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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Obama is expected to approve a proposal to withdraw most combat troops from Iraq within 19 months, Pentagon officials told CNN Wednesday.
U.S. soldiers stand guard outside a mosque during a prisoner release Sunday in Baghdad, Iraq.
The decision will be announced at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina on Friday, according to one senior administration official.
Although the White House has made no announcement yet, "That's the way the wind is blowing," a Pentagon official said.
A White House spokesman said the president has made no final decisions about Iraq policy.
Obama's campaign pledge was to withdraw combat troops within 16 months. But shortly after taking office, he asked Pentagon and military commanders for an analysis of other time frames.
The Pentagon sent Obama options for withdrawals at 16, 19, and 23 months.
It is expected that the final plan will call for the majority of combat forces to be withdrawn, and keep as many as 50,000 in Iraq to serve mainly as military trainers or advisers.
U.S. military officials said even those residual forces could find themselves in combat.
For the last two months, the U.S. Central Command has been assessing how equipment and personnel will be withdrawn from Iraq, according to a U.S. military official. Watch what Obama said Tuesday night about Iraq »
The official did not want to be named because of the sensitivity of discussing withdrawal details before the president's announcement. However, he said the U.S. military is looking at exit routes through Jordan and Kuwait.
The military is trying to determine what equipment might be returned to the United States; transferred to the Iraqi or Jordanian government; sent to Afghanistan; or simply discarded.
|
072b7f15e675492098393cc6f11b2b40
|
when is the decision announced?
|
[
"Friday,"
] |
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|
London, England (CNN) -- The former vice president of Bosnia was arrested Monday in London on a request from Serbia, where he is wanted for conspiracy to murder and breach of the Geneva Convention.
Metropolitan police arrested Ejup Ganic at Heathrow Airport on Monday afternoon, and he appeared at the City of Westminster Magistrates' Court, the United Kingdom Foreign Office said in a news release.
The British authorities were awaiting the full extradition paperwork before a court date for an extradition hearing can be set, the Foreign Office said.
Citing the ongoing case, authorities declined to comment further.
Ganic was the vice president of Bosnia during the bloody civil war there between 1992 and 1995, and he was twice president of the Bosnian-Croat Federation in the years after the Dayton peace agreement in 1995. Ganic was regarded by many independent commentators at the time as a relative moderate in the war-time Bosnian leadership.
An engineer by profession, Ganic studied at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States. He would regularly brief journalists during the three-year civil war from his often-shelled office in the Bosnian presidency building in the heart of Sarajevo.
On Sunday, Bosnia and Serbia signed an agreement on extraditions for war crimes committed during the war that would let Bosnians be tried in Bosnia and Serbs in Serbia.
Ganic was in Britain attending a graduation ceremony at the University of Buckingham, which partners with a university in Sarajevo in which Ganic is reported to have a significant financial interest.
CNN's Nic Robertson contributed to this report.
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3e966076abf74e46ae2e25d77336760b
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What countries signed agreement on extraditions Sunday?
|
[
"Serbia"
] |
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(CNN) -- The toddler whose body washed ashore in Texas last month has been tentatively identified as a 2-year-old girl, and her mother and a man identified as her boyfriend were arrested Saturday, the Galveston County Sheriff's office said Sunday.
Police believe two-year-old Riley Ann Sawyers may be "Baby Grace."
Investigators believe the child they dubbed "Baby Grace" is actually 2-year-old Riley Ann Sawyers, the Galveston County Sheriff's office said Sunday.
DNA analysis is still in progress to confirm that identification.
The child's mother, Kimberly Dawn Trenor, 19, and a man identified as Royce Clyde Zeigler II, 24, were arrested Saturday on charges of injuring a child and tampering with physical evidence, the sheriff's department said.
The couple lives in Spring, Texas, a Houston suburb about 75 miles north of Galveston.
Their bonds were set at $350,000 each.
The arrests followed searches conducted Saturday after a November 7 tip, the sheriff's department said.
Deputies and FBI agents plan to release more information at a news conference Monday, Galveston County Sheriff's Maj. Ray Tuttoilmondo said.
The girl's grandmother, Sheryl Sawyers, of Cleveland, Ohio, told CNN affiliate WKYC that Riley Ann has been missing since June. Watch Sawyers family describe their fears before child was identified »
On October 29, a fisherman discovered the body in a blue Sterilite plastic container on an uninhabited island in Galveston's West Bay.
Police dubbed the dead girl "Baby Grace," and asked the public for help in identifying her.
A medical examiner said the child's skull was fractured, and a forensic dentist estimated her age at 2 to 3 years.
In composite sketches, the girl is wearing a pink skirt and matching top -- clothing authorities said she was wearing when she was found. The other sketch, a close-up rendering of the child's face, shows a fair-skinned toddler with long blond hair.
"She is more to us than just a case number, more to us than just an unidentified body. She is very much a human being," Tutoilmondo said last month. "She is someone's child, someone's grandchild, someone's cousin, someone's best friend, and to us, that is the most important part about this case."
"We have adopted the name of Baby Grace because, there again, that is part of the emotional part of this case for us," he said, holding a tiny sneaker identical to one of those the child was wearing when she was found. E-mail to a friend
CNN's Hank Bishop contributed to this story.
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2cd452eec3f441b19d3e096f162d42d7
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Where was it found?
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[
"Texas"
] |
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(CNN) -- On a videotape released Sunday, American al Qaeda member Adam Yahiye Gadahn renounces his U.S. citizenship, destroys his passport and cites U.S. President Bush's upcoming trip to the Middle East.
"American jihadist" Adam Gadahn, originally from California, in a video released in September 2006.
The 50-minute tape -- titled "An Invitation to Reflection and Repentance" -- was released by As Sahab, al Qaeda's video production wing and was provided to CNN by www.LauraMansfield.com, a Web site that analyzes terrorism.
In it, Gadahn renounces his citizenship to protest the imprisonment of Sheikh Omar Abdul Rahman, a blind Egyptian Muslim leader serving a life sentence for his role in the 1993 attack on the World Trade Center; and John Walker Lindh, the American Taliban who was arrested in Afghanistan in 2001, and others.
Gadahn displays his passport to the camera, rips it in half and says, "Don't get too excited -- I don't need it to travel anyway."
Though Gadahn speaks mostly in English, he references Bush -- who is to travel this week to the Middle East -- only in Arabic.
"We raise an urgent appeal to our mujahedin brothers in the Muslim Palestine, the Arabian Peninsula in particular, and the region in general, to be prepared to receive the crusader butcher Bush on his visit to Muslim Palestine and the occupied peninsula at the beginning of January," he said. "They should receive him not with roses and applause, but with bombs and booby-traps."
The video also refers to the Annapolis Conference, indicating it was produced after last November 27, when the conference was held.
National Security Council Spokesman Gordon Johndroe said the U.S. president would not be deterred.
"His comments are indicative of an al Qaeda ideology that offers nothing but death and violence," Johndroe told CNN in a written statement.
"President Bush will travel to the region to stand with the mainstream governments who want liberty and justice for their people."
The self-proclaimed American jihadist, also known as Azzam the American, is on the FBI's Most Wanted List, with a reward of up to $1 million for information leading to his capture.
Gadahn was indicted in 2006 on charges of treason and offering material support for terrorism, the first American charged with treason since World War II.
Gadahn, who grew up in rural California, embraced Islam in the mid-1990s and moved to Pakistan. Since October 2004 he has appeared in at least eight al Qaeda videos in which he speaks in English and praises the terrorist network. E-mail to a friend
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fff85f7d73ef4d80b48bdb557dbb159b
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Who is on the FBI's Most Wanted List?
|
[
"self-proclaimed American jihadist,"
] |
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(CNN) -- Two international journalists, along with their Somali colleague and a driver, were kidnapped Saturday, a journalists' organization in Somalia said.
A young fighter mans a gun on the beach of Kismayo. The photographer asked not be identified.
Amanda Lindhout, a Canadian journalist, and Nigel Brenan, an Australian photojournalist, had been in the country just three days when militia men snatched them outside the capital city of Mogadishu, the National Union of Somali Journalists said Sunday.
The kidnappers also took Abdifatah Mohammed Elmi, a Somalian photojournalist who was acting as the pair's translator, and their driver, the journalists' union said.
The four were on their way back after conducting interviews at a refugee camp.
Officials do not know if the journalists are being held for ransom and who is behind the abductions.
"No formal claim of responsibility was made," the journalists' group said. "As well, there have been no demands."
Somalia has been mired in chaos since 1991, when warlords overthrew dictator Mohamed Siad Barre and sparked brutal clan infighting. Somalia's current transitional government is trying to maintain control of the capital, with the help of Ethiopian forces.
On Friday, fighters from the Islamic group Al Shabab took control of the southern port town of Kismayo after three days of clashes. The fighting left at least 89 people dead, 207 wounded and displaced some 5,500 people, triggering a humanitarian crisis.
Ethiopia invaded Somalia in December 2006 to install the transitional government in Mogadishu after a decade and a half of near-anarchy. The invasion had the blessing of the United States, which accused Islamists of harboring fugitives from the al Qaeda terrorist movement.
But the Ethiopian troops quickly became embroiled in an insurgency led by the Islamists. And as guerrilla attacks mounted, efforts to replace the Ethiopians with an African Union-led peacekeeping mission faltered.
The conflict displaced hundreds of thousands of Somalis, further worsening a humanitarian crisis that dates back to the collapse of the country's last government in 1991.
The situation has been exacerbated by drought, continual armed conflicts in central and southern Somalia, and high inflation on food and fuel prices.
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672c5fdbfe644864855fc2bc69231545
|
What ethnicity is Nigel Brenan?
|
[
"Australian"
] |
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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- China has canceled or postponed several military exchanges with the U.S. in reaction to last week's announcement that the U.S. is selling weapons to Taiwan, a Defense Department spokesman said Monday.
Apache attack helicopters are part of the $6.4 billion weapons deal between the U.S. and Taiwan.
Officials announced last week an intention to sell $6.4 billion in arms to Taiwan, though the deal still needs to be approved by Congress.
Maj. Stewart Upton said the sale does not violate the Taiwan Relations Act, which allows the United States to provide Taiwan with items for self-defense
Taiwan split from the Chinese mainland in 1949 and the United States has vowed to support them if China initiates an unprovoked attack.
The arms deal comes at a time when the United States needs China in negotiations over Iran's and North Korea's nuclear programs.
"The Chinese reaction is unfortunate and results in missed opportunities," Upton said. "We feel that the global security environment calls for U.S. and [Chinese] officials to maintain close relations to address common security challenges."
The "bilateral events" China called off or postponed involve "senior level visits and humanitarian assistance/disaster relief exchanges" scheduled to happen by the end of November, he said.
The Chinese ambassador was said to be on his way to the State Department Monday afternoon to protest the proposed weapons sale to Taiwan.
One U.S. official said the tension with China will not affect the role China is playing in negotiations with Iran or North Korea over its nuclear program.
The official declined to speak for attribution because of the sensitive diplomacy involved.
The arms deal package includes a variety of U.S.-made weapons systems, including Patriot III anti-missile system, Apache attack helicopters, Harpoon missiles and Javelin anti-tank missiles.
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95d6987b9d4a427288f77b52c53c99aa
|
What is China protesting?
|
[
"the proposed weapons sale to Taiwan."
] |
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(CNN) -- David Lance Arneson, who helped trigger the global phenomenon of role-playing games as co-inventor of "Dungeons & Dragons," has died at the age of 61.
A statement on the game's official Web site, wizards.com, said Arneson died Tuesday evening "after waging one final battle against cancer."
Arneson "developed many of the fundamental ideas of role playing: that each player controls just one hero, that heroes gain power through adventures, and that personality is as important as combat prowess," the statement said.
The game's co-creator, Gary Gygax, died last year.
In 1974, Arneson and Gygax created "Dungeons & Dragons," which allowed players to assume roles in a magical world. They could be fighters or wizards, elves or dwarfs.
"As characters journey through various lands, they search for hidden treasures while battling menacing monsters with their own brains and brawn," a description on wizards.com says.
Some games would last days or weeks -- or even longer. "Game campaigns are as limitless as the player's imaginations," wizards.com says.
What began as a hand-assembled print run of 1,000 games quickly sold out. Young people all over the world started buying up the game. By 1982, sales broke the $20 million mark.
Arneson filed a series of lawsuits against Gygax insisting he was not being given credit or proper royalties for his work creating the game. The suits were settled.
"Dungeons and Dragons" spawned video games, novels, a cartoon, and a movie. The franchise saw a surge this decade after "The Lord of the Rings" and "Harry Potter" movies took off.
|
d26a5b46699d4a8db1bc3fc0aa020673
|
What games he helped to trigger?
|
[
"\"Dungeons & Dragons,\""
] |
NewsQA
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Newark, New Jersey (CNN) -- A security breach at Newark Liberty International Airport Sunday evening forced the closure of a terminal for hours while authorities rescreened thousands of passengers.
The incident happened at about 5:20 p.m. at Terminal C, when a man walked through an exit on the public side to the secure "sterile" side for passengers who had cleared screening, according to the Transportation Security Administration.
"Rescreening began after the Port Authority Police and TSA swept each of the concourses in the terminal with negative findings," said Ann Davis, a TSA spokeswoman.
"The man in question was never located; however, TSA's rescreening effort will ensure that every passenger boarding an aircraft tonight out of Newark's Terminal C has been fully screened."
Watch more about the situation in Newark
All passengers had been rescreened by early Monday, according to the TSA. Flights from Terminal C were grounded until the process was completed.
iReport: Passenger photographs massive crowd
Authorities reviewed video from airport cameras but were not sure whether the man was once on the sterile side and went back or if he never went through screening, Davis said.
The incident caused arrival delays and mainly affected Continental Airlines, which is the airport's largest tenant.
CNN's Alina Cho, who arrived at the airport Sunday night on a flight from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, described a hectic scene, saying many passengers who had already boarded outgoing flights had to get off planes to be rescreened.
Flying Continental? Important company notice
"I just saw one woman pleading with a gate agent, saying that she had two small children and a heart condition -- that she simply could not take this," Cho said. "But of course, there will be no exceptions."
Newark Liberty International Airport, which is about 15 miles from Manhattan, is the second-largest hub for Continental.
The airport handles about 35 million passengers a year.
CNN's Susan Candiotti and Ross Levitt contributed to this report.
|
1d1694fbccee4935a251a412d46d6ba8
|
What did the man do?
|
[
"walked through an exit on the public side to the secure \"sterile\" side for passengers who had cleared screening,"
] |
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(CNN) -- More than 150 students at the University of California at Berkeley took over a campus building Thursday to protest a proposed 81% increase in tuition fees, university officials said.
UC-Berkeley spokeswoman Callie Maidhof described the scene as "an open occupation with people coming and going" at Tolman Hall on the campus that has been known for decades as a hotbed of student activism and protests.
The tuition increase proposed by the board of regents would be phased in over a four-year period.
Maidhof added that when the protest began Thursday afternoon, campus police initially resisted the demonstrators and used pepper spray at one point. The university maintained a hands-off approach after that, but according to Maidhof the situation could change at the building's scheduled closing time of 9 p.m. (midnight ET).
As evening fell, there were between 60 and 70 students occupying one of the classrooms and another group was participating in a teach-in outside on the lawn.
Helicopter aerials of the scene from CNN affiliate KTVU showed a few protest banners hung from windows of the classroom building.
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4f1de61b91b147f4a87a78b2b4c8fc7e
|
What percentage hike has been proposed?
|
[
"81%"
] |
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BREMEN, Germany -- Carlos Alberto, who scored in FC Porto's Champions League final victory against Monaco in 2004, has joined Bundesliga club Werder Bremen for a club record fee of 7.8 million euros ($10.7 million).
Carlos Alberto enjoyed success at FC Porto under Jose Mourinho.
"I'm here to win titles with Werder," the 22-year-old said after his first training session with his new club. "I like Bremen and would only have wanted to come here."
Carlos Alberto started his career with Fluminense, and helped them to lift the Campeonato Carioca in 2002.
In January 2004 he moved on to FC Porto, who were coached by José Mourinho, and the club won the Portuguese title as well as the Champions League.
Early in 2005, he moved to Corinthians, where he impressed as they won the Brasileirão,but in 2006 Corinthians had a poor season and Carlos Alberto found himself at odds with manager, Emerson Leão.
Their poor relationship came to a climax at a Copa Sul-Americana game against Club Atlético Lanús, and Carlos Alberto declared that he would not play for Corinthians again while Leão remained as manager.
Since January this year he has been on loan with his first club Fluminense.
Bundesliga champions VfB Stuttgart said on Sunday that they would sign a loan agreement with Real Zaragoza on Monday for Ewerthon, the third top Brazilian player to join the German league in three days.
A VfB spokesman said Ewerthon, who played in the Bundesliga for Borussia Dortmund from 2001 to 2005, was expected to join the club for their pre-season training in Austria on Monday.
On Friday, Ailton returned to Germany where he was the league's top scorer in 2004, signing a one-year deal with Duisburg on a transfer from Red Star Belgrade. E-mail to a friend
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883cef76414f49c985de66e0557413ba
|
What is the name of the club?
|
[
"Werder Bremen"
] |
NewsQA
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(CNN) -- The winner of the 82nd annual Scripps National Spelling Bee said Friday she is "pretty excited" but a little tired.
Kavya Shivashankar of Olathe, Kansas, reacts to winning the Scripps National Spelling Bee on Thursday night.
"This has been my dream for so long; I've always wanted to win the bee," Kavya Shivashankar, 13, of Olathe, Kansas, told CNN. "I was just really excited when I was able to go up and spell the last word."
The eighth-grader won $40,000 in cash and prizes for nailing the final word, "Laodicean," which means lukewarm or indifferent, particularly in matters of politics or religion.
This year's bee -- an event that has skyrocketed in popularity thanks to exposure on television and in movies -- started Tuesday in Washington with a record 293 spellers. Kavya endured 15 rounds.
In an event that has seen contestants crack under the strain of the national spotlight, Kavya -- competing in her fourth national finals -- appeared composed throughout. Watch the poised winner describe the thrill »
As she spelled words such as "phoresy," "hydrargyrum" and "huisache," she calmly went through the routine of asking each word's pronunciation, origin and roots before ticking their spellings off for the judges.
"I focus so much on my word; I don't really pay attention to all the cameras and photographers and all the media in front of me," she said Friday.
Kavya's father, who is her spelling coach, would tap his foot in time as she spelled the words, and at one point he appeared so confident that he waved to someone while his daughter was in the middle of spelling a word.
Second-place finisher Tim Ruiter of Reston, Virginia, bowed out after misspelling "Maecenas," meaning a generous patron of the arts.
Kavya said she would miss competing in the spelling bee, as the rules do not permit her to enter next year.
"It was such a big part of my life, and I love doing it," she said. However, she may someday have a new role in the competition. "If my [little] sister gets to D.C. sometime soon, I'd really love to help and coach her," she said.
Kavya attends California Trail Junior High School in the Kansas City suburb. Her hobbies include swimming, cycling and traditional Indian dance, according to the contest's Web site. She plans on becoming a neurosurgeon.
