Mid Day International News |
- US charges seven, shuts down Megaupload a popular file-sharing site
- Gingrich turns ex-wife's interview into attack on media
- Bid adieu to Kodak moments in life
- Pakistan PM in Supreme Court, backs Zardari
- Mark Wahlberg apologises for 'ridiculous' 9/11 comments
- Teenaged transsexual enters Miss England pageant
- Racism in Australia is still prevalent
- Virginia Congressman Cantor most powerful in Washington
- US military unveils initiatives targeting sexual assault
- Wills-Kate set to run for Sports Relief
- Mystery woman key to Concordia disaster?
- 36 injured in Iran quake
- Iranian actress exiled over nude photoshoot
- Russian leader wants pot, prostitution made legal
- British police make arrest over Saddam's bronze buttock London
| US charges seven, shuts down Megaupload a popular file-sharing site Posted: US authorities shut down one of the world's largest file-sharing sites yesterday and charged seven people with copyright crimes, prompting hackers to disable the FBI and Justice Department's websites. Megaupload.com went offline as justice officials and the Federal Bureau of Investigation laid out the details of what they described as "among the largest criminal copyright cases ever brought by the United States." The founder of the Hong Kong-based Megaupload site was among four people arrested for online piracy and crimes that justice officials said had illegally netted them millions of dollars from subscriptions and advertising revenue. The site is popular with Hollywood celebrities and has been endorsed by music stars such as Kanye West. It was also reported yesterday that Swizz Beatz, a music producer married to the singer Alicia Keys, was its chief executive. Beatz, whose real name is Kasseem Dean, was not named in the indictment. The announcement of the indictment came one day after Wikipedia, Google and other websites staged a protest against congressional legislation intended to crack down on online piracy. Attempts to access the FBI, Justice Department, Universal Music, and Recording Industry Association of America portals failed, following retaliatory action by the "Anonymous" hacktivist group. "Anonymous" announced that they had downed the sites. "The Internet is here. Are you ready for The Year of Cyber War? We are. Rise up and join us to fight for your rights," YourAnonNews, an Anonymous-aligned group, said in a tweet. In a statement, the Justice Department and FBI said the seven people charged were "responsible for massive worldwide online piracy of numerous types of copyrighted works, through Megaupload.com and other related sites." They generated more than USD 175 million in criminal proceeds and caused "more than half a billion dollars in harm to copyright owners," the statement said, by offering pirated copies of movies, TV programs and other content. French President Nicolas Sarkozy welcomed the US shutdown of Megaupload, saying the site's operators were reaping "criminal profits from the illegal distribution of copyrighted works." "The time has come for increased judicial and police cooperation between states" in the fight against online piracy, Sarkozy said in a statement. The US Justice Department said the seven "and others known and unknown" had been engaged in an enterprise that enriched its members and associates through copyright infringement and money laundering. A Justice Department spokeswoman said the downing of its website was "being treated as a malicious act until we can fully identify the root cause of the disruption." Megaupload Ltd and another company, Vestor Ltd, were indicted by a grand jury in Virginia and charged with racketeering conspiracy, various copyright infringement counts and conspiring to commit money laundering. Among those indicted was Megaupload founder and sole shareholder of Vestor, Kim Dotcom, 37, a resident of Hong Kong and New Zealand who is also known as Kim Schmitz and Kim Tim Jim Vestor. The others charged are Finn Batato, 38, of Germany; Julius Bencko, 35, of Slovakia; Sven Echternach, 39, of Germany; Mathias Ortmann, 40, of Germany; Andrus Nomm, 32, of Estonia; and Bram van der Kolk, 29, of the Netherlands. The Justice Department and FBI said Dotcom, Batato, Ortmann and van der Kolk were arrested yesterday in Auckland, New Zealand, by local authorities on the basis of arrest warrants requested by the US.
