(World mourns deaths of Princess Diana and Mother Theresa)
From the BBC
Mother Teresa, the Nobel Peace Prize winner who devoted her life to helping the sick and the poor, has
died at the age of 87.
She died of a heart attack at the headquarters of the Missionaries of Charity
in Calcutta shortly before 1700 BST.
The nun from Skopje, Macedonia, had been battling ill health for some years, and in March stepped down
as head of the order of nuns she founded.
She was revered by many around the world as a living saint for her work with the dispossessed.
The Pope often praised her work and a Vatican spokesman told reporters he was "deeply hurt" by the news
of her death.
"The Pope believes she is a woman who has left her mark on the history of this century," he said.
The head of the Catholic church in England and Wales, Cardinal Hume, said she was an "enormously
significant figure - everyone knows who Mother Teresa is".
Conservative stance
Born Agnes Bojaxhiu in Skopje, then part of the Ottoman Empire later Macedonia, she took the name Sister Teresa in Ireland, where she began her training as a nun with the Loreto Sisters.
She founded her order in 1948 and went out to work in the slums of Calcutta.
She was sometimes accused by Hindus in her adopted country of trying to convert the poor to Catholicism by "stealth" and criticised by liberals who disliked her conservative stance on abortion and contraception.
But her biographer and friend Navin Chana said she would be remembered as someone who "gave the word compassion a new dimension".
HURRICANES CONTINUE TO HIT GULF COAST AND NEW ORLEANS
September 3, 2008
From the BBC
Storm force winds hit New Orleans
Hurricane Gustav batters U.S. towns
Hurricane Gustav is advancing inland from the US Gulf coast, bringing with it torrential rain and severe winds.
The eye of the storm, which left nearly 90 people dead last week as it crossed the Caribbean, is bearing down on the Louisiana community of Lafayette.
The worst of the storm made landfall west of New Orleans, apparently sparing it from the kind of devastation wreaked by Hurricane Katrina three years ago.
An estimated two million people have fled inland from the Louisiana coast.
Hurricane Gustav is quickly losing strength after making landfall in Louisiana, and has been downgraded to a Category One storm, with winds of 90mph (145km/h).
The storm is expected to move into Texas overnight, dumping as much as 20in (50cm) of rain there by Thursday.
US President George W Bush is in Austin, Texas, to oversee the government response.
He said Gustav was a "serious event" and insisted that the emergency response was "a lot better than during Katrina".
Mr Bush praised those who had heeded the warnings to evacuate, saying he understood how hard it was for citizens to "pull up stakes".
Ghost town
The exodus from the Louisiana coast is the largest evacuation in state history.
Many New Orleans residents have fled, with only 10,000 left from a population of 200,000.
We're still seeing storm surge. There's lots of rain, tornado threats... We are nowhere near out of danger yet
Mayor of New Orleans Ray Nagin
Tens of thousands are also reported to have left coastal Mississippi, Alabama and south-eastern Texas.
The BBC's Gavin Hewitt in Lafayette says the city is being battered by fierce winds and driving winds, and every now and again there is a rumble, signifying a huge gust.
In New Orleans, a sea surge of up to 14ft (4.2m) was feared and water was clearing levees as the outer rim of the storm brought heavy rains and winds.
Waves were causing some flooding but the city's pumps were keeping up with the flow, said a spokesman for the army unit responsible for the city's flood defences.
FLASHBACK TO KATRINA
Katrina struck US Gulf Coast in August 2005 as a Category Three storm, killing more than 1,800 people
New Orleans was 80% flooded after storm surge breached protective levees
US Government was blamed for slow, botched response that exacerbated disaster
A Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) briefing heard that although the high water pressing the walls raised the potential for problems, officials were "confident in the resilience" of the levees.
The Mayor of New Orleans, Ray Nagin, has urged caution.
He said: "We're still seeing storm surge. There's lots of rain, tornado threats... We are nowhere near out of danger yet."
The mayor asked people to "resist the temptation to say we're out of the woods", adding that heavy rainfall could still flood the city over the next 24 hours.
