Top 10 fat footballers

IS there a funnier sight in professional sport than a footballer carrying an spare tyre around his waist?

Even in today’s world of super-fit stars, there are still a number of chunky players filling up the biggest leagues.

No10: John Hartson
Hartson’s weight was like a yo-yo during his colourful career. The powerful striker was deadly during his time with West Ham but he struggled to keep the pounds off. The Welshman once told Bobby Gould to "keep his nose out" after the national boss criticised the player for being overweight.


No9: Tomas Brolin
Leeds fans thought they were ripped off when Brolin was unveiled as their new star signing. Once a lean, mean goalscoring machine for Sweden, the forward was a right porker by the time he turned up at Elland Road. After failing to shed his excess baggage in Yorkshire, he was also unable to revive his appetite for the game at Crystal Palace.


No8: Andy Reid
The Sunderland midfielder has a big belly as well as a lethal left foot. Managers swear that Reid is ultra-fit despite his extra tyre, although the fact that he failed to make the grade at Tottenham questions those views. The portly Irishman is back in the Premier League with the Mackems.


No7: Neil Ruddock
Ex-Liverpool and Tottenham defender Razor was not the sharpest with his diet. Beefy Ruddock was once transfer-listed by Swindon for being overweight, where he could not fit into his shorts: "The problem was there were numbers on the shorts and the previous No16 had a waist like Kylie Minogue.”


No6: Neville Southall
The plump Welshman was never the leanest of stars during his successful career. And by the time the Everton legend was winding down his career at Bradford, the effects of time were clearly evident. Yet, for all the jokes about his ballooning weight, there have been few better keepers than Southall.


No5: Ferenc Puskas
The Hungarian legend revealed that Real Madrid signed him despite him politely pointing out that he was 40lb overweight. The forward managed to reach the very top of the game despite possessing a body the same shape as a football. A party animal away from the pitch, the late Puskas would laugh at today’s dietary regimes.


No4: Jan Molby
The Liverpool midfielder proved a hit at Anfield even with his roly-poly physique. The Denmark star was a regular in the Reds’ midfield in the 80s and 90s, and is rightly hailed as a Kop legend, who cherish him for his contribution as much as his huge frame.


No3: Micky Quinn
The Coventry striker inspired the chant “He’s fat, he’s round, he’s worth a million pounds — Micky Quinn, Micky Quinn!” The rotund No9 was deadly for the Sky Blues despite being the butt of jokes from fans across the country. Quinn — or Sumo as he was nicknamed — called himself “the fastest player in the world over one yard.”


No2: William Foulke
Weighing in well at 24st by the end of his career, no wonder Foulke earned the nickname Fatty. The Sheffield United and Chelsea star was a giant at the end of the 19th century and beginning of the next. Foulke, who won the league with the Blades and appeared in three FA Cup finals, was a true hero of the game.


No1: Ronaldo
The Brazilian star tops this list because of his achievements in an over-sized body. The double World Cup winner and three-times World Player of the Year has been tipping the scales for years now. Knee injuries have not been kind to the AC Milan striker but neither has his love of food.

Man gets 18 years for spreading HIV

An HIV-positive man convicted of knowingly spreading the virus that causes AIDS was sentenced yesterday to 18 years in prison, with the judge describing his crimes as "despicable and selfish" for a few minutes of sexual gratification.

But Mr. Justice Joseph Quinn of the Ontario Superior Court stopped short of declaring Carl Leone, 32, a dangerous offender as the Crown had requested. That designation would have imprisoned Mr. Leone indefinitely.

Instead, Judge Quinn handed Mr. Leone 15 consecutive sentences totalling 49 years, which he then reduced to 18 years, saying the justice system is required to not impose an unduly harsh sentence. He said Mr. Leone's age, his lack of a criminal record and the fact that he pleaded guilty to spare his victims the trauma of testifying in court were factors in his sentence.

Mr. Leone, wearing a dark blue suit, showed no emotion as he stared straight ahead at the judge from the prisoner's box. His parents, sister and grandmother sat in the row behind him.

Mr. Leone pleaded guilty to 15 counts of aggravated sexual assault last April. Five of his victims, some of whom were present yesterday in court, are HIV-positive.

Windsor-Essex County Health Unit workers told Mr. Leone he was HIV-positive in 1997, seven years before his arrest in June of 2004.

The judge said he couldn't declare Mr. Leone a dangerous offender because the Crown did not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he would commit similar offences in the future.