The first National Spelling Bee took place in 1925, with five contestants.
CNN's Devon Sayers contributed to this report.
|
ac61ad390bf14fe3b474aeb1d2de85fd
|
Who wins in fourth trip to national finals?
|
[
"Kavya Shivashankar of Olathe, Kansas,"
] |
NewsQA
|
Beijing, China (CNN) -- Chinese officials blamed poor management and inadequate precautions for an explosion at a mine that killed 104 people, state-run media said Monday.
In addition to those killed, 60 miners remained hospitalized from Saturday's morning blast at the Xinxing coal mine in northeastern Heilongjiang province.
Most were being treated for injuries such as carbon monoxide poisoning and burns, CCTV reported. Six were in critical condition with severe burns.
Four other workers were still trapped underground in the mine shaft, the Xinhua news agency said.
The accident started with a gas leak in one of the shafts, officials said. But because of poor ventilation, gas poured into the main tunnel and triggered an explosion that shook 28 of the 30 mining platforms in operation.
About 530 miners were working in the mine at the time.
Luo Lin, head of the State Administration of Work Safety, told Xinhua that the mine's management was to blame for not evacuating workers when they detected a high gas density in the pit.
State regulations stipulate that miners have to evacuate if gas density exceeds 2 percent. The density in the pit was more than 10 percent, authorities said.
"The mine has too many mining platforms in operation and has sent to many workers down the pit to increase output," said Zhao Tiechui, deputy head of the work safety agency.
The mine is owned and operated by the Heilongjiang Longmei Mining Holding Group. Unlike most small- and mid-size collieries, Xinxing produces 12 million tons of coal a year.
The blast took place during a five-day inspection of work safety conditions in Hegang, local media said.
Immediately after the blast, the mine's director, deputy director and chief engineer were fired.
Mine accidents are common in China. Last year, 3,200 people were killed in such accidents, state media said.
The latest blast is the deadliest since December 2007, when 105 miners were killed in Shanxi province.
The deadliest mine blast took place in August 2007 when two collieries flooded in Shandong province, killing 181 miners, Xinhua said.
Chinese officials said they will pay at least 250,000 yuan ($36,600) to each of the families of the miners who died.
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b828fa8d3d8f4504902fee4018eddd92
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How many people were killed in mine accidents last year?
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[
"3,200"
] |
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(CNN) -- One Australian soldier, three civilians and Taliban militants were killed early Friday during heavy fighting in southern Afghanistan, according to information from Australian and NATO officials.
Four Australian troops have now died in the conflict in Afghanistan.
The incident occurred in Tarin Kowt in Uruzgan province, where Taliban militants killed an Australian commando, the Australian Defence Ministry said.
The 26-year-old commando -- Pvt. Luke Worsley of Sydney -- served with the Special Operations Task Group. This is the fourth Australian troop to die in the Afghan conflict.
"The action in which Private Worsley died only concluded in the last few hours and was characterized by heavy, close quarter fighting. The SOTG was conducting an operation to clear an identified Taliban bomb making facility in Uruzgan province, when the soldier was hit by small arms fire," Chief of the Defence Force Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston said.
NATO's International Security Assistance Force said "a significant number of Taliban insurgents were killed or captured as part of the operation. Taliban insurgents initiated the firefight which lasted several hours."
Gen. Carlos Branco, ISAF spokesman, said it is not known how the civilians, two women and a child, died.
"However, we do know that the insurgents fired upon ISAF soldiers from the compound in which the Afghan civilians (two women and one child) were found after the fight. ISAF makes all effort to prevent losses of innocent civilian lives." E-mail to a friend
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589b15a3698f4643a2b45071fe9a44eb
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Who did the Taliban kill?
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[
"One Australian soldier, three civilians"
] |
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LONDON, England (CNN) -- The Church of England is offering unmarried parents who want to tie the knot the option of having baptisms for their children at the same time.
Statistics show an increasing number of couples live together before their wedding day, the church says.
The offer is a response to demand after church-sponsored research showed that 20 percent of couples getting married in a church already had children, whether together or from a previous relationship, the church said.
It is also a way to make the church more welcoming for unmarried parents and their families, a church spokesman said.
The church is issuing new guidelines to priests that encourage them to offer parents the option of having a baptism or thanksgiving service for their child's birth at the same time as their wedding. The guidelines also advise priests on how to perform the dual ceremonies, the spokesman said.
"Patterns of relationship and marriage within society are presenting new opportunities for the church," said Bishop of Wakefield, Stephen Platten, who chairs the Church of England's Liturgical Commission.
"We are therefore offering guidance on how thanksgiving for the gift of a child, or indeed baptism, might be incorporated within a marriage service so that the church can respond pastorally to our changing world if a priest feels it would be advisable to offer this option." What do you think of the offer? Have your say
It has always been possible to hold both ceremonies at the same time, but priests didn't always know how to go about it, spokesman Howard Dobson said. The guidelines make it easier for priests to know how to offer and perform the dual ceremonies, he said.
Research from Britain's Office of National Statistics shows that for many couples, having children is now the first major milestone of adult life, ahead of marriage -- in contrast to their parents' generation, the church said.
Statistics also show an increasing number of couples now live together before their wedding day, the church said.
The Church of England said it hopes the ideas "will help churches show their welcome for couples with children, and give the whole family a special occasion and a new beginning."
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d25f931dfbdf41ce9985e1a11e6320ce
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What percent of couples getting married already had children?
|
[
"20"
] |
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(CNN) -- Forbes' list of the world's wealthy has named Warren Buffett the richest person on the planet, surpassing his friend and philanthropic partner Bill Gates who had held the title for 13 consecutive years.
American investor Warren Buffett has been named world's richest person.
The American investor and philanthropist is worth an estimated $62 billion, up $10 billion from a year ago thanks to surging prices of Berkshire Hathaway stock, according to Forbes magazine's annual ranking of the world's billionaires.
Gates, the co-founder of Microsoft, is now ranked as the world's third richest person. At $58 billion, his net worth is up $2 billion from a year ago. Mexican telecom tycoon Carlos Slim Helu was named the world's second richest man, with a net worth of around $60 billion, up $11 billion since last March.
For the first time, Forbes' rich list named more than 1,000 billionaires from around the world, with 226 newcomers. The total net worth of the group is $4.4 trillion, up $900 billion from 2007. Watch who's up and who's down »
This year's survey finds an increasing number of the world's richest coming from emerging markets, including China, India and Russia.
Two years ago, 10 of the top 20 billionaires were from the United States. This year, there are only four. India is now home to four of the 10 richest people in the world, the highest number for a single country.
But the United States still holds the top spot as the country with the most billionaires -- Americans account for 42 percent of the world's billionaires and 37 percent of the total wealth, according to Forbes.
With 87 billionaires, Russia is now in second place, overtaking Germany, with 59 billionaires, which had held that position for six years.
It is also a record-breaking year for young billionaires, with Forbes listing 50 billionaires under the age of 40. Check out the youngest billionaires »
Over half of them are self-starters, including Google co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page, and India's Sameer Gehlaut, who started online brokerage Indiabulls. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, age 23, was called "quite possibly the world's youngest self-made billionaire ever." E-mail to a friend
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1dbb3bf6a356495f99342945468c3459
|
Who is crowned world's richest person?
|
[
"Warren Buffett"
] |
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(CNN) -- A mine exploded Monday on a road in southern Somalia, killing four people -- three members of the medical humanitarian group Medecins Sans Frontieres and a journalist.
Ongoing violence in Somalia has devastated the capital Mogadishu.
The incident occurred Monday along a road in Kismayo, the group said.
Victor Okumu, 51, a Kenyan doctor; Damien Lehalle, 27, a French logistician; and a Somali driver named Billan were the MSF workers who were killed.
Another member of the team was slightly wounded, the group said in a posting on its Web site.
"The exact circumstances of this fatal incident are not yet clear," the posting said.
Also killed was journalist Hassan Kafi Hared, 36. The remote-controlled mine erupted as he was walking to a news conference in Siyad Village in northern Kismayu, said the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ).
He was working for the government-run Somali National News Agency and a Somali Web site called gedonet.com. He is survived by a wife and three children.
"This is a targeted attack and we declare that this brutal killing on the journalist and the aid workers is an attack on the society itself," said NUSOJ Secretary General Omar Faruk Osman, in a news release.
"We demand that transitional government and the authorities in Kismayu to identify the culprits of this crime and bring them to justice" he said.
The medical humanitarian organization said it was evacuating remaining international members of it staff from Kismayu.
Hared is the second journalist to be killed this year, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. The first, 38-year-old Norwegian reporter Carsten Thomassen, died Jan. 15 in a suicide bomb attack in Kabul.
In a written statement, a representative of U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon said he condemned the killings and "demands a thorough investigation by the authorities." E-mail to a friend
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d5974975dfe741c6b90abb8fa939c4b3
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where did the mine explode
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[
"on a road in southern Somalia,"
] |
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HAVANA, Cuba (CNN) -- A new video and a photo of ailing Communist leader Fidel Castro surfaced on Sunday, revealing a healthier-looking man than in previous photos.
A man in Havana, Cuba, reads a newspaper on Sunday featuring a picture of a healthy-looking Fidel Castro.
State-run Cubavision aired video of Castro during its Sunday news broadcast, saying the footage was taken Saturday when the former president met with Venezuelan law students.
It was the first video of Castro broadcast in at least a year.
The photo -- the second in 10 days -- published in Cuba's state-run youth newspaper, Juventud Rebelde, shows Castro, 83, meeting with Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa on Friday. The photo shows a well-groomed Castro wearing a white short-sleeve shirt and standing face-to-face with Correa.
The meeting involved discussions of economic matters and medical checkups, according to the state-run newspaper.
Another photo of the former Cuban president was released on August 13 by Pastors For Peace, a U.S.-based advocacy group that recently traveled to the island nation and is pushing for an end to the near half-century-old U.S. trade embargo.
Castro, who came to power in 1959, underwent abdominal surgery in 2006.
The Cuban leader ceded the presidency to his younger brother, Raul, last year, but has retained leadership of the Communist Party, the only legal political party in Cuba.
CNN's David Ariosto contributed to this report.
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3a5bcfe693884e10a22b18dcc27da7fa
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The video of who?
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"of ailing Communist leader Fidel Castro"
] |
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(CNN) -- Fire, the wheel and even cup noodles were among the varied answers to the question posed by CNN: "What is man's greatest achievement?"
Man set foot on the moon on July 20, 1969. Was that man's greatest achievement? Have your say.
CNN producers armed with cameras put the puzzler to passersby in Berlin, Madrid, Rome, Bangkok, Tokyo, New Delhi and Paris.
In the lead-up to the 40th anniversary of NASA's Apollo 11 mission, more people might have been expected to nominate the moon landing as one of man's greatest feats. Alas not.
One woman in Germany suggested the computer. "It has opened up my world. I can stay in my house and travel all over the world," she said.
Another suggested the airplane. "It's the easiest way to get from one country to the other. Imagine if you would be able to only take the ship. It would take you ages to go somewhere, so it makes humanity more flexible." See what they said »
Fire also got a look-in. "Everything started there right?" said one man in Spain. There was agreement in Italy: "I think the most important is that man discovered fire because it's bringing a lot of life."
The written word was also nominated in Italy, as were architecture and sanitation.
"The biggest achievement of mankind? Music, right?" suggested one woman in Spain.
In New Delhi, video games got one man's vote. "It allows you to be whomever you want, in whichever world you want, and lets you live an alternate fantasy life," he said.
One hopeful businessman in Italy told us, perhaps prematurely: "Peace, I'd say peace. That would be the greatest achievement for all."
What do you think is man's greatest achievement? Where does the moon landing fit in?
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b8c3dec34c9d471587d4e3289882178c
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What answers did people give?
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[
"the wheel and even cup noodles were among the varied"
] |
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(CNN) -- Jose Mourinho has admitted he was left angered by the decision to sell Zlatan Ibrahimovic to Barcelona, although the Inter Milan coach reveals he is delighted to welcome Samuel Eto'o to the San Siro.
Jose Mourinho believes Inter Milan have done good business in selling Zlatan Ibrahimovic to Barcelona.
Inter are on the verge of completing a deal which will see them receive 45 million euros ($64m) plus Eto'o for Ibrahimovic after both players agreed terms with their prospective clubs.
Mourinho knows it will be a blow to lose last year's leading goalscorer in Serie A but, speaking about the deal for the first time, admitted it is a fantastic bit of business.
"I was a bit angry because no coach is happy to lose Ibrahimovic," the Portuguese told Sky Italia.
"But no one is not happy to have Eto'o -- we have lost a top player but we have taken another one. If I talk as a coach and a man on the pitch, I say that I don't want to lose this player. If I talk as a manager, I say that Inter have done great business," added Mourinho.
Mourinho feels Ibrahimovic will adapt to life at the Nou Camp in no time but insists he would not make a similar move.
"He had this dream and wanted to go," added the Nerazzurri coach. "He told me he would miss me and I told him exactly the same thing. He's going to a club in which I worked for four years, Barcelona are an extraordinary club and he will be happy.
"I didn't give him any advice but I spoke to him a few days before the final decision. I told him that if he wins the Champions League with Barcelona he won't be doing anything extraordinary, seeing as they have won it twice in three years. I like doing something extraordinary, not what's normal."
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f2c7e33281cc423e985d58042e41e4e2
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How much money will Inter Milan receive?
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"45 million euros ($64m)"
] |
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(CNN) -- Muggles will have another opportunity to slip into Harry Potter's magical world at a new Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park at Universal Studios Hollywood.
Universal Parks CEO Tom Williams promises the planned Southern California attraction will be "every bit as spectacular" as the first Harry Potter park, which opened in 2010 at Universal Orlando in Florida. That successful Harry Potter theme park will be significantly expanded, Williams also announced Tuesday.
Hogwarts Castle, which houses the School of Witchcraft and Wizardry featured in the "Harry Potter" series, will be the Hollywood park's centerpiece, as it is in Orlando. Details on the timing of the new park and expansion have not been released.
The new California park is likely to bring millions of tourist dollars.
"It's a huge win for the Los Angeles tourism industry," said Mark Liberman, CEO of the Los Angeles Convention and Visitors Bureau, in a statement.
The Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. estimates the Harry Potter park will produce $147 million in spending in the county for every one million additional visitors to Universal Studios Hollywood.
The Orlando Harry Potter attraction's opening brought an immediate boost to Universal Orlando. Wizarding World's opening halfway through 2010 boosted overall paid admissions to Universal's Orlando parks by 20% in 2010 over 2009, according to financial documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
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17fe65c58c6c47629f5eeb3d41b22c33
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Where did Harry Potter attraction?
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"Universal Studios Hollywood."
] |
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(CNN) -- Seven people, including a toddler, died when fire roared through a three-story home in southwest Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on Friday night, fire officials said.
Firefighters work to put out a fire at a town home Friday night in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Six of the victims -- three adults, a teen and two children -- were found in the townhome's basement, huddled together, Philadelphia Fire Commissioner Lloyd Ayers said.
A 2-year-old boy who was pulled from the burning house by firefighters was later pronounced dead at Children's Hospital, Ayers said.
Eleven people, all of Liberian nationality, lived in the basement of the home, he said. Two were rescued by firefighters and two escaped on their own, Ayers said. Watch firefighters at work on the blaze »
There were no stairs from the basement to the upper level and there was only one door leading out, he said.
Early clues suggest a kerosene heater may have started the blaze, but the fire marshal has not officially determined a cause, Ayers said.
"We found serious issues in the house," he said.
The home did not appear to be equipped with smoke detectors, the fire commissioner said.
"We have not found any smoke alarms at all, which we are very saddened by," Ayers said.
Wade Lee, who lived in the same building, said the landlord had helped tenants work out fire evacuation plans.
Lee said the victims often brought his family fresh vegetables from their garden, and the children were a joy.
"Our wishes are with them right now, more so than for ourselves," he said. "Just hearing the children laughing, and not being able to hear that no more is grievous to us all."
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cff974e6cd554da9a486ae9525e99db3
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How old was the child pulled from the fire?
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"2-year-old boy"
] |
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LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Elizabeth Taylor went to the Hollywood Bowl to hear Andrea Bocelli in concert, the first night out in months for the big-screen legend.
Elizabeth Taylor went to see Andrea Bocelli at the Hollywood Bowl, a rare outing for the film legend.
Taylor, bound to a wheelchair by scoliosis, said her mind and soul "were transported by his beauty, his voice, his inner being."
The 77-year-old actress posted online messages through the Twitter social network after the Italian tenor's concert Monday night.
"I went to see Andrea Bocelli last night. The first time I've been out in months. The Hollywood Bowl allowed me to use my wheelchair," Taylor's first tweet said.
"My mind, my soul were transported by his beauty, his voice, his inner being. God has kissed this man and I thank God for it," she wrote in a second message.
Taylor opened her Twitter account this year as "DameElizabeth" at the suggestion of her close friend, model-actress-author-businesswoman Kathy Ireland, her publicist Dick Guttman said.
Taylor is "very adventurous" and "exceedingly active" despite health problems that sent her to a hospital for a week last month, Guttman said.
She is working on a new perfume to follow up on her popular White Diamonds, he said.
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7177643bada74b1d90c0b40a757db156
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Whose concert did Elizabeth Taylor attend?
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[
"Andrea Bocelli"
] |
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Islamabad, Pakistan (CNN) -- A blast at a busy market in northwest Pakistan killed at least 35 people and wounded more than 60 Tuesday, an official said.
The explosion occurred in the Jamrud Market in the Khyber Agency, one of seven districts in Pakistan's volatile tribal region, which borders Afghanistan.
The bomb was placed in a vehicle belonging to a local militia group fighting against militants in the area, said Jameel Khan, a government official.
The bomb was then remotely detonated, he said, citing the initial investigation.
The U.S. Embassy in Islamabad condemned the bombing. "By targeting innocent people going about their business, the extremists who plan and perpetrate these attacks show their contempt for the value of human life," an embassy statement said.
Journalist Saboor Khattak contributed to this report
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e97265d47e9f4a99ad059a8907d636d0
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what did the official say
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[
"A blast at a busy market in northwest Pakistan killed at least 35 people"
] |
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(CNN) -- The Colorado couple who said their 6-year-old son was aboard an escaped balloon pleaded guilty Friday to charges related to the well-publicized "balloon boy" case.
Richard Heene pleaded guilty in Larimer County Court to a felony charge of attempting to influence a public servant. His wife, Mayumi Heene, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of false reporting to authorities.
The Heenes' attorneys said prosecutors had agreed to a sentence of probation with the possibility of up to 90 days in jail for Richard Heene and up to 60 days in jail for his wife.
The incident occurred in October, when a large silver balloon came loose from its moorings in the Heenes' yard and drifted over eastern Colorado. Mayumi Heene called 911 and said the couple's 6-year-old son, Falcon, was inside the craft.
Millions of people across the country watched the saga on television for nearly two hours as military aircraft tracked the balloon in the air and rescuers chased it below.
Mayumi Heene later admitted the whole thing was a hoax and that Falcon was safe in their home the whole time, authorities said.
Watch the moment the hoax was revealed
The couple's attorneys have said that the threat of Mayumi Heene's deportation was a factor in the plea deal negotiations.
