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NewsQA
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(CNN) -- Inter Milan coach Jose Mourinho has played down the threat posed by Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi as two of European football's giants face off in the Champions League semifinal on Tuesday night.
Messi has been in scintillating form all season, scoring all four goals in Barca's quarterfinal second leg victory over Arsenal.
The Argentine will spearhead the Barcelona attack in the first leg clash at Milan's San Siro stadium, but Mourinho sees the 22-year-old as just one part of a formidable team.
"What we know is that he is an important player but football, for me, is not about marking man to man, Mourniho told reporters at a pre-match press conference in Milan.
"It is not one against Messi and 10 versus 10, it will be 11 v 11, although he deserves special attention."
Mourinho is charged with plotting a path past the reigning European, Spanish and World Club champions who are seeking to become the first team to defend the European Cup since AC Milan in 1990.
Inter drew 0-0 at home with Barca in the group stage of this season's competition and were beaten 2-0 in Spain.
"Barca deserved to win in November," said Mourinho, who worked as a translator at Barcelona in the 1990s before becoming a manager and leading Porto to the Champions League trophy in 2004.
"They are as strong now as they were then, but we are much stronger. I don't mind if the football world considers them favorites, I think we have a 50% chance of playing in the final."
Barcelona arrived in Milan on Monday evening after being forced to travel for 14 hours by road because of the volcanic ash cloud hovering over Europe.
"It is not the ideal situation for us to travel 14 hours by coach after a league game and before a semi-final against Inter, but you cannot stop a volcano, can you?," said Barca coach Josep Guardiola.
"We decided to use two buses to have more space and I didn't travel with the players because I think it's better for them not to always have their coach with them."
Guardiola is wary of the threat posed by a side who knocked out English Premier League leaders Chelsea in the last 16 and have won the Italian league title the last four years.
"They're a very strong team and we'll need to play well twice. We'll play our game and try to score as many goals as possible," he said.
"But we could lose because we're playing against one of the best teams in Europe."
|
2ea55057770c4b60b3ce7c512844d34e
|
How long did Barcelona's journey take?
|
[
"14 hours"
] |
NewsQA
|
NEW YORK (CNN) -- A three-vehicle crash north of New York killed eight people, including four children, state police said on Sunday.
One of the vehicles in the three-vehicle wreck was heading the wrong direction, police said.
A fifth child is being treated for injuries suffered in the crash near Pleasantville, about 30 miles north of New York. Police initially reported no survivors.
The crash happened when a minivan carrying the five children and one adult was heading the wrong way on a northbound lane of the Taconic State Parkway, police said. It crashed head-on into an SUV carrying three adults.
The minivan then careened into a third vehicle before rolling over and bursting into flames, state police said. Watch investigators examine wreckage »
The two adults in the third vehicle were being treated for minor injuries, police said.
|
dff4b48022ec42dd90a362d3c696162c
|
How many adults were killed in the crash?
|
[
"eight people, including four children,"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Seven players involved in last week's Champions League final have been excused from England's trip to Trinidad and Tobago for their friendly international on Sunday.
Only Jermaine Defoe (second right) of the England players congratulating John Terry will travel to Trinidad.
Coach Fabio Capello confirmed that of the men involved in Moscow last week, only Manchester United central defender Rio Ferdinand, who has links with the Caribbean, and Chelsea full-back Wayne Bridge, who did not get onto the pitch at the Luzhniki Stadium, will be part of his 22-man squad for the final game of the season.
Chelsea's John Terry, who opened the scoring in Wednesday's 2-0 win over the United States at Wembley, is one of those given a holiday along with Wayne Rooney, Wes Brown, Ashley Cole, Frank Lampard, Joe Cole and Owen Hargreaves.
England squad:
Goalkeepers: David James (Portsmouth), Joe Hart (Manchester City), Joe Lewis (Peterborough).
Defenders: Wayne Bridge (Chelsea), Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United), Phil Jagielka (Everton), Glen Johnson (Portsmouth), Stephen Warnock (Blackburn), David Wheater (Middlesbrough), Jonathan Woodgate (Tottenham).
Midfielders: Gareth Barry (Aston Villa), David Beckham (LA Galaxy), David Bentley (Blackburn), Stewart Downing (Middlesbrough), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Tom Huddlestone (Tottenham).
Forwards: Theo Walcott (Arsenal), Ashley Young (Aston Villa), Gabriel Agbonlahor (Aston Villa), Dean Ashton (West Ham), Peter Crouch (Liverpool), Jermain Defoe (Portsmouth).
|
be06c438cb4b49bba05229508bbfe3ac
|
What number of players have been cut from the England squad for friendly in Trinidad?
|
[
"Seven"
] |
NewsQA
|
Jerusalem (CNN) -- Newly discovered artifacts beneath the huge stones of Jerusalem's Western Wall, one of Judaism's holiest sites, indicate it took longer to build than previously believed.
Until now, the wall constructed as part of King Herod's enlargement of the Temple Mount area was thought to have been completed before he died in 4 B.C.
However, the discovery of three oil lamps from the first century and 17 bronze coins, four of which were dated A.D. 16, in a ritual bath beneath the Western Wall appears to confirm the writings of a first-century Jewish historian, who said the project was completed decades after Herod's death.
"This is important because now we would not speak any more of the Temple Mount being built by Herod" alone, said University of Haifa professor Ronny Reich, an archaeologist working on the site on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority. "This is an archaeological finding that indeed the works of the Temple Mount took a long time, far after Herod's death."
A statement by the antiquities authority said the ancient historian, Flavius Josephus, wrote that Herod began constructing and enlarging the Temple Mount area in 22 B.C., which was the 18th year of his reign. Josephus wrote that it was "the largest project the world has ever heard of," according to the authority's statement.
Josephus also wrote that the completion of the building project, which included the Western Wall and Robinson's Arch as part of the Temple Mount complex, did not end until A.D. 50, the statement said.
"This bit of archaeological information illustrates the fact that the construction of the Temple Mount walls and Robinson's Arch was an enormous project that lasted decades and was not completed during Herod's lifetime," the authority's statement said. "This dramatic find confirms Josephus' descriptions which state that it was only during the reign of King Agrippa II (Herod's great-grandson) that the work was finished, and upon its completion there were 8,000-10,000 unemployed in Jerusalem."
CNN's Tom Cohen contributed to this report.
|
ad56bcd7339641e4a7410e7315b146f4
|
What wall did King Herod start?
|
[
"Jerusalem's Western"
] |
NewsQA
|
Johannesburg (CNN) -- The trial of two men accused of killing white supremacist leader Eugene Terreblanche is expected to start in the South African town of Ventersdorp on Monday.
Terreblanche, the leader of the neo-Nazi Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging (Afrikaner Resistance Movement, or AWB), was killed in April following an apparent dispute over wages with workers on his farm.
Police have charged Chris Mahlangu, 29, and a 16-year-old in the death.
The trial was initially scheduled for December but was postponed several times as lawyers for the defendants changed.
Terreblanche, 69, was bludgeoned with clubs and stabbed with a machete during the attack at his farm near Ventersdorp in South Africa's North West province, police said.
The AWB is best known for trying to block South Africa's effort to end apartheid. The group used terrorist tactics in a bid to stall the country's first all-race vote in 1994, killing more than 20 people in a wave of bombings on the eve of the elections.
Terreblanche was convicted of a 1996 attempted murder of a black man who worked as a security guard on his farm. He served about two-thirds of a five-year sentence.
|
8b6b688462cb4690b5bd3118c0614e53
|
What did Terreblanche die because of?
|
[
"apparent dispute over wages"
] |
NewsQA
|
Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) -- Nine people killed in a military action targeting militants in eastern Afghanistan apparently were members of an insurgent network, a U.S. military official told CNN on Tuesday.
"The operation was against a network of folks, who had been tracked for a while, involved in producing IEDs as well as some criminal activity," said the official, who asked not to be named.
"As a result of the action, the best info that we have is that nine of those militants in that network were killed. That's based on weapons and IED components at the scene," and it appears the nine were males, the official said.
IED is the acronym for improvised explosive device, which is a roadside bomb.
U.S.-led forces in Afghanistan said Monday they were investigating reports that 10 Afghan civilians, including eight students, were killed Saturday in a coalition operation in the Narang district of Kunar province.
Said Fazelayallah, governor of Kunar province, told CNN Monday that 10 civilians, in fact, were killed. Coalition forces said they killed their targets, he said, but a delegation sent by the governor to investigate reported the civilian casualties.
Civilian casualties in the Afghan war have stoked outrage among the citizenry and Afghan authorities. U.S. and other international forces have been working to stop such fatalities, and they have accused Taliban militants of putting civilians in harm's way.
The United Nations in Afghanistan said on Tuesday that from January to October of this year, 1,404 deaths have been caused by insurgents; 465 have been caused by pro-government forces, such as NATO's International Security Assistance Force; and other causes have led to 165 civilian deaths.
In this Kunar province incident, Fazelayallah said the operation was launched without the knowledge of government officials in the province.
The U.S. military source said it was "a joint operation with Afghan and U.S. forces."
The numbers of civilian casualties have fallen off in recent months, since Lt. Gen. Stanley McChrystal took over as U.S. commander in Afghanistan.
The military's goal is to protect population centers to enable the government to improve security and governance, McChrystal told CNN's Christiane Amanpour earlier this month. Civilian casualties, he said, make it less likely that the Afghans will support the coalition.
"It is better to miss a target than to cause civilian casualties," he said. "We can always target enemy leaders later. We can't make up for the fact that we killed civilians."
CNN's Atia Abawi contributed to this report.
|
b168f94f597449baaf4873054cc3c9eb
|
did teh governor say something
|
[
"10 civilians,"
] |
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|
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Poet and punk rocker Jim Carroll has died at age 60. Funeral arrangements are pending.
Poet, punk rocker and author Jim Carroll performs at a 2002 benefit in New York.
A respected poet and musician, Carroll also was the author of "The Basketball Diaries," which was adapted into a 1995 movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio.
Carroll died Friday at his home in Manhattan after suffering a heart attack, said his former wife, Rosemary Carroll.
In 1980, he released the popular album "Catholic Boy," which, according to his fan Web site, expressed the "[b]omb-fear anticipation, the optimistic nihilism and glittering darkness of the 1980s."
The track "People Who Died" was one of the most-requested songs on FM radio at the time, and as Newsweek's Barbara Graustark noted then, "it propelled [Carroll] from underground status to national attention as a contender for the title of rock's new poet laureate."
The release of the song coincided with the death of John Lennon. The success of the album was attributed to the powerful combination of pure rock 'n' roll with Carroll's poetic sensibility and ability to write from his own experience.
The fan Web site Catholicboy.com sums up Carroll's approach to music by quoting him as saying, "There ain't much time left, you're born out of this insane abyss and you're going to fall back into it, so while you're alive you might as well show your bare ass."
In addition to two follow-up albums, Carroll was a best-selling author of six books.
"He was a sweet, sweet man, and I'm going to really miss him," said Cassie Carter, a close friend for more than 20 years who operates Catholicboy.com.
Carroll was born in New York in 1949 and spent his childhood living on the city's Lower East Side, attending Catholic schools, said Rosemary Carroll, whom he met in 1973.
At 12, he began keeping a journal that eventually was published as "The Basketball Diaries" in 1978. In it, he recorded the highs and lows of his youth.
He first experimented with drugs at 12 and soon was addicted to heroin, but he was able to kick that habit in the 1970s, his former wife said.
He had just completed a novel, tentatively titled "The Petting Zoo," which is about a young painter who experiences spiritual crises. The date of its release has not been set.
Carroll is survived by a brother, according to his ex-wife.
|
b420834be67b4edbb5af7056075c852c
|
when was the movie made
|
[
"1995"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Altovise Davis, the widow of entertainer Sammy Davis Jr., has died. She was 65.
Altovise Davis, in a 2008 photo, married Sammy Davis Jr. in 1970.
Davis died Saturday at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California, said her publicist, Amy Malone. She had been admitted two days earlier after suffering a stroke.
Davis, a dancer and actress from Brooklyn, New York, met Sammy Davis Jr. on the set of the musical "Golden Boy" in London in 1967. The couple married three years later.
It was Sammy Davis Jr.'s third marriage. The couple remained together until he died of throat cancer in 1990.
The couple had an adopted son.
Funeral services will be held in Burbank, California, with the date and time to be announced later.
Sammy Davis Jr., himself a musician, was famous for being part of the Rat Pack, which included Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin.
CNN's Janet DiGiacomo contributed to this report.
|
973aafe3c720457e9b4574802ec7e496
|
What was the cause of death for Altovise Davis?
|
[
"a stroke."
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- New Zealand police are investigating a "serious allegation" against four England rugby internationals following an alleged incident at their team hotel in Auckland.
The England team are currently involved in a two match tour to New Zealand.
Although Auckland police have yet to confirm the nature of the allegation, the Press Association reports that an incident is said to have taken place early Sunday in a private hotel room at the city's Hilton hotel following the team's defeat to New Zealand's All Blacks.
In a statement the police said: "Auckland City Criminal Investigation Branch is investigating an allegation involving up to four members of the England rugby team.
"The incident being investigated is alleged to have occurred early on Sunday, June 15, in a private room. Whilst an allegation was brought to the attention of police on Sunday evening, no formal complaint has been received.
"Investigating officers are receiving the appropriate level of co-operation from the England rugby team management."
The Rugby Football Union (RFU) confirmed it was fully co-operating with the authorities over the matter.
Rob Andrew, the RFU's elite director of rugby, said in a statement: "The England rugby team has been informed by Auckland Police that an allegation has been made against four members of the England playing squad.
"Whilst no formal complaint has been made we are co-operating with the police and their enquiries.
"The players concerned have the complete support of all the players and the management. In the circumstances we are unable to make any further comment."
The identity of the players has not been revealed.
The England team is currently in Christchurch preparing for the second test against the All Blacks on Saturday.
|
40f57a22c01346639affe886aae3f9ec
|
Which team did they lose to before the incident?
|
[
"New Zealand's All Blacks."
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- The man who accused pop star Michael Jackson of molesting his son in 1993 killed himself in his New Jersey condo earlier this month, police said.
Evan Chandler, 65, was found by the building's concierge November 5 after a doctor, who was treating him for cancer, said he missed an appointment, the Jersey City, New Jersey, police report said.
Chandler was "extremely ill" with cancer, the report said.
He was working as a dentist in Beverly Hills, California, in 1993 when he said his son, who was 13 at the time, told him that Jackson had molested him. His son revealed it, he said, when he put him under anesthesia to pull a tooth.
The Los Angeles County district attorney did not pursue criminal charges against Jackson, but Chandler and his son reached a confidential financial settlement with the singer after filing a lawsuit. Reports at the time said the Chandlers got between $16 million and $20 million from Jackson's insurance company.
The Chandler accusation became a key part of the prosecution's case when Jackson was tried and acquitted of molestation a decade later in Santa Barbara County, California.
The elder Chandler was found "on his bed in a lifeless state with a gun in his hand," the investigator's report said. "The victim had a silver revolver in his right hand which was pressed against the right side of his head," Officer J.S. Sielski wrote.
Chandler, who was estranged from most of his family, owned the .38-caliber pistol he used to kill himself, Jersey City spokesman Stan Eason said.
No suicide note was found, Eason added.
Chandler's brother -- a lawyer in Santa Barbara County -- told CNN in 2003 that Chandler feared for his life because of threats made by angry Jackson fans.
"There's a hard-core group, there was and probably still is, of fanatical fans who see him as a deity," Ray Chandler told CNN's Larry King. "Some of them will go to any lengths that, you know, there's some who will just go as far as threatening, there's some who will go -- who will be violent, and you know, you never know how far it is going to go."
Ray Chandler has not responded to calls from CNN for comment about his brother's death.
|
cfbe9855bbd648bcb80c3f33f173aa22
|
Was Jackson acquitted?
|
[
"tried and"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Jesse James was cited for vandalism after an incident last week with a photographer near his Long Beach, California, motorcycle shop, police said.
Celebrity photographer Ulises Rios also was cited for stalking James, Long Beach Police Sgt. Dina Zapalski said.
Long Beach detectives were given a copy of the video of the March 25 run-in recorded by Rios, his lawyer said.
James, a motorcycle designer and reality TV star, has been the target of controversy and publicity since his separation with actress Sandra Bullock soon after she won a best actress Oscar earlier this month.
James is at a treatment facility "to deal with personal issues" in a bid to save his marriage to Bullock, a spokeswoman for James said Wednesday.
A citation is the equivalent of an arrest, Sgt. Zapalski said.
The Long Beach city prosecutor will decide if the cases will be prosecuted, she said.
Detectives with the city's violent crimes section met with the lawyer for Rios Thursday morning to obtain a copy of the video, attorney Mark Haushalter said.
The video shows James confronting Rios, who is sitting in a vehicle park across the street from West Coast Choppers, a business owned by James, Haushalter said.
Two tires on the SUV were slashed, a door was dented and a window was scratched, he said.
The lawyer for James did not immediately respond to CNN requests for comment.
|
bc1eaf8bc81b4170ad84dbedf8699eff
|
what is the name of Sandra Bullock's husband?
|
[
"James"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Former first lady Barbara Bush was moved out of the intensive care unit of a Houston, Texas, hospital into a regular room Thursday after surgery to repair and seal a perforated ulcer, a hospital spokeswoman said.
Ex-first lady Barbara Bush has been moved out of ICU and into a regular room.
Bush, 83, was in good spirits and was joking with hospital staffers, the Methodist Hospital spokeswoman said. She was being fed intravenously.
Her doctor said earlier she will be allowed no food by mouth for about a week, to avoid possibly stretching her abdominal area.
The former first lady showed up at Methodist's emergency room Tuesday night complaining of severe abdominal pain, Dr. Patrick Reardon, who performed the surgery, told reporters Wednesday.
Doctors determined Bush had a perforated ulcer in her duodenum, the first portion of the small intestine after the stomach, he said.
In the operating room, doctors thoroughly cleaned her abdominal cavity of any contaminants that had leaked through the hole, described by the hospital as being one centimeter in diameter.
Then, doctors repaired the ulcer and sewed a piece of the fat tissue in the abdomen, on top of it to seal it, Reardon said.
Bush's husband, former President George H.W. Bush, was with her Thursday morning, but was leaving to attend Thanksgiving dinner with his son Neil, the Methodist Hospital spokeswoman told CNN.
The ulcer was biopsied and is benign, Reardon said Wednesday. He suggested it might have been caused by anti-inflammatory medications.
CNN's Sean Callebs contributed to this report.
|
65338c5874294666b6054e4ed054cb95
|
What did Bush have a surgery to repair?
|
[
"a perforated ulcer,"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Two people were killed and two were severely wounded Tuesday in a shooting at a courthouse in Landshut, Germany, police said.
A police car sits outside the courthouse in the German city of Landshut.
The gunman, a 60-year-old man, was among the dead, Bavarian Police said in a statement.
It happened around 10:15 a.m. (4:15 a.m. ET) during a break in a court proceeding about inheritance, Landshut police spokesman Leonard Mayer told CNN.
The man began shooting once he stepped outside the courtroom, police said.
He wounded three people before turning the gun on himself, Mayer said. One of the victims, a woman, died about 2 1/2 hours later, Bavarian Police said. Watch more about the shooting »
The lives of the two wounded victims are not in danger, he told CNN.
The courthouse has no metal detectors or security checks that would have turned up the shooter's weapon, Mayer said.
This latest shooting in Germany took place less than a month after a school massacre in the southwestern town of Winnenden, in which a total of 16 people were killed.
|
af06009ab50e4ba38611cd57e08862cf
|
Where is Landshut?
|
[
"Germany,"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Chennai Super Kings won the third staging of the Indian Premier League (IPL) as they beat Mumbai Indians by 22 runs in the final of the Twenty20 tournament on Sunday.
Mumbai with home advantage and with an in-form Sachin Tendulkar in their ranks fell well short in their pursuit of the 168 for five wickets posted by Chennai in their allocated overs.
Suresh Raina was the star for Chenna with an unbeaten 57 in their knock and a tight spell of bowling including the wicket of lower-order dangerman Harbhajan Singh.
