SALT.....one of the root cause of obesity in children

Children who eat a diet that is high in salt are at greater risk of becoming overweight or obese, according to a publication in the British Journal of Nutrition. Carrying extra weight around the stomach increases the risk of a number of chronic diseases, including type 2 diabetes. In order to assess the danger a high salt diet poses, researchers at Deakin Univeristy in Melbourne, measured intake in 666 primary school children aged four to 12.
Dr Carley Grimes, who led the study, said her team wanted to get an accurate measure of just how much salt children are consuming.
'Because we excrete most of the salt that we eat each day in our urine, we asked children to collect their urine for a whole day,' she explained.
'From this we were able to get an objective and accurate measure of how much salt children are eating.'

Man burns down his house while trying to kill a rat

A man in the northern province of Quang Ninh, Vietname caused his house to go up in flames on Friday in an attempt to get rid of a rat, with a lighter and some gasoline. The man from Hai Ha District told police that the rodent had been driving him crazy, so after catching it on Thursday, he decided to set it on fire. The burning rat reportedly ran and hid under his car, which was parked inside the house. Everything started catching fire after that and soon later the whole house was engulfed in flames. When firefighters arrived, the house had been completely burnt down. Police said no one was hurt. The damage has been estimated at billions of dong.
Another picture after the cut

Bike through the ages

This woman has spent £130,000 on plastic surgery to look like a caricature. Is she any close?

Krystina Butel, 31, from Wakefield has reportedly spent almost £134,000 on plastic surgery in order to change her looks after a caricature of herself. After five breast implants, lip fillers and Botox, the question is...is she any close? The hairdresser's first surgical procedure came in the form of a breast enlargement at 17 and now, 14 years on, she has spent close to £134,000 on work. For me, it’s about getting closer to my dream. As my funds have got bigger, I’ve spent more and more on cosmetic work. With every surgery, my appearance has got more exaggerated and I’ve gone for the caricature look fully.'
Her quest for caricatured perfection began more than 15 years ago when, during a holiday in Ibiza, she bought a cartoon of herself for £10.
More pictures after the cut

Complete list of Oscar 2016 winners

Leonardo DiCaprio wins Best Actor for The Revenant

Best Picture
The Big Short
Bridge of Spies
Brooklyn
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Room
WINNER: Spotlight

   
Actor in a Leading Role
Bryan Cranston, Trumbo
Matt Damon, The Martian
WINNER: Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant
Michael Fassbender, Steve Jobs
Eddie Redmayne, The Danish Girl

Manchester City wins Capital One Cup 2016

Willy Caballero was Manchester City's hero as they beat Liverpool on penalties to win the Capital One Cup at Wembley. The 34-year-old Argentine goalkeeper spectacularly rewarded the faith of manager Manuel Pellegrini with saves from Lucas, Philippe Coutinho and Adam Lallana in the shoot-out after he was selected ahead of first-choice Joe Hart. Pellegrini said the secret of Caballero's success was his nerve. "He's a very good goalkeeper," the City manager said. "He waited for all the [Liverpool] players to shoot. He never guessed. That is why he saved three penalties."
Pellegrini will leave City at the end of the season and will be replaced by Pep Guardiola.

Woman who cut her newborn in half when she realised it must have been fathered by her lover is jailed for 18 years

27-year-old Elena Smocot from Romania who murdered her newborn son, before cutting the corpse in half and removing the baby's intestines, because she believed it was her lover's child, has been jailed for 18 years. She apparently killed her baby in front of her four-year-old son and her nephew, aged seven, in her home in Barlad, Vaslui County, east Romania. She told police how her actions were triggered by noticing how her newborn looked nothing like her two other children, and bore a striking resemblance to the man she had been having an affair with. The mother-of-two said that as soon as she noticed the similarity with her lover, she decided to kill the child. She described to police how she grabbed the child by the legs and swung it around, bashing his head against the furniture several times until it stopped screaming. She then went outside, put the baby on the ground and stamped on him repeatedly.

