UK cheese rollers brave bad weather to chase...cheese

Thrill-seekers in England have braved awful weather to take part in an unusual competition in which participants chase a four kilogram wheel of cheese down a steep hill.

Devotees hosted their own unofficial event after the world-famous Cheese Rolling was cancelled for a second year in a row.

The race had been advertised via social media sites Facebook and Twitter.

There were many police officers at the entrances to the event but they didn’t deter the die-hard fans. Several hundred spectators braved the fog and rain to watch around a dozen daredevils chase the cheese 200 metres down Cooper’s Hill.

Competitors slip, somersault and tumble their way to the bottom in spectacular ways during the bone-crunching races - and the first person to grab the cheese winning.

Previous champion cheese roller Chris Anderson, 23, took out the three adult male races while 14-year-old Jo Guest, took the top spot in the women's race.

The event was last held in 2009 and attracted more than 15,000 spectators.

Pair dressed as nuns rob bank

Police in Chicago continued their search today for two men who robbed a bank while wearing nun masks and nun robes.

The pair robbed the TCF bank at 1:58pm local time on Sunday, only minutes before the bank was due to close.

The robbers seemed to have been inspired by Ben Affleck’s movie, “The Town” as they were wearing the exact same costumes which were worn in a bank robbery scene.

The bank robbers, who were armed with guns, jumped over the counter and ordered two workers the bank vault where they filled a “Nike” bag with cash.

Police did not reveal how much money was taken, but said that no one had been hurt in the event. No shots were fired in the incident.

It is not the first time the TCF branch at 127th Street and Ridgeland Avenue has been robbed. Detective Gerald, Wodka said, “It’s a pretty popular one. I don’t know why,”.

One suspect was described as being male, 170cm tall. He was wearing black and white gym shoes, black gloves and was armed with a revolver.

The other person was female, about 165cm tall. She was wearing black boots, white gloves and carrying a semi-automatic pistol.

The couple left the scene in a silver four-door Chevrolet with tinted windows.

On this day: 1279 BC - Ramses II becomes pharaoh of Ancient Egypt

Ramses II often referred to as: “Ramses the Great”, was the Egyptian pharaoh of the nineteenth dynasty. He is often regarded as the most powerful pharaoh of the Egyptian Empire.

At the age of 14, Ramses was made Prince Regent by his father Seti I. Ramses is thought to have taken the throne in his late teens and is known to have ruled Egypt for a total of 66 years and 2 months, from 1279 BC to 1213 BC.

Ramses was first believed to have lived up to the age of 99 but it is more likely that he died at the age of 90 or 91.

Ramses is believed to have assumed the throne on May 31, 1279 BC, according to Egyptologists. 

NATO air strike kills 14 in Afghanistan

At least 14 civilians were killed and six injured in a NATO air strike in southern Afghanistan today.

US Marines in the province of Helmand called for air support after their base came under attack from small weapons fire.

Five girls, seven boys and two women were killed after civilian houses were targeted.

Civilian casualties in military operations are major issues in Afghanistan and President Hamid Karzai has repeatedly called on foreign military forces to do more to prevent them.

There are around 130,000 NATO-led foreign troops in Afghanistan, fighting a Taliban uprising.

Barcelona wins Champions League

Barcelona has won their second Champions League title in 3 years after outplaying Manchester United to win 3-1 at Wembley.

Goals from Pedro, Lionel Messi and David Villa secured a well deserved victory after Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney scored a neat equalizer in the first-half to raise hope of a United victory.

Barcelona star Lionel Messi scored in the 54^th minute to equal a record set by Ruud van Nisterlooy of 12 goals in the one Champions League campaign.

The goal gave Messi his 56^th goal in 62 games this season for Barcelona and Argentina combined.

Manchester United had been determined to avoid a repeat of the 2009 final in Rome, when Barcelona defeated the red devils 2-0.

However, United was handed a loss that was just as bad as their loss two years ago.

Barcelona’s David Villa shot wide after receiving a pass from Messi on the edge of the goalie area. Soon after, Pedro missed wide and Barcelona looked dangerous.

