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By . Simon Tomlinson . Dogs are usually regarded as man's best friend - but for big cat lover Rafael Villafane it's his pet jaguar instead. Rafael, 50, has been caring for Maya, his 175lb feline for the past four years. The music producer feeds Maya, who loves gorging on 2.5kg of organic turkey, fish, beef, deer and wild boar every day. To keep her fit and active he takes her for walks and even visits public restaurants with Maya by his side. Scroll down for video . 'We have a strong bond': Mexican music producer Rafael Villafane hangs out with his pet Jaguar whom he has looked after for the last four years at his home in Mexico City . Dining out: Rafael loves visiting his favourite restaurant and ties Maya on her lead around a tree - just feet away from other customers . The pair often visit the park near his home in Mexico City, Mexico, where he walks the huge predator and lets her swim in the river. After her exercise, Rafael loves visiting his favourite restaurant and ties Maya on her lead around a tree - just feet away from the tables and other customers. At home, Rafael plays with Maya - tumbling and wrestling with her on the ground to keep her in shape and stimulated. Rafael said: 'I know that she could grab my head in a second and kill me. 'She has all her claws and teeth, and she's incredibly powerful. 'I'm aware of the dangers of course, I realise she's a jaguar - but we have a strong bond and I really don't feel any danger around her. 'Once I saw her as a little cub, I fell in love with her.' Present: Rafael was given Maya as a gift from a friend and he originally intended to release her into the wild . 'I'm aware of the dangers': Rafael plays with Maya - tumbling and wrestling with her on the ground to keep her in shape and stimulated . Affection: For three months after he was first given Maya, Rafael spent eight unbroken hours with her every day, so she would get familiar with him . Rafael was given Maya as a gift from a friend and he originally intended to release her into the wild. Rafael said: 'My friend bought Maya from a jaguar breeder, naively thinking we could free her in a reserve in the Mayan Forest in the southern part of Mexico.' But he soon realised she was unlikely to survive in her natural habitat because animals born in captivity lack hunting and survival skills. Rafael said: 'A wild jaguar is scared of people and would run away from them. 'Maya will go up to people and check them out because she's been around people all her life. 'She would have sought human contact and would have ended up as a rug somewhere due to human poaching.' Maya lives in a custom enclosure built on the hillside of Rafael's home. Walkies: Rafael realised Maya was unlikely to survive in her natural habitat because animals born in captivity lack hunting and survival skills . Play time: The pair often visit the park near his home in Mexico City, Mexico, where he walks the huge predator and lets her swim in the river . Her living quarters cost Rafael about $50,000 and took nearly a year to build. It spans 4,000 square feet and includes a sleeping area, a giant litter box, and an observation deck with a very low fence s she can see out. 'Jaguars like to be high up, they like to dominate whatever is below them - so she likes to enjoy the view from up on her observation deck,' added Rafael. 'I'm always with her when she's up there though.' For three months after he was first given Maya, Rafael spent eight unbroken hours with her every day, so she would get familiar with him. 'In the beginning she would growl at me if I got too close,' he said. 'But the fact that I can sit with her on the ground is showing her that I trust her, so she trusts me back. 'She has bit me and scratched me - but it's all in play, it's never been an aggressive attack. 'I have a strong bond with her - she's like my best friend. I feel no danger or fear, and I'm sure she doesn't either because of the way she acts with me.' Rafael's is one of several stories which appear in new Animal Planet series Preposterous Pets which starts on Thursday, April 3 at 8pm. | Rafael Villafane, from Mexico City, describes Maya as his 'best friend'
Takes big cat, which weighs 175lb, out on lead and to restaurants with him .
Initially spent eight hours a day with the animal to tame her .
$50,000 bill for 4,000 square foot enclosure for the big cat .
Is 'aware of the dangers' but says they have a 'very strong bond' | [
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Los Angeles (CNN) -- Paris Jackson, the 14-year-old daughter of Michael Jackson, is being questioned Thursday about her father's last days as part of her family's wrongful death lawsuit against a concert promoter. In addition, Jackson lawyers told the judge in a court filing this week they were concerned that lawyers for AEG Live, the company accused of liability in Jackson's death, were "behaving aggressively and erratically" in their questioning of the Jackson children. AEG Live asked Los Angeles Superior Judge Yvette Palazuelos to order Blanket Jackson to appear for a deposition, but his doctor warned it would be "medically detrimental" to the 10-year-old boy, according to the court filing. When AEG Live lawyers deposed Prince Jackson, 16, earlier this month, they asked questions intended "to agitate the boy, creating serious concern among his guardians and attorneys," the document said. Prince "testified that he was intimately involved in his father's affairs," an AEG Live lawyer said in an e-mail defending the questioning. The wrongful death lawsuit is a high-stakes contest. Prince, Paris, Blanket and their grandmother, Katherine Jackson, are suing AEG Live for billions of dollars. The trial is set to begin in Los Angeles next month. Jackson lawyers complained that AEG Live lawyers engaged in "a concerted tactical effort made to harass and burden the Jackson family through these abusive discovery processes." While Blanket -- who was just 6 when his father died on June 25, 2009 -- will not be called as a witness in the trial, AEG Live has tried to force him to sit for a deposition, the filing said. Blanket's doctor provided a letter saying it would be "medically detrimental" to the boy. "Yet defendants still to this day say they may move to compel Blanket's deposition," the Jackson filing said. Jackson lawyers accused AEG Live lawyers of mistreating Prince when he was deposed on a recent Saturday. They "behaved in a manner designed to agitate the boy, creating serious concern among his guardians and attorneys," their filing said. "Defense counsel asked the boy completely irrelevant and repetitive personal questions about whether he sends text messages, whether he send text messages from his phone, and whether he 'tweets,'" they said. "Defense counsel also asked the boy about every place he had ever lived, every teacher he had ever had and about his current efforts to start a career in addition to being a full-time student -- none of which have anything to do with the case at hand." AEG Live lawyer Jessica Stebbins Bina, in an e-mail included in the court filing, defended her co-counsel Marvin Putnam's questioning of Prince. "My understanding is that the deposition proceeded with appropriate questioning, and that the questions were legitimate questions appropriate to a wrongful death suit," she said. The Jackson lawyers also complained about the questioning of family matriarch Katherine Jackson, who is 82. AEG Live lawyers deposed her for nine hours over three days and are asking for a fourth chance, they said. The questioning could have been easily done in two or three hours, they told the judge. The lawsuit contends that AEG Live is responsible for Jackson's death because it hired and supervised Dr. Conrad Murray, who was administering the surgical anesthetic propofol to Jackson each night for a month to induce sleep as he prepared for a series of concerts organized by AEG Live. AEG Live contends that Michael Jackson chose Murray as his personal physician. The promoter denies having hired or supervised Murray. A jury found Murray guilty of involuntary manslaughter after hearing testimony that he violated medical standards in his treatment of Jackson. | AEG Live also want to depose Blanket, 10, but doctor warns it would be "detrimental"
Jackson lawyers complain that AEG Live lawyers were too aggressive with Prince, 16 .
Questions asked of Prince were "legitimate" in a wrongful death suit, AEG lawyer says .
Jackson family is suing AEG Live for billions in Michael Jackson's 2009 death . | [
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(CNN) -- Lance Armstrong bestrode the sport of cycling like a colossus between 1999 and 2005. His feat of winning seven consecutive titles at the Tour de France -- arguably the world's toughest sporting event -- was like the demigod Hercules completing his "Twelve Labors." Armstrong's achievements seemed all the more extraordinary given his against-the-odds recovery after being diagnosed with testicular cancer in 1996. His best-selling autobiography "It's Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life" in 2000 helped give birth to the Armstrong legend, as it recounted his fight for life against a disease that had spread to his lungs, abdomen and brain before he underwent radical treatment and went on to win his first Tour in 1999. This was a sporting story that gave hope to millions across the world. The Texan's battle with cancer led him to set up the Livestrong foundation in 1997, which according to its website has raised close to $500 million in the battle against the disease -- thanks in no small part to the charity's iconic yellow wristbands. Read more: Armstrong loses Tour titles . His heroic story attracted an army of fans and lucrative sponsorship deals with big corporations such as Nike and the Anheuser-Busch brewery. But then came the fall from grace. A demise that is like a Greek tragedy, which is now only awaiting an act of contrition or recognition (anagnorisis) from the 41-year-old, who is expected to admit to his transgressions when a pre-taped interview with U.S. chat show queen Oprah Winfey airs on Friday. Armstrong is expected to face up to the extraordinary body of evidence the United States Anti-Doping Agency put together before releasing more than 1,000 pages of evidence in October 2012. A positive test for a banned substance during his first Tour de France win in 1999 was explained away by a prescription for a cream to treat saddle sores, but the doubts and rumors surrounding Armstrong refused to go away. The 2004 book "L.A. Confidential: The Secrets of Lance Armstrong" by journalists David Walsh and Pierre Ballester alleged the use of performance-enhancing substances. Read more: Armstrong appeals to supporters . A key witness for Walsh and Ballester, and then the USADA, was Emma O'Reilly -- formerly a masseuse/personal assistant to Armstrong and his cycling team, U.S. Postal Service. She told the agency she engaged in clandestine trips to pick up and drop off what she assumed were doping products, and said she was in the room when Armstrong and two other team officials came up with a plan to backdate a prescription for corticosteroids for a saddle sore to explain a positive steroid test result during the 1999 Tour de France. "Now, Emma, you know enough to bring me down," she says Armstrong told her after the meeting. "The quote has got a bit dramatized," she said. "History has shown that I didn't have enough to bring him down, and I never wanted to bring him down. Never, ever wanted to bring Lance down." Doping was commonplace in cycling in the '90s, O'Reilly said, as integral to the sport as the bikes that bore riders up and down the challenging French hillsides. She said she tried to distance herself from doping activities but felt some pressure to co-operate. Read more: Should you wear a Livestrong bracelet? She said she first came across doping by U.S. Postal in 1998, when she said a man gave her a package that he described as testosterone for team cyclist George Hincapie. The man, whose name is redacted from the affidavit, warned her not to travel to the United States with it, O'Reilly said. Hincapie acknowledged using banned substances in his affidavit to the USADA and in a statement released the same day. That same year, she says, Armstrong gave her a small plastic-wrapped package after a race in the Netherlands and asked her to dispose of it. O'Reilly said Armstrong told her it "contained some things he was uneasy traveling with and had not wanted to throw away at the team hotel." O'Reilly also recounted buying makeup for Armstrong to conceal what she said he described as bruise from a syringe injection during a race. While O'Reilly said she never saw Armstrong use banned substances -- though she felt sure that he did -- Tyler Hamilton had a different story, saying "the first time I ever blood-doped was with Lance" and that his teammate was well aware and involved with everything that happened. The publication of "L.A. Confidential" led to a raft of lawsuits. Armstrong sued British newspaper The Sunday Times, which published an article referencing the book, before eventually reaching an out-of-court settlement. The Sunday Times is now suing Armstrong for $1.5 million it claims he "got by fraud" using "Britain's draconian libel laws against us." The paper also took out an advert in the Chicago Tribune listing 10 questions that Oprah should ask Armstrong. It was signed by its chief sports writer Walsh, who was named UK journalist of the year for his 13-year investigation into Armstrong's activities. Cycling's governing body the UCI could seek to reclaim the millions he secured in prize money during his halcyon years, while reports have suggested Armstrong -- who was dropped by major sponsors such as Nike and Oakley -- may agree to pay back some of the sponsorship funding that his U.S. Postal team received. Read more: U.S. Postal team doping 'predates Armstrong' Over time, a host of riders who had raced alongside Armstrong with the team between 1998 and 2004 began to cast doubt on his unparalleled achievements. In 2010 Floyd Landis, a disgraced former rider who was stripped of the 2006 Tour de France title for doping offenses, claimed he and Armstrong had both taken prohibited substances while teammates at U.S. Postal Service. Landis launched legal action against Armstrong in the form of a whistleblower suit, claiming he had defrauded the U.S. government by accepting money from the Postal Service. Armstrong remained staunch in his denial of doping allegations, but former colleagues such as Hamilton continued to make claims of wrongdoing. The American, who has since been stripped of the gold medal he won at the 2004 Olympic Games, admitted to doping while also pointing the finger at Armstrong. The drip of allegations refused to go away, until it become a flood with the report released by the USADA. It accused him of being part of "the most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that sport has ever seen." The report included evidence from 26 people -- 11 of whom were Armstrong's former teammates. Read more: USADA - 'Evidence overwhelming' Armstrong maintains that he has been subjected to 500 drug tests and failed none, but the fallout from USADA's 202-page report has been catastrophic for the Texan. In addition to losing the Tour titles he won between 1999 and 2005, he also faces being stripped of bronze medal he won at the 2000 Olympic Games. Livestrong has not emerged from the scandal unscathed, with Armstrong forced to step down from his role as chairman. At first he put on a brave face, telling his supporters at a Livestrong charity event in Texas: "I've been better, but I've been a lot worse." But, on the day he taped his interview with Winfrey, Armstrong visited the charity's staff and reportedly made a "sincere and heartfelt apology for the stress they've endured because of him." Armstrong's words might be true, but there can be no doubt that the sport he seemingly did so much for has never been in a hole quite as deep as the one his fall from grace has created. | Lance Armstrong stripped of his seven Tour de France titles by cycling's ruling body .
American accused of systematic drug use by United States Anti-Doping Agency .
Eleven of the Texan's former teammates testified against him in USADA report .
Armstrong has stepped down as chairman of the Livestrong Foundation . | [
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Rap artist Jay-Z's management agency, Roc Nation Sports, has added Georgia running back Todd Gurley to its client list. Gurley intends to become eligible for the 2015 NFL Draft early and has been lauded as a potential star in the making from college football. The deadline for underclassmen to do so is January 15. He joins Dallas Cowboys' Dez Bryant, NBA star Kevin Durant and Detroit Lions' Ndamukong Suh on the books at management company Roc Nation. Rihanna and Jay-Z pictured ringside in Madison Square Garden, New York, on January 9 . Jay-Z (centre) in attendance at his 'Roc Nation Sports Presents' night at Madison Square Garden . Jay Z shares a laugh with actor Jake Gyllenhaal (right) before his debut show as a boxing promoter . It comes after controversial boxer Adrien Broner issued a grovelling apology to Jay-Z and singer Rihanna after he launched a scathing attack on the pair last week. Jay-Z, real name Shawn Corey Carter, offered Broner a contract worth $8million (£5.2million) a year for five years but the fighter turned it down after being 'offended' by Roc Nation's deal. In a stunning statement on Facebook, Broner claimed that Jay-Z could 'suck his d***', before continuing his attack during an interview with TMZ Sports. When asked if he had considered accepting the offer to enable him to get 'one degree closer' to singer Rihanna - who is also signed to Jay-Z's label - Broner claimed: 'F*** Rihanna, she's only good for p***y.' But the boxer, who has a record of 29 wins to one loss, has since backtracked on his claims, apologising to both parties in a second interview with TMZ. 'I've gotta address something because I'm getting a lot of feedback from this interview I did with TMZ,' Broner said. 'I was going to let it ride out and say, "Forget the haters", but my big homie called me, somebody that I respect, and he made me understand why I was wrong.' Adrien Broner has apologised after his astonishing rant at Jay-Z and Rihanna after a contract offer . Broner was offered £5.2m a year for five years from Jay-Z's company Roc Nation Sports, but refused it . | Jay-Z's agency has snapped up Georgia running back Todd Gurley .
It comes after Adrien Broner apologised to Jay-Z and Rihanna .
Boxer Broner launched a foul-mouthed attack on the A-list pair .
Broner was 'offended' by Roc Nation's offer of £5.2million a year . | [
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The trial of James Holmes, accused in the mass shooting at an Aurora, Colorado, movie theater, has been delayed again. The trial was scheduled to begin in October, but a psychiatrist conducting a second sanity examination on Holmes asked for more time to complete the examination, according to a judge's order from Arapahoe County District Court made public Wednesday. Judge Carlos Samour said he had "little choice but to grant the examiner's request" despite the fact many victims would be opposed to the delay. The examination was originally set to be completed by August 15, but the deadline was extended until October 15, according to the order. A new trial date is set to be scheduled at a July 22 hearing. Holmes is accused of opening fire inside a packed movie theater during a midnight showing of Batman film "The Dark Knight Rises" in July 2012, killing 12 people. He has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to the 166 charges he faces in connection with the rampage. The attacker threw tear gas canisters into the theater then started shooting, according to witnesses. Police said he used several weapons, including an AR-15 rifle, before fleeing the theater. Holmes was taken into custody outside the theater, where authorities said he identified himself to police as "The Joker," one of Batman's archenemies. This is the third time the trial has been delayed. It was originally set to begin in August 2013 but was pushed back to February. That date was then delayed until October, which has now been postponed. Holmes' attorneys argued in a motion filed last year that their client "suffers from severe mental illness and was in the throes of a psychotic episode when he committed acts that resulted in the tragic loss of life." Prosecutors have said they plan to seek the death penalty. Remembering the victims . Background of Colorado shooting suspect full of contrasts . 2013: Defense team says Holmes committed Colorado theater shooting . | Judge says he had 'little choice' but to give more time for exam .
Trial of accused Aurora theater shooter James Holmes is delayed .
Judge grants request for more time to complete second sanity examination .