He told CNN that the city would not know until late afternoon if vulnerable areas would "stay dry".
Fema officials warned that the damage wrought by Gustav would be "a catastrophe".
"We don't expect the loss of life, certainly, that we saw in Katrina," Fema spokesman Harvey Johnson said, "But we are expecting a lot of homes to be damaged, a lot of infrastructure to be flooded, and damaged severely."
In 2005, three-quarters of New Orleans was flooded by a storm surge that claimed more than 1,800 lives in coastal areas.
The Category Three storm Katrina swept away the city's levees under a wall of mud and water.
Few remain
In New Orleans, a dusk-to-dawn curfew is in force.
The Louisiana National Guard has been mobilised and support requested from other states.
The storm threatened protective walls as it approached New Orleans
Crime was a major problem in the New Orleans area in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
Concern for those facing the hurricane has prompted the Republican party to scale back its national convention where Senator John McCain is due to accept the party's nomination for president at the event in St Paul, Minnesota later this week.
Mr McCain told his party that "this was one of those moments in history where you have to put America first. We will not see the mistakes of Katrina repeated".
Out in the Gulf of Mexico, most oil production has been shut down. Three years ago, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita ravaged the region's oil infrastructure and sent oil prices soaring.
Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Hanna has strengthened into a hurricane east of the Bahamas in the Atlantic ocean, US officials reported.
Hanna is on track to skirt Florida before making landfall on Friday in South Carolina, near its state border with Georgia, US weather experts said.
NASA PROTECTS SHUTTLE FROM HURRICANE DAMAGE/ QUESTION PRESIDENTS GOAL OF RETIRING SHUTTLE BY 2010
September 2, 2008
NASA Holds Space Shuttle Move for Tropical Storm By Tariq Malik Senior Editor posted: 2 September 2008 3:34 pm ET
NASA is holding off on moving the space shuttle Atlantis to its Florida launch pad this week to ensure it is not threatened by Tropical Storm Hanna, the agency said Tuesday.
While the shuttle could make the 3-mile (4.8-km) trek to the seaside launch pad as early as Thursday, it's more likely to move on Saturday after Hanna has passed, said NASA spokesperson Allard Beutel of the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Cape Canaveral, Fla.
"We're watching and protecting our options," Beutel told SPACE.com. "I think we're all pretty much figuring it will be Saturday."
Shuttle workers at KSC had initially planned to move Atlantis to Launch Pad 39A early Monday but held off a day to monitor Hanna, which as of Tuesday had weakened back to a tropical storm after reaching hurricane status over the weekend. NASA hoped to attempt the shuttle move early Wednesday, but later shifted to no earlier than Thursday at 12:01 a.m. EDT (0401 GMT) with Saturday a more likely target.
Until Hanna passes, Atlantis and its attached external fuel tank and solid rocket boosters will stay in the shelter of NASA's 52-Vehicle Assembly Building at the spaceport.
As of 2:00 p.m. EDT (1900 GMT) Tuesday, Hanna was headed for the southeastern Bahamas with maximum sustained winds of about 70 mph (110 kph) and higher gusts, according to a National Hurricane Center status report. The storm is expected to strengthen over Wednesday and Thursday, with current forecasts predicting it to move northwest off the eastern coast of Florida.
"We're expecting tropical force winds," Beutel said.
NASA is targeting an Oct. 8 launch for Atlantis and a crew of seven astronauts to pay one last service call on the Hubble Space Telescope.
Last week, mission managers were weighing options to push the mission to Oct. 10 or 11 due to processing delays caused by the last month's Tropical Storm Fay, which prompted NASA to close its KSC spaceport for three days. A further launch delay appears likely the longer Atlantis remains inside the cavernous Vehicle Assembly Building.
Beutel said today that the spaceport was operating at Hurricane Condition Four, the center's lowest alert level, to secure loose debris in anticipation of wind speeds reaching 50 knots (58 mph) in the next 72 hours.
