World Briefs

The Nepal Red Cross Society has voted to pay a monthly "salary" to a wounded stray dog that has taken on the job of guarding its office.

NRCS president Man Bahadur Budathoki said the dog had turned up at the organisation's premises in the east of the country last month and remained there ever since, barking at any stranger who approached.

The NRCS working committee voted on Sunday to pay it 1,000 rupees ($14) a month - plus overtime for weekends.

"The dog is doing such a great job that we might even get rid of our night guard," Mr Budathoki said yesterday. (AFP)

Prisoner uses Facebook to taunt enemies

Colin Gunn, an underworld godfather who ordered the execution of two grandparents, has now had his social networking site closed down by prison bosses.

The 42-year-old from Nottingham was jailed over the revenge murders of John and Joan Stirland in 2004.

The Sunday Times reported that Mr Gunn said in one posting: "I will be home one day and I can't wait to look into certain people's eyes and see the fear of me being there."

It comes after last week's revelation that one of the killers of teenager Ben Kinsella used Facebook to taunt his victim's family. (PA)

Goa bikini-clad women ad ban

The government of the Indian resort state of Goa may ban tourism advertisements featuring bikini-clad women to improve its image after a string of crimes against women, an official said.

The proposal, which has received backing from tourism authorities, was made to counter popular perceptions of Goa as a destination where there is easy access to sex and drugs, said state Tourism Minister Francisco Pacheco.

Russia this week slammed local authorities after repeated attacks on its nationals in Goa, including a case where a nine-year-old Russian girl was allegedly raped.

"We will make sure government ads don't have bikini-clad women and we will also ask private tour operators to desist from having such images," Mr Pacheco said.

The ban has yet to be approved but the edict would apply to print advertisements which are part of the Goa government's $4.5 million global campaign to draw visitors to its famed sandy beaches and nightlife. (AFP)

Toyota gas pedal mass recall

Toyota will restart US production of vehicles affected by a mass recall due to faulty gas pedals on February 8, the Japanese automaker said yesterday.

"We will begin production next week on February 8," Jim Lentz, president of Toyota Motor USA, said in a conference call with reporters. (AFP)

Hospital sorry as midwife vanishes

Hospital bosses have apologised to a father who delivered his baby after the midwife vanished just as his partner gave birth.

Thomas Howard, 33, dashed to Royal Blackburn Hospital in the UK to be at the bedside after first arranging child-care for the couple's four young children.

After arriving he noticed his partner, Emily Baron, 26, was losing blood and asked the midwife if that was normal, but he claimed she then left the room.

"It was then that I noticed the baby's head coming through," Mr Howard told the Lancashire Evening Telegraph.

"I pressed the buzzer to get some assistance, but nobody came and I decided that I would have to step in. (PA)

Hacker attack shuts newspaper website

Russia's most outspoken opposition newspaper, Novaya Gazeta, said yesterday it had complained to officials about a hacker attack which has kept its website offline for the past six days.

"We filed our complaint with the interior ministry, the investigative committee, the prosecutor general and the FSB security service and we are waiting for their replies," said newspaper spokesman Nadezhda Prusenkova.

Novaya Gazeta, which frequently criticises the Russian authorities and runs muckraking articles about corruption, has been posting its articles on several other websites since its main site went down on January 26.

The site was brought down by a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack, in which hackers bombard a site with so many requests for data that legitimate users cannot visit it, Novaya Gazeta said last week after the attack began. (AFP)

Male breast reduction

Male breast reduction operations have gone up by 80 per cent since last year, new figures showed yesterday, making it the fastest growing sector of the cosmetic surgery industry.

The number of men trying to get rid of their man boobs - or 'moobs' as they are more popularly referred to - surged from 323 procedures in 2008 to 581 operations in 2009, according to an audit by the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS) .

The organisation, which represents about a third of the nation's plastic surgeons, said the development of abnormally large mammary glands - a medical condition called "gynaecomastia" - is most often attributed to hormone imbalances. BAAPS said the condition is not physically harmful and "quite common". (AFP)