Daily News Headlines

Comical twist in Jobs theft arrest

2012-08-17T18:45:00.000-07:00

In this file photo, Apple CEO Steve Jobs shows off an iPad during an event in San Francisco. Picture: Paul Sakuma Source: AP

This photo provided by the Santa Clara County Sheriff' shows Kariem McFarlin, 35, of Alameda, who has been charged for the burglary of the late Apple CEO Steve Jobs' home in Palo Alto, California. Source: AP

WHAT would you do if you got your hands on Steve Job's personal iPad? Check its stats? Try his apps? How about - play the 'Pink Panther" theme?

Kenny the Clown didn't play games, surf the net or browse for any secret documents.

Rather, he loaded iTunes to play the "Pink Panther" theme song during his comedic clown routine.

He had no idea the device came from the fabled Jobs residence.

Then, the police showed up at his door and took it away.

His friend who gave him the gadget was later charged with breaking into the CEO's Palo Alto, California, home.

It is understood it was this iTunes download of "Pink Panther" that led Apple to locate the stolen device, and then contact police.

"I didn't notice anything special or anything like that," 47-year-old professional clown, whose real name is Kenneth Kahn, told the San Jose Mercury News.

"It was silver; it looked normal. I was basically using it like an iPod."

California police said 35-year-old Kariem McFarlin gave Kahn a silver 64GB iPad that was stolen out of Jobs' home.

McFarlin also allegedly gave another iPad to his daughter. Both devices have been returned to the Jobs family, police said.

McFarlin is accused of stealing iPods, Macs, Tiffany & Co. jewelry, and even Jobs' wallet and driver's license by using a spare key he found on the property to break into the home.

"He's a nice guy who made a horrible, horrible decision," Kahn said. "I wish I could ask him: 'What were you thinking?' "

"It still hasn't really 100 per cent set in for me. It was Steve Jobs' iPad - literally," Kahn said. "If this thing weren't so tragic, it would be comical."

McFarlin is due in court Monday.

original:http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/national/comical-twist-in-jobs-theft-arrest/story-fndo48ca-1226453040843

Brazil worker Eduardo Leite survives 1.8m bar through skull

2012-08-17T18:41:00.000-07:00

This tomography scan shows the skull of 24-year-old construction worker Eduardo Leite pierced by a metal bar. Source: AP

DOCTORS say a 24-year-old construction worker survived after a 6-foot (1.8 metre) metal bar fell from above and pierced his head.

Luiz Alexandre Essinger, chief of staff of Rio de Janeiro's Miguel Couto Hospital said doctors successfully withdrew the iron bar from Eduardo Leite's skull during a five-hour surgery.

"He was taken to the operating room, his skull was opened, they examined the brain and the surgeon decided to pull the metal bar out from the front in the same direction it entered the brain." Dr Essinger said.

He said Mr Leite was conscious when he arrived at the hospital and told him what had happened.

He said Mr Leite was lucid and showed no negative consequences after the operation.

"Today, he continues well, with few complaints for a five-hour-long surgery," Dr Essinger said. "He says he feels little pain."

The bar fell from the fifth floor of a building under construction, went through Mr Leite's hard hat, entered the back of his skull and exited between his eyes, Essinger said, adding, "It really was a miracle" that Mr Leite survived.

The accident and surgery took place on Wednesday.

"They told me he was laying down (in the ambulance) with the bar pointing upward, said Mr Leite's wife, Lilian Regina da Silva Costa. "He was holding it and his face covered in blood. His look was as if nothing had happened. When he arrived he told the doctors he wasn't feeling anything, no pain, nothing. It's unbelievable."

Ruy Monteiro, the hospital's head of neurosurgery told the Globo TV network that Mr Leite escaped by just a few centimeters from losing one eye and becoming paralysed on the left side of his body.

He said the bar entered a "non-eloquent" area of the brain , an area that doesn't have a specific, major known function.

Mr Leite is expected to remain hospitalised for at least two weeks.

original: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/world/brazil-worker-survives-bar-through-skull/story-fnd134gw-1226453009993

Apple stock hits record high in iPhone 5 fever

2012-08-17T18:39:00.000-07:00

A mockup of the rumoured iPad mini, created by Ciccares Design for MacRumors.com

APPLE'S stock has hit a new high after a four-month swoon, as investors look ahead to the release of a new iPhone and possibly a smaller iPad.

Already the world's most valuable company, Apple Inc. saw its stock hit $US645.48 ($614.86) in afternoon trading, before retreating to $US644.84. That was up $US8.50, or 1.3 per cent, from Thursday's close.

The previous high for the stock was $US644, hit on April 10.

Apple has a market value of $US604 billion, almost 50 per cent higher than No. 2 Exxon Mobil Corp. at $US408 billion.

Apple's stock fell last month after the company's earnings report for the April-June quarter showed the slowest growth in more than two years. It was only the second time in 10 years that Apple had missed analyst expectations.

Jefferies & Co analyst Peter Misek raised his price target on the stock to $US900 from $US800 on Friday, saying an "iPad Mini" is in production in China. His belief is based on readings of reports from Apple's suppliers, contract manufacturers and contacts in the region. He now believes Apple will build 25 million iPads of all kinds in the current quarter, up from a previous estimate of 16 million, which did not include the "Mini."

The Cupertino, California, company hasn't said anything about a new iPhone or iPad.

Speculation about a smaller iPad has been rife this year. Analysts believe Apple wants to make a cheaper tablet computer to counter the threat of the Google Nexus and Amazon Kindle Fire, both of which sell for $US199. The cheapest current iPad costs $US399.

Analysts now believe the iPhone 5 will go on sale in late September, and it's widely believed that it will be the biggest phone launch ever. Rumored upgrades include the ability access the latest wireless data networks in the US and a slightly bigger screen.

original: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/technology/apple-stock-hits-record-high-in-iphone-5-fever/story-fn7celvh-1226453033982

13-year-old boy contacts 911 after seeing his dad stab his mother to death

2012-08-17T18:37:00.001-07:00

Watch

SON WATCHES FATHER STAB MOTHER

Terrified 13 year old boy calls 911 after watching his father stab his mother to death in the front yard

0:00 / 0:39

JEREMY ROBERTS IS ACCUSED OF STABBING HIS EX-WIFE TO DEATH. SUPPLIED

''My dad just killed my mum''.

This is the moment a terrified 13-year-old boy tells 911 he has just seen his dad stab his mum to death

His dad, 38-year-old Jeremy Roberts, is accused of stabbing his ex-wife, 36-year-old Candice Roberts, when she arrived to pick-up her two children from their Grove City, Ohio apartment, the Daily Mail reports.

''My dad just killed my mum. He just told me to call you guys,'' the boy said in a recording of the call.

''He just ran out and killed my mum, and she's laying in the grass in front of our apartment.''

While the 911 dispatcher alerted police, the boy pleaded with police not to harm his dad.

''Please, guys, don't do anything to him in front of me, please,'' he said.

''He has no weapons.''

His dad then told the 911 dispatcher he was not going to harm anyone else and that the only weapon he had was a knife that was left outside with the body.

The call to 911, which lasts nearly five minutes, also captures the dad asking if he can kiss his children before telling them he loves them and saying he is going to the front door to meet the police.

''I told you that there's a lot of things that you don't understand and you don't know,'' he can be heard telling the children.

''And now there's no choice for them to come out.''

He reassures the children they have a ''good big sister (who) will take care of you guys''.

Police found the woman, who was engaged to marry another man, dead covered in the front yard covered by a blanket. Roberts was standing nearby and was arrested.

Kayla, 16, told WCMH she feels ''incomplete and abandoned'' after the death of her mother, and that her brother is haunted by what he saw.

''My brother says that every time he opens his eyes, he sees my mother's face and her yelling, 'Help me!','' the teenager said.

''And he sees my dad standing there with the blood all over him, and the knife in his hand.''

She said she ''would do everything for him to be held accountable''.

''You don't just get to murder somebody and get away with it,'' she said.

Kayla said her parents rarely fought and instead believes her father ''snapped'' for no reason.

The children are staying with their grandparents.

Roberts is charged with murder and made his first appearance on Monday at Franklin County Municipal Court.

Bond was set at $250,000. He remains in custody at the county jail.

His next court date is scheduled for June 20.

original: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/true-crime-scene/call-reveals-13-year-old-boys-terror-after-seeing-his-dad-stab-his-mother-to-death/story-fnat7jnn-1226452520335

NASA rover prepares to use laser on a Martian rock

2012-08-17T18:35:00.000-07:00

NASA's Mars Curiosity rover is preparing to fire its laser at a nearby rock. Picture: AFP / NASA Source: AFP

THE NASA Mars rover Curiosity is preparing for its first laser target practice - zapping a Martian rock.

Some time next week the remote robot will take aim at a rock about 3m away.

Since landing in an ancient crater August 5, Curiosity has been getting a full health checkup. Scientists said on Friday they have chosen a generic-looking rock near the landing site to aim the laser at and burn a small hole.

The laser is one of 10 tools Curiosity will use to study whether the environment was favorable for microbial life.

In several weeks, the rover will head east to a spot where three different types of terrain intersect. By year's end, it will start its trek toward a mountain rising from the crater floor.

original: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/world/nasa-rover-prepares-to-use-laser-on-a-martian-rock/story-fnd134gw-1226453037647

Julian Assange 'can stay in embassy indefinitely' Rafael Correa says

2012-08-17T18:32:00.001-07:00

Watch

Aust faces more calls to help Assange

The Australian government is facing more calls to help troubled Wikileaks founder Julian Assange.

0:00 / 1:24

UPDATE 8:20AM (AEST): THE British government has warned that a diplomatic standoff over the WikiLeaks founder could go on for years.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague said his government was obliged under its own laws to extradite the Australian national to Sweden, where he is wanted for questioning over alleged sex crimes.

