World News Archive: April 2009
Father delivers baby son after watching YouTube childbirth clips
(Steve Morris, The Guardian) A father managed to deliver his baby son after watching DIY baby delivery video clips on YouTube. Feeling nervous about the imminent birth of his child Marc Stephens had a look at childbirth videos on his home computer. Four hours later his wife, Jo, went into labour three weeks earlier than expected and, as paramedics rushed to help, Stephens was able to put his new-found knowledge into action and helped deliver 5lb 5oz Gabriele.
In Israel, Jews and Arabs aim to bridge 'independence' and 'catastrophe' narratives
(Ilene R. Prusher, Christian Science Monitor) It happens every year around this time: Israelis celebrate the founding of their state in 1948 while Palestinians solemnly mark the same period in history they call the Catastrophe, and never the twain shall meet. Except, that is, when people insist that they do. On this hilltop not far from Haifa, Israelis and Palestinians are gathering for a two-day event that incorporates both narratives under the banner of "Together in Pain, Together in Hope." A program marking both Haatzmaoot and Nakba – "independence" and "catastrophe," respectively – aims to expose participants to the experience of the other while not denigrating one's own. For some, this is one small route to the elusive Middle East peace that many of their compatriots see as passé.
You've got mail ... from the Queen
(CBC News) A Quebec teenager is among two Canadians to receive the Queen's first email correspondence. Karina Brundl, 13, is the author of one of 21 blog essays posted by young citizens of Commonwealth countries on the Buckingham Palace website. This week, Brundl received an email on digital royal stationary from Queen Elizabeth II, thanking her for her essay. "I was speechless!" said the teenager, who lives in Longueuil on Montreal's South Shore.
Marathon effort to make it to the church on time as couple exchange vows 24 miles into race
(Daily Mail) If marriage is an exercise in stamina and endurance, then Rachel Pitt and Garry Keates are well prepared. The couple exchanged vows yesterday while running the London marathon. They took a detour 24 miles into the gruelling race to jog down the aisle of St Bride's Church on Fleet Street. Mr Keates, 44, and his bride, 37, exchanged vows and chatted to friends and family before completing the final 2.2 miles hand-in-hand as man and wife.
Muslim calligrapher writes Luke's Gospel for pope
(Dalia Nammari, AP) Muslim calligrapher Yasser Abu Saymeh has dedicated the past two months to Christian art, writing the Gospel of Luke in ornate Arabic script to be presented to Pope Benedict XVI when the Roman Catholic leader visits the Holy Land next month. Abu Saymeh never read a New Testament text before he was picked for the prestigious assignment by Bethlehem's Christian mayor. He said he has since come to appreciate the shared strands of the two faiths. "I found that many of the things emphasized in Christianity exist in our religion," said the 51-year-old Abu Saymeh.
A stroll before supper: Like her father before her, she takes a walk at dusk to greet neighbors and let the day settle
(Kate Chambers, Christian Science Monitor) slide the sweet potatoes into the oven and slip out the door. I step quickly down Leopold Takawira Avenue and then turn left along Jason Moyo Street. It is a habit I've only recently adopted: a brisk march round the block before supper. My son is bathed and pajama-ed, my computer tucked away, and the radio's relentless blare silenced. This small slice of time is mine. I can hear the familiar sounds of evening in Zimbabwe: the rattle on a neighbor's gate as Baba ("father" in the local Shona language) returns home, the creak of an ancient bicycle up ahead. A dog barks. Then another. I catch the tangy scent of wood smoke wafting on the breeze.
World urged to mark 'Mandela Day'
(BBC) People around the world should mark the birthday of Nelson Mandela with a day of action, charities associated with the former South Africa president say. The Nelson Mandela Foundation and 46664 are hosting events this 18 July and want the date to be marked every year. They want people to "help change the world" by giving 67 minutes to a good cause - reflecting the 67 years Mr Mandela has spent as an activist.
