How football match played in South Africa killed a 40yr old Nigerian in Abeokuta

A fourty year old man, Moshood Ismail collapsed and died at a viewing center while watching the match between the Super Eagles of Nigeria and the Elephants of Cote-de-vour.

Ismail, a father of two and an enginer with the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency caused a commotion inside the viewing center when he suddenley collapsed during the early munites of the game.
An eye witness who pleaded annonymity reported that Ismail became agitated and later collapsed when an Ivorian defender deflected a goal-bound shot from Nigeria's Victor Moses.

Ismail's neighbour, Taiwo Adebayo who was also at the viewing center at time of the incident reported that Ismail started foaming from the mouth after slumping to the ground and was rushed to the Success Medical clinic but unfortunately, no doctor was on duty to attend to him. He was refered to another hospital but died on the way before he could reach there.

But the medical director of Success Clinc, Dr Sulaiman Kolawole said that Ismail was brought to his clinic dead and all effort made by him to revive the patient proved abortive.
Imail's widow, Tawakalitu Temilola said her husband's sudden death was still like a dream to her. She said Ismail who survived a fatal accident two months ago left behind two children and his octogenarian parents.
Culled from PUNCH

America's deadliest sniper, Chris Kyle, shot dead in Texas

Iraq veteran and ex-US Navy seal Chris Kyle, known as the deadliest sniper in US history, has been shot dead on a Texas shooting range, reports say.

His body was found at Rough Creek Lodge range on Saturday along with that of his neighbour, Chad Littlefield.

Iraq war veteran Eddie Ray Routh, 25, has been charged with murdering both.

Mr Kyle, 38, wrote the 2012 bestseller American Sniper, about the psychology of a sniper, in which he said that he had killed more than 250 people.

He served four tours of duty in Iraq and was decorated for bravery.

'The Devil'

The gunman opened fire at about 15:30 local time (21:30 GMT) on Saturday, then fled in a pick-up truck belonging to one of the victims, local media reported.


What goes on in the mind of a sniper?

Erath County Sheriff Tommy Bryant said Mr Routh then travelled to his sister's home, telling her what had happened before leaving.

She called the police and Mr Routh was arrested near his home in Lancaster, Texas, more than 70 miles (110 km) from the scene of the shooting, several hours later.

Sheriff Bryant said the motive for the killings was unclear, and was unable to explain how the two men were shot.

Travis Cox, director of a non-profit-making organisation Mr Kyle had helped found, told the Associated Press news agency that Mr Routh was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and that Mr Kyle and Mr Littlefield were trying to help him.

Scott McEwen, who co-authored the book with Kyle, said: "It just comes as a shock and it's staggering to think that after all Chris has been through, that this is how he meets his end, because there are so many ways he could have been killed."

Mr Kyle, a former cowboy, is regarded as the most prolific sniper the US has ever seen.

Official Pentagon figures say he killed 160 people, but he estimated the total was 255.

According to army intelligence, he was nicknamed "The Devil" by Iraqi insurgents, who put a $20,000 (£13,000) bounty on his head.

He appeared to show little remorse for his victims.

"Every person I killed I strongly believe that they were bad," he told the BBC in an interview a year ago.

"When I do go face God there is going to be lots of things I will have to account for but killing any of those people is not one of them."
Culled from BBC

South Korea launches its first satellite into space

South Korea has launched a rocket in its third attempt to place a satellite in space from its own soil.

The Naro rocket blasted off from a launch pad in the southwestern coastal village of Goheung Wednesday.

Science officials told cheering spectators minutes later that the rocket delivered an observational satellite into orbit.

Ju-ho Lee, the South Korean education, science and technology minister, said that South Korea had "leapt up a step" to become a space nation.

"The South Korean government will use this overwhelming moment as a strong, dynamic force to independently develop a South Korean space launch [programme] and will concentrate more on space development, so that we can go to space with our own technology around the year 2020," the minister said.

Wednesday's development came a month after the successful launch of a North Korean rocket.

Previous attempts by South Korea in 2009 and 2010 failed to launch; last-minute technical problems forced two recent efforts in October and November to be aborted.

The latest, and final, attempt comes amid increased tension on the Korean Peninsula over North Korea's threat to explode its third nuclear device.

South Korea has so far spent nearly half a billion dollars on its Naro space programme.

North Korea's December 12 rocket launch, making it the 10th nation to launch a satellite into orbit from its own territory, has led to increased international sanctions on the country.

The South Korean rocket launched Wednesday had its first stage designed and built by Russian experts under a contract between the two governments.

North Korea built its rocket almost entirely on its own, South Korean military experts said earlier this month after analysing debris retrieved from the Yellow Sea in December.
Culled from ALJAZEERA

N27bn pension thief rearrested after outcry by Nigerians

There were indications on Tuesday that public outcry against the light sentence handed an Assistant Director in the Police Pension Office, Mr. John Yakubu Yusuf, by a Federal Capital Territory High Court, forced the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to rearrest him.

The high court presided over by Justice Mohammed Talba had on Monday sentenced Yusuf to only two years’ imprisonment with an option of N750,000 fine for conniving with others to defraud the PPO and pensioners of N27.2bn.

Even before the judge rose, many in the courtroom expressed amazement at the judgment. While many Nigerians took to social networks like the Facebook and Twitter mocking the judgment, prominent lawyers and civil rights activists condemned it as a setback to the Federal Government’s anti-corruption crusade.

On Tuesday, one of the civil rights groups, Civil Society Legislative and Advocacy Centre, demanded the probe of Talba for the light sentence.

Also, the Nigeria Labour Congress said the judgment was an indication that the judiciary could not be relied on to deliver the country from monumental corruption.

A source close to the EFCC told one of our correspondents that the commission, apparently embarrassed by the public outcry , moved swiftly to redeeem its image by sniffing more into Yusuf’s records in order to nail him.

The source said, “We never expected what happened yesterday(Monday). The reactions that followed the judgment were embarrassing to us and that was why we quickly had to look into his files again and sniffed out things that we had overlooked. With those things, we had to rearrest him for fresh prosecution.”

