JK Rowling revealed as author of The Cuckoo's Calling

Speaking in 2001, JK Rowling said she found the idea of writing under a pseudonym "appealing"

JK Rowling has secretly written a crime novel under the guise of male debut writer Robert Galbraith.

The Harry Potter author was acclaimed for The Cuckoo's Calling, about a war veteran turned private investigator called Cormoran Strike.

The book had sold 1,500 copies before the secret emerged in the Sunday Times. Within hours, it rose more than 5,000 places to top Amazon's sales list.

Rowling said she had "hoped to keep this secret a little longer".

The author described "being Robert Galbraith" as a "such a liberating experience".

'Sequels plan'

"It has been wonderful to publish without hype or expectation, and pure pleasure to get feedback under a different name," she said in a statement.

Rowling said her editor, David Shelley, had been "a true partner in crime".Continue reading the main story

"And to those who have asked for a sequel, Robert fully intends to keep writing the series, although he will probably continue to turn down personal appearances," she added.

One reviewer described The Cuckoo's Calling as a "scintillating debut", while another praised the male author's ability to describe women's clothes.

A clue that Rowling was behind the novel was that she and "Galbraith" shared an agent and editor.

The book was published by Sphere, part of Little, Brown Book Group which published her foray into writing novels for adults, The Casual Vacancy. Crime writer Peter James told the Sunday Times: "I thought it was by a very mature writer, and not a first-timer."

While crime author Mark Billingham, who reviewed the book ahead of its publication in April, said he was "gobsmacked" at the revelation. Rowling also caught out others with her new guise.

Turned down

Kate Mills, fiction editor at Orion Books, admitted she had turned down the crime novel, which she described as "well-written but quiet".

"So, I can now say that I turned down JK Rowling. I did read and say no to Cuckoo's Calling. Anyone else going to confess?" she tweeted. Sales of the novel have rocketed since the true identity of its author was revealed. The "Movers and Shakers" section of Amazon, which charts gains in sales by the hour, says sales of the book are currently up by more than 507,000%.

A spokesman for Waterstones booksellers said: "This is the best act of literary deception since Stephen King was outed as Richard Bachman back in the 1980s." In a tweet, its Oxford Street branch joked: "SPECIAL OFFER: For today only, ALL of our books were written by JK Rowling!" Others also took to Twitter to react to the news.

Comedian Michael Moran posted: "Idea for publishers: 1: Reveal that ALL books were written by JK Rowling. 2: Sales of all books soar by 150,000%. 3: Industry saved."Author Ian Rankin wrote: "So a debut novelist, garnering good quotes from famed authors for the cover plus good reviews, can expect to sell only a few hundred copies."

Sales of the book are soaring at online outlets, while bricks-and-mortar booksellers replenish their stocks

While an account named Dumbledore's Beard TM posted: "JK Rowling is a genius and proper badass."

And another named the Dark Lord tweeted: "JK Rowling secretly wrote a book under a different name. How very Half-Blood Prince of her."

The fictitious Galbraith was supposed to have been a former plain-clothes Royal Military Police investigator who had left the armed forces in 2003 to work in the civilian security industry. In previous interviews, Rowling has said she would prefer to write novels after Harry Potter under a pseudonym.

Another Cormoran Strike book by Robert Galbraith is in the pipeline, to be published next year.

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Obama urges 'calm reflection' after Zimmerman verdict

Protester: "If it had been a white boy who had been murdered, and a black guy who had murdered him, would they have acquitted him?"

Continue reading the main story

US President Barack Obama has called for "calm reflection" after Florida neighbourhood watchman George Zimmerman was cleared of murdering black teenager Trayvon Martin.

Mr Obama said Mr Martin's death was a tragedy for America, but that it was "a nation of laws and a jury has spoken".

The case sparked a fierce debate in the US about racial profiling.

The Department of Justice says it is investigating whether a civil case can now be brought against Mr Zimmerman.

Mr Zimmerman, 29, was cleared of all charges in relation to Trayvon Martin's death at the trial in Sanford, Florida on Saturday.

Prosecutors had argued that Mr Zimmerman shot Trayvon Martin dead on 26 February 2012 because he had racially profiled him as he walked through his neighbourhood wearing a hooded sweatshirt.

Trayvon Martin was African-American. Mr Zimmerman, who was carrying out area patrols after a spate of break-in, identifies himself as Hispanic.

The defence said he had killed Trayvon Martin in self-defence after the teenager punched their client, slammed his head into the pavement and reached for Mr Zimmerman's gun.

