Fifty Shades of Grey’s Christian Grey has become one of the literary world’s most infamous characters.
So just where did author E.L. James get the inspiration for the man who enjoys kinky S&M sex in his red room of pain?
Certainly not from her husband said the man himself, Niall Leonard, who appeared on Lorraine Kelly’s show on Daybreak this week.
The author’s husband said this is the question he is most often asked now his wife’s erotic novels have become bestsellers so he’s keen to set the record straight.
“It’s a fantasy, it’s certainly not based on me,” he said.
“In fact perhaps being married to me helped her to fantasize about someone more interesting. You are talking about a chap with a 32 inch waist and helicopter pilot licence so it’s certainly not based on me.”
Fifty Shades of Grey’s Christian Grey has become one of the literary world's most infamous characters
Leonard Niall said he and his wife, whose real name is Erika Mitchell, are still “coming to terms” with the success of her books. Since being published last year, they have become worldwide bestsellers, smashing records for paperback sales and making Erika Mitchell a fortune.
He said the sales have been beyond their dreams given Erika Mitchell only wrote the novels “for fun”.
He said: “She wrote it for herself, all the best books are written for the person who writes them. It was her own story, her own dream. She put it down on paper for a few friends to read it and then wanted it published to have her name on it.
“It was doing ok last summer and then it got bigger and bigger and then exploded. We’re still coming to terms with it, it’s happened so quick we’re both still in shock.”
The books have been so popular the film rights have been snapped up. Who will be cast in the role of Christian remains hotly anticipated with Ryan Gosling the current favorite for the part. But Leonard Niall said he is currently none the wiser on who will be cast despite his wife being involved in the film project.
“Every actor in Hollywood wants the part but I don’t know if it’s been cast yet,” he said.
The couple, who live in Ealing, London, with their two sons are both writers and Leonard Naill has recently published his own novel, Crusher, which he describes as a modern contemporary thriller.
Leonard Niall already worked as a TV screenwriter but was inspired to become a novelist by his wife – before her books became bestsellers.
He said: “She had a really good time doing it. I saw she was enjoying it so much and she was writing the story she wanted to be told.
“I wanted to sit down and write my own story. She said <<why don’t you?>> so that’s when I did.”
Leonard Niall pointed out his novel is nothing like his wife’s although he said it does have some “naughty bits”.
Iraq’s fugitive vice-president Tariq al-Hashemi has been sentenced to death in absentia after a court found him guilty of running death squads.
The court ruling came as at least 45 people were killed in a wave of about 24 attacks across Iraq.
Tariq al-Hashemi was the most senior Sunni Muslim in the predominantly Shia Iraqi government until he was charged last December and went on the run.
The charges against him sparked a political crisis in Iraq.
Iraq's fugitive vice-president Tariq al-Hashemi has been sentenced to death in absentia after a court found him guilty of running death squads
Other Sunni politicians denounced Shia Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki – who issued the warrant for Tariq al-Hashemi – as a dictator, accusing him of deliberate provocation that risked plunging the country back into sectarian conflict.
Correspondents say the fragile government coalition between Sunnis, secularists and Shia has seemed in danger of collapse ever since.
Sunni insurgents linked to al-Qaeda have been blamed for much of the recent violence in Iraq.
The Iraqi government issued the warrant for Tariq al-Hashemi’s arrest on 19 December 2011, the day after the last US troops left the country.
He fled first to the largely autonomous Kurdish north of the country, and from there to Qatar and on to Turkey.
Prosecutors said Tariq al-Hashemi was involved in 150 killings. During his trial in absentia in Baghdad, some of his former bodyguards said Tariq al-Hashemi had ordered murders.
He says the charges against him are politically motivated and has accused PM Nouri al-Maliki of fuelling sectarianism.
On Sunday, an Iraqi court found Tariq al-Hashemi and his son-in-law guilty of two murders and sentenced him to death by hanging. The judge dismissed a third charge for lack of evidence.
Although violence has decreased since its peak in 2006 and 2007, attacks have escalated again after the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq at the end of last year, amid increasing political and sectarian tensions.
The Iraqi government has been hampered by divisions between Sunni, Shia and Kurdish political groups.
The Iraqi government said July 2012 was the deadliest month in nearly two years, with 325 people killed.
Former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein was a Sunni, and many Sunnis believe they are being penalized by Shias, who have grown in influence since the US invasion.
Sunnis have accused Nouri al-Maliki of taking an authoritarian approach to government.
Jewish and Muslim organizations in Germany have staged a joint protest in Berlin over a regional court’s ruling that the circumcision of young boys constituted bodily harm.
The protest was prompted by the news that a rabbi in Bavaria was being investigated over the practice.
The ruling on circumcision was handed down by a court in Cologne in June.
However, the German government has since announced it will legislate to explicitly legalize the practice.
Jewish and Muslim organizations in Germany have staged a joint protest in Berlin over a regional court's ruling that the circumcision of young boys constituted bodily harm
About a thousand people joined the protest to hear speeches from the chief rabbi of Berlin and other religious leaders.
“I’m here to stand for the freedom of religious rights,” said protester Fereshta Ludin.
The court in Cologne had declared that the ritual circumcision of a Muslim boy, in accordance with his parents’ faith, had caused the child bodily harm.
The German Medical Association then told doctors across the country to stop performing the procedure.
Both Jews and Muslims feel that, whatever the court intended, the ruling will be used as a way of attacking their religions.
On Wednesday, the state government in Berlin announced that circumcision was legal there, as long as it was properly carried out.
The federal government, perhaps in response to international condemnation, has also said it wants to legalize the procedure explicitly.
There has also been renewed debate over the practice in the US, one of the countries where it is most prevalent.
