Michael Owen Agrees Personal Terms With Manchester United

Various reports have today confirmed that Michael Owen, Newcastle United and Real Madrid's former diminutive goal poacher, is currently undergoing a medical at Man united as personal terms have already been struck.

Sir Alex Ferguson has extended Owen an olive branch after it was widely expected that the former England international's career was on the decline due to a series of injury-ravaged spells.

According to a report in The Sun, Ferguson expressed an interest in Owen, who was the subject of a marketing offered to multiple clubs, on Tuesday. The tabloid claims United are offering the 29-year-old £50,000 per week, which also includes bonuses for appearances and goals. Other reports, though, intimate that the deal will be no greater than a play-as-you-play contract.

Prior to United's interest, Owen had only been linked with more modest clubs such as Hull City and Stoke City; both of whom had been competing in England's Championship (level two) the season before last.

One source "close to Owen" is reported to have told The Sun, "It's incredible that one day Michael was contemplating a move to Hull and now Manchester United have come in.

"This is just the boost he needed and now he is hoping that everything can be agreed."

Manchester United are yet to release an official comment regarding the situation

Barcelona Confirms Interest In r Cesc Fabregas

Barcelona president Joan Laporta has confirmed that his club are eager to sign their superstar youth product, Cesc Fabrigas, fromArsenal.

The Spanish midfielder has been linked with his former club for a long time, but these comments from Laporta confirm that a move is a distinct possibility.

Speaking to radio station Cadena Cope, the supremo said, "Cesc Fabregas has the Barcelona DNA in his body and we know that he wants to play for this club.

"At the moment he is the leader at Arsenal and a very important player for them. But Cesc is wanted by me, by the coach Pep Guardiola, and by the sport director Txiki Begiristain.

“We are concentrating all of our efforts on it, but at the same time we have a lot of respect for Arsenal. We have positive relations with Arsenal so it will not be an easy topic to talk to them about.”

The player himself has sent mixed messages about his future recently, re-affriming his commitment to the Gunners while confirming that he would love to play for Barcelona at some point.

Arsenal signed Fabregas in 2003, offering him a professional contract before Barca were able to due to Spanish laws

. Since then, he has made 231 appearances for the club, and is currently their captain.

That's BAD! Michael Jackson's mangled ear shows the impact of repeated plastic surgery

The shocking damage caused to Michael Jackson's ear by repeated plastic surgery has been revealed.
Jackson's long hair normally hides it from view. But all was revealed as he left a medical clinic in California yesterday, where he has been receiving treatment for skin cancer.
The left ear looked as though the outer ring had been removed. It is thought cartilage has been repeatedly taken from the 50-year-old's ear to rebuild his nose, which was damaged during extensive surgery.

A similar procedure is available on the NHS, usually to correct damage caused during accidents.
Yesterday a music promoter sued Jackson to stop him from performing in London this year, claiming his appearances would violate a prior contract.

New Jersey-based AllGood Entertainment Inc claims it signed a deal with the singer's manager, Frank DiLeo, in November committing him to an appearance in the U.S. this summer.
Under the agreement, Jackson is not supposed to give another concert before that show, the lawsuit states.

Jackson has signed with AEG Live to play 50 shows at London's O2 Arena starting in July.
AllGood Entertainment contends those shows violate the New Jersey company's agreement with DiLeo, which it says predates the singer's deal with AEG Live.
Representatives for Jackson and AEG Live were not immediately available to comment.

AEG Live, which is named in the lawsuit, has previously called AllGood Entertainment's claims 'meaningless'.
Jackson has been rehearsing in the Los Angeles area for the London shows.
AllGood Entertainment contends in its lawsuit its agreement with DiLeo also left the door open for Jackson to perform with other members of his show business family, which includes his brothers from the Jackson Five and sister Janet Jackson.
The company's lawsuit alleges breach of contract, fraud and tortious interference with a contract. It seeks at least $20 million in compensatory damages and at least $20 million in punitive damages.
It also names as defendants Jackson's production company, as well as DiLeo, his company and AEG Live's parent company AEG, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Anschutz Company.
Jackson's series of London shows have been touted as unprecedented.
AEG Live says that, all together, the shows will gather the biggest audience ever to see an artist in one city.

