Showing posts with label Amazing. Show all posts

NAJAF: Hussein al-Kharsan kneels, bent over a giant sheet of paper, laboriously writing the words of Islam's holy book, the Quran, in beautiful Arabic script with a traditional wood and feather pen.

The 25-year-old Iraqi aims to take an unusual path to fame: writing the longest copy of the Quran in the world. Kharsan says the scroll is to be between 5,500 and 6,000 meters long.

His aim, he says, is to set a Guinness World Record.

If that happens, it will be another entry on the Islamic holy text, which expressly prohibits the consumption of alcohol, in a record book conceived by the managing director of a brewery.

The copy of the Quran was supposed to be shown this year, when Najaf was to be the Islamic Capital of Culture, but that project has been postponed indefinitely amid serial delays and allegations of corruption.

It has not however stopped Kharsan, who graduated from Baghdad University's college of fine arts, from continuing his work inside a religious school in Najaf, despite pains in his neck and back from long hours of carefully writing out one verse after another.

"At the beginning, the agreement was to finish the work in six months, on the basis of writing three pages out of 503 pages of the Quran every day," Kharsan said.

"I succeeded at the beginning and worked for 16 hours a day for more than two weeks until I started suffering pains," he said.

"The doctor asked me to stop working for about a month but I refused and told him that I work with the blessings of the Quran. Now I take pain-killing pills and work for five hours a day, which means I need about a year to finish."

Kharsan, who began participating in Arabic calligraphy competitions when he was just nine years old, writes on four pieces of white paper that are each 1,500 meters long.

He has succeeded in copying 13 pages of the Quran since he started his work about a month ago.

Arabic calligraphy is one of the most prominent forms of Arab and Islamic art.

"We are the people of Arabic calligraphy," said Sheikh Ali Merza, the principal of the school where Kharsan is working on the Quran.

"Kufi calligraphy [named after Najaf's twin city of Kufa] is well known, and when we want to do calligraphy, it is not something new for us because we practised this kind of art historically," Merza said.

He added that Kharsan's work will be displayed in Najaf, even if the Capital of Islamic Culture project does not go ahead.

Guinness World Records does not have any entries for the longest Quran, but the largest printed copy measures two meters high and 1.52 meters wide, and was unveiled in Russia last November.

The smallest copy, printed in Cairo in 1982 and owned by a Pakistani man, is 1.7 by 1.3 centimeters, but still 571 pages long.

The biggest book in the world, meanwhile, measures five by eight meters and weighs some 1,500 kilograms. It is on the life and achievements of the Prophet Mohammed, and was unveiled in Dubai in February.

"It is very nice to do work that is related to the Quran or [holy] shrines," Kharsan said. "This is a blessed work. But at the same time, my name will be part of history, because we compete on an international level."

"I do not take any salary for my work, although there is an agreement that I get a percentage of the budget of the project, which is about 100 million dinars [$83,300]."

"I feel proud of what I am accomplishing, and all I want is to leave my mark." (AFP)

TOKYO: A pet parakeet was returned to its owner Wednesday after the lost bird told police its home address near Tokyo.

The male bird had escaped early Sunday morning from its owner's home in the city of Sagamihara, west of Tokyo, and remained at large before perching on the shoulder of a guest staying in a nearby hotel.

Handed over to local police, the bird did not speak until Tuesday evening, when it blurted out the names of the city and district where its owner's house

is located, said a spokesman for the north Sagamihara police station.

It then produced the home's block and street number as a trio of astonished police officers listened to the now talkative bird.

The bird's owner, a 64-year-old woman, once lost another parakeet after it flew away and was determined to prevent a repeat, the spokesman told AFP.

"So the owner decided to teach the address to this parakeet after she bought it at a pet shop two years ago," he said.

"The bird's name was found to be Piko-chan as it said, 'You're pretty, Piko-chan'." (AFP)

In a truly memorable moment, a bear can be seen falling from a tree after being tranquilized by police in Colorado.
The young bear, estimated to weigh between 150 and 200 pounds, had wandered onto the University of Colorado at Boulder campus and climbed into a tree, according to the CU Independent, which captured the stunning image.
"[The bear] was tranquilized by the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Department and it fell onto some mats that the Rec Center provided," CU Police Department spokesman Ryan Huff told the paper. "It is now in a cage and it will be relocated at a higher elevation."
Before it was tranquilized, the bear spent about two hours in a tree near the campus dorms. It reportedly landed safely.

NEW YORK: A New York woman who donated a kidney so her ailing boss would move up the transplant waiting list says she was fired shortly after the operation, according to a complaint she filed with the New York State Division of Human Rights.

Deborah Stevens said her former employer, Atlantic Automotive Group, discriminated against her over disabilities brought about by complications from the surgery, and she plans to sue the company for lost earnings and damages.

The company, which runs car dealerships on Long Island, said Stevens's complaint is groundless.

"My gal is just a good-natured woman who's trying to save a life and as soon as she did it, everything changed," said Stevens' attorney Lenard Leeds.

