Strictly Jimi Mistry!

BRIT actor Jimi Mistry is used to acting in front of the camera - but now he’ll have to try dancing on live TV!

The 37-year-old will join a host of celebrities including Rugby player Gavin Henson and Eastenders favourite Scott Masden, for BBC’s hugely popular show Strictly Come Dancing.

The show kicks off what will be an exciting series this month and Hollywood A-Lister Jimi is raring to go.

“I think I'm most looking forward to the Latin-inspired dances – the Samba, Salsa and maybe the Cha-cha-cha – dances that you can express yourself to... well, try to anyway,” the actor said.

He will be paired up with a professional dancer in a bid to land the coveted winners crown.

But he won’t

Strictly Jimi Mistry!

BRIT actor Jimi Mistry is used to acting in front of the camera - but now he’ll have to try dancing on live TV!

The 37-year-old will join a host of celebrities including Rugby player Gavin Henson and Eastenders favourite Scott Masden, for BBC’s hugely popular show Strictly Come Dancing.

The show kicks off what will be an exciting series this month and Hollywood A-Lister Jimi is raring to go.

“I think I'm most looking forward to the Latin-inspired dances – the Samba, Salsa and maybe the Cha-cha-cha – dances that you can express yourself to... well, try to anyway,” the actor said.

He will be paired up with a professional dancer in a bid to land the coveted winners crown.

But he won’t

Strictly Jimi Mistry!

BRIT actor Jimi Mistry is used to acting in front of the camera - but now he’ll have to try dancing on live TV!

The 37-year-old will join a host of celebrities including Rugby player Gavin Henson and Eastenders favourite Scott Masden, for BBC’s hugely popular show Strictly Come Dancing.

The show kicks off what will be an exciting series this month and Hollywood A-Lister Jimi is raring to go.

“I think I'm most looking forward to the Latin-inspired dances – the Samba, Salsa and maybe the Cha-cha-cha – dances that you can express yourself to... well, try to anyway,” the actor said.

He will be paired up with a professional dancer in a bid to land the coveted winners crown.

But he won’t

Strictly Jimi Mistry!

BRIT actor Jimi Mistry is used to acting in front of the camera - but now he’ll have to try dancing on live TV!

The 37-year-old will join a host of celebrities including Rugby player Gavin Henson and Eastenders favourite Scott Masden, for BBC’s hugely popular show Strictly Come Dancing.

The show kicks off what will be an exciting series this month and Hollywood A-Lister Jimi is raring to go.

“I think I'm most looking forward to the Latin-inspired dances – the Samba, Salsa and maybe the Cha-cha-cha – dances that you can express yourself to... well, try to anyway,” the actor said.

He will be paired up with a professional dancer in a bid to land the coveted winners crown.

But he won’t

Gay condemns Bolt to first defeat in two years

STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AFP) -- World record holder and Olympic champion Usain Bolt crashed to his first defeat in two years on Friday when America's Tyson Gay won their eagerly-awaited 100m clash at the Diamond League meeting.

Gay clocked 9.84sec to edge Bolt, who was second in 9.97sec, while Trinidad's Richard Thompson took third in 10.10sec.

"It feels great to beat Usain but deep down inside I know he is not 100 percent," said Gay, the second fastest man in the history of the event.

"I look forward to beating him when he is 100 percent."

Gay, celebrating his first win

Strictly Jimi Mistry!

BRIT actor Jimi Mistry is used to acting in front of the camera - but now he’ll have to try dancing on live TV!

The 37-year-old will join a host of celebrities including Rugby player Gavin Henson and Eastenders favourite Scott Masden, for BBC’s hugely popular show Strictly Come Dancing.

The show kicks off what will be an exciting series this month and Hollywood A-Lister Jimi is raring to go.

“I think I'm most looking forward to the Latin-inspired dances – the Samba, Salsa and maybe the Cha-cha-cha – dances that you can express yourself to... well, try to anyway,” the actor said.

He will be paired up with a professional dancer in a bid to land the coveted winners crown.

But he won’t

Strictly Jimi Mistry!

BRIT actor Jimi Mistry is used to acting in front of the camera - but now he’ll have to try dancing on live TV!

The 37-year-old will join a host of celebrities including Rugby player Gavin Henson and Eastenders favourite Scott Masden, for BBC’s hugely popular show Strictly Come Dancing.

