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NewsQA
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KABUL, Afghanistan (CNN) -- Four U.S. service members were killed in fighting Tuesday in eastern Afghanistan, the U.S. military said.
An Interior Ministry official said the victims of a suicide bomb blast at Kabul airport were all civilians.
The deaths took place in Kunar province in what a spokeswoman called an "ongoing event."
Troop deaths have mounted in Afghanistan this year as American and other international forces have stepped up their fight against the Taliban.
August was the deadliest month for the U.S. military in the nearly eight-year-old war, with 52 fatalities. The four deaths on Tuesday bring the number of U.S. troop deaths in Afghanistan to 13 in September.
Elsewhere, a suicide bomber killed two people and wounded six others Tuesday morning in the Kabul airport's military section, Afghan officials said.
U.S. and Belgian nationals were among the wounded, a Western diplomatic official told CNN. The victims were all civilians, the Interior Ministry official said.
The blast occurred near a gate at Kabul International Airport, said Zamari Bashari, a representative of Afghanistan's Ministry of Interior.
NATO forces fighting in Afghanistan and other government organizations use the military side of the airport.
In Pakistan, eight tankers carrying fuel for NATO forces over the border in Afghanistan were attacked near Quetta, according to Quetta police. People on motorcycles fired shots at the tankers when they were parked at a rest area, but they did not catch fire, police said.
CNN's Atia Abawi contributed to this report.
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140ee4a97c944e89b14c0ffc46b1bfb3
|
Where did the suicide bomber set off his bomb?
|
[
"Kabul airport"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Mourners gathered Saturday in a California church to remember slain Yale graduate student Annie Le, 24, whose body was found on the day she was to be married.
Yale student Annie Le's family said in a statement that "her laughter was infectious."
"You were born in my loving embrace," said Le's mother, Vivian Van Le, reading a poem she'd written in Vietnamese to those gathered for the funeral at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in El Dorado Hills, California.
Chris Le -- her son and Annie Le's brother -- provided a translation.
"The most wonderful gift that God had sent to me. ... You left life at too young an age, at the beginning of many great things. All the dreams and hopes of your future gone with you to your resting place," Vivian Van Le said, according to her son.
Le, a pharmacology graduate student, was last seen alive on September 8, the day she appeared in a surveillance video as she entered the four-story lab at 10 Amistad St., about 10 blocks from Yale University's campus.
Her body was found inside the basement wall of the building on September 12, the day she was to be married.
Authorities have charged Yale lab technician Raymond Clark, 24, with Le's murder. Bond has been set at $3 million, according to police. See timeline of case »
Vivian Van Le addressed her daughter's fiance, Jonathan Widawsky, on Saturday at the funeral, saying, "Even now, Annie is gone. But I still have you and love you very much, like my son, Christopher."
Widawsky is a graduate student in physics at Columbia University, according to Yale. Watch loved ones say goodbye to Le »
Monsignor James C. Kidder told the mourners that "the worth of Annie's life was not its length, it was its intensity of love."
Yale released a statement Friday, saying that a university memorial service would be held on October 12. The university is also establishing a scholarship in Le's memory.
It released a statement from her family, saying "Annie was loved by everyone who knew her and special to all those who came in contact with her. ... Her laughter was infectious and her goodness was ingenuous. ... We will always remember her beautiful smile, her fun-loving spirit, and the joy that she brought to us all."
|
1647450e32a24b9f9b8824f60628bd60
|
who was charged
|
[
"Raymond Clark,"
] |
NewsQA
|
BERLIN, Germany (CNN) -- Six Italian men were shot dead in the German city of Duisburg on Wednesday in an execution-style killing linked to a mafia feud.
Police remove a body from the scene.
Italian Interior Minister Giuliano Amato said the shootings appeared to be linked to a feud between two mafia clans in the southern region of Calabria, home to the 'Ndrangheta organized crime group.
Here are some key facts about the group:
ORIGINS:
-- The Calabrian "Honored Society", known as "'Ndrangheta", in the Calabria region of south Italy is the equivalent of the Sicilian Mafia.
-- 'Ndrangheta began as a defense network for impoverished rural peasants against aristocratic landlords. Members emigrated to Canada and the United States, and were discovered running an intimidation scheme in Pennsylvania mining towns in 1906.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
-- They are known as "The Honored Society", Fibbia or Calabrian mafia. Instead of the pyramid structure of bosses used by other mafia, The 'Ndrangheta" uses families based on blood relationships, inter-marriages, or being a Godfather. Each group is named after their village, or after the family leader.
TWENTIETH CENTURY EXPANSION:
-- When Calabria began the process of industrialization and urbanization in the late 20th century, the 'Ndrangheta became interested in drug trafficking, weapons sales and public works and construction.
THE PRESENT:
-- In 2004, authorities uncovered an international drugs trafficking network involving gangs in South America, Australia, and Europe. Drugs from Colombia were destined for countries such as Greece and Bulgaria.
-- Italian officials estimated at the time that 80 percent of Europe's cocaine had arrived from Colombia via Gioia Tauro's docks in Reggio Calabria.
-- Italian anti-organized crime agencies have estimated that the 'NDrangheta earns about $30 billion annually, mostly from illegal drugs, but also from ostensibly legal businesses such as construction, restaurants and supermarkets.
-- There are believed to be about 100 'Ndrangheta families in Calabria, who have become more successful than their Sicilian counterparts because their family ties are closer. E-mail to a friend
|
92d329d34dba42b280f5ef4d48eeed95
|
What part of the city were they found?
|
[
"Duisburg"
] |
NewsQA
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(CNN) -- A Connecticut woman attacked Monday by her friend's pet chimpanzee was taken Thursday from a Connecticut hospital to the famed Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, a hospital spokeswoman said. She would not divulge the victim's condition nor the reason for the move.
Travis, seen here as a younger chimp, was fatally shot by police after attacking Nash, authorities say.
Charla Nash, 55, was transferred by airplane and ambulance to the clinic, where doctors in December performed the first facial transplant in the United States.
The attack has raised questions about whether exotic animals should be kept as pets. Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said Wednesday that primates and crocodiles should be added to a state list of animals citizens are not allowed to own.
Nash initially was taken to Stamford Hospital, where she underwent seven hours of surgery after she was attacked by the 14-year-old chimp, named Travis.
Nash's friend, Sandra Herold, 70, had called Nash for help in getting the animal back inside her house after he used a key to escape.
When Nash arrived at Herold's Stamford home, the chimp, who has been featured in TV commercials for Coca-Cola and Old Navy, jumped on her and began biting and mauling her, police said.
Doctors said Wednesday that Nash had received extensive injuries to her face and hands.
A Stamford police officer fatally shot the nearly 200-pound chimp after the primate turned on him inside a police cruiser, police said.
Herold told reporters at her home that she and the chimp slept together and that she considered him like a son.
|
51573796078a4b8db6834911d09100b0
|
what did she receive
|
[
"extensive injuries to her face and hands."
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Authorities regained control of a Kentucky prison early Saturday after inmates torched buildings, shattered windows and threw rocks at guards.
Inmates set fire to a Kentucky prison on Friday after the warden said he would ease restrictions on a lockdown.
Inmates at the medium-security Northpoint Training Center in Burgin started an uprising shortly after the warden announced he'd ease restrictions on a lockdown, Northpoint Public Information Officer Mendalyn Cochran told CNN.
Two inmates were transported to hospitals with chest pains, she said, and there were no reports of hostages taken.
The lockdown was instituted Tuesday, after about 10 to 15 inmates assaulted two others in a fight over stolen property, Cochran said.
Warden Steve Haney told prisoners about 6 p.m. Friday of his plan to ease the lockdown, but 30 minutes later, fires began to spread through the dorm-styled institution, she said.
Inmates were evacuated to the prison yard and authorities threw tear gas over the fence to subdue the prisoners, Cochran said.
The damage to the facility was so severe that all the prison's 1,200 inmates had to be kept outside in a prison yard.
"There are several buildings in the front that will be a total loss," said Lt. David Jude of Kentucky State Police.
An investigation will determine whether criminal charges will be levied against some of the inmates.
Burgin is about 40 miles southwest of Lexington.
CNN's Leslie Tripp contributed to this report.
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c464898beb014933af71113335e79655
|
When did the inmate uprising occur?
|
[
"on Friday"
] |
NewsQA
|
LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Michael Jackson fans will get their first peek at the behind-the-scenes documentary of the pop star's final three months Sunday evening during the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, MTV said.
Michael Jackson died in June at the age of 50, amid preparations for his This Is It tour.
Janet Jackson "will help open the entire show to honor Michael's celebrated career," the network said. No other details about her "special appearance" were released.
The debut of the trailer for "Michael Jackson's This Is It" will come about four weeks after concert promoter AEG Live handed over to Sony Pictures about 100 hours of video captured between April and June, when Jackson was preparing for his concert comeback.
Fans who miss the MTV show, which will air live at 9 p.m. ET Sunday, can preview the documentary at www.thisisit-movie.com beginning Sunday night, the network said.
The trailer makes its big screen debut September 18 with the Sony Pictures Animation release of "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs."
The Jackson documentary will run in theaters worldwide for just two weeks starting October 28, Sony Pictures said. Tickets will go on sale September 27.
"Audiences will be given a privileged and private look at the singer, dancer, filmmaker, architect and genius as he creates and perfects his final show," Sony said.
Kenny Ortega, who was working with Jackson to create the This Is It concert, is also directing the documentary.
"As we began assembling the footage for the motion picture, we realized we captured something extraordinary, unique and very special," Ortega said. "It's a very private, exclusive look into a creative genius's world."
Ortega said Jackson's This Is It "may go down as the greatest concert that no one got a chance to see," as the pop singer died June 25, three weeks before it was to debut in London, England's O2 Arena. "But with this film, we get a rare portrait of Michael as he prepares for his final curtain call and what I believe was going to be his master work." Watch Jermaine Jackson talk about tributes to his brother »
A Los Angeles Superior Court judge last month approved allowing the special administrators of Jackson's estate to sign a contract with Sony and AEG Live to clear the way for the production.
AEG Live also will conduct a three-city tour of a Michael Jackson memorabilia exhibition to coincide with the film's release. The cities have not been named.
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98bcdffdc3ba4cfbbfe1f9115e5b11d6
|
Which month will film start to be shown?
|
[
"October"
] |
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|
(CNN) -- A bird struck an Arkansas hospital's helicopter Saturday, tearing a hole into the aircraft's nose and prompting the pilot to land early, according to officials and pictures taken after the landing.
A medical helicopter landed near Forrest City, Arkansas, on Saturday after striking a bird.
The chopper's pilot made a "safe landing" in that state after hitting a bird while returning to Baptist Health Center in Little Rock, Arkansas, hospital spokesman Mark Lowman said.
"I think the pilot just made a judgment call to set it down," Lowman said of the landing, which happened at 6:15 p.m. Saturday near Forrest City, Arkansas.
Video footage taken by CNN affiliate WREG showed a bird hanging out of a hole torn into the paneling on the chopper's nose. Part of the helicopter's windshield also was broken.
The pilot was slightly injured during the landing, and the other two crew members on board were uninjured, Lowman said.
Federal aviation officials are investigating, and the helicopter is not expected to be grounded for long, he said.
The helicopter was returning from a hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, where the crew had taken a patient.
The incident came two days after a US Airways jetliner was forced to land in New York's Hudson River, apparently after striking a flock of birds.
Shortly after the jet took off from New York's LaGuardia airport on Thursday, the crew reported seeing a flock of birds. Seconds later, the cockpit voice recorder captured the sounds of loud "thumps" and both of the plane's engines failed.
The pilot, C.B. "Sully" Sullenberger, landed the Airbus A320 in the Hudson, where all 155 people aboard were rescued.
|
7a1b3704758945a080d541f60d358f00
|
What did the pilot suffer?
|
[
"slightly injured"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- An earthquake struck off the Indonesian island of Bali early Thursday, rattling buildings and sending dozens to hospitals with minor injuries.
The 6.0-magnitude quake hit 100 km (62 miles) southwest of Bali, the U.S. Geological Survey said.
At least 43 people were taken to local hospitals, including five who suffered serious injuries, medical officials said.
A few suffered broken bones and are undergoing treatment, said Wayan Sudanti, an official at a local hospital.
Another medical official at a nearby hospital said several others were undergoing treatment for minor injuries, but did not specify how many.
The quake had a depth of 38 miles, and no tsunami alert was issued, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
Indonesia is on the so-called Ring of Fire, an arc of fault lines circling the Pacific Basin that is prone to frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
In 2004, a 9.1-magnitude underwater earthquake struck off the coast of Sumatra, triggering a tsunami that killed more than 200,000 people in 14 countries.
The tsunami, which washed away entire communities, caused nearly $10 billion in damage and more casualties than any other tsunami in history, according to the United Nations.
Indonesia was among the hardest hit nations.
|
f7536b90674c4988938dd91b274c7058
|
What was the magnitude of the quake?
|
[
"6.0-magnitude"
] |
NewsQA
|
Rome, Italy (CNN) -- "The devil tempts everyone -- people in politics, in economics, in sport. And naturally, he tempts, above all, the religious leaders, so you shouldn't be surprised if the devil tempts those in the Vatican. That's his job."
Father Gabriele Amorth isn't speaking metaphorically when he says that. The 85-year-old priest means people can be tempted and literally possessed by Satan.
"It's not my opinion: I'm saying that if you believe in the Gospels, you believe in the existence of the devil, in the devil's power to possess people," he said in an interview with CNN.
The faithful believe "that there are people possessed by the devil, and ... in the power of exorcism to liberate from the devil," he said.
And as the chief exorcist of the Roman Catholic Church, it's his job to expel the devil when someone is possessed. Amorth, the founder of the International Association of Exorcists, has performed more than 70,000 exorcisms in his career, he estimates.
But there is a difference between possession -- where the devil takes hold of someone's body and actions -- and temptation, where Satan lures a person into doing evil, he said.
As a child abuse scandal sweeps across Europe, with accusations being made against priests in Ireland, Germany, Austria and the Netherlands, Amorth said the pedophiles are tempted, not possessed.
He has never done an exorcism on a child molester, he said.
"I have carried out exorcisms on some priests who had been molested by the devil," he said, without going into details.
"But cases of pedophilia exorcised, no. ... Pedophiles are not possessed by the devil, they are tempted by the devil," he said.
"They don't need exorcism, they need to be converted, to be converted to God, that's what they need. They need to confess, they need true penitence, true repentance, that's what they need. They're not possessed."
But no one is too strong a believer to be possessed, said Amorth, who is employed by the Roman diocese.
"Nothing occurs without the permission of God, and he allows even holy people, even saints, to be possessed by the devil," he said.
But, he added, he sees no evil in the Vatican today: "I just see good people in the Vatican. People of prayer, holy people, I don't see any evil."
|
4dae5355cb58469fa329906fac131170
|
What does he say?
|
[
"his job.\""
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- A sandy stretch in the tony Hamptons topped 2010's best beaches list, compiled each year by a coastal scholar known as Dr. Beach.
Coopers Beach, the main beach in the village of Southampton on the east end of Long Island, New York, took top honors this year on the 20th annual list released by Dr. Stephen P. Leatherman, director of the Laboratory for Coastal Research at Florida International University.
Coopers Beach's sandy shoreline is dotted with historic mansions and the picturesque St. Andrews Dune Church.
Sarasota, Florida's, Siesta Beach took the second spot on the list, followed by Coronado Beach in San Diego, California.
Leatherman uses 50 criteria to evaluate the nation's beaches, including water quality, sand quality, beach width and environmental management.
The full list includes coastal recreation spots from Hawaii to Massachusetts:
1. Coopers Beach in Southampton, New York
2. Siesta Beach in Sarasota, Florida
3. Coronado Beach in San Diego, California
4. Cape Hatteras in the Outer Banks of North Carolina
5. Main Beach in East Hampton, New York
6. Kahanamoku Beach in Waikiki, Oahu, Hawaii
7. Coast Guard Beach in Cape Cod, Massachusetts
8. Beachwalker Park in Kiawah Island, South Carolina
9. Hamoa Beach in Maui, Hawaii
10. Cape Florida State Park in Key Biscayne, Florida
|
bcaf603eff744f8d8c57a6e4cc31dd12
|
Who compiled the list?
|
[
"Dr. Beach."
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Israel's Shahar Peer continued her superb run at the Dubai Open by beating Li Na of China to reach the semifinals of the WTA Tier One tournament on Thursday.
Peer progressed to a match-up with Venus Williams as Li, who reached the semifinals of the Australian Open, retired with a back injury when trailing 5-7 0-3.
Peer, who was refused entry to the United Arab Emirates for last year's tournament, is posing a security problem for organizers, who have scheduled her matches on an outside court with restricted access.
With tensions high after last month's assassination of a senior Hamas official in Dubai, placing Peer on the 5,000 capacity Center Court for her last four clash is a step they may be unwilling to take.
Peer, who has been in fine form in 2010, beat top seed Caroline Wozniacki to reach the quarterfinals and said after the match that despite the controversies in the past she was receiving a good reception.
"I get really amazing treatment here and they are so nice to me, all the people around me that are taking care of me," she told the official WTA Tour Web site.
Against world number 10 Li, she was always on top as she headed for her fourth straight win in the tournament and her first over the highly-rated Chinese player.
Defending champion Venus Williams showed her liking for the venue with a straight sets 6-3 6-4 win over promising young Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in their quarterfinal later on Thursday.
In other quarterfinal action, seventh seed Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland saw off Russian qualifier Regina Kulikova in three hard-fought sets, 3-6 6-4 6-3.
She will play fourth seed Victoria Azarenka of Belaus who brushed aside Russian Vera Zvonareva 6-1 6-3 to reach the last four.
|
a5642278ddfe4d76b18f0f3752fd8d84
|
Who will now face Peer?
|
[
"Venus Williams"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Americans were asked to stop whatever they were doing at 3 p.m. local time Monday to share a minute on Memorial Day and honor those who have died in the cause of freedom.
Americans were asked to take one minute at 3 p.m. Monday to pause and reflect on those who died in battle.
"The time 3 p.m. was chosen because it is the time when most Americans are enjoying their freedoms on the national holiday," according to the White House Commission on Remembrance. Congress established the National Moment of Remembrance.
"The Moment does not replace traditional Memorial Day events; rather it is an act of national unity in which all Americans, alone or with family and friends, honor those who died for our freedom," the Commission on Remembrance said on its Web site.
"It will help to reclaim Memorial Day as the sacred and noble holiday it was meant to be. In this shared remembrance, we connect as Americans."
Observances included an interruption of Major League Baseball games, the pausing of the National Memorial Day Parade in Washington and the National Grocers Association and Food Marketing Institute asking shoppers to pause in stores nationwide to remember the fallen.
"We want our citizens to contemplate the ties that bind us and take a moment to put 'Memorial' back into Memorial Day," said Carmella LaSpada, executive director of the Commission on Remembrance.
Children touring Washington inspired the idea when LaSpada asked them what Memorial Day meant and they said that's when the swimming pool opens, according to the commission's Web site.
|
f81991308de240f4835cb76a6187cd29
|
What are shoppers in grocery stores asked to do?
|
[
"remember the fallen."
] |
NewsQA
|
Atlanta, Georgia (CNN) -- Tiger Woods has changed his cell phone number and is not talking to some of his famous friends, NBA legend Charles Barkley said, following Woods' sex scandal that erupted last month.
Barkley and filmmaker Spike Lee talked about their concern for the golfer during the taping of a one-hour special -- "With All Due Respect" -- to air Sunday on HLN, a CNN sister network.
"I think when you have these fires in your life, as I call them, you need to talk to somebody else who is famous who [has] been through things in their life," Barkley said. "I don't think you can talk about it to your family and friends, because your family and friends, they're not famous."
Lee said he had hoped Barkley or retired NBA star Michael Jordan could counsel Woods on how to survive the crisis.
"He's insulated," Lee said. "If Charles Barkley and Michael Jordan can't get to him, and those are his boys, then other people are making bad moves."
Woods, in a written statement that acknowledged "my infidelity," announced last week that he is taking "an indefinite break" from professional golf.