Holmes is accused of killing 12 people in mass shooting . | [
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By . Ellie Zolfagharifard . PUBLISHED: . 12:39 EST, 28 October 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 12:39 EST, 28 October 2013 . Two fossilised footprints made around 105 million years ago are believed to be the oldest known bird tracks in Australia. Scientists believe the prints found in a place called Dinosaur Cove were likely made by birds during the Early Cretaceous period. The journal Palaeontology reports that much of the rocky coastal strata of Dinosaur Cove in southern Victoria were formed in river valleys in a polar climate during the Early Cretaceous. The Cretaceous bird tracks were found on a slab of sandstone. Scientists believe the prints found in a place called Dinosaur Cove were likely made by birds during the Early Cretaceous period . A great rift valley formed as the ancient supercontinent Gondwana broke up and Australia separated from Antarctica. ‘These tracks are evidence that we had sizeable, flying birds living alongside other kinds of dinosaurs on these polar, river floodplains, about 105 million years ago,’ said Dr Anthony Martin, a paleontologist at Emory University in Atlanta. Dr Martin added that the thin-toed tracks in fluvial sandstone were likely made by two individual birds that were about the size of a great egret or a small hero. Great egrets measure between 80 to 104 cm (31 to 41 in) in length. Two fossilised footprints made around 105 million years ago are believed to be the oldest known bird tracks in Australia. This illustration shows how the flight landing track was probably made as a bird set down on the moist sand of a river bank . Rear-pointing toes helped distinguish the tracks as avian, as opposed to a third nearby fossil track that was discovered at the same time, made by a non-avian theropod. A long drag mark on one of the two bird tracks particularly interested Dr Martin who said: ‘I immediately knew what it was - a flight landing track - because I’ve seen many similar tracks made by egrets and herons on the sandy beaches of Georgia.’ Dinosaur Cove has yielded a rich trove of non-avian dinosaur bones from dozens of species, but only one skeletal piece of a bird – a fossilised wishbone – has been found in the Cretaceous rocks of Victoria. Dr Martin spotted the first known dinosaur trackway of Victoria in 2010 and a few other tracks have been discovered since then. A drag mark made by rear toe on one of the Cretaceous bird tracks indicates that it was a flight landing track . The tracks were made on the moist sand of a river bank, perhaps following a polar winter, after spring and summer flood waters had subsided. ‘The biggest question for me,’ said Dr Martin, ‘is whether the birds that made these tracks lived at the site during the polar winter, or migrated there during the spring and summer.’ One of the best records of the dinosaur-bird connection has come from discoveries in Liaoning province of Northeastern China, including fossils of non-avian dinosaurs with feathers. Samples of amber have also been found in Liaoning, containing preserved feathers from both birds and non-avian dinosaurs going back to the Cretaceous. ‘In contrast, the picture of early bird evolution in the Southern Hemisphere is mostly incomplete,’ said Dr Martin. ‘but with these tracks, it just got a little better.’ The journal Palaeontology reports that much of the rocky coastal strata of Dinosaur Cove in southern Victoria were formed in river valleys in a polar climate during the Early Cretaceous . | Rear-pointing toes distinguished the tracks found on sandstone as avian .
Were likely made by two individual birds about the size of a great egret, which measures roughly a metre tall .
Finding could help fill gaps about bird evolution in the Southern Hemisphere . | [
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(CNN) -- Qatari football fans had a tantalizing glimpse into the future as some of the best players in world strutted their stuff in a special friendly match in Doha Thursday night. Cristiano Ronaldo for Real Madrid and Paris Saint Germain's Zlatan Ibrahimovic topped the bill for a prestige friendly, which Real won 1-0. The pair had last locked horns in Portugal and Sweden's 2014 World Cup playoff match last November where Ronaldo's brilliance proved the difference over the two legs. Qatar has won the right to host the 2022 finals and although Ronaldo and Ibrahimovic are unlikely to have extended their careers to play in that World Cup, similar quality is sure to be on view. What time of the year the competition will take place is the big question that has proved so controversial, with FIFA examining the possibility of switching from the traditional summer slot to the European winter. Conditions for Thursday's friendly in front of a capacity crowd at the Khalifa International Stadium were near perfect for football, with a cooling light drizzle. Ideal for Ronaldo and his like, but just down the road fellow superstar Rafael Nadal was kept waiting for his quarterfinal match in the Qatar Open tennis against Ernests Gulbis, before winning in straight sets. Temperatures during the summer in Qatar can sometimes reach 50 degrees C, which is perplexing football's administrators as well as local organizers, who have promised air-conditioned stadiums should the original dates be kept in the footballing calendar. Real, who resume competition in Spain's La Liga at the weekend, fielded a mixture of established first teamers like Ronaldo, Xabi Alonso and Sergio Ramos with some fringe players and youngsters. It was two of them that combined to score the only goal of the match in the 19th minute as Alvaro Morata produced a clever defense-splitting pass for young striker Jese to convert past PSG goakeeper Salvatore Sirigu. Ibrahimovic, who scored 47 goals in 58 games in 2013, showed his quality as French champions PSG looked to equalize. He twice set up Edinson Cavani, but the Uruguay striker wasted both opportunities. Ibrahimovic might have got on the scoresheet after the break but he headed over, the first of a number of chances for PSG, who had the better of the play. Ronaldo also gave some thrilling glimpses of the quality which could earn him FIFA World Player of the Year accolade later this month, but failed to increase Real's slender lead. At the final whistle Real's coach Carlo Ancelotti shook hands with the man who replaced him at PSG, Laurent Blanc and both looked satisfied with a run-out for their teams ahead of weekend competitive action. PSG are Qatari-owned and will likely repeat the exercise next year with reports suggesting Real are slated again as part of the compensation they paid the Parisian club for acquiring Ancelotti. | Real Madrid beat Paris Saint Germain 1-0 in friendly in Qatar .
Goal from Jese in the first half settled the match .
Star players Cristiano Ronaldo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic in line-ups .
Qatar will be hosting 2022 World Cup . | [
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Berlin (CNN) -- The peak of a cloud of volcanic ash that forced the cancellation of hundreds of flights has passed, Iceland's prime minister said Wednesday. "The worst is over," Prime Minister Johanna Siguroardottir said. "And now the clean-up can begin. Our geoscientists say that the eruption is waning day by day and that the problems arising in our neighboring countries as a result of volcanic ash should be resolved quickly." According to the Icelandic Meteorological Office, the eruption of the Grimsvotn volcano "paused" at 2:40 a.m. Wednesday (10:40 p.m. Tuesday ET), meaning it was not erupting at the moment. The agency warned, however, that it could begin again, and that only after three months with no eruptions will the volcano be considered dormant. Meanwhile, some German airports were reopened Wednesday after cancellations due to the cloud of volcanic ash. Bremen has reopened and Hamburg is allowing takeoffs and landings, according to Deutsche Flugsicherung, the German aviation safety agency. Airports in Berlin will resume flights at 2 p.m. local time ( 8 a.m. ET). The closures affected at least 600 flights in Germany, authorities said. Poland could be affected later in the day, the European air traffic control agency Eurocontrol said. PrzemysBaw Przybylski, the spokesman for the Chopin airport in Warsaw, said as of Wednesday afternoon flights into Warsaw were still being accepted. But the ash cloud is dissipating and much of the rest of European air travel is expected to be running normally Wednesday, the agency said. A portion of the ash from Saturday's eruption in Iceland had spread over Britain by Tuesday afternoon, with the cloud reaching London's Heathrow airport around lunchtime, a computer model indicated. Eurocontrol reported about 500 flights in British airspace were canceled Tuesday. Heathrow alone normally operates about 1,300 flights a day, and Europe as a whole has about 29,000 daily, according to Eurocontrol. The Grimsvotn eruption came about 13 months after Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull volcano belched smoke and ash into the skies over the continent, forcing the cancellation of thousands of flights per day at the peak of the problem. The ash can be a serious hazard to aircraft, reducing visibility, damaging flight controls and ultimately causing jet engines to fail. Grimsvotn's eruption was more than 10 times larger and put more ash into the air in 36 hours than last year's burst did in a month, University of Iceland geophysicist Magnus Tumi Gudmundsson told CNN Tuesday -- but the main eruption is now over, he said. Disruptions from the larger eruption are likely to be smaller than they were in 2010, said Gillian Foulger, a geophysicist at Britain's Durham University. Most of the ash is blowing northwest, toward sparsely populated Greenland, and the European aviation industry collected valuable safety data during last year's event. "It's much better able to set the safety thresholds accurately, so I think things are probably going to turn out very well for us," Foulger said. Airlines have been making the case that it is safe to fly through ash clouds of medium density, Britain's Civil Aviation Authority said Tuesday. Carriers including British Airways, Virgin and EasyJet are now free to fly through clouds of up to 4,000 micrograms per cubic meter if they feel it is safe to do so, Richard Taylor of the CAA told CNN. Grimsvotn lies beneath Iceland's Vatnajokull glacier, a sheet of ice more than three times the size of the U.S. state of Rhode Island -- larger than any on mainland Europe. Grimsvotn is the country's most active volcano and last erupted in 2004, according to the Icelandic Meteorological Office. "If history is any guide, we expect the next eruption to be in five to six years," said the agency's Jakobsdottir on Wednesday. In 1783, a 16.7-mile fissure system from the volcano produced the world's largest known historical lava flow over a seven-month period, damaging crops and livestock, according to the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. A resulting famine led to the death of one-fifth of Iceland's population, according to the museum. CNN's Frederik Pleitgen, Ayesha Durgahee and Adam Reiss contributed to this report. | NEW: Grimsvotn's eruption has "paused," the Icelandic Meteorological Office says .
Poland could be affected later Wednesday .
A cloud of volcanic ash from Iceland is affecting European air travel .
It is dissipating and most flights should go as planned, Eurocontrol says . | [
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LONDON, England (CNN) -- The wife of an Iranian pro-reformist activist detained as he tried to leave the country last week says she is "deeply concerned" for his safety. Fatemah Shams and Mohammadreza Jalaeipour are students together at the University of Oxford. Fatemeh Shams told CNN she hadn't heard from her husband Mohammadreza Jalaeipour since she watched him being escorted away after he was prevented from boarding a flight to Dubai on June 17. Both are students at the University of Oxford and had been returning to the UK from Iran after attending a family wedding, just as demonstrations escalated following presidential elections earlier this month which have plunged Iran into political chaos. Shams said she and her 27-year-old husband -- both activists for the pro-reformist Third Wave campaign -- planned to leave Iran on June 17. At first, everything appeared fine with Jalaeipour having his passport stamped as he passed through immigration. But he was then approached by a plain clothes official who told him to turn off his cellphone before ordering Jalaeipour to follow him. "We didn't get a chance to talk to each other -- I was watching what was happening and that was the last time I saw him," said Shams, 26, who flew to the UK via Doha in Qatar. Watch Shams speak about her husband's detention » . Shams said she hadn't heard directly from her husband since his arrest but believed he was being held in prison. "It's a very difficult mental situation for me to understand what is going on and I am deeply concerned about his health and safety," she told CNN. Both Jalaeipour and Shams were members of the organizing committee of the Third Wave campaign, a reformist youth movement formed last year to back former president Mohammad Khatami's candidacy in this year's election. Following Khatami's withdrawal from contention, the Third Wave threw its support behind Mir Hossein Moussavi, who has disputed President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's re-election, claiming that voting was rigged. In a recent interview with the Wall Street Journal Jalaeipour said he had advised Moussavi on using social-networking Web sites, such as Facebook, to reach young voters. "Third Wave was a totally legal campaign with reformist tendencies that was trying to get young people involved in the elections," said Shams. "We believed we should take part to make our country better and to have a better future. We were encouraging young people to not be indifferent about their country." Shams said she thinks he may have been detained because of his political activities. "Most of the activists who have been supporting the reformist candidate, all of them are in prison now. Why should the young people who want to do something for the sake of their country and their people, why are they in prison now?" Shams said she planned to return to Iran herself if there was no change in her husband's situation in the next week or so. But she but admitted her own safety could not be guaranteed if she went back. Following more than a week of daily demonstrations in Tehran, Iranian security forces have been cracking down on protests and arresting activists including Ebrahim Yazdi, a former deputy prime minister who headed a group supporting increased freedom and democracy. Yazdi, who is 76 and has suffered prostate cancer, was later released. Moussavi and former president Khatami have sent a letter to Iran's courts urging them to release arrested activists and protesters. | Iranian activist detained at airport as he tried to leave country .
Wife says she is deeply concerned for Mohammadreza Jalaeipour's safety .
Fatemeh Shams says she hasn't heard from Jalaeipour since his arrest .
Couple are both activists for pro-Moussavi Third Wave campaign . | [
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Fraudster: Jonathan Thompson, 35, has been jailed for four months after completing just one hour of a 100 hour community service order . A convicted fraudster who only completed one hour of a community service order because it made him feel too depressed - has been jailed. Jonathan Thompson, 35, was given 100 hours of unpaid work after admitting conspiracy to defraud in June last year. He was part of a group who pretended to order goods online and then claimed refunds from Royal Mail when the phantom parcels were not delivered. He received the 12-month community sentence after admitting taking part in the scam and allowing his address to be used. But Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court heard yesterday that Thompson had only completed one hour of unpaid work after suffering with depression. Judge Paul Glenn told him he had treated the order with ‘complete contempt’ and re-sentenced him to four months in prison. He said: 'He is making no attempt whatsoever to deal with this court order. 'He had the shot across the bows in January. He knew what was expected of him. I accept you have some form of depression. So do an awful lot of people. 'The reality is you do not fancy doing some work for nothing. The original offence was serious. You have treated this order with complete contempt. You have willfully and persistently refused to comply with it.' The court heard the probation service had . applied for the order to be revoked in January this year, saying it was . unworkable due to Thompson’s health. Sentenced: Thompson was jailed after the judge said he had shown 'complete contempt' for the community service order. Criminals are seen here carrying out community service (stock picture) But Recorder Bal Dhaliwal refused to revoke the order and told Thompson, from Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, to re-engage or risk going to prison. He breached the order again by failing to report for community service on March 2 and March 16. Defending Thompson, Catherine O’Reilly said he had no previous convictions before he became involved in the Royal Mail conspiracy. But the court heard he had since assaulted his wife in December last year - for which he received a community order with 18 months supervision. Miss O’Reilly said: 'He is clearly suffering from depression of some form or another. | Jonathan Thompson, 35, given 100 hours community service last year .
Received the sentence after he admitted taking part in Royal Mail scam .
Judge said he treated order with 'contempt’ and jailed him for four months . | [
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(CNN) -- Florida prosecutors on Thursday revealed a list of reasons they're seeking the death penalty against Casey Anthony, who is charged with killing her daughter, Caylee. Under Florida, law, prosecutors need to raise only one of 15 possible aggravating factors to support their decision to seek the death penalty. Assistant State Attorney Jeffrey Ashton cited five circumstances, according to a document obtained by CNN affiliate WESH and other Orlando, Florida, media outlets. In death penalty cases, jurors are asked to weigh aggravating circumstances that make a crime especially heinous against mitigating factors that favor mercy, such as a lack of prior offenses. Among the legal reasons cited: Caylee's death occurred during aggravated child abuse, was especially "heinous, atrocious, or cruel," and was committed in a "cold, calculated and premeditated manner without any pretense of moral or legal justification," according to the document. Caylee was also under 12 years old, and Anthony "stood in a position of familial or custodial authority over her," the document states. Karen Levey, the court public information officer, could not confirm that Judge Belvin Perry Jr. received a copy of the notice. As of Thursday evening, defense attorney Jose Baez said he had not been served with the notice. In a hearing this week, Perry ordered the State Attorney's Office to disclose the aggravating factors they intend to cite in a penalty phase if Anthony is convicted of premeditated murder. Anthony, 24, is accused of killing 2-year-old Caylee, who disappeared in June 2008. Her body was found that December in a vacant lot near her grandparents' home in Orlando. Defense lawyers have said that prosecutors are seeking the death penalty to bankrupt the defense and prevent Anthony from having the attorney of her choice. The defense said that prosecutors had originally said they would not seek death in the case but reversed that position in March 2009 when they learned that Anthony had $205,000 for her defense. The bulk of the money came from ABC News for the licensing of photos and videos, Baez testified during a previous hearing. Anthony's trial is scheduled to begin May 9, 2011. | Prosecutors cite five legal circumstances to support decision to seek death penalty .
Document: Death occurred during aggravated child abuse, was "heinous, atrocious"
Document: Caylee was under 12, Anthony held position of custodial authority over her .
