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Sunday, October 2, 2011

Nike-Made Shirts Have Barcelona Soccer Team Sweaty, Frustrated

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Barcelona's Lionel Messi celebrates with his team mates after scoring a hat trick in Barcelona September 24, 2011.

Gustau Nacarino / Reuters

One of the biggest names in soccer has a problem with Nike. A heavy, sweaty problem, in fact.

FC Barcelona, the very same European Champion squad that stars Lionel Messi and certainly has claims as the best club in the world, has complained to Nike that the new Dri-FIT shirts result in anything but dry shirts.

Players have even resorted to weighing their threads at halftime, reports Spanish paper El Pais, saying the kit has more than doubled in weight in 45 minutes of sweat. A shirt that weighs seven ounces to start a match balloons up to as much as 16 ounces at halftime.

(PHOTOS: The Evolution of Corporate Logos)

Barcelona officials met with Nike, explaining the issues with the claret-and-blue striped shirts and the Oregon-based company says it will test the product and get it fixed (what else are they going to say?).

The special “pitch” shirt uses as many as a dozen recycled plastic water bottles in each shirt combined with Nike's uniquely designed Dri-FIT material. The product aims to “wick” away sweat from the body, keeping wearers dry.

With Manchester United, Arsenal and Inter Milan all donning the same product, Nike says Barcelona's the only one complaining, although Spanish tennis star Rafael Nadal had issues with his gear in the Australian heat in January.

But, don't fret. As long as you aren't a Spanish mega-superstar, your gear should work out just fine.

MORE: Nike to Return as NFL's Uniform Provider in 2012

Tim Newcomb is a contributor for TIME. Find him on Twitter at @tdnewcomb. You can also continue the discussion on TIME's Facebook page and on Twitter at @TIME.

Nearly two weeks ago, an estimated 3,000 people assembled at Battery Park with the intention of occupying Wall Street. Read More

"If Florida moves, it would create chaos. The calendar would be so compressed that the states that are trying to more relevant, that I don't think it would do any good for them."

— CHAD CONNELLY, South Carolina GOP chairman, on Florida looking to shift up its GOP presidential primary to Jan. 31 (via CNN)

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Silvio Berlusconi birthday quiz

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BBC News - Silvio Berlusconi at 75: A birthday quiz

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Magazine Home UK Africa Asia-Pac Europe Latin America Mid-East South Asia US & Canada Business Health Sci/Environment Tech Entertainment Video Magazine In Pictures Also in the News Editors' Blog Have Your Say World Radio and TV Special Reports 28 September 2011Last updated at 18:28 GMT Share this page Delicious Digg Facebook reddit StumbleUpon Twitter Email Print Silvio Berlusconi at 75: A birthday quiz /*div.story-body div#quiz_container{width:448px;border:1px solid;padding-left:16px;}*/

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Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is celebrating his 75th birthday.To mark the occasion, here are 10 questions about the life and times of Italy's longest-serving post-war premier.

1.) Multiple Choice Question

On a visit to the New York stock exchange in 2003, Mr Berlusconi said Italy was a great country to invest in because it had lots of beautiful secretaries. He also said the country had changed and now had...

Less organised crime
Fewer communists
A hard currency

2.) Multiple Choice Question

In May 2010, Mr Berlusconi asked Milan police to release a 17-year-old Moroccan dancer, who had been accused of theft. It's said he claimed she was related to a head of state. Which?

Libya's Muammar Gaddafi

King Mohammed VI of Morocco

Egypt's Hosni Mubarak

3.) Multiple Choice Question

Silvio Berlusconi claims to have hired one of the following as a lawyer, before they entered politics. Which?

Gerhard Schroeder

Tessa Jowell

Nicolas Sarkozy

4.) Multiple Choice Question

The young Berlusconi occasionally performed as a cruise ship crooner. He also played in a band. Which instrument did he play?

Piano

Double bass

Trumpet

5.) Multiple Choice Question

Mr Berlusconi, Italy's third richest man, has interests in banking, insurance, publishing, cinema and television. Which of these channels does he NOT own?

Italia 1
Rai Tre
Rete 4
Canale 5

6.) Multiple Choice Question

Which of the following football clubs in Italy's top league, Serie A, does Mr Berlusconi own?

