Cyclist Was Spat Out From Under Half-Blind Hit-and-Run Driver's Car

Horrible that such an active young man's life had to be taken from him, and how it effected his poor wife.... All because Mr. Magoo had to go to his photography club.

London- A friend of a cyclist who suffered brain damage in a hit-and-run crash involving a driver with very poor eyesight told today how their community had been “devastated” by his life-changing injuries.

Patrice Gougam was head tennis coach at his local club and mixed with top players such as Martina Hingis when he was hit by a Land Rover driver who was being treated for glaucoma and cataracts and should not have been behind the wheel.

The head injuries sustained by Mr Gougam were so severe that he needs the help of machines to carry out basic tasks.

His wife, Virginia, said her life was “falling apart” after Mr Gougam, 53, was hit on the Great North Road between Barnet and Potters Bar on the evening of November 12 last year.

Hazel Goodyear, secretary of Enfield Chase Tennis Club, said: “Patrice is a lovely guy and this has devastated everybody at the club. I was the last person to see him before the accident. He left the tennis club and was on his way to his cycling club.”

St Albans crown court heard that Michael Elliott, 64, hit Mr Gougam but continued on his way to a photography club meeting in Barnet. It was only as he drove home past the crash site two hours later that he saw police had closed the road.

Retired Elliott, of Potters Bar, told an officer at the scene: “I think that's because of me.” Prosecutor Jane Tansley said a motorist behind Elliott saw his Land Rover bounce off the kerb and he heard a loud bang.

The witness told police: “I saw a person tumbling underneath the Land Rover and it looked like the person was spat out from underneath.”

Elliott admitted dangerous driving, failing to stop at the scene of an accident and failing to notify the DVLA of his eyesight problems.

Gavin Irwin, for the defence, told the court that Elliott could lose his home as a result of civil proceedings being brought against him and the cost of Mr Gougam's health care.

Elliott was jailed for eight months, banned from driving for three years and given nine penalty points on his licence.

New British PM Cameron Builds Coalition

He's a hottie, too! xP
London, England (CNN) -- Within hours of his appointment, Britain's new prime minister, David Cameron, immediately began forming his coalition government overnight, appointing several Liberal Democrat leaders to Cabinet posts along with members of his own Conservative Party.

Lib Dems leader Nick Clegg, who was named deputy prime minister, announced early Wednesday his party's agreement into entering such a partnership, saying, "I hope this is the start of the new politics I have always believed in: diverse, plural; where politicians of different persuasions come together to overcome their differences in order to deliver good government for the sake of the whole country."

Clegg sought to allay party members' concerns going into the arrangement.

"I am acutely aware that I carry your hopes and aspirations with me into this coalition agreement," he said. "I can imagine this evening you will have many questions and maybe many doubts about this new governing arrangement.

"But I want to assure you that I wouldn't have entered into this agreement unless I was genuinely convinced that it offers a unique opportunity to deliver the kind of changes that you and I believe in."

In addition to Clegg's appointment, a source from the Conservative Party said Conservative Parliament member George Osborne has been named chancellor of the exchequer and former Conservative Party leader William Hague has been appointed secretary for foreign affairs. Four other Cabinet posts will be filled by Liberal Democrats, Downing Street said.

Queen Elizabeth II named Cameron prime minister Tuesday night, shortly after Gordon Brown resigned, Buckingham Palace said.

Brown had said Monday he would step down as leader of his party by the fall, but he changed course Tuesday, announcing he was quitting his party post immediately. His party came in second, behind the Conservatives, in parliamentary elections last week, but no party won an absolute majority.

Cameron becomes the country's first Conservative prime minister since the Labour Party, under Tony Blair, defeated John Major in 1997.

Cameron echoed U.S. President John F. Kennedy's famous "ask not what your country can do for you" speech in his first remarks as prime minister.

He aims to build a society "where we don't just ask, 'What are my entitlements?' but 'What are my responsibilities?'... Where we don't ask, 'What am I owed?' but more 'What can I give?'" Cameron said.

