Thursday, October 6, 2011

'Killer Kismot curry' contest leaves two in hospital in Edinburgh

World's hottest chilli contest: Competitors tuck in to the 'Kismot Killer' curry, trying to prove it's not too hot to handle. It left two people in hospital

Ambulances were called to the restaurant, with one of those taken to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary (ERI) having to return there within hours of being released, for more treatment.

At the heart of the ‘Kismot Killer’ is the bhut jolokia chilli, considered the world’s hottest edible variety – 20 times more potent than some Cayenne peppers.

The blood red and brown dish containing three of the chillies gives off an air of menace and the disclaimer gives customers a taste  of what they are letting themselves in for.

‘Kismot Restaurant will take no responsibilities for the bodily functions after you eat the curry,’ it says. ‘If you die whilst eating or as a direct result of eating the curry, members of the table will share the cost of your Kismot Killer.Kim Curie had to be taken by ambulance to hospital twice in a matter of hours

‘If you become ill due to the Kismot Killer or if you find that you are experiencing any problems with your lover(s) then under no circumstances are you entitled to blame Kismot Restaurant or any members of its staff.’

Participants in the charity event had to eat spoonfuls of increasing strength ‘Kismot Killer’, with those who took a drink of milk before the end being disqualified.

Kim Curie, 21, a Korean exchange student at Edinburgh University, came second in the competition, which was in aid of the Children’s Hospice Association Scotland. She said: ‘I’ve always enjoyed spicy foods and thought this was for a good cause. But it came with a price: I had to be taken to the ERI twice. I have never endured such pain in my life.’

Restaurant owner Abdul Ali admitted his surprise at the violent reaction to the dish, especially as the man who finished fifth also ended up in hospital.

Abdul Ali, manager of the Kismot restaurant, with his Kurry King or Queen crown and trophy
‘People were in agony,’ said Mr Ali, who was criticised by the ambulance service after the event. ‘I might have overestimated what I could give them. We made it a bit hotter than it is on the menu. I was a bit shocked at how people reacted. I think we’ll tone it down in future. We do not want any more ambulances.’




Apple co-founder Steve Jobs dies at 56

Apple boss Steve Jobs, seen here delivering one of his last public speeches, has died at 56

Described as a 'visionary' by president Barack Obama and 'brilliant passionate and energetic' in a statement from his company itself, Jobs is widely credited with transforming the world of computer and smartphone technology.

Apple's iPod also revolutionised the music world by making digital music and music players 'cool' again.

Microsoft boss Bill Gates also paid tribute to Jobs, who died on Wednesday, saying it had been an 'insanely great honour' to work with him.


A tribute to Jobs, left on the Apple store front in Santa Monica

'I will miss Steve immensely,' Gates added.

In a short tribute, Mr Obama hailed Jobs' contribution to American life in general, saying he 'made the information revolution not only accessible, but intuitive and fun'.

'Steve was among the greatest of American innovators - brave enough to think differently, bold enough to believe he could change the world, and talented enough to do it,' the US president added.

Many other tributes poured in for the Apple co-founder after the news of his death emerged, with influential figures from across the world united in their respect.

Apple's statement said: 'The world is immeasurably better because of Steve.'

Tributes and flowers were laid by Apple staff and fans at the company's iconic headquarters in Cupertino, California.


Candles are lit at a makeshift memorial for Steve Jobs at the Apple headquarters

The Apple boss' death comes just a matter of hours after his company's latest announcement - the next generation iPhone 4S.

The presentation of the new device, which has received a muted response from fans and critics so far, was made by new chief executive Tim Cook - his first public presentation after taking over from his predecessor.

Jobs' impact across different spheres was perhaps encapsulated best by the tributes paid to him from all walks of life.

American tennis star Serena Williams called Jobs 'the Thomas Edison of our day' in a Twitter post, adding: 'You will be missed but your legend will live forever.'