'Jury has spoken'

On Sunday, Trayvon Martin was remembered in many church services across the country. Protests also continued, with those taking part saying justice had not been done.

Trayvon Martin's relatives say they are "hurt" and "disappointed" over the verdict

In his statement, Mr Obama said the death of Trayvon Martin "was a tragedy. Not just for his family, or for any one community, but for America."

He acknowledged the case had elicited "strong passions", but said: "We are a nation of laws, and a jury has spoken."

He said all Americans should respect the call for calm reflection from the Martin family and should reflect on how to prevent future tragedies.

"We should ask ourselves if we're doing all we can to stem the tide of gun violence that claims too many lives across this country on a daily basis... As citizens, that's a job for all of us.

"That's the way to honour Trayvon Martin."

Mr Obama had commented on the Zimmerman case in March last year, saying: "If I had a son, he'd look like Trayvon."

On Sunday, the Department of Justice said it was evaluating the evidence to see whether Mr Zimmerman could face prosecution under federal criminal civil rights statutes, and whether such action would be "appropriate in accordance with the Department's policy governing successive federal prosecution following a state trial".

Civil rights groups in the US have also called for calm, though have expressed their dismay at the verdict.

The department of justice must intervene to take this to another level." He said "the American legal system has once again failed justice". But he also appealed for calm, saying anyone seeking to "compound our pain with street justice" would do "damage to the innocent blood and legacy of Trayvon Martin". Rights activist Al Sharpton said the verdict was "a slap in the face to the American people".

He compared the case to the beating of African-American man Rodney King by police in 1991, which sparked widespread rioting.

A petition launched by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), demanding that the department of justice open a civil rights case against Mr Zimmerman, had received more than 350,000 signatures by midday on Sunday. Protest marches were staged in US cities including San Francisco, Philadelphia, Chicago, Washington and Atlanta. In Oakland, California, some protesters started small fires and smashed windows. Mr Zimmerman's family and representatives have said they are afraid he could fall victim to revenge attacks. His brother, Robert said he had received frequent threats on social media and there was "more reason now than ever to think that people are trying to kill him".

"He's going to be looking over his shoulder the rest of his life," he said. His lawyer, Mark O'Mara, told ABC News on Sunday that Mr Zimmerman had no regrets about having carried a gun on the night of 26 February 2012.

He said his client would now be entitled to have his weapon returned to him and to carry it, saying there was "ever more reason now, isn't there? There are a lot of people out there who actually hate him, though they shouldn't." Jorge Rodriguez, a friend of Mr Zimmerman's, said he had told him of his relief. He told Reuters he did not understand the anger at the verdict.

"Everybody asked for justice, and they got it. Everybody asked for George to be arrested, and they got it. Everybody asked for George to be tried, and they got it. Everybody asked for a fair trial, and they got it."

"It was nothing about racism. It was about the community being robbed and broken into, and one man stood up," he said. "The state should be giving this man an award, and instead they took him to trial."

BBC News

Aboagye and others for Black Stars: FA President

Ghana FA boss Kwesi Nyantakyi has confirmed there are about four players penciled out from the Ghana U20 team that could earn an immediate call up to the Black Stars.

Clifford Aboagye was named the third best 
player of the 2013 FIFA U20 World Cup.

Ghana coach Akwasi Appiah was on scouting mission in Turkey during the 2013 FIFA U20 World Cup.

The Black Stars boss had earlier on revealed he has identified about four players from the Black Satellites team that finished third in the World Cup who could be drafted into the Black Stars.

Coach Appiah without revealing the identities of the said players however added he will continue to monitor these players before taking a final decision as to whether they will join the Black Stars set up soon enough.

Ghana FA boss Kwesi Nyantakyi has now confirmed these players are in line for an immediate call into the Black Stars.

“Apart from the placing, in terms of performance, it gave an opportunity to our national handlers at the senior level to see at first hand some of the budding talents that we will need for the senior team,”he confirmed

“And haven spoken to the Black Stars coach, I am very happy that he has discovered three or four players that he can make a quick call up to take part in the national team towards team building.”

Ghana has profited immensley from the past to such progression of players from the junior teams to the Black Stars.

Most of the players in the 2001 Ghana U20 team that won silver at the World Cup played in the 2002 Nations Cup and formed the nucleaus of the team that qualified Ghana to its maiden senior World Cup finals in Germany 2006.

