Scientists from McGill University, Canada, have created the “supersoldier” ants with huge heads and jaws by activating ancient genes.
Researchers believe the monster ants may be a genetic throwback to an ancestor that lived millions of years ago.
Scientists say they can create the supersoldiers at will by dabbing normal ant larvae with a special hormone – the larvae then develop into supersoldiers rather than normal soldier or worker ants.
Supersoldier ants can occur naturally in the wild, but only rarely. In the deserts of America and Mexico, their job is to protect the colony from raids by invading army ants.
Scientists say they can create the supersoldiers at will by dabbing normal ant larvae with a special hormone - the larvae then develop into supersoldiers rather than normal soldier or worker ants
he supersoldiers use their enormous heads to block the nest entrance and attack any enemy ants that get too close.
Scientists showed that ordinary ants of the species Pheidole morrisi contain all the genetic “tools” needed to turn them into supersoldiers – they just need a hormonal push.
The research is reported today in the journal Science.
Authors Dr. Rajendhran Rajakumar, from McGill University, and colleagues wrote: “We uncovered an ancestral development potential to produce a novel supersoldier subcaste that has been retained throughout a hyperdiverse ant genus that evolved 35 to 60 million years ago.”
The results suggest that holding on to ancestral development toolkits may play an important role in evolving new physical traits, say the researchers.
Nguyen Duy Hai from Vietnam has come through a 12-hour operation to remove a 198 lb tumour from his right leg
Nguyen Duy Hai from Vietnam has come through a 12-hour operation to remove a 198 lb tumour from his right leg.
Nguyen Duy Hai, 32, is said to be in a stable condition after the surgery at the France-Vietnam hospital in Ho Chi Minh City.
Leading U.S. surgeon McKay McKinnon led the eight-strong team who began operating on Nguyen Duy Hai’s leg at 8:55 a.m. local time this morning.
The surgeons didn’t finish until 9:15 p.m.
Dr. McKay McKinnon, who has successfully removed other large tumours in his 30-year career, had been positive about the surgery despite it carrying just a 50% success rate.
Speaking to Tuoitrenews, a Vietnamese website, before the procedure, Dr. McKay McKinnon said it was essential for his team to take out the “nidus” or origin of the tumour to stop the growth returning.
Nguyen Duy Hai suffers from neurofibromatosis, a disease that causes disfiguring tumors to form on nerves throughout the body.
The tumour began growing when Nguyen Duy Hai was a boy and is thought to be the biggest ever recorded in Vietnam.
Over the year it has grown from the base of his spine, snaking up his back and around his thighs.
It is intertwined with bloody vessels making cutting it away potentially deadly.
The strain on Nguyen Duy Hai’s already weakened heart was also a risk. To combat this, the team decided to keep him upright throughout the operation.
While the tumour is not cancerous, its sheer mass means it absorbs vital blood and nutrients from Nguyen Duy Hai’s body, making it weak.
Dr. McKay McKinnon agreed to waive his fee for the operation while the remaining costs of around VND 252million (around $12,000) has been raised by family and well wishers at home and abroad.
Nguyen Duy Hai’s family wept after being told he had survived the operation.
They had been anxious after an attempt to remove the tumour in 1997 was unsuccessful. Doctors had been forced to amputate Nguyen Duy Hai’s right leg below the knee.
Speaking before the operation Nguyen Duy Hai told Tuoitre News, a Vietnamese website: “It’s common for people to fear death, and I’m no exception.
“But when I heard Dr McKinnon had decided to come back to Vietnam one more time to give me a new life, I became more hopeful.”
Dr. McKay McKinnon successfully operated on a similar size tumour growing out of a Michigan woman in 1999.
He said this patient was older and in worse shape than Nguyen Duy Hai, but came through the operation and is now leading a normal life.
“She survived that surgery after 50 units of blood transfusion,” Dr. McKay McKinnon told Tuoitre News.
“She was in the hospital for about six weeks, and required physical therapy for about a year.”
Despite Nguyen Duy Hai’s operation being a success the healing process will not be an easy one.
An infection on the large open wound could easily kill him and he will later have to endure multiple skin grafts and reconstruction operations.
Nguyen Duy Hai will also be in intensive care for weeks and will then have to undergo physiotherapy for months.
Scientists at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, have found that by simply cutting calories, one person will lose body fat, regardless of the ratio of protein and carbohydrate consumed.
The study showed that people gained similar levels of fat no matter how much – or how little – protein they consumed.
Researchers studied the effects of protein in diet on a group of 25 people.
The participants were divided into three groups, the first was given a daily diet that was 6% protein, the second 15%, and the third, 26%.
Each group was given the same quantities of carbohydrate each day – 40%, which is a normal amount for an average diet.
The results showed that the group which had been eating the lowest amounts of protein lost the most weight.
But this group also lost muscle mass, not fat, which has serious health implications and can actually cause result in future weight gain because it lowers the rate of metabolism.
Dr. George Bray, who led the study, explained in the Journal of the American Medical Association: “The hypothesis was that the low-protein and high-protein diets might affect fat gain, but they didn’t.
“Fat gain isn’t modulated to any significant degree by protein intake.”
Dietitian Elizabeth Ward’s opinion echoed Dr. George Bray’s findings.
She told ABC News: “While the low-protein group didn’t gain as much weight as the other two groups, losing lean muscle tissue plus gaining any fat is a double-whammy when it comes to long-term weight maintenance.”
And indeed advice from the American Dietetic Association recommends a calorie-cutting regime for losing weight.
Spokesman Lona Sandon explained that though the amount of protein one should eat has been complicated by modern diets, if you are looking to lose weight, the advice is simple.
“What the public should take away here is that total caloric intake matters when it comes to weight gain,” Lona Sandon said.
Everton goalkeeper Tim Howard managed to score from roughly 100 yards away when his kick from inside his own penalty area bounced about 30 yards from the goal and sailed over Bolton Wanderers keeper Adam Bogdan’s head in a Premiere League match at Goodison Park.
U.S. international goalkeeper Tim Howard, 32, notched up a wind-assisted fluke goal last night – after making a clearance from inside his own penalty area.
In a strong wind, Tim Howard, Everton No.1, connected sweetly with the ball as it was rolled back towards him with the score at 0-0 in the home match with Bolton Wanderers at Goodison Park.
But he looked on in bemusement as the 92-yard clearance is allowed to hit the ground by the opposition team and takes an enormous bounce.
It then loops handily over rival goalkeeper Adam Bogdan as he desperately stretches to reach it, before nestling into the back of the goal.
It was Tim Howard’s 1st professional goal in his 250th appearance in England, but he refused to celebrate.
Tim Howard told Sky Sports: “For the back four and the goalkeepers at both ends, there was an awful wind swirling. You could see everybody was mistiming balls.