If Anthony is convicted of killing Caylee, jurors have to weigh aggravators against mitigators . | [
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Iran is facing a female drug-abuse crisis as the number of young, well-off and well-educated women using substances continues to rise. At least six million of Iran's 77.7 million population have drug related problems, according to official reports. And addiction, especially to Shisheh - a high-purity form of crystalline methamphetamine - is increasingly spreading across all social classes. Drug problem: Iran is facing a female drug-abuse crisis as the number of young, well-off and well-educated women using substances continues to rise. Above, women pictured in a drug rehabilation clinic in Tehran . The substance has become the second most popular drug after opium among young people seeking an escape from social and economic hardship, the Financial Times reports. Opium smoking in Iran dates back to at least the 17th century, and the the country has one of the highest rates of opiate addiction in the world. This has been blamed on the country being a popular trafficking route for dealers transporting drugs from Afghanistan to Europe. Iran's problem was first exposed in 2011, according to Zahra Bonianian, an adviser to the state-run Drug Control Headquarters for women and family affairs. History: Opium smoking in Iran dates back to at least the 17th century, and the the country has one of the highest rates of opiate addiction in the world (capital city Tehran, above) Speaking to the Financial Times, she said: 'It was when we realised that the number of married female addicts was going up, the age of addiction going down while the educational level [of addicts] was high.' She believes the government needs to place higher focus on protecting women from becoming addicts. The rise in drug abuse has been attributed to the social development that Iran has experienced as a result of the internet, social media and globalisation. A new generation of young adults reject a strict Islamic way of life which many of their parents conformed to - instead emulating modern behavioural norms of the West. In recent years, marriage and birth rates in Iran have fallen while the number of divorces is on the rise. At the same time, the Islamic government has improved female access to higher education, and women now account for more than 60 per cent of graduates. But many find themselves caught between a growing sense of freedom and increasing educational opportunities - and the conservative values of older generations. Amir-Hossein Yazdani, a professor of psychology, said: 'Girls and boys under 25 years old largely enjoy equal freedom in terms of social and educational activities, but girls have a more gloomy perspective, [seeing] more responsibilities ahead.' He said highly educated girls 'do not enjoy equal job opportunities, or they feel under pressure to behave like a traditional woman - this is fanning fresh tendencies to addiction'. A woman called Mahsa is typical of this trend. After graduating from a respected high school she was forced to marry at 18. She has since become divorced and took solace in taking drugs. Despite studying psychology at university she ended up in a Tehran addiction treatment centre last year with a drug habit costing her £24 a day. The Iranian government is said to be extremely concerned by the growing levels of drug addiction. The latest official figures suggest the number of female addicts has nearly doubled since in the last eight years. Women now make up 9.3 per cent of Iranians affected. More than 50 per cent of addicted women used drugs for the first time between the ages of 15 and 19. Some experts argue this is because women have been seen as a lower priority than men because they make up fewer than ten per cent of Iran’s addicts. A woman addicted to crystal meth called Saba waits for phone call from her family at a Tehran drug rehab centre. Saba's husband and two children are also drug addicts . A group of women attend an addiction recovery program at the rehabilitation centre in Tehran . | At least six million of Iran's 77.7 million people have drug-related problems .
Addiction to form of crystal meth has spread across all social classes .
Many educated women find themselves stuck between shifting cultures .
Younger generation also increasingly resisting strict Islamic way of life . | [
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LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- There is a "maker's movement" gaining prominence on a global scale. Mister Jalopy works out of converted hot-rod repair shop. This is where he builds "the stuff of my dreams." One of its pied pipers is a man known by his pen name, Mister Jalopy. His agenda is simple. "You need to be able to modify, hack, repair, rebuild and reuse the stuff that you buy." Mister Jalopy's name comes from a blog he started years ago. From his Web site: . "When I started the Hooptyrides blog, I pictured a modest used car lot of broken-down, flat-tired junkers that represented great promise and little else. Lit with strings of bare light bulbs, I dreamed of a little desert lot of plucky automobiles and a faded neon sign that erratically blinked 'Mister Jalopy's Hooptyrides.' " Mister Jalopy owns a laundromat and a used-bicycle store, and he operates out of a converted hot-rod repair shop along an industrial strip of land in the shadow of Interstate 5. He calls his workshop "Hooptyrides World Headquarters." "It's my personal shop where I do my writing, think up my crackpot business schemes, repair bicycles and do my auto maintenance ... where I build the stuff of my dreams." It's brimming with high-quality tools, odds and ends from 20 years of harvesting garage sales, and machines like a lathe and welder that would delight a working tradesman. He created the "world's largest iPod." It's housed in a 1950s record console that can now digitize his music off the turntable, and the original buttons control the iPod. He also made an "urban guerrilla movie theater" -- a handmade movie projector sitting on an adult tricycle. Watch Mister Jalopy at work » . His used-bike shop, Coco's Variety, is named after one of his two dogs. "The credo of my store is 'Faded champions reborn for another chance at glory.' " He adds: "These old bikes, already manufactured, [are] tenderly brought back to life for someone to love anew. The best bike for the environment is one that already exists. Not one made fresh." Mister Jalopy goes to garage sales every week. "Some of my favorite stuff ... are the things that were made or worn by human hands. There's an incredible feeling of soul." His most treasured find? "It was a lowly glass Skippy jar filled with all of the earthly treasures of a kid from the '50s." There was a chunky eraser, toy soldiers, and caps for a cap gun. Mister Jalopy has a practical approach to saving the environment and surviving in a downturn economy. "The hands-off era is over. We were seduced by low prices. Our landfills are filled with cheap plastic fans, broken vacuum cleaners. We're feeling the crunch economically. Maybe this stuff should be repairable." He wrote an article for Make magazine called the "Maker's Bill of Rights." It outlines the need for manufacturers to make products that are repairable, modifiable, have replaceable parts and come with a manual. Of products that are glued shut, he has this to say: "The idea of the Maker's Bill of Rights was to say, if you can't open it, you don't own it." Dale Dougherty is the creator of Make magazine, which is at the core of the movement. "We live in a complex world. I wanted to make a magazine to showcase innovation and ideas around the world ... even in Third World countries." Make magazine sponsors the annual Maker Faire in Northern California. More than 500 exhibitors will showcase their ideas and innovations on the last weekend in May. Families are a big part of their business. "There are no famous rock bands or stunts to bring people in," Dougherty says. Last year 65,000 people attended. Mister Jalopy will be there hosting the main stage. "There's this amazing community of people that are makers: carpenters, fabricators, mechanics, electronics repair people, designers of products, garden designers ... that's the great thing about the maker movement. It is passionate individuals willing to make mistakes and build the stuff of our dreams." "I'm a professional amateur. I haven't been trained to do anything. I'm not an expert carpenter, metalworker or mechanic. I'm fearless, though. I'll jump into anything. My hope is everyone becomes a professional amateur, that we have the passion and courage to fail." Mister Jalopy tinkers with a dusty jukebox given to him by a friend. He presses selection "D5." The electronics strain to move the parts that pull a 45 onto the needle. Elton John's "Bennie and the Jets" warbles along. The speakers grind out the tune. As the song ends, the needle arm unexpectedly skips to another disc. "Uh ... oh, these old machines are fascinating. There's a visceral quality. It seems like I'm chasing a ghost through the machine." | Mister Jalopy: "You need to be able to modify ... repair, rebuild and reuse"
"Makers" want manufacturers to produce items that can be repaired .
One of their slogans: "If you can't open it, you don't own it"
Maker Faire in northern California expected to draw thousands of innovators . | [
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Watchdogs have launched an inquiry into the rip-off cost of watching live Premier League football on television, which can be more than £600 a year. The move could cut monthly subscriptions and lead to a dramatic increase in the number of games that are shown live on TV. However, this would involve reducing the number of matches that kick-off at 3pm on a Saturday afternoon in order to fit the live games into the TV schedules. Watchdogs have launched an inquiry into the rip-off cost of watching live Premier League football on television. Pictured: March is shown between Liverpool and Chelsea . Any shake-up would mean that more games are played on Friday and Monday evenings, while there would be staggered kick-off times during Saturday and Sunday. The TV regulator Ofcom is to consult with fans, including the Football Supporters’ Federation, to see what they would think about sacrificing 3pm kick-offs to allow more live games on TV. The inquiry follows a complaint from pay TV and broadband company Virgin Media, which claims the way the Premier League sells the rights to top flight matches means armchair fans in the UK are hit with unfair fees. The net result is that clubs like Manchester United, Chelsea and Manchester City are sharing in billions of pounds from fans whose passion and loyalty is being abused. Currently only 41per cent of Premier League games – 154 out of 380 – are broadcast live in a season. It is claimed this system of rationing leads to higher prices for armchair fans. By contrast all games played in the top leagues on Spain, Germany, France and Italy are broadcast live. The move could cut monthly subscriptions and lead to a dramatic increase in the number of games that are shown live on TV. Pictured: Everton V Newcastle is aired on Sky TV . Virgin calculates that the minimum monthly cost of watching live Premier League games on the sports channels of Sky and BT comes in at £51. That works out at £612 a year, which is more than four times higher than the BBC licence fee of £145.50, which covers all of its many TV and radio channels, including Match of the Day. The £51 figure is much higher than the £21 month charge football fans in Germany must pay to see top flight teams such as the Bayern Munich and Dortmund in the Bundesliga. It is also more than double the £25 charged in Italy to watch Serie A, and compares to £18 in Spain to follow Barcelona and Real Madrid and just £10 a month in France. Research commissioned by Virgin found more than 15per cent of viewers say they could not watch the games they wanted through their TV provider, while 25per cent found that games were not included in their pay TV subscription. Jamie Carragher (centre) and Gary Neville (right) work on Sky Sports' popular Monday Night Football show, during which more matches could be aired if changes are made . Virgin argues that the way the Premier League packages and sells the TV rights to football in this country works to artificially inflate the price. As a result, the cost of Premier League domestic live TV rights increased by 70per cent to a staggering £3 billion over three years in the last auction. It is predicted to rise by a further 60per cent when they are sold next time. It also means there is absolutely no chance of live Premier League games ever returning to free-to-air terrestrial TV channels like the BBC and ITV ever again. While the sports channel subscriptions are extortionate enough in themselves, BT and Sky have also been accused of putting up many other charges for all its customers in order to cover the millions of pounds they have paid to the Premier League. Virgin Media claims the current regime causes ‘significant consumer harm’ resulting from escalating rights costs. The inquiry comes after Virgin Media, of which Sir Richard Branson is a shareholder, complained about the way TV rights are sold . Chief executive, Tom Mockridge, welcomed the Ofcom inquiry, saying: ‘The Premier League is a global success story and one of the UK’s greatest exports and everyone wants that to remain the case. ‘The fact remains that fans in the UK pay the highest prices in Europe to watch the least amount of football on TV. Now is the right time to look again at the way live rights are sold to make football even more accessible. ‘We look forward to working constructively with the Premier League, the wider industry and Ofcom to ensure a better deal for football fans.’ Ofcom said: ‘Virgin Media argues that the proportion of matches made available for live television broadcast under the current Premier League rights deals – at 41per cent – is lower than some other leading European leagues, where more matches are available for live television broadcast. ‘The complaint alleges that this contributes to higher prices for consumers of pay TV packages that include premium sport channels and for the pay TV retailers of premium sports channels.’ It said: ‘Ofcom may conduct an investigation where there are reasonable grounds for suspecting that there is an agreement which has as its object or effect the prevention, restriction or distortion of competition within the UK and/or the EU. ‘Ofcom will consider whether there is a breach of the UK and/or EU competition law prohibition on agreements and decisions which restrict or distort competition.’ The regulator said it will discuss any change n the rules that leads to a change to Saturday afternoon football. It said: ‘Ofcom understands that the scheduling of football games is important to many football fans, in particular attending 3pm kick-offs on Saturdays. The investigation will take this into account and Ofcom plans to approach the Football Supporters’ Federation and certain other supporters’ groups to understand their views.’ The Premier League said: ‘The Premier League currently sells its audio-visual rights in a way that is compatible with UK and EU competition law and will continue to do so. ‘We will be able to demonstrate that as part of this process.’ | Move could cut monthly subscriptions and lead to rise in games shown live .
But it would reduce number of matches that kick-off at 3pm on a Saturday .
It would mean more games are played on Friday and Monday evenings .
Ofcom is due to consult with fans following complaint from Virgin Media . | [
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The World Cup is fast approaching and the tournament promises to be an epic, glorious spectacle. Overall, the game is growing and is in good health, but here are five New Year wishes for rugby — based on fundamental domestic and global issues... On the home front, the Aviva Premiership has just enjoyed a glittering festive weekend which showcased its tribal appeal. There were full houses all around — including a crowd of 82,000 at Twickenham for Harlequins v Northampton, which was the biggest sporting attendance in the country. Television ratings are up, many matches are producing thrilling and explosive action founded on a large core of English talent, and the scourge of crushingly predictable results which afflicts many leagues has been largely avoided. VIDEO Scroll down to watch Stuart Lancaster lights up Rugby World Cup sign . The appeal of Rugby Union is strong, most evident with Premier League matches selling out at Twickenham . In the recent round of Christmas-cracker fixtures, five of the six games were settled by a combined margin of 23 points, but the exception to this photo-finish rule highlighted the major black mark against the Premiership’s good name. London Welsh lost 24-9 at London Irish, which was in fact a heroic triumph when taken in the context of their miserable season. The Oxford-based Exiles are doomed to a prompt return to the Championship, having already conceded 514 points in just 11 matches in the top division. That they are sadly out of their depth is abundantly clear and it paints the competition in a bad light, as the gulf needn’t be so stark. Harlequins and Northampton played out a thrilling contest infront of 82,000 fans at Twickenham last Saturday . Welsh receive just £1.5million in central funding, compared to the £4m which is handed out to their league rivals. This imbalance, which creates a horribly uneven playing field, is based on a convoluted shares system and has led to accusations from one MP that Premiership Rugby is operating a ‘cartel’, at the expense of promoted clubs. Either Bristol or Worcester will come up from the Championship at the end of this season and they are both handsomely funded, so the imbalance won’t have such a profound impact, but it should be addressed and changed nonetheless. The shares scheme is a throw-back to a newly-professional club game finding its feet, but PRL and its members have increasing TV revenue and gate receipts, so the funding should be universal, to remove this basic lack of sporting fairness. There has been a renewed debate about the merit of the salary cap in recent weeks, but instead of attempting to polarise the Premiership, the priority should be to support the weakest. Referee Greg Garner looks at replays on a screen . Officiating in rugby is in a mess — crippled by no-discretion edicts and uncertainty about how best to harness technology. This column does not possess the answers, but it can certainly highlight the pressing problems. There needs to be absolute, global clarity about the use of Television Match Officials and some common sense applied to the witch-hunt against ‘dangerous’ tackles, some of which are nothing of the sort. Referees must resume policing scrum feeds and forward passes (to hell with the nonsense about ‘momentum’, it’s either forward or it’s not), and further crack down on time-wasting at the base of rucks. And the creeping menace of players diving or demanding that opponents are shown cards must be emphatically, swiftly eradicated. Jonny Sexton has not played since suffering a head injury playing for Ireland against Australia in November . Fixture congestion is arguably the biggest threat to the sport, as it has such a wide-ranging impact. Player welfare is in danger as never before due to the excessive demands placed on those at the elite level, especially in Europe. Measures to improve concussion awareness and treatment are to be applauded, but the toll of serious injuries keeps rising. Bodies are breaking under the strain. Clubs and countries want their pound of flesh, but the regular absence of star players reduces the quality of the game. Too many Tests are being played to prop up unions’ finances and as well as causing injuries, it dilutes interest. Less can be more. This column continues to advocate a global season based on summer rugby in the northern hemisphere. One day, maybe... Twickenham will be among the 13 stadiums which will play host to the 2015 Rugby World Cup . The thorny issue of made-for-TV kick-off times may well come to a head during the World Cup, due to the alarming prospect of night matches at Twickenham and the Millennium Stadium. England’s opener against Fiji could bring transport chaos as it clashes with the weekly horror of the Friday evening rush-hour. In London, Cardiff and elsewhere, roads and trains will struggle with the task of ferrying fans home from venues. Next month, Wales host England on a Friday night, which means another motorway marathon for those crossing the Severn Bridge from the east. At club level, the new European Champions Cup features games on Sunday evenings. Broadcasters have their wall-to-wall coverage, but the wishes of spectators, especially those travelling from afar, are compromised. Sadly, the trend won’t be reversed until screens are filled with empty stands. England, celebrating the 2003 World Cup triumph, are the only Northern Hemisphere side to win the title . The scoreline stands at 6-1 to the South when it comes to World Cup titles. New Zealand, Australia and South Africa have each won the event twice, with only England in 2003 breaking this SANZAR grip on the Webb Ellis Cup. Here’s hoping for a Northern uprising in 2015. Ireland turned the tables on the raiders from the far side of the equator during the autumn, Stuart Lancaster’s England are capable of lowering the colours of any visitor at home and Wales may believe anything is possible now by beating the Springboks. France can conquer any team if the mood takes them, and even Scotland are equipped to dish out the odd bloody nose. The annual circus of hearing Kiwi players in particular reveal a total lack of awareness about the game in these parts is depressing and infuriating. Only beating them makes them take notice and show due respect. That would be a welcome development. | The home World Cup will launch at Twickenham in mid September .
New Zealand are favourites to win the tournament in England .
