Slim or die man sheds 44 stone

Lose weight or die!

That's the stark ultimatum doctors delivered to a 39-year-old Englishman, who grew to a colossal 60 stone.

Colin Corfield's battle for survival was the subject of a poignant and moving ITV television documentary.

Filmed over two-and-a-half years, 'Lose 30 Stone or Die' depicts his bid to reclaim his life after drug and alcohol problems in his early 20s sent his weight spiraling out of control.

The Runcorn pub landlord in Cheshire was warned two years ago that his own body fat could suffocate him.

So he decided to take drastic action and have risky gastric surgery. It has proved such a success that he has now shrunk to 16 stone!

In the TV program screened in December 2007 he said life was "fantastic" and he was looking forward to his first real Christmas in decades.

"I won't be stuck in a corner watching everyone else, feeling like I'm putting people out. It's my first Christmas as the new me."

While Colin has a new appetite for life and can walk everywhere, work properly, socialise and feels good about myself, it wasn't always that way.

As a teenager he found it hard to deal with a drinking domineering father and he turned to food for comfort.

He was obese by the time he reached 30 and when he began running his own pub, his weight spiraled out of control. "I was a big fella so I could drink 20, 30 pints in a day and not get drunk," he recalled.

He ate takeaways at 2am. He snacked on crisps, chocolates and diners all day.
He tried diets and several times managed to lose 10 stone, but then he would put it back on again.

By the autumn of 2005, Colin was so big he couldn't leave his bed and simple tasks like going to the toilet and getting washed were impossible for him.

"I'd never let anyone weigh me. But I must have been 60 stone. I couldn't walk more than a few steps or go out," he remembered.

Whenever I could, he would go up on the roof and hose myself down with a hosepipe "like an animal" and he would use a bucket for a toilet.

Nights were especially dangerous. Colin needed an oxygen mask so his weight wouldn't crush his lungs.

"It was degrading. I was so depressed. I couldn't see the point of going on," he said, admitting he had contemplated suicide.

Then he saw a TV programme about gastric surgery and thought it would work for him.

His family found a surgeon willing to cut away most of his stomach and his mother sold her bungalow to raise the necessary £32,000.

But despite Colin cutting down on alcohol and food, and slimming to 48 stone, the surgeons' instruments were too small to cope with his size when they tried an operation in November 2005.

"I was distraught," Colin said, told he had to lose another 10 stone.

He went back to his diet and hired out a local pool to swim in private.

He reached his target weight of 38 stone in November 2006 and the drastic surgery finally went ahead.

The doctors had warned him that one in 19 people die during the procedure but Colin was happy to take the risk. If I hadn't he would have died anyway, he believed.

Colin has now been left with a stomach the size of an egg, enough for him to survive on. Instead of a large cooked breakfast, he now begins his day with a single Weetabix. He has also replaced the pints with an occasional Southern Comfort.

"Food isn't a big deal for me anymore. I was addicted but now I am full after my small meal. Now I feel fantastic.

"I was very, very sad at the time I was heavy. But I'm not sad anymore - I've got my life back.

"I can go back and watch the match at Everton. I used to do it all the time before I got too big to get through the turnstile," said Colin.

Werewolf boy appeals to doctors to find a cure

An 11-year-old "werewolf" boy who desperately seeks a cure for his condition is baffling medical experts.

Pruthviraj Patil is one of 50 in the world who suffers from hypertrichosis, a rare genetic condition known as Werewolf Syndrome.

As a result his face and body is covered in thick, matted hair.

But he is hoping doctors will one day find a cure for his ailment.

Born in the Indian district of Sangli, near Bombey, he hardly ever leaves his village because of his fear of being traunted by strangers.

The only parts of his body that are not covered with hair are the palms of his hands and soles of his feet.

The son of a well off farmer, his parents have tried homeopathy, traditional Ayurvedic remedies and laser surgery. But none of them have worked.

It is believe his genetic condition was caused by a flaw during pregnancy.

"Why did God do this to us," his 32-year-old mother Anita pleads. "He looks so odd and whever we go people throng to see him."

Plastic surgeon Vinay6 Saoji has examined the boy and confirms that the condition is very rare.

"Hairy nevus, where a person has patches of excess growth, or hirsurism, is not uncommon, but hair persisting all over the body is very rare," he added.

Pruthviraj says he is anxious to get the hair removed but even after laser treatment it simply grows back.

The doctors don't have any answers to his predicament.

When he first went to school he said he got bullied and the other children laughed at him. But now they have got used to him and they treat him like normal.

He appealed to the doctors to help find him a permanent cure.

Ugly scenes as 12 million bees escape after California crash

It must have been a driver's worst nightmare - cruising down the highway and suddenly running smack into millions of angry swarming bees.

The bees were on the loose in California after a truck in which they were being transported flipped on its side on the highway.

The California Highway Patrol said eight to 12 million of the honey bees escaped from the crates in which they were stored.

The truck was carrying over 400 beehives with 30,000 bees in each.

