01:56 EST, 4 October 2012 . Two men who escaped with their lives when their twin-engine plane burst into flames and took a nose dive into the Gulf of Mexico, have not only lived to tell the tale of the harrowing ordeal but remarkably managed to document their survival with an iPad camera. As pilot Theodore Wright, 37 and his best friend, Raymond Fosdick, took off from Baytown, Texas in a tiny Baron aircraft on September 20th, they were looking forward to a smooth journey to Sarasota, Florida. But when after two hours the cockpit began filling with smoke, a high-risk emergency landing on water quickly looked inevitable for the two men. Scroll down for video . Survivors: Two men whose twin-engine plane crash landed in the Gulf of Mexico, floated in the water for three hours waiting to be rescued while filming their ordeal on an iPad recovered from the aircraft before it sank . Partners: Pilot, Theodore Wright (left) and his best friend, Raymond Fosdick (right) had been flying from Baytown, Texas to Florida when two hours after take-off, disaster struck . Rapidly descending 11,000 feet and landing some 30 miles from the Louisiana coast, the men grabbed the most important equipment for survival as the left the plane: flotation devices and of course, an iPad. Talking to the Today Show about their incredibly story, Mr Wright recalled the moment disaster struck along a route her had flown many times. Safe: Back on dry land, the pilot (left) and his passenger (right) told the Today Show how the cockpit began to fill up with smoke and before they could finish their SOS call they were covered in flames . 'We were flying along, I'm eating a bag of M&Ms, I check in with Houston centre,' he said. 'And then we see a little bit of smoke which typically is not a huge deal - usually a radio will smoke a little so you throw the electrical power off, everything's fine. 'I made a quick radio call to Houston centre, told them we have a problem. Before I finished the radio call, we were just covered, covered in smoke.' A pilot since he was just 15 years old, Mr Wright and his well-travelled friend immediately sprang into action, deciding together what steps they should take - the kind of cooperation, says Mr Fosdick, that ultimately saved them from the clutches of death. Vessel: Ted Wright's Baron twin-engine plane before it plummeted 11,000 feet into the Gulf of Mexico and sank 30 miles off the coast of Louisiana . Route: The journey from Baytown, TX to Sarasota, FL was a familiar one to Mr Wright who has been flying since he was 15 years old . 'There was no praying, there was no thinking the world was coming to an end,' he said. 'That's pretty much what saved our lives. Being able to recognise the aircraft's loss, now it's just save ourselves.' Mr Wright credited their astonishing ability to remain so calm and focussed on the problem, to training. 'You kind of go onto autopilot in these situations, no pun intended,' he joked from the comfort and safety of ABC's studio sofa. Indeed coastguards have called their emergency landing and the way they handled the terrifying ordeal as 'textbook', but what happened next was perhaps a little more improvisational and off-text than a traditional emergency plan might advise. On impact, as the plane began to sink . quickly and the men realised they had no time to waste in ejecting . themselves from the cockpit, Mr Fosnick grabbed an iPad that was . concealed in a water resistant protective case and plunged into the open . sea. Saved! After three hours floating adrift on the ocean, as the two men began to worry about the night ahead, they were spotted and airlifted to safety by a coastguard . Stoic: Mr Fosdick (left) and Mr Wright (right) kept calm throughout the ordeal comforted by the fact that they had set off an emergency beacon and rescue services should have been able to find them . Remarkably undamaged, the iPad camera was used by Mr Wright and Mr Fosnick to record moment-by-moment the events that followed their crash-landing for posterity, unsure of what fate would hold for them. The first clip was filmed within an hour of landing. With no sign of the coast guard or rescue emergency services, they calmly informed an audience: 'We did have a sport fisher on the horizon. We tried to flag him down. We tried to signal him without any luck.' What has inspired and amazed the public about the story is the unbelievable lack of panic or hysteria exhibited throughout the ordeal. 'People ask us "were you worried?" We . weren't worried at all,' explained Mr Wright in New York. 'We knew . there were three positioning devices that coud find us.' 'But . when the first aircraft passed over our heads and didn't see us and . we're waving and waving. And they still don't see us. And the second . aircraft shows up, they don't see us? Yes, we started to get nervous.' Modern rescue: The iPad filmed the two men as they tried to flag down a sport fisher and two planes to no avail and hope began to wane slowly . Yet with no hint of lost hope or melodrama, the pragmatic pilot spoke a final time into the Apple device. 'Hopefully this is the last recording because we will be rescued soon. Signing off,' he said before switching the iPad off. Luckily, their metaphorical prayers were answered and just before night fell, the two men were spotted and airlifted to safety by a coast guard. All involved knew that a night time rescue would have been next to impossible. Back on dry land and carrying his arm in . a sling, Mr Fosdick announced confidently to the Today Show: 'I have no . hesitation whatsoever of climbing into another aircraft again. My wife . on the hand... does not want me to do much.' Experienced: Mr Wright credited their survival to training and an ability to remain calm while focussing on the emergency at hand while his friend said working together was vital . And while his pilot friend allowed himself to admit that it was 'pretty scary,' he also informed viewers that he already has another plane and will continue his work to support the program Around the World for Life that gives aeroplane rides to kids to cancer. 'Nothing has changed, except the tail number,' he laughed. Asked a final time whether at any point they feared the worst, Mr Fosdick elaborated: 'Fear definitely plays a role. I won't lie and say I didn't have any fear... However because of experience and because we've been in stressful situations, we were both remaining calm and you begin looking at your options, even though they're very bleak and grim out there in the middle of nowhere. 'We did spot an oil rig just out on the horizon. It becomes one of those things of, "okay if it gets dark and they leave what are we going to do?" So there was some fear involved but it wasn't enough to overpower our patience.' Watch video here .
### SUMMARY:
| Theodore Wright and Raymond Fosdick were flying from Baytown, Texas to Sarasota, Florida when the plane began smoking after two hours .
The twin-engine plane plummeted 11,000 feet into the sea and sank 30 miles off the Louisiana coast .
