Britain’s used car market is more than four times larger than the new car market – almost 9 million people every year purchase a second-hand car. What Car? with the assistance of other used car industry experts, has picked the best used cars for sale in 2013.Vauxhall received several individual car awards and the brand also won the title of Best Used Car Manufacturer of the Year, thanks to its long-running Network Q used car scheme. Steve Huntingford, What Car?’s road test editor and head judge, said:
“Although Network Q is one of the oldest approved used schemes, there are more than 350 outlets and it has a good online offering, a great choice of stock, all cars come with a comprehensive Network Q check, and an unbeatable insurance package. Network Q makes buying a used car very easy.”
Volkswagen Golf 1.4 TSI SE 5dr was named Used Car of the Year 2013. You can find this car at a dealer price of approx £8,700 and a private price of around £8,300. What Car? praised the Golf’s impressive cabin quality and refinement, comfort, running costs and impressive safety credentials. The Golf’s win corresponds with data taken from the AA’s website, which shows that twice as many people viewed a Volkswagen Golf than any other used car in the last 12 months and one in 26 views of cars on their website were of a Golf model.
“The Golf is the true ‘car of the people’ as it is practical, economical, sporty, safe, desirable, reliable and fun. Twice as many people viewed VW Golfs on AA Cars in the last year than any other car.”, Edmund King, AA president for The Telegraph
“What clearly sets the Golf apart from other small family cars is its cabin.”
Other awards won were:
Best used small car 2013: Vauxhall Corsa 1.2 Design AC 5dr
Age/reg: 07/07
Dealer price/private price: £4,100/£3,600
Best used family car 2013: Volkswagen Golf 1.4 TSI SE 5dr
Age/reg: 10/10
Dealer price/private price: £8,700/£8,300
Best used estate car 2013: Mazda 6 Estate 2.2D 163 TS2
Age/reg: 09/09
Dealer price/private price: £11,400/£10,700
Best used MPV 2013: Ford S-Max 2.0 TDCi Zetec
Age/reg: 09/09
Dealer price/private price: £10,900/£10,000
Best used SUV 2013: Nissan Qashqai 1.5 dCi Acenta
Age/reg: 07/07
Dealer price/private price: £7,800/£7,200
Best used executive and luxury car 2013: BMW 320d SE
Age/reg: 07/57
Dealer price/private price: £9,000/£8,600
Best used fun car 2013: Renaultsport Clio 200 Cup
Age/reg: 09/09
Dealer price/private price: £7,500/£7,200
Best nearly new car 2013: Vauxhall Astra 1.6 Exclusiv
Age/reg: 12/12
Dealer price/private price: £9,100/£8,700
A History of Car Manufacturers
Car manufacturers jumped into car production in the late 1800’s with the pioneers of the industry being Benz, Peugeot and Daimler followed by Fiat, Opel and Renault. MoneySuperMarket created a a visually appealing and easy to follow info graphic called A History of Car Manufacturers that shows the way the car manufacturing industry evolved and changed over time. It’s interesting to know how the auto industry got from one manufacturer in 1886 to 42 parents and 90 brands over a period of 125 years. Be sure to let us know if you’re one of the 99% of Britons that saved on the cost of their car insurance when they used MoneySuperMarket.
Kris Jenner posted a brief video of Kardashian family meeting with a number of topics on Keek.
The footage featured children Kim, Khloe, Kourtney, Kendall, Kylie, Rob and stepson Brody Jenner sitting around on her couch.
Unfortunately for the Kris Jenner, her offspring didn’t seem quite as concerned to talk as she was, and ignored her pleas to pay attention in the footage posted on Friday night entitled, “Family meeting”.
“This is what a family meeting looks like at my house, ladies and gentlemen,” said Kris Jenner, as she panned the camera around the room, revealing Kim, Khloe, Kylie, Kendall, Kourtney, Rob and stepson, Brody Jenner.
“And there we go, family meeting. Nobody is paying attention to me, nothing ever changes. Thank you, I have no control,” said the momager in her voice-over.
To prove her point, someone in the entourage shouted: “Turn it off!”
Kris Jenner posted a brief video of Kardashian family meeting
It is unclear what the famous family were discussing or if indeed troubled Lamar Odom even came up in conversation.
They seemed more keen to chat between themselves, as new-mum Kim Kardashian laughed with step-brother Brody Jenner.
Youngest daughters Kylie and Kendall Jenner talked with Rob Kardashian, and Kourtney seemed more interested in touching up their lipstick than listening to her mother’s lecture which was seemingly being filmed for the family reality show.
After devastated by cheating allegations and drug abuse regarding Lamar Odom, Khloe Kardashian, 29, is reportedly still reluctant to pull the trigger and admit that their relationship is over.
But Kris Jenner allegedly has other ideas, and recently took Khloe Kardashian to see a divorce lawyer.
“At Kris’ insistence, Khloe did meet with a divorce lawyer… it was something she was forced into doing by her mom,” a source toldRadarOnline.com.
“Kris was very heavy-handed and said Khloe had a responsibility to her sisters, Kim and Kourtney, and the Kardashian brand to distance herself from Lamar,” the website reported.
Later on Friday night, Kris Jenner put her family troubles behind her and attended the William Morris Endeavor pre-Emmy party in Los Angeles.
“WME party with the Fabulous @MarkBurnettTV #brainstorming,” Kris Jenner tweeted.
Posing with Survivor and Amazing Race creator Mark Burnett, Kris Jenner sparked rumors that she may soon be venturing into reality TV.
Details about Ariel Castro’s suicide have revealed that he hanged himself in his prison cell and left notes with Bible verses and the names of his children and grandchildren written beside him.
A Bible open to the book of John was also found when prison guards discovered the Cleveland kidnapper’s lifeless body hanging from a hinge from his cell window using a bedsheet.
Franklin County Coroner Jan Gorniak said she’s awaiting toxicology results before issuing a final report on Ariel Castro’s September 3 suicide. The preliminary notes indicate he suffered from hardening of the arteries.
Ariel Castro, 53, was found at 9.20 p.m. the night of the suicide, about 30 minutes after he was last seen alive, according to the notes. He was pronounced dead at a hospital an hour and a half later.
The significance of why Ariel Castro had the Book of John open at the time of his death is unknown, but some of the more prominent stories told in that section of the Bible include descriptions of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus.
Ariel Castro hanged himself in his prison cell and left notes with Bible verses and the names of his children and grandchildren written beside him
Ariel Castro pleaded guilty last month to nearly 1,000 counts related to his imprisonment of three women in his Cleveland home for a decade, including aggravated murder – for forcing one of the victims to miscarry – kidnapping, rape and other crimes.
He kidnapped Michelle Knight, Gina DeJesus and Amanda Berry between 2002 and 2004 when they were 20, 14, and 16 years old.
Ariel Castro housed them in brutal conditions, restricting access to food and toilet facilities, chaining them and beating them repeatedly. He fathered a girl with Amanda Berry.
He was four weeks into a sentence of life without parole plus 1,000 years when he killed himself. His body was released to his son in Columbus.