      | ||
| Gingrich turns ex-wife's interview into attack on media Posted: Republican presidential candidate and former House of Representatives Speaker Newt Gingrich has dismissed an explosive interview given by his ex-wife and accused mainstream media of shielding President Barack Obama. CNN moderator John King opened the forum by asking Gingrich about an interview that his ex-wife Marianne Gingrich gave to ABC News, in which she said the former House speaker wanted an "open marriage" with her in 1999. Gingrich turned the question around on King, blaming the mainstream media for detracting from the issues and earning a standing ovation from the audience. "I think the destructive, vicious, negative nature of much of the news media makes it harder to govern this country, harder to attract decent people to run for public office, and I am appalled that you would begin a presidential debate with a topic like that," Gingrich said to cheers. ABC News further quoted him, as saying: "Every person in here knows personal pain. Every person in here has had someone close to them go through painful things. To take an ex-wife and make it two days before the primary, a significant question in a presidential campaign, is as close to despicable as anything I can imagine." Gingrich was replying to a question of a debate at the North Charleston Coliseum in Charleston, South Carolina, on Thursday. As King tried to point out that CNN wasn''t responsible for the interview, Gingrich jumped in and said that "it was repeated by your network." "You chose to start the debate with it. Don''t try to blame it on somebody else," he said. Gingrich, 68, has won support from Republican audiences by being openly skeptical of the media. In tonight''s debate, he triumphed as he said, "I am tired of the elite media protecting Barack Obama by attacking the public." The other candidates -- only three others, now -- were asked if the matter was a valid campaign issue. Mitt Romney, the front-runner in the race, said simply, "let''s get on to the real issues." Rick Santorum, though, said that "these are issues of our lives" and that "those are things for everyone in this audience to look at."
   | ||
| Bid adieu to Kodak moments in life Posted: Failing to keep pace with digital age 132-yr-old firm files for bankruptcy
   | ||
| Pakistan PM in Supreme Court, backs Zardari Posted: Embattled Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani yesterday made a personal appearance in the Supreme Court to come out in defence of corruption-tainted President Asif Ali Zardari. The constitution provides immunity to the president, Gilani told a seven-member bench during a seven-minute submission in the court even as a large number of ruling party supporters shouted slogans outside.  Yousuf Raza Gilani The case will now be heard on February 1, giving breathing time to the 59-year-old prime minister who has also run foul of the powerful army after sacking the defence secretary, Lt. Gen. (retd) Naeem Khalid Lodhi. Former president Pervez Musharraf, who was to return to Pakistan by January-end, postponed his arrival in view of the 'emerging political developments'. There was high drama as Gilani himself drove down to the court, and was mobbed by boisterous activists of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP). Gilani was on the defensive before the judges, insisting he would never even dream of challenging a judicial fiat. Outside, he looked confident as he waved to supporters, both while entering the court and later. Justice Asif Saeed Khosa said yesterday was a great day for Pakistan. Gilani told the bench, "It will not give a good message to proceed against a president who is elected by a two-thirds majority. I have discussed this with my friends and experts, and they agree he has got complete immunity," a paper quoted him as saying. The court had issued Gilani a contempt notice on January 16. Gilani said he had spent six years in prison and had never been reluctant to appear before the court. "All over the world presidents enjoy immunity. (The) constitution of Pakistan also provides immunity to the president. That is why we did not write to Swiss authorities." Gilani's lawyer Aitzaz Ahsan said the graft cases against Zardari could be reopened once he was no longer the president. He sought a month's time to file a response. Justice Nasir-ul-Mulk said that access to records could be provided in two days. The court exempted Gilani from appearing for the next hearing.
   | ||
| Mark Wahlberg apologises for 'ridiculous' 9/11 comments Posted: Mark Wahlberg apologised for claiming that he could have stopped one of the 9/11 planes crashing into the World Trade Center, admitting that his comments were 'ridiculous'and 'irresponsible'. The actor sparked outrage with his assertion that he would have battled terrorists and taken control of the plane if he had been on board.
Wahlberg claims the events of September 11, 2001, would have played out differently if he had kept his seat. "If I was on that plane with my kids, it wouldn't have went down like it did," he said. "There would have been a lot of blood in that first class cabin and then me saying 'OK, we're going to land somewhere safely, don't worry'." He has now admitted he was wrong to make the unsupported claim, saying, "To speculate about such a situation is ridiculous to begin with, and to suggest I would have done anything differently than the passengers on that plane was irresponsible. I deeply apologise to the families of the victims that my answer came off as insensitive, it was certainly not my intention."
   | ||
| Teenaged transsexual enters Miss England pageant Posted: An 18-year-old transsexual has become the first sex-swap person in Britain to enter the Miss England beauty pageant. Jackie Green, from Leeds, had become the country's youngest transsexual after a surgery in Thailand on her 16th birthday, The Sun reported. Jackie -- who was born Jack but lived as a girl since the age of 10 -- hopes to use the opportunity to speak out about bullying and transgender issues. "I went to Britain's Next Top Model show in London and was really surprised when scouts came up to me. Miss England is a prestigious competition. I'd love to win. I've as good a chance as anyone," Green said. She said she wanted to switch gender from the age of four. By 10, she kept long hair and wore a girl's uniform to school. At the age of 12, her 43-year-old mother Susie took her to a US clinic for hormone treatment to stop her male puberty. She even mortgaged her house to fund the sex change surgery. She is now in the Miss Fresh Photographic round of the contest where public votes decide who makes the semi-finals of the main contest.