In the 27^th minute Barcelona’s attacking pressure finally payed-off. A beautiful pass from Xavi found Pedro and the winger finished off the work of his teammates with a goal.

Just seven minutes later Rooney combined passes with Michael Carrick on the outer side of the wing before heading towards goals and a one-two with Ryan Giggs gave him plenty of space to put the ball just out of reach from goalie Victor Valdes.

In the 54^th minute Barcelona was back in front thanks to a 25 yard Messi goal.

David Villa put the icing on the cake with a 69^th minute goal to give Barcelona a 3-1 lead which they would hold on to as they became the kings of European football. 

On this day: 1953 - Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay become the first people to reach the summit of Mount Everest

In 1953, a ninth expedition to reach the summit of Mt. Everest returned to Nepal, led by John Hunt. Two pairs were chosen to attempt the ascent to the summit.

The first pair came to within 100 metres of the summit before having to turn back due to oxygen problems.

On May 28 1953 the second team consisting of New Zealander Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay a Sherpa climber from Nepal made the second and final attempt of the expedition to reach the summit.

The two climbers reached the summit of Mt. Everest at 11:30 a.m. local time on May 29 1953. Tenzing revealed a few years later that Hillary had put his foot on the summit first.

NHL: Boston Bruins advance to Stanley Cup Final

Nathan Horton scores the winning goal.

For the first time in 20 years the Boston Bruins have reached the Stanley Cup Final after defeating the Tampa Bay Lightning 1-0 in game 7 of the NHL Eastern Conference Finals.

Boston’s Nathan Horton scored the winner with 7:33 left in the final period whist goalie Tim Thomas made 24 saves to deny Tampa Bay scoring as he recorded his 3^rd playoff shutout in his career.

Right winger Horton cut through the Lightning defence and redirected a pass from teammate David Krejci past goaltender Dwayne Roloson for the crucial goal.

Boston will travel to Vancouver to face the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday to kick-off the best-of-seven Stanley Cup Final series.

Boston has one of the longest Stanley Cup droughts in the NHL, having not reached championship status since 1972.

Their most recent trip to the finals was 1990, when they lost to the Edmonton Oilers.

Tampa Bay never gave up, best illustrated when Lightning forward Steven Stamkos was hit in the face with a puck off a powerful slap-shot (breaking his nose) but returned to the game wearing a full face mask.

On this day: 1937 - The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California, is officially opened by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in Washington, D.C.

On May 27 1937 the Golden Gate Bridge was opened to pedestrians and the opening celebrations began. A day later President Roosevelt wrote a telegraph from Washington D.C. signaling the official start of vehicle traffic over the Bridge at noon, letting the world know that the Golden Gate Bridge had been officially opened to all traffic.

The Golden Gate Bridge had the most distance from one side to the other in the world when it was completed in 1937, and has become one of the most internationally recognized symbols of San Francisco, California, and of the United States.

On this day: 2005 - Australian Schapelle Corby is sentenced to 20 years imprisonment in Kerobokan Prison for drug smuggling

D'oh! Should've thought about this before
you tried to smuggle drugs into another country.

On the 8^th of October 2004, Schapelle Corby was travelling with three friends from Brisbane to Bali with a stop in Sydney. Corby had previously been to Bali to visit her sister, Mercedes. This was to be her first visit to Bali in four years.

Corby and her friends arrived in Denpasar at 2:30 local time. Soon after her arrival, Corby was apprehended by Indonesian customs officers. She was found with 4.2 kg of cannabis in her boogie board bag.

At Brisbane airport, the four bags belonging to Corby and her friends were not weighed individually but weighed 65 kg in total. The Bali police and customs did not record the weight of the bags.

Corby stated that she had no knowledge of the drugs.

On May 27 2005 Corby was convicted and sentenced for the drug smuggling. She is currently six years into her 20 year conviction at Kerobokan Prison in Bali.

Grounded teenager shoots dad with hunting bow

A 35-year old father in America is in a severe condition in hospital after his teenage daughter shot him with a hunting bow.

The father had earlier grounded the 15-year old and taken away her mobile phone, Washington state police say.

They say the teen prevented her injured dad from calling for assistance

.

