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An immigrant carried out a knifepoint attack to be deported back to a war-torn African country - because he found Britain worse than his homeland.

Kasiba Misigaro, 21, who was living off state handouts, had asked the immigration services to send him home but they did nothing - despite him having been convicted of 21 offences over the past five years.

So he pulled a knife on an African friend hoping to be deported, believing he will have a better life back in Burundi, one of the ten poorest countries in the world.

Misigaro targeted Isce Akanbi, 40, last month in West Ham tube station in east London.

He threatened Mr Akanbi with a knife before taking two mobile phones and a wallet.

Mr Akanbi and two friends pursued Misigaro and eventually he dropped the stolen items, along with his weapon. Police arrested him at the scene.

He told officers: 'I only did it because I wanted to go home. I don't want to be here.'  He insisted he did not intend to stab the victim, only frighten him.


More,

    * Pictured: The Albanian immigrant gang free pose with high-powered machine guns on Bebo and YouTube
    * Passenger forced off Detroit-bound plane after shouting 'I want to kill all the Jews'

James Lofthouse, prosecuting, told Inner London Crown Court: 'He was on benefits, hates being in the UK, has no interest in working or integrating, has no money, and would commit further offences if he remained here.

'He said he had already approached the immigration services about going to Burundi but they didn't seem particularly interested in assisting.'

Judge Simon Gerald remarked: 'If we put him on a plane I imagine he'd like that too.' 

Charles Langley, defending, said: 'This is a rather unusual case, where the defendant wants to be sent back home. I would seek that your honour makes a recommendation for deportation.'

The court heard Misigaro has amassed convictions for 21 offences in the last five years and was completing an unpaid work order for his last crime, an attempted robbery, when he committed this offence.

Judge Gerald said it was a 'very serious offence', aggravated by the fact Misigaro was on a community order at the time.

Misigaro, of Plaistow, east London, admitted robbery and was jailed for three years.
He will be automatically deported at the end of his sentence.

AFROSIA,what documents do i need to travel to china?

Britain has dropped to 25th place on a list of the best places in the world to live  -  behind countries such as the Czech Republic, Lithuania and Uruguay.

While France tops the poll for the fifth year running, the UK's climate, crime rate, cost of living, congested roads and overcrowded cities have pushed it even further down from last year's ranking at 20.

The Quality of Life Index, published by International Living magazine for the 30th year, says the French live life to the full, while Britons are over-worked.
dolce

In all, 194 countries are surveyed on nine criteria, including the cost of living, culture and leisure, environment, safety, culture and weather.

Australia is placed second after France, followed by Switzerland, Germany and New Zealand.

Even former communist countries where unemployment is still rife are considered better places to settle down in than Britain, with Lithuania and the Czech Republic coming in at 22nd and 24th place respectively.

The magazine says the French enjoy everything from Riviera beaches and Alpine ski resorts to what it describes as 'the best health service in the world'.
Enlarge 

Cars near high-rise flats in Vilnius, Lithuania: The Baltic state came in three places above Britain in the list

But it is the country's bon vivant lifestyle that sets it apart.

While the British are infamous for a love of TV dinners and binge drinking, the French savour the finer things in life.

These include two-hour lunch breaks at cheap cordon bleu restaurants, and some of the best wine in the world.

Working hours are far shorter than those of their stressed British neighbours, who have less holiday entitlement too. The French take most of August off, view Sunday leisure as sacrosanct, and have more public holidays, as well as a lower crime rate.

'In France, life is savoured,' said Jackie Flynn, publisher of International Living. 'I don't think anyone will argue that France is one of the most beautiful countries in the world. The French love tidy gardens, pretty sidewalk cafes, and clean streets. Cities are well tended and with little crime.'
Enlarge 

Ice skaters trek around the frozen Lake Nasijarvi in Tampere, southern Finland: The Scandinavian country came 18th in the list of best places in the world

Variety is also seen as a major factor in France's appeal, with the survey noting: 'Romantic Paris offers the best of everything, but services don't fall away in Alsace's wine villages, in wild and lovely Corsica, in lavender-scented Provence. Or in the Languedoc of the troubadors, bathed in Mediterranean sunlight.'

Britain does not top a single category in the survey, which is compiled using official government statistics, data from the World Health Organisation and the views of the magazine's editors around the globe.