   | ||
| Racism in Australia is still prevalent Posted: World-renowned neurosurgeon, Dr Charlie Teo has said that racism is still practiced on a wide scale in Australia. Dr Teo has been selected to give the NSW Australian Day speech and his address to the audience is expected to revolve around existing racism in Australia. He stressed that despite Australia being the world's best nation, claims made by some Australian politicians denying racism in Australia, annoys him. "I don''t quite like it when I hear politicians reassuring the Indians there''s no racism in Australia. That''s bullshit. Racism is still very much alive in Australia," The Telegraph quoted, Dr Teo, as saying. He said his her daughter was recently a victim of racism. "My daughter, for example, was saying to me just the other day, very sadly, she doesn''t like Australia Day. She has in the past dressed up, got into the spirit of things, put a sticker on her face, worn the green and gold and been told by drunk Australians to go home because she looks Chinese. That''s so sad. You can''t get more Australian than my daughter," he added. Dr Teo also gave another example of an Indian neurosurgeon who experienced racism in Australia. "He was Indian and it was so sad. He came in one day and says ''I was just standing on the side of the road waiting at the traffic light'' and someone spat at him and told him to go home, back to India. Just spat on him. How sad is that? That still exists," he added. Meanwhile an expert panel in Australia has called for new section (116A) to prohibit racial discrimination. The expert panel of 19 indigenous leaders, politicians and legal minds, also urged to increase efforts to recognize indigenous Australians in the constitution. Few obsolete discriminatory sections were also suggested to be removed including Section 25, which says an Australian voter could be excluded from voting on the basis of race and section 51(xxvi) on 'race power," the Sydney Morning Herald reports. "For many Australians, the failure of a referendum on recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples would result in confusion about the nation''s values, commitment to racial non-discrimination, and sense of national identity," the report said.
   | ||
| Virginia Congressman Cantor most powerful in Washington Posted: GQ has released its "50 most powerful people in Washington" list on Wednesday, and the winner is House Majority Leader Eric Cantor -- dubbed by the magazine as "The Republican whom Democrats -- especially Obama -- hate most." "The Virginia congressman masterminded, and then masterfully carried out, the GOP's strategy of legislative intransigence that has stymied the White House these past three years," GQ says of the Virginia Republican. "In the process, he imposed his will on all of Washington, refashioning the city into a hyper-partisan capital of gridlock." According to Politico, the House majority leader's office said it wouldn't be commenting on GQ's list.
   | ||
| US military unveils initiatives targeting sexual assault Posted: US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced four initiatives Wednesday designed to aid victims and strengthen prosecution of military sexual assault cases. "First, I've directed the establishment of a sexual assault advocate certification programme, which will require our sexual assault response coordinators and victim advocates to obtain a credential aligned with national standards," Panetta told reporters at the Pentagon. "This will help ensure the victims of sexual assault receive the best care from properly trained...professionals who can provide crucial assistance from the moment an assault is committed." The secretary said he also has directed the authorities concerned to expand assault victim support to include military spouses and adult military dependents, who can now file confidential reports and receive the services of a victim advocate and a sexual assault response coordinator, reported Xinhua. The third approach increases training funds for investigators and judge advocates, "because sexual assault cases are some of the toughest cases to investigate and prosecute", he said. Officials said the funding increase is $9.3 million over five years. Panetta said his fourth current effort against sexual assault in the military focuses on prevention and leader training. A total of 3,191 sexual assaults were reported in the military last year, according to the secretary. But because historically only a fraction of such crimes are reported, the true incidence of sexual assault likely approaches 19,000, he added.
   | ||
| Wills-Kate set to run for Sports Relief Posted: Prince William and Kate Middleton are likely to run the London Mile together for Sport Relief 2012. The couple are in talks to join the fundraising event and are expected to run down The Mall near Buckingham Palace on March 25, while other miles are run in various other cities around the UK.  Running for a cause: Prince William and Kate are expected to run down The Mall near Buckingham Palace on March 25 to raise money for people stricken by poverty. File pic A source close to the event said, "We are in talks with the Prince's representatives and understand he is eager to support the event, as he has done previously. We're hopeful Kate will be able to do it too. We hope hundreds of thousands of Brits will follow in their footsteps to run a Sport Relief mile somewhere in the country to raise cash." More than 100 leaders will race in a separate Westminster Mile on March 14. Insiders are also optimistic they could secure Britain PM David Cameron. The charity -- which raises millions for poverty stricken people in both the UK and abroad -- has already lined-up a host of celebrities to take part in various fundraising skits.
