Strangely

Monday, 18 October 2021 05:57

Afghans are selling their children to pay debt, survive

Desperate to feed her family, Saleha, a housecleaner here in western Afghanistan, has incurred such an insurmountable debt that the only way she sees out is to hand over her 3-year-old daughter, Najiba, to the man who lent her the money. The debt is $550. Saleha, a 40-year-old mother of six who goes by one name, earns 70 cents a day cleaning homes in a wealthier neighborhood of Herat. Her much older husband doesn’t have any work. Such is the starkness of deepening poverty in Afghanistan, a humanitarian crisis that is worsening fast after the Taliban seized power on Aug.…

Sunday, 17 October 2021 05:51

Nearly 90 tangled rattlesnakes removed from beneath woman's house

A California woman who recently called a reptile rescue team about snakes under her home learned that a den of more than 90 rattlesnakes had set up camp there. Sonoma County Reptile Rescue shared photos earlier this month of tangled masses of rattlesnakes of all sizes. “This last week I got a call from a lady that said she had snakes under her house,” Alan Wolf, director of the rescue, wrote in a Facebook post. “3 hours and 45 minutes later this is what I came out with, 59 babies and 22 adults.” Wolf said he had returned two more…

Saturday, 16 October 2021 05:55

Man rents poisonous snake to kill wife and marry another

An Indian man was found guilty of murdering his wife by renting a cobra to bite her and make it look like an accident, so he could take her jewelry and marry another woman. In what has been described as a modern murder mystery, a young man from the Kollam District of the Indian state of Kerala was convicted of arranging and carrying out his wife’s murder with the help of a venomous snake. The heinous crime took place in May of 2020, but investigators needed over a year to collect the necessary evidence to charge the husband. In fact,…

Wednesday, 29 September 2021 05:52

Fully vaccinated couple dies from Covid-19 one minute apart while holding hands

A fully vaccinated Michigan, United States, couple died one minute apart from Covid-19 on Sunday after coming down with the virus earlier this month, a report said. Cal Dunham, 59, and his wife Linda, 66, had preexisting conditions and were very cautious, Fox17Online reported. But they came down with symptoms during a recent camping trip and days later were hospitalized and put on ventilators, the report said. They did not improve and doctors told the family that they would likely need to come off life support on Monday. Their daughter Sarah Dunham told the outlet that the pair "had other…

Monday, 27 September 2021 06:01

Don’t trim beards, Taliban warn Afghan barbers

The Taliban have banned hairdressers in Afghanistan's Helmand province from shaving or trimming beards, saying it breaches their interpretation of Islamic law. Anyone violating the rule will be punished, Taliban religious police say. Some barbers in the capital Kabul have said they also received similar orders. The instructions suggest a return to the strict rulings of the group's past tenure in power, despite promises of a milder form of government. Since taking power last month, the Taliban have carried out harsh punishments on opponents. On Saturday, the group's fighters shot dead four alleged kidnappers and their bodies were hung in…

Saturday, 25 September 2021 05:56

Man turns himself in 30 years after escaping from prison

An Australian man who had been on the run for nearly three decades turned himself in recently, after being rendered homeless by the pandemic and struggling to find work. On the night of August 1, 1992, 13 months into his three-and-a-half-year sentence for growing marijuana, Darko “Dougie” Desic escaped from the Grafton Correctional Centre in New South Wales, using tools, including a hacksaw blade and bolt cutters. Despite an extensive search, authorities were never able to locate Desic, and he remained a fugitive for the next 29 years. So imagine everyone’s surprise when he just turned up at a police…

Saturday, 18 September 2021 05:17

Couple banned from naming baby ‘Vladimir Putin’

Swedish tax agency, Skatteverket, rejected a young couple’s request to name their son Vladimir Putin, the name of the famous Russian president. Public radio broadcaster SR recently reported the case of a couple based in Laholm, Sweden, who were banned from naming their newborn son after Russia’s president. Skatteverket didn’t explain exactly why they rejected the naming request, but according to Swedish law, names should not be offensive or risk causing problems for the bearer, nor are first names that clearly resemble surnames allowed. It wasn’t immediately clear what category “Vladimir Putin’ fell into, but the couple was forced to…

