Mid Day International News |
- 'Pregnant man' planning to have 4th child despite bankruptcy
- Man jailed for 6-years for airing porn on electronic billboard
- Thorn from Jesus's crown to be displayed in Britain
- Man jailed for vandalising Facebook pages
- French Spiderman to scale Burj, but with precautions
- Quake kills at least 50 in Myanmar, one in Thailand
- Somdev, Sania enter Miami Round Two
- William flew 'cattle class' in New Zealand
- Bruni sues newspaper over song
- No more Sushi for Japanese
- Zsa Zsa Gabor rushed to hospital, says 'I'm next'
- First woman pilot in Libya combat mission
| 'Pregnant man' planning to have 4th child despite bankruptcy Posted: Thomas Beatie, who became the first man to have a baby, is planning to have a fourth child despite being forced to file for bankruptcy and live on food stamps. Beatie shocked the world in June 2008 to become the first man to give birth. That same year, the family's annual self-employment income dropped drastically from over 300,000 dollars to negative 16,000 dollars in 2010. A year after Beatie gave birth to his third child, he and his wife, Nancy, filed Chapter 11 when the stock market crash wiped out their savings and their T-shirt printing business took a drastic hit -- leading to their home in Bend, Oregon to be repossessed in 2010. "We couldn't open the shop for several months because journalists and photographers kept turning up," RadarOnline.com quoted Beatie as saying. "We tried to keep up with regular orders, but we lost a lot of customers because of prejudice, and then the economy took a huge downturn." Since then, they moved into their holiday home in Phoenix, Arizona and are now struggling to maintain the mortgage payments, with 916 dollars in monthly food stamps and cash assistance, according to their bankruptcy filing filed in February -- 400 dollars of which is spent on diapers alone. To make their financial woes even worse, with assets totaling nearly one million dollars, the Beaties are over three million dollars in debt, as listed in their bankruptcy documents, which includes over 330,000 dollars for credit cards and over 14,000 dollars in medical expenses. They couple claims only to have 150 dollars in their bank accounts. Their current average monthly income since August 2010 is just over 3,500 dollars. The couple are parents to Susan, 2, Austin, 20 months, and Jensen, seven months, and even amidst dire financial setbacks, they are already planning to expand their family within the year. Beatie said he would like to have a final child before starting to take his testosterone again and working out to get back in "good manly shape." "I am only able to get pregnant four days out of the year," he said. "We'd need to try to conceive sooner rather than later. "We are staying positive and we're determined to make this a good family home. We're both strong people and we've been through worse things in our lives. People might think this will have affected us and brought us down, but we refuse to let things beat us, and we don't want anyone's sympathy," Beatie added.
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| Man jailed for 6-years for airing porn on electronic billboard Posted: A man in Russia has been jailed for six years after he hacked into the server of an advertising agency and made its electronic billboard show porn to motorists. Igor Blinnikov, 41, brought Moscow traffic to a standstill after he screened the hardcore porn movie onto the advertising firm's 20ft x 30ft billboard next to the Interior Ministry building on the Garden Ring. Blinnikov had thought it would be fun, but the authorities were not as amused by the stunt in January 2010. The shipyard fitter appeared in court in his home city of Novorossiysk in May on charges of selling 13 grams of marijuana, and was sentenced to five years hard labour. And prosecutors asked for a six-year prison sentence, which the court handed down in full, for the hacking. Confessing to the offence, Blinnikov described it as a 'bad joke'. Before his hearing, he told journalists he had hacked into the billboard using a computer at his home "just for something to do". "I expected a bit less," the Daily Mail quoted him as saying about the new sentence.
