Issue #457 (29)


THE CONTACT It's fur a good cause CRUFTS-WINNING CORGI DRESSES IN SCHOOL UNIFORM TO


This Crufts-winning corgi looks super-smart in her school uniform. But it's no gimmick - it's all to help her teenage owner cope with his autism. Sally, whose grandfather was a stud to the Queen's corgis, has revolutionised 14-year-old Nick Gilling's life since she moved in with him in Leeds, West Yorkshire, 18 months ago. She has helped Nick overcome his fear of going to school, has helped cure him of his agoraphobia and is even clever enough to play cards with him to help him interact. Nick's mother, Tessa, 45, explained: 'Nick had been very badly bullied at school. The other pupils saw him as different. 'They would kick him in the stomach, leaving him with bruises, and taunt


HELP AUTISTIC OWNER OVERCOME HIS FEAR OF SCHOOL him. 'One day he just took his uniform off and told me: "That's the last time I'll ever wear a school uniform. You'll never get me back in that". 'I believed him. I just thought, there is no way he will ever wear a uniform again. He just associated it with horrible memories.'


Nick was taught by the home/hospital education service for around two years and only went back to school, a special unit at Allerton High School, last April - but still refused to wear his uniform. Mrs Gilling had heard from the Dogs for the Disabled charity that her son may respond through his dog. 'I thought "there"s nothing to lose", so one morning, I got Sally dressed up in Nick"s uniform,' she said. 'He thought it was


Michele Bachmann


Minnesota congresswoman and former US presidential candidate Michele Bachmann has withdrawn her Swiss citizenship. The move comes two days after it was first reported that Mrs Bachmann, 55,


gives up Swiss passport who herself has


Norwegian ancestry, would have been eligible for elected office in Switzerland. When asked about running a campaign in Switzerland by Swiss national TV, Mrs Bachmann joked that the competition "would be very


acquired citizenship with her family. Mrs Bachmann said she had decided to give up her new Swiss passport to prove she is a "proud


American


citizen". The three-term Republican was eligible for dual citizenship through her husband, who is of Swiss descent, a spokeswoman said. "I took this action because I want to make it perfectly clear: I was born in America and I am a proud American citizen," Mrs Bachmann said. "I am, and always have been, 100% committed to our United States constitution and the United States of America." Switzerland provides universal healthcare, a policy that Mrs Bachmann has strongly opposed. Mrs Bachmann had been criticised for taking on a Swiss passport, which she applied for when some of her children wanted to become dual citizens. Mrs Bachmann,


stiff", referring to the Swiss parliamentarians she was meeting with on Tuesday. She had been registered in the canton of Thurgau in north-east Switzerland, but told Swiss TV she enjoyed visiting all different parts of the country. "It's tough to find a place not to like in Switzerland," she said. The Minnesota congresswoman ran for the Republican presidential nomination, but dropped out early in 2012 when she came sixth in the Iowa caucuses. As a presidential candidate she was the outspoken favourite of the Tea Party movement. Her blend of evangelical Christian social conservatism and fierce anti-tax rhetoric propelled her to the top tier of the Republican primary race in the summer of 2011. She is now campaigning for another term in Congress representing Minnesota.


hilarious. He burst out laughing at her. But it was literally an instant reaction - he agreed to wear his school uniform that day to school. It was an amazing breakthrough. 'The only thing was - that first day we managed to get him in his uniform, when we got to school it turned out it was non- school uniform day so I had to rush out to get him something else to wear. 'We're also training Sally to play cards with Nick. It's a long process, but dogs generally pick things up quickly, and it's really good in helping Nick interact with people.' Mrs Gilling, who is an ambassador for the National Autistic Society, said: 'Nick was very reluctant to go outside. If I ever tried to get him to go anywhere, it would take


hours to get him into the car and he never wanted to go out. 'But once we got Sally, he wanted to go out because it was for Sally. We told him "Sally needs to go for a walk", or "Sally needs to go to the toilet", and because he cares about Sally, he does it for her. 'It also helps Nick feel less awkward because when he meets people, the focus isn't on him. 'Sally is also very calm and tolerant.


