Mid Day International News |
- Saudi villagers prayed in wrong direction for 10 years
- Cameron rules out return of Kohinoor
- Stop blaming India: Pak Editorial
- Obama not invited for Chelsea Clinton's wedding
- 7000 buckets with explosive chemicals swept away by floods
- Police arrest couple after eight dead babies found
- Shane Warne eyes Liz Hurley
- Obama offers his condolences to families of Pak air crash victims
- Nurse suspended for having sex with patient
- Mum charged for sending 16-year-old daughter to a brothel
- Facebook helps crack murder case
| Saudi villagers prayed in wrong direction for 10 years Posted: Worshippers at a mosque in a Saudi Arabian village near Mecca discovered they were praying for 10 years in the wrong direction, a newspaper in the country reported on Thursday. Muslims are meant to pray in the direction of the most sacred site in Islam, known as the Kaaba, a large granite structure in the holy city of Mecca. Villagers in Hadda, 20 km north-west of Mecca, should have prayed southeast, but instead bent down five times a day in a northern direction. After realising the error, the mosque's leaders changed the direction of the prayer carpets so the worshippers now face the Kaaba.
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| Cameron rules out return of Kohinoor Posted: Visiting British Prime Minister David Cameron has clearly ruled out the return of the Kohinoor diamond to India, saying if such demands were agreed to, it would lead to empty rooms in British Museums. "I know there is also a great argument about the original provenance of the Kohinoor diamond. I'm afraid this will disappoint viewers, but it's going to have to stay put," Cameron said in an interview to NDTV news channel. The issue about the fabled diamond, which was mined in the Deccan and is now part of the British crown jewels, had been raised by British MP of Indian origin Keith Vaz just before Cameron began his two-day visit to India. Vaz had said in a statement: "I believe that this is the perfect opportunity for the prime minister to discuss the issue of the Kohinoor. It would be very fitting for the Kohinoor to return to the country in which it was mined so soon after the diamond jubilee of the Indian republic and 161 years after its removal from India." Cameron, however, pointed out that the return of the diamond would set a precedent, which could lead to the emptying of museums in Britain. "What tends to happen with these questions is that if you say yes to one, you suddenly find the British Museum will be emptied," he asserted. Greece has also been vocal about its demand for return of the marble frieze looted from the Parthenon by the Earl of Elgin 200 years ago. India and Britain will be signing a bilateral deal related to culture during Cameron's visit that ends Thursday. Jeremy Hunt, the British secretary of state for culture, media and sports, pointed out that Cameron's trip was "to discuss about cultural exchanges and to create a climate for holding several cultural exchange programmes." But he parried a question from IANS on whether Britain was open to exhibiting the Kohinoor in India saying, "it's a controversial issue and (he) would not like to comment".
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| Stop blaming India: Pak Editorial Posted: An editorial in a leading Pakistan daily has said that the country would need to stop blaming everything that goes wrong on a 'foreign hand', including India, if they to have tighten the noose around terrorists on its soil. The editorial in the Daily Times also admitted that the terrorists in Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) are those who were nurtured by the state. "Blaming everything that goes wrong on a 'foreign hand' is the oldest trick in the book. They (terrorists) will work in the state's favour so long as its interests and theirs converge. Once these interests diverge, they have the capacity to challenge the writ of the state. What is happening these days is an example of this trajectory," the editorial said. "In Balochistan, on the other hand, the state's policies for the last six decades have alienated the Baloch. The state has always used deception and force to quell the nationalist sentiment in the province, which never worked before and is unlikely to work in future either." "It is hoped that the Baloch and other members of the Senate would use their wisdom to educate the House on the actual situation in Balochistan," it added. It further said that there is a difference between "nationalist insurgency and terrorism", and urged Pakistan Interior Minister Rehman Malik to stop the double game and take action against the terror groups. "Malik once again said that he provided evidence to Indian Home Minister, whereas Indian Foreign Minister Krishna denied this in very strong words just this month," it added.
