Mid Day International News |
- Don't stuff Knut: Bear activists
- Beckham family's Bieber fever
- Fukushima 50 expect to die
- Huge demonstrations split Yemen capital in two
- Wills' pre-wedding jitters
| Don't stuff Knut: Bear activists Posted: Fans of Knut, Germany's superstar polar bear who died this month, are planning a demonstration today against plans for his body to be preserved and put on display in a Berlin museum. Knut died suddenly aged four on March 19 and activists have been collecting signatures both on the internet and on the streets. An online condolence book provided by his zoo is full of angry messages.  Mourners have sent a letter to the zoo authorities requesting them not to stuff Knut for posterity and cremate him instead  "Knut cannot be stuffed. When are you going to get the message!," reads one from Michael S. "Leave him alone for once! You cannot be serious. Let Knut rest in peace!" An open letter to zoo director Blaszkiewitz said, "Nobody wants to look at a stiff, dead Knut." According to a survey of more than 2,400 people published in the Berlin tabloid BZ, 73 per cent of those questioned are opposed to the bear being put on show at the museum. Campaigners accuse the zoo, which has already made millions of euros from Knut in merchandising and entrance fees, of wanting to milk him for even more. They say Knut should be cremated. Even if the plans go ahead, Knut is not actually going to be stuffed: a plastic model of an animal's body is made with the fur, skin or scales pulled over. Heiner Kloes, in charge of bears at Berlin Zoo, is defiant. "When we have decided something, we are not going to let ourselves be swayed either by thousands of people, tens of thousands of people or hundreds of thousands." Drowned The polar bear suffered from encephalitis, an inflammation of the brain, which caused him to collapse before he drowned, a necropsy indicated. Knut would have probably died from brain swelling if he had not drowned, officials said. "In the end, Knut actually drowned," said Achim Gruber, managing director of the animal pathology institute at Berlin's Free University He said "severe brain damage that he suffered from for quite some time" caused uncontrollable muscle spasms. Knutmania
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| Posted: David and Victoria Beckham's first daughter could be called Justine Bieber if brother Romeo gets his way.
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| Posted: Japan's Heroic nuclear workers believe they could be dead within weeks The men, who have been desperately battling to stop deadly radiation leaking from the plant in meltdown since the Japanese earthquake and tsunami, are resigned to paying for their bravery with their lives.  Japan's Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko pay their respects and try to console an evacuee at a shelter in Tokyo The mother of one of the workers said he had accepted that he may die within weeks but if not, radiation would probably claim all of their lives in the longer term. She said, "My son and his colleagues have discussed it at length and they have committed themselves to die if necessary to save the nation. "He told me they have accepted they will all probably die from radiation sickness in the short term or cancer in the long term. They have concluded between themselves that it is inevitable some of them may die within weeks or months. They know it is impossible for them not to have been exposed to lethal doses of radiation." Around 300 workers known as the Fukushima 50 because of the number working during any one shift have risked suffering from massive radiation poisoning as they struggle to contain the crisis.  Workers at the stricken plant try to bring the situation under control Relatives are preparing themselves for the worst when the men who have been fighting to reinstate cooling systems in the crippled reactors finally finish their mission. After effects A total of 11,500 people have been confirmed dead. Another 16,400 are still missing. And three weeks after the disaster in one of the most advanced countries in the world, 2,60,000 households still have no running water and 1,70,000 do not have electricity. Japan's Trade Minister Banri Kaieda also revealed animals living within the area devastated by the tsunami are resorting to eating each other because of a shortage of food. Untouched corpses Up to 1,000 bodies of victims of Japan's quake and tsunami remain uncollected in the exclusion zone around a stricken nuclear plant because of radiation fears. The bodies had been "exposed to high levels of radiation after death", a source said.
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| Huge demonstrations split Yemen capital in two Posted: Huge rival protests split the Yemeni capital as security forces staged an unprecedented deployment in another showdown on the streets between supporters and opponents of President Ali Abdullah Saleh. Amid fears of an outbreak of violence, tens of thousands of pro-regime supporters waving flags and banners gathered in squares around Sanaa, passing through checkpoints set up by security forces kitted with guns and batons. Convoys of cars flying the Yemeni flag earlier poured into the capital from the surrounding countryside for the pro-Saleh rally. "The people want Ali Abdullah Saleh," they chanted. In a deeply tribal society, many of the demonstrators carried large portraits of the 69-year-old president in tribal headdress rather than his customary suit and tie. The army, many of whose officers have rallied with the pro-democracy camp led by youths, controlled access to the 'Change Square'.
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| Posted: Prince William has admitted to being so nervous in a rehearsal for his wedding to Kate Middleton this month that his knees were knocking together. William, who will marry long-time girlfriend Middleton on April 29 at Westminster Abbey, confessed that Britain's biggest royal wedding for 30 years would be "quite a daunting prospect".  Prince William with his grandmother Queen Elizabeth during her visit to RAF Valley in Anglesey, Wales yesterday Asked what elements of the wedding he was worried about, the second-in-line to the throne replied, "The whole thing." "I was telling everyone I did the rehearsal the other day and my knees started tapping quite nervously," he said. "It's quite a daunting prospect but very exciting and I'm thoroughly looking forward to it but there's still a lot of planning to be done in the last four weeks." Yesterday, the prince showed his grandmother Queen Elizabeth II around the Royal Air Force base in Anglesey, Wales, where he is based as a search and rescue helicopter pilot after the queen had dealt with strong winds which almost dislodged her claret-coloured hat. "I was worried your hat would blow off," the 28-year-old prince told her, before showing the queen and his grandfather Prince Philip around an RAF Sea King helicopter for their first glimpse of his working life. William has taken part in 12 search and rescue missions since joining the squadron in September following intensive training. The missions have included rescuing someone who fell off a cliff in Anglesey and someone who had a suffered a suspected heart attack. In the interview, the prince described the rescue helicopter team as a "big family in the sky". "It's rewarding because every day you come into work you don't quite know what's going to happen, it's quite exciting in that sense, it's unpredictable." He added, "Having witnessed it for the past few months, I'm very proud to be amongst the search and rescue guys and very privileged to be flying with some of the best pilots I think in the world." William will continue to work as a pilot after the wedding and he and Kate will continue to live near the base. Harry's Speech Prince Harry will give a speech at the wedding, and it seems that he's going to make the best of it and even add a few things to his speech which will embarrass the groom to be. Harry said, "It's me and a couple of his friends, so between the three of us, we'll make sure that we dig him in the ribs a few times and embarrass him. Make him lose some hair."
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