Misc
Large Protests in South Korea, call for president to step down over abuse-of-power scandal
13:20
Seoul, South Korea South Korean President Park Geun-hye"s two apologies have not quelled some Koreans" anger over an abuse-of-power scandal engulfing her administration.
Thousands took to the streets in Seoul on Saturday, calling for Park to step down and blocking a 16-lane highway in the capital. Police said the crowd had 40,000 to 50,000 people; organizers said 200,000 protested.
Park is accused of letting her confidante Choi Soon-sil, who does not hold an official government post, view confidential documents and presidential speeches.
Local media and opposition parties have accused Choi of using her relationship with Park to accumulate millions of dollars in donations to her foundations.
Prosecutors issued an arrest warrant for Choi on Wednesday on charges of abuse of power and attempted fraud.
Two of Park"s former aides have been arrested on Sunday according to Yonhap News Agency.
Thousands took to the streets in Seoul on Saturday, calling for Park to step down and blocking a 16-lane highway in the capital. Police said the crowd had 40,000 to 50,000 people; organizers said 200,000 protested.
Park is accused of letting her confidante Choi Soon-sil, who does not hold an official government post, view confidential documents and presidential speeches.
Local media and opposition parties have accused Choi of using her relationship with Park to accumulate millions of dollars in donations to her foundations.
Prosecutors issued an arrest warrant for Choi on Wednesday on charges of abuse of power and attempted fraud.
Two of Park"s former aides have been arrested on Sunday according to Yonhap News Agency.
bizarre
Man with 4 LEGS pleads for doctors to remove the extra limbs so he can live the normal life
13:18
A young man born with four legs has used social media to appeal for doctors to amputate his two extra limbs.
Arun Kumar, 22, was born with two extra legs growing from his lower back - one underdeveloped and the other permanently bent at the knee.
Arun, who lives in Uttar Pradesh, India, appealed through social media for medical help to remove his extra legs.
A team of specialists at Fortis Hospital in Delhi responded to Arun"s plea for help and organised a series of tests to find out how the legs are attached and if he can be treated.
Although he cannot move his extra legs, he does have feeling in them and carrying the weight on his back is damaging his posture and ability to walk.
octors at various hospitals deemed Arun"s extra legs too risky to operate on when he was a baby.
Arun"s father Ram Singh, said: "We got disheartened and came back to our village and everyone here said, it"s okay just live like this."
But orthopaedic surgeon Dr Hermant Sharma, who examined Arun recently, has given them new hope.
He discovered Arun also has a second pelvis, and arranged a series of tests, including MRI and CT scans, X-rays and echocardiograms, to find out how the extra legs are connected and how they are affecting his body.
Dr Sharma said: "Since he has four legs we will be keen to know where is the blood supply coming from, and where is it going into his legs, and also we need to find out has he got extra kidneys, extra urethras, extra bladder?"
Arun"s search for "normality" is told on TV in Body Bizarre, which is being shown on Thursday from 10pm on TLC.
Arun Kumar, 22, was born with two extra legs growing from his lower back - one underdeveloped and the other permanently bent at the knee.
Arun, who lives in Uttar Pradesh, India, appealed through social media for medical help to remove his extra legs.
A team of specialists at Fortis Hospital in Delhi responded to Arun"s plea for help and organised a series of tests to find out how the legs are attached and if he can be treated.
Although he cannot move his extra legs, he does have feeling in them and carrying the weight on his back is damaging his posture and ability to walk.
octors at various hospitals deemed Arun"s extra legs too risky to operate on when he was a baby.
Arun"s father Ram Singh, said: "We got disheartened and came back to our village and everyone here said, it"s okay just live like this."
But orthopaedic surgeon Dr Hermant Sharma, who examined Arun recently, has given them new hope.
He discovered Arun also has a second pelvis, and arranged a series of tests, including MRI and CT scans, X-rays and echocardiograms, to find out how the extra legs are connected and how they are affecting his body.
