Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Mid Day International News

Mid Day International News

Israel's former president jailed for seven years for rape

Posted:

Former Israeli president Moshe Katsav was on Tuesday sentenced to seven years in jail with an additional two years suspended for rape and sexual harassment by a court in Tel Aviv.

Katsav was convicted three months ago on two counts of rape involving one former employee and indecent assault involving other female subordinates while serving as a cabinet minister and later as president.

The charges brought against him included two counts of rape, sexual harassment, indecent assault, witness harassment and obstruction of justice.

He was also ordered on Tuesday to pay 100,000 shekels ($28,000) in compensation to one of his victims.

"The accused is a symbol. The fact that he performed these acts while holding a high rank only makes his acts more severe," court president George Kara said.

"The defendant committed the crime and like every other person, he must bear the consequences. No man is above the law," Kara said.

The court's decision was not unanimous, with one of the three judges pressing for a lesser jail term.

Katsav, who is expected to start serving his sentence in early May, burst into tears when the sentencing was handing down and cried out that the entire verdict was 'a mistake'.

"You have caused me grief. You have allowed the lies to triumph," he said. "The girls know that they lied."

The allegations against Katsav surfaced in July 2006 when a journalist reported that the former president had complained to the attorney general that he was being blackmailed by a former employee who claimed he had sexually abused her.

The affair snowballed into one of complaints against Katsav himself, stemming from his time as a government minister and as president. Charges were brought four years later, after accusations against him from 10 women.

Katsav insisted he was innocent and rejected a plea bargain which would have seen him convicted on lesser charges, and at worst led to a suspended sentence.

Katsav, at the time a front-bench legislator from the Likud Party, was the unexpected victor when parliament chose Israel's eighth president in July 2000, defeating elder-statesman Shimon Peres.

It was hoped at the time that he would restore to the presidency much of the dignity it appeared to have lost under his predecessor, the flamboyant, maverick and outspokenly undiplomatic Ezer Weizman, who had been forced to curtail his term because of a financial scandal.

Peres became president after Katsav resigned in 2007.

Live boob job webcast causes controversy

Posted:

A live broadcast of breast augmentation surgery in China has sparked some controversy around the country.

The surgery on Wen Liuhuan, a part-time model and freshman at Guangxi University, was done at the Huamei Cosmetic and Surgery Clinic in Nanning, capital of the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, reports China Daily.

A video of the one-hour operation appeared on the clinic's website on March 18 showing Wen's barely blurred breasts.

Wen openly stated that she had reached an agreement with the hospital about the broadcast: "I believe the medical procedure will achieve better results with public supervision."

But the degree of openness led to questions about the ethics and morality of the approach, in a country where public nudity is still largely taboo.

Clinic director Li Xinsen, speaking on the video, said simply: "The live broadcast was an attempt to give the public a deeper, more rational understanding of plastic surgery."

However, some lawyers said that the clinic should think more carefully about the broadcast and about what kind of surgery is suitable.

"A video of surgery might be useful for hospitals as a record or for teaching or supervision, but it's improper to show it on the Internet for people of all ages," said Yi Shenghua, at Beijing's Yingke Law Firm.

Man charged with polygamy after Facebook pic with 2nd wife

Posted:

A man in America is facing polygamy charges after his first wife saw wedding photos of his with another woman on social networking site Facebook.

According to CBS affiliate WWMT, Richard Barton Jr, 34, of Grand Rapids was arrested by Michigan State Police after the wife he left in Rhode Island saw the photos.

"I let love get in the way," CBS News quoted the Grand Rapids Press as reporting Barton as saying outside a Walker, Mich, home where he is staying with friends.

Barton, who is free from jail on a personal bond, also said he 'made a mistake' but declined to comment further.

His first wife said they had met online in 2003 and he moved to Rhode Island so they could be together.

They married in 2004, but the woman said Barton didn't return from work one day and she discovered he had been arrested as a parole absconder from Michigan.

Barton, who had been convicted of home invasion in 2000, then fled Rhode Island after his release from prison, the report said.

He now faces felony charges of polygamy, which carries a penalty of four years in prison and/or a 5,000-dollar fine, after he married the Grand Rapids woman in July 2010.

He was arraigned and faces additional charges due to his status as a habitual offender.

Robber crash-tackled by naked man

Posted:

A man in Australia chased a robber almost 200 metres down the street and then crash-tackled him to the ground in nothing but his birthday suit.

Ryan Dein, from Northern NSW, and his partner were asleep in their Lennox Heads home when a man broke in to the house and started stealing their possessions, the Courier Mail reported.

Dein spotted the thief when he got up to get a glass of water and chased him down the street before the dramatic capture.

The thief eventually escaped, minus his ill-gotten bounty, which included a laptop computer, camera, phone and wallet. He also left his own wallet on the ground during the scuffle.

