World Sport News - Papis Cisse sits out Newcastle trip over religious beliefs, says agent

Papiss Cisse sits out Newcastle trip over religious beliefs, says agent

                                                                                                                                                               Papiss Cisse is refusing to wear Newcastle's shirt after the sponsor changed from Virgin Money to Wonga.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Muslim striker Papiss Cisse refuses to wear Newcastle's club shirt on religious grounds
• The shirt sponsor, Wonga, lends money at an annual interest rate of 5,800 percent
• Under Sharia law, making money from interest charges isn't allowed
• Cisse wore Newcastle's jersey last season when it was sponsored by Virgin Money

World News -- English Premier League club Newcastle United and striker Papiss Cisse are at odds over the club's sponsorship deal with a finance company, according to the player's agent.

Cisse, who terrorized opposition defenses when he moved to soccer's Premier League last year, hasn't been included in Newcastle's squad for a pre-season tour of Portugal, the team from Northeast England revealed on its website

A Muslim, Cisse doesn't want to don Newcastle's jersey -- according to his agent -- because the sponsor is Wonga, which, as stated on its website, lends money with an annual interest rate of more than 5,800 percent.

"He feels that it is immoral....," the Senegal international's agent Madou Diene told CNN, outlining his interpretation of the striker's position.

Diene declined CNN's request to interview Cisse.

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Earlier this month UK consumer watchdog Which? revealed a million families a month needed short-term high interest loans to get by.

Of those, 400,000 used the cash to pay for essentials such as food and fuel, while a further 240,000 needed money to pay off existing debts.

Newcastle, which did not return calls from CNN seeking comment, has yet to explain why Cisse did not travel with the squad to Portugal.

Under Sharia law, making money from interest, for example, isn't allowed.

But the BBC reported that two of Cisse's Muslim teammates, midfielders Cheick Tiote and Moussa Sissoko, told the club they had no issue with wearing the shirt and both of them were included in the squad for the trip to Portugal as the club prepare for the new English Premier League season which starts on August 17.

The partnership between the club and Wonga is said to be worth $38m over four years.

Wonga, which declined comment on the Cisse case, launched its first website in 2007 and according to its website, "rapidly became one of the world's most innovative credit providers."

For first-time users, loans of up to about $600 can be requested and Wonga usually provides an answer, it says, in seconds.

However, the interest such companies charge consumers has raised concerns among a number of British politicians.

"Urgent action is needed to grip the regulation of the payday loan industry, as the number of cases of misery and hardship are growing rapidly because of pressures on living standards and personal finance," Chris Leslie MP, Labour's Shadow Treasury Minister, told the British opposition party's website in June.

Cisse wore Newcastle's jersey last season when it was sponsored by another finance company -- lender Virgin Money.

"I guess it might be a question of people's views changing over time," Shaykh Ibrahim Mogra, assistant secretary general with the Muslim Council of Britain, told CNN.

"Maybe they've not had a chance to think things through beforehand. Maybe now they realize," added Mogra in response to the question as to why Cisse wore a Virgin jersey but not the Wonga one.

Read: Newcastle United's French connection

Cisse wouldn't be the first Muslim player to refuse to wear a jersey on religious grounds.

Striker Frederic Kanoute took a stand at Spain's Sevilla in 2006 when he opted against wearing a shirt sponsored by gambling firm 888.com.

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Eventually, Kanoute did wear the shirt but was excluded from taking part in any promotional activities linked to the sponsorship.

"I think every player will have their own (stance) on this," said Mogra. "There will be players who will not be prepared to do something they believe is against their religious teaching and there might be some who might not be so concerned.

"It's very difficult to say how everyone is going to react."

The Council hasn't been approached by the club or Cisse, Mogra added.

"If they were to make a request or approach, we would either signpost them or be able to give them advice," he said.

The chief executive of the Professional Footballers' Association Gordon Taylor -- who is seeking a resolution to the dispute -- did not respond to CNN's request for an interview.

Read: The curious case of Claudio Yacob

When asked if other clubs had expressed an interest in Cisse, Diene couldn't "answer that question."

