Baby survives after falling on to rail tracks after mother gave birth in moving train's toilet

A newborn baby girl survived for nearly two hours on train tracks after she fell through a moving train toilet when her mother prematurely gave birth.

The child's mother, Bhuri Kalbi, 33, was travelling with relatives on an overnight train when she went to the bathroom shortly before midnight on Tuesday in India.

She unexpectedly gave birth to a baby girl and passed out from the pain.

Her amazed brother-in-law, Arjun Kumar, found her in the toilet two stations later covered in blood after investigating why she was taking so long.

He explained: "She fell unconscious and the baby fell through the toilet. Two stations later, we knocked at the door.

"When we asked her about what happened, she said the baby had fallen through onto the tracks."

Toilets that open directly onto the tracks are a common feature of Indian trains.

Kumar said that after finding Bhuri, relatives pulled the train's emergency brake and told railway officials what had happened.

A search was quickly organised, and guards at one of the stations the train had passed soon found the baby, who miraculously had survived.

"She was on the rail track for almost two hours," said Dr. Gautam Jain, a pediatrician at Rajasthan Hospital in Ahmadabad, in the western state of Gujarat, where the baby and mother were taken.

The child, who has not yet been named, was eight to 10 weeks premature and weighed only 1.46 kilograms (3.22 pounds).

She had a low heart rate and body temperature.

"We do not expect such children to survive," Dr Jain said.

Furniture-maker slices open tree to find 'Jesus' in the rings

A furniture maker was delighted when he sliced open a tree to find what he claims is an image of Jesus ascending to heaven.

Forty-five-year-old Craig O'Connor from Bensalem, Pennsylvania discovered the image in a stain of sap inside the trunk.

The Catholic, who visits church twice week, said: "It's the first time I've seen anything like it.

"I was covered in goose bumps. Everyone has been amazed, my parents, friends, brother, everyone. They all had the same reaction as me.

"People have said that it is art made by God and I have to agree with them."

The image was created by the sap from a pine tree that Craig had cut down for a friend.

Growth rings around the figure's head create a halo-like effect.

The figure, which also resembles Gandalf from Lord of the Rings, has pride of place in Craig's house.

He says: "I am thinking I will build a table or some other piece of furniture and have the image as the centre piece."

This isn't the first time an image of a holy figure has been spotted by religious hopefuls.

In 2004 a grilled cheese sandwich sold for $28,000 on ebay for having a holy image.

Mr O'Connor says he was curious about what his trunk would sell for.

"I put it on eBay a joke to see if I got any offers," he said. "I got two offers, one for $500."

But he insists he is not planning on selling the tree in the near future.

Winter at last as arctic cold brings freezing fog and deep frost

These golfers were in no mood for dallying as an arctic frost took hold of their course.

The dedicated pair showed just how much they love their sport, braving subzero temperatures to play round a deserted course in Leeds yesterday.

After weeks of fair weather, winter has finally set in, with freezing fog lifting to reveal an icy landscape across much of northern England.
The Vale of York in North Yorkshire experienced a particularly strong chill which encased trees and hedges in a perfect white frost.

In Tadcaster, the River Wharfe was still navigable by swans, though all around it was brittle under a blanket of ice.

And in parts of Leeds and Sheffield, temperatures fell to as low as -3c.

Warmer weather is expected tomorrow, however, with a front bringing rain to many parts of the north-west by mid-morning।

The Monster Motorbike that can crush its way through the rush hour

Here is one motorcycle that no-one on the road is going to mess with - this bike can crush cars.

The Monster Motorbike is three metres high, nine metres long and at 14 tonnes, it weighs more than a double decker bus.

Ray Baumann took three years to build this beast of a machine that can simply roll over most other vehicles.

Its two giant wheels and tyres are taken from an 80-tonne Caterpillar digger and are driven by two huge chains powered by a six-speed diesel lorry engine.

At ten times the weight of a family car, it is the world's biggest motorcycle and is more than a match for any road hog.

Retired stuntman Mr Baumann takes the Monster Motorbike to shows and demonstrates its astonishing power by crushing cars and caravans.

The former lorry driver, whose stunt career involved jumping cars, said: "I did stunt driving for quite a few years, broke a few records and broke my back a few times.

