The Big Birds are falling: As an Algerian passenger jet crashed in Sahara desert

The search for the Air Algerie flight which vanished with 116 people on board en route from Burkina Faso to Algiers is centring on a 'vast strip' of land in Mali, France's foreign minister said today.
Amid conflicting reports, Laurent Fabius said no wreckage had yet been found, but believed the plane had 'probably crashed.' 
Air navigation services lost track of the Swiftair MD-83 around 50 minutes into the flight after the crew reportedly asked to change course over fears it was flying into a storm.

The plane, which is operated by Air Algerie, was last picked up on radar at 1.55am GMT en route from Burkina Faso to Algiers.
It should have landed in the Algerian capital around three hours later, but didn't arrive.
Earlier, aviation officials had reportedly said debris from the plane had been spotted in a 'very inaccessible desert area' between Gao and Kidal in Mali.
But Mr Fabius said this afternoon that 'no trace' had been seen.
He said: 'The plane has probably crashed. The searches are focusing at this stage on a vast strip of Malian territory around the region of Gao.'

The list of passengers on AH5017 includes 51 French, 27 Burkina Faso nationals, eight Lebanese, six Algerians and five Canadians.
There were also four Germans, two Luxemburg nationals, one Swiss, one Belgium, one Egyptian, one Ukrainian, one Nigerian, one Cameroonian and one Malian, Burkina Faso Transport Minister Jean Bertin Ouedraogo said. 
The six crew members are Spanish, according to the Spanish pilots' union.
The flight path of AH5017 from Ouagadougou, the capital of the west African nation of Burkina Faso, to Algiers was not immediately clear.
However, Burkina Faso Transport Minister Jean Bertin Ouedragor said the flight had been asked to change route because of a storm around 30 minutes after taking off.
A source from Air Algerie told the AFP news agency said contact was lost while it was still in Malian air space approaching the border with Algeria.
The source said: 'The plane was not far from the Algerian frontier when the crew was asked to make a detour because of poor visibility and to prevent the risk of collision with another aircraft on the Algiers-Bamako route.
'Contact was lost after the change of course.'

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The Air Conditional does more than just Cooling

Keeping your bedroom slightly chilly might have measurable metabolic health benefits beyond simply being comfy. A recent study by National Institutes of Health researchers in the journal Diabetes suggests that cooler bedrooms can change bodies noticeably, resulting in "slight but meaningful" advantages that could potentially lessen the risk of diabetes and other metabolic problems. Here's how it works.
The NIH research team discovered that sleeping at colder temperatures significantly increased the amount of "brown fat" in participants. Brown adipose tissue, or brown fat, has a popular perception as the "good" fat because it stores energy in smaller droplets which burn more quickly in the body than the more common white fat.
Until recently, scientists believed adults didn't have any brown fat — but they were wrong. Small deposits have been found in the necks and upper backs of many adults. Some research has suggested adults with more brown fat tend to be leaner and have lower blood sugar.
The NIH research team managed to persuade five male volunteers to sleep in climate-controlled chambers at their facility for four months in a study appropriately titled "ICEMAN" (Impact of Chronic Cold Exposure in Humans). The scientists kept them on a controlled diet and gave them just thin sheets to sleep under. For the first month, the volunteers slept at a very neutral 75 degrees. The second month they slept at a chilly 66 degrees. In the third, they again slept at 75 degrees to reset, finally sleeping the fourth in a warmer setting of 81 degrees.
Researchers found the colder temperatures had nearly doubled the male volunteers' volume of brown fat, improving to their insulin sensitivity. They also burnt some calories just by being colder at night (this isn't a weight loss trick; the difference wasn't enough for the men to lose weight after just a month). But after putting the volunteers back at baseline temperatures, the additional brown fat disappeared. Sleeping at 81 degrees drove the brown fat levels to below original levels.
What it means for you: The study's results indicate that being slightly chilly more of the time could actually be good for you. It also backs up another recent Dutch study that found long-term exposure to mild cold stimulates brown fat to burn more calories than a resting metabolic rate.
Study lead Paul Lee says higher temperatures in the winter may be a small stealth factor contributing to obesity. Wonderful — now global warming's not only harming the environment, it's also making us fatter. In short, we gotta keep it cool to survive.

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When the past catchup with the present: Frank Lampard is haunted by US Soccer Fans for his Past misdeed in mocking some US tourists in the wake of the 9/11 attack

Frank Lampard is facing a backlash from US soccer fans after a newspaper ran an article reminding people of a 2001 incident during which he allegedly mocked tourists stranded by the 9/11 attacks.

During the incident on September 12, Lampard and three team mates allegedly stripped, swore and vomited in front of US tourists stranded at Heathrow after flights were grounded following the attacks by terrorists on the World Trade Center.

