Simon Bird shares his predictions for this weekend's big Premier League matches...
Simon Bird Predicts
Getty
Surely no players at White Hart Lane or the Stadium of Light will be
shovelling down caffeine tablets to get sharp for the two biggest games
of the weekend.
One of the side effects of England's waterlogged
and delayed friendly against Poland was to reveal that Roy Hodgson's men
took Pro-Plus to get them up for the big game.... then needed sleeping pills to knock them out after it was postponed.
Perhaps
it should be no surprise that our footballers take caffeine pills to
stay awake during England games given the tedium that is served up as
our players scurry around after the ball and give it away at the first
opportunity.
The fans are the ones who need the chemical
assistance. None of which will be required when Chelsea visit Spurs for a
noisy start to the weekend with all eyes on Andre Villas Boas.
Or when Newcastle visit Sunderland for their traditional North East mutual hate-athon. So who will come out of top?
Tottenham V Chelsea, Saturday, 12.45pm
Hot Spurs: Tottenham have won four in a row
Scott Heavey
Andre Villas Boas has insisted that his first game against his former club Chelsea "isn't personal".
Well
that's what he says in public. Surely privately he will be desperate
for his Spurs squad to teach his old Chelsea charges, whose
under-performance got him the sack, a lesson.
It is a tough one to
call. Spurs are the Premier League's most in-form team after four wins
in a row. Chelsea have won five on the trot in all competitions.
Has
Villas Boas learned from his man-management problems at Chelsea? Or
will Chelsea's men simply show he was the wrong man for the job, as they
were intent on doing for much of last season, before winning the
Champions' League under Roberto De Matteo.
At least there will be
an outbreak of football at lunchtime on Saturday. What a mad world we
live in when typing "Hahahahaa, well done £fa I lied did I,
£BUNCHOFT***S" into your phone and sending it out on Twitter can cost
you £330,000.
Fresh from being fined £90,000 by the FA for the outburst about the John Terry/Anton Ferdinand case, Cole is likely to be fined two weeks wages by Chelsea. Terry this week accepted his FA punishment too, and has been fined.
The one question arising: why not apologise for the language he used a year ago?
Chelsea's
title credentials are about to receive their toughest test yet. The
Spurs game is the start of a difficult run, and the results could well
determine what momentum De Matteo has for the battles ahead, including
league and cup games against Manchester United.
Google's early earnings report spawns hilarious Twitter account
We all make mistakes — even big-name companies like Google (NASDAQ:GOOG).
As you’ve surely heard by now, the tech giant accidentally filed its earnings report early — and it was so clearly incomplete, it even included a line saying “PENDING LARRY QUOTE.”
The mishap sent shares down around 9% before trading of the stock was
halted. But it also led to some comic relief. Other funny big-time news
bits have turned into Twitter accounts — from Romney’s “Binders Full of
Women” comment to Clint Eastwood’s chair-talking antics. Google’s snafu
was no different, spawning a Twitter account for “Pending Larry”
himself.
So while everyone pores over the details of Google’s not-too-hot report — and while Google points fingers at financial printer R.R. Donnelley & Sons (NASDAQ:RRD) — take a minute and enjoy some of Pending Larry’s best quips (so far):
Court documents reveal a fortune of more than $32 million
Britney Spears isn’t hurting for cash. From court documents filed by
her conservators, which includes her father and an attorney, Spears is
doing all right. Spears is worth more than $32 million, reports The London Daily Mail. More than $15 million of that is cash. The figures are from the filings for 2010.
However, the pop star spends it as well as she earns it. With
expenses of more than $300,000 for child care and $61,000 for grooming
and clothing, the singer lives on the costly side of the street.
Britney doesn’t do it alone, thank goodness. She had $460,000 in expenses for personnel and assistants.
Carly Rae Jepson definitely has Bieber fever as she and Justin get up close and personal on stage
Don't look, Selena! Don't look!