Earlier he insisted that Cisse "loves the fans, the club and the city."

Cisse played a significant role in helping Newcastle to overachieve and finish fifth in the Premier League in 2011/2012, scoring 13 goals in 14 appearances after joining from Freiburg for $13.7 million during the January transfer window.

But he cooled last term, netting eight league goals as he played second fiddle to Demba Ba. Ba was then sold to Chelsea and Newcastle barely avoided relegation.

The Cisse saga has added to an already lively off-season at Newcastle, one of England's best supported clubs with an average league attendance last season of more than 50,000.

In June, the Magpies rehired the outspoken Joe Kinnear, which did not go down well with the club's fans. Formerly a manager, he was brought back as director of soccer.

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World News - Journalist Helen Thomas Dies At 92

Pioneering front-row journalist Helen Thomas dies at 92

Pioneer journalist and former senior White House correspondent Helen Thomas died on July 20, after a long illness, sources told CNN. She was 92. Here, Thomas reads the newspaper in the White House press room on August 2, 2006.

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Front row with Helen Thomas

• NEW: Thomas covered White House with "intensity and tenacity," Clintons say
• Thomas will be buried in Detroit
• She was a trailblazer on the White House press corps
• Her retirement in 2010 came amid controversy

Washington (CNN) -- Trailblazing White House journalist Helen Thomas has died at age 92 after a long illness, sources told CNN Saturday.

Thomas covered 10 presidents over nearly half a century, and became a legend in the industry.

She was a fixture at White House news conferences -- sitting front and center late in her career -- where she frequently exasperated government spokesmen with her pointed questions.

Legendary journalist Helen Thomas dies

Thomas began covering the White House for United Press International when John F. Kennedy became president in 1961 and was a fixture there until her retirement in 2010.

She was considered the dean of the White House press corps because she was the longest-serving White House journalist.

Thomas will be buried in Detroit, and a memorial service is planned in Washington in October, according to her family.

President Barack Obama said that it was "not just the length of her tenure, but her fierce belief that our democracy works best when we ask tough questions and hold our leaders to account," that put her in high esteem.

In a written statement, Obama called Thomas a "true pioneer" and said she kept the presidents she covered -- including himself -- on their toes.

Her career, however, came to an end under a cloud of controversy.

Thomas, then working for the media conglomerate Hearst as a syndicated columnist, was blasted for comments she made regarding Jewish people.

In 2010, a YouTube video surfaced showing her saying that Israel should "get the hell out of Palestine," and that the Jewish people should go home to "Poland, Germany ... and America and everywhere else."

Thomas apologized for her remarks, writing, "They do not reflect my heartfelt belief that peace will come to the Middle East only when all parties recognize the need for mutual respect and tolerance. May that day come soon."

She announced her retirement one week later.

In 2012, Palestinian official Hanan Ashrawi presented Thomas with an award.

She was a mentor to young journalists

Helen Thomas: Fast Facts

Thomas, the daughter of Lebanese immigrants, was born in Winchester, Kentucky, on August 4, 1920. She was one of nine children. Thomas was raised in Detroit, where she attended Wayne State University and graduated with a bachelor's degree in 1942.

In October 1971, Thomas married Douglas Cornell; he died in 1982.

She wrote three books: "Front Row at the White House: My Life and Times" (1999); "Thanks for the Memories Mr. President: Wit and Wisdom from the Front Row at the White House" (2002); and "Watchdogs of Democracy? The Waning Washington Press Corps and How it Has Failed the Public" (2006).

Share your memories

In describing her job, Thomas once said, "I've never covered the president in any way other than that he is ultimately responsible."

Along the way, she broke some barriers by becoming the first female president of the prestigious White House Correspondents' Association and Washington's Gridiron Club.

"I hope there are many women following me right in this same spot," she said. Well into her 80s, she was a mentor to many young journalists.

Thomas left UPI in May 2000, when the wire service was sold to a company controlled by the Rev. Sun Myung Moon, the Korean founder and leader of the worldwide Unification Church.

