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Being born and raised in Belfast, I’m used to hearing about terrorists, bombs and shootings on the local news, but I can honestly say that despite all that, I considered my hometown a pretty safe place to grow up. I moved to London a year ago, and while Northern Ireland is by no means front-page news here, I couldn’t help but notice that for the past month rioting in Belfast has been featured in almost every news bulletin. The rioting began when Belfast City Council voted to end the continuous flying of the Union Flag from City Hall and hasn’t...

Police hunt for men dressed as Oompa-Loompas after attack on 28-year-old as he left kebab house • Man was left with cuts to his face, nose and lip, as well as two black eyes • Police are now hunting the two men dressed as the fictional factory workers Two men dressed as Oompa-Loompas from the film Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory are being hunted by police after they allegedly attacked a man on a night out. The pair - who had painted orange faces and dyed green hair and were wearing hooped tops like the characters in the 1971...

The Orange County Register will send 70 reporters to the Angels opener >br>By Kevin Kaduk | Big League Stew – 10 hours ago This just in: There's been a run on notepads and digital recorders in southern California. That's because the Orange County Register plans to have 70 of its 100 reporters — yes, that's a seven followed by a zero — covering Friday night's opener between the Los Angeles Angels and Kansas City Royals at Angel Stadium. A "news mob," the paper calls it. As a point of comparison, Wikipedia lists 48 regular members of the White House press...

In tribute to the brave men of Culpeper, Orange, and Fauquier counties who helped establish our lasting heritage of Freedom and the identity we all share today The Minute Battalion of Culpeper County, Virginia 1775 - 1776 Left to Right: Private Man, Officer in Captain Taliaferro's Company, Private Man, Officer in Captain Wm. Pickett's Company Military Uniforms in America Plate No. 259 Copyright 1973 by Company of Military Historians Provided to Culpepper Connections! by Chip Culpepper who received it from Gene Norris Culpepper. At the Virginia convention held May 1775, in Richmond, Patrick Henry and the Committee of Safety ordered...

After rumbling 99 yards for a touchdown on a fumble recovery in the second quarter, West Virginia safety Darwin Cook banged into Obie, the Orange Bowl mascot, sending them both tumbling to the ground. That was more resistance than any Clemson tacklers offered Wednesday night. In a scintillating display of offense while at the same time humiliating showing on defense, the No. 23 Mountaineers crushed the No. 15 Tigers 70-33 in the Orange Bowl at Sun Life Stadium. There's not enough room here to list all the records West Virginia set. The most amazing was breaking the mark for most...

CRIKEY, an orange croc! At first glance, it looks like "Snappy" has tanned up for the Brownlow. But the cranky chameleon has no one to blame but himself for changing colour - after apparently biting off more than he could chew. Owner Tracey Sandstrom, who runs Roaming Reptiles, said Snappy made a meal out of the filter in his water tank. "I think it caused the pH levels in his water to soar which has led to the change in colour." She was stunned when her prized pet turned bright orange. "Snappy's pretty territorial and he attacked the filter...

Orange is the new green in crocodile style this season. Snappy, an 8-foot-2-inch crocodile, is sporting haute-couture orange skin and he's looking fabulous and feeling fine! But it's not really a fashion statement. It's a result of attacking the water filter of his enclosure at Roaming Reptiles animal park in Australia. "Snappy's pretty territorial and he attacked the filter one day, and a few weeks after that, I noticed he was orange," said owner Tracey Sandstrom in an interview with the Herald Sun. "It doesn't seem to have affected him at all. He's still got a healthy appetite, is normally...

For centuries, almost all carrots were yellow, white or purple. But in the 17th century, most of those crunchy vegetables turned orange. Why? It may have to do with Dutch politics. Next Nature explains: In the 17th century, Dutch growers cultivated orange carrots as a tribute to William of Orange – who led the the struggle for Dutch independence – and the color stuck. A thousand years of yellow, white and purple carrot history was wiped out in a generation.Although some scholars doubt if orange carrots even existed prior to the 16th century....

Official Calls For Riverside, 12 Other Counties To Secede From California Link to Article and Poll New state would have no term limits, part-time legislature July 1, 2011 10:24 AM RIVERSIDE (CBS) — Is the state of California about to go “South”? Riverside County Supervisor Jeff Stone apparently thinks so, after proposing that the county lead a campaign for as many as 13 Southern California counties to secede from the state. Stone said in a statement late Thursday that Riverside, Imperial, San Diego, Orange, San Bernardino, Kings, Kern, Fresno, Tulare, Inyo, Madera, Mariposa and Mono counties should form the new...