Ariel Castro’s suicide is the subject of three prison reviews. Two, looking at the circumstances of his death and at mental and medical health treatment he received beforehand, are due at month’s end.
The study, due November 15, will also examine prison suicides over the past two years and make recommendations for any changes to the state’s policies and procedures for stopping inmates from killing themselves.
A time capsule buried by Steve Jobs twenty years ago has been discovered after its location was long forgotten.
In 1983, Steve Jobs was attending a conference in Aspen when he and the group decided to bury as a stunt during a design convention.
The tube that was filled with an eclectic collection of goods- ranging from the then-new apple mouse to a six-pack of beer for the people who discovered the time capsule- was meant to be dug up twenty years later.
There was a problem with that plan, however, as everyone involved forgot where it was buried.
The time capsule buried by Steve Jobs 20 years ago has been discovered after its location was long forgotten
The final discovery happened at the hands of the crew from the National Geographic Channel’s reality show called Diggers.
The discovery was well documented and is surely going to be featured on an upcoming episode, and even the experts had problems finding this particular treasure.
CNET reports that in spite of their preparations and clear idea of where the 13-foot-long tube was, it still took them two hours to dig it up using heavy machinery.
To anyone removed from the tech industry, the accomplishment in finding the tube appears to be the biggest accomplishment.
To others, the most interesting object would likely be the “Lisa” mouse placed in the tube by the hands of a then-28-year-old Steve Jobs.
The Lisa Mouse, which Steve Jobs named after his daughter, was one of the first commercial computer mice soled publicly, making it a rarity at the time.
Though stylistically it has changed over the past three decades, the internal components of the mouse have remained largely the same.
The Aspen Historical Society is going to help the show creators catalogue the tube’s contents- but no word yet whether or not the Diggers cracked open one of the six bottles of Boddington’s Ale that was left inside for the people who found the tube.
George Soros is set to marry for the third time to Tamiko Bolton, a 42-year-old health care consultant, on Saturday at his estate near New York City.
It comes as little surprise that the occasion will be marked with a bit of fanfare as the three-day celebration began on Friday with a dinner followed by a reception at the Museum of Modern Art with a special preview of the new Rene Magritte exhibit.
The formal exchange of vows will come on Saturday at George Soros’ estate in Bedford, less than an hour away from the city.
The estate itself has its own grandiose history as George Soros, 83, bought it a decade ago from Michael Crichton, the author of Jurassic Park.
The non-denominational ceremony will be attended only by family members, including billionaire George Soros’ five children from his two previous marriages.
The wedding ceremony will be followed by a reception on Saturday evening with more than 500 guests at an arts center in nearby Katonah.
Chef Bo Bech of the Geist Restaurant in Copenhagen will prepare the food. George Soros and Tamiko Bolton first dined at Geist when visiting Copenhagen in 2009.
The reception on Saturday night will feature Hungarian composer and conductor Iván Fischer, a family friend, who created a new arrangement for the occasion, which will be presented with the Budapest Festival Orchestra. Cape Verdean singer Mayra Andrade will perform with the Harris Lane Orchestra. Andrade and Roma ensemble Via Romen will perform at a Sunday brunch.
Guests at the various events include World Bank President Jim Yong Kim and some foreign leaders, including Hendrik Toomas Ilves, president of Estonia; Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, president of Liberia; and Edi Rama, prime minister of Albania.
George Soros is set to marry for the third time to Tamiko Bolton
Also expected to attend are fellow titans of the hedge fund world, Paul Tudor Jones and Julian Robertson. From the political realm those invited include Minority Leader of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi of California and Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom of California, both Democrats.
George Soros, who established one of the first hedge funds in 1969 and is probably best known for his big bet against the British pound in 1992, met Tamiko Bolton at a dinner party in 2008.
Their engagement was announced in August 2012.
Tamiko Bolton, who was raised in California, is the daughter of a nurse and a retired naval officer. She graduated from the University of Utah and holds an MBA from the University of Miami. Bolton has been a consultant and entrepreneur working in the fields of health and education.
The bride’s dress has been designed by U.S.-based, Lebanon-born designer Reem Acra, whose gowns have shown up on the red carpet on many stars, including Angelina Jolie and Jennifer Lopez.
For George Soros, who has a net worth of $20 billion according to Forbes, this will be his third marriage. It will be the second for Tamiko Bolton.
When asked if there is a prenuptial agreement, the source familiar with the wedding arrangements said that George Soros’s lawyer, William D. Zabel, reiterated his comments from last year that “Soros will leave the bulk of his estate to charity but he intends to provide generously for his wife”.
In 2011, George Soros, who is an active contributor to politically liberal causes and frequently speaks on world economic events, converted his hedge fund into a family office and stopped managing money for outside investors.
In the past three decades, Hungarian-born George Soros has given away more than $7 billion to promote democracy, foster free speech, improve education and fight poverty around the world, according to his foundation’s website on www.opensocietyfoundations.org.
George Soros was divorced from Annaliese Witschak in 1983 and Susan Weber Soros in 2005.
In lieu of gifts, the couple asked that donations be made to charities including Global Witness, Harlem’s Children Zone, National Dance Institute, Planned Parenthood and the Roma Education Fund.
At least 22 people are reported to be dead and more than 50 injured as a gun battle continues between police and armed men at Westgate shopping centre in the Kenyan capital Nairobi.
Dozens of shoppers fled; many are still feared trapped inside.
A senior police officer originally said it was an attempted robbery but later called it a possible terrorist attack.
The Somali militant group al-Shabab had threatened to strike the centre.
It is opposed to Kenya sending troops to fight in Somalia. No group has said it carried out Saturday’s attack.
Officers have now surrounded the building in an attempt to evacuate remaining shoppers. A military helicopter has landed nearby.
Police told AFP news agency that gunmen had taken at least seven people hostage. Eyewitnesses have also said there are hostages, but there is no official confirmation.
Dozens of people are reported to have been injured.
Eyewitnesses say masked attackers threw grenades into the building at about midday local time.
Nairobi police chief Benson Kibue initially said the gunmen had been trying to rob a shop, but later called it “a terrorist attack”.
At least 22 people are reported to be dead and more than 50 injured as a gun battle continues between police and armed men at Westgate shopping centre in the Kenyan capital Nairobi
At about 18:30, more than six hours after the attack began, the Kenyan Secretary for the Interior Joseph ole Lenku said the security situation was “under control”.
He urged the public “not to speculate” about the nature of the attack, and said most people had been evacuated.
There are reports one of the gunmen has been shot dead.
Some of the attackers were reportedly dressed in hijabs, and it is unclear whether they were men or women, our correspondent says.
One man who escaped had been hiding in a supermarket but told our correspondent his friends were still trapped inside the building.
Witnesses told news agencies the gunmen ordered Muslims to leave and that non-Muslims would be targeted.
The Kenyan authorities have asked media outlets to stop broadcasting from the scene, as the information may be aiding the attackers.
Security guards used shopping trolleys to wheel out several wounded children and at least one man, AP reports.
“The gunmen tried to fire at my head but missed. There are definitely many casualties,” Sudjar Singh, who works at the shopping centre, told AFP.