Men relied on flotation devices for three hours before being rescued by coast guard helicopter . |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
By . Sara Malm . PUBLISHED: . 12:54 EST, 2 October 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 13:24 EST, 2 October 2012 . Battle: For years Caroline Dowdall struggled with a phobia of vomit, so much so she would starve and drug her own children . A woman’s extreme fear of vomit led to her starving her young children in case food would make them sick. Caroline Dowdall would even give her three sons car sickness drugs before long journeys to ensure that they would not throw up. The 54-year-old’s emetophobia controlled her life during her sons’ childhoods as she was too scared to feed them more than a basic diet of rice, toast and the occasional boiled egg. Caroline’s battle with emetophobia - the irrational fear of vomit - began when she was eight and her pregnant aunt was sick on her during a car journey. ‘It . was a hot sticky day and I was horrified,’ Caroline explains. ‘It was . of course an accident but the smell repulsed me and after that I began . to actively avoid people who I thought might vomit.’ At . school she avoided pupils who had been off sick as well as the canteen, . which she considered a high risk area, and feared pregnant women. She . would cross the street if saw a woman she suspected was pregnant and as . she got older and her friends became pregnant she would simply cut them . out of her life. ‘I lost friends because it would be too stressful otherwise,’ she says. When Caroline herself fell pregnant at the age of 20, she lied to midwives to obtain medication to prevent her from . being sick. ‘I said I had terrible morning sickness, thankfully I hadn’t . but I wanted to take something to prevent me getting it.’ Despite warnings of side effects she took the medication throughout her pregnancy and gave birth to first son Anthony. She was a happy mother to a healthy baby boy, but it did not take long before the phobia took control of her parenting. ‘At first it was OK, the baby sick didn’t really smell of anything and there wasn’t much. The real anxiety came when it was time to wean him because I knew that once he was on solid food he would produce what I called “proper vomit.”’ Controlled: Caroline, pictured with her oldest sons Anthony and Philip, was so terrified of vomit that she would not give her sons any food she thought might make them sick and they grew up on a diet of toast, rice and eggs . After pressure from her partner a reluctant Caroline agreed he should be on solids. ‘I only gave him food I was happy wouldn’t make him sick and tiny amounts too.’ It was the same routine when his brothers Philip and Tim were born. By then her first marriage had ended and Caroline had remarried, again managing to keep her phobia a secret. Dinner for her sons was often toast and occasionally a boiled egg. ‘It would break my heart when they asked for dessert as I considered sweet foods to pose the highest risk and so I always lied and said we didn’t have any. ‘If they wanted snacks I gave them crackers and other meals were limited to plain rice and chicken, easy to digest and always well cooked.’ Enough to survive: Caroline justified her children's low calorie intake of a few hundred a day with the argument that they had more than children in other parts of the world . Shockingly, Caroline also kept their portions tiny, fearing that overfeeding them could induce sickness. ‘They . were probably on just a few hundred calories a day. At most meal times . they would ask for more like Oliver Twist. It was awful. ‘It . broke my heart when they said their tummies hurt. I knew it was because . they were hungry but I was so scared of not being able to cope if they . were sick I never relented. ‘I knew they had enough to survive on and reasoned that they still ate more than a lot of children in the world.’ Thankfully her sons grew into healthy boys and in the mid-eighties Caroline attempted to seek help. But when she saw her GP she was ushered out of the door and in her desperation Caroline turned to alcohol to cope. ‘I was left to cope in the only way I knew how. On the rare occasion that any of her kids were sick she downed Brandy to give her the courage to clean it up. ‘I still couldn’t cuddle them or hold them in the way a mum should if they were sick. And I would swig alcohol believing it might stop me from catching whatever bug they had by killing the germs.’ Finally free: Caroline, pictured on holiday in Florida with her husband John, eventually began to deal with her phobia when she came clean to her family about her behaviour . Holidays were also a nightmare, as she could not bear to watch them on funfair rides and feared travel sickness. ‘Thankfully my parents were always keen to take them on holiday so I managed to avoid it most of the time.’ But when she did have to take the boys somewhere by car Caroline resorted to shocking methods to prevent sickness. ‘I would drug them with travel sickness pills that caused drowsiness. If they were asleep then they couldn’t vomit,’ she says. When they grew older she would pay them to take the drugs, despite them not even feeling sick. ‘Then they would close their eyes for the rest of the journey and I could relax and get us there without worrying.’ Coping: Caroline now lives in Spain and can enjoy meals in restaurants and time with her grandchildren without fear . Caroline . calls her actions during these years ‘truly awful and unspeakable . behaviour for a mother’ but says the phobia was in control of her life. ‘It’s very hard to distinguish right from wrong, you are just trying to get through the day in any way you can. ‘I loved them dearly and I didn’t want them taken off me.’ She says: ‘My phobia stopped me being a good mother. But I’m adamant that I will not let it stop me being a good grandmother. 'My sons are now old enough to understand why I acted the way I did when they were little.’ Eventually Caroline divorced again and met third husband John. By then two of her sons had become fathers and Caroline was already starting to avoid the babies through fear they would be sick. ‘I knew I had been a terrible mother and I didn’t want to repeat my mistakes but I could feel history was repeating. 'I was desperate to be a good grandmother and have my grandchildren come to stay but once again my fear was controlling my life.’ Eventually she broke down and admitted to her husband why she was so afraid of spending time with her grandchildren. ‘It was the first time anyone had listened and understood. He promised to help me and I don’t know it is simply a case of sharing the load, but since I started being honest with my family I feel more in control. ‘My family was relieved, my odd behaviour over the past 46 years finally made sense and I have said sorry to my sons. ‘I was determined fear would not stop me being a grandmother.' Now Caroline can spend time with her grandchildren and even enjoy a meal in a restaurant and has written a book about her journey. ‘There are other sufferers out there, and I want them to know they are not alone. ‘Now it’s still a struggle but it’s much easier. There’s a long way to go but I will get there.'