He posted a blistering 72-run stand with Chennai and Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni (27) but their total still looked only respectable with the likes of Tendulkar and Keith Pollard in the Mumbai ranks.
But off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin immediately piled on the pressure with an opening maiden over to Shikhar Dhawan, who fell in the next over to Australia paceman Doug Bollinger as he edged to Dhoni.
Tendulkar and Abhishek Nayar (27) shared a 66-run stand but just when they were upping the ante, Nayar was run out and Raina, introduced for the first time in the 12th over, also got rid of Harbhajan in the same over.
The killer blow came in the 15th over when left-arm spinner Shadab Jakati had Tendulkar caught for 48 on the boundary and then removed Saurabh Tiwary.
With the Indians needing 55 from the last three overs, the crowd were silent until Pollard, who had been mysteriously kept back, smashed Bollinger for two sixes and two fours in the 18th which yielded 22 runs.
However, both Rayudu (21) and Pollard fell in the penultimate over from Albie Morkel and the game was up for Mumbai with the final action played out in near silence among the capacity crowd.
|
1470e632e49c41e8913870b16b3ff33f
|
Who is Suresh Raina?
|
[
"star for Chenna"
] |
NewsQA
|
MIAMI, Florida (CNN) -- Miami police issued a plea for information Saturday after at least one person with an assault rifle opened fire on a crowd of people on a streetcorner Friday night, killing two teens and wounding seven other people.
Evidence markers dot the Miami street where nine people were gunned down with an AK-47 Friday night.
"We need the community to come together, someone come forward and give us a tip," Miami Police Officer Kenia Alfonso told CNN.
"There are a lot of people in that area. Someone must have seen something, someone must know who could've done this horrific crime."
Alfonso said two teens, ages 16 and 18, died in the attack, which broke up a game of craps in front of a grocery store about 9:50 p.m. Friday in the city's Liberty City neighborhood.
Five of the shooting victims were still in the hospital Saturday night, according to CNN affiliate WSVN.
Others told WSVN that a masked man with an AK-47 burst onto the scene and ordered everyone to the ground.
"Boy came round the corner; he was like, 'Get down,' and he just started shooting," 16-year-old victim Andrew Jackson told WSVN. Watch as resident describes scene as "war zone" »
Six of the nine shot were current or former Northwestern Senior High School students, Alfonso said.
"It was like a war zone," resident Joan Rutherford told WSVN. "I witnessed this guy laying there with his face, looked like it was completely tore off. His eyes was all I could see, and he had a grip on some money and gasping and trying to lift his head up to say something."
Police Chief John Timoney said that at least one man with an AK-47 "discharged numerous rounds, then ran around the corner. There were some more rounds discharged there from an AK-47 and another weapon."
One of those wounded was in critical condition Saturday and undergoing surgery, Timoney said.
"We are convinced that because of the amount of people out here last night that there is somebody that knows the individuals or individual involved, and we need them to come forward," Timoney said, according to WSVN.
"These are weapons of war, and they don't belong on the streets of Miami or any other street in America," Mayor Manuel Diaz said. Watch Miami residents call for stricter laws »
Alfonso said police did not know the motive for the shooting and had no suspects.
CNN's Patty Lane contributed to this report.
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eb33c056b2cf4c93a0e319facecff9e2
|
What did the teen tell WSVN?
|
[
"\"Boy came round the corner; he was like, 'Get down,' and he just started shooting,\""
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- A B-2 stealth bomber crashed early Saturday morning local time in Guam, according to the Air Force.
A B-2 stealth bomber taxis at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, in a 2005 photo.
Two pilots who were aboard during the crash, at Andersen Air Force Base, ejected from the bomber and were in good condition afterward, according to an Air Force statement.
The pilots were from the 509th Bomb Wing. The military didn't release their names.
Emergency responders were on the scene of the crash. A board of officers will investigate its cause.
The crash is the second in three days of an Air Force craft. Watch smoke rise from crash site
An Air Force fighter pilot was killed Wednesday after two F-15C jets collided during a training exercise over the Gulf of Mexico. The planes were from the 33rd Fighter Wing, a combat-flying unit out of Eglin Air Force Base near Pensacola, Florida. E-mail to a friend
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1d3d75da505e4eccab5cae70061935da
|
The crash scene was where?
|
[
"Guam,"
] |
NewsQA
|
ROME, Italy -- Italy national coach Roberto Donadoni has left Cristiano Lucarelli in his squad for next Saturday's crucial Euro 2008 qualifier in Scotland.
Lucarelli keeps his place in the Italian squad after scoring twice against South Africa.
The Shakhtar Donetsk striker is in fine form and has been rewarded for his inspiring performance in last month's friendly against South Africa, when he scored twice in the world champions' victory.
While Donadoni has again left out veteran forwards Filippo Inzaghi and Alessandro Del Piero, he has handed Juventus striker and Italy under-21 international Raffaele Palladino his first call-up to the senior squad.
Donadoni's squad is also boosted by the return from suspension of captain Fabio Cannavaro,
Italy go into the clash in Glasgow third in Group B, two points behind leaders France and one point below Scotland.
Italy end their qualifying campaign by taking on bottom side the Faroe Islands in Modena on November 21.
Italy squad:
Goalkeepers: Marco Amelia (Livorno), Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus), Gianluca Curci (Roma)
Defenders: Andrea Barzagli (Palermo), Daniele Bonera (AC Milan), Fabio Cannavaro (Real Madrid), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Fabio Grosso (Lyon), Massimo Oddo (AC Milan), Christian Panucci (Roma), Gianluca Zambrotta (Barcelona)
Midfielders: Massimo Ambrosini (AC Milan), Mauro Camoranesi (Juventus), Daniele De Rossi (Roma), Gennaro Gattuso (AC Milan), Simone Perrotta (Roma), Andrea Pirlo (AC Milan)
Strikers: Antonio Di Natale (Udinese), Alberto Gilardino (AC Milan), Vincenzo Iaquinta (Juventus), Cristiano Lucarelli (Shakhtar Donetsk), Raffaele Palladino (Juventus), Fabio Quagliarella (Udinese), Luca Toni (Bayern Munich) E-mail to a friend
|
4080ecf939cc4ff58a0bd43448b3c301
|
Who impressed by scoring twice in the recent victory over South Africa?
|
[
"Lucarelli"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Congolese rebels seized a major military camp and a spacious gorilla park in a renewed bout of heavy fighting that sent thousands fleeing, according to the United Nations and park officials.
Young gorillas play in Congo's Virunga Park, which was taken over Sunday by rebels fighting army forces.
The fighting comes after a tenuous week-old U.N. brokered cease-fire between rebels and government forces fell apart Sunday.
Fighting between the rebels under renegade Gen. Laurent Nkunda and Congolese army regulars in the eastern province of North Kivu of the Democratic Republic of the Congo displaced thousands of civilians, according to U.N. spokesman Michele Bonnardeaux.
The rebels also seized the headquarters of Virunga National Park in eastern Congo after intense fighting with the Congolese army, according to a statement by park officials.
The rebels have used Virunga Park as a base but have never seized its headquarters before.
The 3,000 square mile (7,800 square kilometer) park has a gorilla facility and is home to 200 of the 700 endangered mountain gorillas in existence.
"Over 50 rangers were forced to flee into the forests and abandon the park station, in fear of their lives," the park statement said.
"They have seized the entire gigantic infrastructure [of the park headquarters] which is stategically very close to the main road heading north into Goma," said park spokeswoman Samantha Newport by phone from Goma, about 40 kilometers from the fighting.
"The situation is eastern Congo is very dangerous," she said. "It's the first time they've [rebels] ever had the audacity" to take over the park. Watch as park ranger describes the violence as it explodes behind him »
Newport said the rebels have set up roadblocks so the rangers are making their way through woods south to safety.
She said the gorillas and other wildlife in the park are in danger of getting caught in the crossfire.
A park ranger described the takeover.
"When the rebels started approaching the park station we thought we were all going to be killed," said Park Ranger Bareke Sekibibi, 29, who spoke by cell phone from the forest earlier as he fled, according to the park statement.
" We are not military combatants, we are park rangers protecting Virunga's wildlife."
Although the civil war in the Congo officially ended in 2003, recent fighting in eastern Congo between government forces and rebels has caused tens of thousands to flee their homes
The conflict and humanitarian crisis in Congo have taken the lives of some 5.4 million people since 1998, and that 45,000 people continue to die there every month, according to an International Rescue Committee report in January.
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294b3bab039641ef9623dd18f3daf432
|
Where is Virunga Park?
|
[
"Congo's"
] |
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|
(PEOPLE.com) -- Sixteen days after her December 8 Las Vegas wedding to boyfriend Barry Herridge, Sinead O'Connor is ending the marriage, the "Nothing Compares 2 U" singer announced Monday on her website.
"Dear friends," O'Connor 45, writes, "I had for reasons u will all understand, wished to keep this private but have been told today it is to be leaked in the next few days despite my best efforts. So I must now leak it myself so as the record is straight."
She blames pressures placed upon him by "certain people in his life" not to be with her based on press reports about her.
"Within 3 hours of the ceremony being over the marriage was kyboshed by the behaviour of certain people in my husband's life. And also by a bit of a wild ride i took us on looking for a bit of a smoke of weed for me wedding night as I don't drink," she writes. "My husband was enormously wounded and very badly effected by that experience and also by the attitude of those close to him toward our marriage. It became apparent to me that if he were to stay with me he would be losing too much to bear."
She adds, "A woman wants to be a joy to her husband. So.. U love someone? Set them free."
She also says, "He is a wonderful man. I love him very much. I'm sorry I'm not a more regular woman. I truly believe though it is painful to admit, we made a mistake rushing into getting married, for altruistic reasons, and weren't aware or prepared for the consequences on my husband's life and the lives of those close to him. He has been terribly unhappy and I have therefore ended the marriage. I think he is too nice to do so. And too nice to trap."
O'Connor, who has four children from her previous relationships, wed music producer John Reynolds in 1989 and journalist Nicholas Sommerlad in 2001. This past April, she split from longtime friend and collaborator Steve Cooney.
See the full article at PEOPLE.com
© 2011 People and Time Inc. All rights reserved.
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951983e045d44341aeb1a36fec7009e8
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What is being blamed?
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[
"pressures placed upon him by \"certain people in his life\""
] |
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(CNN) -- EU border patrol missions are scouring the Italian shore in search of yet another missing vessel carrying North Africans attempting to reach Europe, a Maltese commander told CNN Thursday.
Many immigrants from Africa attempt to make the perilous journey across the Mediterranean in overcrowded boats.
On Friday, a French patrol frigate operating under Frontex, a EU border patrol mission, alerted Italian officials of new incoming vessels after sighting six corpses floating in the Mediterranean.
Maltese army officials were unable to recover the corpses because of poor weather conditions.
"Unrelated to these corpses cited, last Friday, we monitored a fiberglass boat that originated from North Africa carrying about 30 to 35 people on board," said Major Ivan Consiglio from Valletta, the Maltese capital.
"Its fate is uncertain," he said. "We have lost track of this boat."
Malta is a hub for immigrants from Africa trying to reach Europe.
Approximately 20,000 would-be immigrants have been apprehended on European shores just this year alone, according to Frontex figures.
But many do not survive the trek.
"These waters are like the American Wild West," Consiglio said. "So many boats try to cross with families and children and some never make it."
Humanitarian groups such the Dutch-based UNITED against Racism, which keeps records on immigration, say thousands of Africans have died trying to cross the Mediterranean and the Adriatic.
The trek between Sicily and Tunisia has been dubbed "a floating cemetery for African immigrants."
In August, 70 people died off the cost of Malta attempting to cross the Mediterranean.
On Wednesday, about 300 would-be immigrants were rescued during a storm in the Italian island of Lampedusa.
Consiglio said that a growing number of would-be immigrants are braving the waters of the Atlantic in overcrowded dingy boats -- a dangerous mission this time of the year.
"It's fall here, waters are choppy and covered with fog," he said. "Trips are becoming even riskier and these locally-manufactured fiberglass boats don't have the same rigidity."
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3c84ba53a1074bc2be21f4e6e3692313
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What is the cause of so many deaths?
|
[
"immigrants from Africa attempt to make the perilous journey across the Mediterranean in overcrowded boats."
] |
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BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- At least 6,000 Christians have fled the northern Iraqi city of Mosul in the past week because of killings and death threats, Iraq's Ministry of Immigration and Displaced Persons said Thursday.
A Christian family that fled Mosul found refuge in the Al-Sayida monastery about 30 miles north of the city.
The number represents 1,424 families, at least 70 more families than were reported to be displaced on Wednesday.
The ministry said it had set up an operation room to follow up sending urgent aid to the displaced Christian families as a result of attacks by what it called "terrorist groups."
Iraqi officials have said the families were frightened by a series of killings and threats by Muslim extremists ordering them to convert to Islam or face death.
Fourteen Christians have been slain in the past two weeks in the city, which is about 260 miles (420 kilometers) north of Baghdad.
Mosul is one of the last Iraqi cities where al Qaeda in Iraq has a significant presence and routinely carries out attacks. The U.S. military said it killed the Sunni militant group's No. 2 leader, Abu Qaswarah, in a raid in the northern city earlier this month.
In response to the recent attacks on Christians, authorities have ordered more checkpoints in several of the city's Christian neighborhoods.
The attacks may have been prompted by Christian demonstrations ahead of provincial elections, which are to be held by January 31, authorities said.
Hundreds of Christians took to the streets in Mosul and surrounding villages and towns, demanding adequate representation on provincial councils, whose members will be chosen in the local elections.
Thursday, Iraq's minister of immigration and displaced persons discussed building housing complexes for Christian families in northern Iraq and allocating land to build the complexes.
Abdel Samad Rahman Sultan brought up the issue when he met with a representative of Iraq's Hammurabi Organization for Human Rights and with the head of the Kojina Organization for helping displaced persons.
A curfew was declared Wednesday in several neighborhoods of eastern Mosul as authorities searched for militants behind the attacks.
CNN's Mohammed Tawfeeq contributed to this report.
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e355da603839475bb4f903fe017545f4
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What did extremists order thdm to do
|
[
"Islam or face death."
] |
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(CNN) -- When Barack Obama is sworn in as the 44th president of the United States, the wish list that has been building abroad may have grown longer than he or anyone else can deliver.
The world's newspapers marked Barack Obama's election win. Now, world governments want him to act.
There are the apparently eternal conflicts of the Middle East and Kashmir, between India and Pakistan, that have already reared their ugly heads almost as a warning even before Obama took office. Between them, they engulf most of the grievances and violence that shape the Islamic world and its relations with the United States.
Intense U.S. involvement will be needed to help resolve both of the conflicts. This will require imagination, creative out-of-the-box diplomacy, and the courage to see it through both from the United States and leaders on the ground. Going back even to the status-quo ante will no longer be sufficient.
The 30-year-old rupture in relations between the United States and Iran is also expected to be addressed as a key priority by the new administration. Both the president-elect and his secretary of state-designate have said they want to abandon the silent treatment and isolation of previous administrations and try engaging Iran, as a way of resolving difficult issues such as its nuclear program and its influence in Iraq and Afghanistan. Watch Amanpour talk about world views of Obama »
The United States remains bogged down in hot wars in both of those countries. While the Obama administration plans to increase troops and nation-building in Afghanistan, it is also signaling it will not give President Hamid Karzai's government the "free ride" he is thought to have received from the Bush administration. Karzai will be expected to root out corruption and better address the needs of the Afghan people.
The new administration will also try to revive nuclear arms agreements that have been abandoned over the last eight years and try to forge a more constructive relationship with Russia, while persuading that country to meet its international obligations too.
While many allies -- and adversaries -- welcome the new U.S. administration's declaration to use diplomacy and soft power, the question remains: Will Washington's allies also pull their weight in helping set their common agenda?
Many nations and governments say they welcome America's vital global leadership, and the question at the start of the Obama administration is: Will they rise robustly to the occasion, and not just carp from the sidelines? While much is expected from Obama, much, too, will be expected from his allies.
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ea968fda08504d7aade943a9812ff212
|
Who needs attention?
|
[
"Afghan people."
] |
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|
SEATTLE, Washington (CNN) -- Software giant Microsoft apologized Wednesday for the apparent bad judgment that led to the head of a black model being swapped for that of a white model in an online advertisement.
A black man in an online Microsoft ad was replaced with a white man, bottom, on the company's Polish Web site.
The ad -- which showed three business people, one Asian, one white and one black -- was altered on Microsoft's Web site for Poland to place the head of a white man on a black man's body.
"We apologized, fixed the error and we are looking into how it happened," said Lou Gellos, a Microsoft spokesman.
He said that because the company was still reviewing how the swap occurred he could not comment further.
On Microsoft's official page on the social network site Twitter, a posting calls the swap "a marketing mistake" and offers "sincere apologies."
The episode drew widespread criticism on the Internet after Engadget, an influential tech blog, published news of the gaffe Tuesday.
The business Web site CNET.com wrote that the change in models may have been made with the "racially homogeneous" Polish market in mind. CNET is a CNN.com content partner.
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1fc9489b80264eb2ba0f282f3f518983
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what did the Microsoft spokesman say?
|
[
"\"We apologized, fixed the error and we are looking into how it happened,\""
] |
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|
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The United States temporarily closed its government facilities in South Africa on Tuesday after a "possible threat" to its embassy, the U.S. State Department said.
The U.S. Consulate in Johannesburg, South Africa, is among the American facilities closed Tuesday.
The U.S. Embassy in Pretoria and other government offices in South Africa will remain closed Wednesday as the security threat is being monitored, embassy spokeswoman Sharon Hudson-Dean said.
State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said the action was a precaution.
"We are ... notifying the American community in South Africa to remain vigilant," Kelly said. "We are also maintaining close contact with South African authorities on this issue."
He had no further details on the "possible threat" to the embassy in Pretoria.
A note on the embassy's Web site said all U.S. government facilities in South Africa were temporarily closed following "information recently received" by regional security officials.
Kelly said the embassy's Emergency Action Committee met and is formulating an appropriate course of action.
CNN's Nkepile Mabuse and Elise Labott contributed to this report.
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c70c74ce79bd4e0580cd9b12f7f61c25
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What will be closed an additional day ?
|
[
"The U.S. Embassy in Pretoria and other government offices in South Africa"
] |
NewsQA
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Seoul, South Korea (CNN) -- Three Japanese lawmakers were denied entry at a South Korean airport Monday after they announced they would attempt a visit to an island near disputed territory in what Korea calls the East Sea and Japan calls the Sea of Japan.
The lawmakers arrived at Gimpo International Airport near Seoul at 11:20 a.m. but were denied entry by the immigration service, according the Ministry of Justice.
The trio is expected to return to Japan on a later flight, but details were not yet available, the Ministry of Justice said.
The Japanese politicians announced they would visit Ulleung Island -- adjacent to the disputed Dokdo islets -- after the two countries clashed over a civilian aircraft running a test flight over the area.
The islets in the sea to the east of Korea, known as Dokdo in Korea and Takeshima in Japan, have been a prickly issue for both countries. Japan has long claimed the islets as its territory, but Seoul said all Korean territory was returned after the country won independence from colonial rule by Japan in 1945.
The South Korean Foreign Ministry warned Friday that the government would not allow the three politicians to enter the country, saying it cannot guarantee the safety of the lawmakers and that the decision is out of consideration of bilateral relations.
Monday's visit is widely viewed as an act of protest by right-wing politicians after the two countries clashed over the islets last month.
The Japanese government issued a ban on flying with South Korea's flagship airline, advising Japanese officials to refrain from flying with Korean Air in July. Korean Air had conducted a test flight over the islets twice to celebrate the launching of its new aircraft in June.
Seoul demanded Tokyo withdraw the ban, but with no success.
South Koreans view the islets as a source of national pride and have taken various measures to reassert its ownership of the islets. The land is largely uninhabited with only seven registered residents.
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a69ea850d67e47b29038b0d7fea64d9a
|
What are the disputed islets?
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[
"Dokdo"
] |
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(CNN) -- Millions of people around the world have taken part in ceremonies marking the 100th anniversary of the Scouting movement.
Scouts renewed their promise to build a tolerant and peaceful society.
Dawn celebrations involving 28 million young people took place across the globe, from Ecuador to Bhutan.
