Oprah maybe, but avoid appearing on Home Front TV if you value your life


James Langton
  • English
  • Arabic

A television chat show in Bulgarian has been described as cursed after the death of six guests in just two years.

Most recently, a herbalist who appeared on Otechestven Front, which translates as "Home Front", died in a fire at his home.

The rumours of a curse were fuelled by the fact that the man died attempting to save his black cat.

Other guests on the show include a reputed gangster whose mysterious death was attributed to black magic and the owner of a religious icon said to shed real tears who died of undisclosed cancer. Broadcasters have promised to investigate the claims of a curse.

Bin Laden? Who he?

Only one country in the world failed to report the death of Osama bin Laden at the hands of US special forces.

Citizens of the Central Asian republic of Uzbekistan were kept in the dark after the country's government news agency said it was not initially aware of bin Laden's death because they did not have a working internet connection.

The Uzbek national news agency added that it thought the story was "unlikely to be of interest to its readership" even though the US used a military base in Uzbekistan during its war in Afghanistan. Instead, it headed the daily bulletin with a UN report that "headaches were the most common health disorder around the world, but widely untreated".

Darwin award candidate

Police in South Carolina received an emergency call from a man who complained he had been short-changed by his drug dealer.

Dexter White, 41, asked officers to investigate why he had only been given US$20 (Dh73) worth of crack cocaine despite handing the dealer $60.

He was arrested on a charge of disorderly conduct and sent to a local detention centre.

Badger rhapsody

Brian May, the guitarist with the rock group Queen, has launched a campaign to protect Britain's badger population.

May, 63, is calling on the UK government to abandon plans for a mass cull of badgers, which are blamed by farmers for spreading a form of tuberculosis among cattle.

He said: "I don't really love badgers because they are furry and good-looking. It's not about that.

"To me they are fascinating and rather mysterious because they have been in the British Isles longer than humans."

Thief tracked down

An officer in the Russian navy has gone on trial accused of stealing half a kilometre of railway track.

Investigators said Alexei Gusev and an accomplice hired a gang of five men to remove a section of the line from Yantarni to Primorsk. Gusev, an officer in the Baltic fleet, was said to be short of money and planned to sell the track, which weighed 30 tonnes, for scrap.

The burning issue

The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE. 

Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on

Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins

Read part one: how cars came to the UAE

 

Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills

W.
Wael Kfoury
(Rotana)

What can victims do?

Always use only regulated platforms

Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion

Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)

Report to local authorities

Warn others to prevent further harm

Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence