article
stringlengths 48
2.05k
| highlights
stringlengths 39
1.87k
| id
stringlengths 40
40
|
|---|---|---|
BREMEN, Germany -- Carlos Alberto, who scored in FC Porto's Champions League final victory against Monaco in 2004, has joined Bundesliga club Werder Bremen for a club record fee of 7.8 million euros ($10.7 million). Carlos Alberto enjoyed success at FC Porto under Jose Mourinho. "I'm here to win titles with Werder," the 22-year-old said after his first training session with his new club. "I like Bremen and would only have wanted to come here." Carlos Alberto started his career with Fluminense, and helped them to lift the Campeonato Carioca in 2002. In January 2004 he moved on to FC Porto, who were coached by José Mourinho, and the club won the Portuguese title as well as the Champions League. Early in 2005, he moved to Corinthians, where he impressed as they won the Brasileirão,but in 2006 Corinthians had a poor season and Carlos Alberto found himself at odds with manager, Emerson Leão. Their poor relationship came to a climax at a Copa Sul-Americana game against Club Atlético Lanús, and Carlos Alberto declared that he would not play for Corinthians again while Leão remained as manager. Since January this year he has been on loan with his first club Fluminense. Bundesliga champions VfB Stuttgart said on Sunday that they would sign a loan agreement with Real Zaragoza on Monday for Ewerthon, the third top Brazilian player to join the German league in three days. A VfB spokesman said Ewerthon, who played in the Bundesliga for Borussia Dortmund from 2001 to 2005, was expected to join the club for their pre-season training in Austria on Monday. On Friday, Ailton returned to Germany where he was the league's top scorer in 2004, signing a one-year deal with Duisburg on a transfer from Red Star Belgrade. E-mail to a friend . | Werder Bremen pay a club record $10.7 million for Carlos Alberto .
The Brazilian midfielder won the Champions League with FC Porto in 2004 .
Since January he has been on loan with his first club, Fluminense . | 77d7c8cf2a9432e395d629371a12790c563c19f7 |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Vice President Dick Cheney will serve as acting president briefly Saturday while President Bush is anesthetized for a routine colonoscopy, White House spokesman Tony Snow said Friday. Bush is scheduled to have the medical procedure, expected to take about 2 1/2 hours, at the presidential retreat at Camp David, Maryland, Snow said. Bush's last colonoscopy was in June 2002, and no abnormalities were found, Snow said. The president's doctor had recommended a repeat procedure in about five years. The procedure will be supervised by Dr. Richard Tubb and conducted by a multidisciplinary team from the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, Snow said. A colonoscopy is the most sensitive test for colon cancer, rectal cancer and polyps, small clumps of cells that can become cancerous, according to the Mayo Clinic. Small polyps may be removed during the procedure. Snow said that was the case when Bush had colonoscopies before becoming president. Snow himself is undergoing chemotherapy for cancer that began in his colon and spread to his liver. Snow told reporters he had a chemo session scheduled later Friday. Watch Snow talk about Bush's procedure and his own colon cancer » . "The president wants to encourage everybody to use surveillance," Snow said. The American Cancer Society recommends that people without high-risk factors or symptoms begin getting screened for signs of colorectal cancer at age 50. E-mail to a friend . | President Bush will have a routine colonoscopy Saturday .
While he's anesthetized, his powers will be transferred to the vice president .
Bush had last colonoscopy in 2002, which found no problems . | 35f0e33de7923036a97ac245d899f990bda5e242 |
SAN FRANCISCO, California (CNN) -- A magnitude 4.2 earthquake shook the San Francisco area Friday at 4:42 a.m. PT (7:42 a.m. ET), the U.S. Geological Survey reported. The quake left about 2,000 customers without power, said David Eisenhower, a spokesman for Pacific Gas and Light. Under the USGS classification, a magnitude 4.2 earthquake is considered "light," which it says usually causes minimal damage. "We had quite a spike in calls, mostly calls of inquiry, none of any injury, none of any damage that was reported," said Capt. Al Casciato of the San Francisco police. "It was fairly mild." Watch police describe concerned calls immediately after the quake » . The quake was centered about two miles east-northeast of Oakland, at a depth of 3.6 miles, the USGS said. Oakland is just east of San Francisco, across San Francisco Bay. An Oakland police dispatcher told CNN the quake set off alarms at people's homes. The shaking lasted about 50 seconds, said CNN meteorologist Chad Myers. According to the USGS, magnitude 4.2 quakes are felt indoors and may break dishes and windows and overturn unstable objects. Pendulum clocks may stop. E-mail to a friend . | 2,000 customers without electricity, power company says .
Magnitude 4.2 quake set off home alarms, says Oakland police dispatcher .
"It was fairly mild," police say, no immediate reports of injuries, damage .
It was centered two miles east-northeast of Oakland, about 3.6 miles deep . | 2ad31cae96512af5105b9b23f9b681dc732b2605 |
(CNN) -- At least 14 people were killed and 60 others wounded Thursday when a bomb ripped through a crowd waiting to see Algeria's president in Batna, east of the capital of Algiers, the Algerie Presse Service reported. A wounded person gets first aid shortly after Thursday's attack in Batna, Algeria. The explosion occurred at 5 p.m. about 20 meters (65 feet) from a mosque in Batna, a town about 450 kilometers (280 miles) east of Algiers, security officials in Batna told the state-run news agency. The bomb went off 15 minutes before the expected arrival of President Abdel-Aziz Bouteflika. It wasn't clear if the bomb was caused by a suicide bomber or if it was planted, the officials said. Later Thursday, Algeria's Interior Minister Noureddine Yazid Zerhouni said "a suspect person who was among the crowd attempted to go beyond the security cordon," but the person escaped "immediately after the bomb exploded," the press service reported. Bouteflika made his visit to Batna as planned, adding a stop at a hospital to visit the wounded before he returned to the capital. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the bombing. Algeria faces a continuing Islamic insurgency, according to the CIA. In July, 33 people were killed in apparent suicide bombings in Algiers that were claimed by an al Qaeda-affiliated group. Bouteflika said terrorist acts have nothing in common with the noble values of Islam, the press service reported. E-mail to a friend . CNN's Mohammed Tawfeeq contributed to this report. | Bomb victims waiting for presidential visit .
Blast went off 15 minutes before president's arrival .
Algeria faces Islamic insurgency .
Al Qaeda-affiliated group claimed July attacks . | bf0cd4ccacd4fe045995338f4c44d9cf18000226 |
LONDON, England -- Savers at a leading UK mortgage bank lined up for a second day to empty their accounts Saturday, a day after the lender was bailed out by the Bank of England after heavily slashing profit forecasts. Fearful customers line up to withdraw cash from a Northern Rock branch in southeast London on Friday. Long lines formed before counters opened at the Northern Rock building society, one of the UK's top five lenders, as worried customers ignored reassurances from the bank and the government. Customers are believed to have already withdrawn about £1 billion ($2 billion) since the bank's woes were revealed, prompting speculation that the global credit crunch made raising funds through commercial borrowing difficult. Shares in Northern Rock dropped up to 30 percent in Friday trading, with problems spilling over the European banking sector . The British Bankers' Association has urged customers to "calm down," according to the UK Press Association. It said: "Northern Rock is a sound and safe bank and there is absolutely no reason for either mortgage customers or savers to worry." Meanwhile, finance minister Alistair Darling said the Bank of England had stepped in "to create a stable banking system". He said: "People can use their accounts in the usual way, they can carry on making their mortgage payments in the usual way. Northern Rock will be able to carry on its business." Northern Rock chief executive Adam Applegarth said yesterday that the bank had yet to draw on the emergency cash, which he called "a backdrop in case we need to use it", according to PA. E-mail to a friend . | Savers at leading UK mortgage bank lined up to empty their accounts .
Northern Rock was bailed out by the Bank of England a day earlier .
Reassurances that banks was safe have gone unheeded by many . | ad021a7924ee57491cee8576499ac196b1afeb23 |
LAGOS, Nigeria (Reuters) -- Nigeria's television survival show has been suspended after a contestant drowned in preparation for the program, said Dutch brewer Heineken's local unit which is sponsoring the show. Anthony Ogadje, 25, and nine other contestants had gone to Shere Hills Lake in Nigeria's hilly Plateau State to prepare for the "Gulder Ultimate Search," which sets a variety of physical challenges for participants. A statement from Nigerian Breweries on Monday said Ogadje died suddenly and he was thought to have drowned. "All attempts to revive him by the attendant medical team and the lifeguards, including his fellow contestants, failed," said Nigerian Breweries, which is majority-owned by the Dutch giant. Broadcasting had been due to start on Thursday. In the show, the weakest contestants are evicted one by one until a winner emerges. The prize money is a big attraction in a country where most people live in extreme poverty and benefit little from Nigeria's oil wealth. The winner was to get 5 million naira (about $39,000) in cash, a four-wheel drive jeep and another 500,000 naira (about $3,900) to buy clothes. The winner could also have expected to become an instant celebrity, attracting sponsorship deals. The Ultimate Search, which started in 2004, gets high ratings. E-mail to a friend . Copyright 2007 Reuters. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. | Anthony Ogadje, 25, reportedly drowned in Shere Hills Lake .
He was preparing for the show, "Gulder Ultimate Search"
Dutch brewer Heineken's local unit sponsors the program . | 30cb674030b01014d2c87b92f09152857e249631 |
LONDON, England -- Chelsea are waiting on the fitness of John Terry ahead of Wednesday's Champions League match with Valencia, but Frank Lampard has been ruled out. John Terry tries out his protective mask during training for Chelsea on Tuesday. Center-back Terry suffered a broken cheekbone during Saturday's 0-0 draw with Fulham, and Chelsea manager Avram Grant will see how he fares during training on Tuesday before making a decision on his availability. Terry trained at Valencia's Mestalla stadium with a face mask on after surgery on Sunday. "John Terry wants to play which is very good. Now we need to wait for training and then we will speak with the medical department and decide," said Grant. Grant has confirmed that Lampard will definitely sit the game out though as the midfielder continues to recover from his thigh injury. Midfielder Michael Essien, who scored a last-minute winner for Chelsea to knock Valencia out of last season's Champions League, has also been battling a leg injury but he took part in training on Tuesday and is expected to play. E-mail to a friend . | Chelsea are still waiting on the fitness of England captain John Terry .
Terry trained in a face mask ahead of the Champions League tie in Valencia .
The central defender underwent surgery on a broken cheekbone on Sunday . | fbc6a4d0697b2a3e8b549dcb1f80a8ce7bf47e34 |
ROME. Italy -- Italy and Roma striker Francesco Totti has threatened to quit the Italian Players Association, in a row over the starting date of the next Serie A season. Roma striker Totti has complained that the Italian players are never listened to. The row began last month, when the Italian Football League, which is run by the presidents of clubs in the country's top two divisions, voted to start the season on August 26. In doing so, they ignored a request by Italy coach Roberto Donadoni to play the first round of matches midway through the month, to give his players time to gain match-fitness ahead of Euro 2008 qualifiers against France and Ukraine in early September. "I'm ready to leave the Italian Players Association. We are the principal actors, but also the people who are never listened to," Totti was quoted as saying in Italian football magazine Dieci. "This is the moment in which we must make our voice heard. We wanted to start on August 19, to have an extra week's rest at Christmas and allow the national team to come into the big matches in September better prepared. "Those who decided (on August 26) didn't care at all about Donadoni's needs." Serie A is one of the last major European leagues to start next season. The opening round of English Premier League matches is scheduled to start on August 11, while the French Ligue 1 will kick off on August 4. E-mail to a friend . | Francesco Totti threatens to quit the Italian Players' Association .
The Italy and Roma striker is upset over the early start to the new season .
He says: We are the principal actors, but ... are never listened to." | 7fa8d9beca50155fd3d71a9087a4311ce321c34b |
(CNN) -- A Marine convicted for his role in the death of an Iraqi civilian was sentenced Friday to a reduction in rank and will be discharged. Cpl. Trent D. Thomas was found guilty Wednesday of kidnapping and conspiracy to commit several offenses -- including murder, larceny, housebreaking, kidnapping, and making false official statements -- for his involvement in the April 2006 death in Hamdaniya, Iraq. Thomas will be demoted to the rank of entry-level private and will receive a bad-conduct discharge. The 25-year-old was among seven Marines and a Navy medic who were charged in connection with the death of Hashim Ibrahim Awad, 52. The Marines accused in the case were members of Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment. They reported at the time that Awad planned to detonate a roadside bomb targeting their patrol. But several residents of Hamdaniya, including relatives of the victim, gave a different account, prompting a criminal investigation. Prosecutors accuse the group's squad leader, Sgt. Lawrence G. Hutchins III, of dragging Awad from his home, shooting him in the street and then making it look like he had planned to ambush American troops. Hutchins has pleaded not guilty to murder, conspiracy and other charges in the case. He faces a sentence of life in prison if convicted. Thomas changed his plea from guilty to not guilty in February, arguing that he had merely followed orders. He told his attorneys that after reviewing the evidence against him, he realized "that what happened overseas happened as a result of obedience to orders, and he hasn't done anything wrong," defense attorney Victor Kelley said. Thomas said in January, shortly after entering his guilty plea, that he was "truly sorry" for his role in the killing. He could have been sentenced to life in prison under his original plea. E-mail to a friend . | Cpl. Trent D. Thomas found guilty this week of conspiracy to commit murder .
Marine gets rank of private, will be discharged for role in death of Iraqi civilian .
Group's leader awaits trial on murder and conspiracy charges . | e9093ca0a82f2aba28cd2762942c04177cfbb000 |
PARIS, France (CNN) -- Interpol on Monday took the unprecendented step of making a global appeal for help to identify a man from digitally reconstructed photos taken from the Internet that it said showed him sexually abusing underage boys. This moving image shows how police used software to unscramble the image. (Source: Interpol) The man's face was disguised by digital alteration, but the images were capable of being restored, according to a bulletin from Interpol -- the international police agency based in Lyon, France. Interpol Secretary General Ronald K. Noble said the pictures have been on the the Internet for several years, but investigators have been unable to determine the man's identity or nationality. "We have tried all other means to identify and to bring him to justice, but we are now convinced that without the public's help this sexual predator could continue to rape and sexually abuse young children whose ages appear to range from six to early teens," Noble said. He said there is "very good reason to believe that he travels the world in order to sexually abuse and exploit vulnerable children." Interpol has determined the photos were taken in Vietnam and Cambodia. "The decision to make public this man's picture was not one which was taken lightly," said Kristin Kvigne, assistant director of Interpol's Trafficking in Human Beings Unit. The suspect's photo and more information can be seen online at Interpol's Web site. E-mail to a friend . | Man posted photos on the Internet of himself sexually abusing underage boys .
Computer experts managed to undo digital masking to reveal the man .
Man abused 12 boys in Vietnam and Cambodia . | 5ebd041d89a2ba41b387c30293f0657eef746910 |
(CNN) -- The partnership started as a single shop on Oxford Street in London, opened in 1864 by John Lewis. Today the partnership is an organization with bases throughout the UK, with supermarkets and department stores, employing approximately 67,100 people. All 67,100 permanent staff are Partners who own 26 John Lewis department stores, 183 Waitrose supermarkets, an online and catalogue business, John Lewis Direct a direct services company - Greenbee, three production units and a farm. Every Partner receives the same scale of bonus, based on a fixed percentage of their annual wage. The bonus for 2006 was 18% equivalent to 9 weeks pay, which was rolled out for every employee. Chairman Sir Stuart Hampson retired at the end of March 2007, his successor is Charlie Mayfield. Hampson's salary for January 26, 2006 to January 26, 2007 was $1.66 million which included the partnership bonus of $250,000. John Lewis' consolidated revenue for the last financial year was $11.4 billion. E-mail to a friend . | John Lewis Partnership began as a shop on London's Oxford street in 1864 .
All 67,100 employees are partners in the organization and own shares . | e117408ad19cc69e15b1e21b9ae54f10c07223ce |
(CNN) -- The company was founded in 1985 by seven communications industry veterans -- Franklin Antonio, Adelia Coffman, Andrew Cohen, Klein Gilhousen, Irwin Jacobs, Andrew Viterbi and Harvey White. One of Qualcomm's first products was OmniTRACS, introduced in 1988, which is currently the largest satellite-based commercial mobile system for the transportation industry. Today, Qualcomm's patent portfolio includes approximately 6,100 United States patents and patent applications for CDMA and related technologies. More than 130 telecommunications equipment manufacturers worldwide have licensed QUALCOMM's essential CDMA patents. Qualcomm is among the members of the S&P 500 Index, Fortune 500, and a winner of the U.S. Department of Labor's" Secretary of Labor's Opportunity Award." The company has been listed among Fortune's "100 Best Companies to Work For in America" for nine years in a row and the magazine's list of" Most Admired Companies." Qualcomm's Annual revenue for 2006 was $7.53 billion, with a net income of $2.47 billion. E-mail to a friend . | The company has become a huge name in communications in just 20 years .
Qualcomm has a portfolio of approximately 6,100 U.S. patents .
Fortune lists the company as one of the 100 best places to work in the U.S. | 3c5b68b58c34853baa534d1265ec7fde00d4eb4e |
PARIS, France -- AC Milan's Brazilian midfielder Kaka has been named European player of the year, lifting France Football's Ballon d'Or award. Kaka has already claimed all of the game's major prizes. His success comes two years after his fellow countryman, Barcelona's Ronaldinho, claimed the award . The 25-year-old Kaka was a major factor in AC Milan's triumphant Champions League campaign. The runner-up was Manchester United's Portuguese winger Cristiano Ronaldo with Barcelona's Argentinian midfielder Lionel Messi finishing third. "This is very special for me - it culminates an astonishing year for me," Kaka said. "It's the top prize around and the only way to win something like this is to play for a team like AC Milan. It's great to be part of a team that wins." At 25 years old, he has already won all the game's major prizes, individually and collectively. He was part of Brazil's 2002 World Cup winning squad, although he was limited to just 19 minutes as a substitute against Costa Rica. He was top scorer in last season's Champions League, helping Milan to avenge their loss to Liverpool in the 2005 final. He won the Italian domestic title in his first season at Milan having joined from Brazilians Sao Paulo for$ 8.5 million, a sum that Milan president Silvio Berlusconi then described as peanuts. E-mail to a friend . | Brazilian Kaka is named European player of the year .
The AC Milan player is chosen ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo of Manchester Utd .
Argentine Lionel Messi of Barcelona finishes third . | 282f1910bd57e50d4401c695ebe75b817de68548 |
(CNN) -- BUPA is an international health and care company with bases on three continents and more than eight million customers. BUPA began as The British United Provident Association in 1947 to preserve freedom of choice in health care. It believed that with a National Health Service being introduced a year later, there would still be a need for a complimentary service enabling people from all walks of life to afford the benefits of choice in where, when and by whom they were treated. Led by the growing public demand for health care and a lack of quality private accommodation BUPA initiated the Nuffield Homes Charitable Trust - later renamed Nuffield Hospitals. BUPA's biggest and original business is health insurance in the UK, both for individuals and corporations that want to look after the health of their employees. More than half of the UK's top companies are BUPA customers. The company's UK care homes offer specialist care to residents who include the elderly, the mentally ill, young people with physical or learning disabilities and people with conditions such as Parkinson's and Huntington's diseases. BUPA is a leading healthcare company in the UK, Spain, Australia, Ireland, Hong Kong, Thailand, Malta and Saudi Arabia. BUPA International supplies health cover to expatriates in over 180 countries. Sanitas, the BUPA business in Spain, has one million insured customers who have access to a network of 18,000 medical professionals and 450 medical centres. E-mail to a friend . | BUPA was founded in 1947 in response to plans to establish the NHS .
