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Musharraf charged with murder for ‘failing to protect Benazir Bhutto from being assassinated’

Posted on August 20, 2013 by ankakh

Pakistan’s former president Pervez Musharraf was today charged with murder over the assassination of Benazir Bhutto in 2007.

The decision by a court in Rawalpindi marks the first time any former army chief has been charged with a crime in Pakistan.

Musharraf has been charged with murder, conspiracy to commit murder and facilitation for murder.

The former army commando who took power in a coup in 1999 appeared in person at the hearing and pleaded not guilty to all charges.

The next hearing will take place on August 27, when the first evidence will be presented.

Ms Bhutto was killed in December 2007 during a gun and bomb attack at a political rally in Rawalpindi.

Prosecutors claim that Musharraf, who was then president, failed to protect her properly.

Musharraf, 70, left Pakistan in 2008 after being forced to resign from office, but returned to the country in March and vowed to contest this year’s elections.

In addition to the Bhutto case, Musharraf is involved in a case related to the detention of judges and the death of a separatist leader.

He also faces threats from the Pakistani Taliban, which tried to assassinate him twice while he was in office and vowed to try again if he returned.

Ferry sinks after collision off Philippines; 31 dead, over 170 unaccounted for

Posted on August 17, 2013 by ankakh

Rescue crews have found 31 bodies, and are looking for 172 other people, after the ferry they were on collided Friday with a cargo ship in waters between southern Philippine islands, a Coast Guard official said.

Lt. Elgen Gregorio, from the Philippine Coast Guard, told CNN on Saturday morning that more than 600 people had been rescued. At that time, authorities were still looking for survivors.

The incident occurred around 9 p.m. Friday in the Mactan Channel about 2 miles northwest of Cebu City, the capital of Cebu province.

The passenger ship — MV St. Thomas Aquinas — was coming from nearby Butuan City and the cargo ship — the Sulpicio, which had about 20 people aboard — was leaving Cebu for the province of Davao in Mindanao.

The passenger ferry sank, but not before sending out a distress call heard by Coast Guard officials.

At least 44 people were being treated at one hospital in Cebu.

The incident recalls one of the worst maritime disasters in world history dating to December 20, 1987, also off the Philippines.

Between 1,700 and more than 4,000 people were killed when the ferry Dona Paz collided with the tanker MT Victor. The number of casualties has varied; many claim the Dona Paz was extremely overcrowded.

Floods in China’s Northeast Kill 25

Posted on August 17, 2013 by ankakh

At least 25 people have died in storms and floods in China’s northeast in the past week, local authorities and state media reported.

Civil affairs officials in Heilongjiang province said late Friday that the disasters killed 11 people and left three missing in the province.

The official Xinhua News Agency said the death toll had risen to 14 Saturday in the neighboring province of Jilin.

Flooding following heavy rain is common in China, but Xinhua said the flooding in the region was the worst in decades.

Authorities said the floods had forced the relocation of hundreds of thousands of residents, suspended industrial operations, disrupted railway transportation, cut off highways and caused power outages.

Is this the world’s worst zoo? Visitors’ fury after staff in China try to pass off Tibetan mastiff as a lion and a mongrel as a leopard

Posted on August 16, 2013 by ankakh

A China zoo has been forced to apologise after it tried to pass off a dog as a lion.

Angry visitors to the People’s Park in Luohe, Henan province, complained when the ‘African lion’ started barking.

Zoo staff said they had pretended the Tibetan mastiff was a lion because they could not afford the real thing, local media reported.

The state-run Beijing Youth Daily claims the zoo commonly replaced exotic animals with common species.

Elsewhere in the zoo, visitors found a mongrel dog in the Timber wolf’s cage and another pooch posing as a leopard in the big cat enclosure.

Then in the reptile house, keepers had placed two giant sea cucumbers which they were trying to pass off as snakes.

Mr Liu Suya, chief of the park’s animal department, insisted the zoo did have a lion but it had been taken to a breeding facility.

As for the dog that was in its cage, Mr Liu said it belonged to a employee and had been put there ‘for safety reasons.’

A spokesman for the zoo said: ‘We’re doing our best in tough economic times.

‘If anyone is unhappy with our displays we will give back their money.’

Is this the world’s oldest man? Bolivian herder’s records show he was born in 1890

Posted on August 16, 2013 by ankakh

A Bolivian man born in 1890 – and still going strong – has been revealed as the oldest living person ever recorded, it was reported today.

Carmelo Flores Laura turned 123 last month, according to Bolivia’s civil registry.

