Thursday, June 23, 2011

Mid Day International News

Mid Day International News

Hong Kong tycoon pays $2 mn bonus over baby joy

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One of Hong Kong's richest property tycoons will hand out a bonus worth $2 million (Rs 9 crore) to his 1,500 staff after his actress daughter-in-law gave birth to his sixth grandchild, his firm said yesterday.

Lee Shau-kee, chairman of the leading property group Henderson Land Development, announced the windfall of HK$10,000 (Rs 57,500) for employees to celebrate the baby boy who was born last week, said spokeswoman Bonnie Ngan.


Ecstatic that his daughter-in-law gave birth to a grandson, Lee Shau-kee gave out the handsome bonus to his employees

"We will receive the money at the end of this month," said a cheerful Ngan. The 83-year-old Lee, ranked 28th on the Forbes' list of billionaires and estimated to be worth $19 billion, has five children.

The latest family addition comes from his youngest son, Martin, who is married to actress Cathy Chui. The boy's name is not yet known.

The couple already have two daughters. It's not the first time that Lee has announced such a bonus for staff.

In October he handed out HK$10,000 (Rs 57,500) bonus to employees when his eldest son Peter, a bachelor, gave him triplet grandsons through a surrogate mother.

Male successors are important to Hong Kong's tycoons, some of whom have seen high-profile disputes break out among family members over their vast wealth.

Rs 57,500
Amount given to each employee by Lee Shau-kee for the birth of his sixth grandchild

Prince Harry dubs Pippa 'Commando'

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Prince Harry calls Pippa Middleton 'Commando' because of rumours she didn't wear any underwear to the royal wedding.

Not to be outdone, Pippa has given Harry the nickname 'Captain' his military rank.



The nicknames, and reports that Pippa has ended her romance with her long-term boyfriend, Alex Loudon, suggest the pair are on the verge of becoming a item.

They have even been getting together when in London.

"They speak on the phone all the time and have met up at least five times since the wedding, once for tea at his Clarence House apartments... She thinks he's got a really cheeky sense of humour," said a royal insider.

Ever since Pippa stole the limelight from her sister at the royal wedding, Harry has shown his affection for her. He even ended his best man's speech: "Pippa, call me."

But, according to another source, it isn't romance that's in the air, just friendship.

Pippa, the comic star
Pippa Middleton is now the star of a comic strip. The comic strip is part of a series created by artists to promote new PlayStation game inFAMOUS 2.


US president Obama, the baby whisperer

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Barack Obama stuns wife Michelle, crowds as he magically soothes wailing baby

The American President may be struggling to get a handle on the economy and peace in the Middle East, but he showed that he is a natural when it comes to hushing tearful babies.

Barack Obama was hosting a meet-and-greet at the White House when wife Michelle, who is now in South Africa, handed over the wailing child, who immediately stopped crying when being cradled by the president.


As soon as the baby is in US President Barack Obama's arms, the toddler stops crying leading to raptures of applause from the crowd. US first lady Michelle Obama pays her respects at the Hector Pieterson Memorial yesterday


The 49-year-old gave a knowing smile and wheeled away from his wife as the baby suddenly became silent. The onlooking crowd clapped wildly after seeing Obama's calming influence.

The incident began when the president, who will try to retain his position next year in the elections, leaned over his wife, who had the youngster in her arms, and asked, 'You OK, baby?'

The baby cries harder and the Obamas laugh at the noise the child is making.

The president exclaims, "Oh no!" Then, just as Michelle goes to hand back the baby, the mother of the toddler asks if it would be possible for the President to take her daughter, so she can snap a picture.

He agrees, and says, "Come on baby, come on."

As soon as the baby girl is in his arms she stops crying and the crowd break into raptures of applause.
The incident happened last week a perfect lead up to Fathers' Day and showed that Obama has a touch with youngsters.

Michelle Pays tribute to Soweto
Johannesburg: The US First Lady yesterday paid tribute to a 12-year-old boy shot dead by South African troops during the apartheid era as she visited to Soweto township.

Hector Pieterson became the subject of an iconic image during the 1976 Soweto uprising when his lifeless body was pictured being carried from student protests against apartheid education policies.

Michelle Obama laid a wreath at the Hector Pieterson Memorial in the Johannesburg township along with the Hector's sister Antoinette Sithole, who was also captured in the historic image.

