Woman Wins Battle Over 35 Letter Surname

A woman in Hawaii with a 35 letter surname has persuaded the island's authorities to change their ID card and driving licence formats because her long name will not fit.

Janice "Lokelani" Keihanaikukauakahihuliheekahaunaele said she would never consider using a shortened version, and so used the media to urge officials to take action.

For years she has carried two forms of ID: her driving licence, which has room for 34 characters, and her official Hawaii state ID card which in the past had room for all 35 letters.

But the problem arose after her state ID was renewed in May - and came back the same as her driver's licence, with the last letter 'e' missing, and with no first name.

She said she felt compelled to raise the issue with officials after a policeman questioned her about her licence when he pulled her over.

"I said wait a minute, this is not my fault. This is the county's fault that I don't have an ID that has my name correctly," she told Honolulu television station KHON.

The police officer suggested she could use her maiden name.

"I said, how disrespectful to the Hawaiian people because there's a lot of meaning behind this name.

"I've had this name for over 20 years. I had to grow into this name. It's very deep spiritual path."

She said her last name means: "When there is chaos and confusion, you are one that will stand up and get people to focus in one direction and come out of the chaos."

The 54-year-old Big Island resident took her case to KHON, who publicised the problem, putting pressure on the Hawaii Department of Transportation.

Within days, authorities, who had previously told her it would take two years to change and the surname character limit would remain at 35, had decided they could act more quickly.

Caroline Sluyter, from the Hawaiian Department of Transportation, said the state was working to increase the number of characters on driver's licences and ID cards.

By the end of the year, the cards will allow 40 letters for first and last names and 35 characters for middle names, she said.

Ms Keihanaikukauakahihuliheekahaunaele started using the name when she married her Hawaiian husband in 1992.

He used only the one name but had similar problems before he died in 2008.

00.57 | 0 komentar | Read More

Blustery Britain: First Autumn Storm Rolls In

Strong winds and heavy rain are expected to batter parts of Britain this weekend.

Gusts close to 70mph will hit areas of Scotland and Northern Ireland, while most of England and Wales will face blustery conditions, forecasters have said.

Heavy showers in the South East last night saw 27mm of rain fall in Northolt, northwest London, and 26mm at Heathrow, while East Anglia and the Midlands were hit by 10 to 15mm of rain.

The Met Office has issued severe weather warnings for gales in Scotland and Northern Ireland on Sunday, and warned of the possibility of travel disruption.

Chief Met Office forecaster Paul Gundersen said: "A spell of gale force westerly winds is expected later Sunday, peaking on Monday across much of Scotland, the north of Northern Ireland and coasts of north west England and north Wales.

"Gusts of 50-60mph are likely, with the potential for 70mph across exposed coasts and hills of Scotland.

"The public should be aware of the potential for some minor disruption to travel and keep up to date with the latest weather forecast information."

Sky News weather presenter Nazaneen Ghaffar added: "Tonight, outbreaks of rain will spread into Northern Ireland and Scotland and towards the early hours into northern England, Wales and southwest England.

"As well as that there will be strengthening winds with gusts of up to around 55-60mph across northwestern fringes of Scotland, and slightly over 60mph across the Western Isles.

"Sunday will be a wet and windy day across most of the UK. It'll be a dry morning across central and eastern England with a few bright spells to begin with before cloud and rain will spread into all areas by the early afternoon with some heavy downpours.

"Later it will become bright and drier across the north and west of the UK but there will still be frequent heavy showers and strong to gale force winds gusting up to 60mph. Hail and thunder is also possible."

Temperatures will remain in the mid-teens for most of the country over the weekend - a few degrees below average for the time of year - while conditions will remain unsettled into next week, forecasters have said.

00.57 | 0 komentar | Read More

Google Street View Driver In 'Triple Smash'

A driver filming footage for Google's Street View maps in Indonesia slammed into two vehicles after trying to escape responsibility for an earlier crash, police have said.

The Indonesian man had been driving a Subaru hatchback in the Bogor district on the outskirts of the capital, Jakarta, with Google's logo and a camera poking from the roof, when he hit a public minivan.

"He did accompany the minivan driver to the garage, but he said he was scared the repair fee would be high, so he got in his damaged car and fled," Bogor district police operations chief Hendra Gunawan told AFP.

The minivan driver got in his vehicle, Gunawan said, and gave chase for around two miles before the Google car smashed into a second minivan.

"He tried to flee again, but soon crashed into a parked truck before he gave up," he said.

The man, who has not been named, was detained after the third crash and taken in for questioning.