Dr Sharma said: "Since he has four legs we will be keen to know where is the blood supply coming from, and where is it going into his legs, and also we need to find out has he got extra kidneys, extra urethras, extra bladder?"
Arun"s search for "normality" is told on TV in Body Bizarre, which is being shown on Thursday from 10pm on TLC.
GO BY THE HOUR: Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day-both on weekdays and weekends.
MAKE A RITUAL: Come up with a daily ritual before sleep-reading a book, listening to soothing music, drinking a cup of warm milk. The body recognises sleep cues.
DRESS WELL: Be careful what you wear to bed. Natural fabrics, such as cotton, allows your body to breatheand sleep better.
CALM DOWN: No tv, no tea or coffee a few hours before sleep. Brain stimulants can keep one from sleeping. Try meditation.
DARK MATTERS: Make your bedroom as dark as possible. Also make sure there is no noise to distract you.
20 minutes more sleep is needed by women than men per night, say scientists.
MAKE A RITUAL: Come up with a daily ritual before sleep-reading a book, listening to soothing music, drinking a cup of warm milk. The body recognises sleep cues.
DRESS WELL: Be careful what you wear to bed. Natural fabrics, such as cotton, allows your body to breatheand sleep better.
CALM DOWN: No tv, no tea or coffee a few hours before sleep. Brain stimulants can keep one from sleeping. Try meditation.
DARK MATTERS: Make your bedroom as dark as possible. Also make sure there is no noise to distract you.
20 minutes more sleep is needed by women than men per night, say scientists.
WOMEN NEED MORE SLEEP
It seems women, in particular, can't function well if they don't sleep well. Feminists, supported by scientists, are spreading the good word. Studies indicate that women are more sleep-deprived than men, and are twice as likely to have difficulties falling or staying asleep. They need 20 minutes more sleep than men per night. New research from the UK suggests that women tend to work their brains-especially the cerebral cortex responsible for intelligence, language, memory and consciousness-harder. Simply because they multitask more. And the cerebral cortex needs deep sleep to work efficiently. So lie in, or at least, take a nap.
Scientists from the University of Michigan, US, say sleep quality influences the ability to enjoy one's day more than household income and even marital status. They studied 900 women to measure how activities were experienced through the day. An extra hour of sleep had more impact on how women felt through the day than earning more money a year.
WHAT'S STOPPING WOMEN?
What's stopping women from getting enough sleep? Not just balancing home and work. It's also the new beauty premium at the 21st century workplace. Economists estimate that eye-candies typically earn more than their plain colleagues because they are seen to have more positive attributes: smarter, happier and more confident. A recent survey by global research company Synovate shows 55 per cent in India think they can get away with less work so long as they look good, 80 per cent feel immense pressure to look good, while 40 per cent want to look well-groomed all the time. The fallout? Women end up spending hours on looking good-from daily blow-drys to salon visits, at the gym or the spa-instead of catching up on sleep.
Buy cosmetics from authorized retailers only
Although this advice may seem obvious, it’s actually worth considering. It may surprise you, but even large stores can sell knock-offs. To avoid unpleasant surprises, don’t hesitate to visit the manufacturer’s website to check the list of retailers where you can purchase authentic products.
We all know that designer beauty products are quite expensive. Fortunately, sometimes official retailers do sell their cosmetics at reduced prices. However, extremely high discounts may be signs that the makeup items are fakes. Authentic beauty products can’t be sold at a discount of, say, 80%. Unfortunately, a high price is also not always a guarantee of high quality. Before you make a purchase, ask an assistant to show you a quality certificate. If they refuse to do this, simply don’t buy this product.
Pay attention to the packaging
#2
Some knock-offs are so bad that no one would mistake them for the real deal. But there are also lots of highly sophisticated counterfeits out there that are much more difficult to spot. One way to ensure you are getting the real thing is to visit the manufacturer’s website and see if the product you’re looking at is exactly the same as the picture online.