Lazio

Juventus

AC Milan

7.) Multiple Choice Question

Mr Berlusconi's estranged wife, the actress Veronica Lario, is part-owner of the right-wing newspaper, Il Foglio. Which publication is owned by his brother Paolo?

Il Giornale
La Repubblica
Panorama

8.) Multiple Choice Question

Veronica Lario demanded and won a public apology from her husband, after he did something that, in her view, damaged her dignity. Which of these was it?

He attended the 18th birthday party of female friend, Noemi Letizia

He told Maria Carfagna, a member of parliament, he would run away with her, if he were not married

He hinted publicly that his wife was having an affair with philosopher Massimo Cacciari

9.) Multiple Choice Question

Silvio Berlusconi has been prime minister for nine of the last 17 years. Which of these pre-war figures was PM for nearly 21 years?

Giuseppe Garibaldi

Benito Mussolini

Guiseppe Verdi

10.) Multiple Choice Question

How do you say 75 in Italian?

Diciassette virgola cinque
Settantacinque
Settecentocinquanta

Answers

It's fewer communists. "Today we have fewer communists and those who are still there deny having been one," he was quoted as saying.It's Hosni Mubarak. Mr Berlusconi does not deny calling police to secure the dancer's release and sending an aide to take custody of her. The Egyptian embassy subsequently denied there was any connection between the girl and the Egyptian president.It's Nicolas Sarkozy. Mr Berlusconi said in 2009 that he helped resolve the conflict between Russia and Georgia by talking to Vladimir Putin on the phone and sending "the good Nicolas Sarkozy, who was my advocate some years ago" to talk to Dmitri Medvedev. Tessa Jowell, the former British cabinet minister, is not a lawyer. Her estranged husband David Mills was employed as a lawyer by Mr Berlusconi in the 1990s.It's double bass. Mr Berlusconi has recorded albums as a singer, with Neopolitan performer Mariano Apicella.It's Rai Tre, which is part of the state-owned public service broadcaster, Rai. Media freedom campaigners have complained that as prime minister Mr Berlusconi is able to exercise some political control over Rai, as well as the channels he owns.It is AC Milan, one of the top teams from Mr Berlusconi's home town. Lazio, a team based in Rome, is owned by entrepreneur Claudio Lotito, while Juventus (in Turin) is controlled by the Agnelli family, the principal shareholders of the Fiat car company.It's the daily newspaper Il Giornale. La Repubblica is a centre-left newspaper, while Panorama is a weekly news magazine owned by Silvio Berlusconi's Mediaset company.It's the Maria Carfagna incident in 2007. Veronica Lario did not respond publicly to her husband's remark about Massimo Cacciari. After he attended Noemi Letizia's party in 2009, she filed for divorce, saying she could not stay with a man who "consorted with minors".It's Benito Mussolini. Garibaldi led the military campaign which led to the unification of Italy in 1860. Verdi was a composer.It is settantacinque. Diciassette virgola cinque is 17.5, while settecentocinquanta is 750.

Your Score

0 - 3 : Miserabile

4 - 7 : Bene

8 - 10 : Magnifico

Judge halts work on Amazon dam

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29 September 2011 Last updated at 01:02 GMT Protesters in Sao Paulo on 20 August 2011

Indigenous tribes have been protesting against the project for years A judge in Brazil has ordered a halt to construction of a multi-billion-dollar dam project in the Amazon region.

Judge Carlos Castro Martins barred any work that would interfere with the natural flow of the Xingu river.

He ruled in favour of a fisheries group which argued that the Belo Monte dam would affect local fish stocks and could harm indigenous families who make a living from fishing.

The government says the dam is crucial to meeting growing energy needs.

Judge Martins barred the Norte Energia company behind the project from "building a port, using explosives, installing dikes, building canals and any other infrastructure work that would interfere with the natural flow of the Xingu river, thereby affecting local fish stocks".

Legal battle

He said the building of canals and dikes could have negative repercussions for river communities living off small-scale fishing.

The judge said building work currently underway on accommodation blocks for the project's many workers could continue as it would not interfere with the flow of the river.

The consortium behind the project is expected to appeal against the decision.

In June, the Brazilian environment agency backed the construction, dismissing concerns by environmentalists and indigenous groups who argue that it will harm the world's largest tropical rainforest and displace tens of thousands of people.