"No one, least of all the government of Ecuador, should be in any doubt that we are determined to carry out our legal obligation to see Mr Assange extradited to Sweden," Hague told a press conference.

Meanwhile, both Ecuador and Sweden suggested on Friday they were prepared to be patient and wait.

Ecuador's President Rafael Correa said Assange would remain in Quito's embassy as long as Britain refused to give him safe passage.

"The problem is that they aren't going to give him the safe conduct," Correa said in a radio interview, adding that "Mr Assange can stay indefinitely in our embassy".

A protester shows his support for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange outside the Ecuadorian embassy in London.

Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt told his country's TT news agency: "We have no reason to do too much, we're going to wait and see what happens."

About 20 British police were stationed outside the embassy, ready to arrest the 41-year-old Assange if he leaves the premises.

WikiLeaks condemned the police presence as "intimidation tactics".

A handful of supporters of the former computer hacker camped overnight outside the embassy in London's plush Knightsbridge district in a bid to "guard" Assange against any potential attempt to arrest him.

"We'll stay here as long as we have to," 26-year-old protester Baba Gena said.

In this file photo, Julian Assange arrives at the Supreme Court in London. Picture: Kirsty Wigglesworth

UPDATE 7:20AM (AEST):

THE United States says it does not believe in "diplomatic asylum" after Ecuador offered to let WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange stay indefinitely in its embassy in London.

While the United States did not sign or ratify the 1954 convention on diplomatic asylum, it has often used the safety of its embassies to protect activists in authoritarian countries.

Ecuador condemns UK stance on Assange

Watch

Ecuador condemns UK stance on Assange

Ecuador's assembly votes to condemn the UK's threats to raid its London embassy as the Organization of American States calls an emergency m...

0:00 / 1:14

Ecuador has turned to the Organisation of American States, which met on Thursday and Friday in Washington, after deciding to offer asylum to the internet activist who is wanted for questioning in Sweden on sexual assault allegations.

Under a 1954 agreement, the Organisation of American States agreed to allow asylum in diplomatic missions for "persons being sought for political reasons," although not individuals indicted for "common offences".

"The United States is not a party to the 1954 OAS Convention on Diplomatic Asylum and does not recognise the concept of diplomatic asylum as a matter of international law," the State Department said in a statement.

"We believe this is a bilateral issue between Ecuador and the United Kingdom and that the OAS has no role to play in this matter," it said.

Supporters of Assange believe that the 41-year-old Australian is at risk of extradition to the United States after angering authorities by publishing a trove of sensitive diplomatic cables.

A supporter of Julian Assange stands outside the Ecuadorian embassy. Picture: ANDREW COWIE

The United States has denied pressuring Britain to arrest Assange, who has been holed up in Ecuador's embassy since June.

Washington has not commented on potential legal actions but said it has no intention of "persecuting" Assange.

UPDATE 6AM (AEST):

A sign in support of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is held up outside the Ecuadorian Embassy in London. Picture: WILL OLIVER

AUSTRALIAN diplomats believe the US is targeting WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange for possible prosecution.

The Australian embassy in Washington is taking seriously the possibility Assange could eventually be extradited to the US on charges including espionage and conspiracy relating to the release of classified information by WikiLeaks, Fairfax newspapers report.

The embassy has been keeping tabs on a US investigation into WikiLeaks and Assange for more than 18 months and cites media reports about the secret empanelment of a grand jury to pursue the WikiLeaks case, according to declassified cables released under Freedom of Information.

The view expressed in the cables conflicts with Foreign Minister Bob Carr's public statements on the Australian's possible fate.

Fairfax reports the cables also show that the Australian government requested early advice from the US on any decision to indict or seek extradition of Assange.

UPDATE 4:30AM (AEST)

ECUADOR'S president says the fact that he granted asylum to Julian Assange doesn't mean he agrees with everything the WikiLeaks founder says or does.

Rafael Correa says asylum was granted on Thursday because Sweden wouldn't offer assurances that it would not extradite Assange to the United States.

Assange took refuge in Ecuador's London embassy to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he is wanted for questioning for alleged sexual misconduct.

Correa said in a radio interview on Friday that it's possible Assange has committed "an offence" but insists that he deserves due process.

He repeated Ecuador's contention that the Australian could face life in prison or even the death penalty in the United States, which Assange backers believe has secretly indicted him for publishing US secrets.

EARLIER

THE Ecuadorean Embassy is preparing for a long stand off with British authorities as the South American country’s president declares his Australian guest can stay indefinitely.

In an interview early this morning, President Rafael Correa said he didn’t agree with everything the 41-year-old Wikileaks founder had done but he said he could not fathom condemning him to life in prison or the death penalty.

Two months ago today Mr Assange sought political asylum in the small embassy in London after a British court declared he should be extradited to Sweden to face allegations of sexual assault.

Mr Assange and his supporters claim the move was only to then extradite him on to the US where he faces prosecution for the 2010 leaking of thousands of sensitive cables. Asylum was granted last Thursday.

"The problem is that they aren't going to give him the safe conduct," President Correa said, adding "Mr Assange can stay indefinitely in our embassy."

In his first public comments since the decision, President Correa said neither Sweden nor the UK could guarantee Mr Assange wouldn’t be sent to the US.

"I am not in agreement with everything that Julian Assange has done but does that mean he deserves the death penalty, life in prison, to be extradited to a third country. Please! Where is the proportionality between the crime and the punishment? Where is due process?"

"The main reason why Julian Assange was given diplomatic asylum was because his extradition to a third country was not guaranteed, in no way was it done to interrupt the investigations of Swedish justice over an alleged crime. In no way," Mr Correa said.

This morning crates of food, including fresh fruit and vegetables, were being trucked into the embassy building as well as bottles of water. The embassy is not geared for accommodation but have since brought in a bed and rigged up a shower.

Assange 'orders in pizza'

Meanwhile, new details of Mr Assange's living conditions inside the embassy have emerged, with friends saying he sleeps in a converted office, orders pizza deliveries and has dance parties with pals.

The once globe-trotting WikiLeaks founder is now confined to a cramped space. If he goes outside he will be arrested by British police and extradited to Sweden to be questioned about allegations of sexual assault.

The 41-year-old Australian computer expert has spent almost two months inside the embassy of the South American country, which on Thursday granted him asylum.

Mr Assange said he will make a statement today in front of the Ecuadorian embassy in London.

Ecuador lacks any obvious means of getting Assange past the police officers on the doorstep, onto a plane and out of Britain.

The Ecuadorian embassy consists of a ground floor apartment, some 10 rooms in all, inside an imposing red-brick apartment block in London's posh Knightsbridge area, practically next door to the luxury department store Harrods.

The mission has no bedrooms or guest accommodation. People who have visited Assange say he is living in an office that has been outfitted with a bed, access to a phone and a connection to the Internet.

A shower has been installed, and the embassy has a small kitchenette. Mr Assange also has received deliveries of pizza and other take-out food.

"It's not quite the Hilton," said Gavin MacFadyen, a supporter who has met with Mr Assange at the embassy.

A treadmill provides some opportunity for exercise, and a sun lamp helps compensate for the lack of natural light.

Mr Assange's mother, Christine, has said that visiting friends "turn the music on and encourage him to dance with them."

But Mrs Assange has expressed fears for her son's health. She said last month he was facing severe stress after weeks of confinement and more than 18 months fighting legal battles while under strict bail conditions in Britain.

"He is under a lot of stress and it's been long-term stress now for nearly two years and in conditions which are similar to detention," she said.

Mr Smith, who visited Assange this week, said his friend was holding up well.

"He lives in a small room which can hardly be described as comfortable," Smith told the Evening Standard newspaper. "As a person though, he is happiest behind a computer doing his job. He is coping well.

"He was the same Julian he was when he was staying with me. He is not a sentimental person and so does not miss things other people might miss. He is focused on work."

There are few precedents for the situation Assange finds himself in. One of the most famous is the case of Roman Catholic Cardinal Jozsef Mindszenty, who sought refuge in the U.S. Embassy in Budapest in 1956 and remained there for 15 years.

Few think the current stalemate will drag on that long.

Mr Cooper said the most likely outcome, barring a diplomatic agreement between Britain and Ecuador, was that eventually isolation and confinement would drive Assange out of the embassy, even if it meant arrest.

"Ultimately the social incarceration will lead to him coming out," Mr Cooper said. "I don't know when that will happen, but I think he will come out."

Calls to help

The Australian government is facing more calls to help troubled Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, who remains holed up in Ecuador's London embassy where he has been granted asylum.

The Federal Government is so far refusing to get involved, with ministers reiterating when questioned that the asylum decision is a matter for Mr Assange and the governments of Ecuador and the UK.

The Greens believe he should be given more than consular assistance, and a member of Mr Assange's defence team says Canberra should help end the international stand-off that is keeping him inside the embassy.

Like the Australian Government, Opposition Leader Tony Abbott says Mr Assange should be subject to British law like any other citizen.

"Whatever the ordinary law of Britain is, whatever would happen to anyone else in the same circumstances, Julia Assange should get identical treatment to anyone else in a similar position," Mr Abbott told the Nine Network today.

"He should be given all the assistance which the Australian government would give to any Australian in trouble abroad."

Assange: Enemy of the States

However, Greens Senator Scott Ludlam says consular assistance is not enough.

"He's in enormous trouble and he needs the help of his government," the senator said.

Human rights lawyer Geoffrey Robertson QC, who's advising Mr Assange's defence, said Australia should get involved.

"The Ecuadorians have been questioning the Americans, the Swedes and the British, but the obvious country, the country of Mr Assange's nationality, hasn't been involved," he told ABC TV.

"So it may be an opportunity for Australia to get involved ... and see if it can square this circle."

