Saturday 31 October 2015

Pics: 3D pictures of artist that seems to leap off the page



Stefan Pabst, 35, creates jaw-dropping 3D illusion art after decades of perfecting his skills in the "trompe l’oeil" technique. His work really does jump off the page.
He uses a range of paint brushes for what he calls ‘3D drawing’ using the trompe l’oeil technique; a French term literally meaning ‘trick the eye’.
more pictures after the cut

Ruthless New Zealand’s All Blacks makes history by winning their third Rugby World Cup

The All Blacks celebrating their victory


New Zealand withstood a rousing fightback from Australia before crushing the Wallabies 34-17 at Twickenham to become world champions for a record third time and the first team to retain the Webb Ellis Cup. Tries from Nehe Milner-Skudder and Ma'a Nonu, a superb early second-half score in his last test, had the clinical All Blacks 21-3 ahead after dominating territory and possession.
Ben Smith's yellow card gave the Wallabies renewed hope and they hit back through tries from David Pocock and Turid Kuridrani to set up a thrilling final 16 minutes before Dan Carter's drop goal, long-range penalty and Beauden Barrett's late try settled an absorbing contest.

Rejuvenice salon where woman froze to death shut down by authorities

The salon where Chelsea froze to death in a cryochamber


Nevada state officials have closed the Las Vegas cryotherapy business where an employee died reportedly after freezing to death in a cryotherapy chamber last week. (You can read the story here). According to state authorities, the spas were not licensed by the city, county or state to perform procedures.
Rejuvenice employee Chelsea Ake, 24, was trapped in the chamber for at least 10 hours. Cryotherapy involves standing in a “cryosauna” or “cryochamber” with dry air that is cooled to below -240 degrees Farenheit. The business did not have an active workers’ compensation policy and a stop work order was issued Tuesday for both of their locations, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported. No cause or manner of death has been issued for Ake.
According to the Review-Journal, the Nevada State Board of Cosmetology inspectors planned to visit the two Rejuvenice locations Tuesday afternoon to determine whether unlicensed services were being provided to clients.

WHO: Tuberculosis = AIDS as leading cause of death

Mycobacterium tuberculosis (left), HIV virus (right)

For the first time, tuberculosis infections rivaled HIV/AIDS as a leading cause of death from infectious diseases, the World Health Organization said in a report released on Wednesday. It found that during 2014, 1.1 million people died of TB in 2014. During the same period, HIV/AIDS killed 1.2 million people globally, including 400,000 who were infected with both HIV and TB.
Dr. Mario Raviglione, director of the WHO TB program, said the report reflects the dramatic gains in access to HIV/AIDS treatment in the past decade, which has helped many people survive their infections. But it also reflects disparities in funding for the two global killers.

Colorado shooting spree, 4 dead including suspect

Authorities at the scene of the shooting
Four people are dead after a shooting spree in Colorado Springs, including the suspected shooter who died after a gun battle with police, authorities said. The Colorado Spring Police Department responded to a call of shots fired around 8:45 a.m. When police arrived on the scene, the suspect began shooting. The officers returned fire, killing the suspect.
Several streets in the downtown area have been blocked off as police investigate. Photos from the scene show a heavy police presence in front of a Wendy's. Police do not believe there is any further threat to the community. The officers involved in the shooting have been placed on routine administrative leave. The sheriff's office has taken over the investigation, which is protocol when an officer-involved shooting occurs.

Another South African company, Stanbic IBTC fined by regulating bodies in Nigeria



Its beginning to look like a season of fines for foreign companies operating in Nigeria. Could it be that they have been getting away with so much in the past?
Standard Bank Group, the South African lender that operates Stanbic IBTC Holdings in Nigeria, said a regulator in the country exceeded its powers when it ruled the bank’s West African unit had made material misstatements in its financial accounts and recommended a fine. Lawyers have advised the bank that the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria’s notification and “an associated purported” fine against Stanbic IBTC of 1 billion naira ($5 million) don’t comply with proper processes, the Johannesburg-based bank said in a statement on Friday. The Nigerian unit’s auditor, KPMG, has confirmed it stands by its opinion on the 2013 and 2014 financial statements, the bank said.

