US rapper Kanye West charged over photographer attack

The US rap star Kanye West has been charged with battery and attempted theft over a scuffle with a paparazzo at Los Angeles Airport on July 19 this year.

The photographer, Daniel Ramos, sued Mr West after he allegedly punched him and chucked his camera on the ground.

According to West's lawyers, he had simply been trying to prevent the snapper from taking pictures of him. The hearing has been set for October10, but West is not required to appear if he has a lawyer.

If found guilty, he faces a maximum penalty of six months in prison.

The incident took place at the airport, when several photographers, including Mr Ramos, were waiting for West to arrive.

West is said to have been irritated by their presence and to have then lunged at Mr Ramos and tried to seize his camera.

"When Kanye West attacked me, I was in complete shock," Mr Ramos told reporters.

"All I had done was ask him a question. I was terrified when Kanye started to come at me. I backed up because I felt from the look in his eyes that he was going to attack me."

He added that he had been forced to use crutches and a cane after the incident.

Slovenia starts work on its first mosque

Thousands attended ceremony in Ljubljana, as foundation stone is laid for Muslim place of worship.

Slovenian Prime Minister Alenka Bratusek has helped lay the foundation stone for what will be the country's first mosque, 44 years after the initial request to build it was made.

Bratusek declared the move in the capital, Ljubljana, a "symbolic victory against all forms of religious intolerance", adding that Europe would not be as culturally rich without Islam.

About 10,000 people attended the ceremony on Saturday, including Ljubljana Mayor Zoran Jankovic, and a government minister from Qatar which is helping fund the project.

"We are happy to be starting this civic project in Ljubljana, which will thus become a better-known and a more pluralistic city," Mufti Nedzad Grabus, the highest representative of Slovenia's Islamic community, told the ceremony.

Building will begin in November and should be finished by the end of autumn 2016. The cost of the project, which includes a Muslim cultural centre, is $16m, 70 percent of which will be met by Qatar.

"This means the world to me," said Sahra Kacar, who was born the same year as the first official petition to build the mosque in Ljubljana was filed. "We will have a proper place to pray, rather than using various public halls."

Petition for referendum

The proposal for a mosque had been held up by reluctant local officials, some of whom tried to force a referendum on the matter in 2004.

Five years later, about 12,000 people signed a petition calling for a referendum, but once again Slovenia's Constitutional Court ruled against it on the grounds of religious freedom.

Slovenia is a Catholic country of two million people, of which about 50,000 are Muslims.

While the plan for a mosque had stirred debate, the concerns have been overshadowed by the financial turmoil facing the country. 

The project comes during Slovenia's worst financial crisis since independence in 1991, which threatens to make the country the latest member of the 17-nation eurozone to seek a bailout from the EU and the International Monetary Fund.

"I personally am not against the mosque but I do know people who are still against it," said a 30-year old designer who lives near the site of the new mosque and gave her name as Ana. 

"But the mosque is no longer that high on the political agenda because the attention is now focused on the economic crisis that is crippling Slovenia," she said.

Yemeni minister to seek child-marriage ban

Human rights minister pledges to press for minimum marriage age to be fixed at 18, after reported death of child bride.

Yemen's human rights minister has said she will press for the minimum age of marriage to be set at 18, after the reported death of a young girl on the first night of her marriage.

Eight-year-old Rawan was said to have died last week from internal bleeding after sexual intercourse, after having been married to a man in his 40s in the northeastern province of Hajja.

The provincial governor, however, on Saturday denied the reports that Rawan had died.

Huriya Mashhoor told the AFP news agency she wanted to revive a bill that has lain dormant since 2009, which would have set the minimum age for marriage at 17, and amend it to raise the age to 18.

"We are asking to fix the legal age for marriage at 18, as Yemen is a signatory to the international conventions on children's rights," she said.

Mashhoor spoke a day after the government formed a committee to investigate the reports of the girl's death.

The governor of Hajja province told official news agency SABA that Rawan was still alive.

Ali al-Qaissi said "the young girl Rawan Abdo Hattan is still alive and normally lives with her family who, in turn, deny the whole thing".

But he added that "the young girl is currently in a social protection centre after undergoing physical and psychological tests in a public hospital" in the area.

'Not enough evidence'

Before the denial from the governor, Mashhoor had said: "We do not have enough evidence at the moment."

"But I am worried that there could be an attempt to silence the matter, especially as it took place in an isolated rural area in Hajja province where there have been similar cases before.

"If the case was confirmed and covered up, then the crime would be more serious," Mashhoor warned.

Mashhoor has been involved in a campaign against the marriage of child brides in Yemen. There is no clear definition in the country of what constitutes a child, making it difficult to battle the practice.

European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton urged the Sanaa authorities on Friday to investigate the case "without delay and to prosecute all those responsible for this crime".

Human Rights Watch said on Wednesday that 14 percent of girls in Yemen are married before the age of 15, and 52 percent before 18, citing Yemeni and 2006 data from the United Nations.

Marrying off young daughters is a way for poor Yemeni families to save on the costs of bringing up a child and earn extra money from the dowry given to a girl.