“I saw three of the attackers dressed in black and with covered faces and they were carrying heavy rifles,” said another witness.
AFP quoted witnesses as saying the gunmen were speaking Arabic or Somali and executed shoppers.
Armed police took cover behind vehicles outside.
“We have officers at the scene trying to get out the group shooting inside,” a police official told AFP news agency.
“Officers are approaching the situation with caution because there are innocent civilians inside,” he said.
The Westgate centre is often frequented by wealthy Kenyans and expatriates.
Police have urged residents to stay away from the area and told media outlets to stop live transmissions from the scene.
Miss Kay Robertson’s tea is a smash hit on A&E’s hit show Duck Dynasty.
It seems every scene in the show someone is enjoying a tall fresh glass of this famous sweet tea.
Here is a traditional sweet tea recipe from the South, where the Duck Dynasty clan lives
Miss Kay Robertson’s tea is a smash hit on A&E’s hit show Duck Dynasty
How to make sweet tea like on Duck Dynasty
Simply boil the tea bags in water over the stove to extract the tea’s flavors. Once boiled and still warm you add granulated sugar and cold water to taste. This explains how Miss Kay Robertson can have an abundance of this enticing sweet tea at all times.
This recipe is extremely popular in the Southern states, brewed up for generations to cool off during a hot summer’s day.
Miss Kay’s tea recipe is no doubt a classic, a little piece of history passed through the ages, making it such a huge hit in the Robertson family. While this iced tea recipe may be a classic, it can be healthy.
A healthy alternative to granulated sugar is some organic honey or xylitol. Remember to slice some citrus fruits to add to the pitcher of sweet tea as well, this will enhance the effect of tea’s natural antioxidant properties.
So you may not be able to have Miss Kay’s exact secret tea recipe, but you can make your own iced tea with the same down home feel.
You can also infuse your iced tea with mint, fruit, your favorite herbs or even spike your pitcher with gin or vodka for that summer party drink.
Beatles collaborator Jackie Lomax has died at the age of 69.
A statement on the singer-songwriter’s website said he died after a short illness on September 15, in the Wirral, Merseyside, UK.
Signed to The Beatles record label Apple, Jackie Lomax recorded with George Harrison and Eric Clapton.
“For Jackie it was always about the music and he had only recently put the finishing touches to his next album, Against All Odds,” his website said.
“Jackie deeply appreciated the fans who followed him throughout his 50-year career and his family and friends would like to thank each and every one of you for your support and loyalty,” it said.
JackieLomax started his music career in Liverpool as part of the Merseybeat scene and played in a number of bands
JackieLomax started his music career in Liverpool as part of the Merseybeat scene and played in a number of bands including The Undertakers.
He knew The Beatles from performing at the Cavern Club and was the first act to sign to the Apple label.
Tony Bramwell, the former publicist for Apple Records, said John Lennon persuaded Jackie Lomax to sign with them.
“He was a great rocker, a solid out-and-out rock and roller,” he said.
George Harrison took responsibility for his recording career and wrote and produced his debut single.
Jackie Lomax recorded with Harrison, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and Eric Clapton but his solo career did not bring the hoped-for hits.
He also sang on The Beatles’ songs Dear Prudence and Hey Jude.
His 50-year music career included touring with The Drifters and Tom Petty.
Jackie Lomax’s funeral will be followed by a remembrance ceremony gig in Liverpool at a later date.
BlackBerry has decided to cut 4,500 jobs, or 40% of its worldwide workforce, in an attempt to staunch huge losses.
The smartphone maker said it anticipated a loss of as much as $995 million when it reports its second-quarter earnings next week.
BlackBerry shares closed down 17% after briefly being halted following the announcement.
In August, the Canadian company said it was evaluating a possible sale.
In a statement on Friday, BlackBerry’s chief executive Thorstein Heins said: “We are implementing the difficult, but necessary operational changes announced today to address our position in a maturing and more competitive industry, and to drive the company toward profitability.”
“Going forward, we plan to refocus our offering on our end-to-end solution of hardware, software and services for enterprises and the productive, professional end user.”
BlackBerry has decided to cut 4,500 jobs in an attempt to staunch huge losses
BlackBerry said the losses were primarily attributable to disappointing sales of its new Z10 model smartphone.
Released in January to much fanfare after many delays, the phone has failed to enthuse consumers.
In June, Thorstein Heins said that the company had shipped only 2.7 million Z10 phones out of 6.8 million total. Many BlackBerry users had instead opted to stick with earlier models.
Over the summer, word trickled out the company had hired a series of advisors to help it explore options.
In August, board member Timothy Dattels was appointed to a committee that would consider different business models, including a potential sale.
“We believe that now is the right time to explore strategic alternatives,” said Timothy Dattels at the time.
Analysts have long indicated that BlackBerry’s trove of patents could be attractive to potential buyers, but none of the large technology companies have publicly indicated interest.
This week, BlackBerry released a new version of its handset, the Z30, which was praised by observers but was nonetheless overshadowed by Apple’s launch of its new smartphone products.
Germany’s rival parties, CDU and SDP, are in their final day of campaigning ahead of Sunday’s parliamentary elections.
Polls suggest Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) will win the biggest share of the vote.
But her current coalition partners, the Free Democrats, may not pass the 5% threshold for winning seats in parliament.
If so, Angela Merkel may have to consider a coalition with her main rival Peer Steinbrueck’s Social Democrats (SDP).
Angela Merkel is holding a large rally in Stralsund and Peer Steinbrueck is due to appear at an event in Frankfurt.
Addressing a CDU rally in Hanover on Friday, Angela Merkel asked for votes to continue with her government’s policies into 2017.
“Please vote for the CDU on Sunday, so that we can continue our solid policy for you, for your children, for your families and friends,” she said.
“So that in four years we are able to say that people in 2017 are doing better than they did in 2013; more people have jobs; the euro is more stable, Europe is more stable and we have less debt. This is my goal, ladies and gentlemen, and therefore I ask you for your support.”
Peer Steinbrueck – whose opposition SDP party is trying to deny Angela Merkel a third term – rallied his supporters in the town of Kassel. Peer Steinbrueck has sharpened his attacks on his rival, accusing her of skirting the country’s big challenges.
He touched on the crisis in Syria, saying he did not want German involvement in any military action. But he said peacekeeping could not be ruled out.
“Germany will have to, within its alliances and under the conditions of a mandate, take part in peacekeeping and peace securing measures,” Peer Steinbrueck said.
The Green Party – who may play some part in an eventual governing coalition – held a rally in Berlin. The party’s parliamentary co-chair, Juergen Trittin, criticized Angela Merkel’s government.
“Two parties went into the election campaign saying: <<We will not increase taxes>>. Then they started their term with a 3% VAT increase. Then they ended it with the car trade-in rebate scheme that was environmental, industrial and transport policy madness,” he said.
Germany’s rival parties, CDU and SDP, are in their final day of campaigning ahead of Sunday’s parliamentary elections
Angela Merkel’s current coalition partners, the Free Democrats, rallied for votes in Stuttgart.
The Free Democrats (FDP), whose best-known member is Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle, has seen its fortunes decline sharply since the last election in 2009, when it won nearly 15% of the vote.