Last month, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) published a review of scientific evidence on the circumcision, saying that “the health benefits of newborn male circumcision outweigh the risks of the procedure”.
However, the AAP added it did not recommend it for all newborn boys, saying the decision was best left to parents, in consultation with doctors.
Heidi Klum has spoken publicly for the first time during an interview for the new Katie Couric TV show to deny she had an affair with her bodyguard while married to Seal claiming she never looked at another man when they were together.
Heidi Klum, 39, broke her silence to tell Katie Couric that she had been completely faithful to Seal during their seven-year marriage and has been left devastated by claims she cheated on him.
Seal had suggested his estranged wife was sleeping with bodyguard Martin Kristen after they were photographed together in Italy.
He said: “I would have preferred Heidi to have shown a little bit more class and at least waited until we separated first before deciding to fornicate with the help.”
Heidi Klum broke her silence to tell Katie Couric that she had been completely faithful to Seal during their seven-year marriage
A spokesman for Heidi Klum denied the claim, and Seal later retracted his statement and said he had not meant to suggest she had cheated on him during their marriage.
In her sit-down interview with Katie Couric, Heidi Klum insisted she had been faithful.
According to the New York Post, the German born model said of Seal’s comments: “It was a unique choice of words. I’m used to it. Other people aren’t. When we were together, I never looked at a another man.”
The full interview will be shown on Wednesday, two days after Katie Couric’s chat show makes its anticipated debut.
The revelation came a day after Heidi Klum was pictured looking relaxed in Los Angeles after returning from New York Fashion Week.
The supermodel landed back in California after strutting down the catwalk at New York Fashion Week last night, modelling an incredible and revealing gown at the Project Runway 2013 Spring Collection.
Following the success of last night’s shenanigans, Heidi Klum tweeted: “We shot the @ProjectRunway Season 10 finale today! Was a great show…but, you have to wait till Oct 18th to see it!”
The fashion show will become Project Runway’s series ten season finale.
Alongside Jennifer Hudson and Nina Garcia, Heidi Klum walked after a series of models, who were showcasing the designs of the three finalists, Fabio Costa, Melissa Fleis and Dmitry Sholokhov.
Cheetah robot has set a new world speed record for legged robots, running faster than Usain Bolt, who is considered the fastest human.
The headless machine, funded by the Pentagon, reached 28.3 mph (45.5 km/h) when tested on a treadmill.
Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt’s top speed is 27.78 mph (44.7 km/h).
The project is part of efforts to develop robots for military use. One robotics expert said that it was “unfortunate” the Cheetah was made primarily “to kill people”.
It has been created by the Massachusetts robotics company Boston Dynamics and backed by the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).
Cheetah robot has set a new world speed record for legged robots, running faster than Usain Bolt
According to DARPA, the aim is to “more effectively assist war fighters across a greater range of missions”.
The Cheetah, which is powered by a hydraulic pump, broke its own record of 18 mph (29 km/h), recorded in February.
“The Cheetah had a slight advantage over Bolt as it ran on a treadmill, but most of the power Cheetah used was to swing and lift its legs fast enough, not to propel itself forward,” DARPA said in a statement.
The agency plans to test the robot in the field in 2013.
The machine’s design has been inspired by the real cheetah, the fastest land animal, which can reach speeds of 75 mph (121 km/h).
“Cheetahs happen to be beautiful examples of how natural engineering has created speed and agility across rough terrain,” said Gill Pratt, DARPA programme manager.
“Our Cheetah bot borrows ideas from nature’s design to inform stride patterns, flexing and unflexing of parts like the back, placement of limbs and stability.”
“What we gain through Cheetah and related research efforts are technological building blocks that create possibilities for a whole range of robots suited to future Department of Defense missions.”
Noel Sharkey, professor of artificial intelligence and robotics at the University of Sheffield, has mixed feelings about the development.
“It’s an incredible technical achievement, but it’s unfortunate that it’s going to be used to kill people,” he suggested.
“It’s going to be used for chasing people across the desert, I would imagine. I can’t think of many civilian applications – maybe for hunting, or farming, for rounding up sheep.
“But of course if it’s used for combat, it would be killing civilians as well as it’s not going to be able to discriminate between civilians and soldiers.”
DARPA’s press release for the Cheetah project suggested that the robots might ultimately be used in “emergency response, humanitarian assistance and other defence missions”.
Penn State football coach Joe Paterno, who died in January, is about to be immortalized in a new movie starring Hollywood legend Al Pacino.
Al Pacino has agreed to take on the controversial role in a film based on the New York Times bestselling book Paterno.
The movie is still in the early stages of development, but respected Hollywood entertainment blog deadline.com is reporting that it will be shopped around Los Angeles early next week.
Joe Paterno was fired for his alleged role in covering up the child molestation scandal involving assistant coach Jerry Sandusky who was revealed to be a pedophile.
His death came just two months after he was let go by Penn State in November of 2011.
Penn State football coach Joe Paterno is about to be immortalized in a new movie starring Al Pacino
The new book, which was penned by former Sports Illustrated columnist Joe Posnanski, takes an in depth look at Joe Paterno’s relationship with Jerry Sandusky.
Jerry Sandusky was convicted and awaits sentencing on child sexual abuse.
As the scandal erupted, it was revealed that Joe Paterno had been told by graduate assistant Mike McQueary that jerry Sandusky had raped a boy in the Penn State locker room showers.
In addition, an independent report conducted by former FBI director Louis Freeh, concluded that Joe Paterno, as well as other Penn State bigwigs, “failed to protect against a child sexual predator harming children for over a decade”.
Joe Posnanski’s book, however disputes those claims, saying that Joe Paterno did not know Jerry Sandusky had sexually abused children, and when he read the list of charges against Sandusky, he asked his son Scott: “What is sodomy, anyway?”
