Mid Day International News |
- Gaddafi wandered Tripoli streets in disguise
- The world now has 8.7 mn species
- Brit school bans girls from wearing skirts
- Newborn girl at is smallest baby to undergo open-heart surgery in UK
- Woman sets man on fire after being told he touched her boobs
- Shane Warne's wedding proposal to Liz Hurley 'just rumours'
- American held after threat to stab pilot
- Mum saves kids by pinning down attacking dog
- Berlusconi to write memoir on his private life
- Rare earthquake rattles Washington, offices evacuated in New York
- Sexual assault case against Strauss-Kahn dropped
- Earthquake hits US cities
- US still backs India on UNSC seat despite Syria vote
- Kate Winslet rescues Branson's mum from blaze
- Protesters celebrate 'Go Topless Day'
- Oz woman sets man on fire after being told he touched her boobs
| Gaddafi wandered Tripoli streets in disguise Posted: Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi says he disguised himself and moved around Tripoli following the rebels' seizure of the North African country's capital, a media report said Wednesday "I walked a little in Tripoli without anybody seeing me. And I did not feel I was in danger," Gaddafi was quoted as saying in an audio message by Al Arabiya news channel. In an earlier message, Gaddafi said: "All Libyans - men and women - should be now in Tripoli to eliminate traitors. They are hiding between the families and inside the civilian houses. It's your duty to enter these houses and take them out." Gaddafi's whereabouts are reportedly unknown. Rebels Wednesday claimed to control 90 percent of the country and pledged "a new Libya". Fighting between the rebels and Gaddafi forces took place late Tuesday. A radio station in Tripoli quoted Gaddafi as saying he fled his sprawling Bab al-Azizya compound as a "tactical move" after the compound was levelled by 64 NATO airstrikes, Al Jazeera reported.
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| The world now has 8.7 mn species Posted: The natural world now contains about 8.7 million species, says a new report described by scientists as the "most accurate ever". However, the vast majority of species have not been identified. Cataloguing all of them could take more than 1,000 years, according to BBC. The vast majority of the 8.7 million are animals, with smaller numbers of fungi, plants, protozoa and chromists that include algae and other micro-organisms. The figure excludes bacteria and some other types of micro-organisms, says the report in the journal PLoS Biology. However, only 14 percent of the world's species have yet been identified. Of that, only nine percent belong to the oceans. Derek Tittensor, of the UN Environment Programme's World Conservation Monitoring Centre and Microsoft Research in Cambridge, worked on the project alongside scientists from Dalhousie University in Canada and the University of Hawaii. "We've been thinking about this for several years now - we've had a look at a number of different approaches, and didn't have any success. So this was basically our last chance, the last thing we tried, and it seems to work," Tittensor said. The team looked at the relationship between species and the broader groups to which they belong. Groups of related species belong to a genus, which are clustered into families, then orders, then classes, then phyla, and finally into kingdoms. The researchers measured the relationship between the discovery of new species and the discovery of new higher groups, and then used it to predict how many species there are likely to be. Dalhousie researcher Sina Adl said: "The approach accurately predicted the number of species in several well-studied groups such as mammals, fishes and birds, providing confidence in the method."
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| Brit school bans girls from wearing skirts Posted: A school in Britain that is concerned about falling standards of uniform has banned girls from wearing skirts as they are deemed as "inappropriate attire" Northgate High School in Ipswich, which is the third school in the Suffolk town to introduce such a ban, has removed skirts from its approved uniform list to stop students coming to lessons in "inappropriate attire". The move comes after Northgate's headteacher David Hutton said that in recent years the ever-rising hemlines of some girls had led to staff sending students home to change. "At Northgate we expect pupils to be well behaved, to work hard and comply with our rules and expectations," the Daily Mail quoted Hutton as saying. "In return they receive a good education in a positive learning environment, which results in the vast majority achieving qualifications and acquiring skills and attributes that enhance their future opportunities. "With regard to uniform, unfortunately despite contacting specific parents, sending some girls home to change, requiring others to wear a school-owned skirt for the day and repeatedly asking others to 'unroll' their skirts at the waist we still had some girls coming to school in inappropriate skirts. "I have therefore introduced a trousers-only policy, which will enable my staff to focus their time and effort on providing pupils with the best education possible. "We are not the first local school to come to the conclusion that all pupils should wear trousers. "Kesgrave and St Albans High Schools already have a trousers-only policy, and discussions with staff at both institutions confirm that the change has made a huge difference for the better," he added.