The bees stung police officers, fire crews, and tow truck drivers trying to corral them after the accident.

"People were being stung left and right. It was an ugly, ugly scene," one police officer said.

The great escape happened near Sacramento and the insects swarmed over an area of Highway 99.

For seven hours authorities brought in handlers who used smoke in a bid to calm the bees and coax them back into the hives.

Several beekeepers driving past the accident stopped to help the emergency services deal with the bees.

The highway had to be closed for a period.

Police did not know what caused the tractor trailer carrying the bees to flip over while entering the highway on its way to Yakima, Washington. But they said they believe the driver may have been driving too fast.

The bees had been used to pollinate crops in the San Joaquin Valley.

The honeybee is the world's premier pollinator and is invaluable to farmers for pollination.

But there has been a shortage of them in recent times because of "Colony Collapse Disorder". US beekeepers have been losing thousands of their bees, puzzling scientists. This has led to a rise in honey prices and has also threatened fruit and vegetable production.

After a seven-hour clean-up operation at Sacramento, police were unable to say how many bees remained unaccounted for. But they were not getting any calls from panicked drivers. "No news is good news," one officer said.

The man with no face - medical science offers new hope to face-eating tumor man

Above: Jose Mestre and his sister Guida in London. Pictures below show Jose aged 14 when the tumor was still small, and as he is now.

A victim of horrific facial disfigurement - known as "the man with no face" - has been given new hope by the advancement of medical science. Jose Mestre, from Lisbon, Portugal, has been losing his face to a huge growth for the past 35 years, distorting it out of all recognition - and it's still growing. The tumor on 51-year-old Jose's face is a collection of blood vessels that have expanded, producing a raised red area on the skin. Jose was born with a strawberry-coloured birthmark on his upper lip. At puberty it began growing, eventually smothering his lips, nose and one of his eyes. Now it is 33cm long and weighs 3kg. But Jose's religious faith - as a Jehovah's Witness he refuses to accept a blood transfusion - has prevented him from having surgery to remove the growth. Jose's rare condition was the subject of a Discovery Channel TV documentary 'The Man With No Face', part of the 'My Shocking Story' series. It reveals how top medical experts in London have now held out hope of helping Jose, a well-known figure around the streets of Lisbon. A leading British surgeon has offered to treat Jose using ultrasound waves to coagulate the blood before the operation. This should remove the risk of heavy bleeding - satisfying his religious beliefs about blood transfusions in the process. Dr Iain Hutchison, of St Bartholomew's in London, is confident an operation with a harmonic scalpel could make him look a lot more normal. Discovery Channel said: "Surrounded by a loving family, it seems incredible that he has not been treated and his face was allowed to grow so big. However, through years of medical misinformation, some misdiagnosis, lack of finances, and reluctance to undergo treatment due to religious beliefs, the growth has continued to obliterate his face." My Shocking Story follows Jose on a journey through Europe to seek medical advice for one last chance to stop his face from suffocating him. In this journey of a lifetime he travels by train, via Paris, to Britain, to meet the top experts in London. He goes through a series of tests, consultations, and meets other patients with a similar affliction. In London he also spends time with his sister Guida and the rest of his family, enjoys being a tourist in London, while making the biggest decision of his life. Jose's dream is to live a long and normal life. Following the showing of the Discovery documentary he continues to adhere to his 'no blood transfusion' religious principles. But he has agreed to go back to the London hospital in 2008, when doctors hope to carry out specialist surgery to begin removing parts of his tumor, without the need for blood transfusions.

Yoda - the cat with four ears

Meet Yoda, a household pet born with an extra pair of ears.

Chicago, Illinois, couple Valerie and Ted Rock took the cat in two years ago after they visited a local bar, where a group of drinkers were handing the animal around and making fun of him.

Since being adopted by the Rocks and after getting his picture posted on the Internet, the two-year-old feline has become an international media celebrity.

The Rocks have received calls from Good Morning America, Fox News and The Tyra Banks Show. The moggy's mugshot has graced the pages of the London Guardian and British tabloids.

Despite his strange appearance, Yoda - named after the pointy-eared Star Wars character (pictured below) - is a perfectly normal and affectionate cat and a delight to have around.

His extra ears are thought to be the result of a genetic mutation.

But Yoda's owners are keeping a close watch on their much-loved pet. They are concerned he could be catnapped because he is so different.

Colors And Fashion: When To Wear Yellow

This article is a guide to knowing when to wear yellow. Yellow has the possibility of making or breaking a fashion look.

Yellow is a color that immediately grabs your attention in the most direct way possible.It's used liberally in various warning signs and labels.It's bright, loud, and holds the eye instantly""even more so than white.It's a color representative of spring and summer, at times festive and giddy.

When you decide to wear yellow, let's face it: you have just decided that you want to be noticed, and not in the most subtle way possible.


Wearing yellow with just about any other color in the spectrum can easily become a fashion land mine.For instance, alternating yellow and black in an outfit may make you look like a human-sized bumble bee.Yellow and orange in an outfit is rather garish, as two loud colors close to one another in the color spectrum tend to clash.In general it's the brighter shades of color that will clash badly.

