Mid Day International News |
- Oldest woman turns 119; Guinness Book isn't sure
- 100-year-old man and partner become oldest newylweds
- Rebels revel in victory
- For Wills-Kate, 2 cakes are better than one
- Japan's officials raise false alarm
| Oldest woman turns 119; Guinness Book isn't sure Posted: Rebecca Lanier, who celebrated her 119th birthday last week, could be the oldest person in the world, but the Guinness Book of World Records has denied her that status due to the absence of a birth certificate. Lanier, who lives in Ohio with her grandson, was born with no birth certificate in the 1890s to slave parents in Mississippi, which had laws discriminating against blacks at that time. This has caused problems as the Guinness Book of World Records needs that certificate to verify her age, which would make her the oldest living person in the world. "Her parents were slaves and were coming out of slavery when she was born," Jimmie Shambley, her 61-year-old grandson told FOX News, adding that she has seven generations of grandchildren. "She still is in her right mind and has great health," Shambley, told WEWS-TV, Cleveland, a local channel. "She is able to move about every day and makes her bed up every morning as she gets herself dressed". "How old are you today momma?" asked her great grandson Christopher Shambley, FOX News reported. "Don't worry about how old I am," Lanier replied who outlived her husband and two daughters. "She does tai chi on a daily basis, so she gets her exercise in, and eats very healthy," he said. "She doesn't have any ailments, which is a blessing in itself. Lanier who witnessed 22 presidents said discriminatory laws are the reason why she doesn't have a birth certificate. However, the Social Security Administration that verified Lanier's age states the year of her birth as 1892. "She makes her bed, she gets dressed, she gets into a PT Cruiser all by herself," said Ponolia Lanier, a family friend. The current record for the world's oldest person is held by 114-year-old Besse Cooper from Georgia.
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| 100-year-old man and partner become oldest newylweds Posted: A 100-year-old man and a 93-year-old woman in the US are said to have become the world's oldest couple to tie the knot following a 28-year courtship. Forrest Lunsway and Rose Pollard of California wed at the Dana Point Community Centre on March 19 at a combined age of 193 making them the world's oldest couple to marry on record. The loved-up couple, who are both keen dancers, met on the dance floor of a community centre in 1983. They became dance partners and 30 years after meeting they have tied the knot finally on Forrest's 100th birthday. Rose said she initially told him she'd never marry him but she finally succumbed when he popped the question last year. She said, "I told him up front I had no intention of getting married. But, then one day he asked me 'how come we never got married?' and I said 'because you never asked me'. "So he got down on one knee and said, 'Well I'm asking you now, just set the date'. I told him 'I'll marry you on your 100th birthday'. And I did." Forrest added, "She never thought I'd ask her and I never thought she'd say yes, but here we are. We've got many happy years left as I intend to stick around until I'm at least 110. You've got to use it or lose it." The wedding took place in front of friends and family of the couple who have both been married before. They have now beaten the previous record for oldest newlyweds held by Harry Corton and Edna Holford from England, who wed with a combined age of 183.
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| Posted: Libyans take back another key oil city as loyalists to Moammar Gaddafi wilt in the face of air strikes Libyan rebels were pushing their advance westwards yesterday after recapturing two key towns from Moammar Gaddafi's forces in their first major victories since the launch of coalition air strikes.  The rebels, on the verge of losing their eastern stronghold city of Benghazi before the air war began on March 19, on Saturday seized back Ajdabiya and Brega, 160 and 240 kilometres to the west. In Tripoli, government spokesman Mussa Ibrahim said overnight that the Western-led air strikes were killing soldiers and civilians between the strategic town of Ajdabiya and Sirte. "Tonight the air strikes against our nation continue with full power," he said. "We are losing many lives, military and civilians," Ibrahim added while repeating a call for a ceasefire and an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council. 'Planting bodies' US Defence Secretary Robert Gates accused Gaddafi's forces of planting bodies "of the people he's killed" at target sites to make it look as they were civilian victims. US President Barack Obama, under pressure to explain his strategy to Americans, said the international mission had saved countless innocents from a "bloodbath" threatened by Gaddafi. On Saturday, the rebels, backed by the Western barrage, poured into Ajdabiya, where destroyed tanks and military vehicles littered road. The bodies of at least two pro-Gaddafi fighters were surrounded by onlookers taking photos, while a mosque and many houses bore the scars of heavy shelling as the rebels celebrated, firing into the air and shouting "God is great." Regime loyalists had dug in at Ajdabiya after being forced back from the road to Benghazi by the first coalition air strikes. A rebel fighter said that insurgents had also retaken the oil town of Brega on Saturday. However, at least three people were killed in Misrata, a doctor said, bringing the total death toll to 117 there, with more than 1,300 wounded. 'Imperialists' Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez sharply criticised the coalition's approach and called the air strikes 'an imperialist military intervention' and said "terrorists" had infiltrated groups of Libyan rebels. Raped! Iman al-Obeidi, a Libyan woman claims she was gang raped for two days by 15 members of a paramilitary force loyal to Moammar Gaddafi. She alleged that she had been detained at a checkpoint, tied up, sexually abused her and then led her away to be gang raped. "They tied me up ... they even defecated and urinated on me," she said. "The militiamen violated my honour."
