Mid Day International News |
- A British woman who loves to marry, again and again...
- Johnny Depp named highest paid actor in Hollywood
- Now, watch Rooney's sexual exploits in online animation spoof
- Woman sues cinema hall for excessive ads
- 99-year-old woman sexually assaulted in Australia
- World's most expensive book going on sale in Britain
- Pop star Enrique slowly and steadily mastering cricket
- Pastor cancels plans to burn Qurans, then backtracks
- Fire engulfs several homes in US
- Now, Playboy for the blind!
- FBI fears 'Jihad' attack on 9/11
- Tony Blair stole lines for memoir?
- Quran-burning called off
| A British woman who loves to marry, again and again... Posted: A 56-year-old woman in Britain is all set to marry again - for the ninth time. The latest dream man in her life is 32 years younger to her. Pat Higgins has hooked Mark Sanderson, 24, and the pair held an engagement party, The Sun reported on Friday. Sanderson's friends say that he is besotted with her, despite the fact that she's seven years older than his mother. "It's his first proper girlfriend and he's fallen head over heels. But he's ended up with someone who eats younger men for breakfast," a friend was quoted as saying. Higgins had wed three times before Mark was even born. Her first marriage was in 1974 and the shortest marriage lasted barely five days. The longest marriage was for five years. She has always gone for men who are younger than her. Higgins had told The Sun on an earlier occasion: "I'm hooked on marriage...But men my own age are boring and I'm certainly not ready for the shawl and hot milk just yet."
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| Johnny Depp named highest paid actor in Hollywood Posted: Johnny Depp is the highest paid actor in Hollywood, according to Forbes. The actor earned 50 million pounds, all thanks to his role in Alice in Wonderland. Depp portrayed the Mad Hatter in Tim Burton's 3-D version, reports the Telegraph. The Disney film grossed 1 billion dollars at the worldwide box office, making Depp the only actor to headline two 1 billion dollars films, the other being Pirates of the Caribbean. Depp also landed a big upfront payday estimated at more than 15 million pounds for The Tourist starring alongside Angelina Jolie. Last year, Depp was 10th place on the Forbes annual list of top earning actors with a salary of 18 million pounds. Ben Stiller came second in the list with 38 million pounds. The top 10 are
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| Now, watch Rooney's sexual exploits in online animation spoof Posted: If newspapers and tabloids were not enough to highlight Wayne Rooney's off-field sexual exploits, there are animated stories of his philandering making rounds in internet circle. The England star's private life has been laid bare in an animated retelling of the recent newspaper allegations that he slept with prostitutes. Dubbed 'Randy Rooney Scores Own Goal', the video pictures Wayne in a series of compromising positions. They also showcased his infamous encounter with an ageing prostitute as a 16-year-old, which the footballer wrote about in his autobiography, reports Sky News. The creators of the animated footage also imagine the reaction of his wife Coleen upon reading the papers, ending with Rooney being kicked out of house and home. And they even take a swipe at the star's football abilities, picturing him failing to hit a barn door from 12 yards in tribute to his stunted summer World Cup displays. The video is the latest in a long line of visually realised stories by online news site Next Media Animation (NMA), based in Taipei City, Taiwan. In the absence of footage, the animators creatively reimagine the international reports, promising items, which are "sexy, eye-popping and fun".
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| Woman sues cinema hall for excessive ads Posted: A woman in China has sued a cinema hall and the distributors of a movie, claiming excessive advertising wasted her time and violated her freedom of choice. The suit filed by movie-goer Chen Xiaomei has been accepted by the People's Court of Yanta district in Xi'an, Xinhua news agency quoted a statement from the court. Chen saw the movie twice at the Xi'an Polybona International Cinema (Polybona). She said that there was no warning or indication on the ticket that advertisements before the film would run to 20 minutes. The suit stated that the movie-goers didn't know how long the commercials would last. They had to wait for the film to start, wasting their time and violating their right to know and to choose. Chen is demanding the Polybona and Huayi Brothers Media Corporation, "Aftershock" copyright owner and distributor, refund her ticket price of 35 yuan ($5.16), pay another 35 yuan in compensation and 1 yuan for emotional damages. She has also demanded a written apology. Chen suggested that the cinema should clearly state the advertisement time on its website, in the lobby or on its customer hotline. She asked Huayi Brothers to shorten the commercial time to less than five minutes. "Aftershock", which tells the story of an earthquake that devastated China's Tangshan City in 1976, had raked in a record 650 million yuan at the Chinese mainland box office as of Tuesday last week, according to a statement from Huayi Brothers issued Wednesday. The tear-jerker, directed by Feng Xiaogang, surpassed the takings of "The Founding of a Republic", which earned 420 million yuan in 2009.
