Thursday 31 March 2016

Vietnamese entrepreneur makes fortune by staffing airline with bikini clad attendants


A Vietnamese entrepreneur who has made a fortune by staffing an airline with women in sexy bikini attire is on her way to becoming Vietnam’s first female billionaire. VietJet Air CEO Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao’s idea of dressing up the airline’s flight attendants with sexy outfits is about to pay off big time.  According to the Bloomberg, the 45-year-old’s fortune is expected to balloon to $1.37 billion when the privately-owned airline goes public within the next three months. Thanks to Thao’s idea, the company has grabbed more than 30% of Vietnam’s airline market share in just a few years. The brilliance of the company’s campaign, which boasts the motto “Enjoy Flying!”, is further highlighted by its very effective marketing tool: steamy calendars featuring the sexy attendants.
 More pictures after the cut

Bizarre: Chinese woman who accidentally gets neck trapped in sidewalk fence suffocates to death

                                                                                  (C)weibo

A pregnant woman in northern China suffocated to death on a busy sidewalk after her head somehow slipped into a street fence and got stuck. The freak accident, which happened in the northern Shaanxi province earlier this week, has shocked many in the country who are used to seeing the common white-painted metal guard rails along city streets. An eyewitness told The Paper that the woman had knelt by the road to rest, but accidentally got stuck in the railing. Passers-by tried to pry the rails apart to free her, but failed to, and she died before the ambulance arrived. She was reportedly eight months pregnant with twins, and has an 11-year-old daughter.
Chinese netizens are also debating the safety of the railings, because this is the third time that a person has died after getting caught in one of them.
Another picture after the cut

11-year-old boy cuts off his finger after dad scolded him for being addicted to his phone


A rebellious 11-year-old boy from China decided to chop off his own finger after his parents scolded him for his smartphone addiction. Identified only as Xiaopeng, the little boy took a kitchen knife and immediately cut off his left index finger after a heated argument with his parents over his excessive mobile phone use, reported Yahoo News. They felt that Xiaopeng was setting a bad example for his 6-year-old brother.

India flyover collapses leaving at least 10 dead and 150 trapped


At least 10 people have been killed and 150 feared trapped after a partially built flyover collapsed in the Indian city of Kolkata near Ganesh Talkies, according to police.The location of the bridge is in a densely populated locality in BaraBazar. Rescue operations are currently underway and eye-witnesses at the site feared at least a 150 people could be trapped under debris with rescuers using their bare hands to try to save those caught under the rubble. Eyewitness said they heard a loud explosion and then a crashing sound. A cloud of smoke emerged from the collapse.
Visuals emerging from the location show huge amounts of tangled metal and concrete. There was also a fire reported under the bridge. The fire has been linked to fuel tanks that were under the bridge. Fire officials speaking to NDTV say that the fire sparked from the spilled fuel. Construction of the flyover was supposed to be completed three years ago, but it has been delayed several times.

Why I took a selfie with the plane hijacker: British man

Ben Innes (right) and the hijacker, Seif al-Din Mohamed Mostafa

A British man who caused online debate Wednesday after having his picture taken with the hijacker of an Egyptian plane said that he did it to take a “closer look” at his supposed suicide belt. Ben Innes, 26, posed for a photo grinning next to the hijacker during the five-hour stand-off on Tuesday aboard the EgyptAir A320 jet and sent the picture to his friends.
Innes, from Leeds in northern England, told the Sun newspaper: “I'm not sure why I did it - I just threw caution to the wind while trying to stay cheerful in the face of adversity.
“I figured if his bomb was real I'd have nothing to lose anyway, so took a chance to get closer and look at it,” added the health and safety auditor based in Aberdeen, Scotland.
“So I stood by him and smiled for the camera while a stewardess did the snap. It has to be the best selfie ever,” he said.

Valencia CF sacks coach Gary Neville


Gary Neville has been sacked by Valencia after less than four months in charge, with former coach Pako Ayestaran taking charge until the end of the season. Neville, 41, was appointed head coach of the La Liga club on Dec. 2 but failed to turn their season around. In 16 games in charge of Valencia, Neville won just three games, drew five and lost eight. Los Che currently sit 14th in the table, six points above the relegation zone. A statement released on the club's official website read:
 "Valencia Football Club have today parted company with Gary Neville as head coach.
"After careful consideration, the club have decided to make a change with the best interests of the Valencia CF moving forward this season. We thank Gary for his work at Valencia and wish him the best in the future.
"The club have, today, appointed Pako Ayestaran as head coach until the end of the season.