“Defenders were missing clearances that normally they would put up the field.
“I let [Bogdan] know that I was feeling for him. It’s not a nice place to be. I’ve been there before, a long, long time ago, and that was why I didn’t celebrate.”
In a strong wind, Tim Howard, Everton No.1, connected sweetly with the ball as it was rolled back towards him with the score at 0-0 in the home match with Bolton Wanderers at Goodison Park
Tim Howard becomes the second American goalkeeper to score in the English Premier League.
Compatriot Brad Friedel, 40, who now plays for Tottenham Hotspur, scored for Blackburn Rovers against Charlton Athletic in February, 2004.
The two other goalkeepers to score are Denmark’s Peter Schmeichel and England’s Paul Robinson – who has managed the feat twice.
They’ve all got some catching up to go with the world’s most prolific goalkeeper, Paraguayan Jose Luis Chilavert, who managed an impressive 52 goals for club and country during his career.
Bolton Wanderers went on to win the match 2-1.
Tim Howard
Born: March 6, 1979 in North Brunswick, New Jersey.
Height: 6ft 3in
Made his professional debut aged 18 for the North Jersey Imperials in May, 1997.
Then signed for New Jersey MetroStars, for whom he made 88 appearances between 1998 and 2003.
Became the youngest player to win the MLS Goalkeeper of the Year award in 2001 at the age of 22.
Signed for Manchester United for $4m in 2003, but after initially doing well lost his position.
Loaned to Everton in 2006, and eventually transferred to the club the following year.
Won first cap for the U.S. against Ecuador in March, 2002 and was 1st choice goalkeeper at the World Cup in South Africa in 2010.
Tim Howard was awarded the MLS Humanitarian of the Year award in 2001 for his work with children with Tourette’s syndrome. He was diagnosed with the condition in middle school.
A shocking video captures the moment a double-decker bus plunged off a cliff on Camino de la Muerte, the world’s most dangerous road, in Bolivia.
The footage shows the driver creeping past the cliff’s edge on a treacherous stretch of the Bolivian pass while a crowd tries to help guide his way.
One man who steps forward and gestures to the driver to help him steer further away from the edge does so in vain as it eventually tips forward with the weight of it carrying it over the side.
A shocking video captures the moment a double-decker bus plunged off a cliff on Camino de la Muerte, the world's most dangerous road, in Bolivia
Heavy rain had made the Camino de la Muerte (Road of Death) muddy and slippery making it especially dangerous to drive on.
The crowd looked on in horror as the bus fell 50 meters down the ravine killing the driver.
According to The Sun, the 38-mile pass from La Paz to Coroico, Bolivia’s Amazon region, claims an estimated 200 to 300 lives a year.
In 1995 the Inter-American Development Bank reportedly christened it the “world’s most dangerous road”.
According to reports, the driver had been alone in the bus as he had unloaded his 50 passengers before attempting to negotiate the dangerous track.
50 Cent made a series of tweets in which he said he was convinced death was just around the corner.
The 36-year-old hip hop star said: “Ill be honest I don’t think I’m gonna live much longer.”
50 Cent also insisted he is “good if I die tonight”.
It came after he had a lengthy Twitter rant about the state of his career.
50 Cent said: “I have lost all the faith in the team I’m on. I having nothing left to say I will not be promoting my music.
“I’m going to deliver this album then I have a film I wrote to focus on.
“I’m not upset I’m just convinced this is not how I want to remembered.”
The rapper was alluding to his high profile falling out with his record label Interscope.
50 Cent has been attacking them in a flurry of internet messages, previously saying: “Were suppose to be on the same team with me.
“Music was so much fun for me now the people and politics involved disgust me.”
50 Cent made a series of tweets in which he said he was convinced death was just around the corner
Perhaps the reason they are at loggerheads is the 50 Cent’s failure to replicate the sales success he enjoyed earlier in his career.
50 Cent’s 2003 debut album sold a whopping 8 million copies in the US alone, and is the fourth biggest selling rap album of all time.
It’s follow up The Massacre also did well, selling just short of 5 million copies in the States on its way to going five times platinum.
However 2007’s Curtis only went platinum, with sales of more than 1.3 million, while his most recent album 2009’s Before I Self Destruct fared even worse selling just 446,000 copies.
At least the rapper has been able to enjoy a profitable career away from the world of music.
50 Cent is believed to have made $100 million after tax after Coca Cola bought the drinks company Glaceau in 2007.
Fiddy, real name Curtis Jackson, had a stake in the company after producing the Vitamin Water drink Formula 50.
A young basketball fan at a college game in Los Angeles has been embarrassingly refused by his girlfriend when he made proposal in front of a stadium of booing spectators.
The pair was captured on the stadium camera during the half-time entertainment during a game between UCLA and Richmond on December 23.
The crowd watched the scene unfold as the young man knelt down to ask for his girlfriend’s hand.
A young basketball fan at a college game in Los Angeles has been embarrassingly refused by his girlfriend when he made proposal in front of a stadium of booing spectators
Initially showing great excitement at being given the chance to kiss her partner on the big screen, she affectionately reached for his face with a big smile.
But as the young man stood up and the UCLA host came over to offer him the microphone, her smile turned into a look of mild confusion and surprise.
Her boyfriend then reached into his pocket, produced a box and said: “I knew that I was going to do this since the first day that I met you, and I figured now was as good a time as any.”
When he opened the box to present the ring, the young woman’s attitude appeared to change.
She asked him a barely audible question which could have been: “Is this a joke?” To which he quite clearly replied: “No, it’s serious.”
The girlfriend hesitated for a moment and then picking up her bag, left the scene in a hurry.
Offering words of consolation the host said: “Sometimes we get a little camera shy,” but the rejected lover departed shortly after with his head hanging low in shame.
Several blogs are now debating whether the proposal was even genuine, since couples have been known to stage such performances at basketball and hockey games in the past.
Also up for debate is whether, since what is intended to be a romantic gesture can quickly become a spectacle of public ridicule, proposing in front of an audience is a clever idea at all.
The Los Angeles Times confirmed that a UCLA spokesman had said the proposal was not staged.
At least 50 people have been killed and more than 70 have been injured in bomb attacks in southern Iraq and in the capital Baghdad.
Provincial officials said at least Shia pilgrims died in a suicide attack near the city of Nasiriya.
Earlier, Iraq’s Interior Ministry said at least 24 people were killed in blasts in Shia areas of Baghdad.
The attacks come amid a rise in sectarian tensions after the last US combat troops withdrew in December.
The head of the provincial council in Nasiriya, Qusay al-Abadi, said at least 30 pilgrims were killed and more than 70 injured in the attack near Nasiriya. AFP quoted the official Dhi Qar provincial website as saying the pilgrims were walking to the holy city of Karbala.
At least 50 people have been killed and more than 70 have been injured in bomb attacks in southern Iraq and in the capital Baghdad
The Baghdad attacks occurred during the city’s rush hour and the Interior Ministry says they targeted gatherings in of civilians in the Sadr City and Kadhimiya areas and injured at least 66 other people.
Unnamed officials told the AFP news agency that between 14 and 15 people had been killed when two car bombs exploded simultaneously in Kadhimiya at around 09:00. The Associated Press (AP) said 15 people died in the blasts.
Twelve people had earlier been killed when two bombs were detonated in Sadr City, AP reported officials as saying. It said the first was a motorbike bomb, which exploded near where labourers were gathering to look for work.
It quoted anonymous hospital officials as saying that 30 minutes later a roadside bomb exploded near a tea shop, killing one. AFP quoted security officials as saying nine people were killed and 35 wounded in the Sadr City attacks. Reuters put the toll at 10.
“There was a group of day labourers gathered, waiting to be hired for work. Someone brought his small motorcycle and parked it nearby. A few minutes later it blew up, killed some people, wounded others and burned some cars,” a police officer told Reuters at the scene of the first attack.
Iraq’s power-sharing government has been in crisis since an arrest warrant was issued for Sunni Vice-President Tariq al-Hashemi on terror charges two weeks ago. He has denied the accusations against him.
The al-Iraqiyya group, the main Sunni bloc in parliament, is boycotting the assembly in protest. It accuses Prime Minister Nouri Maliki, a Shia, of monopolizing power.
Tariq al-Hashemi is currently in Irbil in Iraqi Kurdistan, under the protection of the regional government, but Nouri Maliki has demanded that they give him up.
“Political leaders fight each other for power, and we pay the price,” Labourer Ahmed Khalaf told AFP at the site of one of the Sadr City explosions.
“How is it our fault if al-Hashemi is wanted, or someone else is wanted?” he asked. “Why should we pay instead of them?”
Jorge Saavedra, a 15-year-old boy from Florida, has become the youngest person in the U.S. to escape a murder charge under a controversial “Stand Your Ground” law.
A judge ruled that Jorge Saavedra was in danger from the older boy and acted in self-defense when he stabbed 17-year-old Dylan Nuno to death.
Jorge Saavedra, who was 14 at the time, stabbed his attacker 12 times with a pocket knife.
He had been charged as a juvenile with second-degree murder and faced spending the next seven years in jail if he was convicted.
However, a judge ruled Jorge Saavedra was within his right to use deadly force to defend himself.
Jorge Saavedra, 15, from Florida, has become the youngest person in the US to escape a murder charge under a controversial “Stand Your Ground” law
Under the “Stand Your Ground” law people living in Florida are allowed to use deadly force if they fear their life is in danger.
The self-defense law was introduced in Florida by Governor Jeb Bush in 2005 and has mostly been used by homeowners protecting themselves from burglars.
According to legal experts, Jorge Saavedra was the youngest person to escape criminal prosecution under the seven-year-old law.
Dylan Nuno’s family criticized Collier County Circuit Judge Lauren Brodie’s decision, calling it “unbelievable and heartbreaking”.
“We know this wasn’t the right decision,” said Dylan’s aunt, Adriana Nuno.
“(The judge) is showing those kids it’s OK to get away with murder.”
In a nine-page written judgment Judge Lauren Brodie concluded that Jorge Saavedra was being bullied and had attempted to avoid a fight with the older boy who also attended Palmetto Ridge High in Naples.
She said Jorge Saavedra had got off the school bus a few stops before the location where he was expected to fight Dylan Nuno.
Witnesses said Jorge Saavedra tried to run away, but ended up fighting with Dylan Nuno and used his knife in the brawl that was witnessed by other students.
Dylan Nuno died after being stabbed 12 times in the chest and abdomen. One of the blows pierced the teenager’s heart.
In her decision, signed December 30, 2011, Judge Lauren Brodie said Jorge Saavedra had “no duty to retreat” and was “legally entitled to meet force with force, even deadly force”.
She stated: “The defendant was in a place where he had a right to be and was not acting unlawfully.
“He had more than enough reason to believe he was in danger of death or great bodily harm … (He) was under attack from the first punch to the back of his head until he stabbed Dylan Nuno.”
A spokesman for the State’s Attorney’s Office said they accepted the decision and would not be appealing.
The “Stand Your Ground” law states that an individual has no duty to retreat, no matter where an attack takes place.
Under the 2005 law people have the right to use deadly force as long as they “reasonably believe” their life is in danger.
Criminal defense lawyer Eddie Suarez, said the law had redefined when you can act in self-defense.
Eddie Suarez said: “The statute provides immunity for a citizen who reasonably believes they are in danger of serious bodily injury or death or the commission of forcible felony.
“That person has the right to use deadly force. They don’t have to retreat. They can use deadly force to protect themselves. The key is that belief has to be reasonable.”
Gun control groups criticize the legislation as encouraging citizens to “shoot first, ask questions later”.
“Stand Your Ground” law exists in states including Florida, Alabama, Texas, Georgia and Nevada.
18-year-old Sarah McKinley from Oklahoma lost her husband to lung cancer on Christmas Day, leaving her the sole caregiver to their three-month-old son. On New Year’s Eve, the teenage mother proved she was anything but defenceless after she shot and killed an intruder breaking into her home.
Two men tried breaking into Sarah McKinley’s house, one armed with a 12-inch hunting knife. While on the phone with 911, the young mother shot and killed one of the intruders with a 12-gauge shotgun after he passed the threshold.
After her husband’s funeral the previous week, a man named Justin Martin stopped by Sarah McKinley’s house, claiming he was a neighbour and only wanted to introduce himself.
Sarah McKinley was suspicious and she said he was calling late at night, when it was “pitch black outside”.
Justin Martin returned on New Year’s Eve, this time in the middle of the day and armed with a hunting knife and an accomplice – a man identified as 29-year-old Dustin Stewart.
Sarah McKinley told KOCO News that the men started knocking aggressively on her door, Justin Martin in front and Dustin Stewart in the back.
The young mother described to the Oklahoma station what she did: “I walked over and got the 12-gague, went in the bedroom and got the pistol, put the bottle in his mouth, and then I called 911”
She also barricaded the front door with a sofa.
Sarah McKinley asked the 911 dispatcher what to do should the two men break in.
“I’ve got two guns in my hand – is it okay to shoot him if he comes in the door?” she said.
“I’m in here by myself with my infant baby, can I please get a dispatcher out here immediately?”
Once the 911 dispatcher confirmed with the young mother that her doors were indeed locked, Sarah McKinley asked again if she could shoot the intruders.
