Friday, February 3, 2012

Mid Day International News

Mid Day International News

Over 120 feared killed in PNG ship tragedy

Posted:

More than 120 people are feared dead after a ship with over 350 on board sank off Papua New Guinea's north coast, even as ships and helicopters are continuing to search for missing people, officials said today.

About 350 Papua New Guineans were on board the Rabaul Queen when it went down in the Solomon Sea about last morning, according to local media reports here. The ship was headed for the PNG north-coast town of Lae from the West New Britain town of Kimbe.

Australian rescuers saved 238 passengers, most of them students and trainee teachers, from drowning after the ferry sank, but fears remained for more than 120 were still missing.

"Over 200 people had been rescued - most of them from the water," Rescue co-ordinator Captain Nurur Rahman said, adding that several passengers were still unaccounted for. The search for the missing passengers - mostly university students - resumed at daylight.

Officials said there were fears people had been trapped in the ferry. Capt Rahman said the rescuers are scouring the area for more survivors. He said it was too early to say why the ferry went down, refusing to speculate on whether the ship was overloaded.

Most of the survivors who have returned to Lae were taken to the local hospital. "None of them had sustained any real injuries. They were pretty cold and miserable," Lae Chamber of Commerce president Alan McLay told Australian media.

Meanwhile, Ferry operator Rabaul Shipping said that there were 350 passengers and 12 crew onboard. Relatives of the passengers, angered by a lack of information, threw rocks at the company's office in Kimbe on Thursday, Australian media reported. Local police said it had to move the staff to an undisclosed location.


German pensioner's post-war tub of US lard fit to eat

Posted:

A German pensioner who had kept a tub of lard in his cupboard for 64 years, took it to authorities who pronounced it very much fit for consumption -- if a little tasteless.


Didn't want to throw it away: Retired chemist Hans Feldmeier
explains why he still has a tub of lard in his kitchen 64 years
after he first received it. Pics/AFP

Retired chemist Hans Feldmeier(87), said that he had received the pig fat as a student in 1948 near the northern city of Rostock as part of the post-war US aid programme.

Feldmeier said he had been given the tub together with two tins of noodles and some milk. "I just didn't want to throw it away," he explained.

Finally, after 64 years, he took it to food safety agents and was astonished at their appraisal. "There is of course a slight lack of smell and taste," sniffed Frerk Feldhusen, from the office of agriculture, food safety
and fisheries in the eastern state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.

Moreover, the lard was "of gritty consistency, difficult to dissolve and looked a bit old," the officials added.

However, "all in all, given its level of freshness and its material composition, the product is assessed as satisfactory," Feldhusen said, adding it would stand up to today's definition of being fit for the dinner table.


Pakistan hospital refuses to give baby to Zardari

Posted:

Jinnah Hospital administration on Wednesday handed over a one-year-old abandoned girl to a couple without children after refusing some seven other hopefuls, including Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari, who wanted the baby for his sister MNA Faryal Talpur.


Representation pic

Allama Iqbal Medical College Principal Prof Dr Javed Akram handed over the baby girl, named Fatima by hospital doctors, to Iqbal and his wife Ayesha in a ceremony organised at the college auditorium.

Scores of senior doctors, nurses and paramedics were also present on the occasion. Ailing Fatima was left by an unknown woman at the hospital a couple of weeks ago. Eight people, including President Asif Ali Zardari, had approached the hospital administration for adoption of the baby.

President Zardari had applied for adoption via Pakistan Baita-ul-Mal through a letter dated January 25, addressed to Medical Superintendent Dr Afzal Shaheen, stating, "The President of Pakistan has been pleased to direct that subject girl child may be handed over to Mrs Faryal Talpur, Member National Assembly, and sister of the President."

The hospital committee handed over the newborn to the couple on the condition that she would be given a share in the family's property.

Sarkozy spends Rs 28 lakh to fly Sick son home

Posted:

French President under fire for spending taxpayers' money to fly DJ son home from Ukraine in luxury jet

French president Nicolas Sarkozy's DJ son flew back to France in a luxury jet costing more than �35,000 (Rs 28 lakh) after falling ill before a gig at a Ukraine nightclub, it emerged. Critics of the French president said the extraordinary cost to the taxpayer is a further example of Sarkozy's 'royal' attitude to public money.


Anything for my son: French President Nicolas Sarkozy sent the
presidential Dassault Falcon jet to Ukraine to pick up his son
Pierre, who was suffering from food poisoning. File Pic/AFP

Pierre Sarkozy (26), complained about something he had eaten shortly before he was due to perform at a
nightclub in the southern port city of Odessa on January 24. He was taken to hospital by ambulance, where police later suggested he may have been suffering from 'food poisoning'.