Mayumi Heene is a Japanese citizen but is in the United States legally.
"Even though Mr. Heene would have a triable case, I believe, to avoid the risk that his wife is deported ... we have decided that the best course of action is to proceed as we are proceeding," Richard Heene's lawyer, David Lane, said Friday.
The judge is allowing the Heenes to leave the state while they remain on bond. Lane said Richard Heene is going to seek employment in New York and also has plans to go to California. Mayumi Heene's attorney said she may accompany him on those trips.
Sentencing will be next month.
Court documents released last month said the couple hatched the plan about two weeks before the incident and "instructed their three children to lie to authorities as well as the media regarding this hoax."
Their motive? To "make the Heene family more marketable for future media interests," the documents said.
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01c8aa2d67a6458d9929284d48235547
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Who has pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge?
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[
"Mayumi Heene,"
] |
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(PEOPLE.com) -- Tim Robbins is taking action.
The actor, who famously supports liberal causes, joined with protesters Wednesday at the Occupy Wall Street rally in Lower Manhattan.
Robbins, 52, participated in the demonstration outside the Federal Courthouse in Foley Square.
"This is what an actual grassroots movement looks like," he tells the Financial Times. "It's a bit sloppy and disorganized but full of passion."
Demonstrators, who have been camped out in a park near Wall Street since mid-September, are protesting economic inequalities, corporate greed and the influence of corporate money on politics and government.
And Robbins, 52, isn't the only star who's been spotted at Occupy Wall Street. On Saturday, "Gossip Girl" star Penn Badgley, 24, was spotted snapping photos of the demonstrators in action.
See the full article at PEOPLE.com.
© 2011 People and Time Inc. All rights reserved.
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88edd159604b4bafb777f5df644517e9
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Who was spotted snapping photos of the demonstrators?
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"Penn Badgley,"
] |
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(CNN) -- The Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved the first of a new class of HIV drugs that attacks the virus in a different way.
A woman wears an AIDS ribbon at a Cape Town, South Africa, hospital where HIV patients are treated.
Isentress, developed by Merck & Co., is designed for patients who have shown resistance to current treatments.
The drug has been approved for adults who already have been receiving treatment, but more testing is necessary before it is approved for new HIV patients or children, the company said in a statement.
Isentress belongs to a class of drugs called integrase inhibitors. These drugs work by blocking the integrase enzyme, which helps HIV replicate by inserting its DNA into new cells. Isentress is the first drug in the class to win FDA approval.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, a noted HIV expert and director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health, said the FDA's approval "will be most welcome in the community of physicians taking care of HIV-infected patients."
"Its mechanism of action is particularly important in that it blocks the ability of the virus to integrate itself into the genes of cells," Fauci said. "This property of the virus to integrate is important in establishing the reservoir of virus in the body that has made it extremely difficult to eradicate HIV, even with prolonged treatment."
Two earlier classes of anti-HIV drugs -- protease and reverse transcriptase inhibitors -- also work by blocking different enzymes involved in HIV replication. Friday's decision by the FDA will give doctors a new tool to help patients who have developed resistance to existing drugs or who are infected with drug-resistant strains of HIV.
Like protease and reverse transcriptase inhibitors, Isentress will also be prescribed for patients in combination with other drugs to maximize the number of ways the virus is being attacked.
The cost of the recommended daily regimen of Isentress -- a 400 mg tablet taken twice a day -- will be comparable to protease inhibitors, with a wholesale price of $27, Merck said. E-mail to a friend
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649aab4b9a494712bb2a2b3ee242712c
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How does the drug work?
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"by blocking the integrase enzyme,"
] |
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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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a366b6ef7a134c24b6898c48134b1c71
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What year will this be a repeat of?
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"1994"
] |
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(CNN) -- The Cuban government, long the object of a U.S. economic blockade, is prepared to meet with the Obama administration, Cuba's leader said.
Raúl Castro says Cuba is willing "to discuss everything -- human rights, freedom of the press, political prisoners.''
"We've told the North American government, in private and in public, that we are prepared, wherever they want, to discuss everything -- human rights, freedom of the press, political prisoners -- everything, everything, everything that they want to discuss," Cuban President Raúl Castro said Thursday at a summit of leftist Latin American leaders in Venezuela.
The response came days after President Obama lifted all restrictions on the ability of American citizens to visit relatives in Cuba as well as to send them remittances. Travel restrictions for Americans of non-Cuban descent will remain in place.
This week's move represents a significant shift in a U.S. policy that had remained largely unchanged for nearly half a century. The U.S. government instituted the embargo three years after Fidel Castro came to power in 1959.
In Mexico City for meetings with Mexican President Felipe Calderon, Obama offered a carrot and a stick to Havana.
"What we're looking for is some signal that there are going to be changes in how Cuba operates that assures that political prisoners are released, that people can speak their minds freely, that they can travel, that they can write and attend church and do the things that people throughout the hemisphere can do and take for granted," he said.
"And if there is some sense of movement on those fronts in Cuba, then I think we can see a further thawing of relations and further changes."
Obama's gesture precedes a trip this week to Trinidad and Tobago for a key meeting of hemispheric powers -- the Summit of the Americas. Watch how Obama likely will hear about Cuba at the summit »
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a37a83782aa849d0b42509c4e61606a7
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Who has eased some travel restrictions?
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[
"President Obama"
] |
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Beirut, Lebanon (CNN) -- A U.N. maritime task force was scouring the stormy waters off the coast of northern Lebanon Friday, searching for survivors from a livestock carrier that sank the night before.
"The operation that commenced last evening continued through the night in difficult weather conditions," said a statement from the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).
As of 3:15 p.m. local time Friday, rescuers had found 42 survivors and four bodies, according to a release from UNIFIL. Four of the survivors were sailors who were picked up by other ships.
The Lebanese navy said there were 83 people aboard the cargo ship that was packed with sheep and other livestock.
The Panamanian-flagged carrier, the "Danny F II," sank about 12 miles off the coast of Tripoli.
The Lebanese navy sent a distress signal to UNIFIL indicating the ship had capsized Thursday night, the U.N. task force said.
"UNIFIL Maritime Task Force immediately responded to the location with three ships, the frigate 'Zeffiro' (Italy), mine hunter 'Laboe' (Germany) and supply ship 'Mosel' (Germany), that have since been engaged in the search and rescue operations in collaboration with the Lebanese Navy," Friday's statement said.
Searchers said the survivors, who are of different nationalities, received medical treatment on board UNIFIL ships before being taken ashore.
CNN's Nada Husseini contributed to this report
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74b1850cf69b4b1db334743cfdb7f4d6
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What did the Lebanese navy say it found?
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"42 survivors and four bodies,"
] |
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LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Financing for DreamWorks Studios' partnership with one of India's richest men was finalized Monday, giving Steven Spielberg and partner Stacey Snider money to resume making movies.
From left to right, Steven Spielberg, Anil Ambani, Stacey Snider and Amitahb Jhunjhunwala.
The deal with Anil Ambani, chairman of India's Reliance BIG Entertainment, provides Spielberg's DreamWorks Studios with $875 million, coming from Ambani, the Walt Disney Co. and loans made by a syndicate of banks.
Disney will distribute and market about six DreamWorks Studios films around the world each year, with the exception of India, where Reliance will have those rights.
Spielberg and Snider found themselves in need of financial partners last year when he cut ties with Paramount Pictures and began rebuilding DreamWorks into an independent studio.
Although the deal, which was announced last year, has been characterized in some reports as "Hollywood meets Bollywood," Spielberg and partner Stacey Snider will have creative control over productions.
"This will allow us to move ahead quickly into production with our first group of films," Snider and Spielberg said in a joint statement.
Reliance BIG Entertainment is part of the Reliance group controlled by billionaire Ambani.
"Our partnership with Stacey and Steven is the cornerstone of our Hollywood strategy as we grow our film interests across the globe," Ambani said. "Given our faith in the business plan that they presented to us and despite the current economic climate, we were always confident that this day would come. Now Stacey and Steven can focus on producing more of the great films for which they are renowned."
Ambani, whose company owns hundreds of theater screens across South Asia, has also invested development money this year with other Hollywood production companies, including those owned by actors Nicolas Cage, Tom Hanks, George Clooney and Jim Carrey.
A DreamWorks announcement said that J.P. Morgan brought together the syndicate of banks to provide about $325 million in funding. The banks include Bank of America, City National Bank, Wells Fargo, Comerica, Union Bank of California, SunTrust, California Bank & Trust, and Israel Discount Bank.
One of the first movies to go into production will be "Harvey," an adaptation of the play that won a Pulitzer for playwright Mary Chase. The tale about a man and his invisible bunny friend was first made into a movie, starring Jimmy Stewart, in 1950.
Spielberg's long career as a screenwriter, director and producer has included classic blockbusters "E.T.: The Extraterrestrial," the "Indiana Jones" series and "Saving Private Ryan."
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3c1b0af338e346aa86416920a6eef325
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Who did Steven Spielberg finalize a partnership with?
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[
"Anil Ambani,"
] |
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(PEOPLE.com) -- One thing Jennifer Lopez hasn't missed about not constantly being in the spotlight anymore: constantly watching her weight.
"Part of my business is being in shape and looking good. You can't lie to yourself about it," Lopez, 40, told the January issue of Allure. "But I'm not the monster I used to be in the exercise department."
Her reprieve likely is coming to an end.
The mother of 17-month-old twins Max and Emme released a dance track, "Fresh Out of the Oven," in October and performed at the American Music Awards in December. Her new album, "Love," drops in January.
As well as having to hit the gym again, J-Lo may also have to deal with that other flip side of fame -- the paparazzi.
"It's a business. Once they stop making money off of you they stop coming around," Lopez said.
© 2010 People and Time Inc. All rights reserved.
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ad1ffab89afc4185b933380d7c44af84
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Lopez said that part of her business was what
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"being in shape and looking good."
] |
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LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Actor Henry Gibson, who played roles ranging from loopy poets to vengeful Illinois Nazis and cranky judges during a 40-year film and television career, has died at age 73, his representatives said Wednesday.
Henry Gibson had a role as a neo-Nazi in the cult movie classic "The Blues Brothers."
Gibson was a regular on "Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In," where he was known for popping up to read short, humorous poems during the show's 1968-71 run.
He was a frequent guest star on television shows from the 1970s through the mid-2000s, with a recurring role as a judge on ABC's "Boston Legal" as late as 2008.
His movie roles included turns in two of director Robert Altman's 1970s films, "Nashville" and "The Long Goodbye," and as the neo-Nazi leader pursuing John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd in "The Blues Brothers."
No details of his death were immediately available, said Peter Gross, a spokesman Talentworks LA, which represented Gibson.
CNN's Doug Ganley contributed to this report.
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aa990a44aac74cf4bc2dc8030afdd85d
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Which films is he in?
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[
"\"The Blues Brothers.\""
] |
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BARCELONA, Spain (CNN) -- Google launched the latest salvo in the cellphone wars Tuesday with the unveiling of the newest handset to carry its Android platform.
Google's Android platform goes head to head with Apple's iPhone.
Unveiled at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Vodafone's HTC Magic smartphone will make its European bow in the UK, Spain, France and Germany in the coming months. In Italy it will be available under a non-exclusive contract.
The Google-run handsets are regarded as the chief rivals to Apple's iPhones in the battle for the next generation of mobile devices.
Google's latest foray into the cell phone market is seen by many as the beginnings of the Internet giant's attempts to dominate the industry.
Some have expressed concerns that cell phone manufacturers, network operators and users will have little control over what data Google will be able to utilise from its software.
Among critics is the LiMo Foundation, representing Linux-based operating system LiMo, which has launched its own cell phone platform, according to Congress organizer Groupe Speciale Mobile Association's daily newsletter.
"A lot of operators still harbor some questions over whether they will have the control over services and how much of the data that is going out and coming from a Google device goes to Google and how much to you [the operator]," LiMo's Andrew Shikiar told Mobile Business Briefing.
Users of both the Apple and Google models can download applications developed by third-parties from open-source software, potentially giving them the capability of small handheld computers.
The first Android-capable handset, the G1, was launched last year. It partnered with T-Mobile for its UK launch, its first foray into the European market.
The HTC Magic includes a 3.2-inch QVGA touch screen display, navigational buttons and a trackball.
It also comes with several Google applications including Google Mail, Google Maps and Google Search as well as YouTube, which is owned by Google.
Andy Rubin, Senior Director of Mobile Platforms at Google, said that the launch of the HTC Magic was an important step for Android.
"With it, Vodafone is opening up the mobile web for consumers across Europe and giving more third-party developers a platform on which they can build the next wave of killer applications," Rubin said.
CNN's Adrian Finighan, who is at the congress, said that as an iPhone user he had spent much of his time at this year's event looking for something to rival his device.
"The Magic is, well, magic! I think I've found it. It really is the first device that I could consider swapping my beloved Apple device for."
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942bf6108a9247b98e3f8fe97e93c2ce
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What is set to launch in a few months?
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[
"Vodafone's HTC Magic smartphone"
] |
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Tripoli, Libya (CNN) -- For the first time in more than 40 years, dawn in Libya rose on Friday without the dictator and his shadow.
Libyans awoke to empty Friday streets, typical for the holy day of the Muslim week, and engaged in somber reflection about Moammar Gadhafi's life and death. That solemnity followed a wave of unbridled joy Thursday as people exulted over the news of Gadhafi's death and fired their guns in celebration.
After Friday prayers at the Salahaddin Mosque in Tripoli, worshippers said their imam had given thanks during his sermon for Gadhafi's downfall.
"Today is a special day at the mosque," said Sala Mersal after prayers. "Since 42 years, we cannot say anything. ... Nobody could say anything inside the mosque. Today it is free, and anybody can say anything they want."
A small crowd gathered outside the mosque, with bullet casings littering the streets, and chanted "God is great" and "One, two, three ... Libya is free!"
Amid the smiles and victory signs, Hisham Boaishi conceded that he did not approve of the "un-Islamic way" that Gadhafi was killed.
"We would have liked to take him to court and have his judgment," said Boaishi, 33, an information technology specialist who sported a long beard. "But not this way. We are Muslims; we don't support this way."
Not all residents of Tripoli welcomed Gadhafi's bloody death.
One young man, who asked not to be identified for fear of reprisal from anti-Gadhafi forces, said he was "ashamed" at the way the former dictator died. He said his mother cried in front of the television Thursday night upon seeing images of the bleeding leader.
"He should have been taken to court," the man said.
"I'm not ashamed. I'm proud that we captured him ... no matter how many soldiers he hired," said Mohamed Saya, a member of the media committee for Libya's new governing National Transitional Council.
NTC officials insist shortly after his capture by rebel forces, the ousted leader was killed in a crossfire between pro- and anti-Gadhafi fighters.
With Gadhafi dead, Saya said Libya's de facto government was preparing to hold a "Liberation Day" celebration in the eastern city of Benghazi this weekend. Benghazi was the launching point of Libya's uprising in February.
In the meantime, some Libyans continued to hold their own smaller festivities.
On one Tripoli street, fighters and residents gathered beneath the tri-color banner of Libya's anti-Gadhafi flag next to a camel they planned to slaughter in honor of the dictator's death.
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bc9d289753dc43b1926b88089d39e875
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Who are still celebrating with smaller festivities?
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[
"Libyans"
] |
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(CNN) -- Japan's defense minister has ordered two destroyers to help fight piracy in the waters off Somalia, officials with the defense ministry told CNN.
Pirates are caught on camera off the Somalian coast.
The Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyers will be dispatched Saturday, the defense ministry said.
The order, which the Cabinet approved earlier Friday, marks the first policing action for the MSDF, whose major missions overseas have focused on background support such as transport and refueling, Japan's Kyodo news agency said.
A bill approved on the same day allows the MSDF to be deployed in piracy-infested waters as needed.
The move comes after Somali pirates released a Panamanian-flagged, Japanese-owned vessel that was hijacked in the Gulf of Aden in November, according to a non-governmental group that monitors piracy. The ship was released last month.
The 18 Filipino and five South Korean crew members were reportedly unharmed. It was unclear whether the pirates were paid a ransom to release the ship.
Japan Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada said the provision would be used on an interim basis, the news agency reported.
Two destroyers with about 400 personnel and eight coast guard officers will be aboard the ships, whose escort mission will start in early April after about three weeks of sailing toward Somalia, according to the news agency.
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671a08f3e1574a5db42d5ac5e83f54d8
|
What month will the mission begin?
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[
"April"
] |
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|
(CNN) -- While most Americans continue to get fatter, Coloradans stand out as being among the fittest in the country, the Trust for America's Health says.
Exercise and good nutrition are part of the Colorado public consciouness, says one former official.
The state ranked 51st in obesity, with 17.6 percent of its 4.3 million residents squeezing into that category. (The rankings included the District of Columbia.)
And fewer than one in five state residents leads an inactive lifestyle, the trust found.
That appeared to pay off in health benefits, with Colorado ranking 50th in diabetes and high blood pressure.
These figures did not surprise Spenser Havlick, former deputy mayor of Boulder, where exercise and good nutrition rank high in the public consciousness and attract like-minded people from other parts of the country, he said.
"They are leaving behind a more sedentary life in the larger cities," he said. "Every weekend, there's a 5K race, a 10K race; there are ultramarathons."
A number of organic health food stores dot the city, and organic produce "is pushed throughout the schools," he said.
Boulder's 100,000 residents have 360 miles of bike paths and 64 underpasses, so cyclists need not stop when they reach an intersection.
"We think that's much safer, and it's much faster and it's more fun," said Havlick, 72, who returned last week from hiking on glaciers in Alaska.
Exercise is also part of the political culture of Boulder, where seven of the nine City Council members are bicyclists, said Havlick, professor emeritus of architecture and planning at the University of Colorado.
"There's a strong inclination for more money to be spent on reducing car dependency."
Weather, too, plays a role, with 330 days of sunshine, he said.
And social pressure may have an impact. "I think there is a stigma attached to people who have a BMI that's high," he said, referring to body mass index, a measure of body fat based on height and weight.
Still, he noted, the percentage of obese Coloradans has gone up slightly in the past two years. "Some of the folks who come to Colorado to work may not have picked up on these healthy lifestyles yet," he said. E-mail to a friend
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fe748cfa82de43ba882a6c143d42c547
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How many coloradans lead inactive lifestyles?
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[
"than one in five state residents"
] |
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LONDON, England (CNN) -- London commuters crammed onto buses, scrambled for taxis, cycled or simply walked on Wednesday as a strike by Tube workers shut down most of the subway network.
Commuters queue for packed buses in London on Wednesday morning.
The strike began Tuesday at 7 p.m. (2 p.m. ET) but the first full effects were felt during Wednesday's morning commute. The strike was set to last for 48 hours with a normal service resuming Friday morning, according to Transport for London (TfL), which runs the city's transportation network.
The RMT trade union called the strike after talks with management over pay, job cuts, and disciplinary issues broke down.
"RMT doesn't resort to industrial action lightly," General Secretary Bob Crow said in a statement. "The fact is that Tube workers have been driven into walking out today."
