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NewsQA
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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Federal safety investigators said Tuesday they fear flaws found in Washington's Metro subway system after a deadly crash this summer may endanger other transit systems, and they sent out an urgent recommendation asking that other rail operators check for similar problems.
Investigators are shown at the crash scene in Washington. Nine people were killed in the June 22 wreck.
In letters to federal regulators, the National Transportation Safety Board said "all rail transit operators and railroads should be informed" about system flaws that could cause a track circuit to fail to detect a train.
It was not clear how many rail systems have similar train detection systems. Neither the NTSB nor the Federal Transit Administration had a list of systems that use the "audio frequency track circuits" that are the focus of the probe.
But an FTA spokesman said that because it doesn't know how many operators use the systems, "we are sending today's urgent recommendation to all rail transit operators, and will identify the pertinent operators through a later survey."
Meanwhile, the Federal Railway Administration, which regulates Amtrak and more than a dozen commuter rail systems, said it also will follow the NTSB guidance but believes the number of impacted systems will be "limited."
Nine people were killed and 52 taken to hospitals June 22 when a southbound Metrorail train struck the rear end of stopped train just north of the Fort Totten station. Investigators say an automatic train protection system did not detect the stopped train, so the moving train did not receive a command to slow or stop.
The NTSB said it is continuing its investigation into the precise causes of the crash, but it said the investigation has raised concerns that the track circuit is susceptible to errant signals.
In its letter to regulators, the NTSB said it discovered one circumstance in which an unintended signal path could be created, resulting in a track relay remaining energized even though a stopped train was occupying the circuit.
"After only three months, this complex investigation is far from complete, so we are not ready to determine the probable cause of the [Metro] accident," NTSB Chairwoman Deborah A.P. Hersman said. "However, our findings so far indicate a pressing need to issue these recommendations to immediately address safety glitches we have found that could lead to another tragic accident."
The NTSB sent letters to Metro, the Federal Transit Administration, the Federal Railroad Administration and Alstom Signaling Inc., which acquired General Railway Signal, the manufacturer of some of the equipment.
|
50b2de39eb0244a6ad9b1f4754aac044
|
How many rail systems have this type of detection system?
|
[
"It was not clear"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Doctors at the Technical University of Munich have conducted the world's first double-arm transplant on a 54-year-old farmer who had lost both his arms in an accident, officials said.
After transplant surgery, this farmer has new arms. His condition "is very good under the circumstances."
The operation was conducted at the university's "Klinikum rechts der Isar" last week, the clinic said in a statement Friday, following several years of preparatory work.
The man's condition "is very good under the circumstances," the statement said.
"Now it is a matter of avoiding future wound healing disorders, infections, strong side-effects caused by the drugs and in particular any rejective reaction."
A team of 40 people participated in the transplant surgery, conducted July 25 and 26. The donor matched the host in sex, age, skin color, size and blood group, the statement said.
The transplant subject had lost both his arms at the upper arm level six years ago, and two attempts with artificial limbs had been unsuccessful.
|
0a4db0e5b15d49f8b0699f0efd560d14
|
What age is the recipient of the arm transplant?
|
[
"54-year-old"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Moussa Dadis Camara, the military leader of the West African nation of Guinea, was shot and wounded in an attack on his presidential convoy, an official said.
His "life is not in any danger," said the regime's minister of state for presidential affairs, Maj. Keletigui Faro. "The situation is under control."
The attack occurred on Thursday in Conakry, the nation's capital, Faro said.
It comes after increased pressure internally and internationally for Camara to hold, but not be a candidate in, elections in January. Camara, who seized power in a coup in December 2008, has given no indication that he will follow through with the elections.
In September an opposition demonstration was marred by violence, as the military fired on people gathered in the capital's national stadium. Human rights groups say at least 157 people were killed and many women were raped.
The military continues to crack down on opposition in the country, Amnesty International said in a newly released report.
"A climate of fear continues in Guinea," said the organization's Gaetan Mootoo. "The authorities can no longer turn a blind eye to the human rights violations committed by its security forces."
|
5808e36012894c3e98ccb3cdf54b10db
|
When did the attack occur?
|
[
"Thursday"
] |
NewsQA
|
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- FBI agents temporarily deployed to Iraq received an average of about $45,000 in excessive overtime because they billed the government for 16 hours a day throughout their 90-day assignments, according to a Justice Department audit.
Justice Department Inspector General Glenn Fine released the audit on Thursday.
The audit, released Thursday by Inspector General Glenn Fine, found the agents routinely submitted the overtime with the blessing of their managers from 2003 through 2007. The report says the excessive overtime totaled $7.8 million.
"The FBI inappropriately permitted employees to regularly claim overtime for activities that are not compensable as work, such as time spent eating meals, exercising more than 3 hours per week, and socializing," the report said. The socializing included going to movies and cocktail parties.
The FBI promptly responded to the report, acknowledging the overtime policy was designed to encourage FBI employees to volunteer for Iraq duty, but should not have been used and has now been corrected.
The 88-page report documenting the overtime issues found the FBI had initially approved the policy of paying for 16-hour days because conditions were harsh, there were few recreational opportunities and employees were always "on call."
But the audit said that violates federal pay guidelines.
The FBI admitted that "a flawed system was allowed to develop and remain in place too long," but it also sought to explain how the practice started.
"Early in the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq FBI managers traveled to those war zones and saw first hand the challenges of a 24/7 threat environment. FBI employees lived with sniper attacks, mortar fire, and roadside bombs as part of their daily work environment. They attempted to adapt a long established domestic pay system for domestic law enforcement to unprecedented wartime assignments for FBI personnel."
FBI agents in Iraq perform a variety of duties, according to the bureau's Web site. Agents interview suspected terrorists captured by the military; gather intelligence; collect evidence from crime scenes like car bombs or mass graves; and investigate crimes committed by Americans against Iraqis, as well as those that Iraqis commit against their fellow citizens.
The inspector general's report said overtime pay was less excessive for FBI personnel in Afghanistan. The report also found that somewhat less excessive overtime was paid to agents from other Justice Department agencies who were sent to Iraq, including deputy marshals, and ATF and DEA agents.
|
d0da2066ea004720af039c4ab0a7c93d
|
What did the audit find?
|
[
"agents routinely submitted the overtime with the blessing of their managers from 2003 through 2007."
] |
NewsQA
|
LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- The man police say was driving drunk when he ran a red light and struck a car, killing a Major League Baseball pitcher and two others has been charged with murder.
Fans gather around a memorial for Los Angeles Angels pitcher Nick Adenhart on Friday.
Andrew Thomas Gallo, 22, was charged with three counts of murder, driving under the influence and leaving the scene of a crime, the Orange County district attorney's office announced Friday.
Los Angeles Angels pitcher Nick Adenhart was among those killed in the crash in Fullerton, California, early Thursday morning. Adenhart was beginning his first full season in the majors and had pitched his fourth Major League game hours earlier.
Gallo, whose blood-alcohol level was three times the legal limit, according to police, faces up to life in prison if convicted on all charges.
According to the DA's office, Gallo was driving a minivan 65 mph in a 35 mph zone at about 12:35 a.m. Thursday. He was on probation and his license had been suspended after a previous drunk-driving charge. Watch Adenhart's agent describe his friend »
Authorities say he ran a red light and hit the car Adenhart was in, killing the pitcher, 20-year-old California State University student Courtney Stewart and law student Henry Pearson, 25.
A fourth victim, 24-year-old John Wilhite, a former baseball player at California State, remained in critical condition Friday. A driver in a third car suffered minor injuries.
Adenhart died at UC Irvine Medical Center, where he underwent surgery, according to spokesman John Murray.
The Angels' game Thursday night with the Oakland A's was postponed at the direction of MLB Commissioner Bud Selig.
"Major League Baseball is in mourning today upon the news of this tragedy that has taken Angels pitcher Nick Adenhart and two others," Selig said in a statement that accompanied the announcement. "Nick was just 22 years of age, with a wonderful life and career ahead of him."
After the wreck, Gallo fled the scene, according to the district attorney. He was captured about 30 minutes later.
Adenhart pitched in a game against the Oakland A's Wednesday night in Anaheim, California, making what was characterized as a "brilliant effort" despite the Angels' 6-4 loss, according to Major League Baseball's Web site, MLB.com.
In his fourth major league start, Adenhart pitched a scoreless six innings, allowing seven hits, three walks and five strikeouts.
"The Angels family has suffered a tremendous loss today," Tony Reagins, the team's general manager, said in a written statement. "We are deeply saddened and shocked by this tragic loss. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Nick's family, friends, loved ones and fans."
|
61b9b30ecf6a410f97de747299a93c49
|
What charges doe the driver face?
|
[
"three counts of murder,"
] |
NewsQA
|
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Watergate Hotel, part of a complex that became synonymous with President Richard Nixon's downfall, attracted no bids at an auction Tuesday.
The Watergate Hotel will most likely have to be sold privately after not attracting bids at auction.
According to Paul Cooper, vice president of Alex Cooper Auctioneers, some 10 bidders ready to provide a $1 million deposit were registered for the auction.
But the hotel fell back into the hands of its lender, PB Capital, after no one advanced the $25 million opening bid, the auction company said.
The auction was sponsored by PB Capital, which holds a $40 million note on the hotel after the previous owner, Monument Reality, defaulted on its loan. Monument's 30-day foreclosure note expired Thursday.
Cooper said PB Capital will most likely sell the hotel privately after it takes over the title and will not try to operate the hotel itself.
On the night of June 17, 1972, the hotel served as a base for an illegal break-in by operatives of the Nixon re-election campaign at the offices of the Democratic National Committee, located in the Watergate office building next door.
Some of the burglars and their handlers, whose arrests began the investigation that led, two years later, to Nixon's resignation, actually stayed at the Watergate hotel prior to the break-in. Among the hotel guests were former FBI agent G. Gordon Liddy, and former CIA operative Howard Hunt, both of whom later served prison time as a result of the Watergate break-in.
Developers estimate the hotel could need up to $100 million in renovations. The Watergate complex was built in the late 1960s and consists of the hotel, two office buildings, and three apartment buildings.
Only the hotel building was up for auction Tuesday. It closed two years ago for renovations, and possible conversions into co-op apartments.
|
471994b1c2584182a0853216dc39cfa5
|
What did Nixons operatives do?
|
[
"break-in"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Three runners died Sunday during the Detroit Free Press/Flagstar Marathon in Detroit, Michigan, police told CNN.
An EMT vehicle is at the scene Sunday in Detroit after three runners collapsed at a marathon.
All three deaths occurred between 9 and 9:20 a.m. ET, Second Deputy Chief John Roach said.
A man in his 60s fell and hit his head, Roach said. The cause of the fall was unknown. The man was transported to Detroit Receiving Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Two other men, ages 36 and 26, also collapsed during the race and were pronounced dead at the hospital, Roach said.
All three collapsed near the end of the race, he said. Witnesses describe scene »
The weather at the time was overcast, Roach said, with temperatures in the low 40s.
CNN's Chuck Johnston contributed to this report.
|
a917b989ab12493db813e9ef78d0af34
|
What was the age of the oldest dead person?
|
[
"36"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Universities nationwide were recovering Friday, a day after protests over education budget cuts hit campuses from coast to coast.
Though many of the demonstrations were peaceful, some turned chaotic.
On the West Coast, the University of California, Santa Cruz, was scheduled to reopen Friday. The crush of demonstrators on Thursday caused administrators to close the northern California campus.
"Please check back for information on the campus's planned return to service on Friday," the university Web site said.
The protest, dubbed the March 4 National Day of Action, sent thousands of students, educators and supporters to the streets to challenge budget cuts and tuition increases.
In Oakland, California, police arrested 160 protesters who shut down a freeway, authorities said.
Police stopped students from shutting down a freeway near the University of California, Davis, in northern California.
Demonstrations occurred in other states including Colorado, New York and Wisconsin. A blog called Student Activism, which compiled a list of the protests, said 122 events were slated in 33 states, most on campuses and some at state capitols.
Many of Thursday's demonstrations focused on cuts in state funding for colleges and universities, which supporters say drive up tuition, limit classes and make higher education unobtainable to many.
State funding for the California State University system was reduced by nearly $1 billion for the academic years between 2008 and 2010. Schools have responded by increasing fees, canceling classes, cutting student support programs and furloughing professors. Fees have increased 182 percent since 2002. Class waiting lists have doubled or tripled.
"The less affordable education becomes, the less likely low-income students will be able to get a college education," said Lillian Taiz, president of the California Faculty Association and a professor of history at California State University, Los Angeles.
|
d500fa7069b841cc9494aae69b571177
|
who hit the streets to challenge cuts, tuition hikes?
|
[
"thousands of students, educators and supporters"
] |
NewsQA
|
LONDON, England (CNN) -- A juvenile court in Ghana has sentenced two teenage girls from Great Britain to nine months in jail for trying to smuggle cocaine out of the country, Ghana's national news agency said Wednesday.
The girls were stopped by customs officials at Accra trying to smuggle drugs back to Britain.
The 16-year-olds will not have to serve the full sentence because they have already spent more than six months in jail, a British Foreign Office spokesman said.
Fair Trials International, a UK-based group that provided legal assistance to the pair, said in a statement Wednesday that it will decide in the coming days whether to appeal. The girls faced a maximum sentence of three years but are expected to be released on April 18, the group said.
For now, the girls are housed in a correctional home for girls in the country's capital, Accra.
Ghanaian police arrested the teenagers as they were readying to board a British Airways flight back to London last July.
When officials searched their laptop bags as part of departure formalities, they found about 6 kg (13 lbs) of cocaine, the Ghana News Agency and British media reports said.
Authorities in Ghana said a man paid the girls 6,000 pounds (about $11,700) to fly to Ghana to retrieve the laptop bags containing the drugs from two of his associates, the news agency added.
Those men have not been caught.
Fair Trials called the girls "pawns in a larger operation.
"It is deeply unfortunate that they, and not the men who lured them to Ghana, are bearing the consequences," said the group's chief executive, Catherine Wolthuizen.
Ghana and other West African countries have become a transit point for drugs headed to Europe. The girls were arrested in a joint Britain-Ghana drug detection operation, the United Kingdom's customs agency said Wednesday. E-mail to a friend
|
9bd4b2867dff43ecafee45b744dda28a
|
Where were the girls from, specifically?
|
[
"Great Britain"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- A Delaware pediatrician was indicted Wednesday on 58 additional counts of rape and other sexual offenses in the alleged child abuse of his patients, state Attorney General Beau Biden announced Monday.
Dr. Earl Bradley, 56, previously pleaded not guilty to 471 felony counts involving 102 girls and one boy.
Wednesday's indictment -- which includes charges of rape, unlawful sexual contact, continuous sexual abuse of a child and sexual exploitation -- involves 24 girls he saw as patients from 1999 to 2009.
Biden has said the charges are based on "video and digital evidence" seized from Bradley's home and medical practice in December, when the doctor was arrested.
Bradley, whose practice was in Lewes, Delaware, also has medical licenses in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Florida. Authorities have said they have contacted officials in those states.
In a February 24 interview with CNN, Bradley's attorney said he would base his client's defense on mental health.
"Most of the evidence in this case comes from videotapes -- it's kind of hard to argue with videotapes," Eugene Maurer Jr. said. He added, "The issue in this case is going to come down to his mental health at the time."
|
ad072e3ed74640fa821eaf8cf78043b8
|
Charges are based on "video and digital evidence" says who?
|
[
"Attorney General Beau Biden"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Hundreds of people gathered Tuesday night for a candlelight vigil outside a San Diego, California, church in honor of a teenage girl missing since Thursday.
The vigil was held just hours after authorities said they found human remains in an area where they had been searching for 17-year-old Chelsea King.
"There is strong likelihood that we have found Chelsea," San Diego County Sheriff William Gore said at a news conference.
The remains were found in a shallow grave along the shoreline of a tributary south of a lake in Rancho Bernardo Community Park, authorities said.
Searchers have been combing the edge of Lake Hodges for any clue into the disappearance of King, a cross-country runner who often ran along the park's trails.
The last reported sighting of the high school senior was at school Thursday, according to sheriff's department spokeswoman Susan Plese. Her car, with her cell phone inside, was found at the park, Plese said.
Police arrested 30-year-old John Albert Gardner III on Sunday in connection with the disappearance.
Gardner is being held in the San Diego Central Jail on rape and first-degree murder charges, according to jail records available online Tuesday night.
Gardner is due to appear in court later Wednesday.
Follow local coverage on KGTV
Gore said the body was found in a heavily wooded area not visible from nearby homes. A shoe had been found earlier in the same area.
He said King's parents have been informed of the discovery.
"They were holding out hope as we all were that we would find Chelsea alive," he said. "This is our worst fears that we would find her as we did today."
At Tuesday night's vigil, friends and family were expected to speak about King and play some of her favorite songs.
Gore said he expected to have positive identification of the body by Wednesday.
Gardner, a registered sex offender, is scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday, according to San Diego County district attorney's spokesman Steve Walker.
|
f93c844a25f748b394a7a6754074dab1
|
What is John Albert Gardener III being held on?
|
[
"rape and first-degree murder charges,"
] |
NewsQA
|
JAKARTA, Indonesia (CNN) -- Indonesia has temporarily grounded all Adam Air flights starting Wednesday because it says the discount airliner "failed to implement quality standards for its aircraft."
Officers examine an Adam Air plane which halted suddenly in the middle of the runway in Surabaya in February 2007.
"The operational specification of Adam Air will be revoked. In effect, Adam Air will not be allowed to operate any airplanes effective 12 a.m. Wednesday, 18 March 2008," according to a statement from Indonesia's civil aviation chief, Budhi Muliawan Suyitno.
A year ago, a Garuda Airlines plane overshot the runway in Jakarta, careened into a rice patty field and burst into flames, killing more than 20 people on board.
On January 1, 2007, Adam Air Flight 574 crashed, killing all 102 people on board. A day after the crash, there were reports that 12 survivors had been found. But those 12 survivors, it turned out later, were from an Indonesian ferry that sank four days earlier.
For more than a week after the Adam Air flight disappeared off the radar screens, Indonesian authorities scoured the mountainous terrain of western Sulawesi province and the Java Sea for any sign of the missing aircraft, but found nothing.
The suspension will last for three months, according to Bambang Ervan, a spokesman for Indonesia's Air Transport Directorate.
Adam Air's permit was revoked because it "failed to implement quality standards for its aircraft, including pilot training and supervision in accordance with standard operational procedures," Ervan said.
The directorate sent a letter to Adam Air regarding its decision, but has not received a reply.
Adam Air CEO Adam Suherman told CNN the airline is not surprised by the Air Transport Office's announcement.
He said the airline had to suspend its operations Tuesday morning because one of its main investors pulled out, causing the airliner financial problems.
Indonesia's aviation authorities recently issued a report outlining a road map to safety, acknowledging that their track record on safety is unacceptable.
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration lowered its rating of Indonesia's safety record and the European Union banned all Indonesian airliners. E-mail to a friend
CNN's Kathy Quiano in Jakarta and Arwa Damon contributed to this report
|
0c35170e661f4393bebb53d0ce8d4d24
|
In one major incident, how many people were killed?
|
[
"102"
] |
NewsQA
|
LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Financing for DreamWorks Studios' partnership with one of India's richest men was finalized Monday, giving Steven Spielberg and partner Stacey Snider money to resume making movies.
From left to right, Steven Spielberg, Anil Ambani, Stacey Snider and Amitahb Jhunjhunwala.
The deal with Anil Ambani, chairman of India's Reliance BIG Entertainment, provides Spielberg's DreamWorks Studios with $875 million, coming from Ambani, the Walt Disney Co. and loans made by a syndicate of banks.
Disney will distribute and market about six DreamWorks Studios films around the world each year, with the exception of India, where Reliance will have those rights.
Spielberg and Snider found themselves in need of financial partners last year when he cut ties with Paramount Pictures and began rebuilding DreamWorks into an independent studio.
Although the deal, which was announced last year, has been characterized in some reports as "Hollywood meets Bollywood," Spielberg and partner Stacey Snider will have creative control over productions.
"This will allow us to move ahead quickly into production with our first group of films," Snider and Spielberg said in a joint statement.
Reliance BIG Entertainment is part of the Reliance group controlled by billionaire Ambani.
"Our partnership with Stacey and Steven is the cornerstone of our Hollywood strategy as we grow our film interests across the globe," Ambani said. "Given our faith in the business plan that they presented to us and despite the current economic climate, we were always confident that this day would come. Now Stacey and Steven can focus on producing more of the great films for which they are renowned."
Ambani, whose company owns hundreds of theater screens across South Asia, has also invested development money this year with other Hollywood production companies, including those owned by actors Nicolas Cage, Tom Hanks, George Clooney and Jim Carrey.
A DreamWorks announcement said that J.P. Morgan brought together the syndicate of banks to provide about $325 million in funding. The banks include Bank of America, City National Bank, Wells Fargo, Comerica, Union Bank of California, SunTrust, California Bank & Trust, and Israel Discount Bank.
One of the first movies to go into production will be "Harvey," an adaptation of the play that won a Pulitzer for playwright Mary Chase. The tale about a man and his invisible bunny friend was first made into a movie, starring Jimmy Stewart, in 1950.
