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NewsQA
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NEW DELHI, India (CNN) -- Indian tourism authorities will be holding English classes for auto-rickshaw drivers in New Delhi as the city prepares to host the Commonwealth Games in 2010.
Auto-rickshaw drivers are being taught English ahead of the Commenwealth Games.
More than 40,000 natural gas-fueled auto-rickshaws, or motorized three-wheeled taxis, run on the Indian capital's dilapidated roads, according to the city government statistics.
The city is expected to host around 100,000 tourists during the Commonwealth Games scheduled from October 3-14 in 2010.
About 9,000 athletes and officials of 52 Commonwealth countries are likely to participate.
Some 8,000 auto-rickshaw drivers will be enrolled in the training program that will involve classes in yoga, life skills, first aid, spoken English and psychometric tests, federal Tourism Secretary Sujit Banerjee announced Tuesday.
Each trainee will be paid Rs 200, or about $4, daily for attending the program spread over 200 sessions for a year.
Indian auto-rickshaw drivers have often been accused of overcharging, refusing short trips and misbehavior.
Traffic authorities have in the past opened a range of avenues for passengers to lodge their complaints -- such as on help lines, via text messages or simply calling a telephone number printed on the three-wheeled cabs.
"The India image that we strive to convey to a foreign tourist depends, to a large degree, on how good the taxi/auto-rickshaw (driver) that he or she meets is in his demeanor and conduct," Banerjee remarked.
|
0e470d945af24d4886c8cf703effb22d
|
How many auto-rickshaws ply roads of indian captial?
|
[
"40,000"
] |
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KATHMANDU, Nepal (CNN) -- Nepal's government ordered the country's army chief of staff fired Sunday, touching off street protests and a split in Nepal's Maoist-dominated ruling coalition.
General Rookmangud Katawal gestures after inspecting the guard of honour in New Delhi on December 12, 2007.
But Gen. Rookmangud Katawal has refused to accept his dismissal, and Nepalese President Ram Baran Yadav -- the constitutional commander-in-chief of the country's armed forces -- has told Katawal to remain in office, a presidential spokesman said.
Nepal's Cabinet voted to dismiss Katawal after the military refused the government's order to stop recruiting about 3,000 new soldiers to fill vacant positions when it has yet to take in former Maoist rebels, as a 2006 peace deal required.
The move prompted the Maoists' largest coalition partner to quit the government, the party's leader said.
"Without consensus, the ongoing peace process will not reach its logical conclusion and the drafting of the new constitution will not be possible," said Ishwor Pokharel, general secretary of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist). "The consensus that existed so far has come to standstill."
Supporters of both sides in the dispute took to the streets for demonstrations Sunday. Despite sporadic clashes between the two factions, there were no serious injuries reported.
The Maoists laid down their arms and won power in 2008 elections after an agreement that ended a decade-long insurgency. Under the deal, more than 19,000 former insurgents were to be integrated into the country's security forces.
But two weeks ago, the government asked Katawal to explain why he went to the Supreme Court to challenge the government's refusal to extend the tenure of eight brigadier generals in March. Government spokesman Krishna Bahadur Mahara said Sunday that the government was not satisfied with Katawal's explanation and fired him -- three months before his scheduled retirement -- in a meeting that the Maoists' coalition partners boycotted.
Pokharel said his party urged the Maoists not to fire Katawal without a consensus in the country's parliament. He said the Maoists, led by Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, ignored that advice.
"We do not like the way the Maoists' way of functioning," Pokharel said.
The Maoists hold 238 of the 601 seats in parliament, while Pokharel's party has 109. The Maoists could continue to hold power with the support of smaller parties, but Pokharel said his party is working to form a new ruling coalition.
The Cabinet named an interim army chief, but presidential spokesman Rajendra Dahal told CNN that 18 parties in Nepal's parliament asked Yadav to keep Katawal on the job. There was no immediate reaction from the government on the president's decision.
|
15d0f7af900b4097a67621e8f108c8ab
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what did military refuse to do?
|
[
"stop recruiting about 3,000 new soldiers"
] |
NewsQA
|
LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Investigators are looking into whether employees at the Los Angeles County coroner's office illegally leaked information about Michael Jackson's death probe to the news media, according to a sheriff's spokesman.
Police stand outside the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office when Michael Jackson's body was there in June.
Vivid descriptions of Jackson's corpse, which was in the coroner's custody for an autopsy, were published by tabloid newspapers in the days after his death.
The Los Angeles County Supervisors office on Friday asked the sheriff to conduct a "preliminary inquiry," which will determine whether there is enough evidence to launch a full investigation, said Steve Whitmore, a sheriff's spokesman.
Whitmore did not provide details on what prompted the request.
The Los Angeles Times quoted Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas as saying his office called the sheriff's department after reports that coroner's employees not involved in the Jackson death probe had viewed his death certificate in the office database.
Ridley-Thomas has not responded to CNN requests for comment.
The coroner's office is investigating the cause of Jackson's June 25 death. It has been waiting on toxicology lab results, but a final autopsy report is expected as soon as next week, a coroner's spokesman has said.
Los Angeles police are also investigating the death. Detectives traveled to Houston, Texas, this week to search the medical office of Dr. Conrad Murray, Jackson's personal doctor.
CNN's Sonya Hamasaki contributed to this report
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42bd813d148148928e52cd30ab51719f
|
When did Jackson die?
|
[
"June 25"
] |
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MIAMI, Florida (CNN) -- Miami rapper Brisco lost $40,000 in jewelry and his luxury SUV when armed robbers stormed the barber shop where he was getting a trim, but the artist says the hold up may help his creativity.
Security camera video showed Brisco, whose real name is British Mitchell, sitting in a barber chair when four armed men rush into the Miami, Florida, business, fire a few shots and order everyone, including the rapper, to the floor.
"He went to a barber shop to get his hair cut," Miami Police Officer Jeffery Giordano told Miami TV station WSVN. "They took a little bit more off the top than expected."
Brisco's gold watch, bracelet, chain and pendant were taken from him, along with the keys to his Range Rover. The vehicle was later recovered, Giordano said.
"For a rapper to have his bling stolen, they might as well stolen that man's heart," Giordano said.
Brisco, known for his songs about ghetto street life, said he was still alive and looking at the bright side.
"I'll get bigger jewelry and still go hard," Brisco said. "It's great material for my next album."
Music fans also know Brisco by his other nickname, the Opa Locka Goon, a reference to his south Florida hometown.
The armed robbery took place July 29 in Miami's Model City neighborhood.
|
f324a2495b774b8688698319751a430f
|
What were stolen?
|
[
"gold watch, bracelet, chain"
] |
NewsQA
|
NEW DELHI, India (CNN) -- Indian police swiftly handled a "security scare" at New Delhi's major airport early Friday amid heightened concern in the wake of last week's terror attack in which gunmen killed 179 people in Mumbai.
An Indian soldier joins the beefed up security detail at New Delhi airport.
New Delhi police spokesman Rajan Bhagat said police responded to reports of gunfire at Indira Gandhi International Airport but found no casualties or damage. Bhagat said there was "no terror threat."
"And there's no cause of panic," he added.
Uday Banerjee, the head of India's Central Industrial Security Force, told reporters at the airport that something sounding like gunshots was heard, but no one saw anything and no bullet casings were found.
Indian authorities stepped up security at the nation's airports on Thursday after receiving intelligence reports that terrorists might be planning an air attack.
At Indira Gandhi, four armed police stood guard at each entrance, and people waiting for arriving passengers were not allowed inside. Watch what triggered the security scare there »
"There have been intelligence inputs about some terrorist activity, and therefore security has been tightened (at airports)," civil aviation spokesperson Moushmi Chakraborty told CNN. Watch heightened anxiety after the attacks »
Police beefed up security at all airports including in the capital New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Bangalore, Chakraborty said.
A spokesman for the Indian Navy, Cmdr. Nirad Sinha, also confirmed to CNN that security officials had received warnings about an airborne attack. Watch more on increase in security »
The Press Trust of India, a nonprofit newspaper cooperative, said that reports had suggested that terrorists could have sneaked into the country to carry out strikes on the anniversary of the Babri mosque demolition. The mosque -- one of the largest in the Uttar Pradesh state -- was destroyed on December 6, 1992, by Hindu nationalists who believe it was built on the site of an existing temple.
On Wednesday India's defense minister met with the chiefs of the army, air force and navy and discussed what the ministry in a news statement called "possible terror threats from air."
The officials also discussed the country's coastal security plans and how to tighten security along the military line of control dividing the disputed region of Kashmir between India and Pakistan to "prevent infiltration of terrorists," the statement said.
India ranks among the countries where terrorism is most common, according to the U.S. State Department.
CNN's Harmeet Shah Singh and Sara Sidner contributed to this report.
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338f99d5933d44b49dabeec777d7fc50
|
Why was security raised?
|
[
"terrorists might be planning an air attack."
] |
NewsQA
|
LONDON, England (CNN) -- Several hundred Sri Lankan Tamil protesters shouted slogans at the British Parliament for a second day Tuesday, urging it to act to end the "genocide" against their people in Sri Lanka.
Police clash with Tamil protesters outside the Houses of Parliament.
"Stop the genocide!" they shouted. "Stop the war!"
They waved the red flag of Tamil Eelam, the Tamils' traditional homeland in northern and eastern Sri Lanka. The flag is emblazoned with a yellow roaring tiger.
Most of the protesters slept overnight on the streets around Parliament Square after beginning their unauthorized protest Monday afternoon. At one point, the protesters blocked the street leading to Westminster Bridge over the River Thames, police said.
That led to road closures around Parliament.
By Tuesday morning, a solid ring of police had hemmed the protesters in Parliament Square across the street from the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben. Roads were open again, but the protest and police presence caused traffic congestion in the area.
Hariram Shan, 24, is a Sri Lankan Tamil who said he has lived in Britain for six years. He said the protesters hope the British government will intervene to stop Sri Lanka's crackdown on Tamil Tiger rebels, which he said harms civilians.
"They can force economic sanctions," Shan told CNN.
Dushyanthy Sukumar, 47, said the Sri Lankan government is retaliating against innocent civilians.
"The Sri Lankan government has now cornered the rebels, the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam), and what they are doing is killing the people," she said.
Sukumar, who said she has lived in Britain since leaving her homeland in 1987, said she is angry at the British government for supporting Sri Lanka.
"The Sri Lankan government is doing their dirty work through this government," she said.
The Sri Lankan military said Sunday that it had captured the last rebel stronghold and killed five rebel leaders after three days of gunbattles.
It said more rebels could still be hiding in a 20-square-kilometer "safety zone," but that it would not enter the area because it is home to some 50,000 people.
The Tamil Tigers have fought since 1983 for an independent homeland for the country's ethnic Tamil minority. The civil war has left more than 70,000 people dead.
|
d02d45b47796451e843bfdbade3dea2b
|
What did protesters urge UK lawmakers to do?
|
[
"end the \"genocide\" against their people in Sri Lanka."
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- In the seven weeks since the military-backed bloodless coup in Honduras, several hundred people protesting against the de facto government have been arbitrarily arrested and beaten by government forces, a new Amnesty International report says.
The marks of a police truncheon are shown on a student's back after a protest, Amnesty International says.
The report, released Wednesday, said the beatings were meant to punish those who opposed the ouster of President Manuel Zelaya in June.
It includes testimony from, and photographs of, several people who were baton-whipped and detained by police officers who sometimes wore no visible identification and hid their faces behind bandanas as they broke up demonstrations.
"They beat us if we raised our heads; they beat us when they were getting us into the police cars," said a student whom Amnesty International interviewed in late July at the police station where he was being detained.
"They said, 'Cry and we'll stop.'"
Multiple requests to the government for comment went unanswered. The government has said in the past that the demonstrators were arrested for engaging in violence and provoking authorities.
The Honduran political crisis stems from Zelaya's defiant push to hold a referendum that could have led to extending term limits by changing the constitution. The country's congress had outlawed the vote and the supreme court had ruled it illegal.
He was ousted in a coup on June 28. The congress named Roberto Micheletti provisional president shortly after the military detained Zelaya and sent him into exile.
Micheletti and his supporters deny that a coup took place, calling the action a constitutional transfer of power.
The coup resulted in unrest throughout the country, with frequent clashes between police and military on one side and civilian protesters on the other. At least two people were shot to death, Amnesty said.
Among several examples, the Amnesty report quotes F.M., a 52-year-old teacher, who said he was demonstrating peacefully when police descended on the rally.
"They grabbed me and shouted, 'Why do you (all) support Zelaya's government?' They beat me. I have not been informed as to why I am detained."
He showed deep-red imprints on his back, which he said were from a beating with a baton.
"Detention and ill treatment of protesters are being employed as a form of punishment for those openly opposing the de facto government and also as a deterrent for those contemplating taking to the streets to peacefully show their discontent with the political turmoil the country is experiencing," said Esther Major, Amnesty's Central America researcher.
|
22aaf64279714e35b1d6d6d1854141bd
|
What were the beatings meant for?
|
[
"to punish those who opposed the ouster of President Manuel Zelaya in June."
] |
NewsQA
|
MEXICO CITY, Mexico (CNN) -- Officials in Mexico's Chiapas state postponed classes Friday for more than 1 million students in an effort to avoid a resurgence of H1N1 flu, which has sickened thousands throughout Mexico this year.
After the first confirmed swine flu reports in April, Mexico shut down all of its schools and many public venues.
Chiapas Education Secretary Javier Alvarez Ramos and state Health Secretary James Gomez Montes said classes will start August 31 for middle and high school students and September 7 for elementary pupils, the state-run Notimex news agency said.
About 1.55 million students will be affected, 850,000 of them in elementary school, Notimex said.
This is not the first instance of officials in Mexico altering schedules to combat the disease.
The first cases of H1N1, also called swine flu, were confirmed in Mexico in April. Within days, the government closed all schools and most public venues. In Mexico City, officials shut down all bars, theaters and public gathering places and limited restaurants to take-out orders. About 35,000 businesses were affected.
All non-essential federal government offices also were closed nationwide for several days.
The World Health Organization declared a global pandemic in early June.
As of August 6, the WHO reported more than 177,450 confirmed cases in 170 nations. The Western Hemisphere has the most cases, with nearly 103,000 confirmed instances of the disease and almost 1,300 deaths. The WHO is no longer providing a country-by-country breakdown, but the United States, Argentina and Mexico have had the most cases and fatalities.
In the United States, federal officials released new guidelines this month for containing the spread of the virus across the nation's school system. Government officials have warned of a possible resurgence in the H1N1 virus this fall.
Among other things, health officials urged local administrators to exercise caution and restraint when deciding whether to close a school in response to an outbreak, noting that the costs of shutting down institutions often outweigh the benefits.
Officials also confirmed that a new vaccine to combat the virus is likely to be ready by October.
The revised federal guidelines advise parents to keep children infected with the H1N1 virus out of school for 24 hours after the fever has gone away. Parents were previously advised to keep their children out of school for seven days after the end of a fever caused by H1N1.
The virus has spread around the world with unprecedented speed, according to the WHO. Past influenza viruses have needed more than six months to spread as widely as the current H1N1 virus spread in less than six weeks, the WHO said.
|
6acdd3e4f1634a43a32d6c68bad6b0ca
|
How many students were affected?
|
[
"About 1.55 million"
] |
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|
(CNN) -- What can 40 goats and 20 cows buy a Kenyan man? Chelsea Clinton's love, if you ask Godwin Kipkemoi Chepkurgor.
Hillary Clinton says she would let her daughter Chelsea know about a Kenyan man's unique marriage offer.
The Kenyan man first offered the dowry nine years ago to then-President Bill Clinton in asking for the hand of his only child. He renewed it Thursday after Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was asked about the proposal at a Nairobi town hall session.
CNN's Fareed Zakaria, the session's moderator, commented that given the economic crisis at hand, Chepkurgor's dowry was "not a bad offer."
However, Clinton said her daughter was her own person.
"She's very independent," she said. "So I will convey this very kind offer." Watch Clinton's response to dowry offer »
The audience laughed, but Clinton's comments were no joke to Chepkurgor, who described the younger Clinton as a "beautiful, disciplined and well-natured woman."
"Of course I have never met her, but I like her family and how they stick together," Chepkurgor told CNN. "I've waited for a long time. I'm still waiting to meet her and express my love for her."
Chepkurgor operates a small electronics and computer shop in Nakuru, a major city northwest of Nairobi. He may still be waiting for Chelsea, but he's not exactly single. He married his wife Grace, a college classmate, in 2006.
"My wife has no problem with this," he insisted. "She listened to the answers given by Hillary and did not complain."
Polygamy is legal in Kenya, so Chelsea would be Chepkurgor's second wife.
"Is that allowed in your side of the world?" he laughed.
In Kenya, a man proposes with dowry for the prospective bride, Chepkurgor explained. He said he stands by his initial livestock offer until someone makes a counteroffer.
Chepkurgor, now 39, first made his intentions known when all three Clintons visited East Africa in 2000. He wrote a letter to the former president, offering himself as his only child's suitor. He said he had not expected the secretary of state to address the issue during her visit to Kenya this week.
However, he admits his chances might be rather slim.
"Unfortunately, I don't have their contact information," he said.
"I just want to convey my message of goodwill to the Clintons," he said. "And to all of America."
|
7253421733f74d0a818430e9e74f5e8b
|
In a recent town hall meeting, Hilary Clinton says what's?
|
[
"she would let her daughter Chelsea know about a Kenyan man's unique marriage offer."
] |
NewsQA
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(CNN) -- One person died and six were injured when a cargo train derailed, causing an explosion and massive fire in Illinois, a fire chief said Saturday.
A train carrying chemicals derailed and burned for hours, forcing the evacuation of about 600 homes
Crews were still fighting the blaze at midday, but expected to have it fully contained in the afternoon, said Rockford Fire Chief Derek Bergsten.
"It's under control and we're taking every precaution not to harm firefighters or residents," Bergsten said, adding that federal and state environmental officials were on scene monitoring air and soil samples.
The fatality was a woman, said Winnebago County Coroner Sue Fiduccia. The cause of death had not been determined because Fiduccia was unable to get close enough to examine the body.
Bergsten said six people were injured, and all train workers were accounted for.
The train was carrying chemicals that burned for hours, forcing the evacuation of about 600 homes in the town about 50 miles (80 kilometers) northwest of Chicago, authorities said.
Officers were called to the scene near Rockford about 8:30 p.m. Friday, a city police spokeswoman said. The derailment involved automobiles, but it was unclear whether they were on the tracks, she said.
Three motorists who were stopped at a train crossing were burned, one severely, Bergsten said.
One of the victims, who tried to run from the blaze, suffered second-degree burns on his hand while trying to shield his neck from flames, according to Bergsten.
At least 14 cars of the 114-car train caught fire after the derailment, officials said.
The rest of the Canadian National Railway train -- including 70 cars carrying ethanol, a colorless, highly flammable liquid -- was disconnected and moved away from the blaze, Bergsten said.
CNN's Greg Morrison and Shawn Nottingham contributed to this report.
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a636a1f1ef1245b4aa82730899bd2afb
|
What exploded?
|
[
"cargo train"
] |
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(CNN) -- Investigators searching for a missing 8-month-old boy began an intensive excavation and search effort Tuesday at a Texas landfill.
"Let me say this, that we do remain hopeful that baby Gabriel is alive," William McManus, chief of the San Antonio Police Department, said at a news conference at the landfill.
"We are, however, conducting both a missing persons investigation as well as a homicide investigation," he said, adding that aspects surrounding Gabriel Johnson's disappearance involve elements of a possible homicide.
Gabriel has been missing since December 26 and was last seen in San Antonio, with his 23-year-old mother, Elizabeth Johnson, who has refused to disclose information on his whereabouts.
She told Gabriel's father she killed the boy and has also said she gave him away to a couple in San Antonio, police say. Johnson drove Gabriel to San Antonio from Tempe, Arizona, and she went to Florida a week later, according to investigators.
Johnson was arrested in Florida and extradited to Maricopa County, Arizona, where she remains behind bars, charged with kidnapping, custodial interference and child abuse.
A lead prompted investigators to focus on the landfill, which is owned by Republic Services, a waste and environmental services company based in Phoenix, Arizona. The part of the landfill that will be searched has been pinpointed, according to McManus.
First, it will take at least six days to remove 45 feet of garbage that has piled up since the time investigators believe evidence may have been dumped in the area.
"Once we have removed the debris and have searched our target area, we will begin the arduous task of sifting through layers in the search for possible evidence," McManus said.
"This phase will be a long and repetitive cycle. Search teams will be looking for anything of evidentiary value."
Cadaver dogs will assist the search teams in the effort, which will be conducted weekdays from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., McManus said. He estimated more than 20 people will be involved.
Rain would not compromise any evidence but could cause dangerous toxic runoff, which Fire Department and hazardous materials experts would work to contain.
San Antonio police have been working with the FBI and Tempe police. They have been looking at every lead and "chasing them down very, very vigorously," McManus said.
"We are doing everything that we can to try to track down baby Gabriel, and hopefully we will find that baby alive."
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23808a8af57147e0999a12394a5aa515
|
Who said that she had killed him and that she gave him away?
|
[
"Elizabeth Johnson,"
] |
NewsQA
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(CNN) -- Sudan's government and rebels from its troubled Darfur region signed a confidence-building agreement Tuesday in Qatar, a step toward ending a six-year conflict that has killed about 300,000 people, the emirate's state news agency reported.
A member of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) stands guard near the Sudan-Chad border in 2007.
Detailed talks between the government and the Justice and Equality Movement are scheduled to begin in two weeks after Tuesday's signing, Sheikh Hamad bin Jasim bin Jabr al-Thani, Qatar's prime minister, told the SUNA news agency.