In southern England, 40,000 young people from around the globe gathered to take part in the largest ever 12-day world Scout Jamboree.
The island where the movement was born, Brownsea Island off the coast of England, has been the focus of celebrations, with 300 scouts from more than 160 countries attending a commemorative camp.
It was on that site that Scouting founder Robert Baden-Powell held an experimental camp for 20 boys, following his experiences in the Army during the Boer War.
The movement requests its members, boys and girls from the age of six, to uphold values such as trustworthiness, loyalty and to "do their best".
Scouts from countries including the UK, Lebanon, Nepal, Rwanda, Serbia, Libya and Argentina, displayed their flags on the island, before taking part in a sunrise ceremony.
In Romania, scouts formed a human chain around the Parliament building in the capital Bucharest to express how young people will play a role in the country's future.
In Namibia, Africa, around 1,000 scouts cooked breakfast over a camp fire, and groups from Malawi camped at the top of Mulanje mountain.
The Taj Mahal in India, the Eiffel Tower in Paris and the Sydney Opera House in Australia also witnessed sunrise ceremonies.
The small gathering at Brownsea Island led the rest of the globe in renewing their Scouting promise to build a tolerant and peaceful society.
A speech written by Baden-Powell during the first scout camp was also read out to the group.
It includes a call for peace, comradeship and cooperation over rivalry between "classes, creeds and countries which have done so much in the past to produce wars and unrest".
Alistair, 16, from Manchester, at the Brownsea Island ceremony, said: "It has made me think how one man has changed the world.
"It is one world, one promise. We are all here as peace ambassadors. We are the next generation. We are the ones bringing peace forward into the world," he told the Press Association.
Ana Mejia, 14, from Honduras, added: "It doesn't matter what our nationality, our religion, our color, we are a family and we have to support each other.
Baden-Powell's book "Scouting for Boys" is the fourth biggest selling book in the world after the Bible, the Koran and Mao's Little Red Book. E-mail to a friend
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1e69ddd7bf6b4e66ba4dcd0f5a4523d8
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How many scouts took part?
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"28 million"
] |
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(CNN) -- Defending champion Venus Williams ensured the Wimbledon final would be another family affair with a devastating performance against Russia's Dinara Safina in Thursday's second semifinal.
Venus dropped only one game as she crushed top seed Dinara Safina to reach her eighth Wimbledon final.
Third seed Venus produced an awesome display on Centre Court, crushing world No.1 Safina 6-1 6-0 in just 51 minutes, after sister Serena had earlier won an epic three-set semifinal against Elena Dementieva.
There was no way five-times champion Venus, was being sucked into such a dogfight.
Her match was a much more subdued affair as she outclassed the top seed from the moment she settled into the match, winning the first nine points and breaking the Safina serve.
Safina simply could not cope with the Williams serve, with one ace in the third game clocking in at 124mph, the fastest in the women's tournament.
Safina managed to get her side of the scoreboard ticking in the sixth game but it was no consolation as Venus stepped up the power on her groundstrokes.
When Venus broke the Safina serve again at the start of the second set the match was essentially over.
Unforced errors sprayed from Safina's racket throughout the second set and a double fault in the fifth game handed Williams another break of serve.
The end eventually came when Safina dumped another forehand into the net to allow Venus to take the match, after which she expressed her delight at another all-Williams, all-American final on July 4.
Venus told the BBC: "This is my eighth final and it is a dream come true to have another opportunity to hold the plate up.
"I was able to stay focused and I have so much experience on this court. But the hardest part has to come, to play Serena in the final."
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d7c24ee497604048be608b5ef8cd5427
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Who did she beat?
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[
"Dinara Safina"
] |
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(CNN) -- Mexico issued a hurricane warning for the southern Baja California peninsula Monday in preparation for Hurricane Jimena, a powerful Category 4 storm with winds near 155 mph (250 kph), the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.
Forecasters expect Hurricane Jimena to approach the southwestern tip of Baja California's peninsula Tuesday.
A hurricane warning means hurricane conditions are expected within 24 hours. The storm could bring as much as 2 feet of rain to the area, along with dangerous, battering waves, forecasters said.
Jimena was centered about 285 miles (460 km) south of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, according to the hurricane center. It was traveling northwest near 10 mph (17 kph) but meteorologists expect Jimena to pick up speed in the coming day.
Forecasters expect the storm to continue in a northwest motion and approach the southwestern tip of Baja California Tuesday, forecasters said.
"It's not expected to change in strength very much during the next day or so," said Daniel Brown, a hurricane specialist at the center. See the storm's projected path »
"It may begin to weaken a little as it approaches the Baja peninsula, but it's expected to remain a very dangerous hurricane, perhaps a Category 3 as it approaches that area."
Jimena is the 10th named storm of the Pacific season.
Residents in spots expected to be hit by Jimena should prepare for potentially rough conditions, Brown said.
Tropical Storm Kevin is also making its presence felt in the Pacific Ocean, just to the west of Jimena, but it is weak and is not expected to do any damage, according to Brown.
"For the eastern Pacific, it has been about a near-normal season. It has gotten much busier here during the month of August," Brown said.
CNN's John Lorinc contributed to this report.
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d1d55b257238426184e09414fa5eae97
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Where are hurricane warning being issued for?
|
[
"southern Baja California peninsula"
] |
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Washington (CNN) -- The White House on Friday began releasing the names of visitors as part of a Barack Obama campaign promise to run a more transparent administration.
Last month, Norm Eisen, special counsel to the president for ethics and government reform, said records of White House visitors would be made available to the public on an ongoing basis beginning in December.
"We will achieve our goal of making this administration the most open and transparent administration in history not only by opening the doors of the White House to more Americans, but by shining a light on the business conducted inside it," he said. "Americans have a right to know whose voices are being heard in the policymaking process."
As part of that initiative, he offered to look back at records from before the announcement.
Eisen said Friday that 110 disclosure requests from September have been processed, yielding nearly 500 visitor records that have been posted on the White House Web site. Since the release covers only those records that are at least 90 days old, the first records cover January 20 to July 31.
"This first release is only the latest in a series of unprecedented steps by the president to increase openness in government," Eisen said.
Given that up to 100,000 people visit the White House each month, the names published Friday included people with some very familiar names -- including William Ayers, Michael Jordan, Michael Moore, Jeremiah Wright and R. Kelly -- that did not belong to their more famous counterparts, he said.
"The well-known individuals with those names never actually came to the White House," Eisen said.
The names can be seen at www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/disclosures/visitor-records
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0afb66a7ec7944a5bdaaaa844c390282
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Up to how many people visit the White House each month?
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[
"100,000"
] |
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|
LONDON, England (CNN) -- Britain's Serious Fraud Office and London police are investigating an alleged $81 million (£56 million) fraud on the corporate banking department of Allied Irish Banks (AIB).
Allied Irish Banks has allegedly been the subject of a $81 million fraud.
The SFO said it had searched a business and two residential addresses in London and believed AIB was not the only financial institution deceived by the suspects.
It said that between 2003 and 2007 AIB, Ireland's largest bank by market value, loaned money for the purchase of UK investment properties to companies controlled by an individual who was now the main suspect.
The SFO said the main suspect operated with the assistance of others.
However, in 2008 AIB identified problems with one element of its security interests over the investment properties.
"Following an internal review it became apparent that the guarantees of certain lease payments on these properties by an investment grade counterparty (a blue chip property company) were fraudulent," the SFO said.
AIB referred the matter to the authorities and also took control of and sold the relevant properties, which resulted in a write down of the outstanding loan balances by £56m, the SFO said.
The office said the alleged fraud involved the borrowing companies creating "overriding" leases.
"These leases were generally for longer periods and at higher rents than the existing occupational tenants' leases.
"The apparent existence of these additional leases increased the values of the properties, with lease payments being a direct obligation of the investment grade counterparty," the SFO said.
AIB is considering legal action over the $81 million loss.
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7118bab28d9546c6a14a1748a60a3833
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Where did this take place?
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"London"
] |
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LONDON, England (CNN) -- Up to 1,000 human rights campaigners demonstrated Saturday in front of No. 10 Downing Street, the official residence of British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, calling on the British government to demand that full democracy be restored in Pakistan.
Jemima Khan, center, ex-wife for former Pakistani cricket star Imran Khan, joins protesters in London.
Protesters waved placards and chanted in support of the resignation of Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, a week after he imposed a state of emergency in the country.
The crowd of demonstrators massed behind barriers and included Jemima Khan, the ex-wife of former Pakistani cricket star turned politician Imran Khan.
The demonstrators carried placards saying "Free the innocent" and "End Musharraf's Regime" and waved Pakistani flags.
Imran Khan, who heads the the Movement for Justice Party, has been under house arrest since the emergency declaration.
His ex-wife delivered a petition to a doorman at Downing Street, calling on Britain to use its influence to ensure that all institutions are in place well in advance of Pakistani elections originally scheduled for early next year. The petition also demands that Pakistan restore democracy and the judiciary and calls on Musharraf to release all political prisoners, including lawyers, journalists and opposition politicians. E-mail to a friend
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52f50a7de1074220bee61385296f0763
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What are protesters urging the government to do?
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[
"full democracy be restored in Pakistan."
] |
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(CNN) -- Conjoined Egyptian twin boys Hassan and Mahmoud, who were successfully separated in Saudi Arabia Saturday, are recovering and are expected to lead normal lives, officials said.
Conjoined twins Hassan, left, and Mahmud rest the day before separation surgery in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
"The twins' vital signs are good; they're doing excellent," said Sami Al-Shalan, spokesman for the King Abdulaziz Medical City facility in Riyadh where the surgery took place. "The twins still have about 24 hours before a progress report can be issued. The anesthesia consultants are happy with the progress of the children."
The boys are less than a year old and were brought to the kingdom on February 10. The delicate surgery took a little more than 15 hours.
"The twins' parents have visited them in the [pediatric intensive care unit], but they can't stay there long. They come and go," Al-Shalan said.
Separating the boys' urinary system was a major challenge, Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah, the Saudi minister of health, told CNN. So was separating the siblings' local veins and arteries, he said.
"We had to identify the arteries and the blood veins between each baby," Al-Rabeeah said. Watch Al-Rabeeah explain the operation »
The procedure was the 21st of its kind to be performed in the kingdom.
The surgeries are performed free as part of King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz's philanthropic initiative.
CNN's Mohammed Jamjoom contributed to this report.
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42830ba7f9ad42cbb481661b273623f2
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What was declard successful?
|
[
"separation surgery"
] |
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|
Los Angeles (CNN) -- A man wounded Friday when a gunman opened fire at passing vehicles along a downtown street in Hollywood has died, a spokeswoman at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles said Monday.
John Atterberry died shortly before 5 p.m. Monday, according to Simi Singer, the hospital spokeswoman.
The music-industry executive was shot in the jaw at Sunset Boulevard and Vine Street.
The gunman, 26-year-old Tyler Brehm, went on the rampage that ended with his being fatally shot by police, Los Angeles police spokeswoman Sgt. Mitzi Fierro has said.
An amateur video captured the scene of Brehm walking down Sunset Boulevard wielding a handgun and firing at vehicles, seemingly at random. Brehm fired a "significant number" of rounds, police said.
He then returned to an intersection, where he was confronted by a plainclothes police detective and an off-duty police officer working on a nearby movie set, officials said.
"At that point the police ordered him to drop his weapon and he pointed his gun at the police and an officer-involved shooting occurred," Fierro said.
Brehm died later at a nearby hospital, according to a police statement.
Christopher Johns recorded much of the incident from his apartment window and can be heard shouting at Brehm throughout.
"Why don't you come up here?" he yelled, later telling CNN that he intended to distract the gunman.
At one point, Brehm spoke with Johns, asking him for ammunition and to call an ambulance.
Fierro said it appeared Johns could interact with the suspect without jeopardizing his safety.
"It appears from the video that he was able to distract the suspect and keep him from shooting at additional people before the police arrived," she said.
Police have not indicated that they know Brehm's motive.
Two others suffered minor injuries.
Witnesses were stunned by the shooting spree. Amy Torgeson told CNN affiliate KABC that vehicles began "swerving and braking," and she sought cover at a nearby bank.
"A car drove by and he just shot right into the car," Torgeson said. "He was just shooting everywhere."
CNN's Regina Graham contributed to this report.
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e98347a373764062b5b1758035259c74
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Where did the shooting spree happen?
|
[
"in Hollywood"
] |
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|
NEW YORK (CNN) -- A Syrian arms dealer was sentenced to 30 years in a U.S. federal prison for conspiring to sell weapons as part of a plot to kill Americans in Colombia, according to prosecutors.
Syrian-born arms dealer Monzer al-Kassar, seen in a file photo, tried to sell weapons to undercover U.S. agents.
Monzer al-Kassar was also ordered Tuesday to forfeit all of his assets, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York.
Al-Kassar's co-defendant Luis Felipe Moreno Godoy received a 25-year prison sentence for his role in the conspiracy.
Both men were convicted in November of five charges, including conspiracy to murder U.S. nationals, conspiracy to acquire and export anti-aircraft missiles, conspiracy to provide support for FARC guerrillas in Colombia, and money laundering.
The federal indictment paints al-Kassar as an international arms dealer with a hand in conflicts in nearly every part of the world, with a web of bank accounts and front companies across Europe and the Middle East.
Al-Kassar was arrested in Spain in 2007 on a U.S. warrant and his associate Moreno Godoy was arrested in Romania. Both were extradited to the United States.
The arrests stemmed from an undercover sting operation involving U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents posing as members of FARC. During the 16-month operation, the agents arranged to buy more than 12,000 weapons from the two men, according to the indictment.
Al-Kassar agreed to provide surface-to-air missiles for the FARC to shoot down American helicopters, and also offered to send 1,000 men to fight with the FARC, plus explosives and men who could train the FARC in how to use them, the indictment charged.
Al-Kassar demanded 3,500,000 euros ($4.4 million) as "partial payment" for the weapons, it said.
Justice Department officials say al-Kassar has been a source of weapons and military equipment for armed combatants since the 1970s.
Kassar had told journalists before he was arrested that he had retired from arms dealing, but the United States says he had been involved since the 1970s, providing weapons and military equipment to armed factions in Nicaragua, Cyprus, Bosnia, Croatia, Iran, Iraq, Somalia, and elsewhere.
CNN Justice Producer Terry Frieden contributed to this report.
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43181dab6f3446bba16061825cdd6925
|
what was his plan
|
[
"sell weapons as part of a plot to kill Americans in Colombia,"
] |
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Beijing (CNN) -- Chinese officials said they killed seven members of the Uighur ethnic group in the restive western region of Xinjiang in order to free two hostages -- an account the Uighurs disputed.
The hostages -- local villagers looking for their lost sheep in the rural county of Pishan outside of Hotan city-- were kidnapped by a group of Uighurs on Wednesday night, said Hou Hanmin, a spokeswoman for the chief of the regional information office in Xinjiang.
The operation to rescue them left one police officer dead and wounded another, he said.
However, Dilxat Raxit, a spokesman for the Stockholm-based World Uighur Congress, said the shooting did not stem from a rescue operation.
Police opened fire when locals clashed with officers during a demonstration outside the police bureau, he said. The Uighurs were protesting a recent security crackdown in Hotan city.
"This is incident was not an accident," he said. "It is a direct result from the Chinese crackdown on Uighurs. It has become unbearable for Uighurs there to accept the oppression and current rule from the Chinese government."
The Chinese authorities have often blamed militants of Uighur descent for outbreaks of violence in Xinjiang in recent years. Uighurs are ethnic Turks who are linguistically, culturally and religiously distinct from China's majority Han population.
Beijing has said Uighur militants are often based overseas and has linked some of them to the East Turkistan Islamic Movement that allegedly trains in Pakistan.
The clash comes after a two-month security crackdown, which ended in October, against violence, terrorism and radical Islam across the resource-rich region, which borders Pakistan, Afghanistan and numerous unstable Central Asian states.
The tightened security measures included 24-hour security patrols of troubled areas, identity checks and random street searches of people and vehicles.
Uighur activists say the crackdowns have only heightened anger among Uighurs who already accuse the government of religious and political repression. Uighurs also say they feel economically disadvantaged as a thriving Han population continues to move into the region.
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d9b42e6e3bea4309a56b99676b156424
|
How many villagers were taken hostage?
|
[
"two"
] |
NewsQA
|
MADRID, Spain (CNN) -- A 92-year-old woman with cocaine strapped to her body flew all the way from Brazil to Spain before police arrested her, in a wheelchair, at Madrid's airport.
A Civil Guard spokeswoman says the 92-year old was apprehended at Madrid's Barajas Airport.
They found 4.3 kilos, or nearly 9.5 pounds, of cocaine packets strapped to her legs and torso, and also arrested a 44-year-old female companion, who tried to escape on another plane, a Civil Guard spokeswoman told CNN Tuesday.
The two women, both from Uruguay, were arrested Friday after arriving in Madrid on a flight from Sao Paolo, Brazil. But officials did not release details about the case until this week, after a judge had arraigned the two on drug trafficking charges. The judge ordered the younger woman to prison but sent the 92-year-old to a senior citizens' home in Madrid.
Due to her advanced age, "it's practically impossible" that she would be tried or face jail time, said the Civil Guard spokeswoman, who by custom is not identified. Police did not identify the two women.
Civil Guards became suspicious when the younger woman repeatedly told the older woman -- who had asked for an airport wheelchair in Madrid to traverse the terminal -- that if they rushed, they would make their connecting flight to Spain's Canary Islands.
The Civil Guards, who run customs controls at the airport, stopped the woman in the wheelchair.
The younger woman immediately fled, first trying to make the connecting flight, which by then had closed its doors, and then attempting to leave the airport terminal for the street.
But she was stuck in the "satellite," or second building, of Terminal 4, which is connected to the main building and the street by an underground train. Police caught up with her before she left the satellite terminal.
The two would-be smugglers probably expected a cash payment and return flight tickets to Brazil from their drug trafficking contacts, the Civil Guard spokeswoman said.
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b5538412542a4a938b9cb221e21d857c
|
Where were the women from?
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[
"Uruguay,"
] |
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|
(CNN) -- Arsenal's Andrey Arshavin became the first player to score four goals in a league game at Liverpool for 64 years but it was not enough to stop the Reds returning to the top of the Premier League after another 4-4 draw.
Russian Arshavin hit four goals for the first time in his career in a dramatic eight-goal Anfield thriller.
A week after crashing out of the Champions League 7-5 on aggregate after sharing eight goals in their quarterfinal second leg at Chelsea, Liverpool took their fans on another rollercoaster ride.
A draw was going to be enough to take the Merseysiders above Manchester United -- they have two games in hand -- but it needed 90 minutes of drama before they edged ahead on goal difference.
Russian striker Arshavin opened the scoring after 36 minutes and struck again after 67, 70 and 90 as Arsenal bounced back following their weekend FA Cup semifinal defeat.
Fernando Torres, with a header after 49 minutes, and Yossi Benayoun (56) hit back after halftime before Arshavin sent Arsenal 3-2 ahead with 20 minutes left.
Torres's second of the night after 72 hauled Rafael Benitez's side level two minutes later -- but it took Benayoun to salvage a draw for Liverpool in the third minute of time added on after that man Arshavin had hit number four after 90 minutes.
It was the first time in his career that Arshavin had scored four in a match and he told Sky: "I liked the game but of course it's not good for the team...almost basketball."
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger said of his Russian star: "His performance was outstanding. He had a quiet first half but when he comes into the game he is always very dangerous. He has personality and is a winner."
Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez saw his team concede a quartet of sloppy goals but he could not fault their commitment to the cause.
"You never know," he said of the Reds' dwindling hopes of overhauling United. "Today we made too many mistakes, but it's also very positive because the team showed character until the last minute."
Benitez added: "They (United) had it (the advantage in the title race) before and they continue in the driving seat. We have to keep pushing and showed today we will fight until the last game."
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7303c6769a8f429aa74112cc60cc938b
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what team does arshavin play for?
|
[
"Arsenal's"
] |
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|
NEW DELHI, India (CNN) -- Indian tourism authorities will be holding English classes for auto-rickshaw drivers in New Delhi as the city prepares to host the Commonwealth Games in 2010.
