3.05 PM Thursday, 28 March 2024
  • City Fajr Shuruq Duhr Asr Magrib Isha
  • Dubai 04:57 06:11 12:27 15:53 18:37 19:51
28 March 2024

Crazy World: Costa Concordia put up for sale on eBay

The cruise ship Costa Concordia lies stricken off the shore of the island of Giglio, on January 16, 2012 in Giglio Porto, Italy. More than four thousand people were on board when the ship hit rocks last Friday. The official death toll is now six, with a further 16 people still missing. The rescue operation was temporarily suspended earlier due to the ship moving as it slowly sinks further into the sea. (GETTY)

Published
By Staff/Agencies

AUSTRALIA: "For sale, one cruise ship - slight damage to right-hand hull, mainly cosmetic." An Aussie used these words in his "joke" - which was a bid to sell the stricken Costa Concordia cruise ship on eBay. The ad has since been pulled from the website, reports Herald Sun.

The seller also warned the prospective bidders that there was “some water damage to interior” of the ship and said the new carpets may be needed.

An eBay spokesperson said the ad, for which bidding reached $1008.88 with six days to go, was taken down as it was not appropriate for the website.

“eBay does not permit listings that attempt to profit from human tragedy or suffering," the spokesperson said.

"As a result, we are immediately removing this listing from eBay.com.au.”

There was a warning on the listing stating it was “obviously a fake and should not be taken seriously”.

The website was flooded with questions in response to this particular post. One curious person asked if the rock on which the captain tripped before falling into the lifeboat would be included. The Aussie seller gave an affirmative response. Figure that! 

 

Woman bangs on neighbour's wall for five years


SINGAPORE: Lam Kok Chiang, a 82-year-old widower, in Geylang, Singapore had been bearing loud banging noise in his wall for the past five years.

This loud banging on his wall for five year is being done by his next-door neighbour.

Recently the banging got worst and other neighbours started complaining about the noise.

The culprit who banged the wall is a woman who apparently is annoyed and angry with Lam Kok Chiang because he hangs his clothes in the common corridor.

Neighbours say she hit the wall so hard that it "vibrates".

Mr Lam sacred of such behaviour spent a few thousand dollars to install a CCTV camera outside his flat, see a psychiatrist and engage a lawyer.

Lam moved into this fifth-storey flat in Geylang in 2006. Soon a couple moved in as their neighbour.

Since the very beginning Lam noticed the wife had problems with him.

Her problem with him hanging clothes in the common corridor started two days after she moved in and since then she has been banging on Mr Lam's wall, reports AsianOne.

 

It's a boy: After 5 years, couple reveal child's gender

BRITAIN: A British couple decided to reveal the gender of their five-year-old child after it became difficult to hide the fact after their son started pre-school.

The couple raised their child, Sasha, as "gender neutral" in a bid to break free from stereotyping, reveals Herald Sun.

Laxton, a 46-year-old web editor, told the Cambridge News of her reasons for raising a "genderless" child.

"I wanted to avoid all that stereotyping," she said. "Stereotypes seem fundamentally stupid. Why would you want to slot people into boxes?"

In fact, the couple were so obsessed with the gender issue that they did not bother to check whether they had a boy or a girl for 30 minutes after their baby was born. It was only half an hour after birth that they checked its gender.

They did not reveal the gender of their baby to their friends and relatives either. They simply sent out an email announcing the birth of 'baby Sasha'.

The boy played with gender neutral toys and got his images clicked dressed in pink fairy outfit.

Parents wanted their child to be 'free of societal norms regarding gender'.

 

Bum's the word in security

JAPAN: Put your fingerprint scanners away. Stand aside iris measurers. Buttocks are the new way to prove who you are.

A team of Japanese scientists claim their pressure sensor sheet can accurately identify an individual's backside and when placed on a driver's seat could be used as a last line of defence to stop someone else driving away your motor.

"The sheet has 360 sensors, which collect data for 39 features to recognise a person, such as pressure patterns and the dimensions of the buttocks," said Dr. Shigeomi Koshimizu, who led the research.

Koshimizu, an associate professor at Tokyo-based Advanced Institute of Industrial Technology, said his device is 98 percent accurate and far less onerous than conventional biometrics as it requires nothing more than someone to sit naturally.

But, he added, there are still a few hurdles to clear before the technology makes it to market.

"The recognition tends to be compromised by different clothes," he said. "Sensors read different signals from a pair of trousers and a pair of jeans."

 

Girl, 9, escapes brutal kidnapper 

US:  A missing 9-year-old girl escaped from an apparent kidnapper and called 911 herself from a convenience store in Colorado Springs on Friday.

The Pueblo girl was reported missing Thursday night after she didn't return home from school.

The suspect, Jose Garcia, 29, is also a suspect in an alleged molestation involving a different girl, Pueblo police Capt. Eric Bravo said.

The car of the man accused of kidnapping the girl broke down Friday morning in Colorado Springs, and a passerby gave them a ride to a Circle K, police said.

The girl ran into the convenience store and asked to use the phone to call her uncle but instead called 911, which prompted the man to take off, authorities said.

"Once she realized she had that window of opportunity, she became a hero and rescued herself by calling 911," Colorado Springs police spokeswoman Barbara Miller said in a statement.

Efren Vialpando told The Gazette he saw the girl come in the Circle K with two black eyes and a bruise on her lip and face. She had refused to leave the store with the man, saying, "I ain't going nowhere. I'm waiting for my momma." He said the suspect fled after that.

A Circle K employee declined to comment, citing store policy.

Police immediately began a search for Garcia when they arrived at the store and notified transportation hubs. An employee at a bus terminal recognized Garcia and notified police, who quickly arrested the man without incident.

The girl was taken to a hospital Friday morning. Miller said details of the girl's condition won't be released because of her age.

Garcia was in custody Friday. Pueblo police haven't said how they connected him to the kidnapping and where Garcia was with the girl for more than 15 hours overnight. Pueblo police Sgt. Darren Velarde said Garcia is being held on suspicion of kidnapping and could face a charge of sexual assault on a child.

The FBI helped with the investigation.

Pueblo County court records said Garcia was wanted for suspicion of kidnapping and sex assault on a child, and Bravo said allegations in that case involved Garcia's 9-year-old former stepdaughter. Both the former stepdaughter and the girl who escaped Friday attended Columbian Elementary School in Pueblo.

In the case involving the ex-stepdaughter, Bravo said Garcia was listed as an emergency contact at the school and told officials there he was picking the girl up for a dentist's appointment. Bravo said Garcia is suspected of kidnapping and sexually assaulting the girl in about a half hour before he took the girl back to school.

"We don't know if there's a connection to that girl and (the girl who escaped Friday)," Bravo said.

A family member told The Associated Press by phone that Garcia worked construction in Colorado Springs and he had known his ex-stepdaughter since she was about 3 years old.