World Vignettes

Frozen assets bear fruitLONDON: A British woman has given birth to a healthy baby boy after she was impregnated with sperm from her dead ...

Frozen assets bear fruit

LONDON: A British woman has given birth to a healthy baby boy after she was impregnated with sperm from her dead husband, British media reported on Saturday. Diane Blood has named the baby Liam Stephen Blood, after his father Stephen, who in 1995. Mother and baby were doing well, Blood8217;s father Mike McMahon said, according to the Daily Mail newspaper. 8220;I am absolutely thrilled,8221; he said. 8220;They are both fine, but she is still sedated so it8217;s still too early for her to comment,8221; he said. Blood has said she and her husband had been planning to have children before he contracted meningitis.

Doctors removed sperm from her husband at her request while he was in a coma before his death, and it was kept frozen in a British hospital. But she had to fight a court battle to use the sperm, because it was taken without her husband8217;s written permission.

Satellite parking in space

MANILA: The Philippines has signed an accord with Indonesia on an exclusive slot in space topark the Indonesian satellite Agila II, which is the most powerful satellite of its kind in the Asia-Pacific rim. The satellite orbital slot agreement was signed between the Philippine long-distance company 8212; Mabuhav Philippines Satellite Corp and Indonesia8217;s P T Pasfik Satelit Nusantra with the support of the Japanese government in Malacanang on Friday. The 243 million dollars Agila II, which was launched in August last year, is the most powerful of its kind in the region, with 10 kilowatts of power that can service the whole Pacific rim, including the entire Southeast Asia, East China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Hawaii for 15 years.

Oriental names

BEIJING: Typhoons hitting Asian coasts may soon have exotic oriental names if international authorities approve a proposal to this effect. Warnings may soon be broadcast of the approach of typhoon Ma On or Shan-Shan if authorities agree on a proposal to use names with regional characteristics from January 2000. Titles reportedlyhave already been selected. 8220;Using regional names was felt to be better for enhancing alertness among people to tropical cyclones,8221; an official from the Hong Kong observatory which mooted the proposal said.

American weather forecasters in Guam, who have previously named typhoons, assigned only women8217;s names until 1979 when criticism forced them to begin including male names.