Copenhagen: A Danish mother was stabbed to death by her teenaged daughter and boyfriend after the pair repeatedly watched brutal videos of Islamic State murders. Lisa Borch was 15, when she killed her mother with the help of her 28 year old boyfriend, Mohammed Bakhtiar Abdullah, as she tried to end their relationship. Videos of ISIS beheading were found to have been watched numerous times on Abdullah's computer, along with internet searches for “what happens after parents died”. Borch, now 16, has been jailed for nine years and Abdullah 13, with an order to be deported to Iraq once the sentence is over. Police had found Ernestine Romer Hollegaard dead from almost 20 stab wounds after receiving a frantic call from the teenager. Forensic analysis also showed that Hollegaard had a high level of sleeping pills in her bloodstream.
Depression drugs linked to violence
Oxford: A study by scientists from the University of Oxford has found that young people on antidepressants are more likely to commit violent crimes. Among people aged 15 to 24, researchers have found a 43 per cent increase in the risk of crimes such as rape, murder and assault if they took selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors such as Prozac. Scientists looked at data on the entire Swedish population over the age of 15 and almost 8 million people were prescribed antidepressants between 2006 to 2009. There have been past research that implied that SSRIs could cause people to be violent, however, this study is believed to be the largest. Seena Fazel from the University said, “One implication of this research is that we need to have more full disclosure of risks.” While she agreed that several questions still remained, she said people should be aware of the apparent link. “If you do feel increased hostility, aggression, irritability or violent thoughts, go back to your GP.”
New species of deadly 'sit-and-wait' snake discovered in Australia
Sydney: A new species of deadly snake has been discovered in Australia, the Kimberley death adder, another addition to the nation's world-beating list of venomous snakes. The “sit and wait” predator, an orange-brown snake with diamond shaped scales, remains camouflaged before ambushing passing creatures. A team led by Simon Maddock from London's Natural History Museum and University College, London, examined the snake's genetic and biological characteristics and confirmed it belonged to a distinct species, named acantophis cryptamydros, or the Kimberley death adder. The snake is about 24 inches long. Maddock said, “It's not clear how many Kimberley death adders are there in the wild, but they're probably quite rare.”
`India's Daughter' to be screened in China
Beijing: Controversial documentary on the 2014 gangrape of 'Nirbhaya' in Delhi, which was banned in India, is set to be screened at the Women's Film Festival in Beijing. This will be the only movie with an Indian theme to be shown along with dozens of other films from Asia, Africa and Europe. It will also be shown in four other Chinese cities; Nanjing, Guangzhou, Xian and Shenzhen. A discussion on the film and India's decision to ban it is expected to be seen. Made by British filmmaker Leslee Udwin, the film has angered the Indian government who claimed that she hadn't taken permission to shoot inside Delhi's Tihar Jail. She is listed as a speaker at the festival and is likely to take up the issue to an audience connected with the film industry across the world besides Chinese.
Indian killed in Yemeni attack on Saudi Arabia
New Delhi: An Indian was killed and two others injured in mortar attacks from Yemen near the Samtah General Hospital in Jizan region of Saudi Arabia. Identified as Farooq, a mechanic from Kerala, the others injured are Mohd Sadiq from Bihar and Sunny Thomas from Kerala. The Indian was among four killed when Yemeni Houthi rebels attacked the Samtah hospital said official sources, adding the injured Indians were not in serious conditions. Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Vikas Swarup tweeted saying, “According to our Consul General in Jeddah, one Indian is reported to have died and two injured in the attack.” According to reports, the attack was part of Yemen's retaliatory measures against Saudi Arabia over Riyadh's unabated military campaign in the impoverished Arab country .
Eiffel Tower closed down as terror suspect spotted with a backpack
Paris: French authorities closed down the Eiffel Tower recently, after a terror suspect was spotted climbing the tower with a large backpack. Reports said that the counter terrorism force rounded up the area around the tower with a helicopter while hundreds of tourists waiting to get a glimpse of the iconic monument were made to vacate the area. Visitors waiting with their tickets were asked to leave the premises and evacuated to the banks of the Seine river while the ticket booths were shut down. The tower has frequently been threatened by terrorist groups, including al-Qaeda and Islamic State, and the security in and around France was stepped up after the Paris terror attacks in January, which left 20 people dead.
