Hugo Chavez has a new pet peeve: speeding drivers who he says are creating mayhem on Venezuela’s highways.
Mr Chavez says he recently was tailgated in the slow lane by a young man in a truck who unknowingly honked at the President and then passed him on the shoulder. But Mr Chavez didn’t let it go at that. He says he chased down the vehicle — probably with the presidential motorcade in tow — and scolded the remorseful motorist.
Mr Chavez, who is known to enjoy driving himself on road trips from time to time, said on Sunday on his weekly broadcast show that “there’s madness on the highways.”
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Electric car makes record 1,000-km trip in Japan
Tokyo : A Tokyo civic group has said that it has succeeded in getting an electric car to run 1,003.184 km without a recharge, far surpassing the world record the group achieved in 2009.
The Japan Electric Vehicle Club said it will ask Guinness World Records to officially recognise the journey, completed at an auto racing driving course in Shimotsuma, Ibaraki Prefecture on Sunday, as the world’s longest.
It said the vehicle, which was equipped with Sanyo Electric Co’s lithium-ion battery system, ran for about 27 and a half hours until around 2.30 pm on Sunday, at a speed of about 40 km per hour. A total of 17 people took turns at the wheel. —Kyodo
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Israel tries woman over paper leak
Tel Aviv : A 23-year-old Israeli woman went on trial on Monday on charges of serious espionage for allegedly leaking military documents and could face a maximum of life behind bars. Arriving at the Tel Aviv district court, Anat Kam said she was happy to finally leave her home after five months under house arrest.
Monday’s hearing was held behind closed doors. She is accused of stealing about 2,000 documents, including details of operational planning and force deployment.
Some of the documents are the alleged source of a 2008 Haaretz newspaper report that Israeli soldiers had received orders to carry out targeted killings of Palestinian militants.
—AFP