Thursday, 31 January 2013

USADA claims $250,000 Armstrong offer

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Updated January 09, 2013 09:55:32

Disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong once offered to donate nearly $US250,000 to anti-doping efforts, the head of the United States Anti-Doping Agency tells 60 Minutes Sports in an interview to be aired on Thursday (AEDT).

Armstrong, who was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles last year after an investigation by USADA found evidence of wide-spread doping, had a representative offer the agency a large sum of money in 2004, USADA chief Travis Tygart says in the wide-ranging interview.

"I was stunned," Tygart tells interviewer Scott Pelley, according to a statement issued by the program. "It was clear - it was a clear conflict of interest for USADA.

"We had no hesitation in rejecting that offer."

Asked how much money Armstrong offered the agency, Tygart replied; "in excess of $150,000."

Told by Pelley that 60 Minutes had learned it was $250,000, Tygart answered; "It was around that ballpark."

Armstrong's attorney Tim Herman moved quickly to insist there was "no truth" to this story.

"First Lance heard of it was today," Herman told the Associated Press.

"He never made any such contribution or suggestion."

Tygart also alleges Armstrong provided the International Cycling Union, a regulatory body for the sport, a gift of $100,000.

During the interview, Tygart describes Armstrong and his team of doctors, coaches and riders as similar to a "mafia" that kept their secret for years and intimidated riders into silently following their illegal methods.

Some of those riders are considered victims by Tygart and he says they were forced to choose between following the doping program or being off the team.

Tygart tells Pelley, he was "stunned" when the US Justice Department failed to charge Armstrong at the end of a two-year investigation and failed to share their findings with USADA.

"I don't know (why they failed to charge Armstrong)," says Tygart. "It's a good question and one that if you finally answer, let me know."

Armstrong has denied ever using performance-enhancing drugs but according to a recent New York Times story is considering coming clean about doping in an effort to return to competition.

Reuters/ABC

Topics: sport, cycling, united-states

First posted January 09, 2013 08:14:56


US condemns North Korea nuclear test threats

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Updated January 25, 2013 07:58:33

The White House has condemned North Korea's threat to carry out a third nuclear test aimed at the United States as "needlessly provocative".

In a statement yesterday, North Korea said it had planned the test and more rocket launches in response to tightened United Nations sanctions.

The statement by North Korea's defence commission did not say when the test against its "arch-enemy" would be held.

"We do not hide [that we will continue to launch] the various satellites and long-range rockets, as well as the high-level nuclear test we will proceed with," the commission said in a statement.

"Settling accounts with the US needs to be done with force, not with words."

White House spokesman Jay Carney criticised North Korea's statement as "needlessly provocative", and added that a nuclear test would be a significant violation of UN sanctions and would further isolate Pyongyang.

UN leader Ban Ki-moon said the international community must put pressure on North Korea to stop it carrying out a nuclear weapons test.

The UN threatened significant action if it did.

Deputy spokesman Eduardo del Buey added that North Korea "has to realise that only dialogue will help defuse tension on the Korean peninsula and that any threat of nuclearisation runs counter to Security Council resolutions".

North Korea's sole major ally, China, has called for calm and restraint.

The UN this week toughened the sanctions against North Korea for having staged a banned rocket launch last month.

They added to the wide-ranging sanctions imposed by the council after North Korea set off nuclear bombs in an underground bunker in 2006 and 2009.

ABC/AFP

Topics: world-politics, defence-and-national-security, korea-democratic-people-s-republic-of, united-states

First posted January 25, 2013 07:39:23


Video game maker Atari files for bankruptcy

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Updated January 23, 2013 13:39:20

Atari, the company that first brought video games into the home, has filed for bankruptcy.

Atari Inc, a US-based company famous for video games such as Pong and Asteroids, has had several owners since its heyday in the 1980s.

It has now filed a bankruptcy motion with the aim of separating itself from its French parent company, Atari SA, amid "adverse trading conditions and limited development funds".

Chief executive Jim Wilson says the move is necessary to allow it to grow in the field of downloadable and mobile games.

The company's European operations have filed similar bankruptcy procedures in French courts.

We asked you for your memories of playing Atari games. Here's what you told us on Facebook and Twitter.

Topics: games, arts-and-entertainment, company-news, business-economics-and-finance, united-states

First posted January 23, 2013 11:30:22


US poised to allow women in combat

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Updated January 24, 2013 11:22:02

The United States is set to lift a ban on women serving in combat, after a decade of war that saw female troops thrust onto the battlefield.

Defence secretary Leon Panetta is expected to announce the move, which could open thousands of frontline jobs to female service members, later today.

But Pentagon commanders will still be allowed to make a case for any specific posts they think should remain closed to women.

An unnamed defence official said individual military services will have until 2016 to seek an exemption.

Mr Panetta's decision overturns a 1994 policy that prevents women from serving in small frontline combat units.

It comes nearly a year after the Pentagon unveiled a policy that opened 14,000 new jobs to women, but continued to prohibit them from serving in infantry, armour and special operations units whose main function was to engage in frontline combat.

Australia's Defence Minister Stephen Smith announced in late 2011 that the Australian Army would allow women to serve in combat roles within five years.

Calls to lift the US Army's blanket prohibition have mounted after more than 10 years of war in which women fought and died in counter-insurgency campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan, where front lines were blurred.

Some senior officers have privately voiced concerns that infantry and special forces units require major upper body strength and that difficult physical tests should not be relaxed for female recruits.

But female veterans and activists say they are only demanding an equal chance to apply for combat jobs - and not any special treatment.

Women make up about 14.5 per cent of the active duty US military, or about 204,000 service members, according to the Pentagon.

About 2 per cent of US deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan have been women.

Around 280,000 women have been deployed to the war zones over the past decade, about 12 percent of the US total.

Mr Panetta's decision would apply mainly to the Army and the Marine Corps, as the Air Force and Navy already have lifted most prohibitions on women in combat, with women flying warplanes and launching weapons on ships.

In 2010, the Navy opted to allow women to serve on submarines.

The move has been welcomed by US senator Carl Levin, the head of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

He says it reflects the "reality of 21st century military operations".

The American Civil Liberties Union, which had filed a suit in November seeking to force the Pentagon to end the ban, has also praised the decision.

AFP/Reuters

Topics: world-politics, army, defence-forces, defence-and-national-security, unrest-conflict-and-war, united-states

First posted January 24, 2013 09:27:50


Venezuela postpones Chavez inauguration

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Posted January 09, 2013 11:30:45

Venezuela will postpone the inauguration of president Hugo Chavez for a new term due to health problems, the government has confirmed.

The 58-year-old former soldier who has dominated the South American nation since 1999 has not been heard from since he had surgery in Cuba on December 11.

It was his fourth operation since he was diagnosed with an undisclosed type of cancer in June 2011.

The announcement outraged opposition leaders who insist Mr Chavez must be sworn in before the national assembly on January 10 as laid out in the constitution, or temporarily step aside and leave an ally in power.

"The commander president wants us to inform that, based on his medical team's recommendations, the post-operative recovery should extend past January 10," vice-president Nicolas Maduro - Mr Chavez's chosen successor - said in a letter read to the legislature.

"As a result, he will not be able to be present at the national assembly on that date."

The letter said authorities would seek another date for the inauguration ceremony but did not say when it would take place or give a time frame for Mr Chavez's return from Havana.

Rather than being sworn in by the legislature, he would take his oath at a later date before the Supreme Court, the letter said, as allowed by the constitution.

Government leaders insist Mr Chavez is fulfilling his duties as head of state, even though official medical bulletins say he has a severe pulmonary infection and has had trouble breathing.

The government has called for a massive rally outside the presidential palace on Thursday, and allied presidents including Uruguay's Jose Mujica and Bolivia's Evo Morales have confirmed they will visit Venezuela this week despite Mr Chavez's absence.

But the unprecedented silence by the socialist president - famous for regularly speaking for hours in meandering broadcasts - has left many convinced he could be in his last days.

His resignation or death would upend politics in the oil-rich nation, where he enjoys a deity-like status among poor supporters thankful for his social largesse.

His critics call him a fledgling dictator who has squandered billions of dollars from crude sales while dashing the independence of state institutions.

Reuters

Topics: world-politics, venezuela


Wednesday, 30 January 2013

Wounded soldier dies after failed Somali raid

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Updated January 15, 2013 09:51:24

A second French soldier has died from gunshot wounds after an attempt to rescue a French agent failed at the weekend, Somalia's Al Shabaab rebel group says.

French forces went into southern Somalia by helicopter under the cover of darkness on Saturday to try to free Denis Allex, who had been held hostage since 2009, but were met with fierce resistance from the Al Qaeda-linked militants.

The outcome of the mission was unclear. French president Francois Hollande said on Saturday the operation had failed despite the "sacrifice" of two soldiers and "no doubt the assassination of our hostage".

"The second commando died from his bullet wounds," Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab, spokesman for Al Shabaab's military operations, said.

Sheikh Musab said the French agent was alive, and his fate would be decided later.

Earlier, the government had said one soldier was missing in action.

Al Shabaab have now published photos of what they say is the dead man, lying next to weapons and other military equipment.

The unconfirmed image, released on Al Shabaab's Twitter feed, was captioned, "Francois Hollande, was it worth it?".

On Saturday, French defence minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said French troops had underestimated the Islamist rebels' strength when they launched the overnight operation.

The rescue bid involved 50 troops and at least five helicopters.

Reuters

Topics: unrest-conflict-and-war, terrorism, somalia, france

First posted January 14, 2013 20:59:44


US to end ban on women in combat roles

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Updated January 25, 2013 07:08:19

The US defence department says it will end the ban on women in the military serving in combat roles.

The Pentagon has stopped women from fighting on the frontline since 1994, but now the US military has recommended the ban should go.

Equalising the right to apply for combat roles will open up hundreds of thousands of jobs for women, but it will not happen immediately.

It is thought US defence secretary Leon Panetta wants initial plans in place by May and military chiefs will have three years to decide if some combat roles should remain off limits.

Ariela Migdal, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), is representing four servicewomen who launched a challenge against the ban.