The company's biggest base is in the UK but has customers in three continents .
BUPA care homes cater for a number of conditions, including Parkinson's . | af2d712599be471d1ba0b91fa18c347220ca595d |
ROME, Italy -- Mauro Camoranesi scored with 13 minutes left to earn Juventus a 1-1 home draw with Serie A leaders Inter Milan on Sunday. Julio Cruz is mobbed by team-mates after giving Inter the lead in their 1-1 draw at Juventus. Camoranesi picked up a headed knock-down from substitute Vincenzo Iaquinta before seeing his shot deflect off defender Walter Samuel to leave goalkeeper Julio Cesar helpless. Inter took a first-half lead when Argentine striker Julio Cruz broke Juve's offside trap and latched onto Brazilian midfielder Cesar's through ball before firing past Gianluigi Buffon. The result means Inter retain their unbeaten record this season, despite injury problems that saw the likes of Patrick Vieira, Francesco Toldo, Marco Materazzi and Dejan Stankovic ruled out. The defending champions are now two points clear of Fiorentina at the top of the table, with Roma a point further behind and Juventus in fourth place. Earlier in the day, Roma missed out on the chance to close the gap on Inter when a late collapse saw them throw away a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 at Empoli. First half goals from French winger Ludovic Giuly and Matteo Brighi had put the visiting Romans in charge and for more than an hour they looked set to cruise to victory. But with 23 minutes remaining Ighli Vannucchi reduced the deficit and Sebastian Giovinco snatched an injury time equaliser to deny Luciano Spaletti's injury-depleted team. Siena snatched a share of the spoils from Parma in a 2-2 draw as Daniele Galloppa scored in the last minute while Napoli needed an injury time goal from striker Ezequiel Lavezzi to deny rock-bottom Reggina their first win of the season, forcing them to settle for a 1-1 draw in the south. E-mail to a friend . | A Mauro Camoranesi goal earns Juventus a 1-1 draw with leaders Inter Milan .
Argentine striker Julio Cruz had given injury-hit Inter the lead in the first half .
The result maintains Inter's unbeaten record and moves them two points clear . | 2b08ee205946dc0bb6ffe0db654cbbba1199eb28 |
(CNN) -- One Australian soldier, three civilians and Taliban militants were killed early Friday during heavy fighting in southern Afghanistan, according to information from Australian and NATO officials. Four Australian troops have now died in the conflict in Afghanistan. The incident occurred in Tarin Kowt in Uruzgan province, where Taliban militants killed an Australian commando, the Australian Defence Ministry said. The 26-year-old commando -- Pvt. Luke Worsley of Sydney -- served with the Special Operations Task Group. This is the fourth Australian troop to die in the Afghan conflict. "The action in which Private Worsley died only concluded in the last few hours and was characterized by heavy, close quarter fighting. The SOTG was conducting an operation to clear an identified Taliban bomb making facility in Uruzgan province, when the soldier was hit by small arms fire," Chief of the Defence Force Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston said. NATO's International Security Assistance Force said "a significant number of Taliban insurgents were killed or captured as part of the operation. Taliban insurgents initiated the firefight which lasted several hours." Gen. Carlos Branco, ISAF spokesman, said it is not known how the civilians, two women and a child, died. "However, we do know that the insurgents fired upon ISAF soldiers from the compound in which the Afghan civilians (two women and one child) were found after the fight. ISAF makes all effort to prevent losses of innocent civilian lives." E-mail to a friend . | Taliban militants kill Australian commando in southern Afghanistan .
He was shot during operation to clear Taliban bomb making facility in Uruzgan .
This is the fourth Australian soldier to die in the conflict in Afghanistan .
Several militants killed and a coalition troop injured in other fighting in southeast . | 782c4bdaee73189103d2e05748717b3ea0e89e5d |
(CNN) -- As part of an effort to share the best practices of modern business among organizations across the globe, CNN is talking to some of the world's top executives. In line with this, CNN will be hosting three events looking at modern strategies in today's business arena. The first of these master classes will be based at the China Europe International Business School in Shanghai and will be aired November 10 and 11. One of the guests at the event will be Howard Schultz, chairman of the international coffee shop chain Starbucks. He will be part of a live discussion at the master class and will take questions that you, the CNN audience, put to him. As the head of a coffee empire that now boasts over 12,000 stores and recorded revenues in 2006 of $7.8 billion, Schultz is well equipped to tackle questions on the best ways to succeed in today's business world. The CNN Boardroom Master classes will take place in the homes of the world's largest stock markets -- Shanghai, New York and London. It airs on November10 at 2115 and November 11 at 0115 & 1615 HKT. E-mail to a friend . | CNN will host three Boardroom Master Classes with business experts .
The first event will feature Starbucks Chairman Howard Schultz .
Schultz will take e-mail and video questions from the CNN audience . | 805644d370fae7b0492174c54c00e86eff742735 |
NYON, Switzerland -- Celtic have been fined $50,800 by UEFA and AC Milan's Dida has been banned for two matches after the incident which saw a pitch-invading supporter approach the Brazilian goalkeeper in last week's Champions League match at Celtic Park. Dida's theatrical over-reaction has resulted in UEFA suspending him for two matches. The incident occurred when the Scottish side beat Milan 2-1 in Glasgow. A fan ran onto the field in the 90th minute, soon after the home side scored their winning goal, and made what appeared to be minimal contact with Dida. The Milan goalkeeper turned to chase the supporter before dropping to the ground. He was carried off the field on a stretcher and replaced. Dida's theatrical over-reaction has cost him severely -- but Celtic may choose not to complain about their own punishment, with half of their fine suspended for two years. UEFA did have the power to change the result of the match, although that was always unlikely. UEFA's control and disciplinary body found Celtic guilty of charges of "lack of organisation and improper conduct of supporters", while Dida was found to have breached UEFA's "principles of loyalty, integrity and sportsmanship". Milan have pledged to appeal against the punishment, which as it stands means he will miss the club's Champions League games against Shakhtar Donetsk. "It's a suspension that is absolutely excessive," said Milan lawyer Leandro Cantamessa. "It seems to us a very, very unbalanced sentence. It turns Dida into the protagonist of the incident, whereas the protagonist was someone else, and that's not right from a logical point of view." Celtic acted swiftly to punish the 27-year-old supporter, who turned himself in and has since admitted a breach of the peace in court and will be sentenced next month. The club banned the fan for life from all their matches, home and away. Celtic chief executive Peter Lawwell said: "As a club we feel this penalty is proportionate to the incident in question and a fair outcome." E-mail to a friend . | AC Milan's Brazilian goalkeeper Dida is suspended by UEFA for two matches .
Dida was banned for his over-reacting to being touched by a Celtic supporter .
Celtic have been fined $50,800 for allowing the fan to run onto the field of play . | a0a84718168357049273f6e65133fd06e67cd6d2 |
(CNN) -- Muddy but unhurt, three University of Texas students emerged from a cramped cave complex in Austin, Texas, after a day-long search Sunday. A rescuer at the entrance to Airman's Cave in Austin, Texas, Sunday. Lt. Matt Cox, an Austin Fire Department spokesman, said the students -- two women and one man -- were reported missing early Sunday after a trip into Airman's Cave, about four miles south of the university's campus. They were found about halfway down the 12,000-foot-long cave, which has few spaces big enough for an adult to stand upright and is explored primarily by experienced spelunkers. The students were located shortly before 5 p.m. (6 p.m. ET), about 30 hours after they entered. Their names were not released Sunday night. A friend called 911 to report them missing at 5 a.m. The group had told friends to call 911 if they were not back by midnight Sunday, according to Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services. Earlier reports that four students were in the cave were incorrect, Cox said. Authorities did not know Sunday evening why the students were in the cave for so long. But Cox said it would have been easy even for experienced cavers to get lost in Airman's, which he compared to the roots of a tree. "There are so many ways to go," he said. E-mail to a friend . | Three Austin cave explorers are safe and are out of the cave, officials said .
The University of Texas students went into Airman's Cave Saturday .
The 12,000 foot long cave complex has tight twists and turns .
Unclear exactly how the students lost their way, but cave is complex, official said . | 98dbba54da2a05bb04320aa0e4fb05fba3d75b63 |
MOSCOW, Russia -- Zenit Saint Petersburg have clinched their first Russian title in the post-Soviet Union era with a hard-fought 1-0 victory at Ramenskoye on Sunday. Zenit captain Anatoly Timoshuk kisses the Russian Premier League trophy after their victory at Ramenskoye. The win means Zenit finish top of the table with 61 points, two points ahead of second-placed Spartak Moscow, who beat city rivals Dynamo 2-1. CKSA Moscow finished third on 53 points. Zenit went ahead in the 15th minute when Radek Sirl's shot from the edge of the box deflected off a Ramenskoye defender and beat goalkeeper Antonin Kinski. After the interval, the hosts poured forward seeking an equalizer and created several chances -- but Zenit held firm to secure their first championship since 1984 and make a hero out of Dutch coach Dick Advocaat. Nine-times champions Spartak took the lead midway through the first-half. Russian international striker Roman Pavyuchenko netted the opening goal in the 24th minute with a powerful shot from the edge of the six-yard box after a mix- up in the Dynamo defence. Brazilian striker Soares Welliton made it 2-0 seven minutes after halftime, heading home Pavlyuchenko's precise cross. Dynamo reduced the arrears in the 71st minute, when Spartak midfielder Radoslav Kovac scored an own goal. Meanwhile, Rostov and Krasnodar were relegated fronm the Premier League. E-mail to a friend . | Zenit Saint Petersburg clinch the Russian Premier League title on Sunday .
They secure the title ahead of Spartak Moscow after a 1-0 win at Ramenskoye .
The title success is Zenit's first since 1984 and the first in the post-Soviet era . | d0404188997ef57e0355b18fb867599b89c80407 |
MEXICO CITY, Mexico (CNN) -- Heavy rains and flooding have forced hundreds of thousands of people from homes in southern Mexico's state of Tabasco over the past four days, with nearly as many trapped by the rising waters, state officials said Thursday. Officials say about 300,000 people are still trapped by the worst flooding in the region for 50 years. The Grijalva River pushed over its banks through the state capital of Villahermosa on Thursday, forcing government workers to evacuate and leaving up to 80 percent of the city flooded, Gov. Andres Granier's office told CNN. About 700,000 people have seen their homes flooded, with about 300,000 of those still trapped there, Granier's office reported. One death had been blamed on the floods, which followed weeks of heavy rain in the largely swampy state. Tabasco borders Guatemala to the south and the Gulf of Mexico to the north. The Associated Press reported that thousands of people clung to rooftops, huddled inside waterlogged homes or hunkered down in shelters in an attempt to survive the worst flooding the region has seen in 50 years. Weather forecasters predicted more rain in the coming days. The flooding was not related to Tropical Storm Noel, which was pounding the Caribbean. The Grijalva River, one of two large waterways ringing Villahermosa, has risen 6.5 feet (2 meters) above its "critical" level and gushed into the city's center, according to AP. Authorities said some of the rivers were continuing to rise. President Felipe Calderon visited the area on Wednesday and promised the federal government's full support. Non-governmental organizations throughout the country asked people to donate non-perishable goods or cash, AP said. E-mail to a friend . Copyright 2007 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report. | One dead as hundreds of thousands flee rising floodwaters .
About 80 percent of the city of Villahermosa is under water .
Tabasco and Chiapas states hardest hit .
Authorities say 700,000 affected and 300,000 still trapped by flooding . | 42ab0385b3bb93236804c2abc9ff261b6ec79872 |
MADRID, Spain -- David Nalbandian battled back to stun world No. 1 Roger Federer with a 1-6 6-3 6-3 victory in the final of the Madrid Masters on Sunday. David Nalbandian celebrates after upsetting Roger Federer in the Madrid Masters final. The Argentine, ranked 25th in the world, repeated his 2005 upset win over the Swiss star in that year's season-ending Masters Cup -- also an indoor event. Defending champion Federer, playing in his first tournament since winning the U.S. Open six weeks ago, made 38 unforced errors. Nalbandian became only the third player -- and the second this year after Novak Djokovic in Montreal in August -- to beat the world's top-three players en route to winning a title. German legend Boris Becker was the first to perform the feat 13 years ago. Nalbandian ousted second-ranked Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals and then Serbian Djokovic in Saturday's semis. The 25-year-old, who lost in the Madrid final in 2004, claimed his first triumph on the ATP Tour since May, 2006, on clay in Portugal. He spent a year without a coach, but has revived his career since teaming up with Hernan Gumy. "I'm extremely contented to beat the world number one," Nalbandian said. "Roger and I have a long history and I think that influenced the match. "It was an extremely hard first set. But I tightened the teeth and I began to play more strongly. Things came out fine, I played incredible, and that of course that helps." Federer added: "He served well, I was quite surprised with how well he served. "He came back strong and played well in the end. "He was a better player all in all. I was struggling after the first set to play aggressively, for some reason. He played tough and didn't miss any more. I couldn't play way I wanted to. It was a pity, he played a great tournament." E-mail to a friend . | David Nalbandian won Madrid Masters after beating top seed Roger Federer .
The Argentine triumphed 1-6 6-3 6-3 against the Swiss defending champion .
He became third man to beat world's three top players en route to a title . | a142b867b5b52449a790e8a2942654fd880cd2e4 |
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina -- Juan Roman Riquelme scored twice as Argentina beat Bolivia 3-0 to notch a third successive victory in the South American qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup on Saturday. Juan Roman Riquelme celebrates after scoring his first goal in Argentina's win against Bolivia. The midfielder followed up his brace of spectacular free-kicks in the opening 2-0 victory against Chile to help put his country five points clear of second-placed Brazil, who play Peru in Lima on Sunday. Riquelme again shrugged off his lack of club action with Villarreal, where he has fallen out with the Spanish side's management, to net twice in the second spell after Sergio Aguero gave the home side a first-half lead. The 19-year-old scored his first goal at international level five minutes before the interval after starting in a three-man attack with Carlos Tevez and Lionel Messi. He headed home after Martin Demichelis nodded a cross from Manchester United striker Tevez back across goal. Riquelme added the second 11 minutes after the break with a dipping free-kick which beat Carlos Arias from 25 yards, having been superbly denied by the keeper's one-handed effort shortly beforehand. And he finished off the scoring in the 73rd minute with a cool sidefoot finish after being set up by Messi to cap off a match in which captain Javier Zanetti made a record-breaking 116th appearance for Argentina. Argentina next travel to Colombia on Tuesday, when winless Bolivia have an away clash with Venezuela. In other South American qualifiers, Colombia beat Venezuela 1-0, and Paraguay routed Ecuador 5-1. Ecuador coach Luis Fernando Suarez, a Colombian, quit after his team's loss saying: "I have taken the irrevocable decision to resign." E-mail to a friend . | Argentina beat Bolivia 3-0 in South American qualifier for 2010 World Cup .
Juan Roman Riquelme nets twice as Argentina win third successive match .
Ecuador coach Luis Fernando Suarez quits after 5-1 loss against Paraguay . | 04b39ee42fdc4284e402fbf7cdc7b825748f38b5 |
LONDON, England -- Milan goalkeeper Dida has been cleared to play in next month's Champions League match at Shakhtar Donetsk after partially winning his appeal to UEFA against a two-match ban. Dida has had one game of his two-match ban suspended for a year following an appeal to UEFA. Brazilian Dida was also fined 60,000 Swiss francs by European football's ruling body following an incident involving a supporter during the Champions clash against Celtic in Scotland on October 3. The 34-year-old Brazilian was initially banned for two games for his theatrics following a Celtic fan's encroachment onto the pitch during the 2-1 defeat at Celtic Park. "Following Monday's appeals hearing, Dida is suspended for two matches, but one of the matches will now be deferred for a probationary period of one year," said a stement on UEFA's Web site. Dida sits out the home tie against Shakhtar on Wednesday after an inquiry based on Article 5, paragraph 1 of the UEFA disciplinary regulations (Principles of conduct), under which "member associations, clubs, as well as their players, officials and members, shall conduct themselves according to the principles of loyalty, integrity and sportsmanship". However, Dida will only serve the second match of his ban if he commits a similar offense -- a theatrical over-reaction --during the next 12 months, freeing him for the trip to Ukraine. UEFA said that their Appeals Body "took note that Dida expressed his sincere regrets as regards his conduct during the match." AC Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani was satisfied with UEFA's decision. "I believe it is fair -- I was against the two-game suspension but one seems OK. "Dida has made a mistake but his error did not hinder anyone, not Celtic, nor any player," said Galliani. E-mail to a friend . | Milan goalkeeper Dida is partially successful against two-match UEFA ban .
Dida misses Wednesday's home Champions League tie against Shakhtar .
Second game of ban suspended for one year freeing him for return in Ukraine . | d954f33da49f4c839a6f4dadc446a4c30328c572 |
BARCELONA, England -- Ronaldinho has been recalled to the Barcelona squad for Tuesday's Champions League match against Rangers in Glasgow. Ronaldinho was dropped from the Barcelona squad on Saturday for returning late from international duty. The Brazilian was omitted from the squad that lost 3-1 to Villarreal on Saturday after returning late from international duty, but he has been named in an 18-man party for the trip to Scotland. Barca will be without Deco for that match though, after the Portuguese suffered a thigh injury against Villarreal that will keep him sidelined for around five weeks. Also missing are Samuel Eto'o, Yaya Toure, Gianluca Zambrotta, Edmilson and Rafael Marquez as the Catalans travel to Scotland in a battle between the two sides with 100 per cent records in Group E. Barcelona squad: Valdes, Jorquera; Puyol, Thuram, Sylvinho, Oleguer, Abidal, Milito; Iniesta, Ronaldinho, Messi, Xavi, Giovani, Crosas; Henry, Ezquerro, Gudjohnsen, Bojan. E-mail to a friend . | Ronaldinho is recalled to Barca squad to face Rangers in Champions League .
The Brazilian was dropped from the squad that lost to Villarreal on Saturday .
