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Remains of astronaut legend Neil Armstrong buried at sea

Agence France-Presse
Posted at 09/15/2012 8:44 AM | Updated as of 09/15/2012 8:44 AM


WASHINGTON - The cremated remains of legendary American astronaut Neil Armstrong were scattered at sea Friday, in a ceremony aboard a US aircraft carrier paying final tribute to the first man to set foot on the moon, NASA said.

US Navy personnel carried Armstrong's remains to the Atlantic Ocean one day after a somber memorial ceremony at the Washington National Cathedral for the famously reserved Apollo 11 commander, who died August 25 at the age of 82.

Armstrong's widow Carol was presented an American flag at the ceremony aboard the USS Philippine Sea that included a bugler and rifle salute.

"Neil will always be remembered for taking humankind's first small step on another world," NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said at the National Cathedral service.

"But it was the courage, grace and humility he displayed throughout his life that lifted him above the stars."

Armstrong's Apollo 11 crew mates Michael Collins and Buzz Aldrin, Eugene Cernan -- the Apollo 17 mission commander and last man to walk on the moon -- attended the memorial service.

Also present Thursday was John Glenn, the former US senator and first American to orbit the Earth.

Armstrong came to be known around the world for the immortal words he uttered on July 20, 1969, as he became the first person ever to step onto another body in space: "That's one small step for (a) man, one giant leap for mankind."

© 1994-2012 Agence France-Presse
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/global-filipino/world/09/15/12/remains-astronaut-legend-neil-armstrong-buried-sea
for a collection of wacky news and events visit the blog http://

Nairobi, Kenya (CNN) — Scientists are claiming they have discovered a new species of monkey living in the remote forests of the Democratic Republic of Congo — an animal well-known to local hunters but until now, unknown to the outside world.

In a paper published Wednesday in the open-access journal Plos One, the scientists describe the new species that they call Cercopithecus Lomamiensis, known locally as the Lesula, whose home is deep in central DR Congo’s Lomami forest basin. The scientists say it is only the second discovery of a monkey species in 28 years.

In an age where so much of the earth’s surface has been photographed, digitized, and placed on a searchable map on the web discoveries like this one by a group of American scientists this seem a throwback to another time
http://edition.cnn.com/2012/09/12/world/africa/dr-congo-new-monkey/index.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_world+%28RSS%3A+World%29

SNOP DOGGY DOG needs this kind of DOG..

Spider venom shows promise for treating erectile dysfunction
A toxin synthesized from the venom of a spider may offer an alternative to today's erectile dysfunction drugs, a new study suggests.
The toxin, unpoetically named PnTx2-6, comes from the bite of the Brazilian wandering spider (Phoneutria nigriventer). In humans, a bite from a wandering spider is very painful. What's more, male victims may find themselves with priapism, or unrelenting and painful erection. It was this symptom, turning up in emergency rooms after spider bites in Brazil, that first alerted researchers to the potential of PnTx2-6 as an erectile dysfunction (ED) drug.

The toxin has been shown to improve erections in rats with hypertension and diabetes; now, researchers have tested it in aging mice and found that the toxin is effective in reversing age-related ED as well.

"It's working in aging, which is a natural process," study researcher Kenia Nunes, a physiologist at Georgia Health Sciences University, told LiveScience. "It's not just in disease."
Viagra, Levitra and other ED drugs on the market work by inhibiting an enzyme called PDE5. To get an erection, a man's body must release nitric oxide, which relaxes the smooth muscle around the arteries of the penis, allowing for his blood vessels to dilate. The nitric oxide is a first step in a series of chemical reactions that allow this muscle relaxation to take place. One step in the series is cGMP, a signaling molecule that acts to keep the muscles relaxed. PDE5 degrades cGMP. That's a good thing for ensuring that erections don't last forever, but too much PDE5 can mean an erection doesn't happen at all. By blocking the enzyme, PDE5 inhibitors solve the problem.

The spider toxin works differently. Instead of affecting PDE5, the compound seems to trigger nitric oxide release, acting directly to relax the smooth muscles. Because about 30 percent of patients don't respond to PDE5 inhibitors, the toxin could provide an alternative to ED treatments currently on the market, Nunes said.

In the new study, published online Aug. 23 in the Journal of Sexual Medicine, Nunes and her colleagues injected aging and young rats with the toxin extracted from the spider venom. They found that the toxin reversed age-related erectile dysfunction, offering hope that the toxin could eventually move out of animal testing and into human use. The toxin has not yet been tested in humans.

The researchers have since developed a synthetic version of the toxin. The next step, Nunes said, is to make sure that the compound doesn't have any nasty effects beyond its intended purpose.

"Side effects are the next big hurdle," she said.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/48943935/ns/health-mens_health/
Read such wacky stories at http://

There are several cases of divorce right now..The question that I wish to ask is what is the cure for divorce ?

Why films and cartoons of Muhammad spark violence
By Kari Huus, NBC News

While the motivation behind the low-budget video "Innocence of Muslims" remains unclear, the reasons it has helped fuel attacks and protests at U.S. diplomatic missions in the Middle East and Africa are both emotional and political, experts say.

While it is true that images of Muhammad are not allowed by Islamic law, that doesn't explain the violent reaction, said Hassan Shibly, an imam and civil rights lawyer in Florida who works for the Council on American Islamic Relations.

The reason for the prohibition in the Quran was that Muhammad wanted to discourage idolatry, he explained.

"The Islamic tradition forbade depictions of any prophet or any holy people so that people throughout the years don’t start worshipping the prophet," Shibly said. "God is supposed to be the focus, not Muhammad or Jesus or anyone else."

Images of God, whom Muslims call Allah, also are not allowed because Muhammad believed that no picture could capture the creator, Shibly said. This is why the walls of mosques are typically decorated with abstract art and calligraphy.

The film, which has been blamed for fueling protests at U.S. diplomatic posts, including the violence at the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, that left four Americans dead, and Danish cartoons that caused so much protest in 2005 caused outrage among Muslims because they were seen as ridiculing or criticizing the prophet.

Actors and the assistant director of the film "Innocence of Muslims" told NBC News that the original spoken lines in the screenplay were dubbed over without their knowledge. NBC's Mike Taibbi reports.

"For Muslims, Muhammad is a sacred symbol," said John Esposito, a professor at Georgetown University. "Muhammad represents and embodies the religion of Islam. He’s not a god, but plays the role historically that Jesus played historically."

Images like these are now making their way, via the Internet to Muslim populations who have never before been exposed to sharp critiques of their faith, which also helps explain the level of anger they have stirred.

Esposito said the reaction resembles those in the West earlier in history.

He pointed to the uproar over 1988 Hollywood film "The Last Temptation of Christ." Director Martin Scorsese's adaptation of a book by the same name showed Jesus struggling with lust, depression and doubt, and engaging in sex — in his imaginings — before snapping back to reality and dying on the cross. That movie was seen as blasphemy by some Christians, who — though not violent — were vocal enough to prevent the film from being shown in many parts of the United States.