Finances, fixture congestion and officiating are still big issues . | [
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By . Sophie Borland . PUBLISHED: . 19:43 EST, 12 November 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 03:28 EST, 13 November 2013 . The report by NHS medical director Professor Sir Bruce Keogh, above, was commissioned by the government in a bid to ward off fears of an A&E crisis . A huge shake-up of health care provision was heralded last night by the NHS’s top doctor. Professor Sir Bruce Keogh announced plans for a ‘two-tier’ casualty service with ‘super A&Es’ dealing with life-threatening conditions. But fears are growing that his reforms will only lead to confusion among patients, who will not know which hospital to attend. The three key planks of his reforms will set up distinction between super A&Es and standard A&Es, ask GPs to provide more same-day appointments as well as opening surgeries in the evenings and at weekends and bolster the 111 helpline with more doctors, nurses and pharmacists answering the phone. Sir Bruce’s vision is set out in a report, published today, on how to improve A&E and other ‘urgent care’ such as GP services. The Government asked him last winter to draw it up. In the biggest shake-up in A&E departments for 40 years, up to half of the 140 units in England will be transformed into ‘major emergency centres’. They will provide specialised care for the victims of strokes, heart attacks, suspected brain haemorrhages and other life-threatening conditions. The rest will stay as standard casualty units mainly treating the elderly, broken bones, drunks and less critical patients. But Roger Goss, co-director of Patient Concern, said: ‘This will just confuse patients even more. Patients don’t know whether they are suffering from a heart attack or a bout of indigestion. ‘A healthcare professional should be telling them, but if they can’t get an appointment with their GP how will they know? The reason there is huge demand in A&E is that GPs have been allowed to operate a nine-to-five service. ‘It strikes me that this report is all about how to provide care at the lowest possible costs rather than being about what’s best for patients.’ Health secretary Jeremy Hunt, above, said he would not shy away from making 'difficult decisions' where the NHS is concerned . And the College of Emergency Medicine, which represents casualty doctors, said that critically-ill patients would have to travel further to super A&Es, potentially delaying their treatment. The shake-up – overseen by Sir Bruce, the NHS’s medical director – has been announced at a time of growing problems for A&E units, which are grappling with soaring numbers of patients and shortages of senior doctors. Within the next three to five years, they will be designated as either ‘emergency centres’ – meaning that essentially they will stay the same – or ‘major emergency centres’, which will deal with the most seriously ill patients. Sir Bruce, who said ‘doing nothing was not an option’, estimates that there will be between 40 and 70 super A&Es. They are most likely to be in hospitals which already have specialised stroke and heart attack centres with top doctors on hand. The report prompted speculation that dozens of the lower-tier A&E units will be downgraded. But Sir Bruce insisted this would not be the case, although patients suffering from life-threatening conditions would be transferred to super A&Es. He added that at this stage there were no plans to close A&E units. ‘A&E is creaking at the seams,’ said Sir Bruce. ‘It’s not broken but it is struggling. ‘In many senses, our A&Es have become victims of their own success because they function as a safety net for people who are worried, frightened, anxious or in pain and therefore have problems that concern them. When A&Es become very busy it means other parts of the system are creaking as well, they are under stress. ‘It’s against that background that there’s a feeling this winter will be difficult.’ Sir Bruce hopes that GPs, paramedics and NHS 111 staff will ensure patients are sent to the most appropriate A&E unit. He also wants to reduce the numbers of patients turning up in casualty by making it easier for them to get a GP appointment and making surgeries stay open during the evening and at weekends. Shadow Health Secretary Andy Burnham, above, said the report does not address the impending crisis . It is not yet clear how he will encourage GPs to work out-of-hours without changing their contracts. The Government is currently holding talks with senior family doctors over changes to their contract, which could see them having to take back responsibility for patients during the evening and at weekends. Sir Bruce also plans to beef-up the NHS 111 helpline and recruit more doctors, nurses and pharmacists to offer expert advice to patients rather than untrained call centre staff. When the helpline started operating in the spring there were concerns it led to more patients turning up in A&E because they were given the wrong advice by staff or gave up in frustration. At present, most patients phoning the number speak to a call-centre worker with limited experience and training who reads through a script. NHS officials want to improve the helpline drastically so that when patients ring it they are given medical guidance that is good enough to mean they do not have to go to hospital. In his report, Sir Bruce says he wants NHS 111 to be ‘the smart call to make’. He also wants to give paramedics more training so they are capable of diagnosing patients on the scene and taking them to a specialist stroke or heart attack centre or just treating them at home. Other plans would see GPs being allowed to admit frail elderly patients straight to care homes rather than sending them to A&E. Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt told the Commons yesterday that the Government would not shy away from making ‘difficult decisions’. He said: ‘We all know that the NHS needs to change to meet the needs of an ageing population. The reforms will set up distinction between super A&Es, Sir Bruce Keogh said . ‘We know that change will not happen overnight and we’ll work with NHS England [which runs the health service] to ensure the NHS offers world-class standards of patient care.’ Labour health spokesman Andy Burnham said the plans did not address the impending crisis facing many A&E units, which have too few doctors to deal with soaring numbers of patients. ‘Ministers said this report would have lessons for the immediate winter as well as the longer term,’ he said. ‘But they are failing to act and their response remains, “Crisis, what crisis?”. They are forcing A&Es to go into winter with too few nurses, doctors and beds.’ | Two-tier system will define 'super A&Es' and 'standard A&Es'
GPs are told to provide more same-day appointments for patients .
NHS 111 helpline will have more doctors, nurses and pharmacists . | [
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Las Vegas (CNN) -- A shooting and a fiery crash left three people dead in the neon heart of the Las Vegas Strip on Thursday, and police scrambled to find out who triggered the carnage. The bloodshed closed the Strip for about a block and a half around some of its biggest draws, leaving tourists gaping at a wrecked Maserati, a burned-out taxi and four other vehicles. "First time in Vegas, and then, like, the whole thing, what you know from movies only -- I was shocked," Christine Gerstenberger, who was visiting the desert gambling mecca from Germany, said Thursday afternoon. She and her brothers debated going back to the hotel "because I'm totally scared," but "We're too curious," she said. See iReporter's video of fire . One of those killed was Kenneth Cherry Jr. -- a rapper also known as Kenny Clutch -- his attorney Vicki Greco said. According to his Facebook page, Cherry is from Oakland, California, and lived in Las Vegas. Cherry's death was shocking, Greco said. "Out of everyone I know in the rapping industry there is no way I would have ever, ever expected to find that he was shot on the Las Vegas strip in such an aggressive manner," said Greco, who said Cherry had two kids. "He didn't have a (criminal) record or a history. He was just a good kid trying to make it and be a good father." Four of the Nevada city's biggest casinos -- Caesars Palace, the Bellagio, Bally's and the Flamingo -- are nearby, and police collected surveillance-camera video from them to help the probe. Also killed in the incident was a cab driver named Michael Boldon, CNN affiliate KVVU reported. His family is devastated by the death of the 62-year-old cab driver, his brother Tehran Boldon told the affiliate. "It is gut-wrenching," a tearful Tehran Boldon told KVVU. "My life mission would be to see them punished and brought to justice for the senseless thing they did." It started around 4:20 a.m. with a dispute in the valet lot of the Aria Hotel, about a block away, Sheriff Douglas Gillespie said. Investigators haven't confirmed the cause of the altercation, but he said it spilled onto the street as someone in a black Range Rover Sport fired several shots at the Maserati as it headed north on Las Vegas Boulevard. When the driver was hit, the Maserati continued into the intersection of the boulevard and Flamingo Road and collided with a taxi, which caught fire. The sports car's driver, the cab driver and a passenger in the taxi all died; a passenger in the Maserati and three other people in the resulting pileup were hurt, Gillespie said. The Maserati's passenger and other witnesses are helping detectives piece together what happened, he said. And the "top priority" for police is to find the Range Rover, which sped away from the intersection, and those inside it when the shooting happened. "This act is totally unacceptable, and we are going to make a very clear message to these individuals in regards to that," Gillespie said. Police in neighboring states have been asked to look for the sport-utility vehicle, and Gillespie warned the occupants should be considered armed and dangerous. "Clearly, the suspects have no regard for the lives and safety of others," he said. The Range Rover had an out-of-state dealer plate, tinted windows and large, black rims, Las Vegas Police Sgt. John Sheahan said. The block around the crash remained closed off into Thursday afternoon. John Lamb, who was inside Caesars Palace, told CNN affiliate KLAS he heard the commotion and saw the taxi on fire from a window. "There was a loud bang, and I hear two other booms. I looked out my window at Caesars Palace ... and could see the fireball," he told KLAS. Man kills 3, himself in Southern California shooting . CNN's Cristy Lenz, Matt Smith, Tom Watkins, Jason Hanna and Deanna Hackney contributed to this report. | NEW: Kenneth Cherry Jr., a rapper known as Kenny Clutch, was killed, his lawyer says .
Gunfire and a fiery crash kill 3 in the heart of Las Vegas Strip .
Casino visitor describes seeing "fireball" from Caesars Palace .
Police are looking for a black Range Rover Sport with large black rims . | [
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The latest image of the hoax Crabzilla haunting Whitstable's shores has emerged, showing the giant crab lurking beneath two young boys fishing. The photo appears to show the two boys happily fishing for crabs, unaware that a far bigger prize is beneath them. Crabzilla has been dismissed as a hoax by experts who say the existence of such a crustacean is impossible, and it is possibly the work of camera trickery or some well placed sandbanks on the shore. But the images, the first of which emerged last week as an aerial photo, have still attracted worldwide attention. Scroll down for video . A new photo has emerged of Crabzilla, apparently lurking beneath Whitstable pier where two boys are fishing . Experts and sceptics have said it would be impossible for Crabzilla to have grown to such a size. The photo is the second image to appear of the impossibly large crustacean, which would measure 50ft wide and be 10 times as big as Britain's largest crab. It appeared on the Weird Whitstable website which said in a statement: 'This shocking image of a giant crab under a popular crabbing spot in Whitstable was taken in July. 'The boys were unaware of the danger, but as several passers-by shouted to them, the crab slipped silently away under the water into the dark, sideways.' Crabzilla is shaped like an edible crab, a species that is commonly found in British water and grows to an average of five inches (12cm) . Quinton Winter, who first shared the image and curates the Weird Whitstable site, said it had been a bit of fun and he did not expect anyone to believe there was such a large crustacean in British waters. The original aerial photo appears to show Crabzilla lurking off Whitstable harbour, its huge size dwarfing boats . The new image appears to show the crab emerging from the waters, but it has been dismissed as a hoax . Sea-life expert Dr Verity Nye, who has worked on logging new species of crab, has previously said Crabzilla is impossible. She said while there were species of giant crustacean in Britain, these tend to lurk in deeper waters. The largest in Britain is the spider crab, which grows to 1.5 metres and tends to stay in water around 1,000m deep. Crabzilla appears to be about ten times this size. It would be even larger than the biggest crab in the world - the Japanese Spider crab, which grows to around 3.7 metres. Dr Nye, an Ocean and Earth Science researcher at the University of Southampton, said: 'Crabs are amazing because they are so diverse, we have about 60 species around the UK, and it is not inconceivable that new species could be found, but I laughed when I saw this picture.' Some have blamed the latest pictures of Crabzilla on Photoshop trickery. The image (left) appears to show Crabzilla as 10 times bigger than Britain's largest crab. Dr Verity Nye (right) said the existence of the giant crustacean is impossible and the photo is more than likely to be a hoax . The Japanese Spider Crab is the world's largest crab and grows to around 3.7 metres - the size of a small car . However some appear to have been taken in or just going along with the series of comic photos, with people posting messages on Twitter. Comedian Frank Skinner, 57, also revealed he had abandoned plans to move there are being 'put off' by the giant crab, according to the Daily Star. Mr Winter, an artist and curator of the Weird Whitstable site, has said he understands most people do not believe the image is real. He told Kent Messenger: I don't think anyone seriously believes there actually is a 50ft crab in Whitstable. What would it feast on? Fat, juicy Londoners?' | Photo of hoax giant crustacean appears to show it emerging from water .
Two boys fishing for crabs seem unaware of Crabzilla lurking beneath them .
Experts have dismissed picture of giant 50ft crab as an elaborate hoax .
Mocked up image attracted global attention as people joke over Crabzilla .
Marine biologist said a crab in Britain could never grow to this large size . | [
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ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) -- At least six security personnel were killed and eight members of Sri Lanka's cricket team hurt -- including two with gunshot wounds -- in an attack Tuesday on the team's bus by gunmen in Lahore, Pakistan. A video grab shows a suspected gunman near Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, Pakistan, Tuesday. The Sri Lankan players were traveling to the city's Gaddafi Stadium for the third day of the second test match against Pakistan at around 9 a.m. local time (11 p.m. ET) when the attack occurred. Video footage showed several gunmen with automatic weapons opening firing on the convoy from a roundabout, Liberty Square, close to the stadium. Police said at least 12 gunmen were involved. Pakistani Information Minister Sherry Rahman told CNN the attackers were still at large. Witnesses described the scene as "pandemonium." Images showed police vehicles with their windscreens punctured by bullets and their front seats stained with blood. A body lies in the road in front of one bullet-shattered van. "I heard two loud explosions outside the stadium and a lot of AK-47 fire," said Hamish Roberts, a cameraman who was inside the stadium at the time. See a map of where the attack took place » . The driver of the bus said a police car and two security vans at the front of the convoy had borne the brunt of the attack. Watch footage of the gunmen staging their attack » . Up to eight players, one coach and 10 security staff were reported hurt, with two players suffering bullet wounds. Tharanga Paranavitana, 26, was hit in the chest while Thilan Samaraweera, 32, suffered a leg injury, according to Chamra Ranaveera, a Sri Lankan embassy attache. Both men are in a stable condition. Six more players -- team captain Sangakkara, Chaminda Vaas, Ajantha Mendis, Suranga Lakmal, Thilan Thushara and Mahela Jayawardene -- and assistant coach Paul Fabrece were hurt by glass shrapnel. Read profiles of the wounded players » . "This is a very well-planned attack," security official Nadeem Sayed told CNN. "The team is very much scared." Cricket manager Charlie Austin, who represents six of the Sri Lankan squad, said none of the players' injuries were life-threatening. "The guys are shocked. They are recovering at the moment," Austin told CNN. "Thankfully they've only suffered minor injuries. They're keen to leave Pakistan and get back to their families as soon as possible." Watch Austin describe the mood of the Sri Lankan players after the attack » . Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama said the squad would be flown home to Colombo later Tuesday. Bogollagama is traveling to Pakistan for talks with Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but Sri Lankan officials have ruled out Tamil separatists, who have been waging a bloody civil war on the Southeast Asian island. Witnesses who saw the attack praised the response of security officials. "The guards were brilliant. They weren't panicking. They were very calm," sports producer Gavin Scovell said. "It must have been a terrifying experience, but they handled it well." "Our policemen rose to the occasion and laid down their lives to protect our Sri Lankan guests," said Pakistan's President Zardari. Pakistan, which is battling Islamist and Taliban insurgents in its North West Frontier Province, has struggled to attract visiting cricket teams in recent years because of security concerns. Watch how attack strikes at legitimacy of Pakistani government » . The current test series with Sri Lanka is the Pakistani team's first since touring India in 2007. In 2002 a car bomb exploded outside a hotel where the New Zealand cricket team was staying. Last year Australia canceled a proposed tour in the wake of a series of suicide bombings. The International Cricket Council was also forced to postpone the high-profile ICC Champions Trophy after five of the eight participants pulled out. Pakistan is due to co-host the Cricket World Cup in 2011 with India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, although the extent of its involvement in that tournament now appears to be under scrutiny. John Stern, the editor of cricket magazine Wisden, said it was "not possible" to imagine international cricket taking place in Pakistan in the near future and described the outlook for the sport in the country as "desperate." "Pakistan has been struggling for a while. They hadn't played a test match in the entirety of 2008," Stern told CNN. "I do hope the cricket world will rally around Pakistan to find a way for the team to play outside of the country." He said one possibility was for the team to play its matches in the UK, which has a large Pakistani community. Former Pakistani Waqar Younis bowler said: "I don't see the International Cricket Council now allowing the World Cup matches in Pakistan. It's gone." "This has really damaged Pakistan," former Pakistani cricket player Zahir Abbas told Geo-TV. "Already some teams didn't want to come to Pakistan. Now who will come after this incident?" In a statement, ICC Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat said the attack was "very upsetting for the wider cricket family." "We note with dismay and regret the events of this morning in Lahore and we condemn this attack without reservation," Lorgat said. "I have confirmed with both member boards that the remainder of the tour has been canceled and we are working hard to get our match officials out of the area as safely and as quickly as possible." Sri Lanka agreed in December to visit Pakistan after India called off a tour following November's terror attacks in Mumbai. Indian authorities blamed the attacks on Pakistan-based militants. Pakistan's Cricket Board had hoped Sri Lanka's tour would help it recoup some of more than $16 million it was set to lose as a result of India's cancelation. The Sri Lankan offer to tour was a reciprocal gesture. Pakistan was one of two countries that agreed to play in Sri Lanka during the 1996 World Cup tournament after other countries refused to travel there because of security concerns over the country's civil war with Tamil separatists. | 6 security staff dead, several Sri Lankan cricketers hurt in attack in Lahore .
Team bus was attacked by up to 12 gunmen en route to stadium, police say .
Gunmen still at large; no group has claimed responsibility for attack .