Spielberg's long career as a screenwriter, director and producer has included classic blockbusters "E.T.: The Extraterrestrial," the "Indiana Jones" series and "Saving Private Ryan."
|
0cee2f6590eb4ed6a3913d9c964d3352
|
What is the name of the first film planned?
|
[
"\"Harvey,\""
] |
NewsQA
|
Washington (CNN) -- A U.S. missile defense test failed Sunday when a long-range missile missed its target because of radar problems.
The Defense Department said a target missile was launched from an Army test site at Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands at 7:40 p.m.
Six minutes later, a second missile was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, to find the first one and destroy it.
Both missiles flew successfully, but missed each other because of a problem in the sea-based X-band radar, the department's Missile Defense Agency said.
The X-band radar sits atop a modified floating oil platform and provides information about incoming missiles so military officials can launch a response.
"Both the target missile and ground-based interceptor performed nominally after launch. However, the sea-based X-band radar did not perform as expected," the agency said.
Officials intend to investigate the cause of the interception failure.
|
60cdee5256f447dabc0e6b2913baf2df
|
What caused the test to fail?
|
[
"radar problems."
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Police say they believe they know who killed a 31-year-old Southern Illinois woman and her two young sons, but are waiting for prosecutors to build a strong forensic case against the suspect before disclosing his identity.
Chris and Sheri Coleman are shown with their two boys, Garret and Gavin.
"We don't have a warrant for his arrest at this time, so we don't feel it would be prudent to give his name out until the state's attorney determines whether or not there's enough to charge him," said Maj. Jeff Connor of the Major Case Squad.
Connor heads the squad that is part of the St. Louis, Missouri, homicide task force. He made the comments during an appearance on HLN's Nancy Grace.
Police found the bodies of Sheri Coleman and the children, Garret, 11, and Gavin, 9, in the bedrooms of their two-floor home in the St. Louis suburb of Columbia, Illinois, on the morning of May 7. Indications were they had been strangled.
The killings shocked the suburb of about 10,000 residents. The Monroe County, Illinois, state's attorney's office is awaiting forensic test results, more interviews, documents and reports, according to the St. Louis Post Dispatch. Watch Nancy Grace on the case »
Connor said threatening messages were found on the walls inside the home, but he would not disclose the exact wording.
According to Connor, Christopher Coleman -- the boys' father and Sheri Coleman's husband -- left the house at 5:43 a.m., and drove to a gym to work out. "Shortly thereafter he started calling his house, realized that nobody was answering and on his way back at around 6:50 is when he made the phone call to the Columbia Police Department," Connor said.
Connor said Coleman told police he started calling his house shortly after leaving it because he "was making sure the kids were getting up for school."
|
a00c7735f59f405a96a69a61985aee95
|
What was found on walls?
|
[
"threatening messages"
] |
NewsQA
|
LAGOS, Nigeria (CNN) -- More than 200 people have died of meningitis in the past week alone in Niger and Nigeria, according to the World Health Organization.
A health care worker vaccinates a child during an earlier outbreak of meningitis in Niger.
The disease is an epidemic in 76 areas of the two countries, the health agency reported Wednesday.
A spokesman for W.H.O. in Nigeria, Dr. Olaokun Soyinka, said Saturday that the outbreak is bigger than usual and stretches across the African meningitis belt from east- to west-sub-Saharan Africa.
The outbreak began around the start of the year, Soyinka told CNN. It usually peaks in the dry season because of dust, winds and cold nights, before dipping around May when the rains come, he said.
A shortage of vaccines means officials are relying on "effective prevention," in which they watch for outbreaks and then vaccinate people in the epicenter and surrounding areas, Soyinka told CNN.
There have been nearly 25,000 suspected cases and more than 1,500 deaths in the meningitis belt in the first 11 weeks of the year, W.H.O. reported. More than 85 percent of those cases happened in northern Nigeria and Niger.
Nigeria's Ministry of Health has reported 17,462 suspected cases of meningococcal disease, including 960 deaths, the world health agency said. In the past week, it reported 4,164 suspected cases with 171 deaths.
Sixty-six local government areas in Nigeria have crossed the epidemic threshold. Epidemic thresholds are a way the W.H.O. confirms the emergence of an epidemic so it can step up vaccinations and other management measures.
Niger's Ministry of Health has reported 4,513 suspected cases of meningococcal disease, including 169 deaths, since the start of the year. In the past week, 1,071 suspected cases and 30 deaths have been reported, the W.H.O. said.
Ten of Niger's 42 districts have crossed the epidemic threshold.
By comparison, other countries are reporting fewer than 50 cases a week.
Meningitis is an infection of the meninges, the thin lining that surrounds the brain and the spinal cord. Several different bacteria can cause meningitis but Neisseria meningitidis -- which is to blame for this outbreak -- is one of the most significant because of its potential to cause epidemics.
Health authorities have released 2.3 million doses of vaccine to Nigeria and 1.9 million doses to Niger, the W.H.O. said.
CNN's Christian Purefoy in Lagos, Nigeria, contributed to this report.
|
9d3ef130d076418e8b278bccd506b90c
|
What has killed more the 200 people?
|
[
"meningitis"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Search efforts turned into a recovery operation Monday for a U.S. Navy instructor pilot presumed dead after his plane crashed into Lake Pontchartrain, just outside of New Orleans, Louisiana, during a routine training mission, a Navy spokesman said.
The student pilot on the plane was rescued about two hours after the crash Saturday night and taken to a hospital for mild hypothermia and moderate injuries, according to the Navy. He has since been released.
The missing instructor pilot has been identified as Lt. Clinton Wermers, 33, of Mitchell, South Dakota. The Navy did not identify the rescued student pilot. The two pilots were attached to Training Squadron 6 at Naval Air Station Whiting Field in Milton, Florida.
Initial reports were that both the pilots were clinging to the aircraft before it sank, according to the U.S. Coast Guard, which is assisting in the search. Lt. Brett Dawson, a Navy air training spokesman, told CNN Monday that the wreckage of the plane has been located and a salvage unit will be working to recover it. The cause of the crash is under investigation, Dawson said.
Air traffic controllers at Lakefront Airport in New Orleans notified the Coast Guard at 6:40 p.m. Saturday that a U.S. Navy T-34 training plane was no longer visible on radar, the Coast Guard said in a news release. The plane had been approaching the airport during a routine nighttime instrument training mission, the Navy said.
The T-34 is a single-engine, single-prop plane used for primary training for student pilots. It does not have an ejection mechanism, Dawson said. Instead, pilots can open the canopy, slide it back and roll out of the aircraft.
At the time of the crash, the temperature was 50 degrees Fahrenheit with calm winds, the Coast Guard said. The water temperature was 52 degrees.
CNN's Sarah Aarthun and Sara Pratley contributed to this report.
|
1e7f2de382064eba9f73e7025e69fbcd
|
what is a T-34?
|
[
"training plane"
] |
NewsQA
|
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (CNN) -- Sudanese President Omar el-Bashir on Tuesday accused the international media of "exaggerating" the situation in Darfur to detract from atrocities in Iraq, the Palestinian territories and Somalia.
Refugees from Darfur gather at a camp in Chad. Sudan's president says the crisis in Darfur is a "media fabrication."
El-Bashir spoke at a news conference in Dubai following a three-day visit to the Persian Gulf emirate. He said the crisis in Sudan's western Darfur region is a "media fabrication."
El-Bashir's government has been blamed by the United Nations of supporting militias that conduct "indiscriminate attacks" on civilians in the Darfur region, including torture, rape, and killings.
Rebels fighting the government-backed militias have also been accused by the U.N. of widespread human rights abuses.
During Tuesday's news conference, el-Bashir restated his position that foreign intervention in Darfur was an obstacle in achieving peace in the region.
The Sudanese president has been outspoken in his opposition to allowing non-African forces in Darfur.
At the start of this year, more than 9,000 members of a joint UN-African Union peacekeeping force were deployed to the region to address the fighting and humanitarian suffering.
The force will eventually number 26,000.
Speaking on Tuesday, el-Bashir said that the fighting only affects 10 percent of the region. In the majority of Darfur, there is little to no conflict and people are living normal lives, he said.
Citing Sudanese government statistics, el-Bashir said that less than 10,000 people have died in the conflict and less than 500,000 have been displaced.
International figures, including United Nations' data, put the death toll in Darfur at approximately 200,000, with another 2.5 million people displaced by the violence since 2003.
The conflict started five years ago when ethnic African tribesmen took up arms, complaining of decades of neglect and discrimination by the Sudanese government.
Sudan's Arab-dominated government is accused of responding by unleashing the tribal militias known as janjaweed, which have committed the worst atrocities against Darfur's local communities.
El-Bashir, however, rejected claims that the Darfur conflict is being fought along ethnic lines. E-mail to a friend
CNN's Elham Nakhlawi in Dubai contributed to this report.
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7aa2e293acaa4c0aaa0c69d4fa8b10b9
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What is described as a media fabrication?
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[
"crisis in Darfur"
] |
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LONDON, England (CNN) -- Karma caught up with former Culture Club singer Boy George on Friday when a court sentenced the star to 15 months for falsely imprisoning a male escort, a court spokeswoman said.
George O'Dowd, also known as Boy George, arrives at Snaresbrook Crown Court, in east London.
Full details of the sentence weren't immediately clear.
A jury unanimously found the pop star and DJ, whose real name is George O'Dowd, guilty of the charge last month after a seven-day trial at Snaresbrook Crown Court in northeast London.
The jury determined O'Dowd, 47, had chained male escort Audun Carlsen to a wall at his apartment in London's hip Shoreditch neighborhood. Carlsen had also said the singer beat him with a metal chain. Watch as Boy George arrives at court »
O'Dowd, who maintained his innocence, came to court Friday sporting a multicolored tattoo on his bald head, none of his trademark makeup, and a black winter coat.
The star quit Culture Club in 1987 after a string of hits with the group, including "Karma Chameleon," "Do you really want to hurt me?" and "Church of the Poison Mind."
He has since become a DJ and revived his singing career, releasing a single last year called "Yes we can," inspired by Barack Obama and featuring clips of the U.S. president-elect.
O'Dowd is no stranger to the law. In August 2006, he spent five days cleaning the streets of Manhattan as part of a community service sentence for falsely reporting a break-in at his New York City home.
He has also publicly battled drug addiction.
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e2e3e0d1eae14229b21acf4f1ec2fa67
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Who was the victim who claimed he was beaten with a chain?
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[
"Audun Carlsen"
] |
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(CNN) -- Evangelist Billy Graham is showing signs of improvement as he continues to recover from pneumonia in a North Carolina hospital, a spokeswoman for Asheville's Mission Hospital said Sunday.
The 93-year-old Graham was admitted to the hospital Wednesday in stable condition.
"Doctors are encouraged by Mr. Graham's significant clinical progress, but have not yet set a date for discharge," hospital spokeswoman Merrell Gregory said in a statement.
Gregory also reported progress in Graham's physical therapy, saying he is "walking more in the private corridor outside his room."
Graham was visited over the weekend by his family, according to Gregory. He also watched on television his pastor deliver his regular Sunday sermon, she said.
This is Graham's second bout with pneumonia this year. He was previously hospitalized for the infection in May.
Graham, a resident of nearby Montreat, has provided counsel to generations of U.S. presidents beginning with Harry S. Truman and is the founder of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.
The Charlotte native has preached to untold millions over six decades, beginning his missionary work in 1944 when he started speaking at rallies for the Youth for Christ Campus Life ministry. Five years later, Graham was holding crusades in tents in downtown Los Angeles. Originally scheduled for three weeks, the crusades drew so many followers they were extended to seven.
Graham's "last crusade" in June 2005 drew a total of 230,000 people.
He described it as his last American crusade, but hedged his farewells during a poignant appearance in Corona Park in Queens, New York.
"We hope to come back again someday," Graham announced. "I was asked in an interview if this was our last crusade and I said it probably is -- in New York. But I also said, 'I never say never.' "
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7c79db89acb74dae850072f64e2ebdfa
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What is he in hospital for?
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[
"pneumonia"
] |
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Los Angeles (CNN) -- "Easy Rider" actor Peter Fonda found a body while driving down Sunset Boulevard in the Pacific Palisades community of west Los Angeles on Wednesday, police said.
Fonda, 70, noticed that a car had been parked on side street off Sunset Boulevard for two days, so he stopped to check it out, according to Los Angeles Police Homicide Detective Allen Shubert.
"He looked in the vehicle and saw a body in there and called the fire department," Shubert said.
A man who had committed suicide several days before was slumped over the wheel of the sedan, he said.
The man's identity has not been made public, but he was not a celebrity, he said.
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b7f1abc746b341838046561e0f6c2185
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What did Fonda notice?
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[
"that a car had been parked on side street off Sunset Boulevard for two days,"
] |
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(CNN) -- Prominent Chicago defense lawyer Ed Genson said Friday he intends to resign as attorney for embattled Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich in the criminal case against the governor.
Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich's impeachment trial is scheduled to start on Monday.
"I never require a client to do what I say but I do require them to at least listen to what I say. ... I wish the governor good luck and godspeed," Genson said in brief remarks to reporters.
Genson would not elaborate on his reasons for withdrawing from the case or any conversations he had with Blagojevich about his leaving the case.
Genson had headed Blagojevich's defense team since soon after the governor was arrested on December 9 on federal corruption charges. Among other allegations, federal prosecutors said the governor tried to sell the U.S. Senate seat vacated by President Obama.
Genson represented Blagojevich during proceedings in the Illinois state House in which legislators voted to impeach the governor. But on January 16, the U.S. attorney's office in the Northern District of Illinois said Genson would not represent Blagojevich in his state Senate impeachment trial. No explanation was given.
Blagojevich has denied any wrongdoing and said the House impeachment vote was politically motivated. Watch Blagojevich ask for fair trial »
On Thursday, the outspoken Blagojevich called the Senate trial "a sham" and said the Senate is not allowing him to call witnesses in the trial, which is scheduled to begin Monday.
The Chicago Tribune reported that Genson said his inability to call witnesses or to know the identities of some parties in alleged schemes made it impossible to defend Blagojevich in the impeachment trial.
After Genson announced Friday he would leave Blagojevich's criminal defense effort, another of Blagojevich's attorneys, Sheldon Sorosky, said he was continuing to work on the case.
"I'm on the case, absolutely," Sorosky, whose law firm is separate from Genson's firm, said at an impromptu sidewalk news conference as he was leaving an office building.
"I was aware of Mr. Genson's position, and he's a good friend," said Sorosky. "The governor's a friend, and I understand his position and that's that." iReport.com: Do you trust your political leaders?
Sorosky, who has worked on Blagojevich's defense since the arrest, would not elaborate.
Asked by a reporter if he would recommend to Blagojevich that the talkative governor curtail his public comments, Sorosky said, "You can't tell the governor what to do or not to do."
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7e26a920c88444f4a72340d82f52aa06
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When is the trial set to start?
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[
"Monday."
] |
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(CNN) -- Hundreds of people gathered Tuesday night for a candlelight vigil outside a San Diego, California, church in honor of a teenage girl missing since Thursday.
The vigil was held just hours after authorities said they found human remains in an area where they had been searching for 17-year-old Chelsea King.
"There is strong likelihood that we have found Chelsea," San Diego County Sheriff William Gore said at a news conference.
The remains were found in a shallow grave along the shoreline of a tributary south of a lake in Rancho Bernardo Community Park, authorities said.
Searchers have been combing the edge of Lake Hodges for any clue into the disappearance of King, a cross-country runner who often ran along the park's trails.
The last reported sighting of the high school senior was at school Thursday, according to sheriff's department spokeswoman Susan Plese. Her car, with her cell phone inside, was found at the park, Plese said.
Police arrested 30-year-old John Albert Gardner III on Sunday in connection with the disappearance.
Gardner is being held in the San Diego Central Jail on rape and first-degree murder charges, according to jail records available online Tuesday night.
Gardner is due to appear in court later Wednesday.
Follow local coverage on KGTV
Gore said the body was found in a heavily wooded area not visible from nearby homes. A shoe had been found earlier in the same area.
He said King's parents have been informed of the discovery.
"They were holding out hope as we all were that we would find Chelsea alive," he said. "This is our worst fears that we would find her as we did today."
At Tuesday night's vigil, friends and family were expected to speak about King and play some of her favorite songs.
Gore said he expected to have positive identification of the body by Wednesday.
Gardner, a registered sex offender, is scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday, according to San Diego County district attorney's spokesman Steve Walker.
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3e01f4d3910e4e55841891278ebacce4
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When did the teen girl go missing?
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[
"Thursday."
] |
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PARIS, France -- Samoa center Brian Lima's World Cup is over after his dangerous tackle on England star Jonny Wilkinson.
Lima arrives for his hearing regarding his dangerous challenge on England's Jonny Wilkinson.
Lima, the only player to feature in five World Cups, has received a three-week suspension after being cited for the tackle during Saturday's Pool A clash in Nantes.
Wilkinson escaped injury and match referee Alan Lewis did not punish Lima during the game, which England won 44-22 to knock Samoa out of the competition.
But World Cup judicial officer Professor Lorne Crerar has upheld the complaint lodged by match citing commissioner Steven Hines.
It means 35-year-old Lima will miss Samoa's tournament finale against the United States on Wednesday, with an additional two weeks' punishment also imposed.
Lima is poised to quit international rugby after the World Cup, and although he has 48 hours to appeal against the decision, it is improbable a hearing could be convened before Wednesday's game.
Samoa will head home after the U.S clash, having already seen the current World Cup campaign consigned to being the worst in their history. E-mail to a friend
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80812c8c45964d09897325961480866e
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What they did to Jonny Wilkinson?
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[
"tackle"
] |
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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The United States fears recent weapons purchases by Venezuela could fuel an arms race in South America, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Tuesday.
Uruguayan President Tabare Vazquez met and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Washington on Tuesday.
"They outpace all other countries in South America and certainly raise the question as to whether there is going to be an arms race in the region," Clinton said about Venezuela's arms deals, after a meeting with Uruguayan President Tabare Vazquez.
The Russian government Monday extended $2.2 billion in credit to Venezuela to finance arms purchases, including 92 Soviet-era T-72 tanks and short-range missiles with a reach of 55 miles (90 kilometers).
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez also said his nation will purchase an anti-aircraft weapons system with a range of 185 miles (300 kilometers).
The planned arms purchases come at a time when Venezuela is at odds with neighboring Colombia over negotiations that would give U.S. troops access to Colombian military bases.
Chavez has said his military buildup is in response to the growing U.S. presence in the region, which he calls threatening and dangerous to Latin America.
The United States is also concerned about deepening ties between Venezuela and Iran. In addition to ongoing military cooperation, Chavez said in Tehran last week that the Iranian government would help Venezuela develop nuclear technology.
In exchange, Venezuela has offered to export gasoline to Iran, which would give Tehran an out if Western nations impose petroleum sanctions over Iran's nuclear program. Senior administration officials say Venezuela's attempt at "sanctions busting" is alarming.
Clinton urged Venezuela to be transparent about its weapons purchases.
Venezuela, she said, "should be putting in place in procedures and practices to ensure that the weapons they buy are not diverted to insurgent groups or illegal organizations like drug trafficking gangs and other criminal cartels."
Vazquez voiced concern that an arms race in South America would divert funds from badly needed development in poor countries.
"We should devote our energies and resources to fight against the real scourges of our societies ... such as drug trafficking and terrorism," he said. "Instead of spending it in weapons, spending it in housing, good housing for our people, and to further deepen investment, especially in the field of education."
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b0e6af3976d247f1b184021fbbb399fd
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Who has deepening ties to Iran?
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[
"Venezuela"
] |
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(CNN) -- The presidents of Sudan and Chad signed a non-aggression agreement late Thursday, aiming to halt cross-border hostilities between the two African nations.
Chad President Idriss Deby, right, and Sudan's President Omar al-Beshir, left, shake hands after signing the pact.
The signing came after nearly two full days of talks in Dakar, Senegal, between Sudan President Omar al-Beshir and Idriss Deby, the president of Chad.
Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade facilitated the talks, and United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon met with officials from both nations and witnessed the signing of the agreement at about 10 p.m.
"The idea is to get the governments of Sudan and Chad to normalize their relations with each other and to halt any action that would allow for the cross-border movement of rebel factions or armed factions of either side that could hurt the other country," said United Nations spokesman Farhan Haq.
Each country accuses the other of supporting armed rebel groups that cross the border to attempt to destabilize the government. The rival nations' armies have skirmished several times.
The United Nations says refugees and armed groups have been regularly crossing the border between the troubled Darfur region of Sudan and Chad. They allegedly include many of the rebels that attacked N'Djamena, the capital of Chad, in early February.
As recently as Thursday, just hours before the agreement was signed, Chad issued a communique saying rebels from Sudan had crossed the border.
Chad is still recovering from a failed attempt last month by rebels to overthrow Deby's regime.
The United Nations says the swelling number of Darfur refugees and other displaced people living in eastern Chad is causing serious strain on the region.
Kingsley Amaning, the U.N.'s humanitarian coordinator for Chad, said more than 10,000 people from Darfur, in Sudan, have fled into 12 official refugee camps in eastern Chad.
They join some 240,000 Darfurians who have lived in Chad since 2004 because of fighting in their homeland and an estimated 180,000 displaced Chadians also living there.
The number of displaced Chadians is growing because of the recent fighting there, Kingsley said.
Haq said the United Nations, which has peacekeeping troops in the Darfur region, will work to assure Sudan and Chad carry out the terms of Thursday's deal. The countries have signed several peace agreements in the past, only to see renewed violence flare up. E-mail to a friend
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866f654bf7a4446cb5b4e96e41af4ccd
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What did Chad claim before agreement?
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[
"rebels from Sudan had crossed the border."
] |
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Rome, Italy (CNN) -- A northern Italian region has approved a measure to pay women from low-income families not to have abortions.
Authorities from the Lombardy Region, on Italy's border with Switzerland, approved the creation of a 5-million euro ($6.1 million) fund aimed at providing help to low-income families, the region said on its website this week.
The fund would grant about 4,500 euros ($5,500) a year to a woman who changes her mind about having an abortion because of economic reasons. The woman would receive 250 euros ($306) a month for 18 months, according to the site.
"We want to help the family, maternity, and birth rate, removing the obstacles as much as possible, beginning with those of an economic nature that make it more difficult to choose in favor of life," said the region's president, Roberto Formigone.
The option of accepting the check will be presented to women in abortion clinics during the consultations they have prior to having an abortion, the site said. The region's health department said economic reasons were the predominant reason that woman have abortions.
Critics attacked the measure as "a short-term solution to a long-term problem," according to Italian media.
The fund is called "Nasko," a play on the Italian word "nasco," which roughly translates to "I'm being born."
About 128,000 abortions are performed in Italy every year, according to the Italian Health Ministry. That compares to 195,743 in England and Wales last year, according to the British Department of Health, and 846,181 in the United States in 2006, according to the most recent figures reported by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
CNN's Hada Messia contributed to this report.
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c8e40d3b95c44125bbca097118acc984
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What do the authorities blame for the abortions?
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[
"economic reasons."
] |
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(CNN) -- Hungary awoke Monday to a new political landscape after the center-right opposition Fidesz party took decisive election victory, ending eight years of Socialist rule.
Fidesz won two-thirds of the votes in Sunday's second round of parliamentary elections, gaining 263 of the 386 seats -- enough to allow it to govern without forming alliances.
Fidesz leader Viktor Orban characterized the vote -- which also saw gains by the far-right -- as a "revolution" in the Eastern European country that was under Soviet control from 1945 to 1991.
"Today there was revolution in the polling booths," Fidesz leader Viktor Orban told a crowd of supporters, according to Hungary's MTI news agency.
"Hungarians have overthrown the system and created a new one. The old system of leaders misusing their power was replaced by one of national unity."
While the Socialist party took second place with 59 seats, it was closely followed by the far-right Jobbik party, making its parliamentary debut.
Jobbik has come under international criticism for what many perceive as anti-Semitic statements and for its verbal attacks on the country's gypsy, or Roma, minority.
Ahead of the vote, the Socialists has seen their support dwindle as they struggled to push through a broad reform program, tackling the country's education and health care systems.
Their problems were compounded when the global recession hit Hungary hard. In late 2008, it had to borrow $27 billion from the International Monetary Fund as unemployment climbed into the double digits and the economy shrunk.
The party was also derailed by scandals and accusations of corruption.
In 2006, Hungarian radio played a leaked tape where former Prime Minister and Socialist Party member Ferenc Gyurcsany admitted that his party lied to the public to win that year's general election.
Journalist Fanny Facsar contributed to this report.
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ed386d5ceaeb456b8302c5021e1e055c
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What did Fidesz win?
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[
"two-thirds of the votes"
] |
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(CNN) -- A wheel from the main landing gear of a Colgan Airlines passenger plane fell off and rolled away as the aircraft was landing in Buffalo, New York, earlier this week.
A wheel fell off the landing gear of Q400 Bombardier upon landing on Colgan Flight 3268 earlier this week.
On Thursday night, The Toronto Sun posted a video of the incident shot by a passenger on the Q400 Bombardier -- the same type of plane involved in a fatal Colgan Airlines crash three months ago, also on approach to Buffalo Niagara International Airport.
The video shows the wheel touch down on the ground and then roll away, followed by metal parts that are meant to keep the wheels in place.
The plane was towed to the gate, where everyone on board "deplaned normally," said Joe Williams, a spokesman for Pinnacle Airlines, Colgan's parent company.
"At no time was any passenger or crew member at risk, nor were any injuries reported," Williams said of the Tuesday incident. "The aircraft was properly maintained in accordance with the manufacturer and Federal Aviation Administration procedures."
Williams said the incident "appears to have been caused by the failure of the outer wheel bearing ... the bearing was relatively new, having been on the aircraft for five weeks."
Colgan Flight 3268 originated in Newark, New Jersey.
"I was scared, and the other passengers looked worried, too," one passenger told the Toronto newspaper. "For a moment, I thought the worst in that we may not make it."
Three months ago, Colgan Air Flight 3407 crashed in nearby Clarence Center, New York, killing all 49 passengers and crew members aboard. One person was killed on the ground.
Hearings about the cause of that accident have been held in Washington this week. Investigators have focused on pilot fatigue as a possible cause of the crash.
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9cadf27dfead4b1e8a8b7f2aee71455b
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What happened there months ago?
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[
"Colgan Air Flight 3407 crashed"
] |
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(CNN) -- The first guests checked back into the Taj Mahal Palace and the Oberoi-Trident hotels Sunday, marking the reopening of the two luxury venues damaged by terrorist attacks in Mumbai last month.
Guests arrive Sunday at the Taj Mahal Palace hotel in Mumbai.
Along with new guests, the hotels' five restaurants were booked with diners, representatives of the Taj Mahal said.
"Today has been an incredibly moving day. The Taj has been reopened, after a massive concerted effort, in dedication to all of those who lost their lives in the attacks on Mumbai," said Ratan Tata, the chairman of the company that owns the the Taj Mahal Palace hotel.
Representatives at the Oberoi-Trident marked the reopening of that hotel with a multi-religion prayer meeting. Watch as the Taj Mahal hotel reopens
"All the 550 guest rooms, including the executive floors, of the hotel are ready to receive guests," a hotel spokesman said, adding the business was reopening with "heightened security,"
There were still portions of both hotels that could not reopened because of damage, including the Heritage wing of the Taj Mahal and the Oberoi wing of the Oberoi-Trident.
The scene Sunday is a far cry from November 26 when the hotel and many other locations in Mumbai were paralyzed by a mass of coordinated attacks.
Terrorists using bombs, gunfire and fire caused the deaths of more than 160 people over three days of sieges throughout the city that is India's commercial capital. They took hostages at the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower and Oberoi-Trident hotels.
The assaults also targeted a historic train station, a Jewish cultural center and other landmarks.
CNN's Harmeet Singh contributed to this report.
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9627278a76eb47bf87ed6e515ed40b83
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what hotel has reopend
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[
"Taj Mahal Palace"
] |
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(CNN) -- Spain striker Fernando Torres has rejected accusations he put the World Cup before his club Liverpool after he was ruled out of action for six weeks.
Torres traveled from England to Barcelona by car to see a specialist, due to the ongoing disruption to flights caused by the ash emanating from a volcano in Iceland, for an operation on his knee.
The 26-year-old will miss the rest of the English Premier League season, as well as Liverpool's Europa League semifinal against his former club Atletico Madrid, after picking up the injury in a game against Portuguese side Benfica.
He now faces a race to be fit for Spain's opening game of the World Cup in South Africa against Switzerland on June 16.
He told his official Web site: "I picked up the injury in the second minute of the Europa League clash at home to Benfica, and I went onto to play for another 85 minutes with an injured knee.
"If I was only thinking about Spain and the World Cup, I would have asked the boss [Rafael Benitez] to have taken me off straight after the incident.
"We analyzed all the possibilities before finally choosing the last of them all: surgery. The meniscus was damaged and the doctors all agreed that I needed an operation on my right knee."
On the World Cup Torres said: "I have been waiting four years for this and, if all goes well, I do not anticipate missing it. My road to recovery has already started."
Torres expressed his disappointment at missing the European clash with his former club, Atletico Madrid, who he left to join Liverpool in 2007.
He added: "I was very excited about returning and playing against "Atleti". I wanted to be there again and greet the people, because for me this is a very endearing qualification round. I will have many more opportunities in the future."
Torres had to travel to Barcelona by car after his original flight was cancelled due to the fallout from the ash cloud that has grounded all European flights.
He said: "On Friday we knew that with the meniscus not quite right, we were facing a race against time.
"The flight we originally had booked was cancelled and we had to organize a trip out of nothing in just under 30 minutes. The journey was very long, but it was the only way of getting to Barcelona."
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3f716ffae6e94e7eb0650478cc1d6d42
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Who had an operation on his knee?
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[
"Fernando Torres"
] |
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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Air Force is returning F-15E Strike Eagle jets to service over Iraq and Afghanistan after grounding other F-15s, the Air Force said Wednesday.
The Air Force grounded models of its F-15 fleet after the crash of an older model F-15C this month.
The F-15s were grounded after a crash earlier this month in Missouri of an older model that disintegrated in flight.
Each F-15E must pass an inspection of critical parts on the airframe before returning to flying missions, Air Force officials said.
All U.S. Air Force 224 E-model aircraft will undergo a one-time inspection of hydraulic system lines, the Air Force statement said.
The longerons -- molded, metal strips of the aircraft fuselage that run from front to rear -- will also be inspected, according to the Air Force.
The straps and skin panels in and around the environmental control system bay will also be examined, officials said.
The Air Force would not say whether the parts being inspected were part of the problem on the aircraft that crashed.
The investigation into why that plane fell apart in flight is still ongoing and Air Force officials will not say what happened until the investigation is complete, an Air Force spokesperson said.
Air Force officials said the rest of the almost 500 F-15s -- older airframes than the F-15Es -- will remain grounded until the investigation offers a solution to what happened.
The E-model aircraft, the youngest and most sophisticated in the F-15 inventory, is heavily used by Central Command for ground support in the U.S.-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
It is also used for the homeland security mission over the United States known as Operation Noble Eagle.
On November 3, the Air Force grounded all of its F-15s in response to a November 1 crash of a Missouri Air National Guard F-15C in Boss, Missouri.
The grounding forced Central Command to use other Air Force, Navy and French fighters to fill the gaps, though Strike Eagles did fly to support troops in battle in Afghanistan as an emergency measure while they were still under grounding orders, according to Central Command reports.
The plane that crashed, built in 1980, was one of the older F-15s in the fleet.
The F-15E Strike Eagle is an air-to-ground and air-to-air fighter, making it more versatile than other F-15 models, which are used for only air-to-air missions.
The Strike Eagle is used in Afghanistan and Iraq in its air-to-ground role, using its advanced sensors to drop bombs on targets. E-mail to a friend
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deee9219d6304410875a46ffe02fe998
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All U.S. Air Force 224 E-model aircraft will undergo a one-time inspection
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[
"of hydraulic system lines,"
] |
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(CNN) -- Scientists have discovered the remains of a rodent the size of a small car which used to forage the South American continent. The 1-ton creature is believed to have been about 3 meters in length and 1.5 meters tall.
The fossilized skull of the new giant rodent
The giant rat's skull, which measures an impressive 53 centimeters in diameter was found by Andrés Rinderknecht and Ernesto Blanco, two scientists from Montevideo, Uruguay.
The two paleontologists stumbled upon the fossilized remains in a broken boulder in San Jose along the coast of Uruguay.
By looking at the size ratios of the skulls and bodies of existing rodents, scientists determined the bodyweight of the rodent must have approached 1,000 kilograms or a ton, making it the world's largest rodent to have been discovered to date.
The relatively small size of its teeth however, suggests it fed mainly upon soft vegetables and fruit.
"We can give an educated guess that the rodent would have been 3 meters long -- assuming that it was similar to a Capybara (the largest rodent alive today) and taking it into account that large mammals generally have relatively smaller heads. It's tail probably was closer to the one of capybara or guinea pig (very short) and not like a rat," Ernesto Blanco says.
The scientists believe the rodent, named Josephoartigasia monesi, roamed the earth about four million years ago at the same time as other giant creatures, such as terror birds, saber-toothed cats, ground sloths and giant armored mammals.
During this period, the now arid region was forested and rich in vegetation. The largest living rodent is the capybara, a 50 kilogram guinea pig found in South America. E-mail to a friend
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80d2daaa63c54e57b54c18b478050d8a
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What was discovered?
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[
"remains of a rodent the size of a small car"
] |
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BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- An American soldier in Iraq has been sentenced to two years in military prison on child pornography charges, the U.S. military said Tuesday.
At a general court-martial Monday at Baghdad's Camp Victory, Army Pvt. James R. Bickerstaff pleaded guilty to attempted possession of child pornography and communicating indecent language to a child under 16.
Bickerstaff also received a bad-conduct discharge.
The soldier was stationed at Fort Riley, Kansas, in August 2006 when he "engaged in a discussion with a 12-year-old girl in an attempt to initiate physical contact of a sexual nature," the military said.
In April and May, he downloaded pornographic videos to a personal laptop and an iPod and attempted to download child pornography, the military said.
Bickerstaff is with Charlie Company, 1-16th Infantry Battalion, 787th Combat Service Support Battalion, 507th Corps Support Group, at Al Asad Air Base. E-mail to a friend
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2fced4ebcffd43459ddd8981565356ee
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What is the soldier convicted of?
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[
"child pornography charges,"
] |
NewsQA
|
LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- The family of Michael Jackson has been told by state officials that it may be possible to bury the singer at Neverland Ranch -- if the county gives the green light.
Santa Barbara County says it hasn't yet been contacted about burying Michael Jackson at Neverland.
Officials with Santa Barbara County, the site of the ranch, said Thursday that they have not yet been approached, and it was not clear whether the family had decided to pursue that option.
A lawyer from the Jackson family contacted state officials recently about possibly burying Jackson at the ranch that was his home for almost two decades, said Amanda Fulkerson of California's State and Consumer Services Agency.
To bury someone on private land in California is a two-step process.
First, a certificate of authority is needed from the state Cemetery and Funeral Bureau -- easily obtainable by filling out a two-page application and paying $400. Next, the family needs approval from the county.
No one from the Jackson camp has contacted county authorities yet, said county spokesman William Boyer.
"We have had no formal application either from the Jackson family or from the property owner," said Boyer, the communications director for the county. "At that point, we would review the application and make a determination."
Boyer said Santa Barbara county has never been approached about burial on private land.
California has had burials outside cemeteries, most notably that of former U.S. President Ronald Reagan at his presidential library in Ventura County's Simi Valley.
Jackson's brother Jermaine said he'd like to see the singer buried at the ranch. But their father, Joe Jackson, said he opposes the site.
The rest of the family has expressed no preference about Jackson's final resting place. Michael Jackson died June 25 of a cardiac arrest. The exact cause of death is pending toxicology results.
Jackson purchased the Neverland Ranch -- named for the fictional world in J.M. Barrie's "Peter Pan" -- in 1987 and filled it with animals and amusement rides.
Billionaire Tom Barrack Jr. gained control of the ranch through his company last year as part of a process to alleviate the singer's debts, believed to be in the millions.
Soon after Jackson's death, Barrack said the property's future would be discussed at a later time.
|
fdbe2c988bac4f67931f5dfd5ffbbcaf
|
Who says Santa Barbara County has to approve burial on private property?
|
[
"Amanda Fulkerson"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Mexican authorities on Thursday continued to investigate the kidnappings of at least six people from a Holiday Inn in Monterrey, Mexico, Wednesday.
Nuevo Leon state Attorney General Alejandro Garza y Garza said in a news conference that the unidentified gunmen entered a second hotel as well, the state-run Notimex news agency reported.
A convoy of between 10 and 15 vehicles carrying as many as 30 gunmen pulled into the Holiday Inn at around 2 a.m., Garza y Garza said.
According to him, the gunmen brought a handcuffed man into the lobby, who gave them information on the intended victims.
A businessman from Mexico City, Luis Miguel Gonzalez, was kidnapped, along with three other guests, Garza y Garza said.
The other guests were identified as Angel Ernesto Montes de Oca of Mexico City, Manuel Juarez and Aracely Hernandez, an employee of a staffing company near the border with the United States.
A hotel receptionist, David Salas, was also kidnapped, together with another hotel employee, authorities said.
A security guard at the hotel was missing, but it was not confirmed that he too was kidnapped, Garza y Garza said.
Before leaving, the gunmen took the computer from the reception desk as well as the video from the security camera, he said.
Minutes later, there was a report of the same group of gunmen entering the Mision Hotel, located near the Holiday Inn. Police responded to the hotel, but the officials there declined to report a crime to the authorities.
Northern Mexico, particularly the states of Tamaulipas and Nuevo Leon, have seen a recent uptick in violent activity, much of it blamed on warring drug cartels.
|
50c77eaca4c94932bc3d0daa8e6c899d
|
30 gunmen did what?
|
[
"pulled into the Holiday Inn"
] |
NewsQA
|
PARIS, France (CNN) -- The French are in for a significant cultural shift next week if the Senate approves a new law from President Nicolas Sarkozy to allow more shops to open on Sundays.
The law would permit shops, department stores, and shopping malls to open on Sundays in 20 zones.
What seems routine in much of the Western world has been fiercely resisted in France, where Sundays have officially been set aside as a day of rest for more than a century and where a 35-hour workweek remains the norm.
The new legislation, if approved by the Senate, would overturn a 1906 law that forbids Sunday trading in all but the largest cities. It is part of a raft of reforms Sarkozy has pushed for since becoming president.
While the change is significant, it is not as much as the government originally hoped because Sarkozy had to deal with opposition from both the left and the right.
Socialists filed thousands of amendments to the president's original version of the law. Leftists and unions said it would effectively introduce a seven-day workweek and allow bosses to force employees to work Sundays.
Members of the president's own ruling conservative party opposed the law despite assurances it would boost economic activity, saying it would instead deprive families and church groups of their dedicated day.
If approved by the Senate, the law would permit shops, department stores, and shopping malls to open on Sundays in 20 zones of what are called "exceptional commercial" centers near three of the country's largest cities: Paris, Marseilles, and Lille.
Additionally, 29 areas involving about 500 cities and towns would be added to the list of tourist areas, which already allow some economic activity on Sundays.
The new law will, among other things, straighten out a somewhat chaotic situation in which some stores managed to obtain exceptions from the old law and others didn't, and where some stores found it made more sense financially to accept fines for breaking the old law because the income from Sunday sales more than made up for the penalties.
The measure passed the National Assembly last Tuesday by a vote of 282 to 238. It will go the Senate for three days of debate next Tuesday, where it is almost certain to be approved.
Opinion polls in France show that slightly more than half the population want shops to have the freedom to open on Sundays, according to Time magazine.
CNN's Jim Bittermann contributed to this report.
|
a6f4581a28374028b364751c0049da00
|
French Senate set to approve what new law?
|
[
"a new law from President Nicolas Sarkozy to allow more shops to open on Sundays."
] |
NewsQA
|
NEW YORK (CNN) -- An Oscar-winning songwriter was indicted on charges of sexually assaulting women whom he would fly in to New York under the impression they were auditioning for movie roles, the Manhattan District Attorney's Office said Tuesday.
Songwriter Joe Brooks is best known for writing "You Light Up My Life" and directing the movie.
Joseph Brooks, 71, faces multiple charges including rape, criminal sexual act, sexual abuse, forcible touching, assault, grand larceny and criminal mischief. The charges involve 11 women, authorities said.
Brooks won the Oscar for best original song for the 1977 song, "You Light Up My Life." He also directed the movie, which is about a director who has a one-night stand with an actress.
"I'm flabbergasted," said actress Melanie Mayron, who starred in "You Light Up My Life."
Mayron said she did not stay in contact with Brooks over the years but described him as a "lovely man."
In the indictment, Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau alleges that Brooks would fly women in from California, Florida and Oregon for private auditions.
He would serve the women one or two glasses of wine, said Lisa Friel, assistant district attorney.
The women described feelings that suggest a date-rape drug was used, she said, but added that toxicology results were unclear.
Shawni Lucier, Brooks' personal assistant, was also charged with criminal facilitation in connection with arranging some of the encounters.
Brooks pleaded not guilty at his arraignment Tuesday. Bail was set at $500,000 bond or $250,000 cash.
The suspect agreed to the terms and left the courthouse. He is set to return Thursday morning and meet the bail agreement, said Jeffery C. Hoffman, his lawyer.
Hoffman said some of the women who made the accusations were trying out for a role in a screenplay Brooks wrote.
None of the girls was chosen for the part and may feel "upset about that fact," the lawyer said.
Hoffman said he is looking forward to proving his client's innocence.
"All I can say is, my client is anxious to clear his name of these false charges," he added.
|
3a27b42fedaf4d4fbe8e0b5b725781c5
|
What son did Joseph Brooks write?
|
[
"\"You Light Up My Life\""
] |
NewsQA
|
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (CNN) -- A helicopter crashed into an oil drilling platform off the coast of Dubai, killing all seven people on board, officials said Thursday.
The helicopter which crashed was a Bell 212, the same model as pictured above.
