Friday, December 30, 2011

Mid Day International News

Mid Day International News

Woman jailed for poisoning baby with breast milk

Posted:

A 30-year-old Russian woman was Friday sentenced to three and a half years in jail for poisoning her two-week-old baby to death by nursing him with breast milk while she was drunk.

The court in Novgorod region said that Marina Shnip drunk about a litre of porto May 4.

The concentration of ethanol in her blood reached 2-2.5 percent. She then twice nursed her baby. The baby died from poisoning soon after.

An analysis showed that the concentration of ethanol in the baby's blood was 0.4 percent.

Pak notches up top slot in Google search for sex

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Pakistan has secured a dubious distinction of being the number one globally for searching the term 'sex' on Google in 2011.

Pakistan is followed by India. Interestingly, of the top ten cities in the world searching for "sex" as per Google Trends data, eight are Indian.


A Pakistani man browses the internet in a net cafe.PIC/AFP

According to a 2010 Fox News report, Pakistan, which has over 20 million Internet users, had outranked all countries in Google searches for pornographic terms last year also, The Express Tribune daily of Pakistan reported.

Google Trends analyses a portion of Google web searches to compute how many searches have been done for the terms you enter, relative to the total number of searches done on Google over time.

Google Trends uses IP address information from server logs to make a best guess about where queries originated.

On the issue of accuracy, Google Trends say, "The data Trends produces may contain inaccuracies for a number of reasons, including data-sampling issues and a variety of approximations that are used to compute results. We hope you find this service interesting and entertaining, but you probably wouldn't t want to write your PhD dissertation based on the information provided by Trends".

Samoa skips day, leaps into future

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The republic of Samoa, a tiny nation in the South Pacific, will leap into the future at the stroke of midnight Thursday.

Samoa will skip Friday, Dec 30, jumping forward to Dec 31, New Year's eve.

The nation is changing its time zone to catch up with Australia, New Zealand and Asian countries. After the time zone is moved forward 24 hours, Samoa's time will be 13 hours ahead of GMT, one hour ahead of New Zealand and three hours ahead of Australia.

The change is due to economic reasons. The island nation has strong trade ties with Australia, New Zealand, China and other Asia Pacific nations and needs to be closer in time to them.

Two years ago, Samoa changed driving to the left side of the road, like in New Zealand and Australia.

The current date change reverses the 1892 decision, when the nation jumped back one day for convenience of maritime trade with the US.

Robbers walk out of bank with sacks of mail

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Seven armed assailants wearing masks stormed a bank in the Argentine capital Thursday but walked out only with two sacks of letters.

The Hollywood-style heist took place at a Banco Credicoop branch in downtown Buenos Aires.

After driving into the garage in a vehicle identical to that of the branch manager, the robbers entered the bank, brandishing their guns and threatening the employees. They quickly grabbed two sacks that had just been delivered by a courier firm and fled.

The sacks "contained correspondence of no commercial value", Banco Credicoop said in a statement.

Police sources suggested the robbers' real objective was several bags full of cash that were delivered to the bank along with the letters.

The sacks containing money had already been secured in the vault by the time the assailants entered the bank, the police sources told media outlets.

William and Kate's royal kiss 'UK's favourite live TV moment'

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The royal kiss -- Prince William and Kate Middleton locking lips on the balcony of Buckingham Palace in April -- has been voted Britain's favourite live TV moment of 2011.

According to a survey, more than a quarter said that the romantic TV moment of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge sealing their marriage with a double embrace and a kiss, egged on by a 500,000-strong crowd was the highlight of their year.

But the April royal wedding was also notable for another highlight -- the emergence of Kate's sister Pippa and her much talked about derriere, the 'Daily Express' reported. Seeing chief bridesmaid Pippa bending over in her figure-hugging dress was the high point for nine per cent of the, presumably male, population and set her on the way to becoming a global fashion icon, according to the poll commissioned by digital TV service Freeview.

Other top TV moments included a cockroach crawling up javelin thrower Fatima Whitbread's nose on I'm A Celebrity..., roly poly astrologer Russell Grant being fired out of a cannon on Strictly Come Dancing and Jedward being electrocuted on hit Channel 5 show Celebrity Big Brother.

