Mid Day International News |
- 77-year-old Spanish granny is world's oldest skydiver!
- George W Bush admits to making errors in Iraq war: Book
- New doll with hidden camera branded a 'gift to paedophiles'
- Break-ups step up after Valentine's Day, Christmas: Facebook
- 'Miracle' eye transplant gives sight back to blind
- Girl aged 10 gives birth to healthy baby
- Parcel bombs target German, Italian leaders, embassies
- 'Sleepwalking' Swedish man acquitted of drunken driving charges
- South African pastor sparks outrage with 'Jesus was HIV-positive' claim
- Harry Potter blamed for dwindling number of wild owls in India
- 'Metrosexual' David Beckham reveals hair-free legs
- It's better to be passionate about girls than be gay, says Berlusconi
- Dead in Italy honoured with 400 mn euros worth of flowers
- Six killed, dumped on road in Mexico
- Human skeleton in sack found in Kanpur
- Iranian 'adultress' to be executed
| 77-year-old Spanish granny is world's oldest skydiver! Posted: A Spanish woman has become the world's oldest professional freestyle parachute jumper at the age of 77, having jumped 903 times in her life so far. Montse, a Catalan granny, who first jumped at the age of 30, carries prosthesis in her hip, but that has not stopped her from enjoying what she loves. "I started with skiing, because I am from mother hearth, land, air and water," Sky News quoted her as saying. "Then I continued with swimming and trampoline jumping, sailing then Windsurfing came out... and so I tried them too. "Up to now I have jumped 903 times from a parachute, it's not bad is it?" she stated. Montse has practised her passion all over the world - she did her first world championship in Empuria Brava in 1993, then in Arizona the following year. "Every time I go to a championship they all say to me the same, 'We know you don't do training and we know your age but seeing you there for us is a privilege'," she added.
      |
| George W Bush admits to making errors in Iraq war: Book Posted: Former US President George W Bush has admitted that he committed many errors involving the Iraq war and said he "felt like the captain of a sinking ship" towards the end of his presidency when dealing with recession, according to his new book. In his book, Decision Points, to be released next week, Bush writes of the errors involving the Iraq campaign and the failure to find the weapons of mass destruction (WMD), despite a number of US intelligence reports pointing to their existence there. He admits feeling a 'sickening feeling' when he learned there were no mass destruction weapons in Iraq and said "cutting troop levels too quickly was the most important failure of execution in the war," according to excerpts from his book, released by The New York Times. The former President has also disclosed he considered replacing his Vice President Dick Cheney who offered to step down in 2003 so that he could pick someone else as his 2004 campaign running mate. Bush considered the offer, writing that while Cheney "helped with important parts of our base, he had become a lightning rod for criticism from the media and the left". He said accepting the resignation offer would help "demonstrate that I was in charge", but he decided to stick with Cheney. "He was seen as dark and heartless -- the Darth Vader of the administration," Bush was quoted as saying in his book. He adds: "The more I thought about it, the more strongly I felt Dick should stay. I hadn't picked him to be a political asset; I had chosen him to help me do the job. That was exactly what he'd done. I asked Dick to stay..." In his book, Bush has also disclosed that he "felt like the captain of a sinking ship" towards the end of his presidency, when dealing with the recession.
   |
| New doll with hidden camera branded a 'gift to paedophiles' Posted: Child protection experts have branded a new Barbie doll that features a hidden camera and costs 59.99 pounds as a 'gift to paedophiles'.
   |
| Break-ups step up after Valentine's Day, Christmas: Facebook Posted: Days following Valentine's Day and two weeks before Christmas are the peak times in a year when people break up, according to an analysis of data on social networking site Facebook. British journalist and graphic designer David McCandless, who specialises in showcasing data in visual ways, has compiled a chart that shows what time of the year people split up the most. McCandless and his colleague scraped 10,000 Facebook status updates for the phrases 'breakup' and 'broken up.' They found two big spikes on the calendar for breakups. The first was after Valentine's Day and the other big "romantically treacherous time" is about two weeks before Christmas. A third period when people are most likely to split up is before spring break since "spring fever makes people restless, or maybe college students just don't want to be tied down when they're partying in Cancun." Mondays are the most likely day to break up, while summer and fall are the safest seasons, an NBC report said. McCandless' analysis also said that there are fewest splits on Christmas Day, but there's a peak just before Christmas. The number of breakups starts steadily increasing at the beginning of November and reaches its peak in the two weeks before Christmas. The holiday breakup rate plummets somewhere around December 23. August is the month with the lowest number of breakups, according to the data.