Will Findlater, editor of Stuff Magazine, added: 'Steve Jobs created the modern technology landscape. He made gadgets front-page stories and objects of desire, and his uncanny ability to predict what we would need and want from our gadgets led to the products that have defined the 21st century.

'He understood above all else that it’s not the technology itself, but the way in which you use it that can enhance your life. As a result, he forever changed the way we entertain ourselves, communicate with one another and interact with our devices.'

Meanwhile, British business magnate Lord Sugar - his own fame born from the computers market - said he was 'gutted' by the news.

'We started our computer biz at same time and were competitors tru 80's. Great visionary. Sadly missed RIP,' he told his followers.

Jobs started his career in tech in 1969 when he got a summer job at Hewlett-Packard, before going on to launch the Apple 1 computer with fellow Apple founder Steve Wozniak in 1976.



Wednesday, May 4, 2011

She refused to wash off make-up for two years

she was dissatisfied with her appearance and wanted 
cosmetic surgery on 10 areas of her face


For two years, this South Korean lady did not wash her face, reported The Daily Chilli.

20-year-old Bae Dal-mi wanted to "look perfect all the time", and even slept with thick make-up on. She said that she first started applying make-up as a 14-year-old and eventually progressed to thicker, mask-like makeup.

She added that the most important object in her life was her mirror, which she keeps by her side at all times.

Despite being considered rather pretty, Bae revealed to a South Korean variety show that she was dissatisfied with her appearance and wanted cosmetic surgery on 10 areas of her face.

Bae's mother, appalled at her daughter's lack of hygiene, had contacted the variety show in an attempt to force her to change her behavior.

A visit to the doctor revealed that Bae's skin was twice her actual age due to the make-up, reported online media.

According to experts, leaving make up on for too long not only clogs pores, but can also cause early aging.



Sunday, April 24, 2011

Meat Glows Blue in Shanghai


Straight out of a science fiction tale comes this true story of blue glowing meat in Shanghai, China. Some pork purchased in supermarkets in Changsha City emitted a blue glow much to the surprise and fear of those who had cooked some of the meat and eaten it in various appetizers.

Oddly, the blue color is only seen at night, making it possible for one
who has had one  drink too many to think they are having an hallucination. The morning after, so to speak, the meat looks normal.
The media picked up the story and forced the hand of the Changsha Food Safety Commission, who immediately mobilized the efforts of the business, livestock, industry and commerce, health, and other departments and at invited experts and professors to participate in the investigation.
Although none of the experts consulted admitted they had never seen such a thing, they all concurred that “blue glowing pork” is caused by secondary bacterial contamination.
Shanghai Health Supervision Department food experts say the pork that has been contaminated by phosphorescent bacteria is still safe to consume after cooking and heating.
So far, no one has tested this theory.
Maybe more colors are needed before consumers feel safe eating meat that comes in different shades and hues.
Red roasts and green sirloins, coming up!




Friday, April 22, 2011

Dead alien' turns out to be stale bread

Dough: Fake alien was made of bread crumbs and chicken skin


A video of the find shot by Timur Hilall, 18, and Kirill Vlasov, 19 - supposedly showing the alien's mangled body frozen in snow in  Irkutsk, Siberia -  became a world-wide sensation after appearing on YouTube.

Now the pair have admitted it was a prank after being quizzed  by police over the stunt.

A Russian interior ministry spokesman said: 'We found the alien in one of the student's homes.

'It was lying under his bed and an examination of it revealed it had been made of bread crumbs which were then covered in chicken skin.' 

Now police and prosecutors are considering whether the pair have committed any crime.

'What are we going to do with them? We have not yet decided.' 

The bogus body appeared after locals reported seeing an alien spaceship crash in the region last month.

Local UFO expert Alex Komanov from the Russian UFO Research Centre immediately dismissed the find saying: 'The body is interesting. The texture is similar to a real biological entity.

'However, the creature has no clothes and I am sure that intelligent beings would be dressed in something like a space suit or coveralls.'

