Mid Day International News |
- Is your internet addiction ruining your holiday?
- Astronomer predicts appearance of UFO in 2011
- New Zealand to have its first male brothel for female clients
- Taiwanese woman catches 4 million mosquitoes
- 35 dead, 80 injured in violence in Pak's Sindh
- Porn movie screened in Indonesian parliament
- Monkey adopts toad
- Inspirational tale graduates further
| Is your internet addiction ruining your holiday? Posted: We live in a wonderful world where our loved ones are just a few keystrokes away and where international businesses can be run from behind a computer screen, but when it comes time to switch off our laptops and disconnect our phones for a long-earned holiday most of us feel like we simply can't live without our gadgets and a reliable internet connection. A survey released by Expedia Inc. on August 2 found that only 15 percent of Australians could restrain themselves from using the internet when on holiday. Sixty-three percent of Aussies went online during their trip to check their bank balance while another 45 percent used their connected devices to help them find great places to see and to recommend restaurants while on their trip. More than one in ten Australians access the internet up to five times a day while they are on holiday, and one in 20 Generation Y Australians (people born between 1970 and 2000) are so addicted to their social networks they check on them once an hour during their break. People living in the UK are not much better when it comes to disconnecting. An August 2 study conducted by YouGov and Softwareload.co.uk, found that one in ten men work while they are holidaying and whenever possible, 13 percent of Britons make sure they have their laptops with them during their trip. Seventy-three percent of travelers believe that a mobile phone is an essential traveling companion said travel company lowcostholidays.com in a study the company released in June. Their survey also found that 59 percent of holiday makers could not live without the internet while they were away from their home. Taking a break from a constantly-connected lifestyle can be difficult but the following tips may help you to turn off your computers, unplug your phones and actually take the time to enjoy your break from the office. Here are some helpful tips to ensure you make the most out of your holiday while spending less time connected to the web: 1. Before you leave on your trip clear out your inbox and star or flag any important emails that need to be addressed when you return. 2. Set up an Out of Office message so people don't expect a reply from you while you are away. 4. If you can't live without a phone, think about swapping your smartphone for a regular handset that can't connect to the internet. 5. If you are expecting an important email while you are away, ask a trusted friend or colleague to deal with it for you, or alternatively only check your mail once a day (checking it at the end of the day will minimize holiday disruptions). 6. Take an e-reader with you instead of a tablet. 7. Enjoy your holiday! The more fun you have on your holiday, the less likely you are to miss your online friends and internet addiction -- plus think of all the great holiday pictures you will have to post on your social networks when you arrive home.
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| Astronomer predicts appearance of UFO in 2011 Posted: Unidentified flying objects (UFO) may appear in 2011 or 2012, a Chinese astronomer has predicted. Wang Sichao, an astronomy and minor planet scholar, made the forecast under recently-heated speculations about UFOs, as some unidentified flying objects have been spotted in several Chinese regions of Zhejiang, Hunan, Chongqing and Xinjiang since last month, the China Daily reported. A UFO spotted in Zhejiang's provincial capital of Hangzhou disrupted air traffic over east China for an hour in early July. Some media reports said the UFO might have been a private aircraft, because of the increasing number of privately owned aircraft. As for what British cosmological physicist Stephen Hawking claimed about aliens in April this year, saying "an alien encounter could have bad consequences for humans and earth had better watch out", Wang called it too early to make a conclusion. Wang also urged scientists to design and create more advanced and agile telescopes in order to observe the unidentified flying objects that usually turn up on occasion, often for only seconds at a time, the report said.