UPDATE 12:30PM (AEST):

A SWEDISH minister has called besieged WikiLeaks' founder Julian Assange a "coward", a "pitiful wretch" and a "scumbag".

Swedish media reports the Minister of Social Affairs Goran Hagglund has fired off a furious Twitter message:

"Sick. A coward who does not dare to have his case tried by the court. If the accusations against him are true, he is a scumbag."

There are no charges against Assange. Sweden insists he is wanted only for questioning in relation to sexual assault allegations.

Ecuador: Odd food, slow internet await Assange

The Twitter outburst was part of an ongoing exchange with Swedish tabloid journalist Niklas Svensson.

Svensson was the journalist who first reported Assange was wanted by Swedish police.

In an interview in the newspaper Expressen yesterday, Minister Hagglund reportedly called Assange a "pitiful wretch".

UPDATE 11:50AM (AEST):

JULIAN Assange may escape Ecuador's London embassy in a "diplomatic bag", which could be a suitcase or a crate, but experts warn the British government may intervene.

The diplomatic bag was traditionally used to transfer confidential briefings and correspondence without interference.

But over time the customary usage of the bag has been to extend the privilege to basically anything that is sent from the home country.

It can take the form of a bag, a pouch, a suitcase, a crate, a container - basically anything.

Diplomacy expert Michael McKinley told news.com.au the prospect of getting Assange to South America in a diplomatic bag couldn't be ruled out.

"If you look at the embassy in London it'd be a bit difficult to imagine a container getting in there," he told news.com.au.

"It'd be difficult but not impossible to conjure up a scenario where a large object is exported from the embassy in the current form."

"It can be intercepted - and on occasions it has been."

Dr McKinley says Britain does recognise diplomatic immunity, but can intervene.

"Britain does recognise it, but what they're now quoting is an act which allows them under certain circumstances, to enter the premises of an embassy," he said.

"They're claiming that could be invoked against Assange.

"It would be extraordinary of Britain to do it, and it's nevertheless threatening to do so."

UPDATE 11:10AM (AEST):

A MEMBER of Julian Assange's defence team says the Australian government should help the WikiLeaks founder escape Ecuador's London embassy.

Some experts have suggested the Australian could be taken from the embassy to the airport in a "diplomatic bag".

Human rights lawyer Geoffrey Robertson QC, who's advising Mr Assange's defence, has a better idea.

"The Ecuadorians have been questioning the Americans, the Swedes and the British but the obvious country, the country of Mr Assange's nationality, hasn't been involved," he told ABC TV.

"So it may be an opportunity for Australia to get involved on behalf of its national and see if it can square this circle." Mr Robertson said well-intentioned people wanted Mr Assange to face the allegations in Sweden as long as there wasn't a risk he'd be transferred to the US.

He said if Australia could obtain an "undertaking" from Sweden that once it had dealt with him he'd be free to return to Australia he was sure Mr Assange would have faith in the Australian courts regarding a subsequent extradition request by the US.

But Canberra is so far refusing to get involved.

Foreign Minister Bob Carr says the asylum decision is a matter for Mr Assange and the governments of Ecuador and the UK.

"Australia's role remains unchanged," Senator Carr said through a spokesman.

The WikiLeaks founder himself took a swipe at Australia after watching the decision being announced via a live link to a news conference from the Ecuadorian capital, Quito.

"It was not Britain or my home country, Australia, that stood up to protect me from persecution but a courageous, independent Latin American nation," Mr Assange said.

The suggestion that Mr Assange could leave the embassy in a bag came about because the Vienna Convention states "the diplomatic bag shall not be opened or detained". But it's only meant for official purposes.

Renowned Spanish rights lawyer Baltasar Garzon, who's helping Mr Assange's defence, has said the Australian will appeal to the International Court of Justice if Britain attempts to block his exit to Ecuador.

UPDATE 8:20AM (AEST):

THE federal government says consular assistance is still available to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange but he hasn't asked for it.

After granting asylum, the Ecuadorian government took a swipe at Australia for the lack of assistance offered to Mr Assange.

"Ecuador has noted that Mr Assange is without the due protection and help that he should receive from any state of which he is a citizen," it said in a statement.

The Punch: Casualties of Assange's self-interest

However, Environment Minister Tony Burke said consular assistance would still be available to Mr Assange if he asked for it.

"Julian Assange is an Australian citizen ... if he wants consular support, it's offered, it's available," Mr Burke told the Seven Network on Friday.

"The offer of consular assistance is still there."

Mr Burke said Mr Assange had not contacted Australian diplomatic officials.

The Australian government had not yet had any contact with Ecuadorian officials about the diplomatic stand-off, he said.

"We've put some calls in this morning but we haven't been able to confirm that any contact has been made," Mr Burke said.

UPDATE 8:15AM (AEST):

WIKILEAKS says its founder Julian Assange will make a statement on Sunday in front of the Ecuadorian embassy in London.

Ecuador announced overnight it had decided to grant asylum to Mr Assange, who has been holed up at the embassy for more than eight weeks.

Britain has said the granting of diplomatic asylum does not change its "obligation" to extradite Mr Assange to Sweden where he is wanted for questioning over alleged sex crimes.

WikiLeaks has tweeted: "Julian Assange will give a live statement in front of the Ecuadorian embassy, Sunday 2pm. "Sunday the 19th is two months exactly since Assange entered the embassy. It will be his first public appearance since March."

A member of Mr Assange's defence team has said the Australian will appeal to the International Court of Justice if Britain attempt to blocks his exit to Ecuador.

UPDATE: 7:45AM (AEST):

INTERPOL has confirmed it still considers WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange an "international wanted person", despite a decision by authorities in Ecuador to grant him asylum.

"Interpol confirms that its Red Notice, or international wanted persons alert, issued for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange at Sweden's request in November 2010 remains valid," the Lyon-based international law enforcement agency said in a statement on Friday.

"Confirmation that Mr Assange's Red Notice status remains in force follows Thursday's decision by authorities in Ecuador to grant asylum to Mr Assange, two months after he took refuge in its London embassy."

Interpol does not have the power to issue international arrest warrants but can request member countries make arrests based on foreign warrants.

UPDATE: 6:10AM (AEST):

Britain has declared it will never allow Julian Assange to have safe passage to South America and has vowed to ensure he gets to Sweden to face allegations of serious sexual assaults.

This morning, UK Foreign Secretary William Hague gave a lengthy statement condemning the action of Ecuador in granting the 41-year-old Australian political asylum.

Assange has been holed up inside the Ecuadorian Embassy in central London for almost two months claiming asylum and yesterday Ecuador's Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino granted him that claim and asked Britain to allow him to leave the building and fly to the capital Quito.

Mr Hague said Assange has had his day in court and several courts had ruled he must go to Sweden and the British government was committed to upholding its extradition obligations.

"It is important to understand that this is not about Mr Assange's activities at Wikileaks or the attitude of the United States of America," he said.

"He is wanted in Sweden to answer allegations of serious sexual offences.

"We will not allow Mr Assange safe passage out of the UK, nor is there any legal basis for us to do so. The UK does not accept the principle of diplomatic asylum. It is far from a universally accepted concept".

Mr Hague said his government fully intended to carry out its duty but hoped a diplomatic solution could still be reached and he dismissed Ecuadorian claims that they had been threatened with an "attack" on their embassy.

"There is no threat here to storm an embassy. We are talking about an Act of Parliament in this country which stresses that it must be used in full conformity with international law," he said.

Assange had been watching Mr Patinos words live from Quito on the BBC in a backroom of the embassy but emerged to tell Ecuadorian diplomatic staff last night it was a "significant victory" and he warned them there would be more stressful days ahead. He also thanked his supporters.

UPDATE: 5AM (AEST):

BRITAIN has refused to grant WikiLeaks' founder Julian Assange free passage out of London after Ecuador accepted his plea for asylum last night.

While the Brisbane-born 41-year-old at the heart of the global drama expressed his gratitude for Ecuador's protection, his future remains unclear.

"We are disappointed by the statement by Ecuador's foreign minister that Ecuador has offered political asylum to Julian Assange," said British Foreign Secretary William Hague.

"Under our law ... British authorities are under a binding obligation to extradite him to Sweden," he added, committing to uphold the ruling of British courts, which have deemed Mr Assange should face questioning in Stockholm for allegations of sexual assault.

If extradited to Sweden Mr Assange says he will be sent to the US, where he is wanted for the secret-leaking actions of his website.

It is on this fear of persecution that Ecuadorian Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino offered Mr Assange political asylum.

"It is not impossible that he would be treated in a cruel manner, condemned to life in prison, or even the death penalty," Mr Patino told journalists in the Ecuadorian capital Quito.

"Ecuador is convinced that his procedural rights have been violated."

The US government insisted it had no intention of "persecuting" Mr Assange.

"I am not going to get into all of the legal ins and outs about what may or may not have been in his future before he chose to take refuge in the Ecuadorian mission," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters.

Following Mr Patino's decision on Thursday the Ecuadorian government took a swipe at Australia for the lack of assistance offered to Mr Assange.

"Ecuador has noted that Mr Assange is without the due protection and help that he should receive from any state of which he is a citizen," it said in a statement.

EARLIER

HE HAS won asylum in Ecuador, but Julian Assange is no closer to getting there.

The dramatic decision by the Latin American nation to identify the WikiLeaks founder as a political refugee is a symbolic boost for the embattled ex-hacker, but legal experts say that does little to help him avoid extradition to Sweden - and does much to drag Britain and Ecuador into a contentious international faceoff.

"We're at something of an impasse," lawyer Rebecca Niblock said shortly after the news broke. "It's not a question of law anymore. It's a question of politics and diplomacy."