The agency, Ibama, said the dam had been subjected to "robust analysis" of its impact on the environment.

The 11,000-megawatt dam would be the third biggest in the world - after the Three Gorges in China and Itaipu, which is jointly run by Brazil and Paraguay.

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Florida executes man for 1978 police killing

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(Adds new details and updates with execution carried out

By Michael Peltier

TALLAHASSEE, Fla (Reuters) - Florida on Wednesday executed a man convicted of killing a Coral Gables police officer in 1978, the first inmate put to death since the state changed its lethal injection procedure.

Manuel Valle, 61, was pronounced dead by Department of Corrections officials at 7:14 p.m. local time, shortly after being administered a series of lethal drugs at Florida State Prison near Starke.

Valle, who spent 30 years on Florida's death row, was the first inmate executed since Republican Governor Rick Scott took office in January. Florida's governor signs the death warrant for a condemned inmate. Valle was the 37th person put to death in the U.S. this year.

His execution was delayed for about three hours on Wednesday as his attorney petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court for a stay, arguing unsuccessfully that executing Valle after three decades on death row was both cruel and unusual.

A corrections spokeswoman said Valle was served a last meal of fried chicken, white rice, garlic toast, peach cobbler and a Coke.

He did not make a final statement, but the deceased officer's wife issued one.

"Even though I believe this execution was just, I don't believe I will ever have complete closure," said Lana Pena Kemmerer.

The Cuban-born Valle was 27 when he shot and killed Coral Gables Officer Louis Pena after being pulled over for running a red light in a stolen car in April 1978.

As the officer checked the license tag, Valle retrieved a gun from the stolen vehicle and fatally shot Pena in the neck.

When a backup officer arrived, Valle shot him too. Protected by a bulletproof vest, Officer Gary Spell survived and testified at Valle's trial.

Convicted and first sentenced to death in 1981, Valle avoided execution for decades due to numerous appeals, reversals and re-hearings that wound all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. This was his third death warrant.

Valle was scheduled to die on August 2, but the execution was again postponed to allow for a hearing on his concerns about the use of a new sedative by the state.

Earlier this year, Florida prison officials substituted one of the drugs used in the three-drug lethal injection protocol after its Dutch manufacturer stopped making the product to protest its use in executions.

In late August, the Florida Supreme Court unanimously rejected arguments by Valle's attorneys that the substitution of pentobarbital into the procedure would allow their client to remain conscious, thus subjecting him to undue pain and suffering when the next two drugs were administered.

In an opinion that cleared the way for future executions using pentobarbital, the court said it found no credible evidence that administering the drug at 10 times the normal sedation dosage would allow Valle to remain conscious.

By itself, the drug is considered lethal at the dosage used by the Department of Corrections. It is followed by other medications that paralyze the lungs and cause a heart attack.

Valle was the 70th inmate executed in Florida since the reinstatement of the death penalty in 1976 and the first since February 2010.

(Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Greg McCune)

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'Toxic vessel' leaves Bangladesh

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29 September 2011 Last updated at 08:50 GMT By Anbarasan Ethirajan BBC News, Dhaka Ship breaking in Chittagong

Hundreds of obsolete ships are dismantled every year in Chittagong The suspected toxic ship MV Asia Union, which last week sought to enter Bangladesh, left the country's waters in the last few days, officials say.

The ship's agents wanted permission for the Chinese-owned vessel to be dismantled in Bangladesh.

But officials last week told the coast guard to turn it back after complaints that it may contain harmful chemicals and pose a health and safety threat.

Bangladesh has become one of the world's leading ship-breaking nations.

Dozens of cargo ships and tankers from around the world are brought to yards - mostly in the Chittagong region - to be dismantled.

"As per the request of the department of environment, the Coast Guard acted and the ship left the territorial waters of Bangladesh. We are not sure about its next port of call," Captain Nazmul Alam, deputy conservator of Chittagong port told the BBC.

The ship was anchored around eight nautical miles (12km) off the coast of the southern port of Chittagong.

Environmental groups said the vessel might possess hazardous substances including asbestos, toxic paints and chemical residues which are harmful to human health and the environment.

