(CNN) — Two brothers have been arrested and charged with aggravated battery after allegedly attacking and chasing a pilot at Miami International Airport.

The bizarre incident began on board an American Airlines flight bound for San Francisco on Wednesday evening.

As the plane was taxiing out, a flight attendant noticed that Jonathan Baez was sleeping and not wearing his seat belt. She tried to wake him up, but he was "unresponsive and appeared to be intoxicated or on narcotics," according to the Miami-Dade Police Department arrest report.

The pilot then returned the plane to the gate and tried several times to wake Baez. When the passenger awoke, he was told he couldn’t fly in his condition and was asked to leave the plane, police said.

That’s when his brother, Luis Baez, also decided to leave.

As both men were walking toward the plane door, they "became extremely belligerent," and Luis Baez — who was born in Puerto Rico — told the pilot, "When you fly to San Juan, I will have you killed," according to the arrest report.

Shortly after leaving the plane, Jonathan Baez came back on board and punched the pilot in the face, causing a large bruise and blurred vision in his left eye, the arrest report says.

He also struck a flight attendant on the shoulder when she tried to intervene, police said.

But the ordeal wasn’t over yet.

When the pilot escorted the brothers off the plane, they jumped him and started punching him, and then chased him into the terminal, according to the arrest report.

Other crew members and passengers came to the pilot’s defense and subdued the brothers until police arrested them.

The pilot told police that he was concerned Luis Baez would follow through on his threats to kill him and said he feared for his life.

Jonathan Baez’s bond has been set at $9,000, while Luis Baez is $12,500, according to The Miami Herald.

The men remain in the Miami-Dade County Jail, CNN affiliate WPLG reported.

Originally Published On: www.cnn.com – Original Article Here

NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) – Most Americans are willing to help their neighbors during tough economic times but noise and out of control children and pets can still annoy the people living next door, according to a new survey.

Whether it is assistance in looking for a job, babysitting or even a loan, 83 percent of 17,000 Americans questioned in a nationwide poll said they would lend a helping hand to a neighbor in need.

“This provides some evidence that when things go bad, like a natural disaster or the economy, people look at the local level for types of social support,” Professor Keith Hampton, of University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg School of Communication, said about the findings of the poll.

“Even with help for basic day-to-day stuff, they turn to their neighbors, which leads to a temporary spike in local engagement in America,” he added.

South Florida resident Kay Riordan took in her neighbor’s four children for more than two months they had to move to North Carolina for a job opportunity after falling on hard time.

“They were picking up and moving on a hope and a prayer,” she said. “We did not want to uproot the children, so we offered.”

Riordan, who took part in the Harris Interactive poll commissioned by State Farm Insurance, was among the 10 percent of Americans who said they would let a neighbor live with them for a short to help them through difficult times.

With the U.S. jobless rate hovering at 9.2 percent, the help could provide a needed lifeline.

Forty five percent of people questioned in the poll said they would help a neighbor look for a job, 15 percent would lend their neighbors money, 44 percent said they would cook a meal and 32 percent would babysit to save on childcare costs.

“Everyday there are headlines about economic difficulties,” said David Beigie, a spokesman from State Farm insurance. “It is very easy to move into a fear based approach to living, and people may not realize that’s there is help next door.”

But the poll also revealed that 66 percent of city dwellers had a complaint about a neighbor, compared to 54 percent of Americans in rural areas.

Most of the gripes, 33 percent, were about rowdy children and pets, followed by noise and poorly maintained property.

And only one in four people said they know the names of most, or all, or their neighbors.

Originally Published On: www.reuters.com – Original Article Here

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Daphna Ziman is on a mission to help foster children, and she’s picked a novel way to do it — novel, being the key word.

Ziman, a Los Angeles-based philanthropist and activist for kids placed in foster care, has written a fictional novel, “The Gray Zone,” whose protagonist was orphaned as a child.

Now, that kid is a grown woman named Kelly Jensen, and she’s on the run from the law following the brutal murder of a Las Vegas politician. But with the help of a sharp-minded, handsome defense lawyer, Kelly could clear her name.

Sound like a fast-paced, breezy crime thriller meant for any summer reading list? Well, it is — and it isn’t.

Ziman’s aim is two-fold: get people to read her story like they would any thriller from the likes of novelists James Patterson or Harlan Coben. But she also aims to engage readers in a serious problem in America — the plight of kids in foster care who, Ziman says, are victims of neglect, abuse, human trafficking and sex slavery.

