96-Stone Man: Saudi King Orders Airlift

A Saudi man weighing 96st (610kg) has been airlifted to hospital after being unable to leave his bedroom for two-and-a-half years.

Khalid Mohsin Shaeri, 20, was flown from the southern city of Jazan to a hospital in Riyadh on King Abdullah's orders.

The "rescue" plan had to wait for six months until a specially-made bed was delivered from the US.

Saudi Arabia's health ministry worked with civil defence and the Saudi Red Cross to organise his evacuation after part of his home was demolished so he could be brought down from the second floor.

A forklift truck was used to carry Mr Shaeri to an ambulance and on to a waiting aircraft.

King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia

Minister of Health Dr Abdullah al Rabeeah called the king's efforts a "humanitarian gesture".

Mr Shaeri, who weighs the same as two baby elephants or eight average-sized men, was reported to have a brother and sister who are also overweight, but able to walk.

Local media said the Saudi health ministry had dealt with other morbidly obese patients this year, including two siblings who weighed 47st (298kg) and 55st (349kg).

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Prison Hunger Strikers 'Can Be Force Fed'

Prisoners on hunger strike in California could be force-fed if they are in imminent danger of dying, under a new federal court ruling.

Corrections officials made the legal request, fearing for the welfare of nearly 70 inmates who have refused all meals since July 8 - the start of the mass protest against the state's solitary confinement policies for gang leaders and other violent inmates.

Among the concerns is the belief that some of the prisoners may have been coerced into taking part in the strike.

Some 130 people in six prisons are still refusing meals. When the strike began it included nearly 30,000 of the 133,000 inmates in California.

Prison policy usually allows inmates to starve to death if they have signed a do-not-resuscitate (DNR) request. But Monday's decision gives a blanket authority to feed inmates in failing health - including those who only recently signed a DNR request.

Protesters against the use of solitary confinement in California prisons

The process, which prison officials call "refeeding", could include giving fluids intravenously or snaking feeding tubes through inmates' noses and into their stomachs.

A lawyer for some of the hunger strikers said she was not aware of inmates being coerced.

"They're exaggerating this," said Carol Strickman. "As much as I don't want to see anybody die, some people were choosing to sign those requests and some were not."

Joyce Hayhoe, a spokeswoman for the department responsible for prison medical care, said officials were merely trying to be proactive.

"Inmates can deteriorate rather quickly when they have starved themselves for this long period of time so we wanted to make sure we had the order in place ... for us to be able to save their lives," she said.

One of the solitary confinement cells at Pelican Bay

California incarcerates about 3,600 inmates in what are known as Security Housing Units, some because of crimes they committed in prison and others because they are confirmed gang leaders.

The highest-ranking among them are held at Pelican Bay, where the heads of four rival white supremacist, black and Latino gangs have formed an unlikely alliance to force an end to the isolation units.

The hunger strike is the latest problem to plague California's prison system, which is currently operating under a federal court order to reduce crowding by the end of the year, possibly by releasing up to 10,000 inmates early.

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Twitter Threat: Ecuador Leader Warns Papers

The president of Ecuador has warned the country's opposition-owned newspapers that he may force them to go digital to save paper.

In a Twitter statement, Rafael Correa suggested that if enough signatures were gathered for a referendum, he would propose that all newspapers should be published online "to save paper and avoid so much indiscriminate cutting of trees. We'll see 'who is who'".

It is believed the president is targeting opposition-owned papers that have backed a proposed plan to block oil exploration in the pristine Yasuni National Park.

Correa had originally planned to protect the park's biologically diversity

Mr Correa announced last week that he had asked congress to back drilling in Yasuni, after several wealthy nations backed out of a conservation plan which would have involved them paying him compensation not to explore the area.

The original plan was aimed at protecting wildlife - a single hectare of the Yasuni national park contains more tree species per hectare than in all of North America - and the livelihoods of indigenous people who fear oil drilling would damage their ancestral homeland.

In return, the government had hoped to receive $3.6bn (£1.9bn) from the international community over 12 years, or about half the value of the oil it would be leaving in the ground.