But Judge Quinn said Mr. Leone's punishment should send a strong message to others who engage in this type of risky behaviour that it will not be tolerated.

Mr. Leone will have to surrender a DNA sample and his name will be added to Ontario's sex-offender registry. He will be eligible for parole in six years.

In announcing his decision, the judge described Mr. Leone's encounters with each of the 15 women and read pieces of their victim-impact statements.

The court heard that Mr. Leone never disclosed he had a sexually transmitted disease despite being asked by some of the women.

One woman said he would remove the condom during sexual intercourse despite her objections. Another woman said she had blacked out one night and when she awoke, she was in pain and vomiting after Mr. Leone had anal sex with her. Mr. Leone never told her he was HIV-positive.

In their victim-impact statements, some of the woman spoke about not being able to have children, while others shared stories of anger, loss of self-esteem and depression.

"Every day, twice a day, I have to take pills in order to stay alive. I'm dead inside," the judge read from one of the statements.

Another said the drugs are costing her $1,700 a month and she knows her life has been shortened. "I am uncertain about what my future will be like," the statement read.

Mr. Leone's mother left the courthouse in tears. Her daughter and husband followed. None of them would comment.

Mr. Leone's lawyer, Andrew Bradie, told reporters outside the courtroom that he would not appeal the sentence. He said he was pleased his client wasn't declared a dangerous offender or a long-term offender.

The latter designation was also before the judge and would have placed Mr. Leone under community supervision for up to 10 years after his release from prison.

Mr. Bradie said the judge applied the "totality principal" where, regardless of the number of complainants and the prison time for each conviction, the judge has an obligation to consider the entire picture, including the age of the offender, lack of a prior record and the chance for rehabilitation. He said the judgment was "thoughtful."

Of his client, Mr. Bradie said: "To the extent that he accepted responsibility, accepted that he is ill, began taking the regimen of ... drugs that he's taking now, I think he's in a lot better place now than a year ago."

Outside the court, Allen Heimann, medical officer of health for the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit, declined to comment on the sentence, but said he hopes the case will send a message to others.

Olympic Torch Snuffed Out In Paris

The Olympic torch relay in Paris has been cut short after chaotic protests by anti-China demonstrators.
The flame had already been extinguished four times by security forces after repeated clashes with pro-Tibet and human rights campaigners.

The city's mayor also cancelled a ceremony to mark the torch's passing as officials draped a Tibetan flag over the city hall's facade.

Mayor Bertrand Delanoe announced the cancellation after Green party members of the city council flew the flag.

Thousands of police sent on to the streets to protect the torch relay as it made its way around the city were unable to prevent demonstrators hijacking the event.

The torch had to be repeatedly extinguished amid safety fears caused by the demonstrations and several activists were arrested.

Two campaigners brandishing a Tibetan flag were arrested for trying to bar the torch's path.

And two members of media rights group Reporters Without Borders (RSF) - which disrupted the lighting of the flame in Athens - were held for trying to vault over the security cordon protecting the torch.

A member of the French Greens party had earlier been restrained by police when trying to grab the torch from the first of 80 torch bearers, former world 400m hurdles champion Stephane Diagana.

Several hundred demonstrators waving banners gathered on the Trocadero esplanade, just the other side of the river Seine from the Eiffel Tower, where the relay started.

Three RSF members climbed up the steel tower and unfurled a 13ft flag showing the five Olympic rings turned into handcuffs.

They then handcuffed themselves to the structure more than 200ft in the air.

Sky News Europe correspondent Greg Milam said extinguishing the flame was significant because the torch was supposed to be kept alight on its journey around the world.

"It's supposed to symbolise peace between nations," he said.


Protests overshadowed procession"It's clearly a massive blow to the organisers - the demonstrations along the route have had the desired effect."

Similarly chaotic scenes were seen when the Olympic flame was carried through London.

One demonstrator tried to snatch the torch from former Blue Peter presenter Konnie Huq, while another attempted to put out the flame with a fire extinguisher.

By the time double Olympic champion Dame Kelly Holmes lit a cauldron at the O2 Arena, some 37 arrests had been made.

International Olympic Committee chief Jacques Rogge has expressed concern at the demonstrations but said there was no momentum for a boycott of the Beijing Games.

Tibet's capital, Lhasa, was hit last month by Buddhist monks' protests against Chinese rule.

The demonstrations, which saw many people killed, sparked widespread media attention across the world.

