SCIENCE

Washington

George Washington Born: 2/22/1732Birthplace: Westmoreland County, Va. George Washington was born on Feb. 22, 1732 (Feb. 11, 1731/2, old style) in Westmoreland County, Va. While in his teens, he trained as a surveyor, and at the age of 20 he was appointed adjutant in the Va. militia. For the next three years, he fought in the wars against the French and Indians, serving as Gen. Edward Braddock's aide in the disastrous campaign against Ft. Duquesne. In 1759, he resigned from the militia, married Martha Dandridge Custis, a widow with children, and settled down as a gentleman farmer at Mount Vernon, Va. As a militiaman, Washington had been exposed to the arrogance of the British officers, and his experience as a planter with British commercial restrictions increased his anti-British sentiment. He opposed the Stamp Act of 1765 and after 1770 became increasingly prominent in organizing resistance. A delegate to the Continental Congress, Washington was selected as commander in chief of the Continental Army and took command at Cambridge, Mass., on July 3, 1775. Inadequately supported and sometimes covertly sabotaged by the Congress, in charge of troops who were inexperienced, badly equipped, and impatient of discipline, Washington conducted the war on the policy of avoiding major engagements with the British and wearing them down by harassing tactics. His able generalship, along with the French alliance and the growing weariness within Britain, brought the war to a conclusion with the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown, Va., on Oct. 19, 1781. The chaotic years under the Articles of Confederation led Washington to return to public life in the hope of promoting the formation of a strong central government. He presided over the Constitutional Convention and yielded to the universal demand that he serve as first president. He was inaugurated on April 30, 1789, in New York, the first national capital. In office, he sought to unite the nation and establish the authority of the new government at home and abroad. Greatly distressed by the emergence of the Hamilton-Jefferson rivalry, Washington worked to maintain neutrality but actually sympathized more with Hamilton. Following his unanimous reelection in 1792, his second term was dominated by the Federalists. His Farewell Address on Sept. 17, 1796 (published but never delivered) rebuked party spirit and warned against “permanent alliances” with foreign powers. He died at Mount Vernon on Dec. 14, 1799. .

PICTURES

86WIVES

Nigerian advises against 86 wives Mr Bello Abubakar says he does not go and find women, they come to him Nigerian Mohammed Bello Abubakar, 84, has advised other men not to follow his example and marry 86 women. The former teacher and Muslim preacher, who lives in Niger State with his wives and at least 170 children, says he is able to cope only with the help of God. "A man with 10 wives would collapse and die, but my own power is given by Allah. That is why I have been able to control 86 of them," he told the BBC. He says his wives have sought him out because of his reputation as a healer. "I don't go looking for them, they come to me. I will consider the fact that God has asked me to do it and I will just marry them." But such claims have alienated the Islamic authorities in Nigeria, who have branded his family a cult. When you marry a man with 86 wives you know he knows how to look after them Wife Ganiat Bello Abubakar Most Muslim scholars agree that a man is allowed to have four wives, as long as he can treat them equally. But Mr Bello Abubakar says there is no punishment stated in the Koran for having more than four wives. "To my understanding the Koran does not place a limit and it is up to what your own power, your own endowment and ability allows," he says. "God did not say what the punishment should be for a man who has more than four wives, but he was specific about the punishment for fornication and adultery." 'Order from God' As Mr Bello Abubakar emerged from his compound to speak to the BBC, his wives and children broke out into a praise song. Some of Mr Bello Abubakar's wives are younger than some of his children Most of his wives are less than a quarter of his age - and many are younger than some of his own children. The wives the BBC spoke to say they met Mr Bello Abubakar when they went to him to seek help for various illnesses, which they say he cured. "As soon as I met him the headache was gone," says Sharifat Bello Abubakar, who was 25 at the time and Mr Bello Abubakar 74. "God told me it was time to be his wife. Praise be to God I am his wife now." Ganiat Mohammed Bello has been married to the man everyone calls "Baba" for 20 years. When she was in secondary school her mother took her for a consultation with Mr Bello Abubakar and he proposed afterwards. "I said I couldn't marry an older man, but he said it was directly an order from God," she says. She married another man but they divorced and she returned to Mr Bello Abubakar. "I am now the happiest woman on earth. When you marry a man with 86 wives you know he knows how to look after them," she said. No work Mr Bello Abubakar and his wives do not work and he has no visible means of supporting such a large family. Many of the wives live three to a room, some have seven children He refuses to say how he makes enough money to pay for the huge cost of feeding and clothing so many people. Every mealtime they cook three 12kg bags of rice which all adds up to $915 (£457) every day. "It's all from God," he says. Other residents of Bida, the village where he lives in the northern Nigerian state, say they do not know how he supports the family. According to one of his wives, Mr Bello Abubakar sometimes asks his children to go and beg for 200 naira ($1.69, £0.87), which if they all did so would bring in about $290 (£149). Most of his wives live in a squalid, unfinished house in Bida; others live in his house in Lagos, Nigeria's commercial capital. He refuses to allow any of his family or other devotees to take medicine and says he does not believe that malaria exists. They were sick and we told God and God said their time has come Wife Hafsat Bello Abubakar "As you sit here if you have any illness I can see it and just remove it," he says. But not everyone can be cured and one of his wives, Hafsat Bello Mohammed, says two of her children have died. "They were sick and we told God and God said their time has come." She says that most of the wives see Mr Bello Abubakar as next in line from the Prophet Muhammad. Indeed, he claims the Prophet Muhammad speaks to him personally and gives detailed descriptions of his experiences. It is a serious claim for a Muslim to make. "This is heresy, he is a heretic," says Ustaz Abubakar Siddique, an imam of Abuja's Central Mosque.