Even the smallest mismatch like the font, the color or size of the packaging, or even the weight of the product is a sign of a counterfeit. Of course, weighing the product in the shop is not a good idea, but you can spot a fake even by just holding it in your hand. If the item feels light as a feather, then you can be sure you’re holding a replica in your hands.
Check the bar code, serial number, and manufacturing information
#3
If the product is a counterfeit, then the first 2 or 3 digits of the bar code may not match the country of origin listed either on the packaging or product itself. Also, the serial number is most often missing. Before you buy something, make sure that the serial number on the product itself matches the number on the box. Also, authentic products always have their ingredients indicated on them. Genuine high-end cosmetic brands often provide their customers with additional information in several languages. If the packaging has very little information about the product, then it isn’t authentic.
Check the shades of the product
#4
Fake eye shadows, blushes, lipsticks, and powders are often produced in shades that are not used in authentic products. To avoid buying a fake, visit the manufacturer’s website to see which colors of each makeup product are real.
Pay attention to the smell and consistency
#5
Authentic cosmetics shouldn’t have any kind of strange substances or inappropriate sparkles in them, especially when the product is matte. Creamy cosmetics should not separate or contain any impurities. Fake lipsticks typically look less attractive and have some imperfections. A genuine designer mascara always has a very light pleasant smell to it. If the product has a bad odor or is heavily perfumed, then it’s not authentic. Also, the wand of the fake mascara may look different from its authentic counterpart.
Check brushes and sponges
#6
Even if the packaging of a counterfeit product looks very similar to the real thing, you can probably spot a knock-off by inspecting the brushes and sponges. They may differ in size, shape, or color, and the overall quality of them may be not satisfactory.
Test makeup products before buying
#7
Don’t hesitate to try the cosmetic testers in the stores. Remember: high-quality eye shadows and blushes should not smear or slide off during the day. A genuine lipstick should always apply smoothly and evenly, and authentic designer mascara will never crumble.
An Italian businessman who thought his young model wife had been kidnapped was left heartbroken after finding out the truth on Instagram.
Gianluca Cervara contacted police fearing former Miss Ukraine Anna Zaiachkivska had been snatched.
But he soon found social media photos of his new bride posing with another man in five-star hotels hashtagged with the word ‘freedom’ just months after marrying.
The devastated billionaire is now suing Zaiachkivska for breaking their prenuptial agreement and allegedly stealing £5,000 and a mobile phone from his home.
He wrote in a comment on the social media pictures: “Your Husband in Milan And Parents say thank You for Be in New York with address Of another Man."
But Zaiachkivska claims she fled because her husband “raised his hands” against her and that she was sick of living in a “golden cage”.
The 24-year-old was also furious after Cervara did not pay her enough attention when she had “headaches for a week”.
The model said: “The first time when he did it I ran away to my parents’ house in the western Ukrainian city of Ivano-Frankivsk. I did not tell them what the matter was.
“He came to get me, and I gave him a second chance, but during an argument he spat in my face, and I simply could not take it.”
Furious Cervara hit back telling reporters that his wife is working as a model in New York and she is “not the person she is pretending to be”.
The businessman said: “She has lots of pretty photos taken in five-star hotels, she is posing with other men. She does not look unhappy at all.”
The much-hyped Netflix series, “Narcos” (2015-present), tells the story of the rise and fall of Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar. Here are some facts about one of the wealthiest and most dangerous narcotics kingpins of all time.
• Starting as a petty thief, Escobar used to steal cars and smuggle contraband cigarettes to earn money. In the early 1970s, he allegedly made $100,000 by kidnapping an executive based in the Colombian city of MedellÃn.
• During the peak of its operations Escobar's infamous Medellin cartel is estimated to have netted a whopping $70million on a day-to-day basis. Around $1000 were reportedly spent each week on rubber bands to wrap the stacks of cash.
