Monday, April 25, 2011

Mid Day International News

Mid Day International News

Man held for killing woman, having sex with corpse

Posted:

A man has been arrested in China for killing a young woman as she looked like his ex-girlfriend and then having sex with the corpse, a media report said Monday.

Twentythree-year-old Zhang Fenglang said he killed the woman as she looked like his ex-girlfriend who had left him, Shanghai Daily quoted prosecutors as saying.

Zhang fled Shanghai and was arrested from his hometown in Shandong March 30. He was sent back to this city to face criminal proceedings.

He told the police that he had no intention of killing the woman - till he saw her face. It sparked anger as he recalled getting dumped by his ex-girlfriend.

"At first, I only wanted to rob her. But when I looked at her and discovered how much she resembled my ex-girlfriend, I decided I must vent my anger," he told the police.

His girlfriend broke up with him in July and he then moved to Shanghai. He, however, decided to rob people and return to his hometown after getting into gambling debt.

The media report said that Zhang confessed that he initiated the attack on the 27-year-old woman by putting a rope around her neck and strangled her to death.

He allegedly had sex with the woman's corpse soon after the murder.


World's most premature baby lives

Posted:

A German baby born after only 21 weeks and five days in the womb has equalled a world record for surviving premature infants, the hospital. When Frieda was born on November 7 she measured 11 inches and weighed only 460 gram. "In the specialist literature, other premature babies have been lighter than her at birth, some even less than 300 gram, but there is no mention of a premature baby even younger than Frieda," the clinic in western Fulda said.



A baby was born in Ottawa in 1987 at exactly the same stage of its mother's pregnancy, the statement said.
Frieda was discharged weighing 3.5 kilo and measuring nearly 20 inches, the clinic said. "Frieda was kept in a completely sterile environment, with her breathing assisted and fed through her navel," Dr Repp said. However, her twin brother Kilian died a few days after being born.


Tourists a rare sight in Japan

Posted:

Foreign tourists remain a rare sight more than a month after Japan suffered the most powerful earthquake in its history. April should be peak tourist season for Tokyo, famous for the spectacular blossoming of its cherry trees, which signals the start of spring. But in Asakusa, one of the capital's oldest districts and home to the Senso-ji temple, a major tourist draw, there are no foreign faces to be seen.


Looking to the future: Soldiers clear the debris left by the March 11
earthquake from the tracks. Pic/AFP

"Before the earthquake, Asakusa was quite touristy and very well-known to foreigners," said rickshaw driver Yoshiaki Suzuki. "But since the quake, and the accident at the Fukushima nuclear plant, you no longer see them." Foreign governments urged their citizens to stay away, some even chartering planes to fly people out of Tokyo as the crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant threatened to spiral out of control.

Around 5,60,000 hotel reservations have been cancelled, according to government figures. "Foreigners think it is dangerous here, with the earthquake and the nuclear accident. Japan is safe. Tokyo is safe," said Uko Komatsuzaki, head of public relations for Tokyo's renowned Imperial Hotel. Japan's tour guides have been particularly badly hit by the crisis so much so that they have launched a YouTube campaign to try to convince foreign visitors to return.

Memorial
A memorial service was held in Minamisanriku, a Japanese fishing town obliterated by the tsunami. Officials said over 1,000 residents died or are listed as missing. One man who had lost 10 members of his family, said, "It is really something that it is very hard to cope with."

Wills-Kate snub Blair, Brown

Posted:

Prince William and Catherine Middleton's upcoming wedding has taken on a political dimension, following the snubbing of former British prime ministers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown from the guest list.

The Labour leaders will not join the 1,900-strong congregation at Westminster Abbey this Friday, despite their Conservative predecessors John Major and Margaret Thatcher both receiving invitations.

Baroness Thatcher has declined on health grounds while Sir John will attend the much-anticipated nuptials in London.


Not invited: Both Gordon Brown and Tony Blair will not join the
1,900-strong congregation at Westminster Abbey to give their blessing
to Prince William and Kate Middleton. File pic/getty images

A spokesman for St James' Palace said that Blair and Brown had not received invitations because neither were Knights of the Garter, unlike Sir John and Lady Thatcher.

A Clarence House spokesman said, "It's not a state occasion so there's no reason why former prime ministers should be invited. Baroness Thatcher was invited as she is a Lady of the Order, and Sir John Major as he became legal guardian to William and Harry after Diana died.

All surviving former UK prime ministers, Harold Macmillan, Alec Douglas-Home, Harold Wilson, Edward Heath and James Callaghan attended Prince Charles' marriage to Princess Diana in 1981.

Buckingham Palace and the Blairs have long had an uneasy relationship with Blair's wife Cherie, refusing to curtsy to members of the royal family.

Blair was at the centre of a storm over arrangements for the Queen Mother's funeral in 2002, when he was accused of trying to ensure a more prominent role in proceedings.

He has always denied the charge.

While Blair failed to make the list, a host of celebrities have been invited and dignitaries from such small territories as the 4,000-strong South Atlantic territory of St Helena have also been called. Ian Thorpe made the list and according to the British media, has been afforded a seat near photographer Mario Testino towards the back of the congregation.


Posted by Harshad at 7:35 AM

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