Roger Middleton, an Africa specialist at the British think-tank Chatham House, said Tuesday's agreement deals mostly with prisoner releases.
But he said the two parties' decision to hold further talks "is an important move forward, which there hasn't necessarily been in the past."
"It is certainly a step in the right direction," he said. "But a lot more needs to be done if we're going to see a full cessation of fighting in Darfur."
Other rebel groups are not included in the pact, and "many, many things" could cause the talks to fail, he said.
"It is a start, but it's very fragile, and we mustn't get overexcited just yet," Middleton said.
In November, Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir agreed to an immediate, unconditional cease-fire in Darfur, but JEM was not included in the talks.
Sudan's Culture Minister Amin Hassan Omar and Jibril Ibrahim, a top rebel official, signed Tuesday's agreement.
Qatar has been mediating talks between the two sides in the Darfur conflict, which erupted in 2003 after rebels began an uprising against the Khartoum government.
The government launched a brutal counter-insurgency campaign, aided by government-backed Arab militias that went from village to village in Darfur, killing, torturing and raping residents, according to the United Nations, Western governments and human rights organizations.
Al-Bashir is under pressure to end the fighting, particularly because he was charged with genocide by the International Criminal Court last year for the government's campaign of violence in Darfur.
In the past six years, an estimated 300,000 people have been killed through direct combat, disease or malnutrition, the United Nations says. An additional 2.7 million people fled their homes because of fighting among rebels, government forces and allied militias.
|
247ebfa2b95b4841b87bf6dc4c58f6eb
|
Who signed the deal?
|
[
"government and rebels from its troubled Darfur region"
] |
NewsQA
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BEIRUT, Lebanon (CNN) -- Lebanon's prime minister condemned the firing of rockets into northern Israel after an attack wounded two Israelis on Thursday. He said his government is trying to determine who was responsible.
U.N. soldiers on Thursday inspect the site in Lebanon thought to be the source of rockets fired into Israel.
Israel's military warned Israeli civilians to stick close to shelters after police said at least four rockets hit near the city of Nahariya, about 6 miles (10 kilometers) south of the Lebanese border. The Israeli military said it returned fire across the border with mortars.
Schools and kindergartens were closed in Nahariya and the nearby town of Shlomi, the Israel Defense Forces reported.
"What happened in the south [of Lebanon] is a violation of Resolution 1701 and is rejected by Lebanon," Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora said, referring to the U.N. resolution that ended the 2006 conflict between Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah militia.
In a statement issued by his office, Siniora said he has asked Lebanese authorities to investigate the attack alongside troops from the U.N. peacekeeping force deployed along the border. He also condemned the Israeli retaliatory strikes, which the Lebanese military said inflicted no casualties. Watch CNN's Christiane Amanpour discuss rocket attack »
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attacks, which came as Israeli airstrikes on Gaza, to the south, entered a 13th day.
The Israeli campaign in Gaza is aimed at halting rocket fire from the Hamas-ruled Palestinian territory. Israel fought a similar battle against the Lebanese Shiite Muslim militia Hezbollah in 2006, during which Hezbollah rained rockets on cities in Israeli's north for a month before a cease-fire was reached.
But Hezbollah has kept a tight rein on its forces in southern Lebanon since the cease-fire, and a number of Palestinian factions operate in southern Lebanon as well.
Andrea Tenenti, a spokesman for UNIFIL, the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Lebanon, said the rockets appear to have been fired from a point about 4.5 miles east of Naqoura, where the peacekeepers are headquartered.
"We've been intensifying our patrols on the ground in order to prevent any further incident," Tenenti said.
He said UNIFIL's commander, Maj. Gen. Claudio Graziano, is in "constant and close contact" with both sides "and has urged maximum restraint in order to prevent any escalation of the situation."
CNN's Michal Zippori in Jerusalem and Cal Perry and Nada Husseini in Beirut contributed to this report.
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a89b8a7187cc4317afab93dc36273929
|
What is Fouad Siniora's political office?
|
[
"Lebanese Prime Minister"
] |
NewsQA
|
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) -- Abdul Qadeer Khan, the Pakistani scientist who admitted leaking nuclear secrets to North Korea, Iran and Libya and then recanted his confession, has been released from house arrest after it was declared illegal by the Islamabad High Court, his attorney told CNN Friday.
Pakistani scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan meets the media outside his residence Friday.
"What the court declared is that he is a free citizen which means effectively... the basic human rights are available to him like any other citizen," said attorney Syed Ali Zafar.
The Pakistani government was slow to acknowledge the high court's ruling. A spokesman said the Interior Ministry hasn't received the official court ruling, but will comply with whatever decision was made.
Government attorneys said they expected an official announcement to be made by Saturday.
But evidence of the end of Khan's house arrest seemed clear outside his home in an upscale part of Islamabad. Where a government security detail previously stood guard with machine guns, cars were parked and reporters roamed the area scratching for details.
Khan made a brief appearance, saying he was outside because of the court's ruling, but gave few other details.
In Washington, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she is "very much concerned" about Khan's release.
Separately, acting deputy State Department spokesman Gordon Duguid said: "This man remains a serious proliferation risk.," he said. "The proliferation support that Khan and his associates provided to Iran and North Korea has had a harmful impact ... on international security and will for years to come."
Khan is widely regarded as a hero in Pakistan for his part in helping the country to develop nuclear weapons.
In 2004, Khan was placed under house arrest following his admission on Pakistan television that he had been involved in a clandestine international network selling nuclear weapons technology from Pakistan to a host of nations including Iran and North Korea.
Pakistan has so far refused to allow the International Atomic Energy Agency and the U.S. access to Khan to quiz him on the extent of the nuclear secrets he sold.
"Even if they had asked me I wouldn't have answered," he said last year.
In May 2008, Khan denied his involvement with the spread of nuclear arms outside Pakistan. He explained in an interview with ABC News that the Pakistani government and then-President Pervez Musharraf forced him to be a "scapegoat" for the "national interest."
He also denies ever traveling to Iran or Libya and said that North Korea's nuclear program was well advanced before his visit.
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504584e9261c486599f8fe570c6259e1
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Who is helping to develop nuclear weapons?
|
[
"Abdul Qadeer Khan,"
] |
NewsQA
|
MEMPHIS, Tennessee (CNN) -- Three men have been arrested and charged with murder in the shooting death last week of a University of Memphis football player, Memphis police announced Monday.
Police investigating a car crash on September 30 found Taylor Bradford, 21, fatally wounded near the campus residence hall area.
He had apparently gotten into his car after being shot, and drove a short distance before crashing into a tree.
Bradford -- a 5-foot-11, 300-pound defensive lineman from Nashville -- was pronounced dead at Regional Medical Center.
Memphis Police Department Director Larry Godwin said DeeShawn Tate, 21, Victor Trezevant, 21, and Courtney Washington, 22, had been charged with murder in perpetration of attempted aggravated robbery.
Homicide investigators developed the case against the three men with the help of a citizen's tip and Crimestoppers, he said.
Godwin said the investigation continues, and "we do expect additional arrests in this case."
"It was an attempted robbery, aggravated robbery," he said. Bradford "was targeted because of some information that was out there and the fact that they believed he had some cash, or he had something that they wanted."
Godwin said none of the three arrested suspects were students at the university, but he would not rule out that other suspects could be students.
Shelby County District Attorney General William L. Gibbons said the three suspects would make an initial court appearance as early as Tuesday.
He said prosecutors were considering seeking the death penalty in the case, but no decision had been made.
"Whether or not it will be would be premature for me to say," Gibbons said. "There are a lot of factors that go into it. We'll make a determination at the appropriate time."
Officials at the 21,000-student school said Bradford, a marketing major who lived on campus, was popular with the football team and on the campus as a whole.
He had transferred from Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama, and was 36 credit hours short of graduation. E-mail to a friend
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d18338c37450423eb236f330af305fe6
|
What number of people where charged with his murder?
|
[
"Three"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- A Tennessee man -- accused in a fatal attack at a military recruiting center in Arkansas in June -- wants to plead guilty and claims to have ties to al Qaeda in Yemen in a letter he wrote to the judge presiding over his case.
In the handwritten letter dated January 12, Abdul Hakim Muhammad said he did not want a trial and insisted the shooting was "justified" under jihad.
"This was a jihadi attack on infidel forces that didn't go as plan," he wrote. "Flat out truth."
It was not immediately clear whether the judge, Herbert Wright Jr., would accept the plea.
Muhammad's lawyer, Claiborne Ferguson, called the letter "highly inappropriate."
"If my client had the intention of pleading guilty, it is misguided and misinformed as to Arkansas law," Ferguson said from Memphis, Tennessee, on Thursday. "He can't plead guilty to a capital crime."
That response is why Muhammad said he decided to bypass his lawyer with a letter to Wright. He wrote that he believed it was "a lie" that he could not plead guilty.
Muhammad, formerly known as Carlos Bledsoe, is charged with killing Pvt. William Long, 23, and wounding Pvt. Quinton Ezeagwula, 18. The attack happened on June 1 at a recruiting center in Little Rock, Arkansas.
In June, Muhammad pleaded not guilty to one count of capital murder and 16 counts of engaging in a terrorist act.
Before pleading not guilty, Muhammad waived his Miranda rights and gave a video statement indicating political and religious motives, authorities said.
He "stated that he was a practicing Muslim ... that he was mad at the U.S. military because of what they had done to Muslims in the past," Detective Tommy Hudson wrote in a police report at the time.
Muhammad told police "he fired several rounds at the soldiers with the intent of killing them," according to Hudson's report.
In his letter to the judge, Muhammad claimed he had links to al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula in Yemen, a group that has claimed responsibility for the attempting bombing of a U.S.-bound airliner on Christmas Day.
"My lawyer has no defense," he wrote. "I wasn't insane or post traumatic nor was I forced to do this act. Which I believe and it is justified according to Islamic laws and the Islamic religion jihad -- to fight those who wage war on Islam and Muslims."
CNN's Charley Keyes contributed to this report.
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12496877be034218935ccb4aff52d91b
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What was the man suspected of?
|
[
"fatal attack at a military recruiting center in Arkansas in"
] |
NewsQA
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(CNN) -- Five people were killed when their boat struck a barge in southern Louisiana, the Terrebonne Parish sheriff said Thursday.
The accident occurred Wednesday night in the Falgout Canal in Dularge, Louisiana, Sheriff Vernon Bourgeois said.
The bodies were not discovered until Thursday morning, when people began arriving on the barge for work and saw the boat and one body, Bourgeois said. The barge is being used to repair damage to the canal from past hurricanes.
The victims' damaged boat was partially submerged under the barge, he said. The barge was slightly damaged, he said.
The victims were last seen about 10 p.m. Wednesday leaving the Dulac, Louisiana-area en route to Bayou Dularge, the sheriff's office said.
The victims were identified as: Michael J. Carrere, 43, of the Bayou Blue area, Louisiana; Carey Meche, 52, of Metairie, Louisiana; Lawrence Flak, 54, of Conroe, Texas; Rene Gauthier, 59, of Houston, Texas; and William Voss, 49, of Katy, Texas.
They were entered in a fishing tournament that begins Friday, the sheriff said.
Additional details were not immediately available.
The accident occurred about 75 miles southwest of New Orleans.
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64d51827c6584cf7959661548ab2423b
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When were the victims last scene?
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[
"about 10 p.m. Wednesday"
] |
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(CNN) -- A Florida woman has been arrested in connection with the death of a lottery millionaire, whose body was found buried under recently added concrete at a home, authorities said.
Dorice Donegan Moore, 37, was arrested Tuesday evening on charges of accessory after the fact regarding a first-degree murder in the death of Abraham Shakespeare, 43, said Hillsborough County Sheriff David Gee.
Moore befriended Shakespeare after he won a $31 million Florida lottery prize in 2006 and was named a person of interest in the case after Shakespeare went missing, authorities said.
Before her arrest, Moore proclaimed her innocence during a tearful, impromptu news conference outside her home. She said was planning to help Shakespeare write a book about the challenges of winning millions and that she was helping him manage the money.
"Abraham had a life of drama because of the money," she told CNN affiliate WTSP. "The money was like a curse to him. And now it has become a curse to me."
Moore might have committed fraud to obtain parts of Shakespeare's fortune, and she bought lime to deal with his body and was trying to find someone to move the corpse to another location, Gee said.
Shakespeare was killed on April 6 or April 7, and Moore has admitted trying to convince Shakespeare's family members that he was still alive, Gee said.
"In December 2009, Dorice Moore wrote a letter to the victim's mother, claiming to be the victim and to be all right," Gee said. "Dorice Moore also used the victim's cell phone and sent text messages to the victim's family."
Deputies found Shakespeare's body outside a home in Plant City late January after receiving a tip from an associate of Moore, Gee said.
Moore could face more charges, and authorities are looking for other suspects, Gee said.
Reporters were at the scene during Moore's arrest Tuesday and she again denied having anything to do with Shakespeare's death as she was led to a police cruiser in handcuffs, WTSP reported.
"I'm deeply saddened for his family," Moore said.
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8aeb9eea3471401194c3dbdee8615998
|
Did he win a lot
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[
"$31 million"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Delta Air Lines and American Airlines announced Thursday the cancellations of hundreds of flights so the companies can conduct inspections on bundles of wires in some of their jets.
Delta cancellations will affect flights up until early Friday, according to a statement from the airline.
The cancellations will affect flights through Friday, according to statements by both companies.
A spokeswoman for Delta earlier said 325 flights would be canceled Thursday, but later said 275 flights were cut.
"Delta apologizes in advance for any inconvenience this may cause and is working to proactively contact and reaccommodate affected customers. Customers should call ahead to check flight status," a Delta statement said.
Wednesday, American Airlines canceled 318 flights, said company spokesman Tim Wagner. The airline canceled 132 of its estimated 2,300 flights scheduled for Thursday, Wagner said, about 6 percent of the daily schedule.
The cancellations forced dozens of people to spend the night in the atrium of Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. They slept wherever they could -- on couches, on the floor, some on non-moving baggage carousels.
Kelly said the airline rebooked flights and covered the cost of hotel and food for passengers on canceled flights.
It was initially believed that Delta's MD-90 planes were part of the inspection but it was determined that the MD-88 planes were the only ones that needed to be inspected, a spokeswoman said. The airline said the checks are voluntary and are expected to be completed by week's end. American Airlines, meanwhile, is examining wiring secured to its MD-80 aircraft.
In Atlanta, the cancellations caused grousing among passengers who missed job interviews, connecting flights and the comfort of their beds, CNN affiliate WXIA reported.
"They told us 6:45 (p.m.). Then they told us 7:30. Then 8, so on and so forth and they just canceled," passenger Fred Billizon told WXIA. "So they had about 200 people just waiting on flights. And that's not a lot of happy people."
This latest round of inspections was prompted by questions raised by the FAA and American safety officials about how a certain bundle of wires is secured to the MD-80 aircraft.
The MD-80 is the workhorse of the American fleet. American's Web site says the aircraft accounts for 300 of the airline's fleet of 655 jets.
The jet debuted in 1980 from McDonnell-Douglas, which was purchased by rival Boeing in 1997. Boeing discontinued production of the aircraft in 1999. E-mail to a friend
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a111a03cd7cc496eac9972c31b8e04af
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what was the amount of American estimated flights scheduled for Thursday?
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[
"2,300"
] |
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(CNN) -- Researchers have discovered a previously unknown group of rare monkeys in the forests of Vietnam.
The Tonkin snub-nosed monkeys were so skittish, researchers captured a photo of only one: an adult male.
Several biologists caught fleeting glimpses of about 15 or 20 Tonkin snub-nosed monkeys in a remote area near the Chinese frontier, the wildlife conservation group Fauna & Flora International said Thursday.
The "bizarre-looking" monkeys -- on the brink of extinction -- were so skittish around people that researchers were able to snap a photo of just one of them: an adult male scampering through the trees.
The monkeys were "very sensitive to the presence of people, giving warning signs to one another and fleeing" whenever biologists approached, the group said in a statement.
"It was apparent that the monkeys associated humans with danger -- perhaps due to ongoing threats from hunters," the group said.
So few Tonkin snub-nosed monkeys have survived in the wild that scientists thought until recently that they were extinct. Now they estimate that roughly 200 remain, mainly in parts of northern Vietnam near the Chinese border.
Hunters with a taste for bush meat and the loss of habitat have pushed the Tonkin snub-nosed monkey toward extinction, according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.
It classifies the primate as critically endangered "because its population size is estimated to number fewer than 250 mature individuals, with no subpopulation greater than 50 mature individuals, and it is experiencing a continuing decline."
Fauna & Flora said it is working with a variety of groups to improve the livelihoods and "reduce human pressures on the forest ecosystem" in an effort to safeguard the newly discovered group, which was spotted in a patch of forest in the Quan Ba district of Vietnam's Ha Giang province.
The sighting thrilled conservation biologist Le Khac Quyet, described by Fauna & Flora as "one of the few people in the world who can claim to be an expert on this mysterious species" and as the person credited with discovering the new group of that species.
"When I saw the Tonkin snub-nosed monkeys ... I was overjoyed," he said in the Fauna & Flora statement.
"There is still time to save this unique species, but with just 200 or so left and threats still strong, we need to act now."
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3249ee08b25242c19a325db526bcb641
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How many matural individuals of monkeys are in the wild?
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[
"15 or 20"
] |
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(CNN) -- Al Qaeda's branch in Yemen has claimed responsibility for Friday's suicide bombing attack on a building housing Yemeni security forces.
Al Qaeda in Yemen have claimed that Ahmed bin Said bin Omar al-Mashjari, right, carried out Friday's attack.
"This attack was carried out in revenge for our brothers whose blood is on the hands of the infidel Yemeni forces," according to an e-mailed statement that included a photo of the alleged suicide attacker.
The photo identifies the attacker as Ahmed bin Said bin Omar al-Mashjari -- also known as Abu Dajjana al-Hadarmi -- from Yemen's Hadramout governate where the attack took place.
He is standing next to another man whose face is covered in front of a black-and-white banner. Both men have weapons slung across their shoulders; guns and ammunition belts are also pictured beneath the banner in the background. Al-Mashjari is wearing a black and white head covering, but his face is visible.
The e-mailed statement was dated July 25, the day of the attack, but it was distributed and posted online on Sunday.
According to Yemen's state-run news agency SABA, a suicide car bomber crashed the white 2003 KIA into the gates of the security camp in the southern city of Sayoun on Friday, prompting guards to open fire on the attacker.
The SABA report gave no details on casualties. Yemen's Interior Ministry said four people were killed and 12 were injured, but the Yemen Post, an English-language newspaper that covers events in Yemen, put the number at 10 dead and about a dozen wounded.
Hadramout's governor Saleh al-Khanbashi described the bombing as a criminal terrorist act, and threatened to track down and bring to justice those responsible, SABA reported.
CNN Senior Arab Affairs Editor Octavia Nasr contributed to this report
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338acee5a9ef4562861f67bba274c70c
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Al Qaeda's Yemen claims?
|
[
"a building housing Yemeni security forces."
] |
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(CNN) -- Aerosmith announced the cancellation of the remainder of its summer tour Thursday, more than a week after the band's lead singer tumbled off stage in South Dakota.
Aerosmith lead singer Steven Tyler fell off stage August 5 while dancing to "Love in an Elevator."
"Due to injuries Steven Tyler sustained last week when he fell from the stage during a concert in Sturgis, South Dakota, doctors have advised the lead singer to take the time to properly recuperate from the accident that resulted in a broken shoulder and stitches to his head," the band said in a statement.
The accident happened August 5 during a concert at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in western South Dakota.
Tyler was dancing during "Love in an Elevator" when he fell. He was airlifted to a local hospital for initial treatment before returning to Boston, Massachusetts, for treatment with his own doctors.
"Words can't express the sadness I feel for having to cancel this tour," said guitarist Joe Perry. "We hope we can get the Aerosmith machine up and running again as soon as possible."
"We never anticipated this tour coming to such a swift and unfortunate ending," guitarist Brad Whitford said. "Our thoughts and prayers go out to Steven for a speedy recovery and return to good health."
Tyler's fall was the second mishap for the lead singer during their tour with ZZ Top. Five shows were postponed in July after Tyler sprained his leg.
The band said refunds will be issued for all canceled shows.
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eec91f0870b3467bb3f1d9b0740005e9
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Who fell off the stage?
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[
"Steven Tyler"
] |
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(PEOPLE.com) -- Talk about a strange New Year's resolution.
Kirstie Alley said she's going to start dating "butt-ugly men" on an episode of "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" airing Friday.
When asked about her dating life by Ellen, Alley, 60, admitted she usually goes for "psychos" and "players," so the host suggested she try going with the opposite of what she's attracted to.
"I'm thinking ugly men might be the solution," the "Dancing with the Stars" alum responded. "I'm talking about butt ugly. Because I go for really handsome men and I think butt ugly would be appreciative."
Alley, who's twice divorced, recently told PEOPLE she's looking for love. What else would she like for her upcoming 61st birthday?
"I want an Aston Martin and a tattoo," she said.
While DeGeneres didn't get the actress a new car, she did help her out with some new ink. The host, who had a tattoo artist waiting backstage, joked that they would play a game to determine Alley's tat. If she lost, the star would have to get a tattoo of DeGeneres.
Luckily, Alley won and was inked with the initials of her two children.
See the full article at PEOPLE.com.
© 2011 People and Time Inc. All rights reserved.
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9533b1a92e9d456ca657755cdff1c9a4
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Who said she usually goes for psychos and players?