### SUMMARY:
| Caroline Dowdall kept her children on a strict diet of a few hundred calories a day to keep them from being sick .
The mother-of-three would give her sons car sickness drugs to put them to sleep whenever they travelled .
She suffers from emetophobia - an irrational fear of vomit . |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
By . Lucy Crossley . PUBLISHED: . 12:42 EST, 11 January 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 04:18 EST, 12 January 2013 . Jessops has closed all its stores with immediate effect, triggering the loss of up to 2,000 jobs. The high street camera chain, which has 187 stores, is the first of what is expected to be many retail casualties in 2013. The shops will not re-open and about 1,370 store staff will lose their jobs immediately. The rest, who work at Jessops’ Leicester headquarters, are likely to follow soon afterwards. No hope: Administrators Pricewaterhouse Coopers have announced that all 187 branches of camera chain Jessops will close with the loss of 1,370 jobs . Customers who bought products in the run-up to Christmas will be unable to get repairs or refunds on faulty goods and gift tokens will not be honoured. It appears that poor festive trading . was the final nail in the coffin for a Britain’s only specialist . nationwide camera retailer, a fixture on High Streets for almost 80 . years. Pricewaterhouse-Coopers (PwC) were appointed earlier this week after it became clear Jessops had effectively run out of cash. Yesterday, they admitted the chain, which can trace its roots to 1935, has no future and so the shops would close with immediate effect. PwC's Rob Hunt said: 'Since my appointment, we have reviewed the position of the business and . held extensive discussions with suppliers around their support for . ongoing trading. Closed: Every branch of Jessops, including this one in Bath, will shut for good at the end of trading today with customers unable to return goods . 'It is apparent that we cannot continue to trade and as a result we have had to make the difficult decision to begin the closure of all 187 Jessops stores at the close of business today. 'Regrettably, this will result in around 1,370 job losses across the stores with further job losses likely, in due course, at the head office in Leicester. 'The stock will be collected over the coming days and returned to a central warehouse. 'It will be returned to suppliers if they are entitled to it. 'As a consequence of the closure, Jessops is no longer able to accept returned product from customers. 'This is an extremely sad day for Jessops and its employees. 'We are very grateful for the support we have received since our appointment and we will continue to ensure that employees are paid as they assist us during the closure.' Jessops had 192 high street stores, although five of them were closed after Christmas, before the appointment of the administrators. Branches in Torquay, Tamworth, Weston super Mare, Hereford and Walsall were all shut with the loss of a total of 23 jobs. Administrator PwC had already said that Jessops would not . in a position to honour any gift vouchers purchased, and it would also not . accept returned goods. PwC said the company’s core market had . seen a ‘significant decline’ in 2012 and its position had . ‘deteriorated’ in the run-up to Christmas, as a result of reducing . confidence in UK retail. Forecasts for 2013 had indicated the . decline would continue, PwC added. It said extra funding was made . available to the company, but Jessops did not generate the profits it . had planned over Christmas. Mr Hunt said discussions to raise . additional financial support had been held between the directors, . lenders and suppliers over the past few days. But the directors had . appointed administrators in light of ‘irreconcilable differences’. 1935 - Jessops started trading when Frank Jessop opened his first store in Leicester selling 16mm cine films. The business expanded significantly when Frank’s son Alan Jessop came on board, and set about transforming it into a cut-price retailer of photographic equipment. 1970s - Jessops moves to a new 20,000 sq ft site on Leicester's Hinckley Road, which is later named as the largest photography store in the world by Guinness World Records. 1980 - A second store is opened on the Finchley Road in London. By the end of the decade the retailer had 50 stores. 1996 - Alan Jessop retires and firm is sold in a management buyout. 2001 - The 200th store opened in July. The retailer had expanded to cover Aberdeen to Penzance, as well as stores in Jersey, Guernsey and Ireland. 2002 - ABN AMRO acquired a controlling interest in the business. 2004 - The retailer was floated on the London Stock Exchange. 2008 - Jessops' Hinckley Road premises in Leicester is closed. 2009 - Jessops narrowly avoided administration by securing a debt-for-equity swap with its lenders HSBC. 2012 - The retailer made losses of £5.2million, when it also lost both its chief executive Trevor Moore and chairman David Adams. The chain was launched in 1935 by Frank Jessop, who opened the first photography store in Leicester. But the firm has had a rocky few . years. It managed to avoid administration in 2009 after its bank wiped . out its debts in return for a 47 per cent stake in the business. A number of household names – Comet, . Peacocks, La Senza, Blacks, Game, Clinton Cards, and JJB Sports – all . went into administration in 2012 and the British Retail Consortium has . warned the pattern could continue into 2013. BRC Director general Helen Dickinson . said: ‘If you look at the amount of money people have got in their . pockets, that is expected to continue to be under pressure.’ Jessops is the latest of . several household names that has fallen into administration in recent . months as struggling families cut down on spending. The number of High Street chains . going bust has increased by almost a . fifth in two years, figures released last week showed. Some 194 stores and chains fell into . administration during 2012, compared . to 183 in 2011 and 165 during 2010, . according to data from Deloitte. Everything must go: Last year saw the demise of La Senza, left, and Comet, right, among others, as consumers cut back on their spending in 2012 . Last year saw the demise of Comet, . La Senza and Clinton Cards, with JJB . Sports, Blacks and Game also entering . administration. But the number going under in the . run-up to Christmas dropped, with 37 . chains folding in the final three months . of 2012, compared with 42 in the same . period in 2011. The closure of Jessops stores has marked the first high profile . retail collapse of 2013, with others certain to follow. ■ Online retailer Play.com is to shut down its retail business and become solely a marketplace for other retailers from March. The Jersey-based company blamed the end of the Value Consignment Relief loophole which allowed items under £15 to be sold to the UK VAT free from the Channel Islands.
### SUMMARY:
| Administrators announced that all 187 stores across the UK will close for good at end of trading today .
Shop staff will lose jobs, with more redundancies in head office likely .