Ronaldo : Something to tell mum and dad Paris?

Something to tell mum and dad Paris? Heiress dines with parents after second night with Ronaldo

Oh to be a fly on the wall at dinner with the Hiltons last night. The heiress dined out with her mother Kathy and father Rick at Mr Chow in LA.
But did she tell them exactly what she's been up to this week, and with whom? Not that they couldn't know already.
Paris has enjoyed two highly-publicised hook-ups with Cristiano Ronaldo this week - the same week that she split from her boyfriend Doug Reinhardt and Ronaldo split from Manchester United

The pair met up on Wednesday night and things must have gone well as the footballer saw the hotel heiress again on Thursday evening.
The Portuguese player was said to have visited Paris at a small gathering at her Beverly Hills home on Thursday night after the pair were photographed getting to know each other in the MyHouse nightclub a day earlier.
A neighbour at Paris' gated community said Ronaldo was seen arriving at her home just after midnight on Friday morning and spent an hour with her, according to The Sun

After reports claimed Paris had been in contact with Reinhardt - who she dumped on Wednesday night - the socialite quickly denied them, claiming she went to bed at 2.30am alone.
When asked for comment on his ex-girlfriend's reported new romance, Doug said: 'He wishes Paris and all her future boyfriends the best of luck.'
Meanwhile, the heiress has been telling friends the pair are an item after their rendezvous in the earlier hours of Thursday morning.
She was busy texting furiously as she emerged in Hollywood while Ronaldo was seen showing phone messages to his cousins as he lounged around the pool at his Beverly Hills hotel, prompting speculation the two were contacting each other

The 28-year-old announced the pair were an item to her inner circle, saying: 'He's hot, a real athlete - and the chemistry between us was electric.
'Cristiano's much better than my ex. He was nothing but a low-paid minor league baseball player.'
Just whether the Portuguese playboy, who has been celebrating news that he has been snapped up by Real Madrid for £80 million, is quite so keen remains to be seen

Ancient Mammals Wintered In Darkness

Ancestors of tapirs and ancient cousins of rhinos living above the Arctic Circle 53 million years ago endured six months of darkness each year in a far milder climate than today that featured lush, swampy forests, according to a new study led by the University of Colorado at Boulder.