Pics: Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe marks 92nd birthday

In what has been termed a lavish celebration in a drought hit country, Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe marked his 92nd birthday which reportedly cost $800,000.  Mugabe, Zimbabwe’s only leader since its independence from Britain in 1980, claimed no one would starve as a result of a drought which has left 3 million people in need and prompted the declaration of a state of disaster in most rural areas. But in a characteristic jibe aimed at western countries, he said Zimbabwe would not accept aid if it came with conditions that the country should accept gay rights.
“If aid, as I understand, is to be given on the basis that we accept the principle of gay marriages, then let that aid stay where it is,” Mugabe said during an hour-long speech. “We don’t want it. It is rotten aid, filthy aid and we won’t have anything to do with it.”

Woman’s cheek gets bitten off by a drunk stranger at a house party

                                                                      (C)NorthWestNews

A mother-of-two had a large chunk of her cheek bitten off by another woman at a mutual friend's house party. Kate Nield was attacked visciously at the home in Southport, Merseyside, and had to undergo plastic surgery to repair some of the damage. The attacker was said to have become more aggressive as she drank at the party and was asked to leave.
She then returned to the house and launched a violent tirade at Ms Nield, biting her face.
The 26-year-old was taken to Southport Hospital immediately after the incident. The support worker had skin taken from the back of her arm and was put onto the damaged part of her face, near her lips.
Speaking of the incident, which took place on Thursday night, Ms Nield told the Liverpool Echo: 'She was like a raving lunatic. She bit me and took a big chunk out of my face. There was blood everywhere.
'It is the sort of thing that only an animal would do. I just want everyone to know what an animal she is and that she can't get away with doing that to somebody.'
Another picture after the cut

US doctors performs first uterus transplant

                                                                                         (C)AP

Surgeons in Cleveland say they have performed the nation's first uterus transplant, a new frontier that aims to give women who lack wombs a chance at pregnancy. In a statement yesterday, the Cleveland Clinic said the nine-hour surgery was performed a day earlier on a 26-year-old woman, using a uterus from a deceased donor. The hospital had long been planning for such a surgery, announcing last fall a clinical trial that would attempt 10 transplants. The hospital said it wouldn’t release any more details until a press conference next week, except to say the woman’s condition was stable.

Teenager gets life sentence for raping and killing his maths teacher

                                                                          (C)AP

A teenager who raped and killed his high school maths teacher was sentenced yesterday to life in prison with eligibility for parole in 40 years. The 2013 slaying of Danvers High School teacher Colleen Ritzer by Philip Chism was “brutal and senseless”, Salem Superior Court Judge David Lowy said as he pronounced the sentence.
“Colleen Ritzer lived a life of quiet heroism,” the judge said. “The crashing waves of this tragedy will never wane.”
Chism was 14 when he followed Ritzer, who was 24, into a school bathroom, strangled her, stabbed her at least 16 times and raped her. His lawyers acknowledged he killed her but argued he was mentally ill, a contention rejected by the jury. Chism, now 17, will serve life in prison with the possibility of parole in 25 years on a murder charge, but he received 40-year concurrent sentences on rape and robbery charges.

Three British tourists killed while climbing waterfall in Vietnam

The bodies of three British tourists were found near a waterfall in central Vietnam, early Friday morning. The trio, a man and two women, were found outside of Dalat, a mountainous city that draws tourists with its crystal lakes and steep waterfalls. Vo Anh Tan, deputy director of the Lam Dong joint stock tourist company that manages the Datanla waterfalls, said visitors usually start at the top of the tiered waterfall, which was popular among Western tourists. Tan said an unauthorized local private tour operator arranged the tour for the tourists and apparently did not pay for entrance tickets and did not use the company's safety gear. He said the guide was detained by police for questioning.
Another picture after the cut