Auto-rickshaw drivers are being taught English ahead of the Commenwealth Games.
More than 40,000 natural gas-fueled auto-rickshaws, or motorized three-wheeled taxis, run on the Indian capital's dilapidated roads, according to the city government statistics.
The city is expected to host around 100,000 tourists during the Commonwealth Games scheduled from October 3-14 in 2010.
About 9,000 athletes and officials of 52 Commonwealth countries are likely to participate.
Some 8,000 auto-rickshaw drivers will be enrolled in the training program that will involve classes in yoga, life skills, first aid, spoken English and psychometric tests, federal Tourism Secretary Sujit Banerjee announced Tuesday.
Each trainee will be paid Rs 200, or about $4, daily for attending the program spread over 200 sessions for a year.
Indian auto-rickshaw drivers have often been accused of overcharging, refusing short trips and misbehavior.
Traffic authorities have in the past opened a range of avenues for passengers to lodge their complaints -- such as on help lines, via text messages or simply calling a telephone number printed on the three-wheeled cabs.
"The India image that we strive to convey to a foreign tourist depends, to a large degree, on how good the taxi/auto-rickshaw (driver) that he or she meets is in his demeanor and conduct," Banerjee remarked.
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7e0e14427ba24b7a9ac15825ebd50d28
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What is the number of tourists expected during the Commonwealth Games?
|
[
"100,000"
] |
NewsQA
|
HARARE, Zimbabwe (CNN) -- Zimbabwe urgently needs to form a new government in order to address a food crisis in the nation and prevent starvation, newly designated Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai told reporters Saturday.
At least 80 percent of the population of Zimbabwe are living below the poverty line.
Tsvangirai, leader of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, said there was a "deepening food insecurity" in the country.
"We need to respond to this crisis with utmost urgency," he said. "It is therefore imperative that a government be formed in the next few days and begins to implement plans to insure that our people have food and do not die of starvation."
Zimbabwe industries are operating at about 10 percent of capacity, and the food and manufacturing industry will not be able to deliver sufficient food supplies to markets.
Tsvangirai signed a power sharing deal with President Robert Mugabe on September 15 but the two have not yet agreed on the distribution of Cabinet posts.
Earlier this week, Mugabe told the press that only four posts were still to be agreed on. But Tsvangirai said in response, "I think to minimize the remaining issues to only four issues, it is to underplay the whole process. The issue is that the negotiation must be concluded I think the matter will be solved once all the principals are back in the country."
Mugabe has been in the United States for a meeting of the United Nations General Assembly. He is expected back in the country after Saturday.
Zimbabwe has been facing a collapsing economy for nearly a decade, and is plagued with high unemployment, food shortages and at least 80 percent of the population living below the poverty line.
This has been accompanied by dizzying levels of inflation -- now officially at 11.2 million percent, the highest in the world.
Once an exporter of food, Zimbabwe has been a net importer of food since 2000, when Mugabe's government embarked on a controversial and violent land reform program that displaced some experienced commercial farmers, most of them of European origin.
Tsvangirai said he has consulted with food security experts and was told the country needs to import 800,000 tons of maize (corn) to avoid starvation until the next harvest in April.
|
455ade427a8e4343aa7199220bb7da7e
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What kind of a crisis are they having in Zimbabwe?
|
[
"food"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Federal drug investigators have taken over the inquiry into the January 22 death of actor Heath Ledger in a New York apartment, a law enforcement source told CNN Thursday.
Actor Heath Ledger, 28, died January 22 at an apartment in Lower Manhattan.
Ledger, 28, an Oscar-nominated Australian actor, died of an accidental overdose of six types of medication, according to the New York City medical examiner's office.
The medical examiner's office said Ledger "died as the result of acute intoxication by the combined effects of oxycodone, hydrocodone, diazepam, temazepam, alprazolam and doxylamine."
Oxycodone and hydrocodone are pain medications; diazepam -- also known as Valium -- is used to treat anxiety; temazepam is a sedative used to induce sleep; alprazolam -- known by the trade name Xanax -- is an anti-anxiety agent. Doxylamine, an antihistamine, can be obtained over the counter as a sleep aid.
The law enforcement source said the federal drug investigators are trying to determine if the drugs were prescribed legally, and are looking at two doctors -- one based in California and another in Texas.
Ledger's first American film was the teen comedy "10 Things I Hate About You" in 1999. He passed up several scripts before taking a role in the Revolutionary War drama "The Patriot" in 2000 and "A Knight's Tale" in 2001. He also played a supporting role in "Monster's Ball."
But Ledger was perhaps best known for his portrayal of Ennis Del Mar in "Brokeback Mountain," Ang Lee's film about two cowboys who had a secret romantic relationship. The role earned Ledger a best actor Oscar nomination. E-mail to a friend
CNN's Brian Vitagliano contributed to this report.
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0b78d3601a8642dea84f855351fa4ee7
|
When did Ledger die?
|
[
"January 22"
] |
NewsQA
|
LONDON, England (CNN) -- British Airways is asking thousands of its staff to work for free for up to four weeks, spokeswoman Kirsten Millard said Tuesday.
British Airways plans to reduce capacity by 4 percent next winter by parking up to 16 aircraft.
In an e-mail to all its staff, the airline offered workers between one and four weeks of unpaid leave -- but with the option to work during this period. British Airways employs just more than 40,000 people in the United Kingdom.
Last month, the company posted a record annual loss of £400 million ($656 million).
Its chief executive declared at the time there were "absolutely no signs of recovery" in the industry.
"In 30 years in this business and I've never seen anything like this. This is by far the biggest crisis the industry has ever faced," said Willie Walsh, British Airways' chief executive. Watch more about BA's request »
A spokesman for one of Britain's biggest unions said its workers could not afford to work for free for a month.
"It's all well and good for Willie Walsh to say he's prepared to work for free when he earns four times in a month what they do in a year," said Ciaran Naidoo, a spokesman for Unite.
He pointed out that the airline was not ordering staff to work without pay.
"It's a request -- you can take unpaid leave or you can work for free, and the chances of people working for free are very unlikely, but there might be some people who want to take unpaid leave."
Demand for the airline's passenger seats and cargo holds fell during the last financial year, while its fuel bill rocketed to almost £3 billion ($4.7 billion).
Walsh said British Airways' woes were inextricably linked to the downturn in the global economy and that there had been no sign of any "green shoots" of recovery.
Like its premium-class competitors, British Airways is losing customers to cheaper rivals.
The airline's premium passenger numbers fell 13 percent in the second half of last year, in line with the industry average.
Total traffic fell 3.4 percent and while the airline carried 33.1 million passengers last year, it was a drop of 4.3 percent from the previous year.
The dip in demand for British Airways' flights has forced a switch in strategy at the airline.
From the end of last year, it has been trying to tempt passengers with lower fares, sacrificing profit per seat for "bums on seats."
It plans to reduce capacity by 4 percent next winter by parking up to 16 aircraft.
CNN's Alysen Miller contributed to this report.
|
349d77a1c1114c8c8efefc8795290ece
|
What did a union spokesman say?
|
[
"its workers could not afford to work for"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Italy's MotoGP star Marco Simoncelli was killed in a crash on the second lap of the Malaysian MotoGP Sunday.
The tragic accident happened when Simoncelli came off at Turn 11 of the Sepang circuit while in fourth place.
His Honda bike swerved across the track and he was hit by fellow competitors Colin Edwards and Valentino Rossi.
Simoncelli, 24, had his helmet knocked off in the crash and he lay motionless on the track.
American Edwards also fell but escaped serious injury, while former multi-world champion Rossi returned unhurt to the pits on his Ducati.
The race was abandoned and Simoncelli was given emergency treatment at the track's medical center, but it was to no avail.
"Marco Simoncelli succumbed to injuries sustained in the Malaysian MotoGP," read a short statement on the official MotoGP website to confirm the fatality.
It came just a week after the tragic death of two-time Indianapolis 500 champion Dan Wheldon at a race in Las Vegas.
On the same day, 2010 MotoGP champion Jorge Lorenzo crashed as he warmed up for last week's round in Australia and sustained a serious hand injury.
Lorenzo's misfortune meant Australian Casey Stoner wrapped up the world title with two races still to go, Sunday's race in Malaysia, and the final round in Spain.
Rossi, a seven-time world champion in motorcycling's elite category, left the track devastated by the accident involving his fellow Italian and "good friend" Simoncelli.
Rossi's team manager at Ducati, Vittoriano Gureschi, gave his reaction.
"Valentino is shocked by this incident. Valentino is a strong man but this incident is a big tragedy. He has lost a good friend," he said.
The Italian sports community was left stunned by Simoncelli's death and a minute's silence was held at all major events, including Serie A football games.
|
e57083a635f348e1a3edcc7bf240e22f
|
What was he struck by?
|
[
"fellow competitors Colin Edwards and Valentino Rossi."
] |
NewsQA
|
LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- A judge Wednesday approved Katherine Jackson's request that Michael Jackson's estate get the bill for the cost of this week's burial of her son.
A private funeral for Michael Jackson, here in 2002, will be held Thursday in Glendale, California, his family says.
More than two months after his death, the pop singer will be interred in a private ceremony Thursday evening at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California, the Jackson family said.
A short hearing was held Wednesday morning before Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff to consider Katherine Jackson's petition.
The special administrators of his estate -- in control of the purse strings until the will is probated -- did not object to the Jackson family's request.
The cost of the burial is a secret -- kept under court seal by Beckloff's order -- but it is believed to include paying Glendale police to handle traffic and security around the cemetery.
The ceremony, which will be closed to the public and news media, is set for 7 p.m. at the cemetery's Holly Terrace in the Great Mausoleum, a family spokesman said.
On July 7, Jackson's family and friends gathered at Forest Lawn's Hollywood Hills cemetery for a short service just before a public tribute to the singer in downtown Los Angeles.
There has been widespread speculation about the whereabouts of Jackson's body. It has remained a closely guarded secret.
The pop star's siblings and parents have been divided over where to bury him, several family members have said.
Older brother Jermaine Jackson has said he wanted the singer to be buried at his former Neverland Ranch in Santa Barbara County, California, while others have objected.
The burial comes less than a week after the Los Angeles County coroner made public his conclusion that Jackson's June 25 death was a homicide. The coroner ruled that the anesthetic drug propofol and the sedative lorazepam were the primary drugs responsible for the death.
Los Angeles police detectives have not concluded their criminal investigation into the singer's death. No one has been charged.
|
a9a031131961434a9ca0f2f4dff95f2d
|
What was kept under court seal by judge's order?
|
[
"The cost of the burial is a secret"
] |
NewsQA
|
Washington (CNN) -- NFL player Samuel Hurd has been arrested and charged with conspiring to distribute cocaine, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced Thursday.
Agents say Hurd, 26, a wide receiver for the Chicago Bears, was arrested Wednesday night after a five-month investigation that began in Dallas, where Hurd once played for the Cowboys. Authorities say he was trying to set up a drug distribution network in Chicago.
The complaint states that Hurd met with an ICE undercover agent at a restaurant in Chicago on Wednesday night when, law enforcement officials say, Hurd introduced himself as the person communicating with a confidential informant.
Hurd stated that he was interested in purchasing 5 to 10 kilograms of cocaine, at $25,000 per kilogram, and 1,000 pounds of marijuana at $450 per pound per week for distribution in the Chicago area, according to ICE.
Hurd said that "he and another co-conspirator currently distribute about four kilograms of cocaine per week in Chicago but that his supplier couldn't supply him with enough quantity," Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials said.
After they finished negotiating, according to the complaint, the undercover agent presented Hurd with a kilogram of cocaine that Hurd accepted.
"Hurd stated that he plays for the Chicago Bears and that he gets out of practice at about 5:30 p.m., after which he would make arrangements to pay for the kilogram of cocaine," ICE officials said in a news release, "Hurd left the restaurant with the bag of cocaine and was arrested shortly thereafter in the parking lot of the restaurant."
If convicted, Hurd faces a maximum penalty of 40 years in prison and a $2 million fine for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine. CNN's efforts to contact Hurd's lawyers were unsuccessful Thursday afternoon.
|
359ec60786a64541b85b7bbf5cac681e
|
what Officials accuse him of trying to set up?
|
[
"a drug distribution network in Chicago."
] |
NewsQA
|
Guangzhou, China (CNN) -- In a new book, the half brother of President Obama claims the father they shared was often drunk and physically abusive.
"My father beat me," Mark Obama Ndesandjo told reporters in China, where he lives. "He beat my mother. You just do not do that. I shut these thoughts in the back of my mind for many years."
Ndesandjo, who took the last name of the man his mother remarried, has dodged the media in the year since his half brother was elected U.S. president. However, he spoke out Wednesday regarding his semi-autobiographical book, "Nairobi to Shenzhen."
An engineer by trade, Ndesandjo moved to Shenzhen, China, after losing his job in the United States seven years ago. He owns a small chain of restaurants in Shenzhen and teaches piano to orphans.
Watch as the president's half brother instructs kids on the piano
He said that he struggled with the name Obama for years, telling few about his family.
But he said something happened to change that after he watched Obama's victory celebration in Chicago, Illinois' Grant Park following the 2008 election. His own despair turned into hope, he said.
"I saw millions of people who loved or supported my brother Barack, and in the process, in some weird way, I came to terms with many things that I had shut out of my life, including the Obama name," he said.
In his book, "Dreams of My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance," Obama writes that he grew up in Hawaii, raised by his mother and her parents, after his father, Barack Obama Sr., returned to Africa. He recalls a monthlong visit with his father when he was 10 and going to Kenya after the elder Obama's death. In the book, Obama acknowledges his father was an alcoholic.
There was no immediate reaction from the White House to Ndesandjo's comments.
Ndesandjo said he has met with Obama infrequently over the years but said he would like to introduce his half brother to his Chinese wife when Obama makes his first official visit to China this month.
Presidential brothers, such as Billy Carter and Roger Clinton Jr., historically have not had an easy ride. However, Ndesandjo said he wants to live his life and tell his own story, not have others tell it for him.
CNN's John Vause contributed to this report.
|
4b2f8441d981452c908f1b2eb419c78b
|
Who is President Obama's half brother?
|
[
"Mark Obama Ndesandjo"
] |
NewsQA
|
LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Jon Hamm has a confession to make: He hates his hair.
Jon Hamm poses with his partner, Jennifer Westfeldt, at the premiere of "The Day the Earth Stood Still."
That may come as a surprise to fans of the actor, whose slick-backed hair is part of his signature look on "Mad Men" -- the show that just earned him another Golden Globe nomination for best actor in a TV drama.
In the new movie "The Day the Earth Stood Still," Hamm sports a slightly different 'do, with his bangs combed rakishly over one eye. It was in the context of promoting the sci-fi remake that Hamm revealed his tonsorial frustration.
"It's the bane of my existence. Goofy hair," he said in a self-deprecating interview with CNN. "It never looks good ... It's a pain."
Hamm says he's always worn his hair long, but had to cut it for AMC's TV series, in which he plays a 1960s Madison Avenue ad executive. He says stylists on the show, armed with hair spray and blow dryers, mold his coiffure into a hard shell. Helmet hair has come in handy at work.
"I've had a piece of the set fall on my head and my hair didn't move," he said. "I had seven stitches in my head and my hair didn't move. That's impressive."
Whether it's his hair, good looks, acting chops or a combination thereof, Hamm's star is on the rise in Hollywood. Apart from his co-starring role in "The Day the Earth Stood Still," Hamm recently completed work on the murder mystery "The Boy in the Box." He hosted "Saturday Night Live" this fall, he's due to play Tina Fey's love interest on "30 Rock" and he continues to receive accolades for his work on "Mad Men" (nominations for an Emmy and a Golden Globe so far).
How does that make Hamm feel?
"Exciting is the right way to say it. It's been a good year. It's very exciting," he said. "I get to read a lot more scripts. I get to meet interesting people. I get to work with interesting people ... It's fun to be sort of invited to the party."
|
d80e39d03b464c0e8c07f69558ffb51e
|
Jon Hamm earned what nomination?
|
[
"for best actor in a TV drama."
] |
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|
Beijing, China (CNN) -- The death toll from an explosion at a northeastern China coal mine rose to 104 Monday morning, according to state-run media.
Another four workers were still trapped underground in the mine shaft as of 7:20 a.m. (6:20 p.m. ET Sunday), the Xinhua news agency said. A buildup of toxic gases was hampering rescue efforts, according to CCTV.
Sixty miners remained hospitalized Monday for injuries ranging from carbon monoxide poisoning to burns, CCTV reported. Of those, six had sustained severe burns that left them in critical condition.
About 530 miners were working in the mine when the blast occurred at about 2:30 a.m. Saturday (1:30 p.m. ET Friday). The Heilongjiang Longmei's Xinxing mine is operated by the Hegang company.
A preliminary investigation indicates the blast was a gas explosion, Xinhua reported.
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f90e467337894e60bf41ebc47bfb40d6
|
How many miners were hospitalized?
|
[
"Sixty"
] |
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|
(WIRED) -- Microsoft released an Xbox Live app for iOS devices on Wednesday, bringing features of Microsoft's gaming service to Apple devices for the first time.
My Xbox Live lets users edit their 3-D avatars, chat with Xbox Live friends and revel in their achievements. You can also check out more information about the newest apps and games on Xbox, as well as gaming tips and breaking news.
Windows Phone users have had Xbox Live services packaged into their mobile experience for a while now, but now iOS users can get a piece of the action. And whether they like it or not, iOS users who download the app are also getting a screen similar to a Windows Phone-style user interface.
The iPhone app features the horizontal bar across the bottom of the screen that houses the same sort of circular icons you'd find in a Windows Phone 7 app. Also included: a clever browser-based demo that lets you virtually explore the UI of a Windows Phone from your Android or iPhone handset.
While you may already be on a phone of a different OS, it has potential to lure potential defectors over to Microsoft's mobile platform.
It's been a good week for Microsoft. On Tuesday, the company unveiled the details of its upcoming Windows Store for Windows 8, the newest version of the world's most popular desktop platform.
And on Monday, the company announced that the Xbox was getting a user interface refresh, with dozens of new content channels and the addition of a Windows Phone app you can use to control your Xbox. Microsoft's iOS apps are now icing on top of the cake.
Now when are we going to get those Microsoft Office apps on the iPad?
My Xbox Live is available free for download on the iPhone and iPad in the App Store.
Subscribe to WIRED magazine for less than $1 an issue and get a FREE GIFT! Click here!
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7760cb89b8f2493ab02e8b0f6dbf5b5f
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what downloaded ios users
|
[
"Xbox Live app"
] |
NewsQA
|
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- After heated arguments, the Iraqi parliament turned down the first draft of a bill Saturday that would have allowed foreign troops, including British forces, to remain in Iraq after the U.N. mandate expires on December 31.
A British soldier attends an Iraqi army training session Thursday in Iraq's Basra province.
Kurdish legislator Mahmoud Othman said the measure was sent back to Iraqi Cabinet members for reworking before resubmitting it to lawmakers. There is no parliamentary deadline for the measure to pass.
The bill does not apply to U.S. troops because the United States last month reached a Status of Forces Agreement with the Iraqi government that calls for American troops to leave Iraqi cities by June 2009, and to be out of Iraq by the end of 2011.
But after December 31 other foreign troops would not be authorized to remain in Iraq. This could cause a problem for Britain, which has the second-largest number of troops in Iraq after the United States.
Britain was the leading U.S. ally during the invasion of Iraq and still has about 4,000 troops based outside the southern city of Basra. Five other nations -- Albania, Australia, El Salvador, Estonia and Romania -- have a total of fewer than 2,000 troops Iraq, according to the Multi-National Force-Iraq Web site.
British troops will begin leaving Iraq in May 2009, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said in a joint statement with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki during a visit to Iraq on Wednesday. Watch the planning to withdraw U.S. forces from Iraq »
Othman said some legislators argued that the bill had not been assigned to committees, as is the custom before a measure's first reading. The session became so contentious that the speaker threatened to resign, lawmakers said.
Lawmakers will take a holiday break for Christmas and New Year but could be called back into session by the parliament speaker, Othman said. Watch Britain's PM talk on withdrawing UK troops »
Wrangling over the bill on non-U.S. troops began Wednesday when the first reading took place.