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| For Wills-Kate, 2 cakes are better than one Posted: The royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton will feature two cakes. The official one will be a traditional multi-tiered fruit cake made by Leicestershire baker Fiona Cairns.  Cake designer Fiona Cairns (in centre) and her assistants make decorations for the royal wedding cake, yesterday in Leicestershire, England Middleton has asked for it to be decorated with edible flowers an English rose, a Scottish thistle, a Welsh daffodil and an Irish shamrock. There will also be a family childhood favourite of the prince's an unbaked chocolate biscuit cake made to a secret Royal Family recipe. The cake will feature William and Kate's new cipher the couple's entwined initials which will be officially released on their wedding day on April 29. Cairns said, "It's multi-tiered, doesn't have colour it's cream and white (icing) and it's a traditional cake but also quite delicate and modern, all the tiers will have a different theme." A flower known as Sweet William is also on the list, she said. She said of Middleton's input, "She has guided us right from the beginning and has quite strong ideas." The ingredients will include raisins and sultanas, walnuts, cherries, grated oranges and lemon, French brandy, free range eggs and flour. Stag party According to reports, Prince William had his stag party yesterday, which was organised by brother Harry. "Harry has planned the stag do in great detail," said a source.
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| Japan's officials raise false alarm Posted: Authorities apologise after realising huge radiation spike at Fukushima was a mistake Emergency workers struggling to pump contaminated water from Japan's stricken nuclear complex fled from one of the troubled reactors yesterday after reporting a huge increase in radioactivity a spike that officials later apologetically said was inaccurate. The apology came after employees fled the complex's Unit 2 reactor when a reading showed radiation levels had reached 10 million times higher than normal in the reactor's cooling system.  People wear gas masks to protest against nuclear plants in front of the TEPCO headquarters in Tokyo yesterday Officials said they were so high that the worker taking the measurements had withdrawn before taking a second reading. Yesterday, though, plant operators said that while the water was contaminated with radiation, the extremely high reading was a mistake. "The number is not credible," said Tokyo Electric Power Co spokesman Takashi Kurita. "We are very sorry." He said officials were taking another sample to get accurate levels, but did not know when the results would be announced. The situation came as officials acknowledged there was radioactive water in all four of the Fukushima Daiichi complex's most troubled reactors, and as airborne radiation in Unit 2 measured 1,000 millisieverts per hour four times the limit deemed safe by the government, Kurita said. Officials say they still don't know where the radioactive water is coming from, though government spokesman Yukio Edano has said some is "almost certainly" seeping from a cracked reactor core in one of the units. While the discovery of the high radiation levels and the evacuation of workers from one reactor unit again delayed efforts to bring the deeply troubled complex under control, Edano insisted the situation had partially stabilised. The discovery over the last three days of radioactive water has been a major setback in the mission to get the plant's crucial cooling systems operating. Food concerns The protracted nuclear crisis has spurred concerns about the safety of food and water in Japan. Radiation has been found in food, seawater and even tap water supplies in Tokyo. Hidehiko Nishiyama, a nuclear safety official, said the increase was a concern, but also said the area is not a source of seafood and that the contamination posed no immediate threat to human health. A top TEPCO official acknowledged yesterday it could take a long time to completely clean up the complex. "We cannot say at this time how many months or years it will take," said TEPCO Vice President Sakae Muto. Search for Orphans
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