An official last week said a team would be sent to the ship to find out whether it contained any toxic material before taking a final decision. But Captain Alam said that nobody visited the ship.

Every year, dozens of old ships are brought to Bangladesh to be dismantled for scrap.

Ship-breakers say that recycled steel from dismantled ships supplies around 60% of Bangladesh's total steel demands.

They say that the industry also provides jobs to thousands of people.

But environmentalists allege that many old ships come with hazardous materials which are dumped in coastal areas, posing a danger to the environment and to workers.

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Bitter 75th birthday for beleaguered Berlusconi

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Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi attends during a debate at the lower house of parliament in Rome in Rome, September 22, 2011.

Credit: Reuters/Alessandro Bianchi

By Philip Pullella

ROME | Thu Sep 29, 2011 8:48am EDT

ROME (Reuters) - Given his declared taste for beautiful women, Silvio Berlusconi would probably not mind a sultry starlet singing him "Happy Birthday, Mr. President."

But as he turns 75 on Thursday, he and most Italians are in no mood for celebrations that might evoke the day when Marilyn Monroe famously sang the song for John F. Kennedy in 1962.

The prime minister -- whose title, to Italians, is president of the council of ministers -- did attend a birthday party on Wednesday evening. But Italian media said his speech to friends was marked by familiar, defensive jibes at his many critics.

Italy's mounting economic difficulties and a creeping sense of social malaise have added to headaches for Berlusconi that include a laundry list of judicial woes, a fractious coalition and a Church that has suddenly turned against him.

There are growing fears that the Italian state, whose celebrations of its own 150th anniversary this year were muted by self-doubt, could suffer a Greek-style debt crisis, despite a stinging austerity package that will force Italians to pay more taxes, delay retirement and shell out more for health care.

In a front-page editorial on Thursday that seemed to encapsulate the mood of many in the country, the Rome newspaper Il Messaggero lamented a "systemic crisis" that had left most Italians disoriented.

"The aim of politics should be ... to develop society and restore to citizens a sense of authentic community," it said.

But it concluded that politics in Italy had become distant from the real needs of the people. Crime and corruption had fueled a growing social malaise and a "widespread feeling of indifference," it said.

"LIKEABLE SCOUNDREL"

Italians are divided about Berlusconi, whose approval ratings, at about 25 percent, are at their lowest ever.

"I wish he would give a present to the whole country and resign," said Stefano Trinka, a Rome resident going to work in the capital's crowed Piazza Venezia.

Giovanna Molinari, who was walking along the same square arm in arm with her husband, is a die-hard Berlusconi supporter. She said: "Happy Birthday and good work, Mr. President -- that is, if they let him get any work done."

Berlusconi, now heading his fourth government since taking up politics in 1994 after making billions in business, has shown himself to have a knack for surviving scandals and diplomatic gaffes that would have ended the career of many another leader.

Piera Di Giacomo echoed the thoughts of many Italians when asked in Rome what she thought of Berlusconi as he turned 75, and why he had survived so long: "What should I say? As far as I'm concerned he is a likeable scoundrel," she said.

"Happy birthday."

The list of those Berlusconi would consider party poopers seems to be growing longer by the day.

Magistrates accuse him of corruption in three separate trials and in a fourth trial, he is accused of paying for sex with a minor.

In recent weeks he has faced damning criticism and more or less open calls to resign from pillars of the establishment including the Catholic Church, employers group Confindustria, the head of auto giant Fiat and newspapers including Corriere della Sera, Italy's most authoritative daily.

And now Berlusconi, whose eye for young women is legendary, has been caught up in a new investigation by magistrates. It is

centered around bribes and blackmail linked to parties he is said to have hosted for young women, some perhaps prostitutes.

According to wire-tapped conversations published by Italian newspapers, he has boasted of "doing eight girls" a night and joking that with all his sexual activity, he was only prime minister "in my spare time."

Berlusconi was feted at a party on Wednesday night hosted by Alessandra Mussolini, grand-daughter of the Fascist dictator. According to Italian media, he told his friends that all accusations against him are "mud" hurled by politically biased magistrates and that he would prove his total innocence.

A bitter "antipasto," or appetizer, for Berlusconi came four days before his birthday when Italy's top Catholic bishop issued a blistering attack on the ruling class, saying the country need to "purify the air" contaminated by licentious behavior, scandal and corruption.

