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17

England batsman Eoin Mor-gan is set to undergo shoul-der surgery and will miss theupcoming one-day interna-tional tour of India, the Eng-land and Wales Cricket Board(ECB) said. The Dublin-bornleft-hander saw a specialiston Friday about the injury tohis right shoulder and willnow have an operation nextweek, which will rule himout of all cricket for aroundthree months. England, whoare currently playing a five-match one-day series againstIndia at home, are due to playa series of return fixtures in-cluding five ODIs and oneTwenty20 starting in October.We have managed the in-jury to date with a conserva-

tive program but Eoin hasnow reached the stage wheresurgery is most appropriateprogression of his treatment,ECB medical officer NickPeirce said in a statement.

Morgan to will miss India tour Nike to sponsor Tendulkars specially designed shoes

Batting legend Sachin Ten-dulkar will return to Indiawith specially designed shoesto protect his injured toe, it islearnt. Tendulkars speciallydesigned shoes for protec-tion of his injured toe willbe sponsored by Nike, re-vealed Tendulkars new po-diatrist Anne MarrieOConnor. According tosources close to the battinggenius, Tendulkar was sched-uled to see a podiatrist inLondon. Dr James Calder, aUK-based orthopedic sur-geon, who examined him o, isbelieved to have referred hiscase to OConnor. OConnor

is one of the leading sportspodiatrists in the UK, provid-ing podiatry and gait analysisto many top athletes. Sheuses video technology toanalyse running and walkingpatterns and prescribes or-thotics (foot protection).

Speaking exclusively overtelephone from London, O-Connor told this scribe: Ihave examined Tendulkarsinjured toe. He came withteams physio AshishKaushik. I am proud to treathim and will prepare spe-cially designed shoes for hisinjured toe. It will be spon-sored by Nike.

Djokovic beats Nadal towin maiden US Open

Serbia's Novak Djokovic out-played Spain's Rafa Nadal towin the US Open final 6-2 6-46-7 6-1 at Flushing Meadowsand show why he really is thehottest player in the gameright now.

The world number oneproduced a masterful displayof tactics and precision thenregained his composure afterfailing to serve out the matchin the third set to seal victoryafter four hours and 10 min-utes.

The win providedDjokovic with his first USOpen title after he had twice

been beaten in the final, in-cluding last year's decideragainst Nadal, and his thirdgrand slam this year afterhaving won the AustralianOpen and Wimbledon.

"It really sounds unreal.It's an incredible feeling,"Djokovic said.

"I've had an amazing yearand it keeps going. Everytime I play Rafa, it's a bigchallenge. I want to congrat-ulate him on a great tourna-ment again and I wish thatwe have many more toughmatches in the upcomingyears."

Novak Djokovic kisses the trophy as he celebrates defeating Rafael Nadal.

Stosur ends Aussie drought with US Open titleSam Stosur became the

first Australian woman in 38years to win the US Openwhen she upset AmericanSerena Williams 6-2 6-3 onSunday in an ill-temperedfinal.

Stosur played the matchof her life to defeat the mostformidable player of her gen-eration and capture her firstgrand slam title, spoilingAmerican hopes of a home-bred champion on the 10thanniversary of the Sept. 11 at-tacks.

"I had one of my best daysand I'm very fortunate that Ihad it on this stage in NewYork," Stosur said during anon-court interview.

"Ever since I started play-ing it was a dream of mine tobe here one day. I don't reallyknow what to say. Serena,you are a fantastic player,great champion and havedone wonders for our sport."

Williams, bidding for a

fourth US Open crown, failedto reproduce her best aftersailing to the final withoutdropping a set and let herfrustrations boil over.Throughout the second setshe repeatedly argued withthe chair umpire in a petulant

display that rekindled mem-ories of her ungracious exitfrom the 2009 US Open.

"If you ever see me walk-ing down the hall, look theother way because you're outof control," Williams said.

While Williams berated

the official, Stosur remaineda model of composure. The27-year-old dominated thematch from the outset andfully deserved her win,played in front of a raucousArthur Ashe Stadium crowd.

Stosur, one of the fittestand biggest-hitting players inthe women's game, putWilliams under pressurefrom the outset with somethunderbolt returns thatpinned the American behindthe baseline and attacked herbackhand, forcing her tomake errors.

Stosur broke Williams'sserve twice in the first set,which she wrapped up in 31minutes, then three times inthe second while losing herown serve once.

"She played really well,she's a great player,"Williams said. "I tried myhardest but she kept hittingwinners and there was noth-ing I could do."

Samantha Stosur of Australia celebrates with the championship trophy along-side Serena Williams who poses with the second place trophy after theirWomen's Singles Final.

18Dar named best umpire forthe third consecutive year

Pakistan umpire Aleem Darhas won the David Shepherdtrophy for the Umpire of theYear for the third consecutiveyear at the ICC Awards cere-mony in London. He beatcompetition from SteveDavis, Ian Gould and five-time winner Simon Taufel.

Dar, 43, officiated in fiveTests and 13 ODIs during thevoting period - August 11,2010 to August 3, 2011 - in-cluding the World Cup finalbetween India and Sri Lanka.

Widely regarded for hisumpiring standards, Dar wasvoted to the award by the 10Full Member captains as wellas the eight-man elite panel ofmatch referees.

"It's a great honour andI'm thankful to everyone atthe ICC and also my col-leagues on the Elite Panel ofICC umpires along with thePakistan Cricket Board," Darsaid. "I'd like to also thank allmy family for all their sup-port since I'm away nearly

eight months of the year um-piring."

Dar accepted his awardfrom ICC Hall of Fame 2011inductee Alan Davidson andsaid: "It's a great honour andI'm thankful to everyone atthe ICC and also my col-leagues on the Emirates ElitePanel of ICC Umpires alongwith the Pakistan CricketBoard. I'd like to also thankall my family for all their sup-port since I'm away nearlyeight months of the year um-piring."

Dar beat off strong com-petition from his colleagueson the Emirates Elite Panel ofICC Umpires Steve Davis, IanGould and five-time ICCUmpire of the Year SimonTaufel.

Dar, who made his inter-national debut as an umpirein 2000, joined the EmiratesElite Panel in 2004. In the vot-ing period of these awards,Dar stood in five Tests and 13ODIs.

Pakistani umpire and former cricketer Aleem Dar of Pak-istan shares a joke with the media after being voted ICCUmpire of the Year.

South Korea's Cho So-Hyun (R) avoids a tackle by Australia's Elise Kelon-knight duringtheir Asian women's football qualifier for the 2012 London Olympic Games in Jinan,China's Shandong province. South Korea beat Australia 2-1.

India defeated Pakistan 4-2after penalty shootout in thefinal of the Asian MensChampions Trophy HockeyTournament in Ordos, Chinaon Sunday. The match endedin a goalless draw and thenheaded into the extra time,where too the two archrivalsfailed to score a goal.Finally, the result was de-

cided in penalty shootout,where India won 4-2. Indiaremained unbeaten in thetournament. Rajpal Singh,Danish Mujtaba, YuvrajWalmiki and Sarvanjit Singhscored for India in thepenalty shootout whileMuhammad Rizwan andWaseem Ahmed sounded theboard for Pakistan after boththe sides were locked goallessin the normal and extra time.

India started the shootouton a wrong note when Pak-istan goalkeeper Imran Shahsaved the shot from Gur-winder Singh Chandi. Sree-jesh then came to the forewith a save off HaseemAbdul Khan. It was then Mu-jtabas turn and he neatly sentthe ball past Shah to giveIndia 1-0 lead.

Pakistan equalised whenRizwan scored but Indiancaptain Rajpal slotted the ballhome to give his side 2-1 up.Then came the crucial save bySreejesh as he stoppedShafqat Rasool from scoring,advancing and taking theshot on the pads. Yuvrajmade it 3-1 and the Pakistanveteran Waseem cut thescores to 3-2 but Sarvanjitsconversion past Shah ensuredIndia ran out champions.

Earlier in the match, bothIndia and Pakistan had ampleopportunities to finish off thematch in regulation time.

India beat Pakistan to win

Asian Trophy

Defending champions Spain and fellow Eu-ropean giants Italy secured their places atEuro 2012. Spain eased to a 6-0 win at hometo minnows Liechtenstein to make it sixwins out of six while Italy left it late to gaina 1-0 home win over an unimpressive Slove-nia, Gianpaulo Pazzini coming on as a sub-stitute to score with five minutes remainingin front of a pitiful crowd of just 18,000. Italycoach Cesar Prandelli put the victory downto courage.

It was the victory of courage. We domi-nated in midfield but couldnt break throughand thats why I went to three forwards (inthe second half), said Prandelli, who has re-stored some pride to the side after their dis-mal first round exit at the World Cup finals.

They join Germany beaten finalists lasttime as the three countries to have qualified

by right so far joining co-hosts Ukraine andPoland. The somewhat controversially worldnumber one ranked team Holland, beaten bySpain in last years World Cup final, are allbut certain to join them as they beat Finland2-0 away to make it eight wins from eightqualifiers and need a point from their two re-maining matches.

One of those is against the only team thatcan catch them Sweden, who beat woeful SanMarino 5-0 leaving the losers pointless andhaving conceded 46 goals in their ninematches. England too took a giant step to-wards the finals with a somewhat fortuitous1-0 win over Wales at Wembley, AshleyYoungs early goal proving just enough,though, veteran Welsh striker Robert Earn-shaw will have nightmares for a long time tocome at how he came to miss an open goal.

Spain, Italy book their places in Euro 2012

Trott named ICC cricketer of the yearEngland batsman JonathanTrott was named Interna-tional Cricket Council (ICC)cricketer of the year on Mon-day for his achievements dur-ing 2011 when he compiled1,042 runs at an average of65.12 in 12 tests.

Trott, 30, struck four cen-turies and three half-cen-turies. In addition, he played24 one-day internationals,hitting 1,064 runs at an aver-age of 48.36 with two cen-turies and nine 50s.