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| Obama not invited for Chelsea Clinton's wedding Posted: Chelsea Clinton's marriage on Saturday is the hottest ticket in town, but President Barack Obama would have to give a miss to what is being called the Wedding of the Decade and of the Century as he hasn't been invited. He hasn't received an invitation to the wedding of the daughter of former President Bill Clinton and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Obama announced on ABC's The View on Wednesday. "I was not invited to the wedding because I think Hillary and Bill, properly, want to keep this thing for Chelsea and her soon-to-be husband," the president said. "You don't want two presidents at one wedding. All the secret service, guests going through (metal detectors), all the gifts being torn apart," he added jocularly. Clinton's Vice President Al Gore, celebrities Barbara Streisand, Steven Spielberg, Ted Turner will also not be attending Chelsea's marriage to her investment-banker boyfriend Marc Mezvinsky. The hotly anticipated, highly secretive affair at a posh private estate 90 miles north of Manhattan would set the former first couple back by an estimated $3 million to $5 million, according to New York daily News. Security at Saturday's wedding alone could cost $200,000 because of all the high-level politicians and global celebrities, the daily said. Built as a Beaux Arts style playground for John Jacob Astor IV more than a century ago, the estate features the sort of commanding view that once inspired Hudson River School painters, as well as 50 acres of buffer space to shield the party from prying eyes. A number of shops posted signs like "Congratulations Marc and Chelsea". One shop posted pictures of the Clintons, and a sign on a cosmetics store read: "Oprah! Please make my soap one of your favourite things." "I don't think we've seen a wedding with this much attention since Patricia Nixon," says Donnie Brown, a wedding planner featured in "Whose Wedding Is It Anyway?" on the Style Network. "This will definitely be the biggest wedding of the year," he was quoted as saying.
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| 7000 buckets with explosive chemicals swept away by floods Posted: Emergency workers in China discovered that more than 7,000 buckets containing explosive chemicals had been washed into a major river in country's northeast, officials said. But only 3,000 buckets contained chemicals, about 170 kilograms each, and the other 4,000 buckets were empty, government officials said in Jilin City, from where the containers were swept away in flood waters from a chemical factory. The containers from a local chemical plant had more than 160,000 kg of explosive chemical fluids, officials said yesterday. The buckets were swept into the Songhuajiang River from a plant in Jilin City in floods triggered by days of heavy rain. About 400 buckets had been recovered so far.
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| Police arrest couple after eight dead babies found Posted: French police detained a couple after the bodies of eight new-born babies were found in a house and in the garden of another home in a northern village, officials said on Wednesday. Police with sniffer dogs were continuing their search in Villers-au-Tertre after arresting the pair, both in their 40s, Tuesday. Neighbours said the new owners of a house in the village had called the police after they found the bones of infants in the garden of their new home. Police inquiries led to another house in the village around a kilometre away where more babies' bodies were found, neighbours said. The prosecutors' office in the nearby city of Douai was to open a judicial inquiry on Thursday which was expected to lead in turn to the couple being charged, a judicial source said. Prosecutors were to give a news conference about the macabre discovery on Thursday.
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| Posted: The strange couple turned heads at the opening day of the Glorious Goodwood Festival in West Sussex Who does Elizabeth Hurley call when she is in need of a date? Why our Warnie, of course!
Filling-in Shane Warne (40), filled in for Hurley's husband and Indian textile heir Arun Nayar, who was conspicuously missing from the posh event in Sussex, south of London. Online pals The couple, who are chums on social networking site Twitter, mixed it with the creme of British high society. The Estee Lauder model shared some intimate jokes with Warne as they stood in the VIP grandstand alongside British rugby legend Lawrence Dallaglio. Betting tips Getting stuck in a traffic jam on his way to the event, could not keep Warne -- a famed gambling fan -- away from the bookies. Hurley, 45, who has just entered into owning thoroughbred racehorses, may have been getting some betting tips off Warne. The bikini designer and farmer also wrote on her Twitter page, "Glorious Goodwood tomorrow -- justgot some tips from my racing mad shepherd whilst trying on hats." Tailor-made Warne, who wore an expensively tailored pale grey suit, stayed by Hurley's side. But the chic surrounds and his bright, white teeth did not stop Warne from lighting up a sneaky fag in the grandstand. The unlikely couple have been friends for years and occasionally share friendly chats on Twitter. Warne has wholeheartedly embraced the Twitter phenomenon posting updates almost daily and counts British socialite Jemima Khan and pop star Kylie Minogue among his online friends.
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| Obama offers his condolences to families of Pak air crash victims Posted:  US President Barack Obama offered his 'deepest condolence' on Wednesday to families and friends of the 152 people killed in a plane crash near Islamabad, which included two Americans."Our thoughts and prayers go out to all of those touched by this horrible accident," Obama said in a statement. "The American people stand with the people of Pakistan in this moment of tragedy." The passenger jet crashed earlier Wednesday into densely wooded hills outside Islamabad, killing everyone on board in the worst crash involving a Pakistani airliner in 18 years. The US embassy also said that two US citizens were onboard the passenger plane. Spokesman Richard Snelsire said, "I can confirm there were two American citizens on the plane and we are working with Pakistani authorities as we normally do in such cases." Snelsire, however, did not provide further details about the two Americans or whether their bodies had been found so far. French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner and the Turkish Embassy in Islamabad also issued condolence statements. Afghan President Hamid Karzai telephoned Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari to express his condolences.
