Russia yesterday sacked a top official and opened a criminal case against another over the death in prison of an ailing woman in her early fifties, the latest negligence scandal to rock the Russian penal system.
Vera Trifonova, the head of a real estate firm, died on Friday in Moscow's notorious Matrosskaya Tishina jail while under pre-trial investigation for large-scale fraud.
She was suffering from diabetes and kidney failure and was also confined to a wheelchair, according to her lawyer and supporters.
Her case was reminiscent of the sudden prison death of lawyer Sergei Magnitsky who died of heart failure in November aged 37, also while in pre-trial detention, sparking an outcry among rights campaigners. (AFP)
Trousers showing off underpants
A proposal to legally ban a teenager from wearing his trousers so low that the public could see his underpants has been rejected, it was revealed yesterday.
Ellis Drummond, 18, was facing an anti-social behaviour order (Asbo) preventing him from "wearing trousers so low beneath the waistline that members of the public are able to see your underwear".
The Asbo would have prohibited him from displaying his boxer shorts or briefs anywhere public in Bedford Borough. (PA)
Mauritians go to the polls
Mauritius holds a parliamentary election today with Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam going up against the man he defeated five years ago, Paul Berenger, in a contest that highlights the nation's ethnic divide.
From 2003 to 2005, Mr Berenger was the first Mauritius Prime Minister not of South Asian origin, the ethnic community that makes up more than 50 per cent of the island's population.
"These elections will demonstrate that any Mauritian, irrespective of his ethnic origin or culture, can run for Prime Minister on the basis of merit," said 65-year-old Mr Berenger. The Indian Ocean island comprises four communities: Hindus, Muslims, those of Chinese descent and Creoles - those with European roots and people of any origin other than the first three.
The majority Hindus have dominated the leadership since independence from Britain in 1968, and Mr Berenger criticised the trend. (AFP)
'Spiderman' to the rescue
A comic store owner dressed as Spiderman has become a real hero after he arrested an alleged thief.
Michael Baulderstone, 45, was dressed as Spiderman as part of an open day at Comic Centre in Adelaide, Australia.
He confronted the man when he claimed to have spotted him taking an X-Men omnibus.
CCTV shows Mr Baulderstone talking to the man before stopping him and confiscating the book.
A group of people dressed as Jedi knights also reportedly blocked the exit so the alleged robber could not escape. (AFP)
Loony leader fights Cameron
If David Cameron is to become the next Prime Minister, his first act will be to shake the hand of the self-confessed biggest loony in the country.
The Conservative party leader is certain to retain his seat in Parliament representing Witney, a picturesque market town in the Oxfordshire countryside.
But lining up against him is Alan "Howling Laud" Hope, the leader of the Official Monster Raving Loony Party, which has a 47-year tradition of fighting British elections from a standpoint of stupidity.
Dressed in a white suit, a giant white hat and a leopard print bow tie, the portly Hope has brought his megaphone to Witney High Street after a boozy time canvassing two dozen pubs the night before. Forgetting his keys in the car door as he toddles onto the town green, the jovial Hope hands out one million pound notes and yells "Vote for insanity: you know it makes sense!" (AFP)
Car kissing charge
A married couple have been cleared of indecency charges in Dubai after they insisted the car where they were caught canoodling was a private place.
A lawyer for the husband and wife, who have not been named, confirmed that an appeals court overturned a lower court ruling which had sentenced them to a month in jail and deportation.
The Pakistani couple successfully argued a policeman could not have seen them committing an indecent act inside their car - since it had tinted windows. The ruling is the latest in a string of cases involving sex in Dubai, a cosmopolitan city with the most lenient social codes in the Gulf but a tendency to crackdown on foreigners. (PA)
'Harmful' mobile phone ads ban
Workers in Tajikistan's capital Dushanbe yesterday began tearing down advertisements for mobile telephones after President Emomali Rakhmon last week criticised the devices as "harmful".
Mr Rakhmon, who has ruled the impoverished ex-Soviet state for nearly two decades, chastised the country's mostly rural population for spending too much time chatting on their phones, which he said were bad for their health.
"On behalf of the mayor, restrictions have been placed on outdoor advertisements for mobile telephone companies," a spokesman for the Dushanbe mayor's office, Shavkat Sayidov, said.
"Their banners and billboards are to be removed from the capital. In place of advertisements by commercial mobile providers, there will be placed information which is useful for your health," he added. (AFP)