20/10/2012
Indian rickshaw-puller forced to take baby to work
Rickshaw-puller Bablu Jatav says there is no-one to care for his daughter after his wife died
Offers of help have been coming into BBC Hindi after it reported that an Indian rickshaw-puller is carrying his month-old daughter in a cloth sling around his neck after his wife died.
Bablu Jatav's wife, Shanti, died on 20 September, soon after giving birth to their first child in Rajasthan state.Mr Jatav, 38, says since there is no-one else to look after the baby, he takes her to work with him every day.
Now a local charity has agreed to help Mr Jatav take care of the baby.
"Shanti died soon after delivering the baby at the hospital. Since there is no-one to look after my daughter, I keep her with me even when I pull my rickshaw," Mr Jatav, who lives in the town of Bharatpur, told the BBC.
"We had this baby after 15 years of our marriage, my wife was so happy when we were blessed with a daughter, but it is very sad she passed away."
Taking the baby to work has created its own set of problems - on Tuesday, she had to be taken to hospital to be treated for dehydration.
Mr Jatav says life is tough and he is struggling to keep afloat.
"I have to pay 500 rupees [$9; £6] a month as house rent and 30 rupees daily to rent the rickshaw," he said.
Mr Jatav said he was afraid to re-marry because "my first priority is to care for and bring up my baby girl".
Meanwhile, after a report on Mr Jatav's plight was published on the BBC's Hindi website on Thursday, calls to help the family have been coming in from India and abroad.
And on Friday, a Bharatpur-based local non-governmental organisation agreed to help Mr Jatav care for his baby
5/1/2012
Frosty the Snowman arrested in Chestertown
CHESTERTOWN, Md. (AP) — Who says “Frosty the Snowman” has to be jolly?A man in a “Frosty the Snowman” costume was arrested Saturday during the annual Christmas parade in Chestertown, on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. He’s accused of scuffling with police and kicking at a police dog.
Sgt. John A. Dolgos tells The Star Democrat of Easton that 52-year-old Kevin Michael Walsh became agitated when a dog-handling officer tried to escort him away from the crowd.
Walsh told The Associated Press that he has dressed as Frosty in the parade for at least 10 years. He says he was wrongfully arrested. He says an officer hassled him after he remarked about the police dog’s presence. He says he became agitated only after getting arrested.
Walsh was released on his own recognizance.
Source: KRQE
5/1/2012
World’s Most Expensive Golf Course
The concept is a series of man-made islands with one or more holes on each, linked by transparent undersea tunnels. Golfers walk or ride through these submerged pathways, taking in the seafloor sights while pondering which iron to use next. And the clubhouse? You’ll have to take an elevator to the sea bottom to get to it. At half a billion dollars, it will be by far the most expensive golf course ever built.22 June, 2011
Unbelievable! Metal Wire Growing From Skin
Noorsyaidah, an Indonesian woman, claims metal wire has grown from her body for 18 years
This is currently big news in Indonesia. Metal wires about 10-20 cm long grow from a woman’s body! Skeptics initially thought that is must be “self-inflicted”. Doctors however, have other theories but have given up on providing any scientific or medical explanations.
The woman had this problem for 17 years and currently being investigated by the Ministry of Health. Initial consultation with More..doctors and specialists found that the wires are also inside her body. At this stage, there were no current medical explanations or any case ever exist. Hence, there is but only one other possible consideration… Occult magic.
Video and pictures below.
Her name is NOORSYAIDAH. A 40 years old kindergarten teacher from Sangatta, East Kutai. Her first symptoms started manifestating in 1991. The metal wires grew out of her chest and her belly. There was no explanation then (or even now). During the first week wires kept falling off from her body and were gone. A month later, the wires grew back again and from that time onward the wires did not fall. They kept growing!
One of her sisters said that she tried to help by trimming the wires. Alas, whenever she trimmed the wires, the wire retreated as if it were hiding and then popped up in another part of Noorsyaidah’s body.
There have been 4 Medical Specialists taking this matter seriously and have treated her in several ways. And as the result, doctors can’t figure out what exactly is happening to her. The doctors have taken an X-Ray image from her stomach and found that there are more than 40 metal wires inside her and some of them are bursting out of her skin. They looks like a living phenomenon. The wires are able mobile and therefore can change location at will, Thus the doctors are forced to use a magnet to scan the exact position of the wires. The wires bursted out without any symptoms of Tetanus, but she said that they’re hurting her like when needles sting.