"Those who can, should, and those who can't, we will always help," he promised, stressing freedom, fairness and responsibility.

"Real change is not about what government can do," he insisted. "Real change is when everyone pulls together, comes together, works together."

He also praised his Brown in brief remarks outside the prime minister's residence before disappearing into 10 Downing Street with his wife, Samantha.

Coalition governments are extremely rare in British politics.

The last time there was a "hung parliament" with no party holding a majority of the seats in the House of Commons was 1974. Coalition talks then between the Conservatives and Liberals failed, and a short-lived minority Labour government took power.

But Cameron said Tuesday he aims "to form a proper and full coalition between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats," saying it would be "the right way to provide this country with the strong, the stable, the good and decent government that I believe we need so badly."

The two parties would command a clear majority in the 650-seat House of Commons, but have a number of key policy differences.

Cameron said he wants "to put aside party differences and work together for the common good and the national interest."

Earlier Tuesday, U.S. President Barack Obama called Cameron shortly after the new prime minister entered Downing Street, according to a statement from the White House.

During the call, Obama said he extended his congratulations and invited Cameron and his wife to visit the White House this summer.

"This historic election has been closely followed by the American people, and I have no doubt that the ties between our two countries will continue to thrive in the years to come," Obama's statement said.

Cameron's appointment ended nearly a week of uncertainty, since the Conservatives won 306 seats in the 650-seat House of Commons -- 20 short of a majority. Brown's Labour Party got 258, and Clegg's Liberal Democrats got 57.

Smaller parties got 28 seats, and one will be decided in an election later this month after one of the candidates died during the campaign.

The results set off a round of haggling, first between the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats, and then between the Lib Dems and Labour.

Brown dramatically announced Monday night that he would step aside as leader of the Labour Party by autumn. It was apparently an effort to clear the way for a deal between his party and the Liberal Democrats.

Though they have more in common ideologically with Labour than the Conservatives, the Liberal Democrats, after talks Tuesday morning with Labour, said they were going back to the Conservatives.

Brown then sped up his timetable, announcing he was quitting his party post immediately and resigning as prime minister.

His deputy, Harriet Harman, will lead the Labour Party until a leadership contest can be held, he told party activists.

In his brief resignation statement, Brown said he loved the job of prime minister not for pomp and ceremony but "for its potential to make this country I love fairer, more tolerant, more green, more democratic, more prosperous and more just."

Cameron is Queen Elizabeth II's 13th prime minister -- including Harold Wilson twice, for his two non-consecutive terms -- since she was crowned in 1952.

Old London Street Scenes (1903)

This Day In History

Aug 31 1888
Jack the Ripper kills his first known victim, prostitute Mary Ann Nichols, slitting her throat from ear to ear.

Aug 31 1997
Lady Diana, and her boyfriend Dodi Fayed, killed in car crash inside a Paris tunnel.

Aug 31 1999
A video game machine explodes at an underground Moscow arcade, injuring perhaps thirty people and killing several others.

Piracy Fears as Cargo Ship Vanishes off England

LONDON, England (CNN) -- An international search operation was underway Wednesday for a cargo ship which vanished after being involved in what appears to be an unprecedented incident of piracy in European waters.

The Russian-crewed Arctic Sea, carrying a 6,500-ton cargo of timber from Finland to Algeria, was last heard of nearly two weeks ago when it passed through the English Channel, one of the world's busiest shipping lanes.

Russia said naval vessels authorised to use force were now hunting the vessel backed by "space-based" detection systems.

The Maltese-flagged Arctic Sea is believed to have been briefly hijacked off Sweden by raiders posing as drug enforcement officers who tied up, gagged and blindfolded the crew, causing several injuries, and searched the vessel.

Experts say acts of piracy are unheard of in heavily-policed European waters, with maritime crime largely restricted to areas such as Somalia in Africa where governments have little or no control over their ports.

