North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il wears a pair of platform shoes to boost his height, a South Korean newspaper reported on Wednesday. The Dong-a Ilbo published a rare photograph of Kim wearing a pair of shoes with heels about 10-12cm high.
Britain is suffering a sense-of-humour failure, with laughter levels three times lower now than 50 years ago and nearly half of all adults unable to enjoy at least one big guffaw a day, research showed on Tuesday. Money worries, relationship woes and political concerns were among the reasons given for the collection of grim faces.
A liberal slathering of suntan lotion gave one woman more protection than she bargained for, allowing her to slip out of the grasp of a would-be rapist, police near Los Angeles said on Tuesday. The attack took place while the woman stopped off in a bathroom while jogging in a deserted public park early on Sunday.
<i>Crazy Frog</i>, a super-annoying cellphone ringtone that everybody loves to hate, looks set to hit number one in the British singles chart this weekend. German dance duo Bass Bumber’s take on <i>Crazy Frog</i> has been outselling Coldplay’s new single by four to one in music retailer HMV’s outlets.
At a school in a popular district of Cairo, a man urges Egyptians to vote on a key electoral reform, crying ”Your vote matters! Say yes to democracy” — but many polling stations on Wednesday remained deserted amid opposition calls for a boycott of the referendum to allow for Egypt’s first-ever contested presidential race.
North Korean officials have denied reports that the communist regime is preparing to conduct a nuclear test, a Czech delegation said on Wednesday following a visit to Pyongyang this week. However, North Korea is still reluctant to return to six-way talks aimed at winding down its nuclear programme.
Limited access to health care, violence against women, and deaths in police custody in South Africa are among issues highlighted in an Amnesty International report on human rights abuses released on Wednesday. ”One of the issues that bugs us is limited access to health care,” said Amnesty International South Africa’s chairperson.
Hundreds of disabled, destitute and elderly people, children and volunteer welfare workers marched through the streets of Pretoria on Wednesday to press for increased government subsidies. Chanting ”Welfare is bleeding, the nation is dying”, the protesters made their way along a few blocks to Strijdom Square in the city centre.
Unlisted black-owned Calulo Investments has — for an undisclosed amount — snatched a 15% shareholding in Chlor-Alkali Holdings-held NCP Chlorchem, the company announced on Wednesday. Calulo chairperson Mkhuseli Faku and MD Mpho Diale have, as a result, joined the NCP board.
At least 10 people were killed and several others trapped when a building collapsed in Nigeria’s southern oil city of Port Harcourt, police said on Wednesday. The four-storey building under construction on Sani Abacha Road in the city centre suddenly caved in on Tuesday, killing at least 10 construction workers.