Month: January 2017

Hearts, intestines ripped out in Brazil prison

Thirty-one inmates were slain Friday in northern Brazil, some with their hearts and intestines ripped out, during prison killings led by the country’s largest gang, authorities said. The bloodshed comes just days after 60 inmates were killed during rioting at two prisons in a neighboring state and it increases fears that violence could spread, including to the streets of major cities, as gangs vie for influence and territory both inside prisons and in slums where trafficking operations are often based.

Fitter launches compensation claim over asbestos-related cancer

David Bennett, 63, was one of thousands of people employed by Smart and Brown, in Spennymoor, during the 1960s and 70s David Bennett, who is now retired and lives in Croxdale, County Durham , was diagnosed with mesothelioma in March 2016 – a cancer of the lung’s linings usually caused by exposure to asbestos. The 63-year-old instructed lawyers at Irwin Mitchell to investigate how and where he was exposed to asbestos dust.

US ambassador meets goal _ visiting 189 UN missions

Samantha Power has completed a personal goal she set when becoming the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations in August 2013: She has visited the missions of the 189 countries the United States has diplomatic relations with – and she recommends that her successor Nikki Haley does the same. Power’s last courtesy call Friday morning was to the two-room mission of the Pacific island kingdom of Tonga and its Ambassador Mahe’uli’uli Sandhurst Tupouniua, who surprised her by saying “Our 18th century constitution, I understand, is the second oldest to the United States.”

Perth “the place to visit” in 2017 say top travel guides

Perth has had a major tourism boost with two of the world’s best known travel guides listing WA as a “must-see” destination for 2017. Travel +Leisure has included Perth in its 50-best-places-to-travel and Lonely Planet has listed Pinky’s Eco Retreat and Beach Club on Rottnest Island at number eight in its Top-35-new-travel-openings for 2017.

Man stabbed in stomach in Knutsford alleyway

Police taped off an alleyway in the Lowe Drive area at around 3.45pm after attending reports of an assault, and found a 31-year-old man with a puncture wound to the stomach. Sgt Matt Ashton said: “The investigation is in the very early stages but I would like to reassure people that this appears to be an isolated incident.

U.S. charges ex-Haiti coup leader with drug trafficking conspiracy

The leader of a 2004 coup that toppled Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, and who had been wanted for more than a decade by U.S. authorities, was charged on Friday in the United States with engaging in drug trafficking and money laundering conspiracies. Guy Philippe, 48, faces a three-count indictment including conspiring to import cocaine into the United States, conspiring to launder money, and engaging in monetary transactions stemming from unlawful activity, the U.S. Department of Justice said.

Forex: J$128.55 to one US dollar – Latest News

KINGSTON, Jamaica The Jamaican dollar held firm against the US dollar trading at J$128.55 on Friday, January 6, according to the Bank of Jamaica’s daily foreign exchange trading summary. Meanwhile, the Canadian dollar ended trading at J$96.30, down from J$96.71, while the British pound sterling ended trading at J$156.93, down from J$157.23.

Deportivo and Espanyol draw 1-1 in Spanish league

Espanyol took advantage of a blunder by Brazilian defender Sidnei to salvage a 1-1 draw at home against Deportivo La Coruna on Friday. Gerard Moreno scored the equalizer in the 63rd minute after Sidnei stepped on the ball and fell while trying to clear a cross into the area, leaving the Espanyol forward perfectly placed to net his seventh league goal this season.

Ronaldo favored to win his 4th FIFA award as world’s best

Cristiano Ronaldo’s remarkable run of success can continue with a fourth FIFA award as the world’s best player on Monday. A European champion with club and country last year, the Real Madrid and Portugal forward is favored to beat great rival Lionel Messi and France forward Antoine Griezmann when winners of the rebranded Best FIFA Football Awards are presented in Zurich.

U.S. intelligence agencies: Putin ordered intervention in…

Russia carried out a comprehensive cybercampaign to upend the U.S. presidential election, an operation that was ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin and “aspired to help” elect Donald Trump by discrediting his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, U.S. intelligence agencies concluded in a report released Friday. The report depicts Russian interference as unprecedented in scale, saying that Moscow’s assault represented “a significant escalation in directness, level of activity, and scope of effort” beyond previous election-related espionage.

VW in Advanced Talks for Multi-billion Settlement on US Criminal Probe

Volkswagen and the Justice Department are nearing a deal to resolve criminal and civil allegations over the German automaker’s diesel cheating while it won long-awaited approval from the Environmental Protection Agency to fix about 70,000 diesel vehicles, crucial steps toward moving past a scandal that has cost it billions of dollars and its reputation. A successful settlement is critical to the automaker’s goal of rebuilding its business in the United States, a market key to its long-term growth plans and where VW brand sales were down 8 percent last year.

