Contador furious with Armstrong
28 July 2009

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 submarine 'threatens peace'

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
Saudi sex boasts man apologises
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.
Hit or miss for charities in recession?
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
Dairy for children 'extends life'

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
Whatever happened to the Conficker worm?

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
How robot drones revolutionized the face of warfare

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