CNN's Jomana Karadsheh contributed to this report.
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f84c69db10b84b24a1019ea86b1469c0
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What did lawmakers question legitimacy of?
|
[
"the bill"
] |
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|
(CNN) -- A voluntary recall has been issued for more than 40 over-the-counter drugs for children, including Tylenol and Motrin, because they don't meet quality standards.
"This recall is not being undertaken on the basis of adverse medical events," McNeil Consumer Healthcare said in a statement Friday. "However, as a precautionary measure, parents and caregivers should not administer these products to their children."
FDA commissioner Margaret Hamburg gave a similar recommendation in a statement Saturday, saying, "we want to be certain that consumers discontinue using these products," though she called the chance for serious health problems "remote."
"Some products in the recall may have a higher concentration of active ingredient than specified while others may have inactive ingredients that don't meet testing requirements, the company said.
The company said it issued the recall after consulting with the Food and Drug Administration. The affected brands include: Tylenol Infants' Drops, Children's Tylenol Suspensions, Children's Tylenol Plus Suspensions, Motrin Infant Drops, Children's Motrin Suspensions, Children's Zyrtec Liquids in Bottles and Children's Benadryl Allergy Liquids in Bottles.
The drugs were made in the United States and distributed to Canada, the Dominican Republic, Dubai, Fiji, Guam, Guatemala, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Panama, Trinidad & Tobago and Kuwait.
"There are a number of other products on the market, including generic versions of the recalled products, which are intended for use in infants and children and are not affected by the recall," the FDA said Saturday in issuing guidance to parents.
More details are available by calling 1-888-222-6036 or visiting McNeil's website.
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74047ab91a9d45c489d981ca91c1f0b7
|
Where were the drugs made?
|
[
"United States"
] |
NewsQA
|
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Capitol Police arrested a man Friday after an officer spotted a rifle in his car when he stopped the officer to ask for directions two blocks from the Capitol building.
Police inspect the suspect's vehicle in Washington on Friday.
Christopher Shelton Timmons, 27, has been charged with carrying a deadly weapon, having an unregistered firearm and having unregistered ammunition, Capitol Police spokeswoman Sgt. Kimberly Schneider said.
In addition to the rifle -- an AK-47 -- police found a grenade, a pistol, ammunition, loaded magazines "and several other items of concern to the police" in the Jeep Cherokee he was driving.
Authorities said Timmons was convicted of carrying a concealed weapon in March in Albemarle County, Virginia, and served a month in jail. In that incident, Timmons had two grenades in his car, said Albemarle Police Chief John Miller.
The pins had been removed and the grenades were filled with powder, authorities said. They had an adhesive on top to close them and a firecracker for a fuse.
Law enforcement sources said the grenades were similar to an item found in Timmons vehicle Friday. That device has been taken to the FBI facility in Quantico, Virginia.
Members of the joint terrorism task force are involved in the investigation, sources said, but so far no one is suggesting Timmons was planning an attack of some kind.
CNN Justice Correspondent Kelli Arena contributed to this report.
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2ee9de9949a4428e90a7588701789092
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What is the suspect's name?
|
[
"Christopher Shelton Timmons,"
] |
NewsQA
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(CNN) -- Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson hailed his side's rollercoaster 4-3 victory over neighbors Manchester City at Old Trafford as the "best derby of all time."
Ferguson and substitute Gary Neville celebrate Owen's late winner.
Ferguson made the claim while ruing his side's sloppy defensive play which allowed City to claim three equalizing goals before Michael Owen's clinical winner deep into injury time on Sunday.
"It could have been an embarrassment, 6-0 or 7-0, if we defended our proper way," claimed the legendary Scot.
"We could have won by a big score but by making mistakes, which was the essence of the game, we probably were in the best derby game of all time.
"What do you choose? Win the best derby game of all time or win 6-0? I'd probably pick 6-0." Was this the greatest derby ever?
The build-up to the match had been marked by a war of words between Ferguson and City manager Mark Hughes, who has been handed a massive transfer budget by his side's Abu Dhabi owners.
Ferguson had branded them "cocky" and did little to dampen down the rivalry with his post match comments.
Blog:Should referees also keep time?
"Sometimes you have a noisy neighbor. You cannot do anything about that. They will always be noisy," he said.
"You just have to get on with your life, put your television on and turn it up a bit louder.
"Today the players showed their form. That is the best answer of all."
By contrast, City manager Mark Hughes was furious with referee Martin Atkinson for the amount of added time played, with Owen scoring in the 96th minute.
"We need an explanation because I don't know why the referee has added that amount of time on," said Hughes.
"We just feel a little bit aggrieved that they were given that time."
It was a heartbreaking finale for his team with Bellamy's magnificent second goal after a mistake by Rio Ferdinand appearing to give his up and coming side a share of the spoils.
"We're disappointed, we put in a hell of a shift today," said Hughes. "Craig Bellamy scored two magnificent goals. He didn't deserve to be on the losing side," added Hughes.
Ferguson, who has used free transfer signing Owen sparingly this season, said the England striker showed his true quality.
"His positional play, first touch and finish were absolutely superb. World class."
The victory took United to second place in the English Premier League behind pacesetting Chelsea with City suffering their first defeat of the season.
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9eaf95db5cf94669ae89760da5f46aad
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What was the final score?
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[
"4-3"
] |
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BOGOTA, Colombia (CNN) -- "Easy money, fast and effective."
Investors protest outside the headquarters of DMG, one of many companies accused of defrauding the public.
That was the name of one of the businesses in which millions of Colombians deposited their life savings after being promised short-term returns of as much as 150 percent.
But government officials say the businesses were pyramid schemes that raked in at least $200 million from 3 million people.
The government has said it knows who most of those responsible are, but they have escaped. The government is tracking them down.
Sergio Munoz is among those who lost their savings.
"That was for my children," he said. "Now, it comes to light that they have robbed us. It was with complicity of the authorities who permit this -- knowing that it is illegal for it to be permitted."
The government says the businesses defrauded the public by offering false promises of a sure investment.
Wilson Rodriguez handed over the equivalent of $80,000 to a money man who offered him what he thought were assets in hotels and property in exchange.
Now, he doesn't know whom to approach.
"I don't even have enough to care for my family," he said. "I lent money and what I make from my salary goes to pay off debts. I have nothing. I lost everything."
Infuriated investors have demonstrated outside the headquarters of several companies in question across the nation.
Worried that the situation has already led to physical altercations and riots, President Alvaro Uribe asked that authorities act immediately to bring those responsible to justice.
"We are asking the public prosecutor to speed up the resolution of the cases," he said. "The national police has handed to the prosecution the power to intervene in pyramids."
Treasury Minister Oscar Ivan Zuluaga said the government is not to blame.
"The government had advertised all this time about the illegality of this operation, warning Colombians not to let themselves be defrauded, not to take their money to these illegal activities," he said.
Meanwhile, some observers complain that, though the investors may shoulder some blame, the government could have mitigated their losses by moving more quickly.
And, they note, some of the alleged pyramid schemes continue to stay in business.
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ac472ee2a4f54ab39be063f947001f03
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What did pyramid schemes do?
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[
"raked in at least $200 million from 3 million people."
] |
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(CNN) -- Space shuttle Atlantis launched Monday afternoon to deliver key spare parts to prolong the life of the International Space Station.
The shuttle lifted off as scheduled, at 2:28 p.m. ET from the Kennedy Space Center near Cape Canaveral.
The delivery will add years to the station's life after the space shuttle fleet is retired next year, according to NASA. Monday's launch is among six planned before then.
"You'll see this theme in some of the flights that are going to come after ours as well," said Brian Smith, the lead space station flight director for the 11-day mission. "This flight is all about spares. Basically, we're getting them up there while we still can."
Some parts are for systems that keep the station from overheating or tumbling through space, according to NASA.
"We're taking the big ones," Smith said. "And not only are they the big ones -- they're the ones deemed most critical. That's why they're going up first."
The six-member crew will return to Earth with flight engineer Nicole Stott, who launched in August.
CNN iReport: Share your photos, video of shuttle launch
The mission also will include three spacewalks and installation of two platforms to the station's backbone. The platforms will hold spare parts to sustain station operations after the shuttles are discontinued.
"As the only vehicle large enough to carry many of the big pieces of equipment into space, several of the flights are devoted to the task," NASA said. iReporter attends NASA "Tweet-up"
Other items set for delivery include nitrogen and ammonia tank assemblies, a high-pressure gas tank and the station's robotic arm. The tanks help cool and pressurize the station.
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d00500af199a4f9fb86d5d660b2d7ee8
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What will happen to the fleet next year?
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[
"retired"
] |
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(CNN) -- One person died and six were injured when a cargo train derailed, causing an explosion and massive fire in Illinois, a fire chief said Saturday.
A train carrying chemicals derailed and burned for hours, forcing the evacuation of about 600 homes
Crews were still fighting the blaze at midday, but expected to have it fully contained in the afternoon, said Rockford Fire Chief Derek Bergsten.
"It's under control and we're taking every precaution not to harm firefighters or residents," Bergsten said, adding that federal and state environmental officials were on scene monitoring air and soil samples.
The fatality was a woman, said Winnebago County Coroner Sue Fiduccia. The cause of death had not been determined because Fiduccia was unable to get close enough to examine the body.
Bergsten said six people were injured, and all train workers were accounted for.
The train was carrying chemicals that burned for hours, forcing the evacuation of about 600 homes in the town about 50 miles (80 kilometers) northwest of Chicago, authorities said.
Officers were called to the scene near Rockford about 8:30 p.m. Friday, a city police spokeswoman said. The derailment involved automobiles, but it was unclear whether they were on the tracks, she said.
Three motorists who were stopped at a train crossing were burned, one severely, Bergsten said.
One of the victims, who tried to run from the blaze, suffered second-degree burns on his hand while trying to shield his neck from flames, according to Bergsten.
At least 14 cars of the 114-car train caught fire after the derailment, officials said.
The rest of the Canadian National Railway train -- including 70 cars carrying ethanol, a colorless, highly flammable liquid -- was disconnected and moved away from the blaze, Bergsten said.
CNN's Greg Morrison and Shawn Nottingham contributed to this report.
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5399e8336ab2431eb77eaebc7110a8c9
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Which forced evacuation of nearly 600 homes?
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[
"A train carrying chemicals"
] |
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(Entertainment Weekly) -- "Whip It!" suggests what might have happened if Juno had gone to a high school as poky as Napoleon Dynamite's and decided that although her mother wanted her to be a beauty queen like Little Miss Sunshine, she'd rather just strap on roller skates.
Ellen Page plays roller derby competitor Babe Ruthless in "Whip It!"
Only here the petite, droll, feisty, Ellen Page-like heroine played by Ellen Page is named Bliss. And her idea of sass while chatting up a cute rocker (Landon Pigg) in this desexualized, slow-speed grrrl-power sports fantasy is "I'm Bliss, but I could change that."
Bliss does change her name, at least at the Roller Derby rink. She sneaks away from her square parents (Marcia Gay Harden as the U.S. Postal Service's least likely mail carrier and Daniel Stern as a nice schlub who likes beer) to roll with a sisterly Austin team who call themselves the Hurl Scouts.
There, she dubs herself Babe Ruthless, making up in speed what she lacks in muscled aggression. She's heck on wheels, or so we are asked to believe: The rink footage is pretty un-whippy.
Even Juliette Lewis, playing the film's designated bad girl and Bliss/Babe's nemesis on the rink, is more of a cute bee-yotch than a real threat.
The movie is Drew Barrymore's directorial debut (she also plays fellow Hurl Scout Smashley Simpson), and it's clear she's more attuned to grrrlishness than real athletic power: Smashley is the first to scream ''Food fight!'' and the 34-year-old actress leads the charge in kidlike mayhem.
EW Grade: C+
CLICK HERE to Try 2 RISK FREE issues of Entertainment Weekly
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c4ddebd98ef644a6b3d5bed0d088c3aa
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What role is Ellen Page playing ?
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[
"roller derby competitor Babe Ruthless"
] |
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(CNN) -- Millions of Muslims from around the world were in the holy city of Mecca on Saturday for the first day of Hajj, the annual pilgrimage that every able-bodied Muslim is expected to perform at least once in his or her life.
Dressed in white and following in the footsteps of the prophet Mohammed, pilgrims climbed Mount Arafat, just outside the Saudi Arabian city.
Hajj, a five-day pilgrimage, consists of a series of detailed rituals in Mina, Muzdalifa, Arafat and Mecca.
It is one of the five pillars of Islam.
Will this year's Hajj have an 'Arab Spring' effect?
This year's pilgrimage is unique as it is the first to happen since the Arab Spring began last year.
Some experts are watching for potential flare-ups in Saudi Arabia, a country governed by an unelected royal family and where freedoms are limited.
The pilgrims this year have come from 183 countries, the Saudi Press Agency reported. About 54% of the pilgrims are male.
U.S. President Barack Obama released a statement of Saturday to coincide with the start of Hajj. Eid al-Adha, or the Festival of Sacrifice, begins on Sunday.
"Michelle and I extend our greetings for a happy Eid al-Adha to Muslims worldwide and congratulate those performing Hajj. Thousands of Muslim Americans are among those who have joined one of the world's largest and most diverse gatherings in making the pilgrimage to Mecca and nearby sites," he said.
"The Eid and Hajj rituals are a reminder of the shared roots of the world's Abrahamic faiths and the powerful role that faith plays in motivating communities to serve and stand with those in need. On behalf of the American people, we extend our best wishes during this Hajj season."
CNN's Yasmin Amer contributed to this report.
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02eba3b41d3e46bca7a5eb5ad82bb65d
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How long does Hajj?
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[
"five-day"
] |
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(CNN) -- The Boeing 777 is the mainstay of many airlines' long-haul fleets and has never been involved in a fatal accident during its service history.
British Airways aircrew fly the Royal Standard from the flight deck of the Boeing 777 aircraft.
The aircraft first entered service on June 7, 1995, with more than 900 suppliers from 17 countries coming together to provide the more than three million parts needed in its construction, according to the Boeing Web site.
Since its inaugural flight, Boeing has extended the 777 family to five commercial passenger models and a freighter version, collectively making more than two million flights.
The aircraft seats between 301 and 368 passengers in a three-class configuration and can fly distances up to 17,500 kilometers.
The 777 has also won a number of design awards, as well as setting a number of records and firsts.
On November 9 and 10, 2005, a Boeing 777-200LR Worldliner set a new world record for distance traveled non-stop by a commercial jetliner. The 777-200LR set a record distance of 21,601 km on a route traveling eastbound from Hong Kong to London Heathrow.
The flight lasted 22 hours and 42 minutes. The achievements was recognized by the U.S. National Aeronautics Association, The Federation Aeronautique Internationale and the Guinness Book of Records.
The Federation eéronautique Internationale recognized the Boeing 777 in April 1997 for achieving a speed and distance record for airplanes in its size and class.
The Boeing Web site claims the 777 set the "Great Circle Distance Without Landing" record, traveling 20,044 km, and it set the record for "Speed Around the World, Eastbound," traveling at an average speed of 889 km per hour.
According to Boeing the aircraft reached 500 deliveries by 2005 -- faster than any other twin-aisle commercial airplane in history.
Boeing prides itself on the 777's landing gear, which it claims is the largest ever incorporated into a commercial aircraft. Each main landing gear is fitted with six wheels, while the nose gear has two. E-mail to a friend
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90754b4b572847d39bb7b205033dfb5c
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What world record did a Boeing 777 set in 2005?
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[
"by a commercial jetliner."
] |
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New York (CNN) -- The Pablo Picasso painting "The Actor" will undergo repair work, after a woman visiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art fell onto the painting and tore the canvas, according to the museum.
The museum said the Picasso work was damaged Friday when a visitor lost her balance and fell onto the unusually large 6-foot, 4-inch work.
The six-inch tear is on the lower right-hand corner of the painting, the museum said in a news release Sunday.
The museum did not provide details of the incident beyond saying the visitor fell onto the painting. Repair work should be "unobtrusive," the museum said.
The painting should be ready in time for the late April exhibition of 250 works by Picasso, the museum said.
The painting marked Picasso's move from his "Blue period" to his "Rose period," when his creations showcased costumed acrobats reminiscent of characters in Italian comedy stage plays, according to the museum.
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04830e1bb8b84d7b88d02eb2fe51642c
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When will the painting be ready?
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[
"late April exhibition of 250 works by Picasso,"
] |
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LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Many Americans are finding ways to trim their holiday budgets this year, but reports are showing that buying video games is one place consumers are not cutting back.
Through November, video game sales are up 22 percent over 2007.
According to market researcher NPD Group, U.S. retail sales of video games totaled $2.91 billion in November, a 10 percent jump from a year ago. Overall sales this year through November are more than $16 billion, up 22 percent from 2007.
Anita Frazier, an analyst from NPD, cites the industry's wide content variety on newer generation consoles such as Nintendo's Wii, Sony's Playstation 3 and Microsoft's XBOX 360 as a reason for the strong performance. Frazier also says that video games are a relatively cheap form of entertainment, considering the hours of value they provide.
Matt Helgeson, senior editor at Game Informer magazine, agrees.
"Video games can take between 10 and 40 hours, sometimes 50 hours, to complete" depending on the title, Helgeson said. "Gamers can often get two to three months out of one game."
Furthermore, during these recessionary times, Helgeson explains that video games "provide the ultimate escapism."
According to NPD, some of the top-selling game titles in November include "Gears of War 2," which sold 1.6 million copies, and "Call Of Duty: World At War," which sold 1.4 million. Nintendo's "Wii Play" and "Wii Fit" put up impressive numbers, as well.
With those kinds of sales, video games have potential to be one of the most popular stocking stuffers for kids this holiday season.
Helgeson says that these days, games are a core part of being a kid, and it's no longer a question of "do you play video games?" Instead the question is "what games are you playing?"
"Ages, races, social groups -- video games cut across all platforms," Helgeson said. Whether you're shopping for a hardcore gamer or something for the family, "there is something for everybody."
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de74f59604bb4df3b1a1b9efdf526d30
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What was the value of video sales in November
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[
"$2.91 billion"
] |
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TEHRAN, Iran (CNN) -- Gunmen on motorcycles fired Friday on a campaign office for President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, wounding two adults and a child, according to a report by Iran's state-run news agency.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was not present at the time of the attack.
The shooting happened about 5 p.m. in front of the entrance to the campaign office, campaign representative Mohammed Reza Zahed Shaikhi told IRNA.
Ahmadinejad, who is running for a second term in office, was not present. Iran's presidential election will take place on June 12.
The attack happened in Sistan-Balochistan province in southeastern Iran, the same province where a Shia mosque was bombed Thursday. Several suspects have been arrested in connection with Thursday's attack in the town of Zahedan, which killed between 15 and 20 people, according to Iranian media reports.
No group publicly accepted responsibility for the mosque attack, but the provincial governor, Ali-Mohammad Azad, blamed a terrorist group that he said would be unveiled to the public once the suspects have been interrogated, IRNA reported.
Zahedan is about 1,100 km (700 miles) southeast of Tehran, near Iran's borders with Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Sistan-Balochistan province -- which shares a border with Pakistan -- is the site of frequent clashes involving Iranian police, drug dealers and armed groups. The province is located on a major narcotics-smuggling route between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Azad said information on the arrested terrorist group would be unveiled to the public once interrogations were complete.
"The terrorists and notorious gang planned to stir order and security in the province on the eve of (the June 12 presidential) elections, using ongoing insecurity in our eastern neighbors," he said Thursday.
Several days of mourning were reported to be under way for victims of the explosion.
Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami, a hard-line cleric who led Friday prayers in Tehran, said there were signs that the United States and Israel were involved in the mosque bombing, IRNA reported. The cleric, who put the death toll at 25, condemned the bombing before a congregation on the Tehran University campus.
CNN's Shirzad Bozorghmehr contributed to this report.
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ea31800ec17347b8a91a7dc1b1c115a5
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Gunmen fire on campaign office for which countries President?
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[
"Iran"
] |
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NEW YORK (CNN) -- Fight police misconduct with a cell phone, the NAACP says.