"So this is a way of taking a bit more care.

"Now I crush things, which is definitely less risky than jumping them."

It was designed and built in Perth, Australia, and uses a Detroit Diesel engine and six-speed Allison automatic gearbox from a lorry.

It also has a two-speed Eaton differential from an articulated lorry to drive a massive chain on each side of the rear wheel.

Mr Baumann said he and his team are looking forward to taking to the road with the giant bike.

He said: "This is just its first season out after spending three years working on it.

"We are getting it running right and then we will take it on the road.

"When we designed it, we kept the weight down low, so it isn't easy to roll over.

"However, it could roll if we ran over a car the wrong way, so we still have to be very careful.

"It's well and truly dangerous, just not as dangerous as the car jumps."

The bike is to go on show at the Australian Motor Show in Melbourne later this month.

Britain will be best place to see a full lunar eclipse that won't be matched for seven years

Early risers can enjoy one of the great free spectacles of the night sky on Thursday morning during the last "proper" total eclipse of the Moon for seven years.

If the skies are clear, anyone prepared to brave the early morning cold will see the Earth's shadow take a "bite" out of the Moon just after 1.40am.

At 3am, when the total eclipse gets underway, the Moon will turn to a blood red colour as it passes completely into shadow.

Although lunar eclipses take place around twice a year, this will be the last time that one can be seen in its entire majesty from everywhere in the UK until 2015.

Robert Massey, of the Royal Astronomical Society, said: "This is one of the great free events of astronomy because it's so stunning, and so easy to watch.

"I'd thoroughly recommend that everyone has a look if the skies are clear.

"You need to set the alarm clock, get up and brave the cold, but if it's clear, it's a really beautiful event and something quite special."

A lunar eclipse occurs when the Sun, Earth and Moon form a straight line in space and the full Moon passes through the Earth's shadow.

Unlike a solar eclipse - which needs special equipment and should not be viewed directly - you can watch a lunar eclipse with the naked eye.

The outer part of the Earth's shadow - called the penumbra - will fall onto the Moon around 12.40am, causing the lunar surface to darken slightly.

However, it is only when the Moon moves into the central, darkest part of the shadow - the umbra - at 1.43am that an obvious bite will appear on its edge.

Over the next 45 minutes, the bite will get larger and larger, until at 3am, it entirely covers the Moon.

At that point, the Moon will not vanish completely, but will change to an eerie, copper red disc.

The dramatic change of colour occurs because the only light to reach the surface of the Moon has passed through the Earth's atmosphere.

The atmosphere scatters blue light, but allows red light to pass through unaffected.

It is the same reason why the sun appears to turn red during a sunset - and the reason why the sky appears blue on a sunny day.

An eclipse of the Moon is nothing like as dramatic as a solar eclipse - but can still produce an astonishing spectacle.

"The colour can vary - it depends on how much dust and water vapour is in the Earth's atmosphere." said Mr Massey.

Although partial eclipses of the moon will be visible every year, the next time a total eclipse will be fully visible from Britain is September 28, 2015.

Britain will also get a partial solar eclipse - when the Moon passes in front of the Sun - on August 1.

However, the next total eclipse of the Sun is not due until 2081 from the Channel Islands and in 2090 from the South West of England.

Unlike a solar eclipse, each stage of a lunar eclipse is visible to everyone on the side of the Earth facing the moon.

Lunar eclipses have captured the imagination of people since the dawn of time.

In Ancient China they were regarded as an omen caused by a dragon devouring the Moon.

It was customary to bang pots and drums - and set off fireworks - to scare off the dragon.

HOW TO ENJOY THE TOTAL ECLIPSE

The eclipse will be visible from everywhere in the UK on Thursday morning, depending on the weather.

The Met Office is forecasting broken cloud for much of southern Britain - but cloud and rain in the north.

People are advised to stand away from street lights to get the best view.

The moon will start to dim just after 12.40am as it passes through outer part of the Earth shadow.

However, the true partial eclipse will not begin until at 1.43am when a "bite" will appear on the edge of the full moon.

The total eclipse begins at 3am and lasts for 52 minutes.

The Moon will remain visible, but should change colour to a deep blood red.

The partial eclipse ends at 5.09am.