According to the UN about half of Yemen's 24 million people lack sufficient food and access to safe water.

Full stream ahead! How hypnotherapy is helping patients beat IBS

Hypnotherapy to encourage positive thinking could help people suffering from irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

The new approach uses a technique often known as positive visualisation and it can involve patients imagining the digestive system as a river.

A study last year at Manchester University found three-quarters of  IBS patients experienced improvement in their symptoms after hypnotherapy, and the effects lasted for five years  or more.

But the researchers say many sufferers are being denied the treatment because of prejudice

‘Sadly many health professions are sceptical,’ says  Professor Peter Whorwell, who pioneered the treatment at Manchester.

He adds: ‘It works for people who are quite ill and who have not responded to other treatments.’

IBS, which is experienced by ten to  15 per cent of the population, affects the digestive system and can cause stomach cramps, bloating, constipation and diarrhoea.

Its cause is not known. Treatments include diet changes, laxatives and anti-depressants.

The hypnotherapy treatment involves weekly sessions for three months,  during which patients are given suggestions about how they can gain control over their gut.

 

‘They might be imagining their gut as a river, for example,’ says Prof Whorwell, ‘and modifying its flow according to  their needs – a fast-flowing stream being slowed down to a gently meandering river, or the reverse for someone suffering from constipation.

One patient to have benefited is  Joanna Cowdrey, 31, a supermarket manager from Southampton, who began having bowel problems six years ago.

Joanna tried various kinds of medication, but none reduced the symptoms – until she was invited to have hypnotherapy at Manchester University.

She says: ‘There were no swinging watches like in films – you just feel half asleep then alert and invigorated afterwards. 

'I had 12 sessions but saw benefits after the third. It really has changed my life – my symptoms are far less intrusive and I feel great.'

We're all sugar junkies now: Britons now wolf down an almost unimaginable 160 teaspoons of it a week - and the even worse news? It really IS addictive

Put a cake in front of  me – chocolate, sponge, carrot – and, if I let myself, I’ll start eating it. One slice or two. Perhaps three. There have been days when I’ve munched my way through well over half, maybe even the entire cake. The lunacy is that often when I start eating, I am not even hungry.

Replace the cake with a plain  bowl of porridge, no sugar or honey, and I am not interested.

Does that make me a sugar addict? New scientific research suggests that perhaps it does. French researchers in Bordeaux recently reported that laboratory rats chose sugar over cocaine – despite the fact that they were addicted to cocaine.

I am not alone. Much has  been made recently of how the food industry has turned us all into ‘sugar junkies’. 

In the US, there is a whole genre of literature devoted to the subject. Endocrinologist Robert Lustig’s lecture Sugar: The Bitter Truth has been viewed almost four million times on YouTube – quite unprecedented for a rather dry medical lecture.

It’s often casually mentioned, as if it’s fact, that manufacturers secretly spike everyday foods with sugar to keep us hooked and that this is what is behind the spiralling number of obese Britons

Half of us are overweight, and a quarter so overweight there is a risk of a host of illnesses from cancer to heart disease. But the truth is far more complex.

According to the National Diet And Nutrition Survey, a rolling research programme that aims to give a yearly snapshot of our eating habits, we are now eating fewer sugary snacks than we were when the project began in 2007, taking in 13g of sugar in this way a day, down from 22g then.

Why couldn't you play for England? Rooney starts for United... just days after missing crucial World Cup qualifiers

Wayne Rooney started for Manchester United against Crystal Palace on Saturday afternoon after missing two important England World Cup qualifiers with a cut head.

England beat Moldova at Wembley, but stuttered to a goalless draw against Ukraine, in a game that would have benefited from the striker's tenacity and creativity. 

It seemed unlikely that Rooney would start - and instead be saved for the derby clash with rivals Man City next Sunday - but he lined up alongside Robin van Persie.

David Moyes said, when asked on Friday if Rooney would play: 'It's something we'll look at.

'I've got to take the risk because you could just knock the head and it could split open because it's right down there [the middle]. It's healed really well, better.

'Put a big Fozzie [Steve Foster] head band on it? There's a possibility I could do that, but we'll see what we can do.'

Rooney had posted a picture of the injury he sustained in training on Facebook, after he pulled out of the England squad.

Daniel Sturridge is another striker who was judged unfit to play for England but could feature for Liverpool on Monday night against Swansea.

Everton 1 Chelsea 0: Naismith leaves Eto'o in the shade as Toffees stun Mourinho

There are few better places to watch the defeat of one of the major English clubs than Goodison Park.

The old stadium seemingly magnifies the noise tenfold, the roar of the crowd growing ever more frantic as Evertonians anticipate a famous victory.

Saturday was just such an evening. Everton, with Ross Barkley outstanding and Leon Osman, Gareth Barry and Steven Naismith to the fore, were excellent. Chelsea, despite an array of chances, looked strangely vulnerable amid the cacophony of noise

It will be a while before we can question Chelsea’s transition under Jose Mourinho but it is fair to say seven points from four games and a UEFA Super Cup defeat, albeit on penalties, was not the start he would have anticipated.

