An Indian couple has been charged at a Dubai court with physically assaulting the man's elderly mother, causing her bone and rib fractures, internal bleeding and starving her to death, according to a media report. According to the report, the 29-year-old man and his 28-year-old wife, whose identity have not been revealed, tortured the woman repeatedly over a short span of time. Burns covered 10 per cent of her body. The bone and rib fractures, internal bleeding, beating with different tools, burns, negligence and starvation have all led to the deterioration of her health condition, a doctor who treated her said. The couple has been detained but they denied the charge. The case was exposed by the couple's neighbour, who is a hospital employee. The Indian witness recounted how the man's wife visited her at her apartment in the same building. A Filipino paramedic added that the son did not help carry his mother to the ambulance while the neighbours stepped in to help. The trial has been adjourned until 3 July and the couple will remain in custody till then.
Sharif had heart attack in jail: Daughter
Former Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif’s daughter Maryam Nawaz claimed that her father suffered a heart attack in Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail last year, but the government kept his family in the dark about it. Sharif is currently serving a seven-year jail term after being convicted in a corruption case. Speaking to reporters, Maryam, vice-president of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, produced a hospital certificate that purportedly mentions a heart attack suffered by her father in July last year and alleged negligence by the government and jail authorities. She said she wouldn’t let her father meet the fate of former Egyptian President Mohammad Morsi. Morsi died on Monday after fainting during a session in court. Maryam said medical professionals had advised that the former PM needed another heart bypass surgery. “If his health deteriorates, all those involved would be held responsible,” she warned.
Imran trolled for confusing Tagore's quote with Khalil Jibran's
The Twitterati trolled Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan after he posted a quote by Rabindranath Tagore on his official Twitter account, but attributed it to one of Lebanese writer and poet Khalil Jibran. Khan took to Twitter to post an inspirational saying, which read, "I slept and I dreamed that life is all joy. I woke and I saw that life is all service. I served and I saw that service is joy." He captioned the quote, "Those who discover and get to understand the wisdom of Gibran's words, cited below, get to live a life of contentment." Sadly, the quote does not belong to Gibran but is actually one of Nobel laureate Tagore's. The original quote is: "I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy."
Goof up by Pak PM's assistant
Naeem ul Haque, the special assistant to Pakistan's PM Imran Khan, made a major goof up as he posted Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar's photo on Twitter and captioned it as 'PM Imran Khan 1969'. As soon as he posted the photo, Haque was trolled on Twitter. Several videos surfaced on the internet when Pakistan lost against India and the fans can be seen dejected with the team's performance. Various media reports also suggested that Pakistan players broke team curfew before the match against India as they went to a nearby restaurant to have dinner.
Train crash kills 4, injures 65 in Bangladesh
Five coaches on a Bangladesh express train veered off a railway bridge in northeastern Bangladesh, killing at least four people and injuring 65, officials said. Local chief government administrator Tofayel Ahmed said the Upaban Express train was heading for the capital, Dhaka, when the crash occurred at Kulaura in Moulvibazar district. He said the rail bridge broke down when the train was crossing it. The cause of the breakdown wasn't known immediately. Ahmed said at least 15 passengers were in critical condition. The bodies of three women and a child were kept in a local health complex, he said. Another official said engineers and workers were working to retrieve the coaches while the search for any people trapped under the wreckage was continuing. The train service between the northeastern region and the rest of the country was halted.
Myanmar shuts internet in restive Rakhine
Myanmar authorities ordered telecoms companies to shut down internet services in conflict-torn western Myanmar, a leading operator said, amid heightening tensions in the region, where government troops are fighting ethnic rebels. Telenor Group said the ministry of transport and communications directed all telecoms companies to “temporarily” suspend internet services in eight townships in Rakhine and neighbouring Chin states. The shutdown went into effect, the statement said. A spokesman for the transport and communications ministry declined to comment.