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| Newborn girl at is smallest baby to undergo open-heart surgery in UK Posted: A baby girl who was born prematurely weighing just 3lb 5oz with a serious heart condition that left her struggling to breathe, has become the smallest baby to undergo open heart surgery in Britain Tiny Eleana Hastings arrived six weeks prematurely with a missing valve, a hole between two chambers of her heart and dilated pulmonary arteries. Her parents, both 36, discovered something was wrong during a routine scan just 22 weeks into the pregnancy. "I was told that I would have to have a weekly scan to check on her progress and, more worryingly, look for signs of cardiac failure," the Daily Mail quoted Mother Francesca, from Coventry, as saying. But weeks later as the couple struggled to cope with the news Francesca went into premature labour. Eleana arrived on January 13, and was put on a ventilator because her inflamed arteries were compressing her airways. Her tiny body struggled to maintain oxygen levels, and surgery was the only option. After nine days in intensive care, she was transferred to Birmingham Children's Hospital for a four-hour procedure to close the hole in her heart and reconstruct her lung arteries. A second operation followed after ten weeks. While Eleana still needs a pneumatic stent to allow her to breathe, her parents are looking forward to taking her home to join siblings Jamie, 11, Imogen, eight, and Alfie, two.
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| Woman sets man on fire after being told he touched her boobs Posted: An Australian woman, who doused a man in petrol and set him alight after she found out that he had touched her breasts the day before, has pleaded guilty to manslaughter Kerry Anne McNiven has been charged with murdering Gary Lloyd Stewart, 50, in November 2010 after she threw petrol over him on the banks of the Ovens River, Wangaratta, and set him on fire, reports the Herald Sun. Her barrister Nick Papas, SC, told the Victorian Supreme Court that McNiven, 44, was drunk when her breasts were touched and was unaware it had occurred, but she was later told of the touching by a friend. Mr Stewart, who suffered burns to more than 70 per cent of his body, died in a Melbourne hospital several weeks after the attack. A trial for McNiven was expected to begin on Tuesday but Mr Papas indicated she would plead guilty to manslaughter. A pre-sentence hearing for McNiven will be held on Wednesday.
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| Shane Warne's wedding proposal to Liz Hurley 'just rumours' Posted: Spin King Shane Warne's manager has denied media reports that he has proposed to girlfriend Liz Hurley James Erskine, has slammed rumours that the former international cricketer popped the question during a Spanish cruise. "It''s not true, it''s just rumours," the Sydney Morning Herald quoted his spokeswoman as saying. The couple was reported to have got engaged several times this year after getting together in December. The pair, who let their relationship play out on Twitter, stayed silent on the subject and did nothing to quash the latest rumour in recent days. Warne appeared to be dropping a few hints, saying he and Hurley were very happy together. "Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away," he wrote two days ago.
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| American held after threat to stab pilot Posted: A drunken US businessman was held after he allegedly threatened to stab a plane's pilots during a flight to Britain Tim Bradley, 32, is said to have downed wine and beer at 30,000 feet before threatening fellow passengers and spitting at cabin crew, The Sun reported Tuesday. Witnesses claimed he brandished a shard of glass after being refused more alcohol on the Boeing 747. The drama unfolded on the nine hour 40 minutes British Airways flight from Phoenix, Arizona, to Heathrow. Lesley Lewis, 31, who was near Bradley in business class, said: "He was shouting at customers and crew, swearing, stumbling about the cabin. "At one stage I could see him holding a broken glass, ready to attack the crew and talking to himself."
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| Mum saves kids by pinning down attacking dog Posted: A 31-year-old mother in Britain bravely saved her kids from a crazy dog that ripped their puppy into pieces Karen Greaves was enjoying a picnic in a park with her four-month-old daughter Amelia, five-year-old son Dylan, and their Cavalier King Charles spaniel Molly when they were attacked by a bullmastiff dog, Daily Express reported. The dog was with its female owner. Within seconds it mauled 10-month-old puppy Molly to death. It then knocked little Amelia's buggy to the ground. Greaves, who sensed the crazy dog was about to attack the crying baby and her brother, suddenly grabbed the mastiff and wrestled it to the ground. She along with the attacking bullmastiff's owner pinned the dog to the ground until police arrived, as a group of teenagers standing nearby helped the kids to safety. But Greaves suffered serious wounds to her hands and arms, as she was repeatedly bitten. She spent three days in hospital undergoing surgery and will be scarred for life. Karen later said: "The dog seemed to just snap. I did everything I could to try to wrestle it from Molly but it had a look in its eyes that said it wasn't going to stop for anything." "My children were screaming. I feared for them so I lay across the dog's back and put my hands in its mouth and it basically ate my hands." The dog was later seized by police and taken away by the vets.
