 | PerspectiveVolume LVI | 
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Sunday August 31, 2003 |
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| Perspective is a weekly features of unorthodox news reports from around the globe. Some of the reports serve to prove the point that we as Nigerians are not as unique as we may think. To put any news report in Perspective please send a note to perpective@ekiti.com | ||
Headlines
Lion roars terrorize German town "The crate was right in the town center and people thought there were real lions inside," said a spokesman for police in the southwestern town of Darmstadt. "It was loud. A lot of people were really scared." Police came to investigate after two women complained about the treatment of the animals apparently locked in the crate. Gingerly approaching the crate, they ventured a look through a slit in its side, but instead of discovering caged beasts angrily stalking the container, they saw a promotional video for Land Rover vehicles intercut with shots of roaring lions. A spokeswoman for Land Rover said the campaign had been running for a few months and had so far proved a success. "We've generally only had positive feedback on it so far," she said. "We've never had this kind of response before."
LONDON, England (Reuters) -- A black woman due to have her lower leg amputated was offered a white false foot and told she would have to pay extra if she wanted one that matched her skin, she said Monday.
Ingrid Nicholls, 46, said she was told at the state-funded hospital in Oxford, central England, that she would have to pay about $4,725 for a prosthetic limb that matched her skin color. The cost of the white foot would have been covered by the National Health Service. "If you've got to have an amputation, you should be allowed to have an artificial limb in the color that is relevant to your skin," she told Reuters. "It's not cosmetic. Who would want to look like a freak, having one white leg and one black one -- nobody." A spokeswoman for the Thames Valley Strategic Health Authority said there had been an internal misunderstanding over funding and that the health service would pay for Nicholls to be fitted with the appropriate false limb. "This has caused a real problem for this patient and we need to sort it out," the spokeswoman said. "We are sorry for the upset and hurt that has been caused."
Police dog gets his man four times In the latest incident, Repp was arrested Tuesday, accused of leading police on a high-speed chase in a 1980 Corvette, crashing into a tree and fleeing on foot until he was stopped by Reno, a Longview police dog. The chase started when Officer Jason Ferriss spotted the car on Pacific Way traveling at 78 mph, according to his radar gun. The posted speed limit is 35 mph. In his report, Ferriss said he turned on his lights, saw the car speed up, then turned on his siren and began pursuit. He said his speedometer reached 120 mph but the Corvette was pulling away at an estimated 140 mph when it missed a corner, slammed into a tree branch and ripped out some shrubbery before coming to rest. The driver fled on foot as Officer Steve Dennis and Reno responded to assist. Reno tracked Repp approximately 40 yards to a slough and found him hiding under some bushes, police said. Repp was taken to St. John Medical Center for treatment of dog bite wounds and injuries sustained in the accident. Officers then took him to the Cowlitz County Jail, where he was booked for investigation of felony eluding, taking a motor vehicle without permission, reckless driving, obstructing an officer, resisting arrest and third-degree driving with a suspended license. Bail was set at $35,000. Dennis said this is the fourth time Reno has captured Repp after he ran from police. After the last incident, in October 2001, Repp received a five-day jail sentence and a $400 fine for reckless driving and resisting arrest.
Doctors Remove Baby's Parasitic Third Leg For weeks Chinese newspapers have tracked the ordeal of 14-month-old Qing Qing, discovered abandoned on the streets of the capital in March and later adopted by a woman farmer. Three anesthetists, four surgeons and four nurses toiled for six hours at Dongzhimen Hospital to remove the curved, tail-like parasite, said one of the surgeons, Yu Xing. "The operation was very smooth and satisfactory," he told Reuters. "She was in dangerous condition, and even faced death, had we not operated in time. "After the operation, she can now lie down. We hope she can sit in the near future. If her nervous system recovers well, and some other small operations succeed, she can even walk some day." Yu said the hospital had performed the surgery free of charge.
Police responds to Parrot's distress cries Tucson police and firefighters broke down a door after being called to a house and hearing a woman's screams coming from inside. But police soon realized that the sounds weren't coming from a woman in woe. "The parrot's screams sounded identical to those of a distressed adult female," Officer Andrew Davies said in his report. The ruckus was the work of Oscar, a 2-year-old yellow-naped Amazon parrot. Police found him intermittently making laughing and screaming sounds as he sat inside his large white cage. The mix-up began on Saturday when a 911-hang up call was made from the house. Police arrived to find the house locked with bars on the windows. Hearing what they thought was a woman's voice, police called the fire department. Crews used a pry bar and a battering ram to get through a door. Police asked a neighbor to call Dana Pannell, the homeowner. The neighbor said he was home at the time but didn't make the emergency call. Although the dialer remains a mystery, the parrot is seemingly off the hook. Pannell's wife, Judy, said Oscar doesn't know how to use a phone. But Oscar -- named after the Sesame Street character because of his sometimes foul moods -- does have his talents, she said. "He sings in Spanish," she said.