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| 99-year-old woman sexually assaulted in Australia Posted: A 99-year-old woman was sexually assaulted and beaten up in this Australian city by a man, suspected to be in his teens or early 20s, who forced his way into her home, police said. The sex attack took place last week when the old woman was alone at her home in Koornang Road, Ormond, The Age reported on Friday. A man, who the police suspect is in the age group between 17 and 22, knocked on her door and then forced his way inside between 10.30 am and 11 am. The attacker then physically and sexually assaulted her for up to half an hour. He then fled from the spot. Detective Inspector Glenn Davies of the Sexual Crimes Squad said the attack had a "profound effect on the woman and her family". "We're very concerned about this type of crime ... This woman is a grandmother, and a great-grandmother. I think people in the community would be absolutely appalled by this," Davies was quoted as saying. He said the assault left the victim very traumatised and she was in hospital for almost a week. The woman who was pushing 100 received cuts around her face and cuts on her legs, and she was struck on the head with an object. Davies said: "Obviously this callous disregard for this person is a concern to us. The person may have been loitering or stalking in the area before the attack occurred."
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| World's most expensive book going on sale in Britain Posted: A copy of the world's most expensive book, which features life-sized prints of flamingoes and swans, is tipped to fetch up to six million pounds at auction in Britain, Sotheby's said on Thursday. John James Audubon's seven-volume Birds Of America, which dates from the 19th century, will be sold alongside literary treasures like a copy of William Shakespeare's First Folio and a series of letters by Queen Elizabeth I. There are thought to be just over 100 copies of Audubon's huge book - which measures around 90 centimetres by 60 centimetres - still in existence and another sold for 8.8 million dollars 10 years ago. Before painting the birds, Audubon shot them and hung them on a wire. All of the works belonged to a British book collector, Lord Frederick Hesketh, who died 55 years ago, although his collection is only now being sold off by the trustees of his will. The whole collection could sell for up to 10 million pounds (12 million euros, 15.5 million dollars) in a sale at Sotheby's in London on December 7. David Goldthorpe of the auction house said, "The sale offers the twin peaks of book collecting - the most expensive book in the world, Audubon's Birds of America and the most important book in all of English literature, Shakespeare's First Folio. "We are thrilled to be offering such a diverse and remarkable collection."
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| Pop star Enrique slowly and steadily mastering cricket Posted: For Enrique Iglesias, who performed at the opening concert of the Champions League Twenty20 here on Thursday, cricket is completely a new sport but the Spanish pop sensation said he is slowly and steadily trying to acquire more knowledge about the game. He also said that he is a big fan of soccer and star Argentina forward Lionel Messi but admitted that he came to know about Indian batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar only today. "It is the first game of cricket that I will be watching from the stadium. Occasionally, I used to watch cricket on TV but never really got time to watch it in the ground," Enrique said about today's CLT20 tournament opener between Mumbai Indians and local side Highveld Lions at the Wanderers. "I like soccer very much and Messi is one of my favourite players. Watching Messi play in Barcelona is great," he said. Asked whether he knows Tendulkar, Enrique said, "I didn't know him but came to know about some cricketers today, including Tendulkar. You know I am still in the learning stage as far as cricket is concerned." The pop icon also said that he went crazy after Spain won the FIFA World Cup earlier this year in South Africa. "I got extremely drunk. I was dancing inside my home naked. I did all types of stupid things. But Spain played a great World Cup. It was very emotional to watch them win the World Cup. In the Spanish team every player is good," Enrique said. He also expressed his desire to visit India for a second time next year and said the country holds a special place in his heart. "India is one of my favourite spots. I visited India in 2004. It is such an amazing country. I am dying to go back there. May be 2011 will be the year," Enrique said. Enrique performed at the CLT20 opening concert at Emmarentia Botanic Gardens here along with globetrotting Cape Town-based duo, Locnville. The identical twin brothers, Andrew and Brian Chaplin, who have become household favourites, following the release of their first single Sun in my Pocket, performed as support to Enrique in the Enrique Live Concert, on the eve of first match of the Twenty20 tournament.