But UFO fans are already accusing the Russian government of staging a cover up.

'We know what we saw. Powerful people in the military just don't want us  to see this,' said one.


Thursday, April 21, 2011

Look before you buy that smartphone




YOU'RE in the market for a smartphone now, forget it. Cancel your plans, save your money and avoid frustration.
This is the worse time to buy a smartphone. (Then again, there is no good time to buy anything related to technology because it just becomes old after three months.) It's definitely not the time to be buying a smartphone now if you're living in Southeast Asia, more so if you're in Brunei.
Why? Dual-core phones were announced just this year with LG's Optimus 2X being the first of its kind. What does dual core mean? Imagine this, combine two of the Optimus 2X's, they will be as capable as the Macbook Pro I am using. And then 3D phones are already on the way.
Let's take a look at the breakdown of the major operating systems available.
Windows Phone 7 (WP7)
Many thought this was going to be the next hottest thing for mobile devices. But upon release, reviews went from good to bad. It's been almost a year after release and it hasn't really made much of an impact since.
WP7 came with a semi multi-tasking ability. But the market already had other existing operating systems that were already capable of running a 100 per cent multi-task. WP7 is only planning to introduce the copy-and-paste function, an extremely necessary feature to have, "soon".
The WP7 apps are not growing as fast as users would like them. You won't see many with these in Brunei, but if you're looking to be unique, then yes, buy WP7.
Symbian OS
People love their Nokia. Nokia phones are solid and cheap. Brunei actually has one of the highest users of Opera Web (percentage wise) which is what Symbian users have for web-surfing. With their new E7 recently announced, (at a whopping $900 retail), I'm not particularly convinced. Nokia just announced recently that they'll be moving towards WP7 this year so Symbian fans won't be very happy about that. Nokia, the biggest user of Symbian, however, promises it will keep updates going for two more years or so, but who would really want to sink their money in a product which might or might not be in use or be relevant in the future.
iOS
Apple still refuses to give full Flash support to its devices, insisting HTML5 is the way to go. The iPhone 4 is good but still not good enough to make 3GS users switch, not to mention the ridiculous price tag and oh yeah, iPhone 5 is coming within a few months too.
You can bet that the new iPhone will be running a dual-core processor seeing that the iPad 2 already has it. However, I wouldn't be surprised if the next iPhone update is just as frustrating as the new iPad changes. When the iPad 2 was launched, I was pretty excited to find out what they had changed. Sadly, Apple is still taking advantage of their consumers. Besides a speed bump and front camera, there isn't much to rave about. It would be hard to switch from an iPad to an iPad 2 that's for sure.
Android
This is the first OS to feature a dual-core processor. That's two times the power for your phone. While we haven't seen any of these yet in Brunei, they will definitely be here soon. The latest high-end Android phones in Brunei are the Sony Xperia Arc, HTC Incredible S and Nexus S. All of which are still running a single-core processor. Although the three phones are running Android's latest Gingerbread (very soon for the Incredible S), reviews have been .... sub-par. I played around with the Optimus 2X last week and boy, it was blazing fast. Applications loaded almost instantly while loading web pages in the background and three to four other apps ran simultaneously. A number of dual-core Android phones already released in the West include: Motorola Atrix, Sony Xperia Play and Samsung Galaxy S II. HTC was scheduled recently to host an event to announce their upcoming products just after they showed off the HTC Evo 3D last month.
BlackBerry
The Torch was released almost six months ago and since everyone is going dual core, so is BB. There have been rumours about what RIM's next phone will be, with many expecting the Torch 2 and Dakota. Both expected to have BlackBerry's OS 6.1. RIM is also hosting BlackBerry World next month, so qwerty keyboard fans will have to sit and wait.

