Mid Day International News |
- Viagra girl refuses to return $400k 'error' check
- Drunk topless woman leads police on high speed car chase
- Saudi court jails 'Al Qaeda lady' for 15 years on terror charges
- Action taken against senior legal officer for boob-apron gift to colleague
- US snowstorm cuts power to millions
- New citizens celebrate Liberty
- Qantas passengers hunt for way home
- Dracula author's first vampire sketch found
| Viagra girl refuses to return $400k 'error' check Posted: An American woman has refused to return a severance check for more than a half-million dollars she received by mistake from a Viagra maker.
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| Drunk topless woman leads police on high speed car chase Posted: A topless and drunken woman led the police into a car chase at speeds of up to 128 mph on a highway before they were finally able to capture her
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| Saudi court jails 'Al Qaeda lady' for 15 years on terror charges Posted: A Saudi court has jailed a woman known as "Al Qaeda lady" for 15 years for her role in planning and supporting terrorist acts According to Gulf News her arrest will be followed by a 15 year ban on travelling after her release. "A Saudi woman was sentenced to 15 years in jail starting on the date of her arrest, followed by 15 years of a ban on travelling after her release," astate media report said. The list of charges over which the specialised criminal court convicted her included "sheltering people wanted for security related matters and inciting terror acts in the kingdom." She was also condemned for "possessing two pistols" and "financing terrorism and terror acts through collecting over one million Riyals and sending the money to the Al Qaeda," the report said.
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| Action taken against senior legal officer for boob-apron gift to colleague Posted: The government of New South Wales has confirmed that appropriate action has been taken against a senior legal officer for giving a "boob-apron" to a colleague as a birthday joke According to The Sunday Telegraph, Nigel Hadgkiss, an executive director of the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, gave a novelty apron featuring a pair of fake breasts to a workmate who had described himself as a "big girl at heart". The gift was an on-going joke between the pair, but one guest at the work function party took offence and complained. When contacted in August, both the Attorney-General's office and the Department of Public Prosecutions refused to confirm the incident or comment on it. Attorney-General Greg Smith has now confirmed that a complaint had been received against Hadgkiss, after Shadow Attorney-General Paul Lynch raised the issue in the parliament. "Yes. The complaint was dealt with in accordance with the relevant policies and procedures of the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions and appropriate action has been taken," News.com.au quoted him as saying.
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| US snowstorm cuts power to millions Posted: About three million people in the US were without power Sunday after a snowstorm swept the country's northeast coast.
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| New citizens celebrate Liberty Posted: The Statue of Liberty celebrated her 125th birthday by serving as an inspiring backdrop for immigrants declaring the oath of American citizenship. The new Americans came from 46 countries in all, with one person swearing the oath for each of the years Lady Liberty has stood as a beacon of freedom in New York harbor. "Now I can say I'm American!" gushed an ecstatic Anatoliy Gryshchenko (21), who came to the US from the Ukraine in 2005. "I'm actually a part of this country like everyone else."  Lights, camera, fireworks: The 125 years of the Statue of Liberty was marked with a 12-minute fireworks display choreographed to patriotic music. pic/afp The new citizens came from countries like Russia, Cuba, China and the Dominican Republic. Beaming with pride, many said they were thrilled to take the oath underneath the iconic statue that has welcomed millions of immigrants to the land of the free and the home of the brave -- rather than the usual courtroom sessions. "It is the symbol of freedom in the new world," said Silvia Hodges, who came to the US from Germany in 1999. "When I see it nowadays, I feel like I'm home. I'm a New Yorker!" Lady Liberty was given to America as a gift from France, and her power of inspiration to immigrants hoping for a better life in the US goes beyond words. "Most of my friends that I talk to, their ancestors came from Ukraine, Russia, Germany, and they saw that first symbol of the desire for the American dream from the boat," Gryshchenko said of Lady Liberty. "Many years after, it means the same thing." The new Americans were cheered by loved ones, along with US Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and Alejandro Mayorkas, the director of US Citizenship and Immigration Services. The Cuban-born Mayorkas became an American citizen in 1973. "My parents were able to bring their children and offer all the opportunities America has to offer," he said, admiring as he admired Lady Liberty. The daylong celebration was capped with a fireworks display. "I'm really blessed to be here on this day with the Statue of Liberty," Hodges said, smiling. 111 feet The height of the Statue of Liberty from her toe to the tip of her head 7 The number of rays on Lady Liberty's crown. Each ray represents each of the seven continents 225 tonne The total weight of the Statue of Liberty
