Sheila Marcia Opens Her Mouth about The Baby

After giving birth to her first baby, named Leiticia Charlotte Agraciana Joseph, at Harapan Bunda Hospital, East Jakarta, Sheila Marcia finally expressed how she felt.

"The presence of a baby is extraordinary. I can't express it in words, but for sure she will bring a change in my life and I believe she will be a blessing and will give me strength in my life."

Sheila feels that her normal delivery has made her a complete woman. "I can deliver normally, I'm proud to be a complete woman who is able to feel the child birth process. I could really feel the struggle of being a mother, it was heavy. But it was all worth it when I saw my baby."

What did she feel when she first saw her baby? "I was touched. I didn't know what to do. It was amazing to see such an adorable baby. I have such such a cute baby," she said happily, without brushing on the topic of the child's biological father.

Too bad Sheila, who still needed intensive care, was only available to make a statement without a Q & A session for the press

Apple Admits Child Labour Used to Build iPods and iPhones

Technology giant Apple has admitted that child labour has been employed at some of the factories that build its iPods, computers and mobile phones. An audit found that at least eleven 15-year-old children were found to be working in three factories that supply Apple in the last year.

It said that child workers were now no longer being used at the sites, or were no longer underage. The exact location of the factories has not been identified. Apple has factories which supply parts in Taiwan, Singapore, Thailand, the U.S., the Czech Republic, Malaysia and the Philippines, but most of its products are assembled in China.

The audit also found one facility had attempted to conceal evidence of employing underage labour, while two others had falsified records relating to the number of working hours and days of rest employees were receiving. Apple has been repeatedly criticised for using factories which abuse workers and impose harsh conditions on workers.

Last week, 62 workers at a factory which makes parts for Apple and Nokia were hospitalised after being poisoned by n-hexane, a toxic chemical commonly used in technology which can cause muscular degeneration and blurred eyesight. The company has not commented on the problems at the plant, which is in Suzhou, China.

A spokesman for Wintek, which runs the factory, said that almost all of affected staff were back at work. The audit report revealed that at least 55 of factories which produced Apple goods were ignoring rules that staff must not work more than 60 hours a week.

One of the plants had falsified records for two years in a row in order to conceal that it was using child labour and overworking staff.

It said: 'When Apple investigated further, we uncovered additional records and conducted worker interviews that revealed excessive working hours and seven days of continuous work.

'Based on the repeat core violation and inadequate actions, Apple is terminating all business with this facility.'

The report also found 35 per cent of staff were paying incorrect wages, with 24 factories in China paying less than the national minimum wage of £76 a month. Three facilities were stopped from disposing of hazardous waste after they were found to have employed non-certified disposal companies.

And 20 facilities were found to be conducting pregnancy tests on workers before employing them. Apple has not stopped using those factories to make components. Last year, the company found a total of 25 child workers had been employed to make iPods and iPhones

The World's Most Expensive Inflight Meal

An airline passenger ate his £8,930 winning scratch card after he was told he could not claim the money immediately, it emerged today. The unnamed man was flying with Ryanair from Krakow in Poland to East Midlands Airport when he won 10,000 euros with the scratch card.

Crew on board the flight confirmed he had won the prize but told the passenger he would have to collect the jackpot directly from the company that runs the competition as it was such a large sum.
Ryanair said the man then became frustrated and started to eat his winning ticket, ruling out any chance he had of claiming the prize money which will now be donated to charity.

Stephen McNamara, a spokesman for the airline, said: "Passengers have always been delighted to claim their large cash prizes after returning home.

"Unfortunately our latest winner felt that we should have his 10,000 euros prize kicking around on the aircraft."

The airline is now asking passengers to vote online to decide where the money should go, after the win on Thursday. Voting will take place until March 5 at www.ryanair.com.

Mother Uses Twitter and YouTube to Chronicle Her Abortion

A woman who described her abortion in graphic detail on Twitter and YouTube has provoked a furious backlash. Angie Jackson, 27, has received death threats and been condemned by anti-abortion activists for her account of taking a pill to induce a termination.

Messages on her blog have labelled her a 'w****' and a 'baby killer'. Others have sent Bible verses and offers to adopt her four-year-old son, who has special needs. After a life-threatening first pregnancy, Miss Jackson, from Tampa, Florida, was advised by doctors not to have any more children.

She and her boyfriend found out she was pregnant again on February 13, just over three weeks after she conceived. Doctors said she could take the RU-486 drug, better known as the abortion pill, rather than have a surgical termination because the pregnancy had been detected so early.

Going under the name 'antitheistangie' on Twitter, Miss Jackson then went public with the details. In one post on February 21 she wrote: 'Cramps are getting a bit more persistent.' Other, more graphic posts followed.

In the YouTube video, she gives a similarly vivid account of her termination. She said she did so because she wanted to 'demystify' abortion for other women.

'I had made a decision when my son was born to try to not get pregnant again, and if that failed I'd planned that I would get an abortion if I needed one,' Miss Jackson added.

'My goal is to stay alive, and the best chance of that is to have an abortion. It is not shameful. It is not killing a child.'

Since Miss Jackson posted the messages the number of people following her progress on Twitter has more than doubled from 800.

She said: 'Emotionally, for me, doing this in the open and having the support of my friends has made this immeasurably easier.

'This has made me feel like it is an unfortunate experience but not something by which I have to define myself or my life by.

'I don't feel like I'm doing anything different from what I do every day.

'But now I have people calling me a killer, it's surreal.'

She added: 'I've just been astonished by the level of hatred and death threats and threats of violence against my son. It's been a very ugly side of people to see.

'I'm not trying to ignite a culture war, I'm just offering one person's personal experience and true story.'

The Family Research Council, which promotes 'faith, family and freedom', published a blog calling Jackson's decision a 'tragedy'.

Jeanne Monahan, the director for the Centre for Human Dignity at FRC, said she 'feels sorry' for Miss Jackson.

'I certainly don't agree with her decision to have a medical abortion,' she said.

'In my heart I believe it's not good for her or her baby.'

Abortion is one of the most controversial issues in the U.S., with attacks on clinics providing late-term terminations common.

Last year a mother of two, Irene Vilar, admitted in a book to being an 'abortion addict', having had 15 terminations. She too faced death threats after her account was published

PKS Uninvited to The Coalition Meeting

JAKARTA, - The Democratic Party reportedly had a meeting with its coalition partners at the residence of Syarif Hassan, one of the party's high officials, Sunday evening. Democratic Party fraction chief Anas Urbaningrum also stated that there has been an agreement between the coalition partners regarding the Century Bank case. However, the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), according to its secretary general, Anis Matta, didn't know about the meeting.

"I don't know about the discussion last night. I didn't attend it," stated Anis, Monday, at the House of Representatives, Jakarta.

Anis also stated that he couldn't say whether any PKS high official attended the meeting. "I was out of town."

Deputy speaker of the House ensures that the meetings by the coalition leader won't deter his party's opinion regarding the final conclusion of the inquiry committee on Century Bank. "Golkar stated that it won't change. PKS won't change either."

When questioned whether PKS's absence was because it had been removed from the coalition, Anis was reluctant to respond. He opined that PKS is only bound to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. "The communication we consider official is with Mr. SBY. Aside from that, it's unofficial. And so far the communication with Mr. SBY is going well