How We See The World

Control of the US Senate was hanging in the balance last night after a Democratic member was left in a "critical condition" following brain surgery. Sen Harry Reid Senator Harry Reid dismissed a Republican takeover The death or long-term incapacitation of Tim Johnson would erase the one-seat majority held by Democrats after they captured six seats in last month's mid-term election drubbing of President George W Bush's Republicans. Under Senate rules, the governor of Mr Johnson's home state of South Dakota, a Republican, would choose a replacement if he died or had to stand down. Governors in this position invariably select a member of their own party. The Senat…

Judicial Watch, a public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption has released what they’re calling their 2006 list of Washington’s “Ten Most Wanted Corrupt Politicians.” The list includes Jack Abramoff, Senatory Hillary Clinton, Tom Delay, and Mark Foley. Here’s the list of the Judicial Watch Most Wanted Corrupt Politicians: Jack Abramoff, Former Lobbyist Abramoff is at the center of a massive public corruption investigation by the Department of Justice Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) In January 2006, Hillary Clinton’s fundraising operation was fined $35,000 by the Federal Election Commission for failing to accurately report more th…

A 999 call from a person who asked to speak to Santa was among the most outrageous reasons for ringing Yorkshire's ambulance service. Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust said one in four 999 calls made to them was unnecessary. Examples included a call about a sick pet, a request for a taxi home, a request to help turn off a television and a report of a broken fingernail. The service has urged people to use 999 appropriately over the festive period. Other inappropriate calls were from a person asking for help to find a lost handbag, someone asking where they could buy cigarettes on a Bank Holiday and the opening times of GP surgeries and pharmacies. Div…

Joseph Barbera, one half of the team behind such cartoon classics as The Flintstones, Yogi Bear, Scooby-Doo and Huckleberry Hound, has died, aged 95. He died of natural causes at home with his wife, Sheila, at his side. With William Hanna, Barbera founded Hanna-Barbera in the 1950s, after the pair had earlier worked on the Tom and Jerry cartoons at MGM studios. "Joe will live on through his work," said Warner Brothers chairman and chief executive Barry Meyer. "The characters he created with his late partner, William Hanna, are not only animated superstars but also a very beloved part of American pop culture," Mr Meyer said. Cat and mouse collaboration …

The UK's fertility regulator has amended a licence to allow stem cell researchers to recruit egg donors not already having medical treatment. A world expert criticised the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority for making the decision during a public consultation on the issue. The HFEA has defended the decision, and stressed that it will not affect the outcome of the consultation. The process of human egg donation involves potential health risks. Earlier this year, the team in Newcastle was awarded a temporary licence to offer discounted IVF treatment if patients donate eggs for research. It has emerged that the team was granted the UK's first li…

The largest lizards in the world are capable of "virgin births". Scientists report of two cases where female Komodo dragons have produced offspring without male contact. Tests revealed their eggs had developed without being fertilised by sperm - a process called parthenogenesis, the team wrote in the journal Nature. One of the reptiles, Flora, a resident of Chester Zoo in the UK, is awaiting her clutch of eight eggs to hatch, with a due-date estimated around Christmas. Kevin Buley, a curator at Chester Zoo and a co-author on the paper, said: "Flora laid her eggs at the end of May and, given the incubation period of between seven and nine months, it is possib…

NEW DELHI, India -- An Indian runner who won a silver medal in the women's 800 meters at the Asian Games failed a gender test and was stripped of the medal. Shanti Sounderajan, 25, took the gender test in Doha, Qatar, after placing second. The test reports sent to the Indian Olympic Association on Sunday said Soudarajan "does not possess the sexual characteristics of a woman," The Times of India reported. The test was administered by a medical commission set up by the games' organizers. The Indian Olympic Association said Monday it has been told by the Olympic Council of Asia that the 25-year-old runner was disqualified. "IOA has asked the Athletic Federat…

A quarter of young people break the law Last updated at 14:01pm on 19th December 2006 Seven per cent of all young people are frequent offenders One in four young people aged between 10 and 25 committed a crime last year, a Home Office report has revealed. This amounts to 2.8 million offenders of whom 1.6 million are 17 or under. Seven per cent of all young people are frequent offenders who have committed at least six crimes in the last year and are responsible for more than four-fifths of all the youth offences. Other figures show: • Five per cent of young males carried a knife in the last year; • Offending is higher among young men…