Ms Migdal says the policy from 1994 is outdated and does not match the reality of modern combat.

She says the policy was "tying the hands" of commanders in the field.

"If a commander was trying to put a team together or a unit or a mission and the commander wanted to assign the most qualified person for the job and she happened to be a woman, then he was faced with a choice because the ban said he could not assign her," she said.

"Then what the commander had to do was try and figure out 'Well, how am I going to get around that ban?'

"So commanders would do things like attach women to units or put the women - they used the phrase 'indirect support of the infantry unit', for example - do whatever they needed to do to get the mission accomplished but here the ban was tying their hands."

Ms Migdal says women would often go on patrol with infantry units that they were not a part of and with whom they had not necessarily trained up with "comprehensively".

She says women were sometimes left "learning everything on the go", but despite the barriers performed well.

There are estimates ranging from one-in-three to one-in-five women in uniform in the US who experience sexual assault, meaning women are more likely to be sexually assaulted than harmed by the enemy.

"This is part of the change that does need to happen because what you had up until now is an official policy telling every soldier that women are less than - they're only there to support you [and] they're not really the primary service people because they can't do all the jobs," Ms Migdal said.

"As that goes away and women have the equal chance to compete for even the top leadership positions, that's going to be part of a culture shift that will bring about, ideally, the accountability as well that's necessary to stop the epidemic of sexual violence in the military."

An often stated argument against women in frontline combat roles is that they may not be up to the physical challenge of the more demanding roles in the military.

But Ms Migdal says that while some roles are particularly demanding, it is not always strength that comes to the fore in emergency situations.

"There's no question that many of these jobs are not appropriate for most people, most women or most men. They're very demanding, they're rigorous," she said.

"On the other hand, I think what you have seen over the past 10 years is that there are women who are not only willing to make that sacrifice but able to do it and to perform very well.

"[When one of our plaintiffs' teams] was shot down in Afghanistan and taking fire from the enemy, it wasn't about how many push-ups you could do but it was about the fact that even though she was wounded, she was able to provide cover for her team and complete the rescue of the injured soldiers successfully.

"Training is a big part of it and ensuring that you really have the best people for the job rather than an artificially limited talent pool."

Topics: world-politics, army, law-crime-and-justice, united-states

First posted January 24, 2013 19:25:50


Thousands protest outside Ontario Liberal leadership convention

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Sonja Puzic, CTVNews. ca
Published on Saturday, Jan. 26, 2013 1: 07PM EST
Last Updated on Saturday, Jan. 26, 2013 10: 22PM EST

TORONTO--the Liberals elected Ontario's As their new leader on Saturday, a massive labor rally took the spotlight outside, where thousands gathered to send a message to the future premier.

Unions representing teachers, public service employees and others lined the police barricades outside the former Maple Leaf Gardens, chanting "Down with the Liberals."

Many of them booed Liberal delegates and other attendees as they entered and exited the building on Carlton Street.

Toronto police estimated that 15,000 protesters flooded the streets at one point, marching down Gerrard, Yonge and Carlton streets. The Ontario Federation of Labour had said that 25,000 people from across the province were expected to attend.

Demonstrators arrived by the busload to the downtown core. Dozens of buses, the bearing of the pick-up location signs like "Kitchener-Waterloo," "Hamilton" and "in the London area," Jarvis Street and nearby roads lined as the OFL kicked off the protest with a rally at Allen Gardens.

OFL president Sid Ryan urged the crowd to send a strong message to the Liberal leadership candidates by from flooding their social media streams with messages about collective bargaining and labour rights.

Unions say the Liberal Government's policies and austerity measures have destroyed well-paying jobs, benefits and employment security.

Many of those in the crowd were teachers, angry about Bill 115, the recently repealed a piece of legislation that imposed contracts is teachers who did not negotiate agreements with the province.

Education Minister Laurel Broten said the government had to act to protect students from a teachers ' strikes, but later acknowledged that 115 of the Bill had become a "lighting rod."

Teachers ' unions, however, said that repealing the bill was a "meaningless" move that didn't address the rift between them and the Queen's Park.

"We just want our right to collective bargaining of the fair," said Doug Reeves, a teacher who arrived from London, Ont., to take part in Saturday's protest.

Reeves, who has been teaching for 24 years, said he was pleased to see a boisterous, "aggressive" in the crowd outside the Liberal leadership convention.

"They can't ignore us now," he said.

After Kathleen Wynne's victory was any indication of Saturday night, the Elementary Teachers ' Federation of Ontario issued a statement saying it hopes that "respectful discussions can begin to help end the chaos in the schools created by Bill 115."

"We hope that the Premier Wynne will govern in the best interests of working people in Ontario and restore the democratic values that have shaped this province," ETFO President Sam Hammond said in a news release.

60 cars involved in chain-reaction crashes on Highway 401

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CTV Toronto
Published Friday, Jan. 25, 2013 4:51PM EST
Last Updated Friday, Jan. 25, 2013 10:40PM EST

At least five people were injured, two critically, after dozens of vehicles were involved in two chain-reaction crashes on a snow-covered southern Ontario highway in near whiteout conditions Friday afternoon.

A 10-kilometre stretch of Highway 401 between Newtonville and Newcastle re-opened late Friday night after remaining closed for several hours.

At least 60 vehicles were involved in the accident about 80 kilometres east of Toronto, Durham EMS deputy chief Steve McNenly said.

Witnesses said the crashes began after a couple of tractor trailers collided in the westbound lanes of the highway near the Mill Street overpass. The second set of smashups came shortly after in the eastbound lanes of the 401.

The stretch of tangled bumpers and mangled metal was at least one kilometre long, witnesses said.

Pictures taken after the collisions showed crumpled cars at the back end of a jackknifed transport truck that was blocking three lanes of traffic. One car had plowed into the back of another, lifting its trunk area onto its hood and front windshield. Another car’s door was nearly sheared off while other vehicles had broken bumpers.

Off-duty paramedic Matt Walton was one of the first on the scene.

"There was probably about 10 to 15, maybe a little bit more, tractor trailers involved, cars of varying sizes. Damage to different cars was just outrageous," said Walton.

"It was snowing pretty hard. You couldn't see too far in front of you and as you come up to these cars you see cars completely collapsed at the front, cars that are perpendicular to the traffic piled on top of each other, tractor trailers just completely slammed into each other," he said.

Provincial police said five people were transported to hospital, two with life-threatening injuries. One of the critically-injured was re-routed to Toronto's Sunnybrook Medical Centre. 

A dozen ambulances from Durham, Northumberland, Kawartha Lakes, Peterborough and Toronto went to the scene, said Kawartha Lakes EMS deputy chief Derek Brown. Air ambulances could not fly because of the weather.

Provincial police were going car to car checking for people who were injured, said Lazarus.Firefighters say one driver had to be cut from his rig.

Provincial police Const. Linda Wolf said police were looking into the blast of winter weather as a factor in the crashes.

Environment Canada had warned of snow squalls off Lake Ontario in the area.

"The weather is not ideal at this point," Wolf said.

Metrolinx provided a bus at the request of the provincial police to provide shelter for the occupants of vehicles involved in the crash, said spokesperson Vanessa Thomas.

-With files from The Canadian Press

"If women smoke like men, they die than men," study author says

CTVNews. ca staff
Published Saturday, January 26, 2013 6: 44 PM EST
Last updated on Saturday, January 26, 2013 11: 13 PM EST

Recent research finds that women are catching up to men when it comes to the risk of death from smoking.

The study, published earlier this week in the New England Journal of Medicine, looking at the first generation of women in the United States, who started smoking in the early life and continue smoking for decades.

Although some studies suggested the risks of smoking in the 1980s, women were low, this study found that female smoking began to mirror the men 's, so is their mortality rate.

"The perils of women who continue to smoke are now estimated to have a majority of smokers," the study's authors said.

in the 1980s, a woman's risk of dying from lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and other smoking-related causes rose by 50%.

"Basically, if women smoke like men, they die than men," study author Dr. Prhabhat JHA told CTV News. "This means about a decade of life. Not for a few years, but the whole of the Decade--a healthy Decade of life lost. "

The study, which looked at the medical records of the u.s. National interview, the investigation found, who never smoked were twice as likely to age 80 than those who had to live in.

And while the study found that smoking cut about 10 years off of the human life span, it was also found that smokers who quit before the end of the 40-year-old will be able to get back to many years back.

According to the survey, people who quit smoking between the ages of 35 and 44 received about nine years of my life back. Those who finish the 45-54 and 55-64 years of age received six years of life, respectively.

Dr. Tim McAfee U.s. Center for Disease Control, said the results are significant.

"Someone who quits before the age of 40, they will get a lot back. They get almost a decade of life, which is incredible, "McAfee said.

Jha said, these findings mean that it is OK to burn until you're 40. However, it dispels the idea that if you've smoked for over ten years, it is too late to stop, he said.

"Quitting at any age, but especially useful, if you quit before the age of 40, you get close to the never smoker death rates," Jha said.

"The most important message is stopped the works," he added. "Smoking at a young age--even the 40-year-old avoids approximately 90% was consistently burn."

The study looked at data from the u.s. national death index, which focuses on people's records, which had 16,000 dead and report smoking earlier in life.

But smoking cessation experts say that research is worrying.

The Manitoba tobacco reduction Alliance Chairman Murray Gibson said there's no such thing as a "safe" amount of smoking and many are struggling to stop addictive habit.

"A lot of young people or young people between the ages of, say," Oh, when I get to be 40, but I'm gonna quit. What they don't understand is the difficulty that might be trying to do, "' he said.

Explanation of Winnipeg CTV's Bureau Chief Jill Macyshon

Egyptian riot leaves at least 27 dead in soccer violence in the Court

By The Associated Press
Published Saturday, January 26, 2013, 9: 01 AM EST
Last updated on Saturday, January 26, 2013 at 10: 39 PM EST

CAIRO--the angry, relatives and residents of which devastated the Egyptian port city on Saturday, rioting, which killed at least 27 people after a judge sentenced 20 soccer fans to death in deadly violence after the game last year.