Wednesday 30 March 2016

Pelé is suing Samsung for $30m over advert


Edson Arantes do Nascimento, known as Pelé, is a retired Brazilian professional footballer who played as a forward. He is widely regarded as the greatest player of all time.
Samsung Electronics is facing a lawsuit from Pelé seeking $30 million in compensation, after the football legend claimed the electronics group used a lookalike to promote its televisions last year. The former Brazil footballer filed the lawsuit against Samsung in Chicago earlier this month, claiming that the South Korean group used his identity in a full-page advert for ultra-high-definition TVs that appeared in the New York Times last October.

First-graders in Alaska school suspended for plotting to kill a classmate with poison.


Three first-graders at Winterberry Charter School in Anchorage have been suspended for plotting to kill a classmate with poison. Luckily for their intended victim, two things went wrong: most importantly, another kid who learned of their scheme informed grownups before the plot could be carried out, local NBC affiliate KTUU reports. And even if they had made their attempt, they likely would have failed: they were planning to use silica gel, which is not actually considered toxic (though they thought it was). An email to parents of first graders at Winterberry Charter School explained what happened and urged parents to encourage their kids to be like the good samaritan in this case. A spokesperson for the Anchorage Police Department said, “The important lesson here is to really teach your kids if they hear something like this, something where someone intends to do harm to someone else, they should tell someone that they trust right away.”

With over 850 child marriages broken, meet Chief Inkosi Kachindamoto of Malawi


Some people may not have the opportunity of gracing the front of the papers often, but whenever the opportunity arises, it’s great to showcase these unsung heroes for their acts and deeds. Chief Theresa Inkosi Kachindamoto has reportedly broken up 850 child marriages in three years, and banned the sexual initiations of young girls in Malawi. The mild-mannered woman who zips around a farmhouse packed with knick-knacks and insists her guests eat a meal before any introductions, presents a character at odds with her fearsome reputation of being Malawi's top marriage terminator.
Thirteen years ago, Theresa Kachindamoto was told by chiefs to pack her bags and go home to Dedza district, as she had been chosen as the next senior chief. She was told that she had been chosen because she was "good with people", and that she was now the chief, "whether I liked it or not", she recalls. Kachindamoto duly donned the traditional beads, red robes and a leopardskin headband, and started touring the rows of mud-walled, grass-thatched homes to meet her people. She was shocked when she saw girls as young as 12 with babies and teenaged husbands, and was soon ordering the people to give up their ways

Experts advise against using phones in the toilet


Sitting on the toilet is dead time. And while the accompanying activity of choice used to be reading a book or a newspaper, most people now opt for their smartphone . Why? Because our phones come everywhere with us. So if you've got a few minutes of boredom, then it's only natural to resort to checking your WhatsApp messages, football scores or having a go of Flappy Bird. Aside from the obvious danger of accidentally dropping a £600 smartphone into a bowl of water, it's also doing damage to our health.
Obviously bathrooms are not the cleanest places in the world - especially public ones, you don't know when they were last cleaned - but you might assume that if the phone is only touching your hands, you're safe.Professors of microbiology, Charles Gerba Ph.D. and Kelly Reynolds, Ph.D., a professor of environmental health, told BuzzFeed their thoughts on toilet mobile browsing. They pointed out that bathrooms are covered in germs, pathogens and bacteria from the intestinal tract - mostly from faecal matter.

Child immigrant found in suitcase starts new life in Spain


An immigrant child who melted hearts across the world after he was spotted hiding in a suitcase on an X-ray scanner has started his new life in Spain. Police say little Adou Ouattara "could have easily suffocated" when he risked his life by hiding inside a small pink suitcase in a brave bid to reach Spain. But as he passed through border control in Ceuta last May, an X-ray machine revealed him curled up inside the tiny trolley dolly. He could barely stand up or speak, only managing to utter his name when border patrol officials discovered him.
He had been left behind in Africa with his older brother in Africa after the rest of the family managed to get to the Canary Islands from the Ivory Coast in a boat full of migrants in 2009 and was trying to follow them by land. Police said at the time that he could easily have suffocated in his quest for a new life and described it as probably the most shocking incident of illegal people trafficking they had ever seen.