The Arctic Sea apparently vanished after a last known contact on July 31, failing to make its scheduled arrival in north Africa on August 4. Maltese maritime officials said several governments were now trying to track down the ship.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has instructed the country's Defense Minister Anatoly Serduykov to "take all necessary measures to locate, monitor and, if necessary, to free the missing vessel," a statement said.

According to Swedish police and Maltese Maritime Authority (MMA) accounts, the Arctic Sea's troubles begain on July 24 when a group of between eight and 12 men boarded at 3 a.m., occupying the vessel for 12 hours.

They restrained the crew and questioned them about drug trafficking before locking them in their quarters.

"During their stay onboard, the members of the crew were allegedly assaulted, tied, gagged and blindfolded and some of them were seriously injured," an MMA statement said.

Swedish police spokeswoman Maria Lönegård said during the suspected hijack, the vessel's radar and satellite systems were off-line for two hours, during which it was witnessed performing "extreme maneuvers."

Since the crew believed they had been boarded by a genuine law enforcement agency, no police complaint was initially made, and the Arctic Sea continued on its way. Details eventually reached police through diplomatic channels.

Lönegård said Swedish police spoke with the Arctic Sea's captain on July 31, when the ship was believed to be off the coast of France. This is believed to be the last known contact with the vessel.

Earlier, on July 28, the ship had made contact with British coastguard -- a standard procedure as it passed through the busy waters of the English Channel -- but reported nothing untoward.

Russia's Defense Ministry said on it's Web site that Black Sea Fleet patrol ship Ladny was heading the search operation and had Wednesday passed through the Strait of Gibraltar en route to the Atlantic.

While piracy levels have recently increased off the coast of East Africa, incidents in European waters are unheard of, according to UK maritime experts.

"Attacks on ships are extremely rare, basically they don't happen," said Jeremy Harrison of the British Chamber of Shipping.

Approximately 400 ships pass daily through the Dover Strait -- the narrowest stretch of the English Channel -- and all are required to check in with either British of French coastguards.

The Arctic Sea is Maltese-flagged and Latvian-owned but operated by Finnish firm Solchart Management. Its cargo of sawn timber is owned by another Finnish company, Stora Enso.

Stora Enso told CNN it had no idea of the whereabouts of the ship or its cargo, which it said was worth €50,000 ($70,000).

Death Driver 'Never Had License'

BBC- A businessman, who drove off in his Jaguar sports car after hitting a young boy, who later died, had never had a driving licence, a court has heard.

The judge at Mold Crown Court accepted it had been an accident but jailing David Lunn, 61, from Wrexham, for 22 months, he said he had been "stupid".

Robbie Gaunt, nine, had been crossing the A539 with friends on 19 March.

Lunn admitted causing death by driving while unlicensed and uninsured and perverting the course of justice.

He had previous convictions, including one for drink-driving, and tried to cover up his involvement, the court heard.

Robbie was hit by Lunn's Jaguar XJ sport, and thrown into the path of a Ford Fiesta travelling the other way, while crossing the A539 at Overton on his bicycle.

He later died in Alder Hey Hospital, Liverpool.

Lunn, a director of a company named Premier Bodies Ltd in St Martin's, near Oswestry, Shropshire, failed to stop and later arranged to have his bonnet and grille replaced.

He also burned part of his bumper and light fittings in a skip in the yard of his business.

But police visited the repair yard and found the Jaguar in the process of being repaired.

Other motorists, including a surgeon, stopped at the accident scene but Robbie later died.

In a statement Robbie's mother Dawn Richards said his death had left a big hole in her family's lives.

She said she had been left physically drained and unable to sleep.

His younger sister had been "greatly affected" and his elder brother had taken an overdose, she added.

His father Robert Jones said in a statement he felt "very angry" towards the defendant.

"He should have stopped after hitting Robbie. He should never be allowed to drive again. Nothing will bring him back. No sentence will ever be enough."