'This city needs heroes': Toronto police salute people who selflessly stepped up to the plate to help citizens in danger
(Kenyon Wallace, Toronto Star) At first, 11-year-old Andre Giardino thought the man dressed in black standing outside his local Sobeys supermarket was merely suspicious. But when the man pulled out a knife and followed customers into the store, Andre knew he was dangerous. "Once I saw the knife I was shocked. I told my uncle because I was worried someone was really going to get hurt," Andre, now 12, said. The boy's uncle immediately alerted the store manager, who called police.
The yoga supergran who can still assume the lotus position... at the age of 83
(Daily Mail) Yoga instructor Bette Calman may be 83, but she's still bending over backwards to spread the benefits of the ancient Indian discipline. The nimble grandmother can really pull some shapes and with her set hair and pearl earrings she looks as glamorous as Greta Garbo in a pink jumpsuit. With 40 years of teaching under her belt, the Australian wonder is living proof that a lifetime's dedication to yoga will keep you flexible as a rubber band.
Award-winning innovator to teach US peers a lesson
(Jacqueline Smith, New Zealand Herald) Nathan Kerr will be taking his and his Auckland students' innovative education ideas to a crowd of teachers in the United States. The Howick College geography and social studies teacher has been invited by Microsoft to speak to 1400 teachers about his innovative approach to education at the National Educational Computing Conference in June.
Policy aims to encourage more cyclists
(Harry McGee, Irish Times) A new Government policy on cycling proposes to make Ireland one of the most cycle-friendly countries in the world by 2020. The National Cycle Policy Framework was launched yesterday by the Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey who said he wanted to increase the number of people who cycle each day from 35,000 to 160,000 in a little over a decade – an increase of over 400 per cent.
African first ladies meet in LA for female health
(Jill Serjeant, Reuters) group of African first ladies began a two-day meeting in Los Angeles on Monday to forge U.S. partnerships to try to improve health and education of women and girls in African communities afflicted by AIDS. The wives of the presidents and prime ministers of Kenya, Nigeria, Angola, Zambia, Cameroon and 10 other nations teamed up with U.S. health experts, nonprofit groups and a clutch of celebrities to promote their work.
Dalai Lama nephew walks 900 miles to NYC for Tibet
(Verena Dobnik, AP) The Dalai Lama's nephew has finished a 900-mile walk across America to protest what he calls Chinese suppression of Tibetans. After the four-week trek from Indiana to New York, Jigme Norbu's feet were full of painful blisters and were missing nails and the feeling in one toe. "But I feel energized, because the cause itself energizes me," Norbu said Saturday, a day after emerging from New Jersey through the Lincoln Tunnel.
Afghanistan's women find their voice
(Jon Boone, The Guardian) Despite being called a prostitute and a bitch by furious madrasa students, Shinkai Karokhail, one of Afghanistan's 68 MPs with seats constitutionally reserved for women, described what happened on Wednesday morning as "a wonderful occasion". "It was the first time in the history of Afghanistan that women were aware of their rights," she said. "It was a fantastic statement that women will demand equal rights."
Kindival - First Ever Annual Kindness Festival Hits London
(Londonist) Last autumn Londonist interviewed Tom Robbins about his eye-catching campaign to encourage Random Acts of Kindness. Since then we've seen the campaign accelerate with Tom taking over a stadium in Milton Keynes for 1,000 people to hug each other (in an attempt to break a world record). He's also spent a day on a frenzied mission to give out free pancakes outside Ed's Diner.
Dad wins $1M from son's scratch-and-win gift
(CBC News) A Labrador man says he still cannot believe how lucky his son's birthday gift turned out to be. "I jumped up and I looked at it, and looked at it," said Happy Valley-Goose Bay resident Max Matthews, recalling how he reacted to seeing a scratch-and-win ticket that told him he won a $1-million prize.
Treasure trove found on Funen
(Copenhagen Post) An amateur archaeologist hit the jackpot when he discovered a hidden cache of buried silver in a rural field on Funen earlier this year.
