Jackaranda

SUSAN BOYLE'S ALBUM MAKES CD HISTORY !

2009-11-20T16:52:00.001Z

Susan Boyle's debut album is called I Dreamed A Dream !

Talent show discovery Susan Boyle has seen her new album become the biggest CD pre-order in the history of global online retailer Amazon.
The West Lothian singer's debut album, I Dreamed A Dream, is to be released by Sony Music Entertainment on Monday.
Boyle became a star after her April appearance on "Britain's Got Talent", in which she eventually came runner-up.
Amazon said Boyle's album was the biggest CD pre-order in the 14-year-history of its website.
Julian Monaghan, head of music buying at Amazon.co.uk, said: "Just eight months ago, no one was aware of the talents of Susan Boyle.
"Now, she has generated more Amazon pre-order CD sales globally than any other artist.
"That is an incredible achievement and is testament to the fact that she has captured the hearts of people all over Britain, America and the rest of the world."
Steve Barnett, chairman of Boyle's record label, Columbia Records, part of Sony Music, said: "One of the things that is so unique about Susan Boyle is her ability to touch people around the world.
"We're excited that I Dreamed A Dream holds the new record for global pre-orders and that Amazon's customers have supported her album in this way."

BBC NEWS REPORT.

ZIMBABWE MDC AIDE DENIES CHARGES !

2009-11-17T17:25:00.004Z

A senior aide to Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has pleaded not guilty to charges of terrorism.
Roy Bennett, treasurer for Mr Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), was held in February for allegedly possessing illegal weapons.
Attorney General Johannes Tomana told the court Mr Bennett was involved in a bid to topple President Robert Mugabe's government between 2002 and 2006.
The trial has raised tensions in Zimbabwe's unity government.
In court, Mr Bennett's lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa described the case as political persecution.
Mr Bennett had been due to be sworn in as deputy agriculture minister when he was arrested.
President Robert Mugabe has refused to swear him in while the case is ongoing.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

OBAMA'S MESSAGE CENSORED IN CHINA !

2009-11-17T17:11:00.001Z

By Michael Bristow - BBC News, Beijing.

China has tried to neutralise US President Barack Obama's attempt to speak directly to ordinary Chinese people.
Officials have used their control of the media to make sure citizens receive only a censored version of the US president's comments.
In a question-and-answer session on Monday in Shanghai, Mr Obama praised China and urged it to adopt certain universal rights and freedoms.
But in news reports about the session, Chinese media outlets largely ignored the criticism and played up the positive comments.

Mr Obama did get the opportunity to speak directly to China's 1.3bn people at a press event held with Chinese President Hu Jintao on Tuesday. The event was broadcast live on national television.
But even here, China tried to avoid any mishaps.
Journalists at the event were expecting to be able to ask questions, but they did not get the chance - the two presidents quickly departed after each making statements.
Mr Obama's success in his own country is largely based on his ability to present his charismatic personality to ordinary people through an unfettered media.
But in China the Communist Party stands in his way. It regularly censors the country's media and a presidential visit is no different.
The US government had wanted the Shanghai question-and-answer session broadcast as widely as possible - but it was shown live only on local TV.
In an article about the event, China's state-run news agency, Xinhua, said Mr Obama was "upbeat" about Sino-US ties.
The report noted that the US president's talk to students on Monday covered a wide range of topics, including cultural exchanges and climate change.
But it did not say that Mr Obama had urged China's leaders to welcome the free flow of information - particularly on the internet.
A similar upbeat note was struck by the state-run China Daily. "There's room for both of us," it quoted Mr Obama as saying in a front-page headline.

Television news bulletin were sometimes even more circumspect with their reporting of Mr Obama's first full day in China.
The main national television news show on Monday evening hardly mentioned the visit by Mr Obama to China.
It was the seventh item on the 1900 programme - coming after a long report on the funeral of a former vice-premier who has long since slipped from memory, and an item on a Chinese writing museum.
The short report on Mr Obama was not broadcast until 20 minutes into the bulletin and lasted just a minute. It did not show the US president meeting with Chinese students in Shanghai.
But some media outlets did go further than others - the Beijing News was one.
It reported Mr Obama's comments on the benefits of allowing people to communicate freely using the internet.
Free access to the internet "allows people from across the world to ensure their own governments are responsible" it told its readers.
Internet chat rooms had even more leeway to comment on Mr Obama's question-and-answer session with the handpicked students.
"His words were like shaking hands with a guest, but what matters is our national interest," said one internet user.
"We have to bear in mind that while we're shaking one nice hand, we should be prepared for the other hand - which might hit us."
Another internet user complained about Mr Obama's comments on individual rights and freedoms being "universal". "American presidents are hypocrites," he said.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

TUNELESS RUGBY SINGER 'SABOTAGED' !

2009-11-16T14:48:00.001Z

The Springboks called the rendition before the match a "joke"
The reggae singer, whose tuneless rendition of South Africa's national anthem was savaged by rugby fans, has said his performance was "sabotaged".
Ras Dumisani said the orchestra played too fast and his microphone was too old at his performance at a South African rugby clash with France on Friday.
The team went on to lose the match, with some blaming the singing for contributing to the 20-13 defeat.
The South African-born French-based singer appeared to forget the lyrics.
He also struggled to hit the high notes and many in the crowd in Toulouse began to laugh.
The vice-captain of the Springboks Victor Matfield called the rendition a "joke".
But Mr Dumisani blamed the match organisers for his poor performance of the anthem, which incorporates five of South Africa's 11 official languages.
"I was not feeling good because I felt they wanted to sabotage my concert," he told South Africa's 702 radio station.
"I want to apologise to all the people at home. I find myself disgusted."
The South African Rugby Union has written to its French counterpart to express its dismay.
"As a union, we were shocked and horrified by the rendition of the anthem," Saru President Oregan Hoskins said.
"The performance of the anthem is a treasured part of any rugby international and we take great pains in this country in the selection and rehearsal of artists to ensure that we appropriately honour all anthems."