He crawled out of his house and called police from a neighbour’s home.

The dad was airlifted to hospital. The teenager fled into nearby woods but was found by a SWAT team within 30 minutes of her escape.

The teenager was held in custody.

Dallas Mavericks make another late charge to book a spot in NBA Finals

The Dallas Mavericks are now the
NBA Western Conference Champions

The Dallas Mavericks have booked a spot in the NBA Finals after making another late-game surge to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder, 100-96 in Dallas.

The victory completed a 4-1 Western Conference Finals series victory. The Mavericks will play either Miami or Chicago in the NBA Finals. Miami is currently leading that series 3-1.

Dirk Nowitzki powered hit a crucial three-pointer with 1:14 remaining and team-mate Shawn Marion followed it up with a basket and a foul, resulting in a three-point play. The Mavericks wiped away a six-point deficit with less than five minutes remaining.

Dallas ended the game on a 14-4 scoring run and came back twice from eight-point deficits in the final minutes to win.

The comeback win was a mirror image of their game-four comeback win, the Mavs came back from 15 points behind with five minutes left to win in overtime.

Dallas has not won an NBA title in its franchise history and nor have any of the team’s current players for other clubs.

Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry were part of the only Dallas team to reach the NBA Finals series in 2006. They led Miami 2-0 in that series, but ended up losing to the Heat in six games. This year the two teams may well come up against each other again in the Finals but Dallas will be hoping for a different result.

Nowitzki and Marion both scored 26 points and both delivered when it counted in the fourth quarter.

Nowitzki scored nine points in the final quarter, and Marion had 15. J.J. Barea added 14 off the bench, Terry scored 12 points and Jason Kidd had 10 assists and seven rebounds.

The Oklahoma City Thunder's Russell Westbrook scored 31 points as he tried to send the series back to Oklahoma City, but he also had two key turnovers late in the fourth quarter.

Kevin Durant and James Harden finished with 23 points apiece for Oklahoma City, who lost three games in a row for just the second time this season.

On this day: 1991 - Lauda Air Flight 004 explodes over Thailand, killing all 223 people on board

On May 26 1991 at 23:02 local time Flight NG004 took off from Old Bangkok International Airport for its flight to Vienna. The flight was carrying 213 passengers and 10 crew members.

At 23:08 Captain Thomas J. Welch and First Officer Josef Thurner received a visual warning showing that a possible system failure would cause the thrust reverser on the number 1 engine to deploy in flight.

Having consulted the aircraft's Quick Reference Handbook, they determined that it was "just an advisory thing" and took no action.

At 23:17 the thrust reverser on then number 1 engine deployed while flying over rural Thailand. Thurner's last recorded words were, "Oh, reverser's deployed!”

The 767 stalled in mid-air and disintegrated at 4,000 feet (1,200 meters).

None of the 223 passengers and crew aboard the plane survived. It was the first fatal crash of a Boeing 767.

The accident remains the deadliest aviation disaster on Thai soil to date. Rescuers found the body of Welch still in the pilot's seat. After the accident, scavengers collected electronics and jewellery.

Mr Whippy ice cream seller bashed and robbed after refusing to give away free soft serve

A Mr Whippy ice cream vendor has been beaten and robbed in New Zealand after he refused to give away free soft serve ice cream.

The man, who was selling ice cream in Bay of Plenty in the North Island, tried to drive the van away after a customer became restless over the fact that there would be no freebies, but before he had a chance the customer threw a bottle at him and leapt through the service window of the van.

The vendor was punched repeatedly, leaving the victim battered and bruised, Detective Darryn Gabb said.

Police are still searching for the thug who is described as being a male Maori aged approximately 16 to 20 years of age with a thin to medium build.

He was described as wearing a red woollen scarf covering his face, a dark hat and dark jacket.

The victim’s employer who refused to be named said he was horrified by the attack.

The franchise owner says he had been in the mobile ice cream industry for 20 years and has never heard of a vendor being attacked in his vehicle.

Bomb threat grounds Garuda flight

A plane has been grounded at Surabaya airport in Indonesia after authorities were notified of a threat that a bomb would be detonated mid-air on a flight to Jakarta.

