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Government U-turn to boost jobs for disabled youngsters

The Government yesterday announced a £6.8m U-turn to end an embarrassing anomaly which led to accusations of discrimination against disabled youngsters.

Earlier this month The Independent revealed that a programme for disabled people had been excluded from the Government's flagship scheme to reduce youth unemployment.

The Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, last month launched the Youth Contract, the Coalition's £1bn centrepiece policy to reduce youth unemployment. Under the three-year scheme, 160,000 wage subsidies each worth up to £2,275 will be offered to employers who recruit 18- to 24-year-olds claiming benefits on the Work Programme and retain them for six months.

The subsidies did not extend to Work Choice, a programme designed specifically for people with learning, mental health and physical disabilities. But yesterday Maria Miller, the minister for Disabled People, announced the change of heart.

A spokesman for the Department for Work and Pensions said there was "potential to support more than 1,000 young disabled people a year", costing at least an extra £6.8m.

Kirsty McHugh, chief executive of the Employment Related Services Association (ERSA), said: "We're delighted the Government has finally seen sense and is extending the wage incentive to young disabled people."


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Not so fast George: US outstrips UK growth hours after Autumn Statement

Fresh figures undermine the Chancellor’s boasts amid speculation over tapering

The Chancellor’s boasts that Britain was growing faster than any other advanced economy were scuppered within hours after a significant growth upgrade for the US.

George Osborne reported during the Autumn Statement that the nation was “currently growing faster than any other major advanced economy … faster even than America”. But shortly after the Chancellor sat down, official figures were published across the Atlantic which sharply revised up US growth in the third quarter to an annualised pace of 3.6 per cent from the 2.8 per cent estimated a month earlier. This equals a quarterly growth rate of 0.9 per cent for the US between July and September, edging ahead of the UK’s 0.8 per cent pace.

The stronger performance marks the fastest pace for the world’s biggest economy since early 2012, although the detailed picture was more worrying. Nearly half the growth came from a build-up in business stockpiles, a trend that could reverse in the current quarter and hold back the advance. Consumer spending remained at its lowest ebb in nearly four years.

The figures come amid speculation over when the US Federal Reserve will slow its $85bn (£52bn)-a-month quantitative easing, which has been running for more than a year. The Fed was expected to begin “tapering” in September but worries over the jobs market stayed action.

Traders sold off US Treasury bonds following the strong numbers but economists believe an imminent slowdown in stimulus from the Fed is by no means a done deal. ING Bank’s economist Rob Carnell said: “As with the first release, the headline number may suggest an earlier taper, perhaps December or January, but more digging into the data suggests that this economy is still running at only an underlying rate of between 2 and 2.5 per cent. An earlier scheduling of the taper is far from obvious.”

Stripping out the boost from stockpiling, the US economy grew at a rate of around 0.5 per cent rate in the third quarter, slower than earlier in the year and in line with the same below-trend rate the nation has seen since emerging from recession in 2009. “There’s no momentum here,” said Ian Shepherdson, the chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, who predicts overall economic growth could slip below 2 per cent in the current quarter. Daiwa Capital Markets’ analyst Michael Moran added: “Businesses will manage stocks more cautiously during the fourth quarter.”

Economists will also be keeping a wary eye on US shoppers – who account for around 70 per cent of the economy – after consumer spending rose at a 1.4 per cent annual pace, the slowest since the end of 2009.

In October, spending at retail businesses rose solidly, US exports grew to a record level and employers added 204,000 jobs. But initial reports on holiday shopping over the critical Thanksgiving Day weekend have been disappointing. The National Retail Federation estimates that sales over the four-day weekend fell for the first time since the group began keeping track in 2006.

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The 20-minute-long explosion happened 1.2 billion light years away – and could offer hints about the very foundations of the universe

Scientists have spotted an exploding star for the first ever time, giving people a chance to watch a never-before-seen shockwave ripple out across the universe.

The huge explosions, which lasted for just 20 minutes, could offer a new chance to understand the very beginnings of our universe, and of humanity.

The pioneering spot shows two stars exploding, in an event that was captured by the Kepler space telescope in 2011. The footage shows the star’s “death explosions” – the shockwaves or “shock breakout” that are thrown out when a star dies.

As that happens, the star explodes in a huge, bright flash. It then burns huge and bright – as bright as a galaxy – for two weeks before fading into darkness.

The Kepler space telescope spotted the flash as part of its work looking deep into the universe to attempt to find new planets. But finding it was much more difficult – because the explosion could happen anywhere in the sky, and lasts for such a short period of time, the only way that it can be spotted is by training a telescope like Kepler to look out for it.

Scientists now hope that they can use the information to understand more about supernova explosions. Those huge events are the source of some of the most important materials in the universe, and were central in forming the elements that power all of life on Earth.

"All heavy elements in the universe come from supernova explosions. For example, all the silver, nickel and copper in the Earth and even in our bodies came from the explosive death throes of stars," said Steve Howell, project scientist for the Kepler mission, in a statement.


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Former EastEnders actress Gemma McCluskie 'was killed after row about overflowing sink'

Former EastEnders actress Gemma McCluskie was beaten to death by her brother after a row over an overflowing sink, a court heard today.

Tony McCluskie had left taps on at the flat they shared and Miss McCluskie, 29, thought this was the "last straw".

She drove home to ask the cannabis-smoking McCluskie to leave but was never seen alive again, the Old Bailey was told.