Sentencing Lunn, the judge, Mr Justice Nigel Davis said it was accepted that the collision was an accident.

But he said he had been driving for decades without a licence or insurance.

"It is stupid but it is also criminal," said the judge.

"It was not just that. You must have known at the time that you had been involved in a collision with a young child. A decent person would have stopped. You didn't.

"You then tried to cover up your involvement, going to quite elaborate lengths to repair your car and lie to other people about what the real reason was."

The judge also made a deprivation order in respect of the car.

North Wales Police said after the case that Lunn leaving the scene of the accident had caused "additional and unnecessary upset" to Robbie's family.

Chief Inspector Gary Ashton said "North Wales Police will find those responsible, no matter how hard people try to cover their tracks when a collision of this grave nature occurs and I would like to pay credit to all the officers involved in bringing this matter to a conclusion.

"This is the second incident in recent months where a driver has been involved in a fatal road traffic collision with a child and left the scene rather than face up to their responsibilities.

"The message is clear - we will eventually find you."

Dog Walker Trampled to Death by Cows

LONDON, England (CNN) -- A woman was trampled to death by cows while walking her dogs in northern England, police said Monday.

The 49-year-old died at the scene, said a press officer for North Yorkshire police, where the incident took place on Sunday just after noon local time (7 a.m. ET).

"She had two dogs with her," said the spokeswoman, who declined to be named in line with police policy. They were not on a leash, she added.

"We believe the cows may have gotten protective of their calves," she said.

The woman was alone when she was killed in Gayle, near Hawes in Wensleydale, she said.

Police and the National Farmers' Union both said it was very unusual for people to be killed by cows in Britain.

"There are perhaps a few incidents every year where people are injured by cattle," said Mike Thomas, a spokesman for the union. "People being killed by cattle is quite a rare occurrence."

But he said cows could become aggressive if they felt their calves were being threatened.

"If the dog is getting close to the animal, it's going to react in some kind of aggressive manner," he said.

People who feel threatened by cows while walking dogs should let their animals off the leash in order to put distance between themselves and their pets -- because cows are more likely to see dogs than people as a threat -- and move to the edge of the field, he said.

The average cow weighs about 1,760 pounds (800kg), he said.

Teenager Thomas Fletcher Sentenced for Dog Sex

GR.co.uk- A former Reading teenager has escaped jail after having sex with a dog.

Nineteen-year-old Thomas Fletcher sexually abused Rosie the sheepdog who belonged to his foster carers.

His sick act was recorded on a voice-activated dictaphone during the incident at the house in Eton Wick in March, last year, when his foster mother became suspicious of why her two dogs were acting as if they were frightened of Fletcher.

Retriever collie cross Ralph was forced to watch as Fletcher struck after breaking into the locked bedroom.

The disturbed youth maintained his innocence but was unanimously convicted of two acts of bestiality after a trial in March this year.

He faced sentence this morning.

Suzanne Francis, defending, said her client’s actions was due to a huge testosterone surge following years of anorexia.

She said: “Mr Fletcher was in hospital for more than three years suffering from the eating disorder after witnessing an incident that led to the separation of his parents which I will not go into in court.

“He was incredibly close to death at one point weighing only three-and-a-half stone but almost 5ft tall and was discharged shortly before the incident took place.

“His doctor has explained it to me like a Russian gymnast who after years of training suddenly stops and goes through an intensely quick puberty leading to a huge testosterone surge.”

Fletcher had been predicted a B and two Cs in his A-levels at Henley College before he was advised to leave.

Following his conviction he was advised to leave Reading YMCA where he was staying and Henley College for his own safety. He is now living in Gloucester.

Alexander Mills, prosecuting, also advised Fletcher is banned from owning, keeping or working with dogs.

Sentencing, Judge Charles Elly said: “You were convicted by a jury of two counts of sexual intercourse with an animal.