“I can’t tell you that you can do that but you do what you have to do to protect your baby,” the dispatcher told her.
Sarah McKinley was on the phone with two dispatchers – which represented two neighbouring counties – for a total of 21 minutes.
Sarah McKinley, 18, from Oklahoma, who lost her husband to lung cancer on Christmas Day, shot dead an intruder breaking her home on New Year’s Eve
Around 2:00 p.m., Justin Martin kicked in the door and Sarah McKinley shot him once in the torso. Since police said the shooting was in self-defense, she will not be charged.
Police found Justin Martin, 24, slumped over a floral-print sofa with a single gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
His accomplice, Dustin Stewart, told police he fled after he heard the gunshot and later was later driven to the police station by his parents, Newson6.com reports.
Dustin Stewart was being held in Grady County jail on felony murder charges and will be arraigned later today, NewsOK.com reports.
Detective Dan Huff told KOCO-TV that under some circumstances, shooting a person is permissible.
“You’re allowed to shoot an unauthorized person that is in your home,” he said.
“The law provides you the remedy, and sanctions the use of deadly force.”
The Oklahoma Castle Doctrine, otherwise known as the Make My Day law, states you can only shoot an intruder if they have entered your home.
Attorney Doug Frieson told Newson6.com that the law always protects someone in their home, no matter the circumstances.
“The simple fact that you’re unauthorized in the home is enough that allows the homeowner to use deadly force.”
Sarah McKinley said that though the shooting was justified, it was by no means an easy decision to make.
“It was either going to be him or my son. And it wasn’t going to be my son,” she said.
She added: “There’s nothing more dangerous than a woman with a child.”
Detectives will continue their investigation after they obtain a search warrant for Justin Martin’s car.
According to Grady County Sheriff Art Kell, a shooting case like this is rare. “Around the state, maybe two to three people get shot,” he said.
He said there are three deputies to cover the county’s 12,000 square miles, meaning a response could hardly be immediate.
Sheriff Art Kell added: “When (our dispatcher) got the call, we need to get more information, what’s the reason for the guy outside.”
Since Sarah McKinley was calling from a cell phone, her exact location was hard to pinpoint. But, he added, “the deputy was en route within seven minutes.”
He said that Sarah McKinley’s husband was in his 50s and the couple were married two years ago.
Art Kell said one of his dispatchers, Diane Graham, handled the call 911 call.
“I knew she was scared because she was whispering,” Diane Graham, a 911 dispatcher from the Grady County Sheriff’s Office told KFOR-TV.
“Anything can be serious in a moment’s notice, so you need to believe what they say when they call and get the help to them as quick as you can,” Diane Graham explained.
The dispatcher stayed on the phone with the scared mother before transferring her to the Blanchard Police.
Sarah McKinley was gracious to the dispatchers for helping her in the difficult situation.
“The 911 dispatcher was awesome,” Sarah McKinley told KFOR-TV.
“I was feeding off her and she was calm, so I could be calm.”
Detective Dan Huff told KFOR-TV that he and his fellow detectives believe the home invasion to have been “premeditated”.
The attack, as new reports reveal, may have been premeditated. Sarah McKinley’s mother told Newson6.com that Justin Martin stalked her daughter at a rodeo two years ago.
The two have since bumped into each other at a nearby convenience store. Sarah McKinley said she didn’t know who he was until after the shooting, when she pieced everything together.
In addition, two of her dogs were recently found dead.
Since news has spread, members of the Blanchard community are eager to help the young widow, donating clothes and gifts, as well as starting long-term funds for her son.
Sarah McKinley is touched by the kindness. She told KFOR-TV: “You don’t realize how many good people there are until tragedy happens and then they step forward.
“Kinda lose faith in the human race, but when people help, it puts that back in.”
Sarah McKinley’s 911 call to Grady County Sheriff
DISPATCHER: What’s going on?
SARAH MCKINLEY: There’s a guy at my door. I’ve got some dogs that keep coming up missing. This guy’s up to no good. My husband just passed away. I’m here by myself with my infant baby. Can I please get a dispatch out here immediately?
DISPATCHER: Hang with me a second. Are your doors locked?
SARAH MCKINLEY: Yes, I’ve got two guns in my hands. Is it okay to shoot him if he comes in this door?
DISPATCHER: Well, you have to do whatever you can do to protect yourself. I can’t tell you that you can do that, but you do what you have to do to protect your baby. Is he trying to get in the door?
SARAH MCKINLEY: He just keeps knocking.
DISPATCHER: Okay. Alright. Do you have like an alarm on your car that you can set off with your remote control that might scare him and get him away?
SARAH MCKINLEY: No, I don’t.
DISPATCHER: Alright, that’s okay.(rustling)
The dispatcher then transfers Ms McKinley to a neighbouring county. That call was not recorded.
What is Make My Day law?
Castle Doctrine – colloquially called the Make My Day Law from the 1983 Clint Eastwood film Sudden Impact – are legislated by individual states. Not all states have the law, which allow people to defend themselves in their homes. Oklahoma law states that anyone unlawfully entering a person’s home can be defended against by using physical or deadly force. The law was recently expanded in Oklahoma to include businesses.
Trade unions in Nigeria have announced an indefinite strike and mass demonstrations unless the removal of a fuel subsidy is reversed.
The fuel subsidy’s withdrawal has led petrol prices to more than double since Monday, prompting anger countrywide.
“We have the total backing of all Nigerian workers on this strike and mass protest,” said the Nigeria Labour Congress’s Chris Uyot.
Nigeria is Africa’s biggest oil producer, but imports refined petrol.
Both the NLC and the Trades Union Congress (TUC) have agreed to the strike.
NLC spokesman Chris Uyot told the BBC’s Focus on Africa programme there was no room for dialogue with the government, which has said it will spend the money saved by removing the subsidy on improving the country’s erratic electricity supply, as well as on health and education.
Trade unions in Nigeria have announced an indefinite strike and mass demonstrations unless the removal of a fuel subsidy is reversed
Prices have increased from 65 naira ($0.40) per litre to at least 140 naira in filling stations and from 100 naira to at least 200 on the black market, where many Nigerians buy their fuel.
“After exhaustive deliberations and consultations with all sections of the populace, the NLC, TUC and their pro-people allies demand that the presidency immediately reverses fuel prices to 65 naira,” a statement signed by the heads of the two unions said.
If the government failed to do so, “all offices, oil production centres, air and sea ports, fuel stations, markets, banks, amongst others will be shut down” from Monday 9 January, the statement said.
“We advise Nigerians to stockpile basic needs especially food and water,” the statement added.
There has been a furious reaction this week to the fuel price increase – one protester was killed on Tuesday in Irolin, Kwara state, and thousands of Nigerians have demonstrated in cities across the country.