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[
"Kirstie Alley"
] |
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|
(CNN) -- European Union peacekeepers in Bosnia on Tuesday raided homes belonging to family members of Ratko Mladic, the highest-ranking figure still at large from the Balkan conflict in the mid 1990s, Serbian media reported.
Portuguese peacekeepers stand guard outside a home raided on Tuesday.
The force raided houses belonging to Mladic's sister, Milica Avram, and sister-in-law, Radinka Mladic, in East Sarajevo, an area of the city inside the Bosnian Serb-controlled Republika Srpska, a seperate political entity to the Muslim-Croat-controlled Bosnia-Croat Federation.
The raids were a part of a broader operation targeting locations and people who are believed to be helping Mladic evade trial, the reports said.
Serbian authorities recently put up "wanted" posters for Mladic at police stations across Serbia, reminding people of the 1 million euro ($1.3 million) reward for any information leading to Mladic's capture.
Mladic, who commanded the Bosnian Serb military during the 1992-95 war in Bosnia-Herzegovina, has been the Balkans' most wanted since former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic was arrested in Belgrade last July.
The 66-year-old is wanted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) for allegedly overseeing the killings of almost 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys in the town of Srebrenica in July 1995.
Mladic is charged with genocide, crimes against humanity, and violations of the laws of war. He has been on the run for 13 years, ever since the ICTY issued the indictments against him.
The ICTY has accused Serbia of knowing Mladic's whereabouts and letting him slip through their hands. Serbia's status as a candidate for European Union membership also remains conditional on Mladic being handed over to the ICTY.
Serbian leaders have denied protecting Mladic.
|
77df44e6aced4df98b2a8eea20a6f1aa
|
Who is accused?
|
[
"Ratko Mladic,"
] |
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|
(CNN) -- Five people were killed and 10 critically injured Saturday when a minivan crashed on I-10 near Baton Rouge, Louisiana, state police said.
Fifteen people were in the minivan, said Trooper Russell Graham, and only two were wearing seat belts. Among the dead were children as young as 3 years old, he said.
"The minivan blew out a tire and the driver lost control," Graham said. The vehicle "sideswiped a box truck and then ran off the road into the left median, overturned multiple times and finally came to rest upright on the eastbound side of I-10," Graham said.
The one person in the truck was not injured.
The accident shut down I-10 in both directions shortly after 12:15 p.m. (1:15 p.m. ET); one lane in each direction was opened about two hours later.
Alcohol and drugs were not suspected factors in the crash, but blood was drawn from the driver -- one of the fatalities -- to confirm, Graham said.
The accident came soon after the Louisiana Legislature passed a law requiring riders in every seat to be buckled up.
"This is an example of why we implemented that law," Graham said. "It's very frustrating for us to come out here and see children dead," he said.
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8092261401c748028587145c19f533a4
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Where did the crash occur?
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[
"on I-10"
] |
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(CNN) -- Debra Lafave, the former Florida middle school teacher convicted of having sex with a student, violated her probation by hugging a young co-worker, a Florida judge found Thursday.
Debra Lafave was arrested after talking with a teenager. She is not allowed to have contact with anyone under 18.
But the judge did not send Lafave to jail, saying the violation was "not willful and substantial."
"Please don't come back," he scolded.
Dressed in a tailored, black pantsuit, Lafave said she had "innocent" physical contact with a female co-worker she knew as under age 18. Watch Lafave in the courtroom »
At the time, she and the 17-year-old hostess worked at Danny Boy's, a small restaurant in the Tampa, Florida, area.
Lafave, 27, pleaded guilty in November 2005 to having sex with a 14-year-old boy and was sentenced to three years under house arrest and seven years of probation.
Lafave was required to register as a sex offender and ordered not to have any contact with minors. A tracking device she carries as part of her probation went off in court, prompting the prosecutor to observe, "I think she's accounted for."
Lafave acknowledged she was aware that hugs and other forms of physical contact -- as well as conversations about sex -- with minors violated terms of her probation. She referred to the sexually explicit conversations at work as just "girl talk."
Lafave denied talking about her sex life with co-workers. "I don't speak that way about my personal life," she said. But she added that her co-workers spoke freely about sex in a "small group setting."
While other co-workers socialized outside work, Lafave said, the 17-year-old was not included in those outings.
Asked why she hugged the young co-worker, Lafave explained it was a small restaurant with a casual atmosphere where co-workers felt like family. The contact came, she said, "out of my good nature, that's the way it worked."
The contacts that led to Thursday's probation violation hearing first surfaced during two polygraph tests administered as part of Lafave's court-ordered supervision.
She received a verbal reprimand a year ago, according to testimony. When the behavior continued, her probation officer asked a judge to find her in violation.
She was ordered to quit the restaurant job and now works as a receptionist in her mother's beauty shop.
In the past, Lafave has said she suffers from bipolar disorder and is receiving treatment. E-mail to a friend
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90f8acbfe4e24c2dbb97f8d3546466b8
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What does lafave's Probation forbid her from?
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[
"contact with anyone under 18."
] |
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LAGOS, Nigeria (Reuters) -- Nigeria's television survival show has been suspended after a contestant drowned in preparation for the program, said Dutch brewer Heineken's local unit which is sponsoring the show.
Anthony Ogadje, 25, and nine other contestants had gone to Shere Hills Lake in Nigeria's hilly Plateau State to prepare for the "Gulder Ultimate Search," which sets a variety of physical challenges for participants.
A statement from Nigerian Breweries on Monday said Ogadje died suddenly and he was thought to have drowned.
"All attempts to revive him by the attendant medical team and the lifeguards, including his fellow contestants, failed," said Nigerian Breweries, which is majority-owned by the Dutch giant. Broadcasting had been due to start on Thursday.
In the show, the weakest contestants are evicted one by one until a winner emerges. The prize money is a big attraction in a country where most people live in extreme poverty and benefit little from Nigeria's oil wealth.
The winner was to get 5 million naira (about $39,000) in cash, a four-wheel drive jeep and another 500,000 naira (about $3,900) to buy clothes. The winner could also have expected to become an instant celebrity, attracting sponsorship deals.
The Ultimate Search, which started in 2004, gets high ratings. E-mail to a friend
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03b0cecc404943cb8cbdfa1ff36241ea
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Which company sponsors the show Gulder Ultimate Search?
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[
"Heineken's"
] |
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(EW.com) -- She got you, babe.
Cher has taken to Twitter to defend her son Chaz Bono's decision to join "Dancing With the Stars" as the series' first transgendered contestant.
After becoming aware that Chaz was taking a lot of heat from transphobic Internet commenters, she encouraged her fans to voice support for him on blogs and message boards, and reminded everyone, "Mothers don't stop Getting angry with stupid bigots who fk with their children!"
Cher assures America: "bet VAST MAJORITY of People will LOVE CHAZ on 'DWTS' ! & it's took Fkg Guts 2! Chaz isn't exactly the 'Gotta Dance Gotta Dance' kinda Guy."
Is it possible Cher's perfectly crafted tweets are even more exquisite than her songs?
Dancing With the Stars: Get the latest news, photos, and more
Chaz wrote back: "Thanks for all your support mom. The haters are just motivating me to work harder and stay on 'DWTS' as long as I possibly can."
"DWTS" executive producer Conrad Green told ABC News he thinks people will relish getting to know Chaz better, and hopes that by the September 19 premiere, this will be a non-issue. "We're not going to be making a huge amount of issue out of people's sexuality," he said. "We never have on the show."
(This, of course, was a fluke. It was totally a theme night.)
See full article at EW.com.
CLICK HERE to Try 2 RISK FREE issues of Entertainment Weekly
© 2011 Entertainment Weekly and Time Inc. All rights reserved.
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eceb0316fa88475885edda4790b150bc
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Whose decision did Cher take to Twitter to defend?
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[
"her son Chaz Bono's"
] |
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(CNN) -- Wayne Rooney's injury time header gave Manchester United a 3-1 victory over city rivals Manchester City to put them through to the English League Cup final 4-3 on aggregate.
City won last week's first leg 2-1, courtesy of a double by former United striker Carlos Tevez, but the English champions brought the aggregate scores level early in the second half.
Rooney sent Ryan Giggs racing clear with a superb cross-field pass. City's defence appeared to have halted the attack, but the ball eventually fell to Michael Carrick, whose pass found veteran midfielder Paul Scholes to fire past goalkeeper Shay Given.
Then, with 20 minutes remaining, the tie looked settled when Darren Fletcher laid a Nani pass into the path of Carrick who scored with a precision side-footed effort into the corner of the City goal.
Tevez was jeered by the home fans, but the Argentine again showed what the Old Trafford club are missing when pulling a goal back five minutes later, flicking Craig Bellamy's cross powerfully home, ahead of defender Rio Ferdinand, to leave the tie poised for extra time.
However, in the 91st minute, England forward Rooney -- who scored all four goals in United's victory over Hull on Saturday -- struck with a close range header from a Giggs to deny City a place in their first major final for 29 years.
United will now face Aston Villa in a repeat of the 1994 League Cup final, looking to gain revenge for that particular 3-1 Wembley defeat.
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5b3bebed239345f88d1379ccc33b4df4
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By how much did Manchester United win?
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[
"3-1"
] |
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NEW YORK (CNN) -- A federal judge on Monday ruled against a Web site operator who was seeking to publish an encyclopedia about the Harry Potter series of novels, blocking publication of "The Harry Potter Lexicon" after concluding that it would cause author J.K. Rowling "irreparable injury."
Steven Vander Ark speaks to the media outside the U.S. District Court on April 15, 2008 in New York City.
U.S. District Judge Robert P. Patterson awarded Rowling and her publisher $6,750 in statutory damages and permanently blocked publication of the reference guide.
Harry Potter fan Steven Vander Ark sought to publish the book, a reference guide to the Harry Potter series, through a small Michigan-based publishing house called RDR Books. Vander Ark operates a Web site called "Harry Potter Lexicon."
Rowling sued RDR Books in 2007 to stop publication of material from Vander Ark's Web site.
Vander Ark and RDR Books claimed the book should not be blocked from publication because it was protected by the "fair use" doctrine, which allows for commentary and critique of literary works.
Patterson, in his ruling, said the defendants failed to demonstrate fair use.
Rowling issued a statement after Monday's ruling, saying, "I took no pleasure at all in bringing legal action and am delighted that this issue has been resolved favorably."
Vander Ark did not immediately return calls from CNN on Monday. "We are obviously disappointed with the result, and RDR is considering all of its options, including an appeal," attorney David S. Hammer said.
Rowling, who said she has long planned to publish her own encyclopedia, and Warner Brothers Entertainment, producer of the Potter films, filed suit to stop RDR from publishing the book. Warner Brothers is owned by Time Warner, CNN's parent company.
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a232ef9087ce4f8d840a446283670cd3
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What does the web site operator want to publish?
|
[
"an encyclopedia about the Harry Potter series of novels,"
] |
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(CNN) -- The Boeing 777 is the mainstay of many airlines' long-haul fleets and has never been involved in a fatal accident during its service history.
British Airways aircrew fly the Royal Standard from the flight deck of the Boeing 777 aircraft.
The aircraft first entered service on June 7, 1995, with more than 900 suppliers from 17 countries coming together to provide the more than three million parts needed in its construction, according to the Boeing Web site.
Since its inaugural flight, Boeing has extended the 777 family to five commercial passenger models and a freighter version, collectively making more than two million flights.
The aircraft seats between 301 and 368 passengers in a three-class configuration and can fly distances up to 17,500 kilometers.
The 777 has also won a number of design awards, as well as setting a number of records and firsts.
On November 9 and 10, 2005, a Boeing 777-200LR Worldliner set a new world record for distance traveled non-stop by a commercial jetliner. The 777-200LR set a record distance of 21,601 km on a route traveling eastbound from Hong Kong to London Heathrow.
The flight lasted 22 hours and 42 minutes. The achievements was recognized by the U.S. National Aeronautics Association, The Federation Aeronautique Internationale and the Guinness Book of Records.
The Federation eéronautique Internationale recognized the Boeing 777 in April 1997 for achieving a speed and distance record for airplanes in its size and class.
The Boeing Web site claims the 777 set the "Great Circle Distance Without Landing" record, traveling 20,044 km, and it set the record for "Speed Around the World, Eastbound," traveling at an average speed of 889 km per hour.
According to Boeing the aircraft reached 500 deliveries by 2005 -- faster than any other twin-aisle commercial airplane in history.
Boeing prides itself on the 777's landing gear, which it claims is the largest ever incorporated into a commercial aircraft. Each main landing gear is fitted with six wheels, while the nose gear has two. E-mail to a friend
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95739b13229c4fa984e59460d9ef6860
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When did the Boeing 777 enter service?
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"June 7, 1995,"
] |
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NEW YORK (CNN) -- Just days before his death, the Brooklyn, New York, middle-school student who died from an antibiotic-resistant staph infection had visited a hospital with skin lesions and was treated with allergy medicine, according to the family's lawyer, Paul Weitz.
Omar Rivera, 12, a New York seventh-grader, died of drug-resistant staph on October 14.
Omar Rivera's mother, Aileen, took the 12-year-old boy to Kings County Hospital in Brooklyn because she had been dissatisfied with the treatment he received at a clinic, Weitz told CNN. He said the hospital treated him with Benadryl, a common anti-allergy medicine.
According to hospital spokeswoman Hope Mason, Omar did not show signs of a staph infection when he was treated at the hospital.
"I can confirm the child was brought to the emergency room after midnight on Friday, October 12. He was treated for non-MRSA-related conditions and was released," said Mason. "We will be closely examining whether more could have been done to detect the infection at that time."
MRSA is short for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, and is responsible for more deaths in the United States each year than AIDS, according to new data. The germ resists all but the most powerful antibiotics.
Omar, a seventh-grader at Intermediate School 211, was pronounced dead on October 14 at Brookdale Hospital.
Twenty-five to 30 percent of the population carry the staph bacteria -- one of the most common causes of infection -- in their bodies, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While such infections are typically minor, invasive MRSA infections can become fatal, because they are caused by drug-resistant staph. E-mail to a friend
CNN's Emily Kerschner and Jennifer Rizzo contributed to this report.
|
846e58158e8447deaafebc27851bf320
|
What was the age of Omar Rivera?
|
[
"12,"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Evangelist Billy Graham is showing signs of improvement as he continues to recover from pneumonia in a North Carolina hospital, a spokeswoman for Asheville's Mission Hospital said Sunday.
The 93-year-old Graham was admitted to the hospital Wednesday in stable condition.
"Doctors are encouraged by Mr. Graham's significant clinical progress, but have not yet set a date for discharge," hospital spokeswoman Merrell Gregory said in a statement.
Gregory also reported progress in Graham's physical therapy, saying he is "walking more in the private corridor outside his room."
Graham was visited over the weekend by his family, according to Gregory. He also watched on television his pastor deliver his regular Sunday sermon, she said.
This is Graham's second bout with pneumonia this year. He was previously hospitalized for the infection in May.
Graham, a resident of nearby Montreat, has provided counsel to generations of U.S. presidents beginning with Harry S. Truman and is the founder of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.
The Charlotte native has preached to untold millions over six decades, beginning his missionary work in 1944 when he started speaking at rallies for the Youth for Christ Campus Life ministry. Five years later, Graham was holding crusades in tents in downtown Los Angeles. Originally scheduled for three weeks, the crusades drew so many followers they were extended to seven.
Graham's "last crusade" in June 2005 drew a total of 230,000 people.
He described it as his last American crusade, but hedged his farewells during a poignant appearance in Corona Park in Queens, New York.
"We hope to come back again someday," Graham announced. "I was asked in an interview if this was our last crusade and I said it probably is -- in New York. But I also said, 'I never say never.' "
|
666f1a4733f8486496f78ec2db2ec42b
|
Is he in okay condition now?
|
[
"stable"
] |
NewsQA
|
LONDON, England (CNN) -- A sculpture of a giant white horse taller than the Statue of Liberty is set to tower over the countryside as part of an unusual scheme to help revive the fortunes of a depressed region of England.
The 50-meter high horse will dominate the landscape around Ebbsfleet.
The 50-meter equine artwork was Tuesday announced as the winner of a competition to design a landmark to dominate the skyline of the Ebbsfleet Valley, set to be a new stop on the Eurostar London-to-Paris rail link.
Designed by artist Mark Wallinger -- whose previous work has included dressing in a bear suit and wandering around a gallery in Berlin -- the £2 million ($3 million) horse will be one of the largest artworks in the UK.
Wallinger's horse -- which echoes ancient white horse symbols carved into hillsides around Britain -- beat a shortlist of designs that included a tower of stacked cubes and giant steel nest.
Victoria Pomery, head of the panel that selected the design, described the 33-times normal size horse as "outstanding."
"Mark is a superb artist of world renown and his sculpture will become a real landmark for Ebbsfleet Valley and the whole region," she said.
It drew a less favorable response from readers of local Web site Kentnews.com, who described it as a "waste of money," an "abomination" and "depressing."
One correspondent, Andy Smith, added: "This horse looks extremely silly."
|
b5dc606b51d8444692191e4fd4af2fa9
|
Whose brainchild is it?
|
[
"Mark Wallinger"
] |
NewsQA
|
TEHRAN, Iran (CNN) -- Twenty-nine people convicted of various crimes, ranging from murder to being a public nuisance while drunk, were hanged in Iran, state TV said.
A convicted Iranian drug dealer is hanged from a crane in the southern city of Shiraz in September.
Iran's semi-official Fars News Agency reported earlier that 30 people would be put to death. It was not immediately clear if the last person's life was spared.
The Iranian judiciary's statement said that all 30 were convicted of various crimes, which included: murder, murder in commission of a crime, disturbing public safety and security, being a public nuisance while drunk and being involved in illegal relationships -- relationships between men and women who are not married to each other.
Kidnapping and using weapons while committing a crime were also among the charges.
The statement also said that 20 of the convicts were convicted of drug and alcohol dealing, armed robbery and smuggling arms.
The judiciary statement said that the convicts had their cases tried by the highest judicial authorities and were found guilty of the charges brought against them. The verdicts were final with their sentences carried out on Sunday.
The judiciary said the hangings should serve as a warning to those who are contemplating committing such crimes, the agency reported.
The statement also said that several other individuals are currently awaiting trial and their sentences will be carried out as soon as the verdicts are pronounced by the courts.
According to Amnesty International, Iran executed 317 people last year, second only to China's 470.
Iran's government launched a campaign March 20 to increase public security and bring the crime rate down.
Police cracked down on alleged drug dealers, whom they called criminal gang members, and alleged habitual criminals who use guns in the commission of their crime. Alleged weapons smugglers and people who break social and religious laws, including adulterers, were also targets.
National television showed scenes of what were described as criminals being paraded publicly in chains as a deterrent to others. The wave of arrests has now subsided, as officials are now prosecuting the alleged criminals and sentencing those convicted.
Journalist Shirzad Bozorgmehr contributed to this report.
|
780d9705b39844eebf5b364bb8efbfb7
|
what did the judiciary say
|
[
"all 30 were convicted of various crimes,"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- The small Baltic nation of Estonia is ending its nearly six-year military operation in Iraq by not replacing its platoon of 34 troops.
Estonian soldiers on patrol near Baghdad in 2004.
Estonia's Defense Minister Jaak Aaviksoo said the country will not deploy its next infantry platoon to Iraq, according to a statement from the ministry.
Platoon ESTPLA-18 was ready to replace the previous 34-man platoon which returned to Estonia from Iraq in late December, The Baltic Times reported.
The Estonian defense ministry announced Thursday it had failed to reach an agreement with Iraq's government about the troops' legal status.
Aaviksoo said the absence of a legal agreement "specifying the legal status of our soldiers" was one of three reasons Estonia ended its military operation in Iraq.
He said the other two reasons were the improving security situation in Iraq and the Iraqi government's desire to "continue bilateral cooperation in forms other than battle units."
A bilateral agreement spelling out future defense-related cooperation between Iraq and Estonia is still being hammered out, Aaviksoo said.
Estonia will continue to participate in a NATO-led training mission in Iraq, with three staff officers, he said.
The Estonian defense ministry said Aaviksoo will soon visit Iraq to formally terminate the Estonian Defense Forces' operation and discuss future defense-related cooperation with his Iraqi counterpart, Abdul Al-Qadir Jassam.
In late December, Iraq's Presidency Council approved a resolution allowing non-U.S. troops to remain in the country after a U.N. mandate expired at the end of 2008. The resolution authorized Iraq to negotiate bilateral agreements with the countries, including Estonia.
If that resolution had not been approved by the end of the year, those countries would have been in Iraq illegally.
The United States concluded a separate agreement in November with the Iraqi government authorizing the continued presence of its troops.
U.S. combat forces plan to pull back from population centers in Iraq by July 2009 and to withdraw from Iraq by the end of 2011.
The British government says its forces will complete their mission of training Iraqi troops by May 31, 2009, and withdraw from the country by July 31, 2009. Britain has 4,100 troops in Iraq, the second-largest contingent after the United States with 142,500.
Australian troops also plan to be out of the country by the end of July.
|
d7e59fc4321e471fba0811e3958448d5
|
When did the UK expect to leave Iraq?
|
[
"by July 31, 2009."
] |
NewsQA
|
Amman, Jordan (CNN) -- Clashes broke out between citizens and anti-riot police during a visit by King Abdullah to southern Jordan on Monday.
According to eyewitnesses, festivities welcoming the monarch in the southern city of Tafileh, 180 kilometers (111 miles) south of Amman, turned violent when pro-reform activists were denied access to a royal event to launch a development initiative.