Man takes woman hostage, updates Facebook status

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Armed criminal in US updates social networking site during 16-hour police standoff, then shoots self

Jason Valdez is no stranger to US police. His latest brush with the law, however, may have been the most public.

An armed Valdez (36) held a woman hostage at a Utah motel in a tense 16-hour, overnight standoff with SWAT teams, all the while finding time to keep his family and friends updated on Facebook, authorities said.


Valdez with his 'hostage' who he claimed was willingly with him and police were jeopardising her life

He even got some help from the outside over the social network: a friend posted that a SWAT officer was hiding in the bushes.

"Thank you homie," Valdez replied. "Good looking out." When officers swarmed the room, Valdez shot himself in the chest with a handgun, Ogden police said. He remains in a critical condition.

Police believe he wrote the messages on Facebook during the incident. In all, Valdez made six posts and added at least a dozen new friends.

His family and friends responded with 100 comments. Some people offered words of support, and others pleaded for him to "do the right thing".

Court records show Valdez has a criminal history, including convictions for aggravated assault and domestic violence in front of a child.

A judge issued a warrant for Valdez's arrest after he missed a June 1 preliminary hearing in the case.

On Friday afternoon, Ogden police tried to serve Valdez with a felony drug warrant for the missed court appearance. Valdez barricaded himself inside the Western Colony Inn.

"I'm currently in a stand-off ... kinda ugly, but ready for whatever," Valdez wrote in his first post at 11.23 pm. "I love u guyz and if I don't make it out of here alive that I'm in a better place and u were all great friends."

Valdez said in posts that he was with a woman named Veronica. Police described her as a hostage.

In his posts, Valdez told friends when police shut off the power that his "hostage" was fine and with him willingly and that police were jeopardising her life by their actions.

At 2.04 am, Valdez posted two pictures of himself and the woman. "Got a cute 'Hostage' huh," Valdez wrote of the photographs.

At 3.48 am, one of Valdez's friends posted that police had a "gunner in the bushes stay low." Valdez thanked him in a reply.

The final post was at 7.25 am on Saturday: "Well i was lettin this girl go but these dumb b******s made an attempt to come in after i told them not to, so i popped off a couple more shots and now were startin all over again it seems ..."

SWAT officers stormed Valdez's room about 90 minutes later. Police never fired, Ogden Lieutenant Danielle Croyle said.

Police believe that responses from Valdez's friend gave him an advantage. Authorities are now discussing whether some of Valdez' friends should be charged with obstruction of justice.

"We're not sure yet how to deal with it," said Croyle.

6
Number of Facebook posts Valdez made during the 16-hour siege

US man without arms can change a tyre in minutes!

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An American man was born without arms, but is determined "to do what everybody else does" and not just sit back "expecting handouts".

Matt Stutzman, 28, who has already qualified for the National U.S. Olympic team in archery despite his enormous handicap, has proved that he is no one trick pony as turns his toes to anything - even at intricate jobs such as changing the tyres on his car.

While most people would simply take their vehicle to the garage to be checked, Matt refuses and uses his feet to do the job himself in just nine minutes, reports the Daily Mail.

In the Iowa resident's own home video he does every part of the job starting by carefully raising the car using a jack before loosening the wheel's nuts one by one with a tool held between his toes.

Then removing the wheel, he deftly takes apart the brake and checks it before putting it all back together without any help.

"Matt has a unique talent," says his mother, Jean.

"He does not see himself as disabled," she added.

Honour killing: Woman stoned, shot dead in Pakistan

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A woman was pelted with stones and then shot dead in the name of honour by a group of men led by her husband in a village in Pakistan, a media report said Wednesday.

The incident took place in Bairoch village in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province where the body of Shazia was found in a hill.

"The body was in a bad shape as the woman was first pelted with stones and then fired at," Dawn quoted police official Mohammad Tahir as saying.

Shazia's mother Noor Jehan told police that her daughter was married to Mohammad Saeed, but she was residing with her following differences with her husband.

The media report said that two days back her son-in-law told them to go to Bairoch village to attend a jirga to settle the dispute.

Noor Jehan said that at the village, Saeed and a dozen other people caught hold of Shazia and declared that she would be stoned to death.

She said she managed to escape, but her daughter was killed.