Olympic torch relay in London marred by anti-China protests

At least 10 protesters against human rights abuses in China have been arrested in London for disrupting the Beijing Olympic torch relay, local police said on Sunday.

As a group of dozens of athletes and celebrities makes its way along the 31-mile relay route through London's streets, protesters have been continually jumping through the police cordon, and one activist tried to seize the torch.

The protests have focused on China's clampdown the Tibetan independence movement.

Two activists were arrested after attempting to put the torch out with fire extinguishers. The men subsequently issued a statement to the press saying: "Our protest is not directed at the Chinese people whatsoever but instead at the brutal Chinese regime that rules them."

The international torch relay is an "elaborate propaganda tool" to cover up rights abuses in China, the statement said.

The relay, which began at Wembley Stadium, is set to last over seven hours. The relay team will travel on foot, bus, and boat, taking a circuitous route that crosses Leicester Square and London Bridge in the city center, and will end up at the O2 stadium in north Greenwich.

Around $2 million has been spent on security for the event.

Since a Chinese crackdown on mass protests in Tibetan capital Lhasa in mid-March, international attention has been focused on human rights in China, and several European Union countries have called for a boycott of the August 8-24 Olympic Games.

The protests in Tibet began on March 10, when Buddhist monks held a demonstration marking the 49th anniversary of a failed uprising against Chinese rule of the mountainous province. The rallies turned violent four days later, when exiled Tibetans say Chinese forces launched a brutal campaign of arrests and shooting, killing around 140 people. Beijing says only 13 people were killed, 12 of them Han Chinese murdered by Tibetan separatists.

Police release Bolshevik activists detained for Red Square rally

All but one of the 25 National Bolshevik Party activists arrested on Saturday for staging an unsanctioned rally on Red Square have been released, a party spokesman told RIA Novosti on Sunday.

The party led by radical writer Eduard Limonov has been banned in Russia and branded an extremist organization by the authorities.

"All of the detainees, except one girl from St. Petersburg who is under 18, have been released," Alexander Averin said. "No criminal charges have been pressed so far."

The activists were detained on Saturday morning after entering Red Square under the guise of a wedding procession and holding a rally. A police spokesman said the activists resisted arrest, and that one of them let off a pepper spray in the face of a police officer.

On Sunday morning, police arrested 16 people for holding an unsanctioned rally outside the Altai Hotel in north Moscow. A police spokesman told RIA Novosti the activists were National Bolshevik members, but the party spokesman denied this.

"This was a provocation, we don't know this people," Averin said.

On Tuesday Limonov, who has a strong youth following, said he would appeal to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg over the Russian Supreme Court's refusal to lift the ban on his party.

The NBP has pursued 'direct action' tactics by publicly attacking people they considered symbols of President Putin's regime or its allies.

Group members are known to have thrown mayonnaise and tomatoes at prominent public figures, including ex-Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov, former NATO Secretary Lord George Robertson, Russian film director Nikita Mikhalkov. Activists have also staged protests by breaking into government offices in Moscow.

For such actions, which the radical group dubs "velvet terror," many of its activists were arrested and sentenced to prison terms.

Since founding the group in 1994, Limonov, 65, dropped his anti-capitalism rhetoric while preserving his nationalist message. In recent years, he has sided with the liberal opposition in Russia, which has been desperate to strengthen its ranks.

Zimbabwe Gets $50 Million Bank Note

How much does it cost for a loaf of bread in Zimbabwe?
With inflation raging at more than 100,000 percent, a loaf costs 50 million Zimbabwe dollars.

Now, Zimbabweans will need only one bill to pay for it. Authorities on Friday introduced a new 50 million bank note, state media reported.

The new Zimbabwe dollar note is worth $1 at the widely used black market trading and can buy just three loaves of bread.

It was the third time in three months that the nation's central bank issued a higher denomination note in response to record inflation.

Fat Children Banned From Donkey Rides

Children who weigh more than 50 kilos - or 8 st - are facing a ban on donkey rides at the seaside - to protect the donkeys' health.
The animals - traditionally known as beasts of burdens - are buckling under their load as the weight of obese kids wears them out.

The rules - which come into force today - have been brought in by the British Equine Vets' Association and The Donkey Sanctuary; the donkeys already have an annual "MOT" to ensure they are fit for work.

The ones who work on high days and holidays in Blackpool are already strictly monitored with each being micro-chipped so that they can be easily identified.

