 | Perspective Volume XIII 
Sunday Nov 3, 2002
Perspective is a weekly features of unorthodox news reports from around the globe. Some of the reports serve to prove the point that we Nigerians are not as unique as we may be thinking. To put any news report in Perspective please send a note to
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Headlines
40% of Canadians believe in Fortune Tellers Back To TopMontreal — Dust off the crystal ball, get the cards out and don't throw out the tea leaves — they might all prove useful.A new opinion poll suggests that 40 per cent of Canadians believe some people have "special abilities" that allow them to predict the future. However, the precognitive notion was dismissed by 54 per cent of respondents in the Léger Marketing study, while 6 per cent refused to answer or said they didn't know. The poll of 1,501 Canadians also found that 9 per cent believe their horoscope — the daily generalities that tell people things such as "Trust your own judgment," "You exude sex appeal and must be discriminating" or "Express beliefs in your passionate way." The survey was conducted Oct. 3-6 and has a margin of error of 2.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20 Source:http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/front/RTGAM/ 20021027/wpsii1027a/Front/homeBN/breakingnews
Survey: 12% of American Kids on drug Back To TopNEW YORK (CNN) -- A survey released Monday found a major gap between the number of teenagers who admit having used the psychoactive drug Ecstasy and the number of parents who think their kids have tried it.Only 1 percent of the more than 1,200 parents surveyed nationwide by the Partnership for a Drug-Free America said they believe their children may have tried the club drug Ecstasy. By contrast, the February study found that 12 percent of teens said they had tried the drug. The survey of parents also found that 92 percent said they had heard of Ecstasy, but 49 percent did not know what effect the drug has on users. And 41 percent felt it is difficult for children to obtain; only 26 percent of the kids interviewed agreed with that sentiment. The drug has been largely perceived as harmless by teens, a mistake once made with cocaine, said Stephen Pasierb, the partnership's president and CEO. "We're at the front end on Ecstasy," Pasierb told a news conference. "We've got the example of cocaine. And if parents take this information, if kids think about this drug differently, we can avert a problem five years, 10 years, 20 years down the road." The partnership also released a new series of public service announcements to inform people about the harmful effects of Ecstasy, known scientifically as 3,4 methylenedioxymethamphetamine, or MDMA. The Partnership for a Drug-Free America is a broad coalition of media companies dedicated to helping kids reject substance abuse. Source:http://www.cnn.com/2002/HEALTH/parenting/10/21/ecstasy.survey/index.html
British Tank Blown Away -- by the Wind Back To TopLONDON (Reuters) - The British Army appealed on Monday for anyone hiding one if its borrowed inflatable tanks -- which blew away in a weekend gale -- to kindly return it."If anyone has seen a flying tank please contact us. We would like it back," Army spokesman David Webb told Reuters from breezy Wales. "We borrowed six of the inflatable tanks from the Royal Air Force and would very much like to give six back to them. At the moment we only have five." The dummy tank, which takes three men to handle, was being used in an exercise involving troops from Britain, the United States, Canada, Belgium and Poland high in the Brecon Beacon mountains. The annual exercise is supposed to give troops a feel of what it is like to operate patrols deep behind enemy lines. Inflatable tanks and artillery pieces are staked out in various locations for the patrols to find. Not only are they less lethal than their real life counterparts, they do less damage to the countryside. However, the violent gales that swept Britain at the weekend killing several people and causing widespread damage also took the tank with them. "It just took off and hasn't been seen since," Webb said. "They are very realistic from a distance and hard to miss. But by now it might have been punctured so it would look more like a giant tarpaulin than a tank." Source:http://www.reuters.com/news_article.jhtml?type=humannews&StoryID=1643661