Jerry Sandusky was convicted in June of sexually assaulting 10 boys over 15 years.
Google has decided to base its first Latin American data centre in Chile, near the capital Santiago.
The computer server base is expected to cost $150 million and will employ up to 20 people, Google said.
Google said it chose Chile because of its reliable infrastructure and skilled workforce.
The country has been trying to become a tech hub, with initiatives such as Start-Up Chile attracting entrepreneurs from around the world.
The search giant said the data communications centre would make its products faster to access, and more reliable for the local population.
Google has decided to base its first Latin American data centre in Chile, near the capital Santiago
Chile’s selection is a coup for the nation bearing in mind Brazil has a much larger population, is more centrally located and contains a fast-growing tech sector.
“Chile… fosters an atmosphere of innovation, and in recent years has developed cutting edge policies and programs that encourage the growth of the internet,” Google said.
“As with all of our facilities around the world, we chose Quilicura, Chile, following a thorough and rigorous site selection process, taking many technical and other considerations into account including location, infrastructure, workforce, reasonable business regulations and cost.”
Google already has data centres in the United States, Finland and Belgium, and plans to build more in Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan by next year.
The centre in Chile is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2013.
Opening a data centre in Latin America may help Google’s ambitions in the region.
Orkut, a social network operated and owned by Google, used to be number one in Brazil and several other places in Latin America.
But according to digital media analytics company Comscore, it has now slipped to third place, behind Facebook and Twitter.
A bible which once belonged to Elvis Presley has sold for $94,000 at auction in Greater Manchester, UK.
The 1,600 page book was given to the singer by his Uncle Vester and Aunt Clettes for his first Christmas at his Graceland home in 1957.
It contains annotations by Elvis Presley, who died on 16 August 1977 aged 42.
A pair of Elvis Presley’s unwashed pants is also on sale at the Omega Auctions in Stockport were not sold as bids failed to reach the reserve price.
The 1,600 page book was given to Elvis Presley by his Uncle Vester and Aunt Clettes for his first Christmas at his Graceland home in 1957
Bids for the stained underwear reached £5,000 ($8,000) but the reserve price was £7,000 ($11,000).
The bible was among more than 100 lots of Elvis memorabilia on sale.
It was sold on behalf of a British Elvis collector who is selling a quarter of his collection.
Karen Fairweather, from the auctioneers, said: “It was a really exciting atmosphere in the room, we had 300 people and there was bidding online and on the telephone across the world.
“You could hear a pin drop when it sold for that price.
“There were three rival bidders on the phone and once it got over £20,000 [$32,000] each bid was taking a while, because they each had a price in mind for the bible and they were thinking about it.
“There was a round of applause when the hammer went down. It was incredible.”
The winning telephone bidder, who did not want to be identified, was an American man based in the UK.
An artwork by French master Pierre-Auguste Renoir bought at a flea market in the US may turn out to be a rare bargain.
The painting was bought by a woman as part of a box lot that included a doll and a plastic cow, and cost about $50.
The woman took it to a Virginia auction house where experts said they believed it was Renoir’s Paysage Bords de Seine – a river scene – from about 1879.
An artwork by French master Pierre-Auguste Renoir bought at a flea market in the US may turn out to be a rare bargain
The auctioneers expect it to sell for up to $100,000 later this month.
It is believed the painting was bought from a Paris gallery in 1926.
A Renoir plaque on the frame prompted the woman to have it analyzed by a local auction house.
People in Hong Kong are voting for a new legislature, with pro-democracy candidates expected to benefit from weeks of anti-China protests.
The poll comes a day after the government scrapped plans for mandatory Chinese patriotism lessons in schools.
For the first time, 40 of the 70 seats on the governing legislative council will be directly elected.
The results of the poll could keep on track plans for universal suffrage, which could come as early as 2017.
But for the promised reform to be implemented, it needs the support of the legislative council.
Polls in Hong Kong – which has a semi-autonomous status in China – opened at 07:30 local time and will close at 22:30.
People in Hong Kong are voting for a new legislature, with pro-democracy candidates expected to benefit from weeks of anti-China protests
About 3.5 million people are eligible to cast their ballots. Results are not expected until Monday.
The election campaign has been dominated by issues such as employment, corruption and the growing number of visitors from mainland China.
Hong Kong, which was handed to China by Britain in 1997, enjoys greater political freedom than mainland China, including a free press and the right to peaceful assembly.
Under the current laws, 30 of the 70 seats in the assembly are being chosen by small group of electors selected along economic and professional lines.
But the pro-democracy candidates running for office are expected to benefit from the growing anger against mainland China and the lack of political reform there.
A strong showing by the pro-democracy forces this time round could make the transition to universal suffrage more likely in the future.
“Before it didn’t matter so much who got in. But this time, I thought it was important to vote to stop people and parties I didn’t want from getting into the legislature,” one voter was quoted as saying by Reuters.
But another voter, Anthony Tsang, said he was voting for “people who can help us the most”.
“I care about livelihood, housing costs, wages and medical care,” he said.
For the past week, thousands of demonstrators have camped out around Hong Kong’s government headquarters, protesting against the plan for mandatory patriotism lessons.
They said the lessons were Communist Party propaganda and whitewashed events such as the 1989 crackdown in Tiananmen Square and the famine under Mao Zedong.
But the government said the goal was to foster a sense of national belonging.
The proposed curriculum, which consisted of general civics education as well as more controversial lessons on appreciating mainland China, was due to be introduced in primary schools in September and secondary schools in 2013.
On Saturday, Hong Kong’s chief executive, Leung Chun-ying, said the classes would be optional for schools.
