Saturday, February 4, 2012

Mid Day International News

Mid Day International News

Cold wave kills 64 in Russia

Posted:

A severe cold wave has killed 64 people across Russia in January.

About 1,400 people requested medical assistance, with 779 admitted to hospitals, Deputy Health Minister Maxim Topilin said, adding the figures only include data from 50 out of 83 Russian regions.

The temperatures in Russia are 7-12 degrees below normal. The cold snap even extends into the normally warm North Caucasus with temperatures there plummeting to minus 20 degrees Celsius.

Siberia and the Far East, no strangers to harsh winter, are currently in a deep freeze at minus 40 degrees Celsius.

An official said five people died overnight in the Russian capital, where low temperatures in different parts of the city dipped to between minus 23 and 27 degrees Celsius.

The biting cold compels Russians to make excessive use of heating devices such as electrical space heaters and furnaces, which increase the chances of house fires.

Emergencies Minister Sergei Shoigu said the number of house fires increased by 30 percent since the severe frosts began this year.

Many of them were caused by electric circuits in overloaded electricity systems, fireplaces and damaged household gas systems.

The Russian Meteorological Bureau said the peak of severe colds has already passed in European Russia, but the temperature will remain 6-8 degrees below the norm for at least another week.

Gaddafi's shirt, ring up for sale

Posted:

The wedding ring and shirt worn by former Libyan leader Colonel Gaddafi when he was killed by rebels is up for grabs for a starting price of Rs 10 crore

Slain dictator of Libya, Moammer Gaddafi's bloodied shirt and wedding ring have been put up for $2 million (Rs 10 crore) auction. The disgraced dictator was wearing the silver ring and bloodied beige shirt when he was dragged from a drainpipe near his home town of Sirte before being beaten and shot.


Going once, twice, sold! A Libyan, Ahmed Warfali, is asking
for Rs 10 crore for the bloodied shirt (inset) and ring.
However, he believes he would have received a bigger amount
if he had sold them in Europe. File pics

Libyan national Ahmed Warfali is apparently asking for $2 million (Rs 10 crore) for the items after somehow coming into their possession. He believes he could have attracted a higher value if he had been selling them in Europe.

A picture of what appears to be the ring shows an engraving representing the date Gaddafi married his wife, Safia, on September 10, 1970.

Don't sell it
But critics say Warfali should not be selling his possessions. "The ring does not belong to Gaddafi. It's Libyan money and this guy should not sell the ring," said one person, who posted his comments on a Facebook wall for residents of the town of Zintan, where Gaddafi's son Saif al-Islam is being held.

Saif was arrested in November last year, but has not yet been handed over to the transitional government or the International Criminal Court for trial.

Another Facebook user said, "Well you can sell Saif for 20 billion dollars, if you do not want the guy to sell the ring." There remains tensions in the country in the wake of Gaddafi's death as militias continue to jostle for power.

Indian student alleges Harvard, Princeton discriminate against Asian-Americans

Posted:

A complaint from an Indian-American student who was near the top of his high school class but was rejected by both Harvard and Princeton universities has triggered an investigation by the US Education Department.

The unnamed Indian-American student in California complained that the two universities discriminate against Asian-Americans in undergraduate admissions.

According to the Education Department's Office of Civil Rights the complaint was received on August 22 and the allegations were "accepted for investigation" on January 11. The complaint alleges "discrimination against Asian-Americans on the basis of race/national origin with respect to the university's admissions process."

A Harvard spokesman was cited as saying the institution does not discriminate. Asian-Americans make up 16 per cent of Harvard undergraduates.

Princeton in New Jersey also asserted that it doesn't discriminate on the basis of race or national origin and will provide the government with the requested information.

The proportion of Asian-Americans among Princeton undergraduates increased to 17.7 percent this year from 14.1 percent in 2007- 2008, a spokesman was quoted as saying.

The rise reflects the tendency of incoming classes to "fluctuate based on the assessment of individual applications" rather than the impact of the federal review, he said.

There are 14.7 million Americans of Asian descent only, plus 2.6 million who are multiracial including Asian, according to the 2010 US census.

Morgan Freeman dumps step-granddaughter?

Posted:

Morgan Freeman has reportedly dumped his step-granddaughter for another young girlfriend.



The 74-year-old actor shocked the showbiz world a few years ago when his relationship with E'Dina Hines was exposed. Morgan reportedly began dating E'Dina -- now 29 -- when she was just a teen, and when the story broke, Morgan did not deny the claims.

However, it seems he has moved on from that relationship to a younger Filipino woman.

"Morgan rang in the New Year by planting a passionate kiss on his new gal Ellie, who's an accountant in Los Angeles," a source said.

Friends believe the relationship could be serious because Morgan also invited Ellie's mother and sister along. Morgan was having a great time. They kept kissing. They're definitely an item."

Actor's Oscar Bid 'under threat' over film posters

Posted:

Movie billboards in Paris featuring The Artist actor Jean Dujardin might affect his chances of winning an Academy Award, according to the French press. The country's advertising standards authority ARPP said the posters, promoting Les Infideles (The Players), "present a degrading image of women".


Quelle horreur: Members of the public had complained saying t
hey found the posters of the movie starring Jean Dujardin
offensive. Pic/AFP

One of the adverts features Dujardin holding the bare legs of a woman, with his head between her high-heeled feet. Le Parisien said the US would not find the "salacious photos" amusing. But L'Express magazine questioned whether any row over the posters would actually affect the actors chances of taking home the best actor Oscar.

The publication asked whether removing the posters was "logical, given their openly misogynistic character, or a disgraceful censorship that reveals the strength of political correctness in our society?" The ARPP said it had received four complaints from members of the public, who found the billboards offensive.

The posters, which went on display, "propagate an image of women that damages their dignity," ARPP managing director Stephane Martin said. He added they "present a degrading image of women" because "you do not see the woman's face. This is certainly presenting an image of women as objects, in this case sexual objects."

Controversial stories surrounding Oscar favourites are not unheard of in the run-up to the awards ceremony.
Last year, a story about George VI, the central character in the Oscar-winning The King's Speech, began circulating on the internet, alleging the wartime monarch had Nazi sympathies.

Although it did not involve the film directly, a campaign was launched to affect the film's chances, which has become common practice among studios. During an interview with Premiere magazine, Dujardin said his new film was a satirical role, which focuses on male infidelity. He described the two lead roles as 'flamboyant idiots."
The actor has been widely praised for his role in the silent movie The Artist, which has been nominated for nine Oscars.

Oscar controversies


In 2006, when Eddie Murphy lost the Oscars for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Dreamgirls, rumours swirled that his chances were hurt by posters for his other movie Norbit that blanketed Los Angeles streets.


Similarly, Gerard Depardieu's hopes for a best actor Oscar for Cyrano de Bergerac were dashed when Time magazine ran a profile mistakenly suggesting, due to a mistranslation, that he had "participated" in a rape at the age of nine.


Posted by Harshad at 7:47 AM

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