Batsmen Paranavitana, Samaraweera suffered gunshot wounds, Sri Lanka says . | [
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(CNN) -- We should all be so lucky to have friends like Elvis Cole and Joe Pike. Private detectives in modern-day Los Angeles, they're the stars of best-selling author Robert Crais' award-winning series of crime novels. Elvis and Joe have been busting bad guys and thrilling millions of readers since 1987's "The Monkey's Raincoat." The books are international bestsellers, published in 42 countries, and have developed a fervent following. In "Taken," Crais's newest novel, his 15th featuring the daring duo, Elvis and Joe take on an especially bloodthirsty group of criminals called bajadores. They are bandits who prey on other bandits along the U.S.-Mexico border, dealing in drugs, murder and kidnapping. "Taken" is intense and fast-paced and reads like a big-budget Hollywood blockbuster. Though that's not surprising when you consider Crais began his career writing for television series like "Hill Street Blues," "Cagney & Lacey" and "Miami Vice." CNN recently spoke to the author about his new book, his loyal fans and why he's refused to bring Elvis and Joe to the big screen. The following is an edited transcript. CNN: How has writing about Elvis Cole and Joe Pike changed over the course of the series? Crais: I really strive to bring something new to each book. I don't want to write the same book over and over again. I've done Elvis books; I've done Joe books; I've done mixed books, but this time, I made a conscious decision I wanted to tell a story where I could split the book pretty much down the middle and give them 50-50 equal footing so they both have their starring roles. When I discovered this particular story, it just seemed a perfect way to do that. Part of the book, they're working together. Then there's Elvis' track through the story, and there's Joe track, where he's trying to find Elvis and save him. So it just seemed like an ideal way to let these guys share the stage. CNN: In "Taken," the story jumps between several points of view and moves back and forth in time. How difficult was it to put together? Crais: It was like a crazy puzzle that kept changing. You should have seen my office. I have these huge black foam boards on the wall, and tacked to them, I have these white punch cards with my story ideas, scenes and notes. I kept juggling these cards and amending them, making little scrawls on them. Notions came to me, things changed, and I literally shuffled them around like a deck of cards, trying to bring them all into focus so the events were as exciting as I could make them. CNN: How do you start a novel? What comes first, an idea, an image, a scene? Crais: It could be any of the above, but it's usually an image, almost always driven by a character moment. In "Taken," it was the notion of Krista Morales and her hunger to know more about her mother's experience that night in the desert. I just saw her. It was literally my first image in the book. I saw her staring out into the black desert sky with this open-eyed wonder, trying to see the path her mother took to get to this country. All I had was her face in the moonlight, staring out there, and I just knew whatever she's looking for, I want to find. That was the engine that really kicked off the rest of the book. CNN: "Taken" revolves around a kidnapping on the U.S.-Mexico border by bajadores. What prompted you to write about these bandits? Crais: I had heard about these atrocious mass graves uncovered in Mexico south of the border: 52 people in one grave, 87 people in another, 164 bodies at a ranch with multiple burial sites. If you watch the news at all, you know Mexico is pretty much defining itself now as a war between the government and the various drug cartels. South of the border is fairly well-patrolled by armed groups of thugs who work for the cartels, and those guys end up preying on civilians, policemen and government officials, but they also prey on each other. I found out most of the people who were found in those mass graves were immigrants who were headed North from as far away as Central America. They were trying to get to the U.S., and somewhere along the way, cartel bandits or "bajadores" would kidnap them, rob them, force them to call their families or employers or whoever and try to extort additional money out of them. When there was no more money to be had, they would just be murdered and buried in mass graves. The business was literally stealing people. The nature of this victim was very moving to me. When you consider that the victim is basically an innocent, penniless person who's just trying to find a way to make his or her life better was super appealing to me, and it seemed like the type of people that Elvis and Joe would sympathize with and risk their lives to try and save. CNN: While there's lots of action in your books, it seems like the friendship between Elvis and Joe is what keeps readers coming back. Crais: Sure. The books are about Elvis and Joe. The books are about their friendship and who they are as men and human beings. I think that's why the readership has grown the way it has and why readers keep coming back to them. There's a value to their friendship that I think people admire and envy and want in their own lives. I know I do, so I kind of attribute it to other people, too. I would love to have either Elvis or Joe, preferably both, as my friends. They're certainly interesting guys, and we can live vicariously through them for their adventures, but there's something beautiful about these two guys and about having someone so trustworthy and dependable in your life. It's very comforting, I think. CNN: Has the success of the series surpassed your expectations? Crais: I'm certainly thrilled by the reaction. Honestly, I never would have thought the characters would have become as popular as they have. In the beginning, my dream was simply to make a living at it. I wanted to be a writer. I wanted to earn a living, but it never occurred to me that the books would become bestsellers. I mean, I'm glad, but none of this was by design. I wrote these guys because they're guys I wanted to spend time with. Writing a book is a long and difficult process for me. I'm a slow writer, so I spend the year with Elvis Cole and Joe Pike in my head. I was thinking about this the other day. I wrote the first book in 1987. Literally every day since that time, Elvis and Joe have been in my head. They're always there. I started these guys because I like them. I still like spending time with them, and I think that's probably the reason the readers have embraced Elvis and Joe the way they have. Whenever there's a new book, they want to refresh that friendship. CNN: Despite many lucrative offers, you've never sold the screen rights to Elvis and Joe. Why is that? Crais: It's pretty simple. You know the old saying, if it ain't broke, don't fix it? I'm concerned that if there's a film of Elvis and Joe, that somehow it will interfere with the collaboration I have with my readers. I'm the first to admit this is probably a knuckleheaded fear on my part, but I have it nevertheless. Books are a collaborative art. Elvis and Joe don't exist until someone picks up one of the books and reads it. In the act of reading, you and I collaborate, and Elvis and Joe come to life inside your head. What I've learned over time is that the Elvis and Joe you see and hear in your head, they are only yours. There might be however many hundreds of thousands of other people who've read "Taken," and each and every one of them is going to have a unique Elvis and Joe. It's going to be a little bit different from everybody else's because we all bring our own stuff to this. I find that wonderful. To me, that is the great thing about books, and I guess part of me is a little scared that if I let Hollywood get involved, and even if there's a really good movie made, that somehow once you've seen the film, when you come back to the new book next year, that collaboration that you and I have is going to be a little bit different. Because then, the movie is going to have inserted itself. So I'm really jealous and guarded about that. I want your Elvis and Joe to be a product of yours and mine and nothing else. Read an excerpt from "Taken" and find out more about Robert Crais on his website. | Robert Crais returns to private detective duo Elvis Cole and Joe Pike in "Taken"
The characters have appeared in Crais' crime novels since 1987 .
"Taken" is intense and reads like a big-budget Hollywood blockbuster . | [
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Boris Becker is the latest person to declare himself less than enamoured with Jim Courier’s on-court, post-match interviews. He was displeased that after his charge Novak Djokovic had thrashed Andrey Kuznetsov, Courier asked the top seed about Becker’s fondness for Twitter hashtags. ‘Don’t understand why #Courier would ask @DjokerNole after a good win @AustralianOpen about my #...wrong place or timing,’ Becker tweeted. Scroll down for video . Boris Becker was unimpressed with the questions posed to Novak Djokovic by Jim Courier . Courier, pictured with Andy Murray in 2010, asked Djokovic about Becker's use of hashtags on Twitter . Caroline Wozniacki had a nightmare second-round opponent in Victoria Azarenka, twice champion here but unseeded after missing much of 2014 through injury. Azarenka sent the No8 seed packing 6-4, 6-2 in something of a non-upset. Caroline Wozniacki waves to the crowd after losing to Victoria Azarenka in their women's singles match . Britain’s Jamie Delgado, who first came to the Australian Open 22 years ago as a junior, is quietly making a decent name for himself as a coach. Now 37, Delgado is guiding Luxembourg’s Gilles Muller, who knocked out Spain’s No13 seed Roberto Bautista-Agut in four sets on Thursday. Delgado has also been appointed as assistant coach to the Irish Davis Cup team under captain Conor Niland. Britian's Jamie Delgado is making a name for himself as a tennis coach . Heather Watson recovered sufficiently from the physical problems that wrecked her singles campaign to take her place in the second round of the doubles with Russia’s Alexandra Panova. They went through when opponents Annika Beck and Shahar Peer retired in the third set, but for Panova it was scant consolation for missing two match points against Maria Sharapova on Wednesday. Heather Watson was back in action after overcoming physical problems to take part in doubles . While falling short of last year’s furnace, temperatures rose into the 30s on day four and claimed their first victim in Frenchman Adrian Mannarino. The world No36 was trailing Spain’s Feliciano Lopez 0-4 in the fourth set when he retired with heat exhaustion. He was taken to hospital where he spent two hours on a drip. Adrian Mannarino had to retire from his match against Feliciano Lopez with heat exhaustion . | Jim Courier asked Novak Djokovic about Boris Becker's Twitter skills .
Becker believes Courier should have asked Djokovic about win .
Caroline Wozniacki was knocked out in second round by Victoria Azarenka .
Heather Watson has recovered from recent physical problems . | [
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By . Martha Kelner for The Mail on Sunday . Follow @@marthakelner . As his former team-mates prepared for the first day of the football season, Adam Gemili put them in the shade by winning 200m gold at the European Championships and is confident of another title in the 4x100m relay. Gemili spent time on Chelsea’s books as a schoolboy and was on the verge of signing a professional contract for Dagenham and Redbridge. He said: ‘When I was younger and playing sport I always dreamed of hearing the national anthem because I’d won. Gold: Adam Gemili storms to victory in the 200m at the European Championships in Zurich . Autograph: Gold medalist Gemili is congratulated after his victory while fans wait for an autograph . But I thought I’d be singing it because I was playing football for England. Athletics wasn’t even on my radar then. It’s mental how things can change in such a short space of time.’ Gemili ran 19.98sec for the second time in his life to blitz the 200m field in cold, rainy conditions on Friday evening. ‘I’ve received so many messages from former team-mates saying “well done”,’ he said, ‘It’s really nice of them and it’s nice to be in contact and to see them all doing so well in football.’ Gemili will rejoin the 4x100m relay team for today’s final and said: ‘It’s going to be interesting but I believe we have the speed and ability to take this title.’ Podium: After his gold medal in the 200m, Gemili believes he can get a gold in the 4x100m relay . Talented: Gemili also spent time on the books for football club Dagenham and Redbridge when he was younger . | Adam Gemili won the 200m gold in Zurich .
Gemili will also race in the 4x100m relay at European Championships .
As a schoolboy he was on books for Dagenham and Redbridge . | [
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Weybridge, Vermont (CNN) -- Will I get over the end of Saturday deliveries by the U.S. Postal Service? I'm sure I will. But like countless others in this country, I will miss them. Living in rural Vermont, in a fairly isolated farmhouse overlooking the Green Mountains, I look forward to the mail, which brings news from relatives and friends, Christmas cards, bills, and -- most of all -- Saturday visits from Bob, who has been arriving at my house for years now, always with good cheer, local gossip and a sense that God's in his heaven and all's well with the world. I remember as a child looking forward to the arrival of Mr. Mail, as my sister and I called him, on Saturday mornings. He was a dour fellow, but we liked him. We had no school on Saturdays, so all the children got to know him on that day. He was missing a front tooth, so it was probably a good thing that he rarely smiled. When he did, it was an occasion. I loved him, mostly because he brought regular letters from my pen pal in Sweden -- letters with an array of strange, colorful stamps and peculiar tales from abroad. It was an adjustment when, years later, we had to get used to Miss Fe-Mail, a young woman with masses of blond hair and red lipstick. The mail has always kept me in touch with the world. As a young man I lived in Scotland for seven years, and loved getting two postal deliveries a day, bringing letters on blue aerograms from home. I would open those fragile blue letters very carefully, so as not to lose words. They were often scribbled in a tiny hand so the author could get as many words as possible within the aerogram's limited boundaries. Opinion: Goodbye, Postal Service? My Scottish postman's name was Angus, and he told me about his grandfather, who had brought three or four deliveries to every house each day. The mail was like e-mail in those days. If you lived in a city, such as London, you could really send a letter in the morning and expect it to make it across town by the afternoon. Nowadays it can take several days to get a letter from one side of Vermont to another. Sometimes I wonder if we're still using the Pony Express. As a boy, I read a book about the Pony Express, and had fantasies about joining it. The express started up in the mid-19th century, with relays of postal workers on horseback who would carry letters from Missouri over the Great Plains, through the Rocky Mountains, to California -- and it only took about 10 days. It was the invention of the telegraph that brought this wondrous service to a halt, not unlike the advent of the Internet, which has made the postal service much less relevant to our lives. E-mails deliver most of our joys and sorrows today, and we conduct routine business in this ephemeral form. Handwritten letters have become precious artifacts. For future biographers, the loss of real letters presents a dilemma. My bookshelf holds volumes of the collected letters of my favorite writers, and I treasure those by John Keats, Lord Byron, Dickens and others. Will anyone ever publish someone's collected e-mails? How Amazon could save the U.S. Postal Service . So much of our thinking is about loss, and this is one of the losses we must bear. I doubt that we'll ever return to obsessive letter-writing, and don't expect to get many letters from abroad, with brilliantly colored stamps bearing the visage of unknown kings, queens and other eminent people I've never heard of. I wonder if I'll even know the person who brings letters to my house in the years to come. At least my part of Vermont has Internet access. In the immediate future, the absence of Saturday postal deliveries for rural areas that lack access might have genuine consequences, hurting business and dampening the spirits for people who already feel a bit out of touch. Everyone would like, I think, to see a robust postal service -- the Post Office represents the nation at home. I still make special trips into town, a drive of several miles, to do "business" at the P.O., where I meet friends to exchange gossip, buy special editions of stamps and, for nostalgic reasons, purchase aerograms to send to friends abroad. The bustling atmosphere is cheery, especially at Christmas, when people wait in line to get their odd-shaped boxes weighed and posted. Postal Service finances show smaller loss, but still in trouble . The postal service will always be part of our lives, and long may it live. I'm sorry about the loss of Saturdays, which may make me feel a little more isolated on weekends at my hilltop house. But who ever thought the government existed to make us happy? The opinions in this commentary are solely those of Jay Parini. | Jay Parini lives in small-town Vermont, and says he will miss Saturday mail deliveries .
Parini: We are losing the joy of saving, re-reading letters from pen-pals, family and friends .
Telegraph replaced the Pony Express, he says, just as e-mails have replaced mail .
Parini treasures his letters of favorite writers: Who will publish collections of e-mails? | [
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By . Sara Malm . PUBLISHED: . 20:01 EST, 26 May 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 20:02 EST, 26 May 2013 . Hundreds of Maoist rebels attacked a convoy of leading Indian politicians, killing 24 people on Saturday. Militants ambushed members of the Congress Party as they returned from a campaign event in Chhattisgarh, central India, planting landmines and shooting party leaders and supporters. Four state party leaders and eight police officers were among the victims of the attack, which also saw 37 people injured. Attack: Indian medical staff take an injured victim into the Ram Krishna Hospital in Raipur after an ambush on a convoy of Congress Party leaders by Maioist rebels . Today, Indian officials reacted with outrage at the attack, which was carried out in Chhattisgarh’s tribal community as an apparent warning to officials to stay away from the Maoist rebel stronghold. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and party President Sonia Gandhi visited some of the injured in a hospital Sunday in the Chhattisgarh state capital Raipur, promising the government would take firm action against the perpetrators. ‘We are devastated,’ said Gandhi, who denounced the ‘dastardly attack’ as a on the country's democratic values. Rajnath Singh, president of the opposition Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, said the country should unite in its fight against the Maoist insurgency, known as Naxalites. The convoy was attacked in a densely forested area about 215 miles south of Raipur as the Congress members were returning from a party rally. Grief: Relatives of victims of the attack, which killed 24 people and injured 37, cry outside the hospital in Raipur . Uprising: According to police officers, 11 of the 37 injured are still in a critical condition following the ambush in a forest in the central Indian state . Damage done: A man in blood-covered trousers is treated for his injuries in the attack which saw about 200 suspected Maoist rebels set off a land mine and open fire on the convoy . Solidarity: Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, second from left, and chairperson of the National Advisory Council, Sonia Gandhi, fourth from left, meet an injured person at a Raipur hospital on Sunday . About 200 attackers blocked the road . by felling trees, forcing the convoy to halt. Police officer R.K. Vij . said the suspected rebels triggered a land mine that blew up one of the . cars. The attackers then fired at the Congress party leaders and their . supporters before fleeing. Congress . is the main opposition party in the state. It has stepped up political . activities, trying to win the support of tribals, ahead of state . elections scheduled to be held by December. Police officer Vij said 11 of the 37 injured were in serious condition. Police . identified one of those dead as Mahendra Karma, a Congress party leader . in Chhattisgarh who founded a local militia to combat the Maoist . rebels. The anti-rebel militia had to be reined in after it was accused . of atrocities against people of lower castes, known as ‘tribals’. Planned ambush: Wreckage of a vehicle lying in the dense forest area at the incident site after the Maoists attack . Destruction: A man stands next to a crater caused by a land mine blast in the rebel attack on Saturday . Fatal: Indian security personnel carry the body of one of the victims of Saturday's rebel ambush in Bastar, 215 miles south of Raipur in Chhattisgarh state . The dead also included state Congress party chief Nand Kumar Patel and his son. K.P.S. Gill, a former police chief of Punjab state who has written widely on . reform, said the attack was ‘a very horrifying incident.’ However, Gill said the state government was incapable of devising a strategy to tackle the Maoist threat. ‘They don't have the political will and bureaucratic and police set-up to prevent such attacks,’ he said. He said the state government had ignored the need for special forces to tackle the threat. ‘Most of the special forces in the state are being used for non-operational duties like guarding state politicians,’ he said. Protest: Congress Party supporters burn an effigy of Dr.Raman Singh, the chief minister of the Indian state of Chhattisgarh during a demonstration against the attack . Prime Minister Singh has called the rebels India's biggest internal security threat. They are now present in 20 of India's 28 states and have thousands of fighters, according to the Home Ministry. The Naxalites have been fighting the central government for more than four decades, demanding land and jobs for tenant farmers and the poor. They take their name from the West Bengal village of Naxalbari where the movement began in 1967. The fighters were inspired by Chinese Communist revolutionary leader Mao Zedong and have drawn support from displaced tribal populations opposed to corporate exploitation and official corruption. The government has offered to begin peace talks with the rebels, but without success. The Maoists demand that it first withdraw thousands of paramilitary soldiers deployed to fight the rebels. Maoist rebels carried out two major attacks in Chhattisgarh in 2010. They ambushed a paramilitary patrol in April that year, killing 76 troops in their worst attack ever. A month later, they triggered a land mine under a bus carrying civilians and police, killing 31 people. | Maoist rebel attack in central India kill 24 and injure 37 .