BBC SPORTS REPORT.

MERCEDES TAKES OVER BRAWB F1 TEAM !

2009-11-16T14:45:00.002Z

By Andrew Benson

German car giant Mercedes has bought the Brawn Formula 1 team in a move that is likely to see Jenson Button join McLaren as Lewis Hamilton's team-mate.
Mercedes will buy 75% of Brawn in partnership with an Abu Dhabi investment company but will continue as McLaren's engine partner until 2015.
Brawn, who won both world titles in their debut season in 2009, will be rebranded as Mercedes Grand Prix.
Nico Rosberg will be their lead driver, with Nick Heidfeld his likely partner.
Fellow German Timo Glock, who drove for Toyota last season, is also a possibility.
The team has not yet confirmed Rosberg, who drove for Williams in 2009, but he is widely known throughout F1 to have already signed for the Mercedes team.
Mercedes motorsport vice-president Norbert Haug indicated that talks with Button were ongoing but had already revealed the team is in negotiations with Heidfeld.

Mercedes buy into a team that has the championship once compared to several times by McLaren

"We are talking (with Button) and that's why we cannot announce the driver line-up," said Haug on Monday. "We have to accept that speculation takes place, but that's the name of the game."
But he added: "This will be an international team - Mercedes-Benz is a global player.
"We definitely do not want to have a pure German team. It's an international team and we want to have the best drivers in the car."
Daimler chairman Dieter Zetsche, whose company owns Mercedes, echoed Haug's thoughts.
"What we would like to see is the best drivers in the two seats," he said. "We certainly would not be opposed if one of them was German but that is not a prerequisite."
Button, who won the drivers' title this year, has been trying to secure a pay-rise from his £3.5m salary but it seems Mercedes is not interested in granting his wish.
The 29-year-old Englishman visited McLaren with manager Richard Goddard on Friday, with Button now expected to join the Woking-based team for a salary around double what Brawn were offering.
Button's decision is understood not to be solely about money - sources say he considers McLaren might have a more competitive car than Brawn in 2010.

Finn Kimi Raikkonen, who has been forced to leave Ferrari to make way for Fernando Alonso, remains an outside possibility for the seat alongside 2008 world champion Hamilton.
Despite the takeover, both Haug and Zetsche indicated that there were unlikely to be wholesale changes, with Ross Brawn remaining as team principal.
They also said Brawn would have a key role to play in deciding the driver line-up for 2010 and beyond.
"Ross Brawn is the boss of the team and it would not be smart of us to dictate to him anything like a driver decision," said Zetsche.
Brawn and chief executive Nick Fry will retain a 24.9% shareholding in the team. The remaining 75.1% will be split between Mercedes, which will own 45.1% and Abu Dhabi company Aabar Investments, which will own 30%.
Brawn said: "Brawn GP has been through an incredible journey over the last 12 months.
"From fighting for our survival to forging a strong relationship with Mercedes-Benz High Performance Engines, winning both the constructors' and drivers' world championships, and now accepting Daimler and Aabar's offer to buy our team, which will secure its future."
As part of a deal that will see the McLaren Group buy back Mercedes's 40% shareholding by 2011, the German company will continue to supply free engines and sponsorship to the team for at least the next six years.

The team's official name will remain Vodafone McLaren Mercedes.
McLaren chairman Ron Dennis described the deal as "a win-win situation, both for McLaren and Daimler".
McLaren and Mercedes said one of the reasons for them to split was because of McLaren's road-car building ambitions.
McLaren is launching a high-performance sports car called the MP4-12C in 2011.
Dennis said: "I've often stated that it's my belief that, in order to survive and thrive in 21st Century Formula 1, a team must become much more than merely a team.
"That being the case, in order to develop and sustain the revenue streams required to compete and win grands prix and world championships, companies that run Formula 1 teams must broaden the scope of their commercial activities.
"In the MP4-12C, which will be introduced to market in 2011, we have a car that has inherited the genes of the iconic McLaren F1 of 1994 and has already been the subject of much global media acclaim."

BBC SPORTS REPORT.

ANTHROPOLOGIST LEVI-STRAUSS DIES !

2009-11-03T17:52:00.000Z

Levi-Strauss influenced generations of anthropologists
Renowned French anthropologist Claude Levi-Strauss has died at the age of 100.
One of the most influential French intellectuals of the 20th Century, he founded the structuralist school of anthropology in the 1950s.
Levi-Strauss's books include Tristes Tropiques - a 1955 biographical book regarded as a classic - as well as The Savage Mind and The Raw and the Cooked.
His death was announced in Paris by his publisher, Plon.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

2009-11-03T14:59:00.000Z

ZZ Top star tells of Tube odyssey
By Tim Masters Entertainment correspondent, BBC News