“You can write a (nonfiction) book and put the facts and statistics in it and nobody will read it, or you can take the public, the readers, on a journey,” Ziman told Reuters about why she chose to write the novel.

“This way, I could create something that would stay around forever, and maybe somebody would be interested in transferring it into a movie” or some other medium, she said.

Ziman’s approach to raising awareness may be a “novel,” but it’s hardly new. Fiction has long been used to expose truths that many officials might prefer were better left unexposed.

There was, of course, Upton Sinclair’s 1906 muckraking novel “The Jungle” that blew the lid off unsanitary practices in Chicago’s meat packing business. Charles Dickens looked at the plight of English orphan boys in “Oliver Twist.”

STORY GETS PERSONAL

Adding to Ziman’s zeal is a personal reason to advocate for foster kids. She has adopted two daughters out of the system and founded nonprofit group Children Uniting Nations, to raise money and awareness about issues impacting kids.

Not all kids are victimized by foster parents, of course, but the number who are is hard to determine because they don’t speak out publicly as kids. Moreover, many of their cases are discussed behind closed doors by adult guardians and government officials, hence the title “The Gray Zone,” Ziman said.

But back to the book. It begins with Kelly Jensen working in a Vegas nightclub as a celebrity impersonator. After a local politician turns up dead, Kelly meets handsome Los Angeles attorney Jake Brooks and together, the pair embark on an adventure that exposes unspeakable crimes.

Ziman wrote the book, she said, as much as a catharsis when she was coming off a bad divorce as a way to help kids. In a way, she figured, she’d get two things done at once — advocate for kids and exorcise her own demons.

“I thought if I was going to write about Kelly, I could vicariously live through my characters, and if she could overcome such monumental obstacles, then my obstacles seemed minor in comparison,” Ziman said.

Whether Ziman succeeds at reaching readers and telling them about a serious problem with “Gray Zone” remains to be seen, but she is off to a good start with the novel making several best-seller lists.

And even if it doesn’t, there’s no stopping her activist spirit. On Thursday, (July 28), Children Uniting Nations, is holding a one-day forum in Washington, D.C. to discuss new laws that could better serve kids in America and open up all those closed-door meetings.

Moreover, she’s also decided that, post divorce, she has a new career ahead of her — author.

“I’m finding that going into the worlds I’m creating is hugely therapeutic,” she said. “This swan is emerging and somehow the ugly duckling is not popping up as often.”

(Editing by Jill Serjeant)

Originally Published On: www.reuters.com – Original Article Here

Criticism has surfaced about
Egyptian actress Summaya Al Khashab’s excessive weight gain. Viewers were
shocked when watching the advertisements for Summaya’s upcoming dramas, “Kayed
Nisa” (Women’s Vengeance) and “Wadi Al Mulook” (Valley of Kings), to see how
she had let her weight get out of control.

Summaya’s fans wonder what has led her to be so careless,
especially since in the past she was careful about maintaining a slim figure.
Many speculate that she may be suffering from an illness that required her to
be injected with cortisone, which often leads to excessive weight gain, and
others attribute the gain to her disappointment over the failure of her recent
works and her absence from the scenes.

Summaya also faced harsh criticism over her weight gain during
her appearance at recent festivals held around the Arab world.

Originally Published On: www.albawaba.com – Original Article Here

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – British journalist Piers Morgan said on Wednesday he had never strayed into illegal tactics during his years working for three British tabloid newspapers.

Morgan, who has already denied any role in the phone hacking scandal engulfing News Corp’s News of the World paper, made his latest statement after media outlets unearthed a 2009 interview with BBC Radio, in which Morgan seemed to validate some shady actions by tabloids.

The current host of the CNN talk show “Piers Morgan Tonight” has come under scrutiny in the past week because he edited the News of the World from 1994 to 1995 and later edited the rival U.K. tabloid, the Daily Mirror until he left in 2004.

Morgan has also raised eyebrows for publicly defending News Corp chairman Rupert Murdoch, who shut down the News of the World earlier this month after allegations of widespread phone hacking by reporters and private investigators in search of exclusive stories.

On the 2009 BBC radio program “Desert Island Discs,” Morgan was asked how as a “nice middle class boy” he felt about people who “rake through bins” and “tap people’s phones” to dig up dirt for the tabloids.

