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Home » May 31st, 2011
Entries posted on “May, 2011”
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP and Staff) — The mother of a Florida woman charged in the death of her 2-year-old daughter cried and buried her face in her hands Tuesday as prosecutors played a series of 911 calls, including one that reported that the toddler had been missing for 31 days. Cindy Anthony became emotional during the sixth day of testimony in the murder trial of her 25-year-old daughter, Casey Anthony. During the final 911 call played, Cindy Anthony said her daughter had just told her that her 2-year-old granddaughter, Caylee, had been missing for 31 days. Casey Anthony is charged with first-degree murder and could be sentenced to death if convicted. She has pleaded not guilty and initially said a babysitter took the child. Her defense attorney now contends Caylee died in an accidental drowning in the family’s swimming pool. The prosecution says Caylee was suffocated by duct tape placed over her mouth. The 911 calls solicited the most emotional witness testimony to date. On a handful of occasions, jurors could be seen glancing in the direction of Casey, who also cried several times during her mother’s testimony. Jurors also looked toward Casey when the prosecution played a recording of her first call home from jail following her July 16, 2008, arrest. Judge Belvin Perry stopped the proceedings twice for 5-minute recesses to allow Cindy Anthony her to regain composure. During one of the breaks, her husband, George Anthony, had to hold her up as they walked outside. Minutes before listening to the 911 call in the courtroom, Cindy Anthony recounted how she had overheard Casey Anthony telling her brother that Caylee had been missing for a month “I lost it,” Cindy Anthony said between sobs. “I just went into the room and yelled at Casey, ‘What do you mean she’s been gone? Why didn’t you tell us?’” Later in the day, Casey’s friend Amy Huizenga testified about witnessing an argument between Casey and her mother had when she tracked Casey down at her boyfriend’s apartment July 15 — the same day of the 911 calls. “It was very confrontational,” Huizenga said. “A massive explosion of mother and daughter.” Huizenga also testified about text messages she exchanged with Casey in late June in which Casey spoke of needing to get rid of a “bad smell” in her car. “There was definitely a dead animal plastered to the front of my [...]
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WICHITA, Kan. (AP & staff) — Federal jurors in Kansas have convicted an 84-year-old Rwanda genocide suspect of lying on his U.S. immigration forms but they did not find that the government proved he participated in the mass killings. The Topeka jury convicted Lazare Kobagaye (luh-ZAR’ koh-buh-geye-uh) on Tuesday on one of the counts he faced. Kobagaye wrote on an application for U.S. residency that he was in his native Burundi from 1993 to 1995. But federal prosecutors say he was in neighboring Rwanda in April 1994 and that he encouraged fellow Hutus to commit atrocities against Tutsis. At least 500,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed during the wave of violence. The jury found that Kobagaye lied on the application about his whereabouts but not when he state he didn’t participate in genocide.
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BOWLING GREEN, Va. (AP & staff) — The company that operates the bus that overturned on a Virginia highway, killing four and injuring several others early Tuesday, has been involved in several accidents over the last two years. It also has been cited for 46 violations for drivers being fatigued, which police believe contributed to this crash. The Sky Express bus departed Greensboro, N.C., on Monday night and was headed to Chinatown in New York City with 58 people aboard, including the driver, said state police Sgt. Thomas Molnar. The bus had swerved off Interstate 95, hit an embankment and flipped over about 30 miles north of Richmond. The driver suffered minor injuries and is cooperating with investigators, Molnar said. Nearby hospitals say they have treated more than 25 people from the crash, some of whom were released. Driver fatigue is being cited as part of the reason, but police were still investigating, Molnar said. According to Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration records, Charlotte, N.C.-based Sky Express Inc. buses have been involved in four crashes, with one injury or fatality during the two-year period that ended May 20. Its drivers have been cited for 17 unsafe-driving violations, including eight speeding violations, since 2009. Three of the 46 violations for fatigued driving were classified as serious. Sky Express also was cited for 120 vehicle-maintenance violations, including one classified as serious. The National Transportation Board was investigating Tuesday’s crash. The bus had no passenger seat belts, only for the driver. David Wong, a manager in the Sky Express office in Charlotte, declined to comment. A telephone message left Tuesday for his attorney, Ruth Yang, wasn’t immediately returned. The records show the company uses 31 motor coaches and 53 drivers, as of May 20. It last underwent a compliance review on April 7. Sky Express offers $30 bus trips between New York and 15 cities in North Carolina, Virginia, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida. It also goes to Washington, D.C. Tuesday’s deaths come about two and a half months after a horrific New York City accident that focused attention on bus safety. On March 12, a speeding bus returning to Chinatown from a Connecticut casino toppled off an elevated highway and hit a utility pole, peeling off the roof. Fifteen passengers were killed and 18 injured. The fleets of inexpensive buses plying the highways of the Northeast offer cheap fares, convenient routes and [...]