The silver-haired Australian shot to international prominence in 2010 after he began publishing a huge trove of American diplomatic and military secrets - including a quarter million US embassy cables that shed a harsh light on the backroom dealings of US diplomats. Amid the ferment, two Swedish women accused him of sexual assault; Mr Assange has been fighting extradition to Sweden ever since.

The convoluted saga took its latest twist last night, when Ecuadorean Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino announced that he had granted political asylum to Mr Assange, who had been holed up at the small, coastal nation's embassy since June 19. He said Ecuador was taking action because Mr Assange faces a serious threat of unjust prosecution at the hands of US officials.

Addressing staff at the Ecuadoran embassy, Mr Assange said: "It is a significant victory for myself, and my people. Things will probably get more stressful now."

He later added in a statement: "While today is a historic victory, our struggles have just begun. The unprecedented US investigation against WikiLeaks must be stopped."

Mr Patino said there were "serious indications" that the United States could threaten Mr Assange's "security, integrity and even his life", a nod to the fears expressed by Mr Assange and others that the Swedish sex case is merely the opening gambit in a Washington-orchestrated plot to make him stand trial in the United States - something disputed by both by Swedish authorities and the women involved.

He said he'd tried to get guarantees from the Americans, the British, and the Swedes that Mr Assange would not be extradited to the United States, but that all three had rebuffed him. He said it was clear that if Mr Assange were extradited to the US "he would not have a fair trial, could be judged by special or military courts and it's not implausible that cruel and degrading treatment could be applied, that he could be condemned to life in prison or the death penalty".

Mr Patino's decision was warmly received by cheering pro-Assange demonstrators gathered outside the Edwardian-era embassy building, just down the street from the famous Harrods department store.

"It must have been a tough decision for Ecuador because they had pressure," said Alejandra Cazas, an 18-year-old British-Bolivian citizen outside the embassy. "Now they have to watch out that he arrives to Ecuador safely."

But British Foreign Secretary William Hague said Britain will not allow Mr Assange safe passage out of the country.

"There is no legal basis for us to do so," he said.

He said Mr Assange was wanted in Sweden to answer allegations of "serious sexual offenses" and that the extradition had nothing to do with the work of WikiLeaks or with the United States.

Mr Assange's lawyer, Spanish rights advocate, Baltasar Garzon said he will appeal to the International Court of Justice if Britain blocks his exit to Ecuador

Mr Garzon, who is helping Mr Assange's defence, told Spanish daily El Pais that Britain had a legal obligation to allow his client to leave the country once Ecuador granted him diplomatic asylum.

"What the United Kingdom must do is apply the diplomatic obligations of the Refugee Convention and let him leave, giving him safe conduct," the former judge said.

"Otherwise, we will go to the International Court of Justice."

In Canberra, federal Attorney-General Nicola Roxon said Australia would not intervene in the extradition debate, which is a matter between the UK and Ecuador.

How Mr Assange can get to Ecuador despite these obstacles is anyone's guess. Legal experts debated whether Mr Assange could get safe passage in a diplomatic car, escape in an oversized diplomatic bag, or slip out when police relaxed their guard.

Some said he had little choice but to stay put - potentially for years on end.

Ms Niblock, who practices at London law firm Kingsley Napley, said that staying in the embassy long-term "seems to be one of the few feasible options I can think of".

The diplomatic repercussions continued with an unlikely confrontation between Sweden and Ecuador.

In a mark of its anger over the asylum ruling, the Swedish Foreign Ministry said it had summoned Ecuador's ambassador to complain about the decision. The country's foreign minister, Carl Bildt, said in a message posted to Twitter that "our firm legal and constitutional system guarantees the rights of each and every one. We firmly reject any accusations to the contrary."

Ecuador's President Rafael Correa did seem to be any mood for compromise either, posting a tweet which read: "No one is going to frighten us."

The issue already seems to have frayed diplomatic ties between the UK and Ecuador. Britain's previous ambassador to Ecuador, Linda Cross, departed earlier this year and had been due to be replaced this month by Patrick Mullee. But his arrival has been delayed.

They could fray much further if Britain's decides to enforce a little-known 1987 law that gives the UK the right to enter the embassy to arrest Mr Assange - a development most legal experts called unlikely and potentially dangerous.

The inviolability of embassies "is a fundamental premise of international law", said Ms Niblock.

If Britain carried through with the move, "it would threaten their embassy premises around the world".

Meanwhile, Mr Assange's mother has welcomed the news of his asylum approval, but remains concerned about her son's security in London.

Having watched the asylum ruling on television at her Brisbane home, Christine Assange remained calm as the next page was turned in her son's lengthy legal battle.

"I don't think anybody in the international sphere can say that this was not a well-considered decision," Ms Assange said.

"I'm just extremely impressed by Ecuador's president and his ministers who are educated, ethical and philosophical people ... who truly and honestly investigated the claims made by my son."

original: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/world/ecuador-to-announce-assange-asylum-britain-threat-to-raid-embassy/story-fnd134gw-1226451503293

Texas teacher Brittni Nicole Colleps guilty of sex with five students

2012-08-17T18:29:00.003-07:00

Former teacher Brittni Colleps has been found guilty of an inappropriate relationship after having group sex with five 18-year-old students in Texas. Source: Fox News

A FORMER Texas high school teacher has been convicted after having sex with five 18-year-old students at her home.

It took the jury less than an hour to conclude that Brittni Nicole Colleps, 28, of Arlington, was guilty of 16 counts of having an inappropriate relationship between a student and teacher.

She has been sentenced to five years in prison.

The second-degree felony is punishable by two to 20 years in prison per count.

Jury sees video of teacher allegedly having sex with 4 students

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Jury sees video of teacher allegedly having sex with 4 stud...

A Fort Worth high school teacher has allegedly had sex with four teenage students.

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The former Kennedale High School English teacher had sex with the students at her home over two months in 2011, authorities said.

Colleps is married and has three children. She turned herself in after a cellphone video of one encounter that involved multiple students emerged. That video was shown a trial.

Three former students who testified Thursday said that they did not consider themselves victims and did not want to see their former English teacher prosecuted.

The three were football and track athletes.

Arlington police Detective Jason Houston testified that charges were filed because "18 or not, it's a crime" for a teacher to have sex with her students.

Two former students told jurors their relationships with Colleps began with the exchange of text messages that quickly turned sexual.

A 19-year-old testified that he had gone to Colleps' home twice with friends and they all engaged in sexual conduct.

A former student who is now 20 testified that he engaged in group sex and recorded his last encounter on a cellphone. He said initially the students spoke of the importance of keeping their activities quiet because they didn't want their teacher to get in trouble.

The 20-year-old also said when school officials called him into the office to question him in May 2011, he denied the trysts at first because "I was trying to save her."

Colleps' husband was serving in the military overseas at the time of the encounters. Christopher Colleps said Friday that he is mad at his wife, but stands by her "because 'til death do us part means 'til death do us part."

Putting her in jail would punish him and their children for something they had no control over, he said.

Kennedale is a town of about 7,300 residents near Arlington, eight miles southeast of Fort Worth. The high school has about 3,200 students.

original: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/world/teacher-guilty-of-sex-with-five-students/story-fnd134gw-1226453035174

Mobile phone captures New York Police shoot dead a man who had flashed on Seventh Avenue

2012-08-11T19:18:00.000-07:00

POLICE EXAMINE EVIDENCE AFTER SHOOTING DEAD A KNIFE-WIELDING DERANGED MAN WHO HAD FLASHED PEOPLE ON SEVENTH AVENUE, NEW YORK CITY. PICTURE: MYFOXNY SUPPLIED

POLICE officers gunned down a backwards walking knife-wielding man, who had flashed at people, in broad daylight near Times Square, New York.

The firing of shots and the man's deranged behaviour sent terrified tourists running to safety.

The 30-year-old man was was shot several times. He was taken to Bellevue Hospital, New York City, while having a heart attack and later died.

The unidentified man was fatally shot on Seventh Ave. after ignoring orders to drop his weapon - and then moving menacingly toward police, said NYPD Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne.

A witness said the suspect, who was walking backward for blocks, appeared impervious to police pepper spray and refused to surrender his 10-inch butcher knife.

"He looked like he was crazy,” Jobby Nogueras, 17, who joined a crowd of onlookers watching the strange showdown, told the Daily News.

"They sprayed him, and he kept going backwards."

Another witness, who said the man was African American, told The New York Post: "He came out of the subway and flashed two people. He tried to flash a cop, but then took off down Seventh Avenue. They were chasing him down. They cornered him between 37th and 38th and he was still waving his knife."

About 12 police officers swarmed the scene, he said.

Shocked tourists and New Yorkers who witnessed the scene Tweeted in shock.

“Waiting for the bus on 7th Ave, a wall of NYPD walking, WITH GUNS, chasing down a madman with knife,” a witness who went by the handle Sim Marshall tweeted. "1 block later. He was shot."

“I've been in NYC for 10 minutes and saw a man shot on 7th ave! Omg...." tweeted one.

Another witness, tweeting under the handle “NewYorkRangersFan” described the scene as a “nut running down 7th ave a a huge knife and cops chasing him [with] guns drawn,” and said police "shot him 5 times in the stomach."

orignal: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/mobile-phone-captures-new-york-police-shoot-dead-a-man-who-had-flashed-on-seventh-avenue/story-e6frf7jo-1226448547922

Woman born without a thumb and finger grows them back as part of a phantom limb after hand amputated

2012-08-11T19:13:00.003-07:00

A woman born without a finger or thumb on her right hand "grow" them back as part of a phantom limb, scientists have revealed. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa) Source: AP

A WOMAN born missing a right hand finger and a thumb has "grew" them back as part of a phantom limb after her hand was amputated.

University of California neuroscientists in San Diego said the experience of the woman - known as RN - showed the brain has its own internal template of how the body should look, regardless of what they actually look like .

