ABRACADABRA

Monkey causes 20 deaths

TRIPOLI: More than 20 people were killed in fighting between rival tribes in southern Libya, a medical official said, in violence reportedly sparked by an incident involving a monkey. 

Witnesses said several homes were hit by rockets and shells in the confrontation. Nasser al-Jehimi of the medical centre in Sebha said 21 people were killed and around 100 others injured in clashes in the city between Awled Suleiman tribal members and the Guedadfa tribe of Libya's toppled dictator Moamer Kadhafi.

The casualty toll was for the Awed Suleiman tribe alone as information was not immediately available from another hospital being used for their rivals.

 The cause of the fighting was unclear, but Libyan and social media said it erupted after a monkey belonging to one tribe attacked a child from the other camp.

There was no official confirmation of the report. Salah Badr, a member of Sebha city council, declined to give specifics but noted that relations between the two tribes had been strained for many years.

Forgotten Needle painfully reminds after 22 years

Thiruvananthapuram: A needle which got embedded into the body of a 12-year-old while he was playing, was removed by doctors here 22 years later. 

The man, now aged 34, had approached doctors complaining of severe pain and swelling on his back side. A scan revealed the presence of a needle on his left buttock, doctors at the Medical College Hospital here said.

The needle had penetrated his body accidentally when he was a playing as a child. Though he was rushed to a hospital, doctors could not trace it and the family eventually forgot about it. However, when Kiran Kumar developed pain and swelling, he was referred to the Medical College Hospital here, where a thorough examination revealed a rusted needle, which was removed after a two hour-long surgery, they said.

Monkeys stop flight

Ahmedabad: A Chennai-bound SpiceJet plane from here, with 189 passengers and crew onboard, had to abort take off after some monkeys were spotted on the runway.

The Boeing B737-800 aircraft, operating as flight no SG-501, had started taxiing at around 6.40 AM when alert air traffic controllers sighted monkeys on the runway, sources said.

They immediately informed the pilot of the plane and asked him to abort take off.

As the aircraft was taxiing at a low speed, the pilot rejected the takeoff, they said.

When parrot exposed hubby’s affair

Dubai: A man in Kuwait almost ended up going to jail after the family parrot accidentally exposed his alleged affair with the housemaid as it mimicked flirtatious exchange of words between them in front of his wife.

The alleged affair came to light after the parrot started to repeat flirty phrases in front of his wife.

The wife then lodged a complaint with officers at Hawally police station in Kuwait and accused the husband of cheating, noting she had been suspecting the man for a while.

She said the husband was surprised when he saw her returning from the office before time and became nervous.

However, the prosecution officer said the case could not be regarded as crime based on lack of credible evidence and could not be admitted in court, as it could not be proved that the bird had not heard the intimate conversation on TV or the radio.

Adultery is illegal in the Gulf state, carrying a potential prison sentence or even hard labour.

Toilet diverts flight

Lahore: A PIA flight bound from Toronto to Lahore had to be diverted to Manchester after the aircrafts toilet got choked as something solid was thrown into it by unidentified passengers.

Pakistan International Airlines, flight PK-798 was travelling from Toronto in Canada to Lahore, Pakistan when the crew decided to divert it to Manchester, London.

The Boeing 777-200 aircraft remained on the ground for about 3 hours, then continued its journey, the AeroInside reported.

The airline said the toilets of the aircraft choked after something solid was thrown into by unidentified passengers.

Snapchat breaks marriage

Dubai: It was what many would call an ‘un-happy’ ending! A Saudi man dumped his bride of two hours after she broke the prenup where she had agreed not to share pictures of the wedding on social media, according to a report.

Sadly, the bride could not adhere to her side of the bargain and sent pictures of her wedding to her friends using Snapchat, the Khaleej Times reported.

It quoted the bride’s brother as telling another Saudi newspaper that “there was a prenuptial agreement between my sister and her fiance that she would not use social-media applications such as Snapchat, Instagram or Twitter to post or send her pictures”.

“It was included in the marriage contract and became binding.

“Regretfully, my sister did not honour the pledge and used Snapchat to share pictures from the wedding ceremony with her female friends, resulting in the shocking decision by the groom to cancel their marriage and call for divorce,” he was quoted as saying.

The groom’s relatives said he was within his rights to file for divorce. Even after two hours.