Penis Size Big Worry for UK Men, Poll Says Back To TopLONDON (Reuters) - Almost one in four British men is unhappy with the size of his penis, according to a survey of sexual behavior published Sunday.And such concerns do not diminish with age. While those aged 35 to 44 are most likely to worry, a sizeable 26 percent of over 65s admit to being less than happy with their organ. The ICM poll, which quizzed 1,027 adults for the Observer newspaper, also found that four million husbands and wives -- more than one in six -- had committed adultery. For those in long-term relationships, the figure was one in five. "The figures for extra-marital affairs may even be an underestimate," psychologist Philip Hodson told the Observer. "All the evidence is that women tend to conceal the extent of adultery, even from professional researchers." The survey found that men were more likely to have been unfaithful than women -- 22 percent compared with 13 percent -- and women are more likely to stray on just one occasion. Those seeking a trustworthy partner should look in the British capital, London, where just seven percent admitted to having cheated on their partner. Among Scottish partners, meanwhile, one in three in long-term relationships have had at least one affair, according to the poll. More than half of those surveyed have had a one night stand and 21 percent have had sex with someone without knowing their name. Britons have sex on average twice a week and just under half have used a sex aid. Sixty percent believed prostitution should be legalized and 41 percent said they would consider having sex for money if the amount offered was large enough. The poll found that one in 10 Britons have had same-sex contact and half believed in gay marriage. However, almost a quarter of respondents said gay sex should be made illegal. When asked about health, almost a third admitted they did not practice safe sex with a new partner and 42 percent of those who had contracted a sexually transmitted disease in the past also failed to practice safe sex. Source:http://www.reuters.com/news_article.jhtml?type=humannews&StoryID=1643604
Court Defines What Is a Chicken Back To TopVANCOUVER, British Columbia (Reuters) - A British Columbia Supreme Court judge has laid down the law: a chicken is a chicken no matter how it is raised.The trial court rejected an organic farmer's claim that he did not need a production license from the Canadian province's chicken marketing board because, he said, it had authority only to regulate conventional, non-organic chicken farms. Justice Lynn Smith ruled on Thursday there was nothing in the law that established the British Columbia Chicken Marketing Board that would "exclude organically raised chicken from the meaning of the word 'chicken'." The farmer had objected to paying fees to the board. The board argued that would be unfair to other farmers, including at least one who also raised his chickens organically but abided by the board's production quotas. Source:http://www.reuters.com/news_article.jhtml?type=humannews&StoryID=1643608
Hockey Literature Scores Big at University Back To TopWINNIPEG, Manitoba (Reuters) - It's standing-room only at professor Michael Kennedy's English literature classes.The teacher at the University of Saskatchewan in Western Canada has scored such a hit with his introductory course on exploring hockey in literature that classes have been extended into the summer off-season, with a third series starting in June. Kennedy, a part-time sportswriter as well as the PhD behind the course, told Reuters that "Reading Culture -- Canadian Hockey" has already seen its second series of classes sold out. They start in January with 39 students. Themes such as isolation, survival or the immigrant experience are more common threads in Canadian literature. But Kennedy argues that hockey -- a sport that Canadians love with a near-religious passion -- is often used as a metaphor in the country's writing. It's a device for protagonists to "find themselves," and a means for defining Canadian culture, he said. "It's a sport that involves individual performance in concert with teammates, all of which I think is what has made Canada what it is," Kennedy said. "Yes, there have been individuals, but we also have a very long tradition of being a society that has worked collectively to achieve certain things." Kennedy said the game -- both on the ice and on the page -- appeals to the collective Canadian alter-ego. "As people, we're known as being fairly quiet and laid-back, yet when we get on the ice, some of that aggressiveness and spirit that has helped to develop this country comes across," he said. His reading list includes a novel, a play (Rick Salutin's "Les Canadiens," which portrays the history of Quebec from the vantage point of a hockey rink), seven short stories and a dozen poems. "I don't want anyone to think it's a watered-down class by any means," Kennedy said. He also coaches students through nonfiction works, including picking apart hockey commentary to distinguish between fact and opinion. One assignment saw students learn about jargon, rampant in hockey commentary. Understanding what "the office" means is easier when students understand the game, Kennedy noted. "Wayne Gretzky made ('the office') famous, of course, staying behind the net to set up a play," he explained, citing the retired superstar's ability to create breakthrough plays from behind the goalie. Students learn to research and write essays, defending their positions on the game, Kennedy said. "We use hockey as the vehicle, but the skills that I want them to develop as first-year English students are the same I would demand and request any student to make." Source:http://www.reuters.com/news_article.jhtml?type=humannews&StoryID=1643605