Shibly stressed that there is no justification for the violence that took the lives of the four Americans in Libya, including U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens, on Tuesday. CAIR on Wednesday issued a call for Muslims to ignore what it called the "trashy" anti-Islam film and has condemned the killings.

"It’s so hypocritical for (the attackers) to do these acts in the name of the prophet Muhammad,” said Shibly. "Muhammad didn’t win over his enemies by violence, he did so through compassion."

However, he says that insults to Muhammad hurt deeply.

"Muslims love the prophets of god more than we love our own parents, more than we love ourselves," said Shibly. "When people attack Muhammad, it definitely hurts us on an emotion level. But, that said, it doesn’t justify the violence. That’s just totally unacceptable."

"Innocence of Muslims" features wooden acting, poor dubbing, awkward sexual moments and ham-fisted insults, with none of the production values of "The Last Temptation of Christ," or any serious exploration of Islam. Experts said it would almost certainly have remained obscure had it not ignited the protests and violence after being circulated in Arabic via the Internet.

So far, it remains unclear who produced the film, and who funded it. Initially, the maker was identified as an Israeli-American man identified as Sam Bacile. But by Thursday, published reports were suggesting that it was the work of a group of anti-Islam Christians.

The latest reporting suggests that Bacile is actually Egyptian-born Coptic Christian named Nakoula Basseley who lives in the Los Angeles area. The Copts are a minority in Egypt, and often victims of discrimination in the majority Muslim country, as well as attacks by extremists.

In a geopolitical context, said Esposito, the film plays right into the hands of extremists in the region who are using anti-American sentiment to advance their own goals.

"What we have here, and it’s significant symbolically ... on or around 9/11 (anniversary), two terrorist or extremist attacks in Benghazi and in Cairo. … They are attacking symbols of the U.S. They are playing to a population. … It would be anti-American, but (they are) using this (video) to legitimize what they are doing."

Shibly also wonders if the film itself was produced or circulated strategically to stir up well-known sensitivities.

"The sad thing is these people are doing it on purpose," he said. "And unfortunately these Muslims fell right into the trap."
http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/09/13/13834703-why-films-and-cartoons-of-muhammad-spark-violence?lite
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New York approves tougher regulations on circumcision
By Jonathan Allen | Reuters – 7 hrs ago
NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York City's Jewish ritual circumcisers who use their mouths to draw away blood from the wound on a baby's penis must now get the parents to sign a consent form, health officials said on Thursday.

The New York City Board of Health voted unanimously in favor the new regulation, citing the risk that infants could catch a potentially deadly herpes infection through the ancient ritual.

The decision to amend the city's health code has angered some members of the city's Orthodox Jewish communities, who say it is an unwarranted intrusion by the government on religious freedom.

But city health officials say at least 11 infant boys contracted herpes between 2004 and 2011 in New York, most likely caused by a mohel, or ritual circumciser, using his mouth to suck away blood following circumcision.

The practice is common only in certain ultra-Orthodox Jewish communities.

Two of the boys died and two others suffered brain damage and that is what prompted the rule change, health officials said.

Under the amendment, the mohel must get a signed consent form from a parent or legal guardian of an infant before performing the circumcision. The form will state that the health department advises parents that "direct oral suction should not be performed" because of the herpes risk.

Mohelim, as the circumcisers are called in Hebrew, who do not comply could receive a warning letter from the department or a fine of up to $2,000. The department said it would not actively monitor mohelim, and would investigate only if a parent complains or if it learned of cases of neonatal herpes that are believed to have followed a circumcision.

Speaking before the board voted, Health Commissioner Thomas Farley said it was "a very difficult issue" but that the department had tried to be as un-intrusive as possible by leaving the ultimate decision about whether to follow the practice with mohelim and parents.

Opponents of the amendment say the department has not proven there is a higher incidence of neonatal herpes among boys who have received oral suction, saying its statistical analysis of the small sample of cases was flawed.

In August, about 200 Orthodox rabbis issued a decree accusing the department of spreading "lies and misinformation."

"We are decreeing that according to our opinion, it is forbidden according to the Torah to participate in the evil plans of the NYC Health Dept. in any form," their statement said, according to a translation published by Yeshiva World News.

(Editing by Tom Brown and Richard Chang)

http://news.yahoo.com/york-approves-tougher-regulations-circumcision-232410600.html

The world's largest biceps belong to Mostafa Ismail (Egypt) and were measured for left arm flexed at 64.77 cm (25.5 in) and non-flexed 62.23 cm (24.5 in) and for right arm flexed at 63.5 cm (25 in) and non-flexed 60.96 cm (24 in). The measurements were taken in Franklin, Massachusetts, USA which is where Mostafa now resides.

The 57th edition of the world's best-selling copyright book, Guinness World Records, is out today (13 September 2012).
Picture: Guinness World Records/PA
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/picturegalleries/howaboutthat/9539168/Guinness-World-Records-2013-weird-and-wacky-new-entries-in-pictures.html
You can find other wacky stories at the BLOG http://www.

Energy Drinks Improve Heart Function, Study Suggests


Relative changes from baseline in heart rate, blood pressure and left and right ventricular parameters 1 hour after energy drink consumption. MAPSE: mitral annular plane systolic excursion; RVFAC: right ventricular fractional area change; TAPSE: tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion; RVLS: right ventricular longitudinal strain. (Credit: Courtesy ESC)ScienceDaily (Aug. 27, 2012) — Consuming energy drinks can exert acute positive benefits on myocardial performance, according to research presented August 27 at the ESC Congress by Dr Matteo Cameli from University of Siena."In recent years the energy drink market has exploded, with more people than ever before turning to these products as quick 'pick me ups', whether to stay awake during all night study vigils or gain the edge in sport," said Dr Cameli.

"With energy drinks containing both caffeine and taurine concerns have been raised of adverse effects on the heart. While caffeine increases blood pressure, studies suggest that taurine may stimulate the release of calcium from the sarcoplasmic reticulum."

In the current study the researchers used speckle-tracking echocardiography, the avant-garde technique in echocardiography, and echo Doppler analysis to explore the influence of energy drinks on heart function.

For the study 35 healthy subjects (mean age 25 years), drank a body surface area indexed amount of an energy drink (168 ml/m2) containing caffeine and taurine.

Assessments of heart rate, blood pressure, left ventricular function and right ventricular function were undertaken at baseline and one hour after consumption.

The graph above shows the relative changes from baseline in heart rate, blood pressure and left and right ventricular parameters one hour after consuming the energy drink. Heart rate increased by 1.2% (p=ns [not significant]), systolic blood pressure increased by 2.6% (p=ns) and diastolic blood pressure increased by 6% (p=0.02). Dr Cameli said: "This confirms that a standard energy drink consumption induces a light increase in diastolic blood pressure."