Despite it only being a minor ailment, a presidential Dassault Falcon jet was flown straight from Paris to pick him up. The leading satirical weekly in France, Le Canard Enchaine, reported, 'To get his son, Nicolas Sarkozy mobilised an Air Force unit that carries the president and ministers. But how much did it cost? A small fortune.'

Sarkozy insisted that he had paid 7,632 (Rs 5 lakh) for his son's medical fees, but the cost of the private jet was still paid for by taxpayers. Le Canard Enchaine said the plane could only have been sanctioned if the flight was in the 'public interest', but suggested the president's son should have gone home on a regular flight.

Sarkozy and his third wife, ex-supermodel Carla Bruni, are frequently criticised for their high living ways and particularly for spending a fortune on air travel. Last year it emerged they spent more than �65,000
(Rs 50 lakh) equipping their new plane with state-of-the-art airborne ovens -- just so they could enjoy fresh bread as they flew in the Airbus A330.

Other world leaders " including Britain PM David Cameron and his wife -- have been known to use budget
airlines, but the Sarkozys insist on five-star travel and accommodation wherever they go. France's First Lady even made sure that the very best music centre, was fitted on the plane.

An Elysee Palace source said Pierre was repatriated 'as an emergency' on the advice of a presidential doctor.
Pierre, who performs under the name Mosey, is said to have made a full recovery and will be back performing in Paris this weekend.

Rs 5 lakh
Medical costs that French president Nicolas Sarkozy spent for his son

Flour-bomb attack on Hollande
A woman dumped flour on France's presidential candidate during a campaign appearance. The woman ran up to the podium where Francois Hollande stood. Hollande remained calm throughout the incident, though his glasses, hair and suit were covered in white.

World's longest married couple spill the beans

Posted:

A Las Vegas couple who married in 1933 recently celebrated their 78th wedding anniversary with an unexpected present.

The Worldwide Marriage Encounter says Wilbur and Theresa Faiss have been married longer than any other couple in the world.

Theresa was not well enough to talk, but Wilbur was full of advice. He says marriage is all about give and take, and compromise.

Even US President Obama took notice of the special occasion and planned to mention the couple at a campaign stop. But they missed the event. US President Obama has promised to honour them in their hometown.


James Cameron, the farmer?

Posted:

Hollywood director is planning to quit America and move to a New Zealand farm indefinitely so that his children 'grow up with strong work ethic'

Hollywood director James Cameron is planning to move onto a New Zealand farm. Cameron has successfully applied to buy 1,067 hectares (2,636 acres) of farmland in south Wairarapa, New Zealand for the cost of $NZ20 million (Rs 82 crore).



In an application filed with the New Zealand Overseas Investment Office (OIO), Cameron, who currently resides in Malibu, California, says he and his family 'intend to reside indefinitely in New Zealand and are acquiring the property to reside on and operate as a working farm'.

Cameron, a Canadian, directed two of Hollywood's most successful films, Titanic and Avatar. It's believed he will move to New Zealand this year to film the sequel to Avatar. The properties are along Western Lake Road in south Wairarapa.

One of the farms Cameron bought includes Lake Pounui, which the Bayleys real estate website describes as "possibly the finest privately owned natural lake in the country". The rural properties are about a 90-minute drive from Wellington, home to Weta Digital, which won an Oscar for its visual effects work on the first Avatar movie.

Property sales were reportedly approved by the Overseas Investment Office (OIO) in December. Cameron, who grew up working on his grandfather's farm in Canada,said that he and his wife want their children to grow up with a strong work ethic.

His wife, Suzy's family, also owns a farm in Oklahoma. "The Cameron family is thrilled to be making a new home in New Zealand," a statement read. "We love the rugged landscape and the spirit of the people here, and are looking forward to becoming resident on our beautiful farm."

There's criticism from opposition political parties but Federated Farmers says it's a 'titanic opportunity' for the region. "Cameron's OIO application states they're going to farm the land they've purchased," federation president Bruce Wills said. "Federated Farmers would be pleased to have them as members, there's much we will be able to do to help them settle into the Wairarapa and into farming."

The Labour Party said it didn't have a problem if the family was going to live permanently in New Zealand, but it did if they were going to "flit in and out". New Zealand First leader Winston Peters however said the purchase was "a takeover" which wasn't going to benefit farming or New Zealand's economy. "It's just another example of (Prime Minister) John Key sucking up to his Hollywood mates and applying Wall Street values, which aren't values at all."
Posted by Harshad at 7:39 AM

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)