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HEALTH

Fertility treatments 'no benefit' Experts discuss the report findings Two common treatments for fertility problems do not work, an Aberdeen University-led study suggests. UK guidelines recommend the drug clomid and artificial insemination for couples who have trouble conceiving despite no known cause for their infertility. But trials of 580 women in Scotland found the treatments were no better than trying to get pregnant naturally, the British Medical Journal reports. A third of couples who struggle to get pregnant have unexplained infertility. It means, despite a battery of tests, doctors cannot find a reason why they struggle to conceive. It sends a positive message that the chances of success spontaneously are pretty convincing Professor Siladitya Bhattacharya, study leader The options listed by the National Institute of Clinical and Health Excellence (NICE) include up to six cycles of unstimulated intrauterine insemination - where sperm is inserted directly into the woman's womb - and use of clomid (clomifene citrate), a drug which stimulates the ovaries. The treatments have both been offered for many years because "doing nothing" is an unpopular choice among patients, the researchers said. But until now there has been little rigorous testing of their effectiveness. Success rate Five hospitals were involved in the study: Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, Ninewells Hospital in Dundee, Falkirk and District Royal Infirmary and Glasgow Royal Infirmary. Scientists from Oxford University also took part in the research. In the six-month study, participants had all suffered unexplained fertility problems for more than two years. Overall, 101 women ended up having a successful pregnancy. Of those who tried to conceive naturally, 17% became pregnant and gave birth to a live baby. For clomid, the birth rate was 14%, and insemination 23% - not significantly different from the chances of success with no intervention. However, the women undergoing active treatment were more reassured. Between 10 and 20% of women taking the drug had side-effects, including abdominal pain, bloating, hot flushes, nausea and headaches. The drug also increases the risk of twins and triplets, which can be more dangerous for mother and babies than a singleton pregnancy. But the researchers were quick to point out that it is a very useful treatment for women who have problems with ovulation. 'Cheap but common' Study leader, Professor Siladitya Bhattacharya, from the University of Aberdeen, said the findings challenge current practice. "The first thing is it sends a positive message that the chances of success spontaneously are pretty convincing." He added: "These treatments are cheap but common - if you total all the money, time and effort spent on them, it's considerable." In an accompanying article, researchers from the Assisted Conception Unit at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, said because of the lack of evidence, many couples with unexplained infertility endure "expensive, potentially hazardous, and often unnecessary treatments". Dr Allan Pacey, senior lecturer at the University of Sheffield and secretary of the British Fertility Society, said: "It is very important that we have a strong evidence base to support the treatments that are offered to infertile couples and as such this study is very valuable. "Intrauterine insemination has been offered to couples with unexplained infertility for many years, but if there is no benefit in doing so then we should re-evaluate the clinical guidelines so that NHS money is used wisely।"