Billy Gibbons fans recognised him on the tube
ZZ Top guitarist Billy Gibbons has revealed that he chose a very un-rock star method of transport to the band's Wembley concert last week.
Instead of the usual chauffeur-driven car, the Texas rocker bought a ticket for the Tube - which then broke down.
"To the disbelief of many I decided to take the Tube," said Gibbons, who has played with ZZ Top since 1969.
The musician picked up the Marshall 11 award at the Classic Rock Roll of Honour awards in London on Monday.
"Being the consummate tourist, I wanted to ride the Tube," he said.
"Someone said, 'you know it may not be that bad of an idea because travel in London has not been known for its expedient way to get from A to B'.
"And off I went - it's a only a block from the hotel down to the station, and no sooner had I bought the ticket the agent informed me that the Circle Line had broken down."
Gibbons took a bus to Baker Street where he joined the Metropolitan Line to Wembley Park - along with ZZ Top fans who were making their way to the gig.
'Fun thing'
He continued: "There was a guy on the route that was checking me out and it was getting a little edgy, and then I realised that he was looking at a ZZ Top concert ticket for the Wembley show."
When asked whether he will continue taking public transport to gigs, he said: "Well, I may in the future. I beat my partners by 45 minutes."
The star also revealed that ZZ Top would be writing new material in the new year, working with veteran American rock producer Rick Rubin.
"He being the visionary that everyone has come to respect him as, I think this will be a fun thing for ZZ Top to be going about," he said.
The Classic Rock award given to Gibbons celebrates "rockers who turn it up to the max".
Gibbons is best known for his riffs on hits like Gimme All Your Lovin' and Sharp Dressed Man.

FEELING GRUMPY 'IS GOOD FOR YOU' !

2009-11-03T14:39:00.002Z

An attack of the grumps can make you communicate better, it is suggested.
In a bad mood? Don't worry - according to research, it's good for you.
An Australian psychology expert who has been studying emotions has found being grumpy makes us think more clearly.
In contrast to those annoying happy types, miserable people are better at decision-making and less gullible, his experiments showed.
While cheerfulness fosters creativity, gloominess breeds attentiveness and careful thinking, Professor Joe Forgas told Australian Science Magazine.
The University of New South Wales researcher says a grumpy person can cope with more demanding situations than a happy one because of the way the brain "promotes information processing strategies".

He asked volunteers to watch different films and dwell on positive or negative events in their life, designed to put them in either a good or bad mood.
Next he asked them to take part in a series of tasks, including judging the truth of urban myths and providing eyewitness accounts of events.
Those in a bad mood outperformed those who were jolly - they made fewer mistakes and were better communicators.
Professor Forgas said: "Whereas positive mood seems to promote creativity, flexibility, co-operation and reliance on mental shortcuts, negative moods trigger more attentive, careful thinking, paying greater attention to the external world."
The study also found that sad people were better at stating their case through written arguments, which Forgas said showed that a "mildly negative mood may actually promote a more concrete, accommodative and ultimately more successful communication style".
His earlier work shows the weather has a similar impact on us - wet, dreary days sharpened memory, while bright sunny spells make people forgetful.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

YACHT MAN TELLS OF PIRATE KIDNAP !

2009-10-29T17:21:00.001Z

A British man has told how he and his wife were kidnapped by armed pirates while the pair slept aboard their yacht in the Indian Ocean.
Paul Chandler, of Kent, speaking by phone to ITV news, said: "I was asleep and men with guns came aboard."
Mr Chandler, 59, said he and his wife, Rachel, 55, are currently being held hostage on board a container ship.
Their yacht was found during counter-piracy operations after a major multi-national search for the pair began.
Mr Chandler, from Tunbridge Wells, said the raid had come in the early hours.
He said: "I was off watch. I was asleep and men with guns came aboard. It was on Friday last week at 0230."
The kidnapped man's brother-in-law, Stephen Collett, 58, of Ixworth, Suffolk, has confirmed that the voice in the phone call was that of Mr Chandler.
The armed pirates forced the pair to sail towards Somalia after their boat was captured.

Searches for the Chandlers began on Friday after the pair sent a distress signal.

Mr Chandler said the couple were being held hostage on a Singapore-registered container ship called the Kota Wajah. He was speaking from the captain's cabin at 1100 GMT (1400 local time).
He said their captors had not officially asked for a ransom.
"They kept asking for money and took everything of value on the boat," he added.
Mr Chandler said they were being held hostage on the container ship.
He said the vessel was then about a mile off the coast of Somalia, and the nearest town was Ubdu. Correspondents say he may have been referring to Hobyo.
He was asked how they were being treated, but the line was lost before Mr Chandler could answer.
Local fishermen reported seeing the pair being taken to a village in Somalia after the telephone call.
One of the fishermen, Dahir Dabadhahan, said two boats arrived in the village of Ceel Huur, near the pirate stronghold Harardheere, and were met by a convoy of about 30 other pirates in six luxury vehicles.
He said: "The pirates opened fire into the air, waving us to move away."
A spokeswoman for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said: "Hostage taking is never justified.
"Paul and Rachel are blameless tourists and they should be released immediately and unconditionally.

"The families are deeply concerned for the safety of their loved ones.
"Foreign and Commonwealth Office staff are in close contact with them and are offering support."
Whitehall officials said Cobra, the Cabinet Office crisis management team, had met several times over the kidnapping of the Chandlers.
Earlier, the Ministry of Defence said the couple's empty yacht had been found but there was no reason to suspect they had come to harm.
A spokesman said Royal Navy vessels operating with international partners under EU, Nato and combined maritime forces would continue to play a full role in efforts to secure their release.
Relatives of the Chandlers met the Somali premier Omar Sharmarke in London on Wednesday who told them he would do anything to "see a peaceful solution".
The Somali government - which only has nominal authority in large parts of the country - said it was doing everything possible to locate them.
Mr and Mrs Chandler had been sailing from the Seychelles to Tanzania.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

FREE GOOGLE SAT-NAV SHAKES MARKET !