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| Qantas passengers hunt for way home Posted: The Australian carrier has grounded its entire worldwide fleet because of industrial action by its employees, stranding an estimated 70,000 people Hundreds of passengers were left stranded in Britain after airline Qantas grounded its flights across the globe because of a bitter industrial dispute. The Australian national carrier decided to halt its fleet of 108 aircraft indefinitely until unions representing pilots and ground staff reach an agreement with the airline over pay and conditions.  Grounded to a halt: Passengers queuing at Qantas check-in counters at Changi International Airport in Singapore as the airline cancelled its flights Among the 70,000 passengers affected by the 600 cancelled flights are 17 Commonwealth leaders stranded in Perth following the summit there. Australia's PM Julia Gillard, who hosted the summit issued a dire warning over the strike's impact saying it could hurt the country's economy. She said, "The Qantas dispute escalated today and I am concerned about that for the national economy ... it could have implications for our national economy."  A passenger reads a book at Melbourne Airport as over 600 flights were cancelled. pics/afp, getty images A Qantas spokesman said 600 flights have been cancelled because of the industrial action -- affecting 70,000 passengers. British tourist Chris Crulley, said the pilot on his Qantas flight informed passengers while taxiing down a Sydney runway that he had to return to the terminal 'to take an important phone call'. The flight was then grounded. "We're all set for the flight and settled in and the next thing I'm stunned. We're getting back off the plane," said the firefighter. The strikes have cost the airline 15 million Australian dollars (Rs 780 crore) a week. A spokesman said, "Qantas regrets that this action has become necessary and apologises sincerely to all affected passengers." Bookings had already collapsed after unions warned travellers to travel with other airlines and Qantas Chief Executive Alan Joyce said that the unions' actions have caused a crisis for Qantas. "They are trashing our strategy and our brand," he said. "They are deliberately destabilising the company and there is no end in sight." Missing out on her best friend's wedding Rebecca Morrison and her daughter Nevaeh Fetoai, were left stranded at Sydney Airport. Morrison received a message from Qantas to say her flight home was cancelled, meaning she was forced to miss her best friend's wedding. Rs 780 cr The amount the strikes have cost Qantas
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| Dracula author's first vampire sketch found Posted: The private journal of author Bram Stoker, in which he sketched his first thoughts about his legendary creation "Dracula", has been unearthed after more than 100 years. The thin, unmarked book was discovered on a shelf in his great-grandson's home on the Isle of Wight in Britain. It had been passed down by Noel Dobbs' ancestors for more than a century before arriving in his home, the Daily Mail reported. Dobbs was unaware of what the book was until an American researcher contacted him to ask if he knew about a journal his famous ancestor had written. The book that was signed "Abraham Stoker" had 305 entries dating from 1871, when Stoker was in his 20s. The journal also contains romantic poems. Dobbs sent photocopies of a few pages to his cousin, Dacre Stoker, a professor in South Carolina, who has now written a book about his famous ancestor, based on the journal. "When I saw it, I was amazed. I thought, 'The Holy Grail! We've found it!'" said Dacre Stoker. "There is so little written by Bram about Bram. Family, scholars and fans wanted to know what made the man who wrote Dracula tick. And here we had a major set of clues," Dacre Stoker said. His book, "The Lost Journal", will be published in March 2012 to mark the centenary of Bram Stoker's death. The last entry of Stoker's journal in 1881 hints at a major character he would use in "Dracula", a man who was driven to eat living things including flies. A passage says: "A man builds up his shadow on a wall bit by bit by adding to substance. Suddenly the shadow becomes alive." Actor Christopher Lee made the character of Dracula immortal in a 1958 movie.
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