Mid Day International News |
- Nepal's gay icon champions Gandhi in book row
- Teacher buried pupil who choked to death
- William-Kate to live with Harry
- London zoo monkeys stealing sun-glasses
- Another quake rattles tsunami-ravaged Japan
- Ex-student kills 11 in Brazil school
- Remains of world's first gay caveman discovered
- US airline 'apologises' for booting tall passenger from plane
- Obama's grandfather was tortured by Brit officials reveal secret documents
- Obama's close pal arrested in prostitution sting
- Brit taxi driver murders his wife, cuts her up with electric saw
| Nepal's gay icon champions Gandhi in book row Posted: Nepal's only openly gay public figure, who became an icon for South Asia's sexual minorities with his crusade for gay rights, has now thrown his support behind Mahatma Gandhi, saying the sexual orientation of the preacher of non-violence could never detract from his immense contribution to India's battle for freedom and world peace. Sunil Babu Pant, the only openly homosexual member of Nepal's parliament and founder of Blue Diamond Society, the pioneering gay rights organisation that has won court nod for same-sex marriages in Nepal, became the latest public figure to join the growing controversy over a new book on Mahatma Gandhi following a ban on it by the Indian state where Gandhi was born in 1869. Pant, who has been campaigning against violence against homosexuals, lesbians and trans-genders by security forces, government officials and members of the public, said "Great Soul", the new book by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Joseph Lelyveld that reveals Gandhi's love for German-Jewish architect Hermann Kallenbach and triggered speculation that Gandhi could have been homosexual, had no bearing on Gandhi's work. "I agree with the statement by Gandhi's great grandson," said Pant, who was invited by the Indian government to New Delhi recently to interact with Indian lawmakers. After "Great Soul" was banned by the Indian state of Gujarat, where Gandhi was born Mohandas Karamchand, his great grandson Tushar Gandhi opposed the censorship, saying: "How does it matter if the Mahatma was straight, gay or bisexual? Every time he would still be the man who led India to freedom." "No matter who Gandhi was, straight or gay, he remains a great source of inspirations to countless people in the world, throughout history," Pant said, echoing Tushar Gandhi. "His principle of non-violent struggle and non-violent practices in life inspires me every day." The Nepali gay icon, who has been honoured by international gay celebrities like British singer Sir Elton John and the world's first transsexual MP, New Zealand's Georgina Bayer, also said he hoped the ban on the book would be lifted. "I hope India will continue to remain the symbol of democracy and uphold the freedom of expression and press," he said. Six decades after his death, Gandhi's philosophy of satyagraha and non-violent opposition continues to deeply influence neighbour Nepal with the last two major pro-democracy movements in Nepal in 1990 and 2006 having been modelled on it. Even Nepal's former Maoist guerrillas, who fought a 10-year armed war against the state from 1996, have switched over to non-violent protests since laying down arms in 2006. Besides watching the book controversy keenly, Nepal is also closely following the fast unto death begun in New Delhi by veteran Gandhian and social activist Anna Hazare, who is demanding strong government measures to weed out corruption.
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| Teacher buried pupil who choked to death Posted: To avoid blame, a kindergarten teacher in China buried a two-year-old pupil who died after choking on food, a media report said Friday. Tang Chengyan, who ran an illegal kindergarten in Yunnan province, told police that she and her colleague buried Liu Xiangyun, the China Daily reported citing yunnan.cn. Liu choked on food and died March 31. Tang told the child's parents that Liu went missing when she took him out for shopping. Police became suspicious after they failed to spot the toddler on street surveillance cameras and also found bloodstains on the teacher's motorbike the next day.
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| William-Kate to live with Harry Posted: Prince William and Kate Middleton are to start married life by sharing a home with Prince Harry, it has emerged.
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| London zoo monkeys stealing sun-glasses Posted: Zookepers coating some with bitter apples to deter apes Keepers at London Zoo have come up with a novel solution to deter monkeys from stealing visitors' sunglasses. A gang of 18 Bolivian squirrel monkeys have stolen seven sunglasses off the heads of visitors in recent weeks. Now zoo staff are coating a selection of glasses with a bitter tasting apple substance (see pic) to put the monkeys off.  Four years ago the thieving monkeys underwent another rehabilitation programme after stealing mobile phones. It is now hoped that the shades will taste so unpleasant that visitors' sunglasses will no longer be a target for them. Keeper Kate Sanders said five of the youngest monkeys posed the biggest problem. "The little ones are very inquisitive," she said. "They are attracted to the shiny lenses. Once one gets hold of a pair they all chase the monkey with the glasses."