Leung Chun-ying, who was sworn in as Hong Kong’s chief executive in July, cancelled his trip to the APEC regional summit this weekend because of the furore.
About 3,000 people are being evacuated in Nicaragua from areas near the San Cristobal volcano, which is spewing ash and gas, the government says.
Soldiers have been sent to the region, northwest of the capital Managua, after the government ordered local communities to leave.
The volcano began erupting on Saturday morning, shortly after powerful explosions were heard.
The authorities say they expect more gas emissions and sporadic explosions.
Some 20,000 people could eventually be affected, said government spokeswoman Rosario Murillo.
About 3,000 people are being evacuated in Nicaragua from areas near the San Cristobal volcano, which is spewing ash and gas
The 1,745-meter volcano (5,700-foot) is the highest mountain in Nicaragua and one of the most active along the Pacific Coast of Nicaragua.
It has launched a 4 km-high (2.5-mile) column of ash and smoke into the atmosphere.
Jaime Mejia, from Nicaragua’s Institute of Territorial Studies, said there was “strong activity” in the volcano, which had a series of small eruptions in 2008.
“We do not rule out anything, but call for calm,” he told the AP news agency.
Civil defence officers have been sent to the Chinandenga and Leon provinces to help the evacuation.
But hundreds of residents left the area even before their arrival.
Nicaragua has been on alert since an earthquake hit neighboring Costa Rica last week.
Aftershocks were felt across the two Central American countries.
In a tweet fired off on Friday, Lindsay Lohan encouraged President Barack Obama to consider lowering taxes for the one-percenters listed on the Forbes Magazine millionaires’ list.
Lindsay Lohan, 26, who has been very active on Twitter recently, was responding to a message posted by the Obama campaign following his Thursday speech at the Democratic National Convention.
“I’ve cut taxes for those who need it: middle-class families, small businesses,” the tweet read.
Lindsay Lohan encouraged President Barack Obama to consider lowering taxes for the one-percenters listed on the Forbes Magazine millionaires’ list
About 10 minutes later, Lindsay Lohan of the upcoming Elizabeth Taylor biopic Liz and Dick put in her two cents on the issue of tax cuts: “We also need to cut them for those that are listed on Forbes as “millionaires” if they are not, you must consider that as well.”
LiLo retweeted several more quotes from Barack Obama’s speech including: “I don’t believe that firing teachers or kicking students off financial aid will grow the economy.”
She also forwarded a plea by the Obama campaign to join the president “if you want to keep moving forward” and a link leading to Barack Obama’s re-election website.
So far, President Barack Obama has not responded to Lindsay Lohan’s economic policy proposal, and she has since removed the tweet off her page after facing a barrage of ridicule online.
While it is not entirely clear what Lindsay Lohan had in mind when she fired off the message to her 4,240,930 followers, it is assumed that she considers herself to be among the Forbes millionaires in question.
LiLo, known for her out-of-control shopping sprees and addiction problems, had an estimated net worth of $2 million last year.
Just recently, however, Lindsay Lohan made headlines after being banned from the luxurious Chateau Marmont hotel in Los Angeles for failing to pay over $46,000 in fees.
Kim Kardashian was left embarrassed when less than 50 people turned up to see her at the nightclub Hush in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Kim Kardashian, 31, had jetted into New York to Charlotte for the event, which is also where the Democratic National Convention was being held.
While that was being attributed to the almost no show, the event was dubbed as the convention after party, so the club’s bosses will have expected a solid turn out.
The reality star posted a picture of a half glass of champagne on her Twitter page, writing: “It’s that kinda night!”
Kim Kardashian finally left after two hours, with one source claiming she was furious after the house band stated that “this place is empty”.
Kim Kardashian looked rather striking despite the plain black high-neck dress thanks to the efforts of her giant metal belt around her waist
Se had been in New York earlier promoting her True Reflection perfume at the Lord & Taylor store as well as attending Fashion’s Night Out.
Kim Kardashian looked rather striking despite the plain black high-neck dress thanks to the efforts of her giant metal belt around her waist.
She polished off the gothic look with gelled back hair, tweeting: “Loving this slicked back hair by Michael Silva.”
Kim Kardashian also applied theatrical eyeshadow and liner, crediting the look to her make-up artist: “Fierce glam tonight by @kristoferbuckle.”
To which he gushed: “What a pleasure to work on a beauty like @KimKardashian.”
It was a nice surprise to see Kim Kardashian experimenting with some varied footwear, after being glued to her favorite shoes of the season recently.
Last evening she chose ankle cuffed heels, compared to her beloved Givenchy boots she wore earlier today for the third time in recent weeks.
Barack Obama asked Americans to mark the 11th anniversary of the September 11 attacks by reflecting on how far the nation has come since that day.
In his weekly radio and Internet address, President Barack Obama is asking people to remember the 9/11 victims and their families.
He asks that they honor in their thoughts the first responders who risked their lives to help the many wounded in the chaotic aftermath of the attacks.
Remember also, he asks, the men and women in uniform serving both at home and abroad and making sacrifices to keep the country safe.
In his weekly radio and Internet address, President Barack Obama is asking people to remember the 9-11 victims and their families
Barack Obama says America has come back stronger following the horrific events of September 11 2001 in which almost 3,000 people were killed.
He insists that al-Qaeda is on the path to defeat, the U.S. having ensured that Osama bin Laden will never attack America again, and strengthened alliances with powers across the world.
“As Americans we refuse to live in fear,” Barack Obama says, congratulating those who worked to bring down Osama bin Laden and improve security across the nation.
President Barack Obama has signed a proclamation making Friday, September 7 through Sunday, September 9, 2012 National Days of Prayer and Remembrance.
In the Republican address, Senator John Barrasso of Wyoming criticized Barack Obama’s presidency.