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02 June,2011This is currently big news in Indonesia. Metal wires about 10-20 cm long grow from a woman’s body! Skeptics initially thought that is must be “self-inflicted”. Doctors however, have other theories but have given up on providing any scientific or medical explanations.
The woman had this problem for 17 years and currently being investigated by the Ministry of Health. Initial consultation with More..doctors and specialists found that the wires are also inside her body. At this stage, there were no current medical explanations or any case ever exist. Hence, there is but only one other possible consideration… Occult magic.
Video and pictures below.
Her name is NOORSYAIDAH. A 40 years old kindergarten teacher from Sangatta, East Kutai. Her first symptoms started manifestating in 1991. The metal wires grew out of her chest and her belly. There was no explanation then (or even now). During the first week wires kept falling off from her body and were gone. A month later, the wires grew back again and from that time onward the wires did not fall. They kept growing!
One of her sisters said that she tried to help by trimming the wires. Alas, whenever she trimmed the wires, the wire retreated as if it were hiding and then popped up in another part of Noorsyaidah’s body.
There have been 4 Medical Specialists taking this matter seriously and have treated her in several ways. And as the result, doctors can’t figure out what exactly is happening to her. The doctors have taken an X-Ray image from her stomach and found that there are more than 40 metal wires inside her and some of them are bursting out of her skin. They looks like a living phenomenon. The wires are able mobile and therefore can change location at will, Thus the doctors are forced to use a magnet to scan the exact position of the wires. The wires bursted out without any symptoms of Tetanus, but she said that they’re hurting her like when needles sting.
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Chinese teen sells his kidney for an iPad 2
A Chinese teenager was so desperate to acquire the new iPad 2 that he sold one of his kidneys for just £2,000 to pay for it, according to reports. The 17-year-old boy, identified only by his surname, “Zheng”, confessed to his mother that he had sold the kidney after spotting an online advertisement offering cash to anyone prepared to become an organ donor.
“I wanted to buy an iPad 2, but I didn’t have the money,” the boy told Shenzhen TV in the southern province of Guangdong, “When I surfed the internet I found an advert posted online by agent saying they were able to pay RMB20,000 to buy a kidney.” After negotiations, the boy travelled north to the city of Chenzhou in Hunan Province where the kidney was removed at a local hospital which discharged him after three days, paying a total of RMB22,000 for the organ.
Trading organs online is a common practice in China, despite repeated attempts by China’s government to stamp out the practice. Last year Japanese television reported that a group of “transplant tourists” had paid £50,000 to receive new kidneys in China.
According to official statistics more than a million people in China need a transplant every year, but fewer than 10,000 receive organs, driving an almost unstoppable black-market organ trade that enriches brokers, doctors and corrupt government officials.
The boy, who has suffered complications following the surgery, returned home but was unable to keep what he had done from his mother.
“When he came back, he had a laptop and a new Apple handset,” his mother, identified as Miss Liu, told the station, showing off the livid red scar where her son’s kidney was removed, “I wanted to know how he had got so much money and he finally confessed that he had sold one of his kidneys.”
The mother took the son back to Chenzhou to report the crime to the police, however, the mobiles of the three agents that Zheng had contacted were all switched off.
The hospital, which admitted contracting out its urology department to a private businessman, denied any knowledge of the surgery.
The case, which caused an online furore, was cited by some as an extreme example of the rampant materialism of modern China.
Thousands of comments were posted on internet discussion groups, with many lamenting the lack of rule of law in China and the “immorality” of the new, ‘capitalist’ China.
“This is a failure of education, the first purpose of which is to ‘propagate morality’,” said one comment on Hong Kong’s Phoenix TV website, “This teenager’s stupid behaviour is a manifestation of his radically materialistic values.” “To sell a kidney in order to buy consumer goods? What vanity!” added another, “It is undeniable that modern Chinese teenagers’ morality is declining. This is something we must all think about.”
Apple products like the iPhone and the iPad are in huge demand in China, and are seen as a badge of wealth and sophistication by young consumers.
Last month scuffles broke out among desperate shoppers outside several Beijing Apple Stores as they queued to buy the newly launched iPad2 and white iPhone4.