Shoppers no longer able to return products .
Camera retailer has become first major High Street casualty of 2013 . |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
By . Ray Massey . PUBLISHED: . 14:20 EST, 18 March 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 14:32 EST, 18 March 2013 . Jailed: Man City youth team player Courtney Meppen Walter wept in court as he was jailed for 16 months for killing a brother and sister while speeding in his Mercedes . New measures to ban newly-qualified drivers from carrying other young people are being considered by ministers in a bid to improve road safety, ministers said today. Transport spokesman Earl Attlee said ministers were also looking at forcing young drivers to display ‘probationary plates’ showing they had recently passed their test. His comments over what has been dubbed a ‘graduated driving licence’ firm up ideas floated in November by Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin and have the support of the insurance industry. They came at question time in the House of Lords after Tory Baroness Gardner of Parkes raised the case of Manchester City footballer Courtney Meppen-Walter, who was jailed for 16 months after killing two adults and injuring two teenagers in central Manchester. The 18-year-old had been travelling at up to twice the 30mph speed limit in his Mercedes and admitted causing death by dangerous driving. Lady Gardner said: ‘He had been noted as playing games with a VW Golf before the accident occurred. He is disqualified now for three years.’ She said changes to improve the safety of newly-qualified drivers had been ‘resisted by too many governments’ and it was ‘time something was done’. Lord Attlee said it was an ‘extreme case but sadly it was not unique’. He said young drivers were prone to 'immaturity and reckless driving'. ‘They can also be easily distracted particularly when driving carrying others,' he said. ‘We are seeking to improve the risk of these very sad accidents and we will continue on the work of the previous government in doing so.’ Victims: The Nissan driver, Kulwant Singh, 32, . left, and his sister, front-seat passenger Ravel Kaur, 37, right, were . both killed in the crash . Independent crossbench peer Baroness Masham of Ilton said the Government should consider ‘probationary plates on young drivers until they are about 21’. Lord Attlee said: ‘Probationary plates are one of the things we are considering, possibly linked with other measures such as not allowing young and new drivers to carry young passengers in order to deal with that sort of problem.’ Career ruined: Meppen-Walters can be seen here playing for the Manchester City youth team . Independent crossbencher the Countess of Mar questioned how it was possible to legislate for the ‘exuberance of youth’. ‘Even if they have a green plate on the back of their car they are going to test the boundaries of law as hard as they can,’ she said. ‘I'm not advocating that they should break the law but we must face facts. We have all been young once and done foolish things.’ But Lord Attlee told her: ‘Experience in Sweden shows that a longer driving supervision can reduce the risk of accidents later on and that is one of the things we are looking at.’ The announcement comes after Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin raised the prospect in November of banning young drivers in England and Wales from carrying anyone except family members as passengers. It was one of a range of ideas he was looking at to road deaths involving newly-qualified motorists. The Transport Department said the introduction of P-Plates’ for probationers was one of the options they were looking at. Convicted: This image was taken after Meppen-Walter had passed his driving test . Roads Minister Stephen Hammond said: . ‘We want to improve the safety of young drivers - that is why we have . made the driving test more realistic by introducing an independent . driving element and have stopped publishing test routes to stop . candidates learning them by rote. ‘As part of the ongoing work to reduce . the risks of accidents involving young drivers, we are considering . several options to ensure that newly qualified drivers are properly . prepared and drive safely. Motorists caught driving while using their mobile phones have blamed 'ranting' ex-wives, over-zealous bosses and even childbirth for their offending behaviour, according to police. One driver also admitted failing to see a red light because he was on the phone and another denied making a call saying he was only using the internet. Surrey Police and Surrey County Council have released details of the excuses given by drivers as part of a campaign targeting the use of mobile phones while behind the wheel. In one case, the driver stopped by police pleaded for help from the officer and said: 'It was my ex-wife harassing me, can you speak to her?' Another motorist blamed work pressures when he said: 'My boss called to see where I was.' A father-to-be explained: 'I answered the phone because my wife is having a baby and I thought she may have gone into labour.' The lure of a smart phone proved too tempting for one motorist, who said: 'I'm not on the phone, I am looking something up on the internet'. While another pleaded: 'I wasn't calling anyone, I was replying to an email.'Another driver admitted: 'I am always using it. It's about time I got caught.' Kay Hammond, Surrey County Council's cabinet member for community safety, said: 'It may be tempting to answer a call or check your Facebook while driving, but it is a huge distraction and the consequences can be devastating. 'You are four times more likely to crash if you use a mobile phone while driving. 'Your reaction times are 50% slower and you are more likely to drift across lanes.' ‘We will continue to work with young . people, the insurance industry, and other key partners in considering . any changes affecting learner drivers and those who have just passed . their test.’ Insurers also back such measures believing peer pressure on young drivers can lead them to take risks. The . Association of British Insurers says drivers aged 17-24 are responsible . for a disproportionately high number of crashes, deaths and claims and . that an 18-year-old is more than three times as likely as a 48-year-old . to be involved in a crash. A third of drivers killed in car accidents are under 25, despite under 25s forming only one in eight of all car drivers. Mr McLouglin said at the time: ‘When I talk to young people who have recently passed their test, what they say sometimes is that peer pressure is put on them to go fast, to show off. ‘There is a suggestion as to whether you should look at a restriction whether anyone could carry passengers for six or nine months when they have first passed their test. ‘There are suggestions about them only perhaps being allowed to take a family member to drive a car when you are learning, you have to have a qualified driver in the car. So these are all sorts of areas that I think we can look at.’ The Association of British Insurers has called for an overhaul in the system - suggesting people should spend a year learning to drive and urging the introduction of a graduated licence for the first six months after passing a test. ABI spokesman Malcolm Tarling said: ‘Other countries have adopted these measures and their experience has shown that they're largely self-policing. ‘Of course there will always be people who will look to avoid the law, but the reality is if you impose something like this, and encourage people to follow it, international experience has shown that that is exactly what people do.’
