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Brussels, Belgium (CNN) -- NATO's North Atlantic Council on Sunday approved an operations plan that will shift the entire Libyan military mission to alliance command, officials said, easing the burden on the United States and its allies to protect civilians in the war-torn country. NATO ambassadors unanimously approved a so-called "no-fly plus" plan that will put the alliance in charge of protecting civilians as well as enforcing a no-fly zone and an arms embargo. "Our goal is to protect civilians and civilian-populated areas under threat of attack from the Gadhafi regime," NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said. "NATO will implement all aspects of the U.N. resolution. Nothing more, nothing less." The new NATO mandate will begin in two to three days, NATO officials said, allowing the current coalition, led by the United States, the United Kingdom and France, to stand down. At the same time, NATO was putting the final touches on its takeover of the no-fly zone over Libya. The handover from the United States and allies should be complete by Monday. NATO officials described the transition as a phased and seamless operation. All alliance members will have to abide by the rules of engagement approved Sunday, albeit with caveats that may allow some nations not to participate in operations in Libya. However, it is assumed that none of these nations will prevent other alliance members from executing the military plan and rules of engagement that were approved. A senior U.S. administration official spoke to reporters soon after the announcement. He stressed the NATO mission is to protect civilians and did not rule out the possibility of an attack on the rebels if they were to go on the offensive and strike cities with civilian populations, now held by pro-Gadhafi forces. The official also said he expected more countries to participate in the Libyan mission now that NATO has assumed command of it. He praised the speed with which the group of 28 allies reached a consensus. The office of British Prime Minister David Cameron similarly cheered the news of a NATO agreement. "NATO is already enforcing the arms embargo and the no-fly zone. Today's agreement to transfer complete command and control of all military operations to NATO both ensures that partners from the region are able to participate and represents a significant step forward as we plan for the next phase of this vital mission," it read.

NATO agrees to take on all Libya operations . Transition to happen in two to three days . The United States will get the transition it has been pushing for . NATO to take over no-fly zone by Monday .

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By . Deni Kirkova . A besotted dog owner has spent an astounding £5,000 on a birthday party for her beloved pet. Karen Chamberlain, 52, from Dover splashed out on a glamorous bash for her female bulldog, Lady Lola, to mark the fact she had survived to 10 years old despite being given just five years to live after a devastating house fire in 2005. The professional dog breeder, who specialises in bulldogs, hired a lavish beach club where Lola sat upon a specially-made throne and dressed in a £150 dress and £100 tiara. Lola gets ready for the party with the help of besotted owner Karen, 52, who spent £5,000 on it . The pair were joined by dozens of doggy friends who tucked into a 10-tier cake and enjoyed live entertainment. Karen, who has no children, said: 'People think I'm mad - I've been called "barking" more than once - but it's only common sense to me that Lola should have had a tutu and a throne for her "100th birthday", considering her rocky journey in life. 'She's really like one of my children.' Karen narrowly saved Lola and Lola's puppy Tia from a cloud of toxic smoke which filled her house when a coffee pot melted in an unexplained fire. She said: 'I raced through the house looking for them. 'Both the dogs were succumbing to the fumes and I had to practically throw Lola through an open door into the fresh air. Lola pictured sitting on her throne (l) and a wide shot of the throne and 10-tier birthday cake . The pair were joined by dozens of doggy friends who tucked into cake and enjoyed live entertainment . 'By the time I found Tia she was nearly dead. I had to give her mouth to mouth. 'We had to take both dogs to intensive care at the Royal Veterinary College in London where they stayed for two weeks, at a cost of £18,000. We almost lost them several times. 'The vets told us we should prepare ourselves for the fact that they wouldn't live for another five years. I was devastated, but I took them home and nursed them as best I could. It took them a full year to properly recover. 'Lola survived the five years, and then another, and I began to think, 'wow, she's a real survivor'.' Last year, as Lola approached her 10th birthday, Karen decided to throw an extra-special bash to celebrate her eldest dog's life so far. Karen also keeps five other bulldogs, Baby Gracie, 6, triplets Angel Star, Lil' Belle and Scarley Sky, 4, and King, 9 months, who with her fiance Pete Dowling, 5. Lola arrives at the party with Karen and her fiance Pete Dowling, 51 . She said: 'I invited all our dog-mad friends. I wanted it to be a very glamorous evening. 'The dress code was quite strict - I wanted all the ladies and gents to be dressed in their finest gear and their dogs were to wear fancy dress. We had one dog dressed up as Prince Charming, and others were dyed especially for the occasion.' The venue, the Beach Club marquee at the Kings Oak Hotel in Loughton, Essex, cost £1,000 to hire for the night. Lola's dress cost £150, and her tiara cost another £100. The decorations, food and entertainment, including a specially-constructed throne, a 10-tier cupcake tower, individual treat bowls, celebrity lookalikes and dancers, brought the total cost to £5,000. Individual treat bowls for canine guests at the party (l) as Pete gives Lola her cake . Karen said: 'We considered it Lola's 100th birthday because bulldogs generally do not live as long as some breeds. Every year equals 10 dog years. 'Lola really enjoyed her big day. She loves a fuss being made of her, and it obviously did her some good.' Sadly Tia, Lola's daughter, died in April this year, but Lola is still going strong. Karen said: 'She still acts like a puppy. She enjoys playing with her toys a bit too much sometimes and still gets excited meeting other dogs. 'Every day we take her for two short walks and when we're going longer distances we take her out in her stroller. She loves walking on the sand. 'We were once told that Lola only had a few short years to live, but she's amazingly strong.' Karen considered it Lola's 100th birthday because bulldogs generally do not live as long as some breeds .

Karen Chamberlain from Dover splashed out on a glam bash for Lady Lola . Considered it her 100th as bulldogs do not live as long as some breeds . Venue in Essex cost £1,000, Lola's dress cost £150 and her tiara £100 . Party featured special decorations, food and entertainment . Also specially-made throne, a 10-tier cupcake tower, individual treat bowls . Celebrity lookalikes and dancers brought the total cost to £5,000 .

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(CNN) -- The last time Arsenal led the English Premier League by as much as five points, it was February 2008. So it's no surprise that Arsene Wenger, whose last silverware came three years before that, is not getting carried away. The veteran manager knows, after all, that a few days is a long time in football. On Tuesday his team lost 2-0 to Chelsea in the League Cup, which many trumpeted as a sign that Jose Mourinho's side had taken the ascendancy and would be the dominant force this season. But on Saturday Mourinho's men crashed 2-0 to Newcastle, which had lost to the EPL's bottom side Sunderland the previous weekend, and Arsenal earned a five-point lead at the top with a comprehensive win by the same score against another title hopeful, Liverpool. Arsenal's pre-season target Luis Suarez and fellow in-form striker Daniel Sturridge barely had a look-in for Liverpool, which had scored 12 goals in the past four games. Santi Cazorla volleyed a 19th-minute opener after his header hit the post, and Aaron Ramsey joined Sturridge on 10 goals in all competitions just before the hour mark when the Wales midfielder was given time to shoot from outside the penalty area. "I am always confident, but of course there is a long way to go," Wenger said. "Today was an important win for the team. "It was vital to win, I said that before the game and I don't change my mind, because had we not won people would say 'Yes, Arsenal at home they cannot win the big games.' "The Chelsea game was an important game but not of the importance of today's game. But still, it was a disappointment and it was important to respond today, to convince people that we can win these big games. "We had a good solidarity, a good focus, and I believe we have plenty of other big games coming up and this will help us deal well with them." On Wednesday, the Gunners will travel to Germany to face Borussia Dortmund in a match which will have a big bearing on the London club's hopes of progressing to the knockout stage of the Champions League. "Who would have said that Chelsea would lose today at Newcastle after Tuesday night? But that's the Premier League and it's down to consistency," Wenger said. "We are consistent since the first of January 2013, with the same group (of players). We have shown since our massive blip against Aston Villa (at the start of this season) that we have been very consistent. We have 10 games, 25 points." While Wenger appears calm, Mourinho admitted to being worried after the Newcastle defeat left his Chelsea side in second place, above Liverpool on goal difference. "I'm angry because I don't understand it," said the former Real Madrid manager, who won two EPL titles in his first season at the London club. "Of course I am worried, and I read in previous years it happened the same. "Chelsea were successful in cup competitions but not successful in the Premier League. Last year in December, they were not in the race for the title because they were already 20 points behind." Mourinho made nine changes to his team, and complained: "I made 11 mistakes. I should have picked another 11 and not this one." While the Portuguese coach's fortunes may have momentarily dipped, those of the Manchester clubs soared this weekend. Defending champion Manchester United won 3-1 at Fulham, the fourth victory in a row in all competitions for under-pressure manager David Moyes -- who saw Antonio Valencia, Robin van Persie and Wayne Rooney score in the first half as his side stayed eighth. Manchester City moved up to fourth -- six points behind Arsenal -- with a 7-0 thrashing of third-bottom Norwich, having lost at Chelsea last Sunday. England goalkeeper Joe Hart was dropped following his costly blunder at the end of that match, and his Romanian replacement Costel Pantilimon has now kept two clean sheets following the midweek League Cup win at Newcastle. Sergio Aguero's eighth league goal this season moved the Argentina striker to the top of the scoring charts alongside Sturridge, while Yaya Toure hit his fifth, Alvaro Negredo his fourth and Edin Dzeko his third among seven individual scorers. Stoke goalkeeper Asmir Begovic was also a notable name on the scoresheets after his wind-assisted effort deceived Southampton counterpart Artur Boruc after just 13 seconds. The Bosnia international became the fifth keeper to hit the target since the EPL began in 1992, while Jay Rodriguez's equalizer left Saints in fifth place, behind City on goal difference. "As a manager that is the first time I've had to experience a moment as unlucky as that," said Southampton's Mauricio Pochettino. "I don't blame him at all. I think it had more to do with the weather conditions. "He didn't apologize for anything because he didn't have to. The wind was changing gusts completely all the time and it is a ground which is open on three sides, which makes it even more windy." West Brom moved up to 11th with a 2-0 win that dropped Crystal Palace to the bottom of the table, despite nine-man Sunderland losing 1-0 at 10th-placed Hull. West Ham drew 0-0 with Aston Villa in Saturday's other match.

Arsenal leads EPL by five points after beating title rival Liverpool 2-0 Saturday . Second-placed Chelsea suffers surprise defeat by same score at Newcastle . Manchester City up to fourth place after thrashing Norwich 7-0 . Stoke goalkeeper scores after just 13 seconds against Southampton .

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(CNN) -- For the first time since a reported massacre there, U.N. observers on Saturday entered the Syrian town of Tremseh, where opposition activists say more than 200 people were killed. The violence took place Thursday, on what may have been the single deadliest day in the 16-month crisis. It prompted a fresh round of condemnation from world leaders. In Tremseh, the U.N. team found evidence of an attack, including a burned school, damaged houses, and proof that artillery, mortars and small arms were used, said Sausan Ghosheh, spokeswoman for the head of the U.N. Supervising Mission in Syria. She added that the number of causalities remains unclear. "The attack ... appeared targeted at specific groups and houses, mainly of army defectors and activists. There were pools of blood and blood spatters in rooms of several homes together with bullet cases," Ghosheh said in a statement. U.N. observers are expected to return to the town Sunday to continue their fact-finding work. Still grappling with the attack, Syrians endured yet another bloody day Saturday as regime forces fired from low-flying helicopters and a bomb exploded at a state security headquarters, opposition activists said. At least 73 people were killed in Saturday violence, including 20 in Homs, 11 in Damascus Suburbs and 13 in Hama province, the Local Coordination Committees of Syria said. Fourteen additional deaths were reported in Deir Ezzor and 12 in Idlib, among others. Another opposition group, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said a car bombing targeted a state security building in Hama, and "a number of state security personnel were killed and wounded." Syrian state-run TV said at least three civilians and a security officer were killed in Muhrada by a suicide bomber in a truck. Farther south, the Daraa province town of Khirbet Ghazaleh came under heavy shelling and machine gun fire after the Syrian army surrounded it with tanks, the LCC said. "Helicopters fly over the city at a low altitude with a continued siege of the city and gunfire from snipers," the opposition network said. Meanwhile, Deir Ezzor was subject to intense shelling by government forces, as well as fierce clashes between regime forces and the Free Syrian Army, the LCC said. How long can al-Assad hang on? According to the opposition network, more than 200 villagers were killed in the Hama-area town of Tremseh on Thursday, and dozens more were killed elsewhere across the country. U.N. spokeswoman Ghosheh said a large patrol had been sent from Damascus to Tremseh on Saturday to assess the situation, amid widely differing accounts of what happened from opposition activists and the government. An initial reconnaissance mission was sent Friday following assurances of a cease-fire in the area, the spokeswoman said, but it was too late in the day to do much. "The patrol assessed the situation -- if there was in fact a cease-fire and our access to the town," she said. "An 11 vehicle integrated patrol, comprised of specialized military and civilian observers, arrived ... on Saturday after confirming that a cease-fire was in place." International anger against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has ratcheted up since the Tremseh incident, with at least one U.S. official suggesting the need for more pressure on al-Assad's regime. As outrage grows in Syria, report of a 'breakthrough' for humanitarian aid . "Through these repeated acts of violence against the Syrian people, President Assad has lost legitimacy to lead. It is time for him to go. It is time for the political transition that is long overdue to finally get under way," Josh Earnest, a White House spokesman, told reporters Friday. "It certainly does build strong international support ... to continue to ramp up the pressure on Assad," he added, citing "ongoing conversations at the United Nations about additional ways that we can build some international agreement and raise the stakes even further." Syria moving chemical weapons? Activists in the city of Hama, meanwhile, gave a grisly account of the assault in Tremseh. Witnesses inside the town told the activists by telephone that Syrian military forces had launched a full-scale attack against the opposition Free Syrian Army inside the town, which was surrounded by government tanks and artillery. As the government forces rained artillery rounds into the town, a number of village residents fled their houses, going into the streets, where many of them were shot dead by the government militias, the activists told CNN. The government painted a starkly different picture of Tremseh than that detailed by opposition groups. The state-run Syrian Arab News Agency blamed "armed terrorist groups" for the violence. It said the government said residents called security forces for help after the terrorist groups raided the neighborhood. Regime forces arrested some of the members of the terrorist groups and confiscated their weapons, the government said. Syria's detached and deluded elite? "Armed forces successfully dealt with the terrorists without casualties taking place among the citizens. They searched into the terrorists' dens where they found the dead bodies of a number of citizens who had been abducted and killed by the terrorist groups," SANA reported, citing a military source. CNN cannot independently verify reports from Syria because the nation has restricted access by international journalists. Meanwhile, many who survive the violence are caught in a precarious humanitarian situation. The chief U.N. organization that coordinates emergency aid warned Friday that more Syrians will die if contributing nations do not follow through and fund its relief operation. "We have run out of language to describe how it is for the civilian population," said John Ging, operations director and chairman of the Syria Humanitarian Forum for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. "It is physical and it is psychological." CNN's Saad Abedine, Dan Lothian and Hamdi Alkhshali contributed to this report.

NEW: At least 73 people are killed across Syria on Saturday, opposition activists say . U.N. monitors arrive in Tremseh and find evidence of an attack . An opposition group says more than 200 people were killed there Thursday . The Syrian government blames the Tremseh incident on armed terrorist groups .

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Editor's note: Thomas Levenson is a professor at MIT, where he heads the Graduate Program in Science Writing. He is the author of a new book, "Newton and the Counterfeiter" and an award-winning filmmaker, with 10 documentaries on science broadcast on PBS. Thomas Levenson says Isaac Newton's bad gamble shows financial regulation has always been needed. (CNN) -- From winter to spring 1720, London, England, was delirious, entranced, rolling in money. It seemed as if riches were so easily gained that only fools would not buy into that brand new engine of wealth, the stock exchange, and especially into shares of the enterprise leading the boom, a banking concern called the South Sea Company. As spring turned into summer, no one, it seemed, could deny the obvious, not even the most rational of men. So, in June and again in July, Sir Isaac Newton -- the inventor of calculus (the branch of mathematics that describes change over time, which is to say, an awful lot of what matters in both science and life); the man who framed the laws of motion and set physics on its modern trajectory; a pioneering chemist, an inventor (virtually all present-day telescopes derive from his design), a religious historian -- and even a financial thinker -- put a sizable chunk of his personal fortune into shares of the South Sea Company. The bubble burst that September. Newton lost 90 percent of his stake -- a substantial fraction of his total worth. In that loss can be found the key to the debate we are having right now in the wake of the Obama administration's move to re-regulate American financial markets. Arguments over the supervision of financial transactions occur in the wake of every bubble. Opponents of such regulation always return to the same simple claim. They say that investors are grown-ups, capable of making the best assessments of their own interests and acting accordingly. Markets are thus no more than self-correcting mechanisms for connecting such rational actors, and any attempt to impose rules on their interaction will only render them less efficient. Those in favor say that all this is nonsense, that in the real world, markets are not populated by equally well-informed people analyzing their own circumstances and acting accordingly -- and that every financial collapse thus takes down both those who should have known better and those who couldn't have hoped to. Hence, they say, an active enforcer needs to provide a level playing field and to deter actual fraud. Painfully recent experience suggests that's true enough -- but Newton's case suggests a deeper necessity at the heart of the case for proactive regulation. What happened to him, or rather, how he acted, reveals a fundamental truth of economic and emotional life: At the point of crisis, when clear thought and a cool head matter most, no one is in fact a rational actor -- not even the greatest scientific mind of his or any other age. So what brought Newton low? Desire, perhaps envy, or, in other words, human nature. Newton had been an active trader in the new stock market for years before the bubble year of 1720. He made his first investment in the South Sea issue early, in 1713, and held it for several years, marking a modest paper profit. He held on through early 1720, as the company pursued a new and increasingly risky banking deal -- and as insiders began to talk up the (as it turned out, fictitious) trading profits the company expected from another venture. That got the desired result, a sudden leap in stock prices. Starting at £128 in January, the price for South Sea securities rose to £175 in February and then £330 in March. Newton kept his head -- at first. He sold in April, content with his (quite spectacular) gains to date. But then, between April and June, share prices tripled, reaching over £1,000 ... which is precisely when he could stand it no longer. Having "lost" two thirds of his potential gain, Newton bought again at the very top, and bought more after a slight decline in July. If that sounds familiar, it should, at least to buyers of Webvan in 2000, just before the Internet bubble burst -- or, for that matter, to those who picked up Lehman Brothers shares in winter 2008. The South Sea stock price held up through August 1720, and then in September, the gap between the possible income from all the purchased debt and the returns promised to investors became too obvious to ignore. The bubble burst, and South Sea share prices collapsed to roughly their pre-bubble level. Newton's losses totaled as much as £20,000, between $4 million and $5 million in 21st century terms. The catastrophe did not sink him; he had made other, more cautious investments, including a significant stake in the East India Company, and when he died in 1727, his estate was valued at £30,000 pounds. But it was a terrific blow, even so. Here's why this story matters now. Of all people, Newton should have known better. He had, after all, invented the mathematics that could expose the impossibility of the South Sea Company's promise of returns to be paid to an everlasting stream of new investors. And yet, even he could not resist the prospect of infinite returns on his money. Hence, the obligation to regulate. There is plenty of recent academic research that confirms that bubbles -- including the ones we've just endured -- are not unique disasters, but the predictable consequences of human behavior in the context of implausible rewards. What Newton's experience tells us is that this has been true since the beginning of modern markets -- and that mere intelligence, even genius, doesn't help. Isaac Newton said so himself. After the disaster, he could not bear to hear the phrase "South Sea" mentioned in his presence. But just once he admitted that while he knew how to predict the motions of the cosmos, "he could not calculate the madness of the people." We still can't. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Thomas Levenson.

Thomas Levenson: Isaac Newton was a mathematical, scientific genius . He says Newton got swept up in the South Sea financial mania . He says he lost a big part of his fortune when the South Sea bubble burst . Levenson: Financial regulation crucial to protect investors .

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A Toronto illustrator has launched a Twitter campaign that he hopes will draw more attention to the rising number of missing and murdered native Canadian women across the country. Evan Munday, who writes and illustrates picture books, is drawing black-and-white cartoons of the over 1,186 missing indigenous women and then tweeting one sketch to Canada's Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, each day. He launched the campaign on Monday as a reaction to recent comments Harper made about the number of missing and murdered women in the country, to which Harper responded: 'It isn't really high on our radar, to be honest.' 'Just hearing him say that, it was just such a glib non-answer that it was the catalyst for me doing this,' Munday told CBC News. Campaigner: Illustrator Evan Munday (left) will tweet a drawing of one missing or murdered inidigenous Canadian woman each day in the hopes of forcing Prime Minister Stephen Harper to act on the issue . Not on his radar: Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper recently said a public inquiry into the amount of native women to go missing or be murdered 'isn't really high on our radar' Munday hopes his drawings might help bring about a formal inquiry into the matter through the power of Twitter. 'I hope it's not viewed as offensive,' Munday added to the network. 'Part of it is trying to do a tribute and thinking about them and their lives as I do the drawing.' The figure of missing women is from the last 30 years. Munday is sourcing pictures of the women online and then sketching them in blank ink. Munday hopes enough people will get behind his campaign that it will 'change the radar' of the PM and how he feels about the issue. He is the illustrator of the novel Stripmalling, and the author and illustrator of the graphic novel series Quarter-Life Crisis. Munday is perhaps best known though for the The Dead Kid Detective Agency series. He hit headlines in a similar capacity in December during the anniversary of the École Polytechnique de Montréal massacre. The mass shooting at the university on on December 6, 1989, and of the 28 people shot, 14 were killed. Munday did portraits of each of the victims in the same style as his missing persons ones and put them on Twitter. He told BuzzFeed News that after that the made made him 'think about how violence against women is still happening all the time in Canada, and it effects women of indigenous background disproportionately'. He also realized that 'many indigenous women’s organizations and activist groups and families of the missing women have called for a public inquiry into this epidemic, and how those calls have fallen on mostly deaf ears'. The comments made by Harper that affected Munday were said during the Prime Minister's end-of-year interview with the CBC. Harper was asked whether he planned to initiate a formal inquiry into the whereabouts of missing indigenous women, because calls for such had been rejected in the past. 'It isn’t really high on our radar, to be honest,' Harper said. 'Ministers will continue to dialogue with those who are concerned about it.' Munday told BuzzFeed that, so long as he can source photos of the missing women, he hopes to draw them all, and doesn't care if it takes years.

Toronto based illustrator and author Evan Munday is sketching cartoons of missing or murder indigenous Canadian by finding photos online . Starting Monday, he has been tweeting one drawing a day to Prime Minister Stephen Harper . Harper recently said the issue wasn't 'high on our radar' Munday said he will continue the campaign for years need be .

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Mikel Arteta may have played his last game for Arsenal after he was sidelined for three months through injury. The Arsenal captain, who is out of contract at the end of the season, has been missing from first-team action since November after he was substituted in the 2-0 Champions League victory over Borussia Dortmund at the Emirates Stadium. The 32-year-old was expected to be out for around a month but a subsequent problem with his ankle means rehabilitation will take 'approximately three months'. Arsenal captain Mikel Arteta has been ruled out for three months after surgery on his ankle . Arteta was substituted in the victory over Borussia Dortmund in November and has not featured since . Mathieu Debuchy will also be sidelined until April following shoulder surgery on the injury he sustained in Arsenal's 3-0 win against Stoke. The France international has only recently returned to action after he suffered an injury in the 2-2 draw against Manchester City at the Emirates in September. 'It's very unfortunate for Mathieu, it's unbelievable because he's had two surgeries in the same season,' said Arsene Wenger. Mathieu Debuchy dislocated his shoulder after colliding with Stoke's Marko Arnautovic in the 3-0 victory . 'He just came back, he played seven games and he's out again. I count three months out for Mathieu because contact will be a problem for the shoulder.' On Arteta, manager Wenger added: 'Mikel has had surgery which went well. I have just seen him, he is back with us at the training ground. 'He had a limited mobility in his ankle and some persistent inflammation that had an impact on his calf. 'That meant we had to make the decision to have surgery and it's a proper solution which gives him the best chance to recover.'

Mikel Arteta had surgery on ankle and faces three months of rehabilitation . He has not played since November victory over Borussia Dortmund . The Arsenal captain is out of contract at the end of the season . Mathieu Debuchy will also miss three months after surgery on his shoulder . On a positive note for Arsenal fans, Krystian Bielik is set for a medical . Click here for Arsenal transfer news .

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By . Tom McTague, Deputy Political Editor for MailOnline . Fed-up Scottish voters have flocked to a new art exhibition lampooning the warring independence camps, with just two weeks to go before the historic September 18 poll. Glasgow's Veneer Gallery has been taken aback by the public interest in a new show featuring tongue-in-cheek images mocking the Yes and No teams. It comes as Alex Salmond and Alistair Darling ramp up their campaigns to win over the remaining undecided voters. The paintings, by Scottish artist Dominic Currie, 56, are inspired by cult pop artist Roy Liechtenstein and American comic books. They include a unique take on Liechtenstein's Drowning Girl, with the speech bubble altered to say: ‘Ah dinnae care. I'd rether sink than vote yes!’ Referendum-inspired Scottish Pop Art by Fife artist Dominic Currie is being displayed at the Veneer Gallery, Glasgow . Another features Margaret Thatcher's face with the slogan 'Better To Get Her'. Another depicts a group of young boys urinating on a wall beneath a window from which Alistair Darling is watching. Mr Currie said he decided to create his artwork because he was ‘absolutely fed up of the Punch and Judy show’ involving Alistair Darling and Alex Salmond. He said: ‘I would say for the average punter in the street it's been a total turn-off. It's not been any advert for empowering people. ‘The whole campaign has been absolutely negative and throwing insults. Nobody knows what's going to happen. ‘I thought to myself what you need is a bit of tongue-in-cheek satire and maybe even give people a bit of something to think about.’ The Methil artist said the Margaret Thatcher image came to him as he felt no matter who Scotland voted for in past elections, they always got ‘Margaret Thatcher politics’. And according to Mr Currie, the urinating boys picture is ‘Better Together in action’. He said: ‘It's just taken off. I never thought I would do this in any serious way.’ Mr Currie’s referendum series is currently on display in Glasgow's Veneer Gallery and he has already sold a huge number of prints. His original Drowning Girl painting was snapped up on the launch night. One of the images depicts a group of young boys urinating on a wall below a window where Alistair Darling is standing . Currie used the Pop Art images to poke fun at both sides in the referendum debate . The images are inspired by American-pop artist Roy Lichtenstein and characters from comic books . It comes as Scotland’s First Minister Alex Salmond goes head to head with the No campaign over threats to the economy. Mr Salmond will set out his vision of the gains of independence for the food and drink industry on a visit to Eden Mill distillery and brewery in Guardbridge, Fife. Meanwhile, shadow Scottish secretary Margaret Curran and Labour MSP Iain Gray will be at Glasgow's Tennent Caledonian Breweries to highlight jobs and opportunities they say will be available as part of the UK. Today is the deadline for Scots to register to vote in the referendum on September 18. The latest YouGov poll shows support for independence has risen eight points in a month, with the No camp now six points ahead of the Yes campaign. Excluding undecided voters, 53 per cent plan to vote No, while 47 per cent would back Yes. Speaking ahead of his visit, Mr Salmond said: ‘Scotland is one of the wealthiest countries in the world, and our booming food and drink industry is just one of our remarkable success stories in recent years. ‘More and more people are waking up to the fact that Scotland has a strong and diverse economy on which we can build a more prosperous future with control of key economic levers. ‘Scotland is currently in the international spotlight like never before, but the huge publicity generated by a Yes vote - and the transition to independence - will be the opportunity of a lifetime for our food and drink sector to extend its global reach even further.’ Mr Salmond said the Scottish Government had been working with the industry on a £4.5 million food and drink export plan. He added: ‘Following a Yes vote, we will sit down with industry and Food and Drink Scotland to discuss how we can supplement that plan to take full advantage of the unprecedented global publicity, creating thousands of jobs in Scotland and boosting our exports.’ Fife-based painter Dominic Currie has put together 11 individual pieces - including a take on Liechtenstein's Drowning Girl, with the speech bubble altered to say: 'Ah dinnae care. I'd rether sink than vote yes!' Ms Curran argued that young people in Scotland would benefit from more job opportunities within the UK. She said: ‘Around one million jobs in Scotland rely on companies based elsewhere in the UK and many more are with companies that rely on trade with England, Wales and Northern Ireland. ‘Young people across Scotland can't afford to have opportunities cut off. ‘'We want a strong Scotland backed up by a strong United Kingdom. Being part of the UK means that we can share our resources across the country. 'Scots are squeezed between two governments with the wrong priorities. Neither the Tories nor the SNP are giving our young people the chances they need to succeed.’ Elsewhere on the campaign trail, Labour MP Jim Murphy is due to resume his 100 streets in 100 days tour in Edinburgh's Princes Street.

Glasgow's Veneer Gallery taken aback by public interest in a new show . Paintings inspired by public anger over 'Punch and Judy' referendum debate . Pop art images feature boys urinating against a wall below Alistair Darling . Artist Dominic Currie behind the show says exhibition has 'just taken off' It comes just two weeks before the historic September 18 referendum . Today is the deadline for Scots to register to vote in the referendum .

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By . Inderdeep Bains . PUBLISHED: . 16:43 EST, 19 July 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 03:55 EST, 20 July 2013 . Investigation: Katie Bowman has alleged that the force harassed her after she split with PC Ash . A graduate who claims to be the victim of a police harassment campaign was allowed to access the Police National Computer during patrol car rides with her former boyfriend. Katie Bowman was just 18 when she was allowed to make checks on number plates and even file reports of cars that had been stopped during the jaunts with a serving officer, PC Alexander Ash. In other incidents, she alleges that she and PC Ash handcuffed each other to a desk at a police station and that she wore his body armour. Forensic science graduate Miss Bowman, now 24, has already alleged that officers at Thames Valley Police have made her life a misery after she split with PC Ash, stopping her more than 70 times for alleged offences. She claims to have been targeted because she had broken up with PC Ash after finding out he had another girlfriend. Until last night, the force had sought to downplay the allegations but it has now launched an inquiry into them. But yesterday it responded to revelations that PC Ash, 31, took Miss Bowman on ‘ride-alongs’ in his patrol car and even let her request searches on the heavily restricted PNC. Counter claim: PC Alexander Ash at his wedding in May . Miss Bowman says for the next two years after she split up with PC Ash she was breath tested 70 times during a campaign of harassment . His activities had been exposed by an internal probe in 2008 but he escaped with a fine and reprimand for misconduct. Last . night Thames Valley Deputy Chief Constable Francis Habgood apologised, . admitting ‘it would appear that the conduct of a few officers has fallen . short’. He confirmed that PC Ash had been disciplined in 2008, prompted . by Miss Bowman’s complaints, and he suggested the officer could now . lose his job. Mr . Habgood said: ‘These officers behaved in a totally unacceptable way. Were this to happen today I strongly believe the outcome would be very . different.’ Documents from . an internal investigation, obtained by Miss Bowman and seen by the . Mail, describe a recording of Miss Bowman requesting information on the . PNC and filling out forms on behalf of PC Ash. Miss Bowman said: ‘Alex used to be on patrol on his own so I used to meet him and spend the rest of the shift in the car. He would let me wear his body armour, hat and belt. ‘I would do the vehicle checks over the radio and write out the forms for him.’ Miss Bowman, who has never been convicted of a crime, says for the next two year after she split up with PC Ash she was breath tested 70 times during a campaign of harassment by his colleagues. Report: How the Mail covered the story on Thursday . Complaint: Katie Bowman claims her life was made a misery . Despite never securing a conviction . against her, Miss Bowman said the officers filed up to 40 damning . intelligence reports which saw her fired from two jobs and rejected from . a third after Criminal Records Bureau checks. PC Ash claimed earlier this week that he was ‘never in a relationship’ with Miss Bowman and only met her twice. Miss Bowman, now pregnant and engaged, claims she was also forced to flee her home in Marlow and move to Bedfordshire. She said: ‘As soon as I moved it all miraculously stopped. And even though it has, I’m having to try to clear my name because I’m terrified for the future, I can’t get a job.’ Miss Bowman has the support of her local MP, Attorney General Dominic Grieve, who has branded the damaging files on her as ‘utterly trivial’. Thames Valley Police removed almost half of the 40 intelligence reports after a review. The remainder will be reviewed once again in the latest probe. Deputy Chief Constable Habgood said last night: ‘It is essential that the people we serve can have absolute trust and confidence in us to conduct ourselves with integrity and professionalism at all times. 'It would appear that in this case the conduct of a few officers has fallen short of this.’ Welcoming the review, Miss Bowman said: ‘I’m happy they’ve agreed to investigate this but it is long overdue.’

Katie Bowman was 18 when she had access to confidential police data . Would file reports of cars that had been stopped while she was with PC Ash . She has alleged that officers at Thames Valley Police harassed her . Claims she has been targeted because she broke off the relationship when she found out he had a girlfriend .

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(Rolling Stone) -- The past month has been a time of frenzied activity for Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. They taped two TV appearances, played special gigs at the Apollo Theater and SXSW, and launched a world tour in support of Springsteen's new LP, "Wrecking Ball." Late last week, Rolling Stone chatted separately with E Street Band guitarists Steven Van Zandt and Nils Lofgren about the new E Street Band and how they're carrying on after the loss of Clarence Clemons. Rolling Stone: You guys almost always do rehearsal shows before launching a big tour. Why didn't those happen this time? Nils Lofgren: Previously, the rehearsal shows were kind of a last-minute thing. I think probably what happened is that we were putting our own show together, which inevitably heads towards rehearsal shows. But because of the new record, we made commitments. We did the Grammys, two nights on "Jimmy Fallon" and the Apollo Show. Next on the horizon was the SXSW show. All of a sudden it was like, "Gosh, we have five different shows to prepare." Bruce always takes the time to slant the shows to the occasion, and we had to get our own show up and we just ran out of time. Steven Van Zandt: It was interesting to witness our own extremes with the Apollo Show and the SXSW show. We went from emphasizing soul music at the Apollo to flipping 180 degrees for a Woody Guthrie celebration at SXSW. It was quite interesting to have that reinforced and have it be totally integrated in the work -- not doing either extreme as a sort of specialty, gimmicky show, but actually having those roots so firmly planted in the material -- and to be reminded how wide and varied the identity of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band actually is at this point. It's some kind of example of Americana in all of its forms. Rolling Stone: It was a pretty bold move to debut the new band and new show at the Apollo, considering it was being broadcast live. Van Zandt: To do our first show as a broadcast, that's real balls. I'm proud of us for pulling it off. It was pretty close to flawless, I have to say. Keep in mind, we have a brand new five-piece horn section. We're still working on horn parts. We're still working on vocal parts with the singers. We have a couple new people involved. I took it for granted, but they were probably a bit nervous. They did great, though. We spent a lot of time thinking about this show and talking about it. The horn section was a good answer to the unanswerable: "How do you replace Clarence Clemons?" Well, you don't. It's real simple. The same way you replace Danny Federici. You don't. You have somebody else playing those parts, but you have to do something else, you have to morph it into a hybrid of what you were. It's not going to be the same. Rolling Stone: How long ago did rehearsals begin? Lofgren: They've been off and on, but we got together in the second week of January. We had to address what was in front of us, which was a lot, and kind of take our time and experiment and let things evolve. There's so many changes. Certainly the biggest change of all is Clarence, which is a terrible loss. I've been in the band for 28 years, and I'm pretty sure it's accurate to say that the band has never gone on the road with three-and-a-half albums of new material. When Bruce put out the "Darkness On The Edge of Town" package, there were 23 unreleased songs and they never toured behind that. And then you had 11 new songs. All this material is really valid and great and we've never integrated it into our show, which is already hundreds of songs that we haven't presented in over two years. It was an abnormal amount of new material to disseminate. It's just a giant, beautiful jigsaw puzzle of music. Van Zandt: Usually we start rehearsals two weeks before the first show and kick around some ideas for the set, maybe do six rehearsals, period. Each tour has its own energy, and the writing is the script for the show. It's like a Broadway show or a movie. You have to start with the script, and that's always a new album for us. We've never been a nostalgia band. Every single time we go out, we're saying something new, something that's been on Bruce's mind in that period. In this case, instead of our usual five or six days, we did 10 or 12. We probably had 40 horn charts. That's a lot of work just to outline the charts, never mind tweak them and really get into the details of arranging, which, of course, I love to do, and Bruce is also really good at. So that's going on, and we have to integrate this new album, adapt it -- in this case, a little more adaptation, because it was a solo album. This is the first time this has ever happened, where he's touring with the E Street Band behind a solo album. But it's good, and we had the whole new album down in two days. Then you start kicking around ideas and doing older things. "My City of Ruins" ended up playing a major role in this show, really for the first time. It's always been an emotional song but sort of a specialty song, maybe an encore. This time it ended up playing a very, very different and central role. This is the most difficult task ever. How do you address Clarence and Danny? How do you address that? You talk to ten different people and they're going to have ten different ideas. But it's really not easy. You're trying to do something that's very, very emotional, and at the same time, you don't want to make the show a funeral. You want to make sure the show is a celebration of life. It's a very delicate, very fine line to walk. And (Bruce) comes up with this rap -- it's so f****** great, and so perfect. I'm awestruck. This guy still inspires me after 45 f****** years of doing this. I'm like, "Jesus Christ, that's so f****** good, so important." It's such an important moment in the show...It's probably the best start of a tour, I think ever, honestly. Rolling Stone: I'm sure it was hard the first time you walked onstage without Clarence. Lofgren: The first time that hit me the hardest was the Grammys. I'm standing there, and there's nobody to my right. It hit me hard. That's someone I'll miss the rest of my life, but I still love playing and it doesn't take away from the power of the songs of the band. Van Zandt: It's emotional for me to walk onstage without Clarence, and it always will be. I still honestly once in a while get that feeling with Danny. I look over there and say, "Oh yeah, Danny's no longer..." That's never going to change. So I think the more people onstage, the more that helps. The more the configuration is different, the more that eases your emotional pain. In other words, you're not trying to replace them, you're doing a different thing. Through the years, since we started playing in 1965, you do a lot of different things. I've been in horn bands. I've been in country bands. You go into 100 different configurations in your life. Now it feels like another one. It's almost like you're in a different band, in a sense, even though the core of the band is still there. See the full article at RollingStone.com. Copyright © 2011 Rolling Stone.

Steven Van Zandt and Nils Lofgren chatted about the new E Street Band . Van Zandt: "Each tour has its own energy, and the writing is the script for the show" Lofgren: "[Clarence Clemons is] someone I'll miss the rest of my life"

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(CNN) -- Before the distressing 911 call even connects, the caller breathes heavily. "I need an ambulance. Oh my God. Please hurry," the caller says. That's the agitated voice of Michael Tuller, the owner of Wild Cat Haven Sanctuary in Clackamas County, Oregon, a private place that houses some 60 big cats. He discovered the lifeless body of head keeper Renee Radziwon-Chapman, 36, inside an enclosure Saturday. The 911 tapes, released this week, tell of the horror. "I have a keeper at Wild Cat Haven," Tuller yells. "I think she's dead." He sounds frenzied and is heard working feverishly, apparently trying to get the muscular cats away from the fallen woman's body. "Oh my God, Oh my God, oh my God, Renee. Oh my God, Renee. Oh my God .... get! Oh my God, oh my God," he yells. The dispatcher seems concerned about Tuller. "Sir, are you in a safe position to go in by yourself?" the dispatcher asks. "I'm here, I'm here," he says. "OK, we don't want you to get injured though, we don't want you to get hurt," the dispatcher says. "Yeah, I hear what you're saying," Tuller says. Then he turns his attention back on shooing the wildcats away. "Get out of here. Get. Go. Go. Go. Go. Oh my God, Renee. Oh my God Renee, Oh my God. Oh my God," he yells. The dispatcher tries to assess the situation. "What kind of injuries does she have?" The dispatcher says. "Dammit Renee!" Tuller yells. It may have been at this point that Tuller fully realized that it was too late. The mother of a young daughter was mauled to death by a cougar. For some reason, against policy, she had been in the enclosure by herself, the sanctuary has said. Skateboarder repels cougar attack . "We have help on the way to you ... have you gotten, are you in the enclosure right now?" the dispatcher says. "I'm back out," Tuller says. "Is your friend still in the enclosure?" "I got her out," Tuller says. "OK, can we try CPR?" the dispatcher asks. "No, no," Tuller says resolutely. "Do you think she's beyond help?" the dispatcher questions. "That's a (expletive) question to ask but yes, I do," Tuller says. "OK, I'm sorry sir," the dispatcher says. "Can I send somebody that way for you to talk to? Like a chaplain or something?" "I don't know," Tuller screams hysterically. "I don't know!" The sanctuary has called in an outside expert to investigate the death and the facility's safety policies of the place that is not open to the public. The state is also investigating. Oklahoma zoo tiger mauls employee's arm .

Renee Radziwon-Chapman was killed by a cougar Saturday . She was the head keeper at a big cat sanctuary in Oregon . The owner called 911 after finding her body .

