Mid Day International News |
- Friend testifies against Indian-American student in webcam spying case
- Journalist siblings found slain in Bolivia
- One killed in shooting at US school
- Man jailed for stabbing friend who had sex with his wife
- Plane panic after 'mom' confused with 'bomb'
- Soldier accused over WikiLeaks nominated for Nobel peace prize
- DSK owes US govt Rs 7.85 lakh in property tax
- Russia 'thwarts plot' to kill Putin
| Friend testifies against Indian-American student in webcam spying case Posted: A friend of Indian American student Dharun Ravi, charged with spying on his gay roommate, has testified she received text messages from Ravi while she was questioned by police about the alleged act. "I think that he thought we were going to get in trouble, so he wanted to make it seem like it was more of an accident," Rutgers New Jersey State University student Molly Wei testified in a New Jersey court Monday. Wei took the witness stand to testify against Ravi, 19, who is accused of activating a webcam to spy on his roommate, Tyler Clementi, 18, just days before Clementi killed himself by jumping off the George Washington Bridge. Both Wei and Ravi viewed the images on Wei's computer. Wei, who was originally charged with two counts of invasion of privacy, entered a pre-trial intervention programme that required her to perform 300 hours of community service in exchange for the charges being dropped. Wei said they watched for "about two seconds" before turning the image off. Ravi texted her multiple times when she was being interviewed by police about the alleged spying, asking her what exactly she was confessing to investigators, she said. "Did you tell them we did it on purpose? What did you tell them when they asked why we turned it on? I said we were just messing around with the camera," Ravi said in messages. Ravi is charged with witness tampering for the messages he sent to Wei, in addition to invasion of privacy, bias intimidation, and hindering arrest. Wei responded to Ravi's messages, saying that she had told investigators "everything" that had happened on Sep 19, 2010, when Ravi came to her dorm room after Clementi asked to have the room to himself for the night. On cross-examination, Wei said Ravi wanted to peek into the room because Clementi's date was an older man and did not appear to be a Rutgers student. She told the court that Ravi feared that the man would steal his iPad.
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| Journalist siblings found slain in Bolivia Posted: A brother and sister who worked in broadcasting were found murdered, family members and Bolivian authorities said Monday. The bodies of Veronica Penasco, 36, and brother Victor Hugo, 32, were discovered over the weekend in El Alto, a gritty industrial city near La Paz, their cousin Hernan Amaru told the media. Penasco worked for San Gabriel radio and hosted a bilingual Spanish-Aymara programme on state television, while Hugo was part of the staff at Pachacamasa radio. The siblings were last seen alive early Saturday when they left for work, Amaru said. The victims bore bruises and marks around the throat, suggesting they were strangled to death, El Alto police Col. Felix Rocha told reporters. Communications Minister Amanda Davila expressed solidarity with the victims' families and said authorities will pursue the investigation until "we find those responsible". Bolivia's National Press Association, which represents media owners and executives, documented 46 instances of aggression toward journalists in 2011.
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| One killed in shooting at US school Posted: A shooting Monday at Chardon High School in Ohio has left one student dead and four wounded and the suspected shooter is in custody, authorities said. Police confirmed that one of the five wounded had died, but they did not provide the name of the victim. The shooting began about 7.40 a.m. in the school's cafeteria, school board member Larry Reiter said. The shooter is, apparently, a student at Chardon, which has 1,150 students, according to statements given to police by the youngsters who witnessed the gunfire. The suspect fled after firing but he was captured nearby shortly thereafter. FBI Special Agent Scott Wilson told reporters that the suspect is in custody and refused to provide more details. Evan Erasmus, a student at the school, told WEWS-TV in Cleveland that the victims are students from a nearby school who were in the Chardon cafeteria waiting for the bus that was going to take them to their school. Erasmus also said that the alleged shooter had posted a message on Twitter Sunday evening saying that he was thinking of taking a gun to school Monday. Several students send text messages to their parents telling them of the shooting. Authorities closed the school after the gunfire. Police set up a cordon around the school while dozens of parents gathered in front of the building seeking news about their children. As a precaution, the authorities also decided to close all the other schools in Chardon, a town of roughly 5,000 people about 56 km from Cleveland.
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| Man jailed for stabbing friend who had sex with his wife Posted: A 62-year-old Briton has been jailed for six years for stabbing a man who taunted him for years about having sex with his wife 30 years ago. Retired hotelier Kenneth Jenkins could not stand any more when Anthony Friendship pinched his 60-year-old wife's bottom, the Daily Mail reported. Friendship allegedly pinched the woman's bottom at a pub in Woodcroft in March last year. Jenkins followed Friendship into the washroom and stabbed him with a knife in the back and then in his abdomen, rupturing his spleen. Jenkins wept in the court dock and his wife also broke down. Friendship was rushed to hospital and treated for his damaged spleen and has since recovered.
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| Plane panic after 'mom' confused with 'bomb' Posted: Pilot who used his plane's intercom to send birthday greetings to a colleague's mother triggered panic after passengers thought he said 'bomb' rather than 'mom' Add a new word to the list of things never to say on a plane. A Southwest Airlines pilot who wished happy birthday to the mother of an air traffic controller on board his flight caused panic in passengers who mistook the word 'mom' for 'bomb'. The unwise birthday message came on a flight going from Baltimore to MacArthur Airport, Long Island on Friday.  Bomb scare: The pilot who wished happy birthday to the mother of an air traffic controller on board his flight caused panic in passengers. Representation pic 'Misunderstanding' Southwest Airlines spokeswoman Brandi King said that the misunderstanding happened when some of the passengers heard the phrase 'bomb on board' instead of 'mom on board'. Airline staff rushed to reassure terrified passengers and the pilot tried to explain what he meant. "He did clarify with the passengers that he was wishing the mother on board a happy birthday," King said. What a scare Several passengers complained after the unnecessary scare. The Federal Aviation Administration said that personal announcements are fairly commonplace. "Pilots and controllers will sometimes engage in brief greetings," the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said in a statement. "If such conversations go beyond this limit, controllers are counseled to refrain from such unnecessary talk." The FAA will review air traffic control communication, but is 'not investigating the pilot or the flight crew.' The FAA increased security when it came to bomb threats and scares after 9/11 when terrorists flew the plane into the Twin Towers.
