David Beckham joins Paris St-Germain and will play for free

David Beckham has joined French Ligue 1 side Paris St-Germain and announced he will be playing for free.

The ex-England  midfielder, 37, signed a five-month deal and said he would be donating his salary to charity.

"I'm excited, it's something we've been working on and talking about for quite a while," he said on Thursday.

"I won't receive any salary. My salary will go to a local children's charity. That's one of the things we are excited and proud to do."

He added: "It's something the guys [PSG management] do, but obviously it's a very good figure. That's one thing we're very excited about. To be able to give a huge sum to a children's charity in Paris is very special."

Beckham has been without a club since leaving MLS side LA Galaxy in December and has been training with Arsenal.

The former England captain had firm offers from 12 different clubs but has opted for Ligue 1's big spenders.

Despite recently announcing he was to permanently base his family in London, Beckham always said he would make a decision on his next move based on "footballing reasons".

PSG have spent more than £200m in the last 18 months, and are managed by Carlo Ancelotti - who was in charge of AC Milan during Beckham's loan spell there. They are also still in this season's Champions League and will face Spanish side Valencia in the last 16.

The Paris club are currently top of Ligue 1 and already have a squad that includes Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Thiago Silva, Lucas Moura and Ezequiel Lavezzi.

"I was lucky to work with Carlo and Leonardo [director of football] for a few months," Beckham said. "Carlo was one of the best managers I've played for so it's exciting on a number of levels.

"[Ibrahimovic] is one of the players I'm excited to play alongside. Ibra was someone I've watched for many years, in my early days playing for England against Sweden, and I always felt he could be one of the best players in the world.

"I watched a lot of games last year and a lot of games this season. There's a lot of talent in this team."

Beckham, who made a record 115 outfield appearances for England, was part of the Manchester United side that famously beat Bayern Munich to win the 1999 Champions League.

He left Old Trafford for Real Madrid in 2003, before agreeing his move to LA Galaxy in January 2007 and making his debut for the club in August in that year.

He attracted criticism from some Galaxy fans after agreeing loan moves to AC Milan in 2009 and 2010 which meant missing some of the MLS season.

How Beckham wooed Paris

• Despite arriving late for his unveiling, Beckham looked relaxed and happy in his new surroundings as he addressed the media scrum.
• Smartly dressed in suit and matching tie, the veteran of 115 England caps turned on the charm as he gave full answers to every question put to him.
• Provoked laughs with his very first answer when asked about speaking French. "I'm definitely going to have to brush up on it," said the 37-year-old. "I haven't spoken French since I was at school."
• The most revealing aspect of the news conference was that he is to donate his wages to a French children's charity.
• With the news conference about to finish, Beckham insisted on answering questions from two journalists who had been trying to ask him about his move but had been continuously overlooked.

A young woman who died in the London Marathon...

A young woman who died in the London Marathon was using a stimulant which has since been banned, an inquest has heard.

After Claire Squires, 30, collapsed and died in the run last April, a public outpouring of support led to more than £1m being donated to her chosen charity. The inquest at Southwark Coroner's Court heard that Miss Squires died from acute cardiac failure. On the day of the race, Miss Squires had put Jack3d in her water bottle, the hearing was told. The popular stimulant used to contain an amphetamine-like substance DMAA, and experts say this contributed to her death. DMAA was banned from shelves and internet sales in the UK in August last year over fears it could be lethal when used during rigorous activity. Jack3d since removed the ingredient from their product. The court heard how several US soldiers had died after taking DMAA during training, and it was subsequently banned by the US Army.