“To be honest, let’s put that in perspective as well,” Morgan said on the program. “Not a lot of that went on. A lot of it was done by third parties rather than the staff themselves. That’s not to defend it, because obviously you were running the results of their work.”

In a statement on Wednesday, Morgan sought to clarify his remarks in 2009.

“My answer was not specific to any of the numerous examples (the interviewer) gave, but a general observation about tabloid newspaper reporters and private investigators,” he said.

“As I have said before, I have never hacked a phone, told anyone to hack a phone, nor to my knowledge published any story obtained from the hacking of a phone.”

In Britain, questions are now being asked about whether the scandal went beyond papers owned by News Corp. Trinity Mirror, publisher of the Daily Mirror, said on Tuesday it had launched a review of its editorial controls and procedures, while the Daily Mail newspaper group said its titles had not published any stories based on hacked messages.

(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis: Editing by Jill Serjeant)

Originally Published On: www.reuters.com – Original Article Here

Syrian actress Jeanie Asber revealed that she will be
playing the role of ‘Jacqueline’ in the upcoming Egyptian television drama “Abid
Karman”, which will be aired during the holy month of Ramadan on the Arab
satellite channel MBC.

Jeanie’s character is a young woman of French citizenship
that falls in love with the main character in the drama “Abid Karman”, which is
played by prominent Syrian actor Tayem Hassan. Throughout the events of the
drama, Jeanie’s character becomes Abid’s unforgettable love that leads him to
travel to France to be with her. While in France, Abid encounters numerous
obstacles with the French secret service, who assumed he was a spy.

Jeanie revealed that what made her character unique is it
being of a very romantic nature that required her to combine French statements
to Arabic ones in the Egyptian dialect. She added that it was very difficult
for her to master the Egyptian dialect, and it took a lot of effort on her part
to be able to play her part to the best of her ability.

The story of the drama is based on the popular novel by the
late author Maher Abd Al Hameed.

Originally Published On: www.albawaba.com – Original Article Here

A version of The Clash song London Calling was used as part of the countdown coverage to the 2012 Olympics. But is it the best advert for the city, asks Alan Connor.

In Joe Strummer's mind, in fact, conflict is back. The second line is, "Now war is declared, and battle come down". Engines have stopped running and meltdown is expected.

The other sound-effect-of-sorts makes this a very personal portrait of the city by songwriter Strummer. What sounds like a wolf's howl is revealed by early demos as seagulls – the birds Strummer heard from his home in the World's End estate by the bank of the Thames.

So why has this excoriation of everything the London Tourist Board stands for ended up a feel-good anthem? The corporate-run world inside Stratford's blue perimeter fence seems unlikely, after all, to resemble the Strummerville campfire at Glastonbury.

One reason may be the band's decision to up their sonic game from more punky beginnings. By their next LP, the Clash's producer was boasting of "more guitars per square inch than anything in the history of Western civilisation". London Calling offers so much to listen to that it's possible to miss most of the words between the opening line and the end of the chorus.

The title phrase also lives on in its BBC, non-seditionary sense and it seems that when headline-writers and copywriters type the word "London", "calling" can follow almost unthinkingly. The song is now often not much more than the audio equivalent – a jingle that says "hey, it's London".

"London Calling is a classic example of a song that has become so familiar that its original meaning has been lost," says Gray. "It's instantly recognisable and superficially the perfect invitation to the capital and the world's premiere sporting event, but it's actually about the end of the world, at least as we know it."

The same has happened to other tracks as they become "golden oldies", but that label doesn't quite fit London Calling. In 2011, you can hardly hear a song featuring nuclear accidents, food crises and civil unrest and dismiss it as dated.

Originally Published On: www.bbc.co.uk – Original Article Here

The S1420 comes equipped with Optical Image Stabiliser capability that prevents blurring, compensating for unintended camera movements or slow shutter speeds, to deliver crisply rendered, crystal-clear images.

Fave features

Cost Dh599
Available From all leading electronics stores 

Inspired by the grace and form of classic cameras from the past, the Finepix X100 combines all the latest technical digital innovations in a beautiful, more traditional-looking model.

Article continues below

Fave features

Cost Dh5,000
Available Grand Stores Digital, Sharaf DG (Dubai Mall, Times Square, City Centre), Jacky’s (City Centre, Dubai Mall) 

Nikon has unveiled the world’s first digital camera with a built-in projector, which means you get all the tech specs of a great digital pic-taker, with the ability to project and share images straight away. Beats simply flicking through your images!