Nine injured as huge fire engulfs Russian nuclear sub

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Nine people were injured when a huge fire engulfed a Russian nuclear submarine as it was being repaired, local media reported today, but officials said all weapons had been removed and there was no radiation risk. Firefighters launched a massive operation to douse the flames after the blaze broke out yesterday on the 11,740-tonne Yekaterinburg while it was docked in the northern Murmansk region near Russia's border with Norway, sending flames and smoke billowing into the sky.

The fire was contained at 1:40 am today (local time) nine hours after it started and was expected to be eventually put out "in the coming hours," Minister for Emergency Situations Sergei Shoigu said as quoted by Interfax news agency. Nine firemen were suffering from smoke inhalation, an emergency situations ministry source was quoted as saying. The defence ministry had said earlier that the blaze in the Roslyakovo dockyard near one of Russia's main naval bases had been extinguished.

"In order to prevent a new fire breaking out, the submarine will be lowered into the water before returning to its original position," defence ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov added. The vessel had all its nuclear missiles and conventional rockets removed before entering the dock, Konashenkov had told state television earlier, adding that its two reactors had been switched off well in advance and there was "no threat of a nuclear radiation leak".

"The power unit was switched off and is now safe," he told state television. It is not yet known how the fire started, but a spokesman for the Russian military prosecutor, quoted by Ria Novosti, said a criminal probe had been launched into the "reckless destruction or damage of military assets". The fire broke out on wooden scaffolding surrounding the submarine and spread to its outer hull, Northern Fleet navy spokesman Vadim Serga told the Interfax news agency. "There is no threat to the onboard equipment," he added.

Eleven fire brigades and a navy fire boat were involved in the salvage operation, but television footage showed huge clouds off smoke billowing from the shipyard even after the flames had been contained. A special helicopter also doused the flames with tonnes of water from above, the Murmansk region's TV-21 channel reported.

"I would say the flames reached about 10 metres (over 30 feet)," one unnamed witness told the station. The Delta IV class vessel was commissioned by the former Soviet Union in 1985 and can carry up to 16 inter-continental ballistic missiles, according to Russian press descriptions of the submarine. Russia is believed to have six Delta IV submarines, which form the backbone of its sea-based nuclear defences.

4-year-old Indian girl sexually abused by school bus helper in UAE

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A four-year-old Indian school girl has been sexually assaulted by a bus helper in a school in the United Arab Emirates. Radhakrishnan Nair, principal of Sharjah Indian School (SIS) in Sharjah city has confirmed that police arrested the bus assistant, also an Indian, on December 26, five days after the alleged sexual assault against the KG1 student.
According to the Gulf News, the girl's parents lodged a complaint with the police when they saw the child bleeding after coming home from school. She was then rushed to a local city hospital. According to a source, the girl was first brought to the hospital a few days before Christmas with severe bleeding. Two days later, she was brought in again with a urinary tract infection.
School Public Relations Officer (PRO) Munir said they came to know about the incident only when the police contacted them and sought details of the suspect. "We are shocked. We are waiting for the completion of the police enquiry," Munir said.
In January, reports of a girl being sexually abused by three school bus staff sparked outrage in Dubai. The suspects, all Indians, reportedly confessed to the crime, but after a protracted legal battle, the Appeals Court let them off as there was not enough evidence to establish their guilt.

Oz woman found alive after being trapped under car for 3 days

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An Australian woman who was involved in a single vehicle car crash on Christmas day was found alive three days later trapped in the wreckage by a teenager.
The 45-year-old crashed her car on Christmas, sending it plunging 15 metres down an embankment next to Wondalga Road, near Batlow, in southern New South Wales. The car came to rest on its roof, with the woman's leg trapped underneath.
According to the police, a local youth Caleb Wilks was walking through the remote area to a nearby property, when he heard her cry for help on Wednesday night and called emergency services.
"He's called triple zero, he's indicated to the woman that help was coming, and he's stayed up on the road so that we could see him," the Daily Telegraph quoted sergeant Brian Hammond as saying.
"Otherwise we wouldn't have found the car. "He's been very mature. His parents are very proud of him, and she's been very lucky that he walked by," he said. The woman had reportedly veered to avoid a kangaroo before the accident.
"It''s quite astounding and she's very very lucky," acting Sergeant Roy Elmes told ABC online. "She does have some serious injuries. She"s lucky though. I think the weather's been a bit cooler and we've had some rain, otherwise I think it could've been different circumstances," Elmes added.
The woman, from Tumut, was flown to Canberra Hospital where her leg was amputated. She is now listed in a stable condition.

