Chinese soldiers to get €18,000 bonus payment if they are assigned to Tibet
Sunday November 22 2009
CHINESE soldiers from the boomtown of Guangzhou who are newly assigned to Tibet will get a "special allowance" of up to €18,000 for serving there, a local newspaper has reported.
The potential payment for those heading to Tibet is more than what many graduates would hope to earn as an annual salary. The area was wracked by violence in 2008, with separatists demanding free elections for Tibet.
Jacko's doctor bought anaesthetic
A POWERFUL anaesthetic recovered from Michael Jackson's bedside after he died was purchased in Nevada by his doctor, court documents show.
Dr Conrad Murray bought the sedative propofol on May 12. The LA county coroner blamed propofol in ruling that the 50-year-old pop star's June 25 death was a homicide. Murray, 56, is the focus of a LA homicide investigation.
Mubarak enters dispute over playoff
PRESIDENT Hosni Mubarak entered Egypt's bitter soccer row with Algeria on Saturday, vowing that attacks on Egyptians abroad "will not be tolerated".
Fierce soccer rivalry boiled over into violence when the two Arab nations met in crucial World Cup qualifiers recently. Egyptian fans, incensed by reports of Algerian attacks after last Wednesday's match in Sudan, rioted in central Cairo on Thursday night as they tried to reach the Algerian embassy. Algeria won the World Cup playoff.
Iran begins war games for air defence
IRAN will begin large-scale air defence war games today, aimed at protecting its nuclear facilities from possible attack. The five-day drill will involve Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard and the regular army and will cover 230,000 square miles of the country.
Nato takes over Afghanistan training
NATO took command over training of the Afghan army and police yesterday to consolidate efforts on building an effective security force, a vital precondition for the withdrawal of foreign troops.
Meanwhile, a rocket hit the outside wall of the luxury Serena hotel in Kabul yesterday, wounding four people.
Collector finds Galileo's body parts
AN art collector has found a tooth, thumb and finger of the renowned Italian scientist Galileo Galilei, who died in the 17th century, Florence's History of Science museum said on Friday. The body parts, along with another finger and a vertebrae, were cut from Galileo's corpse during a burial ceremony held 95 years after his death in 1642.
Bank robber scares woman to death
A MAN will spend the rest of his life in prison after he was found guilty of scaring a 79-year-old grandmother to death in North Carolina in the United States.
Larry Whitfield, 21, was looking for somewhere to hide after a failed bank robbery in September 2008 when he broke into her home. Whitfield never touched the woman , but she suffered a heart attack when she saw him.
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