Taliban members attacked an Afghan man as he walked out a polling station last week, beat him up and cut off his ears and part of his nose.
40-year-old Lal Mohammad was determined to stand against Taliban threats and exercise his right to vote in Afghanistan’s presidential election, but he now regrets his defiance. He was ambushed by Taliban terrorists as he walked to a polling station last week, and he was beaten and mutilated, and in addition, …

Jews were the top targets for hate crimes in New York state last year, followed by blacks, gay men and Hispanics, the Times Herald-Record reports.
The report by the state Department of Criminal Justice Services found that police agencies identified 596 hate crimes throughout New York last year. Jews were targets 36 percent of the time, with blacks targeted 25 percent of the time, gay men, 11 percent, and Hispanics, 4 percent.
However, despite all the talks of …

The readers of The Empire Chronicles use Twitter mostly for self-promotion – 37% of the respondents (233 people) of the last poll choose that option.
27% (171 people) use Twitter for pointless babble and 19% (120 people) for conversations. 13% (80 people) use the microblogging site for reading news, and 3% (22 people) think they generate pass-along value.
Only 1% (11 people) admitted they spammed on Twitter.
Altogether 637 people took part in the poll.
A new poll is …

All conventional pearl, incandescent lightbulbs are being banned by the European Union from 1st September, 2009 – tomorrow.
According to the Daily Mail, the move covers every type of frosted traditional bulb, from the 60 watt pearl bulbs used in table lamps to more specialised opaque 25 and 40 watt bulbs shaped like golf balls and candles. Clear and frosted 100 watt lightbulbs will also not be on sale from 1st September.
The Department for Environment said a …

The top commander of US and NATO troops in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, said today that the situation in the country is serious and a new strategy is needed to defeat the Taliban, FoxNews reports.
He did not ask for more troops but is expected to do so, two NATO officials said.
“The situation in Afghanistan is serious, but success is achievable and demands a revised implementation strategy, commitment and resolve, and increased unity of effort,” McChrystal said.
A …

Patients with suspected lung cancer could in future be breathalysed to check if they have the disease, the Daily Mail reports.
Scientists have developed a sensor that can quickly detect lung cancer molecules on the breath. Early detection of the disease massively increases the chances of survival.
The Israeli researchers believe the technology could lead to cheap, portable breath-test devices with the potential to save thousands of lives.
The lung cancer biomarkers were found by comparing breath samples …

Experts from Bournemouth University say that the food provided in prisons is better than in NHS hospitals, the BBC reports.
Experts examined the quality of food offered to prisoners and NHS patients, and according to them, people in hospital are losing out on nutrition because they are not being helped with eating or having their diet monitored.
Professor John Edwards said about 40% of patients entering hospital were already malnourished, and this did not tend to improve during their …

Nearly 60% of black and African people living in Russia’s capital Moscow have been physically assaulted in racially motivated attacks, the BBC reports.
Africans working or studying in the city live in constant fear of attack, according to the report by the Moscow Protestant Chaplaincy.
A quarter of 200 people surveyed said they had been assaulted more than once, some 80% had been verbally abused.
However, the number of assaults was down from the MPC’s last survey in …

Formula One was plunged into a new cheating crisis yesterday night after it emerged that the sport’s governing body is investigating claims that Renault driver Nelson Piquet Jr was ordered to crash his car to help his team-mate Fernando Alonso to win a race.
FIA confirmed that it is launching an inquiry into the circumstances surrounding Piquet’s crash at the inaugural Singapore Grand Prix last September, The Times reports. Should the investigation suggest there is evidence of …

A two pence rise in fuel duty will come into effect from midnight, the third increase in nine months; when VAT is included, the increase will actually total 2.3p, the BBC reports.
The average price of petrol across the UK is about 105p per litre.
The government say the extra duty is needed to help fund public investment.
The Petrol Retailers Association pointed out that the price of fuel would increase again when VAT increases from 15% to …

Prime Minister Gordon Brown was dragged into the centre of the row over the early release of the Lockerbie bomber last night after it emerged that a key decision that could have paved the way for the terrorist to serve his sentence in Libya was approved by Downing Street, The Times reports.
A source close to Justice Secretary Jack Straw told The Times that the move to include Abdel Baset Ali al-Megrahi in a prisoner transfer …

The Scottish Parliament are to mull the bill for an independence referendum in the coming year, the BBC reports.
Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the people of Scotland had a democratic right to have their say on the issue of independence.
A referendum on independence was a key Scottish National Party (SNP) manifesto pledge before the 2007 Holyrood election.
The SNP have previously said they hoped to introduce a bill early in 2010, with a vote taking …

An indictment against Israel’s former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was served at the Jerusalem District Court today in three out of the four corruption-related cases standing against him, the Jerusalem Post reports.
The indictment, filed by State Attorney Moshe Lador and Jerusalem District Attorney Eli Abarbanel, includes serious charges against Olmert, among them fraud, breach of trust, falsifying corporate documents and tax evasion. However, the former prime minister is not charged with bribery.
Olmert’s former secretary Shula …

The left-wing Democratic Party of Japan, lead by Yukio Hatoyama, has won the parliamentary elections in a devastating blow to the ruling party, BNONews reports.
The opposition have secured 245 seats according to initial official results, which is a majority of the lower house of the Parliament. 241 seats were needed for a majority.
Hatoyama is therefore projected to become the Prime Minister.
The ruling party, right-wing Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), have only 56 seats so far. Head …

Kimi Räikkönen won his and Ferrari’s first Grand Prix of the season today in Belgium’s Spa Francorchamps circuit, Italian Giancarlo Fisichella came in second, bringing first eight points to himself and Force India this season.
Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel finished third.
It wasn’t a good day for Britain, as both Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) and Jenson Button (Brawn GP) crashed out on the first lap. Also Renault’s Romain Grosjean and Toro Rosso’s Jaime Alguersuari had to retire after …

Prime Minister Gordon Brown paved the way for peace talks with Taliban warlords on a surprise visit to Afghanistan yesterday, The Mirror reports.
Brown signalled the major shift in strategy as he met British troops, American commanders and Afghan leaders in Helmand province. A source close to him said: “The more reconciliation the better.”
“After the election a lot of people will tilt one way or the other – but many are not really committed to the Taliban …