Why do certain 'ugly' shoes become fashionable?

Worishofers are the latest, but from Dr Scholl's to Crocs, there is always an ugly shoe that becomes trendy

Shoe trends are predictable in their randomness. While the general tide of footwear fashion flows in one direction, there will always be one rebel shoe that heroically bucks the trend. It can be hard to predict what the style will be, but the unwritten rule is that it must be defiantly ugly and practical.

Right now, the Worishofer is that shoe. An orthopaedic demi-wedge with a cork sole born 70 years ago in the Bavarian spa town of Bad Wörishofen, it is currently enjoying popularity in the trendier enclaves of downtown Manhattan.

In accordance with rebel-shoe law, the Worishofer is fairly cheap at £55, and is designed with comfort rather than style as its raison d'etre. It quickly gained cult status far from the catwalk after being spotted on the feet of smugly left-of-centre dressers such as Maggie Gyllenhaal and Kirsten Dunst.

This ugly shoe is in good company. Back when Kate Moss rather than Kerry Katona was the woman you immediately associated with Uggs, sheepskin boots enjoyed a period of cult status. Dr Scholl's wooden-soled orthopaedic shoes enjoyed their heyday in the 70s and are periodically revived by cool kids such as Chloe Sevigny who want to stretch the ugly-shoe point too far by wearing them with what look like white DVT-preventative socks. Similarly, Birkenstock sandals made the unexpected leap from German campsite to Glastonbury VIP area in 2003. Crocs, meanwhile, are the ultimate so-ugly-it-hurts shoes. Their popularity qualifies them as shoe rebels, even if their looks really should confine them to the feet of the under-eights.

The Guardian

Woman in 911 call says she strangled her autistic children

(CNN) -- An Irving, Texas, woman told a 911 operator that she strangled her two young children Monday because they were autistic, according to a recording of the call.

Saiqa Akhter, 30, has been charged with a single count of capital murder in the deaths of her 2-year-old daughter and 5-year-old son, police said.

Dallas County Police spokeswoman Jamille Bradfield said the single count covered a child under 5 and would probably be changed either to include multiple victims or to add a count.

"I'm just not sure which direction the police will go yet," she said.

A woman who identified herself as Akhter called police Monday evening and said she first tried to kill her children with bathroom cleaner, but they would not drink it. She told the 911 operator that she then strangled them with a wire and that they were on her bed.

Police and paramedics tried to resuscitate the children, but Zain Akhter died at the hospital Monday, and his younger sister, Faryaal Akhter, died at the hospital Tuesday evening, according to authorities.

On the tape, the woman tells the operator, "I killed them. I killed both of them. I killed my both kids. ... They are not doing anything. They are just blue. They are not taking any breaths. Their heart is not beating".

The operator asks her what happened.

CNN

European bank stress test results awaited

The health of Europe's banks will come under scrutiny again later, when the results of EU-wide bank stress tests are published.

Results for a total of 91 banks across Europe will be made public, in a move designed to reassure investors over the health of Europe's financial sectors.

The tests assess whether banks will be able to survive future economic shocks.

The UK's four major banks - RBS, Lloyds, HSBC and Barclays - have been among those tested.

The Financial Services Authority has already said it expects the UK banks to pass the tests.

Savings banks in Germany and Spain - deemed more fragile by many analysts - are also included, with a total of 27 Spanish banks subject to testing.

Spanish regional lenders in particular are a cause for concern, having racked up heavy losses following the collapse of the Spanish property market.

In France, the results of tests on four banks are due.

BBC News

Patriarch Kirill to meet for talks with Ukrainian president

The head of the Russian Orthodox Church will meet for talks on Friday with Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, press service of the Russian Patriarch said.

Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia is currently on a visit to Ukraine, where he arrived on Tuesday starting the visit with the southern Ukrainian city of Odessa on the Black Sea.

"The meeting will take place at a summer residence of the president in Crimea," the press service said.

Russian Orthodox Church spokesman Vladimir Legoida said earlier that Kirill and Yanukovych would be discussing a broad range of issues.