Transport Commissioner Peter Hardy said the talks had been making progress on all issues and he urged the RMT to return to the table.
"The RMT leadership says we were close to a deal," Hardy said in a statement. "If that is the case, then they should call off the strike, return to talks ... and resolve this issue without any more disruption to Londoners."
TfL was running extra buses and free shuttle services across the River Thames during the strike. Electronic travel cards used for the TfL network were temporarily being allowed on all train lines in greater London, it said.
While most services on the Tube were shut because of the strike, one line -- the Northern line -- was running normally and five others were running on a reduced schedule, TfL said.
"It's been really good," a girl on Oxford Street told CNN about her commute. "The Northern line is running perfectly."
Still, some bus services were packed with commuters who normally ride the underground trains or who failed to find a taxi.
"I think we'd all like to strike for more money, but unfortunately we can't," said one woman at Oxford Circus, where the Tube is closed.
Others hit the pavement and walked.
"It's OK -- quite refreshing," said a man on Regent Street. He said he had just walked from Liverpool Street Station, a train station as well as a Tube stop that is more than 2.5 miles away.
The RMT represents about half of the 20,000 employees on the Tube, a TfL spokeswoman said. Other unions including Unite and TSSA represent the rest, she said, and were not on strike.
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8cf658ee6c3c448d92a65714b16d3906
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What did the union call the strike over?
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[
"pay, job cuts, and disciplinary issues broke down."
] |
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(CNN) -- The World Bank cut China's economic growth forecast in 2009 to 6.5 percent Wednesday, down a full percentage point from November's projection.
Workers assemble toys on a production line at a factory in Shantou, in China's Guangdong province.
Despite the downgrade, "China is a relative bright spot in an otherwise gloomy global economy," said the World Bank's David Dollar.
Last week, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao reiterated projections that the nation's economy will grow by 8 percent in 2009, despite doubts expressed by domestic and international economic analysts. Some have forecast growth as low as 5 percent.
"I will admit it will be a difficult job [to reach 8 percent]. This being said, I also believe with considerable efforts it's possible for us to obtain this goal," Wen said at a news conference following the annual session of the country's rubber-stamp legislature.
China has seen a sharp decline in demand for its exports since November as other major economies have struggled. In February, Chinese exports plunged 25.7 percent compared with the previous year's, Beijing reported last week.
Even with the slowdown, China's economy -- the third largest in the world -- has gone from white-hot to merely robust. In 2007, China's gross domestic product grew at 13 percent.
The two largest economies -- the United States and Japan -- are in recession.
"So a lot of things will go down in 2009 globally," Dollar said. "But we see China's contribution as being very positive in keeping many markets from going down as far as they would otherwise." The World Bank expects China's economy to outgrow most others in 2009.
In November, China announced plans to inject $586 billion (4 trillion yuan) into its economy to offset declines in industrial and export growth. That economic stimulus plan included the loosening of credit restrictions, tax cuts and massive infrastructure spending.
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aeb76861f89b44ecb303f30ec8313e2d
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By how much has the World Bank cut China's growth forecast in 2009?
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[
"6.5 percent"
] |
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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- FBI agents temporarily deployed to Iraq received an average of about $45,000 in excessive overtime because they billed the government for 16 hours a day throughout their 90-day assignments, according to a Justice Department audit.
Justice Department Inspector General Glenn Fine released the audit on Thursday.
The audit, released Thursday by Inspector General Glenn Fine, found the agents routinely submitted the overtime with the blessing of their managers from 2003 through 2007. The report says the excessive overtime totaled $7.8 million.
"The FBI inappropriately permitted employees to regularly claim overtime for activities that are not compensable as work, such as time spent eating meals, exercising more than 3 hours per week, and socializing," the report said. The socializing included going to movies and cocktail parties.
The FBI promptly responded to the report, acknowledging the overtime policy was designed to encourage FBI employees to volunteer for Iraq duty, but should not have been used and has now been corrected.
The 88-page report documenting the overtime issues found the FBI had initially approved the policy of paying for 16-hour days because conditions were harsh, there were few recreational opportunities and employees were always "on call."
But the audit said that violates federal pay guidelines.
The FBI admitted that "a flawed system was allowed to develop and remain in place too long," but it also sought to explain how the practice started.
"Early in the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq FBI managers traveled to those war zones and saw first hand the challenges of a 24/7 threat environment. FBI employees lived with sniper attacks, mortar fire, and roadside bombs as part of their daily work environment. They attempted to adapt a long established domestic pay system for domestic law enforcement to unprecedented wartime assignments for FBI personnel."
FBI agents in Iraq perform a variety of duties, according to the bureau's Web site. Agents interview suspected terrorists captured by the military; gather intelligence; collect evidence from crime scenes like car bombs or mass graves; and investigate crimes committed by Americans against Iraqis, as well as those that Iraqis commit against their fellow citizens.
The inspector general's report said overtime pay was less excessive for FBI personnel in Afghanistan. The report also found that somewhat less excessive overtime was paid to agents from other Justice Department agencies who were sent to Iraq, including deputy marshals, and ATF and DEA agents.
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6863b5612f1a4c51a51312cd1446995b
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Who conducted the audit?
|
[
"Justice Department"
] |
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(CNN) -- A cop killer and child molester who has been on the U.S. Marshals Service's 15 most-wanted fugitive list for nearly four years was captured early Wednesday, authorities said.
Paul Clouston, 73, was taken into custody at a men's group home in Merced, California, said Deputy U.S. Marshal Kevin Connolly.
Agents with the fugitive task force "observed a man resembling Clouston seated in a chair and reading a newspaper," said the Marshals Service in a statement.
"He provided a false name three times before he said, 'I'm Paul Clouston and I'm tired of running,' " Connolly told CNN.
"We always say we go after the worst of the worst, and it doesn't get much worse than this type of predator, " Connolly added. "We're happy he's off the streets."
Connolly said a viewer tip to the TV program "America's Most Wanted" led agents to the killer.
Clouston murdered a police detective in Buena Park, California, in 1972. He was convicted a year later. After serving 10 years in prison for the slaying, Clouston was released in 1982.
In 1991, he was indicted on 17 counts of sexually abusing children in the Williamsburg, Virginia, area, according to the U.S. Marshals Service.
Clouston pleaded guilty to the charges and was sent back to prison. He was paroled in 2005 but was placed on the fugitive list after he failed to register as a convicted sexual offender in Virginia.
"The capture of Paul Clouston is a testament to the effectiveness of our 15 most wanted list and the partnerships we maintain with other law enforcement agencies," said John F. Clark, director of the U.S. Marshals Service in a statement. "It also speaks volumes to the value of someone doing the right thing and reporting a suspicious individual."
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89b915e06bf548009ffd89d1a8d32be2
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What led to his arrest?
|
[
"\"America's Most Wanted\""
] |
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|
MOSCOW, Russia (CNN) -- Russian space officials say the crew of the Soyuz space ship is resting after a rough ride back to Earth.
A South Korean bioengineer was one of three people on board the Soyuz capsule.
The craft carrying South Korea's first astronaut landed in northern Kazakhstan on Saturday, 260 miles (418 kilometers) off its mark, they said.
Mission Control spokesman Valery Lyndin said the condition of the crew -- South Korean bioengineer Yi So-yeon, American astronaut Peggy Whitson and Russian flight engineer Yuri Malenchenko -- was satisfactory, though the three had been subjected to severe G-forces during the re-entry.
Search helicopters took 25 minutes to find the capsule and determine that the crew was unharmed.
Officials said the craft followed a very steep trajectory that subjects the crew to gravitational forces of up to 10 times those on Earth.
Interfax reported that the spacecraft's landing was rough.
This is not the first time a spacecraft veered from its planned trajectory during landing.
In October, the Soyuz capsule landed 70 kilometers from the planned area because of a damaged control cable. The capsule was carrying two Russian cosmonauts and the first Malaysian astronaut. E-mail to a friend
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8aae2ae7ab494647a59fc9c22d29e50e
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Where did the Soyuz capsule land?
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[
"northern Kazakhstan"
] |
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LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- The date of the funeral for pop legend Michael Jackson has been changed to September 3, the singer's spokesman said Friday.
Michael Jackson's burial will be at Glendale Forest Lawn Memorial Park on Thursday, September 3.
Jackson was scheduled to be laid to rest August 29, on what would have been his 51st birthday.
The private ceremony will still take place at Glendale Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California, according to a statement from Ken Sunshine.
No reason was given for the change in date.
The ceremony "will be limited to family and close friends," the statement said.
Jackson died June 25 of cardiac arrest. The famed entertainer was 50.
The release date for the movie drawing on Jackson's rehearsal footage was announced Thursday. "Michael Jackson: This Is It" will run in theaters worldwide for two weeks only beginning October 28, according to Sony Pictures.
Tickets for the film go on sale Sunday, September 27, Sony said in a news release Thursday.
"Audiences will be given a privileged and private look at the singer, dancer, filmmaker, architect, and genius as he creates and perfects his final show," Sony said.
Kenny Ortega, who was working with Jackson to create the "This Is It" concert, is also directing the documentary.
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4467182710b1446da433bd8b1530aa9e
|
What did they change?
|
[
"date of the funeral for pop legend Michael Jackson"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Police have arrested a 33-year-old man accused of killing his brother and five other people, including two children, at a Memphis, Tennessee, home.
Jessie L. Dotson, who was recently released after serving 14 years in prison for murder, was captured Friday night.
He faces six counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Cecil Dotson, his 30-year-old brother; Hollis Seals, 33; Shindri Roberson, 20; Marissa Rene Williams, 26; and two children, said Memphis Director of Police Larry A. Godwin at a news conference Saturday.
Dotson will also be charged with the attempted murder of three other children -- ages 7, 4 and 10 months -- who received stab wounds and blunt force trauma, Godwin said.
Dotson's brother Cecil was the father of all the children, The Associated Press reported. Those who survived the attack were under police custody at a hospital, according to the AP.
The March 2 killings followed an argument between Jessie and Cecil Dotson, Godwin said.
Jessie Dotson shot his brother dead and went on to kill the others to try to cover up the crime, he said.
"[Dotson] thought everyone in the home was dead," Godwin said. "But as we all know, by the grace of God, three children had survived."
Prosecutors said they are considering seeking the death penalty against Dotson. E-mail to a friend
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0df23447c5c04a87b0b82e68b9dadc6e
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How many children survived?
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[
"three other"
] |
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(CNN) -- A former Mexican senator was reported missing on Saturday, Mexico's attorney general's office said.
The case has rocked Mexico, with President Felipe Calderon saying he is closely monitoring the investigation into the disappearance of the former official, Diego Fernandez de Cevallos Ramos.
The attorney general of the state where Fernandez de Cevallos was reported missing said that authorities have no clues as to his whereabouts.
Fernandez de Cevallos was last seen on the ranch of his home in Pedro Escobedo, in central Mexico's state of Queretaro, the country's official Notimex news agency reported.
The attorney general's office said that Fernandez de Cevallos' vehicle was located on his ranch and that "in the place where the car was located, some of his belongings were found and there were traces of violence."
Queretaro attorney Arsenio Duran said the former legislator had arrived alone at his La Cabana ranch, as he usually did, at approximately 11 p.m. Friday (midnight ET Saturday) and that it was presumed that he was kidnapped in the driveway of his property, Notimex reported.
Duran said that around 7 a.m. Saturday (8 a.m. ET) relatives of the former legislator noticed that the door to his truck was open, Notimex reported. Outside the vehicle were discarded glasses, pens and scissors; inside were traces of blood.
The federal attorney general's office has declined to call the case a kidnapping.
Queretaro authorities are investigating the case, the attorney general's office said.
A statement on the Mexican president's website said that Calderon "from the first hours of the morning, has been in constant communication with the attorney general and with the secretaries of Interior and Public Security," about the investigation.
The statement said that Calderon has "communicated with one of the two children of Fernandez de Cevallos, who is facing this difficult situation with integrity, to offer his solidarity and the necessary backing to successfully locate Fernandez de Cevallos."
The missing legislator was a senator from PAN, Mexico's National Action Party, and is a former presidential candidate. The statement on Calderon's website called Fernandez de Cevallos "a key politician in the Mexican democratic transition."
CNN's Esprit Smith contributed to this report.
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2158c93e8e32465c8c730c63a226e336
|
What was found inside ex-Senator's car?
|
[
"some of his belongings"
] |
NewsQA
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NEW DELHI, India (CNN) -- India on Wednesday urged Sri Lanka's Tamil rebels to "release" civilians, who it said numbered about 70,000 in Sri Lanka's war zone.
A Sri Lankan soldier poses in front of a Tamil Tigers emblem in the rebel group's former military headquarters.
India is ready to help evacuate them, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee told the Indian parliament.
"Estimates on the number of civilians trapped vary, but 70,000 or so are estimated to be there now. The LTTE were reportedly using them as human shields," he said, referring to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, also known as the Tamil Tigers.
"As the conflict enters what may be the final phase of military operations, the LTTE would best serve the interest of the Tamils by immediately releasing all civilians and laying down arms," Mukherjee added.
He noted that some civilians had either been caught in cross-fire or "stopped and even killed" by Tamil rebels as they tried to escape.
Government troops and the Tamil Tigers are locked in a battle over the rebels' remaining territory in northern Sri Lanka's Vanni region.
The rebels have been fighting for an independent homeland for the country's ethnic Tamil minority since 1983.
Tens of thousands of people have fled the region as government forces have advanced and rebels have been pushed into a smaller and smaller patch of land.
CNN's Harmeet Shah Singh contributed to this report.
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d707ea73367446a5a3e203791d0d8269
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Who has been fighting for independent homeland since 1983?
|
[
"The rebels"
] |
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|
(CNN) -- The Philippine Commission on Elections approved fraud charges Friday against former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and several other former officials, state media reported.
Arroyo is charged in connection with the alleged manipulation of results during 2007 Senate elections, according to the Philippines News Agency.
The former president has denied any wrongdoing.
Arroyo was stopped from leaving the country Tuesday as she was trying to board a plane at Manila's Ninoy Aquino International Airport, hours after the country's Supreme Court overruled government-imposed restrictions on her travels. The Supreme Court again Friday rejected the government's travel ban, saying she was free to leave as long as she posted a bond and met other requirements, said Jose Midas Marquez, a court spokesman
Arroyo was reportedly boarding the flight to seek medical treatment abroad for her bone disease diagnosed earlier this year, following three unsuccessful spinal operations in the Philippines. She arrived at the airport in an ambulance and was transported to the departure gate in a wheelchair while wearing a neck brace.
Arroyo's lawyer, Raul Lambino, said the former first couple was "subjected to indignity and embarrassment at the airport," calling the government's defiance of the Supreme Court order "abhorrent and in violation of the rights of the individual guaranteed by the (Philippine's) constitution and the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights."
But presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda described the situation as "all high drama," according to media reports. "They (the Arroyos) want the public to sympathize with them," he added.
He said that while the Arroyo couple would be treated with dignity, the government would be "firm in our decision not to allow them to leave the country." Arroyo's husband, Jose Miguel Arroyo, is also accused of corruption.
The Supreme Court, which is mostly staffed by judges hired under Arroyo, defied current President Benigno Aquino's state mandate of investigating allegations of corruption during Arroyo's 2001-2010 presidential term.
CNN's Karen Smith and Journalist Winona Cueva contributed to this report
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c486c808d55847da8929b65b3433b5af
|
When were the elections held?
|
[
"2007"
] |
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(CNN) -- South Africa inflicted the first home series defeat on Australia in almost 16 years as they wrapped up a nine-wicket win over the world's number one ranked Test nation in Melbourne on Tuesday.
South African captain Graeme Smith led from the front with 75 as his team wrapped up victory.
Captain Graeme Smith hit a fluent 75 as his side successfully passed a modest victory target of 183 on the final day at the MCG to take an unassailable 2-0 lead.
It was the South African's first-ever Test series triumph in Australia and victory in the third and final match in Sydney will see them leapfrog the home side at the top of the global rankings.
Hashim Amla (30 not out) scored the winning runs shortly after lunch as South Africa became the first team to overcome Australia at home since the West Indies in 1992-93.
South Africa were never under any pressure in their run chase and did not lose a wicket until just before lunch when the inspirational Smith was trapped leg before wicket by Nathan Hauritz.
Smith had dominated a 121-run opening stand with Neil McKenzie, hitting 10 boundaries.
McKenzie struggled to a half century and survived strong lbw shouts from Brett Lee, who was bowling despite an injured foot that will keep him out of the Sydney Test.
South Africa's victory was set up by a brilliant maiden Test century from JP Duminy, who shared a stunning 180-run ninth wicket partnership with pace bowler Dale Steyn.
It gave the tourists a priceless 65-run lead on first innings before man of the match Steyn worked his magic with the ball as Australia were bowled out on the fourth day for 247 in their second innings.
The pugnacious Smith was virtually lost for words in his victory speech.
"It has been such a special moment for all of us, it has been an incredible team effort," he said.
"I have been smiling non-stop since we hit the winning runs.
"To be 2-0 up after this game was something we only dreamt of."
South Africa won the first Test in Perth from an unlikely position, chasing 414 for victory for the loss of only four wickets.
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88dbcde4882045c5af1ceb78bc492f17
|
What was the margin of victory in the first Test?
|
[
"nine-wicket win"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Security forces aboard a U.S. naval vessel fired warning shots toward two approaching small boats off the Somali coast Tuesday, the U.S. military said Wednesday.
The USNS John Lenthall is one of 14 fleet refueling ships operated by Military Sealift Command.
The rounds landed in the water, prompting the boats to turn around, and no casualties were reported, the military news release said.
It is unclear whether the boats were trying to attack the 41,000-ton USNS John Lenthall, the military said.
"It is clear they were not following the international rules of the road observed by mariners around the globe," it said.
The release noted that the location of the incident, the types of boats involved and the maneuvering were all "consistent with reports from previous attacks on merchant vessels in the region."
The USNS John Lenthall is one of 14 "fleet replenishment oilers" in the Military Sealift Fleet Support Command, according to a U.S. Navy Web site. Oilers refuel Navy ships at sea and any aircraft they may be carrying.
Attacks by pirates have increased dramatically off the northern coast of Somalia in the past year, prompting the United States and other nations to step up patrols in the region.
In May, the U.S. Navy warned merchant ships to stay at least 200 miles off the Somali coast. But the U.S. Maritime Administration warns that pirates sometimes issue false distress calls to lure ships closer to shore.
The pirates are often armed with automatic rifles and shoulder-fired rockets, according to warnings from the agency.
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2557cdc09479456cb68bb30cceab8e1f
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Where did this happen?
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[
"off the Somali coast"
] |
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(CNN) -- The National Transportation Safety Board on Tuesday will launch three days of hearings into the circumstances surrounding the US Airways Flight 1549 emergency landing on New York's Hudson River.
In January, passengers of US Airways Flight 1549 had to be rescued out of the Hudson River after a bird strike.
Looking into several issues from the January 15 incident -- from migratory birds to why a rear door opened after the landing -- the NTSB panel will hear testimony from key witnesses, including Capt. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, the pilot; and Billy Campbell, the only passenger scheduled to testify.