224 passengers onboard Russia plane that crashed in central Sinai


A Russian plane has crashed in central Sinai with 224 passengers onboard, the office of Egypt's prime minister has confirmed. The Airbus A-321 had just left the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, bound for the Russian city of St Petersburg. Wreckage of the plane has been found in the Hassana area. It disappeared from radar screens when travelling at 9,500m (31,000ft), Egyptian officials said. Egyptian officials said all the passengers were Russian. Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered an official investigation into the crash. The plane was operated by the small Russian airline Kogalymavia, based in western Siberia.

Friday 30 October 2015

Imagine drinking from a sewage treatment plant for over a year unknowingly...

A drinking fountain logo

I think the thought alone can make one sick!
Students at a Victorian high school have unknowingly been drinking water recycled from a sewage treatment plant for more than a year. South East Water said a recycled water supply line was connected to a drinking fountain at St Peter’s College in Cranbourne. The health department understands the line was connected in December 2013 but how and exactly when that happened is being investigated, reports The Guardian. The issue was detected by a maintenance worker , who immediately notified South East Water and had the supply cut off. Health department assessments indicated the risk of illness was low but it may have led to a slightly increased risk of gastroenteritis.

Firework explosion kills dozens at a nightclub in Bucharest during Halloween party

Firefighters at the scene of the explosion
A firework explosion at a nightclub in Bucharest has killed at least 27 people, with as many as 180 others wounded. The blast unfolded at a Halloween party at the Colectiv club, and as many as 400 young revellers were inside at the time. It is believed that pyrotechnics used during a live rock concert inside the venue - a basement inside a Communist-era factory - misfired because they were poorly fitted. The spark ignited some of the polystyrene decor, causing fire to spread to the ceiling and the club to fill up with smoke. There was only one emergency exit available, and many revellers did not immediately react because they thought the flames were part of the show.

Zimbabwean man in jail for sharing a joke about Robert Mugabe on social media

Zimbabwe President, Robert Mugabe

Do you know sharing a joke on Robert Mugabe, the Zimbabwean President can land you in jail? So if you're thinking of forwarding a joke about Mugabe, just don't!
A Zimbabwean man is complaining all he did was click "Forward" on a joke about the long-time leader, who turns 92 early next year. However, the neighbours to whom 38-year-old Titus Maposa sent the text message, sent it to the police and he was arrested, according to a report in Friday's Manica Post newspaper. The offending joke was a message falsely attributed to Ecocash, Zimbabwe's mobile money transfer scheme, which said the president had deposited $1 500 (R20 745) into their account.
The newspaper said the message read: "Ecocash Transfer Confirmation: 1,500 US from Robert Gabriel Mugabe. Thank you for supporting ZANU-PF."

This 6-year-old girl is beating the odds with her heart outside her chest

6-year-old Virsaviya pictured with the rare condition


Virsaviya Borun, 6,  has been beating the odds her entire life, having been born with her heart and intestines outside her chest and abdomen. Virsaviya, a native of Russia who recently moved to South Florida with her mother, suffers from multiple birth defects caused by Pentalogy of Cantrell - a rare congenital condition that occurs in estimated 5.5 in one million live births. Virsaviya’s heart, which is about the size of a fist, could be seen beating against her abdominal area, protected only by a thin layer of skin. Her intestines are also outside her body and she has no abdominal muscles or a diaphragm.

What blowing your nose forcefully can do to you

This swelling occurred after she forcefully blew her nose


The 32-year-old woman, who remains unnamed, arrived at the emergency department of Leicester Royal Infirmary University Hospital, after her eye swelled to the size of a golf ball after she blew her nose too forcefully. Doctors told her she had ‘orbital emphysema’, a swelling that occurs when air is forced into the soft tissues around the eye. She told doctors she had ‘forcefully’ blown her nose four hours earlier. Immediately afterwards, her right eyelid ballooned, she told doctors who documented the case in the journal BMJ case reports. The swelling got progressively worse and was slightly painful, the doctors treating her said.