### SUMMARY:
| Drivers may have to display 'probationary plates' if recently qualified .
Lords hear case of professional footballer Courtney Meppen-Walter, 18, jailed for 16 months .
Manchester City player killed a brother and sister whilst 'showboating'
Peer says young drivers were prone to 'immaturity and reckless driving' |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
By . Helen Collis . PUBLISHED: . 03:43 EST, 11 July 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 02:14 EST, 23 July 2013 . Web-users who want to protect their privacy have been switching to a small unheard of search engine in the wake of the 'Prism' revelations. DuckDuckGo, the little known U.S. company, sets itself aside from its giant competitors such as Google and Yahoo, by not sharing any of its clients' data with searched websites. This means no targeted advertising and no skewed search results. Aside from the reduced ads, this unbiased and private approach to using the internet is appealing to users angered at the news that U.S. and UK governments (the National Security Agency (NSA) in the U.S. and GCHQ in the UK), have direct access to the servers of big search engine companies, allowing them to 'watch' users. At just 33, DuckDuckGo founder and CEO, Gabriel Weinberg has tapped into a niche market - offering Internet users real privacy when searching the world wide web . Within just two weeks of the NSA's operations being leaked by former employee Edward Snowden, DuckDuckGo's traffic had doubled - from serving 1.7million searches a day, to 3million. 'We started seeing an increase right when the story broke, before we were covered in the press,' said Gabriel Weinberg, founder and CEO, speaking to The Guardian. Entrepreneur Mr Weinberg had the idea for the company in 2006, while taking time out to do a stained-glass making course. He had just sold successful start-up Opobox, similar to Friends Reunited, for $10million (£6.76million) to Classmates.com. While on the course he realised that the teacher's 'useful web links' did not tally up with Google's search results, and realised the extent of the personalised skewing of results per user. From there he had the idea to develop a 'better' search engine, that does not share any user information with any websites whatsoever. Search data, he told the paper, 'is arguably the most personal data people are entering into anything. You're typing in your problems, your desires. It's not the same as things you post publicly on a social network.' DuckDuckGo, named after an American children's tag game Duck Duck Goose (though not a metaphor), was solo-founded by Mr Weinberg in 2008, in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. He self-funded it until 2011 when Union Square Ventures, which also backs Twitter, Tumblr, Foursquare and Kickstarter, and a handful of angel investors, came on board. Leak impact: It appears to some, privacy really does matter, as DuckDuckGo's user-figures show. Just two weeks after the June 6 revelations, searchers were up 90 per cent . The team has expanded to a few full-time people, many part-time contributors and a bunch of open-source contributors. 'If you're wondering how you would turn that into a verb...Duck it!' he says on the company website. The 33-year-old CEO, who lives in Paoli, a suburb of Philadelphia, PA, with his wife and two children, explains that when other search engines are used, your search terms are sent to that site you clicked on; this sharing of information is known as 'search leakage'. 'For example, when you search for something private, you are sharing that private search not only with your search engine, but also with all the sites that you clicked on (for that search),' he points out on his website. 'In addition, when you visit any site, your computer automatically sends information about it to that site (including your User agent and IP address). This information can often be used to identify you directly. 'So when you do that private search, not only can those other sites know your search terms, but they can also know that you searched it. It is this combination of available information about you that raises privacy concerns,' he says. Within two weeks of NSA's . operations being leaked by former employee Edward Snowden (pictured), DuckDuckGo's . traffic had doubled - from 1.7million searches a day to . 3million . The company offers a search engine, like Google, but which does not traffic users, which has less spam and clutter, that showcases 'better instant answers', and that does not put users in a 'filter bubble' meaning results are biased towards particular users. Currently, 50 per cent of DuckDuckGo's users are from the U.S., 45 per cent from Europe and the remaining 5 per cent from Asia-Pacific (APAC). On June 3, the company reported it . had more than 19million direct queries per month and the zero-click Info . API gets over 9million queries per day. It . has partnerships with apps, browsers and distributions that include . DuckDuckGo as a search option: Browsers, distributions, iOS, and . Android. Companies can use DuckDuckGo for their site search, and the . firm offers an open API for Instant Answers based on its open source . DuckDuckHack platform. Speaking . on U.S. radio channel, American Public Media, Mr Weinberg said: . 'Companies like DuckDuckGo have sprung in the last couple years to cater . to the growing number of data dodgers. 'There’s pent up demand for companies that do not track you,' he says. User feedback on the company website say the search engine reminds them of the early days of using Google; it's like an 'honorable search site to complement Wikipedia'; and other are 'amazed' that a search engine company is 'doing exactly the right thing'. Critics of the company remain cautious of the sudden surge in success, however, pointing out that 3million searches per day is just a 'drop in the ocean' compared with the 13billion searches Google does every day. Writing on his website, Danny Sullivan, who runs the Search Engine Land site and analyses the industry, said big companies like Ask.com and Yahoo had tried pro-privacy pushes before and failed to generate huge interest. User feedback on the company website say . the search engine reminds them of the early days of using Google; it's . like an 'honorable search site to complement Wikipedia'; and other are . 'amazed' that a search engine company is 'doing exactly the right . thing' Other companies have had more success, however, and Duck Duck Go is not the first search engine firm to tap into the pro-privacy market. Competitors include Ixquick, a Dutch meta-search engine firm, based in the Netherlands and New York. It returns private meta-search results from other . providers. From mid 2006, the company opted not to include the private details of its users, and in 2009 it launched Startpage.com, a similar service taking top Google search results without saving users' IP addresses or giving personal user data to Google. Together, the company's search engines serve 4.4 million daily searches. YaCy is another free search engine that is fully decentralized. It prides itself on making all users of its search engine network as equal, not storing user search requests and doesn't censor content. Perhaps in the wake of the NSA and GCHQ revelations, internet users may think twice about their search engine provider.
### SUMMARY:
| DuckDuckGo, based in Pennsylvania, does not share user data with sites .
This means fewer advertisements and results that are not skewed for users .