It can be seen with the naked eye, although it will appear more dramatic through a pair of binoculars or telescope.

End is in sight for the 'never-ending paint job' as Forth bridge gets a long-lasting coating

For more than 120 years the job of painting the colossal Forth railway bridge has famously been a never-ending task.

So much steel is involved in the 1.5-mile long rail bridge over the Firth of Forth that, the legend goes, by the time the painters finish, they need to start over again at the other end.

Now, however, a date has been set for completion - 2012.

British engineering firm Balfour Beatty has been blasting off layers of paint from the bridge since 2002 and replacing them with a special coating designed to last 20 years.

On Monday, it said it had been awarded a £74million contract by Network Rail to complete the remaining restoration by 2012.

"The contract is set to mark the end of a modern myth," the firm said on its website.

Network Rail decided to accelerate the work and increase the annual investment with the aim of generating long-term financial savings.

French Aids Campaign

This French Aids campaign is a wonderful example of biomimicmarketing (using images of old nature for propaganda or marketing purposes). They may be disturbing but the message comes across loud and clear. I will never ever have sex with a scorpion again!

U.S. military to shoot down out-of-control spy satellite

America is poised to shoot down a rogue spy satellite which is on collision course with Earth.

President George Bush has ordered his military chiefs to destroy the disabled 5,000lb spacecraft while it is still hurtling through space on a wayward path that takes it over Britain.

His decision came amid growing fears over the danger posed by the satellite's substantial load of explosive rocket fuel.

Without intervention, it would be expected to crash land early next month.

The Pentagon said the satellite would be shot down before it enters the Earth's atmosphere by a missile fired from a U.S. Navy cruiser.

This should mean fragments of the disabled satellite will fall harmlessly into the ocean or burn up in the atmosphere.

Confirming the emergency strike last night, Defence Department spokesman Bryan Whitman said: "We have been looking at ways to mitigate the possible risk to human lives and to demonstrate our continuing commitment to safe and responsible space operations."

General James Cartwright, vice-chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that the "window of opportunity" for such a shoot-down will open in the next three or four days and last for seven or eight days.

He did not say whether the Pentagon has decided on an exact launch date.

He said a Navy missile known as Standard Missile 3 would be fired in an attempt to intercept the satellite just prior to its re-entering-Earth's atmosphere.

It would be "next to impossible" to hit the satellite after that because of atmospheric disturbances. One goal, said General Cartwright, is to hit the fuel tank in order to minimise the amount of fuel that returns to Earth.

He also said that if an initial shoot-down attempt fails, a decision will be made whether to take a second shot.

Another main goal of the satellite's destruction is to prevent its sensitive technology from falling into the wrong hands.

Defence and intelligence expert John Pike said: "What they have to be worried about is that a souvenir collector is going to find some piece, put it on eBay and the Chinese buy it."

Known by its military designation US193, the satellite was launched in December 2006. It lost power and its central computer failed almost immediately after, leaving it uncontrollable.

It carried a highly innovative secret imaging sensor.

It would be due to hit the earth during the first week of March, though it is not known where.

Officials say about half of the spacecraft would be expected to survive its blazing descent through the atmosphere and would scatter debris, some of it potentially hazardous, over several hundred miles.

The satellite is fitted with thrusters - small engines used to position it in space. They contain the toxic rocket fuel hydrazine, which can harm anyone who comes into contact with it. Officials have said it carries about 1,000lbs of the propellant.

The U.S. State Department was contacting foreign governments yesterday to assure them the strike was purely precautionary.

"You want to make sure that everybody understands exactly what actions are being taken so there are no misunderstandings and also to reassure people vis-a-vis treaty obligations," said spokesman Sean McCormack.

Shooting down a satellite is particularly sensitive because of the controversy surrounding China's anti-satellite test last year, when Beijing shot down one of its defunct weather satellites, drawing immediate criticism from the U.S. and other countries.

A key concern at that time was the debris created by Chinese satellite's destruction - and that will also be a focus now, as the U.S. determines exactly when and under what circumstances to shoot down its own errant satellite.

Robo rodent

Researchers at England’s University of Sheffield, Germany’s Bernstein Centre for Computational Neuroscience (BCCN) and the Humboldt-Universitt zu Berlin – along with others – are using the animal kingdom to help develop sophisticated touch technology for use in intelligent machines, such as robots.