On Monday, the NTSB corrected remarks made by board member Robert Sumwalt, who was quoted by The Associated Press as saying Campbell was being called to contradict statements made by flight attendant Doreen Welsh, who has said a panicked passenger opened the rear door.
The NTSB said Sumwalt, who will lead the three days of hearings, was mistaken and that Campbell's written statement does not suggest Welsh opened the rear door.
NTSB spokesman Peter Knudson said the board asked Campbell to testify because he had the most detailed statement of those people in the cabin at the time of the crash.
"Safety Board investigators interviewed 145 passengers, each of whom provided their own perspective on what happened," the NTSB said Monday night. "Some of the passenger reports conflicted with the accounts of other passengers, including accounts of how the rear door was opened."
"What was consistently reported by those inside the plane was that the water entered the aft section of the cabin immediately while everyone was still seated," the statement said, adding that the NTSB will focus on how the water gushing "affected the ability of the passengers and the crew to evacuate the aircraft since two of the four slide-rafts were in the rear of the plane, on each of the rear doors, and they could not be used."
Sullenberger was the pilot in command during the flight, which lost power in both engines after hitting a flock of Canada geese. Bird detection, and standards for engines to handle bird strikes, are among subjects to be covered in the hearing.
Other topics include pilot training for ditching and forced landings on water, and cabin-safety training, emergency procedures and equipment.
CNN's Mike Ahlers contributed to this report.
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8c3222cd567144d4bff382bf8aef9037
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When did the crash landing happen?
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[
"January 15"
] |
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(CNN) -- Bolivian President Evo Morales plans to sign legislation Friday scheduling a May 4 referendum on a new constitution, the Bolivian Information Agency reported.
Bolivians celebrate Thursday in La Paz after Congress decides to call for a referendum on a new constitution.
The move comes after the Bolivian Congress decided Thursday in a raucous session to let people nationwide vote on the controversial plans.
The proposed constitution would strengthen the country's indigenous majority but has faced fierce opposition from nonindigenous Bolivians, including those in four provinces whose governors have declared autonomy.
Hundreds jammed streets Thursday outside the congressional building in La Paz to prevent opposition legislators from entering. Video footage broadcast on CNN en Español showed people pushing, shoving and hitting others. Watch as the crowds block the opposition »
Congress made its decision to hold a referendum "with a reduced presence of opposition lawmakers," the Bolivian news agency said.
Opposition legislators decried the move as "illegal," the agency said, but supporters of Morales welcomed it.
"Now it is the Bolivian people who will decide with their vote whether to approve or reject the new constitution," said Vice President Alvaro Garcia Linera, according to the Bolivian Information Agency. E-mail to a friend
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66825dd473ae484eafe46f3357b7f325
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What would the proposed constitution do?
|
[
"strengthen the country's indigenous majority"
] |
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(CNN) -- Security forces have arrested 11 al Qaeda suspects in the Yemeni capital, the nation's official news agency reported Thursday.
One man was killed in the operation, according to a security source cited by SABA.
Yemeni authorities have threatened punishment for people who harbor suspected terrorists. The warnings are part of a crackdown on alleged al Qaeda hideouts since the attempted bombing of an American airliner in December, according to SABA.
The suspect in the failed attack, Umar Farouk AbdulMutallab, spent time in Yemen and is said to have acquired the explosive device from someone in that country. Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) has claimed responsibility for the plot.
The Obama administration has recognized the risks posed by Yemen becoming a failed state and voiced support in its struggles against terrorism.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also has pressed Yemen to implement key reforms and shore up its faltering economy.
"Yemen's challenges are not going to be solved by military action alone," she said at a recent meeting of Western powers and Arab nations.
"Progress against violent extremists and progress toward a better future for the Yemeni people ... will also depend on fortifying development efforts."
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e8174f16bcbe43d1aeffaa731fbefc46
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What did the Obama administration recognized?
|
[
"the risks posed by Yemen becoming a failed state"
] |
NewsQA
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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Carrie Prejean, the Miss USA contestant from California who declared her opposition to same-sex marriage on the pageant stage, will star in a new $1.5 million ad campaign funded by the National Organization for Marriage.
Miss California USA Carrie Prejean has gotten support from many same-sex marriage opponents.
Prejean appeared Thursday at a news conference in Washington to unveil the ad, called "No Offense."
Prejean was roasted by same-sex marriage advocates after she stood up for what she called "opposite marriage" (marriage between a man and a woman) when responding to a question from celebrity blogger Perez Hilton during the pageant. But she's also become a fresh-faced standard-bearer for same-sex marriage opponents, who have rallied to her defense.
"Marriage is good," Prejean said at the news conference. "There is something special about unions of husband and wife. Unless we bring men and women together, children will not have mothers and fathers."
"She is attacked viciously for having the courage to speak up for her truth and her values," the National Organization for Marriage said in a press release. "But Carrie's courage inspired a whole nation and a whole generation of young people because she chose to risk the Miss USA crown rather than be silent about her deepest moral values."
"This vision of marriage is not hateful," Prejean said. "It's not discriminatory. It's good."
Although she claimed that her view represents that of the majority of Americans, Prejean said she has no plan "on getting into politics anytime soon, that's for sure."
According to the group, the ad will call "gay marriage advocates to account for their unwillingness to debate the real issue: gay marriage has consequences."
The Miss California USA TV ad is the group's second. Its first, called "A Gathering Storm," ran in several states and featured actors issuing ominous warnings about the threats posed by same-sex marriage.
Executive directors and producers of the Miss California USA pageant released a statement Wednesday lamenting that Prejean had taken on such a "polarizing" issue.
"We are deeply saddened Carrie Prejean has forgotten her platform of the Special Olympics, her commitment to all Californians and solidified her legacy as one that goes beyond the rights to voice her beliefs and instead reveals her opportunistic agenda," the group said.
CNN's Peter Hamby and Alan Duke contributed to this report.
|
55f77b7934594fc497371d71d271f666
|
Where did Prejean publicly oppose same-sex marriage?
|
[
"on the pageant stage,"
] |
NewsQA
|
Washington (CNN) -- In the largest alleged BP oil spill-related scam uncovered to date, federal authorities on Thursday charged two Floridians with taking $340,000 in funds intended for victims of last year's environmental disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.
Justice Department officials said Joseph Harvey, 51, and Anja Kannell, 41, of Delray Beach, Florida, appeared in federal court in Miami on Thursday to face indictments for mail fraud, wire fraud and aggressive identity theft. Prosecutors said the defendants claimed the money from a $20 billion fund set up to help legitimate victims of the spill recover lost income.
Justice officials said they have brought charges in at least 30 cases in which individuals tried to recover funds to which they were not entitled. This was the biggest case yet, according to the Justice Department.
Harvey and Kannell are accused of filing phony claims using 34 assumed identities of actual Florida residents.
These claims were complete with names and Social Security numbers, though they had fictitious addresses in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida Panhandle. Officials say the defendants instructed that all the funds be sent to an account they controlled in Texas.
A magistrate judge on Thursday ordered Harvey and Kannell to remain in custody, pending further court proceedings next week.
The charges carry 10-, 15- and 20-year prison sentences upon conviction.
|
d93dce7c50fb41e7adf364af2c1c8b9b
|
They allegedly asssumed how many identities?
|
[
"34"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- The global economic crisis has caused a spike in world hunger that has left more than a billion undernourished, United Nations agencies said in a new report.
The report says the stabilization of financial markets has meant less investment in agriculture, food distribution.
"It is unacceptable in the 21st century that almost one in six of the world's population is now going hungry," said Josette Sheeran, executive director of the World Food Programme.
"At a time when there are more hungry people in the world than ever before, there is less food aid than we have seen in living memory."
The report by the WFP and the Food and Agriculture Organization was released Wednesday, ahead of World Food Day on Friday.
Nearly all the world's undernourished live in developing countries, according to the report.
An estimated 642 million people are suffering from chronic hunger in Asia and the Pacific. An additional 265 million live in sub-Saharan Africa while 95 million come from Latin America, the Caribbean, the Near East and North Africa. The final 15 million live in developed nations. Should developed economies be doing more to eradicate hunger, poverty?
The number of hungry spiked as the global economic crisis took hold and governments pumped resources into stabilizing financial markets. The move meant smaller investments in agriculture and food distribution.
"World leaders have reacted forcefully to the financial and economic crisis, and succeeded in mobilizing billions of dollars in a short time period. The same strong action is needed now to combat hunger and poverty," said Jacques Diouf, director-general of the FAO.
"The rising number of hungry people is intolerable."
The report calls for greater investment in agriculture to tackle long and short-term hunger by making farmers productive and more resilient to crises.
"We know what is needed to meet urgent hunger needs -- we just need the resources and the international commitment to do the job," Sheeran said.
|
1d90e78fa2974e6ba2eff00eff5717ae
|
How many people in the world are going hungry?
|
[
"more than a billion"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Here's a tip for dairy farmers: If you want your cows to produce more milk, get to know them better.
Herdsman Paul Nelson of Eachwick Red House Farm, Newcastle, England, with Highlight the cow.
So says a study out of Newcastle University in northeast England, published online Wednesday in the academic journal Anthrozoos.
The researchers found that farmers who named their cows Betsy or Gertrude or Daisy improved their overall milk yield by almost 500 pints (284 liters) annually.
"Just as people respond better to the personal touch, cows also feel happier and more relaxed if they are given a bit more one-to-one attention," Catherine Douglas of the university's School of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development said in a news release.
"By placing more importance on the individual, such as calling a cow by her name or interacting with the animal more as it grows up, we can not only improve the animal's welfare and her perception of humans, but also increase milk production."
Douglas and her colleagues questioned 516 dairy farmers in the United Kingdom. Almost half said they called the cows on their farms by name and reported a higher milk yield.
A press statement from the university, touting the study, quoted Dennis Gibb, who co-owns a dairy farm outside of Newcastle, called Eachwick Red House Farm.
"We love our cows here at Eachwick, and every one of them has a name," Gibb said. "Collectively, we refer to them as 'our ladies,' but we know every one of them and each one has her own personality."
|
73c41edaabbd49f88abd37316e4e21f3
|
Number of pints that the cows produced more annually?
|
[
"almost 500 pints (284 liters) annually."
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- The U.S. State Department said Sunday it was "deeply disturbed" at the deportation of 20 Uyghur asylum seekers from Cambodia back to China.
The deportation "will affect Cambodia's relationship with the U.S. and its international standing," said acting State Department spokesman Gordon Duguid in a statement.
It occurred on Saturday at the request of China, the U.S. said.
"The United States is deeply concerned about the welfare of these individuals, who had sought protection under international law," Duguid said.
"We are also deeply disturbed that the Cambodian government decided to forcibly remove the group without the benefit of a credible process for determining refugee status and without appropriate participation by the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees."
Kitty McKinsey, a coordinator with the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees agency in Asia, told CNN on Saturday that the refugees had been seeking asylum. China's northwestern region was wracked by ethnic violence between Han Chinese and Uyghur Muslims earlier this year, and the Uyghurs fled to Cambodia to escape the unrest.
McKinsey said the UNHCR considers the deportation a breach of international law, and Uyghur human rights activists have expressed concern about the move. The Uyghur American Association also expressed concern in a statement.
The 20 were held in handcuffs and leg shackles and were not given any food to eat on Friday, according to the association. They were part of a group of 22 Uyghurs seeking refuge in Cambodia, all of whom were under UNHCR protection when taken into custody.
"The United States strongly opposed Cambodia's involuntary return of these asylum seekers before their claims have been heard," the State Department said.
Duguid urged the Chinese government to "uphold international norms and to ensure transparency, due process and proper treatment of persons in its territory" now that the Uyghurs have been returned.
Cambodian and Chinese officials could not immediately be reached for a response. But a Cambodian state media outlet, Agence Kampuchea Presse, reported that Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping is to arrive in Cambodia on Sunday for a three-day visit.
|
ecb72468e00242f7828e34ea8f8be33b
|
Where do Uyghurs come from?
|
[
"Cambodia"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Singer-actress Mandy Moore and rocker Ryan Adams were married this week in Savannah, Georgia, Moore's publicist told CNN on Wednesday.
Mandy Moore first found recording success in 1999 with her single "Candy" and is now a well-known actress.
The wedding took place Tuesday, said Jillian Fowkes, who gave no further details about the nuptials.
Rumors first surfaced almost a year ago that Moore, 24, and Adams, 34, were dating, as paparazzi photos surfaced of the couple out together in Los Angeles, California.
Moore's first success as a recording artist came in 1999 with her debut album, "So Real," which went platinum with the help of her top-10 single "Candy."
Adams is known for producing rock music with a country influence. He is best known for his song "New York, New York", which appeared on his 2001 release "Gold."
Adams is also an author and has produced music for Jesse Malin and Willie Nelson. He recently announced that he was leaving his band, The Cardinals, because of inner ear troubles affecting his balance and hearing. Adams has fronted The Cardinals since 2004.
|
4d6fe2e0984b4f91a38141a4b8f5d612
|
For which team plays Ryan Adams?
|
[
"Cardinals"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Voters have elected a former guerrilla who became a crusader against political corruption as the new mayor of Colombia's capital.
A military tribunal jailed Gustavo Petro in 1985 for his connections with the M-19 leftist guerrilla group, which was known for high-profile attacks against Colombian authorities -- including a takeover of the nation's Palace of Justice that year, which left dozens dead, including 11 Supreme Court justices.
Petro, 51, is not the first Latin American leader with a guerrilla warrior background. Voters in Uruguay and El Salvador also have elected politicians who were previously involved in rebel groups.
Before winning Bogota's top job Sunday, Petro, trained as an economist and business administrator, had served as a lawmaker, diplomat and presidential candidate.
Speaking to a crowd of cheering supporters Sunday, Petro called his election to Bogota's top post a sign that voters were "saying yes to reconciliation."
He vowed to incorporate ideas of other candidates into his administration -- even former Mayor Enrique Penalosa, who he soundly defeated.
"We are going to try to set up some meetings with the candidates to talk about their programs," he said.
In the political sphere, Petro quickly developing a reputation as a persistent critic of corruption.
As a senator, he led the charge against lawmakers and members of then-President Alvaro Uribe's government, accusing them of connections with paramilitary groups.
In 2010, he came in third place when he ran for president in Colombia.
He takes office as Bogota's mayor on January 1.
He has said building homes for the needy and overhauling the education system will be among his top priorities.
Journalist Fernando Ramos and CNN's Patricia Ramos contributed to this report.
|
b757948cd6e9482f9c45f7ce2c36891a
|
Who was connected with the M-19 guerrilla group?
|
[
"Gustavo Petro"
] |
NewsQA
|
(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
|
22bc42d64ddc46d6b2b3bc2c9006001b
|
When did the Sands Macau open?
|
[
"May 2004,"
] |
NewsQA
|
New York (CNN) -- For New Yorkers, a gambling fix is now just a subway ride away.
The first casino in New York City opened Friday at the Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens to thousands of eager gamblers, some waiting hours to get in.
"It was such a hassle to get in, but I'm glad I'm here," said Carmen Beverly, who said she took the subway to the casino from her home in nearby Brooklyn. "Not winning anything yet, but I'm having fun."
The Resorts World Casino hit capacity almost immediately after opening, organizers said. Lines stretched around the building as police struggled to contain hundreds of people hoping for opening-day luck.
Backers of the casino said they hope its close proximity to the airport and the subway will make it a draw for New Yorkers and tourists alike.
It is the first casino to be built in New York City since the state legislature paved the way for its construction during the post-September 11, 2001, economic slump.
"Finally New York gets money," said Helen Alamia, a slots player who said she would no longer travel to out-of-state casinos. "We're giving it to Pennsylvania and Jersey, now New York gets it, I'm very happy."
Because of a technicality in the 2001 law, the casino features only video games, no live dealers.
Nonetheless, Gordon Medenica, director of the New York Lottery, espoused the casino's contribution to state funds.
"This facility will probably increase our video lottery income by 50%," Medenica said. Video lottery is the organization's fastest-growing source of income, he said.
Some customers expressed disappointment that they would not be able to gamble with a live dealer, but most seemed happy just to have a casino nearby.
Billboards for the casino advertise it as being "minutes, not hours away," a clear swipe at the more well-known -- and farther away -- gambling sites of Atlantic City, New Jersey, and Indian reservations such as Foxwoods in Connecticut.
"It's not competition with Las Vegas," said Mike Speller, president of Resorts World Casino. "We are 10 minutes from JFK -- 55 million customers a year come in there. We are 25 minutes from Manhattan -- another 50 million tourists come in there. So we think it's going to be a very, very busy place."
|
aa6346b13356437d94dfa03679fb097c
|
who wait hours?
|
[
"gamblers,"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Security forces aboard a U.S. naval vessel fired warning shots toward two approaching small boats off the Somali coast Tuesday, the U.S. military said Wednesday.
The USNS John Lenthall is one of 14 fleet refueling ships operated by Military Sealift Command.
The rounds landed in the water, prompting the boats to turn around, and no casualties were reported, the military news release said.
It is unclear whether the boats were trying to attack the 41,000-ton USNS John Lenthall, the military said.
"It is clear they were not following the international rules of the road observed by mariners around the globe," it said.
The release noted that the location of the incident, the types of boats involved and the maneuvering were all "consistent with reports from previous attacks on merchant vessels in the region."
The USNS John Lenthall is one of 14 "fleet replenishment oilers" in the Military Sealift Fleet Support Command, according to a U.S. Navy Web site. Oilers refuel Navy ships at sea and any aircraft they may be carrying.
Attacks by pirates have increased dramatically off the northern coast of Somalia in the past year, prompting the United States and other nations to step up patrols in the region.
In May, the U.S. Navy warned merchant ships to stay at least 200 miles off the Somali coast. But the U.S. Maritime Administration warns that pirates sometimes issue false distress calls to lure ships closer to shore.
The pirates are often armed with automatic rifles and shoulder-fired rockets, according to warnings from the agency.
|
2f171a3296084c40be96fae23f6a1f81
|
who prowls waters off of somalia?
|
[
"pirates"
] |
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.
|
af295a6f79ab4020908e0cd6dcfe75f9
|
What is Blackberry's tablet called?
|
[
"PlayBook"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- The suspect in the September attack on a woman that led to the discovery of 11 bodies at his Ohio home pleaded not guilty Friday to charges that he raped and choked the woman.
Bail for registered sex offender Anthony Sowell was set at $1 million on the rape charges. Bail had already been set at $5 million on five murder charges related to the grisly discovery of the bodies at his home in Cleveland.
"I don't think a $1 million bond is unfair under the circumstances," Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge John O'Donnell said at Friday's hearing.
Sowell was arraigned Friday in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court on multiple charges, -- including attempted murder, rape and kidnapping -- connected to the September 22 assault on the 36-year-old woman.
Sowell said he could not afford a lawyer, and O'Donnell appointed one.
The victim encountered Sowell while walking in his Cleveland neighborhood, and he took her back to his home, where he became violent and raped her, Cuyahoga County prosecutors said.
"While raping her, he strangled her with a cord until she lost consciousness," the prosecutors said in a written statement. "When she regained consciousness, he led her out of the house."