Militants ambushed members of the Congress Party in Chhattisgarh .
About 200 rebels blew up convoy car and shot politicians and supporters . | [
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Unwell: Brooke Todd, 17 months, pictured in hospital in Spain after falling severely ill while on holiday . A family have been offered £130 from a holiday company as a ‘goodwill gesture’ after their toddler ended up in hospital on a trip to Spain. James Todd and Helen Ball, of Walker, Newcastle, said they complained to staff about poor hygiene standards at the all-inclusive Grupotel Mar de Menorca, which they claim led to Brooke Todd falling severely ill. The 17-month-old was ‘frightened and screaming’ as she was placed on three separate drips as doctors tried to treat her for diarrhoea and vomiting. Her parents allege they had informed a Thomson Holidays rep about the standard of food at the Cala Canutells, Menorca, resort. They claim the hotel staff used the same utensils on cooked and uncooked meat. Mr Todd said he had complained from the very first day but nothing was done until after Brooke became ill. He said: ‘The food was not cooked properly and I was constantly complaining to the rep. ‘The chefs were using the same utensils on raw meat and then moving the cooked meat about and serving it to customers. ‘The holiday went from bad to disastrous when Helen woke up just before midnight and found Brooke face down choking in her cot. ‘We were up all night with diarrhoea and vomiting and took her to hospital the following morning. ‘She was taken into a room and doctors tried several times to find a vein. ‘She was frightened and screaming and did not know what was going on. ‘After what seemed a lifetime in hospital and being on three different drip bags our little girl was allowed to leave but we were told to see her own doctor when we got home.' Mr Todd said chefs at the hotel later used different utensils and special gloves for handling raw meat but the damage had been done. James Todd, pictured at his home in Newcastle with Brooke, is seeking compensation over the 'nightmare' trip . Popular: The family were staying in Cala Canutells, Menorca, pictured, when their daughter fell ill . He said: ‘We were really stressed and traumatised by our holiday from hell experience. ‘Helen is constantly worrying if Brooke is going to choke in the night again. 'We have even started to cut meat into small pieces to make sure it is cooked all the way through. ‘I am not sleeping well at all as I'm scared something will happen and I have been waking up having nightmares.’ Mr Todd, pictured with his daughter Brooke, claims he was offered £130 as a 'goodwill gesture' from Thomson . 'Nightmare holiday': Mr Todd reads through paperwork concerning his Thomson Holidays claim, left, and right, Brooke pictured at home after falling ill while on a family trip to Spain . Mr Todd also complained about the lack of promised gym facilities and the unavailability of some drinks on the all-inclusive package. He said Thomson Holidays has offered him £130 ‘take it or leave it’ but he said he wants a full refund on the £1,200 holiday as well as compensation for having to eat out at cafes and restaurants. A spokesman for Thomson Holidays said they were investigating the complaints. Compensation: James Todd, pictured with Brooke, wants Thomson Holidays to refund his £1,200 holiday . Holiday from hell: The family stayed at a hotel near to the popular Cala Canutells, Menorca, Spain . He said: ‘Thomson is sorry to hear of Mr Todd's experience. ‘We have offered him a gesture of goodwill in relation to his complaints about quality and service. ‘Our legal team has also been in contact with him about the reported illness and are awaiting the return of the necessary documentation before they are able to complete their investigation. ‘We would like to reassure customers that we closely audit all the resorts to which we operate to ensure that health, hygiene and comfort levels are maintained.’ | James Todd and Helen Ball were staying at resort with 17-month-old Brooke .
Toddler fell severely ill in Spain and was hopsitalised and placed on drips .
Parents say she was 'frightened and screaming' while doctors treated her .
Have been offered £130 'goodwill gesture' from Thomson Holidays .
Mr Todd said he wants £1,200 holiday refund and compensation . | [
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By . Jason Groves . Home Secretary Theresa May faces questions from MPs over accusations that politicians, the police and even her own officials have suppressed allegations against powerful individuals for decades . Extraordinary new claims pointing to an Establishment cover-up of child sex abuse by senior politicians emerged last night. Home Secretary Theresa May faces questions from MPs over accusations that politicians, the police and even her own officials have suppressed allegations against powerful individuals for decades. Some 114 files ‘potentially relevant’ to child abuse are now known to have been lost or destroyed by the Home Office. And, incredibly, at least four specific allegations relating to child abuse in Home Office files were not passed to police for up to 35 years, officials have now admitted. The claims have only been handed over in the past 12 months. In an explosive intervention, former Tory Cabinet Minister Norman Tebbit said the evidence suggested there ‘may well have been’ an Establishment cover-up, beginning in the 1970s and 1980s and continuing to this day. ‘At that time I think most people would have thought that the Establishment, the system, was to be protected, and if a few things had gone wrong here and there, that it was more important to protect the system than to delve too far into it,’ Lord Tebbit said. The peer, who served in the Cabinet in the early 1980s, added: ‘That view, I think, was wrong then and it has been spectacularly shown to be wrong now because the abuses have grown.’ His intervention fuelled growing demands for a full Hillsborough-style public inquiry into a series of toxic allegations, including claims of abuse by the late Liberal MP Sir Cyril Smith and allegations of paedophile activity at parties attended by politicians and other prominent figures at the Elm Guest House in Barnes, south west London. Mrs May – who yesterday remained silent on the scandal engulfing her department – will face a storm of criticism from MPs as she gives a statement in the Commons today. In other developments it emerged that former Tory home secretary Lord Brittan has been questioned by police over an historical allegation of raping a woman and a Labour peer is under investigation after 12 men made allegations of ‘horrific’ child abuse dating back decades. Police have also traced a child at the centre of the alleged Westminster paedophile ring. The unnamed businessman, in his 40s and based in the US, claims he was abused by a politician when he was eight. Mrs May will announce details of a . fresh review of her department’s handling of the affair by a leading QC, . but pressure for a public inquiry continued to grow, with 141 MPs from . all parties backing the call. In an explosive intervention, former Tory Cabinet Minister Norman Tebbit said the evidence suggested there 'may well have been' an Establishment cover-up, beginning in the 1970s and 1980s and continuing to this day . Labour . MP Tom Watson has launched a petition calling on the Prime Minister to . ‘make amends for historic failures’ by establishing a national inquiry . into allegations of organised child sex abuse. He said that ‘many survivors of child abuse believe they have been let down by the system of child protection in the UK’. The petition has already been signed by thousands of members of the public. Mr Watson said: ‘Thousands had nowhere to turn. Nobody listened and nobody helped.’ The Home Office launched a review last year to discover what had happened to a dossier of alleged paedophile activity handed to Lord Brittan by the late Tory MP Geoffrey Dickens in 1983. In a statement last week, Lord Brittan insisted that it had been handled appropriately and that he had asked officials to investigate the claims fully. But a public letter written by the Home Office’s top civil servant Mark Sedwill at the weekend revealed that the review found dozens of files were missing. Of the 573 files recovered, 13 contained . ‘information about alleged child abuse’, including four involving Home . Office officials. Incredibly, only nine of the files – dated between . 1979 and 1999 – were ever handed to police. In other developments it emerged that former Tory Home Secretary Lord Brittan has been questioned by police over an historic allegation of raping a woman . Keith Vaz, Labour chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee, said he was shocked by the loss of files, which he said was on ‘an industrial scale’. Mr Vaz, who had opposed a public inquiry into the scandal, said he had changed his mind on the basis of the revelations. His committee will question Mr Sedwill tomorrow over the missing files. Tory MP Zac Goldsmith said the case for a public inquiry was now irresistible. He said: ‘The Home Secretary is going to have to think again. It is inconceivable that those files were all lost by accident – no one is ever going to believe that, whatever the latest review comes up with. We need a proper inquiry. It is possible that some of the revelations will be very ugly for the political class. But we may need that cathartic experience to clear the air.’ Labour MP Simon Danczuk, who last week called on Lord Brittan to reveal what he knew, said it was a scandal that the Home Office had not passed files containing potentially serious allegations to the police immediately. And he warned that senior figures in all three main political parties were still trying to prevent questions about past misdeeds by a small number of MPs and peers. He said Parliament may be on the verge of a ‘Savile-like scandal’. The Home Office declined to comment yesterday but Downing Street insisted the case for an ‘over-arching’ public inquiry had not yet been made. Alison Millar of the law firm Leigh Day, which is representing some of the alleged victims, said another internal Home Office review would not quell the growing public disquiet. ‘This cannot be another internal review held by those who may well be at fault,’ she said. ‘It will only fuel a growing suspicion amongst the electorate that there is a conspiracy over the abuse of children by those with great power.’ Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper warned the ‘review of a review’ announced by the Government was insufficient. In a letter to Mrs May she said: ‘Any stones left unturned will leave concerns of institutional malaise, or worse a cover-up, unaddressed.’ ‘To be relevant, and effective, any independent inquiry needs to create a safe environment for survivors of abuse to come forward so their voices can be heard. At the moment the allegations are so serious and go so far up in the Government, to make many survivors fear for their safety.’ Campaigners are calling for a ‘Hillsborough-style’ inquiry into historic allegations of child sex abuse. This would involve an independent board of experts similar to the panel that investigated the 1989 football disaster. Public inquiries have traditionally been led by one or more senior judges, as with the Saville Inquiry into the Bloody Sunday killings of 1972 and the Leveson Inquiry into press standards. More rarely they have been conducted by a panel of veteran Whitehall mandarins – for example the Chilcot Inquiry into the Iraq War. But the Hillsborough Independent Panel, set up in 2010 to ensure the release of all documents related to the tragedy in which 96 Liverpool fans died, was praised for being different. It was chaired by the Bishop of Liverpool, the Right Reverend James Jones, and the nine members included former BBC journalist Peter Sissons, a retired deputy chief constable, an ex-deputy chief medical officer and archive experts. Each brought specialist knowledge to the task of scrutinising more than 450,000 pages to uncover the truth about attempts to cover up police failings. Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article. | Home Secretary Theresa May faces .
questions about cover up from MPs .
114 files ‘potentially relevant’ to child abuse lost by Home Office .
Four specific allegations in files not passed to police for up to 35 years .
Police have traced a child at centre of alleged Westminster paedophile ring . | [
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Convicted: Gang member Johnson Olayinka was convicted of trafficking a 23-year-old Nigerian woman into the UK for sexual exploitation . Three members of an international prostitution ring that smuggled a Nigerian woman into the UK to work as a sex slave under the threat of a voodoo curse are facing jail today. The gang conned the innocent 23-year-old into flying to Heathrow Airport on a bogus passport with the promise of education, a job and a new home. Before leaving Nigeria, she was raped and forced to go through a black magic ‘juju’ death ritual to prevent her running away. But when the woman arrived in London, her employment failed to materialise. Instead, she was told she was destined to work as a sex slave in Italy, a court heard. The plan was only thwarted when Italian authorities spotted her forged ID and sent her back to the UK. It is believed the woman is just one of many victims of the group, based in Africa, that trafficks young women through England to work as prostitutes in mainland Europe. Olusoji Oluwafemi, 44, Johnson Olayinka, 45, and Florence Obadiaru, 48, were convicted of trafficking the woman into the UK for sexual exploitation and arranging for her transfer to Italy. Oluwafemi and Olayinka were also found guilty of conspiring to get the woman a false passport. Oluwatosin Osoba, 48, was acquitted of the same charge following a trial at the Old Bailey. Judge Rebecca Poulet said custody is inevitable and sentence was adjourned until July 11. The victim, who only spoke a little English, had been recruited by a Nigerian local called Beneditta in her home village near Benin City. Her family had struggled financially since the death of her father in 2008, but she aspired to become a nurse. In February 2011, Beneditta offered to help the young woman by sending her to England to be educated properly and get a job, the court heard. She was told the cost would be £40,000 - which she would have to repay to the organisers. Prosecutor Christopher Ames told the court: ‘She had no idea at all what £40,000 was in her own currency, her life had been very hard after her father died, and she jumped at the chance to be educated and be trained for a job, and get away from the desperation and misery of her current family situation. ‘She was very excited, a naive young girl, at the prospect of going abroad.’ She was sent to the Nigerian capital of Lagos on March 23, 2011, to meet a man called Felis who made her a false passport and coached her in getting through UK immigration. ‘While he was doing that, he began to sexually assault her’, said Mr Ames. ‘That led him to beat her with a belt and that in turn led to him raping her that night.’ When she complained to Beneditta the next morning, she was told: ‘It was what you should have expected’. She was then told to pose for photos with a man who would pretend to be her husband. In September 2011 she was summoned to the west African country of Benin to get a visa. The woman was then told to swear an oath to repay the money in a ceremony that involved cutting her armpit and pubic hair and taking finger nail clippings. Guilty: Florence Obadiaru was also convicted for trafficking the woman. The court heard how the innocent girl was raped and forced to go through a voodoo ritual before coming to the UK . ‘The oath she was solemnly required to take was to repay that money, £40,000, on pain of death if she did not,’ said Mr Ames. ‘This was what was known as a juju ceremony.’ She was driven to Lagos on September 12, 2011 and put on a plane to the UK, meeting Olayinka at Heathrow Airport. Olayinka, calling himself ‘Mike’, checked her into the Marbella Hotel in Peckham, south London, and took away her money and passport. She was next taken to the house of Obadiaru, an old friend of Beneditta’s, and kept there for a few weeks with no sign of a job or education. Obadiaru’s son, who suffers from learning difficulties, groped her on the first night in the house in Brockley, southeast London. But when she complained, Obadiaru allegedly told her: ‘What do you think you are here for?’ The woman was told she was being sent to Italy on October 3, 2011, and collected another false passport from Olayinka’s home. ‘It was then for the first time that this very young girl from a small village in Africa, miles away from home, realised she was about to be sent to Italy to be forced into prostitution’, Mr Ames said. Sex slave: When the woman arrived in the UK, she was kept at a house in London before being told she was going to Italy, the Old Bailey (pictured) heard. Only then did she realise she was being sold in to prostitution . ‘She came to that gradual realisation, and she suddenly remembered hearing conversations between some men and their girls in Italy. ‘She couldn’t speak Italian and there was no question of her being able to work in Italy in the normal sense. ‘She became very upset and fearful of what awaited her.’ The gang’s plan was thwarted by Italian immigration officials, who stopped the woman on an obviously forged passport at Milan Airport and sent her straight back to the UK. After she was detained by immigration officials, the woman led them to the alleged identity factory in Osoba’s flat in South Bermondsey, southeast London, and laptops which had been used to make false documents by Olayinka. Mr Ames said the National Crime Agency launched Operation Visionary after quizzing the woman ‘to penetrate and stop the activities of an organised crime group based in Africa and here in England, which has as its aim the trafficking of vulnerable young women from Nigeria to European countries, including Italy and France for the purpose of prostitution’ Oluwafemi, of South Bermondsey, southeast London, Olayinka, of Peckham Rye, southeast London, and Obadiaru, of Brockley, south London denied conspiracy to traffic a person to the UK for the purpose of sexual exploitation, and conspiracy to traffic a person out of the UK for the purpose of sexual exploitation. Oluwafemi, Olayinka, and Osoba, of South Bermondsey, southeast London, denied conspiracy to commit an offence of possessing false identity documents. | Innocent 23-year-old from Nigeria promised education, job and home in UK .
She was given a fake passport and told she owed the gang £40,000 .
Victim was then assaulted and raped before subjected to 'juju' death ritual .
Was forced to cut pubic hair and finger nails in black magic ceremony .
Gang told her curse meant she would die if she didn't pay them back .
When she arrived in London, she was told she would work as a sex slave .
Olusoji Oluwafemi, 44, Johnson Olayinka, 45, and Florence Obadiaru, 48, were convicted of trafficking the woman into the UK at the Old Bailey . | [
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NEW DELHI, India (CNN) -- India's financial capital of Mumbai was put on a high-tide alert with officials expecting a water rise of up to 197 inches (5 meters). High tides lash the coast near the Gateway of India in Mumbai on Thursday. Sea tides are expected to rise 5 meters Friday, 4.9 meters Saturday and 4.7 meters Sunday, according to a bulletin by the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai. "We have installed water pumps along the coast and advise the people to avoid beaches," said Jagtab, an official at the disaster management control room. Floodgates may also be closed in case the threat mounts, he added. High tides are also forecast from August 19 to 23. At least 467 people have died in floods in India from this season's monsoon rains, federal authorities said in their latest report. Flooding has affected about 1.7 million people in parts of India, according to the disaster management division of the federal home ministry. The country's main weather office has warned of heavy rains in western and central parts of India. | India's financial capital of Mumbai put on a high-tide alert .
Officials expect a water rise of up to 197 inches (5 meters)
Sea tides expected to rise 5 meters Friday, 4.9 meters Saturday, 4.7 meters Sunday .