According to NASA's hurricane plan, space shuttles cannot remain at a launch pad if winds are forecast to reach top speeds of 70 knots (79 mph). The plan also forbids space shuttles to move between launch pads and NASA's cavernous Vehicle Assembly Building after winds reach sustained speeds of 40 knots (46 mph) with gusts up to 60 knots (69 mph) and lightning within a 23-mile (37-km) radius.
Atlantis' October spaceflight is the fourth of five NASA shuttle flights planned for 2008. The year's final scheduled mission, a planned Nov. 10 launch aboard Endeavour to deliver supplies and equipment to the International Space Station, must fly before Nov. 25, when NASA would stand down due to unfavorable lighting and heating concerns at the orbiting outpost, agency officials have said.
ASTRONAUTS READY FOR LAUNCH OF U.S.A. SHUTTLE AND REPAIR MISSION OF HUBBLE TELESCOPE
Mission Information
STS-125: Final Shuttle Mission to Hubble Space Telescope
These seven astronauts take a break from training to pose for the STS-125 crew portrait. From the left are astronauts Michael J. Massimino, Michael T. Good, both mission specialists; Gregory C. Johnson, pilot; Scott D. Altman, commander; K. Megan McArthur, John M. Grunsfeld and Andrew J. Feustel, all mission specialists. Image credit: NASA
Veteran astronaut Scott D. Altman will command the final space shuttle mission to Hubble. Navy Reserve Capt. Gregory C. Johnson will serve as pilot. Mission specialists include veteran spacewalkers John M. Grunsfeld and Michael J. Massimino and first-time space fliers Andrew J. Feustel, Michael T. Good and K. Megan McArthur.
Altman, a native of Pekin, Ill., will be making his fourth space flight and his second trip to Hubble. He commanded the STS-109 Hubble servicing mission in 2002. He served as pilot of STS-90 in 1998 and STS-106 in 2000. Johnson, a Seattle native and former Navy test pilot and NASA research pilot, was selected as an astronaut in 1998. He will be making his first space flight.
Chicago native Grunsfeld, an astronomer, will be making his third trip to Hubble and his fifth space flight. He performed a total of five spacewalks to service the telescope on STS-103 in 1999 and STS-109 in 2002. He also flew on STS-67 in 1995 and STS-81 in 1997. Massimino, from Franklin Square, N.Y., will be making his second trip to Hubble and his second space flight. He performed two spacewalks to service the telescope during the STS-109 mission in 2002.
Feustel, Good, and McArthur were each selected as astronauts in 2000. Feustel, a native of Lake Orion, Mich., was an exploration geophysicist in the petroleum industry at the time of his selection by NASA. Good is from Broadview Heights, Ohio, and is an Air Force colonel, weapons systems officer and graduate of the Air Force Test Pilot School, having logged more than 2,100 hours in 30 different types of aircraft. McArthur, born in Honolulu, Hawaii, considers California her home state. She has a doctorate in oceanography from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California-San Diego.
MORE NASA NEWS
NASA TO REVIEW SHUTTLE TIMETABLE OF THE COMPLETION OF THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION BEFORE "RETIRING" THE U.S.A. SHUTTLE FLEET OF 3 BEFORE OR AFTER 2010 AS PROPOSED BY YALESMAN AND BONESMAN GEORGE W.BUSH
Nasa 'reviews shuttle shelf-life'
By Paul Rincon Science reporter, BBC News
Could this sight continue for several years to come?
Nasa will study whether the space shuttle can operate beyond its planned retirement in 2010, reports say.
The agency will look at what might be required to delay the retirement of its fleet until the shuttle's replacement - Ares-Orion - begins flying in 2015.
The exercise is aimed at answering questions it expects on the matter from Congress and the incoming president.
News of the study comes from a leaked internal email obtained by a Florida-based newspaper.
Nasa chief Michael Griffin, who is reported to have ordered the study, had previously opposed extending the shuttle programme.
The agency's administrator argued that the money and effort required to do so would stymie progress on the Ares rockets and the Apollo-style Orion capsules that will succeed the shuttle.