Teacher allegedly refused to hang up picture ORANGE, Mass. (WWLP) - A civil rights controversy is brewing at an elementary school in the Town of Orange, and it all surrounds an11 year-old's drawing of the American Flag. The family of Frankie Girard is claiming that their son's civil rights were violated after a teacher allegedly told him that hanging his picture of the American flag would offend another student. The Butterfield Elementary School is at the center of controversy for the incident on Monday. According to Frankie Girard’s father, John, the boy was in art class drawing a picture. "He...

An 11-year-old boy in Orange, MA is in the middle of flag controversy after he and his family claim one of his teachers banned him from hanging a picture of an American flag he drew in the classroom because it might offend other students. The boy‘s dad is adamant his son’s civil rights were violated. But the school has a different take, and says the prohibition was because the boy disobeyed instruction

Citrus species are among the most important fruit trees in the world. Citrus has a long history of cultivation, often thought to be more than 4,000 years. Until now, however, the exact genetic origins of cultivated citrus such as sweet orange (Citrus sinensis), lemon (C. limon), and grapefruit (C. paradisi) have been a mystery. A team of researchers from China has published a study in the Journal of the American Society of Horticultural Science that provides genetic evidence of the origins of a variety species of today's cultivated citrus. The research team, led by Zhiqin Zhou from Southwest University, analyzed...

Tensions in the Orange County Jewish community are high following a UC Irvine talk by George S. Rishmawi, co-founder of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM). The talk triggered a barrage of letters from various divisions of the Jewish community, which in turn lead to the unusually high internal fractiousness. ISM is a well-organized anti-Israel movement purporting to be a non-violent initiative, despite demonstrated support for the late Yasser Arafat and ISM members’ assistance to known terrorists. Israel banned ISM foreign activists in April of 2003, following a terror attack perpetrated by British Muslims at a pub in Tel Aviv. Rishmawi,...

It sprouted arms, legs...cankles...scary laugh...bad hair...and just walked off the job.... I know...weird... ----------------------------------------------------See more posts and art at The Looking Spoon (www.thelookingspoon.com)

Washington State has had in recent memory three fairly high-profile hunting-related fatalities in which the victims were all non-hunters, and were killed by people who thought they were shooting at game. In two of those cases, the hunters thought they were shooting at black bears and in the third case, the hunter believed he fired at an elk. This column discussed the most recent of those incidents here, and mentioned the use of fluorescent hunter orange by non-hunters during the hunting season. We also contacted Wayne East, executive director of the Colorado-based International Hunter Education Association (IHEA). Currently, about 40...

Border agents arrested 20 illegal immigrants Tuesday morning who were attempting to enter the country by sea at Calafia State Beach in San Clemente. When the small craft the immigrants were riding in land landed, the occupants attempted to flee. Agents with the U.S. Border Patrol arrested 17 men and three women, all from Mexico. A 36-year-old woman suffered a broken leg while jumping from the boat, according to a statement from the U.S. Border Patrol in San Diego. She was taken to a hospital for treatment. The others were taken to a Border Patrol station for processing. No further...

The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Likely Voters in Florida shows Marco Rubio attracting 40% of the vote, while Charlie Crist picks up 30% in the race to become the state’s next U.S. senator. The new Democratic nominee Kendrick Meek earns 21% support.

Start peeling Baby, because orange and its summery tones, hues and shades is the hottest color of the season. Orange tanks, dresses, shorts, blazers, bags, jewelry and accessories invaded the runways and style pages of our favorite mags, leading us to search the Web, so you wouldn’t have to, for the best orange creations at the lowest price. The Editors of The Fashion Time selected… Halston Heritage Night suede shoulder bag ($275) JETS by Jessika Allen One-shouldered jersey dress $220

Orange County Sheriff Sandra Hutchens prompted guffaws from some Second Amendment stalwarts when she said at a Feb. 9 candidate forum that she's approved 90 percent of applications for concealed weapons permits. In fact, she's significantly tightened distribution criteria. There are 22 percent fewer CCW permits than when Hutchens was appointed to the job in 2008. And most permits she's approved come with restrictions absent from permits issued by predecessor Mike Carona. Article Tab : sheriff-photo-file-challe Sheriff Sandra Hutchens' election challengers want a more lenient policy on concealed weapons. The issue is unlikely to determine the outcome of this year's...