Man drives himself to jail Back To TopGREEN BAY, Wisconsin (AP) -- Police officers probably wish all car chases were this easy.A 22-year-old Green Bay man led police on a chase that often moved as slowly as 20 mph and ended in the Brown County Jail's parking lot. The man parked his pickup in the jail's lot, smoked a cigarette, got out of the truck and lay face-down on the ground to be arrested, police said. He allegedly told the officers he knew he was drunk and was going to be sent to jail, so he just drove himself there. The man also was arrested for cocaine possession and an outstanding warrant for a hit-and-run accident. The chase began around 1 a.m. An officer spotted the truck ignoring signs and going the wrong way on a one-way street. The officer chased the pickup, which often traveled as slowly as 20 miles per hour. A 21-year-old female passenger tried to get out of the vehicle several times and eventually bailed out near an intersection. She was not injured. The man's next stop was the jail Source:http://www.cnn.com/2002/US/Midwest/10/28/offbeat.slow.chase.ap/index.html
Train line stopped by man-eating vultures Back To TopWorkers constructing the only train line which links Tibet with China have to stop their machines every time there is a traditional Tibetan funeral, in which the human body is thrown to the vultures to increase its karma, so as not to frighten off the “sacred eagles”.Lhasang Gumco, the organiser of the traditional Tibetan funeral in the village of Zhamu, declared that “The sacred eagles come to feed at the same time every day”. The official Chinese news agency, Xinhua, has confirmed that the rail construction workers stop their work at feeding time, so as to respect local traditions. In the traditional Tibetan funeral, the body is cut up into pieces, its bones smashed, and the human flesh is mixed with butter, flour, eggs and herbs, so make it a more tasty dish for the vultures. Source:http://funreports.com/2002/10/27/38743.html
Tool Can Identify Extra-Heavy Babies Before Birth Back To TopNEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A new study confirms that an equation that takes into account characteristics of a pregnant woman and her fetus can accurately predict how much an infant will weigh at birth.By identifying women who are likely to give birth to particularly heavy babies, the equation should help doctors and pregnant women take steps to reduce the risks--to both the baby and the mother--of delivering a big infant, according to Dr. Gerard G. Nahum at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina. The tool "has now reached the point of clinical usefulness," Nahum told Reuters Health in an interview. "This is not experimental anymore." It is widely known that low birth weight babies are more likely than normal-weight infants to develop a number of health problems, but extra large babies--more than 2 kilograms (about 8.8 pounds)--arrive with risks of their own. In the interview, Nahum explained that because of the "tight squeeze" involved, the delivery of a large baby increases the risk of several birth-related injuries to infants, including nerve damage and bone fractures. Big babies can cause problems for Mom, too, he said, increasing the risk of injury to the birth canal and the amount of bleeding after birth. If doctors had an accurate way to predict which women were most likely to have an extra heavy baby, these women would have the option of inducing labor or having a cesarean section, Nahum said. Currently, ultrasound testing can be used to predict how big a baby will be, but, according to Nahum, this method is not very accurate. In the late 1980s, Nahum and his colleagues developed an equation to predict birth weight. The equation includes the gestational age, the sex of the fetus, a pregnant woman's height, her weight at 26 weeks of pregnancy and her rate of weight gain during the third trimester. In a study of white women in California, most of whom were Hispanic, Nahum and his colleagues found that the equation predicted birth weight within an average of about 8%--either above or below. When the findings were published, Nahum said that many experts were skeptical about whether