The U.S. fell from third to seventh place because of the economic crisis last year. A magazine spokesman said: 'Sustaining the American Dream has escalated out of the reach of many.'

Germany is widely praised for its efficiency and leisure facilities, with the magazine noting that 'the Harz Mountains now has a specialist hiking trail for nudists. Germany is arguably the world's most naturist-friendly country'.

Staff at a U.S. bank were amazed when two young girls claimed to have a handgun and demanded cash.

The youngsters, who are thought to be about 12 and 14-years-old respectively, walked into the First National Bank in a suburb of Cincinnati, Ohio, on Tuesday afternoon.

Police said the older girl handed a clerk a note that told her to fill a bag with money. Her partner-in-crime stayed by the door just out of range of CCTV.

The robbers didn't brandish weapons or make verbal threats, and no one was injured, said Hamilton County Sheriff's Office spokesman Steve Barnett.
U.S. bank robbery

Robbery: Two girls, one believed to be just 12 years old, walked into a bank in Ohio, U.S. and demanded cash claiming they had a gun
U.S. bank robbery

Search: CCTV footage shows the older girl walking out of the bank before fleeing across the car park

Detectives said the clerk handed over an undisclosed amount, including bait dollar bills which can be tracked.

The girls fled across a car park and even managed to evade police dog teams and a search helicopter.

One employee was inside the bank at the time of the robbery , but there were no other customers.

FBI spokesman Michael Brooks said he could not recall a bank robbery that involved a minor - let alone two girls - during his five years in Cincinnati.

In 2008, almost  18,000 males younger than 18 were arrested for all types of robbery across the United State, FBI crime statistics show.

About 1,900 females younger than 18 were arrested - a 38 per cent increase from 1999.

The first girl is described as around 12 years old, between 5ft and 5ft 2in, of thin build, and was wearing blue jeans, a dark blue hooded sweatshirt and a baseball cap.

The second girl was between 14 and 15 years old, 5ft 4in, of heavy build and was wearing blue jeans, a black knit cap and a dark blue hooded sweatshirt with the hood up.

If caught, the girls would face jail for aggravated robbery charges.

U.S. law enforcement agencies are reporting a surprising drop in crime last year with murder rates in some major cities dropping to the lowest levels for four decades.

The FBI's latest nationwide figures show that violent crime for the U.S. as a whole fell 4.4 per cent in the first half of 2009, compared with the same period in 2008, led by a 10 per cent drop in murders.

Falling crime in New York, Chicago, Dallas and Los Angeles at the same time as the worst economic slump since the 1930s is challenging social theories linking lawlessness to unemployment.
New York

Safer: The murder rate in the first six months of 2009 in New York fell to its lowest level since records began in the 1960s

Experts say much of the credit for the reduction goes to proactive law enforcement strategies, in which police using real-time analysis get more officers into selected urban areas to deter criminals.

Experts also suggest the recession itself could cut crime as rising unemployment keeps more people at home where they are more likely to avoid trouble.

Richard Rosenfeld, a criminology professor at the University of Missouri, St Louis, said: 'If they are at home, that means more eyes on the street, and more eyes on neighbours' property.

'What we're seeing now represents something of a break in pattern from the historical connection between crime increases and economic downturns.'

The figures for some of America's largest cities have defied the predictions of many police commanders who were braced for a crime wave during the recession.

Last year turned out to be the safest on record in New York, with the murder rate in the nation's biggest city falling to its lowest level since the city began gathering comparable data in the early 1960s.
Los Angeles

Surprising: Downtown Los Angeles, where the city posted its lowest crime figures for 50 years

Crime overall was down about 11 per cent in New York and 12 per cent in Chicago. The number of murders in Dallas fell for a second straight year in 2009 to its lowest mark since 1967.

Los Angeles, the second-most populous U.S. city, posted its lowest crime rate in about 50 years, with violent crimes including murder dropping nearly 11 per cent from 2008 levels and property crimes down 8 per cent for the same period.

The number of murders in Los Angeles dropped by 18 per cent.

New Los Angeles police chief Charlie Beck said: 'It's inexplicable why these crime numbers are so good, except for one thing - cops count. Effective policing matters.'

In particular, he pointed to gains made in curbing violent crimes among the city's notorious street gangs.

Some experts argue that while some past economic downturns may have coincided with higher crime rates, there was little or no causal relationship between the two, and that the latest statistics help prove their point.