Midfielder Deco will be out of action for five weeks after suffering a thigh injury . | 0914e3c80a676e14e225504cb759103503f3f1e0 |
(CNN) -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said Wednesday he is cutting all ties with Colombia as long as Alvaro Uribe remains its president. Colombian President Alvaro Uribe withdrew his support for the Venezuelan leader's mediation efforts with the FARC. "I say before the world, while President Uribe is president of Colombia, I will not have any type of relation with him or with the government of Colombia," Chavez said in an address broadcast on national television. "I can't, I can't, I can't." Chavez noted that Uribe had asked him to help secure the release of hundreds of hostages being held by the leftist rebel group Armed Revolutionary Front of Colombia (FARC) and the National Liberation Army (ELN). "I went with my heart in my hand, and I was ready," Chavez told a group of supporters in the southwestern state of Tachira. "I was prepared to go to the most dangerous forest in the country to help." But last Thursday, Uribe ended Chavez's participation, citing his direct communication with Uribe's top general, a move that Uribe said broke protocol. "When we were at the point of succeeding, Uribe comes and, without telling me anything, he didn't even call me on the phone or send me an emissary, just sent me a letter saying he was ending my mission," Chavez said. "That was a kick." Without being specific, Chavez accused Uribe of having lied. "That's real ugly," he said. Chavez also accused Uribe of having bowed to pressure from Washington "to get rid of Chavez." But the firebrand Venezuelan president, who has called U.S. President George W. Bush "the devil," said his arms are open to the Colombian people. E-mail to a friend . | Chavez says Uribe had asked him to help secure the release of hostages .
Uribe cited Chavez's direct communication with Uribe's top general as breach .
Chavez accuses Uribe of lying .
Chavez says his arms are open to the Colombian people . | bffa402002700855fec36f83c8c226dfe271a6af |
CARDIFF, Wales -- Former Wales and British Lions center Ray Gravell has died of a suspected heart attack aged 56, the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) has announced. Gravell won 23 caps for Wales and played on the Lions tour of South Africa in 1980. Gravell had been on holiday with his family in the Spanish Mediterranean island of Mallorca at the time. A WRU statement praised Gravell as being "a man who epitomized the passion, flair and dignity of his beloved Welsh nation." Gravell made his debut for Wales against France in 1975, three years after helping his club side Llanelli to their famous win over the touring All Blacks. In all he made 23 appearances for what was then a dominant Wales side, winning Grand Slams in 1976 and 1978, and played all four Tests on the Lions' tour of South Africa in 1980. After retiring as a player in 1985, Gravell became president of Llanelli RFC and the Llanelli Scarlets. He also pursued a career as an actor and a respected rugby broadcaster. Earlier this year, Gravell had his right leg amputated below the knee following complications linked with his diabetes but he had been recovering well. WRU chief executive Roger Lewis said: "We are all in total shock because Ray was so full of life even through the difficult health problems he suffered recently. "He was a wonderful ambassador for rugby and for Wales and a great example of how the game can bring out the best in a man. "As a player, he always gave a huge amount of respect to his opponents but never gave an inch of ground to anyone he faced on the field of play. "It is a measure of the man that he forged rugby friendships which lasted long after his playing days up until the present day." E-mail to a friend . | Former Wales and British Lions center Ray Gravell has died aged 56 .
He was on holiday with his family in Mallorca .
After retiring he worked as an actor and broadcaster . | 35ae4229bbd571d86bb817df03b3784dc8cbf660 |
MADRID, Spain -- Atletico Madrid recovered from their painful recent defeat by Barcelona to crush European rivals Real Zaragoza 4-0 in the Primera Liga on Sunday. Luis Garcia celebrates his first Atletico Madrid goal in their superb 4-0 victory over Real Zaragoza. Luis Garcia's first goal for the club, a double from Argentine Maxi Rodriguez and a Diego Forlan strike clinched a comfortable win as Atletico moved up to sixth in the table. It was also sweet revenge for Atletico as Zaragoza beat them home and away last season to beat them to sixth place and the final UEFA Cup spot. Atletico went ahead in the 10th minute when Forlan picked out a precise pass for Garcia who made no mistake with a calm side-footed finish. Forlan then got on the scoresheet himself with a first-time lob on 34 minutes for his third goal of the season, before Rodriguez stole the show with two more goals. Getafe registered their first win of the season with a 2-0 victory over Murcia. Substitute Kepa, who was later sent off, opened the scoring in the 54th minute and Francisco Casero added a second five minutes later to clinch the points. Elsewhere last season's second division champions Valladolid continue to struggle in the top flight, crashing to a 2-1 defeat against Athletic Bilbao. Artiz Aduriz scored twice for Bilbao after eight and 31 minutes to leave Valladolid second from bottom with promoted Levante, who have a meagre one point, propping up the table. E-mail to a friend . | Atletico Madrid bounce back to form with a superb 4-0 victory over Zaragoza .
Maxi Rodriguez scores twice with Luis Garcia and Diego Forlan also on target .
Getafe registered their first win of the season with a 2-0 victory over Murcia . | 646676aabe72e75add3cde2d6afa56cea64c91a4 |
(CNN) -- The company owns The Venetian Resort Hotel Casino and the Sands Expo and Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada and the Sands Macau in The People's Republic of China's Special Administrative Region of Macau, as well as Venetian Macau Limited, a developer of additional multiple casino hotel resort properties in Macau. The first phase of the Venetian Casino Resort opened in May 1999, which originally consisted of 3,036 suites though the number of suites was reduced over time to 3,014 based on renovations and remodeling. Since it's opening, the property has received recognition as revolutionizing the Las Vegas hotel industry, and has been honored with architectural and other awards naming it as one the finest hotels in the world. In 2003, The Venetian added the 1,013-suite Venezia tower -- giving The Venetian 4,027 suites, 18 world-class restaurants, and a retail mall with canals, gondolas and singing gondoliers. In May 2004, Las Vegas Sands opened the Sands Macau, located on China's southeastern coast. The Sands Macau includes approximately 163,000 square feet of gaming facilities, luxury suites, specialty restaurants and an International VIP club. In December 2004, in one of the year's most anticipated initial public offerings, Dr. and Mr. Adelson rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange and with it shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. began trading. The price of the Sands stock rose 61 percent on its opening day, becoming the largest opening day of any American-based initial public offering in the last two years. The Venetian Casino Resort is one of the most productive properties on the Strip, having an occupancy rate of 98.3% and an average daily room rate of $219 during the nine months ended September 30, 2004. E-mail to a friend . | The company owns three major casino complexes, in Las Vegas and Macau .
Venetian Casino Resort opened in 1999, originally consisted of 3,036 suites .
In May 2004, Las Vegas Sands opened the Sands Macau . | 5acf12b2ef7771fd1cd1421acb7057d9a64be818 |
(CNN) -- The commander of the nuclear-powered submarine USS Hampton has been relieved of his command amid an inquiry into misconduct by crew members, the U.S. Navy said Friday. The USS Hampton appears in an undated photograph. Cmdr. Michael B. Portland lost his post "due to a loss of confidence in his ability to command," the Navy said in a statement. Cmdr. William J. Houston will replace Portland. The crew neither maintained inspection records nor conducted the required inspection of chemical levels associated with the cooling system of the ship's nuclear reactor, Navy officials said. The crew then went back and falsified existing records to make it appear the work had been done. "There is not, and never was, any danger to the crew or the public," the Navy said. Portland's demotion brings to 10 the number of people relieved of duty on the submarine in the wake of the misconduct probe. Six personnel have been punished for forging inspection records for the cooling system, the Navy officials said Monday. Those six -- one officer and five enlisted personnel -- received a "nonjudicial punishment" after other Navy personnel discovered their actions, the officials said. The Navy said Friday that one officer and two enlisted crew members have been temporarily reassigned to Submarine Squadron 11. Portland also will be temporarily reassigned to that squadron. The misconduct was discovered September 17 but not made public until after completion of an initial inquiry. A fact-finding investigation is under way, and further action against Navy crew members is possible, a Navy official said. The Hampton remains in port in San Diego, California. In all, the $900 million vessel's crew includes 13 officers and 116 enlisted personnel. E-mail to a friend . | Navy says it has lost confidence in officer's ability to command .
Crew members on sub disciplined for faking inspection records, Navy says .
Ten people have been relieved of duty; six received "nonjudicial punishment" | a8ac682f29acaad4b669781c39fb2804374b8b2b |
(CNN) -- A bus hopped a highway median and crashed into a pickup truck before being broadsided by an 18-wheeler, Arkansas police said, killing the pickup driver and two bus riders. Two passengers were found dead inside the bus, said Arkansas State Police. Forty people were hurt in Sunday night's crash, which shut down a 13-mile stretch of Interstate-40 east of Forrest City, Arkansas, said state police spokesman Bill Sadler. The bus was westbound en route from Chicago, Illinois, to Dallas, Texas. The driver of the pickup truck -- identified as 30-year-old Danny Okurily of Hot Springs, Arkansas -- died at the scene of the accident, Sadler said. Bus driver Felix Tapia, 28, of Brownsville, Texas, and tractor-trailer driver David Rice, 45, of Mars Hill, North Carolina, suffered minor injuries, according to The Associated Press. Two passengers were also found dead inside the bus, he said. Their names were not released because authorities have not yet notified relatives, Sadler said. Several dozen injured passengers were taken to hospitals in Forrest City, Memphis and West Memphis, said police. The bus, which listed 44 passengers on its manifest, was owned and operated by the Tornado Bus Line, which is based in Dallas, Texas, Sadler said. The crash happened just after 10 p.m. CT about 10 miles east of Forrest City and about 40 miles west of Memphis, Tennessee, Sadler said. E-mail to a friend . Copyright 2007 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report. | Bus driver, tractor-trailer trucker injured in 3-vehicle crash, AP reports .
Bus crossed median, hit pickup truck, then 18-wheeler, killing 3 .
All lanes of I-40 closed for 13 miles east of Forrest City, Arkansas .
Driver of the pickup truck and two bus passengers killed, police say . | d4474ce9da725c1540ac826f3247f53d086808fb |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The illegal export of U.S. military technology to Iran and China poses a growing threat, the Justice Department said Thursday as it announced plans to combat the practice. Iran is the only country still flying the F-14 Tomcat. The department said the United States will tighten monitoring of export licenses and increase export restrictions on technologies that could have both civilian and military applications and could pose a danger to U.S. national security in the hands of terrorists or potential enemies. "China and Iran pose particular U.S. export control concerns," the Justice Department said in a statement issued Thursday. "Recent prosecutions have highlighted illegal exports of stealth missile technology, military aircraft components, naval warship data, night vision equipment, and other restricted technology destined for China or Iran." Representatives of more than a half dozen federal agencies will jointly announce their plans at a Justice Department news conference Thursday. Officials plan to highlight two recent cases. In the past week a Pittsburgh company, SparesGlobal Inc., was sentenced for lying about an illegal export of products that can be used in nuclear reactions and in the nose cones of ballistic missiles. The products ended up in Pakistan after being routed from the United Arab Emirates. In Utah, two men were charged last week with attempting to illegally export restricted components for F-4 and F-14 fighter jets. F-14 components are widely sought by Iran, which is the only military in the world that still flies the jet. E-mail to a friend . CNN's Terry Frieden contributed to this report. | Illegal exports to Iran, China an increasing problem, Justice Department says .
Pittsburgh company cited for export of products with nuclear applications .
Utah men charged with attempting to illegally export jet fighter parts . | 47f028dbf53e028eb6636c85d8b3ee0de6a1de7b |
(CNN) -- Nine people were killed and 19 injured after a tour bus carrying people on a ski trip left a highway and rolled over Sunday night in southeastern Utah, a highway patrol spokesman said. The seats of the bus that rolled over are exposed to the snow at the crash site in southeastern Utah on Monday. At least 50 people were on the Arrow Stage Lines bus when it crashed on state Highway 163, about five miles north of Mexican Hat, at 7:30 p.m. (9:30 p.m. ET), said Utah Highway Patrol Trooper Cameron Roden. Troopers reported the road was wet but not icy, he said. The bus was traveling south from Telluride, Colorado, to Phoenix, Arizona, when it left the right side of the highway and rolled over, Roden said. See where the crash occurred » . Police said the bus lost control on a curve, ran off the road and rolled over several times, tumbling 41 feet down an embankment, according to The Associated Press. "When the vehicle was overturning, the roof of the bus split open and multiple occupants of the vehicle were ejected," Roden told the AP. Watch how the crash left the bus a mangled hulk » . Rescue crews took the injured people to hospitals in Utah, Colorado and Arizona, he said. The Salt Lake Tribune reported that ambulances from Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico responded to the accident, and a helicopter from Colorado could not fly to the crash site because of winter storms. Four of the dead were male and five were female, the Utah Highway Patrol said. Most of the passengers were returning home from a weekend ski trip to Telluride, he said. E-mail to a friend . CNN Radio's Barbara Hall contributed to this report. Copyright 2008 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report. | Death toll rises to nine as tour bus runs off highway, rolls over .
Bus was carrying at least 50 people when it crashed in southeastern Utah .
Bus was en route from Telluride, Colorado, to Phoenix, Arizona, after weekend ski trip . | f5692f8e01389a631dadcb70cfd4be3ff0ae45d3 |
ROME, Italy -- Italy national coach Roberto Donadoni has left Cristiano Lucarelli in his squad for next Saturday's crucial Euro 2008 qualifier in Scotland. Lucarelli keeps his place in the Italian squad after scoring twice against South Africa. The Shakhtar Donetsk striker is in fine form and has been rewarded for his inspiring performance in last month's friendly against South Africa, when he scored twice in the world champions' victory. While Donadoni has again left out veteran forwards Filippo Inzaghi and Alessandro Del Piero, he has handed Juventus striker and Italy under-21 international Raffaele Palladino his first call-up to the senior squad. Donadoni's squad is also boosted by the return from suspension of captain Fabio Cannavaro, . Italy go into the clash in Glasgow third in Group B, two points behind leaders France and one point below Scotland. Italy end their qualifying campaign by taking on bottom side the Faroe Islands in Modena on November 21. Italy squad: . Goalkeepers: Marco Amelia (Livorno), Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus), Gianluca Curci (Roma) Defenders: Andrea Barzagli (Palermo), Daniele Bonera (AC Milan), Fabio Cannavaro (Real Madrid), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Fabio Grosso (Lyon), Massimo Oddo (AC Milan), Christian Panucci (Roma), Gianluca Zambrotta (Barcelona) Midfielders: Massimo Ambrosini (AC Milan), Mauro Camoranesi (Juventus), Daniele De Rossi (Roma), Gennaro Gattuso (AC Milan), Simone Perrotta (Roma), Andrea Pirlo (AC Milan) Strikers: Antonio Di Natale (Udinese), Alberto Gilardino (AC Milan), Vincenzo Iaquinta (Juventus), Cristiano Lucarelli (Shakhtar Donetsk), Raffaele Palladino (Juventus), Fabio Quagliarella (Udinese), Luca Toni (Bayern Munich) E-mail to a friend . | Striker Cristiano Lucarelli keeps his place in Italy's squad to face Scotland .
Lucarelli impressed by scoring twice in the recent victory over South Africa .
Juventus striker Raffaele Palladino earns his first call-up to the senior squad . | f732a658c314c090257225483075e4d9fde28b95 |
LONDON, England -- UEFA has punished Benfica midfielder Augustin Binya with a six-match European ban following his horror tackle on Celtic's Scott Brown last week. Augustin Binya, right, lunges towards Celtic midfielder Scott Brown during Benfica's 1-0 defeat in Glasgow. The Cameroon international was sent off for the challenge in his side's 1-0 defeat in the Champions League match in Glasgow last Wednesday. Scotland international Brown avoided injury, but claimed Binya had tried to break his leg with the tackle in the 85th minute -- and demanded that Europe's governing body take further action. Binya, 24, apologized for the challenge -- described by officiating referee Martin Hansson of Sweden as one of the worst he had ever seen -- on the day after the match. But UEFA's control and disciplinary body announced their sanction on Friday morning, having deliberated on the case on Thursday. In a statement on uefa.com, Binya's challenge was described as one which "seriously endangered the physical health of the opposing player". Benfica can appeal against the ban, which rules Binya out of the Portuguese club's remaining Group D matches against AC Milan and Shakhtar Donetsk. If unsuccessful, he will also miss any matches in the knockout stages of the Champions League or UEFA Cup. The suspension will also carry over to future seasons if, as seems likely, Benfica finish bottom of Group D and bow out of Europe for this campaign. Brown, who has been passed fit for Scotland's Euro 2008 qualifier against Italy, said straight after the Benfica match: "He obviously tried to do me as hard as possible." It is the second time that UEFA has had to intervene following an incident involving Celtic this season. AC Milan keeper Dida was handed a two-match ban, subsequently reduced to one on appeal, after collapsing theatrically when a fan of the Scottish club invaded the pitch and lightly slapped the Brazilian in the face. Celtic were fined $50,000 and barred the supporter for life. E-mail to a friend . | UEFA has punished Benfica midfielder Augustin Binya with a six-match ban .
The Cameroon international was sent off for bad tackle on Celtic's Scott Brown .
Brown was lucky to escape injury in incident during Champions League match . | 4a32d5f29cfb35f3a3966ee041fc1f358503f4b4 |
ROME, Italy (CNN) -- A sixth U.S. service member died Friday from injuries sustained when a Black Hawk helicopter crashed in northeastern Italy on Thursday, the U.S. military in Europe said. The helicopter, carrying 11 U.S. military personnel, crashed Thursday afternoon about 22 miles from Aviano, Italy. Four people were killed and seven were injured in the crash, and two of the injured later died, the U.S. military said. Treviso fire officials said one of the dead was a woman, and said no one on the ground was hurt. The U.S. military said the helicopter was an Army H-60 Black Hawk attached to the 1st Battalion, 214th Aviation Regiment. The military was not releasing the names of those killed, pending notification of the victims' families. Police and fire officials said the craft crashed in an open area near the Piave River north of Treviso, between the towns of Maserata Sul Piave and Santa Lucia Di Piave. Watch scenes of the crash site in northern Italy » . The helicopter appeared crumpled and charred in photos from the crash. Italy's ANSA news agency said the helicopter crashed near the bridge of a major highway and the road was closed as a precaution. ANSA said the helicopter had taken off from Aviano Air Base, but fire authorities could not confirm whether it was leaving or returning to the base. The Black Hawk is considered the workhorse of the military's helicopter fleet. It is used in missions in Iraq and Afghanistan to carry troops and equipment. The military has employed Black Hawks for about three decades. The helicopter's first combat mission was about 25 years ago. E-mail to a friend . CNN's Hada Messia and Barbara Starr contributed to this report. | Four killed in crash; two people die later of injuries .
Copter took off from Aviano Air Base, news agency reports .