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| New Zealand to have its first male brothel for female clients Posted: A male brothel where women could "come and either just drink and be titillated, or go the whole nine yards" is in the process of being set up in New Zealand. Former politician Pam Corkery has been linked to plans for New Zealand's first brothel for women, New Zealand Herald reported on Tuesday. Corkery is currently looking for a property to house the brothel. The concept involved a spa, bar and bordello where women could "come and either just drink and be titillated, or go the whole nine yards", a source was quoted as saying. Publicist Paul Ellis said he had met Corkery in the past week to discuss the plan. Corkery wanted the brothel plan "to be shot as a TV project", Ellis said and added: "It was one of myriad things. She's doing a whole raft of things. One of the great things about Pam is she's got so much energy." Annah Pickering, of the New Zealand Prostitutes Collective, said a brothel only for women would be the first of its kind. She said: "The male sex workers working out of the male escort agencies we have now serve both male and female clients." Pickering said the main clientele would probably be "cougars" who are older women who are attracted to and have sex with younger men. Australian feminist advocate Melinda Tankard Reist said she was disgusted with the idea. "It's no great advancement for women's empowerment to say that we can now buy men for sex. It's no great sign of liberation. "Prostitution from men for women is still about the trade in human bodies and human flesh... just because it's men that's being sold doesn't make it any better. It's still very wrong."
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| Taiwanese woman catches 4 million mosquitoes Posted: A Taiwanese woman has taken a sizeable bite out of Taiwan's mosquito population, and won a 3,000 US dollar cash prize, by catching around 4 million of the bloodsuckers in just one month. Huang Yu-yen, from southern Taiwan's Yunlin county, beat 72 rivals with a catch weighing in at more than 1.5 kilogrammes (3lbs 5oz), competition organisers Imbictus International, a company that makes insect traps, said. The haul was more than double that of her nearest rival. The company has sent an application to Guinness World Records asking that Huang be recognised as the world's leading killer of the pest. Mosquitoes have been a major public health hazard in Taiwan, especially as carriers of malaria until its official eradication on the island in 1965. They are still responsible for the spread of dengue fever.
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| 35 dead, 80 injured in violence in Pak's Sindh Posted: Overnight violence in Pakistan's Sindh province left at least 35 people dead and 80 others injured in incidents of rioting, firing and arson, following the killing of a legislator of the ruling Muthaida Qaumi Movement here. More than two dozen vehicles, shops, teashops and carts parked on roadsides were set ablaze by rampaging mobs. Police officials and hospital sources said that since the gunning down of member of the Sindh assembly Raza Haider, 35 people have been killed in incidents of violence in different parts of Karachi and Hyderabad. This port city was rattled with gunfire, forcing the closure of business centres, shops, petrol pumps and marriage lawns, bringing life to almost a virtual standstill. Hamid Parihar, police surgeon of the Sindh province said, 31 bodies with gunshot wounds have been received in different hospitals in both the cities. However, the Dawn newspaper said that 35 bodies were received by hospitals. "We have received around 13 dead bodies and are treating 45 injured people most of them from gunshot wounds," the medico legal officer of the state-owned Jinnah hospital here said. Dr Abbas Rizvi at the Abbasi Shaheed hospital said nine dead bodies were brought to the hospital and dozens were being treated for gunshot wounds and other injuries. "It is a precarious situation and there is trouble in many parts of the city and we have increased the number of policemen and the para-military Rangers patrolling the city," city police chief Waseem Ahmed said. 35-year-old Raza Haider, one of the oldest members of the MQM and a member of the Sindh assembly, was shot dead along with his bodyguard, Khalid Khan when they came to a mosque in Nazimabad to attend the funeral prayers of his friend's mother. "Four persons riding a motorcycle and in a white car came to the mosque and as Raza Haider was performing ablution they fired at him from close range, it was a clearly a target killing," a senior police official said.
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| Porn movie screened in Indonesian parliament Posted: Indonesia's parliamentarians and attending journalists and bureaucrats came in for a rude shock on Monday when a hardcore pornographic movie was flashed on their monitors for about 15 minutes. Explicit images apparently taken from the internet filled the screens of the internal information service used by reporters, political staffers and visitors before security guards managed to shut it off, The Australian reported. The internal information service is used for updates on the nation's political events. It was, however, not clear how the images appeared on the screens but Speaker Marzuki Alie said whoever was responsible would be punished. "Whoever hacked the screens is insolent and will be reported to the authorities," he said.
