Cristiano Ronaldo donates $83,000 to pay for sick child's operation

By Ryan Bailey 

Not so long ago, Real Madrid superstar Cristiano Ronaldo was regarded as an arrogant, bratty, prima donna who was far too conerned with how his hair looked to think about others. Now, the current World Player of the Year appears to be taking his role as one of the biggest sports stars in the world with maturity and compassion, as proven by his latest act of generosity.

Spanish newspaper AS revealed that the family of a 10-month-old boy with cortical dysplasia — a rare brain disorder that causes dozens of daily seizures — was looking to raise €60,000 ($83,000) to raise money for a vital operation.

Ronaldo — the current leading scorer in the Champions League and La Liga — was asked to donate a shirt and pair of boots to help raise funds for little Erik Ortiz Cruz, a request with which he duly obliged. But that's not where the Portuguese star's contribution ended: he has also offered to pay the full cost of the operation. 

The donation may only represent around 20% of his mammoth weekly earnings, but it's an extremely classy gesture from a man who has used his financial means to help plenty of sick kids on the Iberian Peninsula in the past few years. In 2012, for example, he paid for the cancer treatment of a 9-year-old fan.

Even the staunchest Leo Messi fanboy will agree that it's getting harder and harder to dislike Cristiano Ronaldo. 

source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/soccer-dirty-tackle/cristiano-ronaldo-donates--83-000-to-pay-for-sick-child-s-operation-155950192.html

Search widens as Malaysia plane still missing

China deploys 10 satellites to help track down Malaysia Airlines jet as hunt enters fourth day.

Last updated: 11 Mar 2014 07:05

An Indonesian sailor scans near the Strait of Malacca. False leads have set back the search for the missing jet. Credit Binsar Bakkara/Associated Press

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The search area for a missing jetliner has expanded with the airline saying the western coast of
Malaysia is now the focus of the hunt that is now entering its fourth day.
That is on the other side of the country from where Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 was reported missing.
In a statement on Tuesday the company said the hunt had expanded beyond the flight path, and the "focus is on the West Peninsular of Malaysia at the Straits of Malacca."
Civil aviation chief Azharuddin Abdul Rahman said search teams would continue to look in both areas, the Associated Press news agency reported.

Vietnam's deputy military chief said he had ordered a land search for the plane up to border with Laos and Cambodia.
The announcements reflect the difficulty authorities are having in finding the plane, which was carrying 239 people when it vanished off radar screens on Saturday.

In the days since, there have been repeated reports of oil slicks being found and possible debris sightings, only for all of them to be later ruled out.
It was announced on Tuesday by Chinese state media that Beijing is deploying about 10 satellites in hopes of tracking down the missing plane.
The high-resolution satellites, which are controlled from the Xian Satellite Control Centre in northern China, will be used for navigation, weather monitoring, communications and other aspects of the search-and-rescue effort, the PLA Daily newspaper reported.
Nearly two-thirds of the 239 people aboard flight MH370 were from China, and if the loss of the aircraft is confirmed, it would be China's second-worst ever air disaster.
Crews from nine countries - China, Malaysia, the United States, Singapore, Vietnam, New Zealand, Indonesia, Australia and Thailand - have joined the international search effort.
The widened search comes after families of passengers reported hearing ringing tones when they tried their relative's mobile phones - leading to speculation that the plane could be on land.

'Asylum seekers',
In a separate development, Thai police suspect two men who travelled on the plane using stolen passports were not involved in criminal activity. Evidence suggested they could have been asylum seekers, police said.
Interpol had confirmed on Sunday that at least two passengers on the flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing used passports stolen in Thailand within the last two years leading to speculation that the plane had been attacked.
Thai and foreign police investigators have been questioning two travel agents in the resort city of Pattaya, where the tickets were bought for the two men who boarded the flight using the stolen passports.
"We haven't ruled it out but the weight of evidence we're getting swings against the idea that these men are or were involved in terrorism," Pattaya chief of police Supachai Puikaewcome told the Reuters news agency on Tuesday.
Both of the tickets, bought for the travellers by two Iranians, were for travel on from Beijing to Europe at the cheapest price, Supachai said.
"We're looking into all angles including the possibility that these men were involved in human smuggling," he said.