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ENTERTAIMENT

Comedian Bernie Mac dies aged 50 The comedian starred in recent trilogy of Ocean's films. US actor and comedian Bernie Mac has died at the age of 50. The star was best known in the UK for film roles in Ocean's Eleven, Charlie's Angels and Transformers. But in the US, he achieved critical and popular acclaim for the long-running sitcom The Bernie Mac Show, which earned him two Emmy award nominations. He was admitted to hospital in Chicago last week and died early on Saturday morning due to complications arising from pneumonia, his publicist said. "We ask that his family's privacy continues to be respected," said Damica Taylor. Comedian Carl Reiner, who appeared with Mac in Ocean's Eleven and its two sequels, said he was "in utter shock" because he thought the comedian's condition had been improving. "He was just so alive. I can't believe he's gone," he said. Inspiration Mac was born Bernard Jeffrey McCullough in Chicago, Illinois in October 1957. According to his uncle, there were once as many as 10 people living in the two-bedroom apartment in which he grew up. Mac was raised by his mother and grandparents."We learned to entertain ourselves," he wrote in his 2003 autobiography, Maybe You Never Cry Again. "I used to have long conversations with the living room wall." The memoir told how, as a child, he had discovered his mother doubled up with laughter at Bill Cosby appearing on Ed Sullivan's TV show. "'That's what I want to be, Mama, a comedian'" he recalled saying. "Make you laugh like that, maybe you never cry again." He began performing as a stand-up at a church dinner at the age of eight, progressing to open mic nights and a regular stint at Chicago's Cotton Club by the time he was 20. But his success was far from immediate and along the way he worked as a janitor, furniture mover, appliance hauler, and delivery man to supplement his comedy income. It wasn't until he was featured in the Kings of Comedy stand-up tour in 1997 - which was filmed and broadcast by HBO - that he achieved national prominence. One of his co-stars in the show, Steve Harvey, paid tribute to the comedian on Saturday, saying: "The majority of his core fan base will remember that when they paid their money to see Bernie Mac, he gave them their money's worth." Parenting skills Mac often attributed his dogged persistence of a comedy career to his mother who, he said, had imbued him with a strong work ethic before she died of breast cancer when he was just 16. "Parents today don't get it," he wrote in his memoirs. "They don't want to be parents. They want to be cool. They want to be hip. They don't want to be the bad guy. Wherever I am, I have to play. I have to put on a good show Bernie Mac"But guess what? Being the bad guy is your job. "My mama knew better. She wasn't there to make me like her; she was there to shape me; she was there to make me a good person." Mac's view of parenting was reflected in his hit TV show, which was based around a man's attempts to raise his sister's three children. The show won a Peabody award for excellence in television in 2002. At the time, judges said they had singled it out for transcending "race and class while lifting viewers with laughter, compassion - and cool". The sitcom, which ran for more than 100 episodes from 2001 to 2006, made Mac a household name in the US. Mac received several awards and nominations for his TV show"But he had been making a living from film and TV appearances for several years, starting with a small role in the Damon Wayans movie Mo' Money in 1992. More recently, he topped the box office with Guess Who? - a remake of the Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn classic Guess Who's Coming to Dinner? - in 2005. Earlier this year, he attracted a modicum of controversy after making some off-colour jokes at a fund-raiser for Democratic presidential candidate and fellow Chicago native Barack Obama. But despite controversy or difficulties, in his words, Mac was always a performer. "Wherever I am, I have to play," he said in 2002. "I have to put on a good show." The comedian had a history of ill health and suffered from the inflammatory lung disease sarcoidosis. He contracted pneumonia for the first time in 2004 while filming Ocean's Twelve. Mac later told his home newspaper The Chicago Sun-Times that the disease, which had nearly killed him, had acted as a wake-up call. "My life was slipping away. I was missing out on so much stuff with my family, and I will never do that again," he said. In 2007, he told US chat show host David Letterman he planned to retire from comedy. "I'm going to still do my producing, my films, but I want to enjoy my life a little bit," he said. Mac is survived by his wife Rhonda, daughter Je'Niece and a granddaughter. Your tributes to Bernie Mac: I am quite sad of the news of his death. I felt he was an extraordinary comedian and entertainer. I just loved his TV show and felt his role in the movie Pride was quite touching. I had the priviledge to work with Bernie last year on his up coming movie Old Dogs. He was extremely funny and quite the jokester off camera with Robin Williams. I know how much he will be missed and remembered by many. My deepest sympathy goes out to his family and friends. Jason Dougherty, NYC, USA I am saddened to hear of Bernie Mac's passing. If I were to mention ten of the funniest black comedians, Bernie Mac would appear somewhere in the top three. He was truly an inspirational character and contributed significantly to both contemporary American culture and international comedy, he will be missed dearly.Gary Hay, Aberdeen, Scotland It was good to see his TV show portray us Blacks in a positive light, when so much negativity about us is shown. From one South side of Chicago native to another, RIP Bernie Mac. May God be with your family and friends.Angela, Chicago, USA Bernie Mac was like a distant uncle to me. When I watched him on TV, I wasn't just laughing at the jokes, I was learning family and life lessons. I love you Bernie, Thanks! Ayaliah, California, USA God must have wanted more laughter in heaven to take Bernie so soon. I never had the pleasure to meet this giant of a comedian, but he made me laugh a lot, and he gave me insight and great feelings about how one firmly but gently and lovingly raises children. Thanks for the warm fuzzies, Bernie! Rest in peace. Chris Smith, Kirkwood, USA One of the great things about the Mac-man's TV show was that he made fun of himself, made fun of men trying to act cool and parents who believe they are in control. In his show, his wife was always the cool one and the smart one, and the kids were pretty clever. He never tried to make parenting look easy, but encouraged people to step up to the challenge. That is comic grace.K Gould, Davis, California, USA With the loss of Bernie Mac, we have lost a brilliant man of incomparable strength. As a black man, I feel a slight wobble in the foundations of our American community. We looked to Mac as an Atlas, carrying our hopes and our wonder and our joy. He understood the incredible weight of responsibility he was given to bear and bore it with such ease and simple grace. His comedy was power; it taught us and bound us together. It is with an unspeakable sadness that we bid goodbye to one of the truly original kings of comedy. Peace, Mac. Thank you Brother.Jason, Brooklyn, New York, USA I loved Bernie Mac, he was genious। His ability to turn something so tragic as raising your drug addictted sister's children into a a story of love and humor was genious. I saw him in the movies the Kings of Comedy and fell in love with him. Mr. Bernie Mac, I peronally will miss you so much. The world has suffered a tremedous loss. "Who you with?" Forever a fan.

