Oprah maybe, but avoid appearing on Home Front TV if you value your life


James Langton
  • English
  • Arabic

A television chat show in Bulgarian has been described as cursed after the death of six guests in just two years.

Most recently, a herbalist who appeared on Otechestven Front, which translates as "Home Front", died in a fire at his home.

The rumours of a curse were fuelled by the fact that the man died attempting to save his black cat.

Other guests on the show include a reputed gangster whose mysterious death was attributed to black magic and the owner of a religious icon said to shed real tears who died of undisclosed cancer. Broadcasters have promised to investigate the claims of a curse.

Bin Laden? Who he?

Only one country in the world failed to report the death of Osama bin Laden at the hands of US special forces.

Citizens of the Central Asian republic of Uzbekistan were kept in the dark after the country's government news agency said it was not initially aware of bin Laden's death because they did not have a working internet connection.

The Uzbek national news agency added that it thought the story was "unlikely to be of interest to its readership" even though the US used a military base in Uzbekistan during its war in Afghanistan. Instead, it headed the daily bulletin with a UN report that "headaches were the most common health disorder around the world, but widely untreated".

Darwin award candidate

Police in South Carolina received an emergency call from a man who complained he had been short-changed by his drug dealer.

Dexter White, 41, asked officers to investigate why he had only been given US$20 (Dh73) worth of crack cocaine despite handing the dealer $60.

He was arrested on a charge of disorderly conduct and sent to a local detention centre.

Badger rhapsody

Brian May, the guitarist with the rock group Queen, has launched a campaign to protect Britain's badger population.

May, 63, is calling on the UK government to abandon plans for a mass cull of badgers, which are blamed by farmers for spreading a form of tuberculosis among cattle.

He said: "I don't really love badgers because they are furry and good-looking. It's not about that.

"To me they are fascinating and rather mysterious because they have been in the British Isles longer than humans."

Thief tracked down

An officer in the Russian navy has gone on trial accused of stealing half a kilometre of railway track.

Investigators said Alexei Gusev and an accomplice hired a gang of five men to remove a section of the line from Yantarni to Primorsk. Gusev, an officer in the Baltic fleet, was said to be short of money and planned to sell the track, which weighed 30 tonnes, for scrap.

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Syria squad

Goalkeepers: Ibrahim Alma, Mahmoud Al Youssef, Ahmad Madania.
Defenders: Ahmad Al Salih, Moayad Ajan, Jehad Al Baour, Omar Midani, Amro Jenyat, Hussein Jwayed, Nadim Sabagh, Abdul Malek Anezan.
Midfielders: Mahmoud Al Mawas, Mohammed Osman, Osama Omari, Tamer Haj Mohamad, Ahmad Ashkar, Youssef Kalfa, Zaher Midani, Khaled Al Mobayed, Fahd Youssef.
Forwards: Omar Khribin, Omar Al Somah, Mardik Mardikian.

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets

SPECS

Toyota land Cruiser 2020 5.7L VXR

Engine: 5.7-litre V8

Transmission: eight-speed automatic

Power: 362hp

Torque: 530Nm

Price: Dh329,000 (base model 4.0L EXR Dh215,900)

Ireland (15-1):

Ireland (15-1): Rob Kearney; Keith Earls, Chris Farrell, Bundee Aki, Jacob Stockdale; Jonathan Sexton, Conor Murray; Jack Conan, Sean O'Brien, Peter O'Mahony; James Ryan, Quinn Roux; Tadhg Furlong, Rory Best (capt), Cian Healy

Replacements: Sean Cronin, Dave Kilcoyne, Andrew Porter, Ultan Dillane, Josh van der Flier, John Cooney, Joey Carbery, Jordan Larmour

Coach: Joe Schmidt (NZL)

The specs
  • Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
  • Power: 640hp
  • Torque: 760nm
  • On sale: 2026
  • Price: Not announced yet
Key findings of Jenkins report
  • Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
  • Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
  • Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
  • Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
JAPAN SQUAD

Goalkeepers: Masaaki Higashiguchi, Shuichi Gonda, Daniel Schmidt
Defenders: Yuto Nagatomo, Tomoaki Makino, Maya Yoshida, Sho Sasaki, Hiroki Sakai, Sei Muroya, Genta Miura, Takehiro Tomiyasu
Midfielders: Toshihiro Aoyama, Genki Haraguchi, Gaku Shibasaki, Wataru Endo, Junya Ito, Shoya Nakajima, Takumi Minamino, Hidemasa Morita, Ritsu Doan
Forwards: Yuya Osako, Takuma Asano, Koya Kitagawa

World Cup final

Who: France v Croatia
When: Sunday, July 15, 7pm (UAE)
TV: Game will be shown live on BeIN Sports for viewers in the Mena region

Warlight,
Michael Ondaatje, Knopf 

Know your camel milk:
Flavour: Similar to goat’s milk, although less pungent. Vaguely sweet with a subtle, salty aftertaste.
Texture: Smooth and creamy, with a slightly thinner consistency than cow’s milk.
Use it: In your morning coffee, to add flavour to homemade ice cream and milk-heavy desserts, smoothies, spiced camel-milk hot chocolate.
Goes well with: chocolate and caramel, saffron, cardamom and cloves. Also works well with honey and dates.

MATCH INFO

Uefa Champions League, semi-final result:

Liverpool 4-0 Barcelona

Liverpool win 4-3 on aggregate

Champions Legaue final: June 1, Madrid

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The biog

Age: 46

Number of Children: Four

Hobby: Reading history books

Loves: Sports

PROFILE BOX:

Company/date started: 2015

Founder/CEO: Rami Salman, Rishav Jalan, Ayush Chordia

Based: Dubai, UAE

Sector: Technology, Sales, Voice, Artificial Intelligence

Size: (employees/revenue) 10/ 100,000 downloads

Stage: 1 ($800,000)

Investors: Eight first-round investors including, Beco Capital, 500 Startups, Dubai Silicon Oasis, Hala Fadel, Odin Financial Services, Dubai Angel Investors, Womena, Arzan VC

 

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