EFCC spokesperson, Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, had told The PUNCH in Abuja that Yusuf was rearrested because he had a pending case. “He will face fresh charges. When you are arrested and you are being investigated, logically you will be rearraigned to face fresh charges, ” he added.

He later issued a statement in which he said Yusuf would be arraigned today (Wednesday) before Jutice Adamu Bello of a Federal High Court in Abuja on four counts.

Uwujaren said, “He will be arraigned over non-declaration of his assets and liability in his asset declaration form and his failure to declare his interest in a company known as SY-A Global Services Limited.

“The pension fraud convict is alleged to have used the company, SY-A Global Services Limited, to lodge N250m with Zenith Bank.

“Yusuf’s re-arraignment is coming on the heels of a questionable ruling by Justice Mohammed Talba of the Federal High Court, Abuja on Monday, January 29, in which he was handed a two- year jail term with an option of N250,000 fine on each of the three counts against him.

“Yusuf is one of the six persons standing trial in the N32.8bn Police Pension scam. The six accused persons in the police pension scam were first arraigned on March 29, 2012, on 16 criminal charges bordering on conspiracy and criminal breach of trust.

“The other accused person are Esai Dangabar, Atiku Kigo, Ahmed Wada, Mrs. Veronica Onyegbula and Sani Zira. Kigo was the director of the PPO before he was made a permanent secretary.”

Count one and two of the charges to be preferred against Yusuf reads:

“That you, John Yusuf on or about February 14, 2012 at Abuja in the Abuja Judicial Division knowingly failed to make full disclosure of your assets and liability in the Declaration of Asset Form filled by you, by not declaring your interest in a company known as SY-A Global Services Limited , a Nigerian company incorporated by you, and solely owned by yourself and members of your immediate family and you thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 27(3) of the EFCC (Establishment, etc.) Act CAP E1 2004.

“That you, John Yusuf, on or about February 14 , 2012 at Abuja in the Abuja Judicial Division knowingly failed to make full disclosure of your assets and liability in the Declaration of Asset Form filled by you, by not declaring your interest in the N250m you have in a fixed deposit account with Zenith Bank in the name of SY-A Global Services Limited, a company in which you are the sole signatory to its account and you thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 27(3) of EFCC (Establishment ,etc.) Act CAP E1 2004.

Furthermore, count three explained that the convict also, knowingly, failed to make full disclosure of the sum of N10m he lodged in a fixed deposit account with the First Bank of Nigeria Plc in the name of the same company.

Count four accused him of failing to make full disclosure of N29m which was fixed on his instruction by one Danjuma Mele in the account of Jidag Technical Services Ltd with Diamond Bank.

A list of witnesses attached to the charge sheet showed Mustapha Gandaya, Mele, officials of Zenith Bank and officials of Diamond Bank as witnesses to be called against the accused person in the course of his fresh trial.

Exhibits to be presented in court for the trial, according to the charge sheet, include statement of the accused person, statements of witnesses, and other relevant documents and exhibits.

The charge sheet in the new suit was numbered FHC/ABJ/CR/14/2013 and dated January 29, 2013. It was signed by Chile Okoroma, the Acting Director, Legal and Prosecution Department, EFCC, on behalf of the Chairman of the commission and the Attorney- General of the Federation.

EFCC counsel, Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), and many others in the FCT High Court where Yusuf was convicted on Monday, had openly expressed their amazement with the lightsentence handed him.

Also, the EFCC had, in a statement shortly after the court rose , condemned the sentence, saying it would study it and “respond appropriately.”

The statement read in part, “The EFCC has expressed reservations about the ruling of an FCT High Court, Abuja which handed a six year jail term with the option of N750, 000 fine to Yusufu, one of the six persons standing trial in the N32.8bn Police Pension scam.

“The commission is of the view that the option of fine runs contrary to the understanding between the prosecution and the defence wherein the convict consented to a custodial sentence with the forfeiture of all assets and money that are proceeds of the crime.”

Meanwhile, a civil society group has asked the Judiciary to probe Justice Talba because his judgment on Monday was an open invitation to would-be corrupt government officials to help themselves with public funds.

Executive Director of the Civil Society Legislative and Advocacy Centre, Mallam Awual Musa , who made this known, advised the Judiciary to begin to redeem its image.
Culled from DAILY TIMES

Incredible! Thief who stole 27 billion naira set free by Nigerian court, ordered to pay 750,000 naira as fine.

The atmosphere surrounding a federal high court in Abuja, Nigeria yesterday was charged with suprise and shock when a director of the police pension office, Mr John Yusuf was given a 2 year jail sentence for conniving with others to defraud the police pension office of the sum of 27.2 billion naira.

Yusuf admitted stealing 2 billion of the money.

But he will not spend 2 years in jail as the trial judge, Justice Abubakar Talba gave him an option of fine in the sum of 750,000 for ther three offences he pleaded guilty to.

Each of the offences attract a two year jail term.

The sentences run cuncurrently.

The accused person who was hitherto facing trial alongside a Permanent Secretary in the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mr. Atiku Abubakar Kigo and six others, made his confession shortly after the EFCC re-docked them on a 20-count amended charge.

Besides Kigo, the other accused persons who took turns and pleaded not guilty to the amended charge which was read to them, yesterday, were Esai Dangabar, Ahmed Inuwa Wada, Mrs. Veronica Ulonma Onyegbula, Sani Habila Zira and Christian Madubuke.

Though six of them were initially arraigned on March 29, 2012, and subsequently remanded in prison custody. However, the prosecuting agency, yesterday, joined the duo of Madubuke and one Mrs. Uzoma Cyril Attang, following fresh proof of evidence which allegedly established their culpability in the pension fraud.

Owing to the absence of Attang in court, yesterday, EFCC applied that her name be temporarily expunged from the charge to enable those that were in court take their plea. No reason was however given by the anti graft agency why she was not in court.

Mrs. Attang who is still in service as Director of Finance and Accounts in the Ministry of Communications had been on a hide and seek game with the Code of Conduct Bureau which dragged her before the Code of Conduct Tribunal on a five-count charge of having property which her salary could not have acquired.