Saudi groom divorces bride after seeing her face as she unveils on wedding day

A Saudi groom is reported to have demanded a divorce on his wedding day after seeing his new wife’s face for the first time. The couple, from the Western Saudi town of Medinah, had agreed to marry each other despite having not met face to face, a popular custom in certain Middle Eastern countries. The unnamed man is said to have performed the abrupt U-turn when his bride removed her veil as they prepared to have their photograph taken at their wedding.
'You are not the girl I want to marry,' he declared. 'You are not the one I had imagined. I am sorry, but I divorce you.'
According to local daily Okaz, the bride immediately collapsed in a fit of tears as panicked wedding guests stepped in to try to resolve the dispute. But their efforts were to no avail.
'The groom said he had not been able to see his bride's face before marriage,' Okaz reported.

14 dead as Al-Shabab gunmen attack hotel in Somalia

Al-Shabaab gunmen forced their way into a hotel and a nearby public garden in the Somali capital on Friday night, exchanging fire with hotel guards in attacks that left at least 14 dead and many others wounded. A suicide bomber rammed his car into the SYL hotel's entrance in Mogadishu and blew it up, allowing gunmen to fight their way past hotel guards at the first security barrier, said Capt. Mohamed Hussein. Four gunmen and the suicide bomber were killed, he said, adding that the attackers did not get past the last security checkpoint. He said at least nine dead bodies of civilians could also be seen outside the hotel after the attack there, which was claimed by the Islamic extremist group al-Shabab.

Kenyan woman kills 6 months old son while 'exorcising demons'

Irene Mbithe holding the decomposing body of her son

A Kenyan woman has been arrested after she was accused of causing the death of her son while allegedly "exorcising demons". The woman, Irene Mbithe, was arrested on Thursday after residents of Kangurue slum in the capital Nairobi raised alarm over the suspicious death of her son, Brian Kibet. When police arrived at the scene, the child's tongue and intestines had been pulled out in an attempt to "free him" from the said demons.
Brian's aunt Catherine Muthama expressed shock over the ordeal saying: "Nilishangaa sana kufika hapa kuona mama mtoto amevuruta ulimi ya mtoto kabisa na nikamuuliza kwanini anamaiza mtoto (When I arrived I was surprised to see the mother having pulled out the tongue of the baby and I screamed at her asking why she had killed him," she said.

Help! £275,000 reward for the killer of this ‘Goose’ gander

A staggering £275,000 reward was on offer last night for help in catching the 'vile killers' of a much-loved village gander believed to have been killed by thugs. The bird, known fondly as 'Goose' sadly died on Sunday, amid reports from villagers that he was shot in the head with an air rifle by a man leaning out of a 4x4 vehicle. His death has sparked a national outcry among animal lovers who heard he became part of the community in Sandon, Hertfordshire, where he even features on the village welcome sign. Earlier today two members of the public contacted the BBC's Jeremy Vine Show to offer rewards to catch the culprits - £250,000 from a Peter Hunt in Eastbourne, Sussex, and £25,000 from John Barker in Cambridge. Despite initially stating an investigation would not be launched, police have since confirmed officers are to dig up his body so tests can take place to confirm how the bird died.

Gianni Infantino succeeds Sepp Blatter as the new FIFA president

Gianni Infantino has succeeded Sepp Blatter as the new president of FIFA after winning an election that went to two rounds on Friday in Zurich. The 45-year-old UEFA general secretary, a lawyer and sports administrator who joined European football's governing body in 2000 and rose through the ranks, became FIFA's first new president in 18 years. Blatter, who is serving a six-year ban from football, announced his resignation last June following a corruption scandal that engulfed the organisation in May. Infantino was elected in the second round of voting with 115 of the 207 votes from FIFA's national associations, defeating Sheikh Salman Bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, who had 88.
"We will restore the image of FIFA and everyone will applaud us," Infantino said in his acceptance speech.