Barcroft
Holding hands, dancing closely and Justin Bieber then falls for her
(no, literally he does). We're not talking about the Bieb and his
girlfriend Selena Gomez (who Justin quickly seemed to forget about) but
about Biebs and Carly Rae Jepson, who he performed a duet with last
night.
If we didn't know any better, we'd have thought Justin was
young, free and single (we'll give him young) as he got down and dirty
on stage with Carly, in their native Canada. Again, Selena, really don't look
Barcroft
The pair sung Carly's song Beautiful, which must have got
Bieber in a spin, as towards the end of the song, he fell down some
steps, leaving Carly to save his blushes, catching him before he landed
on his bottom. (Damn you Jepson - the Bieb falling slap bang on his bum
would've been hilarious. Although not nearly as funny as him throwing up all over the stage...) Justin was about to nearly fall, hard... pretty gutted that didn't happen
Barcroft
Carly and Justin already have history behind them, as he kindly helped to make her the star she is today.
Just
last year, Justin tweeted to his 29 million followers (yes, 29 million!
But, hey, we're almost catching up with him!) about how much he loved
Call Me Maybe (you know, the one where she meets a guy, and although
it's crazy, she gives him her number, so he can call her...maybe... GOD
WE LOVE IT) and the song became an instant hit - with Carly then
joining Justin on his world tour. ...and they're still holding hands. SELENA, SERIOUSLY DON'T LOOK
Barcroft
Want more celeb news? Hop on over to our gossip blog for all the latest HERE.
And if you love Bieber and Selena, get over this by looking at their best pics together here.
The classy four-door VW Jetta wins for a second year in a row
A first past the post scoring system made picking an overall Tow Car of the Year easier than ever.
Over three days, each judge used the 23 entrants to tow a variety of
caravans nearly 700 miles on two challenging courses. Of course, they
also rated each car’s ‘caravanability’, assessing how much luggage they
could take and how easily it could be loaded. And the VW Jetta successfully defended its crown.
It scored with its crisp handling and superb ride, plus its
impeccable road manners when towing. The DSG box shifted smoothly and on
motorways the car’s stability was second to none.
VW offers three trims and a choice of petrol and diesel engines. But
this 2.0 TDI is best for towing, preferably with the DSG twin-clutch
box.
But there’s more to the Jetta than classy looks and capable dynamics.
The boot has a huge 510-litre capacity, while top-spec Sport models get
a hill-hold function, semi-auto air-con, cruise control and an iPod
connection.
Plus, this diesel promises 53.3mpg economy, while 138g/km emissions
mean low road tax bills. Sealing the deal is VW’s great-value £329
three-year/30,000-mile servicing package.
Singer Stevie Nicks has agreed to reunite with Lindsey Buckingham, Mick Fleetwood and John McVie
Promotional photo
Rock super group Fleetwood Mac have confirmed they are starting rehearsals and will head out on the road next year.
The
1970s rock giants plan to tour around the world to mark the 45th
anniversary of their first album release, with rumours they could appear
at Glastonbury in 2013.
Singer Stevie Nicks has agreed to reunite with Lindsey Buckingham, Mick Fleetwood and John McVie.
Insiders say singer Christina McVie will be not be joining the reunion.
The group may even try to record new material for a proposed Greatest Hits package.
The decision puts pay to months of wrangles and issues between Mick and Stevie.
Nicks confirmed on ABC radio in America: “We go into rehearsals somewhere around the end of February.
“So if everything goes to plan, we should probably be out by end of April or May, I would think.”
Stevie says the band could work on some new material for a greatest hits package.
“Well, actually, maybe like two songs, maybe four, who knows?” he added.
“We don’t really know yet ’cause we’re not in the world of Fleetwood Mac yet. We’re just still in talks about that”
And they may even be doing a new album, so watch this space.”
Fleetwood Mac – famous for hits like Lies and Don’t Stop - has been on hiatus since 2009.