Black Hawk helicopter had 11 people aboard . | d49c8ddc7586fcc27a7d310a5cb7703f19e4607d |
MEMPHIS, Tennessee (CNN) -- Three men have been arrested and charged with murder in the shooting death last week of a University of Memphis football player, Memphis police announced Monday. Police investigating a car crash on September 30 found Taylor Bradford, 21, fatally wounded near the campus residence hall area. He had apparently gotten into his car after being shot, and drove a short distance before crashing into a tree. Bradford -- a 5-foot-11, 300-pound defensive lineman from Nashville -- was pronounced dead at Regional Medical Center. Memphis Police Department Director Larry Godwin said DeeShawn Tate, 21, Victor Trezevant, 21, and Courtney Washington, 22, had been charged with murder in perpetration of attempted aggravated robbery. Homicide investigators developed the case against the three men with the help of a citizen's tip and Crimestoppers, he said. Godwin said the investigation continues, and "we do expect additional arrests in this case." "It was an attempted robbery, aggravated robbery," he said. Bradford "was targeted because of some information that was out there and the fact that they believed he had some cash, or he had something that they wanted." Godwin said none of the three arrested suspects were students at the university, but he would not rule out that other suspects could be students. Shelby County District Attorney General William L. Gibbons said the three suspects would make an initial court appearance as early as Tuesday. He said prosecutors were considering seeking the death penalty in the case, but no decision had been made. "Whether or not it will be would be premature for me to say," Gibbons said. "There are a lot of factors that go into it. We'll make a determination at the appropriate time." Officials at the 21,000-student school said Bradford, a marketing major who lived on campus, was popular with the football team and on the campus as a whole. He had transferred from Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama, and was 36 credit hours short of graduation. E-mail to a friend . | University of Memphis athlete Taylor Bradford, 21, was shot September 30 .
Three charged with murder in perpetration of attempted aggravated robbery .
After player was shot, he got in his car, drove off and then crashed into a tree .
The killing spurred school officials to temporarily lock down the campus . | bda116dccb075585a67fd5dd5b759015c7577eb0 |
JENA, Louisiana (CNN) -- Charges against Bryant Purvis, one of the six black students accused of being involved in beating a white student, were reduced to second degree aggravated battery during his arraignment Wednesday morning. Bryant Purvis says he is focusing on his studies and practicing basketball. Purvis, who was facing charges of second-degree attempted murder and conspiracy, entered a not guilty plea to the reduced charges in the LaSalle Parish Courthouse in Jena. Charges have now been reduced against at least five of the students in the racially charged "Jena 6" case. Charges against Jesse Ray Beard, who was 14 at the time of the alleged crime, are unavailable because he's a juvenile. Civil rights leaders Martin Luther King III and Al Sharpton led more than 15,000 marchers to Jena -- a town of about 3,000 -- in September to protest how authorities handled the cases against Purvis and five other teens accused of the December 2006 beating of fellow student Justin Barker. After the arraignment, Purvis said he has moved to another town to complete high school. He said he is focusing on his studies and practicing basketball, which he hopes to play in college. Mychal Bell, 17, is the only one of the "Jena 6" teens still in jail. Although he was released in September after his adult criminal conviction for the beating was overturned, he was ordered two weeks later to spend 18 months in a juvenile facility for a probation violation relating to an earlier juvenile conviction. A district judge tossed out Bell's conviction for conspiracy to commit second-degree battery, saying the matter should have been handled in juvenile court. The 3rd Circuit Court of Appeal in Lake Charles, Louisiana, did the same with Bell's battery conviction in mid-September. Prosecutors originally charged all six black students accused of being involved in beating Barker with second-degree attempted murder and conspiracy. E-mail to a friend . | Charges against Bryant Purvis reduced to second degree aggravated battery .
Purvis had faced attempted murder, conspiracy charges .
Charges reduced against at least five of six blacks charged in beating .
Case of "Jena 6" drew national spotlight during September protest . | 4739f160c87994f52e894591194f5df06fed4c39 |
LONDON, England (CNN) -- Up to 1,000 human rights campaigners demonstrated Saturday in front of No. 10 Downing Street, the official residence of British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, calling on the British government to demand that full democracy be restored in Pakistan. Jemima Khan, center, ex-wife for former Pakistani cricket star Imran Khan, joins protesters in London. Protesters waved placards and chanted in support of the resignation of Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, a week after he imposed a state of emergency in the country. The crowd of demonstrators massed behind barriers and included Jemima Khan, the ex-wife of former Pakistani cricket star turned politician Imran Khan. The demonstrators carried placards saying "Free the innocent" and "End Musharraf's Regime" and waved Pakistani flags. Imran Khan, who heads the the Movement for Justice Party, has been under house arrest since the emergency declaration. His ex-wife delivered a petition to a doorman at Downing Street, calling on Britain to use its influence to ensure that all institutions are in place well in advance of Pakistani elections originally scheduled for early next year. The petition also demands that Pakistan restore democracy and the judiciary and calls on Musharraf to release all political prisoners, including lawyers, journalists and opposition politicians. E-mail to a friend . | Human rights campaigners demonstrate in front of No. 10 Downing Street .
Protests urged UK government to demand full democracy restored in Pakistan .
Cricketer turned politician Imran Khan's ex wife Jemima among protesters . | 027a99a889b38fdb935cd14c204a5fca8a329bc1 |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Three Chinese nationals accused of importing thousands of counterfeit luxury handbags in the United States have been arrested in the past two days, federal authorities announced Thursday. Shoppers sort through counterfeit brand name luxury bags and wallets on a Hong Kong street. "This was a sophisticated criminal conspiracy that trafficked millions of dollars of counterfeit goods from China, profiting off the backs of legitimate companies and their hard-working employees," said Assistant Attorney General Alice Fisher. Authorities call it one of the largest counterfeit operations ever discovered, involving about 300,000 bags and wallets with names like Burberry, Gucci and Coach. For customers who bought the knockoffs, it seemed like a deal. They paid a total of about $16 million for what would have been more than $100 million in handbags, purses and wallets in legitimate retail sales. The alleged leaders of the counterfeit operations are three Chinese citizens living in New York. Chong Lam, 49, and Joyce Chan, 39, were arrested there Wednesday. Eric Yuen, 39, was arrested Thursday in Las Vegas, Nevada. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents who made the arrests began investigating the alleged scheme five years ago, after raids turned up counterfeit goods. The indictment was secretly returned in Richmond, Virginia, in October. The charges were unsealed when the alleged conspirators were taken into custody. Authorities seized and froze 29 bank accounts and three New York properties. The Chinese defendants will be taken to Richmond, where they will be arraigned at a later date, officials said. E-mail to a friend . | Authorities call it one of the largest counterfeit operations ever discovered .
Official: Scheme profited "off the backs of legitimate companies"
Counterfeit operation allegedly involved 300,000 high-end bags and wallets .
The alleged leaders are three Chinese citizens living in New York . | 7bff6a60ff0b62855bd28562bb820233c0c940e0 |
(CNN) -- A car bomb attack in Algeria has killed three people and wounded 23, the Algerian Press Service reported. An Algerian policeman stands in front of destroyed buildings in Thenia. The attack occurred Tuesday near an office housing judicial police in the city of Thenia, about 50 km (31 miles) east of the capital of Algiers, the agency said. The blast destroyed about 20 houses, and a commission has been appointed to look after the victims, the press agency said. Islamic extremists in Algeria and other North African countries have struck several times in recent years. An al Qaeda affiliate claimed responsibility last year for the deadliest attack in Algiers in 10 years, a bombing that destroyed the prime minister's headquarters and a police base, killing at least 24 people and wounding more than 220. Al Qaeda also took responsibility for a January 2 bombing that killed four and wounded 20 at a building housing security forces in Naciria, a city about 50 km (31 miles) east of Algiers. E-mail to a friend . | Attack occurred near an office housing judicial police in the city of Thenia .
The blast destroyed about 20 houses; 23 also injured .
Al Qaeda also took responsibility for a January 2 bombing that killed four . | 44fc3a2bc441a674f1ebdeabae73278977909db4 |
(CNN) -- Three Palestinians, including two sick children, have died recently while waiting for resettlement from Iraq, the U.N. refugee agency said on Friday. UNHCR goodwill ambassador Angelina Jolie visits the Al Waleed refugee camp in August. About 2,000 Palestinian refugees are stranded in camps along the Syrian border and face difficult living conditions, including limited medical care, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees said. The agency has appealed for the resettlement of "vulnerable and sick" children in Al Waleed refugee camp at the Iraqi-Syrian border. One of those who died in the camp was a 3-year-old Palestinian boy who was suffering from rickets and pneumonia. He died a few days ago in a Ramadi hospital and then was buried in Al Waleed. The other was a 14-year-old suffering from Hodgkin's disease who died in Baghdad last week. A 50-year-old man who was waiting to be resettled died earlier this month in Al Waleed. The agency says seven people, including three children, have died at the camp since refugees fleeing attackers began arriving at the border in March 2006. About 30 to 40 people arrive at the Al Waleed camp each week, the UNHCR reports. The agency has been pursuing medical resettlement. "UNHCR has helped resettle one family of eight with several sick children from this camp to Norway last August. Another 11 medical cases submitted for resettlement are awaiting approval," the agency said, which is working to identify other medical cases. And it is urging the resettlement of the entire group. "UNHCR has sought solutions for the whole group since last year and has only received positive indications from Sudan and Chile," the agency said. Thousands of Palestinians have lived in Iraq, with some going there when Israel was formed and others born there. The UNHCR notes that some got "preferential treatment" under the regime of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. But they have been the targets of violence since he was toppled. E-mail to a friend . | U.N. agency appeals for medical resettlement of Palestinians in Iraq camps .
About 2,000 Palestinians in camps along Iraq-Syria border .
30 to 40 refugees arrive at border camp each week, UNHCR says . | 386e149797954c4b5cd52bcad0beece29f7eb04a |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- U.S. Coast Guard planes and ships were searching Friday for a Japanese balloonist who disappeared off the Alaska coast while flying from Japan to the west coast United States. Missing Japanese balloonist Michio Kanda (R) with Naoki Ishikawa. Friends of balloonist Michio Kanda, who was on a solo flight, last heard from him via satellite phone at 9 a.m. Alaska time (6 p.m. GMT) Thursday, said USCG Petty Officer Levi Read. When he missed three subsequent scheduled calls over the next six hours, they called the Coast Guard, Read said. Read said two Coast Guard C130 Hercules planes conducted searches Thursday 435 miles south of Adak, Alaska, the balloonist's last known position. The searches continued Friday and are ongoing, Read said. Two Coast Guard cutters are also headed for the area, but both are at least a day away, he said. Read said the balloonist, who was heading for Portland, Oregon, is equipped with provisions and a survival suit. Kanda holds the world record for the longest-duration balloon flight, with a time of 50 hours and 38 minutes, according to the World Air Sports Federation. In that January 1997 flight, he and Hirosuke Takezawa flew from the Canadian provionce of Alberta to the U.S. state of Montana, according to the federation. E-mail to a friend . | Balloonist Michio Kanda missing on flight from Japan to U.S.
U.S. Coast Guard searching area around his last known position .
Kanda holds the world record for the longest-duration balloon flight . | 25abfd6bf83eb62bdd4daf1f542d61b54ab2871d |
(CNN) -- The Chinese government is bracing itself for a rush of people wishing to marry when the summer Olympics kick off on August 8 -- because the number carries a special significance in Chinese culture, the state news agency said Sunday. A traditional Ming-style wedding is held in Nanjing, China, last December. The number "eight" (ba) is considered auspicious by many in China because it sounds like the word for "wealth" and "fortune," the news agency Xinhua said. "We've long been prepared for a stampede of newly-wed couples this year," Guo Xusheng, spokesman with the Beijing Municipal Civil Affairs Bureau, told Xinhua. Every year, many couples choose the 8th of August -- the eighth month of the year -- hoping "eighth of the eighth" luck will rub off on them, the news agency said. Nearly 3,400 couples got hitched on the day last year, some waiting all night outside the marriage registration office in Beijing. This year, the civil affairs bureau is accepting online reservations for marriage registrations for the day. The significance that numbers carry in Chinese culture often dictate various aspects of the people's lives there. And of all the numbers, eight is considered one of the luckiest. Beijing, itself, opted to kick off the Olympic Games at 8 p.m. on 8/8/08. E-mail to a friend . | China braces for rush of weddings on opening day of Olympics .
Opening day of Beijing Olympics is August 8, 2008 .
The number "8" is considered by many Chinese to carry good fortune . | 066f8568d9c1c23ca3aeb23330123e7dd8967208 |
LONDON, England -- Nihat Kahveci sent Turkey into the Euro 2008 finals behind defending champions and Group C winners Greece with the only goal in a narrow 1-0 victory over battling Bosnia-Herzegovina. Goalscorer Nihat gets a kiss from team-mate Altintop after Turkey sealed their place with a 1-0 win over Bosnia. The result ended Norway's hopes of snatching qualification despite their 4-1 victory away to Malta with Steffen Iversen scoring a first half hat-trick. Nihat struck at the end of a first half that Fatih Terim's Turkey dominated, yet the hosts were unable to build on that lead and had to endure some tense moments. Just a point had separated the third-placed Scandinavians from Terim's men -- and Turkey needed to win to progress. Nihat led the charge forcing early saves from goalkeeper Adnan Guso and finally making the breakthrough two minutes before half-time. Hamit Altintop found space down the left and crossed for the Villarreal forward who finished from 12 meters. Iversen broke the deadlock in Malta after 25 minutes and fired a second from the penalty spot three minutes later -- completing his treble on the stroke of half-time. Michael Mifsud hit back for Malta after the re-start, but Andre Schembri was red-carded after 67-minutes before Morten Gamst Pedersen's strike wrapped it up all to no avail. Portugal went through from Group A after a goalless home draw against qualification rivals Finland while group winners Poland completed their program with a 2-2 draw away to Serbia E-mail to a friend . | Nihat Kahveci put Turkey into Euro 2008 with 1-0 win over Bosnia/Herzegovina .
Nihat struck at the end of a first half as Turkey joined holders Greece in finals .
Portugal joined Poland in qualifying from Group A with 0-0 draw with Finland . | 6589398915f67576609586704d5bcca6538c4727 |
(CNN) -- Richard Roberts, the embattled president of Oral Roberts University and the son of its namesake evangelist founder, stepped down Friday, according to the school's Board of Regents. Richard Roberts and wife Lindsay appear on CNN's "Larry King Live" in October. "I love ORU with all my heart. I love the students, faculty, staff and administration, and I want to see God's best for them," Roberts wrote in his resignation letter. Roberts' decision was effective immediately and came as the school fought a wrongful termination lawsuit filed by three professors who accused him and his wife of misconduct. John Swails, Tim Brooker and Paulita Brooker said they lost their jobs after reporting information indicating that Roberts and his family lavishly spent school money for personal expenses. Roberts and his wife, Lindsay, have denied the allegations. The suit also claimed Oral Roberts University gave a "convicted sexual deviant unrestricted access to students" and evidence in the case had been shredded -- charges the university has denied. In addition, the suit alleged Lindsay Roberts repeatedly spent time with an "underage male" in various situations. She denied any improper behavior, insisting in a statement that she had "never, ever engaged in any sexual behavior with any man outside of my marriage." The Board of Regents, which voted to hire an auditor to look into the claims, will meet early next week to discuss a search process for a new president, according to Friday's statement from Chairman George Pearsons. Roberts announced last month he would step aside temporarily as president, saying he and his family had suffered "heavy damage." The controversy has drawn international attention to the private Christian university in Tulsa, Oklahoma. E-mail to a friend . | "I love ORU with all my heart," Richard Roberts writes in his resignation letter .
Three professors allege they were fired for revealing misspending .
Roberts and wife deny spending university funds improperly .
Roberts announced last month he was stepping aside temporarily as president . | 83181eb5628b02f9af1cf8be0b9e3d7841f6f94c |
(CNN) -- They wore feathers. They wore fancy hats. And of course, they wore fur. Never mind the human -- the dog in haute couture was the fashionistas' focus during Pet Fashion Week. But the models strutting down the runway were of the four-legged variety. The glamorous pooches were accompanied by human models -- but the furry ones were getting all the attention. It was Pet Fashion Week New York and these canines were not wearing the boring plaid raincoats that have sold for years. They were wearing one-of-kind design creations. The show last weekend was aimed at owners of sophisticated canines who may be willing to pay for their pup's own stylist. Booths at the annual event features couture clothing, jewelry and other accessories for the well-dressed doggie -- all part of the $40 billion pet industry. E-mail to a friend . | Dogs ruled in New York during Pet Fashion Week .
Dazzling couture designs trotted down the runway .
Upscale pet accessories, apparel, and lifestyle items on display .
Design awards encourage pushing the envelope in style . | b5313efdec6d9afa6f43f26378c6065fcc9c7535 |
LONDON, England (CNN) -- Josephs and Marys in search of a room at the inn this Christmas are being made an offer they can't refuse. Mary and Joseph ride a donkey to Bethlehem in a performance of the Nativity story near Guildford, England. A British hotel chain is promising free accommodation to couples who share their first names with the couple from the Christian Nativity story. Almost 30 Josephs and Marys had already signed up for the free night's stay at the Travelodge, said Shakila Ahmed, a spokeswoman for the hotel chain. "The 'gift' of a free night's stay is to make up for the hotel industry not having any rooms left on Christmas Eve over 2000 years ago when the original 'Mary and Joseph' had to settle for the night in a stable," the company says on its Web site. The offer is good at any one of the chain's 322 hotels in the United Kingdom, the Web site says. The couples must bring proof of identity and must prove that they are in a long-term relationship. "If you satisfy the criteria, you get a free night in a family room for two adults and two children," Ahmed said. "There's also parking space for a donkey if needed," she joked. Ahmed said the offer, which will run from Christmas Eve to Twelfth Night -- December 24 to January 5 -- had been very well-received. "We've had a lot of interest. I think people like the fact that it resonates with the Nativity story at a time when the actual meaning of Christmas often becomes forgotten in festive overkill," she said. Couples can register their names at a special e-mail address set up by Travelodge, which has hotels across the Britain, Ireland and Spain, Ahmed said. E-mail to a friend . | Couples who share names with the couple from the Nativity story get free room .
Almost 30 Josephs and Marys have signed up for the free night's stay .
Couples have to bring proof of identity .
They also have to prove that they are in a long-term relationship . | 239d0e3b504e4b9e1e6eb20eb77c8a873a2f5657 |
NAPLES, Italy -- Udinese remained in fifth place in Italy's Serie A after suffering a 3-1 defeat away to Napoli on Saturday, with both teams having a player sent off. Ezequiel Lavezzi inspired Napoli to victory against Udinese, netting twice and setting up the first goal. Ezequiel Lavezzi scored twice in two minutes to end a goal drought lasting two and a half months, netting on 74 and 75 as Napoli moved up to ninth in the table. The Argentine also provided the cross that Udinese defender Cristian Zapata put into his own net to leave the visitors playing catch-up from just the third minute. Pepe leveled the score on nine minutes, and then Napoli played with 10 men from the 36th minute after Paolo Cannavaro was expelled for a last-man foul. But the teams were even in numbers again after Pepe was ejected for a second yellow card on 60 minutes. Udinese are still four points behind fourth-placed Fiorentina and the last Champions League berth. Fiorentina hosts AC Milan, which has 30 points, on Sunday. In Saturday's other match, Fabrizio Miccoli scored the only goal to give Palermo a 1-0 victory over Livorno. Miccoli struck in the 76th minute with a shot from just outside the area with Livorno goalkeeper Marco Amelia partially unsighted by several players. Palermo keeper Alberto Fontana saved a penalty by Francesco Tavano at the end of the first half, and had to make several vital stops in the first opening period. Palermo had lost their last three Serie A matches and dropped down the table, but the win put them one point above Napoli in eighth. In Sunday's other matches, leaders Inter Milan host second-bottom Empoli and second-placed Roma travel to third-bottom Siena. Genoa are at home to Catania, third-placed Juventus host bottom club Cagliari, Sampdoria travel to Lazio, Parma play Atalanta and Reggina face fellow strugglers Torino. E-mail to a friend . | Udinese stay fifth in Italy's Serie A after suffering a 3-1 defeat away to Napoli .
