How We See The World

Historical war epic 300 has been criticised as an attack on Iranian culture by government figures. The Hollywood film, which has broken US box office records, is an effects-laden retelling of a battle in which a small Greek army resisted a Persian invasion. Javad Shamqadri, a cultural advisor to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, said it was "plundering Iran's historic past and insulting this civilization". He branded the film "psychological warfare" against Tehran and its people. But Iranian culture was strong enough to withstand the assault, Mr Shamqadri said. "American cultural officials thought they could get mental satisfaction by plundering Ira…

David Beckham scored on his return to Real Madrid's starting line-up in the 2-1 win over Real Sociedad on Saturday. The 31-year-old equalised with a 25-yard free-kick in the 37th-minute of his first start since 20 December. Madrid coach Fabio Capello had vowed Beckham would not play for Real again after he last month agreed to a lucrative move to Los Angeles Galaxy. But Capello had a change of heart this week, saying he had been impressed with Beckham's professionalism in training. The verdict from the Spanish media was that Beckham's goal had helped saved the former Juventus boss from dismissal after two consecutive defeats. "Beckham spares the life of his…

The fourth Harry Potter novel and David Beckham's autobiography are among the books least likely to be finished by Britons, according to a survey. Booker winner Vernon God Little was the least-finished fiction title, followed by Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Autobiographies by David Blunkett, Bill Clinton and David Beckham topped the non-fiction unfinished list. A Teletext survey of 4,000 Britons found that almost half of the books they bought remained unfinished. Some 35% of those who bought or borrowed Vernon God Little, DBC Pierre's story of a US high school massacre, admitted not finishing it. The figure was 32% for the fourth instalment in the…

Young drivers could face a two-year ban on driving at night under a radical overhaul of the driving test system being proposed to cut road deaths. The shake-up would force teenagers to wait an extra year - until they are 18 - before taking their test. And if they pass, they will then be subject to the two-year night-driving curfew and be restricted to carrying no more than one passenger. The restrictions would be lifted only if they passed a second test at the age of 20, effectively making them learner drivers for up to three years. The ideas are being put forward by the Driving Standards Agency (DSA), which sets the driving test, to try to halt an incre…

Teenage mood swings are known to be down to hormones, but scientists claim they have identified the specific one that makes adolescents so volatile. A team from the State University of New York identified a hormone which normally acts to calm anxiety, but the effect is reversed in adolescence. Writing in Nature Neuroscience, the researchers say it may be possible to reverse the puberty effect. And they add the study should help parents and teachers understand teens. A hormone called THP is normally released in response to stress. It usually behaves like a tranquiliser, acting at sites in the brain that calm brain activity and, in adults and pre-pubescent…

A Harrogate family say they are angry that they have to pay for sign language lessons to enable them to communicate with their two-year-old son. Debby Wood and her daughter Natalie have been taking sign language lessons at Harrogate College to help them talk to son Alex, who was born deaf. But each class costs £5 per person, which the family say is prohibitive. Harrogate College, the Department of Education and Skills, and the Learning and Skills Council declined to comment. In some areas of the country, the fees for courses in sign language and lip reading are absorbed by colleges or subsidised by the local authority, but in Harrogate they are not. 'Sho…

An abandoned consignment of marijuana with a street value of $20m (£10.3m) was found in California when a policeman went to check on a lorry. The vehicle was unlocked and the engine warm, but no-one was in the cab. The patrolman found plastic-wrapped bundles of the drug in the back of the rental vehicle near Los Angeles after smelling marijuana, AP said. A spokesman said there were "no suspects and no real leads". Local authorities plan to destroy the drug. "Somebody's going be in some major trouble for walking away and leaving that quantity sitting on the side of the freeway," said Sgt Telfinues Preszler Jnr of the California Highway Patrol . "I'm glad …

Halliburton to open new HQ in Dubai CEO will be based in new facility; move immediately sparks criticism Reuters Updated: 12:29 p.m. ET March 12, 2007 MANAMA/HOUSTON - U.S. oil services firm Halliburton Co. is moving its headquarters and chief executive to Dubai in a move that immediately sparked criticism from some U.S. politicians. Texas-based Halliburton, which was led by Vice President Dick Cheney from 1995-2000, did not specify what, if any, tax implications the move might entail. It plans to list on a stock exchange in the Middle East once it moves to Dubai — a booming commercial center in the Gulf. The company said it was making the moves to position it…