The new 7.3 million euro ‘BIOTACT’ project brings together nine research groups from seven countries – including Israel and the US – to develop innovative artificial touch technologies, including a “whiskered” robotic rat.

This new technology could have a number of possible applications in modern-day society from search and rescue robots that could pick their way through rubble and debris to mine-clearing machines to planetary rovers in space.

The technology could also be used closer to home in domestic products; for example vacuum cleaners that could sense textures for optimal cleaning.

While vision supplies information about distant objects, touch is invaluable in sensing the nearby environment. However, in designing intelligent, life-like machines, the use of touch has been largely overlooked, until now.

Led by Professor Tony Prescott of Sheffield’s Department of Psychology, the international team will develop new technologies inspired by the use of touch in the animal kingdom.

In nocturnal creatures, or those that inhabit poorly-lit places, this physical sense is widely preferred to vision as a primary means of discovering the world.

The Norwegian rat and the Etruscan shrew, for example, use their whiskers to make sense of their environment. The mammals sweep their whiskers back and forth at high speeds in a controlled manner, allowing them to use touch signals alone to recognise familiar items, determine the shape and surface of objects, and track and capture prey.

The research team at the BCCN – led by Professor Michael Brecht of the Humboldt-Universitt zu Berlin – will focus on the Etruscan shrew, the smallest mammal.

This animal hunts prey of almost the same size as itself. Guided by vibrissal touch, this animal places breath-takingly fast and precise attacks on its insect prey.

“The sensory-motor performance of this animal is astonishing. Using novel microscopy techniques will offer unique insights about the mammalian brain function,” Brecht says.

Using their understanding of the animal kingdom, the team will develop two machines endowed with similar sensing capabilities, including a whiskered robot that can seek-out, identify and track fast-moving target objects.

“Overall, our project will bring about a step-change in the understanding of active touch sensing and in the use of whisker-like sensors in intelligent machines,” Prescott said.

“Today’s life-like machines, such as robots, don’t make effective use of touch. By learning from nature and developing technologies that do use this physical sense, our researchers will be able to enhance the capabilities of the machines of the future.”

Scientists discover new flying dinosaurs - the size of sparrows

As pterodactyls go, it was dinky, toothless and had unexpectedly curved toes.But scientists are welcoming their new sparrow-sized find as another piece in the puzzle of ancient evolution."We have this really amazing creature, sparrow-sized, which lived essentially in the trees, showing us a very new, very interesting side of the evolutionary history of those animals," said Alexander Kellner of the National Museum of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.Pterodactyls are best known from giant examples of the ancient flying reptiles, and most specimens have been uncovered in coastal areas.

Dubbed Nemicolopterus crypticus, or "hidden flying forest dweller," the new fossil was uncovered in the western part of China's Liaoning province, a region that was forested when the flying animal lived there about 120 million years ago."We just had one side of the story of pterosaur evolution," Mr Kellner said."This is now providing us with information about pterosaurs that were living deep inside the continent.

Speaking at a news conference in Rio on Monday, he said the find "opens a brand new chapter in the history of the evolution of these flying vertebrates."The curved toes, he said, indicate that the pterosaurs lived most of the time in trees."Because they were flying animals, their fossils are extremely rare. So, discoveries such as this are fundamental to understand the evolution of these winged vertebrates," he said.

It was the smallest of its group of flying pterosaurs, he said, and when first uncovered the researchers thought it was a baby.The skull was not fully fused, meaning it was not yet an adult, but the ends of the bones were developed, so it was not a hatchling either."How much could it grow? We have no idea," he said. "But even if it would double its size it would still be the smallest of its particular group."

The researchers said the legs and feet of Nemicolopterus had attachments for muscles indicating that it could grasp limbs, and unlike most pterodactyls, it lacked teeth. They speculated it might have eaten insects.Matthew Carrano, a paleontologist at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, said some smaller specimens have been found but those were clearly younger than this animal.

"It is interesting to see some clear arboreal adaptations in this species," said Mr Carrano, who was not on the research team."It confirms a suspicion we had, that pterosaurs were more diverse in their habitats than we knew from the record.""Once again, the Liaoning region is bringing out all sorts of new things," Carrano said.

