Please confirm if you are officially alive: S. Africa Gov

BEIJING, March 19 (Xinhuanet) -- In an effortto
undo "fraudulent deaths" from its records, the South Africa government has
calledupon people to confirm whether they are officially alive.

A special call centre has been set up for South
Africans to check if they have been wrongly declared dead -- an increasingly
common problem with identity theft by criminals trying to benefit from life
insurance.

South Africagovernment minister Richard Baloyi
told a press conference Tuesday: "we call upon citizens to confirm your alive
status."

Baloyi also urged citizens to check if they legally
married, as criminals are also engaging in identity theft to arrange fake
marriages for migrants seeking citizenship.

(Agencies)

Man stays alive 3 days lost in Arctic

BEIJING, April 22 (Xin***) -- A man survived in the Arctic for three days with the help of survival techniques after he went missing last week, the National Science Foundation (NSF) announced Tuesday.

The man, whose name has not been released, was working on a scientific research project in Greenland's Arctic. He went missing Wednesday last before being rescued Saturday with the help of several international agencies.

According to the NSF, the 38-year-old U.S. citizen worked as a heavy equipment operator at the station for a sub-contractor of CH2M HILL, an engineering, construction and operations company that provides logistical support for NSF's scientific research efforts in the frigid Arctic.

Before his rescue, the man had last been seen on Wednesday night near a runway at foundation's research station at Summit, Greenland. He was reported missing on Thursday morning.

During the rescue operation, the missing man used survival techniques taught to all NSF and CH2M HILL-affiliated personnel in polar regions to stay alive, including digging a hole to get out of the wind and frequently moving his body to keep blood circulating, according to NSF statement.

The man is now being treated at a hospital in Nuuk, the capital of Greenland, and is expected to recover.

(Agencies)