Police have since arrested a 22-year-old Ballina man on charges of breaking and entering.

Liz Hurley 'rekindles romance' with Shane Warne in LA

Posted:

It looks like Elizabeth Hurley and Shane Warne's relationship is back on track.

Their romance was thought to have fizzled out last month after Warne's alleged fling with porn star Chloe Conrad, reports the Daily Mail.

But it seems things were very much back on as Hurley and the Australian cricketer were spotted dining out in Los Angeles over the weekend.

The 45-year-old, currently in California to reignite her acting career in the new Wonder Woman TV series, took time out to be wined and dined by Warne, 41.

Wearing a low-cut grey bandage dress and gold high-heels, Hurley looked tanned and glowing as she left the Boa steakhouse in Beverly Hills.

While Hurley was dressed to the nines, Warne was going for a more casual approach in jeans and a blazer.

Five-year-old Indian becomes millionaire

Posted:

A five-year-old Indian boy has become a millionaire overnight after winning a lottery at a national bond draw here.

Ebrahim Fahimuddin Shaikh became the second millionaire in the year when the February draw of National Bonds Corporation picked his name. Ebrahim's father received the life changing call on Saturday.

"At first, I thought it was a prank call so I carried along with the call, shortly after it struck me, I am truly really speaking to National Bonds CEO in person," he said. "I was overwhelmed with joy and happiness for my son! I realised I have just become the father of a millionaire and that my continued dedication to teaching Ebrahim the importance of savings has just been rewarded," Sheikh said.

Sheikh said he opted to save for his child's future at a young age with National Bonds saving scheme. "Thank You National Bonds. I want to buy candy and sweets with it, save like my dad and get toys and gifts for my family," said the young winner.

Ebrahim's family represents the rapidly growing segment of expats in the UAE who are realising the importance of committing to a financially-safe lifestyle and a brighter tomorrow, by taking control of their finances through responsible spending and regular saving with a trustworthy highly rewarding scheme.

Till date, 63 per cent of National Bonds' millionaires have been expatriates, and more than 166 million Dirhams worth of prizes have been distributed to expat bondholders.

With over 610,000 customers for the National Bonds, the number of expatriate bondholders increased by 8 per cent between 2009 and 2010. Mohammed Qasim Al Ali, CEO of National Bonds Corporation said that the scheme continues to exceed customers' expectations by offering innovative initiatives to make saving a rewarding and enriching experience.

"Most of our customers have turned to more frequent savers since they joined the programme, giving them financial security and peace-of-mind. I am proud to see more and more customers and their families committing to savings and looking ahead for a better financial future."

He said that minors such as Ebrahim form 13 per cent of the overall number of bondholders and this number has increased year on year. "This means that we are encouraging positive savings values from a younger age and this enhanced financial responsibility will lead to a stable economy in the future," he said.

Woman, 90, marries man aged 73

Posted:

A 90-year-old woman and a 73-year-old man, whose relationship blossomed since they met seven years ago in Britain, have finally married.

Betty Erskine met her 'toyboy' Robin Tremayne when they lived in the same block at the Trafalgar Court retirement home in Uffculme in Devon county.

Robin, whose wife died in 2004, would regularly check on Betty. As time went on, the relationship grew. Two years ago, Robin proposed they marry.

Robin said: "I love Betty, and it just seemed the right thing to do.

"I thought we may as well get married - we get on so well. We never argue and agree on practically everything. So it seemed like the right thing to do."

The couple married before friends and family in Davon Saturday.

Betty and Robin will go on honeymoon later this year. Betty has two daughters, a son and six grandchildren and Robin has a son and a daughter each, three grandchildren and four great grandchildren.

'Sorry, you are too late'

Posted:

Wills rejects Australia girl's marriage proposal

Prince William's tour of New Zealand continued with a visit to Victoria, where he left at least one broken heart in his wake.



As the royal met scores of well-wishers outside the Memorial Hall in Kerang, a town of 3,800 that was cut off from the outside world by floodwaters for seven days, he passed Tiana O'Brien (17) and her schoolmate Ayla

Fenton (17), who had made a sign for the event reading: "I'll be your princess." When he got close enough to hear him, O'Brien called out "Marry me."

"Sorry, you're too late," he replied with a smile. O'Brien was likely to be one of the only people to have met the Prince during his trip to Australia and leave disappointed.

After he toured Queensland towns hit by deadly flash floods on Sunday, the Courier Mail declared "he came, he saw, he charmed their bloody socks off."

The story was the same yesterday, when the Prince moved on to the south-eastern state of Victoria, where dozens of rural towns were inundated by slowly rising floodwaters earlier this year.