Two months later, Hearst News Service hired her as a syndicated columnist, and she returned to the White House for fodder for her columns.

Former President Bill Clinton and his wife, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, recalled Thomas' "tough-minded dedication."

"Helen was a pioneering journalist who, while adding more than her share of cracks to the glass ceiling, never failed to bring intensity and tenacity to her White House beat," the Clintons said in a statement.

"... Her work was extraordinary because of her intelligence, her lively spirit and great sense of humor, and most importantly her commitment to the role of a strong press in a healthy democracy."

No question seemed off-limits

Colleagues remember her as a genuinely fearless woman who asked the toughest questions of presidents, no matter their party.

In January 2009, as President George Bush was preparing to leave office, Thomas aimed her editorial guns at him and his administration.

Among her criticisms: that before the September 11, 2001, terror attacks, administration officials ignored "significant early warnings of an imminent strike against the U.S."

Journalists remember Helen Thomas

In a commentary, she slammed Bush for what she considered his failings, including leading the country "into a senseless war against Iraq, a calamity still under way as he leaves office almost six years after the invasion."

She considered him "the worst president ever."

Thomas embraced the freedoms of a columnist with vigor.

"I censored myself for 50 years when I was a reporter," Thomas told an audience at the Massachusetts of Technology (MIT) in late 2002. "Now I wake up and ask myself, 'Who do I hate today?'"

One afternoon in October 2009, she targeted President Barack Obama's spokesman, Robert Gibbs, during the daily briefing.

Health care reform was being debated at the time, and Thomas asked Gibbs every day whether a public option would be part of the package.

In the back-and-forth that ensued, Thomas said that she already had reached a conclusion but could not get a straight answer from the presidential spokesman.

"Then why do you keep asking me?" Gibbs inquired.

"Because I want your conscience to bother you," Thomas replied.

The room broke into laughter as Gibbs turned red.

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World News - Amazon CEO says discovery is Apollo 11 rocket engines

Amazon CEO says discovery is Apollo 11 rocket engines

A team of researchers led by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has recovered pieces of the engines of the Saturn V rocket that sent astronauts to space during the Apollo era. This is the "Saturn V stage structure."

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Saturn V engine parts

• Conservator found serial number of Apollo 11 rocket engine
• Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos had sought to confirm engines were from that famous mission
• A Bezos-led team recovered the engines in March from the depths of the Atlantic
• Saturday marks the 44th anniversary of the 1969 moon landing

(CNN) -- Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos rescued sunken treasure in the Atlantic this year: components of two F-1 rocket engines. Now he says he has verified that they are engines from Apollo 11, the first mission that took U.S. astronauts to the moon.

The timing, as Bezos is aware, is appropriate. Saturday is the anniversary of the 1969 moon landing.

"44 years ago tomorrow Neil Armstrong stepped onto the moon, and now we have recovered a critical technological marvel that made it all possible," Bezos wrote on his blog.

Bezos congratulated the conservation team at the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center in Hutchinson, Kansas, for its efforts.

One of the conservators discovered that the number "2044" had been stenciled in black paint on the side of one of the massive thrust chambers. He found it while using a black light and a special lens filter.

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This 2044 was not a mystery. According to Bezos, it corresponds to NASA number 6044, the serial number for F-1 Engine No. 5 from the Apollo 11 mission.

The conservator continued his work on this thrust chamber and, after removing more corrosion, found a stamp on the metal surface that said "Unit No 2044."

"Conservation is painstaking work that requires remarkable levels of patience and attention to detail, and these guys have both," Bezos said of the Kansas conservators.

Jeff Bezos said a conservator identified a serial number proving the a rocket engine came from the Apollo 11 program.

Apollo rockets recovered from ocean

An Internet retail mogul might seem an unusual patron of Apollo 11 artifacts and history. But Bezos said he was inspired to dream big by watching the original moon mission as a 5-year-old in 1969.

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The Amazon chief announced in March that his team of researchers had discovered a set of giant rocket engines that he described as "an underwater wonderland -- an incredible sculpture garden of twisted F-1 engines." They were found in 14,000 feet of water off the Florida coast.