Nigeria’s Central Bank Governor Lamido Sanusi said the subsidy – which he said cost the government about $8 billion last year – was “unsustainable”.
“Subsides should be for production and not consumption,” he told Focus on Africa.
In December, the Nigerian government released a list of the people who benefit most from the subsidy, which include some of Nigeria’s richest people – the owners of fuel-importing firms.
Years of mismanagement and corruption mean Nigeria does not have the capacity to refine oil into petrol and other fuels.
Several previous governments have tried to remove the subsidy but have backed down in the face of widespread public protests and reduced it instead.
The IMF has long urged Nigeria’s government to remove the subsidy.
Scientists discovered a mysterious phenomenon that has decimated honey bee populations across US and Western Europe, which could be linked to a “zombifying” parasitic fly.
Colony collapse disorder (CCD) is marked by the sudden disappearance of worker bees from a colony.
CCD was first recognized as a serious problem by U.S. beekeepers in 2006, but has also affected bee colonies across Western Europe.
In some of the recorded cases, bee losses have reached levels of up to 90%.
Viral and fungal infections and toxic chemicals in pesticides have all been suggested as possible explanations for CCD.
The new theory involves the parasitic fly Apocephalus borealis, which is already known to attack bumble bees.
Evidence has now emerged of the fly targeting honey bees.
Apocephalus borealis lays its eggs in the abdomens of bees, which start displaying “zombie” behaviour, abandoning their hives en masse to congregate near lights.
Finally they die, and the fly larvae emerge from their bodies.
U.S. scientists noted that hive abandonment is a primary feature of CCD.
Genetic tests also showed that both bees and flies were often infected with deformed wing virus and the fungus Nosema ceranae.
Both infections have previously been cited as possible causes of CCD, suggesting a link.
Professor John Hafernik, from San Francisco State University, said: “We don’t know the best way to stop parasitisation because one of the big things we’re missing is where the flies are parasitizing the bees.
“We assume it’s while the bees are out foraging because we don’t see the flies hanging around the bee hives. But it’s still a bit of a black hole in terms of where it’s actually happening.”
The research is published today in the online journal Public Library of Science ONE.
Analysis of the parasites confirmed they were the same flies that have been infecting bumblebees. The fly could be an emerging and potentially costly new threat to honey bees, say the scientists.
Prof. John Hafernik added: “Honey bees are among the best-studied insects in the world. So at one level, we would expect that if this has been a long-term parasite of honey bees, we would have noticed.”
Justin Timberlake is said to have proposed to girlfriend Jessica Biel just before Christmas in a romantic winter setting.
According to his friends, Justin Timberlake, 30, has “never been happier” following his decision to settle down with his girlfriend of four and a half years.
An insider told Us Weekly magazine that Justin Timberlake “knew it was the right time to propose”, and decided to pop the question in the mountains during a pre-Christmas break in Jackson, Wyoming.
The insider added: “Justin knows how much she loves snowboarding and the mountains, so it was the perfect place.”
Justin Timberlake is said to have proposed to girlfriend Jessica Biel just before Christmas in a romantic winter setting
Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel, 29, split for three months last year and sources close to the couple have said that marriage was on the cards after they got back together.
A source told us Weekly: “This was the basis for getting back together. When they reunited they had a conversation about taking the next step.”
The couple are said to have celebrated their engagement with their family and friends meeting up at Justin Timberlake’s home in Big Sky, Montana.
They were also seen dining at a Thai restaurant in the resort called Lotus Pad and an onlooker said they were having a “good time” with the happy couple “throwing back sake” in celebration.
Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel were first spotted together during a snowboarding break in January 2007 at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah.
They were said to have met earlier in the month at the Golden Globe Awards that year shortly after Timberlake split from Cameron Diaz.
Demi Moore has made a frank confession in her latest interview with Harper’s Bazaar that she fears she isn’t worthy of being loved.
Demi Moore, 49, made the startling statement to her friend Amanda de Cadenet during an interview in the February issue of the US magazine.
The actress revealed she originally feared being abandoned but said her biggest fear now is “not having the courage to reach her full potential”.
Demi Moore explained: “There is no way to reach your fullest potential if you don’t really find the love of yourself.
“What scares me is that I’m going to ultimately find out at the end of my life that I’m really not lovable, that I’m not worthy of being love. That there’s something fundamentally wrong with me.”
Demi Moore has made a frank confession in her latest interview with Harper’s Bazaar that she fears she isn’t worthy of being loved
Demi Moore also opened up about her body image, which has been the subject of much speculation following her split from Ashton Kutcher.
She admitted to having a “love-hate relationship” with her body but said she had a more positive feeling towards it now compared to her feelings in the past.
“I sit today in a place of greater acceptance of my body and that includes not just my weight but all of the things that come with your changing body as you as age to now experiencing my body as extremely thin.”
She added: “Thin in a way that I never imagined somebody would be saying to me, <<You’re too thin, and you don’t look good>>.”
While she has displayed a shockingly slim frame in recent months, Demi Moore looks happy and healthy in the accompanying photo shoot showing off her frame in a strapless beaded dress by Balmain, and a cut out black swimsuit by Gucci.
The interview comes ahead of Demi Moore and Amanda de Cadenet’s latest project, a television show called The Conversation which, comes to Lifetime television this Spring.
A-List stars including Gwyneth Paltrow, Lady Gaga and Jane Fonda are among the women who have spoken out about the challenges they face in their daily lives, with Demi Moore and Amanda de Cadenet acting as executive producers.
Following her recent split from Ashton Kutcher, Demi Moore appears to be throwing herself into her work and it has been reported that she is appearing in the upcoming movie Lovelace.
Demi Moore is said to be taking on the role of feminist Gloria Steinem according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The full interview is available in the February issue of Haper’s Bazaar which hits newsstands on January 17.
Lady Gaga is well known for her bizarre behavior, but her latest alleged eccentricities are sure to shock even hardened fans.
Lady Gaga, 25, has been accused of leaving a London hotel room bathtub drenched in blood.
Rumors have flown around the net that Lady Gaga has started taking part in morbid Satanic rituals to keep her safe from spirits.
Staff at the Intercontinental Hotel in London were shocked when they went to clean Lady Gaga’s room and found blood in the bath.
However, the red substance has not been identified as blood.
One housekeeper claimed Lady Gaga was “bathing in blood as part of a Satanic ritual”.
The hotel maid told website Truthquake: “Lady Gaga left large amounts of blood in the suite during a stay this summer. The incident was reported to the concierge, who was told to put it out of her mind.”
Staff at the Intercontinental Hotel in London were shocked when they went to clean Lady Gaga's room and found blood in the bath
But other sources remain skeptical the “blood” was real and say it was more likely that the red liquid as part of a “weird” stage costume or prop.