Among the victims were an American and a Briton, said Hanan Moussa of the United Arab Emirates' General Civil Aviation Authority.
Also killed were two Indians, a Pakistani, a Filipino and a Venezuelan, Moussa said.
The Bell 212 helicopter crashed Wednesday on the deck of an oil rig, then broke up and fell into the sea, said a spokesman for AeroGulf Services -- which operated the chopper.
A fire broke out aboard the rig, located about 43 miles (70 km) off the coast of Dubai. The fire was quickly contained, the AeroGulf spokesman said.
Authorities have launched an investigation into the cause of the crash.
CNN's Ammar Ben Aziz and Caroline Faraj contributed to this report.
|
7f76dce6eca14802835e2f17dba22ce4
|
where did it crash?
|
[
"Dubai,"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Australia's cricketers will pay tribute to Jane McGrath at their one-day international against West Indies in St Vincent on Tuesday.
Jane McGrath died on Sunday at the age of 42.
The English-born wife of former Australia fast bowler Glenn McGrath, died on Sunday, aged 42, after a long battle with cancer.
The McGraths had two children, James, who is eight, and Holly six.
The Australian players will wear pink ribbons and batsmen will use pink grips on their bats.
The color pink represents the McGrath Foundation, an organization set up by the McGraths to raise money for the fight against breast cancer.
The McGraths were recognized for their charity work this year when they were appointed as Members of the Order of Australia.
Australia captain Ricky Ponting said: "Jane was a wonderful person who fought and maintained grace and dignity during her long-term illness."
Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said: "Jane was an inspiration, whose legacy will continue to benefit so many others."
Former Australia captain Steve Waugh, best man at the McGrath's 1999 wedding, said: "Courage is often associated with feats on a sport field but the true meaning of it lies elsewhere and someone like Jane best exemplifies that."
|
79ab1a42828c45d6bca5662aabb7e4bd
|
When did Jane McGrath die.
|
[
"Sunday"
] |
NewsQA
|
LONDON, England (CNN) -- Vladimir Putin spent the Russian New Year boogying to the hits of ABBA after spending $30,000 to fly a tribute band to a lake town north of Moscow.
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin flew an ABBA tribute band to Russia for a private concert.
According to Bjorn Again founder, Rod Stephen, Putin disco pointed to the ABBA classics "Super Trouper" and "Mamma Mia" at a gathering of only eight guests.
Stephen said he received a phone call from the Kremlin prior to Christmas.
"It was pretty mad. It was the type of phone call everyone gets everyday from Moscow. I thought someone was taking the piss."
Stephen said an agent in Moscow then set the gig up, and he was told it was for Russia's "number two."
He said the band were flown to Moscow and then had a nine-hour bus trip to Lake Valdai -- where Putin has held high-level meetings in the past -- on January 22 (the traditional date of Russian New Year's eve).
"The band and crew were searched at checkpoints by people with appropriately sized weapons," Stephen said.
He said the band played behind a heavy gauze curtain, which made it hard for them to see the audience.
However, the could make out Putin's profile and that of the other seven guests.
Stephen said it was initially "roaring" at the venue.
"When the band started people were sitting on sofas. But then Putin was up and dancing to Super Trouper and Mamma Mia, pointing fingers up and down."
The band played for an hour before being shown out as the guests went to watch a fireworks display.
Stephen said they were paid $30,000 and their expenses covered.
He described it as the "weirdest" gig the band had done.
"I've had phone calls from the agency saying 'don't talk to anyone else we are getting grief from the Kremlin,' but there was no non-disclosure contract."
|
a3bacaf6aeb340d9970305445739b763
|
What is the name of the band the prime minister likes?
|
[
"ABBA"
] |
NewsQA
|
CHICAGO, Illinois (CNN) -- A clerk's quick flip of a switch foiled a robbery Friday at an Office Depot store in downtown Chicago.
Police said a man wearing a light blue button-down shirt and dark slacks entered the store carrying a gun concealed in a folded newspaper.
He approached one of the store's cash registers and demanded the contents of the safe, police said. The clerk refused but immediately turned on the public address system so that other customers could hear what was going on.
Hearing his threat broadcast throughout the store, the man fled.
He ended up robbing a nearby Fannie May candy store at gunpoint, police said, and fled that store in a white taxi. Authorities said the robber, a man between ages 30 and 40, was still at large.
No injuries were reported in either robbery.
|
14531a0e417247b083b7ec85b1ee6dc5
|
What is the age of the robber?
|
[
"between"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Venezuela expelled Israel's ambassador to the country Tuesday and accused Israel of attempting to carry out "genocide" against the Palestinian people.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez called the Israeli army "cowards."
"In this tragic and indignant hour, the people of Venezuela manifest their unconditional solidarity with the heroic Palestinian people, share in the sadness that overcomes thousands of families through the loss of their loved ones, and extends to them a hand by affirming that the government of Venezuela will not rest until it sees those responsible for these criminal atrocities severely punished," the Venezuelan foreign minister said in a statement read by an anchor on state television.
The statement added that the government "condemns strongly the flagrant violations of international law" by Israel and "denounces their planned utilization of state terrorism."
"For the above-mentioned reasons, the government of Venezuela has decided to expel the ambassador of Israel and some of the personnel of the Israeli Embassy in Venezuela," it added.
In a news conference broadcast by state-run Venezuelan television, President Hugo Chavez blasted the Israeli military.
"They are cowards," he said. "It's as though a boxing professional were to come here and challenge you to box. Well, how courageous! How courageous is the Israeli army!"
It said that Chavez "makes a fraternal call to the Jewish people throughout the world to oppose these criminal policies of the state of Israel that recall the worst pages of the history of the 20th century.
"With the genocide of the Palestinian people, the state of Israel will never be able to offer its people the perspective of a peace that is both necessary and long-lasting."
Mark Regev, a spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, was unswayed.
"I haven't heard the details yet, but you know the regime in Venezuela has been one of the few countries in the world that gives automatic support to the Iranian extremists, and it doesn't surprise me that they have affinity with groups like Hamas and Hezbollah," he told CNN.
He predicted that other countries would not follow suit, even in the Middle East.
"I think, even in the Muslim and Arab countries, there is a fair amount of understanding for what Israel has had to do here," he said.
|
73dddf6de9de429f88ab28381e570925
|
What did the Venezuelan government statment do to "flagrant violations" by Israel?
|
[
"\"condemns strongly the flagrant violations of international law\""
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- A Southwest Airlines jet made an emergency landing in Charleston, West Virginia, on Monday after a football-sized hole in its fuselage caused the cabin to depressurize, an airline spokeswoman said.
Southwest Flight 2294 made an emergency landing at Yeager Airport in Charleston, West Virginia, on Monday.
There were no injuries aboard the Boeing 737, which was traveling at about 34,000 feet when the problem occurred, Southwest spokeswoman Marilee McInnis told CNN.
The sudden drop in cabin pressure caused the jet's oxygen masks to deploy.
Southwest Flight 2294 was en route from Nashville, Tennessee, to Baltimore, Maryland, with 126 passengers and a crew of five aboard, McInnis said.
It landed at 5:10 p.m. after the crew reported a football-sized hole in the middle of the cabin near the top of the aircraft, McInnis said.
What caused the damage to the jet had not been determined, she said. Both the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the incident, FAA spokeswoman Holly Baker said.
"There is no responsible way to speculate as to a cause at this point," Southwest said in a statement Monday night. Watch as passenger describes watching the hole form »
"We have safety procedures in place, and they were followed in this instance to get all passengers and crew safely on the ground," the airline said. "Reports we have are that our passengers were calm and that our pilots and flight attendants did a great job getting the aircraft on the ground safely."
Southwest dispatched a replacement aircraft to take passengers on to Baltimore. See map of flight path »
Charleston airport spokesman Brian Belcher said a local pizzeria provided food for the passengers as they waited.
The damaged jet will remain on the ground there until federal inspectors can examine it, he said.
In addition, all 181 of Southwest's 737-300s -- about a third of the airline's fleet -- will be inspected overnight after the emergency landing, McInnis said. Southwest does not expect the inspections to create delays, she said.
CNN's Shawn Nottingham and Stephanie Gallman contributed to this report.
|
59e199d034c849ea9235aeb8981bd49a
|
What altitude was the flight traveling at?
|
[
"34,000 feet"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Automaker Peugeot has fired its chief executive, replacing Christian Streiff with Philippe Varin, currently the CEO at Corus, an Anglo-Dutch steelmaker.
Peugeot is Europe's second biggest carmaker
"Given the extraordinary difficulties currently faced by the automotive industry, the Supervisory Board decided unanimously that a change in the senior leadership position was necessary," said Thierry Peugeot, chairman of the PSA Peugeot Citroen supervisory board Sunday.
"I am confident that under the leadership of Philippe Varin, the Group will be able, with all the teams, to unlock its potential."
Varin will officially take over Peugeot's top post on June 1, but will begin "familiarizing himself" with operations starting next month.
Roland Vardanega, a member of the managing board, will act as interim chairman until Varin assumes his new job.
Peugeot, Europe's second biggest automaker, posted a loss of €343 million, or $456 million, in 2008 and also expects to lose money in 2009.
|
ec884c73887e427b945dfe2958574e5c
|
How much did Peugeot lose in 2008?
|
[
"€343 million, or $456 million,"
] |
NewsQA
|
NEW YORK (CNN) -- An oil painting was returned Tuesday to the estate of a Jewish art dealer who was forced to consign the painting and other artwork under Nazi Germany before fleeing the country.
"Portrait of a Musician Playing a Bagpipe" was done in 1632 by an unknown artist.
The painting, "Portrait of a Musician Playing a Bagpipe," was done in 1632 by an unknown painter from the Northern Netherlandish school, according to a statement from the U.S. attorney's office in southern New York.
It was owned by Max Stern, an art dealer who had a gallery in Dusseldorf, Germany, until 1937, when the Nazis' Reich Chamber for Fine Arts ordered him to liquidate the gallery and its inventory, the statement said.
Stern, who died in 1987, left no heirs. He and his wife had founded the Max Stern Art Restitution Project, which directly benefits Concordia University and McGill University in Montreal, Canada, and Hebrew University in Jerusalem, according to a statement from U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The painting was returned Tuesday -- Holocaust Remembrance Day -- to Clarence Epstein of Concordia University on behalf of the executors of the estate, said Lou Martinez of the immigration agency.
It was returned in a ceremony at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York, he said.
The painting had been owned by Philip Mould Ltd., a London, England, gallery, when Lawrence Steigrad, a New York art dealer, bought it in 2008, the New York attorney's office said.
Neither had any idea of the painting's past. Philip Mould Ltd. had purchased the painting the year before from Lempertz Auction House. The same auction house sold the painting in 1937 after Stern was forced to liquidate, without receiving any proceeds from the sale, the New York attorney's office said.
Immigration agents used information from a Holocaust claims office in the New York state Banking Department to look into Steigrad's gallery.
The art dealer "confirmed the painting was in his possession." and he eventually allowed agents to seize the painting, the attorney's office said.
|
f905fd03db274153aa3f6a45e1fc7055
|
Who benefits from his art restoration project?
|
[
"Concordia University and McGill University in Montreal, Canada, and Hebrew University in Jerusalem,"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Police in the Northern California town of Tracy are pursuing hundreds of possible leads in the disappearance of 8-year-old Sandra Cantu, a police spokesman said Wednesday.
Sandra Cantu, 8, disappeared on Friday, according to police in Tracy, California.
Police have received 477 tips since she disappeared Friday, 100 of them on Tuesday alone, Lt. Jeremy Watney of the Tracy Police Department told reporters.
"We're following up on all of them," he said. "It's extremely frustrating. We want her back safe. That's the bottom line.
"At this point, everything is still open."
Authorities Tuesday afternoon impounded and searched a car -- the fourth one to be seized -- that was parked near the mobile home park where Sandra lives and was last seen.
On Monday night, Tracy police and FBI agents searched six locations, some in the Orchard Estates Mobile Home Park and some in Tracy. All of the places were connected to two men who live in the mobile home park, officials said. Watch CNN report on Sandra's disappearance »
Authorities have not called the men suspects and have not named them publicly. They did not say how or if they might be related to the case.
On Friday afternoon, Sandra came home from school, kissed her mother and left to play with a friend who lives a couple of homes away. A short time later she left that home to go to another friend's home, a spokeswoman for her family said Tuesday.
The girl, who was wearing a pink Hello Kitty T-shirt and black leggings, has not been seen since, said the spokeswoman, Lisa Encarnacion.
Her parents reported her missing about 8 p.m. Friday.
Officials said surveillance camera footage recorded the girl playing in the park.
A dozen agencies are involved in the search. The number of searchers swelled over the weekend, and a similar effort is likely Saturday and Sunday, Watney said.
Police have said they doubt she ran away.
The mobile home park has fewer than 100 units. There are about 80 registered sex offenders living in a five-mile radius around it.
Tracy is about 60 miles east of San Francisco, California.
|
d493113a5b724f9299f7f3915c2d5afd
|
what did the police say
|
[
"\"It's extremely frustrating. We want her back safe. That's the bottom line."
] |
NewsQA
|
Paris (CNN) -- The French government backed off a claim that a certain type of silicone breast implant is linked to a rare form of cancer, but it will nonetheless pay for women to have them removed because of other risks.
Women with implants by a company called Poly Implant Prosthese (PIP) will not be required to get them removed, but they will be offered surgery to do so if concerned, the French Health Ministry said Friday.
The ministry says about 30,000 French women have PIP implants, which are not currently approved for use in the United States.
According to a news release from the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons, PIP is now defunct. It says the company "used non-medical grade silicone believed by the manufacturers to be made for mattresses."
The Ministry of Health turned to experts after the cancer fears arose and said that the feedback they received was that there is no increased cancer risk in women with PIP implants compared to other implants.
However, the ministry said in a statement, there are other established risks such as ruptures.
The French government agency that evaluates the safety of medical products says 523 women have had them removed since a defect was discovered last year.
More than 1,000 implants have ruptured since then, the agency says.
"These experts said that there is no link between cancer and ... PIP implant breasts. However, since there is a lot of ruptures, (concerns) are growing because the nature of the implant is no good," said Jean Yves Grall, the country's director of health.
François Godineau, director of social security, said it would cost the state up to 60 million euros (U.S. $73 million) if they paid for the removal of the PIP breast implants in France.
Of the 30,000 women who have the implants, 80% underwent the surgery for esthetic reasons, and 20% did so for reconstructive reasons, such as after breast cancer.
Under the state's offer, the women with the implants will be offered to have the implants removed, but it will not pay for new implants for those who had the surgery for esthetic reasons. Others would have new implants paid for.
CNN's Saskya Vandoorne contributed to this report.
|
894a5593b29b438192ec9e21afd7d4b6
|
where are the brands sold
|
[
"France."
] |
NewsQA
|
Beijing, China (CNN) -- Chinese officials blamed poor management and inadequate precautions for an explosion at a mine that killed 104 people, state-run media said Monday.
In addition to those killed, 60 miners remained hospitalized from Saturday's morning blast at the Xinxing coal mine in northeastern Heilongjiang province.
Most were being treated for injuries such as carbon monoxide poisoning and burns, CCTV reported. Six were in critical condition with severe burns.
Four other workers were still trapped underground in the mine shaft, the Xinhua news agency said.
The accident started with a gas leak in one of the shafts, officials said. But because of poor ventilation, gas poured into the main tunnel and triggered an explosion that shook 28 of the 30 mining platforms in operation.
About 530 miners were working in the mine at the time.
Luo Lin, head of the State Administration of Work Safety, told Xinhua that the mine's management was to blame for not evacuating workers when they detected a high gas density in the pit.
State regulations stipulate that miners have to evacuate if gas density exceeds 2 percent. The density in the pit was more than 10 percent, authorities said.
"The mine has too many mining platforms in operation and has sent to many workers down the pit to increase output," said Zhao Tiechui, deputy head of the work safety agency.
The mine is owned and operated by the Heilongjiang Longmei Mining Holding Group. Unlike most small- and mid-size collieries, Xinxing produces 12 million tons of coal a year.
The blast took place during a five-day inspection of work safety conditions in Hegang, local media said.
Immediately after the blast, the mine's director, deputy director and chief engineer were fired.
Mine accidents are common in China. Last year, 3,200 people were killed in such accidents, state media said.
The latest blast is the deadliest since December 2007, when 105 miners were killed in Shanxi province.
The deadliest mine blast took place in August 2007 when two collieries flooded in Shandong province, killing 181 miners, Xinhua said.
Chinese officials said they will pay at least 250,000 yuan ($36,600) to each of the families of the miners who died.
|
b4b09affbbfa43ffb79bf2705081fef1
|
What number of miners are still trapped?
|
[
"Four other workers were"
] |
NewsQA
|
SAN FRANCISCO, California (CNN) -- Steroid test results and notes and calendars from his then-trainer are among the evidence federal prosecutors have amassed in their perjury case against baseball home-run king Barry Bonds, according to documents unsealed Wednesday.
Barry Bonds, shown at his most recent court appearance, is accused of lying to a grand jury.
The 223-page stack of documents unsealed by a federal judge represents much of the government's case against Bonds, who is accused of obstructing justice and lying to a grand jury investigating the use of steroids in professional sports. Prosecutors say the test results show Bonds was using performance-enhancing substances -- including a then-undetectable designer drug -- at a time he denied knowingly using any.
Bonds' attorneys are seeking to keep much of that evidence out of court. The 44-year-old former San Francisco Giants slugger holds Major League Baseball's single-season and all-time home-run titles, but his achievements have been shadowed by allegations he used performance-enhancing drugs.
Bonds pleaded not guilty to the perjury and obstruction of justice charges and has been free on $500,000 bond. A hearing in the case is scheduled for Thursday.
The charges stem from his 2003 appearance before a federal grand jury probing the distribution of steroids by the San Francisco-area Bay Area Laboratory Cooperative, or BALCO. Bonds told the grand jury that his former personal trainer, Greg Anderson, gave him a cream that he said was flaxseed oil to use on his arm in 2003.
Anderson spent three months in prison after admitting distributing steroids and was later jailed for refusing to cooperate with prosecutors. The case against Bonds will include calendars kept by Anderson that prosecutors say were used to keep Bonds and other athletes on a doping regimen -- an assertion expected to be bolstered by the testimony of other athletes, they said.
Evidence will include a recording of a phone conversation with an associate in which Anderson "describes injecting the defendant, having the ability to obtain and utilize inside information about MLB's random drug testing to the defendant's benefit and the undetectable nature of what Anderson had been doing," according to documents.
Bonds won seven National League MVP titles during his 22-year career, 15 years of which was spent with the Giants. The team released him after the 2007 season, just weeks after he broke Hank Aaron's career home-run record.
|
09448437aea748d08e5b66b064c6e44a
|
whose attorney
|
[
"Barry Bonds,"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Hundreds of Cambodians packed a courtroom in Phnom Penh on Monday as three top Khmer Rouge leaders went on trial for their role during the bloody four-year regime in the mid-1970s.
The U.N.-backed Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia has scheduled four days of opening statements for the defendants, who are all in their 80s.
On trial are Ieng Sary, the former Khmer Rouge foreign minister; Khieu Samphon, the nominal head of state; and Nuon Chea, the prime minister, also known as Brother Number 2.
The head of the Khmer Rouge, Pol Pot, was known as Brother Number 1. He died in 1998, long before the U.N.-backed court came into existence.
A fourth defendant, Ieng Thirith, was ruled unfit to stand trial because she suffers from dementia and could be set free, prosecutor said. She is Sary's wife and served as the social affairs ministry during the regime.
Prosecutors have charged the defendants with crimes against humanity, grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions, genocide, homicide, torture and religious persecution.
Under Pol Pot's leadership, the Khmer Rouge regime was responsible for the deaths of millions of ordinary Cambodians during a four-year reign of terror that was eventually halted in 1979 by invading Vietnamese forces.
In 1975, the Khmer Rouge ordered people out of Phnom Penh, the capital, and other cities in Cambodia to work in the countryside.
It is said to be responsible for about 1.7 million deaths, roughly a quarter of the population at the time. Its stated aim was to create a Communist utopia, but instead the regime forced Cambodians into what has been described as a living hell.
Soldiers marched city-dwellers into the countryside and forced them to work as farm laborers. Those already living in rural Cambodia were expected to produce enough food for the country while teaching farming to those who had never done it before.
The regime abolished currency, and considered anyone with an education a threat. It did not allow modern medicine, and it isolated Cambodia to make it completely self-sufficient.
The results were disastrous: People died of starvation and disease as soldiers tortured and killed anyone suspected of being disloyal.
In the end, virtually everyone, including the soldiers, became a target due to the leadership's paranoia.
|
c29227e20c114a35b7142e17174f3207
|
how many people died during the red regime?
|
[
"about 1.7 million"
] |
NewsQA
|
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) -- Eight cadets and staff members were killed in Pakistan during an an eight-hour standoff Monday with gunmen who stormed a police training center in Lahore, said Gen. Athar Abbas, a military spokesman.
Police fire into the air after retaking the police training center in Lahore attacked by militants.
The militants had been holed up on the top floor of a three-story building, said Rehman Malik, the head of the country's Interior Ministry.