2009-10-29T17:15:00.001Z

Shares in sat-nav device companies have fallen substantially after Google unveiled its free live sat-nav for mobiles on Wednesday.
US firm Garmin fell 18% after details of Google Maps Navigation were revealed. Dutch firm TomTom dropped 13% on when markets opened on Thursday.
The Google application promises free real-time, turn-by-turn directions for people to follow on their phones.
The Motorola Droid will be the first mobile phone equipped with the system.
Google Maps Navigation, revealed on Wednesday, combines services including a search engine to find addresses, Google Street View for photos of locations, and live traffic data.
Other mobile sat-nav applications, such as TomTom's, can cost up to £60 to add.
TomTom's share decline wipes out all of its gains since August. Separately the company warned of lower prices in the coming months.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

'ECO CARS' RACE ACROSS AUSTRALIA !

2009-10-27T09:42:00.002Z

By Phil Mercer - BBC News, Sydney.

One of the world's toughest endurance races for solar and hybrid cars is underway in Australia.
The Global Green Challenge takes competitors over 3,000km (1,864 miles) of the country's harshest terrain from tropical Darwin to southern Adelaide.
The early front-runner after the first day is a team from Japan.
The race aims to highlight advances in hybrid, electric and low emission vehicles as well as those propelled by the sun.
Japan's Tokai University car is powered by some of the world's most innovative solar cells and leads other entrants from the United States, the Netherlands and Britain.

The sort of aerodynamic design and tyres that improve fuel efficiency, which the competition has showcased over the years, have increasingly been adopted by large car makers.
With the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Denmark just a few weeks away, Professor John Storey, an astrophysicist from the University of New South Wales, says the race shows that the motoring industry can adapt to environmental challenges.
"Going into Copenhagen I would see this event as being, if you like, the ray of sunshine on the horizon in the future to say that look if we have to cut our CO2 by 20%, 30%, 50% or more, it's not the end of the world."
This iconic and gruelling transcontinental race is celebrating its 10th anniversary.
It has attracted 35 teams from more than a dozen countries. The first cars are expected to cross the finish line in Adelaide, the capital of South Australia, on Wednesday or Thursday.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

NET SET FOR 'LANGUAGE SHAKE-UP'!

2009-10-26T16:37:00.001Z

By Jonathan Fildes - Technology reporter, BBC News.

The internet is on the cusp of the "biggest change" to its working "since it was invented 40 years ago", the net regulator Icann has said.
The body said it that it was finalising plans to introduce web addresses using non-Latin characters.
The proposal - initially approved in 2008 - would allow domain names written in Asian, Arabic or other scripts.
The body said if the final plans were approved on 30 October, it would accept the first applications by 16 November.
The first Internationalised Domain Names (IDNs) could be up and running by "mid 2010" said the president of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (Icann).
"Of the 1.6 billion internet users today worldwide, more than half use languages that have scripts that are not Latin-based," said Rod Beckstrom at the opening of Icann's conference in Seoul, South Korea.
"So this change is very much necessary for not only half the world's internet users today but more than half, probably, of the future users as the internet continues to spread."
Plans for ILDs were approved at a meeting in June 2008. However, testing of the system has been going on for much longer, said Peter Dengate Thrush, chairman of the board in charge of reviewing the change.
"You have to appreciate what a fantastically complicated technical feature this is," he said.
"What we have created is a different translation system."
The changes will be applied to the net's Domain Name System. This acts like a phone book, translating easily understood domain names such as bbc.co.uk into strings of computer readable numbers known as IP addresses.
The tweaks will allow this system to recognise and translate the non-Latin characters.
"We are confident that it works because we have been testing it for a couple of years," said Mr Dengate Thrush. "We're really ready to start rolling it out."
Some countries, such as China and Thailand, have already introduced workarounds that allow computer users to enter web addresses in their own language. However, these were not internationally approved and do not necessarily work on all computers.
The meeting in South Korea will also discuss its plans to introduce generic Top Level Domains (TLDs), such as .uk or .com.
Last year, the body voted to relax rules on TLDs meaning companies could turn brands into web addresses, while individuals could use their names.
Icann, set up by the US government, was founded in 1998 to oversee the development of the net.
Last month, after years of criticism, the US government eased its control over the non-profit body.
It signed a new agreement that gave Icann autonomy for the first time. The agreement came into effect on 1 October and puts it under the scrutiny of the global "internet community".

BBC NEWS REPORT.

10 THINGS !

2009-10-23T17:08:00.003+01:00

10 things we didn't know last week

Snippets from the week's news, sliced, diced and processed for your convenience.

1. Humpback whales' mating rituals can be deadly.
More details

2. Galaxies that are 10.2 billion light-years away can be seen through telescopes.
More details

3. Wine gums have the names of alcoholic drinks on them.
More details (Daily Mail)

4. People spent £37m on cup cakes in the UK last year.
More details

5. The spread of cupcake shops has been used to map urban gentrification in the US.
More details

6. Bagged salad is photographed 4,000 times a second.
More details

7. The most available time of week for a meeting is Tuesday at 3pm.
More details

8. GPS locates the Prime Meridian 100m to the east of Greenwich Observatory.
More details

9. Sales of Asterix books number 325 million.
More details

10. The first watches appeared shortly after 1500 in Germany.
More details

'DISTRACTED' PILOTS FAIL TO LAND !