'Big national trends in crime are much more powerfully influenced by things like drug epidemics and huge demographic shifts than they are by the economy,' said David Kennedy, director of the Centre for Crime Prevention and Control at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York.

He cited the era of U.S. alcohol prohibition during the so-called Roaring '20s, when organised crime controlled bootlegging, followed by the Great Depression of the 1930s.

'The era of prohibition was one of tremendous economic prosperity, accompanied by unprecedented levels of violent crime because of the issues associated with the illicit market for alcohol,' Kennedy said.

'The country got rid of prohibition, which got rid of those illicit market issues, entered into the Great Depression, and crime plummeted.'

Conversely, crime waves that coincided with tough times had more to do with spikes in the illegal drug trade that accompanied them, such as the 'crack' cocaine epidemic of the late 1980s and early 1990s, he added.

Mr Rosenfeld warned that gains made by police could be lost if the recession persists for too long, leading to cutbacks in public safety at the local government level.

Women who wear Islamic veils in public will be liable to a fine of more than £700 under strict new laws being formulated in France.

The amount could be doubled for Muslim men who force their wives or other female members of their family to cover their faces.

Jean-Francois Cope, president of Nicolas Sarkozy's ruling UMP Party in the French parliament, said the new legislation was intended to protect the 'dignity' and 'security' of women.

He is set to file the draft law in the National Assembly after Mr Sarkozy said veils are 'not welcome' as they intimidate and alienate non-Muslims, especially in a secular country like France.

A woman wears a burqa as she walks up the stairs outside the municipal library in Roncin northern France

'We want a ban in public areas,' said Mr Cope, making clear that the veil would not be allowed in public buildings, nor on the streets of France, as it encourages extremism.

Mr Cope said: 'The wearing of the burkha will be subject to a fine, probably of the 4th class, which is to say 750 euros.'
Jean-Francois Cope

The law is being drafted by UMP Party President Jean-Francois Cope

He said the fine would apply to 'all people on the public street whose face is entirely covered'.

The terms 'burkha' and 'niqab' often are used interchangeably in France.

The former refers to a full-body covering worn largely in Afghanistan with only a mesh screen over the eyes, whereas the latter is a full-body veil, often in black, with slits for the eyes.

A parliamentary inquiry into the wearing of all-body burkhas and niqabs is due to publish its recommendations next month.

In earlier debates Mr Cope said: 'Permanently masking one's face in public spaces is not an expression of individual liberty. It's a negation of oneself, a negation of others, a negation of social life.'

But he conceded that a complete ban faced certain legal obstacles, including a possible challenge before the European Court of Human Rights on the grounds that it limits religious freedom.

The burkha is a full-body covering worn largely in Afghanistan with a mesh screen over the eyes, and the niqab is a full-body veil with slits for the eyes.

President Sarkozy has called them 'a sign of subservience and debasement that imprison women', saying they are 'not welcome in France'.

The country's immigration minister Eric Besson has also described them as 'an affront to national identity'.

France - home to more than five million Muslims, the largest population in Europe - passed a law forbidding veils and other religious symbols in schools in 2004.

The latest move to outlaw such garments comes as a national identity debate rages between those defending multiculturalism, and those who believe France is being overrun by foreign cultures.

Despite the controversy, a recent police report revealed that only around 400 women across the Channel wore veils, which are common in Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia but not in the North African countries where most Muslim immigrants to France came from.

https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-359356.0.html
yms travel the year just begins think positively.

Seun ban eddy25.

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Eddy25 malaysia embassy has relocated to ur room?

Wahala dey.

Sad news

It is what women have been saying for decades but men have not wanted to hear - the key to a happy marriage is doing the dishes together.

Researchers have found that couples who share household chores are happier than those where one partner is the breadwinner and the other is the home-maker.

According to new research, neither partner should ideally take on more than 60 per cent of domestic chores, from cleaning to childcare.
Couple doing dishes

Domestic bliss: Research says sharing chores leads to happiness

As a result, the traditional family in which the husband goes to work while his wife remains at home to look after the children and do all the housework is less likely to result in a happy marriage, says the research.

It found that the ‘working husband and stay-at-home wife’ relationship puts pressure on him to provide and leaves her feeling unfulfilled at not contributing more financially.

A non-earning wife also feels more vulnerable and fears ending up on her own, whether as a widow or divorcee, it adds.

But a family in which the wife is the breadwinner and the husband looks after the house is also problematic because the man is unhappy and unhealthy and the woman is too stressed.