An expected 2011-12 tour ended up falling apart due to schedule clashes.
That prompted a media battle between Nicks and Cornish born Fleetwood.
American singer Nicks, 64, told a US TV show a tour was on the cards for 2013: “It’s the plan. Because that’s what we do.
"I do my thing. And Lindsey is out doing his thing right now.”
Drummer Fleetwood, 65, changed his mind about a reunion admitting there were no plans in April before wanting a comeback,
He
said: “In terms of aspiration, I’m always there for Fleetwood Mac and
of course love the band and hope we work and stuff like that.
“But
we thought we were going to go out this year and we ended up not doing
that... I would say we’re in a waiting game, and that’s fine. We get
used to doing that.”
The band’s last record was almost a decade ago when Say You Will peaked at No. 3 in the US in 2003.
Formed
by Fleetwood as a blues band in London in 1967, the group gained
platinum fame after an early ‘70s membership shake-up brought in Nicks
and Buckingham.
They became the sound of a generation thanks to
classics, including the self-titled lineup debut, the multi-platinum
Rumours and the fan favourite Tusk.
A 2013 tour would mark 45 years since Mac’s first album was released in February 1968.
*** Be first to hear about when Fleetwood Mac tickets go on sale, by registering for email alerts with Mirror Tickets.
KIM
Kardashian sends temperatures soaring sky-high in the departure lounge
in a boob-flashing blouse.
The bra-less reality show star looked first class as she arrived in Miami
airport wearing a sheer black top with plunging neckline and tight leather
trousers.
The belted top gave fellow passengers a bird’s eye view of the famous
Kardashian curves.
The stunning brunette added cute gold shoes and carried a fur coat, in case
she felt the chill as she flew away from the sweltering Miami heat.
Kim – who has been filming her new reality show with sister Kourtney – was set
to reunite with boyfriend Kanye West to begin her birthday break.
Let’s hope it matches her new ‘fave shoes’, a pair of gold Roman sandals from
Tom Ford, which she tweeted yesterday.
That could have put a dampener on the couple cosy plans, as Kanye has his own
range of designer footwear.
But she made amends with a glowing tweet about Kanye’s more famous talents.
Going for gold ... Kim Kardashian's Tom Ford shoes
She posted a comment about tenor Andrea Bocelli being her “favorite male
singer of all time!”
But she quickly added: “But my favorite male rapper of all time is Kanye ;-)”
The diamonds won’t be going back to shop just yet.
ANDRE VILLAS-BOAS last night taunted Chelsea by saying his unbeaten season
with Porto trumped the Blues’ Champions League glory.
Tottenham boss AVB faces his former club tomorrow for the first time since
they sacked him last season.
Chelsea went on to lift the Champions League trophy under Roberto Di Matteo.
But AVB — who took over at Spurs in the summer — lit the touchpaper for the
London derby by insisting that achievement was easier than his 2011 Primeira
Liga triumph in Portugal, when his Porto side emulated Arsenal’s Invincibles.
AVB said: “Winning any league is extremely difficult but going through it
unbeaten is also extremely difficult.
“Which is more difficult — winning the Champions League or remaining unbeaten
in the league?
“Remaining unbeaten in the league.”
Broad City,"
created by comedians Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer, has been tapped by
Comedy Central for a pilot. The pilot will be executive produced in
part by Amy Poehler, who, like Jacobson and Glazer, is tied to the
Upright Citizens Brigade. Described in the WSJ as "sneak-attack
feminism," the show "follows two girls, played by Jacobson and Glazer,
throughout their daily lives in New York City, making the smallest and
mundane events hysterical and disturbing to watch all at the same time,"
according to a release. Watch the show's teaser below.
RootStrikers.org has created a great
infographic highlighting where money goes and comes from in the
presidential election. This year, Obama has received over $35 million
from Super PACs, or about 7.6 percent of the money he's raised (92.4
percent has come from direct contributions), while Romney has received
much more from Super PACs -- almost $96 million, or 25.5 percent of his
money raised (74.5 percent has come from direct contributions).