UEFA Europa League Round 16

Russia mining accident, 4 killed, 26 missing

                                                                                       (C)AP

Twenty six miners were missing and four confirmed dead after an accident on Thursday at a coal mine above the Arctic circle owned by a subsidiary of Severstal , Russian prosecutors said on Friday.  Announcing the opening of a criminal investigation into a possible breach of safety regulations at the Severnaya mine in Vorkuta, Russia's Investigative Committee said it had dispatched investigators and forensic experts from Moscow to the mine. The Vorkutaugol mining company, which runs the mine, said parts of the facility had collapsed after a sudden leak of methane gas triggered two blasts, the TASS news agency reported. President Vladimir Putin has ordered a special government commission to be set up to look into what happened, his spokesman told reporters on Friday.
A total of 110 people were in the mine at the time of the accident, 80 of whom have since been brought to the surface. But 26 are still missing and four confirmed dead. A fire was still raging underground where the missing 26 miners may be trapped, TASS quoted a Vorkutaugol spokeswoman as saying.

Twin sisters gives birth to their second set of twins

Identical twin sisters Kelli Wall and Kerri Bunker, of Orem, Utah, welcomed their second set of twins just weeks apart. Wall was the first to give birth to twin girls five years ago, and Bunker followed with fraternal twins a year later. Both sets of twins were conceived with the aid of in vitro fertilization treatments. Last year, Wall once again found out she was pregnant after another fertility treatment, and her announcement led Bunker to wonder if she should take a pregnancy test.
"That afternoon I got this harebrained idea that what if I was pregnant," Bunker told KTVX. "We weren’t doing any fertility treatments of any kind."
Bunker not only found out that was she pregnant, but also that she was expecting her second set of twins as well.

What the skull of a child looks like when it's preparing to lose its baby teeth

                                                                 (C)HowardFarran/Facebook

Afghan boy finally gets Messi’s signed jersey

The Afghan boy who became an online hit after wearing a homemade shirt bearing Lionel Messi's famous number 10 has finally received the real thing, from the Argentine footballer himself. Messi's management team confirmed on Thursday that Murtaza was sent a signed Argentina shirt and football from the Barcelona forward, who has been crowned the world's best player five times.
"I love Messi and my shirt says Messi loves me," Murtaza said - already perfecting his own goal celebration.
The online search for the boy was sparked by a single photo that went viral, showing him wearing the homemade shirt made from a striped blue plastic bag, imitating the famous Argentina strip.  Murtaza was finally identified as the boy in the picture after his uncle, Azim Ahmadi, an Afghan living in Australia, put BBC Trending in touch with his brother, Arif - the young devoted Messi fan's father. The Ghazni farmer confirmed his son was the boy who captured people's imaginations worldwide and added that Murtaza was "extremely happy".

ISIS supporters threatens Mark Zuckerberg and Jack Dorsey over Facebook and Twitter account suspensions

Screenshot from the video

Islamic State supporters have threatened Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey in a new video attacking their efforts to wipe terrorist accounts from social media. The 25-minute video titled Flames Of The Supporters, found by Vocativ on Wednesday, features pictures of both entrepreneurs covered in bullet holes. In it, the militants claim they control more than 10,000 Facebook accounts, 150 Facebook groups and 5,000 Twitter profiles - and warn they will retaliate to any attempt to drive them off the sites.
Text flashes up on the screen, which reads: 'To Mark and Jack, founders of Twitter and Facebook and to their Crusader government. You announce daily that you suspend many of our accounts.
'And to you we say: Is that all you can do? You are not in our league.'.
It continues with shots of their militants on Facebook and Twitter, hacking accounts and changing their profile pictures to ISIS propaganda.

