An Indian expat turned millionaire while another became the owner of a Mercedes Benz after their ticket numbers were drawn in Dubai Duty Free raffle. Praveen Aranha, who works as a management accountant at Atlantis The Palm, won a staggering $1 million with ticket number 3969 in Dubai Duty Free Millennium Millionaire and Finest Surprise promotions held at Concourse A – Terminal 3 of Dubai International Airport. Aranha is based in Dubai for the past 16 years and has been participating in the raffle for 15 years. Winning the raffle jointly with two of his colleagues who shared the ticket price equally with him, Aranha said he now wants to save a portion of the prize money for his daughter’s higher education. Aranha is the 151st Indian national to have won the prize since its inception in 1999. Forty-year-old Ronni Thomas, an Indian national from Sharjah, also won a Mercedes Benz S560 with ticket number 1262.
Pak FM loses cool when asked to name countries supporting it
Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi lost his cool on being asked to name the 58 countries that Prime Minister Imran Khan commended for backing Islamabad on its stance on the Kashmir issue at the UNHRC. During a talk show on Pakistan TV channel, Qureshi was asked the question as he had repeatedly endorsed Khan's statement that 58 countries had supported Islamabad on the Kashmir issue. "On whose agenda are you working?" Khan snapped at talk show host Javed Chaudhry. "Are you going to tell me or decide which countries have or have not supported Pakistan at the UN?... You may write whatever you want!" On being again pressed for endorsing Khan's comment on his own Twitter handle, Qureshi said, No! No! Show me the tweet I have written, not what Prime Minister Khan has written. You have said my tweet... show that to me. I want my tweet." Oddly still, after the minister was shown the tweet, Qureshi said he found nothing wrong in the tweet. "I stand by what I have said. What is so surprising in this....whose agenda are you following?”
Nepal ex-Speaker held in sexual harassment case
K B Mahara, a senior leader of the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP), who resigned recently as Speaker of Parliament, was arrested in connection with a sexual harassment case. Police arrested Mahara following allegations that he attempted to rape an employee of the parliamentary secretariat. The woman had formally lodged a complaint with the police. Mahara is a former deputy prime minister and one of the most influential politicians from the erstwhile Maoist Party. He has held important ministries in the past 13 years after the Maoists joined the democratic process in 2006. After the complainant gave a detailed interview to an online news portal alleging that Mahara had attempted to rape her at her residence, the ruling party decided he should resign as Speaker and as MP. Mahara, however, has not yet resigned as a member of Parliament. He has been lodged in the high-security Singha Durbar police station in Kathmandu, where he is being interrogated.
HK protesters defy mask ban
Furiously yelling “Wearing a mask is not a crime,” tens of thousands of masked protesters hit Hong Kong’s rain-drenched streets in defiance of a new ban on facial coverings. Riot police later swept in with volleys of tear gas and muscular arrests as peaceful rallies again degenerated into widespread violence and chaos in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory. Instead of deterring rioting and calming anti-government demonstrations that have gripped the international trading hub for four months, the ban that criminalised the wearing of face masks at rallies only redoubled the determination of both peaceful marchers and more radical black-clad youths. The hard-liners again lobbed gasoline bombs and trashed subway stations and China-linked banks in the city.
US cop guilty of killing black neighbour
The jury that convicted a white Dallas police officer in the fatal shooting of her black neighbour returns to court to consider her sentence - a penalty that could be anywhere from five years to life in prison. Amber Guyger, who said she mistook the man’s apartment for her own, which was directly below, was convicted of murder in a verdict that drew tears of relief from his family and chants of “black lives matter” from a crowd outside the courtroom. Guyger sat alone, weeping, at the defence table. Her defence attorneys can argue that she deserves a light sentence because she acted out of confusion and fear that she had found an intruder in her home. Prosecutors have given no indication in court of the sentence they will seek. Attorneys are under a gag order.
Astronauts safely return after space mission
An American, a Russian and the first person from the United Arab Emirates to fly into space landed safely after a six-hour flight from the International Space Station. The capsule carrying Nick Hague, Alexey Ovchinin and Hazzaa al-Mansoori touched down on the steppe in Kazakhstan in Central Asia, the impact sending a cloud of dust into the sky. Al-Mansoori, the first of two men chosen by the United Arab Emirates to fly to the space station, returned after an eight-day mission while space veteran Ovchinin and Hague, who was on his maiden flight, are back after spending six months at the station. The three men were extracted from the capsule and put on fold-out chairs so that they could rest and undergo preliminary medical checks.
Bison attacks girl at same park her date had been gored
A US man who was gored by a bison at a park in June thought it safe to take his date back to the scene of the crime - only for her to also be attacked. Kayleigh Davis, 22, from Utah was hiking on a trail in Antelope Island State Park while on an outing with her new beau when she came face-to-face with the angry bovine. As she attempted to steer clear of the bison, it charged, flipping her up in the air and leaving her with a broken ankle and badly cut calf. Kayleigh said the animal may have been spooked by four bikers coming down the trail. Kayleigh’s date Kyler Bourgeous had shared with her his encounter with a bison at the same park in June. That episode left him with a fractured rib and collapsed lung. Kyler said he thought it was unlikely that a similar incident might occur when he asked Kayleigh out on a date to watch the sunset.