Tuesday 29 March 2016

Nigeria’s Super Eagle fails to qualify for AFCON 2017 after 1-0 defeat to Egypt

Super Eagles during their first leg 1-1 draw with Egypt

Nigeria's Super Eagles have failed to qualify for the 2017 Afcon after suffering a one-nil defeat to Egypt in Alexandria on Tuesday. It is the first time Nigeria will miss the competition back to back in 18 years. The Super Eagles missed the Afcon editions of 1996 and 1998 owing to suspension from Caf after the country's government forced its FA to withdraw from the tournament in 1996 which they were to defend as champions in South Africa.
Nigeria will now miss out on a second successive Afcon, with the latest tournament billed for Gabon in 2017, after missing out on the last edition two years ago.

Myanmar sworn in new civilian president after over 50 years of military rule


Htin Kyaw has been sworn in as Myanmar's new president after more than five decades of military rule in the country. In a ceremony in the parliament on Wednesday, democracy icon and leader of the ruling party Aung San Suu Kyi was sworn in as minister of foreign affairs, education and energy, and will also hold the president's office portfolio. She was unable to become president because of a constitutional block even though she led her National League for Democracy party (NLD) to a landslide win in general elections last November.

Massive blaze hits UAE residential skyscrapers


A large fire has hit at least two residential towers in the United Arab Emirates, in the third such incident in a little more than a year. The fire struck one tower in Ajman emirate, north of Dubai, before spreading to an adjacent block. Residents were evacuated, but several have reportedly been treated for breathing problems and minor injuries. Information from the Ajman civil defence said the fire had been extinguished by Tuesday morning and that teams were waiting for the building to cool down.

Brussels airport set to reopen after terror attack


The airport will reopen on Wednesday at about 20 percent capacity as ongoing tests are carried out to determine if flights can resume. About 800 airport employees were asked to return to work on Monday to test temporary arrangements such as a transitional check-in area. Brussels Airport CEO Arnaud Feist said it could take months for the airport to return to operating at full capacity after the recent Islamic State bombings.
"The provisional structure will not be able to absorb the usual number we had before the attacks," Feist said Tuesday. "Although the structure of the building is intact, it will all have to be rebuilt, from the air conditioning to the check-in desks. And that will take months."
The airport needs government approval to reopen. Upon reopening, it will aim to process up to 1,000 passengers per hour instead of the usual average of 5,000.

Woman caught smuggling lemons in her pants on flight



Now the question is......why?
A woman was sent back to Hong Kong from an airport in New Zealand after attempting to smuggle lemons into the country by hiding them in her pants. Sniffer dogs from Auckland Airport's biosecurity department were able to detect the smell as the woman arrived in New Zealand on a flight from Hong Kong. Border officials found six lemons in the woman's pants and the Ministry for Primary Industries said that she hid them there intentionally.
"Her excuse was that the lemons were good for her liver and other illnesses. That may be true, but it doesn't justify endangering New Zealand's horticulture industry by illegally bringing in fruit that could harbor pests or diseases," Craig Hughes of the MPI told the New Zealand Herald.

Pics: ‘Solid black’ tattooing, the new trend in town


Whilst many tattoos have intricate designs and bright colours, the new trend in inking sees people tattooing solid black over huge areas of their bodies. Arms and legs are the most common placement for the blackout tattoo, but some even get their chests, backs and stomachs tattooed too.
More pictures after the cut

South Korea sends ‘internet-addicted’ children to digital detox boot camps


South Korea has the highest rate of internet addiction in the world and it is increasingly the country's children who are spending every waking moment immersed in fantasy role play or gaming. The government sees it as a national health crisis and is now taking drastic measures to help the country's 2 million addicts. They have set up a network of boot camps across the nation to offer the kids of Korea a digital detox.
One of the basic ideas at the camp is to rebuild connections back to the real world and weaken ties to the virtual one to reclaim a childhood lost to the computer. The job of the counsellors there is to get the kids to think about a future beyond the smartphone or iPad; to show them other possibilities and ultimately to try and bring back dreams and hopes that have

Study shows kids are spending less time outside compared to prisoners


ree in four children spend less time outdoors than prison inmates, a report reveals. It is recommended that prisoners spend an hour outside each day. A third of children around play in the open air for less than half that every day. The report reveals youngsters are missing out on adventurous play. It found 74 per cent of children spend less than 60 minutes a day playing outdoors, while 18 per cent never play outside at all. Parents have noticed the declining trend, with three in five blaming a lack of opportunities for children compared with previous generations. One in ten mothers and fathers have never been on an outdoor adventure with their child. The study found many youngsters prefer playing computer games over anything else.

