Weird News Stories

Current Affairs
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AK-47 first prize in Somali radio competition for children

AN ISLAMIST-BACKED radio station in Somalia has awarded assault rifles and hand grenades to the winners of a children’s Koran recital competition.

Andalus radio, run by the al-Shabab rebel militia, said the first prize was an AK-47 and £450 (€517). The runner-up received an AK-47 and £320, while the child who came third received two F1 hand grenades and £250. The three children also received religious books.

Pictures of the senior Islamist leader and spokesman Sheikh Mukhtar Robow presenting the awards in Elasha Biyaha, about 20km from Mogadishu, were posted on a rebel-affiliated website.

Al-Shabab controls much of southern Somalia and is trying to overthrow the transitional government in Mogadishu. The group, designated a terrorist organisation by several western governments, has links to al-Qaeda and practises an extreme version of Islam.

In certain areas al-Shabab leaders have banned musical mobile phone ringtones, films, football broadcasts, dancing at weddings and even shop signs written in English or Somali rather than in Arabic. Punishments for infringements include double amputations and stonings. The rebels have also systematically recruited children under 15 to fight for them, according to Amnesty International.

The Koran recital contest has been running for three years and takes place after Ramadan. The two previous award ceremonies have occurred in Kismayo, an al-Shabab stronghold on the far southern coast. In 2009, prizes included hand grenades, anti-tank mines and an AK-47. The winners of that contest were between 17 and 20 years of age.

The precise ages of the winners of this year’s competition are not known. Radio Andalus takes it name from Andalusia in southern Spain, part of successive Islamic caliphates between the eighth and 15th centuries. – ( Guardian service)

422

450 quid would be serious cash out there

423

Pirate Radio?

Boom boom.

424

This is pretty mad:

Man died from spontaneous human combustion, inquest finds

Friday September 23 2011
A MAN who burnt to death in his own home died from spontaneous human combustion in what is believed to be the first case of its kind in the country.
Michael Faherty (76) – also known as Micheal O Fatharta – died as a result of the phenomenon, spontaneous human combustion, according to west Galway coroner Dr Kieran McLoughlin.
He said it was the first time in his 25 years of investigating deaths that he had returned such a verdict.
An experienced garda crime scene investigator and senior fire officer both told Mr Faherty’s inquest in Galway that they could not explain how he came to be burnt to death. Nor had they come across such an event before.
Assistant chief fire officer Gerry O’Malley said fire officers were satisfied that, after a thorough investigation, an open fire in Mr Faherty’s fireplace was not the cause of the blaze which led to his death.
No trace of an accelerant was found at the scene and there was no sign that anyone else had entered or left Mr Faherty’s home at 64 Clareview Park, Ballybane, Galway city.
The inquest heard that the smoke alarm in the home of Mr Faherty’s neighbour, Tom Mannion, had gone off at about 3am on December 22 last year.
In his deposition, Mr Mannion said he went outside and saw heavy smoke coming from Mr Faherty’s house.
He banged on the front door, but got no response and then banged on the door of another neighbour. Gardai and the fire brigade arrived quickly on the scene.
Garda Gerard O’Callaghan said he had gone to the house after the fire had been extinguished and found Mr Faherty lying on his back in a sitting room, with his head closest to an open fireplace.
The fire had been confined to that and the rest of the house sustained only smoke damage. No accelerants had been found and there was nothing to suggest foul play.
In reply to the coroner, Gda O’Callaghan said the only damage was to the remains, to the floor underneath him and to the ceiling above. The body had been totally burnt.
Dr McLoughlin asked the garda if he had ever seen anything like this and he replied “no”. The inquest heard that fire officers were unable to determine the cause or the origin of the fire that killed Mr Faherty.
Asked if he had ever seen anything like it, Mr O’Malley replied, “I can’t say that I have.”
Pathologist Professor Grace Callagy noted in her post-mortem findings that Mr Faherty had suffered from Type 2 diabetes and hypertension but she concluded he had not died from heart failure.
His body had been completely cremated, and because of the extensive damage to the organs, it had not been possible to determine the cause of death.
The coroner said he was satisfied nobody had entered or left the house.
While a fire had been burning in the fireplace in the home, he was also satisfied that the fire itself was not the cause of the blaze that had burnt the deceased.
Dr McLoughlin said: “This fire was thoroughly investigated and I’m left with the conclusion that this fits into the category of spontaneous human combustion, for which there is no adequate explanation.”
Afterwards, Ms Faherty’s daughter, Mairin, said that the family were satisfied with the extent of the investigation.