Along with the ban on excess weight, the national code of practice restricts donkeys to a six-day week with a full day's rest on the seventh.

Their owners must also give them a rest of at least an hour at lunchtime or in the evening.

The donkey ride has been a tradition in popular British resorts since Victorian days and there are still 850 seaside donkeys still hard at work, despite the move away from UK holidays to far-off climes.

"The average donkey weighs up to 160 kilos so we think 50 kilos is a reasonable top-weight to carry," a spokeswoman from The Donkey Sanctuary told Sky News.

"Also, donkeys don't have a water resistant coat so they need to have shelter too," she added with reference to the typical British summer.

Asked why donkeys evoked such sentiment, she was quite clear.

"They are so calm, so gentle and really placid. I also think people like donkeys because they remind them of their younger days, when it was traditional to see them on the beach - it takes them back to childhood".

The Sanctuary is not just involved in protecting the welfare of donkeys in this country but it also has interests abroad, including Ethiopia, Mexico, Kenya, Egypt and India and Europe.

Toddlers Can No Longer Marry in Ark.

Arkansas' marriage-age crisis is over. A law that mistakenly allowed anyone—even toddlers—to marry with parental permission was repealed by a measure signed into law Wednesday by Gov. Mike Beebe, ending months of embarrassment for the state and confusion for county clerks.
Lawmakers didn't realize until after the end of last year's regular session that a law they approved, intended to establish 18 as the minimum age for marriage, instead removed the minimum age to marry entirely. An extraneous "not" in the bill allowed anyone who was not pregnant to marry at any age with permission.

The bill read: "In order for a person who is younger than eighteen (18) years of age and who is not pregnant to obtain a marriage license, the person must provide the county clerk with evidence of parental consent to the marriage."

Some lawmakers called for a special session last year, saying the error would make it easy for pedophiles to take advantage of the law. Gov. Mike Beebe said he didn't see any imminent crisis and said the chances of children marrying under the law were slim.

Legislators, however, had the chance for a do-over this week when Beebe convened a special session to consider a hike in the state's severance tax on natural gas. They repealed the botched law, and reinstated 17 as the minimum age to marry for boys and 16 for girls.

Rep. Will Bond, the sponsor of the botched 2007 law and its correction, apologized for the error and asked his colleagues to "throw me a rope and bail me out here."

"I always thought if you put your name on a bill, you should be ready to take the blame if you're willing to accept the credit," Bond said Wednesday.

Bond, a Democrat, said there hadn't been any reports of young children attempting to marry under the 2007 law.

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Robot armies - another military revolution?

The political and human impact of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan has been widely reported and much discussed.

But of even greater historical significance, is the revolution in military practice and technology that today's conflicts are coming to signify.

The previous revolution, which affected all aspects of war without exception took place during and after World War II. This revolution produced new military hardware - nuclear weapons, guided weapons, ballistic and cruise missiles, radars, jet fighters and bombers, helicopters, pilotless aircraft and unmanned ground vehicles. It also changed the art of military operations and tactics. Air-defense operations, large-scale strategic troop deployments, carrier-based units, and combined combat units of ground forces, which combined the flexibility of motorized infantry with the mobility of tanks and the firepower of self-propelled artillery all appeared. All of these achievements and many others were made in the late 1930s and early 1940s.

The human race is still using the fruits of this revolution, and is moving forward. But gradually the price of war is becoming prohibitive - production of modern military equipment, its upkeep, and qualified soldiers are becoming more and more expensive. Combined with the development of electronics and robots, this has created the prerequisites for a revolution in robotics.

The first remotely controlled military vehicles appeared in the 1930s, and were broadly used during the war. It is enough to recall American and German experiments with unmanned flying bombs, or Goliaths, the Nazi remote controlled demolition vehicles. The quantity of remote controlled equipment was growing until quantity changed into quality at the turn of the past century - now ground, air, and sea-based robots of all kinds are playing an increasing role in warfare.

Pilotless aircraft are used for reconnaissance, targeting, and missile guidance. Some of them can even destroy targets. Ground-based robots are used for mine clearing, and breaching barriers. Many of them are armed and can be used in warfare in high-risk urban environments.

Robots have started to be employed in logistics support. The Oshkosh Truck company is developing unmanned trucks; while Boston Dynamics has produced a porter-robot called Big Dog since it is reminiscent of a big dog. It can carry loads up to 75 kg.