Yellow and most other medium colors such as gray and brown can potentially become a fashion misstatement.Also, offshoots of these colors, beige, dark brown and the lighter grays may not compliment yellow very well.Strong colors like orange, green, purple and red should be avoided with yellow altogether in the same attire.

Surprisingly, certain shades of blue match with certain shades of yellow, and to clarify the earlier assessment, certain shades of gray.However, bright/light blues with yellow represent another range of garish color combinations to be avoided.When mixing with medium colors, the yellow should be toned down to a shade similar to pastels, and the medium color should be deep and rich.This makes for a pleasing contrast, for instance, a pastel yellow blouse and medium gray pants or skirt combination.

Below is a guideline to aid you in deciding how to wear yellow:

Women: a rich navy blue skirt compliments a pale yellow blouse or top.The skirt may even have a fine pattern print, like polka dots or hound's tooth.The same scheme may be applied with a charcoal gray skirt.Yellow should be avoided in any dress except for a formal gown or a sundress.In a formal gown, you want the yellow to be pale, a subtle effect while still drawing the eye.A bright yellow summer dress is likely to have some kind of design to break up the solid color, like a floral print.Yellow slacks should be avoided.A yellow cotton shorts outfit looks good and yellow should be avoided in shoes.

Men: A pastel yellow dress shirt (perhaps with a white collar) works well with dark gray, navy blue, or black slacks.Everything else in casual wear is a go; shorts, t-shirts and other casual wear.Yellow in paler shades is a light, summer color for just about every informal occasion.However, yellow should be avoided in all but a dress shirt in business and formal wear.In sportswear, yellow blends with white and other lighter colors, but should be avoided in footwear.

Oddly enough, weather conditions tend to play a factor for people when deciding what colors to wear.It is far more appealing to be seen wearing yellow on a bright spring or summer day than on a dark and rainy day in fall or winter.Even on rainy days in the spring or summer, people tend to tone down on the bright colors, more than likely a subconscious decision.

The range of colors that accentuate yellow in most clothing attire are the dark tones and shades.Charcoal grays, deep browns, royal blue and similar colors make a good pairing with yellow.A suggestion is to use muted shades of yellow in these color combinations so as not to jar the eye from one part of the outfit to the other.

In closing, yellow is a prominent color that walks a fine line between appealing looks and outright garishness, but with a good eye on coordinating it with other colors and a little care, can be very stylish.

10 Signs Your Girlfriend Is Cheating

• Figuring out if your girlfriend is cheating on you can be an emotional roller coaster. Trying to read signs and analyze everything she does is exhausting. If you notice these signs in your relationship, plan carefully how you confront her. If you are wrong, it may be tricky to win back her trust. Women are often complicated to read and it may be that she is attempting to win attention from you by seemingly cheating. The best way to handle the situation is to look for these signs, go with your instincts and approach the issue as an adult.

Cold Shoulder

• She stops paying attention to you and becomes easily distracted during conversations. She stops asking about your day and doesn't offer any information about hers. She will stop nagging you and complaining about things that used to bother her.

New Appearance

• She comes home with a new haircut, which she would have always asked your opinion about in the past. She has new outfits and is dressing up more often. New perfume may be introduced and new underwear and bras appear.

Lack of Intimacy

• Sex has become a thing of the past. If you attempt to get intimate, she will turn you down, become defensive and angry. She will turn away from you if you try to kiss her or avoid physical contact. She may shrug your arm off her shoulders at the movie, or let go of you hand quickly if you try to hold hers.

She Has a New Friend

• There is a new guy in her life that she talks about frequently. This person may be a co-worker or a friend of a friend. If you ask about him, she will become defensive and offer little to no information.

Change in Schedule

• Her schedule changes all of a sudden. She begins going to the gym before or after work, or her job duties have increased and she must stay late or go in early. She can't meet you for lunch anymore for reasons related to work.

Caught Lying

• She has told you one thing and you have heard something else from a friend. This happens most often when you are around her friends and bring up an event she has told you about that hasn't actually happened. This is a simple way to find out if she is doing what she says she is.

Paranoid on Computer and Phone

• If you walk in the room, she quickly closes computer windows. She won't check her email in front of you anymore. She may close the door to the office at home for privacy. If she gets a call on her cell, she will go in another room to talk.

New Interests

• She has new interests to fill time that isn't spent at work. She might take up a new hobby or sport but doesn't want you to be involved. She wants to begin learning a new skill with a group of friends, but won't include you.

Scarce with Family and Friends

• You notice she is spending less and less time with family and friends. This is often caused by feelings of guilt about what she is doing to you and having to lie to more people.

Showers at Different Times

• She comes home from work and showers right away when she used to shower in the morning. She comes home from the gym and has already showered or showers at odd times like when she comes back from shopping or going out to eat.