The general manager of the Juanda Airport in Surabaya, Trikora Harjo, said Garuda flight 313 had been grounded after a threat was received via fax.

Mr Harjo said three suspicious packages had been located but could not confirm whether they contained explosive materials.

He said three packages containing "liquid and gel" had been located at an X-ray gate about 11am and were then isolated.

The grounded flight was later cleared for take-off after inspections of the plane and baggage found there was no bomb.

Garuda flight 313 was grounded for more than two hours. 

NBA: Miami Heat just one win away from NBA Finals after defeating Chicago 101-93 in OT

The Miami Heat is now just one win away from reaching the NBA Finals after defeating the Chicago Bulls 101-93 in overtime to take a 3-1 series lead in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference Finals series.

LeBron James led the way for the Heat with a game-high 35 points; Chris Bosh added 22 points to the win which now puts the Chicago Bulls on the brink of elimination.

Dwayne Wade completed Miami’s superstar trio with 14 points, six of which were scored in the final minutes.

Chicago was led by Derrick Rose, who scored 23 points. Luol Deng and Carlos Boozer each scored 20 points for the Bulls who have now lost three consecutive games for the first time this season.

The win extends Miami's home win streak in the playoffs to eight games.

James was able to shut down MVP Derrick Rose in overtime as the Heat forced the Bulls to make costly turnovers late in the game.

Wade struggled in regulation but improved his play in overtime with two excellent blocks.

On this day: 1961 - U.S. President John F. Kennedy announces his goal to begin a project to put a "man on the Moon" before the end of the decade

Only moments after John F. Kennedy was sworn in as President of the United States, he delivered a speech that some say changed America.

He wanted to initiate a program that would send Americans to the moon before the Soviets. In a small part of his speech he said: "I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the Earth."

On July 20, 1969, the first human stepped foot on the moon thus ending the race between Russia and the United States. Some people have wondered whether there even was a race to get to the moon. Was it just a one-sided campaign by the United States with John F. Kennedy’s administration leading it?

The United States was not the first nation to send a man to space; they were beaten by the Soviet Union when they sent Yuri Gagarin.

Unfortunately Kennedy did not live to see the day that Neil Armstrong and his crew landed on the moon on July 20, 1969. Kennedy’s goal of reaching the moon before the decade was over was successfully achieved. 

Death toll from killer tornado rises to 116

The death toll from a brutal tornado that blasted the US has risen to 116 as authorities face a race against the clock to find survivors.

The tornado, which ripped through the central state of Missouri on Sunday, has left a trail of destruction in its path, destroying homes and towns and overturning cars.

The tornado ripped a 1km long, 10km wide hole through the middle of Joplin, leaving it in tatters and more than 1200 people injured.

Officials estimate 2000 buildings were damaged after monstrous 320km/hr winds tore through the town, 260km south of Kansas City.

Seven people have been rescued in the aftermath of the disaster, the single deadliest tornado to hit the United States in 60 years.

Heavy rain, lightening and strong winds hampered rescue efforts yesterday as hundreds of exhausted rescue workers carefully made their way through the rubble with the help of sniffer dogs.

Taking care of the injured was made more difficult because the main hospital, Saint John's Regional Medical Centre, had to be evacuated after suffering a direct hit - the tornado ripped off its roof and smashed all its windows.

President Barak Obama sent his "deepest condolences" to victims and called the governor of Missouri to assure him the federal government would provide whatever assistance was needed.

Dallas Mavericks win game 4 of NBA Western Conference Finals, take 3-1 lead in series

Dirk Nowitzki scored 40 points to lead the Dallas Mavericks to a 112-105 win against the Oklahoma City Thunder away from home.

Dallas is now just one win away from making it to the NBA Finals. Dallas’s Jason Kidd hit a crucial three-pointer with 40 seconds remaining in overtime to secure the win for Dallas.

The winner of the series will face either Chicago or Miami for the NBA championship.

Dallas trailed by 15 points with five minutes remaining in regulation. However, they made a huge come from behind win to prove to Oklahoma that they never give up hope of winning a game.