CU-Boulder Assistant Professor Jaelyn Eberle said the study shows several varieties of prehistoric mammals as heavy as 1,000 pounds each lived on what is today Ellesmere Island near Greenland on a summer diet of flowering plants, deciduous leaves and aquatic vegetation. But in winter's twilight they apparently switched over to foods like twigs, leaf litter, evergreen needles and fungi, said Eberle, curator of fossil vertebrates at the University of Colorado Museum of Natural History and chief study author.
The study has implications for the dispersal of early mammals across polar land bridges into North America and for modern mammals that likely will begin moving north if Earth's climate continues to warm. A paper on the subject co-authored by Henry Fricke of Colorado College in Colorado Springs and John Humphrey of the Colorado School of Mines in Golden appears in the June issue of Geology.
The team used an analysis of carbon and oxygen isotopes extracted from the fossil teeth of three varieties of mammals from Ellesmere Island -- a hippo-like, semi-aquatic creature known as Coryphodon, a second, smaller ancestor of today's tapirs and a third rhino-like mammal known as brontothere. Animal teeth are among the most valuable fossils in the high Arctic because they are extremely hard and better able to survive the harsh freeze-thaw cycles that occur each year, Eberle said.
Telltale isotopic signatures of carbon from enamel layers that form sequentially during tooth eruption allowed the team to pinpoint the types of plant materials consumed by the mammals as they ate their way across the landscape through the seasons, Eberle said.
"We were able to use carbon signatures preserved in the tooth enamel to show that these mammals did not migrate or hibernate," said Eberle. "Instead, they lived in the high Arctic all year long, munching on some unusual things during the dark winter months." The study was funded by the National Science Foundation.
An analysis of oxygen isotopes from the fossil teeth helped determine seasonal changes in surface drinking water tied to precipitation and temperature, providing additional climate information, said Eberle. The results point to warm, humid summers and mild winters in the high Arctic 53 million years ago, where temperatures probably ranged from just above freezing to near 70 degrees Fahrenheit, Eberle said.
The environment on central Ellesmere Island, located at about 80 degrees north latitude, was part of a much larger circumpolar Arctic region at the time, she said. It probably was similar to swampy cypress forests in the southeast United States today and still contains fossil tree stumps as large as washing machines, Eberle said.
On central Ellesmere Island in today's high Arctic -- a polar desert that features tundra, permafrost, ice sheets, sparse vegetation and a few small mammals -- the temperature ranges from roughly minus 37 degrees F in winter to 48 degrees F in summer and is the coldest, driest environment on Earth. There is no sunlight in the high Arctic between October and February, and the midnight sun is present from mid-April through the end of August.
The year-round presence of mammals such as the hippo-like Coryphodon, tapirs and brontotheres in the high Arctic was a "behavioral prerequisite" for their eventual dispersal across high-latitude land bridges that geologists believe linked Asia and Europe with North America, Eberle said. Their dietary chemical signatures, portly shapes and fossil evidence for babies and juveniles in the Arctic preclude the idea of long, seasonal migrations to escape the winter darkness, she said.
"In order for mammals to have covered the great distances across land bridges that once connected the continents, they would have required the ability to inhabit the High Arctic year-round in proximity to these land bridges," Eberle said.
Instead, the animals likely made their way south from the Arctic in minute increments over millions of years as the climate shifted. "This study may provide the behavioral smoking gun for how modern groups of mammals like ungulates -- ancestors of today's horses and cattle -- and true primates arrived in North America," said Eberle, also an assistant professor in CU-Boulder's geological sciences department.

Is this T-Mobile's Samsung Bigfoot with Android, AMOLED, and QWERTY?

So this really doesn't look anything like that Bigfoot we saw a little while ago, but we can sorta see the familial resemblance if we squint really (really, really) hard. According to Boy Genius Report, what we're looking at here is allegedly Samsung's Android-powered Bigfoot for T-Mobile, said to be attacking the high end of the carrier's smartphone line thanks to a 3-inch capacitive AMOLED display, full QWERTY, 3 megapixel camera, and naturally, HSDPA. If we had to guess, this is probably a newer version of the same product concept that we'd seen in that roadmap a few weeks back -- Sammy probably started with its Beat DJ (or an Ocean 2) and worked backwards from there to get to the retail version they wanted to launch. We're told it'll launch "like, really soon," so would-be G1 or myTouch 3G buyers might want to hold on for a hot second

Austria predicts a ‘catastrophe’

month before the release of Sacha Baron Cohen’s latest film about a gay fashion fanatic who wants to be “the most famous Austrian since Hitler”, and the Austrian press are already on the defensive