She was a Director at the Police Pension Office between 2007 and 2008. Within this period, Attang who worked closely with Yusufu was discovered by the Bureau to have acquired choice property in Lekki, Victoria Island and Ikoyi, all within Lagos metropolis as well as in Abuja.

One of her bank accounts, according to the charge slammed against her, had a credit of N500 million which source she could not explain. The charge was, however, later withdrawn by the Sam Saba-led board of the CCB.

Meanwhile, trial Justice Abubakar Thalba had on April 3, 2012, released the accused persons on bail after they deposited N10 million each, as well as produced two persons in Grade Level 14 in the civil service that stood as sureties for each of them, conditions upon which they were also allowed to go home yesterday.

How they diverted funds

Sequel to the admittance of guilt by the 8th accused person, yesterday, the trial court convicted him on counts 18, 19 and 20 in the charge wherein the EFCC revealed how he connived with the other accused persons between January 2008 and June 2011 at Abuja, and diverted funds belonging to Police Pension Office domiciled in its account with FirstBank of Nigeria Plc and thereby committed an offence punishable under section 309 of the Penal Code Act, Cap. 532, Laws of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Nigeria 2007.

The prosecuting counsel, Mr. Rotimi Jacobs, had told the court that when the convict was posted to the police pensions office, “he met this unwholesome practice perpetrated by the other accused persons and continued in it.

“He even raised cheques on so many occasions which are all in the proof of evidence. Also, the property that were traced to him are all listed including N325 million that was found in his account. We urge your lordship to declare that the money and property be forfeited and remitted back to the Police pension fund.”

Counsel pleads for convict

Before Jacobs could regain his seat, counsel to the convict, Mr Maiyaki Theodore Bala, urged the court to note that his client did not only show remorse but never wasted the judicial time of the court.

Describing him as a first time offender with no previous record of convictions, Bala told the court that his client has a wife and three children, adding that he has aged parents that depend on him for their sustenance.

Claiming that the convict is suffering from a chronic heart condition that has aggravated to high blood pressure, Bala told the trial court that Yusufu is a community head who he said has many school children that depend on him for scholarship, “all these people depend on him for their survival and wellbeing including payment of school fees.

“It is our prayer that justice is tampered with mercy by sentencing him with the least possible terms or even exercise of discretion under section 309 of the Penal Code Act to fine him. This will encourage the others to take courage to admit guilt where one exists.”

EFCC demands stiff sanction

Although EFCC counsel did not oppose his plea of allocutus, he, however, urged the court to impose “such sanction that will send out a clear message that the era of impunity is gone. Having regard to the money involved and public trust reposed on the convict, which he breached, it may not be okay to just impose fine in this instance. We need to assuage the feeling of the Nigerian public especially the pensioners who have greatly suffered.”

In his ruling, Justice Thalba who maintained that the court has the absolute discretion to determine what should be regarded as the appropriate sanction for the offence, said he considered the plea made by the convict and the fact that he has already forfeited his assets.

Consequently, he sentenced the convict to two years imprisonment on each of the three-count charge which he said was equivalent to N250,000 fine each, adding that the sentence would run concurrently.

He said: “The court has a duty to do justice for not just the convict, but for the society al large. Today Nigeria is bedevilled with the cankerworm of white-collar crime which has subjected the citizens to abject poverty. It is not in doubt that the standard of living of an average Nigerian is declining day by day.

“Consequently, on count-18, I hereby sentence the convict to two years imprisonment or fine of N250,000, on count-19; I sentence him to two years imprisonment or fine of N250,000, likewise, on court-20 I also sentence him to two years imprisonment or fine of N250,000. The sentence will run concurrently and I further make and order for final forfeiture of his assets to the Federal Government.”

However, the court adjourned hearing on the case against the other accused persons till February 25, March 25 and 26.

EFCC protests against sentence

Meantime, immediately the sentence was handed by the trial judge, EFCC, through its counsel, lodged a formal complaint before the court, saying it was not pleased with the option of fine that was given to the convict.

Although its counsel, Jacobs, declined to disclose whether the agency will proceed on appeal, he however expressed his displeasure, fuming that it was not part of the agreement the commission had with the convict when he conceded to plead guilty to the charge against him.
Culled from Vanguard

Brazil declares 3 days mourning for night club fire victims

Brazil has declared three days of national mourning for 231 people killed in a nightclub fire in the southern city of Santa Maria.

The fire reportedly started after a member of a band playing at the Kiss nightclub lit a flare on stage.

Authorities say most of the victims were students who died of smoke inhalation. The first funerals are expected on Monday morning.

It is the deadliest fire in Brazil in five decades.

The BBC's Gary Duffy reports from Sao Paulo that the national sense of loss is profound.

Brazil postponed a ceremony due on Monday in the capital, Brasilia, to mark 500 days to the 2014 football World Cup. In Santa Maria, 30 days of mourning were declared.

President Dilma Rousseff, who cut short a visit to Chile, has been visiting survivors at the city's Caridade hospital along with government ministers.

"It is a tragedy for all of us," she said.

Authorities have released the names of the victims, after revising down the death toll from 245.

More than 100 people were being treated in hospital, mostly for smoke inhalation.

Officials will now investigate reports that a flare was lit on stage, igniting foam insulation material on the ceiling and releasing toxic smoke.

They will also look at claims that many of those who died were unable to escape as only one emergency exit was available.


The fire broke out as students from the city's federal university (UFSM) were holding a freshers' ball, the Diario de Santa Maria, a local newspaper, reported.

A local journalist, Marcelo Gonzatto, told the BBC that the flare had "started a huge and fast fire that grew quickly and made a very dark and heavy smoke."


"Lots of people couldn't get out and died mainly because of the smoke not the fire," he said.

Witnesses spoke of scenes of panic after the fire started, and a stampede as people tried to escape.

One, Mattheus Bortolotto, told local television: "It was sheer horror. The emergency exits did not work, and then I lost my friend in the confusion. Then a girl died in my arms. I felt her heart stop beating."

A large number of victims were trapped in the club's toilets, they said, possibly after mistaking them for an exit.

Survivors and police inspector Marcelo Arigony said security guards briefly tried to block people from leaving the club, the Associated Press news agency reported. Bars in Brazil commonly make customers pay their whole tab at the end of an evening before they are allowed to leave.