The findings by Canadian academics follow a 2006 study by the British Economic and Social Research Council, which concluded that most women are happier with non-traditional domestic arrangements and do not want to be housewives or stay-at-home mothers.

The Canadian researchers analysed national surveys in which nearly 50,000 adults answered questions about their lives, including the amount of paid and unpaid work they did.

The academics from the University of Western Ontario estimated the levels of happiness experienced by the participants, taking their personal circumstances into account.

The happiest couples share equally the unpaid work, are most likely to be both working and either do not have children or have older children who do not need constant care.

The research found that religious families are most likely to stick to traditional roles, with the husband working and the wife staying at home and doing most of the chores, which academics called the ‘augmented complementary traditional model’.

However, reversing the roles does not work because the man is unfulfilled and the woman feels the pressure to provide as a breadwinner.

The research also looked at other types of partnership.

It found that women who are both the major breadwinner and do housework – called the ‘women’s double burden model’ - are stressed and have low levels of satisfaction. Men who are the breadwinner and also take on their fair share of housework - the ‘men’s double burden model’ - suffer poorer health, though the women have low stress.

The study concludes: ‘For both men and women, the highest average level of happiness and satisfaction with life occurs within the shared-roles model.’

Lead researcher Rod Beaujot said the findings showed the value of providing equal opportunities in the workplace and better childcare, and the benefit of men taking an active part in domestic chores.

‘Adequate childcare facilities and equal opportunities for parental leave should be a focus of public policy,’ he added.

‘By supporting the shared-roles model, there would be support for the type of family model that many would prefer, with less burn-out.’

Frank Furedi, professor of sociology at the University of Kent, said: ‘This research shows that it is very important for both parties to have something in their lives from which they derive a sense of independence and accomplishment.

‘But if in addition they do things in common – which could be the domestic chores or the childcare – it creates a bond that facilitates closeness, communication, emotional warmth and, most importantly, trust.’

abortion teenage girl

Teenage girls are using abortions as contraception (File Photo)

Teenagers are using repeat abortions as a form of birth control, with some girls having four or more terminations by the age of 18, it has been claimed.

Nearly 1,500 of the 19,000 girls under 18 who had a termination last year had previously undergone one earlier abortion for an unwanted pregnancy – and in at least one case a teenage girl had her eighth abortion.

Department of Health data for 2008 reveals 74 teenagers had their third abortion and a further 15 girls under the age of 18 had previously had between three and six earlier abortions.

But the exact details remain hidden from public scrutiny because of Government secrecy on abortion figures owing to fears that patients could be identified.

Campaigners say the figures raise the possibility that for some girls abortion is not seen as a traumatic life event, but a routine way of dispensing with an unwanted pregnancy, even though it carries health risks that can harm fertility later in life.

It also points to the failure of contraception services for young people, as rather than going on the Pill, girls are choosing to take risks and have unprotected sex knowing they could get pregnant or expose themselves to sexually transmitted diseases such as chlamydia.

Pro-life campaigners argue that increasing availability of early medical abortion, by allowing it to take place in GPs’ surgeries, has served only to further promiscuity among teenagers who are ignorant of the health and emotional risks that may ensue.

Julia Millington of the Pro-Life Alliance said: ‘When girls of 18 are having three, four or more abortions we seriously need to question what is going on. It would seem abortion is being used as a form of contraception.

‘These girls are coming back again and again. Who is looking after their physical and emotional wellbeing? Surely it would be better for them not to get pregnant in the first place, but no one seems to want to question this use of repeat abortion on girls.’

Dr Kate Guthrie, consultant in sexual health and spokeswoman for the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, said she was shocked and saddened to learn about the repeat abortion figures.

But she added: ‘These girls are not the majority of under-18s. Women undergoing abortion do not find it pleasant and most make sure it does not happen again.’

A spokeswoman for the Family Planning Association said: ‘These figures represent a fragile group of young women, who may have other problems going on in their lives. We need to provide them with a better access to contraception to help reach them.’

Billionaire Warren Buffett (pictured), the most successful investor of his generation, says be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful.BuffettDM_203x150

Bearing that in mind, investors should eagerly follow a weekly study by www.investorsintelligence.com. Running since 1963, each week the US asks more than 100 investment newsletter authors whether they feel bullish or bearish about the market.