Analysts say the party, traditionally more liberal than the CDU/CSU, has struggled to stand out from its more powerful coalition partner on economic policy.
If the Free Democrats (FDP) do badly, as expected, the Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU) may find themselves looking to other small parties to form a broader, more fragile coalition.
According to an average of opinion polls tweeted by the London-based @electionista monitoring site, the CDU/CSU will get 38.6% of the vote to 25.8% for the SPD and 6.4% for the FDP.
Some analysts also see the possibility of a government led by Angela Merkel which includes the Social Democrats, whose leader served as finance minister under Merkel in a previous grand coalition.
Under another scenario, a new party largely formed from disaffected CDU members could get enough votes to be regarded as a different coalition partner. Alternative fuer Deutschland (AfD), as it is known, is avowedly anti-euro and could prove a difficult partner.
In a letter sent to five million households, Angela Merkel, in power since 2005, promised voters they would be in safe hands if she stayed on as chancellor.
“We have achieved a lot together,” she wrote.
“I also want the next four years to be good.”
On Berlin’s famous Alexanderplatz Square on Thursday evening, Peer Steinbrueck likened Angela Merkel to a timid driver steering the country around in circles.
“She likes to drive around roundabouts,” he said.
“That way you don’t hit anything… You drive without accidents.
“But the moment you set a direction, the moment you don’t just administer this country but also decide its political direction, you also cause offence, you provoke. At least with me you know what you get, in contrast to the last four years.”
Dismissing opinion polls, Peer Steinbrueck said: “It’s not the pollsters, nor the wishful thinking of politicians… but you voters who decide.”
The election is one of the most important in years because of Germany’s dominant role in the eurozone.
With the biggest population of any EU state, Germany enjoys a GDP that far outstrips the economies of its partners and is crucial to decisions on tackling the eurozone’s debt crisis.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel is an unusually private and reticent politician – there is no exhibitionism and grandstanding.
Even for Germans, Angela Merkel is a hard woman to know.
Angela Dorothea Kasner was born on July 17, 1954, in Hamburg, West Germany. Her father Horst Kasner, a Lutheran pastor, moved the family to Templin, East Germany, in 1954 when Angela was just a few weeks old.
As a politician, Angela Merkel has never been overbearing when it comes to her religious views, but it’s clear that her father’s position in the church had a deep influence on her – creating a powerful moral compass.
Her childhood was also shaped by the Cold War – Angela Merkel’s Socialist father held politically charged gatherings at his seminary and as she grew up, vigorous debates rang around the dinner table. The young Angela had to learn to keep her cards close to her chest for fear of drawing the attention of the Stasi, the secret police.
Being unable to openly express your opinion in East Germany affected people in different ways.
An old school friend of Angela Merkel’s, Hartmut Hohensee, compared it to lapsing into “a sort of paralysis, just hoping winter will pass and the flowers will begin to grow eventually”.
Angela Merkel’s political flowers would begin to grow – but not until 1989, after the Berlin Wall was toppled.
The fall of the Wall produced a maelstrom in German politics. Cafe conversations became street protests; movements became political parties; individuals tried to take control of their country for the first time. It was this world that Angela Merkel decided to enter, aged 35.
Angela Merkel, who has a doctorate in quantum chemistry, stood out from the rest in that political world.
“She didn’t seem to care about her outward appearance at all,” says Lothar de Maiziere, who went on to be East Germany’s last prime minister.
“She looked like a typical GDR scientist, wearing a baggy skirt and Jesus sandals and a cropped haircut.”
German Chancellor Angela Merkel is an unusually private and reticent politician
To the surprise of many, the East German woman brought up under Communism joined the overwhelmingly male and patriarchal Christian Democrats. In late 1990 Angela Merkel became a member of the Bundestag for the CDU, the largest party in West Germany, and began her rise to the top.
Germany’s Chancellor Helmut Kohl wanted someone female, quiet and a former East German for his first post-reunification cabinet. Lothar de Maiziere recommended Angela Merkel. Beginning as minister for women, she moved slowly up the ranks, becoming minister of the environment.
But in 1999 the quiet girl from Templin stunned everyone. It emerged that Helmut Kohl, who used to call her his “Maedchen” or little girl, had been putting donations into a secret slush fund which he’d used to reward his friends.
Nobody seemed prepared to confront Helmut Kohl but Angela Merkel refused to follow the pack. In a front-page piece in a leading conservative newspaper, she denounced her former mentor and called upon him to resign. It was a stunning act of political patricide and set Angela Merkel on a trajectory towards the top of German politics.
“One of the things people doesn’t always understand about her is she’s… actually a ruthless political operator,” says Jonathan Powell, who got to know her when he was chief of staff to the UK prime minister.
“The way she dealt with all of her rivals in the CDU was extraordinarily Machiavellian from that point of view. She would get rid of them in a switch of an eyebrow.”
Angela Merkel became chair of the CDU in 2000 and Germany’s first woman chancellor five years later.
The defining moment of Angela Merkel’s eight years as leader so far came with the eurozone financial crisis. Greece revealed an enormous – and unmanageable – public debt. And it soon emerged that other countries were in similar dire straits. But as Europe waited to see if Germany would agree to bail out the struggling members of the eurozone or force them to sort out their own problems, Angela Merkel was criticized for reacting too slowly.
Caution and consensus, however, have always been hallmarks of the Merkel machine.
“You can only manage such a crisis if you take a lot of people along the way,” says Ursula von der Leyen, who has worked in every one of Angela Merkel’s cabinets since 2005.
“Angela Merkel always knew where she wanted to end up, but she took time to find a way which everybody could go along with.”
Quite a lot about her story seems to echo Margaret Thatcher’s. Angela Merkel comes from the edges – East Germany, rather than Lincolnshire – and was brought up by an abnormally self-certain and pious father. Something of a loner, she became quite a serious scientist before choosing politics.
Inside her party, Angela Merkel was picked up as a useful female talent by a somewhat patronizing mentor – Kohl, rather than Edward Heath – and surprised everybody by her ruthlessness in ousting him, and eventually taking power herself. Like Margaret Thatcher, Angela Merkel is a ferociously hard worker, excellent on the detail and a wily political operator.
Yet the differences matter much more than the similarities. Coming from her East German background Angela Merkel believes in social solidarity and working with trade unions; in a coalition-based political system, she is a mistress of consensus and, when it suits her, delay.
Angela Merkel has mattered much more to us and the full European story than perhaps we’ve realized.
The results from the imminent German elections can’t be guaranteed but if Angela Merkel is successful, as many have predicted, she’ll have another chance to secure her legacy.
According to a new report from RadarOnline, Kim Kardashian is so obsessed with the fashion praise Sarah Jessica Parker gets that she’s hired the star’s publicist.
If that goes well, Kim Kardashian may even look into adding more members of Sarah Jessica Parker’s esteemed team such as her stylist, hairdresser and makeup artist.
“Kim wants to be seen as sophisticated, as high-end and fashion, not the girl who made a s** tape and is famous for being famous,” a publicist told NaughtyButNiceRob.com.