Horrified parrot plucks out all her feathers because of stress

Javi plucked out her feathers due to stress (C)Facebook

A parrot is on the road to recovery after it arrived at a sanctuary smelling of stale cigarettes and without any feathers, having pulled them out through stress. The bird, which began its life as Hobby and is now called Javi, was saved by staff at the Tallgrass Parrot Sanctuary in Kansas, Texas. Staff explained that they made the change as the bird should never have been considered someone's 'hobby', which is what appears to have been the case.
Posting updates of the bird's progress to its Facebook page, the sanctuary stated that the parrot enjoyed her first ever bath and discovered fresh banana and apple. They also noted that the bird had a vet check-up to ensure that everything was in order as well as a nail trim.
More pictures after the cut

Plane catches fire as it taxied in Florida airport

The left engine of Dynamic Airways Boeing 767 on fire


The Dynamic Airways Boeing 767 was on the runway at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, preparing for departure to Venezuela when the left engine, which had been leaking fuel, caught fire. The passengers and crew were evacuated and the fire extinguished but one person has been left with severe burns, the BBC reports.
"The crew followed the emergency procedures, shut down the engine and evacuated the aircraft in order to assure safety to all on board," Dynamic Airways said in a statement.
Those hurt are being treated at Florida Broward Health Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale. The National Transportation Safety Board is sending agents to Fort Lauderdale to investigate the fire. Dynamic flies between Fort Lauderdale, New York, Venezuela and Guyana.
More pictures after the cut

Thursday 29 October 2015

Nigeria sets deadline for MTN's US$5.2 billion fine



Nigeria's telecoms regulator said on Thursday it has set a November 16 deadline for South African mobile giant MTN to pay a $5.2bn fine for missing a deadline to disconnect unregistered SIM cards.
"The deadline set for the payment of the fine is November 16," Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) spokesman Tony Ojobo told AFP.
"The key issue is if MTN breached the law or not. Certainly, there was a breach. And if there is a breach, we will apply the law."
Early in August the NCC issued a directive to mobile telecoms companies operating in Nigeria to deactivate all unregistered SIM cards within seven days or face severe sanctions. MTN - Africa's largest telecoms firm - missed the deadline to deactivate its 5.1 million unregistered subscribers, prompting a 200 000-naira ($1 000) fine for each unregistered SIM. You can read the story here.

...only in Australia!

                                                             (C)buzzfeed.com
....This python is trying to pull a wallaby up the rocks for lunch!

Man who drank two liters of spirits a day develops massive tumors on throat

Hong Shu before the surgeries to remove the tumors on his throat

53-year-old Hong Shu was reported to have been drinking about 2 liters of spirits per day for more than 30 years and has since developed a fatty tumor that led him to be called 'the man with the horse's neck'. Hong struggled to eat, sleep or breathe after being diagnosed with the rare Madelung disease, , where fatty deposits accumulate in various areas of the body including the neck, arms and legs.
Hong, from Guangzhou, southern China, recently underwent multiple surgeries to remove the deposits and is due to be discharged from hospital, the People's Daily Online reported.
There are only around 400 instances of the extremely rare disease world-wide.

After 35 years, China abandons one child policy

                     Picture for illustration                            (C)GettyImages


China has formally abandoned its notorious one-child policy, allowing couples to have two children for the first time in more than three decades, official media reported on Thursday.
“China abandons one-child policy,” Xinhua, China’s official news agency, announced on Twitter.
For months there has been speculation that Beijing was preparing to abandon the highly controversial family planning rule, which was introduced by Communist leaders in 1980 amid fears of a catastrophic population explosion.

