American 'On Mission To Kill Bin Laden' Held

An armed American man who claimed to be on a solo mission to kill Osama bin Laden has been arrested in Pakistan.

He was identified as Gary Brooks Faulkner, a construction worker from California aged around 50, who entered the country as a tourist in early June but later disappeared.

The US embassy said it had been notified and officials were trying to meet the man and confirm his story.

Faulkner was detained in a forest of the Chitral region late on Sunday and has since been quizzed by intelligence officials in Peshawar, the country's main northwestern city.

"We initially laughed when he told us that he wanted to kill Osama bin Laden," said officer Mumtaz Ahmad Khan.

He added however that when police found he was carrying a pistol, a sword and night-vision equipment, "our suspicion grew".

We initially laughed when he told us that he wanted to kill Osama bin Laden.

Pakistan police officer Mumtaz Ahmad Khan

"He said 9/11 caused colossal losses to the US, therefore he wanted to locate Osama bin Laden and his friends," Mr Khan said.

Pakistani authorities allege the American intended to travel to the eastern Afghan region of Nuristan, just across the border from Chitral.

The area is rumoured to be a hiding place of bin Laden - one of the world's most wanted men with a bounty of $25m (£17m) on his head.

Mr Khan said Faulkner, who also had in his possession Christian literature, told officers: "God is with me, and I am confident I will be successful in killing him (bin Laden)."

The American had been assigned a police escort, which is common for tourists visiting remote areas of Pakistan.

However, he left his hotel at the weekend without informing anyone and a search for him was launched.

FROM SKY NEWS

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Can you guess which is the most indebted country in Europe?

You might be tempted to assume Britain holds the dubious accolade of being the most indebted nation in Europe, when it comes to households. But, in cash terms at least the perhaps surprising answer is that German households owe more than any of their European neighbours. The evidence can be found in this recent European Parliament paper, and the chart which underlines this is this one.

Now, I’m being slightly disingenous here: Germany has a considerably larger population (82m) than the UK (61m) or Spain (46m), so perhaps it’s not a surprise that it has a larger stock of household debt than other nations in Europe.

Nonetheless, even when you compare household debt to disposable income (a pretty good yardstick of how overextended families are), it isn’t as if Germany is a paragon of economic virtue. The chart below shows that Spain has by far the most overextended households, with debts worth over 90pc of their annual disposable income, followed by the UK at around 75pc. But it is striking that Germany actually has more overextended households than Greece, and although its position is improving (while others have seen their indebtedness worsening), it remains severely stretched.

Now, clearly one of the provisos is that whereas Britain and Spain have enormous government deficits as well as their household ones, Germany is less exposed fiscally. Moreover, because of its export industry, it does not have to rely on foreigners to lend it money (it has a current account surplus rather than deficit). But it is worth remembering, if you hear anyone trying to argue that Britain, Spain et al are the worst offenders when it comes to household debt, that even our Teutonic neighbours have their own burden.

BY EDMUND  CONWAY-TELEGRAPH

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The World's Richest Self-made Women

Oprah Winfrey is worth $2.4 billion Photo: REX

Only 14 of the world's 1,000 billionaires are self-made women, and only seven of them had no help from relatives, a new list has found.

Here is the list:

The World's Richest Self-made Women (Name, nationality, industry, net worth in dollars)

1. Wu Yajun, Chinese, Property development, 3.9 billion

2. Rosalie Mera, Spanish, Clothing, 3.5 billion

3. Elena Baturina, Russian, Construction, 2.9 billion

4. Doris Fisher, American, Clothing, 2.4 billion

5. Xiu Li Hawken, UK citizen, property development, 2.4 billion

6. Oprah Winfrey, American, Media, 2.4 billion

7. Giulana Benetton, Italian, Clothing, 2.1 billion

8. Chu Lam Yiu, Chinese, Flavourings and fragrances, 2.1 billion

9. Zhang Xin, Chinese, property development, 2 billion

10. Yan Cheung, Chinese, Waste paper, 1.7 billion

11. Meg Whitman, American, Internet commerce, 1.3 billion

12. Chan Laiwa, Chinese, property development, 1.1 billion

13. Lei Jufang, Chinese, Medicines, 1.1 billion

14. J.K. Rowling, British, Books, 1 billion

Source: Forbes

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Equestrian victory in man vs horse marathon

The 283 individual runners joined 60 relay teams of three runners each and the horses for the race. Photo: HUW EVANS

Almost 300 runners competed against 44 horses in this year’s race, which takes place in the town of Llanwrtyd Wells, Powys.

Sly Dai, ridden by Llinos Jones, completed the 22-mile course in a time of two hours and seven minutes.

The nearest human runner finished ten minutes behind, with a time of two hours and seventeen minutes.

The winning rider, Miss Jones, who also owns the horse, said: "It's great to have won. I'm a local girl and I've been coming to see the race since I was a little girl but this was the first time I've competed so I'm really happy.

"My horse did fantastically well. You have to be careful on a hot day like this because can overheat very quickly so you have to manage them carefully.

"But it's another victory for the horse so they're clearly still on top – for this year at least."

Miss Jones was awarded 1,000 guineas for her victory.

