Sunday, March 11, 2007
"Till death do us marry" - Indian weds corpse
An Indian woman, despairing over her lover's accidental death when he fell down a well soon after their engagement, insisted on ceremonially marrying his corpse just minutes before the cremation.
"It was for just few minutes the girl was dressed as a bride and then as a widow," K.M. Kapadia, a police officer in the town of Anand in western Gujarat state, said on Saturday.
Wedding attendees sat the corpse up by a fire, the traditional centre of Hindu wedding ceremonies, and chanted some marriage prayers before cremating the body, police said.
The bride's parents opposed the marriage but later attended the wedding ceremony and gave their 22-year-old daughter Tulsi Devipujak clothes and utensils as gifts, according to the Hindu tradition.
"It was for just few minutes the girl was dressed as a bride and then as a widow," K.M. Kapadia, a police officer in the town of Anand in western Gujarat state, said on Saturday.
Wedding attendees sat the corpse up by a fire, the traditional centre of Hindu wedding ceremonies, and chanted some marriage prayers before cremating the body, police said.
The bride's parents opposed the marriage but later attended the wedding ceremony and gave their 22-year-old daughter Tulsi Devipujak clothes and utensils as gifts, according to the Hindu tradition.
Men survive gruesome suicide attempt
Two Atlanta men survived an attempt to kill themselves Friday by cutting off their arms with a circular saw, according to Atlanta Police Major Lane Hagin.
The men managed to sever three of their arms about six inches above the wrist, he said.
The two men — ages 40 and 41 — left a suicide note with the manager of their Atlanta apartment building saying they were committing suicide because their business had failed and they were recently diagnosed with HIV, Hagin said.
After reading the note, the manager called police who found the two men in their apartment with "a lot of blood," the major said.
Their names were not released. Police spokesman Steve Coleman said both were in stable condition at Grady Memorial Hospital late Friday and will undergo psychiatric evaluation.
The men managed to sever three of their arms about six inches above the wrist, he said.
The two men — ages 40 and 41 — left a suicide note with the manager of their Atlanta apartment building saying they were committing suicide because their business had failed and they were recently diagnosed with HIV, Hagin said.
After reading the note, the manager called police who found the two men in their apartment with "a lot of blood," the major said.
Their names were not released. Police spokesman Steve Coleman said both were in stable condition at Grady Memorial Hospital late Friday and will undergo psychiatric evaluation.
Titles fight for oddest book award
Seaweed, shopping trolleys and ecologically aware Nazis are going head to head at the Bookseller's Oddest Book Title of the Year award.
The prize, now in its 29th year, celebrates the wacky fringes of the publishing industry, with publishers, booksellers and librarians submitting entries from all over the globe.
There are six titles on the shortlist. An eloquent subtitle puts D Di Mascio's Delicious Ice Cream into the frame: D Di Mascio of Coventry - An Ice Cream Company of Repute, with an Interesting and Varied Fleet of Ice Cream Vans. Tattooed Mountain Women and Spoon Boxes of Daghestan charms with its intriguing combination and admirable specificity, while a surreal air underlies the appeal of both The Stray Shopping Carts of Eastern North America and A Guide to Field Identification and Proceedings of the Eighteenth International Seaweed Symmposium.
The remaining two entries, How Green Were the Nazis and Better Never To Have Been and The Harm of Coming Into Existence, are straightforwardly astonishing.
A public vote conducted on the Bookseller website will decide the winner, the results of which will be announced on Friday April 13.
The prize, now in its 29th year, celebrates the wacky fringes of the publishing industry, with publishers, booksellers and librarians submitting entries from all over the globe.
There are six titles on the shortlist. An eloquent subtitle puts D Di Mascio's Delicious Ice Cream into the frame: D Di Mascio of Coventry - An Ice Cream Company of Repute, with an Interesting and Varied Fleet of Ice Cream Vans. Tattooed Mountain Women and Spoon Boxes of Daghestan charms with its intriguing combination and admirable specificity, while a surreal air underlies the appeal of both The Stray Shopping Carts of Eastern North America and A Guide to Field Identification and Proceedings of the Eighteenth International Seaweed Symmposium.
The remaining two entries, How Green Were the Nazis and Better Never To Have Been and The Harm of Coming Into Existence, are straightforwardly astonishing.
A public vote conducted on the Bookseller website will decide the winner, the results of which will be announced on Friday April 13.
Woman hospitalized from house cat attack
A house cat attacked its owner, sending her to the hospital by ambulance with more than 20 bite wounds.
The cat, a black and white domestic male, went on the rampage Wednesday when a neighbour showed up at the door with a different cat, mistakenly thinking it belonged to the woman.