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| Berlusconi to write memoir on his private life Posted: Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who has been linked with a string of young women, has said he may write a memoir on his liaisons Reacting to claims by Italian footballer Antonio Cassano in a book that he had had sex with 600 women, Berlusconi exclaimed: "Hats off to you!" "Do you want to know if I have had more women?" the 74-year-old prime minister asked guests at a dinner to celebrate his club AC Milan's victory in the Berlusconi Trophy. "Well, if you do, I am not going to tell you. I will write about my encounters in a diary like Mussolini did," Berlusconi said, referring to Italian dictator Benito Mussolini (1883-1945), according to La Stampa daily. Berlusconi has been charged with organising erotic parties at his villa in Arcore and other residences, and having paid sex with numerous young women. One of them includes teenage Moroccan nightclub dancer Karima El Mahroug, nicknamed Ruby. The prime minister is on trial for allegedly paying for sex with El Mahroug, as well as abuse of office. Both Berlusconi and El Mahroug deny they had sex. She, however, admits receiving money and gifts from him. The prime minister has also been linked to teenage underwear model Noemi Letizia and prostitute Patrizia D'Addario. D'Addario claims she was paid to spend a night with Berlusconi at his Rome residence in November 2008 and that she had taped their encounters.
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| Rare earthquake rattles Washington, offices evacuated in New York Posted: The most powerful earthquake to strike the US East Coast in 67 years rattled millions of Americans from Georgia to northern New England and led to evacuation of parts of the White House, Capitol and Pentagon.
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| Sexual assault case against Strauss-Kahn dropped Posted: New York State Supreme Court Justice Michael Obus Tuesday dismissed the criminal sexual assault charges against former head of International Monitory Fund Dominique Strauss-Kahn, Xinhua reported. The dismissal is conditioned on the outcome of an appeal challenging the court's rejection of a bid by the accuser for a special prosecutor in the case. Obus said the appeals court has 30 days to decide. Strauss-Kahn issued a statement after the hearing, saying that the past two-and-a-half months has been a nightmare for him and his family. "I want to thank all the friends in France and in the United States who have believed in my innocence, and to the thousands of people who sent us their support personally and in writing. I am most deeply grateful to my wife and family who have gone through this ordeal with me," he said. "We will have nothing further to say about this matter and we look forward to returning to our home and resuming something of a more normal life," Strauss-Kahn added. Prosecutors in the office of Cyrus R. Vance Jr., the Manhattan district attorney, filed papers Monday requesting that all charges be dropped against Strauss-Kahn, who was accused of sexually attacking a hotel maid in May. In a brief hearing at the State Supreme Court in Manhattan July 1, the judge freed Strauss-Kahn from house arrest. Prosecutors acknowledged that there were significant credibility issues with the hotel maid.
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| Posted: An undersea quake measuring 5.9 on the Richter scale Tuesday afternoon jolted several US cities, including Washington DC, where the authorities had to temporarily evacuate the White House, the Capitol Hill and other buildings, Xinhua reported. There was no immediate report of damage or casualties. The quake occurred at 1751 GMT and is being described as "one of the largest earthquakes on the east coast". The epicentre was located 134 km southwest of Washington D.C. The US weather service has ruled out a tsunami. The quake was felt in the New York City, North Carolina and as far as Toronto, Canada, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said. Two nuclear reactors were taken off-line in Virginia, the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) said. "This is one of the largest earthquakes on the east coast in quite a while, in many decades at least," USGS spokeswoman Lucy Jones told CNN. "It's not unprecedented. But it's one of the largest we have had there." Telecommunication in some areas was briefly disrupted.
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| US still backs India on UNSC seat despite Syria vote Posted: The United States continues to support a UN Security Council seat for India even as it's in touch with Indian officials on the situation in Syria, according to a US official. "It remains our position that we support a UN Security Council seat for India," State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland told reporters Tuesday when asked if the US still supported backed New Delhi even after it abstained from a UN Human Rights Council vote on Syria. "I'm not going to speak to the Indian decision," she said. "I think the fact that the resolution was so strong and it was so strongly supported, including in the neighbourhood, speaks volumes about the fact that this guy (Syrian President Bashar al-Assad) has been conducting revolting brutality against his own people, and even the neighbourhood's patience is growing thin with him." Asked if it was an issue of concern for the US that a democratic country like India is not siding with Washington on the issue of Syria, Nuland said: "We continue to talk to India about what we are seeing in Syria." Assistant Secretary of State Robert Blake "has been in contact with some of his counterparts there and we'll continue to have that conversation going forward," she said. Asked if Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had spoken to Indian External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna in the recent past, she said: "She has not. Some of her deputies have been in contact. I'm not going to get into who and where and what." In response to another question about US stand on ongoing anti-corruption movement in India, the spokesperson repeated, "We are confident that India is going to be able to address its current political disputes, its internal issues, through its own democratic system. We support peaceful protest. India has a strong, vibrant democracy, and that's where we stand."