Ezequiel Lavezzi scored twice in two second-half minutes to end goal drought .
Both teams were reduced to 10 men, with one player sent off in each half .
Fabrizio Miccoli scores only goal to give Palermo a 1-0 victory over Livorno . | 5b93cafa2843ab23eb5baf8bb0bec93d0fc46864 |
GLASGOW, Scotland -- Wednesday's Glasgow derby between Celtic and Rangers has been postponed as a mark of respect following the death of Motherwell captain Phil O'Donnell, the Scottish Premier League announced. O'Donnell, left, celebrates Motherwell's Scottish Cup final win against Dundee in May 1991. "These are never easy decisions. But we recognise that as a former player, Phil was part of Celtic's extended football family," said SPL secretary Iain Blair. "After consultation with Rangers we agreed to postpone the Old Firm fixture on the second of January." Motherwell's game against Hibernian on the same day was called off on Saturday night in the hours after O'Donnell, 35, died following his on-field collapse. Gretna's match against St Mirren was also postponed as it was scheduled to take place at Fir Park which has become a shrine to the memory of O'Donnell, but the SPL confirmed that the other three fixtures scheduled for Wednesday will go ahead. Celtic skipper Stephen McManus spoke out in favor of the postponement after he and his team-mates met on Monday morning for the first time since O'Donnell's death. "A number of our squad have very close connections to Phil's family and feel it would be inappropriate to proceed with this match at such a time, following such a tragic event," he said. Rangers manager Walter Smith agreed that the game should not be played. "You cannot think of playing at a time like this," he said. "Obviously it is a very difficult time for everybody, especially Phil O'Donnell's family." Motherwell's home game against Celtic next Sunday had already been postponed by the SPL. E-mail to a friend . | Glasgow derby between Celtic and Rangers on Wednesday is postponed .
Decision made as a mark of respect after death of ex-player Phil O'Donnell .
Motherwell's home game against Celtic next Sunday was already called off . | b22b1636da5dd15364b6f0c342e4ce4903e51c2a |
HARYANA, India (CNN) -- In a nation of more than a billion people and millions of unresolved court cases, how do you take care of the backlog? Long distances over questionable roads stop many Indians from making it into courtrooms. Solution: You take the courts to the people. A bell rings. A bailiff yells out the name of the accused. It's another day in the mobile courtroom of Judge Sandeep Singh. His courtroom is a desk plopped down in the middle of a dusty schoolyard in the northern Indian village of Haryana. "It works like any other regular court," Singh said. "The only difference is that instead of people going to the court, the court comes to the village." The mobile court is bused into rural areas to hear both criminal and civil complaints as part of an effort to dig the nation's court system out from under an enormous backlog of cases. With an estimated 300 million unresolved cases languishing in Indian courts, one consultant believes, it could take more than 300 years to clear the docket at the current pace. There's one main reason for the backlog: inconvenience. People often have to travel long distances over questionable roads, using slow modes of transportation. "The witnesses -- definitely, they don't show up -- and even the parties -- they don't show up -- and they send their advocate," Singh said. "But here, people are closer by, so definitely it makes a difference." With distance no longer a problem, more villagers and their attorneys are coming to hearings. Compared to the traditional legal system, the mobile court claims to be both fast and efficient. Singh said he has been able to clear 1,100 cases in just six months time compared to 500 under the traditional court system. E-mail to a friend . | Indian judges bus mobile courts to rural villages to ease backlog .
Judges say the mobile courts make justice more convenient .
India has an estimated 300 million unresolved court cases . | 55986d11e0d0e5b031567157cf1f157610c65c31 |
PARIS, France (CNN) -- Interpol on Monday took the unprecendented step of making a global appeal for help to identify a man from digitally reconstructed photos taken from the Internet that it said showed him sexually abusing underage boys. This moving image shows how police used software to unscramble the image. (Source: Interpol) The man's face was disguised by digital alteration, but the images were capable of being restored, according to a bulletin from Interpol -- the international police agency based in Lyon, France. Interpol Secretary General Ronald K. Noble said the pictures have been on the the Internet for several years, but investigators have been unable to determine the man's identity or nationality. "We have tried all other means to identify and to bring him to justice, but we are now convinced that without the public's help this sexual predator could continue to rape and sexually abuse young children whose ages appear to range from six to early teens," Noble said. He said there is "very good reason to believe that he travels the world in order to sexually abuse and exploit vulnerable children." Interpol has determined the photos were taken in Vietnam and Cambodia. "The decision to make public this man's picture was not one which was taken lightly," said Kristin Kvigne, assistant director of Interpol's Trafficking in Human Beings Unit. The suspect's photo and more information can be seen online at Interpol's Web site. E-mail to a friend . | Man posted photos on the Internet of himself sexually abusing underage boys .
Computer experts managed to undo digital masking to reveal the man .
Man abused 12 boys in Vietnam and Cambodia . | d3199d123dedcdbae55b2e9d1f658717c1d5e233 |
(CNN) -- Football should be used to teach young people moral lessons, Pope Benedict XVI said during an audience with representatives from the Italian football league and lower division clubs. Pope Benedict XVI is presented with a football by Ancona club officials. Italian football has been tarnished in recent seasons by corruption, match-fixing scandals and crowd trouble, but the pope insisted the sport celebrated positive virtues as well. "The sport of football can be a vehicle of education for the values of honesty, solidarity and fraternity, especially for the younger generation," the pope said, according to Italy's Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper. The comments are not the first foray by the Bavarian-born pope -- reputedly a Bayern Munich supporter -- into Italian football. In October, he was presented with a No. 16 shirt by officials of the lower league club Ancona after the Vatican endorsed its campaign to turn itself into a "beacon of morality" by adopting an "innovative, ethical model of practising football," Reuters reported. The code committed Ancona to promoting fair play in a family atmosphere. The club is currently second in Serie C1/B, Italian football's third tier league. "Football should increasingly become a tool for the teaching of life's ethical and spiritual values," the pope said. Pope Benedict XVI's predecessor, Pope John Paul II, was also a keen football fan, reportedly playing in goal during his youth in Poland. All Italian football matches were cancelled on the weekend following his death in 2005. E-mail to a friend . | Pope says football can teach values of "honesty, solidarity and fraternity"
Sport should be used as a vehicle of education for young people, he says .
Vatican has endorsed lower league club Ancona's adoption of ethical code .
German-born pope is reputed to be a Bayern Munich fan . | c8f743307d5d1f7f19f1474d68c9390b22f6d076 |
(CNN) -- Two tractor-trailer trucks crashed and burst into flames Thursday on a bridge between the United States and Mexico, shutting a key border crossing and killing four people, police said. Police look at the aftermath of a fiery crash on a bridge linking Reynosa, Mexico, and Pharr, Texas. The collision on the Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge in Texas triggered a chain-reaction accident with three other vehicles, said Lt. Lupe Salinas with the Pharr Police Department. A pickup flipped off the bridge, killing three people. Another person died in a vehicle that struck one of the tractor-trailers. Six others were injured. Pharr Emergency Management Coordinator Elsa Sanchez told The Associated Press the pickup truck had Texas license plates, and the two 18-wheelers and a minivan involved in the wreck appeared to have Mexican plates. Watch aftermath of fiery crash » . The accident happened around 7:30 p.m. (8:30 p.m. ET). The bridge was closed for the rest of the evening. The bridge reopened on Friday morning after Texas Department of Trnasportation engineers inspected it, according to CNN affiliate KRGV. The bridge is normally open from 6 a.m. until midnight and is closed overnight. The 3.2-mile-long bridge connects U.S. 281 in Pharr, Texas, to the city of Reynosa in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas, according to the city of Pharr's Web site. On an average day, the site says, 5,800 vehicles cross it. E-mail to a friend . CNN's Ed Payne and Jessica Jordan contributed to this story. Copyright 2008 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report. | NEW: Bridge reopens Friday morning after highway engineers give OK .
Four killed in chain reaction crash that started when two tractor-trailers collided .
Three killed in pickup truck that fell off bridge; 4th victim in car that hit one 18-wheeler .
Crash happened on bridge linking Pharr, Texas, and Reynosa, Mexico . | 5978abfdad91e604840a2dcc993df5ade9448e82 |
BANGKOK, Thailand (CNN) -- The wife of ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra arrived in Thailand Tuesday morning to face corruption charges, promising to fight the accusations, her attorney said. Pojamarn Shinawatra with her husband Thaksin Shinawatra. According to Pichit Chuenban, Pojamarn Shinawatra was presented with an arrest warrant shortly after arriving at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi International Airport and was escorted by authorities to the Supreme Court. "She intends to fight all charges through judicial system," Pichit said. Greeted by about 50 well-wishers, Pojamarn arrived at court accompanied by her three children. She faces charges stemming from a Bangkok land deal and a stock concealment plan that could put her in jail for up to eight years, according to the Thai News Agency. The court released her on 5 million baht (about $168,000) bail and ordered her not to leave the country. On Monday, Thaksin's attorney Noppadon Pattama said the former prime minister would return from exile in mid-April to answer to the same charges his wife faces. He was deposed by a military junta in Sept. 2006 and fled to London. He plans to return after Thailand's new government is in place. In December's parliamentary elections, supporters of Thaksin, the People Power Party, won nearly half the seats in the lower house and will lead the ruling coalition. PPP leader Samak Sundaravej said a new parliament controlled by his party would pass an amnesty law to allow Thaksin's return and amend the constitution to let Thaksin get back into politics. Thaksin said he would not re-enter politics when he returned to Thailand. He said that he and his family had "suffered enough" but that he wanted to face the charges against him and prove his innocence. Thaksin is a 58-year-old telecommunications tycoon who owns the English Premier League Manchester City Football Club. Thaksin's party won two landslide victories before he was deposed. E-mail to a friend . | Thaksin Shinawatra's wife handed arrest warrant after she returns to Thailand .
Pojamarn Shinawatra faces corruption charges that could imprison her for 20 years .
The case involves Pojamarn's 2003 purchase of some prime Bangkok real estate . | 5bcd4e61b39cc7ffff38ad88cd40afa208b18528 |
Japanese actress Rinko Kikuchi walks Anjali Rao through the streets of Tokyo. She stunned global cinema audiences with her controversial and Oscar-nominated performance as a lonely deaf girl in the film "Babel." Rinko Kikuchi is one of Japan's hottest young actresses and models, recently working with Karl Lagerfeld as the new face of Channel. Despite her success, she remains an unconventional figure in Japan, at odds with the traditional demure image of the Japanese woman and forging a career on her own terms. Talk Asia follows her on a modelling assignment, discusses how her life has changed since "Babel" and revisits the unique location of one of the film's most important scenes. E-mail to a friend . | Rinko Kikuchi was Oscar-nominated for her performance in the film "Babel"
She has recently worked with Karl Lagerfeld as the new face of Channel .
She challenges the traditional demure image of the Japanese woman . | d7783bd2bf5ad92156962380342411c2eb068853 |
(CNN) -- This month on Art of Life we feel the need for speed. From the world's first road-legal grand prix bike to a rock legend with a passion for aviation. Monita Rajpal samples the finest in Italian motorbikes . Monita Rajpal meets the boys behind Ducati's motorbikes, Iron Maiden's Bruce Dickinson explains why flying is his new source of adrenaline, and trance legend Paul Van Dyk takes us round his favorite haunt in the former East Berlin. Ducati: Riding in Style . Ducati has long-been the ultimate name in luxury motorbikes, but just like its racers, the company has had to compete fiercely to defend its title. As a small Italian manufacturer, up against Japanese mega-plants, employing thousands of workers, Ducati's comparatively small family is driven by pride. CNN's Monita Rajpal visits the Bologna factory floor and talks to some of the men behind the company, meets Ducati's Moto GP champion Casey Stoner and takes a test drive of Ducati's Desmosedici racing replica, the world's first road-legal grand prix bike. Watch Monita's trip to the Ducati factory . Bruce Dickinson: Rock star in the sky . A leather-clad, long-haired pilot, donning a t-shirt with blood-spewing skeletons would be a nightmare for many uneasy flyers. Fortunately for passengers on Bruce Dickinson's plane, the lead singer of Iron Maiden has gotten a new wardrobe and a new day job. Art of Life meets up with the rock legend to find out why he has chosen to take to the skies and become a commercial airline pilot. Watch Dickinson take to the skies . Paul Van Dyk: Guides us through Germany . Paul Van Dyk, the legendary trance musician, DJ and producer has made his name well-known, even though his genre of music is typically associated with young ravers and more urban listeners. Watch as Van Dyk takes Art of Life on a tour of his hometown, the former East Berlin, and shows how he has drawn from the city's war-weathered rhythms to gain inspiration for his songs. Watch Van Dyk tour Berlin E-mail to a friend . | This month Art of Life looks at motorbike, planes, DJs and Rock idols .
Monita visits the Ducati factory in Bologna, meets Moto champ Casey Stoner .
Iron Maiden singer Bruce Dickinson talks about his passion for flying .
DJ Paul Van Dyk takes us on a tour of his favorite parts of Berlin . | 51b9a2d46dac43952e713874a5769be5ae350626 |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Several Marines who were involved in the November 2004 offensive in Falluja, Iraq, are now the focus of an investigation into allegations that civilians were intentionally killed during the operation, several Pentagon officials have confirmed. Members of the 1st U.S. Marines Expeditionary Force operate in Falluja, Iraq, in November of 2006. No one has been charged in the probe, which is based on what one official told CNN were "credible allegations" from a former Marine. That Marine volunteered the information during an employment polygraph test administered by the U.S. Secret Service. Several sources familiar with the probe say the Naval Criminal Investigative Service is conducting the investigation. The allegations first surfaced on a Web site, defendourmarines.com, posted by Nathaniel Helms, a military journalist who wrote a book about the Marines in Falluja. The Web posting includes an account from a Marine who alleges eight captured Iraqis were gunned down following a firefight. The weeklong anti-insurgent offensive in Falluja began on November 7, 2004. It was called Operation New Dawn, and it sparked intense fighting involving airstrikes and house-to-house searches. There were reports of civilians being killed in the crossfire at that time. The allegations are the latest involving Marines and civilian deaths in Iraq. Seven Marines and a Navy medic were charged with killing an Iraqi civilian in Hamdaniya in April 2006. One Marine will serve eight years in a plea deal; another Marine withdrew his guilty plea, saying he acted under orders. Four Marines were charged with murder in the 2005 killings of 24 Iraqi civilians in Haditha. Four officers are accused of failing to investigate and report the deaths properly. Haditha was a target of Marine operations to root out insurgents. Both U.S. military law and international law of armed conflict prohibit the killing of unarmed captured prisoners, whether or not they are combatants. E-mail to a friend . | Several Marines are the focus of 2004 Falluja civilian death investigation .
Allegations from former Marine called "credible"
Sources: Naval Criminal Investigative Services conducting the probe . | c6129a4c1fbd5680f512da18fb60a19a74f4959e |
BABAHOYO, Ecuador (CNN) -- At least 10 people have died and thousands have been left homeless after torrential rains inundated large parts of Ecuador, officials said Thursday. A man grabs on to a piece of wood as a boat passes him on a flooded street this week in Puerto Inca, Ecuador. Authorities said the rains, which began a week ago, were the worst in a quarter century. Civil defense officials said more than 10,000 families have been affected. Los Ríos -- north of Guayaquil -- was the hardest hit of nine provinces affected, civil defense officials said. In Los Ríos province, five people died when an ambulance drove into a hole at the side of a street at dawn Thursday. A newborn boy, his parents, a doctor and a driver were killed. Streets also were flooded in the capital of Quito. Watch the scenes of devastation in Ecuador » . On Wednesday, President Rafael Correa declared a state of emergency and ordered 2,000 members of the army and the police to help rescue workers. Correa increased by $25 million the $10 million he already had allocated for the emergency efforts. He also directed another $88 million to municipalities. Once the crisis has eased, an emergency fund will give seed and fertilizer to help farmers whose fields were washed away, Ecuador's government said. There also have been reports of livestock drowning. Cristina Medina, a spokeswoman for the Ecuadorean Red Cross, said provinces most heavily affected were along the Pacific coast, where drinking water was often in short supply. In some towns, high waters forced entire neighborhoods to evacuate, Medina said. E-mail to a friend . | At least 10 people have died in torrential rains in Ecuador, officials say .
Authorities say the rains are the worst in a quarter century .
Civil defense officials say more than 10,000 families have been affected .
Ecuador's president declares state of emergency, orders army, police to help . | 1fe7d16db2c7a742dc1bcf04bfb8e285e7909f03 |
(CNN) -- A man who rescued a co-worker from the jaws of a crocodile in northern Australia also accidentally shot him in the process, police said. A mature saltwater crocodile in the the murky waters of the Adelaide River, near Darwin in the Northern Territory. The two men were collecting crocodile eggs by a river bank in Australia's Northern Territory Tuesday when a crocodile grabbed Jason Grant by the lower right arm, a spokeswoman for the area police told CNN. The second man, Zac Fitzgerald, shot the crocodile, causing it to let go of Grant's arm. But a second shot that Fitzgerald fired struck Grant in the upper right arm, said Northern Territory police spokeswoman Katie Fowden. Grant, who is in his late 20s, was flown to a hospital for treatment of both the bullet and the crocodile wounds. His injuries were not life-threatening, Fowden said. The two men are workers at a crocodile farm in Darwin, the capital city of the Northern Territory. They were collecting the eggs legally, police said. E-mail to a friend . CNN's Saeed Ahmed contributed to this report . | Man rescues co-worker from jaws of crocodile in northern Australia .
He shot crocodile, causing it to let go of man's arm, second shot hit man's arm .
The two were collecting crocodile eggs by a river bank in the Northern Territory .
Wounded man's injuries were not life-threatening . | 6c18984d8f30ce196e9399200dd15e373e699267 |
SAN FRANCISCO, California (CNN) -- Nearly 3 million gallons of sewage spilled into San Francisco Bay when a pump failed at a waste treatment facility, the Marin County Sheriff's Department told CNN on Friday. Attempts are being made to contain Thursday night's 2.7 million-gallon sewage spill. The 2.7 million-gallon spill occurred Thursday night. A pump failed at the South Marin Sanitation District's waste treatment facility in the town of Mill Valley, said Lt. Doug Pittman. The waste was released into Richardson Bay, an inlet of the large bay on the east shore of Marin County, he said. See the spill from the air » . The sewage and storm water was partially treated, according to Greg Renick of the California Office of Emergency Services. In addition to the pump failure, he said, an alarm that would have alerted workers at the facility to the spill also failed. The accidental release occurred between 5:30 and 8:30 p.m. Thursday, according to a statement from Marin County's emergency operations center. But the Sewerage Agency of Southern Marin didn't report it to the state until 11:16 p.m., Renick said. The state Office of Emergency Services notified local offices in the bay area within an hour of receiving the report, he said. The Marin County Department of Environmental Health was conducting tests Friday to determine how far the contamination had spread, Pittman said. Boaters were being warned to avoid the Richardson Bay area, and residents were told to avoid contact with the water. The California Department of Fish and Game has had a boat and personnel on the water since early Friday, and has found no sign of sick or distressed wildlife resulting from the spill, agency spokesman Steve Martarano said. Marin County is just across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco. E-mail to a friend . CNN's Chuck Afflerbach contributed to this report . | NEW: Sewage was partially treated, Office of Emergency Services says .