An insider said: “All of the hotel’s staff are convinced she was bathing in it or, at the very least, using it as part of one of her new costumes or weird stage routines.”
It is unclear if Lady Gaga had actually bathed in the liquid last summer.
Lady Gaga is believed to be terrified of evil spirits and reportedly has every hotel and tour venue scanned by a team of paranormal investigators before she will agree to stay there.
The pop superstar, who is inspired by the spirit of her dead aunt, allegedly splashed out $45,000 on state of the art Electro Magnetic Field meters to detect spectres.
TMZ claim Lady Gaga has been named in a $380,000 lawsuit filed by a disgruntled former employee Jennifer O’Neil, who claims she is owed payment for 7,168 hours of overtime.
Jennifer O’Neil alleges that she was responsible for “ensuring the promptness of a towel following a shower and serving as a personal alarm clock” for the singer.
She also claims that Lady Gaga expected her to be at her service from the “earliest waking hour” and wanted her duties to extend to “stadiums, private jets, fine hotel suites, yachts, ferries, trains and tour buses”.
Jennifer O’Neil alleges that the schedule meant that she was unable to take breaks “or even at times sleep”.
A representative for Lady Gaga insisted to TMZ allegations were “completely without merit”.
Only one week after announcing her fourth marriage to Barry Herridge was over after just 16 days, it appears Irish singer Sinead O’Connor has changed her mind.
Sinead O’Connor, 45, took to her newly re-opened Twitter account in the early hours of this morning to reveal she was reconciling with her husband Barry Herridge.
In rather revealing messages, Sinead O’Connor said the couple had been “love-making”.
Admitting they rushed down the aisle following their Las Vegas nuptials on December 8 after just four months of dating, Sinead O’Connor explained they would be “boyfriend and girlfriend again” – despite still being legally wed.
Under her Twitter handle “vampyahslayah”, Sinead O’Connor wrote: “Guess who had a mad love making affair with her own husband last night?
“Yay!!! we decided to be boyfriend and girlfriend again an (sic) stay married but we did rush, so we gonna return to b friend g friend and be sickenly (sic) happy an go counsellin (sic) an move in like a yr like regular people…
“But stay married an we all in love an f**k every other motherf**ker who don’t like it.. so me all happy!! me love me hubby.. he love me… f**k who no like it.. God is good!”
Sinead O’Connor, 45, took to her newly re-opened Twitter account in the early hours of this morning to reveal she was reconciling with her husband Barry Herridge
Sinead O’Connor revealed the couple’s marriage had ended in a lengthy statement on her official website on Boxing Day.
In fact, they had only lived together as husband and wife for seven days following the ceremony at the Little White Wedding Chapel.
Initially, Sinead O’Connor blamed the “intense pressure” on the couple and admitted his friends and family were unhappy with the union.
Clearly happy with her reignited lovelife, Sinead O’Connor later added on Twitter: “So Sinead got laid!!!… and all well.
“Yay!!! me husband is a big hairy cave man an (sic) came to claim me with his club : ) and now I’m in cave-land.. yay!! We both go panto!”
Barry Herridge is the latest husband in a list of short-lived marriages for Sinead O’Connor.
Mariah Carey revealed her husband Nick Cannon has been rushed to hospital in Aspen, Colorado, after suffering from kidney failure.
Despite Mariah Carey urging their fans to “pray for Nick”, she doesn’t look too fearful about his health given her Twitter activity.
Mariah Carey, 41, bizarrely posted a photo of herself posing beside an ailing Nick Cannon, 31, in his hospital bed.
The couple are clearly optimistic he will recover, with Mariah Carey describing his kidney failure as “mild”.
She posted news of Nick Cannon’s illness in the early hours of this morning.
“Please pray for Nick as he’s fighting to recover from a mild kidney failure. #mybraveman.”
Mariah Carey, 41, bizarrely posted a photo of herself posing beside an ailing Nick Cannon, 31, in his hospital bed
Mariah Carey then wrote a more detailed description of his medical drama on her official website.
“This is us in the hospital – role reversal; Last year it was me attached to the machines (after having dembabies) and Nick was there with me through it, and now here we are.
“We’re trying to be as festive as possible under the circumstances but please keep Nick in your thoughts because this is very painful. They tried to kick me out of the hospital but here I am pon de bed with Mr. C.
“We’re doing OK but we’re <<straaaaaanded in Aspen>>. #DramaticDivaPlace (I know, we could be in a lot worse places) but the truth is as long as we’re together, we’re OK.
“I’m not trying to make light out of the situation because it’s a serious moment that’s very tough on all of us so please keep us and our family in your prayers. LYM.”
Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon have been spending the Christmas and New Year period in Aspen with their twins Moroccan and Monroe.
Nick Cannon’s hospitalization perhaps explains why the couple haven’t been photographed out and about in Aspen since New Year’s Eve.
Kim Kardashian’s claims that there is nothing between her and Kanye West were blown out of the water today when Amber, the rapper’s ex-girlfriend, said his affair with the reality TV star led to their split.
Amber, 28, also claimed that Kim Kardashian was seeing NFL star Reggie Bush at the same time as she was seeing Kanye West – who was in a serious relationship with Amber at the time.
In an interview with Star magazine, Amber said Kim Kardashian, 31, was one of the main reasons she and Kanye West, 34, broke up.
Amber said: “She’s a homewrecker! They were both cheating. They were both cheating on me and Reggie with each other.”
Amber also said that Kim Kardashian instigated the affair by sending sexy pictures of herself to him as well as calling and texting him.
“She was sending pictures, and I was like, <<Kim, just stop. Don’t be that person>.”
Amber said Kim Kardashian was one of the main reasons she and Kanye West 34 broke up
Amber said she also emailed Kim Kardashian asking her for an explanation but was disappointed not to get a reply.
Amber said: “I thought at least she’d be woman enough to respond to me. She never responded.
“It’s very important that us women stick together and we don’t f**k each other over like that.”
Amber does thank Kim Kardashian for helping her find true love in the arms of rapper Wiz Khalifa, 24.
Amber explained: “I want to thank her. Because if she was never a homewrecker, then I never would have met Wiz, and I wouldn’t be as happy as I am now.”
Amber’s claim comes a few weeks after Kim Kardashian and Kayne West were spotted together at a party in New York and Kayne was “all over” her – just a month after she filed from divorce from husband Kris Humphries.
In November, she hinted that the pair may have at one time been more than friends when asked on the Wendy Williams Show if Kim and Kanye.
“I mean, Come on, like, you know,” she laughed. “Come on! We’ll keep it cute.”