British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen currently still has a massive fan base in Austria, but that is soon to change as the media dubs his latest film “dull”, “insulting” and a threat to the country’s world image – and economy.
Picking up on Baron Cohen’s most controversial lines in the film - “I want to live the Austrian dream of finding a partner, buying a dungeon and starting a family” and “K is for 'Kampf, mein... ze fashion bible written by Austria's black sheep Adolf Hitler” - ‘People Today’ columnist for heute.at, Lisa Trompisch, describes Baron Cohen as a “dull sub-culture clown”.
She writes, ‘it’s hard to decide which is worse: the insult to Austria, or that Hitler should merely be portrayed as a “black sheep”’.
Austrian writers are anticipating that the country may have a similar experience to Kazakhstan, which is still recovering from the pitiless satire directed at the nation by the British comedian’s last film ‘Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan’ (2005).
Baron Cohen’s Borat upset officials in Kazakhstan by portraying the small town of Glod as existing in a backward land of poverty and bigotry. Baron Cohen was threatened with legal action by his Kazakh cast (reportedly paid £3 for their roles in the film), and by the country’s officials.
"We do not rule out that Mr. Cohen is serving someone's political order designed to present Kazakhstan and its people in a derogatory way," Kazakh Foreign Ministry spokesman Yerzhan Ashykbayev said in a press conference on the issue. The New York Times later argued that their attempts to set the record straight resulted only in inflating the film’s worldwide profile.
“Kazakhstan is still suffering their enormous loss of identity… Austria could soon be going the same way,” says the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation (ORF) in an article headlined, ‘Will Nazi replace our Dirndl image?’
How 'Austrian' is Bruno? Papers are speculating that Bruno is based on a real television presenter, Alfons Haider. However, his character is far from typical, says ORF: “Bruno portrays Austria as a country where men holding hands is prohibited by law and draws staggering parallels with the US: in the south, both countries have the same attitude towards homosexuals and foreigners.”The result, this article concludes, is that Bruno could be a “catastrophe” for tourism in Austria.

Sick but at work? Study finds it's worse in the long-run

SYDNEY (Reuters Life!) – Sick but still going to work? You'll probably end up taking more sick days in the future than colleagues who stay at home when unwell, according to a Swedish study.
Researchers at the Karolinska Institutet of Stockholm found that employees who often go to work feeling sick -- termed "sickness presenteeism" -- have higher rates of future work absences due to illness.
Gunnar Bergstrom, who led the study, said these findings suggest that measures attempting to decrease work absences could inadvertently have the opposite effect and show that taking sick-leave when appropriate benefited the workplace.
"Discouraging workers from staying home when they are sick could lead to increased sickness presenteeism, and thus inadvertently increase sick leave," Bergstrom said in a statement.
"This underscores the importance of sickness presenteeism in the evaluations of such interventions and considering the effects from a long-term perspective."
The study, published in the June issue of the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, was based on research involving two groups of workers -- about 3,750 public sector employees who were mainly female, and 2,500 private-sector employees who were mainly male. In the first year of the study, 19 percent of public sector workers and 13 percent of private sector workers had more than five "sickness presenteeism" days.
For these workers, the risk of having more than 30 days of sickness absenteeism the following year was 40 to 50 percent higher that for employees who had less days sick in the office, after adjustment for other factors.
Bergstrom said recent studies have shown that sickness presenteeism is common, with most employees saying they go to work sick at least sometimes.
Poor health is one likely risk factor for sickness presenteeism, but other job-related and personal factors could also play a role, according to the researchers.

Obama declares that it's time to fix health care

President flies to Wisconsin to host town hall meeting on industry reform

GREEN BAY, Wis. - Surrounded by supportive citizens in the heartland, President Barack Obama challenged lawmakers back in Washington who criticize his proposed health care overhaul. "What's the alternative?" he said Thursday.
A dispute over Obama's desire to create a new government-sponsored health plan to compete with private insurers is forming a major obstacle to bipartisan consensus on health reform.

OFFICIAL:CRISTIANO RONALDO to MADRID

There has been a world record, unconditional offer after the player asked to leave. Now all will be concluded by the end of the month.

