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Category: World

  • Japanese parents send bags of rice to hug for relatives instead of babies

    People in Japan have been sending bags of rice that weigh the same as their newborn babies to relatives who are unable to visit them due to the coronavirus pandemic.

    As per details, the phenomenon of “Dakigokochi”, which means rice-filled bags shaped like a baby covered in a blanket and printed with the newborn’s face and name, is becoming immensely popular among new Japanese parents amid restrictions due to the pandemic.

    The price of the bag depends on the size of the baby. Some companies charge one yen a gram, with a 3.5kg pack is priced at 3,500 yen (Rs 5,207).

    Read More: ‘World’s smallest baby’ goes home after 13 months in hospital


    Naruo Ono, the owner of Kome no Zoto Yoshimiya rice shop says they first had the idea about 14 years ago when their own son was born. “I was thinking about what I could do for relatives who lived far away and couldn’t come and see him. So we decided to make bags of rice that were the same weight and shape as the baby, so relatives could hold them and feel the cuteness.”

    Ono has since started making the bags for wedding celebrations as well. The wedding rice bags became more famous than the birth ones.

    “During the pandemic, the demand for them has really increased as people haven’t been able to travel to wedding ceremonies,” added Ono.

  • Man dies after his Bluetooth headphones explode in ear

    A 28-year-old man died in India’s Jaipur after his Bluetooth headphones exploded in his ears while he was using them for his studies.

    As per details, the deceased, Rakesh Kumar Nagar, was using his Bluetooth headphone device while it was plugged into an electrical outlet.

    However, the device exploded suddenly in his ear leaving him unconscious. Both his ears had suffered serious injuries, said the police.

    Read More: Bride dies during her wedding ceremony, sister marries groom

    Nagar was shifted to a nearby hospital where he died during treatment. Police said that Nagar was preparing for a competitive examination at his residence.

    Meanwhile, confirming Nagar’s death, Dr Rundla of Siddhivinayak Hospital said the man was brought to the facility in an unconscious condition. He died during treatment at the hospital. The man probably died of cardiac arrest, he added.

    Nagar got married in February this year and was the eldest of his siblings.

  • ‘World’s smallest baby’ goes home after 13 months in hospital

    A baby thought to be the world’s smallest at birth has been discharged from a Singapore hospital after 13 months of intensive care, BBC reported.

    Kwek Yu Xuan weighed only 212g, the weight of an apple, when she was born with the height of 24cm.

    She was delivered at just under 25 weeks, which is very early of the average 40 weeks.

    BBC News

    According to the University of Iowa’s Tiniest Babies Registry, the girl who previously held a record was a girl in the US who weighed 245g at birth in 2018.

    Yu Xuan’s mother gave birth to her by emergency C-section four months early after she was diagnosed with pre-eclampsia — dangerously high blood pressure that can damage vital organs and be fatal for both mother and baby.

    Yu Xuan now weighs a much healthier 6.3kg (14 pounds).

    The baby girl had a “limited chance of survival”, according to Singapore’s National University Hospital (NUH) where she was born.

    “Against the odds, with health complications present at birth, she has inspired people around her with her perseverance and growth, which makes her an extraordinary ‘Covid-19’ baby — a ray of hope amid turmoil,” the hospital said in a statement.

    Yu Xuan was given multiple kinds of treatment and relied on different kinds of machines to survive.

    Doctors say her health and development went well under their care and she is now healthy enough to be discharged.

    Yu Xuan still has chronic lung disease and will need help with her breathing at home. However, doctors say she is expected to get better with time.

    Yu Xuan’s parents were able to pay for her treatment through a crowdfunding campaign that raised $366,884 (Rs 44,522,019).

  • Pakistanis have to get booster shots in order to perform Umrah

    Pakistanis have to get booster shots in order to perform Umrah

    Pakistanis have to get booster shots of one of the four approved vaccines, i.e. Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson in order to perform Umrah. Saudi Arabia is to begin accepting vaccinated foreign visitors for Umrah, reports Saudi Press Agency (SPA). The Saudi authorities will begin taking travel requests starting today and will increase the number of Umrah performers to two million per month. The Kingdom closed its borders some 18 months ago because of the coronavirus pandemic.

    According to the official guidelines for travellers to the KSA (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia), “Guests who have completed two doses of the Sinopharm or Sinovac vaccines will be accepted if they have received an additional dose of one of the four vaccines approved in the Kingdom.”