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| Pastor cancels plans to burn Qurans, then backtracks Posted: A Florida pastor who wanted to burn Qurans to protest Islamic extremism said late Thursday that he might reconsider his earlier decision to call off the event. The Reverend Terry Jones told NBC News that "we are a little back to square one" after what he claimed was a deal to relocate a controversial mosque near the former site of the World Trade Centre in New York appeared not to have materialised. Jones had planned to burn copies of the Quran on Saturday on the ninth anniversary of the Sep 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Jones said earlier Thursday that he was dropping the plans in exchange for relocating the mosque. But mosque officials in New York denied there was an agreement to move the construction site. "Given what we are now hearing, we are forced to rethink our decision," Jones told NBC after the mosque officials denied a deal was in the works. "So as of right now, we are not cancelling the event, but we are suspending it." In an earlier press conference, Jones said he would cancel the event, adding that he accomplished his goal. "The American people don't want the mosque there and of course Muslims do not want us to burn their Quran". Jones said he planned to fly to New York on Saturday to meet with the mosque's leader Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, but he later clarified he would not burn the Qurans regardless of what happens with the mosque. Late in the evening, he then appeared to waffle on that promise after the mosque's denial. Jones earlier spoke to reporters in Gainesville, Florida, the site of the his Dove World Outreach Centre, which has a congregation of about 50 people. He had declared on Saturday International Burn a Koran Day, drawing fierce criticism from religious leaders of all faiths and top US officials, including President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. Rauf plans to build the mosque and Islamic cultural centre, which sparked controversy because of the close proximity to the site of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre. Rauf issued a statement denying any deal with Jones to relocate the mosque and said he had not spoken to Jones. He added he had no intention to barter with Jones. "I am surprised by their announcement," Rauf said. "We are not going to toy with our religion or any other. Nor are we going to barter. We are here to extend our hands to build peace and harmony." Rauf had previously said cancelling plans to build the mosque would equally anger Muslims and fuel anti-American sentiment. Muhammad Musri of the Islamic Society of Central Florida, who appeared at the press conference with Jones, said he was arranging a meeting with Rauf. Musri said burning the Quran would have been 'a clear provocation' to Muslims, and he was grateful Jones backed off. "I want to thank him for making the decision today to defuse the situation and bring to a positive end what has become the world over a spectacle that no one would benefit from except extremists and terrorists," Musri said. Secretary of Defence Robert Gates took the unprecedented step of telephoning Jones directly to urge him to abandon the his plan, warning it could put US troops serving in Muslim countries in greater danger, CNN reported. Jones was widely condemned for the plans from US officials who considered it an outrage but were also concerned burning the Quran would cause violent reprisals against US soldiers in Muslim nations as well as American diplomats and citizens overseas. They were also concerned it would fuel Islamic extremism. Despite the outrage, officials could not stop Jones because freedom of religious speech and expression is guaranteed under the Constitution. Obama weighed in Thursday, saying it would be a "recruitment bonanza for Al Qaeda". US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton denounced the plans and said it did not represent American values. Several US officials referred to Jones and his congregation as a "fringe" group and urged the media to ignore him. Jones' plans also sparked worldwide outrage. Demonstrations took place in Afghanistan and Indonesia, and the State Department urged Americans travelling abroad to exercise caution. Interpol, based in Paris, issued a warning of possible violent reprisals. "We hope for the best, but we're still continuing to plan for the worst," said Bob Woods, city spokesman.
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| Fire engulfs several homes in US Posted: An explosion occurred on Thursday evening in California causing a massive fire that engulfed dozens of homes, officials said. "The flames are being fuelled by something. There was a loud explosion being reported by witness and just dozens of homes on fire," CNN quoted Kelly Huston of California Emergency Management as saying. Some people were injured in the fire, which broke out at around 7 pm. "Crews are just trying to assess how many injuries they have there and what they're going to do to contain the flames," Huston said.
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| Posted: Suzi Hanks reads Playboy magazine for the articles. And the jokes. And yes, for the pictures. Each week, for an hour, Hanks snuggles close to a microphone in a tiny soundproof closet, reading and describing in great detail portions of the latest Playboy issue for the blind. Hanks is one of about 200 volunteers at Houston-based Taping For The Blind, Inc who reads the articles and describes the photos without innuendo. "I don't read it all cover-to-cover in order but I do read everything all the articles, all the jokes, all the little cartoons, all the pictures, all the letters to the Advisor," said Hanks. She examines in great detail the magazine's trademark monthly centerfold subject. She is a "Latina, brunette with dark chocolate brown eyes. She has long curly brown hair". Krista Moser, executive director of Taping for The Blind, credits Hanks for the "classy way she does it." "You have to be their eyes. And that's exactly what she is," Moser said. While a text-only Braille edition of Playboy has been available for decades, spokesman Steve Mazeika said he wasn't aware of another service featuring the magazine like this one.