Left ventricular function improved in comparison to baseline. Ejection fraction increased by 5% (p=0.01), mitral annular plane systolic excursion (MAPSE) (which evaluates longitudinal ventricular function) increased by 11% (p<0.001), global longitudinal strain increased by 10% (p=0.004), and torsion (left ventricular twisting) increased by 22% (p<0.0001).

Right ventricular function was also improved one hour after consuming energy drinks. Right ventricular fractional area change (RVFAC) increased by 2% (p=0.09), tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE) increased by 15% (p<0.0001), and global and free wall right ventricular longitudinal strain (RVLS), (a measurement of longitudinal strain of the right ventricle), increased by 8% (p=0.001) and 5% (p=0.1) respectively.

"Taken together these results show that energy drinks enhance contractions of both the left and right ventricles, thereby delivering a positive effect on myocardial function," said Dr Cameli. "This could be explained by the inotropic effect of taurine that, as previously demonstrated, stimulates the release of calcium from the sarcoplasmic reticulum."

He continued: "Our study was performed in young healthy individuals at rest. Future studies need to focus on whether such benefits persist after long term consumption of energy drinks, and what the effects are of consuming these drinks during physical activity. It will also be important to determine which of the effects are induced in patients with cardiac disease to further our understanding of the potential benefits or risks of energy drink consumption."
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120827074148.htm

NEWARK, New Jersey — An illegal immigrant from Nigeria admitted Friday he assumed the identity of a murdered man so he could work at a busy New York City-area airport, where he was a security supervisor for 20 years. He now faces possible deportation.

Bimbo Oyewole, 54, pleaded guilty to using a fake security badge under a plea deal in which prosecutors agreed to recommend he receive probation. He had been charged with identity theft when he was arrested in May.

He will be jailed pending sentencing Oct. 19. The state attorney general's office said Oyewole faces potential deportation.

Oyewole admitted he is in the country illegally, having entered on a student visa in 1989 and staying after it expired.

"I came in legally," Oyewole, hands cuffed behind his back, told the court.

Oyewole admitted he used the identity and identity papers of Jerry Thomas, who was shot in New York in 1992.

Authorities had said Oyewole assumed Thomas's identity weeks before he died. Police in New York said Thomas sold his documents to a Nigerian cab driver, who sold them to Oyewole. They said they had no evidence tying Oyewole to Thomas' death.

Oyewole said he presented Thomas' birth certificate and Social Security card to airport officials. He then received ID cards that give airport workers security clearance.

The Port Authority, which operates Newark Liberty International Airport, said Oyewole most recently worked for FJC Security Services, a contractor that staffs access gates and had access to airplanes and the tarmac. He supervised about 30 guards.

Port Authority officials were alerted to Oyewole after receiving an anonymous letter about him.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-501843_162-57508714/us-airport-worker-admits-using-dead-mans-id/?tag=re1.channel

Nigerian airline collapses as industry struggles
Friday, Sept. 7, 2012. LAGOS, Nigeria — Almost half the aircraft had been pulled out of service at Air Nigeria, this West African nation's second-largest airline, and its staff hadn't received a paycheck in four months when its top executive summarily fired nearly all of its employees for "dishonesty." "Corporations are like individuals, who naturally will get sick," Air Nigeria chairman Jimoh Ibrahim was quoted as saying. "The usual thing to do is to admit them in hospitals, either for corporate surgery or for treatment, as the case may be." The collapse and the mass firing of about 800 workers at Air Nigeria comes as only four domestic airlines are currently flying in Nigeria, down from nine flying at the start of this year. The dramatic decrease highlights the current turmoil of the nation's troubled aviation sector. While the federal government insists it conducts strict maintenance and financial audits of airlines, the financial mess left behind after Air Nigeria's shutdown and a June crash by another carrier that killed more than 160 people has left many Nigerians leery of flying and distrustful of official safety promises. "I think that if in the future, if anybody's coming into this business, I think the government needs to put in a particular panel to check that person's mental state, first of all, and the financial records need to be checked so we can know if this person can even do the job," said Isaac Balami, president of Nigeria's National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers. "We've seen people that can't even manage an ordinary business. ... Aviation is not for a lazy man or somebody who doesn't know what he's doing." Angered by their firing, more than 60 former Air Nigeria employees protested Friday outside of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority and later marched past a domestic wing of Lagos' Murtala Muhammed International Airport. Former employees described a dysfunctional environment where bosses removed telephone lines and called Internet access and using an elevator to reach their high-rise office "a luxury." Staff last received a paycheck in April and had been sitting at home for weeks for a call to return to work. At one point, employees also were forced to sign "loyalty oaths" to swear their allegiance to the company and promise not to be union members, workers said. Yet the company continued to collapse, even after it received money from a federal bailout fund, employees said. "If they want to steal Nigerian money, don't use our hands or our heads to steal it," said an employee who asked only to be identified by her first name Barbara, out of hopes she might still receive the rest of her salary. "Just steal it and deal with your conscience." Financial troubles have trailed Air Nigeria, a one-time darling of the country when billionaire Richard Branson helped create it as Virgin Nigeria in 2005. Branson pulled out of the airline and in 2010 Ibrahim took it over and renamed it. Ibrahim, who also directs a major hotel chain, an insurance firm and an oil company, has strong ties to the country's political elite, as do many in business in the nation. But the engineers' strike earlier this year saw workers claim the company's finances stopped it from properly servicing its fleet. A top former company official also referred to airline's aircraft as "flying coffins" in local media reports. The workers presented a letter outlining their complaints to officials at the civil aviation authority. Samuel Ogbogoro, a spokesman for Air Nigeria, did not respond to a request for comment Friday over the employees' allegations. The company has said, however, it hopes to reopen in 12 months, though it remains unclear how it will do that with the debts employees say it faces. Experts believe Air Nigeria is not a unique case among airlines in Nigeria, however. Jet fuel purchases often must be made with cash in the country. Other executives with ties to government officials have floated airlines in the past. Meanwhile, the country has suffered a series of fatal plane crashes over the last decades, with authorities never offering clear explanations for why the disasters happened. In June, a Dana Air MD-83 crashed about five miles north of Lagos' airport, killing 153 onboard and 10 people on the ground. While an initial report suggests both engines failed on the flight, officials haven't explained why that happened, though they cleared the airline to fly again this week. Meanwhile, other airlines appear to be grounded over financial concerns and other matters, leaving only four carriers flying and unable to meet the nation's growing demand for flights. That could put further pressure on an industry where corners have been cut in the past and pilots feel pressure to fly no matter what. "The aviation industry is all about efficiencies, speed and accuracy," Balami said. "Can you imagine a pilot ... going through financial difficulties (and) he or she can't pay their bills and you expect them to concentrate?"