John Barrasso said the nation isn’t better off than it was four years ago under President George W. Bush.
According to a new research, there’s a 50/50 chance of another catastrophic 9/11-style attack in the next ten years, and an even greater chance if the world become less stable.
The startling figure was floated by a pair of researchers who examined more than 13,000 lethal terrorist attacks between 1968 and 2007.
They calculated the likelihood based on the assumption that the frequency of major attacks, like earthquakes and other natural disasters, using mathematical power law.
Aaron Clauset at the Santa Fe Institute in New Mexico and Ryan Woodard at ETH, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, in Zurich assume the number of terrorist attacks remains constant for the next decade at about 2,000 a year.
There is a 50 percent chance of another catastrophic 9-11-style attack in the next ten years, according to a new research
First, they looked at history and determined that a 9/11-magnitute attack, which killed nearly 3,000 people, had a likelihood of 11 to 35% any time in the last 40 years, according to the Technology Review, which is published by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Then they calculated the likelihood of another similar size attack if terrorist incidents remain at the same level they are now. Their conclusion: The chance of another 9/11 in the next decade is 20 to 50%.
However, Dr. Aaron Clauset and Dr. Ryan Woodward also admitted that it’s possible the number of terrorist attacks is likely to decline after US involvement in Afghanistan and Iraq ends.
The study only looked at numbers until 2007, when Americans still had an active military presence in the country.
If terrorist attacks drop off, the probability of another major terrorist attack is reduced to 5 and 20%.
The researchers also played out a third, more dire scenario, using their formula.
If the number of attacks in the next decade increases dramatically, then the chance of a major terrorist event becomes a near certainty: 95%.
The formula doesn’t take into account increased security around the world or the billions of dollars the US and other developed nations have poured into preventing additional catastrophic attacks.
Pasquale Buzzelli, a structural engineer who became a legend after “surfing” down a wave of falling debris during 9/11, has spoken about his miracle survival and how having children has helped him rebuild his life.
Pasquale Buzzelli, 43, who was working as a structural engineer for the Manhattan Port Authority, was one of the last to evacuate the North Tower as it began to collapse.
He claims that he had reached the 22nd floor when the building collapsed beneath him and he was carried down through a blizzard of debris to the seventh floor, where he was rescued by firefighters.
At the time his wife Louise was pregnant with their first child Hope, now ten, and they have since had a second daughter Mia, seven.
He suffered survivor’s guilt for years afterwards but has finally come to terms with the grief thanks to his family.
Pasquale Buzzelli said: “Time heals all wounds and you start to experience joy.
“With the birth of Mia I was finally able to experience those feelings and not feel guilt. In that sense I’ve realized that the best way to honor those that didn’t make it, is to be the best person that I can be.”
His story is told in the Discovery Channel and Channel 4 documentary 9/11 The Miracle Survivor which is screened next week on the 11th anniversary of the disaster.
Pasquale Buzzelli was one of the last to evacuate the North Tower as it began to collapse
Holding the battered briefcase he was carrying that day, he said: “I haven’t opened this up in quite a few years. I came across it in my basement a couple of years after 9/11. I don’t even keep it in the house as it’s a constant reminder of that day. Its basically rode down the building with me and its battered and torn and just a reminder of how lucky I was to survive.”
His story of survival has divided experts. Shiya Ribowsky, who led the investigation into 9/11, said: “You know I have a healthy skepticism which is in no way a reflection on this man’s character.
“In forensics there are certain statistics about the likelihood of surviving a fall and once you get above five stories then statistics are pretty grim. So you’re talking about an exceptional situation. You’re talking the wings of angels here.”
However, Prof. Thomas Eager of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has studied the physics of the collapse and believes that the hurricane force wind pushed him down 15 stories.
“His description of a rollercoaster clinched it for me in believing the whole thing,” he said.
Pasquale Buzzelli, who now works in emergency planning for the Port Authority, was in an elevator on his way up to his office the 64thfloor of the North Tower, when the first plane struck at 8:46 a.m.
But instead of evacuating the building, he felt a duty to remain at his desk. He and his colleagues at the Port Authority, were watching the news when the second plane hit.
They finally began to exit at Stairway B, reaching the 22nd floor at 10:28 a.m. when the tower began to collapse.
“I thought something heavy is falling through the stairs or part of the building is collapsing and falling through,” he said.
“I just dove into the stairwell, went into a foetal position, covered my face and hands and buried myself as close to the wall as possible to protect myself from anything falling through.
“It was then that I felt the wall that I was next to and the base of the floor crack open and give way. That’s when I knew that that was it: the entire building was going. I said to myself: <<My God I can’t believe this is. I’m going to die>>. I thought of my wife, my unborn child.”
Pasquale Buzzelli’s wife Louise, who was seven months pregnant with their oldest daughter Hope, now ten – they have a second daughter Mia, six – watched in horror as the tower collapsed.
“I knew it was over then at that point,” she said.
“I couldn’t watch anymore. I couldn’t believe that I was there watching this, carrying our first baby. I was a widow and I watched it and there was nothing I could do.”
But, incredibly, Pasquale Buzzelli began to freefall down the stairwell until he landed on the seventh floor. He regained consciousness three hours later, surrounded by twisted metal, with a badly injured ankle.
“I was totally numb,” he said.
“I felt nothing at all. I just opened my eyes and saw blue sky. I really thought I was dead until I started to cough and I started to feel pain in my leg. At that point I started calling out: <<Help. Help.>>”
Back at Ground Zero, firefighters Mike Lyons and Mike Moribito, who disobeyed orders to search the wreckage, found Pasquale Buzzelli as he was beginning to fear he would be burnt alive.
