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NewsQA
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LAGOS, Nigeria (CNN) -- More than 2,500 Nigerians caught in the fighting between Islamic militants and government forces have fled their homes in the northern part of the country, a Red Cross spokeswoman said Wednesday.
Mothers and their children take refuge this week at a police office in the northern Nigerian city of Maiduguri.
More than 400 people have been killed, and 150 bodies were lying in the general hospital at Maiduguri, according to Aliyu Maikanu, a Red Cross disaster officer in the northeast.
Most of the violence has been on the outskirts of the city, officials said.
"It's a terrible situation for me. It's a very serious battle -- something I have not seen in my life," Maikanu said.
She said only security personnel were free to move around due to the risks.
Up to 1,000 militants are holed up at their base of operations in Maiduguri, and police have cordoned off the area, she said.
National police spokesman Emmanuel Ojukwu said Wednesday that police were able to free 187 women and children whom they claim were being held in the compound of the Islamic militants' leader, Mohammed Yusuf.
Under the sect's strict form of sharia law, the group that was released was shielded from public view, Ojukwu said.
He said 100 arrests have been made across the north.
Shehu Sani, president of the Civil Rights Congress, a human rights organization based in northern Nigeria, said people were seeking refuge in police and military barracks and in hospitals.
The militants disagree with the government's teaching of Islam in the region, maintaining that the government allows itself to be influenced by Western values.
They have been targeting high-profile government institutions, police and Islamic clergy, Ojukwu said.
The operation to defeat the militants is ongoing, he said, and police have been deployed in all northeast and northwestern states.
There is a history of religious violence in central Nigeria, where majority-Muslim North Africa meets largely Christian sub-Saharan Africa.
Human Rights Watch estimates that more than 1,000 people were killed there in riots in 2001.
Last week the human rights organization alleged that police and soldiers killed at least 133 people during two days of riots last year between Muslims and Christians in Nigeria. Most of the victims were young Muslim men, often unarmed, the group said in testimony before a state commission.
CNN's Christian Purefoy contributed to this report.
|
24a2e09807c449278609bcfaaf4a9396
|
How many people did the Red Cross say were killed?
|
[
"More than 400"
] |
NewsQA
|
Washington (CNN) -- President Obama huddled with the Joint Chiefs of Staff and other top military advisers at the White House on Friday as the administration continued its sweeping review of U.S. strategy in Afghanistan.
Each branch of the armed services was given a direct opportunity to tell Obama the effect on the military if a large number of additional forces are sent to Afghanistan, two military sources told CNN's Barbara Starr.
The meeting was the seventh in a series of high-level discussions being held in part to forge a consensus on how best to confront Taliban and al Qaeda militants threatening the governments of Afghanistan and Pakistan.
"The president wants to get input from different services," White House spokesman Tommy Vietor said earlier this week. "It's a chance to consult with uniformed military leadership as a part of his [Afghanistan-Pakistan] review."
The potential for a major expansion of the number of U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan comes with some misgivings from the military chiefs. The Army and Marine Corps have expressed concerns that it could make it tougher to give troops promised time at home with their families between overseas tours.
The White House strategy review is being conducted against a backdrop of rising U.S. casualties in Afghanistan and increased Taliban violence.
October has already become the deadliest month for U.S. forces since the war began in late 2001, with the deaths of 56 American troops.
Taliban militants have become increasingly bold. This week, they attacked a U.N. guesthouse in central Kabul, killing five U.N. staff members.
There also is political turmoil surrounding a planned November 7 Afghan presidential election runoff. On Friday, a source close to the Afghan leadership told CNN that President Hamid Karzai's runoff opponent, Abdullah Abdullah, would withdraw from the race.
The presidential campaign has become increasingly contentious as Abdullah demanded the removal of the country's election chief and 200 other staffers of the election commission to ensure a fair runoff.
Abdullah and others have charged that massive fraud occurred in the first round of voting on August 20. The initial results gave Karzai the win, but a subsequent review by a U.N.-backed panel of election monitors threw out nearly one-third of Karzai's votes because of "clear and convincing evidence of fraud."
The result left Karzai short of the 50 percent needed to avoid a runoff. After a flurry of meetings with U.S. and U.N. officials, the Afghan president agreed to the runoff.
|
66ba3bbb145c4a25a3991d5e1fe55559
|
What is Obama planning to send to the war zone?
|
[
"additional forces"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Opposition leader and supermarket mogul Ricardo Martinelli has won Panama's presidential election, the head of the country's electoral tribunal said Sunday.
Ricardo Martinelli delivers a victory speech after Panama's presidential election Sunday.
Martinelli, of the conservative Democratic Change party, edged out former Housing Minister Balbina Herrera of Panama's governing Democratic Revolutionary Party, said Erasmo Pinilla of the electoral tribunal.
A final vote count wasn't immediately available Sunday evening.
"This is a victory for all the people of Panama," Martinelli said. "And I make a call to all our opposition -- to all the parties that opposed us -- that you all are all Panamanians. ... Tomorrow we have to start a new day."
Martinelli also ran for president in 2004, when he came in fourth with about 5 percent of the vote. President Martin Torrijos won that election with about 47 percent of the vote.
|
63cac1f74a0240bd8884451862588403
|
What country had elections?
|
[
"Panama's"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- The Renault Formula One team have commenced legal proceedings against former driver Nelson Piquet Junior over allegations made by the Brazilian that he was asked by the team to deliberately crash his car in last year's Singapore Grand Prix.
Renault boss Flavio Briatore has issued a statement confirming legal proceddings against Nelson Piquet Jr.
It has been claimed that Renault boss, Flavio Briatore, in order to maximize the chances of Fernando Alonso winning the 2008 race, planned the crash of teammate Piquet Jr.
Renault have hit back against the allegations concerning the event made by Piquet Jr in an official statement on their Web site.
"Managing Director Flavio Briatore personally wish[es] to state criminal proceedings against Nelson Piquet Junior and Nelson Piquet Senior [have commenced] in France concerning the making of false allegations," the statement read.
The statement added the three-times former world champion and his son had also attempted to "blackmail the team" into allowing Piquet Jr to continue to drive until the end of the 2009 season.
Renault, who dismissed Piquet Jr as their driver in August, confirmed they have referred the matter to the British police.
The French car constructor face being thrown out of Formula One if the allegations are proved by an investigation being conducted by the governing body of world motorsport, the FIA.
The team will go before the FIA's World Motor Sport Council in Paris on September 21 to hear the findings of the probe.
Double world champion Alonso won the race -- the first for Renault in two years -- despite starting from 15th on the grid.
Intriguingly, Renault ran a light fuel load on Alonso's car -- thereby increasing the driver's speed.
Just two laps after Alonso came in early to take on more fuel, Piquet's crash forced the deployment of the safety car and the subsequent pit stop of nearly all other drivers, an action that promoted Alonso to fifth from where he went onto to secure victory.
Piquet attributed the crash to a simple error at the time.
Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone recently warned "there is going to be a lot of trouble" if the allegations are found to be true.
The FIA proved with the spygate saga only circumstantial evidence is required for them to impose strict penalties. On that occasion they fined McLaren $80 million for breaching the same article that is now now faced by Renault.
|
83b5f9f6460140d39794e02ae58fc9ae
|
Who is the boss of Renault?
|
[
"Flavio Briatore"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Barack Obama is a married man but there's another woman with a hold on him that his wife can never match: she runs the House.
Nancy Pelosi has been an easy target for Republican ire.
She is Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic speaker of the House of Representatives, the most powerful woman in Washington and lately, a target for Republicans.
Pelosi is easy to spot in any crowd of U.S. politicians; she's the small brown-haired woman in the smartly tailored suit.
Conservatives like to stereotype some Democrats as rich, isolated and out-of-touch. As the wife of an affluent investment banker, the always expertly coiffed Pelosi looks like exactly the kind of "Limousine Liberal" they're talking about.
Ironically, it's money that makes her powerful. Under the U.S. constitution, the president can't spend a penny without the permission of Congress.
Within the Congress, the Senate has its own powers but the House is the place where taxes and spending start. So almost every one of Obama's plans needs a push from Pelosi.
Maybe that's part of the reason she's in trouble right now.
The issue isn't really part of her daily duties: "waterboarding" and other extreme interrogation tactics used against prisoners in the Bush era.
Obama ordered an end to the harsh methods, but Republicans are asking why Democrats who knew about them years ago didn't try to stop them then.
Pelosi was one of a handful of lawmakers who was briefed by the Central Intelligence Agency in 2002, but she now accuses the agency of lying to her and hiding what it was doing.
Republicans have been attacking Pelosi for making unsubstantiated and damaging accusations against a crucial national security agency.
The man who once had her job, former Republican speaker Newt Gingrich, says Pelosi is lying in a way that is "despicable, dishonest and vicious."
Whether or not he's right, it's smart politics. Obama is still remarkably popular. Most of the country hopes that he'll succeed in rebuilding the economy and ending the war in Iraq.
If the president is immune to most easy attacks from the opposition, it needs to find someone who isn't.
Pelosi is a crucial part of his plans. As potential targets go, with her nearly perfect hair and nearly perfect clothes, Pelosi is nearly perfect.
|
bd0e9f8e4abd4beca3ae898cdb8f9463
|
What is the name of the most powerful woman in Washington?
|
[
"Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic speaker of the House of Representatives,"
] |
NewsQA
|
LONDON, England (CNN) -- A ship laden with toxic substances is due to arrive in northeast England for recycling Sunday, ending an odyssey that has seen it turned away from at least three other countries.
The scrapping of the aircraft carrier has been hugely controversial and a major headache for France.
The French Navy spent years looking for a site that would decommission the former aircraft carrier Clemenceau, now known simply as the Q790. The ship contains asbestos, which can cause cancer.
Greenpeace activists boarded the ship off the coast of Egypt in 2006 to prevent it being sent to India to be scrapped. The environmental campaign group said at the time it contained "high levels of asbestos and other hazardous materials." Two activists climbed the ship's masts and hung banners reading "Absestos carrier: stay out of India."
The group declared "victory" a month later when then-President Jacques Chirac of France recalled the ship after the country's Council of State ruled its export could violate European law, Greenpeace said.
The ship had earlier been rejected by Turkey and Greece, after the original plan to turn it into an artificial reef was scrapped for environmental reasons, the group said.
The British ship recycling company that will scrap it had to apply for special permission from the country's Environment Agency and Health and Safety Executive.
But the company, Able Ship Recycling, hailed its arrival in the English city of Hartlepool as a milestone.
"The dismantling of the vessel will be the largest ship recycling project ever undertaken in Europe," the company said in a statement.
The work will take place at the company's Teesside Environmental Reclamation and Recycling Centre, where it will produce about 200 jobs in the economically depressed region.
Able chairman and chief executive Peter Stephenson said the contract was "crucially important... at a time when there are so many economic problems facing the world -- and especially a region such as the north-east of England."
"Recycling the Q790 will be the largest project so far handled by any European yard but, with the biggest dry dock in the world, we have the capacity to undertake the recycling of the vessel," he added.
Launched in 1957, the Clemenceau was the mainstay of the French naval fleet and sailed over a million nautical miles before being withdrawn from active service after almost four decades at sea, the company said. It will join the other three UK and four U.S. vessels also being recycled at the center, Able said.
Greenpeace is not opposing the transfer of the ship to England, but press reports suggest local activists are displeased.
|
da06a543953c46dfaa6d16b4f8eefd55
|
What is on the French ship?
|
[
"asbestos,"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Thomas the Tank Engine, whose television adventures on the fictional island of Sodor have delighted children around the world for years, is now on a real-life mission to help kids with autism.
Thomas the Tank Engine is part of a new online game to help autistic children recognize different emotions.
The steam locomotive and his friends are the stars of a new game in Australia, designed to help autistic children recognize emotions.
Autism Spectrum Australia (Aspect), a nonprofit that provides services to people diagnosed with the developmental disorder, unveiled the game on its Web site Tuesday.
The game asks players to recognize which engine has a sad face, or which is happy or angry.
Children with autism often have a difficult time distinguishing different facial expressions.
Each time a child plays the game, he/she is presented with a different sequence of emotions. In doing so, the game takes advantage of the single-mindedness of autistic children to assist in their development.
"It's a great way to help develop social and communication skills," said Anthony Warren of Aspect.
A study conducted in the United Kingdom found that autistic children were far more fascinated by the television series, "Thomas and Friends," than they were with other fictional characters.
The study, by the National Autistic Society, summarized that the show held such appeal because of the clear facial expressions of the characters, the pacing of the program and the easy-to-follow story lines.
"We got those results down here, and we thought, how could we leverage that strength and give a little back to the community?" said Tom Punch with Haven Licensing, the company that handles licensing for the characters in Australia.
Warren said one of the reasons Thomas is particularly stimulating and motivating for children with autism is that it's very predictable.
"Children can understand the clear visual messages -- the big smile on the front of the engine," he said. "The messages it communicates are very concrete, not abstract. And the emotions are primary emotions. It's uncomplicated."
Autism is a developmental disorder that affects physical, social and language skills. It usually appears before age 3, though the earliest signs are subtle.
More doctors and researchers are referring to "autism" as "autisms," because each child's case is different, as are the causes, helpful therapies and potential treatments.
The Australian nonprofit unveiled the game this month to coincide with Autism Awareness Month in that country.
After all, as the show's theme song attests: "Red and green and brown and blue; They're the really useful crew."
|
90161cbc905b464bbfc99c930b16d635
|
What are the online game used for ?
|
[
"to help"
] |
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
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6cdf3313cbba4b9da0afaf75b3070bef
|
When did Sands Macau open?
|
[
"May 2004,"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Legendary American boxer Muhammad Ali has visited the birth place of his ancestors in Ireland, prompting thousands of well-wishers to line the streets of the town.
Muhammad Ali on a nine-day visit to Europe that included a stopover to his ancestoral home in Ireland.
The scenes were reminiscent of a presidential visit as the 67-year-old former three-times world heavyweight champion traveled to Ennis, County Clare to see the hometown of his forebear.
The visit was commemorated by the town council with the unveiling of a plaque at the home of his great grandfather and by making Ali the first honorary "freeman" of the town.
Abe Grady -- the grandfather of Ali's mother Odessa Lee Grady -- lived in the town of Ennis, before emigrating to the United States in 1860 where he married an African-American emancipated slave. Watch as Muhammad Ali visits Ireland »
Ali -- who was crowned Sportsman of the Century by Sports Illustrated in 1999 -- had his Irish heritage uncovered by genealogists in 2002.
"Now that we know Muhammad is an Ennis man, we will be back," Ali's wife Lonnie told Britain's Daily Telegraph newspaper.
The small County Clare- town of 23 thousand put on an open-air concert, closed schools early and had special screenings of the Ali v George Foreman documentary "When We Were Kings" to welcome the "Louisville Lip."
Ali -- who has been a Parkinson's Disease sufferer since 1984 -- did not speak to those who had gathered but shadow-boxed to spectators and cameras before meeting his distant relatives.
"It was incredible. We've had so much rain and yet today it was beautiful. The rain held off wherever Muhammad Ali went." Frankie Neylon, the town's mayor said.
Ali fought in Ireland only once during his career, beating Al Blue Lewis in a non-title bout at Dublin's Croke Park in 1972.
The visit to Ireland was part of a nine-day tour of Europe that Ali had undertaken to raise money to fight Parkinson's Disease and for the Ali Center.
|
ac1b2d5ddc104bbc906e1faba2a87c49
|
when did Ali's great grandfather emigrate?
|
[
"1860"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- A Dutch-operated container ship outran pirates off the coast of Tanzania this weekend, an official with the International Maritime Bureau said Sunday.
French soldiers, who have joined British, Indian, Russian and American patrols off Somalia, during an exercise.
The incident took place "very far out to sea," showing that Somali-based pirates are extending their reach further and further, Noel Choong of the IMB's Piracy Reporting Center told CNN.
"Earlier attacks were on ships off the coast of Somalia, then off the coast of Kenya, and now this was 450 nautical miles off Dar es Salaam," he said, tracing the southward expansion of the pirates' area of operations.
The ship, which Choong declined to name, came under attack from rocket-propelled grenades, starting a fire on board, he said. The crew was able to put out the fire and escape by increasing speed.
The ship and crew are now out of danger, he said, following the incident at 11:42 GMT Saturday.
Piracy has become increasingly common in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean this year. So far, pirates have attacked almost 100 vessels off Somalia's coast and successfully hijacked nearly 40, according to the center. Watch how NATO is combating piracy »
Those hijacked vessels include an enormous oil tanker, a chemical tanker, and a ship laden with Soviet-era arms including tanks. The pirates normally hold the ships for ransom.
A luxury cruise ship carrying more than 1,000 passengers and crew successfully outran pirates off the coast of Yemen last weekend.
The IMB has tracked at least 11 incidents of actual or attempted piracy near the Tanzanian coast this year.
A multinational fleet, including vessels from the U.S., NATO member states, Russia and India, has been patrolling the Indian Ocean waters near the Gulf of Aden, which connects the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea. Around 20,000 oil tankers, freighters and merchant vessels pass along the crucial shipping route each year. Watch anti-piracy vessels patrol the region. »
In a recent interview provided to CNN, a pirate leader claimed attacks on shipping would continue as long as life in Somalia remained desperate.
"The pirates are living between life and death," said the pirate leader, identified by only one name, Boyah. "Who can stop them? Americans and British all put together cannot do anything."
|
c0488c2fca59443181126ce5ce4aa638
|
Number of oil tankers, freighters, and merchant vessels that use the route?
|
[
"Around 20,000"
] |
NewsQA
|
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Divers on Tuesday recovered the bodies of the final two of nine victims of Saturday's collision between a helicopter and small plane over the Hudson River, police said.
The wreckage of a PA-32 that collided Saturday with a helicopter is lifted Tuesday from the bed of the Hudson River.
"They were inside the wreckage when we pulled it up," said New York Police Department Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne.
Earlier Tuesday, police divers had attached chains and straps to the plane's fuselage and used a crane to lift it from the riverbed 60 feet below the surface.
On Saturday, the Piper PA-32 Saratoga carrying three people collided with a helicopter carrying six people, five of them Italian tourists, killing all nine people aboard both aircraft.
The wreckage of the helicopter, operated by Liberty Helicopter Sightseeing Tours, was lifted Sunday nearly intact from the Hudson.
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the collision, which occurred shortly after the helicopter took off from a heliport in Midtown Manhattan on what was to have been a 12-minute sightseeing tour around New York.
The Piper took off from New Jersey's Teterboro Airport and was bound for Ocean City, New Jersey. It began its flight Saturday morning at a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania-area airfield.
CNN's Susan Candiotti and Mary Snow contributed to this report.
|
7cd6e0ef6cbd43f1b2e5d2c0b71de517
|
when was wreckage pulled from the river
|
[
"Tuesday"
] |
NewsQA
|
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) -- Pakistani authorities have arrested four men in connection with the suicide truck bombing of a Marriott Hotel last month in Islamabad that killed more than 50 people, officials said Friday.
More than 50 people died in last month's attack on the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad.
The men appeared Friday before a magistrate in an anti-terrorism court in Rawalpindi, police and Pakistan Federal Investigation Agency investigators said.
Although they have not been charged, the magistrate is allowing police to hold them for a week while the investigation continues.
The magistrate ordered them back to court on October 31.
Authorities have not said how they believe these men are connected to the September 20 bombing.
The men -- one of whom is a doctor -- were arrested at different times in different places, authorities said, but gave no additional details.
They identified them as: Dr. Muhammad Usman and Tehseen Ulla Jaan, both from Peshawar; Ilyas Rana Muhammad, from a village near Faiselabad in Pakistan's Punjab province; and Hameed Afzal Muhammad, from Toba Taik Singh district, also in Punjab province.
In addition to the dozens killed, some 250 people were wounded in the suicide truck attack, which sparked a fire that left the hotel in ruins.