The 2.7 million-gallon spill occurred Thursday night, Sheriff's Department says .
Pump and alarm failed at Marin County waste treatment facility .
Area being tested; boaters advised to avoid Richardson Bay area . | bbec538b4453859ee9c772c4de8f0eb28acd87c4 |
• The twins get a check-up (2/26/08) • VIDEO: Nancy Grace introduces on set 2-14-08 • The twins go out for a stroll (2/11/08) • The twins at 3 months (2/4/08) • The twins in January (1/21/08) • VIDEO: First video of Nancy Grace's twins E-mail to a friend . | Pictures of Nancy Grace's twins .
John David and Lucy Elizabeth were born November 4, 2007 .
Come back to this site for regularly updated pictures! | 9cce7373a54faccf5b5d1232c82afab9b29ab6b9 |
(CNN) -- The Saudi lawyer who represented a woman kidnapped and raped by seven men said his license to practice has been reinstated. A protest appeared in India in November against the Saudi sentence. Lawyer and human rights activist Abdul Rahman al-Lahem told CNN's Nic Robertson that the Justice Ministry has reinstated his license. Al-Lahem had previously told CNN that the Saudi judge revoked his license as punishment for speaking to the media about his client's case, which attracted international attention. His client, an engaged teenager, was raped by seven men who found her alone with a man unrelated to her. She has said she was meeting with the man to retrieve a photograph. The attack took place in Qatif in March 2006. The seven rapists were sentenced to two to nine years in prison but she also was sentenced to 200 lashes and six months in prison for having violated the kingdom's strict Islamic law by being alone with an unrelated man. The woman's sentence provoked outrage in the West and cast light on the treatment of women under Saudi Arabian law. Under Saudi law, women are subject to numerous restrictions, including a strict dress code, a prohibition against driving and a requirement that they get a man's permission to travel or have surgery. In challenging what he said were his suspension and disbarment, al-Lahem said he had received threats on his life from the religious right. Last month, Minister of Justice Abdallah bin Mohammed al-Sheikh, in a phone call to a Saudi Television newscast, said the lawyer's license had never been revoked. "Such decisions are made through institutions in the kingdom," he said. "The punishment of the lawyer or any lawyer does not come from a reaction; it comes from a carefully examined procedure within a special council in the ministry." He said the council charged with deciding law license revocations had not issued any decisions in the case. E-mail to a friend . | Saudi lawyer Abdul Rahman al-Lahem says his license to practice is reinstated .
Al-Lahem says license revoked because he publicized rape victim's conviction .
Saudi minister last month denied license was ever revoked .
Rape victim was convicted of being alone with an unrelated man . | 6b72550a663bcb7a64e242ede6da53b1f585ea71 |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The U.S. Senate was called to order for 11 seconds on Wednesday as the last political scuffle of the year between the White House and the Democratic-led Congress played out. Democratic senators will hold short "pro forma" sessions over the holiday break to prevent recess appointments. Nearly all the senators left the Capitol for the Christmas holiday last week, but Democrats are keeping the Senate in session to block President Bush from making any recess appointments -- a constitutional mechanism that allows the president, during congressional recesses, to fill top government posts for up to one year without Senate confirmation. Sen. Jim Webb, D-Virginia, opened and then immediately gaveled the Senate session to a close. He spent 57 seconds in the chamber. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, announced December 19 that he would keep the Senate open with a series of "pro forma" sessions through mid-January. Talks had just broken down with the White House on a deal that would have allowed the president to make dozens of those appointments if he agreed not to appoint one controversial official, Steven Bradbury, as the permanent head of the influential Office of Legal Counsel at the Justice Department. Bush declined to accept the Democrats' offer, and Reid refused to approve Bradbury because of concerns about his involvement in crafting legal opinions for the administration on interrogation techniques of terrorism suspects. Similar sessions were conducted over the Thanksgiving recess. Webb also did the duty Friday, but he won't be the only senator tasked with presiding over the shortened sessions. Other Democrats -- including Sens. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts, Byron Dorgan of North Dakota, Jack Reed of Rhode Island, Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, Ben Cardin of Maryland and Chuck Schumer of New York -- will share the duty. E-mail to a friend . CNN's Ted Barrett and Vandana Kilaru contributed to this report . | Democratic senators will hold short "pro forma" sessions over the holiday break .
Sessions usually under one minute long .
Move prevents President Bush from making recess appointments .
Bush refused to withdraw one controversial nominee after Democratic offer . | 1c1dc1da2f6ba045478e25e91c8e1b039ce4cc67 |
(CNN) -- A Vietnamese woman caught cooking a tiger carcass was sentenced to two and a half years in jail, state media reported Thursday. There are reportedly only about 100 tigers, prized by so-called medicine men, left living in Vietnam. A Hanoi court convicted Nguyen Thi Thanh, 41, for "violating regulations protecting rare wild animals." She was arrested last September after police raided a house that she rented in the capital city of Hanoi and found dead tigers, bear arms, monkey bones and elephant tusks. Officers found Thanh and three accomplices cooking tiger carcasses, the Thanh Nien daily reported. The three men received suspended sentences, ranging from 24 to 30 months, the daily said. The woman told police she sold the animals' bone marrow for 6.5 million Vietnamese dong ($400) per gram to traditional medicine men, according to reports at the time. Such medicine men think tiger bones and other parts can cure arthritis and other joint ailments, according to the Humane Society of the United States. Tigers are universally threatened, with only about 100 still living in Vietnam, the World Wildlife Fund said. The southeast Asian country has banned trafficking in endangered animal parts. Last year, the Vietnamese government unearthed 38 cases of illegal trafficking that involved 503 endangered animals, local media said at the time. E-mail to a friend . | Vietnamese woman caught cooking a tiger carcass jailed for two and a half years .
Nguyen Thi Thanh, 41, convicted for violating regulations protecting rare wild animals .
Police found dead tigers, bear arms, monkey bones and elephant tusks in her flat . | d16bff688345742ee8a1762cb6b82b49e4a065dd |
(CNN) -- A mine exploded Monday on a road in southern Somalia, killing four people -- three members of the medical humanitarian group Medecins Sans Frontieres and a journalist. Ongoing violence in Somalia has devastated the capital Mogadishu. The incident occurred Monday along a road in Kismayo, the group said. Victor Okumu, 51, a Kenyan doctor; Damien Lehalle, 27, a French logistician; and a Somali driver named Billan were the MSF workers who were killed. Another member of the team was slightly wounded, the group said in a posting on its Web site. "The exact circumstances of this fatal incident are not yet clear," the posting said. Also killed was journalist Hassan Kafi Hared, 36. The remote-controlled mine erupted as he was walking to a news conference in Siyad Village in northern Kismayu, said the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ). He was working for the government-run Somali National News Agency and a Somali Web site called gedonet.com. He is survived by a wife and three children. "This is a targeted attack and we declare that this brutal killing on the journalist and the aid workers is an attack on the society itself," said NUSOJ Secretary General Omar Faruk Osman, in a news release. "We demand that transitional government and the authorities in Kismayu to identify the culprits of this crime and bring them to justice" he said. The medical humanitarian organization said it was evacuating remaining international members of it staff from Kismayu. Hared is the second journalist to be killed this year, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. The first, 38-year-old Norwegian reporter Carsten Thomassen, died Jan. 15 in a suicide bomb attack in Kabul. In a written statement, a representative of U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon said he condemned the killings and "demands a thorough investigation by the authorities." E-mail to a friend . | Journalist and two doctors were among those killed .
Remote-controlled mine went off in southern Somalia .
Somali driver also died in the attack .
Journalist is the second to die in conflict situation this year . | 5a4e46a4e18d31d1ef4d1087b1643a349f10dd14 |
(CNN) -- A mine exploded Monday on a road in southern Somalia, killing four people -- three members of the medical humanitarian group Medecins Sans Frontieres and a journalist. Ongoing violence in Somalia has devastated the capital Mogadishu. The incident occurred Monday along a road in Kismayo, the group said. Victor Okumu, 51, a Kenyan doctor; Damien Lehalle, 27, a French logistician; and a Somali driver named Billan were the MSF workers who were killed. Another member of the team was slightly wounded, the group said in a posting on its Web site. "The exact circumstances of this fatal incident are not yet clear," the posting said. Also killed was journalist Hassan Kafi Hared, 36. The remote-controlled mine erupted as he was walking to a news conference in Siyad Village in northern Kismayu, said the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ). He was working for the government-run Somali National News Agency and a Somali Web site called gedonet.com. He is survived by a wife and three children. "This is a targeted attack and we declare that this brutal killing on the journalist and the aid workers is an attack on the society itself," said NUSOJ Secretary General Omar Faruk Osman, in a news release. "We demand that transitional government and the authorities in Kismayu to identify the culprits of this crime and bring them to justice" he said. The medical humanitarian organization said it was evacuating remaining international members of it staff from Kismayu. Hared is the second journalist to be killed this year, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. The first, 38-year-old Norwegian reporter Carsten Thomassen, died Jan. 15 in a suicide bomb attack in Kabul. In a written statement, a representative of U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon said he condemned the killings and "demands a thorough investigation by the authorities." E-mail to a friend . | Journalist and two doctors were among those killed .
Remote-controlled mine went off in southern Somalia .
Somali driver also died in the attack .
Journalist is the second to die in conflict situation this year . | eebebdc4fa08a6e927ab958a39d91f888550afec |
(CNN) -- A bus carrying members of a Marine Corps Reserve unit overturned at an Alabama military base Sunday, leaving 23 Marines injured, four of them critically, the military said in a news release. A bus overturned Sunday in Alabama, injuring 23 Marines, the military said. The passengers, members of E Company, Anti-Terrorism Battalion, 4th Marine Division, had been taking part in a training exercise at Fort Rucker, an Army post outside Ozark, Alabama. They were departing the range at 9:20 a.m. when the accident occurred. The unit is made up of reservists from Tallahassee, Florida, and Bessemer, Alabama. The injured were from First and Headquarters Platoons out of Bessemer, a Birmingham suburb. By mid-afternoon, 11 of the injured had been released to their unit from the hospital. Pictures of the wreck were provided to the news media by the military. Ozark is about 175 miles south of Birmingham. E-mail to a friend . | Bus carrying Marine Corps Reserve unit overturned at Alabama military base .
23 Marines have been injured; four critically, the military says .
E Company, Anti-Terrorism Battalion, 4th Marine Division, was involved .
The accident happened Sunday morning, officials said . | 94b15ad6efcd6d47dfcc242135be481fceb7f634 |
PARIS, France (CNN) -- As a look, it is about as quintessentially French as it gets. All the same, from the New Year enjoying a cigarette while you sip on your cafe au lait will become a thing of the past. From January 1 it will be illegal in France to smoke in cafes as well as clubs, casinos and hotels. France is extending its ban on smoking to include bars, discotheques, restaurants, hotels, casinos, as well as its fabled cafes. In a country renowned for its fondness for romance, smoking has never quite shaken off its romantic associations with smoky Left Bank cafes and waifish Parisienne beauties clutching on a Gauloises. In spite of the health dangers, about 13.5 million people smoke out of a population of 60 million with around 26 percent of 15 year olds estimated to smoke, according to 2002 figures from the World Health Organization. A smoking ban was first introduced in France in February this year to cover workplaces, schools, airports and hospitals. The new restrictions will only apply to the inside of premises, meaning smokers are still free to light up on the terraces. Even so, enforcing the ban may prove tricky in a country well known for its cafe culture. To soften the blow, the authorities have agreed to an amnesty over the New Year holiday and will not fully enforce the new arrangements until Wednesday. After that time, any smoker caught will face a fine of €450 ($662), while hotel and bar owners who fail to prevent smokers from lighting up on their premises will be fined €750 ($1,100). France has lagged behind many of its European neighbors in bringing in legislation to curb smoking in public places. Ireland became the first European country to introduce a comprehensive smoking ban in 2004. Since then Italy, Spain, Belgium and Britain have followed suit with similar bans. E-mail to a friend . | Smoking ban in France extended to bars, clubs, restaurants, cafes from Jan 1 .
Smoking ban first introduced in February 2007 for public buildings, workplaces .
About 13.5 million people in France smoke out of a population of 60 million .
Similar bans now exist in Ireland, Italy, Spain, Belgium and Britain . | a84e31bf36290e557a3080ad297177b6f18cdf84 |
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) -- Pakistan election officials on Monday disqualified opposition party leader and former former prime minister Nawaz Sharif from participating in January parliamentary elections. Election officials say Nawaz Sharif's previous convictions bar him from standing for reelection. A spokesman for Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League told CNN Monday that Sharif had been barred by the election commission because of a previous criminal conviction. Sharif filed paperwork for his candidacy last week, although he had left open the possibility that he would boycott the election in protest of a state of emergency imposed by President Pervez Musharraf. Sharif, an outspoken critic of Musharraf, who ousted him from power in 1999, had said he wanted to keep all options open. Sharif returned to Pakistan last month, ending seven years in exile in Saudi Arabia. He had first returned in September, but Pakistani authorities deported him within hours of his arrival. Sharif was convicted of terrorism, hijacking and tax evasion after Musharraf seized power in 1999. He was released in 2000 in exchange for agreeing to 10 years of exile in Saudi Arabia. He retained his Pakistani citizenship, but has not been allowed to travel to Pakistan or directly take part in Pakistani politics. Musharraf, who quit as military leader and took office for a third term last week, has pledged to lift the state of emergency by December 16. He was criticized of using the emergency to crack down on political rivals and to purge the judiciary of those likely to block the approval of his reappointment as leader. E-mail to a friend . -- CNN's Zein Basravi contributed to this report. | Former Pakistani PM Nawaz Sharif has his candidacy papers rejected .
Had submitted nominations papers for Pakistan's parliamentary election .
Returning officer in Lahore upheld ineligibility objections from other candidates . | 12a24b1aba082a5fd0687a14015e1e58090ed9c6 |
PARIS, France -- AC Milan's Brazilian midfielder Kaka has been named European player of the year, lifting France Football's Ballon d'Or award. Kaka has already claimed all of the game's major prizes. His success comes two years after his fellow countryman, Barcelona's Ronaldinho, claimed the award . The 25-year-old Kaka was a major factor in AC Milan's triumphant Champions League campaign. The runner-up was Manchester United's Portuguese winger Cristiano Ronaldo with Barcelona's Argentinian midfielder Lionel Messi finishing third. "This is very special for me - it culminates an astonishing year for me," Kaka said. "It's the top prize around and the only way to win something like this is to play for a team like AC Milan. It's great to be part of a team that wins." At 25 years old, he has already won all the game's major prizes, individually and collectively. He was part of Brazil's 2002 World Cup winning squad, although he was limited to just 19 minutes as a substitute against Costa Rica. He was top scorer in last season's Champions League, helping Milan to avenge their loss to Liverpool in the 2005 final. He won the Italian domestic title in his first season at Milan having joined from Brazilians Sao Paulo for$ 8.5 million, a sum that Milan president Silvio Berlusconi then described as peanuts. E-mail to a friend . | Brazilian Kaka is named European player of the year .
The AC Milan player is chosen ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo of Manchester Utd .
Argentine Lionel Messi of Barcelona finishes third . | c8ebf6f48257a704202c7b6df238bc1cbfa838d7 |
LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- No charges will be brought against a 10-year-old boy accused of accidentally starting an October wildfire that scorched more than 38,000 acres north of Los Angeles, California, prosecutors announced Tuesday. Firefighters battle the Buckweed Fire October 22, 2007. "There is no evidence of intent on the part of the minor," the Los Angeles County district attorney's office said in a written statement issued Tuesday afternoon. "The district attorney's office is referring the matter to the Department of Children and Family Services for evaluation of the minor's situation to determine if other intervention is necessary." The boy had faced possible charges in juvenile court after admitting to sheriff's deputies that he had started the Buckweed fire by playing with matches, investigators said. The blaze eventually destroyed 21 homes and 42 other structures. The fire started October 21 in the Agua Dulce community north of Los Angeles. It was one of nearly two dozen wind-whipped wildfires that swept across southern California in late October, forcing hundreds of thousands of people from homes near Los Angeles, San Diego and San Bernardino and leaving 14 people dead. E-mail to a friend . | There is no evidence that the boy intended to set the fire, prosecutors say .
He had faced possible charges in juvenile court after admitting to setting blaze .
The boy was playing with matches; the blaze destroyed 21 homes .
The Buckweed fire started October 21 north of Los Angeles . | 0b40c6061cfd6a745886150c46eb75a7f43b4efa |
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Iraqi forces detained the suspected leader of a terrorist cell network believed to be funded by Saddam Hussein's eldest daughter, who is wanted by Iraqi authorities on terrorism charges, the U.S. military announced Monday. Raghad Hussein is currently living in Jordan under the protection of the royal family. The raid happened Sunday in Hussein's hometown of Tikrit. It was carried out by Iraqi forces, advised by U.S. Special Forces, the military said. The network, believed to be funded by Raghad Hussein, has been "linked to a series of attacks on coalition forces" using rocket-propelled grenades and roadside bombs, the military said. "These attacks have claimed the lives of numerous Soldiers and Airmen," a military statement said. Other leaders of the network have been detained in previous raids, the military said. The international police organization Interpol last year issued an alert to authorities across the world that Raghad Hussein is wanted by Iraqi authorities. The Iraqi government has issued an arrest warrant for the 38-year-old daughter of the late Iraqi leader on charges of inciting terrorism and crimes against life and health. Interpol -- based in Lyon, France -- issued a Red Notice in the case. That is a request to police anywhere to help track her down and extradite her to Iraq. She has been living in Jordan under the protection of the royal family. E-mail to a friend . | Iraqi forces detain the suspected leader of a terrorist cell network .
Cell is believed to be funded by Saddam Hussein's eldest daughter, Raghad .