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| Kate Winslet rescues Branson's mum from blaze Posted: Titanic actress carried Richard Branson's mother to safety after the tycoon's luxury home burns down This near-disaster, fortunately, had a happier ending than the Titanic. A fast-moving inferno engulfed the luxurious Caribbean compound owned by billionaire Richard Branson early yesterday morning, but tragedy was averted when houseguest Kate Winslet raced through the burning manse to rescue the flamboyant tycoon's 90-year-old mother.
"She [Winslet] was staying there with her children, and, in fact, it was she who carried my mother out of the house," said Branson. "She swept her up into her arms and got them out of the house as fast as possible." Branson's mother Eve, was not injured. Severe wind and lightning from Hurricane Irene ravaged Necker, Branson's private isle in the British Virgins Islands, sparking the blaze in the eight-bedroom Great House, where the Oscar-winning actress and her brood, Branson's family, and about a dozen other friends were vacationing. "My son Sam rushed to the house and helped get everyone out. Kate Winslet, her boyfriend and family were there, and Holly (Branson's daughter) and some of her friends were also staying," said Branson, the founder of the Virgin Group empire who was in another building on the island at the time. Once everyone was safe, Winslet (35) quipped, "It's like being in a film set where you're waiting for the words 'cut' but they just don't come," according to Branson. Branson's Balinese-style getaway, located on a parcel of the island called Devil's Hill, was a total loss. Branson posted pictures and video of the burning compound to his blog. "The main house is completely destroyed, and the fire is not yet completely out. My office was based in the house, and I have lost thousands of photographs, which is very sad," Branson said. "We want to rebuild the house as soon as we can. We have a wonderful staff here, and we want them to stay in work," he added. Lightning was the likely culprit, but the blaze remains under investigation, Virgin Group said. Courting stars and Royalty Necker Island is a second home for the British tycoon and his family and anyone else wanting to stay for a mere �1,115 (Rs 84,000) a night. Over the years it has attracted an A-list crowd, including Princess Diana, who used to holiday with her young sons William and Harry. Other famous figures who have stayed at the resort include Janet Jackson, Harrison Ford, Mariah Carey, Eddie Murphy and Oprah Winfrey. It was also the site of Nick Lachey and Vanessa Minnillo's wedding. Each of the bedrooms in the villas has its own balcony, four-poster bed and en-suite bathroom. All have open walls giving a 360-degree view and cooling winds. The island also has its own submarine.
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| Protesters celebrate 'Go Topless Day' Posted: Hundreds of members of a UFO cult, including men and women, gathered at California's Venice Beach to protest for women's constitutional rights by taking part in the fourth annual 'Go Topless Day'.
While some female rebels bore it all, some kept modestly by wearing latex stickers or pasties over their nipples. Men were clad in bikini tops and bras to protest against the hypocrisy that allows them to be bare-chested in public. "The Constitution says women are equal to men in every sense of the word," the Daily Mail quoted Raelian Lara Terstenjak, one of the protestors, as telling Huffington Post. "But if we don't have the Constitution supporting equal rights in all forms, what good is it?" she added.
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| Oz woman sets man on fire after being told he touched her boobs Posted: An Australian woman, who doused a man in petrol and set him alight after she found out that he had touched her breasts the day before, has pleaded guilty to manslaughter. Kerry Anne McNiven has been charged with murdering Gary Lloyd Stewart, 50, in November 2010 after she threw petrol over him on the banks of the Ovens River, Wangaratta, and set him on fire, reports the Herald Sun. Her barrister Nick Papas, SC, told the Victorian Supreme Court that McNiven, 44, was drunk when her breasts were touched and was unaware it had occurred, but she was later told of the touching by a friend. Mr Stewart, who suffered burns to more than 70 per cent of his body, died in a Melbourne hospital several weeks after the attack. A trial for McNiven was expected to begin on Tuesday but Mr Papas indicated she would plead guilty to manslaughter. A pre-sentence hearing for McNiven will be held on Wednesday.
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