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By . Jill Reilly . PUBLISHED: . 06:17 EST, 18 June 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 09:45 EST, 18 June 2013 . A graduate ended up with a 'cat' drawn on her photo cake instead of a 'cap' after an amusing mix-up at a bakery. When Laura Gambrel, 22, of Zionsville, Ind., graduated from Indiana University in May, her mother ordered a picture of her face, a scroll and the school's colours - red and white . She instructed the local baker to draw a graduation cap on her daughter's head, but the worker must have misheard the request and instead drew on a cat. Hysterical mistake: A graduate ended up with a 'cat' drawn on her photo cake instead of a 'cap' after an amusing mix-up at a bakery . 'I can only image them doing it and thinking I was going to vet school or something,' Laura Gambrel told GoodMorningAmerica.com. 'My mom thought it would be funny to get a . face cake. She got it and she asked them to draw a little cap on. But . when she went to pick it up later, she saw that there was a cat on it, . and started laughing hysterically and said, 'No, that's not what I meant . at all.' The family were so amused by the mix-up that they decided to keep the cake. Amusing: The family were so amused by the mix-up that they decided to keep the cake . Carol Gambrel, 59, admitted that the boy at the baker's shop had given her a 'look' when she ordered the cake, but did not realise he had misheard her. 'It was one of those young kids behind the counter and he . seemed a little distracted with someone else ordering a cake a foot . away from us. We went through the school colors and everything, and I . said, 'Oh, could you draw a cap on her head?, she explained. The story surfaced after a user Bluesberry posted on Reddit: 'My mom ordered a graduation cake with a cap drawn on. I guess they misheard.' 'When my mom got to the store and started laughing they tried to wipe off the cat and put on a plastic cap, but she told them to keep it.' The results proved to be popular on the website, with more than 29,000 up votes.

Laura Gambrel, 22, of Zionsville graduated from Indiana University in May . Mother ordered with a picture of her face, a scroll and the school's colors . The Baker misheard word 'cap' for 'cat' and draw the animal on her head .

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After hordes of trick-or-treating children enjoyed the hottest Halloween on record at 16C yesterday - Britain is set for a frostier Bonfire Night with temperatures expected to plummet as low as -3C. Yesterday, freak weather saw people sunbathing in Brighton while Gravesend, London and Charlwood, Surrey, both had temperatures above 23C, smashing the 46-year-old national record. But the Met Office predict a return to traditional November weather in the next few days - culminating in a 'crisp and chilly' Guy Fawkes Night on November 5. Scroll down for video . Splashing around: Three children enjoy the fountains in Granary Square, London yesterday ahead of what was the hottest Halloween on record . Simon Patridge, a forecaster at the Met Office, said: 'We may see temperatures fall to as low as -3C on Bonfire Night in some valleys in the Scottish Highlands. 'In sheltered inland areas of England and Wales we expect to see low temperatures of around -1C while in London it's more like 2C.' This is a staggering 14C lower than the temperature in the capital last night. Mr Partridge added: 'But it will be clear and crisp with light winds - which really is perfect weather for Bonfire Night. 'From Monday, the weather will start to feel normal for November and there will certainly be a marked difference from the unusually warm nights we have been experiencing. 'Last night the temperature in London was 16C so it's a big drop. 'Thursday will turn wet and windy in the West with heavy rain and strong to gale-force winds possible. Much colder: In the north of Scotland temperatures could fall to as low as -3C for Bonfire Night on Wednesday . Slush: The ice rink outside the National History Museum in South Kensington, pictured, melted just hours after opening on Thursday . Soaking up the sun: A man takes off his top to sunbathe in London, where temperatures hit 23.2C yesterday . 'Thereafter, to November 14, unsettled and windy weather from the west is most likely, with spells of rain pushing across the country interspersed with showery, colder days.' On Thursday an ice rink in London started to melt just hours after it had opened. The skating rink outside the Natural History Museum in South Kensington turned into slush as temperatures hovered just below 20C. Visitors to the rink, where family tickets start at £36, were left disappointed by the watery conditions of the ice rink - which is open until 4 January. Meanwhile, supermarket giant Tesco said the weather had prompted record October barbecue and party food sales. While most of the UK should stay dry for most of tomorrow, there is a chance of light, isolated showers, according to the Met Office. A group enjoys the warmth on the beach in Brighton yesterday . It was 23.2C in St James's Park, London yesterday - breaking the previous Halloween record of 20C set in 1968 . And London and the South East could see temperatures as low as 13C on Monday - marking an eight-degree fall over the weekend. Met Office forecaster Dan Williams said yesterday: 'The start of November will feel like a big change after the mild conditions in October, but the drop in temperature will be fairly gradual so we will ease into it. 'We could see some frost in Scotland and snow in the Highlands next week.'

Yesterday was UK's hottest Halloween on record hitting staggering 23.5C . Temperatures in Charlwood, Surrey and London all broke 1968 record . But Met Office expect temperatures to plummet over the next few days . Bonfire Night in London may be around 2C - 14C colder than Halloween .

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By . Stuart Woledge . PUBLISHED: . 04:33 EST, 22 August 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 08:08 EST, 22 August 2013 . The unstoppable Duck Dynasty is on course to snatch cable TV's ratings record from The Walking dead after 11.8 million viewers tuned in to watch the start of the new season. The boss of A&E Network's is cautiously optimistic that the hilarious exploits of a Louisiana family and their duck merchandise business still has plenty of room to grow. With some 'fun episodes coming down the pike', the show needs just 600,000 more viewers to equal current record holder, zombie fest The Walking Dead, which recorded the highest ever ratings for a show of any kind when 12.4 million people tuned in earlier this year. Scroll down for video . Dynasty: The show's stars (from left) Phil Robertson, Jase Robertson, Si Robertson and Willie Robertson . Big guns: The stars of Duck Dynasty are competing with scripted shows such as The Walking Dead . The business: The hilarious exploits of the Robertson family are on course to break all records for cable TV . A&E Network's general manager and executive vice-president David McKillop was reported by Today as saying: 'I’m a superstitious man so I don’t make (ratings) predictions. 'But do I think we’ve found the ceiling yet? I don’t know, but I don’t think so. We have some fun episodes coming down the pike. So keep your seat belt fastened.' Last week's ratings put Duck Dynasty at the top of the pile for highest ever audience tuning in to watch an unscripted show. The record was previously held by TLC's Jon & Kate Plus 8, which claimed 10.6 million viewers back in 2009. But with 6.3 million viewers in the coveted 18-49 age group, and a total increase of 37 per cent on the third season's premiere, Duck Dynasty's rise looks set to continue. Popular: Characters such as Uncle Si have helped establish the show as a firm favourite in American households . The show first aired in March 2012 and . averaged 1.3 million viewers, according . to data provided by Nielsen. By the time the third series drew to a close an average of 8.4 million had tuned in. According to Mr McKillop, part of the show's appeal lays in the clean living Christian values of the Robertson family, who live in the backwoods of West Monroe. Their feet remain firmly on the ground, despite amassing a fortune from their duck sporting empire, Duck Commander. The firm specialises in top-of-the-range duck calls and decoys, made from swamp wood, and employs many local people. Big bucks: The Robertson family has made a fortune from its duck merchandise business, making items such as this duck call . Spin-off: Figurines such as this one of Jase have proven to be a hit with fans of the show . It was built by Phil Robertson - who turned down the opportunity to play professional football because it interfered with the duck season - with the help of his son Willie. Part of their charismatic charm lies in their wish to stay grounded by keeping their guns and beards no matter how wealthy they become. And while their arguments are often hilarious, they never swear. Mr McKillop said: 'Hijinx is a word that I use to describe the kind of zeitgeist of their compound. But they represent some real values that people still cherish.' Show stopper: Millions tuned in last week to watch Kay and Phil renew their wedding vows . Last Wednesday's fourth season opener . saw Phil and Kay renew their wedding vows causing prompting 325,000 . tweets from love-sick fans. America's Got Talent recorded just 65,000. It was all part of A&E's grand plan. The network has launched two new apps, Beard Booth and Endess Quack, in a bid to promote the show. Mr McKillop added: 'Social has played a major role in getting the word out. 'It all helps generate buzz and what it does is it lifts it from a TV show to a part of American pop culture. Once you’re up there in that bastion of American pop culture, you’re on top.' Hunters: Despite their millions, Willie and Jase have no desire to give up their guns or beards .

Just 600,000 more viewers are needed to snatch the cable TV record . A&E general manager believes number of fans has not reached the ceiling . With 'fun episodes coming down the pike' it could topple The Walking Dead . Duck Dynasty already has the record for reality show ratings .

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(CNN) -- "At the end of six seasons, six beautiful seasons, it's like high school -- time to graduate and go to college," Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino told CNN as he and his cast mates bid farewell to their MTV hit "Jersey Shore" at the New York Television Festival. And just like after high school, it's time for the "Jersey Shore" cast to really get to work, just like the reality TV stars who came before them. The "Jersey Shore" cast members are all expanding their empires while also giving back to the community that made them famous, via a planned one-hour fund-raiser to rebuild the actual Jersey Shore, which was devastated along with other areas on the East Coast during Hurricane Sandy. "Restore the Shore" will be broadcast live from Times Square on Thursday, November 15, at 11 p.m. ET and tape-delayed on the West Coast. Unlike the graduates of "American Idol," "Project Runway," or even "The Hills," the self-proclaimed guidos of the "Jersey Shore" represent a region. Love them or hate them (or love to hate them), the TV special may bolster their reputations (not to mention their brands) when they might have been criticized for leaving the area a little worse for wear. "I think of everyone in the celebrity world, we get bullied the most," said Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi. "People are just mean to us. Yes, I got drunk, I blacked out, I got arrested, but that's what happens to everybody. They just don't have a camera following them." The final episode of "Jersey Shore" airs December 13, and with the end in sight, the cast are thinking about what to do when the party's over, spinoffs notwithstanding. Sammi Giancola is going back to college to finish her sociology degree. Ruthie Alcaide from season eight of "The Real World," who became a spokesperson for alcohol awareness, might provide a role model for Sorrentino, whose own situation also involved a stint in rehab. He doesn't think his hard-won sobriety had anything to do with the show coming to an end, but now that he's famous, he can't see himself falling back on his former career as a mortgage broker. "I can't be 'the Situation' forever," he acknowledged, adding that he hopes to milk it for a little while longer (at least until the next TV gig comes along). He's also written a comic book using his "Jersey Shore" persona as a superhero: "By day he is Mike, almost like Clark Kent, and by night, he is 'the Situation,' who has the power of persuasion with females and gets that power from a tanning bed." Sorrentino also hopes to make other endorsement and branding deals, pending an unresolved suit from Viacom over copyright of phrases that originated on the show. The highest-earning member of the "Jersey Shore" cast, Paul "Pauly D" DelVecchio, who banked a reported $11 million last year, knows he can't rely on his reality-TV fame. The DJ signed with 50 Cent's record label and is coproducing an album with the rap mogul. (He's also partnered with 50 to put out a line of headphones and will DJ Britney Spears' wedding). "I'm actually applying for unemployment now that the show's ending," he joked. "But I hear they pay you less now, so that's not going to work." Already a queen of branding, Polizzi has more deals for her own fashion and beauty lines than the rest of the cast: indoor and sunless tanning, slippers, sunglasses, perfume, jewelry and a maternity line on the way. But this isn't enough, she said, so she's also getting into the music business, because the brands are not her long game. "My parents, they're just trying to get everything out of this moment, and they want to have a family business, so we started Team Snooki Music," she said. "We're just trying to make a living so my kids can go to college, and they don't have to worry about anything. You have to plan." Polizzi also hopes to get back on the air via her own TV talk show, "like a 'Chelsea Handler'-type show," she told CNN, "late at night, when I can talk about anything, because I have no filter." Her BFF Jenni "JWoww" Farley is less ambitious, setting her sights on a television career behind the scenes as a producer. While she plans to continue selling brands such as her tanning line, Farley said she wants to actually "create something." "I would love to do a fun makeover show with young women and men to up their confidence," she said, "and then do a show about bullying, really break down the barriers and help change the laws behind them, because it's behind the times." Farley might actually have a shot at launching one of these shows at MTV, she noted, because she's been shadowing the network's producers and executives just as much as they've been watching her these past six seasons. "I could go to MTV and be like, 'Hey, do you know me? I'm kind of on one of your shows, and I have an idea...'" The strategy's also in line with the network's spinoff habit, such as how "Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County" led to "The Hills" which led to "The City" which led to "Audrina" on sister network VH1. Deena Cortese doesn't think her previous career as a dental assistant is in the cards anymore, because the show has tainted her reputation, not improved it. "Be honest," she said. "Would anybody trust me doing that anymore? Probably not." But she thinks she has another fallback position in the real world: starting her own beauty salon. As they prepare to say goodbye to the perks of being (temporarily) famous -- "I'm going to miss getting courtside seats to the Knicks games!" Pauly D said -- they always have the inevitable reunion show to look forward to, because, as show creator SallyAnn Salsano said, we've never seen the real "Jersey Shore." "What really happened in that house, no one knows," she said. "You guys got the PG-version." Could the fund-raiser special change the cast members' reputations? Will it help them succeed at their goals? It's too soon to tell, but at least it shows a new side of people who were about to be typecast forever.

The cast members of "Jersey Shore" are expanding their empires beyond the program . The "Restore the Shore" special may help bolster their reps as well as their brands . Snooki, Deena, Pauly D and "The Situation" share their post-"Shore" plans .

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It began as a simple expression of grief over the assault on the Paris office of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo. It is now among the most popular hashtags used on social media. The phrase #JeSuisCharlie has been tweeted over 5 million times, according to visualization tool Twitter Reverb. I Am Charlie: The message of solidarity with the cartoonists and staff of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo was tweeted over 5 million times . About ten hours after the attack, in which three masked gunmen opened fire in the magazine's office, the hashtag was being tweeted over 6,000 times per hour. The hashtag was often accompanied by illustrations by fellow cartoonists. intended to show solidarity with the victims of the attack at Charlie Hebdo, which included four cartoonists, and tweets were often accompanied by illustrations by fellow cartoonists. The phrase has also become a defiant statement in the wake of what is being described as an attack on the freedom of expression by Islamist extremists. The magazine has in the past published satirical cartoons, often vulgar, mocking political and religious figures that include the Prophet Mohammed. A senior cleric of AQAP, a branch of al Qaeda, praised the act in a recording posted to Twitter on Friday, attacking the French and saying the gunmen had 'taught them a lesson and the limits of freedom of speech.' The speech from the group's senior cleric Sheikh Harith al-Nadhari came shortly after a statement was released from AQAP claiming responsibility for 'directing' the attack. Response: A heat map shows the users tweeting the hashtag, which has also become a message of defiance as Islamist extremist group AQAP says the attack would teach the 'limits of freedom of speech' Solidarity: Joachim Roncin, artistic director for Stylist magazine, designed this illustration, which has spread through social networks . Symbolic: Pen and pencil have become expressions of defiance against the directors of the attack against Charlie Hebdo, as seen during a demonstration in western France on Saturday . Twitter's Data Editor Simon Rogers used the data to show how the hashtag has spread throughout the world. Beginning in Europe and the United States, the hashtag was tweeted out by accounts throughout the world. Mashable points out the hashtag is among the social media site's most popular, though it was eclipsed by hashtags like #WorldCupFinal, which was attached to 32.1 million tweets last June. According to Twitter Reverb, the hashtag #Ferguson was found in over 3.5 million tweets less than two hours after a grand jury decision not to indict Officer Darren Wilson for the killing of Michael Brown.

The phrase was tweeted over 5 million times . It was meant to show solidarity with the victims of the attack on Charlie Hebdo, a satirical magazine, as well as a defense of freedom of speech . AQAP, an al-Qaeda branch, claimed responsibility for the attack and a senior cleric said it taught a lesson about the limits of that freedom . Fellow cartoonists have published illustrations in defiance of the attack . Another popular hashtag was #Ferguson, used in over 3.5 million tweets in the hours after a grand jury decided not to indict Officer Darren Wilson .

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By . Ted Thornhill . PUBLISHED: . 08:26 EST, 6 January 2014 . | . UPDATED: . 09:32 EST, 6 January 2014 . This photo taken by passenger Steve Murphy early on Monday shows oxygen masks hanging from the ceiling of the Singapore Airlines Airbus A380 . A Singapore Airlines Airbus A380 superjumbo made an emergency landing in Azerbaijan on Monday due to a loss of cabin pressure, leaving hundreds of passengers stranded for 18 hours at the airport in the capital Baku. The service from London to Singapore landed safely without any injuries to the 467 passengers and 27 crew on board, a Singapore Airlines spokesman said. ‘Oxygen masks were deployed and the aircraft landed uneventfully at Baku airport,’ he told AFP by email. ‘We sincerely apologise to affected customers for the inconvenience caused by the diversion and the lengthy delay encountered at the airport in Baku,’ the airline said. Airbus said in a statement it was ‘following up on this issue and providing technical assistance to the airline’. Angry passengers took to social media to complain about being stranded in the Heydar Aliyev International Airport instead of being put up in hotels. ‘We are not going to a hotel but will be flying out tonight after an 18-hour wait around the duty-free area,’ wrote passenger Nic Coulthard on the Singapore Airlines Facebook page. ‘I don't think it is inconsistent for passengers to be grateful for a safe landing whilst disappointed at the lack of communication and facilities provided once on the ground,’ he wrote. Another passenger, Terri Mann, complained that she had to sleep on a ‘cold steel bench’ with her 17-month old child, and that there were no ‘food places’ at the airport. ‘We are all a little hesitant about getting on our next legs of our journeys, just hope the worst is over,’ she wrote. Responding to a flood of posts on Facebook, Singapore Airlines noted that noise was reported from a door during an earlier flight of the same plane. The service from London to Singapore landed safely without any injuries to the 467 passengers and 27 crew on board (file picture) ‘The door was inspected by engineers on the ground in London with no findings, and the aircraft was cleared for continued operation,’ it said. Passenger Matthew G. Johnson had said earlier that a ‘loud air noise was heard from the door five rows in front’ shortly after take-off from Heathrow Airport in London. Upon questioning, a crew member allegedly told him that the door had a ‘mild’ leaking seal, Johnson said in a Facebook posting. A few hours later oxygen masks were deployed and the aircraft began an emergency descent over Afghanistan after the cabin began losing pressure, he said. His posting was accompanied by a photograph of a dimly lit cabin with oxygen masks hanging from the ceiling. Singapore Airlines has a fleet of 19 Airbus A380s with five others on order, according to its website. The planes are used for flights from Singapore to various destinations including Frankfurt, Hong Kong, London and Los Angeles.

Passengers endured 18 hours at Baku airport before being flown onwards . None of the A380 superjumbo's 467 passengers or 27 crew was injured . Many took to social media to complain of conditions at Baku airport .

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By . Sam Webb . PUBLISHED: . 22:04 EST, 5 May 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 07:45 EST, 6 May 2013 . Unrepentant: Imelda Marcos, widow of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, holds two-day-old Zian Jay Rosay during her campaign for re-election . Imelda Marcos, the widow of dictator Ferdinand Marcos known for her extravagant lifestyle and thousands of shoes, has been pressing the flesh with the people of the Philippines as she attempts to keep her seat on the country's congress. The 83-year-old was pictured holding a baby and shaking hands with her electorate at the Mothering Center, one of her health projects, in the Ilocos Norte province, in the northern Philippines yesterday. Marcos is running for re-election in the May 13 mid-term elections as congresswoman in Ilocos Norte, the home province of her late husband, where she was first elected in 2010. During her husband's reign, known for corruption, political repression and human rights violations, Imelda's extravagant lifestyle reportedly included £3million shopping trips in New York, Rome and Copenhagen and she once sent a plane to pick up Australian white sand for a new beach resort. She was especially notorious for her shoe collection, which was estimated to be around 2,700 pairs. While many of her countrymen languished in poverty, she purchased a portfolio of desirable properties in Manhattan in the 1980s, which was later seized and sold, along with many of her jewels and most of her extensive art collection. Marcos also orchestrated lavish public events using millions of dollars in public funds to laud her husband's regime and her own public image. The Marcoses fled the Philippines at the climax of the army-backed 'people power' revolt in 1986 and left behind staggering amounts of personal belongings, clothes and art objects at their palace, including at least 1,220 pairs of the former first lady's shoes. Legacy: Marcos stands beside a bust of her dictator husband, who was ousted in an uprising . Laughter: Marcos is running for re-election in the May 13 mid-term elections . Ferdinand Marcos died in exile in Hawaii in 1989 and his widow and children returned home in 1991. She continues to fight the government over her abandoned assets more than two decades after her husband’s reign ended. The Marcoses, their relatives and business cronies were accused of looting up to £6billion from state coffers and faced up to 900 cases of corruption and other charges. Marcos speaks to reporters during her campaign sortie in Batac Town in Ilocos Norte . Handshake: The congresswoman greets supporters during her campaign trail in Solsolan town, Ilocos Norte province . Ferdinand Marcos' regime was notorious for abuses of power and massive corruption . Campaign: Philippine former first lady Imelda Marcos boards her campaign bus . Orator: Question marks remain over assets that disappeared when the couple fled . When she announced her shock decision to run for election in 2010, she was pictured kissing the glass coffin of her embalmed husband and said: 'He was our best ever president. 'During his time we had territorial integrity, freedom, justice and human rights. Whatever else people may say those were the best times ever for the Philippines.' About a third of Manila’s 12 million residents live in slums, and a third of 94 million Filipinos live below the poverty line of $1.25 a day. Marcos was born in Manila. Her paternal ancestors were wealthy, powerful landowners. She married Ferdinand Marcos in 1953 and was instrumental in his rise to power. In 1966, Ferdinand Marcos became the 10th President of the Philippines In 1972 he declared martial law to preserve his hold on power. Together with Imelda, he would rule the Philippines until his removal in February 1986. His wife was appointed to numerous powerful positions in the government. In December of 1972, Carlito Dimahilig tried to stab her to death with a bolo knife during an award ceremony broadcast live on television. He was gunned down by police. The wounds on Marcos' hands and arms required 75 stitches. On February 25, 1986, Ferdinand Marcos and his family fled to Hawaii after his regime was toppled by the four-day revolution. The uprising was sparked in part by rumours that the couple were involved in the 1983 assassination of Benigno S. Aquino, Jr., Marcos' foremost political opponent. Ferdinand Marcos died in 1989 of a cardiac arrest. President Ferdinand Marcos (centre) talks with Pope John Paul II (left) and Imelda Marcos at Malacanang Palace in 1981 . Former Philippine first lady Imelda Marcos kisses the glass coffin holding the remains of her husband in 2010 .

She aims to keep her seat in the nation her husband ruled with an iron fist . Marcos was seen holding a baby and greeting supporters . Wife of ousted dictator was first elected to congress in 2010 .

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By . Anna Edwards . PUBLISHED: . 09:10 EST, 2 January 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 03:00 EST, 3 January 2013 . A glamour model who has struck up a relationship with a married professional rugby league player has defended herself after receiving a barrage of abuse from Twitter users. Irate people have inundated Holly Henderson with abusive Tweets after reports that she has begun a relationship with Warrington Wolves prop Paul Wood. The athlete, who famously lost a testicle during a match earlier this year has reportedly left his wife and two children for Miss Henderson, who used to date Manchester City footballer Mario Balotelli. Model Holly Henderson, seen with new love Paul Wood in Wigan, has defended herself after Twitter users accused her of being a 'home wrecker' Paul is reported to have left his wife of six years and two children to be with Holly, who says she has no bad feeling towards Shelley . The pair were spotted shopping on New Years Eve in Wigan after he had collected his belongings from the family home. The 34-year-old was seen getting into the . car of her new man after he appeared to move out of the house he shared . with his young family. The . 31-year-old was said to have told his wife of six years Shelley that he . was leaving her on the day after Boxing Day, it was reported in The Sun. Holly, whose real name is Jeanette Worthington, received comments that are too obscene for the Mail Online to publish, and says she will contact police if threats against her continue. One accused her of being a being a 'filthy home-wrecker' and another of her looking like a 'rough scrubber'. She said: 'I'm truly disgusted at the reaction from members of the public on my twitter feed. 'Couples break up all the time, just because we have different jobs, people think they have the right to send vile uneducated tweets. Emotional: Wood's wife of six years Shelley (right) is believed to have been in tears as he left after visiting their children - George (front left), four, and Darcey (front right), 20 months - on Saturday . 'Staggering': Warrington Wolves rugby league prop Paul Wood (left) has reportedly left his wife and two children for Holly Henderson (right) Providing the muscle: The pair were pictured together over the weekend after Wood reportedly told his wife he was leaving the day after Boxing Day . 'I have no bad feelings towards Shelley Wood, and wish that people would just leave us to be happy. 'I . have received threats from the 'Rugby wives' banning me from 'match . days' and threats of violence if the abuse continues I will be . contacting my legal team and the police.' Mrs Wood is believed to have been in tears as he left after visiting their children - George, four, and Darcey, 20 months - on Saturday. A family friend told The Sun: ‘How Paul could walk away from his wife and two kids at Christmas is staggering. ‘No one can believe he’s left the woman he’s loved for so long for a porn star.' Wood said his marriage ended before he started seeing Miss Henderson, 34, and did not leave his wife for the glamour model. But he declined to say when he started seeing her. He has not yet responded to comment from MailOnline for a request to comment. Dating: The pair got together two months ago while he was recovering from his horrific injury and have been seen in bars in Stockton Heath in Warrington, Cheshire, according to The Sun . Tight-lipped: Miss Henderson, pictured on her Twitter account, confirmed today that she was 'romantically linked' to the Warrington Wolves prop . Glamour model: Mother-of-two Miss Henderson has appeared on porn channel Bluebird TV and starred in Channel 4 reality show Sex, Lies and Rinsing Guys . The rugby star suffered a ruptured . testicle after being kneed in the groin by Leeds Rhino player Kallum . Watkins during the Super League Grand Final in October. Remarkably, he played on for 40 minutes before calmly heading off to hospital to have it surgically removed. The Sun claims Wood met up with Holly, a mother-of-two who has appeared on porn channel Bluebird TV, after flirting on Twitter. They . got together two months ago while he was recovering from his horrific . injury and have been seen in bars in Stockton Heath in Warrington, . Cheshire, according to the paper. Miss . Henderson confirmed that she was 'romantically linked' to the . Warrington Wolves pro. On her Twitter account today, a user told her: 'love u to babe u n paul r lush love how happy u are x' To which, she replied: 'only get 1 life ay x'. She told another poster: 'thanks hunny, we're happy xxx'. Pain barrier: Wood . carried on playing for 40minutes after being kneed in the groin during the Super League Grand Final (above) in October, an injury that meant he needed to have his testicle surgically removed . Finding fame: Miss Henderson, 34, has previously dated Manchester City striker Mario Balotelli (right) Mrs Wood has also declined to comment. Miss Henderson found fame after she started seeing Balotelli, 22, and went on to star on Channel 4 reality show Sex, Lies & Rinsing Guys, where glamorous girls use their charm, beauty and glamour to get ‘gifts’ from men. She also claims to be related to Manchester United and England striker Wayne Rooney, but has not not elaborated on the family connection. Speaking after the 26-18 defeat to Leeds at Old Trafford, Wood was able to see the funny side of his injury. Referring to his team-mates, he previously said: ‘I know they’ll be taking the mickey. ‘Even when I was in hospital (on the night of the match) they were sending me texts saying: “You worked your b***s off tonight!” Lucky I’ve got a sense of humour.’

Warrington Wolves prop Paul Wood 'has moved in with Holly Henderson' Model says she has been sent 'vile, uneducated Tweets' His wife left 'in tears' after he visited their two young children on Saturday . Mother-of-two Henderson, 34, has appeared on porn channel Bluebird TV . Star needed testicle removed after being kneed in groin in match in October .

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By . Gareth Rose . Lottery winners Chris and Colin Weir have bankrolled an astonishing 80 per cent of Yes Scotland’s fight to break up Britain, donating £2.5million to the cause in just 12 months. The full extent of the Weirs’ financial backing was laid bare yesterday when Yes Scotland finally released documents detailing the major donors for 2013/14 as the referendum date nears looms into sight. It shows that the Ayrshire couple, who won £161m in a Euromillions draw in 2011, has donated a total of £4.5m to SNP and the Yes campaign since their win - £1.5m more than had previously been estimated. Euromillions winners Chris and Colin Weir who received £161million in 2011 from the lottery draw . It means almost 80 per cent of £4.9million funding for the separation campaign has come from just one source – something the grassroots campaign Unlock Democracy warned was ‘unhealthy’. Critics said yesterday that the balance of funding was ‘unhealthy’ - and opponents Better Together claimed the figures made a mockery of Yes Scotland’s claims of diverse grass-roots support. Alexandra Runswick, director of Unlock Democracy, which campaigns for open and transparent politics, said: ‘I don’t think that’s healthy. ‘Whether it is one large donor funding a political party, or one side of a referendum, I don’t think that’s a healthy situation to be in. ‘It should not be determined by one person’s resources – you are giving one side a stronger voice than the other.’ The official referendum period, with stricter spending rules, does not start until May 30 – despite the fact that both sides have been campaigning hard for well over a year. ‘It’s absolutely right that after the Scottish referendum there should be a review of spending rules,’ Mrs Runswick said. The Weirs’ latest £2.5million pledge to Yes Scotland is their second to the pro-independence campaign, having previously donated £1million. And the couple, who scooped Scotland’s biggest ever lottery jackpot, also gave £1million to the SNP, in 2011. The couple have donated a total of £4.5m to SNP and the Yes campaign since their win - which is £1.5m more than had previously been estimated . In the new figures, Yes Scotland have also identified their other leading donors – although their contributions are dwarfed by the Weirs’. Randall Foggie, from Kirkcaldy, a lifelong Nationalist and failed SNP council candidate, donated £60,000. A further £50,000 came from Mark Shaw who, as well as being head of Hazeldene property group, is operations director at Yes Scotland. A respected businessman with a ‘no nonsense’ style, he was brought in by Yes Scotland a year ago to shore up the faltering campaign. Property developer Dan Macdonald, who is on the Yes Scotland advisory board and has previously donated to the SNP, gave £50,000. The other named donors are Norman Easton, who gave £10,000, and novelist and poet Mary McCabe, who contributed £8000. Yes Scotland said a further 11,000 people gave donations of less than £7,500, which in total came to £473,000. But Better Together said the dominance of the Weirs in the Yes Scotland balance sheets shows the campaign does not have the widespread support it claims. It means almost 80 per cent of £4.9million funding for the separation campaign, headed by Alex Salmond centre, has come from just one source . The pro-independence campaign has received almost double the £2.8million Better Together reported in December. However, if you take away the Weirs’ contribution, Better Together would have received more than £1million more. Blair McDougall, director of the pro-Union Better Together campaign, said: ‘No- one would criticise the Weirs, who are long standing SNP supporters. ‘It is extraordinary that compared to the tens of thousands of small donations received by Better Together from our supporters, almost 80 per cent of Yes Scotland’s money comes from one source. ‘We now know why they have been hiding their donations for so long. ‘Whilst Better Together relies on the support of a broad mixture of large donors and thousands of ordinary people giving what they can, it is clear that the nationalists are almost completely dependent on one source of income. The latest polls suggest one in three Scots support Salmond's bid for separation . ‘With a new poll showing just one third of Scots support leaving the UK, these donor details confirm that Yes Scotland is little more than a front for Alex Salmond’s SNP.’ Meanwhile, the Scottish Government has failed to reveal where it found the money for the £1.25million White Paper. Publishing and distributing the 649-page manifesto was funded out of taxpayers’ money - despite being full of SNP promises. The Scottish Conservatives – who branded it the ‘biggest ever taxpayer-funded work of fiction’ – have twice asked which government department had to foot the bill. However, Nicola Sturgeon, the Deputy First Minister who is also in charge of the referendum, has been unable to answer, giving another holding answer. Gavin Brown MSP, Scottish Conservative finance spokesman, said: ‘The Scottish Government has now decided to give a holding answer to a holding answer, which is something of a new phenomenon. ‘I asked a very straightforward question two months ago about what budget the White Paper expenditure came from, because from reading the Scottish Government budget, it is not at all clear. ‘Either the SNP doesn’t know where the money came from or it’s simply unwilling to say. ‘Neither of those scenarios is acceptable, and the full costs and how they were paid for must be published as a matter of urgency.’ A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: ‘The Scottish Government will respond to Mr Brown’s parliamentary question in due course. Ministers have been open and transparent regarding the costs involved.’ The Scottish Government will go into purdah on August 21 – meaning no new policies will be announced until after the referendum – but stricter rules come into force for the parties and campaigners this month. The regulated period will run for 16 weeks from May 30 and Yes Scotland and Better Together will be restricted to spending £1.5million each. The SNP will be allowed to spend £1.344million, Labour £834,000, the Tories £396,000, the Liberal Democrats £201,000, and the Greens – who support independence - £150,000. Blair Jenkins, chief executive of Yes Scotland, said: ‘We greatly appreciate and are hugely encouraged by the thousands of people across Scotland who have made donations – both large and small – according to their financial means. Mr and Mrs Weir declined to comment.

Ayrshire couple won £161million in Euromillions lottery draw in 2011 . Chris and Colin Weir have donated £4.5million to SNP and Yes campaign . Means 80 per cent of £4.9million cost of campaign came from one source .

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At least 28 people died and 55 were wounded Saturday in clashes between protesters and members of a Libyan government-affiliated militia operating in the coastal city of Benghazi, the Libyan state news agency reported. The violence began when protesters attacked the headquarters of the Libyan Shield brigade, demanding the militia turn over responsibility for its security operations to the military, LANA reported. Benghazi's ruling Local Council and the Libyan Interior Ministry issued separate statements calling for "self-restraint" and an immediate end to the bloodshed. It's been nearly two years since the overthrow of Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi, and the new government has reinforced its military by contracting with a number of militia groups. Anger toward the militias, which are predominantly made up of former rebel fighters, has been building since Gadhafi's overthrow. It boiled over after some militias laid siege to government ministries in the capital city of Tripoli in April in an attempt to force the government to pass a law that would ban Gadhafi-era officials from holding office. Libya's government has acknowledged problems with trying to disarm arm and control a number of militias. The Libyan Shield brigade has previously said it is operating in Benghazi with the approval of the Ministry of Defense. Last year, protesters in Benghazi attacked a number of militia offices as part over the public anger that followed the attack on the U.S. Consulate that left the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans dead. ICC to Libya: Hand over Gadhafi's son .

Libya's Interior Ministry and the ruling Local Council urge "self-restraint" Protesters attacked the Benghazi headquarters of a Libyan militia, report says . Demonstrators were demanding the militia turn over security to the military . Libyan Shield brigade is made up of former rebel fighters .

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Severe amnesia: The mystery man has told police he suffers from a disorder called dissociative fugue . A man with severe amnesia who believes his name is David or Tony has been found sleeping on the streets, having forgotten his identity. The mystery man has told police he suffers from a disorder called dissociative fugue - a condition often connected to some form of traumatic experience which can cause loss of memory. He was brought to the attention of detectives last September after appearing to be out of place sleeping rough in Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire. Having spent four months trying to discover his identity, police now want the public to help. He believes his name is either David or Tony Thorpe and that his date of birth is October 5, 1955 - making him 58 - but a thorough search of both police and NHS systems has drawn blanks. The stranger said he thought he was from Rotherham, South Yorkshire, but was not sure and also thought he could have connections in Blackpool, Lancashire. The man is well-spoken and has a northern accent which could be from either the Yorkshire or Lincolnshire area. Authorities hope this clue could help unlock the secrets of his past. Police officers said the mystery man is not a person who sits begging on the street and that he is not wanted for any criminal offences. Humberside Police Detective Chief Inspector Paul Welton said: ‘This is very rare case in which somebody will come to an area, and have no idea who they are and if they have any family. Appeal: He was brought to the attention of detectives last year after appearing to be out of place sleeping rough . ‘We have not been able to establish how the man came to stop in north-east Lincolnshire, however we are doing all we can to help him find his family and friends. ‘The man is no longer sleeping rough and is being supported by the police and a number of agencies. He does not drink alcohol and does not take any form of drugs or medication.’ DCI Welton added: ‘This is a genuine case of somebody who really does need to the help of the public to return home to his family and his friends. ‘Anyone, who may think they can help this man find out who he is should call Humberside Police as a matter of urgency. We want to all we can to help him but we can't do that if somebody does not come forward to tell us who he is.’

Mystery man tells Lincolnshire police he suffers from dissociative fugue . It's a condition often connected to some form of traumatic experience . Believes his name is either David or Tony Thorpe and he is 58 years old . But thorough search of both police and NHS systems has drawn blanks .

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By . Daily Mail Reporter . A deadly leopard stunned tourists by catching and then 'befriending' a frightened impala. The big cat seemed to shelve its predator instincts as it played and licked the young fawn. The rarely seen interaction was caught on camera by game ranger Chad Cocking, 29, in Kruger National Park, South Africa. Cuddling up: The young leopard rests its paw on an impala in Kruger National Park, in what tourists thought might be an extraordinary show of friendship between predator and prey . Friend for dinner: This leopard seems to play affectionately with an impala in Kruger National Park... but the cordial relationship didn't last long . Mr Cocking said: 'This was clearly far more of a game for the leopard than it was for the impala - but some moments could almost have been misinterpreted as bonding between the two.' Unfortunately the friendship was not to last and the leopard eventually got bored with its own game and ate the impala. The cat was well-known to rangers as a newly independent hunter named Nkateko - meaning lucky. Her mother had died from a severe infection caused by a wounded ear, which had actually been inflicted by Nkateko. Strange bedfellows: Tourists at Kruger National Park, in South Africa were amazed when predator appear to befriend prey . Where do you think you're going! The impala realises this friendship may not last and attempts to make a bid for freedom only to be firmly held in place by the hungry leopard . Mr Cocking was with safari guests when they found the young female carrying a live baby impala in her jaws. The 22-month-old leopard dropped the exhausted impala on the ground and waited for it to try and run away before pouncing on it again. It would then repeat the game. At one point the impala managed to escape by running underneath the tourists' Land Rover, where the leopard was too timid to approach. Bid for freedom: The young impala, clearly showing the injuries from its struggle with the leopard, momentarily escapes the predator's clutches . Normal service resumed: The temporary truce is brought to a violent end in front of stunned tourists as the leopard again grabbs hold of the impala . Chad, from Johannesberg, said: 'I had to make a decision. It was not my role to interfere so I decided to reverse and the leopard moved in again to reclaim her prize. 'Whenever the impala got up to run off, some of the guests would cheer it on, hoping that it would run away to safety, but the leopard was too quick and agile for this ending to ever come to fruition.' Mr Cocking said it was the first time he had seen this behaviour in his six years at the Motswari Private Game Lodge and more than 20 years visiting the area. He added: 'It was a touch sad, as it is never a pleasing experience to watch an animal suffer, but at the same time it was a truly remarkable experience to watch this rare behaviour first-hand.' In for the kill: The young leopard finally decides to carry the impala in its jaws off into the undergrowth of Kruger National Park to eat . Dinner time: The helpless impala lies motionless at the big cat prepares to devour its prey - all caught on camera by a tourist in Kruger National Park, South Africa .

Game ranger Chad Cocking caught to amazing scene on camera . Big cat's behaviour stunned tourists in Kruger National Park, South Africa .

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Valencia, Inter Milan and Liverpool have inquired about signing James Milner in the summer. Manchester City remain hopeful Milner will sign a new contract with the club - but fears are growing that the England man may soon be on the move. Following the 1-1 draw at Everton on January 10, manager Manuel Pellegrini said that he expected the versatile 29-year-old to pen a new deal 'within days'. VIDEO Scroll down to watch Brendan Rodgers: James Milner is a wonderful player . James Milner (right) joins Manchester City team-mates for a training session in Abu Dhabi . Milner is yet to sign a new contract at the Etihad, with his current deal expiring at the end of the season . App        Sub      Goals . Premier League           11          (8) Capital One Cup            2           (0) Champions League       4           (2)         1 . FA Cup                          1           (0)         2 . But that has not yet happened and while negotiations are ongoing Milner, whose contract expires at the end of the season, is understood to not be short of offers. It is understood that the former Leeds and Newcastle star is looking for assurances that he will get more playing time and is not convinced he can get those at the Etihad Stadium. This season he has started 11 Premier League games for City - one shy of last season's tally of 12. But injuries to key players have boosted Milner's opportunities and he was substituted at half-time in Sunday's 2-0 home defeat by Arsenal. The Gunners and Liverpool are known admirers amid reports that Milner has received a pre-contract offer from abroad. With English players at a premium at elite level, the prospect of picking up a domestic international on a free transfer is likely to appeal. The England international has made 11 league starts this season but is said to want more playing time . Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger (left) and Liverpool's Brendan Rodgers are interested in Milner . City declined to comment but an Etihad insider told Sportsmail that they remained hopeful a deal would be struck. Meanwhile, the Premier League champions are thought to be comfortable with their match at Burnley on Saturday March 14 being moved back to a 5.30pm televised kick-off slot ahead of their trip to Barcelona for the second leg of their Champions League clash the following Wednesday. Pellegrini's men are currently at a training camp in Abu Dhabi and will return on Friday ahead of their FA Cup clash with Middlesbrough on Saturday. Manchester City's league game with Burnley has been moved back to 5.30pm on Saturday March 14 .

James Milner's Manchester City contract expires at the end of the season . Arsenal are also known admirers of the England utility man . Premier League champions are hopeful he will stay at the Etihad . Click here for LIVE transfer updates .

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Victoria's Secret may be known for its angels, but on Black Friday, it's where angels fear to tread. An all-out melee erupted at the lingerie giant inside a California shopping mall as customers were let in to commence Black Friday shopping. What's worse? Thew whole ordeal  at the Roseville Galleria appears to have stemmed from a dispute over panties. Scroll down for video . Melee: The brawl began as a fistfight between two women, before three men began throwing punches in the atrium of the Roseville Galleria . Brutality: At one point in the cell phone video, a man can be seen repeatedly kicking another man in the face . The brouhaha got so bad that Victoria's Secret was forced to close while workers cleaned up merchandise that was thrown around the store. But that couldn't stop the fighting, which spilled into a mall atrium - and got worse. Lawrence Corpus, who captured the madness on his cell phone camera, told KTXL-TV: 'Basically, I was in the wrong place at the right time.' On the video from inside the mall, two women can be seen trading punches and wrestling in front of horrified consumers. Videographer: Lawrence Corpus captured the Black Friday madness on his cell phone camera . Spark: The ordeal arose from a dispute over panties at this Victoria's Secret location . Before long, the confrontation spreads to three men, who crash through a fence while throwing punches. People can be heard screaming as one of the men begins kicking another shopper in the face. Jessica Wilbourn, who works at the Victoria's Secret, told KTXL: 'I’ve been in the retail business six years now, and I’ve never see a Black Friday this bad... Some people got trampled on. A 15-year-old was punched in the stomach.' While an especially good deal may prompt consumers to fight over merchandise, Victoria’s Secret workers told the station that their sales were no different than what the panties usually go for. Watch video here .