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-501843_162-57508724/nigerian-airline-collapses-as-industry-st
Former Air Nigeria staff protest after they were fired in Lagos, Nigeria, Friday, Sept. 7, 2012. More than 60 workers from Air Nigeria protested Friday at Lagosâ Murtala Muhammed International Airportâs domestic terminal, demanding four-months-worth of unpaid salaries from the company. The airlineâs owner, business tycoon Jimoh Ibrahim, fired nearly all of the companyâs 800 employees for âdisloyaltyâ earlier this month. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba) (Sunday Alamba)

Sorry my people (PDP)..... people destroy the people...People denounced by the people (PDP)..And the beats goes on...I weep but no tears..

yeah..mine started working this morning---all this while i have been using the UC browser, when opera could not work on AIRTEL network.
I like UC browser- for now I will stick to it.it"s cool

you missed this one too

http://sefsar.com/nokia-faked-the-still-photos-too
yeah I visited the link..and i was more shocked by the story..what the heck is going on..? all these false pretext....ah.

Sri Lankan stall owner Suresh de Silva shows a 1.5 carat diamond which is similar to a stone a Chinese man stole from him at the start of a gem and jewelery exhibition in Colombo on September 5, 2012. (AFP/Getty)

(AP) COLOMBO, Sri Lanka – A man visiting a gem exhibition in Sri Lanka’s capital swallowed a 1.5 carat diamond in front of the owner and was taken by police to a hospital, where an X-ray showed the $13,000 stone inside him.

Exhibitor Suresh Wijekoon said the man was behaving suspiciously at his stalls and when he reached closer to the suspect, the man suddenly swallowed the diamond at his hand before Suresh alerted police at the exhibition venue.

Chou Wan, a 32-year-old from China, is in custody pending further investigation, police spokesman Ajith Rohana said. An X-ray proved the diamond was inside Chou’s body, said hospital director Dr. Anil Jasinghe at Colombo National, where the suspect was taken for the test.

Suresh, owner of Belgrade International Pvt Ltd, said the diamond weighed about 1.5 carats. It was worth $13,636, Rohana said.

Sri Lanka does not mine diamonds but is renowned for other highly treasured gems. Facets Sri Lanka 2012 is the island nation’s annual largest gem and jewelry exhibition and it attracts a large number of local and foreign buyers.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57506535/carat-meal-man-swallows-diamond-in-sri-lanka/

Nokia has apologised after it emerged that an advert featuring video footage which appeared to have been filmed with its new flagship smartphone had in fact been created using different equipment.The Verge tech site revealed the issue after it noticed a window reflection revealed a cameraman holding what appeared to be an SLR camera.

In a blog post the handset maker said it should have "posted a disclaimer".The news threatens to take the shine off the launch of the Lumia 920 phone.

Investors had already shown doubts about whether the Windows Phone 8 handset could revive the Finnish company's fortunes, sending its shares nearly 8% lower on Wednesday.In Thursday's trade the stock fell a further 6%.'Faked' footage :The advert showed a man filming his girlfriend using the new smartphone while both of them were riding bicycles.

The footage cut from professionally-filmed material, featuring both actors, to what looked like it was the video captured by the man's Nokia device.

A split-screen sequence then showed what the smartphone's footage would look like with Nokia's optical image stabilisation (OIS) feature turned on and switched off.The footage was intended to support the firm's claim that its technology helped reduce image blur. It was shown at a press conference on Wednesday to support Nokia's boast that the Lumia 920 featured the best smartphone image quality on the market.

The Verge's article said: "too bad it's faked".Nokia's blog acknowledged the problem in a post titled "An apology is due".
Nokia advert close-up This close-up of the footage reveals that a cameraman was using a different device."We produced a video that stimulates what we will be able to deliver with OIS," wrote the site's editor Heidi Lemmetyinen."Of course, hindsight is 20/20, but we should have posted a disclaimer stating this was a representation of OIS only. This was not shot with a Lumia 920... we apologise for the confusion we created."

Nokia also released footage that had been shot with the model.The director of the UK's Institute of Business Ethics (IBE) said the affair was surprising bearing in mind the Finnish company had previously addressed what kinds of marketing materials should be used.

"It is good that Nokia has recognised how misleading their advertisement was and has apologised for that," Philippa Foster Back told the BBC.

"That is an important element in trying to maintain trust. The company does have a code of conduct recognising that 'high ethics means success' and states that the company 'conducts its marketing in a responsible way'.

"Whether oversight or deliberate, and sceptics might think the latter, Nokia has let itself down. The product will need, more than ever, to speak for itself." The IBE receives donations from some of the UK's mobile operators but not the handset makers themselves.

http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-19499879

My Blog is http://. On the Blog I collect and share Stories like the one below covering a wide range of knowledge areas.
Carat meal: Man swallows diamond in Sri LankaAP) COLOMBO, Sri Lanka

- A man visiting a gem exhibition in Sri Lanka's capital swallowed a 1.5 carat diamond in front of the owner and was taken by police to a hospital, where an X-ray showed the $13,000 stone inside him.

Exhibitor Suresh Wijekoon said the man was behaving suspiciously at his stalls and when he reached closer to the suspect, the man suddenly swallowed the diamond at his hand before Suresh alerted police at the exhibition venue.

Chou Wan, a 32-year-old from China, is in custody pending further investigation, police spokesman Ajith Rohana said.

An X-ray proved the diamond was inside Chou's body, said hospital director Dr. Anil Jasinghe at Colombo National, where the suspect was taken for the test.

Suresh, owner of Belgrade International Pvt Ltd, said the diamond weighed about 1.5 carats. It was worth $13,636, Rohana said.

Sri Lanka does not mine diamonds but is renowned for other highly treasured gems. Facets Sri Lanka 2012 is the island nation's annual largest gem and jewelry exhibition and it attracts a large number of local and foreign buyers.
For more stories like this one visit my blog: http://

Implantable Birth Control Known to Go Missing
By Lara Salahi

Sep 6, 2012 8:00am
Implantable Birth Control Known to Go Missing

Implanted and embedded birth-control devices are among the latest contraceptives to hit the market. Depending on a woman’s preference, the small, seemingly invisible pieces can be inserted in the uterus, or even lodged under the skin of the forearm.

Get it and forget it, say many companies and doctors who recommend the devices to busy women who might lose track of a daily pill.

But it’s possible, although rare, for the hormonal contraceptive device to go missing in a woman’s body, experts say.

It’s unclear how many times that has happened in the United States, but many women in the U.K. say they fear infertility after their under-the-skin implanted device, Implanon, got lost, according to an article in the U.K. Daily Mail.

Merck, the New Jersey-based manufacturer of Implanon, declined to go into detail about the device’s movement in a women’s body, instead citing warnings in the patient handout.

Its literature cites “problems of insertion and removal” as a potential risk of the device.

“Removal of the implant may be very difficult or impossible because the implant is not where it should be,” according to Merck’s patient handout on the device.

Dr. Alan Penzias, director of the fellowship program in reproductive endocrinology and infertility at Boston IVF, said, “The most likely cause in cases where it was inserted correctly is migration within the deep fatty tissue of the upper arm.”