In that period, England re-tained the Ashes in Australiaand won test series againstSri Lanka, India and Pak-istan.

"It's fantastic to be part ofa successful team and I neverenvisaged winning thisaward and it's a brilliant feel-ing to be recognised," Trotttold an awards ceremony inLondon.

Trott's team mate Alas-tair Cook was named testcricketer of the year aftercompiling 1,302 test runs inthe review period at an aver-age of 51.74, including sixcenturies and four-half cen-turies.

The left-handed openingbatsman's highest score of235 not out in the first test inBrisbane helped his team to-

wards their first away Ashesseries since the 1986-7 season.

"It was truly a great year,"Cook said. "The award is

about the rest of the team, notjust me."

Netherlands all-rounderRyan ten Doeschate won the

Associate and Affiliate playerof the year award for the sec-ond time in a row after scor-ing centuries against Englandand Ireland at this year'sWorld Cup.

West Indies leg-spinnerDevendra Bishoo was namedemerging player of the yearafter capturing 21 test wicketsat an average of 35.42. Healso took 19 one-day wicketsat an average of 21.57.

New Zealand fast bowlerTim Southee won theTwenty20 international per-formance of the year for tak-ing five for 18 againstPakistan.

India captain MahendraSingh Dhoni was awardedthe ICC spirit of cricketaward after agreeing to allowEngland batsman Ian Bell tocontinue batting after he hadbeen run out in the secondtest at Trent Bridge this year.

Bell left his crease andheaded for the pavilion aftermistakenly thinking he hadhit the ball over the boundaryoff the last ball before tea. In-stead it was still in play, thebails were removed and Bellwas correctly given out.

During the interval andafter a request from the Eng-land team, Dhoni withdrewthe appeal.

Alastair Cook (L) of England with the ICC Test Cricketerof The Year Award and Jonathan Trott of England with theICC Cricketer of The Year Award pose during the LG ICCAwards 2011 at The Grosvenor House Hotel.

Pakistan to play Englandin UAE next year

Pakistan will play England inthe United Arab Emirates(UAE) early next year in a se-ries of Test and one-daymatches. Dubai will host twoTest matches while a thirdwill be played in Abu Dhabi.Both cities will also host fourone-day internationals andthree Twenty20 games be-tween the two countries inJanuary and February. Theseries begins in Dubai with aTest match on Jan 17 andends on Feb 27 when AbuDhabi hosts the thirdTwenty20 game. Pakistan hasnot hosted any major interna-tional cricket team since gun-men attacked the Sri Lankateam bus in Lahore in 2009that killed six police officials

and a van driver. Pakistanwill also play their Test andODI series against Sri Lankain UAE next month.

PAKISTAN V ENGLAND Jan 17-21: First Test in DubaiJan 25-29: Second Test AbuDhabiFeb 3-7: Third Test in DubaiFeb 13: First ODI in AbuDhabiFeb 15: Second ODI in AbuDhabiFeb 18: Third ODI in DubaiFeb 21: Fourth ODI in DubaiFeb 23: First Twenty20 inDubaiFeb 25: Second Twnety20 inDubaiFeb 27: Third Twenty20 inAbu Dhabi

90pc of PCB decisions are wrongFormer Pakistan Test captainJaved Miandad has slammedthe Pakistan Cricket Board(PCB), claiming that 90 per-cent of the decisions taken bythe board were erroneous.Miandad, who is employedas the PCB director cricket af-fairs since 2008 on a lucrativepackage, said after closely ob-serving the working of theboard, he was convinced thatmajority of the decisionstaken by the officials werewrong. While closely watch-

ing the functioning of thePCB, I am disappointed andfeel that 90 percent decisionstaken by the board are wrongand are spoiling the sport inthe country, Miandad wasquoted as saying.

I am not part of the PCBplanning only because I re-quire power and freedom towork since I have given 35years to Pakistan cricket andearned a good name, saidMiandad, Pakistans highestTest run-getter.

19

Reese eyeingBrad Pitts $14m pad

Brangelina may have abuyer! On August 28, ReeseWitherspoon walked throughBrad Pitts Malibu abode.Currently listed on the mar-ket for $14 million, the beach-front property features a pooland a tennis court. Sheseemed interested in it, saysa witness of the home Pittpurchased in 2005 for $8 mil-lion. (He and Angelina Jolienow share it, along withhouses in France, New Or-leans and Italy.)

She hasnt made anoffer yet, a source tells thenew issue of Us Weekly (outnow). The house is still onthe market. One pal who

may have wanted detailsabout the visit? JenniferAniston, who lunched withthe Water for Elephants ac-tress, 35 (she guest-starredas Rachels sister on Friends

in 2000), at Beverly HillsPolo Lounge the next day.Says a witness, Reese andJen sat next to each otherand held court with threeother girls.

Kim Kardashianwants her own

makeup line She has two hit reality shows,a clothing line, a signaturefragrance and countless otherendorsement deals, but whatKim Kardashian really wantsis an eponymous cosmeticsline. I would love to havemy own range of makeup; Ithink about that all the time,she says in the October issueof Cosmopolitan UK. Iwould be so involved and Iknow exactly what I wouldwant to do. Im not the kindof person to just put my nameto something.

Unlike the new Kar-dashian Kollection for Sears,which was co-created withher sisters Kourtney andKhloe, Kims dream makeuprange would be all her own.I love glamming up! My sis-ter Kourtney hates doing herhair and make-up, but I lovethe whole process; its like atransformation and I feelmuch more glamorous after-wards, the 30-year-old new-lywed said. She also revealedthat her biggest beauty ad-vice is to wear sunscreen. Ihavent always been strict onthat, but its something Ivestarted thinking about more.

Winslet hatesnude scenes

Actress Kate Winslet thinks flash-ing flesh in front of a camera is abizarre and unethical thing to do.

The Oscar-winning actresswho has given nude scenes in Ti-tanic and Mildred Pierce saysshe hates nude scenes, reports fe-malefirst.co.uk.

I hate it! Listen, make no mis-take, I just get on it. If you com-plain about it or procrastinate it`snot going to go away. It`s a pro-foundly bizarre thing to do, shesaid.

As actors you talk about it allthe time. You can literally be tan-gled in sheets, and you turn to theother actor and say, `What are wedoing?` `Dear Mum, at worktoday I had so-and-so`s left nutsack pressed against my cheek`.It`s sort of unethical if you thinkabout it in those terms, sheadded

Actress Elizabeth Taylor'sworld-renowned collection ofjewellery will be auctionedoff in December at a two-daysale that is expected to realisemore than $30 million (18.7million pounds), Christie'ssaid.

The December 13-14 salewill follow a global three-month tour that will also in-clude Taylor's couture, fineart and memorabilia, and willbe the first of a series of auc-tions from the estate of thelegendary film star who diedin March.

Some 269 diamonds,pearls, rubies, rings, neck-laces and even a tiara will besold, with several of the most

valuable, and storied piecestied to Taylor's lengthy andcomplicated relationshipwith Richard Burton, whomshe married twice and di-vorced twice.

"This is without a doubtthe greatest private collectionof jewellery ever assembledin one place," said Christie'sAmericas chairman and pres-ident Marc Porter.

The collection includeseverything "from her mostjaw-dropping diamonds,gems and one-of-a-kind his-toric jewels to ... never-be-fore-seen keepsakes," he said.

Leading the December 13gala evening sale of 89 toplots is Taylor's iconic, 33.19-

carat white diamond ring, a1968 gift from Burton whopurchased it at auction for$300,000.

The trustees of Taylor's es-tate have renamed it The Eliz-abeth Taylor Diamond, and itis estimated to fetch $2.5 mil-lion to $3.5 million.

But prices for items fromthe collections of other fa-mous people ranging fromJacqueline Kennedy Onassisand Marilyn Monroe to theDuke and Duchess of Wind-sor have soared to manytimes their pre-sale estimates.

Taylor's fame, as well asher eye for quality are ex-pected to drive interest, andboost prices.

Recuperating from an un-common nerve disorder,man of the moment SalmanKhan held a press confer-ence in London. The actorwas speaking to the mediafor the first time post thesuccess of his latest releaseBodyguard, Zee News re-ports.

Salman spoke about hissurgery for which had goneto US and said, They werelooking for something else,but they found ananeurysm. There was a

problem from the spine.Everything is okay, butright now I`m tired becauseof the flight and the sur-gery. Salman expressedhis joy on the recent successat the Box Office, which hasalso broken records over-seas. It`s good. It makesme feel the opposite ofwhen it`s a disaster. Meand Kareena, all our filmstogether have been a disas-ter Kyon Ki, Main AurrMrs Khanna - so we took itas a challenge to make thisfilm a hit. The reason it`s ahit? Because you guyswatched it, said Khansmilingly.

When asked whoseBodyguard would he liketo be in real life, Salmancockily replied KatrinaKaif.

The once lovers arescheduled to start shootingfor Yash Rajs film Ek ThaTiger in a few months. Itwould be the first time thatSalman Khan would beworking in Yash Raj banner.

Elizabeth Taylors jewellery is shown at Christies, in New York. Christies auction houseis selling her complete jewellery collection in New York on December 13-14.

Elizabeth Taylor's storied jewellery up for auction

Everythings okay

In Bollywood, every actortries his best to reach the topof the ladder and becomenumber one, but according toAamir Khan, who himself iscredited with blockbuster hitslike `Ghajini` and `3 Idiots`,Salman Khan is presently thenumber one box office star,Zee News reports.

According to me Salmanis ahead of me. In the mannerin which his film `Body-guard` has got an opening, ithas broken all records andtoday according to me, ifthere is anyone who is the

number one box office star,then that is Salman, saidAamir.

He has proved with thisfilm that he is ahead of all ofus. I am very happy that hisfilm is doing well. My goodwishes are with him, Aamirtold reporters here at themusic launch of the film`Saheb, Biwi Aur Gangster`,he added.

Few days back I evenhad a chat with him on phonebecause he is in America. I`mglad that his health is alsomuch better now.

