April 28, 2007
Emilio is 17 months old and has a rare genetic disorder that's ravaging his central nervous system. He cannot see, speak, or eat. A ventilator breathes for him in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at Austin Children's Hospital, where he's been since December. Without the ventilator, Emilio would die within hours.
A man cut off his penis with a knife in a packed London restaurant. The man was then taken to hospital in south London where his condition is stable. It is understood surgeons were unable to reattach his penis.
An exoplanet - as astronomers call planets around a star other than the Sun - is found, and completes a full orbit of its star in just 13 days. Astronomers have say it is the most Earth-like planet outside our Solar System to date, a world which could have water running on its surface.
Two elderly nuns are found suffocated in their hillside convent. The motive of the murder appears to be robbery - the killers are believed to have taken a crucifix containing wood reputedly from the cross on which Jesus Christ died.
April 24, 2007
A company develops a robotic sentry to guard the border between North and South Korea. It is equipped with two cameras and a machine gun.
Legal loophole gives mentally ill access to guns.
Kryptonite is no longer just the stuff of fiction feared by caped superheroes. A new mineral matching its unique chemistry - as described in the film Superman Returns - has been identified in a mine in Serbia.
Abu Sayyaf militants decapitate seven hostages and sent their heads to troops on the southern Philippine island of Jolo.
A yacht is found drifting off the North Queensland coast. The vessel has its engine running, and a table laid for dinner, but there are no signs of any people.
When World Bank President took over at the Bank in mid-2005, his ladyfriend - then a Bank employee for eight years - was transferred to work for the US State Department, to avoid any conflict of interest. But rapid rises in her tax-free World Bank salary to about $193,000 - more than the $186,000 Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice receives before tax - have aroused ire among other Bank employees.
The driver of a sport utility vehicle crammed with suspected illegal immigrants was fondling a female when he lost control and crashed, killing eight men.
The traditional penalty for a yakuza who has erred against his gang is brutal and permanent. It is the practise of "yubitsume" the little finger is chopped off at the knuckle to demonstrate penitence.
Gangsters are known for the spectacular tattoos that sometimes cover most of their bodies. Most Japanese public pools and gyms as a result exclude anyone with a tattoo of any kind.
The yakuza are trying toning down their gaudy image - the distinctive short hair-styles, the elaborate tattoos, and most famously, the chopped-off little finger. Now they want the more sober style.
April 04, 2007
Four million Americans believe they have been abducted by extraterrestrials. Many of them share personality traits and sleep disorders. Most of them have pre-existing new-age beliefs - they are into bio-energetic therapies, past lives, astral projection, tarot cards.
News about the emperor suffering from prostate cancer mark a break with tradition for the highly secretive imperial household. The previous emperor died in 1989 before it was revealed that he too had been suffering from cancer. The new emperor is considered to have more liberal and forward-thinking views than his father.
The richest woman of Hong Kong, Nina Wang, first became a household name when her businessman husband Teddy was kidnapped 15 years ago. He was never seen again and nine years later he was declared dead. She inherited his fortune.
The US has banned exports of iPods, fine wines and fast cars to North Korea as part of the punishment for the country's nuclear bomb test last year. (The sanctions are said to be targeted at North Korea's elite, who reportedly enjoy luxuries despite the country's desperate poverty.)
Diplomatic postings are highly sought-after jobs in North Korea, and are only given to the most loyal supporters of the regime. However, once overseas, diplomats' exposure to foreign thinking brings them under official suspicion in secretive North Korea.
A female Thai prisoner boosts her chances of freedom by winning the world light flyweight boxing title.
A man is forced into letting a gang of teenagers use his flat to drink and smoke cannabis. They subject him to regular abuse and humiliation, including pouring drinks and food on to him, daubing his face with ink and make-up, burning his hair, urinating on him and vandalising his flat. It also included regular beatings.
The grandmother of a five-year-old girl who was killed in an attack by a pit bull terrier-type dog has been charged with her manslaughter.
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