The former Chelsea star and his fellow players were docked two weeks' wages over the incident, though the 9/11 attacks were not specifically mentioned by the footballers.

The story was published just as Lampard, 36, is reportedly finalising a deal with New York Football Club.

The incident took place at Heathrow airport after Chelsea's game against Levski Sofia of Bulgaria was suspended as a mark of respect for those killed on 9/11.

Lampard and other players reportedly went on a five-hour drinking binge before returning to the Posthouse hotel where they abused guests.

According to The Telegraph, a manager at Heathrow's Post House hotel said: 'They were utterly disgusting. They just didn't seem to care about what had happened.

'We had a lot of Americans here and were simply trying to comfort them in their hour of need. Meanwhile these men were laughing and joking, taking off their clothes and abusing our guests.'

The players were fined two weeks' wages, around £130,000, with the proceeds donated to victims of the tragedy.

On NYCFC fan forums, supporters reacted angrily to the news, with one called Tom saying: 'This is a poorly thought out signing. If it happens.

'Trying to appeal to the city aspect of New York, and bringing in a guy whose "youthful gaffe" was about as appalling to New Yorkers as it gets, is tone deaf to say the least.'

Yankeedom added: 'If you're old enough to get drunk and abuse American tourists regarding something as tragic as 9/11, hours after it happened, then you are old enough to deserve any ill-will people will have toward you.'

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The Number One Social Media Network 'Facebook' now has 1.32 billion users

Facebook posted sharply higher earnings on Wednesday as revenue from mobile advertising continued to grow, along with its user base.

The company's shares climbed nearly 4 percent in extended trading after the results came out, signaling that they could hit a record high when the stock market opens on Thursday.

Facebook Inc. (FB) said Wednesday that it earned $788 million, or 30 cents per share, in the April-June period, up from $331 million, or 13 cents per share, in the same quarter a year ago.

Adjusted earnings were 42 cents per share, beating Wall Street's expectations of 33 cents, according to a poll by Zacks Investment Research.

Facebook's revenue jumped 61 percent to $2.91 billion from $1.81 billion in the same quarter a year ago. 

Analysts expected $2.8 billion.

This was the fifth quarter in a row that Facebook beat Wall Street's forecasts.

Advertising revenue jumped 67 percent to $2.68 billion.

Mobile ad revenue, a closely watched figure, was 1.66 billion, or 62 percent of Facebook's total advertising revenue for the quarter.

In the first three months of the year, mobile ads accounted for 59 percent of Facebook's total ad revenue.

The steady increase indicates that Facebook is succeeding in steering advertisers to its mobile platform at a time when most of its users are using mobile devices to access the social network.

Facebook had 1.32 billion active users at the end of June, up 14 percent from a year earlier.

On average, 829 million people used Facebook every day in June, up 19 percent from a year earlier.

The number of people who log in at least once a day on mobile devices was 654 million on average in June, up 14 percent from a year earlier.

'We had a good second quarter,' said CEO Mark Zuckerberg in a statement.

'Our community has continued to grow, and we see a lot of opportunity ahead as we connect the rest of the world.'

He also confirmed the average American spends 40 minutes a day on the site.

Facebook's stock jumped $2.77, or 3.9 percent, to $74.06 in extended trading after the results came out.

The stock had closed up $2.02 at $71.29.

Shares of the Menlo Park, California-based company have climbed $16.64, or 30 percent, to $71.29 since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index has climbed 7.5 percent.

The stock has more than doubled in the last 12 months.

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FIFA treat Suarez like a murderer- Aspas

Iago Aspas has told Spanish radio that his former Liverpool teammate Luis Suarez has been "treated like a murderer" by FIFA.
Uruguay international Suarez is serving a four-month worldwide suspension from football-related activity after biting Italy's Giorgio Chiellini during a World Cup match in the Brazilian city of Natal on June 24.
The ban -- which also precludes him from his national team's next nine matches -- does not apply to transfers, meaning that the 27-year-old was able to complete a 75 million pound move to Barcelona last week.
But Suarez cannot play for Barcelona, train with his teammates or even attend their matches until late October. He was also barred from attending the news conference held by Barca to announce his arrival.
Aspas, who completed a season-long loan move from Liverpool to Sevilla on Monday, believes that the Uruguayan has been treated harshly.
"They are treating Luis like a murderer and not like a footballer," he told Cadena COPE.
"There are murderers who pay less for what they have done. To not let him be presented by Barcelona, to train or to enter the stadium is too much."

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When Elephants fight the Grass suffer: As Ukraine parliament erupts into a free for all fight

Ukraine's parliament erupted into a brawl yesterday after a decision to send more reserve soldiers to battle separatists near the Russian border was approved.

Nationalist and pro-Russian lawmakers were seen swinging at, and wrestling one another, in scenes more fitting of a bar room brawl than a debating chamber. 