Youths threw stones at security services who responded with force, according to eyewitnesses in the city, home to anti-government protests in recent weeks.
Taher Odwan, Jordanian minister of communications and government spokesman, downplayed the clashes, denying media reports that the king's motorcade came under attack.
"A group of citizens attempted to greet the king and started shoving security personnel who responded back. This is something you would find at any event," Odwan said.
The incident comes a day after King Abdullah's royal address to the nation announcing sweeping political reforms that political observers see as steps to place the country on the path to a constitutional monarchy.
In a speech designated to mark the anniversary of the Great Arab Revolt, the monarch announced a number of reforms, including relinquishing his power to form a government to the parliament, a greater separation of powers and further constitutional amendments.
King Abdullah's Monday visit came to announce $21.1 million worth of development projects in Tafileh, where protesters have recently called for the government's dismissal, the dissolution of parliament and greater efforts to combat corruption.
Unlike other Arab states witnessing popular uprisings, weekly demonstrations that have taken place in Jordan -- a moderate state and key U.S. ally -- have called for regime reform, not regime change.
|
df150080bc9a477b9b52a0f59e951694
|
Who was clashing?
|
[
"citizens and anti-riot police"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Tests detected low levels of radioactivity on 17 U.S. Navy helicopter crew members when they returned to the USS Ronald Reagan after conducting disaster relief missions in Japan, the military said Monday.
No further contamination was detected after the crew members washed with soap and water, the Navy said.
In addition, the Navy said the U.S. 7th Fleet has temporarily repositioned its ships and planes away from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant after detecting low-level contamination in the air and on its planes in the area, the Navy said.
One ship was operating about 100 miles northeast of the power plant when "airborne radioactivity" was detected, the Navy said.
The Navy's statement, however, provided some perspective, noting that the maximum potential radiation dose received by personnel when the ship passed through the area was "less than the radiation exposure received from about one month of exposure to natural background radiation from sources such as rocks, soil, and the sun."
On Sunday, the USS Ronald Reagan started delivering aid in the coastal regions of Japan's Miyagi prefecture.
Crew members, in conjunction with the Japan Maritime Self Defense Forces, conducted 20 sorties delivering aid pallets.
Eight U.S. and Japanese helicopters were used to distribute the pallets, according to Sgt. Maj. Stephen Valley of U.S. Forces Japan.
Workers are scrambling to cool down fuel rods and prevent a full meltdown in three reactors at the earthquake-hit plant. Radioactive steam has been released, intentionally to lessen growing pressure in the reactors.
|
e27efd25e79c4fba92437d60c927448b
|
Washing with what removed the radioactivity?
|
[
"soap and water,"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- To say the gone-too-soon series "Firefly" has a devoted fan base might be the biggest understatement in sci-fi fandom.
Eight years after Fox grounded the crew from Serenity, a loyal following still longs for any chance to return to director Joss Whedon's fully realized mashup of outer space and the Old West.
Luckily for them, Whedon is a comic-book fan.
In 2005's "Serenity: Those Left Behind" and 2008's "Serenity: Better Days" -- both produced by Whedon for Dark Horse Comics -- we get to see Captain Mal and friends in action.
Now, with "Serenity: Float Out," there's a chance to stop in for a more personal visit with one of the crew's most beloved characters.
"Float Out," released Thursday by Dark Horse, is written by actor, comedian and "Firefly" devotee Patton Oswalt based on an idea he floated to Whedon.
It focuses on Wash, the wise-cracking ace pilot whose stunning death at the end of "Serenity" can still bring some devoted browncoats to tears with a single mention.
The one-off book opens with three friends of Wash (full name: Hoban Washburne) pausing to remember him before christening a new ship -- The Jetwash -- in his honor. That setup serves as an excuse to flash back to three stories from Wash's past, each showing a different side of his endearing personality.
Diehard fans won't learn a whole lot about Wash that they didn't already know. And anyone hoping to see the entire Serenity crew back together will be disappointed.
But Wash and surprise endings apparently go together.
There's a big one in the book's final pages -- one that both offers a huge emotional payoff for "Firefly" fans and will have them desperately hoping for more.
Different from Whedon's fully involved "Buffy" series on Dark Horse, the occasional "Serenity" books feel like brief visits with old friends. And "Float Out" is a good one.
The next visit is scheduled for November, when "Serenity: The Shepherd's Tale," a look at the backstory of Shepherd Book, is due to be released.
|
ffd453d57aa740cbadeff2c9ad192713
|
What is the "Serenity" comic focusing on?
|
[
"Wash, the wise-cracking ace pilot"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Another body was found in the same 92-acre parcel west of Albuquerque, New Mexico, where the remains of 10 other people have been discovered, police said Thursday.
An Albuquerque, New Mexico, police forensics team member digs at the burial site.
The latest discovery was made Tuesday, and the remains were recovered Wednesday, Albuquerque police spokesman John Walsh said. Like the others, it was sent to the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator, he said.
A woman walking her dog found the first bodies earlier this month on the property, which had been graded in preparation for development. The graves are on about 10 acres, police spokeswoman Nadine Hamby said earlier, but that area keeps expanding.
So far, 11 bodies have been found, including those of a first-trimester fetus with those of a pregnant woman.
Police believe the bodies were buried sometime in the earlier part of the decade, Walsh said Thursday.
Authorities have identified two of the remains, Walsh said. Body No. 8 belongs to Gina Valdez, who was born in 1982, he said. Valdez was pregnant, and the remains of her fetus were with her.
Albuquerque Police Chief Ray Schultz told reporters that Valdez had a prior criminal history that included arrests for prostitution and drug charges, according to CNN affiliate KRQE-TV.
Earlier, police had identified another set of remains as belonging to Victoria Chavez, a prostitute and drug user who was last seen in 2003 and reported missing in 2004.
Authorities are investigating how the two women's paths may have crossed, Walsh said.
Valdez's father, Dan Valdez, told KRQE she was 22 when he reported her missing four years ago. Despite her rough lifestyle, he said, "she was my daughter and didn't deserve to be buried in the desert."
Hamby said earlier there is housing south and east of the vacant land. After rain caused flooding, surrounding neighbors complained to the developer, who made culverts to divert the water, apparently bringing the first remains to the surface.
|
d0555eb035ad4e0199cb3d43d7e02317
|
When were the first bodies discovered?
|
[
"earlier this month"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Tensions mounted in Paris, Texas, on Tuesday when about 100 mostly black protesters clashed with white supremacist groups in a verbal confrontation over a black man's death.
White supremacists taunt black protesters who marched Tuesday in Paris, Texas.
The confrontation stems from the 2008 death of 24-year-old African-American Brandon McClelland. After his body was found mangled on the side of a rural road, investigators concluded he was run over, dragged, and killed.
Two white men were initially charged with murder, but the charges were dismissed last month because of a lack of evidence.
Black protesters marched through the town Tuesday, hoisting a flag of red, green and black, the colors associated with African liberation movements. They chanted, "No justice, no peace."
White demonstrators waved a flag emblazoned with a Nazi swastika and taunted the black marchers, shouting through a megaphone: "White power, white power." Watch the confrontation »
Paris, in northeast Texas, has 25,000 people, 70 percent white and 20 percent black.
No violence or injuries were reported but two white men were arrested and charged with disorderly conduct for trying to incite the protesters, Lt. Danny Huff of the Paris Police Department said.
McClelland's mother, Jacqueline McClelland, told CNN the demonstration was not about race but was aimed at achieving justice for her only child.
"We come seeking justice, not only for myself, but [for] other people who have been done wrong," she said. "I want for everyone to get equal justice.
"I don't know the whole story," she said. "I can't be at peace until I know what happened to my child."
CNN's Carolina Sanchez contributed to this report.
|
6eecd331bba8408690136ef143d849f4
|
Who is Brandon?
|
[
"24-year-old African-American"
] |
NewsQA
|
Washington (CNN) -- Only one-quarter of Americans think the federal stimulus plan has helped the middle class, while a majority say it has helped bankers and investors, according to a new national poll.
A CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey released Wednesday morning indicates that 25 percent of the public thinks the stimulus has benefited the middle class.
One-third of the people questioned think the stimulus has helped low-income Americans, with just over four in 10 saying the plan has benefited business executives. A majority, 54 percent, think the stimulus has helped bankers and investors.
"Opinions on the economic stimulus bill are colored by the perception that it has helped fat cats, but not ordinary Americans," said CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. "It's possible that the belief that the stimulus bill helped bankers and CEOs is due to the public confusing the stimulus bill with the various bailout bills that were passed at roughly the same time last year."
The survey also indicates that one-quarter think the stimulus has helped people in their own community, with three in 10 saying it has hurt people in their community and 45 percent saying the plan has had no effect.
According to a CNN poll released Sunday, 56 percent of the public opposes the stimulus, with 42 percent supportive of the plan. Last March, just weeks after President Obama signed the stimulus bill into law, a CNN survey indicated that 54 percent supported the program, with 44 percent opposed.
The program, formally known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, attempts to stimulate the country's economy by increasing federal spending and cutting taxes, at a total cost to the government of $862 billion.
No Republicans in the House of Representatives and only three in the Senate voted for the bill.
The stimulus was initially thought to have a price tag of $787 billion, but the Congressional Budget Office on Tuesday increased its forecast for how much the stimulus will add to the nation's deficit, raising its estimate by $75 billion.
The CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll was conducted January 8-10, with 1,021 adult Americans questioned by telephone. The survey's sampling error is plus or minus 3 percentage points.
CNN Deputy Political Director Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.
|
9426f9eec75743ee80e63118d4265268
|
How much doe the Congressional Budget Office say the stimulus will cost?
|
[
"$862 billion."
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- A Seattle man has been charged with insurance fraud for allegedly sinking his own yacht because of "financial pressure and frustration with the maintenance" of the vessel, authorities said.
The Jubilee sank in Puget Sound Bay last year.
On March 22, 2008, Brian Lewis, 50, scuttled the Jubilee in the Puget Sound Bay, then rowed a borrowed dinghy back to shore, according to court documents filed in February by prosecutors in King County, Washington.
Later that day, Lewis boarded a flight to take him to his job in Kodiak, Alaska, as a petty officer with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, according to court documents.
Three days later, Lewis filed an insurance claim with USAA Insurance reporting the Jubilee sank accidentally "due to unknown causes."
However, due to environmental concerns, the Washington State Department of Natural Resources salvaged the vessel at a cost to the state of $2,866.
An inspection found a hole was drilled into the bottom of the Jubilee, and that two main engine sea strainers appeared to have been broken with a hammer.
"The vessel appeared to have been deliberately sunk," authorities said in their probable cause affidavit.
Confronted by investigators, Lewis admitted he intentionally sank his vessel, saying the financial strain "caused him extreme anxiety and frustration."
Lewis told investigators "the engine trouble he experienced caused him to lose his temper. In his rage, he smashed the sea strainers with a hammer and drilled the hole to sink the vessel," the affidavit said.
"[He] wanted to clarify that his motive for sinking the vessel was anger and frustration, not greed," it added.
Prior to its sinking, the Jubilee had been listed for sale with Mahina Yachts for $28,500.
Jack Bateman, a broker with Mahina, remembers the Jubilee as a "beautiful" 1967 Chris Craft Cavalier. He said the Mahina has only seen this type of case one other time in its 30 years of operation.
"This is a very rare, not common occurrence" he says. Bateman added that Mahina has yet to see any real distress sales due to the bad economy.
The King County Prosecutor's Office has charged Lewis with making a fraudulent insurance claim.
Lewis filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2004. Messages left for him were not returned.
|
85c41a4a90b345e18339fa00056c4c06
|
Is it illegal to sink your own boat?
|
[
"Seattle man has been charged with insurance fraud for allegedly sinking his"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Somalia's main militant group has banned the United Nations food agency and ordered its aid workers to leave the impoverished country.
Al-Shabaab released a statement to the media Sunday, accusing the World Food Programme of distributing expired food and undermining local farmers, said Peter Smerdon, a WFP spokesman.
Smerdon declined to comment on the accusations, but said the agency is committed to the failed nation in the Horn of Africa.
"WFP is determined to help the people of Somalia in need of assistance, regardless of who controls the areas in which they live, as long as it is safe for our staff to do so," Smerdon said.
About half the population -- or nearly four million Somalis -- is starving, according to the United Nations.
The food aid agency suspended work in southern Somalia in January, saying rising attacks and unacceptable demands from armed groups had made it impossible to work in the region.
Smerdon declined to say whether the agency had resumed operations in the south.
However, a statement on the WFP Web site says it continues to deliver food to other parts of the country, including the volatile capital, Mogadishu.
Al-Shabaab, the al Qaeda proxy in the country, controls much of southern Somalia. It has accused the food aid agency of having a political motive and supporting the U.N.-backed transitional government. WFP has denied the allegations and said it is impartial and nonpolitical.
Somalia has not had a stable government since 1991, and fighting between the rebels and government troops has escalated the humanitarian crisis in the famine-ravaged country.
|
ff6f72c7ebf94fa5b64782e3df4a8ec1
|
When was the last time the Somali government was stable?
|
[
"1991,"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- David Beckham believes the furore that followed his return to the LA Galaxy from his loan spell with AC Milan earlier this year has galvanized the team.
The Galaxy won the MLS Western Conference Championship with a 2-0 win at home to Houston Dynamo on Friday night, Beckham setting up Gregg Berhalter's 102nd-minute opener.
They will face Real Salt Lake, who upset the favored Chicago Fire 5-4 in a penalty shootout to win the Eastern Conference title on Saturday to reach the MLS Cup final in Seattle next Sunday.
Beckham had been subjected to abuse by his own fans after missing the start of the MLS season when he was in Italy, while Galaxy captain Landon Donovan questioned his commitment to the LA franchise.
However, the England midfielder -- who missed Saturday's 1-0 friendly defeat by Brazil in Qatar to play for his club -- thinks the situation helped bring the team together.
"There's nothing wrong with a bit of controversy in a club, it brings players and teams together and it's done that," Beckham told ESPN in a post-match interview.
"I don't have to say anything about myself, I leave that down to other people to decide.
"I love playing soccer. I work hard for my teammates, myself, my manager, the fans and I hope that's enough for people."
Beckham joined the Galaxy from Real Madrid in 2007 but they struggled to make an impact during the Englishman's time with the team until the arrival of former USA national team coach Bruce Arena.
Beckham, who returns to Milan in January as he bids to win a place in England's World Cup squad, believes this season's achievements have already gone some way for making up for the previous two seasons.
"We want to win next week but reaching it is the biggest thing," he told the UK Press Association.
"We've done that, done the hard work and this team deserves it."
|
d9d0b38b46644ffdb00303bf3aba5d1f
|
What two teams were in the MLS Western Conference Championship?
|
[
"Houston Dynamo"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- A Seattle man has been charged with insurance fraud for allegedly sinking his own yacht because of "financial pressure and frustration with the maintenance" of the vessel, authorities said.
The Jubilee sank in Puget Sound Bay last year.
On March 22, 2008, Brian Lewis, 50, scuttled the Jubilee in the Puget Sound Bay, then rowed a borrowed dinghy back to shore, according to court documents filed in February by prosecutors in King County, Washington.
Later that day, Lewis boarded a flight to take him to his job in Kodiak, Alaska, as a petty officer with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, according to court documents.
Three days later, Lewis filed an insurance claim with USAA Insurance reporting the Jubilee sank accidentally "due to unknown causes."
However, due to environmental concerns, the Washington State Department of Natural Resources salvaged the vessel at a cost to the state of $2,866.
An inspection found a hole was drilled into the bottom of the Jubilee, and that two main engine sea strainers appeared to have been broken with a hammer.
"The vessel appeared to have been deliberately sunk," authorities said in their probable cause affidavit.
Confronted by investigators, Lewis admitted he intentionally sank his vessel, saying the financial strain "caused him extreme anxiety and frustration."
Lewis told investigators "the engine trouble he experienced caused him to lose his temper. In his rage, he smashed the sea strainers with a hammer and drilled the hole to sink the vessel," the affidavit said.
"[He] wanted to clarify that his motive for sinking the vessel was anger and frustration, not greed," it added.
Prior to its sinking, the Jubilee had been listed for sale with Mahina Yachts for $28,500.
Jack Bateman, a broker with Mahina, remembers the Jubilee as a "beautiful" 1967 Chris Craft Cavalier. He said the Mahina has only seen this type of case one other time in its 30 years of operation.
"This is a very rare, not common occurrence" he says. Bateman added that Mahina has yet to see any real distress sales due to the bad economy.
The King County Prosecutor's Office has charged Lewis with making a fraudulent insurance claim.
Lewis filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2004. Messages left for him were not returned.
|
9cfec22e47f14764b0b9a22f65afd381
|
what did he do to the yacht?
|
[
"sinking"
] |
NewsQA
|
(PEOPLE.com) -- "Rush Hour" star Chris Tucker's $6 million Florida mansion is in foreclosure, with more than $4.4 million owed to the bank, reports the Orlando Sentinel, citing papers filed in Circuit Court in Lake County.
Tucker, 39, bought the 10,000-sq.-ft. waterfront home on Lake Apopka, near Orlando, in 2007. The newspaper says the residence contains five bedrooms, three fireplaces, a personal spa, an outdoor kitchen overlooking a pool, and a basement outfitted to resemble a pirate ship, including the sail.
Court documents reportedly show an $11.5 million IRS lien on the home in 2011 in order to collect federal income taxes from Tucker, whose monthly mortgage payment, the documents also show, was $25,812.50.
There has been no comment from Tucker, but the Times Union of Albany, N.Y., reports that his comedy show scheduled in the city for this Sunday -- and was a rescheduling of a postponed September 3 performance -- has been canceled because of "unforeseen circumstances."
See the full article at PEOPLE.com.
© 2011 People and Time Inc. All rights reserved.
|
edfb9978e01b48c9b12a660fc7469e38
|
What age is he?
|
[
"39,"
] |
NewsQA
|
Beijing, China (CNN) -- The Shanghai court trying an Australian Rio Tinto executive on charges of bribery and theft of commercial secrets will deliver its verdict on Monday.
Australian consular officials will be in court when it renders its decision on the fate of Stern Hu, the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said Thursday.
It was not immediately clear whether the court will also announce on the same day the verdict against three other Rio Tinto employees who were tried on the same charges.
The three-day trial of the four employees of the mining giant ended Wednesday.
Charged in the case were Stern Hu, an Australian citizen of Chinese origin who was the general manager of Rio Tinto's Shanghai office.
Hu has been in detention for nine months, along with Rio Tinto's three Chinese employees -- Liu Caikui, Ge Minqiang and Wang Yong.
Rio Tinto, a British-Australian company, is one of the largest mining companies in the world. The case has raised fears of a government crackdown on foreign companies doing business in China.
When is a gift considered bribery?
The trial was closed to foreign news organizations, hindering independent confirmation of developments.
Australian consular officials were allowed in the Shanghai courtroom for the bribery phase of the case, but were barred from witnessing the theft portion.
Hu is accused of receiving two bribes: one for 1 million yuan ($146,490) and another for 5.3 million yuan ($790,000). The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said he "made some admissions concerning these amounts," but did not elaborate.
The Chinese government initially accused the four of stealing state secrets when they were first detained, but the charges were reduced to theft of commercial secrets several months ago.
Hu and the others were detained in July. China says the four bribed executives from 16 of the nation's major steel mills to obtain industry information.
In China, obtaining commercial secrets carries a maximum penalty of seven years in prison.
Rio Tinto has called the allegations surprising and said it was not aware of any evidence.
The detentions took place about a month after Rio Tinto broke off an investment deal with China state-owned Chinalco, a resources company, that was worth more than $19 billion.
The deal with Chinalco was signed in February 2009 and was awaiting a review by Australia's foreign investment board.
The deal soured as opposition party members in Australia ratcheted up their disapproval, saying it would put Australian resources at strategic risk.
Others saw the deal as an alliance that would further link resource-rich Australia with the commodities-hungry Chinese market.
|
126ff105c5b341549e07f361b8cb6354
|
What kind of firm was it?
|
[
"one of the largest mining companies in the world."
] |
NewsQA
|
Baghdad, Iraq (CNN) -- Iraq has ordered former employees of the private military contractor once known as Blackwater to leave the country, its interior minister announced Wednesday.
Contractors who once worked for Blackwater, now known as Xe, have seven days to leave Iraq, Interior Minister Jawad al-Bolani told the state television network al-Iraqiya. The move follows a January declaration by Iraq's government that former Blackwater employees were no longer welcome in the country.
Blackwater became the target of widespread Iraqi outrage after its contractors were involved in the September 2007 shooting in Baghdad's Nisoor Square that left 17 civilians dead. That outrage was renewed in December, when a U.S. judge dismissed manslaughter charges against five guards involved in the shootings on constitutional grounds.
The company's last contracts in Iraq have been transferred to other companies. But Iraqi authorities say about 250 former Blackwater employees remain behind, some working for other security firms.
"I don't think the Iraqi government is willing to have any Blackwater member, even if they are working in other companies," government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh told CNN in January. "We don't like to see them here working in any company."
Blackwater had about 1,000 contractors working in Iraq at the height of its involvement, guarding diplomatic convoys and supply vehicles around the country after the U.S. invasion in 2003. At least 10 of its employees were killed, including four whose burned and mutilated bodies were dragged through the streets of Fallujah after an ambush in 2004.
CNN's Jomana Karadsheh and Suzanne Simons contributed to this report.
|
272137dccbf34e52964469c555934abf
|
who must leave iraq?
|
[
"as Blackwater"
] |
NewsQA
|
London, England (CNN) -- Procter & Gamble is recalling Vicks Sinex nasal spray in the United States, Britain and Germany after finding it contained bacteria, the company said.