Ugly fight began after unruly customers flocked out of Victoria's Secret at the Roseville Galleria mall in California . Cell phone video captures customers punching, kicking and tackling each other .

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They have appeared in countless news articles and are regulars on TV, but now famous faces have been captured using bacteria. Celebrities including Stephen Fry and Carol Vorderman have had their portraits grown using their own bacteria to blur the boundaries between science and art. American microbiologist and photographer Zachary Copfer created the portraits using a swab covered in bacteria from the celebrities’ armpits. Scroll down for video . American microbiologist and photographer Zachary Copfer creates portraits such as Albert Einstein's (pictured) using a swab covered in bacteria . American microbiologist and photographer Zachary Copfer created the portraits using a swab covered in bacteria from the celebrities’ armpits. He took a digital photograph of the stars which was made into a negative and placed over a petri dish. Mr Copfer then shot through the layers with radiation to burn away the bacteria in places leaving the image to emerge over 48 hours. In order to create the portraits, he took a standard digital photograph and turned it into a halftone, which is an image created entirely by dots. In a secret process, the image was then used to create a negative and was placed over a petri dish of bacteria. Mr Copfer then shot through the negative with radiation to burn away the bacteria in places on the petri dish, according to the shape of the photograph. He then placed the photograph in an . incubator for 48 hours, to let the Bacteriograph emerge. Mr Copfer is the only person in the world . practicing this art, which he calls 'Bacteriography' and this is the first . time his work has been brought to the UK. Children's TV presenters Dick and Dom . also had their portraits created, along with Hollyoaks star Kieron . Richardson and Bang Goes the Theory presenter Liz Bonnin. Celebrities including Stephen Fry (pictured) have had their portraits grown using their own bacteria to blur the boundaries between science and art . The celebrities took part in the experiment to promote the Big Bang Fair, which is designed to enthuse children about science and engineering. Clockwise from top left: Carol Vorderman, Stephen Fry, Richard McCourt, Kieron Richardson, Liz Bonnin and Dominic Wood . Zachary Copfer said that his methods are often a fusion of contemporary artistic and modern scientific practices. This close-up of a portrait of Albert Einstein is not part of the exhibition but shows the level of detail possible using the unusual technique . The celebrities took part in the experiment to promote The Big Bang UK Young Scientists and Engineers Fair, where the pictures will go on show. ‘As a patron of The Big Bang Fair, engaging young people in science, technology, engineering and maths is a very big part of what I do,’ said former Countdown star Carol Vorderman. ‘It was great fun taking part in this project, and the portrait looks brilliant - it's definitely one of a kind. American microbiologist and photographer Zachary Copfer created using a swab covered in bacteria from celebrities' armpits. Carol Vorderman is pictured . A digital photograph of the stars (including Dominic Wood, pictured left and  Richard McCourt, right) was taken and made into a negative before being placed over a petri dish. A microbiologist then shot through the layers with radiation to burn away the bacteria in places leaving the image to emerge over 48 hours . ‘I hope that by showing young people the interesting and unusual ways that science can be applied, they're inspired to discover more about science and engineering careers for themselves.’ The fair takes place in March at the NEC in Birmingham and is aimed at encouraging young people to get involved in science and engineering. Mr Copfer said: ‘I'm particularly excited that my work will be a big part of the fair's central aim to inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers - and hope that my work will not only help get young people excited about science but that it will also encourage them to apply the scientific knowledge they gain in fun and unique ways.’ The portraits, made in large petri dishes, (pictured) took around 48 hours to emerge . Hollyoaks star Kieron Richardson (right) and Bang Goes the Theory presenter Liz Bonnin (left) took part in the experiment to promote the fair, which takes place in March at the NEC . in Birmingham and is aimed at encouraging young people to get involved . in science and engineering .

American microbiologist and photographer . Zachary Copfer created the portraits using a swab covered in bacteria . from the celebrities’ armpits . He used radiation to burn away bacteria in places to let the stars' likeness emerge over 48 hours . Celebrities took part in the . experiment to promote The Big Bang UK Young Scientists and Engineers . Fair, where the pictures will go on show .

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Manchester City take a break from their revitalised title challenge to begin their latest FA Cup quest this weekend. The Barclays Premier League champions host Sky Bet Championship side Sheffield Wednesday in the third round of the knockout competition on Sunday. It is the second time City have faced the Owls this season, having thrashed them 7-0 in the Capital One Cup in September. VIDEO Scroll down to see Pellegrini speak about the importance of the FA Cup . Manchester City are flying high in the Premier League and are challenging Chelsea for top spot . Manuel Pellegrini insists his side are focused on the FA Cup after missing out on the Capital One Cup . Now City are in even greater form having gone unbeaten in their last 12 games, winning 10 of them. Their hot sequence has seen them claw back an eight-point deficit to draw level with Chelsea in the Premier League and reach the knockout stages of the Champions League. It seems a daunting task for Wednesday but, coming soon after the draining Christmas programme, manager Manuel Pellegrini is taking nothing for granted. The Chilean said: 'It has been a difficult moment because we played three games in a week, very important games in the Premier League. 'We had to play for nine points in one week but we have finished that and now we must think about Sheffield Wednesday. 'For our team it is a very important cup. Last year we were eliminated here against Wigan but we won the Capital One Cup. 'This year we are eliminated from the Capital One so we will try to continue in the FA Cup as far as we can.' City were knocked out by Wigan in the last year and the Pellegrini is determined not to see a repeat . Sheffield Wednesday will be hoping to repeat Wigan's heroics at the Etihad Stadium this weekend . City were knocked out of the Capital One Cup by Newcastle in October amid a poor spell that saw them win just once in six games. That brought scrutiny of Pellegrini and his methods but doubts appear to have been swept away by City's form since the November international break. It was at a similar stage last season when City began to click into top gear. Pellegrini said: 'For different reasons we had a low performance for around two weeks. 'We were not playing so bad in that moment but we made important mistakes and when you make mistakes the score is not what you want. After that, we arranged again the way we were playing. 'Important players returned to their normal performance and I am very happy with the way we are playing now. 'We still have so many injured players but we arrange in different ways and continue winning.' Vincent Kompany is nearing a return but won't be fit in time for the third round clash . Joe Hart could be on the sidelines again this weekend with Pellegrini hinting Willy Caballero will retain his place . Influential captain Vincent Kompany and strikers Sergio Aguero and Edin Dzeko are the key players currently sidelined. Kompany is thought to be the closest to a return after calf and hamstring problems but has been ruled out of the Wednesday clash. Dzeko and Aguero are expected to return later in January. Midfielder Yaya Toure could face Wednesday in what would be his final appearance before joining up with Ivory Coast for the African Nations Cup. Pellegrini has hinted that second-choice goalkeeper Willy Caballero is likely to remain in the side after England number one Joe Hart was rested against Sunderland on New Year's Day. Pellegrini said: 'It is important when you play so many games - not only for Joe but for other players - to have an important rotation. 'I did the same in the Capital One for Willy Caballero. I think it's good for Willy, good for Joe and good for the team. It's exactly the same as other positions in the team.'

Manchester City host Sheffield Wednesday in the FA Cup third round . Manuel Pellegrini hoping to go far in the competition . City were knocked out of Capital One Cup but are challenging for league . Wednesday will hope to replicate Wigan's heroics last season .

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For parents sick of having to get up and rock their baby back to sleep, it could be a godsend. Fisher Price has revealed the first app controlled cradle. It allows to parents to automatically set to the cradle rocking and even play music to calm their offspring remotely. Scroll down for video . The $200 SmartSwing can be remotely controlled via a phone app, allowing parents to stay in bed. 'Download the free Smart Connect app and you can respond to baby’s need for soothing from anywhere in your home using your smart phone or tablet!' the firm says. 'Just open the app and control the swing right from the palm of your hand!' The has 6 distinct swinging speeds from low to high so you can find the perfect rhythm to help soothe your child, and it can also swing either  side-to-side (like a cradle) or head-to-toe. 'When baby’s ready to rock, just remove the rocker seat, set it on the floor and baby can enjoy either of two rocking motions,' Fisher Price said. The app can also play music, even when not near the cradle. To add to the excitement for children, the cradle also has 16 songs, 3 nature sounds, and a 'deluxe overhead mobile with light-up birdies (one with a mirrored belly).' The app, called Smart Connect, works upto 164 ft. away from the cradle, and also has the same swing songs that can be played anywhere. Fisher Price says the cradle can be used 'from birth until child attempts to climb out of product.' The announcement comes days after the View-Master toy, beloved of children from the 1960s onwards, got a hi-tech modern makeover. Toy manufacturer Mattel has worked with Google on the new toy, which will rely on a smartphone to deliver its optical trickery. The virtual reality device makes use of Google’s Cardboard to deliver immersive scenes such as Alcatraz prison in San Francisco, called ‘360 degree photospheres’.

Fisher Price gadget combines swing and rocker . Uses bluetooth to communicate with iPhone or iPad app .

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(CareerBuilder.com) -- Some people just aren't hardwired for the traditional workplace. If you get bored easily, have many interests, like to take risks and prefer to make your own rules, then you may be one of them. So what's an unconventional worker like you to do? Well, you can either suffer through decades of being someone's employee, unfulfilled and bored, or you can take a risk and create your own path to success by working for yourself. Wayne Rogers, an entrepreneur, businessman and actor (famous for his roles on television series like "M*A*S*H" and "House Calls") did just that. In a career that epitomizes the word "unconventional," Rogers has been involved in everything from the wine-making and bridal businesses, to acting on stage and owning a film-distribution company. In his new book "Make Your Own Rules: A Renegade Guide to Unconventional Success," Rogers details how he was able to triumph in such a wide variety of business endeavors, all of which were independent pursuits. Here are some of his top tips for finding success through working independently, as discussed in his book: . 1. Don't limit yourself: Many people believe that because their educational background or work experience lends itself to a particular field, that their career choices must lay within that field. Not so, says Rogers. "This will surprise you, but the common thread to the various businesses in which I have been involved is that I had never previously been in them." While many would see a lack of experience as a deterrent to entering a particular business, Rogers saw it as a benefit. "It was an advantage that I had no rules to follow, no premade decisions, no 'books' to tell me how to find success. This allowed me to take a creative approach rather than an administrative approach," he says. "It is my belief that the best results in business come from a creative process, from the ability to see things differently from everyone else, and from finding answers to problems that are not bound by the phrase 'we have always done it this way.'" 2. Get comfortable with "red tape:" These days, even small businesses are subject to a variety of federal, state and local regulations, so if you want to start your own, these regulations should be learned and lived by. "Your ability to comply with the blizzard of paperwork and reports required by various rules that come down from Washington, D.C., your state capital or your local zoning board may mean the difference between success and failure," Rogers says. 3. Remember that bigger is not better: Fight the urge to make growth and size the overarching goals of your business. "Size is not efficient," Rogers says. "Not that long ago, there were several automobile manufacturers, including Nash, Kaiser, Hudson, Studebaker and Packard. They had to compete with one another. Was it difficult? Yes, but it led to innovation." By contrast, he says, today's Big Three automakers -- Ford, General Motors and Chrysler -- have become complacent with their products; so much so that they were overtaken by foreign competitors and forced into their respective financial crises. Keep your business small, and you keep your business innovative, he says. 4. Work with good people: Choose the people you bring into your business wisely, Rogers says. "Pick partners and associates you trust and have them trust you. Both of these processes will almost certainly affect the outcome of what you are doing," he says. "Picking whom to trust ... is based on using your instinct, observing people's behavior and judging the consequences of their actions." In addition to being trustworthy, your business partners and employees should also share your mindset. "I have found that it is always easier for me to understand someone who operates outside the mainstream and who looks at things differently from others in his field," Rogers says. &copy CareerBuilder.com 2011. All rights reserved. The information contained in this article may not be published, broadcast or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority.

M*A*S*H star Wayne Rogers gives advice on how to find success by working for yourself . Bigger is not better: Fight the urge to make growth and size the overarching goals . "Pick partners and associates you trust and have them trust you," Rogers says .

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By . Steve Nolan . PUBLISHED: . 05:21 EST, 12 March 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 11:18 EST, 12 March 2013 . Five American military personnel were killed in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan last night on the deadliest day for US forces so far this year. NATO officials said that initial reports suggest that there was no enemy activity in the area at the time of the crash outside Kandahar city in the south of the country and that an investigation has been launched into how it happened. Two US special forces operations personnel were shot dead in an attack by an Afghan policeman in eastern Afghanistan earlier yesterday taking the day's death toll to seven. Scroll down for video . In a separate incident Monday, U.S. forces shot at an Afghan truck, center, killing two passengers and injuring another on the road between Kabul and Bagram, Afghanistan . Major Adam Wojack, a NATO spokesman in Afghanistan, said that all five people killed in the helicopter crash had been aboard the UH-60 Black Hawk and that no one on the ground was killed. The crash is the deadliest since last August when a helicopter crashed during a firefight in a remote area of the Kandahar province which saw seven Americans and four Afghans killed. In March last year 12 Turkish soldiers and four Afghan civilians died in a helicopter crash and in 2011 30 American troops were killed when a Chinook helicopter was shot down in Wardak province. The latest deaths take the number of Americans killed in Afghanistan so far this year to 12. Last year, 297 US military service personnel were killed in the country, according to Associated Press. The earlier 'insider' attack by an Afghan policeman yesterday had taken place in Wardak province in the east of the country, according to US officials. Crash: The helicopter came down just outside Kandahar city in southern Afghanistan killing five US service personnel . The attacker is said to have stood up in a police pick up truck, grabbed a machine gun and opened fire. As well as the two US servicemen that were killed, four others were injured. The Taliban later claimed responsibility for that attack in a text message sent by spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid. In a separate incident on Monday, Afghan officials said U.S. troops shot and killed two Afghan civilians as their truck was approaching an American convoy on the road between Kabul and Bagram. Six Afghan civilians were also killed in insurgent attacks yesterday according to the Interior Ministry. Four died when a tractor hit a roadside bomb in Helmand province and two women were killed when a mortar hit their house.

An investigation was launched into the crash outside Kandahar city . Initial reports suggest no enemy activity at the time in the area . Two US soldiers were gunned down in a separate incident yesterday .

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Dozens of original artworks by Andy Warhol have been discovered on decaying floppy disks. The artworks were commissioned in 1985 by pioneering home computer company Commodore, who wanted Warhol to demonstrate the graphic capabilities of its new Amiga 1000 as it went head to head with Apple's popular Macintosh series. Although video footage exists of the artist creating the images alongside singer Debbie Harry at the launch of the Amiga 1000, the artworks themselves were thought lost until researchers tracked down the obsolete disks within The Warhol Archive and hired a team of experts to extract the contents. Scroll down for video . Found: One of recently discovered electronic artworks created by Andy Warhol. Created as long ago as 1985 using an Amiga computer, the works were thought to have been lost at some point in subsequent decades . Looking back: One of the files features an attempt at a full reworking of one of Warhol's most famous artworks - the iconic '32 Campbell's Soup Cans' series from 1962 . The files revealed dozens of Warhol's digital originals, ranging from abandoned doodles, to an adapted version of Sandro Botticelli's Birth Of Venus, and even full reworkings of his own most famous artworks - including the iconic Campbell's soup cans. Another of the artworks shows a sketch of Debbie Harry, which was almost certainly created during the Amiga 1000 launch. The hunt for the floppy disks began when the artist Cory Arcangel - a self-described Warhol fanatic and 'lifelong computer nerd' - stumbled on a YouTube video of the Amiga 1000 launch. Stunning: The files revealed dozens of Warhol's digital originals, ranging from abandoned doodles, to an adapted version of Sandro Botticelli's Birth Of Venus (pictured) Technology: The artworks were commissioned in 1985 by Commodore, who wanted Warhol to demonstrate the graphic capabilities of its new Amiga 1000. This is the actual computer and kit Warhol used to do so . After discussing the footage with figures in the U.S. art scene, Arcangel was introduced to The Andy Warhol Museum's chief archivist Matt Wrbican, who was able to track the floppy disks down. Describing the artworks, Arcangel said: 'In the images, we see a mature artist who had spent about 50 years developing a specific hand to eye coordination now suddenly grappling with the bizarre new sensation of a mouse in his palm held several inches from the screen.' 'It had to be enormously frustrating, but it also marked a huge transformation in our culture: the dawn of the era of affordable home computing.' 'We can only wonder how he would explore and exploit the technologies that are so ubiquitous today.' Luck: The hunt for the floppy disks began when the artist Cory Arcangel (right) - a self-described Warhol fanatic and 'lifelong computer nerd' - stumbled on a YouTube video of the artist (left) during the Amiga 1000 launch . Artist: Works by Andy Warhol, who died 1987, are among the most collected in the world, with the record price paid for one of his paintings topping $105million . Original: Warhol attempted to recreate his famous Campbell's soup can series (pictured) on the computer . A leading figure in the pop art movement, Warhol's art encompassed many forms of media, including hand drawing, painting, printmaking, photography, silk screening, sculpture, film, and music . The efforts to retrieve the images from the obsolete discs were captured on film and the documentary will be shown as Trapped: Andy Warhol's Amiga Experiments in Pittsburgh next month. It will then be available to view online at Nowseethis.org from May 12. Works by Warhol, who died 1987, are among the most collected in the world, with the record price paid for one of his paintings topping $105million. A leading figure in the pop art movement, Warhol's art encompassed many forms of media, including hand drawing, painting, printmaking, photography, silk screening, sculpture, film, and music.

Original works by the pop artist were found on group of old floppy disks . They feature Warhol's experiments with computer art from the mid-1980s . He had been commissioned by Commodore to promote the Amiga 1000 . Video exists of Warhol creating the art, though actual images were lost . But researchers eventually tracked the disks down three decades later .

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By . James Nye . PUBLISHED: . 14:27 EST, 30 August 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 17:01 EST, 30 August 2012 . A 13-year-old Washington School boy became suicidal according to his parents after his teacher allegedly bullied him and wrestled him to the floor. The unnamed teen told his parents 'I want to die. I want to kill myself.' following the incident involving John Rosi the school wrestling coach at Gig Harbor's Kopachuk Middle School. Caught on film by fellow students the alleged bullying by Rosi directly followed a 15-minute period where the boys fellow eighth-graders swung him from his arms and legs, wrote on his feet, stuck a traffic cone on his head, gagged him with his own sock and taunted him. Scroll Down for Video . The children held the teen down while they placed chairs over his head during John Rosi's class . The teenagers parents became aware of the incident which occurred in February after their son refused to go to school and became withdrawn. They complained and asked Kopachuk to make students hand over relevant video footage from their cell-phones when requested. 'I was shocked. My wife broke down crying. It was tough to see,' said Randall Kinney, the boy's father to KING5.com . The incident happened at around 9 a.m. in the morning during a class and Rosi is seen to join in with the swinging of the boy by poking him and pretending to sit on him, saying, 'I'm feeling kind of gassy.' The unnamed boy is seen here with a traffic cone on his head at the beginning of the 15-minute video shot by fellow students at Kopachuck Middle School . The children can be seen on the video incapacitating the teenager by placing chairs over his body as the draw on his feet . Then the children goaded on by John Rosie swing the boy by his legs and arms as he struggles and he can not get free . John Rosi is seen standing over the children as they stand on top of the unnamed teenager who claims he was bullied . The class that is supposed to be in session is a half hour reading and math preparation lesson conducted by Rosi. In one of the videos, a dozen students drag the teenager around the room, swing him like a hammock, rip off his socks, write on his feet, shove a sock down his mouth, hold a pillow over his face and then cover him with chairs. This continues for 15 minutes until Rosi joins in and smiles and at one point, he smiles for the cameras. Following viewings of the video, Rosi, a 14-year-veteran of the school was suspended for 10 days without pay, given training and then eventually moved to another school. According to the Tacoma News Tribune his base salary as of 2010 was $64,174, with approximately $10,000 more for coaching duties. 'Rosi is completely ignorant of the fact that he’s got a whole classroom hazing one kid,' said the boy’s father, interviewed Monday by The News Tribune. 'They classified it as roughhousing. But it’s not 14 kids wrestling each other. It’s a dozen kids using my son to demonstrate their dominance over him.' 'I was horrified by what I saw,' said acting Peninsula School District Superintendent Chuck Cuzzetto to KSDK.Com . Cuzetto said the teacher displayed 'inappropriate classroom management,' but the district decided against firing the teacher because of his 'body of work' over an 18-year teaching career in the district. John Rosi can be seen to put his foot onto the chairs that are on top of the teen . Once he has got free from the other children the boy points his finger at John Rosi who is supposed to be teaching class . John Rosi is seen (left and right) to grab hold of the smaller teenager by the arms . John Rosi eventually pushes the boy to the ground and his red hoodie can be seen at the bottom of the picture . 'It's an isolated situation in an 18-year career. That's horrific, and it deserves some pretty significant action fast. And that's what we did,' said Cuzzetto. However, after watching their child being man-handled by Rosi, the Kinney's are calling for police intervention and his firing from the school district. 'I don't think he realizes what he has done,' said Karla Kinney, the boy's mother. Pierce County sheriff’s detectives are investigating the complaint and seeking records of the school district’s investigation, said detective Lynelle Anderson, spokeswoman for the Sheriff’s Office. The teen who is now 14, is attending a private school having left Kopachuk Middle school. Back in February when the incident was investigated, Rosi apologised but said that he did not 'view the incident as anything more than harmless childhood horse play and a chance for the kids to take a break from the daily grind.' His written statement to the school said that he understood that the classroom was not appropriate for horseplay and that he will view the incident as a 'learning experience.'

Teenager in Gig Harbor, Washington, was grabbed by his fellow eighth-graders, held up by his hands and legs and swung while he let out a high pitch scream . His teacher, John Rosi, poked him while being held and then engaged in a wrestling match which ended with the boy on the floor . The boy became withdrawn and told his parents he felt suicidal after the incident .

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(CNN) -- The list of defendants whose cases could be affected by the alleged drug tampering of a former Massachusetts chemist has now grown to over 40,000, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick's administration said Tuesday. The chemist, Annie Dookhan, 34, already is facing a total of 27 counts including obstruction of justice, mishandling of drug evidence and lying about holding a master's degree in chemistry from the University of Massachusetts. Dookhan worked as a state chemist testing drug evidence submitted by law enforcement agencies from 2003 until March 2012, when she resigned, according to the Massachusetts attorney general's office. The attorney general's office began a criminal investigation in July 2012, after Massachusetts State Police were tipped off by Dookhan's co-workers who alleged her work might be unreliable. The investigation revealed that Dookhan allegedly tampered with evidence by altering substances in vials that were being tested at the state lab, allegedly to cover up the practice of routinely "dry labbing" samples. "Dry labbing" is a term used for merely visually identifying samples instead of performing the required chemical test. Authorities arrested Dookhan at her home in Franklin, Massachusetts last September, but she was released on $10,000 cash bail with conditions, according to the state attorney general's office. Dookhan has pleaded not guilty to all charges. Former Massachusetts chemist faces even more charges . After ordering that the lab where she worked be shut down in August 2012, while the investigation was ongoing, Patrick created a special counsel to expedite the identification of individuals whose cases involved evidence potentially mishandled by Dookhan. Initially Patrick's administration estimated 34,000 defendants possibly had been affected, but that estimation rose to 37,500 after attorney David Meier joined Patrick's special counsel in September. The increase came as no surprise to Patrick's administration, because there was always an assumption that more information would lead to more discoveries, said Heather Johnson, a spokeswoman for the administration. Since January, approximately 2,500 more names have been identified, bringing the total number of individuals potentially affected to 40,323, which Meier has recorded in a "master list." While some of these added names are in fact new, the majority is not; rather, most are newly identified co-defendants of cases that were already on the list, Johnson said. 2012: Chemist in Boston lab scandal handled 50,000 drug samples . The "master list" is an inventory of names of each person whose drug samples were associated in some way with testing done by Dookhan at the drug laboratory, and it is the product of a nearly year-long review and an electronic analysis of over three million lab documents, Patrick's administration said. According to Suffolk District Attorney's Office spokeswoman Rene Algarin, 240 defendants whose cases are potentially affected have been released in Suffolk County until the investigation surrounding Dookhan's alleged evidence tampering is concluded. But the case against Dookhan is complicated by the fact that she faces indictments in seven different Massachusetts counties -- Suffolk, Plymouth, Middlesex, Norfolk, Essex, Bristol and Barnstable -- because she had previously testified in various trials in her former official capacity as a chemist. Bridget Morton Middleton, assistant district attorney for Plymouth County, said it's not just simply coming up with a list of names of defendants. It's a much more labor-intensive process that each of the seven counties must undergo to determine whether a defendant's sentence should be put on hold. In some cases, for instance, Dookhan was not the primary chemist in a trial and was only agreeing with what another chemist had confirmed, Middleton said. At a news conference Tuesday afternoon, Meier said he plans to sit down with representatives from the bar associations, district attorneys, prosecutors and chief justices of the various courts to present the material he has gathered. Meier, however, made it clear several times that it is not -- and was never -- his role to assess these documents, but rather to "get the information into the hands of the appropriate people, prosecutors, defense attorneys, and judges, so that fundamental fairness and justice can be done in the court rooms." Dookhan's attorney, Nicholas Gordon, could not be reached for comment Tuesday. Dookhan's next court date is set for October 11 in Suffolk Superior Court .

Annie Dookhan was a state chemist in Massachusetts for nine years . Her work involved drug testing and evidenc handling . She was arrested last year and charged with mishandling drug evidence . Authorities now say cases for more than 40,000 defendants could be affected .

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Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger believes his rejuvenated squad could yet hunt down Chelsea and Manchester City in the Barclays Premier League title race to emulate the class of 1997/1998. The Gunners - who earlier this week completed the signing of Brazilian defender Gabriel Paulista from Villarreal - host out-of-form Aston Villa on Sunday looking to record a fifth win in the last six league matches which would see them move back within striking distance of the top four. With Chelsea and Manchester City drawing 1-1 at Stamford Bridge in Saturday's late kick-off, the Gunners are now 14 points off the pace. Mesut Ozil scored in Arsenal's last game against Aston Villa, a 3-0 win in September . Tomas Rosicky shone in Arsenal's 3-2 win against Brighton and will look repeat his display on Sunday . Aaron Ramsey inspired Arsenal to an important three points over Manchester City two weeks ago . It is a similar scenario to that faced in the 1997/98 campaign, Wenger's first full season in charge. Arsenal trailed United by some 12 points at the end of February before embarking on a nine-match winning streak which saw them go on to lift a first title in seven years and then complete the double with victory over Newcastle in the FA Cup final at Wembley. Given the likes of Theo Walcott and Mesut Ozil, who both scored in the FA Cup fourth-round win at Brighton, are fighting fight, and with Jack Wilshere also around a month away, Wenger feels the ability is there to put together the needed run of results. He said: 'It (to challenge for the title) is our target, but we have to be realistic. What we want is to win every game we can, but at the moment we are 14 points behind Chelsea, they need to lose five games, and they have lost only two until now. 'What we want to do is focus on our performances and show that we can produce consistent results. After, where we will finish, it is difficult to say.' Santi Cazorla (left) competes for the ball with fellow midfielders Rosicky (centre) and Ozil (right) Defender Gabriel, a new signing from Spanish side Villarreal, trains alongside his new team-mates . Robert Pires (left) talks with Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger (right) during training . Wenger added: 'Yes, it is true that I have some real selection dilemmas. 'We have got three players out (on loan) - (Yaya) Sanogo, (Lukas) Podolski and (Joel) Campbell - so you imagine before the number of offensive players we have. 'Now we have a good squad, compact, but of quality and with the competition it will be very hard.' Gabriel is expected to go straight into the squad against Villa. Wenger is confident the 24-year-old can follow in the tradition of Brazilian's having a positive impact on the club. 'We were lucky as we also had Gilberto and Edu, who is from Sao Paulo, and so it Sylvinho. We were very lucky with the Brazilians, they are top-level class people,' he said. 'Football is a big meaning for them, they have the hunger and the love for football, it is in their country and it is a religion.' Theo Walcott (left) looks on as Rosicky (centre) tries to keep the ball away from Ozil (right) Per Metersacker (right) controls a pass from team-mate Serge Gnabry (left) as Gabriel closes them down . Jack Wilshere catches his breath as he continues his comeback from injury in Arsenal training . Wenger is now the longest-serving manager in the English Premier League. The 65-year-old is often a sounding board for issues within the game, and reflected on the recent developments in the FIFA presidential campaign. Whomever is eventually chosen, Wenger feels continuing to improve the game in emerging nations is paramount to progress. 'You would say to keep developing the game in Asia and to structure the game in Africa and as well to give better education to young people and young players,' Wenger said. 'I believe there is a great job to do at FIFA and you look at some continents with great potential and not enough players come out. In some continents football has become hugely popular to watch and the next target is to develop football in there. 'It is difficult to imagine that China has 1.4billion and they do not find 11 good players, or maybe there are too many and you don't find the right one.' Wenger, though, is not about to follow the likes of former Portugal midfielder Luis Figo into football politics. He said: 'I have great experience on the technical front, but after that, on the administration front, I am a bit limited in my experience and I am not really interested in a lot of hand shaking.'

Arsenal are fifth in the league and 14 points behind leaders Chelsea . Wenger's side face out-of-form Aston Villa at the Emirates on Sunday . The Gunners overcame 12 point deficit to claim league title in 1998 .

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It looks more like a rocket than a bicycle. However, this amazing machine aims to become the fastest human powered vehicle in the world. Its Canadian inventors claim it can reach over 87mp/h - with just a single rider. Called Eta, it is being created by a team of students. Scroll down for video . The final design for the bike, which will race in September. Its Canadian inventors claim it can reach over 87mp/h - with just a single rider. The rider is reclined inside the vehicle, which has a complex series of gears to reach maximum speed . The shell is made of carbon fibre . Standard bike wheels and tyres are used. The rider will also rely on a video camera to see, as the cockpit is entirely enclosed. 'Our mission at AeroVelo is to inspire creativity in the public and challenge the norms of conventional design by doing more with less,' the team, led by Cameron Robertson & Todd Reichert, said. It has previously created human powered helicopters and planes. 'Each year we recruit a student-based team to tackle a high-profile, thought-provoking engineering project. 'This year we will break the human-powered speed record at 133.8 km/h (83.1mph) by building the world's most efficient bike, Eta.' The bike will, they claim reach speeds similar to a car. 'For perspective, our human-engine will produce at maximum 1 HP, 100 times less than the average car, but innovative engineering will allow our bike to achieve a car’s highway speeds. Bluenose, an early version of the design, at Battle Mountain, Nevada, where it reached speeds of 78MPH (125 Km/h). 'It all comes down to efficiency, which is actually the reason that the bike is called Eta. 'Eta is the Greek letter often used in engineering as the symbol for efficiency.' The team have spends months on the design, reducing or eliminating the forces that are resisting our forward motion. 'By streamlining the body (ie. making a smooth contour with no massively separating turbulent vortices) we can reduce the aerodynamic forces by about 20 times,' they say. 'Our team is deep into detailed design and prototyping, and will have the vehicle ready for the World Human-Powered Speed Challenge (WHPSC) in Battle Mountain, Nevada this September,' they say. 'Beyond challenging the world record, we calculate that our incremental improvements in aerodynamics, mechanical efficiency, and rolling resistance will make it possible to achieve speeds in excess of 140 km/h (87 mph).' The firm is using off the shelf components where possible. 'Wherever possible we've prioritized mature technologies and used novel design and better optimization/analysis to achieve the desired performance gains. 'We have budgeted an extensive portion of our timeline for testing - to shake down the design, work out the bugs, and be ready to break the world record.' Backers can go to Kickstarter to help fund the project, which is aiming to raise $30,000. The team has undertaken hundreds of computer simulations to ensure the vehicle is as aerodynamic as possible . A rendering of Eta showing the internal configuration, structure, and preliminary mechanical design - including the giant gear wheel .

Canadian inventors claim it can reach over 87mp/h - with just a single rider . Built of carbon fibre and designed to cut through the air .

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(CNN) -- Roads ripped to rubble by floodwaters up to 10 feet deep, rushing at speeds of up to 30 mph. Shattered homes near others still standing upright. One person dead, two others missing. That's the harsh reality police, firefighters and residents were dealing with Saturday in Manitou Springs, a mountain community of about 5,000 people just west of Colorado Springs, after sudden, raging waters tore through the area. Under mostly sunny skies, crews spent the day looking for the missing and combing through wreckage wrought by floods triggered by intense rain. Locals such as Justin Blount, meanwhile, tried to make sense of what happened. He was in a Manitou Springs cafe, working on its owner's computer, on Friday when water suddenly, perilously started flowing in front of the building. He and others -- one of them wheelchair-bound -- heard the water rushing below them as they finally got in an elevator and crept up to safety. "It was like a raging river, a black river coming down," Blount told CNN affiliate KUSA, dry after his 2½ hour ordeal the day earlier. "... It was wild. I'm still in a little bit of shock." His central Colorado town, at the foot of Pikes Peak, was one of several nationwide that have been impacted by wet weather and floodwaters in recent days. Showers and thunderstorms were expected from the Pacific Northwest to the Deep South. In addition to a pocket of Colorado, flash-flood warnings were in effect Saturday for parts of Washington and Oregon, as well as much of New Mexico. There were flood warnings -- which are issued when water levels in rivers and other waterways rise to precarious levels -- in Oklahoma, Kansas, Arkansas, Missouri and South Carolina. Some communities bracing for wet weather were coping with the aftermath of earlier devastating floods. A flash flood watch was in effect through 9 p.m. (11 p.m. ET) in Manitou Springs, for instance, given the threat that could be caused by more heavy rains. The dangers there are exacerbated by last year's mammoth Waldo Canyon wildfire, which -- as Lt. Steve Schopper of the Manitou Springs Fire Department explained -- made the soil saturated, unstable, "kind of waxy" and little help in curbing rushing waters. "It's like liquid cement," Schopper told KUSA, noting that those caught up in the rocks, trees and other debris have little chance to escape. "... You're not swimming out of this. It will rip your clothes off." Video of the mudslide showed cars sliding swiftly down an incline while others remained stranded in rushing, gray-colored water. One man was found dead beneath "significant amounts of debris" left on Colorado Highway 24, the El Paso County Sheriff's Office said. The search, meanwhile, continued for two others. In Oklahoma, floodwaters swept away and killed a man who was trying to save his daughter from a stranded vehicle early Friday. Vincent Brown was attempting to rescue his daughter who had become stranded in high water in her vehicle, Oklahoma City Police spokeswoman Sgt. Jennifer Wardlow said. Wardlow said Brown's daughter was wading toward her father. She turned to retrieve some items in her vehicle, and when she turned back around, he had been swept away by fast-moving floodwater that had rapidly appeared in Oklahoma City overnight. In South Carolina, Logan Dale Evans was found dead in floodwater on his family property Wednesday night near the town of Central, Pickens County Coroner Kandy Kelley said. Evans, 23, was found outside his vehicle, which ended up about a mile downstream, said Kelley, who added that Evans is believed to have drowned. At least two people were reported killed in Missouri this week, including a driver who was caught in rapidly rising water in McDonald County on Thursday, said Gregg Sweeten, the county's emergency management director. The woman, thought to be in her 60s, had been trying to drive over a bridge when the water overwhelmed her vehicle, Sweeten said. On Monday, Elijah Lee, 4, died after 6 inches of rain fell on Pulaski County, about 140 miles southwest of St. Louis. The boy was found in a vehicle swept up in floodwater that caught the community along Mitchell Creek off guard, said Sgt. Dan Crain, a Missouri Highway Patrol spokesman. CNN's Melissa Lefevre and Emily Smith contributed to this report.

"It was like a raging river, a black river," a Manitou Springs, Colorado, man says . The floodwaters there rushed through at a rate of up to 30 mph, a firefighter says . 1 is dead, 2 are unaccounted for in Manitou Springs, officials say . Flood warnings and watches are in effect for states from Oregon to South Carolina .

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Call to action: David Cameron is being urged to help thousands of badly wounded British veterans . David Cameron is being urged to help thousands of badly wounded British veterans who are being forced to use their war pensions to pay for social care. Under the rules, veterans injured on or before April 5, 2005, must hand over most of their weekly injury compensation payments should they require social care. By contrast, service personnel wounded after that date are entitled to keep all their payments because they are paid out of a different Government scheme. Now the Royal British Legion, backed by many MPs, is calling on the Prime Minister to correct this anomaly, which penalises veterans of the Second World War, the Falklands War, Northern Ireland and both Gulf Wars. Last night, Sir Bob Russell MP, a member of the Commons’ Defence Select Committee, said: ‘It’s an absurdity that some veterans should be discriminated against in this way. So I will be asking the Prime Minister for an explanation as to who drew up this dividing line and on what basis this date was chosen.’ Veterans injured in service on or before April 5, 2005, receive a War Disablement Pension and are known as War Pensioners. Those who have social care needs routinely find councils take all but £10 per week of their compensation to cover their care costs. This is despite the fact that a veteran with a similar injury who was wounded after the cut-off date is able to keep all of their compensation. This is because councils are instructed to fully exempt payments made under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS) from any means testing for social care. Former submariner Keith Clarke, 43, a paraplegic, is forced to give £100 per week to meet the costs of his social care, which includes daily visits by a care worker. Dedicated: The rule penalises veterans of the Second World War, the Falklands War, Northern Ireland and both Golf Wars. Above, ranks of the RBL march past during the National Remembrance Service in London . Normandy veteran Fred Cannon, 90, who suffered gunshot wounds in 1944, apparently has ‘very little money left over’ after his council has taken his pension to pay for nursing home fees. Since 2005, some 16,000 injured troops have been paid almost £341 million in compensation from the AFCS scheme. A Royal British Legion spokesman said: ‘Military compensation is awarded as a recompense for pain, suffering and loss of amenity experienced by injured service personnel and veterans. ‘It should not be treated as normal income. The system is unfair and has to change.’

Some veterans must hand over most of weekly pension if they require care . Rules affect service personnel injured in service on or before April 5, 2005 . But those wounded after that date are entitled to keep all their payments . Royal British Legion and MPs are now calling on PM to correct anomaly .

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By . Jessica Jerreat . PUBLISHED: . 00:30 EST, 15 June 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 00:31 EST, 15 June 2013 . The driver of a car that smashed through the front of a branch of Wendy's, coming to a stop at the food counter, has been arrested. As the car smashed through the restaurant's seating area, it narrowly avoided an employee who had been sitting in a booth. Two men - a customer and employee - were immediately taken to hospital after the SUV crashed into a branch of Wendy's in . Lanham, about 15 miles outside Washington DC, at 8.50pm on Friday. Drive in: A car crashed through the front of Wendy's in Lanham, coming to a stop at the food counter on Friday . Chairs and tables were knocked flying in the crash, and the window frame was left hanging precariously from its fittings. 'I was making sandwiches and then I heard a squeaking sound, then I saw the car and I heard a loud noise,' Wendy's employee Isioma Obima told NBC4. 'I just can't believe it.' None of the customers or staff were . believed to have serious injuries, but one of the women who worked at . the American diner was also taken to hospital later that night, . suffering from anxiety. Injuries: Two Wendy's employees and a customer were taken to hospital after the crash in Lanham . Another employee said she thought the oven had exploded when she heard the car smash into the restaurant, according to CBS DC. Wendy's, which became the second-best hamburger chain in the U.S. last year, with $8.5 billion sales, has about 5,900 restaurants across the country. Officer Nicole Hubbard, of Prince Georges County Police, said the driver, who has not yet been named, was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence.

Three people taken to hospital after crash near Washington DC . SUV knocked tables and chairs flying before coming to stop at counter .

