India: Man travels 1,000 miles to claim bogus prize
An Indian villager recently travelled more than a thousand miles to the BBC office in Delhi in an unusual quest - to claim millions of rupees he believed he had won in a “BBC lottery”.
Ratan Kumar Malbisoi, a 41-year-old unemployed Indian villager, fell for a message he received on his mobile phone nearly two years ago. ...
Last month, he travelled about 1,700km (1,056 miles) from his remote village in the eastern state of Orissa to the BBC office in Delhi with a lot of hope.
He had borrowed money from some friends and arrived in the city while it was in the grip of a cold snap, dressed in just a shirt and a pair of trousers. …
BBC
Cuba: Canadian band demands compensation after music used for torture in Guantanamo
The Canadian band Skinny Puppy will demand compensation from the US for using their music to torture prisoners held at the Guantanamo naval base in Cuba.
Keyboardist Cevin Key told CTV News they are also planning an additional claim against the US Defense Department for using their materials for the purpose of inflicting suffering on the prisoners at the naval base. …
Caribbean News Now
Costa Rica: This 4-year-old girl is very upset Laura Chinchilla will no longer be Costa Rica’s president
Amanda García Soto, a toddler from Heredia, had a strong reaction to news about last Sunday’s presidential elections. Not because she cared about who won the race. But because her parents informed her that Laura Chinchilla’s term was coming to a close. …
In the video, the wee one shrieks “I’m going to miss her!” She sobs through her hands. “It’s so sad! ...
Tico Times
Mongolia: Genghis Khan to get back his 10,000-strong guard
You can become one of the Mongolian emperor’s protectors for $25,000 in one of the world’s largest sculpture projects.
The 10,000 guards are to be made of bronze and will line up in serried ranks beneath the 40 metre statue of Genghis Khan on the bank of the Tuul River, 54km east of capital Ulaanbaatar. The guards are guaranteed to stand tall for 500 years, though the sculpture has an estimated life expectancy of 2000 years. ...
Siberian Times
UK: Depressed penguins given happy pills
If the wet and windy weather is making you miserable you are not alone – penguins staying on our shores are sharing your pain.
The birds are being given antidepressants because the British climate is making them sad.
Staff at the Scarborough Sea Life Sactuary, in Yorkshire, are putting the ‘happy pills’ into the gills of dead fish during feeding time.
The South American seabirds hail from Chile and Peru and are used to a sunnier climate. ...
MSN UK
Malaysia: Kyairiel is one hefty baby
Thirteen-month-old Kyairiel Mikhail Khairul Shafiq weighs more than a five-year-old child.
Berita Harian reported that his weight ballooned to 17.6kg (38.8 pounds), about 3kg heavier than his five-year-old brother. … The parents, who are small in size themselves, could not carry him for a long period of time. …
Berita Harian via The Star
Peru: Celebrating Pisco Day as Pisco sour history gets re-write
Happy Pisco Day everyone! Enjoy your Pisco Sours….
Since the post a few days ago about the evolving history of Peru’s national cocktail, the Pisco Sour, and whether it was truly invented by expat American saloon owner Victor V. Morris, we have started pouring through the archives of the West Coast Leader in search of answers. …
Peruvian Times
*Image of penguins via Shutterstock
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