Taking the contrarian approach, it would be wise to sell when nobody else is and vice versa. Investors' Intelligence claims its index has flagged up turns in the market before. Earlier this month, only 17.6% were bearish - the third lowest level of pessimism over the past 22 years. So with so many investors feeling euphoric now could be a good time to sell, or so the theory goes.

Tom Dyson on www.dailywealth.com suggested 'the market has reached an extreme of optimism. (The two lower readings were in June 2003.)'.

However, www.seekingalpha.com is less convinced: http://seekingalpha.com/article/178521-bullish-sentiment-for-newsletter-writers-hits-a-2-year-high

I've got a lot of time for using market sentiment indicators in reverse in this way. It's particular useful when picking sectors. i.e. the mass buying of technology funds in the early months of 2000 was one of the all-time great 'sell' signals.

Technical measures of the stock market

That said, it's not a technical measure. So let's square that off.

Comparing the profits of companies against the price is one measure - the price-to-earnings ratio. But this can be distorted, especially at turning points in the market.
The Cyclically Adjusted Price Earnings (CAPE) is regarded as a better measure as it smoothes earnings over 10 years to take out the impact of booms and busts.

The price-to-book ratio is another key measure. Book value is a company's price after you add up all the assets - the buildings, machinery, everything - and subtract all the liabilities. Taking that on a step is the 'Q' rating which is like the price-to-book ratio, except instead of book value, it uses the replacement cost of assets. Replacement cost is closer to reality than book value, as it reflects price inflation.

Economist Andrew Smithers used these measures to sound the alarm on stocks ahead of the dotcom boom and bust. Before the recent credit crunch, Smithers warned again.

Tom Dyson points out again that Smithers has a fresh warning. His indicators recently show the US stock market to be more than 40% overvalued. In September when the S&P was at 1,069, 'Q' showed the market was 41% overvalued and CAPE showed the market was 37% overvalued.

Dyson said on http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article15695.html: 'At 40% overvalued, the market is the most overvalued it's ever been except for the peaks in 1929, 2000, and 2007. In sum, you should be careful with the stock market right now. It's extremely overvalued from a historical perspective and there's the potential for a major decline in stock valuations over the next decade.'

Smithers added: "The S&P 500 is priced to deliver one of the weakest 10-year total returns in history except for the (ultimately disappointing) period since the mid-1990s.'

Read a longer explanation here. And see Smithers' charts on Q and CAPE here.

And what about emerging markets?

While we're trying to value stock markets, I thought it essential to flag up this salient Q&A from legendary emerging markets fund manager Mark Mobius (pictured) in Business Week: MarkmobiusDM_203x150

    Have emerging markets moved too far too fast?
    The percentage increases are a bit misleading because you are coming from a low base. We are only halfway toward the previous high of 1997. Have we gone too far? The only measure we have is valuations, and probably the best single measure is price-to-book value ratio. [Book value is a measure analysts use to estimate what a share of stock would be worth if all the company's tangible assets—factories, real estate, and so on—were liquidated.] If you look at the average price-to-book ratio based on the stocks in the MSCI Emerging Markets Index, we are only halfway to the 1997 high. The absolute high was three times book, the low was one times book, and now we are at two times book, roughly.

It helps me rest easy in my bullish backing of the Far East and especially Latin America. I've also put some money into the Investec Africa & Middle East fund - I'm fascinated by the high-risk but high reward growth potential of Africa.

The worrying valuations for the US market and the implication that has for market momentum in other Western nations reassures me that I was right to take some of the cream of the recent rally:
Why I'm cashing in on this stock market rally.

Mobile telecommunications operator MTN South Africa (SA) on Monday announced that it would be reducing its workforce, and about 403 permanent employees could be affected by March 2010, while the number of temporary employees would also be reduced, owing to the decline in the economic environment.

The 403 members of permanent staff equated to about 7% of MTN SA’s 4 679 permanent employees. MTN SA added that it would try to limit the number of jobs affected.

“In light of greater efficiencies that are being achieved, together with the decline in the customer base, it is foreseeable that fewer resources will be required in the near future,” stated MTN SA.

Since some 3 000 people were supplied to MTN by temporary employment services, these numbers would also be reduced during 2010.

In addition to the reductions in its work force, MTN SA said that it was re-engineering its business in response to an outlook of lower growth because of the negative impact of the global recession on consumer spending and the Regulation of Interception of Communications and Provision of Communication-Related Information Act (Rica) compliance issues.