Crispin Aylett, QC, prosecuting, said McCluskie killed his sister, cut up her body and dumped it in the Regent's Canal in east London.

He then led police on a "wild goose chase" after reporting her missing in March, last year, jurors heard.

McCluskie, 35, of Pelter Street, Shoreditch, east London, has pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of his sister but denies murder.

He claims to have "blanked out" after arguing with her and has no recollection of killing her, the court was told.

Miss McCluskie played Kerry Skinner, the niece of Ethel Skinner, in the BBC soap in 2001.

Mr Aylett said: "For some time, there had been tension between Miss McCluskie and her brother.

"To Gemma, this was largely as a result of the defendant's habitual use of cannabis - and its most toxic form, skunk.

"Gemma told a friend 'He's permanently stoned. He puts a spliff in his mouth first thing in the morning and doesn't know what he's doing'.

"On Thursday March 1, last year, McCluskie had got up, gone to the bathroom and forgotten the taps were on in the sink.

"Unsurprisingly, Miss McCluskie was exasperated by this. She had had enough.

"Later, while she was out, her friends heard her arguing on the telephone with her brother about what had happened.

"It is clear that Gemma regarded this incident as the last straw and that she wanted the defendant to move out."

Mr Aylett said the next day, McCluskie sent his sister a text pretending she was still alive and ending "Love ya xx".

Her friends had grown anxious about her and had not been able to contact her.

"A number of them began calling or sending texts to the defendant asking if he had heard from her," Mr Aylett added.

To one on Saturday night, he replied: "She didn't take the car, keys are on the side in the kitchen plus we wouldn't know if she took any clothes (as) she (has) so many!"

Then he reported her missing to police who from details given to them by McCluskie, categorised her disappearance as low risk.

On Sunday, McCluskie told officers that a former boyfriend owed her money and police should speak to him.

One hundred friends held a meeting in a local pub and then went out distributing leaflets appealing for information.

McCluskie did not turn up at the pub until after the meeting had broken up, said Mr Aylett.

On Tuesday morning, a woman navigating her barge on the canal in Hackney, noticed a suitcase floating in the water. It hit the side of the vessel and sprung open.

He said: "Inside was a female torso, no legs, no arms and no head."

Miss McCluskie had been identified by a small tattoo of a bow on her body.

Over the next fortnight, her arms and legs were recovered separately from the water.

But her head, which had been dumped in the canal at the same time, was not found until September.

Mr Aylett said McCluskie told police that his sister had been seen in a local kebab shop after she went missing, and that she had visited their mother in hospital.

But scientists had found blood in the bathroom and a blood-stained knife in the kitchen of the flat.

Police discovered that a man with a heavy suitcase matching McCluskie's description had taken a minicab to the canal the day after his sister disappeared.

Blood was found in the boot of the car and McCluskie's father and brother "no doubt with heavy hearts" said they recognised him from CCTV.

Mr Aylett continued: "The defendant must have killed Gemma, no doubt in the course of a quarrel.

"He then dismembered her body before disposing of the body parts, including the head, in the canal.

"The defendant had seemed keen to help the police with their investigation.

"In fact, the defendant was leading the police on a wild goose chase."

A pathologist had found bruises on Miss McCluskie's arms and legs made before she died.

He had also found cuts to her scalp indicating that she had been struck over the head at least twice with a blunt instrument.

Mr Aylett added: "The defendant claims not to know how he killed his sister.

"He describes having had an argument with Gemma. After that, it is said that everything is a blank.

"He does not remember killing her, nor can he recall cutting her up, nor does he remember dumping her body in the canal."

But this was not accepted by the prosecution.

"No doubt he did it in the heat of the moment, no doubt he soon came to regret what he had done," added Mr Aylett.

"He did everything he could to put himself beyond suspicion."

A forensic anatomy expert believed a cleaver was most likely to have been used to carry out the dismemberment of Miss McCluskie's body over a period of two to three hours, Mr Aylett said.

The court heard McCluskie received a series of hoax telephone calls following his sister's disappearance.

In the first call, the defendant was told that if he wanted to see his sister again he must take £2 million to Benfleet International Station.

A second call was made requesting that he also bring $500 worth of Iraqi currency, before a third hoax call repeated the demand for £2 million.

When the defendant asked to speak to his sister, the caller said Miss McCluskie had been stripped of her clothes and was being kept in a locked room, Mr Aylett said.

"The truth, it may seem to you, is that the defendant could not have believed his luck," Mr Aylett said.

"While there is no reason to suppose that the defendant had put the hoaxer up to making these calls, the calls can only have added to the state of confusion as to Gemma's whereabouts."

Police later traced the telephone calls to an address in Kent and arrested a man on March 8.

The trial was adjourned until 10.30am tomorrow.


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David Cameron 'will protect OAP benefits'

Prime Minister David Cameron is committed to protecting pensioners' entitlements to benefits such as the winter fuel allowance and free prescriptions, eye-tests and bus travel in their current form, Downing Street said today.

A Number 10 spokeswoman said the entitlements were enshrined in the coalition agreement and made clear that the commitment would stand until the next general election, expected in 2015.

Reports in The Sun today suggested a behind-the-scenes rift over the benefits - worth about £5 billion a year - between Mr Cameron and Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith.

Mr Duncan Smith is understood to be considering whether the Treasury could save as much as £2 billion a year by means-testing the payouts in a future round of cuts.