2009-10-23T17:01:00.001+01:00

The Northwest Airlines plane involved was an Airbus A320
An inquiry has begun after a US plane heading from San Diego to Minneapolis missed the airport it was meant to land at by 150 miles (240km).
Contact with the Northwest Airlines plane was lost for an hour as it flew at 37,000ft, sparking hijack fears.
The crew said they had been distracted by a "heated discussion" but officials will check if they had fallen asleep.
Flight 188, carrying 147 passengers, landed safely at Minneapolis after contact was resumed.
A statement released by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said: "The crew stated they were in a heated discussion over airline policy and lost situational awareness."
Wrong path
Board spokesman Keith Holloway told the Associated Press news agency that reports that the pilots may have fallen asleep were "speculative" but the investigation would look at "fatigue issues".
The plane's cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder have been taken from the plane and are being sent to the board's laboratory in Washington, DC.
Passenger Andrea Allmon: 'The plane was swarmed by police'
Questions have been raised about how the pilots could have missed any warning signals - including city lights and cockpit displays showing that they were no longer on the right path.
The NTSB's former chief investigator into major accidents, Ben Berman said pilots learned to become instinctively aware of when they needed to start landing preparations and it would take a "fairly dramatic event" to distract them, AP reported.
The plane left San Diego at 1500 local time (2200 GMT) for what would normally be a three-hour journey.
Air traffic controllers lost radio contact with the plane approximately an hour before it was due to reach its destination of Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain Airport.

The plane missed its intended stop and continued on for a further 16 minutes before the airline managed to speak to the pilots.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) contacted the military and two fighter jets were put on alert.
There were initial concerns the plane had been hijacked or had faced other problems and that was why the crew were not responding.
Northwest Airlines merged with Delta Air Lines in 2008.
In a statement, Delta Air Lines said the plane's pilot and co-pilot had been "relieved from active flying".

MID-AIR MISHAPS
Oct 09: Police launch an inquiry after reports of Air India pilots and cabin crew coming to blows mid-air over sexual harassment claims
June 08: A Polish Boeing 737 narrowly misses hitting another aircraft over London after the wrong co-ordinates are entered into the flight computer
Feb 08: An internal Go! flight in Hawaii overshoots its landing by 15 miles after the two pilots fall asleep at the cockpit

It said a decision would be made about them once its own internal investigation and one by the FAA and the safety board were over.
Brent Bjorlin, who was on the flight, told the Minnesota Star Tribune newspaper that the passengers had not realised what had happened until they landed and security officials boarded the plane.
Fellow passenger Andrea Allmon said it was "unbelievable" that the pilots had allegedly not been paying attention.
"These guys are supposed to be paying attention to the flight. The safety of the passengers should be first and foremost," she said.
Doug Church, a spokesman for the National Air Traffic Controllers' Association, told the Wall Street Journal controllers at the airport began worrying about terrorism as a factor when they could not reach the crew.
He said when the controllers eventually made contact, to allay their fears the crew had been threatened or overpowered, they made the pilots prove they were still in control of the plane.
Once they were satisfied, the plane made its way back to the airport

BBC NEWS REPORT.

TOP DRIVERS DISTRACTIONS REVEALED !

2009-09-28T07:45:00.001+01:00

Three out of four vehicle crashes are caused because the driver is distracted at the wheel, according to researchers.
The study, by Heriot-Watt University academics, found texting behind the wheel or dealing with children were the two biggest causes of accidents.
Anonymous questionnaires were used to understand people's driving behaviour.
Despite the penalties, the study showed more than 52% were prepared to admit using a mobile phone while driving, and 40% said they had written a text.
Technology was found to play a big role in accidents and near misses, with satellite navigation systems and MP3 players cited as major distractions for drivers.

Research leader Dr Terry Lansdown said: "I think there is a social component to texting particularly and I think many people rely on their business communications.
"There is no doubt that whether you are using your phone hands-free or hand-held and if you read or write texts it is a risky activity to do while driving, it will distract you."
Having unruly children in the car was found to be the most frequent cause of accidents.
Mother-of-three Elaine Bruce said: "It can be absolute chaos at times, particularly if I am picking them up after school and they are really hungry and tired.
"The minute they get in the car they're shouting for food and maybe bored and asking 'where are we going, what are we doing?' and it's just constant, constant noise."
Police said the research spells out exactly why it is important drivers minimise the distractions in the car.
Ch Insp Bryan Rodgers, of Lothian and Borders Police, said failure to do so can have catastrophic consequences.
He said: "The reality is that one very small lapse of concentration can devastate lives.
"Nobody goes out intending to cause harm in these situations, but not focusing on your driving can mean that you change your family life forever, you change someone else's family life forever and even maybe face criminal charges or even imprisonment."

BBC NEWS REPORT.

BRITONS 'HIRING INDIAN ASSASSINS' !

2009-09-28T07:41:00.003+01:00

British Asians are hiring contract killers to carry out up to 100 murders in India every year, according to campaigners in rural Punjab state.
BBC Asian Network understands targets such as family or business associates are lured to the sub-continent, where assassins can be hired for just £500.
Punjab Police deny corruption allows the British Asians to evade justice.
Scotland Yard says it is aware of the problem. The Foreign Office says six British nationals are missing in India.
A member of the Punjab Legislative Assembly, British-born Jassi Khangura, has investigated the trend which he believes claims the lives of between 50 and 100 overseas Indians every year.

He says most of the killings are carried out in Punjab where, he claims, police corruption and bureaucratic or legal loopholes mean the perpetrators are seldom tried.
The Punjab Police force says the figures are exaggerated and deny the force is riddled with corruption.
Some victims' families are now turning to authorities in the UK for assistance.
Metropolitan Police detectives say they do not know how many people are killed in this way.

Full details will be broadcast as part of the Passport to Murder programme on BBC Asian Network at 1830 BST on Monday.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

REVIEW OF BABYSITTING BAN ORDERED !

