Each year, Italians take part in a mid-summer ritual to honor the victims of the Mafia and speak out against the scourge of organized crime. From Palermo to Torino, politicians, church leaders and youth groups gather to mark the July 19, 1992, assassination of anti-mob magistrate Paolo Borsellino, who was killed along with five bodyguards in a meticulously planned car bombing outside his mother’s apartment in the Sicilian capital
Tag Archives: local
Thirst: Why Vampires Beat Zombies
You’ve heard the propaganda: Zombies Are the New Vampires. Once relegated to back-list B movies like I Walked With a Zombie and Night of the Living Dead, those slow-moving, post-mortem drudges of West African mythic origin are now the hot horror creature
Honda adds 440,000 cars to recall over airbags
An additional 440,000 Honda vehicles are being added to a recall initially announced in November to repair a potential defect in airbag inflation systems, American Honda Motor Co. said Friday
A Brief History of Interns
Don’t look now, but they’re all around you. They’re standing by the copy machine, hovering by the printer, and answering the phone. Yes, they’re the overworked, underappreciated interns: young, eager, and not always paid.
Couple boogies into spotlight with viral wedding video
Sometimes, the effects of fame can ripple like a stone dropped in a pond. Take the case of Minnesota residents Kevin Heinz and Jill Peterson. The couple had a fun idea for their wedding party to do a nontraditional procession to a catchy tune, “Forever” by Chris Brown.
Hackers target Australian festival showing Uyghur film
Hackers repeatedly attacked the Web site of Australia’s largest film festival Saturday, asking organizers to apologize to the Chinese people for planning to screen a documentary on an exiled Uyghur leader. The attacks were carried out on the opening day of the Melbourne International Film Festival — in what organizers are calling the third phase of a “concerted campaign” to withdraw the film “The 10 Conditions of Love.” The documentary examines the impact on the family of activist Rebiya Kadeer as she fights for greater autonomy of the ethnic minority group, the Uyghurs, in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in China’s northwest. Kadeer is the president of the World Uyghur Congress, made up of exiled Uyghurs.
Where the ‘Ladyboys’ Are
Life can be complicated enough for members of the transgender community — the last thing they need is to have to choose between two bathroom doors: male or female. Fortunately for students at the Kampang high school in rural northern Thailand, there’s now a third option. Introduced in May, the third bathroom features a symbol on its door of a human figure divided vertically, its blue side wearing pants and its red side sporting a skirt.
Analyst: Undersea cable can boost connections
The SEACOM cable being promoted as a computer lifeline for Africa will contribute to social upliftment but not immediately, a telecommunications analyst says. James Hodge, who specializes in competition and regulation, says initially SEACOM will predominantly benefit those already connected. Hodge said it will not initially change the lives of those poor people, sitting in the rural areas without lights or electricity.
Mexican drug cartel suspect opens up about operations
Suspected drug cartel leaders in Mexico don’t often answer reporters’ questions, although one did call a radio station a few days ago to offer the government a deal.
Library fight riles up city, leads to book-burning demand
A fight over books depicting sex and homosexuality has riled up a small Wisconsin city, cost some library board members their positions and prompted a call for a public book burning. The battle has stirred much of West Bend, a city of roughly 30,000 people about 35 miles north of Milwaukee.