“Both took place one afternoon on March 19, last year, when you were left alone in the home by Mr and Mrs Sharp.

“The dogs had been locked in the bedroom due to the concerns the couple had with your behaviour and a digital audio recorder was left on.

“Although there were two dogs in the room, the offences committed were only on Rosie.

“Your actions have destroyed an opportunity that was given to you.”

Fletcher, who the court heard had also tried to commit suicide by slashing his neck, warned he would kill himself if he were imprisoned.

He was given a two-year supervision order with a 60-day education and training activity requirement and an ASBO preventing him from owning, keeping or working with dogs.

Pedophile Investigated in McCann Case

(May 22) -- Raymond Hewlett, a fugitive British pedophile, is under suspicion in the 2007 disappearance of Madeleine McCann in Portugal, according to reports Friday in the British media.

The London Evening Standard reports that Hewlett is being treated for throat cancer at a hospital in Germany and may be extradited to England, where he is wanted for questioning in sex attacks stretching back to the 1970s.

Clarence Mitchell, a spokesman for Gerry and Kate McCann, the girl's parents, told the newspaper that "Hewlett is somebody we have been looking at for a little while. But he is just one line of inquiry."

Hewlett is believed to have been living near the resort where the McCanns were vacationing in Praia da Luz, Portugal, when their daughter vanished in May 2007. Madeleine was 3 years old at the time.

Hewlett, 64, is a convicted sex offender, the Evening Standard said.
London's Daily Mail reported that detectives working for the McCanns have flown to Germany to question Hewlett. The newspaper attributed that information to unnamed sources close to the investigation.

The interest in Hewlett was disclosed just weeks after the McCanns marked the second anniversary of Madeleine's disappearance with a publicity campaign aimed at generating new leads in the case. They released a new police sketch of a man seen around their vacation villa in May 2007, as well as an image of what their daughter might look like today, at age 6.

Teenager Burned Alive Like A Scene From Horror Movie

(This Is CRAZY.)

A teenager who was doused in petrol and burned alive had an affair with the girlfriend of one of his alleged killers, jurors were told today.

Simon Everitt, 17, was seen arguing with one of the accused Jonathan Clarke shortly before he disappeared on June 6 last year.

Norwich Crown Court heard the teenager had allegedly been lured to remote woodland before he was tied to a tree and had petrol poured down his throat.

Carol Day, giving evidence, told how Clarke had fallen out with Mr Everitt over a woman called Fiona Statham, 19.
She told the court the argument took place at her home weeks before Mr Everitt vanished.

'Apparently Fiona had cheated on Jonathan Clarke with Simon,' she said. 'That's all I really heard because most of it was muffled.'
Karim Khalil QC, prosecuting, asked Miss Day about a British horror spoof Severance, which she had watched with Clarke around the time of her 18th birthday in March last year.
Jurors were shown a clip from the film, in which a young woman is seen tied to a tree, before being doused in liquid and then set on fire.

Mr Khalil asker Miss Day: 'Upon watching that scene, did Jonathan Clarke say anything?'
She answered: 'He said "wouldn't it be wicked if you could do that to someone in real life?"
'I was disgusted. I told him he was twisted.'

Forgotten Franklin Letters Offer Glimpse Into U.S. History

LONDON, England (CNN) -- An American professor doing research in London stumbled across a series of previously unknown letters written by, to, and about Benjamin Franklin, a stunning find that sheds new light on early U.S. history.

The collection of 47 letters are hand-written copies made 250 years ago, when Franklin lived in London. That they were filed under the copyist's name, not Franklin's, may explain why they were overlooked by historians until now, said a curator at the British Library, where the letters are held.

The find is reported in the April issue of the William & Mary Quarterly, a journal of early American history and culture.

The letters are important in large part because they offer a "wealth of new details" that affect modern understanding of Franklin, writes Alan Houston, the political science professor who discovered the letters in the spring of 2007.

They also raise the question of how many other documents remain waiting to be found on Franklin and his life.