   |
| 'Miracle' eye transplant gives sight back to blind Posted: Scientists in Germany claim to have carried out a 'miracle' eye transplant which gave sight back to a visually impaired person. A team, led by Prof Eberhart Zrenner of technology firm Retinal Implant AG, implanted a microchip in 46-year-old Finn Miikka Terho's eye, which has enabled the totally blind man to read letters of alphabet and the time on a clock face. The new device shows that the damaged light receptor cells in eye can simply be replaced by a microchip; the rest of the image is obtained by the natural eye, British newspaper the Daily Express reported. In fact, the microchip, smaller than the tip of a pen and containing 1,500 tiny light sensors, fits into a natural space beneath the retina. When an image comes through the lens of the eye it hits the sensors which send an electrical pulse to nerve cells at the back of the eye. These transmit the message to the brain, say the scientists. The device is powered by a thin cable that runs from the eye, out of the side of the skull and is attached to a battery behind the ear. Experts claim that the pilot study, published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B Journal, means the technology behind the device works, is safe and is ready to be tested on many patients in a clinical trial. Now, a team, led by Prof Robert Maclaren at Oxford University, will conduct the next trial. Up to 12 patients are expected to take part in the British study, due to start next year at King's College Hospital, and the Oxford Eye Hospital. He said: "This is a big breakthrough, no two ways about it. To take someone who is blind and help them see again is pretty incredible. "The successful testing of this electronic implant in Germany is without doubt truly significant advance. One previously blind patient was able to read his own name with the implant switched on. Until now, this concept would have been considered only in the realms of science fiction." Prof Maclaren said he was thrilled he could now tell patients with retinitis pigmentosa, a condition which destroys light cells in the eye, that there was hope ahead after years of having to tell them they would be left blind. David Head, chief executive of the British Retinitis Pigmentosa Society, also welcomed the news, calling it "a very significant advance". But he said that he wanted patients to realise even this breakthrough would not restore their vision. He added: "The technology is exciting and hopefully this will advance in the next few years but we have to temper it with reality."
   |
| Girl aged 10 gives birth to healthy baby Posted: A 10-year-old Romanian girl has become one of the world's youngest mothers after she gave birth to a baby in a hospital in Spain. The baby weighed 6lb 6oz when it was born last week at a hospital in Jerez de la Frontera, in the southern region of Andalusia, and both mother are child are in perfect health. The girl, a Romanian immigrant who was already pregnant when she arrived in Spain, has been released from the hospital. Her mother told hospital staff that she was happy about the birth, which she described as "something common in my country". Micaela Navarro, the Andalusia region's social affairs minister, said they only became aware of the case from hospital staff three days after the birth. "The important thing is that both mother and baby are cared for perfectly. If that is the case, they can remain in the family environment, which is what we are checking at the moment," the Daily Mail quoted Navarro as saying. Navarro further revealed that the father of the baby is also a minor, and said authorities do not consider this a case of rape and that no criminal investigation is under way. "The girl's mother told us the girl lived with her boyfriend in her home country. There are girls who can appear older than they are, but in this case the girl is just that: a girl," a hospital source revealed.
   |
| Parcel bombs target German, Italian leaders, embassies Posted: Greece halted foreign mail deliveries today after nearly a dozen small parcel bombs were discovered addressed to the leaders of France, Germany and Italy and foreign embassies in Athens.