2009-09-28T07:28:00.001+01:00

The Children's Minister has ordered a review of the case of two police officers told they had broken the law by caring for each other's children.
Ofsted said the arrangement contravened the Childcare Act because it lasted for longer than two hours a day, and constituted receiving "a reward".
It said the women would have to be registered as childminders.
Minister Vernon Coaker said his department was talking to Ofsted about this particular case.
According to the Mail on Sunday, Ofsted told two detective constables, Leanne Shepherd, from Milton Keynes, and Lucy Jarrett, from Buckingham, to end their arrangement.
Ms Shepherd told the newspaper: "When the Ofsted inspector turned up, the first thing she said was: 'I have had a report that you're running an illegal childminding business'.
"I straightaway thought she must be mistaken, so invited her into my home to explain we were police officers and best friends helping each other out.
"But she told me I was breaking the law and must end the arrangement with Lucy immediately.
"I was stunned, completely devastated... I couldn't see how I could continue working."

According to the newspaper, the Thames Valley officer is believed to have been reported by a neighbour.
Thames Valley Police Federation, which represents rank-and-file officers, said the pair had its "full support".
Secretary Andy Viney said: "Both of them are experienced professional officers.
"They just want to return to work after having children and have found that the system is working totally against them.
"They've been threatened with prosecution by Ofsted if they continue doing this."
An Ofsted spokesman said it applied regulations found in the Childcare Act 2006, but was currently discussing the interpretation of the word "reward" with the department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF).
"Reward is not just a case of money changing hands. The supply of services or goods and, in some circumstances, reciprocal arrangements can also constitute reward.
"Generally, mothers who look after each other's children are not providing childminding for which registration is required, as exemptions apply to them, for example because the care is for less than two hours or it takes place on less than 14 days in a year.
"Where such arrangements are regular and for longer periods, then registration is usually required."
Close relatives of children, such as grandparents, siblings, aunts or uncles, were exempt from the rules, he added.
But Michelle Elliott, director of the children's charity Kidscape, told the BBC's Breakfast programme that the decision defied common sense and would impose extra childcare costs on families.
She added: "These children were looked after in a secure environment with people that they knew.
"There must be thousands of people out there who are doing the same thing who are now going to think: 'Do I have to spend £300 a week or whatever it is?'"
Minister for Children, Schools and Families Vernon Coaker insisted the Childcare Act 2006 was in place "to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all children" but the government needed to make sure it did not "penalise hard-working families".
"My department is speaking to Ofsted about the interpretation of the word 'reward' in this particular case," he said.

A petition to scrap the rules governing reciprocal child care on the Number 10 website had gathered more than 5,300 signatures by 0530 BST on Monday.
Anyone required to register to become a childminder would also have to undergo a criminal records check.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

BEATLE'S ESSAY FOUND 50 YEARS ON !

2009-09-27T17:10:00.002+01:00

An essay written by Sir Paul McCartney as a 10-year-old has been found after lying undiscovered in Liverpool's Central Library for more than 50 years.
Years before the Beatles received their MBEs, he beat hundreds of other school children to win a prize for his 1953 essay marking the Queen's coronation.
In neat handwriting, he refers to "the lovely young Queen Elizabeth".
In 2013, the library will display the essay - found in a scrapbook - to mark the 60th anniversary of the coronation.
Thought to be one of the earliest surviving written works by Sir Paul, the essay gave him an early taste of appearing in public.
Liverpool's Lord Mayor presented him with the prize - despite the work having been marked down for grammatical errors.
McCartney's neat writing has the same curly ends on capital letters which he used later on the "B" of "Beatles" on the group's drum skin.
The schoolboy compares the happy scenes expected outside Buckingham Palace with the coronation of William the Conqueror nine centuries earlier, when a massacre of Saxons took place.
He declares that Britain's "present day royalty rules with affection rather than force".
McCartney's earliest creative contribution found in Liverpool Central Library
The essay also mentions a coronation cup with Elizabeth II on the front and Elizabeth I on the back, and he concludes it by saying: "After all this bother, many people will agree with me that it was well worth it."
Some 16 years later, with the Beatles nearing their break-up, McCartney was still writing about the monarch.
His song Her Majesty, featuring the lyrics "Her Majesty's a pretty nice girl, some day I'm going to make her mine", was recorded for the Abbey Road LP.
The Queen knighted him in 1997.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

ROMAN POLANSKI DETAINED IN ZURICK !

2009-09-27T16:13:00.001+01:00

Film director Roman Polanski has been taken into custody on a 31-year-old US arrest warrant, Swiss police say.
Mr Polanski, 76, was detained on Saturday as he travelled from France to collect a lifetime achievement award at the Zurich Film Festival.
The Swiss justice ministry said he was being held ahead of a possible extradition to the US for having sex with a 13-year-old girl in 1977.
Mr Polanski fled the US in 1978 after pleading guilty to the charges.
In recent years, he has tried to have the rape case dismissed, but a US judge formally rejected his requests in May.
Mr Polanski was initially indicted on six counts and faced up to life in prison.
He claims the original judge, who is now dead, arranged a plea bargain but later reneged.

CASE TIMELINE
1977 - Polanski admits unlawful sex with Samantha Geimer, 13, in Los Angeles
1978 - flees to Britain after US arrest warrant is issued
1978 - immediately moves to France where he holds citizenship
1978 - settles in France, where he is protected by France's limited extradition with US
2008 - Polanski's lawyer demands case be dismissed and hearing moved out of LA court
2009 - Polanski's request to have hearing outside LA is denied

Profile: Roman Polanski

Earlier this year, Judge Peter Espinoza agreed there was misconduct by the judge in the original case, but said Mr Polanski must return to the US to apply for dismissal.
Mr Polanski's lawyers said he would not return to the US because he would be immediately arrested as a fugitive.
The victim at the centre of the case, Samantha Geimer, has previously asked for the charges to be dropped, saying the continued publication of details "causes harm to me, my husband and children".
She has also called the court's insistence that Mr Polanski appear in person "a cruel joke".
The Swiss justice ministry said on Sunday that Mr Polanski was being held under a 2005 international alert issued by the US government related to a 1978 arrest warrant.
He will not be sent to the US until extradition proceedings were complete, the ministry added.
He can contest his detention and any extradition decision in the Swiss courts.