EgyptAir flight 181 carrying 81 passengers ‘hijacked’ and forced to land in Cyprus


An Egyptian passenger plane has landed in Cyprus after reportedly being hijacked on its journey to Cairo. EgyptAir Flight 181 was was on a scheduled journey from Alexandria when it veered off course on Tuesday morning. Androulla Vassiliou, the Cypriot former European Commissioner for Education, wrote on Twitter that the plane landed shortly before 7am.
“Hijacked aircraft of Egypt Air with 81 passengers landed at Larnaca airport,” she wrote. “We are anxious to learn more.”
Satellite data recorded by the Flight Aware website showed the Airbus A320 took off from Borg El Arab Airport as scheduled but lists its status as “result unknown”.
The situation at the Larnaca airport was unclear but Ms Vassilou said hijackers claimed to be prepared to release some passengers.
Larnaca airport has been closed and scheduled flights diverted elsewhere as negotiations with police are ongoing.

Monday 28 March 2016

Sierra Leone destroys stockpile of 'unuseable' arms


Police and military arms experts in Sierra Leone began destroying nearly 5 000 "unserviceable weapons" on Saturday in an operation set to last two weeks. Among the weapons were AK-47 and M16 assault rifles as well as light machine guns manufactured in Canada, technical field manager Ernest Woest told AFP. There were also home-made shotguns seized from rebels after Sierra Leone's 11-year civil war which ended in 2002, as well as arms surrendered under a government amnesty programme. The operation began in two military depots in the capital Freetown on Saturday and will continue in four other towns over the coming fortnight.
Crowds stood watching at a distance as the weapons were put into specially-designed machines operated by a 10-man team, which literally shredded the guns into hundreds of pieces which will be buried in unmarked spots around the country.
"It's a relief to get rid of these weapons of death," said Lansana Turay, a local taxi driver who was looking on.

Candid camera!



This lady was captured squatting over the River Tyne with her trousers down at Newcastle's bustling Quayside, 'relieving herself' in broad daylight

Easter Sunday turns bloody in Pakistan as suicide bomber kills scores


On Easter Sunday, a suicide bomber set off a powerful blast close to a children’s swing set in a public park on Sunday evening in the eastern city of Lahore, killing at least 70 people and wounding around 300, rescue workers and officials said. It comes at a difficult time for Pakistan's Christians, some of whom were in the city's Gulshan Iqbal Park to celebrate the holiday Sunday evening, only to see their Easter Sunday fragment into terror and chaos.
Jamaat-e-Ahrar, a splinter faction of the Pakistani Taliban, claimed responsibility for the blast. Its spokesman, Ehsanullah Ehsan, said in a statement that Christians were the target. It was the third bombing in Pakistan in this month alone, a reminder that even as the military has cracked down on extremists over the past two years, Islamist groups remain a potent threat.

Mini mobile phones: a ‘must have’ for inmates!


Prisoners have become increasingly inventive in coming up with ways to get phones into jails. A tiny mobile phone made of plastic are now bestsellers among inmates as they can be smuggled into prisons and stored 'internally' without being detected by scanners. The LONG-CZ handset weighs just 18 grams, is 68mm high and 23mm wide, so is small enough to be smuggled in and stored by inmates. It is available online for just £25 and is made almost entirely made of plastic, so is not detectable by the machines used in Irish jails. The handset is marketed as the 'world's smallest phone' and has become the most popular mobile for prisoners.

This cat was trapped in a mail post for eight days and it miraculously survived

'Cupcakes'

A Siamese cat calle ‘Cupcakes’ has miraculously survived after being trapped in a box of DVDs that had been sent in the post for eight days. Owner Julie Baggott was reunited with her beloved pet after Cupcake was found in Sussex - 260 miles from her home in Falmouth, Cornwall. The feline had somehow managed to get into a box that she posted to an address in Worthing. The recipient of the package was shocked to find the cat inside the box and called RSPCA. Vets said it was incredible that Cupcake had managed to survive so many days without food or water.
Ms Baggott said: 'I feel terrible about what's happened. I put everything in the box and I sealed it straight away, so I don't know how she managed to get in there.
'It was a miracle because she was alive, she's managed to survive that awful ordeal.'
She said she had 'looked everywhere' for her beloved pet after realising she was missing.

Sunday 27 March 2016

“I was born in a wrong body”, man who has spent £305,000 to look like a doll speaks out


A man who describes himself as a 'human ken doll' has revealed he has spent £305,000 on plastic surgery to emulate the children's toy. London-based air steward Rodrigo Alves has told how he has spent £10,000 on a butt lift, £24,000 on silicone chest implants and £48,000 to create eight-pack abs from his own fat and skin. Rodrigo who has had 42 operations says that it was never his intention to look like the plastic children's toy but says that he has finally found peace with his body. He told The Mirror: 'I was born in the wrong body. My soul never matched up with the rest of me, and now it does.
'I never set out to look like Ken. But people have increasingly ¬commented on how similar we are. I'm happy with my look but I will continue with surgery.'