   |
| 'Sleepwalking' Swedish man acquitted of drunken driving charges Posted: A Swedish man has been acquitted of drunken driving charges after a court could not rule out the possibility that he could have been asleep when he got behind the wheel. The blood alcohol level of the 51-year-old man was 1.85 per mille, which is nearly ten times Sweden's legal limit of 0.2 per mille revealed court papers. The man, who does not remember how he got to be in the driver's seat, woke up one evening last May to find his car in a ditch in Karlskrona in southern Sweden. "He fell asleep around 9pm. After that, he doesn't remember anything except that his next memory is that he woke up in the ditch outside his car together with a male named Magnus," the Local quoted the Blekinge District Courts ruling. "He had on his nightshirt, sweatpants and slippers," the ruling revealed. The man explained to officers that he was on his way to replenish his supply of snus, a wet snuff tobacco product popular in Sweden, and claimed that he didn't feel under the influence when he got in his car and that he recalled veering off into the ditch and slamming into a post. The court cited an opinion written by the man's doctor following the accident explaining that he may have suffered from somnambulism or sleepwalking. "Somnambulism is a well known medical phenomenon where a person can carry out complex behaviours like walking, eating and making food, driving a car and having sex without actually being awake or aware of what's happening," the doctor stated in court documents. The doctor explained that the man had previously displayed behaviour that could be interpreted as sleepwalking after having taken the same pills he took the evening of the accident. The court in its ruling stated, "it cannot be shown beyond a reasonable doubt" that the man "was aware of his actions when he drove his car" to the extent required to find him guilty of drunken driving.
   |
| South African pastor sparks outrage with 'Jesus was HIV-positive' claim Posted: A South African pastor has sparked anger with a bizarre claim that Jesus Christ was HIV-positive. Xola Skosana left his congregation in Cape Town's Khayelitsha township stunned with his statement, which he explained he had made in a bid to remove the stigma attached to HIV sufferers in his country. And Skosana, whose non-denominational Hope for Life Ministry is part of a growing charismatic movement in South Africa, insists his message is more about giving hope than anything else. "Wherever you open the scriptures Jesus puts himself in the shoes of people who experience brokenness," the Daily Mail quoted the Pastor as telling the BBC. "Isaiah 53, for example, clearly paints a picture of Jesus who takes upon himself the infirmities and the brokenness of humanity. Of course, there's no scientific evidence that Jesus had the HI virus in his bloodstream. "The best gift we can give to people who are HIV-positive is to help de-stigmatise Aids and create an environment where they know God is not against them, he's not ashamed of them," he stated. But his statement has angered many Christians, who say that it portrays Jesus as being sexually promiscuous. "The subject of my Jesus being HIV-positive is a scathing matter," local pastor, Mike Bele said. "I believe no anointed leader with a sound mind about the scriptures and the role of Christ in our lives would deliberately drag the name of Christ to the ground," he added. But despite the angry reaction from some Christians others have come to the pastor's defence. "What Pastor Skosana is clearly saying is that Christ at this point in time would be on the side of the people who are HIV-positive - people who are being sidelined by the very church that is attacking him," Reverend Siyabulela Gidi, the director of South African Council of Churches in the Western Cape, said. "Pastor Skosana has fortunately got the country talking, he's got the world talking and that is what theology is all about," he added. Aids activists have also backed the sermon, with Vuyiseka Dubula, general secretary of the Treatment Action Campaign, a South African Aids activist group, agreeing to it. "It takes away the stigma that HIV is a sin and that it''s God''s punishment. To associate Jesus with HIV is powerful, particularly for those who go to church," he added.
   |
| Harry Potter blamed for dwindling number of wild owls in India Posted: Indian Environment Minister, Jairam Ramesh, has blamed Hollywood's famous flick 'Harry Potter' for the dwindling number of wild owls in the country. Ramesh said the craze for 'Harry Potter' in India had led to an increase in people buying owls from illegal bird traders. "Following Harry Potter, there seems to be a strange fascination even among the urban middle classes for presenting their children with owls," the Telegraph quoted Ramesh as telling BBC. Harry Potter publishers Bloomsbury declined to comment.
   |
| 'Metrosexual' David Beckham reveals hair-free legs Posted: Soccer star David Beckham has one more addition to the list of things that make him a metrosexual man-shaving off his legs. The footballer was spotted with suspiciously smooth pins when he stripped down to his pants to get changed in front of the crowds at a recent LA Galaxy match, reports the Daily Mail. His limbs have been apparently insured for 100million pounds, so perhaps he''d waxed rather than risk them with a razor. The naturally not-so-hairy Beckham had previously revealed rather hair-free legs when he posed in his pants in his notorious 2007 Giorgio Armani adverts. But the star has never confirmed or denied shaving or waxing body hair, or even. Beckham has previously confessed: "I always liked to look good, even when I was a little kid. (ANI)
   |
| It's better to be passionate about girls than be gay, says Berlusconi Posted: Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has hit back at his opponents over the latest scandal involving Moroccan belly dancer Karima Keyek. He raised eyebrows when he told an audience: "It's better to be passionate about beautiful girls than be gay." Berlusconi, 74, spoke out after it emerged that teenager Keyek, 18, had spent the evening at his house when she was just 17 and was given cash, a diamond necklace and a car by him. However she has insisted that no sex took place between them and that the perma-tanned media tycoon turned politician was ''like a father'' to her the whole evening. But questions have been raised about the relationship after it emerged that in May Berlusconi called Milan police and asked for Keyek to be released after she was arrested for stealing 3,000 euro from a friend. "I work extremely hard and if every now and then I look at the face of a beautiful girl then it's better to be passionate about beautiful girls than gay," the Daily Mail quoted him as saying at a motorcycle exhibition in Milan. Berlusconi insists that the scandal has all been "cooked up by left leaning prosecutors and the media" to over throw him and he told crowds: "Don't read newspapers, they just misinform you. "Despite all the attacks we have achieved so many goals and we have the majority to continue until the end of our term in office." Speaking of the Keyek affair he said: "Wait and see, it will all be sorted out and blown over. I was just helping someone out and there was nothing else to it. "I would have been ashamed if I hadn''t done it but I did do it and I will carry on doing it because that is how I am," he added.
   |
| Dead in Italy honoured with 400 mn euros worth of flowers Posted: Italians spent 400 million euros on flowers to place on the graves of family and friends Tuesday, All Souls Day, or Day of the Dead, according to a report by Coldiretti, an Italian agriculture trade group. People from the overwhelmingly Catholic country will mostly pay between 1.5 euros and 15 euros for flowers to honour their loved ones, the report said. The chrysanthemum is the preferred flower for the Catholic holiday, while daisies are also common. All Souls' Day is observed principally in the Catholic Church, although some other Christian faiths recognise the holiday. During the holiday Christians traditionally pay respect and remember the people whose souls they believe have gone to heaven.
   |
| Six killed, dumped on road in Mexico Posted: Six slain men were hurled out of two moving SUVs on a highway near the boundary between the Gulf coast states of Tamaulipas and Veracruz, Mexican authorities said. The murdered men were discovered at 5.25 a.m. Tuesday on the road from Tampico, Tamaulipas, to Panuco, Veracruz, the Veracruz state Attorney General's Office said. Witnesses said the bodies were thrown from two moving SUVs at a spot near the Prieto Bridge. The victims, all between the ages of 25 and 30, bore signs of torture, the Veracruz AG's office said, adding that some of the bodies were flattened by trucks before authorities could reach the scene. The last two months have seen multiple attacks on police installations and individual officers in the northern Veracruz towns of Panuco, Cerro Azul, Poza Rica and Tampico Alto. Those assaults have been blamed on gunmen working for drug cartels and Tuesday's killings likewise appear to be the work of organised crime. Tamaulipas, which borders Texas, has suffered hundreds of fatalities this year amid a brutal turf war between the Gulf and Los Zetas cartels. Drug-related violence has claimed nearly 30,000 lives in Mexico since December 2006.
   |
| Human skeleton in sack found in Kanpur Posted: Panic gripped an area of Uttar Pradesh's Kanpur district Tuesday after a human skeleton was recovered from an unclaimed sack, police said. The sack was found late Tuesday evening from the Kidwai Nagar area, some 80 km from Lucknow. "Some passers-by first noticed the sack lying unclaimed and approached us," police inspector Satyendra Singh told reporters in Kanpur. "We have sought assistance of experts to know how old was the victim, whose skeleton has been recovered," he added. According to police, some rag pickers were initially seen moving around with the sack in the area.
   |
| Iranian 'adultress' to be executed Posted: An Iranian woman who was sentenced to death by stoning after being found guilty of adultery and helping kill her husband, will be executed Wednesday, according to a statement by a group that opposes stoning in Iran.
   |
| You are subscribed to email updates from Mid Day To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
No comments:
Post a Comment