The 33-year-old golfer, who tops the sport's world rankings, has been mired in controversy since he crashed his car outside his Florida mansion in late November. The crash prompted authorities to cite him for careless driving and fine him $164.
|
7effbc3d5a46422381e1d61f1539108f
|
who has changed his number
|
[
"Tiger Woods"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- More than 150 students at the University of California at Berkeley took over a campus building Thursday to protest a proposed 81% increase in tuition fees, university officials said.
UC-Berkeley spokeswoman Callie Maidhof described the scene as "an open occupation with people coming and going" at Tolman Hall on the campus that has been known for decades as a hotbed of student activism and protests.
The tuition increase proposed by the board of regents would be phased in over a four-year period.
Maidhof added that when the protest began Thursday afternoon, campus police initially resisted the demonstrators and used pepper spray at one point. The university maintained a hands-off approach after that, but according to Maidhof the situation could change at the building's scheduled closing time of 9 p.m. (midnight ET).
As evening fell, there were between 60 and 70 students occupying one of the classrooms and another group was participating in a teach-in outside on the lawn.
Helicopter aerials of the scene from CNN affiliate KTVU showed a few protest banners hung from windows of the classroom building.
|
665b172354b8465ca4a05409c2dc08a8
|
What did a university spokeswoman say?
|
[
"\"an open occupation with people coming and going\""
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- A barn fire that killed two men and dozens of horses in Ohio on Saturday shows no sign of criminal intent, authorities said.
The Ohio State Fire Marshal said the cause of the fire, at the Lebanon Raceway near Cincinnati in southwestern Ohio, is undetermined.
"However, investigators have ruled out criminal intent," it said in a written statement.
The ages and identities of the men are not yet known. Initially, officials reported that 65 horses perished, but later put the number at 43.
The state fire marshal said that preliminary information from the men's autopsies may be available by Sunday.
The fire began in the northwest corner of the barn, according to the state fire marshal's office. It would not release the specific origin of the fire because of the investigation.
The Warren County Fair Board -- which operates the track -- confirmed the men's deaths and the destruction of the barn, but couldn't say how many horses were killed. It said in a statement that harness racing scheduled for Saturday night has been canceled.
Firefighters from 11 departments, which received the call just before 5 a.m., cleared debris and extinguished hot spots during the day.
For more than 50 years, the Warren County Fair Board has been operating the county fair grounds, which includes "a harness racing track and supporting facilities that are leased for harness racing meets to two harness racing clubs," according to the statement issued by a fair board attorney, Bill Schroeder.
Schroeder said the fire was first noticed by a neighbor and that the barn, harness-racing carriages, and other racing equipment have been destroyed.
Firefighters kept the flames from spreading to other barns, officials told CNN affiliate WHIO-TV. State and local fire officials are working to determine what sparked the fire.
Follow CNN affiliate WHIO's local coverage
Follow CNN affiliate WLWT's local coverage
Another barn fire at the fairgrounds killed 35 horses in 1988, Warren County Commissioner Pat South said, according to the Springfield (Ohio) News-Sun newspaper.
|
ccfe19c009c340468b52516c4361786e
|
How many deaths were there in total?
|
[
"43."
] |
NewsQA
|
Atlanta, Georgia (CNN) -- Some southern states were getting a second round of unseasonal snow Tuesday, prompting airlines to cancel flights and schools to close for the day.
Parts of several southern states remained under a winter storm warning Tuesday, as a developing low-pressure system threatened to spread snow and rain across portions of Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky and the Carolinas, the National Weather Service said.
Snow fell north and west of metro Atlanta, Georgia, although the city, with a temperature hovering just above freezing, saw mostly rain.
The weather prompted schools in several northern Georgia counties to close, according to CNN affiliates.
Airlines also canceled flights. AirTran Airways has canceled 69 flights in and out of Atlanta, and is expected to cancel more this afternoon, spokesman Christopher White said.
"Should the [weather] event continue into the evening, there is a possibility of many more cancellations," he said. He said the airline is offering free rebooking and changes for anyone traveling to or from Atlanta.
Delta Airlines said it has made about 250 cancellations for flights leaving Atlanta. "Depending on the severity of the storm some additional thinning may be necessary," spokesman Anthony Black said.
The airline is offering to reschedule Tuesday travel plans for those concerned about the weather, at no fee. Customers will have to pay any increase in fares, according to the Web site.
The National Weather Service said snow will continue Tuesday afternoon across northeast Georgia and the western half of upstate South Carolina, although it will taper off later.
Total snowfall accumulations of 2 to 4 inches are expected, mainly in areas along and north of I-85.
The same amount of snow is expected from Shelby, North Carolina to Gaffney and Union in South Carolina, the National Weather Service said.
Snow is also possible in Tennessee, Kentucky and northern Alabama, it said.
CNN's Carolina Sanchez contributed to this report.
|
cbb9914e417b45768d1a8d26401bec75
|
Where were storm warnings issued?
|
[
"southern states"
] |
NewsQA
|
LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Elizabeth Taylor went to the Hollywood Bowl to hear Andrea Bocelli in concert, the first night out in months for the big-screen legend.
Elizabeth Taylor went to see Andrea Bocelli at the Hollywood Bowl, a rare outing for the film legend.
Taylor, bound to a wheelchair by scoliosis, said her mind and soul "were transported by his beauty, his voice, his inner being."
The 77-year-old actress posted online messages through the Twitter social network after the Italian tenor's concert Monday night.
"I went to see Andrea Bocelli last night. The first time I've been out in months. The Hollywood Bowl allowed me to use my wheelchair," Taylor's first tweet said.
"My mind, my soul were transported by his beauty, his voice, his inner being. God has kissed this man and I thank God for it," she wrote in a second message.
Taylor opened her Twitter account this year as "DameElizabeth" at the suggestion of her close friend, model-actress-author-businesswoman Kathy Ireland, her publicist Dick Guttman said.
Taylor is "very adventurous" and "exceedingly active" despite health problems that sent her to a hospital for a week last month, Guttman said.
She is working on a new perfume to follow up on her popular White Diamonds, he said.
|
a19ba8e9b81b4302a6ef333014664abb
|
Where dud Taylor attend the concert?
|
[
"Hollywood Bowl"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Switzerland's largest city has permitted the use of controversial posters which call for a ban on the construction of minarets on mosques in the European country.
The Federal Commission against Racism said the posters defame Switzerland's peaceful Muslim population.
The posters are part of a campaign by the nationalist Swiss People's Party (SVP) and feature a veiled woman against a background of a Swiss flag pierced by several minarets resembling missiles.
The cities of Basel and Lausanne have described the posters as racist and banned them in publicly-owned spaces. However, Zurich is among a clutch of cities that have chosen not to prohibit them.
According to the SVP, the minarets symbolize ideological opposition to the country's constitution.
Switzerland will hold a national referendum on the issue on November 29.
According to Agence France-Presse, an opinion poll by the daily Tages-Anzeiger showed more than 51 percent of Swiss voters are against any ban on minaret construction.
The Swiss government and all the other major political parties are recommending a "no" vote, while local Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders have joined forces to reject a ban, AFP added.
The mayor of Zurich, Corine Mauch, told CNN that the decision on the poster was taken on the basis of political freedom of speech in the run-up to November's vote.
"While we disapprove of the posters we took the decision after legal consultations.
"We consulted the Federal Commission against Racism and spoke to Muslim communities in the city, but decided banning the posters from public spaces would draw more attention to the issue." Do you agree with the Zurich decision?
However, the Federal Commission against Racism said in a statement Wednesday that the posters "defame Switzerland's peaceful Muslim population, feed prejudice, and portray the Muslim community as wanting to dominate Switzerland, oppress women and trample on fundamental rights."
The SVP have courted controversy with their campaigns in the past. In 2007 they faced international criticism for leading an anti-immigration campaign during the federal election that featured a poster with a white sheep kicking a black sheep off a Swiss flag.
Under party leader Christoph Blocher they went on to win the biggest share of the vote in the 200-member parliament, taking 55 seats.
Earlier this year they issued a poster depicting crows pecking at a map of Switzerland, as the country prepared to vote on whether to support an extension of a free movement of labor deal with the European Union which would include new members, Bulgaria and Romania.
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959f9497502c4f01b88200b22db48fd9
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Who decided the ban?
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[
"The cities of Basel and Lausanne"
] |
NewsQA
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(CNN) -- The mother of a 17-year-old Rochester, New York, high school student who vanished over the weekend on spring break in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, says she did not give her daughter permission to go on the trip.
Brittanee Marie Drexel's mom says she thought she was at the beach in New York, not South Carolina.
In an appearance on HLN's Nancy Grace, Dawn Drexel said her daughter, Brittanee Marie Drexel, has never run away.
Drexel said the high school junior stayed in touch with her by phone, and she last spoke with Brittanee on Saturday afternoon.
"I asked her what she was doing and she says 'Oh, mom, I'm at the beach.' And it was an 80-degree day in Rochester so, of course, I thought maybe she was at the beach in Rochester with one of her girlfriends that she had said she was staying overnight," Drexel said. Watch mom describe daughter's last call »
Drexel said she asked Brittanee to call her later and the girl agreed. "I said, 'I love you, Brittanee' and she says, 'I love you, mom.' And then we hung up the phone."
Brittanee is believed to have last been seen Saturday evening, though an unconfirmed sighting may have placed her at a restaurant on Sunday.
She was staying with friends at the Bar Harbor Hotel on North Ocean Boulevard, according to police reports.
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2784b97c2e584348be5c226de2249ad7
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Who disappeared?
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[
"Brittanee Marie Drexel,"
] |
NewsQA
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NAIROBI, Kenya (CNN) -- Pirates have hijacked a Thai cargo ship in the Gulf of Aden off the Somali coast, the Kenya Seafarers Association said Thursday.
The ship, the MV Thor Star, was hijacked Tuesday with 28 Thai crew members on board, said Andrew Mwangura, a spokesman for the association, which acts on behalf of merchant vessels in the region.
The Thai-flagged ship is owned by Bangkok-based Thoresen Thai Agencies.
Pirate attacks are frequent in the waters off Somalia, a notoriously unsafe area for unescorted vessels.
Earlier this month, Canada announced it was dispatching a warship to the area to protect U.N. aid ships after more than two dozen reported pirate attacks in the waters off Somalia this year.
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1ec21d750369416b99aca5f807acadcb
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When did the hijacking occur?
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[
"Tuesday"
] |
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LONDON, England (CNN) -- More than 100 Romanians fled their homes Tuesday night in Belfast, Northern Ireland, following what politicians called "racist attacks and intimidation."
A Romanian woman and her child are escorted by police in Belfast on Wednesday.
"On Tuesday evening, when the Romanians saw their windows starting to be smashed, they felt the threats were very real and contacted the police," said Trish Morgan, the media relations manager at the Belfast City Church, which took them in.
A church member was advised by the police that "the situation was getting too tense," and that the group -- 113 people in all -- needed to find a safe place that could accommodate them quickly. The member contacted the church, and that's where they went, Morgan said.
The Romanians were "quite scared" upon arrival at the church but "relieved to be out of the situation," she added.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown Wednesday condemned what one member of Parliament called "appalling racist attacks," and said he hoped the authorities would be able to "take all the action necessary to protect them."
Martin McGuinness, the deputy first minister of Northern Ireland -- a province of the United Kingdom -- visited the families on Wednesday, his party Sinn Fein announced.
"People are shocked and completely disgusted by this incident," he said in a statement "I came here this morning to show very clearly my commitment to facing up to any form of intimidation in our community, no matter where it may come from.
"I met with numerous families who are genuinely fearful for their lives and those of their families; I held a five-day-old baby girl in my arms today. She was born in Belfast and now forced to leave her home as a result of attacks by racist, criminal thugs," McGuinness said.
He was speaking at the O-Zone leisure center, where the families have moved because the space is larger than the church.
Race-hate crime in south Belfast has increased in the past six months, Sinn Fein equality and human rights expert Vincent Parker said.
The incident came only a day after violence broke out at an anti-racism rally in support of Romanians in Belfast.
Belfast Lord Mayor Naomi Long called Monday's scuffles "totally unacceptable."
"A small minority of people have sadly taken away from an event which had been organized by the local community to show solidarity for their Romanian neighbors, and to express their abhorrence at their homes being subjected to racist attacks," she said Tuesday.
CNN's Eve Bower contributed to this report.
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ce99c4d6c2d04e32b980443b7a971e5f
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Who condemned the attacks?
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[
"British Prime Minister Gordon Brown"
] |
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(CNN) -- Fifteen people have now died after consuming cantaloupe contaminated with the listeria monocytogenes bacteria, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday.
At least 84 people in 19 states have become ill with the bacteria, the agency said. And the number of illnesses could still grow, added the CDC, citing reporting lags and how the disease can develop slowly in some people.
On Tuesday, the CDC was reporting 13 deaths and 72 illnesses in what was already then the deadliest food-borne illness outbreak in the United States since 1998.
Five people have died in New Mexico from eating the tainted cantaloupes, the CDC said. Three people died in Colorado, two in Texas and one each in Kansas, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska and Oklahoma.
Illnesses have also been reported in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Illinois, Indiana, Montana, North Dakota, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
What you need to know about Listeria
Most of those who fell ill are more than 60 years old, the CDC said. Doctors also are closely monitoring the pregnancies of two women who ate contaminated cantaloupe, with the agency noting that listeriosis can cause miscarriages and stillbirths.
Older adults and people with compromised immune systems are also especially susceptible.
Public health investigators have traced the source of the bacteria to a farm in Granada, Colorado.
Food Poisoning 101
The grower, Jensen Farms, issued a recall for its Rocky Ford-brand cantaloupes on September 14. By now, the cantaloupes should all be off store shelves, the CDC said.
The agency warned that people should not eat Rocky Ford cantaloupes, even if they have eaten part of one and have not yet fallen ill. It also said that consumers should be wary of eating any cantaloupes if they don't know where they came from.
How to keep your food safe
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91bac3fb5300481697b4ae11a883297a
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what caused illnesses
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[
"listeria monocytogenes"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Schools of robotic fish could one day map the ocean floor, detect pollution or inspect and survey submerged boats or oil and gas pipelines, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology say.
MIT researcher Pablo Valdivia Alvarado works in his lab on a robotic fish he co-created.
MIT engineers are showing off the latest generation of so-called robofish 15 years after they built the first one. The latest incarnation is sleeker, more streamlined and capable of mimicking the movements of a real fish.
And it's capable of exploring underwater terrain submersibles can't, said Pablo Valdivia Alvarado, a mechanical engineer at the school.
"Some of our sponsors were thinking of using them for inspection and surveillance," Alvarado said. "Since these prototypes are very cheap, the idea was to build hundreds -- 200, 500 -- and then just release them in a bay or at a port, and they would be roaming around taking measurements."
MIT researchers built their first robotic fish, "Robotuna," in 1994. But Robotuna has gone the way of the dinosaur. Alvarado said the new generation -- modeled after bass and trout -- cost only a few hundred dollars and have only 10 parts instead of the thousands used in Robotuna.
At five to 18 inches, the new fish is much smaller than Robotuna and built from a single, soft polymer. And unlike Robotuna, the fish is able to be released in the oceans.
"Most of the brains, the electronics, are embedded inside," said Alvarado, who designed the robofish with fellow MIT engineer Kamal Youcef-Toumi. "We have built prototypes with the battery inside, but for my experiments, for simplicity. We have a lot of prototypes that are simply tethered. We have a cable that runs out from the body and connects to a power supply."
The new generation has withstood harsh conditions in the lab, including two years of testing inside tanks filled with tap water, which is corrosive to standard robots, according to Alvarado, who says the Robotuna inspired him to take the technology to the next level.
The oil exploration company Schlumberger helped fund the research, but Alvarado says the U.S. Navy has also expressed interest in the robofish.
MIT's mechanical engineers are now turning their attention to new challenges: A robotic manta ray and a terrestrial robot in the form of a salamander.
CNN's Ninette Sosa contributed to this report.
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8f3fbcd81c2a4c689f80426bef7ea33f
|
What have MIT engineers created?
|
[
"robotic fish"
] |
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|
Washington (CNN) -- Investigators are reviewing the flight data recorder from American Airlines Flight 331, the plane that overran a runway this week near Kingston, Jamaica, and crashed into a fence.
A National Transportation Safety Board spokesman said Thursday that the recorder arrived in the agency's Washington laboratory overnight. Crews continue to look for the cockpit voice recorder.
The flight originated from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, and landed in Miami, Florida, before heading to Jamaica, the airline said.
It had been raining Tuesday when the plane failed to stop and ran into a fence past the end of the runway, Radio Jamaica reporter Kirk Abraham said.
Ninety-one people were taken to three area hospitals, where most were evaluated and released, an American Airlines spokesman said. Ten were admitted, he said, and five remain hospitalized Thursday afternoon.
The flight was carrying 148 passengers and six crew members when it landed in Kingston, the airline said.
CNN's Jim Barnett contributed to this report.
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2dc87d5593984e0496b7b45aaf6bbbf2
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what Safety Board investigators are reviewing flight data recorder?
|
[
"National Transportation"
] |
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|
(CNN) -- A man accused of shooting and paralyzing a U.S. Army soldier at a homecoming party intends to plead not guilty to all charges, his attorney said Wednesday.
Ruben Jurado, 19, faces a charge of attempted murder in the shooting of Army Spc. Christopher Sullivan on Friday night at a homecoming party in Sullivan's native San Bernardino, California. He also faces charges on "allegations involving premeditation and the use and discharge of a firearm causing great bodily injury," the San Bernardino County District Attorney's Office said in a statement on Tuesday.
Jurado "will deny any and all allegations," defense attorney Michael Holmes said in a written statement to CNN on Wednesday. "We anticipate receiving the initial discovery of police reports and any other evidence that the district attorney has at this time."
Holmes noted that the court "allows video arraignment," but said he and Jurado had "discussed this process and he wanted to be present in court during the entire process. He requested to be present and the next available date is tomorrow (Thursday) morning."
The party in Sullivan's honor was to celebrate his recent return to California from Kentucky, where he was stationed while recovering from wounds sustained in a suicide bombing a year ago in Afghanistan. The bombing killed five members of his unit and left him with a cracked collarbone and brain damage, according to the San Bernardino County Sun. Sullivan received the Purple Heart, the newspaper reported.
At the party, Sullivan was shot twice after an argument and physical confrontation with Jurado, who fled the scene, according to police and witnesses.
The fight broke out after Jurado and Sullivan's younger brother began arguing about football, the brothers' mother, Suzanne Sullivan, told CNN.
Jurado turned himself in to authorities in Chino Hills, California, on Monday afternoon, said Lt. Gwendolyn Waters.
On Tuesday, Sullivan's mother told CNN he was "on 100% life support."
"He can move his head and he responds through nodding and blinking to us. His eyes aren't always open, but we try to encourage him to do so as often as possible," Suzanne Sullivan said.
She said her son asked what had happened to him and wanted to know why.
"We told him what it was about and he just closed his eyes," she said.
Suzanne Sullivan said her family is having a difficult time coming to terms with what happened.
"He once told me that if defending this country takes his life, so be it," she said. "But to see he survived that, and now for this to happen to him, just breaks my heart."
CNN's Stella Chan and Carey Bodenheimer contributed to this report.
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845f9949ec344760bbcf29c64d99df34
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who is Ruben Jurado?
|
[
"man accused of shooting"
] |
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MOSCOW, Russia (CNN) -- Russian and British ships repelled a pirate attack on a Danish ship in the Gulf of Aden, the Russian navy said Wednesday.
Pirates have caused havoc off the coast of Somalia, hijacking 33 ships this year.
Elsewhere, pirates hijacked a Turkish-flagged ship carrying 4,500 tons of chemicals and 14 crew off Yemen's coast.
The pirates hijacked the ship, Karagol, near Yemen as it traveled to Mumbai, India, semi-official news agency Anadolu Ajansi reported, citing a written statement from the Turkish Maritime Agency.
Russian navy spokesman Igor Dygalo said the Russian patrol ship Neustrashimy and a British frigate, HMS Cumberland, successfully rebuffed pirate attempts to seize the Danish ship Powerful off Somalia.