Monday, April 18, 2011

Alien body found near UFO crash site in Russia, video



Around one month ago this publication reported on a major UFO event that occurred in the region of Irkutsk in Russia's Siberia. Hundreds of villagers saw a huge object, glowing pink and blue, hurtle towards Earth before loudly impacting the ground  in a wooded area . 

The event received widespread coverage in Russia and was reported by Inter-fax, Russia's government news agency . In the West the event was completely ignored if not deliberately kept from public view.

An enormous team of government officials, including military personal, secret service agents and science ministry officials made their was to the UFO crash site within hours of the event occurring.

Now it seems a video has been leaked onto the Internet showing a dead Alien (see video below), found in the Republic of Buryatia, not far from the site of the UFO crash. Is the alien seen in this video a survivor of that crash who managed to leave the area only to die as a result of Russia's harsh conditions?Warning: the below video contains graphic images.





Friday, April 15, 2011

Cat gives birth to dog

Zhou Yun's cat, and the puppy she definitely didn't just find round the back of her house


Zhou Yun, the cat's owner, says she knew her furry friend was pregnant so she wasn't surprised when she happened upon two kittens at the beginning of the month.

On closer inspection, however, she noticed that one of the babies was dead.

'I then noticed the other kitten surprisingly looks like a dog,' Zhou, who lives in Yangshan, in eastern China's Jiangsu Province, told reporters.

Zhou, who's also the owner of a pet dog that likes to eat and sleep with its feline pal (hmm...), added: 'Quite possibly the kitty is a mixed child'.

Lai Xiaoyun, president of a local pet clinic, has sagely pointed out (after having a good look at the kitten-puppy, to be fair) that it's impossible for a cat to give birth to a dog.

He reckons Zhou's cat popped out two kittens and one died shortly after: 'So the cat went out and accidentally found a litter of newborn puppies and took one home.' 

'Cats and dogs are two different species and it's impossible to have joint descendants,' he concluded.

Weather Blamed for Caterpillar Plague

A boy eyeing a caterpillar in Tanjung Duren, West Jakarta, where thousands
of the prickly insects have infested pine trees

Unpredictable weather coupled with a decline in natural predators is responsible for a recent plague of caterpillars in parts of the country. 

Though the phenomenon is centered largely in Probolinggo, East Java, smaller reported outbreaks in Central Java, West Java, Bali and, most recently, Jakarta have prompted fears of a widespread infestation. 

But Aunu Rauf, an entomologist at the Bogor Institute of Agricultural (IPB), says there is no connection between the outbreaks in Probolinggo and those in the other areas. 

“There are at least 120,000 types of caterpillars in the world, so those found in Bekasi [West Java] and Probolinggo would be different from each other,” he told the Jakarta Globe on Wednesday. 

“I’m sure the ones in Tanjung Duren [West Jakarta], where people have claimed to have been ‘attacked’ by caterpillars, are also a different type.” 

Since March, millions of hairy caterpillars have cropped up in at least five subdistricts in Probolinggo, invading fields and homes. They have also caused itchy rashes among residents. 

The caterpillars have also destroyed more than 8,800 mango trees — the district’s main agricultural produce. However, the caterpillars in Bekasi were found largely in bushes, while those in Tanjung Duren were found on pine trees. 

“Basically, in the life cycles of pests, it’s normal for them to increase in number at the start of the dry season — especially caterpillars,” Aunu said, adding that the country was currently in the transition period to the dry season. 

“In the current case, however, their numbers exploded because of the prolonged rainy season last year that disrupted [the population growth of] natural predators, particularly birds and other insects. 

“In addition, parasitoids, insects similar to wasps whose larvae live within caterpillars as parasites, are for some reason on the decline. Their role as the caterpillars’ natural enemy is very important because they lay their eggs inside the caterpillar, and when those hatch, the larvae eat up the caterpillar from the inside.” 

Aunu said the outbreak in Probolinggo, coming 70 years after the last similar outbreak there, was remarkable only for the extent of the damage being caused to mango trees. 