In October, MTN reported that its South African subscribers had declined by about 800 000. In other regions where the company operates, the company continued to see growth in subscriber numbers.

The re-engineering process and initiatives to improve the business, include: business process re-engineering; the centralisation of support centres and services; the provision of franchise opportunities on selected MTN SA outlets; increased innovation in all segments of the MTN SA value chain; the reduction of costs and the curtailing of unnecessary expenditure throughout all levels in the company; an increased and targeted focus on sales and marketing strategies; and, delivery of a robust, quality network to MTN SA’s customers to retain the existing customer base.

“To mitigate the effects of possible job losses, a proper consultative route - firstly to avoid retrenchments and redundancies and secondly to mitigate its adverse effects - will be followed in line with legal requirements,” said the company.

MTN SA further explained that severance of two weeks pay for each completed year of service was payable, and if retrenchments were inevitable, affected staff would be given time off to seek alternative employment in advance of working their notice periods.

PLANS to make Akwa Ibom State the toast in Information and Communication Technology before the end of next year is ongoing as talks between 3i Mobile and the Akwa Ibom State government is expected to lead to the state being the first in the country where people can make free unlimited cellular telephone calls.

Champion Infotel gathered that 3iMobile is negotiating to deploy the first 4G-capable cellular network that would be available free in two stages, according to a press statement on Newswire.

In the first stage, which is due in mid 2010, all state civil servants will be able to make free calls between themselves in the state and extremely inexpensive calls within Nigeria to other networks.

"Due to network architecture and interconnect tariff rates, international calls will be as low as two naira per minute to most European, Asian and North American countries and slightly higher to other regions," part of the press statement read.

In the second phase, due early 2011, 3i Mobile will roll out its 4G network across the state with a basket of free minutes to the citizens with extra minutes at a small premium.

The statement also said 3iMobile has already demonstrated a live system to the Nigerian army for use in times of conflict, enabling it to shut down existing networks and operate a secure network.

Champion Infotel also gathered that the system is in use by the London Metropolitan Police and was recently used during the last London terrorist bombing.

The system has also been demonstrated at the University of Lagos to enable students call each other without incurring cellular charges.

3i Mobile's network is completely green technology with the base stations to be deployed by Koyanda Company utilizes solar and wind power thereby eliminating the expensive cost of diesel which drives up the cost of service.

3i Mobile's network is called a disruptive technology because it challenges incumbents with the capability of transforming the entire mobile cellular business.

A kidnapped five-year-old girl was rescued safe and well after a U.S. police officer spotted a suspect vehicle, in what detectives are calling Phoenix's 'Christmas miracle.'

Natalie Flores was rescued at about 9.30pm yesterday, more than seven hours after she was scooped up by a stranger while playing with her sisters outside their Phoenix apartment building.

'She is alive and well,' police spokesman Sgt. Andy Hill said.

Safe and well: Natalie Flores was taken from outside her family's apartment as she played with her older sisters

Hill credited a 'very alert' policeman with taking quick action after spotting what appeared to be the suspect's vehicle driving on a west Phoenix avenue, even though the license plate differed from reports.

Officer Mike Burns pulled alongside and 'saw a suspect that matched the description and thought he saw a small child,' Hill said.

The pickup sped off and Burns gave chase as he alerted the force.

Officers put spike strips across the road several blocks away that punctured the suspect's tires, causing him to crash on the roadside.

The man took off on foot but was caught and arrested a block away after a brief struggle.

'She is alive and well thanks to the timely diligence of officer Burns,' Hill said. 'It is rare in stranger abduction cases so much time can pass without a tragic ending. This was truly a Christmas miracle.'

Police said the suspect is a 45-year-old man, but they haven't released his name and or any other details.

Hill said the man was being questioned by police and held on charges of kidnapping, aggravated assault on a police officer and felony pursuit.

The sergeant said Natalie appeared to be in good shape but was being examined by health officials.

Police received the call that Natalie had been taken at about 2:15 p.m. A special alertt was issued, and authorities began combing the area on foot, by car and with helicopters.

Hill said the child had been playing in a common area at the apartment complex with her two sisters, ages seven and nine, when a man parked his brown pickup in a nearby parking lot and walked over to them carrying a camera.

'He physically grabbed the 7-year-old girl and forcibly took a photo of her,' Hill said.