The woman was born with only three fingers on her right hand and had the hand amputated after a car accident when she was aged 18. She later began to feel that her missing limb was still present and developed a "phantom" hand.

"But here's the interesting thing," Paul McGeoch at the University of California, San Diego, told New Scientist. "Her phantom hand didn't have three digits, it had five."

However RN's phantom thumb and index finger were less than half the usual length and were painful.

Dr McGeoch and Professor V.S Ramachandran used a mirror box which reflected the woman's left hand to make it look like she had a pair of limbs.

After two weeks of training RN was able to extend the short fingers on her phantom limb, which relieved her pain.

McGeoch said the study indicates that there is a hardwired representation in the brain of what the body should look like, regardless of how it actually appears in real life. It showed more about the balance between the external and innate representations of a limb, he said.

"The presence of the deformed hand was suppressing the brain's innate representation of her fingers which is why they appeared shorter, but after the hand was removed and the inhibition taken away, the innate representation kicks in again."

Matthew Longo at Birkbeck, University of London, told Mail on Sunday that the case study. "Contributes to a growing literature suggesting that our conscious experience of our body is, at least in part, dependent on the intrinsic organisation of the brain, rather than a result of experience."

original: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/world/woman-born-without-a-thumb-and-finger-grows-them-back-as-part-of-a-phantom-limb-after-hand-amputated/story-fnd134gw-1226448484876

Dust cloud from Curiosity rover's crashed rocket pack From:

2012-08-10T20:46:00.000-07:00

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POSTCARDS FROM MARS

Curiosity sends back more pictures from Mars, including what appears to be its rocket-powered backpack crash-landing in the distance. Debor...

0:00 / 1:03

SPACE enthusiasts have been abuzz for days over whether the Mars rover Curiosity captured an extraterrestrial crash. Today, NASA declared the mystery solved.

Was it dirt on the camera lens or a spinning dust devil? It turned out Curiosity spotted the aftermath of its rocket-powered backpack crash-landing in the distance.

It "was an amazing coincidence that we were able to catch this impact," said engineer Steve Sell of the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which manages the $US2.5 billion mission.

The nuclear-powered rover landed in Gale Crater near the equator on Sunday night to study whether environmental conditions could have favoured microbes. Its ultimate target is a mountain looming from the crater floor where mineral signatures of water have been spied.

These before-and-after images provided by NASA show a plume of dust, left, that disappeared. NASA thinks a camera aboard Curiosity caught the rocket stage crash-landing in the distance. Picture: NASA

Curiosity performed a novel, complex landing routine. In the final seconds, the rocket stage hovered as cables delicately lowered the rover to the ground. After landing, it cut the cords and the rocket stage flew out of the way, crashing 610m from the landing site.

Speeding at 161km/h, the high-speed impact kicked up a plume of dust - which showed up in Curiosity's field of view.

Curiosity was in the right place at the right time and facing the right direction, Sell said.

Since the feat, Curiosity has returned a flood of pictures including an all-round, colour view and a low-resolution video featuring the last minutes of its descent.

Over the weekend, it will get a software update, a process that will take four days. During the hiatus, stored data will continue to be downloaded.

An artists impression of the moment that a rocket-pack detached NASA's Curiosity onto the Martian surface. Picture: NASA

It will be weeks before Curiosity can take its first drive, zap at boulders or dig up soil in search of the chemical building blocks of life. The prime mission lasts two years.

A preliminary reconstruction of the "seven minutes of terror" plunge through the Martian atmosphere revealed everything went as planned. Curiosity ended up 2.4km downrange from the bull's-eye target, probably because of tail winds and a late steering turn.

"We're still happy where we landed," said Gavin Mendeck of the NASA Johnson Space Center.

original: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/dust-cloud-from-curiosity-rovers-crashed-rocket-pack/story-e6frf7jo-1226448097751

Winning ticket in record $222 million European lottery is in United Kingdom

2012-08-10T20:44:00.000-07:00

Millions of people from nine European countries entered the 190 million euro jackpot. Picture: PHILIPPE HUGUEN Source: AFP

SOMEWHERE in the United Kingdom today, someone is $222 million richer. If they find their lotto ticket.

The British ticket-holder is entitled to a record 190 million euros ($A222.35 million) in the Euro Millions lottery, the Francaise des Jeuxannounced today.

It beats a 185-million-euro jackpot scooped by a Scottish couple in July last year who then became Europe's biggest ever lottery winners.

The previous British record jackpot holder, who won 129 million euros in October 2010, chose to remain anonymous.

The Euro Millions lottery, launched in 2004, is now played by nine countries across western Europe: Austria, Belgium, Britain, France, Ireland, Luxembourg, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland.

Chimp attack victim wants $150M

2012-08-10T20:42:00.004-07:00

Charla Nash, left, talks with attorney Charles J. Willinger, Jr., before a court hearing. Picture: Jessica Hill Source: AP

Charla Nash, who was mauled in a 2009 chimpanzee attack, is seeking $150 million in damages. Picture: Jessica Hill Source: AP

A US state is fighting a $150 million claim by a woman who was attacked by a pet chimpanzee, forcing her to undergo a face transplant.

But the victim, who has amassed millions of dollars in medical and other bills, said she's holding out hope.

While the 10-year-old chimpanzee Travis that attacked her was a privately owned pet on private property, Charla Nash is arguing for permission to sue Connecticut's Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, which she holds responsible for not seizing the animal despite a state biologist's warning it was dangerous.

"I hope and pray that the commissioner will give me my day in court," Ms Nash told reporters following the hearing. "And I also pray ... this never happens to anyone else again. It is not nice."

Ms Nash, 57, was attacked in February 2009 by a friend's 200-pound pet chimpanzee after its owner asked Ms Nash to help lure it back into her house in Stamford, Connecticut.

Ms Nash was blinded in the attack. She underwent a face and double hand transplant in 2011, but the hands failed to thrive because of complications and were removed.The animal, named Travis, went berserk and ripped off Ms Nash's nose, lips, eyelids and hands before being shot to death by police.

She said yesterday she still hopes to get a double hand transplant.

Chimpanzee attack victim Charla Nash after the attack, left, and post-face transplant surgery, right. Picture: Brigham and Womens Hospital, Lightchaser Photography Source: AP

Charles Willinger, Ms Nash's attorney, said his client lives in a nursing home outside Boston "in total darkness," ''without eyes, without hands."

He said she is "permanently scarred, emotionally, physically" and will never be able to see her daughter again or hold her hand.

He said Ms Nash "endures loneliness, despair and suffering beyond anyone's comprehension in this room," and urged Mr Vance to be the "conscience of this state" when deciding whether to allow her to sue.

Ms Nash described her feelings of loneliness to reporters.

"I miss home," said Ms Nash, who wore sunglasses and a turquoise top, and was accompanied by her brother Steve. "You know, when you're in a facility, you're alone. It's hard. But I'm thankful that I'm still here."

Charla Nash next to a cage containing the chimpanzee Travis before the attack. Source: Supplied

Assistant Attorney General Maite Barainca told Claims Commissioner J. Paul Vance Jr. that Ms Nash deserves sympathy for her plight and admiration for the courage she has shown in dealing with her situation, but argued that the state should not be held liable for actions of the privately owned animal.

"There is no claim that the state directly caused Ms Nash's injuries. The state did not own or possess the chimp that attacked her" and played no role in letting the chimp loose that day in 2009 on private property, said Mr Barainca.

Mr Willinger, representing Ms Nash, said millions of dollars in bills are mounting.

"She's on I think 17 different medications. She needs operations. She needs therapy. One day she's going to need special accommodations in her home. She's going to need 24-hour care," he said, adding how no one knows how long Ms Nash's face transplant will last. "There are tremendous, significant bills and it's a situation of really quality of life."

Travis, a 10-year-old chimpanzee, in his playroom. Source: Supplied

Commissioner Vance is expected to issue a decision on the state's motion to dismiss the case within 30 days. If he rules in favour of the state, Ms Nash cannot proceed with a hearing on the merits of her claim. She could, however, appeal to the General Assembly and ask state legislators to overrule the commissioner's decision.

If, however, Comissioner Vance denies the state's motion to dismiss, a trial-like hearing will be held before him. Mr Vance would then have to decide whether to allow Ms Nash to sue the DEEP in superior court.

Mr Willinger contends that Travis the chimp had been on the state agency's radar since 2003, when it escaped from its owner and ran loose in Stamford. It was the only chimpanzee in the state and was commonly referred to as "the gorilla in Stamford."

State officials have contended they did not have the authority to seize the animal.

Chimp attacks

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Chimp attacks

Children are scared senseless at the zoo when a frustrated chimpanzee loses its temper

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Several months before the attack, a state biologist warned state officials in a memo that the chimpanzee could seriously hurt someone if it felt threatened, saying "it is an accident waiting to happen."

In October 2008, the biologist warned that the chimpanzee had reached adult maturity and "is very large and tremendously strong." The biologist said, "I am concerned that if he feels threatened or if someone enters his territory, he could seriously hurt someone."

Woman mauled by chimp gets face transplant

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Woman mauled by chimp gets face transplant

A Connecticut woman mauled by a chimpanzee has received a full face transplant, the third surgery of its kind in the U.S. Deborah Lutterbec...

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MaryAnn Sahoury sues over breast-feeding porn

2012-08-10T20:40:00.001-07:00

New mum MaryAnn Sahoury is suing a production company after a breastfeeding instructional video she helped make was turned into porn and posted online. Source: AP

A US woman is suing after the breast-feeding instructional video she made with her month-old daughter was combined with pornographic footage and posted online.

"It was terrifying," said MaryAnn Sahoury, who said she had seen an opportunity to help women who had trouble getting their babies to nurse.