Australians brave the chill for nude solstice swim in Tasmania
More than 1,900 people rose early on Saturday to take a chilly plunge on the Australian island state of Tasmania. The annual swim takes place on the winter solstice, which marks the shortest day of the year in the southern hemisphere, and this year, a record number of swimmers in nothing but red caps ran for the River Derwent. Joy Walter, a 91-year-old from Tasmania's northeast, was one of the 1,915 who dashed for the water at 7:42 am, when the temperature was just 5 Celsius (41 Fahrenheit). "I just thought I'd like to do that," Walter said. "I'll be 92 in 44 days, and so I thought I better do it while I still can." Now in its seventh year, the nude swim is part of Dark Mofo, a three-week winter festival of music and art that features exhibitions, light and sound installations, and live performances across Tasmanian capital Hobart.
Women, kids among 30 dead in Indonesian factory fire
At least 30 people, including children, were killed in a fire that swept through a house that doubled as a match factory in Indonesia’s North Sumatra province, a disaster official said. Irwan Syahri, from the local disaster mitigation agency, said the dead included three children. He said many of the victims were burned beyond recognition. Faisal Riza, whose wife Marlina died in the fire, said the workers at the match business were all women, some of whom had their children with them. The house owner, an elderly woman identified only as Ros, said that she had rented the property for the past four years to a businessman from the provincial capital, Medan. Another man, Sofyan, said his wife and 10-year-old daughter were prevented from escaping by a locked front door that was also blocked by equipment. The fire started at the rear of the property, he and Riza said.
In SA, cleaners find fetus blocking plane’s toilet
Cleaners found an abandoned fetus blocking the toilet of a plane in South Africa, the domestic FlySafair airline said, prompting the offloading of passengers and a police probe. The foetus was discovered by cleaning staff as the plane was being prepared and passengers boarded for an early morning flight from Durban to Johannesburg. “Upon final preparations of the waste management system for the departure of flight, our technical crew discovered what appeared to be an abandoned foetus,” the airline said. Passengers were asked to disembark the plane and their journeys were re-scheduled.
Brussels drops MJ costume plan for ‘peeing boy’ statue
Brussels has decided against decorating its iconic Manneken-Pis statue in a Michael Jackson costume as planned for the 10th anniversary of the US pop icon’s death. The decision was made in the wake of a new documentary, ‘Leaving Neverland”, which has revived claims the singer sexually abused children. “The city council of Brussels has chosen to adopt a cautious position,” a spokesperson said. Brussels’ famous Manneken-Pis statue of a nude young boy has been cheekily urinating into a Baroque fountain for 400 years.
Porn stars protest against Insta’s vague nudity rules
Joining others in their protest against the nudity censorship policies incorporated by Facebook in its family of apps, several porn artists protested outside Instagram’s Silicon Valley headquarters. The adult film artists have described Instagram’s nudity rules vague, inconsistent and threatening to their livelihood, The London Free Press reported. “Today (Wednesday) was such an amazing day and I am so thankful to my team, our supporters, but most importantly, our members and performers who joined this fight. We have proven we can be heard! Go UNION!!!@APAGunion,” Alana Evans, president of the Adult Performers Actors Guild, tweeted.
Woman accuses men of homophobic abuse on flight
A female holidaymaker has accused a group of men of slinging homophobic slurs at her during a Ryanair flight. Laura Muldoon was flying from London Stansted to Seville, Spain, when she said the group called her a “miserable b***h”, a “dyke” and a “lesbo”. She took a picture of the men she claims made the homophobic remarks and shared the photo on social media. She added: “Oh yeah, flight crew did nothing.” Ryanair tweeted in response to Laura’s post, saying: “Hi Laura, we are sorry to hear this. Please submit a complaint here contactform.ryanair.com where our customer service department can investigate this.”
Two ‘rhino poachers’ die after crashing into goat
Two suspected rhino poachers have died after crashing into a goat while fleeing park rangers in Zimbabwe, according to local reports. The four suspects were being chased by the rangers at high speed when their Toyota Wish overturned last week, according to Nehanda Radio.
