King Tooth Uses Teeth to Pull Train

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Workers Found From Iraq Phosgene In UN Headquarters

Former United Nations weapons inspectors in Iraq have discovered traces of chemical substances, including the poisonous gas phosgene, in their office in New York and have called on US authorities to investigate, a spokeswoman said Thursday. "There is no immediate risk or dangers and the UNMOVIC staff is still working on the premise," UN spokeswoman Marie Okabe said.

The FBI was called in to help remove the substances.

U.N. deputy spokeswoman Marie Okabe said one of the substances identified on Wednesday was phosgene suspended in oil, "whose present state is unknown but which could be potentially hazardous." Phosgene can be used as a chemical warfare agent.

The material was immediately secured by experts at the U.N. Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission, known as UNMOVIC, and the U.N. sought assistance from U.S. authorities in having the material safely removed, she said.

"The office area was screened using UNOMVIC's chemical weapons detection equipment. No toxic vapors were found. There is no immediate risk or danger. UNMOVIC staff are still working on the premises," Okabe said.

The material in a sealed plastic bag includes "unknown liquid substances contained in metal and glass containers ranging in size from small vials to tubes the length of a pen in one of the sealed plastic bags," she said. "The only information we have of the contents of that bag is from an inventory of a 1996 inspection which indicates that one of the items may contain phosgene, an old-generation chemical warfare agent."

Commenting on the discovery, White House spokesman Tony Snow said, "I'm sure that there are going to be a lot of red-faced people over at the U.N. trying to figure out how (the chemicals) got there."

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Troy Hill Jailed For Stabing His Twin Half-Brothers Killing One

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Aaron's News Post - Breakfast Newsreel 08/30/2007

ABC Adoption Adult-Industry AFI Africa Aid AIDS Aircraft Airplane American Idol Angelina Jolie Anna Nicole Smith Anti-Prostitution Anti-Semitic Antonella Barba Armed Bandits Arnold Schwarzenegger Art Auschwitz Australia Belzec Bomb Bondage Brazil Britney Spears Cannabis Celebrity Celebs Cell Phones Chemical Ali Child Abuse China Christopher Lee CNN Cocaine Communist Conservatives Continental Airline Crime Croatia Crocodile Cyclone D.C. Madam David Vitter Death Death Camp Deborah Jeane Palfrey Democrat Depression Dog Food Recall Drug Abuse Drunk Drunk Driving DUI DWI El Salvador Elections Eric Bana Family Feud Fidel Castro Film Festival Film Piracy Films Fire Firemen Flooding Forest Fire Fraudsters G8 Gambling Golf Greece Gwen Stefani Heat Cramps Heat Stroke Hedley Thomas Hillary Rodham Clinton Home Remodelling Hormone Hostage Hugo Chavez Human Right India Injury Internet Iraq Islamic Values Isreal Japan Jayant Patel Jenna Jameson Judge Kate Hudson Kevin Rudd Koala Larry King Lewis "Scooter" Libby Lindsay Hawker Lindsay Lohan Lisa Ann Taylor Loans Mail Mansion Madam Megachurch Mel Gibson Merv Griffin Michael Jackson Microchip Movies Naked Naomi Campbell Nicole Probert Nowpublic Nuclear Plants Nuclear Weapons Nude Nude Pictures Oman Owen Wilson Painting Paparazzi Paris Hilton Pascal Mashaalani Paul Wofowitz PGA Pig Police Politics Porn celeb Pornography President Bush Prison Prostitution Prostitution Ring Queen Elisabeth Renae Cruz Reverend Ted Haggard Saddam Hussein Sc-fi Seoul Sex Sex Clubs Sex Education Sex Slavery Sex Workers Sexist Sexual Abuse Sexual Revolution Sexy Shaha Ali Riza Sharon Flaherty Singapore SMS Smuggling South Korea Soviet Union Soyabeans Spider-Man 3 Spy Strip Club Suicide Supermodel surfing Sweetheart Deal Sylvester Stallone Taliban Thunderstorms Tiger Woods Tony Ramunno Tornado Tornadoe Tragedy Transformers Uranium US US 2008 Elections USCIS Visa Wal-Mart Wan Nurul Zhana Women Trafficking World Bank World Trade Centre WWII

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8 South Korean Hostage Freed By Talibans

Taliban insurgents fulfilled their pledge to release 19 South Korean Christian volunteers they have held for nearly six weeks, by freeing eight South Korean hostages in two separate batches today, the first of 19 hostages the Taliban agreed to release.