The British and Russians used helicopters to counter-attack the pirates, who had opened machine gun fire on Powerful and twice tried to seize it, Dygalo said.
It was not immediately clear when the incident occurred.
When asked about the incident, the British Ministry of Defense said a crew from the Cumberland had boarded a small boat on Tuesday that "they ... believe had been involved in an attack on the Danish-registered MV Powerful earlier in the day."
Ahead of boarding the small boat, or dhow, the British crew members tried several ways to stop it, "but they were unsuccessful," the Ministry of Defense's statement said.
The Cumberland then launched boats to circle the dhow, in another attempt to halt it. People aboard the dhow opened fire at these boats, and the Cumberland's crew members returned fire, the statement said.
Two alleged pirates were killed during the shooting. A third person, a Yemeni national, died later from injuries, despite care from the Cumberland's doctor, the Ministry said.
"It is unclear whether his injuries were as a result of the firefight or a previous incident."
The Gulf of Aden, which connects the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea, has become a treacherous stretch for ships, particularly along the Somali coast. There have been 84 attacks and 33 successful hijackings off Somalia's coast this year.
Meanwhile, the Karagol is owned by Istanbul-based Y.D.C. Denizcilik, A.S. The company confirmed its ship had been hijacked, but could not provide any details.
The Karagol is the second Turkish ship in two weeks to be hijacked. On October 29, pirates in the same area off Yemen commandeered the Neslihan, a Turkish-owned freighter, carrying 77,000 tons of iron ore from from Canada to China, the ship's owner, Ya-Sa Shipping Industry and Trading, S.A., said.
CNN's David McKenzie and Andrew Carey contributed to this report.
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5253c8c5c61b4791a4036edf6c7d4b16
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What are countries doing about the pirates?
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[
"used helicopters to counter-attack the"
] |
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HAVANA, Cuba (CNN) -- A new video and a photo of ailing Communist leader Fidel Castro surfaced on Sunday, revealing a healthier-looking man than in previous photos.
A man in Havana, Cuba, reads a newspaper on Sunday featuring a picture of a healthy-looking Fidel Castro.
State-run Cubavision aired video of Castro during its Sunday news broadcast, saying the footage was taken Saturday when the former president met with Venezuelan law students.
It was the first video of Castro broadcast in at least a year.
The photo -- the second in 10 days -- published in Cuba's state-run youth newspaper, Juventud Rebelde, shows Castro, 83, meeting with Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa on Friday. The photo shows a well-groomed Castro wearing a white short-sleeve shirt and standing face-to-face with Correa.
The meeting involved discussions of economic matters and medical checkups, according to the state-run newspaper.
Another photo of the former Cuban president was released on August 13 by Pastors For Peace, a U.S.-based advocacy group that recently traveled to the island nation and is pushing for an end to the near half-century-old U.S. trade embargo.
Castro, who came to power in 1959, underwent abdominal surgery in 2006.
The Cuban leader ceded the presidency to his younger brother, Raul, last year, but has retained leadership of the Communist Party, the only legal political party in Cuba.
CNN's David Ariosto contributed to this report.
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cd725fdec0a24e3085388f1a46aa1f59
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The video is the first broadcast in how long?
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[
"at least a year."
] |
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(Entertainment Weekly) -- "Whip It!" suggests what might have happened if Juno had gone to a high school as poky as Napoleon Dynamite's and decided that although her mother wanted her to be a beauty queen like Little Miss Sunshine, she'd rather just strap on roller skates.
Ellen Page plays roller derby competitor Babe Ruthless in "Whip It!"
Only here the petite, droll, feisty, Ellen Page-like heroine played by Ellen Page is named Bliss. And her idea of sass while chatting up a cute rocker (Landon Pigg) in this desexualized, slow-speed grrrl-power sports fantasy is "I'm Bliss, but I could change that."
Bliss does change her name, at least at the Roller Derby rink. She sneaks away from her square parents (Marcia Gay Harden as the U.S. Postal Service's least likely mail carrier and Daniel Stern as a nice schlub who likes beer) to roll with a sisterly Austin team who call themselves the Hurl Scouts.
There, she dubs herself Babe Ruthless, making up in speed what she lacks in muscled aggression. She's heck on wheels, or so we are asked to believe: The rink footage is pretty un-whippy.
Even Juliette Lewis, playing the film's designated bad girl and Bliss/Babe's nemesis on the rink, is more of a cute bee-yotch than a real threat.
The movie is Drew Barrymore's directorial debut (she also plays fellow Hurl Scout Smashley Simpson), and it's clear she's more attuned to grrrlishness than real athletic power: Smashley is the first to scream ''Food fight!'' and the 34-year-old actress leads the charge in kidlike mayhem.
EW Grade: C+
CLICK HERE to Try 2 RISK FREE issues of Entertainment Weekly
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29a8122e76ec4e9aafb373f038647e7c
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Who does Ellen Page play?
|
[
"roller derby competitor Babe Ruthless in \"Whip It!\""
] |
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(CNN) -- Iran tested a missile-launching system and several types of short- and medium-range missiles Sunday, the state-run Press TV said.
A short-range missile is test-launched during war games in Qom, Iran, south of Tehran, on Sunday.
Earlier, the country's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had said it would stage missile exercises beginning Sunday to promote the armed forces' defense capabilities.
The tests, which are expected to last until Monday, are code-named "Payghambar-e Azam 4" or "The Great Prophet 4," Press TV said.
The missiles, fired at targets around the country Sunday, included the Fateh-110, a short-range ground-to-ground missile, and Tondar-69, a short-range naval missile, the station said. Several models of medium-range Shahab missiles were tested at night, Press TV reported. Watch Iranian missile tests »
The final stage of the tests will be held Monday morning, when Iran plans to test the long-range Shahab missile, the station said.
In May, Iran said it tested a surface-to-surface missile that is capable of reaching parts of Europe.
At the time, a White House official said actions in Iran were noteworthy.
"Of course, this is just a test, and obviously there is much work to be done before it can be built and deployed. But I see it as a significant step forward in terms of Iran's capacity to deliver weapons," said Gary Samore, special assistant to the president on nonproliferation.
The latest test follows Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's disclosure Friday that Iran was building a second uranium enrichment facility. Watch analyst's view on missile tests, nuclear tensions »
The United States and Israel believe that Iran is seeking nuclear weapons under the guise of a civilian nuclear energy program.
Iran has denied the allegation.
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025ebfddd0ed4d129050de90a69d6a2b
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In which month did Iran test surface-to-surface missiles able to reach Europe?
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[
"May,"
] |
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NEW YORK (CNN) -- Pfizer is near a deal to buy rival drugmaker Wyeth for $68 billion, according to news reports late Sunday citing people familiar with the deal.
Pfizer's world headquarters is in New York.
A deal was imminent and likely to be announced Monday, The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times reported.
"It is our policy not to comment on rumor or speculation," said Michael Lampe, a Wyeth representative. Pfizer was not immediately available for comment.
Pfizer, the world's leading drugmaker in terms of sales, has been in talks to buy Wyeth. Pfizer's stock slipped 1 percent on the news Friday, while Wyeth gained about 8 percent.
On January 13 Pfizer said it was cutting up to 8 percent of its R&D staff, about 800 jobs. Spokesman Raymond Kerins said that was to "raise productivity."
But analysts say Pfizer is clearly trying to beef up its drug pipeline through an acquisition, adding that the company seems to have given up on its own R&D staff coming up with a blockbuster to replace Lipitor. This cholesterol-cutting drug peaked in 2006 with nearly $13 billion in annual sales but will lose its patent protection in 2011, when generic versions will become available.
Les Funtleyder, pharma analyst for Miller Tabak, said Pfizer is "not feeling that they're getting the efficiency out of their R&D unit." He said Pfizer would probably rather do a deal with Wyeth over other competitors, because there is less overlap in the companies' pipelines.
Funtleyder said Pfizer already has a diabetes franchise, which would overlap with Eli Lilly & Co. and Bristol-Myers Squibb, both of which also focus on diabetes treatments. Pfizer probably has its eyes on Wyeth's Alzheimer's drug pipeline, he said. But he cautions that a merger won't be a success unless Wyeth's pipeline is successful, which remains to be seen, he said.
"If Wyeth comes out with an Alzheimer's drug that works, then the deal works," he said.
Pfizer is probably also focused on Wyeth's blockbuster children's vaccine Prevnar, as well as its experimental biotech drugs, said Michael Krensavage of Krensavage Asset Management.
Sales of Prevnar, which combats meningitis and blood infections, jumped 12 percent in the first nine months of 2008 compared with the same period the prior year, to $2.1 billion.
If a deal does go through, Funtleyder warns, Wyeth staffers should brace for layoffs.
"I can say with pretty good confidence that this is going to lead to some head count reduction," he said.
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d2ae7ee74fc242c99eca7efb917d8298
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What was the name of the company?
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[
"Pfizer"
] |
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(CNN) -- Fernando Torres rediscovered his scoring touch with a double at Stamford Bridge as Chelsea romped to a 5-0 win over Genk in their Champions League Group E match Wednesday.
The Spanish international striker had not scored in European club football for over two years, but looked dangerous throughout and might easily have had a hat-trick.
The Belgian visitors were up against it from the start and after Torres hit the post, Raul Mereiles scored with a thumping shot from outside the penalty area.
Torres was soon on the score sheet with a neat side foot effort and added his second with a well-placed header from a Mereiles cross.
Branislav Ivanovic headed home from a Florent Malouda free kick for the fourth just before halftime.
Torres, who was rested at the weekend, looked sharp as he went in search of his third and he was denied by Genk keeper Laszlo Koteles only for Salomon Kalou to grab the fifth from the rebound.
Chelsea lead Bayer Leverkusen by a point after the German side beat Valencia 2-1 in the other Group E match.
Former Chelsea midfielder Michael Ballack was the inspiration for Leverkusen, who fell behind to a goal from Brazil striker Jonas.
But they hit back through goals by midfielders Andre Schuerrle and Sidney Sam after the break, with ex-Germany captain Ballack setting up the winner with a superb defense-splitting pass.
Meanwhile in Group F, Arsenal made sure it was a good night for English Premier League sides with a last-gasp victory over Marseille in the Stade Velodrome.
The game was headed for a 0-0 draw when substitute Aaron Ramsey cropped up for the precious winner as Arsenal go top of the group by a point from their French opponents.
Olympiakos of Greece beat German champions Borussia Dortmund 3-1 in the other match in the group to keep alive their hopes of qualification for the knockout stages.
Jose Holebas, a German player of Greek descent, headed the opener for the home side after just eight minutes.
Dortmund deservedly leveled through Polish striker Robert Lewandowski midway through the first half, but five minutes before the break Rafik Djebbour restored the Olympiakos lead.
With the visitors pressing, Olympiakos broke upfield to win a free kick and defender Francois Modesto headed home from Ariel Ibagaza's delivery to seal the victory.
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b4fb59c96db9444fbab3c51e5a8fd885
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What was the final score in the Champions League E Match?
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[
"5-0"
] |
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(CNN) -- Actress Ashley Judd says a wolf management program backed by Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is "incredibly savage ... it's not right, it's not appropriate, it makes no sense on any level."
Ashley Judd is criticizing the aerial hunting of wolves, a program supported by Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.
Appearing on CNN's "Larry King Live," Judd repeated her criticism of a program that allows hunters firing from aircraft to shoot wolves to thin the numbers of the animals.
Judd recently appeared in a video for the Washington-based Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund, which also opposes the Palin-backed aerial hunting program. Referring to the former Republican vice presidential candidate by name in the video, Judd says that Palin is "championing the slaughter of wildlife."
"When Sarah Palin came on the national scene last summer, few knew that she promotes the brutal aerial killing of wolves," Judd says in the video, adding, "It is time to stop Sarah Palin and stop this senseless savagery."
Palin responded on Tuesday, releasing a statement calling Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund an "extreme fringe group," and saying, "It is reprehensible and hypocritical that the Defenders of Wildlife would use Alaska and my administration as a fundraising tool to deceive Americans into parting with their hard-earned money." Watch why Judd, Palin are trading barbs »
Judd said Alaska's program is a "distortion" of wildlife hunting under normal circumstances, and that the program attracts "urban hunters, trophy hunters from out of state."
Palin did not appear on "Larry King Live," but Rod Arno, executive director of the Alaska Outdoor Council, told King by telephone that only Alaska residents can participate in the aerial wolf-hunting program, and then they must obtain a state permit.
The purpose of the program is to facilitate control of Alaska's wolf population, which preys on moose and caribou, Arno said.
"The only criticism is from people who aren't up here participating in a predator-prey scheme," he said.
Judd was accompanied by Rodger Schlickeisen, CEO of the Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund, and he said "hundreds" of scientists have criticized the aerial hunting program.
Schlickeisen suggested that Palin's government allow television crews to videotape the hunting process "and you could put this out for all the people in American to see and she (Palin) could proudly stand up for it."
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c93026bc77ea4af9ae94fcdcbfcd999b
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Who is criticizing the governor of Alaska?
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[
"Ashley Judd"
] |
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(CNN) -- Authorities in Linden, New Jersey, have launched a homicide investigation after the discovery Monday of a pair of trash bags containing the dismembered remains of two people, officials said.
The medical examiner has confirmed the body parts are "indeed human," the Union County Prosecutor's Office said in a news release.
"There were two bodies found inside trash bags near the intersection of Essex Avenue and Cranford Avenue," spokesman John Holl said in the release, adding that the remains are from adults, one male and one female.
Yellow police tape surrounded the scene Monday afternoon, tied to the tree trunks lining the quiet residential street where the black trash bags were discovered earlier in the morning.
Linden Mayor Richard J. Gerbounka, who was at the site, called the shocking discovery "very unusual for this area."
"We've got the homicide investigative team out and they're in the process of culling the area for evidence," he said.
Along with the Linden Police Department, investigators from the county prosecutor's office and the city fire department also were at the site. Officials spread a white sheet around the trash bags before loading the remains onto two stretchers and taking them away for further study.
Autopsies were scheduled for Monday afternoon, according to the prosecutor's office.
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83100830dff9441c9f2a9c2243ae6ecc
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Who launched a homicide investigation?
|
[
"in Linden, New Jersey,"
] |
NewsQA
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(CNN) -- Florida prosecutors on Thursday revealed a list of reasons they're seeking the death penalty against Casey Anthony, who is charged with killing her daughter, Caylee.
Under Florida, law, prosecutors need to raise only one of 15 possible aggravating factors to support their decision to seek the death penalty. Assistant State Attorney Jeffrey Ashton cited five circumstances, according to a document obtained by CNN affiliate WESH and other Orlando, Florida, media outlets.
In death penalty cases, jurors are asked to weigh aggravating circumstances that make a crime especially heinous against mitigating factors that favor mercy, such as a lack of prior offenses.
Among the legal reasons cited: Caylee's death occurred during aggravated child abuse, was especially "heinous, atrocious, or cruel," and was committed in a "cold, calculated and premeditated manner without any pretense of moral or legal justification," according to the document.
Caylee was also under 12 years old, and Anthony "stood in a position of familial or custodial authority over her," the document states.
Karen Levey, the court public information officer, could not confirm that Judge Belvin Perry Jr. received a copy of the notice. As of Thursday evening, defense attorney Jose Baez said he had not been served with the notice.
In a hearing this week, Perry ordered the State Attorney's Office to disclose the aggravating factors they intend to cite in a penalty phase if Anthony is convicted of premeditated murder.
Anthony, 24, is accused of killing 2-year-old Caylee, who disappeared in June 2008. Her body was found that December in a vacant lot near her grandparents' home in Orlando.
Defense lawyers have said that prosecutors are seeking the death penalty to bankrupt the defense and prevent Anthony from having the attorney of her choice.
The defense said that prosecutors had originally said they would not seek death in the case but reversed that position in March 2009 when they learned that Anthony had $205,000 for her defense.
The bulk of the money came from ABC News for the licensing of photos and videos, Baez testified during a previous hearing.
Anthony's trial is scheduled to begin May 9, 2011.
|
7b0d9291489e43d8bd0481f57a3eba6f
|
Who held position of custodial authority over Caylee?
|
[
"Casey Anthony,"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Eighteen-year-old Juan Gonzalez was dying alone in a hospital, thousand of miles from his Guatemalan home. He was separated from the family he had traveled to the United States to help support.
Juan Gonzalez was earning $250 a week as a dishwasher when his heart trouble began.
Diagnosed with a chronically weak heart, without much money and lacking resources, Gonzalez seemed bound to die without ever seeing his parents again.
That changed after CNN aired a story about his plight.
Thanks to the help of a compassionate hospital staff, a U.S. congressman and a concerned community, Gonzalez has been reunited with his parents for what may be the last time. Watch Gonzalez make his tearful plea »
Like many undocumented workers, Gonzalez came to the United States last fall to provide some financial help for his family, who had fallen on hard times back in Guatemala. He took a job as a dishwasher in Rome, Georgia, making about $250 a week.
Then, in November, his heart gave out. Gonzalez has been in and out of the hospital for seven months.
Doctors diagnosed Gonzalez with dilated cardiomyopathy, which means his heart muscle is very weak.
Dr. Frank Stegall, Gonzalez's cardiologist, said the Guatemalan teen's heart pumps only 20 percent of the blood a healthy heart should.
But as Gonzalez's heart failed him, he opened up the hearts of others.
Stegall and the staff at Rome's Redmond Regional Medical Center were inspired by Gonzalez's attitude and courage and set out to reunite the dying teen with his parents. They contacted U.S. Rep. Phil Gingrey, R-Georgia.
Gingrey got the State Department involved in expediting visas for Pascual and Maria Gonzalez, Juan's parents.
Delta Air Lines donated tickets to Atlanta, and the Gonzalezes boarded a plane for the first time, bound for Georgia to see their dying son. Watch the family reunion »
Gonzalez has vowed to fight to the end, but doctors say his prognosis isn't good. With no money, Stegall says, it will be tough for the teen to get a heart transplant.
Now, after traveling thousands of miles for more than two weeks to make a better life for his family and himself, Gonzalez faces his final fight, but it's one he will face with his family, thanks to the kindness of others.
|
7a3756d8e3174225a63a20f217592489
|
Undocumented immigrant from where?
|
[
"Guatemala."
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- The suspect in the killing of Yale pharmacology graduate student Annie Le appeared in court in New Haven, Connecticut, Tuesday, but did not enter a plea, his attorney told CNN.
Raymond J. Clark III appears in court Tuesday in New Haven, Connecticut, where he is charged with murder.
Raymond Clark III, 24, a lab technician at Yale, is charged with murder in Le's death. Tuesday's scheduled hearing was continued until October 20.
It is standard procedure for defendants in murder cases not to enter a plea until a later stage in the case, public defender Beth Merkin told CNN. Clark eventually will plead not guilty, she said.
Clark, of Branford, Connecticut, is being held in lieu of $3 million bail.
The body of Le, 24, was found inside a wall of a Yale lab building on September 12 -- the day she was to be married. She had been strangled, the Connecticut medical examiner's office determined.
Clark is not a Yale student, but has worked as a lab technician at the university since 2004. He lived with his girlfriend, who also is a Yale lab technician, according to New Haven police. Follow a timeline of the case »
A Yale faculty member described Clark's job as maintaining colonies for animals used in research. The lab is in the basement of the building where Le's body was found.
A motive in Le's killing was unclear, but police said they were treating the case as workplace violence.
Yale has announced a memorial service for Le on October 12. The university is also establishing a scholarship in her memory.
Le was buried in California on September 26.
"You were born in my loving embrace," said Le's mother, Vivian Van Le, reading a poem she'd written in Vietnamese to those gathered for the funeral at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in El Dorado Hills.
Her son and Annie Le's brother, Chris Le, provided a translation.
"The most wonderful gift that God had sent to me. ... You left life at too young an age, at the beginning of many great things. All the dreams and hopes of your future gone with you to your resting place," Vivian Van Le said, according to her son.
|
b1ec16c904114fc8bcfda659ccc892e8
|
where was the body found
|
[
"inside a wall of a Yale lab building"
] |
NewsQA
|
NEW DELHI, India (CNN) -- A 3-month-old girl born to an Indian surrogate mother has flown to Japan to join her biological father after spending the first months of her life in legal limbo.