CHANNEL 4 is stepping into a religious minefield again by signing up a strict Muslim woman for its life- switch series Wife Swap. And the mum — who wears a traditional hijab — will swap with a woman whose 16-year-old daughter is a LESBIAN. The Muslim woman, her husband and three children live by strict Islamic law. They all pray five times a day and shun alcohol. She and an “arty” liberal mother will swap homes for two weeks, spending the first week living by the others’ rules. In the second week they will introduce their own rules. A show source said: “Yes, it sounds like a gimmick, but there is a serious point to this. “Like every Wife Swap, it’s about f…

By Nigel Morris, Home Affairs Correspondent Published: 10 March 2007 Eight Afghan boys who stowed away on the back of a lorry bound for Britain made a disastrous mistake. Instead of slipping undetected across the Channel, they hid themselves on a vehicle delivering bread to a giant American air base, one of the most heavily guarded sites in Britain. The moment the terrified youngsters were discovered at RAF Lakenheath, they were surrounded by armed American soldiers on permanent high alert for terrorist attack. The boys could even have been forgiven for thinking they had arrived in the United States itself. Although the base in Suffolk is owned by the Ministry …

By Martin Hickman, Consumer Affairs Correspondent Published: 10 March 2007 Students at Manchester University have banned Coca-Cola in protest at the American company's alleged abuses of human rights and the environment. A motion banning the company's fizzy drinks from the student union's shops and bars because of its behaviour in Colombia, Turkey and India won overwhelming support at a meeting this week. The decision, approved by 400 votes to about 20, means the 36,000 undergraduate and postgraduates at one of Britain's biggest universities will now drink Virgin or another cola rather than the world's number one soft drink. The company is accused of a range …

Cafédirect to go head to head with US cappuccino giant By Danny Fortson and Lauren Veevers Published: 11 March 2007 Selecting a coffee can be a complicated affair: American-owned outlets have introduced a generation of Britons to all sorts of often baffling sizes, types and milk-fat combinations. Now, though, all this is about to boil down to one key choice: would you like your coffee with ethical feelgood factor to go? Cafédirect, the UK's largest Fairtrade hot drinks company, is planning to roll out a network of city-centre bars, sparking coffee wars on British high streets. With the UK Fairtrade market soaring to the £200m mark, the company is seeking t…

Unemployed single parents are receiving free massages and beauty treatments - paid for by taxpayers. Under the Government-backed scheme, being tested around the country, they are being given the treats to 'boost their confidence'. So far, more than 1,000 people, mainly women, have taken advantage of 'pamper days' at salons as part of the project, called Big Brother. It has been justified on the grounds that if jobless people are happier and more presentable, it will be easier for them to find work. But critics say the project is a waste of public money. So far the cost to taxpayers is at least £60,000, but the figure is likely to spiral. The scheme - in op…

Referee Chris White has apologised to Wales over the "misunderstanding" at the end of Saturday's Six Nations defeat to Italy in Rome. Wales were incensed when White blew for time after they had kicked into touch believing there was time for a lineout. "I have apologised to the Wales coaching and playing staff for the misunderstanding," said White. "I would like to thank them for the good grace with which my apology was accepted." Wales were awarded a penalty near the end of the game and decided to kick for touch and go for a match-winning try instead of taking a shot at goal to secure a draw. White was heard telling Wales' James Hook there were 10 second…

Two British cross-country skiers have frozen to death in bad weather on a Norwegian mountain, local police say. A third skier is in a stable condition in hospital after suffering severe hypothermia. The man was only alive thanks to a Red Cross patrol that found him by chance, the mountain rescue service said. The three men, believed to be from Scotland, began their trek through the western Hardangervidda region on Friday in cold and foggy conditions. Anders Bang-Andersen, a spokesman for the Norwegian mountain rescue service, said he did not know how the men died or their identities. The survivor was taken to hospital on a snowmobile. A spokesman for…

A Belgian man has been charged with dangerous driving over an incident in which a lorry damaged cars while doing a U-turn in a Cornwall cul-de-sac. The foreign-registered lorry was carrying 23 tonnes of coal when it became trapped while manoeuvring in Whiterock Road in Wadebridge. A roundabout and six parked cars were damaged, with one car left trapped under the lorry's trailer. A 45-year-old man is due before East Cornwall Magistrates on 15 March. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/cornwall/6437057.stm

