Friday, February 4, 2011

Mid Day International News

Mid Day International News

Boy, 7, almost buys fighter jet via internet

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A seven-year-old British boy nearly bought a real-life Harrier fighter jet for $113,515 via online shopping.

The boy hit the "buy it now" button to purchase the fighter jet, which was put on sale at the online store eBay.

But his father quickly apologised to the sellers, saying his son was not able to buy the aircraft out of his pocket money, news.com.au reported on Friday.

"His dad rang up and profusely apologised to us, so it's still for sale. We've put it on as an auction now so that won't happen again," said a spokeswoman for Britain-based Jet Art Aviation, which is selling the Harrier.

The elite fighting machine was part of Britain's arsenal in the 1982 Falklands War, but the government put the plane out of service in 1997.

Falklands War was fought in 1982 between Argentina and Britain over the disputed Falkland Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands.

The US Marines still use a second-generation model of the Harrier.

Tiger Woods' ex-mistress offered USD 1 mn to work at brothel

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Tiger Woods' former mistress Rachel Uchitel has been offered USD 1 million to work at the notorious Moonlite Bunny Ranch in Nevada.

Dennis Hof, the brothel's owner, rang into the Mancow Experience, a Chicago based syndicated radio show that Uchitel is co-hosting, to make his generous offer and the ex-club hostess discussed her thoughts regarding the proposition on video.

In the video Hof tells Uchitel that he wants to offer her a million dollars to work at his ranch for one year, reports RadarOnline.com.

"I think we have 24 hours to decide. We need to figure out what to do. We have to weigh the pros and cons," a giggling Uchitel replied when asked if she is going to accept.

When her radio co-host, Erich 'Mancow' Muller points out to her that "you'll have to sleep with guys for this money - there will be sex," Uchitel remains unfazed.

"I don't know about that. I'm willing to figure out a loophole here. And don't forget, I'm studying to be a private investigator, so I might be able to figure out..." she said.

However, she later reveals to RadarOline that she is not going to accept the offer.

"I was being tongue in cheek. Of course I'm not going to become a prostitute for any amount of money! Don't be ridiculous... it was just for the radio and good fun!" she said.

10 Downing Street bugged?

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It seems 10 Downing Street has been bugged, with the British Prime Minister David Cameron admitting that two of his children came home from school with blood-sucking head lice.

The Prime Minister warned journalists visiting his official residence that if their scalps started itching it was down to his daughter Nancy, seven, and son Arthur, four, The Sun reported. The youngsters have been treated with medication and are using an extra fine comb to get rid of the lice.

Asked about the nits, Cameron said: "If you find them when you get home I apologise. Let me know and I'll send you a comb and some ointment."

The news comes a week after pest control experts were called to Downing Street to get rid of rats. A rodent had been spotted outside No 10 on TV news. But nits are not associated with dirty heads -- they live in any hair where they can feed on the scalp. They are normally caught by children when they attend primary school.

The PM's spokesman was asked if the Cameron children's head lice problem had spread to other members of the family -- David, wife Samantha or baby Florence, six months. He said: "It's contained at the present time."

UK MP's wife poses naked under sheet, reveals bedroom secrets!

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Sally Bercow, wife of the Speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow, has posed in a racy photograph that sees her naked under a sheet in her bedroom gazing provocatively.

That is followed by a candid magazine article where she has revealed how husband John's lavish grace-and-favour apartment in the Palace of Westminster has spiced up life between the sheets.

The interview and photograph -- taken in a hotel room opposite the Palace of Westminster -- appear in a 'Sex in the City' feature in the London Evening Standard's ES magazine today.

"I never realised how sexy I would find living under Big Ben with the bells chiming," the Daily Mail quoted her as saying.

Claiming that she's seen as the 'Carla Bruni of British politics,'' the 41-year-old says that both she and her husband have been hit on by the opposite sex.

"The view from Speaker's House is incredibly sexy, particularly at night with the moon and the glow from the old gas lamps. When John and I were first courting we used to walk along the South Bank and look at the Houses of Parliament. I never realised then how sexy I would find living under Big Ben with the bells chiming," she told the magazine.