Mr Van Herrewage arrives at the inquest

It was legal in the UK at the time Claire was using it. Her boyfriend, Simon Van Herrewage, said she had not used it much before, but that she used it for a boost during the London Marathon. "She put one scoop in her water bottle and said she would only use it if she hit a wall," he said. "She was trying to beat her previous time and do it in under four hours." In a statement, cardiologist William McKenna said: "The presence of a substance found it the blood was an important factor in the outcome." Dr Nicola Drake, who treated Miss Squires at St Thomas' Hospital, told the court that the drug makes "heart levels increase". "It makes the heart work harder than it normally would," she said. Dr John Van der Walt, who conducted the post mortem, concluded that "acute cardiac failure due to extreme physical exertion complicated by the presence of DMAA was the cause of death." Miss Squires ' boyfriend also told the hearing that she had been diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat by an acupuncturist. But her GP told the inquest that she never went to see him with concerns over her heartbeat. Miss Squires collapsed and died a mile from the finish line of the London marathon last April. The 30-year-old hairdresser from NorthKilworth, Leicestershire, was running to raise funds for the Samaritans in honour of her brother Grant, who died of a drug overdose in 2001, aged 25. Before the race she had raised £500 but following news of her death, thousands of well-wishers have left donations of more than £1m. She was treated by medical teams positioned along the route before she was rushed to hospital by ambulance where she was later pronounced dead. She had previously undertaken a string of gruelling physical challenges for charity, including a marathon in Belfast and the Great North Run. Asked how long she trained for the London Marathon, her boyfriend said "she never stopped training". "She ran five times a week and she knew how to build up for a marathon." After the inquest Mr Van Herrewage said: "This has been an extremely difficult time for us, Claire's death has left a gaping hole in our hearts and in our lives. "We'll always remember her with a big smile on her face trying to make everyone she met feel good about themselves. "The outcome of the inquest left us feeling a little numb, Claire took part in the marathon to do some good and challenge herself in the same way she did for many other events. "Claire was passionately against the use of drugs and would never ever have taken anything that would have caused her harm or even worse risk to life. "She innocently took a supplement that at the time was entirely legal and widely available on the high street, and somewhat worryingly apparently used by so many others."

What is Network Marketing?

According to Wikipedia, network marketing is way of doing business in which a sales force earns a commission not only for sales of products and services they personally generate, but also for the sales of others they recruit and bring into the business, which creates a downline of distributors and a hierarchy of multiple leveraged levels of compensation.

Whew. What a mouthful. Let’s break that down into something that makes more sense, shall we?

You realize you will never get rich working for someone else. You also know there are huge lifestyle benefits associated with building a success business:

• You can pick the people you work with.
• You can work from home part-time in your spare time.
• You can pick the hours you work and how much you work.
• You can give yourself an IMMEDIATE raise through tax savings.
• You have the chance to literally set yourself financially free.

So you decide to investigate joining a network marketing company because of the low cost of entry and all the training and support you get. But what are you really getting yourself into? What is network marketing, exactly? Here’s the deal…

When you join a network marketing company you are “signing up” to represent that company’s product and services and business opportunity.

You “sign up” by making a small investment and by completing an Independent Distributor agreement. You are not being hired by the company as an employee but, rather, you are volunteering to represent the company as an independent contractor, business owner, dealer, representative or consultant. You are awarded a commission based upon the volume of product sold through your own sales efforts as well as that of their downline organization.

In other words, to make money you need to personally sell stuff AND teach your team to sell stuff because you earn commissions (100% commissions with our company) on the AMOUNT of product that moves through your new business. Main thing to remember do not be scared of word “sell”, because all tools and information that you will require to make that first sale will be given and all training needed will be provided in one easy to access place, so what are you waiting for join us now.

Regards

Team MMOE

First week with network marketing

Nearly one week have passed since my first post with this company and I can definitely tell you guys that if you have a couple hours a day to spent on your computer blogging instead of watching telly that fills your head up with completely useless information that will be forgotten in a couple days you need to join us. Instead I am offering you a way to make some money and socialize with people that are driven by the same cause, which is to build a better financial future for myself, my family and hopefully be free from 7.5 hours daily routine, but to be honest at the moment main aspect of this whole experience that is pushing me forward within this company is how much I have learned so far. In first week I have learned more about advertising, network marketing than I ever knew and let’s not forget about blogging itself. So guy’s if you are interested in changing your life into something better just join us and we will help you to live up to your full potential.

Regards
Tomas

Fans verdicts spark Egypt unrest

Egypt unrest: Death sentences over football riots spark violence

At least 26 people have died in the Egyptian city of Port Said, in clashes sparked by the sentencing to death of 21 local people over football riots. Supporters of the defendants tried to storm the prison holding them and attacked police stations. The 21 were sentenced over riots which killed 74 people after a football game at Port Said stadium last February. Saturday's violence follows a day of unrest on the second anniversary of the uprising that ousted Hosni Mubarak. Thousands of people took to the streets on Friday to voice their opposition to Islamist President Mohammed Morsi, accusing him of betraying the revolution.