One of the owners of the club is reported to have confirmed that they were in the process of renewing its license to operate, and that its fire safety certificate had expired last year.

He is said to have received threats on the internet - in addition to surviving members of the band that was performing on stage when the blaze started.

Its guitarist, Rodrigo Martins, told local radio: "It might have happened because of the Sputnik, the machine we use to create a luminous effect with sparks.

"It's harmless; we never had any trouble with it. When the fire started, a guard passed us a fire extinguisher. The singer tried to use it but it wasn't working."

He said the band's accordion player had died in the fire.

Brazilian broadcaster Globo said most of the victims were aged between 16 and 20.

A temporary morgue was set up in a local gym as the city's main morgue was unable to cope.

Family members came to identify the dead, led in one by one to see the bodies, Diario de Santa Maria reported.
Culled from BBC

Tension in South Africa as 15,000 crocodiles escape from farm

South Africa’s army and police were called in Thursday to rescue residents from thousands of crocodiles that escaped from a farm whose floodgates were opened due to torrential rains.

Around 15,000 predators sprung from the Rakwena Crocodile Farm in the far north of the country when owners were forced to open the gates to prevent a storm surge, local daily Beeld reported.

A number have since been recaptured, but at least half remain on the loose, scattered far and wide.

Some turned up on a school rugby pitch 120 kilometres (75 miles) away.

The surrounding province of Limpopo province has been hit by serious floods which have killed 10 people and made many more homeless.

“Before there were only a few crocodiles in the Limpopo River. Now there are plenty,” said Zane Langman, the son-in-law of Rakwena’s owner.

“We go catch them when farmers phone us and say crocs are around.”

Langman earlier used a motor boat to rescue some local residents who had climbed onto the roof of a garage to escape the rising floods.

“When we arrived there, the crocodiles were circling them,” he said.

The army has been called in to help track down the reptiles, according to police spokesman Hangwani Mulaudzi.

“Police, the army, and people from the community are assisting,” he said.

No incidents involving crocodile attacks have been reported, he told AFP.

Hundreds of kilometres downstream the Limpopo River floods have also savaged neighbouring Mozambique, were tens of thousands of people were being evacuated from their homes.
Culled from STAR AFRICA

Brittish woman sentenced to death in Indonesia for drug trafficking

An Indonesian court sentenced a British woman to death on Tuesday for smuggling cocaine worth $2.5 million into the resort island of Bali -- even though prosecutors had sought only a 15-year sentence.

Lindsay June Sandiford, 56, wept when judges handed down the sentence and declined to speak to reporters on her way back to prison, covering her face with a scarf. She had previously claimed in court that she was forced into taking the drugs into the country by a gang that was threatening to hurt one of her children.

There are about 40 foreigners on death row in Indonesia, which like many Asian countries is very strict on drug crimes.

A verdict is expected in the trial of Sandiford's alleged accomplice, British man Julian Anthony Pounder, on Wednesday. He is accused of receiving the drugs in Bali, which has a busy bar and nightclub scene where party drugs such as cocaine and ecstasy are bought and sold between foreigners.

In its verdict, a judge panel at the Denpasar District Court concluded that Sandiford had damaged the image of Bali as a tourism destination and weakened the government's drug prevention program.

"We found no reason to lighten her sentence," said Amser Simanjuntak, who headed the judicial panel.

State prosecutors had been seeking a 15-year prison sentence for Sandiford, who was arrested in May when customs officers at Bali's airport discovered 3.8 kilograms (8.4 pounds) of cocaine in the lining of her luggage.

Indonesia has an estimated 114 prisoners on death row. Most of the more than 40 foreigners among them have been convicted of drug crimes, according to a March 2012 by Australia's Lowy Institute for International Policy.

Five foreigners have been executed since 1998, all for drug crimes, according to the institute. There have been no executions in the country since 2008, when 10 people were put to death.

Bali is a popular destination for illegal drugs because of its tourist and expatriate populations. There are currently two Australians on death row. They were convicted in 2006 for smuggling heroin onto the island along with seven other Australians.

Culled from FOX NEWS

42yr-old teacher marries her under-aged student to avoid rape charges

An ex-high school teacher who was found guilty of statutory rape following her sex escapades with an under-aged student in North Carolina has been set free. Reason: she divorced her husband while the trial was still in progress and queitly married the student.
Perhaps the best wedding gift she received was from prosecutors who dropped their case against the newlywed.

Leah Gayle Shipman, 42, faced several charges, including statutory rape and taking indecent liberties with a student , from her 2009 arrest, that led to her ouster from Brunswick County Academy, according to WECT.

But the case dissolved, because she married Johnnie Ison in 2011, according to WBTV.

Under North Carolina law, a husband doesn't have to testify against his wife, WGN said. Without Ison's sworn testimony, the prosecution doesn't have a case.

Her affair with Ison allegedly began in 2009 when he was 15 years old.

If she'd been found guilty, Shipman faced up to 15 years in prison.

Shipman's 19-year marriage ended in early 2011, according to WSOC.

Six days after the divorce papers were signed she wed Ison. His mother gave written permission for the nuptials, because he was still a minor at the time, the Associated Press said.

The marriage became publicized now, because Shipman pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of resisting arrest last month, the Wilmington Star-News reported.
Culled from HUFF POST

Egyptian court jails woman and her 7 children for converting to Christianity

A woman and her seven children have been sentenced to 15 years in prison by an Egyptian court for converting to Christianity.
Human rights advocates say the nation's Islamist government is bad news for Christians in the North African country.

A criminal court in the central Egyptian city of Beni Suef meted out the shocking sentence last week, according to the Arabic-language Egyptian paper Al-Masry Al-Youm. Nadia Mohamed Ali, who was raised a Christian, converted to Islam when she married Mohamed Abdel-Wahhab Mustafa, a Muslim, 23 years ago. He later died, and his widow planned to convert her family back to Christianity in order to obtain an inheritance from her family. She sought the help of others in the registration office to process new identity cards between 2004 and 2006. When the conversion came to light under the new regime, Nadia, her children and even the clerks who processed the identity cards were all sentenced to prison.

