News Network

A father and his two sons who made up to £7m from a pirate DVD scam have been jailed at Southwark Crown Court.
Sami Sheikh, 28, and brother Rafi, 26, of North Chingford, east London, were each jailed for six years.
They were earlier found guilty of conspiring to break copyright laws, trademark laws and acquire criminal property between 2003 and 2006.
Khalid Sheikh, 53, who lived with his sons, was convicted of the copyright plot and jailed for four years.
Benefit claims
A fourth man, Xin Li, 34, of Victoria Road, Walthamstow, east London, was sentenced to two years and three months imprisonment, after being found guilty of concealing criminal property.
During the trial the court heard the gang ran a "sophisticated" operation and imported equipment from the Far East to copy new films like Ice Age 2, the Da Vinci Code and Iron Man to the "best industry standards possible".
The gang, which employed "largely illegal Chinese immigrants", produced hundreds of thousands of DVDs in "factories" housed in several semi-detached houses across London.
The DVDs were then sold on the street for as little as £3.
The father and sons, who claimed benefits, also produced pornographic and bestiality films to such an extent that some sex film shops were driven out of business, the court heard.
source: bbc.com

Brüno star Sacha Baron Cohen has been threatened by a terrorist organisation that he ridiculed in the hit satire.
The al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, a coalition of Palestinian militias in the West Bank, released a statement saying it was 'very upset' at how it is portrayed in the film.
The group is responsible for dozens of suicide bombings and shootings and has been designated as a terrorist organisation by the European Union and United States.
'The movie was part of a conspiracy against the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades,' a spokesman told Jerusalem-based journalist Aaron Klein.
'We reserve the right to respond in the way we find suitable against this man.'
In the film, Baron Cohen's Austrian character, an outrageous gay fashionista, attempts to get himself kidnapped during a meeting with Ayman Abu Aita, who is identified in the film as the leader of the Martyrs' Brigades.
Brüno is shown telling Mr Abu Aita: 'I want to be famous. I want the best guys in the business to kidnap me. Al-Qaeda is so 2001.'
Family man: Sacha Baron Cohen with fiancèe Isla Fisher
Before Mr Abu Aita can respond, Brüno suggests that he remove his moustache, explaining: 'Because your king Osama looks like a kind of dirty wizard or homeless Santa.'
A spokesman for 37-year-old Baron Cohen refused to comment on the threat.
Mr Klein, the WorldNet reporter who received the statement from the Martyrs' Brigades, said today: 'These are terrorists who are fundamentalist Islamists. They are against feminism, gay rights and abortion.
'Once I asked them what would they do if they found out one of their members was a homosexual. They said they would cut off his head.'
Mr Abu Aita himself has threatened to sue Baron Cohen. He claims he was tricked into appearing in the film and has insisted that he is no longer involved in the Martyrs' Brigades.
Baron Cohen is reported to have received death threats in America and Kazakhstan after his previous box office hit, Borat. source: mail.com

Conventional wisdom has it that the first animals evolved in the ocean.

Now researchers studying ancient rock samples in South China have found that the first animal fossils are preserved in ancient lake deposits, not in marine sediments as commonly assumed.

These new findings not only raise questions as to where the earliest animals were living, but what factors drove animals to evolve in the first place.

For some 3 billion years, single-celled life forms such as bacteria dominated the planet. Then, roughly 600 million years ago, the first multi-cellular animals appeared on the scene, diversifying rapidly.

The oldest known animal fossils in the world are preserved in South China's Doushantuo Formation. These fossil beds have no adult specimens - instead, many of the fossils appear to be microscopic embryos.

"Our first unusual finding in this region was the abundance of a clay mineral called smectite," said researcher Tom Bristow, now at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. "In rocks of this age, smectite is normally transformed into other types of clay. The smectite in these South China rocks, however, underwent no such transformation and have a special chemistry that, for the smectite to form, requires specific conditions in the water - conditions commonly found in salty, alkaline lakes."

The researchers collected hundreds of rock samples from several locations in South China. All their analyses suggest these rocks were not marine sediments.