The unrest was the latest bout of violence that left a total of 38 people dead in two days, including 11 deaths during clashes between police and demonstrators Friday marking the second anniversary of the uprising that overthrew longtime leader Hosni Mubarak.

Chairman Mohammed Morsi canceled the scheduled trip to Ethiopia on Saturday and met for the first time, on the other hand, the top generals as part of the newly formed National Defense Council.

The violence broke out when the Port Said the judge sentenced 21 people to death in connection with the Feb. 1 soccer melee that killed 74 fans of Cairo-based Al-Ahly team. In Egypt usually performed a series of executions by hanging.

All the defendants, who were not present in the courtroom Saturday for security reasons-might appeal to the verdict.

Judge Sobhi Abdel-Maguid did not let him, when he read 21 73 defendants on Saturday. The rest of the 52 defendants, including nine security officers, is scheduled to be delivered to the Court on March 9. Some have been charged with murder and other ancillary invaders.

A die-hard soccer fans from both teams are known as the Ultras, will keep the police, at least in part responsible for the February violence, which was the world's worst soccer violence in 15 years, says officers at the game is trying to stop the bloodshed. They are critical of the President of Egypt, Mohammed Morsi is doing little to reform the police or the judiciary, since he started in July.

The opposition says Morsi, Egypt's first freely elected civilian President and his allies on the Board of Directors of the Muslim Brotherhood is not the stability of constant political turmoil and a worsening economy in the Middle, and referring to the crime.

On Saturday, the main opposition party, the National Salvation Front said it alleges that Morsi "excessive use of force by security forces against demonstrators." They threatened to boycott upcoming parliamentary elections if it does not meet its demands, which include Morsi, amending the articles of the new Constitution.

The brotherhood said in its statement that "misleading" media outlets blamed "heightens people's anger at the current administration and to surmise."

As soon as Saturday's Court were read live on State television, two police officers were shot dead outside the main prison in Port Said, when angry, relatives tried to free the defendants. Police fired tear gas and rubber bullets and live ammunition at crowds outside the prison.

The rest of the inhabitants of the city attempted to Governor's Office, police stations, the power plant and the main courthouse. Residents of one of Eastern Paltamo.

Hospital in Paltamo, Dr. Abdel-Raham Farah, the Director said, two local soccer players was shot to death, because they were apparently on their way to practice. He identified them, Mahmoud Abdel Halim al-Dizawi, who played on a map of Al Marikh-club, and Tamer al-Fahla, who used to play on a map of Al Masry. Al-Diwazi was shot three times, the doctor said.

Education is the club is located close to the prison that the residents tried to.

The army was sent to restore security but beatings continued to try to Spring Hill in the evening. The army was widely used to keep in order from top generals, who took over after Hosni Mubarak, but the army has kept a lower profile since Morsi was elected.

The Egyptian army also was sent into the Suez Canal on a map of the eight people killed in Friday's clashes between security forces and protesters opposed to the election of the new President, and brotherhood. A second Demonstrator died in Ismailiya and security officials told the State MENA News Agency, two police officers were killed in Friday's protests.

Many of the young men, which led to mass protests and clashes between natives of Ultras. They often come from poor neighborhoods and see the police, which was the fate of an authoritarian than their backbone of Mubarak.

"The police are the bad guys!" yelled the deceased relatives inside the courtroom, before the judge took the bench.

Close to Cairo's Tahrir square, where tens of thousands had gathered two years anniversary a day earlier, Al-Ahly Ultras waved a red flag, their own team as they clashed with police, who fired tear gas to pay for the Government from among the headquarters and Parliament.

Highlight the distrust that lingers between a lot of the public and the police, the family and witnesses say Mubarak loyalists had a hand in instigating the attack, which began last year when the Port Said the home team won the match 3-1, and even the police were responsible for gross negligence.

Al-Masry fans stormed the pitch after the game ended with attacking Cairo's Al-Ahly fans. Authorities off the stadium lights plunges into darkness. Press and hold to exit the hallway to flee from a set of chained to the gate until broke open. Many people are trying to escape from the crowd under the crushed.

Goes back to the said, it was just a bloodthirsty Al Masry fans and the lack of adequate protection, which led to the death of their colleagues. The police are to blame on both sides of the usual searches for weapons in the stadium.

Anger boils in Port Said, where residents say they have unfairly scapegoats.

A lawyer for one of the defendants, the Court said the death penalty was a political one.

"There's nothing to say, nothing these people do not understand what this Court is based," Mohammed al-Daw told the Associated Press by telephone.

"Our situation is serious because of the Port Said children were taken from their homes wearing green t-shirts," he said, referring to Al Masry team color.

Al-Daw and other defense attorneys said all those who had condemned Al-Masry fans. As usual in Egypt, sentences will be sent to the nation's top religious authority, the Grand Mufti of Syria for approval, even though the Court has the final say on the matter of death.

Al-Ahly, which was attacked by rival Al Masry Club stands in the case of Port Said, the fans had been promised more violence if the death penalty is not given in the days leading up to the judgment.

Before the judge could read the names of the 21 families, broke out in relief, shout "Allahu Akbar!" Arabic, "God is great," hands in the air and waving the picture of the deceased. One man fainted, while others hugged each other. The judge smacked the bench several times to try to restore calm courtroom.

"This was necessary," said Nour al-Sabah, whose 17-year-old son Ahmed Zakaria died last year in the melee. "Now I want to see guys with their own eyes when, just as they saw the murder of my son."

Thousands of fans gathered outside the Al-Ahly Cairo Sports Club, chanting against the police and Government.

"We are really happy," Mohamed Ahmed, attack, the family said. "The Government helped to block the gates of the stadium, Ultras Paltamo until people suffocated to death.

Wreckage of missing plane found, crash deemed 'not survivable'

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CTVNews.ca Staff
Published Saturday, Jan. 26, 2013 2:33AM EST
Last Updated Saturday, Jan. 26, 2013 3:18AM EST

The wreckage of a plane missing in Antarctica since Wednesday has been found.

It appears to have made a direct impact that was "not survivable," New Zealand's Rescue Co-ordination Centre (RCCNZ) confirmed Saturday in a statement.

The Twin Otter aircraft, owned by Calgary-based Kenn Borek Air, was carrying three Canadians and went missing over the Queen Alexandria mountain range.

"The aircraft wreckage is on a very steep slope, close to the summit of Mt. Elizabeth," said the RCCNZ, adding that no details are available at this time on the cause of the crash.

"Next of kind have been informed," continued the statement.

The Twin Otter's emergency locator transmitter was activated Wednesday as the plane travelled from a U.S. research station at the South Pole to an Italian research base in Terra Nova Bay.

The rescue effort was hampered by heavy winds and cloud cover.

The beacon stopped transmitting likely because the battery died and there had been no contact with the crew. But it was hoped they were able to survive because they were equipped with survival suits, cold-weather tents and food and water to last up to five days.

Friends have identified the pilot as Bob Heath from the Northwest Territories, an experienced pilot in both the Antarctic and Arctic.

Media reports have identified the copilot as 25-year-old Mike Denton, a newlywed from Calgary whose photographs of planes appear on the Kenn Borek Air website.

The third crew member has not yet been identified.

CTV News contacted Kenn Borek Air but they are not commenting at this time.

The RCCNZ was coordinating the search for the aircraft, working with United States and Canadian authorities.

Search and Rescue Mission Coordinator Tracy Brickles said in a statement that it was a sad end to the operation.

“It has been difficult operation in challenging conditions but we remained hopeful of a positive result. Our thoughts are now with the families of the crewmen.”

Tuesday, 29 January 2013

Thrilling Ontario Liberal convention could be the last

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Andrea Janus, CTVNews.ca
Published Saturday, Jan. 26, 2013 10:21PM EST
Last Updated Sunday, Jan. 27, 2013 12:15AM EST

Ontario Liberals elected a new leader and premier-designate Saturday in a tight, three-round vote, a contest that may have marked the end of delegated leadership races in the province.

Saturday’s leadership convention ended with time for delegates to get an early start at the after-parties, unlike in 1996 when Dalton McGuinty surged ahead from nearly the back of the pack to be declared victor after 4 a.m.

The third and final ballot came down to the two front runners heading into the convention, Kathleen Wynne and Sandra Pupatello, with Wynne getting 1,150 votes to Pupatello’s 866. Wynne is the new Liberal leader and will likely be premier by the end of the week after McGuinty pays a visit to the lieutenant governor.

Saturday’s events could be the last time a party leader will be chosen at a delegated convention in Ontario, making way for a one-member, one-vote system that some argue is more fair, but far less exciting.

The results from the first round of voting kicked off a rush of activity on the convention floor early Saturday afternoon, as Pupatello and Wynne came out separated by just two votes.

The results of first ballot were: Pupatello at 599 votes and Wynne at 597, followed by Gerard Kennedy at 281, Harinder Takhar at 235, Charles Sousa at 222 and Eric Hoskins at 150.

Last-place finisher Hoskins was automatically dropped from the ballot and reporters and delegates watched for signs of where he would throw his support.

After conferring with family and advisors, including former Liberal premier David Peterson, Hoskins led delegates to Wynne’s camp, but not before faking a move to Pupatello’s side of the room.

Asked why he chose to support Wynne, the MPP for St. Paul’s said Wynne encompassed the qualities needed to lead the Liberal party and the province.

“Integrity, compassion, commitment, she’s a team player and all the qualities that we need,” he said.

Just a few hours earlier, Twitter lit up with speculation that Hoskins would drop out before the first round of voting when in his final speech to delegates, he pledged to support Ontario’s next premier, “whoever she may be.”

But he stayed in the race until he was forced out, and stuck by Wynne’s side for much of the day.

Not long after Hoskins moved to the Wynne camp, Takhar also read the vote count on the wall, and led his delegates over to Pupatello’s side of the room. His move was a surprise to some who had heard that the MPP for Mississauga-Erindale was headed to the Kennedy camp.

“The creation of jobs is important to me,” said Takhar when asked why he chose to support Pupatello, noting her focus on the economy.

With the second ballot down to a four-horse race, delegates and reporters who predicted a quick result were left wondering how long it takes to count some 2,000-plus votes. Results from the second ballot came down three hours later, and it became clear that both Sousa and Kennedy would be on the move.