The potential of robotics is rapidly growing but it will take robots a long time to match soldiers and human-controlled technology. The main barrier is optics - no electronic optical system can compare with how the human brain and eye work together. One more restriction is the absence of a high-level artificial intellect, which would be capable of promptly reacting to ever changing situations. This is why remote controlled rather than fully autonomous robots are used.

However, there will be a time when robots will become the best value for the money. When this happens, a couple of battalions will be able to destroy an enemy tank division. Each battalion will consist of a control company and four companies with 15 to 20 vehicles carrying from 10 to 15 robots each. Each robot will be armed with two guided missiles and a machine gun. Equipped with a total of 1,200-2,400 robots controlled by 200 to 300 operators from a distance of several kilometers, these two battalions will be able to inflict heavy losses on enemy divisions, and destroy most of their tanks and infantry combat vehicles.

There is no doubt that a tank battle against these machines will be similar to the feats of Zinovy Kolobanov or Otto Karius (Soviet and German tank aces of World War II). Heavy armored vehicles with powerful artillery, equipped with active protection and interference systems will destroy robots practically without armor and protection systems (produced for less money) as in the testing grounds. But...

Even if one combat vehicle costs these future battalions 20 robots, a total of 1,200-2,400 robots will be exchanged for 60-120 tanks and infantry combat vehicles, with hundreds of killed and wounded crewmembers. Human losses of robotized battalions will be minimal unless an artillery regiment of the tank division destroys the control company. But it is likely to lose the artillery duel to the artillery division of the robotized enemy, which will be actively using pilotless aircraft to adjust its fire.

As a result, to cover the losses one side will have to call up several people and spend considerable resources on the production of more robots, while the other side will have to replace several hundred servicemen and spend a somewhat smaller sum on new combat vehicles. The latter will be very well protected, heavily equipped with arms and mobile but nonetheless vulnerable - with the inevitable loss of human lives.

The situation in the air may be similar. Enemy aircraft will be destroyed not by fighters, but by pilotless flying vehicles controlled from flying command posts. Each fighter can destroy five or six such vehicles, but at some point there will be no missiles left and it will be downed by the seventh, or by another fighter, which will be able to approach it unnoticed under the cover of pilotless flying vehicles.

The situation under water is likely to be identical. Nuclear-powered submarines with a price tag of a billion dollars or more will encounter the massive use of relatively compact underwater robots capable of carrying torpedoes. The latter will have inferior sonar systems, but they will come in large numbers. As a result, warfare will become a race of life against hardware. Its outcome is obvious - it is much easier to mourn robots than people. Will our army start updating its equipment in time? A delay may be more dangerous than it was in 1941.

Two Siberian villagers seek damages for fallen rocket parts

Two villagers in Russia's southwestern Siberian Altai Republic plan to sue the space agency Roscosmos for damages over fallen fragments of carrier rockets, the local administration said on Thursday.

On February 5 a three-and-a-half-meter (11 foot) long fragment of a Proton-M carrier rocket launched from the Baikonur space center leased by Russia in nearby Kazakhstan fell near the yard of an Altai shepherd.

The second incident occurred on March 11 when a small rocket fragment landed in a village in the Altai Republic destroying a shed roof.

The shepherd is seeking damages of 1 million rubles ($40,000) from Roscosmos, saying that the rocket fragment fall badly frightened his children. Earlier he sought 500,000 rubles ($21,000) but raised the claim.

The second villager has not specified the size of his claim, saying it should be established in compliance with the law.

In both incidents, the fragments fell outside the designated area for rocket debris.

The local administration has sent a letter to Roscosmos along with the villagers' two lawsuits, requesting that the space agency prevent the fall of rocket fragments outside the designated area.

Meanwhile, Roscosmos said the Finance Ministry has not yet devised a mechanism of compensation payments for such cases.

"While the Finance Ministry has not yet devised a mechanism of enforcing the rights of affected residents, it is possible to speak about payments only after a corresponding court ruling," a Roscosmos spokesman said.

A few years ago another resident of the region sought damages from Roscosmos in similar circumstances. A court awarded him a mere $400 in compensation.

The Altai Republic has been used as a "cemetery" for fallen fragments of carrier rockets launched from the Baikonur space center for more than 40 years. Experts estimate that about 2.5 metric tons of "space waste" have fallen in unpopulated areas of the republic during this period.

Astronomers see 'youngest planet'

An embryonic planet detected outside our Solar System could be less than 2,000 years old, astronomers say.