L.A. may vote for mandatory use of condoms for porn stars

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Residents of Los Angeles may soon vote on whether condom use should be mandatory for those who work in the City of Angel's prolific porn industry.
The AIDS Healthcare Foundation, an organization that spearheaded the proposal, collected more than 70,000 signatures, which were certified by the city clerk Tuesday.
The number of signatures is far more than the 41,000 needed to have the measure considered for city voting.
Under the current law, porn stars must test negative for HIV and other STDs within 30 days of filming. Many argue that even the current law should be modified because HIV often does not show up in tests until months after a person contracts the virus.
"There are thousands of STDs in this industry," ABC News quoted Michael Weinstein, president of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation as telling Reuters. "It's the ick factor. They don't want to deal with this because it's sex, and because it's porn," he said.
Many in the adult entertainment industry argue that mandatory condom use would destroy the fantasy associated with pornography.
While L.A. residents would vote on the issue during the presidential primary in June, the Los Angeles Times reported that the proposal still faced legal challenges.

Breastfeeding mums stage 'nurse-in" protest against Target stores

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Breastfeeding mothers staged a "nurse-in" protest at Target stores across US to support a Texas woman who said she was ridiculed for breastfeeding her baby at a Houston store. Michelle Hickman organized a Facebook campaign to call for the "nurse-in," which took place in several US cities including Houston, Knoxville, Tenn., and Decatur, Ill.
According to MyFOXhouston, about 50 nursing mothers showed up to protest at the Webster, Texas, Target store where Hickman said she was harassed last month, Fox News reported. Hickman told the station she was Christmas shopping when she realized her infant needed to be fed.
She said she found a remote area of the store in the ladies clothing department, took a seat on the ground, and began to breast feed her "hungry baby with a blanket completely covering him." Hickman claimed that two female employees approached her and asked her to move to a fitting room, according to the website.
One of the employees allegedly commented "you can get a ticket and be reported for indecent exposure." Hickman said she felt bullied and felt her legal rights were violated. Meanwhile Target has sent a written statement to the Los Angeles Times saying, "Guests who choose to breastfeed in public areas of the store are welcome to do so without being made to feel uncomfortable.

Additionally, we support the use of fitting rooms for women who wish to breastfeed their babies, even if others are waiting to use the fitting rooms."

Anthony Weiner 'wanted threesome with another man'

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Anthony Weiner's sexting mistress has reportedly claimed that the New York politician wanted to have a threesome with her and another man. Traci Nobles, who came forward as one of Weiner's sexting partners earlier this year, told Radaronline.com that he detailed his desires in an explicit chat earlier this year, New York Daily News reported.

According to Nobles, Weiner allegedly told her "I'm not really talking about other chicks... How about with another guy." "Are you turned on by other guys?" Nobles claims she asked. "Well it depends on the guy, but generally yes," Weiner allegedly replied.

The leak came about a month after RadarOnline reported that Nobles was shopping a tell-all book about the politician's career-ending tryst. Weiner resigned from Congress in June after a lewd photo apparently his crotch shots he meant to send in a private message over Twitter accidentally went public.

The slip-up sparked a mushrooming scandal, with numerous women coming out of the woodwork with proof they had sexted with the politician. Since resigning, Weiner has largely stayed out of the spotlight, only occasionally being spotted in public with wife Huma Abedin. She gave birth to their first child, son Jordan Zane, last week.

Aliens may have left footprints on moon!

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Aliens may have left their footprints or artefacts on the moon which would last far longer than radio signals. Two astronomers from Arizona State University who suggest this possibility point out that we have been approaching alien life from a wrong end, scanning for radio signals from the distant stars, under the SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) project.

The detailed moon maps created by National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (NLRO) may be the best place to look for alien life, they said, evidence such as trails or debris would remain there for millions of years, and be easier to 'catch' than radio signals.

"Evidence for extraterrestrial intelligence could come from any signatures of non-human technology," the journal Acta Astronautica quotes the scientists as saying.

They say that any alien mission to our solar system is liable to have occurred long ago, but the surface of the moon could preserve the signs for millions of years, according to the Daily Mail.

The photographs already captured by NLRO, currently mapping the moon's surface to 0.5 metre resolution, provides an easy, cheap way to look for these signs.