Israel Houghton and wife call it quits after 20 years due to infidelity on his part

Meleasa and Israel Houghton

Grammy Award winner Israel Houghton announced the end of his 20-year marriage to Meleasa Houghton, telling Facebook followers "I failed and sinned in my marriage."
"Several years ago I failed and sinned in my marriage. ... Although we tried, the challenges in our relationship have proven too much to overcome. We have always handled our family and ministry with grace and generosity toward others, discretion, and privacy," Houghton posted. 
Houghton is the senior worship leader at Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church. He and then-wife Meleasa founded New Breed Ministries in 1995. New Breed Ministries is comprised of noted musicians and singers who serve within their respective churches and, together, serve the church at large.  Houghton has won five Grammy Awards, 13 Dove Awards, two Stellar Awards and a Soul Train Music Award. Houghton says the news might be shocking to some, but many close to them were aware of their marital troubles. 

Chocolate lovers: Mars Inc recall Snickers, Mars and Milky Way bars in Britain and Europe due to contamination

U.S. confectionery giant Mars has ordered a full recall of a number of its most popular chocolate bars in the UK, and several other European nations. Customers are warned not to eat any Mars or Snickers bars or Celebration boxes with best before dates from June 2016 to January 2017, as they may contain plastic. The massive recall covers millions of products sold in 55 countries, including the UK, Germany, Spain and France, which are all made at Mars Inc's factory in the Netherlands. The recall initially covered products sold in Germany and the Netherlands, before being extended to Britain, Italy, Spain and France on Tuesday afternoon, as well as dozens of other countries. The recall affected all Mars and Snickers products, Milky Way Minis and Miniatures as well as certain kinds of Celebrations confectionery boxes.
'As far as we know there are 55 countries involved,' Eline Bijveld, Mars corporate affairs coordinator for the Netherlands said Tuesday.

Brit Awards 2016 Winners

Adele giving an acceptance speech

British Male Solo Artist: James Bay


British Female Solo Artist: Adele


British Group: Coldplay


British Breakthrough Act: Catfish And The Bottlemen

You know WiFi.....but have you heard of LiFi?

Being able to connect your smartphone to the web with just a lamp is the promise of Li-Fi which has the capability to be 100 times faster than Wi-Fi. At the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this week, French start-up Oledcomm demonstrated Li-Fi, which uses revolutionary wireless technology to connect to the internet. The demonstration showed an iPhone playing a video as soon as it came into contact with an office lamp. The technology uses frequencies generated by LED bulbs which flicker on and off imperceptibly thousands of times a second to beam information through air. In comparison to Wi-Fi which uses radio waves to transmit data, Li-Fi has the capability to go 100 times faster.

Wreckage of missing Nepal plane found, all 23 on board dead

Rescue teams in Nepal on Wednesday found the burnt-out wreckage of a passenger plane that went missing in a remote mountainous area with 23 people on board, the aviation minister said. Aananda Prasad Pokharel said the Twin Otter turboprop aircraft had been found in the western district of Myagdi and bodies could be seen scattered around it.
"The wreckage of the plane was found in a completely burnt state in Solighopte in Myagdi district," said Pokharel, minister for culture, tourism and civil aviation.
"The team there say that the bodies are scattered and it is not possible to identify anyone right now.
"More security agencies are being deployed and we are trying to get more information."

MTN Group pays Nigeria fine

South African telecoms firm MTN Group has withdrawn its legal action against Nigeria's regulator over a $3.9 billion fine and paid $250 million towards a possible settlement, the company said in a statement on Wednesday. Africa's leading telecoms firm was fined by the Nigerian Communications Commission in October for failing to disconnect unregistered SIM users, prompting weeks of lobbying to reduce the fine. The original amount was based on fining the company $1,000 for every unregistered SIM card in use.
MTN Nigeria has today made an agreed without prejudice good faith payment of 50 Billion Naira ($251.3 million) to the Federal Government of Nigeria on the basis that this will be applied towards a settlement, where one is eventually, hopefully arrived at, the company said.
MTN, which makes 37 percent of its sales in Nigeria, said it would withdraw its court challenge in an effort to reach an amicable settlement.