the equation would apply to other groups of women. To confirm the usefulness of the tool, Nahum said, "We waited 11 years and went 3,000 miles away." In the latest study, which is reported in the September issue of the Journal of Reproductive Medicine, the researchers applied the equation to 244 white women in North Carolina, only about 5% of whom were Hispanic. This time around, the equation predicted birth weight within an average of about 8%. The equation "works just as well in a new population," Nahum said. What the equation does not do, however, is predict birth weight in non-white women. However, Nahum said that a slightly modified version has been developed for Asian women and that the researchers "are in the process of generating" an equation for black women. Source:Journal of Reproductive Medicine 2002;47:752-760 http://www.reuters.com/news_article.jhtml?type=healthnews&StoryID=1645034
Adaptation to U.S. Culture Leads to Worse Nutrition Back To TopNEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The more time a Mexican-American child's family has lived in the US, the less likely he or she is to have a healthy diet, US researchers report.With every successive generation after immigration from Mexico and other Latin American countries to the US, Jamillah Hoy Rosas and her colleagues at New York University found, young members of the family were increasingly likely to adopt a less healthy diet that included more fat and less fruit. Based on these findings, Rosas told Reuters Health that healthcare workers who treat children with Latin American roots may want to encourage them to maintain their healthy eating habits--such as consuming fruits, beans and vegetables--even when surrounded by a new culture characterized by high-fat cuisine. "You want to look at their traditional diet, and you want to value that," Rosas advised. Rosas and her colleagues discovered the link between acculturation and diet quality by assessing the eating habits of 449 children who were originally born in Latin American countries (first-generation immigrants) and 1,568 children who were born in the US but whose parents hailed from Latin America (second-generation immigrants). The authors also surveyed the diets of 1,165 Mexican-American, US-born children whose parents were also born in this country, known as third-generation immigrants. Rosas and her colleagues Drs. L. Beth Dixon and Kristie J. Lancaster presented their findings at the 85th Annual Meeting of the American Dietetic Association (ADA) in Philadelphia. The ADA is a professional organization that represents the nation's licensed nutritionists and dietitians. The investigators found that first-generation children aged 2 to 5 and 12 to 16 had healthier diets than their third-generation peers. In fact, they found that the children who ate the most nutritious foods were first-generation immigrants between 2 and 5 years old, while those with the least healthy diets tended to be third-generation teenagers. Source:http://www.reuters.com/news_article.jhtml?type=healthnews&StoryID=1645103
Bank Robbers Strike at Malaysia's Twin Towers Back To TopKUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Six robbers, with just a revolver between them, snatched more than half a million dollars from Malaysia's biggest bank at the world-famous Petronas Twin Towers Tuesday, police said.The thieves made their getaway on motorbikes after ambushing guards carrying sacks with a total of 2.5 million ringgit ($657,000) from a Maybank branch in the buildings to an armored car parked on the apron outside. Police said the robbers also grabbed a shotgun belonging to the three guards in the daring lunchtime heist, when the ground floor of the building was full of office workers, shoppers and tourists. "They were armed with one revolver and were using motorcycles," Assistant Commissioner of Police Hadi Ho, who was heading investigations at the scene, told reporters. The 88-storey towers, the world's tallest, and an attached shopping mall attract thousands visitors daily. The towers were featured in the hit movie "Entrapment" -- a crime caper starring Sean Connery and Catherine Zeta-Jones. Source:http://www.reuters.com/news_article.jhtml?type=humannews&StoryID=1650161
