Italy quake kills at least 50, devastates historic towns
April 6, 2009
L’AQUILA, Italy – A powerful earthquake tore through central Italy on Monday devastating historic mountain towns and killing at least 50 people, authorities said.
Many remained unaccounted for as emergency services scrambled to find victims trapped under collapsed buildings in L’Aquila, which bore the brunt of the quake, and officials warned that the toll would rise.
Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi declared a state of emergency and cancelled a trip to Russia so he could go to L’Aquila, capital of Abruzzo region, about 100 kilometres Read more
Pope ‘distorting condom science’
March 27, 2009
One of the world’s most prestigious medical journals, the Lancet, has accused Pope Benedict XVI of distorting science in his remarks on condom use.
It said the Pope’s recent comments that condoms exacerbated the problem of HIV/Aids were wildly inaccurate and could have devastating consequences.
The Pope had said the “cruel epidemic” should be tackled through abstinence and fidelity rather than condom use.
Correspondents say the attack from the Lancet was Read more
That’s a strong handshake!
March 27, 2009
Beckham left stunned as Marine’s ‘hand’ comes off
By PTI
London: Star footballer David Beckham had the shock of his life when he shook hands with an injured Royal Marine and the hand came off.
He clutched the limb while Commando Ben McBean screamed, “My arm! My arm!”
But the star’s shock turned to relief as onlookers broke out in laughter and Beckham realised he was holding McBean’s prosthetic arm, the Sun reported.
“Becks was saying he couldn’t imagine life with only Read more
Losers! Fritzl, Pope, Zardari
March 27, 2009
Foreign Policy magazine announces list of world’s top 13 losers that includes the head of the Catholic Church and president of Pakistan
By Agencies
Washington: The prestigious Foreign Policy magazine has issued a list of the world’s top 13 losers and Josef Fritzl, the Pope and President Asif Ali Zardari of Pakistan figure in the top five on the list. The magazine said the 13 choices for this month ranked by just how little sympathy we should have for them.
The No 1 on the list is Austrian businessman Josef Fritzl, who locked his daughter in a cellar and fathered seven children with her.
The Roman Catholic Pope is the second biggest loser because, FP magazine says, “He’s out of touch with the real world” and Read more
Iraqi shoe-thrower jailed for 3yrs
March 12, 2009
AP, Baghdad
The Iraqi journalist, who threw shoes at then-president George W Bush, was convicted Thursday of assaulting a foreign leader and sentenced to three years in prison, lawyers said. He defiantly shouted, “long live Iraq,” when the sentence was read.
Muntadhar al-Zeidi’s bold act in December electrified many across the Middle East who consider him a hero for expressing his anger at a president who is widely disliked for his decision to invade Iraq in 2003.
The 30-year-old journalist pleaded not guilty to the assault charge Thursday, telling the three-judge panel that “what I did was a natural response to the occupation.”
Reporters and family members were then ordered out of the courtroom for the verdict, which was relayed to them by Read more
Dalai Lama to speak out 50 years after failed uprising
March 10, 2009
DHARAMSHALA, India : Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama was to address his community of exiles Tuesday, the 50th anniversary of a failed uprising against China that forced him to flee to India.
Prayers, vigils and protests were planned throughout the day in Dharamshala, the northern Indian hill town where the Tibetan government-in-exile has been based since the Buddhist leader fled his Himalayan homeland in 1959.
The gathering also comes exactly a year after another violent uprising against Beijing prompted a massive security clampdown in the remote region.
The Dalai Lama, who is 73, is scheduled to make a special address at 9:00am (0330 GMT), which will be broadcast live on the Read more
Australian woman alleges rape by Bangalore student
March 10, 2009
TNN
KARWAR/BANGALORE: The Karnataka police have arrested an electrical engineering student of a reputed college in Bangalore on the charges of raping a
28-year old Australian woman.
Sharan Gouda (20), a native of Raichur, who is studying for sixth semester, was holidaying with a group of boys and staying in a cottage at Gokarna town near Karwar adjacent to the resort where the Australian was staying with her husband.
Sub-inspector Kiran Kumar said the woman was staying in Cafe Paradise, a resort on the Om beach. A complaint filed with the police said in the wee hours of Saturday, she was sleeping inside the cottage with the doors open as it Read more
60-year-old woman gives birth to twins in Canada
February 7, 2009
AP
Alberta: A 60-year-old woman in western Canada has given birth to twins after going to India for fertility treatments, the new mother told a Canadian broadcaster on Thursday.
The Alberta Health Services issued a news release on Thursday saying the mother and two infants are in good condition. The health department also said the woman and her family declined to speak with media and asked that they respect her privacy. The agency declined a request for further details about the mother and recent births.
First-time mother Ranjit Hayer spoke to a CBC reporter from her hospital bed Thursday morning before the news release was issued. She said that she was determined to be a mother, and had tried for decades to conceive naturally and Read more
Michelle Obama bans daughters Malia and Sasha from mixing with celebrities
February 1, 2009
Michelle Obama, America’s First Lady, has banned celebrity socialising for her daughters Malia and Sasha as she attempts to forge a normal family life in the White House.
By Philip Sherwell in New York
Michelle Obama, America
The girls’ final encounter for now with A-list stars came on the night of Barack Obama’s inauguration. The Jonas Brothers boy band made a surprise appearance in the White House as Malia, 10, and Sasha, seven, explored their new home and Read more
Giant sculpture honours Iraqi shoe-thrower
January 31, 2009
BAGHDAD: A huge bronze shoe sculpture has been erected in tribute to the Iraqi journalist who grabbed instant fame when he threw his shoes at former US president George W Bush last year.
The shoe, in which a tree has been planted, stands three metres high (about 10 feet) and sits atop a white pedestal in Tikrit, the hometown of executed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.
A rose bush is growing next to the monument which was erected in the gardens of an Iraqi foundation that cares for Read more