425

Animals, the lot of them!

Burundi albino boy ‘dismembered’

Albinos in Tanzania have become targets for body-snatchers seeking to sell them to witch doctors
The dismembered body of a young albino boy has been found in a river on the Burundi-Tanzania border, reports say.
The boy, aged nine, was taken from Makamba province in Burundi by a gang that crossed the border, the head of Burundi’s albino association said.
Kassim Kazungu told AFP the remains had been recovered from the Malagarazi river and given a formal burial.

Albino body parts are prized in parts of Africa, with witch-doctors claiming they have special powers.
Mr Kazungu told the AFP news agency that Tanzanian police had arrested five people, although there was no official confirmation from Tanzania.
In Tanzania, the body parts of people living with albinism are used by witch-doctors for potions which they tell clients will help make them rich or healthy.
Dozens of albinos have been killed, and the killings have spread to neighbouring Burundi.
In August a court in Tanzania sentenced a Kenyan to 17 years in jail on charges of trying to sell an albino person.
Tanzanian authorities have promised to crack down on albino traffickers, and several people have been sentenced to death in connection with killings.

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[b]Rihanna made to cover up after farmer complains about her ‘state of undress’ [/b]

Alan Graham put a stop to filming on ‘We Found Love’ video after deeming it ‘inappropriate’

Rihanna was forced to cover up after the farmer whose field she was using to film the video for her new single ‘We Found Love’ objected to her “state of undress”.

The singer, who released the Calvin Harris collaboration last week, was filming the video in a field in Bangor in Northern Ireland when farmer Alan Graham asked her and her crew to stop as he believed her “state of undress” was inappropriate.

Speaking to BBC News, Graham admitted that he did not know who Rihanna was when he got a phonecall to ask for the use of his field in Bangor, County Down, for the video shoot last week.

During the shoot, Graham drove though on his tractor and requested that the singer cover up, he spoke to her in person to say this.

Graham said:

I thought it was inappropriate. I requested them to stop and they did. I had my conversation with Rihanna and I hope she understands where I’m coming from. We shook hands. From my point of view, it was my land, I have an ethos and I felt it was inappropriate. I was unhappy with her state of undress. I wish no ill will against Rihanna and her friends. Perhaps they could acquaint themselves with a greater God.

Rihanna plays an extensive UK arena tour in the coming weeks.

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ITV Gaddafi documentary claimed videogame was terrorist footage

The producers of ITV’s new investigative current affairs programme, Exposure, face major embarrassment after it was revealed footage they described as an IRA terrorist video made in 1988 was actually taken from a videogame released two years ago.

:lol:

http://www.telegraph…st-footage.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6r-kNct630

428

That is just brilliant :clap:

:lol: :lol: :lol:

429

I find it hard to believe this. Crazy story.

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[b]Man Gouges Out His Eyes During Mass[/b]

As if you needed another excuse to skip church: In Viareggio, Italy, 46-year-old Aldo Bianchini blinded himself and permanently scarred everyone else attending mass at Sant’Andrea church when, during the priest’s sermon, he suddenly stood up, ripped his eyes right out of their sockets with his bare hands, then “collapsed to the floor in a pool of blood.”

Lorenzo Tanganelli, the priest who was giving mass, describes the horrific scene:

'I had just started to read the sermon when all of a sudden there was a great commotion.

'This man at the back of the knave started tearing at his face and I realised he was gouging out his eyes.