The century-old civil rights organization has launched an online reporting system that lets users upload cell phone images of alleged police abuses.
The Rapid Report System also lets users send text messages and e-mails about alleged misconduct.
"We know that most of police officers around the nation are excellent public servants. But the few who violate people's rights are often not held accountable," said Benjamin Jealous, president and CEO of the NAACP. "Research has shown that there are many barriers to reporting incidents of police misconduct, including intimidation at police departments and a lack of trust in the integrity of the system, among other reasons. This breakdown leads to an absence of public safety and a deterioration of the quality of life in many communities of color."
The NAACP unveiled the online system Monday at its national convention in New York City. Users can post images from their cell phones or online.
Cell phone footage has repeatedly helped spotlight alleged police misconduct in recent years. The fatal shooting of an unarmed man in Oakland, California, on New Year's Day made headlines and spread across the Internet partly because of cell phone video.
The killing sparked large protests in Oakland and led to a murder charge against the transit officer.
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ed41ec7ece42482690d2dc935984a0e1
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What was captured on phone?
|
[
"images of alleged police abuses."
] |
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(CNN) -- A marijuana bust along the U.S.-Mexico border revealed 30 pounds of the drug stuffed into framed pictures of Jesus Christ, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency said Wednesday.
"This is not the first time we have seen smugglers attempt to use religious figures and articles of faith to further their criminal enterprise," said William Molaski, port director of the agency's office in El Paso, Texas, in a statement.
"What some might find offensive or sacrilegious has unfortunately become a standard operating procedure for drug smugglers. This would include using religious symbols, children and senior citizens in their attempts to defeat the CBP inspection process."
Authorities said a 22-year-old woman in a Jeep from Juarez, Mexico, told federal border patrol officers that she had nothing to declare besides the framed art. The officers checked out the vehicle with Cesar, a federal drug-sniffing dog, who alerted them to three framed pictures of Jesus in the vehicle.
The officers pulled the backing of the pictures and found numerous bundles, authorities said. The woman was arrested.
The bust was one of three marijuana seizures made Tuesday at the El Paso point of entry. Officers said they seized 214 pounds of marijuana in the two other busts.
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f17ad3df33464a96b678b60a782ba9b9
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How many years old was the woman who was arrested?
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[
"22-year-old"
] |
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(CNN) -- Police in San Mateo, California, said Monday that "a potentially very drastic event" at a high school was averted when school personnel subdued a former student who walked into the school armed with pipe bombs, a chainsaw and a 2-foot-long sword.
At least 1,200 students and faculty were evacuated from the northern California school.
"It had the potential to be a catastrophic incident," said police Lt. Mike Brunicardi, describing the incident in which two pipe bombs exploded and at least 1,200 students and faculty were evacuated from the Northern California school.
No one was injured in the incident, police said.
Brunicardi said a 17-year-old former student wearing a nylon vest packed with 10 homemade pipe bombs entered Hillsdale High School in San Mateo about 8 a.m. Monday. He detonated two devices, with smoke setting off the school's fire-alarm system, before two teachers confronted him.
"The suspect was quickly wrestled down by a teacher who, with the help of the principal and another teacher, were able to hold him down until police arrived minutes later," Brunicardi said.
The suspect's intentions were not clear, police said.
"He's being interviewed right now, but we don't have his specific motives at this time," Brunicardi said, adding that while the explosive power of the pipe bombs was not immediately known, the teachers who subdued the suspect put themselves in jeopardy.
"We are relieved that no one was injured and it's fortunate that we were able to apprehend the student before he hurt himself or anyone else," said San Mateo School District Associate Superintendent Kirk Black said.
Authorities said the suspect, whose name was not immediately released, had been a student at the school in 2008.
CNN's Nick Valencia contributed to this report.
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7174d6689b04482cbe26cd87d1e15fb2
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Who wrestled the student to the ground?
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[
"a teacher"
] |
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(CNN) -- Alaskan musher Lance Mackey has won the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race and set an Iditarod record for most consecutive wins, according to race officials. Mackey, 39, of Fairbanks has dominated the sport in recent years and is the 2007-2010 Iditarod champion.
Mackey completed the 1,049-mile Iditarod race, which was broadcast live on IditarodInsider.com, in just under nine days. He was cheered across the finish line in Nome by family and friends, including his father, Dick Mackey, the 1978 Iditarod champion.
The senior Mackey greeted his son at the finish line with a hug, saying, "You've done something that will never be repeated, son."
Dick Mackey told race commentators his son "is highly competitive and he likes to get the best out of his dogs. ... I don't think anybody trains them any better than he does."
Mackey could be heard on the broadcast microphones speaking to his dog team just before reaching the famous burled arch on Nome's Front Street, "Nice, nice. This is so cool. We're almost there, guys. You did such a good job."
Arriving in Nome at 2:59 p.m. local time, Mackey's official time was 8 days, 23 hours, 59 minutes and 9 seconds.
Mackey, a throat cancer survivor who says he began racing "at birth," was inducted into the Alaska Sports Hall of Fame in February "for capturing multiple titles in two of the world's longest sled dog races."
Mackey is also a four-time champion of the 1,000-mile Yukon Quest race from Fairbanks to Nome as well as the record holder for the most consecutive first place finishes in that race.
Second place in the Iditarod went to Yukon musher Hans Gatt. Past champion musher Jeff King came in third.
King, from Denali, Alaska, received praise and gratitude from the Iditarod Trail Committee earlier this season when he donated $50,000 toward the 2010 Iditarod prize purse after learning the race was experiencing financial trouble because a shortage of sponsors.
More than 54 teams remained on the Iditarod trail headed toward Nome, including rookie Jamaican musher Newton Marshall, who was in 48th place. Marshall trained with Mackey this season in preparation for his first Iditarod run.
Fourteen of the original 71 teams that entered this year's race have scratched en route. A "Red Lantern" will be presented to the last place finisher in the dog race, an Alaska tradition dating back to 1953, according to Alaska Magazine.
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c6647f8e825b4aa0b1239bd03fb0bb2e
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Who set the record?
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[
"Lance Mackey"
] |
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(CNN) -- President-elect Barack Obama visited military personnel and their families enjoying Christmas dinner at a Marine Corps base in Hawaii Thursday during his holiday vacation.
President-elect Obama shakes hands with troops having Christmas dinner at a military base in Hawaii.
Obama went to Marine Corps Base Hawaii Kaneohe Bay on Oahu where he mingled with Marines and sailors. Obama and the troops also had a traditional dinner including turkey, roast beef, ham and trimmings.
Obama, dressed casually in a blue polo shirt and dark khaki trousers, chatted casually, shook hands and posed for photos with men and women in the dining hall, which had been decorated with Christmas trees and Santa figurines.
Shortly before Obama entered the room, a Marine shouted to the crowd scattered across 25 tables, "You need to take you seats, the president-elect is going to be coming."
Obama, who spent about an hour at the Marine base, worked his way around the room, table by table.
"Just wanted to say, 'Hi, hey guys,'" Obama said at one point while reporters were allowed in the room.
"Hey guys, Merry Christmas," he said to another group.
Obama also highlighted the service of the country's military men and women now overseas in a holiday message to be broadcast on radio this Saturday.
"As we celebrate this joyous time of year, our thoughts turn to the brave men and women who serve our country far from home," he said in the message, which was posted online Wednesday.
"Their extraordinary and selfless sacrifice is an inspiration to us all, and part of the unbroken line of heroism that has made our freedom and prosperity possible for over two centuries." Watch Obama's holiday message »
More than 140,000 soldiers are currently serving in Iraq, as well as roughly 30,000 in Afghanistan.
In the broadcast message, Obama also called on Americans to "renew a sense of common purpose and shared citizenship."
"These are also tough times for many Americans struggling in our sluggish economy," he said.
"Now, more than ever, we must rededicate ourselves to the notion that we share a common destiny as Americans -- that I am my brother's keeper, I am my sister's keeper. ... We must all do our part to serve one another; to seek new ideas and new innovation; and to start a new chapter for our great country."
Obama said that notion "will guide my administration in the New Year. If the American people come together and put their shoulder to the wheel of history, then I know that we can put our people back to work ... and reach the promise of a brighter day."
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30973767c9674cb8bc98006dd7d377a7
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Who did President-elect Barack Obama mingle with
|
[
"military personnel and their families"
] |
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Atlanta, Georgia (CNN) -- In an attempt to re-create the experience of a manned mission to Mars, an international team of researchers will lock themselves up in a windowless capsule for about a year and a half -- time required for a round trip to the Red Planet.
Starting Thursday, an all-male "crew" of six -- three Russians, a Frenchman, an Italian-Colombian and a Chinese -- will spend 520 days in the cramped and claustrophobic conditions of a special facility in Moscow and will follow a strict regimen of exercise and diet.
Organizers at the European Space Agency and Russia's Institute of Biomedical Problems hope the project will shed light on the physical and psychological effects of the long isolation that future Mars astronauts will experience.
"This study is not useful only for Mars, but also for life on Earth," 27-year-old Diego Urbina, the Italian-Colombian participant, said in a news release.
The researchers will communicate with mission control via the internet, with occasional disruptions and a 20-minute delay to imitate the effects of space travel.
They will perform tasks similar to astronauts at the international space station, such as maintenance and scientific experiments, but for a longer period of time. They will follow a seven-day week with two days off, except when special and emergency situations are simulated.
The latest isolation test is the last and longest part of the Mars500 experiment that began in 2007. The first phase was a 14-day simulation that mainly tested the facilities and operational procedures. The second phase followed in 2009, when four Russian and two European crew members were shut into the facility for 105 days.
Missions to the Red Planet have thus far been unmanned. In January, NASA told CNN Radio that the agency was close to a deal to merge its Mars program with the European Space Agency's, a big step toward manned missions.
In the meantime, NASA is preparing for the launch of its newest robotic space exploration vehicle, the Mars Science Laboratory, late next year. It weighs roughly one metric ton and is about the size of a small automobile.
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44f8bd3677664d0db104b5b97f4ee1da
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What is the purpose of their mission?
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"re-create the experience of a manned"
] |
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ROME, Italy -- Italy national coach Roberto Donadoni has left Cristiano Lucarelli in his squad for next Saturday's crucial Euro 2008 qualifier in Scotland.
Lucarelli keeps his place in the Italian squad after scoring twice against South Africa.
The Shakhtar Donetsk striker is in fine form and has been rewarded for his inspiring performance in last month's friendly against South Africa, when he scored twice in the world champions' victory.
While Donadoni has again left out veteran forwards Filippo Inzaghi and Alessandro Del Piero, he has handed Juventus striker and Italy under-21 international Raffaele Palladino his first call-up to the senior squad.
Donadoni's squad is also boosted by the return from suspension of captain Fabio Cannavaro,
Italy go into the clash in Glasgow third in Group B, two points behind leaders France and one point below Scotland.
Italy end their qualifying campaign by taking on bottom side the Faroe Islands in Modena on November 21.
Italy squad:
Goalkeepers: Marco Amelia (Livorno), Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus), Gianluca Curci (Roma)
Defenders: Andrea Barzagli (Palermo), Daniele Bonera (AC Milan), Fabio Cannavaro (Real Madrid), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Fabio Grosso (Lyon), Massimo Oddo (AC Milan), Christian Panucci (Roma), Gianluca Zambrotta (Barcelona)
Midfielders: Massimo Ambrosini (AC Milan), Mauro Camoranesi (Juventus), Daniele De Rossi (Roma), Gennaro Gattuso (AC Milan), Simone Perrotta (Roma), Andrea Pirlo (AC Milan)
Strikers: Antonio Di Natale (Udinese), Alberto Gilardino (AC Milan), Vincenzo Iaquinta (Juventus), Cristiano Lucarelli (Shakhtar Donetsk), Raffaele Palladino (Juventus), Fabio Quagliarella (Udinese), Luca Toni (Bayern Munich) E-mail to a friend
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8e7dea08f38e4c4ab80f55bb6060ca2a
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Who earned his first call-up?
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"Raffaele Palladino"
] |
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ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) -- Pakistani security forces say they have killed at least 16 militants overnight in the country's volatile tribal region.
Pakistani security personnel patrol the Buner district.
This appears to be separate from the hostilities in the military's week-long crackdown in northwestern Pakistan against a Taliban militant advance in the country's North West Frontier Province.
However, this reflects the tensions in the region and could signal a spread of fighting resulting from the crackdown.
The Pakistani offensive started in the province on Sunday and it came after Taliban militants moved into Buner district last week, a move that alarmed U.S. and Pakistani officials.
In this latest incident, about 100 militants attacked a Frontier Corps checkpost in the Mohmand Agency, an area where militants hold great sway. Troops returned fire and killed the 16 militants, the military said.
Mohmand is in the country's Federally Administered Tribal Areas that borders a volatile region in war-torn Afghanistan and Pakistan's North West Frontier Province.
The military on Saturday released details about other incidents in the province that occurred over the last 24 hours.
Troops conducted a successful operation against militants in the district, in the Ambela-Daggar area in the Buner district. They secured a key road and cleared roadside bombs, the military said.
In the province's Upper Dir district, militants abducted and then released 10 troops and seized their weaponry and ammunition. And two civilians were wounded when militants lobbed hand grenades.
In the province's Swat district, militants attacked a security forces checkpost on Khawazakhela Bridge and Sambat Ridge. In Langer, security forces and militants exchanged fire and forces found military uniforms that militants were using for terrorist activity. Three Afghan nationals were among five militants arrested while planting a roadside bomb.
Earlier this year, Pakistan entered into an agreement with militants, allowing them to enforce Islamic, or sharia, in parts of Swat Valley in exchange for ceasing violence. The Swat Valley is a broader area that includes several provincial districts, including Chitral, Swat, Shangla, Malakand, Upper Dir, and Lower Dir.
But Pakistani officials say the armed militants' advance into Buner district violated the agreement and briefly halted peace talks between both sides in North West Frontier Province.
Representatives from Pakistan's government and the Taliban restarted their negotiations on Friday and were planning to have another session soon, a provincial spokesman said.
The Pakistani government has been criticized for not cracking down on militants along its border with Afghanistan. As a result, the U.S. military has carried out airstrikes against militant targets in Pakistan, which have rankled relations between the two countries.
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84f9b2dd2f5a4420a9f22937d1309bfc
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For how long has the Pakistani army been waging war on the Taliban?
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"week-long"
] |
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(CNN) -- An Internet auction to sell off the plaster cast that New Zealand Prime Minister John Key wore when he broke his right arm has raised close to NZ$ 20,000 for charity.
John Key wears the cast during a TV interview on Friday.
The online auction ended Sunday with a winning bid of NZ$18,500 (US$ 9,362), according to the New Zealand shopping Web site TradeMe, which conducted the bidding.
The prime minister broke his arm in two places on January 17 when he tripped on some stairs at a Chinese New Year event in Auckland.
Later, during a trip to Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands for a Pacific Islands Forum meeting, several dignitaries -- including Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd -- signed Kay's blue cast.
The money will benefit the Fred Hollows Foundation in blindness prevention programs in the Pacific.
The TradeMe listing said the foundation estimates there are about 5,000 blind people in the Islands, mainly needing cataract surgery. Another 15,000 suffer from poor vision and need eyeglasses.
"I am very surprised it got to that ... but I am delighted," New Zealand's national news agency quoted Key as saying about the winning bid.
The cast, which was removed this weekend, is in "excellent condition," Key said. "Though I don't know whether is is $20,000 worth of condition."
Bidders and curious clickers posed more than 180 questions during the auction period.
"Does it come with the arm?" asked one. Another wanted to know if there was a chance of the the winner and Key "exchanging numbers and hanging out in the future if we hit it off?"
A third asked: "If I was successful with this auction do I also have ownership and rights to any genetic material that may (have been) left inside the cast and the right to clone it if I choose to?"
That person was told he or she would have to "negotiate with John's lawyers for that particular right."
The winning bidder was a headstone maker from Wellington, according to NZPA, the news agency.
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be05e900cfeb4afeb7c303f032902109
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What is being sold for charity?
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"the plaster cast that New Zealand Prime Minister John Key wore"
] |
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(CNN) -- Authorities are asking residents in some some parts of south Australia to evacuate their homes as an impending heat wave prompted the nation to issue its first "catastrophic" brush fire warning.
The warning system was put in place to better alert residents after a devastating brush fire ravaged the southeastern state of Victoria in February, killing more than 170 people and destroying 2,000 homes.
During that fire, many residents stayed to defend their property.
Though authorities still cannot mandate that people leave, the new warning system urges people to flee.
The Code Red "Catastrophic" warning was issued for the Eastern Eyre Peninsula and West Coast districts in the state of South Australia. Are you there? Send your pictures, video
Such a rating means that even well-constructed and defended homes might not be safe from the blaze, the South Australian Fire Service said.
In addition, three other districts -- Flinders, North West Pastoral and Lower Eyre Peninsula -- were placed under an "Extreme" watch. Such a rating means that only well-constructed homes can withstand the flames.
An intense heat wave -- with temperatures climbing to 104 F (40 C) -- is expected to hit the areas until the weekend. The region is already in the midst of a severe drought. Coupled with low humidity and strong winds, the soaring temperatures will make it ripe for fires to ignite.
Any fire that breaks out will be uncontrollable, the fire service said. People in their path will likely die, it added.
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0af847712fcf46d29480b8942421ea4c
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When was the devastating fire?
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"February,"
] |
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(CNN) -- "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" hit thousands of theater screens across the country at midnight Wednesday.
Ginny Weasley and Harry Potter develop a romance in "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince."
Since then, fans have been buzzing about some of the film's most impressive scenes -- including one called "I killed Sirius Black."
In the scene, Potter is confronted by Death Eater Bellatrix Lestrange, who is creating mischief for both the boy wizard and his latest crush, Ginny Weasley. (Death Eaters are followers of the series villain, Voldemort.)
Exhilarating for some, but frustrating for others, this particular scene from the franchise's sixth installment is a cinematic creation, as it never occurs in the J.K. Rowling novel. Watch the excitement of "Potter's" scene »
That aside, it includes pyrotechnic explosions, blazing fires, a massive chase sequence and the use of dark arts -- the Harry Potter version of black magic.
In this week's "The Scene," actors Daniel Radcliffe, who plays Harry Potter; Bonnie Wright, who stars as Ginny Weasley; and director David Yates comment on the action.
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475316e9ee324ace8fb64a767119aaf6
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What film came out Wednesday?
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"Potter and the Half-Blood Prince\""
] |
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LONDON, England -- Savers at a leading UK mortgage bank lined up for a second day to empty their accounts Saturday, a day after the lender was bailed out by the Bank of England after heavily slashing profit forecasts.
Fearful customers line up to withdraw cash from a Northern Rock branch in southeast London on Friday.
Long lines formed before counters opened at the Northern Rock building society, one of the UK's top five lenders, as worried customers ignored reassurances from the bank and the government.
Customers are believed to have already withdrawn about £1 billion ($2 billion) since the bank's woes were revealed, prompting speculation that the global credit crunch made raising funds through commercial borrowing difficult.
Shares in Northern Rock dropped up to 30 percent in Friday trading, with problems spilling over the European banking sector
The British Bankers' Association has urged customers to "calm down," according to the UK Press Association.
It said: "Northern Rock is a sound and safe bank and there is absolutely no reason for either mortgage customers or savers to worry."
Meanwhile, finance minister Alistair Darling said the Bank of England had stepped in "to create a stable banking system".
He said: "People can use their accounts in the usual way, they can carry on making their mortgage payments in the usual way. Northern Rock will be able to carry on its business."
Northern Rock chief executive Adam Applegarth said yesterday that the bank had yet to draw on the emergency cash, which he called "a backdrop in case we need to use it", according to PA. E-mail to a friend
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46993398e7974cc7891704312c8d6c87
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What did savers at Northern Rock do
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"empty their accounts"
] |
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(CNN) -- The number of deaths linked to cantaloupes contaminated with the Listeria monocytogenes bacteria has risen to 23, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed Wednesday.
At least 116 cases of listeria have been reported in 25 states, the agency said. The two latest fatalities came in Louisiana.
The Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals confirmed this week that an 87-year-old Baton Rouge woman died earlier this month. Last week the department also indentified a Shreveport-area woman, 81, who died from the same strain.
