CAROLINA NATURALLY: As The World Turns

Thursday, May 13, 2010

As The World Turns

As The World Turns

Swedish Cartoonist Object of Attempted Attack

The Swedish cartoonist whose depiction of the prophet Mohammed as a dog has elicited death threats was the object of an attempted attack Tuesday at Sweden's Uppsala University, police said.

Glitzy hotel boasts 'ATM' that gives gold

An eye-catching kiosk in the Emirates Palace turns cash into 24-carat gold bars and coins.

Customized designs

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Mysterious disease hits Afghan drug crop

The country's infamous poppy harvest is set for a drastic fall, but no one fully understands why.

'Part of nature'

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Crisis in Thailand takes dramatic turn

A rebel general who was shot while talking to a reporter becomes a symbol of the chaos.

Peace talks collapse

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Indian minister says eunuch regiment needed to protect borders

A regiment of eunuchs should be established to guard India's borders and leading politicians, a state minister said on Tuesday, citing their "loyalty and integrity". "In my humble opinion, if eunuchs are engaged in policing or paramilitary forces they would do a better service to the nation," said Tako Dabi, home minister of the north-eastern state of Arunachal Pradesh.

Mr Dabi sent a letter to Indian Home Minister P. Chidambaram to offer his idea for the improved defense of the country. "Why can't there be a separate regiment of eunuch community in our country?" he wrote in the letter. "This community would discharge their duties effectively on international borders if enough scope is created for them."

In India, the term "eunuch" is mostly used to refer to cross-dressers and pre- and post-operative transsexuals. Indian eunuchs are severely marginalised and, unable to gets jobs, rely on begging and the sex trade for income. They also attend weddings and births uninvited, as many people believe it is inauspicious to turn them away without giving them money.

Mr Dabi, speaking in Itanagar, the capital of Arunachal Pradesh - which has a long border with China - said that during the Mugal empire, castrated eunuchs had often been employed to guard harems. Eunuchs last year won the right to be recognised as "others", rather than male or female, on electoral rolls and voter identity cards. Mr Dabi is known for his original ideas. In March he defended policemen who consumed alcohol on duty, saying it gave them extra energy.

Family killed as home swallowed up by giant sinkhole in Quebec

A French-Canadian family were killed when their home fell into a giant sinkhole during a freak landslide in Quebec on Monday.

The four members of the Préfontaines family – including two children aged about 9 and 11 – were watching an ice hockey game on television when the earth suddenly gave way and engulfed their home, on a cliff overlooking the Yamaska River.

Authorities said that the family had been in the basement lounge area cheering on their favorite team, the Montreal Canadiens, when the accident occurred.

Rescuers frantically dug through the night to look for survivors, however the bodies of Richard Préfontaines, his wife and their children, were found late yesterday.

“They were found very close to one another, some of them lying on the couch in the family room in the basement,” said Michel Doré, Quebec’s emergency management co-ordinator.

The family’s pet dog was found earlier, alive and tied to a tree in the mud. The golden retriever, named Foxy, was so weak it was initially thought to be dead, however it is expected to fully recover.