Fave features

Cost Dh1,499
Available From Jacky’s stores 

Offering a unique combination of high image quality and special features, together with Samsung’s dual-screen technology.

Fave features

Cost On request
Available From all leading electronics stores 

Capture high-quality photos from the top of a wave to the top of an icy mountain with the TG-610,a water, shock and freeze-proof camera.

Fave features

Cost Dh1,499
Available Klik stores in Mirdif City Centre and Market Souk (Abu Dhabi); Olympus store in Dubai Mall 

This buy is the perfect travelling companion as it’s equipped with GPS technology so you can tag your pictures and track your journey, allowing you to retrace your steps once you return home.

Fave features

Cost Dh1,399
Available At Jacky’s stores 

A compact, lightweight digital SLR provides all the tools you need to capture beautiful stills and HD movies, making it the perfect choice for aspiring photographers wanting to experiment with their photography.

Fave features

Cost Dh3,999
Available From all leading electronics stores 

A stylish and slim IXUS – in a variety of cool colours – that effortlessly blends stand-out looks with great performance, even in low light.

Fave features

Cost On request
Available From all leading electronics stores 

Whether snorkelling or scuba diving, now you’ll never miss an underwater photo opportunity again with Canon’s waterproof PowerShot D10 that features intelligent technology.

Fave features

Cost Dh1,199
Available From Jacky’s Electronics 

A simple digital camera that features a unique stylish slim body with a 12MP 3x wide optical zoom and a 2.7-inch LCD.

Fave feature

Cost Dh599
Available From all leading electronics stores

Get the most out of your camera!

Move in closer Each time you spot a subject, snap a pic and then move in closer for another shot.

Be quick If it’s possible that your subject may move, fly away or stop smiling, shoot straight away.

Compose your picture with care Consciously place your subject where you think it most belongs in the shot, rather than just accepting wherever it happens to land in the photo.

Be selective Think about what you’re really interested in and concentrate on just that, keeping anything that would detract completely out of the picture.

Focus on your subject Practise shooting with different apertures and monitor the results afterwards to learn how depth of field (the distance between the nearest and farthest objects in a scene) affects your photos.

Experiment with shutter speed One of the most fun aspects of photography is that you have the power to slow time down or catch a split second, so familiarise yourself with your camera’s speed settings.

Look at the light Be aware of how your subject is lit, taking note of the way in which shadows fall. As a general rule of thumb, it’s best to shoot with the sun behind you.

Watch the weather Look outside and decide whether you want to have the sky in your picture. If it’s overcast, simply keep the sky out of your pictures as much as possible so that you avoid both muted tones in your subject and washed-out skies in your background.

Keep camera settings simple While you may wish to experiment with all the settings available, in the beginning, find the simple set up that works best for you in most situations.

Be bold Once you’re comfy with your camera, start experimenting with settings. Take your camera out for the day and snap away in a variety of settings, so you can see the effect each one gives. Soon, you’ll be confident using a variety of options.

Originally Published On: gulfnews.com – Original Article Here

(CNN) — JetBlue Airways is courting business travelers with three new flight passes announced Thursday.

The BluePass offers unlimited travel on flights between August 22 and November 22 from two airports, Boston’s Logan International and Long Beach Airport near Los Angeles.

"We are the largest carrier in both Boston and Long Beach, and we have built a solid network of key destinations and high frequencies in these markets," Dennis Corrigan, JetBlue’s vice president of sales and revenue management, said in a statement.

For $1,299, travelers can fly between Long Beach and nine markets in the West, Texas and Illinois. Two options are available originating in Boston; a $1,499 pass to 13 Northeast markets or a $1,999 pass for travel from Boston to 32 cities with nonstop service and 22 connecting cities.

Bookings must be made online starting August 15. Travelers may book any available seat up to 90 minutes before departure with no blackout dates.

The pass is a more targeted take on the airline’s "all-you-can-jet" pass, an offer introduced in 2009 for unlimited flights for one month between all JetBlue destinations.

Originally Published On: www.cnn.com – Original Article Here

While there may be many hotels around the world that include the world "palace" in their names, only a handful rightly deserve this dignified title. Whether it be due to the royal status of their former residents or to the singular palatial beauty of the interiors, here are the jewels in the crown — hotels that are palaces in every sense of the word, and where today’s guests are given a chance to live like royalty.

