London, Apr 27 (ANI): Egypt's new Islamist-dominated parliament is preparing to introduce a controversial law that would allow husbands to have sex with their deceased wives up to six hours after death.
Known as the "farewell Intercourse" law, the measure is being championed as part of a raft of reforms introduced by the parliament that will also see the minimum age of marriage lowered to 14 for girls.
Egypt's National Council for Women is campaigning against the changes, saying that 'marginalising and undermining the status of women would negatively affect the country's human development'.
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Satellite photos show N Korea may be preparing for nuke test
WASHINGTON - New satellite imagery appears to show a train of mining carts and other preparations under way at North Korea's nuclear test site but there is no indication of when a detonation might take place.
Early this month, South Korean intelligence reported digging of a new tunnel at the Punggye-ri site, which it took as a sign that North Korea was covertly preparing for a third nuclear test.
According to an analysis of photos obtained from a private satellite operator and taken between March 8 and April 18, some 8,000 cubic meters of rubble have been excavated at the site, where the communist country conducted nuclear tests in 2006 and 2009.
The analysis was conducted by the US-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.
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KFC ordered to pay $8.3 million to Australian girl
Fast food giant Kentucky Fried Chicken was Friday ordered to pay Aus$8 million (US$8.3 million) to an Australian girl who suffered severe brain damage and was paralysed after eating a chicken wrap.
Monika Samaan was seven when she suffered salmonella encephalopathy -- a brain injury linked to food poisoning that also left her with a blood infection and septic shock -- in October 2005.
Other family members also fell ill and they claimed Samaan's injuries, which include severe cognitive, motor and speech impairment and spastic quadriplegia, were caused by a "Twister" wrap containing chicken and salad from a Sydney KFC outlet.
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Eighth foreign domestic worker falls to her death
Eight this year already.
That’s the number of foreign domestic workers who have fallen to their death so far this year, reportedly from cleaning windows.
On Thursday evening, an Indonesian maid fell from the ninth floor of Block 801 Woodlands Street 81. A stool and cleaning materials were found next to the window where the 25-year old worker fell, reported The Straits Times.
Her death comes amid a growing movement that calls for a total ban on the cleaning of window exteriors in high-rise flats.
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Don’t pigeonhole foreigners: Chan Chun Sing
People living in Singapore should relate to one another as human beings first instead of trying to “pigeonhole” one another according to nationality, said Acting Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports Chan Chun Sing.
“When we look at an issue, let's try not to pigeonhole each other as a Singaporean or a foreigner, which can complicate the problem,” said the Minister, who was speaking to an audience of about 600 community leaders at the annual National Community Engagement Programme Dialogue on Saturday, reported the Straits Times.
The hot-button issue of foreign talent dominated the dialogue at the Regent Hotel, which was chaired by Chan, Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean, Minister in the Prime Minister's Office Lim Swee Say, Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts Yaacob Ibrahim and Minister of State for Manpower Tan Chuan-Jin.
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Underage prostitute deemed as victim in eyes of law
48 men were charged for having paid sex with an underage prostitute. The identity of the girl has not been revealed in the media. It is also unclear whether she will face charges in court.
S Radakrishnan, joint managing director, Bernard & Rada Law Corp, in an interview with RazorTV, said he thinks that the girl would not be charged as prostitution in Singapore is not an offence per se.
But under the Children and Young Persons Act, the director of social welfare has certain powers and can order the girl to be moved to a "place of safety", Mr Radakrishnan said. A place of safety is a home that is run by the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS).
"The girl's parents can also arrange for her to be moved to a place of safety," the senior lawyer added.
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Rising oil prices lead to higher operating costs for wholesalers
SINGAPORE: Wholesalers are reporting a 10 per cent rise in transportation costs resulting from an increase in petrol prices.
To cope with the rising costs, the Singapore Fruits and Vegetables Importers and Exporters Association is thinking of ways to help the wholesalers.
Some wholesalers said that it takes about five hours to deliver fruits and vegetables across the island everyday.
The association has proposed mass transportation of goods to help them cut costs.
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'Turtle boy' undergoes successful surgery to remove huge mole'
He was dubbed 'turtle boy' and made fun of because of a huge mole on his back that gave him the appearance of having a shell on his back.