LETTER: Time to get beyond mudslinging

Doug Griffiths, author of “13 Ways to Kill Your Community,” and paid guest speaker, is upset by Brian W. White, CPA, CA and chairman of Pictou County ‘Amalgamation No Thank You. Now Mr. Griffiths says he no longer wants to talk to Mr. White according to his comments in “Always a way to succeed” which appeared in the New Glasgow News on Dec 21. Well that was the best bit of news I’d heard for some while! Here’s hoping he takes his booty and returns to his native province and soon relieves the Nova Scotia taxpayer.

EDITORIAL: Some ready to throw caution to the wind

Now there’s a novel approach in setting a political agenda: a moderate tone, basing comments on a positive track, avoiding the negative. There was a time when Lisa Raitt’s style in discussing her bid to lead the federal Conservatives would have made all the sense in the world.

Ford embraces move to Huskies

Cape Breton forward Declan Smith goes to the net against Halifax defenceman Taylor Ford and goaltender Alexis Gravel on Friday night at Centre 200 in Sydney. As much as Taylor Ford will miss Halifax, the departing Mooseheads captain is most pleased with his new home in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

Queen bees: The honey co-ops giving Afghan women control

In the mountainous central province of Bamiyan, one of the country’s least developed but most liberal regions, beekeeping complements its only other commercial crop, potatoes, and gives rural women the chance to become entrepreneurs. Four beekeeping cooperatives have been set up here in recent years, backed by NGOs and foreign aid.

Supreme Court upholds bail revocation of student activist

THE SUPREME Court yesterday ruled in favour of Khon Kaen provincial court and the Appeal Court’s rulings to revoke the bail of a student activist charged under the lese majeste law and the Computer Crime Act for sharing a BBC Thai article about the monarchy. Meanwhile, the provincial court granted Khon Kaen police permission for a fourth round of detention for activist Jatupat “Pai Daodin” Boonpattararaksa.

Other factors to consider in reducing road carnage

Your report on the horrific double-vehicle accident in Chon Buri with 25 deaths should prompt a national day of mourning, since Thailand continues to have one of the highest per-capita vehicle accident rates in the world! The report implies that an increase in accidents and deaths is an inevitable result of more vehicles on the roads and more people travelling. It points to the possible negligence of the van driver, but says nothing about the irresponsibility of the van company for requiring its driver to work excessive hours, nor the likelihood that many of the pickup passengers must have been outside the protection of the cab.

Sport24.co.za | Spurs’ Lamela returns to Roma for treatment

Tottenham Hotspur winger Erik Lamela has returned to former club Roma for treatment after becoming frustrated by the progress of a hip injury, manager Mauricio Pochettino revealed on Friday. Lamela, 24, has not played since Spurs’ 2-1 League Cup defeat at Liverpool on October 25 and spent a week in his native Argentina in December visiting his hospitalised brother.

The year Asia’s power balance shifted

Even as many yearn for the days when America’s influence kept geopolitics stable in the region, this may go down in history as the year when Asia no longer stood to attention when a US president cleared his throat. In the 1942 Hollywood classic Casablanca, Major Strasser of the Third Reich tells the French police prefect that his impression of saloon keeper Rick Blaine, the principal protagonist, is that he is just another blundering American.

Sport24.co.za | Firmino loving life on Merseyside

Liverpool forward Roberto Firmino is aiming to stay at Anfield “for many years”, having cemented his place in Jurgen Klopp’s starting line-up. The 25-year-old has played an important role in the Merseyside outfit’s strong start to the 2016/17 campaign, netting six times and providing three assists in 19 league appearances.

Sport24.co.za | Djokovic saves five match points to reach Qatar final

Novak Djokovic saved five match points against world No 42 Fernando Verdasco on Friday to reach the Qatar Open final where he could meet world No 1 Andy Murray. Djokovic won a thrilling match 4-6, 7-6 , 6-3 to progress to his second successive final in Doha but was earlier on the brink of a straight sets defeat as he trailed in the second set tie-break.

Olympic champion Stoch wins final stop, takes 4 Hills title

Poland’s Kamil Stoch celebrates after winning the fourth and last stage of the Four Hills ski jumping tournament in Bischofshofen, Austria, Friday, Jan. 6, 2017. Poland’s Kamil Stoch, bottom, who won the overall competition, and his teammate Piotr Zyla celebrate after the fourth and last stage of the Four Hills ski jumping tournament in Bischofshofen, Austria, Friday, Jan. 6, 2017.

Hearts, intestines ripped out in Brazil prison killing spree

Relatives attend the burial of an inmate killed in a prison riot, at the Parque Taruma cemetery, in Manaus, Brazil, Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2017. The killing of dozens of inmates in two Brazilian prisons put Amazonas Gov. Jose Melo under fire and led him to say that that there were “no saints,” among the victims.