"Moreover, we found smectite in only some locations in South China, and not uniformly as one would expect for marine deposits," Bristow said. "Taken together, several lines of evidence indicated to us that these early animals lived in a lake environment."

HONOLULU – State officials in Hawaii on Monday said they have once again checked and confirmed that President Barack Obama was born in Hawaii and is a natural-born American citizen, and therefore meets a key constitutional requirement for being president.

They hoped to stem a recent surge in the number of inquiries about Obama's birthplace.

"I ... have seen the original vital records maintained on file by the Hawaii State Department of Health verifying Barack Hussein Obama was born in Hawaii and is a natural-born American citizen," Health Director Dr. Chiyome Fukino said in a brief statement. "I have nothing further to add to this statement or my original statement issued in October 2008 over eight months ago."

So-called "birthers" — who claim Obama is ineligible to be president because, they argue, he was actually born outside the United States — have grown more vocal recently on blogs and television news shows. source: yahoo news

Tour de France winner Alberto Contador has launched a stinging attack on Astana team-mate Lance Armstrong.
The 26-year-old Spaniard won his second Tour title in Paris on Sunday, with American Armstrong finishing third.
"My relationship with Lance Armstrong is zero," Contador told a news conference in Madrid.
"He is a great rider but it is another thing on a personal level, where I have never had great admiration for him and I never will."
The 26-year-old Spaniard was the strongest rider in the mountains and in the time trials and eventually beat Andy Schleck into second place by four minutes 11 seconds, with Armstrong third at 5:24 back and Briton Bradley Wiggins in fourth, 6:01 adrift.
There were regular reports of tension between Armstrong and Contador throughout the event, with the 37-year-old seven-time champion - making his first appearance in the race since 2005 - often criticising his Astana team-mate's strategy.
We need duels in sport, like Rafael Nadal v Roger Federer or Bernard Hinault v Greg LeMond
Tour organiser Christian Prudhomme
Contador admitted relations between the two were strained throughout.
"The situation was tense and delicate because the relationship between myself and Lance extended to the rest of the staff," he said.
"On this Tour, the days in the hotel were harder than the those on the road."
Contador, who missed last year's Tour after Astana were not invited because of their past doping record, refused to be drawn on his future but it seems unlikely to lie with Astana. source: bbc.com

India's launch of a nuclear-powered submarine is a threat to regional peace and security, Pakistan has said.
"Pakistan will take appropriate steps to safeguard its security without entering an arms race," foreign office spokesman Abdul Basit said.
The submarine, unveiled at a ceremony on Sunday, will be able to launch missiles at targets 700km away.
At Sunday's launch, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said India had no aggressive designs on anyone.
India has become only the sixth country in the world to build its own nuclear-powered submarine - until now only the US, Russia, France, Britain and China had the capability to do so.
'Jeopardising security'
But the move has prompted concern over the border.
"The continued induction of new lethal weapon systems by India is detrimental to regional peace and stability," Mr Basit said.
"Pakistan believes the maintenance of strategic balance is essential for peace and security in the region."
Pakistan navy spokesman, Captain Abid Majeed Butt, told Dawn News television that the launch of the submarine was a "destabilising step".
He said it would "jeopardise the security paradigm of the entire Indian Ocean region" - and warned of a possible nuclear arms race in the region.
At the launch ceremony Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said it was necessary to keep pace with technological advancements worldwide.
He added that the sea was becoming increasingly relevant to India's security concerns. source: bbc.com

By Sebastian Usher
BBC News
A Saudi man who boasted about his sexual conquests on an Arabic TV station has tearfully apologised, as calls mounted for him to be punished.
Mazen Abdul Jawad talked about his sexual conquests, starting with a neighbour when he was 14, and how he picks up women in the kingdom.
Saudi media say officials are considering whether to charge him.
Pre-marital sex is illegal in Saudi Arabia and Mr Abdul Jawad could face imprisonment or flogging.
Discreet society Saudi Arabia is not only the most conservative society in the Arab world, it is also the most discreet.
If people break its strict Islamic code they face punishment - lashes or imprisonment for drinking or non-marital sex.