Health officials have said the number of cases could continue to grow, citing reporting lags and the fact the disease can develop slowly in some people, taking up to two months.
The listeria outbreak is the deadliest food-borne illness outbreak in the United States since 1998.
Five people each have died in New Mexico and Colorado from consuming the tainted fruit, along with two people each in Kansas, Texas and now Louisiana. One has died in Indiana, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, New York, Oklahoma and Wyoming, the CDC said. In addition, one woman who was pregnant at the time of the illness had a miscarriage.
Cases have also been reported in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Idaho, Illinois, Montana, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
Groups at high risk for listeria include older adults, people with weakened immune systems and pregnant women, officials have said.
The grower, Jensen Farms of Granada, Colorado, issued a voluntary recall of its Rocky Ford brand cantaloupes on September 14. The tainted cantaloupes should be off store shelves, the CDC said.
Cantaloupes from Jensen Farms should be disposed of immediately, even if some of them have been eaten, the CDC said. If consumers are uncertain about the source of a cantaloupe, they are urged to ask their supermarket. If the source remains unknown, the fruit should be thrown out, officials have said.
Refrigerating a cantaloupe will not kill the bacteria, which can grow at low temperatures, authorities have said, and consumers should not try to wash off the bacteria.
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54b4b483de9b48339a5d8494ffb0adea
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Where are the two elderly woman from?
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"Baton Rouge"
] |
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CNN -- The number of cholera deaths in Zimbabwe is now approaching 3,000, the World Health Organization says.
Two men rest in a cholera rehydration tent on the South Africa-Zimbabwe border in December.
Latest, WHO statistics show 2,971 deaths since the outbreak began in August, with 56,123 cases reported.
The epidemic has swept through a country wracked with political and economic crises.
Cholera is an intestinal disease caused by bacteria in contaminated water.
The epidemic has been aggravated by erratic water supplies, shortages of water purification chemicals, broken water and sewer pipes and uncollected garbage.
On top of that, the waste-disposing system has collapsed. Children can be seen playing on heaps of uncollected garbage in the suburbs of most urban areas in Zimbabwe.
Last month, the government led by President Robert Mugabe declared the cholera epidemic a national emergency.
The country already was wracked by an enormous economic crisis, with a hyperinflationary economy and shortages of all essentials including food, fuel, cash, foreign currency and electricity.
Zimbabwe's rainy season peaks in January or February and ends in late March, and Zimbabwean Health Minister David Parirenyatwa warned the epidemic could get worse during the rainy season.
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30b5808bb92440baaad4d5f623708e22
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What is the number of reported cholera cases?
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"56,123"
] |
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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Tuesday that another stimulus package might be needed to help the ailing economy.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi met with economists and other Democrats on Tuesday to discuss the stimulus.
Pelosi, whose comments followed a meeting with several economists, said the measures already taken by the Obama administration are helping to restore confidence in the shaky financial markets.
But "we have to keep the door open and see how this goes," the California Democrat added.
House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey of Wisconsin said on Tuesday night he's already instructed his staff to start drafting a second stimulus proposal. Obey said his staff is preparing the outline of a stimulus bill but he cautioned there is no timeline to move on it.
One of the economists in the meeting with Pelosi and other Democrats, Mark Zandi with Moody's Economy.com, said more taxpayer money would likely be needed to bolster the economy.
Another economist, Allen Sinai, chief global economist at Decision Economics Inc., urged patience. But he questioned President Obama's prediction that the $800 billion stimulus package enacted last month would create or save as many as 3 million to 4 million jobs.
"Initially ... the jobs created may be a little disappointing," Sinai said.
Sinai said his analysis showed that about 2.5 million jobs would be saved or created over the next two years and he said it is more realistic to project 3 million jobs over a longer period of three years.
The most recent prediction from the Congressional Budget Office, released last week, estimates the recovery package will create or save from 1.2 million jobs to 3.6 million jobs.
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d23cc92735f541f49b7feab0a0f01735
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What do economists question?
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[
"President Obama's prediction that the $800 billion stimulus package enacted last month would create or save as many as 3 million to 4 million jobs."
] |
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BEIJING, China (CNN) -- The Chinese women's gymnastics team did not use underage competitors during this year's Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, the International Gymnastics Federation said Wednesday.
Widespread reports claimed that gold medal winner He Kexin was only 14 years old.
The federation said it has concluded its inquiry into the matter after it confirmed the gymnasts' ages through official documents that the Chinese Gymnasts Association provided. The documents included passports, identity cards and household registers.
However, the organization intends to further investigate the ages of two gymnasts, Dong Fangxiao and Yang Yun, who participated in the 2000 summer games in Sydney, Australia. The federation said it did not consider the explanations and evidence that Chinese authorities provided in regard to those athletes as satisfactory.
The International Olympic Committee had asked gymnastics officials to clarify the situation after numerous commentators, bloggers and others questioned whether about half the members of China's team were old enough to compete. Watch tiny gymnasts work out »
Athletes must be at least 16 in the year the games take place. In women's gymnastics, younger girls can have an advantage over older competitors on account of their often smaller, lighter and more agile bodies.
The Chinese women's gymnastics team won a gold medal in a team competition at the Beijing games, and five members won individual medals.
One of the challenges came from a blogger known as "Stryde Hax." The blogger claimed to have uncovered proof that Chinese gymnast He Kexin is only 14.
In Internet searches, "Stryde Hax" allegedly uncovered Web pages showing lists complied by China's General Administration of Sport that show a 1994 date of birth for He.
CNN was not been able to independently verify the information, but snapshots of the Web pages appeared to back up the claim. Other bloggers joined the search and reported similar results.
The New York Times conducted its own investigation, producing similar results that seem to implicate He and two other members of the team. The Times uncovered a 2006 biography on He that lists her birthday as January 1, 1994.
The International Gymnastics Federation, however, has said that those gymnasts were eligible and that the ages on their passports were correct.
Chinese gymnastics coaches also defended their team.
"Asians have different figures than people from the West, so that's what caused their suspicion," said Huang Yubin, head coach of the men's and women's teams, referring to media inquiries. "They shouldn't be suspicious."
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cfb985ff857547a1af597ca2175948eb
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What records were examined?
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[
"official documents that the Chinese Gymnasts Association provided."
] |
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(CNN) -- Hundreds of inmates using pipes and shanks as weapons trashed a California prison, burning a courtyard, ripping beds to shreds and tearing bathroom sinks from walls, a new video of the weekend riot's aftermath shows.
A dormitory is trashed after a riot at the California Institution for men, in Chino.
Video shot by CNN affiliate KABC-TV gave the first glimpse of the damage to the California Institution for Men in Chino from a riot that authorities said was ignited by racial tensions.
"This certainly is probably the worst that we've seen, especially adding the extensive damage to the unit that has been burned," prison spokesman Lt. Mark Hargrove told reporters outside the prison Tuesday. "That has never happened at this facility before."
The riot erupted Saturday night and raged until Sunday morning, injuring 250 inmates. Fifty-five inmates were taken to hospitals with serious injuries, including stab wounds and head trauma. Watch the aftermath of the violence »
"The prison is still under a state of emergency," George Kostyrko, a spokesman for the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation told CNN, which means no visitors were allowed and the prison could not take any new inmates.
Corrections officials said they transferred about 1,150 inmates to other facilities. "The ones that are there are likely in a lockdown mode until an investigation can determine whether or not they were directly responsible for the riot," Kostyrko said.
The decision to lock down the Chino prison and nine others in southern California was still in effect Tuesday.
"The lockdowns will remain in effect until all the staff that we deployed to Chino from other areas go back home," Kostyrko said.
The measure was taken to prevent copy-cat violence.
Though other races were involved, the altercations at Chino mostly involved Hispanics and African-Americans, Kostyrko said.
About 80 officers responded to the scene, but none of the staff was injured.
A housing unit was heavily damaged by fire. Prisoners broke windows and pulled down pipes to use as weapons, Kostyrko said.
The facility has seven units, each of which houses about 200 inmates.
In one of the torched dormitories, burned red prison uniforms were strewn everywhere, the floor was covered with ankle-high ashes, windows were shattered and there was a large hole in the roof.
In the mounds of trash that littered the floor of the dorm, a rusty foot-long pipe could be seen.
Most of the residential areas were badly damaged and some inmates were being temporarily housed in tents, the spokesman said.
Chino is about 35 miles east of Los Angeles.
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a9a23aaf8d2c42209b36df707b2a8b84
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What is the video about?
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[
"the weekend riot's aftermath"
] |
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(CNN) -- Rina was almost a Category 3 hurricane as it careened near Honduras and Belize Wednesday before heading towards Cancun.
The storm was packing 110 mph winds early Wednesday morning and moving at 3 mph, according to the Miami-based National Hurricane Center. That is 1 mph away from a Category 3 hurricane.
Forecast models show Rina strengthening into a Category 3 hurricane before approaching the Yucatan. The projected path shows Rina back at Category 2 intensity when it takes aim at Cancun on Thursday.
Residents and worried travelers in Cancun stocked up on supplies Tuesday to prepare for the storm to hit the popular Mexican resort city.
Carla Bautista bought bread, water and canned tuna.
"It's my first hurricane. This is new. ... I'm a little afraid, because I don't know what to expect," said Bautista, 28, who moved to Cancun two months ago from Mexico City.
Mexican officials issued a hurricane warning for the east coast of the Yucatan Peninsula from north of Punta Gruesa to Cancun as the Category 2 storm strengthened. Similarly, U.S. officials issued a travel alert, advising U.S. citizens in the area to prepare themselves for the possibility of a hurricane.
Some tourists decided not to take any chances.
"We wanted to get out of there. ... We were on vacation and just didn't want to be stressed," said Kathy Davis, 57, an American with a timeshare in Cancun.
She said she and her husband celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary at the airport while waiting to catch a flight.
In Cancun's hotel area, crews were securing boats and clearing palm fronds and debris.
Kelly McLaughlin moved her 6-year-old son's toys inside and trimmed tree branches around her home.
"I'm just checking everything to make sure there's nothing loose," said McLaughlin, a Canadian who's lived in Cancun for eight years.
McLaughlin, 40, said preparing for storms has become routine since Hurricane Wilma devastated the area in 2005.
"My friends that are fairly new to Cancun are a lot more nervous and starting to get a little stressed," she said. "I'm just trying to keep everyone calm."
Lines at supermarkets and gas stations were long, residents said.
As of 2 a.m. ET Wednesday, the center of Rina was about 240 miles east-southeast of Chetumal, Mexico, and 250 miles southeast of Cozumel, Mexico. It was moving west at 3 mph, but was expected to gradually turn northwest and speed up over the next two days, forecasters said.
CNN's Catherine E. Shoiche and journalist Brisa Munoz of CNNMexico.com contributed to this report.
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b64009b3ca214450ae3be705b84d5ef9
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What did the United States issue?
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[
"a travel alert,"
] |
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BANGKOK, Thailand (CNN) -- Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the world's longest-reigning monarch, has been hospitalized with fever and fatigue, the royal palace said Sunday.
King Bhumibol Adulyadej attends a celebration of his 81st birthday in Bangkok on December 2, 2008.
King Bhumibol Adulyadej, 81, was admitted to a Bangkok hospital on Saturday night. Doctors are monitoring his condition while administering antibiotics and intravenous fluid, the statement from the Royal Household Bureau said.
The statement was carried by Thai News Agency and other local media.
The king was formally crowned on May 5, 1950. Watch why king's health is big issue »
Thailand abolished absolute monarchy in the 1930s, so the king wields little power although he last month appealed for unity amid Thailand's four-year-long political crisis. He remains a deeply revered figure and enjoys immense popularity.
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva told reporters on Sunday that the king visited hospital on doctors' advice.
"There is no problem with His Majesty's conditions. From my chats with doctors, there is nothing to be concerned about," Abhisit said after signing a visitors' log book at the hospital, according to Reuters.com.
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92a2e1700b404a16ab8c23a67ac460fc
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Who is Thailand's king?
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[
"Bhumibol Adulyadej,"
] |
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NEW YORK (CNN) -- Three people were arrested Saturday after chaos broke out at an "America's Next Top Model" audition at a New York hotel, police said.
A large crowd at the Park Central New York hotel got unruly Saturday during a "Top Model" audition.
Six people were injured, and two of them sought treatment at a hospital, authorities said.
Police said they didn't know what provoked the bedlam.
Three people were charged with disorderly conduct and inciting a riot in connection with the incident at the Park Central New York hotel in Manhattan.
The audition was shut down after the incident, authorities said.
Calls to Park Central management were not immediately returned on Saturday.
The "Top Model" competition, hosted and produced by supermodel Tyra Banks and aired by the CW network, is in its 12th cycle.
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a253a2ec454e4ad2b80b7800e470d2d4
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Who hosted the competition?
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[
"Tyra Banks"
] |
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(CNN) -- Preakness Stakes favorite Rachel Alexandra lived up to her billing Saturday, thundering past an all-male field of competitors and becoming the first filly to win the Triple-Crown's second jewel since 1924.
Saturday's victory for Rachel Alexandra, who raced from the 13th and furthest stall, was the filly's fifth straight win.
"She's the greatest horse I've ever been on in my life," jockey Calvin Borel said after the race. "She did not handle the track 110 percent and still won."
Long-shot Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird fell short in his improbable bid to compete for horse-racing's Triple Crown, but showed his Derby victory was no fluke -- charging hard to finish second.
Musket Man finished third.
Rachel Alexandra's win was historic for multiple reasons and capped a run of five straight victories that included a blowout of the field in the all-filly Kentucky Oaks.
She became the first horse to win from the race's 13th stall -- the furthest from the inside of the track.
Borel became the first jockey to ride a winner in the Kentucky Derby -- he steered 50-1 underdog Mine That Bird to the win -- and then choose to ride another horse in the Preakness. Watch why Preakness was viewed as battle of sexes »
She ran at the front of the mile-and-one-sixteenth race for almost the entire time.
Mike Smith, Mine That Bird's jockey on Saturday, said Borel gave him advice on how to run the undersized champion on Saturday. The two chatted after a finish in which less than a single horse-length separated the two.
"I said if I'd had that rail trip, it might have been a different outcome," said Smith, who'd hoped to take Mine That Bird to the inside of the track just as Borel did in the May 2 Derby. "They knew I was going to do it so everybody was just sticking on it."
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a7471cbf7b9d44a78effa4b955178b96
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Which filly is the first to witn the Triple-Crown's second jewel since 1924?
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"Rachel Alexandra"
] |
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YANGON, Myanmar (CNN) -- Courts in Myanmar have sentenced a blogger, a poet and several dissidents to several years in jail for anti-regime activities, a court official told CNN Tuesday.
Young people at an Internet cafe in Myanmar.
The verdicts were announced Monday and Tuesday, the court official said.
Blogger Nay Phone Latt was sentenced to more than 20 years in jail for his illegal Internet activities, the court official said.
The blogger was a "major source of information for the outside world" when the military junta used force last year to suppress anti-government demonstrations, said The Irrawaddy, an online newspaper published by exiles from Myanmar, which is also known as Burma.
The government exercises strict controls over media outlets in the southeast Asian country. Dissidents often turn to the Internet to disseminate information.
In the second case, poet Saw Wai received a two-year jail sentence for a poem he wrote for Valentine's Day that contained a veiled jab at the junta's leading figure, Senior Gen. Than Shwe.
The first words of each line in the eight-line poem, "February the Fourteenth" spelled out the message: "Senior General Than Shwe is crazy with power."
On Tuesday, the government handed down prison sentences to about a dozen members of a pro-democracy group known as the '88 Generation Students.
Irrawaddy said the members were each sentenced to 65 years in jail, but CNN could not independently confirm the figure.
Members of the group took part in the anti-government demonstrations that ended with the death of as many as 100 people last year after security forces clashed with thousands of protesters. The dead included 40 Buddhist monks.
Witnesses said the violent crackdown in September 2007 came as hundreds of monks defied a military ban on public assembly.
Until then, demonstrations led by the monks -- who are highly respected in the predominantly Buddhist country -- had gone largely unchallenged by the military, which has ruled the country since the 1960s.
The protests were sparked by a huge fuel price increase imposed by the military government, and quickly escalated. The action was informally dubbed the "Saffron Revolution" because of the maroon robes with saffron sashes that the monks wore.
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5af8db985d5a4607bd30a000787b09a9
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What were people jailed for?
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[
"anti-regime activities,"
] |
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HARYANA, India (CNN) -- In a nation of more than a billion people and millions of unresolved court cases, how do you take care of the backlog?
Long distances over questionable roads stop many Indians from making it into courtrooms.
Solution: You take the courts to the people.
A bell rings. A bailiff yells out the name of the accused. It's another day in the mobile courtroom of Judge Sandeep Singh.
His courtroom is a desk plopped down in the middle of a dusty schoolyard in the northern Indian village of Haryana.
"It works like any other regular court," Singh said. "The only difference is that instead of people going to the court, the court comes to the village."
The mobile court is bused into rural areas to hear both criminal and civil complaints as part of an effort to dig the nation's court system out from under an enormous backlog of cases.
With an estimated 300 million unresolved cases languishing in Indian courts, one consultant believes, it could take more than 300 years to clear the docket at the current pace.
There's one main reason for the backlog: inconvenience. People often have to travel long distances over questionable roads, using slow modes of transportation.
"The witnesses -- definitely, they don't show up -- and even the parties -- they don't show up -- and they send their advocate," Singh said. "But here, people are closer by, so definitely it makes a difference."
With distance no longer a problem, more villagers and their attorneys are coming to hearings.
Compared to the traditional legal system, the mobile court claims to be both fast and efficient. Singh said he has been able to clear 1,100 cases in just six months time compared to 500 under the traditional court system. E-mail to a friend
|
25c72a1e6f874c9fb60504c297a7556c
|
What do Indian judges bus to rural villages?
|
[
"mobile courtroom of"
] |
NewsQA
|
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Iraqi President Jalal Talabani will likely not seek re-election once his term ends.
Jalal Talabani says he will not run for Iraq's president again, but he plans to stay in the political arena.
Talabani, 75, has been president since April 2005. The ethnic Kurd was re-elected in 2006 for a four-year term.
Although he "has expressed his willingness not to seek another presidential nomination ... it does not mean that he will withdraw from the political and partisan arena," a message on Talabani's Web site said.
"President Talabani, on various occasions, sought to emphasize the importance and the need to devolve the power, tasks and responsibilities of leadership in the country to local authorities, especially at this stage when the country is going through political efforts by the parties to expand their bases," the statement said.
In Iraq, the prime minister wields most of the power. However, Talabani played an important role in maintaining the country's delicate ethnic balance.
The Iraqi parliament picks the president and two vice presidents, a Sunni and a Shia. All will leave office when parliamentary polls are held in December.
Talabani is the head of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) party.
CNN's Mohammed Tawfeeq contributed to this report.
|
478910afe75e482abf458ae98ffd82e9
|
who played role in maintaining the country's ethnic balance?
|
[
"Jalal Talabani"
] |
NewsQA
|
San Francisco, California (CNN) -- Officials have agreed to pay $1.5 million to the daughter of a man fatally shot in the back by a transit police officer on New Year's Day 2009 in Oakland, California.
A bystander's cell-phone video of the shooting on a transit platform was widely circulated on the Internet and on news shows.
The Bay Area Rapid Transit train system late Wednesday announced the settlement over the killing of Oscar Grant, 22.
"It's been a little over a year since we experienced the tragic death of Oscar Grant," BART Board President James Fang said. "No matter what anyone's opinion of the case may be, the sad fact remains this incident has left Tatiana without a father. The $1.5 million settlement will provide financial support for her." Grant's daughter, Tatiana, is 5.
The video showed then-Officer Johannes Mehserle, 27, pulling his gun and shooting Grant in the back as another officer kneeled on Grant.
Mehserle might have intended to draw and fire his Taser rather than his gun, according to a court filing by his attorney.
The shooting sparked large protests in Oakland and led to Mehserle's arrest on a murder charge. The case against him is pending.
Initially, attorney John Burris asked for $50 million in a wrongful-death lawsuit filed on behalf of Grant's daughter. Burris was not immediately available for comment on the settlement.