Baby Manjhi and her grandmother flew to Osaka, Japan, from the Indian capital, New Delhi, Saturday night, said family friend, Kamal Vijay Vargiya.
While some countries have banned surrogacy as a money-making venture, it has been legal in India since 2002.
Under the practice, infertile couples are matched with local women to carry babies for $12,000 to $30,000.
Baby Manjhi was conceived when a Japanese couple paid a clinic in India to have the husband's sperm and an anonymous donor's egg implanted in the womb of an Indian surrogate.
The plan worked. But a few months before Manjhi was born, the couple divorced. The intended Japanese mother decided she did not want the baby.
Manjhi was born on July 25. Her father, Ikufumi Yamada, and grandmother traveled from Japan to pick her up and take her to her new home. But Indian law stipulates that a mother must be present in order for a baby to receive a passport.
In this case, neither the birth mother nor the mother who had originally sought the child wanted to be involved.
Manjhi's father looked into a legal adoption, but Indian law does not allow single men to adopt.
The case garnered international headlines. Eventually, Manjhi was issued a birth certificate with just her father's name on it. And on Saturday, she left for Osaka to be reunited with him.
"This is for the first time in 28 years in Jaipur that somebody (in such a situation) has been issued travel documents by Indian authorities. And this became possible mainly because of media," said Sanjay Arya, the doctor who treated Manjhi at a Jaipur hospital.
-- CNN's Harmeet Shah Singh contributed to this report
|
fb4f7eb6544b423aa2cf528a649f2a63
|
The Japanese mother decided what?
|
[
"she did not want the baby."
] |
NewsQA
|
MADRID, Spain (CNN) -- Spanish police Tuesday arrested two Moroccan men suspected of having links to Islamic terrorism, Spain's Ministry of Interior said, including one man wanted in connection with attacks in Casablanca in 2003.
Mohamed El Bay is thought to have been trying to buy weapons and explosives.
The arrests were made in Melilla, a Spanish enclave of about 68,000 people on Morocco's Mediterranean coast, with Spanish Civil Guards acting on international arrests warrants issued by Morocco, the ministry said in a written statement.
Moroccan authorities have linked one of the suspects, Ali Aarass, to the Casablanca bombings in May 2003 that killed 33 bystanders and 12 suicide bombers.
He is suspected of Islamic extremist activities during the past 16 years, the Spanish statement said.
The other man, Mohamed El Bay, is wanted for alleged involvement with a terrorist network that Moroccan police broke up last February, when they arrested 30 people suspected of plotting attacks against Moroccan government targets, it said.
Moroccan police seized numerous weapons in the February raids and later contacted European police for help in locating other suspects in the group.
Morocco authorities believe El Bay may have been in charge of contacting Central European arms smugglers to get weapons and explosives for the alleged plot in Morocco, the Spanish statement said.
Spanish police searched the homes of both suspects in Melilla and seized documentation, it said.
Spain has arrested more than 300 suspected Islamic extremists since the Madrid train bombings of 2004 that killed 191 people, although not all of the suspects remain in jail. E-mail to a friend
|
39bbb781c38f4ef2b3267e966937dfc2
|
What was one accused of?
|
[
"Casablanca bombings in May 2003"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Despite his personal problems, golfer Tiger Woods received another accolade as he was voted PGA player of the year.
Wood was chosen for the award by a vote from other professional golfers.
"The recognition by [his] peers is one of the highest compliments a PGA Tour member can receive," PGA Commissioner Timothy Finchem said in a press statement Friday.
The statement mentioned the six tournaments Woods won in 2009 but made no mention of the infamous car accident and infidelity scandal that pushed the golfer to take an indefinite hiatus from pro golf.
Earlier this week, Woods was also voted "Athlete of the Decade" by the Associated Press.
Woods' woes started late in November when he crashed his car outside his Florida mansion. Authorities issued a citation for careless driving, and he was given a $164 fine.
Woods was not required to talk to police about the wreck and declined to talk with investigators on several occasions.
In the week following the crash, Woods apologized for "transgressions" that let his family down. The same day, US Weekly published a report alleging that Woods had an affair with Jaimee Grubbs, a 24-year-old cocktail waitress.
US Weekly's report followed a National Enquirer article before the crash that the athlete was having an affair with New York nightclub hostess Rachel Uchitel, an assertion she vigorously denied, according to The New York Post.
After that several other women came forward alleging to have had liaisons with Woods.
Last week on his Web site, Woods admitted to infidelity and said he was taking a break from golf to focus on his family.
|
d3dd10fef2b3438782e51e5c9479a27d
|
Who would take a golf hiatus?
|
[
"Tiger Woods"
] |
NewsQA
|
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Rapper and actor Clifford Smith, better known to fans as Method Man, was arrested Monday and faces charges of failing to pay taxes, the district attorney in Richmond County, New York, said.
Clifford Smith, better known as Method Man, failed to file tax returns and owes $33,000, authorities say.
Smith, 38, owes the state nearly $33,000 for New York State income tax returns that he did not file between 2004 and 2007, district attorney Daniel Donovan Jr. said in a statement.
The Grammy-winning rapper, an original member of the Wu-Tang Clan, was arrested at his home on Staten Island. He faces a felony charge of repeated failure to file taxes and a misdemeanor charge of failure to pay tax.
The felony carries a sentence of up to four years in prison.
Smith was to appear at an arraignment in Staten Island Criminal Court on Monday.
Smith's attorney Peter Frankel was not immediately available to comment.
|
2b33108928e54535904b31b1ba51ca87
|
What didn't he file?
|
[
"tax returns"
] |
NewsQA
|
KATHMANDU, Nepal (CNN) -- Lawmakers in Nepal will vote Saturday to pick the country's first president since it became a republic.
Nepal became a republic after the deposal of King Gyanendra Shah earlier this year.
The country's newly elected Constituent Assembly abolished a 239-year monarchy following elections in April.
But with no one party winning a majority of the seats, it is unclear who may become president.
The position is largely ceremonial. But a president will swear in whoever is picked as the new prime minister.
The three main political parties continued to negotiate over whom to name president.
The Nepali Congress wants outgoing prime minister and party president Girija Prasad Koirala for the position. The Communist Party of Nepal (United Marxist-Leninist) wants its leader.
But the Maoists -- which won the largest number of seats but fell short of a majority -- do not favor either of the two men. They want a non-political figure as president.
Journalist Manesh Shrestha contributed to this report
|
5a3c0230881d4b8f9de5491e65fb9822
|
Where are the lawmakers?
|
[
"Nepal"
] |
NewsQA
|
Editor's note: Campbell Brown anchors CNN's "Campbell Brown: No Bias, No Bull" at 8 p.m. ET Mondays through Fridays. She delivered this commentary during the "Cutting through the Bull" segment of Monday night's broadcast.
CNN's Campbell Brown says nonemergency legislation needs time to be read by the public and Congress.
(CNN) -- Whether by omission or commission, both the White House and Congress get a dose of blame for not living up to the new era of transparency promised by President Obama.
The president's old campaign Web site still has this commitment there for all to see:
"As president, Obama will not sign any nonemergency bill without giving the American public an opportunity to review and comment on the White House Web site for five days."
Well, the president broke that promise barely a week after taking office when he signed the Lilly Ledbetter Bill dealing with equal pay for men and women.
A good bill, and certainly one that could have survived a five-day comment period. So, maybe the White House folks just forgot?
But then there is Congress and the Stimulus Bill. How fast could you get through it?
According to the nonpartisan Sunlight Foundation, lawmakers had just 13 hours to read 1,100 pages of material that would cost the American taxpayer $787 billion.
That's less than a minute and a half per page, with no time for bathroom breaks. No wonder so many of our lawmakers didn't seem to notice that last-minute exemption clearing the way for bailed-out companies like AIG to pay out big bonuses.
So, the House tried to clean up the mess last week by rushing through another bill -- a tax on AIG bonuses. That bill was just 11 hours old before it went on the floor to be argued and then quickly approved.
And the list goes on well before the president took office.
The bank bailout got all of 29 hours, the rescue of Fannie and Freddie was only available for 19 hours. This is how bills could literally become, to borrow a phrase, too big to fail -- and too fast to stop.
The Sunlight Foundation is calling on Congress to allow the American people three days, 72 hours, to read a nonemergency bill online before debate begins. We strongly agree.
And yes lawmakers, you can have three days to read it over, too, before taking a stand. As for President Obama's promise of a five-day public review once a bill leaves Capitol Hill headed for his desk, it would be nice if he kept his word on this going forward.
The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Campbell Brown.
|
1e1a099f73a04378b55feb36071e661d
|
What bill did he broke that promise with?
|
[
"Lilly Ledbetter"
] |
NewsQA
|
TEHRAN, Iran (CNN) -- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, whose re-election last month led to massive protests, on Tuesday called the balloting "the most free election anywhere in the world."
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was re-elected last month, setting off days of protests.
"It was a great event," he said in a nationally televised address.
The election, which opponents charge was rigged, was followed by street demonstrations and civil unrest that led to the deaths of at least 20 protesters and the arrest of more than 1,000, according to Iranian state-run media.
The numbers of casualties and arrests could not be independently verified by CNN because the Iranian government banned coverage by international journalists.
The president, who said voter turnout was 85 percent, said opponents "did not provide even one piece of document regarding irregularities or vote fraud."
Without specifically mentioning the post-election violence, Ahmadinejad said criticism of government "is the key to the success of a nation."
Everyone has criticisms, he said. "I have my own."
But he accused the "arrogant powers" and "enemies" of Iran of interfering in his country's affairs, including the post-election situation. Some Iranians collaborated with enemies, the president said.
Ahmadinejad also said Tuesday he believes the government should be "substantially" reorganized. Although he didn't elaborate, he said the areas of employment, housing, development and civil rights were high on the agenda.
"[We] need to create newer capacities and prepare ourselves for this new period," he said, apparently referring to his upcoming second term in office.
"With this election, we have entered a new era ... in domestic spheres and on an international level," he added. He called it "an era of solidarity."
"The government is at the service of the entire people," Ahmadinejad said. "Things will be done in a better way, more effective way, so we can reach higher aspirations."
He said experts have been invited to help the government achieve progress.
|
de35e5ff226c421b9ccf864abf628654
|
What happened after Ahmadinejad's re-election?
|
[
"massive"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Starbucks is closing more than two-thirds of its stores in Australia, days after announcing that hundreds of its American coffee outlets are also being shuttered.
Starbucks announced plans to close 600 stores in the U.S. last week.
The Seattle-based global coffee franchise said Tuesday that it will close 61 of its 84 locations in Australia by the weekend.
The closures will mean that only 23 cafes will remain open in and around three major cities: Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney, the company said in a statement Tuesday.
Earlier this month, the company announced it would close 600 company-owned stores in the United States.
Starbucks, named after the first mate in Herman Melville's 'Moby Dick,' was founded in 1971. It has more than 8,000 company-operated stores and another 6,800 licensed cafes in 44 countries.
Starbucks has seen rising competition from privately-held Dunkin' Donuts and McDonalds recently, and welcomed founder Schultz back as CEO in January after a lackluster performance by the company in the latter half of 2007.
|
3e663a08a58a4b7984aca22fda6c687e
|
what's the amount of Starbucks cafes to close?
|
[
"600"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, who faces charges of crimes against humanity, visited Zimbabwe on Sunday for a regional trade meeting.
Sudan president Omar al-Bashir is the first head of state ever indicted by the ICC.
Al-Bashir landed Saturday in the capital, Harare, for the two-day African leaders' summit of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA).
The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for al-Bashir on March 4, accusing him of complicity in war crimes and crimes against humanity in his government's campaign against rebels in Darfur in western Sudan.
It was the first arrest warrant for a sitting head of state by the world's only permanent war crimes tribunal, based at The Hague in the Netherlands.
Sudan expelled 13 international aid agencies from the Darfur region after the warrant was issued.
Al-Bashir has denied the charges, calling them an attempt by Western powers to recolonize Sudan.
The conflict in Darfur began in 2003 after rebels in the western region of Sudan began attacking government positions. The government responded with a fierce military campaign that has left about 300,000 dead and more than 2.5 million displaced, the United Nations estimates.
The International Criminal Court has no arrest powers and depends on its 106-member states to take suspects into custody.
Al-Bashir has visited other counties, including Qatar and Ethiopia, since the warrant was issued.
In Zimbabwe, the summit will be at the Victoria Falls, a popular tourism spot on the Zambezi River. Sudan is a member of the trade group, which consists of 19 African nations.
|
7419f29065584c40892a29162e4711fb
|
Where did Omar al-Bashir visit?
|
[
"Zimbabwe"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- South Korean star Park Ji-sung has signed a two-year contract extension at English Premier League champions Manchester United.
The 28-year-old Park has been handed a contract extension at Manchester United.
The attacking midfielder is now tied to Old Trafford until 2012 as reward for his dogged displays for United since joining from PSV Eindhoven in 2005.
"I am so pleased to have a new contract," Park told www.manutd.com.
"We have achieved great success over the last four years and won many trophies."
Park has had to work hard to establish himself as a regular member of United's starting line-up and was devastated to be left out of the squad for their 2008 Champions League final success against Chelsea.
But last season he was a key figure as United completed a hat-trick of Premier League titles.
Park also gained selection for the Champions League final against Barcelona, becoming the first player from Asia to play in the European club showpiece.
His popularity in his home region is undoubted and United have been able to capitalize with two highly-profitable visits to the continent with Park a key draw.
Park, who will be a driving force in South Korea's World Cup challenge in South Africa next year, has played 127 times for United, scoring 12 goals.
"We are always pleased to secure the future of our star players and Ji-Sung has proved himself to be a fantastic professional as well as an important versatile player in our squad," said manager Alex Ferguson.
Park has been rewarded with an improved deal worth a reported $5.9 million per year.
|
08a539e9851d440fa07376d621e18751
|
who is given two-year extension?
|
[
"South Korean star Park Ji-sung"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- A biker who posted videos of himself on YouTube performing stunts and speeding at up to 210 kph (130 mph) has been jailed after inadvertently confessing his misdemeanors to police.
Sandor Ferenci posted video of himself online performing high-speed stunts.
Sandor Ferenci, 28, was approached by police after a motorist saw him speeding on his powerful motorcycle and noted his registration number.
When they called at his house in Oxfordshire, England, he unwittingly asked if they had seen his YouTube video -- prompting officers to search the Internet, where they found uploaded video of his hazardous riding.
Ferenci was Monday sentenced to 12 weeks' jail after admitted two counts of dangerous driving at Oxford Crown Court.
Judge Terence Maher told Ferenci that he had carried out "lunatic and grossly irresponsible maneuvers at considerable speed," according to CNN affiliate ITN.
Ferenci's video footage, filmed by a friend from various angles including a footbridge, was shown to the court.
In it the biker is seen performing wheelies, tire-smoking wheelspins and skids on his Yamaha R6 road bike as well as high speed undertaking maneuvers.
Prosecutor Brian Payne said it was impossible to gauge Ferenci's exact speed in the video, but police estimated he was driving up to 210 kph, ITN reported.
|
1dc490730dc74f69abffa7326bfa52f3
|
The biker was jailed for how many weeks?
|
[
"12"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Rioting has flared near Belfast on Saturday after the arrests of three men in the killings of two soldiers in Northern Ireland last week, police said.
Two people in masks prepare to throw petrol bombs Saturday in Lurgan, Northern Ireland.
Petrol bombs have been hurled at police in Lurgan, a town in County Armagh, 20 miles west of Belfast, police in Northern Ireland said. There are gangs of youths on the streets, authorities said, but there have been no arrests or injuries.
Police announced the arrests on Saturday and said the three men have been taken to the police service's Serious Crime Suite in County Antrim. One of them, a dissident republican named Colin Duffy, is from Lurgan.
They are the first arrests in connection with the March 7 shootings, which were the first fatal attack on British troops in the province for more than 12 years.
The two British soldiers were shot dead at a base in Massereene, in Antrim, as they were preparing to ship out for duty in Afghanistan.
The soldiers, Cengiz "Pat" Azimkar, 21, and Mark Quinsey, 23, had already packed their bags and changed into desert uniforms, authorities said.
Two masked gunmen with automatic rifles shot them as the soldiers picked up a pizza delivery at the barracks, authorities said. Two other soldiers and the two pizza delivery men were seriously wounded.
The shooting has sparked fears of a return to the sectarian violence that Northern Ireland suffered until the Good Friday Agreement of 1998, a period known as The Troubles.
A militant splinter group, the Real IRA, reportedly claimed it had carried out the attack on the soldiers.
Two days after the soldiers were killed, a police officer was killed in a shooting southwest of Belfast. Constable Stephen Carroll was one of four officers who were responding to call in Craigavon when his vehicle came under fire and he was killed. Three people have been arrested in connection with the police officer's death.
The Continuity IRA, a republican splinter group that does not accept the Good Friday Agreement, said it had killed Carroll, Britain's Press Association reported.
Politicians from across the political spectrum have condemned the killings, with Sinn Fein deputy leader Martin McGuinness calling the killers "traitors to the island of Ireland."
Sinn Fein is a predominantly Catholic party that wants Northern Ireland to leave the United Kingdom and become part of the Republic of Ireland. The party is widely thought to be linked to the Irish Republican Army.
Danny Kennedy, deputy leader of the loyalist Ulster Unionist Party, which wants Northern Ireland to remain part of the United Kingdom, also condemned the attack as "wicked and murderous."
|
5ae69ad12f33435e87cb4765858c5bbe
|
What kind of bombs were hurled?
|
[
"Petrol"
] |
NewsQA
|
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Barack Obama reached out to Iran on Friday -- the start of the Iranian New Year -- in a video message offering "the promise of a new beginning" that is "grounded in mutual respect."
Obama's message to Iran echoes his inaugural speech, where he said "we seek a new way forward."
The message is a dramatic shift in tone from that of the Bush administration, which included Iran, along with North Korea and Iraq, in an "axis of evil." It also echoes Obama's inaugural speech, in which he said to the Muslim world, "we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect."
In Friday's video, Obama said: "The United States wants the Islamic Republic of Iran to take its rightful place in the community of nations. You have that right, but it comes with real responsibilities. And that place cannot be reached through terror or arms, but rather through peaceful actions that demonstrate the true greatness of the Iranian people and civilization."
There was no immediate response from Tehran to Obama's message, but Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said last month that his country would welcome talks with the United States "in a fair atmosphere with mutual respect."
The United States, several European nations and Israel suspect that Tehran has been trying to acquire the capacity to build nuclear weapons, but Iran says its nuclear program is solely for peaceful purposes.
Last month, the Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security released a report saying that Iran has reached "nuclear weapons breakout capability" -- it has enough uranium to make a nuclear bomb.
The report was based on an analysis of data from the International Atomic Energy Agency. However, an IAEA official who asked not to be named cautioned against drawing such dramatic conclusions from the data, saying Iran's stock of low-enriched uranium would have to be turned into highly enriched uranium to be weapons-grade material. That hasn't been done, the official said.
The United States has had tortuous relations with Tehran since the Islamic revolution in 1979, but the Obama message speaks of "new beginnings" with the promise of a new year.
"We have serious differences that have grown over time. My administration is now committed to diplomacy that addresses the full range of issues before us, and to pursuing constructive ties among the United States, Iran and the international community," the president said. "This process will not be advanced by threats. We seek, instead, engagement that is honest and grounded in mutual respect."
|
f885a5b1c9524997b17e9e5745f146a1
|
Did Tehran give an immediate response?
|
[
"no"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- A 3-year-old boy who was taken at gunpoint from his California home nearly two weeks ago has been found, authorities said Saturday.
Briant Rodriguez, 3, was taken during a home invasion on May 3 in San Bernardino, California, police say.
Briant Rodriguez was found wandering the streets of Mexicali, Mexico, by a police officer late Thursday, said San Bernardino County Sheriff Rod Hoops.
After clearing paperwork with Mexican officials, California authorities reunited the boy with his mother Saturday in the border town of Calexico, Hoops said.