Salman is No. 1 Box Office star

The first female kora virtuoso, Sona Jobarteh, performed atthe ninth London Africa Music Festival at BloomsburyTheatre. Jobarteh was supported by her 4 year old son anda 7 piece band.

Russian filmFaust takes topprize in Venice

Russian director AlexanderSokurov's "Faust," looselybased on Goethe's classicGerman text, won the GoldenLion for best picture at theVenice film festival.

The best director SilverLion went to Chinese filmmaker Shangjun Cai for "Peo-ple Mountain People Sea."

Italian immigration movie"Terraferma," directed byEmanuele Crialese, picked upthe special jury award.

As expected, Irish actorMichael Fassbender won thebest actor prize for his ac-claimed performance in"Shame," Steve McQueen'stale of a sex-obsessed youngprofessional living in NewYork.

Fassbender, seen as one ofthe rising stars in independ-ent cinema, also appeared inanother Venice competitionentry this year, David Cro-nenberg's "A DangerousMethod."

Best actress went toChina's Deanie Ip for her pro-trayal of an ageing maid inAnn Hui's "Tao Jie" (A SimpleLife).

20

A film about a Jewish herobeing produced by Mel Gib-son, the actor who went on apublic anti-Semitic tirade in2006, drew sharp criticism onFriday from Jewish leaderswho felt it was a slap in theirfaces.

Gibson's company, IconProductions, is developingthe movie about Judah Mac-cabee in collaboration withthe Time Warner Inc-ownedWarner Bros studio, but hisinvolvement could includedirecting as plans move for-ward.

But participation by Gib-son in the film that is ex-pected to bring to life thewarrior who is associatedwith the celebration of

Hanukkah is a problem forsome Jewish leaders.

"As a hero of the Jewishpeople and a universal heroin the struggle for religiousliberty, Judah Maccabee de-serves better," Abraham Fox-man, national director of theAnti-Defamation League,said in a statement.

Rabbi Marvin Hier of LosAngeles' Simon WiesenthalCentre called Gibson's in-volvement, "simply an insultto Jews."

A Warner Bros.spokesman said the film isstill in early stages and ascript has not been com-pleted. No decision has beenmade about who would starin the film, he said.

The studio spokesman de-clined to comment on thecriticism, and a representa-tive for Gibson did not com-ment beyond confirming theHollywood star's participa-tion.

Judah Maccabee was theson of a Jewish priest who inthe 2nd century B.C. led aguerrilla revolt in Judeaagainst armies of the SeleucidEmpire. The historical figure,whose last name in Hebrewtranslates as "The Hammer,"is revered by many Jews.Hanukkah commemorateshis triumphs.

In the past, the Anti-Defamation League also ac-cused Gibson of evokingage-old stereotypes about

Jews in his 2004 film "ThePassion of the Christ," whichmade over $600 million atworldwide box offices andwas celebrated by manyChristians.Shahid Kapoor recently

bought his mother NeelimaAzim her dream home - a 3BHK flat in Versova. The ac-tress has now shifted out ofher rented apartment at YariRoad and moved into hernew home.

Says a source, "Neelimawas living in a rented apart-ment with her son Ishaan,and had her sights set on anapartment close to Shahid'shome. She mentioned want-ing to purchase the place toher star son and he decidedto surprise her by buying itfor her. Neelima wasstunned when her betahanded her the keys to thehouse. She was overcomewith emotion."

Neelima confirms, "I amvery proud of Shahid andtouched by his gesture. It'sthe most beautiful thinganyone has ever done forme. It's my dream houseand I've been wanting it foryears.

It is wonderful the wayShahid has been taking careof his younger brother andme. He has been taking careof all our personal expendi-tures and is a devoted son."Even though the star sonand actress mother havehad differences in the past,things seem to be fine be-tween them now.

In fact, Shahid evenspoke lovingly of Neelimaon a recent chat show.

Mel Gibson film about Jewish hero draws criticism

Shahid buys home for mum

Bodyguard rakes in $1.4 m in USSalman Khan`s latest Bollywood blockbuster Bodyguardhas scored a gigantic opening in North America, raking in anastounding $1.4 million over its six-day debut period, ZeeNews reports. In less than one week, the Reliance Entertain-ment release has already surpassed the entire lifetime gross ofhis recent blockbuster hit Dabangg and has beaten the com-bined totals for his films Ready and Wanted.

Playing in 88 theatres across the US and Canada, the week-end collection for Bodyguard included $863,531 over the Fri-day-to-Sunday period and $1,051,132 across theFriday-to-Monday Labour Day holiday period.

Soccer ace David Beckhamhas revealed that he neverpays too much attention tohis hairstyles and often cutshis hair himself.

"People try to read toomuch into it. Over the yearsthey've said I've spent 2,000on a hairstyle, which I'venever done. Either a friendhas cut it or I do it myself.Sometimes, I wake up andI'm bored of it, I want toshave it off.

It literally is a spur of themoment decision. And I don'tthink of anything apart fromwhether I am happy with it,"Contactmusic quoted him assaying.

"I'm getting older so Ican't pull off the Mohawk orthe ponytail anymore. Theway I've got it at the moment,my wife likes it, my kids likeit, so I'm happy with it. Butthat could all change in themorning." he said.

Kate Hudson is the latestcelebrity to add jewellery de-signing to her glittering re-sume. The Almost Famousstar has collaborated with herlong-time friend and co-owner of jewellery brandChrome Hearts, Laurie Lynn

Stark, to launch a jewelleryline called CH+KH.

The 32-year-old new momrecently opened up to Ellemagazine about how she andStark decided to create theline during a joint family va-cation.

Beckham is hisown barber!

Kate Hudson teams up withpal for jewellery line National Film

Awards jurysnew plans for

OscarsThe jury for the feature filmcategory at the 58th NationalFilm Awards has recom-mended that movie that winsthe top award should beIndias official entry at theOscars every year, reportedthe website Spice Zee.

When the full jury offeature film in NationalFilm Awards headed by JPDutta presented their reportto the honourable ministerthis year (Union Minister ofInformation & BroadcastingAmbika Soni), they told theminister that Malayalamfeature film AdaminteMakan Abu, which haswon the best feature filmaward, should be Indias of-ficial entry to the Oscar thisyear, BhupendraKainthola, director (IndianPanorama & National FilmAwards), said.

Ex-Miss Manchester Louise Cliffejoins Big Brother housemates

A former Miss Manchesterhas joined the contestants en-tering the Big Brother housefor the latest series.

Louise Cliffe, 25, whotook the Miss Manchestertitle in 2006 wearing an 8dress, is joined by a HarryPotter extra, a teenage femalewrestler and a vegan holistichealer along with a traineepsychiatrist and a Tory entre-preneur in the reality show.

Middleton-born Louisewas a legal secretary beforeshe became a model and hasalso worked as an actress ap-pearing in the 2009 US horrorfilm Wrong Turn 3.

Show bosses have aimed

for a lower age profile as theseries begins on Channel 5,with none of the contestantsolder than 30.

Seven men and sevenwomen went in to the pur-pose-built house, to be sealedoff from the world potentiallyfor weeks.

Each is aiming to maketheir mark and enjoy theirfew weeks in the spotlightwith the hope of riches andfame, but with the danger ofridicule.

Channel 5 took over fromChannel 4 which dropped theshow last year after broad-casting it since its launch in2000.

Leila Lopes from Angolawas Tuesday crowned MissUniverse 2011 at a gala cer-emony in Brazil, Zee Newsreports.

Ukraine`s Olesya Ste-fanko was the first runner-up while Brazil`s PriscilaMachado was the secondrunner-up. India`s VasukiSunkavalli failed to make itto the final 16.

Last year`s winner Mex-ico`s Jimena Navarrete,crowned Lopes, dressed inan off-shoulder creamcoloured embellished gown.

This is the first time con-testants from 89 countriesparticipated in this beautypageant, surpassing the pre-vious record of 86 partici-pants.

The Miss Congenialityaward went to Montene-gro`s Nikolina Loncar, Swe-den`s Ronnia Fornstedt won`Miss Photogenic` and thetrophy for the best NationalCostume went to Panama`sSheldry Saez.

Live performances byBrazilian singers ClaudiaLeitte and Bebel Gilbertojazzed up the event.

Angolas Lopes is Miss Universe 2011

21

Google Inc will launch its TVservice in Europe early nextyear, Executive Chairman EricSchmidt said, despite teethingproblems that had led some ob-servers to question how com-mitted the company wouldremain to the project.

Google TV, which allowsviewers to mix Web and televi-sion content on a TV screen viaa browser, was launched in the

United States in October but re-ceived mixed reviews and wasswiftly blocked by three of thetop US broadcast networks.

Large parts of the televisionindustry, like the news and tele-coms industries, view Googlewith suspicion and accuse it ofstealing their advertising rev-enues without contributing tothe costs of making pro-grammes.

Schmidt sought to allay thefears of Britain's broadcastingelite in a speech to the Edin-burgh television festival, thefirst time a non-TV executivehad been invited to give thekeynote MacTaggart lecture atBritain's premier industry event.

"Some in the US feared weaimed to compete with broad-casters or content creators. Ac-tually our intent is the

opposite," he told an audiencewho quickly warmed to hisfriendly style and liberal com-pliments to the quality of Britishtelevision.

"We seek to support the con-tent industry by providing anopen platform for the next gen-eration of TV to evolve, thesame way Android is an openplatform for the next generationof mobile," he said.

Women are forever worried about financesA new survey has re-

vealed that 30 per cent ofwomen spend most of theirtime lying awake at night dueto financial worries, while 35per cent of men are keptawake by "nothing".

The Manilla.com studylooked at the habits of 1000average wage-earningwomen and men in the US

The second most commonreason for women lyingawake at night, at 18 per cent,was put down to "to-do lists"and work stress.

The study showed, for thefirst time, that householdchores remained mainly theresponsibility of workingwomen.

The new survey also re-vealed that women are moreacutely affected by being dis-organised than men.

"73 per cent of women say

they are frustrated by disor-ganization, compared to just59 per cent of men," the DailyMail quoted Manilla.com assaying.

"When organized, 50 per

cent of women say they feelrelaxed and 40 per cent saythey feel happy. That com-pares to 41 per cent and 37per cent of men respectively,"it added.

Batmanningthe latest

Internet crazeHanging upside down whilstonly supported by your feetdoes not sound like every-bodys idea of fun, but Bat-manning is the latest stuntto sweep the Internet.

The sport is inspired byplanking, in which people arephotographed lying facedown in unusual places, TheTelegraph reports.

A group of young men,calling themselves the Bat-man Boilers, are now lookingto surpass the popularity ofplanking with this latest ac-tivity.

A video showcasing theirattempts has gone viral andhas attracted close to 150,000views in just over a week.

Other daredevils are post-ing their efforts online, withone man playing the Batmantheme tune on a guitar whileperforming the stunt and awhole host of failures, high-lighting the potential dangersof the activity.

Facebooking into the WeeHours: The brightness ofyour computer screen stim-ulates the brain, YahooNews reports. Plus, its dif-ficult for your mind to stopfretting about your digitalto-do list, even once youvelogged offand that high-tech lifestyle could be mak-ing your sick. Avoidlate-night surfing and shutdown your computer. Giveyourself time to winddown without any elec-tronics.

Counting Sheep: When youjust cant fall asleep, its use-less to stay in bed. If youvebeen trying to fall asleep formore than 30 minutes, theNational Sleep Foundationsuggests doing somethingmundane, like balancing acheckbook, reading orwatching TV. An activitythat demands marginalbrainpower will lull your

mind. Before you know it,youll be crawling back intobed genuinely tired.

Bringing Books to Bed:Reading before bed is a badhabit for many. Problem is,your body has likelyadapted to that routineitwont go to sleep untilyouve logged a couplechapters. Retreat to a comfycouch or window nook in-stead for your literary fix.The bed should be off limitsfor anything other than sleepor sex.

Exercising Late at Night:Daytime workouts will keepyou invigorated for hours.Thats why you dont wantto exercise within threehours of hitting the sack. In-tense physical activity raisesyour body temperature andpumps your energy levelboth interrupt a calm transi-tion into sleep.

4 habits that ruin your sleep

California astronomers havefound the closest, brightestsupernova of its kind in 25years, catching the glimmerof a tiny self-destructing stara mere 21 million light yearsfrom Earth and soon visibleto amateur skywatchers.

The discovery, announcedon Thursday, was made inwhat was believed to be thefirst hours of the rare cosmicexplosion using a special tel-escope at the Palomar Obser-vatory near San Diego andpowerful supercomputers ata government laboratory inBerkeley.

The detection so early of asupernova so near has cre-ated a worldwide stir amongastronomers, who are clam-oring to observe it with every

telescope at their disposal, in-cluding the giant HubbleSpace Telescope.

Scientists behind the dis-covery at the LawrenceBerkeley National Laboratoryand the University of Califor-nia at Berkeley say the ex-traordinary phenomenon -labeled by the rather obscure

designation PTF 11kly - willlikely become the most-stud-ied supernova in history.

Supernovae of this type,classified as a Type 1aevent, occur when a super-dense white dwarf star, aboutthe size of Earth but contain-ing somewhat more massthan our own sun, explodeslike a gargantuan thermonu-clear bomb.

The blast hurls matter inall directions at nearly one-tenth the speed of light - mat-ter that ultimately will formthe building blocks of otherstars and planets.

Such events, accountingfor about one in five of all su-pernovae, are also used byscientists in measuring theexpansion of the universe.

Young supernova dazzles scientists

Scientists findgene that controls

chronic painBritish

scientists have identified agene responsible for regulat-ing chronic pain, calledHCN2, and say their discov-ery should help drug re-searchers in their search formore effective, targeted pain-killing medicines.

Scientists from Cam-bridge University said thatif drugs could be designedto block the protein pro-duced by the gene, theycould treat a type of painknown as neuropathic pain,which is linked to nervedamage and often very dif-ficult to control with cur-rently available drugs.

"Individuals sufferingfrom neuropathic pain oftenhave little or no respite be-cause of the lack of effectivemedications," said Peter Mc-Naughton of Cambridge'spharmacology department,who led the study.

"Our research lays thegroundwork for the develop-ment of new drugs to treatchronic pain by blockingHCN2."

Pain is an enormoushealth burden worldwide, es-timated to cost more than 200billion euros (174 billionpounds) a year in Europe andaround $150 billion (94 bil-lion pounds) a year in theUnited States.

A man walks among some 300 tents, each for four people, in the Wiesn camp at theOlympic Horse Stadium in Munich.

Weight Watchers works,scientific study finds

Overweight patients told bytheir doctors to go to WeightWatchers lose around twiceas much weight as people re-ceiving standard weight losscare over 12 months, accord-ing to the findings of a studypublished.

In the first randomisedcontrolled trial -- consideredthe gold standard of scientificanalysis -- to directly com-pare a commercial weight-loss programme withstandard care by family doc-tors, Weight Watchers wasfound to be more than twiceas effective.

More people stuck to theWeight Watchers diet, theylost more weight and fatmass, and also shaved moreoff their waist measurementsthan those assigned to stan-dard care.

Susan Jebb of Britain'sMedical Research Council(MRC) Human Nutrition Re-search Unit, who led the

study, said the results showedWeight Watchers is "a robustintervention that is generalis-able to other economically de-veloped countries."

"This kind of research isimportant so that we canidentify clinically effective in-terventions to treat obesity,"she said.

The study, published inthe Lancet medical journal,comes in the wake of researchlast month which said obesityis a global epidemic that isfast replacing tobacco as thesingle most important pre-ventable cause of costlychronic diseases like heartdisease, diabetes and cancer.

Worldwide, around 1.5billion adults are overweightand another 0.5 billion areobese, with 170 million chil-dren classified as overweightor obese. Obesity takes up be-tween 2 to 6 percent ofhealthcare costs in manycountries.

Google TV to launch in Europe next year

22

Dr Indarjit Singh, Britain's first turbaned Sikh to sit in theHouse of Lords, poses for pictures outside the Houses of Par-liament in central London. Dr Singh, who was born inRawalpindi, Pakistan, will sit in the House of Lords as an in-dependent and will be known as Baron Singh of Wimbledon.

Train drivers on LondonsUnderground rail net-work will pocket an extra500 pounds for workingduring next summersOlympics as the city at-tempts to get sports fansto stadiums on time.

Organisers are relyingon the Underground, al-ready overcrowded andwith a history of strikes, toferry spectators to theOlympic venues in theheart of the city and at theOlympic Park in the eastof the capital.

Getting people to takethe Tube is vital if the tensof thousands of athletes,officials and journalists are tosecure a smooth ride on Lon-dons traditionally log-jammed roads and the city isnot to ground to a halt.

Politicians have brandedLondon as the public trans-port Games.

London Undergroundsaid on Tuesday that driversworking between theOlympics and Paralympicswill receive the one-off pay-ment, in addition to overtime.

It said it was in recogni-tion of a change in the termsand conditions of workingcontracts, which could re-

quire drivers to work longerthan eight hours. The Under-ground will also stay openone hour later than usual.

The deal, which comesafter six months of talks, isseparate from ongoing dis-cussions over pay.

LU is committed to en-suring that the train servicewe provide contributes to thesuccessful operation of theGames and I am pleased thatwe and the unions have beenable to engage in constructivedialogue to reach this agree-ment, LUs Managing Direc-tor Mike Brown said in astatement.

London Tube driversto getbonus during Olympics

Jerzy Buzekcondemns EDLattack on MEPSajads home

The President of the Euro-pean Parliament issued astatement supporting NorthWest Conservative MEP, Saj-jad Karim, after his housewas besieged by members ofthe far-Right English DefenceLeague.

President Jerzy Buzeksaid the attack on Mr Karim'shouse in Lancashire, while heand his wife and family wereinside, amounted to an attackon democracy and freedomof speech.

Police were called to thehouse near Burnley when agroup of more than 30 EDLactivists marched on it bran-dishing placards with anti-Muslim slogans.

Mr Buzek told the parlia-ment sitting in Strasbourg:"I wish to strongly condemnthe violence used on the2nd of July against our col-league MEP Sajjad Karim inthe UK.

"His private house was at-tacked by about 30 membersof an extremist organisationwho entered his property car-rying anti-Muslim placardsand shouting.

MPs are to debate two e-peti-tions which have gathered thesupport of more than 100,000people.

The first debate, on 13 Octo-ber, will consider calls to removebenefits from people foundguilty of taking part in this sum-mers riots.

The second debate, four dayslater, is on a petition demandingthe full release of documents re-lating to the 1989 HillsboroughStadium disaster.

The government introduced thee-petitions website this summer.

Any petitions gaining the sup-port of more than 100,000 peoplecan be considered for a full de-bate, if an MP suggests it to thebackbench business committee,which controls about 35 days ayear of parliamentary time.

At Tuesdays committeemeeting, Conservative MP GavinBarwell proposed a wider debateon the governments response tothe riots, after a petition calling

for those involved to lose entitle-ment to benefits gathered morethan 244,000 signatures.

Liverpool Walton MP SteveRotherham suggested the peti-tion calling for the release ofcabinet papers on the 1989 Hills-borough disaster, in which 96Liverpool Football Club fansdied.

The government announcedlast week that MPs could getmore time to debate issues raisedon the e-petitions website.

MPs to debate riots and Hillsborough

New 120mscheme planfor Coseley

Up to 1,300 new jobs, 200homes and a supermarketcould be created in the BlackCountry as part of a 120mil-lion scheme unveiled today.

Under the proposals a 66-acre site in Coseley would beredeveloped. New businessunits would be built to houseexisting and new firms, whilea community hall and full-size football pitch would alsobe created on the site.

It also includes three in-dustrial estates stretching be-tween Birmingham NewRoad and Sedgley RoadWest.

23

The beginning of the schoolyear in Britain has seen the con-troversial introduction of "freeschools" set up by parents, vol-unteers and charities.

Backers hope the newschools -- funded by the tax-payer but free to set their owncurriculum and schedules -- willraise the failing standards ofBritain's state education system,seen as one of the key factors be-hind the riots which rocked Lon-don, Manchester and otherEnglish cities last month.

Academics and teachingunions say the 24 new schoolsare an ideological pet project ofPrime Minister David Cameron'scentre-right Conservative party,too few in number to have anymeaningful effect and the wrongsolution to Britain's educationaldivide between state and privateschools.

Ministers say the mixture ofnew primary and secondaryschools, based on models inSweden and the United States,will deliver a shot in the arm tocomplacent state schools nearby,forcing them to raise their gameor face losing pupils and evenclosure.

"Those who support freeschools are on the side of par-ents, charities and committedteachers who are trying to makethings better," Cameron said in aspeech at one of the new schoolsin eastern England on Friday.

"(They are)...On the side ofthe choice, freedom and compe-tition that will really drive upstandards," he added, calling fora return to old-fashioned disci-pline in schools.

Britain's education system isconfusing and fragmented.

Elite and expensive privateschools, such as Rugby, Harrowand Eton where Cameron waseducated, can claim to offer oneof the finest educations in theworld, but at a cost of up to30,000 pounds a year.

At the other end of the scaleone in five teenagers leave stateschools at 16 without a basicgrasp of reading or mathematics.

The schools, a key Conserva-tive manifesto pledge in lastyear's national election, will befree of control from local educa-tion authorities and able to settheir own curriculum, length ofschool day and term dates.

Many have been set up in

temporary accommodation orquickly converted buildings toreduce the cost and time of es-tablishing them, but as a resultwill lack the broader facilitiesenjoyed by most other state-funded schools.

The two dozen schools wereselected by government officialsfrom more than 320 applica-tions, and like the rest of thestate system will offer a free ed-ucation to pupils.

Representing Britain's multi-cultural society, they include twoJewish faith schools, a Hinduschool and a Sikh school, as wellas the most high profile entrant,a school founded on traditionallines in west London where allpupils will learn Latin.

Rising levels of youth unem-ployment and poor levels of edu-cational achievement have beencited as a contributing cause to awave of riots and looting blamedon a "feral underclass" that ragedthrough London and other citiesin England. By allowing parentsor charities to open schools indeprived areas poorly served bylocal schools Cameron hopes tocurtail a cycle of low ambitionand achievement.

Students pose during the 7th annual convocation of Sarhad University at Convention Center, Islamabad.

British BluesAwards honour

for McGregorBradford singer and guitaristChantel McGregor has beenvoted Young Artist of theYear in the British BluesAwards.

The accolade is a signifi-cant step forward in the ca-reer of the 25-year-oldsinger-songwriter fromWyke, who gigged withbands from the age of ten andlater graduated from LeedsCollege of Music with firstclass honours.

It coincides with the re-lease of a compilation albumfrom Universal Records, 100Years of the Blues, on whichChantel appears with legendssuch as Robert Johnson, JohnLee Hooker, Eric Clapton,Cream, Free, The RollingStones, ZZ Top, FleetwoodMac, Bonnie Raitt and B BKing.

She said: My song, HelpMe, is the longest, at six min-utes 54 seconds. Its from myalbum Like No Other.

Its pretty special. To beon an album with such amaz-ing players is crazy.

Heaviest girl ever born in BritainA first-time mother is de-lighted to discover that herdaughter is Britain's biggestbaby girl - at a staggering12lb 9oz, a newspaper re-ports.

Farrah, the newborndaughter of Karen Gallacher,36, is twice the weight of anaverage baby.

Her huge size is evenmore of a shock given thatKaren stands only 5ft 2in tall.Farrah has already outgrownher newborn nappies, and atone month old is wearingclothes suitable for a three-month-old child.

At birth she measurednearly 25 inches, five inchesbigger than a normal baby.Karen said: 'Neither me orRobert were big babies soFarrah's arrival was a com-plete shock.

'She is very special butwe didn't even realise thatshe was Britain's biggestbaby girl until Robert'sfamily looked it up on theinternet. I never imagined

people would be this inter-ested.

'Everything's been turnedupside down since she ar-rived. I usually keep thehouse neat and tidy butthere's stuff everywhere nowthat she's here.' Proud Karenand Robert, 48, have alreadygiven the super tot thebiggest bedroom in their de-tached home in Inverness,Scotland.

Farrah was delivered bycaesarean section on August9 - four days before her duedate - at Raigmore Hospitalin Inverness.

Doctors tried to induceKaren three times before fi-nally performing the cae-sarean.

Karen said: 'They took meinto the hospital on August 6,because they knew she wasgoing to be a big baby - butobviously not this big.

'After trying to induce methree times there was nomovement so I had to have acaesarean.

The 15k benefit thief whosaid he couldnt walk while

working as a pipe fitter

A fraudster illegally claimed15,000 in benefits by claim-ing he claiming he couldntwalk while working as afull-time labourer.

Martin Devlin, 44, ofWorsley Grove, Leven-shulme, was working as apipe fitter while claiming dis-ability benefits for more thanthree years.

Manchester magistratessentenced him to 150 hoursunpaid work, and orderedhim to pay 250 legal costs.

Devlin pleaded guilty atan earlier hearing to threecharges of making a false rep-

resentation to claim disabilityliving allowance, housingbenefit and council tax bene-fit.

The court heard how De-vlin had submitted false evi-dence to a medical tribunalsaying he was unable to walk when in fact he was wellenough to work a full weekas a labourer.

Paul Darnborough, prose-cuting, told the court that De-vlin had been falsely claimingbenefits totalling 15,843 from December 2007 to Janu-ary 2011.

The benefits were paid todisabled people to try tobring their standard of livingup to those of able-bodiedpeople.

Such benefits were thehallmark of a civilised soci-ety, Mr Darnborough said,adding: It should be paid tothose who need it, not tothose who falsely claim.

Steve Binafeigha, repre-senting Devlin, said that hisclient was sorry for what hehad done and that he was al-ready repaying the money hehad falsely claimed to thetune of 85 per week.

Devlin was currentlyworking and would not beable to keep up the repay-ments if he were sent to jail,Mr Binafeigha said.

Government turns to parentsto help mend failing schools

Amanda Knox hopefulafter blow to prosecution

An American student jailedfor the murder of her Englishhousemate hopes to win anappeal against her convictionafter an Italian judge rejectedprosecution calls for a secondreview of crucial evidencethat two experts have under-mined, her family said.

Amanda Knox, 24, is ap-pealing against her convic-tion for the 2007 killing oflanguage student MeredithKercher at their rented housein the Italian town of Perugia,central Italy.

Appeal court judge Clau-dio Pratillo Hellmann turneddown a prosecution requestto review forensic evidenceused to convict Knox after anindependent report found itto be unreliable.

"They have no case, thereis no case left and I am veryhopeful that by the end of themonth we will get to bringAmanda home," her fatherCurt Knox told CNN outsidecourt.

His daughter is "happyand hopeful" that she will be

released from prison soon, hesaid in comments reported byBritain's Daily Telegraphnewspaper.

One of the two prosecu-tors opposing Knox's bid tooverturn her conviction wasquoted by the Daily Mailnewspaper as saying thatthere was an "ill wind blow-ing in this case."

Prosecutor Manuela Co-modi said she could envisageKnox and her former Italianboyfriend Raffaele Sollecito,also convicted of Kercher'smurder, being cleared by theappeal court.

"The judge and his assis-tant are clearly against us. Ican see both Knox and Sol-lecito being freed which willbe a shame as they are bothinvolved," Comodi wasquoted as saying in the DailyMail.

Knox and Sollecito andIvorian Rudy Guede werejailed in 2009 after whatjudges concluded was a fren-zied sex game that spiralledout of control.

Woman diesin Walsallhouse fire

A woman has died in a fire ata house in the West Midlandsthat is thought to have beenstarted by a cigarette.

The ambulance servicewas called to the semi-de-tached house in GreenwoodRoad, Walsall, at about 15:15BST on Monday.

A firefighter gave thewoman CPR before ambu-lance crews took over but shewas later pronounced dead inhospital.

The cause was describedby the fire service as sus-pected careless disposal ofsmoking materials. A bed-room was severely damagedin the fire.

24

Olympics mallmay have to

settle for silverA less-affluent catchment area,stronger competition and morecongested roads mean Europe'sbiggest urban shopping centre,which opens in east Londonnext week, may struggle tomatch the success of its sistermall in the west of the city.

Few analysts doubt West-field Stratford will pull inmillions of Britons over thecoming weeks, despite agloomy economic backdrop,as shoppers flock to exploreits 300 retail outlets and 50cafes and restaurants in therun-up to Christmas.

The 1.45-billion poundproject should also get a bigboost next summer from theneighbouring Olympic Games.

Australian developerWestfield reckons about 70percent of the Games' esti-mated 10 million visitors willpass through its 1.9-million-square-foot (177,000 squaremetre) temple of shopping.

Over the longer term,Westfield Stratford shouldalso benefit from the globaltrend towards "destination"malls, which offer diningand leisure facilities along-side shops, allowing fami-lies to spend the day in onelocation.

New Fire Authority boss

appointedGreater Manchester has anew fire chief after formerboss Fred Walker quit in arow over his expenses.

David Acton, leader of theLabour opposition on Traf-ford council, was chosen toreplace Coun Walker aschairman of the Greater Man-chester Fire Authority at ameeting yesterday. He saidhe would concentrate on pro-tecting the service from theimpact of swingeing govern-ment budget cuts.

Coun Walker, a Labourcouncillor in Wigan, foundhimself at the centre of a hugepolitical row after the M.E.N.revealed how he claimed formore than 20,000 of travelexpenses in one go.

It emerged he had rackedup a huge bill for scores oftrain trips to London costingup to 345 each.

He announced his resig-nation after coming underpressure from Labour leadersacross Greater Manchester.

Coun Acton was electedunopposed as his successorby fellow members of the au-thority.

He said: I am honouredto have been elected to thechair.

Scared passengersscreamed as a pilot tried toland a plane at Leeds-Brad-ford airport in strong winds,those on board the flight said.

The pilot of the ThomasCook flight later landedsafely at Manchester afteraborting the Leeds landingon Monday.

Passenger Layla Marks

said: The plane kept drop-ping and going from side-to-side. The pilot did very well.

Tim Cheal, from ThomasCook, said: Passenger safetyis what we are fundamentallytrained for.

Ms Marks, from Otley,who was on flight TCX8049from Gran Canaria withher 10-month-old son, said

she was quite scared asshe was told by staff tokeep a tight grip on herchild.

We bounced once and Iknew wed have to take offagain, she said. Towardsthe end there was screamingand some people were cryingand you could really feel thetense atmosphere.

Rochdale Fire Station members stand for 1 minute silence to mark the 10th anniversary of9/11 victims.

Premier Asian wedding show

Premier Asian WeddingShow will take place on Sun-day 20th November 2011 inManchester at the iconic andgrand Midland Hotel. Thevenues stunning 3 banquet-ing suites will be convertedinto a wedding planningwonderland which will fea-ture a rich variety of leadingwedding suppliers from theregion and beyond.

Whether brides andgrooms are looking to cherrypick suppliers to add the fin-ishing touches to their wed-ding or starting afresh- theywill meet all the designersand suppliers on the same

day, a to z of wedding serv-ices all under one roof to findevery exquisite detail to maketheir wedding day unique.

Peter Shrigley, of TheMidland Hotels says "We'redelighted to have the PremierAsian Wedding Show takingplace at the hotel, allowing usto welcome visitors and ex-hibitors to the hotel, whichcan cater to the needs of theAsian community".

Exclusive to this exhibi-tion will be the inspirationalsessions, giving bride andgrooms the opportunity toglean the pearls of wisdomfrom some of the most tal-ented people in the industry,who will be giving invaluabletips and advice and answer-ing questions on key aspectsof wedding planning. ABride and Groom fashion ex-travaganza featuring UK,Pakistan and Indias leadingdesigners with a launch padfor a couple of designers,who are showcasing ready towear fashion unveiling thelatest trends and next yeartrends.

A performance stage willbe set with wedding per-fomers with surprisecelebrity appearances fromthe Asian and mainstream in-dustry. With the north westregions British Asian popula-tion at 450,000, the weddingshow is in response to an everincreasing demand for spe-cialist wedding suppliers inthe region.

Event Director of the Pre-mier Asian Wedding ShowManchester, Ahmer Iqbalsums this event which repre-sents inspiration, innovationand unsurpassed, perf ection!

Passengers scream during aborted landing

Five years onand still no

justice for shotschoolboy

The fifth anniversary of theunsolved murder of schoolboyJessie James is being markedwith a memorial service at theplace where he partied withpals on the night of his death.

Family and friends of theManchester Academy pupil just 15 when he was gunneddown in a park will gatherat the West Indian Centre, atWestwood Street, Moss Sidefrom 8pm tonight.

On September 9, 2006,Jessie, of Greame Street, MossSide, cycled with a group offriends to a party at the WestIndian Centre. There, theybought fizzy drinks and chat-ted on the car park before cy-cling to another event onCaythorpe Street. The routetook the group throughBroadfield Park, where agunman was lurking in thebushes.

25Insurers applaud

ban on victim referral fees

The government said itwould ban lawyers payingfees to people who refer acci-dent victims to them, earningplaudits from insurers thatsay the practice has encour-aged spurious claims andforced them to charge cus-tomers more.

"The 'no-win, no-fee'system is pushing us into acompensation culture inwhich middle men make atidy profit which the rest ofus end up paying throughhigher insurance premiumsand prices," Justice Minis-ter Jonathan Djanogly saidin a statement announcingthe ban.Insurers said theban would temper a sharprise in frivolous personalinjury claims thatprompted the industry tolift motor premiums by athird in the year to Marchas they attempted to recouptheir losses.

"This is an important stepin curbing the compensationculture which has been in-strumental in inflating motorinsurance premiums," saidPaul Evans, CEO of Frenchinsurer Axa's UK division.

Analysts say that whileother insurers also collect re-ferral fees, Admiral alonestands to lose more from theban than it will gain in re-duced injury claims.

The parents of teenagerShafilea Ahmed - whosebody was found in a rivereight years ago - have ap-peared at Manchester CrownCourt charged with her mur-der.

Iftikhar Ahmed, 51, andmum Farzana, 48, both ofLiverpool Road, Warrington,appeared via video link fromprison accused of the 17-year-old.

No application for bailwas made and they were re-manded into custody to ap-pear at the same court nextThursday.

Shafilea's remains werefound by the River Kent inCumbria five months aftershe disappeared from homein Great Sankey in Warring-ton in 2003.

Parents of Shafilea Ahmed appear in court via video link

Music festival to be held a tribute to murdered Lancaster A music festival is to be heldin memory of murdered So-phie Lancaster.

Twenty-year-old Sophie,from Rossendale, was beatento death in 2007 when thugsturned on her and herboyfriend because they weredressed as goths. Ryan Her-bert and Brendan Harris werelater convicted for her murder.

A charitable foundationset up in Sophies name topromote tolerance has at-tracted support worldwide.Now three friends hope tohelp with the Sophie Festival

in Ashton under Lyne. Scot Reedy, Sven Sandal

and Luke Michniewski wereinspired after meeting So-phies mum Sylvia at Der-byshire heavy metal festivalBloodstock. The trio run Met-alheart promotions which or-ganises gigs forup-and-coming bands.

Scot, from Hyde, said: Ihad met Sophie in the pastthrough different groups offriends and what happenedto her was disgusting. We arefrom alternative lifestyles, wehave all been picked on in the

past for looking different.The foundation is a really

good cause. Its something wefeel very passionate aboutand people should knowmore about it. We also wantto raise as much money aspossible. The Sophie Festivalwill take place on November19 at venues across Ashton in-cluding the town hall and theGuzzling Goose pub.

More than 30 bands havealready signed up includingCandid Iniquity, Yakavetta,My Wooden Pillow andLukes band Awaker.

The Hindu community ladies on the way towards RamaPir Mandir by foot to attend Rama Pir Mela celebrations inTando Allahyar, Sindh, Pakistan.

Tens of millions of pounds inNational Insurance relief allo-cated to Greater Manchester isgoing unused, figures showed.

The government is beingurged to plough the cash intofresh schemes with the poten-tial to create thousands ofjobs.

The Treasury has set aside940m nationally for ascheme to give start-up busi-nesses an NI payment holi-day for up to10 employees inthe first year of their exis-tence. But figures have re-vealed just 2,892 companiesacross the UK have been ap-proved for the scheme, at a

cost of only 5m.The Greater Manchester

Chamber of Commerce esti-mates that, at that rate, therewill be an underspend of30m in the region when theprogramme comes to an endin 2013. It is urging the gov-ernment not to let any un-used funds go to waste andhas put forward a number ofsuggestion for how it couldbe reallocated.

They include creating anextra round of the RegionalGrowth Fund, which aims togive grants to more maturefirms that have the potentialto expand and create jobs.

Figures show National Insurancerelief is not being used

The Night Carnival at the Thames Festival culminated in a spectacular parade through theCity of London, celebrating the capital's cultural diversity, with national shows, commu-nity groups, professional dancers and musicians.

Expenses peers released early from jailTwo former Conservative peers jailed for fid-dling parliamentary expenses have been re-leased early from prison, a prison officesource said on Monday.

Lord Hanningfield and Lord Taylor ofWarwick were among a handful of parlia-mentarians to be convicted over the 2009 ex-penses scandal, which outraged taxpayers.

Lord Hanningfield, 70, was jailed for ninemonths in July after falsely claiming for nearly14,000 pounds in parliamentary allowancesbetween 2006 and 2009. The claims weremade for overnight stays in London when hewas not in the capital.

At his trial Hanningfield said he felt enti-tled to the allowances as he needed to go to

his home in Essex to look after his dog.Lord Taylor of Warwick, 58, was sen-

tenced to 12 months in May for making 11,277pounds worth of claims for false travel and ac-commodation costs.

Both former Conservative peers have beenreleased on Home Detention Curfew (HDC),or 'tagging', available under certain circum-stances to prisoners who are considered topose minimal threat to the public.

"Home Detention Curfew is available tolow risk prisoners serving sentences ofmore than 3 months and less than 4 years,who are deemed appropriate for early re-lease," a Prison Service spokesman said ina statement.

Mersey Bankscross-river

constituencyproposed

Merseyside could lose two par-liamentary seats under propos-als put forward by the BoundaryCommission for England.

A new cross-river MerseyBanks constituency would becreated around Bromboroughand Eastham in the south andareas of Halton north of the river.

Liverpool MPs LucianaBerger and Maria Eagle couldface a battle over a single seatas the constituency areas forsouth Liverpool are changed.

In Wirral, the number ofseats would be cut from fourto three. The commission saidthat while it had reserva-tions about proposing across-river constituency, it al-lowed for the most satisfactorydistribution of constituenciesacross the whole area.

The changes are part ofgovernment plans to reducethe number of MPs by 50 to 600by the next general election.

New rules specify thatconstituencies must have elec-torates no smaller than 72,810and no larger than 80,473.This has led to a reduction inthe number of seats acrossMerseyside and Cheshire.

Proposals for a cross-riverconstituency between Liver-pool and Birkenhead were re-jected, instead bothBirkenhead and Wallaseyseats remain, with slightly re-drawn boundaries, whilemany parts of the currentWirral South and Wirral Westconstituencies would be con-tained in a new Hoylake andNeston constituency.

JK Rowling among hackinginquiry core figures

Harry Potter author J.K.Rowling and actor HughGrant will be among morethan 50 core participants ata public inquiry into pressstandards set up after thephone-hacking scandal thathas engulfed Rupert Mur-dochs British newspaperarm.

They were among a list ofpoliticians, celebrities andsportsmen who applied forthe status and were includedon a list announced onWednesday by Brian Leve-son, the senior judge who isheading the judicial inquiry.

All say they have eitherhad their phones hacked orhave suffered misreportingor unwarranted press intru-sion into their private lives.

As core participants, theyhave a right to legal represen-tation and to ask for ques-tions to be put to witnesses,and can also submit closingsubmissions to the head ofthe inquiry.

News International, theBritish arm of MurdochsNews Corp which is at thecentre of the phone-hackingallegations, was also grantedcore participant status.

The inquiry was set up byPrime Minister DavidCameron in July in the wakeof the furore surroundingphone hacking allegations atthe News of the World news-paper.

News International shutthe paper down amid an out-cry over claims journalists onthe paper had paid investiga-tors to hack into the voice-mails of murder victims.

Among those named ascore participants are formerminister Tessa Jowell, formerEngland soccer player PaulGascoigne, actress SiennaMiller and the parents ofmurdered schoolgirl MillyDowler.

Londons MetropolitanPolice force and mediagroups Northern and ShellNetwork, Associated News-papers, and Guardian Newsand Media, which along withNews International publishnearly all Britains nationalpapers, are also on the list.

An application by Re-bekah Brooks, the formerchief executive of News Inter-national and one of those tobe arrested by police investi-gating the hacking allega-tions, was turned down.

Part one of Levesons in-quiry will focus on the rela-tionship between the pressand the public, and the rela-tionship between media or-ganisations, the police andpoliticians.

26

The Duke and Duchess of Devonshire view the sculptureLegend by Damien Hirst in the gardens of their homeChatsworth House in Derbyshire.Riot-hit Tottenham mourns

police shooting victimAround 1,500 mourners gath-ered at a church in north Lon-don to mourn Mark Duggan,whose fatal shooting by policesparked rioting and lootingthat spread across the capitaland to other English cities.

Tributes to Duggan, 29,from his family, and songsand hymns were relayed byspeaker to those standingcalmly outside the New Tes-tament Church of God.

In a rousing closingprayer, Pastor Nims Obungecalled for Duggan's death tobe a turning point for trou-bled Tottenham.

"We pray for peace. There

has been too much blood," hesaid. "It took the death ofMark to show that there wassomething wrong. We praythat his death will not be invain," he said.

"May his children be ableto say that on the day weburied my father there was afuture for my community."

The atmosphere was calmin a normally busy suburbanstreet which was cordonedoff by police.

However, anger still sim-mered over the killing whichis being investigated by theIndependent Police Com-plaints Commission.

Unions plan mass strikes over pension reformMillions of public sectorworkers plan strikes and ral-lies nationwide in Novemberover public-sector pensions,union leaders said onWednesday, adding to pres-sure on a government strug-gling with risingunemployment and weakgrowth.

Unions are locked in abitter row with the Conser-vative-led coalition overcontroversial plans to raisepublic-sector pension con-tributions as spending cutsbite. The dispute mirrorsthose in continental Euro-

pean nations where govern-ments are trying to rein inspending.

Brendan Barber, leader ofthe Trade Union Congress,said that November 30 wouldsee the biggest union actionin a generation.

Todays meeting alsoagreed, however, given thefailure of the government toengage properly in the nego-tiations, to step up the cam-paign and to hold a first dayof action on Wednesday 30November.

The intention will be totake the call for pensions jus-

tice for both public and pri-vate sector workers to everycorner of the land on that dayin the biggest trade unionmobilisation in a generation,he said after the TUCs an-nual meeting.

The stoppages wouldcome a day after the govern-ments autumn financialstatement, updating thecountry on the state of theeconomy. Figures publishedon Wednesday showed un-employment rose at its fastestrate in two years, fanningfears over an economy that isscarcely growing.

St Andrews student sentencedfor Israel flag racism

A student at St Andrews Uni-versity who was found guiltyof a racist breach of the peaceafter he insulted the Israeliflag has been given commu-nity service.

Paul Donnachie, 19, hasbeen sentenced to 150 hoursfor putting his hands downhis trousers before rubbingthem on Jewish studentChanan Reitblats flag.

Donnachie also accusedMr Reitblat of being a terror-ist during the incident at thehalls of residence in March.

Donnachie was also or-

dered to pay Mr Reitblat 300in compensation.

The student was earlierexpelled from St AndrewsUniversity. Outside the courtDonnachie stood with pro-Palestinian campaigners whohad defaced Israeli flags withred paint.

Cupar Sheriff Court hadearlier heard evidence fromMr Reitblat, a chemistry stu-dent on a one-term exchangefrom the Jewish Yeshiva Uni-versity in New York, whosaid he felt violated anddevastated by the incident.

Twelve statuesreturned

17-year campaign

The Saints have come march-ing back in to the world-fa-mous Gorton Monastery aftera 17-year campaign.

The 12 six-foot tall figureswere removed in the early1990s by a developer lookingto turn the building into flats.They were installed when themonastery was built and spent133 years looking down on theaisles from plinths. But theywere spotted on an auction listat Sothebys in 1994 by localhistorian Janet Wallwork.

Manchester councilstepped in to buy the historicfigures for 25,000 after Gor-ton MP Gerald Kaufman ne-gotiated their withdrawalfrom the auction.

After a short period ondisplay at Manchester TownHall, the works have beenkept in storage in the city cen-tre ever since. But now therenovated monastery has fi-nally brought them home.

Mrs Wallwork said: Itsabsolutely fantastic to seethem back after all this time.

The statues, which are ofthe 12 Franciscan saints, willbe on public show on specialviewing days in the comingmonths as bosses raise fundsto have the statues renovatedand reinstalled on 30ft highplinths in the monastery.

First dog groomingboutique opens in

GermanyA new boutique dog washstation in Germany enablespet owners to give theirpooch a personal pamperingcomparable to that offered atthe best luxury spas, reportsthe website Metro. The self-service Dog an der Koe hasbeen installed in Leipzig, andits warm water, shampoo andhairdryer services have al-ready proved a hit with ca-nines - and their owners.Two-year-old Labrador Maraappeared to thoroughly enjoyher spa treatment, perhaps alittle too much, having at-tempted to eat some sham-poo off her nose mid shower.

27

Shoppers peruse the newly opened Westfield Stratford City shopping centre inLondon. The new Westfield mall is the largest urban shopping centre in Europecovering 1.9million sq ft, it contains over 300 shops, 70 restaurants, a bowlingalley, a 17-screen cinema, three hotels and the UK's largest casino.

London's hotspot propertyprices to double

Property prices in some cen-tral London hotspots are setto more than double by 2016,driven up by a mix of factorsincluding volatile financialmarkets and major newtransport projects such asCrossrail, according to a re-port from estate agencyKnight Frank.

Domestic and overseasbuyers have flocked to theLondon residential market inrecent years as they look for asafe place to park theirmoney.

"It's really seen as safehaven for global money. Weran some figures showinghow prime property is doingin terms of asset classes ... itbeat the FTSE 100 trackerover the last 10 years by quitea long margin," said GrainneGilmore, Knight Frank's headof UK residential research.

"It certainly gives gold a

run for its money," sheadded.

Meanwhile the Crossraildevelopment, Europe'slargest infrastructure project,will link Heathrow west ofLondon to the east of the citythrough huge new tunnels tobe run under the city.

"Crossrail is a massivetheme going through this ...it's going to change a lot ofthings. If you live in Barbicanor Farringdon (adjacent to theCity financial district) you'regoing to be able to get to di-rectly to three airports withinminutes," she said.

As a result prices in thisarea and the City are set torise 118 percent by the end of2015, second only to theVauxhall area in south Lon-don, where prices are forecastto jump 140 percent thanks tothe redevelopment of Bat-tersea Power Station.

Jobless risestokes

growth fearsBritains unemployment raterose at its fastest pace in twoyears in the three months toJuly and one of its biggest re-tailers saw a large fall in first-half profit, underlining thefraught economic outlookand raising pressure on thegovernment to act to boostgrowth.

Official figures showedrecord public sector job lossesfuelled the rise. The main op-position Labour Party ac-cused the government ofchoking growth throughdeep spending cuts aimed atwiping out a record peace-time budget deficit.

The coalition governmentbrushed aside calls to changeits austerity drive but said itwould support dozens ofmajor infrastructure projectsto support growth.

London icon Tower 42 onsale for 290 million

Londons iconic Tower 42was put up for sale for 290million pounds, the latest in awave of deals for prime officeblocks in the capitals finan-cial heartland.

Owners Blackrock andLaSalle Investment Manage-ment will sell the 600-feet-tallbuilding, previously knownas the Nat West tower, along-side five other commercialbuildings in the City financialdistrict, they said on Wednes-day.

With limited supply andincreasing demand exertingupward pressure on rents inthe City market, investors cananticipate strong returns andconsiderable long termgrowth potential, said Jeff

Morton, managing director atBlackrock.

The sale of the tower one of the tallest in Londonand which is 95 percent let reflects an initial yield ofabout 6.9 percent, Blackrockand LaSalle said in a state-ment.

Owners of the best prop-erty in the City are increas-ingly looking to sell as valueshave risen over the past 25months and potentiallychoppy economic times layahead, property brokers said.

Last week, German fundKanAm put a one billionpounds folio of four proper-ties up for sale, including theLondon base of DeutscheBank.

Small business overheadsnot lean enough

Nearly half of Britains smallbusiness owners believe theycould cut costs if they hadmore time to find and negoti-ate the best deals.

According to research bybusiness saving advisorMake It Cheaper, small firmson average dedicate less thantwo and a half hours a weekto cost management with28% spending less than anhour a week examining over-heads.

This is despite two thirdsof 750 business owners polleddescribing their cost base as

lean.Of those who responded

to the researchers, 41%claimed they didnt haveenough time to shop aroundfor good deals and over athird did not regularly switchbusiness suppliers.