The ball of dust and gas, which is in the process of turning into a Jupiter-like giant, was detected around the star HL Tau, by a UK team.

Research leader Dr Jane Greaves said the planet's growth may have been kickstarted when another young star passed the system 1,600 years ago.

Details were presented at the UK National Astronomy Meeting in Belfast.

The scientists studied a disc of gas and rocky particles around HL Tau, which is 520 light-years away in the constellation of Taurus and thought to be less than 100,000 years old.

The disc is unusually massive and bright, making it an excellent place to search for signs of planets in the process of formation.

The researchers say their picture is one of a proto-planet still embedded in its birth material.

Dr Greaves, from the University of St Andrews, Scotland, said the discovery of a forming planet around such a young star was a major surprise.

"It wasn't really what we were looking for. And we were amazed when we found it," she told BBC News.

"The next youngest planet confirmed is 10 million years old."

If the proto-planet is assumed to be the same age as the star it orbits, this would be some one hundred times younger than the previous record holder.

'Record holder'

But there is an intriguing suggestion that the gas giant, which is some 14 times the size of our Jupiter, could be even younger.

Using the Very Large Array (VLA) of radio telescopes in the US, the researchers studied the system at emission wavelengths specifically chosen to search for rocky particles about the size of pebbles. The presence of these pebbles is a clue that rocky material is beginning to clump together to form planets.

In the UK, scientists used the Merlin radio telescopes based on Jodrell Bank in Cheshire to study the same system at longer wavelengths. This allowed them to confirm the emissions were from rocks and not from other sources such as hot gas.

In addition to detecting super-large dust in the disc around HL Tau, they also saw an extra bright "clump" of material.

This confirmed a so-called "nebulosity" seen a few years earlier at about the same position, by a team led by Dr Jack Welch of the Berkeley-Illinois-Maryland Array, US.

Formation theories

Dr Ken Rice, from the Institute of Astronomy in Edinburgh, said the discovery shed new light on theories of planet formation.

According to one model, planets form from the bottom up. Under this scenario, particles of rocky material collide and "stick" to one another, forming a bigger and bigger object.

But he thinks the proto-planet in HL Tau formed relatively quickly when a region of the disc collapsed to form a self-contained structure. This could occur because of gravitational instability in the disc itself.

Dr Rice said his computer simulations were such a good fit for the observations that it seemed the mechanism might really operate in nature.

Intriguingly, another young star in the same region called XZ Tau may have made a close pass of HL Tau about 1,600 years ago.

Although not required for planet formation, it is possible that this flyby perturbed the disc, making it unstable. This would be a very recent event in astronomical terms.

"It's possible it gave a 'yank' to one side of the disc around HL Tau, making it unstable, and that this was a 'trigger' for the planet to form," Dr Greaves explained.

"If the planet formed in the last 1,600 years, that would be incredibly recent."

The Royal Astronomical Society's National Astronomy Meeting 2008 continues until Friday at Queen’s University Belfast.

Yahoo! Announces Next Generation of Mobile Search, to Provide Better Answers and Easier Ways to Search

Today, Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) unveiled Yahoo! oneSearch 2.0, a new version of its award-winning mobile search service. Key enhancements will allow users to initiate searches faster using text or voice. Yahoo! also plans to provide greater relevance through richer, more detailed search results by opening up Yahoo! oneSearch to publishers to integrate content, simplify search input with Search Assist and voice-enabled search, and make search instantly accessible on the idle screen of many phones. These innovations build on Yahoo!'s strategy to become the starting point for the most mobile consumers.

"With the launch of Yahoo! oneSearch in 2007, we revolutionized mobile search by re-creating search specifically for the mobile phone, focusing on answers, not just Web links. In just over a year, we signed 29 partnerships with carriers across the globe, covering more than 600 million consumers under contract," said Marco Boerries, executive vice president, Connected Life, Yahoo! "With Yahoo! oneSearch 2.0, we are fundamentally changing the way consumers use the Internet on their mobile phones."