Pakistanis see India as bigger threat than Al Qaeda

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Most Pakistanis see India as a bigger threat than the Taliban and the Al Qaeda and disapprove of the US military operation that killed Osama bin Laden, according to a new poll

Although Al Qaeda leader bin Laden has not been well-liked in recent years, a majority of Pakistanis describe his death as a bad thing. Only 14 percent say it is a good thing, according to a poll released Tuesday by the Pew Research Centre.

Moreover, many Pakistanis believe the US raid on bin Laden's hideout, which was located about 35 miles from Islamabad, will have a negative impact on the already strained relations between the US and their country.

The poll also indicates that concerns among Pakistanis about an extremist takeover and support for using military force against extremist groups are slipping, but the groups themselves remain widely unpopular.

Just 12 percent of Pakistanis have a positive view of Al Qaeda, down from 18 percent in 2010. Only 12 percent give the Taliban a favourable rating with both Pakistan based Tehrik-i-Taliban and the Afghan Taliban getting similarly low levels of support.

There is somewhat more support for Pakistan based Lashkar-e-Taiba group held responsible for the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. Currently, 27 percent have a positive opinion of the terror outfit.

Results of two surveys conducted in Pakistan by Pew's Global Attitudes Project also show that Pakistani views of traditional rival India have grown increasingly negative in recent years with three-in-four expressing an unfavourable opinion of India, up from 50 percent five years ago.

When asked which is the biggest threat to their country, India, the Taliban, or Al Qaeda, a majority of Pakistanis (57 percent) say India, the poll noted.

Still, roughly seven-in-ten say it is important to improve relations with India, believe increased trade with their neighbour would be a good thing, and support further talks to reduce tensions between the two countries, the Pew poll said.

Similarly, Indians express negative opinions of Pakistan; 65 percent have an unfavourable view of their traditional rival and more name Pakistan as India's biggest threat (45 percent) than name Lashkar-e-Taiba (19 percent) or Naxalites (16 percent).

Yet, like Pakistanis, Indians would like to see improved relations between the two countries and most support increased trade between India and Pakistan.

'Number 10 cat' Larry loves being stroked by Barack Obama

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Larry the cat, who was deployed in 10 Downing Street to catch a rat is a big fan of US President Barack Obama, according to Britain Prime Minister David Cameron

Cameron said that while the four-year-old tabby was a 'bit nervous' around most men, the US President seemed to be an exception.

"Funnily enough he liked Obama," the BBC quoted him as saying.

"Obama gave him a stroke and he was all right with Obama," he added.

He further revealed that Larry was 'not very keen on men', but seemed happy to be stroked by Obama when he visited London in May.

Speaking to Radio 2''s Steve Wright, Cameron said Larry was "a good mouser" and was "doing well".

Larry, who was brought from London''s Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, is the first prime ministerial cat for more than 10 years.

Wills-Kat to get young Brits their big Hollywood break!

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In an attempt to promote British talent in Hollywood movies, the Duke and the Duchess of Cambridge will help creative young boys and girls get their big break in different realms of filmdom

Prince William and Kate are joining Tinseltown bosses at a Bafta party and plan to pair the executives up with undiscovered actors, directors, writers and designers from home.

The royal couple' s private secretary Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton revealed that British talent would be seated so they were "buddied" with executives and studio bosses.

"We hope it will get them that big break but also that it will generate greater interest in investment in UK creative industries, The Mirror quoted him as saying.

"The Duke sees this as a tremendous opportunity to build on the momentum of British success in TV, film and video games," he added.

Brit teen 'mastermind' behind hacking attacks on CIA, Sony, arrested

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A 19-year-old British man suspected of masterminding computer hacking attacks on the CIA, the US Senate and Sony from his bedroom, has been arrested

Ryan Cleary was arrested at his family's home in Essex after a joint inquiry conducted by Scotland Yard and the FBI, the Daily Mail reports.

He was held hours after the UK's serious crime unit came under online siege from the hacking group known as LulzSec.

Ryan, described as a loner who 'lives his life online', faces the prospect of extradition to the US where he could face 60 years behind bars for allegedly hacking into the CIA and Senate websites.

Ryan's mother said her son suffers from agoraphobia and attention deficit disorder and had not left his home for four years.

She said he rarely left his bedroom, which consisted of a computer with two monitors, a cooling unit, a broken TV, and a double bed.

Detectives believe he is a 'major player' with LulzSec, which has been linked to recent attacks on games firm Sony in which details and passwords of millions of users were accessed.


Posted by Harshad at 7:25 AM

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