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Owen Wilson's Suicide Attempt Likely Due To Split With Kate Hudson

Owen Wilson allegedly attempted to commit suicide over his split from Kate Hudson.

The Wedding Crashers star - who is currently recovering in hospital after he reportedly slashed his wrists and took a pill overdose - was said to be distraught when he saw pictures of his ex-girlfriend with her new man, Dax Shepherd.

Sources claim Owen then attempted to take his own life, with his elder brother finding him unconscious at Owen's Los Angeles home.

Witnesses said the 38-year-old actor was then wheeled out of the house on a stretcher with bandages on his wrists and taken to a nearby hospital.

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David Perel, editor-in-chief of America's National Enquirer magazine, said: "Owen Wilson has now been transferred to another Los Angeles area hospital. His elder brother Andrew and younger brother Luke are with him.

"Andrew found him after the suicide attempt and called an ambulance. Both of Owen's wrists were slashed superficially and Owen had taken an overdose of pills. He was found with a nearly empty bottle of pills next to him at his house."

The comic star also released a statement, saying: "I ask that the media allow me to receive care and heal in private during this difficult time."

Owen and Kate - who has a three-year-old son, Ryder, from her marriage to rocker Chris Robinson - split in June, after constantly arguing about Owen's wild behaviour.

Kate began dating Employee of the Month star Shepherd in July and sources claim she is smitten with him.

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Owen Wilson Did Not Attempt Suicide

Oscar-nominated film star Owen Wilson, best known for comedies like Wedding Crashers, sought time today to "heal in private" after media reports claimed he was hospitalized for a suicide attempt.

"I respectfully ask that the media allow me to receive care and heal in private during this difficult time," Wilson, 38, said in a statement released to Reuters.

A fire department official in Santa Monica, California, a beachside community adjacent to Los Angeles, told Reuters that late yesterday firemen and police officers went to Wilson's home and transported a person to a local hospital where he was treated. The official declined to name Wilson.

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Various news reports said Wilson was transferred to Cedars Sinai Medical Centre in the Beverly Hills area, but hospital officials declined to comment, citing confidentiality.

Celebrity magazine People reported Wilson's brother Luke, who is also an actor, and other family members were seen at Cedars Sinai.

US tabloids Star magazine and National Enquirer cited unnamed sources as saying Wilson tried to commit suicide by cutting his wrist and taking drugs. Star said he was discovered by a family member, who called for help.

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Wilson's spokeswoman, Ina Treciokas, declined to elaborate on the actor's statement or discuss his medical condition.

Wilson, with long blonde hair and a crooked nose, is known for playing charming rascals, mostly in comedies. In Wedding Crashers, which grossed $US285 million ($A344.31 million) at global box offices, he and co-star Vince Vaughn portrayed two guys who show up uninvited at weddings in order to get dates.

The Texas-born actor recently starred in romantic comedy You, Me and Dupree playing a guy who moves into the home of his best friend and wreaks havoc on his friend's marriage.

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Wilson also has a serious side as a co-writer with his long-time friend, director Wes Anderson. The two paired up for 1994's low-budget film Bottle Rocket, about a trio of hapless friends who turn to crime only to find out it's not too cool.

Wilson and Anderson were nominated for a best original screenplay Oscar with 2002's offbeat comedy The Royal Tenenbaums, about a dysfunctional family.

