Record 259 Nobel Peace Prize nominees

The list of Nobel Peace Prize nominees is known to include Malala Yousafzai, the shot Pakistani schoolgirl-turned-icon of Taliban resistance. Source: AP

A RECORD number of nominees are in the running for this year's Nobel Peace Prize which will be announced in October, the Nobel Institute said on Monday.

The list of 209 individuals and 50 organisations is known to include Malala Yousafzai, the shot Pakistani schoolgirl-turned-icon of Taliban resistance, ex-Eastern bloc activists, and former US president Bill Clinton.

"The trend is upward, not every year but almost," the head of the Nobel Institute, Geir Lundestad, said.

"This reflects a growing interest for the prize. The nominations come from the entire world," he said.

The previous record dates back to 2011 when 241 candidates were nominated.

The list of nominees is kept secret for 50 years.

But thousands of people are eligible to nominate candidates - including former laureates, members of parliament and government around the world, some university professors, and members of certain international organisations - and they can reveal the names they have put forward.

Former US President Bill Clinton appears on the record-breaking list of 259 Nobel Peace Prize nominees. Picture: AP

As a result, it is known that Malala and Clinton are nominated, as well as Russian human rights organisation Memorial and Myanmar's reformist President Thein Sein.

The deadline to submit nominations closed on February 1.

The five-member Norwegian Nobel Committee will announce its choice in early October, and the prize will be awarded, as tradition dictates, on December 10, the anniversary of the death in 1896 of the Nobel Prizes' founder, philanthropist Alfred Nobel.

Last year the prestigious honour went to the European Union, a highly controversial choice as the bloc struggles through its worst crisis since its creation.

"There's no doubt that the choice of laureates in recent years has contributed to the increasing attention" on the award, Lundestad acknowledged.

In 2009, the prize also made waves when US President Barack Obama received the nod just months after he took office and as the US was fighting two wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

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Man dies saving daughter from blizzard

Policemen shovel snow from the car of Kazuyo Miyashita, who died of carbon-monoxide poisoning with her three children after they got buried in the snow, in a spate of snow-related incidents in Hokkaido.Picture: AP Source: AP

A father froze to death while sheltering his nine-year-old daughter from severe weekend blizzards that swept northern Japan, two years after her mother died, reports said Monday.

Mikio Okada died as he tried to protect his only child Natsune against winds of up to 109 kilometres per hour, as temperatures plunged to minus 6 Celsius.

Okada was one of at least nine people killed in a spate of snow-related incidents as blizzards swept across Hokkaido island, police said Monday.

The latest confirmed victim was Kuniko Jingi, 76, who was found lying on the street late Saturday. As with many others, she appeared to have perished after leaving her stranded car, a local police officer said.

Okada's body was uncovered by rescuers looking for the pair after relatives raised the alarm. Natsune was wearing her father's jacket and was wrapped in his arms, newspapers and broadcasters said.

The pair had last been heard from at 4 pm on Saturday, after fisherman Okada picked his daughter up from a school where she was being looked after while he was at work.

Okada called his relatives to say his truck had become stranded in the driving snow, which was several metres deep in places. He told them he and Natsune would walk the remaining kilometre, the Yomiuri Shimbun said.

This picture taken on March 3, 2013 shows a snowdrift where four people were found dead in a car in Nakashibetsu town in Japan's northern island of Hokkaido. Eight people died in snow-related accidents in Hokkaido over the weekend. AFP PHOTO / KUSHIRO SHIMBUN VIA JIJI PRESS JAPAN OUT

The two were found just 300 metres from the truck at 7 am on Sunday.

Okada was hunched over his daughter, cradling her in his arms and apparently using his body and a warehouse wall to provide shelter, the Yomiuri said.

He had taken his jacket off to give to the child, a broadcaster said.

Rescuers said she was weeping weakly in his arms, the paper said.

The young girl was taken to hospital where she was found to have no serious injuries. Her father was officially pronounced dead by doctors at the same institution near their home at Yubetsu on Hokkaido.

The Yomiuri said Natsune's mother had died two years earlier from an unspecified illness.

The paper quoted neighbours as saying Okada had been a doting father who would often delay the start of his working day to enjoy breakfast with his daughter.

His death came as families all over Japan celebrated Girls' Day, a festival in which they gather at home and decorate houses with dolls.

"He reserved a cake for his only daughter and was looking forward to celebrating Dolls' Festival together," a neighbour told the Yomiuri.

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Syrian troops, rebels battle in Homs

Syrians inspect the scene of a car bomb explosion in Homs, Syria on February 28, 2013. In recent days hundreds have been killed as battle wages in the city. Source: AFP

SYRIAN troops launched a major assault to capture rebel-held areas of the central city of Homs, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The offensive comes after at least 264 people were killed across the strife-torn country on Sunday, among them 115 regime soldiers, 104 rebels and 45 civilians, the Observatory said.