100 babies aborted in Britain by women not wanting multiple births

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Over 100 unborn babies were aborted in Britain in 2010 by women who were pregnant with multiple foetuses but wanted to give birth to fewer children, government statistics say.

The multiple pregnancies have been attributed to the in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment, but experts said the women opted for abortion because of health concerns, the Daily Mail reported.

The statistics from the department of health revealed that 59 women aborted at least one foetus while giving birth to another baby in 2006. The number of women rose to 85 by 2010.

Of the 85 women, 51 reduced their pregnancy from twins to a single baby. There were 20 women who reduced triplets to twins and nine abortions to take a pregnancy from triplets to a single child.

Separate figures released by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority said around one third of such abortions carried out in 2009 involved pregnancies that were a result of IVF treatment.

The health department said three quarters of the selective abortions were made on medical grounds. In multiple pregnancies, some babies are at risk of being premature.

The Christian Medical Fellowship condemned the practice. Chief executive of the group, Peter Saunders, said parents unwilling to have twins should not have multiple embryos implanted.

Man kills himself after girl unfriends him on Facebook

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A 21-year-old Briton hanged himself after a girl removed him as a 'friend' on social network Facebook. Simon Foxley from Hyde, Gloucestershire, became interested in the girl after meeting her on the website. But when he told her of his romantic feelings, she "unfriended" him from her list, said the Daily Mail.

Foxley tried to contact the girl but her friends reportedly bombarded him with abusive messages and told him to leave her alone. After reading a message that read "Go and die", Foxley hanged himself in the garden of his home, the daily said.

His body was found by his 56-year-old father and his 18-year-old brother. His family said that being "unfriended" and bullied on Facebook affected him terribly.

Before killing himself, Foxley wrote a suicide note that said: "Thank you for everything that you have done for me. I hope you all make the most of your lives and cherish the people and the moments you share with them. I can't say sorry enough times for it to be the slightest bit good."

Fish kills two men by biting off their testicles

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A predator fish has reportedly killed two men by biting off their testicles, according to a British angler. Jeremy Wade, 53, spent weeks hunting for the fish in Papua New Guinea after locals reported a "mysterious beast" which was castrating young fishermen, said the Daily Mail.

Wade identified it as the Pacu fish -- known locally as "The Ball Cutter" -- and caught one weighing around 18 kg in his fishing boat. The 'Ball Cutter' has a set of human-like molar teeth, said Wade, who is making a new TV series called "River Monsters".

At least two fishermen have bled to death after being bitten by the fish. "I had heard of a couple of fishermen in Papua New Guinea who had been castrated by something in the water. The bleeding was so severe that they died. The locals told me that this thing was like a human in the water, biting at the testicles of fishermen. They didn't know what it was," Wade said.

"It is a hot and dirty area so the people would often go to the water with their children to wash but obviously they were very worried about this thing in the water." Pacu fish are usually found in the Amazon river in South America, where they use their teeth to crack into nuts and seeds. The previously vegetarian fish were introduced to Papua New Guinea 15 years ago to increase stocks.

Three Russian Santas clean out jeweller's shop

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Three armed robbers, dressed as Father Frost, took away entire gold jewellery from a shop in Russia's Siberian city, police said Thursday.

Father Frost, or Grandfather Frost, is the key figure of the Russian New Year, who arrives wearing a red caftan or, old-style long garment decorated with traditional embroidering and edged with snow-white fluff, a red cap, white mittens and felt boots.

The three hoax New Year gift-givers stood outside the shop in Novosibirsk city for a while, greeting passers-by, probably carefully timing the robbery.

Their behaviour did not seem suspicious to the pawn shop's staff and visitors, who thought the three men were involved in an advertising campaign. By evening, the three 'Father Frosts' entered the shop, waving shotguns.

"The three men acted defiantly, without a moment of hesitation. They shot four times. So everyone took them seriously," said district police chief Yuri Titovich.

Though the owner is yet to assess the damage, it is known that the robbers, wearing masks and false beards, took away all gold jewellery from the shop, including at least 160 gold chains. Police are checking footage from surveillance cameras in the shop to track the robbers.


Historians 'overcleaned' da Vinci masterpiece?

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Art historians at the Louvre have been accused of "overcleaning" a masterpiece by Leonardo da Vinci, leaving the painting with a brightness that was never intended.

Two of France's top art experts have registered their displeasure at the cleaning of The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne by stepping down from their posts at the Paris museum's advisory committee responsible for its restoration, according to reports.


