Chinese dumplings contain insecticide
January 31, 2008 | Leave a Comment
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The scare was breaking news shortly before dinner time in Japan, with national television broadcasting a live press conference in which distributor JT Foods said it was recalling the dumplings.
“We pray for the early recovery of those whose health was affected,” Mutsuo Iwai, an executive at cigarette giant Japan Tobacco, of which JT Foods is a subsidiary, said.
“We sincerely apologise for the trouble.”
Ten people, including a mother and her four children, fell ill in Chiba prefecture near Tokyo and western Hyogo prefecture after eating “gyoza” dumplings, local police said.
At least five of them were still in hospital after suffering vomiting, stomach aches or diarrhea. A five-year-old girl was reported to be in a serious condition.
Chinese-made products, ranging from seafood to car tires and toys, were at the center of a series of global safety scandals and recalls last year.
Japan is heavily reliant on food imports and counts China as its second largest supplier after the United States.
But a number of Japanese companies have also come under fire in recent months over food safety, mostly false labeling of expired products, in cases that had no link to China.
The gyoza, which historically originated in China but is one of Japan’s most popular foods, is a steamed dumpling, generally with ground meat inside.
JT Foods said an insecticide called methamidophos was found in the dumplings.
Party boy Corey bashed
January 31, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Corey Worthington, the punk who became the face of teenage rebellion for throwing a huge party in his parents’ house, has been bashed.
The bleach-haired, yellow sunglasses-wearing 16-year-old was beaten up by a gang of teenagers in his hometown of Narre Warren, in Melbourne’s outskirts, on Monday.
Video footage of the brawl was captured on a mobile phone by a local teenager.
It shows Corey, shirtless as always, being tackled to the ground while a voice yells: “Chris, give it to him!” Police arrived quickly and the brawl dispersed. Corey was not believed to be seriously injured.
It was Corey’s first taste of the dark side of fame, which the precocious adolescent stumbled on after 500 guests crashed a party at his parents’ house while they were on holiday.
The fight took place at Fountain Gate Shopping Centre, the place made famous by the fictional characters Kath and Kim.
Corey turned up to the shopping centre with a group of friends expecting a fight with another group of teenagers.
There had been an altercation between the two groups last Friday, according to the teenager who captured the incident on camera.
“He came with all his friends to fight,” said the witness, who was not named. “The fight broke out when they got to the oval.
“Chris started hitting Corey in the face, kneeing him in the face.
“Everyone scatters when the police get there.”
The witness said Corey was only targeted for his so-called fame. “He thinks he’s all that, he’s famous now,” he said.
Since gaining worldwide infamy, Corey’s bad attitude has inspired the internet game “Slap Corey”, which has now been played more than 850,000 times.
Corey has since taken representation with celebrity agent Max Markson, and is reportedly preparing a world tour promoting and DJ-ing at parties.
The youth is understood to have tentatively reunited with his parents, who kicked him out of their house in the weeks after the world famous party.
It was ACA that gave Corey his biggest boost into his teetering superstardom.
Asked during an interview on the program the day after his party if he had thought about his actions, Corey replied: “I have. Everyone has. And they love it.”
Victoria Police are believed to be investigating Monday’s incident but have not laid charges.
Mum backs dog, blames son for dog attack
January 30, 2008 | Leave a Comment
This little boy’s face was horribly scarred by the family dog - but his mother yesterday vowed to keep the pet, blaming the attack on her son.
Two-year-old Noah Newbold is lucky to have the sight in his left eye after being mauled by his family’s 50kg mastiff-staffordshire cross.
Deep cuts and scratches cover the left side of his face.
But yesterday the toddler’s mother, Alicia Cottier, said she was keeping the dog despite the attack because it had been provoked by her son pulling the dog’s ears.
“People are telling me I should shoot the dog, and as much as I love my son to death, I believe Noah was annoying her. I love the dog and she’s part of the family,” Ms Cottier said.
Noah is nursing a range of painful injuries after being bitten on Monday night at his home at Booral in the Hunter Valley, NSW.
Police attended the scene but said there no charges would be laid because the attack had occurred at the home of the dog’s owner.
With a large cut on his eyelid, and puncture marks on his cheeks and chin, the toddler told The Daily Telegraph his pet dog “bited me”.
As the child hugged and kissed the dog yesterday, Ms Cottier said the attack was not the dog’s fault.
“It’s not like the dog picked him up and shook him or anything, she just snapped at him for pulling on her ears,” she said.
“She’s a good dog, I’ve never had any problems with her before and I don’t think it’s her fault.”
Young Noah agreed.
“I love Cassey,” Noah said.
Paramedics who dressed the boy’s wounds said he was lucky to escape with so few injuries, given his size compared with the dog.
Until Monday night, Ms Cottier said Noah and Cassey played together like best friends.
But one too many tugs of the dog’s ears, according to Ms Cottier, was enough to set her off.
“Noah was lying all over her and he started pulling her ears. I told him not to or she’d get cranky,” Ms Cottier said.
But Noah persisted.
“Normally when she (Cassey) has had enough, she walks away from him but this time she snapped at him and she’s bitten him on the face,” Ms Cottier said.
Noah was covered in blood and crying hysterically when Ms Cottier pulled him away from the dog and dialled triple-0.
“There was blood everywhere, and he was screaming,” she said.
Ambulance officers from the Hunter Westpac Rescue Helicopter attended to Noah and deemed him “the luckiest boy alive”.
Lower Hunter police inspector Glenn Blain said the dog’s fate was in the hands of its owner.
“It happened at the house where the dog lives so no action will be taken,” he said.
Machete-wielding hair robbers strike again
January 30, 2008 | Leave a Comment
It is believed the hair, cut from the heads of women in lightning attacks, is being sold to wig makers for high prices.
In the latest attack, in the northern city of Aracaju, two men on a motorbike grabbed a housewife and used a machete to cut off her 1.5m-long hair.
The woman told police she was walking to church when she was assaulted late on Tuesday, police officer Antonio Williams da Silva.
“She was an evangelical and said she hadn’t cut her hair for 20 years,” Mr da Silva said.
“A hairpiece that size could cost you as much as 1000 reals ($600),” Mr da Silva said.
Similar attacks have occurred in other Brazilian cities, where the demand for human hair is high.
Last year, bandits wielding scissors boarded a bus in Rio de Janeiro and cut off the hair that 22-year-old Mirna Marchet had been growing for four years.
Armed teacher steals boys’ underwear
January 29, 2008 | Leave a Comment
A group of eight boys aged 12 to 13 were playing in school grounds earlier this month when the 26-year-old man, who teaches at a different school, approached them, Kyodo news agency said.
Two of the boys ran away but he made the other six take off their trousers and underpants, it quoted local police as saying. The knife touched one boy, causing minor injuries, it said.
The teacher is also suspected of taking a mobile phone from one of the boys and making nuisance calls to his home afterwards, Kyodo said.
The principal of the school where he taught was shown on TV saying he was a dedicated teacher.
Tokyo police declined to comment on the case.
