Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Mid Day International News

Mid Day International News

Crows in Malaysia steal panties, bras to make nests

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When a number of panties and bras left to dry outside several homes in Malaysia disappeared, the initial suspicion fell on a sexual predator, until it was discovered that crows had been stealing them to build their nests.

Residents in Ulu Tiram had been complaining that someone was getting cheap thrills from stealing the garments, but were surprised to find that it had been crows.

The birds also steal scraps of food and leave their droppings all over the neighbourhood in several housing and business areas in the town.

Resident Simon Lee, 38, claimed that more than 20 people in his neighbourhood had lost their undergarments in the last two months. He said that initially the problem was not that serious.

"But now, thousands of crows have made their homes in the trees that line the roads here," the Star Online quoted him as saying.

Another resident, Goh Sui Moi, 46, said she had to wash her car daily because of the droppings from the thousands of crows that also make a lot of noise when they converge.

Foodstall trader Tan Kim Moi, 52, said that the crows steal fish balls, vegetables, prawns and even bits of pork that she uses in her dishes, and that one of her customers was pecked by a bird that stayed put despite efforts to chase it away.

Taman Puteri Wangsa residents' association secretary Kee Yong Kiang said he had received more than 50 reports on the crow problem.

He said their complaints were forwarded to the Johor Baru Tengah Municipal Council, which sent a team to shoot the crows over the weekend.

Brian Tan, the special aide to Puteri Wangsa state assemblyman Datuk Abdul Halim Suleiman, said that the shooting operation, which also included Rela members, netted 181 crows.

He said he was working with the local council to address the problem.

Can't get a date? Now create a hot (fake) girlfriend on Facebook!

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Do you want to change your 'single' status on Facebook to 'in a relationship'? Well, a new service is here to help you.

A fake companion service, called 'Cloud Girlfriend', is being launched for the lonely hearts, reports News.com.au.

The service promises users with empty Facebook walls the chance to make their friends jealous.

So, how does it work?

You just have to describe your dream girlfriend to the company, which then creates a fake profile and starts sending pokes your way.

The instructions on the 'Cloud Girlfriend' website read:

1: Define your perfect girlfriend.

2: We bring her into existence.

3: Connect and interact with her publicly on your favourite social network.

4: Enjoy a public long distance relationship with your perfect girl.

Digital media specialist Fi Bendall said the start-up represented some troubling aspects of online behaviour and blurred the line between fiction and reality.

"I think it's a pretty sad proposition to be honest," she told the website.

"I looked at it and I felt there was such a real sadness around it in terms of human loneliness. Who on earth would want to do this unless it was done for fun?" she added.

Bendall said 'Cloud Girlfriend' potentially put user information and privacy at risk.

"I think there are too many things that are wrong with it," she said.

"There are too many things from an ID protection point of view, a privacy point of view, using the net with best practice in terms of safety and online safety and security, helping young people to use it in a positive way and using social networking in a positive way. This opens the door to serious problems jumping up," she added.

Though the website has yet to officially launch, the service is already in high demand.

French 'Spiderman' scales world's tallest tower

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Alain Robert, who is popularly known as the 'French Spiderman', scaled the 2,716 feet-tall Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest tower here in a record-clinching feat.

The climb was held on Monday as part of the 'Education Without Borders 2011' international student conference organised by the UAE's Higher Colleges of Technology. Unlike on many previous climbs, the 48-year-old daredevil is using a rope and harness to comply with organisers' requirements.

"All safety precautions were taken with the cooperation of various governmental authorities," a statement from the developer said. Thousands of spectators watched him in action from Burj Park and Downtown Dubai.

"Alain Robert's scaling of Burj Khalifa is indeed momentous, and we are honoured to host the climb as part of the prestigious 'Education Without Borders' conference that brought the world's leading educationalists and thought-leaders to witness the unprecedented feat".

Ahmad Al Matrooshi, Managing Director, Emaar Properties, the developer of Burj Khalifa, said: Robert saw the attempt to climb Burj Khalifa as a true challenge. Robert has climbed more than 70 skyscrapers, including the Empire State Building, Chicago's Willis Tower and the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur.

Towering high at a height of 828 metres (2,716.5 ft), Burj Khalifa is now a full-fledged community featuring homes, offices, hotel suites and restaurants.

Doctors warn of teen Facebook depression

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Add 'Facebook depression' to potential harms linked with social media, an influential doctors' group warns, referring to a condition it says may affect troubled teens who obsess over the online site.

Researchers disagree on whether it's simply an extension of depression some kids feel in other circumstances, or a distinct condition linked with using the online site.



But there are unique aspects of Facebook that can make it a particularly tough social landscape to navigate for kids already dealing with poor self-esteem, said Dr Gwenn O'Keeffe, a Boston-area paediatrician and lead author of new American Academy of Paediatrics social media guidelines.

