Showing posts with label still. Show all posts
Showing posts with label still. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Michael Schumacher stable but still in critical condition

Grenoble: Doctors treating Michael Schumacher said Monday the Formula One legend remained in a stable but critical condition following his life-threatening skiing accident.

Schumacher has been in a medically induced coma since the accident on December 29 in the French ski resort of Meribel.

"The clinical state of Michael Schumacher is considered as stable and is being constantly monitored as he receives medical treatment," a statement from Grenoble's University Hospital said.

"However, the medical team in charge of his care underlines that they continue to consider Michael's condition as critical."

The team treating Schumacher said they would be giving no details of the treatment the 45-year-old is receiving in order to protect his right to privacy.

"The privacy of the patient demands that we are not going into details of his treatment, and this is why we do not envisage any press conferences or statements in the near future."

French prosecutors meanwhile said they would this week brief journalists on their investigation into Schumacher's accident.

A press conference will be held on Wednesday at 11:00 am (1000 GMT) in the Alpine town of Albertville, local prosecutor Patrick Quincy told AFP.

Investigators are focusing on the retired racer's speed when he fell and slammed his head on a rock on a small off-piste section, prompting his evacuation by helicopter to Grenoble.

Prosecutors are also looking at whether the limits of the ski runs next to the accident site were correctly marked and whether the rock in question was lying close enough to the piste to require some kind of protection or signage.

They are also examining whether the safety releases on Schumacher's skis operated properly in a probe aimed at determining responsibility for the accident.

Desiré Randall Wilson Desiré Randall Wilson is a former racing driver from South Africa and is one of only five women to have competed in Formula One.Desiré Randall Wilson Wilson entered one Formula One World Championship Grand Prix in 1980 with a non-works RAM Racing prepared Williams FW07, but failed to qualify. She also raced in the 1981 non world championship South African Grand Prix in a one off deal with Tyrrell Racing. Divina Mary Galica is an English sportswoman, best known for her Olympics career and her motorsport racing career.Accepting an invitation to a celebrity auto race, Galica surprised everyone with her driving talent. She eventually took up motorsport as a second career, initially racing karts, moving into Formula Two and Formula One before finding success in sports cars and trucks. Her racing career has included stints in Formula Renault and Formula Vauxhall Lotus.Giovanna Amati is a former professional racing driver from Italy. She is best known as the last female driver to have entered the Formula One World Championship.Amati signed with the dying Brabham team in January 1992 to partner Eric van de Poele. The announcement of a female driver gained publicity for the Brabham team. Before the first round in South Africa, Amati had little experience in driving Formula One machinery as mechanics were still working on her car.Lella Lombardi was a racing driver from Italy. Born in Frugarolo, Piedmont, she participated in 17 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 20 July 1974.Lombardi is the only female Formula One driver in history to have a top six finish in a World Championship race, at the 1975 Spanish Grand Prix. Half points were awarded for this race due to a shortened race distance, hence Lombardi received half a point instead of the usual one point.Maria Teresa de Filippis is an Italian former racing driver noted as being the first woman to race in Formula One. She participated in five World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 18 May 1958, but scored no championship points.On 18 May 1958 de Filippis was given the opportunity to enter the Monaco Grand Prix, the second round of the 1958 Formula One season, in one of the 250Fs.

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Sunday, March 2, 2014

Pervez Musharraf says Pakistan army still backs him

Islamabad: Former military ruler Pervez Musharraf, hemmed in by legal woes, has dismissed the notion that Pakistan's powerful army has abandoned him, saying the 6.5 lakh force was still with him.

"I have led my men at Brigadier level and as Chief. Ask the 6.5 lakh personnel," Musharraf said when asked if the Army had abandoned him.

He said he had led the army as a leader and not the commander.

"The real leadership is without the stars on your soldier. Remove it and then see if your men actually listen to you," Musharraf said in an interview to ARY news channel aired last night.

He said the 6.5 lakh-strong Army had not abandoned him. This was the second interview Musharraf gave to the news network.

In an earlier interview the 70-year-old had sought "forgiveness" for any wrongs he may have committed during his nine-year rule and said he will face all cases against him and not run like a coward. Asked about the negotiations with the Taliban and other militant groups, he said he supported it but "talks should be held from a position of strength".

He said talks are been held from a position of weakness. Musharraf is set to appear before a Special Court on January 1 on treason charges.

The special court was set up by the Nawaz Sharif government to try the former military ruler for high treason for suspending the constitution in 2007.

The former president is charged with abrogating, subverting, suspending, holding in abeyance and attempting to conspire against the 1973 Constitution by declaring emergency and overthrowing the superior judiciary in November 2007.

On November 17, the government decided to initiate treason proceedings against Musharraf, who came to power in 1999 by toppling a government led by Sharif and ruled till 2008 when he was forced to resign after being threatened with impeachment.

He lived in self-exile for about five years and returned to Pakistan in March to contest elections but was hauled to court in different cases, including one over the 2007 assassination for former premier Benazir Bhutto. 

Musharraf has secured bail in four major cases against him but the trial for treason poses the biggest challenge to the former army commando.

This is the first time in Pakistan's history that a military ruler has been put on trial for treason.

If convicted, Musharraf could face life imprisonment or the death penalty.

The military, which has ruled Pakistan for more than half of its 66-year history, has not commented on Musharraf's case. A Pakistani court on Monday said it was unable to lift a travel ban on Musharraf, who wanted to go abroad to meet his ailing mother.

The government said it was willing to bring Musharraf's 95-year-old mother from Dubai in a special aircraft or an air ambulance as a humanitarian gesture so that the two could be reunited.

The government also offered to provide her medical treatment. But Musharraf rejected "with thanks" the government's offer, saying he had enough resources to bring her back.


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