The Department for Work and Pensions today said it remained committed to continue to pay the £200-a-year winter fuel allowance - worth £300 to people aged over 80 - in its current form.

Other departments and bodies are responsible for other benefits, such as the free TV licence for people aged over-75.

The entitlements are paid out to pensioners regardless of their income or savings, meaning that large numbers of people receive help with expenses which they can easily afford. It is thought that the winter fuel allowance is received by an estimated 100,000 households with a retirement income over £100,000 as well as 73,000 Britons who have retired to warm countries such as Spain.

In the run-up to the 2010 general election, Mr Cameron made a very public pledge to protect the entitlements, denouncing Labour claims that he would cut them as "lies, lies, lies".

Asked today whether the Prime Minister was committed to retaining the entitlements as universal benefits, the Downing Street spokeswoman said: "It is in the coalition agreement. He stands by what is in the coalition agreement."

The 2010 agreement, which sets out the agenda of the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition Government, states: "We will protect key benefits for older people such as the winter fuel allowance, free TV licences, free bus travel and free eye tests and prescriptions."

Asked today whether this meant that the entitlements would be protected in their current form, the spokeswoman told reporters: "It is protecting what is in place."

But she made clear that the commitments contained in the agreement related only to the current Parliament and did not tie the hands of the coalition partners in the period following the next general election.


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Digging in for the next Balkan war

Tony Barber, in the first of two articles, considers what will happen when the UN pulls out of Croatia
Croatian army units and rebel Serbian forces are busy digging trenches and gun nests along ceasefire lines in Croatia, preparing for the withdrawal of 12,500 United Nations soldiers and policemen who have patrolled an uneasy truce since 1992. The danger of a new war, destroying the chances of a settlement in Bosnia and sucking Croats, Serbs and Muslims into a general conflict in former Yugoslavia, has never been higher.

"The world must force Croatia to abandon its decision to end the mandate of the peace-keeping troops. Those international power- brokers who decide to support Croatia in this decision will be supporting the war option," said Milan Martic, the President of the self-styled Republic of Serb Krajina, a breakaway territory that covers almost 30 per cent of Croatia.

Croatia's President, Franjo Tudjman, last month ordered UN forces to start leaving Croatia after their peace-keeping mandate expires on 31 March. He argued that the UN operation had helped the Krajina Serb rebels to consolidate control of their territory and, if allowed to continue, would lead to the permanent dismemberment of the Croatian state.

For their part, the Krajina Serbs contend that the UN forces should stay in place until a political solution has been reached to the Serb-Croat conflict. As a result, the Croatian government and the Serbian rebels are locked in a contest of nerves and willpower that could easily end in the second Serb-Croat war in four years.

Mr Tudjman has threatened before to order out the UN, backing down at the last minute. This time, he seems more serious. The UN thinks so, for withdrawal plans are well advanced. Its forces patrol 1,000 miles of ceasefire lines separating Croatian-controlled territory from the Krajina enclave. As from 1 April, the UN will have no authority to prevent incursions by either side or to mediate in local skirmishes.

"The worst-case scenario would be either the Krajina Serbs or Croats or both going for the same piece of ground or UN kit at the same time, with us caught in the crossfire," a senior UN officer told reporters. Others express fears that peace-keepers could be taken hostage.

Mr Tudjman has proposed that the UN forces be replaced by international units deployed along Croatia's pre-war frontiers with Serbia and Bosnia. However, there is no chance that this will happen, since three groups of Serbs - Serbia, the Bosnian Serbs and the Krajina Serbs - would regard it as an attempt to isolate them from one another.

In anticipation of the UN pullout, the Krajina Serb leadership has suspended steps to restore communications and economic ties with Croatia and, most ominously, has formed a joint war council with the Bosnian Serbs. The key figure is General Ratko Mladic, the Bosnian Serb military commander who, for all practical purposes, is now overall commander of Serb forces in Bosnia and Croatia. He operates with considerable independence from Serbia's President, Slobodan Milosevic, on whom the West has pinned its hopes for ending the conflicts in former Yugoslavia.

Neither the Croatian government nor the Krajina Serbs has come close to meeting the other's basic conditions for a political settlement. Croatia's authorities insist the Krajina Serbs must submit to rule from Zagreb, albeit with substantial autonomy, while the Serbian rebels insist on total separation from Croatia, either in the form of independence or union with an enlarged Serbian state.

There is every sign that Croatian public opinion supports the Zagreb government's stance and that Serbian public opinion in Krajina supports its leadership. For both, a reluctance to go to war again is matched by a determination not to make the concessions to prevent it.

People in Zagreb are already making plans to move relatives from the capital, which is within range of Serbian missiles.

UN officers do not expect immediate offensives after 31 March, but warn of a gradual increase in clashes that could develop into war by the summer. Croatia's army has been practising tank assaults on Hvar, an island off the Adriatic coast. Krajina Serbs have been digging trenches in the south and west areas of Croatia near the Bosnian frontier.

In the Serb-controlled region of eastern Croatia, bordering Serbia, the Croatian army would risk intervention by Mr Milosevic's Serbian-led Yugoslav army if it tried to recapture territory. The region contains oil and rich farmland and is the area of Krajina Mr Milosevic would be most reluctant to see return to Croatian control.

An adviser to Mr Milosevic said this week that the President had proposed Serb-held eastern Croatia remain under UN administration for five more years, after which there would be fresh negotiations on its status. To the Croats, however, this looks like an attempt to ensure the region never returns to Croatian hands.

