'Dead' Brazilian Turns Up At His Own Funeral

A Brazilian family was stunned when their relative arrived at his own funeral after a mix-up when the dead body was identified.

The funeral of car washer Gilberto Araujo, 41, was being held in the town of Alagoinhas in north-east Brazil when Gilberto himself walked in.

His brother Jose Marcos, had identified a body at the city morgue as being that of his brother and it was taken to their mother's home for a wake.

Gilberto rushed to his mother's house after bumping into a friend in the street a few hours before the ceremony, who told him his family were in mourning.

"He went to his mother's home to let everyone know he was very much alive," police inspector Roberto Lima said.

A family friend revealed "some people fainted and others were so scared they ran away" when he arrived. "It was a big shock," the friend said.

Mr Araujo's sister-in-law Ana Paula explained: "The confusion started when news started circulating that a car washer had been shot dead.

"Police called my husband and told him that his brother had been killed and his body was at the morgue."

Gilberto's mother Marina Santana told reporters: "I am overjoyed. What mother wouldn't be after being told that her son is dead and then sees him alive."

The man who was actually dead was named as Genivaldo Santos Gama.

Mr Lima said the confusion was "understandable". "The two men closely resembled each other and both worked as car washers," he said. 

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Woman 'Set Herself On Fire In Staged KKK Attack'

A woman who told police she had been subjected to a racist attack in which three men set her alight and scrawled KKK on her car was lying, according to US investigators.

"The wounds were self-inflicted," said Kyle Hanrahan, a spokesman for the FBI's Louisiana bureau.

Sharmeka Moffitt, 20, was seriously burned in the fire and remains in a critical condition.

She called police from a park in the town of Winnsboro on Sunday night and told them three men in white hoodies had doused her with a flammable liquid and ignited it.

The letters KKK, for the white supremacist organisation Ku Klux Klan, and a racial slur were scrawled on her car in what appeared to be toothpaste.

According to local media, investigators decided the burns were self-inflicted after finding Ms Moffitt's fingerprints on a cigarette lighter and lighter fluid.

Louisiana's KATC News reported her family had issued a statement saying: "Our family is devastated to learn the circumstances surrounding our daughter's injuries.

"While this was not the resolution we had expected, it is a resolution, and we appreciate the thorough investigation by the local and state police as well as federal agencies.

"We are sincerely sorry for any problems this may have caused and wish to express our appreciation for the outpouring of love, prayers and support we have received from friends, acquaintances, church organisations and government officials."

The FBI was called in to assist local authorities because the apparent attack was initially considered a possible hate crime.

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Natalie Portman's Mascara Advert Is Banned

An advert for Christian Dior mascara featuring Natalie Portman has been banned for exaggerating the effect of the product on her lashes.

The magazine advert showed a picture of the Oscar-winning actress with the text: "Lash-multiplying effect volume and care mascara.

"The miracle of a nano brush for an unrivalled lash creator effect. It delivers spectacular volume-multiplying effect, lash by lash."

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) investigated the ad after rival cosmetics firm L'Oréal complained that it misleadingly exaggerated the likely effects of the product.

Dior defended the campaign, saying it had not received any complaints from consumers and believed this meant the advert did not exceed likely expectations of the mascara.

But it admitted Star Wars actress Portman's natural lashes had been digitally retouched in post-production using Photoshop software.

Portman's natural lashes were retouched

It said the retouching was "primarily used to separate/increase the length and curve of a number of her lashes and to replace/fill a number of missing or damaged lashes".

A "minimal amount" of retouching also took place to increase the thickness and volume of a number of her natural lashes, it said.

The ASA said Dior provided some before and after photos showing a model's natural eyelashes and the effects of the product on her lashes.

But it said it had not seen any evidence of the mascara's effects on Portman's lashes where there had not been any post-production retouching.

It concluded the advert was likely to mislead and ruled it could not appear again in its current form.

Portman, 31, who has dual US and Israeli citizenship, starred in hitman film Léon: The Professional alongside Jean Reno and Gary Oldman when she was a child actress.

She rose to mainstream fame as Padmé Amidala in the Star Wars prequels and also starred in the dystopian thriller V For Vendetta.

In 2011, she won an Oscar and a string of other awards for her role in Black Swan.