These rules are flouted by locals as well as expatriates, but almost everyone who breaks the rules keeps quiet about it and hopes they won't be found out.
So it is unusual for a Saudi man to appear on TV freely discussing the ways in which he has transgressed the Saudi code.
Mr Abdul Jawad agreed to be interviewed for the Red Lines show on the popular Lebanese TV station, LBC.
The show deals with taboos in the Arab world.
Bluetooth dating
Mr Abdul Jawad talked openly about his sexual conquests, starting when he was 14.
He also described how he used the Bluetooth function on his mobile to meet Saudi women.
Religious authorities have tried to ban such devices for this very reason.
Complaints have now been filed against Mr Abdul Jawad in his local court and online Saudi forums are full of denunciations of his behaviour.
He says he is considering suing LBC for misrepresenting his views.

By Kevin Peachey
Personal finance reporter, BBC News
Traditional forms of collection have fallen down the agenda
On a cold December day, volunteers were sent out into the streets of Bury St Edmunds with their collection tins and encouraged to do their best.
The UK was on the cusp of recession. With families watching their pennies, they were expecting to find it relatively tough to raise money for the local St Nicholas Hospice.
But the annual "flag day" raised a record £1,200 - more than expected - as generous shoppers popped their loose change and more in the buckets.
"The only area of fundraising that has not been hit is the community side," said Yasmin Jeffery, marketing manager for the hospice.
She says many locals know someone who has been cared for in the hospice, which was established 25 years ago, so they still gave generously - whatever the state of the economy.
'Commitment'
The latest figures from the UK Cards Association suggests the public's appetite for giving to charities has not diminished during the downturn.


Some charities still face that double whammy of a drop in income as well as an increased demand for services
Dame Suzi Leather, Charity Commission
The trade association for the cards industry said that in the first four months of 2009, the value of donations on debit cards was up 24% on the same period the previous year. Credit card donations were up 11% over the same timescale.
This followed an 18% rise in donations on plastic cards in 2008 - up from £1.01bn in 2007 to £1.19bn in 2008.
"These card figures tell us an interesting story. Despite the economic downturn, it seems there was no let-up last year in people's commitment to charity," says Sandra Quinn, of the UK Cards Association.
"Over the last few years we have seen more charities offer donors additional ways to pay, particularly with cards, and particularly online - all of which makes donating extremely easy, and unquestionably plays a part in the increase in charity spending on plastic cards."
Bigger picture
The Charity Commission keeps updated data on the financial position of registered charities in England and Wales.
Its figures show the annual income of the 166,807 main charities reached £51.16bn by the end of June 2009. This was up from £48.4bn at the end of 2008 when there were more charities - 168,354.
With the figures having risen steadily over the previous years, the position still looks rosy for charities.
But these statistics do not tell the full story.
Various aspects of charitable giving have been hit in recent months. With the value of homes and shares having fallen sharply, the amount received in wills has been cut.
A recent report by a think tank, the Smith Institute, concluded that there might be a loss in the value of legacies of between £150m and £200m in 2009.
Low interest rates have also meant that charities' own savings and investments had not performed as well as they might have expected. Some were caught up in the saga with the Icelandic banks.
An economic survey of 1,000 charities in England and Wales in February discovered that 52% of those asked said they had been affected by the financial downturn. Some 58% suggested that they suffered a drop in income.
"Clearly the impact of the financial downturn on charities is widening and deepening. Some charities still face that double whammy of a drop in income as well as an increased demand for services," says Dame Suzi Leather, who chairs the Charity Commission.
During a downturn many charities, ranging from those supporting people with mental health issues to those with housing needs or helping people who are victims of domestic violence, see the need for their work become more acute.
With these charity staff working harder, it seems the volunteers who raise the cash and those making donations will have to dig deeper too.
source: bbc.com