How Poland became an aid donor
(Brian Hanrahan, BBC News) On 17 April 1989 the Solidarity trade union was given legal status and allowed to contest parliamentary elections. Its victory set a precedent for the toppling of communist governments across Eastern Europe. But the Solidarity government inherited a country in a terrible state. BBC Diplomatic Editor Brian Hanrahan went to see what has changed in the 20 years since.
Force is strong for Jedi police
(BBC News) Eight police officers serving with Scotland's largest force listed their official religion as Jedi in voluntary diversity forms, it has emerged. Strathclyde Police said the officers and two of its civilian staff claimed to follow the faith, which features in the Star Wars movies.
Mum gives birth to twins after heart attack
(The Mirror) A mum told yesterday of her incredible battle for life after suffering a massive heart attack just before giving birth to twins. As the babies were rushed for special care Nina Whear was given only a seven per cent chance of survival and said a heartbreak goodbye to her husband. But she went on to stage an amazing recovery and is now almost well enough to cuddle little Eva and Alfie – who had weighed in at 3lb 11oz and 4lb 10oz.
Focus on kindness, fire victims urged
(Marika Dobbin, The Age) Gillian Hicks, the Australian who lost both legs in the London tube bombings, says people should not seek revenge against arsonists but use their anger over the Black Saturday fires as motivation to help others. Speaking at a bushfire fund-raising event yesterday, Ms Hicks said victims should not be consumed by fear or hatred, but instead take heart from the actions of those who risked their lives to help, and strangers who reached out.
Americans, Ugandans team up to create orphan home
(Emanuella Grinberg, CNN) The two young women were as different as could be when they met in a small farming village outside Uganda's capital in 2004. Brittany Merrill was a 19-year-old Southern Methodist University broadcast journalism student from an affluent family in suburban Atlanta, Georgia. She was teaching English in the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo when she decided to cross the border and visit Mutungo, a crowded shantytown of mud huts and wooden shacks, where children in torn clothes ran around in bare feet, and people lingered in the noisy streets to avoid the oppressive heat inside their homes. At 22 years old, Sarah Kamara felt God had called on her to take in homeless children begging on Mutungo's streets. In addition to her own daughter, Kamara was caring for 23 children in her one-room home.
Egypt town boasts 'zero unemployment'
(Christian Fraser, BBC News) It sounds too good to be true in these depressing economic times - a town with zero unemployment in the Arab world's most populous country. Welcome to Damietta, a thriving Egyptian port, where handcrafted furniture is turning heads not just in the capital, Cairo, but also far beyond the country's borders. Here they produce furniture of the highest standards, which is exported to Europe and the Gulf.
Lost Aboriginal language revived
(Phil Mercer, BBC News) The sounds of a lost language echo across a packed classroom in suburban Sydney as high school children help to revive an ancient part of Australia's rich indigenous culture. Dharug was one of the dominant Aboriginal dialects in the Sydney region when British settlers arrived in 1788, but became extinct under the weight of colonisation.
Hip hop mum a hit with youngsters
(Vaimoana Tapaleao, New Zealand Herald) Showing respect, being cool and knowing your hip hop - that is how mum Stephanie Harawira has become a hit with youngsters in West Auckland. The 42-year-old has been running a free community youth centre in Henderson for four years.
North Texan earns French Legion of Honor medal
(Michael E. Young, Dallas Morning News) Army 1st Sgt. William R. Johnson almost single-handedly drove his company through a hailstorm of enemy fire in a desperate push through northern France. For his bravery, the World War II veteran was awarded the Bronze Star. Sixty-five years later, the French government recognized his bravoure , too.
Need help? Everyone welcome at Anne's
(Phoebe Falconer, New Zealand Herald) Anne Po-Wihongi's community in Mangere includes people of all races, ages and religions. But it doesn't matter to Anne who they are. "Young girls who get pregnant and thrown out of home, they can come to me, or I'll go and find them." "People whose houses have burned down and they have nothing left, I can find blankets and food, or they come and stay at my house."