"This is the worst fighting in months and there are dozens of dead and wounded among the assailants," the Observatory said without giving further details.

Regular troops backed by pro-regime militiamen attacked the centre of Homs where rebels are holed up, including the Old City and neighbourhoods of Jouret al-Shiah, Khaldiyeh and Qarabees, it said.

Activists refer to Homs as the "capital of the revolution" as the uprising against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad was the most intense in the city of 800,000 residents before regime forces regained control of around 80 per cent of it.

Sectarian tensions also run high in the city. Some 65 per cent of its population are Sunnis, 25 per cent Alawites and around eight per cent Christians.

In the northern city of Raqa on the Euphrates river near the Turkish border, fighting was reported between rebels and soldiers around the Dalla roundabout and the centre for immigration and passports, the Observatory said.

The regime army launched air strikes on Raqa's central prison which was seized at the weekend by the jihadist Al-Nusra Front and other rebel groups, who then set free hundreds of inmates, the watchdog said.

Prior to the conflict Raqa was home 240,000 people, but more than 800,000 people have moved there to escape the daily violence elsewhere in the strife-torn country.

Hundreds of Syrian troops and troops have been killed in recent weeks mainly in the battle for a police academy in the northern province of Aleppo, with insurgents seizing control of most of the complex, the Observatory said.

"On Sunday, the highest number of troops and rebels combined were killed since the start of the conflict in Syria," Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP.

"We were able to document a death toll of 219 for fighters from both sides for Sunday alone, but we are certain the actual toll is even higher," he added.

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'Batman' nabs suspect for police

A Bradford Police spokesman says the person who brought a wanted man into the station was dressed in a full batman outfit. Picture: West Yorkshire Police

POLICE in the north of England are appealing to the public to assist in tracking down a superhero.

With a man due to appear in court charged with handling stolen goods, the Bradford constabulary are attempting to track down the vigilante who turned him in – a man dressed as the Caped Crusader.

Falling somewhere short of Christian Bale's physique, the anonymous crime fighter – squeezed into Batman's traditional mask, body suit and cape – walked into a local police station and turned the accused over.

Police have released CCTV images in hopes of finding the would-be superhero, who took justice into his own hands late last month.

In an unrelated incident in January, a man dressed as Batman put an end to a brawl in a chip shop in Stockport in Greater Manchester.

Sadly, wannabe Batmans sometimes turn their powers to evil, as in November last year, when West Yorkshire police sought a Batman lookalike in relation to an assault in Halifax.

On that occasion, the Caped Crusader was accompanied by not one but two Robins, a Superman and an adult-sized baby, in a white jump suit and bonnet.
 

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Baby born after fatal crash dies

Nachman and Raizy Glauber, both 21, were travelling from Brooklyn to Manhattan in the back of a private taxi service when the car was struck by a speeding BMW, killing them both. Source: Supplied

A BABY delivered after his parents were killed in a hit-and-run accident in New York City has died, a community spokesman says.

Isaac Abraham, who serves as a spokesman for the family's Orthodox Jewish community, said the child died around 5.30am Monday local time (11.30pm AEDT).

Police were searching for the driver of a BMW and a passenger who fled on foot after slamming into a private cab, killing the young pregnant woman and her husband.

"This guy's a coward and he should pay his price," said Mr Abraham, adding that the community wants a homicide prosecution.

Nachman and Raizy Glauber, both 21, were looking forward to welcoming their first child into their tight-knit community of Orthodox Jews.

The horrific crash happened in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn as the couple headed to a hospital.

The engine of the cab ended up in the backseat, where Raizy Glauber, who was seven months pregnant, was sitting before she was ejected, Mr Abraham said. Her body landed under a parked semi-trailer, said witnesses who raced to the scene after the crash. Nachman Glauber was pinned in the car, and emergency workers had to cut off the roof to get him out, witnesses said.

The funeral of Nachman Glauber and Raizy Glauber, both 21, who were pronounced dead at hospitals after a BMW slammed into their car early Sunday in Brooklyn's Williamsburg neighbourhood.

The Glaubers both were pronounced dead at hospitals, and the medical examiner said they died of blunt-force trauma. Doctors had delivered the baby by caesarean section.

Neighbours and friends said the boy weighed only about 4 pounds (1.8kg). The Glaubers' cab driver was treated for minor injuries at the hospital and was later released. Both the driver of the BMW and a passenger who fled and were being sought, police said.

Meanwhile, police said the registered owner of the BMW, who was not in the car, was charged with insurance fraud. Police said Takia Walk, 29, was arrested on Sunday. They did not have any details regarding the charge.

On Saturday, Raizy Glauber "was not feeling well, so they decided to go" to the hospital, said Sara Glauber, Nachman Glauber's cousin. Mr Abraham said the Glaubers called a car service because they didn't own a car, which is common for New Yorkers.