Again the Black Stars relied heavily on the 2009 U20 World Cup winning squad at the 2010 Nations Cup in Angola with many of them now commanding regular spots in the current Black Stars squad.

Players such as Seidu Salifu, Ebenezer Assifuah and Clifford Aboagye are the most talked of players touted to join the Black Stars following their impressive displays at the World Cup.
While Assifuah emerged top scorer of the tournament, the immense talent of the diminutive Aboagye was recognized with the bronze ball award as the third best player of the tournament with Salifu als likened to Michael Essien for providing the solid backbone of the Ghana U20 midfield.

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Rembrandt van Rijn's 407th birthday: Google doodles a portrait

"As always, Google loves to celebrate the birthdays of special people and today, an amazing man was selected." 

New Delhi: To commemorate the 407th birth anniversary of one of the greatest painters of all time, Google has posted a portrait of the celebrated Dutch painter and printmaker Rembrandt van Rijn on its home page. The Google logo appears as an etching on the background.

Rembrandt van Rijn is regarded as one of the greatest storytellers in the history of art. At the beginning of his artistic career Rembrandt mainly painted portraits and a tenth of them were self portraits, but biblical themes formed the core of Rembrandt's oeuvre.

Born on 15 July 1606, Rembrandt van Rijn (Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn in full) was the fourth of six surviving children out. Four of his siblings died. Rembrandt didn't come from a family of artists or craftsman, as many of his contemporaries. His father was a miller and his mother came from a family of bakers.

The Google logo appears as an etching in the background of the Rembrandt van Rijn portrait.

His most famous works include: Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp (1632), Belshazzar's Feast (1635), Night Watch (1642), Bathsheba at Her Bath (1654) and Syndics of the Drapers' Guild (1662).

Rembrandt died at the age of 63 on October 4, 1669 in Amsterdam.

Read more about Rembrandt and see his works HERE.

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AGI calls for Industrial Parks and Power Plants across every region

The Association of Ghana Industries wants government to set up an Industrial Park in every region. The association believes this should enhance the operations of local manufacturers to effectively address the country’s economic challenges. 

The UN Asks The Vatican to provide Details of Child Sex Abuse Cases

A United Nations committee has demanded that the Vatican reveal potentially explosive details about the systematic cover-up of child abuse by Catholic clergy.

Pope Francis, who has been called on by campaigners to make tackling the issue of sexually abusive priests an urgent priority of his papacy Photo: AP

Optical lattice atomic clock could 'redefine the second'

The optical lattice clock shines lasers
on atoms to measure time

Scientists say they have found a more accurate way to measure time. We currently use atomic clocks to count the seconds, but tests on an alternative atomic timekeeper have revealed that it is more precise.

The French researchers said the clocks, which are called optical lattice clocks, lost just one second every 300 million years.

Writing in Nature Communications, the team said they offered a better system for defining the second.

Asiana 214 pilot realised plane flying too low

Investigators are sifting through the wreckage to determine the factors  that helped so many passengers escape serious injury

The senior pilot in the cockpit of Asiana flight 214 realised the plane was too low when it was flying at only 500ft (152m), an official has said. The Boeing 777 crash-landed at the San Francisco airport on Saturday, killing two passengers and injuring 180. The pilot at the South Korean plane's controls was about half-way through his Boeing 777 training, an official said. Investigators have indicated the plane was flying too slowly when it struck a sea wall before crashing on the runway.

UPDATED: At least two dead in San Francisco airport jet crash: Terror after 'tail snapped off Boeing 777 on landing' and it burst into flames

A Boeing 777 plane carrying 291 crash landed at San Francisco airport this afternoon reportedly killing at least two passengers and injuring 61.

The tail of the Asiana Airlines Boeing 777 flight from South Korea was ripped off in the tragic accident around 11.30am PDT and a huge blaze tore through the plane which onlookers described as spinning around on impact.

Horrific photographs of the damage emerged moments after the crash as well as cellphone videos of the plane as it spun out of control. At least two of those on-board were killed with a further 61 injured, local broadcaster KTVU.COM reported.

A San Francisco General Hospital official told the Associated Press that at least 10 people were in a critical condition including two children and eight adults. Six of the patients are female and four are male. San Francisco Fire Department Chief Joanne Hayes-White said during a press conference Saturday evening that 190 people used emergency slides and walked away from the wreck. However, she added that at least 60 people remain unaccounted for at this time, but they are not presumed dead. 