British Slang Words

British slang, contrary to popular opinion, is not a lower-class trait. It stems from Shakespeare to Chaucer and encompasses nearly every generation of human speech. From Cockney rhyming slang to short-lived colloqialisms, England contains a mixture of euphenisms that often leave Americans scratching their heads. These words are not so hard to learn, however. Watch a bunch of really bad British movies, throw on your most pompous English accent, and use the following slang dictionary to sound like a wanky Brit, mate:

absobloodylootely: absolutely

after: bars open after normal closing time

all over the gaff: unorganized

arse: butt

arse-over-tit: drunk

ballistic: wild

bangers: sausages

barmy: crazy

behave: more! (Think Austin Powers.)

bob: shilling

blimey!: Oh geez!

bloke: a male

bobby: policeman

brilliant!: great! awesome!

cabbage: a slow person

cack: crap (What a load of cack, mate!)

cakehole: mouth (Shut your cakehole!)

Charlie: crack, cocaine

chips: french fries

chunder: to throw up

ciggy: cigarette

claret: blood (They were copping it up, claret all over the place!)

cop a feel: to feel someone up

to cop it: to get in trouble

copper: policeman

Crikey!: My God!

damage: cost

Dicky: feeling unwell

doddle: something easy (It was a doddle to get the Charlie.)

dodgy: shady

done over: beat up (He was done over by that bloke.)

Doris: a plain woman

dosh: money

duck and dive: to run from the police

earner: a dishonest laborer

eppy: a fit

faced: drunk

five finger discount: shoplifting

flim-flam: crap (Cut out this flim-flam, you wanker!)

flippin: freakin'

folding: paper pound-notes

For crying out loud!: For God's sake!

Frenchy: a french kiss

full monty: the entire take, all that is desired

funny farm: a mental institution

gab: to talk a lot

gander: to look at

geezer: an old man

get the nod: to get permission

git: an unlikeable person

gob: mouth

goppin': gross

greaser: a 50's style person, usually a man

grub: food

gutted: choked up (He was gutted at the funeral, mate.)

hacked off: annoyed (He was really hacked off at that copper.)

having it off: a term for intercourse

headcase: a nutcase

hold it down: keep the noise down, control yourself

hooter: nose

ickle: small, tiny (I like that an ickle bit, mate.)

iffy: doubting, doubtful

in stook: in financial trouble (Your uncle's in stook, mate.)

inside: imprisoned (Barry's inside again.)

jammy: lucky

jar: a pint of beer

jock: a Scottish man

jugs: breasts

juiced up: very drunk

kick it off: start something, a fight with another Brit perhaps

kip: sleep (I need some kip, mate.)

knackered: tired

knock-up: to wake someone up

lairy: loud, brash

larging it: to live large

lip: smart talk

loaded: very rich

lock-in: a term for late-hours in a pub

lolly: money

lost the plot: gone mad (That nutter's completely lost the plot!)

malarkey: stuff and nonsense (What a load of malarkey!)

mate: address for a friend

mental: crazy

miffed: fed up

minger: an unattractive girl

mint: great condition (That's mint, mate.)

mitts: hands

monkey: 500 pounds

moose: an ugly girl

mullered: drunk

munch: food (Time for munch, mate!)

naff: nasty, in poor taste (That's naff!)

nipper: a small child

nosh: food

nugget: a pound coin

nutter: a crazy person

offie: a place where off-license alcohol is sold

off your face: very drunk

out of the tree: nuts

parky: chilly (Parky weather today.)

plank, a fool

ponce: a slacker

ramped: drunk

rat-arsed: drunk

readies: cash on hand (Have any readies? I'm all out.)

ruck: a fight

rug: wig

salt: a loose woman

scrounge: to begg food, materials

shafted: screwed, betrayed

shag: sexual intercourse

shell-like: ear (Can I have a word in your shell-like?)

skirt: a young woman

snog: a french kiss

squire: a term for a working man

sussed out: figured out

tanked: drunk

toerag: a tramp

tom: a prostitute

tooled: drunk

top!: wonderful

trainspotter: a nerd, geek

trots: an upset stomach

up for it: enthusiastically available

up the duff: pregnant

wank: to masturbate

wedge: money

wind up: to tease

This dictionary is by no means exhaustive, but it should give you an idea of the most common British slang terms and their proper use. So get off your duff, you wanker, and grab the full monty! Good luck!

What Effects Does Music Have On The Brain?

Music can have a very strong influence; is it strong enough to effect your brain?

Music can move the soul. It can be a very strong influence. Some music can calm us down, some music can make us wild! How does music affect us?

Music is used in a variety of ways. It is used in the medical field as a source of research and as a sort of therapy as well. Music has been used as therapy for seizures, to lower blood pressure, treat ADD children, treat mental illness, treat depression, aid in healing, treat stress and insomnia and premature infants.

Musicologist Julius Portnoy found that music can change metabolic rates, increase or decrease blood pressure, effect energy levels, and digestion, positively or negatively, depending on the type of music. Calming music, such as classical music was found to have a very calming effect on the body, and cause the increase of endorphins, thirty minutes of such music was equal to the effect of a dose of valium. Both hemispheres of the brain are involved in processing music. The music in these studies is not the "lyrics", but the music itself, the melody, the tones, the tunes, the rhythm, the chords.