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COMEDIAN Bernie Mac Dies

Comedian Bernie Mac dies aged 50 The comedian starred in recent trilogy of Ocean's films. US actor and comedian Bernie Mac

has died at the age of 50. The star was best known in the UK for film roles in Ocean's Eleven, Charlie's Angels and Transformers. But in the US, he achieved critical and popular acclaim for the long-running sitcom The Bernie Mac Show, which earned him two Emmy award nominations. He was admitted to hospital in Chicago last week and died early on Saturday morning due to complications arising from pneumonia, his publicist said. "We ask that his family's privacy continues to be respected," said Damica Taylor. Comedian Carl Reiner, who appeared with Mac in Ocean's Eleven and its two sequels, said he was "in utter shock" because he thought the comedian's condition had been improving. "He was just so alive. I can't believe he's gone," he said. Inspiration Mac was born Bernard Jeffrey McCullough in Chicago, Illinois in October 1957. According to his uncle, there were once as many as 10 people living in the two-bedroom apartment in which he grew up. Mac was raised by his mother and grandparents."We learned to entertain ourselves," he wrote in his 2003 autobiography, Maybe You Never Cry Again. "I used to have long conversations with the living room wall." The memoir told how, as a child, he had discovered his mother doubled up with laughter at Bill Cosby appearing on Ed Sullivan's TV show. "'That's what I want to be, Mama, a comedian'" he recalled saying. "Make you laugh like that, maybe you never cry again." He began performing as a stand-up at a church dinner at the age of eight, progressing to open mic nights and a regular stint at Chicago's Cotton Club by the time he was 20. But his success was far from immediate and along the way he worked as a janitor, furniture mover, appliance hauler, and delivery man to supplement his comedy income. It wasn't until he was featured in the Kings of Comedy stand-up tour in 1997 - which was filmed and broadcast by HBO - that he achieved national prominence. One of his co-stars in the show, Steve Harvey, paid tribute to the comedian on Saturday, saying: "The majority of his core fan base will remember that when they paid their money to see Bernie Mac, he gave them their money's worth." Parenting skills Mac often attributed his dogged persistence of a comedy career to his mother who, he said, had imbued him with a strong work ethic before she died of breast cancer when he was just 16. "Parents today don't get it," he wrote in his memoirs. "They don't want to be parents. They want to be cool. They want to be hip. They don't want to be the bad guy. Wherever I am, I have to play. I have to put on a good show Bernie Mac"But guess what? Being the bad guy is your job. "My mama knew better. She wasn't there to make me like her; she was there to shape me; she was there to make me a good person." Mac's view of parenting was reflected in his hit TV show, which was based around a man's attempts to raise his sister's three children. The show won a Peabody award for excellence in television in 2002. At the time, judges said they had singled it out for transcending "race and class while lifting viewers with laughter, compassion - and cool". The sitcom, which ran for more than 100 episodes from 2001 to 2006, made Mac a household name in the US. Mac received several awards and nominations for his TV show"But he had been making a living from film and TV appearances for several years, starting with a small role in the Damon Wayans movie Mo' Money in 1992. More recently, he topped the box office with Guess Who? - a remake of the Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn classic Guess Who's Coming to Dinner? - in 2005. Earlier this year, he attracted a modicum of controversy after making some off-colour jokes at a fund-raiser for Democratic presidential candidate and fellow Chicago native Barack Obama. But despite controversy or difficulties, in his words, Mac was always a performer. "Wherever I am, I have to play," he said in 2002. "I have to put on a good show." The comedian had a history of ill health and suffered from the inflammatory lung disease sarcoidosis. He contracted pneumonia for the first time in 2004 while filming Ocean's Twelve. Mac later told his home newspaper The Chicago Sun-Times that the disease, which had nearly killed him, had acted as a wake-up call. "My life was slipping away. I was missing out on so much stuff with my family, and I will never do that again," he said. In 2007, he told US chat show host David Letterman he planned to retire from comedy. "I'm going to still do my producing, my films, but I want to enjoy my life a little bit," he said. Mac is survived by his wife Rhonda, daughter Je'Niece and a granddaughter. Your tributes to Bernie Mac: I am quite sad of the news of his death. I felt he was an extraordinary comedian and entertainer. I just loved his TV show and felt his role in the movie Pride was quite touching. I had the priviledge to work with Bernie last year on his up coming movie Old Dogs. He was extremely funny and quite the jokester off camera with Robin Williams. I know how much he will be missed and remembered by many. My deepest sympathy goes out to his family and friends. Jason Dougherty, NYC, USA I am saddened to hear of Bernie Mac's passing. If I were to mention ten of the funniest black comedians, Bernie Mac would appear somewhere in the top three. He was truly an inspirational character and contributed significantly to both contemporary American culture and international comedy, he will be missed dearly.Gary Hay, Aberdeen, Scotland It was good to see his TV show portray us Blacks in a positive light, when so much negativity about us is shown. From one South side of Chicago native to another, RIP Bernie Mac. May God be with your family and friends.Angela, Chicago, USA Bernie Mac was like a distant uncle to me. When I watched him on TV, I wasn't just laughing at the jokes, I was learning family and life lessons. I love you Bernie, Thanks! Ayaliah, California, USA God must have wanted more laughter in heaven to take Bernie so soon. I never had the pleasure to meet this giant of a comedian, but he made me laugh a lot, and he gave me insight and great feelings about how one firmly but gently and lovingly raises children. Thanks for the warm fuzzies, Bernie! Rest in peace. Chris Smith, Kirkwood, USA One of the great things about the Mac-man's TV show was that he made fun of himself, made fun of men trying to act cool and parents who believe they are in control. In his show, his wife was always the cool one and the smart one, and the kids were pretty clever. He never tried to make parenting look easy, but encouraged people to step up to the challenge. That is comic grace.K Gould, Davis, California, USA With the loss of Bernie Mac, we have lost a brilliant man of incomparable strength. As a black man, I feel a slight wobble in the foundations of our American community. We looked to Mac as an Atlas, carrying our hopes and our wonder and our joy. He understood the incredible weight of responsibility he was given to bear and bore it with such ease and simple grace. His comedy was power; it taught us and bound us together. It is with an unspeakable sadness that we bid goodbye to one of the truly original kings of comedy. Peace, Mac. Thank you Brother.Jason, Brooklyn, New York, USA I loved Bernie Mac, he was genious. His ability to turn something so tragic as raising your drug addictted sister's children into a a story of love and humor was genious. I saw him in the movies the Kings of Comedy and fell in love with him. Mr. Bernie Mac, I peronally will miss you so much. The world has suffered a tremedous loss. "Who you with?" Forever a fan.