Two arrested for gross negligence after girl is killed when bouncing castle is blown 150 meters


A girl playing on a bouncy castle was killed yesterday when winds ripped the inflatable from its moorings and blew it 150 meters across a park. Horrified witnesses dashed to help the girl when the castle finally crashed to the ground. The youngster, aged around seven, was taken to hospital but died later. The accident happened at an Easter fair in Harlow Town Park, Essex – where a similar incident happened just a year ago when three children were hurt. Police said two people had been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter by gross negligence. Reports said the castle careered down the park before coming to rest at the base of a paddock.

Friday 25 March 2016

The incredible story of China’s ‘Basketball Girl’ who has fought against all odds to be where she is today


A young Chinese girl's journey to create a future for herself, despite losing both legs in a tragic accident, has become the story that inspired thousands of disable people in China. Qian Hongyan, from Yunnan, south west China, made the headlines in 2005 when she was photographed 'walking' with the help of a basketball. Today, that same young woman is a champion swimmer with Paralympic dreams. In 2009, the determined girl became a national champion in the Chinese National Paralympics Swimming Competition.
A four-year-old Qian Hongyan had both of her legs amputated after getting into an accident in 2000 where she nearly lost her life. Her family were extremely impoverished. They farmed and produced silk for a meager living. Accord to People's Daily Online, with little resources available, her grandfather resorted to cutting up an old basketball to replace of her lower body. The little girl learnt to 'walk' on her hands by supporting her entire upper body using wooden pads with handles. She spent many years of her childhood being dubbed the 'Basketball Girl' by locals as a result.
More pictures after the cut

Suicide bomber kills 29 at Iraq football stadium


In the latest terror attack linked to the Islamic State, at least 29 people were killed when a suicide bomber attacked a football stadium south of Baghdad Friday, Iraqi security officials told The Associated Press. Nearly 60 other people were reported hurt. ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attack, according to their afiliated news agency Amaq. The terror group also said it was behind the bombings in Belgium Tuesday, which killed 31 people and wounded 270 others.
Security officials tell the AP Friday's bombing took place during a match in the small stadium in the city of Iskanderiyah, 30 miles from Baghdad. Medical officials confirmed the death toll. The bombing came as Iraqi military spokesman Yahya Rusoul announced that Iraqi troops and Sunni tribal fighters recaptured the western town of Kubeisa from ISIS. The assault was part of operations aimed at rolling back the militants in Iraq's Sunni-majority Anbar province after government forces retook the provincial capital of Ramadi in February.

Body of woman found in walk-in-freezer in Atlanta hotel


A kitchen worker died after she was apparently trapped inside of a walk-in freezer for about 13 hours at a downtown Atlanta hotel, police said Tuesday. A search for the woman began when she didn't return home after her shift at the Westin Peachtree Plaza, one of the city's most recognizable skyscrapers with its cylindrical shape. Investigators reviewed hotel surveillance video, and they believe she may have entered the freezer about 8 p.m. Monday. She was found shortly after 9 a.m. Tuesday, Atlanta police Lt. Charles Hampton said.
The Fulton County Medical Examiner's Office identified the woman as Carolyn Robinson, 61, of East Point. There was evidence the woman tried to get out of the freezer, but Hampton didn't elaborate on what led investigators to believe that.

“21 Grams”: a vibrator filled with ashes and used by widows to keep their loved ones closer!


Designer Mark Sturkenboom has created a device named “21 Grams”, used by widows to keep their loved ones even closer. "21 Grams"  is a odd sex toy which contains the ashes of spouses. It is named  after how much of a loved one's ashes the device can hold. Sturkenboom used his design skills to create what is easily his most unique product yet: a vibrator designed to...hold the ashes of a widow's once spouse. This gives room for widows to enjoy their lost spouse in ‘new wayds’.
On his website, the Dutch designer describes his creation as a means for grief-stricken widows to revisit the "intimate memories of a lost beloved one."
But that's not all. The quizzical vibrator comes with a kit, which includes an array of nostalgic and sentimental features.
More pictures after the cut

