UNITED KINGDOM
Reggae star dies during raid
Media are reporting reggae star Smiley Culture has died during a police drugs raid on his home. The London-born musician — whose real name is David Emmanuel — reportedly died from self-inflicted wounds on Tuesday when police officers swooped on his home in east Surrey, Britain’s Press Association said. The reggae singer had appeared before magistrates in September last year charged with conspiracy to supply cocaine. Britain’s police watchdog said on Tuesday it had been called in to investigate an incident during which a 48-year-old man apparently suffered a stab wound and died. The watchdog said formal identification has not yet taken place. Culture shot to fame in the 1980s with hits including Cockney Translation and Police Officer.
UNITED KINGDOM
Mega-lobster dodges pot
One of the biggest and oldest lobsters ever caught in Britain has been saved from the pot and will live out the rest of its long life in an aquarium. The massive crustacean measures close to 1m in length and weighs more than 4kg. “He’s a fantastic specimen and by his size alone he has got to be at least 50 years old,” said Lindsay Holloway of the Blue Reef aquarium in Portsmouth, southern England where the lobster now lives. “He is an amazing creature and it’s quite an achievement to have reached such an impressive age,” he said. The lobster was caught by an angler fishing for sole. Lobsters are among the planet’s oldest inhabitants with fossil remains found dating back more than 100 million years. They are also extremely long-lived with some reaching ages of over 80 years. The aquarium said the heaviest recorded crustacean is an Atlantic lobster nicknamed Mike who tipped the scales at 19kg.
UNITED KINGDOM
Tot treated for alcoholism
Hospital authorities say they have treated a three-year-old child for alcoholism. The Heart of England NHS Trust that runs three hospitals in central England confirmed on Tuesday that a child had been treated by medical staff after being given alcohol regularly. The trust revealed the data in response to a request made under the Freedom of Information Act by a newspaper, which requested data on underage drinking.
Latvia
Latvians honor SS fighters
Hundreds of Latvians gathered in downtown Riga yesterday to commemorate World War II veterans who fought on the side of Nazi Germany in Waffen SS detachments. A small group of mainly ethnic Russians also assembled nearby to protest the ceremony, which they claim glorifies fascism and discredits the Soviet Union’s enormous sacrifice in defeating Nazi Germany. A large police contingent was on hand to keep the two sides apart. Participants in yesterday’s ceremony, including a small number of veterans, were due to attend a church service and then proceed to the Freedom Monument, where they were to lay flowers and sing patriotic songs.
UNITED KINGDOM
Clock winds up London
A giant clock counting down to the 2012 London Olympics stopped for several hours on Tuesday, less than a day after being unveiled in Trafalgar Square. The digital clock, which is made by Olympic sponsor Omega, was stuck at 500 days, 7 hours, 6 minutes, 56 seconds until workers tried to fix the problem. The clock was fixed several hours later. “It’s one of those windups set to test us, but it’s working again,’’ London organizing committee chairman Sebastian Coe said.
NIGERIA
Opposition cries ‘sabotage’
The House of Assembly has ordered a probe into a ram-and-goat-filled airstrip that forced a plane carrying an opposition candidate to crash land. The House said on Tuesday they would investigate last week’s incident at the rural northern Bauchi airport. Opposition Representative Olufemi Gbajabiamila criticized the government for calling it a force majeure. He said: “force majeure means an act of God ... This was not an act of God, it was an act of negligence.” The vice-presidential candidate for Action Congress of Nigeria was unhurt, but the plane was damaged. The main opposition party claimed “sabotage.” The airstrip is unfenced though funds had been approved to fence it. Animals often wander across rural Nigerian airstrips.
UNITED STATES
California sued in Sikh case
The US Department of Justice filed a lawsuit on Tuesday against the state of California alleging that a Sikh inmate who refused to trim his beard for religious reasons was unfairly disciplined. Sukhjinder Basra, serving time for a drug offense, has said that guards told him he violated a rule prohibiting inmates from growing facial hair longer than 1.25cm. As punishment, Basra said he was ordered to perform extra prison duties and spend 10 days confined to his bunk. He also lost 30 days of credit for good behavior. Sikhs are required by their religion to wear unshorn hair wrapped in a turban and a beard.