But he has now warned newspapers opposed to oil exploration in the park

But after several wealthy nations rejected his idea he asked for the support of congress to back an oil exploration programme, saying it was essential for the country to expand its oil reserves in order to direct more state spending towards the poor.

The president has previously won popular support among Ecuador's low-income majority with heavy spending on welfare, health, education and infrastructure projects.

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Pakistan: Musharraf Charged In Bhutto Death

Timeline: Musharraf And Ms Bhutto

Updated: 11:45am UK, Tuesday 20 August 2013

More than five years after Benazir Bhutto was assassinated, Pervez Musharraf has been charged over her death. These are the key moments in the case:

:: December 2, 1988 - Ms Bhutto, leader of the Pakistan People's Party, is sworn into office, becoming the first woman prime minister of a Muslim country.

:: August 6, 1990 - Ms Bhutto's government is dismissed by the president of Pakistan after just 20 months in power. She blames the military for her dismissal, which is later upheld.

:: October 7, 1993 - Ms Bhutto's party wins parliamentary elections. She is elected for a second term as prime minister.

:: November 5, 1996 - Ms Bhutto is again dismissed by Pakistan's president and placed under house arrest.

:: April 15, 1999 - Ms Bhutto is convicted while in exile in London of corruption charges. She is sentenced to five years in prison and barred from holding political office.

:: October 1999 - Army chief Musharraf leads a military coup against prime minister Nawaz Sharif.

:: April 6, 2001 - Pakistan's Supreme Court overturns Ms Bhutto's conviction and orders a retrial.

:: June 20 - Musharraf appoints himself president of Pakistan.

:: July 27, 2007 - Ms Bhutto meets Musharraf in Abu Dhabi. She demands he stand down as army chief before any power-sharing agreement can be reached.

:: October 4, 2007 - Musharraf's government clears the way for Ms Bhutto to return to Pakistan and to run for re-election as president.

:: October 18 - Ms Bhutto survives two explosions at a homecoming rally in Karachi. More than 100 people are killed and hundreds more are injured.

:: November 13 - Ms Bhutto is stopped from leaving her home by riot police, while Musharraf declares a state of emergency as he attempts to assert his authority.

:: November 29 - Musharraf steps down as army chief and is sworn in as a civilian president, ending eight years of military rule in Pakistan.

:: December 27 - Ms Bhutto is assassinated in a gun and bomb attack in Rawalpindi. Musharraf's government claims Pakistani Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud is responsible but Ms Bhutto's supporters accuse the president of not doing enough to ensure her protection.

:: February 18, 2008 - Ms Bhutto's widower, Ali Asif Zardari, and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif form a new government.

:: August 7 - Mr Zardari and Mr Sharif call for Musharaff's impeachment.

:: August 18 - Musharraf resigns as Pakistani president.

:: April 16, 2010 - UN investigators say Pakistan deliberately failed to thoroughly investigate Ms Bhutto's murder and claim intelligence agencies and government officials "severely hampered" their own probe.

:: February 12, 2011 - A court in Pakistan issues an arrest warrant for Musharraf, now living in London, over the assassination of Ms Bhutto.

:: April 19, 2013 - Musharraf is placed under house arrest near Islamabad.

:: August 20 - Musharraf is charged with murder, criminal conspiracy and facilitation for murder over Ms Bhutto's death.

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Shark Attack Victim On Life Support In Hawaii

A German tourist who had her arm bitten off by a shark in Hawaii last week is on full life support, a hospital spokeswoman has said.

The Maui News reports that Jana Lutteropp, 20, is in a "very critical condition" at the Maui Memorial Medical Centre.

Spokeswoman Carol Clark said the family has requested privacy "during this very difficult time".

Ms Lutteropp was attacked by the shark while snorkelling around 50 yards (46 metres) offshore at Palauea Beach, also known as White Rock in Makena, on August 14.

Other swimmers waded out with a kayak and managed to bring her back to shore.

Witnesses said Ms Lutteropp's right arm had been bitten off and she had lost a significant amount of blood. The arm was not found.