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| Soldier accused over WikiLeaks nominated for Nobel peace prize Posted: A total of 231 nominees are up for the Nobel Peace Prize this year, the Nobel Institute said, with Bill Clinton, Helmut Kohl, the EU and US soldier and WikiLeaks suspect Bradley Manning known to be on the list.
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| DSK owes US govt Rs 7.85 lakh in property tax Posted: Former International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn owes the US government more than $16,000 (Rs 7.85 lakh) in overdue property taxes on a swanky townhouse in Washington, DC, records show.  Uh owe! DSK may have beaten a sex-assault rap, but tax officials say that he owes the American government money on his home. File pic Kahn has turned his nose up at paying the levies since early 2011 -- to the point where he racked up an extra $1,600 (Rs 78,000) in penalties, according to records from the District of Columbia's Office of Tax and Revenue. The luxurious three-bedroom Georgetown spread was purchased by Strauss-Kahn's wife Anne Sinclair. If they do not fork over the funds, Washington officials may file a tax lien that would account for all unpaid taxes, fees, penalties and interest, according to tax-office records. And once that is filed, tax officials are authorised to seize property such as "bank accounts, wages and personal property to pay the debt", documents show. The market value of the home, in one of Washington's fashionable neighbourhoods, took a hit in recent years. Sinclair bought the 7,200sq ft house in October 2007 for $4 million (Rs 19 crore). The couple put it on the market in October 2011 for $5.2 million (Rs 25 crore) -- just months after the Manhattan district attorney dropped all charges stemming from allegations that Strauss-Kahn sexually assaulted a maid at the Sofitel hotel. The asking price has since dropped to $4.7 million (Rs 23 crore). Cambridge students angry A women's group at Cambridge University sent an open letter to the Union Society, which invited Strauss-Kahn to speak on March 9, asking the invitation be revoked. "To choose to give this man an opportunity to speak trivialises the experiences of women who bravely come forward and report rape and sexual assault, and reinforces the institutional sexism that faces women who do so," said Ruth Graham, a spokeswoman for the group.
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| Russia 'thwarts plot' to kill Putin Posted: Security services arrest men suspected of plotting to assassinate the Russian prime minister, claim accused had instructions from Chechen rebel leader A plot to kill Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has been thwarted less than a week before the Russian presidential election on Sunday, officials said yesterday. Two suspects linked to a Chechen rebel leader were nabbed after an accidental explosion, state TV reported. State television in Russia said that special forces had seized two conspirators in Odessa, southern Ukraine, after an explosion in an apartment in January.   Confession: Adam Osmayev, with wounds on his face coated in iodine, is led to a questioning cell in an unknown Russian detention centre. He has been on Russia's wanted list for a number of years. During his confession, he said the 'ultimate aim was to travel to Moscow and try to assassinate Premier Putin'. Pics/AFP The Chechen alleged ringleader, Adam Osmayev (31) has reportedly confessed to planning the assassination on the orders of Doku Umarov, the emir of the Islamist insurgency against Moscow's rule in the North Caucasus region. Osmayev in detention said, "The ultimate aim was to travel to Moscow and try to assassinate Premier Putin." The plan was exposed after the explosion in Odessa on January 4, which was initially thought to be a domestic gas explosion. However, it transpired to be an accident during the preparation of an explosive device. One of the men, Ruslan Madayev died in the blast but Ukrainian special forces seized a second, Ilya Pyanzin two days later. Osmayev, who was shown with blotches of green antiseptic covering wounds on his face, was captured separately later. The men had a laptop with several videos of Putin's cortege travelling through Moscow on it. Osmayev -- who had reportedly been on a federal arrest warrant since 2007 -- said they planned to use a tank mine to kill Putin rather than a suicide bomber, although Madayev had been prepared to become a martyr. Putin did not comment but his spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, confirmed the murder plot was real. There is likely to be speculation that news of the plot -- apparently exposed several weeks ago -- was deliberately released by Kremlin-controlled media just before the presidential vote, in order to bolster one of Putin's favourite electoral tactics: suggesting that foreign-backed wreckers are trying to destabilise the motherland. Osmayev lived for several years in London, which is also home to Akhmed Zakayev, the Chechen rebel envoy whom Moscow has tried unsuccessfully to extradite. An FSB (Russian Federal Security Service) operative showed videos of Putin's cortege found on Osmayev's computer. "These were in order to understand where the bodyguards sit and how many cars are escorting, from different angles and streets," he explained. Madayev and Pyanzin, a Kazakh citizen, were said to have flown to Ukraine from the United Arab Emirates via Turkey "with precise instructions from representatives of Doku Umarov." Who is Doku Umarov? Doku Umarov is Chechnya's most wanted rebel leader. In January last year, Umarov targeted passengers emerging from British flights at a Moscow airport. A total of 37 died and 180 were injured. His goal is an Islamic state based on Chechnya and run under Sharia law in the tinderbox Caucasus region.
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