"Croatia is for the peaceful option," proclaimed a front-page headline this week in the Zagreb newspaper Vjesnik. But Mr Tudjman's gamble that the Krajina Serbs will negotiate rather than fight again seems a misjudgement of the Serbian mood. The fears, prejudices and sense of injustice on both sides are so strong that few would bet against another Balkan war this year.

Tomorrow, the Bosnian war


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No welcome for refugees as Italy turns boat away

The North African refugee crisis dramatically worsened yesterday as a boat-load of Tunisian migrants sank in rough seas killing 35 on board, while a ferry carrying 1,800 people fleeing unrest in Libya was turned away by authorities in Malta and Italy.

The larger vessel had come from Tripoli and was carrying mostly Moroccan refugees. It was first turned away from Malta, and then from Augusta in eastern Sicily. It remained in international waters yesterday, tracked by an Italian naval vessel amid reports that the migrants were trying to get to Morocco.

"We can't know if there are terrorists aboard," the Corriere della Sera newspaper quoted the interior minister, Roberto Maroni, as saying. Later reports suggested that it had only sought to refuel, and a spokesman for the opposition Democratic Party called the interior ministry's decision "incomprehensible".

Tens of thousands of people have fled protests and crackdowns as the pro-democracy movement sweeps North Africa and the Middle East. Human rights groups have urged authorities to process the refugees fairly, but tensions have surfaced, notably in the tiny Italian island of Lampedusa, where about 10,000 refugees have arrived.

The tragedy aboard a boat from Tunisia became apparent when another vessel reached Lampedusa and the refugees told authorities that they saw a small boat carrying about 40 people capsize in the early hours of yesterday morning. They said they were only able to rescue five of the migrants, with about 35 of its occupants drowning. One refugee said: "They're dead. They're dead. They sunk before our eyes swallowed up by the rough sea."

Despite the tragic capsizing and the exclusion of the ferry from the port in eastern Sicily, North African immigrants continued to pour into the tiny Italian island yesterday, with over 1,600 arriving on 21 boats in less than 24 hours. Lampedusa port authorities said that there had been "several rescue operations". An Italian warship, the Spica, rescued 129 migrants from a boat that was stranded in rough weather in an operation lasting three hours.

The island's immigrant centre has been overwhelmed. It now has 2,800 refugees in a facility designed for 800. One official said yesterday: "The problem is simple but very serious. We simply don't know where to send these people." Italian authorities have already ferried some arrivals off to Sicily and flown some to the mainland. But the refugees appear to be arriving so quickly and in such numbers, that Italy is unable to cope. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Geneva said more than 10,000 Tunisians had arrived in Lampedusa since the ousting of Tunisian president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali on 14 January.

"From our interactions with Tunisians arriving in Italy over past weeks, we believe that most are seeking employment and better economic opportunities," the UNHCR said yesterday. The Italian government is hoping that EU heads of state will approve a draft plan that will see the cost of the influx of illegal immigrants and refugees shared between member states.

Yesterday's developments came just a day after French far-right leader Marine Le Pen visited Lampedusa and warned that Europe could no longer afford to host migrants, who pay up to €1,500 each for the dangerous voyage from North Africa. She said immigrant boats should be sent back before they enter European territorial waters.


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Russian Crisis: Fears of fascism grow as 'red-brown' allies emerge

MOSCOW - Three dirty flags fluttered yesterday above a wooden platform on the balcony of the White House, from which Alexander Rutskoi proclaimed an armed uprising, writes Andrew Higgins.

More than the angry words that were spoken, they signal the tangled, contradictory strands of Communism and nationalism that form an unstable but dangerously potent 'red-brown' alliance behind the turmoil in Moscow.

When Yegor Gaidar, the architect of radical free-market 'shock therapy' and a hate figure for parliament, went on television last night, he warned of a 'bloody brown curtain' of facism falling across Russia. The iron curtain has been lifted but the spectre that haunts Russia today could prove more malignant.

One flag on the White House balcony belonged to the Soviet Union, dead for three years but mourned by the mostly elderly, deeply bitter people who have milled around outside the White House since 21 September, when Boris Yeltsin declared Russia's Soviet-era parliament dead. A second flag was that of St Andrew, the third the yellow, white and black imperial flag, both of which have been hijacked by far-right groups ranging from monarchists to viciously anti-Semitic facist groups.

One of the most applauded speakers yesterday was Sergei Baburin, a 34-year-old lawyer in the vaguard of efforts to forge a plethora of cranks and splinter groups into a nationwide force. The result is the National Salvation Front, an organisation riven by bitter quarrels between left and right, hit by defections and ordered to be closed by the Kremlin, but united by a shared rage at Russia's descent from superpower to what Mr Rutskoi mocked on Saturday as a 'banana republic'. Mr Baburin, a Communist Party member from 1981 to 1991, is articulate and clever. On his desk in the parliament building he kept an exploded shell from the war in Abkhazia to remind himself, he said, of the tragedy caused by the collapse of Russian power.

Lurking behind Mr Baburin are fascists of a far more brutal and brutish tradition, a tradition of violence and paranoia exploited by Stalin. Its roots long predate Communism, lying in the pogroms of the Tsarist era.