Security forces gained control of the first two floors and eventually made their way to the top, finally taking control of it and arresting the gunmen Monday afternoon.
Television pictures showed security forces firing into the air from the roof of the building after the firefight.
"The operation is over. Four terrorists were killed and three arrested," Interior Ministry Secretary Kamal Shah told Reuters. Malik and Abbas confirmed the figures.
Abbas added some of the dead militants blew themselves up.
The gang of seven gunmen stormed the academy in the Manawan area of the eastern Pakistani city, said Malik.
Abbas had previously said 30 people were killed. He cited the error on wrong information by his sources at the scene. Watch more about the attack »
At a news conference Monday night, Malik named the leader of the Pakistani Taliban, Baitullah Mehsud, and his followers as the prime suspect in organizing the attack. Mehsud is also accused of plotting the assassination of former PM Benazir Bhutto.
At least 78 people were wounded in the attack, authorities said.
Lahore is the same city where gunmen opened fire March 10 on a bus carrying members of the Sri Lankan national cricket team on their way to a stadium for a match. The well-coordinated attack wounded at least eight members of the team and killed a driver and six Pakistani police officers.
In Monday's incident, the attackers hurled grenades, then stormed the compound and opened fire while officers were taking part in their morning drill.
About 800 officers train at the facility, but authorities could not say exactly how many were inside at the time.
The attackers, some in police uniforms, took dozens of officers hostage, said Asim Rizwan, spokesman for governor of Punjab -- the province where Lahore is located.
Paramilitary forces and the army descended on the scene. Every few minutes, the gunmen detonated explosives or fired on reporters and police personnel outside, sending them scurrying for cover.
Angry onlookers pumped their fists in the air and cheered as police led away a suspect they had captured. He had on him a grenade and a knife, officials told CNN.
CNN's Reza Sayah contributed to this report.
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73aa8bf804974137bf146d1aed41605b
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where did this happen
|
[
"Pakistan"
] |
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|
New York (CNN) -- The young New York student whose tale of hard work and endurance in the face of homelessness has captured many hearts -- and whose recognition in the prestigious Intel science competition has already given her much to celebrate -- will be attending the president's State of the Union speech.
"Well, you know the SOTU attracts the most powerful people in the world, and I think Samantha can teach them a lesson in perseverance," New York Rep. Steve Israel said.
Israel, head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, has extended his plus one to Samantha Garvey, a 17-year-old homeless science superstar from Brentwood, New York.
Garvey was told last week at the shelter her family had been staying in that her study on the ribbed sea mussels of Long Island's salt marshes had earned her semifinalist recognition in Intel's science talent search and a potential $100,000 scholarship.
Two days later, after county officials heard Garvey's story, they announced that a three-bedroom home in Bellmore would be rented for the Garvey family as part of Suffolk County's affordable housing program.
The Garveys were living in a shelter after being kicked out of their home on New Year's Eve.
Israel called Garvey "an inspiration," and said he thought her presence would be an important influence on attendees of President Barack Obama's address on January 24.
"The same people that will praise Samantha with one hand might be the same people that will slash budgets for science and education on the other," Israel said.
Her story, he said, was one of staying steadfast in the face of adversity.
Israel said he had plans for himself and Garvey to meet with multiple White House officials before the speech.
The next day, Garvey will find out if she made it to the Intel finals.
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09327f08064144989a5a54ff138bf373
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Who was on the Intel semifinalist?
|
[
"Samantha Garvey,"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- As the NCAA basketball tournament kicks into gear this week, March Madness once again spreads out of arenas and into the workplace.
Diehard and fair-weather fans alike will take part in office pools, games will be streamed online, and smack will be talked around water coolers.
"People love Cinderellas," the come-from-behind stories, said Stewart Mandel, a senior writer for SI.com who covers basketball and football. "People love bragging when they pick something right."
Read Mandel's analysis of the brackets
And, amid all this game monitoring and chatter, some say productivity and earnings may take a hit, but others say the shared experience bolsters business.
The first week of the tournament -- when the most games are played during daytime hours -- could cost U.S. employers as much as $1.8 billion, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc., a global outplacement company in Chicago, Illiniois, that annually predicts the tournament's impact.
This blow to employers is based on surveys showing that 45 percent of Americans enter office pools and waste on average about 20 minutes a day focusing on basketball instead of work. Challenger, Gray & Christmas says that translates to more than 58 million employees.
Print your bracket (PDF)
"Employers can no longer claim to be caught off guard by the annual event," firm CEO John Challenger said in a written statement. "Some have tried to squash these pools, most simply ignore them and others have found ways to embrace the tournament as a team-building and morale-boosting opportunity."
But this figure on time and money lost seems "plucked out of thin air," said Don Forsyth, a psychologist who studies group dynamics in the workplace in the Jepson School of Leadership Studies at the University of Richmond in Virginia.
Who is to say how much time and money people waste each day on personal distractions, he asked. And maybe, he added, the employee who generally dreads going to work comes in energized because of the games.
Forsyth, who's been studying work dynamics for 30 years, said the shared experience of feeling the madness probably does the workplace good and leads to gains instead of losses.
"It's a powerful social process," he said. "It builds relationships and rituals within the group. Everyone is included," from the corner offices to the mailroom.
"People on the fringe get drawn in. It builds cohesion," he continued. "You'd pay an expert to come in to do that for your company. March Madness does it for free."
|
15f7ce35b24f4e7290f88a372ce7608b
|
What do other companies say?
|
[
"the shared experience bolsters business."
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Suspected Islamic insurgents fired mortar rounds at a plane carrying Somalia's transitional president, but no one -- including Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed -- was harmed, a presidential spokesman said.
Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, pictured late last month during a visit to France.
The attack happened while the plane was about to take off from Mogadishu's airport Sunday around 11 a.m. local time, spokesman Hussien Mohammed Huubsireb said.
"Al-Shaabab has actually tried to harm to president, but thank God nobody was hurt," Huubsireb said.
Al-Shaabab is an Islamic militia that is trying to seize control of Somalia. It is a splinter group of the Islamic Courts Union, which ousted Somalia's transitional government in 2006. The ICU was deposed in December of that year following Ethiopia's military invasion.
Bloody battles between Al-Shaabab and the Ethiopian-backed government forces in Mogadishu have forced residents to flee the capital.
More than 40,000 displaced civilians have taken shelter in dozens of makeshift settlements west of Mogadishu, described by the United Nations as "precarious conditions."
Sunday's mortar attack is the second assassination attempt on Ahmed. The president survived a car bombing in September 2006 outside Somalia's parliament in Baidoa that killed at least eight others.
Somalia's Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi has been more frequently targeted by the Islamic insurgents seeking to destabilize the government.
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 the better-equipped Ethiopian forces.
But the presence of the Ethiopians has united various Islamic militant groups in Somalia, including Al-Shaabab, who are trying to oust the Ethiopian forces and gain control of Mogadishu.
The United States classified Al-Shaabab as a terrorist organization in March, partly because of what Washington says is the group's close ties to Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda militant group.
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7076fd73dba34c96a5c6b748d0d8e2e2
|
Were there any injuries?
|
[
"no one"
] |
NewsQA
|
KAMPALA, Uganda (CNN) -- At least 21 people were killed and more than 80 others injured during three days of rioting here last week, a police spokeswoman said Monday.
Ugandan police ride past a burning barricade in the Natete suburb of Kampala on Friday.
Police spokeswoman Judith Nabakooba said 663 people had been arrested and 86 people had been injured.
President Yoweri Museveni is to address the violence in a speech to parliament slated for Tuesday afternoon.
Though the mood on the streets in the capital city was calm Monday, tensions between Museveni and the Buganda kingdom -- headed by King Ronald Mutebi II, the ruler of the Baganda tribe -- have intensified in recent years. They erupted into violence last Thursday, when the government said it would not allow the king to travel to an area inhabited by a renegade rival group.
Kings in the east African nation are limited to a ceremonial role overseeing traditional and cultural affairs. Government officials and the Buganda kingdom have been at odds for years, sparring over land, sovereignty and political power.
After the travel ban, mostly young Bagandans took to the streets, stealing ammunition from a police station and confronting officers, accusing them of harassment.
"The government is wrong to undermine cultural institutions, which are the backbone of Uganda's heritage," said Mzamiru Balidha, a resident of Kampala. "Cultural leaders must be left alone since they are not interfering in politics."
Rioters burned tires and cars, set buildings afire and looted stores. Streets in the capital were strewn with debris over the weekend, including torched cars and burned tires.
By Sunday, police and the army were patrolling deserted streets as residents tried to return to normalcy after the protests.
"I'm happy to see that there is peace now," said Harry Sagara of Kampala. "Now people can return to work."
A government official said Sunday that the two leaders have pledged to meet and address their differences.
"Both the central government and the king are still working out details of the meeting," said Daudi Migereko, the minister of parliamentary affairs.
In Washington, the U.S. State Department cautioned Americans in Uganda about the potential for more violent demonstrations this week.
"U.S. citizens should be aware that even peaceful gatherings and demonstrations can turn unexpectedly violent," the State Department travel alert states.
Bagandans are the dominant ethnic group and one of four ancient kingdoms in the nation.
Journalist Samson Ntale in Kampala, Uganda, contributed to this report.
|
a136ae8fbc7d4624ac1a1a1c5bbf4667
|
Who is going to address parliament on Monday?
|
[
"President Yoweri Museveni"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- The U.S. State Department said Sunday it was "deeply disturbed" at the deportation of 20 Uyghur asylum seekers from Cambodia back to China.
The deportation "will affect Cambodia's relationship with the U.S. and its international standing," said acting State Department spokesman Gordon Duguid in a statement.
It occurred on Saturday at the request of China, the U.S. said.
"The United States is deeply concerned about the welfare of these individuals, who had sought protection under international law," Duguid said.
"We are also deeply disturbed that the Cambodian government decided to forcibly remove the group without the benefit of a credible process for determining refugee status and without appropriate participation by the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees."
Kitty McKinsey, a coordinator with the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees agency in Asia, told CNN on Saturday that the refugees had been seeking asylum. China's northwestern region was wracked by ethnic violence between Han Chinese and Uyghur Muslims earlier this year, and the Uyghurs fled to Cambodia to escape the unrest.
McKinsey said the UNHCR considers the deportation a breach of international law, and Uyghur human rights activists have expressed concern about the move. The Uyghur American Association also expressed concern in a statement.
The 20 were held in handcuffs and leg shackles and were not given any food to eat on Friday, according to the association. They were part of a group of 22 Uyghurs seeking refuge in Cambodia, all of whom were under UNHCR protection when taken into custody.
"The United States strongly opposed Cambodia's involuntary return of these asylum seekers before their claims have been heard," the State Department said.
Duguid urged the Chinese government to "uphold international norms and to ensure transparency, due process and proper treatment of persons in its territory" now that the Uyghurs have been returned.
Cambodian and Chinese officials could not immediately be reached for a response. But a Cambodian state media outlet, Agence Kampuchea Presse, reported that Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping is to arrive in Cambodia on Sunday for a three-day visit.
|
3d496de9ff684e03aeeb582ede343837
|
How many Uyghurs where deported back to China?
|
[
"20"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Cuba will pardon more than 2,900 prisoners, the government said Friday, though U.S. subcontractor Alan Gross is not among those who will be freed.
The decision to release the prisoners follows "numerous requests" from their family members and religious institutions, and is a humanitarian gesture, said Cuban President Raul Castro.
Among those who might be freed are prisoners over the age of 60, along with those who are sick, female or young with no previous criminal record. With some exceptions, prisoners convicted of spying, terrorism, murder and drug trafficking will not be released.
Those who will be freed have already served a "important" part of their sentences and exhibited good behavior, according to an official statement published on the state-run website Cubadebate.
The jailed American, Gross, will not be among those pardoned, the Cuban Interests Section in Washington said.
Gross was jailed in December 2009, when he was working as a subcontractor on a U.S. Agency for International Development project aimed at spreading democracy. Castro has accused him of importing satellite equipment to connect dissidents to the Internet, and this year Cuba's highest court upheld the 15-year sentence imposed on Gross for committing crimes against the security of the state.
He has maintained his innocence and said he was trying to help connect the Jewish community to the Internet.
Castro, speaking to the National Assembly, said that 86 prisoners from 25 countries would be among those released in coming days.
He cited the upcoming visit of Pope Benedict XVI as one of the motivations behind the move, which he said showed the "generosity and strength of the revolution."
The pope has said he plans to visit Mexico and Cuba before Easter.
In 2010, Castro agreed to free prisoners arrested during the 2003 crackdown on political dissidents. The Caribbean nation has released many of them, as well as other prisoners jailed for "counterrevolutionary" activities, ranging from hijacking to arson.
CNN's Willie Lora contributed to this report.
|
38228609cdd04adabd53803eea6a3abd
|
Who won't get a pardon?
|
[
"Alan Gross"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Kazakh cyclist Alexander Vinokourov will be free to launch his competitive comeback before the end of next month following a Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruling in Switzerland on Tuesday.
Kazakh rider Vinokourov will be free to resume competitive cycling before the end of next month.
Vinokourov was originally suspended for one year by his federation (KCF) after the pre-race favorite was thrown out of the 2007 Tour de France for blood doping.
The International Cycling Union (UCI) disputed the length of the ban which should have been for two years under their rules.
Parties involved agreed the issue should go to arbitration and Vinokourov, who 'retired' after being banned, has now been told his ban will be for two years.
This year's Tour de France runs from July 4-26 while Vinokourov has been told by CAS he can resume competitive action two days before the race ends in Paris.
Vinokourov has said he wants to launch a comeback, preferably with Astana alongside Lance Armstrong and Alberto Contador.
"My dream would be to win the world championship and wear the rainbow shirt for my last year in 2010," he said last month.
Swiss-based CAS issued its preliminary decision in the arbitration between the UCI, Vinokourov and the KCF in a Web site statement on Tuesday
CAS said: "The decision adopted on 5 December 2007 by the Anti-Doping Commission of the Kazakhstan Cycling Federation is set aside.
"Mr Vinokurov committed an anti-doping rule violation under Articles 15.2 of the Anti-Doping Regulations of the Union Cycliste Internationale and, according to Articles 261, 268 and 275 of the Anti-Doping Regulations, is declared ineligible for a period of two years commencing on 24 July 2007.
"Mr Vinokurov will be eligible to compete in international competitions as of 24 July 2009."
|
7d8e972d569149dcb1dbdce3e18c0cab
|
Who was told his doping ban is for two years?
|
[
"Vinokourov,"
] |
NewsQA
|
KABUL, Afghanistan (CNN) -- Afghanistan is postponing its presidential elections until August 20 due to security and logistical concerns, the country's election commission said Thursday.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai's five-year term is coming to an end this year.
The balloting was originally scheduled for late May, but the independent election commission laid out several reasons for the delay.
Security is a factor, the commission said. It also cited a lack of trained staff, incomplete voter registration and the weather.
It is difficult to campaign or distribute ballots during the rough winter months in the rugged landscape.
The elections are a critical moment for Afghanistan as President Hamid Karzai's five-year term ends. He was elected in December 2004 in largely peaceful polling.
But since then, the Taliban militant movement has regrouped, international troop deaths have increased and there has been an increase in terror attacks, mostly in eastern and southern Afghanistan.
Afghanistan has already registered 3 million voters and is holding voter drives to register more.
The United States will deploy additional troops in coming months to provide much-needed security in the run-up to the election.
The country expects to hold parliamentary elections in 2010.
Meanwhile on Wednesday coalition forces fighting in southern Afghanistan killed four militants, the U.S. military said.
Coalition soldiers were targeting a Taliban leader in the Zabul province when militants fired on them, according to a military statement. Soldiers returned fire, killing the four militants. Soldiers then searched their compound and confiscated several assault rifles.
This operation comes as the U.S. military is contemplating adding three brigades to the war effort in Afghanistan.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Tuesday that the troop build up could happen by this summer.
CNN's Atia Abawi contributed to this report
|
9e10b92136634bacb2fcf11233300584
|
Whose five year term is ending?
|
[
"Afghan President Hamid Karzai's"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Britain's Amir Khan has lost his International Boxing Federation (IBF) and World Boxing Association (WBA) world light-welterweight titles after a controversial split points decision defeat to American Lamont Peterson in their showdown at the Washington Convention Center.
Khan was given the fight 115-110 on one of the judge's scorecards. However, the other two judges awarded local fighter Peterson the decision by scores of 113-112, enough for Khan to lose his belts.
The result proved contentious with referee Joe Cooper twice deducting Khan a point for pushing, in the seventh and 12th rounds, decisions that ultimately turned the fight in Peterson's favor.
A stunned Khan was clearly frustrated with the decision, saying in his post-fight interview: "It was like I was fighting two people in the ring, the referee and Lamont.
"I can see why there hasn't been a big fight in Washington in the last 20 years, because of decisions like this," added 25-year-old Khan -- who suffered only his second defeat from 28 professional bouts.
Meanwhile, Peterson, who improved to 30-1-1 after his win, said: "A lot of people thought I was the underdog but I followed my game plan the entire time and it worked.
"It was a long road but all the hard work paid off for me and it couldn't have been a better night."
Khan dominated the early stages of the fight, knocking down the challenger with a fierce right hand with just 28 seconds remaining of the opening round.
However, the fight began to harder to call as it progressed, and the moment when Khan was deducted a point for repeated pushing with his left forearm in round seven proved pivotal.
"Every time I tried to keep him away from me he kept coming in low," Khan continued. "I was the cleaner fighter. He was either going to head butt me or push me all night and the referee wasn't giving me a chance."
|
d3f55c1a5fbd4254a1883d33911b45b0
|
who defeated the british champion
|
[
"Lamont Peterson"
] |
NewsQA
|
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Food and Drug Administration approved a second vaccine intended to protect against cervical cancer.
GlaxoSmithKline has manufactured a vaccine for the prevention of cervical cancer.
Cervarix, manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline, was approved Friday for prevention of cervical cancer and pre-cancerous lesions caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) types 16 and 18.
The vaccine is approved for use in girls and women ages 10 to 25 years and is to be administered in three doses. After the initial shot, the second and third doses are to be given within six months.
"The licensure of Cervarix adds another option in the prevention of cervical cancer," said Dr. Karen Midthun, acting director of the FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. "It has the potential to save lives from cervical cancer as well as reduce the need for biopsies and invasive procedures associated with the necessary follow-up from abnormal Pap tests."
According to GlaxoSmithKline, the vaccine is 70 percent effective against pre-cancerous lesions, regardless of HPV type.
"The vaccine contains two HPV types (16 & 18) responsible for the majority of cervical cancers in North America," said Sarah Alspach, a GlaxoSmithKline spokeswoman. "But approximately 25 percent of cervical cancers are caused by other cancer-causing HPV types. Cervarix has been shown to reduce the incidence of pre-cancers resulting from cancer-causing virus types beyond 16 and 18."
The vaccine will be available this year, according to GSK, which did not divulge the price.
Cervarix will be competing with Merck & Company's Gardasil, the first cervical cancer vaccine, which won FDA approval in June 2006. Gardasil, for girls and women ages 9 to 26, prevents against cervical, vulvar and vaginal cancers and protects against HPV types 11, 16 and 18.
Gardasil's approval has been broadened by the FDA to include an indication for boys and young men ages 9 through 26 for prevention of genital warts caused by HPV types 6 and 11.
"This vaccine is the first preventive therapy against genital warts in boys and men ages 9 through 26, and, as a result, fewer men will need to undergo treatment for genital warts." Midthun said.
According to the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention, HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the nation.
More than 40 types of HPV can infect genital areas, according to the disease agency. But because many of them are not visible to the naked eye, most people who become infected don't know it.
|
f3ffe35548364ac99820bfdf3ac766c2
|
What is designed to prevent cervical cancer?
|
[
"vaccine"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Authorities in South Dakota and Nebraska on Friday suspended a search for a missing Nebraska family after a relative told authorities he spoke to his kin and said they are doing well.
The Schade family of Creighton, Nebraska, is not missing, a relative says.
Law officers still don't exactly know the location of Matthew Schade of Creighton, Nebraska; his wife Rowena, and their two children -- a daughter, 11, and a son, 8.
But authorities think they might be in Nebraska because officials received a tip that a brush truck they suspect the couple stole from a volunteer fire department in South Dakota has been found abandoned in Antelope County, Nebraska. A brush truck is a type of small fire truck.
The family was last seen on March 20 in Knox County, where Creighton is located. Knox Sheriff James Janecek said the family had gone missing after an officer went to their house on a domestic abuse complaint.
Matthew Schade had been on probation for burglary and is wanted for violation of probation and failure to report a change of address, Antelope County Attorney Michael Long told CNN.
Schade's father, Chet Schade, contacted the Knox sheriff's office on Thursday afternoon. He confirmed he had spoken with all four family members and said they were alive and well.
The Knox County sheriff's office is urging the couple "to contact authorities immediately to resolve the situation."
"They could only help themselves by giving us a call," Janecek said.
Searchers had been searching for the family in South Dakota's Black Hills until it was determined the couple possibly made their way back to Nebraska.
"The investigation clearly shows the Schade family is no longer in the Black Hills area," said the sheriff's office in Pennington County, South Dakota.