EPL: Cristiano Ronaldo, Manchester United v Arsenal (PA)Manchester United have confirmed they have accepted a world-record bid from Real Madrid for Cristiano Ronaldo after he once again asked to leave the club.Madrid have been courting the Portuguese international for two seasons after he stated it is his dream to play for the Spanish giants, but United had rebuffed a series of overtures made by former Madrid president, Ramon Calderon.Now, Los Galacticos mastermind Florentino Perez has retaken office at the Santiago Bernabeu and vowed several star signings and having already begun with Kaka coming from Milan on Monday for around €65 million, the second highest transfer fee of all time behind the €73m paid by Madrid for Zinedine Zidane in 2001.With a world record fee in the region of €94m agreed, it is widely expected that negotiations with the player - who asked to leave, despite promising to stay all season - will not be protracted.The deal is expected to be concluded by the end of the month, if not sooner.An official Manchester United statement read, "Manchester United have received a world-record, unconditional offer of £80 million for Cristiano Ronaldo from Real Madrid.""At Cristiano's request - who has again expressed his desire to leave - and after discussion with the player's representatives, United have agreed to give Real Madrid permission to talk to the player."Matters are expected to be concluded by 30 June. The club will not comment until further notice."

Jackie O's Half-Brother Under Investigation ..

The black sheep half-brother of Jackie Kennedy Onassis is at the center of a scandal that has stunned his illustrious clan.
Police in Ashland, Oregon raided the home of 62-year-old Jamie Auchincloss and allegedly found child pornography.
"I don't think I've done something that harmed anybody. I don't think I'm that type of person," he said.
Following his sister Jackie's death in 1994, Auchincloss spoke with INSIDE EDITION. The two share the same mother but had different fathers. "Those who don't know, tell and those who tell, don't know," said the glamorous former First Lady's brother.
When Jackie married John F. Kennedy, her little brother carried the train of her wedding dress. He was just 6-years-old.
She also asked him to walk close to her in JFK's funeral procession.
However, a rift opened when the very private Jackie accused him of divulging family secrets. "I had talked fairly freely about different things," Auchincloss told INSIDE EDITION.
After his sister's death he left behind the social whirl in New York and Newport, Rhode Island to start a new life in the small town of Ashland.
Police raided the Auchincloss home nine months ago but the story leaked to the media just this week. No charges have been filed and Auchincloss says he was wrongly accused by a disgruntled former employee.

Singing Anthem Girl Breaks Losing Streak

She's done it again! 7-year-old Gina Marie Incandela is one lucky charm. Every time she sings, her team, the Orlando Magic, wins!Tuesday night, the Magic needed her more than ever. Down two-nothing to the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals, they called up their go-to girl. Gina, who was born with a speech impediment and is autistic, raised the roof with her rousing rendition of the National Anthem and broke the Magic's losing streak! They won!After her performance, Gina ended with a big finish and blew kisses to her fans.

A Presidential Pool Party!

Some eye-popping photos featuring former President George H. W. Bush are burning up the internet! The elder Bush is seen in one photo with a bikini clad woman sitting on his lap. In another, his wife Barbara poses with a chiseled hunk in a Speedo.
So who are the sexy citizens hanging out with the former President and First Lady?
They're actors from the traveling production of A Chorus Line, starring Lorenzo Lamas.
After seeing the show in Maine the Bushes invited the whole cast to their compound at Kennebunkport for a pool party to celebrate Barbara's 84th birthday.
INSIDE EDITION obtained home video of the cast serenading the former First Couple. At one point Lamas cozies up to the birthday girl while singing her a song.
With the whole country now talking about the presidential pool party, the Bush family is said to be "not thrilled" that cast members chose to post the photos on Facebook.

Oil Rises Above $71 As Inventories Fall

NEW YORK -- Crude-oil futures rose to end above $71 a barrel Wednesday for the first time in more than seven months after government data showed a surprising decline in last week's inventories, as imports fell and gasoline demand picked up. Crude inventories fell by 4.4 million barrels in the week ended June 5, the Energy Information Administration reported. Analysts surveyed by energy information provider Platts had expected an increase of 800,000 barrels. July crude rose $1.32, or 1.9%, to end at $71.33 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, closing at the highest level for a front-month contract since Oct. 20.

Cristiano Ronaldo to Real MAdrid !!!!!

