Thirteen years after Mother Teresa’s death and few days after her 100th birthday, the US Postal Service has decided to issue a postage stamp on September 5 to commemorate the remarkable life of the nun from Calcutta.

Mother Teresa was a Catholic nun of Albanian ethnicity and Indian citizenship. She founded the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta in 1950. For over 45 years she ministered to the poor, sick, orphaned, and dying, while guiding the Missionaries of Charity’s expansion, first throughout India and then in other countries.

Following her death she was beatified by Pope John Paul II and given the title Blessed Teresa of Calcutta. She died in Calcutta on September 5, 1997, and is buried there.

“The US Postal Service will pay tribute to Mother Teresa, who received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 for her humanitarian work,” the USPS said in a statement.

“Noted for her compassion toward the poor and suffering, Mother Teresa, a diminutive Roman Catholic nun and honorary US citizen, served the sick and destitute of India and the world for nearly 50 years,” it said.

“Her humility and compassion, as well as her respect for the innate worth and dignity of humankind, inspired people of all ages and backgrounds to work on behalf of the world’s poorest populations,” USPS had said in a statement in December last year.

The stamp features a portrait of Mother Teresa. The stamp was designed and painted by acclaimed artist Thomas Blackshear II. The 44-cent stamp featuring the Blessed Mother Teresa will go on sale after September 5 at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington.

“The Postal Service decided to go with a smiling image that has been seen everywhere. This portrays her as a happy person who loved life,” Thomas was quoted as saying.

“The Postal Service sent me a number of photos, and I created pencil drawings based on three of these photos. One drawing showed her as somewhat somber. Another one was more pensive. After the smiling image was chosen, I created the final 5- by-7[-inch] image by using water colors. I kept building up the layers over three or four days until I got the look I wanted,” he added

[Source].

More than a year after his death, pop icon Michael Jackson’s body will reportedly be exhumed. Dr Conrad Murray, the ‘Thriller’ hitmaker’s physician, has been charged with ‘involuntary manslaughter’ and his lawyers plan to challenge Jackson’s autopsy, which declared that his death was caused due to an overdose of the sedative Propofol.

The lawyers will argue that the ‘King of Pop’ died from the use of recreational drugs and may demand that his body be dug up for new tests ahead of Murray’s trial next year, reported News Of The World online.

“This is a horrifying situation the family have been dreading. They laid Michael to rest and for him to return is just sick,” said a source close to the Jackson family.

Lead attorney Ed Chernoff has already got the green light to re-test tissue samples removed and frozen after Jackson, 50, died last June.

“If the tests don’t concur with the coroner’s findings, they have the start of a strong defence. The logical next step would be to exhume the body to make new tests,” added the source.

The hitmaker is buried at the Forest Lawn Cemetery in Hollywood Hills.

Jackson’s family had gone to extraordinary lengths to keep the exact location secret due to worries that his followers will throng the resting place of their idol.

[Source]

The parents of a young Chinese women dubbed “Avatar girl” have appealed for help for an operation to save their daughter’s life.

Twenty-two-year old Wu Xiaoyan’s parents have been unable to afford the medical costs and have had to watch helplessly as their beloved daughter’s face twisted out of shape – leaving her looking like one of the creations from the Avatar movie.

Doctor Liao Quiqing from the hospital that is treating her in Lishui Zhejang, Southern China said: “She now has a severe facial deformity – a Fibrous Dysplasia.

“She cannot breathe through her nose or smell and can no longer see properly. She is very brave and doesn’t complain but she must be in a lot of pain.

“Because her tumor has already occupied two-thirds of the face we want to remove it and then carry out chemotherapy and radiotherapy.”

But the family that has already spent £10,000 on treatment cannot afford the extra £20,000 needed to complete the surgery.

All the family members are farmers and have little more than £100 a month income each. In addition her mother has been incapacitated after a stroke and the father is struggling to look after her and continue to make a living.

[Source]

Beijing, Aug 24: Even though the pace of the movement of vehicles stuck in the 10-day long traffic jam in north China has marginally picked up, officials predict that the massive bumper-to-bumper gridlock may take another two weeks to dissolve.

The traffic jam, which spans several miles along the Beijing-Zhangjiakou highway, reportedly stems from road construction in Beijing. As of Tuesday, Aug 24, the jam has hit the 10-day mark.

Quoting an official of Zhangjiakou city’s Traffic Management Bureau, an international news agency reported that the traffic jam won’t be finished until the middle of next month (Sep 2010).

Zhang Minghai, director of Bureau general office said that the jam, that spreads across 60 miles (100 kilometers), with cars moving little more than a half-mile (one kilometer) a day at one point has improved since this weekend.

The traffic jam began on last Saturday, Aug 14 along the Beijing-Zhangjiakou highway, which records a 40 per cent surge in traffic volume every year.

According to the authorities, the traffic congestion escalated after coalfields were discovered in Inner Mongolia.

[Source]