Debt-ridden Russian kills wife, kids
Moscow, March 21: A distraught debtor shot and killed his wife and two daughters in a Moscow apartment to spare them the burden of his financial misery, the Interfax news agency reported, quoting a police source. The man, identified as Yuri Merkind, then boarded a train and headed more than an hour out of Moscow before surrendering himself and his pistol to the police in Vladimir, about 190 kilometres east of the capital. “He didn’t want the family to become hostage to his financial difficulties and debts,” said the police source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing. “It seems that he had initially intended to commit suicide after shooting his wife and children, but for some unknown reason he renounced this plan and took flight.” Investigators found many receipts of debts owed in the apartment as well as a note apparently written by Merkind.
—AFP
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Japan plans to build 14 nuclear plants by 2030
Tokyo, March 21: Resource-poor Japan is planning to build at least 14 nuclear power plants over the next 20 years to reduce its reliance on other countries for its energy needs, a report said Sunday. The world’s second biggest economy, which wants to double its provision for its fuel consumption, will make an announcement in June on whether it intends to press ahead with the plants, the Nikkei business daily said. Japan has few energy resources and relies on nuclear power from 53 plants for nearly one third of its domestic electricity needs. The government is eager to boost its energy self-sufficiency ratio which stands at 18 per cent at home and at 38 per cent with government and corporate interests overseas taken into account.
—AFP
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DVD player to edit films to suit kids
London, March 21: American scientists have developed a new technology that can censor all potentially offensive scenes of a movie, making it watchable with children at home. The patented technology — an electronic film filter called the ClearPlay system — can be integrated into the next generation of DVD players to skip and mute content based on seven categories that can be set to meet viewing preferences. These included violence, blood, nudity, sex, swearing, blasphemy and offensive content, the Daily Mail reported. According to ClearPlay bosses, many films, especially those that are rated 15, lend themselves to such treatment because their rating is based on only one or two brief scenes which can be edited without spoiling the rest of the movie.
—PTI