Children who eat plenty of dairy foods such as milk and cheese can expect to live longer, a study suggests.
Some 4,374 UK children from a 1930s study were traced 65 years later by researchers in Bristol and Queensland.
They found those who had had high dairy and calcium intakes as children had been protected against stroke and other causes of death, journal Heart reports.
Despite dairy containing artery furring fat and cholesterol, high consumption did not raise the heart disease risk.
The findings appear to back the practice of giving extra milk to schoolchildren.
Protective
The study looked at family diets and found higher intakes of both calcium and dairy, predominantly from milk, cut mortality by a quarter.
A higher daily intake of calcium, of at least 400mg as found in just over half a pint of milk, cut the chance of dying from stroke by as much as 60%.
These beneficial effects were seen at estimated intake levels similar to those currently recommended by experts.
Three servings of dairy foods - for example, a 200ml glass of milk, a pot of yogurt and a small piece of cheese - will provide all the calcium most people need each day.
Other factors may play a part - though researchers say they took into account that children with the highest dairy intakes came from wealthier families and ate better diets overall - but there is evidence that high calcium intake is good for blood pressure.
Balance
Prolonged high blood pressure increases the risk of stroke.
Dairy consumption may also influence heart and circulation health through a hormone called insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), say the study authors from the UK's University of Bristol and Australia's Queensland Institute of Medical Research.
In adults, high circulating levels of IGF-1 are linked with reduced cases of heart failure and heart disease deaths.
Joanne Murphy of The Stroke Association said: "This is an interesting study, but we need to take a further look to really assess the benefits of milk in reducing the chances of dying from stroke.
"In the meantime, we advise parents to opt for a diet rich in fruit and vegetables and low in saturated fat and salt for the overall health of their children."
June Davison, cardiac nurse for the British Heart Foundation said: "It is important to include dairy as part of a balanced diet from the early years.
"However, older children and adults should consume low-fat dairy products such as semi-skimmed, 1% or skimmed milk and low-fat yogurts, which will help keep saturated fat intake low to help protect the heart."
Studies investigating a link between cancer and dairy products have not given clear results. Some research shows an increase in the risk of developing cancer, and some shows a decrease.
source: bbc.com

Remember Conficker?
The hugely talked-about computer worm seemed poised to wreak havoc on the world's machines on April Fool's Day.
And then ... nothing much happened.
But while the doom and gloom forecast for the massive botnet -- a remotely controlled network that security experts say infected about 5 million computers -- never came to pass, Conficker is still making some worm hunters nervous.
Phillip Porras, program director at SRI International, a nonprofit research group, said Conficker infects millions of machines around the world. And the malware's author or authors could use that infected network to steal information or make money off of the compromised computer users.
"Conficker does stand out as one of those bots that is very large and has been able to sustain itself on the Web," which is rare, said Porras, who also is a member of the international group tracking Conficker.

Still, computer users, even those infected with Conficker, haven't seen much in the way of terrifying results.source: cnn.com

Barely an hour's drive from the casinos of Las Vegas, a group of unassuming buildings have become as important as the trenches were to WWI. The big difference? Today's warriors are fighting without getting in harm's way, using drones to attack targets in Afghanistan and Pakistan.U.S. Air Force fighter pilot Major Morgan Andrews is one such combatant. He kisses his wife goodbye, drives to Creech, a tiny desert air force base in Nevada, and within minutes could be killing insurgents on the other side of the world.

Andrews fights not from the seat of the F16 he joined the air force to fly but from a darkened ground control station. He pilots a remote-controlled Predator, a UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) which can spy on and attack positions and personnel without risk to its controller, shooting deadly Hellfire missiles at enemy fighters in support of fellow soldiers.

"You're talking to them on the radios as if we were in a normal airplane flying overhead," says Andrews. "You see the imagery, you know what's going on, you see what you're looking at. It's very easy when something like that is happening to project yourself there and feel a part of the battle. source: cnn.com

Sarkozy left hospital arm-in-arm with his wife, Carla Bruni, shaking hands with medical staff before being driven away in an official car, according to Agence France-Presse.

The 54-year-old fainted while exercising with bodyguards in hot sunshine near his weekend home close to the Palace of Versailles -- though officials stressed he was never unconscious.

A witness told AFP that Bruni arrived at the scene shortly afterwards on a police scooter. Sarkozy was then flown to the Val-de-Grace military hospital by helicopter.

