Octopus Paul successor is French

The successor to the World-Cup predicting Paul the Octopus is French.

The English-born Paul died of natural causes in his tank Tuesday at the aquarium in Oberhausen, Germany. He gained fame by predicting all seven of Germany's World Cup wins and Spain's victory over the Netherlands in the final.

Paul made his predictions by opening the lid of one of two clear plastic boxes, each containing a mussel and bearing a team flag.

Seal Life aquarium spokeswoman Tanja Munzig says the new octopus, also to be called Paul, was born near the southern French city of Montpellier. New octopod will be presented Tuesday at the aquarium in Oberhausen. Thus, the French have a reason to be optimistic that qualify for Euro 2012, the group that we are adversaries.

Paul the Octopus, World Cup Oracle, dies

The staff members responsible Paul octopus care say they’re “devastated” finding its death and are considering erecting a permanent monument to him on the aquarium grounds. The octopus that accurately predicted the outcomes of eight World Cup matches this year died peacefully on Tuesday in Sea Life Center aquarium in Oberhausen, Germany.

Named “Paul” by the media and aquarium staffers, the octopus achieved international fame by picking the winner of every World Cup match he was presented with. His caretakers would place two boxes in the water, each with a flag representing one of the teams in an upcoming match, and he would swim to one of the boxes. Every time, he swam to the box representing the team that ultimately won the match.

West Papuans tortured by Indonesian army

Warning: although the most violent sections of the video have been cut, viewers may still find these images distressing.



A video showing Indonesian soldiers torturing indigenous people from West Papua was posted on the internet a few days ago.

The video posted on the Asian Human Rights Committee website is in two parts. In the first part Indonesian soldiers can be seen arresting a group of indigenous Papuans. The villagers, who are accused of having links to separatist organizations in the region, are insulted and receive several blows to the head.

In the second part of the video, two bound men are subjected to physical abuse and humiliation while being questioned about their supposed involvement with armed separatist groups. One of them is threatened with a knife to the throat. The other man, who is visibly older, has a plastic bag over his head and his genitals are being burned with a burning stick.

Due to the outrage provoked by the publication of these images, the Indonesian government has ordered an inquiry. On October 22, Djoko Suyanton, the Indonesian security minister, admitted that the torturers seen in the video were indeed Indonesian military personnel. He added that the actions were excessive and that the perpetrators would be punished. However, the minister also said that the soldiers had good reason to suspect that the interrogated villagers were armed and dangerous. Human rights organisations say the men were just simple farmers.

Toyota recall 1.53 million Lexus, Avalon and other models

Toyota will call back for repairs about 740,000 cars in the US, 599,000 in Japan and 191,000 in Europe

The majority of vehicles this time around need to be fixed for a problem with the brake master cylinder which could lead to weaker braking power, said spokesman Paul Nolasco in Tokyo. Some models in Japan and elsewhere — but not in North America — have an electrical problem with the fuel pump which could cause the engine to stall, he said. Two models in Japan — the Lexus GS350 and the Crown — are affected by both problems.

The models affected in Japan include the Crown, Crown Majesta, Harrier, Mark X, Alphard, Kluger, Lexus GS350, Lexus IS250, and Lexus IS350. The production date of the models ranges from May 2002 to November 2005.

The models affected by the latest recall in the US include the 2005 and 2006 Avalon, 2004 through 2006 non-hybrid Highlander and Lexus RX330, and 2006 Lexus GS300, IS250, and IS350 vehicles, the company said in a statement from its US headquarters in Torrance, California.

Toyota Recall: Models Affected Include Lexus GS300, Crown Majesta and Avalon

Toyota dedided the recalling of 1.53 million models, mostly in the U.S. and Japan. The company recalled the vehicles to address the possibility that a small amount of the brake fluid could slowly leak from the brake master cylinder, resulting in illumination of the brake warning lamp. Toyota and Lexus dealers will replace the brake master cylinder cup with a newly designed one at no charge to the vehicle owners.

The recalled models in the United States are:
-2005 and 2006 Avalon
-2004 through 2006 non-hybrid Highlander
-2004 through 2006 Lexus RX330
-2006 Lexus GS300, IS250, and IS350

In Japan, vehicles recalled are the May 2002 to November 2005:
-Crown
-Crown Majesta
-Harrier
-Mark X
-Alphard
-Kluger
-Lexus GS350
-Lexus IS250
-Lexus IS350

Toyota says that owners of the involved vehicles will be notified by first class mail beginning in early next month.

