7 Headlines You Won’t Read Anywhere Else Today: Jan. 19

Our world through local headlines on Jan. 19: “ 83yo Kazakh man crushes rocks with his bare hands,” “Witch-Hunter’s Antics Cause Confusion,” and more.
7 Headlines You Won’t Read Anywhere Else Today: Jan. 19
A file photo of farmers in a Burma rice field. Elephants pose a big problem for some Burmese farmers. (Shutterstock*)
Tara MacIsaac
1/19/2014
Updated:
1/19/2014

Kazakhstan: 83yo Kazakh man crushes rocks with his bare hands

83yo Seken Tolebekov lives in Almaty Oblast, Kazakhstan. It spite of his age, his hands possess an unusual strength: he crushes rocks with his bear hands, STV channel reports.

He started crushing rocks at the age of 24, since then he has dealt with more than 2000 rocks.

“I think I have some sort of power in my hands. I am getting older, but my hands are still strong. I believe that I got the power from on high. It started when I was young. I kept feeling heat in my right hand all the time, then I felt an urge to crush a rock. “Sometimes people try to repeat what I do. But it has always ended with injuries and bone fractures for them. ...

Tengri News

 

Zimbabwe: Witch-Hunter’s Antics Cause Confusion, Disbelief At Chichera

The community at Chichera farm near Old Marlborough suburb has been left in a state of confusion, awe and disbelief following the invasion of the area by a self-proclaimed witch-hunter, who claims to be unearthing tools used for sorcery. 

The self-proclaimed witch-hunter, Morius Mbofana, popularly known as Sekuru Maguranyanga has been causing stir in the area for the past two weeks where he is claiming to be carrying out witch-hunting and cleansing exercises at the invitation of locals. ...

A young woman who was standing next to her husband said Sekuru Maguranyanga discovered a mouse which the witch-hunter argued was sucking blood from her three months old son. “I do not know how that thing ended up in my house but Sekuru said it belongs to me. I am really confused,” she said. ...

The Standard via All Africa

 

Indonesia: SBY says black magic haunts him, family

In his new book, published Friday, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono admits that he and his family had almost fallen victim to witchcraft.

In the book, titled There is Always a Choice, Yudhoyono tells the story of how he and First Lady Ani Yudhoyono had to fight dark clouds hovering inside their house in Cikeas, Bogor, West Java. …

Jakarta Post

 

Papua New Guinea: Girls given away in compo

Police in Jiwaka have been alerted about the giving away of two young girls as part of compensation payments.

And a human rights lawyer has condemned the decision by Menginpol villagers to hand over the girls, aged 13 and 15, to people at neighbouring Kui, as compensation over the death of a teacher. 

The two groups live together in the Kol local level government in Jimi district, Jiwaka. Pigs and K9,000 were paid as part of the same compensation package. ...

The National

 

Canada: Black widow spider males twerk to signal they’re mates, not dinner

Black widow spiders use jittery abdominal movements not unlike dance moves made famous by Miley Cyrus to navigate the dangerous world of arachnid mating, a new study from the University of British Columbia reports. ...

Toronto Star

 

Burma: Man, Elephant ‘Face-Off for Food’ in Irrawaddy Delta

Upon waking in the middle of the night, George Nay Htoo grabs his flashlight and directs its illuminating beam onto a rice paddy below. Seeing no sign of intruders, he breathes a sigh of relief and lies down again, but as is often the case, restful sleep does not easily return for a mind on heightened alert.

For more than a month, he has kept up this night watch, sacrificing sleep to keep an eye on his ripening rice crop. ...

Irrawaddy

 

Australia: Fashion guru says nation’s clothes fail to measure up

Australians are wearing some of the poorest-fitting clothing in the world, a leading sizing expert says, because the local industry is too ‘’set in its ways’’ when it comes to dressing men and women.

The president of clothing size consultancy Alvanon, Ed Gribbin, said Australia’s sizing practices were outdated and left many consumers with ill-fitting clothes. ...

Sydney Morning Herald

 

*Image of Burmese farmers via Shutterstock