"She went to the door, and her cat went berserk," Jeff Nevins, assistant fire chief for Wood River Fire and Rescue, told the Idaho Mountain Express.
The woman in her 60s was taken to St. Luke's Wood River Medical Center with what Nevins described as "pretty serious puncture wounds."
The cat, a black and white domestic male, went on the rampage Wednesday when a neighbour showed up at the door with a different cat, mistakenly thinking it belonged to the woman.
"She went to the door, and her cat went berserk," Jeff Nevins, assistant fire chief for Wood River Fire and Rescue, told the Idaho Mountain Express.
The woman in her 60s was taken to St. Luke's Wood River Medical Center with what Nevins described as "pretty serious puncture wounds."
Bush boogies in Brazil
President George W Bush wasn't content on just watching when he attended a musical performance by Brazilian teens, deciding instead to join the percussion line and dance.
Bush, his wife Laura and secretary of state Condoleezza Rice visited a community center which helps teens from Sao Paulo's favelas. Shortly after they arrived, the president decided it was better to be a performer than a bystander.
Bush grabbed a ganza percussion instrument and began playing among a group of drummers.
You can see his performance here.
At least Condoleezza Rice has some rhythm.
Bush, his wife Laura and secretary of state Condoleezza Rice visited a community center which helps teens from Sao Paulo's favelas. Shortly after they arrived, the president decided it was better to be a performer than a bystander.
Bush grabbed a ganza percussion instrument and began playing among a group of drummers.
You can see his performance here.
At least Condoleezza Rice has some rhythm.
Parents celebrate birthday double
A deja-vu Chesterfield mum has given birth to a baby girl at the same minute, hour and date as her first-born five years before.
Pregnant Debs Frazer (37) was celebrating daughter Pippa’s fifth birthday when her contractions began and she went to Chesterfield Royal Hospital’s maternity unit.
But, after joking Pippa might get a brother or sister for her birthday, she couldn’t believe it when the latest family member was born at the same hour, minute and on the same date as her first daughter five years before.
Former teacher Mrs Frazer and husband Tony (47) told how their latest family member was born six days early, at 11.18pm, on February 27, weighing 8lb and one-and-half ounces.
Pregnant Debs Frazer (37) was celebrating daughter Pippa’s fifth birthday when her contractions began and she went to Chesterfield Royal Hospital’s maternity unit.
But, after joking Pippa might get a brother or sister for her birthday, she couldn’t believe it when the latest family member was born at the same hour, minute and on the same date as her first daughter five years before.
Former teacher Mrs Frazer and husband Tony (47) told how their latest family member was born six days early, at 11.18pm, on February 27, weighing 8lb and one-and-half ounces.
Diary of a pant thief
A pervert who stole hundreds of pairs of knickers from neighbours has been fined £250.
David Tabb, 58, took 43 pairs when he house sat for married Lisa Buley, 41.
He was infatuated with her and his diary told how he would lay on Lisa's bed with her pants on his head. She called police after being sent the diary.
Hundreds of undies were found at his home in Brixham, Devon. He admitted taking 30 pairs from another woman's line.
David Tabb, 58, took 43 pairs when he house sat for married Lisa Buley, 41.
He was infatuated with her and his diary told how he would lay on Lisa's bed with her pants on his head. She called police after being sent the diary.
Hundreds of undies were found at his home in Brixham, Devon. He admitted taking 30 pairs from another woman's line.
Daughter and boyfriend kept slain mother in car trunk for nearly a month
For nearly a month after she was stabbed to death, Linda Damm's body lay in the trunk of her car inside her garage while her 15-year-old daughter and friends used her debit card to "do teenage stuff", police say.
Three teens tried but failed to get rid of the body, investigators allege, once turning back because they got stuck in the mud of a nearby landfill and later retrieving the body from a grave they had just dug at the edge of a cemetery, fearing it was too shallow.
They were planning to drive north to Wyoming for a third attempt, investigators claim, when an anonymous tip led police to Damm's body on February 28 in her modest house in Lafayette, a small town about 20 miles northeast of Denver.
Now Damm's daughter, Tess Damm, and Tess' live-in boyfriend, Bryan Grove, 17, are being held without bail, Grove on charges of murder, conspiracy and evidence-tampering and Tess on charges of conspiracy, accessory and evidence-tampering. Both are being prosecuted as adults.
Three teens tried but failed to get rid of the body, investigators allege, once turning back because they got stuck in the mud of a nearby landfill and later retrieving the body from a grave they had just dug at the edge of a cemetery, fearing it was too shallow.