"He has been released and all the payments for the vehicles have been sorted out. The damage to the first one would probably have cost 200,000 rupiah (£11) to repair," Mr Gunawan added.

Google could not be contacted for comment.

Google has previously run into trouble with Street View, which allows users to zoom in on everyday images recorded with the company's cameras that take 360-degree footage.

Images of an Australian couple having sex on a car bonnet on a highway appeared on Street View in April, and in March, Google struck a deal with US authorities to pay a $7m fine for collecting people's personal data without authorisation.

00.57 | 0 komentar | Read More

Colorado Floods: Helicopters Rescue Stranded

National Guard troops have used helicopters and military trucks to rescue residents stranded by floods that have claimed four lives in Colorado.

The number of people unaccounted for has risen to 172 after the worst floods to hit the state for decades cut off towns and devastated communities over a 4,500 square mile (11,655 square km) area.

Taking advantage of a break in torrential rains that have unleashed floodwaters up and down the state, Guard members rumbled into the hard-hit town of Lyons through waist-high water and went door to door to pull out up to 2,500 trapped residents.

"These individuals are not only coming with just themselves, but with their suitcases and their precious household items along with their pets and everything, all getting loaded in the back of these vehicles," said First Lieutenant Skye Robinson, a spokesman for the Colorado National Guard.

Deborah Haynes is led from a helicopter after being rescued from Jamestown

Helicopters were evacuating 295 people - plus pets - from the mountain hamlet of Jamestown, which was isolated by flooding throughout the canyon the town sits in.

Mike Smith, incident commander at Boulder Municipal Airport, said pilots would continue flying in and out late into the night, dropping food, water and other supplies to those awaiting an airlift.

Rescue teams were also evacuating some stranded residents by boat, while some farmers managed to move to high ground on their tractors, Weld County sheriff's spokesman Steve Reams said in an interview with a local ABC television affiliate.

A National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration image of the storm system

Thousands of evacuees have sought shelter in cities that were nearly surrounded by rivers bursting their banks.

Governor John Hickenlooper said evacuations were the highest priority and advised people to stay out of debris and sand-filled floodwaters that were "almost like liquid cement."

He told a news conference: "It's got to be the largest storm that I can imagine in the state's history."

The flooding, so intense it toppled buildings in some places, began overnight on Wednesday.

Boulder residents survey flood damage to the city's Topaz Street

It was triggered by unusually heavy late-summer storms that drenched Colorado's biggest cities, from Fort Collins near the Wyoming border south through Boulder, Denver and Colorado Springs.

Boulder and a string of other towns along the so-called Front Range of the Rockies north of Denver were especially hard-hit as water poured down rain-soaked mountains and spilled through canyons that funnelled the runoff into populated areas.

Lyons, north of Boulder, was virtually cut off when floodwaters washed out US Route 36, and residents have been without water and power for 48 hours, said Mike Banuelos, a spokesman for the Boulder County Emergency Operations Center.

At least four people were killed, including a couple swept away in floodwaters after stopping their car northwest of Boulder.

Levin Sliker and Elizabeth Aisenbrey in their water-damaged living room

The man's body was recovered on Thursday and the woman had been missing and feared dead before her body was found on Friday.

Also killed were a person whose body was found in a collapsed building near Jamestown, an evacuated enclave north of Boulder, and a man in Colorado Springs, about 100 miles (160 km) to the south, officials said.

The Boulder Office of Emergency Management listed 218 people as unaccounted for following the floods, stressing that while they were not yet considered missing or in danger, relatives and authorities had not been able to contact them.

Authorities said many western mountain communities remained isolated with no drinking water or working septic systems.

00.57 | 0 komentar | Read More

Teenage Girl Dies 'Trapped In Locked Car'

A teenage girl has been found dead in a car after apparently being trapped when the locking system allegedly malfunctioned.

Police said the alleged locking problem coupled with the hot weather conditions that day appeared to have contributed to her death.

Graciela Martinez, 14, died in the family's BMW 328i in the car park of Madera South High School in California.

Authorities said she and her brother drove to school together, but Graciela stayed in the vehicle when they arrived because the start of her class was not for another hour.

At the end of school, her brother found her.

Graciela, who weighed less than six stone, had apparently been unable to break the car window and free herself.

The BMW that the teenager was found dead in. Pic: CBS

Her sister Patricia told KMPH: "She was a good sister, and that I loved her. I didn't even get to talk to her. She went in the car and she was dead already.

"She was a nice person. She came from school and then went to work.

"And then after work she would help my mum around the house. She didn't have no problems in school or anything. She had good grades."