Results of the second ballot put Pupatello ahead at 817 votes, with second Wynne at 750, Kennedy third with 285 and Sousa fourth with 203. Takhar failed to drop out of the race in the allotted time after the first ballot and remained on the second, getting 18 votes.

The Wynne supporters who had spent the vote count singing, chanting and hammering noisemakers together on the convention floor immediately began calling the Kennedy and Sousa camps over to their side. Sousa remained in his box with his family while Kennedy’s delegates moved out of the arena so he could speak to them in private.

Chatter on the convention floor had the former small business owner and RBC executive Sousa making the short walk next door to the Pupatello camp. But his team began making a path through the stands for him that led to the convention floor, and Wynne supporters crushed forward to welcome them to the fold.

Once Sousa embraced Wynne it was unclear what had become of Kennedy and his delegates. But he eventually made his way to the Wynne camp to a deafening roar from her supporters.

The final scene on the floor, perhaps not surprisingly, was collegial but divided, with Wynne supporters in their trademark black-and-white scarves and placards on one side with Pupatello’s supporters in red on the other.

The candidates took the stage together, crossing the stage to wave to each other’s supporters before Liberal Party President Yasir Naqvi could deliver the final tally. When he announced Pupatello’s figures and it was clear she didn’t have enough to win, Wynne’s camp erupted and Naqvi could hardly be heard over the roar.

McGuinty then joined the women on stage, followed by the entire Liberal caucus, in an unplanned show of strength. Their combined weight threatened to break the stage and Wynne told the crowd said she had gone off script.

If the Liberals go the way of the other parties with a one-member, one-vote system, as expected, we may have seen the last of the Ontario political conventions that serve up surprises to the end.

Judge declares mistrial in ex-cheerleader's libel suit against gossip site

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Amanda Lee Myers, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published Friday, Jan. 25, 2013 4:35PM EST

COVINGTON, Ky. -- Jurors couldn't decide whether two lewd posts about a former Cincinnati Bengals cheerleader were substantially true or not, leading a federal judge to declare a mistrial Friday in her US$11 million defamation lawsuit against a gossip website.

Former cheerleader and high school teacher Sarah Jones, 27, is suing Scottsdale, Ariz.-based thedirty.com and its operator over two anonymously submitted posts that said she had slept with every Bengals player and likely had two sexually transmitted diseases. The posts were unrelated to Jones' relationship with her former 17-year-old student. Jones pleaded guilty in that case in October in a deal that allowed her to avoid jail time but forbade her from ever teaching again. She and the teen are still dating.

U.S. District Judge William Bertelsman declared the mistrial after jurors failed to reach a verdict over two days of deliberations following the three-day trial in northern Kentucky.

A new trial date, which would mean a whole new jury, could be set during a hearing scheduled for March 1.

Jurors were tasked with deciding whether Jones proved the posts about her having sex with all the Bengals players and likely having STDs were substantially false. But the closest they came to answering that question was an 8-2 vote in Jones' favour; the verdict had to be unanimous.

Jurors did unanimously agree that thedirty.com's operator, Nik Richie, did not act with malice when he posted the submissions. That means jurors would not have awarded Jones any money had they all been able to agree that the posts were substantially false.

Lawyers for both Jones and Richie said the jury's indecision taught them how they can strengthen their cases.

Jones' lawyer, Eric Deters, said he feels confident he can get the next jury to find that Richie acted with malice when he refused to take down the posts for 10 months after repeated emails from Jones that they were false and harming her reputation.

"I'm going to win this son of a gun," Deters said of the next trial.

Alex Ward, one of Richie's three lawyers, said that "hindsight is 20/20" but that he now knows what points to focus upon more strongly in order to get a win for his client.

During the three-day trial, Deters argued that the posts defamed Jones and called her reputation into question long before her relationship with the student, and that's why she's entitled to damages. He also urged jurors to give her a big financial reward to effectively shut down thedirty.com.

Richie testified that Jones is a public figure and that the posts were written by an anonymous user, not him.

Ward argued that the first post about Jones having sex with all the Bengals players was a clear exaggeration that no reasonable person would believe, and therefore, didn't amount to defamation. He said the second post -- which said that Jones' ex-husband cheated on her with 50 women, had gonorrhea and chlamydia, and likely gave it to Jones -- was merely an opinion that also did not amount to defamation.

Ward also told jurors that the posts were generally true because Jones has shown that she is "sexually immoral."

Evidence at trial included newly released text messages between Jones and the teen that said she first fell in love with him when he walked into her freshman English classroom when he was 14.

Jones resigned from Dixie Heights High School and from the Bengals cheer squad in late 2011 after four years in both jobs.

The day after she pleaded guilty in the case, Jones and the teen spoke with NBC's Dateline and said they were in love, still in a relationship and didn't care what anyone thought.

North Korean leader vows to crack down on obvious reference to nuclear test

By The Associated Press
Published Saturday, January 26, 2013, 9: 58 PM EST
Last updated on Saturday, January 26, 2013 at 10: 24 PM EST

SEOUL, South Korea--North Korea's state news agency says leader Kim Jong Un has vowed at the meeting, top security and foreign officials to take a "significant, important and prominent State measures."

Analysts say that the promise is a sign that North Korea intends to carry out a nuclear test Kim's orders.

North Korea's powerful National Defense Commission announced last week that the country's nuclear industry will be carried out and launch more rockets, on the other hand, the UN Security Council. The UN sanctioned Korean long-range rocket test in December for more sanctions, calling on the other hand, prohibits nuclear and missile activities.

The official KOREAN CENTRAL NEWS AGENCY reported Sunday that Kim convened top security officials and diplomats in Pyongyang's promise to take action.

Dolphin dies after wandering into polluted New York City canal

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AppId is over the quota
The Associated Press
Published Friday, Jan. 25, 2013 3:30PM EST
Last Updated Friday, Jan. 25, 2013 8:51PM EST

A wayward dolphin that meandered into a polluted urban canal, riveting onlookers as it splashed around in the filthy water and shook black gunk from its snout, died Friday evening, marine experts said.

The deep-freeze weather hadn't seemed to faze the dolphin as it swam in the Gowanus Canal, which runs 1.5 miles (2.4 kilometres) through a narrow industrial zone near some of Brooklyn's wealthiest neighbourhoods.

Marine experts had hoped high tide, beginning around 7:10 p.m., would help the dolphin leave the canal safely. But the dolphin was confirmed dead shortly before then, said the Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation, which didn't immediately know how it died.

Earlier, with the dolphin swimming about and surfacing periodically, bundled-up onlookers took cellphone photos, and a news helicopter hovered overhead.

The New York Police Department said the marine foundation's experts had planned to help the dolphin on Saturday morning if it didn't get out of the canal during high tide. The foundation, based in Riverhead, on eastern Long Island, specializes in cases involving whales, dolphins, seals and sea turtles.

The filthy canal was named a Superfund site in 2010, meaning the government can force polluters to pay for its restoration. For more than a century before, coal yards, chemical factories and fuel refineries on the canal's banks discharged everything from tar to purple ink into the water, earning it the local nickname The Lavender Lake for its unnatural hue.

The dolphin, which appeared to be about 7 feet (2.1 metres) long, likely entered the canal from the Atlantic Ocean through the Lower and Upper New York Bays and then the Gowanus Bay, which leads to the canal. It's about 20 miles (32 kilometres) from the canal to open ocean.

It may seem strange, but it's not uncommon for sea creatures to stray into city waters, though they don't often swim away alive.

A dolphin was found dead last August near Long Island, south of the canal. Another washed up in June in the Hudson River near Manhattan's Chelsea Piers sports complex.

In 2007, a baby minke whale that briefly captivated the city wandered into the Gowanus Bay and swam aimlessly before dying.

Two years later, a humpback whale took a tour of the city's waters before leaving New York Harbor safely. The 20-foot (6-meter) whale was first seen in Queens before it headed for Brooklyn, took a swing through the harbour and headed toward open waters near the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge.

CERN Chief sees the certainty of the God particle until the summer

By John Heilprin, Associated Press
Published Saturday, January 26, 2013 5: 22 PM EST

DAVOS, Switzerland--the world knows with certainty by the middle of this year, whether or not the subatomic particles discovered last summer, long sought for the Higgs boson, physicists, the world's largest atom smasher said Saturday the head.

Rolf Heuer, CERN, the European Organization for nuclear research, or is a Director, said he was sure that "the year we would be there." Then he said the reams of information about the $ 10 billion Large Hadron Collider on the Swiss-French border near Geneva, should have been assessed.

The timing of the Scottish physicist Peter Higgs could also help win the Noble Prize, Heuer said in an interview with the Associated Press, the Swiss Davos resort.

CERN'S atom smasher helped scientists announce the discovery last July, new subatomic particles that Heuer calls "very like" the Higgs boson, which promises into a new realm of the universe.

The machine, which is to create high-energy collisions of protons to study dark matter, materials and the creation of the universe, is put to rest at the beginning of the year. Information about takes more time to analyze.

"It is assumed that the Higgs boson is a special snowflake, so you need to identify a big snowstorm a snowflake, snowfields, in front of the background of the" Heuer said by way of analogy. "Very difficult, you will need an enormous amount of snowfall in order to identify the snowflakes and therefore it will take some time."

The standard model of particle physics describes only five percent of the universe, which many speculate, as the big bang, the explosion occurred, he said.

To explain how subatomic particles, such as electrons, protons and neutrons, were themselves formed the Higgs and other 1960s envisioned in the energy sector, in which the particles interact with the core particle the Higgs boson.

The idea was to attract other particles, the Higgs Harvey made him the autopsy and the more they attract, the bigger their mass. But the big question is: is the new hiukkasesta or the same as the Higgs boson, Higgs boson, which had predicted?

The phrase "the God particle," Nobel Prize-winning physicist Leon M. Lederman was invented, is used for the uninitiated, physicists, more observations as an explanation for how the atoms of the universe works like how it all began.

"Now, if compared with the properties of the Higgs boson, it means we will open a new window, I hope the dark universe of 95% of the unknown part of the universe," said Heuer.