Carriage Restorer Dave Evans cleans the 1902 State Landau carriage at the Royal Mews in London.
The coach will carry William and Kate on their wedding day if the weather is good

Inside a marquee on the Murrabit sports field, the Prince sat down with locals whose farms had been flooded.

As he listened to the story of the Griffiths family, whose pig farm was inundated for weeks, he said the images
were awful.

"It's so sad you're having to show me pictures of your houses in the water, rather than happy family snaps," he said to Rod Griffiths (43).


Where is Moammar Gaddafi?

Posted:

Libyan leader's whereabouts unknown after allied forces strike his compound

The heart of Moammar Gaddafi's compound in Tripoli lay in shambles yesterday following bombing by the United States and its allies, prompting a debate about whether the allies were trying to kill the Libyan leader.

US Vice Adm Bill Gortney said neither Gaddafi nor his residence had been targeted. "We are not going after Gaddafi," he told reporters at the Pentagon.



Asked about reports of smoke rising from the area of the Libyan leader's palace, Gortney said, "We are not targeting his residence."

The British called off a second bombing run targeting the compound for fear of hitting civilians, said a Ministry of Defence spokesman.

The ministry said earlier that Royal Air Force GR4 Tornadoes were told not to launch weapons after "information came to light that identified a number of civilians within the intended target area." At the time it did not identify the target of the aborted mission.

Gaddafi's whereabouts and his plans after promising a "long-drawn war" remained unknown.

The US military mission in Libya may have peaked, spokesman Vince Crowley said. "We are moving from the action phase to a patrolling phase," said Crowley, a spokesman for the military's Africa Command. "Our aircraft participation has... plateaued, if not reduced somewhat."

A witness in the Libyan city of Misrata reported "absolute destruction and carnage" by Gaddafi forces yesterday despite the regime's recent call for a cease-fire.

"Misrata is being flattened and razed to the ground as we speak," said the man. "He (Gaddafi) is using tanks and snipers to terrorise the city."

The Libyan military announced the cease-fire after an attack near Benghazi the heart of the Libyan opposition forces. Coalition forces pounded a Libyan military convoy there on Sunday.

At least 70 vehicles including armored personnel carriers and tanks were destroyed.

55
Number of sorties French military aircraft have carried out over Libya in the past three days since the launch of the international coalition's operation


I'm a victim too: Australia bully boy

Posted:

Schoolyard bully who has been demonised around the world apologises to victim

The schoolyard bully who has been demonised by victims around the world has broken his silence and apologised to Casey Heynes.

Ritchard Gale broke down in tears last night and revealed he had also been a victim of bullying.


The video of Casey body-slamming Ritchard has become a worldwide phenomenon

The Chifley College student apologised but refused to take responsibility for starting the fight, which has become a YouTube and social media sensation.

Heynes became a global Internet sensation after he was filmed picking up Gale in the schoolyard and throwing him to the ground after being repeatedly punched in the face for being "overweight".

Ritchard told a TV show Casey had provoked him before he squared up with the Std X student and punched him in the face.

"He was like 'go to class' and calling me an idiot and stuff. And I didn't like it. And he pushed me and stuff and ran down to the front of the office and that's when I hit him,'' Ritchard said.

"I don't know why (I punched him) because I was just really pissed off at him ... giving me mouth.''

Asked what he'd like to say to Casey, the 12-year-old said he did not realise that Casey had been a victim of bullying.

"Sorry that I picked on him and I didn't know that he'd been bullied his whole school life," he said. Ritchard said he would go and "tell the principal" if he had future problems with older students.

"I'll probably go to the office," he said.

Ritchard, who suffered a bruised leg after being body-slammed into the concrete, admitted he deserved the treatment he received. "If I'd snapped my neck I could've died or got paralysed in a wheelchair," he said.

After admitting that he had been a victim of bullying, Ritchard said his message for other bullies was to stop: "Don't bully because you end up getting hurt bad, maybe worse than me."

Asked if he would bully again, Ritchard laughed and said "most probably not".

His mother Tina Gale said she was shocked at the video showing Casey picking up her son and throwing him down onto the ground. "My son could have been a paraplegic out of it for starters," she said.

Casey a hero

US, UK and Asian newspapers and websites have all run Casey's interview.

In that interview, 15-year-old Casey said he had been bullied almost every day at school and had contemplated suicide a year ago.

The video of Casey body-slamming Ritchard has become a worldwide phenomenon, with millions of people viewing the original video and adaptations in the past week.

Casey, who has not yet returned to school, now has more than 230,000 followers on Facebook and Twitter accounts dedicated to him.

'Not going back'

Meanwhile, Casey's father says he does not think it's safe for Casey to return to Chifley College. "He is not going back there ... it is not a safe place for him," said Colin Heynes.

Casey said that he wouldn't accept an apology from Ritchard as "it's just going to happen again".


Posted by Harshad at 7:52 AM

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)