The hotel, located near the diplomatic section of Islamabad, had been popular among tourists visiting Pakistan. It was crowded the night of the bombing.
|
e32d8b38b3684c63b9e366602006d776
|
How many were arrested on suspicion of involvement in hotel blast?
|
[
"four men"
] |
NewsQA
|
WASHAKIE COUNTY, Wyoming (CNN) -- Federal agents have apprehended accused child molester Edward Eugene Harper, who was on the FBI's 10 Most Wanted Fugitives list, an FBI official said Thursday.
Edward Eugene Harper is believed to have lived a nomadic lifestyle since fleeing Mississippi.
Harper, 63, is accused of molesting two girls, ages 3 and 8, in his neighborhood in Hernando, Mississippi, more than a decade ago, the FBI said.
The FBI said it received a telephone tip in June at the Denver office regarding Harper, and brought a SWAT team and a hostage negotiation team to apprehend him in rural Wyoming on Thursday.
He surrendered without incident, the FBI said, and later admitted his identity to agents.
Harper was living in a 1979 truck with a camper top in the southern portion of Washakie County's Big Horn Mountains, the FBI said.
He is believed to have lived a nomadic lifestyle, moving from place to place and earning a living by doing odd jobs and herding sheep, the FBI said in a statement.
He was indicted in April 1994 with conspiracy to commit sexual battery, fondling a child and sexual battery.
He failed to appear for a scheduled court hearing and a state warrant was issued for his arrest in October 1994. He was later charged with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution, a federal offense. The FBI added him to its 10 Most Wanted Fugitives list last year.
Before living in Mississippi, Harper had been a ranch hand, working with cattle and sheep in Montana and Wyoming, the FBI said in its release on Harper last year. He has also worked as a truck driver, the agency said.
According to the FBI, Harper subscribed to "sovereign citizen" ideology and claimed to be a member of the Montana Freemen, a group that rejected the authority of the U.S. government. The group became famous for an 81-day standoff with federal agents in Montana in 1996.
But after the arrest and conviction of many of its members, the group essentially disintegrated, according to Mark Potok of the Southern Poverty Law Center.
"As far as I know," they don't exist, he said. "Most of them went to prison and there was nothing left."
|
d31f9b60717a40438739c98500e2121c
|
Who surrendered without incident?
|
[
"Edward Eugene Harper"
] |
NewsQA
|
Khartoum, Sudan (CNN) -- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad lashed out Monday at "the powers of arrogance," saying that both Sudan and Iran were subject to "pressures" from the West because of their political positions.
"They pressure Sudan and Iran; why? Because we stand against the powers of arrogance," Ahmadinejad said during a visit to Khartoum.
Speaking to a crowd of cheering youths, students and supporters in Khartoum's Friendship Hall, Ahmadinejad criticized Europe and the United States for what he described as the "stealing" of Africa's wealth.
"They stole the riches of Africa," he said.
"Despite this wealth, we see poverty and deprivation."
Ahmadinejad arrived in Khartoum Monday morning on his way back to Iran after speaking to the United Nations General Assembly in New York, and after a brief stop in Mauritania.
Western delegates walked out of his speech at the U.N.after he repeatedly condemned the United States and said some countries use the Holocaust as an "excuse to pay ransom... to Zionists."
"They don't want to see Sudan strong so they pressured it into a referendum," he said, in reference to the South Sudan referendum that led to the independence of South Sudan last July.
"Could there be a referendum in Europe, in the Basque (region of Spain) and other areas?" he asked.
"I am sure if there was a neutral referendum in the U.S., some states would secede from the U.S.," he continued.
"The waves of consciences have started especially in the Muslim lands," he said, in reference to the popular revolutions that have sprung out in the Arab world.
Earlier, Ahmadinejad and Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir met, along with a large team of ministers from both countries.
"We are looking for more economic cooperation with sisterly Iran," al-Bashir said in a meeting.
"We confirm our support for Iran's right to develop its nuclear technology for peaceful purposes," he added.
In a joint statement by both governments, Iran stated that it was "ready to transfer its experience in the science and manufacturing sectors, especially technical and engineering services, to improve Sudan's infrastructure."
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1690689df2284ccd941e671d89648900
|
Who "stole the riches of Africa"?
|
[
"Europe and the United States"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Coca Cola was born in Atlanta, Georgia, on May 8, 1886. Dr. John Stith Pemberton, a local pharmacist, produced the syrup for Coca-Cola. It was put on sale at the nearby Jacobs' Pharmacy for five cents a glass as a soda fountain drink.
An international organization, The Coca-Cola Company's first soda fountain sales to Canada and Mexico were recorded in 1897. Its first international bottler -- in Panama -- was established in 1906.
The company entered China in 1927 and its 100th country -- Sierra Leone -- in 1957.
Today, The Coca-Cola Company is the world's largest beverage company with the most extensive distribution system in the world, operating in more than 200 countries across the world.
The company currently has over 400 different brands under its control, and is one of the most recognizable names in the commercial world.
The Coca-Cola Company, including the bottling entities it owns, employs approximately 71,000 people. More than 58,000 of those employees work for the company outside of the U.S.
They are the largest private-sector employer across all of Africa. And in South Africa, for every one job created by the Coca-Cola system, 16 jobs are created in the informal retail sector.
The company was placed in the top 25 places to work by Essence magazine and was named Wal-Mart's International Supplier of the Year in 2006. E-mail to a friend
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faaf672ff970453fb055408e5c09afdd
|
Coke is the largest what company in the world?
|
[
"beverage"
] |
NewsQA
|
LONDON, England (CNN) -- The conviction of a terrorist doctor in the UK exposes how any section of society can become radicalized, a top police officer said Tuesday.
Bilal Abdulla is shown being arrested after the attack at Glasgow Airport.
Bilal Abdulla was well-educated and working as a doctor when he carried out his plot to plant car bombs in London -- rather than unemployed or with feelings of being outside or abandoned by society as has been seen before in the UK.
Born in southern England, his family moved to Iraq when he was a child. He grew up in the capital during Saddam Hussein's rule and went to the University of Baghdad before returning to Britain to attend Cambridge University.
The Cambridge-educated graduate became a doctor working in the National Health Service where the maxim is to treat anyone regardless of the ability to pay.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner John McDowall, who heads the Counter Terrorism Command, said Abdulla and Kafeel Ahmed -- who died from burn injuries after he crashed a jeep into Glasgow International Airport, Scotland -- reveal a new type of terrorist.
He told the UK's Press Association: "These individuals were not on our radar and that in itself is very interesting. When you look at the profile of these individuals they are very different from the terrorists we have dealt with in this country before - being professional people.
McDowell added they were probably inspired by al Qaeda in Iraq but developed their plan in Britain without help from abroad.
"I think this was a group that was largely self-motivated, came up with the ideas themselves, tutored themselves through the Internet. I don't think they received significant training elsewhere, which is unusual from what we have had in the past," he told PA.
Abdulla's motive, prosecutors said, was revenge for the bloodshed in Iraq. Prosecutor Jonathan Laidlaw said: 'There is no longer a conventional approach to terrorism. There are no rules to be broken any more, nothing can be taken for granted."
Abdulla was found guilty Tuesday of conspiracy to murder and conspiring to cause explosions. He will be sentenced to Woolwich Crown Court, London, on Wednesday.
The jury rejected his defense that he had planned only to set fire to cars in central London as a way of highlighting the plight of Iraqis.
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2fbacb2f621c492388edc82345895828
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Who planned the car bomb attacks?
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[
"Bilal Abdulla"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Biologist Matt Aresco has been carrying a big burden for years.
A biologist says that wherever he can get it, he'll take money to protect turtles from a killer stretch of road.
He's made it his mission to save thousands of turtles from near-certain death on one of the worst turtle-killing highways in America, U.S. Route 27 just north of Tallahassee, Florida.
The road skirts Lake Jackson, but that didn't stop the turtles from wanting to get to the other side. In three years, Aresco counted nearly 9,000 dead turtles.
"There were days when I would find 200 turtles attempting to cross," he told CNN. "It was unreal."
But what sounds unreal to some in Washington is the solution to the turtle trouble: $3.4 million in federal stimulus money to build a series of walls and tunnels under the highway so the turtles and other creatures don't have to take on the cars and trucks roaring overhead.
U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn, an Oklahoma Republican, highlighted the turtle crossing in a blistering report on what he called the 100 worst projects in the stimulus bill.
"They are wasteful projects, and most of us don't want to steal money from our grandkids to do something that's really stupid right now," he said.
Members of the turtle contingent in Florida were less than thrilled to be singled out.
"You've got 30- to 40-pound box turtles as big as a manhole cover, and 12-foot alligators," said Leon County Commissioner Cliff Thaell. "Now if Sen. Coburn was to drive his SUV speeding down Highway 27 [at] 60 miles per hour tonight and met one of those fellows, he would have an unpleasant encounter."
But according to the White House, the stimulus money is all about jobs, not turtles. Thaell said he expected "dozens" of jobs to be created in the construction of the tunnels, but he could not be precise.
The jobs that will last only as long as it takes to build the tunnels, and Aresco says he'd rather get the money to help the turtles from other sources. But after years watching the creatures die, and trying to slow the carnage with makeshift fences, he says he'll take the money wherever he can get it.
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3ef8bd4fbb5340d0bdf90b9102910c04
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Who wants to end deaths of turtles on highway near Tallahassee, Florida?
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[
"Biologist Matt Aresco"
] |
NewsQA
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AMSTERDAM, Holland -- Ajax lost ground on Dutch league leaders PSV Eindhoven after being held to a 2-2 draw at Vitesse Arnhem on Sunday.
Ajax's Leonardo, front in blue, duels for the ball with Sebastien Sansoni and Abubakari Yakubu of Vitesse.
The Amsterdam side led 2-1 with two goals in four minutes just after half-time from Urby Emanuelson and Luis Suarez following Mads Junker's early opener, but Harrie Gommans rescued a draw.
Ajax are now five points adrift of PSV, who beat Excelsior 2-1 on Saturday, with Heerenveen, Feyenoord and Groningen just one point further back.
Feyenoord were held 1-1 at home by Groningen on Sunday, with Marcus Berg putting the visitors on course for a 13th win of the season until an own goal by Mark-Jan Fledderus on the stroke of half-time gave the Rotterdam side a point.
At the other end of the table, Heracles registered their first away win of the season with a 5-0 thumping of fellow strugglers Venlo.
Relegation-threatened Sparta Rotterdam and NEC Nijmegen both picked up vital victories.
Sparta won 2-1 at sixth-placed Twente Enschede as goals from Yuri Rose and Charles Dissels on 28 and 51 minutes kept the visitors above of second-bottom Nijmegen on goal difference.
NEC won 2-0 at home to ninth-placed Utrecht, the club's first victory since early November, as Jhonny van Beukering and Brett Holman netted in the second half. E-mail to a friend
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75daaafc9a904c0a944d0120951caa21
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Who is trailing league leader PSV Eindhoven?
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[
"Ajax"
] |
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ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- So much for Southern hospitality.
The attack took place on April 27 at Southern Tracks Recording in Atlanta, Georgia.
When Pearl Jam -- the Seattle, Washington-based grunge rock band -- was in the Atlanta area late last month, bass guitar player Jeff Ament and a band employee were mugged outside a recording studio, a police report shows.
According to the DeKalb County Police Department, Ament and Mark Anthony Smith were attacked shortly before noon on April 27 when they arrived at Southern Tracks Recording.
Southern Tracks is the home base of producer Brendan O'Brien, with whom the band has worked before. According to Rolling Stone, the band is recording a new album with the producer.
Three men reportedly emerged from a nearby wooded area wearing masks and brandishing knives. They smashed windows of the rented Jeep Commander, snatched a BlackBerry phone and other belongings, and demanded money, the police report shows. The suspects allegedly got away with more than $7,300 in goods and cash.
Ament jumped from the passenger side of the vehicle and started to run, but he was chased by a suspect and knocked to the ground, said Mekka Parish, a public information officer with the police department. Watch surveillance video of the attack »
She said he "suffered some lacerations" on the back of his head and was treated at the scene. His backpack was also snatched, she said, and included inside was Ament's passport.
"At this time detectives believe the victims were not specifically targeted," Parish said. "But they believe the suspects were familiar with the studio because of its isolated location."
Though surveillance cameras captured the incident, the masks worn by the attackers have made identifying suspects difficult.
Witnesses reported seeing the suspects flee through the woods and hop into a waiting black Maxima, Parish added. Anyone with leads on this case is encouraged to call 770-724-7850.
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5a2857d7e7424293aba22bbe1f673613
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What is Jeff Ament famous for?
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[
"Pearl Jam"
] |
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|
NYON, Switzerland -- Celtic have been fined $50,800 by UEFA and AC Milan's Dida has been banned for two matches after the incident which saw a pitch-invading supporter approach the Brazilian goalkeeper in last week's Champions League match at Celtic Park.
Dida's theatrical over-reaction has resulted in UEFA suspending him for two matches.
The incident occurred when the Scottish side beat Milan 2-1 in Glasgow. A fan ran onto the field in the 90th minute, soon after the home side scored their winning goal, and made what appeared to be minimal contact with Dida.
The Milan goalkeeper turned to chase the supporter before dropping to the ground. He was carried off the field on a stretcher and replaced.
Dida's theatrical over-reaction has cost him severely -- but Celtic may choose not to complain about their own punishment, with half of their fine suspended for two years.
UEFA did have the power to change the result of the match, although that was always unlikely.
UEFA's control and disciplinary body found Celtic guilty of charges of "lack of organisation and improper conduct of supporters", while Dida was found to have breached UEFA's "principles of loyalty, integrity and sportsmanship".
Milan have pledged to appeal against the punishment, which as it stands means he will miss the club's Champions League games against Shakhtar Donetsk.
"It's a suspension that is absolutely excessive," said Milan lawyer Leandro Cantamessa. "It seems to us a very, very unbalanced sentence. It turns Dida into the protagonist of the incident, whereas the protagonist was someone else, and that's not right from a logical point of view."
Celtic acted swiftly to punish the 27-year-old supporter, who turned himself in and has since admitted a breach of the peace in court and will be sentenced next month.
The club banned the fan for life from all their matches, home and away.
Celtic chief executive Peter Lawwell said: "As a club we feel this penalty is proportionate to the incident in question and a fair outcome." E-mail to a friend
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e318cef1d9254cf8a1e5b8bb7562b2df
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What is the fine that Celtic must pay?
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[
"$50,800"
] |
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(Sunset) -- The old warehouses of Portland's Pearl District are home to increasingly cool cultural diversions. Spend a weekend browsing the neighborhood's art galleries, snack on a pumpkin-pie cupcake and enjoy dinner and a show.
The Gerding Theater at the Armory has been transformed after its $36 million eco-renovation.
Take it home
If prices in the Pearl's posh galleries put a damper on your holiday gift giving, head to the Pacific Northwest College of Art for its annual student-art sale. Future famous artists sell surprisingly sophisticated gifts reflecting their fields of study: one-of-a-kind monotypes and screen-printed cards, jewelry with semiprecious stones, gorgeous oil paintings and thought-provoking metal sculptures.
Catch a show
The once-vacant, castlelike Gerding Theater at the Armory has been transformed after its $36 million eco-renovation. For people-watching, sip wine in the loft overlooking the lobby, then settle in for Portland Center Stage's one-man play "R. Buckminster Fuller: The History (and Mystery) of the Universe." Sunset.com: Life in the Pearl
One-stop gallery hop
Who cares if it's raining when you have the DeSoto Building/Museum of Contemporary Craft -- four fine art galleries and an innovative museum under one roof? Hit the museum's Holiday Shoppe (December 3-January 4) for funky felt rings and handcrafted ornaments.
Great Pearl eats
Wild rice-smoked duck breast is steps from the Gerding Theater at Ten 01. Or try Isabel; we like the brown rice and tofu bowl with peanut sauce. Then there's 50 Plates, a casual bistro serving all-American classics. Sunset.com: Green in Portland
A twist on pumpkin pie
Warm up for T-Day with a luscious pumpkin pie cupcake filled with pumpkin cream at Cupcake Jones, a grab-and-go bakery. (Then place your order for Thanksgiving dessert.)
WANT MORE ENTERTAINMENT? (Portland's got it)
For budding theater buffs
Kids will eat up the juicy Oregon Children's Theatre production of Roald Dahl's classic "James and the Giant Peach," while you'll get a kick out of the high-flying special effects and dry humor.
For small-stage premieres
See classics and local playwrights' works on one of Artists Repertory Theatre's two intimate stages. Get some comic relief during the hectic holidays with Marc Acito and C.S. Witcomb's "Holidazed," a humorous look at modern families coping with old-fashioned Christmas traditions.
For indie-film fans
The Northwest Film Center presents themed series, retrospectives and annual film festivals. The Portland International Film Festival, held in February, features nearly 100 films from more than 30 countries.
Enter to win a monthly Room Makeover Giveaway from MyHomeIdeas.com
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abc611465036445287426bd1a326348d
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Where should one stop for dinner?
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[
"Portland's Pearl District"
] |
NewsQA
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(CNN) -- Flash floods and landslides triggered by a weekend tropical storm have killed at least 100 people in Vietnam, the country's news agency said Monday.
Vietnamese villagers look at the rubble where 19 houses stood before a flash-flood ripped away the hamlet of Tung Chin in Lao Cai province.
Forecasters fear additional casualties as more rain was expected Monday.
The floods in the the country's northern mountain provinces damaged tens of thousands of homes, swept away thousands of cattle and submerged crops, the Vietnam News Agency said. More than two dozen people remained missing.
Officials mobilized thousands of rescue workers to look for survivors and to carry relief to the areas hardest hit by the storm.
Tropical Storm Kammuri struck the northern provinces on Friday.
The southeast Asian country is prone to heavy rainfall during the May through September monsoon season. The resulting landslides and floods have killed hundreds in past years.
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4d317b9339a24bc6b6daa075af3955dd
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Where were they?
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[
"Vietnam,"
] |
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(CNN) -- A Dutch tourist says she recently spotted missing 4-year-old Madeleine McCann at a French restaurant near Montpellier, McCann family spokesman Clarence Mitchell said Wednesday.
A handout photo, released September 16, 2007, of missing child Madeleine McCann.
The tourist said she recognized Madeleine from the many media reports about the child's May 3 disappearance and may have even seen the well-publicized defect in the little girl's eye, Mitchell said.
"She and a friend saw a child that they immediately took to be Madeleine," said Mitchell. "They actually called out her name.
"A man who was with the child scooped the child up and took her out of the cafe before the girls could take a photograph with their mobile phones," he said.
Mitchell said there is a surveillance tape of the girl in the L'Arche restaurant and Madeleine's parents are hoping to be able to use it to determine if it is their missing daughter. Mitchell explains how the sighting came about »
But The Associated Press, quoting an unnamed police official, is reporting that investigators have determined it was not the missing child.
Police watched the closed-circuit video footage, and despite the child looking like Madeleine, it was not her, said the official, who did not want his name published because he is not authorized to speak to media about the case.
Madeleine disappeared May 3, days before her fourth birthday. Her parents, who were vacationing with her in Portugal, have said she disappeared from their room at a resort while they dined in a nearby restaurant.
Despite a global search and the attention of celebrities like Virgin Chairman Richard Branson, author J.K. Rowling and soccer star David Beckham, there have been no major breaks in the case.
Portuguese investigators in September named the McCanns official suspects in their daughter's disappearance. The McCanns deny involvement, saying they believe Madeleine may have been abducted by pedophiles and taken to North Africa.
A few months ago, there was a reported sighting of Madeleine in Belgium, but nothing came of that report.
Last year, excitement grew when a video surfaced of a Moroccan woman carrying a child on her back who looked very similar to Madeleine.
Authorities determined that it was the woman's child. E-mail to a friend
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a58f5e6cfd684319805f937e125023e4
|
Who said the girl on the tape was not Madeleine
|
[
"The Associated Press, quoting an unnamed police official,"
] |
NewsQA
|
LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Pop singer Ricky Martin declared publicly this week what he avoided discussing for years: He is gay.
"I am proud to say that I am a fortunate homosexual man," Martin wrote on his official Web site. "I am very blessed to be who I am."
A decade ago, when ABC's Barbara Walters pressed Martin to address rumors about his sexuality, he declined to confirm or deny them. "I just don't feel like it," Martin said.