"We heard screaming from the water and it was this unbelievable scream like I've never heard before," local resident Andree Conley-Kapoi told MauiNow.com after the attack.

Jimmy Napeahi has been surfing since he was four. Pic: Facebook

"The only time anybody would scream like that is if they are being attacked by a shark," she added.

There have been eight shark attacks on the Hawaii islands so far this year.

On Sunday a 16-year-old surfer Jimmy Ulualoha 'Ulu-boy' Napeahi suffered leg injuries after being bitten by a shark near Hilo on the Big Island.

He had 30 deep lacerations but his mother told Reuters he is expected to make a full recovery.

Claire Napeahi said he was due to catch a plane that day to Oahu to compete in a surfing contest.

As she waved for him to come back to shore, Jimmy shouted to her: "'One more wave, one more wave,' and that's when it happened," she said.

Jimmy was flown by helicopter to Hilo Medical Centre, where he was said to be in a satisfactory condition on Sunday night, said William Aila, chairman of the state Department of Land and Natural Resources.

His mother said. "He'll be able to surf again after he heals."

"He's going to recover and he's going to go back. ... Absolutely, it's been his passion his whole life. He's been surfing since he was four."

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Costa Rica: Man Posts Photos Of Dead Wife

A man in Costa Rica allegedly killed his wife and confessed by sending relatives a photo of her body via the smartphone application WhatsApp, according to news reports.

The incident is reported to have happened on Saturday in the village of Huacas, 120 miles northwest of the capital San Jose.

The 29-year-old man led relatives to the woman's body and then sent messages telling people where he himself could be found, TV television station Repretel said.

He was later arrested without a struggle.

The woman may have been strangled, police said later. The motive for the killing is not known.

The death is seen by many in the normally peaceful Central American country as a copycat killing, following a similar case recently in Miami.

There, a man allegedly killed his wife and then posted a photo and confession on Facebook.

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Schaeuble: Greece Needs Third Bailout

German finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble has said Greece will have to be given another bailout.

Speaking at an election event in northern Germany, he said: "There will have to be another programme in Greece."

It would be the third time international lenders have stepped in with a rescue package for the country.

However, Mr Schaeuble reiterated the government's stance, saying that there will be no debt haircut for Athens.

In the past the finance minister has said that international lenders may have to consider a new aid programme for Greece after the current one expires at the end of 2014, but he has never described this as inevitable.

The comments come following the release of figures that confirmed Greece was still is recession in the second quarter.

Though the data showed it had eased slightly, the government needs to boost tax revenues in order to meet its current bailout targets.

The Greek economy has slumped 23% since 2008, leading to the country's need for financial assistance.

Greece received its first bailout from the European Union and International Monetary Fund in 2010 and another followed, taking the current aid programme to a total of €240bn.

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Peru Tribe Makes Second Attempt At Contact

A tribe of South American Indians living in voluntary isolation near Peru's southeastern Amazon region has made a tense attempt to contact the outside world for a second time.

Some 100 members of the Mashco-Piro tribe were captured on video attempting to cross a river that borders their remote community in the Manu National Park in the state of Madre de Dios.

The video was shot by forest rangers over three days in June and shows men armed with bows and arrows and several women and children.

It is the second time the tribe has attempted contact with outsiders. In 2011 the group was spotted on the bank of a different river after more than 20 years in isolation.

Saul Puerta Pena, director for the Interethnic Association for the Development of the Peruvian Rainforest (AIDESEP), says the video is clear evidence of the existence of isolated tribes.

"Now the government doesn't have an argument to tell us that our indigenous brothers don't exist," he said.

"Their response was always that these indigenous people who choose to live in isolation didn't exist."

They were first spotted in 2011 through the telescope of a Spanish explorer

Mr Pena explained that a canoe containing bananas was floated across the river to the tribe due to the risks of them coming into contact with illnesses they have no defences against.

"The tribe cannot come into contact with the remote community still because any illness could kill them," he said.