The unusual unveiled attack by Angelo Bagnasco, who stopped just short of asking Berlusconi to resign and painted a damning picture of an elite more concerned with its own survival than the good of the people, left Berlusconi and his government, according to political sources, feeling "stunned."

(Additional reporting by Gabriele Pileri; Editing by Alastair Macdonald)

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VIDEO: Russian army stops buying Kalashnikovs

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29 September 2011 last updated at 01: 33 GMT help

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Scratch 'N Sniff Book on New York, Concrete Jungle Where Smells are Everywhere Is Coming Soon

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An upcoming children's book will have scratch-and-sniff pages featuring New York's signature smells. NewsFeed hopes it doesn't have a page that smells like subway goers' body odor.

In an interesting turn of events for children's literature, first-time author Amber Jones will publish a scratch-and-sniff illustrated guide to New York. The hotel concierge decided to take a foray into the written word after a life-altering experience with the scent of horse excrement.

"I work in Times Square and one day while I was walking to the train I got a delicious whiff of pizza," said Jones. "As I was looking in the window at the pizza, deciding if I should buy a slice, I didn't realize I was stepping in horse manure. I went to the corner to make sure I didn't get any on my shoe and was engulfed by shish kebab smoke from a food cart. It's then I thought 'there should be a scratch-and-sniff guide of New York.' Viola! The idea was born."

(READ: Should Parents Fear 'Bumble-Ardy', Maurice Sendak's New Book?)

The book, titled New York, PHEW York, will showcase smells that run the gamut of New York's olfactory offerings. Featured scents include the good (strawberry, pizza, hot dogs, churros), the bad (garbage, sewer steam, horse manure) and the random (red apple, smoke, grass, pickles).

Initially, Jones had trouble finding a book deal for her project, which chronicles a visiting family's adventures around the city in rhyming couplets.

"Cost was always their primary concern. I was told I should have fewer smells or to have only the 'good' smells," she said. But "that's just not an honest book about New York. As much as we wish this city only smelled like cinnamon and cocoa...it doesn't."

Jones, who will self-publish the story, has plans for a series of scratch-and sniff city adventures after New York, PHEW York hits shelves in November. Anyone want to guess what Los Angeles smog will smell like?

MORE: The 100 All-TIME Greatest Novels

One of the biggest names in soccer has a problem with Nike. A heavy, sweaty problem, in fact. Read More

Nearly two weeks ago, an estimated 3,000 people assembled at Battery Park with the intention of occupying Wall Street. Read More

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Strauss-Kahn faces French accuser

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29 September 2011 Last updated at 09:45 GMT The BBC's Christian Fraser: "Tristane Banon said she wanted to look into the eyes of Dominique Strauss-Kahn"

Ex-IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn and the French writer who accuses him of attempted rape have confronted each other as part of a police inquiry.

Police are investigating Tristane Banon's complaint before prosecutors decide whether to press charges.

Mr Strauss-Kahn is said to admit making "an advance" on Ms Banon, but denies any violence, and is suing for slander.

She made the allegations in June, when Mr Strauss-Kahn was accused of rape in New York; that case was later dropped.

The confrontation took place at a Paris police station without lawyers present, but with police officers in the room.

Police confrontations are held when two people in a case give different versions of events.

Mr Strauss-Kahn left the police station a couple of hours after arriving without making any comments.

Continue reading the main story image of Christian Fraser

Christian Fraser BBC News, Paris

After the confrontation, it will be up to the court to decide which way to take it. They can either decide there is no case to answer. They could decide that this was a case of less serious sexual abuse, but in that case, eight years on, under the statute of limitation, the case would be put to one side.

Or they could decide that on the evidence of the investigation that has been going on since July, there needs to be further investigation and an investigating judge would been appointed.

But you can imagine for Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who is trying to relaunch is political career, he is very keen for this to be put to one side and he will be hoping that the police believes his side of the story.

Both parties have been interviewed by police over the alleged incident.

Ms Banon, 32, has said she is keen to confront her alleged attacker.

"I want him in front of me so he can look into my eyes and say to my face that I imagined it."

Ms Banon alleges she had to fight off Mr Strauss-Kahn, 62, "with kicks and punches" when he tried to rip off her clothes during an interview at Paris flat in 2003.