“These caterpillars have had a tremendous effect — not only economic, from eating all the mango leaves, but also social,” he said. “Because now the villagers are afraid to carry out their regular activities due to all these insects coming into their houses.” 

Aunu said while it was good for people to be aware of the caterpillar phenomena, including in Tanjung Duren and Bekasi, he stressed it was normal for the caterpillar population to increase at this time of year and should not cause too much concern. 

“If these caterpillars were the type that run around fields or enter homes instead of clinging to tree branches, then we would have to take action,” he said.

Hari Sutrisno, an entomologist from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), said that as long as the caterpillars were not harming people, they should be left alone. 

“There’s been quite a frenzy over these caterpillars, and it’s all a bit too much,” he said, adding that the reports from Bekasi were particularly exaggerated. “Caterpillars don’t claim lives.” 

Hari said the best way to deal with the insects was to collect them for incineration rather than use pesticides on them. 

“Another method is to blend dead caterpillars with water and spray it on the live ones,” he said. “The spray acts as a natural insecticide because caterpillars that die naturally usually contain a virus that’s deadly for the species. It’s a lot better than using pesticides, which can have a long-term impact.” 

Aunu also cautioned against using pesticides. “Just pick them off the tree branches and get rid of them,” he said. 

“Don’t use pesticides because you don’t know what other kinds of insects you’ll be killing that serve a function for the tree.” 

In the Probolinggo case, Aunu said the caterpillar numbers were already declining because most of the insects had already turned into butterflies. 

“The only way to deal with them is still through their natural enemies,” he said. 

“To do this, put caterpillar pupae into a jar and see whether they become butterflies or wasps. If they turn into butterflies, then we need to kill them. But if you get a wasp, that means they need to be released because parasitoids are present and functioning.” 

Darmuna, a resident of Tanjung Duren, said the problem was that the hairs of the dead caterpillars were being blown around by the wind and making people itchy. 

He added that the outbreak was not a new problem, with a similar event taking place in 2007. 

Sholeh, deputy head of a neighborhood unit in Tanjung Duren, suggested the best way to get rid of the pests would be to chop down the 29 pine trees along Jalan Sekretaris on which they were gathered. He also said the trees needed replacing because they were old and several had been uprooted during rainstorms. 

“We expected the city administration to take our opinion seriously and take action on this case by chopping down the trees and replacing them with new ones,” he said. “Instead, they just sprayed the lower parts of the trees [with pesticide]. 

“Every day we have to deal with the hairs that make us itchy. We could chop the trees down ourselves, but it’d cost Rp 300,000 [$35] per tree and there are 29 of them. Besides, the administration already has a budget to chop down trees.”





Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Four-year-old-children-smoking-train-video-outrages-China

Caught on camera: Two children, estimated to be three or four years old, have 
been filmed smoking on a train in China
A video of two children smoking cigarettes on a train has sparked fresh debate about the scale of China's tobacco habit.

The short video shows two young boys - aged approximately three to four years old - laughing as they puff away, with one blowing smoke into the others face.

When one surprised passenger asks 'Does he know how to smoke?', another replies, 'Yes, you see he can inhale!', according to the website behindthewall.com.

The young pair are stood on the space between two connecting train carriages, which often serves as a smoking area on Chinese trains.

Smoking is a huge problem in China. The cost per year to the health service was more than 70billion yuan last year - approximately £6.5bn.

It has arguably the biggest smoking problem in the world, with at least one million deaths per year from smoking related illnesses.


    As much as 30 per cent of China's population smokes - around 300 million people - compared to around  10 million adults in Britain. As many as 53 per cent of adult men smoke in China.

    Smoking was banned in public places in Britain came into force on July 1, 2007, and smoking rates have been steadily dropping for decades.

    China first mooted a ban as far back as 1995 and while any such plans have been fiercely opposed, restrictions are extended regularly.

    The latest initiative, announced last month, will ban smoking starting May 1 in all indoor public areas.