Of the 190 people who left the wrecked plane to safety, 82 have been transported to hospitals in San Francisco and San Mateo with injuries ranging from abrasions to fractures and possible internal damage. According to Asiana Airlines, 141 of the passengers aboard Flight 214 are Chinese, 77 are South Korean, 61 are American and one is Japanese. 

‘Our thoughts and prayers are with passengers. We are deeply saddened by this incident,’ said San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee during the news briefing. 

A class of vacationing school children were on board while one passenger relayed what happened to a relative via a plane phone, according to CBS San Francisco. Sixteen crew members were on board the craft.

 Crash: Two passengers dies in the crash: This pictures was tweeted by Samsung executive David Eun who survived the crash

This aerial photo shows the wreckage of the Asiana Flight 214 airplane after it crashed at the San Francisco International Airport

Tail snapped off: The plane that was carrying 291 passengers is missing its tail section

A fire gutted the aircraft cabin after the tail snapped off the plane on landing. The Boeing 777 skidded along the runway

Disaster: It is not known what caused the crash but eyewitnesses reported seeing the plane come down tail-first before the runway

Fatal crash: At least two people have been confirmed dead in the crash at San Francisco International Airport this morning, according to local reports

Major accident: The plane which may have been carrying up to 450 passengers crash landed at San Francisco today

Landing: The plane failed to land safely and witnesses described watching the tail and then the wings being ripped off as it hurtled along the runway on its belly

Tail snapped: Onlookers said that the plane's tail snapped off when the plane crashed down near where the runway meets the water at the airport

Several other passengers managed to escape unscathed and could be seen fleeing down emergency inflatable slides. A U.S. Coast Guard team was also dispatched to search the nearby water. It wasn't immediately clear what happened to the plane as it was landing, but some eyewitnesses said the aircraft seemed to lose control and that the tail may have hit the ground.

Audio recordings of conversations between the airport's control tower and Flight 214 crew members suggested that those on the ground knew there was some sort of problem, promising that 'emergency vehicles are responding.'

'We have everyone on their way,' the air traffic controller said, according to LiveATC.net, a website that provides air traffic control audio, CNN reported. However, when the plane ditched down near the water, no fire trucks were there to meet the flight, raising questions about the state of radio equipment aboard the Boeing 777.

Intact: The plane that ended up crashing in San Francisco was an Asiana Airlines Boeing 777 similar to the one in the photo

Flight plan: This shot from the flight tracking site FlightAware shows the departure and expected arrival times of the Asiana plane

Sheared off: Investigators pass the detached tail and landing gear of Asiana Flight 214

Unsettling news: San Francisco Fire Department Chief Joanne Hayes-White (right) said that at least 60 passengers remain unaccounted for 

NTSB officials have said that at this point, it is too early to tell what exactly happened on board the aircraft. Among the questions that the NTSB 'go team' will have to answer is whether a human error on the part of the pilot played a part in the crash.   

A huge smoke cloud could be seen for miles from the site of San Francisco International and tourists in the airport terminal and on waiting flights could only look on in horror as the plane spun across the runway on its belly.

During a short news briefing in Washington DC just before 6pm, NTSB Chairwoman Debbie Hersman said that three members of an investigative team will be arriving on the scene of the crash later this evening to begin the probe.

Lucky escape: An elderly woman in a wheelchair is seen talking to paramedics (left) after getting off the crashed aircraft (right)

A young passenger from the crashed Asiana Airlines Boeing 777 talks to the press at San Francisco International Airport before being interrupted by the police and escorted to a waiting room designated for families and friends of passengers

Charred remains: An airliner passes the wreckage of an Asiana Airlines Boeing 777 at San Francisco International Airport

Disaster area: This aerial photo shows the wreckage of the Asiana Flight 214 airplane, right, after it crashed, as another plane approaches at the San Francisco International Airport

Stranded: Hermann Heider, from left, sits next to Alphonse Roig, wife Christine Roig, and their daughters Marine, 15, and Lara, 12, as they wait for news on their British Airways flight after Asiana Flight 214 crash

Waiting game: Bob Merberg, foreground, sits with son Oren, 19, center, and daughter Maya, 16, after their flight to Rochester, New York was canceled after Asiana Flight 214 crashed

The official also said that the investigation into the crash will likely involve representatives from Boeing and South Korea. FBI Special Agent David Johnson, who is leading the investigation, said: ‘At this point in time there is no indication of terrorism. We currently have all our resources to assist.’

Onlookers said much of the tail came off in the crash while others reported seeing the plane's fuselage spinning around as it journeyed across the concourse. 