Real Madrid Are In Negotiations With Cristiano Ronaldo - Jorge Valdano

Real Madrid general director Jorge Valdano has revealed that the Spanish side are in negotiations with Manchester United midfielder Cristiano Ronaldo.The player has been linked with a move to Madrid for sometime now and, with Florentino Perez back at the helm, it looks as though he could move this summer.In an interview with TVE, Valdano was asked about Ronaldo and described him as a great professional and player."I can only talk about players who are on their way here, not about those we are in negotiations over. He is a great professional, he dedicates a very great deal of time to his work. He is a great footballer and a very good professional," he said."According to the information we have managed to obtain, he is an excellent professional. You don't get the player's body he has, which is a footballing advertisement, without working a great deal."Another thing is that his reputation as an officially good-looking guy, and a social or advertising model, blurs his image a bit. He is a great footballer."With regards to another potential signing, David Villa, Valdano explained that Madrid are interested, but that Valencia are pricing him out of the market."He is an excellent striker but he has a prohibitive price. He is a player who interests us, but only at a reasonable price. The summer is very long and all the bargaining will be very interesting," he mused.The general director went onto state that they need a "right winger or left to reinforce" the side, and are looking at a whole project, not just big names."Two or three signings will not do, we must pay attention to the whole team. We need 22 players who can give us their best, not just eleven starters," he explained.Valdano also spoke about bringing back Alvaro Negredo to Madrid, saying that he would like him to return, but that it is "difficult", as "two or three" players would need to leave."There are important offers for Negredo, he would not be able to play as third or fourth choice, because that would stop his evolution and that is a bad idea," he concluded.Questioned whether Gonzalo Higuain could be one of those to go, Valdano assured that he is an "important part" of the project, and that even though he is "still growing" he has progressed a "a lot in a short time".

'Slumdog' child star gets new home

MUMBAI, India – The makers of the hit movie "Slumdog Millionaire" have bought a new home for one of the two child stars discovered in Mumbai's slums.
Both children lost their homes last month when authorities demolished parts of their slum.
The purchase of a 250-square-foot (23-square-meter) one-bedroom apartment for the family of Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail, 10, was completed Monday, said Nirja Mattoo, who helps oversee the Jai Ho trust set up by the filmmakers to help Azharuddin and his 9-year-old co-star Rubina Ali.
"They can move in," Mattoo told The Associated Press on Wednesday. "I'm just waiting for their consent."
Ownership of the tiny apartment, which cost about 2.5 million rupees ($50,000), will be transferred from the trust to Azharuddin when he turns 18, provided he completes school, Mattoo said.
"He has to complete an education. We are very clear about that," she said. She declined to say what would happen to the property if he does not finish school.
The apartment is located in Santa Cruz West, a suburb of Mumbai just north of the slum where the two children now live.
Mattoo said the trust is actively looking for a new home for Rubina.
The government has also started the process of giving both children apartments, and the family of Azharuddin — known as Azhar — hopes to get both, his mother said.
"After Azhar is grown up, he can stay in one," said Shameem Ismail. "Me and my husband can stay in the other. Both houses are small."
On Tuesday, Azhar's family toured the apartment the government has offered them in Malvani, on the northern outskirts of Mumbai. Ismail described the flat as "small but good."
"The only problem is it's far away from Azhar's school," she said.
Azhar said he likes both houses.
"I'll take my friends to visit," he said, squatting with two friends in front of his shanty roasting jackfruit seeds in a fire built from old newspapers and sticks.
The boys said they'd miss him.