"Politicians as a breed aren't particularly sexy but I think politics can be sexy because power is an aphrodisiac. Since John became Speaker, the number of women who hit on him has gone up dramatically. I don't get jealous because more men have hit on me."

"I think it's hilarious and extremely flattering that I've been referred to as the Carla Bruni of British politics," she said.

One senior Tory said her interview and photo-shoot "brought Parliament into disrepute" and was likely to hasten efforts to remove her husband as Speaker.

"How much worse can it get? She is just deranged and vulgar and embarrassing. It is humiliating for British public life. It is so vulgar and tacky -- we just cannot put up with them any more. We have got to get rid of them," he said.

Sikh father kills daughter over loud music, white boyfriend

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A Sikh father in the UK allegedly murdered his daughter during an argument about her playing loud music, it has emerged.

Gurmeet Singh Ubhi strangled his 24-year-old daughter Amrit at their residence in Telford, Shropshire, when he was woken up after he finished working a night shift, heard Leicester Crown Court, reports the Daily Mail.

Rachel Brand, prosecuting, said that Ubih, got into an argument with his daughter in the conservatory in Leegomery September, 2010, after he tried to use the remote control to turn down the music.

She said he told police his daughter attacked him and in the ensuing struggle he suddenly found his hands around her neck.

"Eventually, he said, she was on the floor with his hands around her neck and her head suddenly fell to the side. He said he was shocked because he had not used much force," said Brand.

He apparently had a problematic relationship with Amrit, his son Harmeet and his wife Satinder after a period of estrangement.

Brand also said that Ubhi did not approve of his daughter's boyfriend.

"The relationship between her (Amrit) and her father was not good. He also did not like the fact that she had a white English boyfriend who she had been seeing for a number of years-a serving soldier called Stuart Loakes," she said.

She said using the term 'Westernised' to describe how Ubhi felt about his children would not be appropriate and added: "In this case it has to do with an old-fashioned father who thought his children should do what he thought. It is not really a cultural thing."

Obama's prayer: 'Lord, have that skirt get longer'

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Like any other father of a growing daughter, Barack Obama too has to sometimes summon the help of God. In fact, he says being president "has a funny way of making a person feel the need to pray."

At the National Prayer Breakfast on Thursday, Obama departed from an otherwise serious talk about prayer to poke a bit of fun at his elder daughter, Malia and wife Michelle.

First it was the turn of the First Lady. "...Like all of us, my faith journey has had its twists and turns. It hasn't always been a straight line. I have thanked God for the joys of parenthood and Michelle's willingness to put up with me," said Obama.

"In the wake of failures and disappointments I've questioned what God had in store for me and been reminded that God's plans for us may not always match our own short-sighted desires.

"And let me tell you, these past two years, they have deepened my faith. The presidency has a funny way of making a person feel the need to pray," he said amid laughter.

"Abe Lincoln said, as many of you know, 'I have been driven to my knees many times by the overwhelming conviction that I had no place else to go'."

Then came the turn of Malia. "As I travel across the country folks often ask me what is it that I pray for. And like most of you, my prayers sometimes are general: Lord, give me the strength to meet the challenges of my office," he said.

"Sometimes they're specific: Lord, give me patience as I watch Malia go to her first dance-where there will be boys. Lord, have that skirt get longer as she travels to that dance," Obama said.

Mubarak's net worth estimated at $40-70 bn

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The net worth of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, who is under pressure to quit following a massive mass movement, and his family is estimated to between $40 billion to $70 billion, a media report said.

ABC News quoted experts as saying that the Mubarak family wealth was built largely from military contracts during his days as an air force officer.

Hosni Mubarak, a former air chief who was sworn in president in 1981 and has ruled the country for nearly 30 years, is facing a political upheaval that has turned violent, leaving eight people dead.

The media report said that Mubarak diversified his investments through his family when he became president and the family's net worth ranges from $40 billion to $70 billion, by some estimates.

Amaney Jamal, a professor at Princeton, said: "The business ventures from his military and government service accumulated to his personal wealth."

"There was a lot of corruption in this regime and stifling of public resources for personal gain," she was quoted as saying.

The professor said that Mubarak's assets are probably in banks outside Egypt, possibly in Britain and Switzerland.