The show kicks off what will be an exciting series this month and Hollywood A-Lister Jimi is raring to go.

“I think I'm most looking forward to the Latin-inspired dances – the Samba, Salsa and maybe the Cha-cha-cha – dances that you can express yourself to... well, try to anyway,” the actor said.

He will be paired up with a professional dancer in a bid to land the coveted winners crown.

But he won’t

Strictly Jimi Mistry!

BRIT actor Jimi Mistry is used to acting in front of the camera - but now he’ll have to try dancing on live TV!

The 37-year-old will join a host of celebrities including Rugby player Gavin Henson and Eastenders favourite Scott Masden, for BBC’s hugely popular show Strictly Come Dancing.

The show kicks off what will be an exciting series this month and Hollywood A-Lister Jimi is raring to go.

“I think I'm most looking forward to the Latin-inspired dances – the Samba, Salsa and maybe the Cha-cha-cha – dances that you can express yourself to... well, try to anyway,” the actor said.

He will be paired up with a professional dancer in a bid to land the coveted winners crown.

But he won’t

Strictly Jimi Mistry!

BRIT actor Jimi Mistry is used to acting in front of the camera - but now he’ll have to try dancing on live TV!

The 37-year-old will join a host of celebrities including Rugby player Gavin Henson and Eastenders favourite Scott Masden, for BBC’s hugely popular show Strictly Come Dancing.

The show kicks off what will be an exciting series this month and Hollywood A-Lister Jimi is raring to go.

“I think I'm most looking forward to the Latin-inspired dances – the Samba, Salsa and maybe the Cha-cha-cha – dances that you can express yourself to... well, try to anyway,” the actor said.

He will be paired up with a professional dancer in a bid to land the coveted winners crown.

But he won’t

Gay condemns Bolt to first defeat in two years

STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AFP) -- World record holder and Olympic champion Usain Bolt crashed to his first defeat in two years on Friday when America's Tyson Gay won their eagerly-awaited 100m clash at the Diamond League meeting.

Gay clocked 9.84sec to edge Bolt, who was second in 9.97sec, while Trinidad's Richard Thompson took third in 10.10sec.

"It feels great to beat Usain but deep down inside I know he is not 100 percent," said Gay, the second fastest man in the history of the event.

"I look forward to beating him when he is 100 percent."

Gay, celebrating his first win

Strictly Jimi Mistry!

BRIT actor Jimi Mistry is used to acting in front of the camera - but now he’ll have to try dancing on live TV!

The 37-year-old will join a host of celebrities including Rugby player Gavin Henson and Eastenders favourite Scott Masden, for BBC’s hugely popular show Strictly Come Dancing.

The show kicks off what will be an exciting series this month and Hollywood A-Lister Jimi is raring to go.

“I think I'm most looking forward to the Latin-inspired dances – the Samba, Salsa and maybe the Cha-cha-cha – dances that you can express yourself to... well, try to anyway,” the actor said.

He will be paired up with a professional dancer in a bid to land the coveted winners crown.

But he won’t

Strictly Jimi Mistry!

BRIT actor Jimi Mistry is used to acting in front of the camera - but now he’ll have to try dancing on live TV!

The 37-year-old will join a host of celebrities including Rugby player Gavin Henson and Eastenders favourite Scott Masden, for BBC’s hugely popular show Strictly Come Dancing.

The show kicks off what will be an exciting series this month and Hollywood A-Lister Jimi is raring to go.

“I think I'm most looking forward to the Latin-inspired dances – the Samba, Salsa and maybe the Cha-cha-cha – dances that you can express yourself to... well, try to anyway,” the actor said.

He will be paired up with a professional dancer in a bid to land the coveted winners crown.

But he won’t

Strictly Jimi Mistry!

BRIT actor Jimi Mistry is used to acting in front of the camera - but now he’ll have to try dancing on live TV!

The 37-year-old will join a host of celebrities including Rugby player Gavin Henson and Eastenders favourite Scott Masden, for BBC’s hugely popular show Strictly Come Dancing.

The show kicks off what will be an exciting series this month and Hollywood A-Lister Jimi is raring to go.

“I think I'm most looking forward to the Latin-inspired dances – the Samba, Salsa and maybe the Cha-cha-cha – dances that you can express yourself to... well, try to anyway,” the actor said.

He will be paired up with a professional dancer in a bid to land the coveted winners crown.

But he won’t

MALI: Kidnap threat throws spotlight on local aid staff

Photo: IRIN

DAKAR, 17 September 2010 (IRIN) - A kidnap threat blocking Western aid workers from travelling to parts of Mali is hampering aid operations and underscoring the importance of local NGOs, humanitarian experts say.



Several international aid agencies have stopped all travel by Western aid workers to Mali's northeastern Gao region since early 2010, aid workers told IRIN. To lower their profile, some international NGOs still working in the area are using local, unmarked vehicles. Gao is the zone currently of most concern but there have been alerts regarding other regions of Mali as well.



The 16 September kidnapping of seven people working for a French company in neighbouring Niger is the latest in a long history of attacks on Western entities across the Sahel, many carried out by the north African branch of al-Qaeda. In recent months several Western governments have warned their nationals not to travel to northeastern Mali because of threats by the group.



The UN office for West Africa said in a June report the security situation in the Sahel had deteriorated in the

HEALTH: One-hour TB test "must be affordable" for poor countries

Photo: Julius Mwelu/IRIN Ideally, the test should be simple enough to administer at basic health facilities

NAIROBI, 16 September 2010 (PlusNews) - A new one-hour test for tuberculosis will only have an impact in the global fight against the disease if it is made affordable to poor countries, experts say.



"If it comes out and costs a million dollars, then clearly it won't be feasible; it needs to be cheap enough for poor countries to use widely," said Mario Raviglione, director of the World Health Organization's Stop TB Department.



The one-hour test, developed by the UK's Health Protection Agency (HPA) follows the recent announcement of a two-hour "Xpert MTB/RIF test" for TB.



According to

Gay condemns Bolt to first defeat in two years

STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AFP) -- World record holder and Olympic champion Usain Bolt crashed to his first defeat in two years on Friday when America's Tyson Gay won their eagerly-awaited 100m clash at the Diamond League meeting.

Gay clocked 9.84sec to edge Bolt, who was second in 9.97sec, while Trinidad's Richard Thompson took third in 10.10sec.

"It feels great to beat Usain but deep down inside I know he is not 100 percent," said Gay, the second fastest man in the history of the event.

"I look forward to beating him when he is 100 percent."

Gay, celebrating his first win

New York Times going out of print “sometime in the future”

Chairman and publisher Arthur Sulzberger Zoom Image

“We will stop printing the newspaper sometime in the future,” he stated, and assured it would be “at a to-be-determined date.”

Sulzberger said he saw no point in making predictions and said all he could say was that the newspaper was to go out of print sometime “in the future.”

New measures are on the verge of being implemented early next year, for the New York Times is to include a metered-model pay-wall to its website.”

According to Sulzberger, the innovation “has

New York Times going out of print “sometime in the future”

Chairman and publisher Arthur Sulzberger Zoom Image

“We will stop printing the newspaper sometime in the future,” he stated, and assured it would be “at a to-be-determined date.”

Sulzberger said he saw no point in making predictions and said all he could say was that the newspaper was to go out of print sometime “in the future.”

New measures are on the verge of being implemented early next year, for the New York Times is to include a metered-model pay-wall to its website.”

According to Sulzberger, the innovation “has

New York Times going out of print “sometime in the future”

Chairman and publisher Arthur Sulzberger Zoom Image

“We will stop printing the newspaper sometime in the future,” he stated, and assured it would be “at a to-be-determined date.”

Sulzberger said he saw no point in making predictions and said all he could say was that the newspaper was to go out of print sometime “in the future.”

New measures are on the verge of being implemented early next year, for the New York Times is to include a metered-model pay-wall to its website.”

According to Sulzberger, the innovation “has

SUDAN: Southern child soldiers "need more opportunities"

Photo: Stolen Childhood Child soldiers have to be provided with alternatives to the army before demobilization (file photo)

JUBA, 9 September 2010 (IRIN) - Southern Sudan's promise to divest its army of all children by November has to be backed by a comprehensive strategy to give them opportunities in civilian life, say analysts.



"People, even children, need alternatives," Obwaha Claude Akasha, acting director-general for operations at the Southern Sudanese Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration Commission, said. "Many children joined the army because their parents couldn't afford to feed or support them. They need to see that it is better being out of the army than in it."



At the launch of the Southern Sudan People's Army (SPLA) Child Protection Unit on 30 August in Juba, General James Hoth Mai, chief of staff, said the army was doing its part to rid its ranks of children, but he warned that the former child soldiers might return to barracks if alternatives to life in the army were not available or adequate.

Gay condemns Bolt to first defeat in two years

STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AFP) -- World record holder and Olympic champion Usain Bolt crashed to his first defeat in two years on Friday when America's Tyson Gay won their eagerly-awaited 100m clash at the Diamond League meeting.

Gay clocked 9.84sec to edge Bolt, who was second in 9.97sec, while Trinidad's Richard Thompson took third in 10.10sec.

"It feels great to beat Usain but deep down inside I know he is not 100 percent," said Gay, the second fastest man in the history of the event.

"I look forward to beating him when he is 100 percent."

Gay, celebrating his first win

US “run out of bullets” to stimulate the economy, says Roubini

The NYU professor predicts China’s growth in second half will fall to 7% Zoom Image

2005, said US growth was likely to dip below 1% in the second half of the year despite the Federal Reserve having pumped $3 trillion into the financial system.

He is currently a professor of economics at Leonard N. Stern School of BusinessNew York University, and chairman of economics firm Roubini Global Economics.

Speaking to an audience of Europe's senior monetary policy experts at the annual Ambrosetti Forum economics conference at Lake Como,

US “run out of bullets” to stimulate the economy, says Roubini

The NYU professor predicts China’s growth in second half will fall to 7% Zoom Image

2005, said US growth was likely to dip below 1% in the second half of the year despite the Federal Reserve having pumped $3 trillion into the financial system.

He is currently a professor of economics at Leonard N. Stern School of BusinessNew York University, and chairman of economics firm Roubini Global Economics.

Speaking to an audience of Europe's senior monetary policy experts at the annual Ambrosetti Forum economics conference at Lake Como,

Gulf of Mexico oil/gas production platform catches fire: “no spill” says operator

Zoom Image

All 13 people have been accounted for, said Petty Officer Bill Colclough of the Coast Guard. They were found floating on a raft, officials said. Mariner Energy, which owns the Vermilion Oil Rig 380, said none of the crew members was hurt in the incident, despite earlier reports of a single injured worker.

Also, Mariner indicated that the fire -- which was first reported to the Coast Guard by workers on a nearby rig around 9:20 a.m. (10:20 a.m. ET) -- was not sparked by an explosion. It started at one of the platform's seven active wells, the company said, though its cause is under investigation.

The company said an initial flyover of the site indicated “no hydrocarbon spill.” However, Coast Guard Petty Officer Elizabeth Bordelon said there is a sheen on the water at the site

Gulf of Mexico oil/gas production platform catches fire: “no spill” says operator

Zoom Image

All 13 people have been accounted for, said Petty Officer Bill Colclough of the Coast Guard. They were found floating on a raft, officials said. Mariner Energy, which owns the Vermilion Oil Rig 380, said none of the crew members was hurt in the incident, despite earlier reports of a single injured worker.

Also, Mariner indicated that the fire -- which was first reported to the Coast Guard by workers on a nearby rig around 9:20 a.m. (10:20 a.m. ET) -- was not sparked by an explosion. It started at one of the platform's seven active wells, the company said, though its cause is under investigation.

The company said an initial flyover of the site indicated “no hydrocarbon spill.” However, Coast Guard Petty Officer Elizabeth Bordelon said there is a sheen on the water at the site

UGANDA: Optimism as PEPFAR increases funding*

Photo: Charles Akena/IRIN Only about half the people in need of ARVs are getting them

KAMPALA, 25 August 2010 (PlusNews) - More Ugandan HIV patients are set to receive life-prolonging medication after the United States President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) responded to appeals from healthcare providers overwhelmed by patients by committing to increase its support of the country's treatment programme.



"We have about 1,000 patients on the waiting list and we shall give them first priority. As soon as [PEPFAR] sends us the guidelines, we shall start clearing patients," said Emmanuel Luyirika, director of the Mildmay Centre, a large HIV care facility in the capital, Kampala.



PEPFAR supports an estimated 87 percent of the 200,000 Ugandans on antiretroviral (ARV) treatment, but a slowing down in the rate at which it increased

'Honour killing parents' re-arrested by police

THE parents of suspected honour killing victim Shafilea Ahmed have been re-arrested in connection with her murder.

The 17-year-old disappeared from her home in Warrington, Cheshire, in October 2003, sparking a major police search.

Her decomposed remains were discovered in Cumbria five months later.

Shafilea's father Iftikhar, 50, and mother Faranza, 47, were initially arrested on suspicion of kidnapping in 2004 but the Crown Prosecution Service had insufficient evidence.

The arrest comes just days after another of their daughters was arrested on suspicion of masterminding an armed robbery at the family home.

College student Shafilea was reported missing in September 2003 by a teacher at Great Sankey High School where she studied.

Police investigations into her disappearance

Gulf of Mexico oil/gas production platform catches fire: “no spill” says operator

Zoom Image

All 13 people have been accounted for, said Petty Officer Bill Colclough of the Coast Guard. They were found floating on a raft, officials said. Mariner Energy, which owns the Vermilion Oil Rig 380, said none of the crew members was hurt in the incident, despite earlier reports of a single injured worker.

Also, Mariner indicated that the fire -- which was first reported to the Coast Guard by workers on a nearby rig around 9:20 a.m. (10:20 a.m. ET) -- was not sparked by an explosion. It started at one of the platform's seven active wells, the company said, though its cause is under investigation.

The company said an initial flyover of the site indicated “no hydrocarbon spill.” However, Coast Guard Petty Officer Elizabeth Bordelon said there is a sheen on the water at the site

COTE D'IVOIRE: Analysis: No political mandate, no development in Côte d’Ivoire

Photo: Anna Jefferys/IRIN Many of Côte d'Ivoire's hospital wards are empty, as people cannot afford treatment (file photo)

ABIDJAN, 2 September 2010 (IRIN) - Continued election delays and political turmoil have for years been used as excuses to justify poor governance and the lack of investment in public services, say civil society groups and public sector workers.



Presidential elections are scheduled for 31 October, according to the latest announcement, but this follows six aborted elections over the past five years.



"The current political crisis is often used to justify a lack of investment in public services," Traoré Drissa, an Abidjan-based human rights lawyer and head of the Ivoirian Movement for Human Rights, told IRIN.



Many basic indicators are worsening across the country. The number of women dying in pregnancy or childbirth rose from 459 per 100,000 in 2003 to 810 in 2009; while primary school enrolment amongst boys and girls in 2009 fell to 81 percent and 64 percent compared to 92 percent and 70 percent in 2003, according to the UN.



Both the government and opposition have vowed to restore state infrastructure and services in their electoral campaigns but basic services are increasingly out of reach for ordinary citizens, teacher and regional government adviser Abdul Koné, and medic Emmanuel Kouadio, told IRIN.



State hospitals



"There shouldn't need to be an election for a state hospital to be well-equipped," Kouadio, who has worked for 20 years at CHU Treichville Hospital in the commercial capital, Abidjan, told IRIN. "There is always talk of funds, rehabilitation and upgrades to the hospital being blocked because there are no elections," he said.



"The buildings in

NIGERIA: Educating the nomads

Photo: Rosie Collyer/IRIN Umar Idriss faces a dilemma: to continue rearing cattle with his family, or to attend university

KADUNA, 31 August 2010 (IRIN) - The children of most Nigerian nomads fall through the education net – the focus is to teach them the family trade, and their wandering lifestyle means they seldom attend school – but as the nomadic way of life becomes increasingly unsustainable, educators and state authorities are finding innovative ways to remedy this.



Nigerian nomads fall into three groups: cattle-herders, fishermen and farmers, but shrinking grazing reserves, blocked grazing paths, and rising tension between nomadic and farming communities is causing pastoralists to abandon their traditional skills.



Growing numbers of nomads have been moving to towns and cities, where they take whatever jobs they can find, said Saleh Momale, director of Pastoralist Resolve, an NGO that mediates in conflicts between nomads and farmers.



Difficult transition



Making the transition is not always easy. "When Fulanis are

IN-DEPTH: Food and nutrition crisis in Niger and the Western Sahel

Photo: Boris Heger/WFP A slow-motion catastrophe

DAKAR, 31 August 2010 (IRIN) - The West African Sahel is facing one of the worst food and nutrition crises in recent years.



Some 10 million people in Niger, Chad, Mali and Mauritania are at risk of hunger before the next harvest in late September; hundreds of thousands of children are severely malnourished; and people's most precious asset, their livestock, have died in large numbers.



In late 2009 the US-based Famine Early Warning Systems Network highlighted signs of the crisis: a major drop