Car bomb in Iraq kills about 30 people

BAGHDAD – A car bomb blew up Wednesday in a packed outdoor food market in one of the most peaceful areas of Iraq's Shiite south, killing about 30 people and wounding dozens more.
The blast raised fears that militants may be planning more strikes in remote, poorly secured areas, seeking to stretch Iraq's security services as they take on a bigger role in Baghdad and other flashpoint cities.
Angry townspeople swarmed around police in the wake of the attack, cursing and blaming them for failing to prevent the bombing.
No group claimed responsibility for the explosion, which occurred during the morning shopping period in Bathaa, a small Euphrates River town near Nasiriyah about 200 miles (320 kilometers) southeast of Baghdad.
But the country's Shiite vice president, Adel Abdul-Mahdi, blamed al-Qaida and Sunni insurgents with links to Saddam Hussein's banned Baath party.
"Targeting stable and secure areas is a desperate effort ... to reignite sectarian sedition and try to affect security and political progress," Abdul-Mahdi said in a statement.
The blast was the latest in a series of high-profile explosions that have raised concerns about a resurgence of violence as the U.S. military faces a June 30 deadline to withdraw from urban areas in Iraq.
It was the deadliest bombing in the Nasiriyah area since Nov. 12, 2003, when a suicide truck bomber attacked the headquarters of Italian forces stationed there, killing more than 30 people.
Since then, however, surrounding Dhi Qar province has been relatively peaceful. Security responsibility for the area was transferred from the U.S.-led coalition to the Iraqis in September 2006 while Sunni-Shiite warfare was raging in Baghdad and elsewhere in the country.
Large-scale bombings targeting Shiite civilians have been a common tactic of al-Qaida and other Sunni extremists — especially in Baghdad. But they have been rare in remote southern communities like Bathaa, an overwhelmingly Shiite town where outsiders are viewed with suspicion.
Stunned survivors expressed shock that their town was targeted. Some voiced anger at the police for lax security, prompting the provincial governor to fire the town police chief.
"We did not expect that such an explosion would happen here. It is a market for the poor people of Bathaa. It is a big failure of the security measures here," said Amir Talib, 28, who helped evacuate the wounded.
Haidar al-Ghizi, a town council member, said police were supposed to search cars in the area.
"I don't know how this car got through," he said. "There has been negligence and poor performance from police."
After the blast, dozens of young men gathered at the blast site, shouting and cursing the police for lax security, according to eyewitnesses. Iraqi army soldiers rushed to the scene to protect the police.
Authorities increased security at the main entry points to the province and in the Nasiriyah city center to prevent the possibility of another bombing.
Witnesses described a grisly scene of mangled bodies, including women and children, littering the main street in the first terrifying moments after the blast. So many victims were blown to pieces that authorities were having trouble determining the precise death toll.
Sajad Sharhan, the head of the provincial security committee, said 29 people were killed and 55 wounded. An Interior Ministry official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information, put the death toll at 28.
A spokesman for the Nasiriyah hospital, Kadhim al-Obeidi, said 35 people were killed and 45 wounded.
Persistent violence in areas of Iraq has raised new questions about the readiness of Iraqi forces to take over their own security.
President Barack Obama plans to end the U.S. combat role in Iraq by September 2010, with the last American forces to leave the country by 2012.
The withdrawal timetable is provided for in a U.S.-Iraqi security pact that took effect on Jan. 1.
The Iraqi government has agreed to hold a national referendum on the agreement as required by parliament but said it wanted to hold the vote early next year instead of this summer as originally planned.
Tuesday's Cabinet decision, which needs approval from Iraq's parliament, means the referendum would be held together with national parliamentary elections on Jan. 30.
Adding the referendum met a demand by the main Sunni bloc in parliament and raised the possibility that U.S. troops may have to leave even sooner if the voters reject the security agreement

Coroner: Danny Gans died accidentally

LAS VEGAS – Las Vegas entertainer Danny Gans' death was accidental, caused by a prescription painkiller, a coroner said Tuesday.
Clark County Coroner Mike Murphy said an autopsy, toxicology and microscopic samples showed the 52-year-old Gans died from toxic levels of hydromorphone. The opiate drug, commonly marketed under the brand name Dilaudid, is used to treat chronic pain, which Gans suffered from, Murphy said.
Murphy said Gans had heart disease caused by high blood pressure — which makes the heart work overtime and left him more susceptible to heart irregularities. Gans also had a condition (polycythemia) that results in too many red blood cells, Murphy said. (The condition is the opposite of anemia.)
"Mr. Gans' health conditions placed him at greater risk for heart irregularities, and the hydromorphone was a factor in exacerbating those risks," Murphy said. "We clearly listed this as