Firm saw web traffic double in the wake of Snowden NSA tapping leak .
Pro-privacy search engine one of several companies growing in this arena . |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
By . Daniel Martin . PUBLISHED: . 18:26 EST, 5 August 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 09:22 EST, 6 August 2013 . More than a quarter of home buyers are now paying stamp duty at the higher rates of 3 per cent or more, research has found. Hundreds of thousands of first-time buyers and hardworking families are losing out to the tune of more than £7,500 when they move home, the TaxPayers’ Alliance study found. The pressure group launched a Stamp Out Stamp Duty campaign calling for a cut in the ‘punitive’ levy, which raised £4billion for the Treasury in 2012/13 - some £3.6billion of which was collected at rates of 3 per cent or more. Scroll down for video . Hundreds of thousands of first-time buyers and . hardworking families are losing out to the tune of more than £7,500 when . they move home, the TaxPayers' Alliance study found . They say it is unfair that rising house prices mean that a greater proportion of homes are coming into the net of the higher levies because the thresholds have stayed static for years. Sales of residential properties are free of stamp duty up to the value of £125,000 and attract a 1 per cent tax between £125,000 and £250,000. But rising house prices mean that more and more purchasers are paying at the higher rates of 3 per cent applied to homes worth between £250,000 and £500,000. A rate of 4 per cent is charged on those valued at up to £1million, 5 per cent on those between £1-£2million and 7 per cent beyond that point. Matthew Sinclair, chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: ‘Owning your own home is an important milestone, but for many families it seems harder and harder to reach. Sales of residential properties are free of stamp duty up to the value of £125,000 and attract a 1 per cent tax between £125,000 and £250,000 . ‘Ministers have done nothing to ease the burden imposed by stamp duty, which is an unfair double tax that gets in the way of would-be first-time buyers and others thinking about moving. Instead they have made things worse with new thresholds and new, higher rates. ‘The Government needs to act on ministers’ rhetoric about getting people onto the property ladder and cut this unfair tax.’ The TaxPayers’ Alliance research found that, unsurprisingly, home-buyers in London and the South East are hardest hit. But an increasing number of people in other parts of the country are being hit by stamp duty at the 3 per cent rate. The group argues that stamp duty acts as a barrier both for an increasing number of first-time buyers and existing home-owners wanting to move house to get a new job, be near to relatives or accommodate a growing family. Because stamp duty is imposed on the total value of the property, and not just the portion of the price which is above the threshold, families buying a home for between £250,000 and £500,000 pay between £7,500 and £15,000. Tax bills: The average house price has sat above the 1 per cent stamp duty threshold for a decade, Nationwide's chart shows, but many properties incur a much higher 3 per cent charge. In England and Wales, some 723,829 homes were bought in 2012/13, with more than 25 per cent (182,692) being liable for stamp duty at a rate of 3 per cent or more. Stamp duty rates of 3 per cent or more were imposed on 65 per cent of all residential transactions in London, and 39 per cent in the rest of the South-East. The figure was 27 per cent in the East of England, 24 per cent in the South-West, 12 per cent in the West Midlands and 10 per cent in the East Midlands, according to the TPA research. In the north, the figures were much lower: 9 per cent in the North-West, Yorkshire and the Humber, and 6 per cent in the North-East. Some 8 per cent of Welsh homes attracted the higher levies. The TPA did not look at Scotland. The recent 2020 Tax Commission review by the TPA and the Institute of Directors concluded that stamp duty should be abolished, as did the Mirrlees Review from the Institute for Fiscal Studies. Simon Lambert: Stamp duty is an unfair tax that needs changing . Perhaps the most infuriating thing about the unfair stamp duty system is that today's buyers of an ordinary family home get stung with a tax bill originally designed for the wealthiest, writes This is Money editor Simon Lambert. That £250,000 threshold that hits ordinary families so hard has never gone up, despite rampant house price inflation since 1997, when then Chancellor Gordon Brown introduced extra levels of the tax. If it had been linked to property prices it would now stand at £716,000, according to Nationwide's data. As a point of comparison, today's £250,000 home would have cost you £87,000 in 1997 - a level that would currently incur no stamp duty whatsoever. Buyers pay the tax on a property's sale price, so those big bills they pay are ultimately driven by the seller's profit. You can work out how much stamp duty you would pay using our calculator below. Until Gordon Brown's arrival as Chancellor in 1997, stamp duty was a flat rate of 1% above £60,000. He first changed this to 1.5% above £250,000 and 2% above £500,000 and then cashed in on his property boom by hiking these to 3% and 4%, respectively, in 2000. The effect as house prices rocketed through the 2000s boom was a nice little earner as the tax dragged more and more families into a trap originally laid for the wealthy. Since then new stamp duty thresholds have also been added at £1m and £2m and George Osborne has given no indication that he will change the slab system, despite repeated calls to do so. This is Money has long campaigned against the unfair nature of stamp duty and called for a serious investigation into its change and welcomes the Stamp Out Stamp Duty campaign. It is a bad tax, it is levelled unfairly, hits some regions far worse than others, encourages extra debt and inhibits people moving for work. While a change to stamp duty would cut tax revenue, it would at least make the system fairer. It would also prevent the current situation that involves buyers loading themselves up with bigger mortgages as they need to use cash that could have gone into their deposit to pay a hefty tax bill. From midnight on 21 March, Budget Day 2012, a new tax tier was introduced on homes costing more than £2,000,000. These homes now attract a rate of 7%.
### SUMMARY:
| First-time .
buyers are losing out on more than .
£7,500 when they move .
Stamp Out Stamp Duty campaign is calling for a cut in the ‘punitive’ levy, .
