Doctor selling Vietnam kids to Chinese families
Beijing: A Chinese doctor has been found guilty of helping sell Vietnamese children to buyers in China. Two children, less than a week old, were found to have their umbilical cords still attached.
Police in Guangdong and Guangxi Zhuang provinces cracked down on a trafficking gang July 15, and rescued eight children and detained 39 suspects.
The gang had 31 members from China and eight from Vietnam. It had smuggled 21 infants to China since the beginning of June, the Guangzhou Daily reported.
The Vietnamese traffickers smuggled the children from across the border to Guangxi and handed them over to their Chinese partners who later sold them, the Yangcheng Evening News said.
Guangdong police said an obstetrician surnamed Lin took care of the children before buyers were found.
The traffickers transported the children in buses for more 20 hours and even fed them sleeping pills.
The children – most of them boys – were being sold at about 40,000 yuan (around $6,200).
Many buyers did not even know the infants were from Vietnam. (IANS)
Jackpot worth $2.5 mn goes unclaimed
Beijing: A lottery jackpot worth over 16 million yuan (around $2.5 million) has gone unclaimed in China – making it one of the biggest unclaimed lottery wins in the country.
The winning ticket was sold May 30 in Nanjing, capital of southern Jiangsu province. Till July 29, no eligible winners presented themselves, the Nanjing Daily reported.
In China, a lottery win expires 60 days after the ticket is sold.
The Jiangsu Provincial Sports Lottery Centre later declared the lottery invalid, and the unclaimed money will now be distributed to a sports welfare fund for the benefit of social causes.
The centre said this was the seventh abandoned lottery ticket case with sums above five million yuan in the province. (IANS)
Sponge found in woman’s belly 15 years
Sydney: An Australian court has allowed a woman to sue a surgeon after he allegedly left a piece of sponge inside her stomach during an operation 15 years ago.
Helen Caroline Anne O’Hagan claims the sponge was left inside her abdominal cavity by a surgeon named Samuel Sakker during a colectomy he performed in August 1992, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.
The New South Wales district court was told that over time the sponge “became encapsulated in dense fibrous adhesions within a sac of fluid”, and was only discovered in October 2007 after an X-ray was done.
The judge has awarded O’Hagan the right to sue Sakker for alleged negligence. Her solicitor has now filed a statement of claim.
Sakker has sought to have the case thrown out, arguing that it was improbable that she did not discover the sponge sooner.
He said he had no recollection of treating O’Hagan and a search of his archives failed to locate any medical records. He said he never failed to sign the instrument count at the end of an operation after a count was made by a nurse. (IANS)
Roman Catholic support for Lord Ganesha in US
Nevada: In a remarkable interfaith gesture, ‘Ganesha’ sculpture in downtown Coeur d’Alene (Idaho, USA) has Roman Catholic support now, despite opposition by various other groups.
Fr Charles T. Durante, acclaimed Roman Catholic priest in Nevada (USA), in a statement on July 31, said: “Part of our faith calls us to strive to understand one another and appreciate each other”s differences. This Hindu sculpture is an expression of an ancient culture and faith tradition and should be respected as such.”
Jews, Buddhists and Hindus in separate statements have already applauded the City of Coeur d’Alene for public display of “Ganesha” sculpture in its downtown.
Rabbi Jonathan B. Freirich, prominent Jewish leader in North Carolina (USA), in a statement, said: “The City of Coeur d”Alene and its Arts Commission should be commended for their strength and inclusive attitude in displaying the ‘Ganesha’ sculpture along with 14 others in downtown as a part of ‘ArtCurrents’, its public art display program.”
“Ganesha may not be as sacred to us as it is to our Hindu friends, but we still welcome its addition as an integration of a wider range of public art into the community and an enhancement of the overall appeal of an urban area”, Rabbi Freirich added.
Jikai’ Phil Bryan, well known Buddhist minister in Nevada, stressed: “I applaud the City of Coeur d”Alene for advocating unity in diversity in its ‘ART Currents’ program by displaying ‘Ganesha’ sculpture”.
“Such positive actions by Coeur d”Alene, of encouraging Artworks of many faiths, guide us in ways of respect and harmony in these difficult times. This is truly ‘old-time America,’ helping each other however we can. Thank you Coeur d”Alene for showing us all a good and righteous path to follow in our diverse society”, he pointed out.
Hindu statesman Rajan Zed has already welcomed this Lord Ganesha sculpture, and applauding the City of Coeur d’Alene for this gesture, he called it “a step in the right direction”.
Zed, who is president of Universal Society of Hinduism, argued that this public display of Lord Ganesha would bring more inclusivity in religion and help create a unity that celebrated diversity. Moreover, Ganesha’s presence was always considered auspicious, he added.
“Ganesha” on East Sherman Avenue and South 6th Street by Spokane metal artist Rick Davis is part of 15 sculptures of “ART Currents—Coeur d’Alene Public Art On-Loan 2011-2012 Program”. Spread throughout the downtown area, variety of art pieces on-loan from local and national artists are on display for one year and for sale. Besides “Ganesha” (which is priced at $35,000 and is third most expensive), Spokane metal artist Rick Davis created “St. Francis of Assisi” and “Great Blue Heron” are also on display, in addition to Native-American-themed “spirit bear” representing harmony/peace created by another artist, reports suggest.
“Coeur d”Alene now dedicates 1.33 pc of the total cost of all eligible capital improvement projects to fund art in public places. The purpose of the public art program is to integrate a wide range of public art into the community and reflect the diversity of communities, artistic disciplines, and points of view”, according to a brochure.
Sandi Bloem, Wendy Gabriel, Susan Weathers, and Steve Anthony are the Mayor, City Administrator, City Clerk, and Recreation Director respectively of City of Coeur d”Alene; while Fred Ogram is Chairman of its Arts Commission, a 12-member panel appointed by the Mayor. Guiding Principle of Coeur d”Alene Arts Commission is to “Select artworks of sufficient scale to capture public attention. Make an impression.”
In Hinduism, elephant-headed and human-bodied Lord Ganesha is worshipped as god of wisdom and remover of obstacles and invoked before the beginning of any major undertaking. Hinduism, oldest and third largest religion of the world, has about one billion adherents and moksh (liberation) is its ultimate goal. (ANI)