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By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 18:59 EST, 30 August 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 19:07 EST, 30 August 2012 . An Amish woman and her brothers cut the hair of her parents in Ohio to help them get to heaven the woman has claimed while taking the stand at the trial of 16 breakaway Amish members. The woman told jurors overseeing the hate crimes trial that her siblings had been worried that their parents were drifting away from their religion. She says they piled into a van and drove two hours last October to take her father's hair and beard as well as her mother's hair to help them. Taking the stand: Amish women are seen leaving the U.S. Federal Courthouse on Tuesday, two days before a jury heard testimony by one who claims they cut off her parents' hair after the couple strayed from their religion . Prosecutors say what happened in five hair-cuttings in eastern Ohio last fall amounted to hate crimes because they were motivated solely by religious disagreements. The government says the suspects targeted the hair and beards of Amish people because of its spiritual significance in the faith. The claims came amid further testimony that intensified when a woman took the stand to accuse an Amish bishop of forcing women in their settlement to have sex with him. The allegations against Samuel Mullet Sr, also accused of orchestrating the hair-cutting attacks, say he forced married women to have sex with him so he could turn them into better wives, one of the women testified. Crimes: Prosecutors say the five hair-cuttings of men's beards and women's hair in eastern Ohio last fall were hate crimes because they were motivated solely by religious disagreements . The woman said what started out as hugs turned into kisses and then sex. She said she resisted at first. 'He would say things like `I can't understand why you won't obey me, the other ladies can,'' the woman testified. 'I always gave up. I was afraid not to.' Prosecutors say the alleged sexual 'counseling' of married women shows the control Mullet had over followers at the Amish settlement he founded two decades ago. The 16 people accused of carrying out the hair-cutting attacks last fall all lived on Mullet's settlement in eastern Ohio near the West Virginia panhandle. The government contends that the hair cutting was motivated by a religious dispute between Mullet and other Amish bishops who had sought to limit his authority. Those accused of planning and taking part targeted the hair and beards of the Amish because of its spiritual significance in the faith, prosecutors said. Arrests: These five men, along with reputed Amish breakaway sect leader Sam Mullet and Emanuel Shrock, were arrested by the FBI and local sheriff's deputies last fall on federal hate crime charges . Mullet has denied any involvement. Sexual force: A woman testified that Samuel Mullet Sr, pictured, accused of orchestrating the hair-cutting attacks, forced married women to have sex with him so he could turn them into better wives . His defense attorneys had tried before the trial began to bar any testimony about the alleged sexual 'counseling.' They argued that there was no proof of such sexual conduct and that mentioning it would be highly prejudicial. U.S. District Court Judge Dan Aaron Polster told jurors after the woman took the stand that Mullet was not charged with any sex crimes and that they could only consider the testimony as it relates to charges in the indictment. The woman said her husband had a mental breakdown in the summer of 2008 and was in the hospital when Mullet suggested that her husband's trouble stemmed from dissatisfaction with his marriage. Mullet told her he wanted to help the couple with marriage counseling, and she agreed to his request to move in with him, she said. At first, he wanted hugs, from her she said, adding that she learned he had asked the same of other women. 'Next we had to kiss him or maybe we had to sit on his lap,' she said. 'I'm not sure what was first.' Even . asking for a hug was a startling request, she said, in a community that . values modesty and is deeply religious. Amish women in the most . conservative churches traditionally wear long dresses, bonnets over . their hair and frown upon drawing attention to themselves. She went along with Mullet's wishes because she thought it would help her husband, she said. Refusal: After refusing Mullet's sexual advances, the woman testifying said that she moved her family out of the Amish settlement and to Pennsylvania (Lancaster County pictured) One evening after moving into Mullet's home, another woman came to her and said that he wanted to see her in his bedroom, she said. She said she refused, but Mullet was insistent. The woman said she moved out of the house after about two months when her husband returned to the settlement, but she continued to see Mullet at his home. 'I was afraid not to go,' she said. The woman said she finally told Mullet a month later that it had to stop. He called her a whore, she said. The woman and her husband soon left the Amish settlement where they had raised their children and moved to Pennsylvania. We just took our children and a few suitcases with our clothes,' she said.

One of 16 Amish members on trial claims she and her siblings cut her parents' hair because they were drifting away from their religion . Prosecutors say the cutting was motivated by religious disagreement amounting to a hate crime . Testimony comes as a second woman claims an Amish bishop forced his settlement's women to have sex with him . Samuel Mullet Sr is accused of forcing women to have sex with him to make them into better wives .

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By . Dan Bloom . PUBLISHED: . 12:39 EST, 22 January 2014 . | . UPDATED: . 13:42 EST, 22 January 2014 . The wife of a prominent Indian . politician died from stress and the wrong medication — not suicide, her . son has said in media reports. The death of Sunanda Pushkar has gotten . front-page coverage since she was found dead in a luxury New Delhi hotel last week, a . couple of days after she apparently tweeted that her husband, Shashi . Tharoor, a top government official, was having an affair with a . Pakistani journalist. Following her funeral yesterday, her son, Shiv Menon, has been reported as saying Pushkar was too strong to commit suicide, which many Indian news services had speculated since the news was broken. Scroll down for video . In mourning: Shiv Menon, son of Sunanda Pushkar at her funeral at a crematorium in New Dehli . Sunanda Pushkar's husband Union minister Shashi Tharoor (right) and her son Shiv Menon (left) before immersing her ashes in River Ganga in Haridwar on Monday . Shashi Tharoor and Sunanda Pushkar Tharoor are seen at their wedding in 2010. Since her death her son has said she died from 'stress' and 'wrong medication' Menon said: 'It was an unfortunate combination of . media stress, tensions and a wrong mix of different medications,' 'Tharoor would never have harmed my mother. They were very much in love, despite occasional differences, which they always overcame.' The . Indian media, quoting investigators, reported last week that Pushkar died of . an overdose of prescription medications, and police are still investigating . whether the death was deliberate or accidental. Mr Tharoor's personal assistant Abhinav Kumar had previously told reporters there were no signs of foul play. He said: 'She was lying in bed. There were no signs of any foul play or any struggle. She had no sign of poisoning or anything'. Mrs Pushkar Tharoor appeared to detail an affair, but a statement later said the tweets were unauthorised and her marriage was a happy one . However, doctors have said the minister's wife suffered 'certain injuries' and an 'unnatural death'. Sudhir Gupta, head of forensics at the All India Institute of Medical . Sciences, spoke after medics carried out an initial autopsy on her body. 'It is a case of unnatural, sudden death,' he said. 'We will conclude our report and opinion within a couple of days. 'Since the investigating agency is now working on the case there are certain issues relating to the injuries that cannot be revealed now. But there were certain injuries on the body'. However, it is unclear who or what could have inflicted the injuries referred to, or whether they are believed to be the cause of death. A news agency, Press Trust of India, reported that Mrs Pushkar Tharoor was believed to have taken her own life. One doctor involved with the post mortem, Dr Adarsh Kumar, told the Daily Mail's Indian edition Mail Today: 'The injuries didn't contribute to her death. We suspect that she might have died due to a drug overdose.' She also had underlying illnesses, it was reported. Last week, messages on Twitter said Mrs Pushkar Tharoor would expose a 'rip-roaring affair' between her husband and the Pakistan-based journalist Mehr Tarar. She reportedly hacked into her husband's Twitter account to publish private messages between the pair to his two million followers. One of the messages, allegedly sent from Ms Tarar's account, was reported to have said: 'I love you, Shashi Tharoor. And I go while in love with you, irrevocably, irreversibly, hamesha [always]. Bleeding, but always your Mehr.' The tweets were deleted and Mr Tharoor, 57, said his account had been hacked. Journalist Ms Tarar also denied claims that she had any involvement with the minister. Then last Thursday, a day before her death, Mr Tharoor and his wife released a joint statement on Facebook saying they were still happily married and intended to stay together. Shashi Tharoor was left red-faced after messages appeared on his Twitter feed suggesting he was having an affair with Pakistani journalist Mehr Tarar, who has denied any affair. The messages were quickly deleted . Sunanda Pushkar Tharoor's body was reportedly found lying on a bed at the luxury Leela Palace Hotel, pictured . A room at the five star Leela Palace Hotel. According to Mr Tharoor's personal assistant, there were no signs of any foul play or any struggle. Today, however, doctors said Mrs Pushkar Tharoor was injured . An ambulance arrives at the Leela Hotel in New Delhi where Sunanda Pushkar was found dead . 'We are distressed by the unseemly . controversy that has arisen about some unauthorised tweets from our . Twitter accounts,' the statement said. 'Various distorted accounts of comments allegedly made by Sunanda have appeared in the press. 'It . appears that some personal and private comments responding to these . unauthorised tweets -- comments that were not intended for publication . -- have been misrepresented and led to some erroneous conclusions. 'We . wish to stress that we are happily married and intend to remain that . way. Sunanda has been ill and hospitalised this week and is seeking to . rest. We would be grateful if the media respects our privacy.' Police have launched an inquest into Mrs Pushkar Tharoor's death and were questioning her husband about the circumstances of her discovery. As the story unfolded, Sunada Pushkar, Shashi Tharoor and Mehr Tarar all took to Twitter . Denial: Mehr Tarar's Tweets . Tharoor's aides said the couple had checked into the luxury hotel this week because of renovation work at his Delhi bungalow. He left the hotel room to attend a session of the Congress . party in the capital but returned in the evening to find the door . locked, they said. The body of his wife of four years was found after the door was forced open. He complained of chest . pains in the early hours the day after she was found and was treated in hospital. Former . UN diplomat and author Tharoor, who had more than two million Twitter . followers, married Sunanda in 2010, in a third marriage for both. Earlier . that year he had been forced to resign from his first ministerial job . after accusations which linked him to a company bidding for a cricket team in . the lucrative Indian Premier League. Sunanda had a stake in the company at the time. The . scandal could hardly come at a worse time for India's ruling Congress . party. It is trying to shake allegations of corruption as it prepares to . face the main opposition Hindu nationalist party in an election before . May. Television images . showed Sunanda's young son Shiv Menon, from a previous marriage, hugging close . relatives outside the morgue where her body lay. Ms . Tarar, meanwhile, denied any involvement with the Indian minister after . the scandal was splashed on the front pages of newspapers last . week. She took to Twitter to express her shock at Mrs Pushkar Tharoor's death. 'Oh my God,' she wrote. 'This is too awful for words. So tragic I don't know what to say. Rest in peace.' Twitter: Shashi Tharoor is one of the most active Indian politicians on social media with two million followers . Couple: Shashi Tharoor and his bride Sunanda Pushkar pictured at their wedding, the third for each of them .

Sunanda Pushkar Tharoor, 52, was found dead in New Delhi hotel room . Her son, Shiv Menon, has said she was 'too strong' to commit suicide . Menon claims his parents were 'very much in love, despite differences' No signs of foul play, according to Mr Tharoor's personal assistant . Pakistani journalist Mehr Tarar has denied having an affair with the minister .

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(CNN) -- With presents to buy and families to visit, the holiday season can become an endless to-do list. But take some of that vacation time to explore the holiday spirit in action. At these five wonderlands around the country and the world, you'll find the wonder of winter, the wonder of shopping and the wonder of Santa Claus up close. White River National Forest, Minturn, Colorado . This year, the White River National Forest is known for two things. It's the most visited recreational forest in the country, a hub of skiing aficionados, thanks to nearby Aspen and Vail, and it's also the home of the 2012 U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree. Since 1970, the Capitol Architect has partnered with a different National Forest to choose a new tree for the Capitol lawn. This year it was White River. "This was the first time that White River's ever had the privilege of providing it, so it was a big deal for us," said Bill Kight, a Forest Service spokesman. The Capitol Tree tours the country during the holiday season before making its way back to Washington -- and it offers visitors a chance to see a piece of the White River National Forest on the move. Those who see the forest itself should expect a different experience than in the warmer months, according to Aurora Palmer, who works in public affairs and sustainable operations at the park. During the winter season, the major attractions include skiing, snowmobiling and sledding, as well as other icy sports. The park even gives out permits for those looking to cut down their own Capitol Tree. "Fantasy of Lights," Callaway Gardens, Pine Mountain, Georgia . Callaway Gardens' "Fantasy of Lights" is entering its 21st year. The resort hasn't added a new scene to the massive lights display since 2000. And yet it has lost none of its holiday power. "It's amazing to see the faces of the people as they come through the gates, and they leave, and they make those Christmas memories," said Callaway Gardens spokeswoman Rachel Crumbley. The Georgia resort draws guests year-round. But "Fantasy of Lights" -- which includes 8 million lights in 15 seasonal scenes, making it one of the largest displays nationwide -- is special, Crumbley said, drawing both couples and families. "It's just on such a grand scale," Crumbley said. "And with the music combined with the lights combined with the themes, I think it kind of resonates." Lake Placid, New York . Lake Placid and the surrounding Adirondack Mountains see the majority of visitors between May and October, but that doesn't mean that the area is lacking when the weather gets colder. Thanks to its proximity to the mountains, Lake Placid offers "just what the Adirondacks offer," said Kim Rielly, spokeswoman at the Lake Placid Convention and Visitors Bureau. That means a variety of outdoor recreation, in a park that stretches across 6 million acres. That's equal to 6 million football fields, she said, although she says that's a conservative estimate. In the last 100 years, Lake Placid has hosted the Winter Olympic Games twice, and it remains a destination for the athletic. Still, Rielly called Lake Placid a "cool little alpine village in the middle of the wilderness." At the center of town is an old ski jump, while the surrounding wilderness of the Adirondacks holds multiple museums for exploring and 43 peaks for hiking. One of them, Whiteface Mountain, is paved all the way to the top, so that families can visit the peak by car. And from December 7-9, Lake Placid will host a "Holiday Village Stroll," featuring workshops, holiday story time, a "Jingle Bell Run" and more. Mall of America, Bloomington, Minnesota . The Mall of America remains a destination for any holiday shopper, if only because of its size, featuring more than 500 shops. But this year, the mall is adding to its seasonal appeal with the unveiling of the "HGTV Holiday House," a life-size gingerbread house. Guests can explore the space, which will feature demonstrations, meet-and-greets and regular appearances from HGTV's stable of home décor and design personalities. Beyond that, the mall is also hosting a Holiday Music Festival; and its multi-floor shopping selection, complete with an amusement park and larger-than-life Lego installations, dwarfs any other shopping experience as an indoor travel option. Santa Claus Village, Rovaniemi, Finland . Last on the list is a wonderland across the globe, "the official home of Santa Claus," at Rovaniemi in Finland. It's not just a title: one of the town's main attractions is the Santa Claus Village. At the heart of the village is the Santa Claus Chamber, where Santa lives, ready to greet visitors. One of the village's biggest draws is the Santa Claus Main Post Office, said Sanna Kortelainen, managing director for Rovaniemi Tourism & Marketing. "The Santa Claus Main Post Office is a real post office, which operates 365 days in the year," she said. "That is the place where all the letters to Santa are sent. The letters are opened by post elves and read through." After that, guests can ride a sleigh or visit the reindeer farm or even explore the Arctic Circle, which begins at the edge of Rovaniemi. The Christmas season is also the best time of year to visit, Kortelainen said. The season begins with a declaration from Santa on November 24 and goes into January, ending when the sun again begins to rise above the horizon.

White River National Forest in Colorado is the most visited forest in the country . Callaway Gardens' "Fantasy of Lights" in Georgia features more than eight million lights . For the global traveler, consider stopping by the "official home of Santa Claus" in Rovaniemi, Finland .

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AUSTIN, Texas (CNN) -- CD sales are down. Digital hasn't caught up. Record companies are consolidating. New bands are trying to find their own way. Baltimore-based DJ Blaqstarr, best known for his work with M.I.A., performs at SXSW. Despite all the challenging news, thousands of industry professionals and eager music fans turned out for the South by Southwest (SXSW) festival in Austin, Texas, over the weekend. The festival, tailored to recording industry talent seekers and the talent they seek, officially ended Sunday. While optimism ran high at the five-day whirlwind of panel discussions, trade shows, live concerts and private parties, much of the conversation throughout the event focused on the sobering reality of the music industry's uncertain future. "Obviously we're going through a transition. All of the major record labels have gone through some sort of cost-cutting and consolidation over the last few years," said Rand Hoffman, head of business and legal affairs at Interscope Geffen A&M Records. "Right now CD sales are falling more rapidly than digital is going up," he told a group of SXSW festival-goers at a panel discussion on the future of the industry. According to a release from Nielson SoundScan, which tracks record sales, over a billion songs were downloaded in 2008, an online music industry record. But the success of the individual digital song sales on popular sites such as iTunes has not replaced the lost revenue from the declining number of CD sales. Total album sales fell 14 percent in 2008, which accounts for a huge portion of record company profits. Sony Music Entertainment's Julie Swidler noted that despite the stressed state of affairs for the corporate music industry, the major labels will stay relevant, but probably as smaller versions of their past selves. "We'll still be major, just smaller major," predicted Swidler, who works as the executive vice president of business affairs and general counsel. The growing trend of established artists selling and distributing their music without the aid of a major label paints an even bleaker picture for the corporate music business. "The bottom line is if we want to continue, we have to break future superstars, and the only way to do that is artist development," Swidler said. Both Swidler and Hoffman see light at the end of the tunnel, however. Watch sights and sounds of SXSW » . Hoffman acknowledged that the major labels must find a way to turn the digital sales momentum into a greater profit and predicts that the United States will eventually have a terrestrial radio performance right law, which would require radio stations to pay artists each time they play their songs. "I can't believe that if almost every single ... Western country in the world has [a performance right], that the U.S. will go on indefinitely not having this. There's no rational basis for it. Its just politics." And Swidler believes that the labels can adapt to the online music movement with new, creative ways of directly connecting the artist to the consumer. "I think you're going to see online where suddenly instead of buying an album by your favorite artist, you'll buy a year's subscription to that artist," Swidler says. "So it's almost as if an artist will trickle out a story for you for the entire year." Good turnout, but not everyone is happy . If the turnout at SXSW 2009 is any indication of consumers' willingness to spend money on music, then record label executives have reason to be hopeful. The festival brought in an estimated $103 million to the Austin-area economy in 2008, and though this year's numbers have yet to be tabulated, SXSW representatives expect the amount will be on par with last year. Almost 2,000 artists played SXSW this year, which is about a hundred more than last year. An impressive list of major recording artists brought their high-profile acts to the intimate Austin stages. Kanye West, Jane's Addiction, Big Boi and Metallica all played unannounced shows, primarily to exclusive crowds of industry insiders who heard about the concerts through word of mouth, though news of Metallica's set at the release party of "Guitar Hero: Metallica" on Friday was well-known around town early that morning. Watch some of Metallica's performance » . In addition to the surprise appearances, SXSW showcased scheduled performers PJ Harvey, the Indigo Girls, Ben Harper, Third Eye Blind and droves of other hit groups, almost all of whom garnered huge crowds of enthusiastic and devoted fans. Not everyone was pleased with the festival's exclusive nature, however. To many locals, the perception is that major music acts are stealing the thunder from unsigned, local artists who are trying to attract as many label representatives to their shows as possible. Austin-based band the Vincents played a slew of gigs throughout the week and received positive feedback from the people who attended their shows, many of whom purchased their CD. But they ultimately felt overshadowed by the swarms of industry types who were constantly rushing to the next secret show or exclusive party. Local find . In spite of a few complaints from Austin residents, SXSW can provide an amazing opportunity for a lucky few whose acts get picked up by industry folks. The "feel good" story of SXSW 2009 might have been local, buzz-worthy band The Black and White Years, which recently took home five Austin Music Awards, including best new band, song of the year and best producer, the latter for former Talking Heads keyboardist-guitarist Jerry Harrison. Harrison stumbled across The Black and White Years at a small performance at SXSW in 2007. He liked their sound and decided to produce their debut album. "People think when you play these South by Southwest things that nothing ever happens. Sometimes it does. You've got to be skilled at your instrument, but it takes a little luck. You just never know, it might happen," said drummer Billy Potts. Though dominated by music, SXSW also features a robust film festival and an innovative interactive gala, where techies from around the country showcase their latest software, gadgets and gaming technology. This year the film festival had 57 world premieres, 133 features and 127 short films screened, many of which fulfill SXSW's primary role of providing a platform for indie films and documentaries. Whereas the big studio movies have seen a boost in sales during the recession, the economic crisis has crippled many foundations that provide the funds for independent documentaries. Indeed, New York's Tribeca Film Festival announced last week that it would be making cuts to its line-up because of economic conditions. But producer Erin Essenmacher, whose film "Mine" premiered at SXSW and took home the documentary audience award, remains confident about the entertainment industry's future. "I hate to say things are recession-proof because I don't even know what that means anymore, but there's always going to be a need for content, whether it's on the Web or on TV," she said. "And as the economy gets worse, I think people want that outlet."

SXSW is major music and film festival in Austin, Texas . Festival is showcase for hundreds of artists hoping to move up to next rung . With challenges to music business, executives trying to keep major labels relevant . Some see festival as shot for local, unsigned bands; they resent big boys there .

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New York (CNN) -- A New York newspaper is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the "lowlife" who defaced a statue of Jackie Robinson outside the Brooklyn Cyclones baseball stadium. Vandals marked racial slurs and symbols on the sculpture of Robinson and teammate Pee Wee Reese sometime between the end of the Cyclones game Tuesday night and 7 a.m. Wednesday, according to a spokesman for the New York City Police Department. A swastika, "anti-Semitic comments" and the N-word were written in black marker on the statue and its base, officials said. The NYPD's Hate Crimes Task Force is investigating the matter as a possible bias incident. The Cyclones and police are reviewing security camera video, hoping it will lead them to a suspect or suspects, said Brooklyn Cyclones director of communications Billy Harner. No arrests have been made. The New York Daily News on its front page Thursday kicked off a hunt for the "lowlife who scrawled epithets" on the statue. In red, slanted letters it posted a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the perpetrator. The statue immortalizes a moment of racial progress in American history in the 1940s, depicting the instant when Reese, who is white, walked over to Robinson and put an arm around him as the first African-American player in the big leagues endured racial slurs from the stands. According to the legend, the crowds fell silent at the show of solidarity. Opinion: The Jackie Robinson biopic and me . The newspaper showed a photograph of the defaced statue, with parts of the epithets blurred. The parks department has already managed to remove the majority of the graffiti, Harner said. "Almost every Saturday morning I stop by the statue on my bike, and am deeply moved each time," U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer said in a statement. "Defacing the Jackie Robinson statue is a dagger in the heart to everything America stands for, and I hope those who are responsible are caught, punished, and taught why what they did is so disgusting and offensive." Inner city team honors baseball pioneers . The stadium is just steps away from Coney Island's famous boardwalk. The team is the minor league club associated with Major League Baseball's New York Mets franchise. Robinson was the first African-American baseball player to play with a modern-era Major League Baseball team, the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. His jersey number, 42, was retired in 1997, though it is still worn by New York Yankees closer, Mariano Rivera. The film "42," which was released in April, tells Robinson's story of breaking the color barrier in the sport. Honoring '42' comes slowly to legend's hometown . CNN's Dave Alsup and Ben Brumfield contributed to this report.

NEW: New York newspaper offers $10,000 for information leading to arrest and conviction . Schumer calls act a "dagger in the heart" Someone wrote the N-word and drew a swastika on the statue . Robinson was the first African-American player in the major leagues .

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Roger Federer has admitted that he would have found it difficult to continue playing tennis if he had been relegated from the show courts at major events. A very difficult 2013 had seen the 33-year-old written off by many, but a resurgence last season saw him end the year as world No 2, and he is now heading into 2015 as a real threat to add to his haul of 17 Grand Slam titles. Despite his last major victory coming at Wimbledon in 2012, Federer remains one of tennis' biggest draws, and he said in an interview with BBC Radio 4 that it is the biggest stages that motivate him to remain at the highest level. Roger Federer admits he doubts he'd still be playing were he no longer a Centre Court attraction . Federer falls to his knees as he celebrates winning the Davis Cup with Switzerland last month . 'I definitely am fortunate to always be playing on Centre Court and very often prime time,' he admitted. 'I must say - and this is honest - I don't know if I would still be playing if they put me on Court 4 every day. 'That would be difficult for me, having played on all these wonderful courts around the world and now playing in front of a fraction of those people - that would be rough.' Federer has won more major singles titles than any man in tennis history, and he said that he took inspiration from other legends of the sports world in order to defend his titles over and over again. Federer's last Grand Slam title came when he won his seventh Wimbledon title in 2012 . Federer poses for a picture with golf star Tiger Woods at World Golf Championships in Miami in 2007 . 'I realised very quickly that it's an entirely different thing winning something for the first time and then having to come back the following year and defend it,' he explained. 'Once I reached a certain level... I looked up to the great other athletes out there [for motivation], like Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Valentino Rossi and Michael Schumacher - people who did it so long, so many times and make you wonder "How did they do that?". 'Next thing you know,' he continued, 'it's like you're part of that in a small way, and every year that goes by you get closer to those people. They were definitely a big inspiration for me to keep working hard.'

Roger Federer admits to doubts he'd still be playing at the highest level if he wasn't playing on the show courts at major events any more . 'I don't know if I would still be playing if they put me on Court 4 every day' Federer's last Grand Slam title came at Wimbledon in 2012 . Says success was inspired by likes of Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods .

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By . John Hall . PUBLISHED: . 09:14 EST, 27 February 2014 . | . UPDATED: . 09:43 EST, 27 February 2014 . Spanish police are hunting a driver who posted a video of himself on YouTube overtaking a lorry on a motorway while sitting in the passenger seat of his car. The video begins by showing a man yawning as he films his face close-up and shouts at someone named 'Javi' to turn down the dance music blasting from the car's stereo. But as the camera moves away from the man's face, it becomes apparent that he is the only person in the car, and is in fact sat in the passenger seat with his hand outstretched to control the steering. Scroll down for video . Reckless: The video begins by showing a man in a passenger seat. As the camera moves away from his face, he is revealed to be the only person in the car, and is driving it with his hand outstretched to control the steering . At one point in the shocking video, the man manages to overtake a lorry before pretending to be scared and then breaking into laughter. His laughter looks set to be short-lived however, after Spain's National Police stepped up their campaign to track him down - posting a link to the video on their official Twitter page along with the words: 'Don't let anyone play with your life on the roads. We're looking for this man'. The Twitter account, which uses the handle @policia, is the most popular belonging to a police force anywhere in the world, with 781,000 followers. Within minutes of the police linking to . the video on February 22, the man who uploaded it removed it from . YouTube - but not before a large number of copies were made and . distributed. A police source said: 'This man might have thought what he was doing was funny and it's not the first time he's posted videos of this kind'. Shocking: At one point in the shocking video, the man manages to overtake a lorry (right) before pretending to be scared (left) and then breaking into laughter . 'But he'll be laughing on the other side of his face when we catch him and tell him he's facing a charge of dangerous driving,' they added. With 781,000 followers, @policia recently overtook @FBIPressOffice as the most popular police account on Twitter. The FBI's account has 743,000 followers. Spain's National Police is also the world's most retweeted government institution in the world, averaging 16,000 re-postings every week. Last month Carlos Fernandez, who runs the official Spanish police account, was forced to admit an apology after its Twitter feed offered controversial advice on how to beat drug smuggling checks. He said there had been an 'awkward failing' after the official account replied to a question about where drugs were best hidden by saying: 'Stash them where the sniffer dogs can't smell them.'

Video posted on YouTube shows man driving while sat in passenger seat . He initially pretends to be a passenger, before camera moves away from face . Then revealed that man is alone in the car and stretching to control steering . Spanish police post message on Twitter saying they are looking for the man . He removed clip from YouTube minutes after the popular account linked to it .

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Fans of Gary Glitter (pictured outside Southwark Crown Court where he was convicted of sexual offences) expressed support of singer in Amazon reviews . Amazon is still carrying glowing reviews of Gary Glitter CDs, with fans describing the paedophile as 'not a vile monster' despite his numerous convictions for sexual offences against children. Among products for sale on the website are the artist's Greatest Hits album, with 23 customers rating the CD with five stars, the highest possible review on the site. Most made reference to his chequered criminal past but said it had 'nothing to do' with his abilities or success as a musician. One fan even cast doubt over his convictions, writing: 'He would have been massive in America before his "crimes" came to light'. The 70-year-old was found guilty of sexual attacks at Southwark Crown Court this month, his youngest victim an eight-year-old girl. It was the latest in a string of convictions relating to indecency and children, having been jailed for three years over separate incidents in 2006 and tried in court in 1997 after police found child pornography on his computer. Among the most supportive comments is one written by a fan calling himself 'R N Smith'. It reads: 'Gary glitter is a genius and should have been more popular than Elvis, I believe he would have been massive in America before his “crimes” came to light. 'I personally could listen to his music every day and I very often do. 'I don't believe for one minute that he is this vile monster everyone paints him to be, most of you claim to know so much about what he has supposed to have done and yet hardly anything has ever been published regarding his crimes.' Another said they felt sympathy for the paedophile who they had grown up listening to. 'I am so upset for this guy - yes I know he has gone to places people don’t wish to speak of. 'But I grew up in the Seventies and I thought him the Sweet, Mud, Slade, T rex - Suza Q, Showaddywaddy, etc were great send up fun. 'Do you remember when it was the thing to go to Glasgow and watch the New year GG show ? well I do and went a few times too..... a great night out - what a deep shame... coz it was very very good.' Among reviews for the singer's many CDs are some which dismiss his convictions for sexual assaulting children . Among comments of support for the musician were others describing him as a 'lowlife'. Many fans acknowledged his convictions but said they should be kept separate from his body of work. Amazon has not responded to MailOnline's request for comment on the matter. Earlier this month Glitter was found guilty of a string of sexual assaults on children as young as eight. It comes after the paedophile was first found guilty of possessing child pornography in 1997. After being sentenced to four months imprisonment he fled the UK. After settling in Cambodia, in 2002 he was deported to Vietnam having been accused of the rape of a child. Three years later he was arrested trying to board a flight to Thailand. Six girls and women, aged 11 to 23, came forward to say they had had sex with the musician. Following his conviction of offences this month he was remanded in custody. He will be sentenced on February 27. Glitter was arrested in Vietnam in 2006 over the sexual assault of children. Last month he was convicted of more offences in London . The singer was previously convicted of possessing child pornography. Above, he addresses the media at a 2000 press conference over other alleged assaults .

Dozens of reviews remain under singer's Greatest Hits album on the site . Fans dismiss convictions claiming 'he would have been bigger than Elvis' Others described the 70-year-old as 'a genius' who they felt sorry for . Glitter has been convicted of attacks against children as young as eight . The paedophile will be sentenced at Southwark Crown Court this month .

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(CNN) -- A line of fast-moving storms and possible tornadoes stretching from the Gulf Coast states to Illinois left at least six people dead Friday and caused widespread damage to homes and businesses, as forecasters warned of more potentially severe weather. Three people died in the small northwestern Arkansas town of Cincinnati, which reported power outages after the strong storm went through, said Ann Upton, Washington County's emergency management deputy. Two additional fatalities occurred in Dent County, Missouri, according to Salem police spokeswoman Wanda Suhr. While a sixth storm-related death happened at a home just north of Rolla, Missouri, about 106 miles southwest of St. Louis, said Phelps County Emergency Management spokeswoman Sandy North. The storm injured residents and destroyed some 25 homes in Phelps County after it earlier left more than a dozen people hospitalized in northwestern Arkansas, medical officials said. Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon declared a state of emergency. "We have three confirmed deaths today. We have some other people with some significant injuries and that's why I declared a state of emergency. Our state emergency management folks are up and operating to assist the locals and provide whatever support is necessary," he told CNN. The governor, who is expected to tour the affected areas Saturday, said officials are still working to access the damage. In Arkansas, Washington Regional Medical Center spokeswoman Terry Fox said several people were also reported trapped under fallen debris in the storm's immediate aftermath in Benton County. Six homes and four chicken production facilities were destroyed, while five homes suffered moderate to heavy damage, said Matt Garrity, Benton County's manager of emergency services. A fire station, three buildings and one store were also damaged, said Garrity, and an airport that serves northwestern Arkansas was closed due to debris in the area. "We are in part of tornado alley," he said. "So even a small storm does a lot of damage." Emergency crews are currently surveying the extent of the damage and "making sure that no one is trapped," he said. In Mississippi, a storm system knocked out power to nearly 20,000 homes in the central part of the state, said Mara Hartman, a spokeswoman for Entergy Corporation. Elsewhere, the fast-moving storm caused injuries and damage in Pulaski and Laclede counties in Missouri, knocking out power at Fort Leonard Wood, a U.S. Army post that took a direct hit from a suspected tornado, accordingto Laclede County Emergency Management spokesman Gail Teter. Four people at the base were treated for minor injuries after the storm hit, the army said. The tornado cut through several miles from the training areas into where families live. The series of storms that moved through Oklahoma and into northwest Arkansas and southwest Missouri have reached speeds of 40 mph and passed through more populated areas in St. Louis, Missouri, and the surrounding municipalities. Search and rescue workers were deployed to assess the storm's damage in St. Louis County, where there were reports of injuries, according to Mark Diedrich, the county's emergency management acting director. CNN affiliate KMOV on Friday broadcast images of heavy damage -- including destroyed homes and overturned vehicles -- in Sunset Hills, Missouri, approximately 15 miles southwest of St. Louis. "It's causing havoc," said Sunset Hills police spokeswoman Donna Palasky. The storm also left heavy structural damage to buildings in its wake -- including a popular shopping center and Catholic church -- in the town of Fenton, some 18 miles southwest of St. Louis, said Fenton Deputy Fire Chief Jeff Heidbreder. Emergency crews are surveying the damage, he said, but there were no reports of injuries. In the nearby town of Ballwin, police spokeman Jim Heldmann said the storm caused heavy damage to homes and buildings, but no injuries were reported at this time. The Arkansas Department of Emergency Management issued a tornado advisory as bad weather lingered in the state, instructing residents to seek shelter in their home's interior rooms or on its lowest floor. "When a tornado is sighted, the most important rule is to get low and stay low," the statement said. The threat of severe thunderstorms and possible tornadoes will continue through Friday evening across the Mississippi Valley and Tennessee Valley states, according to Greg Carbin, meteorologist for the National Weather Service. CNN's Mark Bixler, Reynolds Wolf, Tom Laabs, Erica Henry, Aaron Cooper and Shelby Erdman contributed to this report.

Missouri governor declares a state of emergency following storms . 25 homes were destroyed in Phelps County, Missouri . Midwest storms have left at least six people dead, officials say . Storms caused heavy damage in the region surrounding St. Louis .

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(CNN) -- A possible workers strike at Belmont Park racetrack on Long Island, New York, could rein in I'll Have Another's chance at the coveted Triple Crown title on Saturday. More than 80 of the racetrack's maintenance workers and starters have threatened to go on strike in the days leading up to the Belmont Stakes, the third leg of the Triple Crown. The workers, who take care of the grounds and racetrack at Belmont in addition to putting the horses in the gate, have been embroiled in a contract dispute with the New York Racing Association over wages and employee contributions to health care costs since 2010, said Vincent McElroen, financial secretary of International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 3 union. The union voted to authorize a strike more than a week ago, he said. "They're trying to get a message to the employer that this is serious stuff," McElroen added. Racing association officials issued a statement calling UBEW Local 3's potential strike "extremely self-serving," alleging that the union is using "the attention and excitement of a Triple Crown attempt to further its own agenda." I'll Have Another -- the 3-year-old colt who claimed victory in both the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes this year -- would be the first horse to take the Triple Crown in 34 years. Since 1990, only seven horses have won the first two legs of the title. Racetrack officials are expecting a crowd of more than 100,000 for Saturday's race. McElroen said the timing of the potential strike has nothing to do with the Belmont Stakes. "We've been negotiating for 24 months," he said. "We've gotten nowhere, and the workers are fed up." Part of the dispute revolves around the definition of the workweek. In their former contract, which ended after a year-long extension in early 2011, UBEW workers were paid overtime on weekends, McElroen said. But in 2012, the racing association changed the workweek to reflect Belmont's Wednesday through Sunday race schedule, eliminating weekend overtime pay. "This change resulted in a drastic reduction in their take-home pay," McElroen said. UBEW workers at Belmont have also had to start paying into their health insurance benefits and are no longer given retiree medical benefits, he added. In the statement, New York Racing Association officials responded that "Local 3 is unwilling to pay a reasonable share of the cost to provide these benefits and they refuse to work with us to create shifts that reflect the reality of how a race track operates." McElroen would not comment on the likelihood of a strike this weekend but said that the union "is not one to frivolously go out on strike." "(The New York Racing Association) took the position that it's our way or the highway when they implemented these unilateral changes," he said. "The workers are not going to accept that."

80 racetrack workers have threatened to go on strike . Saturday's race could see I'll Have Another win the Triple Crown . Union voted to authorize strike over wages, health care dispute . Racing officials call possible strike "extremely self-serving"

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By . Amanda Jones . and Emma Innes . Amanda Jones, 71, lost her 33-year-old daughter, Rebecca James, to breast cancer 11 years ago. Since then Mrs Jones has been tirelessly campaigning to raise awareness of the disease. She regularly visits prisons and other women’s institutions to educate people about the signs of breast cancer. Mrs Jones, from Camberley, in Surrey, has also raised more than £200,000 for Breakthrough Breast Cancer. Now, as Mothers’ Day approaches, the retired radiographer pays tribute to her daughter. Amanda Jones (left) lost her daughter, Rebecca James (right) to breast cancer when Rebecca was 33 . ‘Happy Mummy's Day! This is my best card of a horse EVER for you!’ Small, round, auburn haired,  little red wellies on her feet and my riding hat jammed on her head, my youngest child, Rebecca - Becs - competed noisily with her elder sister and brother in the giving of cards and receiving of cuddles. It would be the same picture being enacted all over the country on that special day - and every Mother’s Day since - precious memories of love and laughter. Becs was born, two weeks late, on June 7, 1969. I'd spent some time in hospital during the pregnancy, due to a threatened miscarriage, so she arrived with determination to get on with life, against the odds. And that's how her character continued to develop - always holding her own with her siblings, Camilla and Dominic, while they made a formidable, loyal and loving trio. She made her way through nursery, primary and secondary schools, making great friends while not overdoing the academic side of life! Mrs James found a lump in her breast when she was just 32 and was diagnosed with breast cancer. She had surgery to remove the lump as well as chemotherapy but the cancer returned and spread to her liver . Mrs James (left) died just 11 months after her initial breast cancer diagnosis. She is pictured with her mother, Amanda Jones, and sister, Camilla . She played first the violin, and then the French horn. She was in the school orchestra and she indulged the dramatic side of her nature in the annual musical - she was always an entertainer, fun-loving, outgoing and simply so loving. Rather reluctantly, she went off to college, in the same city where Camilla and Dominic were studying, and it was much later that I heard about the rescues of Becs that the two of them had carried out, retrieving her from less than salubrious situations and returning her to her rooms. Her social life definitely took precedence over her studies! Source: Breakthrough Breast Cancer . After a year at college, she went off to . France to spend the summer working for Canvas Holidays and there the . course of her life changed. She went to a camp site outside Nice for the season, with the intention of returning in October. But, as the date approached, she spoke more and more about the son of the campsite owners, with whom she'd been working all summer. And that was how, at 19, she found her soul mate, Christian, and France became her home. We, the family, spent so much time with them throughout the years - weeks of such joy, in the sunshine of the south of France, where her auburn hair turned golden and she became our Rayon de Soleil, our Golden Girl. Just after her 32nd birthday, she rang to say she'd found a lump in her breast and was having it removed the next day. Christian phoned, so distressed, from the hospital to say it was cancer and we went over at once to be with them both. When I look back on that fateful call now, I remember all the hope and optimism and determination they both showed, giving us the example we so needed. Becs received the very best treatment from that day on from specialists who would never give up THEIR hope for her. During her first course of chemotherapy, a further lump was found in her breast and then she had a mastectomy, something that the surgeons had hoped not to have to perform on someone so young and so beautiful. Since her daughter's death, Mrs Jones has campaigned to raise awareness of the signs of breast cancer. She is pictured (left) with her children - Camilla (centre), Rebecca (second from right) and Dominic (right) - and her daughter-in-law, Joanna . Mrs Jones said: 'I saw my darling daughter draw on reserves of courage and strength that, to us, were superhuman.' Her children (including Rebecca, right) are pictured the last time Rebecca was able to go outside . On New Year's Eve, 2002, we were all in the mountains above Nice, Becs with no hair, dancing on the table and so full of joie de vivre, so full of courage and optimism. In March of 2003, it was found that Becs had developed secondaries in her liver. From then on, I saw my darling daughter draw on reserves of courage and strength that, to us, were superhuman. She never stopped thinking of others, even when so exhausted. The love that she and Christian had for each other, 14 years after they first met, had such an effect on us all through those last few weeks. On May 27, 2003, just eleven months after she was diagnosed with breast cancer and at the age of 33, Becs died peacefully, with Christian and all the family beside her. It was such a privilege to be with her at that moment. Mrs Jones (pictured with her three children) wrote: 'I know that she is with us all forever, inspiring US to live life to the full and giving us HER courage when we tire and HER laughter when tears are too close' As I had brought her into the world, so I was with her as she left her all too short life, leaving me with the gift of unconditional love that she gave me and the inspiration of her courage. She left so much undying love for her sister and brother and, for us all, the memories of her living life to the full, from the moment she and I shared her birth through her years with us, so full of love, fun and laughter. I miss her desperately every single day, I hear her voice saying ‘Hi, it's me’ on the phone, I see her swimming with Christian in the warm Mediterranean waters and I know that she is with us all forever, inspiring US to live life to the full and giving us HER courage when we tire and HER laughter when tears are too close. On Mother’s Day, I shall think, as always, how endlessly blessed I am to have three deeply loved, amazing, supportive children, even though the youngest of them is now just out of reach, ‘just down the road’, as Becs used to say, but whose presence fills my heart every moment. For more information about breast cancer, visit the Breakthrough Breast Cancer website.

As Mother's Day approaches, Amanda Jones pays tribute to Rebecca James . Miss James found a lump in her breast when she was just 32 years old . Was diagnosed with breast cancer and had surgery to remove the tumour . During chemotherapy another lump was found in her breast . She had a mastectomy but developed secondary tumours in her liver . She died when she was 33 - just 11 months after her initial diagnosis . Her mother now campaigns tirelessly to raise awareness of breast cancer .