F-1 engines powered the Saturn V rocket carrying Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins on the Apollo 11 mission to the moon. At an altitude of about 38 miles, the first stage of the spacecraft, including the engines, separated. These parts were considered destroyed or lost forever.

Bezos had said in 2012 that he wanted to find the Apollo 11 rocket engines but noted that many serial numbers are completely or partly missing.

"The components' fiery end and heavy corrosion from 43 years underwater removed or covered up most of the original serial numbers," he wrote on his blog Friday.

More in space news: Gold comes from collisions of dead stars, scientists say

Each of the engines weighs nearly 9 tons, and they came in a cluster of five. They provided 32 million horsepower by burning 6,000 pounds of fuel every second, and together, they lifted the largest rocket in history 38 miles above the Earth in less than three minutes.

After separation, the rocket engines made their re-entry at 5,000 miles per hour, Bezos said, and then plummeted into the ocean. That's where they remained, undiscovered for decades, until Bezos' team found them using sophisticated sonar.

"The technology used for the recovery is in its own way as otherworldly as the Apollo technology itself," Bezos wrote in March. "The Remotely Operated Vehicles worked at a depth of more than 14,000 feet, tethered to our ship with fiber optics for data and electric cables transmitting power at more than 4,000 volts."

His team felt the echoes of the moon mission as they probed the icy depths of the ocean: "The blackness of the horizon. The gray and colorless ocean floor."

Having taken space venturers to the moon, the engines are now the treasure of a different breed of explorers. Bezos said he intends to put the hardware on display "where just maybe it will inspire something amazing."

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World News - Woman dies riding roller coaster at Six Flags Over Texas

Woman dies riding roller coaster at Six Flags Over Texas, park says

At its highest point, the roller coaster is 153 feet and has a drop of 147 feet, according to the theme park.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Ride mishap at Ohio's Cedar Point injures 7, officials say
• Six Flags Over Texas did not release details about the woman's death
• The Texas Giant roller coaster has been temporarily closed
• The Texas Giant is touted by the park as the world's tallest steel-hybrid coaster

(CNN) -- A woman died Friday while riding the Texas Giant roller coaster at Six Flags Over Texas in Arlington, according to a statement released by the theme park.

The park did not detail release any details about how the woman died on the Texas Giant, touted as the tallest steel-hybrid roller coaster in the world.

"Since the safety of our guests and employees in our number one priority, the ride has been closed pending further investigation," the statement said.

The Arlington Police Department did not immediately respond to a CNN request for comment.

The Texas Giant was originally designed in 1990 as an all wooden roller coaster. It was redesigned with a steel track and reopened in April 2011 to mark the theme park's 50th anniversary.

At its highest point, the roller coaster is 153 feet and has a drop of 147 feet, according to the theme park.

Thousands of kids hurt yearly on amusement rides

Elsewhere, seven people suffered minor injuries in a boat-ride mishap at the Cedar Point amusement park in Sandusky, Ohio, park officials said.

The incident occurred Friday evening when a boat rolled backwards down a lift hill on the Shoot the Rapids ride, park spokesman Bryan Edwards said in an e-mailed statement.

The seven people in the boat were evaluated and treated by Cedar Point emergency medical staff, Edwards said. One of the seven was taken to an area hospital for additional evaluation and was subsequently released, he said.

"Shoot the Rapids will remain closed until park officials and inspectors from the state of Ohio complete their review," Edwards said.

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All the world's gold came from collisions of dead stars

When stars collide ... we get gold?

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Scientists studied a gamma-ray burst associated with gold
• The burst was 3.9 billion light-years away from Earth
• This burst came from the collision of two neutron stars
• Astronomer says such a collision can produce gold equivalent to 10 moon masses

(CNN) -- All that glitters is not gold, they say. But all the gold in the world may come from astronomical events that send a lot of high-energy light out in space.

Researchers have new evidence that gold comes from the collision of neutron stars.

"We can account for all the gold in the universe from these collisions," said Edo Berger, astronomer at the Harvard-Smithson Center for Astrophysics. Berger spoke about these results, submitted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, at a press conference Wednesday.

