Mid Day International News

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Indian-origin woman burned alive in New Zealand Posted: Police in New Zealand have alerted the Interpol to trace the husband of an Indian-origin woman who was allegedly burnt to death last week in that country, a media report said. According to the police, the husband of the victim, identified as Ranjeeta Sharma (28) have fled to Fiji, where the couple came from, along with their four-year-old son on Friday, a day after her body was spotted burning by the side of an isolated road near Huntly, the Waikato Times reported. The police said that the couple's car was recovered at Auckland airport. Detective Senior Sergeant Nigel Keall said the focus was now on finding her husband, whom police were yet to name. "He is considered a person of considerable significance to the investigation and we are working with Interpol to locate and speak to him. We are also working with overseas authorities to establish the wellbeing of the young boy and ensure his safety," he said. Keall confirmed police were executing search warrants at a number of addresses over the next few days in the South Auckland area. The police have also appealed for sightings of the victim's car, a silver Subaru station-wagon registration FSD 433 in the South Auckland and Huntly-Rotowaro areas on Thursday or Friday. The police had earlier confirmed Sharma was still alive when she was set alight and forensic tests had confirmed an accelerant was used. The police would not, however, comment on whether the case was a 'bride burning', or honour killing, a form of domestic violence practised on the Indian subcontinent when a victim had brought shame on the family, the report said.

Putin's mistress denies giving birth to lovechild Posted: Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's alleged mistress has denied giving birth to their love - child, saying that the baby is actually her nephew. "My sweet little nephew Arsenio has joined my ever-extending family in Moscow. Everyone, of course, thinks that he is my son (laughs)," Alina Kabayeva, a former Olympics rhythmic gymnast, was quoted by the New Tork Post as saying. Without referring to Putin, the 27-year-old Uzbekistan -born beauty has dropped hints about her love of powerful men. "There are men that are afraid of strong women. Of course I know men that will always be stronger and higher in power then me," she was quoted by the US newspaper as telling the Russian Vogue magazine. Kabayeva will grace the January cover of the magazine, which will be the first for its new editor, Viktoria Davydova, who took over Russian Vogue in July. Putin is still married to flight attendant Lyudmila Shkrebneva, and they have two daughters. Putin and Kabayeva were linked in 2008 by a Russian newspaper owned by billionaire Alexander Lebedev. Putin denied a relationship, saying, "there is not a single word of truth" in the story, and the paper was later shut down. In 2008, Kabayeva gave birth to a boy rumored to be Putin's, although she has never identified the father. A source was quoted as saying, "The elite of Russia believe that the story was given to Vogue to try to squash the rumors, since everyone is positive that once President Dimitry Medvedev's term is finished in 2012, Putin will run again for his old office."

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