But what about PAC funding for women candidates? Women running for
office tend to receive much less money from Super PACs than their male
counterparts, as demonstrated in an infographic from She Should Run.
(Below is a selection from the graphic; find the whole thing here.)
As the Syrian Revolution continues, its consequences continue to
affect refugees who have fled the violence in the country, especially
women who are paying a double price as victims of violence in these
armed conflicts.
In a patriarchal and male chauvinist culture that constantly abuses
the weakness of the woman for its own interests, Syrian refugee girls in
Jordan, Libya, Turkey and Lebanon are subject to the pressures of
forced marriages from Syrian or other Arab nationals under the pretext
of protecting their virtue at any price.
Within this context, news on Syrian refugee girls forced marriages or
even campaigns to marry them off to “protect their virtue” have gone
viral on social media. The Facebook Page “Syrian Women with the Revolution”,
created originally to support the revolution in Syria, has received
many “marriage demands” from young Arabs wishing to tie the knot with a
Syrian refugee so as “to protect her honor.”
For example, Rami [ar] from Jordan posted:
Hello, I am Rami, 25 years old from
Jordan. I'd like to marry a Syrian girl. I swear I am very serious and I
wish to protect the honor. Thanks to God, I have a house and my salary
is good. Thanks God
In response, many Syrians revealed their extreme irritation and anger
over the abuse of the conditions of refugee families through such
marriage contracts and bargains. On the other hand, the phenomena
reached Libya, where Syrian refugees talked about Libyans knocking on
their doors, looking to marry girls in exchange for money.
Helal Samarqandy wrote [ar] on Facebook:
The least you can do is support them
to have the basics of life and then propose to her when she is free if
you want but as to exploit their displacement and their lack of the
basics things for life, you are no better than Bashar. May God curse the
one whose brain is between his legs.
Nbares Blog asserted
the existence of secret bureaus for “honor marriages” with Syrian girl
in Benghazi, where Syrian refugees speak of Libyans knocking the doors
of Syrian families looking to marry from young girls in addition to the
existence of offices working discretely.
Meanwhile, Libyan Affairs [ar]
entitles its post “A double suffering for Syrian Refugee Girls …. a war
tearing the homeland and marriage proposals that are closer to forced
marriages”:
The shop of Abu Ahmed [” Symbol of
the pimp” in Jordan, Algeria and Iraq named by a Saudi writer who
criticized the abuse of Syrian refugee girls by Gulf and Arab nationals
… ], the Arab patriotic, the religious who trade women based on the
fatwas [religious edicts] of clerics, started to spread with the
intensification of the war in Syria and quite soon, it found its clients
among youth and old men desiring to wed to Syrians so as to protect
their honor or to take care of them because they are refugees without
any provider. Very often, these women are married with quite a cheap
dowry and the family of the bride can only but accept given their dire
conditions and looking for “protection” of the girl's honor and her
family.
Within the framework of a campaign to support Syrian refugee women in
Syria's neighboring countries, some young Syrians created a Facebook
page entitled “Refugees … not captives” [ar] whose mission is summarized as follows:
For the protection of the Syrian women rights For fighting the humiliation of the value of Syrian women To call the civil society and businessmen to support Syrian women
Refugees not captives, because Syrian women have rebelled for their
dignity so not to become cheap goods in the slave markets under the
names of marriage and honor. Join us in supporting “Refugees not
captives Campaign”
Moayad Skaif [ar], one of the campaign's founders, wonders on his Facebook page:
The calls of Gulf nationals to marry
Syrian women means they look at our women as captives but with money… it
is a slave market, to satisfy their sexual impulses and enhance their
lineage on the expense of our dignity and with bright titles … ohhhh you
poor Syrian orphan … you have become a straw in the heart of history
Interviewed by the electronic magazine “Zaman al Wasl” (The times of communication) [ar], he wonders:
If chivalry
and the desire to help is the true motive of the marriage seekers, why
don't they protect the honor of Somali or Sudanese women in Darfur as
well? If the motives are purely humanitarian as they claim, let them
support young Syrian males whose conditions have forced them to stay
single being refugee and unable to find his daily bread.