'I called for assistance and the paramedics were quickly at the scene and he was taken away and then I carried on celebrating Mass but a lot of people had left because they were so shocked by what they had seen.

That’s one focused priest! We would have probably needed immediate, heavy sedation followed by two or three months of round-the-clock therapy after witnessing such a traumatizing and gory event. We couldn’t even watch Kill Bill.

People gouge their eyes out for all kinds of reasons, but usually it’s because of mental illness or extreme emotional trauma. The surgeons who tried to save Bianchini’s sight say he heard “voices” that told him to rip out his eyes. In 2005, R&B singer Houston gouged out one of his eyes with a plastic fork after a suicide attempt. Also in 2005, Eugene Roman—a Florida man who’s been diagnosed with schizophrenia—gouged out his eyes while in jail; he’s now in prison for gouging out his wife’s eyes. And in 2009, Texas death row inmate Andre Thomas—who is totally sane, according to the state of Texas—not only gouged out one of his eyes but ate it. He’d already gouged out the other eye, so now he’s blind.

In reporting on Bianchini’s eye-gouging, some newspapers suggest that maybe he was influenced by the Biblical passage in which Jesus tells people to gouge out their eyes if their eyes have “caused them to sin” (by looking at Playboy magazine). Maybe, but it’s also possible that there’s no connection whatsoever, and that the voices Bianchini heard were, like, Wiccan or something. Whatever, it’s probably best to stay away from the Bible, if you enjoy your sight. The Bible hates eyes.

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“That’s one focused priest!”

We’ll be back with more, right after this…

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Sex toys used at St Patrick’s day fundraiser

A SEX toy fundraiser for the Portlaoise St Patrick’s Day Parade was deemed “completely inappropriate” this week.

An Ann Summers party, which included a presentation of sex toys and lingerie along with raunchy party games, was held in Kavanagh’s Bar in Portlaoise last Friday evening in aid of the Portlaoise St Patrick’s Day Festival.

The Ann Summers party was part of a fake hen party fundraiser for the parade in honour of Ireland’s patron saint. Speaking on Monday, the chairperson of the Portlaoise St Patrick’s Day committee, Ger Whelan, condemned the event, claiming it was done without his knowledge.

Mr Whelan had been on the door at the event when several revellers expressed their concern to him about what was taking place.

“It was something I did not know about. It was added at the last minute. It was stopped after less than 30 minutes after people expressed their concerns,” he said.

Mr Whelan said the fundraising night proceeded normally afterwards.

When asked whether it was appropriate for a sex-themed fundraiser to be associated with a family day out such as St Patrick’s Day, Mr Whelan said: “It’s not appropriate. It was supposed to be a bit of fun and a laugh to raise a bit of money. It was not meant to off end anyone or hurt anyone.”

Mr Whelan said the Ann Summers party was organised by one committee member who had not consulted with the rest of the committee.

“The St Patrick’s Day committee want absolutely nothing to do with it. It’s something that should not have happened. It was completely inappropriate,” he said.

The hen party fundraiser was part of a series of events known as the Laois Four Weddings event, which aimed to raise money for the 2012 festivities. Mr Whelan said there were now questionmarks over whether these events should go ahead.

“We are having a meeting on Wednesday night with members about whether we should go ahead. I’m not sure we will,” he said. Former mayor of Portlaoise Town Council and parade committee member Kathleen O’Brien was one of a group of 20 who attended the hen night. Cllr O’Brien said she left before the raunchy lingerie party kicked off.

“I was not happy that an Ann Summers party was taking place. I wasn’t aware one was supposed to be taking place,” she said. Cllr O’Brien had been due to act as one of the brides in the upcoming fake nuptials but said she would now reconsider taking part.

A pre-event press release which the Laois Nationalist published about the event had made no mention of the adult-themed party.

A Laois Nationalist photographer was also asked to delete photos of concerned locals at the event who did not want to be associated with it.

Despite repeated attempts, the Laois Nationalist was unsuccessful in contacting the committee member who is alleged to have organised the Ann Summers event.

