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Iran Mom in Stoning Case Confesses to Murder
Aug 12th
Ashtiani was tortured into making false confession, lawyer says
Iran appears to be getting ready to close the book on a case that has sparked an international outcry. Sakineh Mohammedi Ashtiani, who was sentenced to death by stoning for adultery, appeared on state-run TV last night and confessed not only to adultery, but to aiding in the murder of her husband. Her lawyer says the mother of two was tortured for two days before the broadcast, the Guardian reports, and fears she will soon be executed in secret.
Australian psychic searching for missing 6-year-old instead discovers woman’s body
Aug 12th
An Australian psychic helping police search for missing six-year-old girl has instead discovered the body of a missing mother-of-two.
The Australian psychic, who has not been named, told police a premonition about Keisha Abrahams, who has been missing for 12 days, drew her to Sydney’s sprawling Nurragingy Reserve, where she discovered a woman’s torso wrapped in plastic on Wednesday.
Police said it was not the missing girl. But they did not rule out asking the psychic, who has not been named, to help them in their search.
Topless sunbather quizzed for ‘troubling’ boys
Aug 12th
A MOTHER of two boys reported a topless sunbather to police, because the way she applied suntan lotion was “troubling” her sons.
The 26-year-old sunbather, identified only as Luisa under Italian privacy laws, was questioned by officers, who opened an obscenity investigation.
The mother had initially asked the woman, an assistant in a fashion store, to cover herself up as her “ample” breasts and the act of rubbing suncream on her body had disturbed the boys, aged 12 and 14, she said.
The sunbather, who was on a public beach at Anzio, south of Rome, refused. When police arrived, she remonstrated with them, still unclothed, to the amusement of holidaymakers.
Perseid meteor shower to offer stargazers a cosmic treat
Aug 12th
Stargazers are advised to take a good spot away from city lights to enjoy the celestial delights during the Perseid meteor shower over Ireland tonight.
A shower of shooting stars is set to descend on the country tonight as the Earth sweeps through a cloud of shining space particles.
Experts say tonight should offer almost ideal conditions to watch the Perseid meteor shower as a moonless night combines with the possibility of favourable weather conditions.
Watchers who take up position in a good spot, well away from city lights, may be able to spot as many as 80 meteors per hour if the night sky is dark and clear — averaging more than one a minute.
Notorious rapist Larry Murphy released from prison
Aug 12th
Convicted rapist Larry Murphy was released from prison today.
The notorious criminal, who served 10 years of a 15 year sentence for a brutal attack on a woman in the Wicklow Mountains, walked free from Arbour Hill.
Murphy, 45, who kidnapped his terrified victim in Carlow before repeatedly raping her, was also a suspect in the disappearance of several young women in the 1990s.
Wearing a hooded top, baseball cap and sunglasses, he walked out of the prison’s front gate and left in a taxi at about 10.15am.
Murphy ran to the waiting cab without making comment.
Pregnant Man Has Baby No. 3
Aug 3rd
Thomas Beatie, the “pregnant man” who gave birth to a daughter in 2008 and a son the next year, is a father for the third time. “He’s very handsome and adorable, and he’s big and healthy,” says a source of the baby, born July 25. Beatie, who was born a woman, is back home with wife Nancy and their children, Susan and Austin, Radar reports. “It’s happy bliss,” the source says. “They’re soaking up all the love.”
Read more: http://www.newser.com/story/97132/pregnant-man-has-baby-no-3.html#ixzz0vZTnk0Pt
Teacher Throws Self Down Stairs to Avoid Review
Aug 3rd
Apparently calling in sick just wasn’t challenging enough for a Brooklyn teacher who decided instead to throw herself down the stairs in an effort to avoid a bad performance review, the New York Post reports. The untenured high school teacher, who already had one poor review under her belt, faced a classroom observation by her supervisor…and instead of hatching an excellent lesson plan to impress her, Ilene Feldman hatched a plan to get out of work entirely, an investigation concluded.
Read more: http://www.newser.com/story/97154/teacher-throws-self-down-stairs-to-avoid-review.html#ixzz0vZSAPyAb
Woman ‘rammed stiletto heel into boyfriend’s eye’
Aug 3rd
A woman rammed her stiletto heel through her boyfriend’s eye and into his brain during an argument in a taxi, a jury was told yesterday.
Bradford Crown Court heard that Staci Hargreaves (33) was in the back of a cab in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, when she kicked Gavin Taylor (28) after he turned around in the front seat.
David McGonigal, prosecuting, said Hargreaves was wearing three-inch stiletto heels, one of which caused her boyfriend serious injuries.
“The heel of one shoe went through the left eye of Mr Taylor and fractured the socket and entered his brain and caused a blood vessel to burst.”
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Lying in at the weekend boosts your brain power, study shows
Aug 3rd
If you wake up on Monday mornings feeling less sharp than usual it is probably because you do not treat yourself to long enough lie-ins at the weekend.
Scientists have discovered that an extra dose of sleep is more than just a luxury – it provides an essential boost to brain power ahead of the working week.
Those who return to work on Monday morning refreshed from a long lie-in the day before perform better than those who spent less time in bed at the weekend, research has found.
A single lie-in is all that is required to replenish the brain and boost energy, alertness and attention span after a week of restricted sleep, the study showed.
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Nasa scientists braced for ’solar tsunami’ to hit earth
Aug 3rd
The earth could be hit by a wave of violent space weather after a massive explosion on the sun, scientists have warned.
The solar fireworks at the weekend were recorded by several satellites, including Nasa’s new Solar Dynamics Observatory which watched its shock wave rippling outwards.
Astronomers from all over the world witnessed the huge flare above a giant sunspot the size of the Earth, which they linked to an even larger eruption across the surface of Sun.
The explosion, called a coronal mass ejection, was aimed directly towards Earth, which then sent a “solar tsunami” racing 93 million miles across space.