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The actor stars in Anderson's new film, The Darjeeling Limited, premiering at the Venice Film Festival next week.

Wilson's career has varied widely and included independent films and big-budget movies like Starsky and Hutch, a remake of the 1970's TV show.

He also had a small role in recent hit Night at the Museum and was the voice of a car in animated Cars.

However reports streaming in shows that Owen Wilson did not attempt suicide, but it proves that in all likelihood, something did actually go down. More on this is being pieced and will be out soon.

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Careless Cigarette Smoking Likely Cause Of World Trade Centre Site's Fire

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Owen Wilson In Hospital After Attempting Suicide

Hollywood actor Owen Wilson was rushed to hospital on Sunday after allegedly attempting suicide. Star magazine and the National Enquirer claim the 38-year-old actor was taken to St. John's hospital in Santa Monica, Calif. by ambulance after police and paramedics responded to a 911 call from Wilson's home shortly after noon.


Owen Wilson sliced his wrists and attempted to commit suicide a new report from the National Enquirer and Star Magazine claims. In what sounds like a tragic and horrible situation the report on the website details that Wilson was hospitalized after attempting suicide citing sources.

The Enquirer reports that Wilson was transported to St. John’s hospital in Santa Monica , Calif. on Sunday, August 26, by ambulance. Sources tell the entertainment magazine that that he "sliced his wrists and also took an indeterminate amount of pills."

The report claims that he was discovered by a family member who summoned help. Police and an ambulance responded to a 911 call from Owen's house around noon on Sunday. Witnesses claims that his wrist was sutured and bandaged at the hospital.

Owen was brought in to St. John's in very serious condition. Police were on the scene immediately as was a criminal defense attorney, believed to be working for Wilson. Some of Owen’s family was with him.

Wilson was stabilized at St. John's.

Update: TMZ has this: Santa Monica Police issued the following statement: "On Sunday Aug. 26. 2007 at 12:10 pm officers from the Santa Monica Police Department responded to a medical assistance call from the Santa Monica Fire Department at the 900 block of 23rd Street.

The person was transported to a local hospital where they are being treated." TMZ has learned the 911 call came in at 11:59 a.m. to the L.A. Fire Department.

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Greece Tops Southern Europe's Forests Wild Fires

At the top of the fires raging across Southern Europe is the Greece's forest fire and as its death toll reached at least 59 over the past three days, video clips of the incidence continue to stream out of the affected areas.

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"Fidel Castro Will Never Die," said Hugo Chavez

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, close ally to Cuban Leader Fidel Castro, speaking at a public event on Saturday, denied persistent rumors that Castro had died.

Chavez was reacting to talk among Cuban exiles and echoed by foreign news outlets, especially in Florida, that the ailing Castro, 81, had passed away.

Castro, who turned 81 on August 13 with little celebration in Cuba, underwent intestinal surgery in July 2006 and handed power over temporarily to his brother Raul.

He has not been seen in public since before the operation, though he has appeared in photographs and eight videos, the last of which aired on June 5.

"Those who want him to die will be frustrated, because Fidel Castro will never die," said Chavez, one of the few who visited the revolutionary leader at his sickbed.

Chavez said that Castro "will always live among the people that fight for a better destiny. He will always live in the people of Cuba, of Venezuela, and of America."

Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque on Thursday, while attending an event in Brazil, also denied talk of Castro's death.

Castro "is steady, on track with his recovery, showing discipline, a lot of dedication and a lot of activity, writing, reading and working," Perez Roque told AFP .

Chavez's remarks on Saturday came at an event aimed at supporting his new party, the United Socialist Party of Venezuela, which brings together the different leftist groups that support him.

Critics accuse Chavez of emulating Castro, and trying to impose a Cuban-style communist regime in Venezuela.

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Feminist Lobby Forgive Kevin Rudd

Amid the wall of noise that greeted news of Kevin Rudd's visit to a New York strip club this week, one voice was notably silent - that of the feminist lobby.