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| Thorn from Jesus's crown to be displayed in Britain Posted: A thorn that is claimed to be a relic from Jesus's crucifixion crown would soon go on display at the British Museum in London. The crown of thorns is said to have been seized from Constantinople, the capital of the Roman Empire, during the Fourth Crusade - around AD 1200 - and was later sold to King Louis IX of France while he was in Venice. King Louis kept the relic in the specially-built Saint Chapel and the thorns were broken off from the crown and given as gifts to people who married into the family. The thorn at Stonyhurst College - a 400-year-old boarding school in Lancashire - was said to have been given to Mary Queen of Scots who married into the French royal family and she took it with her to Edinburgh. After her execution in 1587, it was passed from her loyal servant, Thomas Percy, to his daughter, Elizabeth Woodruff, who then gave it to a Jesuit priest in 1600. The priest brought it to the college and it has been kept at the Ribble Valley College ever since, the Daily Mail reported. The thorn now is to be loaned to the British Museum for a new exhibition -- 'Treasures of Heaven' - inspired by saints, relics and devotion in medieval Europe. The thorn has Mary Queen of Scots's pearls twined around it. Jan Graffius, curator at Stonyhurst, said: "It is an incredible object and we are really delighted that it will form part of the British Museum exhibition. It is a priceless treasure." The exhibition will open June 23 and run till October 9.
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| Man jailed for vandalising Facebook pages Posted: An Australian man was on Friday sentenced to three years in jail for vandalising Facebook pages of tribute to two dead children. Bradley Paul Hampson, 29, a resident of Brisbane, posted pictures of male genitalia and wrote offensive messages on the two sites in February last year. On one Facebook tribute site for a 12-year-old boy, he wrote "woot I'm dead" across an image of the dead child, the Sydney Morning Herald reported. On another, he wrote sexually explicit comments implying he was responsible for raping and killing an eight-year-old girl. "My definition of pleasure ... listening to her ribs crack. I got mad ... so I murdered her," he wrote. To post his comments, Hampson used the name of a man who he claimed to have gone to school with. The man later told police he was distressed his name was used to make such comments. When officials examined Hampson's computer, they found 200 images depicting children as the victims of abuse and sadism. Hampson pleaded guilty to distributing child exploitation material, using the internet to menace, harass or cause offence and possessing child exploitation material.
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| French Spiderman to scale Burj, but with precautions Posted: Alain Robert, who is also known as the French Spiderman, is set to climb Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building, but this time around he would be using some safety precautions. In 2004, Robert became the first in the world to climb the Taipei World Financial Centre, the world's tallest building then. He has also scaled the Eiffel Tower and Kuala Lumpur's Petronas Twin Towers. "People are used to see me climb without safety (equipments) but this time our main concern is safety," said Roberts, adding, "This is a different game because Burj Khalifa is much taller than any of the previous tallest buildings in the world." He will hence be climbing the 828-metres building on March 28 using a rope and harness. Taipei center's height is 508 m. Robert's effort is going to be on the occasion of the opening of the 10th Education Without Borders (EWB) Conference being organised by the Higher Colleges of Technology. He estimates to scale the peak in six to seven hours.
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| Quake kills at least 50 in Myanmar, one in Thailand Posted: A magnitude-6.8 earthquake killed at least 50 people in northeast Myanmar and one in Thailand, officials said Friday.
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| Somdev, Sania enter Miami Round Two Posted: India's Somdev Devvarman and Sania Mirza blazed into second round of the Miami Masters yesterday. Somdev defeated Italian Potito Starace in straight sets 6-2, 6-4 in a match that lasted for around 70 minutes. The Indian tennis star, who is ranked 73 in the world, is in the form of his life winning five matches (including the qualifiers) on the trot at the Indian Wells before he was defeated by World No 1 Rafael Nadal of Spain in the pre-quarterfinal. He next faces World No 34 Milos Raonic of Canada, who got a bye in the first round. Meanwhile, Sania got the better of Renata Voracova of Czech Republic 6-2, 6-4. Sania next faces Maria Kirilenko of Russia.