Influence: It is said that the British influence on restoration has helped
to sway the Louvre

The resignations of S �gol ne Bergeon Langle and Jean-Pierre Cuzin -- former specialists in conservation and painting respectively -- will be seen as a major embarrassment for the Louvre.

Bergeon Langle is regarded as France's national authority on the art and the science of restoring paintings. She was director of conservation for all of France's national museums.

She said, "I can confirm that I have resigned from the international consultative committee, but my reasons I am reserving for a meeting with the president-director of the Louvre, Henri Loyrette."

The restoration has divided the committee between those who believe the painting is now too bright and those who regard the cleaning as moderate. Seventeen years ago, the Louvre abandoned an earlier attempt to clean the painting amid fears about how the solvents were affecting the sfumato, the Renaissance master's trademark effect for blurring contours. Since then, it appears that the British influence on restoration has helped to sway the Louvre.

Meanwhile, Vincent Pomar de, the Louvre's head of paintings, defended its cleaning process saying, "Rarely has a restoration been as well prepared, discussed and effected, and never will it have benefited from such effective techniques."


Election annulled over boxer's shorts stunt

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Juan Manuel Marquez sported the symbol of a party on his trunks in a fight on the eve of the vote in Mexico, breaking campaign rules

A local election result in Mexico has been partly annulled because a boxer wore the logo of the winning party on his trunks in a fight on the eve of the vote, breaking campaign rules.


Branded: Juan Manuel Marquez said he was given the shorts,
emblazoned with the PRI logo, by his team. Representation
Pic/ Getty Images

Juan Manuel Marquez sported the tricolour symbol of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) during his clash with Filipino Manny Pacquiao. The fight in Las Vegas on 12 November was watched by millions in Mexico.

A federal court decided it may have influenced voters in Morelia, the capital of Michoacan state. In its ruling, the court also cited a television appearance by PRI candidates after the official campaign period has closed.

The election for mayor of Morelia will now have to be held again within 150 days.

The PRI called the court decision "unjust, mistaken and disproportionate" but said it would abide by the ruling.

It added that the victory of its mayoral candidate, Wilfrido Lazaro, was legitimate and said it would win again.

However, Juan Manuel Marquez said he was given the shorts emblazoned with the PRI logo by his team, but didn't notice their significance.

He said he was focused on the fight and did not know there were elections happening in Michoacan. Members of the PRI have denied having any involvement in getting Marquez to wear their logo.

In the ring, Marquez lost to Pacquiao on a narrow points decision.


After posing in her underwear..., lingerie tycoon splits from hubby

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Creator of Ultimo bra Michelle Mone said her husband Michael was appalled as she had posed in undies; admitted hubby didn't want other men look at her 'like that'

The Ultimo lingerie tycoon Michelle Mone and her husband Michael, who was "appalled" when she posed in her own racy advertising campaign, are to separate.

A statement issued by their lawyers said the split after 19 years of marriage was "amicable", nobody else was involved and they would continue to work together at MJM International, the company they co-founded.


Big achievement: Former Model Mone (center) created the cleavage-
enhancing Ultimo bra. She was awarded an OBE last year for services to
the lingerie industry. Pic/getty images

Mone, 40, a former model who created the cleavage-enhancing Ultimo bra, was awarded an OBE last year for services to the lingerie industry.

The publicity-conscious Glasgow entrepreneur and mother-of-three said last month that she was "tired and exhausted", adding, "I always thought money would make you happy but it is seriously not true.

"Chasing the money, the houses, the cars, does it really all matter? Money does make things easier but it certainly doesn't ensure your happiness."

She previously admitted her husband, who she met when she was 17, was furious when she posed in her own lingerie for an Ultimo advertising campaign in 2010 after dropping from a size 20 to a size 10.

Shortly after the photo shoot she said, "He's bothered on so many levels. He doesn't want other men looking at his wife like that. He thinks it's harmful for the kids. And he thinks it's detrimental for the business."

Earlier this year she admitted, "He was appalled I'd posed in my undies. He didn't speak to me for days. It's something we can't talk about, even now."

Mone, who was brought up in the east end of Glasgow and left school at 15, was also forced last year to deny rumours over her friendships with the rugby player Gavin Henson and the actor Shane Richie.

The businesswoman and CEO, now divides her time between Glasgow and her home in Mayfair, London.


Posted by Harshad at 7:22 AM

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