If Alexander Downer had been caught in the same situation as Rudd - in a club full of semi-naked lap dancers, blind drunk and representing Australia at taxpayers' expense - he'd probably be out of a job now.

And at the forefront of the charge would have been the country's notable and usually vocal feminists.

Their line of attack would have been easy to predict: Downer's visit to a lap-dancing club demeaned women generally, sent an appalling message to young women, in particular, about body image and, most importantly, betrayed the Howard government's real attitude to women.

In Rudd's case, however, feminists chose to forgive and forget.

Eva Cox, from the Women's Electoral Lobby, set the tone: "Going on the piss for one night, basically, and doing something dumb is not a cardinal sin - it's obviously not something he does generally. You can't condemn somebody for getting on the piss. We would never have elected Bob Hawke in that case.''

A number of questions and several points about Cox's observation.

First, if getting so drunk you can't recollect what happened is an excuse for sexist behaviour when you're in a strip club, why does it not then become an excuse for domestic violence?

The implication is the same - the man involved is not responsible for his actions because he's under the influence of alcohol.

The drunk's defence. It's an excuse most men wouldn't accept and nor should they.

Certainly, no one let me get away with it after my appalling performance at the Walkley Awards last year. While alcohol played a part, it did not justify my actions - a point I made at the time.

Cox would argue there is a big difference between hitting a woman and going to a strip club - except feminists consistently argue that stripping, like pornography, is not a "victimless'' crime.

According to this perfectly acceptable logic, the women in both situations are exploited because men pay for them to be exploited. They are usually poor and with limited employment choices.

Without men, there'd be no strip clubs and a lot less porn.

Cox, along with the National Foundation for Australian Women's Marie Coleman, also made a character assessment of Rudd.

"It's obviously not something he does generally,'' Cox says. Or in the case of Coleman: it was "out of character''.

On what basis do they make this judgment? I've known Kevin Rudd for more than 20 years. He came to my wedding and the christening of my son. I still wouldn't know what he got up to in his spare time. I doubt Cox or Coleman would have a clue, either.

And then there's what Cox, and many others, choose to ignore. Despite the allegation being put specifically to Rudd - and The Sunday Telegraph giving him six hours to consider it - the Opposition leader chose not to deny the claim that he had behaved "inappropriately''. Instead, he said he had no recollection.

It can only be imagined what howls of outrage would have come from Cox if Downer had squibbed the same question.

And finally, there's Cox's argument that if "getting pissed'' was a disqualification for high office, we'd never have elected Bob Hawke as prime minister. No. Hawke himself agreed it made him unelectable. That's why he made a public compact with voters to give up the grog.

Hawke was a teetotaller for all his time in power.

Compare the absence of feminist condemnation of Rudd with the thermo-nuclear response to Liberal Senator Bill Heffernan's completely unacceptable remarks about Julia Gillard being unfit for political leadership because she's chosen not to have children.

Gillard, along with Labor colleagues Tanya Plibersek, Nicola Roxon and Annette Ellis, came out swinging against Heffernan - justifiably, too.

Rudd himself declared Heffernan's remarks to be "a referendum on Mr Howard's character'', even after Howard refused to support his colleague.

But where were Labor women on Rudd's behaviour? Gillard's decidedly muted response was that: "He's acknowledged he made an error and I think that's all that needs to be said about it.''

The Daily Telegraph reported that Plibersek did not return calls.

In the case of Heffernan, Liberal women showed much more courage. Julie Bishop described his remarks as "totally unacceptable''. Helen Coonan used the same words. And Amanda Vanstone accused Heffernan of living in "the Dark Ages''.

Given the events of last week, it's hard not to conclude that when it comes to left-wing feminist condemnation of sexist behaviour in politics, only one thing counts: which side of politics the perpetrator comes from.

Perhaps we shouldn't be surprised. One of the most hypocritical episodes of modern politics was played out in the US during the Clinton presidency, when Eva Cox's American counterparts actually came to Bill's defence during the Monica Lewinsky affair.