Last week, a federal judge in New Jersey ruled that a lawsuit Sahoury filed against Meredith Corp., a media and marketing company that shot and produced the video for Parents TV, could proceed.

The lawsuit claims Ms Sahoury was verbally assured her full name would not be used in the video; instead, it displayed Ms Sahoury's full name on screen, the suit said.

Meredith Corp claims Ms Sahoury signed a release on behalf of herself and her daughter allowing the company to use their "image, voice and name."

"While Meredith is not responsible for this," the company said in a statement, "we deeply regret that this has occurred to Ms Sahoury and her family."

The following month, the consultant asked Ms Sahoury if she wanted to appear in an instructional video to talk about her experiences and demonstrate nursing techniques.When her daughter was born in December 2009, Ms Sahoury had trouble nursing and used a lactation consultant.

"I didn't get paid to do this. I didn't want to be some sort of celebrity," said Ms Sahoury, 35. "I did this to help other moms."

In July 2010, Ms Sahoury - who had not yet seen the video - Googled herself. She found numerous links to pornographic sites and videos containing her name. She clicked on one and saw the video edited to include a woman with "similar features and stature" performing sex acts.

Ms Sahoury then Googled her infant daughter's name, and the search returned pornographic links.

The lawsuit claims the video was posted on YouTube, when Ms Sahoury was told it would only appear on Parents TV and cable. The video has since been removed from all Meredith properties, including Parents TV, and YouTube, the company said.

In a statement, Meredith said it is "appalled" that the video was misused and it has hired lawyers to file take-down demands and internet specialists to clear online caches.

original: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/world/mum-sues-over-breast-feeding/story-fnd134gw-1226447948939

Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom launches case 'facts' web page

2012-08-09T03:16:00.003-07:00

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Kim Dotcom raid

Footage from a police helicopter of the allegedly illegal raid on Kim Dotcom's New Zealand mansion.

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Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom in court in Auckland last week. Photo: AFP Source: AFPraid

PIRACY-accused multi-millionaire Kim Dotcom has gone on the offensive against the United States, launching a new web page to share information about his case.

Dotcom and three other men who worked for his Megaupload file-sharing website, Mathias Ortmann, Finn Batato and Bram Van der Kolk, face copyright, racketeering and money laundering charges in the United States.

The four are on bail in New Zealand awaiting an extradition hearing set down for March next year.

Dotcom has laid out his side of the court case on his website, www.kim.com, on a page titled "10 Facts About the Megaupload Scandal".

He says the only party found to have broken the law so far is the New Zealand police, after a High Court judge ruled the search warrant used to confiscate hard drives and other material from Dotcom was illegal.

His website, similar in appearance to one that might be created to support the release of a new Hollywood movie, features the taglines: "The war for the Internet has begun", "Hollywood is in control of politics" and "The government is killing innovation".

The hearing follows on from a ruling in late June that the search warrants used to carry out the raid were invalid.Dotcom has taken the witness stand in the High Court at Auckland this week at a hearing into the January police raid on his Coatesville mansion which resulted in his arrest.

original: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/world/megaupload-founder-kim-dotcom-launches-case-facts-web-page/story-fnd134gw-1226446468026

Research reveals the motivation behind our love of horror

2012-08-09T03:14:00.002-07:00

A zombie from the TV series 'The Walking Dead'. Combining our fear of being eaten with the fear of contageous disease in corpses gives the undead a double-barrelled fear blast. Source: Supplied

IT'S terrifying. It's horrible. It's unavoidable. A new study reveals our love of horror is deeply burnt into our DNA.

Terror. Disgust. Fear. It seems odd that we would deliberately place ourselves in a theatre, knowing full well we're about to be shocked to the core.

But a research paper by a PhD student in Denmark shows we may have an ingrained urge to learn how to adapt to stressful situations.

This motivation, buried deep within our survival instincts, emerges in force at the prospect of a new, fearful situation, Mathias Clasen of Aarhus University reports.

Thus the appeal of horror movies, books, comics and theatre - even though we're unlikely to run into a lion or human carcass on the way to the supermarket

"When our ancestors lived as hunter-gatherers in the East African savannah, it was important that they were prepared for possible attacks by predators and vermin," Clasen said.

"They had to train their reactions to stressful situations, and the desire to do so became stored in their DNAwhich we still carry today. When we watch a horror movie, we're satisfying that desire. We're training our danger preparedness."

The chestburster scene from 'Alien'. We have an ingrained desire to learn how to adapt to stressful situations, motivating our love of horror in all its forms.

Clasen takes his idea further, examining the specific fascination we have with zombies.

Our hunter-gatherer ancestors learnt early on to fear rotting corpses due to their association with disease, he said. Combine this with the basic fear of being eaten, and you have a double-barrelled fear whammy.

"It's actually just like other mammals young, who fight for fun because it makes evolutionary sense later on in life when they will need to fight to the death ... We use fiction as an 'emotional simulator' to broaden our horizons," he said. "Horror fiction exercises our reactions to what's terrible and frightening."

Clasen analysed numerous horror movies and books to extract the essence of terror common to them all. But, beyond teeth, creepy crawlies and decay, he identified many cultural, temporary fears.

Not everything is based on biological impulses, it would seem.

"Of course there is also a cultural aspect to our understanding of horror. It is, for example, necessary to understand the language in whichDracula is written. And a film like The Exorcist was made at a special time when some specific problems were debated," he says.

The queen vampire feeds in the TV series 'True Blood'. Sharp teeth and the fear of life among the dead (disease) are behind our morbid fascination with vampires.

original: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/world/research-reveals-the-motivation-behind-our-love-of-horror/story-fnd134gw-1226446526194

Video captures plane crash from inside cockpit

2012-08-09T03:11:00.001-07:00

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Truly amazing plane crash

A small group of hikers flying out of the woods crash their plane into trees and survive manage capture it all on camera

0:00 / 1:57

After clipping trees, the plane flips and crashes into the woods. All onboard survived with minor injuries. Picture: YouTube

IT'S every flier's nightmare.

You're in a light plane and your filming the scenery when it all goes horribly - disastrously - wrong.

The plane loses altitude, clips some trees and crashes.

This is just what happened to a group of hikers in Idaho last month.

But when their single-engine aircraft went down they kept their cameras rolling.

The result is a dramatic sequence that shows the view of the crash from inside the plane.

All smiles on take-off. Picture: YouTube Source: No Source

Incredibly, everyone onboard escaped with relatively minor injuries. The pilot was worst off, needing treatment for cuts.

The video was posted on YouTube earlier this week.

One of the air crash survivors wrote: "After flying up into the mountains for a hike in the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness we were planning on flying to a small mountain town for dinner.

Moments from disaster, the plane loses altitude. Picture: YouTube Source: No Source

"Due to warming temperatures we had a hard time gaining altitude. After taking off we hit an air pocket that made us rapidly lose altitude, pushing us down into the trees.

"The cameras were left on for a couple of hours during the aftermath. Thank you to all the many individuals who eventually came to our aid and took the time and effort to help in any way they could."

After rapidly losing altitude, the plane has just clipped a tree and is about to hit the ground. . Picture: YouTube Source: No Source

After clipping trees, the plane flips and crashes into the woods. All onboard survived with minor injuries. Picture: YouTube Source: No Source

Stunned by the crash, one of the hikers left his camera running. Picture: YouTube Source: No Source

The crumpled remains of the plane. All onboard survived the ordeal. Picture: YouTube Source: No Source

original:http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/world/video-captures-plane-crash-from-inside-cockpit/story-fnd134gw-1226446635608

Miami cannibal attack victim Ronald Poppo recalls attack by naked man who chewed off most of his face From:

2012-08-09T03:08:00.002-07:00

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CANNIBAL VICTIM SPEAKS

Ronald Poppo talks about the day a naked North Miami man attacked him and chewed most of his face off.

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RONALD POPPO, LEFT, WAS THE VICTIM OF A HORRIFIC CANNIBAL ATTACK AT THE HANDS OF RUDY EUGENE IN MIAMI. PICTURE: MIAMI-DADE POLICE DEPT SUPPLIED

THE homeless man who had most of his face chewed off has spoken for the first time about the horrific cannibal attack.

Ronald Poppo, 65, has undergone skin grafts to repair the mutilations left when the crazed man chewed into his face beside a Miami freeway on May 26.

“He just ripped me to ribbons," the 65-year-old Poppo told police in an interview obtained by CBS Miami.

"He chewed up my face. He plucked out my eyes ... And basically that's all there is to say about it."

Poppo was left blind, missing his nose and covered in a patchwork of mangled flesh.

Homeless in Miami for decades, he was lazing on the MacArthur Causeway's Downtown exit ramp when attacked by 31-year-old Rudy Eugene, who had stripped off his clothes as he walked over the causeway after spending the Saturday morning on Miami Beach.

Poppo said Eugene, whom he did not recall having ever met before, approached him on the sidewalk and was "chummy" before he "snapped," strangling him in "wrestling holds" and picking at Poppo's eyes.

“For a very short amount of time I thought he was a good guy,” Poppo said in the interview, which was conducted on July 19.

"But he just went and turned berserk. He apparently didn’t have a good day at the beach and he – he was coming back. And I guess he took it out - took it out on me - or something. I don’t know.”

The gruesome 18-minute attack, which was captured on surveillance video, ended when a Miami police officer shot and killed Eugene as he ripped at Poppo's face.

What can provoke an attack of that type?" Poppo said. "I certainly didn't curse at the guy, or say anything mean or nasty to him."

Poppo thought Eugene was on drugs - a toxicology report revealed only marijuana in his body:

"He was talking kind of funny talk for a while too ...That I was gonna die. And he was gonna die. He must have been souped up on something. He - he had some kind [of] desperate preoccupation of that type."

