Rome: Kate Middleton, the 29-year-old Duchess of Cambridge, is at risk of contracting anorexia, says an Italian expert. ”You only need look at the pictures from the current visit to Canada to see that she really has lost a lot of weight and that she’s bordering on anorexia,” said Fabiola De Clercq, founder of Italy’s Association for the Study and Research of Anorexia. Prince William and Kate’s tour of Canada and the US began June 30. Before her marriage in April, Kate went on a low-carbohydrate diet, De Clercq said.
The Italian expert said she was concerned what effect the super-slender duchess could have on young women.
“As happens increasingly often in the case of fashion models, the young duchess’s appearances risk becoming an advert for anorexia,” said De Clerq.
“Today, even women aged 45-50 dream of being like svelte 15-year-olds,” she said. (IANS)
Turtles crossing runway cause flight delays
NEW YORK: Flights at John F Kennedy International Airport were delayed shortly when about 150 diamondback terrapin turtles were spotted crossing a runway, authorities said. The reptiles were trying to get to the other side of the runway to lay eggs on the sandy shores of the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, which borders the airport. (Agencies)
China‘s old-age subsidy benefits eight mn people
Beijing: Old-age subsidies granted by the Chinese government has benefited around eight million people across the country, a minister said.
Minister of Civil Affairs Li Liguo said the old-age subsidy system has been expanded to 14 provinces. It is now benefiting eight million citizens aged above 80, Xinhua reported.
Last year, only six provinces had introduced the system, he said.
Li said the ministry will continue to push other provinces to establish the system so as to better support aged people meet their daily needs.
China currently has a total of 18.99 million residents aged above 80 years. (IANS)
Motorcyclist crashes in helmet law protest, dies
NEW YORK: A bare-headed motorcyclist riding in protest of New York state’s helmet law crashed, struck his head on the roadway and died from his injuries, state police said on Sunday. Philip Contos, 55, was riding among a large group of motorcyclists staging an organized protest ride in western New York near Syracuse against the state law requiring all motorcyclists to wear helmets. (Agencies)
Turkey to produce rifles at home
Istanbul: Turkey will domestically produce assault rifles for its armed forces that will eventually replace foreign-made ones currently in use, a media report said.
A prototype of a domestically-produced rifle was displayed Monday.
The rifle – that weighs 4.3 kg – uses 7.62 mm ammunition and has a range of 600 metres, the Hurriyet newspaper said.
Special units of the armed forces will be equipped with 50 rifles in the next four months to assess their performance in different climatic conditions, it said.
It took weapon experts three and a half years to research and produce the model.
Mass production will begin if the rifles prove successful. They are expected to replace the G3 rifles currently used by the Turkish Armed Forces. (IANS)
Divorce ceremonies pick up in Japan
TOKYO: Ceremonies to celebrate divorces have gained momentum in Japan after the massive March earthquake and tsunami, followed by an ongoing nuclear crisis, caused unhappy couples to reassess their lives.
The ceremony to mark a couple’s transition to being single again costs 690 dollar, includes a buffet meal and culminates with the ritual smashing of their wedding rings with a gavel. (Agencies)
Man pleads guilty to creating fake Army unit
LOS ANGELES: A California man who conned Chinese immigrants into joining his fake US Army unit was sentenced on Wednesday to three years in prison after he pleaded guilty to counterfeiting and other charges. Yupeng Deng gave himself the title ”Supreme Commander” when he was running his fictitious unit, and he promised recruits their time in his squad was a path to US citizenship. (Agencies)
Video catches Russian president in driving gaffe
MOSCOW: Memo to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev: next time you plunge into a crowd, don’t forget to park your car first. Medvedev took his “Forward, Russia!” motto a bit too far in an incident captured on video, stepping from the driver’s seat of an SUV and then frantically trying to hold the vehicle back as it kept moving toward a group of people waiting to greet him. (Agencies)
Gandhian artifact donated to SA foundation
Johannesburg: A belt forcibly taken from a South African policeman who tried to assault Mahatma Gandhi with it will find a permanent home at the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation in Lenasia. Baboo Nagdee, who’s grandfather was very closely associated with Mahatma Gandhi, donated the belt to the Foundation, named after a veteran political activist and confidant of President Nelson Mandela on behalf of his family at a function held recently in Kliptown. Lenasia is a large Indian township south of Soweto in Gauteng Province of South Africa. “The belt has been a prized possession in our family to signify the strong bond that our grandfather, Mohamed Essop Nagdee, had with Gandhiji when he was mobilising the community to protest the unjust laws that were being introduced around 1900,” Nagdee told PTI. “This belt became very famous because in the early days of the last century, Baboo’s grandfather was very closely associated with Mahatma Gandhi. It was at a place near the town of Warmbaths, that one of the policemen present was attempting to assault Gandhiji. Baboo’s grandfather got quite mad, pushed the man aside, gave him a shot and pulled the belt away,” said veteran activist Mosie Moola narrated the story to the community leaders. (PTI)