Monday, December 27, 2010

Mid Day International News

Mid Day International News

Bizarre addictions you may not have heard before

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Ever heard of someone who likes to keep hair dryer on while sleeping or can't move out of the house without puppets? Well, if such things fascinate you, there''s a lot in store for you on the new TV show ''My Strange Addiction.''

The show, which is set to premiere on December 29 on TLC, is a 12-part series that features people battling bizarre addictions, including a woman addicted to ventriloquism and one who can't stop eating toilet paper, reports ABC News.

On the show, these women and others get help for their addictions, which they say consume their lives and interfere with relationships and everyday functioning.

Lori Broady, since she was eight years old, couldn't fall asleep without it turned on next to her in bed.

"It''s a comfort thing, it's a security thing, it''s the noise, it''s the air, it's all-encompassing," said the 31-year-old.

Another woman, April Brucker, is addicted to ventriloquism. She's a professional ventriloquist who had trouble going anywhere without at least one of her eight puppets.

"I feel really shy when I don't have my puppets. It''s really hard. I was a really shy kid, and I''m especially shy around guys because I struggled with my weight," she said.

Los Angeles psychotherapist Mike Dow, said ''My Strange Addiction'' will show that addictions like eating toilet paper and sleeping with a blow dryer aren't as rare as people may think, and that viewers can relate to them.

"I think they have a quality to them that people can actually understand," said Dow.

However, experts disagree about whether the behaviours the show's participants exhibit are true addictions or cases of obsessive-compulsive disorder.

"These are more obsessions rather than an addiction. These obsessions are things that in general alleviate anxiety, and it has a place in the person''s psyche. That activity relaxes them. It's something that they do becaue they're worried that something terrible may happen," said Peter Martin, of the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville.


Brit boy, 9, gifts younger brother his bone marrow for Christmas

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A boy in Britain is set to donate his bone marrow to his younger brother as a Christmas gift after the latter was diagnosed with aplastic anaemia.

Robert Sherwood, 9, begged his parents to let him take a blood test to see if he could help his brother Edward, 5, who was suffering from the disease which causes his bone marrow not to produce enough new blood cells.

The condition, which affects just two children in Britain every year, leaves sufferers at high risk from infections.

Edward needs to take drugs every day, and doctors warned his parents Susan, 31, and Kelly, 32, that he probably would not live to see his 10th birthday unless a suitable donor could be found.

Luckily, the test was a success, and doctors confirmed Robert was a perfect match.

"I'm looking forward to helping my brother and I don't feel too scared. This is my special Christmas present for him," the Daily Express quoted Robert as saying.

"I want Edward to get better so we can play together without him getting hurt," he said.

Housewife Susan, from Didcot, Oxon, and Kelly, a recruitment consultant, are preparing for the operation at the Bristol Royal Hospital for Children on January 7.

"Everybody is so proud that Robert stood up and offered to have the operation. He's a true hero," Susan added.

Original copy of Schindler's list to be sold at auction

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An original copy of Schindler's list, that helped spare more than a thousand Jews from the Nazis during the Second World War, is to soon under the hammer in New York, a media report said.

A Manhattan judge has given upstate memorabilia dealer Gary Zimet the green light to sell the 13-page document - one of several original copies of the list of names compiled by German industrialist Oskar Schindler during the Holocaust, the 'New York Daily News' reported.

The ruling by Supreme Court Justice Louis York lifted the temporary ban on a plan to sell the list for more than USD two million. An heir to Schindler's widow had sought to block the sale.

"It's a complete victory," Zimet was quoted as saying. Marta Rosenberg, heir to German industrialist Oskar Schindler's widow, sued Zimet in May to halt the sale of the 13-page artifact, billed as one of several existing copies of the famous list. The others are in museums. She also accused Zimet of peddling a fake. "This is the real deal," Zimet said.

Schindler's efforts to save the lives of Jewish refugees was the subject of Steven Spielberg's Oscar-winning film 'Schindler's List' in 1993, which was based on Thomas Keneally's book 'Schindler's Ark'.

Pakistan's two dozen Hindu families seek asylum in India

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More than two dozen Hindu families in Pakistan have sought political asylum in India after an increase in cases of kidnapping for ransom and target killings of the members of their community in Balochistan province, an official said.

The Hindu families have approached the Indian high commission here for visa and political asylum. They cited the increase in abductions for ransom and target killings as their reason for wanting to go to India.

Saeed Ahmed Khan, the regional director for the federal ministry of human rights, shared the information at a seminar on "Provincial Conference on Balochistan Crisis" here Sunday, the Dawn reported on Monday.

Khan said that Hindus have been living in Balochistan for centuries, but in recent weeks several members of the minority community had been kidnapped or murdered, forcing them to seek asylum in India.

"As many as 27 Hindu families from Balochistan have sent applications to the Indian embassy (sic) for asylum in India," he was quoted as saying.

The official said this was a matter of great concern and urged the government to take immediate measures to improve the law and order situation in Balochistan.

The ministry of human rights statistics also show there has been large-scale violation of human rights in Balochistan and people are being abducted for ransom.

National Party's vice president Ishaq Baloch said Baloch youths have become frustrated as they had been denied rights and their national identity had not been recognised.

Abdul Khaliq Hazara, chairman of the Hazara Democratic Party, blamed "hidden hands" for the poor law and order situation in Balochistan. He said over 100 groups involved in kidnappings for ransom were active in Balochistan.

Assange signs $1.5 mn autobiography deal

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WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange says he has signed contracts worth $1.5 million for penning his autobiography.

Assange, whose whistleblowing website has provoked US rage by releasing secret diplomatic documents, said the money will help him to defend himself against the sexual assault claims made by two women in Sweden, which he denies.

"I don't want to write this book, but I have to," he told The Sunday Times in an interview. "I have already spent 200,000 pounds for legal costs and I need to defend myself and to keep WikiLeaks afloat."

The 39-year-old Australian said he will receive $800,000 from a US publisher Alfred Knopf and $500,000 from a British deal with Canongate. The total sum from the deals, including those with other markets, will reach over $1.5 million.

The WikiLeaks founder was released on bail by a British court last week and vowed that he would continue his work.

Assange has been staying at a friend's Norfolk mansion in eastern England since his release from jail Dec 16 on strict bail conditions that include reporting to police daily and wearing an electronic tag.

World leaders and diplomats have downplayed the impact of the leak of more than 250,000 confidential US diplomatic cables by the WikiLeaks site.
Posted by Harshad at 7:23 AM

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