Wednesday 28 October 2015

Nepal elects first female president

Bidhya Devi Bhandari is the first female president of Nepal

Nepal's parliament has elected women's rights campaigner Bidhya Devi Bhandari as its first female president, in a move hailed as a milestone. She is the second person to hold the mainly ceremonial role as she replaces Ram Baran Yadav, who was the country's first elected president in 2008 after Nepal abolished its monarchy.
The 54-year-old is currently the vice-chair of the ruling Communist Party of Nepal (United Marxist Leninist). Ms Bhandari was defence minister from 2009 to 2011. As president, she has promised to champion minority and women's rights in Nepal.

How freaky is this Halloween costume?

                                                        (C)imgur
Parent and child take to the street in terrifying homemade outfits. I surely do not want to meet them on my way out!

Picture of the day

                                                                                   (C)mediadrumworld.com

....Does this African Jacana bird realize it is passing in front of a hippo?

13-year-old Indian rape victim takes revenge on alleged rapist by decapitating his 5-year-old son




A 13 year old girl punished her rapist Rinku by beheading his 5 year old son Amit in Khair early this week. The gruesome murder was detected when the dogs dragged out the half burnt body, which was found in a polythene bag buried beneath the bricks. The family that was looking for their 5 year old son was soon alerted in the village.
The murder case has been registered against the girl under various sections of the IPC and the SC/ST Act. In another case registered against the father of the murdered child the police has slapped Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POSCO) and has booked him under 376 IPC for raping the girl. According to the girl's statement Rinku had raped her on Sunday. He had lured her offering her a whitener to which she was addicted. In a fit of revenge, and days later she killed the rapist son - beheaded him, burnt his body and packed it in polythene bag before burying it under bricks. The girl has been sent to Ghaziabad Juvenile Home.

Volkswagen looses £2.5bn after emission scandal



Volkswagen has reported a third-quarter operating loss of €3.5bn (£2.5bn) in the wake of the diesel emissions scandal. The firm said it would have made a profit of €3.2bn (£2.3bn) if the "diesel issue" had not emerged. Chief executive Matthias Muller said: "The figures show the core strength of the Volkswagen Group on the one hand, while on the other the initial impact of the current situation is becoming clear.
"We will do everything in our power to win back the trust we have lost."
Volkswagen also announced it has set aside €6.7bn (£4.8bn) to deal with the controversy, €200m (£144m) more than the figure given when the scandal broke last month. Shares in the firm were up 2.7% in early trading in response to the news.

New rules for e-cigarette users on planes

Picture for illustration
A new federal rule forbids airline passengers from packing electronic cigarettes or other battery-operated electronic smoking devices in their checked bags to protect against in-flight fires. The rule still allows e-cigarettes in carry-on bags, but passengers cannot recharge the devices while on the plane, the Time reports.
The Department of Transportation said there have been at least 26 incidents since 2009 in which e-cigarettes that have caused explosions or fires, including several in which the devices were packed in luggage. Usually, they have been accidentally left on or the battery short-circuits. At Los Angeles International Airport in January, a checked bag that arrived late and missed its connecting flight caught fire in the luggage area due to an overheated e-cigarette packed inside.
The rule goes into effect within the next two weeks.

MTN Nigeria fined US$5.2 billion for failing to disconnect unregistered subscribers

MTN Nigeria is the group's biggest market with over 60million subscribers


The Nigerian Communications Commission has fined MTN Nigeria, one of Africa’s biggest network, with a 1.04 trillion naira fine (about US$5.2 billion), according to a report by Nigerian Technology Times. The publication confirmed the figure from the new chief of the watchdog, Professor Uman Danbatta, who said the matter is a punitive sanction against the MTN Group over allegations that it breached SIM registration rules in the country.
According to sources cited by the NTT, MTN Nigeria allegedly disobeyed directives by the NCC to deactivate unregistered mobile phones, which subsequently opened the country to “grave security threats”. More sources within MTN Nigeria reportedly confirmed that communications of the fine had reached the group in the country. The fine is reportedly the largest ever in the history of Nigerian telecoms.