Now, Martin wrote, "these years in silence and reflection made me stronger and reminded me that acceptance has to come from within and that this kind of truth gives me the power to conquer emotions I didn't even know existed."
The 39-year-old Puerto Rican native started off with the Latin boy band Menudo before launching his solo career in 1991.
His song "Livin' La Vida Loca" rose to the top of the music charts in 1999 and propelled Martin to stardom.
Martin said he decided years ago to not share "my entire truth" with the world because people he loved warned him that "everything you've built will collapse."
"Allowing myself to be seduced by fear and insecurity became a self-fulfilling prophecy of sabotage," he wrote. "Today I take full responsibility for my decisions and my actions."
The decision to come out was initiated a few months ago, when he began writing his memoirs, he said. "I got very close to my truth," he wrote.
"From the moment I wrote the first phrase I was sure the book was the tool that was going to help me free myself from things I was carrying within me for a long time," he wrote. "Things that were too heavy for me to keep inside."
Martin said that disclosing his secret is important because of his two sons, born via surrogate.
"To keep living as I did up until today would be to indirectly diminish the glow that my kids were born with," he wrote.
"Enough is enough. This has to change. This was not supposed to happen five or 10 years ago, it is supposed to happen now. Today is my day, this is my time, and this is my moment."
Writing the seven paragraphs, he said, "is a solid step towards my inner peace and vital part of my evolution."
"What will happen from now on? It doesn't matter. I can only focus on what's happening to me in this moment."
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f44ab69dd2ab4fd8bb720dc29ee78480
|
that year was the best time of music Livin La Vida Loca Ricky Martin?
|
[
"1999"
] |
NewsQA
|
Fourth seed Elena Dementieva avoided an embarrassing early exit when comeback queen Jelena Dokic's French Open hopes were ended by a back injury on Thursday.
Jelena Dokic was left in tears after being forced to retire hurt against Elena Dementieva at the French Open.
Dokic, taking part in her first French Open since 2004 following well-documented family problems, won the first set 6-2 and -- after her first break for treatment -- broke the 2004 finalist to lead 3-2 in their second round clash.
But the Russian won the next two games as the tearful former world No.4 was reduced to walking pace before calling it quits.
"I went for a return and I just went down and couldn't get back up," she said. "It's very painful and very disappointing because I felt as if I had the match in my hands."
Dokic, now ranked 80th after reviving her career with a run to the quarter-finals of the Australian Open in January, had won her opening match on Tuesday when she came back from a set down to beat Slovenia's Karolina Sprem 3-6 6-1 6-2.
The 26-year-old's career had nosedived following her highly-publicized split from controversial mentor and father Damir.
Dementieva will next play Australian 30th seed Samantha Stosur, who won her second-round match in straight sets against Belgium's Yanina Wickmayer.
Earlier on Thursday, the Williams sisters also progressed through to the third round with contrasting victories.
Second seed Serena crushed Virginia Ruano Pascual 6-2 6-0 to set up a clash with another unseeded Spaniard, Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez.
Third seed Venus survived a scare against unseeded Czech Lucie Safarova before completing a match that was halted on Wednesday night due to bad light.
The American saved a match point at 5-4 down in the third set before managing to hold, break her opponent and then serve out to love for a 6-7 (5-7) 6-2 7-5 success.
Venus, who lost the 2002 final to Serena, will next play Hungarian 29th seed Agnes Szavay.
Fifth seed Jelena Jankovic had no such troubles in beating Magdalena Rybarikova of Slovakia 6-1 6-2, setting up a third-round clash with unseeded Austrian Jarmila Groth.
Seventh-seeded Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova also advanced along with Danish 10th seed Caroline Wozniacki, but 13th seed Marion Bartoli of France made a surprise exit.
The 2007 Wimbledon finalist lost 6-3 7-5 to Tathiana Garbin of Italy, who will next take on unseeded Virginie Razzano of France.
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547b825d94654b56b4fca43489b18587
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When did she quit?
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[
"Thursday."
] |
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(CNN) -- A Pennsylvania man attempted to resuscitate "a road-killed opossum," state police say.
But this was one possum who wasn't playing possum -- the ugly creature remained dead.
Troopers responding to the scene in Oliver Township on Thursday determined that Donald J. Wolfe, 55, of Brookville, was drunk, according to the police report.
Several witnesses observed Wolfe's failed resurrection of the flattened marsupial, police said. It was not immediately clear how he endeavored to restore the possum's life.
The arresting officer in the incident was unavailable for comment Friday. Attempts to reach Wolfe were also unsuccessful.
Wolfe will be charged with one charge of public drunkenness, police said.
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d478a624ba2d425496fa3ae91492ba08
|
Where is the man from?
|
[
"Pennsylvania"
] |
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|
(CNN) -- New Mexico authorities have identified seven of 11 slain women whose remains were discovered several months ago in shallow graves in west Albuquerque, but have yet to identify a suspect in their killings, police told CNN on Thursday.
The bodies of Candelaria, Chavez, Elks, Marquez, Nieto, Romero and Valdez were all ID'd by New Mexico police.
A dozen victims -- 11 women and the unborn child of one of them -- were found on a 92-acre parcel west of the city in February, police said.
Albuquerque police spokesman John Walsh said Thursday that police were considering all the deaths homicides, and believe they are linked because of the proximity of where the bodies were buried and how they were buried.
"It's ... likely that the same individual committed the same crimes," he said, "But we have to leave all possibilities open."
The victims were linked through drugs and prostitution, he said.
Police identified the women as Victoria Chavez, Michelle Valdez, Veronica Romero, Cinnamon Elks, Julie Nieto, Doreen Marquez and Monica Diana Candelaria.
Walsh said authorities estimate that the killings occurred somewhere between 2001 and 2004.
"We have to leave it wide at this point," Walsh said of the time frame.
In February, a woman walking her dog on the property -- which had been graded in preparation for development -- discovered a bone, police said. The office of the medical investigator determined that it was human.
The bodies were discovered afterward.
The killings have been featured on "America's Most Wanted," Walsh said. A task force in Albuquerque has been assigned to the cases, he added.
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d05ae1b2ea764cf583b0f746f4e933cd
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In what years did the murders take place?
|
[
"somewhere between 2001 and 2004."
] |
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KABUL, Afghanistan (CNN) -- A British soldier was killed on New Year's Day by an explosion in southern Afghanistan, Britain's Ministry of Defense said Friday.
A British unit on patrol in Helmand province's Garmsir district, where another soldier has died.
The soldier, who served with the 6th Battalion The Rifles, had been taking part in a routine patrol in the Garmsir district of Helmand province when he was killed, the ministry said.
"It is deeply saddening to confirm the loss of a British soldier who died while helping to provide security in southern Helmand," said Commander Paula Rowe, a spokeswoman for Task Force Helmand. "His family, friends and all those who knew and worked with him will mourn his loss -- our heartfelt sympathies go to them all at this terrible time."
Britain suffered its worst year of losses in Afghanistan in 2008, with 51 British troops killed. It was more than in any other year since the mission began in October 2001, the defense ministry said.
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5a0fd561899c4f45b8cfad2fc862be63
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When was the British soldier killed?
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[
"on New Year's Day"
] |
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A woman was jailed for eight years by a British court Friday for her part in the kidnap of her own daughter.
Karen Matthews and Michael Donovan were both involved in the plot to kidnap Shannon.
Nine-year-old Shannon Matthews was locked in an apartment for 24 days after going missing from her home in February last year.
After a massive police investigation, Karen Matthews, 33, was found guilty last month of kidnap, false imprisonment and perverting the course of justice. She was sentenced at Leeds Crown Court in West Yorkshire, northern England, the British Press Association reported.
Her former partner's uncle, Michael Donovan, 40, was also convicted of the same offences and received an eight-year jail term, PA said.
Prosecutors say Donovan abducted Shannon as she was on her way home from school in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire. They claim he gave her Temazepam -- a type of sleeping tablet -- and travel sickness pills and kept her tethered to an elasticated strap attached to a roof beam through a loft hatch when he went out.
Meanwhile Matthews kept up a "wicked and dishonest lie" as her daughter became the subject of a massive police search operation and a reward fund offered by a local newspaper grew to $50,000, jurors were told.
Donovan planned to release Shannon and then "discover" her, prosecutors said.
According to PA, Matthews told five versions of what happened to Shannon, ranging from being a distraught mother whose daughter had gone missing to blaming the crime on her former partner Craig Meehan and other members of his family.
It also emerged in court that Donovan abducted one of his own daughters after he became involved in a custody battle with his former wife, PA said.
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a6ad411a8bff45eb941749e2d47b7f93
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who was kidnapped by mother and uncle?
|
[
"Shannon Matthews"
] |
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|
(CNN) -- Al Qaeda's second-in-command called on Pakistanis to back Islamic militants in the country's tribal areas against what he called an ongoing assault by American "crusaders" and the Pakistani army.
Al-Qaeda's second-in-command, Ayman al-Zawahiri appears in a video released on September 2, 2006.
Punishment from God was promised for Muslims who did not follow the words of Ayman al-Zawahiri in a video that appeared on radical Islamist Web sites Thursday.
"The war in the tribal areas and Swat [Valley] is an inseparable part of the crusaders' assault on the Muslims the length and breadth of the Islamic world," al-Zawahiri said in the video, titled "Path of Doom."
"This is the battle, briefly and plainly; and this is why anyone who supports the Americans and Pakistan army -- under any pretext, ploy or lie -- is in fact standing with, backing and supporting the crusaders against Islam and Muslims."
The Pakistani military is fighting Taliban militants in the country's north, and missile attacks from suspected U.S. drones have targeted militant leaders -- one of them killing Baitullah Mehsud, the leader of the Pakistani Taliban.
Reports from the region suggest government troops have dislodged the Taliban from many areas of the North West Frontier Province, but militant attacks continue daily.
In the video, Al-Zawahiri suggested that the United States has wider goals in the region.
"They want to eliminate the Mujahedeen (Islamic militants) in the tribal areas so they can seek to smother the Jihad in Afghanistan," he said.
NATO-led forces are battling the Taliban across the border in Afghanistan as well. U.S. and British forces launched offensives in Helmand province this summer.
Al-Zawahiri warned Muslims that they have a religious duty to support the jihad, or struggle, or face punishment from God.
"No people abandons Jihad without Allah giving them a general punishment," he said, quoting the Quran.
Al-Zawahiri also prayed for the annihilation "the Americans and Jews" and anyone who might help them.
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9edbce98edaf4a9a870fb823b144edc4
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Who calls Pakistanis to back Islamic militants?
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[
"Ayman al-Zawahiri"
] |
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(CNN) -- Dozens of flights were delayed at India's New Delhi airport Monday after lizards, birds and jackals strayed on to a runway to seek refuge from the monsoon rains.
Kids play cricket through a downpour in New Delhi as monsoon rains came early to the area this week.
Animal rescuers rounded up the critters and moved them to habitats outside airport property. But the operation delayed several flights and shut down the runway for some time, airport spokesman Arun Arora said.
Kartick Satyanarayan of the conservation group Wildlife SOS said the animals descended on the runway in search of dry ground.
His group works with the airport to move wildlife from airport property to a sanctuary on the outskirts of the capital.
"It's been raining cats and dogs the last two days. And when it rains like this, water goes in and fills the burrows of these animals," he said.
"The runway," he added, "is the only safe area. So they come out."
While monsoon rains typically sweep across the subcontinent in early June, they usually do not reach the capital city of New Delhi and other regions in northern India until early July. Watch how Indians cope with monsoon waters »
They came about two weeks early in the northern part of the country this year, killing at least 20 people in landslides, home collapses and floods.
The airport sits on more than 2,000 acres that, over the years, have become home to jackals, porcupines, dogs, cats and a variety of birds.
Arora would not say how many flights were delayed during the rescue operation. The airport handles 13,000 domestic and 9,500 international passengers a day.
"(The) numbers are speculative as it is difficult to attribute delays to bad weather, strong winds, birds or animals," Arora said.
In the past, animals on the runway have disrupted flights at the airport -- particularly during the monsoon season, Satyanarayan said.
"The monitor lizards -- they look frightening but they are harmless animals," he said. "But they can grow about three to four feet long. And at the velocity a plane lands, the [lizards] can still cause damage."
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36db0d1a290747d2a1a94a466918bf43
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Which animals descended on New Delhi's runway?
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[
"lizards, birds and"
] |
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ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) -- Security forces patrolled the streets of the eastern Pakistan city of Gojra on Sunday, one day after seven people were killed and 20 injured when Muslim demonstrators set fire to houses in a Christian enclave and fighting broke out, authorities said.
Pakistani human rights activists in Lahore protest on Saturday over the anti-Christian violence in Gojra village.
Police said Muslims were enraged over an alleged desecration of pages in the Quran at a Christian wedding last Saturday, and held a rally to protest such an act.
The Quran is the Muslim sacred text.
Shehbaz Bhatti, federal minister for minorities, told CNN that four women, two men and a child, all Christians, were either killed when their houses were burned or were shot to death.
Some 50 houses were burned down and more than 100 were looted by the protesters, Bhatti said.
The incident occurred in Gojra City, 160 kilometers or around 100 miles southwest of Lahore.
No violence was reported Sunday, Punjab Provisional Minister Rana Sana Ullah told CNN.
There was a demonstration by about a thousand Christians who refused to bury their dead until the government registered a criminal case against those they alleged to have carried out the attacks.
The government would register a criminal case, Sana Ullah said. Registering a case means a criminal investigation will be opened. Sana Ullah added that the government strongly condemned the incident. He said the attack was not a sectarian issue, but rather terrorism. He blamed the incident on attackers with ties to militants in Northwest Pakistan, where the government is carrying out an offensive against Taliban groups.
On Thursday, 15 Christian houses in the region were also torched.
Pakistan is predominantly Muslim but has a small Christian community.
Meanwhile, police in Islamabad reported the Friday arrest of an al Qaeda member thought to be involved in several attacks.
Bin Yamin, a senior police official in Islamabad, identified the militant as Rao Shakir Ali.
He is suspected of being involved in strikes on several targets, such as the Danish Embassy, police and a hotel, and is also suspected of targeting a rally for Chief Justice Iftikhar Chauhdary, authorities said.
The suspect is a resident of Sargodha, which is 165 kilometers (more than 100 miles) northwest of Lahore and has a house in Rawalpindi that has been used to facilitate insurgent acts, police said.
CNN's Tim Schwarz and Journalist Nasir Habib contributed to this report.
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820a6bbd8dd04afd940c1c86986da953
|
what is predominantly muslim
|
[
"Pakistan"
] |
NewsQA
|
(EW.com) -- What mischief is Phil about to get into now?
EW has learned exclusively that Kevin Hart ("Little Fockers") has signed on for a guest-starring role on "Modern Family."
He'll play Andre, a new neighbor of Phil Dunphy who happens to be a physician. The 32-year-old comedian will see a familiar face when he begins production on the ABC comedy: He co-starred opposite Sofia Vergara in the 2004 movie "Soul Plane."
Recently, Hart and his Hartbeat Productions notched an unexpected victory at the box office with his debut standup film "Laugh at My Pain," which follows his recent national tour run and a stop in his hometown of Philadelphia. It debuted inside of the box office top 10 ranking and pulled in nearly $2 million, in just 97 theaters, for an impressive per-location gross of $20,619. The film only cost $750,000 to make.
Hart has appeared in several Comedy Central specials and hosted the 2011 BET Awards. His other film credits include the movies "Krod Mondoon" and the "Flaming Sword of Fire," "Death at a Funeral," and "Epic Movie."
See the full article at EW.com.
CLICK HERE to Try 2 RISK FREE issues of Entertainment Weekly
© 2011 Entertainment Weekly and Time Inc. All rights reserved.
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cfb12659338d4befa9c3eb53ad1fd04a
|
With whom Hart starred in a movie in 2004?
|
[
"Sofia Vergara"
] |
NewsQA
|
MADRID, Spain (CNN) -- Spanish police Tuesday arrested two Moroccan men suspected of having links to Islamic terrorism, Spain's Ministry of Interior said, including one man wanted in connection with attacks in Casablanca in 2003.
Mohamed El Bay is thought to have been trying to buy weapons and explosives.
The arrests were made in Melilla, a Spanish enclave of about 68,000 people on Morocco's Mediterranean coast, with Spanish Civil Guards acting on international arrests warrants issued by Morocco, the ministry said in a written statement.
Moroccan authorities have linked one of the suspects, Ali Aarass, to the Casablanca bombings in May 2003 that killed 33 bystanders and 12 suicide bombers.
He is suspected of Islamic extremist activities during the past 16 years, the Spanish statement said.
The other man, Mohamed El Bay, is wanted for alleged involvement with a terrorist network that Moroccan police broke up last February, when they arrested 30 people suspected of plotting attacks against Moroccan government targets, it said.
Moroccan police seized numerous weapons in the February raids and later contacted European police for help in locating other suspects in the group.
Morocco authorities believe El Bay may have been in charge of contacting Central European arms smugglers to get weapons and explosives for the alleged plot in Morocco, the Spanish statement said.
Spanish police searched the homes of both suspects in Melilla and seized documentation, it said.
Spain has arrested more than 300 suspected Islamic extremists since the Madrid train bombings of 2004 that killed 191 people, although not all of the suspects remain in jail. E-mail to a friend
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f6214663b102438baabd66c06c1eb5d5
|
Where are two men arrested?
|
[
"Melilla,"
] |
NewsQA
|
LONDON, England (CNN) -- Fantasy author Terry Pratchett has admitted that he has been diagnosed with a rare form of Alzheimer's disease -- but says he plans to continue writing his multi-million selling Discworld books.
Terry Pratchett, whose books have sold more than 45 million copies worldwide in 33 languages.
Pratchett, 59 -- whose books have, according to his Web site, sold more than 45 million copies worldwide in 33 languages -- suffered what he called a "phantom stroke" earlier this year.
In a statement titled "an embuggerance" on the Web site of Discworld illustrator Paul Kidby, Pratchett says that he has been diagnosed with what he terms "a very rare form of early onset Alzheimer's."
"I would have liked to keep this one quiet for a little while, but because of upcoming conventions and of course the need to keep my publishers informed, it seems to me unfair to withhold the news," says Pratchett, who has a strong following among fans of fantasy fiction.
"All other things being equal, I expect to meet most current and, as far as possible, future commitments but will discuss things with the various organisers," he continues.
"Frankly, I would prefer it if people kept things cheerful, because I think there's time for at least a few more books yet."
Pratchett adds that work is continuing on his next book "Nation" and that the "basic notes are already being laid down for Unseen Academicals."
In a P.S. he adds that "I would just like to draw attention to everyone reading the above that this should be interpreted as 'I am not dead'. I will, of course, be dead at some future point, as will everybody else.
"I know it's a very human thing to say 'Is there anything I can do', but in this case I would only entertain offers from very high-end experts in brain chemistry."
Pratchett's Discworld novels, of which 36 have been published to date, are set in a fantasy universe through which the author satirizes modern-day life.
He says in a statement on his own Web site that the series "started out as a parody of all the fantasy that was around in the big boom of the early '80s, then turned into a satire on just about everything, and even I don't know what it is now."
Pratchett, who began writing while a provincial newspaper journalist in the 1960s, received the Order of the British Empire "for services to literature" from the Prince of Wales in 1998. E-mail to a friend
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6b7b61db8f2744d39f70c29a990968b2
|
Multi-million selling writer has "a very rare form of early onset Alzheimer's"
|
[
"Terry Pratchett"
] |
NewsQA
|
TOKYO, Japan (CNN) -- A U.S. Marine based on Okinawa has been arrested in connection with the reported rape of a 14-year-old Japanese girl, the island's police force said Monday.
Police said the assault was reported Sunday night in the Chanton entertainment district on Okinawa, a major hub for U.S. forces in the Pacific. The 38-year-old American was arrested shortly after the report, police said.
The Marine was not identified, and there was no immediate comment from the service on the allegation.
Previous criminal cases against American troops have triggered widespread protests by Okinawans since 1995, when three American servicemen were found guilty of raping an Okinawan schoolgirl.