The 283 individual runners joined 60 relay teams of three runners each and the horses for the race.

The event starts in the town centre and is run over hilly farm tracks, footpaths, forestry roads and open moorland.

The first race took place in June 1980 and has been a regular fixture in the Welsh town, which also known for its annual Bog Snorkelling Championships.

The race was originally staged to settle a pub debate as to which is faster over a long distance.

The margins by which horses outpace their human rivals have dropped from about 30 minutes to a matter of seconds.

In 2004 Huw Lobb – who ran marathons for Team GB at the time – became the first of only two men to win the race.

Gareth Davis, the chairman of the Man v Horse event, said: “It was a very hot day, so it’s been an excellent ride by the horse, which must have been in a very good condition.

“The race goes from strength to strength every year and we get people coming in from far and wide to take part in the fun.”

FROM-TELEGRAPH U.K.

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Winston Churchill's cigar airbrushed from picture

A photograph of Winston Churchill giving his victory salute has been airbrushed to remove his signature cigar.

The original image (left) was taken in 1948 during the opening of a new military headquarters, and (right) the airbrushed image Photo: CORBIS/Stephanie Schaerer

n the well-known original image, Churchill makes a "V" shaped symbol with his fingers – while gripping a cigar in the corner of his mouth.

But in a reproduction of the picture, hanging over the main entrance to a London museum celebrating the wartime leader, he has been made into a non-smoker through the use of image-altering techniques.

t is unclear who is responsible for doctoring the photograph, with the museum – The Winston Churchill's Britain at War Experience – claiming not to have noticed the cigar was missing.

John Welsh, manager of the museum, admitted he was shocked to learn of the alteration, but declined to reveal who was responsible for the display and for enlarging the image.

He said: "We've got all sorts of images in the museum, some with cigars and some without. We've even got wartime adverts for cigarettes in the lift down to the air-raid shelter, so we wouldn't have asked for there to be no cigar."

Don Robinson, who owned the museum before passing it to a charitable trust 20 years ago, added: "If we'd known we would have said: 'No, it stays as it is.' Everything we do we try to do accurately and the cigar symbolises Churchill."

The alteration of the original image, taken in 1948 during the opening of a new military headquarters, was noticed by David McAdam, a visitor to the museum.

He told the Daily Mail: "I pointed out this crude alteration to a museum steward who said she hadn't noticed the change before, nor had anyone else pointed it out.

"So much for the notion that only communist tyrants airbrushed history."

Alan Packwood, of the Churchill Archives Centre, said he was not aware of any previous case where Churchill's cigar had been digitally removed from a picture.
from telegraph u.k.

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FRONT LION HEROES-FOOTBALL MATCH IN AFGANISTAN

Well at least Our Boys know how to beat USA

THEY think it's all over and out, sarge.

Well, it is now after Our Boys in Afghanistan took on their US counterparts in a battle-dress rehearsal for last night's World Cup clash.

And while we may only have managed a draw against America in Rustenberg - our RAF lads beat the Yanks 4-3 in Camp Bastion.

The allies took time off from fighting the Taliban to line up against each other on a makeshift football pitch and settle scores in the dust of Helmand Province.

Before a ball had been kicked star player Senior Aircraftsman (SAC) Mark Orr, an RAF fireman, said: "Bastion or Bafokeng - it doesn't matter where we take them on, we'll win.

"Soccer-ball just isn't their game. We're red hot and we'll leave the US smoking." Tensions had been running high at the huge military base as 4,000 UK troops and 12,000 US soldiers awaited the real crunch game in Rustenburg.

GROUNDED: RAF lads floor the opposition in Afghanistan

So when the RAF Firemen of 903 Expeditionary Air Wing challenged American troops to a game of five-a-side, it seemed a great way to let off steam.

Our Boys strolled on to the pitch in their combat shorts and T-shirts while the Americans pranced on in what one onlooking squaddie described as "the finest hot-pants in Afghanistan".

In just half an hour of play, the players lost around 4lbs a-piece. And the Americans were no pushover.

Star striker SAC Nathan Grey, who scored twice in a close contest, said: "The afternoon has been hotter than anything I've ever experienced - but there was no chance of anyone staying inside by the air-conditioning when national honour was at stake. We were raring to go."

SAC Orr added: "It's all been good fun with the Americans, lots of camaraderie. We sprayed a maple leaf on the back of the US Fire truck the other day.

"I think they were hoping for revenge on the football pitch."

SAD AND CROSS: Our boys watch away

After their win, British troops settled down for England's opening match against the US which was shown on huge screens.

Lance Corporal Oliver Toon, of 4th Mechanised Brigade, said: "Missing the World Cup was one of the things I worried most about being sent out to Afghanistan."

Three weeks ago, former England captain Becks surprised troops by dropping into Bastion. And on Friday, current captain Steven Gerrard, 30, told how the England team had watched a DVD of Our Boys on the front line to inspire them.

Gerrard said: "They were wishing us all the best which was very inspiring and touching.

"It drives you on when you realise how much it means to people that we do well."

Next time maybe his goalie will remember that!

SOURCE--WORLD NEWS BY PAUL

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