Everything about this house is.....’Upside down’

This three-storey high upside-down house was built as part of an exhibition in Taipei. With 3,500 square feet of floor space, it took two months to construct and it cost $600,000.
More pictures of the interior after the cut

Meet the teenage vinegar addict who drinks at least two bottles every week

Reading about addicts can be intriguing as one realises we are all wired differently. Ella Ruby Ginn, 19, has been drinking vinegar by the glass since she was a child, and she can't get enough of the acidic condiment. She is so addicted that she even keeps spare sachets in her bag, in case she gets a craving when she's out and about - and she gets through nearly 184 pints (about 88 litres) a year. Ella, from Hastings, East Sussex, said: "I can't even remember when I started drinking vinegar, I must've been really young, I've drunk it for as long as I remember.
"I used to nick vinegar sachets from cafes and restaurants and slip them into my bag.
"Once I was round my nan's and I got them out and started drinking them - she had a right go at me, she said it would burn my stomach lining.

Wake-up wake-up!

                                                                           (C)KuntalJoisher

.....son of man needs to take a nap!

Passenger plane with 21 people on board missing in Nepal

A plane with at least 21 people on board has gone missing in a mountainous area of western Nepal, officials say. The Twin Otter aircraft, operated by Tara Air was travelling from Pokhara to Jomsom and lost contact with the control tower shortly after taking off. Two of the passengers are thought to be foreigners. Officials said two children were also on board. Nepal's aviation industry has a poor safety record. But Sanjiv Gautam, director general of Nepal's Civil Aviation Authority, told the BBC's Nepali Service this was a new aircraft and weather was good. "We are surprised to know that it has gone missing," he said.

Pastor seen preaching from inside a coffin

A South African pastor was seen at a taxi rank preaching from inside a coffin, in an attempt to ‘illustrate to people who fail to embrace Jesus as the son of God that they will go to hell and face eternal death’. Pastor Randall van Staden of the Potter’s House Christian Church said church members use theatre, music and the coffin to spread the gospel in towns like Mossel Bay, Knysna and Oudts-hoorn. But not everybody thought the coffin was a good idea. Some women ran away in fear. Church member Aphiwe Nqevu, 28, a former drug dealer and convict who became a Christian in 2009 was quoted saying: “People should understand that whether they are rich or poor or black or white – the same fate awaits them and that is death.”

Handcuffs in place of rings

You don't need to have sleepless nights in search of that diamond ring. By this Kenyan pastor's standard, a handcuff would do!
Another picture after the cut

Ex Liverpool boss Brenden Rogers proposes to girlfriend, 68 days after his divorce from wife of 24 years

Rogers proposing to his girlfriend at Times Square

Former Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers has proposed to his girlfriend Charlotte Searle after getting down on one knee in Times Square. Rodgers, 43, spent Valentine's weekend in New York with Searle, and popped the question in front of bemused onlookers, reports the Sun.
The ex-Reds chief presented her with a bouquet of roses before popping the question, just 68 days after his divorce from ex-wife Susan was finalised.
Liverpool fan Craig Allen, 27, told the Sun: “I saw this bloke proposing and took snaps to show my girlfriend.

4-year-old boy sentenced to life in prison for murders he allegedly committed at 1-year

            4-year-old Ahmed Mansour Karmi                      (C)ilgiornale.it

An Egyptian court has sentenced a four-year-old boy to life in prison for “committing murder” when he was aged just one. Ahmed Mansour Karmi was not in court on Tuesday when he was convicted of four counts of murder, eight of attempted murder, one vandalisation of property and another count of threatening soldiers and police officers, all before his second birthday.
Apparently, the boy was part of a list of 115 defendants who were all given life sentences at a military court in Cairo for crimes committed on 3 January 2014 in the province of Fayoum, 70km south of Cairo. Ahmed's name was added to the list by mistake but the court refused to accept documents proving his age, according to the boy's lawyers. One of them, Faisal al-Sayd, said that he presented Ahmed's birth certificate to the court, which allegedly failed to transfer it to the judge.