Although safe for women even if lost, they might not be able to conceive until the device is either located and removed, or until the hormone runs out, which can be up to a few years.

“There is no reason to think it would cause permanent infertility,” Dr. Lauren Streicher, a gynecologist at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, said.

“The “worst-case” scenario would require a slightly more involved procedure to remove the device if it embeds itself more deeply than planned,” Penzias said.

The same can be true with intrauterine contraceptives, where the device might embed deeper than necessary. “Infection is not a consequence since the device was placed under sterile conditions,” he said.

Toni of Boston, Mass., went to her doctor last year for routine removal of her intrauterine device but her doctor couldn’t find it.

“I had to go for an ultrasound so they could make sure it was in the right place,” said Toni, 29, who asked that her last name not to used. ”I was a bit nervous that it had somehow dislodged and was floating around.”

Dr. Streicher, who has never encountered such a case, said, “It is rare for any of these devices to migrate from their appropriate location and it won’t just show up at another random location.”

In rare cases, intrauterine devices can perforate the uterus and end up in the abdominal cavity, she said, but is unlikely to cause any complications if removed.

In Toni’s case, the ultrasound found the device in the correct spot, but her doctor was unable to remove it because he could not find the string to pull the device out, she said. Toni had to undergo surgery to have the device removed.

“I will never get another one,” she said. “I’m too scared.”

But such anecdotes discourage other women from asking about these contraceptive methods, Streicher said.

“Long-acting contraception that is not user dependent has the lowest pregnancy rates of any reversible contraception and are underutilized in this country,” she said. “If anything, women should be encouraged to consider them as an option instead of being steered away.”

Penzias of Boston IVF said women have many options in contraception and should discuss the risks and benefits with their doctors.

“With good information in hand,” he said, “the wide array of options currently available enables women to make good informed decisions about their reproductive lives.”
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/2012/09/06/implantable-birth-control-known-to-go-missing/

(CNN) -- Which country is the best at putting the Web to use?

That would be Sweden, according to a new report spearheaded by Tim Berners-Lee, the guy who basically invented the World Wide Web (and who had a role in the opening ceremony of the London Olympics).

The United States came in second place on the much-anticipated study, which was published online Wednesday by the World Wide Web Foundation.

Called the Web Index, the first-of-its-kind report ranked 61 countries across seven categories, including communications infrastructure, Web use, Web content and the political, social and economic impact of the Internet in those countries.
Watch this video
Web inventor talks web freedom, access

The group, in collaboration with Oxford Economics, collected five years of data from other sources and spent a year conducting surveys to arrive at its conclusions. The report was funded in full by a $1 million grant from Google.

Yemen, the violence-plagued Middle Eastern country, ranked last on the list, behind Zimbabwe and Burkina Faso, both in Africa.

Overall, one in three people worldwide use the Internet, according to the report. But Web use is uneven. Only one in six Africans use the Web.

Sweden beat out the United States on the ranking in part because a smaller percentage of Americans are online. About three-quarters of American are Internet users, compared with about 90% of Sweden's population. Meanwhile, "the U.S. has a lower percentage of households with personal computers than a raft of countries, including Canada, Ireland, Japan and Norway," the report says.

The United States "also offers slower bandwidth per Internet user than a range of countries, most notably Iceland, Sweden and Singapore."

The United States is No. 1 in terms of access to Web content, which the report measures in terms of the number of Wikipedia articles in a particular language as well as "the type of data and information that is accessible on the Web in each country."

Iceland topped the list in terms of its Internet infrastructure and Web use. Nearly 96% of people in that country use the Internet, according to the report.

Singapore has the world's fastest Internet, and Ireland's economy benefits the most from the Web. Internet and communications-related exports accounted for 15% of its gross domestic product between 2007 and 2010, which the report says puts it "exponentially ahead of any other nation."

Barriers to Internet use, of course, remain.

"The Web is a global conversation. Growing suppression of free speech, both online and offline, is possibly the single biggest challenge to the future of the Web," Berners-Lee said in a statement.

He added that cost also keeps many people from accessing the Internet.

"The high price of connectivity is stopping billions of people from achieving their rights to knowledge and participation. Costs have got to come down dramatically."

Internet access, while described by the report as a luxury for many people in the world, is also increasingly seen as a human right -- a necessary tool for full participation in modern society.

What do you think of the rankings? Let us know in the comments.
http://edition.cnn.com/2012/09/05/tech/web/web-index/index.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_world+%28RSS%3A+World%29

BERLIN (AFP) – German prosecutors said Tuesday they had opened a manslaughter investigation against a 49-year-old woman after the corpse of a new-born baby girl was found in her freezer after 10 years.

The grisly find was made by her former husband on Friday when he defrosted the freezer in the house where they used to live, said prosecutors in the northern city of Flensburg.

It was not clear whether the baby was alive or dead when placed in the freezer, investigators said. There were no signs she had been violently treated but authorities confirmed the baby was not stillborn.

The woman, who has not been named, has admitted the baby was hers and said she was “in a state of complete exhaustion and hopelessness” at the time.

The couple already had three, now fully grown, children and divorced in 2009, prosecutors said.

The woman was released pending further investigations.


http://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/09/woman-keeps-baby-in-freezer-for-10yrs/

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Iran could hit U.S. bases in the Middle East in response to any Israeli strike on its nuclear facilities even if American forces played no role in the attack, the leader of Lebanon's Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah said on Monday.

"A decision has been taken to respond and the response will be very great," Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said in an interview with the Beirut-based Al Mayadeen television.

"The response will not be just inside the Israeli entity - American bases in the whole region could be Iranian targets," he said, citing information he said was from Iranian officials. "If Israel targets Iran, America bears responsibility."

Heightened Israeli rhetoric about Tehran's nuclear facilities, which the West says could be part of a weapons program, has stoked speculation that it may attack Iran before U.S. elections in November.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged world powers on Sunday to set a "clear red line" to convince Iran they would prevent it from obtaining nuclear arms.

Israel, thought to be the Middle East's only nuclear-armed power, views Iran's nuclear program as a threat to its regional dominance and to its very existence. Tehran says the atomic work is for peaceful purposes only.

But Netanyahu's cabinet is divided over the wisdom of attacking Iran, and Israeli officials have dropped heavy hints of a climbdown strategy, under which Netanyahu would shelve threats of an attack now in return for a stronger public pledge from President Barack Obama on conditions that would provoke U.S. action in future.

Nasrallah said there were divisions in Israel over attacking Iran. "Personally I do not expect the Israeli enemy - at least in the coming months or foreseeable future - (to wage) an attack on the Islamic Republic of Iran," he said.

Nasrallah pointed to the fragile global economy, which would be weakened further by any sharp rise in crude oil prices stemming from conflict in the Gulf, and to likely Israeli casualties in any war with Iran.

"Netanyahu and (Defence Minister Ehud) Barak inflate the benefit and play down the cost," he said, referring to Barak's estimates that Israel could suffer up to 500 fatalities in any conflict aimed at wiping out Iran's nuclear facilities.

Hezbollah guerrillas fought a 34-day war with Israel six years ago in which 1,200 people in Lebanon, mostly civilians, and 160 people in Israel, mostly soldiers, were killed.

War with Iran would be more deadly, Nasrallah said. "We don't know what will happen in the region."

NO CHEMICAL WEAPONS

He repeated a warning he made last month that Hezbollah could cause widespread destruction if it came into conflict with Israel again, but denied that the Shi'ite Islamist guerrilla and political movement would ever use chemical weapons.

"We do not have chemical weapons and we will not use chemical weapons," Nasrallah said. "The use of chemical weapons is forbidden - for us that is absolute.

Unrest in neighboring Syria, which acknowledged for the first time in July that it possessed chemical or biological weapons, has led to Western fears that those weapons might fall into the hands of Islamist groups including Hezbollah.

"I do not need chemical weapons - regardless of the religious or practical position," Nasrallah said, addressing Israel. "You have factories, and you have bases, and compounds, and I have rockets."

Israel had several "weak points" which could be targeted, including "economic, industrial, electrical, chemical and nuclear" sites, the Hezbollah leader said.

Even if Israel launched a first strike attack on Lebanon, destroying a large part of Hezbollah's missile arsenal, the militant group would retain the capacity to hit back with deadly force, he added.

Two weeks ago Nasrallah said Hezbollah could kill tens of thousands of Israelis by hitting targets with what he described as precision-guided missiles.

"Hitting these targets with a small number of rockets will turn ... the lives of hundreds of thousands of Zionists to real hell," he said at the time.

(Writing by Dominic Evans; Editing by Alison Williams)
http://news.yahoo.com/iran-could-strike-u-bases-israel-attacks-hezbollah-055101337.html

My blog is .here i love collecting and sharing off beat,odd and human interest stories from several news sources, among my other interest.if you love off beat news. visit

Introduction of N5,000 note is economic waste – Bankers
on SEPTEMBER 2, 2012 · in FINANCE
8:00 pm

BY VICTOR AHIUMA-YOUNG

BANKERS in Nigeria, under the aegis of the Association of Senior Staff of Banks, Insurance

and Financial Institutions, ASSBIFI, has faulted the planned introduction of N5,000 note by the

Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, next year, describing it as an economic waste to the nation.

ASSBIFI in a statement argued that the estimated N40 billion to be spent on the proposed

Naira restructuring could be better channeled to enhance the perennial power problems,

health, education, and road rehabilitation and so on.

In the statement by its President and Senior Assistant Secretary-General, Sunday Salako and

Friday Inegbedion respectively, ASSBIFI said, “the announcement of Thursday August 23,

2012 by the Central Bank of Nigeria on the proposed restructuring of the Naira that will lead

to the introduction of N5,000 note come year 2013 was received with great shock that we are

yet to recover from.

ASSBIFI, as an umbrella body for all senior workers in banking, insurance and financial

institutions in Nigeria strongly oppose the whole idea of the proposed Naira restructuring at

this point in time, particularly the introduction of higher banknote of N5,000 next year by CBN

under its currently redesign programme tagged ‘PROJECT CURE.’

The question we are asking as practitioners and as Nigerians is what project or object is the

programme out to ‘cure’? Is it inflation, interest rate, improper banking habit, bank robberies,

unemployment, corruption, money laundering, poverty, insecurity, etc?

“We have always advocated that national issues of this magnitude with serious monetary and

fiscal implications on the nation’s economy, should be subjected to public debate. We

seriously disagree with the CBN Governor’s claim that the idea is as a result of inflationary

pressures, rather, we believe it is more of miscalculation and economic somersault.

“Nigerians are yet to come to terms with the economic gains of Sanusi’s reformation agenda

since assumption of office as governor of Central Bank of Nigeria. For instance, interest rate

is still at double digit level; dusts raised by the recapitalisation cum nationalisation of banks

are yet to settle as workers are laid off in droves without adequate provision for their terminal

benefits; the cash-less programme is still at the experimental stage.

“Let us take some time to look back. This is the 10th time the national currency, Naira will be

restructured since its introduction in 1973 to replace the pounds sterling. Prior to the

Pounds, the people of Nigeria were using cowry shells as currency. In all of these, it only

signals the devaluation of the nation’s currency and slippery slope towards hyper-inflation.

“The introduction of higher value currency notes in the economy often signifies a regime of

increased and sustained fiscal deficit financing. Our ancestors developed hunch-backs

carrying sacks of shells, so the present generation has bluntly refused the same load of coins.

What they do immediately is to price all goods and services out of those coins range. The

infrastructure suitable for appropriate use of coins in our society are conspicuously absent.”

“Bank workers are constantly and continually maimed and killed as banks are fire bound with

dynamites and huge sums of raw cash carted away. High denomination currencies will

increase the amount of cash at bank vaults thus making them vulnerable to attacks.

“Despite the introduction of local and international money transfers, people still carry large

sums of cash around and this will be aided by the higher denomination currencies. The

enormous resources in monetary terms to prosecute the proposed Naira restructuring has

been tentatively put at about N40 billion.

“It is our view that this amount should be channeled to enhance the perennial power

problems, health, educations, and road rehabilitation and so on. ASSBIFI advises that this

project be dropped immediately while government dissipates energy on projects that will

ameliorate the sufferings/agonies of Nigerians.”
http://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/09/introduction-of-n5000-note-is-economic-waste-bankers/

GAPYEONG, South Korea (AP) – The Rev. Sun Myung Moon, the self-proclaimed messiah who turned his Unification Church into a worldwide religious movement and befriended North Korean leaders as well as U.S. presidents, has died, church officials said Monday. He was 92.

Moon died Monday at a church-owned hospital near his home in Gapyeong, northeast of Seoul, two weeks after being hospitalized with pneumonia, Unification Church spokesman Ahn Ho-yeul told the Associated Press. Moon's wife and children were at his side, Ahn said.
Moon, born in a town that is now in North Korea, founded his religious movement in Seoul in 1954 after surviving the Korean War. He preached new interpretations of lessons from the Bible.
The church gained fame — and notoriety — in the 1970s and 1980s for holding mass weddings of thousands of followers, often from different countries, whom Moon matched up in a bid to build a multicultural religious world.
The church was accused of using devious recruitment tactics and duping followers out of money; parents of followers in the United States and elsewhere expressed worries that their children were brainwashed into joining. The church responded by saying that many other new religious movements faced similar accusations in their early stages.
In later years, the church adopted a lower profile and focused on building a business empire that included the Washington Times newspaper, the New Yorker Hotel in Manhattan, Bridgeport University in Connecticut, as well as a hotel and a fledgling automaker in North Korea. It acquired a ski resort, a professional soccer team and other businesses in South Korea, and a seafood distribution firm that supplies sushi to Japanese restaurants across the U.S.
The Unification Church claims millions of members worldwide, though church defectors and other critics say the figure is no more than 100,000.
In 2009, Moon married 45,000 people in simultaneous ceremonies worldwide in his first large-scale mass wedding in years. Some were newlyweds and others reaffirmed past vows. He married an additional 7,000 couples in South Korea in February 2010. The ceremonies attracted media coverage but little of the controversy that dogged the church in earlier decades.
Born in 1920 in what is today North Korea, Moon said he was 16 when Jesus Christ called upon him to complete his unfinished work. While preaching the gospel in North Korea in the years after the country was divided into the communist-backed North and U.S.-allied South, Moon was imprisoned there in the late 1940s for allegedly spying for South Korea — a charge Moon disputed.
He quickly drew young followers with his conservative, family-oriented value system and unusual interpretation of the Bible. He conducted his first mass wedding in Seoul in the early 1960s.
The "blessing ceremonies" grew in scale over the next two decades, with a 1982 wedding at Madison Square Garden in New York — the first outside South Korea — drawing thousands of participants.
"International and intercultural marriages are the quickest way to bring about an ideal world of peace," Moon said in a 2009 autobiography. "People should marry across national and cultural boundaries with people from countries they consider to be their enemies so that the world of peace can come that much more quickly."
Moon began rebuilding his relationship with North Korea in 1991, when he met the country's founder Kim Il Sung in the eastern industrial city of Hamhung.
Moon said in his autobiography that he asked Kim to give up his nuclear ambitions, and that Kim responded that his atomic program was for peaceful purposes and he had no intention to use it to "kill my own people."
"The two of us were able to communicate well about our shared hobbies of hunting and fishing. At one point, we each felt we had so much to say to the other that we just started talking like old friends meeting after a long separation," Moon wrote.
He added that he heard Kim tell his son: "After I die, if there are things to discuss pertaining to North-South relations, you must always seek the advice of President Moon."
When Kim Il Sung died in 1994, Moon sent a condolence delegation to North Korea, drawing criticism from conservatives at home. Kim's son and successor, Kim Jong Il, sent roses, prized wild ginseng, Rolex watches and other gifts to Moon on his birthday each year. Kim Jong Il died late last year and was succeeded by his son Kim Jong Un. Moon sent a delegation to pay its respects during the mourning period for Kim Jong Il.
Moon also developed good relationships with conservative American leaders, including former Presidents Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush. Still, he served 13 months at a U.S. federal prison in 1984-1985 for tax evasion. The church says the U.S. government persecuted Moon because of his growing influence and popularity with young people in the United States, his home for more than 30 years.
As he grew older, Moon quietly handed over day-to-day control of his multibillion-dollar religious and business empire, which included dozens of companies ranging from hospitals and universities to a ballet troupe, to his children.
His youngest son, the Rev. Hyung-jin Moon, was named the church's top religious director in April 2008. Other sons and daughters were put in charge of the church's business and charitable activities in South Korea and abroad.
After ending a first marriage, Moon remarried a South Korean, Hak Ja Han Moon, in 1960. She often was at Moon's side for the mass weddings.
The youngest son told the AP in a February 2010 interview that Moon's offspring do not see themselves as his successors.
"Our role is not inheriting that messianic role," he said. "Our role is more of the apostles, where we share … where we become the bridge between understanding what kind of lives (our) two parents have lived."
Moon is survived by his second wife and 10 children.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/story/2012-09-02/unification-church-rev-moon-dies/57537454/1

A 29-year-old man has sued the manufacturers of a sexual enhancement supplement, claiming it caused his penis to fracture in a horrifying incident at Houston motel last year. But though Adrian Carter of Texas blames the supplement, three urologists told ABCNews.com com that penile fractures are most often the result of rough sex. Adrian Carter of Texas said he purchased VirilisPro in the “early morning hours” at a Chevron gas station en route to the Scottish Inn, where he had sex with his “paramour,” according to the lawsuit. Later, during intercourse, he had “significant pain and observed a large quantity of blood squirting out of his penis onto the sheets, walls and mirror,” according to the lawsuit filed Aug. 27 in the district court of Harris County, Texas. Emergency room doctors had to “deglove” Carter’s penis in order to repair it, rendering him unable to have sex or future children, Carter claimed. The lawsuit said VirilisPro was “defective and unreasonably dangerous for use by consumers.” “It was pretty horrific to view the pictures,” Carter’s lawyer, Melissa Moore, told ABCNews.com. “I know it sounds unusual. … He was young and healthy and on no other meds at the time he took the supplement.” Named in the lawsuit were the drug manufacturer, Haute Health Limited Liability Company, Carney & Carney Financial Services, individuals Michael Heilig and Michael and Tyra Carney, and Solid Rock Worship Company, all located in New Jersey. On its website, the company says VirilisPro is “made with only natural ingredients to prevent harmful side effects.”

ABCNews.com was unable to reach any of the defendants for comment.

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/texas-man-fractures-penis-taking-sex-supplement/story?id=17106956#.UDYbgMFlRRU

CBS News) Responding to a petition boasting 12,000+ signatures and Freedom of Information Act requests, the Obama administration on Saturday released some previously-undisclosed, in-demand information: The White House beer recipe.

In a pun-laden blog post on the White House website, White House assistant chef and senior policy advisor for healthy food initiatives Sam Kass laid out instructions for brewing the "White House Honey Ale," and the "White House Honey Porter," apparently "the first alcohol brewed or distilled on the White House grounds."

"Inspired by home brewers from across the country, last year President Obama bought a home brewing kit for the kitchen," Kass wrote in the post. "After the few first drafts we landed on some great recipes that came from a local brew shop. We received some tips from a couple of home brewers who work in the White House who helped us amend it and make it our own.

"To be honest, we were surprised that the beer turned out so well since none of us had brewed beer before," Kass wrote.

The White House also released a behind-the-scenes video explaining the White House brewing process. (You can watch that video by clicking on the player, above left).

Last month, the president revealed that not only does the White House brew its own beer - it also keeps a stock of it on the campaign bus.

Since then, requests for the recipe have been made via the White House petition site, "We the people," through FOIA requests, and in a Reddit question-and-answer session.

"It will be out soon! I can tell from firsthand experience, it is tasty," the president said, when asked about the recipe on Reddit.