Members of the nationalist Svoboda (Freedom) party and politicians from the Party of Regions clashed after 232 deputies voted in favour of the decision - an extension of an earlier plan that had expired.

Fighting continues in the separatist-controlled Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine. In the nearby Lukansk region, the national military has reportedly made some gains against pro-Russian militants, the Moscow Times reported.

 

This is not the first time fists have flown in the Ukranian parliament. In April, a fight broke out after communist leader Petro Symonenko accused nationalists of having surrendered the country to Russia.

The fights come as tensions continue over the handling of last Thursday's MH17 crisis which claimed 298 lives - including 10 Britons.
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World Best Players Play in Spain- Gareth Bale

Gareth Bale thinks the Premier League has lost its tag as the best in the world.
Bale spent six years at Tottenham before he moved to Real Madrid for a world-record fee of 85.3 million pounds.
The European champions wasted little time signing James Rodriguez for 63 million pounds this summer, following his stunning performances at the World Cup.
Real beat English competition to sign Toni Kroos from Bayern Munich while Luis Suarez left Liverpool for Barcelona in a 75 million-pound deal last month.
The Premier League has always prided itself on supposedly being the most enthralling championship in world football, but for Bale, La Liga is the best around.
"The Spanish League is the most exciting," the Welshman said. "The world's top players play there. Barcelona or Real Madrid are always there near the Champions League final or winning it.
"The Premier League is a great league but we are attracting the best players to La Liga. It is great to be involved in it."
The arrival of Rodriguez, who was top scorer at the World Cup, means Bale now has to work even harder to retain his first-team place despite being the most expensive player of all time.
The former Southampton winger has Cristiano Ronaldo, Rodriguez, Angel Di Maria, Isco, Kroos and Karim Benzema for competition.
But the 25-year-old does not hold anything against the club for signing another player in his area of the field.
"James is a great signing," Bale said. "He has shown what quality he has in the World Cup and hopefully he can produce for Real Madrid what he did for Colombia.
"It's for the manager to decide what system we play and who plays. You need to perform well to keep your place. Everyone knows that."
Almost a year has passed since Bale signed a six-year contract at the Santiago Bernabeu.
The move to Spain was not easy for the Wales international. Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy held out for a world-record fee for the star, which put a strain on Bale's relationship with the north London club.
Spurs threatened to fine Bale for missing training as he looked to force through a move to the Spanish capital.
The transfer did not go through until September 1, which meant Bale missed out on a full pre-season programme with his new club.
That is not the case this year. After a summer of rest, Bale has been working hard this week in Los Angeles, where Real are basing themselves for the International Champions Cup -- a pre-season tournament which includes some of the best teams in Europe.
Bale may not be fluent in Spanish but otherwise now feels settled at a club he believes is the biggest in the world.
He said: "It's very difficult when you first come over, but they are such a great bunch of boys in the changing room here and they made me feel welcome. A lot of them speak English, which helped me.
"Getting used to the climate was quite a big change but I have a great team around me which helps. It is exactly what I hoped for at Real Madrid.''
It is easy to see why Bale regards his club as the biggest on the planet.

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A Christian Man was sentenced by having his lips burnt with a cigarette for eating during Ramadan in Iran

An Iranian judge sentenced a Christian man to have his lips burnt with a cigarette for eating during the day in the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

The barbaric punishment was carried out in public in a square in the city of Kermanshah.

Five other Muslim men were also flogged in public with 70 lashes for not fasting during Ramadan, the city's deputy governor Ali Ashraf Karami said.

A spokesperson from The National Council of Resistance of Iran, a political coalition which opposes the government, denounced the treatment as 'savage' and called on western countries to take action.

They said: 'The silence of the world community, especially of western countries, vis-à-vis these medieval punishments under the excuse of having nuclear talks with Iran has intensified the brutal and systematic violation of human rights in Iran.

'This will ultimately embolden the Iranian regime to continue its nuclear projects more than before.'

But earlier this year the UN blasted Iran for the persecution of Christians in a damning report laid bare to the world in March.

The detailed report found that Iran has continued to imprison Christians for their faith and designated house churches and evangelical Christians as 'threats to national security.'

At least 49 Christians were among 307 religious minorities being held in Iranian jails as of January 2014, noted the UN, which also criticised the regime for its hostility to Jews, Baha’is, Zoroastrians and Dervish Muslims.

In its annual report on people imprisoned for their faith around the world, the Brussels-based organization Human Rights Without Frontiers (HRWF) named Iran as one of five countries with the largest number of 'freedom of religion or belief prisoners.'

There are an estimated 250,000 Christians in Iran's 76 million strong population.

They all face torture, imprisonment or the death sentence under Sharia law for not observing Islamic religious festivals and dress codes.

Thousands of persecuted Christians have fled the country, which saw Hossein Soodmand hanged in 2008 for following the faith.
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