Anthropologist Beatriz Huertas, who works with Peru's agency for indigenous affairs, said the Mashco-Piro are becoming increasingly less isolated.

"It is not unusual for them to appear where they did during a season of sparse rainfall when rivers are low, and they tend to be itinerant," she said.

The Manu River at the southern Amazon region of Madre de Dios

"What's strange is that they came so close to the population of Monte Salvado."

Last October, a park ranger was lightly wounded by a blunt arrow fired by a Mashco-Piro native after getting too close to the tribe. "It was a warning," Ms Huacchillo said.

A similar incident was recorded in 2010, when a teenager was wounded by a spear.

On their website, Survival International mentioned the death late last year of Nicolas 'Shaco' Flores, a local resident who had been leaving food and gifts for a small group of Mashco-Piro natives for 20 years.

Flores was "shot by an uncontacted tribe's arrow", the group said.

The incident was never confirmed.

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Italy Pilots Tax Cheat Computer To Spot Fraud

Tax police in Italy have started using a new computer system that compares declared revenues with expenditures to crack down on tax cheats.

The "redditometro" (revenue metre) will try to recover at least a small fraction of the estimated €120bn (£103bn) in taxes dodged each year.

It will initially analyse the books over the past four years of a sample 35,000 households, including looking at mortgages, cars and even food purchases.

If it identifies a discrepancy of more than 20% between income and outgoings, the redditometro will immediately trigger a tax inspection.

Italians are famous for their high quality lifestyles

Italy has one of Europe's biggest grey economies and highest levels of cash transactions, making tax evasion a constant problem despite repeated crackdowns.

The problem is particularly acute in the services sector and police often carry out raids on shopping areas or high-class resorts that reveal massive fraud.

The new system is made up of dozens of computers that analyse databases and "can uncover the big tax evaders and the fake poor," Marco di Capua, the deputy director of the tax agency, told reporters.

The redditometro is a new version of a similar system first introduced in 2010 by then prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, who was himself convicted of tax fraud earlier this month.

It led to the recovery of £99m in 2011 and only £26m in 2012 - a tiny amount compared with estimates of how much in reality is owed.

The new policy has been criticised by some for not going far enough and by others, mainly right-wing politicians, as a massive interference by the state.

Matteo Salvini, a deputy leader of the opposition Northern League party, described it as the type of system "used by communist and fascist regimes".

Prime Minister Enrico Letta has promised to redouble efforts against evasion and said the sums recovered would be used to lower Italy's high tax burden.

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Russian Athletes Say Kiss 'Was Not Political'

Russian athletes have denied their kiss following a medal win at the Moscow World Championships was politically motivated.

Quick kisses exchanged by four Russian female sprinters, exuberant after winning the 4 x 400 relay race at the world championships in Moscow, set off a flurry of speculation that it was their way of protesting Russia's new controversial anti-gay law.

Two of the women, who appeared to brush lips while kissing each other on the cheek, have spoken-out to dismiss suggestions their kiss was anything significant.

Yulia Gushchina said that the pair simply wanted to "show our happiness towards the people we see everyday," while team mate Kseniya Ryzhova added "you cannot even imagine what that feeling is when we realised that we have won".

Yulia Gushchina and Kseniya Ryzhova speak to journalists in Moscow

At a press conference in Moscow, Ms Ryzhova, said: "For eight years we haven't won gold, and you cannot even imagine what that feeling is when we realised that we have won.

"The feeling and the storm of emotions going through us was incredible, and if we, accidentally, while congratulating each other, touched lips, excuse me.

"We think the whole fuss is more of a sick fantasy not grounded in anything.

"I'm sorry for saying this, but it is not very nice when in front of your coaches and supporters, we are being offended like this."

Russian women often kiss one another on the cheeks when celebrating a happy occasion or when greeting. The Russian relay team had been overjoyed by their success in narrowly defeating the US team.

The law against spreading "gay propaganda" among minors is part of the conservative course Vladimir Putin has charted in his third term as president, following protests against his 13-year rule of Russia.

While the law has been widely condemned abroad, opinion polls seem to show that a vast majority of Russians support it.

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