    Tuesday, April 12, 2011

    Can tobacco cigarettes cure cancer?


     An Indonesian patient undergoing treatment for cancer using tobacco is wrapped with an aluminum foil and wet cloth on a copper table at the Griya Balur clinic in Jakarta.
    An Indonesian patient undergoing treatment for cancer using tobacco is wrapped with a wet cloth on a copper table at the Griya Balur clinic in Jakarta.

    A clinic staff inhales cigarette smoke to blow into the ear of an Indonesian patient undergoing treatment for illness using tobacco at the Griya Balur clinic in Jakarta.

    A clinic staff blows cigarette smoke into the ear of an Indonesian patient undergoing treatment for illness using tobacco at the Griya Balur clinic in Jakarta. The treatment includes the blowing of smoke from "divine cigarettes" infused with "nanotechnology" to remove their cancer causing "free radicals." Along with cancer and autism, it's just one of the ailments the Griya Balur clinic claims it can cure with cigarettes.


    JAKARTA (AFP) – An Indonesian woman exhales cigarette smoke into the mouth of a gaunt, naked patient at a Jakarta clinic, where tobacco is openly touted as a cancer cure.
    The Western patient is suffering from emphysema, a condition she developed from decades of smoking. Along with cancer and autism, it's just one of the ailments the Griya Balur clinic claims it can cure with cigarettes.
    "I missed this," says the woman, a regular customer, with an American accent, as Phil Collins?s "I Can Feel It" blares in the background.
    Griya Balur would be shut down in many parts of the world, but not in Indonesia, one of the developing-country new frontiers for big tobacco as it seeks to replace its dwindling profits in the health-conscious West.
    Long traditions of tobacco use combined with poor regulation and the billions of dollars that flow into government coffers from the tobacco industry mean places like Griya Balur go unchallenged.
    The "treatment" for the emphysema sufferer includes the blowing of smoke from "divine cigarettes" infused with "nanotechnology" to remove their cancer-causing "free radicals", through a tube into her diseased lungs.
    Smoke is also blown into her ears and nose, while she holds a cup of aspirin over her right eye. The Phil Collins music, it seems, has no curative properties.
    Griya Balur founder Dr. Gretha Zahar told AFP she had treated 60,000 people with tobacco smoke over the past decade.
    With a PhD in nanochemistry from Padjadjaran University in Bandung, West Java, Zahar believes that by manipulating the mercury in tobacco smoking can cure all diseases including cancer, and even reverse the ageing process.
    "Mercury is the cause of all illnesses. In my cigarettes -- we call them Divine Cigarettes -- there are scavengers that extract the mercury from the body," she said.
    On her website she says she does not need to subject her theories to clinical tests or publish them in peer-reviewed journals, nor does she have the money to "fight" with "Western medical scientists".
    Zahar?s claims were recently presented to the Constitutional Court where farmers and legislators from the tobacco-growing hub of Central Java are challenging a law that recognises the leaf as addictive.
    Aris Widodo, a pharmacology professor at Brawijaya University in Malang, East Java, told the court that he had never heard of anyone dying from smoking. On the contrary, he said, smoking was good for you.
    "Smoking can eliminate anxiety, sharpen concentration and calm the nerves. It?s a good cheap alternative to other expensive drugs, like Valium," he said.
    Tobacco is addictive and harmful to health, but Indonesians are taking up the habit in ever larger -- and younger -- numbers, cheered on by the tobacco industry's aggressive marketing.
    Addicts puff everywhere from beauty salons to dentist?s waiting rooms. Parents give cigarettes to toddlers to keep them quiet. Cigarettes are handed out to teenagers along with concert tickets. Laws banning public smoking are rarely if ever enforced, and tobacco advertising is ubiquitous on the country's roadsides and television screens.
    Cigarettes cost about one dollar for a pack of 20, yet they are often the second biggest item of household expenditure after food for the Southeast Asian country's poorest families.
    According to the World Health Organisation, smoking rates have risen six-fold in Indonesia over the last 40 years. Smoking kills at least 400,000 people every year and another 25,000 die from passive smoking.
    Yet Indonesia is the only country in Asia not to have ratified the WHO's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which sets policy recommendations and benchmarks for countries concerned about the health impacts of smoking.
    Indonesia's biggest cigarette manufacturer, PT HM Sampoerna, is an affiliate of Philip Morris International. British American Tobacco bought Indonesia?s fourth largest cigarette maker, PT Bentoel, for $494 million in 2009.
    The government reaps about seven billion dollars a year in excise taxes from the industry, which employs scores of thousands of people around Temanggung in Central Java.
    Anti-smoking activists say industry players are dusting off their old marketing playbook to obscure the science and paint smoking as cool, masculine, glamorous and even healthy, especially to women and children.
    During deliberations of smoking regulations in 2009, a clause stating tobacco?s addictiveness went missing from the final draft. The government said the omission was a mere oversight and later reinserted the clause.
    Health ministry official Budi Sampurno was questioned but he maintains that tobacco companies had nothing to do with it.
    "Never. Is there any proof? We have never been approached by tobacco companies. That is not legal practice," he said.
    Dr. Hakim Sorimuda Pohan, a Democratic Party legislator who helped draft the Health Law, said there was no doubt big tobacco was behind the shenanigans.
    "They did the same thing in 1992. Tobacco companies successfully had the same clause omitted from the law," he said.