The man then forced Natalie into the truck and drove away. Witnesses reported that as the man was fleeing, he hit a parked car before entering southbound 19th Avenue.

Natalie and her sisters had been staying at an apartment in the complex with an aunt who has legal custody of them, Hill said. The girls' parents live separately out of state.


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1238457/Christmas-miracle-Abducted-girl-5-rescued-uninjured-U-S-police-officer-happened-spot-suspects-car.html#ixzz0aseUGWMM

The BBC is under fire for spending almost £200million of licence-payers’ money on golden goodbyes for staff as part of streamlining its operations.

The sum, largely comprising redundancy pay-offs, has been generated since Mark Thompson was appointed director-general in June 2004.

According to a Freedom of Information disclosure, the BBC has forked out a total of £190,488,000 – including £167.4million on redundancies between October 2004 and September this year.
Mark Thompson

The Axeman: Mark Thompson, with actress Kate Winslet at a charity dinner, has cut a total of 5,500 jobs at the BBC

Other payments include £11.5million to staff who had contracts terminated and £8.3million to employees in lieu of working their notices.

But the BBC says that long-term savings will be made from reduced staff costs.

In 2005 the Corporation cut 3,780 jobs as part of swingeing reductions.

Two years later it made 1,800 more redundant in Mr Thompson’s plan to create ‘a smaller, fitter BBC’.

Then, two months ago, the BBC unveiled a plan to cull more than 100 high-earning senior managers.

The BBC has refused to reveal the status of those employees who have left the organisation or how much any individuals have been paid.

Some of the redundancy payments have been made to staff who are unwilling to transfer to a huge new multimedia broadcast and production centre in Salford as part of the Corporation’s £240million move to make the BBC less ‘London-centric’.

Staff have been offered relocation allowances of up to £46,000.

Charlie Sheen

Charlie Sheen has been arrested on domestic violence charges.

Actor Charlie Sheen spent 10 hours of Christmas Day in a jail cell after being arrested on domestic violence allegations.

The 44-year-old actor was taken into custody by police officers responding to an emergency call from a house in Aspen, Colorado at 8.34am on Friday morning.

An ambulance also went to the house, but the alleged victim, believed to be his wife of 19 months Brooke Mueller, was not taken to the hospital.

Police spokesman Jeff Lumsden confirmed: 'Carlos Irwin Estevez, also known as the actor Charles I. Sheen, was brought to the Pitkin County Colorado Jail for booking and incarceration following his arrest by the Aspen Police Department.'

Sheen, the star of U.S. show Two and a Half Men, was charged with second-degree assault and menacing (knowingly placing someone in fear of imminent serious bodily injury), which both felonies, along with criminal mischief, a misdemeanour, Aspen police spokeswoman Stephanie Dasaro said.

He was released after spending around 10 hours in a cell on an $8,500 bail bond.

Under Colorado law, a protection order must be made between those arrested for domestic violence and their alleged victims before the accused can be released from custody.

The conditions of his release include no contact with the victim, the victim's family or any witnesses; no harassing or intimidation of the victim; no entry to the family residence until further order of the court; no consumption of alcohol or illegal drugs; and no possession of guns or other weapons.
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The actor and wife Brooke Mueller are to be having 'significant marital problems' but Sheen had travelled to Aspen to spend Christmas with his wife

The actor and wife Brooke Mueller are said to be having 'significant marital problems' but Sheen had travelled to Aspen to spend Christmas with his wife

U.S. website TMZ claims Mueller was over the alcohol limit when she made the emergency call to police.

A law enforcement source told the site she gave a breathalyser reading of .13, while her husband registered .04. The legal driving limit is .08.

Meanwhile, a source close to Mueller, a real estate investor, told celebrity news website Radar Online that Sheen pushed his wife after they began rowing.

The same source claimed the couple, who married in May 2008 and have nine-month-old twin sons, have been having 'significant marital problems'.

But Sheen had reportedly flown to Aspen to spend Christmas with his wife who had been renting the home for the last three months, while Sheen stayed in Los Angeles.

Attorney Richard Cummins has been hired by Sheen to represent him in the case.
Charlie Sheen

The Aspen retreat, where he was arrested by police - the actor spent 10 hours in a cell, but was released after agreeing to bail conditions and an $8,500 bond

He declined to name the actor's accuser or discuss details, but he cautioned against any rush to judgement.