EDUCATION

Low marks linked to schizophrenia A lack of diligence and attention at school could be early signs of illness Poor performance at school could indicate an increased risk of later developing schizophrenia, a study says. UK and Swedish researchers followed more than 900,000 children born between 1973 and 1983. The Psychological Medicine paper found getting an E grade in any GCSE-stage exam was linked to a doubling of the small risk of developing schizophrenia. But a mental health charity said the illness was often linked with high, rather than low, intelligence. Schizophrenia, which commonly causes people to hear voices and experience paranoid delusions, often becomes evident in the late teens or early 20s. Repeating years The researchers, from the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College London, and the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, looked at Swedish data on exam results taken at the age of 15 or 16. They then looked at hospital data on admissions for psychotic disorders including schizophrenia after the age of 17. The people in the study might have had normal intelligence but started having low-level symptoms that disrupted their schooling Hilary Caprani, Rethink Sweden has comprehensive national registers, with every individual having their own identification code, so the data could be compared. The general risk for an adult to be diagnosed with schizophrenia in any given year is seven in 100,000. Getting an E grade in any of the 16 subjects looked at by the researchers was linked to a doubling of that risk. The researchers found those with the poorest school performance overall had four times that risk of developing schizophrenia when they were adults. Other studies have shown that there is a link between schizophrenia and earlier problems with learning or understanding. However, the researchers said other factors were probably involved. 'Low-level symptoms' Writing in the journal, Dr James MacCabe of the Institute of Psychiatry, who led the research team, said: "School performance should not be seen simply as a proxy for intelligence." The researchers said poor attendance and engagement with education, memory and attention problems as well as issues with organisation, creativity, diligence and social skills could all play a part. Dr MacCabe said: "Doing badly at school is not a cause of schizophrenia, but it is a marker for something not being quite right several years prior to diagnosis. "This isn't going to be a way of identifying people at school who are at risk of developing schizophrenia. "But it could be useful when considering someone who is displaying other potential symptoms of impending psychosis." But Hilary Caprani, a spokeswoman for the mental health charity Rethink, warned: "It is important to recognise that mental illnesses like schizophrenia are not linked to low intelligence. The opposite is often true. "There are lots of reasons why young people perform poorly in exams. "Problems with concentration and mental distress can interfere with studying and these can also be early signs of mental illness - symptoms that commonly begin in late teens. "The people in the study might have had normal intelligence but started having low-level symptoms that disrupted their schooling." She added: "The good news is that many people who have psychosis recover and go on to have challenging careers।"