OPENING YAHOO! ONESEARCH: BETTER ANSWERS, NOT JUST WEB LINKS

Yahoo! took a major step forward in enhancing its popular Yahoo! oneSearch service by previewing plans to open up mobile search results to publishers and developers across the Internet. By enabling publishers to integrate relevant content into the Yahoo! oneSearch results, it is more likely that consumers will be able to find exactly what they're looking for. Opening up Yahoo! oneSearch will:

-- Turn web search results into answers - the usefulness of the results increase as more actual content is returned versus traditional web links

-- Unlock the power of the Semantic Web - results integrate more helpful content, much that otherwise is not usually surfaced in search results

-- Provide more relevant content - consumers receive richer information, into which they can dive deeply

For example, whereas today's search results for "Italian restaurants" includes information such as addresses and phone numbers, open results could also include information from restaurant booking companies displaying the number of available reservations. Or, as another example, search results for "London" might provide transit schedules from public transit providers such as upcoming arrival and departure information.

By opening up its results, Yahoo! oneSearch will enable enhanced discoverability for publishers, providing them with control over how their content is presented in the mobile search results page and how it reaches the consumer. With an open search model, Yahoo! oneSearch is designed to connect consumers directly with their content right in the search results and generate more traffic to the publisher's content or site.

Open search results are expected to debut with initial partners in Q2 2008.

YAHOO!'S MOBILE SEARCH ASSIST - MAKING SEARCH INPUT EASIER

Yahoo! oneSearch is simplifying mobile search by taking the pain out of typing search queries on mobile phones. Yahoo! oneSearch with Search Assist provides:

-- Faster and easier input - reducing the time it takes to enter in your search query.

-- Predictive text completion - as you begin to type, Search Assist surfaces the most common search queries in real time that match the letters you have submitted so far. As soon as you see a query that matches what you were typing, select it and your results are returned. For instance, a consumer searching for information about "Hillary Clinton" can just type "hil" and search assist will instantly suggest "Hillary Clinton" along with "Perez Hilton," "Hillary Duff" and the other most common search terms containing those letters.

-- Contextual recommendations - Search Assist is intelligent enough to recommend more refined results than your initial query. For example, as you type in "Apple," Search Assist may recommend links such as Apple iPhone, Apple iPod, or Apple stock price.

At launch, Search Assist is available for the iPhone and is expected to become available on additional AJAX-compatible devices over the coming months.

VOICE-ENABLED YAHOO! ONESEARCH - THE SIMPLEST WAY TO SEARCH

While Search Assist is easier than typing, talking is easier yet. To make that possible, Yahoo! is partnering with vlingo, a leading speech-recognition company.

With the voice-enabled version of Yahoo! oneSearch, consumers can search for anything, including flight numbers, locations, Web site names, local restaurants, and more, by simply speaking. For example, a search query like "N-C-Double-A" instantly returns a rich set of results highlighting the latest tournament scores, upcoming game times, and breaking news. Whereas most mobile voice recognition systems are specific to vertical categories such as local listings, Yahoo! oneSearch with Voice lets consumers perform "wide open" searches - returning relevant results for practically every kind of query.

Consumers do not need to follow prompts and think about how to say a mobile search; with Yahoo! oneSearch they simply speak whatever they are looking for and have access to instant answers.

Key Features Include:

-- Wide-open voice-enabled mobile search - Speak anything and get relevant results returned through oneSearch.

-- Personalizes to your voice - Voice-enabled Yahoo! oneSearch adapts to your voice the more you use it.

-- Multi-modal input - Allows users to switch between speaking and typing at any time, enabling consumers easy access to refine queries.

Available beginning today for select Blackberry devices including the 8800 series, Curve, and Pearl in the United States, the new voice-enabled Yahoo! oneSearch can be downloaded from http://m.yahoo.com/voice. Over the coming months, the product is expected to support additional devices and become available internationally.

IDLE SCREEN SEARCH - EASIER FOR CONSUMERS TO FIND YAHOO! ONESEARCH

Yahoo! is not only making it easier to enter a search query with Search Assist and voice input, but it also plans to make it easier to access the search box. Yahoo! today also previewed an innovative idle screen search service that makes it easier to search on your phone by integrating the search box right into the main screen. The idle screen will give users one-click access to Yahoo! oneSearch and the internet. Searching will be easier and faster, too -- no need to open your browser; simply search (using text or voice) and get the answers you're looking for. This idle screen solution is expected to roll out in Q2 2008.

About Yahoo!

Yahoo! Inc. is a leading global Internet brand and one of the most trafficked Internet destinations worldwide. Yahoo! is focused on powering its communities of users, advertisers, publishers, and developers by creating indispensable experiences built on trust. Yahoo! is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California.

For more information on Yahoo! Mobile please visit http://mobile.yahoo.com/newsroom.