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Sun Unleashes Powerful Solar Flare

A powerful solar flare has been unleashed by the Sun, sending out radiation that caused a radio blackout on earth.

Spectacular images of the event have been released by space agency Nasa, which described it as a X1.8-class flare.

Nasa captured images of the flare in different wavelengths

It said the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association had categorised the brief radio blackout associated with the flare as an R3, on a scale from R1 to R5.

Solar flares involve powerful bursts of radiation, although the radiation cannot pass through Earth's atmosphere to physically affect humans on the ground.

But when intense enough they can disturb the atmosphere in the layer where GPS and communications signals travel - and potentially disrupt radio signals for anywhere between minutes to hours.

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Samsung Unveils Smart PC With Windows 8

Samsung has unveiled its latest smart PC which is powered by the upcoming Windows 8 software.

The new models of the Ativ computer, which can be transformed from a laptop into a tablet at the touch of a button, run Microsoft's hotly-anticipated new operating system.

The device weighs 744g (1.6lbs), has a 29.5cm (11.6-in) touchscreen and is less than a 1cm (0.4in) thick.

The South Korean company says it has an estimated battery life of 14.5 hours.

The new device pictured on stage at the Samsung launch event

Windows 8 allows users to tap and swipe the screen to start programs, similar to Apple's iOS software.

A detachable keyboard can be removed by pressing a button.

Samsung's Nam Seong-Woo described it as "another step in PC evolution".

The firm expects 10% growth in PC sales this year as a result of the hybrid laptop-tablet PCs.

The device will be available from October 26 when Windows 8 is scheduled to be launched.

It is unclear how much it will cost in the UK.

Apple, Microsoft, Amazon and Google are among the other firms trying to take control of the tablet market.

On Tuesday evening, Apple unveiled a smaller version of its iPad tablet computer.

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Ford Closes Factory Causing 4,300 Job Losses

Ford has confirmed it will close its "under-utilised" factory in Genk, Belgium, resulting in 4,300 job losses, as it attempts to deal with a slump in demand across Europe.

Hundreds of employees gathered outside the gates of the plant, as the US car maker said it would end production in the town in 2014.

"Ford announced its plans to end production at a major production plant in Genk, Belgium, by the end of 2014," the company said in a statement, adding that the closure would entail a "reduction of approximately 4,300 positions".

Workers gather outside the Genk plant

Ford of Europe's chief executive Stephen Odell added: "The proposed restructuring of our European manufacturing operations is a fundamental part of our plan to strengthen Ford's business in Europe."

Production of the company's new Mondeo, S-Max and Galaxy models will be transferred to Valencia, Spain, in a move that could see a further 5,000 subcontractors lose their jobs.

Union representative Johan Lamers said: "This is taking us by surprise and is an extremely bitter pill."

The development comes after the French government offered Peugeot Citroen a 7bn euro (£5.6bn) lifeline following another drop in sales.

The Paris-based company said it was also close to agreeing a 11.5bn euro (£9.3bn) refinancing deal with creditor banks, in addition to the state guarantees, for its lending arm Banque PSA Finance.

Following the announcement, Peugeot shares fell 6.5% - hitting their lowest levels since 1986.

Car sales in Europe have slumped as consumers in the region find their budgets hit by unemployment and government austerity.

Earlier this month, industry figures revealed that the market shrank at its fastest pace for 12 months in September. 

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Patient Held After Taiwan Hospital Deaths

A hospital patient has been arrested in Taiwan on suspicion of starting a fire that killed 12 people and injured 60.

The blaze began before dawn on Tuesday at Beimen nursing facility in southern Tainan city.

The hospital held 115 patients including a number in their 90s, several of whom had to escape the dense smoke-filled building on their own.

Closed-circuit TV footage taken moments after the blaze broke out showed hospital staff scrambling to put out the fire, while elderly patients struggled to escape in their wheelchairs.

The blaze began before dawn (Pic: IBTimes)

The 67-year-old man, whose surname is Lin, said he lit tissue papers and threw them into a storage room full of clothes because he was upset that he was seriously ill, explained prosecutor Tseng Chao-kai.

The alleged arsonist, who reportedly has colon and bladder cancer, was found by police several hours later in an empty house near the hospital with a lighter in his pocket.