"The Patriarch and the Ukrainian president have long-standing personal and working relations. I believe they will easily find topics for a mutually beneficial conversation," Legoida said.

The Orthodox Church in Ukraine split in the 1990s following the breakup of the Soviet Union into followers of the Moscow Patriarchate and those seeking an independent national church. The Ukrainian Church of the Moscow Patriarchate is recognized worldwide, while the other churches are not.

RIA Novosti

Two British soldiers killed helping colleague in Afghanistan

The death of the soldiers, shot yesterday in Helmand province, brings to 324 the British toll in the Afghan campaign since 2001

Two British soldiers were shot dead in southern Afghanistan as they tried to rescue a comrade, the Ministry of Defence has announced.

The troops, one from the Royal Dragoon Guards and the other from 1st Battalion Scots Guards, were killed yesterday in the Lashkar Gah district of Helmand province. They are expected to be named today.

"They died helping their friends," said Lieutenant Colonel James Carr-Smith, a spokesman for Taskforce Helmand.

"In the courageous and selfless act of attempting to evacuate an injured colleague, they themselves were shot and fatally wounded. The soldiers were part of a cordon operation providing security for a routine rotation of troops when they were killed by small arms fire," he said.

The British death toll in the Afghan campaign since 2001 now stands at 324. The latest death come as David Cameron has been forced to clarify the timetable for the withdrawal of British troops from the country.

Senior Tory backbenchers yesterday criticised the government for confusion over whether there was fixed a timetable for withdrawing troops in 2015 or was this was just a policy aim.

Cameron said he expected British troops to start leaving Afghanistan next year and complete their pullout by 2015, but only if conditions were right.

"To give people some certainty, we have said, to be clear, that in 2015 there are not going to be combat troops, or large numbers of British troops, in Afghanistan," he said.

The Guardian

Amy Winehouse flashes 'wedding ring' on night out with Damien Marley and Nas

Amy Winehouse seems to have fallen back to her old ways enjoying a night on the lash with new pals Damian Marley and Nas, and flashing what looks like a wedding ring

The Rehab star partied until 4am last night to celebrate reggae star Marley's 32nd birthday. 

Perhaps Amy had something else to celebrate too - the singer was spotted wearing a ring on her wedding finger. 

She also showed off a nasty looking gash on her elbow. 

Boyfriend Reg Traviss was nowhere to be seen though as Amy embarked on her boozy night out. 

The star ditched the bra and wore what looked like a hot pink swimsuit instead of a proper top coupled with denim shorts and her favourite ballet flats. 

She started off with a quiet meal at Balan's restaurant in London's Soho before joining Marley and US rapper Nas at a private bash at The Kayashi Club in Covent Garden.

But the night didn't end there - Winehouse then hit The Runaway Club in Holborn at 2am before leaving bleary-eyed at 4am. 

Her security guard had to help her to her car so make sure she didn't fall over. 

This is Amy's second night out with Marley and Nas after she turned up to their gig at the Hammersmith Apollo on Tuesday.

Metro.Uk

Ontario watchdog launching new review of police action during G20 summit

Ontario’s independent police watchdog is reviewing police action during the G20 summit in Toronto.

The Office of the Independent Police Review Director, created last fall to investigate complaints surrounding police conduct, announced Thursday afternoon it is conducting a review “of a systemic nature” into numerous allegations of police misconduct. The number of complaints registered with the arm’s-length body of the Ontario government doubled in the week following the summit.

“The review will investigate common issues arising from complaints against police during the G20 summit,” director Gerry McNeilly said in a statement. “I can ensure that these issues are investigated thoroughly and in a way that is accountable, transparent, efficient and fair to both the public and the police”.

The “systemic issues” under investigation include allegations of unlawful searches, unlawful arrests, improper detention and issues related to the Eastern Avenue film studio used as a detention centre during the G20 weekend. More than 1,000 people were arrested over the course of several days. Of those, more than 700 were charged with breach of peace and released, and about 100 were never charged with anything.

A release from the OIPRD said the review “will provide recommendations to address issues of a systemic nature for the overall improvement of police practices,” producing a final report that will be made public.