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Former President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani's abrupt fall from grace has taken many in political circles in Iran by surprise, further widening the gap between an increasingly insular and narrow hard-line elite and the rest of the country. It reinforces a trend towards the consolidation of power around Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his acolytes, which has been taking place for the better part of a decade, and perhaps the real surprise is the fact is that there remain members of the elite who did not think this remorseless process would ultimately apply to them. Ever since the political catastrophe of 2009, when millions pored onto the streets to protest what was widely considered to be a highly fraudulent election process, the regime has been keen to encourage the public to put the past behind them and to look forward to these elections as a cathartic exercise during which political blemishes could be washed away. Rafsanjani's dramatic last-minute entrance into the race, was seen by many as proof that some lessons had indeed been learnt. But if Rafsanjani was to galvanize the public, then his platform had to be radical and his boast that he had come to "save the nation" and effectively "reboot" the Islamic Republic, was certainly bold. However, the fact that he claimed that he had to ask permission to run, was indicative of how far the political realities of Iran had changed since he had last been president (1989-1997). No sooner had he registered than the bitter personal attacks came from the hard-liners; while others questioned just what the nature of the agreement with Khamenei had been, if any. Amanpour explains: Iran's presidential election . But perhaps most galling was that for all the hype and excitement generated by his supporters, the public appeared unmoved. Popular momentum might have developed, though the task would have been considerably harder than 2009 given the absence of a political infrastructure of street activists, (largely dismantled since 2009), and above all the sheer cynicism of the voting public. Public apathy combined with the conceit of the new ruling class, to deliver a particularly brutal humiliation to Rafsanjani, barred apparently not for his political views, but for the rather less dignified reason that the members of the Guardian Council thought Rafsanjani too old to be able to bear the burden of office. Rafsanjani's dramatic entrance and precipitous fall has shone a light on the growing fractures within elite politics in Iran. To date Khamenei has been able to blame divisions on Ahmadinejad and his "deviant current" on the one hand, and the foreign inspired sedition of Mir-Hussein Musavi and Mehdi Karrubi (still under house arrest) on the other. Few expected Ahmadinejad's protégé, Esfandyar Rahim Mashaie, to survive the vetting process -- other that is, than Ahmadinejad, for whom being on the "outside" must be an uncomfortable experience. Similarly, if slightly more realistically, few of Rafsanjani's supporters considered him vulnerable. He remained after all a pillar of the establishment, even if two of his children had been hounded into jail and he had effectively been ostracized over the past four years for his tentative support of the Green Movement. Read more: How the U.S. should respond to Iran's election . It says much of the "wishful thinking" that remains prevalent, that they thought this a political virtue. Firm in the belief that the Islamic Republic faced an existential threat, they had retained their faith in the integrity of a system that has long since transformed beyond recognition into a sacred autocracy. Indeed the unpredictability of the Iranian political system is not a reflection of its inherent 'democracy', but of the absence of the rule of law and the growing identification of power in the person of Khamenei. Both the Guardian Council's "rulings" (which it should be stressed are neither published nor explained) and the fact they can be overturned on the whims of the Supreme Leader, are indicative of this harsh reality. What we are left with is a tightly controlled "election" with a dry and uninteresting field. Of the eight ratified candidates, one is a nonentity, (Mohammad Gharazi); two are ostensible "moderates" lacking in charisma and therefore non-threatening, (Hassan Rouhani and Mohammad Reza Aref); one is an independent Principle-ist (Mohsen Rezaei) who likes to speak his mind but on past performance is unlikely to garner votes (real or imagined); while the remaining four are self proclaimed acolytes of the Leader. Of these four, two have been highlighted as the probable annointees: Saeed Jalili, the current head of the National Security Council, and Mohammad Ghalibaf, the mayor of Tehran. Jalili is widely assumed to be the favorite and his web presence is suitably polished and indicative of considerable preparation, though quite who the audience for this is, given the current restrictions on internet access in the run-up to the election, remains unclear. Jalili is perhaps closest ideologically to the Supreme Leader. For this particular puritan, the crisis Iran faces is not existential, it is an opportunity to be seized and a trial to be welcomed. Ghalibaf, who once fancied himself as Iran's answer to Tom Cruise, has had his popular credibility bruised by the sudden release of a recording of a speech he allegedly gave to members of the Basij militia bragging about how much he enjoyed getting on his motorbike and thumping students. Ghalibaf has vigorously dismissed the recording as a malicious smear, but it says much about current politics that there are many who find it credible. The real question of course is the source of the leak; and herein perhaps lies the real significance of recent developments. In 2009, the regime lost the people; it now appears to be in the process of divesting itself of its traditional elite. How the newly disenfranchised react will be interesting to watch. This may be the real legacy of the "election" of 2013.

Iranian regime is keen to encourage the public to put the past behind them, Ali Ansari writes . He points out the consolidation of power around Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei . Ansari: Khamenei has been able to blame divisions on Ahmadinejad and his "deviant current"

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LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- If a kewpie doll sang in a band and had two kids, she'd be Gwen Stefani. Gwen Stefani was ready to get back with No Doubt after two solo albums and an active home life. The pop star and style icon turns 40 this fall, but she still uses words like "you know" and "like" at least five times a minute. That's part of Stefani's charm, and her carefree teenybopper mentality is one of the many reasons fans are excited about her first tour with No Doubt in half a decade. It's been 14 years since the quartet busted out of Orange County, California, with its signature sound of sunny, ska-influenced pop. In 2004, No Doubt went on hiatus as Stefani launched the first of two successful solo albums. In the meantime, drummer Adrian Young and guitarist Tom Dumont worked on side projects and watched their families grow. Stefani and her husband -- former Bush frontman Gavin Rossdale -- welcomed two sons, while bassist Tony Kanal is the only member to remain single and child-free. No Doubt is currently in the midst of a 53-date North American tour, for which they've dusted off such classic hits as "Just a Girl," "Spiderwebs" and "Bathwater." Each member now travels in their own individual tour bus -- a must for an entourage that includes kids, toys and nannies. Watch No Doubt in concert, at rest » . CNN: You'd hear rumors every once in a while that you guys were breaking up, or had broken up. Were those annoying, or did you kind of roll your eyes and say, "That's part of the game?" Adrian Young: I think we expected it. And there might even be some people that will think that we broke up, and that this is a reunion tour -- and it's just not the truth. We went 17 straight years without stopping, and we started having families, and we were burnt and we needed to do our own thing for a while. CNN: What was it like to get all four of you together in a room again? Tom Dumont: It's kind of like an old glove. It just fits. Young: Like an O.J. glove? Dumont: No, no, no. I know it's a weird analogy, but in the sense of -- you know, it fits. Tony Kanal: You know when somebody says "glove" now, you immediately think of O.J. Young: "If it fits, you must acquit." That's our band motto now. Dumont: We're not going to quit. We're just great old friends. It's almost like we're brothers and sister, and it's great to be having fun together again. Young: I feel more like we're married. CNN: I hear it's a little bit different this time. Instead of sharing a tour bus, you'll each have your own individual buses. Kanal: This will be our first time on separate buses, only out of necessity. Everyone's bringing their family. CNN: Are you just trying to get away from the kids, is that what you're saying, Tony?! Kanal: No, no, no! I would love to be on the bus with them. Gwen Stefani: Tony's going to be making kids on his bus. Kanal: Yeah, maybe my girlfriend and I will be in the process of starting our family. Stefani, Young and CNN (in unison): Really?! Kanal (ignoring everybody's reaction): But by default, I'm putting a studio on my bus. Because I don't have a crib on my bus -- they have cribs on their buses -- I'm putting a studio on my bus so we can keep writing if the inspiration comes, and we feel like doing it. Stefani: We're just putting the studio out there so we can pretend we might go out there and write songs, but we're really just going to have fun. ... We like writing songs, as well [but] I have to tell you, it's a very tortured process. There is nothing more rewarding when you know you've written a hit, and you know this magic happened. CNN: Did you guys really go to group therapy? Kanal: No. ... We had some self-imposed therapy sessions where we were trying to write music, and we were sitting in the room together, and a lot of stuff came out, and you know, it was kind of an emotional venting. We got rid of a lot of stuff. It was good. Stefani: We spent a lot of time together in the last 12 months. Right when I came off tour (from her second solo album, "The Sweet Escape"), we started to write, and I was pregnant (with her second son, Zuma), and we did a lot of eating, a lot of chatting -- and then we had this magic 15 minutes from 4:45 to 5 o'clock where music would actually come out for a minute. One day, I was like, "Argh! I'm in this room still! Let's go on tour!" And everyone was like, "OK!" It was very spontaneous, and it's all kind of geared towards getting out there ... and getting inspired, and hopefully coming out of the other side and making an album. CNN: Gwen, when you were off doing the two solo albums, did you feel guilty at all? Because I know you all were trying to get back together for a couple of years. Stefani: I'm one of those people that I have to follow the inspiration when it strikes. ... These guys are just very supportive. We've been together forever -- forever, forever -- since we were kids, and this is just the one time in our lives we've had a break from each other. Everybody did their own thing. And I think all of us doing our own thing makes us even more grateful for each other, and kind of definitely not taking each other for granted -- not that we ever did before. ... But it's even more intense right now. CNN: Things have changed since the last time No Doubt was on the road, and there a lot of people who don't have that disposable income to spend on tickets for concerts. Young: One of the things we did for this tour for some of the venues is we have $10 lawn tickets for people that maybe want to come to the show, but they're strapped -- and we've never done that before as No Doubt, and it feels really good to do that. CNN: I was calling this a reunion. Was that bad? Stefani: We don't really care. We're just so happy that people want to come out and see the show, whatever they want to call it. We're just happy that people still are even talking about it. ... Even if you didn't really like our songs, or you had this kind of idea about us, come see us live, and we'll slap you around. You might have some fun, you know.

No Doubt is back together -- but don't call it a reunion . Band had taken break while having families, Gwen Stefani making solo records . Stefani plans to have fun; tour is a way of getting recharged .

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Andre Drummond may be a talented center on the court, but you might not trust him behind the wheel. The Detroit Pistons star has apologized for the foolish mistake of not only driving recklessly, but bragging about it with a Snapchatted picture of his speedometer edging up to 97 miles per hour on a highway with a 70 mile per hour speed limit. He later called the picture a 'silly mistake.' Detroit Piston Andre Drummoned has apologized a Snapchatted picture of his speedometer edging up to 97 miles per hour on a highway with a 70 mile per hour speed limit . The red light on the dash indicates the seat belt is unfastened. 'I'll own up to it and move on from here. It won't happen again,' Drummond told The Detroit Free Press. 'Silly mistake on my behalf.' Yahoo noted that not only was Drummond taking and posting a pic while speeding, he even took time to put an emoji in his post as well as adding text. Plus, he wasn't wearing a seatbelt. Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy said he wasn't worried about Drummond's use of social media, but was worried about his safety. Drummond called the picture a 'silly mistake' He told reporters that it reminded him of the death of Charlotte Hornets shooting guard Bobby Philis in a 2000 accident in which excessive speed played a deadly role. 'I know you're young and you think you're indestructible, but for the people that care about you, it's scary as hell,' the coach said shortly before the team's Sunday night face off against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Center Snapchatted picture of his speedometer edging up to 97 miles per hour on a highway with a 70 mile per hour speed limit . Called the picture a 'silly mistake' Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy said he worried about Drummond's safety .

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By . Suzannah Hills . PUBLISHED: . 05:57 EST, 25 December 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 09:04 EST, 25 December 2013 . Lying on her hospital bed, Roona Begum almost looks likes any other two-year-old. But her appearance today is a drastic transformation to how the toddler looked just a few months ago after her head swelled to twice its size. These dramatic series of images chart her journey which has seen her undergo numerous operations on her skull. Doctors carried out her latest reconstructive surgery on Friday and the results are clear to see in these pictures taken of Roona at a hospital in New Delhi, India, on Christmas Day. WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT . CHRISTMAS DAY: Two-year-old Roona Begum is pictured in her hospital bed in New Delhi, India, after her latest reconstructive surgery . Doctors at the Fortis Memorial Research Institute removed bone from Roona's skull in her latest operation on Friday . Life saving operations: Roona, pictured with her mother Fatima Begum, will still have a larger than average head but she will be able to live a normal life . Roona's father, Abdul Rahman, said: 'We are happy. She is much better now. There was a time when she was unrecognisable.' Roona, who lives with her impoverished . parents in a village in India's remote northeast, was born with . hydrocephalus, a potentially fatal condition that causes cerebrospinal . fluid to build up on the brain. Her condition caused her head to swell . to a circumference of 94 centimetres (37 inches), putting pressure on . her brain and making it impossible for her to sit upright. Images showing Roona's plight attracted international sympathy which prompted the Fortis Memorial Research Institute in New Delhi to treat her rare condition for free. Fatima Begum pictured with daughter Roona who is now on her way to full recovery after her latest surgery . Roona was born with hydrocephalus, a potentially fatal condition that causes cerebrospinal fluid to build up on the brain . Rahman, who works as a labourer earning around £2 a day, said: 'We are very poor. We were not in a position to arrange for all the treatment. But so many people came forward to help.' Roona was admitted to the hospital in April and underwent several rounds of surgery in May and June when doctors drained excess fluid from her head and dramatically reduced the size of her skull to 58 centimetres. She spent 105 days in total at the hospital before being discharged in August. But she returned to the same hospital earlier this month to have part of her bone removed from her skull which was then rebuilt. NOVEMBER: Roona pictured in before her bone corrective surgery at Fortis Memorial Hospital last month . JUNE: Doctors reshape Roona's skull after water on her brain which caused her skull to balloon - called hydrocephalus - had been drained leaving her disfigured . 'When she came in first, her condition was very critical. We were not sure if she would make it. But, she has responded very well to the treatment,' Dr Sandeep Vaishya, Director of Neurosurgery at Fortis, said in November. 'She still has an unusual skull size, but she is healthy. She is doing well.' Roona will likely have to undergo another procedure early next month to compress her head further. Although Roona's skull is likely to remain large, she has a good chance of developing normally, provided her neck muscles can grow strong enough to support her head, doctors have said. MAY: The toddler's head has been reduced from 37ins to around 21ins through a series of life-saving surgeries . MAY: Roona pictured aged 18-months at the ICU ward of Fortis Memorial Research Institute after the first round of surgery on May 29, 2013, in Gurgaon, India . Global attention: Images showing Roona's plight, such as this one, attracted international sympathy .

Roona suffers from hydrocephalus - a potentially fatal condition that causes cerebrospinal . fluid to build up on the brain . Her condition caused her head to swell . to a circumference of 94 centimetres . Roona's skull size has been reduced to 58cms after a series of operations . Her latest reconstructive surgery was carried out in New Delhi on Friday . Pictures taken of Roona on Christmas Day show her huge transformation .

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(CNN) -- A Florida father who beat his 11-year-old son's alleged molester unconscious before calling 911 told a CNN affiliate that his son is a hero and that the youngster is the only reason the man is alive. "My immediate feeling was to kill him, so he will never hurt anyone again," the father told CNN affiliate WESH. The father, who CNN is not identifying, told Volusia County emergency dispatch Friday that 18-year-old Raymond Frolander was close to the family and was in the apartment while the father was out. When he got home, the father said, he saw Frolander with the boy. Frolander's pants fell down to his ankles "and nothing else needed to be said" when he saw exposed genitals, the dad said. Frolander, who is being held in Volusia County Jail without bond, faces a charge of sexual battery of a child. The father told WESH that Frolander is lucky that's all he is facing. "My son saved Raymond. Raymond was motionless on our floor. I went to the kitchen to grab a butcher knife, and my son stopped me. My son came in front of me and saved his attacker's life," said the father. According to the charging affidavit, the 11-year-old victim told authorities that Frolander had performed oral sex on him and instructed the boy to fondle him. The document says the boy told authorities that Frolander began abusing him a few years ago. It also says Frolander told police, "I'm guilty." An official in the criminal division of the Volusia County Clerk's Office told CNN this is a confidential case because of the age of the victim, so no public record of the suspect's plea or attorney's name is available. On the 911 call, the father explained that Frolander was breathing, but not speaking, "in a puddle of blood" on the floor. He added, "I loved him up until 15 minutes ago." At times, the dad is heard talking to the suspect, at one point saying, "You are damn lucky, boy, that I love my God." The father has not been charged, and when CNN affiliate CFN 13 asked Daytona Beach Police Chief Michael Chitwood whether he had any issue with the father's reaction, he responded Friday, "Not as a police chief and not as a father." Chitwood had a starkly different reaction this week to news that the father had published his son's photo on the Internet with a plea for cash. After the boy's assault and his attacker's beating became national news, the father reportedly posted the photo on Facebook saying he needed $1 million to pay for the boy's care after the assault. He also set up a GoFundMe page, which Chitwood derided as a "disaster." As of Tuesday morning, the GoFundMe link on the Facebook page directed visitors to a page asking for help saving a mother of four from being evicted. GoFundMe said in a statement that its privacy policy prevented it from divulging whether a user's page had gone live, but Chitwood confirmed he had seen it. "My detectives and I went and looked at it. It was requesting 1 million dollars," he said. "It's out of control. Somebody's thinking 'We're going to cash in on this.' I didn't get it." Chitwood also expressed concern that the victim could suffer additional psychological stress as a result of his dad's actions. "He's a parent. He has to do what he thinks is right, but from a law enforcement perspective, we go through great lengths to protect identity of sex assault victims. There are psychological problems that come from being a victim. To put the kid out there is a disaster," he said. "I've been doing this 27 years. I've never seen anything like this."

Father says that his son stopped him from killing alleged molester with knife . Raymond Frolander, 18, is charged with sexual battery on 11-year-old boy . On 911 call, dad tells dispatcher he beat Frolander, who was in puddle of blood . Police chief dismayed that dad posted son's photo with request for $1 million .

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Former White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said on Thursday that the president and his administration should reconsider putting a temporary moratorium on travel into the U.S. from West Africa. 'I think substantive actions need to be taken, and they may involve flight restrictions, they may involve moving all patients to specific hospitals in the country that can handle Ebola, and I think those would be wise decisions to make,' Carney, now a CNN contributor, said today. The former Obama flack noted that he's not 'an expert' on the issue before saying a more aggressive approach 'would demonstrate a level of seriousness in response to this that is merited at this point.' However, President Obama addressed the issue directly this evening when he said he had no 'philosophical objection' to an travel ban, but that he thought it would do more harm than good. Former White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said today that his former boss should reconsider putting a temporary moratorium on flights coming into the U.S. from Ebola hot spots . After holding a meeting on the health crisis, the president spoke to reporters and said 'a flat-out travel ban is not the way to go.' The president has ordered that heightened screening measures be put in place at the international airports where 94 percent of people coming countries afflicted with Ebola enter into the U.S. ‘Now, if we were to put in place a travel ban or a visa ban, it would provide a direct incentive for individuals seeking to travel to the United States to go underground and to seek to evade this screening and to not be candid about their travel history in order to enter the country,' White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said at an afternoon briefing. President Obama said Thursday that he has no 'philosophical objection' to a travel ban, but that he thinks it would do more harm than good . 'And that means it would be much harder for us keep tabs on these individuals and make sure that they get the screening that's needed to protect them and to protect more importantly the American public,’ he added. ‘And again, it's a relatively small number, about 150 a day that enter this country.’ It's also important to the administration, Earnest said, to keep this line of transportation open because commercial transportation 'is critical' to making sure supplies, equipment and personnel are able to enter the region. Earnest said as a 'practical matter' a travel ban would make it 'harder for the international community to respond to this incident' because commercial airlines don't want to fly people and items to West Africa just to fly empty planes, with no passengers or cargo, back. Probed by Fox News' Ed Henry for the White House's thoughts on Carney's suggestion that the administration needs to approach the Ebola outbreak with a higher level of seriousness than it has in the past, Earnest argued that the president and his team's response to the third Ebola diagnosis yesterday 'indicates that that we're deadly serious about this.' 'We're dealing with a deadly disease, and what you are seeing is the kind of tenacious response that the American people are countin' on,' he told Henry. As far as designating certain hospitals to serve as Ebola treatment centers, Earnest said that was a decision for the CDC. However, he revealed that it's something 'that CDC is examining right now.' Rep. Tim Murphy, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, questions top U.S. health officials about the Ebola outbreak on Capitol Hill today. Murphy endorsed a travel ban and charged that 'screening and self-reporting at airports have been a demonstrated failure' White House spokesman Josh Earnest was blitzed with questions about the Obama administration's handling of the Ebola crisis today. The Obama administration official said again today that the president would not slap travel restrictions on commercial travel from West Africa to the U.S. At least 42 members of Congress, including House Speaker John Boehner, have called on the president to halt flights coming out of West Africa. More than two dozen of them signed a letter last week begging the president to budge. At an emergency congressional hearing on the Ebola crisis today in Washington, D.C., Ohio Rep. Tim Murphy alleged that 'screening and self-reporting at airports have been a demonstrated failure.' 'Yet the administration continues to advance a contradictory reason for this failed policy that frankly doesn’t make sense, especially if "priority one" is to contain the spread of Ebola and protect public health,' he said at a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee hearing. Murphy, the chairman of the subcommittee, estimated that roughly 1,000 people coming from Ebola stricken countries are arriving in the U.S. each week. Any one of them could be an Ebola carrier, he suggested. John P. Wagner, the acting assistant commissioner for the Office of Field Operations at the Customs and Border Protection agency assured members of Congress today that 'there are no flights coming to the United States from the affected areas.' He admitted that 'there's hundreds of flights a day coming from Europe,' however, including flights that connect in Europe with airliners flying out of area's with high rates of Ebola cases. CDC Director Thomas Frieden explained that 'many of the people coming to the U.S. from Africa are American citizens.' 'People travel, and people will be coming in,' he explained. Friden wouldn't say whether or not his agency had discussed a travel ban with the White House, whie indicating that the CDC would be open to the idea. The CDC does not have the ability to restrict flights or visas, though he said. 'At CDC, our authority is to quarantine individuals or require the isolation of individuals.' Friden directed members of Congress to the White House for further questions on the possibility of new travel restraints. At today's hearing Congressman Fred Upton of Michigan questioned the wisdom of the White House's claims that it won't put a travel ban in place because of how hard it would be send equipment and personnel to West Africa in that scenario. 'Surely we can find other ways to get the aid workers and supplies in to these countries,' he said. 'From terrorist watch lists to quarantines, there are tools used to manage air travel to assure public safety. Why not here? 'We can no longer be reacting to each day’s crisis. We need to be aggressive and finally get ahead of this outbreak.' Upton said the administration needs a better plan to treat people who are sick and 'to stop the spread of this disease here at home and at its source in Africa.' 'This includes travel restrictions from that region beginning today.'

'I think substantive actions need to be taken, and they may involve flight restrictions,' former Obama spokesman Jay Carney said today . Carney's comments came just before a congressional subcommittee met for an emergency hearing on the government's response to Ebola . More than 42 members of Congress have now called on the president to institute a temporary moratorium on travel from West Africa to the U.S. President Obama said today that he has no 'philosophical objection' to a travel ban - but that he doesn't think it would be effective . The White House says a travel ban would lead to West Africans to find other ways to enter the country, potentially causing more cases .

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Jeremy Clarkson has joined those paying tribute to the former MoS motoring editor . Jeremy Clarkson has joined those paying tribute to former Mail on Sunday motoring editor Frank Page, who has died aged 84. Celebrated as one of the outstanding motoring journalists of his generation, Mr Page died last Saturday from septicemia, after being taken ill days earlier. The motoring editor at The Mail on Sunday between 1982 and 1985, he was also a presenter of the BBC’s long-running series Top Gear from 1980 until 1990. He began his career in 1952 at Garage And Motor Agent magazine. Current Top Gear presenter Clarkson tweeted: ‘Holy moly. Frank Page has died. My condolences to his family.’ Mr Page was a former chairman of the Guild of Motoring Writers. The Guild said: ‘He was well-liked among his peers as great company and known for wide-ranging interests, particularly motorsport, the theatre and jazz.’ The father of three lived in Longtown, Herefordshire, with his wife of 44 years, Sam, who survives him.

Jeremy Clarkson in tribute to Frank Page, former MoS motoring editor . Mr Page died last Saturday aged from septicemia after being taken ill . Edited MoS from 1982 until 1985 and presented Top Gear from 1980-1990 .

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If you’ve suffered from a blocked nose and sinus pain, the chances are that you’ll have reached for a decongestant. But you may not know how the remedy relieves the annoying symptoms. Now, a chemistry teacher from Bournemouth has created an infographic to explain just how the medicine, which typically comes in spray or tablet form, stops the nose from running. Chemistry Andy Brunning created an infographic (pictured) to explain how decongestants work. They targetalpha-adrenergic receptors in the nose and sinuses to constrict blood vessels, which helps to reduce inflammation and the formation of mucus . Andy Brunning explained in a post on his blog, Compound Interest that decongestants work by targeting alpha-adrenergic receptors in the nose and sinuses to constrict blood vessels, which helps to reduce inflammation and the formation of mucus. While a number of drugs can be used to create the effect, some of the most common are pseudoephedrine, oxymetazoline - which can also be used to treat nosebleeds - phenylephrine and xylometazoline. Pseudoephedrine, a natural compound found in plants, is one of the most effective decongestants and is produced on a large scale by using a mixture of yeast, dextrose – grape sugar - and benzaldehyde, which is a colourless liquid with many industrial uses. As well as acting on alpha-adrenergic receptors, pseudoephedrine also targets other receptors, which relax muscles in the airways to ease congestion. Research has shown that man flu isn't a myth, because a lack of female sex hormones actually leaves males with weaker immune systems. Scientists from Harvard University said in October that a lack of oestrogen makes men more likely to succumb to pneumonia and other respiratory diseases. Their study, published in medical journal Life Sciences tested the effect of bacterial pneumonia on mice by introducing the infection to their lungs. Professor Lester Kobzik, of the university's School of Public Health, found females were naturally more resistant to the condition. Their increased resistance was linked to the enzyme nitric oxide synthase 3 (NOS3) - activated by the release of the female sex hormone oestrogen. By administering a simple dose of oestrogen to both males and females, they were able to cure both of serious lung infections - clearing the bacteria from their lungs far more rapidly than normal mice. The team hopes that, in the future, this knowledge could be used to enhance resistance to common and serious lung infections and prevent flu developing into more serious pneumonia. Professor Kobzik said: 'Ultimately, this work could be especially useful in reducing risk of secondary bacterial pneumonias during seasonal or pandemic influenza. 'We were quite pleased that the work led us to NOS3-targeting drugs that are already available and that can indeed improve resistance to pneumonia in our mouse model.' As well as acting on alpha-adrenergic receptors, pseudoephedrine also targets other receptors, which relax smooth muscle in the airways to ease congestion (illustrated in this stock image) But using the decongestant for too long can backfire . While pseudoephedrine is an ingredient in may over-the-counter medicines, there are other active ingredients. Phenylephrine is one such alternative, but a handful of studies have claimed it is no more effective in easing nasal congestion than a placebo. Xylometazoline, on the other hand, is on the World Health Organisation’s list of essential medicines, but isn’t advised for people with high blood pressure. Oxymetazoline can also be used in the treatment of nosebleeds and eye redness. While nasal decongestants may be effective in relieving the symptoms of a cold in the short term, they can only be used for a limited amount of time. ‘For the most part, use of nasal sprays for more than a few days can induce rhinitis medicamentosa, more commonly referred to as rebound congestion,’ Mr Brunning writes. Scientists are unsure exactly why this happens, but it means that people who overuse their nasal sprays can trigger a vicious circle of mucus. ‘More of the decongestant is taken to alleviate the congestion, and the rebound congestion continues,’ he explained. It seems that the problem of rebound congestion can be avoided by taking tablets instead.

Chemistry Andy Brunning created his inforgraphic to detail the different chemical types of decongestants . They work by by targeting alpha-adrenergic receptors in the nose and sinuses to constrict blood vessels, which helps to reduce inflammation and the formation of mucus -easing the symptoms of a cold . The most common decongestatnts are: pseudoephedrine, oxymetazoline phenylephrine and xylometazoline . Effective in relieving the symptoms of a cold in the short term, they can only be used for a limited amount of time . This is because they can trigger a vicious circle of mucus - rhinitis medicamentosa or rebound congestion .

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(CNN) -- Five purported Amish splinter group members, who are suspected in a string of hair-cutting attacks on Amish men and women in their community, are scheduled to be back in court Wednesday morning for arraignment, said the sheriff of Jefferson County, Ohio. Four separate incidents are being investigated in the eastern Ohio counties of Jefferson, Holmes, Carroll and Trumbull, said Frank Abdalla, the Jefferson County sheriff. Officials report the first assault happened on September 6. The last attack was on October 4, just days before three of the five suspects were arrested. The men are accused of breaking into multiple homes and holding the victims down before using scissors or battery operated clippers to forcibly cut off women's hair and men's beards. Lester Mullet, 26, Johnny Mullet, 38, and Levi Miller, 53, were arrested last Friday in Jefferson County, Abdalla said. Daniel Mullet and Eli Miller turned themselves in to Holmes County authorities a few days later. All five men are charged with kidnapping and burglary. They were released on $50,000 bond, which was paid by Bishop Sam Mullet, who, according to Abdalla, is the leader of an extreme Amish splinter group. Three of the suspects are Mullet's sons; a third is his nephew. Abdalla is not the only one who believes Mullet may be behind the attacks. "This renegade leader is like a cult," said Donald Kraybill, an Amish scholar at Elizabethtown College. "He (Mullet) masquerades under the Amish name, using religion as a way to create a kind of barrier between him and law enforcement." "Nothing moves in this (particular) Amish community unless (Bishop Mullet) says it moves," Abdalla said. According to the sheriff, Mullet instigated the attacks after being "shunned from his faith some years ago." "His behavior contradicts all the standard Amish expectation for behavior," Kraybill said. The assaults are considered a particularly egregious offense in the Amish society, and can be considered an attack on the Amish identity. "It's very shameful," said Kraybill. As a symbol of adulthood, Amish men typically grow beards after they get married and Amish women do not cut their hair, said Kraybill. The practices are based on biblical teachings, Kraybill said. "I don't know of any other cases like this," said Kraybill. "Amish-on-Amish violence is very rare." Kraybill also pointed out that it's not correct to call the attacks Amish-on-Amish violence because Mullet is not recognized by the mainstream group. Both Holmes and Jefferson counties have large Amish populations. It is rare for the deeply private religious group to involve outsiders in their internal and religious problems. But Kraybill said when it becomes serious or involves some kind of violence, they will turn to outside agencies for help. This "is a difficult, terrible crime," Abdalla said. "We are doing everything we can do."

The five Amish men face kidnapping and burglary charges . The suspects belong to an extremist splinter group, local sheriff says . Suspects related to splinter group's leader, Bishop Sam Mullet . Attacks were directed against Amish identity, notably custom of letting hair grow .

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Men who have children by different women should be paid a special allowance by the state for increasing the population, a Russian MP claimed. A new 'Macho Law' was proposed by Valery Seleznev, who believes that marriage for life is outdated. Mr Seleznev said: 'Let's stimulate productive men so they can receive paternity capital and use it, for example, for alimony payments.' Russian Liberal Democratic Party MP Valery Seleznev, left, wants to create a state allowance for men who have children with different women . He wants to extend a system which allows Russian women to claim special 'maternity capital allowances' of around £6,500 when they have more than one child. The money - he did not specify the sum - could be used to help buy a flat or for education. He said: 'Some men have several children from different women, each of whom is not eligible for the 'maternity capital programme, as some of them have only one child, and others can be married to another man. 'Often such men do not have enough money to pay for their children. 'And we should not be shutting our eyes to the fact that the marriage has long stopped being 'once and forever', while Russia needs to increase the population.' The MP for the pro-Kremlin Liberal Democratic Party is drawing up the new the new legislation which he said might be called a Male Law, or Macho Law. Mr Seleznev, 50, seen second from left at a business forum, has been married 'multiple times' Vice premier Olga Golodets said she was astonished by the proposal but said: 'Any unusual idea has the right to be considered.' Father of three Mr Seleznev, 50, from Vladivostok, is described as having been married 'multiple' times. and his motto is: 'We need a strong, great Russia.' His own son Roman, 29, from his first marriage, was arrested in the Maldives in July, before being moved in controversial circumstances to Guam then Seattle. He now awaits trial on 40 charges of cyber fraud which he is denying. He is accused of hacking into the computer systems of restaurants and businesses to steal millions of credit card numbers. Mr Seleznev senior has accused the US of arresting his son with a view to exchanging him for Edward Snowden, the US whistleblower who disclosed America's electronic snooping techniques. 'They probably decided to swap one nerd for another,' he said.

Russian MP Valery Seleznev has been married 'multiple times' And is proposing a state allowance for men with children to different women . He hopes the Macho Law will help increase Russia's population .

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(CNN) -- Schalke moved to within a point of German Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen after winning 2-0 away to fellow title hopefuls Werder Bremen on Saturday night. Kevin Kuranyi and Jan Moravek scored in the second half to put Schalke a point above third-placed Bayern Munich, who earlier crushed lowly Bochum 5-1 to cap a memorable week. Former Germany striker Kuranyi put Schalke ahead two minutes after halftime and midfielder Moravek ensured Bremen's first league defeat since the opening day of the season with his 72nd-minute goal. Bremen could also have closed to within a point of Leverkusen, who were held 2-2 at bottom club Hertha Berlin on Friday night, but ended the night two points adrift of Bayern. Louis Van Gaal's Bayern, runners-up to Wolfsburg last season, briefly reached their highest league position since he took over as coach in the summer as Mario Gomez continued his recent scoring run with the opening goal at Bochum and strike partner Ivica Olic netted twice. Bayern, who crushed Italian giants Juventus 4-1 in midweek to qualify for the knockout stages of the Champions League, moved to within two points of leaders Bayer Leverkusen, . Olic set up Gomez's 23rd-minute header for the opening goal, and Mergim Mavraj put through his own net 10 minutes later as the Germany international tried to repay the favor to the Croatian. Olic got on the scoresheet two minutes before halftime from Bastian Schweinsteiger's cross and made it 4-0 four minutes after the break with a header from Holger Badstuber's delivery. Danijel Pranjic extended the lead five minutes later after fullback Phillip Lahm surged into the box and squared the ball to him, while Christian Fuchs scored a consolation free-kick for Bochum in the 76th minute. Fifth-placed Hamburg joined Bremen on 28 points, winning 4-0 at Nuremberg to end a run of seven games without a win. All the goals came in the second half as Eljero Elia's 47th-minute strike opened the floodgates, and he helped set up Marcell Jansen for the second on the hour mark. Tunay Torun made it 3-0 six minutes later with a fierce rising effort after cutting in from the left, and Elia wrapped it up on 74 from Jansen's pass. Sixth-placed Hoffenheim failed to keep pace with the teams above them, drawing 1-1 at home to Eintracht Frankfurt, and have now won just once in five league outings. Sejad Salihovic opened the scoring for the hosts in the ninth minute with a penalty after Selim Teber fouled Vedad Ibisevic, but Pirmin Schwegler equalized for Frankfurt on 61 when his long-range effort hit Luis Gustavo and ballooned over goalkeeper Timo Hildebrand and into the net. Borussia Moenchengladbach triumphed 5-3 at home to Hannover, who conceded three own-goals and had a player sent off in an incredible mid-table clash. Defender Karim Haggui twice put into his own net -- the first an lucky rebound from goalkeeper Florian Fromlowitz's attempted clearance in the 15th minute to open the scoring, and he also contributed the game's eighth goal with his second faux-pas. Constant Djakpa also conceded at the wrong end to give the hosts a 3-1 lead in the 59th minute, while Hannover's Didier Ya Konen scored in each half before being dismissed for his second yellow card on 84. Cologne edged away from the relegation zone with a 0-0 draw at Freiburg as Germany international striker Lukas Podolski -- who has not scored in the Bundesliga since September 13 -- hit the woodwork twice for the visitors.

Schalke move to within a point of German Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen . Kevin Kuranyi and Jan Moravek score in second half of 2-0 win at Werder Bremen . Fourth-placed Bremen suffer first league defeat since the opening day of the season . Bayern Munich claim third place, two points behind Leverkusen, after crushing Bochum 5-1 .

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He left his family to train with extremists in Syria. Now British jihadist Nasser Muthana has threatened to use his terror ‘skills’ when he returns to the UK. In a chilling online message, the 20-year-old unveiled a photograph of what is thought to be a collection of improvised explosive devices or IEDs. Underneath the image, he wrote: ‘So the UK is afraid I come back with the skills I’ve gained.’ Messages: Cardiff Jihadist Nasser Muthana has tweeted that the UK should be 'afraid' about the skills he has learned while fighting for ISIS should he return . Boastful: The Briton, who was planning to become a doctor, posted this picture of home made bombs . Violent: Muthana also tweeted a picture of a weapon that he hoped would help decapitate an enemy . He also wrote about decapitating his enemies alongside a  picture of a chain-like weapon. Muthana . was exposed as a  terrorist in training after he appeared in a . recruitment video for insurgent group ISIS, devastating the family he . left behind in Cardiff. Formerly . a prospective medical student, he was joined in Syria by his younger . brother Aseel, 17, who has now spoken of his willingness to die . fighting. The Muthana . brothers, who grew up in Cardiff after their father moved there from . Yemen as a teenager, are among an estimated 500 young men from  Britain . who have flown to Syria to join the rebels. Last . week, Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Cressida Dick said . Muslim communities in Britain were guilty of ‘complacency and passivity’ over the threat from home-grown jihadists. Experts have also warned of . the danger posed by those who fight overseas, then return to Britain. 'Jihad is obligatory': British ISIS fighter Aseel Muthana, right, followed his brother Nasser, left, to Syria and says he is 'willing to die' in Syria and won't come home to the UK . Nasser’s . photograph appears to show around 15 homemade IEDs packed inside metal . containers hidden behind what looks like a garage door. His . Twitter profile also contains a photograph showing the chain-like . weapon thought to have been taken from an enemy Shia Muslim – and a plan . to behead the captive fighter. The accompanying message says: ‘Look . what we found on this shi’i, glad tidings we’ll make sure his head is . detachable.’ Nasser describes himself as a ‘soldier of the Islamic State . of Iraq and Sham [ISIS]’ on the social networking site. His profile . explains his beliefs are based on ‘a book that guides and a sword that . supports it’. Yesterday, his devastated father Ahmed Muthana said: ‘This is not the son I know. Maybe if they have a heart they’ll come back. ‘What . they are doing or posting online, they are being told to by the people . with the guns who feed them, look after them and have control over them. They are trapped in the situation and that makes it hard for them to . come back or leave the place. Interview: The BBC have traced Aseel Muthana to Syria, where he has internet access, and he raved about jihad and also revelled in 'glad tidings' when an enemy was beheaded . Cardiff link: Reyaad Khan and Aseel's brother Nasser Muthana appear in this Isis recruitment video encouraging others to fight jihad . ‘I think they are being forced into posting these things because my kids are not like this.’ The 57-year-old added: ‘I haven’t had any contact with either of my sons since they left. ‘I don’t want to speak to them. If they want to speak to me they can reach me but I’m not going to ask them to speak.’ Another of Mr Muthana’s four sons, Aseel, also spoke of his devotion to the ISIS cause. In . an online conversation with the makers of a BBC Wales documentary . broadcast last night, he claimed there were ‘loads’ of other men from . Britain who have joined the group. Asked whether he realised he would be . arrested if he returned to the UK, he replied: ‘Yes, most probably’, . adding: ‘Jihad is obligatory.’ Quizzed about any regrets he had over . leaving Britain, he said: ‘Nope, I can say I am willing to die but Allah . knows the truth.’ Aseel . described making friends with other British jihadists who had travelled . to Syria to join ISIS. He told the Week In Week Out documentary that . when his brother Naseer left home his family was devastated. School days: Third British jihadist Reyaad Khan having fun with friends in Cardiff before he fled to fight . Asked . to defend the brutal methods used by ISIS, he said simply: ‘If the . state (ISIS) uses Sharia methods, I am 100 per cent pro.’ And when asked . whether there was anything he missed about home, he said: ‘I don’t miss . much. I have a new life here but wouldn’t mind seeing my family live . here with me.’ Others in . the ISIS recruitment video that emerged last month have been identified . as fellow Cardiff youth Reyaad Khan, 20, and Aberdeen-raised Abdul Raqib . Amin, 25. Yesterday, . another teenager from Cardiff was arrested on suspicion of terror . offences. The 18-year-old man was seized for allegedly assisting in the . preparation of an act of terrorism. Meanwhile, counter-terrorism officers raided a dozen properties yesterday in West London and Watford, Hertfordshire. A 32-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of fraud by false representation and terrorist fundraising offences. Pictured: Nasser's room in the family home in Cardiff where the brothers plotted how to take part in a holy war thousands of miles away in Syria . In shock: Nasser and Aseel's parents and youngest brother walk through their Cardiff estate. Their father has said they should be arrested and jailed if they return to the UK . Week In Week Out, BBC One Wales, 22.35 .

Nasser Muthana tweeted: 'UK is afraid I come back with skills I've gained.' He also posted pictures of bombs and weapons he has made . Brother Aseel Muthana has also used social media to brag about beheadings . Aseel says online he is willing to be a 'martyr' and won't return to the UK . Their father says the brothers should be brought back to UK and jailed .

