US zoo reveals possible names for panda cubs
Atlanta: A US zoo today revealed five sets of possible names for the twin giant panda cubs born there in July, and it is giving the public a chance to have a say by voting online.
The cubs were born at Zoo Atlanta, to 15-year-old Lun Lun, who was artificially inseminated in March. They are the fourth and fifth cubs born at the zoo to Lun Lun and her partner Yang Yang.
The possible names for the two male cubs are, Mei Lun and Mei Hua, meaning “Lun Lun’s twin cubs born in the US”, Mei Lun and Mei Huan, which originates from a Chinese idiom that means “something indescribably beautiful and magnificent”, Tian Lun and Tian Le, a modification of a Chinese idiom meaning “joy of family life” or “family happiness”, Lan Tian and Bi Shui, meaning “blue sky and clear water” and Da Lan and Xiao Lan meaning “bigger one and smaller one of Atlanta-born twins.”
The names were selected by staff at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in China. Under a deal between China and the US, all giant pandas originally from China are only lent out to foreign zoos for scientific study for several years.
They and any cubs they produce must all return to China eventually. The winning names will be announced at a naming celebration on October 23 when the panda cubs are 100 days old, in accordance with Chinese tradition.
Voting for the names will begin online next Wednesday through the website for ABC’s “Good Morning America.” The cubs are in good health and weigh appropriate amounts for their age, said giant panda nursery keeper Amy Allagnon. (AP)
Mother guilty over ‘mummified’ son
London: A mother of eight children was on today found guilty of killing her four-year-old son whose starved body was found in a mummified state in a cot. Amanda Hutton, a 43-year-old alcoholic, showed no emotion as she was convicted of manslaughter by a jury at Bradford Crown Court in northern England.
The court heard that her son Hamzah’s decomposed and insect-infested body was found in Hutton’s bedroom almost two years after he died in December 2009. Photographs of the house showed a scene of squalor, with clothes and waste piled up in many rooms.
The foreman of the jury made clear that they had convicted her on the basis that she was grossly negligent by failing to provide adequate nourishment for Hamzah. Hutton will be sentenced tomorrow. The jury heard that Hamzah’s body was found in the house, where five other school-aged siblings were living. Hutton has admitted a charge of child cruelty in respect of each of these children, who were aged between five and 13 in 2011. Prosecutors said Hamzah probably died from malnutrition because Hutton neglected him as her drinking worsened. (AFP)
Replica plans unveiled for UK’s Crystal Palace
London: Britain’s Crystal Palace, the Victorian exhibition center that was once the largest glass structure in the world, will be brought back to life with investment from Chinese developers.
Shanghai-based ZhongRong Group plans to invest 500 million pounds (USD 811 million) to build a replica of the iron and glass building as a cultural attraction in south London. The Crystal Palace was designed for the 1851 Great Exhibition, when thousands of exhibitors around the world gathered to display the latest technology. Originally erected in Hyde Park, the huge glass structure was moved three years later to south London. A fire destroyed it in 1936. The plans, announced today, would replicate the building’s Victorian design in that south London location in its original size and scale, including exhibition space and public parks. (AP)
Six-year-old UK twins rack up 1,000 pounds game bill
London: A UK man was shocked after his six-year-old twins purchased virtual pets and clothes worth 1,000 pounds for two on-line games in a single weekend.
Ashley Griffiths, from St Ives, was slapped with the hefty four-page bill from Apple on Sunday. The boy and the girl had purchased virtual pets and clothing for two iPad games to the cost of 979.90 pounds ‘The Telegraph’ reported. The extra amount that rose up to as much as 75 pounds, was purchased using a password. Griffiths said his children knew the password after using the iPad for schoolwork and games. He suggested app designers should also demand credit card details when making in-app purchases, the report said. “Children don’t understand the value of money, they just see it as a way of collecting more pets and clothes for characters in the games,” Griffiths said. “I mean, who in their right mind is going to pay 75 pounds for a virtual pet?” he said. Griffiths added the password has now been changed, and the company has since refunded the amount as a goodwill gesture. (PTI)
Muslim boys barred from UK school over `rules breaching beard’
London: Two 14-year-old Muslim boys have been reportedly barred from attending their classes at Mount Carmel Roman Catholic high school in Accrington, Lancashire because they did not shave their beards.
The headteacher, Xavier Bowers said that it was not a matter of one’s religion but of dress code adding that the decision wasn’t taken lightly and he had researched about the issue and spoke to Muslim elders.
He said that there is nothing specifically written in the Qur’an about wearing a beard and it is a choice that the two students are making, the Guardian reports.
However, a relative of one of the barred student said that it was ‘pure discrimination’ and just because the boys cannot shave their beards for religious reasons, they were being put in isolation for six-and-a-half hours everyday.
Bowers said that the clean shaven rule had been in place for some time but the two boys had been allowed to keep their beards last year as their exams approached and the school did not want to place them under ‘unfair pressure’. (PTI)
Tooth implant restores vision in blind man
London: Toothy vision! A 43-year-old blind man in the UK has had his sight miraculously restored after a pioneering surgery that involved implanting one of his teeth into his eye.
Ian Tibbet, a factory worker, lost his vision after a piece of scrap metal from an oven struck him in the right eye during a workplace accident. Ian’s sight remained fine for the first few years but then he began to suffer recurrent problems.
Eventually, in 1998, he lost the sight in his right eye and had to stop working. A year later he lost the vision in his left eye too. Ian has now been able to see his kids for the first time, thanks to a revolutionary procedure,the ‘Mirror’ reported.
During the technique osteo-odonto-keratoprosthsesis, one of Ian’s front teeth and a part of jaw was removed and used as a lens holder in his right eye.
“It was an incredible moment – I never thought I would ever be able to see my own children,” said Ian.
The revolutionary tooth transplant, carried out by Professor Christopher Liu at the Sussex Eye Hospital in Brighton, began when one of Ian’s teeth was removed and it acted as a cradle for a false lens.
The tooth was then inserted into his cheek for three months to enable it to grow new tissue and blood vessels. (PTI)