UNITED STATES
Junkers find human skulls
A pair of Connecticut junk haulers was stunned to learn on Friday that two skulls picked up from the home of a deceased man on the day before Halloween were human remains. The skulls were among thousands of occult-related items that David Odice and Charlie Inzucchi of The Junkluggers Junk Removal Co cleared out of the Fairfield home where Robert DeVitto lived until his death two weeks ago at age 56. “Being Halloween makes this real creepy and spooky, especially considering what else we found in the house,” Odice, 43, said on Friday. “There were thousands of things related to the occult: magazines, videos, crystals, amulets, all kinds of new age and metaphysical stuff.” After finishing the job on Thursday, the contractors dumped the skulls and the rest of the dead man’s paranormal and satanic-themed belongings at a Stamford recycling center. After noticing that the skulls appeared human, an attendant at the center notified police. Images of the skulls were sent to the state medical examiner’s office, which later determined the skulls, one male and one female, to be human. Stamford Police Lieutenant Diedrich Hohn said on Friday that the department will know in two weeks the ages of the skulls and whether a criminal investigation is required.
MEXICO
Kidnapped cyclists freed
Authorities say seven cyclists and an assistant allegedly kidnapped while training in the mountainous outskirts of the capital have been freed. National Anti-Kidnapping Coordinator Renato Sales told Radio Formula that the five men and three women were released after a federal police unit negotiated with the allleged abductors. The athletes were kidnapped on Thursday morning on a highway near Ajusco, a mountain south of Mexico City, and taken away in two vans. Sales says a ransom was paid to the kidnappers. Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto said on Friday that authorities will pursue those responsible.
UNITED KINGDOM
UK raises threat level
Britain on Friday told its citizens traveling overseas of a heightened risk of attacks against them from militants linked to the Islamic State group, updating its official travel advice to reflect an increase in the general threat level. “There is considered to be a heightened threat of terrorist attack globally against UK interests and British nationals from groups or individuals motivated by the conflict in Iraq and Syria,” a statement from the Foreign Office said. “You should be vigilant at this time,” it added. The warning is to be included on all government travel advice Web sites.
CHILE
Pet the belly of the beast?
Dare you — double dare you — to tickle a lion’s belly. Or touch its claws. A zoo in Rancangua gives thrillseekers a chance to do just that, albeit while in the safety of a cage mounted on a safari truck. Atop it, lured by a slap of fresh red meat, is the heaving feline. Welcome to the Parque Safari Chile in central Chile, where vehicles takes visitors on a drive through a 2-hectare enclosure that is home to six lions. Travelers ride inside the caged-in back of the truck. Then it is up to the lions to decide what they feel like doing: ambling up for a sniff, climbing atop to eat the meat and look at the cowering humans below, or even lying down for a rest. Then, just stick a brave finger through the metal grates and there you are, touching the king of the jungle’s tummy. The idea is for people to see animals in a more natural habitat, with people caged, rather than the animals.
JAPAN
Dead dogs dumped by river
Police have launched a criminal investigation after the bodies of about 40 dogs were found dumped by a river in Sakura City, officials said yesterday. A passer-by on Friday reported finding the dogs, most of which were small breeds and had not been dead long. The police have yet to determine who dumped the animals. Jiji Press news agency said the police suspect an animal undertaker might have dumped the dogs, but authorities only said they were “looking into various possibilities.”
CHINA
Moon probe recovered
China yesterday successfully recovered an experimental spacecraft that flew around the moon and back in a test run for the nation’s first unmanned return trip to the lunar surface. The eight-day trip marked the first time in almost four decades that a spacecraft has returned to Earth after traveling around the moon. China plans to send a spacecraft to the moon in 2017 and have it return to Earth after collecting soil samples. If successful, that future mission would make burgeoning space power China only the third nation after the US and Russia to meet such a challenge. The latest mission was aimed at obtaining experimental data and testing technologies for re-entry to Earth’s atmosphere. The spacecraft returned to Earth using a Soviet-designed method in which it first bounced off the atmosphere in order to slow its entry speed and avoid burning up. It then landed on the grasslands of Inner Mongolia just before dawn.