Man loses Bladder, Penis in Operation Terms of the out-of-court settlement were not disclosed but Hurshell Ralls, 67, had been seeking over $5 million in a civil suit he filed in Wichita Falls, Texas, against the two doctors who removed his penis. They did not admit to any wrongdoing in the settlement. The hospital where the surgery was performed was also named in the suit. Ralls' attorney Steve Briley said that his client was having surgery in 1999 to remove a cancerous bladder, which would likely include the removal of his prostate gland. He contends that doctors removed Ralls' penis after they mistakenly thought the cancer had spread to the male sex organ. He charged the doctors -- John S. Dryden and Farid Khoury -- with not seeking consent for the penis amputation and negligence. He also said a pathology test indicated that Ralls' penile tissue was not cancerous. Joel Steed, the attorney who represented the doctors, said Dryden had informed Ralls that his penis might have to be removed to treat the cancer he had in his bladder. He also questioned the results of the pathology tests on the amputated penis. Steed said during surgery the two doctors saw tissue indicating the cancer spread from the bladder to the urethra, and they felt removing the penis would provide the best chance for Ralls' survival. Hearings in the case before a jury of eight men and four women had started earlier this week and were underway when the out-of-court settlement was reached. Ralls and his wife have not been able to recover from the anger and shock they felt after the surgery, his attorney said. "Mr. Ralls was not informed that he was going to wake up and not have a penis," Briley said.
Man Burns Down Apartments in Wasp Hunt A police spokesman said Tuesday the man used a whole can of insect spray on a wasp nest underneath an overhanging roof outside his apartment. When he tried to fend off the angry wasps with his lighter, the fumes ignited and set the flats ablaze. No one in the apartment block was hurt, but the blaze caused more than $350,000 in damage.
Principal Breaks'Ugly' School Windows Dianne Gilbert got her wish, but she will end up paying $830.12 of her own money for the repairs at Caldwell Elementary School. "They needed to be replaced," Gilbert said. "There's not another school in Nashville where the windows are cracked, filled with silicone, taped over and covered with pockmarked green-and-yellow Plexiglas. "I had had enough with the state of repairs." Gilbert, who has been principal at Caldwell for eight years, immediately e-mailed the maintenance department to tell them what she had done, voice her frustration and offer to pay for the damage. The school had been undergoing a summer-long renovation when Gilbert broke out the windows, which weren't expected to be replaced as part of the project. Nashville Schools Director Pedro Garcia said no legal action was taken against Gilbert and no record of the incident was listed in her personnel file. The only punishment Gilbert received was paying for the damages and a verbal reprimand. "I think what happened was we were replacing windows because it was part of finishing that building, and those windows were dirty and ugly," Garcia said. "For whatever reason, she did not think they were going to be replaced, so she took it upon herself to break them." If a student had broken the windows, the child could have faced criminal vandalism charges as well as suspension or expulsion.
Judge offered light sentences in exchange for sex Former Espanola Municipal Judge Charles Maestas had a courtroom full of supporters Saturday and more than 150 letters written on his behalf, but Judge Michael Vigil said he deserved prison. "Your situation's real disturbing," Vigil told Maestas. "You will never know the damage you have done to the judiciary." Maestas, who could have received more than 50 years in prison, was convicted of rape and bribery. Six jurors later claimed they had not meant to convict Maestas of rape, but Vigil denied the former judge's request for a mistrial. Prosecutor Julie Ann Meade characterized Maestas as a "serial rapist" who victimized vulnerable women who appeared in his court. "He used the very fact that he was a judge as his weapon to commit this crime," she said. Defense lawyer Stephen Aarons said he plans to appeal. Maestas, a former police officer, probation officer and judge, probably will serve most of his sentence in solitary confinement. Vigil sentenced Maestas to nine years in prison, with six years suspended. He could be eligible for parole in 18 months.
Man Dies After Attack on Testicles Saut Chin, 46, was fed up with physical abuse from her husband when she grabbed his testicles until he passed out in the incident Tuesday, the Rasmei Kampuchea newspaper reported. Fearing that her husband, Ouch Yan, 52, might regain consciousness and start beating her again, Saut Chin tied his neck with a scarf to a bed, the newspaper said. The exact cause of Ouch Yan's death was not known. The incident occurred in a village near Sihanoukville, a port city 115 miles southwest of Phnom Penh, news reports said. Saut Chin and her husband Ouch Yan, 52, were arguing when the husband then kicked his wife in the crotch, the reports said. "Hurt badly and fed up, she grabbed her husband's testicles and squeezed them with full strength until he fell unconscious on the spot," Rasmei Kampuchea said, citing police reports of the woman's confession. After discovering that her husband was dead, Saut Chin reported herself to local authorities and asked to be jailed. She said she had not intended to kill her husband "but only to teach him a lesson," according to the newspaper.