accidental."
Gans was found dead in bed at home in Henderson early May 1 after his wife, Julie, reported she couldn't rouse him.
Upon Gans' death, his manager Chip Lightman described Gans as someone who watched his diet, loved to perform and relished his involvement in Las Vegas area fundraisers and philanthropic causes.
"I managed him 18 years and health was never an issue," Lightman told The Associated Press at the time. "Danny lived a good, clean Christian life. He was not a drug user. He would have a glass of wine because they say red wine is good for you. He didn't smoke."
On Tuesday, Lightman said: "Everyone knew he had two shoulder surgeries and excruciating back problems."
Lightman attributed Gans' chronic pain to back injuries dating to his years playing minor league

baseball and to the rigors of his performances.
A one-time minor league baseball player, Gans was a singer-actor-impressionist who spent more than a decade working his way to top billing at the Encore Theater at Wynn Las Vegas on the Las Vegas Strip.
His show brought impressions in rapid-fire succession — Tony Bennett, Al Pacino, Sarah Vaughan, Clint Eastwood, Rodney Dangerfield, Woody Allen, Bill Cosby, Kermit the Frog, Jimmy Stewart.
A May 21 memorial drew about 1,000 guests at the Encore.

Report : BraCa to Robinho !!!

O Principe’ could be heading back to Spain and he could stir up a storm by joining his old club’s eternal enemies.

Robinho’s uncertain future at Manchester City continues to draw speculation and the latest rumours suggest that he could be on his way back to Spain’s Primera Division.
According to Sport, the ex-Real Madrid forward has apparently offered his services to Barcelona, just a week after informing the president of another of his former clubs, Santos’ Marcelo Teixeira, that he was unhappy and ready to leave Eastlands.
The 25-year-old has openly expressed his admiration for the Blaugrana after the Catalans won unmitigated praise this past season for playing attractive, attacking football while bagging ‘el gran triplete’.
“So far, there have only been speculations. There is nothing concrete and I haven’t received any offers,” he was quoted as saying by Sport.
“The only thing I can say is that Barcelona are a great team and everybody would love to play for them.”
The Brazilian then went on to reiterate that he made the right decision back in August last year to demand an exit from the Santiago Bernabeu.
“I left because I was not happy. I do not regret the decision and I’m comfortable at Manchester City,” he explained.
Finally, he spoke briefly about his compatriot Kaka’s move to Los Merengues:
“I wish him good luck at Madrid and I hope that he can become the best in the world again.”

Iran elections 2009: Thousands rally for Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as poll looms

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's followers regard him as a hero and even a bit of Pete Doherty-like behaviour fails to diminish his standing in the eyes of working-class Iranians, writes Colin Freeman.

____________________________________________

The stewards in charge of the Tehran meeting hall reckoned the headcount was about 25,000, while the president's warm-up man optimistically put it near a million. But give or take a few hundred thousand sweating, bandana-wrapped foreheads, one thing was certain at Monday's campaign rally for President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad – when it comes to showmanship, Iran's leader is a hard act to beat.
The rally, one of the last before Friday's presidential election, combined the fever of a religious gathering, the jostling crowds of a rock gig moshpit, and the carefully choreographed build-up of a World Wrestling Federation grudge match.

Storm knocks over tree at White House

WASHINGTON (AP) - Strong winds have knocked down a tree on the White House's North Lawn.
The tree appeared to have been snapped off near its base during a storm Tuesday afternoon. The large tree had stood between Pennsylvania Avenue and the West Wing.
White House spokesman Bill Burton says it was a European linden. Grounds crews on Wednesday will grind up the tree to use it for mulch.
Burton says the tree was planted in 1940 but not by a president to mark a special occasion.

President George W. Bush and Laura Bush planted a tree on the North Lawn to replace a 140-year-old tree that fell in 2006. Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.