People getting stuck in strange places

A prisoner during his 'great' escape
More pictures after the cut

Man who has been living inside a Boeing 727 for more than 15 years set to acquire another plane house

An Oregon man who has already made a Boeing 727 airplane his home has set out to make a second home in Japan with a decommissioned 747 which can seat up to 660 passengers. Bruce Campbell, who spends half of the year in Japan, said he is looking for a retired 747-400, used by airlines including United, British Airways and Delta, to make a second airplane home in the city of Miyazaki. For more than 15 years, he has been living inside of a retired Boeing 727 in Portland, converted into a home complete with a sleeping area with a cot, a kitchen, a laundry area and a bathroom, a project costing him roughly $220,000.
More pictures after the cut

‘Tree Man’ set to have a life changing surgery to remove warts

A Bangladeshi father nicknamed "Tree Man" for massive bark-like warts on his hands and feet will finally have surgery to remove the growths that first began appearing 10 years ago, a hospital said Sunday. Abul Bajandar, from the southern district of Khulna, is preparing for the surgery to cut out the growths weighing at least five kilogrammes (11 pounds) that have smothered his hands and feet.
"Initially, I thought that they're harmless," the 26-year-old told AFP at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH).
"But slowly I lost all my ability to work. There are now dozens of two to three inch roots in both my hands. And there are some small ones in my legs," said Bajandar who was forced to quit working as a bicycle puller.

40 prisoners escape in Mauritania jailbreak

At least 40 prisoners escaped in a jailbreak in a suburb of Mauritania's capital city, a senior official said Saturday. The prisoners rushed the facility's main door early Saturday while guards were changing shifts, said the official, who insisted on anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press. The official said none of the prisoners who escaped on Saturday were suspected Islamic militants. By mid-morning on Saturday, seven prisoners were back in custody while security forces were searching for the others, the official said. The prison, located in the Dar Naim suburb of Nouakchott, houses about 1,200 prisoners, more than three times its intended capacity of 400. In December, a member of al-Qaida's North Africa branch escaped from a different facility in Mauritania and was caught several weeks later in Guinea.

President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda wins fifth term as president

With 60.75% of the vote , Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, 71, has yet again won the presidential election for the fifth time, extending his 30 years in office. His closest rival Kizza Besigye took 35%, the election commission said. Mr Museveni's supporters said his opponents had failed to offer any chance of progress. But Mr Besigye, who is under house arrest, said the results were a "sham", calling on the international community to reject them.
"We have just witnessed what must be the most fraudulent electoral process in Uganda," he said in a statement.
EU observers have also criticised the poll, saying the governing party had created an "intimidating atmosphere" and that the opposition alleged vote rigging. The election has been marred by sporadic violence and opposition allegations of electoral fraud, with social media sites and messaging apps blocked.

The perilous cable crossings in Nepal

Schoolgirls cross Trishuli River via a rope-bridge (C)Manish Duwadi/Barcroft India

Nepal has announced plans to replace perilous cable crossings with suspension bridges following tragedy. Nepal is an adventure holiday destination for many tourists. But for locals in remote areas, hauling themselves across fast-flowing rivers by cable rope-ways and wire bridges is a daily fact of life. For children, it has been called the world’s most dangerous school run. People use the cables to haul themselves over the churning waters to reach work, go shopping and meet relatives. In the Benighat district of central Nepal, there are many such cables strung across the Trishuli river. The cables are lifelines for villagers but concern has also mounted about their dangers after a 2010 tragedy in which five fell to their deaths. K P Oli, the prime minister, recently announced a two-year plan to replace these perilous cable crossings with 366 suspension bridges in the surrounding area.