These are being developed by Nasa as part of its "Constellation" programme. The system is expected to carry astronauts to the Moon under the Vision for Space Exploration plans announced by President George W Bush in 2004.
Russian flights
In April, Dr Griffin told a Senate sub-committee: "The shuttle is an inherently risky design. We currently assess the per-mission risk as about one in 75 of having a fatal accident.
"If one were to do, as some have suggested, fly the shuttle for an additional five years - say two missions a year - the risk would be about one in 12 that we would lose another crew."
But an e-mail obtained by the Orlando Sentinel suggests Nasa will now research this option.
In it, John Coggeshall, manifest and schedules manager at Nasa's Johnson Space Center in Houston, writes: "The [shuttle] programme in conjunction with [Constellation] and [space station] have been asked by the administrator to put together some manifest options to assess extending shuttle flights to 2015.
He added: "We want to focus on helping bridge the gap of US vehicles travelling to the [space station] as efficiently as possible."
But Nasa spokesman John Yembrick described the e-mail as "premature".
"The parameters of the study have not yet been defined," he said.
The agency remains committed to retiring the shuttle in 2010.
Five-year gap
In the five-year gap between the retirement of the shuttle and the first flights of the Orion capsule, Nasa will be reliant on Russia's Soyuz system for transporting astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS).
But some are now concerned about the wisdom of this plan to purchase seats aboard the Soyuz, given the diplomatic tension between the US and Russia over the conflict in Georgia.
Nasa's Orion ship will not be ready until 2015
Last week, Republican presidential candidate John McCain, and other senators, sent a letter urging President Bush to "direct Nasa to take no action for at least one year from now that would preclude the extended use of the space shuttle beyond 2010".
This letter said Russia's conduct during the Georgia conflict "raised concerns about the reliability of Russia as a partner for the International Space Station".
It added: "Our concern is that we do not have a guarantee that such co-operative and mutually beneficial activity will continue to be available, and the successful utilisation of the ISS may thus be jeopardized."
The Democrats' presidential candidate Barack Obama has also talked about the possibility of additional shuttle flights to close the five-year gap.
Nasa currently has an agreement with Russia to fly astronauts to the ISS aboard the Soyuz spacecraft until 2011. After that, the agency would have to seek approval from Congress for an extension.
Nasa has previously said it would cost between $2.5bn and $4bn per year to keep the shuttles flying past 2010.
The agency has also given seed money to a commercial venture to develop a spacecraft for transporting crew and cargo to the space station.
Let us look back and continue to remember a Princess….
She began as a Lady with a love for the children of her land
She became a Princess and soon became the envy of every woman and man
But deep down inside she longed to be loved
By the man who would be king
-Charles was his name-
Lady Diana Spencer married into the royal family
For this she gained her fame
But soon the fairy tale became a horror show
Her people thought she was happy….but they did not yet know
Of her marital problems that led her to become physically ill
But still she became a stout figure to the world spreading her love and good will
Her mental health suffered as her marriage became an affair for three
Diana could no longer bear the infidelity
So she secretly set forth to write her true story for the world to read
For she longed to become the Queen of Hearts….if a Princess she could no longer be
The world finally knew of the heartache she was going through
She needed to break free of the chains she found around her feet
-To help the average man on the street-
For Princess Diana always showed her love to her children as well as to others in the world
-And the people loved her back-
For compassion and love were always two virtues that Diana did not lack
But when it seemed that Diana had finally found a true love to start again
Her life was tragically taken in a car crash…as her fairytale came to an untimely end
Her death brought the world to tears as we all reflected back on her living years
She will remain the Queen of Hearts as she said she would want to be
Because this Lady who became a Princess can still have an affect on you and me
By just the mere mention of her name
Our world will never be the same
For the teardrops that we shed in her memory…
Will forever keep her candle in the wind a flame that burns brightly in our hearts.
In Memoriam
August 2005
*
The following letters were written by Princess Diana to her butler and close friend Paul Burrell. They’re included in his book “A Royal Duty”. The ‘crash letter’ tells of Diana’s fears that she would die in a car crash a full 10 months before it actually happened. A new investigation is still underway in Britain as the letter has finally surfaced.