The Paris-born Polish filmmaker - who is also a French citizen - has not set foot in the US for more than 30 years. He has even avoided making films in the UK for fear of extradition.
His Oscar for directing the 2002 The Pianist was collected by Harrison Ford, who had previously starred in his 1988 thriller, Frantic.
France's culture minister said he was "dumbfounded" by Mr Polanski's detention in Switzerland.
Frederic Mitterrand said he "strongly regrets that a new ordeal is being inflicted on someone who has already experienced so many of them".
He added that French President Nicolas Sarkozy was "following the case with great attention and shares the minister's hope that the situation can be quickly resolved".
The organisers of the Zurich Film Festival said Polanski's detention had caused "shock and dismay," but that they would go ahead with a planned retrospective of the director's work.
A special ceremony is planned for Sunday night "to allow everyone to express their solidarity for Roman Polanski and their admiration for his work," festival managers said in a statement.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

Cathy Buckle's Weekly Letter from Zimbabwe !

2009-09-27T16:08:00.002+01:00

It's time !

Saturday 26th September 2009

Dear Family and Friends,

I was about 8th in a queue in a supermarket this week and kept looking to the front of the line impatiently to see why things were moving so slowly. I was waiting to buy airtime for a mobile phone and suddenly the reality of what I was doing struck home. I'd recently heard from someone who wanted "the real scoop" about daily life in Zimbabwe and in fact here it was, right in this queue.

Less than a year ago I wrote about this very same supermarket which sometimes used to open at 9 or 10 in the morning, some days it didn't open at all because it had nothing to sell. Less than a year ago huge supermarkets had only cabbages, condoms or bundles of firewood for sale. Now the shelves are brimming with goods again and if we have money there is food to buy.

This time last year if there was a queue in, or outside a supermarket, you were literally taking your life in your hands if you joined it. Queues for bread, sugar or maize meal were controlled by riot police. People were waiting outside supermarkets all night for the chance to get a single loaf of bread or little plastic packet of sugar. At opening time thousands of people would surge forward, some were injured and others even died in the stampedes.

This time last year we were still dealing in Zimbabwe dollars - worthless paper in denominations of billions and trillions which had expiry dates. We were queuing outside banks for days at a time to be allowed to withdraw miniscule amounts of our own money. Amounts that weren't enough to even buy a bar of soap or a cup of tea. This dreadful time is also now a thing of the past and the banks are deserted places because most people don't have enough money to save and don't trust the banks who so recently treated their customers and their life savings with such casual contempt.

The reality of life in Zimbabwe this October 2009 is that the basics are back: food, fuel and bank notes. Yes the food is all imported and the bank notes are American but they have given such relief to an existence that had become almost unbearable. Everyone, without exception, knows that the bank crisis, the currency crisis and the food crisis were bought on by bad politics and bad governance and we also know who fixed their mess and what courage and determination it took.

And now, as we are just a fortnight away from the rainy season, it is time for the next battle of the basics to be fought and won. Now its time for Zimbabwe to start growing its own food again. Bad politics and bad governance forced us to import our every need and now its time for the brave and determined people who gave us back money food and fuel, to give us back functional farming and our own food on tables. We've wasted eight good rainy seasons and its time to turn the corner.

Until next time, thanks for reading, love cathy

PHILIPPINES BATTLES FLOOD CHAOS !

2009-09-27T09:47:00.003+01:00

A massive rescue operation is under way in the Philippines, where at least 72 people are feared to have died following torrential rains.
Tropical Storm Ketsana triggered the worst flooding in decades in the capital Manila and nearby provinces.
Defence Secretary Gilbert Teodoro said troops, police and civilian volunteers had rescued more than 4,000 people - many clinging to each other on roofs.
More than 250,000 have been driven from their homes, officials say.
Military chief Gen Victor Ibrado flew by helicopter over suburbs of Manila on Sunday to see for himself drenched survivors marooned on top of half-submerged buses and on rooftops.
TV footage showed some survivors clinging to high-voltage power lines.
Correspondents say the rescue effort is intensifying as the weather cleared on Sunday.
But some reports estimate that 80% of the capital is still under water.
The government has declared a "calamity" in Manila and 25 provinces, allowing access to emergency funds.
Officials said that 51 people had been confirmed dead and at least 21 others were missing.

In pictures: Philippines floods
Philippines floods: Your comments

Manila bus driver George Andrada said he had lost everything in the floods.
"It happened very fast. All of a sudden everything was under water. I was not able to save anything except the shirt I am wearing," he said.
Some residents have emailed the BBC with their experiences. Lovely Lansang in Marikina, near Manila, says: "I am currently seeking refuge in a shopping centre. Many people are stuck either on their roofs or in the second storey of their houses.
"The city is also without clean water and electricity. Right now, I am still in the shopping centre because the roads here are impassable," the email adds.
The equivalent of a whole month's rain fell in six hours as Ketsana, also known as Ondoy, lashed the northern island of Luzon.
On Saturday, TV images showed gushing water turning roads into rivers, with floods chest-deep and rising.