"We're very happy that he's alive," Hoops said. "A 3-year-old goes missing in this country for two weeks -- sometimes it has an unhappy ending.
"This one did not." Watch portion of sheriff's news conference »
The boy had been missing since May 3, when two men armed with handguns burst into his family's home and tied him up -- along with his mother and four siblings.
The men ransacked the home before leaving with Briant, a small amount of cash and some personal property, San Bernardino sheriff's spokeswoman Cindy Beavers said.
Authorities had not caught the suspects as of Saturday evening. Hoops said authorities have information about at least two suspects -- who were captured on video at a home-improvement store near the Rodriguez home buying tape like the kind that was used to bind the family.
He said the names of the suspects, and what authorities believe was a motive, are not being released because they could jeopardize the investigation.
He also declined to say what relationship the suspects may have had with the family or whether the kidnapping is linked with drug crime that has run rampant in Mexican border towns in recent months.
Members of drug cartels in the border region have been known to use kidnapping as a means of quick cash.
"If you take a look at the case, I'll let you do your own homework on it," Hoops told reporters.
Authorities from San Bernardino flew to Mexico late Friday to get Briant. Hoops said he appears to be in good health. His hair, which is shoulder-length in photographs that authorities had released, had apparently been shaved, Hoops said.
Hoops said Briant's mother is "a Mexican citizen living here in the United States," but that he is unsure of her immigration status. He said Briant was born in the United States.
Sgt. Doug Hubbard, who was in Calexico when Briant and his mother were reunited, called the meeting emotional.
"Tears even came to Briant's eyes," he said. "It was a beautiful thing."
|
176045a5761f41fda7c050d8b945c3bb
|
how long was he missing
|
[
"nearly two weeks"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Hundreds of people were evacuated Sunday amid flood concerns after a long-dormant volcano erupted beneath a glacier in south Iceland.
It was the first time since 1821 that the volcano under the Eyjafjallajokull glacier has erupted.
More than 600 people were evacuated as scientists monitored a fissure in the volcano from which lava was erupting. The fissure measured about 1,640 to 3,281 feet (500 to 1,000 meters).
Despite the remote location of the eruption, if the fissure "develops further towards the glacier, the melting floodwater ... will create dangerous floods in a populated area in south Iceland," said Gudrun Johannesdottir, a project manager for Iceland's Joint Rescue and Coordination Center.
The country's civil protection agency did not immediately record any injuries or damage.
Eyjafjallajokull is about 100 miles (160 kilometers) east of the capital, Reykjavik.
|
2736f296bc60457bb13bec3387e75395
|
how many miles is the volcano from east of Reykjavik?
|
[
"100"
] |
NewsQA
|
LONDON, England (CNN) -- British TV channels could advertise abortion services for the first time under new advertising rules proposed Thursday by an ad industry group.
The new proposals will also allow condoms to be advertised more widely on television.
The Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice, the industry body responsible for writing and enforcing advertising rules in Britain, said the commercials would be for pregnancy advisory services that give information about a range of options to pregnant women, including abortion.
If an organization does not offer information about abortion, it would have to make that clear in the ad, BCAP spokeswoman Lynsay Taffe said.
Abortion clinics, which require referrals from doctors or hospitals, would not be allowed to advertise under the proposed rules, Taffe said.
There would be no restrictions on when such ads could air on British television, she said, but programmers would have to keep the sensitive topic in mind and not schedule the ads around religious programs, for example.
"It's a sensitive product, so it would have to be scheduled sensitively," Taffe told CNN.
The proposal is among a number of updates to current advertising standards that the Committee for Advertising Practice and BCAP, its broadcasting arm, published Thursday after an 18-month review.
"Each year the British public (sees) millions of advertisements, many of which are memorable," the committee said. "The advertising codes aim to make sure that they are memorable for the right reasons."
The public now has until June 19 to comment on the proposals before they come into force, likely in 2010, the committee said.
The new proposals also contain a change on advertising condoms on television. Under current rules, condoms generally cannot be advertised on TV before 9 p.m. in order to protect younger viewers, the committee said.
New rules would relax the restrictions on advertising condoms, with the only requirement that they not be shown around programs intended for children younger than 10.
The change came after Joyce Gould, a member of the House of Lords, requested the change and noted that Britain had the highest teenage pregnancy rate in Europe along with spiraling rates of sexually transmitted diseases, the committee said.
Gould reported a survey that showed young people believed TV was one of the most effective ways of encouraging them to use condoms.
"The presence of condom advertisements on television continues to be a subject of complaint to the (Advertising Standards Authority), but numbers are very low," the committee said. "Nevertheless, BCAP has to balance public sensitivities against a public health problem that is clearly urgent."
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03b83ec15e014ba486109a3ca16212a9
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What will the commercials give information about?
|
[
"would be for pregnancy advisory services that"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Somalia's president escaped an opportunistic attack by Islamic militants Wednesday as deadly fighting erupted in the center of Mogadishu, officials said.
Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed was returning from a trip to Yemen when insurgents began firing mortars, resulted in a clash with African Union peacekeepers, the president's director of communications told CNN.
"The Islamic insurgents were just guessing the arrival of the president so they started firing mortars, just to send a kind of their regular violent message that they are around," said Abdulkadir Barnamij.
The heaviest of the fighting was centered on Maka Al Mukarama, which links the airport to the presidential palace but it is heavily guarded by forces from the African Union Mission in Somalia.
Meanwhile Ali Muse, head of an emergency group in the city, confirmed to CNN that three people died and 16 others were wounded in the fighting.
"The casualty (number) is small because people deserted the streets soon after the fighting started," said Ali Muse.
-- Journalist Mohamed Amiin Adow contributed to this report
|
0c20f6100ebc4be791b1314eed9a75c2
|
Where was the heaviest of the fighting centered?
|
[
"Maka Al Mukarama,"
] |
NewsQA
|
JAKARTA, Indonesia (CNN) -- Indonesia has temporarily grounded all Adam Air flights starting Wednesday because it says the discount airliner "failed to implement quality standards for its aircraft."
Officers examine an Adam Air plane which halted suddenly in the middle of the runway in Surabaya in February 2007.
"The operational specification of Adam Air will be revoked. In effect, Adam Air will not be allowed to operate any airplanes effective 12 a.m. Wednesday, 18 March 2008," according to a statement from Indonesia's civil aviation chief, Budhi Muliawan Suyitno.
A year ago, a Garuda Airlines plane overshot the runway in Jakarta, careened into a rice patty field and burst into flames, killing more than 20 people on board.
On January 1, 2007, Adam Air Flight 574 crashed, killing all 102 people on board. A day after the crash, there were reports that 12 survivors had been found. But those 12 survivors, it turned out later, were from an Indonesian ferry that sank four days earlier.
For more than a week after the Adam Air flight disappeared off the radar screens, Indonesian authorities scoured the mountainous terrain of western Sulawesi province and the Java Sea for any sign of the missing aircraft, but found nothing.
The suspension will last for three months, according to Bambang Ervan, a spokesman for Indonesia's Air Transport Directorate.
Adam Air's permit was revoked because it "failed to implement quality standards for its aircraft, including pilot training and supervision in accordance with standard operational procedures," Ervan said.
The directorate sent a letter to Adam Air regarding its decision, but has not received a reply.
Adam Air CEO Adam Suherman told CNN the airline is not surprised by the Air Transport Office's announcement.
He said the airline had to suspend its operations Tuesday morning because one of its main investors pulled out, causing the airliner financial problems.
Indonesia's aviation authorities recently issued a report outlining a road map to safety, acknowledging that their track record on safety is unacceptable.
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration lowered its rating of Indonesia's safety record and the European Union banned all Indonesian airliners. E-mail to a friend
CNN's Kathy Quiano in Jakarta and Arwa Damon contributed to this report
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8deb9ae8833a4d6a8314109d10c55960
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What will the Indonesian government do?
|
[
"grounded all Adam Air flights"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- The risk of being jolted by 1,500 volts of electricity hasn't scared them off. Neither have fears of falling off the speeding electric trains.
Thousands of passengers ride on overloaded trains in Jakarta every day.
So Indonesian railway officials on Monday will unleash a new weapon on commuters who squat on top of railway cars: spray them with colored dye, a local newspaper reported.
The state transit agency told the English-language newspaper Jakarta Post that it hopes the "unique approach" will deter passengers riding illegally on rooftops.
Trains are the cheapest and fastest form of transportation for office workers commuting between the capital city Jakarta and neighboring towns.
Throngs of thousands cram the trains during the morning and evening rush hours, making it impossible for everyone to snag space inside packed cars.
Under the new plan, security officials at each station will "mark" roof riders with dye as trains depart. When the passengers disembark at their destination, officials can then easily identify them.
"We will confiscate their IDs and give them a ticket," Akhmand Sujadi, regional spokesman for the transit agency Kerata Api, told the newspaper. "We will send a copy of the ticket to their family, their local neighborhood unit head, their employer, or, if they're students, their headmasters."
The offenders can reclaim their ID cards once they write a letter "regarding their behavior, to be signed by the person who received their ticket."
More than 320,000 passengers rode trains to and from work every day last year, the newspaper reported. The crush of passengers meant revenues of 248 billion Rupiahs ($26.8 million) for the system.
But many commuters prefer to ride on top of passenger cars -- either due to a lack of space inside or because they can't afford the ticket, which start at 1,000 Rupiahs ($0.11)
At least 53 rooftop riders died in the last two years, the newspaper reported. E-mail to a friend
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abbbedbb639142eea27a446965bc97a0
|
What are illegally riding commuters being targeted with in Indonesia?
|
[
"colored dye,"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- A man who was sought by police in Texas after four children were burned with sulfuric acid has turned himself in, authorities said Monday.
Tracy Lynn Escobedo is taken into custody for allegedly burning four children with sulfuric acid.
Tracy Lynn Escobedo, 27, called CNN affiliate KXII-TV and asked that a crew videotape him as he turned himself in Sunday.
"I would never throw acid at nobody. It was an accident," Escobedo says repeatedly on the video as he surrenders to Cooke County sheriff's deputies. "I ran because I was scared. I hurt my kids. It was an accident. ... I would never hurt my kids. I love them."
Escobedo is charged with four counts of injury to a child, the sheriff's office said.
The children involved were ages 14, 7, 4, and 18 months, authorities said.
In the incident last week near Gainesville, Texas, a container of sulfuric acid ruptured in a pickup truck, police said.
Cynthia Stout -- a woman believed to be the mother -- and three of the children were left at a cafe by Escobedo, who took the baby with him, authorities said. Escobedo then gave the baby to another woman, believed to be a relative, at a residence, authorities said.
When police arrived at the cafe, Stout attempted to flee and resist arrest, but was taken into custody, authorities said. She was being held on suspicion of child endangerment.
It was unclear why sulfuric acid was in the truck.
Cooke County Sheriff Michael Compton said all four children are being treated at Parkland Hospital in Dallas, Texas. Speaking to CNN early Monday, Compton said the condition of the 7-year-old "is not very good, I don't think. The others are stable."
The state has temporary custody of the children, Compton said.
|
b1f36ee962d544078fe45db23bda6ff1
|
who surrendered?
|
[
"Tracy Lynn Escobedo"
] |
NewsQA
|
London, England (CNN) -- Ozzy Osbourne, the former front man of rock group Black Sabbath, says that after decades of living a life of drugs and sex, he's lucky to be alive today.
Speaking to CNN's Max Foster, Osbourne described in detail how he often played a dangerous game when it came to using drugs and having promiscuous sex.
"With the sexually transmitted disease, what I was doing is playing Russian roulette with sex," says Osbourne.
"With the drugs, it nearly killed me on a daily basis -- I did a lot of heavy drug taking for a long time and I survived it by the grace of God.
"You might not be as lucky as me -- I'm living on borrowed time."
In his autobiography, "I am Ozzy," Osbourne discusses his past, his family and his time with Black Sabbath.
Answering a viewer's question on whether he realized his power to change people's lives, Osbourne replied with shock.
"When you're on the inside looking, you don't see it that way," Osbourne said.
"But I suppose you're right. I do -- I do have the power to change people's lives."
What does he remember about Black Sabbath?
"We were just four kids from Aston in Birmingham who had a good idea and it worked out fine."
Osbourne also discussed the current state of the music industry and the "manufacturing" of artists today.
"It's completely different -- they're manufactured people now... like ice cream.
"Every now and then somebody comes out and I really like them -- I really like this Lady Gaga."
|
2e2f6aacfa004b1fab65e7db2b6f6c7e
|
Can you name the band that Osbourne was the former front man of
|
[
"Black Sabbath,"
] |
NewsQA
|
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Police in Connecticut say they have arrested a woman suspected of robbing at least six banks in the past week.
Police released photos of a suspect in the robberies of six New England banks.
Detectives from the Major Crimes division of the Connecticut State Police took Heather Brown into custody at about 3:15 p.m. The 34-year-old resident of Norwich, Connecticut, will be formally charged with robbery in the first degree, police said.
Investigators believe Brown robbed the banks, often while claiming to have a bomb.
"When she goes into the banks, she gives the teller information through a note or verbally that she has a bomb," said Sgt. Jim Keeney of the Connecticut State Police. "However, there haven't been any reports of an actual bomb."
Authorities say they believe the woman has held up banks in the Connecticut towns of Middletown, Montville, East Hartford and Windsor, as well as banks in West Springfield, Massachusetts and Westerly, Rhode Island.
Women commit 6.2 percent of bank robberies nationwide, up from 4.9 percent in 2002, according to recent FBI figures.
The one-woman crime wave in New England apparently began September 21 at the Citizens Bank in Montville, Connecticut. State police said "a lone white female ... entered the bank with a bag in her possession. The suspect approached the teller indicated she was in possession of a bomb and demanded cash."
The woman left the bag on a counter and bolted, police said.
Four days later, a woman entered a branch of the New Alliance Bank in East Hartford, Connecticut. Investigators with the East Hartford Police Department said she "left a note indicating that she had a bomb and demanded $1,000. She fled the bank with an undisclosed amount of money."
Police suspect she struck again the next day in Windsor, Connecticut.
|
f164ba88a9414dd7823fb4fb7fed567b
|
Where does Heather Brown live?
|
[
"Norwich, Connecticut,"
] |
NewsQA
|
LONDON, England -- Former Culture Club singer Boy George has been convicted of falsely imprisoning a male escort.
The judge told Boy George he faced jail.
Norwegian Audun Carlsen, 29, said the frontman with the 1980s band beat him with a metal chain as he tried to flee his London flat after a naked photo shoot.
A jury at a London court found on Friday that the case was proven against the 46-year-old musician -- tried under his real name of George O'Dowd.
The singer declined to give evidence during the trial but the jury heard he told police he handcuffed Carlsen to his bed while he investigated alleged tampering with his computer.
Carlsen told the court O'Dowd invented the story about computer tampering so he could punish him for not having sex at a previous meeting. He said: "I think he couldn't handle the refusal -- me not having sex with him."
O'Dowd looked grim as the verdict was delivered, according to the Press Association. The singer was bailed until sentencing on January 16.
Judge David Radford warned him that he was likely to face jail. "The fact that your bail is being continued does not imply that this will be dealt with by a non-custodial sentence. I don't want any false expectations created," he said.
|
ecf8539a4537497f96f0f9813924c37e
|
Who was falsely accused of imprisoning male escort?
|
[
"Boy George"
] |
NewsQA
|
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- A bomb attached to a car carrying an Iraqi army general exploded Saturday afternoon, killing the driver and wounding the general and a bystander, an Interior Ministry official said.
U.S. soldiers patrol the streets of Baghdad's central district on Saturday.
The official said Gen. Abdul Karim Jabbar was seriously wounded when the bomb went off between al-Firdous Square and al-Andalus Square.
The U.S. military refers to bombs attached to civilian vehicles without the driver's knowledge as "sticky bombs."
Separately, a civilian was killed and five were wounded in afternoon clashes between gunmen and Iraqi National Police in the al-Shaab neighborhood of northeastern Baghdad, the ministry official said.
In the same neighborhood, a roadside bomb exploded at an Iraqi army checkpoint Baghdad, killing a child, the Interior Ministry official said.
The blast also wounded four Iraqi soldiers.
Also Saturday, two Iraqi soldiers were killed and another was wounded when a roadside bomb struck an Iraqi army patrol on Palestine Street in eastern Baghdad.
|
18e3b7ac3e004973be931736ef2f6d88
|
In the explosion of the car how many were injured?
|
[
"five"
] |
NewsQA
|
LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Liv Tyler doesn't like to be bothered by her agents at night. But it's a good thing she took their call pitching her "The Incredible Hulk."
Liv Tyler plays Betty Ross, a colleague of Edward Norton's Bruce Banner, in "The Incredible Hulk."
"My agent called me one night ... I had just put [son] Milo to bed. It was like 9 o'clock at night, and I always get grumpy with them when they call me really late," she told CNN. "They said, 'Marvel would like to fly you to Los Angeles tomorrow. Will you get on a plane to come and meet for 'The Hulk'? And I said I can't come tomorrow, but I can come the next day."
The flight turned out to be well worth it -- though Tyler said she was discombobulated by the speed of it all.
"I went and met with [director] Louis [Leterrier] and they offered me the part that day," she said. "I was kind of floored because it just happened so quickly and I didn't get to read the script. ... [But] it was kind of a no-brainer."
In the new "Hulk," "The Lord of the Rings" actress plays Betty Ross, a former colleague of scientist and Hulk alter ego Bruce Banner (Edward Norton). She said working on the film brought back memories of her childhood watching the TV show starring Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno. (Ferrigno has a cameo in the new film.)
"I loved the TV show when I was a kid," she said. "I used to watch it all the time with my mom. It was our favorite show."
Tyler, 30, said that she felt a tremendous sense of responsibility to the "Hulk" mythology, particularly since a 2003 film on the character met with mixed reviews. Watch Tyler, Norton and Leterrier on the latest "Hulk" »
"Well, a lot of people would say -- even I said -- 'Oh, they're making "The Hulk"?' Didn't they do that already?" she said.
But she added, "The fans love this so much ... and there's so much detail to the story, I always feel quite stressed about that, like I really want to do the part justice. ... I definitely feel that responsibility and want to do the best job that I can."
CNN's KJ Matthews contributed to this report.
|
230311acf1c54e978b9a6585992653a0
|
What was Tyler a fan of?
|
[
"\"Hulk,\""
] |
NewsQA
|
PARIS, France (CNN) -- Interpol is chasing more than 200 leads on the potential identity of a pedophile suspected of molesting young boys, just one day after launching a global manhunt.
Interpol has launched a global appeal to find this man, accused of abusing young boys.
The organization, which facilitates global cooperation among police agencies, said its Web site logged 30 times more visitors than in an average day after it made its plea for the public's help Tuesday.
Interpol is trying to locate a man who is pictured sexually abusing young boys in hundreds of images on the Internet.
"'The public's response has been very positive," said Kristin Kvigne, assistant director of Interpol's Trafficking in Human Beings unit, in a news release.
"The smallest piece of information from anywhere in the world could be crucial in identifying this man."
The man is featured in 100 photographs sexually abusing at least three boys between the ages of six and 10, Interpol said.
The organization posted six pictures of the suspect on its Web site.
The pictures came to light in 2006, when Norwegian authorities discovered them in the possession of a man they arrested. Watch a report on Interpol's man-hunt »
"While these images were only discovered two years ago, we believe the photographs were taken between April 2000 and May 2001, so clearly this man will be older than he appears in the pictures," said Kvigne.
Last October, Interpol disseminated pictures of another man whose face appeared in more than 200 images of sex acts with children. It dubbed its operation Vico, because the images were thought to have been taken in Vietnam and Cambodia.
Ten days later, Christopher Paul Neil -- a 32-year-old Canadian man who had been working as an English-language teacher in South Korea -- was arrested in Thailand and charged with child abuse.
Following the success of that operation, the organization's general assembly approved a resolution allowing Interpol to seek public help in child sex abuse investigations.
|
f2077939168547f6a40ae63aa0839a00
|
How many leads are there for the serial pedophile manhunt?
|
[
"200"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- A pilot's sleep disorder and a string of early mornings helped cause the crew of a commuter jet to fall asleep during a flight over Hawaii in 2008, federal investigators reported Monday.