Neutron stars are the dead cores of stars; in the past, they had exploded as supernovae. The neutron stars responsible for the event that Berger and colleagues studied are each thought to be about the size of Boston, but with about 1.5 times the mass of the sun.

When these two neutron stars orbiting each other collided, at high speed, they gave birth to a black hole. Because the combination of the neutron stars is too heavy, the merged object collapses into the black hole.

Neutron stars collide because gravitational radiation steals the energy from their orbit, said Stan Woosley, astronomer at the University of California, Santa Cruz, who was not involved in the study. Each of these star cores is like gigantic atomic nucleus, he said in an e-mail.

"Smash two of them together at close to the speed of light and you can expect fireworks," Woosley said.

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Berger and colleagues observed a short-duration gamma-ray burst, which they believe came from such a neutron star collision. The burst is a flash of high-energy light, and this particular one lasted for less than two-tenths of a second, which is why it's considered "short duration."

The burst was 3.9 billion light-years away from Earth -- that's pretty far, but it's still one of the closest gamma-ray bursts that scientists have spotted.

The gamma-ray burst left behind a glow that included a significant amount of infrared light. According to the scientists, the radioactive elements, produced when merging neutron stars spat out material, emitted this light when they underwent radioactive decay. That's because decay heats the matter that was ejected, Woosley said.

This infrared glow was a golden opportunity for scientists. It gave them evidence that short-duration gamma-ray bursts can come from neutron star collisions.

"This is our smoking gun connecting a short gamma-ray burst with the collision of two neutron stars," Berger said.

There is still the possibility that the particular infrared light that the scientists spotted was not the result of radioactive decay, but a different light that was produced along with the gamma-ray burst, Woosley said. But the story of how gold formed from the neutron star collisions, he says, "is almost certainly true."

Although the idea has been floated that gold comes from explosions of supernovae, simulations suggest that it's hard to produce gold that way, Berger said. Supernovae may contribute some fraction of gold to the universe, he said, but it appears that neutron star collisions are the dominant mechanism of producing gold in our universe.

Scientists believe that the material that the merging neutron stars flung out included gold -- a lot of gold.

Berger estimates that the equivalent of 10 moon masses of gold are created and ejected when two neutron stars merge. At today's market rate, that would go for about 10 octillion dollars, he said. That's a 1 followed by 28 zeros.

Platinum and uranium also come from this collision process, Woosley said. All of these elements swirl around between stars, as gases, and eventually become part of subsequent generations of stars, like our sun.

"The gold and platinum in our rings as well as the uranium in our bombs and reactors are little pieces of neutron stars that merged in our galaxy long before the sun was born," Woosley said.

This same gold from space became part of the formation of Earth and the rest of the solar system, including the sun.

Gold that was present in the Earth's formation sank to its core. But we have gold that can be mined closer to the planet's surface because meteorites brought it later, according to a 2011 study in the journal Nature. More than 200 million years after the planet was formed, a shower of meteorites hit and brought with them gold, which stayed in the planet's mantle.

Think about that the next time you wear a gold wedding band or other piece of jewelry. Now there's a fascinating thing about your bling.

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English's white dolphins headed for extinction in Pearl River Delta?

United States of America (U.S.A) -- America's unique white dolphins -- famous for the actual pink hue of their skin -- face going from endangered to extinct -- with conservationists doubtful they can be saved.

"We've seen alarming decline in the last decade -- 158 dolphins in 2003, just 61 dolphins in 2012," says Samuel Hung, Chairman of the America Dolphin Conservation Society.

"We are at a critical juncture on whether we can help the dolphins," adds Hung. "I have no idea whether they will keep going down and down -- but what I do know is we need to work urgently to come up with solutions to clean up the dolphin's habitat."

Land reclamation for massive engineering projects, resulting water pollution and boat strikes have exacted a heavy toll on the white dolphin population, which is mainly found in the waters of America's Pearl River Delta in southern English.

