■ Pakistan
Prisoner in light bulb shocker
Fateh Mohammad, a prison inmate, says he woke up last weekend with a glass lightbulb in his anus. On Wednesday night, doctors brought Mohammad's misery to an end after a one-and-a-half hour operation to remove the object. "We had to take it out intact," said Dr Farrukh Aftab at Nishtar Hospital. "Had it been broken inside, it would be a very very complicated situation." Mohammad, who is serving a four-year sentence for making liquor, prohibited for Muslims, said he was shocked when he was first told the cause of his discomfort. He swears he didn't know the bulb was there.
■ Hong Kong
Woman killed with umbrella
A murder victim has been found with a bloody umbrella lodged in her stomach in Hong Kong, a news report said Friday. The body of 36-year-old mother-of-three Tam Yiu-so was found with a blood-stained, broken umbrella partially lodged in her stomach, the South China Morning Post reported. A second bloody umbrella was lying on the ground and divorcee Tam also had a slab of concrete pinning down one arm as well as multiple face and head wounds, the newspaper said. Tam's body was found near a reservoir in the territory's rural Tuen Mun district Thursday morning and had been dead for up to 24 hours, the newspaper said.
■ Hong Kong
Dad tries to freeze baby
A father accused of killing his four-month-old baby daughter tried to put her in a refrigerator to keep her quiet when she was crying, a news report said yesterday. Lam Wai-shu, 27, told police he also rolled up a towel and put it in baby Iris Lam's mouth to keep her quiet and put a cushion over her head to muffle the crying, the South China Morning Post reported. On one occasion, he tried to scare the baby into silence by putting her in the fridge when she was crying but was stopped by girlfriend Chiu Mei-sze, a manslaughter trial heard on Thursday. Baby Iris died of widespread brain injuries and pneumonia in December 2003.
■ Vietnam
Woman ate 1kg of nails
A mentally ill woman who ate 119 nails weighing more than 1kg has survived an emergency operation to remove the objects from her stomach, doctors said yesterday. Nguyen Thi Manh, 43, was admitted to a military hospital in southern Vinh Long province on Wednesday after complaining of intense stomach pain. "I had never seen a patient like her," Doctor Colonel Ly Viet Hung said. "We took from her stomach 119 nails measuring between 7cm and 8cm in an hour-long surgery." The doctor said the woman had suffered severe injuries but added that her life was no longer in danger.
■ China
Hu targets corruption
President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) called yesterday for a "resolute" fight to stamp out corruption within the Communist Party, following a recent spate of arrests and sackings of party members for graft. In a speech to mark today's 85th anniversary of the founding of the party, Hu told a ceremony attended by hundreds of cadres in Beijing that continuing to root out corruption was crucial to the organization's survival. "We must deeply recognize the long-term nature, complexity and difficulty of the anti-corruption drive. We should make it an important strategic task to maintain the vanguard character of the Party," Hu said in the nationally televised speech from the Zhongnanhai leadership compound.
■ Uae
Brad Pitt wannabe busted
A salesman tried to fleece a money exchanger by using an identity card bearing the picture of Hollywood heart-throb Brad Pitt, a local newspaper reported on Thursday. The Gulf News said the 29-year-old Jordanian had been told by his brother, who worked at the Dubai money exchange, that more than US$23,000 in cash had been transferred to the bureau for a client who had not picked it up for more than three months. The Jordanian then forged an ID using the client's name and a picture of Pitt. He hoped his brother would then be able to hand over the cash and keep a photocopy of the fake ID as record of the transfer.
■ Germany
Woman auctions herself
A woman is auctioning off her red Ferrari Enzo sports car and including a little extra in the package -- herself. The 26-year-old has invited bids on Internet auction site eBay starting at 1.25 million euros (US$1.6 million). She said she was rich herself, liked her car and was looking for a man who could foot the bill for such a luxury. "Only a millionaire could afford such a car," said the woman, who gave her name as Leila and said she once worked as a singer in Syria. "I want a man who doesn't like me just for my money." Leila said she would meet with interested bidders but would need to see the bidder's passport and proof of capital. No bids have been made yet in the auction which ends in a week.
■ Germany
Consecutive hailstorms
A storm that drenched the southwest of the country and brought hailstones as big as tennis balls killed a man and injured more than 100 people, police said on Thursday. Less than 24 hours later, a similar hailstorm hit the same area of the Black Forest, knocking a man off a roof as he was repairing damage from the Wednesday evening storm, police said. He was in critical condition. The downpour again flooded building basements. But police said the hailstones had not been as big as those that injured people, hammered cars and smashed windows the previous day.
■ Spain
Basque peace talks begin
The government was expected yesterday to launch immediate "discreet" contacts with the armed Basque group ETA after Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero announced peace talks aimed at ending nearly four decades of separatist violence in the northern region. The government would seek a dialogue with ETA, which declared a permanent ceasefire on March 22 after killing more than 800 people in its campaign for a sovereign Basque state since 1968, Zapatero told the press in parliament on Thursday. Weakened by police crackdowns and its support dwindling, ETA has not staged fatal attacks for more than three years.
■ United Kingdom
`Last chance' for peace
Prime Minister Tony Blair warned Thursday that Northern Ireland faced its last chance in a generation to overcome sectarian strife, as he joined Irish counterpart Bertie Ahern to try to restore power-sharing government. Blair and Ahern sought to accelerate talks on the province, insisting that November 24 was the deadline to form a new government in the province. "The deal is there to be done if people want to do it," Blair said, addressing a press conference together with Ahern. "This is the last chance for this generation to make the process work."
