Crazy World: Nanny lets tot drown in bucket...

Nanny lets tot drown in bucket

(AGENCIES)

NEW YORK: Too little, too late.

As a judge sentenced her to 1-to-3 years in prison, a Queens babysitter who allowed an 11-month-old baby to drown in a bucket while she was zonked out on cold medicine finally apologized to the tragic tot’s family.

"I’m sorry for what I’ve done to this family," Kristal Khan said today as she read from a three-page-handwritten statement.

Khan, 30, of Richmond Hill, was found guilty of the reckless assault and endangerment of James Farrior III who fell face first into a blue bucket of water and drowned as the babysitter was asleep on the couch after taking Nyquil.

"I did demonstrate poor judgment for taking Nyquil," Khan said. "I’m a single parent and I’ve lost my children as well. I loved James as did my children. I did take care of him to the best of my ability —my brother and I child proofed the house."

"All I could do is offer my sincerest apologies to the family and hope they will one day forgive me."

It was little consolation to James’ heartbroken mother Chrisann Josiah. "I’ve reached out to her on Facebook and she’s ignored me. I saw her life going on everyday as if nothing happened," said Josiah, as she read her victim impact statement.

"Kristal Khan didn’t love our child. She made our child seem so insignificant and because of her, instead of planning his first birthday on June 15, 2009 we were planning his funeral." 
 
Philippine TV host under fire

(GETTY/GALLO)

One of the Philippines' most popular and controversial TV personalities has reluctantly apologised after making a six-year-old boy cry on his show by forcing him to simulate a striptease.

The government accused Willie Revillame and the TV5 network on which his show appears of child abuse over the incident, which also caused uproar on the Internet with one Facebook critic labelling him a "national jerk".

"The sequence shows the boy gyrating in a distasteful manner," Social Welfare Minister Corazon Soliman said in a statement on Monday.

"Putting pressure on children to do acts such as mimicking adult sexy dances, in exchange for a certain amount of money, and at the expense of being laughed at and ridiculed by hundreds of people, clearly traumatises the child."

The incident occurred on the March 12 edition of the top-rating "Willing Willie" early evening programme, in which contestants win cash, cars and other prizes if they perform various acts to the crowd's amusement.

The boy, from a poor family, earned 10,000 pesos (230 dollars) for the effort.

"He's obviously doing it with a heavy heart, but he has to do it for his family," Revillame said during the dance, with the footage going viral on video sharing and social networking Internet sites.

One clip has drawn half a million hits on YouTube.

Revillame hit the headlines for the wrong reasons in 2006 after more than 70 people were killed in a stampede while lining up for his previous television game show with another network.

TV5 issued a qualified apology on Monday on behalf of the network and Revillame.

"Mr. Willie Revillame, the producers of 'Willing Willie' and TV5 sincerely and deeply apologise for the segment of the show featuring (the boy) which viewers may have found offensive or in bad taste," it said in a statement.

But it also insisted the boy had appeared voluntarily and with his parents' consent, while adding his tears were not genuine.

"He appeared to be sad or even in tears, not because he was being forced to dance, but because he felt the dance was 'serious' and he was playing a role."

Bakery products that can be up to a year old

(AGENCIES)

EUROPE: Rustic breads and cakes sold in the ‘fresh’ bakery areas of supermarkets may be a little more rustic than you would like.

The products are often defrosted and can be up to a year old, investigators revealed.

Many rolls and baguettes are given a second baking of up to eight minutes before being put on the shelves so they appear to be fresh with more of a crust.

The practice, which is also used at some coffee and sandwich chains, was yesterday condemned as a ‘con trick’ by a campaigner who called on retailers to say if a product had been defrosted. Such a move is backed by the European Union. 

It was revealed days after the Daily Mail discovered that many other ‘fresh’ food products have been heat-treated, part frozen, industrially or chemically altered and stored for weeks.
 
However, supermarkets and suppliers claim the quality of bread and cakes is not affected and any additional information may confuse customers.

One of the main manufacturers of ‘thaw-and-serve’ bakery products is CSM, a Dutch company which supplies Asda, Tesco and Sainsbury’s.

A company representative told an undercover reporter that its products have a ‘year’s shelf life at frozen, but once defrosted [are] best eaten within a day’.
 
Are you gay, 11-year-olds will be asked

(AGENCIES)

LONDON: British children as young as 11 will now be asked by the country's equalities watchdog, questions related to their sexual orientation, a media report said.

The children will have to answer a set of questions that would determine whether they were straight, gay or bisexual, according to the Daily Express.

People working in schools, health care and youth services are being advised to set up pilot studies to monitor adolescent sexual orientation and not dismiss gay feelings as a "passing phase".

The Equality and Human Rights Commission advocates asking children aged 11 because some "question their orientation as early as eight and may begin to identify as LGB (lesbian, gay, bisexual) from early adolescence".
 
'Horrifying' new burger dumps the bun

(FILE)

AUSTRALIA: Obesity crisis? What obesity crisis? KFC will tomorrow unleash on the market its latest fat-and-sodium laden creation that has done away with the most basic of burger ingredients - the bun.

The Double Down instead has bacon, sauce and two slices of melted cheese between two pieces of deep fried chicken, The Daily Telegraph reported.

The 212g original recipe version has 1939kj and 22.3g of fat, while the 232g Zinger version packs 35.7g of fat 2515kj, well more than a quarter of the average daily adult intake of 8700kj.

However, the kilojoule punch is much less than a McDonald's Double Quarter Pounder, which hits a mammoth 3560kj, while Macca's Grand Crispy Chicken is 2510kj.

Leading nutritionist Dr Rosemary Stanton labelled KFC's Double Down burger "horrifying".

In the grips of an obesity epidemic, Australians did not need any more fattening burgers, Dr Stanton said.

"Two-thirds of men and more than half of women are overweight. We don't need more of these sorts of things. It's horrifying," Dr Stanton said.

Nutritionist Susie Burrell said it would take an hour of intense exercise to burn off the 1939kj.

"It's gross over-consumption because it is above and beyond a regular burger," Ms Burrell said.

KFC said the Double Down should be enjoyed as an occasional treat and part of a balanced lifestyle.

A huge hit in the US and Canada with 15 million sold, the Double Down is being squarely marketed at men in the Down Under marketing campaign.

Describing it as one of the "manliest" burgers available, KFC is marking the launch with a "Month of ManTime" in which Aussie men are encouraged to enjoy more time with their mates.

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