Under U.S.-Japanese military agreements, the U.S. government has custody over service members suspected of crimes while on duty. In addition, the U.S. military is not required to turn over those accused of crimes until an indictment is issued. E-mail to a friend
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7fe60ff74b25497b9f14ccfdd5e57063
|
What has triggered protests by Okinawans?
|
[
"Previous criminal cases against American troops"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- A car bomb exploded Saturday in Somalia's capital, killing 15 people and wounding 24, a government spokesman said.
Gunfighting has plagued the streets of Somalia's capital in recent months, stalling efforts to restore order.
The car was heading toward headquarters of the African Union Mission in Somalia in late morning when a bomb went off before it reached the building, which is guarded by police, Abdi Gobdon said.
The attack also threatened a group of nearby African Union peacekeepers.
African Union Commission Chairman Jean Ping condemned the "cowardly and terrorist" suicide attack in Mogadishu, which he said comes during a time of "renewed efforts to further peace and reconciliation" to the troubled nation.
Somalia has been wracked by violence and lawlessness since the government was overthrown in 1991. A drought and high food and fuel prices also have increased the need for humanitarian assistance. iReport.com: Are you there? Share your story
On Saturday, various officials met in Djibouti with the aim of expanding the Somalian parliament and electing a president for the Transitional Federal Government, Ping said.
The United Nations Security Council adopted a resolution January 16 expressing its intent to send U.N. peacekeeping forces back to the unstable nation, and the AU plans to send additional troops to Somalia in coming weeks, Ping said.
The United Nations' World Food Programme considered suspending delivery of food to Somalia after the killings of two aid workers in early January but then decided that would hurt the very people the program is trying to help.
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b14307f2a04c44a4bc6770751548658a
|
What type of resolution has the U.N. adopted?
|
[
"peacekeeping forces back to the unstable nation,"
] |
NewsQA
|
(WASHINGTON) -- The Federal Aviation Administration ordered U.S. airlines Thursday to replace a part that has come under suspicion in the crash of Air France Flight 447.
U.S. air safety authorities have ordered the replacement of a part on A330 planes following the crash of Air France Flight 447.
The FAA gave airlines 120 days to replace devices that could be giving false airspeed indications.
All 228 people on Air France Flight 447 were killed when the Airbus A330 plane crashed June 1 en route to Paris, France, from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The U.S. air safety watchdog agency bypassed the usual process which allows for public comment on its orders.
It said it could expedite the process because of the limited number of planes involved -- only 43 in the United States -- and because they say it is prudent to make the change as quickly as possible.
At the same time, it said it did not feel the risk warranted grounding the fleet of aircraft.
US Airways, one of only two American carriers who fly planes affected by the order, said Thursday they had already replaced the part.
"The work was completed last week. We are scheduled to take delivery of three new ... A330s by year's end and those three will not require any ... changes," a US Airways spokesman told CNN via e-mail.
Northwest is the other U.S. carrier that operates A330s, the FAA said.
A spokeswoman for Delta airlines, Northwest's parent company, said affected Northwest planes are getting new parts.
"We are well under way working closely with Airbus and Goodrich to install the Goodrich pitot tubes within the required timelines," Ashley Black told CNN.
The devices under suspicion are the Thales Avionics pitot probes on some Airbus A330 and A340 aircraft.
They measure "ram air pressure," the pressure exerted on the plane as it flies through the air, and are part of a system used to determine air speed.
The FAA order requires aircraft operators to replace certain Thales pitot probes with certain Goodrich or newer-design Thales pitot probes.
The FAA says the order is intended to "prevent airspeed discrepancies, which could lead to disconnect of the autopilot and/or auto-thrust functions and consequent increased pilot workload."
French authorities are still investigating the cause of the Air France crash. But tests conducted since the crash have brought into question the performance of the pitot tubes and authorities say there have been reports of other malfunctions on flights.
No U.S. operator flies A340s. There are 302 of the aircraft worldwide.
The FAA action follows an announcement by European air safety authorities earlier this week to require pitot tube replacements by September 7.
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76c2f1e0fd4243489a04e1eba48fff50
|
What carriers are flying affected planes ?
|
[
"Northwest"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Authorities are asking residents in some some parts of south Australia to evacuate their homes as an impending heat wave prompted the nation to issue its first "catastrophic" brush fire warning.
The warning system was put in place to better alert residents after a devastating brush fire ravaged the southeastern state of Victoria in February, killing more than 170 people and destroying 2,000 homes.
During that fire, many residents stayed to defend their property.
Though authorities still cannot mandate that people leave, the new warning system urges people to flee.
The Code Red "Catastrophic" warning was issued for the Eastern Eyre Peninsula and West Coast districts in the state of South Australia. Are you there? Send your pictures, video
Such a rating means that even well-constructed and defended homes might not be safe from the blaze, the South Australian Fire Service said.
In addition, three other districts -- Flinders, North West Pastoral and Lower Eyre Peninsula -- were placed under an "Extreme" watch. Such a rating means that only well-constructed homes can withstand the flames.
An intense heat wave -- with temperatures climbing to 104 F (40 C) -- is expected to hit the areas until the weekend. The region is already in the midst of a severe drought. Coupled with low humidity and strong winds, the soaring temperatures will make it ripe for fires to ignite.
Any fire that breaks out will be uncontrollable, the fire service said. People in their path will likely die, it added.
|
b27ab5b0c7034f5bbe6560ae5b56796e
|
What was the number of homes affected?
|
[
"2,000"
] |
NewsQA
|
Amman, Jordan (CNN) -- Clashes broke out between citizens and anti-riot police during a visit by King Abdullah to southern Jordan on Monday.
According to eyewitnesses, festivities welcoming the monarch in the southern city of Tafileh, 180 kilometers (111 miles) south of Amman, turned violent when pro-reform activists were denied access to a royal event to launch a development initiative.
Youths threw stones at security services who responded with force, according to eyewitnesses in the city, home to anti-government protests in recent weeks.
Taher Odwan, Jordanian minister of communications and government spokesman, downplayed the clashes, denying media reports that the king's motorcade came under attack.
"A group of citizens attempted to greet the king and started shoving security personnel who responded back. This is something you would find at any event," Odwan said.
The incident comes a day after King Abdullah's royal address to the nation announcing sweeping political reforms that political observers see as steps to place the country on the path to a constitutional monarchy.
In a speech designated to mark the anniversary of the Great Arab Revolt, the monarch announced a number of reforms, including relinquishing his power to form a government to the parliament, a greater separation of powers and further constitutional amendments.
King Abdullah's Monday visit came to announce $21.1 million worth of development projects in Tafileh, where protesters have recently called for the government's dismissal, the dissolution of parliament and greater efforts to combat corruption.
Unlike other Arab states witnessing popular uprisings, weekly demonstrations that have taken place in Jordan -- a moderate state and key U.S. ally -- have called for regime reform, not regime change.
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886f439546ce4fc8b652dc37821930ed
|
Who did the security forces clash with?
|
[
"Youths"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Peru's ancient Inca ruins of Machu Picchu should reopen April 1, more than two months after rain stranded hundreds of tourists at the popular spot, the government said.
Heavy rain in January unleashed mudslides that cut off roads and blocked a rail line between Machu Picchu and the nearby city of Cusco.
Water levels at the Vilcanota River have receded enough to allow repairs to the rail line, said Martin Perez, head of Peru's Ministry of Exterior Commerce and Tourism.
"We expect that starting April 1, we will start to receive the millions of tourists who always have come," he said Tuesday.
Peruvian officials were forced to use helicopters to evacuate more than 1,000 stranded tourists last month.
Authorities estimated that 10,000 people were affected by the rain and 2,000 homes were ruined near Machu Picchu. At least seven deaths were reported.
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19a2d7aa1edf49299f12d8c483346923
|
What is said of Machu Picchu?
|
[
"should reopen April 1,"
] |
NewsQA
|
ROME, Italy -- Italian tennis players Potito Starace and Daniele Bracciali have been banned by the ATP for betting on matches.
Top Italian player Potito Starace has been suspended for six weeks for betting on matches.
The country's top player Starace -- 31st in the ATP rankings -- has been suspended for six weeks from January 1 and fined $30,000 (20,890 euros) for making five bets totalling around 90 euros two years ago.
Bracciali, world ranked 258, has been banned for three months and fined $20,000 (13,930 euros) for making around 50 five-euro bets between 2004 and 2005.
The Italian Tennis Federation (FIT) confirmed the news on its website, www.federtennis.it. However, they denounced the penalties as disproportionate, saying the players never bet on their own matches.
"Injustice is done," the statement said. "These penalties are absolutely, excessively severe compared to the magnitude of the violations carried out by the two players."
The federation said the two were not aware of the ATP's betting regulations, and that they stopped placing the bets as soon as they learned it was against the rules.
Another Italian player, Alessio Di Mauro, became the first player sanctioned under the ATP's new anti-corruption rules when he received a nine-month ban in November, also for betting on matches.
Starace and Bracciali said they were scapegoats for a larger match-fixing scandal."It's disgusting," said the 26-year-old Starace. "The ATP doesn't know where to turn. It's all a joke."
Bracciali said the two had been "sacrificed."
"That's why they came after us," the 29-year-old said. "We are not champions and we don't count in the upper echelons."
ATP officials could not be reached for comment on Saturday.
Concerns about match-fixing have risen since August, when an online betting company reported unusual betting patterns during a match between fourth-ranked Nikolay Davydenko of Russia and Martin Vassallo Arguello of Argentina. The company, Betfair, voided all bets and the ATP has been investigating.
Davydenko, who retired while trailing in the third set, denies wrongdoing.
Since then, several players have said that they had been approached with offers to fix matches in exchange for money. E-mail to a friend
|
a3778b5c4f63466aa59e521f235bc4fc
|
What did the pair do that led to their suspension?
|
[
"betting on matches."
] |
NewsQA
|
(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
|
2c4c48edda7249f29c81c2ca35acf647
|
Who was killed in southern Afghanistan?
|
[
"Australian soldier, three civilians and Taliban militants were"
] |
NewsQA
|
ROME, Italy -- Italian tennis players Potito Starace and Daniele Bracciali have been banned by the ATP for betting on matches.
Top Italian player Potito Starace has been suspended for six weeks for betting on matches.
The country's top player Starace -- 31st in the ATP rankings -- has been suspended for six weeks from January 1 and fined $30,000 (20,890 euros) for making five bets totalling around 90 euros two years ago.
Bracciali, world ranked 258, has been banned for three months and fined $20,000 (13,930 euros) for making around 50 five-euro bets between 2004 and 2005.
The Italian Tennis Federation (FIT) confirmed the news on its website, www.federtennis.it. However, they denounced the penalties as disproportionate, saying the players never bet on their own matches.
"Injustice is done," the statement said. "These penalties are absolutely, excessively severe compared to the magnitude of the violations carried out by the two players."
The federation said the two were not aware of the ATP's betting regulations, and that they stopped placing the bets as soon as they learned it was against the rules.
Another Italian player, Alessio Di Mauro, became the first player sanctioned under the ATP's new anti-corruption rules when he received a nine-month ban in November, also for betting on matches.
Starace and Bracciali said they were scapegoats for a larger match-fixing scandal."It's disgusting," said the 26-year-old Starace. "The ATP doesn't know where to turn. It's all a joke."
Bracciali said the two had been "sacrificed."
"That's why they came after us," the 29-year-old said. "We are not champions and we don't count in the upper echelons."
ATP officials could not be reached for comment on Saturday.
Concerns about match-fixing have risen since August, when an online betting company reported unusual betting patterns during a match between fourth-ranked Nikolay Davydenko of Russia and Martin Vassallo Arguello of Argentina. The company, Betfair, voided all bets and the ATP has been investigating.
Davydenko, who retired while trailing in the third set, denies wrongdoing.
Since then, several players have said that they had been approached with offers to fix matches in exchange for money. E-mail to a friend
|
4f815fdceb984672b3e83fa4a7281fbe
|
Who banned them?
|
[
"ATP"
] |
NewsQA
|
LONDON, England (CNN) -- Move over Susan Boyle. A week after the Scottish woman became a global sensation following a barnstorming audition on "Britain's Got Talent," a 12-year-old Welsh boy with a Motown voice has been hailed for his "life-changing" performance on the TV show after earning a standing ovation from Simon Cowell.
Jafargholi impressed the "Britain's Got Talent" judges with a rendition of "Who's Loving You."
Shaheen Jafargholi's prospects looked bleak when the infamously hard to impress Cowell brought the audition to an abrupt halt just one verse into his rendition of "Valerie," the Zutons' song covered by Amy Winehouse.
"You've got this really wrong," Cowell told him. "What do you sing apart from that?"
Jafargholi instead offered to perform "Who's Loving You," written by Smokey Robinson and performed by a young Michael Jackson with the Jackson Five, bringing screams of delight from the audience as he launched into a note-perfect rendition that brought a beaming Cowell and fellow judges Piers Morgan and Amanda Holden to their feet.
"This is how one song can change your life," Cowell told him. "This may be the start of something special for you young man." Watch Shaheen Jafargholi perform on "Britain's Got Talent" »
Writing in his blog for the show, Morgan said Jafargholi had been the stand-out act of the show and tipped him as a possible challenger to Boyle for the TV talent show's £100,000 ($146,000) prize.
"Once Simon got him to sing the right kind of song for his voice, he was sensational. Like a young Stevie Wonder," Morgan said.
In an interview for the show, Jafargholi said he had been singing since he was two years old. "When I was a bit older my mum got me some singing lessons and my voice just got bigger and bigger," he said. "Hopefully this is going to be my big break."
Last week's performance by Boyle, the 47-year-old with a Broadway voice who claimed to have never been kissed, brought the show global attention, with her version of the Les Miserables' tune "I Dreamed a Dream" gaining more than 32 million hits on YouTube as well as earning her a string of U.S. media appearances, including on CNN's Larry King Live.
Jafargholi has some way to go to match Boyle's success. By Monday morning a YouTube link to his performance had been watched just 330,000 times. Who do you prefer? Susan Boyle or Shaheen Jafargholi? Sound Off below
|
e2263cc018cf4b2f9312bb7169213d46
|
Who shined on "Britain's Got Talent" with Motown voice?
|
[
"Shaheen Jafargholi's"
] |
NewsQA
|
Washington (CNN) -- President Obama and the rest of the first family teamed up with an extremely oversized rabbit Monday to the host the annual White House Easter Egg Roll, much to the delight of visiting children from across the country.
The theme of this year's festivities was "Ready, Set, Go!" -- a reference to first lady Michelle Obama's "Let's Move" initiative, which is designed to address the problem of childhood obesity.
The first family kicked off the event, which dates to 1878, shortly before 11 a.m., appearing with the Easter Bunny on the White House's South Portico, a balcony overlooking the residence's sprawling South Lawn.
"Is this not the most perfect day for the Easter Egg Roll?" Michelle Obama asked the enthusiastic crowd. Washington is currently in the middle of a warm spell under a clear sky.
"Our hope today is that in addition to having fun and doing some of the traditional activities like the egg roll ... you can learn about beginning to live a more healthy life," she said.
As well as participating in the traditional egg roll, families were invited to visit the White House garden and play football, basketball and tennis, among other things. Several celebrities attended the event, including players from the Washington Redskins and athletes Apolo Ohno and Billie Jean King.
The president also read the Dr. Seuss book "Green Eggs and Ham" to the visiting children.
"When your parents tell you to eat your broccoli, you don't know whether you're going to like them or not," he told the kids, emphasizing the point of the classic story. "You've got to try it. ... [And] when your parents tell you to eat your peas, eat your peas."
The first White House Easter Egg Roll was hosted by President Rutherford B. Hayes in 1878.
|
eff1bc7e6f4141478242521086801efd
|
What are the families being invited to the White House to do?
|
[
"play football, basketball and tennis, among other things."
] |
NewsQA
|
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Five U.S. soldiers were killed Friday in a suicide bombing in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul -- the single deadliest attack on U.S. troops in more than a year, the U.S. military said.
A suicide truck bomber breached the outer security barrier of Iraqi National Police headquarters in southern Mosul, and detonated his explosives, killing eight people and wounding 60 others, an Iraqi Interior Ministry official said. A U.S. soldier was also among the wounded, the U.S. military said.
The ministry said those killed include five Americans, two Iraqi policemen and an Iraqi soldier. At least two individuals suspected of being involved in the attack were detained, the U.S. military said.
It is the deadliest attack on U.S. forces since March 10, 2008, when five U.S. soldiers were killed in a suicide attack in Baghdad.
Despite a number of military operations in this volatile city during the past year, Mosul remains one of the most violent places in Iraq. Last year the U.S. military said Mosul was the last urban stronghold of al Qaeda in Iraq.
Mosul is the provincial capital of Nineveh and is about 260 miles, or 420 kilometers, north of Baghdad. Watch a suicide bomb attack kills 5 U.S. soldiers »
U.S. and Iraqi military forces plan to pull out of Mosul to allow Iraqi police to control security in the city. But police are not quite ready yet, according to an Iraqi general.
"We need to bring the police to the required level. The deadline is the end of July, and it's not enough time to prepare the police," said Gen. Hassan Karim, commander of Nineveh operations for the Iraqi army. "(That) means we'll need U.S. forces to stay in Mosul."
CNN's Nic Robertson contributed to this report
|
c37dd14eab3f45268343e5c8797d36f2
|
how many were killed?
|
[
"eight people"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- The parents of a 15-year-old Massachusetts high school student who committed suicide after being bullied by her classmates received a nearly quarter-million-dollar settlement, according to documents made public after a months-long attempt to uncover details of the agreement.
The settlement was reached with the town of South Hadley in November of 2010, but it was only made public Tuesday after a reporter successfully sued to gain access to the records.
The reporter, Emily Bazelon from Slate Magazine, filed the public records lawsuit on December 2 with assistance from the American Civil Liberties Union, after first requesting the documents in May.
Superior Court Judge Mary-Lou Rup on Friday ordered the settlement be made public, adding that Bazelon "demonstrated that she, in her role as a news reporter, and the public have a First Amendment right to access the information contained in these settlement documents."
The agreement centers around the case of Phoebe Prince, whose body was found last year hanging in the stairway leading to her family's second-floor apartment.
On the day she died, Prince had endured a torrent of verbal abuse that began at the school library and continued as she walked home from school in tears, according to prosecutors.
Her parents, Anne O'Brien and Jeremy Prince, received the $225,000 settlement sum after filing a complaint with the state's Commission Against Discrimination in 2010, arguing that South Hadley Public Schools failed to address hazing that preceded their daughter's death.
The settlement prohibits Prince's parents from again suing the town over Prince's suicide, but it also binds them to a confidentiality agreement that prevents publicizing details of the agreement.
In a letter written to the Slate reporter on May 9, town officials pointed to a confidentiality clause in the agreement as reason for keeping the record sealed.
"I did not want to violate the trust of the people who entered into it with that confidentiality clause in it," town counsel Edward J. Ryan Jr. told CNN.
Civil rights advocacy groups have since hailed Friday's decision.
"A public document does not become private because the government inserts a confidentiality clause or a nondisclosure clause," said Newman.
According to the court order, public records are defined as "all books, papers, maps, photographs, recorded tapes, financial statements" and other items "made or received by any officer or employee of any agency."
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c05faca5623a473890e6c29b9b539ebe
|
Who tried to keep this under wraps?
|
[
"town officials"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- An apparent natural gas explosion in downtown Bozeman, Montana, leveled three businesses Thursday morning, according to city and state officials.
An explosion rocks downtown Bozeman, Montana, on Thursday in a photo from iReporter Sean Gallik.
"When we say gone, we mean gone. These three businesses are gone," said Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer, who added that the state is providing help for clean up, and to businesses and residents who are affected.
One person remained unaccounted for Thursday evening, Bozeman Assistant City Manager Chuck Winn said.
"The situation remains unsafe for anyone to enter," Winn said. "So in terms of a search -- we are unable to do so at this time."
Winn said city crews are making progress cleaning up the area, but the damage is great. He said a meeting was planned Friday morning to give business owners and residents information about when they can return.