Samuel Tadros, a research fellow at Hudson Institute's Center for Religious Freedom, said conversions like Nadia's have been common in the past, but said Egypt's new Sharia-based constitution "is a real disaster in terms of religion freedom.”
"The cases will increase in the future," Tadros said. "It will be much harder for people to return to Christianity."

President Mohamed Morsi, who was elected last June and succeeded the secular reign of Hosni Mubarak, who is now in prison, pushed the new constitution through last year.

Tadros said the constitution limits the practice of Christianity because “religious freedom has to be understood within the boundaries of Sharia.” He added that the constitution prescribes that the highest Sunni authority should be referred to as an interpreter of the religion clause contained in the constitution.

Opponents of the constitution, including Coptic Christians and secular and liberal groups, protested at the time against passage of the document because of the mix of Islamic-based Sharia law and politics. Roughly 10 percent of Egyptians are Coptic Christians.

A government spokeswoman told FoxNews.com she would determine “who is responsible for this and covers this issue in Beni Suef,“ a city of 200,000 located about 75 miles south of Cairo. She did not offer further comment.

The case is the latest example of the increasingly dire plight of the nation's roughly 7 million Christians, say human rights advocates.

"Now that Sharia law has become an integral part of Egypt's new constitution, Christians in that country are at greater risk than ever," said Jordan Sekulow, executive director of the American Center for Law and Justice. "This is another tragic case that underscores the growing problem of religious intolerance in the Muslim world. To impose a prison sentence for a family because of their Christian faith sadly reveals the true agenda of this new government: Egypt has no respect for international law or religious liberty.”

Morsi has been under fire for failing to take action against rising violence inflicted on Egypt’s Christians. In August, the roughly 100-family Christian community in Dahshour was forced to flee after Muslim neighbors launched attacks against the Christians’ homes and property. Morsi said the expulsion and violence was “ blown out of proportion.” Radical Salafi preachers -- who have formed alliances with Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood -- called for Muslims to shun Christians during Christmas.

Sekulow urged U.S. diplomatic intervention in Egypt to promote religious freedom. Morsi is scheduled to meet with President Obama, possibly in March.

”The U.S. State Department must play more of a role in discouraging this kind of persecution," Sekulow said. "The U.S. should not be an idle bystander. The U.S. provides more than $1 billion to Egypt each year. The State Department should speak out forcefully against this kind of religious persecution in Egypt.”

Culled from FOX NEWS

Police arrests Church of England Vicar for 'voyeurism'

A married vicar has been suspended from his job after he was arrested on suspicion of voyeurism.

The Rev Richard Lee, 48, has been on police bail since the summer while officers investigate the case.

Police yesterday refused to reveal details of the claims against him.

Mr Lee is the Church of England vicar for two Somerset village churches near Weston-super-Mare, St Augustine’s in Locking and St Mary’s in Hutton, where his 47-year-old wife, the Rev Anne Lee, also works.
He is also the co-ordinator of a local music group called WWJD.

The couple – who met while studying to be vicars and have two children – moved from their previous parish in Kent five years ago.

Yesterday members of his previous congregation expressed shock at his arrest.

A female parishioner at All Saints Church in Hempstead, Kent, said: ‘Richard was really popular here. He got on with everyone.

'I’m pretty shocked to hear [of his arrest].’

Last night it was not clear whether or not Mrs Lee is still officiating at services while her husband is on police bail.

The vicar, who grew up in Fowey, Cornwall, is according to a social networking site profile, interested in ‘anything to do with railways’, sailing, reading, walking, the theatre, cinema and listening to and playing music.

A spokesman for the Diocese of Bath and Wells said: ‘We can confirm that the Rev Richard Lee was arrested in July 2012.’

Culled from THE TELEGRAPH

Google to relocate headquarters to King's Cross

Technology giant Google is to move its UK headquarters following a £1bn property deal.

It has bought a 2.4 acre site at King's Cross in north London and plans to build a seven and 11 storey complex.

The US company will move staff from its two London offices in Victoria and Holborn to the new location when it is completed in 2016.

Google's Matt Brittin said the move was "good news for Google, London and the UK".

It will be located in the King's Cross Central development, which sits on a former fish, coal and grain goods yard and spans 67 acres.

The redeveloped site will eventually contain homes, offices and shops.

Google has traditionally leased its overseas offices but in the past two years has purchased premises in Paris, Dublin, and now London.

Mr Brittin, vice president for northern and central Europe, said: "This is a big investment by Google. We're committing further to the UK, where computing and the web were invented."

Construction on the site will begin towards the end of this year.
Culled from BBC

Man jailed for having sex with neighbour's dog

Building superintendent Kujtim Nicaj, 44, was sentenced Tuesday to 6 and a half years in prison and 7 years probation for sneaking into a tenant's apartment and having sex with the man's dog, the Journal News reported.

Alan Kachalsky of Rye, New York, lived alone with his 1-year-old Labrador retriever, Gunner, but would frequently come home to find signs that another person had been in the apartment. Kachalsky would notice that someone had opened a window or closed the blinds, but none of his possessions were ever missing.

Kachalsky set up three cameras to catch the intruder, and wound up with footage of Nicaj entering the apartment, getting naked and engaging in sex acts with Gunner.

Kachalsky told the Journal News that on the video, the Labrador, who is usually friendly and energetic, "just sat on the couch. He did not get up."

Kachalsky brought the video to law enforcement in February 2012, and Nicaj was arrested and charged with second-degree burglary as a sexually motivated felony and sexual misconduct according to New Rochelle Patch.

He was also fired from his position as building superintendent and was given a week to vacate the premises.

Nicaj pleaded guilty in October. In addition to serving prison time, he must register as a sex offender and not interact with Kachalsky.

“Taking advantage of a helpless animal is an act of depravity which has often been a predictor of violence against humans," District Attorney Janet DiFiore said in court, according to CBS New York.

Westchester County Judge Barry Warhit noted, "This case was unusual to say the least."
Culled from HUFF POST

Customs officials find 18 human heads at Chicago airport

Customs officials made the shocking discovery of 18 severed human heads at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport Monday.