Then again, when you think about it, Rudd's defence that he couldn't recollect nude lap dancers all around him is about as credible as Clinton saying he didn't inhale.

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MidWest United States, Ferocious Thunderstorms & Scorching Heat

DAN STRUMPF
AP
Scorching
Ferocious thunderstorms, heat and humidity added to the Midwest's flooding misery Friday as thousands of people returned to damaged homes, many without electricity to run fans or pumps.

Michigan was pounded for a second straight day by storms that killed a motorcyclist there and spawned a tornado that ripped out hundreds of trees.

The storm system had struck Chicago on Thursday night with a sudden downpour and 70 mph wind that tore down trees and damaged buildings. In the city's suburbs, part of an industrial facility's roof collapsed, injuring 40 people.

"Out of nowhere, the sky just went black," said Kimber Hall, 20, who was riding her bike along Chicago's Lake Michigan shore when the storm hit. "Sheets of rain. Lightning hit a tree about 25 feet away from me. A branch hit me in the face."

Friday morning, another band of thunderstorms was drenching communities from Missouri, through Iowa and into Illinois and Wisconsin.

Most of southern Iowa was under a flash flood watch through evening as as much as 8 inches of rain fell, the National Weather Service said. In Ottumwa, residents were asked to conserve water because the rain had backed up sewers and flooded a pump room at the water plant. The tap water wasn't contaminated yet, but the city's 25,000 residents were advised to boil it.

Flooding slowed drivers on northern Indiana's busy Interstate 80/94, where officials shut down a 3-mile stretch of the eastbound lands and some of the westbound lanes. Several cities were redirecting traffic because of flooded streets.

In Illinois, forecasters warned residents in the northern part of the state to prepare for flooding as another 2 inches of rain was expected Friday afternoon and evening.

"That's what we're worried about right now," said weather service meteorologist Nathan Marsili. "It could turn out to be a pretty bad flooding situation for the area."

Nearly a week of powerful storms, heavy rain and devastating flooding across the upper Midwest has damaged hundreds of homes and has been blamed for at least 17 deaths.

The powerful storms that hit Illinois blew over a tree in rural Knox County, killing one man on Thursday. In Michigan, a 77-year-old motorcyclist died when his bike hit a fallen tree in Kalamazoo County, the sheriff's office said. Flooding in Ohio was blamed for the death of a 92-year-old man who drowned trying to get to safety after his car became trapped in floodwater near Findlay.

About 310,000 homes and businesses in northern Illinois, 100,000 in Michigan and 30,000 in northern Indiana were without power afterward. ComEd spokesman Tom Stevens said it could take days to restore power for some customers north of Chicago.

While other storms lashed Iowa, Minnesota and Indiana on Thursday, hard-hit Ohio finally got a break, at least from the rain. Instead, the state got temperatures in the upper 90s, making that the cleanup from widespread flooding even more of a struggle.

In Findlay, which saw its worst flooding in nearly a century, people tried to pump water from their basements and tally their losses.

"Most of it's ruined," Joe Lamb said as he sorted through a bin of soaked NASCAR memorabilia, hosing off the mini Dale Earnhardt collector cars and tossing the rest. "Our Christmas stuff, everything."

A day earlier, firefighters and volunteers in boats and canoes had navigated the waist-deep floodwater to rescue their neighbors. Some residents were still stuck in a shelter, where 200 people slept Wednesday night.

In Chicago, a few businesses found a bright side to the storm Thursday night.

"People would not leave," said bartender Nick McCann. "We had $2 margaritas, and people were getting hammered."

About 500 flights at O'Hare International Airport were canceled Thursday evening and others delayed for more than 2 1/2 hours, Chicago Aviation Commissioner Nuria Fernandez said.

Strong wind also knocked down a hangar under construction at the Gary/Chicago International Airport leaving just "a pile of metal," Gary Jet Center president Will Davis said.