Raghad, wanted in Iraq on terrorism charges, currently living in Jordan . | a3906e4f27942e2742d5cc9a3241980e338e0d30 |
PARIS, France -- Goals from Juninho and Sidney Govou gave Lyon a 2-0 home win over Valenciennes and enabled the six-time champions to stay four points ahead at the top of the French league. Juninho opened the scoring for Lyon five minutes before the break. Brazilian midfielder Juninho nudged in a Karim Benzema cross five minutes before the break and Govou lobbed in the second three minutes from time. Lyon, who are at home to German champions VfB Stuttgart in the Champions League group stage on Wednesday, have 31 points from 13 matches. Second-placed Nancy celebrated their 40th anniversary with a 1-0 win over Girondins Bordeaux. Nancy, who have a game in hand, scored in the 29th minute when midfielder Chris Malonga headed in a cross from Youssouf Hadji. Bordeaux stay fourth with 22 points from 13 games after their first away defeat of the season. Third-placed Stade Rennes slumped to a 1-0 home defeat against Monaco, who had only picked up a point from their six previous league outings. Frederic Piquionne headed home from a Nene corner kick for the visitors two minutes into the second half. Troubled Paris St Germain clinched a 2-1 victory at Racing Strasbourg thanks to a Rodrigo own goal and 20-year-old midfielder Loris Arnaud's effort after 19 minutes. Olympique Marseille were held to an embarrassing goalless draw by Lorient and remain third from bottom. Coach Eric Gerets said:"The public have a right to be unhappy as the level of play in the second half wasn't worthy of Marseille. "Taking the match as a whole you can have a harsh judgement. We made a few chances in the first half but we had a problem constructing moves from the back. "In the second half we should have lost the match with the counter-attacks. "We have to look at ourselves in the mirror, fight and work." E-mail to a friend . | Lyon beat Valenciennes 2-0 to stay four points clear on top of the French table .
Nancy stay second by beating Bordeaux 1-0 .
Third-placed Rennes flop to a 1-0 home defeat against struggling Monaco . | 49d1a193a2c477f5861b593f06681b35b0e49573 |
MEXICO CITY, Mexico (CNN) -- Buses that carry women only are experiencing a smooth ride with passengers in Mexico's capital. A woman rides on a bus exclusively for female passengers last month in Mexico City. Fans of the new service call their daily commutes more pleasant now that bus rides steer clear of too-close-for-comfort contact with men. "We're not just talking about sexual harassment, about rapes or about incidents of violence," said Ariadna Montiel, director of the Network of Passengers' Transportation for the Government of the Federal District. "But also about touching, staring, which is what generally occurs on public transport." The single-sex service, which started in January, is available on four major lines in the city, and it's expected to expand to another 15. Other plans include replacing male drivers with women. One woman described the service as "excellent," saying it's "more comfortable too because it doesn't make as many stops." Another passenger said she feels more comfortable and safer. Last year, the government received seven complaints of sexual abuse aboard the city's buses, which provide 200 million rides each year, officials said. Authorities said that a single complaint is enough to justify taking such measures. Juan Flores, who has driven buses in Mexico City for 15 years and now steers one for women only, said he even notices a difference. "I feel more tranquil, I work more peacefully and the interior of the bus is cleaner," he said. E-mail to a friend . CNN's Mario Gonzalez contributed to this report. | Passengers on female-only buses describe their commutes as more pleasant .
Seven complaints of sexual abuse aboard Mexico City buses made last year .
Single-sex service is available on four major lines in Mexican capital . | cc8898d831bb770da703c284d4a811f16cb4035b |
(CNN) -- Kuwait's leader dissolved parliament on Wednesday and called for early elections, after the Cabinet resigned this week following a power struggle with the government. Kuwait's emir has dissolved parliament following conflict between the Cabinet and govenrment. The emir, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, said he was forced to dissolve parliament to safeguard Kuwait's national unity, citing the fragile political situation in the region and his primary concern for internal security and stability. New elections have been set for May 17, according to Kuwait's state-run news agency, KUNA. According to Kuwait's constitution, elections must be held within 60 days of dissolving parliament. Kuwait's parliament, made up mostly of opposition politicians, has been locked in a feud with the government which it accuses of corruption and abuse of power. Parliament has continuously called for some government members to be investigated, which is what prompted the Cabinet to resign this week. Al-Sabah said he tried to get lawmakers and government ministers to reconcile their differences, but they only inflamed the situation through their statements to the media. E-mail to a friend . CNN Senior Arab Affairs Editor Octavia Nasr contributed to this report . | Kuwait's leader dissolves parliament and calls for early elections after conflict .
Cabinet resigned earlier this week after a power struggle with the government .
The emir said he was forced to act to safeguard Kuwait's national unity .
New elections have been set for May 17 according to state-run news agency . | e5685719d330bf84ed7691a9a591e04e6a6226b8 |
(CNN) -- Scientists have discovered the remains of a rodent the size of a small car which used to forage the South American continent. The 1-ton creature is believed to have been about 3 meters in length and 1.5 meters tall. The fossilized skull of the new giant rodent . The giant rat's skull, which measures an impressive 53 centimeters in diameter was found by Andrés Rinderknecht and Ernesto Blanco, two scientists from Montevideo, Uruguay. The two paleontologists stumbled upon the fossilized remains in a broken boulder in San Jose along the coast of Uruguay. By looking at the size ratios of the skulls and bodies of existing rodents, scientists determined the bodyweight of the rodent must have approached 1,000 kilograms or a ton, making it the world's largest rodent to have been discovered to date. The relatively small size of its teeth however, suggests it fed mainly upon soft vegetables and fruit. "We can give an educated guess that the rodent would have been 3 meters long -- assuming that it was similar to a Capybara (the largest rodent alive today) and taking it into account that large mammals generally have relatively smaller heads. It's tail probably was closer to the one of capybara or guinea pig (very short) and not like a rat," Ernesto Blanco says. The scientists believe the rodent, named Josephoartigasia monesi, roamed the earth about four million years ago at the same time as other giant creatures, such as terror birds, saber-toothed cats, ground sloths and giant armored mammals. During this period, the now arid region was forested and rich in vegetation. The largest living rodent is the capybara, a 50 kilogram guinea pig found in South America. E-mail to a friend . | Rodent the size of small car discovered in Uruguay .
Scientists say the rodent must have weighed 1,000 kilograms .
Small size of its teeth suggests it fed mainly upon soft vegetables and fruit . | 1823e1e750046606e4be0e8710f1d74998783e41 |
(CNN) -- Disgraced former NFL star Michael Vick declared that "I am not the bad person or the beast I've been made out to be" in a letter to a judge asking for leniency. Michael Vick wrote he was "forever a changed man." "I have been talked about and ridiculed on a day to day basis by people who really don't know Michael Vick the human being. They only knew the football player which is unfair," Vick said in a handwritten letter released this week. U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson sentenced Vick on Monday to serve 23 months in prison for financing a dogfighting ring and helping to kill pit bulls that did not fight aggressively. Vick wrote the judge that he had accepted responsibility for his actions, would pay restitution and never again use "a single dollar that I have earned for anything but to help people." Read letters from Vick, his mom, sports stars » . The former Atlanta Falcons quarterback said he grew up not knowing the severity of the crime of dogfighting and asked Hudson for "a second chance." Other letters supporting Vick were sent by his mother, his seventh-grade teacher and children he had met since becoming a star and one of the NFL's most highly paid players. Brenda Vick Boddie said her son fell victim to friends who took advantage of Vick's inability to "say no." "PLEASE Your HONOR give my baby Michael another chance. [H]e's never been in trouble with the law before, PLEASE! PLEASE! one more chance," she pleaded in her own handwritten letter. Former Falcons teammate Warrick Dunn, Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin and two sporting legends -- former home-run king Hank Aaron and former two-time boxing heavyweight champion George Foreman -- also wrote letters on Vick's behalf. E-mail to a friend . | Michael Vick wrote five-page letter to judge seeking leniency .
Former NFL star said he was wrong and promised to make amends .
Vick's mom, Atlanta mayor and sports legends also sent letters to judge .
Vick sentenced Monday to 23 months in prison in dogfighting case . | 50dc0ca6cbbd4f9c3761fbb3ad9e7d7ba85bd9b3 |
LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Alex Trebek, the long-time host of the popular television quiz show "Jeopardy," suffered a minor heart attack at his home Monday night. Alex Trebek has hosted "Jeopardy!" for 23 years. Trebek, 67, was recovering at a local hospital, and it was not clear when he would be released, a representative of the show said. He is expected to resume taping the show in January. The representative added that Trebek did not have any previous known condition that would have led to the heart attack. Trebek, 67, is a native of Sudbury, Ontario. He has hosted "Jeopardy!" since 1984. Prior to becoming "Jeopardy!" host, he served as emcee for a number of game shows, including "High Rollers," "The Wizard of Odds" and "Battlestars." E-mail to a friend . | Alex Trebek suffered heart attack at home Monday .
Trebek has hosted "Jeopardy!" for 23 years .
Trebek is recovering at L.A. hospital . | 879e68a2b78b3cf3f5c2581bbf6093871143ed7b |
MEXICO CITY, Mexico (Reuters) -- Archaeologists have discovered what they think are ruins of an Aztec pyramid razed by vengeful Spanish conquerors in what is now one of Mexico City's most crime-ridden districts. Construction workers unearthed ancient walls in the busy Iztapalapa neighborhood in June, and government archeologists said Wednesday they believe they may be part of the main pyramid of the Aztec city, destroyed by conquistador Hernan Cortes in the 16th century. Iztapalapa, now infamous for violent crime and drug dealing, has grown into a sprawling, poor district of the capital, obscuring the ruins. "We knew the general location but couldn't explore because it's a big urban area," said government archeologist Jesus Sanchez, who is director of the site. Iztapalapa's ruler, Cuitlahuac, nearly annihilated Cortes and his Spanish troops in 1520 in what became known as the Sad Night. After eventual victory, Cortes destroyed the city. Sanchez hopes he has found the city's main pyramid just below the neighborhood's central plaza and garden. He and his team will spend more than a year investigating before deciding whether to excavate. Mexico City is littered with pre-Hispanic ruins. In October, archeologists in the city's central Zocalo square unearthed a 15th century Aztec altar and a 12-ton stone idol just yards from choking downtown traffic. The Aztecs, a warlike and deeply religious people who built monumental works, ruled an empire stretching from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific Ocean and encompassing much of modern-day central Mexico. E-mail to a friend . Copyright 2007 Reuters. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. | Ruins of an Aztec pyramid uncovered in Iztapalapa neighborhood, Mexico City .
Iztapalapa is a sprawling, crime-ridden district .
The Aztecs ruled an empire stretching from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific Ocean . | 980051ddbf137ec06e7aeead2acb598bae388520 |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Two U.S. Air Force F-15s escorted two Russian Bear long-range bombers out of an air exclusion zone off the coast of Alaska, U.S. military officials said Wednesday. Two U.S. Air Force F-15s were dispatched to meet the Russian bombers. U.S. radar picked up the Russian turbo-prop Tupolev-95 planes about 500 miles off the Alaska coast. The U.S. fighters from Elmendorf Air Force Base were dispatched to meet the bombers and escorted them out of the area without incident, the officials said. The United States maintains the air exclusion zone off the coast of Alaska, barring unidentified aircraft or aircraft that don't file flight plans inside that area. The last case of Russian aircraft approaching the U.S. coastline or ships in the Pacific was in February. Then, four Bear bombers flew near the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz, with one of them flying about 2,000 feet from the Nimitz's deck. Russia's Defense Ministry said at the time there was no violation of flight regulations during the incident. A ministry official described the flights as standard operating procedure for air force training. Meanwhile, U.S. military officials say the incidents are not a concern. They say it's the Russian military flexing its ability and presence. E-mail to a friend . | U.S. radar picks up the Russian planes about 500 miles off the Alaska coast .
The Russians entered an air exclusion zone .
They are escorted out of the area without incident .
Russian planes last came near the U.S. coastline in February . | 7b76a0b5e6006587b65ad70ac2e4953ca1e2d4d1 |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Four people said to have acted on behalf of the Earth Liberation Front have been indicted on a charge of setting fire to an agriculture research building on the Michigan State University campus more than eight years ago, authorities announced Tuesday. Three Detroit, Michigan, residents and a Cincinnati, Ohio, resident were named in conspiracy and arson counts for a fire at a campus facility that housed federally funded plant genetic research. Officials said the December 31,1999, fire on the East Lansing campus caused more than $1 million in damage to facilities and the loss of research records. They also are accused of setting fire the next day to commercial logging equipment near Mesick, Michigan, in order to sabotage lumbering activity. "This investigation has been ongoing for almost a decade, and it should be a reminder to all that the FBI does not allow the passage of time to thwart our ability to apply our full resources to a case," said FBI Special Agent in Charge Andrew Arena. Michigan State Police Chief James Dunlap called the case "a significant act of domestic terrorism." "This was more than an attack on a building and the destruction of valuable property," MSU President Lou Anna Simon said. "It was an assault on the core value of free and open inquiry at a research university." Officials said those named in the indictment are Marie Mason, 46, of Cincinnati; and Frank Ambrose, 33, Aren Burthwick, 27, and Stephanie Fultz, 27, all of Detroit. E-mail to a friend . | 3 Michigan residents and an Ohio resident named in conspiracy, arson counts .
They are said to have set fire to an agriculture research building at Michigan State .
Fire nine years ago caused $1 million in damage and loss of research records .
Michigan State Police chief called fire 'a significant act of domestic terrorism' | e1aad9da59a32a4443010b092eba1b68725c8467 |
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- The Democratic-led Congress yielded to President Bush on Saturday and approved legislation to temporarily expand government's power to conduct electronic surveillance without a court order in tracking foreign suspects. President Bush demanded Congress expand his surveillance authority before leaving for vacation. Civil liberties groups charged the measure would create a broad net that would sweep up law-abiding U.S. citizens. But the House of Representatives gave its concurrence to the bill, 227-183, a day after it won Senate approval, 60-28. The action came amid warnings of possible attacks on the United States. "After months of prodding by House Republicans, Congress has finally closed the terrorist loophole in our surveillance law -- and America will be the safer for it," declared House Minority Leader John Boehner, an Ohio Republican. "We think it is not the bill that ought to pass," said House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer. But he conceded he and fellow Democrats were unable to stop the measure in this national security showdown with the White House. "Protecting America is our most solemn obligation," Bush said earlier in the day in urging Congress to send him the bill so he could sign it into law. Watch Kelli Arena's report on what some call an intelligence gap » . The measure would authorize the National Security Agency to intercept without a court order communications between people in the United States and foreign targets overseas. E-mail to a friend . Copyright 2007 Reuters. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. | Secret court ruling prompted push for updating the program .
President Bush had urged the House to pass the bill without delay .
Measure expands government's power to eavesdrop on foreign suspects . | 4df7a53f5e24347a53d5bf3b8c92bef21561f2c4 |
(CNN) -- Researchers have discovered the oldest piece of gold jewelry ever found in the Americas, an academic journal reported Tuesday. A gold and turquoise necklace, made 4,000 years ago, was found in a burial site near Lake Titicaca. A team found the gold necklace near Lake Titicaca in Peru, according to the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. It's 4,000 years old -- 600 years older than any other gold jewelry discovered in the Western Hemisphere. The anthropologist who discovered the gold, Mark Aldenderfer, told CNN on Tuesday night that he sensed the importance of his find after noticing a glint while excavating a site with human remains. "It appeared to be gold. That's when I knew we had something special," he said. "This was a complete shock." He found the necklace about seven years ago, he said, but researchers kept quiet for fear that looters would raid the site. They also wanted to allow time for chemical analysis before announcing their discovery on Tuesday. Video footage from Peru shows a necklace of nine gold tubes separated by 10 stones. The find is important, Aldenderfer said, because it signals the early emergence of a desire for status among people who lived as relative equals without a formal leadership system. The Andean people of that time, Aldenderfer said, had recently settled down after many generations as hunter-gatherers. Formal kings would not emerge for hundreds of years. The person who wore the gold necklace may have sought to distinguish himself with a status symbol, Aldenderfer said. The artifact is in the custody of the National Institute of Peru and may be displayed in a museum, he said. E-mail to a friend . | A team finds the gold necklace near Lake Titicaca in Peru .
Find is important because it signals the emergence of societal status systems .
The artifact is in the custody of the National Institute of Peru . | 69e313e0e6e7603f96a3783cb7d1ada68ace288f |
(CNN) -- Bolivian President Evo Morales plans to sign legislation Friday scheduling a May 4 referendum on a new constitution, the Bolivian Information Agency reported. Bolivians celebrate Thursday in La Paz after Congress decides to call for a referendum on a new constitution. The move comes after the Bolivian Congress decided Thursday in a raucous session to let people nationwide vote on the controversial plans. The proposed constitution would strengthen the country's indigenous majority but has faced fierce opposition from nonindigenous Bolivians, including those in four provinces whose governors have declared autonomy. Hundreds jammed streets Thursday outside the congressional building in La Paz to prevent opposition legislators from entering. Video footage broadcast on CNN en Español showed people pushing, shoving and hitting others. Watch as the crowds block the opposition » . Congress made its decision to hold a referendum "with a reduced presence of opposition lawmakers," the Bolivian news agency said. Opposition legislators decried the move as "illegal," the agency said, but supporters of Morales welcomed it. "Now it is the Bolivian people who will decide with their vote whether to approve or reject the new constitution," said Vice President Alvaro Garcia Linera, according to the Bolivian Information Agency. E-mail to a friend . | Bolivian Congress decides to let people vote on new constitution on May 4 .
Proposed constitution would strengthen Bolivia's indigenous majority .
Bolivian President Evo Morales is set to sign the legislation .
Opposition lawmakers with "reduced presence" in Congress decry move as "illegal" | 21ff7b91537b3ab2e73dff1f982a669b8658b0e9 |
(CNN) -- A B-2 stealth bomber crashed early Saturday morning local time in Guam, according to the Air Force. A B-2 stealth bomber taxis at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, in a 2005 photo. Two pilots who were aboard during the crash, at Andersen Air Force Base, ejected from the bomber and were in good condition afterward, according to an Air Force statement. The pilots were from the 509th Bomb Wing. The military didn't release their names. Emergency responders were on the scene of the crash. A board of officers will investigate its cause. The crash is the second in three days of an Air Force craft. Watch smoke rise from crash site . An Air Force fighter pilot was killed Wednesday after two F-15C jets collided during a training exercise over the Gulf of Mexico. The planes were from the 33rd Fighter Wing, a combat-flying unit out of Eglin Air Force Base near Pensacola, Florida. E-mail to a friend . | Air Force says 2 pilots in good condition after ejecting from plane .
Emergency responders on scene of crash at Andersen Air Force Base .