The Communist Party always had an openly chauvinsit wing sharply at odds with the more cosmopolitan and intellectual leanings of its founders. But not until the 1980s, with the emergence of Pamyat - the generic name for various groups in St Petersburg and Moscow - did Russian fascism begin to find its angry voice.

In 1991 it fielded its first presidential candidate, Vladimir Zhirinovsky, a militant buffoon whose campaign is best remembered for its promise of cheap vodka. He got nearly 8 per cent of the vote.

While the democratic and dissident groups thrown up by glasnost have mostly withered, extremists and their organisations have flourished. They range from the Union of Stalinists to the Union of Officers, a shadowy assembly of retired officers that has worked for months to stir undrest in the armed forces. Distinctions between left and right blur. They rant, not argue.

'We were silent for three years,' read a painted slogan board carried by a chubby man in his fifties, his black rain coat as grimly sombre as the Brezhnevite communism that made him.

'The Russian people are patient,' continued his message. It ended with an angry blotch of red paint inscribed with letters in black: 'Explosion'. An old woman nearby carried a portait of Stalin. What fires them is not ideas but humiliation and anger.

There were 'communists' too inside the White House, well-fed party apparatchiki elected as deputies in 1990 to serve a country that no longer exists. Many, though, seemed as confused, dazzled and in some cases worried by what was happening. For them a seat in parliament was a sinecure, worth hanging on to certainly but not, despite the heated rhetoric, worth fighting for.

Most of the more than 1,000 members of the Congress of People's Deputies were nowhere to be seen, having either returned to their constituences days ago, their determination shaken by the promise of a two million rouble pay-off for surrendering their seats so that new elections can be held in December. Ironically, it may be their very opportunism that helps saves Russia from the cataclysm of a red-brown triumph.


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The Ashes 2013: Alan Border slams Australia's 'embarrassing' batsmen after Test debacle

Pattinson ruled out of rest of Ashes with back injury as legendary former Australia captain goes on the attack

Allan Border believes that Australia’s batsmen are an embarrassment to their country and that the selectors need to take decisive action to avoid an Ashes whitewash. The former captain offered a blunt assessment of his fellow countrymen’s failings in the wake of the heavy defeat to England in the second Test at Lord’s, picking out the opening batsman Shane Watson for specific criticism.

Australia have 10 days to sort themselves out before the third Test begins on Thursday week at Old Trafford, where defeat would condemn them to a series loss. There was, however, further bad news for the tourists when it was announced last night that fast bowler James Pattinson will play no further part in the Ashes series.

Cricket Australia confirmed that Pattinson was diagnosed with a stress fracture of his lower back following Sunday’s conclusion to the second Test defeat and will return home to Australia after the third Test.

The veteran batsman Mike Hussey has also ruled out a return to the squad, saying he was “glad” not to be involved with the Test side, while the exiled squad member David Warner was forced to distance himself from tweets posted by his brother attacking Watson. Cricket Australia’s dispute with the sacked coach Mickey Arthur also refuses to go away, with the South African now claiming that he is the victim of a “deliberate campaign” to undermine him.

Border, who led Australia for nearly a decade from 1984, wrote in an email newsletter to Cricket Australia subscribers that the national selectors needed to decide what their best team was – and fast. “Our major concern right now is the performance of the top six. I could honestly say the nine, 10 and jack [No 11 batsman] looked more competent than our one, two and three. If that was me in the top three I’d be embarrassed. We need to settle on our best XI and stay with it. I’m a believer in the pick-and-stick method, so we need to find our best XI suited to the conditions and stick with it.”

On the under-fire opener Watson, who has now been dismissed lbw a record 24 times, Border wrote: “We all know what a wonderful player Shane Watson is. He looks like a million bucks when he’s firing. What is worrying though is that he keeps getting out in the same fashion. Now who is to blame here? Is it Watson for not adapting? What about the coaches? In an era where we’ve got a thousand coaches and psychoanalysts and dieticians and sport scientists it defies belief a player can be making the same mistakes.”

Watson’s latest leg-before dismissal was on Sunday when James Anderson trapped him for 20, and Steven Warner, brother of David, tweeted: “F***ing selfish Watson sooner your out of the side you great pretender the better.”

Warner on Monday moved to distance himself from his sibling’s comments, saying he did not endorse the comments and fully supported Watson.

The chances of Warner replacing Watson are narrowing and the batsman will return from Australia A duty in time for the third Test. There have been calls for Simon Katich and Hussey to return, but Hussey – the so-called “Mr Cricket” – has ruled himself out, saying on Monday he was “sort of glad I’m not  really in that pressure situation.”

No replacement for Pattinson has been called up ahead of this week’s warm-up game against Sussex, though Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Coulter-Nile and the in-form Chadd Sayers could, if required, be brought in from the Australia A squad currently playing in South Africa. Before that option is considered, the selectors could opt to  recall Mitchell Starc after he was left out at Lord’s, while James Faulkner and Jackson Bird are also available.


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Back to the future is Hodgson's mission

For the scale of the task facing Roy Hodgson, you need only look back a few months to the miserable ending to Liverpool's Europa League campaign that followed their miserable Champions' League campaign.

Trailing to Atletico Madrid on away goals at Anfield, Rafael Benitez was only able to call on Nabil El Zhar, Philipp Degen and Dani Pacheco to swing a semi-final their way.

A club for sale, still in the stadium they acknowledged they had to leave behind years ago, with a squad lacking any depth beyond a competitive but failing first team, Liverpool limped to seventh place – and a first title since 1990 has rarely felt as far away.

Unveiling Hodgson, the chairman Martin Broughton was bullish about the prospects of a sale, claiming the reign of Tom Hicks and George Gillett could be over by August. Whether that time frame is optimistic remains to be seen but rumours of potential investors swirl around Merseyside almost on a daily basis.

Only when the sale goes through can talk of rejuvenation take over from worries about refinancing. Until then Hodgson must battle with what he has got before him. Until they can definitely move forward, sideways should be seen as an achievement.

Real Madrid continue to put out feelers for Steven Gerrard, who held talks with the new manager on Thursday before heading off on holiday, and Hodgson was making a priority of speaking to Javier Mascherano and Fernando Torres, still involved at the World Cup, on the phone. Mascherano has rarely missed a chance to link himself with a reunion with Benitez at Internazionale, while doubts continue over the future of Torres.

Hodgson accepts he cannot afford to "bullshit" his players about the direction the club is taking. The £6m sale of Yossi Benayoun to Chelsea will push Hodgson's transfer budget to about £17m, which may buy one top-quality player.

With Tottenham in the Champions' League and Manchester City continuing to spend, it is not the time to be attempting to match them by assembling a squad on a budget. Further money could be on its way if Albert Riera and Ryan Babel follow Benayoun out of the club but Hodgson admits he must give chances to players who have underperformed or been completely sidelined in recent months.

Hodgson has his eyes wide open and although he is faced with limitless negatives, which should decrease expectations on him to such an extent that Champions' League football would be like a title win, he merely sees footballing issues that must be overcome.

Success with Fulham was brought about with a clear tactical plan, drilled into the players relentlessly on the training ground, and Hodgson hopes to get Liverpool back on track by employing the virtues that brought the club success in the 1970s.

"The weight of tradition at this club weighs on the shoulders of every player who comes through the door," he said. "We shouldn't be taking anybody through the door who doesn't think what a privilege it is to play here.

"Therefore I have to give everything I can give and maybe even a bit more. Funnily enough, all the things that I've always liked are the things Liverpool were famous for in their heyday. Pass and move, always move it quickly and when you lose the ball, get back in position. That was the mantra that took Liverpool through their great years.

"I know Alex Ferguson is not a Liverpool fan so I'm a bit concerned about my excellent relationship with him," he joked. "I sincerely hope he forgives me for moving north and will welcome the fact that we can have a glass of wine together, maybe in secret."

Though he views his work at Fulham with immense pride, if Hodgson is able to make his old friend fear Liverpool as genuine title rivals again, it would surpass all else.


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Wimbledon's positive response

Wimbledon 2 Leeds United 0

"Stay positive'' was Joe Kinnear's message to his Wimbledon players before this match. Easier said than done, four days after losing a second semi-final in the space of just over a month. However, his players responded to earn a win which bolstered their flagging hopes of a Uefa Cup place next season.

Kinnear revealed afterwards that he and his players had had a three-hour meeting during training the previous day, in the wake of Sunday's FA Cup semi-final defeat by Chelsea.

"It was a case of putting my arm around the players and speaking about the idea of making the last six games of the season like six Cup finals.

"I tried to use a bit of Irish kidology, telling them that, even though we had lost two semi-finals, we had done well to get there. I said it just might be that we could get in the back door to Europe - after all, we had seven straight wins earlier in the season."

Last night's win lifted them to within one place of the sixth spot which Kinnear believes would guarantee them a European place. "We had to win tonight to keep the season alive. We have got the disappointment out of our system and we have got two vital games coming up against Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday and Chelsea on Tuesday."

Kinnear had particular reason to be satisfied after his decision to pull off Vinnie Jones five minutes after half-time. The Wimbledon captain had already been booked for fouling Lee Bowyer, and seemed set for further trouble.

"Once I saw the red mist floating around, I made the decision," Kinnear said. Jones' replacement, Stewart Castledine, made sure of the points in the 72nd minute when he headed home Wimbledon's second from close range after a right wing cross by Neal Ardley.

Wimbledon were facing a Leeds defence which had kept nine clean sheets in their previous 12 Premiership games but they went ahead in the 18th minute when Dean Holdsworth, making the most of Efan Ekoku's absence with a broken wrist, dispossessed David Wetherall as the Leeds defender tried to shepherd the ball for a goal-kick, and scored from an acute angle.

Leeds should have had an equaliser after 51 minutes, but Lee Sharpe shot wastefully wide after Bowyer had put him clean through.

"It was a typical Wimbledon performance tonight," the Leeds manager, George Graham, said. "I told the players they were not going to lie down after their defeat in the semi-final. That's the type of spirit I've got to get back to Elland Road."

Wimbledon (4-4-2): Sullivan; Cunningham, Perry, McAllister, Kimble; Ardley, Fear, Jones (Castledine, 50), Leonhardsen; Gayle, Holdsworth. Substitutes not used: Heald (gk), Goodman, Reeves, Euell.

Leeds United (4-4-2): Martyn; Halle, Wetherall (Kelly, 73), Molenaar, Dorigo; Rush, Bowyer, Radebe, Sharpe (Laurent, 82); Wallace, Deane. Substitutes not used: Beeney (gk), Miller, Harte.

Referee: T Alcock (Surrey).


text:
What are we all going to be making next Saturday? Not New Year's Resolutions, if we're halfway sane. They all fail so embarrassingly early into the new year that few of us will want to compound our sense of futility by making New Millennium Resolutions and have them fail one thousand times earlier than usual.

It turns out there may be a very good reason why we fail to keep our resolutions, other than the obvious abject feebleness of will. It's this: we can't remember what they are. Simple. And if we wrote them down, then we probably can't remember where we put the piece of paper, either.

Oddly enough, the piece of paper has been known to turn up exactly a year later when you're casting around for something on which to write the next year's abortive attempts to pull your life into some kind of shape. This is not, it turns out, a coincidence. Incidentally, am I alone in finding the expression "it turns out" to be incredibly useful? It allows you to make swift, succinct and authoritative connections between otherwise randomly unconnected statements, without the trouble of explaining what your source or authority is. It's great.

It's hugely better than its predecessors, "I read somewhere that ...", or the craven "they say that ...", because it suggests not only that whatever flimsy bit of urban mythology you are passing on is based on ground-breaking research, but that it is research in which you yourself were intimately involved. With no actual authority anywhere in sight. Anyway, where was I?

It seems that the brain is affected by alcohol. Well, we know that, of course. But there are different gradations to the effect, and herein lies the crux. The brain organises its memories like a hologram (it turns out). To retrieve an image you must recreate the exact conditions in which it was captured. In the case of a hologram it's the lighting; in the case of the brain it is, or can be (it turns out) the amount of alcohol sloshing around in it.

Things that happen to you or, frighteningly enough, that you say or do while under the influence of alcohol will only be recalled when you are again under the influence of that exact same quantity of alcohol. These memories are completely beyond the reach of your normal, sober mind. Which is why, after some ill-advised evening out, you will be the only person who is completely unaware of some barkingly stupid remark you made to someone whose feelings you care about deeply, or even just a bit. It is only weeks, months, or in the case of New Year's Eve, exactly a year later that the occasion returns to your consciousness with a sickening whump and you realise why people have been avoiding you for so long.

And the same is true on the way back down. There are certain memories that will only be triggered by revisiting exactly the same state of dehydration as the one in which the original events occurred. Hence the New Year's Resolution problem, which is that you never remember the resolutions you made, or even where you wrote them down, until the same moment the next year, when you are horribly reminded of your total failure to have stuck by them for more than seven minutes.

What is the answer to this terrible, self-perpetuating problem? Rigorous self-discipline. A monastic adherence to a regime of steamed vegetables, plain water, long walks, regular work-outs, early nights, early mornings and probably some kind of fragrant oils.

But the thing we are most going to want on New Year's Day, while desperately trying to remember how to make it, is a good hangover cure. The trouble is we can never remember them when we want them, or even know where to find them. And the reason is that we heard about them when we didn't need them, which isn't any help, for the reasons outlined above. Nauseating images involving egg yolks and Tabasco sauce swill through your brain, but you're really in no fit state to organise your thoughts. Which is why we need, urgently, to organise them now while there is still time. So this is an appeal for good, effective methods of freshening up the brain on New Year's Day that don't involve cranial surgery. Hangover cures, please, to And may the next one thousand years be especially good ones for you and your descendants.

Completely Unexpected Productions Ltd 1999. All rights reserved.


text:
Pilot Still Missing

Investigation Continues Into What Caused Sunday Plane Crash

The Coast Guard is still searching in the ocean off the coast of El Capitan State Beach for evidence to explain the crash of a small plane on the evening of Sunday, April 19.

At 5:28 p.m., the single-engine plane that had been doing aerobatics above the ocean disappeared from radar. While the pilot had not been in contact with air traffic controllers up until the plane’s disappearance, the craft had been tracked on the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) Santa Barbara Airport air traffic control facility. A Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Department helicopter was the first source to spot an indication of a crash: a debris field and an oil slick in the ocean.

The Santa Barbara County Fire Department began a search of the area, but broke off its investigation when the Coast Guard took over as dark fell last night. This morning, Coast Guard divers began an above- and below-water search of an ever-growing area. Debris from the crash has already been distributed over seven miles of ocean by the tide.

The pilot-Stephen Birch, orthopedic surgeon and Santa Barbara resident-has yet to be found as of the posting of this story. “He’s a very avid pilot,” said his son, Scott Birch. “He’s been flying for more than 30 years, does aerobatics routinely, once or twice a week.” The crash is bewildering to family and friends of Birch, who know him to be a very adept flyer.

Birch was the only person in the plane at the time of the crash.

The crash is currently being investigated by the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board. The crashed plane is a high-performance model known for its aerobatic ability, according the FAA. Birch’s family believes his experience as a pilot makes any case for a mistake in piloting, “hard to believe.”

The Birch family has been working with Sheriff’s and Coast Guard offices to piece together what happened, and would like to ask anyone with an eye-witness account to share their information. The family can be contacted by email at and by phone at (805) 637-2021.

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Sunday 28 August 2016

HSE appoints expert panel to discern medical card eligibility

Published 05/06/2014 | 18:14

Minister for Health James Reilly
Minister for Health James Reilly

An expert panel has been appointed by the HSE that will examine what medical needs should be taken into account for medical card eligibility.

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The panel will examine and recommend the range of medical conditions that should be considered when determining medical card eligibility, as well as list them in priority order of what would benefit most from a medical card.

Professor Frank Keane, past President of the Royal College of Surgeons Ireland and Clinical Lead, will chair the panel that will be made up of a range of clinical experts from primary care, specialist services and therapies.