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(CNN) -- For months, Republicans derisively doubted if U.S. President Barack Obama was a true friend of Israel and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, questioning if Americans should re-elect someone who might not be on the same page with the long-time U.S. ally. Now, it's Netanyahu facing political heat in his own country -- for his relationship with Obama. Despite sometimes blistering attacks over where his administration stands on Israel and against Iran's nuclear program, Obama this week emerged victorious in the U.S. presidential election. But Netanyahu has months to go in his own campaign, including time to answer questions about his relationship with the American leader. Leading the charge against the prime minister is the Kadima party, which holds more seats at 28 than any other in Israel's Knesset and which quit Netanyahu's coalition government in July. The centrist party is among those aiming to gain more power and unseat Netanyahu when Israelis go to the polls on January 22, 2013. Kadima wasted little time after Obama's election win in going after Netanyahu. In a post Wednesday on its Facebook page, the party claimed the prime minister had sided with U.S. Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney and could not be trusted -- by Obama and, moreover, by Israelis -- to be a robust, effective partner with Washington. In that post and in an open letter on its website, Kadima highlighted the importance of U.S.-Israeli relations. Jewish media is abuzz, too, about a Wednesday speech by former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in which he claimed that Netanyahu had interjected himself into the U.S. election by trying to undermine the incumbent president. Multiple Jewish media outlets reported Olmert said Netanyahu got involved in part to satisfy Sheldon Adelson, who donated close to $100 million this year toward defeating Obama and electing Republicans to Congress, according to insiders involved in the process. The Jerusalem Post reported Olmert said that "Netanyahu's behavior in recent months brings up the question if Netanyahu has a friend in the White House, and I'm not sure." "This represents a significant breach of the basic rules governing ties between nations, made worse by the fact that these are allies like Israel and the United States," Olmert said in the same speech to Jewish leaders in New York, according to another leading Jewish newspaper, Haaretz. Netanyahu and officials in his government have beaten down such accusations of meddling, while playing up what they describe as strong ties between Israel and the United States. In a statement congratulating Obama, Netanyahu said, "The security relationship between the United States and Israel is rock solid, and I look forward to working with President Obama to further strengthen this relationship." In an interview Thursday with CNN's Christiane Amanpour, Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon acknowledged that Romney and Netanyahu have a special connection from having once worked together at the same U.S.-based consulting firm, but "to say there was a preference, it's a little bit of a stretch." "We have no better friend than President Obama," Ayalon said, repeating an assertion he'd made previously. The deputy foreign minister credited Obama with spearheading international sanctions and other punitive measures that he said has made Iran "very vulnerable ... socially, politically, economically." Whatever past differences there might have been about timelines and goals, Ayalon said Israel will follow the U.S. president's cue when it comes to Iran. "I think today we can safely say that we are very much of the same page, and we'll continue to follow the lead of the United States," he said. Such a line of questioning, and political attacks, about U.S.-Israeli relations is nothing new -- as evidenced in the recent U.S. election. For months, Republicans hammered Obama, claiming he hadn't been a loyal enough friend to Netanyahu or tough enough on Iran. One public dust-up came earlier this fall, when Israeli sources told CNN the White House had turned down a request for a meeting between Netanyahu and Obama while both were in New York for a U.N. meeting, prompting Romney to say he "can't imagine ever saying no" to a meeting request from Netanyahu. The White House later said no request had been made, and within hours of the story breaking, Obama called the prime minister and said the two countries maintain "close cooperation on Iran and other security issues." The Obama administration has stressed repeatedly that it is committed to maintaining a strong relationship with Israel. In May 2011, the president said, "The bonds between the United States and Israel are unbreakable, and the commitment of the United States to the security of Israel is ironclad." Now, the same issue -- how well can Netanyahu and Obama work with and trust each other -- is being debated nearly 6,000 miles from Washington in another heated election. This is a testament to the unique, historically tight relations between these two nations, as well as the vibrant brand of democracy that define their political systems. Despite obvious differences, Netanyahu and Kadima leader Shaul Mofaz did unite this week on one matter -- lauding the U.S. political system and expressing their desire for Israel to follow its lead. Mofaz described "American democracy (as) a beacon for Israel and her people." Netanyahu, meanwhile, characterized the United States as "the greatest democracy on Earth."

Republicans had criticized Obama over whether he was close enough to Israel . Now Israeli opposition leaders are saying Netanyahu can't be trusted by Obama . U.S.-Israeli relations may be a factor in Israel's election, set for January 2013 .

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By . Chris Spargo For Mailonline . A Wall Street financier has completed the Ice Bucket Challenge in the most luxurious manner yet, filming himself as he jumps into a freezing tub at his $23.6 million penthouse in downtown Manhattan. Richard B. Handler, the chief executive of the investment bank Jefferies Group and its parent company, the Leucadia National Corporation, decided to skip the bucket all together as he took part in the challenge, which benefits the A.L.S. Association, and instead dunked himself in an icy bath. The video, which was uploaded on Tuesday, prominently showcases his apartment's stunning views of Manhattan. Scroll down for video . Richard B. Handler prepares to take the plunge for the Ice Bucket Challenge in the bathroom of his $23.6 million apartment, with features stunning views of Manhattan . 'There’s a special stipulation in this challenge, I’m not sure people are aware of it,' he says in the video. 'Instead of taking a bucket and dumping it on your head, if you put yourself and dump yourself into the bucket, you’re allowed to nominate four people instead of three people.' Handler, 52,nominated three other Wall Street execs; Tilman J. Fertitta, the CEO of Landry's, Inc.; Gerald Hassell, the CEO of The Bank of New York Mellon; and  Carl Icahn, the 78-year-old businessman whose net worth is $24.5 billion. Icahn took to Twitter to say he would get back to Handler on the challenge, but was currently 'too busy working on BIG deal with another investment banker.' For his fourth nomination, Handler selected rapper Armando Perez, better known as Pitbull. Handler before (pictured left) and after (pictured right) taking the freezing cold plunge . It was another financial bigwig, KCG Chief Executive Officer Daniel Coleman, who nominated Handler. Thanks in large part to the challenge, the A.L.S. Association has received $88.5 million in donations from late July through Tuesday, compared with $2.6 million in the period a year earlier. Handler, whose 2012 salary as CEO of the Jeffries firm was $58 million according to the Daily News, may however soon be losing a little bit of that gorgeous view from his 14th-Floor penthouse, as there is a proposal to build a two-story rooftop restaurant nearby. One of the penthouse rooftops at 1 York Street in downtown Manhattan, the building where Handler lives . Handler's apartment building is almost entirely glass, and provides sweeping 360-degree views of Manhattan . He sued the landlord of 50 Varick Street and the Department of Buildings in March of last year, alleging the restaurant flouted zoning guidelines. 'The project will significantly obstruct the panoramic river views from his apartment,' Handler's lawyer said in their lawsuit. If the plan goes through, Handler would lose part of his view of New Jersey.

Richard B. Handler, the CEO of Jeffries Group, filmed his challenge in the bathroom of his penthouse apartment in downtown Manhattan . Handler's salary in 2012 was $58 million . He nominated three other Wall Street execs in his video, and rapper Pitbull .

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By . Claire Bates . UPDATED: . 10:51 EST, 2 January 2012 . A little girl who has spent her entire life crippled by cerebral palsy has  taken her first steps. Since undergoing pioneering surgery in the U.S. Lily Gordon, six, has even managed a few dance steps with the help of a walking frame. Her proud mother, 39-year-old Joanne, of North Shields, North Tyneside, said: 'She is doing so well. She has even joined a musical theatre class and joins in doing little movements with her feet.' Delight: Lily Gordon is now walking after having surgery at the Childrenís Hospital in St Louis, Missouri . This time last year seeing Lily take part in a dance class was something her parents Joanne and David never thought they would see.  But then they watched a programme which would go on to change Lily's life. They heard about the story of a young boy with cerebral palsy who had travelled to America for pioneering Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy surgery to help him walk. As a result Joanne, a finance and commercial manager, decided the family would raise the £50,000 necessary to send Lily to The Children's Hospital, St Louis, in Missouri, USA. It was hoped a four-week stay would make Lily's dreams of walking a reality. Joanne said: 'It was just by the off-chance we had seen the programme, and if we had not heard about it we may never have gone along that road. 'Last year we were just thinking about it around Christmas, we did not know how much it would cost. 'It hard to believe it is 12 months later and it is all over and on her way to recovery. We are so glad we did it.' Joanne with her daughter Lily who had Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy surgery . Months of hard work and endless fundraising finally paid off for the Gordon family and they managed to raise £70,000 by the summer. On August 12, Lily's sixth birthday, Joanne, David, Lily and their oldest daughter Katie, jetted off to America for the long-awaited surgery. Now Lily is home and going through rigorous physiotherapy three times a week after enduring a four- hour operation and then further tendon lengthening surgery in America. Joanne added: 'It is all the little things that mean the world to us such as Lily's handwriting improving since the surgery. 'Some people may expect her to be walking fully by now, but it is things like her sitting on the sofa on her own and the fact we can leave her to sit on a chair whereas before she would have just fallen off it. 'We can see as the weeks go on she is getting stronger. She wants to walk now, and she can if we hold her hand.' According to Scope, it is a neurosurgical technique used to treat spasticity (increased muscle tone) in the lower limbs. The lower vertebrae are opened to reveal the spinal cord which contain the neurones of the central nervous system. These neurones (bundles of nerve fibres) channel messages between the brain and different areas of the body. Electrical stimulation is used to identify and sub-divide sensory and motor nerves. This process continues until the specific nerves and nerve roots affecting the spastic muscles and which may not be 'transmitting' properly are identified and cut. Due to the size of the nerves and rootlets, this is a very precise procedure and therefore the surgery can last several hours and requires a general anaesthetic. The family have turned their dining room into a mini gym for Lily to build up her strength after the tightness was taken from her muscles. Lily has gone from having large splints the whole way up her leg, to small ankle splints which her parents hope she will be able to remove in the new year. Joanne said: 'Hopefully in the new year we will get her just on her walker - a stable frame which gives her support. 'But the one thing Lily loves about her new splints is that she can now wear sparkly Princess shoes which she could never get her feet into before. 'She has a pair of red sparkly shoes from Next and she just loves them because everyone says she is like Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz. 'She has worked very hard but we have a long way to go but it has been a very good year.'

Lily started with splints the whole way up her leg but now has small ankle splints . Her parents watched a TV programme by chance that led them to the treatment .

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By . Emma Glanfield . A hospital patient was refused toast as she recovered on a ward after being told by nurses it was a fire risk. Joan Wigmore, 64, asked for a slice of toast for breakfast as she recovered from complications following an operation at Barnet Hospital, north London. But she was left stunned when nurses on the Quince Ward claimed the option of toast was too dangerous and instead offered her a choice of either cereal or bread and jam. Joan Wigmore, 64, asked for a slice of toast for breakfast as she recovered from complications following an operation at Barnet Hospital in north London (above) but was told by nurses it was too dangerous and a fire risk . Mrs Wigmore, from Potters Bar, Hertfordshire, said: ‘I couldn’t believe it. ‘When I am not feeling well toast is about all I can face for breakfast - but they told me it was a fire risk. ‘I wasn’t insisting they have a toaster in the ward - I just don’t see why they couldn’t have brought it to me from the kitchen.’ A spokeswoman for the Royal Free Hospital Foundation Trust, which runs Barnet Hospital, said toasters had been banned on wards because they kept triggering smoke alarms. She said: ‘It’s not possible to get toast to patients before it goes cold because many wards are too far from the kitchen. ‘Instead, we offer patients cereal or bread with butter and jam, as well as tea or coffee for breakfast. The Royal Free Hospital Foundation Trust, which runs Barnet Hospital, apologised for the incident and said toasters had been banned on wards because they kept triggering smoke alarms (file picture) ‘However, when patients make particular requests we always try to be accommodating. ‘We would like to apologise to Mrs Wigmore because in this instance a member of staff should have taken her toast from the restaurant.’ Mrs Wigmore, who is now recovering at home, added: ‘They should give me a year’s supply of toast now instead - delivered straight to my front door.’

Joan Wigmore asked for toast as she recovered on ward at Barnet Hospital . The 64-year-old said nurses refused her request because it was a 'fire risk' After toast deemed too dangerous, she was offered cereal or bread and jam . Hospital apologises and claims toasters removed because of smoke alarms .

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Three of Arsenal's key defensive players showed they are ready for a busy festive period as they joined in with carol singers at the club's training ground. Goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny, centre back Per Mertesacker and holding midfielder Mathieu Flamini were accosted by the singers as part of BT Sport's new Christmas football marketing campaign. Szczesny is given a blast of the classic 'shall we sing a song for you?', but looks surprised before walking away. Per Mertesacker smiles at the carol singers while enjoying a shower at Arsenal's training ground . Defensive midfielder Mathieu Flamini offers a wave at the request of the singing fans . The group of carol singers sneak up on Wojciech Szczesny while he is training, much to the keeper's surprise . Flamini, despite looking somewhat confused, offered the singers a wave when they came into the dressing room, but it was Mertesacker who steals the show in the new adverts. The German, who is set to captain Arsenal through the Christmas period, in the continued absence of Mikel Arteta, joins in with the singers' chants of 'Big Festive German', a play on his nickname at the Emirates stadium. The Gunners stars also revealed their favourite Christmas songs, with Mertesacker a big fan of Wham's classic 'Last Christmas', while Szczesny prefers 'Rocking around the Christmas Tree'. Flamini and Szczesny both agreed that Santi Cazorla would be the best choice of Aresnal player to be Santa Claus, because of his tendency to put on a bit of weight during holidays. The advert is the second featuring BT Sport's Christmas choir - another shows the group outside a house singing songs often heard on the terraces at Manchester United and Chelsea games. BT Sport's Christmas choir feature in two funny adverts as the channel gear up for their festive coverage . PER MERTESACKER . Who would be the best player to dress up as Santa Claus? We have a lovely chef who would love to be Santa Claus! There's no particular player who could be a good Santa Claus! What's your favorite thing about Christmas? In Germany we celebrate on Christmas Eve and in England you celebrate on 25 December so in England, now I have two days to celebrate, so its an extra Christmas for me. What's top of your Christmas list this year? I want to stay as healthy as possible until the last day of this year. And then I'm going to try to put my focus on family time. I will be there for my family and take care of them. Who is the biggest Scrooge in the squad? I just concentrate on celebrating my Christmas! What's your favourite Christmas song? 'Last Christmas', it comes up every Christmas and is kind of a one hit wonder and is loved by everyone! Is there anything you're not allowed at Christmas because you're playing? You can't go crazy. You can celebrate but you have to always be aware that there's going to be a match one or two days after Christmas. So really we're focused on the next games. I try as much as I can to celebrate with the family and to feel that its Christmas time. Time to relax and I really look forward to it. MATHIEU FLAMINI . Who would be the best player to dress up as Santa Claus? Santi Cazorla. That would be funny. We have a chef, the cook, who really looks like Santa Claus. Or Santi. What's your favorite thing about Christmas? The best thing is the opportunity to be together with the family and be with family members that we cannot always see during the year. But Christmas is a great opportunity to be with all family and to be united. What's top of your Christmas list this year? For me the most important thing is to be healthy. To be happy, to have the love of family, love of friends. And after, in terms of professional aspects, to be successful. Who is the biggest Scrooge in the squad? Everyone is very excited about Christmas and generous and giving to others. So I don't think we have anyone like that in our team. What's your favourite Christmas song? 'Jingle Bells'. Definitely my favourite. Is there anything you're not allowed at Christmas because you're playing? We don't drink, with playing every 3 days, its not a good thing to do. So we leave the alcohol on the side to make sure we are focused on the games. WOJCIECH SZCZESNY . Who would be the best player to dress up as Santa Claus? I'd love to see Per Mertesacker dress up as him. But when he retires I think Santi Cazorla will look just like Father Christmas as he has a thing when he goes on holiday he can look just like him and put on some weight! What's your favorite thing about Christmas? Just the family getting together and spending time with my cousins. What's top of your Christmas list this year? I'm not too much into presents. I'm looking forward to spending time with family. It's the only time when my whole family comes to London. That's top of my wish list. Who is the biggest Scrooge in the squad? Podolski. He moans all the time and he doesn't even enjoy Christmas! What's your favourite Christmas song? 'Rocking around the Christmas tree'. I love that. In my first year at the club I had to sing for the first team! Is there anything you're not allowed at Christmas because you're playing? We have to stick to the diet. I do love Christmas food. I try to enjoy it without being silly. But we have to look after ourselves. BT Sport is getting into the festive spirit with a new Christmas football marketing campaign that sees the BT Sport Christmas choir perform a variety of unexpected and light-hearted carols. Manchester City v Crystal Palace is live on BT Sport 1 from midday Saturday as one of six exclusively live games over the festive period including Boxing Day and New Year's Day double-headers.

Gunners stars chanted at by carol singers in new BT Sport advert . Goalkeeper Szczesny looks surprised, while Mathieu Flamini gives a wave . Per Mertesacker enjoys being called a 'big festive German' Players suggest Santi Cazorla as the club's Father Christmas . Szczesny mocks Spaniard's tendency to put on weight during holidays .

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A friend of classroom murderer Will Cornick has revealed how he is ‘haunted with guilt’ for failing to speak up about the teenager’s threats to kill his teacher. Cornick attacked Spanish teacher Ann Maguire after boasting to classmates at Corpus Christi College in Leeds that he wanted to kill her. Now one of his friends has told how he is riddled with guilt for failing to inform school bosses about the threats. Scroll down for video . A friend of classroom murderer Will Cornick (left) has revealed how he is ‘haunted with guilt’ for failing to speak up about the teenager’s threats to kill his teacher, Ann Maguire (right) The 16-year-old said he did not tell teachers because he did not believe Cornick would act on what he had said. He told the Daily Mirror: 'I don’t think about it as much as I did. I try not to. But I do still feel guilty because If I’d told someone, she would be alive today. I could have stopped it. ‘I didn’t tell the teachers because I really never thought he would do anything. ‘I thought he was just trying to scare us. I thought it was bravado - just a sick, terrible joke. I just thought it was a teenage thing.’ Cornick, 16, knifed Mrs Maguire to death at the school in April this year. He also said he was going to murder other teachers, including a pregnant woman ‘so as to kill her unborn child’. The killing, at Corpus Christi Catholic College in Leeds, shocked Britain and is believed to be the first time a teacher has been killed by a student in the classroom in the UK . He later told doctors: ‘I said I was going to do other stuff but I never got the chance, other murders. It was a triple homicide.’ After the murder the teenager told psychiatrists that he ‘couldn't give a s***’ and added: ‘Everything I've done is fine and dandy.’ Cornick was sentenced to life in jail earlier this month and a judge warned him he may never be released. Judge Mr Justice Coulson called the murder a 'monumental act of cowardice and evil' and branded the teenager's pride and lack of remorse over his actions 'truly grotesque'. Cornick was initially taken to Wetherby Young Offender Institution (YOI) in West Yorkshire before being moved for his own safety.

Friend of Will Cornick reveals guilt at not alerting school to killer's threats . Cornick had boasted to classmates that he wanted to to kill Ann Maguire . But his friend reveals that he believed comments were 'just a sick joke' Cornick knifed Mrs Maguire to death at Corpus Christie College in Leeds . The 16-year-old murderer was sentenced to life in jail in November .

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Manchester City and Arsenal are continuing to monitor Cagliari midfielder Godfred Donsah. The confident 18-year-old has already attracted enquiries from Tottenham last month and can play at centre midfield as a holding player or right-back. Arsenal and City scouts watched him on Monday against Inter Milan in their 2-1 defeat. Cagliari midfielder Godfred Donsah was scouted by Arsenal and Manchester City on Monday . Donsah, pictured scoring against Torino, is a holding midfielder who is also comfortable at right back . The Ghanaian joined in 2012 from DC United Agogo for £2million. The president of Cagliari, Thomas Guilini, confirmed: 'It's not just City, even Arsenal were here to see him but I want to keep him here another year. 'It is better for his development too to stay here one more season.' Cagliari president Thoma Guilini wanted Donsah to remain with the club for another season before moving .

Arsenal and Manchester City sent scouts to watch Godfred Donsah . Tottenham made enquiries about the 18-year-old in January . Donsah is a holding midfielder who can also play as a right back . Cagliari president Thomas Guilini wants to keep him for another season . CLICK HERE for all the latest Premier League news .

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(CNN) -- Big Ben, arguably the world's most famous clock, celebrates on Sunday 150 years of keeping London on time. The British landmark has lived through war, bad weather and disasters. Big Ben's distinctive bongs have been a part of the London scene for 150 years. Big Ben is the 14-ton bell inside the world's largest four-faced chiming clock, although most people use the name to describe the tower that houses it. The clock is perched on a 96-meter (310-foot) elegant tower at the Westminster Bridge end of the Palace of Westminster. The Victorian masterpiece, which provides distinctive chimes known as bongs, was voted Britain's favorite monument in 2008. It has been featured in films such as "101 Dalmatians" and "Harry Potter and the Order of The Phoenix." Big Ben has been disrupted a few times over the years for various reasons, including weather and breakages. Its bongs went silent for about two months in August 2007 to allow a crew to repair its mechanism system. During that time, the rest of the clock was running on an electric system. It was fully restarted again October 1. The clock pays tribute to Britain's royal history: It has a Latin inscription of the phrase: "O Lord, save our Queen Victoria the First." The ornate masterpiece has some quirky features. The hour hand, which weighs 300 kilograms (661 pounds), is made of gun metal while the minute hands are made of copper sheet. The minute hands would not work when they were first made of cast iron because they were too heavy. The clock started working on May 31, 1859, after the lighter copper hands were installed. The origins of the landmark's name are obscure. Some say it was named after the 1850s heavyweight boxer Ben Caunt while others suggest it was named after Sir Benjamin Hall, a former member of parliament. Hall, the commissioner of works in 1859, was responsible for ordering the bell. Alan Hughes, the director of the Whitechapel Bell Foundry that made the bell, prefers the latter. "I suppose I like it chiefly because it was a nickname of a man who was big and loud and pompous, and never used one word if 27 would do," he said in a 2008 interview. Hughes' company also made America's Liberty Bell and a number of others for cathedrals and churches around the world.

London's Big Ben turns 150 years old on Sunday . Last year, Victorian masterpiece was voted Britain's favorite monument . No one is quite sure where the clock's moniker came from .

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Winter finally arrived in parts of Britain yesterday, threatening to put a chill in the tail of the hottest year for more than 350 years. Widespread frosts gave the landscape a Christmas card look while temperatures are forecast to plunge as low as minus 6C (21F) overnight on Saturday, with snow on high ground. But even as the cold spell began, 2014’s topsy-turvy weather had nature in a spin with cherry trees in blossom, frogs already spawning and daffodils in bloom several months early, while many of the summer’s roses are still in bloom. Blanket of white: A heavy frost at dawn on the River Brathay in the Lake District yesterday, but 2014 has seen the warmest average temperatures since records began . Chilly: Temperatures will slump as low as -6C overnight on Saturday following on from -5C last night, making it the coldest of the year so far . Frosty fields: Despite this wintery scene this morning forecasters say that 2014 is on track to be the warmest since records began in 1659 . Retired office worker Marilyn Fenn was stunned to spot a daffodil blooming in her garden this week, three months early. T . he 62-year-old widow, of Woodhall Spa, Lincolnshire, said: ‘It looks so lonely, I actually feel a bit sorry for it. 'I don’t know how long it will last with the cold weather.’ Records show that the year is set to be the warmest since records began in 1659. The Met Office said average temperatures from the beginning of January to late November were 1.6C (2.9F) above the long-term norm. The figures are based on Central England Temperature data. It has recorded monthly temperatures across an area between Lancaster, Bristol and London since 1659. For the whole UK, 2014 is the warmest in records dating back to 1910. The year’s crazy weather saw the wettest winter to strike southern England since records began in 1766, with severe flooding in Somerset, Kent and the Thames Valley suffering extreme flooding. Temperatures then hit 19C (66F) in the South in March, when the average is 9C (48F). A July heatwave roared in, with temperatures in the mid-30s (over 90F), but it was swiftly followed by the coolest August for 21 years as the remnants of Hurricane Bertha crossed the Atlantic bringing with it downpours and flash floods – just in time to catch the school holidays. After this, the driest-ever September preceded the warmest Halloween on record. Experts say that while a bitterly cold December could still knock 2014 off its top spot in the list of warmest years, this is unlikely. While all months except August have seen above average temperatures, no single month has seen a record-breaking high. Instead the year has been consistently warm. Can't make its mind up: This year has seen a July heatwave followed by the coolest August for 21 years and then the driest September ever . Don't jinx it: Meteorologists say that a bitter December cold snap could stop 2014 being the hottest year on record, but this is unlikely . Feeling the cold: While all months except August have seen above average temperatures, no single month has seen a record-breaking high . Across the world, the year is also on track to be one of the hottest, with global temperatures around 0.57C (1.03F) above the average 14C (57.2F) from January to October, just ahead of the previous record of 0.56C, according to the World Meteorological Organisation. However, the Met Office said that a single year’s extreme weather cannot be attributed to man-made global warming. A spokesman said: ‘One warm year does not necessarily say anything about long-term climate change – these trends need to be looked at over longer timescales of several decades.’ But global warming does make it more likely to have years with hotter-than-average weather, he said. Global: Last year is also set to be the warmest across the globe as temperature rises pushed the average 0.57C above the average of 14C . Heating up: Average temperatures from the beginning of January to late November were 1.6C (2.9F) above the long-term norm .

Frosty scenes across UK this morning after temperatures of -5C overnight, with -6C predicted for the weekend . But 2014 is set to become the hottest on record after every month except August saw above-average temperatures . Across the globe warm weather saw the mercury pushed 0.57C above the 14C average, which is also a record .

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These pictures show the appalling living conditions a group of eastern European slaves were forced to endure before being rescued by police. Officers saved 13 Slovakian 'slaves' during a raid at a picture framing factory in Rochdale. They have alleged they were working in terrible conditions and were paid £25 for an 80-hour week after deductions for rent and travel. The home they lived in is bare, filthy and some of them were forced to sleep on a mattress on the floor. Filthy: The Rochdale house where the 13 Slovakian slaves lived. They were paid £25 for an 80-hour week after rent was deducted for the squalid home and travel . One officer said: 'The men and women were effectively working for pennies, while simultaneously ensuring they remain reliant on the people enslaving them'. Pictured, a mattress on the floor in their spartan home . Grim: Washing dries in a bare, filthy room in the Rochdale house the workers were forced to live in . The 'slaves', all adults, were found during a police raid working in a unit on a business park and had been subject to 'physical and verbal abuse', say police. Four men, aged, 34 51, 43 and 40, were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to require another person to perform forced or compulsory labour and conspiracy to commit trafficking offences. The raid follows the previous discovery of 10 other eastern European 'slaves' at a house in Rochdale, where the workers were being kept four to a room. It is the latest phase of Operation Retriever, designed to tackle human trafficking in Rochdale. Its first strike last month ended with five people being charged over their alleged involvement in a trafficking ring which is said to have sold a pregnant woman into a sham marriage and then attempted to trick her into aborting her baby. More pictures showing the squalid conditions. The raid follows the previous discovery of 10 other eastern European 'slaves' at a house in Rochdale, where the workers were being kept four to a room . Commenting on the latest raid, Det Insp James Faulkner said: 'This is another excellent result from a joint operation which has strived to uncover and protect vulnerable victims from the men and women hoping to exploit them for their own financial gain. 'The men and women working in the factory have told us that they were subjected to physical and verbal assaults at the hands of their employers and forced to work more than 80 hours before ending up with around £25 for their week's work. 'This is a typical example of how modern slavery can work in the UK. 'The men and women are promised accommodation and jobs, but are forced to live in cramped, terrible conditions before being taken to work in a factory for more than 12 hours each day.' The 13 'slaves', all adults, were found during a police raid working in a unit on a business park. Four men, aged 35, 51, 43 and 40, were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to require another person to perform forced or compulsory labour and conspiracy to commit trafficking offences . He added: 'At the end of the week, the factory owners pay them around £125 for their 80 hours, but then take up to £100 away immediately for rent, travel and other expenses. 'This leaves the men and women effectively working for pennies, while simultaneously ensuring they remain reliant on the people enslaving them. 'When you consider that this factory was producing frames and pictures for major high street companies, with contracts running into the millions of pounds, it proves just how much money these men stood to make from this exploitation. 'Now GMP and our partners in Rochdale council will be striving to safeguard these victims from further exploitation, and we will do our utmost to ensure that the people responsible for this injustice are punished to the full extent of the law.' Mark Widdup, director of economy and environment with Rochdale council, said: 'Today's raid is another example of agencies working together to share, connect and act on information, quickly and effectively. 'Through truly groundbreaking initiatives like PET, the Partnership Enforcement Team, we use all our tools and powers, be it through housing, revenues and benefits or trading standards to disrupt criminality in the borough. 'We want to send a clear message that Rochdale council and the police are committed to rooting out criminal behaviour, bringing the perpetrators to justice and helping victims.'

The 13 slaves, all adults, endured physical and verbal abuse, police claim . They were rescued in a raid on a business park in Rochdale . Four men, 35, 51, 43 and 40, arrested on labour and trafficking charges .

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By . David Martosko, U.s. Political Editor . Read my lips: Obama told the AMA four years ago that 'no matter how we reform health care ... If you like your health care plan, you will be able to keep your health care plan. Period. No one will take it away. No matter what.' Between half and three-quarters of Americans who buy their own health insurance on the open market will lose those plans in the next year as Obamacare is pushed into full implementation, according to a blockbuster report sure to give the White House a new round of health-care headaches. 'No matter how we reform health care,' a newly minted President Barack Obama told a meeting of the American Medical Association in June 2009, 'we will keep this promise: If you like your doctor, you will be able to keep your doctor. Period. If you like your health care plan, you will be able to keep your health care plan. Period. No one will take it away. No matter what.' But regulations formulated by his own administration make it . clear that the White House never intended to to give Americans that . level of free choice about their medical insurance options. Washington, D.C. buzzed Friday with reports of what NBC News had surfaced: an under-the-radar notice in the Federal Register, which MailOnline has dated to June 17, 2010, laying out the administration's expectation that most people who buy their own health insurance will soon have no options other than paying exorbitant rates or joining the federal government's insurance exchanges. White House spokeswoman Jessica Santillo told NBC that 'nothing . in the Affordable Care Act forces people out of their health plans: The . law allows plans that covered people at the time the law was enacted to . continue to offer that same coverage to the same enrollees.' But millions of individual insurance plans don't comply with Obamacare's minimum standards, which include services like children's vision care, dental coverage and reproductive health options that some consumers don't want. Millions more with policies written before March 2010 will lose the 'grandfather' status President Obama has promised them because of tiny, marginal changes like premium adjustments or revised prescription copay rates. SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO . White House spokesmanJay Carney conceded Monday that 'it's true that there are existing healthcare plans on the individual market that don't meet [Obamacare's] minimum standards and therefore do not qualify' to survive . Smoking gun: The IRS published official notice in 2010 that it expected most Americans with individual health insurance plans would lose them under Obamacare . I told you so: A spokesman for long-time Obamacare foe Sen. Ted Cruz emailed the NBC News report all over Washington on Monday as soon as it hit the Internet . 'Any insurance that you currently have would be grandfathered in so you could keep it,' President Obama claimed during a CNN broadcast in February 2010. 'And so you could decide not to get, in the exchange, the better plan. I could keep my Acme insurance, just a high-deductible catastrophic plan. I would not be required to get the better one.' John Kyl, then a Republican senator from Arizona, countered with words that now seem prescient: 'That's for a very limited period of time.' The White House's website continues to communicate the president's earlier promises. 'If you like your plan you can keep it,' one page reads, 'and you don’t have to change a thing due to the health care law.' Under the Affordable Care Act and the tens of thousands of pages of related regulations, the grandfathering Obama promised only applies to insurance policies that continue, unchanged, from year to year. Requirements in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 often force health insurers to rewrite their policies annually in order to re-state consumers' privacy guarantees, now well-known as 'HIPPA' rights. That simple act of re-issuing a policy that's identical to the previous one would also render it ineligible for 'grandfather' status. 'A reasonable range for the percentage of individual policies that would terminate and therefore relinquish their grandfather status is 40 to 67 percent,' the IRS wrote on July 17, 2010. The White House's website continues to claim: 'If you like your plan you can keep it and you don't have to change a thing due to the health care law' That estimate only covers policies that lose their 'grandfathered' status by changing, and those which Americans voluntarily leave for other reasons. But still more will lose coverage, the IRS wrote, because their chosen levels of insurance will suddenly fail to meet the White House's definition of an adequate policy. 16 million: Health care analyst Bob Laszewski predicts that's the number of Americans who will lose their preferred medical insurance plans in the coming months . The annual total likely 'exceeds the 40 percent to 67percent range,' according to the IRS's statement more than three years ago. Overall, NBC reported Monday that of the 14 million U.S. consumers who buy individual health insurance plans, 50 to 75 per cent will likely receive cancellation notices during the next year. And the administration has been expecting that outcome since 2010. That conclusion came as a result of estimates from four sources deeply involved with the administration's work on the Affordable Care Act, one of whom said as many as 80 per cent of individual insurance customers will be short on choices by this time in 2014. Months of wrangling over the Obamacare law in 2009 included jousting over whether a range of services including mental health and drug abuse treatments, dental provisions and and vision care for children should be mandated for every qualifying insurance policy, even though not all consumers want them. Democrats generally won those battles, resulting in a minimum set of health insurance standards that has placed most individual policies out-of-bounds. In their places are new, more robust plans expected to bring 'sticker shock' to millions. Health policy analyst Bob Laszewski, who consults with America's largest insurers, estimated this month that 'as many as 16 million' such policies will be canceled because they don't comply with the Obamacare law. That represents 80 per cent of his estimate that 19 million such plans, provided by neither governments nor employers, are in existence today. Fox News Channel's Megyn Kelly exploded: Obama 'said "if you like your plan you can keep it, period." If he wanted to be honest, he should not have said "period." He should have said "asterisk." News networks buzzed late on Friday as they discovered what NBC had found: evidence that the Obama administration has known for three years that the president's promise simply couldn't be kept. This example, from July 19, 2010, hit the Internet five weeks after the IRS published it in the Federal Register (above) The White House has begun to concede that many Americans who buy their health insurance directly from companies on the open market will lose their current coverage, but counters that most of them will find better coverage on the exchanges, and at a lower net cost when subsidies for lower-income taxpayers are factored in. Cornered by a reporter on Monday, . White House Press Secretary Jay Carney admitted that 'there are going to . be changes brought about by the Affordable Care Act to create minimum . standards of coverage, minimum services that every insurance plan has to . provide.' 'So it's true,' he said, 'that there are existing healthcare plans on the individual . market that don't meet those minimum standards and therefore do not . qualify for the Affordable Care Act.' The National Center for Public Policy Research has chronicled recent news reports documenting 1.49 million policy cancellation notices that insurers have already sent customers in New Jersey, California, Florida, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C. Additional reports in  Alabama, Georgia, and North Carolina, the organization said, came without precise numbers. In California, the Los Angeles Times reports that the recipients of those letters are surprised to learn how much they would have to pay to stay insured without entering a government-run program. 'This is when the actual sticker shock comes into play for people,' Gerald Kominski, director of the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, told the Times. 'There are winners and losers under the Affordable Care Act.' How long are Americans' memories? Obama's 2009 American Medical Association speech, and the dozens that preceded and followed it, laid down a marker on consumer choice that he won't find it easy to escape . HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius (L) will face congressional questions Wednesday about the Obamacare rollout and what it means for health insurance consumers. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services administrator Marilyn Tavenner (R) will have her turn Tuesday. On Tuesday a key Obamacare administrator will testify in a House Ways and Means Committee hearing about the unrelated technical failures that have plagued Healthcare.gov, the Obamacare system's main website. Marilyn Tavenner, the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, will face tough questions about why the website was launched without adequate testing, and why her agency was tapped to coordinate the work of dozens of software contractors instead of a more experienced outside company. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius will have her turn on the hot seat Wednesday, when she faces a hostile panel in a House Commerce and Energy Committee hearing. Sebelius's grilling will likely include broader questions about the Obamacare program. She was asked to appear in Congress last week but declined.

President Obama has promised for 4 years that individual health insurance policies will be 'grandfathered' in so they won't change under Obamacare . But the IRS wrote in June 2010 that 40 to 67 per cent' of those policies will 'relinquish their grandfather status' anyway . NBC News found sources close to the Obamacare planning table who put that number as high as 80 per cent . Millions of Americans are already receiving cancellation notices from their insurers . The White House conceded Monday that 'it's true' many plans don't meet Obamacare's minimum standards, so Americans won't get to keep them . The revelations come as the Obama administration is already under fire for the Obamacare website's horrendous launch on October 1 . Two key appointees from the Department of Health and Human Services will face tough questions this week on Capitol Hill .

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By . Tom Gardner . PUBLISHED: . 12:55 EST, 5 May 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 13:48 EST, 5 May 2012 . Bottles, fireworks and smoke bombs were set off as 1,500 officers tried to contain thousands of English Defence League supporters holding a protest march in Luton today. The town centre was flooded with police as tensions mounted that the right wing organisation's members might clash with a counter demonstration by a 1,000-strong group from Unite Against Fascism at the same time in the usually busy shopping area. Two people were arrested on suspicion of public order offences, police said. Clash: Around 1,500 police were drafted in to Luton town centre amid fears a protest by 3,000 English Defence League supporters might erupt in violence . Bedfordshire Police said the day of . action had concluded peacefully, despite ‘isolated incidents’ of . disorder including smoke flares being set off and bottles being thrown . towards police officers. The cost of the police operation is put at between £600,000 and £1million and for the council £600,000. Bedfordshire Police and Luton council . tried to send out the message that Luton was open as normal and . encouraged shops in the Mall to remain open. But many shoppers chose to ignore the advice, instead deciding to stay away amid fears violence might erupt. A police spokeswoman said a group of . people from the counter protest, which formed under the 'We Are Luton' banner, had attempted to break away from the . main march but were pushed back by officers. Held back: Thousands of English Defence League supporters were kept away from a counter demonstration by Unite Against Fascism in Luton . Assistant Chief Constable Andrew . Richer said: ‘Overall the policing of these protests has been a . resounding success and is testament to everyone involved including the . community themselves and our partners. ‘It is disappointing that we saw . disorder from some members of Unite Against Fascism, who were part of . the 'We Are Luton' march, who attempted to break out of the agreed . protest route. This shows policing of these events is justified as there . is such a large area to protect. ‘The policing operation has been in . the planning for weeks and the professionalism of the officers was borne . out today. We were assisted by 20 forces and it's a great example of . how forces can work together in difficult circumstances. ‘I'd like to thank everyone involved . in the planning and execution of the operation, all our partner agencies . and in particular the community mediators who volunteered to help us . communicate. Tensions: A masked EDL supporter in central Luton as a heavy police presence separated English Defence League members from a counter protest by Unite Against Fascism . 'Their involvement really made a difference. I am confident . the town is now back to normal and disruption has been minimised.’ Police said the two people arrested . remained in police custody. A spokeswoman said one was an EDL supporter . and the other from the 'We Are Luton' group. Councillor Hazel Simmons, leader of . Luton Borough Council, said: ‘I'd like to thank Bedfordshire Police, all . the staff at the council and everyone in the community for coming . together and again facilitating a peaceful day in Luton. ‘I was very disappointed that the EDL . chose to come to Luton again today so soon after their previous protest . in February last year which caused large scale disruption to the people . of the town and loss of trade for its businesses. ‘I would like to stress that what . happened in town today does not represent the real Luton. The Luton I . know is a town where people get along well together, celebrate our . diversity and work together to overcome challenges.’ Show of force: The massive police operation cost around £1million as tensions mounted that EDL members might clash with anti-fascist demonstrators in central Luton . Police were on duty to make sure EDL demonstrators did not enter the Bury Park area of Luton, where most of the town's 30,000 Muslim population live. They also were there to prevent any Muslims attacking the EDL. The EDL has held demonstrations across the country since it was formed in Luton in March 2009 as a response to Muslim radicals, who disrupted a home-coming parade by the Royal Anglian Regiment. In February, last year, their demonstration in St George's Square in Luton cost businesses £1 million as the shopping centre was closed.

More than 1,500 officers drafted in to prevent EDL members clashing with anti-fascists demonstrators . Massive police operation estimated to have cost upwards of £1.2million . Two people arrested on suspicion of public order offences . Shoppers stay away despite claims Luton would be open as normal .

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PUBLISHED: . 07:36 EST, 31 October 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 08:22 EST, 31 October 2012 . A Chinese government think tank has urged the country's leaders to start phasing out its one-child policy immediately and allow two children for every family by 2015. The unpopular restriction - which has been in place since 1980 - has led to millions fewer births, but also contributed to the ageing of China's huge population. The proposal is being given extra weight because it has been put forward by the China Development Research Foundation which is close to the government's central leadership. Treasured: China's one-child policy has been criticised in a government report. The a body close to the Chinese Government has called for the system to be phased out during the next few years (file picture) The official Xinhua News Agency said the . foundation recommends a two-child policy be permitted in some provinces from this . year and nationwide by 2015. Xie Meng, a press affairs official with the foundation, said the final version of the report wil be released 'in a week or two.' But Chinese state media have been given advance copies. It proposes all birth limits be dropped by 2020, Xinhua reported. 'China has paid a huge political and social cost for the policy, as it has resulted in social conflict, high administrative costs and led indirectly to a long-term gender imbalance at birth,' Xinhua said, citing the report. But it remains unclear whether Chinese leaders are ready to take up the recommendations. Some experts have also warned that the gradual approach, . if implemented, would still be insufficient to help correct the . problems that China's strict birth limits have created. China's National Population and Family Planning Commission had no immediate comment on the report today. Ageing: China's population is now aging fast following decades of birth restrictions (file picture) Known to many as the one-child policy, China's actual birth-restriction rules are more complicated. The government limits most urban couples to one child, and allows two children for rural families if their first-born is a girl. There are numerous other exceptions as well, including looser rules for minority families and a two-child limit for parents who are themselves both singletons. Cai Yong, an assistant professor of sociology at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, said the report holds extra weight because the think tank is under the State Council, China's Cabinet. He said he found it remarkable that state-backed demographers were willing to publicly propose such a detailed schedule and plan on how to get rid of China's birth limits. 'That tells us at least that policy change is inevitable, it's coming,' said Mr Yong, who was not involved in the drafting of the report but knows many of the experts who were. 'It's coming, but we cannot predict when exactly it will come,' he said. Adding to the uncertainty is a once-in-a-decade leadership transition that kicks off week that will see a new slate of top leaders installed by spring 2013. Mr Yong said the transition could keep population reform on the back burner or changes might be rushed through to help burnish the reputations of President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao on their way out. There has been growing speculation in China over whether the government will relax the one-child policy - introduced in 1980 as a temporary measure to curb surging population growth - and allow more people to have two children. Though the government credits the policy with preventing hundreds of millions of births and helping lift countless families out of poverty, it is reviled by many ordinary people. The strict limits have led to forced abortions and sterilizations, even though such measures are illegal. Choice: Chinese women walk their babies in a park in Beijing. The one-child policy has led to a major gender imbalance as many families favour having boys rather than girls (file picture) Couples who flout the rules face hefty fines, seizure of their property and loss of their jobs. Many demographers argue that the policy has worsened the country's aging crisis by limiting the size of the young labor pool that must support the large baby boom generation as it retires. They say it has contributed to the imbalanced sex ratio by encouraging families to abort baby girls, preferring to try for a male heir. The government recognizes those problems and has tried to address them by boosting social services for the elderly. It has also banned sex-selective abortion and rewarded rural families whose only child is a girl. Many today also see the birth limits as outdated, a relic of the era when housing, jobs and food were provided by the state. 'It has been thirty years since our planned economy was liberalised,' commented Wang Yi, the owner of a shop that sells textiles online, under a news report on the foundation's proposal. 'So why do we still have to plan our population?' Rescued: An abducted child is shown with a crude marking on the back of his neck in Guiyang, southwestern China. The one child policy has fuelled the market for baby smuggling, as parents sell off unwanted children . Though open debate about the policy has flourished in state media and on the Internet, leaders have so far expressed a desire to maintain the status quo. President Hu said last year that China would keep its strict family planning policy to keep the birth rate low and other officials have said that no changes are expected until at least 2015. Gu Baochang, a professor of demography at Beijing's Renmin University and a vocal advocate of reform, said the proposed timeline wasn't aggressive enough. 'They should have reformed this policy ages ago,' he said. 'It just keeps getting held up, delayed.'