High tides also forecast from August 19 to 23 . | [
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(CNN) -- Could reliability be an Achilles heel for Formula One world champions Red Bull this season? If the first two days of winter testing are anything to go by the answer could be yes. Four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel was stopped in his tracks by an engine failure after completing just eight laps in the new Red Bull racer Wednesday. "We've not had a lot of running and have a few problems to sort out," Vettel told reporters at the Jerez circuit in Spain. "But with such big rule changes it is usual to have some teething problems. "That's what tests are for, to sort those issues out. The next two days will be important to get some track time to prepare for the tests in Bahrain." Vettel, who only managed three laps in the box fresh car on Tuesday, has now returned home to Switzerland and handed the keys of the 2014 Red Bull over to his new teammate Daniel Ricciardo for the remainder of the Jerez test. Preseason testing is always a tense time but a major rule change has heaped extra pressure on the teams hoping to get their cars race ready for the opening Australian Grand Prix on March 16. The cars are now powered by 1.6-liter V6 turbo engines which also rely on a greater use of hybrid energy -- recovered through braking and from the car's exhaust gases. Although engine suppliers Renault, Ferrari and Mercedes put their engines through their paces on dynamometers at their headquarters, they are running them on the cars for the first time this week. Red Bull, who along with the Lotus and Caterham teams use Renault engines, had to cut short Vettel's track time because of problem with the energy recovery system on his car. Engine gremlins also affected Toro Rosso, Red Bull's sister team, and driver Daniil Kvyat was not able to take his car out on track because of an electrical problem. McLaren recovered from the technical issues that had kept its car in the garage Tuesday to see Jenson Button set the leading time in its 2014 racer with a best lap of one minute 24.165 seconds among 44 laps overall. "For our first day of actual running, we were able to get a good understanding of the car, and the way the engine and turbo behaves," Button told reporters. "It's tricky, and very different to what we're used to, but I feel that these cars will be enjoyable to drive." On Wednesday, McLaren also announced former Lotus team principal Eric Boullier as its new racing director as a restructure of the team continues. It was another solid day from Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen, who set the second fastest time ahead of Valtteri Bottas in the Williams and Nico Rosberg's Mercedes. Rosberg underlined Mercedes' reliability by ticking off 96 laps, all the more impressive as the car had to rebuilt over night following Lewis Hamilton's crash on the opening day of the test. | Testing is cut short for Sebastian Vettel as his Red Bull is hit by engine problems .
The four-time world champion says "teething problems" are normal .
The teams are getting used to new engine technology as part of 2014 rule changes .
McLaren's Jenson Button clocks the fastest time on day two of the first winter test in Spain . | [
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By . Tamara Cohen . Many Labour MPs privately think Ed Miliband will not win next year’s general election, according to former frontbencher Diane Abbott. The outspoken MP told a fundraising dinner that a ‘substantial minority’ of her colleagues did not believe they would form the next government – despite being ahead in the polls. She suggested even those at the top of the party doubted Mr Miliband’s credentials, saying it was ‘problematic’ that many of the Shadow Cabinet had not backed him as leader in 2010. Diane Abbott suggested even those at the top of the party doubted the leader, saying it was ‘problematic’ that many of the shadow cabinet had not backed him as leader in 2010 . Miss Abbott was at the dinner at Monty’s Nepalese restaurant in west London to raise money for Labour’s candidate in Ealing Central, Rupa Huq - the sister of the former Blue Peter presenter Konnie Huq. She was heard saying to senior local Labour figures: ‘Most MPs are worried that we won’t win in May - and that’s not based on figures. ‘Let’s say a substantial minority of Labour MPs don’t think we can win in May — despite the fact that statistically it can look like that. But then they tend to be MPs from outside of London. ‘Ed’s problem, one of his problems, is that he has a Shadow Cabinet and most of them didn’t vote for him, so that is problematic.’ Miss Abbott also apparently said during the unguarded exchange that whichever party forms the next government they would ‘have to put up taxation’, according to the Evening Standard. The MP for Hackney North and regular television personality, was sacked as a public health spokesman by Miliband in his shadow cabinet reshuffle last year. But she was recently revealed as Labour supporters’ top candidate in the next London mayoral elections fuelling speculation she will run. She was responding to a question from chair of the local Labour branch Steve Donnelly, who said: ‘So how does it feel inside the tent Diane at the minute?’ Labour leader Ed Miliband has struggled to overcome doubts even among his own MPs that he has what it takes to be Prime Minister . Over a buffet supper and beers, she said: ‘Whoever wins will have to put up taxation if they are serious. They won’t admit it, but they have to’. And she raised concerns about the shadow chancellor Ed Balls, saying he ‘reminds people of the Brown years, and it allows the Tories to say over and over again, ‘These were the people who crashed the car.’ But actually he is very able.’ Miss Abbott claimed today that the remarks were taken out of context, and insisted that she and most Labour MPs were very confident Labour would win next year’s election. She said: ‘All the polls point steadily in the direction of Ed Miliband winning the election. I did say some Labour MPs are worried, but I don’t think they are a substantial minority.’ Labour currently have a 3-point lead in the polls, but fewer than one in five voters think Ed Miliband looks like a future prime minister. Due to the way the electoral system works, however, the Conservatives will need a 6 per cent lead to win a majority next May. Miss Abbott, who has been an MP since 1987, embarrassed Mr Miliband last year after he made a major speech on immigration. In a newspaper article, she accused him of being too worried about opinion polls, and called on him to resist the ‘steady drumbeat of pressure’ to move to the right on the issue. | Ex-frontbencher reveals doubts about Labour leader's credentials .
It 'problematic' that many of the shadow cabinet didn't back him in 2010 .
Remarks made at a dinner at Monty’s Nepalese restaurant in west London . | [
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The much-maligned security perimeter at New York’s busiest airport has failed again after two kayakers claim they washed ashore without being detected by police. Anthony Giglio, of suburban Inwood, and Jordan Crooms, of Queens, were kayaking through Jamaica Bay Friday evening when their kayak rolled over and they swam to a pier on the property of John F. Kennedy International Airport near a scant-used runway. No one knew the pair, both 21, was there until they found a construction worker to call for help because there are no security patrols at night, critics claim. No other options: Jordan Crooms (left) and Anthony Giglio (right) claim they had no choice but to go to airport land after their Kayak rolled and they were left with only one paddle . Crooms told the New York Post that they were ‘just kayaking at night’ when their three-man vessel rolled over and they lost two paddles. ‘We had one paddle left,’ Crooms continued. ‘We were going toward the closest spot to shore.’ The two men found a dock just off runway 41, and made their way to safety without being detected by the $100million security system in place to thwart such breaches, sources told the paper. ‘We were almost drowning. We couldn’t hang onto the boat, and we were getting pulled under and out,’ Giglio told WCBS. ‘We found a construction worker, and he said, ‘are you guys alright? Thank god you’re alive.’ Where they landed: On this pier just off runway 41 on the airport's southern shore . On the water: JFK Airport is bordered to the south by Jamaica Bay, a waterway with boaters and other locals looking to escape the hustle and bustle of the city . The same runway was breached only two . years ago when a jetskier ran out of gas, swam to shore, scaled an . eight-foot fence and walked across two runways into the airport seeking . help, according to the station. That man also eluded detection by the perimeter ‘fence’s motion sensors. ‘You’ve got a system that is supposed to provide protection, and what happened?’ Counterterrorism expert William Vorlicek asked the station. ‘Once again a perimeter security breach at JFK Airport raises serious concerns about the Port Authority’s Perimeter Intrusion Detection System,’ a Port Authority police union spokesperson told the Post, ‘a system the PAPBA believes is a failure.’ The Port Authority insisted to WCBS that ‘kayakers did not breach the secure airfield. They were seeking help in a restricted water area and at a light pier. Both men were treated for hypothermia at a nearby hospital and charged with trespassing. | Anthony Giglio and Jordan Crooms, both 21, made their way to shore after their kayak tipped Friday night in Jamaica Bay .
They scrambled onto a pier at the end of a runway at JFK International Airport .
The airport's $100million security system failed to detect them . | [
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By . Associated Press . and Alex Greg for MailOnline . A Wyoming police officer has pleaded not guilty to an animal-cruelty charge that alleges a police dog died after he left it in a hot patrol car for several hours. According to an investigator's statement filed in Natrona County Circuit Court, Mills police officer Zachary Miller left the dog, a 10-year-old female black lab named Nyx, in his patrol car for over six hours July 9. 'It's a tragedy,' Mills Mayor Marrolyce Wilson said. Team: Officer Zachary Miller with Nyx, his canine drug detecting dog who had been with the force since 2006 . Tragedy: Nyx died after being left in a hot car for more than six hours by Miller . The car was running, but the air conditioning was off and outside temperatures reached 86 degrees, KCWY News 13 reported. Miller, a four-year veteran of the Mills Police Department, pleaded not guilty to the misdemeanor charge at a court appearance on Friday, the Casper Star-Tribune reported. Nyx was trained to detect drugs and had been with the department since 2006. Miller had been her handler for the past two years, and the dog lived with his family and went on family vacations. Mills police Chief Bryon Preciado said it's not normal to leave a car running that long. 'I'm not justifying it,' Preciado said. The affidavit states that Miller left the dog inside his car with the windows rolled up, went into the police department about 6 a.m. and did not return to the car until about 12:20 p.m. Police dogs are allowed inside the station, Preciado said. During the time Miller was inside, he was training another officer on patrol-duty procedures. Miller is no longer a training officer, Preciado said. The officer who was with Miller that day will not be disciplined, Preciado said. 'A wonderful dog': Miller has pleaded not guilty to animal cruelty in the death of Nyx, who was 10 years old . Questions: It's unclear why Miller left the dog in the car for such a long period of time; she was allowed into police headquarters . Miller remains employed by the police department but is currently not on active duty, Preciado said. He was suspended for a week with pay starting the day the dog died. 'It was a mistake he's going to have to pay for,' Preciado said. 'He's going to be disciplined through our department.' Miller had never faced disciplinary action by the department before this incident, Preciado said. He was named 'Officer of the Year' in 2013. The dog had assisted Casper Police, Wyoming Highway Patrol, the Division of Criminal Investigation and the Natrona County Sheriff's Office, Preciado said. A plaque or other kind of memorial will be created in the dog's memory at the police department, he said. The dog's body was buried on Miller's property, Preciado said. 'Everyone was hurt by her loss,' he said. Nyx was the department's first and only police dog. The department has suspended its K9 program and is reviewing its policies, Preciado said. Alarms will be installed in the K9 patrol car before the department acquires a new police dog, Preciado said. The alarm will come with a key fob that dog handlers will carry that will alert them when the car gets too hot or too cold. The police department is planning a memorial plaque in the office for K9 officer Nyx. 'She was the best dog I have ever seen in narcotics,' Preciado told Oil City Wyoming. 'She was a wonderful dog.' | Police officer Zachary Miller pleaded not guilty to animal cruelty .
Police dog Nyx, a 10-year-old labrador, died after being left in a hot car for more than six hours .
Miller left her in the car outside the police station while he was inside training another officer .
It's unclear why Miller did not bring the dog inside the building with him . | [
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By . Mark Duell . PUBLISHED: . 11:18 EST, 13 January 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 02:51 EST, 14 January 2013 . To adapt one of the most famous lines in British TV comedy: ‘Don’t mention that we won the war’. The Government is said to be against a series of celebratory events for commemorations from next year to mark the 100th anniversary of the First World War - in order to avoid upsetting Germany. War author Sebastian Faulks said the tone of events must be ‘modest, inclusive and reverential of others’ - while a source on the planning team said ministers are keen ‘not to upset the Germans’. Thoughts: War author Sebastian Faulks (left) said the tone of events must be ‘modest, inclusive and reverential of others’. British troops negotiate a trench during the Battle of the Somme in 1916 (right) in the First World War . ‘Celebration is completely the wrong note, certainly for 2014, although it might be more relevant in 2018,’ Mr Faulks, who wrote the 1993 First World War novel Birdsong, told The Sunday Times. ‘A degree of humility is needed, initially particularly, as this was an avoidable calamity.’ Other committee members believe the Government should commemorate at least one battle to show why Britain went to war - instead of highlighting the slaughter of a war that cost 16million lives. Respected First World War historian Professor Sir Hew Strachan said the events should be a mixture of victory celebrations and commemorations of lost lives. He told The Sunday Times: ‘Germany has almost as great a sense of guilt about this war as it does about the Second World War. ‘Therefore we don’t put ourselves in the wrong in German eyes by opposing German imperialism, by opposing the Kaiser’s regime.’ Days gone by: Crowds celebration VE Day in 1995 in London, 50 years after the end of the Second World War . German leaders are scheduled to attend many ceremonies with the Allies – including memorial events to mark the declaration of war in August 2014 and the Battle of Gallipoli in 2015. The Battle of the Somme will be marked in July 2016 and Passchendaele in 2017, reported The Sunday Times. The events will end with the Armistice Day centenary in November 2018. Meanwhile the British Commission for Military History wants Andrew Murrison, who is handling the centenary events for Prime Minister David Cameron, to include the Battle of Amiens. A spokesman for the group of military historians said the junior defence minister should consider the August 1918 battle, which marked the end of the Western Front stalemate. The BBC has insisted that it will mark the occasion with ‘a wide range of programming’ and it ‘will not be politically correct coverage’. Mr Murrison would not comment on whether the Government is worried about upsetting the Germans. | Various events planned from next year to mark 100th anniversary of WWI .
Planning committee source: Government trying to avoid upsetting Germans .
Sebastian Faulks: Tone of events must be modest and reverential of others .
Sir Hew Strachan: Should be mixture of celebrations and commemorations . | [
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(CNN) -- English Premier League stars have been warned about making controversial comments on Twitter and through other social media. The English Football Association (FA) outlined its policy Sunday, ruling that tweets, blogs and entries on Facebook were in the public domain and that players should exercise caution. The FA's stance follows its decision to fine former Liverpool forward Ryan Babel in January for comments made about referee Howard Webb on Twitter, where he posted a mock-up picture of the official in a Manchester United shirt. Arsenal's Jack Wilshere also nearly landed in hot water after complaining of "inconsistent refereeing" as his side threw away a four-goal lead at Newcastle last weekend. Has Rooney joined football's immortals? The FA made it clear it would not tolerate such comments in a statement on its official website Sunday: . "The FA has issued clarification to participants relating to the use of social networking sites, including, but not limited to Twitter, Facebook and internet blogs," it read. "Any comments which are deemed improper, bring the game into disrepute, or are threatening, abusive, indecent or insulting may lead to disciplinary action." Players were also warned that while they believed their postings may be limited to a small number of people, they might still end up with a wider audience. "Consequently, care should be exercised with regards to the contents of such postings," added the statement. "In addition, we would remind participants that social networking postings could also lead to civil proceedings being brought by affected parties." An increasing number of star footballers have Twitter accounts including England captain Rio Ferdinand and Aston Villa's Darren Bent, an international teammate. Bent famously used his Twitter blog to criticize Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy when his move to previous club Sunderland was delayed, using strong language to show his frustration. | English FA warn star players about statements made on Twitter and through social media .
FA say such comments in public domain and could lead to disciplinary action .
Liverpool's Ryan Babel first Premier League player to be sanctioned for a tweet . | [
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By . Candace Sutton . and Nathan Klein . and Rebecca English . The newly deposed Premier of New South Wales has gone missing after being blacklisted from the official welcoming ceremony for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. In an embarrassing turn of events for Sydney's image, Mr O'Farrell was scheduled to greet the royal couple at Sydney airport and the Opera house just four hours after he was deposed from his position as state political leader over a scandal heard in a corruption inquiry over the gift of a (£1,600) $3,000 bottle of red wine. But the state's former leader has gone hiatus since stepping down, with his staff stating they 'have no idea where he is'. SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO . Toughing it out: The newly deposed Premier of New South Wales says he will still greet the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in Sydney this afternoon, just four hours after stepping down as political leader . Duke and Duchess of Cambridge Kate and William are greeted by Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott and his wife Margie, among others, upon arriving in Sydney with Prince George this afternoon . Storm in a bottle: Barry O'Farrell and his wife Rosemary (above, right) are due to welcome the Duke and duchess of Cambridge to Australia this afternoon, despite the fact he stepped down as premier of NSW over a scandal involving a $3,000 bottle of Grange Hermitage (above, left) just four hours before the royal arrival . Mr O’Farrell and his wife, Rosemary, were due to take part in the official line-up meeting the Duke and Duchess and their son, as well co-hosting a subsequent reception at Sydney Opera House. When the MailOnline contacted Mr O'Farrell's office this morning to ask whether he would still be attending the ceremony this afternoon, a spokesman said everything was 'businesss as usual'. But it was later revealed the former premier was struck off the guest list following his humiliating public statement after a corruption hearing, which could result in perjury charges. A spokesman for Mr O'Farrell later told the MailOnline they 'weren't quite sure where he is'. 'We have no idea where he is...honestly I wouldn't be able to find out,' the spokesman said. He also said Mr O'Farrell's public relations team, which normally handle media requests, 'didn't want to take any calls until everything has been sorted out'. The debacle didn't seem to faze Kate and Wills - nor their gorgeous eight-month-old Prince George - who stepped off the RAAF B737 at 2.35pm looking thrilled to be in Australia. The couple, who will be in Australia for 10 days, will visit Uluru (Ayers Rock), watch life savers on Manly Bay and visit the world famous Taronga Zoo with George, where a Bilby Enclosure is being named after the little prince. First today, however, was a formal welcome at the airport by Australian Governor General Sir Peter Cosgrove and his wife Lady Cosgrove. The couple will host William, Kate and George at Admiralty House, their official residence in Kirribilli, during their stay in Sydney. Also present was the Governor of New South Wales, Her Excellency Professor the Honourable Marie Bashir, Prime Minister Tony Abbott and his wife, Margie. First stop: Crowds are already gathered at the Sydney Opera House to catch a glimpse pf the royal couple who are due to be greeted by the Barry O'Farrell inside the concert hall just hours after he has stepped down as state political leader . Standing firm: despite resigning as Premier of New South Wales, Barry O'Farrell will still meet the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge this afternoon, although it is unclear how he will be introduced to the royal couple . A political storm had been brewing since Tuesday when Mr O'Farrell appeared as a witness before the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) and denied he had received a bottle of Australia's most famous red wine, Penfolds Grange Hermitage as a gift. The 1959 vintage bottle of Grange had reportedly been given to the Premier by the head of Australian Water Holdings, Nick Di Giromalo, who has links with the family of Eddie Obeid, a corrupt former politician currently under investigation. In evidence before the corruption hearing, Mr O'Farrell denied and his wife Rosemary received the wine in April 2011, saying they had been on holidays that Easter. However, the ICAC traced a telephone call from Mr O'Farrell to Mr Di Giromalo around that time. Both Mr O'Farrell and Rosemary O'Farrell are due to welcome William and Kate to Australia when they touch down at Sydney Airport, and again at a reception at Sydney Opera House before 400 invited guests. Mr O'Farrell's office at the NSW State Parliament told the MailOnline that 'at this stage' the now ex-Premier and his wife planned to go ahead with meeting and greeting the royal couple. It is unclear how Mr O'Farrell and his wife will be introduced to the Duke and Duchess. | Premier Barry O'Farrell banned from welcoming ceremony four hours after resigning .