With in-your-face friends' tallies, status updates and photos of happy-looking people having great times, Facebook pages can make some kids feel even worse if they think they don't measure up.

It can be more painful than sitting alone in a crowded school cafeteria or other real-life encounters that can make kids feel down, O'Keeffe said, because Facebook provides a skewed view of what's really going on.

Online, there's no way to see facial expressions or read body language that provide context.

The guidelines urge paediatricians to encourage parents to talk with their kids about online use and to be aware of Facebook depression, cyberbullying, sexting and other risks.

They were published this week in Paediatrics.

Abby Abolt (16), a Chicago high school student , says the site has never made her feel depressed, but that she can understand how it might affect some kids.

"If you really didn't have that many friends and weren't really doing much with your life, and saw other peoples' updates and pictures and what they were doing with friends, I could see how that would make them upset," she said.


Prince William: 1 British media: 0

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Far from paparazzi, the prince bid his single life goodbye in a bachelor party held in eastern England over the weekend

When Prince William chose his brother Prince Harry to be his best man, he may have expected he would spend his stag party downing cocktails in the public eye at some of London's fashionable nightspots.

Instead, at the weekend he marked the end of his bachelor days with a low-key private party, thought to have been held at a friend's country estate outside London.


Prince William and Harry

The party was attended by about 20 of the Prince's closest friends including James Meade, whom he met at Eton, and Thomas van Straubenzee who attended Ludgrove Prep School in Berkshire with the Prince.

Hugh van Cutsem, one of Prince Charles's godsons, was also present.

His father owns a large estate in Norfolk, leading to speculation that it could have provided the perfect bolt-hole for a low-key event.

Guy Pelly, a nightclub owner renowned for his love of partying, is understood to have planned the stag weekend with Prince Harry.

But as with all good stag nights it appears the details of what went on are unlikely to emerge. All guests were sworn to secrecy.

Straubenzee yesterday declined to comment. He said, "I'm very sorry but I have got to keep it a secret. I hope you understand."

Yesterday, as Prince William and his friends returned from the weekend, a source at St James's Palace confirmed that the event had taken place but refused to divulge any details.

The source said, "I can confirm that Prince William's stag party happened this weekend. It was an entirely private event and we don't intend to make any further comment."

�100,000 for best wedding view
Prime spots to watch the Royal wedding procession away from the crowds on April 29, are being offered for up to �100,000 (R72 lakh).
Rooftops, balconies and banqueting suites are being hired out to anyone who wishes to have a bird's-eye view of Kate Middleton's dress and the horse-drawn carriage that will take Prince William and his bride to Buckingham Palace following the ceremony at Westminster Abbey.
Property owners, from businesses and religious groups to charities and Government departments, are all offering space along the route, the Daily Express reported.
The top spot is the Sanctuary beside Westminster Abbey, which offers a view of the west entrance at a price of 100,000 pounds.
Those with the means will be able to look down at the arrival of the royal motorcade and the Rolls Royce dropping off Kate for the ceremony from the 19th century Gothic building.


Mahatma was racist, bisexual, claims new book

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A controversial biography of Mahatma Gandhi has claimed that the revered political leader was racist and bisexual.

Great Soul, written by former New York Times executive editor Joseph Lelyveld, makes several new claims about the man who led India to independence.


Mahatma Gandhi

The book alleges that as an older man he held "nightly cuddles", without clothes, with 17-year-old girls in his entourage, including his own niece.

It also suggests that he was in love with German-Jewish architect and bodybuilder, Hermann Kallenbach, for whom he left his wife in 1908.

"Gandhi wrote to Kallenbach about 'how completely you have taken possession of my body.

This is slavery with a vengeance'," the book said, going on to claim that Gandhi nicknamed himself 'Upper House' and Kallenbach 'Lower House'.

It goes on, "He made Lower House promise not to 'look lustfully upon any woman'. The two then pledged 'more love, and yet more love... such love as they hope the world has not yet seen'."

Against Blacks?

In another startling revelation, the book claims he held racist views against South African blacks. "We were marched off to a prison intended for Kaffirs," he is quoted as saying during a visit to the country.

"We could understand not being classed with whites, but to be placed on the same level as the Natives seemed too much to put up with. Kaffirs are as a rule uncivilized."

The Wall Street Journal review of the book said it recast Gandhi as "a sexual weirdo, a political incompetent, a fanatical faddist, implacably racist, and a ceaseless self-promoter, professing his love for mankind as a concept while actually despising people as individuals."

'Nightly cuddles'

Lelyveld writes, when Gandhi was in his 70s and close to leading India to independence, he encouraged his 17-year-old great-niece, Manu, to be naked during her "nightly cuddles" with him.

He reportedly sacked several loyal members of his personal entourage who might disapprove of this part of his exercise in self discipline.

He told a woman on one occasion, "Despite my best efforts, the organ remained aroused. It was an altogether strange and shameful experience."


Posted by Harshad at 7:27 AM

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