Officials said Sunday that Sarkozy's condition was due to a "minor" nerve condition known as a vasovagal syncope, which affects the flow of blood to the heart causing low blood pressure and faintness, according to AFP.source: cnn.com

JERUSALEM (CNN) -- President Obama's offer to engage with Iran is not "open-ended," and he is "anticipating or hoping for" a response within the next two months, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Monday.
Standing alongside his Israeli counterpart, Ehud Barak, Gates emphasized U.S. concern about "what appears to be [Iran's] intent to develop nuclear weapons."

"I think we're in full agreement of the negative consequences of Iran obtaining this kind of a capability," Gates said. "I think we are also agreed that it is important to take every opportunity to try and persuade the Iranians to reconsider what is actually in their own security interest."

The defense secretary's visit to Israel is part of a busy week of U.S. diplomacy in the region. George Mitchell, Obama's special envoy to the Middle East, is also meeting with top officials, including Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank.

At a joint news conference, Gates and Barak discussed their common ground with respect to Iran, though Barak noted that Israel seeks tough actions. "If there is an engagement, we believe it should be short in time, well-defined in objectives, followed by sanctions," Barak said.source:cnn.com

Michael Jackson's personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, administered a powerful drug that authorities believe killed the singer, a source with knowledge of the investigation confirmed to CNN on Monday.
Murray, a Texas-based cardiologist, allegedly gave Jackson the anesthetic propofol -- commonly known by the brand name Diprivan -- in the 24 hours before he died, the source said.

The doctor's attorneys in a statement Monday said they wouldn't comment on "rumors, innuendo or unnamed sources." In the past, they have said Murray never prescribed or administered anything that could have killed the pop star.

Murray was the doctor who was at Jackson's home when the pop star died on June 25.

Last week, Texas authorities searched Murray's Houston medical office and storage unit, looking for "evidence of the offense of manslaughter," according to court documents.

Among the items removed from Murray's office were a computer; 27 tablets of phentermine, a prescription-strength appetite suppressant; 1 tablet of clonazepam, an anti-anxiety medication; and some Rolodex cards.

From Murray's storage unit, authorities removed two computer hard drives; and "important contact list;" a suspension notice from Houston's Doctor Hospital; notices from the Internal Revenue Service; and a laundry list of medical and hospital documents.
source: cnn.com

Nearly two years after he pleaded guilty to a federal charge of bankrolling a dogfighting operation at a home he owned in Virginia, Michael Vick was reinstated to the National Football League on a conditional basis, according to an NFL statement Monday.
Vick "will be considered for full reinstatement and to play in regular-season games by Week 6 based on the progress he makes in his transition plan," the statement said. Week 6 of the NFL season is in October.

Vick may participate in practices, workouts and meetings and may play in his club's final two preseason games under the conditions of his reinstatement, the league said.

Vick, in a statement, thanked the league's commissioner and former Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy, who has served as his mentor.

"I would like to express my sincere gratitude and appreciation to Commissioner [Roger] Goodell for allowing me to be readmitted to the National Football League," Vick said in a statement. "I fully understand that playing football in the NFL is a privilege, not a right, and I am truly thankful for the opportunity I have been given." source: cnn.com

Shoulder-launched anti-tank weapons purchased by Venezuela have ended up in the hands of guerrillas, Colombian Vice President Francisco Santos said.
In an interview with Caracol Radio Monday, Santos addressed local reports of anti-tank weapons manufactured in Sweden being seized from members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, and traced to Venezuela.
"This is not the first time that this happens," Santos said. "In several operations in which we have recovered weapons from the FARC, we have found powerful munitions and powerful equipment, including anti-tank weapons, from a European country that sold them to Venezuela and that turned up in the hands of the FARC."

The weapons have been identified as AT4 shoulder-fired rockets manufactured by Saab Bofors Dynamics in Sweden, according to Jane's Defence Weekly.

They were seized in 2008 from a guerrilla base, the Colombian magazine Semana reported.

Jan-Erik Lovgren, the Swedish official who oversees weapon exports, told Radio Sweden on Monday that his country stopped selling weapons to Venezuela in 2006.

Venezuela on Monday denied allegations that they gave the weapons to the guerrilla group. source:cnn.com