    “All visitors arriving in the country with a valid tourism visa must provide evidence of a full course of one the four vaccines currently recognised: two doses of the Oxford/Astra Zeneca, Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna vaccines or a single dose of the vaccine produced by Johnson and Johnson,” reads the guidelines.

    The Kingdom announced on Sunday about reopening their borders for Umrah, a move that will boost an economy hit by the Covid pandemic. Domestic and overseas pilgrims will have to include authorised Covid-19 vaccination certificates along with their Umrah application. “A certificate of immunisation certified by the official authorities in the country of the Umrah performer must be attached within the documents of requesting the performance of Umrah rituals, with the condition that the vaccines be approved in the Kingdom.” Moreover, foreign visitors from Saudi entry-ban list will have to undergo quarantine.

    Saudi Arabia has recorded nearly 532,000 coronavirus cases and more than 8,300 deaths.

  • Anti-Muslim slogans call for murder at event organised by BJP

    Anti-Muslim slogans call for murder at event organised by BJP

    Inflammatory, anti-Muslim slogans calling for murder were raised in New Delhi, India, on Sunday during a march “against Colonial-era laws” in the country — an event organised by a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Ashwini Upadhyay, reported The Wire.

    The event, organised under the ‘Bharat Jodo Movement’, demanded the end of “colonial-era laws” by implementing a Uniform Civil Code. The event was reportedly held without police permission.

    In photos and videos of the event doing the rounds on social media, violent and inflammatory anti-Muslim slogans were raised at the event, including slogans directly calling for the murder of Muslims. The Delhi Police have registered an FIR against unknown persons.

    https://twitter.com/asfreeasjafri/status/1424366863711043587?s=21

    People are questioning why an FIR has been registered against unknown people when their faces are clearly visible.

    Senior Journalist Barkha Dutt tweeted: “Revolting anti-Muslim slogans in heart of the capital is a clear example of hate speech and incitement to violence.”

    “I do not agree with the sedition law or with the phrase anti-national but if ever there was an apt definition of it, it is these men, caught on tape,” tweeted the journalist.

    Indian journalist Smita Sharma tweeted, “Video clips doing the rounds of vitriolic dangerous sloganeering against Muslims in the heart of the capital.”

    Sharma further said, “These are not fringe elements or just stupid crowds. They have been emboldened. Will @DelhiPolice act against these toxic anti-nationals?@CPDelhi.”

    Journalist Maya Mirchandani tweeted, “A group gets permission to hold a sit in at Jantar Mantar supposedly for unity in the country, then raises genocidal slogans against Indian Muslims in the heart of Delhi, a stone’s throw from parliament. Under govt’s nose, under @CPDelhi nose. How? #rightwingextremism #hatespeech”

  • VIDEO: Man gets stuck behind ATM machine during theft

    A drunk thief in India’s Tamil Nadu got stuck behind an automated teller machine (ATM) while he was trying to steal money.

    The police arrested the thief identified as Upendra Roy. The police first rescued the thief and then detained him. 

     As per reports, Roy in his drunk state, removed the plywood on the wall behind the ATM and managed to reach the back of the machine. 

    Read More: Thief arrested after falling asleep in AC room during robbery

    Nearby residents informed the authorities when they heard strange sounds coming from the ATM. The police reached the spot and arrested the thief.

  • VIDEO: Emirates ‘flight attendant’ on top of Burj Khalifa to celebrate UK travel rules change

    VIDEO: Emirates ‘flight attendant’ on top of Burj Khalifa to celebrate UK travel rules change

    Emirates shared a 32-second clip of a woman in their airline cabin crew uniform standing on top of the Burj Khalifa to celebrate the removal of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from the UK’s Red List.

    In the video, the woman can be seen holding boards that read: “Moving the UAE to the UK Amber List has made us feel on top of the world.” The camera then pans out to reveal that the crew member is at the tip of the tallest building in the world, Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, which stands at 830 meters.

    The brave ‘flight attendant’ was played by skydiver and stuntwoman Nicole Smith-Ludvik. She expressed her gratitude on Instagram, “This is, without a doubt, one of the most amazing and exciting stunts I’ve ever done. A big shoutout to Emirates Airlines for your creative marketing idea! It was a pleasure being a part of the team.”

    The shoot was carried out with the help of a helicopter and drones.

    Nicole was required to stand on the top for hours and the stunt required a vast amount of planning and safety measures to go ahead, as per sources.