Investigators think the Schades might have gone camping on U.S. Forest Service property in the Black Hills. Schade had visited the area in the past, and law officers found the family's Ford Taurus on Tuesday in Silver City, South Dakota.
CNN's Kara Devlin and Joe Sterling contributed to this report.
|
07212984c033402f8857322b50ff7ba7
|
when does this take place
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[
"Friday"
] |
NewsQA
|
(WIRED) -- Say hello to your latest personal navigation device: a netbook. Dell plans to introduce a GPS and Wi-Fi card that can be integrated into the company's netbooks to turn them into gizmos that can offer turn-by-turn direction as well as any Garmin or TomTom.
Dell will introduce a GPS and Wi-Fi card that can be added to its netbooks to offer turn-by-turn direction.
"Smartphones already have GPS capabilities," says Alan Sicher, senior wireless product manager at Dell. "We are now bringing it to netbooks so the devices know where you are and can help you where you want to go."
Customers will have the option to buy the $69 card called the Wireless 700 when ordering their Dell Mini 10 netbook.
Dell's move comes at a time when navigation devices makers are looking beyond the traditional standalone GPS gadget and are offering their software on other devices.
Last month, TomTom announced that its turn-by-turn directions app would be available on the iPhone. TomTom will also offer accessories such as a car mounting dock and power charger. Meanwhile, Dell is hoping to capitalize on the explosive sales of netbooks.
Dell netbooks with the integrated GPS cards will allow consumers to pop open a netbook and get directions and also also make their netbook location aware. For instance, buyers can geo-tag photos on Flickr or check weather information customized to their current location. The Wireless 700 card combines Broadcom's GPS technology and Skyhook Wireless' Wi-Fi positioning solutions.
As for the navigation software, it offers 2D and 3D map views, save addresses for a trip and route optimization-- pretty much all the things that a standard GPS devices does.
Netbooks are petite devices. Still, it is difficult to imagine consumers carrying it around as a GPS navigation device or using it their car to find their way around--especially when smaller-sized cellphones could do the job.
Sicher says Dell's GPS-capable netbooks will come in handy for international travelers. "If you are traveling to Europe roaming costs can be pretty pricey for your cellphone," he says.
The GPS netbooks could also be handy in areas where cellphone coverage is weak, says Sicher. But there's fine print to the turn-by-turn directions navigation software on the netbook. Though it will be free for buyers of the card and the netbook, the maps will be updated yearly and customers could be charged for the updates.
Dell plans to offer accessories such as car charger and a dock for the netbooks, but they won't be available until later this month. The GPS cards will be available starting July 7.
Subscribe to WIRED magazine for less than $1 an issue and get a FREE GIFT! Click here!
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a99bd349678042349abe3f8289ea16b4
|
Who will introduce a GPS and Wi-Fi card?
|
[
"Dell"
] |
NewsQA
|
ROME, Italy (CNN) -- The Italian capital Rome was spared major damage Saturday as some of the heaviest flooding in the past century reached its peak without bursting the banks of the Tiber river.
A rescue boat patrols the swollen River Tiber in central Rome early Friday.
Italian Civil Protection officials said the river will take several days to return to normal levels but there was no longer a risk of flooding.
Civil Protection teams were also coordinating the removal of two barges that crashed against bridges after breaking their moorings on Friday.
Italian media report that last night a young man from Ireland fell in the Tiber, but his body has not been found yet.
Hundreds of volunteers and officials had been deployed around Rome ahead of the flood's peak, while sandbags were lined up to contain any possible river overflow.
Firefighters Thursday had to rescue dozens of motorists stranded in their cars. Because of the intense rain, the streets of some northern Rome neighborhoods were already flooded by water and covered in thick brown mud.
One woman died near Rome early Thursday when her car was submerged by a wave of water and mud in an underpass. The body of a second victim was found in the southern region of Calabria after a bridge collapsed.
Earlier this month, much of the Italian city of Venice was underwater as some of the heaviest floods for several decades burst the city's famed canal networks and inundated historic landmarks such as St. Mark's Square.
|
32b9b32c3d614dd2be5b2dc3815c8a07
|
where was the flood?
|
[
"Rome"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- A man described as a former employee shot and killed two people and seriously wounded another at a Baton Rouge, Louisiana, construction company before workers wrestled him to the ground, sheriff's officials said.
Dianna Tullier, 44, of Walker, Louisiana, and Cheryl D. Boykin, 55, of Denham Springs, Louisiana were pronounced dead at the scene, officials said. They were both clerical workers in the construction office.
The suspect, identified as Richard Matthews, 53, of Slaughter, Louisiana, parked outside Grady Crawford Construction Co. shortly before 2 p.m. and entered a building, where he shot a female dispatcher, said Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office Public Information Officer Casey Rayborn Hicks.
Hicks said Matthews then went into a second company building and killed two people inside.
Matthews left the second building to reload his weapon, Hicks said. He re-entered that building, shot at and missed a fourth person, Hicks said.
Four people then wrestled Matthews to the ground. One of them, a foreman at the construction company, put his finger between Matthews' finger and the trigger guard of Matthews' gun, stopping the gunman from shooting, Hicks said.
The four people held Matthews down until police arrived.
Matthews was transported to the sheriff's office in downtown Baton Rouge, Hicks said, and was being questioned.
Hicks said police are uncertain if Matthews has prior arrests, mental health or substance abuse issues.
Matthews will be booked on two counts of first degree murder and two counts of attempted murder, Hicks said.
As he was escorted in for questioning, in response to a reporter's question about the shooting, the Matthews replied numerous times: "I couldn't get my unemployment, they wouldn't give me my unemployment."
CNN's Shawn Nottingham contributed to this report.
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d67ed83599e0456884f866fa40ab3822
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Who was the suspect?
|
[
"Richard Matthews,"
] |
NewsQA
|
MEXICO CITY (CNN) -- A moderately strong earthquake rocked Mexico City on Friday afternoon, shaking the earth in the sprawling capital.
People in Mexico City stream into the street as a magnitude 5.7 earthquake hits.
The U.S. Geological Survey measured the quake at magnitude 5.7, and placed the epicenter near the city of Puebla, about 85 miles southeast of Mexico City. It hit at 2:24 p.m. local time.
The Mexican seismological service measured the quake at 5.9.
People in the city reported the earth and buildings shaking. Thousands of panicked people streamed into the streets as stopped cars snarled traffic. Parts of the city were without electricity Friday afternoon but there were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.
Earthquakes are a frightening experience for the 20 million residents of Mexico City, where thousands of people perished in a massive quake in 1985. The city, built on volcanic ash and clay, is particularly vulnerable to temblors.
Aldo Pontecorvo of the humanitarian agency World Vision said the shaking lasted about 20 seconds. It came out of nowhere and "without any warning," said Pontecorvo, who said he was in his office when the quake struck.
Earlier this month, a moderate earthquake was measured off the coast of Mexico's western Baja California peninsula.
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046a6237b6744d69a7c47151ad0c8463
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Where were thounsand killed
|
[
"Mexico City,"
] |
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|
London, England (CNN) -- A letter written by Adolf Hitler in 1931 hoping for a "truly cordial relationship" between Britain and Germany goes on sale Tuesday and is estimated to fetch up to £12,000 at auction.
The one-page letter was addressed to Sefton Delmer, a British journalist, in which Hitler expressed hopes of a new friendship between the two countries to replace the "unhappy war-psychosis" that existed after the First World War:
Hitler wrote the letter 16 months before he became chancellor and seized power in 1933.
In the letter he said: "I hope... that out of this crisis a new readiness will grow up in Britain to submit the past twelve years to a reappraisal. I should be happy, if as a result of this the unhappy war-psychosis could be overcome on such a scale as to permit the realization of the truly cordial relationship between the British and the German peoples so eagerly desired by myself and my movement.
"For I believe that the crisis now breaking in on us can only be solved by the closest political collaboration of those nations who see in the re-establishment of a natural European balance of power the first precondition to dealing with those great world problems under which Britain too suffers today."
Andrew Roberts, the British military and political historian, said the letter was a classic example of Hitler trying to lull Western democracies into a state of appeasement.
Roberts said Hitler was saying there were underlying interests between Britain and Germany and that he wrote many such letters.
"He refers to 12 years which would make it 1919, the year the Versailles Treaty was signed... appeasement was his central message until the outbreak of war. Sefton Delmer would not have been taken in by any of this," said Roberts.
Auctioneers at Bonhams in London said the letter has remained in Delmer's family until now but they could not release the name of the person selling it.
Delmer was the Berlin correspondent of the Daily Express at the time when Hitler wrote the letter. He was born in Berlin and spent the first 15 years of his life there before his family were expatriated to the UK.
He is reported to be the first British journalist to interview Hitler, who he later described as a rather ordinary looking man with hair that had been arranged too carefully.
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05e7b3c84147495a99b44c1f7f1caa61
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When did Hitler seise power?
|
[
"1933."
] |
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|
ATHENS, Greece (CNN) -- Thousands of youths demonstrated in central Athens Friday as anger flared in the Greek capital following the shooting of another teenager.
High school students protest in front of their school in the western Athens suburb of Peristeri.
A group of youths targeted the French Institute, a language and cultural institute, and police scrambled to the scene to contain the incident.
The situation began heating up during a protest rally Thursday that followed the bizarre shooting of a high school student in an Athens suburb earlier this week.
The 17-year-old was hit in the hand by an unknown assailant as he was talking to a group of schoolmates in the western suburb of Peristeri. Initial police reports showed the student -- the son of a leading trade unionist -- was hit with a .38-caliber handgun.
Police said no officers were patrolling the region at the time of the incident.
The mysterious shooting has enflamed widespread student anger over the fatal police shooting of a 15-year-old boy December 6, which sparked Greece's worst riots in decades. Watch more about the flare-up of protests »
Students rallied Friday in response to the shooting of the 17-year-old. One of the rallies was planned for central Athens; the other in the suburb where the student was shot.
Later in the day, scores of artists are scheduled to gather in central Athens to stage a protest concert in response to the initial shooting of 15-year-old Alexandros Grigoropoulos.
Daily protests since the December 6 shooting, including riots, have thrown Greece into turmoil and have become a simmering anger about the conservative government's handling of the economy, education, and jobs.
A string of labor unions called on workers to march on Parliament Friday to protest the voting of the 2009 state budget, which calls for additional belt-tightening measures in response to the global financial crisis.
Student unions were also gathering to across the country to determine their course of action for the next few weeks.
At least 800 high schools and 200 universities remain shut as thousands of youths have seized the grounds and campuses in protest.
The unrest is threatening the government's hold on power, with some opposition groups calling for fresh elections. Stores and international businesses have been attacked, and at least 280 people have been detained by police. Of that total, 176 were arrested, 130 of them for looting.
Of the two officers involved in the death of the 15-year-old, one is charged with premeditated manslaughter and the other with acting as an accomplice.
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de3d3e867e064be5b702318d2cbc4578
|
Who did the police kill?
|
[
"Alexandros Grigoropoulos."
] |
NewsQA
|
LONDON, England -- UEFA banned Poland's Legia Warsaw from European competition for two seasons on Wednesday in response to "ugly and shocking" crowd scenes during an Intertoto Cup match.
Police horses have to disperse the crowd during Sunday's unsavory scenes.
UEFA's Control and Disciplinary Body announced that Legia would be thrown out of this season's competition and also barred from an additional European campaign should they qualify within the next five years.
Legia were trailing 2-0 away to Lithuanian team Vetra Vilnius in Sunday's second round, first leg match when Polish fans embarked on a halftime rampage, attacking police with metal bars and stones and causing damage to the stadium.
European football's governing body said the abandoned match would be turned into a 3-0 victory for Vetra who will go on to face English side Blackburn Rovers in the third round.
Legia have also been ordered by to arrange compensation with Vetra in regard to the stadium damage.
Although Legia have promised to crack down on fans involved in Sunday's violence, the disciplinary body noted that this was not the first time it had dealt with the Polish club.
The latest incidents occurred just 10 weeks after Poland were awarded the right by UEFA to co-host the 2012 European championship finals with Ukraine.
"Legia must react quickly and firmly if the club wishes to participate in UEFA competition in future," the disciplinary body concluded.
"With Legia's considerable disciplinary record for away matches, the duty of playing matches against Legia becomes a tall order that UEFA cannot afford to support any longer."
The club has until Saturday to appeal against the UEFA decision. E-mail to a friend
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caba15b041dc460fb66898be61042ff0
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Who gave Legia a year's suspension?
|
[
"UEFA's Control and Disciplinary Body"
] |
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(CNN) -- Former Philippine President Corazon Aquino, whose "People Power" movement pushed out longtime strongman Ferdinand Marcos less than three years after her husband's assassination, has died at age 76, her family announced Saturday.
"She was the agent of change in Philippine democracy," said Ray Donato, the nation's consul-general in Atlanta.
Aquino, the first woman to lead the Philippines, had been battling colon cancer since March 2008 and died of cardio-respiratory arrest at 3:18 a.m. Saturday (3:18 p.m. Friday ET), said Mai Mislang, a spokeswoman for her son, Philippine Sen. Benigno Aquino III.
Funeral arrangements were being set up, Mislang said. Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has also announced a 10-day mourning period for the former president, said Ray Donato, the country's consul-general in Atlanta.
"She was the agent of change in Philippine democracy, and almost all the Filipinos I know revered her during her presidency," Donato said.
Aquino had been born into a wealthy family and was educated in the United States. She had not been involved in politics before her husband, opposition leader Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr., was gunned down at Manila's airport in August 1983 as he returned from exile.
The political novice took over the leadership of her husband's movement after his death and challenged Marcos in a 1986 election, making a yellow dress her trademark and bolstered by the support of the country's Roman Catholic churches.
Marcos had been backed by the United States, the former colonial power in the Philippines, for two decades as a stalwart anti-communist. He and his wife Imelda were friends of then-President Ronald Reagan and his wife, Nancy. But widespread allegations of electoral fraud and a mutiny by the country's military led the Reagan administration to withdraw its support, and Marcos went into exile in Hawaii.
Aquino took office in a country with a $28 billion debt, widespread poverty and a persistent Marxist insurgency. She put in place a U.S.-style constitution that limited presidents to a single six-year term and survived seven coup attempts -- including one that was supressed with American help.
She also oversaw the closure of the major U.S. military bases in the country before leaving office in 1992. The bases had been a bulwark of American power in the Pacific since the early 1900s and employed nearly 80,000 Filipinos, but Aquino's opponents argued the country was too dependent on the United States. Aquino announced in 1990 that it was time to begin negotiating the "orderly withdrawal" of U.S. forces.
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5ea09ad9433c49faa831ad1b3bae2c31
|
How long is the morning period?
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[
"10-day"
] |
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|
Mojave, California (CNN) -- Billionaire entrepreneur Richard Branson on Monday unveiled the winged rocket his company developed to give paying customers a brief taste of space.
The 300 people who have given Branson's Virgin Galactic $20,000 deposits toward the $200,000 space-ride tickets were invited see SpaceShipTwo in its Mojave, California, hangar. CNN was given an early peek.
The first flight in 2011 -- after 18 months of testing -- will launch from a spaceport under construction in New Mexico, Branson said.
Another aircraft will carry the 60-foot-long SpaceShipTwo to 60,000 feet above the Earth, where "they will drop away and they will then go to 2,000 miles per hour in 10 seconds, where they get propelled into space," Branson said.
Its hybrid rocket motor -- still under development -- will reach a suborbital altitude high enough to reach the edges of space and weightlessness, according to Branson.
"Once in space, [passengers] will unbuckle their seats," he said. "There are enormous windows, which no spacecraft has had before, for them to look back at the Earth. They can float around and become astronauts."
The cabin, which seats six paying passengers, is 90 inches -- nearly 8 feet -- in diameter, which provides "lots of room for zero-G fun," Branson's Web site said.
The first voyage will carry Branson, his wife, mother and children, the entrepreneur said. "Actually, that's my mum on the side -- a younger version of my mum on the side of the spaceship," he said.
After just a few minutes of space tourism, SpaceShipTwo will glide back to Earth, landing where it began the trip in New Mexico, he said.
About 80,000 people have placed their names on the waiting list for seats on SpaceShipTwo and its successors.
"What we want to be able to do is bring space travel down to a price range where hundreds of thousands of people would be able to experience space, and they never dreamed that [they] could," Branson said.
He said he hopes the technology will lead to a new form of Earth travel, jetting people across oceans and continents faster through suborbital routes.
"We would love at some stage, obviously subject to government approval, to take the engineers and start looking at shrinking the world," Branson said.
The spacecraft was based on the technology and carbon-composite construction developed for SpaceShipOne, which won the Ansari X Prize in 2004 for the first privately funded human flight to the edge of space.
The reusable spacecraft is a joint effort by aviation designer Burt Rutan's Scaled Composites and Virgin Galactic, a space tourism venture that is a subsidiary of Branson's Virgin Group.
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f6cc6d3560444ad280010d5ebc9a00bc
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What does Branson say about first flight?
|
[
"will launch from a spaceport under construction in New Mexico,"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Authorities in Azerbaijan recently uncovered a radical Islamic terror plot against the U.S. Embassy in the capital, Baku, prompting the facility to close its doors to the public Monday, Azerbaijan and U.S. officials told CNN.
The Bibi Heybat Mosque, just outside the capital Baku.
As a precaution, Britain also shut its embassy in Baku to the public on Monday "following security concerns nearby," Britain's Foreign Office said.
The terror plot was unraveled after a weekend raid outside Baku that netted several suspected members of the radical group, two U.S. officials who asked not to be identified and a spokesman for Azerbaijan's National Security Ministry told CNN.
U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack stressed that the details "are still unfolding," and the threat "may or may not be" linked to the Saturday raid.
"There were some specific and credible threat information concerning the embassy and plans by militants to in some way do harm to individuals in and around the U.S. Embassy there," McCormack said, noting that no specific individuals were targeted.
Several days ago, an Azerbaijani army officer who had connections to a radical Islamic group seized four assault rifles, a machine gun and 20 hand grenades from his military unit and hid them in the outskirts of Baku, the ministry spokesman and U.S. officials said.
Government security forces tracked down the group and arrested several members during a sweep on Saturday in the village of Mastaga, about 20 miles (32 km) northeast of Baku, the spokesman said.
One suspected member of the militant group resisted arrest and was killed in the sweep, the spokesman said. Several others are still at large, he added.
He said the terror plot also targeted Azerbaijani government buildings.
The U.S. Embassy in Baku issued a warden message warning Americans in Azerbaijan to take precautions.
"While there is no information at this time that other American or Western interests in Azerbaijan are being targeted, the U.S. Embassy encourages Americans to maintain a high level of vigilance and take appropriate steps to bolster their own personal security," it said.
Azerbaijan is a former Soviet republic that borders the Caspian Sea, and lies just north of Iran.
McCormack said U.S. authorities are working closely with their counterparts in Baku and will determine when normal embassy operations will resume. He said he expects the embassy to limit its operations on Tuesday, as well. E-mail to a friend
CNN's Igor Malakhov in Moscow, Zain Verjee in Washington and Roger Clark in London contributed to this report
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361e162975f640e2b605e3b33a8336dd
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What was the US response?
|
[
"encourages Americans to maintain a high level of vigilance"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Battling blustery weather, a Lufthansa Airlines flight scraped its wing on the ground during a landing attempt in Hamburg, Germany, over the weekend.
Internet footage of the Lufthansa A320 as it attempts a landing Saturday at Hamburg, Germany.
The plane recovered and landed safely the second time around, the spokesman said.
Dramatic amateur video of the incident that appeared on the Internet showed the Airbus A320 teetering as it tried to land during the brutal winter storm on Saturday.
As it nears the tarmac, one wing visible scrapes the ground. Watch the plane try to land as a passenger describes experience »
"As we were about to touch down, a gust of wind pressed the left wing towards the ground," a Lufthansa pilot identified only as Oliver A. said in a statement.
"We pulled up immediately. A maneuver we practice in training very often."
The airline said the pilot has been flying for Lufthansa for 17 years. Watch as plane avoids crash » Airline spokesman Wolfgang Weber said the left winglet, a fin at the end of the wing scraped the ground after a gust of wind tipped the plane. Damage to the plane was minimal and not structural. He said the plane is already back in service.
• Were you on board? Send us an iReport E-mail to a friend
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2dbbba0dbe124cbf82b6ce6233e4dcb7
|
What was the video about
|
[
"the Lufthansa A320 as it attempts a landing"
] |
NewsQA
|
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Sunday night's "2009 MTV Video Music Awards" will feature a personal tribute from Janet Jackson to her late brother, MTV said.
Michael Jackson receives the Legend Award during the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards.
Michael Jackson fans also will get their first peek during the MTV show at the behind-the-scenes documentary of the pop star's final three months, the network said.
MTV announced this week that Janet Jackson "will help open" its video music awards show Sunday night with a tribute to her brother. No other details about her "special appearance" were released.
The trailer for the upcoming documentary "Michael Jackson: This Is It" will also debut on the MTV show.
It comes a month after concert promoter AEG Live handed over to Sony Pictures about 100 hours of video captured between April and June, when Jackson was preparing for his concert comeback.