Conversely music has also been documented to cause sickness. The right, or wrong music, rather, can be like a poison to the body. Studies have been done on plants where loud hard rock music, for instance, killed plants and soft classical music, make the plants grow faster. Music is very powerful, like a drug and can even be an addiction. In the case of Patty Hearst, it was documented that music was used in the aid of brainwashing her. In the book, Elevator Music, by Joseph Lanza, it states that certain types of music over prolonged periods in certain conditions, were shown to cause seizures.

In the book, The Secret Power of Music, by David Tame, it says, "music is more than a language, it is the language of languages. It can be said that of all the arts, there is none other that more powerfully moves and changes the consciousness.

It can be said that music is a very powerful and awesome tool, that can have positive effects, virtually life saving mentally and physically when used in the right context, but has equally destructive and detrimental potential if used negatively.

UN orders probe into Syria rights violations

Human Rights Council launches inquiry into crackdown on protesters, amid reports of 18 more deaths in past 24 hours.


The UN Human Rights Council (HRC) has launched a new commission of inquiry into Syria's crackdown on anti-government protesters, including possible crimes against humanity.

The announcement came as rights activists on Tuesday claimed that 18 more people have been killed in the country over the past 24 hours, including seven in the city of Homs.

By 33 votes in favour to four against and nine abstentions, the HRC passed a resolution to "urgently dispatch an independent international commission of inquiry... to investigate violations of international human rights law in Syria since July 2011".



"The resolution is adopted," Uruguay's ambassador Laura Dupuy Lasserre who chairs the council, announced after the vote.

The remaining countries on the 47-nation council abstained or were absent. China and Russia said they opposed the measure as unnecessary intervention.

Fayssal al-Hamwi, the Syrian Ambassador, called the action "100 per cent political".

Deadly crackdown

Meanwhile, the security crackdown continued in key areas across the country, Al Jazeera's Nisreen el-Shamayleh said, reporting from Ramtha on the Jordan-Syria border on Tuesday.

"We undersand that at least 55 tanks are currently raiding the town of al-Khowria in Deir ez-Zor. These tanks are shelling some of the neighbourhoods there," Shamayleh said.

"We also heard that some of the soldiers reportedly descended from two helicopters down to al-Khowria in that neighbourhood. An attack is ongoing there.

"We have also understood that the troops are destroying the homes and burning them and many arrests were made and the residents protested the attacks by taking to the streets."

Meanwhile, Robert Ford, the US ambassador to Syria, made a surprise visit to Jassem, an area in the southern Deraa province which has seen some of the worst violence.

Ford angered Damascus seven weeks ago when he paid a visit to Hama in a gesture of solidarity with the city where huge anti-Assad protests occurred in June and July.

Over 2,200 dead

President Bashar al-Assad has tried in vain to crush the five-month-old revolt, blaming it on Islamic extremists and thugs.

"Leaders should know that they will be able to remain in power as long as they remain sensitive to the demands of the people," Ahmet Davutoglu, the Turkish foreign minister, said on Monday.

Turkey, a former close ally of Syria and an important trade partner, has grown increasingly frustrated with Damascus over its deadly crackdown.

The violence has left Syria facing the most serious international isolation in decades, with widespread calls for Assad to step down.

Human rights groups say more than 2,200 people, most of them unarmed protesters, have been killed in the government's crackdown on the uprising.

In an interview broadcast on state TV on Sunday, Assad warned against foreign military intervention in his country, saying: "Any action against Syria will have greater consequences [on those who carry it out], greater than they can tolerate".

Assad also spoke about political reforms, saying local elections were to be held within months, to be followed by parliamentary polls in February 2012.

On Monday, he signed a decree setting up a commission - chaired by the prime minister and comprising a magistrate and two lawyers - tasked with legalising political parties.




The UN Human Rights Council (HRC) has launched a new commission of inquiry into Syria's crackdown on anti-government protesters, including possible crimes against humanity.

The announcement came as rights activists on Tuesday claimed that 18 more people have been killed in the country over the past 24 hours, including seven in the city of Homs.

By 33 votes in favour to four against and nine abstentions, the HRC passed a resolution to "urgently dispatch an independent international commission of inquiry... to investigate violations of international human rights law in Syria since July 2011".



"The resolution is adopted," Uruguay's ambassador Laura Dupuy Lasserre who chairs the council, announced after the vote.

The remaining countries on the 47-nation council abstained or were absent. China and Russia said they opposed the measure as unnecessary intervention.

Fayssal al-Hamwi, the Syrian Ambassador, called the action "100 per cent political".

Deadly crackdown

Meanwhile, the security crackdown continued in key areas across the country, Al Jazeera's Nisreen el-Shamayleh said, reporting from Ramtha on the Jordan-Syria border on Tuesday.