Guinness World Record woman with 55ft long dreadlocks finds love


Rasta Rapunzel with dreadlocks 55ft long and weighing 3st marries hairdresser she met online. Asha Mandela's new husband Emmanuel Chege devotes his time to her tresses, which are longer than a double-decker bus and take two days to wash and dry. Known as the Rasta Rapunzel, Asha Mandela’s locks are longer than a double-decker bus and weigh three stone.
Asha, 50, holds the Guinness World Record for the world’s longest dreadlocks. But doctors have warned her that she could end up paralysed due to the weight of her hair. Emmanuel, who has been a hair stylist for 15 years, met Asha online three years ago after seeing her photos on hair websites. He contacted Asha, and the pair met up while she was on a business trip to Emmanuel’s native Kenya eight months later
“It was so amazing to see all this amount of hair,” he recalled. “It was more than in my imagination.
“At first I thought maybe her locks were almost to her knees or to the ground, but the first glance when I saw her hair, it was so long, so it was so amazing and her beauty was so amazing too.”

Thursday 24 March 2016

Two Indian women designs 3D zebra crossing to curb speeding vehicles

Saumya Pandya Thakkar and Shakuntala Pandya designed a 3D zebra crossing

Two ladies from Gujarat have designed a 3D zebra crossing which gives the illusion of being a road block, thus succeeding in slowing down speeding vehicles. In the past decade, 1.2 million Indians have died on the roads of India. The numbers are indicative of how the country came to be the home to the world’s deadliest roads. Factors ranging from untrained drivers, lax enforcement of traffic laws to poorly designed roads, have all equally contributed towards this high number of road deaths and the statistics are anything but reassuring.

This goldfish is getting braces to help sort out his mouth problems


A tiny goldfish has become the first of his kind to be fitted with braces to help sort out a problem with his mouth. Adorable Mr Hot Wing was born without a lower jaw bone and has been struggling with breathing. In order to help his mouth stay open, vet Brian Palmeiro fashioned an apparatus which looks like a little brace. The incredibly small apparatus will also help Mr Hot Wing to eat without problems. Lehigh Valley Veterinary Dermatology posted the image of a happy-looking Mr Hot Wing on their Facebook account explaining the surgery.

Volkswagen and Porsche forced recall 800,000 SUVs worldwide over foot pedal problem


German carmakers Volkwsagen and Porsche has been forced to recall more than 800,000 SUV models worldwide after identifying a potential problem with their foot pedals. The safety recall involves all VW Touaregs and Porsche Cayennes built between 2011 and this year. Engineers said 'a circlip could be loose on the bearing bracket for pedals'.
VW will have to inspect 391,000 Touaregs while Porsche will call in more than 409,000 Cayennes. The latest safety scandal is a further blow for the embattled manufacturer who was caught using illegal software to cheat US emission targets. A US District Court judge gave Volkswagen until April 21 to come up with a plan to fix the 600,000 cars affected in America. Judge Charles Breyer said: 'This issue of what is to be done with these cars must be done by that date.

Check out this six interesting remedies for stress


Experts have revealed six surprising remedies for stress after warning that our modern lifestyles mean that stress - or 'perceived threat' - is almost continuous, and comes without the natural release that either fighting or fleeing might provide. Living with it can lead to a whole range of health problems, from moods swings to anxiety, irritability, nervousnes and fatigue. In extreme cases, it can even cause palpitations, insomnia, headaches, muscle cramps, digestive problems and food cravings. But while we may not be able to control the things that cause us stress, there are ways to control how it affects us physically. Dr Marilyn Glenville, author of The Nutritional Health Handbook for Women, says there are lots of things you can do to combat stress - from eating the right foods to exercising at the right time.
Ahead of Stress Awareness Month in April, she shares her top tips for beating stress.

1. Little and often is key
According to Dr Marilyn, balancing blood sugar is essential in lowering stress. 'The crashes in sugar levels which happen through the day - due to go long periods without food and not eating the right foods - stimulates the stress hormones, adrenaline and cortisol to be released,' she explains. Stress hormones helps mobilise your glucose (which has been stored as glycogen in the liver) back into the blood stream. This is why you can feel more jittery and irritable when blood sugar plummets. Dr Marilyn advises having one small meal every two-to-three hours that contain protein, so breakfast, lunch and dinner plus a mid-morning and mid-afternoon snack. As your blood sugar steadies, so will your mood swings – reduced adrenaline levels will automatically make you feel happier and calmer inside and feel less stressed.