Houston, a professor at the University of California at San Diego, discovered the letters on the last day of his last research trip to London, just before the library's closing time.

"The first item was a letter from Benjamin Franklin to the secretary of the governor of Maryland, and I looked at it and I started to read, and I thought, 'This doesn't look familiar,'" Houston told CNN. "I've read everything Franklin ever wrote."

Houston said he quickly began to realize he had uncovered something previously unknown to historians.

"I swear, I just about shot through the ceiling I was so excited," he said. "It's like finding a treasure chest."

Houston had been working at the time on a book on Franklin, "Benjamin Franklin and the Politics of Improvement," published last year.

The letters cover Franklin's success in dealing with British Gen. Edward Braddock, who had been sent to Pennsylvania in 1755 to defeat the French at Fort Duquesne, in modern-day Pittsburgh.

The march to retake the fort was part of the French and British battle for control of the western lands in the colonies, part of a larger struggle for control of North America, Houston said.

The problem was that Braddock was given no horses or wagons when he arrived in America -- no means of transport for him and his 2,000 redcoats. Braddock started to blame his hosts, so Franklin -- the Pennsylvania assembly's leading politician -- stepped in to help.

Franklin went all over Pennsylvania trying to persuade farmers to lend their horses and wagons to Braddock and his men. It wasn't easy, because the farmers were tough negotiators who were also anxious and suspicious of the effort.

Eventually, Franklin managed to get the farmers to agree, and within weeks, Braddock and his men were on the march.

Braddock suffered a devastating defeat before he even reached the fort, however, when a much smaller contingent of French and Indian soldiers surprised the British. They killed Braddock and about 1,000 of his men.

Despite the defeat, Franklin's success -- in what became known as "the wagon affair" -- highlighted his skill as a colonial leader, Houston said.

When Franklin was sent to London in 1757 as a representative of the assembly, he brought with him a collection of letters detailing that success. It was proof of his political value to Great Britain and that the assembly's loyalties had been on the right side.

This collection of letters, which Franklin referred to in his autobiography as his "quire book," was never found, however -- until now.

Houston said he believes the documents he read at the British Library are copies of that collection. They were made by Thomas Birch, an industrious and obsessive transcriber of historical documents who copied anything he could get his hands on.

"There was a vogue. It was very common for letters to be copied," said Matthew Shaw, curator of the U.S. collections at the British Library. "Birch was very well known for being a copyist."

Birch and Franklin were friends in London, both members of the Royal Society, and Houston said he believes the copies were made sometime between 1757 and 1758.

"Birch undoubtedly found Franklin's quire book captivating, and he appears to have copied anything that remotely interested him," Houston writes in the journal.

Also, Braddock's campaign and defeat were widely discussed in London, and "Birch may have wanted to capture a crucial moment in the life of the (Royal) society's most famous American member."

Birch's transcripts were filed in the British Library as "Copies of Letters relating to the March of General Braddock." They form part of the massive Birch Collection containing the hundreds of volumes of his copies that Birch bequeathed to the library on his death, said Shaw.

They weren't properly catalogued until the early 1970s, Shaw said, which is largely why they haven't been used by scholars.

"It's the first time they've really been shared with a wider audience," Shaw told CNN. "We're very pleased."

'Teenager Suffering From Rare Disease Which Will Turn Her Into Lliving Statue'

So sad..
A teenager is suffering from a rare disease which will turn her into "living statue" as her muscles turn to bone.

Already her arms have locked in a bent position at her waist and which means she can no longer reach up or dress without help.

Seanie Nammock, 13, from London, suffers from fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (FOP), thought to affect only 600 people across the world.

Even a slight knock can cause a reaction which triggers irreversible bone growth which lock her joints into place.

The teenager discovered she had the condition last year, when a minor accident on a trampoline caused her first flare-up.

Her mother, Marian Granaghan, said: "She had fallen on her back and it had caused a sore lump to form.