Saudi Prince murder trial reveals twisted plot

Saudi Arabia Prince Saud Abdulaziz bin Nasser al Saud was convicted Tuesday of murdering one of his servants in a British hotel, in a frenzied attack fueled by alcohol and sex.

A jury in London's Old Bailey criminal court found the 34-year-old prince guilty of murdering his servant, Bandar Abdullah Abdulaziz, at the Landmark Hotel in London on Feb. 15, 2010.

The prosecutor, Jonathan Laidlaw, says that the death of 32-year-old Bandar Abdullah Abdulaziz was a culmination of abuse by 34-year-old Prince Saud Abdulaziz bin Nasser al Saud.

In his closing statements at London's Central Criminal Court, Laidlaw alleged the prince assaulted his assistant for his "own personal gratification."

The jury deliberated 95 minutes before returning its verdict.

Al Saud, whose grandfather is a brother of the current Saudi king, faces a possible life prison term in prison when he is sentenced on Wednesday.

Gunmen attack parliament building in restive Chechnya

A group of up to four militants broke into the parliament building in the Chechen capital Grozny early this Tuesday morning, sparking fears of a major hostage crisis before security forces moved in to take the deputies to safety.

Officials said that all the militants were killed by the security forces, with reports adding that some had been shot dead while others had killed themselves by detonating suicide charges.

Russian news agency reports said that two militants blew themselves up in suicide blasts and the others were killed in an exchange of fire with security forces.

All deputies are alive and were taken from the territory of the parliament building to safety. However, according to the investigative committee of prosecutors, 17 people were wounded in the incident.

Police kill at least 12 Chechen rebels after raid

Chechen authorities said that police killed 12 rebels as they repulsed a raid on the Moscow-backed president's home village on Sunday an attack that broke a period of relative calm in the troubled Russian republic.

Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov told state-run Rossiya-24 TV he headed the operation to fight off the attack on his village of Tsentoroi and said 12 insurgents were killed. His office also confirmed his account of the raid.

Some 30 rebels attacked the village early on Sunday morning, a source in the North Caucasus Federal District police in the nearby Stavropol region, told RIA news agency. Only a few rebels shooting a video of the raid managed to escape, it said.

Five civilians and two policemen were also killed in the attack, RIA said, but it said it could not immediately confirm the toll of 12 rebel dead cited by Kadyrov and his office

Kadyrov, himself a former Chechen rebel, has been the target of a number of assassination attempts in the past 10 years, and Tsentoroi was raided by insurgents back in 2004, in what Kadyrov said was an attack aimed to kill him.

Republic of Chechnya People killed and hostages

According to a report of the RIA news agency, at least two people were killed Tuesday when a suicide bomber and a number of gunmen attacked the local parliament in Russia's restive southern republic of Chechnya.

The news agency said a suicide bomber had detonated explosives just outside parliament and that two armed insurgents had then engaged in a gun battle with guards around the building.

The Russian Interfax news agency also reported that three or four gunmen had broken into the parliament building itself and opened fire. It said a number of hostages had been taken. The shooting started near the office of the parliament's speaker and was continuing, Interfax reported, citing a security source.

Another Russian news agency, the Itar-Tass, reported that other insurgents had stormed the Chechen agriculture minister in a separate attack.

Mountain Goat Attack Kills Man in Washington

The National Park Service says, that Robert H. Boardman of Port Angeles, a 63-year-old hiker, died after he was gored by a mountain goat in Olympic National Park.

The deadly incident happened when Boardman, his wife, Susan Chadd, and their friend, Pat Willits, had gone for a day hike on the switchback trail to Klahhane Ridge, about 17 miles south of Port Angeles. Nobody saw what actually happened. People just heard Bob yell.

Barb Maynes, park spokeswoman, said the ram involved in the attack was known for its aggressive behavior, and the park had been monitoring the ram for "the last several years," she said.

About an hour after the attack, rangers were able to locate the ram, which was about 8 or 9 years old. They identified the animal after seeing blood on it, then shot and killed it. The dead animal will be analyzed by a veterinary pathologist.