“Kim is trying to buy her reinvention by employing SJP’s team,” the source explained.
Kim Kardashian, 32, has been working hard to get onto the cover of Vogue, according to several sources, and looking like Sarah Jessica Parker may be her ticket.
The reality star has recently been using Jennifer Lopez’s styling team Rob Zangardi and Mariel Haenn.
Kim Kardashian is so obsessed with the fashion praise Sarah Jessica Parker gets that she’s hired the star’s publicist
“Sarah thinks the whole thing is flattering but a little creepy,” an insider tells Radar.
“If Kim wants to be Sarah, her advice would be to go to acting classes. Learn a craft and become admired for the work you do, not just the way you look.”
In 2011 Kim Kardashian said she works so hard to stay on top of her career because nothing was handed to her.
“I would absolutely characterize myself as ambitious,” Kim Kardashian said.
Her lawyer father, Robert Kardashian, gave her a work ethic.
“I put myself on a budget. My parents raised us saying that at 18, we’d be cut off. We had tennis lessons twice a week and we would complain about it.
“If we wanted this lifestyle, we had to work extra hard to get it. All of our friends had credit cards and cell phones, but that wasn’t even a possibility.”
For the past few months Kim Kardashian has been busy taking care of her baby girl North who she had with rapper Kanye West.
Kim Kardashian’s public appearances have been few and when she’s gone out, she has been dressed down in very casual clothes that hide her figure.
Drake was in a candid, if slightly embarrassed, mood on Friday’s episode ofThe Ellen DeGeneres Show as the comedienne asked him a series of questions about his love life.
Ellen DeGeneres, 55, appeared to surprise Drake, 26, as she explained to him her method of questioning: “I’m going to show you some pictures and you can say, dated her, dating her now, I’ve kissed her once… you just held her hand.”
The host then pulled onto the screen an image of Rihanna: “The first one is..That’s Rihanna.”
Drake was clearly taken by surprise as he blurted out: “Oh, it’s my turn now to talk…Yeah great girl. We had our moment. [I will] always support and have love for her and yeah.”
Ellen DeGeneres resumed the interrogation pulling up a picture of high velocity rapper Nicki Minaj.
Drake responded, a little more at ease: “Me and Nicki are like family. I just love Nicki with all my heart. We’ve haven’t really shared like intimate moments.”
Ellen DeGeneres quickly moved on: “Not an intimate moment. Okay, here is the next one: Tyra Banks.”
Drake curtly responded: “I went on a date.”
Drake was in a candid mood on Ellen DeGeneres Show as the comedienne asked him a series of questions about his love life
Ellen’s interest clearly piqued dug further: “Did you date her?”
Drake reticently explained: “I went on a date with her one time, yeah.
“Just one date. We went to Disney Land in disguise actually, which was fun. I don’t know if it was a date. It was a get together. We’re close as well.”
The rapper then added with obvious chagrin: “This is really bad. How did you not tell me about this!”
Ellen DeGeneres moved the conversation forward: “Kim Kardashian, did you ever date her?”
At this point Drake could not disguise his true feelings as he exclaimed: “Oh no, no. Come on! What’s going on here?”
Drake’s visceral and animated response to the question got the studio audience roaring with laughter as he clearly did not welcome the idea of dating the reality star.
But Ellen had one more girl from the past to interrogate him on: “All right, let’s do one more. Kat Dennings. Did you date Kat.”
Drake, having cooled after Kim Kardashian scare, replied: “I just always had a huge crush on Kat Dennings and she was kind enough one night to oblige me and we went out for dinner. They don’t call me back after one date according to this.”
When asked if he were dating anyone at the moment, Drake said: “I’m not. I’m single. I’m ready to mingle. The album’s done. I got free time. But not really, I’m going on tour, but I have a couple months after that.”
Meanwhile, Drake recently split a $20,000 donation to Anna Angel, a 30-year-old Ohio woman who lost her five children and boyfriend in a tragic mobile home fire, for her funeral expenses.
Drake’s latest album Nothing Was the Same is set to be released on September 24.
Miley Cyrus has been getting close to her record producer Mike WiLL Made It.
It was announced just this week that Miley Cyrus’ wedding to Australian actor Liam Hemsworth has officially been called off following months of speculation.
While Liam Hemsworth, 23, was quick to move on to stunning Mexican actress and singer Eiza González, also 23, it appears Miley Cyrus may have also moved on swiftly to greener pastures.
Star magazine was the first to report the possible hook-up last week – before Miley Cyrus’ broken engagement was publicly confirmed.
Miley Cyrus has been getting close to her record producer Mike WiLL Made It
Now, multiple publications are circulating suggestive photos from a recent shoot with famed photographer Terry Richardsonthat certainly add weight to the rumor.
In the shots, Miley Cyrus is draped all over Mike WiLL Made It, clad only in white knickers and a cropped white singlet top.
The producer holds Miley Cyrus around her bare waist as she pokes her tongue out at him in a rather explicit manner.
Miley Cyrus has her hand in Mike’s pocket in one of the images, though fortunately he is dressed more appropriately in black track pants, a white T-shirt, oversized blue hoodie and backwards cap.
Mike WiLL Made It is currently producing Miley Cyrus’ upcoming album, Bangerz, while the star also appears on his new single, 23, alongside Wiz Khalifa and Juicy J.
Whether their professional relationship has escalated to something romantic or not, fans will likely just be glad that Miley Cyrus seemingly has a good friend to turn to following her break-up with Liam Hemsworth.
Venezuela has taken over Manpa toilet paper factory to avoid any shortage of the product.
The National Guard has taken control of the plant, and officers will monitor production and distribution.
Earlier this year officials ordered millions of toilet rolls to be imported to counter a chronic shortage.
Venezuela has taken over Manpa toilet paper factory to avoid any shortage
Last week President Nicolas Maduro created a special committee to tackle the problem, which the government blames on unscrupulous traders.
The government ordered the temporary occupation of the Manpa plant in the northern state of Aragua, state-run Radio AVN reported.
In a tweet on Thursday, Venezuela’s Vice President, Jorge Arreaza, said authorities would “not permit hoarding of essential commodities, or any faults in the production and distribution process.”
The Minister of Trade, Alexander Fleming, said the factory occupation complied with Venezuelan law.
Villages have been evacuated, ferries suspended and flights cancelled in Philippines and Taiwan as Typhoon Usagi goes through the Luzon Strait which divides them.
Meteorologists say the storm is the most powerful this year and will bring a cumulative rainfall of 39in as it heads towards China.
The authorities there have announced a red alert ahead of the expected arrival of the storm on Monday.
The US Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Centre said on Friday that Usagi was packing sustained winds of 150 mph, with gusts of up to 185 mph, making it the equivalent of a strong category four Atlantic hurricane.
Taiwan is reported to have deployed more than 1,600 soldiers in “high risk” areas prone to flooding and landslides while placing 24,000 others on standby.
Authorities in the Philippines are reported to have evacuated nearly 250 people in the northern agricultural province of Tarlac, while ferries are restricted to their ports.
There are particular concerns about the impact of the storm on the Batanes islands in the north of the Philippines, with warnings that large trees could be uprooted, plantations flattened and power and communications severely disrupted by flash flooding, landslides and storm surges.