The pilot and co-pilot of a Go! Airlines jet failed to respond to calls from air traffic controllers for 18 minutes during the February 2008 flight from Honolulu to Hilo and awoke to find they had overshot their destination by about 30 miles, the National Transportation Safety Board reported. The plane landed safely once the pilots awoke and resumed contact with controllers.
The 53-year-old pilot was later diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea, which can cause daytime sleepiness.
"This condition likely caused him to experience chronic daytime fatigue and contributed to his falling asleep during the incident flight," according to the NTSB's report on the probable cause of the incident.
"In addition, the day of the incident was the third consecutive day that both pilots started duty at 0540 (5:40 a.m.)," the report continued. "This likely caused the pilots to receive less daily sleep than is needed to sustain optimal alertness and resulted in an accumulation of sleep debt and increased levels of daytime fatigue."
Go! is a subsidiary of Phoenix, Arizona-based Mesa Air Group. The company had no immediate response to the findings.
The Hawaii incident and a 2007 runway landing accident in Michigan that investigators blamed on pilot fatigue prompted a call by federal safety experts to scale back the maximum workday allowed for airline pilots and implement other "fatigue management" programs.
|
3195a5d7911a47ef98824ca5d9ca000b
|
What happened to the crew of the plane?
|
[
"fall asleep during a flight"
] |
NewsQA
|
NEW YORK (CNN) -- U.S. authorities arrested six people Wednesday on suspicion of smuggling African elephant ivory worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, law enforcement officials said.
Imports of African elephant ivory have been banned in the United States since 1976.
The defendants arranged to have ivory from Cameroon, Ivory Coast and Uganda shipped into the United States disguised as wooden snakes, guitars and statues, authorities said.
"The defendants plundered precious natural resources for personal profit," U.S. Attorney Benton J. Campbell and other officials said in a statement. "Their illegal trade threatens the continued existence of an endangered species and will not be tolerated."
Federal agents tracked at least eight shipments, including one worth an estimated $165,000.
Federal agents used surveillance and shipping, phone and bank records to track the suspect shipments. Arrests were made in New York, New Jersey, Virginia and Texas.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement division of the Department of Homeland Security were involved in the law enforcement operation.
One suspect told an undercover federal agent during a purchase that it was difficult to bring ivory into the United States, but easy to sell it at high prices, the government statement said.
Two other suspects also are accused of paying a courier $15,000 to bring a shipment of ivory from Cameroon into the United States.
The U.S. banned ivory imports in 1976, and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora effectively outlawed trade in elephant tissue in 1989.
Illegal trade in African elephant ivory is considered to be a major cause of the continuing decline of elephant populations in Africa.
The defendants are expected to appear in court in New York on Wednesday. They face jail terms of up to 20 years if convicted.
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5278a4d637c844d4902fc0a7942bbe5d
|
Which four states?
|
[
"New York, New Jersey, Virginia and Texas."
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- The Continental Airlines plane that crashed in Clarence Center, New York, late Thursday is one of several major incidents over the past two months.
The wreckage of a Continental Airlines 737 sits off a runway at Denver International Airport in December.
• On February 12, Continental Flight 3407 crashed en route to Buffalo, New York, killing 49 people.
• On January 27, Empire Airlines Flight 8284 crashed 300 feet short while on approach to a runway at Lubbock International Airport in Texas. The plane was arriving from Fort Worth, Texas.
The aircraft was destroyed by the crash and a post-impact fire. Two crew members suffered minor injuries.
• On January 15, U.S. Airways Flight 1549 ditched in the Hudson River while en route from LaGuardia Airport to Charlotte, North Carolina. All 155 passengers survived, with few injuries.
• On December 20, 2008, Continental Flight 1404 departed the left side of the runway during takeoff from Denver International Airport in Denver. The flight was en route to George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas.
A total of 38 passengers and crew were taken to hospitals, and five were admitted. There were no fatalities. The airplane was substantially damaged and experienced a post-crash fire, which was located on the right side of the aircraft.
CNN's Mike Ahlers contributed to this report.
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cf9fb6fc72bb4ae68057e5d33bfeaff2
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Where did flight 1404 slide off the runway?
|
[
"Denver International Airport in Denver."
] |
NewsQA
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(CNN) -- An SUV carrying almost two dozen undocumented immigrants crashed in Arizona over the weekend, killing 10 people and injuring several others, state police reported Sunday.
This Ford Excursion was packed with 22 passengers inside when it crashed in Arizona late Saturday night.
The Ford Excursion crashed at about 11:55 p.m. Saturday in a remote area about 30 miles north of the Mexican border, ejecting almost all the 22 passengers inside, police said in a statement.
In addition to the dead, 12 people were hospitalized.
The identity of the driver, passengers and owner of the Excursion were not released.
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720cc49896e6443c875c2527401247e1
|
How many are dead?
|
[
"10 people"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- A Swedish truck and bus maker that assembled trucks in Iraq during the Saddam Hussein era has signed "an agreement in principle" with the government to open an assembly plant next year.
Swedish truck and bus maker Scania is to reopen a former plant in Iraq.
The company, Scania, issued a statement on its Web site confirming the deal to produce 500 trucks ordered by Iraq, with work starting during the third quarter of 2009.
The work will be performed in the same Iskandariya factory south of Baghdad where the company's previous operation was housed. The operation comes under the auspices of Iraq's State Company for Automotive Industry.
The deal reflects the Iraqi government's efforts to rehabilitate an economy decimated by warfare.
"Scania has the necessary qualifications to satisfy the Iraqi government's desire to begin local production quickly. Assembly of the 500 trucks initially ordered is expected to employ about 500 people. The facility will be designed for the production of 3,000 vehicles per year," says Klas Dahlberg, vice president in charge of Scania's sales in the Middle East.
The company said Iraq had been one of its largest markets during the 1980s. The Iskandariya factory assembled 3,900 trucks in 1981, Scania said, and many of the trucks assembled there during that era remain in service.
The company said a memorandum of understanding signed by both sides specifies that Scania will work with an Iraqi distributor and "will assume responsibility for installation of production equipment as well as employee training."
"In collaboration with our Iraqi distributor, we will also invest in the establishment of a service network in the country. Even today, there is a great need for workshops to take care of vehicles that operate in international traffic to Iraq," Dahlberg said.
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90e8b4c3a3474276b83a11844fe59760
|
How many trucks are mentioned?
|
[
"3,900"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Thailand and Cambodia have called for dialogue as tensions continued to escalate over an ancient border temple on disputed land.
Cambodian soldiers stand guard near Preah Vihear temple, close to the Thai border.
The countries agreed to meet Monday even as each side deployed more troops to the site of the Preah Vihear temple, the national Thai News Agency reported Thursday.
Both Cambodia and Thailand lay claim to the 11th century temple, which sits atop a cliff on Cambodian soil but has its most accessible entrance on the Thai side.
The International Court of Justice awarded the temple to Cambodia in 1962, but the 1.8 square mile (4.6 sq. km) area around it was never fully demarcated.
Last week, the United Nations approved Cambodia's application to have the temple listed as a World Heritage Site -- places the U.N. says have outstanding universal value.
The decision re-ignited tensions, with some in Thailand fearing it will make it difficult for their country to lay claim to disputed land around the temple.
Opposition parties in Thailand used the issue to attack the government, which initially backed the heritage listing. Watch Thai villagers block anti-government demonstrators »
A Thai court overturned the pact, prompting the resignation of Thailand's foreign minister, Noppadon Pattama. He had endorsed the application.
Cambodia, meanwhile, is preparing for general elections on July 27. And Prime Minister Hun Sen, who has been in power since the mid-1980s, has portrayed the U.N. recognition as a national triumph.
The current flare-up began Tuesday, when Cambodian guards briefly detained three Thais who crossed into the area. Once they were let go, the trio refused to leave the territory, the Thai News Agency said.
The Cambodian state-run news agency, AKP, said that Thailand sent troops to retrieve the men and gradually built up their numbers.
Thailand denies the charge, saying its troops are deployed in Thai territory.
The standoff continued Thursday, with each side asking troops to withhold fire unless they are fired upon, the news agencies said.
Thailand has put its Air Force on standby to evacuate its nationals from Cambodia if tensions worsen, TNA said.
So far, the only casualty has been a Thai soldier who was injured Tuesday by a landmine -- possibly left over from the time the Khmer Rouge occupied the area.
The Khmer Rouge, a radical communist movement that ruled Cambodia from 1975 to 1979, won power through a guerrilla war. It is remembered for the deaths of as many as 1.5 million Cambodians.
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6567cafa699043e5ad7f77a0699db47c
|
When did the International Court of Justice award the temple to Cambodia?
|
[
"in 1962,"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- The operation on Ronaldo's injured left knee "went well" but the Brazilian striker faces a lengthy rehabilitation as he bids to save his football career.
Ronaldo leaves the field in agony after suffering his latest injury blow against Livorno.
Ronaldo had surgery in Paris on Thursday, the two-hour operation perfomed by Dr. Eric Rolland with Dr. Gerard Saillant, who carried out a similar repair to his right knee in 2000, in attendance.
"The operation went well," said Saillant. "The intervention was of the same type as the one in 2000. The healing period should last nine months," he said in sports paper L'Equipe.
Ronaldo was injured playing for AC Milan in a 1-1 draw with Liverno on Wednesday night and teammate Clarence Seedorf gave CNN a graphic description of the incident.
"It was like a film I already saw," said the Dutch star who was on the pitch when Ronaldo suffered his previous serious injury.
"I saw his reaction, I was frozen by the reality, a bad, bad thing. My heart went out to him because it was his second injury. I hope he has the will to come back," added Seedorf.
Ater the two-hour operation at Pitie-Salpetriere hospital, the three-time FIFA World Player of the Year is likely to need about 10 days of physical therapy, L'Equipe said.
Ronaldo, 31, has battled serious injuries throughout his career, and has played sparingly since joining Milan from Real Madrid in January 2007.
Wednesday's match was only his fifth in Serie A this season after injuring his thigh during preseason training on July 31. He returned in November, but has been in and out of the team due to a series of recurring problems. E-mail to a friend
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482cfa58f96d4c879f1fd6889516c2c5
|
What was Ronaldo's surgery for?
|
[
"injured left knee"
] |
NewsQA
|
Mexico City (CNN) -- A Mexican mayor campaigning for the president's sister in a gubernatorial race was fatally shot in the southeastern state of Michoacan, the state attorney general's office said.
The killing of La Piedad Mayor Ricardo Guzman Romero on Wednesday is the latest in a number of mayoral killings dating to last year. According to CNNMexico, 18 mayors have been killed in 2010 and 2011.
But Guzman's death garnered extra attention because he was killed in President Felipe Calderon's home state, and because he was campaigning for the president's sister, gubernatorial candidate Luisa Maria Calderon. She is running as a candidate for the National Action Party, or PAN, the same party to which the president belongs.
The attack came just 11 days before the state elections, where in addition to a governor, 40 lawmakers and 113 mayors will be chosen.
Guzman was elected mayor in 2008, and his term was to end in January.
"At the moment, the federal authorities and military are in charge (of the case)," Michoacan attorney general's office spokesman Armando Soto La Marina said.
According to authorities, Guzman was participating in a campaign event, walking down one of his town's boulevards, when a black vehicle approached and a gunman shot from inside.
The shooter escaped, and the mayor was taken to a hospital, where he died, authorities said.
Luisa Maria Calderon said she was saddened by the killing, but that "we're not going to stop our fight for Michoacan."
Michoacan has long been a center of drug cartel violence. It was where President Calderon initiated his campaign against the cartels in 2006.
Last year, the PAN and an allied party declined to run candidates in at least 20 mayoral races in Michoacan because of insecurity.
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aff0cea4fd9c4d95ac2865e702969c6a
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How many mayor's have been killed since 2010
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[
"18"
] |
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|
Jerusalem (CNN) -- Israeli authorities discovered and disarmed an explosive barrel Wednesday, the third to wash up on an Israeli beach this week, the Israel Defense Forces said.
The barrel was found Wednesday afternoon at Palmachim beach south of Tel Aviv.
On Monday, Islamic Jihad, the Fatah Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade and the Nasser Salah A din Brigades issued a leaflet in Gaza claiming responsibility for sending three explosive devices to the coastal cities Ashkelon and Ashdod.
The other two barrels packed with explosives -- one found at Ashkelon and one at Ashdod -- were discovered Monday and disposed of.
In response, the IDF said, the Israeli Air Force attacked "two Hamas terrorist targets" in southern Gaza.
"One of the targets was a terror tunnel, used for the infiltration of terrorists into Israel, while the other was used for smuggling of weapons. Direct hits were identified," the IDF said.
Hamas, the movement controlling Gaza, has been vowing retaliation against Israel since one of the founding members of its military wing, Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, died last week in Dubai.
Al-Mabhouh's brother, Fayek al-Mabhouh, said that preliminary results of Hamas' investigation of the death showed his brother was killed by electrocution and strangulation with a piece of cloth.
Hamas officials accused Israel of assassinating Mahmoud al-Mabhouh. Israeli officials have not responded to that allegation.
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e9f5f2e9d08e49f6ab6941406edc209f
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who died last week in dubai?
|
[
"Mahmoud al-Mabhouh,"
] |
NewsQA
|
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Federal safety investigators said Tuesday they fear flaws found in Washington's Metro subway system after a deadly crash this summer may endanger other transit systems, and they sent out an urgent recommendation asking that other rail operators check for similar problems.
Investigators are shown at the crash scene in Washington. Nine people were killed in the June 22 wreck.
In letters to federal regulators, the National Transportation Safety Board said "all rail transit operators and railroads should be informed" about system flaws that could cause a track circuit to fail to detect a train.
It was not clear how many rail systems have similar train detection systems. Neither the NTSB nor the Federal Transit Administration had a list of systems that use the "audio frequency track circuits" that are the focus of the probe.
But an FTA spokesman said that because it doesn't know how many operators use the systems, "we are sending today's urgent recommendation to all rail transit operators, and will identify the pertinent operators through a later survey."
Meanwhile, the Federal Railway Administration, which regulates Amtrak and more than a dozen commuter rail systems, said it also will follow the NTSB guidance but believes the number of impacted systems will be "limited."
Nine people were killed and 52 taken to hospitals June 22 when a southbound Metrorail train struck the rear end of stopped train just north of the Fort Totten station. Investigators say an automatic train protection system did not detect the stopped train, so the moving train did not receive a command to slow or stop.
The NTSB said it is continuing its investigation into the precise causes of the crash, but it said the investigation has raised concerns that the track circuit is susceptible to errant signals.
In its letter to regulators, the NTSB said it discovered one circumstance in which an unintended signal path could be created, resulting in a track relay remaining energized even though a stopped train was occupying the circuit.
"After only three months, this complex investigation is far from complete, so we are not ready to determine the probable cause of the [Metro] accident," NTSB Chairwoman Deborah A.P. Hersman said. "However, our findings so far indicate a pressing need to issue these recommendations to immediately address safety glitches we have found that could lead to another tragic accident."
The NTSB sent letters to Metro, the Federal Transit Administration, the Federal Railroad Administration and Alstom Signaling Inc., which acquired General Railway Signal, the manufacturer of some of the equipment.
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89e30d90f74944d0a431b7ddac002bab
|
When did the train crash occur?
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[
"June 22"
] |
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|
Los Angeles (CNN) -- Lindsay Lohan's nude photo spread for Playboy is helping the men's magazine break sales records, according to Playboy founder Hugh Hefner.
CNN calls to a dozen newsstands in Los Angeles, Chicago, New York and Atlanta Sunday found just one that is sold out of the issue, and that store expected more to arrive Monday.
Lohan, 25, was reportedly paid close to $1 million to pose for the photos taken in a style reminiscent of the nude photograph of Marilyn Monroe that graced the debut issue of Playboy in 1953.
Unlike Lohan, Monroe was reportedly paid just $50 for the 1949 photo shoot that produced the image that was bought by Hefner after she became a star.
"The Lindsay Lohan January-February Double Issue is breaking sales records," Hefner said in a message posted on his Twitter account Sunday.
A Playboy spokesman would not give sales numbers, but the official did say it was selling "very well."
The Playboy gig was a rare moneymaking opportunity for Lohan, whose acting career has been hampered in the past two years by frequent trips to court, probation restrictions, extended drug rehab stints and several visits to jail.
Her legal woes stem from two drunken-driving convictions in 2007, a necklace theft conviction in 2011 and several probation violations.
CNN's JD Cargill and David Daniel contributed to this report.
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e25eda7662a946d788bde0e52045d0b0
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What did the Playboy official say?
|
[
"it was selling \"very well.\""
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- World No. 2 Novak Djokovic was on track to defend his Dubai Tennis Championship title when torrential rain, thunder and lightning halted play in Saturday's final against Mikhail Youzhny.
The Serbian led 7-5 2-0 when the heavens opened on the desert emirate and flooded the court, and after a long delay it was decided to resume play on Sunday afternoon.
Top seed Djokovic won a topsy-turvy first set in 63 minutes as there were five breaks in serve overall, then rain forced a half-hour delay.
He was 30-15 up in the third game against the Russian seventh seed when the weather intervened again, and umpire Mohamed Lahyani ruled that the court was too wet for further play.
Workers tried to clear the water, but to no avail.
Djokovic is seeking to avenge his semifinal defeat by Youzhny at the World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam a fortnight ago and claim his 17th ATP Tour title.
Youzhny lost to Robin Soderling in the Dutch final after suffering a hamstring injury, leaving him with five career titles.
Meanwhile, world No. 7 Elena Dementieva will face fellow Russian Alisa Kleybanova in Sunday's final of the inaugural Malaysian Open as she seeks to win a third title this year.
Top seed Dementieva defeated Austria's Sybille Bammer 6-3 6-1 in her semifinal on Saturday, while Kleybanova beat Japan's Ayumi Morita 6-4 6-1.
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1b42bb4a380747899fee94c965d889cb
|
when was the last time they played
|
[
"a fortnight ago"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- The space shuttle Discovery is on pace for a Sunday launch after NASA engineers repaired a leaky gas venting system, officials said Saturday.
Space shuttle Discovery readies for launch, which now appears on pace for Sunday.
The leak had canceled a planned launch on Wednesday.
NASA hopes the seven-member crew can take off around 7:40 p.m. Sunday on a mission to the international space station, where they will deliver supplies needed to expand the station's crew to six people.
"The vehicle is looking real good ... ," lead shuttle flight director Mike Moses said. "Basically, I think I can sum this up by just saying we're good to go tomorrow and we're looking forward to getting the count going."
A leak in a hydrogen gas vent line forced Wednesday's delay. Repairs went smoothly, Moses said.
The line funnels flammable hydrogen away from the launch pad during takeoff.
The shuttle crew will be delivering the final parts needed for an expanded solar energy power system that will allow the station to double its crew to six people. The crew also will be dropping off Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata, who will replace NASA's Sandy Magnus on the space station.
The shuttle also will carry a replacement for a failed unit in a system that converts urine to drinkable water, NASA said. Watch an explanation of why Wednesday's launch was scrubbed »
Kathy Winters, the mission's chief weather officer, said Sunday appears to offer only a 20 percent chance of weather that would scrub the launch.
The crew, led by commander Lee Archambault, is expected to board Discovery at Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Florida, at about 4:30 p.m. Sunday.
Officials said the crew has been training and resting for the mission since Wednesday.
Earlier this week, Magnus, station commander Michael Fincke and Russian engineer Yury Lonchakov had to take shelter in their Soyuz spacecraft -- a lifeboat of sorts -- when a piece of debris from an earlier mission hurtled uncomfortably close to the station.
The debris, moving about 20,000 mph, came within three miles of the station but caused no damage.
Wednesday's launch postponement was the latest in a series of delays for Discovery as it tries to make the 28th shuttle mission to the space station.
The launch had been delayed previously to allow time to check a "flow-control valve in the shuttle's main engines," NASA said last week. That resulted from damage being found in a valve on the shuttle Endeavour during its November 2008 flight. Three valves were cleared and installed on Discovery, it said.