Plane Lands After Toothbrush Scare Back To TopNEW DELHI (Reuters) - A British Airways flight from Singapore to London carrying 178 passengers made an emergency landing in the Indian capital on Tuesday after a package containing a toothbrush sparked a bomb scare, police said."A crew member saw a suspicious packet on the plane and thought it was a bomb," S.K. Kain, New Delhi's special police commissioner, told Reuters. "But it was found to be a gift packet containing some items like a toothbrush." Kain said the aircraft landed at New Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport at around 2.00 a.m. (2030 GMT) and was taken to a "cooling pit." Passengers on the flight, which originated in Sydney, were asked to leave the aircraft and security officials conducted a search. Kain said the aircraft was in Indian air space when the pilot diverted it to New Delhi. A British Airways official said the Boeing 747 flight, BA 16, was scheduled to resume its journey at 5.30 p.m. (1200 GMT). She said passengers had been moved to a hotel after they were given temporary visas to enter India. She said she had no other information. A British Airways spokeswoman in Sydney said the flight crew "act with great caution at all times" and the captain decided to divert to New Delhi after the suspicious package was found. "Since then, it has been established that the package was nothing else than a toiletries bag in a box," spokeswoman Tessa Sexton told Reuters. "Passengers applauded the captain when he arrived in Delhi for his textbook handling of the situation," she said. Source:http://www.reuters.com/news_article.jhtml?type=humannews&StoryID=1650098
Politics Can Spoil Your Meal Back To TopCARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) - The political conflict in Venezuela between President Hugo Chavez and his foes is becoming so polarized that even dining out can be risky -- depending on where you eat and which side you support.Ask National Guard commander Gen. Eugenio Gutierrez, a loyal military ally of the leftist president whose meal in a posh steakhouse in east Caracas was disrupted on Sunday night by a mob of about 200 noisy anti-Chavez demonstrators. The protesters, beating pots and pans and shouting "Out, Out," besieged the Lee Hamilton steakhouse for several hours in the city's wealthy Chacao district, a stronghold of opposition to the populist Venezuelan leader, witnesses said. While his escorts and police in riot gear kept the protesters at bay, the portly general finished his meal, slipped out the back door into a waiting car and rode off. Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel on Monday condemned as "disgraceful" the noisy protest against Gutierrez. It took place near a square where several dozen dissident military officers are waging a public campaign calling for a peaceful revolt against Chavez, a former paratrooper elected in 1998. Gutierrez and other military commanders across the country had appeared on television declaring their loyalty to Chavez. When Rangel criticized what he called the "violence" of the anti-government protesters in east Caracas, reporters reminded him that several opposition politicians, and some journalists, had been the victims of attacks by pro-Chavez mobs in central and western Caracas over the last year. The conflict over Chavez's rule in the world's No. 5 oil exporter has split not just the country but also the capital. While downtown Caracas and poor western neighborhoods and slums seem dominated by Chavez supporters, opponents of the president control the wealthy east, where several Chavez allies have had restaurant meals ruined by pot-beating protesters. Chavez says his self-proclaimed "revolution" is aimed at closing the gap between rich and poor, but his opponents, who include business leaders and much of Venezuela's middle and upper classes, say he is leading the nation to economic ruin. In a bid to heal the split and avert violence, Organization of American States Secretary General Cesar Gaviria began talks with Chavez and his foes Monday to try to foster a dialogue. Source:http://www.reuters.com/news_article.jhtml?type=humannews&StoryID=1650096
Job-Seeking Burglar Leaves Resume at Crime Scene Back To TopZURICH (Reuters) - Famous criminals have been known to leave calling cards, but one burglar in Switzerland went a step further, accidentally leaving his curriculum vitae behind after a break-in."His name and address were written on it and so we paid him a little visit," a spokesman for the canton of Basel police force said. "I assume he realized at some point that he had lost something and so I don't suppose he was very surprised." The 19-year-old Hungarian was arrested on suspicion of burglary in Oberwil, near the French border, and stealing some 10,000 Swiss francs ($6,720) worth of camera equipment. A 21-year-old Swiss accomplice is also being questioned. Source:http://www.reuters.com/news_article.jhtml?type=humannews&StoryID=1656206
