Son accused of rape, mother paraded naked

A middle aged woman was allegedly paraded naked in northwest Pakistan on the instigation of a tribal council that found her son guilty of rape.

The woman was allegedly disrobed by four armed men and paraded in the streets of Neelor Bala village near Haripur in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province ea rlier this month.

Police confirmed the report and arrested three members of the jirga, The Express Tribune newspaper reported on Tuesday.

The incident occurred in the wake of a woman in Neelor Bala becoming pregnant while her husband was away in Lahore.

She accused two local men of having raped her. The woman's husband took the matter to the village jirga headed by Basheer Abbasi and Raqeeb on June 8.

The tribal council decided that the woman should immediately divorce her husband and the two men accused of rape should be punished. The man forced his wife to file for divorce.

After returning home, the husband of the woman and his three brothers reached the house of one of the men accused of rape and dragged his mother on to the streets.

They beat the mother with rifle butts and allegedly paraded her naked.

Police said the matter was brought to their notice by some rights activists and they registered a case against the council members.

Civil society organisations condemned the incident and offered the victims legal and moral support.

In January, another woman of Basti Wah Deen village in Vehari was gang-raped and stripped naked by landlords for refusing a marriage proposal.

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Topless Coffee Shop that Faced Fury of Small Town is Forced to Close

 A coffee shop with topless waitresses, which has caused a storm of protest in a small town, has been forced to close after it put up a ‘boobies wanted’ sign.

Grand View Topless Coffee Shop in Vassalboro, Maine, hit the headlines when it opened in 2009, offering to serve customers semi-nude. And despite a wave of protest from local campaigners in its home town of fewer than 5,000 people – and one high profile arson attack – the shop had until now, managed to keep business going.

But the controversial store’s topless waitresses will finally have to get dressed and leave after town officials ruled that it has been putting up signs illegally. Bosses insist the order has nothing to do with the shop’s nudity policy – or the fact that the signs offered a topless car wash and advertised: ‘Boobies wanted’. They say simply putting up the new signs without permission violated zoning rules. Donald Crabtree, the owner of Grand View Coffee Shop, which uses topless male and female waiters, said he had given up after fighting to exist for two years. ‘I wanted to have some fun; I wanted to see people smile,’ he told local paper the Maine Morning Sentinel. ‘I started the topless coffee shop to do that, and it did. But now my smile’s gone.

‘I’ve fought that fight for more than two years now and no matter how hard I try to make this work, somebody sabotages me.’ ‘These people are bound and determined to shut you down. I’m singled out, but I’m just trying to make a living like everyone else.’ The shop opened in 2009 to a storm of protest from its rural community and prompted Vassalboro and many other communities to bring in rules to regulate where and when sexually oriented businesses could operate. A few months later, in June 2009, the store’s original location was burnt to the ground. The man charged for being responsible for the arson, Raymond Bellavance Jr., who was in a relationship with one of the waitresses, is still awaiting trial.

Crabtree, 43, who has since run the business from a trailer, finally decided to close down after he was forced to take down the nude car wash and ‘boobies wanted’ signs. The town’s code officer had given him a week to remove them or face legal action. The local Reverend, Steve Rogers ,of the Vassalboro Baptist Church, said he was glad the ‘upsetting’ business was to close. He said: ‘I hate to see a business disappear, but that’s really not the type of business Vassalboro needs.  ’It’s had an effect on the community and upset people. I think the majority of the town is going to be very pleased it’s shutting down and hopefully whoever buys it will run a more family-friendly business.’ Others were not so pleased. Regular customer Herman Jellison, 47, of Whitefield, said he will miss the shop. ‘I don’t blame him,’ Jellison said of Crabtree. ‘This town’s been harassing him since he’s been here. People really need to mind their own business.’

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First Picture of 11-Year-Old Girl Who Fell 100 Feet off Moving Ferris Wheel

An 11-year-old girl has died after falling 100 feet from a Ferris wheel during a school trip.

Witnesses say 11-year-old Abiah Jones, from Pleasantville, New Jersey, was about half-way up the ride when she somehow fell from the ride’s car

Horrified classmates watched as Abiah Jones, from Pleasantville, New Jersey, fell from the upper half of the big wheel at just after midday on Friday as the ride at the Wildwood boardwalk, also in New Jersey, was still moving.

Police said the girl was over half-way up the ride when she fell from her Ferris wheel car.

She plunged into the area in front of the ride where children were getting on and off.