Umaid Bhawan Palace, Jodhpur, India www.tajhotels.com

When it comes to opulence, India’s maharajas really know how to pull out all the stops. Set in the Rajasthan desert, on the outskirts of the mythical town of Jodhpur, stands the Art Deco-styled Umaid Bhawan Palace. Surrounded by Rajput towers and topped by a massive dome, it is one of India’s finest architectural jewels.

Although most of the 350-plus rooms are now a luxury hotel, the present maharaja and the royal family still live in one wing. Guests at the palace are encouraged to enjoy a few days living as the Rajasthani princes did.

Article continues below

Many of the suites are decorated with the original 1930s designs and provide a glimpse into how Indian royalty and their guests enjoyed life. While the Umaid Bhawan holds many surprises, guests love to indulge in the lavish meals, which include dishes enjoyed by generations of Indian aristocracy. Rates from Rs15,500 (Dh1,280).

Villa d’Este, Lake Como, Italy www.villadeste.com

For more than 400 years, this aristocratic palace has stood proudly on the banks of Lake Como in northern Italy. A visit today is a chance to mix with the rich and famous, who come to enjoy the old-world charm, unrivalled Italian food from chef Luciano Parolari and the glorious waterside setting.

Actor George Clooney is a regular visitor and loves entertaining friends on the open terrace with views of the mountains. Inside the Villa d’Este, the rooms maintain their original palatial decoration, enriched with valuable portraits of noblemen and 19th-century furniture. Don’t miss the chance to enjoy a cool refreshment as you gaze out over Lake Como from the glorious lounge, which features a marble statue by Italian sculptor Canova, crystal chandeliers and silk damask wall coverings. Rates from €800 (Dh4,270).

Westin Palace Hotel, Madrid, Spain www.westinpalacemadrid.com

Set in the epicentre of Madrid, the Westin Palace has been welcoming the world’s kings and queens for almost a century. It was Spain’s King Alfonso XIII who ordered the Palace’s construction in 1912, and today the sumptuous rooms and suites provide a chance to spend a few days in the old-world charm of aristocracy. You wouldn’t want to miss out on sitting under the massive stained-glass cupola and enjoying a sumptuous brunch, an every-Sunday event.

Adding to the refined atmosphere as you dine are some of Spain’s top performers singing up a storm with arias from the great operas. In the nearby lounge, fitted out with dark wood walls and deep velvet sofas, you’ll find changing contemporary photographic exhibitions.

Rates from €320 (Dh1,700).

Shangri-La Hotel, Paris, France www.shangrila.com/paris

What was once the royal residence of the Bonaparte family in Paris is today one of the world’s most stunning palace hotels and the place to enjoy sensational views of the Eiffel Tower. The original building has been restored to its original late-19th-century appearance. Today the colourful frescoes, carved woodwork, marble staircases and double height ceilings welcome guests from around the world. The prince’s original master bedroom and private living room are today Le Suite Impériale. Providing an unparalleled opportunity to experience life in an aristocratic French mansion, the public areas are decorated more as a home than a hotel. For gourmands, L’Abeille, which sits beside a lush courtyard garden with views of the Eiffel Tower, brings exquisite French flavours to the table from the hand of chef Philippe Labbé. Rates from €650 (Dh3,470).

New York Palace, New York, the US www.newyorkpalace.com

Enter a world of unrivalled glamour at the New York Palace. The luxurious public spaces, rooms and suites are spread over the original 1882 building and the newer tower, which reaches for the sky with its 55 floors. Guests are welcomed to the New York Palace as they enter the marble hall complete with Italian, renaissance-styled staircase, before heading upstairs to one of the magnificent rooms or 86 suites, many of which are decorated in Art Deco style and offer views over Manhattan.

Those seeking the peak of opulence should book the Royal Suite, decorated with yellow drapes, silk brocade wall coverings and Louis XV-style furniture. Downstairs, in the original historic building, a gilded vaulted ceiling, a fireplace and dark wood panelling provide the perfect setting to enjoy American flavours at Gilt, the hotel’s fine dining restaurant headed by chef Justin Bogle. Rates from $339 (Dh1,245).

— Scott Adams is a Madrid-based freelance writer

Originally Published On: gulfnews.com – Original Article Here