(THE CRASH LETTER)
IN DIANA'S OWN WORDS THROUGH LETTERS:
From October 1996:
“I am sitting here at my desk today in October, longing for someone to hug me and
encourage me to keep strong and hold my head high. This particular phase in my life
is the most dangerous.[ The princess then identified where she felt the threat and
danger would come from] is planning “an accident” in my car, brake failure and
serious head injury in order to make the path clear for Charles to marry. I have been
battered, bruised and abused mentally by a system for 15 years now, but feel no
resentment, I carry no hatred, I am weary of the battles, but I will never surrender.
I am strong inside and maybe that is a problem for my enemies. Thank you Charles,
for putting me through such hell and for giving me the opportunity to learn from the
cruel things you have one to me. I have gone forward fast and have cried more than
anyone will ever know. The anguish nearly killed me, but my inner strength has
never let me down, and my guides have taken such good care of me up there. Aren’t
I fortunate to have had their wings to protect me…….
From August 1996:
It’s the 28th August 1996- 15 years of marriage have now been signed off.
I never wanted a divorce and always dreamed of a happy marriage with loving
support from Charles. Although that was never meant to be, we do have two
wonderful boys who are deeply loved by their parents. A part of me will always
love Charles, but how I wish he’d looked after me and been proud of my work.
It has been a turbulent 15 years, having to face the envy, jealousy, and hatred from
Charles’s friends and family-they have so misunderstood me and that has been
painful and brought enormous heartache.I want so much to become Charles’s
best friend as I understand more than anyone what he is about and what makes
him tick.
From October 1996:
I just long to hug my mother-in-law, and tell her how deeply I understand what goes
on inside her. I understand the isolation, misconception and lies that surround her
and feel very strongly HER disappointment and confusion. I so want the monarchy
to survive andrealize the changes that will take [sic] to put “the show” on a new
and healthy track. I, too, understand the fear the family have about change but we
must, in order to reassure the public, as their indifference concerns me and should
not be.I will fight for justice, and fight for my children and the monarchy……."
*
I call on you to draw your own conclusion as to if she was murdered and by whom.
But Diana truly knew that something was wrong a full year before her death in 1997.
Let us recall her life and remember the kind and generous woman she was and the
Only Princess Diana's bodyguard, Trevor Rees-Jones, survived the crash.
Blood tests showed the driver, Henri Paul, had taken both drugs and a large amount of alcohol before the accident.
The royal family was criticised for its reserve during a time when there was an unprecedented national outpouring of grief.
Around one million people lined the streets to see the princess' funeral cortege as it made its way to Westminster Abbey in early September.
No charges were brought against the paparazzi who had been pursuing the princess' car.
But the behaviour of the press came under close scrutiny and the code governing the British media was tightened in December 1997.
An inquest into the princess's death was opened in the UK in 2004. It has been adjourned while the Metropolitan police, led by Lord Stevens, carry out an investigation into the crash. Retired judge Lady Elizabeth Butler-Sloss will conduct preliminary hearings into the inquests in early 2007.
GOODBYE ENGLAND'S ROSE
Another Fountain in Princess Diana Memorial Garden, Hyde Park
MADONNA BEGINS "HARD CANDY" WORLD TOUR/ NASA ROLLS OUT SPACE SHUTTLE
August 24, 2008
Madonna raves on as tour begins
By Ian Youngs Entertainment reporter, BBC News, Cardiff
The stage show involves 250 crew and £1m of jewellery
Madonna has begun her new world tour in Cardiff, proving to fans that she can still cut it on stage at the age of 50.
In a typically energetic performance, the pop superstar played two hours of hits from her 25-year career.
It featured radically reworked versions of some of her old favourites, such as a techno remix of Like A Prayer and a rock take on Borderline.
"She gets better with age," said Lewis Aldous, 23, from Brentwood, Essex.