Procter & Gamble said it announced the voluntary recall after finding the bacteria in a small amount of product made at a plant in Germany.
There have been no reports of illness from the bacteria, but it could cause serious infections for people with weakened immune systems or those with chronic lung conditions such as cystic fibrosis, Procter & Gamble said late Thursday.
The bacteria poses little risk to healthy people, the company said.
Cincinnati, Ohio-based Procter & Gamble said it detected the problem during routine quality control at the plant. Analysis so far shows the problem is limited to a single batch of raw material mixture involving three lots of product, which were sold only in the three countries affected by the recall, the company said.
In the United States, the recalled product is Vicks Sinex Vapospray 12-hour Decongestant Ultra Fine Mist with lot number 9239028831.
In Britain, the company is recalling Vicks Sinex Micromist Aqueous Nasal Spray with lot number 9224028832.
In Germany, the recalled product is Wick Sinex Schnupfenspray Dosiersystem with lot number 9224028833.
All recalled products are in the 15-milliliter size.
Lot numbers are listed on the outer carton and the bottle, the company said.
Consumers with the product should discard it, and they may call the company for a replacement coupon or refund, the company said. More information is at the company's Web site, www.pg.com.
|
e5202886abaa4a458753b4c6bbc93734
|
What can the bacteria cause?
|
[
"serious infections"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Climate protesters demonstrating against Donald Trump's plans for a sports resort broke into a Scottish airport Tuesday, setting up a small golf course and scaling the roof of a terminal building.
Climate protesters broke into Aberdeen Airport in the early hours of Tuesday to demonstrate against plans for expansion.
Flights at Aberdeen airport were returning to normal by midday after the activists breached the security fence overnight, the airport authority said.
Nine members of Plane Stupid, which campaigns against airport expansion and aviation-related climate change, entered the airport grounds at about 2:15 a.m. Tuesday (9:15 p.m. Monday ET), the group said. A spokesman for the airport called the protest "dangerous and highly irresponsible."
By mid-morning, the seven members on the ground had been arrested, but the two protesters remained on the roof, group spokesman Leo Mullay told CNN.
He explained that the group is against plans to expand the one-runway airport for the American millionaire's planned golf resort in the region.
"It's going to cause a huge increase in emissions," Mullay said. "There's simply no capacity within our carbon budget for more flying."
Trump's plans call for a golf resort to be built on 1,400 acres along Scotland's northeast coast, just north of Aberdeen, according to the resort's Web site. Trump International Golf Links, Scotland, is to feature two championship-caliber golf courses and a five-star luxury hotel.
Trump's resort is in the planning stages, project director Neil Hobday told CNN. But he rejected the idea that the airport is expanding because of the Trump resort.
"The runway issue has been going on long before we got here," Hobday told CNN. It's "nothing to do with us. They were going to lengthen the runway whether we were here or not."
The protest caused a backlog of flights at the airport, a major gateway for Scotland and one of Europe's busiest heliports, airport officials said.
Outbound flights resumed just after 9 a.m. (4 a.m. ET), but there remained some delays and cancellations, according to the airport's Web site.
"Despite the runway being open and available for use, the earlier protest is likely to cause some knock-on disruption during the course of the day and passengers are being asked to check the status of their flight," an airport statement said.
|
99c114f999484caca239e8c4fd6fdae1
|
What caused a backlog of flights at the airport?
|
[
"protest"
] |
NewsQA
|
London, England (CNN) -- Britain's new Cabinet held its first meeting Thursday and promptly agreed to a five-percent pay cut for all new ministers, Downing Street said.
Tackling the country's debt crisis is a top priority for new Prime Minister David Cameron, who took office Wednesday.
The decision means all members of the new Cabinet -- including Cameron -- will be paid five-percent less than their predecessors in the government of Gordon Brown, Downing Street said.
The reduction in Cabinet minister salaries alone will save taxpayers about £50,000 ($73,800) this year, Downing Street said.
The Cabinet also agreed to a ministerial pay freeze for the lifetime of the current Parliament, which is not scheduled to have elections again for another five years.
The salary cuts and pay freeze will save approximately £3 million ($4.4 million) over the life of the Parliament, Downing Street said.
Every member of Parliament receives a basic annual salary of £65,737 ($97,105). Those who are members of the Cabinet receive an additional salary on top of that, with the amount depending on their position. The additional salary can range from about £69,000 to about £134,500 ($101,500 to $198,000).
For Cameron, the pay cut means he will earn £142,500 ($210,000) in his role as prime minister, compared to the £150,000 ($220,000) earned by Brown, his office said. That's on top of the salary he receives as a member of Parliament, representing the constituency of Witney, about 65 miles northwest of London.
|
6671494982d848deade7cc46eb0bbde9
|
What did cabinet members agree?
|
[
"a five-percent pay cut for all new ministers,"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- He's the man who helped make "Slumdog Millionaire" an international hit, scoring the soundtrack of the Oscar winning film. Despite his performance at the Oscars ceremony and being caught up in all the glitz and adulation, Rahman is a reluctant star.
Feeling like a millionaire: AR Rahman picked up two Oscar's for best original song and best score.
He's worked on films since he was a teenager, taking over the role of family breadwinner after his father died and followed in his footsteps as a composer.
While he had stints writing advertising jingles in India, composing for films has been his life's work so far, yet from his studio in Chennai he admitted to CNN he didn't want to score films.
"I kept saying next year I'll quit, next year I'll quit. And finally because I was sucked into it more and more, now I have the Oscars" he said.
His Oscar performance and acceptance speech was one of the most memorable at this year's awards.
"I thought if I get it I'll be quiet, if I don't get it I'll be quiet, so I was training my mind not to get over-emotional. So when I first got it I didn't feel it at all, it was like a rehearsal for me. When I finished my performance then I felt at ease and then I became very philosophical as you know, and I chose love over hate and all this stuff," he told CNN.
Feted by many in media, his hit "Jai ho" was covered by the Pussy Cat Dolls, but the softly spoken Rahman doesn't find it hard to remain grounded. Rahman runs a music school in Chennai, the KM Music Conservatory that keeps him motivated and reminds him that music has a potency that can transform lives.
"Music can do so many things. I have my foundation, I have my music school. I have people teaching, kids are learning, so I take this as an advantage, the popularity and taking that and putting it into good things, which motivated me to work harder," he said.
As well as working on more Hindi films, Hollywood beckons, if only for a new experience. There have also been rumors he may score the next James Bond film.
"I have a couple of offers from Hollywood. Pure American movies which I thought for the heck of it let's do it and a couple of other surprises that you'll know very soon if it works out. Big surprises I think," he said.
|
c225fbc2a91a4cb6ae368e6baa10f0f5
|
Has the composer won an Oscar?
|
[
"AR Rahman picked up two"
] |
NewsQA
|
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- FBI Director Robert Mueller pointed Monday to recent terror attacks in Mumbai, India, and Somalia to highlight the FBI's concern that small groups or individuals could carry out such attacks on U.S. soil.
FBI Director Robert Mueller says he worries the Mumbai attack could be replicated in the United States.
In a speech to the Council on Foreign Relations, Mueller worried that the dramatic terror attack on hotels and other facilities in Mumbai potentially could be replicated in the United States.
"This type of attack reminds us that terrorists with large agendas and little money can use rudimentary weapons to maximize their impact. And it again raises the question of whether a similar attack could happen in Seattle or San Diego, Miami, or Manhattan," Mueller said.
He said he is increasingly concerned with "pockets of people around the world that identify with al Qaeda and its ideology" but who have little or no actual contact with al Qaeda.
Mueller cited the first-ever suicide bombing by a naturalized U.S. citizen last October. A Somali native who had settled in Minnesota traveled back to Somalia and blew up himself and 29 others.
The idea that Shirwa Ahmed, 27, was radicalized in the United States raised red flags throughout the FBI.
"One pattern in particular concerns us," Mueller said. "The prospect of young men, indoctrinated and radicalized within their own communities and induced to travel to Somalia to take up arms -- and to kill themselves and perhaps many others -- is a perversion of the immigrant story. And it raises the question of whether these young men will one day come home and, if so, what they might undertake here."
Authorities have said as many as 20 young Somali men reported missing in Minnesota may have returned to Somalia to take up arms.
|
3290dfbe5ce0482dab50ccbcd36a6060
|
What is the FBI worrying about?
|
[
"the Mumbai attack could be replicated in the United States."
] |
NewsQA
|
LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Rapper Kanye West and his business manager must complete 50 hours of community service in exchange for the dismissal of charges stemming from a Los Angeles airport scuffle with paparazzi last year.
Kanye West must complete 50 hours of community service by December 23.
West has already attended 12 hours of anger management classes and paid for the camera that was broken during the incident, his lawyer told the judge during a hearing Friday morning.
Police arrested West and Don Crawley on September 11, 2008, after an altercation with a photographer and a cameraman who were taking their photos, airport police said.
West and Crawley were later charged with three misdemeanors counts: vandalism, battery and grand theft.
"There was not a situation where there was a lot of time for either defendant to reflect on what they were doing," said Los Angeles Superior Court Commissioner Mark Zuckman.
Zuckman, who presided over Friday's hearing, said he could take the position that "a brief impulsive response" by West and Crawley "doesn't necessarily demonstrate a severe character flaw that needs to be addressed in a criminal case."
Still, he said, he did not want "to send a message that ripping the camera from someone's hand and destroying it [in] an act of vandalism is acceptable, no matter what kind of provocation caused them to be angry. There are other remedies."
Zuckman said if anyone had been injured in the incident, his decision would have been different.
West and Crawley have until December 23 to complete 50 hours of community service, Zuckman said. If they do, he will dismissed the charges.
If convicted, West could have faced up to two years and six months in jail, while Crawley could have faced up to five years, according to Frank Mateljan, the spokesman for the city attorney.
|
d5c1ac5ba0ed4017b5df36e23a234cde
|
How many hours must rapper and business manager finish?
|
[
"50"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- EU border patrol missions are scouring the Italian shore in search of yet another missing vessel carrying North Africans attempting to reach Europe, a Maltese commander told CNN Thursday.
Many immigrants from Africa attempt to make the perilous journey across the Mediterranean in overcrowded boats.
On Friday, a French patrol frigate operating under Frontex, a EU border patrol mission, alerted Italian officials of new incoming vessels after sighting six corpses floating in the Mediterranean.
Maltese army officials were unable to recover the corpses because of poor weather conditions.
"Unrelated to these corpses cited, last Friday, we monitored a fiberglass boat that originated from North Africa carrying about 30 to 35 people on board," said Major Ivan Consiglio from Valletta, the Maltese capital.
"Its fate is uncertain," he said. "We have lost track of this boat."
Malta is a hub for immigrants from Africa trying to reach Europe.
Approximately 20,000 would-be immigrants have been apprehended on European shores just this year alone, according to Frontex figures.
But many do not survive the trek.
"These waters are like the American Wild West," Consiglio said. "So many boats try to cross with families and children and some never make it."
Humanitarian groups such the Dutch-based UNITED against Racism, which keeps records on immigration, say thousands of Africans have died trying to cross the Mediterranean and the Adriatic.
The trek between Sicily and Tunisia has been dubbed "a floating cemetery for African immigrants."
In August, 70 people died off the cost of Malta attempting to cross the Mediterranean.
On Wednesday, about 300 would-be immigrants were rescued during a storm in the Italian island of Lampedusa.
Consiglio said that a growing number of would-be immigrants are braving the waters of the Atlantic in overcrowded dingy boats -- a dangerous mission this time of the year.
"It's fall here, waters are choppy and covered with fog," he said. "Trips are becoming even riskier and these locally-manufactured fiberglass boats don't have the same rigidity."
|
d52e892ed08d4904b90dfe324eb1fc71
|
HOW MANY MIGRANTS HAS BEEN APPREHENDED?
|
[
"20,000"
] |
NewsQA
|
BANGKOK, Thailand (CNN) -- A Bangkok Airways plane crashed at an airport at a resort island in Thailand, killing the pilot and injuring 37 people Tuesday, aviation officials said.
Rescue workers inspect the Bangkok Airways plane at Samui airport on Thailand's Ko Samui.
The plane carrying 68 people and four crew members skidded and then crashed after landing at Koh Samui airport, officials with the civil aviation department said.
The ATR-72 turboprop had taken off from the town of Krabi on the west coast Thailand for its trip to the resort island of Koh Samui.
Air traffic control warned the pilot of volatile winds before the plane landed, aviation officials said.
Seven people were seriously injured and emergency officials were working to free the plane's co-pilot who was trapped in the plane, officials said.
CNN's Dan Rivers contributed to this report.
|
8238e4acdf5a4168be60c2d5b94a219e
|
Did air traffic control warn the pilot of volatile winds?
|
[
"before the plane landed,"
] |
NewsQA
|
Washington (CNN) -- The Transportation Security Administration Tuesday said it is launching a "full review" of an incident in which the agency posted on the Internet a sensitive manual outlining screening procedures for law enforcement officers, diplomats, prisoners, federal air marshals and others.
In a statement Tuesday night, the TSA sought to minimize the impact of the unintentional release -- calling the document "outdated," "unclassified" and unimplemented -- while saying that it took the incident "very seriously," and "took swift action" when it was discovered.
Congressional critics, meanwhile, lambasted the agency and called for an independent investigation.
"Undoubtedly, this raises potential security concerns across our transportation system," House Homeland Security Chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Mississippi, and Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, wrote in a letter to TSA Acting Administrator Gale Rossides.
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, the ranking member of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, called the release of the information "shocking" and reckless. "This manual provides a road map to those who would do us harm," she said.
At issue is a 93-page manual giving instruction to airport screeners on how to screen individuals. It also gives details on how screening is conducted and the limitations of X-ray machines.
The TSA posted the manual on a Federal Business Opportunities Web site that provides information for government contractors and redacted sensitive parts. But the redacted information was not properly protected, and the information was restored by people familiar with the computer program.
The TSA said the posted manual -- dated May 28, 2008, with an implementation date of June 30, 2008 -- was never implemented and has been revised six times, although it did not elaborate on the extent of the revisions.
"While the document does demonstrate the complexities of checkpoint security, it does not contain information related to the specifics of everyday checkpoint screening procedures," the TSA said Tuesday. "The traveling public should be assured that appropriate measures have been put in place to ensure the continued implementation of a strong security screening program," it said.
The TSA said it removed the report as soon as it learned of the problem. But it was too late. The full, un-redacted version of the report appeared on at least one Web site on Sunday, and was even more widely distributed on Tuesday.
|
787ddf11f2d046209d6f4db1f344d543
|
what was redacted
|
[
"sensitive parts."
] |
NewsQA
|
MADRID, Spain (CNN) -- A Moroccan man wanted for links to the Madrid train bombings in 2004 was brought to Spain from France on Wednesday, a Spanish police statement said.
A photograph showing Moroccan-born suspect Said Rehou.
The suspect, Said Rehou, 27, born in Casablanca, Morocco, allegedly held indoctrination sessions for Islamic militants at his former Madrid home, the statement said.
"Various individuals who participated in those meetings later were implicated directly or indirectly in the Casablanca attacks of 2003 and the March 11, 2004, attacks in Madrid," the statement said.
The Madrid train bombings -- coordinated attacks on four morning-rush commuter trains -- killed 191 people and wounded more than 1,800.
Spanish courts have convicted 14 Islamic militants for their roles in the Madrid bombings, along with four Spaniards, the latter for trafficking in explosives used in the attacks.
Seven other prime Islamic suspects killed themselves in an explosion as police closed in on their hideout in a Madrid suburb three weeks after the bombings.
The Casablanca bombings in May 2003 killed 33 bystanders and 12 suicide bombers.
Rehou is wanted in Spain for belonging to a terrorist group, and is thought to have formed part of a cell created in Spain in 2002, with the aim of recruiting fighters to carry out attacks in Morocco, Spain and other countries, the police statement said.
The meetings at his home lasted six to eight hours, with the screening of videos that included sermons and scenes promoting holy war, the statement said.
|
3496db8bbf0c4368897795f76c7e97b0
|
when was the bombing?
|
[
"2004"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Color is coming to the Kindle.
At least that's what the tech blogosphere expects to happen on Wednesday at an Amazon press conference.
The maker of the world's most popular e-book reader is rumored to be announcing a color, touch-screen tablet device called the "Kindle Fire," according to the blog TechCrunch, which claims to have seen the gadget.
Here are the Kindle Fire's specs, according to that site and others:
-- 7-inch color screen, compared to 6-inch for current Kindles
-- Wi-Fi only (no 3G version)
-- Touch-screen navigation
-- Glowing LED screen instead of paper-like e-ink
-- Android operating system
-- Hits stores in November
-- Current Kindle will remain on sale
The Kindle tablet is remarkably similar to BlackBerry's PlayBook tablet, says Ryan Block at the blog GDGT, and that's because both were built and designed by the same manufacturing company. Block, who cites unnamed sources, says Amazon used the design for the unpopular BlackBerry tablet as a starting point.
Even though details about the device haven't been confirmed, Block and other bloggers are already throwing water on the Kindle Fire.
"Although Amazon did refresh the ID of their PlayBook derivative, I'm told that this first tablet of theirs is 'supposed to be pretty poor' and is a 'stopgap' in order to get a tablet out the door for the 2011 holiday season -- which doesn't exactly leave the best taste in my mouth," he writes. "But it's also not the most uncommon story, either: when you're breaking into a new market, sometimes you have to do whatever it takes to get in the game. You may remember how crappy the original Kindle was compared to later models!"
Three major magazine companies have signed on to provide content for the new Kindle tablet, according to Peter Kafka at the blog network AllThingsD, which is owned by the Wall Street Journal.
Hearst, Conde Nast and Meredith will sell digital versions of their magazines on the upcoming Kindle tablet; but Time Inc., which shares a parent company with CNN, will not settle on a deal this week, Kafka says.
All of this is just conjecture for now, of course.
Amazon's press conference is scheduled for 10 a.m. Wednesday in New York. Many details should become clearer then.
Barnes & Noble, one of Amazon's competitors in e-books, is expected to announce a new version of its Nook color e-reader later this year.
|
1e79f8f203fc4b21868648e7254782da
|
as the Amazon tablet will be called?
|
[
"\"Kindle Fire,\""
] |
NewsQA
|
HARARE, Zimbabwe (CNN) -- Zimbabwe slashed 12 zeros from its currency as hyperinflation continued to erode its value, the country's central bank announced Monday.
Patrick Chinamasa, Zimbabwe's acting finance minister, arrives last week at Parliament to present the '09 budget.
"Even in the face of current economic and political challenges confronting the economy, the Zimbabwe dollar ought to and must remain the nation's currency, so as to safeguard our national identity and sovereignty. ... Our national currency is a fundamental economic pillar of our sovereignty," said Gideon Gono, governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe.
"Accordingly, therefore, this monetary policy statement unveils yet another necessary program of revaluing our local currency, through the removal of 12 zeros with immediate effect."
The move means that 1 trillion in Zimbabwe dollars now will be equivalent to one Zimbabwe dollar.
The old notes -- with the highest being 100 trillion dollars -- not enough to buy a loaf of bread -- will remain valid until June 30, after which they will cease to be legal tender. One U.S. dollar is trading above 300 trillion Zimbabwe dollars.
This third attempt to lop off zeros comes barely six months after the Zimbabwe government last adjusted its currency as it continues to lose value.
World-record inflation estimated to be in the billions of percent -- but officially at 231 million percent as of July last year -- has quickly eroded the currency's value again and again. The highest note on the new set is 500 Zimbabwe dollars.
Many Zimbabwean traders have stopped accepting the local currency, preferring foreign currency due to the hyperinflationary environment. Last week, the country's acting finance minister, Patrick Chinamasa, allowed the use of foreign currency by everyone else.
Despite the use of foreign currency, the Zimbabwe dollars are in acute shortage, resulting in many people sleeping outside their banks hoping to get money the following day.
Regarding the cash shortages, Gono blamed Germany for dropping a contract that helped the country print money.
"The country has suffered bouts of cash shortages, which have disadvantaged both the corporate and household sectors," he said.
"As a country, we have come to terms with this stubborn reality that we were put under economic sanctions by Germany, which unilaterally cut a 50-year-old contract to supply us with currency printing paper, machinery, spare parts and inks without notice in July last year."
|
cb61bbd4ffa7467aa05f0f965cf13f7c
|
what is the official Zimbabwe´s inflation rate?
|
[
"231 million percent"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- An Ohio distributor is recalling about 6 million Chinese-made tire valve stems after concluding that some of them were improperly made and could increase the risk of accidents.
An Ohio distributor is recalling 6 million Chinese-made car tire valve stems.
Tech International, the part's Johnstown, Ohio-based distributor, estimates that just 8,600 of roughly 6 million of those valves are defective.
The valve is a replacement snap-in tire valve -- Model No. TR413 -- manufactured between July and November 2006.
It was imported by Tech International from manufacturer Shanghai Baolong Industries Co. in Shanghai, China, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
According to the recall, the rubber part of the valve may crack after being in use for about six months, causing a gradual loss of tire pressure.
Continuing to drive on underinflated tires can cause them to burst, possibly leading to crashes.
Tech International told the NHTSA that the company doesn't have records of the final purchasers of the valve stems.
According to the company, the defect was identified after "a small number" of the valves were reported by customers and one distributor to have failed.
The samples were shipped to China, and, in March, Baolong concluded that some valves could be defective.
"The cause of the defect is likely improper mixing of the rubber compound in the manufacturer's facility," Tech International wrote in a letter to the transportation safety authority.
|
c1e350e0e21f4527bbc4bf5eeee07cbb
|
What is the Ohio based distributor's name?
|
[
"Tech International,"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Greek voters will go to the polls to elect a new government two years early, Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis announced Thursday.
Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis says he wants to enact reforms in response to the international financial crisis.
He called the early elections in response to pressure from the opposition Socialist Party, which threatened to block the election of a president in February if there was no general election first.
Karamanlis is also seeking a mandate from the voters for reforms in response to the international financial crisis, he said.
"It's up to the citizens to decide who has the right plan to govern and face the economic challenges," he said in a speech to the country.
"We have two very difficult and critical years ahead of us," he said in the speech on Wednesday. "There is only one path that offers hope and potential: We take -- without delay, without procrastination -- take all necessary measures to address these problems. By design and desire. We need to build the solid foundation that will ultimately get us out of this crisis stronger."
He said the country needs "stringent control on public spending," "war on tax-evasion" and "bold structural reforms."
The new elections will be held October 4, Karamanlis announced Thursday after meeting President Karolos Papoulias, who officially dissolves parliament.
Karamanlis' term was not due to expire until September 2011.
But Socialist party leader George Papandreou insisted on new elections before the end of Papoulias' term as president in February. The Greek constitution requires the two major parties to agree on the election of a president, giving either party an effective veto.
Karamanlis called Papandreou's stance "blackmail."
Parliament will be dissolved on September 7, Karamanlis said on his Web site.
Karamanlis' conservative New Democracy party suffered a sharp setback in European elections in June, when the Socialists matched New Democracy's tally of eight seats, with 36 percent of the vote.
That election was seen as a litmus test for Karamanlis at a time of political and economic uncertainty with the economy shrinking and the country staring at a recession after nearly 15 years of high-profile growth.
CNN's Efty Katsareas and Christine Theodorou contributed to this report.
|
0e894f73787b436c9c0033b4a2af9489
|
Which country is Kostas Karamanlis the Prime Minister of?
|
[
"Greek"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Brazilian authorities on Thursday ruled the death of former world boxing champion Arturo Gatti a suicide, according to local media reports.
Arturo Gatti was found dead on July 11 in a rented condo in Brazil, where his family was vacationing.
Gatti's death initially had been investigated as a murder.
The boxer's widow, Amanda Carina Barbosa Rodrigues, who had been arrested as a suspect, was released from jail Thursday, the newspaper O Diario de Pernambuco reported.
Her lawyer, Celio Avelino, argued that it "would have been impossible for her to suspend and hang a man of that size".
Gatti was found dead on July 11 in a rented condo in Brazil, where he was taking a vacation with Rodrigues and their young child.
Police found strangulation marks on Gatti's neck and a blood-stained purse strap at the scene.
The public safety ministry of the northeastern Pernambuco state said investigators determined that Gatti hanged himself in a stairwell, the newspaper O Globo reported.
Police official Paulo Alberes said Gatti used the purse strap to end his life, O Diario de Pernambuco reported.
The 37-year-old Canadian, who was born in Italy and made his name as a fighter based in New Jersey, was staying in the northeast seaside resort of Porto de Galihnas.
Gatti made his reputation in his renowned trilogy of fights against "Irish" Micky Ward, losing the first but triumphing in the other two.
He was a former International Boxing Federation (IBF) super-featherweight champion and World Boxing Council (WBC) light-welterweight champ.
Gatti retired in 2007 after suffering a knockout defeat by Alfonso Gomez, ending with a record of 40 wins and nine losses, 31 by knockout.
He grew up in Montreal, Canada, after leaving Italy at an early age, and returned to the city after his retirement.
Gatti's suicide came less than two weeks after another world champion boxer took his own life.
On July 1, three-time world boxing champion Alexis Arguello, who was the mayor of the Nicaraguan capital of Managua, was found dead in his home from a gunshot wound to the chest. He was 57.
A third boxer, former welterweight champion Vernon Forrest, died last week after being shot multiple times in a neighborhood southwest of downtown Atlanta, Georgia.
|
83cd199b131e437a94183cb8e6f5d610
|
who was the suspect
|
[
"Amanda Carina Barbosa Rodrigues,"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- The "pregnant man" who gave birth to a daughter earlier this year says he is expecting a second child.
Thomas Beatie, a married man who used to be a woman, has told America's ABC News that after giving birth to Susan on June 29 he did not go back on the male hormone testosterone so he could have another baby.
"I feel good," he told ABC News' Barbara Walters. "I had my checkups ... And everything is right on track."
Beatie, who lives with his wife Nancy in Bend, Oregon, said the baby is due on June 12.
Beatie was born a woman but underwent hormone therapy before he was legally declared a man.
He had a mastectomy but kept his female reproductive organs when he underwent a sex change in the late 1990s.
He and Nancy decided they wanted to start a family and he underwent artificial insemination late last year.
Walters said on her television talkshow, "The View," that Beatie had revealed his second pregnancy to her during an interview for a documentary to air on U.S. television Friday night.
Beatie spoke to Walters about Susan's birth, which was not via Caesarean section.
Prior to her birth, he released a photo showing his bearded face and pregnant belly. It sparked a worldwide media frenzy.
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edd3b4f56fbf420688c7efc4a821d05d
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What reproductive organs did he retain?
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[
"female"
] |
NewsQA
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A Chinese court has sentenced four people to death for their roles in last year's deadly riots in the western city of Urumqi, state media said Tuesday.
The sentences for the defendants were to be carried out immediately. They were charged with "extremely serious crimes," said state-run Xinjiang Daily.
The newspaper said a fifth person, who was also sentenced to death, was granted a two-year reprieve.
Several others were given varying jail sentences, including life imprisonment. They were on trial for incidents of "vandalism, burning and serious violence," the newspaper said.
Urumqi, the capital of the Xinjiang region, was shaken last July when long-simmering resentment between minority Uyghurs and majority Han Chinese erupted into riots and left more than 200 people dead.
The following month, a series of series of syringe stabbings added to the unrest.
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1687a16e6bc64d008e85973f55d2151b
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what groups were rioting
|
[
"minority Uyghurs and majority Han Chinese"
] |
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(CNN) -- Yemenia Airways is canceling all its flights between Yemen and the Comoros Islands after this week's crash on the same route, the airline said Saturday.
Bahia Bakari holds her father's hand as she lies on a stretcher in a plane after landing in France.
One more flight between Sanaa and Moroni is scheduled for Sunday, but all flights on the route are canceled after that, Yemenia said.
A Yemenia Airways Airbus 310 went down early Tuesday, carrying 142 passengers and 11 crew members. It originated in Yemen's capital, Sanaa, and went down just miles from Comoros' capital, Moroni.
One person, 13-year-old French girl Bahia Basari, survived for hours in the Indian Ocean clinging to the debris of the downed plane. She arrived home in France on Thursday, where she was reunited with her father. Watch teen survivor from crash »
She is the only known survivor from the crash, which killed her mother.
The Airbus 310 plane tried to land at the airport in Moroni, then made a U-turn before it crashed, Comoros Vice President Idi Nadhoim said.
The Comoros Islands are between the east African country of Tanzania and the island nation of Madagascar.
French and U.S. divers are helping to search for debris and bodies. The French military has detected a rescue beacon, but rescue workers say the wreckage is difficult to reach in deep waters.
The plane's data recorders have yet to be found, said Capt. Mohammed Abdel Rahman Abdel Qadir, a spokesman for Yemen's civil aviation department.
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e4224ea984b84ab3aafe7d4cd6b0c606
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What are divers helping to search for?
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[
"debris and bodies."
] |
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LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Oscar-nominated director John Singleton accidentally struck and killed a pedestrian, a Los Angeles police spokesman said late Friday.
John Singleton directed "Rosewood," "Baby Boy," "Shaft" and "Four Brothers" after "Boyz N the Hood."
Constance Russell, 57, of Los Angeles, died at a hospital a few hours after the accident Thursday evening, Los Angeles Police Officer Jason Lee said. Russell was not using a crosswalk when she stepped in front of Singleton's car, Lee said.
According to a preliminary police investigation, Singleton was not under the influence of drugs, alcohol or any other substance and was permitted to leave after being questioned.
However, Lee said because the victim was killed, the case has been turned over to the district attorney's office for review.
Singleton, 39, earned two Academy Award nominations for his 1991 debut film "Boyz N the Hood." That film also won him an MTV Movie Award as best new filmmaker.
Other films he has directed include "Rosewood," "Baby Boy," "Shaft" and "Four Brothers." E-mail to a friend
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85a49d0d07d94d3b965d839d93fcfeaf
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For which movie was he nominated for two Oscars?
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[
"\"Boyz N the Hood.\""
] |
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KATHMANDU, Nepal (CNN) -- An unopposed former Communist leader was elected Nepal's new prime minister Saturday, ending nearly three weeks of political uncertainty.
Madhav Kumar Nepal waves at his supporters at the country's parliament in Kathmandu.
Madhav Kumar Nepal of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) was the only person to serve as a candidate for the post after he received backing from more than 20 of the 25 parties in parliament.
Nepal, 56, is a former general secretary of the Communist Party, but had resigned after the party made a poor showing last year against another Communist movement.
In that vote, the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) became the largest party, with 38 percent of the seats in the 601-member constituent assembly which also functions as parliament.
Nepal had been general secretary since 1993 and served as the country's deputy prime minister for nine months in 1995.
Pushpa Kamal Dahal, the Maoist chairman, resigned as prime minister May 4 after the president overturned the Cabinet's decision to sack the army chief.
Nepal became a republic last year.
The new government has two important tasks before it: the writing of a new constitution within a year, and integration of 19,600 Maoist combatants into the security forces.
Without the support of the former Maoist rebels, these tasks cannot be achieved. The Maoists fought a 10-year insurgency aimed at abolishing the monarchy.
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064bf2ec22f642919d4f5d0f0864d3ec
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what country is this?
|
[
"Nepal"
] |
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(CNN) -- Togo, who pulled out of the Africa Cup of Nations soccer competition after a terrorist attack on their team bus, have been suspended from taking part in the next two competitions.
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) also announced on Saturday that the team would be fined $50,000.
Why Togo ban rubs salt into open wounds
Three people were killed in the attack, which took place while Togo travelled to the team hotel two days before their opening match earlier this month.
Communications chief Stanislas Ocloo and assistant coach Abalo Amnalete were shot dead and goalkeeper, Kodjovi Obilale, was among the injured.
Togo, captained by Manchester City star Emmanuel Adebayor, wanted to continue despite the attack but quit on their national government's orders.
The attack raised fears about security for the World Cup, which takes place in South Africa later this year.
CAF has decided the decision to recall the team was political interference, leading to Saturday's suspension for the tournaments in 2012 and 2014.
CAF said in a statement: "The executive committee and its president renewed their sincere condolences to the families of victims involved in this tragic terrorist attack which happened January 8, 2010.
"The attack was condemned by CAF and also a total support was given to the Togolese team.
"At that time, CAF said they have understood perfectly the decision of players not to participate in the competition.
"Meanwhile, following a decision taken by players to participate in the competition, the Togolese government decided to call back their national team.
"The decision taken by the political authorities is infringing CAF and CAN (African Nations Cup) regulations.
"Therefore, a decision has been taken to suspend the Togo national team for the next two editions of Africa Cup of Nations, with a fine of U.S. dollars 50,000 handed to the Togolese national football association, in conformity with article 78 of Africa Cup of Nations Angola 2010."
Two men arrested over the attack were said to be members of the Forces for Liberation of the State of Cabinda, an armed wing of a separatist group that has claimed responsibility for the attack and has threatened to strike again.
Cabinda is a disputed oil-rich enclave in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and was the site of eight matches in the African Cup of Nations tournament.
The Africa Cup of Nations tournament is one of the biggest sporting events in the world this year, and Angola's first since a 2002 peace deal ended decades of civil war in the southern African country.
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a39b0467a1f54cbfb7086bf70aecb544
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Who hosted the competitions?
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[
"Democratic Republic of the Congo"
] |
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(CNN) -- Hundreds of law-enforcement officers were making arrests and executing search warrants Thursday in Arizona as part of an investigation into human smuggling, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency said.
Authorities made at least 40 arrests in an investigation into the suspected smuggling of illegal immigrants in vans that took them from the border to Tucson and Phoenix, two officials with Immigration and Customs Enforcement said.
Federal authorities scheduled a news conference for Thursday afternoon to discuss what they called "a massive, yearlong investigation targeting the infrastructure of several major Arizona-based human smuggling networks."
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b13d23a578de4af0a4e46d2ea353af27
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What is currently being smuggled?
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[
"illegal immigrants"
] |
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Beijing (CNN) -- Money rewards are coming in for a woman who rescued a bleeding toddler left for dead last week by multiple passersby in southern China.
Two hit-and-run drivers rammed into Wang Yue, 2, one after another, as she walked on a narrrow street in Foshan.
More than a dozen people walked, cycled or drove past as she lay bleeding in a busy market, sparking a global outcry on the state of morality in a fast-changing society.
Wang is in critical condition, her brain showing little activity despite earlier subtle movements in the lower body, said her mother, Qu Feifei.
But despite the many villains in the story, it has also turned the spotlight on an unlikely hero: A 58-year-old scavenger.
In the video that has sparked outrage globally, Chen Xianmei moves the baby to safety, becoming an instant symbol of understated decency in a nation analysts say is obsessed with climbing the economic ladder.
"I didn't think of anything at the time," Chen said Sunday. "I just wanted to save the girl."
Two government offices in Guangdong province, where the hit-and-run occurred, offered the Good Samaritan a total of 20,000 yuan (US $3,135), according to state-run Xinhua news agency.
Wang's mother has said she does not understand the behavior of the passersby, but wants to focus on the positive.
"Granny Chen represents the best of human nature," she said of her daughter's rescuer. "It's the nicest and most natural side of us."
On Sina Weibo, China's equivalent of Twitter, the story continued to be the No. 1 topic after generating more than 4.5 million posts along with a "stop apathy" online campaign.
As the outrage over morality continues, a steady procession of well-wishers pours in, offering gifts, money and support to the toddler's family.
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7bd0ce8861cb4c7fbb3abc425fabd9d5
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What did she say?
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[
"\"I just wanted to save the girl.\""
] |
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NEW YORK (CNN) -- A Bronx woman has been charged with murder and robbery in the death of an 89-year-old Nazi concentration camp survivor, and police said a man is still being sought in connection with the death.
Felix Brinkmann dances at a 2008 birthday party. "He was not the kind of guy who had enemies," his son says.
Angela Murray, 30, was arrested Saturday, according to the Manhattan district attorney's office, and is accused of strangling Guido Felix Brinkmann on Thursday in his Upper East Side apartment.
Murray was arraigned Sunday and charged with one count of murder in the second degree and three counts of robbery.
Brinkmann, a native of Latvia, was a Holocaust survivor who escaped death for a year while he was in the Mauthausen, Ebensee and Auschwitz camps. He had been slated for the gas chambers five times, but each time, he used his fluency in German to talk his way out, said his son, Rick Brinkman, who spells his last name differently.
After the war, he was stunned to discover his wife, who had also been shipped to Auschwitz, alive and well in Poland.
The Brinkmanns immigrated to America, where Brinkmann spent years in the bar and nightclub business, co-founding the Adam's Apple disco in Manhattan in 1971.
In recent years, he had been the real estate manager of a mixed-use building in the Bronx, working "seven days a week, without fail," Rick Brinkman said.
On Thursday, the building's superintendent grew concerned when Brinkmann did not show up for work. He notified Brinkmann's son and received permission to enter the father's apartment, where he had lived alone since his wife died last year.
Brinkmann was found face-down in his bedroom, his hands bound behind his back and his body showing blunt-force trauma wounds, police said. Brinkmann's blue 2009 Honda Civic had been stolen, along with one of two safes in his apartment, police said. The vehicle was later recovered in the Bronx.
Rick Brinkman speculated that the killing was random. "Anybody who knew him really liked him," the son said. "He was not the kind of guy who had enemies."
CNN's Jason Kessler contributed to this report.
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f63fbc10405c4cfa94fc77f478cf01dd
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The victim was how old
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[
"89-year-old"
] |
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(CNN) -- German Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich have confirmed Mark van Bommel as their captain for the new season, with Philipp Lahm named as vice-captain.
Bayern Munich captain Van Bommel will be hoping to lift more trophies for the Bavarian giants this season.
The Dutch midfielder was given the captain's armband by Jurgen Klinsmann last season after Oliver Kahn retired.
However, the arrival of Anatoliy Tymoschuk from Zenit St Petersburg seemed to suggest that Van Bommel's place in the Bayern team was no longer guaranteed, but new coach Louis Van Gaal has decided that his compatriot will indeed be one of the first names on his team sheet next season.
"We have been observing his behavior on and off the field over the last four weeks and the influence he has on the club and on the squad," explained Van Gaal's assistant Andries Jonker on Bayern's official Web site.
Tymoschuk must now fear for his place in the Bayern team after being told he is only second-choice behind Van Bommel.
And, since Van Gaal has made it clear that he wanted to choose a captain who will play every week, Tymoschuk may have to spend much of his first season in Bavaria sitting on the substitutes' bench.
"He cannot play in his best position in our system," admitted Van Gaal. "That is where Van Bommel plays. He could play on the right, but I have chosen Hamit Altintop for there. Every player is compared to his rivals and the coach makes the decisions."
Meanwhile, Bayern's French midfielder Franck Ribery has been declared fit to resume training after a summer spent battling tendonitis in his knee.
Ribery missed the pre-season Audi Cup tournament involving Manchester United, AC Milan and Boca Juniors and is not likely to make Saturday's opening Bundesliga home match against Hoffenheim.
But the France international, who was Monday called into his country's squad for the World Cup qualifier with the Faroe Isles in Torshavn on August 12, will be ready to train on Wednesday,
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e4a863a08ed5440691adad316b2ddda8
|
Who was battling tendonitis in his knee?
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[
"Franck Ribery"
] |
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MIAMI, Florida (CNN) -- Father Alberto Cutie, an internationally known Catholic priest who admitted having a romantic affair and breaking his vow of celibacy, was married this week in Miami, Florida.
Father Alberto Cutie was married in Coral Gables, Florida, on Tuesday, according to court documents.
Cutie, 40, announced last month that he was leaving the Catholic Church and joining the Episcopal Church.
A judge performed the marriage ceremony Tuesday in Coral Gables, Florida, for Cutie and Ruhama B. Canellis, 35, according to Miami-Dade County court documents.
Cutie, whose name is pronounced koo-tee-AY, is a native of Puerto Rico, and Canellis was born in Guatemala.
He was received into the Episcopal Church on May 28 at Trinity Cathedral in Miami. He will pursue the priesthood in the Episcopalian faith, the Episcopal Diocese of Southeast Florida said in a written statement. It was not immediately clear how long the process would take.
Cutie -- sometimes called "Father Oprah" because of the advice he's given on Spanish-language media -- shocked some in the Catholic community when photographs of him embracing a bathing-suit-clad woman emerged last month in TV Notas magazine.
He acknowledged having carried on a two-year relationship with the woman, who at that time had not been publicly identified.
"This is something I've struggled with," he told CNN in May. "I don't support the breaking of the celibacy promise."
Referring to his relationship with the woman, he said, "It looked like a frivolous thing on the beach, you know, and that's not what it is. It's something deeper than that."
After the photographs surfaced, Cutie was removed from his duties at St. Francis De Sales Catholic Church in Miami Beach and on the Radio Paz and Radio Peace Networks.
Cutie had been president and general director of Pax Catholic Communications, home of Radio Paz and Radio Peace. He has also written newspaper advice columns and a self-help book, "Real Life, Real Love."
John C. Favalora, archbishop of the Catholic Church's Miami archdiocese, said last month that Cutie's actions have "caused a grave scandal within the Catholic Church."
Favalora also had harsh words for the Episcopal Church's decision to accept Cutie.
"This truly is a serious setback for ecumenical relations and cooperation between us," he said.
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0367e70261bb49e5a006023f9d1baa78
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What Cutie admitted?
|
[
"having a romantic affair and breaking his vow of celibacy,"
] |
NewsQA
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(CNN) -- Iranian authorities confiscated the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize given to human rights activist Shirin Ebadi, Norway said Thursday.
"The medal and the diploma have been removed from Dr. Ebadi's bank box, together with other personal items. Such an act leaves us feeling shock and disbelief," Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Store said in a written statement.
Norway did not explain how it had learned of the alleged confiscation, and there was no immediate reaction from Iran.
Norway's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a written statement that it "has reacted strongly" and summoned the Iranian charge d'affaires on Wednesday afternoon to protest the move.
During the meeting with the Iranian charge d'affaires, State Secretary Gry Larsen also expressed "grave concern" about how Ebadi's husband has allegedly been treated.
"Earlier this autumn, he [Ebadi's husband] was arrested in Tehran and severely beaten. His pension has been stopped and his bank account has been frozen," the statement from Norway said.
Store said in the statement that it marked the "first time a Nobel Peace Prize has been confiscated by national authorities."
The peace prize is one of five awarded annually since 1901 by the Nobel Foundation in Stockholm, Sweden. The other four prizes are for physiology or medicine, physics, chemistry and literature. Starting in 1969, the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel also has been awarded.
While the other prizes are awarded by committees based in Sweden, the peace prize is determined by a five-member panel appointed by the Norwegian parliament.
Ebadi received the prize for her focus on human rights, especially on the struggle to improve the status of women and children.
A statement from the Nobel committee at the time said, "As a lawyer, judge, lecturer, writer and activist, she has spoken out clearly and strongly in her country, Iran, and far beyond its borders."
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78da60796ddb4a789eb18347b317ee2b
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Who received a prize for their focus on human rights?
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[
"Ebadi,"
] |
NewsQA
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(CNN) -- A Moroccan court on Friday sentenced to death Adil Othmani, the main suspect in a terrorist attack in Marrakech last spring, Morocco's state news agency, Maghreb Arabe Presse, reported.
Othmani was held responsible for an explosion that tore through a cafe April 28, killing 17 people and wounding 20 others.
The blast occurred at Cafe Argana in Place Jemaa el Fna, a bazaar and square popular among tourists.
Moroccan authorities said the bomber remotely triggered two explosives, which he had placed there while disguised as a Western hippie.
A Moroccan Ministry of Justice official who refused to be identified due to the sensitive nature of the case confirmed that a death sentence has been handed down to the mastermind of the bombing, the news agency reported.
Another man, Hakim Dah, was sentenced to life in prison; defendants Abdssamad Bettar, Azzedine Lachdari, Ibrahim Cherkaoui and Skiribia Wadia were each given sentences of four years in prison; Mohammed Reda, Amhinni Mohammed, Dehhaj Abdelfattah were given three years each.
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5f9733210b6a4bd1bfa94a96c03b5633
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What did the blast do?
|
[
"tore through a cafe April 28, killing 17 people and wounding 20 others."
] |
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LONDON, England (CNN) -- Eight men plotted to use bombs disguised in drinks containers to blow up planes heading towards the United States in mid-flight in the name of Islam, a British court heard Tuesday.
The eight men deny conspiracy to murder by plotting to blow up transatlantic aircraft.
Prosecutors told London's Woolwich Crown Court the men planned to make the explosives from household objects to resemble drinks bottles, batteries and other items to be carried onto aircraft in hand luggage, the UK's Press Association reported.
The foiling of the alleged plot in August 2006 triggered the imposition of strict new security measures at international airports around the world, restricting the quantity of liquids passengers can carry on to aircraft.
The measures, which led to massive delays and scores of canceled flights when they were imposed overnight, remain in place at many airports.
Prosecutor Peter Wright described two of the men, Abdulla Ahmed Ali, 28, and Assad Sarwar, 28, as ringleaders of an Islamic fundamentalist conspiracy, according to PA.
"It was an interest that involved inflicting heavy casualties upon an unwitting civilian population all in the name of Islam," he said.
"These men were indifferent to the carnage that was likely to ensue if their plans were successful. To them the identities of their victims was an irrelevance by race, color, religion or creed.
"What these men intended to bring about together and with others was a violent and deadly statement of intent that would have a truly global impact."
Wright said the bombs were to be carried onto flights to the United States by suicide bombers as part of a plot hatched in Britain and Pakistan, according to PA.
He said a computer memory stick seized at the time of the defendants' arrests listed details of flights operated by three carriers -- American Airlines, United Airlines and Air Canada -- between August and October 2006.
"If each of these flights were successfully blown up the potential for loss of life was considerable," Wright said.
Ali, Sarwar and six others including Tanvir Hussain, 27, Ibrahim Savant, 28, Arafat Waheed Khan, 27, Waheed Zaman, 24, Umar Islam, 30, and Donald Stewart-Whyte, 22, deny conspiracy to murder. The trial is expected to last 10 months.
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dcc3bb992e884eaebd11543116687e43
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What did the men plan to do with household items?
|
[
"make the explosives from"
] |
NewsQA
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(CNN) -- A strong earthquake measuring 6.1 in magnitude struck southern Iran on Wednesday, according to a report from the U.S. Geological Survey.
The citadel at the city of Bam, Iran in 2005, hit by a quake in 2003 when 30,000 people died.
The quake demolished nearly 200 villages in Iran's Hormozgan Province, according to Iran's Press TV, citing the head of the provincial disaster management headquarters, Yasser Hazbavi.
At least six people were killed and 46 others were injured, Hazbavi told Press TV.
People panicked and fled buildings when the temblor struck in the quake-prone region around 3:30 p.m. Iranian time (1100 GMT), Iran's state-run IRNA news agency reported. It also knocked out power to the region. See map of quake's epicenter »
The epicenter was located 35 miles (55 km) west-southwest of Bandar e-Abbas, Iran -- just across the narrow Strait of Hormuz from the United Arab Emirates -- according to USGS.
Mehdi Rezapoor, head of the Iranian Seismological Center, said it was "a medium-sized quake."
Speaking on Press TV, Rezapoor had no details on damage, but said that based on the quake's strength, "I don't think it was very extensive."
The quake shook nearby Dubai, where CNN staff members said they felt the building they were in shake for about 15 to 20 seconds.
"From my office window at the Dubai Media City where all foreign media are located, I can see that a lot of offices have evacuated buildings," CNN Dubai Bureau Chief Samson Desta said.
"I can see up to perhaps 200 people who have taken refuge out in the streets, causing somewhat of a traffic jam."
There was no evidence of any damage in Dubai, where there are a lot of high-rise buildings.
Iran lies on a series of seismic fault lines and has experienced devastating earthquakes -- most notably in December 2003 when a 6.6 magnitude quake devastated the ancient city of Bam in southeast Iran, killing at least 30,000 people.
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bdaa59accade41848877498e66bc9647
|
Did quake cause any deaths?
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[
"30,000 people died."
] |
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Atlanta (CNN) -- A number of states, including Georgia, already are putting things in place to opt out of the controversial No Child Left Behind Law, following President Barrack Obama's announcement Friday that states can now apply for waivers.
The law, passed in 2001, requires, among other things, that public schools meet targets designed to make all students proficient in math and reading by 2014 or face penalties. The administration will begin reviewing applications to waive some of the demands the law places on states, Obama said Friday.
Top education officials in Georgia said Friday that it should be up to each individual state to decide how best to evaluate student performance in the classroom. Following the president's announcement, Georgia State School Superintendent Dr. John Barge described his state's alternative to closing the achievement gap.
The College and Career Ready Performance Index, "lets states determine how they approach the guiding principles," Barge said Friday. Georgia is one of a handful of states, including Kentucky, Delaware, and Wisconsin that have expressed interest in waivers seeking flexibility from No Child Left Behind (NCLB).
Barge and U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) personally delivered Georgia's request for a waiver to U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan Tuesday.
Barge said the waiver will give schools more flexibility. "It will not be a matter of the entire accountability label hinging on a single test," he said.
Under the administration's new guidelines, states will be encouraged to devise standards of accountability that do not treat all schools the same.
"The purpose is not to give states and districts a reprieve from accountability, but rather to unleash energy to improve our schools at the local level," Obama said in a statement.
In order to gain approval for waivers, states must present the U.S. Department of Education with credible alternative plans to measure performance.
Georgia's proposal focuses on several indicators to measure student performance, including reading, language arts, math, science, and social studies, offering an index that will vary based on grade level.
"With NCLB, science and social studies teachers were not measured to determine adequate yearly progress," Georgia Department of Education Communications Director Matt Cardoza said. "Many times, those teachers would feel their subjects were not as important. Now, there are multiple indicators, including science and social studies."
States that do not apply for waivers will still be expected to meet the guidelines set out by No Child Left Behind. States may submit official applications for waivers by mid-November. Waivers could be granted in early 2010.
CNN's Lesa Jansen contributed to this report
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71f76389bb6e4aff97afd675f1acc0ac
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What state is mentioned?
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[
"Georgia,"
] |
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(CNN) -- England and France set themselves on course for the quarterfinals of Rugby's World Cup with their second wins of the competition in New Zealand Sunday.
Fellow Six Nations side Wales also revived their hopes with a hard-fought 17-10 win over Samoa after their narrow opening defeat in Pool D to defending champions South Africa.
Martin Johnson's England saw off another determined challenge from Georgia 41-10 to stay on top in Pool B, while France beat Canada 46-19.
The French were troubled by the Canadians, who only trailed by a converted try after an hour before Damien Traille grabbed a breakaway try and Vincent Clerc crossed twice late on to make the scoreline flattering.
Marc Lievremont's team will have to improve against hosts New Zealand in Auckland next Saturday, with the losers likely to face England in the last eight.
England were scarcely more impressive against a Georgian team who have impressed in the World Cup and were also in touch at halftime.
But England pulled away after the break with Shontayne Hape and Chris Ashton scoring two tries apiece with Delon Armitage and Manu Tuilagi also going over.
After the off-field furore involving Mike Tindall, who captained the side in the opening win over Argentina, England were looking for a big performance but Johnson was disappointed with their display.
"If we are happy with those standards we will go home early," he told AFP.
Wales were behind in Hamilton as they trailed 10-6 at the half, but were sparked into life by winger Shane Williams's 67th-minute try, his eighth in the World Cup.
"We knew today was a must-win game," said coach Warren Gatland."
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df70eea73192496b8a0ac3832bb7d17e
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Who edged Samoa for first win?
|
[
"Wales"
] |
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|
(CNN) -- Scientists in Colombia have unearthed the remains of a true prehistoric monster believed to be the biggest snake ever to have lived on Earth.
An artist's impression of what Titanoboa cerrejonensis would have looked like.
Named Titanoboa cerrejonensis, the snake would have weighed 1,140 kilograms (2,500 pounds) and measured 13 meters (42.7 feet) nose to tail tip -- dwarfing the largest modern pythons and anacondas which can grow to 6 meters (19.5 feet).
Scientists believe it slithered around the planet between 58 and 60 million years ago.
Geologist David Polly, who identified the position of the fossil vertebrae which made a size estimate possible, said in a statement Wednesday: "At its greatest width, the snake would have come up to about your hips. The size is pretty amazing.
"But our team went a step further and asked, how warm would the Earth have to be to support a body of this size?"
Titanoboa's fossilized remains were discovered at a coal mine in the tropical Cerrejon region of northern Colombia by an international team of scientists.
"Truly enormous snakes really spark people's imagination, but reality has exceeded the fantasies of Hollywood," paleontologist Jonathan Bloch, who co-led the expedition, told reporters.
"The snake that tried to eat Jennifer Lopez in the movie 'Anaconda' was not as big as the one we found."
Based on the snake's size, the team was able to calculate that the mean annual temperature in equatorial South America 60 million years ago would have been about 91 degrees Fahrenheit, about 10 degrees warmer than today, Bloch said.
"Tropical ecosystems of South America were surprisingly different 60 million years ago," said Bloch. "It was a rainforest, like today, but it was even hotter and the cold-blooded reptiles were all substantially larger.
"The result was, among other things, the largest snakes the world has ever seen...and hopefully ever will."
According to Nature.com, snakes are poikilotherms (cold-blooded) that, unlike humans, need heat from their environment to power their metabolism. Therefore research suggests that at the time the region would have had to be no less than 86 to 93 degrees Fahrenheit for the snake to have survived.
Most large snakes today live in the tropical regions of South America and south-east Asia, where the high temperatures allow them to grow to impressive sizes.
Meanwhile, Carlos Jaramillo -- who was also part of the expedition -- said the tropical rainforest at Cerrejon appeared to have thrived at these temperatures.
"This data challenges the view that tropical vegetation lives near its climatic optimum, and it has profound implications in understanding the effect of current global warming on tropical plants," he said.
|
6ddc70956b244ace9e983aad00c27109
|
What can the size tell us about the world temps?
|
[
"10 degrees warmer than today,"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Cyclist Chris Hoy has been knighted in the United Kingdom New Year Honors list, while every British gold medallist from the Beijing Olympic Games has also been rewarded.
Hoy completes a remarkable year by being knighted in the United Kingdom New Years Honors list.
In a move that breaks with tradition, triple-gold medallist Hoy will be knighted while still competing and will take part in London 2012 as Sir Chris.
The 32-year-old told PA Sport: "To become a knight from riding your bike, it's mad. It is an amazing honor and is also great for the sport."
Hoy, who was made an MBE after winning his first gold in Athens in 2004, was also voted BBC Sports Personality of the Year earlier this month.
The Scotsman was one of 10 Olympic cyclists to be honored, while a number of Olympic coaches and officials were also recognised.
Rebecca Adlington, the 19-year-old swimmer who won two Olympic golds -- the first British woman to win an Olympic swimming gold for 48 years -- receives an OBE (Order of the British Empire) .
Adlington said: "I'm absolutely delighted to receive and accept the OBE -- it is fantastic to be recognised in the New Year Honors List. There are so many amazing names on the list, it's something I'll treasure for the rest of my life."
Christine Ohuruogu, the only British athlete to win a track and field gold in Beijing when she claimed the 400m title, has been given an MBE (Member of the British Empire).
"It is nice to be called the Olympic, world and Commonwealth champion and now to be made an MBE is extra special," said Ohuruogu.
Away from the Olympics, Lewis Hamilton receives an MBE after becoming the youngest ever Formula One world champion.
"It is a massive honor and incredible privilege. It is the most amazing culmination to what has been quite a year for me," said Hamilton.
|
442fc81de8904be7867b81c28f3ef0ed
|
How many golds did Hoy get in Beijing?
|
[
"triple-gold"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- A disgruntled employee shot to death the owners of a store in Boulder, Colorado, and then may have turned the gun on himself, police said Tuesday.
Police found Sean Griffin, 40, and his wife Staci Griffin, 41, dead in a back room of the Boulder Stove & Flooring on Monday morning. Also dead was Robert Montgomery, 50.
Montgomery had a 9 mm Smith & Wesson handgun in his hand and appeared to have suffered a single gunshot wound, said police spokeswoman Sarah Huntley. The Griffins sustained multiple wounds.
Montgomery told friends and wrote in a journal that he was upset over a recent change in sales commission and bonus policy at work, Huntley said. He purchased the gun on May 7, she said.
Police said Montgomery had been employed at Boulder Stove & Flooring since 2003.
A salesman and a customer were inside the store when the gunshots rang out at 11:09 a.m. They jumped in the customer's vehicle, drove away and called 911, Huntley said.
Police arrived minutes later to find the three dead.
An autopsy will determine whether Montgomery was the shooter, but Huntley said police suspect him after finding the same kind of Cor-Bon 9 mm ammunition at his house that was used in the shooting. Police said they found 13 spent shell casings around the scene of the shootings with one round still in the chamber of the gun. No rounds were left in the magazine, they said. At his home, they found a box of Cor-Bon 9 mm ammunition with 14 rounds missing.
Investigators said they found a second magazine in Montgomery's backpack loaded with 10 rounds of Eagle brand 9 mm ammunition. At his home, they found an empty box of Eagle 9 mm ammunition.
|
acd8002738564ff9896e624580287056
|
When was the gun purchased?
|
[
"May 7,"
] |
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|
HAVANA, Cuba (CNN) -- Juan Almeida, a Cuban revolutionary who fought alongside former Communist leader Fidel Castro, died of a heart attack Friday evening, according to state media.
Almeida, left, sits with President Raul Castro on January 1, the 50th anniversary of the Cuban Revolution.
Almeida, 82, was among only a handful of surviving Cuban leaders who still bore the title "Commander of the Revolution."
A vice president and member of the Communist government Central Committee, Almeida was among only a few black leaders in top government posts.
He died of cardiac arrest late Friday evening, according Juventud Rebelde, Cuba's state-run youth newspaper.
Widely admired among Cuban nationals, Almeida fought with Fidel and Raul Castro at the start of their campesino-led revolution, participating in the failed attacks on the Moncada army barracks in 1953 and later aboard the famed yacht, "Granma," that carried the small group of Cuban rebels who would later topple U.S.-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista.
Almeida's death highlights the mortality of an aging cast of Cuba's revolutionary leaders.
Widespread speculation surrounding the health of Fidel Castro grew in 2006 after the former Communist leader underwent abdominal surgery and later ceded the presidency to his younger brother, Raul.
The elder Castro has recently appeared in a series of photos and video looking healthier, though he has not appeared in public since 2006.
Cuban state media reported that Sunday will be a day of national mourning and that flags will be flown at half-staff.
|
b6b5555352ab417f89302afb36918405
|
Besides Almeida, are there any other black leaders who are members of the Central Committee?
|
[
"only a few"
] |
NewsQA
|
(PEOPLE.com) -- Three and a half weeks since having a double mastectomy, Giuliana Rancic says she's "doing better than I anticipated in recovery."
While that's great news for the E! host, she also says her breast cancer ordeal has changed her life for the better "in so many ways."
"I never thought my marriage could be stronger, or I could be closer to [my husband] Bill," she told PEOPLE at an E! Luncheon on Saturday for the Television Critics Association press tour in Pasadena, Calif.
She's also become more religious. "We go to church every Sunday. And we did before, but it never meant as much as it does now," Rancic, 37, says. "We prayed on our own, but now we prayed together and you'll never know how much that means until you do it. Bill and I have changed our lives in that one way."
As for the decision to have the surgery, which removed both her breasts, she has no regrets. "The surgery brought my risks down to 95 to 100 percent," she said. "If I had a lumpectomy, I would have early estrogen menopause for at least two years, and I want to have children."
Besides, she told PEOPLE, her breasts don't define who she is as a person or as a professional in the entertainment industry.
"I didn't give two sh**s about my breasts. I didn't care that at the Golden Globes, I wouldn't be able to show cleavage," she said. "A lot of people were shocked. They said, 'Are you sure you want to do this? Think about the life you lead and the fabulous dresses and that's part of your job. It could put your job in jeopardy.' And I thought, if I ever have a job that is defined by my breasts and some gorgeous gown then I'm in the wrong business."
It also helps that her husband has been by her side throughout her health scare. "It breaks my heart that a lot of women don't have a supportive husband," she said. "Bill's a saint, and the hottest male nurse ever. He's very protective and it's almost as hard for him as it was for me."
See the full article at PEOPLE.com.
© 2011 People and Time Inc. All rights reserved.
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dd476ea613834635b5769502f5ebccfd
|
what did the surgery do?
|
[
"removed both her breasts,"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Schools of robotic fish could one day map the ocean floor, detect pollution or inspect and survey submerged boats or oil and gas pipelines, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology say.
MIT researcher Pablo Valdivia Alvarado works in his lab on a robotic fish he co-created.
MIT engineers are showing off the latest generation of so-called robofish 15 years after they built the first one. The latest incarnation is sleeker, more streamlined and capable of mimicking the movements of a real fish.
And it's capable of exploring underwater terrain submersibles can't, said Pablo Valdivia Alvarado, a mechanical engineer at the school.
"Some of our sponsors were thinking of using them for inspection and surveillance," Alvarado said. "Since these prototypes are very cheap, the idea was to build hundreds -- 200, 500 -- and then just release them in a bay or at a port, and they would be roaming around taking measurements."
MIT researchers built their first robotic fish, "Robotuna," in 1994. But Robotuna has gone the way of the dinosaur. Alvarado said the new generation -- modeled after bass and trout -- cost only a few hundred dollars and have only 10 parts instead of the thousands used in Robotuna.
At five to 18 inches, the new fish is much smaller than Robotuna and built from a single, soft polymer. And unlike Robotuna, the fish is able to be released in the oceans.
"Most of the brains, the electronics, are embedded inside," said Alvarado, who designed the robofish with fellow MIT engineer Kamal Youcef-Toumi. "We have built prototypes with the battery inside, but for my experiments, for simplicity. We have a lot of prototypes that are simply tethered. We have a cable that runs out from the body and connects to a power supply."
The new generation has withstood harsh conditions in the lab, including two years of testing inside tanks filled with tap water, which is corrosive to standard robots, according to Alvarado, who says the Robotuna inspired him to take the technology to the next level.
The oil exploration company Schlumberger helped fund the research, but Alvarado says the U.S. Navy has also expressed interest in the robofish.
MIT's mechanical engineers are now turning their attention to new challenges: A robotic manta ray and a terrestrial robot in the form of a salamander.
CNN's Ninette Sosa contributed to this report.
|
8767f9d6002f4e748b89561efa03e8d1
|
where was created the robotic fish?
|
[
"Massachusetts Institute of Technology"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- U.S. President George Bush railed against the government of Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe Monday, calling intimidation of opposition figures "deplorable."
Leading opposition figure Artur Mutambara was arrested following his criticism of President Robert Mugabe.
"The continued use of government-sponsored violence in Zimbabwe, including unwarranted arrests and intimidation of opposition figures, to prevent the Movement for Democratic Change from campaigning freely ahead of the June 27 presidential runoff election is deplorable," Bush said in a statement released by the U.S. Embassy in neighboring South Africa.
Zimbabwean authorities Sunday arrested an opposition leader on charges stemming from his criticism of the government and its handling of the recent presidential election, an official with the opposition Movement for Democratic Change told CNN.
Police in Harare surrounded the house of student activist-turned-opposition politician Arthur Mutambara and arrested him on charges of contempt of court and publishing falsehoods, MDC official Romualdo Mavedzenge said.
While Zimbabwe authorities have arrested dozens of MDC supporters and activists over the past two months, Mavedzenge said "this is the highest profile MDC official (arrested) since the March 29 election."
Mutambara is president of an MDC faction that split from the main party headed by Morgan Tsvangirai.
After Tsvangirai's party won the majority of seats in parliament, the two leaders agreed to join forces in parliament under Mutambara's leadership.
Both charges stem from an opinion piece written by Mutambara in which he criticized President Robert Mugabe for the way the March 29 elections were handled. Raphael Khumalo, chief executive of The Sunday Standard, which published the article, was arrested last month on charges of publishing falsehoods.
Bush said Mugabe's government is failing on multiple levels.
"We call on the regime to immediately halt all attacks and to permit freedom of assembly, freedom of speech, and access to the media," Bush said.
"We urge the Southern African Development Community, the African Union, the United Nations, and other international organizations to blanket the country with election and human rights monitors immediately."