Graciela's father told KMPH he bought the car for about $11,000 (£7,000) six months ago from a private party, and there was no indication anything was wrong with the locking system.

When investigators tested the car, they reportedly found that the doors would sometimes lock on the inside and outside when the key was used, disabling the horn and making it almost impossible to escape.

A BMW spokesman told Sky News: "BMW is shocked and saddened by this tragedy.

"Our special product investigation team in North America will fully co-operate and support the local authorities during the investigation.

"Unfortunately, further comment is not possible at this time."

00.57 | 0 komentar | Read More

Jeweller Charged After Shooting Robber In Back

A French jeweller who shot dead a teenager after being held at gunpoint during a robbery is under house arrest at a secret location after being charged with murder.

Stephan Turk, 67, shot the 18-year-old victim in the back as he and another robber were fleeing on a scooter with gems stolen from Turk's shop in the centre of Nice on the French Riviera.

The thieves had punched and kicked the jeweller before forcing him to open his safe at gunpoint.

He ran after them and fired three shots as they sped away.

Stephan Turk (L) who shot the 18-year-old robber as he fled

After a court hearing on Friday, Turk was charged with murder and released from custody on condition that he stays at an agreed residence and wears an electronic tag.

"Armed, aggressive thugs attacked me," Turk said in a brief statement to French television.

Stephan Turk's defence lawyer Franck de Vita

"I regret what happened, I regret that he is dead. But it is him who decided to do what he did. It is normal that I would defend myself."

If convicted of voluntary homicide, the jeweller could spend the rest of his life in prison, and his fate has triggered a national debate over what constitutes reasonable self-defence.

By Saturday morning, a Facebook page set up in Turk's support had attracted nearly a million "likes".

French law allows for killers to escape conviction for murder if they can show they acted in "legitimate defence".

The jeweller reportedly told magistrates that he had fired his first two shots with the intention of demobilising the scooter and a third one in response to his victim threatening to shoot at him with a rifle.

The dead youth, identified only by his first name, Anthony, had a string of convictions for theft, assault and driving offences.

The scene of the killing in Nice

"It is true that he did a lot of stupid things," his father told local newspaper Nice Matin. "He was a little delinquent, a scooter thief. But he had the face of a child and no child should have to die like that.

"I'm not defending what my son did, but, there, he has been shot like a pigeon."

00.57 | 0 komentar | Read More

Bodies Found In Farmhouse Shooting

A dairy farmer and one of his workers have been found shot dead in an isolated farmhouse in Northern Ireland.

The men were discovered at the secluded property around a mile from the Co Antrim village of Glenarm early on Friday evening.

They have been named by police as farm owner Arthur Gibson, 61, and farm labourer Michael Murphy, 37.

Police are not looking for anyone else in connection with the double shooting.

Mr Murphy had worked for Mr Gibson for many years.

The farm is about a mile from Glenarm

Forensic teams in white overalls were examining the scene, paying particular attention to the hallway of the white, two-storey house in Feystown Road.

A small crowd gathered at the police cordon at the end of the long lane leading up to the farm as news of the deaths filtered through to the village.

Neighbours helped to milk the cows and keep the farm operating as the police carried out their investigation.

Local Stormont Assembly member Oliver McMullan, who knew both the dead men, said locals were stunned by what he described as a "double tragedy".

"The death of two men is a tragedy not only for the families but also for the community," he said.

"The community is in a state of shock as both men were well known within this tight knit community."

Forensic teams were paying particular attention to the hallway

Glenarm came to public attention earlier this year when severe late winter blizzards enveloped farms in the surrounding hills in a thick blanket of snow, killing thousands of animals and cutting off many families for days.

Alliance party MLA Stewart Dickson said: "This is an absolutely shocking incident, which has left the village and the surrounding community in shock.

"My thoughts are with the families and friends of the deceased and would call for anyone with any information to contact the PSNI as soon as possible.

"I hope the police will be able to determine what was behind this tragic incident tonight."

A Police Service of Northern Ireland spokesman said: "Detectives are aware of speculation regarding this incident and say they are examining a number of possible scenarios and lines of enquiry and it would not be appropriate to comment further at this time."

00.57 | 0 komentar | Read More

Syria Has One Week To Detail Chemical Weapons

Syria: How The Crisis Has Developed

Updated: 2:33pm UK, Saturday 14 September 2013

:: March 2011 - Protesters stage demonstrations in Damascus and security forces in Daraa shoot dead several campaigners, leading to unrest and violence.

:: May - The Syrian military deploys tanks in a bid to quash demonstrations.

:: July 19 - The UK freezes £100m of Syrian assets.