Police investigating that case searched Sowell's home and yard, finding the 11 bodies.
Sowell, 50, is charged with five counts of aggravated murder, rape, felonious assault and kidnapping in connection with those deaths.
He served 15 years in prison for a 1989 attempted rape. He was released in 2005.
Neighbors and police have told CNN that other women were seen at Sowell's home from time to time, and that he would offer them beer and other alcohol. Police say he also might have offered them drugs.
Neighbors on October 20 reported seeing a naked woman fall from the second floor of the home. Firefighters and police responded and later notified police. But the woman told officers she fell off the roof while she was at the home "partying," and no charges were filed.
CNN's Susan Candiotti contributed to this report.
|
ec7d965c30b24edea97015ed28159293
|
How much is bail set at?
|
[
"$1 million"
] |
NewsQA
|
LONDON, England (CNN) -- An $80 million research project aimed at giving people 50 active years after the age of 50 was launched by scientists at the University of Leeds in northern England Tuesday.
The challenge is to ensure old people stay as fit as Brisbane centenarian Ruth Frith, seen competing at shot put during World Masters Games in Sydney this month.
About half of the babies born in Western countries today will live until they are 100 years old, according to recent research published in the medical journal The Lancet, so the challenge is to ensure they remain active throughout their old age.
While most of us will live longer than our parents and grandparents, the aging population means that in coming decades more people will suffer from age-related conditions such as osteoarthritis, heart disease and chronic back pain. Obesity and increased physical activity also put more pressure on our joints, causing them to wear out faster.
Scientists at Leeds University envisage that many of the body parts that flounder with age could be upgraded using own-grown tissues and more durable implants. This will mean artificial hips, knees and heart valves, for example, lasting far longer than the current 20-year typical lifespan.
"Our work is driven by the concept of 50 more years after 50 -- that is, making our second 50 years of life as healthy, comfortable and active as our first, so we can enjoy a higher quality of life," explains Professor John Fisher, who is an expert in artificial joints and tissue regeneration.
"We now have the technology available to do astonishing things, such as repairing the body by growing healthy new tissue through biological scaffolds and stem cell therapy. And a new generation of prosthetic hip and knee joints that last longer will avoid the need for further replacements."
Fisher says the center also hopes to gain a better understanding of degenerative diseases to allow for early diagnosis, rather than having to treat someone when they are already in crippling pain.
"For example, we're developing biosensor tools that can detect the presence of antibodies and proteins in the blood. All of these technologies will ultimately reduce suffering in patients through more timely interventions, shorter hospital stays and quicker recovery times."
So how do you feel about this. Are you looking forward to your old age? Do you believe you will remain active? Click here to send us your comments and we will try to use as many as possible in tonight's show.
|
b37d9ddb9d454699a27c3209232a4d68
|
What is the project aiming at?
|
[
"giving people 50 active years after"
] |
NewsQA
|
New York (CNN) -- One wily coyote traveled a bit too far from home, and its resulting adventure through Harlem had alarmed residents doing a double take and scampering to get out of its way Wednesday morning.
Police say frightened New Yorkers reported the coyote sighting around 9:30 a.m., and an emergency service unit was dispatched to find the animal. The little troublemaker was caught and tranquilized in Trinity Cemetery on 155th street and Broadway, and then taken to the Wildlife Conservation Society at the Bronx Zoo, authorities said.
"The coyote is under evaluation and observation," said Mary Dixon, spokesperson for the Wildlife Conservation Society.
Dixon said the coyote is a female, between 1 and 2 years old. She said the Department of Environmental Conservation will either send the animal to a rescue center or put it back in the wild.
According to Adrian Benepe, New York City Parks Commissioner, coyotes in Manhattan are rare, but not unheard of.
"This is actually the third coyote that has been seen in the last 10 years," Benepe said.
Benepe said there is a theory the coyotes make their way to the city from suburban Westchester.
He said they probably walk down the Amtrak rail corridor along the Hudson River or swim down the Hudson River until they get to the city.
|
8281b607d7574a9da0a3bb6d4bfc50a7
|
What was tranquilized in Trinity Cemetery?
|
[
"the coyote"
] |
NewsQA
|
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.
|
a360352e30694a28ae8f931ee39354e6
|
When was the last person gored to death?
|
[
"1995."
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Carla Bruni, the wife of French President Nicolas Sarkozy, has given birth to a girl, a very close family friend told CNN on Wednesday.
The mother is doing well, the friend said.
Sarkozy, 56, was seen earlier leaving the French capital's La Muette clinic, where Bruni gave birth, according to French media.
It is the first child for the couple, who wed in February 2008. Bruni, 43, announced in early September that she was pregnant and vowed to keep the child out of the spotlight.
Sarkozy divorced his wife of more than 11 years before marrying Bruni. He has three children from that marriage.
Bruni, a former supermodel and singer, previously dated singers Eric Clapton and Mick Jagger.
|
084771e9e3574444b0d7943d0930323f
|
What do they welcome the arrival of
|
[
"a girl,"
] |
NewsQA
|
Hong Kong, China (CNN) -- The most coveted property on Hong Kong island is called "The Peak," overlooking the city's stunning Victoria Harbor.
But these days, the prices are what is taking people's breath away -- a modest apartment here now can go for $30 million. Recently what is claimed to be the world's most expensive apartment -- a 6,200-square-foot duplex -- sold for a record $57 million.
While an implosion of property prices sparked the financial crisis in the United States, property prices in Hong Kong are booming in part because of mainland cash pouring into the city.
China's superrich are purchasing homes and sweeping luxury brand items off the shelf here.
"There would be no good turnover of luxury brands in Hong Kong if it wasn't for the Chinese shopper," said Francis Guten, a luxury brand consultant in Hong Kong.
Although total retail sales have dropped 4 percent this year, luxury brands are doing brisk business thanks to mainland shoppers.
"They come to Hong Kong because Hong Kong was always the first window on the world for luxury goods for the Chinese," Guten said, adding that the purchase of "genuine" luxury goods -- rather than the fakes that proliferate the mainland -- is actually cheaper in Hong Kong because of lack of sales taxes or tariffs.
And how are they purchasing these goods? "With cash," Guten said. "Because they have the cash."
The real estate boom by mainlanders is a way for China's rich to diversify their investments close to home.
"If you look at the history of China, despite the fact that the economy is very strong on a global basis right now, there's been a very volatile period," said Francis Cheung of CLSA. "(If) you have 100-percent wealth in China, you just naturally want to diversify."
They are not only buying property and Gucci bags, but stock -- the Hang Seng stock exchange is up 50 percent this year. Research firm CLSA expects the market to rise another 20 percent in 2010.
CNN's Andrew Stevens and Eunice Yoon contributed to this report.
|
1ac4f01b799545328013f57e27062a8a
|
An apartment in Hong Kong recently sold for a record how many million?
|
[
"$57"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- The presidents of Sudan and Chad signed a non-aggression agreement late Thursday, aiming to halt cross-border hostilities between the two African nations.
Chad President Idriss Deby, right, and Sudan's President Omar al-Beshir, left, shake hands after signing the pact.
The signing came after nearly two full days of talks in Dakar, Senegal, between Sudan President Omar al-Beshir and Idriss Deby, the president of Chad.
Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade facilitated the talks, and United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon met with officials from both nations and witnessed the signing of the agreement at about 10 p.m.
"The idea is to get the governments of Sudan and Chad to normalize their relations with each other and to halt any action that would allow for the cross-border movement of rebel factions or armed factions of either side that could hurt the other country," said United Nations spokesman Farhan Haq.
Each country accuses the other of supporting armed rebel groups that cross the border to attempt to destabilize the government. The rival nations' armies have skirmished several times.
The United Nations says refugees and armed groups have been regularly crossing the border between the troubled Darfur region of Sudan and Chad. They allegedly include many of the rebels that attacked N'Djamena, the capital of Chad, in early February.
As recently as Thursday, just hours before the agreement was signed, Chad issued a communique saying rebels from Sudan had crossed the border.
Chad is still recovering from a failed attempt last month by rebels to overthrow Deby's regime.
The United Nations says the swelling number of Darfur refugees and other displaced people living in eastern Chad is causing serious strain on the region.
Kingsley Amaning, the U.N.'s humanitarian coordinator for Chad, said more than 10,000 people from Darfur, in Sudan, have fled into 12 official refugee camps in eastern Chad.
They join some 240,000 Darfurians who have lived in Chad since 2004 because of fighting in their homeland and an estimated 180,000 displaced Chadians also living there.
The number of displaced Chadians is growing because of the recent fighting there, Kingsley said.
Haq said the United Nations, which has peacekeeping troops in the Darfur region, will work to assure Sudan and Chad carry out the terms of Thursday's deal. The countries have signed several peace agreements in the past, only to see renewed violence flare up. E-mail to a friend
|
3469c5e5407c400186f5aabdbb8ea08b
|
What does the agreement aim to halt?
|
[
"cross-border hostilities"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- A former Alabama judge accused of checking male inmates out of jail and forcing them to engage in sexual activity was found not guilty Monday on charges of sexual abuse, attempted sodomy and assault, his lawyer said.
Attorney Robert Clark said former Judge Herman Thomas was found not guilty on several charges and the judge in the case granted a directed verdict of acquittal on all the other counts.
The Mobile County district attorney did not immediately return CNN calls for comment.
Thomas, 48, denied wrongdoing. Clark said on October 20 that the judge was trying to mentor the inmates and did not assault them.
The judge does not deny bringing the inmates into his office, Clark said last week. "He was mentoring them. He was trying to get them to do right, to be productive citizens."
Thomas cried after the verdicts were read, Clark said Monday.
"He hugged me and he hugged his wife. And he had a courtroom full of supporters. It all worked out in the end," the attorney said.
One of the alleged victims testified October 19 that he doesn't know why his semen was found on the carpet of a small room used as an office by Thomas, according to The Mobile Press-Register newspaper. But he did say Thomas spanked him with a belt on several occasions, the newspaper reported, and that the paddlings took place inside a jury room, in the small office and at a Mobile, Alabama, fraternity house.
Another man testified that after he was charged with kidnapping and robbery in 2002, Thomas visited him in jail and urged the man to let Thomas decide the case instead of a jury, according to the Press-Register. Thomas convicted him of lesser charges, he testified, and sentenced him to a 90-day boot camp. He said Thomas also beat him with a belt on his bare buttocks about a dozen times at the courthouse, the newspaper reported. Neither man was identified.
"All of them [the alleged victims] were given preferential treatment at some point," Nicki Patterson, chief assistant district attorney for Mobile County, said earlier this month. "And ultimately, when some of them refused to continue participating [in the activities], they were given what I would view as excessive sentences. But certainly while the inmates were involved with the activities we allege, the state would say, it was extremely lenient sentences."
Clark said his client's next hurdle is the Alabama State Bar.
"They suspended him back in March because he got indicted. And we're fighting to give him his law license back," he said.
CNN's Carolina Sanchez contributed to this report.
|
6bc90a95a6b744bdb2166c75d9465795
|
What was he acquitted of
|
[
"sexual abuse, attempted sodomy and assault,"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- A British couple kidnapped by Somalian pirates in the Indian Ocean have issued another desperate plea, saying they are being badly treated and need urgent help.
Paul and Rachel Chandler, from Kent in southern England, were taken by pirates from their yacht, the Lynn Rival, on October 23, just days after setting sail from the Seychelles islands for Tanzania.
The couple was brought ashore and are being held in separate locations in central Somalia.
Their captors initially demanded a ransom of $7 million, but the British government -- in line with longstanding policy -- has refused to pay.
In a video filmed on Thursday in Somalia by the French news agency AFP, Rachel Chandler begged the British government to help secure the couple's release.
"Please help us, these people are not treating us well," she said. "I'm old, I'm 56 and my husband is 60 years old. We need to be together because we have not much time left."
A doctor was shown examining Paul Chandler, 60, who appeared to be in a better state than his wife. The medic found Rachel Chandler in poor mental health, calling out for her husband, AFP reported.
"She is sick, she is very anxious, she suffers from insomnia," Dr. Mohamed Helmi Hangul told the agency. "She's very confused, she's always asking about her husband -- 'Where's my husband, where's my husband?' -- and she seems completely disorientated."
Paul Chandler said his conditions were poor and also pleaded for help. "Please help us, we have nobody to help us, we have no children... We have been in captivity for 98 days and we are not in good condition," he said, also on Thursday.
Hangul said Paul Chandler "had a bad cough and seemed to have some fever."
A spokesman for the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office told CNN on Sunday: "We are monitoring the situation very closely and doing everything we can to help secure a release.
"We remain in regular contact with the family and are providing support. We call for the safe and swift release of Paul and Rachel."
Pirates have been very active off the east coast of Africa in the past several years, operating out of lawless Somalia.
Earlier this month, pirates attempted to hijack an Indian crude oil vessel 105 nautical miles from Somalia, the EU's anti-piracy naval force said. The pirates opened fire on the ship and were later arrested.
Piracy on the high-seas reached a six-year high in 2009, according to the International Maritime Bureau, which monitors shipping crimes.
CNN's Per Nyberg contributed to this report.
|
c583465a27d34cfd9862ec722a7eba8c
|
What require the pirates?
|
[
"ransom of $7 million,"
] |
NewsQA
|
SINGAPORE (CNN) -- Hundreds of customers flocked to the Singapore office of troubled insurer American International Group Inc. (AIG) on Wednesday, many hoping to pull their investments and policies from the company.
People in Singapore queue outside the office of AIA, a subsidiary of AIG.
The crowd formed just hours after the U.S. Federal Reserve Board authorized the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to lend $85 billion to a crumbling AIG. In return, the federal government will receive a nearly 80 percent stake in the company.
One person who lined up in Singapore, retired teacher Wong Yoke Inn, said she was going to pull her investments from AIA even though it would cost her about $3,000 -- the equivalent of about $2,000 in the United States.
She joined an orderly crowd whose members were each given a number and a time to return to meet with a representative of AIA Singapore -- AIG's division in the island nation.
AIA tried to allay investors concerns in a statement distributed outside the Singapore office and posted on the company's Web site.
"AIA Singapore has more than sufficient capital and reserves ... to meet our obligations to policyholders," the statement said.
"The funds maintained in Singapore are segregated from American International Group, Inc. (AIG) and are held specifically for the purpose of meeting our obligations to policyholders."
The U.S. government announced Tuesday night that it would act to save America's largest insurer from filing for bankruptcy. Such a move almost certainly would have further roiled world markets already reeling from the bankruptcy filling of Lehman Brothers and the sale of Merrill Lynch to Bank of America.
AIG has $1.1 trillion in assets and 74 million clients in 130 countries.
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de1f0503368e40a3ba6d889b629748b9
|
How many queue outside AIG?
|
[
"Hundreds of customers"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- On this week's Tech Check podcast, Doug Gross, Brandon Griggs and Stephanie Goldberg break down details from the new Steve Jobs biography.
The book, written by Walter Isaacson and released this week in the wake of Jobs' death, takes the reader behind the scenes of Jobs' rise to the top of the consumer-tech world, not always casting the Apple co-founder in a positive light.
We also look at Unthink, an upstart social-networking site that is trying to find a niche by being the anti-Facebook. Will calling Facebook, and rival Google+, "greedy giants" and adopting an anti-corporate approach, work? And what's up with that YouTube video?
Our Reader Comments of the Week come from our story on "Take This Lollipop," a viral Web video that uses your Facebook information to give the creepy, horror-inspired short film a personal twist.
And our Tech Fail of the Week goes to Netflix, which had some bad news to report this week after a couple of months of public-relations missteps the online movie-rental service would probably like to forget.
(Bonus: Wondering what tech-inspired Halloween costume Stephanie's donning this year? Of course you were. Tune in to find out!)
To listen to Tech Check, click on the audio box to the left. To subscribe, you can add Tech Check to your RSS feed here. You can also listen, or subscribe, on iTunes.
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2a3671a2474347f98ca2f7098c1fd66b
|
what biography are we looking at
|
[
"Steve Jobs"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Energetic, infectious and combative, the music of Nigerian musician Femi Kuti has moved audiences around the world. But the man is just as passionate about getting people to change their world as much as move their feet.
Son of Afrobeat pioneer and political activist Fela Kuti, Femi inherited his father's zeal for both music and activism.
Kuti was signed to Motown Records in 1994 and his music blends Afrobeat with more current soul, R&B and jazz. He's worked with rappers Mos Def and Common and continues to explore his music and collaborations.
While the music matters, the man himself remains just as politically motivated as his father. Kuti's nightclub in Lagos, the New Afrika Shrine, had become a Mecca for West African music and creative expression, until it was closed by the authorities earlier in the summer.
It was also homage to his father and continued his legacy of using music to inspire, change and motivate.
Kuti recently told a reporter for All Africa Global Media that the Shrine was a place of worship where people can honor "great black people, who fought for the emancipation of Africa through music."
Freeing the "Shrine" from being under lock and key is just one of his crusading missions, as with his band, The Positive Force, Kuti remains outspoken about Nigeria, corruption and the positive changes that Africa can achieve.
Watch Femi Kuti on African Voices on Saturday, October 31, 12.30 and 18.30 GMT; Sunday, November 1, 18.00 GMT.
|
a92bd39d564e42ccbb7945fdf9f8c911
|
Who is the son of Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti?
|
[
"Femi"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- One woman was killed and two others injured Saturday after a U-Haul van crashed into them outside Yale University's football stadium before the game against Harvard, authorities said.
The driver of the van lost control of the vehicle as he was pulling into Lot D of Yale Bowl's main parking area and the vehicle suddenly accelerated, striking the women and then crashing into other vehicles, said New Haven Police spokesman Dave Hartman.
The incident happened an hour and 45 minutes after the parking lot opened for tailgating at about 8 a.m., police said. No charges had been filed by late Saturday.
"You could see the path of destruction coming in," eyewitness Bill McNeff told CNN New Haven affiliate WTNH. Video footage showed overturned chairs and other items.
One woman was pronounced dead at Yale-New Haven Hospital, where one of the other women is in serious but stable condition, Hartman said. The third woman was taken to another hospital to be treated for minor injuries, police said.
In a statement, Yale said the deceased woman was not one of its students and was not believed to be affiliated with Harvard. The woman in stable condition does attend Yale.
The university said it would perform a full review of policies relating to tailgating before athletics events.
"Yale extends our sympathies and prayers to the family of the woman who was killed and hopes for the speedy recovery of the two women hurt," the university said. "Our thoughts are also with those who witnessed or were affected by this tragic accident."
The game, which Harvard won, kicked off at noon in New Haven, Connecticut. It was the 128th game of the rivalry. A moment of silence was held at the beginning of half time, according to the Yale Daily News, the college newspaper.
The driver of the U-Haul van was speaking with New Haven Police investigators, and the cause of the accident was still under investigation, Hartman said.
CNN's Dave Alsup, Zohreen Adamjee, Phil Gast and Michael Martinez contributed to this report.
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1dc50cb3d20f406099260b1e8a3fe2da
|
When was the moment of silence observed?
|
[
"beginning of half time,"
] |
NewsQA
|
London (CNN) -- August 13 is likely to be Heathrow Airport's busiest day in its history, so the airport is building a temporary terminal to check through more than 10,000 athletes on that one day, the day after the closing ceremonies of the London 2012 Games.
