Foreign News
Teddy bear made from fake human skin leads to California arrest
A man in California has been arrested after police say he staged a “macabre teddy bear” made to look as if it were constructed from human flesh at a petrol station.
Hector Corona Villanueva, 23, is accused of planting false evidence and causing an emergency by leaving the bizarre creation at an AMPM service station on Sunday afternoon in the city of Victorville.
The bear’s discovery led to a police investigation and a coroner’s examination of the item, while the petrol station was closed as a sense of unease spread in the community.
On Monday, the sheriff’s office ruled the bear wasn’t made of any human body parts and dubbed the toy a “prank”.
Mr Villanueva was identified and arrested on Monday. It is unclear whether he has hired a lawyer who can speak on his behalf.
The gruesome discovery in Victorville, 80 miles (130km) northeast of Los Angeles, had locals worried about a possible serial killer on the loose.
The item was found around midday on Sunday at the filling station on Bear Valley Road when a witness called police to report that “a teddy bear made of what looked like human flesh was left in front of the business”.
A video posted online shows police responding to the scene as a glove-clad official from the coroner’s office examines the object and places it into an evidence bag.
A statement from the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s office on Monday did not mention a potential motive, and said the “investigation into who left the teddy bear at the business is continuing”.
“Incidents such as this take up valuable emergency resources and put the public at risk, possibly delaying response time to legitimate calls for service,” the statement said.
“We would like to thank those that reported information that was helpful during the investigation of this case.”
South Carolina artist Robert Kelly has taken credit for creating the object, telling US media that he recently sold the figure to a buyer in Victorville.
“Our work is pretty easily recognisable, and people were sending the articles (about the petrol station) left and right. I looked, and sure enough it was the bear I sent out last week,” Mr Kelly told People magazine.
“Every artist wants credit [for] their work, so I said ‘I made that’, and haven’t been able to catch up with messages since.”
In a post to Facebook on Sunday, Mr Kelly denied having any knowledge of what the buyer intended to do with the bear.
“No I did not have any knowledge of the [buyer’s] intentions nor was I involved in a prank on the other side of the nation from me,” he wrote.
Mr Kelly, who sells his work through a shop on the website Etsy, specialises in horror creations for Halloween displays and films.
Other items are also made to resemble construction from human body parts, similar to the bear.
[BBC]
The UK and South Korea have finalised a trade deal which the government says will create thousands of jobs and bring billions into the British economy.
British industries including pharmaceuticals, car manufacturing, alcohol and financial services are expected to benefit from an extension to the current tariff-free trade on most goods and services.
The deal is the fourth such agreement struck by the Labour government, following deals with the EU, US and India — none of which have had a material impact on the UK’s economy so far.
South Korean culture, including music, cosmetics and food, has become much more popular in the UK in recent years.
(BBC)
A son of film director Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner has been arrested and booked on suspicion of murder after the couple were found dead in their Los Angeles home.
The Los Angeles Police Department said on Monday that Nick Reiner, 32, had been arrested and that he was in custody with no bail.
The deceased couple’s 28-year-old daughter, Romy, found her parents in their home with multiple stab wounds on Sunday, sources told the BBC’s US partner CBS News.
Rob Reiner is known for directing several iconic films in a variety of genres, including When Harry Met Sally, This is Spinal Tap, Stand By Me, Misery and A Few Good Men.
Emergency services were called to provide medical aid at the Reiners’ Brentwood, California, home at around 15:38 local time (23:38 GMT) on Sunday.
The Los Angeles Fire Department said two people – later identified as Rob Reiner, 78, and his wife Michele, 68 – were pronounced dead at the scene.
Police said Nick Reiner was arrested several hours later, at about 21:15 local time on Sunday. Investigators have not publicly outlined a motive and said the investigation remains ongoing.
(BBC
Angry fans attending Lionel Messi’s tour of India ripped up seats and threw items towards the pitch after his appearance at Kolkata’s Salt Lake Stadium.
Thousands of adoring supporters had paid up to 12,000 rupees (£100; $133) to catch a glimpse of the football star, but were left disappointed when he emerged to walk around the pitch and was obscured by a large group of officials and celebrities.
When the Argentina and Inter Miami forward was whisked away early by security after around 20 minutes, elements of the crowd turned hostile.
West Bengal’s chief minister, Mamata Banerjee, said she was “deeply disturbed and shocked” by the events.
Announcing an enquiry, Banerjee apologised to Messi and “sports lovers” for the incident at the stadium.
“The enquiry committee will conduct a detailed enquiry into the incident, fix responsibility, and recommend measures to prevent such occurrences in the future,” the chief minister said on X.
A spokesperson for Messi said that he fulfilled the time commitment that had been agreed in advance. In terms of the organisation of the event itself, he referred the BBC to the apology issued by Banerjee on social media.
A police official told reporters that the event’s “chief organiser” had been arrested, without giving any further details, AFP reports.
Authorities will look into how organisers could refund money to those who bought tickets, the official added.
The All India Football Federation (AIFF) said it was not involved in the “private event”.
Messi is in India for his ‘GOAT [greatest of all time] tour’, a series of promotional events in Kolkata, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Delhi.
His tour began with the unveiling of a 70ft [21m] statue of himself in Kolkata, which had been assembled over the course of 27 days by a 45-strong crew. Messi appeared virtually due to security concerns.
Thousands of fans travelled to the city’s stadium for a chance to see the footballer in person.
They were chanting, buying jerseys and wearing “I love Messi” headbands.
Messi initially walked out at the stadium waving to fans, but after his appearance was abruptly ended on Saturday, some frustrated fans stormed the pitch and vandalised banners and tents, as others hurled plastic chairs and water bottles.
The 2022 World Cup winner – consdered one of football’s greatest ever players – had been expected to play a short exhibition game at the stadium, the AFP news agency reports.
“Only leaders and actors were surrounding Messi… Why did they call us then? We have got a ticket for 12,000 rupees, but we were not even able to see his face,” a fan at the stadium told Indian news agency ANI.
One angry fan told the Press Trust of India news agency people had paid the equivalent of a month’s salary to see the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner.
“I paid Rs 5,000 for the ticket and came with my son to watch Messi, not politicians,” they said.
“The police and military personnel were taking selfies, and the management is to blame.”
Messi was accompanied on his brief visit by his Inter Miami teammate and Uruguay star Luis Suarez, and Argentina’s Rodrigo de Paul.
Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan also met Messi earlier in the day, according to the Reuters news agency.
Kolkata is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal and has a large football fanbase in an otherwise cricket-crazed country.
In the city, it is common to see hundreds of thousands of fans gather at stadiums at a derby of local clubs.
In the early hours of Saturday, thousands lined the roads and congregated outside the hotel where Messi was staying to try and catch a glimpse of him.
Hitesh, a 24-year-old corporate lawyer, flew nearly 1,900 kilometres from the south Indian city of Bengaluru.
“For me it’s personal. You can see I am quite short, and I love to play football with my friends,” Hitesh told the BBC, standing in front of the statue.
“Messi is the player I related with the most, no one can match his talent. He gives me hope that with talent you can do anything.”
[BBC]
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