This does not look like Mourinho’s Chelsea at present. They lack the authority of old, with neither overwhelming strength nor ruthlessness under pressure. They look a team with an identity crisis, caught between the manager’s requirements and the owner’s vision.

‘Artistic football without goals is not good,’ said Mourinho as he listed the litany of chances his team missed, debutant Samuel Eto’o and summer signing Andre Schurrle bearing the brunt of his criticism.

He offered no easy excuses for the slackness in defence and finishing. ‘I don’t think it’s a question of sharpness,’ he said before identifying the lazy ball from Schurrle on 28 minutes and the delay from Eto’o that allowed Barry back to block in front of an open goal after Tim Howard’s mix-up with Sylvain Distin.

‘Perhaps it is not having the killer instinct. If they don’t have it they have to get it but I think they have it.

‘My team are always my team. Winning, losing, playing badly, they are always my responsibility. Later they will have more the identity of the manager and it’s easier to do that after five months than after four weeks.’

Ronaldo handed £76million sweetener as Real attempt to stop him returning to United

Real Madrid will offer Cristiano Ronaldo a five-year deal worth 90million euros (over £76m) to make him the world’s best-paid footballer and ensure he stays with the Spanish giants. 

The package would see him earning almost twice as much a season as Gareth Bale and is a calculated move aimed at soothing Ronaldo’s bruised ego after he lost the mantle of the world’s most expensive player to the £86m Welshman. 

Under the new deal, Real will pay Ronaldo £15m a year after tax and before bonuses. Bale is on £8.3m a season and Ronaldo’s new deal would put him £850,000-a-year ahead of Paris Saint-Germain’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic

It would also all but end Manchester United’s hopes of persuading Ronaldo to return to Old Trafford. United want Ronaldo to sit tight on his current deal, which runs out in 2015, and then move for a massive £50m signing-on fee in two years’ time. 

Ronaldo will be pressured to put pen to paper in the coming weeks and is understood to be happy in the Spanish capital but still not entirely convinced about committing his long-term future to Real. 

One option would be to agree in principle on the extension but not sign until the end of the season. 
Madrid are keen to send a message to Ronaldo that he remains their most important player, despite the arrival of Bale.

The restoration of Ronaldo as Real’s most lucrative property could help Bale in his battle for acceptance in the Real Madrid dressing room. Ronaldo’s reaction to the new signing has been mixed ever since Bale’s move was first mooted in July. 

When asked what he thought about the potential signing of Bale, Ronaldo said: ‘I have my opinion but I am not going to give it publicly. I think the players we have signed already are very good. They are Spanish and know the league.’

There was a warm, if slightly staged, welcome on Wednesday when Bale trained for the first time with his new team-mates. Ronaldo met Bale in the club’s car-park, shook him by the hand and asked how he was. On Friday, however, there was another reminder of who is boss when Ronaldo was pictured going in late and studs-up on Bale in a training drill. 

The two men both scored in their first game as team-mates on Saturday night in the 2-2 draw against Villarreal and the Welshman now prepares for his first taste of Champions League action since the 2010-11 season alongside Ronaldo, whom he faced the last time he played in the Champions League.

Arsenal go back for £30m Rooney: Wenger hopes Ozil's presence will finally solve Arsenal's striker shortage

Arsenal will test Manchester United’s resolve to keep Wayne Rooney in this January’s transfer window, with their spending ready to continue following their record £42million deal for Mesut Ozil.

Arsenal still have funds to make a bid of about £30m and the feeling at the club is that the signing of Ozil has indicated to Rooney, who scored on his surprise return from injury in Manchester United’s 2-0 win over Crystal Palace, that they have returned to being serious title contenders.

Ozil inspired Arsenal to a 3-1 win at Sunderland on Saturday, but they want to add a striker in January if possible and Rooney and Luis Suarez remain the two players that Wenger would like to add to the team.

The club believe that Rooney will consider their bid seriously, even though he seemed to prefer to move to Chelsea in the summer, because they have now signed Germany playmaker Ozil.

Neither Suarez nor Rooney will be easy to prise away, with United having proved resolute in their determination to keep Rooney, rejecting bids from both Arsenal and Chelsea and Liverpool proving equally intransigent over Suarez, rejecting a bid of £40million, plus £1, from Arsenal.

United are preparing to offer Rooney a new contract as his current deal runs out in 18 months, but have indicated that they will wait until January before opening talks. United need to sign him on a longer-term deal before his market value dramatically decreases in the final year of his contract.

Real Madrid are now expected to bid for Suarez in January and it is clear that Liverpool would prefer to sell him abroad and that the player would prefer a move to the Bernabeu.

Rooney started Saturday’s game after his training-ground accident with Phil Jones that gashed his head, but his situation will continue to attract attention, especially with the launch of Sir Alex Ferguson’s autobiography next month. 

Rooney still strongly contends Sir Alex’s version of events at the end of last season, the former Manchester United manager claiming that Rooney asked to leave the club. United have confirmed that Rooney never submitted a formal transfer request.