    Transsexual leaves boyfriend after he paid $24,000 for her visa

    She met Ian Young when he was working as a security guard in Malaysia.

    Fatine was born a man called Mohammed Fazdil in Malaysia.

    .She left him after he spent S$24,000 to get her a full visa.

     According to The Daily Mail, Mr Young claims that his life is in a mess after she left. 

    She stayed with friends in Blackpool and tried to work as a showgirl.


    However, she couldn't get a job and then moved to Manchester, where she lives on welfare benefits.

    BRITAIN - A transsexual left her husband after he spent 12,000 Sterling pounds (S$24,000) to get her a visa to stay in-country.
    English news site The Daily Mail reported that a Malaysian pre-operative transsexual walked out on her British husband two weeks after he helped her win rights to stay in the country.
    According to the news site, 38-year-old Fatine, who was born Mohammed Fazdil Min Bahari, told her husband Ian Young that she would be jailed if she returned to Malaysia so he would help her get a visa.
    She left him two weeks after she got the visa.
    Life in ruins
    The Daily Mail reported Mr Young as saying that his life was now in ruins after he spent the the 12,000 Sterling pounds on the visa.
    He also tried to commit suicide and is now rebuilding his life, according to the English news site.
    The couple met when Mr Young was working as a security guard in Malaysia. They stayed together even after he discovered that she had been born a male.
    Fatine stayed in England on a six-month tourist visa before she was awarded a full visa. She had cited death threats made against her on internet sites to support her visa application.
    After moving out, she stayed with friends in Blackpool and tried to work as a showgirl. After she couldn't get a job, she then went to Manchester and is now living on welfare payments.





    Monday, April 11, 2011

    Two women claim they now suffer from bacterial infection after slimming injection


    Sin Chew Daily reported that two women, who weighed 42kg and 47kg, respectively, claimed that they were now suffering from a bacterial infection after they went to a beautician for a slimming injection.
    One of the women had gone for three injections, spending RM4,000 (S$1,700) on the product in November, while the other only received one shot.
    "My skin is swollen and feels itchy. It's painful," said one of them at a press conference organised by Cheras MCA.
    Both women, who are in their 20s, alleged that they had spent RM50,000 and RM30,000 each to treat the infection.
    They also claimed that when they confronted the beautician about their condition, she told them that it was normal.
    The women had since lodged a report at the Cheras police station.
    Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai had promised a probe into the case.
    -The Star/Asia News Network