This raised £4billion for the Treasury in 2012/13 some £3.6billion of which was collected at rates of 3 per cent or more . |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
By . James Rush and Suzannah Hills . PUBLISHED: . 04:31 EST, 8 September 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 12:36 EST, 8 September 2013 . Held: Victor Miller, 37, who was arrested for allegedly breaking in to Buckingham Palace, is currently being detained in a mental health unit . A suspected burglar arrested after being discovered in a royal state room at Buckingham Palace is being held in a mental health unit, it has emerged. DJ Victor Miller, 37, was found 'in an area currently open to the public during the day' after scaling a 12ft fence to get into the palace. Miller, from Bow, East London, was arrested for burglary, trespass and criminal damage on Monday and was last night being held in a mental health unit where he will stay for 28 days for assessment. The DJ, who claims to have worked with Amy Winehouse, N-Dubz and Tinchy Strider through his production company UK Artist Development, is believed to have been targeting priceless Coronation diamonds on display at the Palace. A spokesman . for the Metropolitan Police said: 'A man was passed into the care of . mental health professionals following bail'. They declined to comment . further. A security review has now been launched . and Scotland Yard is facing a major inquiry following the break-in. No . members of the royal family were present at the palace at the time of . the incident. A . second man, 38, was arrested outside the palace for conspiracy to commit . burglary following the incident shortly before 10.30pm on Monday. He has since been bailed. According to reports, police and security rushed to the palace after motion senors were set off. The . intruder is said to have made his way to the State Rooms where all the . Queen's priceless paintings by artists, including Titan Leonardo da . Vinci, and artefacts are kept. Break-in: A suspected burglar DJ Victor Miller has been arrested after being found inside Buckingham Palace . Target: It is believed Miller was targeting the diamond necklace the Queen wore on her coronation day which is currently being displayed in the State Rooms as part of an exhibit to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the event . There are 19 State Rooms which are open to the public during daily tours. Police are said to have found the man trying to smash a glass door in one of the rooms with a fire extinguisher. It is believed he was targeting jewels on display for the 60th anniversary of the Queen's coronation. The exhibit includes the necklace worn by the Queen on her coronation. It was made for Queen Victoria and features 25 diamonds set around a 22.48 carat Lahore diamond pendant. The ornamental crown made in 1820 for George IV which has a staggering 1,333 diamonds is also on display at the exhibition. A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police . said: 'Both men have been bailed to return to a central London police . station and enquiries continue. Not present: The Queen has been spending her summer break at Balmoral Castle since the beginning of August . Security: A security review has now been launched following the break-in . 'A review of the specific . circumstances of this incident is being carried out. No members of the . Royal Family were at Buckingham Palace at the time of the incident.' A spokesman added that security would form part of the review. According to The Sun, a source close to the investigation said: 'This breach of security is being treated with the utmost seriousness.' The security breach at Buckingham . Palace, which is meant to be one of the best-guarded buildings in . Britain, has been described as 'alarming' by a former royal protection . commander. Breach: The break-in is one of the most serious security breaches at the palace since 1982, when Michael Fagan evaded guards and walked into the Queen's bedroom . Dai Davies, a former head of Metropolitan Police's royal protection squad, said the incident demonstrates that terrorists could enter the Palace. He told the Sunday Telegraph: 'It's alarming that as well as scaling the fence this individual managed to get inside the Palace itself before being stopped. 'Intruders should be apprehended well before this point. 'Questions will have to be asked about this incident at the highest level, particularly with regard to why the suspect appears to have gained entry to the Palace with such apparent ease. It is both disturbing and embarrassing.' Buckingham Palace have not commented on the incident. The Queen has been spending her summer . break at Balmoral Castle since the beginning of August and is not . expected to return to the palace until October. She is expected to make her traditional appearance at a Highland Games today. The Braemar Gathering is held each year just a short distance from the Balmoral estate in Aberdeenshire. The break-in is one of the most serious security breaches at the palace since 1982, when Michael Fagan evaded guards to get inside the Queen's private chambers while she was still in bed. The unemployed father of four, 31, spent around 10 minutes talking to the Queen after he climbed over the palace walls and up a drainpipe. The Queen managed to raise the alarm when Fagan asked for a cigarette, allowing her to call for a footman who held him until police arrived. The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh attend church today. They were accompanied by Prince Charles . The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh were in Aberdeenshire for the Braemar Gathering where they attended a church service this morning . The break-in at Buckingham Palace is the latest in a series of security scares involving the Royal Family. In March 2011 a car carrying the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall (below) was mobbed by demonstrators who had split from a protest against higher university tuition fees. Camilla was visibly distressed after being poked in the ribs with a stick through an open window in the distinctive Rolls-Royce Phantom VI as she and Charles travelled to the Royal Variety Performance at the London Palladium. In 2003, comedian Aaron Barschak managed to get into Prince William's 21st birthday party at Windsor Castle. The self-styled 'comedy-terrorist' set off a series of alarms and was caught on CCTV before he joined 300 guests at the bash and was removed. In 1994, student David Kang charged at Charles while firing a starting pistol during a ceremony in Sydney, Australia. Kang was wrestled to the ground by New South Wales premier John Fahey and another man, while Charles was praised for his calm reaction. In 1981, six blank shots were fired from the crowd while the Queen rode during the Trooping the Colour ceremony. The Queen's horse was startled but she managed to bring it back under control while police rushed to grab the shooter. In 1974, Princess Anne was the target of an apparent kidnap attempt in The Mall near Buckingham Palace. Four people, including her bodyguard, Jim Beaton, were injured after shots were fired when their car was forced to halt by another vehicle which blocked their route. A police officer chased the driver, Ian Ball, and brought him to the ground before arresting him. Sorry we are unable to accept comments for legal reasons.
### SUMMARY:
| Victor Miller was found in 'area currently open to the public during the day'
The DJ is being held in a mental health unit for 28 days for assessment .
Second man, 38, arrested outside palace for conspiracy to commit burglary .
It is believed they were targeting coronation jewels on display at the Palace .
A security review has now been launched following the break-in .