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| FBI fears 'Jihad' attack on 9/11 Posted: The FBI has expressed concerns that Islamic extremists might attack and "attempt to harm" the people at the International Burn a Quran Day event this Saturday, planned by radical Florida pastor Terry Jones. "While the FBI has no information to indicate a specific attack has been planned against the United States in response to event, the FBI assesses with high confidence that, as with past incidents perceived as acts of desecration against Islam, extremist actors will continue to threaten or attempt to harm the organisers, or attendees at the event," the American media quoted FBI intelligence bulletin notes, as revealing. The FBI is also concerned about the retaliation going forward. According to FBI bulletin notes, this attention will most likely have political and national security implications which could involve the boycott of American services. FBI officials declined to make a public comment on the intelligence bulletin but confirmed its authenticity. Following Jones' announcement of the event, a terrorist site Al-Faloja was flooded with radicals' responses. "I wish to detonate myself in this church now. ... I want to become a martyr," wrote a forum member. Another member warned, "Oh you Americans, I swear by Allah if you do this deed await a war that you have not witnessed." FBI agents from Jacksonville field office have informed Jones of the intelligence and serious implications of the burnings taking place. What Obama says... US President Barack Obama yesterday said plans to burn dozens of Qurans this weekend would be a "recruitment bonanza" for al Qaeda. "You could have serious violence in places like Pakistan or Afghanistan. This could increase the recruitment of individuals who'd be willing to blow themselves up in American cities or European cities," he said. Obama said he hoped Jones understands that the planned burning is a "destructive act" that may have a dangerous fallout. At 11 pm (IST) yesterday, he tweeted, "Burning a Quran is contrary to our values this country was built on the notions of religious freedom and tolerance."
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| Tony Blair stole lines for memoir? Posted: Screenwriter Peter Morgan accuses former British Prime Minister of plagiarising dialogues from his Oscar-winning film The Queen Writing a 700-page memoir can be a lot of work good thing for Tony Blair he apparently had help. The screenwriter of the Oscar-winning movie The Queen has accused the former British prime minister of plagiarising his dialogue. Peter Morgan yesterday cited remarkable similarities between how he imagined a 1997 meeting between Blair and Queen Elizabeth and the account of the actual sit-down in Blair's book, A Journey: My Political Life. Morgan's words In Morgan's script, the monarch, played by Helen Mirren, who won an Oscar for the role, tells Blair, "You are my 10th prime minister, Mr Blair. My first was Winston Churchill." Blair wrote that Queen Elizabeth told him, "You are my 10th prime minister. The first was Winston. That was before you were born." Morgan said he was dumbfounded when he read the book. "I wish I could pretend that I had inside knowledge," he said. "But I made up those lines." Is it possible... Morgan, who also penned the scripts for Frost/Nixon and The Last King of Scotland, suggested three possibilities for the similarity. "The first is, I guessed absolutely perfectly, which is highly unlikely. The second is Blair decided to endorse what I imagined as the official line." "And the third is that he had one gin and tonic too many and [got] confused," added Morgan. Blair's publishers didn't respond to an e-mail for comment but the politician has previously claimed he never saw the 2006 movie. His book, released last week, is currently No 13 on Amazon's bestseller list. 'Snooty' Queen Tony Blair branded the Queen snooty in his autobiography. He described her as stuck-up and divulged details of their private conversations, including how she handled Princess Di's death. One senior courtier said the royals had expressed their "profound sense of disappointment" over the book.
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| Posted: Rev Terry Jones, a Florida pastor, called off his controversial plan to burn copies of the Quran on the ninth anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. According to CNN, Jones' assertions that an Islamic center and mosque planned near ground zero in New York will be relocated and that he had a planned meeting with its visionary were challenged after a news conference. Jones, pastor of the Gainesville, Florida-based Dove World Outreach Center, said that he will meet on Saturday with Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf in New York. But Imam Muhammad Musri of the Islamic Society of Central Florida, who appeared with Jones, later said details of any meeting had not been confirmed. Rauf issued a statement later Thursday. "I am glad that Pastor Jones has decided not to burn any Qurans. However, I have not spoken to Pastor Jones or Imam Musri. I am surprised by their announcement. We are not going to toy with our religion or any other. Nor are we going to barter. We are here to extend our hands to build peace and harmony."
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