Wednesday, 15 September 2021 05:51

Three family members found dead in their home in Ebonyi – Police

Police in Ebonyi State have confirmed that three family members were found dead in their home. The incident, which is being investigated by the police, happened in Ngwongwo community, Ishiagu, Ivo Local Government Area of the state, the police spokesperson in the state, Loveth Odah, said on Tuesday. Ms Odah, a deputy superintendent of police, said the divisional police officer in the area evacuated the bodies to the hospital where they were confirmed dead by a medical doctor. The deceased have been identified as Chinonso Udigwe, Ikedi Okorie and Emperor Kalu. A truck driver, said to have been found in…

Tuesday, 14 September 2021 05:37

Kano gov’s son reports mum to EFCC over alleged land fraud

Hafsat Ganduje, wife of Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano, shunned an invitation extended to her by the anti-graft agency, EFCC, to report for questioning, last week, over a bribery and land fraud case reported by her son, Abdualzeez. Mrs Ganduje was invited to report last Thursday to the Abuja headquarters of EFCC. Abdulazeez had dragged his mum, Hafsat Ganduje, to the EFCC, sources familiar with the matter said, suggesting a pattern of corruptly using family access to power for private enrichment. Ganduje, the governor, had previously been involved in a corruption-related scandal. He has struggled to untangle himself from the…

Sunday, 12 September 2021 05:52

The country where a year lasts 13 months

Ethiopians are marking the start of a new year, with feasting in many homes despite the difficulties caused by rising prices and the war and hunger crisis raging in the north. Find out more about Ethiopia's unique calendar and cultural heritage. 1) The year lasts 13 months Not only that - the Ethiopian calendar is also seven years and eight months behind the Western calendar, making Saturday the start of 2014. This is because it calculates the birth year of Jesus Christ differently. When the Catholic Church amended its calculation in 500 AD, the Ethiopian Orthodox Church did not. So…

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Saturday, 11 September 2021 05:44

Ducks can learn to swear and will call you a 'bloody fool' if you're not careful

Ripper, an Australian musk duck, has mastered the art of mimicry and can even swear at you. You have to hear it to believe it. "You bloody fool!" As an Aussie living in Sydney with access to a motor vehicle, I've screamed that expression plenty of times in my life. When someone forgets to use the blinker or slams on the brakes? You bloody fool is a common refrain. Others have probably screamed it at me, too. The one place I wouldn't expect to hear it, though, is at a duck pond. How wrong I was. In new research, published…

Thursday, 09 September 2021 05:45

Philippines' Duterte wants to become vice president after completing term as president

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday accepted his party’s nomination to run for vice president in next year’s election, forging ahead with a plan criticised by rivals as a cynical move to maintain his political power. The mercurial leader, 76, is barred by the constitution from seeking a second term and his interest in the largely ceremonial post has been dismissed by opponents as a bid to stay in office to avoid potential legal action at home or abroad. But Duterte, who has always portrayed himself as a reluctant leader, said his decision was driven by love of country. “It…

Tuesday, 07 September 2021 05:44

Three senior academics die same day in Nigerian university

Abia State University, Uturu, has been thrown into mourning following the death of three lecturers at the school on the same day. A university source said the lecturers, A. I. Nwabughuogu, professor of History/International Relations; D. S. Okoroigwe of Geography/Planning Department; and Osince Okike of Political Science, all died on Friday. Causes of their deaths have yet to be ascertained as of press time. However, the source noted that many lecturers in the school were going through economic hardship. He said, “We are being owed more than seven months’ salaries; the last time (we were paid) was January 2021.” The…

Sunday, 05 September 2021 05:46

Florida diner that told Biden supporters to eat elsewhere becomes so popular it runs out of food

A Florida diner that posted a sign telling Biden supporters to take their business "elsewhere" was forced to temporarily close after not having enough food to meet a surge in demand. The DeBary Diner, located in DeBary, Florida and owned by Angie Ugarte, was closed on September 2 after running out of food following a surge in demand after a sign was posted on the front door slamming Biden’s chaotic Afghanistan withdrawal and telling his supporters to take their business somewhere else, according to the West Volusia Beacon. "If you voted for and continue to support and stand behind the…

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