The Mavericks didn’t take the lead until Dirk Nowitzki nailed 2 free throws 16 seconds into overtime.

Kevin Durant went for a three-pointer on Oklahoma’s first attack of overtime but missed. Durant didn’t get another possession until he missed another three-point attempt in the final ten seconds when his team was down by 5 points.

Durant finished the game with 29 points and 15 rebounds. Serge Ibaka finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds for Oklahoma City. Russell Westbrook added 19 points, eight rebounds and eight assists in his team’s loss.

The Mavericks struggled to rebound all night were down 91-99 with 3:14 remaining in regulation.

After Oklahoma City's Russell Westbrook scored off another offensive rebound, Nowitzki answered right away with a three-pointer.

Dallas' defense then stopped Oklahoma City on four straight possessions and the Mavericks closed the gap to 101-99.

Two free throws from Nowitzki levelled the scores with 6.4 seconds remaining and Shawn Marion's block on Durant made sure the Thunder didn't win the game in the dying seconds.

The game was tied 105-105 with 1:15 left in overtime when Jason Kidd stole the ball from Durant and drained a three-pointer at the other end with 40.3 seconds to go.

Kidd then rebounded a Westbrook miss, Jason Terry hit two free throws for Dallas and Kidd added two more free throws to let Dallas celebrate a victory that looked out of reach when the Thunder opened the game by hitting nine straight shots.

The Mavericks will host game five on Wednesday.

Harold Camping predicts Judgment Day will now be on October 21 2011

Harold Camping, a preacher based in California has said that his prediction that the world would end on the May 21 was five months off, his latest prediction says that Judgement Day will come on October 21, 2011.

The Christian radio preacher said today that the apocalypse or global “Rapture” will now come five months after his original prediction of May 21, 2011.

Mr. Camping says he felt so terrible when his doomsday prediction did not come true on Saturday that he left his home and took refuge with his wife in a motel.

At 89, Mr Camping is fairly old and all these predictions I think are a result of old age. 

Last week he had predicted that the global “Rapture” would begin with massive earthquakes at 6pm local time in every region in the world. He also said that the good people of the world would be sent to heaven after the quakes.

FIVE OTHER END-OF-WORLD PREDICTIONS:

1.    Followers of William Miller believed the world would end on October 22, 1844.

2.    The Jehovah's Witness religion has predicted the end of the world in 1914, 1915, 1918, 1920, 1925, 1941, 1975 and 1994.

3.    Charles Wesley, founder of the Methodist Church, predicted the world would end in 1794.

4.    Famous forecaster Nostradamus predicted doomsday would happen in July 1999.

5.    English mystic Joanna Southcott predicted the world would end on October 19, 1814, when she gave birth to the Messiah.

Mr. Camping has made millions of dollars from his ridiculous predictions.

3 dead as NATO planes bomb Tripoli

At least three people have been killed and 150 injured as the Libyan capital Tripoli was hammered by a NATO overhead barrage of fire.

At least 18 explosions were heard in Tripoli this morning in what seemed to be the worst night of bombing since NATO’s fight against the Muammar Gaddafi regime began.

The attacks were thought to have been mainly targeted at Gaddafi’s Bab al Aziziya compound.

NATO said in a statement that a number of the attacks hit a vehicle storage facility next to the Bab al Aziziya compound that has been used in supplying regime forces carrying out attacks on civilians.

On this day: 1994 - Four men convicted of bombing the World Trade Center in New York in 1993 are each sentenced to 240 years in prison

The 1993 World Trade Center bombing occurred on February 26, 1993. The event happened when a bomb inside a truck was detonated below the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City.

The explosive was supposed to knock the North Tower into the South Tower, destroying both towers and killing thousands of people. 

The plan failed but the attack still killed seven people and left thousands injured.

The attack was organised by a group of conspirators including Ramzi Yousef, Mahmud Abouhalima, Mohammad Salameh, Nidal A. Ayyad,Abdul Rahman Yasin and Ahmad Ajaj.

They received money from Khaled Shaikh Mohammed, Yousef's uncle, in order to carry out the attack. In March 1994, four men were convicted of carrying out the bombing: Abouhalima, Ajaj, Ayyad and Salameh.