The emergency services have been put on heightened alert, with the Red Cross stockpiling first aid kits and food packs in some areas.
Villages have been evacuated, ferries suspended and flights cancelled in Philippines and Taiwan as Typhoon Usagi goes through the Luzon Strait which divides them
“Damage to affected communities can be very heavy,” the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration said.
“The situation is potentially very destructive to communities. All travel and outdoor activities should be cancelled.”
The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said Usagi would cause intense rainfall of 0.4in – 0.7in per hour within a 435 miles range.
Emergency and health personnel in some provinces have also been placed on standby, the Council said.
Meanwhile, Taiwan’s Central Weather Bureau issued a land warning on Friday morning, and forecast heavy rainfall for northern and eastern Taiwan.
Usagi was projected to make landfall in southern China on Sunday with its outer edges expected to hit the coast of Guangdong and Hong Kong.
The storm is forecast to weaken by Sunday with maximum sustained winds of 98 mph.
China’s State Oceanic Administration has issued a class I emergency response for the typhoon, its highest maritime disaster response level, state media report.
China’s National Meteorological Centre has also issued a yellow alert in its weather warning system.
In August, at least two people died and thousands lost their homes after Typhoon Utor hit the northern Philippines.
Typhoons are common during the summer in parts of East Asia, where the warm moist air and low pressure conditions enable tropical cyclones to form.
North Korea has decided to indefinitely postpone scheduled reunions of families separated by the Korean War, a government statement has said.
The statement did not provide details other than accusing unidentified conservatives in South Korea of “hostility” towards Pyongyang.
North Korea regularly makes such claims about the South.
The postponement is an apparent setback after weeks of gradually improving ties between the two countries.
The South Korean government has not yet responded to the announcement.
Relations reached a low point earlier this year when the North cut a military hotline to the South in March. That followed its third nuclear test in February, which triggered international sanctions.
The two Koreas were due to hold six days of family reunions from 25-30 September for people separated by the 1950-53 Korean War, following which millions of people were separated from their families by the dividing of the peninsula.
North Korea has decided to indefinitely postpone scheduled reunions of families separated by the Korean War
But the North’s Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea was quoted as saying: “We postpone the impending reunions of separated families until a normal atmosphere is created for talks and negotiations to be able to move forward.”
“As long as the South’s conservatives deal [with] inter-Korean relations [with] hostility and abuse… such a basic humanitarian issue as family reunions cannot be resolved.”
Correspondents say the reunions would have been a highly symbolic event and would have been the first in three years for families separated by the war.
The reunion programme was suspended after the North’s shelling of a South Korean border island in November 2010.
It is estimated that there are about 72,000 South Koreans – nearly half of them aged over 80 – on the waiting list for a chance to join the family reunion events.
But only a few hundred participants are selected each time. Most do not know whether their relatives are still alive, because the two countries prevent their citizens from exchanging mail, phone calls and emails.
The reunions are often tearful and emotional occasions, correspondents say, in which North and South Koreans usually meet in the North for two or three days before the South Koreans head home again.
The reunion programme began in 2000 and sporadic events since then have seen about 17,000 relatives briefly reunited.
Si Robertson and his wife Christine will be proud new owners of a Clayton Homes house, the manufactured housing leader announced.
The Duck Dynasty star is slated to move into the new 2,123 sq ft Sequoia model in the upcoming months.
Si Robertson has endorsed Clayton Homes as a “Good Call” for hardworking American families who want high quality, affordable housing.
“Si and Christine browsed homes together, but Si’s wife made the final selection,” noted Clayton Homes CEO, Kevin Clayton.
Christine Robertson selected the Sequoia, a brick, triple-section modular home with three bedrooms and two baths. The open floor plan features a foyer, breakfast bar, large kitchen island with pendant lighting, and double sinks in the master bath.
Si Robertson has endorsed Clayton Homes as a “Good Call” for hardworking American families who want high quality, affordable housing
The home has a traditional Southern wrap-around porch where Si is particularly excited about taking his naps.
Si Robertson chuckles: “Look, the woman is the one who needs to be happy, she’s going to be there. Hey, I’m just going to visit and sleep.”
“The home is built indoors in a climate-controlled manufacturing facility to ensure it is higher quality and environmentally-friendly. In fact, the total scrap and waste from this home fits in less than two 30 gallon waste containers. This helps us keep our prices down so our customers can focus on family and the things that matter most in life,” said Kevin Clayton.
“I was just amazed at the different designs,” said Si Robertson.
“Whatever you want, hey, they can make it happen. My wife is ready to move in TODAY.”
Syria has submitted details of its chemical weapons as part of a US-Russia brokered deal to make them safe, the chemical arms watchdog has said.
The Hague-based OPCW added that it expected more details from Syria in the coming days and had postponed a meeting planned for Sunday.
Syria was given a Saturday deadline to give a full list of its chemical arms.
The US had threatened military action over a chemical attack in Damascus last month, which the UN called a war crime.
The US, UK and France have accused Syrian government forces of carrying out the attack in the Ghouta district on August 21, but President Bashar al-Assad has blamed rebel groups.
Separately, two Syrian rebel groups have agreed a ceasefire in the northern town of Azaz after two days of fighting that raised fears of a war within a war.
Michael Luhan, a spokesman for the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), which is responsible for policing the treaty outlawing chemical arms, said Syria’s submission was an “initial declaration”.
Syria has submitted details of its chemical weapons as part of a US-Russia brokered deal to make them safe
He said it was now being examined by the organization’s technical secretariat but he declined to say what was in it.
A UN diplomat confirmed to Reuters that details had been submitted, adding: “It’s quite long… and being translated.”
The US-Russia-brokered deal aims to have inspectors on the ground in Syria in November, when they will make an initial assessment and oversee the destruction of certain equipment.
The destruction of all of Syria’s chemical weapons would then be completed by mid-2014.
The core members of the OPCW were expected to vote on the timetable next week.
However, the OPCW said in a statement on Friday that a meeting of its executive council scheduled for Sunday had been postponed, without giving a reason.
“We will announce the new date and time… as soon as possible,” it said.
Once the OPCW agrees to the plan, the UN Security Council will seek to endorse it.
However, the five permanent members are still discussing the wording of a resolution, with Russia opposing threats of force against Syria.
On Monday, the UN confirmed in a report that the nerve agent sarin had been used in a rocket attack in Ghouta, although it did not apportion blame.
Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said the mission was unable to verify the number of casualties, but referred to the “terrible loss of life on August 21”.
France, the UK and US insist the report clearly backed their stance that only the government forces were capable of carrying out the attack.
Syria’s ally, Russia, rejected the argument, saying it had “serious grounds” to believe the attack had been a provocation by rebel forces.
Jay Z and Beyoncé have topped Forbes magazine’s World’s Highest Paid Celebrity Couples list in 2013.
Beyoncéand Jay Z – who also owns record label Roc Nation – took the crown for the second year running having earned a staggering $95 million together in the financial year June 2012 to June 2013.