As of Tuesday morning, investigators were checking to ensure the human heads with skin still on—and wrapped in plastic—were less sinister than they seem, reports the Sun-Times.

According to the Tribune, the embalmed heads came from a research facility in Rome on a Lufthansa Airlines flight about a week before Christmas but a "paperwork snafu" snagged the shipment; the final destination of the three coolers was not clearly marked.

Brian Bell, a Chicago-based spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security, said the discovery body parts, which "at first blush" appeared to be for medical purposes, is not entirely uncommon.

"Everybody here is ‘Oh my gosh, you got a box of heads’ and everybody thinks that it’s unheard of,” Bell said according to CBS Chicago. “It is a potentially legitimate medical shipment. We’ve seen it at various ports in the nation.”

Bell went on to say shipping body parts for medical purposes is perfectly legal—with the right documentation.

A Fox Chicago broadcast reports the heads were initially handed over the Cook County Medical Examiner to ensure they didn't belong to victims of a crime.
ads not by this site

The remaining head-scratcher: where are the heads going? The Tribune reports officials saying the recipient of the shipment has not yet come forward.
Culled from HUFF POST

Man who asked for death penalty set to be electrocuted by US government

Robert Gleason Jr. will walks into Virginia's death chamber on Wednesday night. This will mark the end of a twisted quest to speed his own death.

Gleason says it's not because he wants to die, but rather because he knows he will kill again if he's not executed. He was already serving life in prison when he killed his cellmate then vowed to continue killing unless he was put to death. When the system wasn't moving fast enough, he strangled another inmate and warned that the body count would rise if they didn't heed his warnings. Gleason waived his appeals, and he remains in a legal battle with his former attorneys as they file last-minute appeals to try to save his life against his wishes.

"Why prolong it? The end result's gonna be the same," Gleason said in his thick Boston accent in one of numerous interviews from death row he's given to The Associated Press over three years. "The death part don't bother me. This has been a long time coming. It's called karma."

Gleason is scheduled to die at 9 p.m. Wednesday at Greensville Correctional Center in Jarratt. Condemned Virginia inmates can choose between lethal injection and electrocution, and Gleason is the first inmate to choose electrocution since 2010.

The unusual choice follows a series of other shocking moves.

Deputies had to use a stun gun on him during a violent outburst in court in 2008 before he pleaded guilty to a shooting death that sent him to prison for life. Despite there being little evidence against him, Gleason admitted to shooting Mike Jamerson, whose son was cooperating in a federal investigation into a methamphetamine ring that Gleason was involved in.

A year later he got so frustrated when prison officials wouldn't move his new, mentally disturbed cellmate, 63-year-old Harvey Watson Jr., that Gleason hogtied, beat and strangled the older man. Gleason remained in the cell with Watson's lifeless body for more than 15 hours before officers discovered the crime.

"Someone needs to stop it. The only way to stop me is put me on death row," he told AP at the time, repeating his threats in court on numerous occasions.

While awaiting sentencing at a highly secure prison in the mountains that is reserved for the state's worst inmates, Gleason strangled 26-year-old Aaron Cooper through the wire fencing that separated their individual cages on the recreation yard.

Gleason claims he's killed others -- perhaps dozens more -- but he has refused to provide details. He claims he's different from the other men on Virginia's death row for one important reason: he only kills criminals.

Watson was serving life for killing one man and injuring two others. Cooper was a carjacker with gang ties.

"I ain't saying I'm a better person for killing criminals, but I've never killed innocent people," Gleason said. "I killed people that's in the same lifestyle as me, and they know, hey, these things can happen."

Gleason says he only requested death in order to keep a promise to a loved one that he wouldn't kill again. He said doing so will allow him to teach his children, including two young sons, what can happen if they follow in his footsteps.

"I wasn't there as a father and I'm hoping that I can do one last good thing," he said. "Hopefully, this is a good thing."

Cooper's mother, Kim Strickland, put aside her religious beliefs in opposition to the death penalty when Gleason sent her Bible verses that preached an eye for an eye before his sentencing. She testified that he deserved to die for killing her son. She is suing the prison system over the death.

"May God have mercy on his soul," Strickland told AP. "I've been praying and will continue to pray that his family can heal from this ordeal."

Gleason, 42, was born in Lowell, Mass., a proud Yankee who still signs his letters "Bobby from Boston." After going to art school in North Carolina, Gleason became an award-winning tattoo artist in shops up and down the East Coast. He settled down for a while outside of Richmond, owned a tattoo shop and embraced religion. He later said he was feigning interest in religion to benefit his tattoo business.

In court papers, attorneys detail his "profoundly disturbed and traumatic life" marked by abuse as a child and depression and other mental health problems as an adult. Gleason starting drinking alcohol as a teen and later abused cocaine, meth and steroids, among other drugs. His long criminal record dates back to armed robberies as a teen. He looked up to an older brother who died in a Massachusetts prison during a botched escape attempt.

Attorneys who continue trying to intervene on his behalf claim Gleason is severely disturbed. They argue his competency has deteriorated over the year he's been in isolation on death row, and that he suffers from extreme paranoia, delusional thinking, severe anxiety and other mental afflictions that leave him with "a nearly overwhelming urge to end his own life."
"...his mental illness is causing him to be suicidal, and he is enlisting the government's help to end his life," attorney Jon Sheldon wrote in court documents asking a federal appeals court to require a new competency evaluation. Two other evaluations deemed Gleason capable of making his own decisions.

While those closest to Gleason acknowledge he's had a troubled life, they also describe a man who dressed up as a big, purple dinosaur for his young son's birthday and comforted him when he was scared of the costume, who organized a motorcycle run to raise money for a child with cancer and who is fiercely protective and supportive of those he loved.

"It's a shame," one friend told attorneys of Gleason's death sentence, according to court papers, "because there's a lot of goodness in him."'

But there's no mistaking Gleason's dark side.

Prison and jail officials have intercepted letters and calls in which he either discussed killing or directly threatened judges, attorneys, jurors and mental health experts tied to his criminal cases. He told investigators that killing was "like tying a shoe" or "going to the fridge to get a beer."