Yet the herder, from the mountain village of Frasquicia, 50 miles outside the capital La Paz, is still healthy, walks without a stick and doesn’t wear glasses, according to reports.

The native Aymara, who has three children, 16 grandchildren and 39 great-grandchildren, was 24 when World War I broke out and 62 when young Queen Elizabeth ascended to the throne.

Mr Laura, who lost his wife ten years ago, told Bolivia’s Rede Uno TV station that he believes the secret to a long life is taking daily long walks, and never eating pasta or sugar.

The Bolivian’s biblical age means he would easily overtake the current oldest living person, 115-year-old Japanese woman Misao Okawa.

Brazil Army Must Recognize Same-Sex Civil Union

Posted on August 10, 2013 by ankakh

A court has ordered Brazil’s Army for the first time to recognize a same-sex civil union between a sergeant and his companion.

Judge Elio Siqueira says that the couple is entitled to the same rights as heterosexual couples in terms of things such as alimony and retirement benefits.

The sergeant’s attorney said Friday it was “the first time a court ordered the Army to recognize a same-sex union of one its officers.”

Attorney Laurecilia de Sa Ferraz, says turned to the court after the army refused to recognize his civil union with his companion, a computer science student.

The army said it had no comment because it has not been officially notified of the ruling.

Thieves in Venezuela hacking off women’s ponytails in street to sell on as $500 hair extensions

Posted on August 10, 2013 by ankakh

While most people worry about being mugged for their phones or handbags, criminals in the Venezuelan city of Maracaibo have their sights set on something a little more unusual.

According to local news sources, a gang known as the ‘piranhas’ is stealing women’s hair at gun point.

The criminals then sell on the stolen locks to salons for use as hair extensions, according to Venezuelan digital newspaper Informe 21.

Robbers target women with long, straight hair as this type is most in demand for extensions. They force the women tie their hair into ponytails then hack them off.

It’s a profitable business: local hairdressers can charge clients up to £322 ($500) to weave real locks into their hair, according to CNN.

Speaking to Globovision news, Jhonatan Morales, a stylist in Venezuela, explained that hair extensions are hot property – demand for the service has increased by 30 per cent.

He said that his salon refuses to buy the hair from street vendors because they don’t know where it comes from.

The mayor of Maracaibo, Eveling de Rosales, has addressed the issue, saying that security is being upped and that ‘men and women were being placed to guard and avoid this happening again.’

Found after 40 years: Man who went missing with his son in the Vietnamese jungle when his mother and two of his children were killed in a bomb at their home

Posted on August 9, 2013 by ankakh

A father and son have been found living in the jungle of Vietnam four decades after they went missing during the country’s war with the U.S.

Ho Van Thanh and his son Ho Van Lang apparently fled their home village 40 years ago after a bomb killed three members of their family.

They were discovered by locals looking for firewood in deep forest in the Tay Tra district of Quang Ngai province.

Yesterday authorities confirmed that the men were Thanh, 82, and 41-year-old Lang.

The pair survived by foraging fruit and cassava from the forest and planting corn.

When the foragers saw the two ‘jungle men’ from a distance acting abnormally, they alerted local authorities.

Officials set up a team to track them down, and found them yesterday after a five-hour search.

The father could speak a little of the minority Cor language, but the son knew only a few words.

The pair are now undergoing medical check-ups as a first step to being reintegrated into mainstream society.

12 die in building explosion in Argentina; authorities suspect gas leak

Posted on August 8, 2013 by ankakh

Leaking gas was likely to blame for an explosion that killed at least 12 people, injured 60 more and brought down part of a building in Argentina on Tuesday, state media reported Wednesday. A man who was working at the scene in the city of Rosario before the blast ignited at 9:15 a.m. local time has been taken into custody, said the Telam news agency, which cited investigator Juan Curto. The explosion gutted one multi-story residential building, and destroyed at least one other building next to it, while blowing out the windows of surrounding structures, images broadcast by CNN affiliate Canal 9 showed. A swath of white smoke and dust dominated the skyline of the city, located about 200 miles northwest of the capital, Buenos Aires. Rescuers are still searching for over a dozen people who were in the residential building at the time of the blast, local newspaper Clarin reported.

North Korean comedian sent to do hard labour in a coal mine after making a ‘slip of tongue’ about regime during performance

Posted on August 7, 2013 by ankakh

North Korean comedian sent to do hard labour in a coal mine after making a ‘slip of tongue’ about regime during performance A North Korean comedian was sent to do hard labour in a coal mine midway through her performance after she made a ‘slip of the tongue’ about the country’s draconian regime. Lee Choon Hong, a popular comedian known for satirising and mimicking people in North Korean society, was performing for workers on a vast farm project ordered by leader Kim Jong Un when she commented on ‘sensitive issues’, it was reported. The comedian was immediately taken off and sent to the Jikdong Youth Coal Mine, without even having a chance to say goodbye to her family, according to local reports in the notoriously secret country. It is not known how long Lee will be held for, but a typical punishment is likely to involve a six-month evaluation period during which she would be observed at work in the mine before a decision to release her was made. What the comedian said has not been reported, but it is said to be the second time she has upset authorities in North Korea – she was reportedly sent to do reform work in the mid-2000s after ‘misspeaking’.

SKorea Approves $6 Million in Aid for NKorea

Posted on August 6, 2013 by ankakh

South Korea has approved $6 million in government aid for vaccines, medical care and food for North Korean children. Seoul says it’s the first such humanitarian aid set aside for Pyongyang since President Park Geun-hye took office in February.

Seoul’s Unification Ministry said Tuesday that it will send UNICEF the money Wednesday. Seoul last provided aid through the U.N. agency in 2011.

Park has vowed a tough response to any North Korean provocations but has also worked to build trust and encourage dialogue.

The aid comes as the Koreas remain deadlocked over efforts to restart a jointly-run factory park in North Korea that has been shuttered since Pyongyang withdrew its workers in April.

Pyongyang hasn’t responded to a call by Seoul in late July for another round of talks.

Cuba: 7 Dead After Drinking Illicit Methyl Alcohol

Posted on August 1, 2013 by ankakh

Cuban state television says at least seven people have died of poisoning after consuming methyl alcohol and 41 others remain hospitalized.

A Health Ministry report read out on the afternoon news says numerous people began showing up at Havana emergency rooms Monday exhibiting symptoms of “serious poisoning.”

It was determined that they had consumed illegal methyl alcohol, also called methanol or “wood alcohol,” which is used in labs and research centers. Methanol is highly toxic for humans and can result in death or permanent health problems, including blindness.

The health ministry said Wednesday that the victims bought the deadly booze from a black-market merchant who procured it from two pharmaceutical employees.

Eight of the 41 people hospitalized are in serious condition.

Editor jailed for seven years and sentenced to 600 LASHES after starting ‘Free Saudi Liberals’ website

Posted on July 30, 2013 by ankakh

The editor of a Saudi Arabian social website has been sentenced to seven years in prison and 600 lashes for founding an Internet forum that violates Islamic values and propagates liberal thought, Saudi media reported on Tuesday.

Raif Badawi, who started the ‘Free Saudi Liberals’ website to discuss the role of religion in Saudi Arabia, has been held since June 2012 on charges of cyber crime and disobeying his father – a crime in the conservative kingdom and top U.S. ally.

Al-Watan newspaper said the judge had also ordered the closure of the website.

Badawi’s website included articles that were critical of senior religious figures such as the Grand Mufti, according to Human Rights Watch.

The world’s top oil exporter follows the strict Wahhabi school of Islam and applies Islamic law, or sharia.

Judges base their decisions on their own interpretation of religious law rather than on a written legal code or on precedent.

Make sure you use REAL chargers: Apple posts instructions on how to spot a fake after users were electrocuted

Posted on July 27, 2013 by ankakh

Apple in China has posted instructions on how to tell an official power adapter from a fake one, after a number of iPhone owners claim to have been electrocuted by their handsets.

The page shows images of chargers for each Apple device, including the iPhone 5 and the iPad 2, with the safety notices underneath.

The recent electrocutions took place in the Chinese cities of Beijing and Xinjian, putting one man into a coma and killing another woman.

The site reads: ‘This overview will help you identify genuine Apple USB power adapter.

All iPhone and iPads are sold with official Apple chargers, although fake replacements can be bought online.

Earlier this week a Chinese man reportedly fell into a coma after suffering an electric shock as he plugged in his iPhone 4 in to charge.

An Apple spokesman said: ‘It was with great sadness we learned through press reports that a Beijing customer was injured while using a “knock off” or counterfeit charger and we are looking into this further.

‘Our customers’ safety is very important to us and we have carefully designed all Apple products to meet government safety standards. We recommend our customers only purchase Apple products from Apple or authorized Apple resellers.’

Julian Assange launches WikiLeaks Party to contest Australian elections this year

Posted on July 26, 2013 by ankakh

The founder of whistle blowing website WikiLeaks has launched his political party to contest Australian elections this year.

Julian Assange, 41, said the WikiLeaks party would field seven candidates in Victoria, New South Wales and Western Australia states.

The Australian citizen is one of three party candidates who will run for upper house Senate seats in Victoria that will be held before December.

Mr Assange spoke to his party in Melbourne via Skype from the Ecuadorean Embassy in London, where he has taken asylum from extradition to Sweden to face questioning over sexual offense allegations.

The WikiLeaks party was registered by the Australian Electoral Commission this month.

If the 41-year-old wins the election, he would be required to take up his Senate seat on July 1, 2014.

Mexico clashes kill 22, including police officers

Posted on July 24, 2013 by ankakh

Clashes between criminals and federal police left 22 people dead in Mexico, including two officers, authorities said.

The additional 20 people killed are suspected criminals, federal police said in a statement. The fighting in Michoacan state on Tuesday also left 15 injured.

The clashes followed six planned attacks by criminals in different areas of the state, including gunbattles on blocked streets with cars, according to the federal police.

Federal officials are searching for those responsible and reinforcing security to ensure the region is safe.

Selling their skin: Japanese women paid to put adverts on their THIGHS to catch the attention of men

Posted on July 24, 2013 by ankakh

An advertising agency has hit upon a unique way of catching the attention of people living in ad-saturated Tokyo – use women’s thighs as a living billboard.

Consumers in the Japanese megalopolis are notoriously hard to reach because of the sheer abundance of billboards, neon signs and huge TV screens pumping out commercials, so the WIT agency decided to put ads on a place men are happy to pay attention to.

And it’s proving popular – so far more than 3,000 women have signed up to the scheme, which uses temporary tattoos of products or company logos.

One of them is Miho Matsumoto, who says she is comfortable with the unusual marketing method.

She said: ‘I wouldn’t do this of they put it on my belly or other places I’m embarassed to expose but if it’s on my chubby thighs then what’s the problem?

ITV reports that in order to be a walking billboard, participants must be 18-years-old and are required to have at least 20 friends on social media networks.

The girls can wear what they like, but WIT suggests that participants wear short skirts and high socks in order to draw attention to the ad. They can earn up to £65 per day.

Commuters push 32-ton train car off trapped woman in Japan

Posted on July 23, 2013 by ankakh

Even during Tokyo’s notoriously hectic rush hour, dozens of commuters stopped to push a 32-ton train car out of the way.

A woman trying to get off a train in Saitama, north of Tokyo, fell in a gap between the train and the platform Monday morning, said Takashi Tsukahara, a spokesman for the train operator JR East.

About 40 passengers and JR staff rushed to push the train off the woman. Tsukahara said a train carriage typically weighs about 30,000 kilograms, but is able to sway a bit side to side to absorb the train’s movements.

The commuters pushed the train just enough to free the woman. A loud cheer erupted as the woman was pulled up.

The woman, in her 30s, was not seriously injured.

Just eight minutes later, the train took off again.

Horrifying moment small boy on trip to Indian zoo is attacked and seriously hurt by furious monkey

Posted on July 22, 2013 by ankakh

An irate monkey attacked a small boy during a trip to a zoo while the child’s father and a zookeeper fought to prise them apart.

The boy – named locally as Raghav – was seriously hurt at an animal centre in Ratlam, Madhya Pradesh, India.

Pictures taken by a bystander show the child pinned to the floor by the primate with blood on his hands and face.

The macaque can be seen clinging to Raghav’s back as his father ran to his rescue.

A zookeeper, alerted by the commotion, armed himself with a yellow stick and attempts to strike the monkey – delivering several blows.

Eventually the boy was separated from the clutches of the monkey, with the primate sprinting off still scowling and baring its teeth.

The boy is said to have received severe injuries, according to local reports – but his current condition is not known.

Large parts of India are plagued by monkeys who steal food, mug people and break into homes.

It has resulted in monkey-catchers being employed to help keep them in check.

Explosion Rocks Beijing Airport After Man Sets Off Homemade Bomb

Posted on July 21, 2013 by ankakh

An explosion rocked the arrival area of Beijing’s InternationalAirport today after a man set off a homemade bomb, according to Chinese news media.

The explosion took place at about 6:24 p.m. local time, according to China’s state run newscaster, CCTV, which cited witness reports.

Photos posted on Weibo, China’s version of Twitter, showed a portion of terminal 3 filled with smoke after the blast.

Both domestic and international flights take off and land in terminal 3.

Chinese police have identified the alleged bomber as Ji Zhongxing. He was the only one injured in the blast.

Police said Zhongxing is a petitioner — a citizen with a grievance against government officials or police — though they did not say what Zhongxing’s grievance is.

Less than two hours after the explosion, airport officials said operations are back to normal and no flights were affected.