One dead as elephants go berserk in Mysore

Two young wild elephants strayed into Mysore city from a nearby forest early Wednesday and caused havoc, trampling a man to death and causing panic.
Forest guards tranquilized the elephants and chained them to trees after about three hours of high voltage drama and mayhem, Higher Education Minister S.A. Ramdas said in Maysore, about 140 km from Bangalore.
The victim was identified as Renuka Prasad, a 55-year-old resident of Bamboo Bazar.
'Prasad was trampled to death by one of the elephants near his house when he came out on hearing the commotion. Though he was rushed to a hospital, he died,' Ramdas said.
Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa announced Rs.500,000 as compensation to Prasad's family.
As a precaution, all schools and colleges in Maysore were shut Wednesday. Additional policemen were deployed in the suburbs, Ramdas said.
While one elephant entered a women's college and menacingly roamed in the complex, the other entered a residential area and a market, attacking Prasad and a cow.
The forest guards and officials from the Mysore zoo rushed to the areas. The two elephants will be pushed back to the forest, Ramdas said.
A forest official blamed the incident on the growing man-animal conflict due to encroachment of forests, decline in forest area due to unregulated expansion of farm lands and increasing movement of people and vehicles in the elephant corridors.

Vietnamese teen kills 7-yr-old girl to quench video game thirst

A Vietnamese teenager has allegedly killed a seven-year-old girl for her earrings to feed his video game habit, raising concerns regarding the dangers of online game addiction. According to police, Mong The Xuong, 15, is reported to have confessed to luring the girl into woods near their village on May 23 by asking her if she wanted to help him pick fruit to sell at a local market, reports the Sky News. Later on, he suddenly pushed her down a 20ft rocky drop near a stream before climbing down and beating her repeatedly on the back of the head with a rock, believing that people would think she had suffered her injuries in the fall. He then cut her earrings into pieces with scissors, as he needed money to go to Internet caf ‚ and play his favourite video game, Vo Lam Truyen Ky.

The Speeding Ticket

Jack took a long look at his speedometer before slowing down: 73 in a 55 zone. Fourth time in as many months. How could a guy get caught so often? When his car had slowed to 10 miles an hour, Jack pulled over, but only partially. Let the cop worry about the potential traffic hazard. Maybe some other car will tweak his backside with a mirror. The cop was stepping out of his car, the big pad in hand. Bob? Bob from Church? Jack sunk farther into his trench coat. This was worse than the coming ticket. A cop catching a guy from his own church. A guy who happened to be a little eager to get home after a long day at the office. A guy he was about to play golf with tomorrow. Jumping out of the car, he approached a man he saw every Sunday, a man he'd never seen in uniform. 'Hi, Bob. Fancy meeting you like this..' 'Hello, Jack.' No smile. 'Guess you caught me red-handed in a rush to see my wife and kids.' 'Yeah, I guess.' Bob seemed uncertain. Good. 'I've seen some long days at the office lately. I'm afraid I bent the rules a bit -just this once.' Jack toed at a pebble on the pavement. 'Diane said something about roast beef and potatoes tonight. Know what I mean?' 'I know what you mean. I also know that you have a reputation in our precinct ' Ouch. This was not going in the right direction. Time to change tactics.. 'What'd you clock me at?' Seventy. Would you sit back in your car please?' 'Now wait a minute here, Bob. I checked as soon as I saw you. I was barely nudging 65..' The lie seemed to come easier with every ticket. Please, Jack, in the car' Flustered, Jack hunched himself through the still-open door. Slamming it shut, he stared at the dashboard. He was in no rush to open the window. The minutes ticked by. Bob scribbled away on the pad. Why hadn't he asked for a driver's license? Whatever the reason, it would be a month of Sundays before Jack ever sat near this cop again. A tap on the door jerked his head to the left. There was Bob, a folded paper in hand. Jack rolled down the window a mere two inches, just enough room for Bob to pass him the slip. 'Thanks.' Jack could not quite keep the sneer out of his voice. Bob returned to his police car without a word. Jack watched his retreat in the mirror. Jack unfolded the sheet of paper. How much was this one going to cost? Wait a minute.. What was this? Some kind of joke? Certainly not a ticket. Jack began to read: 'Dear Jack, Once upon a time I had a daughter. She was six when killed by a car. You guessed it - a speeding driver. A fine and three months in jail, and the man was free. Free to hug his daughters, all three of them. I only had one, and I'm going to have to wait until Heaven before I can ever hug her again. A thousand times I've tried to forgive that man. A thousand times I thought I had. Maybe I did, but I need to do it again. Even now, pray for me. And be careful, Jack, my son is all I have left.' 'Bob' Jack turned around in time to see Bob's car pull away and head down the road. Jack watched until it disappeared... A full 15 minutes later, he too, pulled away and drove slowly home, praying for forgiveness and hugging a surprised wife and kids when he arrived. Life is precious. Handle with care. Drive safely and carefully. Remember, cars are not the only things recalled by their maker. Pass this on, you may save a life. Maybe not, but we'll never know if we don't try. May today there be peace within you. May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be.