Poppo said Eugene told him he didn't enjoy his morning on Miami Beach because "he said he wasn’t scoring there, or something. He went to the Beach to score, or something. He is in ... kind of...flustered mode about it."

The Miami Herald reported that Poppo has reconnected with his sister Annette, who told CBS Miami in May that her family had assumed he was dead.

“I asked [the social worker] if he wants to talk to me, and she said, 'He talks about you all the time.' I said, '‘Really?’'" Antoinette Poppo told the Herald.

"He asked me how the family was. He wants to know if I’m ever going to move to Florida. He said he’d like to see me. I would love to see him, but I have Parkinson’s."

A fund set up to assist Poppo through the hospital had raised $110,700 through mid-July.

"I thank the Miami Police Department for saving my life," Poppo said before ending the interview; "That’s about the best I could sum it up as. If they didn’t get there in a nick of time, I would've definitely been in worse shape. Possibly I’d be DOA."

original: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/true-crime-scene/miami-cannibal-attack-victim-ronald-poppo-recalls-attack-by-naked-man-who-chewed-off-most-of-his-face/story-fnat7jnn-1226446854054

Royals take gold in having a good time

2012-08-08T04:56:00.000-07:00

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Royals go for gold

Swept up in the moment ... Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, watches a swimming final.

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It's a rum old gig when just putting on clothes counts as your job because you are "showcasing a homegrown designer". This observation was made by the Washington Post as the Duchess of Cambridge appeared at the opening night ceremony in a custom-made Christopher Kane dress.

It was a delightful, pale, sheeny blue, such as you might paint your bathroom if you were a hotel. It marked the last time in a while that we would see her in regular clothes; since the Olympics properly started, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (plus Harry) have been Team Their Royal Highnessishness GB.

Has any royal known so much pleasure, unfettered by duty? Not since Wallis Simpson.

They have been polo-shirted and proud; the princes have been wearing the same top for 11 days straight. Those airtex bad boys could probably do the race walk on their own (the princes have many, many versions of the shirts, and are not wearing the same shirt repeatedly. It was just an elaborate way of pointing out how supportive they've been, not just to the team but to Stella McCartney, who - with her father Paul - is the second royal family of Team GB).

Velodrome victory for Team GB ... Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge and Prince William celebrate a gold medal ride by Chris Hoy in the track cycling. Photo: Getty

Their press secretary, Miguel Head, said: "You should be aware - as you might already - that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry are official Team GB Olympic and Paralympics ambassadors." You can say that again.

We didn't need anybody blueblooded to tell the world that the Olympics was on, and I dare to hope that we didn't need to remind anybody that it was in London. But if we needed the message got across that it was really fun, then we knocked on the right door.

Head revealed: "They have attended a number of events jointly and a number of events on their own. They were more interested in covering as much ground as possible between them across the very successful GB team than they were in attending events together."

Whichever way you cut that, it is a load of sport. The duchess cleared her diary and William took a week off work (he is now back in Anglesey on search and rescue duty). Harry "cleared" his "diary" also.

They were proficient at the official stuff already, as has been extensively pointed out since the wedding: smiling as the torch arrived, asking the right questions of volunteers and soldiers, chit-chatting with dignitaries and trying not to make them look short. It's unengaging but they can't stop doing it until Hello Magazine stops watching.

While spectating, a change comes over them - their faces take on expressions of euphoria, their arms fly up, they hug warmly, they jump. They remind me of something ... they remind me, powerfully, of people enjoying themselves. Has any royal known so much pleasure, unfettered by duty? Not since Wallis Simpson.

They had a family connection in the equestrianism, hence their joint attendance. They smiled, they waved, they extended their hugs way beyond the marital unit to take in Peter Phillips (Zara's brother); to borrow, with the deepest respect, a phrase from the late Maeve Binchy, Kate looked rapt.

Kate had to miss that afternoon's gymnastics, but made it to the men's pommel horse, said hello to Gabby "flying squirrel, double gold" Douglas and sat next to Kristian Thomas (the bronze-winning gymnast from Wednesfield, who said afterwards: "I tried to put on the posh voice ... because I was getting a bit nervous thinking: 'What are we going to talk about?"' It turned out that what she wanted to talk about was the Olympics. So that went fine).

They're not just in it to win it, people; Kate sat through a handball game in which Croatia beat us by more points than are even possible in most sports (23). Did she walk out? Did she fold her arms? She did not. She Mexican-waved and possibly Stratford-soundwaved (that thing where you stamp). William, meanwhile - this is something you genuinely may not know - is patron of English School Swimming, and used to play competition water polo. He went Hertz van rental throughout the Adlington race.

Opinion is divided on what they did when Chris Hoy won his fifth gold medal but it was definitely the most demonstrative royal event, with some witnesses claiming that the duke threw the duchess in the air, others saying it was more of a jive move, the mainstream press going with a simple, yet powerful royal hug, and the American website iVillage declaring that Kate had immediately become pregnant (sort of).

The royals took it literally, the Olympic slogan "have a great Games". Which is fine - they meant it literally.

Fastest texters in America face off From:

2012-08-08T04:07:00.003-07:00

AMERICA'S fastest texters are preparing to face off.

The winner gets $US50,000 ($A47,550).Eleven contestants from all over the US are headed to Times Square for the annual LG US National Texting Competition.

Competitors range from 16 to 24 years old, with last year's champion, Austin Weirschke, expected back to defend his title.

The competition tests three skills: speed, accuracy and dexterity.

There are three rounds: texting while blind-folded, texting with hands behind backs and the Text Blitz, where phrases are shown to contestants and they have to copy them as fast as they can before the next one.

The competition is sponsored by LG Electronics.

orignal:http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/fastest-texters-in-america-face-off/story-e6frf7k6-1226446125132

Kefu Ikamanu allegedly killed daughter Seini who never smiled New Zealand High Court told

2012-08-08T04:06:00.000-07:00

SIENI IKAMANU, TWO, WHO DIED IN AN AUCKLAND HOSPITAL IN DECEMBER 2010 AFTER SUFFERING BRAIN INJURIES AT HOME IN MARCH THAT YEAR. PICTURE: NEW ZEALAND HERALD. SUPPLIED

A FATHER killed his young daughter because she never smiled at him, a lawyer told a High Court jury.

KEFU IKAMANU ALLEGEDLY KILLED HIS YOUNG DAUGHTER SEINI BECAUSE SHE NEVER SMILED. PICTURE: GREG BOWKER/NEW ZEALAND HERALD SUPPLIED

Crown prosecutor Phil Hamlin told the jury that Ikamanu hauled Seini against a wall and then stomped on her because she never smiled at him.Kefu Ikamanu has pleaded not guilty in the New Zealand High Court at Auckland to the murder of his daughter Seini Unaloto Ikamanu, causing grievous bodily harm by breaking the girl's shoulder, and injuring with intent to injure by breaking her pelvis, NZ Herald reported.

She received fatal injuries as a result of the incident on March 24, 2010, 21 days before her third birthday.

"It appears Mr Ikamanu himself was not able to form a close bond with her. He became frustrated and angry with what he thought was the spoilt behaviour of his young daughter," Mr Hamlin said.

"He thought she never smiled at him and this made him angry.''

Seini had only recently been reunited with her family after living with her grandparents in Tonga for most of her life.

Seini was taken to Starship Hospital, Auckland, where doctors found extensive bleeding on her brain, a broken shoulder and a shattered pelvis.

The shattered bones in her pelvis were similar to a crush injuries doctors found in children run over by a car.

"The injuries she sustained were beyond what doctors could put right, although they tried,'' Mr Hamlin said.

Seini eventually died about eight months later from pneumonia which Mr Hamlin said was caused by the brain injury.

The hearing continues.

original:http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/kefu-ikamanu-allegedly-killed-daughter-seini-who-never-smiled-new-zealand-high-court-told/story-e6frf7jo-1226446162983

Weightlifter Matthias Steiner drops 196kg on head

2012-08-08T04:03:00.001-07:00

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Weighty mistake

Olympic weightlifter Matthias Steiner was defending the title of super heavyweight champion when he buckled and dropped 196kg on his head. ...

0:00 / 0:43

German Matthias Steiner drops a 196kg bar on his shoulders during the over-105kg competition at the Games. Picture: APSource: AP

BEIJING Olympic weightlifting champion Matthias Steiner's title defence did not go to plan in the super heavyweight competition.

In a sickening moment while trying to lift a whopping 196kg with his second lift in the snatch section of the event, Steiner buckled under the weight of the bar.

With nowhere to go, the bar crashed into his head and neck, flattening him on the floor.

The German managed a wave for the crowd as he left the competition but was a no-show for his third lift.

German Olympic Committee spokesman Michael Vesper said Steiner was taken to hospital but was not seriously injured.

"It came to his neck so for medical reasons he is not able to continue. But he isn't hurt badly. Of course he was disappointed. He was not happy with the situation," Vesper said.

original: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/london-olympics/video-weightlifter-matthias-steiner-drops-196kg-on-head/story-fn9dheyx-1226445642161

Stephanie Rice spotted with Kobe Bryant at London Olympics velodrome

2012-08-08T03:52:00.003-07:00

Budding romance? ... Rice and Bryant share a laugh at the velodrome.Source: News Limited

THE rumours of a romance between the Australian queen of the pool, Stephanie Rice, and the king of US basketball, Kobe Bryant, continue to grow.

The pair were spotted today sitting side-by-side at the velodrome as Aussie Anna Meares rode for gold against her British arch rival Victoria Pendleton.

Rice and Bryant laughed and chatted throughout the track cycling event.

Kobe Bryant chats with Steph Rice at the cycling in the Velodrome. Picture: Adam Head Source: The Courier-Mail

The pair first met in Manchester where the Australian swim team had set up camp before the Olympics and where the US Dream Team was playing practice matches.

