Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Mid Day International News

Mid Day International News

50,000 McJobs in US in 1 day

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McDonald's said yesterday that it is planning a one-day hiring spree of 50,000 new workers on April 19 for its US restaurants.

McDonald's said that these new 'McJobs' will include crew and management positions, part-time and full-time.
McDonald's, which has 14,000 restaurants in the United States, said the hires will occur nationwide.



"We're excited to offer 50,000 new jobs, all across America, all in one day," said Jan Fields, president of McDonald's USA.

Fields, who started working at a McDonald's restaurant as a crew member behind the counter in 1978, said the 50,000 new hires will increase the US workforce to 700,000 from its current level of 650,000.

She said the average pay for the jobs is $8.30 (Rs 370) an hour. That's compared to the federal minimum wage of $7.25 (Rs 320) an hour, though in some states the minimum wage is higher.


William went surfing and shooting on stag weekend

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Prince William reportedly went surfing and clay pigeon shooting in Devon for his stag do.

Details of his party were kept secret but now a source has revealed to The Sun newspaper that a few of his closest friends and best man Prince Harry had the bash at Hartland Abbey.


William surfing with friends in Scotland

The group were said to have enjoyed clay pigeon shooting before heading to Speke Mill to go surfing.

While it seems the Prince managed to avoid being chained to a lamp post, it is believed that his friends enjoyed a good laugh at his non-existent surfing skills.

The 28-year-old is said to have held the stag weekend at Hartland Abbey, George Stucley's family home in North Devon.

The 12th Century home, used as the setting for BBC period drama Sense and Sensibility, was said to be host to a dozen of the prince's closest friends.

Tania Zaetta pleads not guity to nightclub charges

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Tania Zaetta will fight charges stemming from an incident at a Gold Coast nightclub and says she's been deeply hurt by "false" media reports about her.

The former Bollywood star briefly faced the Southport Magistrates Court yesterday, where she pleaded not guilty to obstructing police and causing a public nuisance.



Speaking outside the court, the actress said she was looking forward to clearing her name after she was arrested at Surfers Paradise nightclub in the early hours of March 21.

"I'm looking forward to proving my innocence and also looking forward to clearing my name and proving there's no wrongdoing here at all," she said.

"As far as myself and my family are concerned, there's been some very hurtful and misleading and false and incorrect reports in the media and I also look forward to correcting those."

She said it had been a "very, very difficult" time for her family and spoke of her father's battle with prostate cancer.

"It's been very unfortunate that the past couple of weeks I've had to spend with him have been a little hurtful," she said.

"He is my strength and my mother is here with me today. I have a wonderful family to help me through. It's probably the false and misleading reports that have been the most hurtful and damaging part for myself."

Her solicitor John Weller told reporters he'd already viewed one CCTV recording of the incident and would be viewing a second, alongside prosecutors, before the case returns to court on May 9.


Don't like this? Go to hell: Al-Fayed

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That is Fulham owner's message to fans who don't like the MJ statue unveiled on Sunday

The owner of an English Premier League football club has told supporters they can "go to hell" if they object to a newly erected statue of Michael Jackson outside the club's stadium.


Fulham's Chairman Mohamed Al Fayed unveils a statue of Michael Jackson before a football match in London

Fulham FC chairman Mohammed Al Fayed, a friend of Jackson, reportedly commissioned the statue after the singer's death in 2009 and originally intended to put it on display at Harrods before he sold the west London department store last year.

The Egyptian-born businessman instead chose to install the statue depicting Jackson in a typical pose outside the club's Craven Cottage stadium on the banks of the River Thames, leaving many fans bemused and questioning its relevance.

"He has every right to erect it if he wishes but you'd have thought that he'd understand that those of us who've supported the football club for so long regard it as inappropriate and ridiculous," wrote Holders on Fulham FC fan site Cottage Corner.

Ian The Great wrote: "The statue is disrespectful, the fans weren't consulted about it at all. If we were, there's no way we would have voted for it. Al Fayed has done amazing things for the club but this is ridiculous."

Other fans wondered whether it was a practical joke. "Is the Michael Jackson statue at the Fulham ground NOT an April Fools joke then? It still seems to be there," Lutterov posted on Twitter.

But Al Fayed, who hosted Jackson at one game against Wigan in 1999, remained defiant and lashed out at accusations that the memorial is bizarre.

"Why is it bizarre?" he asked reporters on Sunday, as the statue was unveiled ahead of Fulham's league match with Blackpool.

"Football fans love it. If some stupid fans don't understand and appreciate such a gift they can go to hell. I don't want them to be fans. If they don't understand and don't believe in things I believe in they can go to Chelsea, they can go to anywhere else."

The Fulham chief received the backing of visiting Blackpool manager Ian Holloway. "Love or loathe him Jacko is one of those iconic figures," he was quoted by Britain's Press Association as saying.

"'I know some fans are grumbling about the statue but I think it is terrific. He was a very special bloke and one of a handful of people I am proud to have been on the planet at the same time as."

Diana-Dodi statues

This isn't the first time Al Fayed has memorialized people with statues. In 2005, he unveiled a bronze statue inside the Harrods store featuring Princess Diana and his son, Dodi Al Fayed. Titled 'Innocent Victims', the statue was meant to depict the pair in eternal happiness together, Al Fayed said at the time.


Motorist survives six-storey plunge

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A woman miraculously survived after her car plunged six stories from the top of a car park in Melbourne and became wedged between two buildings.

The Australian, in her 40s, was freed half an hour after the vehicle fell an estimated 100 feet, before becoming stuck at ground level between the walls of the car park and another building.


Paramedics are stunned after the 41-year-old woman lives to tell the tale of her fall after she survived a multi-storey plunge.

"The site was terrible. Just looking at it now, I'm not sure how the lady got out at all," said witness Michael Rockefeller.

"It sounded like a truck was crashing. The noise went on for five or six seconds. It was followed by a loud bang at the end."

Paramedics were shocked to see that she only sustained a few cuts.

Ambulance Victoria spokesman Paul Bentley said the woman suffered serious cuts to her head and was taken to the Royal Melbourne Hospital in a stable condition.

100 Feet
The height from which the vehicle took the fall


Toronto holds world's first walk for sluts

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In what could possibly be the world's first such SlutWalk, thousands of young women and men came out on the street of Toronto on Sunday to protest a Toronto police officer's remarks that dressing like a slut is an invitation to rape.

With many dressed provocatively and dancing to the beat of drums, the protesters marched from the state assembly to Toronto Police headquarters to demand punishment for the police officer.

"Just cause I am a slut doesn't mean I want to be raped," said one female protester.

Condemning the comment that suggestive dressing in invitation to sexual assault, another protester said, "Anyone can be a slut. The most respected, powerful woman can be degraded down to nothing because of what she's wearing."

Protest leaders said, "We want to feel that we will be respected and protected should we ever need them, but more importantly be certain that those charged with our safety have a true understanding of what it is to be a survivor of sexual assault - slut or otherwise."

Protest organiser Jeanette Janzen said "SlutWalk" is aimed to condemn the long-held belief that a woman's way of dressing "makes you a target."

The protest was triggered by remarks from police constable Michael Sanguinetti who during a campus safety session with students in January suggested that girls can avoid sexual assaults by not dressing like a slut.

Toronto Police chief Bill Blair said the cop was "inexperienced" and uttered "something stupid and he has apologised."

The organisers said they expected only a few hundred protesters, but thousands turned up to put police in the dock.

1,500
Number of protesters that participated in the world's first ever SlutWalk

After three weeks at sea, dog and owner reunited

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A dog which spent three weeks drifting in the sea off disaster-hit Japan was reunited with its overjoyed owner yesterday, local media reported.

After watching a TV news report about the rescue, the owner of the female dog, a two-year-old named Ban, went to an animal care center in Kesennuma, Miyagi prefecture, to take her back. "


A member of the Japan Coast Guard holds Ban, who was rescued from the drifting remains of a roof off the coast of Kesennuma

I recognised her immediately after seeing her face," she said, hugging the animal.

"I am happy that she seems healthy. I want to cherish her when I take her back," she added, as Ban licked her face and wagged its tail.

"We'll never let go of her," the owner, who wished to remain anonymous, was quoted as saying by a centre official.

The dog was found Friday by Japan's Coast Guard drifting more than a mile off the coast of Miyagi, one of the areas hit hardest by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

Dumping water
Japan plans to dump 11,500 tonnes of radioactive water at sea to regain storage space at its crippled Fukushima nuclear plant for more highly contaminated water, the plant's operator said yesterday. A spokesman for Tokyo Electric Power Company said the water was only weakly radioactive.

President Obama seeks re-election

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US President announces 2012 campaign with e-mail, video

President Obama kicked off his re-election bid yesterday with a campaign video featuring ordinary folks.

Using what apparently will be one of his campaign slogans, "It begins with us," the campaign has told supporters that the kickoff of the campaign has started and that means the race for contributions is on.



The familiar-looking blue O over red and white stripes is back again for 2012. And at the bottom of the website, the candidates' names are clearly identified: OBAMA-BIDEN for Vice President Joe Biden.

Shortly afterward, Obama sent an e-mail to supporters to say he will also file papers yesterday with the Federal Election Commission.

"We've always known that lasting change wouldn't come quickly or easily. It never does.

But as my administration and folks across the country fight to protect the progress we've made and make more we also need to begin mobilising for 2012, long before the time comes for me to begin campaigning in earnest," Obama said in his e-mail message.

He is expected to host his first re-election fundraiser in Chicago on April 14. Obama's team has been asking campaign bundlers to raise $350,000 (Rs 1.55 crore) each, no easy task since campaign finance laws limit gifts to $2,500 (Rs 1.10 lakh) per donor.

According to these sources, the president has made calls to top donors, and conference calls are planned this week to supporters and key Democratic groups. So far no Republican contenders have formally announced. "


Posted by Harshad at 7:37 AM

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