CHINA
Constitution Day declared
China’s legislature has designated Dec. 4 as Constitution Day amid a drive to strengthen the authority of the nation’s legal system. The National People’s Congress’ Standing Committee declared yesterday that the move aimed to increase awareness of the constitution, promote its spirit and strengthen its implementation. China has enacted a total of four constitutions since the founding of the communist state in 1949, with the current version adopted in 1982. The move is part of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) “rule of law” campaign seen as an attempt to institutionalize the powers of the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP), while reducing corruption and improving government efficiency. Despite promoting the constitution, the CCP has firmly rejected calls for independent supervision under the document, whose first article forbids any challenge to the nation’s socialist system.
CHINA
Man executed for murder
A Chinese man who killed a two-year-old girl after a row with her mother over a parking space was executed on Friday, a court said. Han Lei (韓磊) was convicted of taking the child from her pram and throwing her to the ground after her mother refused to make way for him to park his car in Beijing in July last year. He and a friend in the vehicle drove away and the toddler died two days later of her injuries, provoking widespread public outrage. Han, 40, was sentenced to death two months after the incident, and appealed against the penalty without success. China’s Supreme Court approved the sentence and he was executed on Friday, the Beijing No. 1 Intermediate People’s Court said on a verified microblog account. Han had reportedly told prosecutors last year he felt so guilty and distressed that he wanted to die, according to previous Chinese media reports.
BACKLASH: The National Party quit its decades-long partnership with the Liberal Party after their election loss to center-left Labor, which won a historic third term Australia’s National Party has split from its conservative coalition partner of more than 60 years, the Liberal Party, citing policy differences over renewable energy and after a resounding loss at a national election this month. “Its time to have a break,” Nationals leader David Littleproud told reporters yesterday. The split shows the pressure on Australia’s conservative parties after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s center-left Labor party won a historic second term in the May 3 election, powered by a voter backlash against US President Donald Trump’s policies. Under the long-standing partnership in state and federal politics, the Liberal and National coalition had shared power
CONTROVERSY: During the performance of Israel’s entrant Yuval Raphael’s song ‘New Day Will Rise,’ loud whistles were heard and two people tried to get on stage Austria’s JJ yesterday won the Eurovision Song Contest, with his operatic song Wasted Love triumphing at the world’s biggest live music television event. After votes from national juries around Europe and viewers from across the continent and beyond, JJ gave Austria its first victory since bearded drag performer Conchita Wurst’s 2014 triumph. After the nail-biting drama as the votes were revealed running into yesterday morning, Austria finished with 436 points, ahead of Israel — whose participation drew protests — on 357 and Estonia on 356. “Thank you to you, Europe, for making my dreams come true,” 24-year-old countertenor JJ, whose
NO EXCUSES: Marcos said his administration was acting on voters’ demands, but an academic said the move was emotionally motivated after a poor midterm showing Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr yesterday sought the resignation of all his Cabinet secretaries, in a move seen as an attempt to reset the political agenda and assert his authority over the second half of his single six-year term. The order came after the president’s allies failed to win a majority of Senate seats contested in the 12 polls on Monday last week, leaving Marcos facing a divided political and legislative landscape that could thwart his attempts to have an ally succeed him in 2028. “He’s talking to the people, trying to salvage whatever political capital he has left. I think it’s
A documentary whose main subject, 25-year-old photojournalist Fatima Hassouna, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza weeks before it premiered at Cannes stunned viewers into silence at the festival on Thursday. As the cinema lights came back on, filmmaker Sepideh Farsi held up an image of the young Palestinian woman killed with younger siblings on April 16, and encouraged the audience to stand up and clap to pay tribute. “To kill a child, to kill a photographer is unacceptable,” Farsi said. “There are still children to save. It must be done fast,” the exiled Iranian filmmaker added. With Israel
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