Unpopular birth restrictions introduced in 1980 when population was rapidly expanding . Has led to huge gender imbalance - as parents favour boys over girls - and contributed to aging workforce . Proposal to phase out the policy put forward by officials close to the Chinese government . Two-child policy planned for 2015 and all birth restrictions could be lifted by 2020 .

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By . Joshua Gardner . PUBLISHED: . 16:05 EST, 7 April 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 15:46 EST, 8 April 2013 . A teenage girl reported missing in February amid fears she’d . been lured into a prostitution ring was found standing in line for a television . shoot in Venice Beach on Friday. Police say the girl, who ran away from her Aurora, Colorado . home February 5, was with friends and appeared unharmed. ‘I’m fine,’ the 18-year-old Raven Cassidy Furlong told an . NBCLA photographer Friday. ‘Everybody can leave me alone because I've been fine . and I am fine.’ SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO . 'I'm fine': Raven Cassidy Furlong,(pictured) reported missing for two months, was spotted in Los Angeles, unharmed and with friends April 5 . Police had already investigated a tip that Furlong had been . spotted in the Venice Beach area of Los Angeles. "[She was] waiting in line with some friends, some . other people for a TV shoot," Sgt. Daniel Gonzalez of the Los Angeles . Police Department Pacific Division said. Furlong was reportedly at a taping for NBC’s American Ninja . Warrior. Police asked Furlong to come to the station for questioning . and, without resisting, she complied. Beachy: Furlong ran away from home February 5 and was found at a TV shoot in Venice Beach, California (pictured) Eighteen: Furlong told police 'I'm fine' and since she turned 18 while listed as a missing person and police say she seemed unharmed, she was released . Furlong admitted to police that she was a runaway and the . subject of a search by her family. Though she was 17-years-old when her family reported her . missing, Furlong is now 18 and told police she was in Los Angeles . voluntarily. Police informed Furlong’s family that she’d been found. ‘She didn't appear to be under the influence of any alcohol or drugs. She didn't appear to be given us any type of coerced statements,’ said.Sgt. Gonzalez. Not everyone agrees, however. Furlong’s mother, Tonja Mahaffey, continues to believe her . daughter is a ‘scared victim of trafficking’ who lied . to the police about her well-being. Convinced: Furlong's mom Tonja Mahaffey knows her runaway daughter was found but maintains she's the victim of coercion, possibly forced into the sex trade . ‘I can tell that it’s her, but that’s not my daughter,’ Mahaffey told ABC 7 in Denver. Mahaffey continues to post to a Facebook page she started . for her then missing daughter and says the family is still trying to get her . back. The family plans to be on a radio show called Voices for . Justice April 8 and hope Furlong will call in to speak to them. But Furlong maintained that she did not want to return to . Colorado and, at least for now, that’s the end of this story. ‘She's 18,’ said Sgt. Gonzalez, who removed Furlong from a . missing persons list. ‘She's an adult.’

'Everybody can leave me alone' said Raven Cassidy Furlong, who turned 18 while on the missing persons list . Her family remains convinced she's a 'scared victim of trafficking' Meanwhile, police say she seemed fine and declined to release her to her pleading Colorado family against her will .

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Liverpool have been dealt a blow in their bid to bring Divock Origi back from Lille after the striker confirmed he will remain in France for the remainder of the season. Brendan Rodgers had given the green light to pay an increase on the £10million fee they agreed with Lille to accelerate Origi’s release in January. The Belgium forward, whom Rodgers believes will be a ‘world-class striker’, joined Liverpool in August but was immediately loaned back to Lille to continue his development before heading to Anfield next summer. Divock Origi (No 17) is congratulated by his Belgium team-mates after scoring against Iceland on Wednesday . The 20-year-old, scoring against Iceland, is staying with French side Lille until the end of the season . But such is Liverpool’s keenness to bring Origi in to the fold they were ready to pay a premium to get him in the new year. But Origi confirmed on Friday afternoon that he won’t return to the Anfield club until the end of the current campaign. ‘I just wanted to clarify after today's press reports that I will continue to give my all and 100 per cent for Lille over the coming months,’ Origi said via his Twitter account. ‘I am very much looking forward to joining Liverpool from next season.’ Rodgers’ side have been desperately short of goals, with Daniel Sturridge missing 14 games through injury and Rickie Lambert, Mario Balotelli and Fabio Borini struggling. The trio have failed to find the net in 998 minutes of Premier League action. The 20-year-old, pictured in action against Origi, but the Belgian will not play in the Premier League this term . Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers wanted to bring Lille back into the Liverpool fold in the new year . Lille gave no indication that they would be willing to re-jig the original terms of the deal, which meant Origi would stay the full season in France, and hand the striker to Liverpool early - even if the 19-year-old admitted earlier this week that he would be happy to move in January. ‘It is not me who makes the decisions but if the club choose to let me go in January I would go, I would like to join Liverpool then,’ said Origi, who scored for Belgium in their 3-1 win over Iceland on Wednesday. ‘I said I would stay for the whole season and I wish to remain honourable in that, of course. But if there was a decision by the clubs, I would not say I wouldn’t like to go to Liverpool in January. Brendan Rodgers is in contact, he (speaks) regularly, he wants to know how I am feeling. ‘It makes me feel very good and wanted. Also the medical staff, they stay in touch for the same reason – to keep me involved, telling me that they are looking forward to me coming to the club. If there was that chance of joining Liverpool sooner I would take it.'

Brendan Rodgers was keen to bring the Belgium striker back to the club . And Liverpool were prepared to pay an increase on £10million fee . But Origi has revealed he won't join up with Liverpool until next season . Liverpool have struggled in front of goal, failing to replace Luis Suarez .

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Success treatment: The 'mini-IVF' has had twice the success rates as the conventional method . A half-price version of IVF that women could have in their lunch-hour has been shown to raise the chances of having a baby drastically. It is particularly effective for those in their late 30s and early 40s and success rates are almost twice as high as the conventional fertility treatment. The technique involves using far lower doses of drugs, with the result that it is not only far cheaper, but also has virtually no side effects. Many women undergoing normal IVF suffer from mood swings, nausea and headaches. In rare cases it can cause a life-threatening condition whereby their abdomen fills with fluid. This new method, known as mini-IVF, involves giving women a daily pill for ten to 12 days which contains a low dose of the fertility drug clomid. This encourages their ovaries to produce eggs and during this time the women undergo ultrasound scans every few days to check the eggs are developing healthily. Once the eggs are large enough – around another ten days later – they are removed during a five-minute operation. This means women can have it done before work, or during their lunch break, unlike normal IVF which lasts half a day and requires them to be put to sleep. Doctors from St Louis, Missouri, who developed the method say it should be routinely offered to all women as it is cheaper, safer and a far more effective alternative. Trials involving 520 women unveiled at the American Society for Reproductive Medicine conference in Boston showed that success rates for women over 35 were a third higher compared with those undergoing conventional IVF. The results were even better among the over-40s – those using this new method were twice as likely to have a baby compared to if they had used the conventional  fertility treatment. Dr Sherman Silber, a fertility expert who helped develop the method, said it was so effective it offered women in their 40s the same chance of falling pregnant as those in their twenties. Too good to be true? The new IVF treatment is particularly effective for those in their late 30s and early 40s, using far lower doses of drugs, and also has virtually no side effects . In women aged 35 or below, success rates are about the same as standard IVF but the researchers say they would also benefit from using it because it is far cheaper and has fewer side effects. Dr Silber said: ‘This is perfect for Britain and it would save an incredible amount of money. This is the magic solution.’ A course of mini-IVF costs between £1,200 and £1,800 compared with standard IVF which is between £3,000 and £4,000. The reason it is so much cheaper is that it involves using far lower doses of the fertility drug clomid. But this also makes it safer as large amounts of medication can lead to the deadly condition ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome whereby their abdomens fill with fluid – this occurs in 1 per cent of women having IVF. One of main reasons women in their late 30s and early 40s have problems conceiving either naturally or with IVF is that they do not produce enough healthy eggs, capable of developing into an embryo and eventually a foetus. In fact, the high dose fertility drugs used in conventional IVF worsen this problem as although they make a woman produce more eggs, they also appear to result in changes in the DNA of the eggs which make them defective. But mini-IVF only uses very low doses of the drugs that do not make the woman’s eggs less healthy. Professor Geeta Nargund, a  consultant gynaecologist at the London fertility clinic Create said: ‘This study is a valuable addition to the growing evidence that mild stimulation IVF needs to become the first choice in IVF clinics for many women.’

New IVF treatment particularly effective for those aged 35-45 . Technique uses lower doses of drugs, yet is twice as effective . Operation lasts only five minutes compared to traditional half-day .

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By . Ashley Collman . PUBLISHED: . 00:55 EST, 24 June 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 00:55 EST, 24 June 2013 . The son of a deacon was fatally shot Sunday morning by police after congregation members got riled up at a meeting. Police were called to the Asia Missionary Baptist Church in Lexington, Mississippi mid-day Sunday after a congregation meeting turned violent. They were already at the church when 26-year-old Cacedrick White showed up, armed. Shot: 26-year-old Cacedrick White was shot and killed when he showed up to his church armed with a shot gun . Riled up: White's father was a deacon at the Asia Missionary Baptist Church, and was in the church when the congregation got in a fight about whether or not to retain their current pastor . The atmosphere at a congregant meeting had turned violent when deacons tried to fire the pastor. The pastor was trying to hold a vote on whether to retain him. 'What happened was a bunch of the pastor's family showed up and there was a whole bunch of yelling and hollering,' Warren Strain, Bureau of Investigation spokesman told the AP. Holmes County Sheriff's Office Capt. Sam Chambers believes that White showed up after getting a call about the fight, and got upset since both of his parents were in the church at the time. Police encountered White at the backdoor of the church with a shotgun. Protector: Police think White got upset after receiving a call about the church argument.  White's father believes his son was just trying to protect him . According to Strain, White was told to put down the fun and he refused - shooting off one shot. That's what prompted the three retaliating shots from police. Ada White, Cacedrick's mother, described the scene to WAPT: 'And they were shooting, and they were shooting, and the next thing I knew, my son was laying on the ground. And I told them, I said, "Ya'll have shot my son."' White's father believes his son was just trying to protect him. Lexington Police Chief Martin Roby says the incident was very much out of the ordinary. 'Our churches are usually pretty peaceful. We don't have a lot of calls like that.' The police officer who shot White has been put on administrative leave. MBI and the Holmes County Sheriff's Office are investigating the shooting.

Police responded to calls about an argument that broke out at the Asia Missionary Baptist Church . Cacedrick White, 26, showed up at the back door of the church with a shot gun and refused to put it down . White shot off one shot, and police responded with three shots . White was taken to the hospital where he later died . The police officer who shot white is on administrative leave, and the incident under investigation .

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(CNN) -- Federal officials charged 20 people Wednesday in a scheme to recruit illegal immigrants from Russia and Eastern European countries to work as exotic dancers in New York strip clubs, according to Preet Bharara, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York. Charges against the 20 individuals include racketeering, extortion, visa and marriage fraud, and transporting and harboring illegal immigrants. The accused are alleged to be members of the Gambino and Bonanno organized crime families, according to federal authorities. "The defendants themselves had one thing in common -- the desire to turn the women they allegedly helped enter this country illegally into their personal profit centers,"Bharara said. "Today's arrests have brought an end to their illicit activities." Several of the accused are alleged to have run the "Strip Club Enterprise," which controlled a series of strip clubs throughout Queens and Long Island. Through these clubs, the accused are alleged to have recruited Eastern European women to enter the United States on student J1 visas to perform as strippers in their enterprises. Prosecutors also charge the defendants threatened physical violence and economic harm if the owners and operators of New York strip clubs as part of a broad extortion scheme. "The defendants controlled their business and protected their turf through intimidation and threats of physical and economic harm," said James T. Hayes, Jr., special agent in charge with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which led the investigation. "Today's arrests bring to an end a long-standing criminal enterprise operated by colluding organized crime entities that profited wildly through a combination of extortion and fraud." Some of the exotic dancers brought illegally into the United States were also matched with U.S. citizens in fraudulent marriages to resolve their immigrations status, prosecutors said in the indictment. Before dawn on Wednesday, federal agents arrived at Cheetah's Gentlemans Club and Restaurant off Times Square in Manhattan, Gallagher's 2000 in Queens, NY, and seven other New York-area strip clubs and confiscated files and documents. Attorneys for those indicted were not immediately available for comment.

The women are from Russia and Eastern European countries . Prosecutor: defendants wanted the women to be "their personal profit centers" Charges include extortion and visa and marriage fraud . Federal agents confiscated files at several clubs in pre-dawn raids .

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(CNN) -- In just four days, Chris Picco went from husband and expectant father to a man without a family. His wife Ashley died November 8; their newborn son, delivered by emergency cesarean section, died three days later. In August, Ashley and Chris Picco celebrated their seventh wedding anniversary by posting a photo to Facebook. In the image, a tiny pair of fur-lined baby booties stands empty between the Southern California couple. "Coming Soon" is inscribed above. It is still Ashley's cover photo. Ashley was a mother for only a few short hours before she died. She left behind "harmonies that will continue to resonate in our hearts and memories," her family and friends posted online. Lennon James was born by emergency C-section three months early, "fighting for his life," Chris posted. Although Chris was grieving Ashley's loss, he thanked those who had reached out in several online postings. "It's impossible to sum up what has happened in the past couple of days," he said. "My wife, best friend and mother of my child passed away. I have a lifetime to grieve this unspeakable loss, but I know that right now she would want me to focus completely on baby Lennon James Picco..." On Wednesday, a friend posted a video of Chris in the hospital, singing to his newborn son. The video shows Chris seated next to a whirring, clicking incubator, baby Lennon swaddled in blankets and surrounded by tubes. The video was recorded Tuesday, when Chris had posted, "Ashley would often feel Lennon moving to music, so I brought my guitar today and gave him a little concert." The song Chris chose, "Blackbird," was written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney during their time with the Beatles. The song begins: . "Blackbird singing in the dead of night . Take these broken wings and learn to fly . All your life . You were only waiting for this moment to arise." Little Lennon James Pico died late Tuesday night in his father's arms. On Wednesday, Chris posted this update: . "Dear friends, family, and supporters; it is with an unbelievably heavy heart that I write this. My little fighter, Lennon James Picco went to sleep in his daddy's arms late last night. He was surrounded by family, friends, and the best doctors, nurses and hospital staff in the world. He was dressed in an outfit that Ashley bought for him, with little guitars on it, and wrapped in a blanket made by a dear friend. I am so thankful for the four unforgettable days I got to spend with him. His mommy would have been so beyond joy to see him and to hold him, touch him, bathe him, sing to him - as I have had the privilege of doing. I have been so blessed and honored to love him before he was formed, to cherish him while mommy carried him, meet him face to precious face, and hold his perfect little body while we said 'goodbye for now'. There are no words, but I wanted to keep you updated, as your love and support has meant more than anything in the world. All you need is love." A spokesman for Chris said he wants to tell his story but needed time with family and friends for now. A memorial is planned for Saturday at the Piccos' church, Loma Linda University Church in Loma Linda, California.

The baby was born to a dying woman via emergency C-section . The grieving father plays "Blackbird" for his infant son, Lennon . The baby died late Tuesday night in his father's arms .

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Washington (CNN) -- Democrats acting like Republicans. Republicans acting like Democrats. The 2016 presidential contest is shaping up to be the political equivalent of gender-bending. Democrats are coalescing early around a front-runner who certainly will be lavishly funded, Hillary Clinton. She's campaigning on the familiar GOP platform: "Next in line." Meanwhile, a twice-beaten Republican Party finds itself doing as Democrats often did in the Reagan era, surveying a field of little-knowns and hoping for magic. The Republican field is led by two freshman senators: Rand Paul of Kentucky and Marco Rubio of Florida, plus a member of the House and the party's 2012 vice presidential nominee, Paul Ryan. Three things are immediately striking about the top of the Republican field: . 1) It's not only Washington-based, but it's all congressionally based. There is no governor in the top three, no general, no former Cabinet secretary, nobody with any notable private-sector accomplishment. 2) It's light on accomplishment. Ryan has to date been the most productive of the top three, but none of his famous budgets have been passed into law. Paul can cite no legislative accomplishments at all, only a stunt filibuster against the entirely imaginary menace of drone strikes against American citizens on American soil. Rubio has taken a lead role in immigration reform but must make some tough decisions about whether his future is best secured by negotiating a deal or scuttling one. None of the three Republican front-runners has any administrative experience to speak of. 3) It's intensely doctrinaire. Ryan was the author of much of the Republican Party's post-2009 tea party program. Rubio has to date shown himself an undeviating follower of that program. Paul dissents from some aspects of that program but in the direction of even greater extremism. A party rebuilding from back-to-back presidential defeats has to face the possibility that the problem may be bigger than its candidate, bigger than its campaign tactics. There are a couple of obvious ways to address that possibility: . The party might look for an outsider nominee, a candidate so attractive in his or her own right as to offset the party's own unpopularity. This is what Republicans did by nominating Dwight Eisenhower in 1952 after five consecutive defeats by New Deal Democrats. Or the party might allow an insider some latitude to edge back toward the political center. This is what Democrats did in 1992 when they nominated a pro-death penalty, pro-welfare reform, pro-free trade governor of Arkansas after losses under the party-line liberals, Walter Mondale and Michael Dukakis. In 2016, however, Republicans as yet show no inclination to try either remedy. No independent superstar; no deviation from party line orthodoxy. The one Republican with the highest cross-partisan appeal, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, has been consigned to fourth place. As the saying goes, the first step toward recovery is to acknowledge the problem. The problem in 2012 -- as in 2008, as in the near-death experience of 2004, as in the popular vote loss of 2000, as in the loss of 1996, as in the loss of 1992 -- was the GOP's failure to offer an economic program relevant to the problems of middle-class Americans. The party's present three front-runners would not only repeat that failure, but double down on that failure. The Republican Party desperately needs renewal, its early presidential front-runners are characterized by their rejection of change. At a time when voters reject generic Republicanism, Republicans themselves are rallying to two of the most generic Republicans in the party -- and a third, Paul, who diverges from generic Republicanism only by offering voters even more of what they most dislike about today's GOP. The party talks about learning from its mistakes. Thus far, the main thing the party seems to have learned from those mistakes is how to repeat them. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of David Frum.

David Frum: Democrats could pick 2008 also-ran Hillary Clinton for 2016 . He says Republican front-runners seem unlikely to measure up . Despite losses, GOP could pick long shots such as Marco Rubio or Rand Paul, he says . Frum: One candidate who appeals across party lines is Chris Christie .

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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Capitol Police arrested a man Friday after an officer spotted a rifle in his car when he stopped the officer to ask for directions two blocks from the Capitol building. Police inspect the suspect's vehicle in Washington on Friday. Christopher Shelton Timmons, 27, has been charged with carrying a deadly weapon, having an unregistered firearm and having unregistered ammunition, Capitol Police spokeswoman Sgt. Kimberly Schneider said. In addition to the rifle -- an AK-47 -- police found a grenade, a pistol, ammunition, loaded magazines "and several other items of concern to the police" in the Jeep Cherokee he was driving. Authorities said Timmons was convicted of carrying a concealed weapon in March in Albemarle County, Virginia, and served a month in jail. In that incident, Timmons had two grenades in his car, said Albemarle Police Chief John Miller. The pins had been removed and the grenades were filled with powder, authorities said. They had an adhesive on top to close them and a firecracker for a fuse. Law enforcement sources said the grenades were similar to an item found in Timmons vehicle Friday. That device has been taken to the FBI facility in Quantico, Virginia. Members of the joint terrorism task force are involved in the investigation, sources said, but so far no one is suggesting Timmons was planning an attack of some kind. CNN Justice Correspondent Kelli Arena contributed to this report.

Police say suspect had AK-47, grenade, pistol, ammunition in car . Suspect Christopher S. Timmons was recently convicted on weapons charge . Timmons had stopped officer to ask directions .

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By . Daily Mail Reporter . An Alabama man has been charged with DUI manslaughter in the hit-and-run death of a popular Oklahoma State University student early Friday morning. Kasey Waychoff, 19, was on spring break in the beach town of Gulf Shores, Alabama, when she was hit by a pickup truck allegedly driven by 29-year-old Justin Lott. About 1:45 a.m. Friday, Waychoff was walking with some of her sorority sisters in the bike lane in the 1400 block of West Beach Boulevard when she allegedly was struck by Lott's truck. Spring break: Kasey Wychoff (right) was killed by a drunk driver while on spring break in Alabama . Drunk: Authorities say 29-year-old Justin Lott was drunk when he hit Waychoff, who was walking with her sorority sisters near the beach . 'There was sorority sisters running and screaming and we knew someone . was hurt,' a woman who was staying in a rental home nearby told WKRG. 'We had already had blue lights coming through our windows. Things . intensified, we heard all the sirens. Of course we looked out the front . window and saw that something was horribly wrong by the reactions from . the college kids,' the witness continued. After hitting the young co-ed, authorities say Lott didn't stop to see if she was alright and just continued driving. Baldwin County sheriff's deputies were given a description of the vehicle that struck Waychoff, A deputy on duty - who had heard the description of the suspect truck - spotted Lott's vehicle not far from where Waychoff was hit and pulled him over. Tragic: Waychoff is survived by a loving family, including a brother with whom she was very close and also went to Oklahoma State . The officers noted that the truck appeared to have front-end damage consistent with hitting a person. 'During the vehicle stop, the deputy conducted a DUI investigation after . the driver displayed symptoms of being under the influence of alcohol,' according to a Gulf Shores Police Department news release. Waychoff leaves behind a loving family, including a grandfather who always caller her his 'baby girl.' Scene: Authorities say Waychoff was walking in the bike lane near the beach when she was struck by Lott's pickup truck . Handy Waychoff, Kasey's 79-year-old grandfather, told AL.com that his granddaughter had a brother who also attends Oklahoma State with whom she was especially close. 'This is just going to kill him,' Handy Waychoff said. The Federal Bureau of Investigation has been called in to assist local authorities with the investigation. Lott, who authorities say admitted to drinking alcohol the night of the incident, is being held without bond at the Baldwin County Correctional Facility.

Kasey Waychoff, 19, was on spring break in Alabama when she was hit by a drunk driver . Authorities say 29-year-old Justin Lott didn't stop after allegedly hitting the young co-ed . Lott was stopped by police not far from the scene . The officer who pulled Lott over says there was front-end damage consistent with hitting a person on his truck . Lott, authorities say, admitted to drinking the night Waychoff was killed .

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(CNN) -- The NFL has a simple answer for critics who claim the league should have been able to get videos of Ray Rice knocking out his future wife and dragging her out of an elevator. It would have been illegal, Commissioner Roger Goodell wrote in a memo Wednesday to the top officials of the NFL's 32 teams. "Once a criminal investigation begins, law enforcement authorities do not share investigatory material (such as the videos here) with private parties such as the NFL," he wrote in a note to chief executives and club presidents. "In addition, (New Jersey's) Open Public Records Act excludes material that is generated in the context of an active law enforcement proceeding." The Associated Press, however, reported Wednesday that a law enforcement official said he sent a copy of the video in April to an NFL executive and someone called him from an NFL office phone to thank him for sending the video. The NFL reacted to the story by saying the league is unaware of anyone in its office having the video in their possession and officials would look into the report. NFL toughens domestic violence policy with six-game bans . Rice has been suspended indefinitely from the NFL and was cut by the Baltimore Ravens after a video surfaced this week showing him punching Janay Rice, who at the time was his fiancee, in an elevator in Atlantic City on February 15. Rice was eventually charged with third-degree assault by Atlantic County prosecutors, but as a first-time offender was able to enter into a diversionary program. If he successfully completes the program in one year, the charge will be removed from his record. Timeline of events in the Ray Rice story . Critics have said the NFL should have been able to get the videos and should have banned Rice for life instead of initially giving him a two-game suspension. The ban was increased after the in-elevator video was posted online by TMZ Sports on Monday. It was the second dramatic video in the case. The first showed the aftermath of the ferocious blow. In it Rice drags his unconscious fiancee off the elevator and talks to a security staffer. Goodell doesn't rule out a return for Rice . Goodell also said the hotel couldn't legally provide the video to the NFL because of the investigation into the incident. "We did not ask the Atlantic City casino directly for the video," he wrote. "Again, our understanding of New Jersey law is that the casino is prohibited from turning over material to a third party during a law enforcement proceeding, and that doing so would have subjected individuals to prosecution for interference with a criminal investigation." Goodell said the Rice legal proceedings are still an "open matter." NFL's past penalties for domestic violence 'a different story' TMZ executive producer Harvey Levin told CNN's "The Lead with Jake Tapper" on Tuesday that they paid for the videos. "I think what happened was the casino closed. And when the casino closed, I think there were a lot of employees who just said, you know what: 'We want to do the right thing.' And ultimately we ended up getting this video because when you look at the video, clearly you see the NFL did not do the right thing," Levin said of the second video. "And I think at a point somebody said that the gain here is worse than the risk, in terms of doing what's right." The Revel casino closed eight days ago. The Baltimore Sun petitioned for the release of the elevator video under the Freedom of Information Act, but its request was denied by New Jersey officials. What if Goodell ran the NBA and Silver captained the NFL?

NJ law prohibits release of certain evidence during legal matters, NFL boss says . Goodell sends memo to all 32 teams explaining why league hadn't seen video until Monday . TMZ Sports posted a video online showing Ray Rice punching his future wife . Critics said the NFL should also have been able to get the video and an earlier one .

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(CNN) -- Jury selection began Tuesday in the trial of reputed Boston mob boss and longtime fugitive James "Whitey" Bulger on murder and racketeering charges. Bulger was arrested in California in 2011 after 16 years on the run. Now 83, he's charged in the killings of 19 people during his days as the leader of south Boston's Winter Hill gang. Federal prosecutors say Bulger led the Irish mob from the late 1970s through the mid-1990s. But after Bulger fled impending racketeering charges, investigators found he had been an FBI informant whose handler tipped him off about the charges -- a tale that became the inspiration for the Oscar-winning 2006 drama "The Departed." Judge removed from Whitey Bulger trial . His lawyers tried to get the case against him tossed out, arguing that Bulger had been given immunity by the FBI. A federal judge denied that request in March, finding Bulger had no immunity for crimes committed after he cut a deal with the feds. Bulger's onetime FBI handler is serving a 50-year sentence for second-degree murder and racketeering. Bulger's brother William -- a former state Senate leader -- was forced to step down as president of the University of Massachusetts after then-Gov. Mitt Romney accused him of being evasive during congressional testimony about the whereabouts of his brother. Whitey Bulger's longtime girlfriend, Catherine Greig, went on the run with him and was arrested with him in Santa Monica. She pleaded guilty to conspiracy to harbor a fugitive and two counts of identity theft, in 2012. Landmark U.S. manhunts . CNN's Ross Levitt contributed to this report.

"Whitey" Bulger faces racketeering charges and 19 murder counts . He was arrested in 2011 after 16 years on the run . The reputed Boston mob boss had been an FBI informant for years .

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New York (CNN) -- No "potential human remains" have been found in the Manhattan location where a 9/11 aircraft part was recently discovered, New York's chief medical examiner said Wednesday. The announcement followed an inspection at 51 Park Place, where a piece of one of the planes in the September 11, 2001, terror attack was found Friday. It was removed Wednesday. The piece was wedged in an 18-inch space behind the building, the site of the controversial Islamic community center known by its critics as the "ground zero mosque." The office said soil-sifting operations have been completed at the site, where the 5-foot-long, 4-foot-wide, and 17-inch-deep part was found. A Boeing Company technician confirmed that the piece is a support structure from a trailing edge flap on the wing of a Boeing 767 like the ones that were flown into the World Trade Center. Police officers hoisted the 255-pound piece out of the location with a pulley and loaded it onto a truck bound for a police property facility in Brooklyn. One police official described the mood at the scene as "eerie." Some of the personnel there responded to the attack. "It's a piece of history and we tried to preserve it as best we could," said Police Deputy Chief William Aubry. "It brought back a lot of memories."

A Boeing Company technician confirms the piece is from a Boeing 767 . It was found behind the site of a controversial Muslim community center . The piece was taken to a property facility in Brooklyn .

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FIFA president Sepp Blatter has accused UEFA of lacking the 'courage' to provide a challenge to his leadership, and called on the European governing body to be 'respectful' of his wish to continue in the role. Blatter will be bidding for a fifth term in office at the election in May, with so far only three candidates - French former FIFA executive Jerome Champagne, Prince Ali Bin Hussein of Jordan and former Tottenham winger David Ginola - having declared their intention to stand against him. Speaking in an interview with CNN World Sport, the 78-year-old said: 'I have been asked by the national associations to be our candidate again because nobody that is strong was in. So I go there. Sepp Blatter has accused UEFA of lacking the 'courage' to provide a challenge to his leadership . 'All those who want to get rid of me should come. All this opposition is coming now, it's unfortunate to say - but it's true - it's coming from Nyon, from UEFA. They don't have the courage to come in. So let me go (on) - be respectful.' He continued: 'Football is a team sport. Let's go together with the team. I invite the confederation of UEFA and especially the leaders of UEFA that are so bitterly attacking me: Join! Join! Football is a unity.' The world governing body has been engulfed by controversy since awarding the 2018 and 2022 World Cups to Russia and Qatar. American lawyer Michael Garcia produced a 430-page report into the bidding for the tournaments but quit as FIFA's ethics investigator after losing his appeal against the findings which cleared Russia and Qatar to host the World Cups. Blatter and UEFA president Michel Platini together during the World Cup . Football Association chairman Greg Dyke and England's UEFA vice-president David Gill were last June at the forefront of a European rebellion against Blatter - saying he should not commit a U-turn on his 2011 pledge to stand down in 2015 - despite the incumbent president appearing to have huge support in other continental confederations. Blatter insists he has unfinished business and will not step aside without a fight. 'I have not finished my mission because it's a mission to be in football,' said the Swiss, who launched FIFA's governance reform process in June 2011 at the 61st FIFA Congress in Zurich, shortly after being re-elected for a fourth mandate. Former Tottenham winger David Ginola will stand against Blatter in the upcoming election . 'We have started in 2011 with the reform process. The reform process is not over.' Asked if he was nervous about the upcoming election, he replied: 'No, no. Definitely not. It is impossible to make everybody happy. If I would have only positive press, then it would not be good. And I like criticism as long as the criticism is... I would say fair criticism.' Despite stating his firm intention to continue in his current role, Blatter also outlined plans for his life after FIFA. 'The day I'm going to retire, the first thing I'm going to do is radio,' he said. 'I always said I will do radio. Because radio is even more popular than television, than all electronics. I said one day - this was my boy's wish - to be a radio reporter.' Blatter will be bidding for a fifth term in office at the election in May .

FIFA president Sepp Blatter has criticised UEFA's leaders . The 78-year-old has accused them of lacking courage . Blatter said they don't have the courage to stand against him in the upcoming presidential election .

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By . Suzannah Hills . PUBLISHED: . 04:26 EST, 25 March 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 04:28 EST, 25 March 2013 . The SS United States is sending out what may be its final distress call unless $500,00 can be found in the next two months to save the transatlantic cruise ship from the scrap heap. A preservation group is leading a campaign to secure a permanent home for the 990-foot-long vessel but is in desperate need of funds to keep it afloat. Talks are under way with developers and investors about the ship's long-term future, but without the emergency funding, its caretakers fear they will run out of money before a deal is inked. Campaign: Money and time are running out for the historic ocean liner SS United States, moored in Philadelphia, which needs $500,000 of funding to stay afloat . Rusting away: An enclosed walkway on the once-glamorous cruise ship is now just a barren shell . The historic ocean liner carried princes and presidents across the Atlantic in the 1950s and 1960s but has spent decades patiently awaiting a savior at its berth on the Philadelphia waterfront. 'We've made progress on the fundraising side and the redevelopment side,' said Susan Gibbs, executive director of the SS United States Conservancy and granddaughter of the ship's Philadelphia-born designer, William Francis Gibbs. 'Our immediate goal is to buy some time.' The group has raised $1 million through fundraisers and a website, where contributors can sponsor a piece of the ship for $1 per square foot. But the campaigners say they desperately need donors with deep pockets and high profiles to help save the ship. 'Are we giving up on successfully redeveloping the ship as a self-sustaining entity? Absolutely not,' said Dan McSweeney, head of the redevelopment efforts. At risk: The 990-foot-long ship could be sold for scrap in two months time unless $500,000 is raised to save it . High costs: It costs $80,000 every month for mooring, maintenance, insurance and security . Ravaged: Moored in Philadelphia, the SS United States is now owned by the nonprofit SS United States Conservancy . 'We continue to have active discussions with potential partners, we have ideas of potential sites for the ship, but we need more time to get it off the ground ... and we're running out of runway.' It costs $80,000 a month just for mooring, basic maintenance, insurance and security, he said. The conservancy is exploring potential partnerships with four entities in Philadelphia and New York City to refashion the vessel as a stationary entertainment complex with 500,000 square feet of space for a hotel, theater, restaurants and shopping. The sluggish economy and other factors have slowed negotiations, McSweeney said. As talks continue, he said, the hope is to convince corporate sponsors, influential politicians and prominent business leaders - are you listening, Donald Trump and Michael Bloomberg? - to lend their political and financial capital to the effort. 'Any way you look at it, there is no downside to this project,' McSweeney said. 'It's an economic and community development project that's going to create jobs.' A lot of work to do: The rusted and ruined interior view of the SS United States . Heyday: The SS United States pictured in front of the Midtown Manhattan skyline and Empire State building as it begins its first voyage along the Hudson River to Europe from New York in 1952 . The SS United States carried more than one million passengers at record-breaking transatlantic speeds over the course of 400 round trips from 1952 to 1969, among them President John F. Kennedy, Prince Rainier of Monaco, Salvador Dali and Elizabeth Taylor. A joint venture between the Navy and ship designer Gibbs & Cox, the luxury liner was made with hidden military might - it could have been converted in a single day to transport 14,000 troops for 10,000 miles before refueling. After being decommissioned it changed hands multiple times, from the Navy and on through a series of restoration-minded investors. It was towed from Virginia to Turkey to Ukraine, finally arriving in Philadelphia as a gutted hulk in 1996. Another succession of developers and a cruise lines failed to return the ship to service as retrofitting costs proved too great. A local philanthropist's 11th-hour gift of $5.8 million allowed the SS United States Conservancy to save the ship from the scrapper and keep it berthed and maintained for 20 months. That was last November. 'It's an all hands on deck moment,' Gibbs said. 'Now is the time, there's a window. Within months it will close unless everyone assists in the effort.' Record holder: The once-great liner is still the holder of the Blue Riband for the fastest trans-Atlantic crossing which it set in July of 1952 . Special honour: The ship is still the only man-made object within America to bear the name United States .

Vessel carried more than one million passengers over 400 round . trips . Guests included President Kennedy, Salvador Dali and Elizabeth Taylor . SS United States Conservancy group are campaigning to save the ship .

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(CNN) -- "There's between 100,000 and 300,000 child sex slaves in the United States today," Ashton Kutcher tells CNN's Piers Morgan. "If you don't do something to stop that -- that's when there's something wrong with you." In their first-ever joint prime time interview, actress Demi Moore and actor Ashton Kutcher will be guests on Thursday's "Piers Morgan Tonight." The husband-and-wife team launched The Demi & Ashton Foundation (DNA) after a visit to the U.S.-Mexico border in January. They met a girl who had been trafficked into the United States by her pimp, who brought her into a field where she was repeatedly raped on a trash bag by 30 men. The DNA Foundation stands for the fundamental right to freedom for every person -- because it's within our DNA. "It just seemed impossible to live in a world where that was going on and not, you know, do something about it," said Moore. More: The CNN Freedom Project: Ending Modern-Day Slavery . According to Kutcher, the average age of entry into the sex trade is 13. "And that's globally, by the way," added the actor, who also pointed out that many Americans view child sex slavery as a problem in places that they have no control over, such as Cambodia, India or Nepal. Kutcher wants to people to realize trafficking is prevalent in the U.S., too. Traffickers are often "Average Joes," usually in their early 30s. "And what they're really doing," said Kutcher, "is profiting off the sale of these women and girls." These men seem like perfect guys to vulnerable girls from broken homes. Pimps start off nice and generous in a ritual that Moore likens to "courting." Sometimes they meet the girls online, establish relationships with them, take them shopping, make them comfortable and gain their trust. One of the so-called faces of human trafficking joined "Piers Morgan Tonight" under concealed identity from an undisclosed location to provide a first-hand account of what Morgan called "the horrors of sex trafficking." The 17-year-old girl went by the name "Nicole" for the purposes of the interview. When Nicole -- who is an American citizen -- was 13, her father went to jail while her mother battled drug addiction. Nicole began establishing relationships with men online, leading to a cycle of pimps, drug problems and even jail. Moore recalled the story of a girl who, now 18, was just 11 when she was taken in by a pimp. In a similar fashion, he took her to McDonald's, took her to the mall and made her feel safe. Pretty soon she was forced into child prostitution and given a $1,500-a-night quota. If she didn't meet her quota, she was beaten or forced to sit in a tub of ice. Her pimp's nickname was "Daddy Day Care" because the girls he overpowered were extremely young. According to the girl, Moore said, the pimp would load the girls into an overcrowded car -- so crowded that some rode in the trunk -- drive to Las Vegas, place ads on Craigslist and have the girls prostituting almost immediately. Siddharth Kara, author of "Sex Trafficking, Inside the Business of Modern Slavery" also joined the show. Kara said at a minimum, there are "1.5 million traffic sex slaves in the world today generating profits in 2010 that exceeded $39 billion." Moore reiterated that she and Kutcher initiated the campaign "to create awareness. You have to acknowledge a problem exists before you can actually go about finding a solution," she said. "And what we've found is that most people aren't even aware of what's going on." Moore and Kutcher maintain that they will remain committed to the cause no matter how long it takes to eradicate child sex slavery. Morgan asked the couple famously addicted to Twitter -- Kutcher has 6.5 million followers, Moore has 3.5 million -- if it is smart to use social media as a tool to spread the word about their campaign when social media often makes it easier for child sex traffickers to operate. "For me," said Kutcher, "I think I looked at this platform and thought to myself, 'This could be the collective consciousness, right?' This platform, in and of itself, a little shout here, and a little shout there. But the key was being able to drive a link into deeper, richer content into a tweet, and then have that tweet be syndicated. "I don't believe that there's a problem in the world that exists that the solutions didn't exist before the problem. So that's why we're using social media for this campaign," he said. "It's to actually go right into the heart of where it's taking place. Seventy-six percent of the transactions for child sex slavery is actually happening online. So if we can motivate people while they are online to do something about that, then we can make a dent." Furthermore, Kutcher urged people to visit sites such as Craigslist and flag pages that appear to be about child trafficking. "People can start to actually un-root this at its root," said Kutcher, who urged people to go to Facebook.com/TheDNAfoundation, put themselves in a video, share that video with friends and go to the action tab where the foundation outlines online initiatives. "We want the social web to become the police for human trafficking online," Kutcher told Morgan. Watch Piers Morgan Live weeknights 9 p.m. ET. For the latest from Piers Morgan click here.

The Demi and Ashton Foundation (DNA) raises awareness about child sex slavery . The couple launched DNA after meeting a girl who was trafficked into the U.S. from Mexico . Demi Moore: "Most people aren't even aware of what's going on" Also check out The CNN Freedom Project: Ending Modern-Day Slavery .