In southwestern Wisconsin, the National Guard pumped water to relieve pressure on at least one dam, said Mike Goetzman, a spokesman for Wisconsin Emergency Management. The earthen dam had been eroded earlier this week by water from the weekend thunderstorms.

Iowa officials were keeping a close eye on the Des Moines River, and In the river town of Fort Dodge, crews scrambled to shore up a levee.

At Fox Lake, in northern Illinois, residents were busy stacking sandbags to protect their houses from the rising Fox River, said Ami McEwan, assistant administrator for Lake County.

"Most of them are sandbagging and keeping it at bay," she said.

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Mel Gibson Complies With Terms Of Probation

Hollywood star Mel Gibson has complied with the terms of his probation following an arrest for drink-driving last year which saw him unleash an anti-Semitic tirade, a court heard today.

At a brief hearing in Malibu, Gibson's lawyers provided documentation showing that the 51-year-old Oscar-winning director of Braveheart had regularly attended Alcoholics Anonymous meetings since his arrest.

Gibson was arrested in July last year after being caught speeding along the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu while drunk.

It later emerged he had made a string of anti-Semitic and sexist remarks to police officers during his arrest.

He pleaded no contest to a charge of driving under the influence and was given three years probation, ordered to pay $US1400 in fines and told to attend AA meetings for four-and-a-half months.

Gibson, who did not appear in court for today's progress hearing, has made a series of public apologies for the remarks.

Judge Lawrence Mira said Gibson must attend court for his next hearing scheduled for February 15.

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Former ABC Manager Jailed over $600,000 Fraud

A former ABC manager has been jailed for a maximum eight years for defrauding the broadcaster of more than half a million dollars.

Mark John Williams, 51, was operations manager in the ABC's news division when, over a period of two years from November 2002, he embezzled around $600,000.

Parramatta District Court was told that with the assistance of a co-accused, Peter Bell, Williams siphoned the money by issuing false invoices.

He also forged credit card signatures and used petty cash and taxi vouchers.

Williams, of Newport, pleaded guilty to the charges.

Judge Mark Marien jailed Williams for eight years, with a non-parole period of four years and nine months.

He will be eligible for parole in April 2012.

Bell, a Melbourne company director, was jailed for at least three years and 10 months, with a maximum six years and six months for his role.

He was also ordered to pay reparations of $248,088 to the ABC, while Williams owes $357,329.

Bell will be eligible for release in May 2011.

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25 Prisoners Die In Fire Incidence In Brazil

Some 25 inmates in a Brazil prison burned to death overnight after prisoners set fire to mattresses in the jail during a clash between rival gangs.

The fire broke out during a dawn riot at the prison in Ponte Nova, some 180km southeast of the city of Belo Horizonte.

"We can confirm the death of 25 prisoners,'' a spokesman for the Minas Gerais state said.

A group of prisoners escaped from one part of the prison and entered another wing of the jail where they surrounded a rival gang, setting the mattresses in cell number eight on fire, he said.

Police used water cannon and tear gas to end the riot, and officials said none of the inmates had escaped the prison during the blaze.

Security has been stepped up inside and outside the jail which houses around 175 inmates, even though its capacity is only 87.

Prison officials said the fire had completely destroyed the top floor of the building, and the prison would now be evacuated with the remaining 148 detainees, including eight women, sent to other state penitentiaries.

Observers blamed severe overcrowding for the events.

"It's a complicated situation. We are short of some 100,000 places in the country's prisons,'' Jose Carlos Brasileiro, from the Rio de Janeiro human rights office, told AFP.

"In the Miracema women's prison for example, there are eight prisoners to a cell that measures some 1.5m by 2m. The women don't even have mattresses and there are rats and cockroaches.''

"Over-crowding and boredom are behind the violence and mutinies in the prisons.''

The fire in Ponte Nova came three days after the Brazilian government launched a national program against violence.

More than 40,000 people are murdered every year across the country, and the country's Catholic church has estimated that there is a prison riot every 36 hours.