• In the 1980s, the Medellin cartel accounted for 80 per cent of the cocaine smuggled into the U.S. Among other things, he shipped the drug in airplane tires, offering handsome amounts of money to pilots.
• Roberto Escobar , the accountant of Medellin cartel and Pablo’s brother, claimed that in addition to planes, his brother used two small submarines to smuggle massive amounts of cocaine into the U.S.
• As documented in the book “Escobar: The Inside Story of Pablo Escobar, the World's Most Powerful Criminal,” by Roberto Escobar, the biggest shipment of cocaine to the U.S. weighed 51,000 lbs. (23,000 kg).
• In the early 1990s, as one of the wealthiest criminals in history, Escobar pooled around $60 million a day, skyrocketing his net worth to around $30 billion.
• Beginning in 1987, quite incredibly, he was featured on Forbes’ international billionaires list seven years in a row.
• Located in Puerto Triunfo, Colombia, Escobar’s sprawling estate, Hacienda Nápoles, spreads over 7.7 square miles (20 sq. km). It comprised a sculpture garden, a lake, a private bullring (pictured), a kart racing track, a private airport and a zoo, which featured a huge array of animals from different continents including antelope, elephant, exotic birds, giraffe, and hippopotamus. After his death, the estate was converted into a theme park.
• After being charged with the assassination of Colombian journalist and liberal politician Luis Carlos Galán, Escobar was confined to his self-built luxurious prison, La Catedral, overlooking the city of MedellÃn. Also called “Hotel Escobar” or “Club Medellin,” it comprised a football pitch, giant doll house, bar, Jacuzzi, and a waterfall. He is said to have installed a telescope that helped him look at his daughter’s house in the city.
• To stay onside with the Colombian public, Escobar sponsored children’s football teams, built fields and multi-sports courts. He also aided the construction of hospitals, churches, and schools in western Colombia.
• Starting as a petty thief, Escobar used to steal cars and smuggle contraband cigarettes to earn money. In the early 1970s, he allegedly made $100,000 by kidnapping an executive based in the Colombian city of MedellÃn.
• During the peak of its operations Escobar's infamous Medellin cartel is estimated to have netted a whopping $70million on a day-to-day basis. Around $1000 were reportedly spent each week on rubber bands to wrap the stacks of cash.
• In the 1980s, the Medellin cartel accounted for 80 per cent of the cocaine smuggled into the U.S. Among other things, he shipped the drug in airplane tires, offering handsome amounts of money to pilots.
• Roberto Escobar , the accountant of Medellin cartel and Pablo’s brother, claimed that in addition to planes, his brother used two small submarines to smuggle massive amounts of cocaine into the U.S.
• As documented in the book “Escobar: The Inside Story of Pablo Escobar, the World's Most Powerful Criminal,” by Roberto Escobar, the biggest shipment of cocaine to the U.S. weighed 51,000 lbs. (23,000 kg).
• In the early 1990s, as one of the wealthiest criminals in history, Escobar pooled around $60 million a day, skyrocketing his net worth to around $30 billion.
• Beginning in 1987, quite incredibly, he was featured on Forbes’ international billionaires list seven years in a row.
• Located in Puerto Triunfo, Colombia, Escobar’s sprawling estate, Hacienda Nápoles, spreads over 7.7 square miles (20 sq. km). It comprised a sculpture garden, a lake, a private bullring (pictured), a kart racing track, a private airport and a zoo, which featured a huge array of animals from different continents including antelope, elephant, exotic birds, giraffe, and hippopotamus. After his death, the estate was converted into a theme park.
• After being charged with the assassination of Colombian journalist and liberal politician Luis Carlos Galán, Escobar was confined to his self-built luxurious prison, La Catedral, overlooking the city of MedellÃn. Also called “Hotel Escobar” or “Club Medellin,” it comprised a football pitch, giant doll house, bar, Jacuzzi, and a waterfall. He is said to have installed a telescope that helped him look at his daughter’s house in the city.