“He looked like he was in a castle,” said Mike Moribito.
“He was sitting there in broad daylight like a king on top of a hill. I can remember it as clear as day.”
Within hours Paquale Buzzelli was in an ambulance on his way to hospital. His first thought was to call his wife Louise.
“I picked up the phone and said: <<Hello?>>” she said.
“I heard his voice and he said: <<Louise it’s me>>. And I said: <<Oh my god Pascale. It’s you>>. And everyone in the house just screamed.”
However, Pasquale Buzzelli began to suffer from survivors’ guilt and it was only a reunion with Mike Lyons, who was also suffered traumatic stress disorder that brought him out of his depression. Mike Lyons’ girlfriend Kathryn traced Pasquale Buzzelli and they now meet regularly.
“Time heals all wounds and you start to experience joy,” he said.
“With the birth of Mia I was finally able to experience those feelings and not feel guilt. In that sense I’ve realized that the best way to honor those that didn’t make it, is tot be the best person that I can be.”
9/11 The Miracle Survivor is screened on Channel 4 at 10:00 p.m. on Monday September 10 and 11:10 p.m. the following night. An e-book We All Fall Down: The True Story of the 9/11 Surfer by Pasquale and Louise Buzzelli is published on Amazon on September 8.
American novelist Philip Roth has criticized Wikipedia after he was unable to convince the site to change an entry about one of his novels.
Philip Milton Roth, 79, tried to tell Wikipedia about an error in the entry for his novel The Human Stain, published in 2000.
But Wikipedia’s administrators initially refused to amend the entry, saying they required a second source.
The prize-winning author is famed for his tales of Jewish life, relationships and mortality.
The Human Stain tells the tale of Coleman Silk, a classics tutor at a fictional Massachusetts college, whose life spirals into chaos after he makes an ill-received remark judged by some as a racial slur.
American novelist Philip Roth has criticized Wikipedia after he was unable to convince the site to change an entry about one of his novels
According to the Wikipedia entry – which has now been amended – Coleman Silk, who Philip Roth portrayed as born to black parents but who lived his life as a white man, was based on the character of writer and critic Anatole Broyard.
Anatole Broyard, a star book reviewer for the New York Times for many years, was also born to a black family but lived as white.
However, in a lengthy open letter published on the website of the New Yorker magazine, Philip Roth insists that the idea his character was based on Anatole Broyard was utterly incorrect.
“This item entered Wikipedia not from the world of truthfulness but from the babble of literary gossip – there is no truth in it at all,” Philip Roth wrote.
In the 2,655-word letter, Philip Roth explains instead that the character of Coleman Silk was instead based on the experience of a friend of his, whose own ill-chosen remark, made while teaching at Princeton in 1985, was also seen as a racial epithet.
In the letter, Philip Roth describes this as “the initiating incident” of The Human Stain: “There is no novel without it. There is no Coleman Silk without it.”
By contrast, Philip Roth says of Anatole Broyard: “He and I barely knew each other. Over more than three decades, I ran into him, casually and inadvertently, maybe three or four times before a protracted battle with prostate cancer ended his life, in 1990.”
Describing his efforts to get the entry changed, he writes in the New Yorker that he was told by the “English Wikipedia Administrator” that he “was not a credible source”.
Following the publication of the New Yorker letter, the Wikipedia entry was changed and a section noting the debate inserted near its end.
Wikipedia entries and edits are policed by administrators, who have the power to delete pages, or protect those being vandalized. Recent reports suggest the number of people being approved to run the site is on the decline.
Wikipedia by numbers
English Wikipedia:
• 4,005,000 articles
• If printed and bound, it would contain more than 1,700 volumes
• 32,760 contributors making more than five edits per month, about 10-15% of whom are women
Paul McCartney has been given France’s highest award, the Legion of Honour, for services to music.
Sir Paul McCartney was decorated by President Francois Hollande during a ceremony at the Elysee Palace in Paris.
As an officer of the Legion of Honour (Légion d’honneur), Paul McCartney joins such cultural icons as actor Clint Eastwood and singers Barbra Streisand and Liza Minnelli.
Sir Paul McCartney was decorated with France’s Legion of Honour by President Francois Hollande during a ceremony at the Elysee Palace in Paris
In his native Britain, Paul McCartney was knighted by the Queen in 1997 – earning the title Sir.
Sir Paul said afterwards: “It is such an honor to be awarded this.”
He recently performed to a global audience at the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games.
The Legion of Honour was created by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1802, and comes in five grades – Knight, Officer, Commander, Grand Officer and Grand Cross.
Paul McCartney, 70, has enjoyed a long and successful music career after rising to fame with The Beatles.
He and bandmate John Lennon penned such hits as Yesterday, Hey Jude and A Hard Day’s Night, before the Beatles split up in 1970. Paul McCartney went on to forge a solo career.
Katie Holmes has become the first ever face of Bobbi Brown Cosmetics.
Katie Holmes, 33, who recently divorced husband Tom Cruise after five years of marriage, has signed a deal with the beauty firm which will see her act as both muse and collaborator.
Bobbi Brown told WWD: “We weren’t looking for a celebrity, just a cool, amazing woman who would fit with our brand. And she’s just ridiculously naturally beautiful.”
Katie Holmes, who favors a bare-faced, almost no-make-up look, is a perfect fit for the cosmetics company, which also shares a natural aesthetic.
According to Bobbi Brown executives, as well as being the first celebrity face of the 21-year-old brand, Katie Holmes name will appear on a capsule collection of fall 2013 cosmetics.
Katie Holmes has become the first ever face of Bobbi Brown Cosmetics
She told WWD: “This is my first foray into beauty products and the evolution of a look.