Abdelhak on his blog debdoupress [ar] insists on the importance of that campaign:
The campaign launched by the Syrian activist
Mazna Duraid under the title “Refugees not Captives” aims to raise the
awareness of the girls parents on the risks of such a marriage covered
with religious titles and social values but also to address a message to
some of the young people in the Gulf and the Arab World who think that
marrying Syrian women is a way of helping, that the Syrians reject such a
help because the incumbent risks of such a marriage requires its
refusal.
Mum Julie Dodwell is looking forward to Christmas for the first time in years and it is thanks to the Daily Mirror
Settled: Now Julie will get the cash she is entitled to
Julie’s life has been turned around and she is no longer struggling
financially as she now has access to her share of her ex-husband’s
pension.
“I am over the moon,” says Julie, 48, from Walsall, West Mids. “This
year, for the first time in many years, I can give my children the
Christmas presents that they
really want. I feel liberated and I no longer have to struggle with day-to-day living expenses.”
Desperate
Despite Julie being awarded a 32.48% share of her ex-husband’s
pension, her lawyers failed to correctly file the paperwork and she
could not access this much-needed cash when she desperately needed to
draw upon it in 2008.
Julie has two children and cannot work since she was left disabled by
Cauda Equina Syndrome, a serious neurological condition affecting the
nerves at the lower end of the spinal cord. Prescriptions cost almost
£100 a month and they are not covered by the NHS. Julie explains: “Four
years ago, I became desperate for the money for my share of the pension
after the divorce settlement.
“I found out my solicitors had not done their job properly. I tried to
recover the pension myself, but I was too unwell to unravel the legal
tangle and I could not afford to pay for a lawyer to do it
for me.
“I had almost given up and then I spotted an article about Divorce
LifeLine in the Daily Mirror. After just 10 weeks, they have secured my
pension entitlement. I can’t begin to say how relieved I am, especially
as this did not involve any contact with my ex-husband.”
Julie got a five-figure settlement and she will now get two lump sums each year for the rest of her life.
Although pension settlements are not usually paid until retirement
age, spouses can get access earlier under the terms of ill health –
subject to the rules of the pension scheme.
Because of Julie’s disability, she should have been given instant
access to her share of the pension but her divorce lawyers failed to
file the “pension-sharing annex”, a form attached to a pension sharing
order, correctly at court.
Divorce LifeLine estimates that more than 750,000 people could be
entitled to tens of thousands of pounds because their divorce settlement
was undervalued by their lawyer.
Roger Mahoney, a founding director of Divorce LifeLine, says: “We are very pleased with this result.
“It is exactly what we set out to do and we have now secured a
pension for a lady who had almost written it off, even though she was
entitled to it.
Negligence
“We are currently investigating hundreds of claims like this,
relating to divorce lawyers’ negligence. Sadly, we have encountered many
clients like Julie who have been let down and suffered a financial loss
as a result.”
Many people are put off chasing claims for undervalued pension
settlements, fearing it will mean dragging up the emotional turmoil of
divorce.
But the good news is that where claims are made against negligent
lawyers, who failed to fully protect a client’s interests, absolutely no
contact will be made with the former spouse.
Find out more
Under the Welfare Reform and Pensions Act 1999, couples divorcing can share each other’s workplace and personal pensions.
If you got divorced after December 1, 2000 and think your pension settlement may have been undervalued, contact Divorce LifeLine
on 01483 449 612..
If your claim cannot be pursued, any investigative work is free. If
you are successful, LifeLine will charge 15% of the settlement figure.