Bryant and Rice exchanged gifts in the northern city – she signed two swimming caps while he gave our glamour girl a pair of signed sneakers.

If Rice and Bryant are indeed more than 'just friends', it wouldn't be the first time the Aussie swimmer has been romantically involved with a high-profile US athlete.

Rice was the talk of the athletes village in Beijing in 2008 after being spotted locking lips with none other than the greatest Olympian of all time, Michael Phelps.

That occurred just weeks after Rice had separated from fellow Australian swim sensation Eamon Sullivan, who made the 50m freestyle final in London.

Rice's romances have extended beyond Olympic sports as well - she dated Wallabies star Quade Cooper for over 12 months before that relationship ended late last year.

Kobe Bryant points out something to his Australian companions. Picture: Adam Head Source: The Courier-Mail

original: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/london-olympics/stephanie-rice-spotted-with-kobe-bryant-at-velodrome/story-fn9dheyx-1226445510083

Travel agent's killers sentenced to 100 years jail

2012-08-08T03:47:00.003-07:00

Michelle Smith.

Two Thai criminals have been sentenced to the equivalent of 100 years' imprisonment for the murder of Australian travel agent Michelle Smith on the Thai resort island of Phuket.

Surasat "Boy" Suwannachote, 26, and Surin Tadthong, 37, showed no emotion as a judge in Phuket Central Court told them he would have ordered their execution if they had not admitted their involvement in the murder of Ms Smith on June 20.

Security camera footage showed Surasat stabbing Ms Smith, 60, three times after trying to grab her handbag on Kata Noi beach.

Surin stole a motorcycle and was present during the attack on Ms Smith, who was on the resort island with a group of Perth travel agents.

Lawyers said both men are likely to die in jail even with royal and other remissions.

Both received life imprisonment, which in Thailand is the equivalent of 100 years.

Larry Cunningham, Australia's honorary consul in Phuket, praised Thai police for quickly bringing the men to justice.

But he said many of the criminals targeting tens of thousands of Australian tourists are never brought to justice and some have official protection.

"The major problem has always been the application of the law in Phuket where assaults continue unabated virtually every night and there are little or no arrests of the guilty parties, mainly because they have patronage protection," Mr Cunningam told The Age.

The death of 60-year-old Ms Smith prompted intervention from Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and Thailand's top police, who ordered a crackdown on violence against tourists on Thailand's biggest resort island.

At any time there are an average 20,000 Australians holidaying in Phuket.

Mr Cunningham stressed that Phuket remains a safe and "wonderful place to holiday where Australians come and enjoy the Thai hospitality".

Ms Smith, from Perth, was stabbed as she walked back to her hotel after dinner.

After drinking in a bar selling strong homemade alcohol, Surasak and Surin prowled the beach area looking for a robbery victim, Phuket Central Court heard.

Another travel agent, Tammee Lynn, was stabbed and required stitches.

Mr Cunningham monitored the two men's three-day trial.

Topless speeder Mandy Ramsey flees cops in car chase

2012-08-08T02:41:00.002-07:00

Mandy Ramsey, 35, of Florida told police she didn't pull over when requested because she was topless. Source: AFP

A WOMAN set off a high-speed police chase worthy of a Hollywood action movie when she refused to stop after police caught her speeding because she was topless.

The driver told police "she was topless to surprise her boyfriend", a spokesman for the Marion County sheriff's office, in northern Florida, said.

According to the police report, the incident occurred on Saturday when Mandy Ramsey was spotted by a patrol car zooming well above the speed limit on a county road.

The officer set off behind her, intending to pull her over in a routine traffic stop, which typically includes a ticket and a fine.

But Ms Ramsey, far from stopping, hit the accelerator and tried to ditch her police tail with several abrupt changes of route - blowing by a stop sign and clipping an oak tree before continuing on.

Several other patrol cars joined the chase and, when the dark-coloured pick-up truck dipped out of sight, so did a police helicopter.

The 35-year-old was "charged with fleeing and eluding law enforcement", police said, adding that she spent two nights in jail before being released Monday on $US5000 ($4730) bond.The helicopter quickly located the truck at a house where Ms Ramsey had finally stopped. Though the vehicle was registered to someone else - boyfriend, James Woodard - Ms Ramsey admitted to police she had been driving, saying she hadn't wanted to stop while partially nude.

original : http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/world/topless-speeder-flees-cops-in-car-chase/story-fnd134gw-1226445480872

Colour pics and video of Mars thanks to Curiosity

2012-08-08T02:36:00.001-07:00

This image shows the first colour view of the north wall and rim of Gale Crater where NASA's rover Curiosity landed Sunday night. The picture appears fuzzy because of dust on the camera's cover.

NASA'S Curiosity rover has beamed back its first colour photo from the ancient crater where it landed on Mars

The rover has also sent a video showing the last 2.5 minutes of its white-knuckle dive through the Martian atmosphere, a sneak peek of a spacecraft landing on another world.

The picture released on Tuesday revealed a rust-tinged, pebbly landscape and the crater rim off in the distance. The six-wheel rover snapped the photo on the first day on the surface after touching down on Mars on Sunday night. It took the shot with a camera at the end of its robotic arm, which remained stowed.

As Curiosity plunged through the atmosphere, a video camera captured the final moments. Nearly 300 low-quality thumbnails were sent back on Monday, which NASA processed into a short video.

As the video rolled on a big screen, scientists and engineers at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory let out "oohs" and "aahs." The recording began with the protective heat shield falling away and ended with dust being kicked up as the rover was lowered by cables inside Gale Crater.

It was a preview of a spacecraft touchdown on another planet, since it'll take some time before high-resolution frames are transmitted, depending on other priorities.

The full video "will just be exquisite," said Michael Malin, the chief scientist of the instrument.

This image released by NASA August 7, 2012 shows shows one of the first views from NASA's Curiosity rover. NASA/JPL-Caltech/Malin Space Science Systems

Since parking itself inside a giant crater, Curiosity has steadily streamed home a flurry of photos. The first were grainy, black-and-white images of its wheel, Martian gravel and a mountain at sunset. The landscape in the colour shot looked fuzzy because the camera was coated with dust as the rover touched the ground.

Curiosity, a roving laboratory the size of a compact car, landed right on target late Sunday after an eight-month, 352-million-mile journey. It parked its six wheels about 6.5 kilometres from its ultimate science destination - Mount Sharp, rising from the floor of Gale Crater near the equator.

One of the first images taken by NASA's Curiosity rover. NASA/JPL-Caltech

Extraordinary efforts were needed for the landing because the rover weighs one tonne, and the thin Martian atmosphere offers little friction to slow down a spacecraft. Curiosity had to go from 20,000 kilometres per hour to zero in seven minutes, relying on a heat shield, parachute and rockets to slow down. In the final few seconds, cables lowered it to the ground at 3 kph.

At the end of what NASA called "seven minutes of terror," the vehicle settled into place almost perfectly flat in the crater it was aiming for.

"We have ended one phase of the mission much to our enjoyment," mission manager Mike Watkins said. "But another part has just begun."

NASA's Curiosity rover and its parachute, left, descend to the Martian surface. NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona

The nuclear-powered Curiosity will dig into the Martian surface to analyse what's there and hunt for some of the molecular building blocks of life, including carbon.

It won't start moving for a couple of weeks, because all the systems on the $US2.5 billion ($2.4 billion) rover have to be checked out. As it goes through its health checkups this week, it was expected to send back more stunning views of its surroundings.

But first NASA had to use tiny cameras designed to spot hazards in front of Curiosity's wheels. So early images of gravel and shadows abounded. The pictures were fuzzy, but scientists were delighted.

A color thumbnail image obtained by NASA's Curiosity rover during its descent to the surface of Mars. NASA/JPL-Caltech/Malin Space Science Systems

The photos show "a new Mars we have never seen before," Mr Watkins said. "So every one of those pictures is the most beautiful picture I have ever seen."

In one of the photos from the close-to-the-ground hazard cameras, if you squinted and looked the right way, you could see "a silhouette of Mount Sharp in the setting sun," said an excited John Grotzinger, chief mission scientist from the California Institute of Technology.

A high-resolution camera on the orbiting 7-year-old Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, flying 340 kilometres directly above the plummeting Curiosity, snapped a photo of the rover dangling from its parachute about a minute from touchdown. The parachute's design can be made out in the photo.

"It's just mind-boggling to me," said Miguel San Martin, chief engineer for the landing team.

LIFE ON MARS DISCOVERED WAY BACK IN 1997?

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Life on Mars discovered way back in 1997?

A CLEVER commercial from 1997 shows aliens making good use of their printer to hide life on Mars from earthlings.

0:00 / 0:31

Curiosity is the heaviest piece of machinery NASA has landed on Mars, and the success gave the space agency confidence that it can unload equipment that astronauts may need in a future manned trip to the red planet.

The landing technique was hatched in 1999 after devastating back-to-back Mars spacecraft losses. Back then, engineers had no clue how to land super-heavy spacecraft. They brainstormed different possibilities, consulting Apollo-era engineers and pilots of heavy-lift helicopters.

"I think its engineering at its finest. What engineers do is they make the impossible possible," said former NASA chief technologist Bobby Braun. "This thing is elegant. People say it looks crazy. Each system was designed for a very specific function."

Because of budget constraints, NASA canceled its joint US-European missions to Mars, scheduled for 2016 and 2018.

"When's the next lander on Mars? The answer to that is nobody knows," NASA chief Charles Bolden said in a recent interview.

But if Curiosity finds something interesting, he said, it could spur the public and Congress to provide more money for more Martian exploration. No matter what, he said, Curiosity's mission will help NASA as it tries to send astronauts to Mars by the mid-2030s

original: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/technology/sci-tech/colour-pics-and-video-of-mars-thanks-to-curiosity/story-fn5iztw3-1226445475774

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