"This is the pattern of other Middle Eastern dictators so their wealth will not be taken during a transition...These leaders plan on this."

Aladdin Elaasar, an author, said the Mubarak family owns several homes in Egypt.

"He had a very lavish lifestyle with many homes around the country," Elaasar was quoted as saying.

According to his estimate, the family's wealth is between $50 billion to $70 billion.

A report said that the Mubarak family owns properties in London, Paris, Madrid, Dubai, Washington, New York and Frankfurt.

Robert Springborg, a Middle East scholar, said the family is very wealthy, but they have not been extremely overt with their wealth.

"One of the sons has a nice apartment in Cairo but nothing hugely lavish," Springborg was quoted as saying.

"There are many other people in Egypt who live a more lavish lifestyle than them."

'Leave if you want to live'

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Gangs on the streets of Cairo attack journalists covering the protests

Many journalists covering the protests in Egypt were detained and attacked yesterday, and human rights groups were also a target, in what appeared to be an escalating effort to block reports on the violence.

The Egyptian security forces were rounding up workers for human rights groups as well as foreign journalists, witnesses in Cairo said.


Anti-government protestors clash with President Mubarak's supporters in Tahrir Square yesterday. Several journalists were caught in the crossfire

Security police raided the Hisham Mubarak Law Center, where many nongovernmental organisations operate. They ordered people there to lie on the floor and disabled their mobile phones.

Two people were being interrogated. The state news agency has asked foreign press to evacuate all the hotels near Tahrir Square.

As an Indian television crew reached the Tahrir Square, also known as the Liberation Square, a mob started gathering around them.

In the chaos, it was difficult to fathom who supported President Hosni Mubarak and who opposed him. And when the cameras started rolling, the numbers swelled.

Within minutes, the crowd snatched microphones and tapes and smashed the cameras.

The protesters also warned the crew to leave the area as soon as possible "if they want to live."

One of the local boys jumped into the car and helped the crew speed away. Many other journalists also faced a similar situation of not being able to film around the Tahrir Square.

The Committee to Protect Journalists was investigating at least 10 cases of reporters being detained yesterday.

The government told the journalists that they were not being arrested but rather taken into "protective custody," according to the group.

The United States protested the actions against reporters.

"There is a concerted campaign to intimidate international journalists in Cairo and interfere with their reporting," Philip J Crowley, assistant secretary of state for public affairs, said yesterday morning in a statement via Twitter. "We condemn such actions."

The attacks on journalists started almost as soon as violent clashes began on Wednesday in the central Tahrir Square, as orchestrated waves of pro-government forces swept in, using rocks, bats, and knives and Molotov cocktails against the anti-government protesters.

The cellphone service provider acknowledged that the government had invoked emergency powers to force it to send out text messages.

Some of the messages appeared to include calls for people to turn out in support of the government, and were sent ahead of the violent clashes.

Images of the messages were posted online and first reported by The Guardian.

"To every mother-father-sister-brother, to every honest citizen preserve this country as the nation is forever," read one message.

With Internet services largely restored, many Egyptian bloggers began posting in earnest.

Egyptian state television also began showing images from Tahrir Square for the first time on Wednesday as violence escalated, focusing on supporters of Mubarak and scenes of pitched street battles.

It appeared likely that both moves by the government were directed at painting a violent image of the antigovernment protesters.

"It's clearly a media strategy that's being implemented," Tala Dowlatshahi, said a spokeswoman for Reporters Without Borders.

"State-controlled television has been broadcasting soap operas and cooking shows for the past few days until today."

The government has sought to control information since large-scale protests against Mubarak and his subordinates began last month, but overt harassment has been scattered and attempts to control the gripping images and narratives from Cairo have mostly failed.

Wednesday's attacks appeared to represent the most coordinated and widespread effort to stop foreign reporters from doing their jobs.

"The Egyptian government is employing a strategy of eliminating witnesses to their actions" in a "series of deliberate attacks on journalists," said Mohamed Abdel Dayem of the Committee to Protect Journalists.

Reporters Without Borders said it had received dozens of confirmed reports of violence against local and international journalists in Egypt.

Victims
According to sources, approximately 830 people have been injured during the protests


Posted by Harshad at 7:44 AM

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