The man, who is considered a flight risk, apparently tried to destroy evidence. The prosecutor said he could face murder and arson charges.

The nursing home is now a burnt-out shell

The cause of all the deaths was smoke inhalation, with 58 of the injured still in hospital, health authorities said.

"The interior ministry will require all medical facilities to follow fire regulations and enhance fire drills so they can learn a lesson from the Beimen hospital fire," interior minister Lee Hong-yuan said later.

Mr Lee added that insufficient staffing at the hospital was also a problem, as there were only six workers on night duty for the 70 bed-ridden patients.

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Man Killed By Shark As Friend Watches Helpless

A California surfer has been killed in a shark attack off a beach at the Vandenberg Air Force Base.

The attack was reported by another surfer on Tuesday morning off the coast of Surf Beach in Lompoc, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department said in a statement.

Francisco Javier Solorio Jr "had a friend who he was surfing with who saw the shark bite or hit the man," said Sheriff's Sgt Mark A Williams.

A sign has been put up after the fatal attack at Surf Beach, California

"His friend ended up swimming over and pulling him from the water where he received first aid."

Another surfer called for help but the male victim was pronounced dead by paramedics at the scene.

He is thought to have suffered a massive bite to the upper torso. His surf board also had bite marks on it, police said.

The Air Force said only that the 39-year-old was not affiliated with the base, which allows public access to some of its beaches.

The type of shark involved and other details are under investigation.

There were no shark warning signs posted at Surf Beach on Tuesday, said Lt. Erik Raney, adding that beaches do not typically post such notices unless the location had a recent shark sighting.

An expert has the attack was likely to have been carried out by a great white shark.

Andrew Nosal, of the Scripps Institiute of Oceanography, told the Los Angeles Times: "There is not other species swimming off the coast regularly that could possibly do that kind of damage."

It was the latest shark attack fatality at Surf Beach, about 150 miles northwest of Los Angeles. California has seen 13 fatal attacks since 1950.

In October 2010, Lucas Ransom, a 19-year-old student at the University of California, Santa Barbara, died when a shark nearly severed his leg as he body-boarded.

Hundreds of miles south near the coast of San Diego, a 15ft great white shark is believed to have killed triathlete David Martin in 2008.

Fatal shark attacks are rare. There is an average of 65 incidents around the world every year, which typically result in two or three deaths, according to the Pew Environment Group.

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Israel Bombarded And Militants Killed In Gaza

By Sam Kiley, Middle East Correspondent

Israel has been hit with more than 60 missiles in 24 hours in a surge in violence from the Gaza Strip.

Three militants from the armed wing of Hamas, which rules in Gaza, were killed in an Israeli counter-attack.

Hamas has been trying to suppress attacks against Israel by al Qaeda-related Jihadist groups in recent weeks.

Israel moved military personnel and equipment from a joint exercise with US forces and some of its homeland defence soldiers from a drill based on the fiction of an earthquake, in case of further attacks.

Three migrant Thai workers were seriously injured in the mortar and rocket strikes from Gaza and a family home was hit.

A mosque was reported to have been struck by the Israeli Air Force. Eight people were wounded, as well as the three who were killed.

The mother of a Hamas gunman mourns the death of her son

A statement from the Islamist movement Hamas said those killed were members of its military wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades.

An Israeli army spokesman said the air force had attacked two groups of Palestinians who were about to fire rockets into southern Israel.

The raids came after the attack on an Israeli patrol that wounded a soldier was claimed by a leftist group, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

Military officials were initially unsure what had caused the explosion, but eventually established it was "an explosive device".

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu once again warned he would strike back at Gaza militants, which he said were supported by Tehran.

An Israeli mother carrying her child after an attack

"Today we engaged in exchanges against terrorist aggression that comes from our southern border in Gaza, but it actually comes from Iran and a whole terror network that is supporting these attacks," he said.

"The way to fight terror is to fight terror, and that we shall do with great force."

Defence Minister Ehud Barak noted the explosive device was rigged to a gate on the fence, and said Israel takes the attack "very seriously".

The latest incidents came as the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, made a landmark visit to Gaza where he inaugurated a multi-million dollar project to rebuild the impoverished Palestinian territory.

But Israel's military remains reluctant to get involved in a ground incursion into the region.