“You want the hair and makeup to support the woman, just like you want the clothes to support the woman. You don’t want to lose the woman. That’s how Jeanne and I design.”
The news comes as the actress and designer prepares to stage the first-ever Fashion Week show for her label, Holmes & Yang.
Katie Holmes, who founded the line with stylist Jeanne Yang, will join the likes of Diane Von Furstenberg and Donna Karan at Mercedes Benz Fashion Week at Lincoln Center on Sunday.
And by all accounts, the success of the show, and the fashion press verdicts, will mean a lot to her.
Katie Holmes explained: “When you go in and you show your clothing, you think that they’re going to buy the whole collection. And when they don’t, you’re like, <<What do you mean? It all goes together. So what do we do with this?>>.
“So that was new, but I think that’s kind of a life thing – <<What, you don’t want all of me?>>”
The event will take place on the same day as Victoria Beckham, putting the two celebrities – and one-time friends – head-to-head.
The Holmes & Yang pieces, which she described as “just nice, well-made luxury items that highlight the woman wearing them”, range in price from $700 to $3000.
“We use a lot of silks and leathers and suedes,” she added, as if by way of explanation.
The Holmes & Yang first formal New York Fashion Week presentation and the Bobbi Brown beauty campaign together indicate that Katie Holmes is carving a sophisticated new image for herself, in the wake of her divorce.
Her acting career has not been completely sidelined, however.
Katie Holmes is set to star in a Broadway play, Dead Accounts, from November, and has two movies in the pipeline for next year.
The Hong Kong government has decided to back down over plans to make schoolchildren take Chinese patriotism classes, after weeks of protests.
City leader Leung Chun-ying said the classes would be optional for schools.
“The schools are given the authority to decide when and how they would like to introduce the moral and national education,” he said.
Critics said the plans were an attempt to brainwash the city’s children by the Chinese government in Beijing.
The government had said the subject was important to foster a sense of national belonging and identity. Anti-Beijing sentiment has been on the rise in semi-autonomous Hong Kong, a city of seven million people.
The Hong Kong government has decided to back down over plans to make schoolchildren take Chinese patriotism classes, after weeks of protests
The decision comes ahead of elections on Sunday, when voters will elect just over half the members of a legislative assembly that is expanding from 60 to 70 seats.
The protests had given a boost to pro-democracy legislators hoping to win a landmark election on Sunday.
The government’s surprise announcement has led some to speculate it is a move directly timed to influence that election in favor of pro-government legislators, our correspondent says.
Leung Chun-ying, who was sworn in as Hong Kong’s chief executive in July, cancelled his trip to the APEC regional summit in Vladivostok this weekend because of the furore.
The proposed curriculum, which consisted of general civics education as well as more controversial lessons on appreciating mainland China, was due to be introduced in primary schools in September and secondary schools in 2013.
According to AFP news agency, course material funded by the government extolled the benefits of one-party rule, equated multi-party democracy to chaos, and glossed over events like the Tiananmen Square crackdown and the mass starvation of Mao Zedong’s regime.
A survey released last week suggested 69% of students opposed the classes.
The climbdown came a day after activists said more than 100,000 protesters had rallied at government headquarters. Police put the turnout at 36,000.
Unlike the rest of China, Hong Kong enjoys a high degree of freedom, including a free press, the right to assemble and transparent, accountable institutions.
The row is the latest example of the cultural, social and political gap that exists between Hong Kong and its mainland masters.
It also highlights the deep suspicion with which many Hong Kong people continue to regard the Chinese government.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said that the US administration wants to normalize trade relations with Russia this month.
Hillary Clinton said the government was working closely with the US Congress to get the necessary legislation passed.
She was speaking ahead of the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) summit in Vladivostok.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has urged a fight against protectionism to turn the global economy around.
And Chinese President Hu Jintao promised his country would try to help the world’s economy by increasing the demand in China for imported goods.
Hillary Clinton speaking ahead of the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation APEC summit in Vladivostok
Although Russia is now a member of the World Trade Organisation, there is still a piece of legislation that prevents US companies trading normally with Russia – the 1974 Jackson-Vanik amendment which, although suspended, remains in place.
In her speech to the APEC summit in the Russian port city, Hillary Clinton – who is standing in for President Barack Obama – said she welcomed Russia’s commitment to playing a greater role in the Asia-Pacific region.
She added: “To make sure our companies get to compete here in Russia, we are working closely with the United States Congress to terminate the application to Jackson-Vanik to Russia and grant Russia permanent normalized trade relations.
“We hope that the Congress will act on this important piece of legislation this month.”
However there are concerns in the US Congress about Moscow’s support for Iran and Syria, as well as its broader human rights record, so the timing of a vote on the issue remains unclear.
Vladimir Putin, who is hosting the summit, expressed concern about the world economy, and particularly Europe’s debt crisis.
“The priority goal is to fight protectionism in all its forms. It is important to build bridges not walls,” he said.
President Hu Jintao said: “The world economy today is recovering slowly, and there are still some destabilizing factors and uncertainties.
“The underlying impact of the international financial crisis is far from over.
“We will work to maintain the balance between keeping steady and robust growth, adjusting the economic structure and managing inflation expectations. We will boost domestic demand and maintain steady and robust growth as well as basic price stability.”
Meanwhile, Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard has left the talks early to return home after her father died.
China’s President Hu Jintao has promised to maintain economic growth to support a global recovery, at the start of an Asia-Pacific summit in the Russian port city of Vladivostok.
China would pursue steady policies and seek to boost domestic demand, he said.
He was speaking ahead of the start of the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) summit.
All countries in the region, he said, shared a responsibility to maintain peace and stability.
“The world economy today is recovering slowly, and there are still some destabilizing factors and uncertainties,” President Hu Jintao told businessmen in a speech before the summit.