"If you find any deviation," he added, "it means, if you find a fantastic window into the universe of the dark, so we want to make a new leap from there--but appears dark (a)--the Higgs boson."

Lance Armstrong will help 'clean up cycling': attorney

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Jim Vertuno, The Associated Press
Published Friday, Jan. 25, 2013 10:25PM EST

AUSTIN, Texas -- An attorney for Lance Armstrong told the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency the cyclist will co-operate with efforts to "clean up cycling," though it's the sport's governing body and world anti-doping officials who should take the lead.

In letters sent this week between attorneys for Armstrong and USADA, and obtained by The Associated Press, USADA attorney William Bock requested Armstrong testify under oath by Feb. 6, but the cyclist's attorney, Tim Herman, responds that Armstrong cannot accommodate that schedule.

Last week, Armstrong admitted to taking performance-enhancing drugs to win the Tour de France seven times.

Herman's letter said Armstrong intends to appear before the International Cycling Union's planned "truth and reconciliation" commission.

Herman says the cycling union and the World Anti-Doping Agency should take the lead in cleaning up the sport.

"As you have candidly confirmed, USADA has no authority to investigate, prosecute or otherwise involve itself with the other 95 per cent of cycling competitors. Thus, in order to achieve the goal of 'cleaning up cycling,' it must be WADA and the UCI who have overall authority to do so."

The letter from USADA also confirms a Dec. 14 meeting in Denver between Bock, USADA CEO Travis Tygart, Herman and Armstrong.

"Mr. Armstrong has already been provided well over a month since our meeting in December to consider whether he is going to be part of our ongoing efforts to clean up the sport of cycling," Tygart said in a statement. "He has been given a deadline of February 6th to determine whether he plans to come in and be part of the solution. Either way, USADA is moving forward with our investigation on behalf of clean athletes."

Armstrong has been banned for life and, in his interview with Oprah Winfrey last week, said he would like to compete again.

Bock's letter does not mention the ban, though Armstrong's full co-operation could lead to a reduction, perhaps to eight years, which would allow Armstrong to compete in 2020, when he'll be 49.

Monday, 28 January 2013

The machine crashed in Antarctica taken too soon

CTVNews. ca staff
Published Saturday, January 26, 2013 2: 33 AM EST
Last updated on Saturday, January 26, 2013, 9: 48 PM EST

The machine crashed in Antarctica is connected too early but travel a mountain range on the way to the destination, says rescue officer who is involved in the search efforts.

Rescue teams located the wreck of the Twin Otter aircraft in steep slope was scheduled to fly to the South Pole and the Antarctic Terra Nova of the Italian base along the route, "said Chris Henshaw, search-and-rescue operations and the New Zealand rescue coordination body.

The aircraft is owned by Calgary-based Kenn a wide range of Air was carrying three of the Canadians and the Queen of Alexandria had disappeared over the mountain range on Wednesday. The Canadians aboard died.

"Take a look at the maps, it is logical to route it to fly in the mountains," Henshaw said the location of the accident.

"There is a path that they did, in fact, a kind of follow through. And it seems that is in turn piloy too early. We do not know at this stage, "he added.

The coordination centre said, the effect seems to have been for direct, in which case it is unlikely that the three crew members aboard survive.

The pilot has been identified as Bob Heath in the Northwest Territories, the experienced pilot, the Arctic and Antarctic. Another crew member was found to be the third victim of identity and Mike Denton Calgary crash is fixed at Perry Andersen, Collingwood, Ont.

Due to weather conditions, Henshaw said, it is possible to calculate the ground near the site, which is 3,900 meters in a helicopter. He was waiting for Word of the decision on how they are progressing.

According to a news release from the New Zealand rescue coordination centre for the recovery effort will lead to a Unified incident command, the joint unit of the United States Antarctic program and Antarctica New Zealand case unit.

The crew want to return to New Zealand in men's bodies and their kotiuttamisensa in Canada, the press release says.

Julie Leroux Transportation Safety Board says, because the machine has worked as a Canadian company, Canadian researchers are already working on the cause of the accident. The researchers collected data and the most relevant. Leroux said the Government does not know yet if it is possible to reach the wreck site.

"More information about the Transportation Safety Board is looking forward to the next stage," Leroux said Saturday.

Emergency locator transmitter activated by Twin Otter on Wednesday traveled to the U.S. research station at the South Pole's Italian research base of Terra Nova Bay.

Rescue was hampered by strong wind and cloud cover. The snow is very inconvenient for the plans over to the site to see.

Beacon stopped, most likely because the battery died in the post and had no contact with the crew. But it was hoped that they had survived because they were equipped with survival suits, cold-weather tents, food, and last up to five days.

Willard Hagen, a friend and former colleague Heath, said he believes that the accident was probably due to several factors, such as the "massive" storm.

"I would assume, is a combination of situations and the storm is a decisive factor," said Hagen, who is also the Arctic pilot.

"You've missed a lot of time, experience and knowledge. You make the decisions, of course, that we are going to get you home and in this case, it's just not good enough. "

Hagen said he does not believe that this will change in a way, made flights since it was just a "tragic accident."

"It just shows that mother nature is awesome. You could take one of the most experienced Arctic pilots in the world and yet does not have any importance when colliding with nature. "

CTV News Contact Kenn a wide range of air, but they are not commenting at this point.

Search and Rescue Mission co-ordinator Tracy Brickles said in a statement that it was a sad end to the operation.

"It has been a difficult task for the challenging conditions, but we are still hopeful of a positive outcome. Our thoughts are with the crew now. "

The Canadian Press-files

Newtown residents March on Washington laukussaan rally

By The Associated Press
Published Saturday, January 26, 2013 7: 33 AM EST
Last updated on Saturday, January 26, 2013 11: 27 PM EST

WASHINGTON-thousands of people, many holding signs of gun violence victims, and messages such as "assault weapons Ban now" joined a rally on Saturday, marching to the Capitol laukussaan Washington Monument.

Participants were lead to the Mayor Vincent Gray and other officials Saturday morning and the crowd stretched about two blocks of Constitution Avenue. Police closed half way through.

The participants held signs reading "Gun Control now" and "stop the NRA" with the rest of the posts. The other characters were simple and white gun violence victims ' names.

Newtown, Conn., where a gunman killed 20 in the first degree and six teachers at the school in December, is expected to be about 100 inhabitants. The rally was held in response to the shooting.

When the mob arrived at the Memorial, speakers demanded that the military-style assault weapons and large-capacity ammunition.

Education Secretary Arne Duncan told the crowd, it does not apply to the second amendment gun rights, but will take a gun safety and save lives. He said he and President Barack Obama would do its utmost to enact the policy laukussaan.

"We must act, we must act, we must act," Duncan said.

Eleanor Holmes Norton, d.c. del. 's representative in Congress said the right to vote, the gun lobby can be stopped. The crowd shouted back, "Yes, we can."

Norton said the nation does not act in the previous mass killings, but he said "we the people" not to give up this time.

"We are all guilty if we do not now," Norton said

Norwalk, Connecticut, the participant Kara Baekey said that when he heard about the shooting, she immediately thought of the Newtown her two small children. He said, that he decided he must take action, and that's why he joined in March.

"I wanted to make sure this does not happen with my children to school or any other school," Baekey said. "It's just not going to happen again."

James Agenbroad, Garrett Park, MD, 78 handwritten signs carried a cardboard, which read "to repeal the second amendment." He called it the only way to stop the massacres, because, in his opinion, the Supreme Court to strike down other restrictions on guns.

"You can undo it," he said. "We will be able to overturn the ban."

Molly, the artistic director of Arena stage in Washington and his companions organized in March. The organizers said that in addition to the 100 participants from New Jersey, the line is expected to be in Newtown, New York and Philadelphia. Others are flying to Seattle, San Francisco and even Alaska.

Even though he has never held a political March before, Smith said, he was forced to push for a change of the law. March organizers to support President Barack Obama's call for military-style assault weapons and large-capacity ammunition magazines, as well as a ban on the sale of the weapon in the hands of the General background explanations. They also want lawmakers to require gun purchasers of firearms safety training.

"The consistency of mass-killings and the drum shock, it's always something that's moving and devastating for me. And then there is if I move on, "Smith said. "And at the moment will not be able to move forward. I can not move.

"I think that because of that, it was the children, babies," he said. "I was horrified by these deliberate it."

When Connecticut-firing Smith posted something on Facebook, and drew more support to do something. A group of one million mothers, Washington National Cathedral and two churches, was signed at the end of the day, presented in March. Organizers have raised more than $ 46,000 on the net to pay the fees and to organize the rally.

Legislators in Columbia and Maryland was scheduled to speak on Saturday. Actress Kathleen Turner was expected to appear, as well as Marian Wright Edelman children's Defense Fund and Colin Goddard, a survivor of the Virginia Tech massacre.

Smith said that he supports a comprehensive look at mental health and violence in video games and movies. But he said the mass killings at Virginia Tech, and Aurora, Colo., and Newtown, Conn., it all starts with the arms.

"It is a question of weapons. In the second report, the right to own guns, but it does not have the right to own a gun, "he said. "These are assault weapons made by killing people."

Dolphin may have been ill before dying in N.Y. canal: expert

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Associated Press
Julkaistu lauantai, 26 tammikuu 2013 7: 39 AM EST

NEW YORK - Marine asiantuntijat sanovat delfiinin nähnyt ravistamalla musta gunk polveutua sen kuono, kun vaeltava osaksi saastunut kanava New Yorkissa on tullut sairas ennen se kadottaa ja kuoli.

Itsepäinen delfiinejä roiskua ympäriinsä Gowanus Canal likainen vesi, ennen kuin se kuoli perjantaina. Kanava on Superfund sivusto, jossa vuotta tehtaita ja polttoaineen jalostamot toiminut. Se kulkee lähellä Brooklynin rikkaimmista lähiöistä teollisuusalue.

Meren asiantuntijat oli tarkoitus auttaa Delfiin lauantaiaamuna, jos se päästä pois canal aikana nousuveden. He olivat päättäneet pitää muuna perjantaina pois koska delfiini ehkä kokenut kerättävät stressiä.