"It literally looks like a bomb went off in downtown Bozeman," he said. iReport.com: Photos from the scene
"Roofing material, construction material is scattered for three or four blocks," he said. "It was a very violent explosion."
Schweitzer added that the situation would "not be over in 24 hours."
The blast occurred about 8:15 a.m. on the town's Main Street, Fire Chief Jason Shrauger told CNN.
The city government declared a local emergency after the blast. Initially, 11 people were reported missing, but 10 were later accounted for, Winn said.
It was not clear what triggered the blast.
Bozeman is in south-central Montana, about 100 miles southeast of the state capital, Helena.
|
2e5ca44944ba4f249b7ab8da04f3b916
|
What caused the fire?
|
[
"natural gas explosion"
] |
NewsQA
|
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Bucking tradition, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will bypass Europe and travel to Asia on her maiden voyage overseas, diplomats familiar with the planning said Tuesday.
Bill Clinton looks at his wife Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as she is sworn in on February 2.
Clinton is expected to visit China, Japan and South Korea on her first trip overseas. The diplomats said she may also add other stops, including one in Southeast Asia.
The diplomats spoke on condition of anonymity because Clinton's schedule was still being finalized. The State Department has not commented on her travel plans.
Making Asia Clinton's first overseas destination illustrates the Obama administration's desire for a broader partnership with China and its commitment to resolving the North Korean nuclear issue, as well as strengthening ties with Tokyo and Seoul, the diplomats said.
The White House said President Barack Obama told Chinese President Hu Jintao in a Friday phone call that he looked forward to "to early contacts and exchanges between senior officials of our two countries."
Clinton told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee last month she hoped to make an early trip to Southeast Asia, in particular Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim-majority nation where Obama spent part of his childhood. Clinton said she wanted to restart Peace Corps programs there, which were suspended in the 1960s.
Traditionally U.S. secretaries of state make Europe or the Middle East their first official trip overseas. But given that Vice President Joseph Biden is headed to Europe this week for a security conference in Germany, and special envoy George Mitchell is currently in the Middle East, Clinton is free to break with tradition.
However British Foreign Secretary David Miliband and German Foreign Secretary Walter Steinmeier will be Clinton's first foreign guests to the State Department on Tuesday.
Clinton was sworn in as America's 67th secretary of state on Monday -- for a second time. Watch Clinton being sworn in »
Biden administered the oath to Clinton in a ceremonial star-studded gathering at the State Department, with actor Chevy Chase and designer Oscar de la Renta among those on hand.
"It is an overwhelming honor ... to assume this position," Clinton said. "We have a lot of work to do [to ensure that] America's future can be even brighter than our storied past."
|
91f01fa553734ed88a8803fbc519a17b
|
Who bypassed Europe and travelled to Asia?
|
[
"U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- The Federal Aviation Administration has suspended two air traffic controllers over last week's collision of two aircraft over the Hudson River that killed nine people, a spokeswoman said.
The wreckage of a plane that collided with a helicopter is lifted this week from the Hudson River.
A controller at New Jersey's Teterboro Airport handling the flight of a Piper airplane carrying three people "was involved in apparently inappropriate conversations on the telephone at the time of the accident," FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown said in a statement Thursday.
A source with knowledge of the investigation said the controller was on the phone with his girlfriend "after he cleared the pilot for takeoff; he was still on the phone at the time of the crash."
In addition, "the supervisor was not present in the building as required," Brown said.
"While we have no reason to believe at this time that these actions contributed to the accident, this kind of conduct is unacceptable, and we have placed the employees on administrative leave and have begun disciplinary proceedings," she said. Watch amateur video of the moment of impact »
"These are serious violations of the FAA regulations," said Mary Schiavo, former inspector general for the Transportation Department.
The union for air traffic controllers urged caution.
"We support that any such allegation is fully investigated before there is a rush to judgment about the behavior of any controller," said a statement from the National Air Traffic Controllers Association.
The National Transportation Safety Board is working with the FAA in investigating Saturday's collision of the Piper, which had taken off from Teterboro, with a sightseeing helicopter that was carrying five Italian tourists and a pilot.
No one aboard either aircraft survived the crash.
The NTSB has said the pilot of the small plane was cleared electronically and handed off to Newark, New Jersey, air traffic controllers, a standard procedure.
However, Newark's control tower never got a verbal response from the pilot of the small plane.
The controller put on leave was described as a longtime employee, the source said.
He and the supervisor face disciplinary action that could include their firing.
Also Thursday, FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt said the agency may reissue advisories to pilots using the busy airspace over the Hudson.
Pilots are urged to use a radio frequency dedicated to traffic in that corridor, fly no faster than 140 knots and turn on their lights as they enter that airspace.
Babbitt made the comments at an event at the agency's research facility in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
CNN's Susan Candiotti contributed to this report.
|
7c102bbd875d48a4bc58274cf64c9b95
|
What collided with helicopter
|
[
"a plane"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- A multistate romaine lettuce recall because of fear of contamination with a potentially deadly bacteria has restaurants east of the Mississippi River scrambling to assure customers that their salad is safe.
"We have taken the extra precaution of contacting our lettuce supply chain partners to ensure that our product meets our usual high standard of quality," New York-based franchise Just Salad said in an e-mail to its customers.
"We are happy to say that we have confirmed that this recall will have no effect on Just Salad's romaine lettuce," the e-mail said.
On Thursday, Freshway Foods in Sidney, Ohio, announced a voluntary recall of products containing shredded romaine lettuce with a use-by date of May 12 or earlier because they may be contaminated with E. coli linked to outbreak of illness.
Read about recall on CNN's This Just in
Yum! Brands -- the largest restaurant company, and owner of popular fast food chains KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and Long John Silver's -- said Freshway Foods is a not supplier to any of its brands.
The romaine lettuce, sold under the Freshway and Imperial Sysco brands, was recalled in connection with an E. coli outbreak that has sickened at least 19 people in Michigan, Ohio and New York.
Most E. coli strains are harmless, but some cause severe illness. Diarrhea, urinary tract infections, pneumonia and other respiratory illnesses are just some of the consequences of ingesting certain kinds of the bacteria.
Blog: What you need to know about E. coli
The lettuce under recall was sold to wholesalers and food service outlets in Alabama, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
Freshway Foods also advised consumers not to eat "grab and go" salads sold at in-store salad bars and delis at Kroger, Giant Eagle, Ingles Markets and Marsh stores in 23 states and the District of Columbia.
The Freshway recall does not affect bagged and prepackaged romaine lettuce mixes sold in the produce section.
"It is important to note that bulk and prepackaged romaine or bagged salad mixes containing romaine that were purchased in supermarkets are not included in this recall; Freshway Foods does not produce these products," Freshway said in a statement.
Consumers with recall questions and concerns can contact Freshway Foods at 888-361-7106 or visit its website, www.freshwayfoods.com.
|
d112ee2e28e340bd91fbb0216852736e
|
What was the lettuce contaminated with?
|
[
"E. coli"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- A polygamist sect member arrested following last year's raid of a west Texas ranch was sentenced Tuesday to 10 years in prison for sexually assaulting an underage girl, authorities said.
Raymond Jessop was found guilty last week of assaulting a girl under 17, with whom he had entered into a "spiritual" marriage, said Jerry Strickland, a spokesman for the state attorney general.
Jessop also received an $8,000 fine, said Sheriff David Doran, of Schleicher County, Texas.
The victim in the case was one of 400 children seized from the Yearning for Zion Ranch in Eldorado, Texas, in April 2008 by state child welfare workers. The children were returned after the Texas Supreme Court ruled that the state had no right to remove them and lacked evidence to show that they were in danger of abuse.
Jessop belongs to the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The church -- a 10,000-member offshoot of the mainstream Mormon church -- openly practices polygamy on the ranch, as well as in Arizona and Utah.
Critics of the sect say young girls are forced into "spiritual" marriages with older men and are sexually abused. Sect members have denied any sexual abuse.
CNN's Dave Alsup contributed to this report.
|
aa53b6b8b3ce405a94618b2131589c8c
|
What must he pay?
|
[
"$8,000"
] |
NewsQA
|
SAN FRANCISCO, California (CNN) -- The California Supreme Court has cleared the way for Californians to vote in November on whether to ban same-sex marriages in the state.
A gay couple is married in California in June. Voters could void same-sex marriages in the state in November.
The court on Wednesday denied a petition to remove the initiative from the state's general election ballots. The unanimous decision was handed down without elaboration.
Hundreds of marriage licenses have been issued to same-sex couples since mid-June, a month after the court overturned the state's laws against such unions.
However, on June 2, opponents of same-sex marriage filed for a ballot initiative that would ban such marriages in the state's constitution. Such a ban would overturn the court's May ruling.
Equality California, a Sacramento-based activist group, filed a petition against the initiative -- Proposition 8 -- arguing that it involves a constitutional revision that can't be adopted through a ballot vote.
The group also contended that petitions circulated to qualify the proposition for the ballot contained material that misled readers about the measure's effects.
Jennifer Kerns, a spokeswoman for the proposition, called Wednesday's decision "a huge victory."
"We believe it deals a strong blow to our opponents and sends a strong message that they won't be able to keep the ballot initiative away from the people of California," she said.
Calls Wednesday to Equality California were not immediately returned.
If the proposition is approved, it would be the second time same-sex marriages have been voided in California.
In February 2004, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom -- who is considering a run for governor -- challenged the state's laws against same-sex marriage, ordering city officials to issue marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples.
Those unions were voided by the California Supreme Court, though the justices sidestepped the issue of whether banning same-sex marriage was unconstitutional, allowing legal cases to work their way through the lower courts.
Several gay and lesbian couples -- along with the city of San Francisco and gay-rights groups -- sued, saying they were victims of unlawful discrimination.
A lower court ruled San Francisco had acted unlawfully in issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. However, the state Supreme Court's ruling in May struck down the state's ban on same-sex marriage as unconstitutional.
That decision made California the nation's second state, after Massachusetts, to legalize same-sex marriage. Four other states allow civil unions.
|
7afca6a438ee49058af9787abb297036
|
What group tried to block the initiative?
|
[
"Equality California,"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Four people, including a 12-year-old, died when an Amtrak train hit their car in Hardeeville, South Carolina, an official said Tuesday.
The accident occurred Monday night near the South Carolina-Georgia state line, not far from the intersection of South Carolina 46 and U.S. 17.
"It appears that the vehicle tried to go around the gate arms ... to beat the train across the tracks," said Ted Felder, Hardeeville's interim city manager.
The Jasper County, South Carolina, coroner has not released the names of the dead.
The car became wedged onto the front of the southbound train, which pushed it for a mile down the track, Felder said. The Hardeeville Fire Department received a call shortly before 9 p.m. ET Monday, but teams from various agencies reportedly were unable to detach the car until about midnight.
Felder said no one on the train was injured, and once the car was detached, a bus took passengers to the Amtrak station in Savannah, Georgia.
The train was en route from Charleston, South Carolina, to Savannah when the crash occurred.
|
4ec2619905224aedb22f0c4ff5a71f79
|
Where did this happen?
|
[
"Hardeeville,"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Actor Edward Norton already wanted to be in better shape for his 40th birthday than he was on his 30th when the idea hit -- why not join members of an African tribe famous for its runners and run the New York marathon?
"Incredible Hulk" star Edward Norton, second from left, has trained for a marathon with Maasai tribesmen in Kenya
Before he knew it, the star of "The Incredible Hulk" and "Fight Club" had signed on to the effort, despite never having run a marathon before.
"The idea picked up traction pretty quickly," said Norton, who turned 39 in August. "Then, I was like, 'Wait a minute. What have I just done?'"
The run is a benefit for the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust, an organization working to promote sustainable development while protecting the east African grasslands that the Maasai tribe calls home. Both the traditional tribe's way of life and its environment have been threatened by rapid industrial development.
Norton discovered, and became a supporter of, the trust about 10 years ago during his first visit to Kenya, where he met founder Luca Belpietro.
"I was impressed at the way he was really genuinely working with the community to create value out of being good stewards of the land," Norton said.
Belpietro will be one of nearly 30 runners joining Norton on the Nov. 1 marathon. Also running will be magician David Blaine and three Maasai tribesmen.
The Maasai are at the heart of Kenya's long tradition of distance running. Norton said one of the runners, safari guide Parashi Ntanin, is so fast he could probably leave the rest of the group behind and run the race in less than 2½ hours.
Norton said he's run as much as 15 miles twice during his training for the 26.2-mile marathon and that despite some leg and knee pains, he's confident he'll finish the endurance race.
"I'm really enjoying it," he said after a workout Wednesday in New York. "I'm enjoying having a goal."
A competitive rower at Yale, Norton said he's experienced the so-called "runner's high" during his training, which fans can follow on his Twitter account, @EdwardNorton.
"Running in the park, I got a taste of what people say about the New York marathon. There were people of every shape and size out there," he said. "I really got a lift out of it."
Norton's latest film, the independently produced "Leaves of Grass," is set to premiere this week at the Toronto International Film Festival and his company's "By The People: The Election Of Barack Obama," a documentary about President Obama's historic campaign for the White House, debuts on HBO on November 3.
|
bdb2d6c36b1a457c9c52a92823fe7b4e
|
When will the marathon take place?
|
[
"Nov. 1"
] |
NewsQA
|
(Rolling Stone) -- One of the most stunning moments in Cameron Crowe's new Pearl Jam documentary comes near the end, when the band plays "Better Man" at Madison Square Garden and the audience euphorically screams along to every word.
The soundtrack to the film -- which contains that "Better Man" -- is for those hardcore fans.
There's no "Jeremy," "Daughter" or "Even Flow" here. But there is a gorgeous demo of "Nothing as It Seems" from 1999, a demo of the 1990 Temple of the Dog track "Say Hello 2 Heaven" and an early version of "Alive," from Pearl Jam's second show, in December 1990.
The emotional high point may be "Crown of Thorns," from a gig in 2000. The song was first cut by Mother Love Bone shortly before their frontman Andrew Wood died; the group recruited Vedder and changed its name to Pearl Jam.
Wood always dreamed that his band would be hugely famous, and in Vedder's hands his greatest song is reborn as the arena-rock anthem it was meant to be.
See the full article at RollingStone.com.
|
6e90069c87da4fafbe80d7b947b0bc52
|
What is the emotional high point?
|
[
"\"Crown of Thorns,\""
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Toulouse striker Andre-Pierre Gignac has been handed his first call-up to the France squad for their two World Cup qualifiers against Lithuania.
Gignac has been rewarded for his superb form this season with a first call-up to the France squad.
The 23-year-old forward is the top scorer in French Ligue 1 with 17 goals this season -- and has been selected by coach Raymond Domenech ahead of Paris St-Germain striker Guillaume Hoarau.
Defenders Patrice Evra and Ladil Rami return, but fellow-defenders Eric Abidal (Barcelona), Jean-Alain Boumsong (Lyon) and Julien Escude (Sevilla) are all ruled out through injury.
There is also no place in the squad for captain Patrick Vieira, who has struggled to find his best form for Inter Milan this season.
France are currently third in European Group Seven with just one win to show from their first three matches. They trail Serbia and Lithuania by five points but have a game in hand on both nations.
France initially face Lituania in Kaunas on March 28, with the return match at the Stade de France in Paris on April 1.
France squad:
Goalkeepers: Hugo Lloris (Lyon), Steve Mandanda (Marseille), Cedric Carrasso (Toulouse).
Defenders: Gael Clichy (Arsenal), Rod Fanni (Rennes), William Gallas (Arsenal), Philippe Mexes (Roma), Bacary Sagna (Arsenal), Sebastien Squillaci (Sevilla), Patrice Evra (Manchester United), Adil Rami (Lille).
Midfielders: Alou Diarra (Bordeaux), Lassana Diarra (Real Madrid), Yoann Gourcuff (Bordeaux), Samir Nasri (Arsenal), Jeremy Toulalan (Lyon), Abou Diaby (Arsenal), Franck Ribery (Bayern Munich).
Forwards: Nicolas Anelka (Chelsea), Karim Benzema (Lyon), Jimmy Briand (Rennes), Thierry Henry (Barcelona), Andre-Pierre Gignac (Toulouse).
|
a92a0f66f6a549498d6c33626583e71a
|
Which Toulouse striker achieved his first call-up?
|
[
"Andre-Pierre Gignac"
] |
NewsQA
|
New York (CNN) -- Spider-Man's alter ego cannot escape the harsh realities of the current economic times and will lose his job in an issue of the Amazing Spider-Man hitting stores this week.
Peter Parker, official photographer of the mayor by day and New York City crime fighter by night, is going to face new challenges, including unemployment.
"He's going to struggle with unemployment and trying to save the city while he can barely afford to keep a roof over his head," said Steve Wacker, Marvel Comics senior editor.
Parker has always been a grounded character with real-world problems, Wacker said. His aunt is frequently sick, he has girlfriend troubles, and he sometimes struggles to find work. In addition, Spider-Man story lines are often set against a backdrop of current events.
In the near future, Parker will have to juggle paying bills and buying "web-fluid" and other materials to fix his superhero costume in addition to keeping his dual identities under wraps.
Parker's work history includes photographer, assistant high school coach, science teacher and scientific researcher, according to his biography on the Marvel Web site. His education includes a college degree in biophysics and some postgraduate work in biochemistry.
It was at a science exhibit he attended as a teenager that he was bitten by a radioactive spider and acquired the creature's strength, agility and weaving ability, says Marvel Comics.
And although Parker has skills few other others can claim, he probably won't list these on his resume: superhuman strength, ability to cling to most surfaces, fast traveling ability aided by web-slinging and spider-sense danger avoidance system.
The Amazing Spider-Man comic was first published in 1963.
|
c90e302c62c44ca0b550cf31b8721a4b
|
Who will lose his job this week?
|
[
"Spider-Man's alter ego"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Sam Hamilton, director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, died Saturday, authorities announced.
Hamilton, 54, died after suffering chest pains, a symptom reflective of an underlying heart condition, the Summit County, Colorado, coroner said. Hamilton was on a mountain at the Keystone Ski Resort in Keystone, Colorado, when he complained of the pains.
Hamilton had served the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for more than 30 years.
"Sam was a friend, a visionary, and a professional whose years of service and passionate dedication to his work have left an indelible mark on the lands and wildlife we cherish," Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar said in a written statement.
"His forward-thinking approach to conservation - including his view that we must think beyond boundaries at the landscape-scale- will continue to shape our nation's stewardship for years to come."
Hamilton took over the leadership of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in September. He was previously the regional director of the 10-state Southeast region for the agency. He was charged with a $484 million budget and oversight over more than 350 threatened and endangered species and 128 national wildlife refuges, according to the agency's Web site.
While regional director, he also supported the creation of a carbon sequestration program that helped restore about 80,000 acres of wildlife habitat.
His colleague, Thomas Strickland, assistant secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks, praised Hamilton's more than 30 years of service to the agency.
"Sam brought more than just a wealth of experience to the job, he brought courage and outstanding leadership," Strickland said in a statement. "The Department of the Interior will miss him greatly."
Hamilton first became involved with the agency when he was 15 years old, as a member of the Youth Conservation Corps in Mississippi with the Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge, according to the agency's Web site.
He is survived by his wife Becky; sons Sam Jr. and Clay, as well as his grandson, Davis.
|
725d7b14facf4c69baf18c1b4ccc47af
|
How long did Hamilton serve?
|
[
"more than 30 years."
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- A pilot who parachuted from his disabled Marine Corps jet last year said he was horrified to see it smash into a California home, newly released documents say.
A firefighter walks past as flames rise from the wreckage of a military jet crash in California.
Marine Corps Lt. Dan Neubauer's statements, describing the December crash that killed four family members in a San Diego home, were released Tuesday by military officials.
The four-page document details in technical terms several attempts Neubauer made to keep his crippled F/A-18D from crashing. When it became apparent that the plane was going down, Neubauer parachuted out.
"I looked down to see where my plane had crashed and saw that it had gone right into a house. I screamed in horror when I realized what had just happened," Neubauer said in the document.