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Raging Bull Empties Pub As Drinkers Flee

[size=3]3:20pm UK, Tuesday October 11, 2011[/size]

Lulu Sinclair, Sky News Online

Drinkers relaxing in a pub in the Irish Republic were shocked when a bull decided to join them.

http://news.sky.com/sky-news/content/StaticFile/jpg/2011/Oct/Week2/16087073.jpg
The bull wrecked furniture and buttled holes into the walls with its horns

The incident happened on market day in the town of Kinscourt, County Cavan.

“The bull managed to escape from the farmers’ cattle market,” the landlord of the Porter House pub Cyril Rafferty told Sky News Online.

http://news.sky.com/sky-news/content/StaticFile/jpg/2011/Oct/Week2/16086946.jpg
Pub landlord Cyril Rafferty outside the Porter House

"It came down the back alleyway into the delivery area and managed to get into the pub.

“It was a shock to all of us!”

One person who was smoking outside was chased back into the pub by the anxious animal.

http://news.sky.com/sky-news/content/StaticFile/jpg/2011/Oct/Week2/16086944.jpg
Astonished locals made a run for it when the bull appeared

Its bulky frame meant it created havoc, wrecking furniture and butting holes with its horns in the walls.

Luckily no-one was hurt.

“It’s turned into a bit of a joke now,” Mr Rafferty said. “It wasn’t at the time!”

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[size=4] :lol: [/size] [size=4] :lol:[/size]

Man orders size 14.5 slipper and gets size 1,450 after ‘mistranslation in China’

A MAN who ordered a special size 14.5 slipper to fit his oversized foot was sent a size 1,450 after the Chinese manufacturers failed to spot a decimal point in his order.
Tom Boddingham, 27, has a size 13 right foot while his left is slightly bigger measuring a size 14 and a half.
When he ordered his custom slipper, the manufacturers in China misread “size 14.5” and instead built a size 1,450 measuring 7ft long.
Mr Boddingham, who has always worn custom made shoes, said he now plans to sell the giant slipper on eBay.
He said: "It was sent directly from Hong Kong and measures 210 x 130 x 65cms - the same length as a grizzly bear or a family car.
"I reckon I must be the owner of the biggest slipper in the world.
“I’m going to sell it online and if I can make a few quid out of it then all the better.”
A company spokesman for Monster Slippers apologised to Tom, from Ilford, in east London, and said the mistake occurred because of a translation error.
The spokesman said: “We have apologised to Mr Boddingham and are making him a replacement slipper of the right dimensions.”
A spokesman for the factory said they thought the slipper was for a shop window display.

http://www.independent.ie/multimedia/archive/00975/slipper_975170t.jpg

435

That is brilliant. I want one.

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Not so much the story that’s weird but the punishment handed out

By Jane Last

Monday October 24 2011

A teenager who spat on a garda car after yelling abuse at a garda will now have to hand-wash the vehicle for the next six months.

A judge has told Jonathan Buckley (19), of Gallen View, Ferbane, Co Offaly, he will have to use a sponge to wash the town’s squad car each week.

Athlone District Court heard that Buckley committed the offences in Gallen View after attending a house party last January.

He was heavily intoxicated in public at 2.15am on January 5 and was then ordered by a garda to leave the area.

Inspector Nicholas Farrell told the court that as Mr Buckley walked away, he called the garda a “fing pig" and "w**.”

He said he would “break every window in town” and then kicked and spat at the patrol car.

Buckley’s solicitor, Padraig Quinn, said his client had “far too much to drink” on the night and he accepted that his behaviour was out of order.

“Is there a squad car in Ferbane?” asked Judge Seamus Hughes.

Inspector Farrell said there was, and this prompted the unusual punishment.

Spittle

Addressing Buckley, Judge Hughes said: "For the next six months I want you to wash the garda squad car once a week.

"Use a sponge, hose it down, do it nicely and have it done in about 15 minutes.

“That might eventually remove the taint of your spittle from the vehicle.”