Zimbabwe's election commission said Tsvangirai won the March presidential election, but didn't win a majority of the vote, forcing this month's vote.
The MDC contested the results, saying Tsvangirai won outright, but decided to take part in the runoff and not cede the election to Mugabe.
|
fb576a7fc6e54aa2aa1a200a7824a900
|
Who was unable to campaign?
|
[
"Movement for Democratic Change"
] |
NewsQA
|
(WIRED) -- The U.S. Marine Corps has banned Twitter, Facebook, MySpace and other social media sites from its networks, effective immediately.
The Marine Corps fears that social media sites such as Facebook could pose a security risk.
"These internet sites in general are a proven haven for malicious actors and content and are particularly high risk due to information exposure, user generated content and targeting by adversaries," reads a Marine Corps order, issued Monday.
"The very nature of SNS [social network sites] creates a larger attack and exploitation window, exposes unnecessary information to adversaries and provides an easy conduit for information leakage that puts OPSEC [operational security], COMSEC [communications security], [and] personnel... at an elevated risk of compromise."
The Marines' ban will last a year. It was drawn up in response to a late July warning from U.S. Strategic Command, which told the rest of the military it was considering a Defense Department-wide ban on the Web 2.0 sites, due to network security concerns.
Scams, worms, and Trojans often spread unchecked throughout social media sites, passed along from one online friend to the next.
"The mechanisms for social networking were never designed for security and filtering. They make it way too easy for people with bad intentions to push malicious code to unsuspecting users," a Stratcom source told Wired.com.
Yet many within the Pentagon's highest ranks find value in the Web 2.0 tools. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has 4,000 followers on Twitter. The Department of Defense is getting ready to unveil a new home page, packed with social media tools. The Army recently ordered all U.S. bases to provide access to Facebook. Top generals now blog from the battlefield.
"OPSEC is paramount. We will have procedures in place to deal with that," Price Floyd, the Pentagon's newly-appointed social media czar, said.
"What we can't do is let security concerns trump doing business. We have to do business... We need to be everywhere men and women in uniform are and the public is. If that's MySpace and YouTube, that's where we need to be, too," Floyd said.
The Marines say they will issue waivers to the Web 2.0 blockade, if a "mission critical need" can be proven. And they will continue to allow access to the military's internal "SNS-like services." But for most members of the Corps, access to the real, public social networks is now shut off for the next year.
Subscribe to WIRED magazine for less than $1 an issue and get a FREE GIFT! Click here!
|
9711457bc6104cabba0a658c2bf3ba69
|
when was the order issued
|
[
"Monday."
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Three crew members died in a fiery Navy helicopter crash near Corpus Christi, Texas, a military spokesman said, and a fourth is hospitalized in critical condition.
The Navy MH-53 Sea Dragon helicopter crashed in a field about four miles south of Corpus Christi on Wednesday just after 8 p.m. It caught fire after impact, said Ed Mackley with the Naval Mine and Anti-Submarine Warfare Command.
Copter wreckage came to rest near guide wires of a 1,000-foot TV tower for Public Broadcasting System affiliate KEDT, according to the Corpus Christi Caller-Times. Authorities refused to tell The Associate Press whether the Sea Dragon collided with the tower.
A witness reported a huge fireball and booming noise shortly after the crash. Rescuers found bodies of three crew members about 2:30 a.m. on Thursday, Mackley said. Watch smoke and flames after the crash »
Witness J.D. Batten told the Caller-Times he was walking on his property about two miles from the crash site when he heard a helicopter overhead.
"I saw a red-glowing fireball shoot hundreds of feet up into the air," he told the paper. "I heard a giant boom a second later. It was then dead silent, and I couldn't hear the helicopter anymore."
A fourth crew member was in critical condition at Christus Spohn Memorial Hospital in Corpus Christi, Texas, Mackley said.
"Our hearts and prayers go out to the families," Mackley said. Authorities did not immediately identify the victims.
The aircraft was part of Helicopter Mine Countermeasures Squadron 15 out of Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, a military spokesman told the Caller-Times.
The Caller-Times quoted a Navy spokesman who said the aircraft was on a training mission and the crash occurred during heavy fog. A military investigation will try to determine what caused the crash, Mackley said.
First responders to the crash site were hindered by downed power lines, according to the Caller-Times report. The paper said firefighters and a busload of military personnel searched the muddy area surrounding the crash site for hours. E-mail to a friend
|
da3e7df69d4a47f39bdac07b808835c3
|
What height is the tower?
|
[
"1,000-foot"
] |
NewsQA
|
(PEOPLE.com) -- It's been more than two months since their beloved 13-year-old dog Darla passed away from cancer, but Brooke Shields and her family are still reeling from the loss.
"It's very sad, actually," she tells PEOPLE. "We're all in that sort of trauma where we have her ashes and the girls (Rowan, 8, and Grier, 5) carry these little footprints of hers around. She was the only dog we've really ever had."
The American bulldog was given to Shields as a puppy, and was a member of the family, taking a central role in many memories over the years.
"She knew I was pregnant before I even knew I was pregnant," Shields says. "She would circle me and not let me walk anywhere, I was going, 'God, what are you doing, get out from under my feet!' And that afternoon I found out."
The void that Darla has left is immense, and it won't be filled with a new pet anytime soon. "We walk to school everyday and they see all these different dogs, we're kind of [thinking about] what way do we want to go," she says. "We'll probably never get another bulldog. We would just constantly be going, 'That's not Darla.'"
For now, Shields and her family are content on seeing animals from afar -- like Mom's new furry costar: a horse called Odd Job Bob who stars opposite Shields in the new tween flick The Greening of Whitney Brown. In the comedy, Shields plays the mother of a snooty private school teen (played by Sammi Hanratty) who is forced to move to the country where she reluctantly befriends the gypsy vanner horse.
"He's smart and sweet," Shields says of the star stallion who performs all kinds of tricks for the film. "He understands. There's something about him that is human."
A horse lover all of her life, Shields never got to ride Bob because trainers wanted Hanratty to bond completely with the animal, but she did slip him a treat or two on set. "He wasn't demanding at all," she jokes. "He loved [eating] all the carrots and jam."
Watching the sweet family movie with her daughters will definitely be a bright spot in what's been a difficult few months. "They're going to love it," she says. "Anything with horses and animals, they think it's so funny."
See the full article at PEOPLE.com
© 2011 People and Time Inc. All rights reserved.
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22051eee8e18484ea5a0154c1cf4c1ae
|
Are they going to replace the dog?
|
[
"won't be filled with a new pet anytime soon."
] |
NewsQA
|
(PEOPLE.com) -- Giuliana Rancic said Monday that she has breast cancer, having discovered a tumor during a mammogram while undergoing another round of in-vitro fertilization in an effort to get pregnant.
The E! News and Style Network host, 36, made the emotional announcement on NBC's "Today" show. She will undergo surgery this week and then have six weeks of radiation therapy.
The cancer has been detected early, and the prognosis is good, she said.
Rancic was going to wait until 40 to have a mammogram, but her IVF doctor suggested she have one now. She says she will still push to have a baby, following one IVF attempt that ended in a miscarriage and a second that didn't work.
"I still want this baby ... because this baby has saved my life," she said. "I truly feel God was looking out after me ... If I had gotten pregnant later down the line, I could have been a lot sicker."
She also says her husband, Bill Rancic, has been "unbelievable. The best thing about Bill is, he lets me cry when I want to cry."
Coincidentally, Rancic recently filmed some on-the-street interviews to bust breast-cancer myths for the non-profit Bright Pink as part of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, which marks its 25th anniversary this year.
See the full article at PEOPLE.com.
© 2011 People and Time Inc. All rights reserved.
|
54a0f783cd514053be9d1ded90d8035e
|
Does she wants the baby?
|
[
"\"I still"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- The search continued Tuesday for as many as 67 people missing after a boat carrying about 200 Haitians capsized, the U.S. Coast Guard said.
The U.S. Coast Guard intercepted this crowded boat last week and repatriated its occupants to Haiti.
The boat overturned Monday off Turks and Caicos, a British territory about 550 miles southeast of Miami, Florida.
Searchers aboard boats and aircraft have rescued 118 passengers and found 15 bodies, said Petty Officer Jennifer Johnson, a Coast Guard spokeswoman, on Tuesday morning.
The Coast Guard described the boat's occupants as migrants from Haiti. The overcrowded vessel was believed to have set sail from the Haitian port of Cap Haitien, the Turks and Caicos Sun newspaper reported.
The search resumed at dawn Tuesday after being suspended because of darkness Monday night, Johnson said.
The Coast Guard is contributing one boat, the 210-foot cutter Valiant, and three aircraft to the search, Johnson said. The aircraft are a Falcon jet out of Miami, an HH-60 helicopter and a slow-flying C-130 cargo plane out of Clearwater, Florida. Watch Coast Guard rescue Haitians after boat capsizes »
"If the weather and conditions are right, [the C-130] can fly really low," Johnson said. "It makes a fantastic search aircraft."
Turks and Caicos authorities are using small boats in the search, she said.
About 70 people were plucked Monday from a reef near the island group, authorities said. Four other bodies were found, though it was unclear which authorities located them.
A nurse at Myrtle Rigby Hospital in the Turks and Caicos said that about 70 people were brought there, including four who had died.
Five people were admitted to the hospital, and the others had minor injuries, the nurse said.
The Coast Guard said it intercepted another "grossly overloaded" boat, with 124 Haitians aboard, late last week in the same region. Those migrants were returned to Cap Haitien on Monday.
Overloaded vessels can quickly lose stability and capsize, sending migrants into the water, a Coast Guard release said.
CNN's Jim Kavanagh and Lateef Mungin contributed to this report.
|
a79d5fde10b94252ae15203b2f766224
|
What was the approximate number of haitians on the boat?
|
[
"200"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Researchers have discovered a previously unknown group of rare monkeys in the forests of Vietnam.
The Tonkin snub-nosed monkeys were so skittish, researchers captured a photo of only one: an adult male.
Several biologists caught fleeting glimpses of about 15 or 20 Tonkin snub-nosed monkeys in a remote area near the Chinese frontier, the wildlife conservation group Fauna & Flora International said Thursday.
The "bizarre-looking" monkeys -- on the brink of extinction -- were so skittish around people that researchers were able to snap a photo of just one of them: an adult male scampering through the trees.
The monkeys were "very sensitive to the presence of people, giving warning signs to one another and fleeing" whenever biologists approached, the group said in a statement.
"It was apparent that the monkeys associated humans with danger -- perhaps due to ongoing threats from hunters," the group said.
So few Tonkin snub-nosed monkeys have survived in the wild that scientists thought until recently that they were extinct. Now they estimate that roughly 200 remain, mainly in parts of northern Vietnam near the Chinese border.
Hunters with a taste for bush meat and the loss of habitat have pushed the Tonkin snub-nosed monkey toward extinction, according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.
It classifies the primate as critically endangered "because its population size is estimated to number fewer than 250 mature individuals, with no subpopulation greater than 50 mature individuals, and it is experiencing a continuing decline."
Fauna & Flora said it is working with a variety of groups to improve the livelihoods and "reduce human pressures on the forest ecosystem" in an effort to safeguard the newly discovered group, which was spotted in a patch of forest in the Quan Ba district of Vietnam's Ha Giang province.
The sighting thrilled conservation biologist Le Khac Quyet, described by Fauna & Flora as "one of the few people in the world who can claim to be an expert on this mysterious species" and as the person credited with discovering the new group of that species.
"When I saw the Tonkin snub-nosed monkeys ... I was overjoyed," he said in the Fauna & Flora statement.
"There is still time to save this unique species, but with just 200 or so left and threats still strong, we need to act now."
|
75d778edb6d345cd8b79b6c7e7a90104
|
How many monkeys were seen?
|
[
"15 or 20"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Debra Lafave, the former Florida middle school teacher convicted of having sex with a student, violated her probation by hugging a young co-worker, a Florida judge found Thursday.
Debra Lafave was arrested after talking with a teenager. She is not allowed to have contact with anyone under 18.
But the judge did not send Lafave to jail, saying the violation was "not willful and substantial."
"Please don't come back," he scolded.
Dressed in a tailored, black pantsuit, Lafave said she had "innocent" physical contact with a female co-worker she knew as under age 18. Watch Lafave in the courtroom »
At the time, she and the 17-year-old hostess worked at Danny Boy's, a small restaurant in the Tampa, Florida, area.
Lafave, 27, pleaded guilty in November 2005 to having sex with a 14-year-old boy and was sentenced to three years under house arrest and seven years of probation.
Lafave was required to register as a sex offender and ordered not to have any contact with minors. A tracking device she carries as part of her probation went off in court, prompting the prosecutor to observe, "I think she's accounted for."
Lafave acknowledged she was aware that hugs and other forms of physical contact -- as well as conversations about sex -- with minors violated terms of her probation. She referred to the sexually explicit conversations at work as just "girl talk."
Lafave denied talking about her sex life with co-workers. "I don't speak that way about my personal life," she said. But she added that her co-workers spoke freely about sex in a "small group setting."
While other co-workers socialized outside work, Lafave said, the 17-year-old was not included in those outings.
Asked why she hugged the young co-worker, Lafave explained it was a small restaurant with a casual atmosphere where co-workers felt like family. The contact came, she said, "out of my good nature, that's the way it worked."
The contacts that led to Thursday's probation violation hearing first surfaced during two polygraph tests administered as part of Lafave's court-ordered supervision.
She received a verbal reprimand a year ago, according to testimony. When the behavior continued, her probation officer asked a judge to find her in violation.
She was ordered to quit the restaurant job and now works as a receptionist in her mother's beauty shop.
In the past, Lafave has said she suffers from bipolar disorder and is receiving treatment. E-mail to a friend
|
203730ea506141b6962226944152d0de
|
what is the teacher accused of?
|
[
"of having sex with a student,"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Rem Koolhaas revolutionizes city landscapes with distinctive and cutting-edge buildings.
Seattle's Central Library is one of Rem Koolhaas' recent builds.
Responsible for the iconic CCTV headquarters in Beijing the Dutch architect was named one of "The World's Most Influential People" by Time magazine.
Similar to the man himself, his buildings are not afraid to make a statement.
"We felt it was very important for an entity like CCTV to make its presence felt... To generate a space and to define a space, that is the main thing," he told CNN at the opening of his "Transformer" building in Seoul, South Korea.
Koolhaas admits that the current economic climate is not particularly favorable to big and bold architectural plans, but from adversity comes creativity.
"Definitely there were a number of projects that we worked on put on hold, but on the other hand certain things were also accelerated because the price of construction is getting so cheap."
Despite these new parameters he remains optimistic that his profession will continue to invent and be relevant, "because it means kind of smaller, but more complex and kind of interesting things, kind of related to, not necessarily with commerce, but more connected to culture and to the social world."
His buildings have attracted worldwide fame and given Koolhaas himself a form of semi-celebrity status. Yet Koolhaas still feels a sense of unease being labeled a "Starchitect."
"I think it's a name that is actually degrading to the vast majority of people it is applied to. And it really is a kind of political term that for certain clients is important because they use star architects. My hope is that through the current complexity that title will exit discretely and disappear," he said.
He believes that by being able to respond to different demands architecture is evolving into something new.
"It is not possible to live in this age if you don't have a sense of many contradictory forces," he said.
"Each building has to be beautiful, but cheap and fast, but it lasts forever. That is already an incredible battery of seemingly contradictory demands. So yes, I'm definitely perhaps contradictory person, but I operate in very contradictory times."
|
384c4d96f3a5480499cc5300023ca450
|
Who embraces contradictions in a project?
|
[
"Rem"
] |
NewsQA
|
UNITED NATIONS (CNN) -- Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi on Wednesday delivered a lengthy, rambling address in his first appearance before the United Nations -- slamming both the U.N. Security Council and the United States.
Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi addresses the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday.
He broached conspiracy theories, urged probes into U.S. military activities, and took aim at the structure and the actions of the Security Council, in a one-hour and 36-minute speech at the U.N. General Assembly's annual session.
Gadhafi called for world unity in confronting various world crises, such as climate change and food shortages, but he aimed his ire at the world body and the United States.
Dressed in a traditional Libyan cap and robe, he elaborated on what he believes is the unfairness of the structure of the U.N. Security Council, which has five permanent members -- the United States, Russia, China, France and Britain, each with veto power.
In his One hour and 36 minute ramble, Gadhafi:
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8d10a49d5a9e4b94818dcb559931c55d
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what did Libyan leader tell UN general assembly?
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[
"He broached conspiracy theories, urged probes into U.S. military activities, and took aim at the structure and the actions of the Security Council,"
] |
NewsQA
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MADRID, Spain (CNN) -- A man died after being gored in the neck during the annual running of the bulls in Pamplona, Spain, the Navarra regional government said Friday on its Web site.
Runners take part in the running of the bulls in Pamplona, Spain on July 9.
The death would be the first in the running of the bulls since a 22-year-old American was gored to death in 1995.
The latest victim was a Spanish man, Daniel Jimeno Romero, age 27, from the Madrid area who was vacationing in Pamplona with his family, CNN partner station CNN+ reported from the hospital, where authorities identified him.
He was rushed to the hospital in cardiac arrest and underwent surgery but died soon after, said the statement from the regional government, whose capital is Pamplona. Watch man try to scramble away from bull »
Amateur video footage showed the victim falling to the ground toward the end of race, just before the entrance to the bullring, and apparently being gored in the neck.
Three other runners were gored and suffered less serious injuries on Friday, and six others went to the hospital with bruises or other injuries, the Navarra government said. Emergency workers and ambulances line the route to quickly attend those who fall. Do you think this tradition should be banned?
The run in Pamplona started 400 years ago and became popular worldwide after author Ernest Hemingway wrote about it in the 1920s in his book "The Sun Also Rises," also published under the title "Fiesta."
The event is held July 7-14. Six bulls and a pack of tame steers run from the corrals, through Pamplona's old town, to the bullring -- where the bulls will die later in the day in a bullfight.
Including the recent death, 14 people have been killed in the runs since 1924, when record-keeping began.
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d1e2eeca2c7f4114bfbd1db21ee833d2
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Who was the victim?
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[
"Daniel Jimeno Romero,"
] |
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(CNN) -- He's the man who helped make "Slumdog Millionaire" an international hit, scoring the soundtrack of the Oscar winning film. Despite his performance at the Oscars ceremony and being caught up in all the glitz and adulation, Rahman is a reluctant star.
Feeling like a millionaire: AR Rahman picked up two Oscar's for best original song and best score.
He's worked on films since he was a teenager, taking over the role of family breadwinner after his father died and followed in his footsteps as a composer.
While he had stints writing advertising jingles in India, composing for films has been his life's work so far, yet from his studio in Chennai he admitted to CNN he didn't want to score films.
"I kept saying next year I'll quit, next year I'll quit. And finally because I was sucked into it more and more, now I have the Oscars" he said.
His Oscar performance and acceptance speech was one of the most memorable at this year's awards.
"I thought if I get it I'll be quiet, if I don't get it I'll be quiet, so I was training my mind not to get over-emotional. So when I first got it I didn't feel it at all, it was like a rehearsal for me. When I finished my performance then I felt at ease and then I became very philosophical as you know, and I chose love over hate and all this stuff," he told CNN.
Feted by many in media, his hit "Jai ho" was covered by the Pussy Cat Dolls, but the softly spoken Rahman doesn't find it hard to remain grounded. Rahman runs a music school in Chennai, the KM Music Conservatory that keeps him motivated and reminds him that music has a potency that can transform lives.
"Music can do so many things. I have my foundation, I have my music school. I have people teaching, kids are learning, so I take this as an advantage, the popularity and taking that and putting it into good things, which motivated me to work harder," he said.
As well as working on more Hindi films, Hollywood beckons, if only for a new experience. There have also been rumors he may score the next James Bond film.
"I have a couple of offers from Hollywood. Pure American movies which I thought for the heck of it let's do it and a couple of other surprises that you'll know very soon if it works out. Big surprises I think," he said.
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24ca64496088424ebba5d522301b7484
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At what age did the composer begin work?
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[
"teenager,"
] |
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(CNN) -- The company owns The Venetian Resort Hotel Casino and the Sands Expo and Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada and the Sands Macau in The People's Republic of China's Special Administrative Region of Macau, as well as Venetian Macau Limited, a developer of additional multiple casino hotel resort properties in Macau.
The first phase of the Venetian Casino Resort opened in May 1999, which originally consisted of 3,036 suites though the number of suites was reduced over time to 3,014 based on renovations and remodeling.
Since it's opening, the property has received recognition as revolutionizing the Las Vegas hotel industry, and has been honored with architectural and other awards naming it as one the finest hotels in the world.
In 2003, The Venetian added the 1,013-suite Venezia tower -- giving The Venetian 4,027 suites, 18 world-class restaurants, and a retail mall with canals, gondolas and singing gondoliers.
In May 2004, Las Vegas Sands opened the Sands Macau, located on China's southeastern coast. The Sands Macau includes approximately 163,000 square feet of gaming facilities, luxury suites, specialty restaurants and an International VIP club.
In December 2004, in one of the year's most anticipated initial public offerings, Dr. and Mr. Adelson rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange and with it shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. began trading. The price of the Sands stock rose 61 percent on its opening day, becoming the largest opening day of any American-based initial public offering in the last two years.
The Venetian Casino Resort is one of the most productive properties on the Strip, having an occupancy rate of 98.3% and an average daily room rate of $219 during the nine months ended September 30, 2004. E-mail to a friend
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76f8576b1891467986eb09ea542e8d1e
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Where is the Venetian Casino Resort located?
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[
"Las Vegas, Nevada"
] |
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