'I think at the end of the day it will be much ado about nothing,' Cummins told The Associated Press.

Adding: 'I don't think there's any criminality about what went on.'
Charlie Sheen

Charlie Sheen and ex-wife Denise Richards had a tempestuous relationship - the former Bond girl has claimed Sheen assaulted her during their marriage

Cummins said a court date was set for February 8.

'That may be to determine whether a case goes forward or not,' he said.

Sheen's publicist Stan Rosenfield also warned against making assumptions.

'It would benefit everyone not to jump to any conclusion,' he said.

The Hollywood star has a colourful history, with much-publicised stints in rehab during the 1990s for drug abuse.

In 1998, Sheen was hospitalised after injecting cocaine.

His father Martin Sheen issued a public appeal for fans to pray for him and reported him for violation of parole.

A warrant was issued for his arrest, and Charlie was sent to rehab, he is also said to have spent over $50,000 on prostitutes.

In December 1996, he was arrested and charged with attacking a girlfriend at his Southern California home.

He later pleaded no contest and was placed on two years' probation.

In 2006 he divorced second wife Denise Richards, 38, a former Bond girl.

During the divorce proceedings Richards filed a sworn declaration in the Los Angeles Superior Court, alleging that Sheen assaulted her and threatened her life during a December 2005 altercation at her home.

She claims that while visiting with the couple's two children, Sheen verbally abused her and shoved her to the ground in front of their children.



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Archbishop's plea for childhood: youngsters are growing up too fast, warns Williams in sermon

By Colin Fernandez
Last updated at 11:24 PM on 25th December 2009

Children are being forced to grow up too soon, the Archbishop of Canterbury warned in his Christmas message yesterday.

Dr Rowan Williams also spoke out against the exploitation of young people 'abducted, brutalised, turned into killers, used as sex slaves'.

He said that in our rush to make children become independent, we are robbing them of the ability to learn and grow.
Warning: Dr Rowan Williams spoke about against the exploitation of children

Warning: Dr Rowan Williams spoke about against the exploitation of children

Preaching at Canterbury Cathedral, he said: 'There is a basic impatience about learning  -  we want to get to the point where we can say, OK that's enough, I know what I need to know  -  and about receiving  -  we don't want to be indebted to others, we want to stand on our own two feet.'

Part of the problem was that society was confused about the meaning of ' dependency', he added.

'We speak of "dependent" characters with pity and concern.

We think of "dependency" on drugs and alcohol; we worry about the "dependent" mind set that can be created by handouts to the destitute. In other words, we think of dependency as something passive and less than free.'

But by trying to avoid dependency, he said, 'we get trapped in the fantasy that we don't need to receive and learn'. Dr Williams, 59, also said he was worried that children were being 'bombarded with highly sexualised' advertising.

'In the case of children, we shall do our level best to turn you into active little consumers and performers as soon as we can,' he said.

'We shall do all we can to make childhood a brief and rather regrettable stage on the way to the real thing  -  which is "independence", turning you into a useful cog in the social machine that won't need too much maintenance.'

He added that children were being ' overtested' in schools, before going on to urge adults to 'guarantee that there is nourishment and stability' for the people in most need.

He highlighted the plight of hundreds of thousands of children exploited in 'the meaningless and savage civil wars in places like Congo and Sri Lanka  -  children who are abducted, brutalised, turned into killers, used as sex slaves'.

He said: 'To hear of these experiences is almost unbearable, yet the scandal continues.

'Their suffering is an insult to the purpose of God and a contemptuous refusal of the gift of God by those who keep them in their different kinds of slavery.'

The Archbishop added that Christians must learn to become 'dependent on God'.

'That word tends to have a chilly feel for us, especially us who are proudly independent moderns,' he said.

Dr Williams has two children himself with wife Jane, a theology lecturer he married in 1981.

Son Pip is aged 13 and daughter Rhiannon, 21, attended the £11,000-a-year Latymer school.

Yesterday the head of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales also spoke about how young people are increasingly being drawn into gang membership to bolster their weakened sense of identity.

In a sermon at Westminster Cathedral, the Archbishop of Westminster Vincent Nichols said that a recent visit to Feltham Young Offenders Institution in West London reminded him of the plight of 'so many' children.

He also warned that happiness was not to be found in wealth, status or celebrity.

He said: 'We know that our happiness lies much closer to home  -  in our steady relationships of friendship and love  -  in family and community.'



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