They were planning to drive north to Wyoming for a third attempt, investigators claim, when an anonymous tip led police to Damm's body on February 28 in her modest house in Lafayette, a small town about 20 miles northeast of Denver.
Now Damm's daughter, Tess Damm, and Tess' live-in boyfriend, Bryan Grove, 17, are being held without bail, Grove on charges of murder, conspiracy and evidence-tampering and Tess on charges of conspiracy, accessory and evidence-tampering. Both are being prosecuted as adults.
Mother hid dead teen for months
An anguished mother kept the body of her dead daughter locked in a bedroom cupboard for four months.
Pristine Salem could not bear to let Sophiene, 16, be taken from the family home.
Neighbours had noticed a smell coming through the walls but thought there was an infestation of rats.
Sophiene’s body was finally discovered on Wednesday by bailiffs who broke into the house.
The death is being treated as suspicious at this stage. A post mortem failed to establish the cause and toxicology tests are being carried out.
But Sophiene is known to have had heart problems and police believe it likely her death will turn out to be from natural causes.
Pristine Salem could not bear to let Sophiene, 16, be taken from the family home.
Neighbours had noticed a smell coming through the walls but thought there was an infestation of rats.
Sophiene’s body was finally discovered on Wednesday by bailiffs who broke into the house.
The death is being treated as suspicious at this stage. A post mortem failed to establish the cause and toxicology tests are being carried out.
But Sophiene is known to have had heart problems and police believe it likely her death will turn out to be from natural causes.
Government in not practicing what they preach shocker
The Prime Minister’s staff dropped an eco clanger — in a letter to a schoolboy about fighting global warning.
Downing Street workers urged ten-year-old Charlie Webster to use both sides of writing paper to save trees.
They put the advice on two pages — typed on one side only.
A Downing Street spokesman said: “We are working to step up our efforts and trying to make No10 as green as possible.
“But there is always room for improvement.”
Charlie, from Wolvey, Leics, said: “It seemed a pretty silly thing to do.”
Downing Street workers urged ten-year-old Charlie Webster to use both sides of writing paper to save trees.
They put the advice on two pages — typed on one side only.
A Downing Street spokesman said: “We are working to step up our efforts and trying to make No10 as green as possible.
“But there is always room for improvement.”
Charlie, from Wolvey, Leics, said: “It seemed a pretty silly thing to do.”
Don't like ID cards? Hand over your passport
Anybody who objects to their personal details going on the new "Big Brother" ID cards database will be banned from having a passport.
James Hall, the official in charge of the supposedly-voluntary scheme, said the Government would allow people to opt out - but in return they must "forgo the ability" to have a travel document.
With one in every eight people saying they will refuse to sign-up, up to five million adults could effectively be refused permission to leave the country.
Campaigners reacted to Mr Hall's remarks with fury, saying they were yet more evidence of the lurch towards "Big Brother" Britain.
James Hall, the official in charge of the supposedly-voluntary scheme, said the Government would allow people to opt out - but in return they must "forgo the ability" to have a travel document.
With one in every eight people saying they will refuse to sign-up, up to five million adults could effectively be refused permission to leave the country.
Campaigners reacted to Mr Hall's remarks with fury, saying they were yet more evidence of the lurch towards "Big Brother" Britain.
Weekends really are wetter than Mondays
If weekend sunshine seems a rare treat - that's because it is. Clouds and rain really do tend to arrive with the weekend, to be replaced by better weather on a Monday as most of us head back to work, a study has shown.
Analysing 14 years of weather data from 12 sites, researchers found that the weather is colder, wetter and less sunny at the weekend on average.
Monday and Tuesday are the sunniest days, statistically, while Saturday is the most humid and least sunny. Scientists found this to be the case in industrially developed regions, and have blamed it on "aerosols" - tiny particles from traffic and industry suspended in the air.
The particles, which reflect sunlight back into space and increase cloud production, build up during the main working days and affect the weekend weather.
The study was carried out by researchers at the Institute of Meteorology and Climate Research in Karlsruhe, Germany. They said the findings offered more evidence that human actions could be affecting the climate.
Analysing 14 years of weather data from 12 sites, researchers found that the weather is colder, wetter and less sunny at the weekend on average.
Monday and Tuesday are the sunniest days, statistically, while Saturday is the most humid and least sunny. Scientists found this to be the case in industrially developed regions, and have blamed it on "aerosols" - tiny particles from traffic and industry suspended in the air.
The particles, which reflect sunlight back into space and increase cloud production, build up during the main working days and affect the weekend weather.
The study was carried out by researchers at the Institute of Meteorology and Climate Research in Karlsruhe, Germany. They said the findings offered more evidence that human actions could be affecting the climate.
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