Today, as the president campaigned in Iowa, the administration made good on the promise
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-57504866-503544/white-house-releases-its-beer-recipe/

OFFICIALS of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested an auto technician found to have hidden 2.655kg of cocaine in roasted chicken. The seizure was made at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos during the inward clearance of passengers on a Turkish Airline flight from Sao Paulo, Brazil.
The street value of the seized drug is about N24 million. The NDLEA Airport Commander, Mr. Hamza Umar who gave the name of the suspect as Vincent Chegini Chinweuwa described the seizure as remarkable.
The suspect is said to have given investigators useful information.
“We discovered 2.655kg of cocaine hidden inside roasted chicken. It is a remarkable seizure because no one would have imagined cocaine worth several millions inside roasted chicken” Hamza said. The suspect was quoted as having told his interrogators that: “It took me three days to pack the cocaine inside the roasted chicken. I was confident that the drug would not be detected. I have been living in Brazil since 2006.
“Life has been stressful because I could not even visit my wife in Nigeria due to lack of money. I wanted some money to start a business of my choice back home. Unfortunately, I was disappointed upon arrival in Lagos”.
The NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive, Alhaji Ahmadu Giade said spectacular seizures like this will help to discourage others from the criminal drug trade.
“The suspect thought his mode of drug concealment was perfect but we proved him wrong. Drugs cleverly hidden by drug barons have been discovered and we shall continue to detect drugs regardless of the mode of concealment,” Giade said.
The suspect is expected to be charged to court soon.

http://www.thenationonlineng.net/2011/news/59968-drug-suspect-hides-2-6kg-of-cocaine-in-roasted-chicken.html

Roman Abramovich has won his $6.5bn legal battle with his former mentor and business partner, in the biggest private court case in British legal history.

Roman Abramovich and Boris Berezovsky at the High Court Photo: Geoff Pugh
By Duncan Gardham2:16PM BST 31 Aug 2012
The Chelsea FC owner, one of the richest and most private men in the world, was accused of black-mailing Boris Berezovsky into selling his interests in the oil company and aluminium conglomerate they founded together at a knock-down price.
Mr Abramovich in turn, accused Mr Berezovsky of extorting money from him for political influence and claimed he had paid him $1.3bn to buy his freedom when Mr Berezovsky fell out of favour with Russian president Vladimir Putin.

Mrs Justice Gloster said that because of the nature of the factual issues "the case was one where, in the ultimate analysis, the court had to decide whether to believe Mr Berezovsky or Mr Abramovich".
She said that because "both the Sibneft and the RusAl claims depended so very heavily on the oral evidence of Mr Berezovsky, the court needed to have a high degree of confidence in the quality of his evidence".
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The judge added: "That meant confidence not only in his ability to recollect things accurately, but also in his objectivity and truthfulness as a witness."
She announced in a lengthy summary of her judgment: "On my analysis of the entirety of the evidence, I found Mr Berezovsky an unimpressive, and inherently unreliable, witness, who regarded truth as a transitory, flexible concept, which could be moulded to suit his current purposes.
"At times the evidence which he gave was deliberately dishonest; sometimes he was clearly making his evidence up as he went along in response to the perceived difficulty in answering the questions in a manner consistent with his case; at other times, I gained the impression that he was not necessarily being deliberately dishonest, but had deluded himself into believing his own version of events.
"On occasions he tried to avoid answering questions by making long and irrelevant speeches, or by professing to have forgotten facts which he had been happy to record in his pleadings or witness statements.
"He embroidered and supplemented statements in his witness statements, or directly contradicted them."
The judge said "the burden of proof was on Mr Berezovsky to establish his claims".
She referred to his "lack of credibility as a witness".
The judge said she had concluded that "in the absence of corroboration, Mr Berezovsky's evidence frequently could not be relied upon, where it differed from that of Mr Abramovich, or other witnesses".
She added: "I regret to say that the bottom line of my analysis of Mr Berezovsky's credibility is that he would have said almost anything to support his case."
Announcing that she found Mr Abramovich to be a truthful and reliable witness, the judge said she rejected the "serious allegations" that he was a thoroughly "dishonest and cynical witness" who deliberately called witnesses whom he knew would give "as they were intended to do, thoroughly untrue evidence designed only to mislead the court".
The judge added: "Neither the evidence, nor my analysis of it, supported that allegation.
"Likewise I reject the allegation that he manipulated the trial process or engaged in improper collusion with his witnesses, or was part of a 'smears and innuendo' campaign."
The judge also ruled that Mr Abramovich did not make either express or implied threats to Mr Berezovsky with the intention of intimidating him to dispose of his alleged interests in Sibneft.
Outside court Mr Berezovsky said he was “amazed” at what had happened and accused the judge, Lady Justice Gloster, of rewriting Russian history.
Berezovsky said he did not understand why he had lost but understood British courts better, adding: “life is life” but said he had not yet decided whether to appeal.
A spokesman for Mr Abramovich said in a statement that he had been “comprehensively vindicated by the court” and added: “We appreciate that to many people this case has been a uniquely Russian one and should therefore have been heard in the Russian court system. Nevertheless, Mr Abramovich has always had great faith in the fairness of the English legal system and is both pleased and grateful for today’s outcome.”
In a year-long case that became highly personal, one of Mr Abramovich’s associates even accused Mr Berezovsky of sending a threatening text message to a potential witness, signed “Dr Evil”, the pantomime villain from the James Bond spoof films, Austin Powers. The message was never produced.
Mr Abramovich’s lawyers also accused Mr Berezovsky of “truly prodigious powers of self-deception” and giving evidence coloured by his “vanity and his self-obsession.”
They claimed that Mr Berezovksy was an “angry and embittered man” of “remarkable vanity and self-importance” which was “aggravated by a highly personal resentment of Mr Abramovich.”
“Large parts of his evidence can only be described as mendacious and dishonest,” they said in submissions to the court.
“He believes that Mr Abramovich has supplanted him in a position which is rightfully his and that he has acquired a sort of political influence under President Putin which he once enjoyed under a very different regime of Boris Yeltsin.”
Mr Berezovsky was once a “classic power broker” and one of the most influential oligarchs in Russia but the relationship was founded on krysha - political protection – and “the activities of a krysha or protector are inherently corrupt,” Jonathan Sumption QC, for Mr Abramovich, said in a written statement.
Mr Berezovsky "thought he had personally created Mr Abramovich out of nothing and put him in a position where he had only to sit there for vast sums of money to flow into his lap,” he added.
Laurence Rabinowitz QC, for Mr Berezovsky, had told the court that the two men had worked together during the Russian privatisation sales in the mid-1990s that followed the fall of communism to acquire an asset that would make them “wealthy beyond the wildest dreams of most people.”
In the process they “became and remained good friends” he said, but they fell out when Mr Berezovsky, who had adopted a high political profile in Russia through his control of a television station called ORT, fell foul of the Kremlin and was forced to leave the country and seek asylum in Britain.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/9509975/Abramovich-wins-biggest-private-court-case-in-history.html

I am in benin edo state. i use opera mini on my nokia ci to browse using opera mini, INFACT IT STOPPED WORKING YESTERDAY NIGHT, I TOT IT WAS NETWORK PROBLEM BUT I COULD STILL BROWSE WITH MTN SIM ON THE SAME PHONE..FROM THE POST I HAVE BEEN READING HERE, I HAVE NOT READ AN OFFICIAL STATEMENT FORM AIRTEL