    Last week, the British government announced that the UAE and Bahrain will be removed from the UK’s travel Red List. The airline will soon resume its services in the United Kingdom.

    Unvaccinated passengers arriving from Amber List countries need to isolate for 10 days upon their arrival but can be released after five days with a negative test result. However, those who have been fully vaccinated do not have to self-isolate but must provide a negative Covid-19 test within two days of arrival.

  • Man arrested for attacking 10 women who ‘looked happy’ to him

    Man arrested for attacking 10 women who ‘looked happy’ to him

    A man who stabbed 10 female passengers on a train in Tokyo was arrested by the Japanese police, public broadcaster NHK reported.

    As per reports, the 36-year-old man told the police that he wanted to kill women who appeared happy and chose his targets randomly. A woman in her 20s who was attacked is critical, according to the Japanese media.

    The Tokyo Fire Department said nine of the 10 injured passengers were shifted to nearby hospitals, while the tenth was able to walk away. All of the injured were conscious according to the fire department officials.

    The Japanese capital is currently hosting the Olympics, which end Sunday. The site of the stabbing spree was about 15 kilometers (9 miles) away from the main National Stadium.

    Read More: Bride calls off wedding after uncle injured in celebratory firing

    The suspect left his knife behind when he ran away, and later walked into a convenience store and identified himself as the suspect on the news, and said he was tired of running away. The store manager called the police after seeing bloodstains on the man’s shirt.

    Another local media outlet said he told the police he developed the intent to kill women who “looked happy” and stabbed a woman who happened to be seated near him in the train. He also told the police that he chose to stage the attack inside a train because it offered the chance to kill a large number of people.

    The suspect was also carrying cooking oil and a lighter, with which he allegedly intended to set fire inside the carriage, NHK reported.

    A witness at a nearby station where the train stopped said passengers were moving out of the carriages asking for help and shouting that there was a stabbing. Another witness told NHK that he saw passengers smeared with blood come out of the train, as an announcer asked for doctors and for passengers carrying towels.

    Paramedics and police immediately arrived at the station, one of the witnesses said.

  • Bride calls off wedding after uncle injured in celebratory firing

    A 22-year-old bride in Uttar Pradesh, India, cancelled her wedding after her uncle was allegedly hurt in a celebratory firing by the groom’s guests.

    As per details, Iram cancelled the wedding with Shahzad a few hours prior to the wedding, which was scheduled on Wednesday night after the accident took place.

    “How can I marry him? If his family is behaving this way in front of my whole family, how will they behave when I will be alone with them at their place?” questioned Iram.

    Soon after the girl announced her decision, her family members broke the groom’s car, beat his relatives and held them hostage for some time.

    The situation was brought under control after the police reached the spot.

    An FIR was registered and the woman’s uncle was taken to a hospital where his condition is said to be stable.

    Police officials told reporters that the video of the ceremony is being analysed to identify those who opened the fire.

  • Biden says New York Governor Cuomo should resign over sexual harassment report

    Biden says New York Governor Cuomo should resign over sexual harassment report

    American President Joe Biden has called on New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to resign after a report by the New York state attorney general’s office found that he had sexually harassed 11 women, reports The Guardian.

    After the publishing of the official report, the president told reporters that the governor should resign. “I understand that the state legislature may decide to impeach. I don’t know that for a fact. I’ve not read all that data.” he added.

    The New York Attorney General Letitia James revealed that the reports showed Cuomo engaged in unwanted groping, kissing, and hugging and made inappropriate comments to multiple women.

    According to news network CNN, the third-term Democratic governor has denied touching anyone inappropriately and vowed to continue as governor.

    “I do kiss people on the forehead, I do kiss people on the cheek,” he said, in a video response. He also showed a couple of photos of him kissing and hugging both men and women and said his behavior was “unremarkable” for a politician.

    Investigators spoke to 179 people including members of his executive staff and reviewed more than 74,000 pieces of evidence including emails, texts, audio files, and pictures.

    The first allegations were made earlier this year in February when two former aides accused the governor of sexually harassing them. Later, several other women came forward with their own accounts of misconduct.

    Once a rising star in the Democratic Party, the 63-year-old can now can face possible criminal prosecution.

    Cuomo has been serving as the governor of NY state since 2011 and was previously married to famous American politician Robert F. Kennedy’s daughter, Kerry Kennedy.