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DIES

Soul icon Isaac Hayes dies at 65 A look back at the life of Isaac हायेस US singer-songwriter Isaac Hayes has died at his home in Memphis, Tennessee, at the age of 65, police said. Police were called after his wife found him unconscious next to a moving treadmill. He was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead. Mr Hayes, a flamboyant, deep-voiced performer, won an Oscar for the 1971 hit Theme From Shaft. He was perhaps better known to a younger audience as the voice of Chef from the hit cartoon show, South Park. The cause of death was not immediately known. Isaac Hayes: Obituary Life in pictures "Family members believe at this point it is a medical condition that might have led to his death," a police spokesman said, adding Hayes was being treated for "a number of medical issues". Hayes suffered a stroke in 2006. He was about to begin work on a new album for Stax, the soul record label he helped build to legendary status. Collin Stanback, from the label told the Associated Press news agency that the star "embodies everything that's soul music." He added: "When you think of soul music you think of Isaac Hayes - the expression, the sound and the creativity that goes along with it." Hayes the showman Hayes - along with Al Green, James Brown and Stevie Wonder - was one of the dominant black artists of the early 1970s. The star, a self-taught musician, was hired in 1964 by Stax Records as a pianist and saxophonist, working as a session musician for big names such as Otis Redding. He established a songwriting partnership with David Porter, and in the 1960s, writing hits for Sam and Dave such as Hold On, I'm Coming and Soul Man. This success led to a recording contract, and in 1969 he shot to fame with the release of the groundbreaking album Hot Buttered Soul. In 2002 Hayes was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The theme from the film Shaft was a number one hit in 1971. He won an Academy Award for the song and was nominated for another one for the score. The song and score also won him two Grammys. In a statement released from The Recording Academy, the body behind the Grammys, president Neil Portnow called him a "true renaissance man". He added: "After laying the groundwork for the Memphis soul sound through his work with Stax Records, his groundbreaking theme song and score for the movie Shaft cemented his status as a musical icon. "The world has lost a true creative genius and a passionate humanitarian, but his indelible legacy will remain ever present. "Our deepest sympathies go out to his family, friends and all who were inspired by the man and his music," added Mr Portnow. When he was elected to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002, he put his success down to good chance. "I knew nothing about the business, or trends and things like that," he said. "I think it was a matter of timing. I didn't know what was unfolding." Hayes was also in several movies, including It Could Happen to You with Nicolas Cage, and Ninth Street with Martin Sheen. He achieved a different of popularity later in life as the voice of the South Park character, Chef. But he angrily quit the show in 2006 after an episode mocked Scientology, a religious movement to which he belonged. He was married four times and has 12 children. Your comments and memories: I met Issac Hayes very briefly, backstage after his set at the Womad festival in 2007. A year of mud and muck. Trying to get a brief word from him for the radio, we held the mic out and asked what he thought of the festival. The legendary voice came back with: "It's wet, but it's wild." Worth all the muck and rain just for that remark. Radio shows across the world will be playing his tracks for the next couple of weeks. He'll be sadly missed. Rory McSwiggan, Brent, London I had the pleasure of meeting Isaac when I worked with him on Soul Survivors filmed in Liverpool for BBC TV. I am also a musician and Isaac came to see me play at a local gig and invited me to play at House of Blues. Unfortunately, I never had the opportunity but did repay the compliment by going to HIS gig at the Albert Hall!! He was a real gentleman and will be missed by many.Ozzie Yue, Liverpool, UK My wife and I saw Isaac perform last year in New York and he was awesome, just as he was back in the day. What a terrible loss to the would of Soul Music. I'm sure he knew just how much of an ICON of the 70s he truly was. Colin, New York, NY Isaac Hayes was an astonishing and incredibly appealing musician, who won fans across the board. His music was accomplished to the degree that even listeners who ordinarily weren't fans of soul would find something to appreciate in his songs. He was a genuine rare talent - a musical genius - and he will be fondly remembered by millions. Matt O'Leary, Siena, Italy I'm a little younger then a lot of his fans, but I did know some of his music and I did enjoy it. He will be missed! We love you Isaac Hayes and you will always be remembered. Danielle Pinkeny, Temple Hills USA I can't believe it. I saw him at Glastonbury in 2003 and he was so good. I first got into him through Shaft and then discovered Hot Buttered Soul. His voice, like his song writing was a force of nature. His soul will live on. Clark, London Another of the Soul/Funk greats gone. He will be missed but live on in his music. I dig it, brother. Ozzy, Cambridge, UK This truly is a death of a legend. I'll never forget his performance at the Glastonbury festival in 2002, it was a truly fantastic performance, and he left me with a Cheshire Cat-style grin for the rest of the day. Very sad to read this news. John, Bath, England I remember this illustrious son of Afro-American when he had a joint musical show with the late Fela Anikulapo-Kuti in Lagos, Nigeria. It was a beautiful concert seeing two well-talented music gurus at their best. Adieu Isaac Hayes. Francis Ayodeji, York, UK As a lifelong fan of South Park, I am dismayed to hear of Isaac Hayes's untimely death. Chef was my favourite character in many an episode and his presence will be deeply missed by myself and many others. I am pleased to hear that he had a good, productive life and leaves many children behind to continue his heritage, so in a way this serves as a celebration. But still, 65 is too young. R.I.P. Toby Corke, Brighton, England Brilliant man। The spooky thing is if you visit his official website here: http://www.isaachayes.com/myframes.html - there is a picture of him and Bernie mac who died yesterday. God bless the soul men. Sean, E Yorks किवुम्बी एअर्नेस्त BENJAMIN