Halle Berry and Olivier Martinez set to end their two-year marriage

       Olivier Martinez and Halle Berry files for divorce        (C)GettyImages


Halle Berry and actor Olivier Martinez are ending their two-year marriage and say they want to proceed with the best interests of their young son in mind.
The actors released a joint statement announcing the divorce on Tuesday, hours before Martinez filed a divorce petition citing irreconcilable differences in Los Angeles.
Martinez's filing seeks joint custody of the pair's 2-year-old son and lists Monday as their date of separation.
"It is with a heavy heart that we have come to the decision to divorce," the actors wrote in a joint statement.

Tuesday 27 October 2015

Come year 2100, a visit to Qatar during summer may be impossible

Doha dessert

At the rate in which the climate is changing, it may be too hot for humans to survive in several Gulf cities during summer, research has shown. Writing in the journal Nature Climate Change, American academics Jeremy Pal and Elfatih Eltahir said Doha, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Dhahran in Saudi Arabia and Bandar Abbas in Iran will experience temperature levels that are “intolerable to humans” by the end of this century due to increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases.
Temperatures above 45C will become the norm throughout July, August and September in many of the region’s low-lying cities while urban areas such as Kuwait City and Al Ain will see temperatures hit 60C in some years, the report stated. The authors said Qatar is especially vulnerable:
“Doha is uniquely geographically positioned to receive hot dry air from the desert interior to the west and hot moist air from the Gulf,” they said in the report.

Woman bites off teen’s tongue during sexual attack

Antoine Tremane Miller has been charged as an adult


I guess it’s high time rape victims come up with something drastic for their assailants, i.e. if you don’t get killed first!
The 33-year-old victim was reported to have bitten off her 16-year-old attacker’s tongue while the later invaded her home. She told South Charleston cops that the knife-wielding teen, Antoine Tremane Miller,  forced his way into her residence early Friday morning. While grappling with the attacker, the victim was knocked to the floor and punched several times. She told investigators that the assailant declared, “Stop fighting and I won't hurt you”, the Smokinggun reports.

Do you get to sue your tattoo artist for this?


.......some wrongly spelt tattoos people have to live with.
More pictures after the cut

Do you like my scarf?


.....this Bagel Pigeon also needs some warmth! 

Man dies after overdosing on cough syrup

Picture for illustration


Yes, as the saying goes, too much of everything is bad!
Mark Pillar, 51, took so much of the strong syrup that his son Jack had bought for him online that his toxicity levels were 30 times the norm - and THREE times greater than a serious level. An inquest was told Mark and his son had been drinking large amounts of codeine mixed with lemonade that had been purchased from the internet.
His ex-wife, Alison Harris, told the inquest Mark had always had a problem with alcohol but had stopped drinking and started taking legal highs. After recording a verdict of a drug-related death, Coroner Ian Arrow issued a warning about the dangers of consuming codeine in large quantities.
He said: “I am satisfied he was found dead at his home address. There were two empty bottles of codeine found nearby.

Blue moon ritualistic man slashes mum and stepbrothers' throat

Donald Wayne Hartung has been arrested in connection to the muders


Donald Wayne Hartung, 58, has been arrested  for slashing the throats of his mother and two adult stepbrothers and bludgeoned them with a claw hammer in a "ritualistic" killing inspired by witchcraft, police said. Voncile Smith, 77, and her sons Richard, 49, and John, 47, were found dead at their home in Pensacola, Florida.
Investigators believe the victims died three days earlier in a "ritualistic" killing connected with the rare blue moon, which occurred on the day the bodies were discovered, Escambia County Sheriff's Office said. Sheriff David Morgan told a news conference that the injuries inflicted by a claw hammer and the position of the bodies have led investigators to believe the crime is connected to some sort of religion.
"It’s witchcraft, I’ll say that right now," he said.