"We undersand that at least 55 tanks are currently raiding the town of al-Khowria in Deir ez-Zor. These tanks are shelling some of the neighbourhoods there," Shamayleh said.

"We also heard that some of the soldiers reportedly descended from two helicopters down to al-Khowria in that neighbourhood. An attack is ongoing there.

"We have also understood that the troops are destroying the homes and burning them and many arrests were made and the residents protested the attacks by taking to the streets."

Meanwhile, Robert Ford, the US ambassador to Syria, made a surprise visit to Jassem, an area in the southern Deraa province which has seen some of the worst violence.

Ford angered Damascus seven weeks ago when he paid a visit to Hama in a gesture of solidarity with the city where huge anti-Assad protests occurred in June and July.

Over 2,200 dead

President Bashar al-Assad has tried in vain to crush the five-month-old revolt, blaming it on Islamic extremists and thugs.

"Leaders should know that they will be able to remain in power as long as they remain sensitive to the demands of the people," Ahmet Davutoglu, the Turkish foreign minister, said on Monday.

Turkey, a former close ally of Syria and an important trade partner, has grown increasingly frustrated with Damascus over its deadly crackdown.

The violence has left Syria facing the most serious international isolation in decades, with widespread calls for Assad to step down.

Human rights groups say more than 2,200 people, most of them unarmed protesters, have been killed in the government's crackdown on the uprising.

In an interview broadcast on state TV on Sunday, Assad warned against foreign military intervention in his country, saying: "Any action against Syria will have greater consequences [on those who carry it out], greater than they can tolerate".

Assad also spoke about political reforms, saying local elections were to be held within months, to be followed by parliamentary polls in February 2012.

On Monday, he signed a decree setting up a commission - chaired by the prime minister and comprising a magistrate and two lawyers - tasked with legalising political parties.

Rebels storm Gaddafi compound in Tripoli

Muammar Gaddafi's whereabouts unknown as hundreds of rebels fight their way into his fortified Bab al-Azizya compound.


Rebels have entered the fortified compound of Muammar Gaddafi in Bab al-Azizya in Tripoli, following intense fighting with forces loyal to the Libyan leader.

The rebels "broke through the gates of Bab al-Aiziya [and] some opposition fighters managed to enter the government's stronghold in the Libyan capital," Al Jazeera's correspondent Zeina Khodr said, reporting from the compound on Tuesday.

A Libyan rebel commander told Al Jazeera that 90 per cent of the compound was under rebel control.

As celebratory gunfire rang out, there were reports that the compound armoury was being looted.

Khodr said that the looting was being done by civilians and not rebel fighters. A rebel supporter was seen kicking around a broken sculpture of Gaddafi.

Fighting meanwhile also continued across the capital for a second day with the sound of gunfire and occasional explosions ringing out.

The al-Mansoura district was the focus of fierce clashes between government forces and opposition fighters, two days after the rebels marched into the heart of the city, prompting scenes of jubiliation.

"Gaddafi troops are holed up in a series of pockets where they still seem to have strength, the main one of which is inside that sprawling Gaddafi compound," said Al Jazeera's James Bays, another correspondent reporting from Tripoli.

Gaddafi's forces are reportedly fighting back using heavy weapons including mortars and shells fired in the direction of Green Square, which rebels have renamed Martyrs' Square, casting doubts on opposition claims that much of the city was under their control.

The Libyan leader's whereabouts are unknown.

"The battle is certainly not over. The city is on a knife edge," our correspondent said.

There have been reports of NATO planes flying very low on top of Gaddafi's compound.

Confusion on the ground

Meanwhile, 30 journalists remained holed up in Tripoli's Rixos hotel on Tuesday. The New York Times reported that journalists from the BBC, CNN and other international news organisations were stuck inside the hotel with no electricity and described the hotel as a "prison".

In a dramatic development earlier in the day, Saif al-Islam, the son of the Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, appeared in al-Mansouraand at the Rixos hotel to refute claims that he had been captured by opposition forces and rally government loyalists.

"There is confusion among the ranks of opposition fighters on the ground," Al Jazeera's Khodr added. "Some people are asking whether the National Transitional Council has been infiltrated."

The head of Libya's opposition National Transitional Council (NTC) on Monday announced the end of Gaddafi's decades-long rule.

But the re-appearance of Saif, an influential figure who is wanted by the International Criminal Court, has raised fresh questions about the NTC leadership's grip on a fast-changing situation.

Al Jazeera's Jacky Rowland reporting from Benghazi said: "Now we are seeing accusations, doubts, and confusion.

"It is going to be interesting to see how the NTC explains this debacle and how it seeks to reinforce and strengthen these alliances and enable the rebels to get to Tripoli itself."

The NTC held a joint press conference in Benghazi with Ahmet Davutoglu, the Turkish foreign minister on Tuesday.

"We stand by NTC leader Mustafa Abdel Jalil ... He established the path for Libya for the future," Davutoglu said.

Caution and confusion

Celebrations followed the rebels push into central Tripoli on Sunday night, when an opposition force took control of the Green Square and claimed victory, but has since given way to caution and confusion.

Snipers scattered across the city continued to wage resistance, while a rebel convoy was ambushed by Gaddafi loyalists using anti-aircraft weapons.

Elsewhere in the country, the US military said that its warplanes had shot down a scud missile fired from Sirte, Gaddafi's hometown, indicating that remnants of Gaddafi's forces were continuing to resist.

Rebel fighters in eastern Libya advanced towards the oil terminal of Ras Lanuf after taking the coastal town of Ageila from forces loyal to Gaddafi.

Moussa Ibrahim, the government spokesperson, claimed Gaddafi forces had control of at least 75 per cent of Tripoli. But rebels said Gaddafi supporters only held about 20 per cent of the city.

The tenuous nature of the rebels' grip on Tripoli has dampened rebel hopes of a swift victory and raised concerns that the city of two million people could be the stage for a protracted armed struggle


Rebels have entered the fortified compound of Muammar Gaddafi in Bab al-Azizya in Tripoli, following intense fighting with forces loyal to the Libyan leader.

The rebels "broke through the gates of Bab al-Aiziya [and] some opposition fighters managed to enter the government's stronghold in the Libyan capital," Al Jazeera's correspondent Zeina Khodr said, reporting from the compound on Tuesday.

A Libyan rebel commander told Al Jazeera that 90 per cent of the compound was under rebel control.

As celebratory gunfire rang out, there were reports that the compound armoury was being looted.

Khodr said that the looting was being done by civilians and not rebel fighters. A rebel supporter was seen kicking around a broken sculpture of Gaddafi.

Fighting meanwhile also continued across the capital for a second day with the sound of gunfire and occasional explosions ringing out.

The al-Mansoura district was the focus of fierce clashes between government forces and opposition fighters, two days after the rebels marched into the heart of the city, prompting scenes of jubiliation.

"Gaddafi troops are holed up in a series of pockets where they still seem to have strength, the main one of which is inside that sprawling Gaddafi compound," said Al Jazeera's James Bays, another correspondent reporting from Tripoli.

Gaddafi's forces are reportedly fighting back using heavy weapons including mortars and shells fired in the direction of Green Square, which rebels have renamed Martyrs' Square, casting doubts on opposition claims that much of the city was under their control.

The Libyan leader's whereabouts are unknown.

"The battle is certainly not over. The city is on a knife edge," our correspondent said.

There have been reports of NATO planes flying very low on top of Gaddafi's compound.

Confusion on the ground

Meanwhile, 30 journalists remained holed up in Tripoli's Rixos hotel on Tuesday. The New York Times reported that journalists from the BBC, CNN and other international news organisations were stuck inside the hotel with no electricity and described the hotel as a "prison".

In a dramatic development earlier in the day, Saif al-Islam, the son of the Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, appeared in al-Mansouraand at the Rixos hotel to refute claims that he had been captured by opposition forces and rally government loyalists.

"There is confusion among the ranks of opposition fighters on the ground," Al Jazeera's Khodr added. "Some people are asking whether the National Transitional Council has been infiltrated."

The head of Libya's opposition National Transitional Council (NTC) on Monday announced the end of Gaddafi's decades-long rule.

But the re-appearance of Saif, an influential figure who is wanted by the International Criminal Court, has raised fresh questions about the NTC leadership's grip on a fast-changing situation.

Al Jazeera's Jacky Rowland reporting from Benghazi said: "Now we are seeing accusations, doubts, and confusion.

"It is going to be interesting to see how the NTC explains this debacle and how it seeks to reinforce and strengthen these alliances and enable the rebels to get to Tripoli itself."

The NTC held a joint press conference in Benghazi with Ahmet Davutoglu, the Turkish foreign minister on Tuesday.

"We stand by NTC leader Mustafa Abdel Jalil ... He established the path for Libya for the future," Davutoglu said.

Caution and confusion

Celebrations followed the rebels push into central Tripoli on Sunday night, when an opposition force took control of the Green Square and claimed victory, but has since given way to caution and confusion.

Snipers scattered across the city continued to wage resistance, while a rebel convoy was ambushed by Gaddafi loyalists using anti-aircraft weapons.

Elsewhere in the country, the US military said that its warplanes had shot down a scud missile fired from Sirte, Gaddafi's hometown, indicating that remnants of Gaddafi's forces were continuing to resist.

Rebel fighters in eastern Libya advanced towards the oil terminal of Ras Lanuf after taking the coastal town of Ageila from forces loyal to Gaddafi.

Moussa Ibrahim, the government spokesperson, claimed Gaddafi forces had control of at least 75 per cent of Tripoli. But rebels said Gaddafi supporters only held about 20 per cent of the city.