Former royal protection officer warns intruder could have been a terrorist . |
### SUMMARIZE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE:
By . Becky Evans . PUBLISHED: . 06:24 EST, 3 December 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 08:41 EST, 3 December 2012 . He may have turned his back on a multimillionaire lifestyle and rock immortality but Pink Floyd's first singer said he had 'no regrets' about quitting the band. Chris Dennis was playing with Roger Waters and Nick Mason in the early 1960s when the group performed their first gigs as Pink Floyd. Mr Dennis, 74, left to take up a RAF posting in Bahrain just a year after he joined because he thought the band was not 'going anywhere'. Founder: Chris Dennis, pictured with one of the beloved guitars he put up for auction, said he has always been proud of Pink Floyd's success . Original: A rare picture of the first ever gig performed under the name Pink Floyd at a party in Surrey in 1966 with Syd Barrett, left, Bob Klose, Chris Dennis, centre, and Roger Waters, right . He then went on to set up his own studio while Pink Floyd became one of the biggest bands of the twentieth century, recorded classics such as Dark Side of the Moon and Wish You Were Here and sell 250 million albums worldwide. But far from being bitter about his decision, Mr Dennis said he has always been proud of their success. The grandfather of eight, who lives with his wife Pam in Llangefni, Anglesey, North Wales, said: 'I’ve . no regrets. I helped start the biggest rock band in the world and it . enabled me to hang out with the likes of Jimi Hendrix - that’s enough . for me.' By the time Mr Dennis had returned to the UK from Bahrain, . Pink Floyd’s first album Piper At The Gates Of Dawn had been released. He said: 'When I first picked up . Floyd’s first record in a store, I felt nothing but proud of them. I was . so pleased and happy that they had made it.' He added: 'To be honest, I didn’t . even like the sort of music Pink Floyd were playing at the time - so . they probably wouldn’t have had the success they’ve had if I had . continued to play in the band. 'I’m not bitter or jealous . at all of the success of the other guys - that doesn’t even come into . it. The band was a bit of fun back then and I was a bit of a joker. 'My only regret was I only wish I’d . taken more photographs of the guys then. I was never really a fan of . their music, but the stuff they do now is just wonderful.' Memento: A picture of the band taken by Syd Barrett in 1966 featuring Bob Klose, left, Richard Wright, Roger Waters, centre, Chris Dennis, on top of the car, and Nick Mason taken in 1966 . Rare: A picture of Pink Floyd at the height of their fame signed by Nick Mason. Chris Dennis said his only regret is not taking more pictures . Iconic: Pink Floyd pictured following their last concert together in 2005 at the Live8 concert in Hyde Park. (L to R) Dave Gilmour, Roger Waters, Nick Mason and Richard Wright, who died in September 2008. Founding member Syd Barrett died in 2006 and Bob Klose left the band in 1965 . Mr . Dennis recorded with the band during their first studio session and was . with them when Syd Barrett came up with the name Pink Floyd. He joined the group in 1963 after . meeting founding member guitarist Bob Klose as a technician with the RAF . posted to Uxbridge, London. A year later he recorded with the band alongside Roger Waters, Richard Wright, drummer Nick Mason and Barrett. He said: 'I was in a music shop in . Soho looking for a guitar and I saw Bob and he introduced me to Roger . Waters. 'They explained they were looking for a singer for their band . and said: "We’ll put you in". Of course I said yes. 'I had been in bands since I was a . 16-year-old lad, playing in various skiffle bands and I knew Bob from . the gig circuits in Cambridge when I was posted there. He used to come . round and jam with my band.' Mr Dennis rehearsed regularly with the band before becoming the frontman for their first set of gigs. He said: 'We would rehearse in the . house they shared. We at that time we didn’t even have a name - and . believe me, it was a dispute. 'We were rehearsing blues songs for . our first gig at a private party in Surrey. It was mostly covers we did . back then, we’d practice at the house two or three times a week. 'On the night of the gig, Syd ran . through and said, "I’ve got a name, it’s going to be called Pink Floyd." Well, I didn’t like it at the time because it didn’t make sense.' He left a year later when he was . posted to Bahrain but said he was going to leave anyway because he did . not like Pink Floyd's music. He said: ‘I was on the edge of . leaving the band anyway - Roger and I had a difference of opinion with . it came to music. Different paths: Chris Dennis in front of his four-bedroom Anglesey home . Passion: Chris Dennis continued to play in bands after leaving Pink Floyd, left, and built up a collection of 20 guitars - three of which he put up for auction, right . No regrets: Mr Dennis, pictured with one of his guitars, set up his own studio after quitting Pink Floyd . 'He liked the traditional blues music . like Muddy Waters, where I was more into the more up-beat blues you . could dance too - like the Stones and Chuck Berry. 'He wouldn’t like if we didn’t play it exactly right - I was getting a bit fed up and I didn’t think it was going anywhere. 'I was planning on leaving anyway because . I wasn’t into the music they were playing - I wanted to play blues music. 'And when I came back they never asked . me back in the band. They had a completely different sound anyway, they . had changed their style. 'I’d finished with it. The band was a six month . blip in my life. It was good but I had moved on from it.' Mr Dennis pursued a career in music after leaving the RAF in 1973. He set up his own studio in Cambridge and laid down tracks for the likes of Dave Berry, The Glitter Band's Tony Leonard and members of Shakin Stevens. He has also built up a collection of 20 guitars - three of which he recently put up for auction. The Sunburst Stratocaster and Fender Squire Stagemaster sold for almost £500 but a Gretch Eddie Cochrane worth £600 failed to sell. Mr Dennis has continued to play but admits he is more likely to play to a group of friend's at a party than thousands of people in an arena. He said: 'I speak to Nick two or three times a year . and maybe Roger once a year - but I have to say they do move in . different circles to me now.' VIDEO: Rare 1967 video show Pink Floyd outside the Abbey Road Studios .
### SUMMARY:
| Chris Dennis, from Anglesey, North Wales, played in the first gig Pink Floyd played under that name .
He left when he was posted to Bahrain and the group went to sell 250 million records .
Mr Dennis says he has always been proud of his former band mates' success .
The grandfather set up his own recording studio and built up a collection of guitars which were auctioned off . |
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