15 May to 21 May 2012


Saudi King Abdullah sacks conservative adviser


Saudi King Abdullah has sacked one of his most hardline advisers, Sheikh Abdelmohsen al-Obeikan. Sheikh Obeikan, who was an adviser to the royal cabinet, opposed moves to relax gender segregation. The dismissal


comes shortly after Sheikh Obeikan attacked plans by "influential people to corrupt Muslim society by trying to change the natural status of women". Saudi officials did not give a reason for Sheikh Obeikan's departure. His recent comments were taken to be an attack on tentative steps towards relaxing some stricter interpretations of Saudi law. King Abdullah has promised women the right to vote in future elections, has opened the country's first co- educational university and introduced measures against domestic violence. The head of Saudi Arabia's religious police, the "mutawa", was also replaced in January, with the new head widely seen as more moderate than his predecessor. Sheikh Obeikan achieved a degree of notoriety several years ago with a decree suggesting that unrelated Saudi men and women could mix so long as the man drank the woman's breast milk, thus creating a maternal bond between them.


Judge spares dog that mauled one-year-old to death for now...


After campaign by animal rights activists to save him from euthanasia


The dog that mauled a one-year-old boy to death has been temporarily spared by a judge so activists can plead with local officials not to destroy him. A hearing on Friday will determine whether Onion should be euthanized by officials in Henderson, Nevada, or turned over to an animal- rights group that will send him to a sanctuary for aggressive dogs. Jeremiah Eskew-Shahan died just after celebrating his first birthday when the six-year-old mastiff- Rhodesian ridgeback mix lashed out and clamped onto the child's head for 30 seconds with his massive jaws. The dog shook Jeremiah as he bit down, breaking the boy's neck and mangling his face. 'There is nothing vicious about the attack,' Richard


Mexico's most prolific female assassin has confessed to murdering 20 people. Maria Jimenez, aka La Tosca, was arrested last week in the northern city of Monterrey for her deadly role in the feared Los Zetas drug cartel. The 26-year-old widow, who has reportedly confessed to the killings and several other crimes,


Rosenthal, the head of the group that is fighting to save Onion.


The


organization, the Lexus Project, said it has found a dog sanctuary near Denver where the animal could spend the rest of his life. District Judge Rob Bare issued an emergency restraining order on Monday that temporarily stops Henderson animal control officials from destroying the dog after the Lexus Project filed a legal petition. The dog could have been euthanized today. 'Killing the dog will not bring back the baby,' Mr Rosenthal, a New York lawyer, told the newspaper. Jeremiah's grandmother, Elizabeth Keller, watched in horror as the dog bit her grandson in the head. She sobbed as she told the Review-Journal that the


was paid $1,700 per month. She gunned down rival drug traffickers and a police officer - and was detained alongside three male assassins. Five other men and women, accused of working as drug dealers and look- outs, were also arrested. Their gang allegedly controlled 14 drug selling hotspots in Monterrey's


public legal fight over Onion's fate is putting even more strain on the family. 'I don't care if they save the dog or not. We need to get past this,' she said. Les Golden, a Chicago-area dog rescuer who is leading the campaign, told the newspaper that he hopes a flood of supporters will persuade Mayor Any Hafen to stay the euthanasia. The family had just helped Jeremiah celebrate his first birthday at their Nevada home April 27. The boy was learning how to walk,


metropolitan area. Once touted as Latin America's safest city, the industrial hub has been plagued by gang- related violence. The Zetas are battling their rivals in the Gulf Cartel for control of drug distribution and other criminal rackets. Nuevo Leon state prosecutor spokesman Jorge Domene said Jimenez


and tried to help himself up by grabbing on to Onion, who weighs 120 pounds. Onion latched on to Jeremiah's face and neck and began shaking him back and forth. 'I tried everything I could think of to do to try and get him off our baby,' Ms Keller recalled tearfully to WXIX. However, she was unable to pry Onion off of her grandson. Mr Shahan, rushed to help, saying that his son's jaw was loose and half of his face was missing.


Mexico's deadliest female assassin, 26, confesses


TO KIDNAPPING, DRUG DEALING AND THE KILLING OF


TWENTY PEOPLE


would be charged with murder, car theft and kidnapping. There have been more than 50,000 drug-related killings in Mexico since President Felipe Calderon took office in December 2006.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40