Flying saucer spotted over Portsmouth (or is it a trick of the light)

A photographer who stopped on a whim to take some pictures at night might have chanced upon a real UFO.Cynics will dismiss the orange-tinged image showing what appears to be a flying saucer as some kind of technical wizardry to trick of the light.But experts are already saying it could really show a UFO in flight above the UK.

Hab Rahman, a keen photographer, was stunned to see the image in the background when he looked again at some pictures he had taken at night.The 28-year-old, from Portsmouth, Hants, was driving home from work through thick fog when he decided to stop and get some snaps of the eerie setting.He pulled up and went to take the shots from a car park near Commercial Road, Portsmouth, just after midnight.It was not until he got home and transferred the shots onto his computer that he spotted the mysterious glowing object.Mr Rahman said: "I didn't spot anything when I took the picture but then later on when I looked a bit closer and zoomed in, there it was.
"I've never really believed in UFOs but this is a bit weird and quite freaky.
"I'm not really sure what to make of it but I can't think what else it could be."

Hilary Porter, from the British Earth and Aerial Mysteries Society (BEAMS), believes this sighting could be the real thing.She said: "It would be very difficult to fake that photo and the UFO is at a tilt, which is the way they normally fly."You don't normally see that sort of UFO over this country, we generally get orange orbs, so the photographer who got this photo has got quite a coup."

The Ministry of Defence would not comment on individual sightings and said they could not check if there were any aircrafts in the vicinity at the time.An MoD spokesperson said: "The MoD examines reports solely to establish whether UK airspace may have been compromised by hostile or unauthorised military activity."Unless there is evidence of a potential threat, there is no attempt to identify the nature of each sighting reported."

Berman YouTuber Shares Some Insight

Sunday afternoon is devoted to Busted Coverage, apparently. The BC showed the initiative to reach out to the mysterious "Ampex 2000", author of the last four Berman videos that emerged online. Turns out the poster "was" in broadcasting for a few years.

Have you been holding the Berman vids since 2000? If so, why?

I saw the one that someone released that was a huge hit. I thought I was given the only copy years ago. At that point I said what the heck let's see how many hits can we get with the other ones. After all few see what some of these announcers are like and this is a perfect representation of what Chris is really like!

But, still, if the guy "was" in broadcasting, why no true identity? I'm still curious as to why these videos suddenly started surfacing recently.

Giant sea turtle's search for food is a perilous 13,000-mile odyssey, scientists reveal

A leatherback turtle has been tracked searching for food over an incredible 13,000 miles, raising the alarm over the plight of the endangered species.The turtle swam from Indonesia to the U.S. in its hazardous migratory odyssey.The species, which at up to 9ft long is the largest sea reptile and has been around for 100 million years, is the most endangered turtle in the oceans.Researchers now fear that unless action is taken the turtles face extinction because over-fishing is making their habitat too dangerous for them.

"Migrations of this magnitude expose animals to a multitude of risks from fisheries on the high seas," said marine scientists Scott Benson and Peter Dutton in a report.
Speaking today, Mr Benson estimated that fewer than 5,000 adult females now live in the Pacific region, though males cannot be easily counted because they do not come ashore.Conservationists estimate the breed could become extinct within 30 years, he said.

Turtles "face a myriad of risks from things like ingesting debris like plastic, to travelling through areas that are used by multinational fisheries - fisheries that would catch them in the course of trying to catch fish," Mr Benson said.

He and Mr Dutton, who work for the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service in California, went to Indonesia in 2001 to track turtles using satellite transmitters.
Their research showed the animals ranged from the South China Sea to the Sea of Japan to the North Pacific.

One adult female began her journey in 2003 on a nesting beach in Jamursbamedi in Indonesia's Papua province, Mr Benson said.The scientists tracked her during her hunt for food for 647 days until the transmitter's battery ran out just off Hawaii. During her travels she swam as far north as the U.S. west coast state of Oregon.

The voyage was so long because food scarcity forced the turtle to move on from one feeding area to another."It's the old adage of not putting all your eggs in one basket," Mr Benson said. "If a foraging ground was bad one year, maybe another foraging ground would be good. Some portion of the population would always be able to find food."