UK Government set to deport 29,000 Nigerians



The Nigeria High Commission in London says it is worried by the migration and removal policy of the UK Government, which has placed deportation tag on 29,000 Nigerians. The Acting Nigerian High Commissioner in London, Olukunle Bamgbose, gave the indication in his office when he spoke with State House Correspondents covering Vice President Yemi Osinbajo’s visit to London.
He said the migration policy came about following the migration crisis created by the troubled regions in the world.
“I think about 29,000 Nigerians have been designated to be deported.
“We are insisting that due process must be followed before Nigerians are really removed from the UK to Nigeria,’’ he said.

Monday 26 October 2015

13-year-old boy shot dead while playing with a loaded handgun at military base

The boy was shot at Joint Base Lewis-McChord


A boy of 13 had died after being shot in the head while he, his brother and a friend played with a loaded handgun on a military base, police said. The boy was shot by 17-year-old friend, Adonis Brown, on Tuesday after the trio climbed through a hole in a fence into Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state. Lakewood Police Department spokesman John Unfred said: "We think the 17-year-old cocked the hammer on the revolver and was trying to hand it to one of the boys, and we believe it accidentally went off."

Research lab seeks volunteers in ‘Ebola’ medical trial: volunteers to be paid £750

Ebola virus

Hammersmith Medical Research is holding clinical trials to try and discover a vaccine to prevent more people dying from the Ebola virus in West Africa. The research lab is calling for volunteers willing to be injected with Ebola in a bid to find a cure for the disease.
Previous trials held by Oxford University in September involved patients being injected with a single protein from the Ebola virus to trigger an immune response. The organisers of the London trial, which will begin in November, are looking for healthy volunteers between the ages of 18 and 65 to take part in a similar experiment.
In an advert in the Evening Standard, the organisation wrote: "Interested in helping medical research into a vaccine for Ebola and being paid for your help?

WHO: Red meat can cause cancer

Picture for illustration

Eating processed meat can lead to bowel cancer in humans while red meat is a likely cause of the disease, World Health Organization (WHO) experts said on Monday in findings that could sharpen debate over the merits of a meat-based diet.
The France-based International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), part of the WHO, put processed meat such as hot dogs and ham in its group 1 list, which already includes tobacco, asbestos and diesel fumes, for which there is “sufficient evidence” of cancer links.
“For an individual, the risk of developing colorectal (bowel) cancer because of their consumption of processed meat remains small, but this risk increases with the amount of meat consumed,” Dr Kurt Straif of the IARC said in a statement.

Hoarder man arrested for being in possession of up to 10,000 stolen guns

Up to 10,000 guns were discovered in Nicholson's house  (C)CHESTERFIELDCOUNTYSHERIFF
51-year-old Brent Nicholson is behind bars on charges of possession of stolen property. Authorities have been sifting through between 8,000 and 10,000 guns, trying to determine where they came from, Chesterfield County Sheriff's Capt. Daniel Scott said. Nicholson who lives off Highway 9, outside the small town of Pageland in South Carolina had more than 100 law enforcements officials raiding the firearm-filled home working the scene for at least two days, and now have to go through the armory “piece to piece” to find the rightful owners of several thousand stolen weapons.
“None of us have ever seen anything anywhere close to this,” Chesterfield County Sheriff Jay Brooks told WBTV. More than Nicholson even hoarded hundreds more guns at his parent's home and at a liquor store he runs with his dad, police said.

Lebanon streets turns into rivers of garbage after heavy rains

The heavy rain washed the pile of thrashes all over the streets

Streets in parts of Lebanon turned into rivers of garbage on Sunday as heavy rains washed through mountains of trash that have piled up during a months-long waste collection crisis.
Residents and activists posted photographs and video online showing water from torrential showers carrying accumulated waste down streets in the early morning outside Beirut and beyond.
On the edge of the capital, activists from the “You Stink” campaign, which has protested the government’s failure to solve the crisis, collected and sorted garbage that was washed into the Beirut river. And elsewhere, residents and municipal workers used bulldozers to push dispersed trash back into piles after the rains stopped.