Now, a 'sickness' map that tracks FB posts to warn people of disease outbreaks!

Some facts about your friends on social media sites may seem useless and boring, but a US company has come up with a new project that will turn these facts valuable to you. Sickweather, a Baltimore startup, is in the process of creating a system that tracks social media sites like Facebook and Twitter for public references to 'sickness', reports the Discovery News. The system then attempts to create a sickness map that warns people of outbreaks to help them avoid catching the bugs. The company hopes to establish its own social network eventually, through which users will be able to log in to track the health assessments in their community. For now, however, Sickweather's founders are moving to build a reporting tool on the shoulders of other more established online communities. Graham Dodge, the CEO of Sickweather, told Technology Review that he anticipates the system would be particularly appealing to young families with vulnerable children. Sickweather is hoping that by applying the same approach at a local level, and using micro-blogging sites instead of news sources, they can give the public an even more personal health tool.

'Gunsmoke' Star James Arness Dies at Age 88

James Arness, the 6-foot-6 actor who towered over the television landscape for two decades as righteous Dodge City lawman Matt Dillon in "Gunsmoke," died Friday. He was 88. The actor died in his sleep at his home in Brentwood, Calif., according to his business manager, Ginny Fazer. Arness' official website posted a letter from Arness on Friday that he wrote with the intention that it be posted posthumously: "I had a wonderful life and was blessed with some many loving people and great friends," he said. "I wanted to take this time to thank all of you for the many years of being a fan of Gunsmoke, The Thing, How the West Was Won and all the other fun projects I was lucky enough to have been allowed to be a part of. I had the privilege of working with so many great actors over the years." As U.S. Marshal Dillon in the 1955-75 CBS Western series, Arness created an indelible portrait of a quiet, heroic man with an unbending dedication to justice and the town he protected. The wealth and fame Arness gained from "Gunsmoke" could not protect him from tragedy in his personal life: His daughter and his former wife, Virginia, both died of drug overdoses. Arness, a quiet, intensely private man who preferred the outdoor life to Hollywood's party scene, rarely gave interviews and refused to discuss the tragedies. "He's big, impressive and virile," co-star Amanda Blake (Miss Kitty) once said of Arness, adding, "I've worked with him for 16 years, but I don't really know him." The actor was 32 when friend John Wayne declined the lead role in "Gunsmoke" and recommended Arness instead. Afraid of being typecast, Arness initially rejected it. "Go ahead and take it, Jim," Wayne urged him. "You're too big for pictures. Guys like Gregory Peck and I don't want a big lug like you towering over us. Make your mark in television." "Gunsmoke" went on to become the longest-running dramatic series in network history until NBC's "Law & Order" tied in 2010. Arness' 20-year prime-time run as the marshal was tied only in recent times, by Kelsey Grammer's 20 years as Frasier Crane from 1984 to 2004 on "Cheers" and then on "Frasier." The years showed on the weathered-looking Arness, but he -- and his TV character -- wore them well. "The camera really loved his face, and with good reason," novelist Wallace Markfield wrote in a 1975 "Gunsmoke" appreciation in The New York Times. "It was a face that would age well and that, while aging, would carry intimations of waste, loss and futility." Born James Aurness in Minneapolis (he dropped the "u" for show business reasons), he and brother Peter enjoyed a "real Huckleberry Finn existence," Arness once recalled. Peter, who changed his last name to Graves, went on to star in the TV series "Mission Impossible." A self-described drifter, Arness left home at age 18, hopping freight trains and Caribbean-bound freighters. He entered Beloit College in Wisconsin, but was drafted into the Army in his 1942-43 freshman year. Wounded in the leg during the 1944 invasion at Anzio, Italy, Arness was hospitalized for a year and left with a slight limp. He returned to Minneapolis to work as a radio announcer and in small theater roles. He moved to Hollywood in 1946 at a friend's suggestion. After a slow start in which he took jobs as a carpenter and salesman, a role in MGM's "Battleground" (1949) was a career turning point. Parts in more than 20 films followed, including "The Thing," "Hellgate" and "Hondo" with Wayne. Then came "Gunsmoke," which proved a durable hit and a multimillion-dollar boon for Arness, who owned part of the series. His longtime co-stars were Blake as saloon keeper Miss Kitty, Milburn Stone as Doc Adams and Dennis Weaver as the deputy, Chester Goode. When Weaver died in February 2006, Arness called it "a big loss for me personally" and said Weaver "provided comic relief but was also a real person doing things that were very important to the show." The cancellation of "Gunsmoke" didn't keep Arness away from TV for long: He returned a few months later, in January 1976, in the TV movie "The Macahans," which led to the 1978-79 ABC series "How the West Was Won." Arness took on a contemporary role as a police officer in the series "McClain's Law," which aired on NBC from 1981-82. Despite his desire for privacy, a rocky domestic life landed him in the news more than once. Arness met future wife Virginia Chapman while both were studying at Southern California's Pasadena Playhouse. They wed in 1948 and had two children, Jenny and Rolf. Chapman's son from her first marriage, Craig, was adopted by Arness. The marriage foundered and in 1963 Arness sought a divorce and custody of the three children, which he was granted. He tried to guard them from the spotlight. "The kids don't really have any part of my television life," he once remarked. "Fortunately, there aren't many times when show business intrudes on our family existence." The emotionally troubled Virginia Arness attempted suicide twice, in 1959 and in 1960. In 1975, Jenny Arness died of an apparently deliberate drug overdose. Two years later, an overdose that police deemed accidental killed her mother.