Police said there was no sign that it was an intentional jump or horseplay.

The ride owners said it appeared that the girl was alone in one of the car’s passenger gondolas, which is secured with a double latch.

The door of the car opens inward, making it difficult to climb out of, the company said.

The tragic accident happened during the boardwalk’s annual Education Extravaganza – a day for students from grades three to 12 and their teachers to enjoy the park and nearby beach and amusement pier.

The girl was on a trip with her school, the Pleasant Tech Academy.

Captain Lynn Frane of the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office confirmed the girl died on Friday after authorities were called and she was taken to a local hospital.

She was pronounced dead around 45 minutes later.

The incident happened at 12:30 p.m. Friday at Morey’s Mariner’s Landing Pier.

Morey’s said in a statement the cause did not appear to be mechanical but was being investigated. Meanwhile, the Ferris wheel and a few other rides were closed.

‘The Morey staff and family offer our thoughts and prayers to the family,’ Morey’s said in a statement.

Chief executive Will Morey said: ‘I’d like to say how sorry we are for the incident that occurred here.’

He said it was the first death of a customer in the history of the company, which has owned amusement parks at the Jersey shore since 1969.

The Ferris wheel was cordoned off with police tape this afternoon and part of the landing dock was covered in white sheets.

After closing the Ferris wheel and a few others rides throughout the afternoon, the amusement park’s owners closed the entire park at 4pm.

It was due to reopen Saturday morning.

Two bags of the girl’s clothing were taken from the scene by police.

The ride passed its last inspection on March 17 2011, according to authorities.

The 156 foot tall wheel is one of the largest Ferris wheels on the East Coast and is about the same height as a 10-story building.

It has been a popular attraction since it was built in 1985.

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Father Kills Two Young Sons, Then Emails Photo of Dead Baby to Mother – “We Love U Goodbye”

The father of two young boys is accused of killing them before allegedly texting a photo of the younger child’s dead body to their mother. According to friends of the mother, Gabriel Armandariz, 28, of Graham, Texas, sent pictures of himself on a bed with two-year-old Gatlin and eight-month-old Luke with the message ‘We love u goodbye’.

He then texted a final message to his ex-girlfriend with a photo that is claimed to show their younger son dead with a piece of frayed fabric wrapped around his neck like a noose. Colleagues of the boy’s mother, Lauren Smith, said she rushed into work on Wednesday ‘frantic and hysterical’ after receiving the text messages. Cindy Bradley, who works with her at the Chuck Wagon restaurant, Sudan, Texas, said Armandariz had been calling her and saying strange things before allegedly sending the disturbing photos.  ‘About four o’clock he sent her a picture message of the youngest boy hanging,’ she said.

Unsure if the photo was real or not, they immediately called the police to check on the boys who were staying with Armandariz in Graham. After a 10-hour search through the night, officers found both Luke and Gatlin dead. Armandariz was arrested and charged with their murders. Armandariz also allegedly posted a photo of his sons on Facebook with the caption ‘love forever’. Cynthia Bradley said the children’s mother was living with a relative in the Texas Panhandle, about 250 miles northwest of Graham. She said she was unsure why the couple had broken up. Douglas Ames, the woman’s boss at the Chuck Wagon restaurant, said: ‘Never expected anything like this to happen to anybody. Gabriel Armandariz is charged with capital murder and jailed on a $1.5 million bond. In Texas, a defendant convicted of capital murder can face the death penalty or life in prison without parole.

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Singaporeans high on the list of Ecstasy pill buyers in JB nightclubs

ECSTASY pills are said to be easily available at nightclubs in Taman Sentosa, Johor Baru, and the area is now attracting Singaporeans, China Press reported.

The daily reported that nightclub patrons could easily buy the pills there and many Singaporeans were spotted visiting the area during weekends.

Usually, the Singaporeans would visit the nightclubs on Saturday night as the charges in the area were cheaper than on the republic island.

According to the survey conducted by the daily, there were six to seven Singapore-registered cars parked outside the nightclubs during weekends.

A nightclub patron said there were three groups of people selling the pills in the area.

"Once a customer has placed an order, the seller would collect the money before putting the pills in a candy container and leaving it under a sofa. The customer would collect the pills later," he said.

Earlier, there was a report that a 37-year-old Singaporean died outside a nightclub at Taman Sentosa on Sunday. His wife had admitted that they had taken the pills with their son and his girlfriend before the incident.

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