Crash is the second in three days involving an Air Force craft . | 963cbc7820b42eaa7b7a82d178c6a387a70a6a3c |
BEIJING, China (Reuters) -- A Chinese couple tried to name their baby "@," claiming the character used in e-mail addresses echoed their love for the child, an official trying to whip the national language into line said on Thursday. The unusual name stands out especially in Chinese, which has no alphabet and instead uses tens of thousands of multi-stroke characters to represent words. "The whole world uses it to write e-mail, and translated into Chinese it means 'love him'," the father explained, according to the deputy chief of the State Language Commission Li Yuming. While the "@" symbol is familiar to Chinese e-mail users, they often use the English word "at" to sound it out -- which with a drawn out "T" sounds something like "ai ta," or "love him," to Mandarin speakers. Li told a news conference on the state of the language that the name was an extreme example of people's increasingly adventurous approach to Chinese, as commercialisation and the Internet break down conventions. Another couple tried to give their child a name that rendered into English sounds like "King Osrina." Li did not say if officials accepted the "@" name. But earlier this year the government announced a ban on names using Arabic numerals, foreign languages and symbols that do not belong to Chinese minority languages. Sixty million Chinese faced the problem that their names use ancient characters so obscure that computers cannot recognize them and even fluent speakers were left scratching their heads, said Li, according to a transcript of the briefing on the government Web site (www.gov.cn). One of them was the former Premier Zhu Rongji, whose name had a rare "rong" character that gave newspaper editors headaches. E-mail to a friend . Copyright 2007 Reuters. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. | Chinese couple try to name baby "@"
Father claims character translates as "love him"
Officials have not revealed if the name has been allowed . | fc8f0e54e2627ebe705735f0565d77ca64579d92 |
AMSTERDAM, Holland -- Ajax lost ground on Dutch league leaders PSV Eindhoven after being held to a 2-2 draw at Vitesse Arnhem on Sunday. Ajax's Leonardo, front in blue, duels for the ball with Sebastien Sansoni and Abubakari Yakubu of Vitesse. The Amsterdam side led 2-1 with two goals in four minutes just after half-time from Urby Emanuelson and Luis Suarez following Mads Junker's early opener, but Harrie Gommans rescued a draw. Ajax are now five points adrift of PSV, who beat Excelsior 2-1 on Saturday, with Heerenveen, Feyenoord and Groningen just one point further back. Feyenoord were held 1-1 at home by Groningen on Sunday, with Marcus Berg putting the visitors on course for a 13th win of the season until an own goal by Mark-Jan Fledderus on the stroke of half-time gave the Rotterdam side a point. At the other end of the table, Heracles registered their first away win of the season with a 5-0 thumping of fellow strugglers Venlo. Relegation-threatened Sparta Rotterdam and NEC Nijmegen both picked up vital victories. Sparta won 2-1 at sixth-placed Twente Enschede as goals from Yuri Rose and Charles Dissels on 28 and 51 minutes kept the visitors above of second-bottom Nijmegen on goal difference. NEC won 2-0 at home to ninth-placed Utrecht, the club's first victory since early November, as Jhonny van Beukering and Brett Holman netted in the second half. E-mail to a friend . | Second-placed Ajax held 2-2 at home by Vitesse Arnhem in Dutch Eredivisie .
The Amsterdam side now trail league leaders PSV Eindhoven by five points .
PSV defeated Excelsior 2-0 on Saturday to open up six-point gap at top . | f489b07406c653968a0ed21c00e28c9124e4a49b |
(CNN) -- Coca Cola was born in Atlanta, Georgia, on May 8, 1886. Dr. John Stith Pemberton, a local pharmacist, produced the syrup for Coca-Cola. It was put on sale at the nearby Jacobs' Pharmacy for five cents a glass as a soda fountain drink. An international organization, The Coca-Cola Company's first soda fountain sales to Canada and Mexico were recorded in 1897. Its first international bottler -- in Panama -- was established in 1906. The company entered China in 1927 and its 100th country -- Sierra Leone -- in 1957. Today, The Coca-Cola Company is the world's largest beverage company with the most extensive distribution system in the world, operating in more than 200 countries across the world. The company currently has over 400 different brands under its control, and is one of the most recognizable names in the commercial world. The Coca-Cola Company, including the bottling entities it owns, employs approximately 71,000 people. More than 58,000 of those employees work for the company outside of the U.S. They are the largest private-sector employer across all of Africa. And in South Africa, for every one job created by the Coca-Cola system, 16 jobs are created in the informal retail sector. The company was placed in the top 25 places to work by Essence magazine and was named Wal-Mart's International Supplier of the Year in 2006. E-mail to a friend . | Coca-Cola was invented in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1886, by a U.S. pharmacist .
Today it is the largest beverage company in the world .
The company has operations in over 200 countries, employs 55,000 people . | 9f49bf7ded4308f1601e4723d594d7c3b4883b32 |
LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- A 24-year-old gang member was arrested Thursday in connection with a shooting at a Los Angeles bus stop in which eight people were wounded, city officials said. Bystanders express shock after a shooting at a bus stop in Los Angeles Wednesday. Billy Ray Hines is believed to have fired into a crowd of people at the bus stop. Hines was apprehended Thursday afternoon as he was walking down the street, about a half-mile from the scene of the shooting, Police Chief William Bratton told reporters. Hines will face 10 counts of attempted murder -- one for each of the eight victims, and two more for what authorities believe to be his two intended victims, who were still being sought Thursday, Bratton said. Authorities are also seeking the gun used in the incident, he said. The shootings took place Wednesday afternoon at the intersection of Central and Vernon avenues, in an area where police are concerned about gang violence. Five of the victims were children. An 11-year-old girl was shot in the chest, and another girl, age 11, was shot in the right arm. Three boys were wounded -- ages 10, 12 and 14. One was shot in the leg, one in the buttocks and the third in the ankle, police said. One man was wounded in the leg and another in the ankle, and a woman was shot in the face. "While no one died yesterday, the bullets unleashed shot through the core of the entire community," Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said in announcing the arrest Thursday. "The decent people of this community responded with force." Watch mayor, authorities discuss arrest of gunman » . Witnesses came forward after the incident to identify the gunman as Hines, Bratton said. The shooting was believed to stem from a dispute between the gunman and the two intended victims, he said. E-mail to a friend . | Billy Ray Hines is believed to have fired into a crowd, police say .
Eight people, including five children, were shot, authorities say .
Shooting happened Wednesday near a middle school, but not on school grounds .
Hines will face 10 counts of attempted murder, police say . | 6bd843fe975d42b0f2d5eedb1a02d918e4a397f5 |
MOSCOW, Russia (CNN) -- Russian space officials say the crew of the Soyuz space ship is resting after a rough ride back to Earth. A South Korean bioengineer was one of three people on board the Soyuz capsule. The craft carrying South Korea's first astronaut landed in northern Kazakhstan on Saturday, 260 miles (418 kilometers) off its mark, they said. Mission Control spokesman Valery Lyndin said the condition of the crew -- South Korean bioengineer Yi So-yeon, American astronaut Peggy Whitson and Russian flight engineer Yuri Malenchenko -- was satisfactory, though the three had been subjected to severe G-forces during the re-entry. Search helicopters took 25 minutes to find the capsule and determine that the crew was unharmed. Officials said the craft followed a very steep trajectory that subjects the crew to gravitational forces of up to 10 times those on Earth. Interfax reported that the spacecraft's landing was rough. This is not the first time a spacecraft veered from its planned trajectory during landing. In October, the Soyuz capsule landed 70 kilometers from the planned area because of a damaged control cable. The capsule was carrying two Russian cosmonauts and the first Malaysian astronaut. E-mail to a friend . | Soyuz capsule lands hundreds of kilometers off-target .
Capsule was carrying South Korea's first astronaut .
Landing is second time Soyuz capsule has gone awry . | 00aa8e3ba59f5fe71a096a5549f80faece10aa83 |
NEW YORK (CNN) -- The daughter of a man who died after falling four stories at Shea Stadium said her father was not sliding down the escalator when the accident happened, as police reported. A statement from the New York Police Department on Tuesday said witnesses saw 36-year-old Antonio Nararainsami of Brooklyn sitting on the banister of the escalator when he lost his balance and fell. Nararainsami's daughter, Emily, told CNN affiliate WABC on Tuesday that her father was walking down the escalator, not sliding on its banister, as fans left the stadium after the New York Mets-Washington Nationals game. She said she and another relative saw what happened. "He wasn't moving or nothing; he was just walking down. I guess he tried to say something to us or something, and I guess he just lost his balance and flipped over," she said. Nararainsami died at Booth Memorial Hospital about 25 minutes after the 10 p.m. incident. Police are investigating the death as an accident. E-mail to a friend . | Police said man lost his balance on an escalator as fans left the stadium .
He died about 25 minutes later at Booth Memorial Hospital .
Police are investigating the death as an accident . | e1afe080ecf3565b0103214c21f49e8b03741024 |
SEOUL, South Korea (CNN) -- The chairman of the Samsung Group plans to resign, according to a report published Tuesday by Yonhap, the South Korean news agency. Chairman of the Samsung Group Lee Kun-hee has been indicted for tax evasion and breach of trust. The decision of Lee Kun-hee to step down comes a few days after his indictment amid an investigation into corruption allegations. Lee was indicted for tax evasion and breach of trust. Samsung is South Korea's largest conglomerate. It has annual sales of nearly $160 billion and accounts for 18 percent of South Korea's economic output. The company's exports -- valued at about $70 billion -- account for a fifth of all South Korean exports. Lee was indicted for breach of trust in connection with a plan to transfer control of the company to his son, a prosecutor said. He was also indicted for tax evasion. Investigators started looking into Samsung in January, after a former company lawyer said the company created slush funds worth $200 million. Last week, however, a prosecutor said an investigation found no evidence supporting an allegation that the company bribed government officials and prosecutors. Samsung has apologized for "causing concerns" and said it would outline plans for reform this week. E-mail to a friend . | Samsung Group chairman, Lee Kun-hee, plans to resign, Yonhap reports .
Lee's decision comes a few days after his indictment amid corruption investigation .
Lee was indicted for tax evasion and breach of trust .
Prosecutors say indictment relates to a plan to transfer control of the firm to his son . | e1e0fbee1f5df559fda3830710afb660f33cb7b5 |
(CNN) -- It's been 30,000 years since Neanderthals walked the earth, but now we can hear what they sounded like, according to a Florida anthropologist. Neanderthal man apparently sounded like a frog croaking or a human burping when talking. Robert McCarthy of Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton reconstructed Neanderthal vocal tracts to simulate their voice with a computer synthesizer. The result is a single syllable that sounds strange and unremarkable: part croaking frog, part burping human. But McCarthy says that's because Neanderthals lacked the "quantal vowels" modern humans use. "They would have spoken a bit differently," McCarthy said at the annual meeting of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists in Ohio this month. "They wouldn't have been able to produce these quantal vowels that form the basis of spoken language." New Scientist magazine discussed McCarthy's findings and linked to his vocal simulation on its Web site. Listen to Neanderthal man speak . McCarthy used 50,000-year-old fossils from France to make his reconstruction, New Scientist said. He plans to simulate an entire Neanderthal sentence, the magazine reported. To reconstruct the vocal tracts, McCarthy teamed with linguist Phil Lieberman, who worked in the 1970s to deduce the dimensions of a Neanderthal larynx based on its skull. E-mail to a friend . | Anthropologist reconstructs Neanderthal vocal tracts to simulate their voice .
Result sounds like a part croaking frog or a human burping .
Plan is to eventually simulate an entire Neanderthal sentence . | 09e62b334425ef4eee26be483a625858c91340eb |
TOKYO, Japan (CNN) -- The U.S. military in Japan has charged a Marine with rape and other violations of the Uniform Code of Military Justice in the alleged sexual assault of 14-year old girl in Okinawa. A civic group member protests against Hadnott near the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo on February 13. Staff Sgt. Tyrone Luther Hadnott, 38, has been charged with the rape of a child under 16, abusive sexual contact with a child, making a false official statement, adultery and kidnapping, the Marines said Friday. No dates for the court-martial have been set. In February, Japanese authorities released Hadnott after the girl dropped the allegations against him, but the Marine Corps conducted its own investigation to see if Hadnott violated codes of military justice. It held him at a Marine facility. The rape accusation against Hadnott stirred memories of a brutal rape more than a decade ago and triggered outrage across Japan. Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda deplored as "unforgivable" the allegations against Hadnott. The incident also led to tight restrictions, for a time, for American troops and their families at the U.S. base on Okinawa. The U.S. military in Japan also formed a sexual assault prevention task force after the incident. More than 40,000 U.S. troops are stationed in Japan, most of them on Okinawa. The troops were placed there under a security alliance after Japan was defeated in World War II and was renounced its right to a military. The U.S. military presence has at times bred resentment among some Japanese, who have long complained about crime, noise and accidents. Anti-American sentiments boiled over in 1995 after three American servicemen kidnapped and gang-raped a 12-year-old Okinawan schoolgirl. Two years ago, a U.S. civilian military employee was jailed for nine years for raping two women. E-mail to a friend . | No date set for the court-martial .
U.S. military charges Marine after girl dropped charges in February .
Most of U.S. troops in Japan are stationed in Okinawa . | 2572185d9544f23c4ad02aeac1ae8ab7828fb4be |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A pair of tornadoes struck suburban Washington on Sunday, mangling trees and stripping siding off several homes, the National Weather Service confirmed. No injuries were immediately reported. The first tornado hit St. Charles, Maryland -- about 30 miles south of Washington -- just after 2 p.m. It uprooted several trees, many of which fell onto cars and homes. The strongest wind from that touchdown was 80 mph -- enough force to blow out windows. A second tornado followed about 30 minutes later outside Hyattsville, Maryland -- about 10 miles northeast of the capital. The high-speed winds, peaking at 100 mph, hit the George E. Peters Adventist School especially hard, tearing off a portion of the roof and flinging it and mounds of debris into the parking lot. A nearby construction trailer was also knocked over. E-mail to a friend . | First tornado hit St. Charles, Maryland, about 30 miles south of Washington .
Second tornado struck 30 minutes later outside Hyattsville, Maryland .
No injuries were immediately reported . | 49d4ad731a44b7576e3e3271b1eee2f0219883c2 |
GLASGOW, Scotland -- Jean-Claude Darcheville and Nacho Novo both scored twice to fire leaders Rangers to a 4-0 win at Hearts, their 10th consecutive Scottish Premier League victory. Jean-Claude Darcheville scored two first-half goals as Rangers cruised to a 4-0 victory at Hearts. Hearts found themselves ripped apart by a rampant Rangers side, who sent out a clear message to rivals Celtic by maintaining their four-point advantage at the summit. Darcheville claimed the opener after 25 minutes, cutting inside from the left and squeezing his shot inside the far post from a tight angle. The same player added a second two minutes before the break, scoring from close range after a Barry Ferguson corner was not cleared. Darcheville was withdrawn for Novo at the interval, but if Hearts thought the departure of the Frenchman meant some much-needed respite, they were sadly mistaken. Novo was on the pitch for seven minutes when he helped himself to a goal of his own. Charlie Adam set up the shot with a low ball across goal and all that was required from the striker was to bundle home from close range. The same two players combined again to supply Rangers with their fourth goal with 69 minutes gone. Adam was again the provider and this time Novo produced a cheeky back-heel finish from five meters. Meanwhile, goals by Scott McDonald and Georgios Samaras gave Celtic a hard-fought 2-1 win at home to Inverness Caledonian Thistle. Australian international McDonald's 25th goal of the season right on the interval gave the champions the lead and his Greek team-mate bulleted an Aiden McGeady cross past goalkeeper Michael Fraser on the hour mark. But the final minutes were needlessly fraught for Celtic after Caley striker Marius Niculae took advantage of Scott Brown's misplaced pass to pull a goal back in the 70th minute. E-mail to a friend . | Rangers remain four points clear in Scotland after a superb 4-0 win at Hearts .
Jean-Claude Darcheville and Nacho Novo both net twice for the league leaders .
Celtic remain second in the table following 2-1 victory against Inverness Caley . | dee467e11f253e70ec843c45fb373da06eace6be |
(CNN) -- Rescue teams on Friday found the wreckage of a plane that crashed Thursday night in the mountains of Venezuela, but none of the 46 people aboard survived, a searcher said. "The impact was direct. The aircraft is practically pulverized," firefighter Jhonny Paz told Globovision, a privately owned Venezuelan television station. "There are no survivors." There was no word on the cause of the crash. Witnesses saw the Santa Barbara Airlines plane go down, according to Antonio Rivero, Venezuela's national director of civil protection. Harsh weather and rough terrain in the Andes Mountains likely will make the job of emergency workers difficult, Rivero said on a state-run television station. The plane went missing while flying from Merida to the international airport near Caracas, an official said. The pilot did not check in with controllers 20 minutes into the flight, as scheduled, suggesting the plane encountered problems shortly after takeoff. Nelson Marquez, chief of civil defense for Merida, said the plane was carrying 43 passengers and three crew members. Media reports said the Santa Barbara Airlines plane was supposed to land about 7 p.m. local time Thursday. E-mail to a friend . CNN's Guillermo Arduino and Adrian Criscaut contributed to this report. | NEW: Searcher says plane "practically pulverized" in Venezuela mountains .
Plane with 46 people on board crashes in the Andes Mountains .
Aircraft was flying from Merida to airport near Caracas .
There were no survivors, official says . | 8cc719f761556a81a71c2dd1b703749c2059df10 |
(CNN) -- A man dressed as a priest caught at Amsterdam's airport with three kilos of cocaine under his vestments claimed to police that his packages contained "holy sand", Dutch police said. Security officials conducting a normal security check at Schiphol airport last year. Police stopped the man at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport as he was transiting on a flight from South America, Robert Van Aapel, a spokesman for the Dutch Royal Military Police told CNN by phone Saturday. "He refused to be searched saying that he was a religious person and it was not allowed," Van Aapel said. "However, this is normal procedure so our officers insisted. They asked him again and after the second time they carried out the search and discovered the man had packs strapped to his legs below his priest's clothes. He told us they contained holy sand," he said. He said the man, who is aged around 40 and a Bolivian national, was arrested Thursday after arriving in to the airport on a flight from Lima, Peru. He was attempting to transit on a flight to Milan when he was apprehended with the cocaine, worth around €105,000 ($155,000). The Bolivian appeared in court Friday on charges of drug smuggling, Van Aapel said. Dutch police are trying to establish if the man is a real priest after he claimed to be a senior member of the clergy in the Bolivian capital La Paz, he added. E-mail to a friend . | Police: Man stopped at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport dressed as a priest .
Initially refused to be searched, saying that he was a religious person .
Found to have $155,000 worth of cocaine strapped to his legs under his vestments .
Officers trying to establish whether the man, on flight from Peru, is a priest . | 2d89b0d0827a0a1e9e855de7717407cdff63b1f5 |
(CNN) -- Battling blustery weather, a Lufthansa Airlines flight scraped its wing on the ground during a landing attempt in Hamburg, Germany, over the weekend. Internet footage of the Lufthansa A320 as it attempts a landing Saturday at Hamburg, Germany. The plane recovered and landed safely the second time around, the spokesman said. Dramatic amateur video of the incident that appeared on the Internet showed the Airbus A320 teetering as it tried to land during the brutal winter storm on Saturday. As it nears the tarmac, one wing visible scrapes the ground. Watch the plane try to land as a passenger describes experience » . "As we were about to touch down, a gust of wind pressed the left wing towards the ground," a Lufthansa pilot identified only as Oliver A. said in a statement. "We pulled up immediately. A maneuver we practice in training very often." The airline said the pilot has been flying for Lufthansa for 17 years. Watch as plane avoids crash » Airline spokesman Wolfgang Weber said the left winglet, a fin at the end of the wing scraped the ground after a gust of wind tipped the plane. Damage to the plane was minimal and not structural. He said the plane is already back in service. • Were you on board? Send us an iReport E-mail to a friend . | Amateur video of the moment the Lufthansa flight scraped its wing .
Strong winds blamed for the near miss at Hamburg airport .
The plane recovered and landed safely the second time around . | 2a2a0fd7b85ec6f9145761795bae420d7eb84f44 |