7.5 magnitude earthquake hits Afghanistan. India and Pakistan, over 260 dead



More than 180 people have died, mostly in Pakistan, after a magnitude-7.5 earthquake hit north-eastern Afghanistan. Tremors from the quake were also felt in northern India and Tajikistan. At least 12 of the victims were Afghan schoolgirls killed in a crush as they tried to get out of their building. The earthquake was centred in the mountainous Hindu Kush region, 76km (45 miles) south of Faizabad, the US Geological Survey reported.
Buildings have been evacuated and communications disrupted in many areas. However as the earthquake originated more than 200km (125 miles) below the earth's surface, the damage is less than that which a similarly powerful but shallow tremor might cause. In Pakistan, the military said 123 people were known to have died in the north of the country. Most of those fatalities were in the Malakand region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is cutting short a visit abroad and returning home, the BBC reports.

EPL week 10 results


Sunday 25 October 2015

Whale-watching boat sinks off the coast of British Columbia in Canada, five people dead



The boat sank near Tofino on Vancouver Island in the west of the country, coastguard and rescue officials said. It is being reported that there were 27 people on board. Ambulance officials quoted by Canadian media said at least five people had died.
Barb McLintock, a spokeswoman for the British Columbia coroner, told AP there were "multiple" deaths. She added that authorities did not yet have a firm number of casualties as the incident was ongoing. The Canadian broadcaster CBC said the boat appeared to have sank some distance from the shore.
Canadian media said the boat was operated by Jamie's Whaling Station and Adventure Centers. The company's website said its whale watching tours were finishing for the season on 31 October, and that it had been operating for 30 years. Reports said seas near Tofino were calm and the weather sunny when the boat sank.
Tofino is a popular destination for tourists wanting to spot humpback and Pacific Gray whales, and trips usually last up to three hours.

Source: BBC

32-year-old panties pervert who uses homemade fishing rod to steal hundreds of worn bras and pants caught

Zhang's haul of stolen underwear


Have you been looking for your bras and panties lately? This could be the answer to your mystery!
A panties pervert used a home-made fishing rod to steal hundreds of pairs of worn underwear from unsuspecting women. The 32-year-old deviant would cast his rod into the homes and gardens of women and attempt to catch a nibble from their knickers. After snaring a bra or panties he would then reel in his "catch" before pocketing them and fleeing.
The man, known only by his surname Zhang, was finally caught after being stopped by police during a routine vehicle check in the eastern Chinese city of Liyang last month.

Lewis Hamilton wins US Grand Prix to seal his third World Championship

Lewis Hamilton becomes the second British driver to win three Formula 1 driver's title

Hamilton pressured team-mate Nico Rosberg into a mistake during a frantic last 10 laps after a safety car and swept by to take his 10th win of 2015. It was an exciting climax to a race of fluctuating fortunes, lead changes and superb racing in changing conditions.
Hamilton becomes only the second British driver after Sir Jackie Stewart to win three Formula 1 drivers' titles. At a post-race press conference, Hamilton says he remembers driving back with his dad after his first World Championship victory, the two chanting "we are the champions." He said:
“This is a dream come true. It is a platform for me to inspire young people: never give up on your dreams and desires, just keep working on it.
I never for one second believed that I couldn't do it. We pushed and we pushed and we pushed.
It's a very humbling experience...I feel very, very blessed today,”
A picture of where Hamilton ranks in Formula 1 history after the cut

Dog grieves as it lies for hours at the spot where owner was killed

Paco was pictured lying at the spot where its owner was killed  (C)ActionNewsJaax

A Florida woman was fatally struck by a big rig truck Friday and for hours afterward her dog remained at the scene, lying down in the road where the accident happened. Deputies found the victim dead in the street around 6:15 a.m. near a Jacksonville gas station, ActionNewsJax reported. The family identified her as Kelly Black, 42, and told the Fox affiliate she was walking her dog Paco at the time.
Paco, who was uninjured, stayed with Black after she was hit. He remained there, lying in the road with a red bandana around his neck, long after her body had been removed, the station reported.  The dog was finally taken home by Black’s family who said the pair were inseparable, Fox News reports.