With 80% of Olympic and Paralympic athletes, coaches, media and other visitors expected to use Heathrow during the games, the world's busiest international airport unveiled the design of a temporary terminal to be used just for departures.
"The airport ... already operates close to capacity," said Nick Cole, the head of Heathrow's Olympics planning team. "Every part of the airport is working together to ensure we can give the athletes a warm welcome and ensure all passengers enjoy the atmosphere."
London has had a relatively smooth seven years of planning and building venues. The one big worry for organizers and the city is transport.
There are plans to limit car traffic while creating special Olympics-only traffic lanes. Officials have also asked companies to find ways to keep some employees out of central London and off the busy transport networks during July and August.
In recent years, Heathrow has suffered from baggage snafus, snow disruptions and strikes.
To help get people out of London after the games, Heathrow will allow athletes to check their luggage at the Olympic Village east of the city.
Heathrow expects a 35% increase in baggage on August 13.
Departure will not be the only challenge. The airport expects nearly 50% more passengers arriving on July 26, the day before the opening ceremony.
That includes 390 athletes bringing in 780 firearms, says Heathrow.
|
11cc2c2052da4b2cae2f5d6067159ff4
|
what is The day after Summer Olympics?
|
[
"August 13"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Somalia's transitional government has the right to request military help from its neighbors against armed militants, the African Union said Monday, but Kenya was quick to reject the idea of sending troops and suggested the AU should spearhead such a move.
Islamist insurgents patrol part of Mogadishu during clashes with government forces.
Somali parliament speaker Sheikh Adan Madowe on Saturday called on Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya and Yemen to send in their military forces to help government troops stop hardline Islamist militants from taking over.
"Militants are wrestling the power from the government and so we call for military help from neighboring countries," the speaker said at a news conference in Mogadishu. "Please send your military to help in 24 hours' time."
But Alfred Mutua, spokesman for the Kenyan government, told CNN that "Kenya doesn't engage in military support to our neighbors." He said that any such support would be under the umbrella of the African Union.
However, he did say that "different types of support can be given, not just military, and Kenya's options are open." He said that the government should announce by Wednesday how it will move forward.
Jean Ping, chairman of the African Union Commission, said in a communique issued Sunday that the transitional government, as Somalia's legitimate government, "has the right to seek support from AU Member States and the larger international community."
Ping also said that the AU would "continue to do its utmost to assist the Somali people and its authorities in their lasting quest for peace and reconciliation."
Somalia's call for help came hours after a third top politician was killed in ongoing fighting in the capital.
Mohamed Hussein Adow, a powerful member of parliament who was leading the fight against the Islamists, was slain Friday in the north of the city.
His death came two days after Islamists killed Internal Security Minister Omar Hashi Adan in a suicide attack in central Somalia. The nation's former ambassador to Ethiopia, Abdikarin Farah Laqanyo, was also killed, along with at least 11 others, government officials said.
Madowe said a Pakistani militant who is a high-ranking official in al Qaeda is leading the fighting in Somalia against the government.
He warned that militants will spread fighting into the rest of the region if they topple the government in Somalia.
Mohammed Amiin Adow contributed to this report for CNN
|
cf472ef1688c4a2e90acac5017160302
|
who did Somali parliament speaker ask?
|
[
"called on Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya and Yemen to send in their military forces to help government troops stop hardline Islamist militants from taking over."
] |
NewsQA
|
KABUL, Afghanistan (CNN) -- Five people connected to an Afghan presidential candidate have been released after being kidnapped the day before, an official with the candidate said.
Five of Dr Abdullah Abdullah's campaign workers were kidnapped and later released.
The group of five, who worked for Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, were in a two-car caravan in northwestern Afghanistan on Wednesday when they were abducted, said Sayed Ahmad Samey, the security chief of Badghis province. Elders negotiated for their release, Samey said.
The workers have now been freed and are in a good condition, according to Sami Panah of Abdullah's campaign office.
Abdullah is a former Foreign Minister who is seeking to unseat incumbent President Hamid Karzai in the August 20 election. This is not the first time that Abdullah's supporters have been targeted.
One of the presidential hopeful's campaign workers was wounded by an unknown gunman in late July. A month earlier, gunmen in the province of Kapisa killed another of Abdullah's campaign managers in a midnight attack.
Hundreds of U.S. Marines and Afghan soldiers have headed to southern Afghanistan to secure polling stations and protect citizens during the elections.
It will be the nation's second presidential election since the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001.
|
5aa7986a1335498c86c964f3886ecb91
|
who were the group of five working for
|
[
"Dr. Abdullah Abdullah,"
] |
NewsQA
|
Baghdad, Iraq (CNN) -- At least 18 people have been killed and 80 injured in a car bomb blast in central Baghdad as deadly violence returned to the streets of the Iraqi capital for a second day.
The blast was caused by a suicide bomber who drove through the checkpoint, toward a government forensic office, Iraq's ministry of information said.
Tuesday's attack followed three vehicle bombings near hotels in the city on Monday which killed 36 people and wounded 71 others.
The latest bombings come amid concerns over security and fears of a fresh wave of sectarian violence between the country's rival Shia and Sunni factions as the country prepares for crucial national elections on March 7.
The buildup to that vote has been dominated by controversy over the legitimacy of hundreds of candidates banned from participating because of alleged links to former dictator Saddam Hussein's regime.
The 511-name "blacklist" issued by Iraq's Accountability and Justice Commission, which is charged with purging former members of Hussein's Baath Party from public life, includes many prominent Sunni Arab politicians.
Banning such candidates has raised fears of alienating the Sunnis -- an issue during the 2005 elections that analysts say was a contributing factor to the years of sectarian violence that followed.
Monday's bombings also followed the execution earlier in the day of Hussein's cousin and notorious henchman Ali Hassan al-Majeed -- also known as "Chemical Ali."
In a statement issued Tuesday, the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad condemned the attacks on the hotels.
"The terrorists who committed these senseless crimes aim to sow fear among the Iraqi people. We are confident, however, that the Iraqi people will stand fast and work together to build their common future in peace and security," the embassy said.
CNN's Yousif Bassil contributed to this report.
|
a8fe3e8a61254caa8025e9c4dfa36777
|
What number were killed today?
|
[
"At least 18"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Two Italians, a Dane, a German, a Frenchman and a Brit walk into a space station... or will, in 2013, if all goes according to European Space Agency plans.
Europe's six new astronauts hope to join their American counterparts on the Internation Space Station.
The six new astronauts named Wednesday were chosen from more than 8,400 candidates, and are the first new ESA astronauts since 1992, the space agency said in a statement.
They include two military test pilots, one fighter pilot and one commercial pilot, plus an engineer and a physicist.
"This is a very important day for human spaceflight in Europe," said Simonetta Di Pippo, Director of Human Spaceflight at ESA.
"These young men and women are the next generation of European space explorers. They have a fantastic career ahead, which will put them right on top of one of the ultimate challenges of our time: going back to the Moon and beyond as part of the global exploration effort."
Humans have not walked on the moon since 1972, just over three years after the first manned mission to Earth's nearest neighbor.
The six will begin space training in Germany, with an eye to being ready for future missions to the International Space Station and beyond in four years.
They are: Samantha Cristoforetti of Italy, a fighter pilot with degrees in engineering and aeronautical sciences; Alexander Gerst, a German researcher with degrees in physics and earth science; Andreas Mogensen, a Danish engineer with the private space firm HE Space Operations; Luca Parmitano of Italy, an Air Force pilot with a degree in aeronautical sciences; Timothy Peake, an English test pilot with the British military; and Frenchman Thomas Pesquet, an Air France pilot who previously worked as an engineer at the French space agency.
|
ad05ed1f3d0b44e08fdf0d85eebb33d5
|
How many new astonauts were named?
|
[
"six"
] |
NewsQA
|
JAKARTA, Indonesia (CNN) -- A U.S. mining company has denied a report by Indonesia's state media that a convoy of its buses came under fire in the province of Papua Wednesday.
Indonesian soldiers provide security near a PT Freeport-owned gold mine in Timika, Papua province, on July 18.
The state-run Antara News Agency had said that two people were reportedly killed when a 12-bus convoy carrying employees of PT Freeport was attacked by unidentified gunmen in the country's eastern-most province.
The company clarified that a vehicle was wrecked in the province, killing one person and wounding several others. When police and mechanics drove to the area to assist, shots were fired at them. Three people were hurt in the shooting, the company said.
"No shots were fired at the PT-FI bus convoy as earlier reported," the company said.
Following the company's comments, Antara's Web site changed its report to reflect the new information.
PT Freeport is the largest copper and gold mining company in the province.
Attacks directed at the company killed an Australian mine technician and two Indonesians on July 11 and 12.
And two directors of the company were wounded Friday in a twin attack at the Ritz Carlton and JW Marriott hotels in the capital Jakarta.
Papua residents have long resented the presence of PT Freeport in the province. They have criticized the environmental impact of the mining operations and the small share of revenues the province receives.
In 2008, a separatist group claimed responsibility for a series of bomb attacks in the area. No one died in the attacks, Antara said.
In 2002, two American teachers and an Indonesian colleague who worked at the mine were shot dead in an attack, the news agency said.
Meanwhile, authorities on Wednesday released sketches of two men believed to have carried out the bombings at the luxury hotels in Jakarta.
One was about 40; the other 17, officials said. Analysis of their DNA matched those obtained from a homemade explosive found in a room at the Marriott where they had checked in, police said.
But authorities still do not know their identities.
CNN's Andy Saputra contributed to this report.
|
aee0190a0a0e48b990a3708217fe1d94
|
What news agency is quoted
|
[
"Antara"
] |
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.
|
b5d7810c726b4196bfce12382c7326b8
|
What did the protests at the airport cause?
|
[
"backlog of flights"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Severe turbulence shook a Continental Airlines flight Monday, injuring dozens of passengers and forcing the aircraft to divert to Miami, Florida, according to the airline and a fire official.
Oxygen masks hang from a damaged part of the plane Monday, in a photo by passenger Camila Machado.
There were 168 passengers and 11 crew members on Flight 128, which was heading from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to Houston, Texas, according to a statement from Continental Airlines.
"I've never seen turbulence like that, so I really thought we wouldn't make it," passenger Giovani Loss told CNN affiliate WSVN-TV. Loss, who is originally from Brazil, said he is a lawyer in the United States and frequently travels between the two countries.
He said passengers were afraid the turbulence may have been the result of mechanical problems with the plane.
"People [were] screaming, then there was a huge silence for like 30 minutes," Loss said.
Ambulances and other vehicles were lined up on the runway to treat and transport the injured passengers when the plane landed at Miami International Airport at 5:35 a.m. Watch passengers describe what happened »
"People that weren't seat belted in flew up and hit the ceilings," passenger John Norwood told WSVN. "So their faces, their heads hit the plastics and broke all the plastics up top."
Continental said seven passengers were transported to nearby hospitals, and approximately 28 other passengers were treated at the scene. Lt. Elkin Sierra of the Miami-Dade Fire Department said 26 passengers were injured, including four seriously.
The Boeing 767-200 hit turbulence about 50 miles north of the Dominican Republic at about 38,000 feet, according to an official with the Federal Aviation Administration. It landed in Miami an hour later with its seat belt signs illuminated, the airline said.
Many of the passengers said they did not hear any warning before the turbulence hit.
Injuries received included bumps, bruises, neck pain and back pain, Sierra said.
Passengers said they saw several people bleeding from their heads, including one woman who sustained a serious gash to her head.
The flight is scheduled to depart Miami for Houston later in the morning, according to Continental's Web site. It had been scheduled to arrive in Houston at 6 a.m. local time.
|
8cccdbc8cd1645a1856829962fdadaed
|
What did the airliner hit?
|
[
"turbulence"
] |
NewsQA
|
MEXICO CITY, Mexico (CNN) -- Auto insurers report that about 60,000 vehicles were stolen in just over a year in Mexico, the highest figure in the past decade.
Mexico City, Mexico, has a well-deserved reputation for heavy traffic. Now car thefts may be added to the list.
That's no surprise to Guillermo Cruz, who has bought two new cars this year: the first after his original car was stolen, and the second three months later after two armed men pointed guns at him, got in and drove off with Cruz inside.
"They dropped me off in the street and I thought they had already left, and I went back" to where they had taken it, he said.
"And still they hadn't left; they were inside the car. And one man said to the other, 'Let's shoot him because he's becoming annoying.' "
According to the Mexican Association of Insurance Institutions, the capital of Mexico City is a favorite site for car thieves to work.
"If we talk about data from the federal district, we can say that we have 16,000 automobiles stolen, an increase of 10 percent from October 2007 to September 2008," said Recaredo Arias, a spokesman for the association.
He said drug traffickers have contributed to the increase by pushing other bands of criminals into new lines of business.
"Perhaps they are taking up so much space from the point of view of the sources of income as from the point of view of supply and distribution of drugs to these bands and, as a result, the bands are looking for other types of crimes," he speculated.
Authorities say they are making efforts to fight the crime, though some observers predict that the incidence of car theft will rise further as the world economic crisis worsens.
|
eb70d114d2d444a8bdf4060fcef967da
|
What will cause this problem to get worse?
|
[
"world economic crisis worsens."
] |
NewsQA
|
Istanbul (CNN) -- Several thousand opponents of new Internet filtering rules, set to take effect in Turkey in August, marched in protest in Istanbul on Sunday.
Demonstrators carried signs in Turkish and English reading "Don't touch my Internet" and "We don't need protection," while they chanted slogans against website censorship.
Internet users must choose among four filtering options, including family, children, domestic or standard settings, as a part of Turkey's "Safe Internet Service."
The regulations are designed to protect children from indecent online content, according to BTK, the prime minister's information technology board. Critics argue that it is not clear how the filtering system will work.
The marchers stopped several times to stage brief sit-ins during the two-hour route from the Taksim Square to the end of Istiklal Street.
Organizers claimed the marcher numbered in the "thousands," which appeared to be accurate to a CNN reporter on the scene.
The new filtering rules will be enforced beginning August 22, the government said.
A "Enemies of the Internet" report issued this month by Reporters Without Borders included Turkey on its 2011 list of "countries under surveillance."
The BTK was "not fooling anyone when it claims to be rendering a service to Internet users by giving them a choice between a lot of restrictions and fewer restrictions," the report said.
Turkey already blocks more than 7,000 websites, "in most cases without reference to any court," the report said.
|
0bf30d6ec3cd41d89d546481fb639a8c
|
What do Turkish officials say?
|
[
"new filtering rules will be enforced beginning August 22,"
] |
NewsQA
|
NEW YORK (CNN) -- A construction company and three supervisors were indicted Monday on manslaughter and related charges in the deaths of two firefighters battling a 2007 blaze at the Deutsche Bank building in lower Manhattan.
Firefighters Joseph Graffagnino, left, and Robert Beddia died in the Deutsche Bank building blaze.
Prosecutors also reached an agreement with the city of New York requiring the implementation of new fire safety measures.
"Our goal is to put in place procedures which will prevent a disaster of the magnitude of the Deutsche Bank fire and to make sure that firefighters are never again exposed to the risks they faced in that fire," Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau said.
The indictments against the John Galt Corp., Jeffrey Melofchik, Mitchel Alvo and Salvatore DePaola also allege negligent homicide and reckless endangerment.
The indictment is the result of an investigation into an August 18, 2007, blaze that consumed nine floors of the Deutsche Bank building.
The building had been scheduled for demolition after being contaminated by debris, asbestos and other hazardous substances after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center buildings.
The two firefighters killed in the blaze -- Robert Beddia, 53, and Joseph Graffagnino, 33 -- were caught in a smoke-filled stairwell that prosecutors say was improperly blocked off by barriers erected to seal off floors being stripped of contaminants.
In addition to the deaths of Beddia and Graffagnino, 105 other firefighters were injured combating the blaze.
The agreement with the city of New York mandates the creation of a new civilian inspection unit at the city's fire department, the sole purpose of which will be to perform inspections at construction sites throughout the city.
"The regulatory measures we have put in place and the additional reforms set out today are designed to prevent any firefighter again confronting the conditions that firefighters faced at the Deutsche Bank building that tragic day," New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said in a written statement.
The father of one of the firefighters killed in the blaze, Joseph Graffagnino Sr., said the indictments did not go far enough.
"I don't understand if the [city] agency can't be indicted, why can't individuals be indicted who we already know should have been responsible for doing their jobs and did not do their jobs," he said to reporters.
Graffagnino was referencing the lack of criminal charges brought against employees of the city fire department, the city's department of buildings and the building's landlord, the Lower Manhattan Development Corp.
|
c8fd85a1f8a44215abcfb046b6281fb1
|
who alleged that doorway was improperly sealed?
|
[
"prosecutors"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Arizona, who was shot in the head in January, reads aloud a portion of her upcoming audio book, her office said Thursday.
Giffords has made what doctors call a miraculous recovery since the shooting at an Arizona supermarket, which left six people dead and 12 others wounded. After months of rehabilitation, she returned to the House floor in August and received a standing ovation.
She has otherwise stayed largely out of the spotlight.
Her book, "Gabby: A Story of Courage and Hope," chronicles the relationship between Giffords and her astronaut husband, Mark Kelly. It's the story of her rise to become a Democratic U.S. representative, his stellar career from combat pilot to commander of the Space Shuttle Endeavor's final flight, and the tragedy that befell their lives when she was shot.
The couple wrote the book together with Wall Street Journal columnist Jeffrey Zaslow. Published by Scribner, the book is set for release November 15.
The audio book is scheduled to be released the same day by Simon & Schuster Audio. Kelly reads aloud the whole book except for the final chapter, which is read by Giffords, spokesman Mark Kimble said.
Illinois congressman's life threatened
The man charged in the shooting, Jared Loughner, is in mental health treatment and will be re-evaluated early next year to determine his competency to stand trial.
|
5c4abbb4a89b42ccb31576292e5e12aa
|
who read aloud?
|
[
"Gabrielle Giffords,"
] |
NewsQA
|
Port-au-Prince, Haiti (CNN) -- The longest and most visible lines in Haiti's capital are not for food, water or gas. They are for money.
Earthquake survivors need cash and are waiting hours outside wire transfer businesses, including Western Union, that are starting to reopen.
"I have no money," 32-year-old Anderson Bellegarde said Thursday, in his sixth hour standing outside a UniBank money wire branch.
The business in Carrefour, near the epicenter of the earthquake and about eight miles from the capital of Port-au-Prince, was operating at a crawl. A line of Haitians loudly pleaded with guards, putting their hands around the blue iron gate and urging to be let in more quickly to access funds wired to them from beyond the disaster zone.
Full coverage | Twitter updates
Very little currency trickled into Haitian hands Thursday. There was little financial movement in the disaster zone, with most banks remaining shut.
Bellegarde looked at the closed bank next to the money transfer station and squinted his eyes. "That's where our money's at, and they're holding it," he told CNN Radio. "We need it so we can buy food."