Ms Banon first made the allegations in a TV chat show in 2007, when Mr Strauss-Kahn's name was bleeped out.

The former International Monetary Fund director, who was once tipped as a future French president, recently returned to France.

He also still faces a civil suit by his alleged victim in New York, Nafissatou Diallo.

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Spain halts lottery privatisation

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29 September 2011 Last updated at 12:18 GMT Man buys lottery ticket

The national lottery is famous for its El Gordo, or fat one, draw Spain has stopped the part-privatisation of the national lottery which had been expected to raise billions of euros.

The sale of up to 30% of the national lottery was postponed because the market valuation had been too low, the finance ministry said.

It intends to start the sale process again when conditions improve.

Spain had hoped to sell off a number of its assets, including 49% of the airports operator, to cut its deficit.

The lottery sale had been expected to raise several billion euros and would have been the country's biggest privatisation. It would also have created one of the biggest firms on the Spanish stock exchange's Ibex index.

It had been approved by the Spanish government just last week and presentations for potential investors had been expected to start at the beginning of October.

"Rather than have it valued for less than we had expected and for less than we believe to be the fair value, we decided to delay this listing," Finance Minister Elena Salgado told Spanish radio.

"Among individual investors there was and still is an extraordinary interest and among institutional investors too, but at prices that we did not want to accept."

But analysts suggested that opposition to the sale from the Popular Party, who are considered likely winners of the general election in November, may have played a part in the decision to pull it.

Elena Salgado added that the sale of almost half of Aena, the airports operator, would still go ahead.

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'Frantic' call by Jackson doctor

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29 September 2011 Last updated at 09:02 GMT Faheem Mohammad: Jackson's children "were in panicked state"

Key aides of Michael Jackson have told the manslaughter trial of his doctor of events on the day the superstar died.

His personal assistant described a "frantic" call from Dr Conrad Murray.

Head of security Faheem Muhammad said he saw the medic try to revive the unconscious star, as two of Jackson's children looked on in tears.

Prosecutors say Dr Murray caused the death, in June 2009, with a lethal dose of the sedative, propofol. The defence says the star gave himself too much.

The pop star had been using the drug, which is usually administered intravenously, as a sleeping aid.

Michael Amir Williams, Jackson's personal assistant, told the court about a phone call he received from Dr Murray on the day of Jackson's death.

Mr Williams told the jury: "He said, 'Get here right away, Mr Jackson had a bad reaction. Get somebody up here immediately'."

'Very nervous'

He also gave details about how he dispatched security guards to the star's bedroom and said Dr Murray was "frantic" as Jackson's body was taken out to the ambulance.

Meanwhile, Mr Muhammad confirmed he saw an intravenous (IV) stand in Jackson's bedroom as the doctor tried to revive the star.

"Dr Murray was... on the opposite side of him [Jackson] near the far side of the bed on the other side," he said.

"He appeared to be administering CPR [cardio-pulmonary resuscitation], he appeared very nervous, he was on his side, he was sweating, he just, he appeared to be administering CPR."

Asked about how the star looked, Mr Muhammad said his eyes and mouth were slightly open, but agreed that he seemed already dead.

The security guard described the reactions of Jackson's teenage children, who were in the room at the time.

"Paris was on the ground balled-up crying. Prince was standing there and he just had a real shocked, you know, just slowly crying type of look on his face," he said.

CPR request

Earlier, the court heard that Jackson was energetic and performing well in the days before he died.

Promoter Paul Gongaware told the Los Angeles court that Jackson had been "fully engaged" in rehearsals for his forthcoming series of comeback concerts in London.

Fans hold signs in support of Michael Jackson outside LA courthouse

Fans of Michael Jackson hold signs outside the Los Angeles courthouse

Mr Gongaware told the court how Jackson asked him to employ Dr Murray as his doctor, adding that that the doctor initially asked for payment of $5m (£3.2m) for a year.

"I told him there's no way that's going to happen," he said, adding that Dr Murray was eventually offered the equivalent of $1.8m (£1.1m) per year.

Mr Gongaware also acknowledged that his firm, AEG, had been sued by Jackson's mother for negligent supervision of Dr Murray while he worked with the star.

