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Miraculous: 5 missing divers found after 48 hours' hovering between life and death
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They will always remember it as the most terrifying 48 hours of their lives. Five divers who were missing for two days off Indonesia, have described how they were plunged from one life-threatening crisis into another after being swept away by strong currents. The rescued group hugged and wept tears of joy on Saturday after first surviving for nine hours in treacherous, shark-infested seas and then fighting off the world's largest and most deadly lizards on a remote island. The divers, who had clung to a log in the sea to prevent them from drowning, were found by national park rangers on an island inhabited by Komodo dragons, carnivores capable of killing humans. The exhausted, dehydrated, sun-burnt and hungry group had to throw rocks to repel the most persistent reptile as it repeatedly tried to attack them. Komodo dragons grow up to 10ft long and can kill animals more than twice their size, including water buffalo.
The five vanished, and were feared dead, after a dive off Tawa Besar island inside the Komodo National Park on Thursday. They were swept 25 miles away from their original position by fierce currents. The three rescued Britons are Charlotte Allin, 24, and her boyfriend Jim Manning, 30, both from Devon, and Kathleen Mitchinson, who was living in Indonesia. The other divers, Helena Naradainen who is Swedish, and Laurent Pinel, who is French, are also safe. read more »
From police reporter to legendary sportscaster: Jim McKay covered 12 Olympic games, host of "Wide World of Sports" for 37 years
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"They're all gone."
More than 35 years later, simply typing those words evokes memories of hooded terrorists and an unspeakable massacre. They were uttered by the great Jim McKay on worldwide television during the 1972 Summer Olympics, after 11 Israeli athletes and coaches were kidnapped in the Olympic Village and slaughtered during a failed rescue attempt at the Munich Airport.
Airline industry in crisis - impact of Iraq War: oil prices skyrocket non-stop, surge to record $139/barrel and soon to hit $150
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Oil prices surged to a record level of more than $139 a barrel last Friday, following analysts’ predictions that the price will soon hit $150 and could go as high as $200.
Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary said he expected several European airlines to go out of business thanks to high oil prices.The industry would restructure into a handful of strong players, he said. O’Leary predicts that just three European “network” airlines - British Airways, Lufthansa and Air France/KLM - will survive, and one low-cost airline, Ryanair. Budget rival Easyjet would be bought by one of the big three, he said.
United Airlines, a unit of UAL symbol, said Wednesday it will close Ted, a low-fare airline within an airline, in 2009 and reconfigure its 56 A320 aircraft with first-class seats. Ted serves leisure destinations from Denver and other United hubs.
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Rowling urges graduates to Imagine a Better World at Harvard Commencement, challenging them to use their gifts for greater good
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CAMBRIDGE - Acclaimed author J.K. Rowling, whose boy wizard captured the interest of countless readers with the "Harry Potter" series, urged Harvard graduates yesterday to use their imaginations to create a better world. In an earnest, personal speech, the British author reminded students that their talents and opportunities carry "unique status and unique responsibilities," and challenged them to use their gifts for the greater good.
"That is your privilege and your burden," she said. "If you choose to use your status and influence to raise your voice on behalf of those who have no voice, if you choose to identify not only with the powerful, but with the powerless, if you retain the ability to imagine yourself into the lives of those who do not have your advantages, then it will not only be your proud families who celebrate your existence, but thousands and millions of people whose reality you have helped transform for the better." "We do not need magic to change the world," she continued. "We carry all the power we need inside ourselves already: We have the power to imagine better."
IOC announces four candidate cities to host 2016 Olympic Games: Madrid, Tokyo, Chicago, Rio de Janeiro
"Madrid and Tokyo would seem to be the cities to beat in the race for the 2016 Olympics following the release of the short list determined Wednesday by the IOC Executive Board meeting in Athens. Cut from the field of seven cities were Baku, Doha and Prague. The EB decided on the short list after receiving a report on the seven cities prepared by a panel of IOC experts. The cities were scored by the experts on a 10-point scale across 11 categories. Based on the maximum score received in each category, Madrid and Tokyo ranked consistently higher than the rest of the field and tied in some categories.
In the category of government support, legal issues and public opinion, Madrid scored 9, followed by 8.8 for Rio de Janeiro, 8.5 for Tokyo and 7.9 for Chicago. For general infrastructure, Madrid and Tokyo tied with 8.9, followed by Chicago at 7.4 and Rio de Janeiro with 7.2. Sports venues scores put Madrid at the top with 8.8, followed by 8.7 for Tokyo. Rio de Janeiro scored 7.4 and Chicago 7.2. Tokyo took top spot for its Olympic Village – 8.9 -- with Madrid next at 8.7, Chicago following with 8.6 and Rio de Janeiro trailing with 7.7. In environmental conditions and impact, Madrid and Tokyo tie at 8.8, Chicago scored 8 and Rio de Janeiro 7.6. read more »
Switzerland's Roger Federer Faces Chile's Fernando Gonzalez in French Open Tennis Tournament Quarterfinals
"PARIS (Reuters) - World number one Roger Federer will face Chile's Fernando Gonzalez as he bids to join Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals of the French Open on Wednesday.
The Swiss top seed has been shunted onto Court Suzanne Lenglen with Centre Court honours going to local favourite Gael Monfils, who will take on Spanish fifth seed David Ferrer in the other quarter-final in the top half of the draw.
Federer should advance having lost only once in 11 meetings with the Chilean, but that one defeat came in their last encounter at the Masters Cup in Shanghai in 2007. Monfils will be hoping to become the first Frenchman to reach the last four at Roland Garros since Sebastien Grosjean in 2001."
Photos courtesy of AP Photo/David Vincent and Reuters/Francois Lenoir
Original Source: Reuters
U.S. Senator Edward M. Kennedy undergoes successful brain surgery
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After investigating his options with his trademark intensity, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy underwent 3 1/2 hours of risky and exquisitely delicate surgery Monday to cut out as much of his cancerous brain tumor as possible. "I feel like a million bucks. I think I'll do that again tomorrow," the 76-year-old Massachusetts Democrat was quoted by a family spokeswoman as telling his wife immediately afterward.
The sole surviving son of America's most glamorous and tragic political family was diagnosed last month with a malignant glioma, an often lethal type of brain tumor discovered in about 9,000 Americans a year. Cutting a tumor down to size — or "debulking" it — is extremely delicate because of the risk of harming healthy brain tissue that governs movement and speech. But Friedman, who is the top neurosurgeon at Duke and an internationally known tumor surgeon, said Kennedy should not experience any permanent neurological effects. Doctors said Kennedy was awake for much of the surgery, which begins with opening the scalp and removing a piece of the skull to expose the brain. Sometimes, to avoid damaging areas that control speech, surgeons use a probe to stimulate parts of the brain, then hold a conversation with the patient.
Monday's operation "spells nothing but hope," Duke's Sampson said from Chicago, where he was attending a conference of 30,000 cancer specialists. "What we're seeing with the surgery and this conference is that there's hope for patients with this kind of cancer."
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Photos courtesy of AP Photo/Getty Images
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