4TOGRAPH

रुस्सियन-गेओर्गियन वर WAR

News Europe Georgia signs EU cease-fire pledge Thousands of Georgians have protested against 'Russian aggression' [AFP] The Georgian president has said that he has signed a cease-fire pledge proposed by envoys from the European Union. Mikhail Saakashvili said on Monday he signed the document together with Bernard Kouchner, the French foreign minister and Alexander Stubb, his Finnish counterpart. While a Kremlin spokesman dismissed Saakashvili's cease-fire claim, Vladimir Putin, the Russian prime minister, said the West had mistaken the real aggressors for the victims.Putin, shown speaking on Russian state television, singled out the United States, saying Washington was helping to bring Georgian troops home from Iraq. The former president, also said Russia would take its peacekeeping mission in South Ossetia to a logical conclusion. The EU plan, apart from the cease-fire call, also proposes medical access to victims, controlled withdrawals of troops on both sides and eventual political talks. This move on Monday came as the war between Georgia and Russia over the breakaway region of South Ossetia appeared to be widening. There were reports of a fresh Russian bombardment of a military base and radar installation near Tbilisi, the Georgian capital. "There were two bombings. One at the Kojori military base and another on Mount Makhata. As far as I know there are no casualties," a Georgian spokesman told the Reuters news agency early on Monday. Kojori is about 10km from Tbilisi and the military base is home to a special forces battalion. And at Mount Makhata, about 5km from Tbilisi, a bomb struck an air traffic control centre. The Georgian government also said Russian aircraft had bombed a military airfield near Tbilisi's main civilian airport on Sunday. Earlier, Utiashvili said the strategic Georgian town of Gori had come under "massive" attack from Russian artillery and aircraft while tank-led ground forces were preparing for an assault. "There was massive bombing of Gori all evening and now we are getting reports of an imminent attack by Russian tanks," he said. "Gori is being bombed massively from the air and from artillery as well," he added. Temur Yakobashvili, a Georgian interior ministry spokesman, said Russian tanks had tried to cross from South Ossetia into Gori but were turned back by Georgian forces. Rapid evacuation Al Jazeera's Jonnah Hull, reporting from Gori, said thousands of Georgians had rapidly evacuated the town at the first mention of a possible full scale Russian invasion. "There was massive bombing of Gori all evening and now we are getting reports of an imminent attack by Russian tanks" Shota Utiashvili, Georgia interior ministryBut he could not confirm if an invasion was imminent and said there had been no official word from the Georgian government on the attack. About 65km northwest of the Georgian capital Tbilisi, Gori is just south of the border with South Ossetia, which has seen fierce fighting between Russian and Georgian forces in the last few days. It is the largest Georgian town, about 50,000 in population, that sits close to the region and an important strategic link between eastern and western Georgia. Utiashvili said Russian troops were preparing for a ground assault. They "are not there yet but it looks like they are getting ready for it," he said, adding that Georgian forces were returning fire on Russian positions. Doubts over ceasefire The reported attack came after Georgia had offered a limited ceasefire in South Ossetia on Sunday for the passage of humanitarian aid and said it had pulled its troops back across the border. It also offered immediate talks with Russia for a full ceasefire but did not get an official response. Map Key locations in the conflict"Georgia expresses its readiness to immediately start negotiations with the Russian Federation on a ceasefire and termination of hostilities," the Georgian foreign ministry said in a statement on Sunday, adding that it had notified Russia's envoy to Tbilisi. But Russia said Georgian troops were continuing their attacks and fended off a wave of international calls to observe the Georgian so-called ceasefire, saying it must first be assured that Georgian troops had indeed pulled back from South Ossetia. Alexander Darchiev, Russia's charge d'affairs in Washington, said Georgian soldiers were "not withdrawing but regrouping, including heavy armour and increased attacks on Tskhinvali". The US military began flying 2,000 Georgian troops home from Iraq after Georgia recalled them, even while calling for a truce. Thousands of Georgians gathered in the capital Tbilisi on Sunday to protest against Russia's invasion into South Ossetia, marching to the Russian embassy and United Nations offices and calling for action from the UN and EU to stop Russia. Also on Sunday, Russia claimed to have sunk a Georgian boat that it said was trying to attack Russian vessels in the Black Sea. The ITAR-Tass news agency quoted a Russian defence ministry spokesman as saying that Georgian missile boats twice tried to attack Russian ships, which fired back and sank one of the Georgian vessels. Second front fears Meanwhile, Georgia said thousands of Russian troops arrived on Sunday in Abkhazia - another breakaway region from Georgia – amid fears of a second front opening as the separatist government there declared its own state of war. Russia says at least 2,000 people have been killed in South Ossetia [AFP]Georgian officials said Russia had begun an operation to storm the Georgian-controlled Kodori gorge in Abkhazia. But Russia's armed forces on Sunday denied plans to expand their conflict with Georgia into the Abkhazia region. "We do not plan to escalate the conflict in this region," Anatoly Nogovitsyn, an army spokesman, said in televised remarks, referring to Abkhazia. In Russia, the number of Ossetian refugees continued to grow. The Red Cross said the unrest had forced at least 40,000 people from their homes and UN officials said at least 1,000 people had crossed the border into the Russian province of North Ossetia since the war began in South Ossetia. Three days of fighting have left sections of South Ossetia's capital Tskhinvali in ruins and an undetermined number of fighters and civilians dead. Grigory Karasin, Russia's deputy foreign minister, said more than 2,000 people had been killed in South Ossetia since Friday, most of them Ossetians, but the figure could not be independently confirmed. War of words At the United Nations on Sunday, the Russian and American ambassadors were having a war of their own – exchanging sharp remarks over the escalating conflict. Zalmay Khalilzad, the US ambassador, accused Moscow of seeking "regime change" in Georgia and resisting attempts to make peace after days of deadly fighting. The Red Cross says more than 40,000 people have fled their homes [AFP]"Is your government's objective regime change in Georgia, the overthrow of the democratically elected government of Georgia?" Khalilzad asked Vitaly Churkin, the Russian ambassador. Churkin said "regime change is an American expression. We do not use such an expression". But he added: "But sometimes there are occasions, and we know from history, that there are different leaders who come to power, either democratically or semi-democratically, and they become an obstacle." South Ossetia and Abkhazia split away from Georgia after fighting in the early 1990s and have run their own affairs without international recognition. The two separatist provinces have close ties with Moscow, while Georgia has deeply angered Russia by wanting to join Nato. Georgia, whose troops have been trained by American soldiers, began an offensive to regain control over South Ossetia overnight on Friday, launching heavy rocket and artillery fire and air strikes that pounded the regional capital Tskhinvali. Georgia says it was responding to attacks by separatists. In response, Russia launched artillery shelling and air attacks on Georgian troops and entered South Ossetia to repel Georgia's attempt to retake the province. किवुम्बी एअर्नेस्त Benjamin