Marriage Allowed at 14, but Maybe No Sex Back To TopMOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's parliament approved a draft law Wednesday lowering the minimum marriage age to 14, but such youthful unions could be chaste affairs if a bill to raise the age of consent to 16 is passed by the same lawmakers.The bill allows Russians aged between 14 and 16 to wed subject to approval by local authorities and under "special circumstances." It said local officials would determine what qualified as special circumstances, although a list later dropped from the bill had mentioned pregnancy or the birth of a child. Parental consent is not obligatory but will be taken into account, and the authorities' decision can be appealed in court. The current minimum age for marriage is 16. Deputies in the State Duma lower house of parliament passed the marriage bill unanimously in a third and final reading. Now it must be approved by the upper chamber Federation Council and then finally signed into law by President Vladimir Putin. It comes into force six months after it has been officially published. But in direct contrast to the marriage law, the Duma in June approved the first reading of a bill which aims to raise the age of sexual consent to 16 from 14. It also outlaws child pornography and introduces new penalties for luring children into the sex trade. The bill has yet to go to a second reading. Russians generally marry younger than their Western counterparts, often straight out of school or university, and the country's divorce rate is among the highest in the world -- some studies say as high as 65 percent. In some Muslim regions, such as Tatarstan, Chechnya and Ingushetia, polygamy is not strictly legal but does happen. Source:http://www.reuters.com/news_article.jhtml?type=humannews&StoryID=1656190
Zamfara Governor's Shoes Stolen Back To TopLAGOS (Reuters) - Police in northern Nigeria have launched a high-profile search for a shoe thief after a state governor lost his shoes while praying at a mosque.Zamfara state Governor Ahmed Sani, a champion of Islamic sharia law, took off his shoes as he entered the Government House mosque in the town of Gusau on Tuesday. When he came out after prayers, they were gone, witnesses said. "Securitymen at the main (Government House) gate were deployed, while vehicles going in and out were subjected to thorough checks," a witness told the News Agency of Nigeria. Police said on Wednesday they believed the shoes had been stolen but have not made any arrests so far. Zamfara was the first of about a dozen northern Nigerian states to adopt sharia law with harsh penalties such as death by stoning for adultery and amputation of the hands for theft. Source:http://www.reuters.com/news_article.jhtml?type=humannews&StoryID=1656101
Manhunt launched for a priest on the run Back To TopMILWAUKEE, Wisconsin (CNN) -- When Siegfried Widera got word last May that child molestation charges would soon be brought against him, authorities say the Catholic priest immediately booked a Caribbean cruise, returned to the United States a few weeks later and then vanished.Widera, 61, was moved from parish to parish in Wisconsin and California in the 1970s through the mid-1980s, remaining in the priesthood even after a 1973 child molestation conviction. He is now one of the most wanted sex crime fugitives, accused of 42 counts of child molestation in both states. He has never been defrocked from the priesthood. A massive manhunt is under way to find Widera, with more than seven different local, state and federal agencies taking part in Wisconsin, California, Arizona and Texas. Authorities say they believe Widera poses a danger to children, and they are seeking the public's help in tracking him down. "He's a serial child molester," said Doug Bachert, a deputy U.S. marshal who is coordinating the fugitive task force. "Wherever he is now, there are some unwitting families that have no idea what he is about." Bachert said authorities want to "catch him as fast as we can." "This has been an ongoing pattern with him for years, decades. This is not going to stop," Bachert said. The first felony charges were brought against Widera in Wisconsin in May. The nine counts accuse Widera of molesting three children -- two 10-year-olds and a 9-year-old -- from 1970 to 1973. If convicted, the priest could face a maximum of 10 years in prison for each count. This week, authorities in Orange County, California, issued an arrest warrant charging him with 33 felony counts of child molestation involving four boys from 1978 to 1985. The boys were all under 14. Widera has eluded authorities since the Wisconsin charges were brought. Bachert said Widera, who was believed to be in Arizona at the time, got wind of the charges in advance and fled. "The first thing he did was schedule a cruise for himself. He got out of the country, but he did come back. But the trail basically goes cold in Texas," he told CNN in a phone interview. Bachert said authorities believe Widera may be getting assistance from his two brothers and a sister. "We believe that the family has had a role in helping him avoid arrest," Bachert said. Source:http://www.cnn.com/2002/US/10/30/priest.fugitive/index.html
