As The World Turns
The search giant has the technical expertise to shed light on China's internet censoring tools
A beach resort in Ibiza, Spain. Photo by ST33VO via Flickr.
Spain is taking what some call an extreme step to stem the rapid development of its popular coastlines: The country is bulldozing properties built too close to the seashore, angering homeowners, including many from other European nations who invested in vacation or retirement homes on the Mediterranean.
Swedish prisoner warned over flatulence protests
An inmate in a Swedish prison has been warned over using his persistent flatulence to voice his discontent towards his jailers and the penal system. Guards at the Kirseberg prison, in Malmo, have accused the unnamed prisoner of deliberately breaking wind in a dirty protest against prison life.Anders Eriksson, the prison's warden, realized that the inmate's repeated episodes of flatulence were "a series of concerted attacks" on staff. "I have worked within the prisons and probation service since 1986 and I have never experienced a situation where behavior of this sort has led to punishment," he said.
The apparent motive came to light a couple of weeks ago when the prisoner was playing cards with fellow inmates. "I had an upset stomach while I was playing cards but did not want to fart there. So I went over to the guards instead," the 21-year-old convict told the prison authorities.
When challenged over his behavior and summoned for questioning, the prisoner claimed that his "farts were all noise and no fragrance". He has been served with an official warning that future flatulent conduct towards prison guards will be punished.
Icicles falling from rooftops kill pedestrians in Russian City of
St Petersburg
Icicles falling from the rooftops in St Petersburg have killed and injured a record number of people after one of the bitterest Russian winters in years.
Five people have been killed and around 150 injured by falling chunks of ice that have sparked calls for better safety rules for the clearing of rooftops.
The victims include a six-month baby who was badly hurt when a chunk of ice dropped on her pram and a boy of eight who suffered serious spinal damage after an icicle struck his back.
Milana Kashtanova, 21, has been in a coma since February after she was hit by ice being cleared from a rooftop following Russia's coldest winter in 30 years. "Milana was just walking past a building in the city center. There was no warning tape, nothing to alert people that people were working on the roof," her boyfriend, Irinei Kalachev, said.
The deaths and injuries have prompted residents and relatives of victims to demand action against those responsible.
The city's governor Valentina Matviyenko has fired eleven officials accused of doing too little to keep the city's streets and rooftops free of snow and ice.
Five people have been killed and around 150 injured by falling chunks of ice that have sparked calls for better safety rules for the clearing of rooftops.
The victims include a six-month baby who was badly hurt when a chunk of ice dropped on her pram and a boy of eight who suffered serious spinal damage after an icicle struck his back.
Milana Kashtanova, 21, has been in a coma since February after she was hit by ice being cleared from a rooftop following Russia's coldest winter in 30 years. "Milana was just walking past a building in the city center. There was no warning tape, nothing to alert people that people were working on the roof," her boyfriend, Irinei Kalachev, said.
The deaths and injuries have prompted residents and relatives of victims to demand action against those responsible.
The city's governor Valentina Matviyenko has fired eleven officials accused of doing too little to keep the city's streets and rooftops free of snow and ice.
Ukrainian women berate 'Neanderthal' PM for sexist remarks
Ukraine's new pro-Russia prime minister, Mykola Azarov, has enraged feminist groups by suggesting that women are unsuitable for high political office and incapable of carrying out reforms.Women's groups in Ukraine have angrily reported Azarov – who presides over an all-male cabinet – to the country's ombudsman following his remarks last week. They accuse him of gender discrimination and holding Neanderthal views.
Speaking on Friday, Azarov said Ukraine's economic problems were too difficult for any woman to handle. "Some say our government is too large; others that there are no women," he said. "There's no one to look at during cabinet sessions: they're all boring faces. With all respect to women, conducting reforms is not women's business."
Ukraine's new woman-free government was capable of working 16 hours a day with "no breaks and weekends", Azarov boasted.
The prime minister's gaffe echoes comments made recently by the man who appointed him – Ukraine's new president, Viktor Yanukovych. During February's election campaign, Yanukovych declared that his female opponent, Yulia Tymoshenko, should "go to the kitchen".
Today, Azarov's political enemies denounced him as an unreconstructed dinosaur. They said his derisory remark, snubbing half of the country's 46 million population, underlined just how out of touch he is with ordinary Ukrainians.
Mexico Says 'King Of Heroin' Arrested
Federal police have arrested Mexico's "King of Heroin," a powerful drug trafficker allegedly responsible for running thousands of pounds of heroin into Southern California each year, authorities said Thursday.
Asian monsoon spreads pollution
Air pollution from Asia, India and Indonesia is transported into the global stratosphere by the summer monsoon season, a study using a Canadian satellite has found.
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