Last year, Kanye West made an appearance alongside a flirty Kim Kardashian on the first season of reality show Kourtney & Kim Take New York
A source told The New York Daily News: “Kanye was eating Kim up like she was a piece of cake. He was all over her – caressing her head, touching her waist.
“I think he was dying to kiss her, but there were too many people in the room.”
Kim Kardashian and Kanye West, who are long time friends, were attending billionaire Ron Burkle’s party for Kanye and rapper Jay-Z who performed tracks from their hit album at LA’s Staples Centre.
Last year, Kanye West made an appearance alongside a flirty Kim Kardashian on the first season of reality show Kourtney & Kim Take New York.
And earlier this year, they filmed a Star Wars inspired skit together for U.S. network Comedy Central.
However, a source told People last year that Kim Kardashian and Kanye West are “just friends”.
“There is nothing going on romantically,” the insider said.
“Kanye and Kim are just friends and have been forever.”
InIcons, a Chinese company, is prepared to launch a scale model of the late Apple founder Steve Jobs.
The “collectible figure” is 1:6 scale and wears Steve Jobs’ trademark poloneck, jeans and glasses.
Steve Jobs figure will retail for $99.99 and go on sale in February – Apple’s lawyers permitting.
InIcons has not released sales figures, but has already stopped taking pre-orders.
The “collectible figure” is 1:6 scale and wears Steve Jobs' trademark poloneck, jeans and glasses
In the past, InIcons has been quick to take legal action against Steve Jobs models such as one featuring the Apple guru as a ninja – poking fun at Steve Jobs alleged attempt to take souvenir ninja “shuriken” throwing stars on a plane.
Apple’s laywers said: “Mr. Jobs has not consented to the use of his name and/or image in the Product.”
If the InIcons model actually makes it to market, buyers will get “One realistic head with two pairs of glasses, one body and three pairs of hands” plus a complete Steve Jobs outfit – poloneck, blue jeans and trainers.
You also get two Apple logos – a risky move that makes the InIcons model even more vulnerable to legal action.
Simulview PlayStation television from Sony is the first flatscreen that can show each viewer something entirely different.
Both viewers of Simulview have to wear 3D glasses, as the screen uses the high-speed images of the TV screen to send a different view 2D to each pair of battery powered glasses.
The “active shutter” glasses flick open and closed in time to the television’s screen updates – so each person watching sees “their” view, and is cut off from the other person’s. So far, it only works for two.
Sony’s PS3- branded set is built for gaming – the idea being that the two views will allow two gamers to duel one another without the “cheat” of being able to see one another’s screen.
Simulview also works as a 3D TV, using the fast-flicking 240Hz screen for 3D Blu-Rays, cable or satellite TV and PlayStation games
Simulview also works as a 3D TV, using the fast-flicking 240Hz screen for 3D Blu-Rays, cable or satellite TV and PlayStation games.
The TV has no built-in tuner – so you need to add a cable, satellite or Freeview box to watch shows.
At the moment a very limited number of games work with the screen – but it includes hits such as Motorstorm: Apocalypse and Gran Turismo 5.
More titles are coming soon.
Simulview is only available in the US, but it will launch in Spring in the UK.
A new research found that stem cells can halt ageing and even prolong lifespans up to three times. An experiment of University of Pittsburgh scientists proved that a single injection of stem cells could make mice live three times as long.
The injection also made the mice grow bigger and stronger.
Scientists think that studying the proteins within stem cells might hold the key to injections that offer a “shot of youthful vigour” to human beings.
The researchers say further research could help us hold off the ageing process altogether.
The effect was even visible on cells in a lab dish where young stem cells were placed next to prematurely ageing cells.
The sick, ageing cells performed better after being placed next to the healthy ones.
The researchers conducted experiments on mice modified to age prematurely, a condition known as progeria.
Progeria also occurs in humans.
Giving these mice shots of stem cells from young, healthy counterparts allowed them to live up to three times longer than those with progeria.
Their experiment saw them first study the stem cells of the progeria sufferers.
The scientists saw there was a difference between the cells in the mice with the ageing disorder – they had fewer, the ones they had regenerated less quickly than ordinary mouse stem cells.
However, injecting stem cells into 17 day-old mice saw a huge increase in their lifespans – from an average of just 21-28 days to more than 66 days, three times longer than usual.
The modified mice given stem cell shots grew almost as large as their healthy counterparts and grew new blood vessels in their brains and muscles.
Scientists think this is because the healthy stem cells helped correct abnormalities in the cells of the rapidly-ageing mice.
Study author Dr. Laura Niedernhofer, whose findings were published in journal Nature Communications said: “Our experiments showed that mice that have progeria, a disorder of premature aging, were healthier and lived longer after an injection of stem cells from young, healthy animals.”
“That tells us that stem cell dysfunction is a cause of the changes we see with aging.”
Dr. Laura Niedernhofer added: “As the progeria mice age, they lose muscle mass in their hind limbs, hunch over, tremble, and move slowly and awkwardly.
“Affected mice that got a shot of stem cells just before showing the first signs of ageing were more like normal mice, and they grew almost as large.
“Closer examination showed new blood vessel growth in the brain and muscle, even though the stem/progenitor cells weren’t detected in those tissues.
“In fact, the cells didn’t migrate to any particular tissue after injection into the abdomen.
“This leads us to think that healthy cells secrete factors to create an environment that help correct the dysfunction present in the native stem cell population and aged tissue.
“In a culture dish experiment, we put young stem cells close to, but not touching, progeria stem cells and the unhealthy cells functionally improved.”
Gary Dobson and David Norris, the two men convicted of the racist murder of black teenager Stephen Lawrence in 1993 after he was stabbed to death, will be sentenced later.
Gary Dobson and David Norris were found guilty by an Old Bailey jury after a trial based on forensic evidence.
The two men will be sentenced as juveniles because they were under 18 at the time of the attack, which happened in south-east London in April 1993.
Police say the investigation could be reopened if new evidence emerges.
Gary Dobson, 36, and David Norris, 35, can expect to receive sentences considerably shorter than would an adult convicted of the same crime under today’s laws.
Reports say they could serve minimum prison terms of around 12 years each.
Gary Dobson and David Norris were found guilty by an Old Bailey jury after a trial based on forensic evidence
Scientists found a tiny bloodstain on Gary Dobson’s jacket that could only have come from Stephen Lawrence. They also found a single hair belonging to the teenager on David Norris’s jeans.
Acting Deputy Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, Cressida Dick, who ordered the 2006 cold case review that led to the convictions, acknowledged that police believe there were five people involved in the murder, but there are currently no “live” lines of inquiry.
“If there was an opportunity to bring the other people who were involved in that night to justice, we would do so,” she said.
In a statement read by his lawyer outside the Old Bailey on Tuesday, Stephen Lawrence’s father, Neville Lawrence, said the convictions were a moment of joy and relief – but he could not rest until all of those who killed his son were brought to justice. He described the investigation and preparation of the case as “faultless”.