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| Posted: When a monkey tried to make a new friend in her zoo enclosure, it was clear that the relationship was not an equal one. Grabbing a toad as it rested by a pond, female swamp monkey Swoozie stunned visitors by spending the rest of the day clutching it to her breast. The unhappy common toad only escaped when it managed to wriggle free at Paignton Zoo in Devon. Crowds gathered as the seven-year-old monkey cuddled the toad and even rubbed the cold-blooded creature to try and warm it up. The bizarre event was captured on camera by retired teacher Sheila Hassanein (64), who was visiting the zoo. She said, "The monkey was trying to shield it from view, she was treating it as if it was her baby and she was trying to protect it. The enclosure is surrounded by water and there are lots of toads in there. She must have just picked one out." She added that Swoozie was rubbing the toad as if she was trying to warm it up, but it's a cold-blooded reptile.
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| Inspirational tale graduates further Posted: Allison John is first person to have all her vital organs transplanted, qualifies as a doctor Allison John may have the best bedside manner of any doctor in the world. After all, it took Allison John 13 years to complete her studies during which time she received a new heart, lungs and kidneys. The 32-year-old had previously had a liver transplant when still a teenager. Her experiences with the many doctors, nurses and surgeons that treated her made Allison determined to help other people fighting for their lives. Brush with death She has been close to death three times -- and was once told she had just three days to live. Doctors told her she was the first person in Europe to have all her major organs transplanted, if not the world. Allison was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis when she was just six weeks old and has overcome overwhelming odds to get to where she is today. She is now planning to marry her fiance Nathan next year. The Cardiff University graduate said, "I never thought this day would finally come. It's such a huge milestone for me. My life has been a bit of a rollercoaster and it's taken me a long time to get here but I got here in the end." She said she was really excited about starting work as a junior doctor at Nevill Hall Hospital in Abergavenny. "I strongly believe that if you can't empathise with a patient, you're not a good doctor. But after all that I've been through, I think I can use the experiences I've had with both good and bad doctors to help others." Liver failure At the age of 14 Allison's liver began to fail and she was told she would need a transplant. Doctors compared her failing organ to the liver of an alcoholic with cirrhosis. An agonising 16-month wait for a match followed and finally in September 1995 the teenager received a new liver - just after doctors told her she had just three days to live. After bravely battling back to health Allison began a degree in neuroscience at Cardiff University in October 1996. But just a few months later she received the devastating news that she was suffering from lung failure in March 1997. Doctors replaced both her lungs and her heart during a six hour operation. Her healthy heart was removed with the lungs as part of a 'package' and was given to David Hamilton, a man who had suffered several heart attacks over twenty years. Allison enjoyed a period of good health for several years and completed her degree in neuroscience in June 2001. Inspired by her experience with the NHS and the doctors who had helped her, she started a degree in medicine at Cardiff in October 2001. She immersed herself in her studies but was struck another devastating blow in April 2005. Unfortunate twist In a cruel twist of fate, the medication she was taking to stop her body rejecting her new organs caused kidney damage. She was diagnosed with renal failure and told that she would need yet another transplant. Her father David (61), was found to be a match and the pair underwent a gruelling operation. Allison was conscious throughout the surgery, as the risk of putting her body under general anaesthetic was too great. This last operation in December 2006 made her the first person in the UK to have all of her major organs transplanted. Allison said, "When I suffered renal failure, doctors originally ruled out the possibility of me having another transplant because of the dangers of general anaesthetic for me." Now Allison is determined to enjoy every day. She said, "There's no point worrying about the future when the present is so good. I was taught to treasure the little things in life and to appreciate the here and now."
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