The tenuous nature of the rebels' grip on Tripoli has dampened rebel hopes of a swift victory and raised concerns that the city of two million people could be the stage for a protracted armed struggle

Flying over the busiest freeway in America, the 405 Freeway in California aka "Carmaggedon", we are now being asked to "PLS DNT TXT + DRIVE"

Flying over the busiest freeway in America, the 405 Freeway in California aka "Carmaggedon", we are now being asked to "PLS DNT TXT + DRIVE"

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Los Angeles, California, United States of America (Free-Press-Release.com) August 13, 2011 --Flying over the busiest freeway in America, the 405 Freeway in California aka "Carmaggedon", we are now being asked to "PLS DNT TXT + DRIVE"
This 13,000 square foot vital message is from a beautiful girl nicknamed "Bubblehead" . She has a long history of creating massive street art, graffiti and wild postings with messages calling for the public to do the right thing on important issues that impact our lives. Bubblehead's new SuperMural text message is viewed by millions on the 405 Freeway and plane passengers flying into Los Angeles International Airport. Many celebrities have helped get out this important message, like Oprah Winfrey's "No Phone Zone" and Justin Bieber, have been extremely proactive in advising us all not to text and drive.

Texting is dangerous. Texting while driving has led to more and more automobile accidents. In fact, texting while driving is actually more hazardous than driving while under the influence of alcohol. These statistics prove as to why texting is so unsafe:

* When a driver texts while driving, their reaction time will decrease by over 35%
* A driver is twenty three times more likely to get into a car accident while driving and texting.
* Drivers are also six times as likely to get into a car accident while dialing a number into their cellular devices.
* When texting, steering capability goes down by 90%.
* Texting has caused many car accidents and death related incidents in the driving age group of 16-21, the largest texting demographic.

Text your friends and family, "PLS DNT TXT + DRIVE"

Gaddafi son makes his stance in Tripoli

Libya

Gaddafi son makes his stance in Tripoli

Saif al-Islam appears in Libyan capital to refute reports of his capture by rebels.



Saif al-Islam, son of Muammar Gaddafi, who was reported to have been captured by Libyan opposition forces on Sunday, has made a public appearance in Tripoli.

"I am here to refute the lies," Saif al-Islam said on Monday, referring reports of his arrest. He traveled to the Rixos Hotel late in the night and spoke to foreign journalists staying there.

"We broke the back of the rebels. It was a trap. We gave them a hard time, so we are winning," Saif said.

Television footage showed him pumping his fists in the air, smiling, waving and shaking hands with supporters, as well as holding his arms aloft with each hand making the "V" for victory sign.

Gaddafi's son told journalists that Tripoli, which has been largely overrun in the past 24 hours by rebel forces seeking to topple his father, was in fact in government hands and that his father was safe.

He said he did not care about an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court in The Hague seeking him and his father for crimes against humanity.

Earlier, armed pro-Gaddafi security men guarding the hotel took a small group of journalists to Gaddafi's Bab al-Azizyah compound, where they had a meeting with Saif.

They returned to the hotel accompanied by Saif, who then spoke to journalists in the lobby before taking some of them back to the compound a short distance away for a brief visit.

Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the ICC prosecutor, had earlier said the 39-year-old was arrested and in detention.

Waheed Burshan, an NTC member told Al Jazeera, "We had confirmation Saif al-Islam was arrested, but we have no idea how he escaped."

Meanwhile, rebel forces said they arrested Saadi Gaddafi, the beleaguered Libyan leader's third son. The claim was made even as the whereabouts of other relatives and senior officials remained unknown.

Eldest son 'escapes'

Gaddafi's eldest son, Mohammad, who was also detained by rebels on Sunday night is reported to have escaped.


In an interview with Al Jazeera after he surrendered, Mohammad expressed his "sadness" at the fighting in Libya. The interview was interrupted by gunfire.

"What's happening in Libya is very upsetting. The killing between brothers, between Muslims, is something that saddens me," he said.

Mohammad was the chairman of Libya's main state-run telecommunications firm, but his role in his father's government was reportedly minimal, far smaller than Saif al-Islam's.

The biggest question is is now about Muammar Gaddafi himself, last heard in a brief audio recording on Sunday night. He called on Libya's tribes to March on the capital.

"How can you allow Tripoli to be burned?" he asked.Three other Gaddafi sons - Hannibal, Mutasim and Khamis - have not been located. Hannibal had little role in politics, but Khamis headed a feared army unit that took a leading role in suppressing protests. Mutasim was an army officer and a security adviser to his father.

The Al-Arabiya news network reported on Monday that Khamis was traveling to central Tripoli with soldiers loyal to him. That report could not be immediately confirmed.

Abdullah al-Senussi, Gaddafi's longtime intelligence chief and brother-in-law, also seems to have eluded the rebels. He was last seen at Tripoli's Rixos Hotel on Sunday, when he told foreign journalists that "Western intelligence" was "working alongside al-Qaeda to destroy Libya".

There are rumours in Arabic newspapers that Senussi fled Tripoli, either to southern Libya or to the Tunisian town of Djerba, but those reports cannot be substantiated.

Senussi was the third Libyan official charged by the ICC in June. The court accused him of carrying out a campaign of murder, mass arrest and torture.