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| Nurse suspended for having sex with patient Posted: Attendant punished for behaving unprofessionally with critically ill patient waiting for heart, lung transplant Rebecca Bayliss, (29), met the man on her ward when he was receiving treatment for cystic fibrosis while on the donor waiting list. Relationship  After he was discharged they began a three-month sexual relationship, which continued despite him returning to hospital for the life-saving operation.The nurse, who had a boyfriend at the time, joked to colleagues that she would have to turn up his oxygen and give him nebulisers -- medication inhaled in mist form - before her trysts with him. The man, identified only as 'Patient A', later told investigators the affair 'certainly didn't help my recovery'. Shocked managers at Birmingham Heartlands Hospital referred Bayliss to the Nursing and Midwifery Council after the patient confided in a clinical psychologist. On Tuesday an NMC hearing in London found Bayliss, who did not attend, guilty of having a sexual relationship with the man and suspended her for 12 months. Heart matters The panel was told Patient A was admitted to the hospital in February 2008 in preparation for an operation to receive a new heart and lungs. Bayliss cared for the sick man on her ward but quickly fell 'in love' with him and they started an 'intense sexual relationship'. The nurse, who had worked for Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust since 2006, even boasted about the affair on her page on the Facebook website, saying she was 'excited'. Her managers discovered the relationship when the transplant patient told a hospital psychologist. Bayliss, from Walsall, West Midlands, was reprimanded by senior hospital staff and banned from contacting Patient A. But she continued to pester him to restart their relationship. He later told investigators that the affair had affected his health. He said, "I could have done without the stress. It certainly didn't help my recovery." Nurse Laura Grant, who worked with Bayliss, told the hearing, "Rebecca wrote on Facebook that she was excited. She told me that she was seeing someone other than her partner. A week later she told me that the man was a patient on the ward." Head over heels Colleague Laura Barlow, said, "She said that she had fallen in love with the man. I was totally shocked." NMC panel member Salim Hefejee, said, "Rebecca Bayliss engaged in a wholly unprofessional and unacceptable relationship." The turmoil of the relationship had an adverse affect on the patient, causing stress and upsetting him. The panel found Bayliss guilty of entering into a sexual relationship with a patient between February 2008 and May 2008. She was also found guilty of failing to inform her manager of the relationship.
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| Mum charged for sending 16-year-old daughter to a brothel Posted: A mother has been charged with sending her 16 year-old-daughter to work as a prostitute at a brothel in Sydney''s eastern suburbs. The girl was taken by her mother to Liaisons Executive Retreat, a brothel in the eastern inner-city suburb of Edgecliff, and was made to work there for two weeks. According to The Ten Network, she was forced to serve more than 18 clients over a period of 13 hours, charging up to 330 dollars an hour and working under the name 'Layla', reports News.com.au. The father reported the matter to the police after the girl broke down when she told him she had been subjected to acts of violence. She kept returning to the brothel for the fear of 'disappointing' her mother. The mother has pleaded not guilty to the child prostitution charges and will face court again next month. Mum charged for sending 16-year-old daughter in brothel
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| Facebook helps crack murder case Posted: Philippine police said Wednesday Facebook helped crack a murder case against a Filipino man suspected to have killed nine people, including three foreigners. Police Senior Inspector Joel Mariano said at least two witnesses were able to positively identify the suspect through his Facebook account as the person they saw at the crime scene.
"Facebook helped us in getting positive identification of the suspect from some of the witnesses," he said. "I think we have a solid case against the suspect." Mark Dizon, a 28-year-old computer technician, was arrested Tuesday in San Fernando City in La Union province, 225 km north of Manila, according to Mariano. Dizon's father lured him to a meeting in a public area in San Fernando where police arrested him, he added. The suspect allegedly killed six Filipinos, an American, a Canadian and a British man in Angeles City in the nearby province of Pampanga in the past two weeks. The suspect, who comes from a rich family in Pampanga, denied the accusations. The killing spree started July 12 when Canadian Geoffrey Allan Bennun, 60, and his Filipino girlfriend were shot to death in a hotel room. On July 16, Briton James Bolton Porter, 51, and his girlfriend were killed by a gunman inside their home. Last week, US citizen Albert Mitchell, 70, his wife and three Filipino domestic helpers, were killed inside their house. Police said a close-circuit television camera from a pawnshop in Angeles City showed the suspect carrying possessions including a laptop computer from one of his victims. A security guard also identified Dizon as the man he saw leaving Mitchell's house on the night of the killing. Investigators said the suspect allegedly used the same pistol in the killings.
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