Oz teen ‘deliberately’ killed 20 kangaroos
An Australian teenager has been charged over the deaths of 20 kangaroos, which he allegedly mowed down with his truck in a killing spree. The dead kangaroos, including two joeys, were found. Police said the boy, 19, had been arrested and charged with animal cruelty offences. The boy allegedly hit and killed the marsupials with his utility vehicle.
French police detain man over stolen panther
French authorities have detained for questioning a man suspected of keeping a wild panther in an apartment from where it was rescued, only to be stolen from a zoo, legal sources said. The animal, thought to be six months old and weighing 25-30kg, was spotted on a rooftop after escaping from a flat in the town of Armentieres on September 18. The ink-black feline was tranquilised with a dart and taken to a zoo in Maubeuge, awaiting a transfer to a centre that rehabilitates domesticated wild animals. Instead, the cat was stolen a week later, with Maubeuge mayor Arnaud Decagny saying that “considerable efforts” were made to force locks and evade zoo security systems.
US paratroopers hurt in botched night jump
Several US paratroopers were injured in a botched night parachute exercise in Mississippi. The troops from the 4th Infantry Brigade of the 25th Infantry Division were conducting an evening parachute jump above Camp Shelby when they were blown off target into trees. At least four soldiers were taken to nearby hospital after they missed their landing target, but as many as 13 paratroopers were still stuck in trees. There were 84 soldiers in the exercise, but camp officials have only accounted for 75 so far, said a spokesman for the base. “Once all soldiers have been accounted for, our goal is ultimately to continue training,” the 4th Brigade said in a Facebook post.
Kiss to play underwater for sharks in Oz gig
Having played nearly every corner of the Earth in a nearly 50-year career, the rock band Kiss is taking its show to a new place - under the sea, where they will perform for great white sharks and eight fans separated from them by a small submarine. As part of a promotion by Airbnb, the fans and Kiss will travel on November 18 in separate boats off the coast of southern Australia. While Kiss stays above board on one vessel, the fans will be lowered beneath the surface of the water from a second boat into the viewing sub in an area known for shark activity.
Women who kiss Duterte say he smells refreshing
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s spokesman defended him against critics who described him as looking unkempt when he met with Russia’s PM, saying he is “very hygienic” and that “his body emits a refreshing scent”. Salvador Panelo, who is travelling with Duterte in Russia, challenged “kibitzers” to try to be close to the president to find out how he smells. “That’s what ladies tell me when they kiss PRRD, that he smells good”, Panelo said, referring to President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, who is in Russia for a working visit.
Toll surges to 44 as Iraq unrest accelerates
The death toll from days of violent demonstrations across Iraq surged to 44 as unrest rapidly accelerated across the country despite a plea from the prime minister for calm. The unrest, fuelled by popular rage over poor living standards and corruption, is Iraq’s biggest security challenge since the defeat of Islamic State in 2017. In an overnight TV address, PM Adel Abdul Mahdi said he understood the frustration of the public but there was no “magic solution” to Iraq’s problems. He made reform pledges, but these drew a scornful response from demonstrators. The violent demonstrations have escalated by the day since they first erupted. Security forces have fired live ammunition at crowds of mainly young men, and gunmen have occasionally fired back.
Turkey summons US diplomat over a Twitter ‘like’
Turkey has summoned a top US diplomat to protest after US embassy’s official Twitter account “liked” a tweet that said Turkey should prepare for a political era without the leader of Turkey’s national party, who is reportedly ill. The foreign ministry said the US charge d’affaires was summoned despite an embassy statement that said its Twitter account had liked “an unrelated post in error,” and apologised. Many interpreted the tweet as suggesting that the nationalist leader Devlet Bahceli could soon die. The tweet drew ire from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling party and as well as Bahceli's party - which are allies.
Bride paints her father’s ashes on her nails
A bride whose dad died before her wedding still had him with her on her big day after his ashes were put into her acrylic nails. Charlotte Watson, 26, and husband Nick had brought their ceremony forward when Mick Barber’s prostate cancer spread. But he passed away four months before he could give his daughter away. Charlotte’s cousin Kirsty Mekin, who works as a nail artist, had the idea to use his ashes. Kirsty said: “We picked the pieces we thought would work.” They put the ashes in clear acrylic on Charlotte’s nails in a pink, grey and white design with gems. Charlotte, from Stokeon-Trent, said: “It really felt like he was there.”
Bear cubs get locked in van, honk to get out
Two bear cubs were rescued after they locked themselves in a van and then honked for help. News reports say security technician Jeff Stokely had parked his van outside a customer’s home in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, and went to work. Soon he heard a horn honking and realized it was his van. He went back to the van and was surprised when he saw two small bear cubs locked inside and repeatedly hitting the horn. Stokely says the cubs must have climbed in through the driver side door and then locked themselves by hitting the lock button.