DiCaprio, Malala to grace Global Citizen Festival
United Nations: The Global Citizen Festival will see Leonardo DiCaprio, Bono, Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai along with Bill and Melinda Gates, on stage in New York city. The event that will unfold on September 26 stars Beyonce, Pearl Jam and Coldplay, highlights the annual gathering of world leaders at the United Nations. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will be present along with several Prime Ministers and CEOs. Previously announced celebrity hosts include Stephen Colbert, Kerry Washington, Salma Hayek Pinault, Olivia Wilde and Hugh Jackman. Ed Sheeran, Common and Indian singer Sunidhi Chauhan will be performing in Central Park for the multi-hour event. The event will mark the launch of an ambitious set of global development goals.
Indian couple in US sued over autistic son's behaviour
Los Angeles: An Indian couple in the US was forced to leave their house after neighbours filed lawsuit against them alleging their autistic son was a “public nuisance”. Vidyut Gopal, an engineer at a Silicon Valley company and Parul Agrawal, a research scientist at Nasa Ames Research Center, were forced to leave their home of seven years. When neighbours started to complain about the child pulling other children's hair, biting a woman and other menacing behaviour, the couple hired caregivers, gave the boy special medication and put him in therapeutic classes, all efforts in vain when they got slapped with a lawsuit. The incident has sparked outrage among parents of children with autism who have raised troubling questions on how to coexist with neighbours with special needs kids. “This has been pretty devastating for us, but we are doing our best to cope with it,” Gopal said.
Pak Senate chief warns against another military takeover
Islamabad: Pakistan Senate Chief Raza Rabbani has warned that constitutional checks to prevent yet another military takeover has become redundant in the country which has seen army rule for almost half of its time after independence. Winding up the debate in the upper house, Rabbani said, “I believe that Article 6 has become redundant. Our weaknesses have made it redundant. In my eyes, no constitutional clause can protect democracy.” “Only the people can protect democracy provided they are given ownership of the system,” he observed adding that Pakistan could not afford another military intervention. “No system other than democracy can keep the federation intact keeping in view the country's internal and external situation,” he said.
Indian worker mercilessly beaten by Saudi engineer
Mecca (Saudi Arabia): While it is known for long that Indian workers face a tough time in the Middle East, a viral video shows a Saudi engineer beating an Indian worker engaged in the Grand Mosque expansion work in the holy city of Mecca. In the nearly two-minute video clip, the Indian worker is seen pleading for mercy, while the Saudi engineer continues to kick and flog him – and even spits on him. As per reports the video has triggered a debate in Saudi Arabia on the rights of workers.
Village where girls turn into boys aged 12
Salinas: Guevedoce children of the Dominican Republic literally seem to change their sex once they hit puberty. A condition that affects over 1 per cent of the boys born in the remote village of Salinas, Guevedoces, also called “machihembras” which means “first a woman, then a man”, appear to be completely female at birth and are brought up as girls. Michael Mosley, the man who documented their life, said, “When they’re born, they look like girls with no testes and what appears to be a vagina. It is only when they near puberty that the penis grows and testicles descend.” Not all Guevedoces in the Dominican Republic change their name upon hitting puberty, some grown men in the region have female names throughout their life. The condition is not isolated to just the Dominican Republic, it’s also been observed in Turkey and New Guinea.
Government to oust 'extremist' trustees from charities
London: A leaked draft of the Home Office's new counter-extremism strategy says new legal powers for the Charity Commission to sack “extremist” trustees,will be used with more leniency. The draft states that “once the legislation is enacted, the Charity Commission will take action against all trustees who meet the definition of extremism set out in this document.” The strategy document defines extremism as “the vocal or active opposition to fundamental British values, including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and the mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs.” The strict approach comes after a number of aid charities have been regularly accused of channelling funds to terror groups, including Hamas, Hezbollah and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and have trustees with links to those organisations.
Court rules to prevent airlines from escaping payouts
A landmark court decision to help delayed air passengers from getting their money back has prevented airlines from escaping payouts by blaming delays on “extraordinary circumstances”. The ruling from Europe affects more than 900,000 passengers who have been delayed for three hours or more in the past six years and are entitled to compensation under the EU law. Airlines previously denied compensation claims on the basis of a technical defect being “spontaneous and unpredictable”, an excuse which will not work under any more according to judges at the European Court of Justice. Passengers are entitled to between £180 and £440 in compensation unless the airline can prove that there were “extraordinary circumstances” beyond its control.