The announcement marks the latest review into police conduct and security protocol leading up to and during the G20: Toronto’s Police Services Board spent Thursday afternoon listening to public submissions relating to the independent review the board is pursuing to investigate governance and oversight issues relating to the G20.

The Globe and Mail

Naomi Campbell asks to postpone testimony at war crimes trial

(CNN) -- British supermodel Naomi Campbell has asked to postpone her testimony at the "blood diamonds" war crimes trial for the former Liberian president, the chief prosecutor's office said Thursday.

Campbell did not want to be involved in the trial but was subpoenaed on July 1 to appear at the tribunal for Charles Taylor, who faces war crimes charges over a brutal conflict in Sierra Leone that was fueled by rough diamonds, also known as blood diamonds or conflict diamonds.

Witnesses have said Taylor gave Campbell a diamond.

Campbell was scheduled to appear July 29 at the trial in The Hague, Netherlands. She has requested to postpone her testimony to August 5, the prosecutor's office said. The judge will make a decision on the request Monday.

Prosecutors had rested their case against Taylor in February 2009. They asked to reopen it specifically to call Campbell, as well as actress Mia Farrow and a witness named Carole Taylor, court papers show.

Prosecutors said they learned in June 2009 that Taylor had given the supermodel a diamond in South Africa in 1997. Farrow confirmed it, they said.

CNN

Microsoft profits hit $4.5bn on Windows 7 sales

Microsoft has reported profits of $4.52bn (£2.96bn) for the three months between April and June - up 48% on the same period last year.

The world's biggest software company said strong sales of its Windows 7 operating system helped boost profits.

The company said 175 million Windows 7 licences have now been sold since its launch last year.

Total revenues hit $16bn with strong sales from its Bing search engine and the Xbox games console.

BBC News

Two inmates killed in Quebec City prison riot

Two inmates have been killed and six injured in a riot in a Quebec prison.

The riot was set off by a "violent altercation" in a wing of the Quebec Detention Centre in Orsainville, north of Quebec City on Wednesday night.

Prisoners set fire to mattresses and clothes, and the inmates' bodies were discovered after the fires were extinguished, officials said.

It was unclear what sparked the riot, said to involve 14 prisoners.

No guards or prison staff were injured.

BBC News

Shirley Sherrod threatens to sue rightwing US blogger Andrew Breitbart

Breitbart at centre of race row after black federal official loses her job over edited video posted on BigGovernment.com

The focus of the latest race row to engulf the White House has swung to the rightwing blogger who instigated the furore by posting an edited version of a speech made by one of the federal government's senior black officials.

Andrew Breitbart found himself at the centre of the storm after he posted parts of a speech by Shirley Sherrod, the head of rural development for the agriculture department in Georgia, on the internet. The clips were edited to give the impression that Sherrod had been making discriminatory comments against white farmers, when in fact she had been recalling a parable designed to show that poor people should be treated equally whatever their race.

Sherrod was fired within hours of Breitbart posting the footage on Monday but later her full speech from March was aired, clearing her of any hint of racism. That led to apologies to her from the White House, the agriculture secretary, Tom Vilsack, and media pundits who had swallowed Breitbart's version without checking its veracity.

Today Sherrod conducted a round of television interviews in which she threatened to sue Breitbart for damage to her reputation. She told CNN's morning news magazine that she would like to "get back" at the blogger and see his website shut down.

"That would be a great thing. He's doing more to divide us," she said.

She told NBC News that Breitbart "knew his actions would take Shirley Sherrod down. It would be hard for me to forgive him at this point".

Breitbart posted the misleading video on his site BigGovernment.com, which he bills as a rightwing version of the Huffington Post, the now liberal news aggregator he used to work on. So far he has been one of the few parties in the saga not to offer an apology to Sherrod, though he has said he felt sorry for her.

Breitbart's website insisted he had done no editing himself of the speech, running footage he had been handed by an unidentified source in its entirety. "We did not edit, much less misleadingly edit, any of Ms Sherrod's remarks. We posted two excerpts from her speech, representing the sum total of the video we had. We didn't cut anything out of her speech," a post on the site said.

The Guardian