At least seven people were killed and more than 450 wounded in unrest across Egypt.

All 21 defendants sentenced to death on Saturday were fans of Port Said club al-Masry. When the verdicts were announced by a judge in the Cairo court, relatives of victims cheered. However, the ruling caused supporters of the defendants to go on a rampage in Port Said. Two police officers were shot dead outside the city's prison. At least another 24 people were killed and about 300 were wounded in further clashes, officials said. Two footballers were among those killed in Saturday's clashes, state news agency Mena reported. They are former al-Masry goalkeeper Tamir al-Fahlah and Muhammad al-Dadhawi, a player for a lower-division Port Said club. The violence continued despite the deployment of army units on the city's streets. Last year's football riots led to the suspension of the league. They began minutes after the game, when al-Masry fans invaded the pitch, hurling stones and fireworks at visiting supporters from Cairo club al-Ahly.

A section of al-Ahly supporters, known as the "ultras", played a prominent role in the protests against ex-President Mubarak. Some accused supporters of the toppled leader of instigating the Port Said violence. They also accused police of doing little to prevent the violence. Seventy-three people, including nine policemen, were tried over the stadium clashes. None are al-Ahly fans. The judge said he would announce verdicts for the remaining defendants on 9 March. Economic 'collapse'Friday saw a big anti-government rally in Cairo's Tahrir Square, with opposition supporters clashing with police. There was also unrest in 12 out of 27 of Egypt's provinces. At least six of the deaths occurred in Suez. In Ismailia, protesters set fire to the headquarters of the Freedom and Justice Party, the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood. The city's governorate headquarters was later also stormed. The liberal opposition accuses Mr Morsi of being autocratic and driving through a new constitution that does not protect adequately freedom of expression or religion. The government is also being blamed for a deepening economic crisis. One of the demonstrators at Cairo's Tahrir Square, Momen Asour, said he had come to demand an end to President Morsi's rule. "We have not seen anything, Neither freedom, nor social justice, or any solution to unemployment, or any investment," he said. "On the contrary, the economy has collapsed." President Morsi and his allies have dismissed the claim, saying they have a democratic mandate following recent elections. The constitution, drawn up by an Islamist-dominated body, was approved by a referendum last month.

Apple loses most valuable company title

Apple shares have fallen further, meaning that it has been overtaken by oil giant Exxon Mobil as the world's most valuable publicly-traded company.

The iPhone-maker's stock fell 2.4% to $439 a share for a market value of $413bn (£261bn). Exxon's value is currently around $418bn.

Its shares have fallen almost 40% since hitting a record $702 in September.

The tech giant has been hit by fears over its future growth, despite record profits.

The firm said late on Wednesday it had sold more iPhone (47.8 million) and iPads (22.9 million) in the final three months of last year than in any previous quarter, but investors had expected yet more.

On Thursday, about $50bn was wiped off Apple's value after the biggest daily drop in the firm's stock in four years.

Apple is also facing fierce competition from rivals like Samsung, which accounted for one in four of all mobile phones shipped worldwide last year, according to Strategy Analytics.

Apple's share price rose sharply following a revival under Steve Jobs, who died in 2011, which came about first in computers and then the iPod music player, and was then followed by the iPhone and iPad.

Apple's shares were worth as little as $3.19 in 1997 when it faced the possibility of bankruptcy.

Ministers condemn Bali death sentence for drug trafficking British grandmother

The Government on Tuesday condemned a death sentence handed down to British grandmother Lindsay Sandiford for smuggling a large quantity of cocaine into Bali, promising to do its utmost to keep her from the firing squad.

There were gasps in court as Sandiford, 56, originally from Redcar in Teesside, received her death sentence from a court on the Indonesian holiday island, even though prosecutors had asked for a 15-year jail term in return for her decision to cooperate with the police.

She was caught at the island's international airport in May attempting to bring in 10.6lb (4.8kg) of cocaine, with a street value of £1.6 million, concealed in the lining of her suitcase.

Sandiford, in spectacles and with her hair tied back, hung her head low, turned pale and cried "no, no, no" as the verdict was read out, while her sister Hillary Parson who attended the trial also sobbed.

Hugo Swire, junior minister at the Foreign Office, said: "We strongly object to the death penalty and continue to provide consular assistance to Lindsay and her family during this difficult time."

Mr Swire said "repeated representations" had been made to the Indonesian authorities while William Hague, the Foreign Secretary, had raised the case with his Indonesian counterpart.

Sandiford has two further avenues of appeal and an opportunity to applyfor presidential clemency if those failed. At that point Britain could make a personal appeal for her life.

For now, said a Foreign Office spokesman, "We will leave no doubt that we are not happy. We will make sure this stays on the radar."

Martin Horwood, MP for Cheltenham, where Sandiford lived most recently in Britain before moving to India, called the sentence a shock.

"The days of the death penalty ought to be past. This is not the way that a country that now values democracy and human rights should really be behaving," he said.

Amnesty International described the sentence as "cruel".

Reprieve, the human rights charity, said “she is clearly not a drug king pin — she has no money to pay for a lawyer, for the travel costs of defence witnesses or even for essentials like food and water”.

Sandiford's lawyer said she would appeal, a process that can take several years and which usually leads to commutation to long jail sentences. Until then she will be held Bali's Kerobokan Prison – one of the world's most notoriously hot, dangerous and dirty jails.

Executions in Indonesia are carried out by firing squad, usually at night in isolated and undisclosed locations.

The last was in June 2008, when two Nigerian drug traffickers were shot. There are an estimated 140 people are on death row in its jails, a third of them foreigners.

That number includes another Briton, Gareth Cashmore, 33, a roofer from Wakefield, arrested in 2011 with 6.5kg of methamphetamine hidden in his suitcase.

Explaining the death sentence, the panel of judges said it had decided on the maximum sentence for a number of reasons, including Sandiford's convoluted evidence.

"We found Lindsay Sandiford convincingly and legally guilty for importing narcotics... and sentenced the defendant to death," Judge Amser Simanjuntak told Denpasar district court.

"She also didn't care that the cocaine she smuggled into Bali would have a big impact on people," he continued, adding: "What the defendant has done could tarnish Bali image as a tourism destination."

Indonesian police said Sandiford, who worked for several years in management at DTS Legal in Cheltenham, was at the centre of a drugs-importing ring.

Sandiford argued that she was forced into transporting the cocaine in order to protect her two grown-up sons, whose safety was allegedly at stake.

After her arrest,  Sandiford helped police set up a sting operation which led to the arrest of three other Britons and an Indian man.

The others have received light sentences. Rachel Dougall was sentenced to 12 months for failing to report Sandiford's crime and Paul Beales received four years for possession of 3.6 grams of hashish but was cleared of drug trafficking.

A fourth Briton, Julian Ponder, is expected to hear his sentence at the end of this month after prosecutors recommended a seven-year jail term.

Despite Sandiford's claim to be innocent, Kathryn Bonella, an Australian writer who has researched Bali's drugs world extensively for a book Snowing in Bali, was told by a dealer on the island that he had purchased hashish from Sandiford.

"She used to bring him hashish and more recently moved into cocaine. Lindsay had a story [in court] but obviously it wasn't believed," said Ms Bonella.

Several major drug dealers had fled Bali as soon as they heard Sandiford. had been arrested and was cooperating with police, she added.

"She tried to snitch and it backfired spectacularly on her, because it doesn't get any worse than this. Something has happened here, because the prosecutors wanted 15 years."

A former neighbour in Cheltenham described Sandiford as "always up to no good - a real neighbour from hell".

Reprieve, the human rights charity, said Sandiford was the first British woman to be sentenced to death since Linda Carty in the US in 2002. Carty is still on death row.

My first ever blog :)

Hi there all you that want to starts living as it should be lived,

I am 25 years of age and at 25 I've started to realise that my needs are much bigger than my income and I don't want to work for someone that don't know what are they talking about and use you when it's suitable for them. I want freedom from 7.5 hours daily routine which goes on and on for over 7 years now since I started working to earn living. So this is the reason I have joined this company full of big opportunities, because I want to make a decent money I could live out from in stress free environment, so I wouldn't be coming home angry, stressed and really down thinking about the problems I will have to come back in to tomorrow. With the help of this amazing group of people, now I know what to do and I will achieve my goals, maybe not in a month, maybe not in a year, but I will get there. So this my first out of many upcoming posts I hope you enjoyed reading it and I will see you soon.

Regards,

Tomas