Doctors thought he was in a coma, but he was in fact conscious

For 23 torturous years, Rom Houben says he lay trapped in his paralysed body, aware of what was going on around him but unable to tell anyone or even cry out. The car crash victim had been diagnosed as being in a vegetative state but appears to have been conscious the whole time. An expert using a specialised type of brain scan that was not available in the 1980s finally realised it, and unlocked Mr Houben's mind again. Mr Houben, 46, is now communicating with one finger and a special touchscreen on his wheelchair.

"Powerlessness. Utter powerlessness. At first I was angry, then I learnt to live with it," he said, punching the message into the screen during an interview with the Belgian RTBF network, aired on Monday. He has called his rescue his "renaissance". I cannot imagine what torture this man went through. My thoughts are with him for a decent recovery, not just of health but of his life.

FIFA invites ridicule by denying Irish request for replay

FIFA has rejected a request by the Irish soccer authorities for a World Cup replay following the debacle of the match in which the winning goal was scored through a blatant hand ball. The fact that the incident could be seen by every person in the stadium except for the referee and his two assistants, who completely missed is incredulous. But worse is the situation where FIFA appears to have kowtowed to the French officials who rejected a fair call for a replay, it really is mind boggling.

FIFA seriously needs to show more leadership and the world world that something this important is not merely "swept under the rug" as the cliche goes. The rejection of a replay is pathetic and immoral. I would also caution those who wish to label Thierry Henry as a cheat, that they are way off the mark, as he is and always was a man of integrity. He has further demonstrated this by backing the call for a replay. Having said all of this, the most important thing to be done here is for FIFA to stop hiding behind rules and just do the right thing. Ensure that a fair result is always the case.

Stinky Robber

Authorities in Florida are searching for an alleged bank robber with "notably bad breath" who asked a teller to fill an orange Halloween bag with cash. The Broward County sheriff's office says the man wore sunglasses when he held up the TD Bank branch in South Florida on Monday morning. I wonder if it was disguise to throw people off???