The range of medical professionals will have the expertise to consider the broad range of chronic, life-long and life-limiting conditions that will be brought before the panel.

There will also be a patient representative to ensure the views of patients are central to the process.

The panel will report to the Director General of the Health Service by September 2014.

A public consultation will commence tomorrow to seek the views of the public.

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Sunday 28 August 2016

Talks and retreats in Killavullen

Maria Herlihy

Published 27/03/2014 | 05:26

A 32-ACRE organic farm and stunning views of the Blackwater valley make an ideal setting at the Nano Nagle Centre in Killavullen to hear and meet world-renowned speakers.

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The centre is hosting a series of spring and summer talks and workshops centring on heritage, spirituality and ecology.

On April 4-6, Fr Daniel O'Leary will be hosting an Easter themed retreat, 'Easter in my heart - living the abundant life of grace everyday.'

In May, there will be a mindfulness retreat weekend by Timothy Sweeney. Staying with the month of May, Fr Louis Hughes, will also give a seminar on 'the breath of mediation in life.' This retreat will seek to promote relaxation of breath. Participants are helped to become more deeply awe of the ways in which the breath moves and to recognise and respond.

Then in June Angela Campion will be hosting a 'Prayer and the Universe' themed weekend retreat. This is followed by a five-day retreat with Brother Denis Glesson, who will be undertaking an AA spirituality retreat. This retreat is suitable for anyone who is interested in the 12 steps and who wishes to continue, or to embark upon a 12-step spiritual journey.

Other events will follow in the summer. For further information visit the web site and for bookings contact 022 26411 or email secretary@nanonaglebirthplace.

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Saath Nibhaana Saathiya

Saath Nibhaana Saathiya
Saath Nibhaana Saathiya

pamela01 Goldie

Joined: 14 April 2013
Posts: 1354

Posted: 13 October 2013 at 5:58pm | IP Logged
DT Note - Offending comments have been edited by the DT
Radha looks beautiful when she wears a sari  and wears make up.
I was unable to vote since there are no boxes to click in.

Poor Radha.   I really feel sorry for her.
I do not like Gopi anymore.

Edited by munnihyderabad - 19 October 2013 at 4:17pm

The following 2 member(s) liked the above post:

SailorMoonStar IF-Dazzler

Joined: 03 May 2012
Posts: 2820

Posted: 14 October 2013 at 9:12am | IP Logged
Originally posted by shon.

Wordds - ugliest

are you serious? Chill out dude.

Urmilla is the ugliest by heart. By face everyone is pretty because these are actors and actresses and are meant to be pretty.

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Manish Paul undergoes an ear surgery!

Manish complaint of uneasiness in his ear and hence underwent a small operation...

Friday, October 28, 2011 | 1:17:25 PM IST (+05:30 GMT)
 4 Comments | By

A standup comedian, a host and now a contestant in Zee TV's Star Ya Rockstar, Manish Paul who is making rounds with his singing talent these days recently went through an ear surgery.

A source informs Tellybuzz, "Manish Paul was feeling uneasy in his ear since a few days and therefore he took an appointment from the doctor but just because he had to shoot for Star Ya Rockstar's episode, he had to wait till it gets over. Only after the shooting, Manish got his ear surgery done. Now his ear is all fine and he is away for a Diwali vacation."

Manish confirmed the same but refused to comment on it.

We hope Manish gets well soon!

Reporter:Tejashree Bhopatkar
Author: Megha Bissa

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Posted on: 28 October 2011 at 11:28am
I like him as Host and in Comedy Circus...

Get well soon Manish, dont neglect it , dont delay and get to done fact

Good luck for future

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Posted on: 28 October 2011 at 11:19am
Hope he gets well soon! =D

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Posted on: 28 October 2011 at 10:25am
get well soon manish...

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Posted on: 28 October 2011 at 8:12am
Awhhh get well soon Manish. Still love u as a host on see shows

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Lilly Library Manuscript Collections

The Howdy Doody mss., 1946-1986, consist of correspondence, memoranda, contracts, and other documents relating to the television program The Howdy Doody Show. The materials are from the files of Martin Stone, owner and producer of the show. Howdy Doody aired 1947-1960. It was the first network show to run five consecutive days a week, the first to broadcast in color, and it won the George Foster Peabody Award "for outstanding children's program during 1948." This was the first Peabody Award, originally for radio programming, that went to a television feature.

The correspondence and contracts date 1946-1954 and are primarily with Robert E. Smith, "Buffalo Bob" on the program. The 1969-1986 correspondence involves some effort to revive the show as well as discussions about licensing and ownership of the program and of the music composed for it. Correspondents in these later files include Edward G. Kean, the composer of the program music. The original manuscript of Kean's "You Don't Cross the Street with Your Feet" and a folder of clippings complete the collection.

A finding aid is available.

Purchase. George Robert Minkoff, Rare Books. Alford, MA 2000

ca. 100 items

Folder List

  • Folders 1-5: Correspondence, 1946-1954

  • Folder 6: Miscellaneous notes, memos, expenses, etc. 1950s?

  • Folders 7-8: Correspondence, 1969-1986

  • Folder 9: "You Don't Cross the Street with Your Feet" [music manuscript]

  • Folder 10: Printed - clippings

Collection size: 100 items

For more information about this collection and any related materials contact the Public Services Department, Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405. Call (812) 855-2452 or send an email using our Ask a Question form.