Basic groceries are relatively easy to find for sale throughout the streets of Port-au-Prince. Those with canned goods, some produce and even ice and bread have formed a massive, impromptu market. But most quake survivors do not have the cash to buy any of it.
iReport: List of missing, found | Impact Your World
"I have not eaten for two days," Bellegarde said, "I'm only drinking water."
Banks have been closed since the January 12 earthquake. There were widespread rumors that the Haitian government would force them to open Thursday, but that didn't happen.
Now, officials say provincial banks will likely open Friday, and branches in Port-au-Prince will restart business Saturday.
|
3b21e7b8615346d39740af65d60d413b
|
where was the quake
|
[
"Carrefour,"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- A man with a pistol killed one person and wounded three others at a cafe in the Dutch city of Rotterdam on Saturday morning, a police spokesman said.
Police officers stand next to the body of the victim killed by the cafe gunman in Rotterdam.
Patrons at the cafe managed to capture the shooter, a 45-year-old man, and hold him until police arrived, Rotterdam Police spokesman Gerde Jung told CNN.
Police arrested the man and recovered his weapon, Jung said.
The shooting was probably the the result of a quarrel the man had earlier, but details of that argument were unclear, Jung said.
All of the victims were male, he said.
|
c901b23e687649e1bd44ae8fcf3a7038
|
what did the police say
|
[
"A"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim came out of hiding Monday, and says he has damaging evidence that proves senior members of the government faked evidence for sodomy charges against him.
Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim says he has proof sodomy charges against him were fabricated.
"I have new evidence about the fabrication of evidence against me in 1998," Anwar told CNN Monday. "I totally reject these malicious attacks."
Anwar was the heir apparent to former premier Mahathir Mohamad until 1998, when he was sacked and charged for corruption and sodomy.
The sodomy conviction was overturned, but the corruption verdict was never lifted, barring him from running for political post until this year.
In the CNN interview, Anwar rejected the sodomy charges and also said he had evidence of threats on his life that caused him to go into hiding at the Turkish embassy in Kuala Lumpur. Listen to Anwar Ibrahim defend himself »
CNN could not immediately reach members of Malaysia's ruling party.
The ruling party, National Front Coalition, has led Malaysia since the country declared independence in 1957. Anwar's opposition party has gradually chipped away at the National Front's power.
Recently Malaysian police have said they are investigating a new sodomy charge against him, Anwar said.
The new charges were also false and were fabricated to usurp his political gains, Anwar said.
"I will challenge these attacks on every ground," Anwar said.
|
69f9a2b4a64e4a8fb0285f70f854c6fc
|
What was he charged with?
|
[
"corruption and sodomy."
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- A convicted sex offender who was sentenced to death for killing a 9-year-old Idaho boy is scheduled to be arraigned Monday on charges related to the killing of a 10-year-old California boy.
Joseph Edward Duncan III will answer charges in the 1997 abduction and murder of Anthony Martinez.
Joseph Edward Duncan III is expected to appear in court in Riverside County, California, to answer to charges in the 1997 abduction and murder of Anthony Martinez, said a spokesman for the Riverside County District Attorney's office.
Investigators have charged Duncan with murder in Anthony's death.
Law-enforcement officials also are investigating whether Duncan, who committed his first sexual offense at the age of 12, can be tied to other crimes, according to CNN affiliate KTLA in Los Angeles, California.
Martinez was kidnapped on April 4, 1997 from an alley near his home in the city of Beaumont, the station reported; the boy's naked body was discovered a little over two weeks later.
Duncan has confessed to killing Martinez and crushing the boy's head with a rock, KTLA reported, citing court documents.
Authorities reportedly discovered the boy's body by following vultures to a remote section of a nearby canyon. The body was partially buried under a pile of rocks and bound with duct tape, according to KTLA.
Duncan, a high school dropout and drifter, was sentenced to death last August for the torture and murder of Dylan Groene, a 9-year-old Idaho boy.
He was convicted of kidnapping Dylan and his then 8-year-old sister before torturing them at a remote campsite and fatally bludgeoning members of their family.
In 2007, Duncan pleaded guilty to murder and kidnapping counts in state court for the hammer-attack murders of three other Groene family members.
If convicted of murdering Martinez, Duncan can be sentenced to death again.
|
91fe0faa7f1541c99572af772695eec7
|
When did the first offense occur?
|
[
"April 4, 1997"
] |
NewsQA
|
Atlanta, Georgia (CNN) -- The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating how an international flight into Atlanta's major airport landed on a taxiway instead of a runway early Monday.
FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said Delta Flight 60, from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, was cleared to land about 6:05 a.m. Monday on Runway 27R but landed instead on Taxiway M, which runs parallel to the runway. The flight had 194 passengers and crew aboard, according to CNN affiliate WXIA.
No other aircraft were on the taxiway, and there was no damage to either the taxiway or the plane, a Boeing 767, Bergen said.
A runway or taxiway collision, particularly with one plane preparing to take off and carrying a full fuel load, would be catastrophic.
Bergen said she isn't sure whether or when other aircraft have ever landed on the taxiway at Hartsfield.
Both Runway 27R and Taxiway M are 11,890 feet long, Bergen said, but the runway is marked with white lights while the taxiway is marked with blue lights.
Delta spokesman Anthony Black said the airline is cooperating with the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board in their investigation, as well as conducting an internal investigation. The pilots of the flight have been relieved from active flying pending the completion of these investigations, Black said.
Bergen and Black said a medical emergency was reported on the plane, but neither offered any details.
The incursion came just two weeks after the FAA announced that serious runway incursions were down 50 percent from the year that ended September 30, 2008, over the year ending on the same date this year.
The FAA said there were 12 serious incursions in 2009 and 25 in 2008. Only two of the serious incursions involved commercial airliners in 2009, compared with nine in 2008.
The FAA defines a serious incursion as one in which a collision is narrowly avoided, or there was a significant potential for collision that resulted in the need to take quick corrective action.
|
11e44b83a73b471894ad1651b326a670
|
Where should the plane have landed?
|
[
"Runway 27R"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Togo may be allowed to take part in the next African Nations Cup after world soccer's governing body FIFA stepped in to mediate the row arising from the team's withdrawal from this year's event.
The Togo Football Federation was fined $50,000 and excluded from the 2012 and 2014 tournaments after pulling out ahead ahead of the start of the Angola edition in January due to a deadly gun attack on the team's bus.
National captain Emmanuel Adebayor decided to quit international football due to the trauma of the incident, which saw rebels fire on his players and kill three people.
Togo appealed the Confederation of Africa Football's decision to the Sport of Arbitration for Court, with FIFA president Sepp Blatter subsequently brought in to mediate the hearing.
As a result, the president of the CAF, Issa Hayatou of Cameroon, will ask the African ruling body's executive committee to lift the ban at its next meeting on May 15.
As part of the deal, the TFF admitted that it had not complied with CAF competition regulations when it withdrew the team, known as the Sparrow Hawks.
"I am very pleased that we have been able to find a solution which is satisfactory for both parties," Blatter said in a statement on Friday.
"Today marks a victory for the whole football family, particularly for African football. This shows that we can solve internal disputes within the football family for the benefit of all those who are involved in our game, and in particular for the players."
The CAS, an independent tribunal that deals with sports disputes, was also relieved that it had been able to broker a deal.
"Considering the emotional circumstances surrounding this case, it was very important for the parties to find a reasonable solution in order to put an end to their dispute," Secretary General Matthieu Reeb said.
|
f02d4ddf03e6438c914b53776eff8ba6
|
Togo were banned for what?
|
[
"pulling out ahead ahead of the start of the Angola edition"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- China has killed 13,000 birds in the country's far northwest to control what it called an epidemic of bird flu, state media reported Tuesday.
Since the end of 2003, the H5N1 virus has infected birds in over 60 countries in Africa, Asia and Europe.
Five hundred fowl that had died in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region tested positive for the H5N1 virus, according to China's Ministry of Agriculture.
In late January, China confirmed its sixth case of bird flu in a human.
The ministry said at the time that, although further human bird flu cases were possible throughout China, there wouldn't be a large-scale outbreak, state run news agency Xinhua and CCTV reported. The country also announced it was setting up a nationwide network to test for the H5N1 virus.
Following a bird flu outbreak in late January, India culled more than 4,000 birds in the remote northeastern state of Sikkim.
Health officials also detected dozens of cases of upper respiratory infection among humans, but none of the patients had any history of handling sick poultry, a government spokesperson said. Sikkim borders Nepal and China.
Since the end of 2003, the H5N1 virus has infected many species of birds in more than 60 countries in Africa, Asia and Europe.
It has not been found in birds in North or South America or the Caribbean, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
Human-to-human transmission of avian flu is rare, but the virus has passed from poultry to humans in some cases. It has killed more than 200 people since 2003. China reported its first human-to-human infection case in 2005.
Of the 34 cases confirmed to date in the country, 23 had been fatal, the World Health Organization said in late January.
|
f52bce5c2a634e73a61cc190d23dfd85
|
Who confirmed its sixth case of bird flu?
|
[
"China"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Conjoined Egyptian twin boys Hassan and Mahmoud, who were successfully separated in Saudi Arabia Saturday, are recovering and are expected to lead normal lives, officials said.
Conjoined twins Hassan, left, and Mahmud rest the day before separation surgery in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
"The twins' vital signs are good; they're doing excellent," said Sami Al-Shalan, spokesman for the King Abdulaziz Medical City facility in Riyadh where the surgery took place. "The twins still have about 24 hours before a progress report can be issued. The anesthesia consultants are happy with the progress of the children."
The boys are less than a year old and were brought to the kingdom on February 10. The delicate surgery took a little more than 15 hours.
"The twins' parents have visited them in the [pediatric intensive care unit], but they can't stay there long. They come and go," Al-Shalan said.
Separating the boys' urinary system was a major challenge, Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah, the Saudi minister of health, told CNN. So was separating the siblings' local veins and arteries, he said.
"We had to identify the arteries and the blood veins between each baby," Al-Rabeeah said. Watch Al-Rabeeah explain the operation »
The procedure was the 21st of its kind to be performed in the kingdom.
The surgeries are performed free as part of King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz's philanthropic initiative.
CNN's Mohammed Jamjoom contributed to this report.
|
a03818de9c2843f4a484a40d1fdbe1a0
|
What age are the Egyptian twins?
|
[
"less than a year old"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- The Rev. Franklin Graham has arrived in North Korea bearing a gift for North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, the country's official news agency reported Wednesday.
The Rev. Franklin Graham reportedly will oversee the delivery of $190,000 in equipment for a dental school.
Graham handed the present, which was not identified, to a high-ranking official Wednesday to give to Kim, the Korean Central News Agency reported.
Graham, the son of the Rev. Billy Graham and the president of Samaritan's Purse, arrived Tuesday in North Korea's capital, Pyongyang, KCNA said.
On its Web site, Samaritan's Purse said Franklin Graham was to meet with high-level government officials and to inspect medical facilities that the organization has installed.
"I believe it is important to make visits like this to help improve relations and to have a better understanding with each other," Graham said, according to the Samaritan's Purse Web site.
The group said Graham will visit a hospital and also will oversee the delivery of $190,000 in equipment to outfit a dental school that can train up to 70 dentists per year.
KCNA reported that Graham said he hoped he could act as a bridge for better relations between the United States and North Korea.
The visit marks Graham's third trip to North Korea. His father visited the country in 1992 and 1994 and met with President Kim Il Sung, Samaritan's Purse said.
His mother, the late Ruth Bell Graham, attended a mission school in Pyongyang in 1934, the organization said.
Later this week, Graham is scheduled to travel to China, where he'll dedicate a clinic that Samaritan's Purse built, visit a city destroyed by last year's earthquake and speak at churches, the organization said.
|
6a20ba054f4f4efd9069667457983dc3
|
What did Graham do?
|
[
"bearing a gift for North Korean leader"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Griffin Bell, who served as attorney general in the Carter administration, has died, according to the Carter Center in Atlanta, Georgia. He was 90.
Griffin Bell is sworn in as attorney general in January 1977.
Former President Jimmy Carter issued a statement saying that he and former first lady Rosalynn Carter were deeply saddened by Bell's death.
"A trusted and enduring public figure, Griffin's integrity, professionalism, and charm were greatly valued across party lines and presidential administrations," Carter said.
"As a World War II veteran, federal appeals court judge, civil rights advocate, and U.S. attorney general in my administration, Griffin made many lasting contributions to his native Georgia and country. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family."
The son of a south Georgia cotton farmer, Bell passed the Georgia bar exam while still a student in law school, according to the New Georgia Encyclopedia. He went on to help build the prominent Atlanta law firm King and Spalding, and then to serve as the nation's top legal officer.
He was a chairman of John F. Kennedy's 1960 presidential campaign, and Kennedy appointed him to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in 1961. As a federal judge, Bell was involved in desegregation rulings in the 1960s, and he became known as a moderate legal voice in the South.
Fellow Georgian Jimmy Carter nominated Bell as attorney general in 1976. He was confirmed shortly after Carter's inauguration but only after sometimes difficult Senate hearings.
Bell's memberships in private segregated clubs and some of his decisions as a federal judge became issues. He was confirmed in January 1977 by a Senate vote of 75 to 21.
Bell's tenure as attorney general followed the Watergate era, and he was credited with helping restore public confidence in the Justice Department during the late 1970s.
Bell resigned as attorney general in 1979 to return to private law practice in Atlanta with King and Spalding.
He resurfaced in the public eye periodically, including in 2004 when he was listed among Georgia Democrats who endorsed President George W. Bush for re-election.
Also in 2004, he co-authored an independent study ordered by FBI Director Robert Mueller of the FBI's internal disciplinary procedures.
The report sharply criticized the FBI and called its methods for determining punishments for its agents "seriously flawed."
|
1701648b900b47f187b4ea4fd64e6c11
|
Who did Bell endorse in 2004?
|
[
"President George W. Bush"
] |
NewsQA
|
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Obama on Tuesday proposed making "pay-as-you-go" rules for federal spending into law.
President Obama proposed Tuesday that the government adopt "pay-as-you-go" rules for federal spending.
The so-called PAYGO proposal requires Congress to balance any increased spending by equal savings elsewhere, Obama said in announcing the measure that now goes to Congress.
A previous PAYGO mandate helped erase federal budget deficits in the 1990s, and subsequent ineffective rules contributed to the current budget deficits, Obama said. Now the PAYGO rules should be the law, he said.
"Paying for what you spend is basic common sense," Obama said. "Perhaps that's why, here in Washington, it's been so elusive."
Republican leaders said the proposal comes after record spending initiatives by the Obama administration, such as the $787 billion economic stimulus program.
"It seems a tad disingenuous for the president and Speaker [Nancy] Pelosi to talk about PAYGO rules after ramming trillions in spending through Congress proposing policies that create more debt in the first six months of this year than in the previous 220 years combined," said Rep. Eric Cantor of Virginia, the House Minority Whip.
However, a group of fiscally conservative Democratic representatives known as the Blue Dogs called Obama's proposal responsible and necessary.
"President Obama inherited an economy in free-fall and a $10.6 trillion national debt," said Rep. Jim Cooper of Tennessee, vice-chairman of the Blue Dog Budget and Financial Services Task Force.
"While short-term spending was necessary to get the economy moving again, our long-term fiscal problems became that much more urgent."
A White House statement said Obama's proposal calls for the Office of Management and Budget to maintain a ledger of the average 10-year budgetary effects of all legislation affecting mandatory spending or baseline tax levels.
Any extra cost that lacks payment authorized by Congress would require the president to find money within the budget to pay it, while any tax cut would require a corresponding increase in tax revenue.
Some costs would be exempt, including Medicare payments to doctors, the estate and gift tax, and tax cuts enacted in 2001 and 2002, the White House statement said.
|
a2976d27c2644b3eb4e284e1c2edbb46
|
What kinds of costs would be exempt?
|
[
"Medicare payments to doctors, the estate and gift tax, and tax cuts enacted in 2001 and 2002,"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Dr. Julie Gerberding, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, will leave her post by noon on January 20, the day President-elect Barack Obama is to be sworn in to office.
Dr. Julie Gerberding, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has resigned effective January 20.
In an e-mail to the staff at the Department of Health and Human Services, which includes the CDC, outgoing HHS Secretary Michael Leavitt asked Gerberding and several other senior officials from his team to submit their letters of resignation.
"She did so, and it was accepted, and it is effective January 20," CDC spokeswoman Karen Hunter said.
Leavitt explained his move this way: "The next phase of Transition involves the departure of our team on January 20, and the arrival of President-elect Obama's team later that day," his e-mail said. "In order to create a clear path for leadership transition, I am attaching a list of senior leaders who will become the acting heads of their respective agencies and offices (or in some cases, remain as heads of their respective agencies and offices) until the new administration appoints individuals to various leadership positions."
In addition to the change at CDC, Assistant HHS Secretary Charlie Johnson will serve as acting secretary, Leavitt said.
CDC's Chief Operating Officer William H. Gimson III will take over as interim director at the agency until the next HHS secretary appoints a new one, the e-mail added.
Gimson and Gerberding were traveling and unavailable for comment.
|
9286d96a3683424a8e4d219bc6100bc9
|
When will she leave her post?
|
[
"by noon on January 20,"
] |
NewsQA
|
Lisbon, Portugal (CNN) -- Let's face it, footballers have a bad rep. They are labelled by many as overpaid selfish prima donnas who could not care less about the world around them.
This may in reality apply to some players, but definitely not all of them. In Lisbon I recently met many who truly enjoy being role models and were honored to take part in the 7th edition of the United Nations (UN) Match Against Poverty.
This year, in light of the tragic earthquake in Haiti, all of the proceeds went to the devastated country as 55 thousand people filled the Stadium of Light to greet some of the best footballers on the planet, both past and present.
The likes of Kaka, Thierry Henry, Luis Figo and Zinedine Zidane lent a hand to this cause. Organizers were hoping to raise over $750 000 and in ticket sales alone, that target was reached.
Having the privilege to be behind the scenes at this match in my home country, I spoke with various players about their involvement in it. One of the most concerned about the plight of the Haitian people was Thierry Henry.
The Barcelona forward, who made headlines for the wrong reasons after his controversial handball which helped prevent Ireland from attending the World Cup, had already personally pledged $90,000 to the French aid agency Medecins sans Frontieres.
"I am very touched by this tragedy and it is very good that everybody should mobilize in order to help Haiti," Henry told his club side Barcelona's official Web site.
"This touches me because almost 20 years ago something similar happened in (the French Caribbean island of) Guadeloupe and I know what the Haitians must be going through. I have many friends over there. Haiti is a former French colony and it's as if we are cousins."
Henry showed true concern for a nation that needs all the help it can get to rebuild its infrastructure and its hope.
Zidane, Kaka and Figo were others who told me they were shocked by some of the footage they saw coming out of Haiti. As the death toll rose, they felt they needed to do something to help, and were delighted so many high-profile names showed up.
In all, some 40 international players participated in a match that was qualified as a success by all, including the former Arsenal striker.
"We must help them. I felt I should do something and that's why I have decided to make a donation to Medecins sans Frontieres," said the former Arsenal legend.
|
9b3ff8565a7146099ba510c9b0d59c49
|
What was Henry shocked by?
|
[
"some of the footage they saw coming out of Haiti."
] |
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