Neubauer landed in the backyard of another home and was not injured. The pilot had been trying to reach the nearby Marine Corps Air Station Miramar when he started having problems with his fighter jet. See satellite photo of crash site »
The jet crashed into Dong Yun Yoon's house, killing his wife, his two young children and his mother-in-law. An unoccupied house was also destroyed.
Days after the incident, Yoon said he did not blame the pilot.
"Please pray for him not to suffer from this accident," Yoon said. "I don't blame him. I don't have any hard feelings. I know he did everything he could."
|
5eaaeeeaba384c30ad1b44d01ac04a0d
|
What did the disabled jet crash into?
|
[
"California home,"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Actor Larry Hagman said Friday that he has been diagnosed with cancer, but noted "it is a very common and treatable form" of the disease.
Hagman, who turned 80 last month, is best known for his role as J.R. Ewing, the son of a Texas oil tycoon on the primetime television series "Dallas," and as a dashing Florida astronaut living with a 2,000-year-old genie on the sitcom "I Dream of Jeannie."
In recent days he has been preparing for a stint on the remake of "Dallas" later this month.
"As J.R I could get away with anything -- bribery, blackmail and adultery," Hagman said. "But I got caught by cancer."
Hagman said he will receive treatment for his cancer -- the type of which was not disclosed -- while working on the new "Dallas."
This isn't the first health scare Hagman has faced. In 2003, he talked to CNN about his fight with cirrhosis and the 16-hour liver transplant in 1995 that saved his life.
Warner Horizon Television, TNT's television production branch, which is producing the "Dallas" remake, issued a statement Friday expressing support for Hagman.
"We look forward to watching Larry once again work his magic by bringing one of television's most interesting, complex and controversial characters back to the screen in the new Dallas series," the statement said.
The original "Dallas" series ran from 1978 to 1991.
"I could not think of a better place to be than working on a show I love, with people I love. Besides, as we all know, you can't keep J.R. down!" Hagman said.
CNN's KJ Matthews contributed to this report.
|
a706b6e442d84b1aa6884a526116fae5
|
Is Hagman over 90 years old?
|
[
"80"
] |
NewsQA
|
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The U.S. Marine commander on Wednesday warned of a "growing" insurgent threat in Afghanistan, but he said forces would have to be cut in Iraq to send more Marines to Afghanistan.
Marines could be pulled from Iraq's Anbar province, Gen. James Conway said Wednesday.
"To do more in Afghanistan, our Marines have got to see relief elsewhere," said Gen. James Conway in a briefing for Pentagon reporters.
Conway said the Corps' two regimental combat teams -- about 10,000 Marines -- in Iraq's Anbar province could be removed as there are only two or three insurgent attacks a day in what was once the hotbed of the Iraqi insurgency.
The U.S.-led coalition is scheduled to hand over security control in Anbar to Iraqi troops next week.
Despite the progress, Conway said, he doesn't expect any decisions on troop withdrawals until Gen. David Petraeus -- the head of the U.S. military in Iraq -- makes his recommendations on troop deployment in Iraq to President Bush and Defense Secretary Robert Gates.
There are more than 3,000 Marines in Afghanistan, and Conway said that the Marine Corps would be willing to help bolster the fight against the Taliban in that country.
"I think that a battalion of Marines in Afghanistan count for more than a battalion of Marines in Iraq, if you will, just in terms of the impact that they can have," he said.
|
ae48d4b6aa5d468f8a0b2412523f09fb
|
How many attacks are taking place in Anbar?
|
[
"two or three"
] |
NewsQA
|
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Obama will rack up plenty of frequent flyer miles this summer with planned trips in Africa, Russia and Italy.
President Obama will travel to Ghana for two days after the G8 Summit in July.
Obama, along with his wife, Michelle, will visit Accra, Ghana, on July 10 and July 11, the White House said Saturday. It will follow Obama's trip to the G8 summit in L'Aquila, Italy, from July 8 to July 10.
Obama will address various bilateral and regional issues with Ghanaian President John Atta Mills, the White House said in a news statement.
"The President and Mrs. Obama look forward to strengthening the U.S. relationship with one of our most trusted partners in sub-Saharan Africa, and to highlighting the critical role that sound governance and civil society play in promoting lasting development," according to the statement.
Obama announced a week ago that he will visit Egypt on June 4 to deliver a speech on America's relationship with the Muslim world.
Egypt is "a country that in many ways represents the heart of the Arab world," White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said at the time.
Gibbs deflected several questions at his daily briefing about whether Egypt is a wise choice given President Hosni Mubarak's resistance to making his government more democratic.
Obama originally promised to deliver the speech during his first 100 days, but senior administration officials say the date slipped in part because of security and logistical issues.
Obama has visited Africa before as a senator. In 2006, he received a hero's welcome in his father's native Kenya.
Before the G8 summit, the president is scheduled to travel to Moscow from July 6 to July 8 at the invitation of Russian leader Dmitry Medvedev.
The G8 is made up of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, England and the United States.
|
e82904b37fb24ed59ce4f53b7c54bbc9
|
When did Obama last travel to Africa?
|
[
"In 2006,"
] |
NewsQA
|
SANTA CRUZ, Bolivia (CNN) -- Bolivian President Evo Morales on Monday accused a U.S. diplomat of contacting opposition groups, declared him "persona non grata" and ordered he be expelled.
"Francisco Martinez, a Mexican-U.S. citizen, was in permanent contact with opposition groups during the whole era of conspiracy," the leftist president said. "He was the U.S. embassy person who contacted ex-police officers," Morales told reporters, according to The Associated Press, whose tape of the speech was broadcast on CNN en Espanol.
"The times of the colony will end in Latin America," Morales vowed to reporters. "We are in profound transformation."
Martinez was identified in media reports as the second secretary at the embassy in La Paz, Bolivia's capital.
Heidi Bronke, a spokeswoman for the U.S. State Department's Western Hemisphere Affairs bureau, acknowledged the move, but said it had not been communicated through diplomatic channels.
"We reject the accusations made by the government of Bolivia," she said. "This decision is unwarranted and unjustified. It is inconsistent with recent statements by the government of Bolivia expressing a desire to improve bilateral relations."
Morales' move comes six months after he declared U.S. Ambassador Philip Goldberg persona non grata for allegedly having encouraged anti-government demonstrators to violence.
Goldberg denied the charge.
Journalist Gloria Carrasco contributed to this story from Santa Cruz, Bolivia
|
b1978026efcc4f429649438871ac0996
|
Who contacted ex-police officers?
|
[
"\"Francisco Martinez,"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- South Korean star Park Ji-sung has signed a two-year contract extension at English Premier League champions Manchester United.
The 28-year-old Park has been handed a contract extension at Manchester United.
The attacking midfielder is now tied to Old Trafford until 2012 as reward for his dogged displays for United since joining from PSV Eindhoven in 2005.
"I am so pleased to have a new contract," Park told www.manutd.com.
"We have achieved great success over the last four years and won many trophies."
Park has had to work hard to establish himself as a regular member of United's starting line-up and was devastated to be left out of the squad for their 2008 Champions League final success against Chelsea.
But last season he was a key figure as United completed a hat-trick of Premier League titles.
Park also gained selection for the Champions League final against Barcelona, becoming the first player from Asia to play in the European club showpiece.
His popularity in his home region is undoubted and United have been able to capitalize with two highly-profitable visits to the continent with Park a key draw.
Park, who will be a driving force in South Korea's World Cup challenge in South Africa next year, has played 127 times for United, scoring 12 goals.
"We are always pleased to secure the future of our star players and Ji-Sung has proved himself to be a fantastic professional as well as an important versatile player in our squad," said manager Alex Ferguson.
Park has been rewarded with an improved deal worth a reported $5.9 million per year.
|
e52e8312bf9a47ef88cab7b4894ad234
|
Who was the first player from Asia to play in Champions League final?
|
[
"Park Ji-sung"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Pakistan cricketers have been told they will not be allowed to appear in the highly-lucrative Indian Premier League (IPL) this coming season because of fears over security.
Danish Kaneria, in action against India last December, was hoping to play in the Indian Premier League.
Stars from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Sri Lanka, West Indies and, for the first time, England will be competing in the action that starts on April 10.
Several Pakistan stars had also signed for IPL franchises while another five, including leg-spinner Danish Kaneria, were scheduled to appear at a players' auction to be held in Goa, India, on Thursday.
However, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said players would not be allowed to play in the IPL this coming season on government advice.
"We have informed the IPL and Indian board that our players can't take part in the IPL this year," PCB chief operating officer Saleem Altaf told Reuters.com.
The decision follows concerns for players' safety because of the tense relations between Pakistan and India after the Mumbai militant attacks in November.
Former Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik, who plays for Delhi, said the players would abide by the directives of the government and PCB.
Meanwhile, another former captain, Inzamam-ul-Haq is among several top Pakistan players who have successfully challenged a domestic ban imposed following appearances in the unofficial Indian Cricket League (ICL).
Provincial Sindh High Court on Monday suspended the 2007 action taken by the PCB which must appear in court later this month to explain their action.
Players affected by the 2007 ruling also include Mohammad Yousuf, Imran Nazir, Mohammad Sami and Azhar Mahmood who along with Inzamam, played for Lahore Badshahs. Last year, the Badshahs named after a Pakistani city and with a number of Pakistani players won the ICL 20s Indian championship.
"The honorable court has suspended this relevant clause of the PCB rules and allowed the players to appear in domestic cricket with immediate effect," Zahid Fakhruddin Ibrahim, the legal counsel for the players, told Reuters.com.
Lahore coach Moin Khan, a former Pakistan captain, said the suspension of the ban was good for Pakistani cricket.
"Some of the ICL players can still play for Pakistan and when they play in domestic cricket, youngsters will learn from them," Khan commented. "The ban had hurt the players financially as well as cricket-wise, so it's a great decision."
|
c94ada9174f3456fbe59356e15ce73fb
|
Which country's players are not competing?
|
[
"Pakistan"
] |
NewsQA
|
(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.
|
544f9666c45643c5b9c0ead7133192c2
|
Who was kidnapped?
|
[
"international journalists, along with their Somali colleague and a driver, were"
] |
NewsQA
|
LONDON, England -- Almost 25,000 people will die this year of HIV/AIDS in Myanmar unless lifesaving treatment is significantly increased, according to a new report.
A Doctors Without Borders worker handing out HIV/AIDS drugs in Myanmar.
The study produced by leading international humanitarian organization, Doctors Without Borders said the failure by the government to provide HIV/AIDS treatment to its people is putting the population at risk.
An estimated 240,000 people are thought to have HIV/AIDS in Myanmar with 76,000 of those people facing death unless they receive antiretroviral (ART) drug, the report published Tuesday said.
Fewer than 20 percent of the people are are able to access ART, according to the organization.
Currently, Doctors Without Borders says it is almost the sole provider of these lifesaving drugs --providing them to more than 11,000 people.
"It is unacceptable that a single NGO is treating the vast majority of HIV patients in a crisis of this magnitude," the charity's Operations Manager Joe Belliveau, said in a press release.
The pressure on its resources means the charity has been forced to turn away patients.
"Sometimes I wake up at midnight and dream of my patients. Women who come in are HIV positive --they have three children at home and the husband has passed away and we cannot provide any treatment for them," a doctor quoted in the research said.
The government and international communities have provided very little to the crisis, Belliveau added.
The government of Myanmar allocated just $200,000 for HIV/AIDS in 2008, which is one of the lowest amount spent worldwide, according to Doctors Without Borders.
Drugs that are not provided by aid organizations or the government cost a patient $29 per month. With most people in Myanmar living on an average of $1.20 per day, the cost of drugs is unaffordable for most.
The charity also appealed for intervention by the international community to avert the crisis. Myanmar currently receives around $3 per person in aid-- one of the lowest rates worldwide.
One reason for this may be that international donor groups are reluctant to send aid to Myanmar, a country run by a strict military junta widely criticized for its atrocious human rights record.
The report states aid agencies may be put off by challenges Myanmar imposes such as strict constraints and difficult bureaucratic procedures.
Earlier this year when a deadly cyclone hit Myanmar that killed almost 100,000 people and left millions homeless, the government turned away international aid to the frustration of many organizations.
Doctors Without Borders has been providing essential healthcare services in Myanmar since 1993 and began an integrated program in 2003 to support people living with HIV/AIDS.
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e2aeceb4766d4db19347cf0495cf469b
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What will happen if peple do not get treatment?
|
[
"die"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- This month on Inside the Middle East -- Zain Verjee hosts from Doha, Qatar.
Art Treasures Revealed
Ancient art finds a modern home in Doha at the Museum of Islamic Art as it celebrates its first anniversary. From jewelry to textiles to ceramics and metal work, the galleries host an unparalleled collection of artifacts spanning the 7th to the 19th centuries, from Spain to China. The minimal Arabesque cubism design of the building was done by award-winning architect I.M. Pei, famed for his Pyramid at Paris' Louvre Museum. Schams Elwazer takes us inside Doha's cultural landmark.
Campus Forum -- University students share their thoughts
In a region where 60 percent of the population is under 30-years-old, IME is going to universities to gauge the pulse on campuses and to speak to tomorrow's business and industry leaders. On this edition we visit the Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar and ask design students about their passions, concerns, identity issues, and what it means to be young in the Middle East today.
On campus we also catch up with an industry leader -- architect and humanitarian entrepreneur Cameron Sinclair of Architecture for Humanity and hear his message of global action to young design students.
Your IME Diary
We report from on the ground in Mecca, Saudi Arabia where millions of Muslims gathered for the annual Hajj pilgrimage followed by the celebrations of Eid Al-Adha.
Qatar launched the first annual World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE), hoping to become the educational equivalent of the World Economic Forum, aiming to "create a new international multi-disciplinary platform to shape education models of the 21st century."
In the UAE, the Abu Dhabi Art exhibit brought famous names to its galleries while the Dubai World Championship brought golf stars to its greens.
You can watch Inside the Middle East at the following times in December:
Wednesday 2 December: 0830, 1430, Saturday 5 December 0830, 1700, 2030, Sunday 6 December 0530, 1530, Monday 7 December 0300 (all times GMT)
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350891ab5e184556aa61d5acbd2faea9
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What is Mecca celebrating?
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[
"Eid Al-Adha."
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Eighteen people, including two soldiers, were killed Saturday in a gunbattle between the Mexican army and organized-crime suspects in the Mexican resort town of Acapulco, the Mexican Ministry of Defense said Sunday.
Mexican soldiers hold rifles Saturday during a clash with organized-crime suspects in Acapulco.
The incident began about 7 p.m., when the soldiers went to a location called Avenida Rancho Grande in Acapulco "to exploit information obtained through an anonymous tip," the ministry said in a statement. The soldiers were met by gunfire, it said.
Five people were arrested in connection with the shootout. Two soldiers and 16 gunmen were killed, and nine soldiers were wounded, the statement said.
The gunmen were not identified, but the statement called them "members of organized crime."
Authorities seized 36 large-caliber weapons, 13 small-caliber weapons, two grenade launchers, 13 fragmentation grenades, 3,525 rounds of various caliber ammunition, 180 charges and eight vehicles, the ministry said.
CNN's Arthur Brice and CNN en Español's Luisa Calad contributed to this report.
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7ca8c23185b6461b97ea3a780181b6b9
|
Where are the soldiers from?
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[
"Mexican"
] |
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|
(CNN) -- An Alabama man whose wife died during a honeymoon scuba diving trip off the coast of Australia almost five years ago has been charged in her death.
Tina Watson, background right, lies motionless after she drowned in 2003 while diving in the Great Barrier Reef.
An Australian coroner ruled Friday that there was enough evidence to put Gabe Watson on trial for the death of Tina Watson, who was 26 when she drowned in October 2003 while diving around a historic shipwreck in Australia's Great Barrier Reef.
Watson, 31, told police that his new bride appeared to panic 45 feet underwater and that he "looked into her eyes and saw her eyes were wide open, but there was no response," Townsville Coroner David Glascow said in his inquest findings.
Glascow, however, cited what he said were inconsistencies in Watson's statements to investigators. The coroner said he was "unable to conclude that Tina's death was an accidental drowning." Watch Tina Watson's family demand justice »
The couple married just 11 days earlier in Birmingham, Alabama. They left their home in Hoover, Alabama, for their Australian honeymoon two days later, the coroner said.
As possible evidence for the husband's motive, Glascow pointed to a statement by the woman's father that Watson asked her to maximize her life insurance and make him the beneficiary shortly before the wedding.
The insurance company confirmed that Gabe Watson inquired about her life insurance policy after her death, the coroner said.
The coroner noted that Watson, through his lawyers, contended that police had made a judgment that he killed his wife before they began their investigation and that they tailored their investigation to fit their theory.
Glascow said he saw no evidence of police rushing to judgment.
"It appears certain that at some point in time, investigators considered some of Gabe's explanations lacked credibility, and it further appears to me that investigators gave Gabe the opportunity to clarify matters which may have caused concern," the coroner said.
The husband was an experienced diver, and his new wife was considered a novice, the coroner said.
They were diving on the Yongala shipwreck about 42 miles off the coast of Townsville in the state of Queensland, Australia.
|
0986b7a6c39a410ca25371672d847b64
|
Who has been charged with the death?
|
[
"Gabe Watson"
] |
NewsQA
|
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The United States Mint launched a new coin Tuesday featuring jazz legend Duke Ellington, making him the first African-American to appear by himself on a circulating U.S. coin.
The District of Columbia coin honoring Duke Ellington was introduced Tuesday in Washington.
Ellington, the composer of classics including "It Don't Mean a Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing" appears on the "tails" side of the new D.C. quarter. George Washington is on the "heads" side, as is usual with U.S. quarters.
The coin was issued to celebrate Ellington's birthplace, the District of Columbia.
U.S. Mint Director Ed Moy introduced the new coin at a news conference Tuesday at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History.
Members of Ellington's family were present at the ceremony, and the jazz band of Duke Ellington High School performed.
Ellington won the honor by a vote of D.C. residents, beating out abolitionist Frederick Douglass and astronomer Benjamin Banneker.
Also on the coin is the phrase "Justice for all." The Mint rejected the first inscription choice of D.C. voters, which was "taxation without representation," in protest of the district's lack of voting representation in Congress.
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington received 13 Grammy Awards and a Pulitzer Prize, among numerous other honors. His orchestra's theme song, "Take the A Train," is one of the best-known compositions in jazz.
Ellington was born in the district in 1899 and composed more than 3,000 songs, including "Satin Doll," "Perdido" and "Don't Get Around Much Any More." "It Don't Mean a Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing" helped usher in the swing era of jazz.
Ellington performed with other famous artists, including John Coltrane, Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald, and he traveled around the world with his orchestras.
He died in 1974 at the age of 75.
The first African-American to appear on a circulating coin was York, a slave who accompanied Lewis and Clark on their "Corps of Discovery" adventures across America at the dawn of the 19th century. The 2003 Missouri quarter features the three men together in a canoe on the obverse.
The U.S. Mint distinguishes between circulating coins, which are intended for daily use, and commemorative ones, which mark special occasions.
African-Americans including Jackie Robinson, who broke baseball's color barrier, have appeared on commemorative coins. Educator Booker T. Washington, botanist George Washington Carver and the first Revolutionary War casualty, Crispus Attucks, all of whom were black, have also appeared on commemorative coins, according to the U.S. Mint.
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507df449ff3f42b3a56fbd4d03a7a472
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Where was the coin introduced?
|
[
"Washington."
] |
NewsQA
|
NEW DELHI, India (CNN) -- Tibetan exile leaders, meeting in northern India to debate a potential new approach to Tibet's decades-long struggle for autonomy, have voted to stay with the Dalai Lama's current "middle way approach," according to a spokesman for the spiritual leader.
Some have sought Tibet's independence from China, but the Dalai Lama has sought autonomy.
"The majority of the people have spoken and have requested his holiness the Dalai Lama to continue with his middle way approach," said spokesman Tenzin Taklha.
The meeting was called after the Dalai Lama acknowledged he had failed in his efforts to convince China to restore the territory's autonomy. He did not attend the week-long conference in Dharamsala, a town in the hills of north India where he lives in exile. He called the meeting, he said, to offer the exiles an opportunity to discuss "the best possible future course of action" for Tibet.