:: August 18 - US President Barack Obama calls on Bashar al Assad to step down. The US freezes all assets of the Syrian government.

:: November 16 - The Free Syrian Army attacks a military base near Damascus.

:: February 4, 2012 - A UN Security Council resolution on Syria is rejected for a second time by Russia and China.

:: March 1 - Government troops seize the Baba Amr district of Homs after an intense battle lasting for several weeks.

:: April 12 - A UN-brokered ceasefire comes into force after fierce fighting in the country.

:: May 23 - Dozens of people, many of them women and children, die in Houla, near Homs. Foreign Secretary William Hague says they were "massacred at the hands of Syrian forces". The UN later accuses the Syrian military of committing war crimes.

:: August - Barack Obama says the use of chemical weapons against civilians would represent the crossing of a "red line".

:: March 6, 2013 - Foreign Secretary William Hague says Britain will provide opposition forces with "non-lethal equipment for the protection of civilians".

:: April-May - Britain says there is credible evidence to suggest Syrian forces have used chemical weapons in Adra, Darayya and Saraqiq and calls for an investigation by the UN.

:: April 29 - Syrian prime minister Wael Nader al Halqi survives an assassination attempt as a car bomb explodes in Damascus.

:: May 14 - Footage of a Syrian rebel commander apparently cutting out a soldier's heart is condemned by the country's National Coalition.

:: June 6 - Syrian forces, backed by Hizbollah fighters, recapture the strategic border town of Qusair.

:: June 6 - Human Rights Watch releases footage which it claims shows Syrian troops shelling school buildings.

:: July 25 - The UN says the number of people killed in the civil war has reached 100,000.

:: August 21 - An alleged chemical attack in Damascus kills 1,300 people, according to the opposition. Doctors Without Borders says 335 people died from "neurotoxic" symptoms.

:: August 25 - Foreign Secretary William Hague says a chemical attack by the Syrian government is the only "plausible explanation" for the deaths.

:: August 26 - UN inspectors brave sniper fire to gather "valuable" evidence from one site of the alleged chemical attack, as the US Secretary of State John Kerry says the Assad regime would face action over the "moral obscenity".

:: August 27 - The UK recalls Parliament to hold a vote on August 29 on the use of chemical weapons in Syria. David Cameron and Barack Obama agree there is "no doubt" the Assad regime is responsible for the alleged attack.

:: August 28 - Britain tables a draft UN resolution condemning the alleged attack and "authorising all necessary measures".

:: August 29 - David Cameron is forced to rule out military action after narrowly losing a Commons vote on the principle of intervention.

:: August 31 - President Obama says the US "should take military action" in Syria but confirms he will seek authorisation from Congress before launching any strikes against the Assad regime. He says the US is "prepared to strike whenever we choose".

:: September 2 - a French intelligence reports claims the Assad regime was responsible for a "massive and coordinated" chemical attack in Damascus.

:: September 3 - Israel says it has carried out a joint missile test with the US in the Mediterranean.

:: September 4 - The Senate Foreign Relations Committee approve a draft US resolution authorising the use of military force in Syria. Meanwhile, MPs in France debate whether to join any possible military intervention, although they do not vote on the subject.

:: September 5 - World leaders meet at the G20 summit in Russia, with the crisis in Syria high on the agenda.

:: September 6 - Britain pledges £52m in aid to Syria, as David Cameron hits back at a reported jibe from Russia that Britain is a "small island".

:: September 8 - The RAF sends up two Typhoon jets in Cyprus as warplanes, thought to have come from Syria, enter international airspace. Meanwhile John Kerry says more nations than his country can use are prepared to join military action against Syria.

:: September 9 - Russia urges Syrian President Bashar al Assad to hand over his chemical weapons to avert a US-led military strike on Damascus.

:: September 10 - President Barack Obama delays a Congress vote on air strikes as Russia gives the US its plan for putting Syria's chemical weapons under international contral.

:: September 11 - A UN report confirms at least eight massacres were carried by the Assad regime and one by rebels over the past 18 months.

:: September 12 - Syria formally applies to join the Chemical Weapons Convention. Russia and US hold two days of talks on the issue.

:: September 14 - The US and Russia agree on a giving Syria a deadline of one week to produce a list of chemical weapons they possess. 

00.57 | 0 komentar | Read More

Plastic Bags: Shoppers To Be Charged 5p

Supermarkets and other big stores in England are to introduce a 5p charge for plastic bags.

The move is due to be announced this weekend by Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg at the Liberal Democrat conference in Glasgow.

It will bring England into line with the rest of the UK - with charges already in place in Wales and Northern Ireland, and Scotland set to follow suit in 2014.

Lib Dem sources said the charge, intended to discourage use of the environmentally damaging bags, would come into effect in England in 2015.

However, it is not yet clear whether it will be before the general election, set for May that year, or after.

Mr Clegg was said to have had to fought hard within the Coalition for the scheme - which is Lib Dem party policy - at a time when ministers are under intense pressure over rising cost of living.

But with a 76% fall in plastic bag use in Wales since the levy was introduced there in 2011, the Lib Dem leader was said to believe that it was the right thing to do.

A Lib Dem source said the charge would be the "centrepiece" at the conference this weekend.

Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Davey told Sky News: "Liberal Democrats in the coalition are pushing the green agenda all the time.

"Sometimes it's quite a fight - this one we've won and it's very clear the evidence shows that plastic bags not only create lots of litter and a real eyesore, but they can be really bad for wild animals, particularly marine life." 

The charge will only apply to supermarkets and other large stores, with small corner shops excluded.

The proceeds will go to charities involved in clearing up the environmental damage caused by the bags rather than the Government or the retailers.

00.57 | 0 komentar | Read More

Leicester Fire: Police Arrest Five People

Police have arrested five people in connection with a house fire in Leicester which killed a woman and her three children.

Leicestershire Police said in a statement that three women - aged 19, 20 and 27 - and two men aged 19 and 49 were detained by officers this afternoon.

"Forensic enquiries are still under way at the scene and local officers are undertaking patrols in the area," the statement added.

Shehnila Taufiq, who was in her 40s, died in the fire at her terraced home in Wood Hill, in the Spinney Hills area of Leicester, in the early hours of Friday.

Her children, 19-year-old daughter Zainab and sons Jamal, 17, and Bilal, 15, also died in their bedrooms.

The husband and father of the victims, Dr Muhammad Taufiq, has spoken of his grief in the wake of the fire. 

Police were called to the blaze by the fire service at 12.35am on Friday

Speaking at the Jame Mosque in Leicester, he said: "All of you know the tragic incident in ... which my entire family has passed away.

"I deeply miss my beautiful wife and three beautiful children. What has happened has happened, and nothing can be reversed.

"But I hope justice will prevail and in future this should not happen to any family in the UK."

Sky News understands that Leicestershire Police are investigating whether the victims of the blaze were mistakenly targeted in a revenge attack.

About half a mile away on Thursday afternoon, a man in his 20s, named locally as Antoin Akpom, was found injured by police officers in Kent Street.

He was taken to Leicester Royal Infirmary where he later died.

Three people, a man and two women, all aged 19, have been arrested in connection with the Kent Street murder.

Police have confirmed that there is no evidence to connect the four members of Dr Taufiq's family with the death in Kent Street.

Kent Street attack victim Antoin Akpom

Dr Taufiq, a neurosurgeon, returned to Leicester from Ireland, where he works.

He had been working at Beaumont Hospital in Dublin and with private hospitals in the city, the Blackrock and Hermitage clinics.

A representative of Leicester's Jame Mosque, Mohammad Uwais, said Dr Taufiq had addressed members of the mosque on Saturday afternoon.

"He said that he's been comforted by the condolences he's received not just from Leicester, from the UK, from Ireland, but from the world," Mr Uwais told reporters.

"He accepts what God has destined for him and for his family, and that he thanks God in times of joy and also times of tribulation."

The family, originally from Pakistan, had a home in Ireland for at least 15 years before the children moved to the UK with their mother about five years ago for Islamic education.

Police on Saturday appealed to residents with information to come forward to help them find the perpetrators of the attacks which they said had left two families "devastated by events of the past 48 hours".

Police have said the house fire and a nearby murder may be linked

Roger Bannister, Assistant Chief Constable of Leicestershire Police, said: "While we are investigating links between the two crimes there is absolutely no evidence to suggest those who died in the fire, or indeed anyone else who lives in that property, was involved in the assault in Kent Street.

"Because of the close proximity - in terms of time and location - of the two incidents, it is right that we look at whether there are links between the two crimes.

"However, at this stage in our investigations we have found nothing to suggest the residents of the house devastated by the fire had anything to do with the Kent Street incident.

"We have three people in custody in relation to the murder of the young man in Kent Street and we continue with the complex forensic investigations at Wood Hill.

"However, we know there are local people who know more about both incidents and the people responsible and we would appeal to their consciences. Two families have been devastated by events of the past 48 hours. Please help us to find those responsible."

Anyone with information about either attack can speak to their local beat team, call police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

00.57 | 0 komentar | Read More