Students Build a Nano For Africa
(Ben Mack, Wired) Eleven Ugandan college students believe they can bring affordable transportation to rural Africa with a home-grown, dirt-cheap car assembled from farm equipment. The prototype of the "Poor Man's Car" isn't much to look at, fashioned as it is from sheet metal, wood seats and a diesel engine pulled from a corn mill, but the design and materials would be refined should the car ever see production. Moses Sebulime and his classmates at Makerere University believe the utilitarian runabout could bring mobility to the masses, much like the Tata Nano.
YouTube clip lands musician Carnegie Hall gig
(Michelle Griffin, Sydney Morning Herald) She might not have attracted as many viewers to YouTube as Nora the piano-playing cat, but thanks to her hastily prepared internet video audition, Melbourne viola player Lauren Brigden is about to perform at New York's Carnegie Hall as part of the YouTube Symphony Orchestra. About 25,000 viewers voted for Brigden, 28, a member of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, after she made the shortlist of 200, culled from more than 3000 original entries. Brigden and French horn player Lin Jiang, currently working in Malaysia, are the only Australians among the 96 musicians from 30 countries who made the final cut.
Canadians prepare for Carnegie show with YouTube Orchestra
(CBC News) A few Canadian classical musicians are warming up for a major gig at New York's Carnegie Hall this week as part of the inaugural YouTube Symphony Orchestra. Five Canadians are among 90 musicians chosen — by the public — for the new ensemble from more than 3,000 YouTube online video submissions by amateur and professional musicians around the globe.
‘Blind angel’ has 80 bits of shrapnel inside her
(Hala Jaber, Times Online) The little girl known as the "blind angel" of Iraq and brought to Britain for medical treatment funded by Sunday Times readers has up to 80 pieces of shrapnel in her face and head, doctors discovered last week. One said he was astonished three-year-old Shams Kareem was alive, given the injuries she suffered in a bomb attack in Baghdad in 2006.
Click here for Part 1 of Shams' story
Skateistan
(New York Times) Afghan youth have very limited options for sports and recreation. An Australian man is trying to change that.
Anti-war Briton Emma Sky is helping to reshape Iraq
(Deborah Haynes, Times Online) She is the modern-day Gertrude Bell - a strong-minded woman having a unique impact on Iraq and influencing decisions taken by the United States since the invasion. Emma Sky, who lives in Battersea, South London, when she is not roaming around a war zone in her role as political adviser, has the ear of General Ray Odierno, commander of US forces in Iraq, making her potentially the most influential Briton in the country.
Unsung Heroes: Supermum has fostered more than 80 babies
(Jacqueline Smith, New Zealand Herald) Motherhood has never stopped for Liz Mills, who has helped raise 81 babies. Over the 12 years that she has volunteered as a foster mother, she's barely had a night free of a child or two. She hasn't had a holiday in 10 years. But Mrs Mills does not want to change anything.
New Zealand artist displays potential of generosity
(The Korea Herald) The Institute for Cultural Diplomacy says its field is as old as explorers and traveling merchants. For virtually every embassy in Seoul, people to people exchange is one of the cornerstones in forging strong relations between two countries. A case in point would be local artist Jin Lee who moved to New Zealand in the late 1990s to explore her passion, the ancient art of stone carving.
Signs of earliest Scots unearthed
(BBC) Archaeologists have discovered the earliest evidence of human beings ever found in Scotland. The flints were unearthed in a ploughed field near Biggar in South Lanarkshire. They are similar to tools known to have been used in the Netherlands and northern Germany 14,000 years ago, or 12,000 BC.
Queen Gives Maundy Money To 107-Year-Old
(Sky News) Kathleen Grimwood, a former school matron, was among 166 pensioners to be presented with a set of commemorative coins by Queen Elizabeth during an Easter service in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk. Monarchs have been giving money to their subjects on Maundy Thursday, the day before Good Friday, since 13th century.