Indian village bans girls from using mobile phones

While some are struggling and using all they can to have better connectivity in their area, elders of an Indian village has banned unmarried women from using mobile phones, for fear that flirtatious texting and endless phone calls could lead to a breakdown of society. They have deemed the technology a “nuisance to society”. He said mobile phones were distracting unmarried women from carrying out their studies and household chores in the village, which has a population of 2,000.
“Young girls get misguided, it can break families and ruin relationships,” warned Raikarnji Thakor, the community leader of the Indian village of Suraj.
Teenage girls and young women who are caught owning or even speaking on mobile phones in Suraj, Gujarat will face a 2,100 rupee (£20) fine. Informers who catch them in the act will be financially rewarded. Use of smartphones across India has shot up in recent years, with more than 200 million users expected by the end of 2016, surpassing the US.

Man staged his own funeral to see how many people would attend

I know a lot of people always wondered how their birthday or wedding ceremonies would be like, but have you ever wondered what your burial ceremony would be like? That is the story of a Chinese man who held a funeral for himself just to see how many people would turn up. Zhang Deyang, 66, from northern Shandong province , was never married or had kids, but organised his own funeral and invited friends and family. He was reported to have done many good deeds that “didn’t grab much attention in the community,” leading him to spend 16,000 yuan (£1,700) on a mock funeral, a report on Netease portal said.

Weird places kids fall asleep!

More pictures after the cut

Man replaces his fingers with his toes in order to get a ‘grasp’ of his dream acting job

Richard Stott was born with a rare birth defect called Poland Syndrome, which causes webbing to the fingers and deformity, and left his left hand almost useless. He has had around 15 operations to date, but the most successful was when he had the second toe on each foot removed and grafted onto his deformed hand. But rather than becoming withdrawn, 28-year-old Richard has embraced his disability, and is now using it to his advantage to get niche roles – in plays like Richard III or Beauty and the Beast.
He said: “I was having a hard time using my hand when I was younger, but I didn’t notice it.
“My feet look exactly the same. People don’t notice at all – there’s hardly any scarring. It doesn’t affect me.”
After finishing school with exemplary drama grades, Richard moved to Manchester where he studied at the Arden School of Theatre.
He said: “I went into more behind-the-scenes, producing roles. I had some bad experiences in early auditions.

FBI orders Apple to build a ‘backdoor’ on iPhones

The intelligence community(FBI) is pressuring the tech world to help them break encryption systems and create a backdoor into privately held devices. Apple was instructed by the FBI to build a version of IOS that would let the FBI install that version on a terrorist's phone enabling it to use a brute force method of pushing through every possible combination of passwords into the phone until it unlocked the phone. The goal is to find out if there is anything of value to the FBI's investigation into a horrific terrorist act.
In an open letter, Apple CEO Tim Cook has drawn the company’s line in the sand when it comes to federal intrusion of privacy. It reads in part:

Liberian president appoints son, Charles Sirleaf, as head of central bank

Charles Sirleaf (left) and President Ellen Sirleaf (right)

Charles Sirleaf, son of Liberian president, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, has been appointed as the interim executive governor of the Central Bank of Liberia (CBL). Until his appointment, Charles was the deputy governor of the bank, having worked for the bank since 2004. He will occupy the post for an undefined interim period, the bank’s board of governors said. According to Reuters, the previous head, Joseph Mills Jones, left to prepare his candidature for a presidential election in the West African country due to take place in 2017. The Nobel award-winning president suspended her son for a while in 2012, following his failure to properly declare his asset. Sirleaf, who has strong ties with Washington and is credited with helping the country recover from a bloody civil war that ended in 2003, must step down next year due to a two-term limit. She is due to decide on a permanent successor to Jones, to steer Liberia’s economic recovery after two years in which the country endured an Ebola epidemic.