UNITED STATES
Nude run canceled
The president of Tufts University in Massachusetts has put an end to the student tradition of running around nude to mark the end of the fall semester. President Lawrence Bacow said in an op-ed piece in the student newspaper on Monday that the Naked Quad Run has become too dangerous because of excessive alcohol consumption, slippery sidewalks and dangerously low temperatures that put student health at risk. He also noted that police consider it illegal. He says two students who participated in December were hospitalized with high blood-alcohol levels. The run dates to the 1970s. Disappointed students say it was a way to blow off steam at the end of the semester.
UNITED STATES
‘Vampire’ sentenced
A man has been sentenced to three years of probation for stabbing a man who refused to let him suck his blood. Maricopa County Superior Court says 24-year-old Aaron Homer pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and was sentenced on Monday. The Arizona Republic reports 25-year-old Robert Maley once let his roommates suck his blood, but when Maley refused a second time on Oct. 4, he was stabbed. Chandler police said Maley lived with Homer and his girlfriend. Maley said the two men were into “vampire stuff.”
UNITED STATES
Man injects wife with poison
Police say a man in New York injected his wife with a poisonous liquid, then drank some himself and later died. The 35-year-old woman, Erlendy Flores, is in a coma in critical condition. Police said the couple had argued on Sunday and the woman spent the night at her sister’s apartment in the same Bronx building. The next day, police say, she returned to her apartment to collect her things, while her brother waited outside for her. Police say the husband, 41-year-old Flavio Godoy, stuck a syringe in Flores’ buttocks while she was bent over packing her clothes. He then drank the same liquid from a cup. Authorities are examining the liquid.
FLYBY: The object, appears to be traveling more than 60 kilometers per second, meaning it is not bound by the sun’s orbit, astronomers studying 3I/Atlas said Astronomers on Wednesday confirmed the discovery of an interstellar object racing through the solar system — only the third-ever spotted, although scientists suspect many more might slip past unnoticed. The visitor from the stars, designated 3I/Atlas, is likely the largest yet detected, and has been classified as a comet, or cosmic snowball. “It looks kind of fuzzy,” said Peter Veres, an astronomer with the International Astronomical Union’s Minor Planet Center, which was responsible for the official confirmation. “It seems that there is some gas around it, and I think one or two telescopes reported a very short tail.” Originally known as A11pl3Z before
Hundreds of protesters marched through the Mexican capital on Friday denouncing gentrification caused by foreigners, with some vandalizing businesses and shouting “gringos out!” The demonstration in the capital’s central area turned violent when hooded individuals smashed windows, damaged restaurant furniture and looted a clothing store. Mexico City Government Secretary Cesar Cravioto said 15 businesses and public facilities were damaged in what he called “xenophobic expressions” similar to what Mexican migrants have suffered in other countries. “We are a city of open arms... there are always ways to negotiate, to sit at the table,” Cravioto told Milenio television. Neighborhoods like Roma-Condesa
‘CONTINUE TO SERVE’: The 90-year-old Dalai Lama said he hoped to be able to continue serving ‘sentient beings and the Buddha Dharma’ for decades to come The Dalai Lama yesterday said he dreamed of living for decades more, as the Buddhist spiritual leader prayed with thousands of exiled Tibetans on the eve of his 90th birthday. Thumping drums and deep horns reverberated from the Indian hilltop temple, as a chanting chorus of red-robed monks and nuns offered long-life prayers for Tenzin Gyatso, who followers believe is the 14th reincarnation of the Dalai Lama. Looking in good health, dressed in traditional maroon monk robes and a flowing yellow wrap, he led prayers — days after confirming that the 600-year-old Tibetan Buddhist institution would continue after his death. Many exiled Tibetans
BRICS leaders are to meet in Rio de Janeiro from today, with the bloc depleted by the absence of Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), who is skipping the annual summit of emerging economies for the first time in 12 years. The grouping meets as its members face imminent and costly tariff wars with the US. Conceived two decades ago as a forum for fast-growing economies, the BRICS have come to be dominated by Beijing, which grew much faster and larger than the rest. China has not said why Xi would miss the summit, a first since he became president in 2013. “I expect there
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