An unknown woman, who drowned in Paris, has become the only person with the most kissed face in the world

According to popular myth, at the end of the 19th century, a young girl's lifeless body was pulled from Paris' Quai Francois Mitterrand, which was then called Quai du Louvre, the Daily Mail reported. As no signs of violence could be found on her, it was decided she had committed suicide, with some stories suggesting it was a case of unrequited love that prompted her death. And since no one could identify her, a plaster mask of her face was made and hung outside a shop door. Generations later she was still inspiring those fascinated by her mysterious story, and a practical - and life-saving - use was found for her fair visage. According to his company website Asmund Laerdal, the founder of Laerdal Medical, based in Stavanger, Norway, became a pioneer for making resuscitation aids out of soft plastic. A user of CPR, in the 1950s he developed Resusci Annie, otherwise known as Rescue Annie, a life-like mannequin used to train people in mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. His website says he was so moved by the unknown woman's tragic background, he adopted her mask for his first-aid doll. Her beautiful face, used as the model for medical workers learning how to give the "kiss of life", is also known as 'L'Inconnue de la Seine' - or "the unknown woman from the Seine". Millions have been taught how to breathe life into the face of the girl who is believed to have taken her own, making her the most kissed girl in the world.

Nigerian illegal baby factory discovered

Nigerian police have discovered what has been referred to as a baby factory for teenage girls. Police raided a home, where the girls were allegedly being forced to have babies who were then offered for sale. The premises of the Cross Foundation in Aba were raided this week following complaints that girls aged between 15 and 17 were being forced into pregnancy by the proprietor of the home. 32 pregnant girls were released and the proprietor is being questioned on the allegations he sold babies to people for around $200. Police have suggested the children may have been sold to people who wanted to use them for rituals or sacrifices. Many children in Nigeria are also sold for labour in plantations, mines, factories or as domestic help. Others are sold into prostitution. The owner of the so-called baby factory is likely to face child abuse and human trafficking charges. Buying or selling of babies is illegal in Nigeria and carries a 14-year jail term. In Nigeria, human trafficking is ranked the third most common crime after economic fraud and drug trafficking.