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By . Daily Mail Reporter . Last updated at 4:02 PM on 30th January 2012 . About 400 people were arrested in Oakland yesterday during a chaotic day of Occupy protests that saw demonstrators break into City Hall and burn an American flag. Police fired tear gas and used 'flash' grenades to disperse hundreds of people after some in the crowd threw rocks and bottles and tore down fencing outside a convention center. It was the most turbulent day of protests since November, when Oakland police forcefully dismantled an Occupy encampment. An exasperated Mayor Jean Quan, who faced heavy criticism for the police action last fall, called on the Occupy movement to 'stop using Oakland as its playground.' 'People in the community and people in the Occupy movement have to stop making excuses for this behavior,' she said. Clash: A policeman tries to evict Occupy Oakland protesters from the city Hall . Demonstration: Protesters on the steps of the City Hall burn a U.S. flag they found inside the building . Occupy Oakland demonstrators run over a fence in an attempt to escape from the police encirclement during the day-long protest . Authorities say protesters clashed . with police throughout the day, at times throwing rocks, bottles and . other objects at officers. The protests grew as the day wore on with an . estimated 2,000 demonstrators in the streets at one point. Most of the arrests came around 8pm, . when police took about scores of protesters into custody as they marched . through the city's downtown, with some entering a YMCA building, . according to officials. Many other demonstrators were . arrested earlier in the afternoon, after police said they threw rocks, . bottles and other objects at officers and tore down fencing. At about the same time police were . taking people into custody near the YMCA, about 100 police officers . surrounded City Hall, while others swept the inside of the building . looking for protesters who had broken into the building, then ran out of . the building with American flags before officers arrived. A masked Occupy Oakland demonstrator walks in a cloud of smoke from smoke grenades during an attempt to occupy the vacant Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center . Crackdown: Police used tear gas and flash grenades to try and disperse demonstrators after being hit by a stream of impromptu missiles . Arrest: Around 300 protesters were held by police after a day of widespread unrest in Oakland . Ms Quan said that at one point, many . forced their way into City Hall, where they burned flags, broke into an . electrical box and damaged several art structures, including a recycled . art exhibit created by children. More help from other police agencies . was also sent to Oakland, with busloads of Alameda County sheriff's . deputies arriving in the downtown area late Saturday. City Administrator Deanna Santana . said protesters pelted officers with bottles, metal pipes, rocks and . burning flares and police responded by deploying smoke, tear gas and . bean bag rounds. 'These demonstrators stated their . intention was to provoke officers and engage in illegal activity and . that's exactly what has occurred today,' Ms Santana said. The group assembled at a downtown . plaza yesterday morning, with demonstrators threatening to take over the . vacant Henry Kaiser Convention Center. The group then marched through . the streets, disrupting traffic. The crowd grew as the day wore on, with afternoon estimates ranging from about 1,000 to 2,000 people. A group of Occupy Oakland demonstrators climb a fence to escape arrest as riot police fought running skirmishes . Crowd: Thousands of people were estimated to have turned out for the Oakland demonstration . Response: Police were out in force in an attempt to prevent the demonstration from becoming violent . The protesters walked to the convention center, where some started tearing down perimeter fencing and . 'destroying construction equipment' shortly before 3pm, police said. Police said they issued a dispersal . order and used smoke and tear gas after some protesters pelted them with . bottles, rocks, burning flares and other objects. Most of the arrests were made when . protesters ignored orders to leave and assaulted officers, police said. By 4pm, the bulk of the crowd had left the convention center and headed . back downtown. The demonstration comes after Occupy . protesters said earlier this week that they planned to move into a . vacant building and turn it into a social center and political hub. They . also threatened to try to shut down the port, occupy the airport and . take over City Hall. In a statement on Friday, Ms Santana said the city would not be 'bullied by threats of violence or illegal activity.' Interim police chief Howard Jordan also warned that officers would arrest those carrying out illegal actions. A group of police officers arrest an Occupy Oakland demonstrator near Frank H. Ogawa Plaza during the day-long protest . Hostility: The situation escalated when demonstrators launched rocks and bottles at the police, who responded with non-lethal weapons . Activists: Those on the march were hoping to take over a vacant building as a permanent base . Oakland officials said that . since the Occupy Oakland encampment was first established in late . October, police have arrested about 300 people. The national Occupy Wall Street . movement, which denounces corporate excess and economic inequality, . began in New York City in the fall but has been largely dormant lately. Oakland, New York and Los Angeles . were among the cities with the largest and most vocal Occupy protests . early on. The demonstrations ebbed after those cities used force to move . out hundreds of demonstrators who had set up tent cities. In Oakland, the police department . received heavy criticism for using force to break up earlier protests. Among the critics was the mayor, Ms Quan, who said she wasn't briefed on . the department's plans. Earlier this month, a court-appointed . monitor submitted a report to a federal judge that included 'serious . concerns' about the department's handling of the Occupy protests. Tension was rising in Washington as well, where the National Park Service has said it will bar Occupy protesters in the nation's capital from camping in two parks near the White House where they have been living since October.That order, if carried out as promised on Monday, could be a blow to one of the highest-profile chapters of the movement.

Protesters break in to City Hall and burn U.S. flag found there . Mayor urges Occupy movement to 'stop using Oakland as its playground'

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In the wake of the Christchurch office sex romp-which saw a married father caught cheating in a string of viral images-many are questioning how much they can trust their partners. For some, this means enlisting extra support to give them peace of mind, and that’s where Lipstick Investigations come into play. The Sydney based company is Australia's highest profile investigation business to specialise in infidelity, and they've been flooded with business in the New Year. Scroll down for video . Lipstick Investigations is Australia's highest profile investigation business, and they say they have been inundated with business of late . Managing director of the company David King said: 'It’s a certain type of person that will seek an investigator. Most people will see the clues and call it quits, but some need more closure' David King, the managing director of the company, told Daily Mail Australia the investigations are conducted across a number of fields. ‘We primarily deal with surveillance, but we also delve into database work and internet investigations. It varies from case to case,’ he said. Investigations typically begin with a phone call to the client, which sees the investigator ask two dozen questions to establish the plan of attack. ‘It’s a certain type of person that will seek an investigator. Most people will see the clues and call it quits, but some need more closure. It’s can also come down to cultural differences.’ A unfaithful partner caught in the act by Lipstick Investigations, who claim to have an 80 per cent success rate . King said harsh anti-surveillance laws in Australia hinder the equipment they can use on jobs, such as computer hacking and electronic tagging . Clients are charged a flat rate of $95 an hour, and while some jobs take a handful of hours, some can drag on much longer. ‘We had one client who spent half a million dollars over four years. We had plenty of evidence, but it was a drawn out case and it ended up becoming quite complicated.' King says the company also handles an array of other investigative work. ‘Private investigations are a very small industry. We take on anything from council work to companies trying to catch out employees taking a sickie.’ King said harsh anti-surveillance laws in Australia hinder the equipment they can use on jobs. ‘We’re pretty hard up. We can’t do electronic tracking, can’t hack into accounts. The office incident in New Zealand would be an ideal result for us, because that’s working within the parameters of the law.’ He said most of his results come from conventional surveillance, which includes the use of forensic tools, hidden cameras and night-vision equipment. They also arrange honey-trapping job, where a decoy is sent into partners favourite watering hole or gym to flirt with them and see what happens next, to catch out infidelity before it has even happened. The investigations include the use of use of forensic tools (pictured), hidden cameras and night-vision equipment. David King (pictured) said he takes on anything from council work to companies trying to catch out employees taking a sickie . ‘Social media has really transformed the industry. There is a drop in business because people can do the process themselves, chasing the leads of their partner on Facebook and such.’ ‘The other side of the coin is social media means there are more digital footprints left that could spark suspicion. So we can more clients from that. I think the overall workload is the same, it’s just a different dynamic.’ King says the work is consistent throughout the year, with a surge in business on certain obvious dates such as Valentine’s Day. ‘You can never put your finger on busy times. We just had the busiest January since we started our business, but I couldn’t tell you why.’ A recent study from Lonergran Research showed that one in four Australian's admits to cheating on their partner, while two-thirds of couples don’t share their deepest secrets . King says the work is consistent throughout the year, with a surge in business on certain obvious dates such as Valentine’s Day. Agent Ange. King said investigators are occasionally spotted by investigators . When asked if the investigators ever get caught in the act, King said: ‘Ultimately we’re not invisible, and we do get caught out sometimes. We can’t be ten blocks behind the suspect.’ He said investigations have about an 80 per cent success rate, but that ‘it would be a 90 per cent if clients had more money. Generally, if you have suspicions they are probably warranted.’ You can see the official Lipstick Investigations website here .

Lipstick Investigations is Australia's highest profile investigation business . Investigations are done across a number of fields including the internet . Jobs include the use of forensic tools, hidden cameras and night-vision . The company has been inundated with business in the New Year . The investigations have about an 80 per cent success rate .

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(CNN) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in China next week before international talks are held on Iran's nuclear program in Moscow, Russia's state-run RIA-Novosti news agency reported Sunday. The meeting is aimed at allowing Putin to "feel the heat surrounding the Iranian problem and see how this issue is perceived in Tehran," Yuri Ushakov, a former U.S. ambassador who now serves as a Russian foreign policy adviser, told the news agency. Putin and Ahmadinejad will meet on the sidelines of the 12th Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit, to be held June 6-7 in Beijing. The United States, France, Russia, China, Britain and Germany -- the so-called "P5+1, a reference to Germany plus the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council -- will meet in Moscow for another round of talks on Iran's nuclear program June 18-19. "We weren't too happy with the results of the last round of talks, but we determined the mutual readiness to continue the discussion," Ushakov told RIA-Novosti. At the Moscow meeting, he said, Russia will "promote the thought that Iran's right to develop peaceful energy under the oversight of the International Atomic Energy Agency should be approved." World powers, particularly Western nations, suspect that Iran wants to build nuclear weapons, although Tehran insists its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes. Last month, during a round of talks with the P5+1 in Baghdad, Iran rejected calls to stop the high enrichment of uranium that can be used for weapons, while the international powers refused Tehran's demand for an immediate end to sanctions imposed by the United Nations, the United States and the European Union that are crippling its economy. Because 80% of Iran's foreign revenues are derived from oil exports, an embargo by the EU set to take effect in July will put further pressure on its economy. Russia historically has been hesitant to support sanctions on Tehran. In November, it called a new round of sanctions "unacceptable," saying they hinder efforts to reach a diplomatic solution. "Russia sees such extraterritorial measures as unacceptable and against international law," said a statement from the Russian Foreign Ministry, issued a day after the new sanctions were announced. "Such a practice seriously obstructs advancement toward a constructive dialogue with Tehran. Stronger sanction pressure, which some of our partners see almost as a goal in itself, will not encourage Iran to sit down at the negotiating table." Just after the Baghdad talks, the U.N.'s IAEA said its inspectors found a high level of enriched uranium in Iran. The nuclear watchdog agency asked Tehran to explain the presence of particles of enrichment levels up to 27% found in an analysis of environmental samples taken in February at the Fordo fuel enrichment plant near the city of Qom. The previous highest level had been 20%, typically used for hospital isotopes and research reactors. To build nuclear weapons, 90% enrichment is required. Iran said in response that the production of such particles "above the target value" may happen for "technical reasons beyond the operator's control." The IAEA said it is "assessing Iran's explanation and has requested further details."

The two leaders will meet next week in China, according to media reports . An international round of talks on Iran's nuclear program is set for later this month . World powers are concerned Iran wants to build nuclear weapons . Tehran insists its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes .

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Poland wants to lure 2,300 of its doctors to leave the NHS and return home. Witold Sobków, the Polish ambassador to the UK, revealed plans were being drawn up to persuade hundreds of health staff trained in Poland to return, declaring: ‘We want them back.’ He also cast doubt on proposals by Britain to limit access to benefits for EU migrants, insisting it will make little difference to the numbers of people who move to the UK in search of work and a better life. Witold Sobków, the Polish ambassador to the UK, said his country wants to attract more Polish doctors back home and dismissed the idea that benefit curbs would reduce the number of EU migrants to Britain . Around a third of the 133,000 doctors in the NHS in England Wales were trained outside the UK. Mr Sobków suggested hundreds were from Poland, and he wanted them to leave the UK and return home. ‘Of course we want them back, of course,’ he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. ‘We have lost - from what I know - 2,300 doctors in Britain. Of course they were educated in Poland for free so we want them, it is obvious. ‘We are doing our best to create conditions so that they could come back and work in Poland.’ Many in the health service argue it could not cope without the influx of qualified professionals from overseas. Almost a third of doctors working in the NHS were trained outside the UK, according to latest figures . Last month Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt announced dozens of extra foreign doctors had been drafted to bolster hospitals facing a winter crisis. However, Tory MP Bernard Jenkin suggested Britain did not need as many foreign workers and curbs should be introduced. ‘Germany has a very low birth rate, they need foreign workers. We don’t. ‘It has been causing real problems in hospitals, schools, has contributed to shortage of housing, we need to be able to address this in our national interest – we respect theirs, they should respect ours.’ Labour last week announced it would ban migrants from claiming out of work benefits for two years and look to curb access to in-work benefits, like tax credits. David Cameron is expected to make a speech on immigration within days in which he will also pledge to impose limits on migrants’ access to the welfare state. David Cameron is expected to announce a major crackdown on benefits for migrants within days, after Labour's Rachel Reeves announced plans to ban claims for jobseekers allowance for two years and curb access to tax credits for those in work . Latest figures show that almost 65,000 people from the EU were claiming jobseekers allowance in February this year . Latest figures show there are 64,830 EU migrants claiming jobseekers allowance in the UK, while are 252,000 working households from the EU receive tax credits. Mr Sobków insisted that attempts to limit access to these benefits would not stop Poles moving to Britain. ‘I wouldn’t say it would have an enormous effect… benefit tourism is only a small fraction of abuse of the system. ‘People don’t come here for benefits they come here for work.’ He said that there are a lot of ‘wrong assumptions’ about the motivations people have for moving to the UK . ‘One is people sit at home in Poland and start calculating how much they can lose and gain.’ ‘We have several important reasons if we decide to emigrate to other countries to work. ‘I know very wealthy people who moved to Sweden and other countries for better research laboratories. ‘The wrong assumption is the same as it was 20 years ago that we have low skilled labour, a lot of them are low skilled but a lot of them are not. ‘They are attracted because the wages are higher, not the benefits.’

Ambassador Witold Sobków says 2,300 Polish doctors are in the UK . Polish government working to 'create conditions' to lure them home . Dismisses British plans for a clampdown on benefits paid to migrants . Insists people move to the UK for work not to claim from the welfare state .

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Poet and naturalist Helen Macdonald’s ‘haunting’ book H Is For Hawk has won the Costa Book of the Year Award – the first biography to win in ten years . It describes with ‘searing honesty’ her painful struggle to come to terms with her father’s death, helped by a rather unusual companion – a hawk. Now poet and naturalist Helen Macdonald’s ‘haunting’ book H Is For Hawk has won the Costa Book of the Year Award – the first biography to win in ten years. Literary judges last night praised the part-memoir, part-nature work as ‘a unique and beautiful book with a searing emotional honesty’. It details Miss Macdonald’s journey training a baby goshawk in her small Cambridge home after the sudden loss of her photojournalist father Alisdair Macdonald. Miss Macdonald, 44, had experience of breeding and training hawks but warned in a recent interview: ‘I don’t recommend that people go and train goshawks as a way of managing grief. It’s a really terrible idea. ‘There are very few times in life when you do things that just seem necessary, even though you know to an outsider they’re a bit bewildering. 'But it was a compulsion. An extraordinary compulsion.’ Miss Macdonald, who is unmarried and has no children, added: ‘I trained the hawk because I didn’t want to be me any more. ‘I wanted to stop being a human because humans feel deep grief and emotions, and I wanted to fly away from that and become something else.’ It took the judges just an hour and a half to decide the winner of the £30,000 prize, which is one of the UK’s oldest literary awards. Chairman of the judging panel Robert Harris, himself a best-selling author, described the book as a ‘sort of modern classic’. Mr Harris also last night criticised the BBC for not running programmes dedicated to books. H Is For Hawk, Miss Macdonad’s third book, also won the Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction last year. Last night Miss Macdonald, who no longer owns a goshawk but has a parrot, said: ‘It was never expected and I’m really thrilled. ‘I wanted to tell a story unflinchingly about what it is like to be very, very sad and very much miss someone that you love... It was cathartic, but I didn’t expect it to be.’ It took the judges just an hour and a half to decide the winner of the £30,000 prize, which is one of the UK’s oldest literary awards. H Is For Hawk, Miss Macdonad’s third book, also won a Samuel Johnson Prize in 2013 . Miss MacDonald's award-winning H Is For Hawk . In the part-memoir, part-nature book, Miss Macdonald describes how she was knocked sideways by the death of her father in 2007. Grief-stricken, she feels compelled to train a goshawk and, after stuffing her freezer full of hawk food, drives up to Scotland and pays a breeder £800 for Mabel, her new companion. She then begins training her in her small Cambridge home. Miss Macdonald, who had trained birds of prey before, writes: ‘I didn’t feel I had any choice. I started dreaming about goshawks and I knew I really wanted to train them and fly them. 'It was the only certain thing in my life.’ She realised her solitary life with Mabel might make an interesting book but could not write it for nearly seven years. ‘It needed that distance,’ she said. ‘When I started it, I wasn’t so confessional but it didn’t work. 'I realised I had to be truthful about what happened.’ The book has been praised for its searing honesty about her grief.

Helen Macdonald’s ‘haunting’ book has won Costa Book of the Year Award . H Is For Hawk is a part-memoir, part-nature novel 'with emotional honesty' 44-year-old author was praised for 'unique and emotional' book by judges .

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(CNN) -- A former U.S. soldier charged with attempting to join a terrorist group was sentenced to seven years in prison Monday after pleading guilty to destroying records that could be used in a terror investigation, federal prosecutors said. U.S. District Judge J. Frederick Motz also sentenced the ex-soldier to five years of supervised release after his prison time. Craig Benedict Baxam, 26, of Laurel, Maryland, was arrested in Kenya in December 2011 en route to southern Somalia where he planned to join al Shabaab, according to a summary of the plea agreement in a news release from U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod Rosenstein. "Baxam told the agents that because of his prior service in the U.S. Army, and specifically his training and experience in military intelligence, he knew of the U.S. government's capabilities in tracing internet protocol addresses and other investigative techniques," the plea agreement states. "Consequently, before leaving the U.S., he destroyed his personal home computer and threw the remains in a dumpster." The news release continues: "He told the agents that he did not want any record left behind, and that he wanted to maintain a low profile. He also said that he purchased a round trip plane ticket to Kenya rather than a one-way ticket even though he had no intention of returning to the U.S., in order not to arouse the suspicion of the FBI and U.S. military." According to a criminal complaint, Baxam departed the United States on December 20, 2011, for Kenya, where he was arrested three days later by Kenyan authorities on suspicion of terrorism. Baxam was interviewed twice by FBI agents while in Kenyan custody and allegedly told them he wanted to join al Shabaab, live under Sharia law and never intended to leave Somalia. Baxam told the FBI he didn't have the names of any contacts in Somalia but that he "trusted in Allah," the complaint said. Baxam said he was "looking for dying with a gun in my hand" and said he would be guaranteed a place in paradise, according to the criminal complaint. Prosecutors said at the time of his arrest that Baxam had secretly converted to Islam days before leaving the Army in July. He joined the Army in 2007 and underwent eight months of advanced training for cryptology and intelligence, according to the government. After his training, Baxam was deployed to Baghdad and to South Korea, where he separated from the service one month before the completion of his deployment. The court document did not explain how Baxam left the Army early. A law enforcement official said at the time of his arrest that there was no information to suggest Baxam had compromised any military information. Prosecutors say Baxam cashed out his retirement savings account of more than $3,600. He allegedly planned to give al-Shabaab between $600 and $700 as an offering upon his arrival, authorities said. "FBI Special Agents in Africa, working alongside our Kenyan police partners, worked together to stop an individual who is now alleged to have been on his way to join a major terrorist group," said Richard McFeely, the FBI agent in charge of the Baltimore office. "This spirit of cooperation in fighting terrorism continues to transcend borders around the world. Al-Shabaab grew amid Somalia's lawlessness . CNN's Paul Courson and Carol Cratty contributed to this report.

Prosecutor: Craig Baxam dodged government tracing by destroying personal computer . Baxam, 26, joined Army in 2007, underwent months of cryptology, intelligence training . He was arrested in Kenya in 2011 on suspicion of terrorism, en route to Somalia . Prosecutors say Baxam secretly converted to Islam days before leaving the Army in 2011 .

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Louis Zamperini, the Olympic runner and World War II officer who survived a horrific plane crash, a seven-week journey across the Pacific in a raft, near starvation and unspeakable torture in Japanese POW camps, has died. He was 97. The cause of death was pneumonia, his family said in a statement from Universal Pictures, which is making a film adaptation of "Unbroken," Laura Hillenbrand's bestselling chronicle about Zamperini's life. "Having overcome insurmountable odds at every turn in his life, Olympic runner and World War II hero Louis Zamperini has never broken down from a challenge. He recently faced the greatest challenge of his life with a life-threatening case of pneumonia. After a 40-day long battle for his life, he peacefully passed away in the presence of his entire family, leaving behind a legacy that has touched so many lives," the Zamperini family said in a statement. "His indomitable courage and fighting spirit were never more apparent than in these last days." On her Facebook page, Hillenbrand wrote, "Farewell to the grandest, most buoyant, most generous soul I ever knew. Thank you, Louie, for all you gave to me, to our country, and to the world. I will never forget our last, laughing talk, your singsong 'I love you! I love you!' and the words you whispered to me when you last hugged me goodbye, words that left me in happy tears, words that I will remember forever. I will love you and miss you to the end of my days. Godspeed, sweet Louie." Angelina Jolie, the director of the "Unbroken" film, added, "It is a loss impossible to describe. We are all so grateful for how enriched our lives are for having known him. We will miss him terribly." Zamperini's tale is one of those that would be dismissed as fiction if it weren't true. A wild child who grew up in Torrance, California, he was tamed by a love for running and an unquenchable competitiveness. At 19, he ran the 5,000 meters at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin despite mere weeks of training at that distance. He missed a medal but, in his determination to catch the leaders, ran his last lap in an astonishing 56 seconds. With the 1940 Olympics canceled due to the outbreak of World War II, he enlisted in the Army Air Corps prior to Pearl Harbor and eventually became a bombardier on the sometimes unwieldy B-24 Liberator, nicknamed the "Flying Brick." In late May of 1943, he and a crew took off on a search mission for a fallen pilot. Somewhere over the open Pacific, the plane failed and crashed into the ocean. Zamperini and two colleagues survived, but their troubles were just beginning. He and the other crew members had to survive 47 days on a raft, in scorching sunlight and often without drinking water. They collected rain when it fell and killed albatrosses who alit on the raft. Sharks constantly circled beneath them. One person died on the journey. When Zamperini and his buddy, pilot Russell Allen "Phil" Phillips, finally washed ashore on a Pacific island, they found they had drifted 2,000 miles -- only to be taken in as prisoners of war by the Japanese. Life only got harder. The men were fed poorly and feared being killed by their captors. Zamperini was singled out for abuse by one camp sergeant, nicknamed "the Bird," who beat him regularly in psychotic fury. Zamperini was declared dead by the U.S. military. Yet he endured. As documented in "Unbroken," after the war, Zamperini struggled to adjust. He drank heavily. He had trouble sleeping. He wanted revenge on the Bird. But, thanks to a newfound faith -- inspired by visits to Billy Graham's Los Angeles Crusade in 1949 -- and an unshakable spirit, he overcame his troubles and became an inspirational speaker. He established a camp for troubled youths called Victory Boys Camp. His wife, Cynthia, was a cornerstone of his life. They were married for more than 50 years, until her death in 2001. He also forgave his wartime tormenters, some of them in person during a 1950 visit to a Tokyo prison where they were serving sentences for war crimes. He was willing to forgive the Bird, Mutsuhiro Watanabe, though Watanabe refused to meet with Zamperini when he had the chance, in 1998, when Zamperini returned to Japan to carry the torch at the Nagano Winter Games. Scott Blackmun, CEO of the U.S. Olympic Committee, issued a statement offering condolences to the family and saying, "We're proud to say that among his many accomplishments and triumphs, Mr. Zamperini was an Olympian. His fighting spirit was a true representation of Team USA and our country, both in Berlin and throughout his life. His presence will be missed." Hillenbrand's book was released in November 2010. It remains on the bestseller lists almost four years later. Jolie's movie is scheduled to be released Christmas Day. "It will be hard to make a film worthy of this great man," she told the Hollywood Reporter in 2013. "I am deeply honored to have the chance and will do all I can to bring Louie's inspiring story to life." People we lost in 2014 .

"Farewell to the grandest, most buoyant, most generous soul I ever knew" -- Hillenbrand . Louis Zamperini is the subject of bestseller and upcoming film "Unbroken" Zamperini survived plane crash, weeks on raft, Japanese POW camps . After World War II, he became inspirational speaker .

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(CNN) -- Ramiz Rafizadeh was driving past Syria's famous Ummayad Mosque in December when another vehicle abruptly cut him off. Two men got out and shot Rafizadeh to death in front of his deaf daughter, whom he had just picked up from her school in Damascus. "People who live in the neighborhood and witnessed the shooting talked to my mother and sister and said that the shooters were sitting in the car, waiting," said Rafizadeh's cousin Masoud. "The car was carrying pro-Assad slogans, similar to the cars used by Syrian intelligence." Rafizadeh's family wondered whether he was targeted because another cousin, Majid, is a U.S.-based Middle East scholar who has spoken out against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. But that's not the only possibility. 5 reasons Syria's war suddenly looks more dangerous . "Even though the neighbors said the gunmen were pro-Assad, the government told us terrorists killed him," Masoud Rafizadeh said. And that says much about the plight of Syria's Shiite community: a minority with many enemies, including an increasingly radicalized opposition that views them as outsiders and traitors and a desperate regime that questions their loyalty. The Alawite minority that dominates the Assad regime is an offshoot of Shiite Islam, but few Syrian Shiites are among its inner circle. "The minorities in Damascus, they are completely quiet; they don't want to side with any group. The minorities want nothing but to go to their place of worship and practice their faith." Majid Rafizadeh tells CNN. The Syrian government views minorities, including Shiites, Christians and Kurds, as a buffer against the rebels, who in turn have tried to recruit from among these groups. But many within the rebels' ranks are wary of the Shiites, suspecting some may have links to the Lebanese militia Hezbollah, whose fighters have begun appearing in Syria on the government's side. "(Shiites) end up being victims of a proxy war between rebels and the regime and are viewed with suspicion on both sides," said Abbas Barzegar, a professor of Islamic studies at Georgia State University. Barzegar says the Syrian revolution descended into civil war because of the sectarian nature of the opposition's rhetoric and its inability to control its sectarian tendencies. "The religious diversity of Syria was once a point of pride, so the destruction of this ideal has been catastrophic," he said. The Rafizadeh family's tale of horrors includes a niece and a nephew wounded in a car bomb blast, relatives turned refugees, assassinated cousins, kidnapped uncles and a family trapped by fear. "As my uncle left a funeral of a family who lost a teenage son, armed men took him and his sons by force from their car. My cousin who tried to resist was punched," Masoud says. Moyassar Saadi and his two adult sons were released after spending weeks as hostages of armed men claiming to be Free Syrian Army rebels. The family, however, believes the kidnappers were actually government forces posing as rebels in a bid to threaten Majid, the U.S.-based critic of the regime. Two days after his release, the 65-year-old father of four died of a heart attack. And it didn't end there. Kerry announces more aid to Syria . "On the New Years Eve of 2013, our cousin Issam was killed. He was heading back home with groceries where he lived in Sidi Miqdad in Damascus suburbs when armed men approached and shot him dead." Masoud says. "The government told us that the terrorist killed Issam, and those terrorists want to kill all Syrians. Issam was not a member of the public committees or pro-government militias, he was as innocent as Hamza al-Khateeb," Masoud says referring to the fatal torture and mutilation of a 13-year-old boy allegedly by Syrian intelligence during the outset of the uprising. The atmosphere of chaos means many minorities simply cannot know who or what group has attacked their loved ones and why. "You know, here in the U.S., we may ask, well, who did this? But for the families in Syria, it does not matter anymore. All they do is try and follow the kidnappers demands so they can get their relative back." Majid says. More than 1 million Syrians are now registered refugees in neighboring countries. The Rafizadeh family longs to flee the violence but remains trapped in a capital under siege. "I'm worried that the next target will be my mother or my sisters or my brother. I tried to get them out to Lebanon, but my mother is very sick and old; she can't walk." Majid says. "I try to call my family every two days to make sure everything is OK. But when I call, and they don't answer, I think someone has broken into the house and taken them or something." he adds. Majid and Masoud are Syrian Shiites of Iranian origin. Their family comes from a lower-class neighborhood in the Old City of Damascus. "In the Old City, we were close to different religions. We had Christians, Jewish, Sunni, Shiite. Growing up there it was more like a communal and collective society. People were always visiting each other, so there were strong ties between the families." Majid says. The brothers and their two sisters grew up in poverty during the secular regime of Hafez al-Assad. Members of his minority Alawite group were given top government and military positions, but Assad cultivated other minorities as a counterweight to the Sunni majority. Dissent of any sort was not tolerated. While Hafez al-Assad ruled Syria, the Rafizadeh brothers' father was detained and tortured by Syrian security forces for his involvement in a human rights campaign. Majid eventually escaped the crushing poverty and oppression, receiving a Fulbright teaching scholarship in the United States. Masoud remained in Damascus, quitting school by second grade to support his family by selling memorabilia and tea to tourists. When Hafez al-Assad's British-educated son Bashar succeeded him in 2000, Syrians hoped for political and economic reforms. They never materialized, and in March 2011 came the first protests against the regime. Six months later, a radical Sunni preacher issued dire threats against minority groups that did not support the uprising. "By Allah we will chop up their flesh and feed them to the dogs," Adnan al-Arour said in one of his inflammatory broadcasts on satellite station al-Wesal. As the civil war enters its third year, it is no longer a simple case of regime against rebels. There are overlapping and intersecting loyalties, foreign fighters and criminals taking advantage of chaos. "Mounting tensions have led to armed clashes between different armed groups along a sectarian divide. Such incidents took place in mixed communities or where armed groups had attempted to take hold of areas predominantly inhabited by pro-Government minority communities." a recent U.N. report concluded. "The people are being very cautious of all different groups. They are afraid of all groups. They are afraid of any group outside their home." Majid says. "The minorities are scared because there are a lot of rumors that there are some extremist radical Sunni groups. They believe that they have distributed fliers saying if you kill one person from a minority, we will pay 100,000 Lira, and there are videos where they mutilate the person." "The general view is very pessimistic for the minorities; the ones who can are leaving. They are immigrating to European countries. What they hope is that the opposition and Assad can reach an agreement. They don't care about the political structure. They just want the violence to stop," Majid adds. But there is every sign that the violence is becoming more sectarian and even more vicious. Earlier this year, fighters from the Sunni jihadist group Nusra Front, designated a terrorist organization by the United States sang "Just wait Allawi. We will come to slaughter you. Forget about any agreement ... We will come to slaughter you, Shiite." The Rafizadeh family clings to the hope that a political solution can be found. "I believe that most of the Syrians do not want to see violence in their homeland, and they want the safety and security to be back like it used to be. I don't get involved in politics and I don't want to. I want a normal life in Syria, and just want to live in peace," Masoud says.

Shiite family in Syria has endured attacks from all sides in civil war . One cousin was shot dead in front of his daughter; others held hostage . It's unclear whether attackers were with the Assad regime or the rebels . Neither the government nor the rebels trust Shiites in Syria .

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Organisers of the inaugural Tour de Yorkshire are convinced the race has the capability to become the number one short tour on the international cycling calendar. The stages for the three-day event, a direct legacy of last summer's spectacularly successful Tour de France Grand Depart in the county, were revealed at a press conference in Bridlington on Wednesday. The east coast resort will host the start of the first stage on May 1, while the race - whose route will re-trace some sections of that used for the Tour de France - finishes in Leeds on May 3. Team Sky riders , including Chris Froome (right), cycling up a cobbled street in Haworth last summer . Gary Verity, chief executive of Welcome To Yorkshire, told Press Association Sport: 'Our aspiration for this is clear, and that is to make it the best race of its kind in the world. 'We want to do that quickly and we want to make sure for our kids and my grandkids the race goes on and on - we want to have 100 new chapters for Yorkshire, not just one. 'We said when we did the Tour de France that we wanted to host the grandest ever Grand Depart so that people from around the world would come and ask, 'How did you do that?' The Grand Depart in Yorkshire last summer created fantastic scenes as thousands turned out to watch . 'We want to do that again this this race. We want to do it in such a way that people say, 'Look, if you're doing a short bike race, which is the best on the planet?' And we want them to say the Tour de Yorkshire.' After leaving Bridlington, stage one will weave up the east coast towards Scarborough before cutting through Dalby Forest towards Pickering and up over the North Yorkshire Moors to Whitby, from where it will return down the coast to Scarborough. Stage two, which has been designed with sprinters in mind, will start in Selby and include Beverley and Malton on its itinerary before finishing with a circuit of the city in York, which hosted the start of stage two of the Tour de France. Team Sky reach the summit at Holme Moss Moor in Yorkshire during stage 2 of the 2014 Tour de France . Stage three from Wakefield will head through Barnsley before re-living the iconic Tour de France sight of a charge up the Haworth cobbles. It will re-trace much of the Tour de France route in reverse as it descends Cragg Vale on its way to the finish at Roundhay Park. The race has been jointly organised by Welcome To Yorkshire and the Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO), which is responsible for the Tour de France. Tour de France Sports Director Thierry Gouvenou, who designed the race route, said: 'Yorkshire offers so much with its huge variety of landscapes. 'For this first edition we have three quite different stages, each with their own challenges and seen as a whole, a very exciting addition to European racing.' The inaugural Tour de Yorkshire will follow the same route as last summer's three Grand Depart stages . Rotherham-born Team Sky sprinter Ben Swift said he is relishing the opportunity of racing in front of his home fans after missing out on the opportunity to take part in last year's Tour de France. Swift said: 'It was disappointing not to make the cut for the Tour de France especially as it was going through roads I trained and grew up on - but the legacy of Tour de Yorkshire is brilliant. 'I had mixed feelings watching the Tour de France on TV - I was tired after a long season so it was nice to sit at home, but it was also hard to watch in the knowledge that I was missing out on a once in a lifetime opportunity. 'All this makes up for that a bit. It is a follow-on from how successful cycling has become in Britain and with the level it is coming in at it is just going to be a hit straight away.'

Yorkshire hosted the first three stages of the 2014 Tour de France . Thousands turned out in Yorkshire for the Grand Depart last summer . A three-day short tour is planned for May following the same route .

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By . Darren Boyle . Former snooker star Stephen Lee, pictured, was fined £1,185 at Swindon Magistrates' Court after he admitted on count of fraud after he failed to send a cue he had sold to one of his fans to the buyer . Disgraced snooker player Stephen Lee is living on benefits after being banned from the sport for match-fixing, a court heard. Details of Lee's fall from grace came to light after he pleaded guilty to a charge of fraud at Swindon Magistrates' Court over the sale of his personal snooker cue. The court heard Lee, of Trowbridge, Wiltshire, agreed to sell his John Parris Ultimate to fan Marco Fai Pak Shek, based in Hong Kong, through Facebook for £1,600. But despite Mr Shek paying the money into the bank account of Lee's wife, the cue never arrived - and 39-year-old Lee continued to use it. Lee insisted he had always meant to send the cue but was distracted after becoming 'embroiled in a number of difficulties' relating to his professional life. Earlier this month, Lee was ordered to pay a total of £125,000 in costs after failing in his appeal to overturn a 12-year ban from snooker for match fixing. The five-time ranking tournament winner and former number world five was handed the ban after a 2013 tribunal found him guilty of fixing seven games in 2008 and 2009. Today magistrates ordered Lee to pay £1,815 after he entered a guilty plea to the charge of fraud by false representation between July 1 2013 and January 21 this year. John Fryer, chairman of the bench, told Lee the fine would be deducted from the £133 he receives in benefits every fortnight. 'In . arriving at our sentence at this matter, we have taken into account a . number of things - your previous good character, you have not appeared . before the courts before, and we have given you credit for your early . guilty plea,' Mr Fryer said. Mr Lee, pictured, told the court that he was unable to pay the £1,800 fine immediately as he has been living on benefits since he was banned for 12 years from playing snooker following a match fixing allegation . 'We also note that you are on benefits and your income is significantly lower.' Lee was fined £110 for the offence and told to pay Mr Shek £1,600 in compensation, along with £85 prosecution costs and a £20 victim surcharge. When asked if he could pay the £1,815 fine immediately, Lee replied: 'I can't pay that today, no.' Mr Fryer made a collection order for the amount, telling Lee: 'If the payments stop, someone will be knocking on your door.' Lee's appeal against his 12-year ban was thrown out by Nicholas Stewart QC earlier this month, with his original costs order also increased from £40,000 to £75,000. Lee, pictured, was ordered to pay £125,000 in costs after failing to overturn his 12-year snooker ban for match fixing in what the game's governing body called 'the worst case of corruption it had ever seen' The World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association described his actions as 'the worst case of corruption' it had ever seen, while Lee said he was 'devastated' by the penalty. Prosecutor Michelle Hewitt told magistrates Lee offered his personal snooker cue for sale to Mr Shek for £1,600 and agreed for modifications to be made. 'But following the transfer of the funds, the defendant failed to send the snooker cue or make any arrangements for the modifications to be carried out as agreed,' Ms Hewitt said. 'When there was no sign of the snooker cue, a report was made to the police. They carried out an investigation and arrested the defendant. 'The defendant was still using the cue as his own personal property.' Following Mr Shek's formal complaint, made to police on January 24 this year, Lee sent the victim an email promising to 'personally deliver' the cue to Hong Kong. The email read: 'If you want the cue, you need to drop the charges and I will sign some pictures for you,' the court heard. Lee took to his Facebook page, pictured, to explain to a supporter that he was 'gutted' by the court appearance. He claimed that he had intended travelling to Hong Kong to deliver the cue personally . However, Mr Shek refused to drop the charges and the case against Lee continued. Representing Lee, Mark Glendenning said his client had repeatedly apologised to Mr Shek for failing to send the cue. He said the sale was arrange through Lee's Facebook page, where he had previously sold items to fans 'without incident'. Lee attempted to arrange for work to be carried out on the snooker cue but became distracted with issues in his personal and professional life, he explained. 'Life took over, Mr Lee found himself embroiled in a number of difficulties which have been much publicised in relation to his career and that took a great deal of his time and energy,' Mr Glendenning said. 'He accepts in full he should have sent this cue, the difficulty being with his personal life impacting on his professional life. 'There was an intention to send that cue to Hong Kong but things took over and it didn't get there.' Lee, who wore a black t-shirt, black jacket and jeans to court, did not wish to comment outside the courtroom . However, a message appeared on Stephen Lee's Facebook page stating that he was 'gutted'. The message read: 'Well the guilty plead (sic) was honest as I took the money from a fan and I new (sic) that I had a plan to be out in hong kong in march to meet with him my self and hand the cue over and have a frame with him.....' In reply to a comment of support, he added: 'I'm just gutted ......'

Shamed snooker star Stephen Lee agreed to sell the cue to a fan for £1,600 . After the money arrived, Lee failed to send the cue to a fan in Hong Kong . Lee claimed he was distracted by 'difficulties relating to his professional life' Lee said he could not pay a £1,800 fine because he was living on benefits . Court ruled he will have £133 stopped from his benefits every two weeks . The 39-year-old was banned from snooker for 12 years after fixing 7 games .

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London (CNN) -- Britain's equivalent to the U.S. National Security Agency, the Government Communications Headquarters, has tapped into many of the world's key international fiber optic cables and is routinely downloading and analyzing vast quantities of Internet and phone traffic, sharing the data with the NSA, The Guardian newspaper reported Friday. The NSA slammed the report as "absolutely false." "Any allegation that NSA relies on its foreign partners to circumvent U.S. law is absolutely false. NSA does not ask its foreign partners to undertake any intelligence activity that the U.S. government would be legally prohibited from undertaking itself," NSA spokeswoman Judith Emmel said. The scope of the surveillance dragnet described in the article is enormous. The newspaper says the report, like many previous ones, is based on the Guardian's reading of documents provided by former U.S. defense contractor Edward Snowden, who admitted leaking documents this month detailing government surveillance programs. Unlike some previous reports, the paper has not published the full documents on which the story was based. A spokesman for the British agency, known as GCHQ, issued a statement saying that in line with long-standing practice, it does not comment on intelligence matters. "It is worth pointing out that GCHQ takes its obligations under the law very seriously," the statement read. "Our work is carried out in accordance with a strict legal and policy framework which ensures that our activities are authorized, necessary and proportionate, and that there is rigorous oversight, including from the secretary of state, the Interception and Intelligence Services Commissioners and the Intelligence and Security Committee." The prime minister's office at 10 Downing Street also gave a statement saying only, "We don't comment on intelligence matters." The GCHQ is one of the three UK intelligence agencies and, according to its website, forms a "crucial part of the UK's national intelligence and security machinery." A source with knowledge of intelligence matters said "intelligence agencies are there to keep citizens safe and the vast majority of data collected is discarded." The process used by the GCHQ, the source said, "scans bulk data for any information that can have national security implication. "Only information deemed useful for national security is pulled out and examined in more detail. The vast majority of data is not examined or retained. "The process is legal and governed by the 2000 Regulatory Investigatory Power Act. It is regularly reviewed and authorized by ministerial warrants. This is vital national security work. It's proportionate and it's about following terrorist or criminal activity and not about following law-abiding citizens." CNN's Bharati Naik contributed to this report.

NEW: The NSA slams the report as "absolutely false" The Guardian: The UK agency routinely downloads massive communications data . The report is based on documents leaked by Edward Snowden . The British government says it does not comment on intelligence matters .