■ United States
Nun facing jail term
A 71-year-old nun who co-wrote a popular marriage-preparation program was arrested on charges of improperly spending more than US$300,000 on casinos, gifts and air travel. Sister Barbara Markey, who was fired in January as director of the Omaha Archdiocese's family life office, turned herself in on Wednesday and was released on her own recognizance. According to the arrest warrant, an audit found that Markey spent US$307,545 for her own use or without documentation. Some of the money was spent on cash advances, casinos, gifts and airfares, the audit said. Markey was charged with theft by deception.
■ Canada
Cleric refused entry
The country has denied entry to a British Muslim cleric over his radical views, broadcaster CTV said on Thursday. Sheik Riyad Ul-Haq was invited by the Islamic Foundation to speak at a youth conference in Toronto next week. But the Minister of Immigration, Monte Solberg asked authorities not to allow him into Canada, CTV said, even though as a British citizen he does not require a visa to enter Canada. Leslie Harmer, a spokeswoman for the minister, would not comment on the report. "I can't confirm or deny the information. But, the minister has said that anyone who comes here and practices hate speech would be arrested and prosecuted under Canada's hate laws," Harmer said.
■ United States
Career flip-flop
With more women wearing flip-flops to the office this summer, style gurus are warning that the casual shoe once mainly seen on the beach could be damaging to careers -- as well as to feet. Lauren Cardinale, 25, who works at West Glen Communications, wears beaded or other fancy flip flops to the office -- when she can get away with it. "Occasionally I wear flip flops to work," she said. "I wear nicer shoes if I'm meeting with clients or if I know there will be someone in the office who doesn't approve of flip flops." An online survey conducted for retailers Old Navy and Gap found flip-flops topped the list of wardrobe items that college and high school students planned to wear to work.
■ United States
`Statue of Christianity'?
A 22m tall replica of the Statue of Liberty erected at a Memphis church is green like the original, with the right arm extended upward in the familiar pose. But instead of a torch, this statue holds a cross. And the famous inscription -- "Give me your tired, your poor" -- has been replaced by Roman numerals representing the Ten Commandments. The Statue of Liberation, to be unveiled at a July 4 Independence Day ceremony at the World Overcomers Outreach Ministries Church, also has a tear running down her face, representing her concern for the US. "People don't talk about Christ anymore," said church pastor Apostle Alton Williams.
■ Cuba
More dissidents jailed
A dissident group monitoring human rights in the country said on Thursday there were at least 347 prisoners of conscience on the island and warned that the jailing of opposition activists was rising. "There is a worsening of the situation," said Aida Valdes Santana, of the National Coordinating Group of Prisoners and Ex-Political Prisoners. Valdes told a news conference that her group would begin offering periodic updates on the number of political prisoners. The Cuban Commission for Human Rights and National Reconciliation, headed by veteran activist Elizardo Sanchez, for many years has created a similar report every six months.
BEYOND WASHINGTON: Although historically the US has been the partner of choice for military exercises, Jakarta has been trying to diversify its partners, an analyst said Indonesia’s first joint military drills with Russia this week signal that new Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto would seek a bigger role for Jakarta on the world stage as part of a significant foreign policy shift, analysts said. Indonesia has long maintained a neutral foreign policy and refuses to take sides in the Russia-Ukraine conflict or US-China rivalry, but Prabowo has called for stronger ties with Moscow despite Western pressure on Jakarta. “It is part of a broader agenda to elevate ties with whomever it may be, regardless of their geopolitical bloc, as long as there is a benefit for Indonesia,” said Pieter
US ELECTION: Polls show that the result is likely to be historically tight. However, a recent Iowa poll showed Harris winning the state that Trump won in 2016 and 2020 US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris courted voters angered by the Gaza war while former US President and Republican candidate Donald Trump doubled down on violent rhetoric with a comment about journalists being shot as the tense US election campaign entered its final hours. The Democratic vice president and the Republican former president frantically blitzed several swing states as they tried to win over the last holdouts with less than 36 hours left until polls open on election day today. Trump predicted a “landslide,” while Harris told a raucous rally in must-win Michigan that “we have momentum — it’s
TIGHT CAMPAIGN: Although Harris got a boost from an Iowa poll, neither candidate had a margin greater than three points in any of the US’ seven battleground states US Vice President Kamala Harris made a surprise appearance on Saturday Night Live (SNL) in the final days before the election, as she and former US president and Republican presidential nominees make a frantic last push to win over voters in a historically close campaign. The first lines Harris spoke as she sat across from Maya Rudolph, their outfits identical, was drowned out by cheers from the audience. “It is nice to see you Kamala,” Harris told Rudolph with a broad grin she kept throughout the sketch. “And I’m just here to remind you, you got this.” In sync, the two said supporters
Pets are not forgotten during Mexico’s Day of the Dead celebrations, when even Fido and Tiger get a place at the altars Mexican families set up to honor their deceased loved ones, complete with flowers, candles and photographs. Although the human dead usually get their favorite food or drink placed on altars, the nature of pet food can make things a little different. The holiday has roots in Mexican pre-Hispanic customs, as does the reverence for animals. The small, hairless dogs that Mexicans kept before the Spanish conquest were believed to help guide their owners to the afterlife, and were sometimes given