Source: The Telegraph
22 June, 2011
Emperor penguin spotted long way from home in New Zealand
A young Antarctic Emperor penguin has taken a rare wrong turn and ended up stranded on a New Zealand beach more than 4,000 miles away from home. Emperor penguins typically spend their entire lives in Antarctica and almost never make landfall near humans. It has been 44 years since a wild Emperor penguin was last sighted in New Zealand.
Conservation experts say the penguin is about 10 months old, and stands about 32 inches high. It is believed to have taken to the water several months ago to search for squid and krill and lost its way.
Experts say the bird is healthy but will need to find its way back south if it is to survive. A resident discovered the bird while walking her dog on Monday evening at Peka Peka Beach on the northwestern coast.
"It's amazing to see one of these penguins on the Kapiti Coast," biodiversity spokesperson Peter Simpson told TVNZ.
02 June,2011
Border Agent Put His Wife on Terrorist List
Immigration officer fired after putting wife on list of terrorists to stop her flying home
An immigration officer tried to rid himself of his wife by adding her name to a list of terrorist suspects.
He used his access to security databases to include his wife on a watch list of people banned from boarding flights into Britain because their presence in the country is ‘not conducive to the public good’.
As a result the woman was unable for three years to return from Pakistan after travelling to the county to visit family.
The tampering went undetected until the immigration officer was selected for promotion and his wife name was found on the suspects’ list during a vetting inquiry.
The Home Office confirmed today that the officer has been sacked for gross misconduct.
The incident is likely to raise new questions over levels of efficiency in the UK Border Agency, the organisation formed nearly three years ago by then Home Secretary Jacqui Smith to take over all immigration controls.
It has been criticised for poor performance by the Parliamentary Ombudsman and has suffered its share of humiliating incidents – for example the incident 19 months ago when an illegal immigrant escaped from the channel tunnel port at Folkestone by clinging to the underside of a bus carrying Border Agency staff.
The Agency is charged with putting into operation the Coalition’s policy of reducing numbers of workers from outside Europe allowed into Britain.
A spokesman said: ‘We expect the highest levels of integrity. Allegations of misconduct are thoroughly investigated and we always take action swiftly where we find members of staff who have abused their position.
‘On the extremely rare occasions where this occurs, the strongest action is taken.’
The officer in the latest incident to come to light was employed by a unit maintaining watch lists.
He is understood to have worked at the Agency’s headquarters at Lunar House in Croydon, South London.
His wife visited family in Pakistan but when she tried to return to Britain she was not allowed onto the aircraft. Airline and immigration officials refused to explain to her why.
She was forced to remain in Pakistan for three years until her husband’s manipulation of the suspect list came to light.
He is understood to have applied for a promotion that would have meant a higher level of security clearance.
During the vetting process the name of his wife was discovered on the suspect list, to the surprise of security staff.
When questioned, the officer confessed to his alteration of the lists and was sacked.
Source: Dailymail
27 may, 2011
Scientists List Top 10 New Species for 2011
The International Institute for Species Exploration has released its Top 10 List of New Species for 2011 and many on the list are already threatened or endangered. Institute head Quentin Wheeler says the new discoveries highlight how little scientists know about life on Earth.
The Institute’s planet-wide new species include an iron-oxide eating microbe that was discovered forming icicle-shaped “rusticles” on the legendary shipwreck, the Titanic. There’s also a two-meter-long fruit-eating lizard from the Philippines; a cricket that pollinates a rare orchid in the Mascarene Archipelago in the Indian Ocean; a jumping cockroach from South Africa and two very distinct fungi.
“The mushroom that is bio-luminescent around the clock that showed up in the Atlantic coastal forests in Brazil," says Wheeler. "And certainly the mushroom that was fruiting under water is just a startling new biological discovery.”Also on the list: a spider from Madagascar whose durable webs can span rivers, streams and lakes; a leech from Peru with gigantic teeth and a bottom-dwelling pancake fish in the Gulf of Mexico which resembles a walking bat.
Wheeler says the largest species on the list is an antelope that was first discovered being sold as bush meat in a West African market. “(That’s) kind of frightening because by all indications, it is a pretty rare species, otherwise it would have been described before now.”
Wheeler adds that he’s also alarmed that many of the newly described species are simultaneously threatened or endangered or occupy particular habitats around the world that are under stress.
About two million species have been named, described and classified since the early 18th century, when a system was devised to categorize all known varieties of plants and animals. But as many as 100 million more are waiting to be discovered, according to Wheeler, who believes knowing all the elements of the earth’s ecosystems is critical to our survival.