Political scandal over a bottle of red wine forces him to step down .
His office says he will still meet William and Kate at Sydney Opera House .
Confusion over how the now ex-leader will be introduced to royal couple .
O'Farrell fell on political sword over $3,000 'gift' from boss of water firm .
Gift was a 55-year-old bottle of famous Australian red, Grange Hermitage .
Benefactor had links with one of Australia's most corrupt ex-politicians . | [
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A mother is facing up to eight years in jail for allegedly endangering her sick son's life by contaminating his IV line at a Cincinnati children's hospital. Candida Fluty, 35, of Kermit, West Virginia, was apparently caught on camera as she took her nine-year-old son's colostomy bag and removed feces using a syringe. She then injected the waste matter into the boy's intravenous drip, which reportedly caused his fever to spike. Scroll down for video . Candida Fluty, 35, of Kermit, West Virginia, was apparently caught on camera as she took her nine-year-old son's (pictured here) colostomy bag and removed feces using a syringe . The mother (seen above) then injected the waste matter into the boy's intravenous drip, which reportedly caused his fever to spike . Fluty's son suffers from a rare disease called Hirschprung's. The congenital condition, which affects muscle movement the bowels, has required numerous surgeries. However, it's thought his symptoms may have been exacerbated by Fluty, who's believed to be a perpetrator of Munchausen by proxy syndrome . The psychological disorder is marked by attention-seeking behavior by a caregiver through those who are in their care. An indicator of her mental illness was apparently the fact that she openly wrote about her son's condition on Facebook. It's thought Fluty had performed the alleged IV-injecting stunt on previous occasions. Video courtesy WSAZ News Channel 3 . Fluty's son suffers from a rare disease called Hirschprung's - The congenital condition, which affects muscle movement the bowels, has required numerous surgeries . The mother was indicted Tuesday on charges of felonious assault and child endangering with a hearing set for early February - She could face up to eight years in prison if convicted of all allegations . She was arrested on January 17 and later released from jail after posting a $50,000 bond. She was indicted Tuesday on charges of felonious assault and child endangering. A hearing has been set for early February. She could face up to eight years in prison if convicted of all allegations. Court records reveal that Fluty’s attorney, Elizabeth Zucker, said the entire situation was a 'total misunderstanding,' Following the alleged poisoning incident, Fluty's son is in the custody of West Virginia Children's Services but staying with an aunt. A judge has imposed a no-contact order on Fluty. | Candida Fluty, 35, was indicted Tuesday on charges of felonious assault and child endangering .
The mother from West Virginia was apparently caught on camera as she took her son's colostomy bag and removed feces using a syringe .
She then injected the waste matter into the boy's intravenous drip, which reportedly caused his fever to spike .
Fluty's son suffers from a rare disease called Hirschprung's .
The congenital condition, which affects muscle movement the bowels, has required numerous surgeries .
However, it's thought his symptoms may have been exacerbated by Fluty, who's believed to be a perpetrator of Munchausen by proxy syndrome . | [
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Rumors and speculation are running wild, as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) prepares for its 18th Party Congress. So far, though, the most tangible thing about the Congress is the massive deployment of extended security measures in China, resulting in the cancelation of academic conferences, art exhibitions, performances and even private meetings. In a way, the CCP is asking the entire Chinese nation to hold its breath until the Congress ends. All this effort is expended over the transfer of power to the "next generation" of Chinese leaders. Indeed, these extra security measures indicate that the leaders of the CCP understand well their weakness: that the fragility of an authoritarian system lies in its transfer of power. China's next leaders: Who's who . That is, despite its domination over the lives of the Chinese people, even the Communist party is not exempt from the general political axiom that a governing régime relies on popular acceptance of its authority. The problem is that is no one, not even the Party's own members, voted for the next generation of CCP leaders. There are no laws -- or even any clear rules -- that govern the selection of leaders, leaving the matter of choosing the top leaders of the most populous nation on earth entirely at the mercy of the Party's forever changing internal logic. Read about the struggle of ideas among China's leadership . Even after a decade as the top leader of China, how exactly President Hu Jintao became Jiang Zemin's designated successor remains a mystery even to expert analysts and historians. The selection process is and will always remain at the highest level of state secrets, guarded even from the majority of Party members. The most important reason is that any detail, if known, could be used as ammunition for internal party strife and dangerously expose the leadership's vulnerabilities. On April 30, 1976, after Premier Hua Guofeng had accompanied Chairman Mao Zedong to a meeting with New Zealand Prime Minister Robert Muldoon, Hua told Mao that he would summon activists from Sichuan and Guizhou provinces to Beijing for a conference to strengthen the "Criticize Deng Xiaoping Campaign." Mao was already suffering from a neural disease that made him unable to speak, so he replied by jotting down a note that read: "With you in charge, I am at ease." Five months later, Mao died, and Hua became his successor as chairman. That note became the main vehicle of state propaganda efforts to lend Hua legitimacy. And in order to keep its original limited context a secret, Foreign Minister Qiao Guanhua, an eyewitness to the original exchange, was sacked. It is unlikely that the public will ever know how Xi Jinping became the designated successor of Hu Jintao. Whether or not he was actually handpicked by Jiang Zemin, as rumored, will remain a secret, and even if Jiang were confirmed to have picked Xi, Jiang does not have the charismatic stature of Mao to lend instant legitimacy to his chosen successor, and the lack of public consent would only be highlighted. In Hua's case, details surfaced only after he was politically sidelined and excluded from positions of power. In addition to the selection of president and the party's general secretary, the selection of the powerful Politburo Standing Committee is another top level state secret, because the details of who nominated whom would allow political analysts to figure out factional affiliations and map out the complex web of entrenched interests. Read why China's new leaders must focus on rights . Under certain circumstances, information regarding top leaders is released to the public only with intent. Deciding which details to release or not to release on the fallen Bo Xilai must have been a real headache for the Chinese leadership. When the case against his wife, Gu Kailai, was first announced, there was no mention of Bo himself. Too many details would only confirm the longstanding public impression that families of high-level Party officials use their connections to rapidly accumulate millions and live their private lives in stark contrast to the Party's claims of altruism. Yet, some details needed to be released, as authorities built their case against him. Thus, the decision of what and when to release information has seemed painfully slow and cautious, creating the perfect environment for rumors and speculation to feed public curiosity. In today's global information environment, details on the Chinese leadership can now reach millions of people in a matter of minutes via online media and social networks. More than likely, Chinese leaders do not like the way the public reacts to news that is not carefully crafted by the state's propaganda machinery. In March 2012, a young man driving a Ferrari 458 Spider with two young women aboard died in a fatal high-speed crash. Information about the incident went viral online before it could be suppressed. The driver was reportedly found to be Ling Gu, the son of Ling Jihua, President Hu Jintao's protégé, who was demoted six months after the Ferrari incident. Recently, the New York Times report of Premier Wen Jiabao's alleged family business ventures spread throughout the Chinese online network shortly after publication, even after Chinese authorities had blocked access to the newspaper's English and Chinese websites. The same happened after Bloomberg reported on the wealth of Xi's extended family. That is a far cry from September 13, 1971. When Mao's comrade-in-arms Lin Biao died in a mysterious plane crash in Mongolia, it took months for the news to ripple through widening circles of the population. Thus, the Chinese leaders' response to the new age of information has been to make their political system ever more opaque and expend enormous resources on media censorship. Such is the case with Xi, China's designated leader, of which little is known beyond official accounts. His personality too must be kept secret through a web of media censorship, because such information could be used by opponents to figure out his political tendencies and preempt his political actions. If we have to make an intelligent guess about Xi, we might have to look at the CCP's recent "History of the Chinese Communist Party, Volume 2 (1949-1978)," which covers the Mao years. This grand project was led by none other than Xi Jinping, according to official reports, and reportedly under his sole discretion. The result is another Party effort to cosmetically make over the disastrous events of the Mao era. When Xi is in power, he will be turning Party history to its next page. "He who controls the past controls the future." | There are no laws -- or even clear rules -- that govern selection of leaders, Bao writes .
Bao: It is unlikely that public will ever know how Xi became Hu's designated successor .
Selection of powerful Politburo Standing Committee is another top level state secret .
Bao: Public consent is lacking; in media age, leaders respond by making system more opaque . | [
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By . Rachel Reilly . PUBLISHED: . 08:45 EST, 25 May 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 09:51 EST, 25 May 2013 . A blogger whose reflections on terminal bone cancer inspired countless followers has lost her battle against the disease. Three weeks ago MailOnline ran extracts from charity worker . Louise Page's blog about her experience of having cancer. Her moving and surprisingly humorous take on her bleak . prognosis triggered an outpouring of emotion from readers. Some blog followers even claimed to have made major . life-changing decisions - such as moving across the country to be closer to . family or changing career – after reading her inspiring words. But sadly Louise died last Sunday and her husband Alan Ainsley announced his loss by simply updating her blog with the words: 'My darling, beautiful wife and best friend 15.12.70 - 19.05.13xxxxxxxx' Louise Page died on Sunday 19 May after a ten-year battle with a rare bone cancer. Her husband Alan announced his loss on her blog by simply posting the above image and writing: 'My darling, beautiful wife and best friend 15.12.70 - 19.05.13xxxxxxxx' Photographer Rankin has also paid tribute to Louise on Facebook. He met her after she took part in one of his latest projects entitled 'Alive'. 'Alive: In the face of Death' is an exhibition looking at the reality of death from all perspectives – from people who work in the death industry to those, like Louise, living with a terminal illness. The show opened at the Walker Gallery in Liverpool earlier this week. Rankin wrote: ‘I am very sad to say that Lou Page passed away peacefully yesterday morning. She was a shining light … I can't even begin to express my love and admiration for her. 'It is rare that one subject has so much influence on you, but for me, Louise really did make a massive difference. Her infectious love for life reminded us all to live our own lives to the fullest. It was husband Alan Ainsley that suggested Louise Page start writing about her feelings about her terminal cancer diagnosis. She has had well-wishing messages from readers as far away New Zealand . 'To cherish our own mortality and not be selfish or preoccupied with it. She was plain and direct about her feelings and taught me to focus on the good things and not dwell on the negatives of the day-to-day, or my own self obsessions. 'Talking to her made it so much easier to come to terms with the passing of my own parents. 'Her "after crying" image is one of my favourite photos ever. I'm so proud to have helped her to create it. Rankin's image of Louise for charity project Alive is powerful and the photographer said it is one of his favourite photographs ever . 'An all round lovely human being, which the world should have known for longer. It is with deep sadness that we all say goodbye to her. The word 'loss' is just not enough. 'To Al, Lou's best friend and the love of her life, I know she'll be there forever. All my love to you both. It was an honour to meet her and I'll remember her forever. Lots of love Rankin x’ Louise, 42, from Edinburgh was diagnosed with terminal bone cancer in December 2012, just two weeks after her two-year wedding anniversary. She had been fighting a rare form of bone cancer called Dedifferentiated Adamantinoma in her left leg since 2004. Louise had a farewell party for her left leg (left) before it was amputated four years ago. She has documented much of her experience with photos, such as just before her leg was removed. The black arrow drawn on her leg indicates where surgeons should cut (right) Louise, pictured after her first amputation and second year of chemotherapy, in 2008 . The cancer behaved very oddly and returned each time doctors tried to remove it, so in 2008 they were forced to amputate part of her leg. She . underwent repeated cycles of chemotherapy and radiotherapy in . conjunction with the surgery but doctors had to amputate a further three . times to stem the growth of the cancer. But just weeks after her two-year . wedding anniversary with her husband, the couple were given . the devastating news that she only had weeks to live. The cancer had spread to . her lungs, next to her liver and where her ribs and shoulder blade meet. 'We both kind of knew it would happen . eventually but for a couple of weeks were in a bit of shock,' said Mr . Ainsley. 'Eventually, we pulled together and just decided to . stay positive. Louise has been positive about her situation from the . outset.' Alan, 45, suggested she start writing about her experiences as a means to cope with the emotions she was experiencing. Her musings and reflections on her life - past, present and future - culminated in her blog Lou's Story, which quickly developed a worldwide following. She has had well-wishing messages from readers as far away as Nepal, New Zealand and Russia. Outgoing: Louise is pictured having fun on a day out with a friend despite being diagnosed with terminal cancer . 'One person even got in touch to say . they'd left their job after reading Louise's blog - they decided that . life was too short not to do something that made them happy and changed . career to be closer their family,' said Alan. Here, with Louise's husband's permission, MailOnline features Louise' last blog entry. MAY - SAYING GOODBYE . Goodbye (or its many . variations) is a word we say all the time. When our partner leaves for work, when you leave the office . for the day. Louise's health deteriorated but she tried to look on the bright side, saying she 'no longer needed to worry about a pension and now had more time to watch trashy daytime television' Louise was keen to live as normally as possible despite her need for daily palliative treatment . When it’s time to leave the pub after perhaps one too many… . But it’s only when it’s a harder goodbye that we really . think about what we’re saying. Dropping someone you love off at the airport knowing you . won’t see them again for months. That . type of goodbye hits hard. But you do . have the hope and belief that you will see that person again. But goodbye has changed for me lately…. I still have all the daily ‘Bye, see you later’ goodbyes for . my friends and family. But then, there are the much harder goodbyes, where I know I . won’t see that person again in this life. And over the last weeks I’ve had to get through a few of . those goodbyes as my friends from overseas have visited me (you know who you . are and I love you). And it’s so painful and so hard and heart-crushingly awful . and feels so unfair. I’m there hugging someone and not wanting to ever let . go. But I have to. And then they disappear around the side of our house and . that’s it. And there’s no solution other . than to sob. And then try and console . myself with the existence of Facetime and Skype. Tender moment: Louise and Alan hold hands. She said her disease made her treasure those close to her . It all makes me wonder if we should consider our goodbyes . more carefully, treat them more seriously. I used to have this silly superstition that I could never . let someone go or say ‘bye to them if there was some kind of negative feeling . in the air (we’ve all slammed doors after an argument, or hung up on people . we’re angry with). Louise said that by getting on with daily life - such as going out for lunch - she was able to forget about her bleak prognosis . I’m not a paranoid or superstitious person at all normally, . but I hated the idea of that being our last goodbye somehow. So maybe that was my preparation for my current . situation. Who knows? But I reckon it’s worth thinking about what . bye means to us all and seeing what we discover. Anyhow, after thinking about what it means to me, I’ve . decided I prefer the French “au revoir” as with that there is hope that I shall . see my loved ones again. Maybe not in this life, but, if I’m lucky, in the next. I can but hope. | Louise Page has battled a rare bone cancer for 10 years .
Last December she was told it was terminal and she had just weeks to live .
She started writing a blog, recording her emotions about her limited time left, and is now providing comfort for fellow sufferers across the world .
MailOnline ran extracts from the blog earlier this month which provoked an outpouring of emotion on the website, her blog and Twitter .
Photographer Rankin has paid tribute to her saying that an image he took of her is 'one of my favourite photos ever'
For more information about the charities that trust Joanne is raising awareness of, visit The Thistle Foundation and SCAT - The Bone Cancer Trust . | [
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Dataset Card for AutoTrain Evaluator
This repository contains model predictions generated by AutoTrain for the following task and dataset:
- Task: Summarization
- Model: eslamxm/mbart-finetune-en-cnn
- Dataset: cnn_dailymail
To run new evaluation jobs, visit Hugging Face's automatic model evaluator.
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