In November 1997, two more were convicted: Yousef, the mastermind behind the bombings, and Eyad Ismoil, who drove the truck carrying the bomb.

Soccer: Birmingham City, Blackpool and West Ham relegated from English Premier League as Manchester United takes title

Blackpool fans can only look on as their team is beaten 4-2.

Blackpool and Birmingham City were relegated from the English Premier League whilst Wigan Athletic and Wolverhampton Wanderers scuttled to safety in a thrilling final day of the season.

Blackpool’s first season in the English Premier League came to an end after losing 4-2 to champions Manchester United at Old Trafford.

Birmingham was sent down after being defeated 2-1 by Tottenham. This ended their 2 year streak in the EPL.

The drama of the final day came to a climax in the Wolverhampton v Blackburn game. The Wolves were looking like dead meat at half time, down 3-0 after Jason Roberts, Socceroos midfielder Brett Emerton and Junior Hoilett each kicked goals.

But Wolverhampton kicked a goal in the 73^rd minute to make it 3-1. Stephen Hunt then scored a goal with 3 minutes left to save Wolverhampton from relegation with a 3-2 loss.

Manchester United was presented with the Premier League trophy after the game against Blackpool.

Blackpool was dreaming of an upset after they took a 2-1 lead early in the second half. However, Manchester United struck back, Brazilian midfielder Anderson scored the equalizer. That goal was followed by a costly own goal by Blackpool’s Ian Evatt, making the score 3-2 in favour of United.

Michael Owen wrapped up a 4-2 victory for the red devils, sending Blackpool back to the Championship next season. 

Wigan, who had started the day second from bottom, completed their amazing performance when a Hugo Rodallega goal in the 78^th minute gave them a priceless 1-0 win over Stoke.

The victory gave Wigan back-to-back wins for the first time this season, and followed last weekend's remarkable win when they came from 2-0 down to beat West Ham 3-2.

Already-relegated West Ham was destroyed 3-0 at home by Sunderland. 

Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti fired

Chelsea fired manager Carlo Ancelotti, less than two hours after his now former team lost 1-0 to Everton.

The sacking comes after the team fell short of season expectations. Ancelotti was the former AC Milan manager and was popular at Chelsea, leading the club to two titles in his first year as manager.

But when Chelsea suffered from a mid-season slump, the club’s worst league form in nearly 15 years, ruining any hopes of defending their title, Ancelotti suffered.

Ancelotti was the sixth man to coach the club under owner Roman Abramovich’s eight-year reign.

The Italian was hired with the task of turning Chelsea into European champions. However, the club was knocked out against Inter Milan in the final 16 last year and lost to Manchester United in the quarter-finals this year.

Speculation had surrounded Ancelotti’s future and was likely to be sacked after a poor year from the reigning league champions.

Miami Heat beats Chicago in Game 3 to take 2-1 lead in series

Maimi's Chris Bosh goes up for a dunk.

Miami has defeated Chicago 96-85 in game three of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals to move within 2 games of reaching the NBA Finals. Miami, helped by big man Chris Bosh’s 34 points and a double-double by LeBron James now have a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series after winning at home.

Maimi’s Dwayne Wade scored 17 points and added 9 rebounds to lift his team when it mattered most. Chris Bosh scored a game-high 34 points and was extremely aggressive in the key.

Chicago’s Carlos Boozer finished the game with 26 points and 17 rebounds in an excellent game. MVP Derrick Rose finished with 20 points but his shooting lacked the accuracy needed, shooting less than 50% from the field.

Taj Gibson boosted Chicago’s energy off the bench with 11 points.

Boozer made two free throws with 6:39 left on the clock to lower Miami’s lead to four points. However, minutes later and the game was all but over, Miami had rushed out to a big lead to create enough of a cushion to complete the game without any issues.

Bosh and Boozer exchanged words and looks more than once in the game, but Bosh ended up with the last laugh.

Game four is on Tuesday (Wednesday AEST) in Miami and is a must win for Chicago if they want to improve their confidence heading into game five.