CNN's Kim Segal and John Zarella contributed to this report.
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1469d795a7d449cab00c8849a9dfaab2
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When is the launch hoped for?
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[
"Sunday"
] |
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|
(CNN) -- Iceland is losing its only three McDonald's restaurants as a result of the poor economic situation in the country.
Businessman Magnus Ogmundsson, who owns the only McDonald's franchise in Iceland, said it had become too expensive to operate the restaurants after Iceland's currency, the krona, plunged in value.
"The krona is quite weak and we are buying everything in euros, and we have very high tariffs on imported agricultural products," he told CNN on Tuesday.
In January 2008, it cost more than 95 Icelandic krona to buy one euro, according to the Central Bank of Iceland. Tuesday, that price had shot up to more than 186 krona.
That means the currency is worth half as much today as it was in January 2008 -- and things priced in euros now cost twice as much to buy.
Ogmundsson said the McDonald's Corporation worked with him to find a solution, but in the end he had no choice but to close.
There was "good cooperation" with McDonald's, Ogmundsson told CNN. "No hard feelings."
McDonald's said it had become financially prohibitive to continue operating in Iceland because of "the unique operational complexity of doing business in Iceland combined with the very challenging economic climate in the country."
It said there are no plans to seek a new franchise partner in that country.
The three stores will close at midnight Saturday, but they will reopen as an independent chain called Metro, with more domestic ingredients and fewer imported products.
"We believe we can be more successful with our own brand," Ogmundsson said.
A McDonald's Big Mac hamburger currently sells for the equivalent of $5.29, making Iceland one of the most expensive places in the world to buy the sandwich. Only Norway and Switzerland charge more, according to the countries listed on the Economist magazine's Big Mac Index, published in February.
A Big Mac costs about $3.54 in the United States, $2.19 in Australia, $5.07 in Denmark, $1.66 in South Africa, and $1.52 in Malaysia.
|
aa6e4f34c75444c3be5d46e50dd27d9d
|
What are imports priced in?
|
[
"euros"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Police have identified the man whose shooting of another man outside a store in Naples, Italy, was captured by a surveillance camera, the Italian news agency ANSA reported Saturday.
The announcement came two days after police released the video of the brazen daylight shooting in hopes it would lead someone to come forward. Police did not release the man's name.
The video, shot May 11, shows a man wearing jeans, a dark jersey and a baseball cap, walking into the store and looking around, turning and walking back out.
Passersby appear unfazed. One woman tries to lift up the victim's head in an apparent attempt to see if she knew him; a man steps over the body.
Police said they had been without any clues before the release of the video. A source who was not identified publicly said the killer was a man in his 30s from Naples' northern Sanita district who had recently left the city.
A third man seen in the video was thought to have been an accomplice, but he told Il Mattino newspaper that he had nothing to do with the killing.
"I am the man of the film, but I have never been a lookout, and now I am afraid," the 39-year-old man said. "I was taking a breath of air, waiting for my daughter to go shopping."
The man said he had been living "in terror" since acquaintances called him from Germany to tell him they had seen him on the video.
Police said they knew of no motive for the killing, which took place in the poor neighborhood of Rione Sanita, where Camorra, the name for organized crime in Naples, is strong.
The victim was a bank robber, the spokesman said.
A police spokesman said Camorra has been blamed for about 60 killings this year in Naples and its surrounding county.
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908d8e0494fa46efa2ca2f4e6b0e753f
|
Where was the shooting?
|
[
"outside a store in Naples, Italy,"
] |
NewsQA
|
Islamabad, Pakistan (CNN) -- Pakistan's military said Tuesday that its forces have taken over a Taliban stronghold during the ongoing ground offensive in the tribal region of South Waziristan.
Pakistani security forces have secured Sararogha and have started to clear the town of weapons and ammunition, the military said. It comes a day after its forces gained control of Kaniguram, another key Taliban stronghold, which the military says its forces have now completely secured.
According to the military, 21 militants and one Pakistani soldier died in the past 24 hours of fighting -- most of them in the raid on Sararogha. The military is trying to rout Taliban insurgents operating along the Pakistan-Afghan border.
The restive and largely ungoverned region of South Waziristan is the headquarters of the Pakistani Taliban.
Pakistan's military suspects its leader, Hakimullah Mehsud, is still in the region backed by up to 8,000 militant fighters.
Pakistan's army has launched three similar offensives in Kaniguram and Sararogha since 2004 without success, sometimes agreeing to peace deals that eventually fall apart.
Army spokesman Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas recently told CNN that this time a peace deal is not an option.
"Certainly there is no scope of a peace deal," Abbas told CNN. "It is a fight to the finish."
The military began its ground offensive in South Waziristan three weeks ago, however the region has been affected by a broader anti-Taliban offensive that has uprooted more than 180,000 people this year, according to the United Nations. Many of those people -- more than 94,000 -- have fled South Waziristan since June, the U.N. said last week.
In recent weeks, Pakistan has been relentlessly rocked by a wave of attacks as Islamic militants retaliate against the military campaign.
On Monday, the Pakistani cities of Lahore and Rawalpindi were hit by separate suicide bombings. A suicide attacker believed to be on a motorcycle targeted people outside a bank in Rawalpindi who were lined up to pick up their monthly checks, police said. That attack killed 30 people, police said on Tuesday.
The attack happened in the Cannt area of Rawalpindi, close to Pakistan's military headquarters where the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, was meeting with Pakistan's army chief Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani on Monday. It was unclear if he was there at the time of the attack.
Hours later, two suicide bombers detonated their explosives at a police checkpoint in Lahore, injuring 17 police and civilians.
CNN's Samson Desta and Reza Sayah contributed to this report.
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7acaa8a2389e4a978d88563231f3ad05
|
Where is the headquarters of Pakistani Taliban?
|
[
"South Waziristan"
] |
NewsQA
|
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Americans have varied feelings about guns. In Focus: Guns in America is a series of stories by CNN photojournalists that looks at the complex views and emotions that surround this controversial subject.
In a 5-4 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected Washington, D.C.'s, ban on handgun ownership, saying it violates the constitutional right to "keep and bear arms" by preventing individuals from having guns in their homes.
In this series, Americans tell their stories about guns on a first-hand basis, providing a more intimate look at a topic that is often ignored until gun violence erupts.
In one video, 32-year-old Steve Ferguson talks about a shooting in Washington that left him paralyzed, his battle to recover and his views on guns. In another story, Scott Morris shares his passion for his shooting range on a road he named 2nd Amendment Drive.
CNN photojournalists also traveled to Massachusetts to play paintball, rural Pennsylvania to hunt turkeys, and to Hollywood to hang out on a movie set.
They also meet Dale Tate, who hand-makes guns that he considers works of art, and they learn about new technology for less lethal weapons.
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6c7c8480ba0a4fb98674e5737a15d61b
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What are individual Americans telling their stories about?
|
[
"guns on a first-hand basis,"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Pharmaceuticals giants Merck and Schering-Plough are planning to merge their operations under the name Merck in a deal worth $41.1 billion.
Merck chairman and CEO Richard T. Clark will head the combined company.
Under the terms of the agreement, Schering-Plough shareholders will receive just over half a Merck share and $10.50 in cash for each Schering-Plough share they own. Each Merck share will automatically become a share of the combined company.
Merck shareholders are expected to own approximately 68 percent of the combined company, and Schering-Plough shareholders are expected to own approximately 32 percent.
Merck Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Richard T. Clark will lead the combined company.
"We are creating a strong, global healthcare leader built for sustainable growth and success," Clark said in a media statement Monday. "The combined company will benefit from a formidable research and development pipeline, a significantly broader portfolio of medicines and an expanded presence in key international markets, particularly in high-growth emerging markets.
"We look forward to joining forces with an outstanding partner we know well and that shares our commitment to patients, employees and the communities where we work and live."
Merck added that its 2009 outlook has not changed, and it is committed to keeping its annual dividend at its current level of $1.52 per share.
Both drug-makers reported better-than-expected quarterly results in early February, but announced steep job cuts. On a conference call with investors on February 3, Clark said the drug-maker was open to a takeover of a large pharmaceutical company.
|
8ba85b026e2a4441a88f713add9361f1
|
What percent of the combined company will Merck shareholders own?
|
[
"68"
] |
NewsQA
|
LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Gertrude Baines, a 114-year-old California resident, will likely be crowned the world's oldest woman, according to the organization that keeps track of such honors.
Gertrude Baines told CNN two years ago that she has taken good care of herself, "the way (God) wanted me to."
The previous oldest woman was Maria de Jesus, who died this week in Portugal at age 115, Guinness World Records said.
Baines -- born to former slaves in a small town south of Atlanta, Georgia, in 1894 -- now lives in a Los Angeles nursing home.
Baines appeared cheerful and talkative when the Los Angeles Times interviewed her in November as she cast her vote for Barack Obama for president, whom she said she supported because "he's for the colored people."
"I'm glad we're getting a colored man in there," she said.
Baines apparently prefers using the older term for her race. She was well into her 70s when "African-American" became the common reference in the United States. Watch Baines speak to CNN
She told the Times she spends most of her time "doing nothing but eating and sleeping."
When CNN interviewed Baines two years ago, she was asked to explain why she thought she has lived so long.
"God. Ask him. I took good care of myself, the way he wanted me to," Baines said.
Her only child, a daughter, died of typhoid fever at age 18.
Much of her long life was lived in Ohio, where she worked as a "house mom" at a state university. She eventually divorced and traveled to Los Angeles, where she retired.
Baines will not officially be given the title until after Guinness World Records completes an investigation, the organization said.
"Maria was crowned the world's Oldest Living Woman by Guinness World Records on 28 December upon the death of Edna Parker," the group said.
Parker -- an American -- was 115 years, 220 days old when she died November 26, 2008, in an Indiana nursing home, it said.
|
045bbc56dc0a4687aa301352710bf91e
|
Who died in Portugal
|
[
"Maria de Jesus,"
] |
NewsQA
|
NEW DELHI, India (CNN) -- At least 441 people have died in floods in India from this season's monsoon rains, federal authorities said in their latest report.
An Indian child plays in a flooded street in Mumbai earlier this month.
Flooding has affected more than 1.5 million people in parts of India, said the disaster management division of the federal home ministry.
The country's main weather office has warned of more heavy rain in western and central parts of India.
Monsoon rains sweep across the subcontinent from June till September. Though they bring much-needed relief to often-parched farmlands, they also leave a trail of landslides, home collapses and floods that can kill.
In neighboring Pakistan, torrential monsoon rains left more than three dozen people dead and broke a 32-year record over the weekend.
CNN's Harmeet Shah Singh contributed to this report.
|
4bd86e24d2b24ea796ca48150ad0259d
|
what is the count of dead
|
[
"At least 441"
] |
NewsQA
|
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Coalition troops on Monday formally handed over security control of Iraq's Anbar province -- once the hub of the country's Sunni insurgency, to Iraqis on Monday.
A U.S. soldier on patrol in Ramadi's market earlier this year. U.S. troops will remain in the province to support Iraqi forces.
President George W. Bush described the transfer as a major victory against al-Qaeda extremists who once held sway in the area.
"Today, Anbar is no longer lost to al Qaeda -- it is al Qaeda that lost Anbar," he said in a statement.
Once dominated by Sunni insurgents, Anbar has been the scene of many attacks on U.S.-led troops in Iraq.
Now a bastion of tribal opposition, it is also the scene of an internal Sunni political struggle between the Iraqi Islamic Party, one of Iraq's main Sunni parties, and the Awakening movement, the first anti-al Qaeda in Iraq movement established in the country.
More than 25,000 U.S. troops serve in the sprawling Anbar province west of Baghdad; most of them Marines. They will remain for the time being but will shift their mission to supporting Iraqi forces, when needed
The transfer is a "major progress" for all of Iraq, said Brigadier Gen. David Perkins, the spokesman for the Multi-National Force in Iraq.
The transfer ceremony took place in Ramadi, the capital of the western province, and was attended by Iraqi officials and U.S. military brass. Watch U.S., Iraqi officials perform transfer »
"We are all well aware of what the security situation was in Anbar even a year ago," Perkins said. "And the fact that that has been able to be turned around, that the Iraqi citizens that live there want to stand up on their own, [that] they want to take control of the province on their own ... it's a major progress not only for Anbar, but for all of Iraq."
Anbar is the 11th of Iraq's 18 provinces to revert to local security control, but is the first Sunni-dominated one.
The move comes amid a big drop in violence in Iraq and calls from Iraqis for the United States to come up with a troop withdrawal timetable.
The other provinces that have transitioned to Iraqi security control are Duhuk, Irbil and Sulaimaniya in the Kurdish region, and Karbala, Najaf, Qadisiya, Muthanna, Thiqar, Basra, and Maysan in the Shiite south.
CNN's Jomana Karadsheh and Arwa Damon in Baghdad contributed to this report.
|
1f81adede4ee4e8f9281b25ff5c23bd8
|
Who is in control now?
|
[
"Iraqis"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- The captain and chief officer of a Chinese-registered ship that ran aground on the Great Barrier Reef will appear in an Australian court Thursday, charged with damaging the reef.
The Shen Neng 1 veered more than 27 kilometers (17 miles) off course and ended up on a shoal in the Reef on April 3, prompting concerns of an oil spill near the world's largest coral reef system.
On Wednesday, the Australian Federal Police announced that they have arrested the 47-year-old Chinese master of the vessel and the 44-year-old chief officer.
The captain was charged with liability for the vessel. He faces a maximum fine of A$55,000 (U.S. $50,852).
The chief officer is accused of being on watch when the ship caused the damage. He faces up to three years in prison and a fine of A$220,000 (U.S. $203,411). Authorities did not disclose the name of either man.
The ship was carrying about 65,000 tons of coal to China from the Australian port of Gladstone when it ran aground on the shoal -- a combination of shell and sand -- near the southernmost point of the Great Barrier Reef, just north of Great Keppel Island.
About 950 tons of oil were on board.
A small oil slick caused by the ship's grounding did not threaten the Great Barrier Reef after crews sprayed dispersants on it and surface netting helped to contain it.
Officials said the ship's captain had a 10-mile-wide channel to navigate through in an area where pilots aren't needed -- a relatively wide open section of sea, 70 kilometers (43 miles) off shore and away from the larger mass of coral most people associate with the Great Barrier Reef.
"He got 15 nautical miles (17.3 miles) off course, which is just outrageous," Adam Nicholson, a spokesman for Maritime Safety Queensland, said at the time.
Nicholson likened it to a car veering off a 2-mile wide road.
"We have thousands of boats moving in that same space every year and nothing has ever happened like this," he said.
The Great Barrier Reef is made up of roughly 3,000 individual reefs and 900 islands spanning over 2,600 km (1,600 miles) off the coast of Queensland in the Coral Sea.
|
bc1dbcd395744a918ad829d5f83ddcf6
|
What is the ship chief officer facing?
|
[
"three years in prison and a fine of A$220,000"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- The raging wildfires that killed hundreds of Australians earlier this year could not kill Sam the Koala.
The plight of Sam the Koala became a huge hit on video-sharing Web site YouTube.
But an illness endemic in the country's koala population did.
Sam, the 4-year-old Koala who became famous after he was injured and rescued from the historic wildfires, died Thursday, an Australian wildlife shelter said.
"It is with great sadness today that TressCox Lawyers on behalf of the Southern Ash Wildlife Shelter announce that Sam the Koala has lost her latest fight for survival," the shelter said in a statement. "Sam became a symbol of hope and determination across the nation for both survivors of the black Saturday bush fires and all those that fought and lent support throughout the community."
Sam was catapulted into fame in February when a photograph surfaced showing a firefighter, marked with soot, holding her injured paw and pouring water into her mouth.
As firefighters continued to battle the brush fires that killed more than 200 people and torched 2,000 homes, Sam was taken to Southern Ash Wildlife Shelter to heal from burns on her paws.
Reporters flocked to the wildlife shelter to do update stories on Sam. One story by Australian local television revealed that Sam, short for Samantha, had quickly gained a boyfriend, a Koala named Bob.
Her paws healed but soon she developed ovarian cysts associated with chlamydia, an ailment that affects 50 percent of Australia's koala population, the shelter said.
"Sam had severe changes in her urinary and reproductive tract that was non-operable and unfortunately had to put Sam to sleep," the statement said.
"The changes were consistent with the Chlamydia infection. It was so severe that there was no possible way to be able to manage her pain."
|
b681fe37119e4ce1b61586c82a065ac3
|
During which month were the fires?
|
[
"February"
] |
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|
(CNN) -- Wimbledon organizers have increased prize money for the men's and women's champions to £1 million ($1.53 million).
The All England Club has sanctioned the £150,000 rise to offset the effects of the falling value of the British pound against the US dollar and euro.
The total prize money for the event will be £13.725 million, an increase of £1.175 million on 2009.
The All England Club agreed to pay women the same prize money as men for the first time in 2007. The £1 million prize for the 2010 ladies singles' champion is more than double that of eight years ago.
"Wimbledon exists in a highly competitive global marketplace and it is the world's best players who create and drive the interest," said All England Club chairman Tim Phillips in a statement on the tournament Web site.
"It is important that we offer a level of prize money which is both appropriate to the prestige of the event and which gives the players full and fair reward."
Phillips also announced that this year's tournament, which runs from June 21 to July 4, will be a "World Cup-free zone", with football fans denied the chance to watch matches on the big screens at the All England Club.
"This is arguably the leading tennis tournament in the world and people come here to watch tennis," Phillips added.
"If people want to watch the World Cup they should go to South Africa or watch it on the TV."
Meanwhile, world number three Rafael Nadal has pulled out of the Barcelona Open in order to rest an ongoing knee problem.
Nadal, who won the Monte Carlo Masters on Sunday, had been expected to attempt to win his sixth title in a row at him home tournament.
"I am really sorry not to be able to play in Barcelona, more than any other tournament, but this year after the win in Monte Carlo my body is asking me to rest," Nadal told his official Web site.
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c8521120b6da47299d6dedc7a17720b2
|
What is a World Cup free zone?
|
[
"football fans denied the chance to watch matches on the big screens at the All England Club."
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- A bit of music history was lost Friday morning when flames gutted the Georgia Theatre in Athens, Georgia.
The Georgia Theatre in Athens, Georgia, smolders after firefighters put out a morning blaze.
The 19th-century building was a cornerstone in the alternative rock music scene that gave the world the B-52s, R.E.M. and the Indigo Girls, said Doc Eldridge, president of the local Chamber of Commerce.
The theater, in downtown Athens near the University of Georgia campus, suffered heavy damage from the fire, which was discovered at 7 a.m., according to Athens-Clarke County government spokeswoman Sandy Turner.
"The facade is still there, but it's very bad," she said.
"From the big names to the no names, countless of musicians and groups have left their mark on the Athens music scene from the stage of the Georgia Theatre," Eldridge said. iReport: Photos of theater burning
Sheffy McArthur was a University of Georgia student when he and two friends converted the movie theater into a music venue in 1978.
"The B-52s paid us to play there, imagine that," McArthur said.
Sea Level, a blues-jazz-rock group that grew from the remnants of the Allman Brothers Band, played the first show in the theater in January 1978, McArthur said.
It became the place "for alternative music, instead of cover-type stuff for real artists to play," he said.
Wilmont Greene took over the theater five years ago and began renovations.
R.E.M., which formed in Athens in 1980 and became one of the first popular alternative bands, played in the 600-seat theater in the group's early days.
In recent years, the theater served as host for album release parties and benefit shows by R.E.M., which is based in a building just down the street.
"All of us here certainly wish Wilmont Greene and his staff the best of luck and Godspeed in their efforts to rebuild the Athens landmark," an R.E.M. statement said.
|
5c348f3f56d44bcc80df2a85ce2b8067
|
What gutted the Georgia Theatre?
|
[
"flames"
] |
NewsQA
|
LONDON, England (CNN) -- A massive fire engulfed the four-story offices of a major film company in central London on Friday, sending clouds of white smoke over the city skyline, the London fire department said.