Those on both sides of the death penalty debate have seized on Gleason's case to prove their point.

Death penalty supporters say that keeping Gleason alive puts others at risk. Opponents of capital punishment argue that the prospect of being executed gave him incentive to kill Watson and Cooper.

Gleason agrees with death penalty opponents on at least one point: that it's likely individuals feel immense pain during a lethal injection. That's partly why he chose electrocution.

The other reason: He just can't imagine going out lying down.

"I can't do that," he said. "I'd rather be sitting up."
Culled from FOX NEWS

Saudi Arabia beheads Sri Lankan girl accused of murder

Saudi Arabia has beheaded a Sri Lankan domestic worker for killing a baby in her care in 2005 in a case that has been widely condemned by rights groups.

The maid, Rizana Nafeek, had denied killing the four-month-old boy.

Her supporters say she was only 17 at the time of the killing. They say her execution is a breach of international child rights.

The Sri Lankan government condemned the execution, which it said took place despite numerous clemency pleas.

The Saudi interior ministry said on Wednesday that Ms Nafeek was executed for smothering the infant after an argument with the child's mother in the town of al-Dwadmi.

Rizana Nafeek's father Sulthan and her mother Rafeena The parents of Ms Nafeek had repeatedly appealed to King Abdullah to pardon her


Translation problems

The Sri Lankan parliament held a minute's silence on Wednesday in honour of Ms Nafeek.

News of the execution came on the same day that the International Labour Organization (ILO) said that laws were needed "urgently" to give greater protection to domestic workers.

The ILO report estimates that only about 10% of all domestic workers - about 5.3 million people - are covered by labour laws to the same degree as other workers.

In Sri Lanka itself, the execution has rekindled debate about the safety of expatriate workers in the Middle East and about the poverty which drives people including Ms Nafeek to seek work abroad.

In a statement, the Sri Lankan foreign ministry said that President Rajapakse and the government deplored the execution "despite all efforts at the highest level of the government and the outcry of the people locally and internationally".

A Sri Lankan opposition MP who campaigns for Sri Lankan workers abroad, Ranjan Ramanayake, described the Saudi government as "dictators" who would never execute Europeans or Americans, only Asians and Africans.

The MP also said the government in Colombo had done little to ensure Rizana Nafeek's legal rights - a claim denied by Sri Lankan government officials.

The parents of Ms Nafeek had repeatedly appealed to King Abdullah to pardon her. Her
father is currently in hospital, officials say, and her mother is too distressed to
talk about the execution.
Rizana Nafeek's passport Correspondents say that it appears that employment agents falsified Rizana Nafeek's age so that she could work in Saudi Arabia

Ms Nafeek was convicted in 2007 of murdering four-month-old baby Naif al-Quthaibi, whom she was caring for in 2005.

She said that an initial confession was made under duress and without linguistic assistance. Supporters say that she also had no access to lawyers before her conviction.

Human rights groups including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch (HRW) have criticised the Saudi authorities for their handling of the case, as have campaigners in Sri Lanka, who argue that there were also serious translation problems at the time she confessed to the crime.

They argue that her reported execution breaches the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child which Saudi Arabia has ratified.

"Saudi Arabia is one of just three countries that executes people for crimes they committed as children," said senior HRW women's rights researcher Nisha Varia,

"Rizana Nafeek is yet another victim of the deep flaws in Saudi Arabia's judicial system."

The BBC's Charles Haviland in Sri Lanka visited Ms Nafeek's home village in 2010, where he saw a school register and a birth certificate confirming her date of birth.

Our correspondent says that if the documents are genuine, she was a minor when the alleged offence was committed. It also appears that employment agents falsified her age in order for her to get work in Saudi Arabia.
Culled from BBC

How BBC presenter raped 34 under-aged girls, assaulted 180 others

Jimmy Savile

Children as young as eight were abused by Jimmy Savile, a report detailing 50 years of allegations has revealed.

The joint Metropolitan Police and NSPCC report added Wheatfields Hospice in Leeds to the list of places where the former TV presenter abused children.

Some 214 crimes were recorded across 28 police force areas, including 34 of rape or penetration, the report said.

One victim, Deborah Cogger, was abused by Savile when she was aged 14 at Duncroft, an approved school for girls in Staines, Surrey, in 1974.

Deborah Cogger


She said the publication of the report had helped her: "Just to be able to finally be believed - it's not even telling the story - it's being believed.

"I think it's given a lot of people closure, not just the Savile case, abuse in general. Now it's being spoken about, it's been brought to the fore, and for a lot of historical cases it's helped a lot of people."

Police said it was a "compelling picture of widespread sexual abuse by a predatory sex offender".

The Department of Health said the report showed the need to "learn lessons from his crimes".

Revelations that Savile had sexually abused children prompted hundreds of other victims to come forward, including those who said they were attacked on BBC premises.

The former BBC presenter and Radio 1 DJ died aged 84 in October 2011, a year before the allegations emerged in an ITV documentary.

Historical abuse

Friday's report, Giving Victims a Voice, set out what Scotland Yard and the NSPCC have discovered about Savile since they launched the inquiry - Operation Yewtree - three months ago.

The 30-page document expanded on allegations that Savile was a prolific sex offender whose abuse took place at a number of institutions identified by victims.

Its findings included:

Savile offended at 13 hospitals, including Great Ormond Street in London, and one offence was recorded at Wheatfields Hospice in Leeds in 1977
His youngest victim was an eight-year-old boy, and the oldest was 47
The earliest allegation is from 1955 in Manchester and the last in 2009
Offences were carried out at the BBC between 1965 and 2006 - including at the last Top of the Pops recording
Peak offending took place between 1966 and 1976
Some 73% of victims were under 18
Most of those abused were aged 13 to 16
There is "no clear evidence" he operated in paedophile ring, although "whether he was part of an informal network" is still being investigated

The report also revealed 16 offences were committed at Leeds General Infirmary between 1965-1995 and 22 at Stoke Mandeville Hospital between 1965-88.