   | ||
| Mystery woman key to Concordia disaster? Posted: Italian investigators are probing whereabouts of young Moldovan woman -- who was reportedly seen dining with Francesco Schettino minutes before ship crashed -- as they believe she has crucial evidence as to what happened when cruise liner sailed by Giglio island A mystery woman was on the bridge alongside cowardly captain Francesco Schettino the night his doomed ship ran aground off an Italian island. The blonde Moldovan woman is thought to be around 25-years-old and has not been properly identified by investigators as she does not appear on any official passenger manifest.  Salvage efforts: Italian rescuers resume their search on board the crashed cruise ship, as salvage workers prepare to pump out fuel from its tanks to avoid an environmental disaster. The blonde, identified in reports as Domnica Cemortan, was named as the woman believed to have been alongside Captain Francesco Schettino the night the massive liner hit rocks and ran aground before keeling over on Italy's Tuscan coast. Captain's defence
After escaping the wreck, Cemortan leapt to the defence of the captain when interviewed, insisting he saved lives by steering the ship closer to shore. She said, "Look at how many people are alive because of him. It's a tragedy that people are missing, but he saved over 3,000 people on that ship because of his actions." She also said she saw him on the bridge at 11.50 pm -- well after he is supposed to have abandoned ship. She added, "He did not abandon ship before everyone else." Witnesses have claimed the mystery woman appeared to know Schettino and was seen sitting in a reception room next to the bridge. Investigators want to know where Cemortan, who was working as a passenger representative for Costa Cruises, was at exactly the moment Concordia hit the rocks. There is also the possibility she would have key evidence on what happened in the moments after the fatal 'sail by' which was apparently carried out by Schettino as a 'salute' to a former captain. Quest for violin cost ship's entertainer his life A Hungarian musician who worked as an entertainer on the Costa Concordia died in the disaster after apparently delaying his escape to retrieve his violin. Sandor Feher had helped children put on life vests but returned to his cabin to find his instrument, Jozsef Balogh, a fellow musician said. Mr Feher was named as one of the dead. Captain said grounding 'a blackout' A new audiotape has emerged of the captain of the stricken cruise ship Costa Concordia insisting that the vessel only had a blackout a full 30 minutes after it had rammed into a reef. The tape is of the first contact between Livorno port officials and Capt Francesco Schettino. The captain, who left the ship before everyone was safely evacuated, is under house arrest, facing possible charges of manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning his ship. Search and rescue operations resume Divers combed the wreck of an Italian cruise liner for a sixth day Thursday in an increasingly desperate search for survivors, as salvagers worked to prevent an environmental disaster. Rescuers have so far recovered 11 bodies and 21 more people are missing out of the more than 4,200 from around the world who had been on board the Costa Concordia when it hit rocks off the Tuscan island of Giglio
   | ||
| Posted: At least 36 people were injured in a magnitude-5.6 earthquake that struck Iran Thursday, an official said. Seyyed Reza Abbasi, an official in the northeastern province of Khorasan Razavi told Fars news agency that the injured were hospitalised in hospitals of Neyshabur city and they were not in serious condition. He said there were no reports of casualties, Xinhua reported. Due to the intensity of the earthquake, walls of some buildings cracked and window panes broke in Neyshabur and in surrounding villages, he said. IRNA news agency said telecommunication systems, including cell phones, faced disruptions. The quake jolted northeastern Iran at 4.05 p.m. The epicenter, with a depth of 10.4 km, was determined to be in Neyshabur region, 64 km to the west of Iran's holy city of Mashhad, said the US Geological Survey.