“The underlying impact of the international financial crisis is far from over.
“We will work to maintain the balance between keeping steady and robust growth, adjusting the economic structure and managing inflation expectations. We will boost domestic demand and maintain steady and robust growth as well as basic price stability.”
President Hu Jintao has promised to maintain economic growth to support a global recovery, at the start of APEC summit in Vladivostok
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has urged countries in the region to lift more barriers to free trade in the Pacific. American officials say they would welcome a more active Russian role in the region.
“Fostering a balanced and stable economy is a challenge too sweeping and complex for countries to approach in isolation,” Hillary Clinton said.
“If we do this right, globalization can become a race to the top, with rising standards of living and more broadly shared prosperity.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is hosting the summit, has expressed concern about the world economy, and particularly Europe’s debt crisis.
“The recovery of the global economy is faltering. We can only overcome negative trends by enhancing the volume of trade… enhancing the flow of capital. It is important to follow the fundamental principles of open markets and free trade,” he said.
“The priority goal is to fight protectionism in all its forms. It is important to build bridges not walls.”
Meanwhile, Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard said she was leaving the talks early to return home after her father died.
Japanese researchers mapped the muscles fibres of cheetah known to accelerate to record-breaking speeds.
By comparing the cheetah’s muscles with those of a domestic cat and dog, the team identified the special propulsion power of its hindlimb muscles.
The study is the first to investigate muscle fibre distribution across the whole of the cheetah’s body.
The findings are published in the journal Mammalian Biology and examine how the muscle fibres of domestic cats and dogs compare with those of the world’s fastest land mammal.
“The study of muscles is indispensable to understand the cheetah’s run,” said Dr. Naomi Wada, the study’s co-author and Professor in System Physiology at Yamaguchi University in Japan.
Japanese researchers mapped the muscles fibres of cheetah known to accelerate to record-breaking speeds
Different types of muscle fibre are suited to different activities, explained Dr. Naomi Wada.
In all the animals studied, so-called Type I fibres produced a small force output but were resistant to fatigue, making them best suited to maintaining posture and slow walking.
Type IIa fibre performance was best suited to fast walking and trotting whereas Type IIx or “fast” fibres created a high force output but had low endurance and were key to fast running or galloping.
By mapping the distribution of fibres across the muscles of a cheetah’s body, scientists were able to gain insights into the animal’s impressive sprint technique.
“The forelimb muscles in the cheetah included [the] most Type I muscle fibres of all three animals… while the muscle of hind limb muscles have many Type IIx fibres.”
“The functional difference between forelimb and hindlimb is the most remarkable in the cheetah,” said Dr. Naomi Wada.
The team’s results suggested that the power comes from the cheetah’s hind legs, in the same way as a rear wheel-drive car, according to Dr. Naomi Wada.
She drew a further automative parallel when describing how the cheetah handles at high speed.
The digits of the cheetah’s hindlimbs contained no fast fibres, but the digits on the front legs contained many of them.
Dr. Naomi Wada explained that this is because the cheetah controls its balance by using its forefeet to turn and slow down.
However, most rear-wheel drive cars cannot mimic the enviable acceleration of the cheetah: zero to 60 mph in under three seconds.
Previous studies have indentified the cat’s seven metre stride-length as key to this ability. With long, flexible limbs, a sprinting cheetah spends more than half its time airborne.
In order to maximize this effect, it arches and contracts its spine, and Dr. Naomi Wada and colleagues found muscle fibres that supported this technique.
The cat had a high percentage of fast fibres running along its back and middle, suggesting that it could produce a quick, strong extension of the backbone.
Princess Charlene of Monaco looked as stunning as every as she attended the annual picnic at Le Parc Princesse Antoinette yesterday.
Prince Albert and Princess Charlene looked in high-spirits as they met their subjects during the principality’s popular celebratory event.
Prince Albert, who is one of the world’s wealthiest royals with a fortune of more than $1billion, was as cheerful as could be as he showed off his consort to the adoring crowds.
Prince Albert and Princess Charlene looked in high-spirits as they met their subjects during the principality's popular celebratory event, the annual picnic at Le Parc Princess Antoinette
And the South African former swimmer has clearly taken to her royal duties like a duck to water, as she was composed and friendly throughout, and was photographed graciously accepting some flowers from an excited local girl taking back in the ceremonies.
The 54-year-old head of the House of Grimaldi donned a traditional outfit for the engagement, while Princess Charlene wore a classy long grey skirt, white tank top and pink scarf.
An ungrateful son thanked his mom by filming her sleepwalking and posting it on the internet.
The hysterical video, uploaded on YouTube, shows the pajama-clad woman wandering and then waltzing around her kitchen, while her son follows her with a camera.
The son, who goes by the YouTube name of “stillsoundlyawake”, then asks “and what exactly are you doing mam”.
With eyes open and speaking intently, the mother explains that she was trying to open a “tomato cage” – a wire structure used to grow tomatoes.
The hysterical video, uploaded on YouTube, shows the pajama-clad woman wandering and then waltzing around her kitchen, while her son follows her with a camera
“It’s a special code,” she says with a shimmy.
“I was doing a special thing. But the tomato cage wouldn’t open.”
The man, clearly amused, probes further: “And where exactly is this tomato cage?”
“Some place,” she says.
“I tried many things. But it wouldn’t open and I’m pissed off now.”
After a final, and extremely peculiar, dance move, the woman then leaves the kitchen, presumably headed back to bed.
But her son wouldn’t leave the humiliation there.
In a follow up video, which was also posted online, he shows his mother her sleepwalking antics.
Not quite believing what her subconscious self gets up to, she covers her mouth as she laughs. But her son is laughing harder.