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| Another quake rattles tsunami-ravaged Japan Posted: Japan was rattled by a magnitude-7.4 aftershock yesterday nearly a month after a devastating earthquake and tsunami flattened the northeastern coast. The strongest aftershock since the day of the magnitude-9.0 megaquake was a fresh blow to victims of that March 11 quake and subsequent tsunami that killed some 25,000 people, tore apart hundreds of thousands of homes and has sparked an ongoing crisis at a nuclear power plant.  A Japanese flag waves amid the wreckage of the March 11 tsunami in Onagawa, Miyagi prefecture Damage and injuries from the aftershock were not immediately clear. The Japan meteorological agency briefly issued another tsunami warning last night, but later cancelled it. Officials at the tsunami-ravaged Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant said there was no immediate sign of new problems caused by the aftershock. Japan's nuclear safety agency says workers there have retreated to a quake-resistant shelter in the complex. No one there was injured. Officials say yesterday's aftershock hit 50 kilometers under the water and off the coast of Miyagi prefecture. The quake that preceded last month's tsunami was of a 9.0-magnitude. The US Geological Survey in Golden, Colorado, later downgraded the quake to 7.1. Tokyo shaken Buildings as far away as Tokyo shook for about a minute. In Ichinoseki, inland from Japan's eastern coast, buildings shook violently, toppling furniture, but there was no heavy damage to the buildings. Immediately after the quake, all power was cut. The city went dark, but cars drove around normally and people assembled in the streets despite the late hour. The quake struck at 11:32 pm local time. Paul Caruso, a geophysicist at USGS, said it struck at about the same location and depth as last month's quake. It's the strongest of the 1,000 aftershocks that have been felt since, except for a 7.9 aftershock that day. 28,000: Number of people dead or missing since the March 11 tsunami
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| Ex-student kills 11 in Brazil school Posted: 23-year-old then turned the gun on himself after the massacre A gunman entered an elementary school in Rio de Janeiro yesterday and opened fire with two handguns, killing 11 students and wounding 13 others before turning his guns on himself, the police and city officials said. The gunman, a 23-year-old former student of Tasso da Silveira school, stopped to reload several times before he was cornered by police.  A woman shows a picture of her niece Patricia (15), one of the victims, as she stands outside a hospital in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil He then exchanged fire with a police officer and was wounded. Shortly after that, he shot himself in the head, according to Sergeant Marcio Alexandre Alves, the first police officer to arrive at the scene. "He was determined to commit suicide after the tragedy," said Colonel Djalma Beltrami. The police said the gunman, identified as Wellington Menezes de Oliveira, left a letter behind at the school. There were reports that the letter mentioned he had HIV. Ten girls and one boy between the ages of 12 and 14 died from bullet wounds mostly to the head and chest, the state health and civil defence department said, and four more remained in serious condition. One of the wounded, a young boy, managed to flee the school during the shooting and alert police, said the chief of civil police, Marta Rocha. "There is blood on the walls, blood on the chairs. There are 15 to 20 dead I think," said Roni de Macedo, a fireman who arrived on the scene shortly after the shooting began and dragged eight seriously injured children from a second floor classroom. Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff said she was "shocked" by the attack and had "great concern" about the incident.
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| Remains of world's first gay caveman discovered Posted: Archaeologists have found what could be the remains of the world's first gay caveman. The observation suggesting that the remains belong to a gay person is based on the way he was buried and condition in which the remains were actually found. For, the remains, dating back to 2,500-2,900 BC, had been buried in a way normally reserved for women of the Stone Age "Corded Ware" culture. The remains were found in the Czech Republic, with the skull facing eastwards and surrounded by domestic jugs - rituals only previously seen in female graves, Perth Now reports. According to Kamila Vesinova, who led the dig, the caveman might even have been a homosexual or transsexual. "People from this period took funeral rites very seriously so it is highly unlikely this positioning was a mistake," she said, adding: "Far more likely is that he had a different sexual orientation, probably homosexual or transsexual." In Corded Ware culture, men were buried lying on their right side with their heads pointing west - alongside tools, weapons, food and drink. Women, however, were buried on their left sides with jewellery and pottery. Archaeologists say, the way he was buried suggested that he was of a different sexual persuasion. The skeleton of the late Stone Age man, unearthed during excavations in the Czech Republic, is said to date back to between 2900 and 2500 BC. An oval, egg-shaped container usually associated with female burials was also found at the feet of the skeleton.