Asiantuntijoiden aikovat tehdä ruumiinavaus selvittää, miksi dolphin kuoli.

Former SNC-Lavalin exec sent $160M in kickbacks to Gadhafi's son: RCMP

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Ross Marowits, The Canadian Press
Published Friday, Jan. 25, 2013 3:41PM EST
Last Updated Friday, Jan. 25, 2013 10:04PM EST

MONTREAL -- A former SNC-Lavalin executive allegedly paid the son of dictator Moammar Gadhafi $160 million in kickbacks to obtain major contracts in Libya, according to an unsealed affidavit from the RCMP's anti-corruption squad.

The RCMP affidavit used to obtain a search warrant of the engineering giant's Montreal headquarters last year said some of the money was paid for luxury yachts.

The search warrant document, which was later resealed, said the bribes were paid to Saadi Gadhafi by former SNC vice-president Riadh Ben Aissa, who is now jailed in Switzerland. He has denied any accusations.

The document also implicated Ben Aissa and former SNC-Lavalin controller Stephane Roy in an alleged effort to smuggle Gadhafi's son and his family to Mexico as the Libyan regime was failing in 2011.

Cpl. Brenda Makkad of the RCMP's Ottawa-based anti-corruption squad wrote in a sworn statement that Ben Aissa transferred 11.4 million euros and other funds to a bank account in Malta which ended up in various Dorion Business Ltd. accounts controlled by Saadi Gadhafi and labelled "consultant commissions paid by the "Societe Canadienne S&C Lavalin."

She said the payoffs were used to buy yachts, including a 45-metre luxury vessel that was recently put up for sale.

SNC-Lavalin was also accused of spending $200,000 decorating Gadhafi's Toronto penthouse as well as paying condo fees. It also allegedly paid for security, hospitality and a private jet when Gadhafi visited Canada.

The embattled engineering giant said it only learned this week about some of the details contained in the affidavit and couldn't confirm the veracity of the new information. It is reviewing the document to see what actions it may take and vowed to act swiftly to address damages to the company and its interests if the allegations are proven.

"We are eager for this situation to be resolved in the courts and will continue to do everything in our power to assist the authorities to get to the bottom of these issues as rapidly as possible," it said in a statement Friday.

SNC-Lavalin (TSX:SNC) says the affidavit contains some unspecified information that it voluntarily provided to authorities in March.

Ben Aissa, Roy and former CEO Pierre Duhaime left the company last February after an internal audit uncovered $56 million in payments to foreign agents, some of which allegedly was used for the Montreal superhospital contract project. SNC has always maintained these funds were never diverted to Libya.

Duhaime was charged with fraud in November.

SNC-Lavalin has taken a number of steps to improve its governance and requirement that employees adopt ethical behaviour.

On Thursday, it disclosed the hiring of former Watergate investigator Michael Hershman as an independent compliance adviser to SNC's president. He will complement the work of former FBI director Louis Freeh's risk management company, which has been assessing the progress of the implementation of the company's ethics and compliance program.

Maxim Sytchev of Alta Corp Capital said details in the affidavit will reignite investor concerns about the company, but it doesn't change his view of SNC-Lavalin's business prospects under new management and with $1.1 billion of cash on hand.

"Libya is an old train wreck," he said in an interview.

"Unfortunately, we're just seeing the repercussions of that relationship right now but ultimately the company's not doing work in that geography."

SNC-Lavalin removed $900 million worth of Libyan projects from its backlog in 2010 amid the civil war in the North African country.

Sytchev said investors have faced a flow of negative news about the company's actions for nine months that caused its stock to collapse.

It wasn't immediately clear if details from the affidavit will have any impact on two class-action lawsuits in Ontario and Quebec that are seeking more than $1 billion on behalf of disgruntled shareholders.

The suits allege that SNC-Lavalin violated securities law by misrepresenting that it had adequate controls and procedures to ensure accurate disclosure and financial reporting.

They claim, among other things, that a 2009 prospectus offering $350 million of debentures failed to contain "full, true and plain disclosure of all material facts."

The lawsuits arose from alleged payments made by SNC-Lavalin to members, associates and agents of the Gadhafi regime to secure contracts for infrastructure projects in Libya.

SNC-Lavalin's name was also raised this week during testimony before the Charbonneau commission looking into corruption in the construction industry.

Genius Conseil president Michel Lalonde said a number of major engineering firms -- including global giant SNC-Lavalin -- participated in a collusion scheme to raise the price of construction projects in Quebec.

His incendiary testimony suggested that big, even publicly traded, engineering firms were complicit in the cartel-like practices previously ascribed to lower-level construction companies in that province.

Lalonde said the group of companies selected him as a go-between with Montreal city officials, and he pointed at firms of varying sizes as participants in the system including: SNC-Lavalin, Dessau, CIMA, Genivar (TSX:GNV), Tecsult, SM, BPR and Roche.

He said the companies were expected to cough up donations to the city's governing political party.

On the Toronto Stock Exchange, SNC-Lavalin's shares closed at $44.88, down 25 cents in Friday trading.

Five new senators named to the Red Chamber

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AppId is over the quota
CTVNews.ca Staff
Published Friday, Jan. 25, 2013 1:37PM EST
Last Updated Friday, Jan. 25, 2013 2:14PM EST

Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced on Friday the appointments of five new senators whom he called “remarkable Canadians who have distinguished themselves in their respective pursuits.”

The new appointees are:Denise Batters from Saskatchewan,Lynn Beyak and Victor Oh from Ontario, Doug Black from Alberta, and David Wells from Newfoundland and Labrador.

The Conservatives now hold 65 of the 105 Senate seats. The rest include 36 Liberals, one Progressive Conservative, two independents and one vacancy.

"I look forward to working with these talented individuals in parliament,” Harper said in a statement. “Their collective experience and dedication are most welcome as our Government continues to work on addressing the needs and expectations of Canadians from coast to coast to coast.”

Black, a well-known lawyer from Calgary, was selected by the people of Alberta in a Senate consultation process last spring.

Batters is a lawyer and a senior figure in the province's Crown Investments Corp. She also became a mental health advocate after the suicide of her husband, MP Dave Batters.

Beyak is a realtor from northwestern Ontario who has worked on improving education equality and preventing violence in school.

Oh is a property developer who was born in China and has devoted himself to helping newcomers start their own businesses.

Wells is an executive who was most recently the deputy CEO of the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board and is experienced in government and regulatory affairs.

Historic Wynne: Ontario to get its first female premier

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AppId is over the quota
CTVNews.ca Staff
Published Friday, Jan. 25, 2013 9:44PM EST
Last Updated Saturday, Jan. 26, 2013 10:24PM EST

Kathleen Wynne has won the leadership of the Ontario Liberal Party and is set to become the province’s first female premier, after a closely fought race with Sandra Pupatello.

Wynne, the 59-year-old MPP for Don Valley West, is a long-time party member who has had several cabinet roles, including minister of transportation and minister of education.

She has vowed to bring back the legislature on Feb. 19, saying Ontarians are not looking for another election.

Wynne, who is openly gay, had earlier asked delegates in an opening speech: “Can a gay woman win?”

She now has an answer.

Throughout her leadership campaign, she vowed to represent all minorities and reinforce ties within her party. After being declared the winner Saturday evening, she brought caucus members on stage in a symbolic show of unity.

She also noted in her victory speech that, while she holds a Toronto riding, she will represent all of Ontario as premier.

“Can we get this Toronto thing out of the way? I am going to be the premier for the whole province,” she said.

Wynne will replace Dalton McGuinty as premier. McGuinty, who announced on Oct. 15 he would step down, has held the office since 2003.

The race went down to a third ballot, with Wynne winning 1,050 votes and her main rival, Sandra Pupatello, getting 866. Pupatello, 50, is the former MPP for Windsor West.

Pupatello had actually pulled ahead in the second ballot, beating Wynne by 67 votes. But moments later, Charles Sousa and Gerard Kennedy threw their support to Kathleen Wynne.

“She’s been a great champion for the community,” Sousa said of Wynne.

Harinder Takhar, however, backed Pupatello after finishing last on the second ballot.

“The creation of jobs is important to me,” said Takhar when asked why he chose to support Pupatello, explaining that she has strong focus on the economy.

The first to withdraw from the race was Eric Hoskins, who drew the fewest votes in the first ballot. The St. Paul’s MPP immediately threw his support behind Wynne, eliciting a thunderous cheer from the crowd.

Asked why he chose to support Wynne, Hoskins said she encompassed the qualities needed to lead the Liberal party and the province.

“Integrity, compassion, commitment, she’s a team player and all the qualities that we need,” he said, noting that his decision on who to support was not an easy one.

Going into Saturday’s convention, oddsmakers had correctly forecast that the province could have its first female premier designate by the end of the day with Pupatello and Wynne leading the race to replace McGuinty.

In a statement, Prime Minister Stephen Harper thanked McGuinty for “his service to Ontario” and congratulated Wynne.

“I look forward to working with Ms. Wynne on addressing issues that matter to Ontarians, and in particular the creation of jobs and economic growth,” he said.

Ontario Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Hudak also congratulated Wynne, but made it clear that she would have a tough time in the legislature.

“Ms. Wynne inherits, and must now confront, many urgent challenges in her new role,” he said in a statement. “Our province has lost precious time -- more than 14 months since the last election. The Legislature was shuttered by prorogation, and government ground to a halt as successors to the outgoing Premier focused exclusively on internal Liberal Party politics. The deep fiscal hole they have dug has grown deeper still, and the business of the people remains neglected.”

Sunday, 27 January 2013

Assange says he has leaked copy of WikiLeaks film script

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AppId is over the quota
Raphael Satter, The Associated Press
Published Friday, Jan. 25, 2013 7:36PM EST

LONDON -- If you're making a movie about WikiLeaks, this is the kind of thing you probably see coming.

Julian Assange says he has obtained a leaked copy of the script for "The Fifth Estate," a DreamWorks film about the maverick computer expert and his famed secret-busting site. In a speech before the Oxford Union debating society earlier this week, Assange said his unauthorized sneak peek has left him convinced the film is a hit piece.

