Oddlyenough

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Oddlyenough

Sunday, 27 January 2019 | Pioneer

Oddlyenough

Afghan wedding singer a ringer for Canada’s Trudeau

Afghan singer Abdul Salam Maftoon’s striking resemblance to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has turned him into an unlikely celebrity in the war-torn country since his debut on a talent show. The 28-year-old first caught the attention of fans when he traveled to the capital, Kabul, to appear on “Afghan Star”, a televised musical competition that draws contestants from around the South Asian nation.

“People are calling me the Justin Trudeau of Afghanistan... Since I came to Kabul, I have become very popular and people are grabbing photos with me,” he told Reuters at the studio. The singer’s similarity to Canada’s 47-year-old prime minister could even tip the competition in his favor, according to one of the show’s judges, Qais Ulfat. “There is a big chance of him winning the show because ... he is the only contestant that has got so much exposure,” he said. Maftoon, who began his singing career seven years ago performing at weddings, has even bigger ambitions. “My only wish is that Prime Minister (Trudeau) takes me to Canada and I can hold a concert there to sing Afghan songs and that the prime minister himself will be at my concert,” he said.

(Reuters)

Walmart bans Woman having wine from a Pringles can

Police in northern Texas say a woman has been banned from a local Walmart after she spent several hours driving an electric shopping cart around the store’s parking lot while drinking wine from a Pringles can. Police tell the Times Record News that officers responded to a report of a suspicious person around 9 am Friday at a Walmart in Wichita Falls. The city is about 200 kilometers northwest of Dallas, near the Oklahoma border. Wichita Falls police spokesman Jeff Hughes says the woman had reportedly been riding the electric cart around the parking lot for about three hours. Hughes says police eventually found the woman in a nearby restaurant and told her not to return to the store. Police say the woman wasn’t arrested and her name was not released.

(AP)

Leave $350 hats at home, NY middle school pleads

Administrators at a New York middle school are begging students to leave their winter hats made by Italian apparel company Moncler at home because the pricy tops keep getting lost. The New York Post reports that administrators at Great Neck North Middle School on Long Island wrote a letter to parents asking them to “try and redirect your middle schooler from wearing these hats to school.” Moncler’s knit hats with fur pom poms cost $350, though kids’ sizes are available for less. The Great Neck North administrators said time spent looking for lost Moncler hats has been “disruptive to the students’ focus and time.” Parent Elissa Siony said the letter was “silly.” She told the Post, “If they lose it and freak out, they freak out.”

(AP)

Pets, owners flock to Madrid church for blessing animals

Dogs, cats and birds were blessed at a church in Madrid on Thursday on the feast day of St. Anthony, the patron saint of animals, with many of the owners making an annual pilgrimage for their pets. St Anthony the Abbot’s church priest Angel Garcia expected up to 15,000 pets to be brought in for this year’s ceremony. “St. Anthony cared a great deal about dogs and abandoned animals, healing and feeding them. That’s where the tradition comes from,” said the priest, who blesses each animal.

“We come here every year since I have her and we come together, right Rita?” Madrid resident Maria Diaz said to her dog as she was hugging it. “St. Anthony is going to bless you. Do not tremble!” Diana Castillo, another dog owner, said she was keeping up a family tradition, started by her grandparents who would bring their pets to the ceremony, first celebrated 35 years ago. “I come here since we adopted her seven years ago and we come every year.”

(Reuters)

New neighbours in Rhode Island: Flynn and Spicer

Former White House press secretary Sean Spicer has bought a house in Rhode Island, and his new neighbour is a familiar face from their days together in the Trump administration: former national security adviser Michael Flynn. The Newport Daily News, citing public records, reported that the sale closed Jan. 2, and Spicer paid $795,000 for the 1,800-square-foot Middletown home, which has four bedrooms and three bathrooms. Representatives for Spicer did not immediately return messages seeking comment. The house is across the street and three doors down from Flynn’s home, in a neighborhood that’s a short walk to the beach. Flynn is awaiting sentencing on his guilty plea to lying to the FBI about his Russian contacts. Spicer grew up in nearby Barrington.

(AP)

Oklahoma game warden catches poacher via app

An Oklahoma woman looking for love got more than she bargained for when she unwittingly shared her exhilaration about illegally shooting a “bigo buck” on a dating app with a state game warden. Oklahoma Game Warden Cannon Harrison says he uncovered the poaching in a conversation on Bumble with a McIntosh County woman. She talked about using a spotlight to shoot the deer at night, outside the rifle season. The woman only harvested the head and back-strap meat — and she sent Harrison pictures as proof. The woman has pleaded guilty to charges of improper possession of an illegally taken animal and taking game out-of-season. She and an accomplice face $2,400 fines.

(AP)

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