“Unless we know what species exist to begin with, we’re fairly powerless to detect and monitor changes in that biodiversity, even if they were increases, rather than decreases," he says. "We simply don’t know what is there to begin with.”
Wheeler says each species is a piece of Earth’s history so they must be documented.
“Evolution has been carrying on trial and error experiments for 3.8 billion years and has confronted many of the same problems that humanity is facing now," he says. "So if we simply learn species and learn how they have evolved in response to various challenges, we can just get incredible ideas for design and engineering and inspiration for other kinds of problem solving.”
Wheeler says on average scientists discover and describe between 15,000 and 20,000 new species a year, a process he wants to accelerate with new Internet-based-tools. He hopes the Top 10 New Species list helps to raise public awareness of the rich, diverse, planet we inhabit.
18 May, 2011
Stephen Hawking: 'heaven is a fairy story for people afraid of the dark'
Prof Stephen Hawking, the eminent Cambridge scientist and cosmologist, has dismissed heaven as a “fairy story for people afraid of the dark”.
The 69 year-old physicist, who was diagnosed with motor neurone disease at the age of 21, insisted that he is “not afraid of death”.
Shortly after being diagnosed with the incurable illness many expected the author of A Brief History of Time to die.
But he said it has instead led him to enjoy life more.
In an interview with The Guardian, ahead of key note speech on Tuesday, Prof Hawking discusses his thoughts on death.
He rejected the idea of life beyond death and emphasized, what he described as the need to fulfill our potential on Earth by making good use of our lives.
18 May, 2011
Is Croatian boy Ivan Stoiljkovic Magnetic boy?
Six-year-old Croatian boy Ivan Stoiljkovic can hang up to 25kg of metal from his chest, including cutlery, coins and even a non-stick frying pan.
According to his family, when Ivan who is from Koprivnica in Croatia, takes off his shirt, metallic objects such as spoons, mobile phones and even frying pans simply stick to his body.
Ivan, it is also claimed, is much stronger than other children his age and is able to easily carry bags of cement as heavy as 50lbs.
And that isn't the end to Ivan's unusual talents, his family say Ivan has also used his 'healing' hands to alleviate his grandfather's stomach pains and take away the pain of a neighbour who hurt his leg in a tractor accident.
16 May,2011
Japan Promises to Shut Down Fukushima Reactors By Year's End
Japan says it will shut down reactors at the Fukushima-1 power plant by the end of the year. The announcement comes despite revelations that a natural disaster in March damaged the nuclear facility worse than earlier believed.
Serious troubles continue to beleaguer the operators of the Japanese nuclear power plant in Fukushima prefecture that was crippled by an earthquake and tsunami. But Prime Minister Naoto Kan told parliament Monday the damaged reactors will be shut down sometime this year.
Kan says the timeline for bringing the four damaged reactors into a state of cold shutdown will not be changed. He insists that will happen in six to nine months.
That timetable is consistent with a plan Tokyo Electric Power Company announced one month ago. But since then it has become apparent that the reactors suffered worse damage than earlier thought. The number one reactor, it is now acknowledged, suffered a meltdown soon after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami devastated northeastern Japan.
Japanese experts say the fuel rods inside the reactor were fully exposed to the air and melted. However, the fuel apparently dropped to the bottom of the containment vessel, preventing it from going into a full meltdown stage.
Recent attempts to keep the reactor cool by filling the containment chamber with water have run into difficulty. The power company, known as TEPCO, says thousands of tons of highly radioactive contaminated water have leaked through holes created by melted fuel into the reactor basement
15 May,2011
Grameen Bank founder Muhammad Yunus quits top post
The founder of the pioneering Bangladeshi micro-lending Grameen Bank is standing down as its head after a long-running row with the government.
Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus said he was relinquishing his post to prevent undue disruption of the bank's work.
Earlier this month the Bangladeshi Supreme Court dismissed a final appeal by Mr Yunus to overturn his sacking.
Authorities said he was over the legal retirement age, but supporters say his dismissal was politically motivated.
Two lightning bolts hit the Emirates
13 May 2011
Two lightning bolts hit the Emirates Airbus A380 in a thunderstorm as it came as it prepared to land in London on the Easter weekend.
The Airbus which was flying from Dubai landed safely with all five hundred passengers on-board unharmed.