AEG's lawyer Kathy Jorrie told the court that Dr Murray had asked for a CPR machine and an additional physician to help him care for Jackson in London.

"He wanted to make sure that there was somebody else available to be of assistance," Ms Jorrie told the court.

On Tuesday, the court heard evidence from Jackson choreographer Kenny Ortega, who told of an email he had written expressing "deep concern" over the singer's health about a week before he died, aged 50.

The trial is expected to last about five weeks.

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Philippines cleans up after storm

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28 September 2011 Last updated at 04:10 GMT Kate McGeown reports on the evacuation efforts

A huge clean-up operation is under way in the Philippines after Typhoon Nesat battered the capital Manila and the main island, Luzon.

The death toll rose to 18 with 35 still missing after heavy rain and powerful winds triggered storm surges.

Most deaths occurred in and around Manila, officials said.

Nesat is now in the South China Sea with 120km/h (75mph) winds and due to reach China's Hainan Island on Thursday evening or early Friday.

Power supplies were gradually being restored to central Manila on Wednesday, officials said, and services on the Metro resumed.

However, more than a million people in Luzon remained without power.

Emergency teams were clearing away fallen trees, debris and broken-down cars while schools and offices reopened.

Civil defence chief Benito Ramos said crews were also repairing and clearing 61 road networks across Luzon damaged by landslides, debris and flooding.

Some areas are still under water including Manila Ocean Park and Taft Avenue. The US Embassy, which was flooded on Tuesday, remained closed.

City Mayor Alfredo Lim said huge waves had breached the sea wall allowing water from Manila Bay to engulf wide areas.

"This is the first time that this kind of flooding happened here," he said.

Flooding in Luzon was made worse when the government released water from four dams that had reached critical levels in Bulacan province.

Meanwhile, another tropical storm brewing in the Pacific Ocean could hit the Philippines within the week, the state weather bureau warned.

"We need to finish emergency work in the aftermath of Nesat before this storm comes," Mr Ramos said.

"We are praying for the skies to clear a little bit today."

Nesat, which had a diameter of 650km (400 miles) and carried gusts of up to 170km/h (105 mph), made landfall just before dawn on Tuesday on the Pacific coast.

The Philippines suffers frequent typhoons but Nesat is thought to be the largest this year.

It comes almost exactly two years after Typhoon Ketsana killed more than 400 people.

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Zogby: Obama Won't Benefit From Hurricane Irene Success

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Home > Politics & Policy > Washington Whispers > Zogby: Obama Won't Benefit From Hurricane Irene Success

September 2, 2011 Print

Pollster John Zogby updates our weekly Obama Report Card with a grade on the president's performance. Zogby uses his polling, expert analysis and interaction with major players to come up with a grade and some comments that capture how he sees the president's week ending.

John Zogby on Week: 137

"Hurricane Irene dominated the news, and even though it didn't match Katrina's devastation of New Orleans, President Obama can draw some contrast to Team Bush's asleep at the switch response to that storm. Irene is projected to still be one of the nation's most costly natural disasters. The GOP will demand dollar-for-dollar cuts to match new disaster aid, and that will be an argument Obama should win with voters. Too bad for him most of the damage is in the deep blue Northeast rather than swing states. Not getting much play was the drone attack killing of al Qaeda's number two man. Finally, by a 49%-41% margin, voters in our poll said it was appropriate for the president to vacation on Martha's Vineyard. Otherwise, his polling numbers remain weak."

This week's grade: C-

Last week's: D+

John Zogby is Chairman of the Board and Chief Insights Officer for IBOPE Zogby International, a non-partisan public opinion, research, and business solutions firm with experience working in more than 70 countries around the globe. IBOPE Zogby International specializes in telephone, Internet, and face-to-face survey research and analysis for corporate, political, nonprofit, and governmental clients. The firm is headquartered in Utica, N.Y. John Zogby is also the author of The Way We'll Be: The Zogby Report on the Transformation of the American Dream (Random House).

Tags:al Qaeda, hurricanes, John Zogby, democratic party, Barack Obama, republican party 2011: 2010: 2009: 2008: 2007: 2006:

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AUDIO: The Valley of in the Libyan city of Sirte siege

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September 29, 2011 to help stand 11: 32 GMT

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