"When she wanted to take time off, she was scolded, she was yelled at," he said. "Instead of being sympathetic, they were very hostile towards her."

Stevens, of Hicksville, New York, said she learned that Jacqueline Brucia, who worked at Atlantic Automotive, was in need of a kidney in November 2010. Stevens had worked there as well but at the time had temporarily moved to Florida.

Stevens said she told Brucia she would donate a kidney.

"Brucia declined, but told her, ‘You never know, I may have to take you up on that offer one day,'" the complaint said.

Stevens learned the company would rehire her following her return to New York and not long afterward, Brucia told her a potential donor had not been approved by the hospital and asked if she was still willing to donate.

Stevens now believes Brucia was "grooming (Stevens) to be her ‘back-up plan,'" the complaint said.

Stevens's kidney was not a good match for Brucia, but she agreed to donate it to a stranger in St. Louis, Missouri, setting up a transplant chain that enabled Brucia to receive a better-matched kidney from a donor in San Francisco.

Surgeons removed Stevens's left kidney in August, and she returned to work about a month later. The surgery left her with damaged nerves in her leg, digestive problems and mental health issues, her lawyer said.

At work, Brucia became "curt and dismissive," the complaint said. Stevens said she was berated for taking sick days and forced to relocate to a less desirable office after she complained to human resources about Brucia's behavior.

On April 11, the company fired her, citing performance reasons.

Stevens's lawyer said the complaint filed with the Division of Human Rights last week was a necessary step before a federal lawsuit is filed against Brucia and the company.

Telephone calls to Brucia's home were not answered on Tuesday.

Atlantic Automotive released a statement saying: "It is unfortunate that one employee has used her own generous act to make up a groundless claim.

"Atlantic Auto treated her appropriately and acted honorably and fairly, at every turn," it said. (Reuters

AMSTERDAM: With the collapse of the Dutch centre-right government, the Netherlands may now drop some of its most eye-popping proposals aimed at Muslims and other immigrants and could soften its strong anti-immigration rhetoric.

A ban on Muslim face veils, such as the Arabic-style niqabs that leave the eyes uncovered and Afghan-style burqas that cover the face with a cloth grid, is less likely to go ahead after the government collapsed at the weekend.

The minority Liberal-Christian Democrat coalition's alliance with Geert Wilders' Freedom Party (PVV) fell apart when they could not reach agreement on crucial budget cuts. An election has been called for September 12.

In return for Wilders' support in parliament, the government had proposed a number of laws, including bans on Muslim face veils and on dual nationality.

If it appears clear that there is no longer a parliamentary majority in favor of such proposals, they could soon be taken "off the table", said Maurits Berger, professor of Islam in the contemporary West at Leiden University.

"These policies were driven by PVV but also by this government in order to maintain their relationship with PVV. They have turned Holland into a pariah," Berger said.

"These are the legacy of the PVV. Face veils, dual nationality - both these proposals have not really been thought through."

The Christian Democrats will no longer support a proposal to ban dual nationality, a source within the party told Reuters. The party also feels uneasy about the face veil ban, Dutch daily De Volkskrant said.

Many opposition parties, including Labor, Democrats 66 and GreenLeft, had already opposed the proposed face veil and dual nationality bans, leaving the proposals without majority support in parliament if the Christian Democrats don't back them.

Now that the government has fallen, Dutch Immigration Minister Gerd Leers will no longer push for issues such as the need to make it harder for immigrants to bring in other family members, his spokesman said.

Over the past decade there has been a pronounced shift in the Netherlands towards tougher immigration policies, pushed by politicians like Pim Fortuyn and, more recently, by Wilders.

Wilders' tough stance on immigrants, particularly Muslims and more recently those from European Union member countries including Poland, have backfired on the Netherlands.

Leers tried to mend ties with Poland last month after Wilders, who requires 24-hour protection because he has received death threats, launched a website targeting workers from eastern and central Europe.

His website drew criticism from the European Commission and Parliament as well as from countries including Poland, Bulgaria and Romania but Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte declined to speak out publicly against it. (Reuters)

BERRYVILLE, Virginia: A Virginia woman found out on April 7 she won $1 million in a lottery drawing. And then she won again.

Virginia Fike of Berryville, Virginia, had the good luck to buy not one but two lottery tickets from a truck stop that both turned out to be $1 million winners, matching five of the six Powerball numbers. Lottery officials presented her with a $2 million check on Friday.

Fike said she found out that she had won - and won again - while sitting in a hospital room with her mother, according to a statement distributed by the Virginia lottery.

"I saw a scroll on TV about there being two $1 million winners," she said. "I looked at my mom and said ‘Wouldn't it be funny if it was us?'"

She said she planned on using the money to "take care of my parents" and pay bills.

For selling the tickets, the lottery awarded a $20,000 bonus to the Olde Stone Truck Stop.

To win the full Powerball jackpot, which currently stands at $131 million, a ticket must match the numbers on all five white balls in the drawing, plus the red Powerball. The $1 million cash prize is awarded for a ticket that matches the five numbers on the white balls, in any order.