ओल्य्म्पिक्स मेदालिस्ट्स कॉल फॉर OLYMPICS

Sport Olympic medalists call for peace Russia's Paderina and Georgia's Salukvadze embraced on the podium [GALLO/GETTY] Russian and Georgian medalists have shared a podium and an embrace at the Beijing Olympics, calling for peace in the escalating dispute between their two countries. Russia's Natalia Paderina and Georgia's Nino Salukvadze took the silver and bronze medals respectively on Sunday in the women's 10-metre air pistol. Salukvadze's bronze was Georgia's first medal of the Beijing games and the country's first ever medal in shooting. Gu Wenjun of host nation China won the gold medal. After the medal ceremony, Salukvadze put her arm around Paderina and the two posed together for photographs. Paderina than gave Salukvadze a kiss on the cheek. "This medal is good for Georgia, especially during times like this," said Salukvadze who has known Paderina since their early days in competition. "When it comes to sport, we will always remain friends and nothing will come between our friendship," she added. "If the world were to draw any lessons from what we do, there wouldn't be any wars. We live in the 21st century after all and we shouldn't stoop so low as to wage wars." Conflict Georgian officials had earlier considered pulling their 35-member Olympic team from Beijing, but decided instead to keep them at the games. On Saturday Russia sent hundreds of tanks and troops into the separatist province of South Ossetia and bombed Georgian towns in a major escalation of the conflict after Georgia launched a major offensive Friday to retake control of the province. With athletes distracted by the conflict, Georgian Luba Golovina, an 18-year-old who competes in the gymnastics trampoline event, said the idea of pulling out of the Olympics had been seriously considered. "We almost went yesterday, but we stay," she said. "It's very difficult for us but we stay here." But Golovina added there should be no difficulties while competing with the Russians. "I think it's not a problem with sportsmen. It's politics," she said. "Sports and politics are different. For sportsmen, it should not be a problem." एअर्नेस्त किवुम्बी Benjamin