Its last major operation there, Cast Lead, was widely condemned internationally for causing civilian deaths and for the use of white phosphorous explosives in urban areas.

Israeli police survey the damage caused by a rocket fired by militants

Former head of Israel's National Security Council Ilan Mizrahi said: "It is a very delicate situation. We do not have a free hand like we did in the past.

"Now we have to consider our relationship with Egypt more carefully. I would expect Cairo will try to pacify the situation and we should be careful not to provoke the Egyptians.

"However, it will be impossible to allow this to continue for a long time."

The attacks follow a visit to Gaza by the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, who pledged $400m (£250m) for a 3,000-home development in what appeared to be a major boost for the reputation of Hamas, which is struggling to balance its militant elements and instincts with its responsibilities as the administration.

Hamas spokesman Fawzi Hamad said: "We are seeing a dangerous escalation of Israeli actions. They are targeting us following the recent visit of the Emir of Qatar which took place successfully.

"They are targeting us to disrupt the atmosphere of the Eid holiday and to score political points ahead of the upcoming [Israeli] elections."

Following the violence, Israel closed schools in the areas close to the Gaza Strip - the first time that has happened since Operation Cast Lead.

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Republican: Rape Baby Comments Were Twisted

A Republican politician who set off a political firestorm after describing pregnancies after women have been raped as a "gift from God" has clarified his comments.

Richard Mourdock, a US Senate candidate from Indiana, said on Wednesday that: "I absolutely abhor violence. I abhor any kind of sexual violence. I abhor rape."

Mourdock's original remarks came at the end of a debate on Tuesday when he was asked if abortion should be allowed in cases of rape or incest.

He replied: "I struggled with it myself for a long time, but I came to realise life is that gift from God.

"I think even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that's something God intended to happen."

In Wednesday's press conference Mr Mourdock said his words had been twisted for political gain, but that he was humbled by the experience.

"I am absolutely confident that the God I worship abhors violence," he said.

Mr Mourdock said he would move on from this incident, and that he wanted to reassure voters and women that his previous comments had been misunderstood.

Mitt Romney campaigning in Colorado

"I don't think God wants rape, I don't think he wants that at all because rape is evil," he said. "I abhor evil."

Mr Mourdock is locked in a tight race with Democrat Joe Donnelly, who said after the debate that he does not believe "my God, or any God, would intend that to happen".

Indiana Democratic Party chair Dan Parker added: "As a pro-life Catholic, I'm stunned and ashamed that Richard Mourdock believes God intended rape."

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney sought to distance himself from the controversial remarks.

His spokesman Andrea Sail said: "Governor Romney disagrees with Richard Mourdock's comments and they do not reflect his views."

Todd Akin's comments on rape were condemned by both parties

With the presidential candidates neck and neck, women voters in key swing states could decide the November 6 election, and a fresh row over abortion would distract from Mr Romney's focus on the sluggish US economy.

The Democratic National Committee quickly moved to connect Mr Romney to Mr Mourdock and sent out a link to a television ad where he endorsed the Senate candidate, although the video does not mention abortion or other social issues.

Mr Obama has long accused Mr Romney and other Republicans of having extreme views on abortion and women's rights.

Mr Romney, who has vowed to be a "pro-life president", has previously said he opposes abortion except in cases of rape or incest, or to save the mother's life.

His current presidential platform supports overturning the 1973 Supreme Court decision that legalised abortion, letting states decide on the legality of the practice.

Mr Mourdock's comments come two months after Republican Todd Akin, a Missouri GOP US Senate candidate, said women's bodies have ways of preventing pregnancy in cases of what he called "legitimate rape."

Those remarks dominated the US news cycle for days, provoking an avalanche of condemnation from both parties and calls by Mr Romney and other Republicans for Mr Akin to quit the race.

He refused to step aside, potentially damaging Republican hopes of wrestling back control of the 100-member Senate from Democrats in congressional elections, which will also be held on November 6.

The race for the White House is now entering a crucial stage with the two candidates frantically campaigning as the vote looms in just under two weeks.

Mr Obama is embarking on a 48-hour sprint through Iowa, Colorado, Nevada and Florida. He will also head to Virginia and Ohio, where Mr Romney will be campaigning.

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