The Glaubers were married about a year ago and had begun a life together in Williamsburg, where Raizy Glauber grew up in a prominent Orthodox Jewish rabbinical family, Sara Glauber said.

Raised north of New York City in Monsey, New York, and part of a family that founded a line of clothing for Orthodox Jews, Nachman Glauber was studying at a rabbinical college nearby, said his cousin.

First responders work at the scene shortly after the car accident in Brooklyn's Williamsburg neighbourhood. Picture: VosIzNeias.com

Brooklyn is home to the largest community of ultra-Orthodox Jews outside Israel, more than 250,000. The community has strict rules governing clothing, social customs and interaction with the outside world. Men wear dark clothing that includes a long coat and a fedora-type hat and often have long beards and ear locks.

Jewish law calls for burial of the dead as soon as possible, and hours after their deaths, the Glaubers were mourned by at least 1000 people at a funeral outside the Congregation Yetev Lev D'Satmar synagogue.

Afterward, the cars carrying the bodies left and headed to Monsey, where another service was planned in Nachman Glauber's hometown.
 

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Slim world's richest for 4th year

Carlos Slim of Mexico, Chairman of Fundacion Telmex and the wealthiest man in the world, according to the latest Forbes rich list. Source: AFP

MEXICO'S Carlos Slim remains the world's richest man for the fourth year in a row, according to Forbes, while Warren Buffett dropped out of the top three for the first time since 2000.

And Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg saw his ranking drop 31 spots as his net worth declined by US $4.2 billion ($4.14 billion).

A record 1426 people around the world made Forbes magazine's latest annual tally of billionaires, up 16 per cent from last year. Their average net worth was US $3.8 billion, rising 3 per cent from 2012. The total net worth for the list's billionaires was US $5.4 trillion compared with US $4.6 trillion a year ago.

The US continued to house the most billionaires in the world, with 442 of them. It was followed by the Asia-Pacific region, with Europe rounding out the top three.

There were 210 new faces on the list, with Forbes saying many were helped by rebounding equity markets and strong consumer brands.

Slim's net worth increased to US $73 billion from US $69 billion a year earlier. Bill Gates of Microsoft Corp. held on to second place with a net worth of US $67 billion.

Berkshire Hathaway Inc.'s Buffett slipped to the fourth spot with a US $53.5 billion net worth. Buffett was surpassed by Spanish clothier Amancio Ortega, who jumped two spots from 2012 with a net worth of US $57 billion.

While Buffett dropped in the rankings, he added US $9.5 billion to his net worth - making him the second-biggest gainer of the year. The largest gainer was Ortega, who added US $19.5 billion to his net worth.

There were 138 women on the list, up from 2012's 104. Liliane Bettencourt - whose family owns a stake in L'Oreal - is the world's richest woman with a net worth of US $30 billion.

Brazil's Eike Batista had the biggest drop in his net worth, with it declining US $19.4 billion from the previous year. Facebook's Zuckerberg saw his net worth fall to US $13.3 billion from US $17.5 billion. His ranking fell to No. 66 from No. 35 in 2012.

There were 60 people that dropped off the list entirely, including Zynga's Mark Pincus and former Chesapeake Energy CEO Aubrey McClendon.

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Queen leaves hospital after stomach bug

Queen Elizabeth II leaves King Edward II Hospital after being admitted with symptoms of gastroenteritis. Picture: Warrick Page Source: Getty Images

QUEEN Elizabeth II has left a central London hospital after a one-day stay caused by a severe stomach bug.

Queen Elizabeth II has left a central London hospital after a one-day stay caused by a severe stomach bug.

She walked unassisted out of King Edward VII Hospital Monday afternoon wearing a red dress, and was driven away in a motorcade.

The hospital stay had initially been planned for two days. She has been suffering from gastroenteritis, a stomach and intestinal inflammation.

The 86-year-old queen has cancelled her engagements for this week due to the illness. It was her first hospitalisation in 10 years.

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Fake bishop tries to sneak into Vatican

Ralph Napierski (left) dressed as a  bishop and posed with cardinal Sergio Sebiastiana (centre) as the cardinal arrived for talks ahead of a conclave to elect a new pope. Picture: AFP Source: AFP

AN Italian man dressed up in fake ecclesiastical robes has been escorted out of a meeting of Catholic cardinals by Swiss Guards after trying to sneak into the closed-door Vatican meeting.

Ralph Napierski told reporters his name was "Basilius" and he was a member of the "Italian Orthodox Church", which does not exist.

Before he was discovered, the "bishop" told reporters that Catholic bishops had "made a mistake by moving priests" who were accused of pedophilia around different parishes.

He was wearing a purple scarf around his waist that was similar to the sashes warn by senior Catholic prelates and he shook hands and chatted with priests and cardinals arriving at the meeting.

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