"It was huge, hard red and hot to the touch so I took her to the hospital to get it checked out."

But doctors could not diagnose the condition immediately.

"The drip she was on before she was diagnosed is probably what caused her left arm to lock," said Marian.

"To be told your daughter has one of the worst medical problems on the planet and that there is no cure is every mother's nightmare," she added.

Her daughter is determined stay positive about her condition.

She said: "I just said 'Oh well I'll have to just get on with it'.

"I'm still me so I'm trying to not let it make a any difference."

She added: " I don't get scared by looking at stuff on the internet as I don't automatically assume that something bad is going to happen to me. It might not, I like to stay positive."

People with the condition are often born with big toes shorter than the rest, which can be an aid to early diagnosis.

Tests are underway in America on a possible drug to halt the bone growth associated with FOP after doctors discovered the gene that causes the disease.

This Day In History

Apr 15 1912
Unsinkable ship Titanic sinks after being torn by iceberg, with a loss of 1493 passengers.

Apr 15 1962
Actress Clara Blandick, 80, the Auntie Em of the Wizard of Oz, takes an overdose of sleeping pills and ties a plastic bag around her head in a Hollywood hotel room. Prior to this, she had prominently arranged her resume and press clippings so the newspapers would get her obituary right.

Apr 15 1989
96 soccer fans are crushed to death at Hillsborough stadium in Sheffield, England. During the opening minutes of the FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest, Sheffield police order a gate opened at one end of the stadium. A throng of 2,000 Liverpool fans attempt to surge into the seating section, smashing more than 250 already-seated fans against the security fence.

Apr 15 1990
Greta Garbo dead.

This English Girl Is Evil, It's A Real Haunting Story, Actually..

Who could look at the face of this sweet 10-year-old girl and ever imagine her to be one of the youngest serial killers ever discovered?

Was this youngster who killed her playmates without any feelings of guilt the result of a monstrous family or a bad seed or something else?

"Oh no, he never goes there," insisted Norma. In fact, Brian lay dead between the blocks.

Mary wanted Pat to discover her dead brother, Norma later said, "because she wanted Pat Howe to have a shock." But Pat decided to leave. The Newcastle Police would find his body at 11:10 later that night....

Mark my words, this is bound to be another movie adaptation in the works..

Scientists Create Laser Gun to Kill Mosquitoes

HOLY SHNIKES!
'Star Wars' scientists create laser gun to kill mosquitoes

LONDON, England -- Scientists in the U.S. are developing a laser gun that could kill millions of mosquitoes in minutes.

The laser, which has been dubbed a "weapon of mosquito destruction" fires at mosquitoes once it detects the audio frequency created by the beating of its wings.

The laser beam then destroys the mosquito, burning it on the spot.

Developed by some of the astrophysicists involved in what was known as the "Star Wars" anti-missile programs during the Cold War, the project is meant to prevent the spread of malaria.

Lead scientist on the project, Dr. Jordin Kare, told CNN that the laser would be able to sweep an area and "toast millions of mosquitoes in a few minutes."

Malaria is a life-threatening disease caused by parasites that are transmitted to people from the bites of female mosquitoes.

It is particularly prevalent in tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world and kills an African child every 30 seconds, according to the World Health Organization.

There are an estimated 300 million acute cases of malaria each year globally, resulting in more than one million deaths, the WHO reports.

Responding to questions about any potential harm the laser could pose to the eco-system, Kare said: "There is no such thing as a good mosquito, there's nothing that feeds exclusively on them. No one would miss mosquitoes," he said.

"In any case," he added. "The laser is able to distinguish between mosquitoes that go after people and those that aren't dangerous."

He added that other insects would not be affected by the laser's beam.

The research was commissioned by Intellectual Ventures, a Washington, U.S.-based company that was founded by Nathan Myhrvold, a former Microsoft Corporation executive.

His previous boss, Bill Gates, who funded the research, asked Myhrvold to look into new ways of combating malaria.