Streets in London were cordoned off while firefighters tackled the blaze.
Two firefighters were taken to the hospital with minor injuries as a result of the blaze in the Future Films building on Dean Street in the city's Soho district, London ambulance services said.
The London Fire Brigade dispatched 12 engines and 55 firefighters to battle the fire, which began before 2 p.m. (9 a.m. ET).
As a result, an adjacent street -- the W1 -- has been closed to traffic and pedestrians.
When reached by CNN, Future Films founder and managing director Stephen Margolis had no comment about the fire.
Future Films has been involved in the production of more than 120 films since Margolis created the company in 2000, including "Bend it like Beckham" (2002), "The Importance of Being Earnest" (2002), and "Transsiberian" (2008).
CNN's Per Nyberg and Laura Perez Maestro contributed to this report.
|
1121584a0bc145f9854f0c444b71f88a
|
What was seem in London?
|
[
"A massive fire"
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- At least 10 people were killed, and an unknown number remained missing Wednesday, after a boat authorities believe was used for human smuggling capsized off the coast of Florida.
The Coast Guard said it rescued 26 people from a capsized boat off the coast of Florida.
Almost all of the victims are believed to be from Haiti and the Bahamas, according to the U.S. Coast Guard -- which said a dangerous number of people was packed onto a small pleasure cruiser.
The Coast Guard said it rescued 26 people from the boat, and searchers didn't know how many more people had been on the boat.
"You don't put 26 people on a small boat. It was way overloaded, completely unsafe," said Capt. Jim Fitton, the Coast Guard's sector commander in Miami, Florida. "With smugglers, you have the potential for this because smugglers aren't interested in people's welfare. They're interested in making money."
The boat capsized about 15 miles east of Boynton Beach, Florida, some time around 2 a.m. Wednesday, the Coast Guard said. The agency was notified more than nine hours later by someone who saw the boat.
There were women and children on the boat, Fitton said. A pregnant woman was taken to a hospital, while most of the victims remained onboard a Coast Guard cutter that was being used in the continuing rescue efforts, he said.
Only eight of the people rescued by Wednesday afternoon were wearing life jackets.
The Rev. Luke Harrigan, a Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, pastor to members of the Haitian community who is working with the Coast Guard, said he is contacting family members of the victims who were killed.
"Most of them now didn't even know they were coming to the United States," he said. "Sometimes the person organizing the trip doesn't even tell them where they are going."
He said it's not uncommon for smugglers to charge people from the impoverished island nation as much as $4,000 for passage into the United States.
Coast Guard rescuers were continuing to search the area of the crash Wednesday evening.
|
1ff11ba1fbd548ea922dc0006a6416f0
|
What boat capsized about 15 miles east of Boyton Beach, Florida?
|
[
"a small pleasure cruiser."
] |
NewsQA
|
Baghdad, Iraq (CNN) -- Tariq Aziz, a top lieutenant of executed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, remained hospitalized at a U.S. military hospital Sunday after falling ill in prison, the U.S. command in Iraq reported.
He was taken to the hospital Thursday, though no details of his ailment were released. But 1st Lt. Elizabeth Feste, a U.S. military spokeswoman, told CNN his condition was improving and he was being closely monitored.
Aziz was one of the best-known faces of Hussein's government, serving as deputy prime minister from 1981 to 2003 and as foreign minister for part of that time. In March 2009, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison in connection with the 1992 executions of 42 merchants.
He was captured by U.S. forces in April 2003, shortly after the U.S.-led invasion that toppled the Hussein.
CNN's Mohammed Tawfeeq contributed to this report.
|
b3eee78307c34681b5a7a3fd787b87d0
|
how long was he sentenced to?
|
[
"15 years"
] |
NewsQA
|
London (CNN) -- English soccer player Billy Sharp scored what he called the most important goal of his career Tuesday -- a shot in memory of his son Luey, who died Saturday, two days after he was born.
Sharp pulled up his jersey after the goal went in to reveal a t-shirt underneath reading "That's for you son."
The goal was "Dedicated to my brave boy Luey Jacob Sharp I love u son sleep tight. That's for you son," Sharp said on Twitter after the match.
"My goal had to be something special tonight for my special boy.I'm so proud of him,and his mum," he said.
Referees normally give players a yellow card for showing a message on a t-shirt, but Darren Deadman declined to penalize Sharp.
Luey was born October 27. He died October 29, said Sharp's team, Doncaster Rovers.
Sharp was not expected to play Tuesday, but not only took the field but was named team captain for the night.
Fans of both Rovers and their opponents Middlesbrough cheered to honor Sharp and his family before the match.
"This is a minute's applause to celebrate the short life of Billy and Jade's son Luey Jacob Sharp," the announcer said.
"Born October 27. Taken by the angels on the 29th. Sleep tight son," he said.
Sharp said the tribute left him in tears.
"To captain the side tonight was an honor and a pleasure,the minute applause I was crying meant so much to me thanks to both sets of fans," he tweeted.
Hundreds of people tweeted their support to Sharp and his family.
"What you've done has put life into perspective, you've won the hearts of the nation, and united football," said one, Ben Wainwright.
Sharp and his wife were "grateful for the love and support we have received," she said on Twitter. "Daddy did Luey proud tonight. Sleep tight angel."
|
baf29e5bda1b4fe0ae54d5dfbe1aa753
|
What did the t-shirt say?
|
[
"\"That's for you son.\""
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Manchester City have sent representatives to Brazil in the hope of persuading Ronaldinho to sign for them.
A move to City could make Ronaldinho the Premier League's highest paid player.
City chairman Garry Cook told BBC Radio Five Live on Sunday that Ronaldinho's Spanish club Barcelona had given City permission to speak to the player about a move to Eastlands.
"We have people in Brazil," said Cook.
"We are nowhere near completing a deal It's a tenuous stage and I don't want to give too much away, but Barcelona gave us clearance to talk to him.
"Ronaldinho wants to show that he is one of the greatest footballers in the world. The Manchester City fans would love to see him kick off the new season with us and I am holding out hope on that happening."
City owner Shinawatra Thaksin is thought to be ready to provide £50 million ($98.47 million) for new manager Mark Hughes to sign players, with around $29.5 million set aside to bring in Ronaldinho, who could well become the English Premier League's highest paid player.
Shinawatra, who sent previous manager Sven-Goran Eriksson packing at the end of last season, despite a marked upturn in the team's fortunes, said last week: "Ronaldinho - you know, he is a great player. Whatever the club in your heart, you would want to see this player in England, wouldn't you?
"It is not a risk. Sponsors will contribute. It will not damage our wage structure."
New manager Hughes knows that he will be expected to produce instant results. Shinawatra said: "I am 59 next birthday, so I am not a man who can wait for many years to see my dreams come true."
Ronaldinho had a poor season in Spain but City's owner said:"Ronaldinho is 28. He has much still to offer, he is a star. You need a combination of new players, existing players, quality, young and old.
"I admit also you need a player who is more than just winning the match. You need a star who can play on the pitch, but who can achieve much more for the club. Ronaldinho is that player.
"I am hearing good things about his hunger. I have spoken to his brother (and agent). Ronaldinho wants the new challenge, the chance to play his best football again, to return to the days when he was really, really famous. The magic is still in his boots. Let us hope we can bring him."
City also expect to snap up another top Brazilian, striker Jo from CSKA Moscow, within the next seven days.
|
28546021cc054ce09e7492cf564b07ea
|
Who wants to sign Ronaldinho?
|
[
"City"
] |
NewsQA
|
Islamabad, Pakistan (CNN) -- The captors of a kidnapped 5-year-old British boy included someone who was close to the family, Pakistan's Interior Minister said Sunday.
"There is someone who is very close to the family because the way the situation happened; the way the entry was made," Minister Rehman Malik said.
Malik, who spoke to reporters after meeting the boy's father in the Pakistani town of Jhelum, said authorities were close to finding the kidnappers.
"We have certain leads which we would not like to disclose, but I have a warning to those who abducted the boy: leave the boy because we are very near to you," he said.
The boy, Sahil Saeed, is of Pakistani descent.
He was on the last day of a two-week vacation in Pakistan before he planned to return home to Oldham in northern England.
Gunmen barged into Sahil's grandmother's home in the eastern province of Punjab and took him at gunpoint Wednesday.
They have reportedly demanded a ransom of 10 million rupees ($118,000).
|
03a786d305e64f0d91f5847d146f743e
|
$118,000 is the amount that who wants?
|
[
"They"
] |
NewsQA
|
SEOUL, South Korea (CNN) -- From TVs to handsets, LG Electronics is on a mission -- to become a top three player in the global electronics industry.
Yong Nam, CEO of LG Electronics
Leading the campaign is CEO Yong Nam who took on the top job in January.
CNN's Andrew Stevens met him at the LG headquarters in Seoul, where he showed off the latest Viewty camera phone. While Nam hopes this gadget will boost market share, he's also on a bigger quest to shake up the South Korean company's corporate culture.
Yong Nam: I try to empower, rather than make decisions. I think frontline people that know customers better can make better decisions. I just try to keep pushing authority downwards instead of upwards.
Andrew Stevens: You have been 30 years, more or less, with LG Electronics, what are the most important business lessons you have learnt during that time?
Yong Nam: Earlier in my career I was deeply engaged in selling of electronic products in the U.S. market, where I was able to put myself in customers' shoes rather than manufactures' shoes. And that was a great experience for me to understand the frontline and customers.
And secondly I spent more than 10 years in the chairman's office, so that gave me a great opportunity to learn top management perspective, as well as problem solving capabilities.
Andrew Stevens: You've pledged to make LG Electronics a more inspirational place to work. Now with 82,000 employees what do you mean by that and how do you do it?
Yong Nam: In a very hierarchical, bureaucratic and big company culture and working environment, people try to hide issues and problems instead of raising and solving them. I try to get people engaged -- I call it waste elimination activities.
If it is solved it can turn into a treasure, so there are so many treasures in the process of doing every day work among our people, and I try to encourage them to be engaged in finding out that waste.
Andrew Stevens: Obviously you are a fluent English speaker, how important is it for a business leader to have a second language, to have those language skills?
Yong Nam: Just Korean talent itself is not sufficient enough, so I have to attract a best in class global talent into our organization, so that they can feel comfortable working in this environment.
This means that English has to be a common language in our company going forward. So me speaking English is very, very important to encourage people to speak out with bad English instead of good Korean. E-mail to a friend
|
d7cfad79aae54a87ada91dcb74cdd6ae
|
When did he become CEO?
|
[
"January."
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Retired basketball icon Michael Jordan bought a majority share of the NBA's Charlotte Bobcats, officials said Saturday.
Jordan, who was already a minority owner of the team, headed a group that bought a majority share of the team from businessman Robert Johnson, Johnson said in a statement.
Johnson said he has signed a "definitive agreement" to sell majority interest of Bobcats Sports and Entertainment to Michael Jordan and MJ Basketball Holdings, LLC. The deal is subject to NBA approval. Details on the purchase price were not available.
Jordan has overseen the team's basketball operations in recent years. He won six NBA titles with the Chicago Bulls.
Johnson, who founded BET and sold it to Viacom for $3 billion in 2001, announced that he had been looking for someone to buy earlier this year.
His fortune was depleted by an expensive divorce, but in a 2009 interview with CNN, Johnson estimated his net worth was still $1.1 billion.
Johnson's resume is full of firsts: BET was the first African-American owned company traded on the NYSE. He was the first African-American billionaire in the United States. And, in 2002, he became the first African-American majority owner of a professional sports franchise.
|
498956da4c42438388dc6ef4c4e5a2d3
|
Who runs team operations
|
[
"Jordan"
] |
NewsQA
|
PARIS, France -- Goals from Juninho and Sidney Govou gave Lyon a 2-0 home win over Valenciennes and enabled the six-time champions to stay four points ahead at the top of the French league.
Juninho opened the scoring for Lyon five minutes before the break.
Brazilian midfielder Juninho nudged in a Karim Benzema cross five minutes before the break and Govou lobbed in the second three minutes from time.
Lyon, who are at home to German champions VfB Stuttgart in the Champions League group stage on Wednesday, have 31 points from 13 matches.
Second-placed Nancy celebrated their 40th anniversary with a 1-0 win over Girondins Bordeaux.
Nancy, who have a game in hand, scored in the 29th minute when midfielder Chris Malonga headed in a cross from Youssouf Hadji.
Bordeaux stay fourth with 22 points from 13 games after their first away defeat of the season.
Third-placed Stade Rennes slumped to a 1-0 home defeat against Monaco, who had only picked up a point from their six previous league outings.
Frederic Piquionne headed home from a Nene corner kick for the visitors two minutes into the second half.
Troubled Paris St Germain clinched a 2-1 victory at Racing Strasbourg thanks to a Rodrigo own goal and 20-year-old midfielder Loris Arnaud's effort after 19 minutes.
Olympique Marseille were held to an embarrassing goalless draw by Lorient and remain third from bottom.
Coach Eric Gerets said:"The public have a right to be unhappy as the level of play in the second half wasn't worthy of Marseille.
"Taking the match as a whole you can have a harsh judgement. We made a few chances in the first half but we had a problem constructing moves from the back.
"In the second half we should have lost the match with the counter-attacks.
"We have to look at ourselves in the mirror, fight and work." E-mail to a friend
|
66a082d43f0448aaa8cb22444c730600
|
what place is Lyon in?
|
[
"top of the French league."
] |
NewsQA
|
(CNN) -- Paraguay international Salvador Cabanas is in a critical condition after being shot in the head in Mexico City.
The 29-year-old Club America striker was taken to a hospital intensive care unit following the incident on Sunday night.
Mexico City attorney general Miguel Angel Mancera told TV station Televisa: "We don't know the motive behind the injury. According to an initial report it was a shot from a firearm with a frontal entry point and without exit.
"The player is conscious but he has a heart problem which they're trying to stabilize. We're waiting to see what those arrested have to say. It seems that the attack happened in the bathroom of a bar."
Cabanas is one of Paraguay's most highly-rated players and was part of their World Cup squad in Germany.
He has scored more than 100 times in the Mexican top-flight and has netted 18 goals in 24 matches this season.
Club America president Michel Bauer later revealed the forward was having surgery adding he believed the attack was unprovoked. "He arrived conscious and responded well to the questions they asked him as he was going into hospital," he told Televisa.
"It's a key point that can be encouraging, but until further notice we cannot speculate on anything at all.
"They wanted to assault him. I can confirm that is what his wife has said, that it was an assault. There was no shoot-out nor any quarrel," Bauer added.
|
bad0a171c027481ba6f51c725e3405dc
|
Salvador Cabanas is in a critical condition after being shot where?
|
[
"head"
] |
NewsQA
|
NEW DELHI, India (CNN) -- "Slumdog Millionaire" leaves audiences uplifted. But that is hardly how one of its child stars felt on Thursday.
Indian authorities demolished the home of "Slumdog Millionaire" child actor Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail.
Despite the hit movie's mega-millions in box-office receipts, Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail's life changed little after he returned home to Mumbai, India's, Garib Nagar, or city of the poor.
On Thursday, even the roof over the real-life slum dweller's head was taken away as Indian authorities tore down the shanty where Ismail's family lived.
Authorities said the home and about 20 others around it were illegally built.
Senior Inspector Rahim Sheikh told CNN that the shanties were brought down as part of a municipal drive to clear encroachments on public land. Bulldozers leveled the slum built on a municipal garden, said Sheikh, who is in charge of the locality in Mumbai where Ismail lived.
The little boy sat among twisted corrugated metal and other debris, surrounded by filth and squalor. Memories of Hollywood's glitz and glitter were distant as tears streamed down his face.
He said his family was given no notice of the demolition and did not have time to remove their belongings. But, they said, they plan to return and rebuild. Watch 'Slumdog' actor's home razed. »
"Slumdog Millionaire" is the story of Jamal, an impoverished, uneducated teen who competes on an Indian game show. Ismail, who played a young Jamal's brother, Salim, traveled to Los Angeles, California, in February for this year's Academy Awards, where the movie won eight Oscars, including best picture.
CNN's Sara Sidner contributed to this story.
|
556682a0119d49f99bb857cc22377637
|
What is the name of the city of the poor?
|
[
"Garib Nagar,"
] |
NewsQA
|
LONDON, England (CNN) -- Vladimir Putin spent the Russian New Year boogying to the hits of ABBA after spending $30,000 to fly a tribute band to a lake town north of Moscow.
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin flew an ABBA tribute band to Russia for a private concert.
According to Bjorn Again founder, Rod Stephen, Putin disco pointed to the ABBA classics "Super Trouper" and "Mamma Mia" at a gathering of only eight guests.
Stephen said he received a phone call from the Kremlin prior to Christmas.
"It was pretty mad. It was the type of phone call everyone gets everyday from Moscow. I thought someone was taking the piss."
Stephen said an agent in Moscow then set the gig up, and he was told it was for Russia's "number two."
He said the band were flown to Moscow and then had a nine-hour bus trip to Lake Valdai -- where Putin has held high-level meetings in the past -- on January 22 (the traditional date of Russian New Year's eve).
"The band and crew were searched at checkpoints by people with appropriately sized weapons," Stephen said.
He said the band played behind a heavy gauze curtain, which made it hard for them to see the audience.
However, the could make out Putin's profile and that of the other seven guests.
Stephen said it was initially "roaring" at the venue.
"When the band started people were sitting on sofas. But then Putin was up and dancing to Super Trouper and Mamma Mia, pointing fingers up and down."
The band played for an hour before being shown out as the guests went to watch a fireworks display.
Stephen said they were paid $30,000 and their expenses covered.
He described it as the "weirdest" gig the band had done.
"I've had phone calls from the agency saying 'don't talk to anyone else we are getting grief from the Kremlin,' but there was no non-disclosure contract."
|
68c4e9b847a04a0f806de5a937da9435
|
Who revealed a love for ABBA's hits?
|
[
"Vladimir Putin"
] |
NewsQA
|
ARBIL, Iraq (CNN) -- Two United Arab Emirates based companies announced on Tuesday that they will be investing in the Iraq's autonomous region of Kurdistan.
Nechirvan Barzani, Prime Minister of the Kurdish Regional Government, called the project "a significant contribution to the Iraqi economy."
Four hundred and sixty one million square feet have been officially assigned to "Gas Cities LLC," a joint venture between Dana Gas and Crescent Petroleum, both Sharjah-based companies, to establish a new venture: "Kurdistan Gas City."
Kurdistan Gas City will include industrial, residential and commercial buildings in an integrated city. The expected initial investment in basic infrastructure is estimated at $3 billion, with further foreign direct investment exceeding $40 billion during the operations phase.
Work will start on the project, which is designed to promote private sector investment in a variety of gas-related industries, on September 21.
Gas City is structured to hold over 20 varieties of world scale petrochemical and heavy manufacturing plants, and hundreds of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), served by state-of-the-art facilities.
Mr Nechirvan Barzani, Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government, said: "Dana Gas and Crescent Petroleum have made a significant contribution to the Iraqi economy through their work in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq thus far, we are making significant progress in spurring on economic growth and creating opportunity for our people."
Hamid Jafar, Executive Chairman of Dana Gas, explained the importance of this achievement saying: "The Kurdistan Gas City is an enormous step forward in Dana Gas' strategy across the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia."
The Kurdistan Gas City is projected to generate job opportunities for nearly 200,000 Iraqi citizens in infrastructure, industrial projects, support services and other business activities.
This is not the first project for Dana Gas and Crescent Petroleum in Iraq's Kurdistan Region, the two companies are committed to a service agreement signed in April 2007 with the Kurdistan Regional Government to build 180 kilometers of natural gas pipeline and two liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) plants, which are 80 percent complete.
The project is on track and will start pumping 150 million cubic feet of gas per day in the coming weeks, rising to 300 million cubic feet by early 2009.
Other companies from the UAE showed similar interest in Kurdistan Region "Damac Properties" one of the major private developers in the regions revealed on June 3 plans for a $16 billion residential, commercial and recreational project.
|
b7bbc1f68a2b4ab7b6137812d2c621b7
|
What buildings will be included?
|
[
"industrial, residential and commercial"
] |
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