The figures in the list show that the couple’s tours, businesses and endorsement deals saw them rack up $17 million more than last year.
Jay Z’s collaborative effort with Kanye West, Watch The Throne, spurned a platinum selling album and a world tour which earned $1.4 million a night.
Meanwhile, Beyoncé – who took a year hiatus after giving birth to Blue Ivy in January 2012 – earned $2 million a night for her current The Mrs. Carter Show world tour.
Beyoncé and Jay Z earned $15 million more than Gisele Bundchen and her footballer husband Tom Brady who came in second place with combined earnings of $80 million.
Jay Z and Beyoncé have topped Forbes magazine’s World’s Highest Paid Celebrity Couples list in 2013
Supermodel Gisele Bundchen out-earned her partner by $4 million as her line of flip-flops with Brazilian label Grendene – in which she owns shares – helped double her wages from last year.
Meanwhile Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt earned a hefty $50 million despite the fact they do not own any large businesses.
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt pulled in the majority of their income from film fees while Brad earned a reported $7 million for his Chanel no.5 advert last year.
Ashton Kutcher and girlfriend Mila Kunis came in fourth place, while the fifth spot was taken by Kanye West and Kim Kardashian.
While Kanye West had earned his half mainly through his Watch The Throne tour, Kim Kardashian earns an estimated $10 million a year through filming Keeping Up With The Kardashians and her various spin-off ventures.
Noticeably absent from the list was Victoria and David Beckham.
The new iPhone 5S has been hailed as the safest smartphone on the market with its fingerprint recognition technology.
The iPhone 5S has proved just how secure its new password service is, by registering a cat’s paw print as a key to unlock the gadget.
Technology site, TechCrunch, wanted to test the new Touch ID feature which allows the phone’s owner and four other Touch ID profiles to unlock the phone using skin-recognition technology.
After a few false starts, the cat’s paw was recognized as one of the owner’s five chosen keys and was able to access the phone’s content.
The user was also able to use the heel of his palm and his wrist in the experiment which is described as “a broadening of the definition of what counts as a <<fingerprint>>”.
Though different parts of the body were able to be registered and then recognized as keys, when trying to fool the phone’s software by using the opposite hand than registered access was denied.
The experiment pointed out however that no other animals could be used to unlock the phone as cats have unique fingerprint like paws.
Another technology site,Pocket-Lint, found Touch ID is not just a fingerprint sensor, but a toe and fingerprint sensor.
Their tests found that a print from a toe was able to unlock the phone perfectly every time.
The iPhone 5S has proved just how secure its new password service is, by registering a cat’s paw print as a key to unlock the gadget
Apple unveiled the fingerprint scanner on its iPhone 5S last week with bold claims about its high levels of encryption and security.
The firm even suggested that its Touch ID system could revolutionize smartphone security and replace the traditional, everyday password.
The Touch ID sensor is built into the premium phone’s “home” button and can be used to unlock the phone, as well as pay for shopping and apps automatically – effectively replacing the need for a password or PIN.
Speaking at the launch event in Cupertino, Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide marketing Phil Schiller said: “Half of smartphone customers do not set up passwords. [Touch ID] is an easier and more fun alternative.
“It uses key you have with you everywhere you go. Your finger.”
It works by using a small touch sensor encased around the home button that scans the layers of skin on a finger.
A user can “train” their iPhone to read and learn their unique fingerprint and when they touch the home button, the phone is unlocked.
Touch ID can also replace an App Store password when buying music, apps or books.
It uses a “laser cut sapphire crystal” to take a high-res image scan and the Touch ID software in iOS 7 determines whether the print belongs to the owner or not.
Apple said it is designed to provide “accurate readings from any angle, so the motion to unlock your device ought to be as automatic as it is now”.
It is also designed to become more accurate the more it is used.
Phil Schiller reassured users that Touch ID is secure by explaining that “all fingerprint information is encrypted and stored securely inside the device’s chip” adding the prints are not stored on an Apple server, or backed up to iCloud.
According to new research, the type of coffee you drink could reflect your personality.
A study has found common attributes between people who enjoy certain types of coffee.
If you like extra-foamy coffees such as cappuccino then you’re more likely to be obsessive and controlling, whereas latte drinkers go out of their way to please others.
Clinical psychologist Dr. Ramani Durvasula conducted an observational study of 1,000 coffee drinkers.
The survey assessed numerous common personality styles and psychological traits including introversion and extraversion; patience; perfectionism; warmth; vigilance; sensitivity; and social boldness, among others.
Black coffee drinkers were found to be “no-nonsense” individuals and straightforward.
They liked to keep things simple, could be quiet and moody, and were set in their ways.
Being abrupt and dismissive were also common personality traits.
The type of coffee you drink could reflect your personality
Latte drinkers tended to be more neurotic and eager to please people.
They were happy to go out of their way to help others – but didn’t take great care of themselves.
Instant coffee drinkers had a greater likelihood of being procrastinators, were too laid back and were likely to put things off.
And those individuals who ordered sweet drinks, like frozen and blended coffees, were “socially bold” and considered to be “overgrown kids” who retained the taste buds and sensibilities of children, while being “young at heart”.
They didn’t always make healthy choices and could be reckless. They were also found to be trendsetters.
Those who chose double decaffeinated, extra-foamy coffees tended to be more obsessive, controlling and detail-oriented.
In the survey, which is described in Dr. Ramani Durvasula’s book entitled You Are WHY You Eat: Change Your Food Attitude, Change Your Life, people were given common scenarios including waiting in long lines and planning dinner parties.
Participants were asked to choose from a series of approaches to these scenarios.
The survey then asked if they drink coffee and what they typically ordered.
Dr. Ramani Durvasula said despite the interesting research that was gathered “we are no more defined by our coffee orders than we are by our astrological signs”.
He suggested it was still quite possible to be a controlling latte drinker or a Type A black coffee drinker.
A new biography of Jack Nicholson claims that the actor was a “chronic drug user in the early years of his career”.
It appears Jack Nicholson, now 76-years-old, began his drug use “with LSD in the early 1960s”.
Excerpts published in The National Enquirer and Radar, from the forthcoming tome Nicholson, by Marc Eliot alleges Jack Nicholson also “took co***ne and mar***ana”.
Marc Eliot alleges: “Jack’s experiences with the drug were life-changing. He believed after taking it the first time that he had seen the face of God.”
He also claims Jack Nicholson wrote the screenplay for the cult 1967 film The Trip while “on acid” and “regularly got stoned and dropped acid” while writing The Monkees psychedelic adventure comedy film Head the following year.
Jack Nicholson is alleged to have met potential investors for the cult Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper film Easy Rider “with a joint”.
Marc Eliot claims in Jack Nicholson’s new biography that the actor was a chronic drug user in the early years of his career
In fact, drugs were a constant presence on the Easy Rider set, according to a slew of reports and subsequent comments by the actors themselves.
Jack Nicholson is said to have later admitted: “Being stoned has helped me creatively [with] writing… it’s easier to entertain yourself mentally.”
Actress Susan Anspach, Jack Nicholson’s ex-girlfriend, once even alleged he took co***ne to get though a crying scene in 1970 drama Five Easy Pieces.