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| US airline 'apologises' for booting tall passenger from plane Posted: Horizon Air flight has apologised to a "humiliated passenger" who was told to get off the plane for being too tall to fit into his seat properly. The anonymous passenger's stepdaughter wrote to The Consumerist detailing the incident that took place on board the Horizon Air flight from Oregon to California, US. The passenger, who is over two metres tall, tried several times to get an exit row seat for additional room but failed, forcing him to take a normal seat. He alleged that a customer service agent said that his "long limbs were now the flight attendant's problem". On board the plane the passenger's legs were sticking out into the aisle and a flight attendant tripped over them. Staff members then approached him, saying that he must get his legs out of the way. When he couldn't he was removed form the plane. "We apologise for how this situation was handled and compensated the passenger the value of his ticket off a future flight, which he found acceptable," News.com.au quoted an airline spokesperson as saying about the incident, which occurred on March 18. "What should have happened in this scenario is the flight attendants should have asked for passengers seated in an exit or bulkhead row to voluntarily give up their seats to provide the passenger with the much needed leg room he requires. "Moving him to a seat with more leg room would have ensured the aisle was clear but that didn't happen and he was wrongly removed from the plane," the spokesperson added. The passenger is said to be "pleased" with the apology and the airline's offer of a free flight.
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| Obama's grandfather was tortured by Brit officials reveal secret documents Posted: A collection of secret documents detailing efforts to suppress the Mau Mau uprising has revealed that US President Barack Obama''s grandfather and others were brutally tortured by British officials. The documents, which have lain hidden in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, in London, for 50 years, were removed from Kenya on the cusp of independence, the Daily Mail reported. They were uncovered in January after five Kenyans launched a lawsuit against the British government. The claimants said they suffered castration, sexual abuse, and severe beatings in detention camps administered by the British government, and want an apology and financial compensation. Obama''s grandfather Hussein Onyango Obama was rounded up in 1949 in the very early days of the rebellion and spent two years in a high security prison. Once a cook for a British officer, his family claim Obama was horrifically tortured, whipped every morning and evening until he confessed. His third wife Sarah Onyango said white jailers would squeeze his testicles with parallel metallic rods and pierce his nails and buttocks with pins. Obama, whose involvement with the rebellion has never been clear, was left permanently scarred and bitterly anti-British. His account tallies with the experiences of the five elderly Kenyans now suing the British government. The claimants, represented by law firm Leigh, Day and Co, say they were "subjected to gross abuse and torture". The crux of their case due to open on Thursday, relies on the premise that the bloody campaign was not isolated incidents but systematic abuse sanctioned by the authorities. This, they will argue, would make the current British government liable. The Mau Mau rebellion is widely regarded as one of the worst episodes in British colonial history. As many as 150,000 suspected members of the resistance movement, which had its roots in the Kikuyu tribe, were detained without trial between 1952 and 1960. At least 12,000 were killed with thousands more left with deeply debilitating physical and mental injuries.
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| Obama's close pal arrested in prostitution sting Posted: A close friend of US President Barack Obama has been arrested on a prostitution charge in Hawaii. Hawaii News Now has reported that Robert Richard Titcomb, 49, allegedly solicited sex from an undercover police officer posing as a prostitute. Hawaii Police Department say Titcomb was one of four arrested during the sting, reports Fox News. Titcomb was released on 500-dollar bail and will appear in court next month. Obama has been friends with Titcomb since high school, and the two often get together to golf and dine when Obama vacations in the state, Hawaii.
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| Brit taxi driver murders his wife, cuts her up with electric saw Posted: A taxi driver in Britain is said to have murdered his waitress wife at their home and then cut her up with an electric saw Emma Ward, 21, was alleged attacked in a bedroom of the family home by Nicky Ward, 29, and then dragged into the bathroom. Prosecutor Simon Spence QC told Norwich Crown Court, Norfolk, that experts had found traces of her bone, muscle and skin inside Nicky's electric saw, bought shortly before she disappeared in April 2010, and blood-smeared scratches made by the saw in the bath. After Emma was reported missing, Nicky told police she had left him for another man. No trace of her has ever been found. "He must have disposed of the body parts," the Sun quoted Spence as saying. Nicky, of Rockland St Peter, Norfolk, has denied murder, as the case continues.
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