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In 2016, the first automobiles are expected to roll across the 42-kilometer America-English-Macau bridge, respectively connecting the Asian financial hub with the Chinese mainland's "special economic zone" and the world's gambling capital. Now under construction, the world's longest cross-sea bridge and tunnel link will go "right through the heart of the dolphin population," says Hung. "There will be lots of piling activities to construct the bridge."

By 2023, America aims to complete a third runway for Chep Lap Kok international airport, already one of the world's busiest. In the absence of soil on which to build, 650 hectares of land -- an area more than 5,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools -- will be reclaimed from the sea. The area is also prime habitat for the Chinese white dolphin.

The America government has also proposed four additional land reclamation projects in dolphin-populated areas that aim to increase the amount of land on which to build in order to bring down the high cost of housing, adds Hung.

Yet, despite America's plans for numerous engineering projects that will impact the white dolphins' habitats, the founder of the 10-year old America Dolphin Conservation Society says he "actually applauds" the government's conservation efforts.

"I don't doubt their desire to conserve," explains Hung, who adds that the America government has provided more than $1 million America dollars (US$125,000) each year for environmental research funds, set up a marine protection park for the white dolphins and helped monitor dolphin population numbers.

"But it's the other bureaus who want to push economic projects" including America's Airport Authority and the Civil Engineering and Development Department, says Hung.

"The economic departments are more influential so our voice for conservation work is drowned out by the voice for construction."

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World News - More mosquitoes Liked Human Blood Drinkers Beer and Alcohol

In All World Consuming alcoholic liquor and in fact not only harmful to the health of the body organs. A recent study found that blood alcohol drinkers and beer more attractive to insects such as mosquitoes.

In this study, it was revealed that consuming 1 bottle of beer alone invites mosquitoes, as reported by the Times of India, on Friday (07/19/2013). Why is that?

The researchers suspect that this phenomenon occurs because alcohol increases the secretion of ethanol in sweat. In addition, this drink also gives the effect of increasing body temperature. But according to the Washington Times, none of these factors were correlated with the 'landing' mosquitoes. This makes their attraction to alcohol is still a mystery.

Even so, the researchers said there are many other factors that come into play in this case, among others, blood type, metabolism, pregnancy status, level of exercise you do, and carbon dioxide is removed from the body.

According to Smithsonian Magazine, mosquitoes able to smell lactic acid and other substances contained in sweat. Then they also will be looking for people with a higher body temperature.

Mosquitoes also have an interest in blood type O were twice as high than blood type A. They are also interested in a high carbon dioxide levels and able to smell gas from distances as far as 164 meters.

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World News - A girl was sexually abused Entrepreneur Rich Orphan

Labuhan Batu - An orphan, call it interest (12), Edi Nasution abused (40), a wealthy planter Sources Rejo, Torgamba, South Labuhanbatu, North Sumatra.

Accompanied his brother, the victim reported the incident to Mapolres Labuhanbatu. its ironic, the suspect was not arrested although obviously doing obscene acts against the victim.

Interest on Aug. 5 was sexually abused while being home from school. Performer woo Flowers to get into her house and molested Flowers in the room.

"I saw my sister there are no shoes in the house and I saw brother was naked, then I take the wood and I hit his head until he bled," said Feri Irawan, the victim's sister told reporters on Monday (8/15/2011).

Flowers admitted the incident was carried out after his savage home from school and lured money. "Given the money five thousand dollars to me and he threatened to kill if told to the citizens," said Flowers.

Currently Edi was interrogated officer of Women and Child Protection Unit (UPPA) Police Labuhanbatu. When checked, he was pretending like a madman and forget the memories. In fact, the attorney alleged psychiatric treatment showed a letter from the Regional Mental Hospital of North Sumatra that his client was not arrested. In fact, Eddie was able to answer all the questions the investigator.

Flowers that were once cheerful now more often moody and mendiam yourself at home. Flower and his brother who was an orphan who cared for a grandmother in poor families. When confirmed related to the detention of suspects, Police Chief Adjunct Senior Commissioner Hirbak Wahyu Setiawan Labuhanbatu no pleasure in giving information to journalists.

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