Takhla said the Tibetans demonstrated that the Dalai Lama was their undisputed leader, and they hoped China would recognize him as such and negotiations toward a realistic solution could be held.
There was a small minority who said they wanted to demand Tibet's independence, Takhla said.
The "middle way" approach with Beijing is one in which Tibetans want a level of autonomy that will allow them to protect and preserve their culture, religion and national identity. In exchange, China could continue to claim Tibet as part of its territory.
Some in Tibet have advocated independence from China, but the Dalai Lama has long called for genuine autonomy.
Tibet is technically autonomous from the central Chinese government, but the Dalai Lama and others have said they favor real autonomy and resent the slow erosion of their culture amid an influx of Han Chinese, the largest ethnic group in China. Learn about Tibet's history of conflict »
The resentment spilled over in March, when Buddhist monks initiated peaceful anti-Chinese protests in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa. The demonstrations began March 14, the anniversary of a failed 1959 uprising against Beijing's rule that sent the Dalai Lama into exile.
The protests soon turned violent, with demonstrators burning vehicles and shops. Some protesters advocated independence from China, while others demonstrated against the growing influence of the Han Chinese in Tibet and other regions of China with ethnic Tibetan populations. The subsequent crackdown left 18 civilians and one police officer dead, according to the Chinese government. Tibet's self-proclaimed government-in-exile put the death toll from the protests at 140.
China blamed the Dalai Lama and his followers for the March riots -- a charge he has consistently denied.
|
6ed464d1e01f443b832cea86e8c394f8
|
Who backs Dalai Lama's current "middle way approach"?
|
[
"Tibetan exile leaders,"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Philippines authorities Tuesday started evacuating about 50,000 people living around the island nation's most active volcano after it oozed fiery lava and belched clouds of ash.
A large-scale eruption was forecast as imminent.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology raised the alert level up a notch on Monday night to level 3. Scientist Alex Baloloy told the Philippine News Agency (PNA) that under level 3, "a full-blown eruption is expected to take place within weeks to days."
He said seismic instruments detected 83 volcanic quakes, a majority of which were tremors associated with rockfalls.
People in Albay province, about 466 kilometers (290 miles) south of the capital, Manila, flocked to town centers to catch a glimpse of glowing lava cascading down the slopes of Mayon. The volcanic mountain soars 2,464 meters (8,077 feet) into the sky and has erupted 49 times since the first documented eruption in 1616.
Ash fell on the town of Guinabatan, prompting its mayor to predict an unwanted sort of white Christmas, PNA said.
Provincial Gov. Joey Salceda ordered mandatory evacuation for residents of 45 towns and cities within a radius of 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) around Mayon, including Legazpi, Ligao, Tabaco, Daraga, Camalig, Guinobatan, Malilipot and Santo Domingo.
The Albay Public Safety Emergency and Management Office said 9,946 families or 47,285 people were expected to be moved to safer ground within 72 hours, PNA reported.
Salceda, who canceled a planned trip to Denmark for the global climate conference in Copenhagen, said he will meet with the provincial disaster coordinating council Tuesday to discuss emergency measures in case of an eruption, according to PNA.
The Philippines is situated in the so-called Ring of Fire, an arc of fault lines circling the Pacific Basin that is prone to frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Mayon's most violent eruption, in 1814, killed more than 1,200 people and devastated several towns. Its last major eruption was in 1993.
Since then, it has emitted ash and spewed lava but remained restless.
|
651c3ea93c1b46bfa71bf8052c33b5ef
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What is expected to take place?
|
[
"\"a full-blown eruption"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Nearly eight years later, Connie Chung still remembers being surprised.
"Stonewalling is what gets politicians in trouble, when they ... try to cover up," Connie Chung says.
It was one of those television moments that linger in the national consciousness, like Barbara Walters sitting down with Monica Lewinsky, Dan Rather with Saddam Hussein, or Jay Leno asking Hugh Grant what the hell he had been thinking.
Chung was with ABC then, and she got the "get" -- the first interview with Gary Condit, the California congressman at the center of the Chandra Levy media frenzy.
The former Washington intern, you'll recall, had been found murdered in Rock Creek Park, and law enforcement sources let it be known that the married Condit had been having an affair with her.
In an interview airing Sunday on "Reliable Sources" (10 a.m. ET, during CNN's "State of the Union with John King"), Chung says she was surprised when Condit refused to acknowledge the romantic relationship.
"Stonewalling is what gets politicians in trouble, when they stonewall or they try to cover up," she says.
"I think that the general public and the news media wanted him to be honest, and if he could be honest about that part of the story, then he could be -- then he would be believed when he was answering other questions as to whether or not he had anything to do with her disappearance."
I often focus on media excess and media mistakes on the program, but we also try to highlight good journalism. The segment includes two Washington Post reporters, Sari Horwitz and Scott Higham, who cracked the Levy mystery in a 13-part series last year. They did what the D.C. police could not: They identified Ingmar Guandique, an illegal Salvadoran immigrant, as Levy's likely killer. Authorities issued an arrest warrant for the imprisoned suspect this week.
But Horwitz and Higham talk about how they were roundly criticized for resurrecting the case and accused of sensationalizing it. It's clear that Levy's case became a huge deal in 2001 because of the Condit connection.
At the same time, Chung says, "The news media had changed. This was the gradual evolution of what the news media was doing. There was flavor of the week, the story du jour."
The Levy frenzy became the precursor for the missing-women TV melodramas that followed: Laci Peterson, Stacy Peterson, Natalee Holloway. The stories of women who were not celebrities, whom no one had heard of before, became national soap operas because they drove cable and morning show ratings.
At least, in Levy's case, the soap opera appears to be drawing to a close.
|
4828a0f39b2a48f3b7a06c0d0f050376
|
Who is Gary Condit?
|
[
"the California congressman at the center of the Chandra Levy media frenzy."
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Police in Allendale, South Carolina, are investigating whether a funeral home fit a 6-foot, 5-inch man into his coffin by severing his legs.
The wife of James Hines reportedly said the funeral home told her that her husband's coffin was long enough.
A former Cave Funeral Services employee has alleged since James Hines' death from skin cancer in 2004 that Hines was too tall for his coffin and that the funeral home took extreme measures to make him fit, Allendale County Coroner Hayzen Black told CNN.
Officials exhumed Hines' body Tuesday, Black said, and a fair amount of "undesirable evidence" was found, although he could not comment further.
The coroner's office handed the case over to law enforcement officials for a criminal investigation, he said.
Allendale Police Detective Donnie Hutto told CNN affiliate WJBF-TV that he could not comment on the condition of the body.
A Cave Funeral Services employee had no comment when asked about the matter.
But Ruth Hines, widow of the dead man, told WJBF that the allegations and exhumation of Hines' body are difficult for her.
"I'm just going through quite a bit," she said. "It's like starting all over again, and it's left me with hurt and numbness."
"According to the measurements on the casket, and the funeral director, we asked him, 'Was this suitable for his length?' and he said, 'Yes that will be perfect,'" Ruth Hines said.
Hines told WJBF that her family has used Cave Funeral Services for a number of years, and she isn't sure what the family will do in the future if the allegations are true.
|
4b1e6aec08d24758a651bf58a1bafca4
|
who took extreme measure to make him fit?
|
[
"Cave Funeral Services"
] |
NewsQA
|
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Spiritual leaders of New York's African-American Muslim communities lashed out Friday at a purported al Qaeda message attacking President-elect Barack Obama and, using racist language, comparing him unfavorably to the late Malcolm X.
Ayman al-Zawahiri said Obama was the "direct opposite of honorable black Americans" like Malcolm X.
The imams called the recorded comments from al Qaeda second-in-command Ayman al-Zawahiri "an insult" from people who have "historically been disconnected from the African-American community generally and Muslim African-Americans in particular."
"We find it insulting when anyone speaks for our community instead of giving us the dignity and the honor of speaking for ourselves," they said in a statement read during a news conference at the Malcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial, Educational and Cultural Center.
The al Qaeda statement, an 11-minute, 23-second audio message in Arabic with subtitles in English, appeared on the Internet on Wednesday. Its authenticity has not been confirmed.
The message said Obama represents the "direct opposite of honorable black Americans" like Malcolm X. Watch al Qaeda official criticize Obama »
The speaker also said Obama, former and current Secretaries of State Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice and "your likes" fit Malcolm X's description of "house slaves."
An English translation of the message used the term "house Negroes," Malcolm X's term for blacks who were subservient to whites. The term refers to slaves who worked in white masters' houses. Malcolm X said those slaves were docile compared with those who labored in the fields. iReport.com: Should Obama react to comments?
Malcolm X, the fiery African-American Muslim activist from the 1950s and 1960s, was an early member and leader of the Nation of Islam. He left that group in 1963 over disillusionment with its then-leader, Elijah Muhammed, but remained a Muslim.
After months of death threats, he was assassinated in 1965 by members of the Nation of Islam, who shot him 16 times at close range. The three men who were convicted of the crime have been paroled.
On Friday, Imam Al-Hajj Talib 'Abdur-Rashid, recalling Malcolm X's legacy, said that he "stood for human rights and the principle of self defense ... international law. He would have rejected, and we who are Muslim African-Americans leaders reject, acts of political extremism."
The Council on American-Islamic Relations also condemned Zawahiri's comments in a statement issued Thursday.
"As Muslims and as Americans, we will never let terrorist groups or terror leaders falsely claim to represent us or our faith," the statement said. "We once again repudiate al Qaeda's actions, rhetoric and world view and re-state our condemnation of all forms of terrorism and religious extremism."
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1b5548fab1d34ed5a2bd2019ac834c16
|
What group was the official from?
|
[
"al Qaeda"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Starbucks is closing more than two-thirds of its stores in Australia, days after announcing that hundreds of its American coffee outlets are also being shuttered.
Starbucks announced plans to close 600 stores in the U.S. last week.
The Seattle-based global coffee franchise said Tuesday that it will close 61 of its 84 locations in Australia by the weekend.
The closures will mean that only 23 cafes will remain open in and around three major cities: Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney, the company said in a statement Tuesday.
Earlier this month, the company announced it would close 600 company-owned stores in the United States.
Starbucks, named after the first mate in Herman Melville's 'Moby Dick,' was founded in 1971. It has more than 8,000 company-operated stores and another 6,800 licensed cafes in 44 countries.
Starbucks has seen rising competition from privately-held Dunkin' Donuts and McDonalds recently, and welcomed founder Schultz back as CEO in January after a lackluster performance by the company in the latter half of 2007.
|
bb61298282a941ccb0f0f68680b711ff
|
where Closures follow news?
|
[
"Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney,"
] |
NewsQA
|
LONDON, England (CNN) -- A medical ailment that has worried male members of string sections across the music world for over 30 years has been exposed as a hoax.
Male cellists of the world can breathe easy again.
A senior British lawmaker confessed to making up the condition known as "cello scrotum" -- which relates to chafing from the instrument -- after reading about another musically-related ailment called "guitarist's nipple" in the British Medical Journal in 1974.
Elaine Murphy, who is a member of The House of Lords and a trained doctor, came clean about the prank she devised with husband John in a letter to the BMJ published on Wednesday.
She said: "Perhaps after 34 years it's time for us to confess that we invented cello scrotum.
"Reading (Dr) Curtis's 1974 letter to the BMJ on guitar nipple, we thought it highly likely to be a spoof and decided to go one further by submitting a letter pretending to have noted a similar phenomenon in cellists, signed by the non-doctor one of us.
"Anyone who has ever watched a cello being played would realize the physical impossibility of our claim."
Murphy's confession may have been hastened by the fact that cello scrotum was referenced by a medical researcher in the BMJ late last year.
The article, entitled "A symphony of maladies," focused on health problems among musicians and contained references to such ailments as fiddler's neck, flautist's chin and cellist's chest.
Fiona Godlee, editor of the BMJ, told Britain's Independent newspaper: "It seems the BMJ has been deliciously hoaxed. It is wonderful it has been going all these years and no one realized.
"We frown on misconduct and medical fraud is taken very seriously. But in this case I hope I am right in saying that no harm has been done."
Murphy was made a life peer in 2004 and is active on mental health and ageing issues in the House of Lords.
|
6739740056194d3fba283de097530390
|
What did she make up?
|
[
"the condition known as \"cello scrotum\""
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- A court hearing is scheduled Thursday in the case of a northern California couple accused of abducting Jaycee Dugard and holding her captive for more than 18 years in a ramshackle backyard compound.
Phillip Garrido, 58, and his wife, Nancy, 54, are charged with 29 felony counts in the kidnapping of Dugard, who was 11 when she was snatched in 1991 from the street in front of her house in South Lake Tahoe, California.
The couple has pleaded not guilty.
The hearing, scheduled for 1 p.m. (4 p.m. ET) at the El Dorado County Superior Court, is a procedural matter about witnesses in the case.
Authorities say the Garridos held Dugard in a hidden compound behind their home for 18 years.
She was 29 when she was found in August at the Garridos' home in Antioch about 120 miles from her house.
Garrido, a registered sex offender on parole at the time of his arrest, is accused of fathering two daughters with Dugard during her captivity.
Dugard now lives in seclusion with her mother, Terry Probyn, and Dugard's two daughters.
Earlier this month, Judge Douglas Phimister denied a request by the Garridos to be able to see each other while they remain jailed.
Instead, the judge ruled, the couple can have one five-minute phone conversation this month and in June. He also said that officials can monitor the calls.
The judge did not offer a reason for denying the request. The prosecution had opposed the motion on security grounds.
Authorities maintain Dugard does not want to speak to Garrido or his attorneys and have tried to keep her location a secret.
In March, Dugard made her first public statement since the arrests of her alleged captors.
"Hi, I'm Jaycee. I want to thank you for your support, and I'm doing well," Dugard said in a home video released exclusively to ABC News.
"It's been a long haul," said Dugard, "but I'm getting there."
The video showed Dugard baking cookies with her mother and playing with her dogs.
"We released this video so that you can see that we are happy and well -- when we have more to share, we will," Probyn said in the home video.
"As a mother I am pleading for our privacy in this very public story."
|
eebe8a78e9ef4a9481df45aabb9bda59
|
What does new hearing concern?
|
[
"case of a northern California couple accused of"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Sandra Herold, the owner of a chimpanzee that was involved in a vicious attack on her friend last year, has died, her attorney said Tuesday. She was 72.
Herold suffered a ruptured aortic aneurysm Monday night, Roger Golger said.
Herold "had suffered a series of heartbreaking losses over the last several years, beginning with the death of her only child, then her husband, then her beloved chimp Travis, as well as the tragic maiming of friend and employee Charla Nash," Golger said.
Nash lost her nose, upper and lower lips, eyelids and both her hands in the attack in February 2009, as well as the "bony structures in her mid-face," according to doctors.
More than a year later, numerous surgeries and therapy sessions have helped Nash regain some mobility.
Her family filed a lawsuit against Herold shortly after the attack, seeking $50 million in damages. Criminal charges were not filed, however, because authorities ruled Herold was not aware of the risk her pet posed.
"This past year was particularly difficult for Sandy," Golger said. "She hated living alone in a house where she faced constant reminders of the vibrant and happy life she once led with her family and friends. The stress of defending a multimillion-dollar lawsuit and all that it entailed also weighed heavy on Sandy. In the end, her heart, which had been broken so many times before, could take no more."
The attack occurred February 16, 2009, when Herold called Nash for help in getting Travis back inside her house after he used a key to escape. When Nash arrived at the Stamford, Connecticut, home, the chimp, who had been featured in TV commercials for Coca-Cola and Old Navy, jumped on her and began biting and mauling her. Police shot Travis to halt the attack and he later died of gunshot wounds.
The mauling has raised questions about whether exotic animals should be kept as pets. Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal has said that primates and crocodiles should be added to a state list of animals that citizens are not allowed to own.
Nash was discharged from the famed Cleveland Clinic, where doctors performed the nation's first face transplant, earlier this month. She is continuing her recovery at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, where doctors have said she is a candidate for a face transplant.
CNN's Stephanie Gallman contributed to this report.
|
f306f82af24544eea9fcbbb897b223bc
|
What did she die from?
|
[
"ruptured aortic aneurysm"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- The leader of this week's coup in Guinea assured senior officials Thursday "they are safe," a journalist with the state-run newspaper told CNN.
Capt. Moussa Dadis Camara with Prime Minister Ahmed Tidiane Souare.
Coup leader Capt. Moussa Dadis Camara met with Prime Minister Ahmed Tidiane Souare and about 30 other top officials at a military camp in Conakry, the nation's capital, said Ousmane Barry, a correspondent for the state-run Horoya newspaper.
Camara has declared himself president of the National Council for Democracy, which he called a transitional body that will oversee the country's return to democracy.
In effect, that makes Camara president of Guinea, which was thrown into turmoil Monday after the death of President Lansana Conte.
Souare called Camara "Mr. President" at Thursday's meeting, which was witnessed by journalists, Barry said. The two men also discussed Conte's funeral, scheduled for Friday.
Camara has suspended the government, constitution, political parties and trade unions and formed his own government, Africa News reporter Mamdou Dian Donghol Diallo told CNN on Wednesday.
The newly formed government, made up of 26 military personnel and six civilians, is negotiating a power-sharing deal that would reflect its ethnic make-up, Diallo said.
International institutions, including the African Union, have condemned the coup.
"What we want to see is the transition to a more democratic governing structure for the people of Guinea," U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said earlier this week.
Guinea, in western Africa bordering the Atlantic Ocean, has had only two presidents since gaining independence from France in 1958.
Conte came to power in 1984, when the military seized control of the government after the death of the first president, Sekou Toure.
The country did not hold democratic elections until 1993, when Conte was elected president. He was re-elected in 1998 and 2003 amid allegations of electoral irregularities.
Worsening economic conditions and dissatisfaction with corruption and bad governance prompted two massive strikes in 2006, the CIA World Factbook says. A third nationwide strike in early 2007 sparked violent protests that resulted in two weeks of martial law.
To appease the unions and end the unrest, the Factbook says, Conte named a new prime minister in March 2007.
|
d67af98d89d54c0286f46a57695a3248
|
Who did Camare meet?
|
[
"Prime Minister Ahmed Tidiane Souare and about 30 other top officials"
] |
NewsQA
|
NEW YORK (CNN) -- A potential victim became a compassionate counselor during a recent robbery attempt, changing the would-be criminal's mind -- and apparently his religion.
Surveillance video shows storekeeper Mohammad Sohail holding a robber at bay with a shotgun.
Storekeeper Mohammad Sohail was closing up his Long Island convenience store just after midnight on May 21 when -- as shown on the store's surveillance video -- a man came in wielding a baseball bat and demanding money.
"He said, 'Hurry up and give me the money, give me the money!' and I said, 'Hold on'," Sohail recalled in a phone interview with CNN on Tuesday, after the store video and his story was carried on local TV.
Sohail said he reached under the counter, grabbed his gun and told the robber to drop the bat and get down on his knees.
"He's crying like a baby," Sohail said. "He says, 'Don't call police, don't shoot me, I have no money, I have no food in my house.' "
Amidst the man's apologies and pleas, Sohail said he felt a surge of compassion.
He made the man promise never to rob anyone again and when he agreed, Sohail gave him $40 and a loaf of bread.
"When he gets $40, he's very impressed, he says, 'I want to be a Muslim just like you,' " Sohail said, adding he had the would-be criminal recite an Islamic oath.
"I said 'Congratulations. You are now a Muslim and your name is Nawaz Sharif Zardari.'"
When asked why he chose the hybrid of two Pakistani presidents' names, the Pakistani immigrant laughed and said he had been watching a South Asian news channel moments before the confrontation.
Sohail said the man fled the store when he turned away to get the man some free milk.
He said police might still be looking for the suspect but he doesn't intend to press charges.
"The guy, you know, everybody has a hard time right now, it's too bad for everybody right now in this economy," said the storekeeper.
|
5239b5061205450ab6c9fd694865499a
|
After what did he want to become a Muslim?
|
[
"a recent robbery attempt,"
] |
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.
|
e2cc0c0d607247588243caaede5109b9
|
Who did Moore marry?
|
[
"Ryan Adams"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Fourteen people were missing after a cargo ship sank Monday in Egyptian waters, Red Sea Gov. Majdi Al Qubaisi told Egyptian television.
Nine survivors and the bodies of two crew members aboard the Cypriot-flagged Ibn Battuta cargo ship were recovered in separate operations Monday, the Nile TV News Web site said. A rescue boat was headed out to retrieve a 10th survivor.
The survivors were "on their way to the naval base, and preparations had been taken to carry out a medical check as soon as they arrive," the Web site said, citing an unnamed Egyptian official.
The Ibn Battuta's crew members are of Indian, Pakistani, Bengali, Somali, Iraqi and Sudanese nationalities, Nile TV News said.
The Ibn Battuta was carrying 6,500 tons of sand for use in the glass industry and was on its way from the Port of Abu Zenima in Egypt to the United Arab Emirates, the TV station reported.
The ship had experienced bad weather in the Red Sea, with low visibility and high waves.
The commercial ship Susan K retrieved the two bodies, while the survivors were rescued by the boat Sultan and an aircraft from an Egyptian Search and Rescue team, Nile TV News said.
-- CNN's Caroline Faraj and Yousef Rafayah contributed to this report.
|
4ed2ca09b91540d98f732ad994b59def
|
What ship capsized?
|
[
"Ibn Battuta"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Giant rocks came tumbling down a snowy Colorado mountainside early Monday, punching gaping holes in the interstate below, the Colorado Department of Transportation said.
The rock slide at Glenwood Canyon halted travel on Interstate 70 between Glenwood Springs and Dotsero, about 18 miles east, according to the department. Glenwood Springs is about 120 miles west of Denver. It is unclear when construction crews will complete enough work to open at least part of the roadway.
About 20 boulders struck the interstate shortly after midnight, the transportation department said. They ranged from 3 feet to 10 feet in diameter, with the largest weighing an estimated 66 tons, the department said on its Web site.
About eight holes or dips were left on the interstate. Road underwiring was exposed and rock crumbles surrounded the damage, the department said. The largest hole measured 20 feet by 10 feet -- bigger than a full-size SUV.
Rocks were scattered over a 100-yard stretch of the road. A steel guard rail and median barrier were also damaged. The damage resembles a major rock slide in the area back in 2004, the department said.
|
92b5fb6ca2a940c3af27b257cd4b7bd3
|
How many boulders rolled down mountain shortly after midnight?
|
[
"About 20"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- The attorney for a man whose wife's wrong-way accident killed eight people on New York's Taconic Parkway in July says he will ask authorities to exhume her body to prove she wasn't drinking at the time of the accident.
On CNN's "Larry King Live" Tuesday night, Daniel Schuler said his wife, Diane, was not an alcoholic.
Dominic Barbera, attorney for Daniel Schuler, told CNN's "Larry King Live" he believes Diane Schuler may have suffered stroke-like symptoms and that a fire after the accident could have turned blood sugar into alcohol.
"I read from the medical autopsy report that there was charring of the body because there was a fire," Barbera said. "And I found -- my doctors found numerous cases where you can actually have sugar in the blood turn into alcohol."
Barbera said Schuler may have had a Transient Ischemic Attack, which produces stroke-like symptoms but no lasting damage. Watch why husband believes wife wasn't drunk »
The Westchester County medical examiner's office found that Schuler, 36, had a blood alcohol level of .19 percent -- more than twice the legal limit -- and had marijuana in her system when she drove a minivan the wrong way on the parkway and ran head-on into an SUV.
Three adults in the SUV were killed in the July 26 crash, as were Schuler and four children she was carrying in the minivan -- her daughter and three nieces. A fifth child, Schuler's son, survived.
A spokeswoman for the medical examiner's office, Donna Green, said that the office stands "by the findings of the medical examiner's report."
But Daniel Schuler said he believed the report was wrong.
"I know the truth, what happened, with my wife," he said. "She is not an alcoholic and doesn't drink. She is an outstanding mother."
Barbera and Schuler said they wanted to have the body exhumed for further examinations to prove that the accident was not caused by a drunken driver.
Attorneys for the family of Daniel Luongo, 73, one of the victims in the SUV, rejected the Schuler family's contention.
"The scientific evidence indicates that Diane Schuler was intoxicated and under the influence of marijuana at the time of the crash," they said in a statement.
"Any claims denying her responsibility for this tragedy are wholly unsubstantiated, and the Luongo family finds these claims appalling, offensive and hurtful. They have lost a loved one to a senseless tragedy, and these claims do nothing but add insult to injury."
|
209812b78232481091993d9a4667202c
|
What could have turned Schuler's blood sugar into alcohol?
|
[
"a fire after the accident"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- U.S. and NATO forces are engaged in a futile war against the Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan, Canada's prime minister said.
Canadian leader Stephen Harper says he backs President Obama's "renewed commitment to Afghanistan."
"We are not going to ever defeat the insurgency," Stephen Harper told CNN's Fareed Zakaria in an interview that aired Sunday. "Afghanistan has probably had -- my reading of Afghanistan history -- it's probably had an insurgency forever, of some kind."
Harper's blunt assessment comes as nearly 2,800 Canadian forces are fighting in Afghanistan. The country's parliament has voted to pull them out by 2011.
Harper spoke with Zakaria last week after a visit by President Obama, who made Canada his first foreign trip since taking office in January. Obama has said Afghanistan is the central front to the U.S.-led war on terror.
The Pentagon is in the process of sending an additional 17,000 troops to Afghanistan, bringing the total there to 55,000.
Harper told CNN that he supports Obama's "renewed commitment to Afghanistan" but said he would not recommit any more Canadian troops until there is a clear plan for leaving Afghanistan.
"What has to happen in Afghanistan is, we have to have an Afghan government that is capable of managing that insurgency and improving its own governance," Harper said.
"If President Obama wants anybody to do more, I would ask very hard questions about what is the strategy for success and for an eventual departure."
|
d9cb3e2e270349a4954491d5de8bc079
|
What prime minister spoke about insurgency?
|
[
"Canada's"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Police in Glendale, Arizona are investigating the stabbing deaths of a husband and wife who were found dead on the grounds of Luke Air Force Base.
Their bodies were found Sunday night inside a post office on the base, according to Glendale police Detective Jeff Doukas, who said more details are expected to be released Monday morning.
A knife was found at the scene, said Capt. Carla Gleason, a base spokeswoman. "There is no indication that there is a threat to any military personnel or families," said.
|
15ac6eb2912b46c38adced10de9a02f7
|
What weapon was found?
|
[
"A knife"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- The mother of a 17-year-old Rochester, New York, high school student who vanished over the weekend on spring break in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, says she did not give her daughter permission to go on the trip.
Brittanee Marie Drexel's mom says she thought she was at the beach in New York, not South Carolina.
In an appearance on HLN's Nancy Grace, Dawn Drexel said her daughter, Brittanee Marie Drexel, has never run away.
Drexel said the high school junior stayed in touch with her by phone, and she last spoke with Brittanee on Saturday afternoon.
"I asked her what she was doing and she says 'Oh, mom, I'm at the beach.' And it was an 80-degree day in Rochester so, of course, I thought maybe she was at the beach in Rochester with one of her girlfriends that she had said she was staying overnight," Drexel said. Watch mom describe daughter's last call »
Drexel said she asked Brittanee to call her later and the girl agreed. "I said, 'I love you, Brittanee' and she says, 'I love you, mom.' And then we hung up the phone."
Brittanee is believed to have last been seen Saturday evening, though an unconfirmed sighting may have placed her at a restaurant on Sunday.
She was staying with friends at the Bar Harbor Hotel on North Ocean Boulevard, according to police reports.
|
dc0ea16f8bbe407d9f76312f3c74adac
|
Who has disappeared?
|
[
"Brittanee Marie Drexel's"
] |
NewsQA
|
LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- An 850-pound emerald said to be worth as much as $370 million is in the hands of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department while a court decides who really owns it, a spokesman for the sheriff said.
This enormous raw emerald was being kept in a Las Vegas, Nevada, warehouse.
The "Bahia Emerald" -- one of the largest ever found -- was reported stolen in September from a secured vault in South El Monte in Los Angeles County. The report was made by someone who claimed to own the giant gemstone, Los Angeles Sheriff's Lt. Thomas Grubb said.
Federal court papers showed the emerald has been at the center of a dispute between a California man who claimed ownership, a company he contracted with to sell it, and a potential buyer.
Detective work traced the Brazilian stone to a Las Vegas, Nevada, warehouse, where the person in possession claimed to be the rightful owner, Grubb said.
A federal judge ordered the sheriff to hold the 180,000-carat emerald until he can sort the case out, Grubb said.
Investigators suspect someone used falsified papers to remove the stone from the secured vault in California, although no criminal charges have been filed, Grubb said.
While Grubb said it was his understanding the stone had been appraised at $370 million, the value is unclear.
The company hired by the owner to sell it said in court papers it had received a $19 million offer, which the company wanted to accept.
It alleged the gemstone's owner then tried to go around the broker to sell the emerald to the same buyer for $75 million.
At one point, the emerald was listed for sale on eBay for a "buy it now" price of $75 million.
|
24b8884fc2754f379fe7d154e8d33e83
|
Where is the gemstone from?
|
[
"a secured vault in South El Monte in Los Angeles County."
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- The Irish government ordered a recall Saturday of all pork products linked to pigs slaughtered in Ireland, after laboratory tests found the presence of dioxins in animal feed and pork fat samples.
Preliminary evidence gathered by Ireland's Food Safety Authority indicated that the contamination likely started in September, the government said in a statement.
The Food Safety Authority advised consumers not to consume Irish pork and bacon products for the time being.
The government is now trying to determine the scope of the contamination.
Dioxins are environmental contaminants, often present in industrial waste. Most dioxin exposure occurs through diet, with more than 95 percent coming from the consumption of animal fats, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Dioxin levels in food are regulated.
Dr Tony Holohan, Ireland's Chief Medical Officer, said that the dioxin usually impacts the nervous system and liver in comments reported by the UK Press Association. Holohan added that the dioxin would only be perilous through prolonged exposure.
The agency reported that an animal feed ingredient supplied by one business to 40-plus farms is regarded as the likely cause of the dioxin by experts, and that tests revealed the dioxin polychlorinated biphenyls to be 80 to 200 times above the acceptable safety level.
|
d726832f665546b6bbb784d85e7e1752
|
Are government agents evaluating contamination at risk?
|
[
"The"
] |
NewsQA
|
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- A string of bombings around Iraq's capital has killed eight people, including three Iraqi soldiers who died when their weapons truck was hit, and wounded at least 32, the country's Interior Ministry said.
Blood stains the ground following the explosion of an IED on Kahramana Square in Baghdad on January 12.
The soldiers were killed by a roadside bomb in the Yarmouk district of western Baghdad about 10:15 a.m. (0715 GMT) on Monday. The blast also set off small arms ammunition loaded on the truck.
Four civilians were wounded in the attack.
Separately, three civilians died when a car bomb went off outside a bakery in the eastern district of New Baghdad, followed shortly by another car bomb. Ten people were wounded, an Interior Ministry official told CNN.
In central Baghdad, two civilians died in roadside bomb attacks -- one near Kahramana Square and the other targeting a police patrol in the Sheikh-Omar commercial area. A total of seven people, including three police officers, were wounded in those incidents.
Two other roadside bombs went off near police patrols in neighborhoods on opposite sides of the city -- the Ghazaliya neighborhood in western Baghdad and the Zayuna district on the city's east side. There were no fatalities in either attack, but 11 people -- including one police officer in Ghazaliya and three in Zayuna -- were wounded.
The attacks came as U.S. Vice President-elect Joe Biden on Monday met with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani in Baghdad.
Biden -- who had been the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee -- has been on a foreign visit that included stops in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Barack Obama, the incoming U.S. president, is planning to shift the military focus in the region to fighting militants in Afghanistan, while withdrawing all but a residual force of troops from Iraq.
The U.S. military said two of its troops died as a result of non-combat-related injuries on Sunday. One soldier died in northern Iraq and a U.S. Marine in western Iraq.
Five U.S. troops have died in Iraq this month, and 4,225 since the war started.
CNN's Mohammed Tawfeeq contributed to this report.
|
daa73b704b874c9aad652ab57c9049d4
|
Two troops died of what?
|
[
"non-combat-related injuries"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Law enforcement authorities have recovered 52 children and arrested 60 pimps allegedly involved in child prostitution, the FBI announced Monday.
More than 690 people in all were arrested on state and local charges, the FBI stated.
The arrests were made over the past three days as part of a nationwide law enforcement initiative conducted on the federal, state and local levels, the bureau said.
"Child prostitution continues to be a significant problem in our country, as evidenced by the number of children rescued through the continued efforts of our crimes against children task forces," Kevin Perkins, assistant director of the FBI's Criminal Investigative Division, said in a written statement.
"There is no work more important than protecting America's children and freeing them from the cycle of victimization."
The three-day operation, tagged Operation Cross Country IV, included enforcement actions in 36 cities across 30 FBI divisions nationwide. It is part of the FBI's ongoing Innocence Lost National Initiative, which was created in 2003 with the goal of ending sex trafficking of children in the United States.
The initiative, conducted with assistance from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, has so far resulted in the recovery of almost 900 children, according to the FBI. It has also led to more than 500 convictions.
|
b158981c4c4d4d6892d3aed7be3a9285
|
How long did the operation last
|
[
"three-day"
] |
NewsQA
|
LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- A light earthquake shook Southern California Thursday evening, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
The magnitude 4.5 quake struck at 7:50 p.m. (10:50 p.m. ET) and was centered in San Bernardino, about 55 miles east of Los Angeles. A smaller magnitude 3.3 aftershock hit about an hour later.
Although the quake was centered just a mile from San Bernadino's city hall, it was 10 miles below the surface, said Dr. Egill Hauksson, a seismologist with the Earthquake Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology.
"It's unlikely that there's going to be damage," said Hauksson said.
There are about 10 quakes of this strength every year in this area, he said.
Initial estimates put the quake at a magnitude 5.0, but it was downgraded shortly afterward.
The USGS said people reported feeling the earthquake as far away as San Diego.
|
7ec7822856bb4b8db331f3d97ffda80c
|
Where did Quake centered?
|
[
"San Bernardino,"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Afraid that her husband will leave her for a younger woman, a 107-year-old Malaysian woman is looking to marry again -- for the 23rd time.
Wok Kundor: "I am an aged woman. I don't have the body nor am I a young woman who can attract anyone."
Wok Kundor has been happily married for four years to her husband, a man 70 years her junior.
But since he left their village in northern Terengganu state for a drug rehabilitation program in the capital, Kuala Lumpur, Wok has had a gnawing feeling.
"She said that she has been feeling insecure lately and she needs to find out whether he still loves her or not," said R.S.N. Murali, a reporter for The Star. The English-language Malaysian daily was among several local media outlets reporting on the lifelong romantic.
"She is worried he might not come back after his program and find himself a younger wife," Murali said.
If so, Wok has her eyes set on a 50-year-old man, but hopes it does not come to that.
"I realize that I am an aged woman. I don't have the body nor am I a young woman who can attract anyone," she told the newspaper.
"My intention to remarry is to fill my forlornness," particularly during the Muslim month of fasting, Ramadan, she said.
Malaysian media, which has previously reported on the woman, said Wok has been married 22 times. That would make her marriages last an average of four years.
Wok would not discuss past relationships, Murali said.
"Some of her better halves have passed away or have divorced, but she doesn't want to talk about them or her children," he said.
Wok and her current husband, Mohammed Boor Che Musa, hail from the same village and met there.
Muhammad, 37, was quoted in an earlier report as saying the couple fell for each other because it was "God's will."
On Monday, he told The Star that he is still very much in love with his wife and cannot dream of life with someone else.
But Wok wants to hear him say it, Murali said.
Soon, the centenarian plans to make the journey to Kuala Lumpur -- if she can find a neighbor to drive her there.
|
656dbe130fe54e968bea88ed4308788e
|
What was the age difference between Wok Kundor and her husband?
|
[
"70 years"
] |
NewsQA
|
PARIS, France -- AC Milan's Brazilian midfielder Kaka has been named European player of the year, lifting France Football's Ballon d'Or award.
Kaka has already claimed all of the game's major prizes.
His success comes two years after his fellow countryman, Barcelona's Ronaldinho, claimed the award
The 25-year-old Kaka was a major factor in AC Milan's triumphant Champions League campaign.
The runner-up was Manchester United's Portuguese winger Cristiano Ronaldo with Barcelona's Argentinian midfielder Lionel Messi finishing third.
"This is very special for me - it culminates an astonishing year for me," Kaka said.
"It's the top prize around and the only way to win something like this is to play for a team like AC Milan. It's great to be part of a team that wins."
At 25 years old, he has already won all the game's major prizes, individually and collectively.
He was part of Brazil's 2002 World Cup winning squad, although he was limited to just 19 minutes as a substitute against Costa Rica.
He was top scorer in last season's Champions League, helping Milan to avenge their loss to Liverpool in the 2005 final.
He won the Italian domestic title in his first season at Milan having joined from Brazilians Sao Paulo for$ 8.5 million, a sum that Milan president Silvio Berlusconi then described as peanuts. E-mail to a friend
|
ba663368fa054ae08a7a0db1d34713e5
|
Which football team does Kaka play for?
|
[
"AC Milan's"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- The ever-changing cast of "Saturday Night Live" is getting two new faces, but losing a couple of current members.
Michaela Watkins was known for her impressions of Barbara Walters and "Today" show co-host Hoda Kotb.
Michaela Watkins and Casey Wilson have been dropped from the show, while Jenny Slate and Nasim Pedrad are joining the cast, Entertainment Weekly reports.
Watkins -- who joined "SNL" mid-season last year and was known for her hilarious impersonations of Barbara Walters and Kathie Lee Gifford's suffering "Today" show co-host Hoda Kotb -- said she was shocked by the firing.
In an interview with EW, she recalled getting the news from Lorne Michaels, the creator and executive producer of "Saturday Night Live."
"I don't think anyone knows what Lorne Michaels was thinking," Watkins told the magazine.
"The only explanation I got from him -- and he's not known to say things just to make people feel better -- was that he felt deep down that I should have my own show. And I agreed. 'SNL' was a dream come true for me. It was a fantastic year. I don't have any regrets."
Watkins told EW she thinks the new hires will be "exquisite" on the show and said she would take Michaels' advice to pursue her own show.
Meanwhile, "SNL" veteran Darrell Hammond is still negotiating for a return to the show, Variety reports.
"Saturday Night Live" kicks off its 35th season on September 26.
|
0f1425a670004fe9bc10c37a3e8ee365
|
What did Watkins tell Entertainment Weekly
|
[
"said she was shocked by the firing."
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- The first person ever convicted in Idaho of knowingly spreading the HIV virus is facing new charges for the same offense, authorities said Thursday.
An Ada County, Idaho, grand jury on Tuesday returned an indictment charging Kerry Thomas, 45, with seven counts of knowingly transferring the HIV virus, Jean Fisher, Ada County deputy prosecutor, told CNN.
In 1990, Thomas was charged with four counts of HIV transmission and two counts of statutory rape, Fisher said. As part of a plea agreement, he pleaded guilty only to the rape charges.
According to Fisher, Thomas received a 12-year sentence and had to serve three years before being eligible for parole. He was later granted early release.
In 1996, however, Thomas was again charged with one count of HIV transmission, and a jury convicted him, Fisher said. He received a 15-year sentence with a seven-year minimum.
Now out on parole, Thomas faces possible life in prison on the new charges because prosecutors are seeking his designation as a "persistent violator."
It was not immediately known whether Thomas was in custody Thursday. He was not listed online among the inmates in the Ada County Jail.
Asked why Thomas would continue to spread the virus, which causes AIDS, Fisher said, "That's the $64,000 question, for a person who has been to prison twice."
|
2f1ea17961164771bf1542532b9cee55
|
What was he indicted for a second time?
|
[
"knowingly spreading the HIV virus"
] |
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