Philippines President Gloria Arroyo appealed for donations and called for calm.
"I am calling on our countrymen, especially residents of metro Manila and other provinces in the path of the typhoon, to please stay calm, follow the instructions of local officials and civil defence authorities," she said in a TV message on Saturday.
Also on Saturday, Mayor Mon Ilagan of the town of Cainta, in Rizal province east of Manila, told local media his town was "almost 100% under water".
Rizal Governor Casimiro Ynares was quoted by local media as saying other towns were completely inundated.
Roads leading into Manila were rendered impassable by stalled vehicles, and some ferry services were cancelled.
The Philippines chief weather forecaster has blamed climate change for the downpours that saw 40cm (16in) of rain fall on Manila in a single day.
Thousands of passengers were stranded as international and domestic airports were shut down.
Ketsana, with winds of up to 100km/h, is expected to head out over the South China Sea on Sunday and Monday.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

KERCHER TRIAL HEARS LAST EVIDENCE !

2009-09-26T18:28:00.001+01:00

The last witnesses have given evidence in the trial of two people accused of killing the British student, Meredith Kercher in Italy.
American Amanda Knox and her former boyfriend, Italian Raffaele Sollecito, deny stabbing Ms Kercher to death in Perugia in 2007.
Prosecutors say Miss Kercher, an exchange student from London, was killed during what began as a sex game.
The trial resumes on 9 October with a verdict expected in several weeks.
On Friday the court heard a neurologist called by Ms Knox's defence team explained why he thought she gave police differing stories about her whereabouts on the night of the killing.
Carlo Caltagirone said Ms Knox was under stress after long police questioning, which might have confused her.
Ms Knox, 22, now maintains she spent the night at Mr Sollecito's house elsewhere in Perugia.
One man, Rudy Guede from the Ivory Coast, has been jailed for 30 years for killing Miss Kercher, a Leeds University student.
He has denied wrongdoing and is appealing against the conviction.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

10 THINGS !

2009-09-26T18:13:00.001+01:00

10 things we didn't know last week

Snippets from the week's news, sliced, diced and processed for your convenience.

1. Banana skins can take two years to biodegrade.
More details

2. The longest speech at the United Nations lasted almost eight hours.
More details

3. Brazil always speaks first at the UN General Assembly, according to long-standing protocol, and is followed by the host country.
More details

4. Jay-Z has Barack Obama's mobile phone number.
More details

5. Swine flu gel can get you drunk.
More details

6. British heroin comes from Hampshire.
More details

7. Michael Gambon, star of the Harry Potter films, has never read any of the books.
More details

8. The only woman ever in the French Foreign Legion is British.
More details

9. Ceefax was created by accident.
More details

10. Fifteen Billy bookcases are made every minute.
More details

BLASTS ROCK NORTH-WEST PAKISTAN !

2009-09-26T11:05:00.003+01:00

At least 16 people have been killed in two suicide car bomb attacks in north-western Pakistan.
Ten people are reported to have been killed and scores injured in a bombing in the city of Peshawar.
Earlier, a suicide car bomb in the town of Bannu killed at least six people, police said.
The BBC's Aleem Maqbool, in Islamabad, says the attacks show the Taliban appear to be reasserting themselves after a series of setbacks.
In Peshawar, police said the bomb had exploded in the car park of a bank in a commercial area. Witnesses said the blast was heard across the city.
"It was a very big explosion. I could see smoke rising from the scene," Asad Ali, a resident, told Reuters by telephone.
More than 70 people are reported to have been injured, some critically, and officials say the death toll could rise.
In the attack in Bannu, the bomber detonated his vehicle outside a police station.
Reports say the police building and several neighbouring houses collapsed in the blast. A number of people are thought to be trapped in the rubble.
Bannu is close to the tribal region of North Waziristan, a Taliban stronghold.
The attacks come after a period of relative quiet from the Taliban, our correspondent says, after insurgents suffered a series of setbacks.
In August, the then leader of the Pakistani Taliban, Baitullah Mehsud, was killed after a US missile strike.
After his death, Hakimullah Mehsud took over as the group's leader.
Earlier this month, the Taliban suffered another blow when Pakistani police arrested Muslim Khan, one of the highest ranking Taliban officials in the country, along with four other senior militants.

In pictures: Pakistan blasts

The Taliban have also vowed to strike back after being ousted from the Swat valley in a huge offensive by the Pakistani army.
The head of the Taliban in Swat, Maulana Fazlullah, was reported to have been seriously injured in an air strike in July.
A Taliban commander, who trains suicide bombers, claimed responsibility for the Bannu attack in a call to the Associated Press on Saturday.
"We have broken the silence as the government did not understand the pause in attacks, and from now there will be an increase in the number of suicide bombings," said Qari Hussain.
Pakistan's mountainous north-west region, near the Afghan border, is a favoured area for insurgents planning attacks on US and Nato troops in Afghanistan.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

KOREAN FAMILIES IN RATE REUNION !

2009-09-26T08:49:00.001+01:00

A group of elderly South Koreans is making a rare journey across the heavily fortified border to visit long-lost relatives in the communist North.
Two hundred families were chosen to take part in the reunions after more than half a century of separation since the Korean civil war.
The two Koreas began reunions in 2000, but the programme was suspended two years ago because of political tension.
The resumption is being seen as a sign of a possible thaw in relations.
There has been no phone or even postal contact between North and South since the end of the Korean war in 1953.
Over the next six days the families - half from the North and half from the South - will meet at a tourist resort on North Korea's east coast. The event has been organised by the Unification Ministry which handles inter-Korean affairs.

Emotions high as families reunite

The BBC's John Sudworth, in Seoul, say that with many of them in their 80s and 90s, it is likely to be their only chance to see their families.
Widow Lee Sun-ok, 80, travelled to North Korea on Saturday to meet two younger sisters and one younger brother for the first time in 60 years.
"I never thought I could see them again," she told the Associated Press. "I can die after visiting the North with no regrets."
Reunions were last held in October 2007.
North Korea agreed last month to resume them as part of a slight easing of tensions with South Korea and the US over its nuclear and missile programmes.

BBC NEWS RPORT.