New Year twins born within minutes... but a year apart

Twins born minutes apart, but in different years

US: Two sets of twins born around the midnight hour have found themselves in the unlikely situation of having birthdays in separate years.

The Daily Mail reports that in Buffalo, New York, young Ronan Rosputni was delivered at 11:37pm on December 31, 2011, while his younger brother Rory arrived at 12:10am on January 1, 2012.

Minnesota woman Stephanie Peterson had to wait a lot longer for her second baby with daughter Freya born at 12:26am on the first day of 2012, more than six hours after twin brother Beckett.

"When Freya was finally born the nurses had made confetti and threw confetti all over and everybody was clapping, so it was a party when she came," Peterson told CBS news.

Mother of the New York twins, Brighid Rosputni, couldn't believe the unlikely birth."They have completely different birthdates and years, I don't know if it's ever happened. I'll have to do some research," she said.

7-yr-old girl's liver cut out for good harvest

INDIA: A girl, 7, was killed and her body parts were offered as a sacrifice to God in anticipation of good harvest by a couple of farmers in central Indian town of Raipur.

Child was kidnapped as she walked home after watching TV at a neighbour's house.

The duo had kidnapped the helpless girl earlier and chopped her up to retrieve her liver for an offering at a temple, reports The Times of India.

The girl disappeared in October and her dismembered remains were found a week later. The body had been buried, however, animals found it and dug it up.

Both farmers admit they carried out gruesome act to appease gods, say police. They have been arrested for allegedly carrying out the killing, police said. The duo are likely to face life in prison or even the death sentence if convicted.

 

82-year-old rapes girl, 10

INDIA: A grand old man of 82 has been found guilty of rape and murder of a young girl aged 10. Her body was found on the terrace of his bungalow in Pune on October 14, 2009, reports The Times of India.

The victim's mother was emplyed as a housemaid in Mohiniraj Kulkarni's home. The mother was also involved in the crime and has been charged with abetting the crime.

When the mother had initially filed the complaint against her employer, she mentioned she suspected his involvement in the case. However, later she confessed being in a relationship with the old man and cooperating with him as she was offered RS50,000 (Dh4,800 approximately) to cover up for him.

Human remains found on Queen's Sandringham estate

BRITAIN: Police say they've found human remains on the Sandringham estate, a vast area in rural Norfolk where the royal family retreats for the holiday season.
A terse statement posted to the website of the Norfolk Constabulary said a member of the public found the remains in an area of woodland at Anmer, a tiny village 185 km northeast of London.

Britain's Press Association news agency identified Anmer as being part of the estate, which stretches over several thousand acres.

Police said the remains were found on New Year's Day.

No indication of the age or nature of the remains was given, and police said no further information would be released until later today.

Boy barred from watching crime shows hangs self

KOLKATA: A 12-year-old boy who was addicted to watching crime shows on television was warned over watching them by his father. Upset over the restriction, the boy hanged himself to death in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata, reports The Times of India.

On Monday morning, the father saw his son glued to the television watching his favourite serial. The father was worried over the recent spate of deaths of children in the city while trying to mimic stunts in crime shows. He promptly switched off the television and barred his son from watching them.

Tragedy unfolded in the afternoon when the boy was discovered hanging from the window of a bedroom by his younger brother. The grade 4 student was declared brought dead at the hospital.

Need a new kidney? Facebook can help

US: Here's another reason to join the social media site Facebook: it's a great place to find a kidney. Between the children's photos and reminiscences about high school, more and more pleas for help from people with failing kidneys are popping up.

Facebook and other social media sites are quickly becoming a go-to place to find a generous person with a kidney to spare, according to the people asking for help and some national organisations that facilitate matches.

Damon Brown found a kidney on Facebook after telling his story on a special page the Seattle dad created under the name, "Damon Kidney".

His friends and family forwarded the link to everyone they knew and on January 3 a woman his wife has known for years, but not someone they consider a close family friend, will be giving him a kidney.

"She said it wasn't really for me. It was for my kids, because they deserve to have a dad around," Mr Brown, 38, said.

Mr Brown's story is not unique. This past year, a man in Michigan also found a kidney donor through Facebook, and a Florida woman found one through Craigslist.

Damon Brown admits he was a little embarrassed to ask for help so publicly. Except for telling close friends and family, the Seattle father of two young boys had been keeping his illness pretty quiet.

He was on the official transplant list and had started mobile dialysis but was seeing his health deteriorate.

After one particularly difficult visit with his doctor, Damon and his wife, Bethany, decided to create the Facebook page, which has attracted more than 1400 friends.

Jacqueline Ryall, 45, said she felt a need to donate a kidney to Mr Brown to give back her own good health and all she has been given. She's not a mother and gushed about how beautiful Damon and Bethany's kids are.

"The real reason I'm doing this is he's got kids and he's a good guy," she said.

"My life is in a good place. I've been given lots and I have a responsibility to give back."

After some research, Ms Ryall decided it's relatively safe for a woman in good health to donate a kidney.

If something is going to go wrong with her own kidneys, she has heard they usually fail in twos.

"Right now it feels like absolutely the right thing to do," she said, adding that she hopes her decision will help make other people less afraid to do the same thing.

Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.