Ronnie O'Sullivan has hinted that the reason for his UK Championship walkout is because he is still in mourning for pal Paul Hunter. Ronnie O'Sullivan has hinted that the reason for his UK Championship walkout is because he is still in mourning for pal Paul Hunter. O’Sullivan surrendered his quarter-final clash with Stephen Hendry at 4-1 down, with a statement the following day blaming his actions on "a bad day at the office". However, Ronnie has now said he knew nothing about the statement issued by his PR company. Three times Wembley Masters champion Hunter died in October after an 18-month battle against cancer and is still sorely missed by O'Sullivan. He said: "…

Time magazine's Person of the Year is... you! Last updated at 10:49am on 18th December 2006 Time for reflection: Editor, Richard Stengel, of Time magazine displays the mirrored cover. Congratulations! If you've used or created content on the internet this year then you are one of the people to be chosen as Time magazine "Person of the Year". The award has been given for the explosive growth and influence of user-generated Internet content such as blogs, video-file sharing site YouTube and social network MySpace. "For seizing the reins of the global media, for founding and framing the new digital democracy, for working for nothing and beating…

£3m for work injury that sent sex drive out of control Last updated at 14:15pm on 19th December 2006 Sarah Tame said her husband's injury has destroyed their marriage A man who complained that a head injury at work led to his sex drive running out of control today won more than £3 million damages at the High Court. Stephen Tame, 29, became "sexually disinhibited" after suffering the severe injury but is now £3,166,054 better off. The committed Christian said that the blow, when he fell from a gantry while working at a cycle warehouse in Wickford, Essex, threw his marriage on to the rocks. His personality transformed from a happily married ma…

Obese should have health warnings on their clothes Last updated at 15:06pm on 15th December 2006 Big ideas: under the proposals, Dawn French would have to re-label her clothing range Oversize clothes should have obesity helpline numbers sewn on them to try and reduce Britain's fat crisis, a leading professor said today. And new urban roads should only be built if they have cycle lanes, according to Naveed Sattar, Professor of Metabolic Medicine at the University of Glasgow. He is calling for more government intervention with a central agency set up to deal with the problems of obesity. Britain's fat problem is so acute that it could…

Single women outnumber their married counterparts By STEVE DOUGHTY Last updated at 22:00pm on 17th December 2006 Married women have become a minority in England and Wales for the first time, official figures have revealed. They showed that there are more single, divorced and widowed women than there are wives. The number of women over the age of 16 who are married has plunged to fewer than 11 million, largely thanks to the collapse in the popularity of marriage among under-30s. New figures released by the Office for National Statistics show that the landmark point where unmarried women became the majority was reached in 2004. The decline of …

Barcelona's Ronaldinho has been named FifPro's player of the year for the second successive season. Brazil playmaker Ronaldinho, 26, received the most nominations from the 43,000 players eligible to vote. Ronaldinho played a key role in Barca's capture of the Champions League crown and Spanish title but failed to reproduce his form at the World Cup. Chelsea's England captain John Terry and Arsenal striker Thierry Henry are both named in the FifPro World XI. Four members of Italy's World Cup winning team are also named in the team. Goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, defender Fabio Cannavaro and Gianluca Zambrotta, and midfielder Andrea Pirlo all make the line-…

Police in Greater Manchester are sending Christmas cards to criminals in a bid to appeal to their better nature and persuade them not to offend. The cards, which are being sent to known law-breakers in Chadderton, near Oldham, have been produced with the Chadderton Area Action Team. They have been personally signed by the Neighbourhood Policing Inspector and feature the Crimestoppers number. It is hoped the festive card will cut vehicle crime and burglary in the area. The cards also bear the message: "We are looking out for you and the community". Neighbourhood Policing Inspector John Haywood said: "We hope that receiving a Christmas card from the police…

When James Worley paid a visit to Disney World in Florida his portly frame and white beard soon had kids asking: "Are you Santa Claus?" Not wanting to disappoint, Mr Worley, 60, played along with some "ho-ho-hos". But Disney officials descended, telling him to stop the impersonation or get out of the park. They said they wanted to preserve the magic of Santa. Mr Worley took off his red hat and red shirt but said: "I look this way 24/7, 365 days a year. This is me." 'Confusing' Even after bowing to the request to alter his appearance, Mr Worley, from Tampa, said children continued to ask if he was Santa. "How do you tell a little kid, 'No, go away, li…

Stallone looking more stocky than Rocky Last updated at 00:01am on 15th December 2006 A bloated looking Stallone and below, a trim figure in the film As he reprised his most famous role on film, Sylvester Stallone looked extraordinarily fit for a man of 60. Yet by the time filming had ended and the premiere came around, he looked rather more Stocky than Rocky. At the fanfare debut of Rocky Balboa - the sixth movie in the boxing series - the actor seemed rather bloated and worn, a clear indication of his decision to quit exercise in favour of a more relaxed lifestyle. And there was a telltale paunch where a six pack used to be - more usual…

Joggers using the iPod Sport kit to keep fit are putting their personal privacy at risk, warn scientists. The academics showed how easy it was to track those using the combination of music player and running shoe sensor. In the worst scenario suggested by the scientists, stalkers could use the tracking data to "engineer" encounters with victims. The researchers said gadget makers should do more to protect privacy and stop hardware being abused in this way. Hi-tech steps The Nike iPod Sport kit uses radio to link a sensor in a runner's shoe to another gadget that clips on to an iPod Nano. The clip-on gadget analyses the data gathered by the sensor and…

Airport-style scanners will be used to search people attending a production of a Mozart opera in Berlin featuring the severed head of the Prophet Muhammad. Security has been tightened because of fears of a Muslim backlash against Deutsche Oper's version of Idomeneo. Jesus, Buddha and Greek god Poseidon are also decapitated in the show. But Islamic tradition bans images of Muhammad, and there were violent protests around the world when a Danish newspaper printed 12 cartoons of him. The production, by director Hans Neuenfels, received its premiere three years ago, and it was his idea to include the controversial twist with the religious icons. It gained li…

Kicking somebody during a fight can be more dangerous than using a sharp or blunt weapon, research shows. A study of 25,000 people admitted to A&E found use of feet was more likely to inflict serious injury than blunt or sharp objects or fists. However, the Violence Research Group in Cardiff, found weapons caused a greater number of severe injuries. Prevention of kicking and use of blunt objects should be a priority, the study in Injury Prevention concludes. In total, the researchers assessed 31,000 injuries inflicted on patients attending the University Hospital Wales A&E between 1999 and 2005. Men accounted for three quarters of patients who at…

Britain gears up for the 'merriest' Christmas in history By STEVE DOUGHTY Last updated at 23:30pm on 17th December 2006 Boozy: Women will drink five times the recommended limit this Christmas. Britons are headed for a Christmas marred by unprecedented levels of drunkenness in homes and pubs and a wave of thuggery on the streets, experts have warned. A new breakdown of booze buying showed that millions are planning to celebrate the holidays with the heaviest-ever Christmas alcohol binge. And the increased scale of drinking comes as police were told to withdraw from a public order campaign meant to control levels of drunken disorder. The move…

Many UK shops out of stock for Christmas Last updated at 22:00pm on 17th December 2006 Out of stock: Supermarkets are not keeping all product lines available. Britain's supermarket shoppers are more likely to face the frustration of empty shelves when they try to track down their favourite products in High Street stores, a new report has warned. For availability levels in the UK's top six supermarkets have plummeted over the past six months, according to data produced for trade magazine The Grocer. It shows that some major stores around the country are racking up nearly twice the number of 'out of stock' products compared with the first half o…

Telephone lie detector claims to catch fibbers By NICK McDERMOTT Last updated at 22:46pm on 17th December 2006 All smiles: But is she lying? It could be the perfect tool for suspicious spouses wanting to check whether their loved ones are playing away from home. A new telephone lie detector system promises to pick up on tell-tale signs of stress in a caller's voice whenever they tell a fib. Available for free, the Kishkish lie detector can be easily downloaded from the web and used by those who make phone calls over the internet. Scientists have found that frequencies in the human voice are sensitive to honesty, becoming higher when a pers…

Christmas cards are losing their religious message by IAN DRURY Last updated at 22:00pm on 8th December 2006 Unseasonal greetings: An example of one of the alternative Christmas cards Only one in 100 Christmas cards sold in Britain contains any religious imagery or message, a Daily Mail survey has revealed. Traditional pictures such as angels blowing trumpets over a stable, Jesus in his manager, the shepherds and three wise men following the star to Bethlehem are dying out. Instead, scenes of the Nativity has been replaced on cards by designs or jokes with little or no relevance to the Bible story and the true meaning of Christmas. On…

It's just one hour and the Champion open Who will win? 1- Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors FC 2- Ahly Sporting Club 3- Club América 4- Sport Club Internacional 5- Auckland City FC 6- FC Barcelona