"It is a mass propaganda attack against WikiLeaks, the organization (and) the character of my staff," he said, adding that the movie -- the opening scenes of which Assange described as taking place in Tehran and Cairo -- also hyped Western fears over the Islamic Republic's disputed atomic energy program.

"It is not just an attack against us, it is an attack against Iran. It fans the flames of an attack against Iran," he said.

A DreamWorks spokeswoman declined to comment on Assange's claims.

In a telephone interview late Friday, Assange said that the film's plot revolves around a fictional mole in Iran's nuclear program who discovers that the country has nearly finished building an atom bomb and will soon be in a position to load it onto ballistic missiles. The film has the informant fleeing to Iraq when WikiLeaks publishes his name among its massive trove of classified material.

Assange says the whole story is "a lie built on a lie," claiming that the U.S. intelligence community generally believes that Iran stopped comprehensive secret work on developing nuclear arms in 2003, and that, in any case, the world had yet to see evidence of a case in which WikiLeaks had exposed a CIA informant.

"They tried to frame Iran as having an active nuclear weapons program. Then they try to frame WikiLeaks as the reason why that's not known to the public now," Assange said, comparing the movie to Kathryn Bigelow's "Zero Dark Thirty," another film whose artistic liberties with recent history have drawn allegations of political bias.

Assange declined to say where he got the script, although he hinted that he had been supplied with several copies of it over time. He also declined to say whether the script would be posted to the WikiLeaks website, saying only that "we are examining options closely."

"The Fifth Estate" stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Assange and Daniel Bruhl as Daniel Domscheit-Berg, an early Assange ally who eventually fell out with WikiLeaks.

The film is due for release in November, and in a statement earlier this week director Bill Condon was quoted as saying that those behind the movie want "to explore the complexities and challenges of transparency in the information age" and "enliven and enrich the conversations WikiLeaks has already provoked."

Assange made his comments to the Oxford Union on Wednesday via videolink from the Ecuadorean Embassy in London, where he has been holed up for more than six months in a bid to avoid extradition to Sweden as part of a long-running sex crimes case.

Common-law and married couples not due same rights in Quebec: court

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AppId is over the quota
CTVNews.ca Staff
Published Friday, Jan. 25, 2013 8:24AM EST
Last Updated Friday, Jan. 25, 2013 10:42PM EST

In a complex ruling, the Supreme Court of Canada has decided by a slim majority that Quebec does not have to give common-law spouses the same rights as married couples.

The court ruled that the financial aspects of the province's family laws contained in its Civil Code are constitutional, do not discriminate against the rights of unmarried common-law couples, and do not have to be changed.

While the case affects only common-law couples in Quebec, Friday’s ruling could compel other provinces to re-examine their laws on the matter of spousal support as well.

Other provinces in Canada have provisions for spousal support, but under Quebec laws, partners do not owe each other anything when a common-law union ends.

The case before the court involved a woman and her former partner who went by the names Eric and Lola. The pair can't be identified in order to protect the identity of the couple’s three children.

She sought financial support -- or alimony -- from "Eric," when the couple separated in 2002 after seven years together.

Although the man already pays child support, “Lola” argued she should also be entitled to spousal support just as married couples are.

Lola lost her bid in 2010 in Quebec Superior Court when the judge ruled that recognizing all common-law couples as "married" would infringe on their freedom to choose not to marry.

Quebec’s Court of Appeal overturned that ruling, arguing that the province’s Civil Code discriminates against common-law spouses because it deprives them of a right that is guaranteed to married couples.

On Friday, the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal, saying the sections of Quebec’s Civil Code on spousal support are not unconstitutional.

CTV’s Mercedes Stephenson, reporting from the Supreme Court, says it was a complicated case and the justices offered a myriad of reasons for their decision.In fact, they split their decision four ways. But the majority did agree that the lower court struck the right tone in its decision that to impose spousal support obligations on couples who have deliberately chosen not to marry would take away their right to choose.

"The distinction made by the law between married, civil union and de facto spouses is rationally connected to the state objective of preserving the autonomy and freedom of choice of Quebec spouses,” the court said in its decision.

"Without this distinction, the clear choice between a regime of division of property and support on the one hand, and a regime of full autonomy on the other hand, would be absent."

It later added: "Those who choose to marry choose the protections – but also the responsibilities – associated with that status. Those who choose not to marry avoid these state-imposed responsibilities and protections, and gain the opportunity to structure their relationship outside the confines of the mandatory regime applicable to married and civil union spouses."

About 1.2 million Quebec residents live in common-law relationships. In fact, the province has the largest proportion of unmarried couples in the world. As well, 52 per cent of children in Quebec are born to common law couples.

The decision means that Lola, a former model from Brazil, will not get a lump-sum payment of $50 million from the family estate, nor will she get a monthly alimony payment of $56,000, as she had sought.

She already receives about $460,000 a year in child support and was given a $2.5 million home. A court ruling in 2006 also compelled Eric to also give her a car and to pay for a chauffeur, a cook and two nannies. He also buys plane tickets for the children and nannies for two trips a year as well as a daily allowance of up to $1,000 for the holidays.

Quebec Justice Minister Bertrand St-Arnaud said after the decision that even though the court ruled Quebec’s family law wasn’t unconstitutional, his government wasn’t ruling out reforming the law.

He said it may be time to consider changing the law to grant better income support protection to unmarried women who leave a common-law relationship.

"It is true in the last decades our social and family reality has evolved. Is it time for us to start to think again about our family regime in our civil code? Maybe. Today, the door is certainly open to a general reflection about our family regime," St-Arnaud said.

He said he would consult cabinet colleagues as well as legal and family experts before committing to a major reform of the laws.

'Humbled' Toronto Mayor Rob Ford vows to keep fighting after winning appeal

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AppId is over the quota
Kieron Lang, CTV Toronto
Published Friday, Jan. 25, 2013 6:16AM EST
Last Updated Friday, Jan. 25, 2013 10:22PM EST

Both humbled and empowered by the appeal court ruling that allows him to keep his job, Toronto Mayor Rob Ford thanked his supporters and vowed to keep serving the city for another "six years."

Ford addressed reporters gathered at city hall Friday, just 90 minutes after the Ontario Divisional Court panel issued their decision on his appeal of a conflict of interest ruling that ordered him out of office.

"We conclude that the application judge erred in finding that Mr. Ford contravened the MCIA (Municipal Conflict of Interest Act). Accordingly, we would allow the appeal," the judges wrote in their decision posted online.

In his first formal public reaction to the ruling, Ford heaped praise and gratitude on his supporters and the courts.

"I have enormous respect for the judicial system and am very thankful for the decision it made today," he said, before thanking his lawyers, family and Toronto residents for their support.

"The people of this city have given me phenomenal support and I want to truly, truly thank them for it," he added, calling his job as mayor an "enormous privilege."

Ford also said his legal battle has been a "very, very humbling experience."

Nevertheless, he was not shy about trumpeting his achievements as mayor.

"In the past two years I've done everything I said I'd do," he said, later boasting that “we are running the city better than any administration ever has.”

Ford's current mandate -- which could have been brought to an abrupt end if the appeal had not gone in his favour -- is up in two years, but he made clear he’s already thinking beyond that.

"It is my plan to continue fighting for the people of this great city for the next six years," Ford said, optimistic of winning a second term as mayor.

But there's a slim chance he may have to keep fighting this battle, if the lawyer representing the man who launched the conflict-of-interest complaint gets his way.

"The Court has let Rob Ford off on a technicality," Clayton Ruby said in a statement to CTV News following the court's ruling Friday.

"We find that disappointing, particularly since the court found that (my client) Mr. Paul Magder was right on the facts. We believe that there are serious errors of law in the judgement and we will ask the Supreme Court of Canada for leave to appeal to that Court. It must be acknowledged that such appeals are not easy, but this remains an important issue for all citizens."

Appeal allowed

The mayor's legal troubles stem from a report by the city's Integrity Commissioner on $3,150 in donations for his private football foundation, solicited using his then-Toronto city councillor's office letterhead.

It wasn't soliciting the money that got Ford in trouble, however.

Instead, Ontario Superior Court Justice Charles Hackland ruled in November that Ford made "substantial and significant errors of law" when he participated in a council debate and vote on a council motion compelling Ford to pay the money back out of his own pocket.

At issue were the municipal rules and the interpretation of whether or not Ford had a 'pecuniary interest' in the result of that vote.

Ford's lawyer Alan Lenczner argued at trial and in appeal that the mayor was an honest politician who made a genuine error of judgment, and should not be found guilty of conflict of interest because he did not benefit personally by his efforts to help disadvantaged youth through the football foundation.

And besides, Lenczner said, city council did not have the power to ask Ford to repay the money anyway.

Clayton Ruby -- the lawyer representing the man who launched the conflict-of-interest complaint, Paul Magder -– countered that Ford deliberately violated rules of municipal office.

Hackland's ruling ordered Ford out of office, but the removal was stayed by Ontario Divisional Court Justice Gladys Pardu who ruled the mayor could stay on the job pending the outcome of his appeal at Divisional Court.

In their decision Friday, Regional Senior Justice Edward Then, Justice Lynne Leitch, and Justice Katherine Swinton wrote that Hackland had erred in his ruling.

Focusing on the question of whether Ford had a financial interest in the donations debate, "In our view, he did not," they said.

"In Decision CC 52.1, City Council ordered Mr. Ford to pay monies to certain donors when he had never received such monies personally. While the application judge called the reimbursement obligation a remedial measure, in our view, this was a penalty imposed on Mr. Ford."

Hackland had ruled that Ford's voting against the motion demanding he pay the money back out of his own pocket constituted a financial interest.

But in their appeal decision, the panel of Divisional Court justices disagreed.

"Given that the imposition of the financial sanction under Decision CC 52.1 was a nullity because Council did not have the jurisdiction to impose such a penalty, Mr. Ford had no pecuniary interest in the matter on which he voted at Council," they wrote.

Analyzing the ruling, Toronto lawyer John Mascarin said Ford "got off on the most arcane technicality."

Friday’s ruling notes that the only penalites council could impose on Ford were a reprimand or suspension of pay, and not a demand he personally reimburse the funds.