The new national security program, which mainly targets young people from poor areas, envisages building some 160 new prisons within the next four years.

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Lindsay Lohan: "My Life Has Become Completely Unmanageable"

US actor Lindsay Lohan has admitted she is addicted to alcohol and drugs after today being sentenced to 24 hours in prison for drink-driving.

Lohan will also serve 10 days of community service and complete a drug treatment program under the deal reached overnight at the Beverly Hills Superior Court.

"She's getting what everyone else would get," Los Angeles deputy District Attorney Danette Meyers said after an hour-long hearing.

Lohan was charged with seven misdemeanour counts following her twin drink-driving arrests.

The Los Angeles County District Attorney's office said Lohan faced two counts each of driving under the influence, driving with excessive alcohol and being under the influence of cocaine.

The 21-year-old star of Herbie Fully Loaded and Georgia Rule also faced one count of reckless driving.

But Lohan, who has been enrolled in an intensive program at a Utah rehabilitation centre since her second arrest in July, was spared felony drug possession charges which could have led to a substantial prison sentence.

The district attorney's office said that while Lohan had been found in possession of cocaine at both of her arrests in May and July, the amounts involved were below the 0.05 grams required for felony charges.

Lohan released a statement today admitting she was "addicted to alcohol and drugs", Entertainment Tonight reported

"It is clear to me that my life has become completely unmanageable because I am addicted to alcohol and drugs. Recently, I relapsed and did things for which I am ashamed. I broke the law, and today I took responsibility by pleading guilty to the charges in my case.

"No matter what I said when I was under the influence on the day I was arrested, I am not blaming anyone else for my conduct other than myself. I thank God I did not injure others. I easily could have.

"I very much want to be healthy and gain control of my life and career and have asked for medical help in doing so. I am taking these steps to improve my life. Luckily, I am not alone in my daily struggle and I know that people like me have succeeded. Maybe with time it will become easier. I hope so."

Lohan was first arrested on May 26 after smashing her Mercedes into a curb in Beverly Hills before being accused of driving under the influence.

Within days, Lohan had enrolled in a detox program at the Promises rehabilitation centre in Malibu.

It was her second stint in rehab of 2007; she was admitted for treatment in January after reportedly being discovered passed out in a hotel corridor following the Golden Globes awards.

However, within days of leaving rehab, Lohan was arrested for drink-driving again when she was stopped in Santa Monica on July 24.

Lohan was alleged to have chased the mother of her personal assistant, who called police to report the incident.

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Chemical Ali Threw Shiites From Helicopter

A WITNESS overnight accused "Chemical Ali", Saddam Hussein's most notorious hatchet man, of killing her sons by throwing them out of a helicopter during the crushing of an Iraqi Shiite rebellion.

Laila Kathum, testifying in the trial of 15 Saddam aides accused of crimes against humanity over the repression of the 1991 rebellion in southern Iraq, vented her fury against Ali Hassan al-Majid, widely known as "Chemical Ali".

Speaking from behind a curtain, Ms Kathum accused Saddam's army of arresting her relatives and said Majid himself had killed her two sons.

"The army detained my two sons, my brother and my niece on March 3, 1991," she told the court on the third day of the trial.

"Nine days later, my brother and niece were released and they told me that Ali Hasan al-Majid had executed my two sons."

"My niece Maitham told me that my two sons were executed by Ali Hassan al-Majid by tying their legs with a heavy brick and throwing them out of a helicopter into the Gulf."

Iraqi prosecutors allege the 15 accused oversaw the killing of up to 100,000 Shiites as Saddam's troops turned on them after their defeat at the hands of the US-led coalition forces in Kuwait in the first Gulf War.

The troops massacred people around the holy Shiite cities of Najaf and Karbala and in the Hilla and Basra regions.

Many Shiites who participated in the uprising say they had expected US forces to back them, but former US president George Bush instead ordered a halt at the Iraqi border, leaving the rebels at the mercy of Saddam's forces.

