Daily Archives: January 30, 2014

Doctors try to wake F1 star Schumacher from coma

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He has been in a medically induced coma for over a month, but former Formula 1 world champion Michael Schumacher’s sedation is being reduced to start the “waking up process,” his agent said Thursday.

Schumacher suffered severe head trauma in a skiing accident at the French Alps resort of Meribel on December 29.

The announcement marks a key change to Schumacher’s condition, which has been routinely described as “stable” by agent Sabine Kehm in recent weeks.

Kehm went on to repeat previous requests for the media to respect the privacy of Schumacher’s family.

The German has been inundated with support from around the world during his stay, with his former stable Mercedes running the message “Keep Fighting Michael” on its silver livery when they revealed their new car for testing on Monday.

 

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Israeli religious party anger at girlfriend choice of Netanyahu’s son

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Israel’s ultra-Orthodox party has reacted in anger to the revelation that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s son is dating a non-Jewish woman.

Yair Netanyahu, 23, is reportedly in a relationship with the Norwegian national Sandra Leikanger, 25, and met whilst studying at the same university in Israel.

Prime Minister Netanyahu casually mentioned his son’s relationship and travels in Norway with his girlfriend to the Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg in Davos last week, Israeli press reported. The relationship was first reported by the Norwegian daily Dagen.

Aryeh Deri, leader of Shas, a political party that has for decades been one of the key power brokers in Israeli politics, reacted with the words: “Woe is us.”

The matter is of a wider importance to all Jewish people, he noted.

Other Israeli politicians have questioned the importance of the issue.

In Israel, there are no civil marriages, so Israeli couples can get married only in religious courts, and only to partners of the same faith.

Prime Minister Netanyahu’s second wife was non-Jewish, before she converted.

 

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Scarlett Johansson ends eight-year run as Oxfam ambassador after controversy over her endorsement of SodaStream

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Scarlett Johansson has ended her relationship with a humanitarian group after being criticised over her support for an Israeli soda maker company that operates in the West Bank.

A statement released by Johansson’s spokesman on Wednesday said the 29-year-old actress has ‘a fundamental difference of opinion’ with Oxfam International because the humanitarian group opposes all trade from Israeli settlements, saying they are illegal and deny Palestinian rights.

Earlier this month, The Avengers and Her actress signed on as the first global brand ambassador of SodaStream International Ltd., and she’s set to appear in an ad for the at-home soda maker during the Super Bowl on Sunday.

SodaStream has come under fire from pro-Palestinian activists for maintaining a large factory in an Israeli settlement in the West Bank, a territory captured by Israel in 1967 and claimed by the Palestinians.

Johansson had served as a global ambassador for Oxfam since 2007, raising funds and promoting awareness about global poverty.

 

Hundreds of snakes, many decaying, found in house in Santa Ana, California

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Neighbors had been complaining for a while about the dreadful smell coming from William Buchman’s house in Santa Ana, California.

And when authorities raided Buchman’s two-story house Wednesday, they discovered the cause of the putrid odor.

Vast numbers of snakes — some alive, most of them dead and decaying.

In some cases, only the skins remained. Mice and rats were also in abundance.

Acting on a search warrant, police and animal services officers wearing protective suits and masks searched the house, finding dirty rooms full of stacks of plastic bins containing pythons.

Police said “several hundred snakes” were believed to be in Buchman’s home.

In just one room, they found more than 50 dead pythons and seven live ones, KCAL/KCBS reported.

Police said Buchman, a 53-year-old teacher, has been arrested and booked on suspicion of animal cruelty. He has not yet appeared in court or been formally charged.

It wasn’t immediately clear why he had kept so many snakes in his house.