"Therefore everything that flows from that, including Rob Ford then speaking on it is absolved, or immune, from the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act," Mascarin told CTV News Channel.

Had the court upheld Justice Hackland's ruling, Ford would have had to hand the keys to the mayor's office over to Deputy Mayor Doug Holyday. Council would then have been left to decide whether to appoint a successor or let voters decide in a byelection.

Ford not in the clear

Although Ford can now stay in office, his mandate until the next scheduled election in Oct. 2014 is not guaranteed, as he must now await the conclusion of a forensic audit of his 2010 campaign finances.

If the auditors’ report due in February suggests Ford's campaign breached the Municipal Elections Act, he could face non-criminal charges. If he's found guilty, the possible penalties include a fine or removal from office.

Obama names new chief of staff

AppId is over the quota AppId is over the quota 25 January 2013 Last updated at 19:34 GMT  Denis McDonough is one of several Obama insiders promoted for the president's second term US President Barack Obama has named Denis McDonough, his deputy national security adviser, as his new chief of staff.


Mr McDonough, 43, is taking over the position from Jack Lew, Mr Obama's nominee for treasury secretary.


He has worked for the president since Mr Obama's time in the Senate.


In a statement at the White House, the president called Mr McDonough "one of my closest and most trusted advisers".


"Denis has played a key role in every major national security decision of my presidency: ending the war in Iraq, winding down the war in Afghanistan, and from our response to natural disasters around the world like Haiti and the tsunami in Japan, to the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell," he said.


Mr McDonough's other predecessors in the role were Rahm Emanuel, William Daly and Pete Rouse.


Mr McDonough was one of several people alongside Mr Obama in a White House photograph watching the raid against Osama Bin Laden.


Counter-terrorism adviser John Brennan will be replaced by Lisa Monaco, former head of the justice department's National Security Division. Mr Brennan has been nominated to be the new head of the CIA.


Mr Obama also bade farewell on Friday to his election campaign manager, David Plouffe.


"If it were not for him, we would not have been as effective a White House, and I probably wouldn't be here," the president said.


White House communications director Dan Pfeiffer is being promoted to the job of senior adviser.

Swine flu infected 'fifth of people'

AppId is over the quota AppId is over the quota 25 January 2013 Last updated at 13:44 GMT By James Gallagher Health and Science reporter, BBC News  At least 20% of people, including half of schoolchildren, were infected with swine flu during the first year of the pandemic in 2009, according to data from 19 countries.


It is thought the virus killed 200,000 people around the world.


A World Health Organization-led study looked for evidence of the body's immune system fighting the virus.


It showed large numbers of people had been infected, although not all would have developed full-blown flu.


The H1N1 virus first appeared in Mexico in 2009 and rapidly spread around the world.

Anti-bodies Continue reading the main story  Virus particles - known as virions - are tiny particles responsible for viral infectionTypically 100 times smaller than human cells Viruses present wherever there are cells to infect and are most common biological entities on earthInfluenza kills a very small proportion of those it infects but viruses such as HIV, polio and smallpox (now eradicated) can be more deadlyAn international group of researchers looked at more than 90,000 blood samples before and during the pandemic in countries including India, Australia and the UK.


They looked for antibodies which are produced when the body is infected with H1N1.


By comparing the figures before and during the pandemic, the researchers can determine how many people were infected as the virus spread around the world.


Approximately 24% of people had been infected overall, but half of school-age children showed signs of infection.


One of the researchers, Dr Maria Van Kerkhove from Imperial College London, said fewer than two in every 10,000 people infected died during the pandemic.


"However, those that did die are much younger than in seasonal flu so the years of life lost will be much more," she told the BBC.


"The figures drive home how incredibly infectious the virus is," she said.


Many older people, who typically die during outbreaks of flu, were protected as they had been exposed to the virus decades before.


Prof John Oxford, a virology expert at Queen Mary, University of London, said the figures "make sense".


"It was the busiest virus on the block and it displaced other influenza viruses - it was the only virus in town."


He said a similar pattern would be expected in other countries which were not analysed in the study.

The value of snow and flooding

January 26, 2013, last updated at 08: 34 GMT  The M6 came at the left stop drivers their cars in that the Highways Agency called a "snowstorm" Heavy snow in a part of the United Kingdom caused trip interruption, as forecasters say more wet weather and warmer temperatures cause flooding.


Motorists on the M6 have been forced to abandon their cars in the early hours of Saturday morning, put snow grounded aircraft at Leeds Bradford Airport.


Snow during the night also based on aircraft to Leeds Bradford Airport.


On the other hand, there are flash floods to Wales, and the Environment Agency has 20 flood in place warnings.


The band of snow that hit the North of England moved from Southeast - and turns to rain - while heavy rains affect Wales and the South-West of England.


Forecasters warn the rain and a slightly milder climate change - causing the snow to melt quickly - could lead to flooding. Temperatures are expected to reach an average 4 C on Saturday.

"Stay in your car.

During the night, the Highways Agency has closed the M6 motorway in both directions between junctions 25 and 27, near Wigan, after cars and trucks became stuck in the snow.


A shelter was set up to Charnock Services - near junction 28 - for motorists who have to leave their vehicle in freezing temperatures and driving conditions.


David Morris, Conservative MP for Morecambe and Lunesdale, was stuck on the M6 motorway near Wigan, for more than three hours.


He has told the BBC the snow "came from nowhere".


"The salt spreaders have done their job, everyone has done everything they can do to help.


"It's a surreal scene to have. We even had battles of snowball on M6."


Another driver, who said that he was stuck near junction 25 on the M6 for three hours, Neil Turner, said it was horrible.


"It was very cold, everyone was chatting, trying to keep warm." There is just no movement, he said.


A spokesman for the Highways Agency said the "snow storms" have become very heavy, leaving many drivers caught in the trap, "in particular the heavy weight" as they tried to give him with hills.


"Some drivers abandoned their cars that made it difficult for us to clear the path through the snow... we are urging people to not give up their cars."


"Please stay in your car and we will come to you," said the spokesman.


The M56 is also affected by the closure due to snow.


Cumbria has also been hit hard by snow, where the police say that several small roads are impassable.

In the southwest of Wales, flooding has already caused problems - particularly in Whitland in Carmarthenshire, Haverfordwest and Narberth and St. David in Pembrokeshire.


Mid West Wales Fire Service said it received more than 270 calls Friday evening, with "quite a large number of flooding incidents" Pembrokeshire, Carmarthen and Swansea, including acts of properties flooding and people stuck in their cars.


Local councils have been invited to help with sandbags and unblocking drains.


Narberth, Pembrokeshire, residents are expected to fight to keep the water out of their homes, and in the region, the roads are flooded.


Councillor Wyn Evans has told the BBC that melting snow and heavy rains had caused "severe flooding and destruction" in the area.


"Even our police station was flooded this evening and that has never happened before, so all our officers had to move elsewhere", he said.

"Some delays".

All flights were suspended at the Airport International from Leeds Bradford Friday night as more snow hit the region of Yorkshire.


The airport reopened today, even if the passengers are being warned to expect delays and disruptions.


Peter Sloss said snow BBC weather forecast already affecting much of the North of England and Midlands had extended to the Highlands in South-East England and East Anglia during the night.


He said that while the heavy rains affected South Wales and South-West England, drier conditions in Northern Ireland and most of Scotland would be extend to most places Saturday.


It would be a bright and beautiful day with "Sun plus" that we have seen in some time.


But the sky of compensation could result in a risk of ice in the Central and Eastern regions in Saturday morning, he warned.


Looking forward, he said wet and windy weather would affect a large part of the country Saturday night.


And a combination of rains abundant and soft snow melt air could lead to floods on Saturday night and Sunday.

Saturday, 26 January 2013

UK commits £21 million euros on the Syria

January 26, 2013, last updated at 07: 00 GMT  large number of Syrians crossing every day on Al-Zaatari camp refugees in the Jordanian town of Mafraq The UK is to provide a £ 21 m in humanitarian assistance to the people affected by the crisis in Syria, the Government said.


International Development Secretary Justine Greening, said assistance would contribute "to deliver winter clothing to save lives, food and medicines.


Ms Greening visited the Jordan where Syrian refugees arrive in unprecedented numbers.


The additional funding means that the United Kingdom has now provided £89.5 million euros for the Syria.


Friday, a UN official has told the BBC there had been a great leap in the number of Syrian refugees entering the country, which puts considerable pressure on resources.


Some 6,400 Syrians arrived in the main camp in Jordan in the last 24 hours alone, fleeing continued fighting a well as shortages of food and fuel, according to the United Nations.


The United Nations has described the flow of people as "absolutely dramatic".

"Still not enough".

In Jordan, Ms Greening said: "my visit today gave me a chance to see first-hand the incredible generosity of Jordanian ordinary mind showed to open their House to strangers in need."


"It's a story repeated in the nearby villages of Syria in the whole of the region, and I welcome the continued efforts of Governments and communities as the host. But we cannot and must not leave them to assume that only answer."

A little less than half of the new British aid funding will go to help Jordan to cope with the influx of people, particularly those who are most vulnerable in winter conditions, said Ms. Greening.


It is sent by the agencies, which aims to reach people in the Government and the opposition-controlled areas.


Remaining aid will contribute to medical facilities and to deal with the tens of thousands of injured and sick persons in the Syria. It will also be used to buy vital supplies of bread and flour.


Ms Greening said the United Kingdom and one handful of others had always "shown the way in responding to this crisis", but said the "vast majority still make a pretty".


"This is simply not acceptable and must be changed," she added, calling the international community to "get behind the United Nations and [enable] waves promises into real support".

Refugees in double

The United Nations will hold a conference in the Kuwait week next to try to reduce a deficit that is important in promises of help, as the humanitarian cost of the conflict intensifies.


He has warned that the number of Syrian refugees in neighbouring countries could double to 1.1 million by June if the war does not end.


The conflict in Syria began almost two years with demonstrations against the Government of president Bashar al-Assad.


The protests quickly degenerated as opponents of Mr. Assad took up arms to resist a brutal repression by the authorities.


The conflict has left people over 60 000 dead and 2 million displaced.