Furthermore, almost half(49%) have lost track of theirenergy contract renewal pe-riod, with 61% of businessowners conceding that theyfind it easier to focus on sell-ing their own goods or serv-ices than trying to reducetheir outgoings.

PM seeks adviceon temporary worker laws

David Cameron is seekingconfidential legal advice fromoutside Whitehall in an effortto make a decision on thenew Agency Workers Direc-tive, a news paper reported.

The new law, which isdue to give agency employ-ees who have been em-ployed for at least 12 weeksthe same rights as full-timeworkers to pay, holidayand maternity leave, couldcost British businesses 2billion a year.

Fears that this could dis-rupt the UKs economic re-covery, along with the beliefthat business secretary, VinceCable, plans to add extra reg-ulations to the directive, havecaused Cameron to seek ad-vice from expert on EU law,Martin Howe QC, reportsnewspaper.

28

China blasts Westsanti-terror double

standardsChinas state media accusedWestern countries of doublestandards in their fightagainst terrorism, ahead ofthe 10th anniversary of the9/11 attacks.

The comment piece by theofficial Xinhua news agencyblamed Washington in par-ticular for turning a blindeye to the damage caused byextremists in Russias Chech-nya and in Chinas own far-western region of Xinjiang.

Nearly 10 years after 9/11,Xinhua said the fight againstterror was far from over,with terrorists changing tac-tics and increasing collabora-tion with separatists andreligious extremists.

A bigger challenge to theworlds anti-terror effort,though, is a lack of a commonstandard, the comment said.

In particular, the UnitedStates and its Western allieshave repeatedly used doublestandards on anti-terror is-sues, which have obstructedthe progress of the global ef-fort. Xinhua pointed to theUnited States refusal in 2009to extradite back to China

members of its mainly Mus-lim Uighur minority held atUS military prison campGuantanamo Bay whowere cleared of wrongdoing as an example of doublestandards.

The United States refusedto repatriate the Uighurs onthe basis they would face al-most certain persecution.

Uighurs populate the Xin-jiang region, which has expe-rienced several outbreaks ofethnic violence in recent years much of which Beijing hasblamed on extremism, sepa-ratism and terrorism.

But some experts doubtthat terrorist cells operatethere, and say the violencestems more from long-stand-ing resentment against thegovernment among Uighursin the region.

Xinhua also accusedWestern countries of usingcounter-terrorism as a cheapexcuse to intervene in othernations internal affairs.

Obviously, such a dou-ble standard can only harmthe global anti-terror effort,it said.

Blair wants newMiddle Eastpeace drive

A Palestinian bid for greaterrecognition at the United Na-tions this month would be acry of frustration, MiddleEast envoy Tony Blair said,calling for a new campaign toget Israeli-Palestinian peacetalks back on track.

The Palestinians havevowed to upgrade their U.N.status, either by seeking fullUnited Nations membershipfor a Palestinian state in theGaza Strip and West Bank orrecognition as a "non-mem-ber state."

Washington fears themove could create a new ob-stacle to flagging US efforts torevive Middle East peacetalks, which broke down lastyear following a row overJewish settlements in occu-pied territory that Palestini-ans want for a state.

"I totally understand thefrustrations the Palestinianshave. We are all frustrated inthis situation. We want to seeprogress towards peace, to-wards the two-state solu-tion," Blair said.

Iraq prisoner death great stain on British army: inquiryBritish soldiers beat to deathan Iraqi civilian in an act ofunjustified violence that left a"very great stain" on Britain'sarmed forces, an inquiry con-cluded.

Former judge WilliamGage, who led the three-yearinvestigation, said senior of-ficers should have done moreto prevent the 2003 death ofhotel worker Baha Mousaand attacks by British troopson nine other detainees inIraq.

The inquiry blamed a"corporate failure" at the De-fence Ministry for letting sol-diers use methods banned byparliament in 1972, includingthe hooding of prisoners,forcing them to stand instressful positions and de-priving them of sleep.

Mousa, 26, was repeat-edly kicked and punchedover a 36-hour period whilebeing held in a squalid deten-

tion block on a British mili-tary base in the southern cityof Basra.

Hooded and handcuffedin the fierce heat, the father-of-two suffered 93 visible in-juries, including a brokennose, broken ribs and bruis-ing all over his body, the in-quiry found.

Britain was the main allyof the United States in the in-vasion that toppled Iraq'sSaddam Hussein. Abuse ofIraqi prisoners by US sol-diers, particularly at Bagh-dad's Abu Ghraib jail, drewprotests from around theworld.

One British soldier, Cor-poral Donald Payne, boastedto colleagues of conducting a"choir" by beating Mousa andother prisoners so that theycried out in sequence, the in-quiry heard. Another soldiersaid that on the morning aftertheir arrest the detainees

looked as if they had been ina car crash.

"The events ... were in-deed a very great stain on thereputation of the army," Gagesaid in a statement. "Theyconstituted an appalling

episode of serious, gratuitousviolence on civilians."

Prime Minister DavidCameron said the violencewas "shocking and appalling"and must never happenagain.

The mother and son of Baha Mousa, an Iraqi hotel receptionist who was kickedand beaten to death whilst in British Army custody, hold pictures of him at theirhouse in Basra.

The Green Acres caravan site is pictured in Leighton Buzzard, north of London, on September 12. British police raideda travellers' site Sunday to rescue 24 men they said had been held as slaves and forced to live in squalor, some for upto 15 years. More than 200 officers from Bedfordshire Police entered the Green Acres caravan site and arrested four menand one woman, all residents on the site, on suspicion of slavery offences.

Turk PM champions recognitionof Palestinian state

Turkish Prime MinisterTayyip Edogan told a meet-ing of Arab League foreignministers in Cairo that therecognition of a Palestinianstate was not an option butan obligation.

In a speech that will but-tress his image as a regionalleader, Erdogan also con-demned Israels stance, say-ing the aggressiveness ofits policies threaten the fu-ture of the Israeli people.

The recognition of aPalestinian state is the onlyright way. Its not an option,but an obligation. God will-ing, by the end of this month,we will have the opportunityto see Palestine in a very dif-ferent status at the UnitedNations, Erdogan said. Itstime to raise the Palest

inian flag at the UnitedNations. Lets raise the Pales-tinian flag and let that flag bethe symbol of peace and jus-tice in the Middle East. Letscontribute to securing welldeserved peace and stabilityin the Middle East.

Arab states will push for afully-fledged Palestinian state

at the United Nations nextweek. The Palestinians de-cided to seek United Nationsrecognition of statehood afteryears of negotiations with Is-rael failed to deliver the inde-pendent state they want toestablish in the West Bank,the Gaza Strip and EastJerusalem areas occupiedby Israel in the 1967 MiddleEast War. Erdogan, who hasseen his popularity rise in theArab world for his positionagainst Israel, said the Israeligovernments policies werean obstacle to peace.

Turkey has downgradedits ties with former friend Is-rael over the 2010 killing byIsraeli commandos of nineTurkish activists on a Turkishaid flotilla bound for Gaza.

Israel will break awayfrom solitude only when itacts as a reasonable, respon-sible, serious and normalstate, Erdogan said.

While Israel is trying tosecure its legitimacy in ourregion on one hand, it is tak-ing irresponsible steps whichunsettle its legitimacy on theother, Erdogan said.

200 dead afterferry capsizes

off TanzaniaNearly 200 people drownedwhen an overloaded ferrycapsized off east Africa as itsailed from Zanzibar toPemba island, police said,Tanzania's worst maritimedisaster in at least 15 years.

Fishing boats, tour opera-tors and diving instructorsspent the night scouring thesea off the coast of Tanzanialooking for survivors, manyclinging to strewn cargo. Onephoto showed two men and achild floating on a mattress,clinging to a fridge.

Zanzibar policespokesman Mohamed Mhinasaid 192 bodies had been re-covered and 606 passengersrescued from the IndianOcean so far.

Thousandsmourn crashed

Russianhockey team

A mournful crowd filled thehockey arena in the Russiancity of Yaroslavl to pay theirlast respects to the local teamwho perished in a plane crashthat killed 43 people last week.

Three-time Russian cham-pions Lokomotiv were leav-ing the local airport about 300kilometres north of MoscowWednesday when their Yak-42 plane failed to gain alti-tude after take-off and wentdown in a small river killingalmost everyone on board.An endless stream of peopleflowed into Lokomotivshome arena in Yaroslavl, lay-ing flowers along the row ofcoffins set up on the rink withthe players photos.

The square in front of thearena was completely full ofpeople waiting patientlyunder umbrellas in the rain toget inside. Athletes fromother Russian teams, hockeyofficials, and thousands offans were sitting in the spec-tator seats and wiping awaytears during the hours-longceremony.

29

The Mayor of London Boris Johnson (C) poses for photographs with author Toby Young (L)and Headteacher Thomas Packer (immediately behind) and pupils at the opening of the WestLondon Free School. The free school, one of the first semi-independent taxpayer-fundedschools set up by groups of teachers and parents, is an 11-18 secondary school. It will teach aclassical liberal syllabus, with latin compulsory to age 14 with its stated aim to be a 'grammarschool for all', MP Harold Wilson's original definition of a comprehensive school.

120 object to Manchesterinner ring road plans

More than 120 people haveobjected to proposed changesto Manchesters inner ring-road as part of a 800m mas-terplan that would transformthe city centre.

Earlier this week the M.E.N.revealed images of the Co-opsplans to create a new city centredistrict called NOMA.

The development aims toopen up a 20-acre plot nearVictoria Station, with a mixof hotels, office blocks, apart-ments and shops. As part ofthe plans, the inner ring-road which runs through An-coats will be re-routed fur-ther north through aresidential area. But 121 peo-ple have written to the coun-cil asking them to reconsiderthe proposals, the M.E.N.

has learned.The revamp of the citys

northern gateway is expectedto take around 15 years tocomplete. The ring-road willbe moved to take traffic downa redeveloped Angel Street -close to Angel Meadow parkand apartment blocks.

Residents say the designswill disrupt a peaceful area ofthe city centre, by causing airand no

Mashirq Sept 15th 2011

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