The father later told Channel 4 News: “I’m praying that these people now realize that they’ve been found out and say to themselves, <<yes I did this awful deed, but I wasn’t alone in that action that night and there are other people also guilty of what I’ve done>> and name them.
“I hope before the sentence is passed, they will talk and give the rest of these people that killed my son up.”
The original failed investigation into the murder led to the Metropolitan Police being branded as institutionally racist.
Stephen Lawrence was 18 when he was stabbed to death near a bus stop in Eltham, south east London, in April 1993.
Police identified five men who were later named in a damning public inquiry as the “prime suspects”.
By that time, there had already been a catalogue of police errors and two failed prosecutions, one brought by Stephen Lawrence’s parents.
In a four-year-long cold case review, a fresh team of forensic scientists uncovered microscopic evidence linking two of the five men to the murder – evidence that the police had held all along.
The material – bloodstains, clothing fibres and a single hair belonging to the teenager – were recovered from the clothes of the suspects which had been seized in 1993.
Scientists recovered the material using advanced techniques which were not available to the original case scientists.
Stephen Lawrence was 18 when he was stabbed to death near a bus stop in Eltham, south east London, in April 1993
Gary Dobson and David Norris denied the murder. They said their clothing had been contaminated as police mixed up evidence over the years. Detectives spent months establishing the movements and handling of the exhibits since 1993 – and the jury were told that contamination was implausible.
Gary Dobson, who was jailed for five years in 2010 for drugs trafficking, is among a small number of men to have been tried twice for the same crime after the Court of Appeal quashed his 1996 acquittal for the murder.
David Norris was convicted in 2002 of a separate allegation of racially threatening behavior.
In mitigation, ahead of sentencing on Wednesday, counsel for Gary Dobson said there was no evidence he had been the leader or prime motivator of the group that attacked the teenager.
David Norris’s counsel repeated his client’s pleas of innocence – and revealed his client had been beaten up while on remand at Belmarsh prison, suffering a broken nose and four broken ribs.
Justice Treacy discharged the jury and thanked them for their “dedicated service”. He told them the public owed them a debt of gratitude.
As the defendants left the dock, Gary Dobson told his family not to worry, and David Norris waved to the gallery. Members of both men’s families shouted back.
Prime Minister David Cameron said: “In the 19 years since his murder, Stephen Lawrence’s family has fought tirelessly for justice.
“[The] verdict cannot ease the pain of losing a son. But, for Doreen and Neville Lawrence, I hope that it brings at least some comfort after their years of struggle.”
Matthew Ryder QC represented the Lawrence family in its civil claim against the police. He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that the Lawrence case was a “Rosa Parks moment” for British society.
“It was a moment when you saw the victims of injustice fighting for justice and the system letting them down and I think for that reason it profoundly changed how we view race and racism within this society,” Matthew Ryder said.
“On the face of it – it was a crude, violent form of racism – which every reasonable person would condemn – but what followed on from that, what’s always been part of the Lawrence case, was the pernicious, systemic forms of racism which caused the investigation to fail.”
Patrick White “continually harassed and chastised a woman for coughing and spreading disease” while they were on the plane last week
Patrick White from Georgia had a serious problem with a woman coughing on his American Airlines flight to Jacksonville International Airport in Florida.
Patrick White spent the plane ride harassing the sick 19-year-old, according to police.
Unsatisfied that he had made his point, as passengers were getting off the plane last week, Patrick White began calling her obscene names and telling her that she had “infected everyone” on the flight.
The man then charged her and body slammed her with his shoulder, knocking her against the wall, a flight attendant said.
Patrick White was arrested on charges of misdemeanor battery.
According to a police report, Patrick White “continually harassed and chastised (the woman) for coughing and <<spreading disease>>” while they were on the plane last week.
Patrick White was apparently so afraid of getting sick that he became enraged during the flight, police said.
As a small irony, after his arrest, Patrick White was taken to county jail.
However, Patrick White might have had a point, of sorts. A new study suggests air travelers have a 20% chance of catching a cold or other bug.
The Centers for Disease Control says travelers are most at risk from catching a virus from fellow passengers within a two seat radius.
Experts say wiping down tray tables and other surfaces with disinfectant wipes can help prevent the spread of diseases on an airplane.
And in many ways, the recirculated air is fresher than the air most people breathe in their office buildings, since it always contains air from the outside and, in modern aircraft, is passed through a filter.
The 2012 Quadrantids meteor shower is expected to peak, according to NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center on Wednesday, January 4, early in the morning.
Although not as famous as the Perseids meteor shower, the Quadrantids shower will nonetheless offer up “excellent meteor observing” from about 3 a.m. to 5 a.m. local time (regardless of the time zone you’re in), according to NASA.
Named after a now-extinct constellation, the shower is expected to produce 60 to 200 meteors per hour, with an average rate of about 100 each hour, according to NASA.
Meteor shower “viewing should be great over most of the country,” Weather Channel meteorologist Mark Ressler told USA Today. Exceptions are potentially cloudy spots in the Pacific Northwest, the Great Lakes and parts of the Northeast.
The Quadrantids shower was first seen in 1825, according to NASA
The Quadrantids shower was first seen in 1825, according to NASA.
“Dynamical studies suggest that this body could very well be a piece of a comet which broke apart several centuries ago, and that the meteors you will see before dawn on Jan. 4 are the small debris from this fragmentation,” said the space agency’s website.
“After hundreds of years orbiting the sun, they will enter our atmosphere at 90,000 mph, burning up 50 miles above Earth’s surface – a fiery end to a long journey!”
Only the Northern Hemisphere will be able to see the Quadrantids meteor show, NASA says.
A YouTube video presents 100 years of world events from 1911 to 2011 into a 10-minute clip using authentic footage.
The video clip, uploaded by YouTube user derDon1234 charts some of our greatest achievements, but also some terrible acts.
The footage begins with Roald Amundsen reaching the South Pole in 1911 and then takes in the sinking of the Titanic in 1912, World War I, the erection of the Empire State Building in 1931, Hitler’s inauguration in 1933, World War II with Pearl Harbor and the atomic bomb attack on Japan in 1945 through to the Vietnam War, the election of Pope John Paul II in 1978, the Berlin Wall coming down, the last French atomic bomb test in 1996, the Mars Rover landing in 1997, the Twin Towers attack in 2001 and this year’s dreadful tsunami in Japan.
A YouTube video presents 100 years of world events from 1911 to 2011 into a 10-minute clip using authentic footage
A few events are noticeably absent, such as: the discovery of insulin, England’s 1966 World Cup win, Steve Jobs’ death and the formation of The Beatles.