A crack search team are to scour a mound of earth where it is feared the 21-month-old was accidentally buried in Kos in 1991
Grim hunt: Missing Ben and the site the cops will dig
The terrible agony of not knowing what has happened to her missing son Ben for the past 21 years could soon be over for Kerry Needham.
But
she is all too aware that this pain could be replaced by the anguish of
learning her toddler may be buried under tons of rubble near the home
on the island of Kos where the family stayed.
As a team of British search experts yesterday arrived in Greece to dig up the site after a Mirror investigation led them to the mound, the 41-year-old reiterated that she still believed her boy was alive.
She
said: “This is an elimination process, and that’s how I’m dealing with
it. It’s one of the most important things to happen in 21 years.
“I never imagined this would happen so soon after the Daily Mirror investigation on Kos this summer.”
Kerry,
of Sheffield, added: “I really feel South Yorkshire Police are
determined to help me find out exactly what has happened to Ben.
"This has been a 21-year nightmare you don’t wake up from.”
The
team of 10 search experts drafted in from police forces across the UK
will today be joined by six others in a bid to solve one of the longest
running missing persons inquiries in history. Mum: Kerry Needham yesterday waiting on news
Roger Allen
They are being led by South Yorkshire’s Detective
Superintendent Matt Fenwick, who is investigating our revelations that
21-month-old Ben may have been accidentally buried under the rubble by a
JCB driver working outside the home.
Kerry will wait anxiously at a secret location for news as the dig, expected to last up to 10 days, starts tomorrow.
Mr
Fenwick said yesterday: “One of the lines of inquiry is that we want to
clear the ground from where Ben originally went missing, to if you
like, finalise that as a line of inquiry.
“I’m taking over some
search experts with expertise in looking at ground work, to establish
the possibility that some remains could be there.
“From the Greek
authority perspective they’re also providing a level of expertise and
they will be working very closely with us and providing a large number
of staff who can assist in the search.
“There are multiple lines
of inquiry at the moment that are certainly possibilities as to what’s
happened to Ben, but this is just one line of inquiry that, by the work
that we propose, should finalise that, to the best we can.”
The developments on Kos follow our investigation in May that revealed where little Ben may have been buried.
We
also told how the mound was formed with tons of earth being dumped by
JCB digger driver Konstantinos Barkas and other builders in an
overgrown field next to the house. Missing: Ben in a smiling portrait
Phil Spencer
And only a handful of police searched for the missing tot by
torchlight because at least three hours elapsed before his disappearance
was reported.
The unprecedented move follows a landmark diplomatic operation between Greece and Britain.
And
the dig is unique because British officers have been allowed to seal
off part of a foreign country and treat it as a crime scene. At the
request of Athens’ most senior police chiefs, Home Office experts will
use sonar and 3D equipment to scan the ground for bones.
Cadaver dogs trained to search out human remains will also form part of the hunt.
A forensic anthropologist and archaeologist from a UK university are involved in the operation.
A
sample of Ben’s DNA, from the heel blood test done at birth, was
obtained by British police in a High Court ruling last year. That could
be crucial if remains are found.
The Mirror saw the first British officers arriving in Kos on a flight from Manchester. Search: The Needhams property (white house) with the mound of earth to the right
Roger Allen
Blond, blue-eyed Ben vanished on July 24, 1991 while his
grandparents Eddie and Christine Needham were looking after him along
with Kerry’s younger brothers Stephen and Daniel.
Kerry, then 19, was out working as a waitress at a hotel in Kos where the family had intended to settle.
Residents
in the coastal village of Psalidi, where the hillside track to the home
starts, have been kept in the dark about the police operation.
But
shopkeeper Xanthippi Agrelli, 59, once accused by the Needhams of being
involved in Ben’s disappearance, said she was sure the answer to the
mystery rests on Kos.
She volunteered as the family’s translator in the first desperate days of the search for the youngster.
Last
night she broke down in tears at the scene and said: “It has been so
awful for all of these years to live with this hanging over us
“I have never been able to understand why they don’t look around this house. They were digging here.
