The Malaysian Insider :: Features
The Malaysian Insider :: Features |
| More than 100 graves robbed in Benin for voodoo rituals Posted: 30 Nov 2012 05:47 AM PST  A protester sticks a pin into a voodoo doll of Peru's former president Alberto Fujimori during a protest in downtown Lima November 22, 2012. — Reuters pic The incident is the most serious case of grave robbing in the West African state, the world capital of voodoo where most of the country's 9 million residents practice a benign form of the official religion. Authorities in Dangbo, a village 10km (6 miles) from the capital Porto-Novo, began an investigation after a mason working at the cemetery said he spotted several masked men digging up the graves, from which organs and skulls were removed. "The desecration of graves is about money in this region," said Joseph Afaton, director of the cemetery. "It is for sacrifices, or for bewitching." Body parts of humans and rare animals are prized by some people in central Africa for their supposed supernatural powers, and are used in occult ceremonies. Traffickers often obtain human remains from grave robbers, but a recent spate of killings has also been linked to the gruesome trade. Authorities in Cameroon in September arrested five people suspected of trafficking human body parts after they were discovered at a checkpoint carrying a severed human head. — Reuters |
| Missouri Powerball lottery winner to become a celebrity Posted: 30 Nov 2012 05:25 AM PST  A Powerball lottery ticket sits in the machine at the 4 Sons Food Store and Chevron gas station which sold one of two winning Powerball lottery tickets in Fountain Hills, Arizona November 29, 2012. — Reuters pic The Missouri Lottery said it would identify the winner at 11am local time at the high school in Dearborn, which had a population of 496 at the 2010 census. The Missouri ticket, sold at a local Trex Mart gas station and convenience store about 30 miles (48km) north of Kansas City, was one of two winners announced on Wednesday night. The other was sold at a food store in Fountain Hills, Arizona, on the outskirts of Phoenix. The Arizona winner has not yet come forward. Some states allow lottery winners to remain anonymous but Missouri requires that the winner be publicly identified to claim the prize. Dearborn was awash with rumours yesterday that the winner was a local man in his early 50s. No one was home when a Reuters reporter arrived at the address listed as the man's residence. Dearborn reveled in its sudden arrival in the spotlight. "It was a total surprise," Don Palmer, a customer at the Trex Mart convenience store, said yesterday. "Nothing ever happens in Dearborn." The winning numbers were 5, 16, 22, 23, 29, and the Powerball number 6. The Missouri winner will have the choice of half of an estimated US$385 million before taxes if taken in a lump sum, the Multi-State Lottery Association said. Or, the winner can receive half of US$587.5 million as an annuity in payments over three decades, the association said. The odds of winning based on a US$2 purchase were calculated at more than 175 million to one. — Reuters |
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