The transit system's police department has made several changes since the shooting. The department has increased training hours for officers, is requiring them to report all "use-of-force incidents," and is tapping the public's help in searching for a new police chief, the transit system said in a statement.
"This settlement is critical in our efforts to move forward," said Carole Ward Allen, a BART board member. "We're working hard to make the police department the best it can be for our officers, our customers and our community."
|
d6ba0945a2134cbca8f365928481773a
|
When was Oscar Grant shot?
|
[
"New Year's Day 2009"
] |
NewsQA
|
New Zealand maxi Alfa Romeo eased to victory in the 65th annual Sydney to Hobart ocean yacht race on Monday.
Skippered by Neville Crichton, Alfa Romeo crossed the finish of the 628-mile race ahead of favorite Australian maxi Wild Oats XI.
Alfa Romeo had led since they left Sydney Harbor on Saturday and was not threatened during its two days, nine hours and two minutes at sea.
Australian maxi Wild Oats XI finished 16 nautical miles behind in second place with British yacht ICAP Leopard a further 24 miles behind in third.
Crichton admitted he was taken aback by the large crowd which had gathered at the dockside to welcome his team home before he paid tribute to his crew.
"We didn't expect to see anything like this crowd. We're certainly honored," he told the event's official Web site wwwrolexsydneyhobart.com.
"I'd like to thank the 21 guys in my crew. We didn't have any problems and I don't think there was any time in the race when we were passed."
Crichton continued: "There were occasions when we had to take a gamble and hope it paid off. We were very busy the whole race. There were occasions when there was a lot of breeze, and occasions when we drifted, so it made the race much more interesting.
"I don't think there was any part of the race that counted any more or less. We all had periods we were parked up. I think it was the advantage of making the least amount of mistakes of anybody that won us the race."
Wild Oats, who set the race record in 2005, was bidding for a fifth win, but trailed Alfa Romeo out of Sydney Harbor in the traditional Boxing Day start and was never able to get on terms with the leader.
|
5fa63c7b5efc4dfb9fb2a6bb27587a8b
|
From where is Alfa Romeo?
|
[
"New Zealand"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- One of Africa's brightest young writers, 31-year-old Chimamanda Adichie has already been recognised for her talent; her debut novel was shortlisted for the Orange Fiction Prize in 2004. The Nigerian novelist talks to CNN about her craft, her country and identity.
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c7e2a825b2184a0bb76e9dc6aa4af16e
|
Where did the novelist grow up?
|
[
"Africa's"
] |
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|
(CNN) -- Nineteen political prisoners were released by the government of Myanmar over the weekend, the human rights group Amnesty International reported Tuesday.
Protesters demand democracy for Myanmar at a demonstration in New Delhi, India earlier this month.
Among those released was Ma Khin Khin Leh, who was serving a life sentence because her husband, a student activist, had helped plan a protest demonstration in Bago in July 1999, according to Amnesty International USA's Web blog
Authorities prevented the demonstration from taking place, but took the woman and her three-year-old daughter into custody after failing to find her husband, Amnesty International said.
The child was released after five days but her mom, a 33-year-old school teacher, was sentenced to life in prison.
"Even by the normally harsh standards of 'justice' meted out by Myanmar's military government, the life sentence given to Ma Khin Khin Leh was extreme," the human rights organization said.
She was designated one of Amnesty International USA's priority cases. She was released with 18 others "widely considered to be political prisoners," Amnesty International said.
Myanmar's military rulers have been widely condemned for their alleged human rights abuses.
Pro-democracy leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi has been confined in her home for 12 of the past 18 years. Her last house arrest began in 2003 and has been periodically renewed.
In October 2007, clashes erupted between pro-democracy demonstrators and government security forces. As many as 110 people are believed to have been killed in that crackdown, including 40 Buddhist monks.
The protests were sparked by a huge fuel price increase imposed by the military government, and quickly escalated. Myanmar's military junta said in mid-October that it had detained more than 2,900 people amid the clashes.
In September 2008, Amnesty International reported that Myanmar, also called Burma, had released seven dissidents, among them U Win Tin, a journalist and senior official in the opposition National League for Democracy who had been imprisoned for 19 years.
|
edd1a7bebeed49a193a03fdf24363887
|
Who was sentenced to life?
|
[
"Ma Khin Khin Leh,"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- On a scenic Hawaiian beach, a sailor found a message in a bottle that was sent about five years ago by a sixth-grader in Japan.
Petty Officer Jon Moore spotted the bottle Thursday during a beach clean up project near the Navy's Pacific Missile Range Facility on the island of Kauai.
Moore was among a group of sailors plucking cigarette butts and food wrappers from the beach when he spotted it.
"I looked over and saw the bottle. I jokingly thought it would have a treasure map inside, but it actually had a message," Moore said.
Inside the bottle were four origami flowers and a letter signed by student Saki Arikawa.
There was also a picture of Arikawa's class from Kagoshima, a city in Japan's southern island of Kyushu.
The letter was dated March 25, 2006 and Arikawa's note asked that whoever found the bottle to write back.
Somehow the bottle had traveled some 4,000 miles and reached Moore.
Moore said he immediately thought of home.
Even though he was born in Guyana, South America, he said Japan feels like home because his wife and son live there. The sailor said he plans to visit Kagoshima on his next trip home to visit his family.
And he also has a letter to write.
"I'll definitely respond. I want to write back to the school and get their thoughts," Moore said.
|
a5afea0c98174657bc12e526929a0f9b
|
Who finds the bottle during a clean up project in Hawaii?
|
[
"Petty Officer Jon Moore"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Ten climbers have died on two mountains in northern Japan, police said Friday.
Hokkaido's mountains and scenery are a big drawcard for climbers and tourists.
Eight of the climbers who died on Mount Tomuraushi were in a group organized by a tourist company, according to Yuji Kikuchi, a spokesman for Hokkaido police. A ninth man was climbing alone.
One more climber died on Mount Biei, Kikuchi said.
Another 10 people survived on both mountains in Hokkaido, according to Kikuchi.
Except for a 32-year-old survivor, all the climbers were in their late 60s, the spokesman said.
The cause of their deaths was not available.
The area has experienced heavy rain and gusty winds in the past two weeks due to a persistent area of low pressure, CNN's meteorologist Jennifer Delgado said.
The storm system has also brought flooding to North and South Korea, she added.
CNN's Junko Ogura and Elizabeth Yuan contributed to this report.
|
593a708f21974ddf9f39422af9b3029b
|
Where did the climbers die?
|
[
"Mount Biei,"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Diego Maradona's Argentina side have suffered their worst-ever World Cup defeat -- and heaviest loss in over 60 years -- going down 6-1 to Bolivia at La Paz's high-altitude Hernando Siles' stadium.
Bolivia players celebrate another goal as they humiliated Argentina 6-1 in La Paz.
Marcelo Martins opened the scoring for the hosts in the 12th minute but Argentina levelled 13 minutes later when a long-range shot from Luiz Gonzalez bounced in after deceiving goalkeeper Carlos Arias.
Joaquin Botero, who helped himself to a hat-trick, netted his first in the 34th minute from the penalty spot and Alex Da Rosa added a third just before the interval.
Botero headed home the fourth five minutes into the second-half, before Argentina's night got even worse when they had substitute Angel Di Maria sent off.
Botero celebrated his treble soon after Di Maria's dismissal and Didi Torrico completed the rout from long range with three minutes remaining.
The last time Argentina have lost by a five-goal margin was 5-0 to Colombia in 1993 and the home media made their feelings about the result perfectly clear.
"A historic humiliation," said sports newspaper Ole on its Web site, adding: "This is our worst defeat in the qualifiers. What now.?"
The result leaves Argentina in the fourth and final South American World Cup qualification place, five points behind leaders Paraguay, who scored an injury-time equalizer to draw 1-1 in Ecuador.
Meanwhile, Brazil are up to second in the table, two points behind Paraguay, after a comfortable 3-0 home victory over Peru at Porto Alegre. Luis Fabiano scored twice with Felipe Melo adding the other goal.
Chile are third in the table after a 0-0 home draw with Uruguay, who lie in the play-off fifth position.
|
cd0a49d6345e425c93e394b36e65f8ba
|
who stood at second place in South American qualifying?
|
[
"Brazil"
] |
NewsQA
|
JENA, Louisiana (CNN) -- Charges against Bryant Purvis, one of the six black students accused of being involved in beating a white student, were reduced to second degree aggravated battery during his arraignment Wednesday morning.
Bryant Purvis says he is focusing on his studies and practicing basketball.
Purvis, who was facing charges of second-degree attempted murder and conspiracy, entered a not guilty plea to the reduced charges in the LaSalle Parish Courthouse in Jena.
Charges have now been reduced against at least five of the students in the racially charged "Jena 6" case. Charges against Jesse Ray Beard, who was 14 at the time of the alleged crime, are unavailable because he's a juvenile.
Civil rights leaders Martin Luther King III and Al Sharpton led more than 15,000 marchers to Jena -- a town of about 3,000 -- in September to protest how authorities handled the cases against Purvis and five other teens accused of the December 2006 beating of fellow student Justin Barker.
After the arraignment, Purvis said he has moved to another town to complete high school. He said he is focusing on his studies and practicing basketball, which he hopes to play in college.
Mychal Bell, 17, is the only one of the "Jena 6" teens still in jail. Although he was released in September after his adult criminal conviction for the beating was overturned, he was ordered two weeks later to spend 18 months in a juvenile facility for a probation violation relating to an earlier juvenile conviction.
A district judge tossed out Bell's conviction for conspiracy to commit second-degree battery, saying the matter should have been handled in juvenile court. The 3rd Circuit Court of Appeal in Lake Charles, Louisiana, did the same with Bell's battery conviction in mid-September.
Prosecutors originally charged all six black students accused of being involved in beating Barker with second-degree attempted murder and conspiracy. E-mail to a friend
|
4ab528d25188457eb88834e77923416d
|
What have the charges been reduced to?
|
[
"second degree aggravated battery"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Eighteen people, including two soldiers, were killed Saturday in a gunbattle between the Mexican army and organized-crime suspects in the Mexican resort town of Acapulco, the Mexican Ministry of Defense said Sunday.
Mexican soldiers hold rifles Saturday during a clash with organized-crime suspects in Acapulco.
The incident began about 7 p.m., when the soldiers went to a location called Avenida Rancho Grande in Acapulco "to exploit information obtained through an anonymous tip," the ministry said in a statement. The soldiers were met by gunfire, it said.
Five people were arrested in connection with the shootout. Two soldiers and 16 gunmen were killed, and nine soldiers were wounded, the statement said.
The gunmen were not identified, but the statement called them "members of organized crime."
Authorities seized 36 large-caliber weapons, 13 small-caliber weapons, two grenade launchers, 13 fragmentation grenades, 3,525 rounds of various caliber ammunition, 180 charges and eight vehicles, the ministry said.
CNN's Arthur Brice and CNN en Español's Luisa Calad contributed to this report.
|
9d1373dce9ff4b7199b5a1237e1625a8
|
What did Mexican soldiers do?
|
[
"hold rifles Saturday during a clash with organized-crime suspects in Acapulco."
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- The suspect in the killing of a University of Virginia student was arrested in a 2008 incident in which he threatened a police officer and was shocked with a stun gun, according to a police statement.
George Huguely, 22, was arrested on suspicion of murder Monday, hours after a roommate found Yeardley Love's body in her off-campus apartment in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Huguely, who was also a UVA student until resigning after his arrest, and Love played on the men's and women's lacrosse teams, respectively.
CNN affiliate WDBJ got a police statement recounting an encounter between an intoxicated Huguely and Lexington, Virginia, Police Officer R.L. Moss.
Affidavit: Lacrosse player killed in fight after breakup
According to the statement, Moss came across Huguely as he stumbled into traffic outside of a fraternity house at Washington and Lee University in Lexington.
After ignoring the officer's calls to stop, Huguely was approached by Moss who, after speaking with Huguely, decided to arrest him for public drunkenness, the statement says.
At that point, Huguely started making threats, including death threats, against the officer, according to the statement.
"He became more aggressive, more physical towards me, started to calling me several other terms that I'm not going to state now," she told WDBJ.
Moss got into a brief "tussle" with Huguely before resorting to her stun gun to get him under control, the statement says.
At a court hearing the next month, Moss wrote she was surprised to learn that Huguely was so intoxicated that he didn't remember being shocked with the stun gun or threatening the police officer.
Court records show that Huguely pleaded guilty to resisting arrest and public intoxication, WDBJ reported. He was given a suspended jail sentence and a fine.
|
3fc65aa967254cbc99f8541386042911
|
Who was arrested?
|
[
"George Huguely,"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Dozens of people have been killed in Central America as heavy rains continue to hammer the region.
In Guatemala, the death toll has risen to 28 and close to 110,000 people have been affected so far, the state-run AGN news agency reported.
Citing the president, the agency said 15,000 more people are at risk and roughly 12,000 are in shelters.
"We've been able to respond to all the requests for help we've received -- many by land because we haven't been able to fly over the areas," said President Alvaro Colom, AGN reported.
Meanwhile in El Salvador, the government has declared a state of emergency and ordered evacuations in some of the hardest-hit areas.
At least 24 have died in El Salvador, including seven children, according to the country's civil protection director. Some 13,000 people are in shelters.
Central America has been hammered by torrential rain since last week, when Hurricane Jova struck Mexico as a Category 2 storm late Tuesday. It weakened into a tropical storm and then a tropical depression as it moved over western Mexico.
More rain in the region is forecast.
CNN's Claudia Dominguez and journalist Merlin del Cid contributed to this report.
|
4f12d178b13943b19caa4f6afd2b06eb
|
Who are killed in El Salvador?
|
[
"At least 24"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- A 6.7-magnitude earthquake hit near the Greek island of Crete on Wednesday, the U.S. Geological Survey said.
It struck at 12:30 p.m. (5:30 a.m. ET), the USGS said. It was centered about 80 miles (130 kilometers) off the city of Iraklion on Crete, the USGS said.
An earthquake with a 6.7 magnitude is capable of causing significant damage, especially in areas of poor construction.
There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
A staff member at Iraklion Airport told CNN they didn't feel the earthquake. Similar reports came from staff members at hotels just outside Iraklion and in western Crete.
A spokesman at the Greek Ministry of Health in Athens, 450 kilometers (280 miles) from the epicenter, also said he didn't feel the quake.
David Booth, a seismologist at the British Geological Survey, explained that the earthquake happened deep below the sea, leading to little risk of tsunami and reducing the likelihood that people would feel tremors.
-- CNN's Claudia Rebaza and Krsna Harilela in London, England, contributed to this report.
|
9c4137963bab476e877c2d2de8284f8a
|
Where was the damage especially caused?
|
[
"in areas of poor construction."
] |
NewsQA
|
(ArsTechnica) -- Amazon has clarified that the next generation of its 3G Kindle, the Kindle Touch 3G, will not be able to browse the Internet without a WiFi connection. Users will still be able to use 3G to sync book and document purchases, but anything beyond Wikipedia will be off-limits.
Browsing was (and still is) an experimental feature on the last iteration of the Kindle, now known as the Kindle Keyboard 3G. The experiment appears to have failed as far as Amazon is concerned, as it will restrict the 3G access of the Kindle Touch 3G to browsing Wikipedia and downloading books and periodicals.
The Kindle Touch 3G's webpage does not directly note this restriction, stating only that it has "free 3G wireless" that "works globally," but a post in the official Amazon forums states that "experimental web browsing (outside of Wikipedia) on Kindle Touch 3G is only available over WiFi."
Since Amazon subsidizes all Kindle owners' 3G use, the company may have determined the model isn't cost-effective enough to support the use of the entire Internet.
The 3G version of the Kindle Touch with special offers costs $149, 50 percent more than the $99 WiFi version, so this restriction may make the jump from WiFi to 3G much harder for customers to justify when both models become available November 21.
The announcement doesn't affect the new Kindle Fire announced last week and due for launch November 15, since it is WiFi-only. The Kindle Keyboard 3G, while it is still available, will continue to have unfettered Internet access through the experimental browser.
We asked Amazon for confirmation of this policy, but have not received a response as of yet.
COPYRIGHT 2011 ARSTECHNICA.COM
|
3511c296ecd746309f3d2884a7728b00
|
What speed is the kindle?
|
[
"3G"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Israel was founded on democratic principles with the Jewish state's declaration of independence in 1948 including a commitment to the "complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion, race or sex." It has remained a continuous democracy ever since.
The 120-seat Knesset is the Israeli seat of government.
The seat of Israeli government is the Knesset, the country's national parliament, located in Jerusalem, which Israel claims as its capital. The Knesset's 120 lawmakers are elected by universal suffrage with all Israeli citizens over the age of 18 entitled to vote.
Knesset seats are divided according to each party's proportion of the overall vote. But parties must poll at least two percent nationally to gain a seat.
Participation in elections, including among Arab Israelis who constitute around 20 percent of the population, has traditionally been high at around 80 percent turnout, according to Israeli government figures. Israel currently has around 5.3 million eligible voters.
Israel usually holds national elections every four years. But this year's poll on February 10 was called early -- less than three years since the last vote -- by Israeli President Shimon Peres following the resignation of prime minister Ehud Olmert amid allegations of corruption and his Kadima Party successor Tzipi Livni's failure to form a coalition. Olmert has continued to serve as caretaker prime minister in the interim.
Coalitions of two or more parties are common in Israel; in fact no party has ever won enough votes to form a government by itself. Those remaining outside the ruling coalition make up the opposition.
Thirty-four parties will participate in the 2009 elections, including major parties such as Kadima, Likud and Labor and also three Arab parties.
The task of forming and leading a government is charged by Israel's president to the Knesset member and party leader considered to have the best chance of forming a viable coalition.
The prime minister-designate then has 28 days, extendable by 14 days, to build a coalition commanding the support of at least 61 Knesset members.
Officials results are due to be published on February 18 with the new Knesset convening on March 2.
|
35297b2637644d1b85fd599b7699c237
|
How many seats are there in the Knesset?
|
[
"120-seat"
] |
NewsQA
|
EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, California (CNN) -- Space shuttle Atlantis landed Sunday at Edwards Air Force Base after rainy weather in Florida precluded a landing at Kennedy Space Center.
The space shuttle Atlantis touches down at Edwards AFB on Sunday.
The shuttle touched down at 8:39 a.m. PT at Edwards, about 100 miles north of Los Angeles, California.
Within seven to 10 days, the shuttle will be transported from California to Florida on the back of a modified 747 jumbo jet, NASA said in a statement. Atlantis' next flight is scheduled for November.
Rainy weather postponed the shuttle landing both Friday and Saturday. NASA had said that Atlantis conceivably could have remained in space until Monday, but wanted to land the shuttle Sunday. Watch Atlantis land at Edwards Air Force Base »
Weather conditions in Florida were better Sunday than Saturday, NASA officials said, but atmospheric conditions were still too unstable for a landing at Kennedy.
It was the 53rd time the shuttle has landed at Edwards, NASA officials said. In the early days of the space shuttle program, Edwards was its primary landing site. Shuttles have landed 70 times at Kennedy Space Center, NASA said, and once at White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico.
Atlantis launched May 11 for NASA's final repair visit to the Hubble Space Telescope. Shuttle astronauts conducted five spacewalks during the mission to perform routine repairs and replace key instruments, in what has been called one of the most ambitious space repair efforts ever attempted.
Hubble was released back into orbit Tuesday morning.
The telescope was rejuvenated with instruments designed to improve its capabilities by as much as 70 times, while extending its lifetime through at least 2014, according to the NASA statement.
"This is not the end of the story but the beginning of another chapter of discovery by Hubble," Ed Weiler, associate administrator for science at NASA headquarters, said in the statement. "Hubble will be more powerful than ever, continue to surprise, enlighten and inspire us all, and pave the way for the next generation of observatories."
Hubble, which has been in space for nearly two decades, can capture clear images that telescopes on Earth cannot, partly because it does not have to gaze through murky atmospheres.
CNN's John Couwels and Alan Duke contributed to this report.
|
7cdb2b5562f246f499b2f1da22e3a2a9
|
What stopped the scheduled landing in Florida?
|
[
"Rainy weather"
] |
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