Pastor, wife guilty in forced prayer incident Back To TopGERING, Nebraska (AP) -- A minister and his wife were fined $100 each for restraining a boy and praying over him.Assembly of God pastor Dwight Sandoz of Minatare and his wife, Nadine, were found guilty of false imprisonment of a minor. Scotts Bluff County Judge Glenn Camerer said at Monday's bench trial that they had good intentions but broke the law. Their son, 18-year-old Joshua, also was charged with second-degree false imprisonment, but the charges were dropped because of lack of evidence. Sandoz and his wife were accused of restraining a 16-year-old boy during a youth group meeting at their church on February 20. Sandoz had said the action was taken after the boy became disruptive. A church parishioner, Alice Gudgel, was fined $100 in May after being convicted by a jury of false imprisonment of the youth. Minatare police said they were called to the church after getting a call from the boy's mother, observed the teenager being forcibly held down as part of a religious ritual and broke it up. Sandoz and Gudgel testified at her trial they only laid their hands on the boy and prayed, sometimes "speaking in tongues," in an effort to convert him. Camerer said Monday that Sandoz and his wife could have called the police or at least the boy's mother. "You have to be careful when you take the law into your own hands," Camerer said. Source:http://www.cnn.com/2002/LAW/10/30/church.forced.prayer.ap/index.html
Roam the street naked if you love me Back To TopA 38-year-old woman walked naked along the streets of the Portuguese city of Guarda; she did it to prove her love to her husband, whom she had married two months ago.According to the Portuguese newspaper Correio da Manha, Maria Manuela walked the streets with only her shoes on, and her husband, with all his clothes on, walked a few steps behind her. The unusual walk lasted until police stopped the couple. The woman told police that she promised her husband she would do anything for him. Maria Manuela said in an interview to the newspaper that all doubts concerning the love between her and her husband disappeared after her brave act. The husband, a 39-year-old man, said that he had asked his wife to walk naked along the streets as he “had a few doubts concerning his wife’s honesty.” However, he added that if his wife asks him to walk naked in the streets, he will immediately do so. Police released the couple, no one complained about Maria Manuela’s conduct. Source:http://funreports.com/2002/10/30/38910.html
Man Sues After Finding Girl Not His Daughter Back To TopMELBOURNE (Reuters) - An Australian man is suing his former partner to recover more than $10,000 he spent on a little girl, for things such as presents, zoo trips and meals, after discovering she was not his daughter, a newspaper said on Friday."I want it all back -- every cent for every toy, every blanket, every bit of food," the man, who can't be identified for legal reasons, said. "I wouldn't have spent all that money had I known five years ago she wasn't my kid," he was quoted saying by the Herald-Sun. The claims include take-away McDonald's food over five years, four visits to an amusement park, three Barbie dolls, a Pooh Bear play tent, a day of skating, and child support payments. The Herald-Sun said the man took the action after DNA tests found the girl was not his daughter. The girl's mother said she was willing to repay the child support payments but that she should not have to pay back anything else. "She had a good time with him that's the main thing," she was quoted as saying. "I don't think he should carry on too much about it. He should treat it like doing something nice with a friend." Source:http://www.reuters.com/news_article.jhtml?type=humannews&StoryID=1668312
Australian Told to Help Beat the Drought by Showering Together Back To TopMELBOURNE (Reuters) - Australians hit by one of the worst droughts in a century should shower together according to the minister responsible for water restrictions in the nation's second most populous state.Victoria state Environment Minister Sherryl Garbutt said even those not in a relationship could "find a sympathetic friend" and shower together to save thousands of liters of water over the southern hemisphere summer. "I would urge Victorians to share their shower," she said in the Herald-Sun newspaper. "It is a very popular idea around my office for people to be showering with a friend. It is a great way to add to the overall water savings." Water restrictions take effect in Australia's second-largest city, Melbourne, from November 1 for the first time in 20 years. They target mainly outdoor water use, such as swimming pools. This year's drought is being exacerbated by the El Nino weather pattern, which tends to cut rainfall in eastern Australia and parts of Southeast Asia. The weather bureau said Friday that parts of Sydney, Australia's largest city, had recorded their driest six months since records began 144 years ago. Water restrictions are also likely to be imposed on Sydney in November, officials say http://www.reuters.com/news_article.jhtml?type=humannews&StoryID=1668221
