Public warned of rising fraud - Oman Daily Observer

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PANORAMA
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10, 2013
Feather thieves
target ostriches
A bird makes a nest near Diani Beach on the Indian Ocean coast of Kenya, some
30 km south of Mombasa yesterday.— Reuters
JOHANNESBURG —
South African thieves are
invading ostrich farms
and poaching feathers
from the giant birds, in
a crime that has bafled
local farmers, an industry
chief said yesterday.
"This started during
the last six weeks," said
Piet Kleyn, the chief of
the South African Ostrich
Business Chamber.
He said thieves
sneaked up on the birds
at night and plucked
their feathers without
using proper tools.
"The frightened birds
are badly treated and
some die because of the
terrible injuries," Kleyn
said. At least 50 birds
in the ostrich growing
region of Oudtshoorn, in
the Western Cape, have
been attacked in recent
months.
According to Kleyn,
even birds with feathers
that had not yet fully
grown were targeted.
The cause is not
known, but it is believed
that the trend is driven
by good market prices
for ostrich feathers.
South Africa is one of
the leaders in ostrich
production, with 75 per
cent of market share.
— AFP
Heart pumps gain ground in Germany amid donor shortage
HANOVER — Heart pumps are
gaining wider acceptance, even
though they are often regarded as
second best to a cardic transplant,
because there are not enough donor
hearts to go around, doctors say.
When doctors at Hanover Medical
School (MHH) recently implanted a
heart pump in an 18-year-old man, it
was the 1,000th time the particular
device had been implanted in
Germany.
Called HeartMate II and
manufactured by California-based
Thoratec Corporation, the "left
ventricular assist device," or LVAD,
circulates blood throughout the body
when the heart is too weak to pump
blood on its own.
It is about 8 centimetres long,
weighs about 280 grams and is
attached by an external driveline to
a small controller and two batteries
worn under or over clothing.
Such devices generally serve as a
"bridge" to a heart transplant.
The recipient of the heart pump
was Jan-Lukas Huelsebus from
the north-west German city of
Papenburg. Formerly employed as
a skilled construction worker, he
was diagnosed with severe cardiac
insuficiency in mid-December and
has been living with the pump since
January. He does not look like a heart
patient. — dpa
Ice hanging on lowers in a garden in Hami, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. A sharp
temperature decrease has hit this area following a strong cold air. — AFP
A worker packs Chinese patent capsules the medicine which tops the list of a
Diagnosis and treatment scheme for human contracted H7N9 virus released by
Chinese government earlier, in Bozhou, Anhui province. — Reuters
Chinese bowl
fetches $9.5m
HONG KONG — A rare
red "lotus bowl" from the
Chinese emperor Kangxi
period of 1662-1722 has
been sold for an eyepopping
$9.5 million at a
Hong Kong sale.
The price set a new
world record for any
Chinese porcelain from
the Kangxi period during
the Qing dynasty after
it was bought by a Hong
Kong ceramics dealer
for HK$74 million ($9.5
million) on Monday,
Sotheby's said in a
statement.
The ruby-ground
"falangcai" bowl
decorated with pink,
yellow and blue lotuses
was originally expected
to fetch HK$70 million at
the sale. — AFP
Attempt for longest
talk show record
KATHMANDU— A Nepalese presenter will
attempt to set the world record for the
longest television talk show this week by
staying on air for 60 hours, organisers said
yesterday.
Rabi Lamichhane, a 36-year-old based
in the US, has returned to Kathmandu to
stage the Lord Buddha Was Born in Nepal
programme, and try to capture the Guinness
world record.
"Through the talk show I want to spread
the word about Nepal and promote tourism,"
Lamichhane, a former journalist who is now
a manager at a Subway fast-food sandwich
outlet in Baltimore, said. "I am inviting
politicians, sportspersons, ilm actors and
social workers."
According to Guinness World Records
rules, Lamichhane will be allowed ive
minutes every hour for a break. "I will use
whatever time I accumulate for lunch and
dinner breaks," he said, adding that he might
even take a nap if the situation allows.
The producers say they have prepared
back-up electricity supplies to guard against
Nepal's frequent power cuts, which can hit
for up to 14 hours a day.
The show, to be recorded in the Nepali
language with English subtitles from
tomorrow at News24 Television, will be
live-streamed on the channel's website and
several partner websites. — AFP
A girl walks along a street in Beijing. — Reuters
North Koreans dance on a street in Pyongyang as they celebrate the 20th anniversary of late leader Kim Jongil's
election as chairman of North Korea's National Defence Commission released by the North's oficial KCNA
news agency yesterday. — Reuters