Radical kindness: the banker who gave it all away
(Katherine Kizilos, The Age) On the face of it, kindness doesn't sound like a radical idea, just as Philip Wollen, at first glance, does not look like a radical. Wollen is a former merchant banker. He was a vice-president of Citibank when he was 34, and a general manager at Citicorp. Australian Business Magazine named him one of the top 40 headhunted executives in Australia. But about 1990 — he is not exactly sure of the year — Wollen decided to give away 90 per cent of his capital, a process he describes as "reverse tithing".
Estonia's Bank of Happiness: trading good deeds
(Anjana Ahuja, Times Online) On one level, it was just a haircut. Peeter, a middle-aged IT manager, entrusted his diminishing locks to Nele, a young craftswoman armed with goodwill and a pair of scissors. By all accounts, Peeter was delighted with his newly shorn pate. On another level, though, the clash of keratin against blades that took place in a Tallinn apartment last month was historic. For the cut was given free, with no exchange of cash or other payment, and is recorded as the first official transaction carried out by the Bank of Happiness in Estonia.
Couple overwhelmed by generosity of community
(The Press and Journal) A Moray couple who hope to send their three-year-old son to the US for cancer treatment have been overwhelmed by the generosity of the community, a family friend said yesterday. Christopher and Angela Main, of New Elgin, have set up a charity to raise £350,000 so Logan has the best possible chance of recovery from neuroblastoma, a rare and aggressive form of the disease.
Slum cooker protects environment, helps poor
(Dawn) Kenya's huge and squalid slums don't have much of anything, except mountains of trash that fill rivers and muddy streets, breeding disease. Now Kenyan designers have built a cooker that uses the trash as fuel to feed the poor, provide hot water and destroy toxic waste, as well as curbing the destruction of woodlands.
Aucklanders get soaked for a good cause
(New Zealand Herald) Aucklanders armed with water pistols congregated at Western Springs this morning in an attempt to get into the Guinness Book of World Records. The challenge was to stage the world's largest water pistol fight. The attempt was tied in with the UNICEF Tap Project, raising funds for clean water schemes in developing countries.
Blind Iraqi girl Shams Kareem finds new hope in London
(Hala Jaber, Times Online) Occasionally, something good comes from the carnage and misery of war. Yesterday, at Heathrow airport, a kind of miracle occurred when a three-year-old girl, blind, burnt and disfigured by a terrorist bomb, arrived on a flight from the Middle East for specialist medical treatment in London that her family never believed she would receive.
Bill Gates foundation to help Pakistan fight TB
(Dawn) The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will help assist Pakistan in eliminating the tuberculosis disease, Secretary Health Khushnood Lashari said.
Hundreds of people answer call for sandbagging help
(CBC) Manitobans responded in droves to a call for help as flood preparations entered the final stretch.
Briton in last 16 for 'best job in the world' on Great Barrier Reef
(Toni O'Loughlin, The Guardian) A British charity fundraiser is one of 16 finalists for what has been advertised as the best job in the world: a £70,000 salary to be "caretaker" of palm-fringed Hamilton island on the Great Barrier Reef. Ben Southall, 34, of Petersfield, Hampshire, beat 34,000 applicants from around the world to become the only Briton on the shortlist for the job, which is proving to be a public relations masterstroke by tourism chiefs in the state of Queensland, Australia.
Taiwan warns drivers: Butterfly crossing ahead
(Reuters) Taiwan has shut a highway lane to traffic, lowered the speed limit and put up protective nets to help a butterfly species cross the road during an annual migration. From mid-March and for about a month, thousands of milkweed butterflies — which are native to the island off China and have distinct white dots on purple brown wings — fly over a section of freeway in central Taiwan as they move northwards to breed after spending winter in the island's warmer south.
Two thirds of Aussies practice random acts of kindness for no reason
(Kate Jones, Melbourne Herald Sun) AUSSIES get a kick out of helping out, new research shows, with more than half regularly practicing random acts of kindness.