Woman freezes to death after becoming trapped in cryochamber for hours

Chelsea froze to death in the cryochamber

Chelsea Ake, 24, a salon manager at the Rejuvenice salon was found dead after she reportedly froze to death. Ake was said to have been trapped in a cryochamber for 10 hours with a temperature of -115C. The salon, located at Henderson, near Las Vegas, Nevada had the cryochamber - a device similar to a tanning booth which chills the body to relieve pain - commonly used after exercise by athletes.

Saturday 24 October 2015

Tony Blair apologizes for Iraq war and admits the conflict may have given rise to ISIS

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair

Tony Blair, the former British Prime Minister has apologised for mistakes made over the Iraq war and admitted the conflict could have sparked the rise of brutal Islamic State fundamentalists. In an interview with American news network CNN, the former Prime Minister said he was sorry for elements connected to the war.
When asked if the Iraq War was a mistake in an interview with reporter Fareed Zakaria, Mr Blair said: "I apologise for the fact that the intelligence we received was wrong.
"I also apologise for some of the mistakes in planning and, certainly, our mistake in our understanding of what would happen once you removed the regime."

Maldives: Vice president arrested over assassination attempt on president

Vice President for Maldives, Ahmed Adeeb
Police in the Maldives arrested Vice President Ahmed Adeeb on Saturday in connection with an explosion aboard the president's boat last month that authorities have said was an assassination attempt. Adeeb was arrested at the airport when he returned from an official visit to China "on suspicion of involvement in the boat blast," police spokesman Ismail Ali told The Associated Press. He said Adeeb had been taken to a detention center.
Soon after the Sept. 28 blast aboard President Yameen Abdul Gayoom's speedboat, rumors began circulating that Adeeb was behind it, but he has denied that he was involved. If the president dies, is incapacitated or resigns, the vice president succeeds him, according to the Maldives' constitution. Three soldiers, including a former member of Adeeb's security detail and a member of the army's bomb squad, were also arrested Saturday in connection with the blast, Deputy Police Commissioner Abdullah Nawaz said.

Friday 23 October 2015

Sesame Street introduces new character to tackle autism

Julia, centre, has autism and the addition of her character will tackle the associated stigma (C)Sesame Street

For 46 years, Sesame Street has been a fixture for children around the world. Its mission: helping children "grow stronger, smarter and kinder". And to that end, the people behind the American television series have introduced a new character this week.
Julia, the show's latest muppet, has bright orange hair, green eyes and likes to go on the swing with Elmo, the short, furry, red character. But Julia doesn't answer questions right away, and gets visibly upset over loud noises. She's autistic, a disorder that affects one in 68 children in the US, according to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. 
Jeanette Betancourt, Sesame Workshop's senior vice president of US social impact, says it took three years of research and consultations with experts from institutions such as the Yale Child Study Center to bring Julia to life.

Victory at last for South African students as government announces 0% tuition fee increase for 2016



Students took to the streets in thousands protesting the tuition fee hike

South African President Jacob Zuma has announced that tuition fees will not be increased for 2016. The president made the comment during an address on national TV following violent protests in the capital Pretoria, where people clashed with police over proposed fee hikes. "We have agreed that there should be a zero increase," Zuma said in his address.
Students lit a fire near the Union Buildings where Zuma met with student leaders and professors to discuss the issue. Demonstrators also hurled rocks at journalists and the police, who retaliated with stun grenades to disperse protesters and deployed barbed wire.

What would you do if you regularly come home to this...

                                                         (C)imgur
A Redditor has gotten the internet buzzing after posting his frustration on housemates not replacing the toilet roll when they use the last piece.
Going by the name Pete0Z, he says: "I come home to find this far too often”

Do you also experience the same?