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| William flew 'cattle class' in New Zealand Posted: The Prince flew 'cattle class' under the pseudonym Mr Pinkerton-Smith during his recent visit to New Zealand, it has emerged. The Prince and his security team are understood to have taken their seats with other passengers in the economy class cabin of an Air New Zealand Boeing 737 on the flight from Auckland to the earthquake-stricken city of Christchurch.  According to reports, William took his seat in the economy class along with his security and entourage on his way to New Zealand Air New Zealand have refused to confirm the media reports, a spokesman saying, "We don't release details regarding individual customers." The revelation will only enhance the Prince's soaring reputation in a country that prides itself on a tradition of egalitarianism. The Prince spent five days visiting people in disaster-ravaged regions of New Zealand and Australia last week, in what his aides described as an "emotionally raw" tour. His visit has been well received in both countries, especially since he was seen casually dressed talking to local people and shaking hands in the streets of the worst-hit areas. His easy-going charm and empathy with the grieving resonated widely and have clearly boosted the popularity of the monarchy Down Under. In Christchurch, the Prince attended a memorial service for the 182 people believed to have died in the February 22 earthquake that flattened large parts of the city. Royal cup A loving cup bearing the entwined initials C and W is among the latest additions to the official range of royal wedding china. Prince William and Kate Middleton had the final say on the design which includes doves, ribbons and hearts.
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| Bruni sues newspaper over song Posted: Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, the wife of French President Nicolas Sarkozy, is reportedly suing French daily newspaper Midi Libre for pirating a segment from one of her songs on its website. On February 15 , the newspaper's website took 50 seconds of her Italian adaptation of Douce France, a song by popular mid-20th century French singer Charles Trenet.  Carla Bruni-Sarkozy signs autographs for children as she visits the Paris book fair on March 18. Bruni's foundation tries to fight against illiteracy by giving books to children After Midi Libre posted the excerpt it was reposted on a number of other websites. Last month, Bertrand de Labbey, Bruni-Sarkozy's agent, slammed the paper's use of an excerpt of the song. "This extract was just a sketch, a work-in-progress, and not a finished product," said de Labbey. "This was robbed and an internal investigation was opened to find out how Midi Libre received the song." Midi Libre denied any wrongdoing, saying it had published the song to commemorate the anniversary of Trenet's death as he came from Narbonne in southwestern France, where the newspaper is circulated. "We were light years away from thinking that Bruni would be affected by (our decision to air the song)," which it described as part of French national heritage and polled as one of the country's all-time favourites. The release date of Bruni-Sarkozy's fourth album, recorded in a Paris studio, has not yet been fixed. This is the first time Bruni-Sarkozy has sued since her marriage to the French president. But shortly before they were married she sued Irish economy airline Ryanair for using her and Sarkozy's image without permission. Other than singing, Carla Bruni also starred in a Woody Allen film called Midnight in Paris
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| Posted: Swap fish for meat burgers and soy milk, fearing radiation contamination Resident Namiko Murata's children are no longer getting their favourite salmon, saury and mackerel for dinner. "I'm really paying attention to food because of the radiation problems," said Murata, a mother of three. "We gave up eating fish even though my family likes it very much. Now, for protein, we drink three cups of soy milk a day."  