• To stay onside with the Colombian public, Escobar sponsored children’s football teams, built fields and multi-sports courts. He also aided the construction of hospitals, churches, and schools in western Colombia.
In July Xu, 25, announced on the Chinese social media website Weibo she had lymphoma, a cancer of the lymphatic system that best responds to chemotherapy as a first-line treatment.
However, Xu said the high cost of chemotherapy in China and her fears about side effects and pain meant she had decided to treat her cancer with a mix of Chinese therapies instead.
“No matter how long I live, I want to enjoy every day happily,” she wrote, adding that she did not want to “let chemotherapy torment me to the point where there’s no beauty and talent left”. The actress appeared on television in the series Dad Home and acted in the comedy Lost In Macau.
Later in July, Xu posted photos to Weibo of the aftermath of some of the alternative treatments she had undergone, including acupuncture and cupping, which involves placing a flammable substance into a cup, typically a cotton bud, and setting it on fire. As the fire goes out, the cup is placed upside down on the skin, usually the back, creating a vacuum and leaving welts on the body.
Some users begged her to seek chemotherapy. One user wrote on her Weibo page: “You need to rely on modern medicine to save yourself.”
The American Cancer Society guide to complementary and alternative therapies warns of the risk of burns from cupping and states that “available scientific evidence does not support claims that cupping has any health benefits”.
Xu also turned to gua sha, a treatment that involves scraping the skin with a tool, and which is practised by the actor Gwyneth Paltrow and the swimmer Michael Phelps. It left Xu with red marks and bruising down her neck.
“Frankly, traditional Chinese medicine is also painful,” Xu wrote as a caption underneath one of the images of the treatment she posted to her blog.
According to a study published in the journal Complementary Therapies in Medicine, gua sha users in Hong Kong tended to use it mostly to treat respiratory and pain problems.
In August, Xu’s sister encouraged her to undergo chemotherapy as she became more unwell. Xu died on 7 September, shortly after starting chemotherapy.
Her death has sparked a debate in the Chinese media about the use and effectiveness of Chinese therapies. On the Chinese news website people.cn, the head of the traditional Chinese medicine department at the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences in Beijing, Dr Feng Li, wrote that Chinese therapies should not be blamed for Xu’s death.
He wrote that “while western approaches like radiology, chemotherapy, and surgery are effective in shrinking the tumour”, Chinese therapies were “effective in reducing symptoms such as nausea, vomiting and pain that comes with western treatment”.
“Moreover, after the tumour is under control, traditional Chinese medicine helps to repair the immune system, accelerate the body’s recovery and minimise the chance of the tumour returning.”
A 2014 review of complementary and alternative medicine for cancer pain found alternative treatments, including Chinese treatments, had “low or moderate” evidence for alleviating cancer pain.
But a peer-reviewed paper published in the journal Cancer and Oncology Pain described the barriers some people faced obtaining conventional medical treatment. Led by Dr David Garfield from the ProMed Cancer Centre in Shanghai, the authors wrote that “Mainland Chinese attitudes are different from what we are accustomed to in the west”.
“There is a lack of trust between patients/families and physicians, related in part to there being few urban general practitioners, resulting in no longstanding, physician-patient relationships,” the authors wrote.
“There is a feeling that care is being provided for personal gain, much more so than in the west. When individuals are ill, or think they may be, they go directly to hospitals, including traditional Chinese medicine hospitals, rather than seeing a non–hospital-based practitioner.”
“Anti-cancer drugs, even for patients treated in public hospitals, are costly,” the authors added, writing that proven and effective treatments “although available, are out of reach for all but the wealthy”.
Cost, rather than mistrust, appeared to be a factor for Xu shunning chemotherapy. In one post on her Weibo blog, she wrote about how exhausted she was from trying to provide for her family financially.
“Over the past five years, I worked very hard to support the large family,” she wrote. “I made money to pay for my younger brother’s tuition fees, pay my parents debts and even buy a house. The pressure made me breathless.”