   | ||
| Iranian actress exiled over nude photoshoot Posted: An actress who has starred with Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe has been banished from her home country of Iran -- because she posed nude in a French news magazine. Golshifteh Farahani says she has been contacted by the Iranian government, telling her that she is no longer welcome in the country and advising her not to return home.  Raising eyebrows: The nude photo of Farahani drew both criticism and praise from around the world. pic/getty images The offending photo -- a black-and-white art shot featuring the 28-year-old Farahani posing against a black backdrop with her hands strategically placed over her breasts -- was first published in Madame Le Figaro. The image was then posted on her Facebook page, drawing visitors from around the world including Iran and the Middle East. While many criticised her 'incedency' saying "This is more discriminating to the women than the compulsory hijab. I am very much disappointed with Golshifteh, but she is free to do whatever she wants", others praised her for 'the courage to remove a taboo among the women in Muslim countries'. Iran's anger at the image is not just because of Farahani's nudity -- she has also made it known that her decision to pose is in protest against restrictive Islamic codes. Indeed, it is why the now-Paris-based actress left Itran last year. Services not needed She said, "I was told by a ministry of culture and Islamic guide official that Iran does not need any actors or artists. You may offer your artistic services somewhere else." Farahani has had a mercurial relationship with her home country. She began acting in theatre at the age of six and her first film, The Pear Tree earned the then 14-year-old the Best Actress award at Iran's annual Fajr Film Festival. She immediately became a leading actress in her home country, yet her performance in the 2007 film Santoori has never been seen in Iran and is still banned. She starred in M For Mother (2006), which after a huge success in Iran was chosen to represent Iran for the Best Foreign Film at the Academy Awards in 2008. Farahani's role as a nurse in Ridley Scott's Body Of Lies which also starred Hollywood big-hitters DiCaprio and Crowe made her the first Iranian to act in a major Hollywood film. As a result she was banned from leaving Iran, and -- now that she has left the country and is living in Paris -- she appears to be banned from returning. The publication of the photo coincides with the Iranian film A Separation being awarded a Golden Globe and a crackdown on the industry, which has seen the authorities shut the House of Cinema institute in Tehran. Iran blames 'Western' influences An Iranian state news agency has attacked Golshifteh Farahani, the actress who posed nude in a French magazine, for slipping from the modest respectability of Iranian cinema to the vulgarity of Western culture. Fars News Agency said that result of her decision to seek fame outside Iran was that she fell into the corruption associated with Hollywood.
   | ||
| Russian leader wants pot, prostitution made legal Posted: A lawmaker in a city government in Russia has called on Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to legalise prostitution and cannabis in his city in Russia's Kaliningrad exclave to help boost tourism. Valery Pryzhkov, a member of the government of the Baltic seaside resort of Svetlogorsk city, and a member of the ruling United Russia party, said the move would also help fight against HIV in the region. There are about 4,000 people living with HIV in the exclave. "We can use the successful European experience and set up an experimental platform in the region," Pryzhkov said in a letter to Putin, the newkaliningrad.ru web portal reported. Russia has around five million drug users and has been one of the worst-affected countries by drugs trafficked from Central Asia. President Dmitry Medvedev has called Afghan heroin a threat to Russia's national security. Pryzhkov also called for the transfer of Russia's four specially-designated gambling zones -- now being built in the region -- to Svetlogorsk. "The region is promising for the development of business tourism and cooperation between Russian and European businesses," Pryzhkov said. However, similar initiatives in other Russian regions have ended in failure. There was even a reported attempt to start a red light district in Moscow in the 1990s but it was also unsuccessful.
   | ||
| British police make arrest over Saddam's bronze buttock London Posted: British police has arrested a 66-year-old man over claims that part of a bronze statue of Saddam Hussein, a buttock, was illegally brought over from Iraq after the war. He was held yesterday on suspicion of breaching the 2003 Iraq Sanctions Order, which bans dealing in "illegally removed Iraqi cultural property", including items of archaeological, historical, cultural, or religious importance. Derbyshire Police in northern central England said the unnamed man has been released on bail pending further inquiries. The two-foot piece of metal had been picked up in Baghdad by a former soldier from Britain's elite SAS regiment, Nigel "Spud" Ely, after he witnessed US marines drag the statue down following the fall of the Iraqi leader. He originally put it up for auction in Britain last year, but it failed to reach its reserve price of USD 390,000. Ely has been interviewed by police about the statue, and warned that if he sold or defaced the bronze buttock he could face prosecution, but he expressed shock at yesterday's arrest of the other man. The unnamed suspect is thought to be connected to a company trying to find a buyer for the souvenir. "This is like having a chunk of the Berlin Wall -- it's part of history but it's not cultural property," said Ely, 52. He said that US marines gave it to him at a time when Baghdad was under US control, adding: "How can it be classed as cultural property when it was put up by the biggest tyrant since Attila the Hun?"
   |
| You are subscribed to email updates from Mid Day To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
No comments:
Post a Comment