Car exhaust fumes kill Chinese couple
Beijing: A man and his girlfriend died after they kept their car engine running in the garage in a Shanghai suburb.
The pair drove into the garage of the man’s parents villa in suburban Songjiang district.
When the man’s mother opened the garage door in the evening she found them lying there, Shanghai Daily reported.
Officials said the man and his girlfriend had locked the door of the garage from inside after driving in. They had left the engine and air-conditioner running and that released exhaust fumes in the enclosed space. (IANS)
Woman to command a Royal Navy ship in its 500-yr history
London: A British naval officer is all set to become the first woman in the 500-year history of the Royal Navy to command a frontline warship, a media report said.
Lieutenant Commander Sarah West, 39, will take control of HMS Portland and its mostly male crew of 185.
After promotion to a 65,000 pounds-a-year Commander, she is ready to take her ship to war anywhere in the world, ‘The Sun’ reported. Women have previously commanded only small non-fighting Navy ships such as fishery protection vessels.
But, naval top brass said Lt Cdr West had seen off tough competition from male officers to win the role on merit due to her “leadership, confidence, moral courage, sound judgement and exceptional people skills”.
HMS Portland boasts Harpoon and Sea Wolf missile systems, 4.5 inches guns and Stingray anti-submarine torpedoes.
The 5,000-ton ship, top speed 30 knots, also carries a helicopter and can engage in “total warfare”. Lt Cdr West’s appointment marks a historic chapter for the “Senior Service”, which was founded in the reign of Henry VIII. The Navy first allowed women to go to sea in 1990, and it now has 620 female officers.
Wrens make up ten per cent of an average warship crew. Unmarried Lt Cdr West, who was raised in Lincolnshire and studied maths at University of Hertfordshire, has captained four minehunters.
A Royal Navy spokesman said” “We can confirm the appointment of Lt Cdr Sarah West, who will be Commander West from January as CO of HMS Portland. She will take over command in April 2012.
“The Royal Navy is committed to ensuring equality of opportunity for all its personnel to enjoy challenging, fulfilling and rewarding careers.” (PTI)
12 Chinese school principals sacked over lunch scam
Beijing: A dozen school principals have been sacked in China for embezzling budget for students’ lunch.
Eleven of the principals have been jailed for embezzling the students’ lunch budget totalling more than 4 million yuan ($621,000), Shanghai Daily cited the Qianjiang Evening News as reporting.
The principals in Yongkang city took at least 10 percent commissions from a canteen food supplier.
Eleven of them were jailed for up to 12 1/2 years.
The cash payments to Shi, a principal, was increased after he told the food supplier that he had lost large sums of money on the stock market.
The students’ lunches progressively worsened following which parents demanded an anti-corruption investigation. (IANS)
Patient’s stitches removed as he couldn’t afford surgery
Beijing: A doctor in China’s Hubei province removed the stitches he had just sewn on the hand of a man as the patient could not afford the surgery.
Twenty-year-old Zeng said he injured his two fingers when he was washing dishes in a restaurant in Wuhan city Aug 5.
He was taken to a hospital where a doctor stitched the gash. Another doctor told Zeng’s colleague Wu to pay the 1,830 yuan bill. Wu only had 1,000 yuan, Shanghai Daily cited Modern Times as reporting.
Wu said the doctor insisted that they must pay the entire bill. “Pay the bill or remove the stitches,” he quoted the doctor as saying.
Finally, Zeng had to let the doctor remove the stitches that had just been sewn on his wounded fingers without anaesthetics.
Zeng was taken to another hospital where the surgery cost 800 yuan.
The hospital said the doctor has been suspended. It has also apologised to the patient. (IANS)
Chinese man held in Pakistan
Islamabad: A man, who was wearing a burqa when he was arrested last month in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, is a Chinese national, a media report said.
The 27-year-old man, arrested in Bannu district last month, has been identified as Chinese national Muhammad Yousuf, Dawn reported Monday.
It was initially thought that he was a Turkish national. Sources said that during interrogation it came to light that he was a Chinese national, who uses the ‘codename’ of Muhammad Ali.
The media report said that Yousuf is said to be a resident of Beijing. Around $50,000, Chinese Yuan and Islamic literature were found in his possession. Sources said Yousuf was reportedly wearing a burqa when he was taken into custody at a bus stand and he was heading towards Miranshah, the headquarters of North Waziristan region. (IANS)
20-yr-old man gets life for killing schoolboy
London: A 20-year-old man in Britain has been jailed for life for murdering a schoolboy who was stabbed to death with a broken golf club outside his school gate.
Adam Moore killed Adil Basharat, 16, outside Kingsbrook School in Deanshanger, Northamptonshire, last November, by smashing the pointed shaft of a smashed golf club 27cm into his victim”s pelvis.
He was convicted by a jury at Northampton Crown Court, the Daily Mail reports.
Jurors found three other men, Freddy Wilson, 20, Daniel Anderson, also 20, and 22-year-old Jake Batten, guilty of violent disorder.
The three were acquitted of murder and manslaughter, the paper said.
Moore and a fifth defendant, Billy Billingham, 19, of Bradville, Milton Keynes, were found not guilty of conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm.
Prosecutor Benjamin Aina said ‘the attack on the schoolboy who died was a complete mistake.’
He said it was the prosecution”s argument that the attack was orchestrated as a revenge after drugs were stolen from one of the group a few weeks before, but they ‘attacked the wrong victim’.
Aina said the attack, captured on CCTV, was very quick, lasting about a minute, but various witnesses would describe seeing a group of men approach the schoolboys.
The court also heard that Adil was ‘entirely unconnected’ with any dispute the gang had with another person.
Moore showed no emotion as Judge sentenced him to life imprisonment, to serve a minimum term of 16 years before he could be considered for parole, the paper said. (ANI)