And one offence was committed at Broadmoor high-security psychiatric prison, St James Leeds Hospital, High Royds Psychiatric Hospital, Dewsbury Hospital, Wycombe General, Great Ormond Street in 1971, Ashworth Hospital, Exeter Hospital, Portsmouth Royal Hospital, St Catherine's Birkenhead, and Saxondale Mental Health.

The Crown Prosecution Service also published a review of a decision in 2009 not to charge Savile with sexual offences in relation to four complaints made to police in Surrey and Sussex.

It found there was "nothing to suggest" the decisions were "consciously influenced by any improper motive on the part of either the police or prosecutors".

However, it said further action might have been possible had "police and prosecutors taken a different approach", adding the CPS prosecutor "did not probe... or seek to build a prosecution".

If those coming forward had "been told that she was not the only woman to have complained, they would probably have been prepared to give evidence".

Director of public prosecutions Keir Starmer apologised on behalf of the CPS. He said the report represented a "watershed moment" and pledged to enhance information sharing and provide prosecutors with additional training for the future.

A Department of Health spokesman said: "This report highlights the shocking scale of offending by Jimmy Savile over five decades and shows the need to learn lessons from his crimes.

"When these allegations first came to light the department and relevant trusts started work to investigate these issues, and we expect any new NHS organisations named today to do the same.

"Findings from all trust investigations will feed into the report Kate Lampard will write for the secretary of state on any lessons for the whole system in relation to safeguarding and access."

'Cathartic process'

Liz Dux, from Slater and Gordon Solicitors, who is representing many of the victims, said the police inquiry had given them "validity" as many had been able to give their statement for the first time, and had "been believed".

"This has been a very cathartic process for them. Now that the report is out they hope that they can move on to the inquiries, hope that the inquiries are dealt with as swiftly as possible, and that the civil claims will be concluded and that they can get on with the rest of their lives."

The allegations prompted a series of investigations, including three at the BBC and another by the Department of Health into his role at Broadmoor hospital.


A report by former Sky News chief Nick Pollard into the the dropping of a BBC Newsnight investigation into Savile said the decision was "flawed" and plunged the corporation into "chaos and confusion".

Operation Yewtree has three strands - claims against Savile, claims against Savile and others, and claims against others.

Speaking to BBC News, Childline founder Esther Rantzen said: "What worries me is, did various organisations - be they hospitals, or the BBC, or other broadcasters - turn a blind eye, turn a deaf ear, in order to protect their product, which was Jimmy Savile the broadcaster?"

Savile was a BBC Radio 1 DJ as well as a presenter of Top Of The Pops and Jim'll Fix It on the BBC, and was knighted in 1990.

Culled from BBC

Porn plays on Swedish TV4 National News for 10 minutes (VIDEO)

While a TV news anchor reported a segment on Syria to a national audience Monday, porn mistakenly aired in the background for a full 10 minutes, English-language outlet The Local reports.

TV4 management eventually pulled the plug, explaining that the station is owned by a company that also broadcasts adult films on other channels. A computer mixup likely led to the steamy footage playing. TV4 editor Andreas Haglind said the station would do its best to ensure something like this would not happen again, The Local reports.

The newscaster was halfway through the broadcast when the explicit action popped up on a monitor behind her.

"I thought I was mistaken, but it soon became pretty clear when I saw how they moved," one viewer told Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet, the Daily Mail notes.

One YouTube viewer clearly entertained by the mixup commented to the effect of: "What's news doing on my porn?"

According to the station, TV4 is "easily the most-watched TV channel in Sweden among the main target group." Given recent events, we have a feeling those numbers might grow even more.
Culled from HUFF POST

Murder suicide: Woman, kills son, wounds daughter, before Killing herself

Sandra Palmer

Greensboro, N.C., police are investigating a grisly murder-suicide in which a mother shot her children, killing her teenage son, before turning the gun on herself.

Monday night following a domestic dispute.

Maurice Edmond - the victim

Palmer appears to have pepper-sprayed her boyfriend, Maurice Eugene Edmonds, incapacitating him, before shooting her daughter, Danielle Imani Jameison, 18, and son Maurice Edmonds II, 14, with a handgun.

Edmonds the elder was shot trying to take the gun away from Palmer, according to the Winston-Salem Journal. He then ran from the house for help and collapsed outside.

Palmer went into another room and shot herself with a second gun after the first gun jammed, Greensboro police chief Ken Miller said in a news conference Tuesday night.

"It defies explanation why somebody would do what was done in this case," Miller said.

Jameison and the elder Edmonds were taken to an area hospital and are now recovering. Maurice Edmonds II, the son of Palmer and the elder Edmonds, was pronounced dead at the scene.

According to WFMY, the family had no history of disputes, and police are still trying to determine a motive for the shooting.

Rich Thomae, principal of the middle school Maurice Edmonds II attended, called the young man a "rising star" and described him as a three-sport athlete and an honor roll student.
Culled from HUFF POST

Man allegedly kills, dismembers victim before throwing arms to witnesses

-

Paul R. Potter

A northeast Missouri man accused of killing a man, dismembering the body and setting fires to conceal the crime, hurled the victim's arms at witnesses shortly before he was arrested, police said.

Paul R. Potter, 49, of Kirksville, was charged Monday in Adair County with second

degree murder, arson and tampering with a motor vehicle and is being held on $1 million bond. Kevin Locke, the public defender assigned to represent Potter, did not immediately return a phone call Tuesday seeking comment.

Authorities are not releasing the victim's name until relatives have been notified, the Adair County prosecutor's office said.

Police officers responding to a call of a vehicle fire Sunday arrived at a public housing development in Kirksville and saw Potter "throw two objects, later identified as human arms, towards the witnesses," according to a probable cause statement.

Potter was taken into custody "and blood evidence was later collected from his hands," the statement said.

Fires had been set in two apartments. Officers and firefighters found a dismembered body with additional wounds to the face and sternum in one of the apartments. Both apartments were both strewn with blood.

Potter had taken "substantial steps to conceal the crime and divert attention away from the crime," the police statement said.

Two vehicles also had been set on fire and police said they found several knives inside and around one of the apartments.

Witnesses told police that Potter had been involved in a nearby disturbance earlier that day.
Culled from HUFF POST