In its Body Shock Special, Channel 4 (C4) reported on the sad story of Didier Montalvo, 6, who was suffering from a rare condition called Congenital Melanocytic Nevus (CMN).
These are moles that are found in infants at birth and are usually larger in diameter.
It is said that the rare birthmark affects about one in 20,000 babies born, but a top surgeon described Didier's case as the worst he'd ever seen, the Mirror UK reported.
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KL protest ends in violence
Police unleash tear gas; organiser Bersih says it lost control of crowd.
As the Malaysian police unleashed tear gas and chemical-laced water yesterday on demonstrators, protest organiser Bersih admitted it lost control of the tens of thousands on the streets when protesters failed to adhere to strict instructions not to breach the police barricade surrounding Independence Square.
At least 25,000 demonstrators swamped the capital, hoping to pressure Prime Minister Najib Razak's ruling coalition to overhaul electoral policies before polls that could be held as early as June.
Wearing yellow T-shirts, waving banners and chanting slogans, they massed near the square, which the authorities had earlier declared off limits and sealed off with barbed wire and barricades.
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Malaysia govt blames opposition for violence at protest rally
Malaysian police today released 471 protesters who were part of a chaotic demonstration to demand electoral reforms, as the government blamed the organisers for allowing the opposition hijack the rally and turn it violent.
An estimated 25,000 people had gathered in downtown Kuala Lumpur yesterday demanding electoral reforms, and police resorted to firing tear gas and chemical-laced water after protesters broke through the barricades to enter the Independence Square, defying a venue ban.
Charges have not yet been filed against them.
The NGO Bersih, which organised the rally, wants the government to review the country's election system and clean up the electoral roll before the next elections, that are expected to be announced soon.
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Policeman jailed for theft
A spate of house break-ins was reported over a six-month period and the police were called in.
For months, they chased leads and interviewed victims and potential witnesses to end the criminal's crime spree.
When they finally identified him, it must have made them sick to their stomachs.
Because he was not just any other crook, he was one of their own.
Mohamed Faisal Mohamed Yusoff, 33, was a staff sergeant attached to the Divisional Intelligence Branch of the Central Police Division Headquarters.
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Vietnam arrests US pro-democracy activist
Hanoi, Vietnam: A Vietnamese-American pro-democracy activist has been arrested and accused of terrorism for allegedly trying to sabotage liberation celebrations commemorating the end of the Vietnam War, state media said on Sunday.
Nguyen Quoc Quan, 58, of California, was detained on April 17 after arriving at the airport in southern Ho Chi Minh City, Tuoi Tre newspaper reported. He is accused of planning to hold protests for Viet Tan, a banned US exile group, during this week's May Day festivities and the April 30 anniversary of the fall of the former US-backed South Vietnamese capital, Saigon, to the northern communists in 1975.
Authorities also found many documents in Mr Quan's possession on "terrorist training," the paper said. Mr Quan, a mathematician, was previously sentenced to six months in jail by a Ho Chi Minh City court in 2008 for terrorism.
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Yishun Triple Murder: Accused denies intention to flee
He was fully dressed when the police arrested him and two bags containing identification, cash and other items were found on the sofa.
But Chinese national Wang Zhijian, 45, denied yesterday that he was planning to flee the murder scene.
He is accused of killing his girlfriend, Madam Zhang Meng, 41; her 17-year-old daughter, Feng Jianyu; and their 36-year-old co-tenant, Madam Yang Jie.
The murders took place in a sixth-storey flat in Block 349, Yishun Street 11 between 11pm on Sept 18 and 12.49am on Sept 19, 2008.
One charge for attempting to murder Madam Yang's daughter, Grace (not her real name), who was 15 then, has been stood down.
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Rationale for continued immigrant influx flawed
I READ the report "Which path to take?" (April 25) with interest. However, I spotted two fallacies in the argument for more immigrants.
Firstly, the National Population and Talent Division stated that by 2030, without new citizens and the total fertility rate remaining at 1.2, there would be 2.1 working-age citizens to each elderly citizen.
To use only this ratio, instead of the generally-accepted "working-age to non-working age population" ratio, is flawed.
Children, too, need to be supported, not just the elderly.
With a higher fertility rate, resources would be needed to support children.
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