Another witness who also spoke behind the curtain and did not give his name told the court how he and his friend from Basra were tortured in prison.

He said the guards used to "count to 10 as they led us to baths".

"Anyone who missed the count and did not finish the bath used to be beaten."

He said the guards also used to "bet on who could punch us hard".

Witness Tahir Malhi Humadi said his son and daughter were killed when the army bombed his town near Basra.

"On March 19, 1991, the Republican Guards attacked and bombed my town and my son Walhan and daughter Majida were killed in the bombing," he said before chief judge Mohammed al-Khalifah al-Oreibi adjourned the trial to September 24.

Majid, Saddam's cousin and former defence minister, is the most high profile defendant in the trial.

He and two co-accused - Sultan Hashim al-Tai, also a former defence minister, and Hussein Rashid al-Tikriti, ex-armed forces deputy chief of operations - have already been sentenced to death at a previous trial for genocide and crimes against humanity.

An appeals court is reviewing the death sentences imposed on them for their role in the brutal massacres of Kurds during the so-called Anfal campaign of 1988, and is expected to give its decision soon.

If the panel upholds the sentence, the three will have to be executed within 30 days under Iraqi law. In that case, all charges against them in connection with the Shiite uprising would be dropped.

Officials say around 90 victims and witnesses are expected to testify against the defendants.

Since the March 2003 US-led invasion, experts have exhumed dozens of mass graves of victims killed in the uprising, and their reports are expected to be the key evidence during the trial.

Overnight, the Basra city council handed relatives the remains of 28 victims of the uprising who were killed and buried in a mass grave discovered recently.

"The remains were of 26 young men, a child who was less than two years old and a woman of 30," said Saleh al-Batat, a member of the council.

Shiites, a minority in the Muslim world, comprise 60 per cent of Iraq's population and were ruled for decades by Saddam's Sunni-led regime.

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Sex-Mad Koala Loaned To Australian Zoo

A sex-mad koala recruited from Scotland to teach his counterpart in an Austrian zoo about the birds and the bees is finding himself very much in demand.

When romantic music, erotic movies and aphrodisiac food failed to entice their male koala, Bilyarra, to mate with female Mirali, staff at Vienna's Schoenbrunn Zoo sought the help of Edinburgh Zoo's resident stud, Chumbee.

The five-year-old male koala and his super-active libido arrived on loan in the Austrian capital in March and zoo managers are confident they will soon be hearing the patter of tiny koala paws after Bilyarra started to get in on the action.

"Chumbee hasn't stopped since he got here," said Schoenbrunn Zoo manager Helmut Pechlaner.

"It has been almost non-stop sex in the koala enclosure ever since, and now even our own male is joining in."

Zoo vet Hanna Vielgrader said Chumbee could not restrain himself.

"The only break is to eat or sleep, other than that there's no stopping them," she said.

Several other zoos have been in touch in the hope Chumbee might be able to invigorate their koala colonies.

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Aussies Should Have A Say In Nuclear Plants Location

People should be able to vote in local plebiscites to choose whether their communities had nuclear power plants, Prime Minister John Howard said today.

His comment comes a day after Deputy Prime Minister Mark Vaile said locally binding plebiscites could decide the future of nuclear power in Australia.

Speaking at the Nepean Rowing Club in Penrith in Sydney's west, Mr Howard told reporters the nuclear question was at least a decade away.

"When the time does come for plants to be considered in particular parts of Australia, I believe local communities should be given a vote and I think having a plebiscite in a local community would be a good demonstration to the rest of the nation," he said.

Just last week, Mr Howard told parliament that commercial investors, not politicians, would determine the location of nuclear reactors.

"(It is my) opinion that in 10, 15, 20 years time, public opinion will have shifted on this issue and people will see nuclear power as a very sensible alternative," he said today.

Treasurer Peter Costello also said today that local communities should be consulted before a reactor was built in their area.

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