Severe H1N1 strikes lungs

Doctors are reporting a severe form of the Influenza A (H1N1) that goes straight to the lungs, causing severe illness in otherwise healthy young people and requiring expensive hospital treatment. Some countries are reporting that as many as 15 per cent of patients hospitalised with the H1N1 pandemic virus need intensive care. H1N1 spreads four times faster than other viruses and 40 per cent of the fatalities are young adults in good health.

Boat sinks, 8 dead, 18 trapped

Eight people died and 18 are feared trapped inside a cargo vessel which sank on a river in Indonesia's Borneo island. Indonesia's 234 million people are spread across 17,000 islands and so are heavily dependent on a network of ships and boats, which have a poor safety record. Up to 335 people were killed when a ferry sank off Sulawesi island in January. In December 2006 a ferry went down in a storm off the coast of Java, killing more than 500 people.

18 years jail for insult

A THAI court sentenced an activist Friday to 18 years in prison, on charges of insulting the monarchy in speeches during political rallies. The court sentenced Daranee, a jounalist-turned-activist, to six years in prison. Dressed in an orange prison uniform, Daranee smiled and flashed a victory sign to cameras as she was escorted from the courtroom by guards. She maked 3 different insulting remarks about the king.

H1N1 flu found in birds

The outbreak in Chile was announced last week, It was the first case of the virus found outside humans and pigs. If the flu is to mutate with H5N1 which is bird flu, it would be even more contagious and deadly. Bird flu, which has been circulating in Asia for years, has killed 262 out of 433 infected globally since 2003. Indonesia alone accounted for more than 100 deaths.

Granny hit by lorry, dies

Nearly every morning, for 50 years, Madam Chia Siew Lang would cross the street near her flat to buy groceries. Early on Thursday morning, that routine came to a tragic end when she was hit by a lorry. She suffered serious head injuries but was still conscious and was taken to Changi General Hospital. Madam Chia, 80, died in a hospital nearly two hours later.

A chinese born man whose wife was reported missing to police was found trying to hide her body inside the wall of a house in Australia's north-east. He was charged with murder after detectives investigating the disappearance of his wife discovered him trying to hide her body in the wall.

Suicide bombers kill 21 in Iraq

Two suicide bombers detonated vests packed with explosives in a cafe in a town near the northern Iraqi city of Mosul on Thursday, killing 21 people. There has been a series of high-profile bombings in and around Mosul in the past fortnight and the US military said on Tuesday that a resilient Al-Qaeda had set off a string of deadly blasts.

7 women shot dead in sauna

SEVEN women were shot dead in a sauna in Dagestan and, in separate attacks, eight policemen and two separatists were also killed in Russia's northern Caucasus region late on Thursday. The attacks are the latest in a sharp upswing in violence against civilians across the region, where a local minister was shot dead in his office earlier this week.

Man dies after lorry hits him

A chinese man died on Saturday after his colleague reversed a lorry into him. The 23-year-old victim worked for a company that collects glass bottles from restaurants, was standing in the carpark behind Block 11 at Dempsey Hill when the incident took place. Police received a call about the accident at 4pm. The victim, who was clad in a light blue shirt and jeans, died from serious head injuries at about 4.15pm.

Couple found dead in hotel

A couple were found dead at Fragrance Hotel Kovan in Upper Serangoon on Saturday, around noon. The man was in his early 40s while the woman was in her late 30s. Both were Chinese. The police said they received a call at 12.10pm Friday and found the motionless bodies in one of the rooms. Paramedics pronounced them dead 20 minutes later. The police have classified the case as an unnatural death and are investigating.

Hawaii closes beaches

Several beach parks on Hawaii's Big Island will be closed beginning Sunday afternoon because of Hurricane Felicia, which is expected to increase wave heights as it approaches land. Felicia peaked on Thursday as a Category 4 storm with winds topping 140 mph (225 kmh). But the weakening storm entered the Central Pacific Saturday as a Category 1 hurricane, with maximum sustained winds of 85 mph (135 kmh).

An obese prisoner in Harris County, Texas has been charged with illegal possession of a firearm after he was discovered to be hiding a 9mm pistol in between his rolls of fat. George Vera, who weighs around 500 pounds (225 kilograms) was originally arrested last week for selling counterfeit CDs. Vera has been charged with possession of an illegal weapon in a correctional facility, which carries a penalty of two to 10 years in prison.

Making a meal of mice

Cooked, salted or dried, field mice strung on sticks are sold as a popular delicacy in Malawi markets and roadside stalls. The mice are hunted in corn fields after the harvest when they have grown plump on a diet of grains, fruits, grass and the odd insect. The most widely eaten species is known locally as Kapuku, gray in colour and with a shorter tail than the more common rat. Young boys have to be quick as they chase the mice through the fields and catch them. But local villagers have also come up with an innovative trap.

Man charged for phone scam

A 22-YEAR-OLD was charged on Friday with attempted cheating in a phone rebate scam. According to court documents, Muhammad Nazri Azman lied to a woman that she would receive monthly rebates of up to $500 cash for signing up for a mobile phone plan and giving the new cell phone to him. Nazri is alleged to have intended to disappear with the phone. There would also be no rebates. If convicted, he could be jailed up to 10 years and fined.

Baby revives after 'dying'

A premature infant given up for dead in Paraguay was found to have revived when he was taken home for a wake. Jose Alvarenga said his infant son was pronounced dead at 6pm local time on Thursday, and that hospital officials delivered the body to his Asuncion home in a box four hours later. Mr Alvarenga said he rushed his son back to the hospital, where nurses put the infant in an oxygen chamber, where he remains in a stable condition.

Panic as baby croc takes walk

A baby crocodile triggered panic among passengers on an EgyptAir flight from Abu Dhabi to Cairo on Friday when it took a leisurely stroll on board the aircraft. Terrified passengers screamed at the sight of the 30 centimetre reptile as it made its way under seats and down the aisle. Crew members managed to corner and capture the croc and handed it over to authorities when the plane landed in Cairo, where it was to be housed at the Giza zoo.

Tourist missing after snorkelling

An Australian tourist went missing while snorkelling alone off Indonesia's Lombok island. The man had gone snorkelling on Wednesday morning but he failed to return in the evening. He shouldn't have snorkelled alone. The people in the area said they had seen a man surfacing from the waters a few times. After that he disappeared.