Fans who miss the MTV show, which will air live at 9 p.m. ET Sunday at New York's Radio City Music Hall, can preview the documentary online at www.thisisit-movie.com beginning Sunday night, the network said. See guests arrive to awards show »
British comedian Russell Brand will return to host Sunday's Video Music Awards for the second straight year.
It will be the first time the awards show has aired from New York since 2006.
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a94fde070c394e7783feea13d54349ff
|
When does the live show air?
|
[
"9 p.m. ET Sunday"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Debra Lafave, the former Florida middle school teacher convicted of having sex with a student, violated her probation by hugging a young co-worker, a Florida judge found Thursday.
Debra Lafave was arrested after talking with a teenager. She is not allowed to have contact with anyone under 18.
But the judge did not send Lafave to jail, saying the violation was "not willful and substantial."
"Please don't come back," he scolded.
Dressed in a tailored, black pantsuit, Lafave said she had "innocent" physical contact with a female co-worker she knew as under age 18. Watch Lafave in the courtroom »
At the time, she and the 17-year-old hostess worked at Danny Boy's, a small restaurant in the Tampa, Florida, area.
Lafave, 27, pleaded guilty in November 2005 to having sex with a 14-year-old boy and was sentenced to three years under house arrest and seven years of probation.
Lafave was required to register as a sex offender and ordered not to have any contact with minors. A tracking device she carries as part of her probation went off in court, prompting the prosecutor to observe, "I think she's accounted for."
Lafave acknowledged she was aware that hugs and other forms of physical contact -- as well as conversations about sex -- with minors violated terms of her probation. She referred to the sexually explicit conversations at work as just "girl talk."
Lafave denied talking about her sex life with co-workers. "I don't speak that way about my personal life," she said. But she added that her co-workers spoke freely about sex in a "small group setting."
While other co-workers socialized outside work, Lafave said, the 17-year-old was not included in those outings.
Asked why she hugged the young co-worker, Lafave explained it was a small restaurant with a casual atmosphere where co-workers felt like family. The contact came, she said, "out of my good nature, that's the way it worked."
The contacts that led to Thursday's probation violation hearing first surfaced during two polygraph tests administered as part of Lafave's court-ordered supervision.
She received a verbal reprimand a year ago, according to testimony. When the behavior continued, her probation officer asked a judge to find her in violation.
She was ordered to quit the restaurant job and now works as a receptionist in her mother's beauty shop.
In the past, Lafave has said she suffers from bipolar disorder and is receiving treatment. E-mail to a friend
|
d51f31b721be440987b2052631d4b33a
|
What is Debra Lafave's occupation?
|
[
"middle school teacher"
] |
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|
(CNN) -- The Colorado couple who said their 6-year-old son was aboard an escaped balloon pleaded guilty Friday to charges related to the well-publicized "balloon boy" case.
Richard Heene pleaded guilty in Larimer County Court to a felony charge of attempting to influence a public servant. His wife, Mayumi Heene, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of false reporting to authorities.
The Heenes' attorneys said prosecutors had agreed to a sentence of probation with the possibility of up to 90 days in jail for Richard Heene and up to 60 days in jail for his wife.
The incident occurred in October, when a large silver balloon came loose from its moorings in the Heenes' yard and drifted over eastern Colorado. Mayumi Heene called 911 and said the couple's 6-year-old son, Falcon, was inside the craft.
Millions of people across the country watched the saga on television for nearly two hours as military aircraft tracked the balloon in the air and rescuers chased it below.
Mayumi Heene later admitted the whole thing was a hoax and that Falcon was safe in their home the whole time, authorities said.
Watch the moment the hoax was revealed
The couple's attorneys have said that the threat of Mayumi Heene's deportation was a factor in the plea deal negotiations.
Mayumi Heene is a Japanese citizen but is in the United States legally.
"Even though Mr. Heene would have a triable case, I believe, to avoid the risk that his wife is deported ... we have decided that the best course of action is to proceed as we are proceeding," Richard Heene's lawyer, David Lane, said Friday.
The judge is allowing the Heenes to leave the state while they remain on bond. Lane said Richard Heene is going to seek employment in New York and also has plans to go to California. Mayumi Heene's attorney said she may accompany him on those trips.
Sentencing will be next month.
Court documents released last month said the couple hatched the plan about two weeks before the incident and "instructed their three children to lie to authorities as well as the media regarding this hoax."
Their motive? To "make the Heene family more marketable for future media interests," the documents said.
|
eb6f1953b85d48669463e4118f98e640
|
What did Richard Heene plead guilty to?
|
[
"a felony charge of attempting"
] |
NewsQA
|
NEW YORK (CNN) -- A man who allegedly set off a small bomb at a Starbucks coffee shop was arrested after he made the mistake of bragging about his exploit to friends, police said Wednesday.
An NYPD officer stands guard outside a Starbucks where a bomb went off on Memorial Day.
New York City Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly told reporters that Kyle Shaw, 17, was arrested Tuesday night at his Manhattan apartment after a police investigation revealed that he bragged to his friends about planting the explosive outside an Upper East Side Starbucks on May 25.
Shaw allegedly told his friends prior to the explosion that "Project Mayhem" was about to begin, Kelly said, and that they should watch the news on Memorial Day.
Shaw was a fan of the movie "Fight Club" and imitated Brad Pitt's character from the film, the police commissioner said -- although he apparently failed to adhere to Pitt's famous line in the film: "The first rule of Fight Club is, you do not talk about Fight Club." The movie, released in 1999, also includes a scene in which a Starbucks is destroyed.
Kelly said there is no evidence at this time to suggest that Shaw was behind other recent small explosions in the city, such as the bombings at the Times Square Army recruiting center and the Mexican consulate.
Shaw made the small explosive out of a plastic bottle, firework powder, a metal cap and electrical tape, Kelly said.
The blast, at 3:30 a.m. on Memorial Day, damaged a nearby bench and shattered the store's windows, the commissioner said.
No one was injured in the explosion, but the bomb was powerful enough to have caused serious injuries if anyone had been nearby, Kelly said.
Shaw has been charged with arson, criminal possession of a weapon and criminal mischief, he added.
|
cc8e7b6a94d04eaba21b140ac53c108a
|
Is the suspect a fan of violent movies?
|
[
"Shaw was a fan of the movie \"Fight Club\""
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- A Swedish wrestler who discarded his bronze medal in a protest during the presentation ceremony has been stripped of the award and disqualified from the tournament in Beijing.
A disgruntled Abrahamian drops his bronze medal before leaving the arena during the presentation ceremony.
The International Olympic Committee said it was also officially disqualifying Ara Abrahamian, 35, from his event, Greco-Roman wrestling.
Abrahamian was beaten in the 84-kilogram class by eventual gold medal winner Andrea Minguzzi of Italy. He complained that "blatant errors in judging" caused him to lose the match and said he felt that he deserved the gold.
The Swede shouted at the referee before confronting the judges. During Thursday's presentation ceremony, he took off his medal and left it in the center of the competition mat before walking off.
The IOC said Abrahamian violated two rules of the Olympic charter, one that bans any sort of demonstrations and another that demands respect for all Olympic athletes.
"The awards ceremony is a highly symbolic ritual, acknowledged as such by all athletes and other participants," the IOC said.
"Any disruption by any athlete, in particular a medalist, is in itself an insult to the other athletes and to the Olympic Movement. It is also contrary to the spirit of fair play."
Abrahamian never expressed regret or offered an apology, the IOC said. The international weightlifting federation was asked to consider further sanctions against him.
His medal was the third stripped at the Beijing Games.
On Friday, North Korean shooter Kim Jong Su had his silver and bronze medals taken away after failing a doping test. Also expelled for doping violations have been Spanish cyclist Maria Isabel Moreno and Vietnamese gymnast Thi Ngan Thuong Do.
Abrahamian's case is not the first of its kind.
A weightlifter at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics was stripped of his bronze medal after rejecting it during the medal ceremony.
Ibragim Samadov, competing in the light heavyweight category for the Unified Team of the former Soviet Union, was upset with his performance and refused to have the medal placed around his neck and only accepted it in his hand. He then put it down and walked off.
Samadov later apologized, but the IOC upheld its decision to disqualify him, and he was later banned for life by the sport's governing body.
|
26483999260645a4a88acaa814c833b6
|
who was disqualified
|
[
"Ara Abrahamian,"
] |
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|
BEIJING, China (Reuters) -- A Chinese couple tried to name their baby "@," claiming the character used in e-mail addresses echoed their love for the child, an official trying to whip the national language into line said on Thursday.
The unusual name stands out especially in Chinese, which has no alphabet and instead uses tens of thousands of multi-stroke characters to represent words.
"The whole world uses it to write e-mail, and translated into Chinese it means 'love him'," the father explained, according to the deputy chief of the State Language Commission Li Yuming.
While the "@" symbol is familiar to Chinese e-mail users, they often use the English word "at" to sound it out -- which with a drawn out "T" sounds something like "ai ta," or "love him," to Mandarin speakers.
Li told a news conference on the state of the language that the name was an extreme example of people's increasingly adventurous approach to Chinese, as commercialisation and the Internet break down conventions.
Another couple tried to give their child a name that rendered into English sounds like "King Osrina."
Li did not say if officials accepted the "@" name. But earlier this year the government announced a ban on names using Arabic numerals, foreign languages and symbols that do not belong to Chinese minority languages.
Sixty million Chinese faced the problem that their names use ancient characters so obscure that computers cannot recognize them and even fluent speakers were left scratching their heads, said Li, according to a transcript of the briefing on the government Web site (www.gov.cn).
One of them was the former Premier Zhu Rongji, whose name had a rare "rong" character that gave newspaper editors headaches. E-mail to a friend
|
c867ed2d63154e579efbc286836e5abe
|
What was the Father's claimed translation?
|
[
"'love him',\""
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- At 44 meters long (145 ft), Hemisphere is the largest sailing catamaran in the world. The makers of Hemisphere believe this is first catamaran superyacht to hit the water and could revolutionize the way people think about sailing.
But you'll need deep pockets to afford this kind of luxury -- the "supercat" costs more than $250,000 a week to lease.
It took more than three years for the first sketch of the vessel to become a reality. Hemisphere made her debut on the world stage last week with Monaco as the appropriately lavish backdrop.
While it has taken longer than anticipated to build, those behind the project insist she is worth the wait. "The level of finishing and luxury of Hemisphere brings her to the category of a superyacht," says chief naval architect Marc Van Peteghem.
Peteghem believes those in the superyacht market are increasingly conscious of their environmental image and are turning to sailing vessels as a greener solution to luxury travel. He says the catamaran is far greener than motor boats, making the most of nature, rather than fuel, to move.
Hemisphere's interior has been tailored specifically to the luxury market; 17 different types of granite have been used inside and 16 leather finishes have been applied, according to Burgess, the yacht's charterers.
There are also five spacious ensuite cabins to accommodate passengers with the main cabin featuring complete 360-degree views.
Hemisphere is decked out with a host of toys for the discerning seafarer to play with -- smaller speed boats to go water skiing and wake boarding, water scooters and diving gear, as well as a jacuzzi on the fly bridge.
It also comes fully equipped with the latest in diving gear to make the most of the boat's shallow waters capabilities. The catamaran only has a draft of 3.1 meters, meaning it can explore areas previously out of bounds for superyachts.
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c4ca40453f06452c96df29e6753fa158
|
The Hemisphere is the largest sailing what?
|
[
"catamaran"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- The "best job in the world" contest has generated huge interest around the globe, but the jury is out on whether that will translate into more tourism dollars for Queensland, Australia.
Ben Southall will move into a three-bedroom beach home overlooking the Great Barrier Reef.
"That's the million dollar question," said Anthony Hayes, CEO of Tourism Quensland, which sponsored the contest.
"Quite frankly you can have $150 million worth of publicity, but if it doesn't generate sales you've really wasted your time on a pretty story."
A British man beat 34,000 other applicants Wednesday to win the right to stroll the white sands of a tropical island in Queensland, Australia, file weekly reports online to a global audience and earn a cool $100,000. Watch as lucky winner is revealed »
For the winner, Ben Southall, the six-month assignment is a far cry from his old job as a fundraiser.
"I love discovering new places," Southall said in his hyperkinetic minute-long application video for the position.
"Last year, I drove all around Africa, I crossed deserts, climbed mountains, run marathons, bungee jump, mountain-bike, scuba-dive and snorkel everywhere because I'm practically a fish myself."
Oh, and he rode an ostrich.
He will move into a three-bedroom beach home overlooking the tropical island's Great Barrier Reef. For six months, he will feed the fish, clean the pool and send weekly blog and video reports on what is happening on the island.
Other benefits include free return airfares from their nearest capital city, transport on the island, computer and camera gear and travel to other islands.
The applicants used various attempts to woo their prospective employer, from wandering round a chilly city center in a bikini, to making their application in the form of a street musical, complete with chorus singers.
Sixteen finalists were flown in to Hamilton Island on Monday for interviews with a four-person panel. The job starts July 1.
The "world's best job" campaign was 18 months in the making as a way to lure more tourism to the 600 islands near the Great Barrier Reef.
"The starting point was how do we get the message out there ... that they're open for business and we want people to come and visit," Hayes said. "The idea of this is to protect jobs throughout our regional parts of Queensland."
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5f4c981134364e5e88d6db67b6385dbe
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How much money was the caretaking job?
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[
"$100,000."
] |
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(CNN) -- Somalia's hard-line Islamic group Al-Shabab seized control of Jowhar, the president's hometown, after a battle with pro-government forces Sunday.
An Islamist fighter mans a position in the streets of Mogadishu, Somalia, on Saturday.
Jowhar is a major town 55 miles (88 kilometers) southeast of Mogadishu, the capital.
"All businesses are closed and residents are already fleeing while Al-Shabab are roaming the streets," a local journalist said.
The town had been under the control of forces backing the transitional government, which is scrambling to cope with deadly advances from Al-Shabab in Mogadishu.
Al-Shabab was once the armed wing of the Islamic Courts Union, which took over most of southern Somalia in the second half of 2006. The United States says the group is affiliated with the al Qaeda terrorist network, and the U.S. backed an Ethiopian invasion that drove the ICU from power in 2006.
After seizing control of Jowhar on Sunday, the rebels started conducting "search operations in the police station and the provincial headquarters of the town," the journalist added.
The clashes extended into the suburbs of the town, where sporadic fighting was going on between the rebels and government forces, said the journalist, who requested anonymity for safety reasons.
The town's seizure comes amid escalating tension between Somalia's transitional government and the Al-Shabab militia, which has waged days-long attacks in the capital. In the latest round of violence, one person was killed and 15 others wounded when mortars slammed into a police academy in Mogadishu on Sunday.
Clashes between the rebels and the government in Mogadishu have left at least 103 people dead and 420 wounded, Somali officials said Friday.
The east African nation has not had an effective government since 1991.
Last week, a spokesman for the rebel group said that it had successfully recruited more fighters.
"It is not only Somali jihadists that are fighting in Mogadishu against the government," said Sheikh Hassan Ya'qub, a spokesman for Al-Shabab. "There are also foreign Muslim jihadist brothers who are fighting side by side with us."
The new round of fighting stems from an interpretation of sharia, or Islamic law, the spokesman said.
Somalia's new president, Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, recently approved implementing sharia, but the rebel group wants the country to institute a stricter form.
Meanwhile, a powerful Islamist warlord defected to the government Saturday after he disagreed with rebel Islamist groups on the war against the transitional government.
The warlord, Sheikh Yusuf Mohamud Siad Indha Ade, was the military commander of Hassan Dahir Aweys, who is suspected by the United States of being a terrorist.
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5aa628209bb241079f661a4779e8bd4f
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What group is Al-Shabab affiliated with?
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[
"al Qaeda"
] |
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MOSCOW, Russia (CNN) -- Russian space officials say the crew of the Soyuz space ship is resting after a rough ride back to Earth.
A South Korean bioengineer was one of three people on board the Soyuz capsule.
The craft carrying South Korea's first astronaut landed in northern Kazakhstan on Saturday, 260 miles (418 kilometers) off its mark, they said.
Mission Control spokesman Valery Lyndin said the condition of the crew -- South Korean bioengineer Yi So-yeon, American astronaut Peggy Whitson and Russian flight engineer Yuri Malenchenko -- was satisfactory, though the three had been subjected to severe G-forces during the re-entry.
Search helicopters took 25 minutes to find the capsule and determine that the crew was unharmed.
Officials said the craft followed a very steep trajectory that subjects the crew to gravitational forces of up to 10 times those on Earth.
Interfax reported that the spacecraft's landing was rough.
This is not the first time a spacecraft veered from its planned trajectory during landing.
In October, the Soyuz capsule landed 70 kilometers from the planned area because of a damaged control cable. The capsule was carrying two Russian cosmonauts and the first Malaysian astronaut. E-mail to a friend
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96d715858b81479fbca7b8842e6052dd
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What happened during the first landing?
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[
"landed in northern Kazakhstan on Saturday, 260 miles (418 kilometers) off its mark,"
] |
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MIAMI, Florida (CNN) -- Forecasters issued a tropical storm warning Thursday for the Atlantic island of Bermuda as Category 3 Hurricane Bill neared.
Hurricane Bill's projected path shows it moving north toward New England and then Canada.
The warning from the National Hurricane Center means tropical storm conditions, including winds of at least 39 mph (63 kph), are expected on the island within 24 hours. A hurricane watch was also in effect, meaning hurricane conditions, including winds of at least 74 mph (119 kph), are possible within 36 hours.
As of 11 p.m. ET Thursday, Bill's center was about 510 miles (825 kilometers) south of Bermuda, and about 975 miles (1,570 kilometers) southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, the hurricane center said. The storm was moving northwest at near 18 mph (30 kph), and is expected to continue that motion overnight, with a gradual turn to the north-northwest on Friday followed by a turn toward the north on Saturday.
"The core of the hurricane is expected to pass between Bermuda and the east coast of the United States on Saturday," forecasters said. See Bill's projected path »
However, Bill is considered a large hurricane, with hurricane-force winds extending out 115 miles (185 kilometers) from the center and tropical storm-force winds extending out 260 miles (418 kilometers), so Bermuda is likely to feel its effects as it brushes by.
Bill's maximum sustained winds had increased slightly to 125 mph (205 kph), with higher gusts, the hurricane center said. It was downgraded to a Category 3 storm from Category 4 status early Thursday, after its top sustained winds slipped below 131 mph (211 kph).
Fluctuations in intensity are likely over the next 12 to 24 hours, however, and Bill could regain Category 4 strength Friday, forecasters said.
Large swells generated by Bill were affecting the northern Leeward Islands on Thursday, along with Puerto Rico and the island of Hispaniola, shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic. The East Coast of the United States should start seeing large swells during the next few days, along with the Bahamas, Bermuda and the eastern coast of Canada, the hurricane center said. "These swells will cause extremely dangerous surf and life-threatening rip currents."
Bill is forecast to diminish into a Category 1 hurricane by Sunday evening, when it could make landfall near Nova Scotia or Newfoundland, Canada.
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d413a021dbb149e1b68d4ca3146dcd42
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what has caused bermuda to be on alert
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[
"Hurricane Bill"
] |
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(CNN) -- Peruvian soccer star Paolo Guerrero has been punished with a record fine by his German club Hamburg for throwing a water bottle into the face of a fan who he claimed had insulted him.
The striker made a public apology on Monday, but could face further disciplinary action from the German Football Association on Tuesday.
The incident happened at the end of Hamburg's 0-0 draw with relegation-threatened Hannover on Sunday, a result which dented Guerrero's team's hopes of qualifying for European competition next season.
"I had a blackout," the 26-year-old told Hamburg's official Web site. "I was insulted and I over-reacted. "I am incredibly sorry. I hope that I get the opportunity to apologize personally to the spectator concerned.
"I have already done so to HSV. Of course I will accept any punishment from the club. I made a big mistake."
Chairman Bernd Hoffmann said Guerrero's behavior was "absolutely unacceptable."
"Something like that is not allowed to happen. Paulo will be heavily fined by us. He has assured us believably how sorry he is."
The amount of the fine has not been disclosed, but Hoffman told German football magazine Kicker that it would be "the like of which there has never been in the club."
Ralf Bednarik of the Hamburg Supporters' Board told the club's Web site that fans should accept Guerrero's apology.
"Players have to deal with criticism," he said. "But Paolo Guerrero has apologized for his behavior. Now it's up to us all to reappraise the things and to jointly look into the future."
Guerrero has played 24 times for his country, but missed many of the 2010 World Cup qualifiers after suffering injuries and being handed a six-game suspension for abusing a referee. Peru finished bottom of the South American group.
He moved to Hamburg in 2006 after beginning his Bundesliga career at Bayern Munich, and played as a second-half substitute against Hannover after recently returning to action following seven months on the sidelines with a knee injury.
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ed8d517730b74802b4b76add34a072f6
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What nationality was the striker?
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[
"Peruvian"
] |
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Washington (CNN) -- An Amtrak train traveling from New York to Washington struck and killed a 14-year-old girl Tuesday morning, the rail operator said.
Details on how the accident occurred were not immediately available, and the girl was not named. Baltimore County Police Lt. Robert McCullough said there were other children at the scene who knew the victim.
Nearly two hours after the fatality occurred, emergency management officials in Washington announced that one out of four railroad tracks between Washington and Maryland had been "cleared for reduced speed service."
Amtrak spokeswoman Tracy Connell said trains were traveling in both directions but had to take turns using the single set of tracks.
Amtrak halted all trains through the area near Essex, Maryland, to give investigators access to the scene. Authorities said the teen was hit at 9:02 a.m. ET.
Connell said the incident occurred 11 miles north of the Baltimore, Maryland, rail station. Both Baltimore County Police and Amtrak were investigating.
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a43d6f8568fe42c79f06a2aeca9fab14
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Where was the train headed?
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"Washington"
] |
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(CNN) -- Americans were asked to stop whatever they were doing at 3 p.m. local time Monday to share a minute on Memorial Day and honor those who have died in the cause of freedom.
Americans were asked to take one minute at 3 p.m. Monday to pause and reflect on those who died in battle.
"The time 3 p.m. was chosen because it is the time when most Americans are enjoying their freedoms on the national holiday," according to the White House Commission on Remembrance. Congress established the National Moment of Remembrance.
"The Moment does not replace traditional Memorial Day events; rather it is an act of national unity in which all Americans, alone or with family and friends, honor those who died for our freedom," the Commission on Remembrance said on its Web site.
"It will help to reclaim Memorial Day as the sacred and noble holiday it was meant to be. In this shared remembrance, we connect as Americans."
Observances included an interruption of Major League Baseball games, the pausing of the National Memorial Day Parade in Washington and the National Grocers Association and Food Marketing Institute asking shoppers to pause in stores nationwide to remember the fallen.
"We want our citizens to contemplate the ties that bind us and take a moment to put 'Memorial' back into Memorial Day," said Carmella LaSpada, executive director of the Commission on Remembrance.
Children touring Washington inspired the idea when LaSpada asked them what Memorial Day meant and they said that's when the swimming pool opens, according to the commission's Web site.
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b62f7daf7ebd411bbb818450e6264caa
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What does the group hope?
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[
"honor those who died for our freedom,\""
] |
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(CNN) -- University of Arkansas authorities say they see no "suspicious circumstances" surrounding the death of a 19-year-old football player who was was found dead in his room Sunday.
Garrett Uekman, a sophomore tight end for the Razorbacks, was found unconscious and unresponsive in his room about 11:15 a.m., the university said in a written statement Sunday afternoon. Attempts to revive him were unsuccessful, and he was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital shortly after noon.
A roommate last saw Uekman playing video games about an hour earlier, "and he appeared to be in good health," the university said. An autopsy will be performed.
"The cause of Uekman's death is not known at this time, but there are no suspicious circumstances," the statement said.
Uekman, of Little Rock, "was living his dream of going to the U of A and playing football for the Razorbacks," parents Danny and Michelle Uekman said in a statement released through the school. He appeared in nine games for the 10-1 Arkansas squad this season.
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4ff3b48877144f7f95d26297ccd5bad6
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Who is Garret Uekman?
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[
"a sophomore tight end for the Razorbacks,"
] |
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(CNN) -- Cristiano Ronaldo scored a late headed winner as Real Madrid stayed a point behind leaders Barcelona in the Spanish title race after a dramatic 3-2 win over Osasuna on Sunday night.
Real had to come from behind twice in the Bernabeu with former World Player of the Year Ronaldo grabbing a double.
Trailing by four points after Barcelona's 4-1 win over Villarreal on Saturday, Real made a disastrous start as a poor back pass by Raul Albiol allowed in Carlos Aranda to give Osasuna an early lead.
Ronaldo then came to the rescue for the first time as he equalized with a fine strike from just outside the penalty area, but Real were soon behind again as Krisztian Vadocz struck home Osasuna's second.
But with time running out in the first half, Marcelo headed Real level again.
Osasuna refused to lie down and substitute Masoud Soleimani missed the easiest of several chances for the visitors as Real pushed forward for a winner.
The game appeared to be headed for a draw, which would have severely dented Real's title hopes with games running out, until Ronaldo popped up to score an 89th minute goal from a cross by Gonzalo Higuain.
A double from Lionel Messi had helped Barca to rebound from their Champions League exit at the hands of Inter Milan to leave them on course to defend their La Liga crown with a fine win over Villarreal.
In other action on Sunday, Alvaro Negredo scored two penalties to give Sevilla a 3-1 win over Atletico Madrid to lift them into the fourth and the final Champions League place.
The match was a forerunner to the Copa del Rey final later this month.
Atletico, who are also in the Europa League final, fell behind to a Luis Fabiano strike after five minutes.
Tiago Cardoso equalized for Atletico who were then undone by Negredo's two spot kicks.
A double from substitute Nicola Zigic saw Valencia beat Espanyol 2-0 to keep a tight hold on third place.
Getafe were held goalless by Valladolid and Tenerife beat Racing Santander 2-1 but remain in the drop zone as Malaga drew 1-1 with Sporting Gijon.
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01a32b5058c6425e9bb0bcdc2867ec6f
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Who scored twice for Real Madrid?
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[
"Cristiano Ronaldo"
] |
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MEXICO CITY, Mexico (CNN) -- Another child has died from last week's fire at a day care center in northwestern Mexico, bringing the death toll to 45, the state-run Notimex news agency said.
A crib and baby seats sit outside the scene of a deadly day care center fire in Mexico.
The child died Friday in a hospital in the city of Guadalajara, Notimex said. The news agency did not provide any additional information.
A fire raged through the ABC day care center on June 5 in the city of Hermosillo in Sonora state. Officials said an air-conditioning unit in a government-run warehouse in the same building as the day care center caused the blaze.
In another development Friday, three officials from the Mexican Institute of Social Security were fired, Notimex reported.
The social security institute oversaw the ABC day care facility.
Earlier, the Institute of Social Security removed its Sonora director, Arturo Leyva Lizarraga.
Leyva Lizarraga was "separated" from the agency Wednesday to "facilitate the investigative process," according to Notimex.
The same wording was used in announcing Friday's firings.
Earlier in the week, two other people who ran the center resigned from the government jobs they held.
Also Friday, Mexican Attorney General Eduardo Medina Mora said officials had found safety irregularities at the day care center in 2005, Notimex said. He declined to detail those irregularities but said authorities are investigating if anything was done about them.
Any negligent officials will be punished once the investigation is completed, Medina said.
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6588f27b8bd64bdf8aa6f3fa5d85e9cd
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when fire was started
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[
"June 5"
] |
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(CNN) -- Grammy-winning trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, a leading figure in jazz during a five-decade career, has died at age 70, about a month after suffering a heart attack, his publicist said Tuesday.
In the 1970s, Freddie Hubbard made a series of funk- and fusion-oriented albums, such as the 1970 hit "Red Clay."
Hubbard died Monday morning in Sherman Oaks, California, outside Los Angeles, after a long battle with heart disease, spokesman Don Lucoff told CNN. He had been hospitalized since suffering a heart attack the day before Thanksgiving and took a turn for the worse last week, Lucoff said.
"Freddie Hubbard, in terms of the advent of modern jazz, the birth of bebop, was probably among the five greatest trumpet players that has ever lived ... He's really right up there with Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, Lee Morgan, Roy Eldridge, an innovator and great composer," Lucoff said.
A native of Indianapolis, Indiana, Hubbard moved to New York in the late 1950s. By the mid-1960s, he was playing alongside such major jazz figures as Art Blakey, Oliver Nelson, Ornette Coleman, Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter.
In the early 1970s, he made a series of funk- and fusion-oriented albums, such as the 1970 hit "Red Clay" and 1972's Grammy-winning "First Light."
"The thing that set Freddie Hubbard apart was he played rapidly, he played soulfully and he really set the pace for a lot of the trumpet players who have come after him in the last 20 or 30 years," Lucoff said.
Hubbard was named a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master in 2006. He is survived by wife, Briggie, and son Duane.
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de36c898faa54feab2b1a14aced9d945
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How old was Hubbard at the time of this article?
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[
"70,"
] |
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(CNN) -- German logistics giant Deutsche Post said Monday it was cutting 9,500 jobs as part of a major program to restructure its loss-making DHL delivery service in the United States.
DHL's restructuring is expected to result in heavy job losses.
Deutsche Post said it would discontinue its U.S. ground and air delivery operations based out of Wilmington, Ohio, following an outsourcing agreement with UPS.
DHL Express will continue to operate between the United States and other nations, the company said in a statement.
DHL's 9,500 job cuts are on top of 5,400 job cuts announced earlier this year.
The statement said DHL was shutting down all ground hubs and reducing its number of stations to 103 from 412.
The company said it was making the cuts to improve profitability and "to prepare the company for the economic challenges ahead." DHL Express is owned by the German company Deutsche Post World Net.
Officials in Ohio had been hoping to prevent layoffs.
State senator Sherrod Brown sent a letter Sunday to DHL Express Chief Executive Officer John Mullen and urged employment officials in Washington for emergency funds to assist workers and communities affected.
In May, Deutsche Post announced plans to outsource air services with UPS. Brown says the plan would mean shutting down DHL's hub in Wilmington and cutting at least 8,000 jobs. Brown testified at two congressional hearing this year that centered on the proposal.
Prior to the announcement, Wilmington Mayor David Razik said he was preparing for the worst.
"Given the state of the economy and the world wide economic collapse we know it can't be good news," he told CNN Sunday night. "Freight is down significantly, DHL is losing customers, they have laid off sales personnel in other locations. We really think it's certainly not going to be good for Wilmington."
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8069dabce8704e36953e10dc2fa0b93f
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Where did most of DHL's job cuts occur?
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[
"hub in Wilmington"
] |
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(CNN) -- NATO and Russia have agreed to restart their military relationship, nearly a year after it had been frozen over the war in Georgia, the top NATO official said on Saturday.
Russia's conflict with Georgia in August 2008 strained relations between NATO and Russia.
"The NATO-Russia Council is up and running again also at the political level," said NATO Secretary- General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, speaking at a meeting of ministers in Corfu, Greece.
Russia is not a member of NATO but is a member of the NATO-Russia Council, formed in 2002. It consults, coordinates, reaches joint decisions on and carries out joint action with NATO on areas such as terrorism, cooperation on Afghanistan and military exercises.
Russia and Georgia fought a five-day war in August 2008 over the breakaway Georgian province of South Ossetia -- the first time Russia sent troops abroad to fight since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.
Differences over that conflict and Russia's subsequent recognition of the breakaway Georgian regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia strained relations between NATO and Russia.
While there are differences of opinions regarding Georgia, Scheffer said member states "share common security interests," including stability in Afghanistan, arms control, nonproliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and concerns over drug trafficking, piracy and terrorism.
Scheffer said officials "are in the process of examining the current institutional structure of the NATO-Russia Council and have agreed to make it a more efficient and valuable instrument for our political dialogue and practical cooperation."
Scheffer, who is completing his term as NATO head, said it is the latest time he will chair the NATO-Russia Council as well. He said he is "confident" that the council "will continue to be an important channel for dialogue and cooperation among its members in the future."
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4bf5ac5a66514933b63c7f22e2b58879
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What strained relations?
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[
"Russia's conflict with Georgia"
] |
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(CNN) -- Two international journalists, along with their Somali colleague and a driver, were kidnapped Saturday, a journalists' organization in Somalia said.
A young fighter mans a gun on the beach of Kismayo. The photographer asked not be identified.
Amanda Lindhout, a Canadian journalist, and Nigel Brenan, an Australian photojournalist, had been in the country just three days when militia men snatched them outside the capital city of Mogadishu, the National Union of Somali Journalists said Sunday.
The kidnappers also took Abdifatah Mohammed Elmi, a Somalian photojournalist who was acting as the pair's translator, and their driver, the journalists' union said.
The four were on their way back after conducting interviews at a refugee camp.
Officials do not know if the journalists are being held for ransom and who is behind the abductions.
"No formal claim of responsibility was made," the journalists' group said. "As well, there have been no demands."
Somalia has been mired in chaos since 1991, when warlords overthrew dictator Mohamed Siad Barre and sparked brutal clan infighting. Somalia's current transitional government is trying to maintain control of the capital, with the help of Ethiopian forces.
On Friday, fighters from the Islamic group Al Shabab took control of the southern port town of Kismayo after three days of clashes. The fighting left at least 89 people dead, 207 wounded and displaced some 5,500 people, triggering a humanitarian crisis.
Ethiopia invaded Somalia in December 2006 to install the transitional government in Mogadishu after a decade and a half of near-anarchy. The invasion had the blessing of the United States, which accused Islamists of harboring fugitives from the al Qaeda terrorist movement.
But the Ethiopian troops quickly became embroiled in an insurgency led by the Islamists. And as guerrilla attacks mounted, efforts to replace the Ethiopians with an African Union-led peacekeeping mission faltered.
The conflict displaced hundreds of thousands of Somalis, further worsening a humanitarian crisis that dates back to the collapse of the country's last government in 1991.
The situation has been exacerbated by drought, continual armed conflicts in central and southern Somalia, and high inflation on food and fuel prices.
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0e73a55a38154d96b5f94f224e583ee6
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Where was the refugee camp?
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[
"Somalia"
] |
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(CNN) -- Turkey's military said it killed at least 15 rebels in operations in northern Iraq earlier this week, but a spokesman for the Iraqi Kurdish Regional Security Forces denied the report, saying Turkey has not conducted any military operation or air assault there in the past two weeks.
Turkish troops patrol near the border with Iraq during an offensive in February.
A statement posted on the Turkish armed forces' official Web site said a group of PKK, or members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, was identified in northern Iraq, and said the group was believed to be planning an attack and trying to leak through the border into Turkey.
The PKK, labeled a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States and the European Union, is comprised of militants who have been launching attacks against Turkey from bases in northern Iraq.
The Turkish military said the PKK group "came under fire by long-range weapons" on Thursday, and 15 terrorists were killed.
The same region was targeted by a Turkish air assault on Friday, the military said, adding that the number of casualties was not yet available.
"In the missions, only the places that were confirmed to belong to the terrorist group were targeted," the military statement said. "Turkish armed forces acted with utmost sensitivity in order to avoid any negative impact of the strikes on the civilians in the region."
However, Jabbar Yawer, a spokesman for the Iraqi Kurdish Regional Forces, said no air assault was conducted Thursday or Friday, and added that no operations have been conducted in northern Iraq for the past two weeks.
The PKK has spent two decades fighting for autonomy for Kurds in southeastern Turkey, with some of its attacks launched from inside Iraq ». The Iraqi government opposes the PKK's presence, but views a Turkish military incursion as a violation of its sovereignty. E-mail to a friend
CNN Turk's Begum Donmez and CNN's Mohammed Tawfeeq contributed to this report.
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4156d4e7c9214ab4bc3d1102c4bf8cec
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Who did the US label as terrorists
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[
"The PKK,"
] |
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ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- A Briton bested competitors from 51 other countries to win the recent World Barista Championship in Atlanta, Georgia.
The World Barista Championship poured into Atlanta, Georgia, this year after serving Denmark last year.
Winner Gwilym Davies said the caffeinated competition was more difficult than other events he has participated in.
"In sports, I was able to run harder, or tackle harder ... but this, I still have to keep composed, and watch the shots," the pushcart owner told CNN on Sunday. "I found it tougher."
Each competitor served four espressos, four cappuccinos and four signature drinks. Despite incurring a penalty for running 17 seconds over the 15-minute limit, Davies' prowess steamed him to the fore of the competition. Watch contestants battle for title »
"It brings together a group of people from all around the world and we currently have a structure of 61 nations that are part of the family," said Cindy Chang, executive director of the World Barista Championship.
The competition was held during the annual meeting of the Specialty Coffee Association of America, which attracted thousands of participants from around the world.
In addition to winning an espresso machine, Davies will travel extensively this year representing the specialty coffee community.
In what some view as a strange twist, none of the champions over the past decade has come from a country that grows coffee.
"It does seem kind of perplexing, because what we look for in this competition is for the baristas to tell a story, show that they have a broad coffee knowledge," said Chang. "And the baristas from coffee-producing countries seem to have an easy access to this."
Davies said he owes his success to his willingness to improvise.
"There were 256 different drinks that we could have made," he said. "We tried a few and added the ingredients. But it was still a bit risky ... and we got away with it!"
The next world championship is to be held next year in London, England.
CNN's Felipe Bernal contributed to this story.
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8ce3d02dc5984781a704495975978e0e
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How many of past decade's winners hail from a coffee-growing country?
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"none"
] |
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(CNN) -- A Swedish truck and bus maker that assembled trucks in Iraq during the Saddam Hussein era has signed "an agreement in principle" with the government to open an assembly plant next year.
Swedish truck and bus maker Scania is to reopen a former plant in Iraq.
The company, Scania, issued a statement on its Web site confirming the deal to produce 500 trucks ordered by Iraq, with work starting during the third quarter of 2009.
The work will be performed in the same Iskandariya factory south of Baghdad where the company's previous operation was housed. The operation comes under the auspices of Iraq's State Company for Automotive Industry.
The deal reflects the Iraqi government's efforts to rehabilitate an economy decimated by warfare.
"Scania has the necessary qualifications to satisfy the Iraqi government's desire to begin local production quickly. Assembly of the 500 trucks initially ordered is expected to employ about 500 people. The facility will be designed for the production of 3,000 vehicles per year," says Klas Dahlberg, vice president in charge of Scania's sales in the Middle East.
The company said Iraq had been one of its largest markets during the 1980s. The Iskandariya factory assembled 3,900 trucks in 1981, Scania said, and many of the trucks assembled there during that era remain in service.
The company said a memorandum of understanding signed by both sides specifies that Scania will work with an Iraqi distributor and "will assume responsibility for installation of production equipment as well as employee training."
"In collaboration with our Iraqi distributor, we will also invest in the establishment of a service network in the country. Even today, there is a great need for workshops to take care of vehicles that operate in international traffic to Iraq," Dahlberg said.
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60ed1dd1394d4f37a02b95f0c7bdfcba
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Where are Scania vehicles from?
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[
"Iraq."
] |
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San Francisco (CNN) -- Intel, which dominates the PC market but has struggled to break into smartphones, is getting a hand from Google.
Upcoming versions of Android, the No. 1 smartphone operating system from Google, will be compatible with Intel processors, the companies announced at Intel's developer conference on Tuesday.
"We want to make Intel architecture the platform of choice for smartphones," Intel CEO Paul Otellini said onstage. "Every time we have collaborated with Google, good things have come out of it."
The partnership will aid Intel in delivering on its promise to finally release smartphones with its technologies by the middle of 2012.
Google may benefit from accommodating a company that has significant influence in computers, which is the market Google is struggling to break into with its Chromebook project. The two companies already collaborate on that laptop operating system.
"The partnership has been great," said Andy Rubin, Google's executive for mobile development, who took the stage at Intel's conference to announce the deal.
In his keynote, Otellini touted Intel's Ultrabook concept, which the company has been reportedly nudging partners to embrace. The laptop concept facilitates very thin, light and affordable computers with batteries that can last for about a full day on a single charge. They look similar to Apple's MacBook Air, which uses Intel's Core processor.
Otellini also discussed a new processor, slated for 2013, called Haswell. Devices with the chip can remain connected to the Internet in standby mode for 10 days before the battery depletes, he said. Haswell will be tailored to Ultrabooks and tablets running Windows 8, the new operating system Microsoft was showing at the same time at its own conference in Anaheim, California.
"Computing means a lot more than just computers," Otellini said. "Just as computing has evolved, so too has Intel's architecture."
Intel's recent focus on reducing energy consumption, thereby improving battery life, should bolster its efforts in smartphones, analysts say. The company is also working on more compact chips, which it is calling "3-D transistors" because of the unique way the microscopic parts are situated.
Google and Intel did not say which chip will power upcoming Android phones or which manufacturers have agreed to make devices for it. Most smartphones and tablets use chips designed by ARM Holdings, which are popular for their efficiency. The next version of Android for phones and tablets, called Ice-Cream Sandwich, will debut next month or in November, Google has said.
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a7c13979e21c4bc091f1d6b702d4fb6d
|
What are google planning to do?
|
[
"make Intel architecture the platform of choice for smartphones,\""
] |
NewsQA
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Washington (CNN) -- Melody Barnes, the domestic policy adviser to President Barack Obama, will leave the White House at the end of the year, she said Thursday.
"I plan to take some time off and enjoy my family," she said in a written statement. "I'll also be considering opportunities in the private sector, as well as ways to continue to work on the policy issues about which I care so deeply."
Obama, in a separate statement said he "will always be grateful that a woman of Melody's brilliance, creativity and heart led our domestic policy team during such a challenging time for our nation."
He said Barnes will leave "a lasting legacy, developing and implementing policies that have helped remake our education system, spurred innovation, and fostered opportunity and equality for millions of Americans."
Barnes, in her statement, said she has "enjoyed working closely with the private sector, as well as philanthropists and non-profit organizations, to build public-private partnerships that are providing solutions to our country's biggest challenges."
She said that over the past few months she had "reached the conclusion that I need to move out of a 24/7 work schedule and on to the next phase of my life." But she added, "I also look forward to devoting time to doing everything I can to ensure that President Obama is re-elected."
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a70061e1dcc64f3989119a50d5f98b11
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What kind of schedule did Barnes have?
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[
"24/7 work"
] |
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