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Microsoft Coffee-Table PCs Surface at AT&T Stores

AT&T will soon be the first company to use Microsoft's touch-enabled, tabletop Surface computers as customer-service kiosks in stores.

The carrier said Wednesday that beginning April 17, Microsoft Surface computers will be set up in select retail locations in New York, Atlanta, San Antonio, Texas, and San Francisco.

AT&T plans to use Microsoft Surface computers to provide information to customers about mobile devices and other products being sold in its retail outlets. Customers can find out the particulars of a device simply by placing it on the Surface screen; the information will automatically appear on the screen by reading sensors in the devices. Customers also can compare devices side-by-side this way.

Customers also can view interactive coverage maps and use touch and hand movements to move and work with the maps to determine the coverage areas for their wireless service. Eventually, AT&T also plans to add the ability to purchase accessories for devices, such as ringtones, graphics, video content and the like, using drag-and-drop and touchscreen capabilities on the Surface kiosks.

Depending on the success of the deployments in the first four cities, AT&T will decide where it will install them in other cities and markets.

Microsoft first unveiled the surface computers as a project code-named Milano a little less than a year ago. A Surface machine is about the size and shape of a coffee table with a flat, touchscreen display. Users interact with the machines merely by touching the screens and making various hand motions to move icons, photos or other files around, or to launch applications.

More information about AT&T's launch is available on the company's Web site.

Olympic torch kicks off five-continent tour in Kazakhstan

The Olympic torch began its mammoth, five-continent relay on Wednesday in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

During the official ceremony to mark the beginning of the flame's worldwide tour, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev received the torch from the Chinese ambassador to Kazakhstan and then ran a short, symbolic distance with it. He then handed the flame over to Bakhtiyar Artayev, a Kazakh boxing gold medalist at the 2004 Athens Olympics

The Summer Olympic Games are due to begin in Beijing on August 8.

"I am sure that the Beijing Olympics will open a new path for the global development of sports in the 21st century," Nazarbayev said at the ceremony, which ended when a Kazakh horseman rode through a central square, the flaming torch held above him, followed by a procession of camels, horses and cheerleaders.

In total, 80 famous Kazakh athletes, cultural figures and politicians are to carry the torch along the streets of Almaty on Wednesday. The flame will then go on to Istanbul, and then on April 5 to St. Petersburg, Russia's second largest city. The flame is also due in London, Paris and San Francisco, among other cities.

The Olympic torch arrived in Almaty, Kazakhstan's former capital and its largest city, on April 1. Some 4,500 police and security agents are said to be on duty in the city, and there have been no reports of protests.

Pro-Tibetan protestors have pledged to meet the Olympic flame with demonstrations throughout its 137,000-kilometer (85,100-mile) journey. Rights groups are also expected to use the occasion to raise the issue of human rights in China, as well as the country's arms trade with Sudan.

Last Tuesday, the European Parliament's president spoke of the possibility of a boycott of the Games over China's heavy-handed response to recent protests in China.

"We must not exclude the possibility of a boycott of the Beijing Olympics. We want them [the Games] to be a success, but not at the expense of the cultural genocide of Tibetans," Hans-Gert Pottering said in an interview with the German newspaper Bild am Sonntag.

Brazil unveils 62-million-year-old crocodile

Brazilian scientists have found the fossil of a previously unknown species of marine crocodile which lived 62 million years ago and survived the extinction of the dinosaurs, researchers said.

The crocodile "Guarinisuchus munizi," also known as the Sea Warrior, for outliving the end of the dinosaur era 65 million years ago, has given rise to new theories on the migration of the species. It was found in the northeast coastal region of Pernambuco.

Alexander Kellner of the National Museum at Rio de Janeiro said: "Based on the discovery, we know that's what happened near the Brazilian coast. Now the question is whether the same happened worldwide. We believe it did."

Scientists believe that the crocodile, which is three meters long (10 feet) and originated on the African continent and then migrated to South America and then onto North America.

The fossil, which includes a skull, jaw and vertebrae, is in good condition allowing scientists to create a full scale model of the crocodile which will soon go on display in the national museum.

South American paleontologists have made two other key reptile discoveries in recent years. A 70 million-year-old crocodile, dubbed the "Terrible Crocodile of Uberaba," was discovered in 2006. And more recently, in January scientists unveiled an 80 million-year-old land reptile, which is believed to be the missing link between modern-day and prehistoric crocodiles.