Man fakes being pregnant just to marry another desperate man looking for love


Zhang Qiang, a 33-year-old businessman from Beijing was so desperate to find love that he ended up being tricked into a scam and marrying someone who claimed to be carrying his child. There was just one problem: he’d never had sex with his wife. And, although Qiang didn’t yet know it, there was another problem: his wife was actually a man. Apparently, Qiang spend most of his time traveling for business and came to the realisation  that it was too difficult to meet his soulmate during his day-to-day routine. So he decided to sign up for a Chinese online dating service in August 2014. With great luck, Qiang stumbled upon the profile of a 27-year-old female Air Force officer who was everything he was looking for. Little did the businessman know that on the other side of that profile was Mr. Fang, a notorious con artist and swindler.

The rising trend of ghost marriages involving corpse bride/groom in China


omething evil stalks the cemeteries and burial grounds in China. Rather than some unearthly presence, the problem is grounded squarely in the terrestrial plain. Reviving an ancient tradition from the tenth century’s Song Dynasty, modern day grave robbers are playing matchmaker for the dead. Most cultures have some concern with an individual dying alone, without loved ones nearby to provide support and comfort. In China, however, the situation is more serious. An old belief, popular among the inhabitants of rural areas throughout the countryside, is that it is bad luck for a single man to enter the afterlife without a female at his side. Coupled with this belief is an understanding that these occurrences bring bad luck to the man’s family and that the male’s ghost will haunt them. In order to ward off this bad luck and the evil spirits that go along with it, family members will find a ghost bride for the dead male.

Adam Johnson sentenced to six years in prison after he was found guilty of child sex


Former England and Sunderland FC footballer Adam Johnson has been sentenced to six years in prison after he was found guilty of sexual activity with a 15-year-old fan and grooming the teenager. Johnson, 28, admitted kissing the girl in his car in County Durham on Jan, 30 last year and grooming her with hundreds of social media messages, but was found not guilty of a third charge of sexual activity with a child, relating to the same girl.
Judge Jonathan Rose, in sentencing Johnson, said: "This will be your first prison sentence, this is all entirely your fault. There is an abuse of trust, you are trusted by young fans to behave properly."
The judge said the victim had been a Sunderland fan who would wait after matches to take pictures of her "favourite player,'' Johnson, who had known her age.

Wednesday 23 March 2016

Former Congolese VP Jean-Pierre Bemba guilty of war crimes


The International Criminal Court (ICC) has found Jean-Pierre Bemba, the former Congolese vice president, guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Central African Republic more than a decade ago. The verdicts announced on Monday focused on the responsibility of a military commander for the actions of his troops. Bemba, 53, commanded a private army of 1,500 men who went on a spree of murder, rape and pillage in neighbouring Central African Republic (CAR) in 2002 and 2003. Bemba's long-running trial was the first at the ICC to feature allegations of systematic sexual abuse by soldiers in a conflict.
The ruling is reported to be historic because:
"Bemba is not only the most senior political leader ever to have been brought to judgment here at the International Criminal Court at The Hague, but what makes this particular case a landmark ruling is the fact that it has put rape as a weapon of war," Brennan said.  

Meet the Nepalese man who claims to have the world record for widest mouth



19-year-old Raja Thapa from Nepal believe he has what it takes to be crowned the man with the world’s widest mouth. Setting a new record for fitting pencils in his mouth, the teenager is determined to continue pushing the envelope. He claims that he will not rest until he is universally recognized as the ‘street hero of Nepal.’ He eventually was able to fit 138 pencils in his mouth, beating the existing world record. To start, he put 126 in at once and then fit the remaining twelve pencils into the middle of the bundle. For those keeping track at home, that’s 46 more than the previous record. And also the widest mouth in the world. To reward the crowd of over 150 spectators who watched him set the record, Raja quickly launched into another display of his oral prowess and physical toughness. He proceeded to light 32 birthday candles and placed the bundle of them in his teeth. Then he titled his head back and let the candles burn down, while hot wax dripped onto his face and neck. As the flames grew closer to his eyes, he finally spit the candles onto the street, receiving a big round of applause.

11-year-old boy leads police on an hour long chase in this cement mixer truck


Authorities in Minnesota said an 11-year-old boy took a cement mixer truck on a joyride and led police in a chase at speeds of up to 71 mph. The Dodge County Sheriff's Office, the Minnesota State Patrol, Kasson police and Dodge Center police said the incident began about 3 p.m. Sunday when the boy stole the cement truck in Kasson and started driving it around town. Police attempted to stop the truck for speeding, but the boy sped off and led authorities on an hour-long chase reaching speeds of 71 mph. The boy collided with a Minnesota State Patrol car and a Kasson police car during the pursuit, which also saw one of the truck's tires popped with a spike strip. The young driver continued to flee on the rim of the deflated tire, causing damage to roads and lawns, police said.