The odds of winning $1 million? One in 5,153,632.65. The drawing takes place every Wednesday and Saturday night.

"I just love the jackpot games and I play when I can afford it," Fike said in the statement. (Reuters)

NEW DELHI: India is to declare tea as its national drink to celebrate the life of a pioneering tea-planter who was hanged by British colonial rulers for taking part in the rebellion of 1857.

Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia on Saturday announced the decision while on a visit to Assam, the tea-producing northeastern state that borders on Bhutan and Bangladesh.

Assam was the home state of Maniram Dewan, who is celebrated for introducing commercial tea production to the region and for his role in a plot to throw the British out of Assam during the 1857 mutiny.

The uprising, which is often called the Sepoy Mutiny, started in Meerut, a city close to New Delhi, and spread across northern India before being brutally crushed by British forces with many Indian soldiers and civilians killed.

"The drink would be accorded national drink status by April 17 next year to coincide with the 212th birth anniversary of first Assamese tea-planter and Sepoy Mutiny leader Maniram Dewan," Ahluwalia said.

He added that tea should also be celebrated as "half of the tea industry labour comprises women and is the largest employer in the organised sector".

The Asian Age reported that awarding tea the status of national drink may stir up trouble among "naturopaths" who suggest popular Indian beverages such as coconut water, lemon water and yoghurt-based lassi are healthier options.

Tea is generally served in India with milk and plenty of sugar, and often spiced with cardamom.

Coffee, which is grown in the southern states of Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, is becoming rapidly more popular among young urban Indians. (AFP)

LONDON: Workers at investment firm Aviva Investors got a shock on Friday when the company accidentally sent an email with leaving instructions intended for one departing employee to the entire worldwide staff of 1,300 people.

The firm's human resources department realized its mistake and recalled the offending message 25 minutes later and soon afterwards sent out another email apologizing to staff for the error, company spokesman Paul Lockstone said.

"An email which was intended for a member of staff who was leaving today was accidentally sent to all Aviva Investors staff worldwide," Lockstone said.

"People were pretty quickly aware of the fact that this was a mistake ... I don't believe any of our staff would have seen it really as anything other than the mistake that it was."

The email was a standard message sent to people leaving the company, covering things such as handing back company equipment and confidentiality rules, and did not tell recipients they were fired, Lockstone said.

Aviva Investors is the fund management arm of UK-based Aviva plc, the world's sixth-largest insurance group, and manages assets of more than 262 billion pounds ($420 billion).

It said in January it would shed around 160 jobs, about 12 percent of its global workforce.

Lockstone said he did not know why the intended recipient of the email was leaving the company. (Reuters)

JEDDAH: A Saudi Arabian man who was jailed for three years in 1997 has spent a further 12 years behind bars waiting for his father to pardon him, a local human rights group has said.

Eid al-Sinani, 43, was originally sentenced to three years in prison and 200 lashes for beating up his step mother, Musab al-Zahrani, a researcher at the National Society for Human Rights (NSHR), told Reuters.

However, when the sentence had been served the father asked a judge to keep his son in prison "until he is proven to be righteous by his father". The judge agreed and 12 years later Sinani is still in jail, Zahrani said.

Under the kingdom's Islamic legal system, law is not systematically codified and judicial rulings are subject to individual judges' interpretation of sharia.

Some judges view children's "disobedience" towards their parents as an offence worthy of lashing and even jail sentences.

A spokesman for Saudi Arabia's Justice Ministry, which oversees courts in the conservative Islamic kingdom, did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the case.

Rulings in Saudi Arabia are not based on precedent and, even with the same charge, they can differ from one judge to another.

"We are optimistic that he will be released because he has been jailed for (almost) 16 years and there is no real charge… This is legally problematic because they gave absolute power to the father and the son is left under his mercy," Zahrani said.

NSHR is affiliated with the Saudi government. (Reuters)

OTTAWA: A Holstein cow named Smurf from a farm just east of Canada's capital has set a new world record for the most milk produced in a lifetime -- a whopping 216,891 kg (478,163 pounds) over 15 years.

And she's still producing.

"That's the equivalent of more than one million glasses of milk," said Smurf's owner Eric Patenaude, a sixth generation Canadian dairy farmer.

Guinness World Records confirmed the record to AFP on Monday. It previously belonged to a cow in the US state of Michigan.

The average dairy cow yields about 35,000 kilograms (33,981 liters) of milk in a lifetime, or less than 50 liters per day. Smurf produces approximately the same daily amount, but has lived three times longer than most dairy cows.

It's her "longevity and consistency" that won her the prize, which also earned Smurf "Udder Accolades" from a local newspaper, said Patenaude. "That's how she's produced so much milk."

It also helps that she's got good genes: Smurf's father was a stud named Emperor from Wisconsin and her mother, Murphy, was also a "good milker," said a herder at La Ferme Gillette in Embrun, Ontario.

Smurf turns 16 in September and is expecting her eleventh calf in the coming weeks. So far she has only had one female offspring to continue on the milk-making tradition. (AFP)(Geo News)