MBABANE (Reuters) - Swaziland's King Mswati III has chosen a 17-year-old girl to become his 11th wife, alarming health workers who say he is setting a bad example for a kingdom with one of the highest HIV infection rates in the world.
The Royal Palace announced that Mswati, sub-Saharan Africa's last absolute monarch, planned to marry Noliqhwa Ntentensa at a ceremony next year when she will be 18. He will be 36. Ntentensa was chosen by Mswati last year after he reviewed videotapes of semi-naked maidens taking part in the traditional Reed Dance ceremony, an annual homage to the queen mother. Palace sources said Monday the engagement had been announced in part to clear the way for Mswati to choose even more fiancees at this year's Reed Dance next month. "It is against custom for the king to go looking for new wives when a girl chosen at last year's Reed Dance is still unaccounted for," a palace source said. Mswati's Reed Dance selections last year caused a stir when the mother of one of the three girls chosen to be Mswati's new brides went to court charging that her 18-year-old daughter had been kidnapped by the royal household. The case sparked a showdown between the palace and Swaziland's judiciary, which Mswati's government eventually won by refusing to accept court jurisdiction over the king in a move critics say exposes Mswati's increasingly authoritarian streak. The mother later dropped the kidnapping charges, saying her daughter was resigned to her fate. Women's rights activists and AIDS campaigners have criticized Mswati's latest choice of a new bride, which comes despite his own order two years ago that teenage girls should remain virgins to help stem the AIDS crisis in Swaziland, where the adult HIV infection rate is approaching 40 percent.
Mobster gets extra prison time for smuggled sperm Kevin Granato, a convicted hit man for the Colombo crime family, and his wife, Regina, pleaded guilty in May to charges they used a cryogenic sperm kit to sneak his sperm from Allenwood Federal Prison to a New York fertility clinic. The couple's daughter is now 3. Regina Granato, 40, said the smuggled sperm plot was "made out of pure love." "We love our daughter and it is her that gives us the only joy and pleasure we have," she wrote in a plea for leniency. Granato, 43, whose current prison sentence for racketeering and murder runs until 2012, could have been sentenced to another 35 years. The gangster came under suspicion after he was seen in the visitation room showing off a toddler he called his child, even though he had been in jail since 1988 and did not have conjugal visits. Mob associate Antonio Parlavecchio and his wife, Maria, were indicted on similar charges in December 2000. He had an extra six months added to his sentence. But in that case, a federal appeals court ordered the vials of sperm destroyed, saying Maria Parlavecchio wasn't entitled to the "fruits of her criminal activity." There have been as many as five other cases of sperm smuggling at Allenwood, prosecutors said. Guards were also bribed to ignore smuggling of bodybuilding pills, toiletries, Genoa salami and Romano cheese, authorities said. More than a dozen people were charged in the schemes, including four guards.
Watch Lost in WWII Is Returned to Owner The last time he remembers wearing the old Gallet chronometer was on May 17, 1943, the day he used it while navigating a B-26 Marauder before the bomber was forced to ditch in a canal in the Netherlands. He knows he no longer had the elaborate watch when he arrived at a German prisoner of war camp a few days later. The watch arrived at his home this past week in a package sent from England by truck driver Peter Cooper, 56, who found it in the possession of an elderly neighbor in the village of Kirton, about 75 miles northeast of London. "It's just eerie, isn't it? That was 60 years ago. I've sort of got gooseflesh," Hoel, 82, told the Chicago Tribune. Cooper said the neighbor, "Tiny" Baxter, 89, told him his mother gave it to him. "Whether she found it or it was given to her, I do not know," Baxter, a retired carpenter, said in a telephone interview. The watch, an enlistment present from the bank where Hoel worked before the war, bore his name and Evanston address on its back. Cooper was able to track him down at his new address using the Internet and friends who had contacts in the United States. He got his neighbor to give the watch to him so he could forward it to Hoel. Hoel said the B-26 was one of a flight of 10 that encountered heavy anti-aircraft fire while en route to bomb a power plant near Amsterdam. He and three others of the plane's six crewmen survived, as did 16 other fliers from the 60-man mission. He spent the next two years in German prisoner of war camps
Dental care reduces premature births A study published in the Journal of Periodontology showed treating severe gum disease with scaling and root care cut premature births by 84%. It was known that having a dental disease increased the risk of giving birth early. The said all women who are pregnant, or thinking of having a baby, should have a dental check-up. Around 40,000 babies are born prematurely, before 37 weeks gestation, in the UK each year, putting them at increased risk of conditions such as cerebral palsy, lung and gastrointestinal problems, vision and hearing loss and even death. Doctors have already established that severe gum infections cause an increase in the production of prostaglandin and tumour necrosis factor, chemicals which induce labour, to be produced.
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