Nepali father drowns daughters
Kathmandu: A Nepali father turned out to be the killer of his two daughters, aged nine and seven years, in western Parbat district, after cooking up an elaborate tale about their kidnap.
Krishna Prasad Tiwari, a special investigating team of police said Friday, had drowned his two daughters, Namuna and Nabina, in the Modikhola river, after staging their abduction.
The “abduction” became a cause celebre in Nepal since July 31 when, Tiwari had claimed, a group of masked men broke into his house and abducted the two sleeping children from their bed.
However, under interrogation he confessed to police that he had first thrown the elder child, Namuna, into the swirling river below from the overhead bridge and then thrown the petrified younger daughter after her.
The bodies of the two children have not been found yet.
Tiwari had been drunk during the incident but claimed the abductors had forced him to drink alcohol. Police said he claimed poverty had forced him to kill the girls.
He also said he had initially planned to commit suicide by jumping into the river after throwing the two children down but lost his nerve.
Tiwari’s wife is currently away in Israel, working as a caregiver there.
The double murder comes after Nepal’s government last year announced a grandiose plan to make the year see an end to violence against women.
Instead, there has been a spurt in violence against women, especially youngsters. (IANS)
Rakhi celebrated in Pakistan
Islamabad: The festival of Rakhi was celebrated with traditional zeal in a town in Pakistan’s Punjab province.
Hindus and Sikhs celebrated Rakhi at the Gurdwara Punja Sahib in Taxila Thursday, Dawn said Friday. Rakhi is a festival that celebrates the bond between brothers and sisters.
Girls tied bands (Rakhis) on the wrists of their brothers when they gathered at the gurdwara.
Rakhi will be celebrated in neighbouring India Aug 13. (IANS)
Mexican claims he found a fairy
Guadalajara (Mexico): An unemployed 22-year-old bricklayer claims he has found a fairy in this western Mexican metropolis. Jose Maldonado, who charges a monetary “donation” in exchange for displaying what appears to be a simple plastic figure kept in a container of formaldehyde, says he has already received 3,000 visits from people eager to see the so-called fairy at his home in Lomas Verdes, one of Guadalajara’s poorest and most dangerous neighbourhoods.
“I was picking guavas and I saw a twinkling. I thought it was a firefly. I picked it up and felt that it was moving; when I looked at it I knew that it was a fairy godmother,” Maldonado told EFE. The tale of the fairy that Maldonado claims to have discovered last weekend has run like wildfire through the area and his home is now besieged by the curious, some of whom wait for up to an hour to enter.
What Maldonado shows the paying public is a small container filled with formaldehyde containing a humanlike figure about 2 centimeters tall, with a gelatinous consistency and a certain resemblance to Peter Pan’s Tinkerbell.
Maldonado says that what seems to be just a little plastic figure is a fairy and that it was alive when he found it. And there are those who believe him.
“I’ve seen everything and, yes, I believe the fairy is real. Therefore, I wanted to come to confirm that those myths are true,” said Cesar Ramirez, a visitor.
To be allowed to examine the “fairy” for a few seconds and take a photograph of it, the curious must make a donation to financially help out Maldonado who recently lost his job.
His neighbours have also taken advantage of the situation to sell photographs and keyrings with the image of the fairy for about 20 pesos ($1.60), as well as refreshments including drinks and food to those people while they wait in line outside Maldonado’s house. (IANS)
Artist recreates ‘Mona Lisa’ with espresso!
London: Have you ever imagined indulging in some coffee art when you’re sipping your espresso at a local coffeehouse?
Well, here’s an artist from the US who has recreated classic masterpieces like the Mona Lisa using watered-down shots of espresso.
Karen Eland, 38, from Oregon, hit upon the idea to switch her watercolours for a cup of espresso about a decade ago.
She even spent seven months crafting a 20ft mural.
Eland, who had earlier replicated Prince William and Kate’s engagement photo, is said to sell her coffee artworks for prices up to 9,000 pounds.
“I do love coffee. But I restrict myself to two cups while painting or I get too shaky,” the Sun quoted her as saying. (ANI)
Man, 96, wins top indigenous art award
Sydney: A 96-year-old man who only began painting five years ago has won Australia’s premier indigenous art award. Dickie Minyintiri, born in Pilpirinyi, Western Australia, was yesterday named the winner of the Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art award. Sitting in a wheelchair, his white whiskers poking out under his hat, a frail Minyintiri, who finds it difficult to speak, managed a quick smile after being named the winner for his piece titled Kanyalakutjina (Euro Tracks).
The artwork shows tracks of kangaroos, dogs and emu coming to a water hole to drink, and each layer and line is a memory Minyintiri has of a journey he has undertaken. Minyintiri lives in Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) lands in remote South Australia, and Alison Milyika Carroll from his community said she was very moved by the recognition. “We are also very happy that people are seeing the strong art-making of the APY land art centre,” Ms Carroll said. The story of Minyintiri’s win is good news for the APY community, which in the past has been linked to high rates of petrol sniffing and child sexual abuse. Minyintiri only began painting four or five years ago because he didn’t have any time before that, said Julian Green, who works with the winner. (AAP)