Islamic center near ground zero opens its doors

NEW YORK (AP) — The developer of an Islamic cultural center near the site of the terrorist attacks that leveled the World Trade Center says the biggest error on the project was not involving the families of 9/11 victims from the start."We made incredible mistakes," Sharif El-Gamal told The Ass

Sept. 22, 2011

Gunmen dump 35 bodies on busy avenue in Mexico

MEXICO CITY (AP) _ Masked gunmen blocked traffic on a busy avenue in a Gulf of Mexico coastal city Tuesday and dumped the bodies of 35 slaying victims as horrified motorists watched, authorities said.Veracruz state Attorney General Reynaldo Escobar Perez said the bodies were left piled in two trucks

Sept. 21, 2011

Catch me if you can: Fake pilot escapes NZ airport

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) _ A man who disguised himself as an airline pilot tried to enter a restricted area of Auckland Airport and then escaped after he was challenged.New Zealand Police say they are looking for a man who on Saturday entered the airport dressed in a white shirt with epaulets on

Sept. 19, 2011

Daughter suspected of killing divorced parents

Police are investigating the death of a divorced couple, saying the couple’s 32-year-old daughter is a suspect.According to Seodaemun Police Station in Seoul, the father, surnamed Chang, first fell from his daughter’s apartment in Goyang city of Gyeonggi Province on Feb 26. Seven months later, his w

Aug. 24, 2011

Forget family feuds -- Gwangju in-laws team up for theft

Mothers of a husband and wife don’t typically get along, but two in Gwangju appear thick as thieves after they were arrested for theft.The surnamed Baek and Ahn are accused of stealing money and valuables from a clothing shop while pretending to be customers on Aug. 11. They are also suspected

Aug. 11, 2011

Swedish man conducts experiments to split atoms in his kitchen

A Swedish man was arrested after attempting to set up a nuclear reactor at home and test if he can split atoms in his kitchen, according to the Telegraph.Richard Handl, 31, had tried for months to conduct such experiments at home, allegedly as a hobby, keeping records of them on a blog.When he reali

Aug. 5, 2011

Pet fish addicted to chocolate goes on diet

A pet fish which had been only fed with Kit Kat bars is to be put on a diet by London’s Sea Life Aquarium, according to reports.When Gary, a 40-cm-long giant gourami native to South East Asia, first came to the new aquarium, staffs were puzzled by the fish’s refusal to eat.It was later revealed that

Aug. 3, 2011

Man who can guess time could bear the Olympic torch

Fans dedicated a Facebook group to a local celebrity to make him the town’s official Olympic torch bearer, according to reports.　 Gordon Roberts from Bournemouth, England, is getting the support of 4,500 people who plan to nominate him as their “inspirational member of the community.”With his trademark white beard, scarf and jacket, the 82-year-old is known as a “big part of the community and alwa

July 28, 2011

U.S. man attempts self-surgery with butter knife

GLENDALE, California (AP) -- A man stuck a butter knife into his belly in a failed bid at self-surgery to remove a painful hernia, police said Tuesday.The wife of the 63-year-old Glendale man called paramedics on Sunday night and told the emergency operator her husband was using a knife to remove a protruding hernia, Sgt. Tom Lorenz said.“She said he had impaled himself with a knife,” Lorenz said.

July 27, 2011

S.African 'corpse' wakes up, scares off morgue staff: report

CAPE TOWN, July 24, 2011 (AFP) - A 50-year-old South African man thought to be dead woke up in a chilly morgue on Sunday and shouted to be let out, scaring off two attendants who thought he was a ghost, local media reported."His family thought he had died," health spokesman Sizwe Kupelo told the Sapa news agency."The family called a private undertaker who took what they thought was a dead body to

July 25, 2011

Winning lottery slip found in lost wallet

A wallet has been returned to its owner one week after being lost -- with a winning lottery ticket still inside. The winner is said to have bought 10 pension-type lottery tickets, handing them out to friends and keeping just one.After getting drunk, however, he lost his bag with the wallet inside. Luckily, he was able to get the belongings back a week after the announcement of the winner.The winne

July 21, 2011

SK텔레콤, 해외사업은 계속 '꽝'인 이유...

국내에서는 1위 무선통신사업자인 SK 텔레콤이지만, 유독 해외무대에서는 연이은 고배를 마셨다.　미국과 중국 같은 여러 해외시장에 발을 들여놓으려고 지난 6년 동안 노력해왔지만 대부분이 실패했다.　정만원 SKT 전 대표도 이런 현상을 빗대어 “잃어버린 6년”이란 표현을 썼을 정도다.　국내에서는 우수한 성적을 거두는 SKT가 해외시장에서 맥을 추스르지 못하는 이유는 해외시장에 대한 이해부족과 과감한 재정적인 투자가 뒷받침이 되지 않았기 때문이라고 전문가들은 얘기한다.　　“통신망이라는 게 국가적인 재산인데 성공하기가 쉽지 않다. 기왕 할거면 엄청난 투자가 들어가야 하는데 그런 부분은 하지 못하면서 퍼포먼스는 빨리 내고 싶어하기 때문”이라고 안재민 키움증권 애널리스트는 말했다.　시장에 대한 이해없이 사업을 벌인 대

June 12, 2011

Waking up with a foreign accent

An American woman named Karen Butler went to the dentist to remove several teeth and came out speaking a foreign -- slightly Irish -- accent.  She is believed to be suffering from a rare neurological disorder called foreign accent syndrome (FAS). This complication was first diagnosed in Norway in 1941 when a woman was hit by shrapnel from an air raid in World War II. Since then, there have only be

June 9, 2011

Police under fire for ignoring threat before gruesome murder

Local police in Essex, Britain, came under fire after they ignored 100 text messages by a man threatening to kill his ex-partner. He shot the woman and their 2-year-old dead in their home on Sunday, according to Daily Mail Online. The killer also shoved his shotgun into the mouth of her 10-year-old daughter, who saved her life by climbing through the window onto the kitchen roof, according to the

June 8, 2011