"Next door there was a new building. In the field next door it was full of high wild grass.
“They
were filling it with stones and earth. Ben was a tiny boy and like all
tiny boys he would have been curious about the noise from the big
trucks.
"As soon as we heard about Ben we all said the same thing… the poor little baby was the victim of a horrible accident.” Dig site: Mirror's Tom Parry next to mound of earth next to where Ben disappeared
Roger Allen
In May, the Mirror tracked down digger driver Mr Barkas who
confirmed he was excavating earth for a property to be built 50 yards
from the house where the Needhams were staying.
Speaking for the
first time, the 61-year-old told us: “Yes, I was the man with the JCB
that day. Loads of earth were being taken to clear the ground for the
new house.
“I think people were misled in thinking the child was
abducted. Could there have been an accident? I don’t think so but no one
really knows what happened.
“The little boy was two years old and the thorns in that field were as high as my waist.”
Mr Barkas also revealed he has given a statement to police.
Other theories about Ben’s disappearance include one that he may have been murdered and buried at the site. Mirror investigation: How we broke the story on the burial theory
Daily Mirror
Another is that he may have been accidentally killed then
dumped in a shallow grave by the culprit who knew it would later be
further covered by tons of earth.
Greek detectives are convinced the most likely explanation is that Ben, who would be 23 this year, died on the day he vanished.
A source said: “This idea is a lot more plausible than him being abducted.
“Going back 21 years, there were only two or three families up there. There would be no reason for anyone else to go up there.
“A
stranger would have needed to be watching the house beforehand, and
then would have snatched him in broad daylight before secreting him off
the island by boat or plane.
“What cops do know for sure is that the dumper truck was driving up and down the track next to the house.
"This carried on in the days and weeks after Ben had been reported missing.” New revelation: Our investigation led to police looking at case again
But Mr Fenwick also shares mum Kerry’s hope that her son is alive.
He added: “I have two children, two girls, what wouldn’t I do to find my girls? Kerry is like that, what won’t she do?
“What hasn’t she done to find her boy? And Kerry won’t give up. She will carry on until she knows what has happened to Ben.
“It would be just fantastic wouldn’t it, if I got a phone call. We do get sightings and we do follow lines of inquiry.
“I can’t describe how that would be for me, never mind for Kerry.”
Kerry believes Ben was snatched by someone driving a white car along the lane at the time.
The vehicle sighting was reported to Kos police by the four builders working on the new house, who included Mr Barkas. Hunter: The device which will be used
Forensic scientists will search for Ben using the same equipment that located the buried victims of killers Fred and Rose West.
Ground
penetrating radar was initially developed to detect land mines but is
used to help police in searches where sniffer dogs or metal detectors
have failed.
Electromagnetic waves are sent into the ground, which bounce back if they hit anything unusual.
Success depends on soil type and how long the body has been buried.
View gallery
PA
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
The search for Ben Needham
View gallery
Missing Ben Needham: Timeline
July 24, 1991 Ben vanishes while in care of his grandparents Eddie and Christine Needham on Greek island of Kos. July 25 The Needhams join police in searching for Ben on the hillside above Kos Town, but find no trace. September
Nearly two months after Ben’s disappearance, the Needhams return home
to Sheffield having run out of money to sustain the search. 1993 Kerry returns to Kos for an update on the investigation but no information
is forthcoming from the Greek police. 1996
Christine and Eddie meet with a prisoner in the Greek city of Larissa
who claims to know someone holding Ben. This ultimately fails to produce
a positive sighting. July 2011 A cold case
review is launched by South Yorkshire Police and officers are sent from
Athens to Kos to give new impetus to the investigation. November 2011 The High Court rules DNA obtained from a Guthrie heel-prick test when Ben was born can be used by police. May 2012 The Daily Mirror reveals police are considering excavating land in Kos to look for Ben’s body
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