The entire ceiling of the plane was destroyed in the blaze that immediately followed. Emergency workers rushed to its aid and doused it with white foam to try and control the flames. They were able to help those who were miraculously able to escape the wreckage and were seen fleeing down emergency slides. According to an excerpt of the radio recorded at the airport tower the plane was cleared to lane at 18.21, just over a minute later the flight called in and appears to have called for emergency assistance. 

Witnesses spoke of their horror.

'The plane started coming in at an odd angle, there was a huge bang and you could see the cloud of huge black smoke,' Kate Belding, told the broadcaster.

Response: A huge emergency response has been launched with firefighters and paramedics rushing to assist those on board

Near the water: The plane crashed just before reaching the runaway just beyond the shoreline

'It was a horrible thud,' Kelly Thompson, who saw it unfold from the parking lot of the Westin Hotel added. 'The airliner bounced and then slid to a stop on the runway.'

'It didn't manage to straighten out before hitting the runway,' Stephanie Turner, who was in a nearby hotel and witnessed the flight told ABC News. 'So the tail of the plane hit the runway, and it cartwheeled and spun and the tail broke off...I mean we were sure that we had just seen a lot of people die. It was awful.

'And it looked like the plane had completely broken apart,' she said. 'There were flames and smoke just billowing.'

Danielle Wells tweeted: 'I just saw a plane crash start to finish. I can't stop crying, I can't believe this.' One witness Jennifer Sorgen said: 'It hit the end of the runway by the water and the tail broke off at that point. It continued down the runway on its belly then proceeded to make 360 spin.'

An onlooker named Kristina Stapchuck told CNN it looked like the tires split and the plane leaned back on the tail before the tail broke off. Others described it as 'cartwheeling' across the runway.

Wreckage: According to local reports two were killed in the crash of a large passenger jet flying into San Francisco from South Korea

Asiana flight: The passenger jet crash landed after seemingly suffering no issues while in the air

Debris: Bits of the large 777 were thrown from the plane

One witness told CNN that there didn't seem to be any preparations for a crash landing before the plane came in suggesting it was an issue that only emerged on landing. 

The weather conditions were also described as ideal for San Francisco airport which can often be blighted with fog and poor visibility. 

Luckily no other standing planes were caught in the accident despite dozens waiting to take off from the major airport. The plane departed Incheon airport near South Korea's capital around 10 hours ago and was due to land at 9.45am on the West Coast. All flights in and out of San Francisco were temporarily cancelled with several being diverted to nearby Oakland International. At 2.30pm PDT the airport said it was looking to open two runways to allow limited arrivals and departures. 

Airport officials urged travelers to check their flight status online. 

Face CEO Sheryl Sandberg was supposed to be on the flight but decided to change her flight last minute so she could use air miles on a United flight instead, according to her post on Facebook.

'Taking a minute to be thankful and explain what happened. My family, colleagues Debbie Frost, Charlton Gholson and Kelly Hoffman and I were originally going to take the Asiana flight that just crash-landed. We switched to United so we could use miles for my family's tickets. Our flight was scheduled to come in at the same time, but we were early and landed about 20 minutes before the crash.'

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Crash landing: The plane pictured on the runway at San Francisco airport

Smoke cloud: Smoke from the plane crash could be seen for miles

David Eun, the executive vice president of Samsung, was on the flight when it crashed and posted on Twitter minutes later. 'I just crash landed at SFO. Tail ripped off. Most everyone seems fine. I'm ok. Surreal...' he wrote.

Asiana is a South Korean airline, second in size to national carrier Korean Air. It has recently tried to expand its presence in the United States, and joined the oneWorld alliance, anchored by American Airlines and British Airways. The 777-200 is a long-range plane from Boeing. The twin-engine aircraft is one of the world's most popular long-distance planes, often used for flights of 12 hours or more, from one continent to another. The airline's website says its 777s can carry between 246 to 300 passengers.

The last time a large U.S. airline lost a plane in a fatal crash was an American Airlines Airbus A300 taking off from JFK in 2001.

Smaller airlines have had crashes since then. The last fatal U.S. crash was a Continental Express flight operated by Colgan Air, which crashed into a house near Buffalo, N.Y. on Feb. 12, 2009. The crash killed all 49 people on board and one man in a house.

The National Transportation Safety Board said it was sending a team of investigators to San Francisco to probe the crash. NTSB spokeswoman Kelly Nantel said Saturday that NTSB Chairman Deborah Hersman would head the team.

Story by:
Katie Davies and Snejana Faberov, Daily Mail