Jotting down a note of his sentence, the judge repeated that he wanted Mr Buckley “to wash and sponge the garda patrol car or cars – in other words if there’s more than one and the gardai want you to wash the other one as well you must do it” for up to a maximum of 30 minutes each time.

The case was then adjourned to Athlone District Court on November 2 for an update.

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Courtesy of thejournal.ie

A 44-YEAR-OLD WOMAN has pleaded guilty to grievous bodily harm at Newcastle Crown Court for biting off her boyfriend’s testicles during a heated argument at his flat earlier this year.

Maria Topp of Wreckenton, Tyne and Wear, was granted bail yesterday and is due to be sentenced next month. The PA reports that the judge warned she may face jail time.

The court heard that Topp had bitten her boyfriend Martin Douglas’ testicles off on 18 February during an argument in which violence was used by both parties. The defence team said that Topp was on her back being straddled by Douglas at the time of the injury.

Douglas, 45, had called the emergency services himself. It took 19 stitches to reattach the testicles.

The BBC reports that the couple, together for five years at the time of the incident, had undergone difficulties in their relationship in the past and had separated and reconciled a number of times.

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35% of Brazilian rural men admit to having sex with an animal

Next time you hear a Brazilian boasting of how his country has the world’s best asses, you may need to enquire as to whether he’s referring to a female or a donkey.

That’s because a new study by Brazilian urologists has found that 35% of men from rural Brazil have admitted to having sex with an animals. As you can imagine, that’s not the healthiest decision in the world and of the 492 men surveyed, a large percentage have penile cancer.

“Of the 118 penile cancer patients, 45 percent reported having sex with animals, compared with 32 percent of healthy men, who visited the medical centers for benign conditions, check-ups or cancer prevention,” reported LiveScience.com on the findings.

“Fifty-nine percent of men who had sex with animals did so for one to five years, while 21 percent continued the behaviour, also known as zoophilia, for more than five years. The subjects reported a variety of frequencies for their sex acts, ranging from monthly to daily.”

Sao Polo urologist Stenio de Cassio Zequi said that although a direct relationship between penile cancer and bestiatity has not been established, it certainly cannot be ruled out.

“The genital mucus membranes of animals could have different characteristics from human genitalia, and the animals’ secretions are probably different from human fluids. Perhaps animal tissues are less soft than ours, and non-human secretions would be toxic for us,” he said, while completely ruining our lunch.

With the likes of Gisele Bundchen of Darian Lima hailing from Brazil, you’d figure that the men would have better choices than beastiliaty, yet the findings do bring us one step closer as to how Ronaldinho was conceived.

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:lol:

Free beer’ offer snares suspects
[left][font=Arial][size=3]More than a dozen suspected criminals have been arrested as part of an undercover sting operation after being duped into ringing the police to claim free beer.[/size][/font]

Derbyshire Police said the suspects were detained after officers sent letters to a string of people who had evaded arrest for several months, urging them to claim a complimentary crate of beer from a marketing company.

[font=Arial][size=3]A total of 19 suspects, wanted in connection with a range of offences including robbery, burglary and sexual assault, fell for the hoax and called the number on the letters, which put them through to officers based at Chesterfield Police Station.[/size][/font]

[font=Arial][size=3]Police then arranged a time and date for the free alcohol to be dropped off, but instead arrested those awaiting free beer at locations in Chesterfield, Staveley, Alfreton, Ilkeston, Sheffield and Nottingham.[/size][/font]

[font=Arial][size=3]Chief Inspector Graham McLaughlin, who led the operation, said: “These suspects are people who have managed to evade arrest for some time so we have used different tactics to find them.[/size][/font]

[font=Arial][size=3]“It has been very cost-effective as it can take a lot of time and money to track people down.[/size][/font]

[font=Arial][size=3]“We use a variety of methods to arrest those suspected of committing criminal offences and we will continue to use new tactics when necessary.”[/size][/font]
[font=Arial][size=3]PA
[/size][/font]

[/left]

440

Did that not happen in the Simpsons :lol: