Woman sells house to fund cosmetic surgery
London: A British woman, desperate to look good before her wedding, sold her house to pay $22,000 for cosmetic surgery.
Tsia Pullen, 34, was considered morbidly obese and struggled with obesity since childhood, the Daily Mail reported Friday.
Pullen said she “couldn’t bear to look in the mirror” and tried everything she could to shed weight.
But after many failed efforts, Pullen, a mother-of-one took the bizarre step to sell her 80,000 pounds ($126,496) three-bedroom Bolton home to fund cosmetic surgery in Belgium.
“People thought I was insane, but I knew it was the right thing to do,” the newspaper quoted Tsia as saying.
“It was the first house I’d ever bought. It had a massive garden and I was proud of it. But, more than anything, I wanted to look amazing on my wedding day.
“I hated myself so much. I used to end up in tears when I went shopping – nothing fitted. It wasn’t only the embarrassment either. Walking around the shops would leave me breathless and in agony as I was so big,” she added.
But when her fiance, Alastair, proposed, Tsia was determined to take urgent action.
“I didn’t want Alastair to marry me while I looked like that. I wanted to be a beautiful bride.
“He was supportive of my decision, but he said he had always loved how I looked. But I didn’t love myself, so I went for it,” she said. (IANS)
Prince George gets a traditional toast from 600 sailors
London: Six hundred sailors recently gathered to toast the birth of royal baby Prince George in a tradition dating back hundreds of years.
The Royal Navy personnel gathered at Portsmouth Naval Base, Hampshire, to “splice the mainbrace” – a celebration involving drinking a tot of rum, the Mirror reported.
In a signal to navy sailors across the globe, First Sea Lord Admiral Sir George Zambellas said he had the pleasure of sending loyal greetings and warmest good wishes, on behalf of the Royal Navy, to Her Majesty The Queen on the birth of HRH Prince George of Cambridge.
Splicing the mainbrace has its origins in the days of sail and refers to fixing the main brace of a sail that had broken – usually in a storm or battle. Such a repair was strenuous work and it was customary for sailors carrying out the task to be rewarded with an extra ration of rum.
Nowadays the order to “‘splice the mainbrace” is issued to mark special occasions such as a change of monarch, royal birth or royal wedding. (ANI)
Trans-Atlantic balloon attempt stops short of goal York
Harbor (Canada): A US balloonist who was trying to cross the Atlantic Ocean using hundreds of helium-filled balloons has landed short of his goal in Newfoundland.
“This doesn’t look like France,” he posted on Facebook.
The Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported yesterday that it used a helicopter to retrieve Jonathan Trappe from the remote area where he landed a night earlier. “It’s not the destination I set out for, but it’s kind of the way with real adventure.
Adventure isn’t what you planned on, it’s what you find, and that’s what we have today,” he told the CBC. Trappe landed safely in a rugged area near York Harbour after reporting that he was having trouble controlling his balloons Thursday evening, according to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
Instead of using a conventional hot-air balloon, Trappe was using more than 300 colorful helium-filled balloons, like those used in in the animated movie “Up.” (AP)
Woman wins 35-letter name battle
Los Angeles: A Hawaiian woman with a 35-letter surname has persuaded the Pacific island US state’s authorities to change their official ID card format, because her king-sized name won’t fit. Janice Keihanaikukauakahihuliheekahaunaele, whose traditional Hawaiian name comes from her late husband, said she would never consider using a shortened version, and so used local media to press officials to take action.
“I love the Polynesian culture I married into, I love my Hawaiian name. It is an honour and has been quite a journey to carry the names I carry,” Keihanaikukauakahihuliheekahaunaele, whose maiden name was Worth, told AFP.
For years she has carried two forms of identification: her driving license, which only has room for 34 characters, and her official Hawaii state ID card which in the past had room for all 35 letters. But the problem came after Keihanaikukauakahihuliheekahaunaele’s state ID was renewed in May — and came back the same as her driver’s license, with the last letter missing, and with no first name.
Then a traffic cop pulled her over. “The policeman looked at my license and saw I had no first name. I told him it is not my fault that my license and state ID are not correct and I am trying to get it corrected.
“He then told me ‘Well, you can always change your name back to your maiden name.’ This hurt my heart,” said Keihanaikukauakahihuliheekahaunaele, who was originally from New York and worked on Wall Street until 1991.
“Over the last 22 years I have seen Hawaii is being bulldozed and the culture of Hawaii being trampled upon and this policeman treated my name as if it is some mumbo-jumbo,” added Keihanaikukauakahihuliheekahaunaele, whose friends call her “Loke.”
Exasperated, she took her case to a local TV station, KHON-2, who publicised the problem, putting pressure on the Hawaii Department of Transportation (DoT).
Within days, authorities, who had previously told her it would take two years to change and the surname character limit would remain at 35, had decided they could act more quickly. (AFP)
How our world could end?
Melbourne: Some of the world’s geniuses have come together to draw up some real-life doomsday scenarios – and work out how mankind could avoid getting wiped out.
The members of the Cambridge Centre for the Study of Existential Risk, led by Astronomer Royal Martin Rees and including Stephen Hawking, have said that the once the threats are identified they intend to devise methods to protect mankind.
The group has said that the world could end through cyber attacks, where the networks collapse due to action by enemy nations or terrorists, the paralysis could result in society breaking down.
Engineered infection was also labelled as a threat to world.
Fast-spreading pandemic was another doomsday event and even asteroid impact. (ANI)
Crocodile found in fish pond, killed
Islamabad: A crocodile was shot dead by villagers in Pakistan’s Sindh province after it chased a man who was fishing at a pond. A man – who refused to share his name fearing action by the wildlife department – started screaming when he found the crocodile near a fishpond in Ramazan Hijab village near Thatta.
Alerted by his screams, several other residents rushed to the site and shot the reptile. The villagers say three to four crocodiles have been spotted near the fishpond, spreading fear among locals, The Express Tribune reported.
The shooting occurred earlier this week, after which residents brought the reptile’s body to an old factory and kept it on display. (PTI) Meanwhile, the wildlife department has been trying to figure out if the incident was an accident or an attempt to hunt the reptile. Fazal Shah, the game officer of the Sindh Wildlife Department, said, “Stern action will be taken if someone is found guilty. It is illegal to kill these animals.”
Even after visiting the village, Shah was unable to confirm who shot the crocodile. According to Shah, there are around 150 crocodiles that live in and around Haleji Lake.
“These crocodiles don’t harm anyone,” he said, adding that a minor girl was, however, injured in 2002 when a female crocodile came out of its sanctuary. “We are trying to investigate the whole incident and will try to convince people not to kill such animals in the future,” he said. (PTI)