A mother holding her baby receives bottles of water at a Tokyo ward office yesterday The detection of cobalt, iodine and cesium in the sea near the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant north of Tokyo this week hurt fish sales in the world's second-biggest seafood market. Shoppers ignored government reassurances that their food and water supplies were safe even. Ryoko Mizumoto, a 27-year-old mother of two, said she stopped buying dried Shirasu fish and horse mackerel. "I gave up buying maritime products and started buying cheap meat," she said while lining up to buy bottled water at a store in Tokyo. "I make hamburger steak to replace the fish." Fishing in the northeastern prefectures of Fukushima, Miyagi and Iwate has been halted since the earthquake and the ensuing tsunami that engulfed towns in northeastern Japan, damaged the Fukushima nuclear facility and shook buildings in Tokyo. The suspension lowered the risk that "tainted fish will be in the market," said Yasuo Sasaki, senior press counselor at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. "We don't see fish at a high risk of contamination because of radiation dilution," Kazuko Nishihara said she isn't convinced. "We don't trust the government," said the 41-year-old mother of two who left Tokyo for Hiroshima on March 18, where she said food supplies are safe. "It hasn't disclosed enough information. When we get back to Tokyo, I won't eat vegetables produced in the Kanto region and will only eat fish from the western part of Japan." Workers injured Meanwhile, workers at the Fukushima Daiichi plant were being treated at a hospital yesterday after stepping into contaminated water while laying electrical cables in one unit, nuclear and government officials said. The two workers likely suffered "beta ray burns," said officials at plant owner Tokyo Electric Power Co, citing doctors. They tested at radiation levels between 170 to 180 millisieverts, well below the maximum 250 millisieverts allowed for workers, said Fumio Matsuda, a spokesman for the Nuclear and Industry Safety. More than two dozen people have been injured trying to bring the Fukushima Daiichi plant under control. 9,800 Number of people who have died and another 17,500 are missing Dolphin Saved A baby dolphin has been saved after being dumped in a rice field by the tsunami which hit Japan's coast. The dolphin was spotted by Ryo Taira, who has been rescuing animals. Food fear The US and Australia were halting imports of Japanese dairy and produce from the region, Hong Kong said it would require that Japan perform safety checks on meat, eggs and seafood, and Canada said it would upgrade controls on imports of Japanese food products.
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| Zsa Zsa Gabor rushed to hospital, says 'I'm next' Posted: Zsa Zsa Gabor's publicist says the shock of Elizabeth Taylor's death made Gabor fear she was next and sent her to the hospital with high blood pressure. John Blanchette says the 94-year-old celebrity was watching the news at her home when she learned her friend and one-time neighbour had died.  Blanchette says Gabor was inconsolable and commented, "Oh, Jane Russell and Liz Taylor I'm next." That's a reference to the common myth that celebrity deaths come in threes. Blanchette says Gabor's blood pressure soared and she was taken to the hospital. Gabor has been in ill health and her right leg was partially amputated in January. But Blanchette calls her a fighter and adds, "She's not going to be the third." Celeb myth The rule of three can be traced back to 1959, when Buddy Holly, Richie Valens and the Big Bopper all died in a plane crash. In 1970, rockers Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix and Jim Morrison died in close succession.
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| First woman pilot in Libya combat mission Posted: A female pilot in Britain's Royal Air Force (RAF) has become the first woman to fly a Typhoon fighter aircraft on a combat mission during the current enforcement of a no-fly zone over Libya, British media reports said yesterday. Flight-Lieutenant Helen Seymour (31), took to the skies from Gioia del Colle airbase in southern Italy, where the RAF fighters are stationed.  People gather around coffins of people who were killed by attacks during a mass funeral in Tripoli yesterday She was all smiles after her return from the seven-hour mission, flown with two other Typhoons and two Tornado aircraft. The Typhoon, also known as the Eurofighter, is a sophisticated supersonic jet built jointly by a number of European countries. It is designed specifically for use in mid-air dogfights and carries missiles for use in air-to-air combat. British female pilots have flown in combat before, including in Harrier and Tornado GR4 aircraft, over Afghanistan. The RAF first started using female pilots in the mid 1980s. Air Commodore Andrew Lambert, who commanded a female pilot over Iraq in 1999, was full of praise for women pilots who he said were usually "extremely professional". "You are judged as a pilot by what you can do in the air, not the tone of your voice," he said. 10 Number of women pilots flying the Tornado or Typhoon at present 1,550 mph Speed of the Typhoon that Flight-Lieutenant Helen Seymour pilots �150 Million Cost incurred by England in the war against Gaddafi
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