He said Madonna looked "incredible", adding: "She looks like she's in her 30s. This is the most fast-paced tour of recent times, especially Like A Prayer."
Maria Paradisis, 32, who travelled from Sydney, Australia, for the show, said Madonna's dancing was "mesmerising".
Excerpts of Madonna's performance and fans' reaction
"She can still shake it like she's a 20-year-old," she said.
'Disappointed'
But some fans at the Millennium Stadium were not so happy with her latest reinvention.
"She didn't do any of the traditional stuff that everyone loves her for," said Susan Harvey from Cardiff.
"For £85 a ticket, I was really disappointed."
The show is split into four sections - Pimp, Old School, Gypsy and Rave
Danielle Wheeler, 26, said she was "not as good as Kylie", while Stephanie Olokopa, 20, from London, gave the show six out of 10.
"She was late and she didn't even thank the people," she said.
The show was first of 51 dates for the pop superstar, who celebrated her birthday a week ago.
It involved 250 crew, 16 dancers, eight costume changes and £1m of jewellery.
The concert was split into four sections - Pimp, Old School, Gypsy and Rave.
Madonna appeared on a jewel-encrusted black leather throne with the letter M written on its back.
Opening with Candy Store, the first track of her latest album Hard Candy, the Pimp section was characterised by revealing and risque black outfits for Madonna and her troupe.
When a classic white convertible rolled on, it took Madonna and her dancers out into the crowd, with Madonna donning the driver's white top hat before pushing the car back.
Old School
The intricately planned visual spectacle was as potent as the music, and Madonna is the master at using colour, costume and choreography to full effect.
She was raised on podium for Vogue with four female dancers wearing long black gloves and boots and very little else.
The set included old and new hits
After that, it was into the Old School segment - intended to evoke her 1980s New York roots - with Madonna appearing in red shorts, pop socks and a skipping rope, surrounded by the kids from Fame.
Into the Groove was the first of her '80s hits to be updated, backed by heavy bass and trance piano.
She then picked up a guitar for Borderline, backed by a more conventional rock band set-up.
The star donned heart-shaped sunglasses for She's Not Me, from her latest album, with her old videos flashing up behind her.
When four dancers appeared as Madonna at various stages of her career, the singer went on to abuse them before indulging in some very frenetic, angry dancing.
Gypsy theme
With her long, wavy blonde hair, fit physique and endless stamina, she doesn't look too dissimilar to the Madonna of a couple of decades ago.
She certainly doesn't look ready for a Saga subscription.
The Gypsy segment began with Madonna in a black cloak writhing on top of a black piano, before her dancers donned hooded robes for Spanish Lesson.
Madonna changes costume eight times
They then ripped off the cloaks to reveal shiny, gaudy shirts and indulge in some flamenco-style dancing.
Not everything quite made sense - but it looked quite good, and that, you suspect, is what matters to Madonna.
With her dazzling friends, she went on to play a Europop version of La Isla Bonita, complete with big, bearded violinist in a sequined shirt.
The final section was Rave, which started with a pair of sparkly American football shoulder pads for her recent hit 4 Minutes.
It then turned into a full-on rave as the queen of pop played thumping techno versions of Like A Prayer and Ray Of Light.
During Like A Prayer, screens behind her flashed the names of sacred figures from various religions and quotes from holy texts.
Heavy beats
Most of the crowd seemed to lap up the pumped-up dance remixes.
But as she strummed guitar in a skin-tight silver top, surrounded by futuristic creatures during Ray of Light, lasers firing over her head, it was tempting to think that maybe she should calm down just a bit.
The entire night had the feel of a giant nightclub - and that is something that some purists didn't like.
But heavy beats made the more mediocre new songs more passable, and the momentum was maintained by non-stop music even when she was off stage.
With wailing thrash metal guitars at end of Hung Up, Madonna posed, hand on hip, seemingly satisfied with her night's work.
Now she's hit 50, she seems even more determined to prove that she doesn't stand still, and she certainly doesn't slow down.
We're still seeing storm surge. There's lots of rain, tornado threats... We are nowhere near out of danger yet 
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