Jack Nicholson and a friend is also alleged to have “chain smoked joints” while shooting 1973 film The Last Detail “to keep warm and stay high, which he was most of the time”, according to Marc Eliot.
Controversially, Jack Nicholson famously told People magazine that drugs “ain’t no big thing” in a 1980 interview.
“I still love to get high, I’d say, about four days a week. I think that’s about average for an American,” Jack Nicholson said.
“Last year on a raft trip I had a little flavor of the season – peach mescaline – but it was not like the hallucinatory state of the ’60s. This was just kind of sunny.
“I don’t advocate anything for anybody. But I choose always to be candid because I don’t like the closet atmosphere of drugging. In other words, it ain’t no big thing. You can wreck yourself with it, but Christ, you can wreck yourself with anything.”
Marc Eliot writes that Jack Nicholson began to curtail his excesses after the death of several close friends, physical problems and realizing “his drug use was taking a toll on his career”. Apparently the actor lost out on the role of Rooster Hannigan in Annie because Carol Burnett, who played Mrs. Hannigan, was a stringent anti-drug crusader.
One of two rusting cars hauled out of Foss Lake in Oklahoma this week is believed to contain the remains of three teenagers who have been missing since 1970, police say.
The blue Chevrolet Camaro matched the description of the car 18-year-olds Thomas Michael Rios and Leah Gail Johnson, and 16-year-old Jimmy Allen Williams were last seen in.
An Oklahoma sheriff has now said investigators are confident that three sets of remains found in the car belong to the friends, who were last seen heading to a football match.
In total, six sets of remains have been found in the two car wrecks, which were discovered as police tested sonar on the lake last week, according to Fox News.
“We believe that we have two vehicles related to two different missing persons cases,” Custer County Sheriff Bruce Peoples said.
“One is a case from Beckham County in 1970, and the other is a case from Washita County in 1969.”
Even though the cars are linked to cases years apart, they were found submerged side by side, 12ft under the surface.
Bottles of beer were also found in the car believed to belong to the teenagers, according to the Daily Elk Citian.
“None of the human remains in the Camaro show signs of trauma on first inspection, but keep in mind that they’re covered in mud and will need to be examined further,” Sheriff Bruce Peoples said.
Although officers are confident they have found the teenagers, it could take up to a year before DNA results confirm the identities.
Police are also just beginning to investigate the remains found in the second car.
“They’re getting into the trunk. We don’t have any information yet on how many sets of remains may be in there,” Sheriff Bruce Peoples said.
He added: “This lake isn’t crystal clear. It’s a typical western Oklahoma lake with a lot of silt in it. The visibility is only 6 to 12 inches on a good day.”
The mystery surrounding the teenagers’ disappearance led to theories that they had stumbled across a crime and been murdered.
The blue Chevrolet Camaro found in Foss Lake matched the description of the car 18-year-olds Thomas Michael Rios and Leah Gail Johnson, and 16-year-old Jimmy Allen Williams were last seen in
It is too early to tell what happened to the victims found in the two cars, but Sheriff Bruce Peoples said: “We’ll treat it as a crime until we’re able to determine it’s a simple car wreck.”
He added that it was possible the people simply drove into the lake and drowned.
Retired Sheriff Howard Sampier had been working the night the teenagers went missing.
Howard Sampier said: “Never really had any good leads to speak of. We never had any sort of lead or idea about the Foss Lake area.”
The friends had told their families they were heading to a football game so the search for them centered on possible routes they could have taken.
A lake on the route they were supposed to have taken had even been searched previously, but it turns out the police could have been looking in the wrong place entirely.
Although the cars were found close to a boat ramp, Sheriff Bruce Peoples said the water is so cloudy it was understandable that they had remained undetected.
The second car is thought to contain the remains of a 69-year-old man and his two friends who went missing in the state in the late 1950s or early 1960s.
Reports by local station KFOR states that one of the victims in the car thought to have belonged to the teenager has been identified but they are waiting to notify all of the relatives of the victims involved before releasing any names.
The teenagers went missing on November 20, 1970. They are still listed as missing persons and were thought to have been headed to a football game in nearby Elk City but also could have detoured to go hunting at Foss Lake.
Authorities discovered the cars accidentally. Betsy Randolph, spokesman for the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, said dive teams were at Foss Lake conducting training with sonar when they came upon the vehicles last week.
“So they went back and did a scheduled dive today and were going to recover the cars. When they pulled the cars out of the water, the first one that came out they found bones in the car,” she said.
When they pulled the second car out, another set of bones was discovered. The divers then went back in the water and searched around and found a skull, she said.
The remains were turned over to the medical examiner’s office who are expected to use DNA from surviving family members to identify the skeletons.
“We thought it was just going to be stolen vehicles and that’s not what it turned out to be, obviously,” Betsy Randolph said.
Kim Carmichael was a friend of the Camaro’s owner, 16-year-old Jimmy Williams.
“We lived in a little town … Nothing like that ever happened in Sayre.”
At the time of the disappearance, Kim Carmichael’s father was the undersheriff in nearby Beckham County where the teenagers were last seen.
He died in 2003 never knowing what happened.
Kim Carmichael added: “He said there was nothing … There were no leads, no nothing. He said it was just like they vanished into thin air.
“I can’t imagine what [Jimmy Williams’] family was going through if I could see what my dad was going through.”
Oklahoma Highway Patrol said they are hoping the discovery will offer some relief to families who may have gone decades wondering where a missing loved one was.
Betsy Randolph added: “We’re hoping these individuals, that this is going to bring some sort of closure to some families out there who have been waiting to hear about missing people.
“If that’s the case, then we’re thrilled we were able to bring some sort of closure to those families.”
The medical examiner had called a number of relatives of possible victims to the scene, many of whom said that they never lost hope.
“We never gave up. We always wanted some clue that somebody knew someone,” said Debbie McManaman, a possible victim’s granddaughter.
Australian radio station 2Day FM at the center of Kate Middleton prank call “broke the law”, the country’s media watchdog has said.
The finding came in a confidential, preliminary report by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), which emerged in a court case.
The report said 2Day FM acted illegally by airing the phone call without consent.
Lawyers for 2Day FM’s owner, Southern Cross Austereo, are seeking to block the report, according to local media.
2Day FM acted illegally by airing Kate Middleton prank call without consent
The document came to light as part of their Federal Court hearing, in which they argue the ACMA does not have the power to make a criminal finding, only the courts do.
Australian Federal Police are currently investigating the call.
Nurse Jacintha Saldanha in UK was found dead in December, three days after DJs Mel Greig and Michael Christian duped her into transferring a call to the Duchess of Cambridge’s hospital ward.
A ward nurse at King Edward VII’s Hospital then gave the DJs details about the condition of Kate Middleton, who was being treated for severe morning sickness at the time.
Michael Christian returned to work two months after the prank call, while Mel Greig remains off air and is suing her employer for failing to provide a safe workplace.
Mel Greig is due to give evidence in person at the London inquest into Jacintha Saldanha’s death. The inquest was delayed in July for the second time to give coroner Dr. Fiona Wilcox time to “seek more information”.
