Bangladesh offers reward for catching trouble-makers
Dhaka: The Bangladesh government Wednesday announced that people who catch those responsible for violence during strikes and blockades will be rewarded 100,000 taka (about $1,250). Industries Minister Amir Hossain Amu made the announcement a day after his ministerial junior Asaduzzaman Khan said citizens who hand these trouble-makers over to police will be rewardedit was reported. Khaleda Zia had called the blockade Jan 5 when police barred her from leaving her office to lead anti-government agitations. The BNP-led opposition alliance had boycotted the general elections in Bangladesh in January last year and has been pressing for fresh polls under a neutral government since then. At least 30 people have died in attacks in the past 15 days as vehicles were targeted with bombs. A 48-hour shutdown called by the BNP is in force in Dhaka and Khulna divisions from Wednesday to protest against the alleged oppression of opposition activists by the joint forces. (IANS)
Guinness record holder walks 56 days with football on his head for good cause
London: A man named Juan Marquez Nieto walked for 56 days, completing a 1240-mile trek with a football balanced on his head with a demand to end violence in Mexico. Nieto, who had previously made into Guinness Book of Records in June 2011 by walking with a ball on his head for 7 and a half miles during an hour and 50 minutes, had walked across from the tourist resort of Playa del Carmen all the way to Mexico City, for the good cause, the Daily Star reported. The sports advisor, who covered around 38 miles a day during his incredible feat, had begun his journey on November 23, 2014, and travelled through 9 states on his way to Mexico City with a masseur and support van for company. Nieto had the support of civilian organisations who too are demanding justice for the 43 students kidnapped and massacred last September. After completing his goal Nieto encouraged people to be evolutionary instead of revolutionary, and make living leave in peace and harmony possible for the sake of children of Mexico. (ANI)
Muslim prisoner can grow his beard: US Supreme Court
Washington: The US Supreme Court today ruled unanimously that an Arkansas prison cannot prevent a Muslim inmate from wearing a half-inch long beard, in keeping with his religious beliefs. The case was brought by Gregory Holt, also known as Abdul Maalik Muhammad, who is serving a life sentence for a domestic violence conviction.
Holt, a Muslim, wants to be allowed to grow a 0.5-inch (one-centimeter long) beard — twice as long as the the 0.25-inch limit allowed under prison rules. In the decision written by Justice Samuel Alito, the US high court said the prison restrictions violate Holt’s constitutional rights to freedom of religion. Prison officials, Alito wrote, have given the inmate the option of either “engaging in conduct that seriously violates his religious belief, or contravening the grooming policy and risking disciplinary action.” The court heard arguments in the case in October.
Forty of the 50 US states allow prisoners to wear a trim beard. Arkansas is among the 10 remaining states restricting that right, for security reasons. The nine justices acknowledged the validity of prison officials’ security concerns — that inmates could hide weapons or other contraband inside their whiskers. They noted however the “difficulty of hiding contraband in such a short beard” as the one worn by Holt. The court also pointed out the inherent inconsistency of the prison’s rules, since no policy regulates the length of head hair. (AFP)
Stray dog leads police to cannabis plants in Australian house
Melbourne: Dogs are said to be man’s best friend, but not this on! Owner of a dog in Australia landed in trouble after police found out that he was growing cannabis in his backyard. Australian Police, on their way to return the stray dog to its owner, Jeremy Adam Griffiths, 39, inadvertently found cannabis plants grown under bushes in backyard. Griffiths of Koroit, in the state Vioctoria, pleaded guilty this week in Warrnambool Magistrates Court to using and cultivating cannabis. The cannabis was planted near his back door, under geranium bushes and around his backyard. Griffiths was not convicted and placed on a 12-month good behaviour bond for growing 11 cannabis plants, The Age reported today. Police said in late August last year, Griffiths planted the cannabis plants to support his own long-term addiction. On the evening of November 17, Koroit police set up an alcohol preliminary breath testing site in front of Griffiths’ home, where his dog got out of the backyard. It was caught by police, who noticed the cannabis plants when they returned the dog to its owner. (PTI)
Romanian who claimed he invented world’s 1st jetpack dies
Bucharest (Romania): A Romanian inventor who claimed he beat the Americans to make the world’s first jetpack, and who built dozens of other vehicles, has died aged 81. The hospital in the southern city of Ploiesti said Justin Capra died on Tuesday.
The cause of death was not given but Capra had diabetes. He crafted unconventional flying machines and dozens of prototypes of fuel-efficient vehicles, including a small car in 2011 that did 470 miles to the gallon (about 200 kilometres to the litre), running on a mixture of gasoline and water.
In 1956 he invented the “flying rucksack,” a personal flying machine, in then-communist Romania. In 1962, one was produced in the US by Bell Aircraft Corp. “All that was different was the colour,” he insisted in an interview. (AP)
Package sparks false alarm in City of London
London: Police said a suspect package found in the City of London on Wednesday was declared safe after briefly closing streets in the financial hub to traffic. City of London police had earlier cordoned off the area, where many banks and insurance companies have their headquarters, an AFP reporter on the scene said.
A police officer said the package was safe and the City of London said in a tweet that the streets — London Wall and Moorgate — had been reopened. City police earlier said in a tweet: “Cordons in place in the Moorgate area due to suspect package found. Officers on scene”. On social media, several office workers said they had been asked to remain inside their buildings while the package was being investigated. Andrew Parker, head of Britain’s domestic intelligence service MI5, warned this month that the country faced “ongoing and increasing” threats from Islamist radicals returning from fighting in Syria, who were planning “mass casualty” attacks at iconic sites. The current threat level from international terrorism for Britain is assessed as severe. (AFP)
Beyonce gaffe leaves UK leader red-faced in Cabinet meeting
London: A senior leader of the UK’s ruling Conservative Party was left red-faced at a Cabinet meeting after his watch started playing a Beyonce number and he was given a dressing down by Prime Minister David Cameron. Michael Gove, the Government Chief Whip, was left floundering and he fumbled “for quite a while” when music started emanating from his watch during a Cabinet meeting. Onlookers assumed it was the ringtone on his mobile phone, banned from such meetings on security grounds. One described it as “Jazz FM-style comedown music after a heavy night out” and another as a “female ballad”, The Telegraph reported. Red-faced Gove would not say what the tune was because it was “an in joke”. But his wife gave the game away on the gaffe that took place during last week’s Cabinet meeting. Sarah Vine was more than happy to set the record straight in a newspaper column that the favoured tune was in fact “Beyonce’s latest oeuvre”. Vine disclosed that it was not in fact the contraband mobile phone that had got her husband into hot water but a new Pebble Smartwatch she had bought him for Christmas. “Despite its unprepossessing appearance, the Pebble is quite a powerful little thing,” she explained.
“Not only can it tell the time, it can also pick up emails and text messages, screen calls, check the weather and, I’m told, control the boiler. Oh, and it can also play music. The trouble is that it takes a bit of getting used to,” Vine was quoted as saying. (PTI)