Soccer News:Madagascan 2002 champions AS Adema thrashed 2001 champions SOE 149-0 Back To TopANTANANARIVO (Reuters) - Newly-crowned Madagascan champions AS Adema thrashed their opponents 149-0 in a top national league soccer match after the opposition deliberately scored one own goal after another in a protest over a refereeing decision.Radio Madagascar reported Friday that Stade Olympique l'Emyrne scored the own goals against Adema as a protest after SOE's coach Ratsimandresy RaCzarazaka lost his temper with the referee. Spectators told the radio that following the row Thursday between RaCzarazaka and the referee at Adema's home ground in the port of Toamasina, SOE repeatedly kicked the ball toward their own goal after each kickoff and scored 149 own goals in the process. Adema's players reportedly stood around looking bemused, doing nothing to stop the opposition from self-destructing. Radio Madagascar claimed the result represented a new world record score in a first class match. SOE were last year's Malagasy champions who surprisingly won through to the second round of the African Champions League this season. Adema clinched the Malagasy title last weekend. Source:http://www.reuters.com/news_article.jhtml?type=humannews&StoryID=1668274
Buglar's Note: Your car radio sucks! It is not worth stealing Back To TopIt is astounding, but not only customers are dissatisfied with the quality of some products, but also thieves. For instance, a thief stole a car radio from an automobile in the street, but the man disliked the quality of the radio so much that he even left a note for the radio owner.It is quite logical that robbers, burglars and thieves are not extremely polite and ceremonious owing to the peculiarities of their profession, but some of them even go to the limits. Some thieves dare to criticize the quality of goods they steal. A thief, specializing in breaking car locks and stealing car radios and other car stuff, noticed an attractive car standing alone by a roadside. When the thief successfully got into the car, he saw that the car radio was of poor quality. When the man understood that he would have to leave getting nothing for the pains, he decided to write a note for the car owner to express the dissatisfaction with the radio quality. The owner of the car, a German guy from a small town not far from Frankfurt, told the police that when he got back into the car he noticed that the lock was broken and somebody probably penetrated into the vehicle. The driver was extremely surprised to see that the car radio, the goal of almost all car breakers, was safely lying on the seat. It was a mystery, why the burglar was so noble and left the radio in the car. But the mystery was solved immediately, when the car owner saw a note attached to the radio. And the note was saying: “Your radio sucks! It is not worth stealing!” Source:http://funreports.com/2002/11/01/39018.html
Two S Korean president's sons convicted of Bribery Back To TopA judge at Seoul's district court has sentenced one of President Kim Dae-jung's sons to a three-and-a-half-year prison term after he was found guilty of taking bribes from businessmen.Kim Hong-up, the 52-year-old second son of the president, was also ordered to pay more than $850,000 in fines and penalties. His younger brother, Kim Hong-gul, has also been convicted on corruption charges in a separate trial and will be sentenced later in November. Prosecutors had asked the court to jail President Kim's second son for six years for accepting bribes from businessmen in return for peddling influence and evading taxes. Kim Hong-up had admitted taking money from businessmen but insisted there were no strings attached. The two sons' cases have been highly embarrassing and politically damaging for Nobel Peace prize-winning President Kim who has just four months left in office. The president was elected promising to make the fight against corruption one of his top priorities. But his family and key aides have been ensnared in a series of corruption scandals. President Kim, who has not been implicated is any wrongdoing himself, has repeatedly apologised to the nation. He told journalists recently that the scandals involving his sons were the biggest misfortune of his life. Source:http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/2384707.stm
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