In their report - in journal Chelonian Conservation and Biology - they said: "Effective conservation requires a better understanding of migratory routes and destinations to understand and mitigate the risks at sea."Today Mr Benson called for action to protect leatherback turtles as they roam the seas.

"It will be the responsibility of many countries to ensure the species survives in the Pacific Ocean for future generations," he said. "It's an animal that doesn't recognize international boundaries. You can protect the nesting beaches but if you can't protect the animal in the water, you haven't done anything."

Peter C. H. Pritchard, a turtle expert and director of the Chelonian Research Institute in Florida, said he wasn't surprised to learn how far the turtle travelled."It's possible and only limited by the geography of the world," he said today."This is a powerful fishing machine and remarkable diving machine."

Islamic fanatic 'wanted to groom his three-year-old daughter to marry a terrorist'

The fanatic who plotted to kidnap and behead a British soldier wanted his three-year-old daughter to marry a jihadi terrorist, a court heard.Terrorist cell leader Parviz Khan, 37, was secretly recorded in his home telling friend Zahoor Iqbal how the toddler talked about cooking food for the "men in the mountains" .Khan added: "Inshallah (God willing) - she'll marry into them and give birth to them".But Iqbal, who is on trial accused of helping Khan send equipment to be used by extremists in Afghanistan, denied Khan was talking about Mujahideen insurgents.Nigel Rumfitt, QC, prosecuting, told him: "That is as sick as it gets."He wants his three-year-old daughter to marry Mujahideen terrorists and give birth to more of them."That is what he is training her to want by asking her what she will cook for them in the mountains."But Iqbal told the jury at Leicester Crown Court that Khan meant he wanted his daughter to marry an Afghan mountain villager.Iqbal added that he never suspected Khan was sending equipment to Al-Qaeda terrorists fighting coalition forces and instead thought the shipments were for earthquake relief.

"All I saw were fleeces and thermals .l never saw any radar detectors or night vision equipment," he claimed. Iqbal also told the jury that he did not take Khan seriously when he talked about terrorism."I thought he was a fantasist," Iqbal said, "His mindset and mental state had changed."It was just him talking and I went along with it."Khan has admitted being the mastermind behind an "evil" plot to abduct a Muslim British soldier and behead him "like a pig" in a lock-up garage.

He planned to snatch his intended victim with the help of drug-dealers as the target was enjoying an night out before murdering him on film.Footage of the "ghastly" killing would then be released "to spread fear among the armed forces and public", the jury has been told.Khan was the "hub" of a cell whose main purpose was to send supplies to Pakistan for use by terrorists fighting coalition forces in Afghanistan.
But he concocted his plot to kidnap a squaddie from the streets of Birmingham because he was "enraged" that there were Muslims in the British army.

The plan was scuppered when police and members of the security services swooped on Khan last January after secretly bugging his terraced home.Zahoor Iqbal denies helping Khan with his plot
The jury has been told Khan has admitted engaging in conduct with the intention to commit acts of terrorism between April 2006 and February 2007.

He also admits supplying equipment for use in terrorism and possessing a document likely to be useful in committing or preparing an act of terrorism.Iqbal, Perry Barr, Birmingham, denies engaging in conduct with the intention of assisting in the commission of acts of terrorism.The 30-year-old also denies possessing a document or record likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism.Khan, Alum Rock, Birmingham, allegedly enlisted two other men, Amjad Mahmood and Basiru Gassam, to identify a soldier for his plot.

Shopworker Mahmood, denies a charge of failing to disclose information relating to an act of terrorism.The 32-year-old, who worked near Khan's home, also denies engaging in conduct with the intention of assisting in the commission of acts of terrorism.
Gassama, 30,of Hodge Hill, Birmingham, has pleaded guilty to failing to disclose information relating to an act of terrorism.Two other Muslim men who are alleged to have been members of Khan's terrorist cell were also charged with terrorism-related offences.Hamid Elasmar, 44, Edgbaston, Birmingham, has admitted engaging in conduct with the intention of assisting in acts of terrorism.The jury has been told 31-year-old Mohammed Irfan, of Ward End, Birmingham, has also pleaded guilty to the same charge.