12-year-old girl charged for battery offence after pinching boy’s bum at school


                                                                                       (C)News6


A 12-year-old Florida girl was arrested and faces a misdemeanor battery charge after she pinched a boy's bottom during what she said was just a game kids play at her school. Breana Evans thought the incident was a joke, explaining that pinching someone's derriere and laughing at their reaction is a game played by many at Milwee Middle School, Nesws6 reports. However, it all turned serious after the boy's mother got involved last week and told deputies she wanted to prosecute Breana for battery.'I regret it because I didn't know it would lead to this,' Breana told the station.
'I feel like it's just stupid just a stupid charge that shouldn't have to happen.'

Can you spot the deadly animal in this picture?

The venomous creature is perfectly camouflaged!

Is Alzheimer more intense in women than men?


Alzheimer's is the most common form of dementia, a general term for memory loss and other intellectual abilities serious enough to interfere with daily life. Alzheimer's disease accounts for 60 to 80 percent of dementia cases. It is a chronic neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and gets worse over time
Experts are claiming Alzheimer hits women harder than men, blaming menopause and less time at work. The British team which conducted the study claim that women seem to have worse memory, thinking power and spatial awareness than men at a similar stage of the disease, according to a major review of dementia research. In 2015, there were an estimated 46.8 million people worldwide living with dementia, of which Alzheimer's is the most common form, according to Alzheimer's Disease International.

Bags of air on sale for £1-£3 at China’s hiking destination


Chinese vendors have been seen selling bags of ‘air’ at a popular hiking destination in the mountains. The bagged-up "fresh air" - can either be taken home to enjoy - or used straight away. Apparently, people who had gone into the mountains in order to escape the heavy smog had gladly dished out the cash to buy the bags of air from the mountain valleys, with many opening them straight away. The sale proves that it is possible to put a price on fresh air, as the village vendors dressed in traditional garbs set up shop in the mountains of China's southern Guangdong Province.

Netherlands plans to close prison as falling crime rate leaves cells empty


I wonder how many countries can come up with this move!
More prisons will close in the next few years as the government looks to cut the cost of hundreds of empty cells, justice minister Ard van der Steur has told parliament. The Telegraaf says it has obtained internal documents revealing that the government plans to shut five prisons, with the loss of 1,900 jobs. A further 700 staff will be given ‘mobile’ positions, though the exact meaning of this is unclear. The downward trend in crime, which has fallen by an average of 0.9% in recent years, is expected to mean 3,000 prison cells and 300 youth detention places will be surplus to requirements in five years’ time. Van der Steur also said that judges were imposing shorter sentences, meaning criminals were spending less time on average in jail. More serious crimes are also becoming less common, he added. After finalising plans to close 19 prisons last year, the justice ministry said there were no plans for further cuts, but Van der Steur said the empty cells were costing the state too much. Socialist Party MP Nine Kooiman said it was a ‘scandal’ that the government was breaking its earlier promise. ‘If this cabinet was really working to catch crooks, we wouldn’t have this problem of empty cells,’ she said. The Dutch government has reclaimed part of the cost by importing prisoners from countries with a surplus. Last September the first of 240 Norwegian convicts were transferred to Veenhuizen jail, in Drenthe, under a deal between the two governments for an initial period of three years.

Source: DutchNews

Tuesday 22 March 2016

Multiple explosions hit Brussel, at least 23 people killed


At least 23 people have been killed in three explosions in Brussels, Belgium, according to Belgian media, leaving many injured. Ten were killed at a subway station, according to two Belgian broadcasters, and at least 13 were killed at the airport, according to public broadcaster VRT. The terror threat level in Belgium has been raised to four, its highest level. Two explosions occurred at the city's airport and another blast at a subway station in the suburb of Maalbeek, near the European quarter, where much of the European Union is based. All metro stations in the city have been closed, according to the official Twitter account for the city's transportation agency.
It's unclear what caused the blasts, or if they're related to terrorism.

Amazing works of art!


Yes, they are fake!
A special effects make-up artist, Zoe Armstrong, 20, is using her talent to create gruesome images of bloody open wounds and flesh-piercing bullet holes. The theatre student at the University of Otago in New Zealand, shares photos of her gory creations on her social media pages while working as a freelance special effects make-up artist.