A woman who was awarded £48m in what was thought to be the biggest divorce settlement in Britain's legal history has been robbed at her Kent home. Beverley Charman, 53, was tied up by a gunman wearing a balaclava, at her £2.75m home and robbed of her jewels. Kent Police said the man broke into the house on a private road surrounded by high walls and electric gates on Friday night. No violence was used. Jewellery worth several hundred thousand pounds was taken, police said. Mrs Charman is the ex-wife of insurance magnate John Charman. High-profile divorce Last week, he was in the Appeal Court to challenge the £48m divorce ruling by the High Court whic…

A pilot and his eight-year-old daughter were killed when their small plane crashed into his in-laws' house in the US state of Indiana, authorities said. Eric Johnson, 47, and his daughter Emily died. A woman was in the house at the time, but she was not injured. The incident occurred mid-morning near a southern Indiana airport. The plane had been rented from the facility. The cause was not immediately clear but police said a preliminary investigation showed it was "an intentional act". The plane had just taken off. Eyewitnesses said it appeared to be trying to land when it veered 90 degrees and went out of sight, local media reported. According to The Ti…

when i turn my comp. on it goes to a black screen and in the upper left corner of the screen it says that there is a hard disk error press ctrl alt delete to restart. restart, and same happens. is this a full blown fried hard drive or is it just a missing OS im pretty sure its the hard drive just checkin tho a reply with useful info would be MUCH appreciated

Sony Brings Real Life "Matrix" A Step Closer Sets precedent for future artificial utopias constructed to escape hellhole of real world Paul Joseph Watson & Alex Jones Thursday, March 8, 2007 Sony is preparing to unveil a simulated reality world in which Playstation gamers can create a new life for themselves, complete with their own apartment, friends, movies, shopping and entertainment, bringing the reality of an actual matrix a step closer. "Sony has unveiled plans for its own virtual universe for the PlayStation 3 where users will be able to socialise, shop and even go to the movies -- all without setting foot outside in the real world. The serv…

By Steve Rosenberg BBC News, Strasbourg, France In his tiny flat on the edge of Oslo, Paul Hansen shows me his family album. It doesn't take long. He only has three photos. One picture shows Paul as a toddler, the other two - the mother who abandoned him - and the father he never knew. Paul was the product of a brief encounter between a Norwegian woman and a German soldier: a family history which was to make his life a living hell. "At the end of World War II, I was locked away in a mental home," Paul tells me. "Later I found out it was because I was the son of a German soldier. They called me a 'Nazi brat'. But it wasn't my fault I was born this …

A licensing regime for premium rate TV phone service providers is to be set up following complaints that viewers have been ripped-off. Regulator Icstis met broadcasters to discuss allegations some shows did not give callers a chance of winning. It has asked programme makers to carry out a thorough review of all current and forthcoming premium rate services. Earlier, broadcaster Five suspended quiz shows using premium rate services after an audit revealed "problems". Concern centred on Five's show Brainteaser, made by Big Brother creators Endemol. TV watchdog Ofcom is to investigate, while Five's chief executive Jane Lighting apologised to viewers, saying…

A woman who drove on to a railway line after being told to by her satellite navigation system made "a bad but honest mistake," police have said. The woman who drove on to the track near Eastbourne, blocking the Hastings to Brighton lines, has not been named. She was waiting at a level crossing at Norman's Bay, Sussex, in January, when the device told her to turn left. Pc Christine Holyoake, from British Transport Police, said the 52-year-old Surrey driver would not be charged. Case closed The woman from Dorking was investigated for obstructing the railway and driving without due care. Police said they looked into the matter and investigated possible …

A Somerset rector has suspended his choir amid claims of "unholy backbiting" in the ranks. The choristers at St John's Church in Wellington said the Reverend Colin Randall had accused them of lacking in "Christian discipleship". In notes of a meeting between the two, it is claimed some members had failed to make new recruits feel welcome. Dismissed choirmaster Colin Drummond said: "I am very saddened." Mr Randall has declined to comment. The meeting notes claim that Mr Randall said: "Several of those who joined the choir for the carol service, for example, were made to feel extremely unwelcome by a minority of existing choir members." Mr Drummond added: …

Catholic teenager is suing a council for placing her in the care of Protestant foster parents. The 18-year-old is demanding £70,000 from Highland Council. A judge has ruled that the Court of Session in Edinburgh should consider the case. Lord Uist said it involved "novel and difficult questions of law". The teenager has also complained about being sent to schools which did not meet her needs by providing lessons suitable for her learning disabilities. Lord Uist had been asked to rule on a procedural question - whether the claim should be heard by a sheriff or by a judge. In his written ruling he said: "I think that the only appropriate forum for this acti…