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TRIPOLI, Libya (AP & staff) — Moammar Gadhafi insists he will not leave his country, South Africa’s president said Tuesday after he met the embattled Libyan ruler. Gadhafi’s departure is the key demand of rebel forces battling his troops. On Tuesday, Italy’s foreign minister pledged to provide Libya’s rebels with fuel and hundreds of millions of dollars backed by frozen assets of Gadhafi’s regime. Franco Frattini spoke during a visit to the de facto rebel capital, Benghazi. The hard lines of the two sides and the competing, high-level visits illustrated the virtual stalemate in the conflict. NATO aircraft bomb the Libyan capital night after night, and military forces from the two sides engage each other in battles, shelling and rocket attacks, little is changing on the ground. South Africa is concerned for Gadhafi’s safety, according to the statement released by President Jacob Zuma’s office Tuesday, after he returned home from his talks with Gadhafi in Tripoli — a rare visit by a high-level world figure. Zuma was pressing to revive an African Union proposal for a cease-fire and dialogue to settle the Libya conflict, and Gadhafi agreed, the statement said, “Col. Gadhafi called for an end to the bombings to enable a Libyan dialogue,” it said. “He emphasized that he was not prepared to leave his country, despite the difficulties.” Zuma called for a halt to NATO airstrikes as part of the cease-fire. After initially backing NATO’s involvement, Zuma and the African Union called for a cessation, charging that NATO had overstepped its U.N. mandate to protect civilians. NATO aircraft blasted five tank transporters near the western coastal town of Zlitan on Monday, British military spokesman Maj. Gen. John Lorimer said in a statement. The town is between Tripoli and the rebel-held city of Misrata. Through the statement, the African Union appealed for recognition of its role in finding a formula, adding, “Nothing other than a dialogue among all parties in Libya can bring about a lasting solution.” The African body’s image has deteriorated in recent years because of its inability to resolve conflicts on the continent. Rebel leaders immediately turned down the African initiative because of Gadhafi’s refusal to relinquish power. The statement said Zuma had lengthy talks with Gadhafi. South African foreign affairs spokesman Clayson Monyela said he raised issues brought up in his talks with rebel leaders in Johannesburg. Monyela did not say when the meetings took [...]
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ISLAMABAD (AP & staff) — A Pakistani journalist who investigated al-Qaida’s alleged infiltration of the navy and told a rights activist he’d been threatened by the country’s intelligence agencies was found dead Tuesday. Police said his body showed signs of torture. Syed Saleem Shahzad’s death underscores the dangers of reporting in Pakistan, which in 2010 was called the deadliest country for journalists. It could also increase scrutiny of Pakistan’s security agencies, already under domestic pressure since the May 2 U.S. raid that killed Osama bin Laden. Shahzad, a correspondent for the Asia Times Online as well as Italian news agency Adnkronos International, went missing Sunday from Islamabad while on his way to appear on a television show. A brother-in-law identified his body after it was found some six miles (10 kilometers) from his car in Mandi Bahaudiin district outside the capital. An initial exam found signs of torture, but autopsy results were pending, police official Bilal Ahmad said. A senior Pakistani intelligence official denied allegations that the agency had anything to do with Shahzad’s case. “It’s absurd,” the official told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to media on the record. The 40-year-old Shahzad dabbled in some sensitive topics, which would likely have caught the eye of Pakistan’s security establishment. The country’s military and spy networks operate largely outside the law and regularly try to pressure media outlets and individual reporters. Last October, Shahzad wrote an Asia Times article that claimed that Pakistan had freed a detained Afghan Taliban commander so that he could “play a pivotal role in backchannel talks through the Pakistani army with Washington.” Within days, he was summoned to an office of Pakistan’s premier spy agency, Inter-Services Intelligence, according to an email he sent to Ali Dayan Hasan, a researcher for Human Rights Watch. Intelligence officials pressured him to reveal his sources or retract the story, but he declined. At the end of the meeting, one of the intelligence officials issued what appeared to be a veiled threat. The official told him the agencies had recently arrested a “terrorist” who had carried a hit list, and that if Shahzad’s name was on the list, he’d let him know. Shahzad told Hasan that he was sending him the notes of the meeting for the “record only if in case something happens to me or my family in future.” Last [...]
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JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Regulators approved Wal-Mart’s 17 billion rand (about $2.4 billion) bid to buy a controlling share of a South African chain in a ruling Tuesday that followed a fierce debate over protectionism in the country with the continent’s most promising economy. Unions and government officials are worried the arrival of the world’s biggest retailer will hurt jobs and local manufacturing. In its ruling, the Competition Tribunal, the government agency charged with promoting competition and protecting consumers, said Wal-Mart and South African retailer Massmart could not lay off any workers for two years, must respect Massmart’s existing labor agreements for three years and must invest in training South African suppliers. Wal-Mart and Massmart had already agreed to take the steps regarding layoffs and union agreements. They also pledged to spend 100 million rand (about $14 million) over the next three years to help farmers and other South African suppliers gear up to do business with Wal-Mart. The Congress of South African Trade Unions, a key ally of the governing African National Congress, called the tribunal’s approval “almost unconditional” and said Tuesday that its leaders will meet in late June to plan a campaign of marches, demonstrations, pickets and stay-aways to try to keep Wal-Mart out. The tribunal said Wal-Mart was likely to bring lower prices and “benefit consumers by strengthening rivalry and improving choice.” It said some losers were inevitable among South African retailers and producers as a result of the decision, but that it chose a path it hoped would make South Africans more competitive. Arkansas-based Wal-Mart operates in Europe, Asia and across the Americas. Its interest in coming to Africa for the first time has been seen as a vote of confidence not just in South Africa’s economy, but in the continent’s potential. Wal-Mart CEO and president Doug McMillon said after Tuesday’s ruling he expected the transaction to be completed in a few weeks, and that Wal-Mart would help Massmart with a planned expansion he said would create 2,000 to 3,0000 jobs over the next few years. Grant Pattison, the Massmart CEO who will continue in that role with the merged company, said shoppers would not see immediate changes in stores that will retain their South African names, but that new products and lower prices would steadily be introduced. The unions and the government departments of trade, agriculture and economic development had argued Wal-Mart would flood South [...]
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KABUL, Afghanistan (AP & staff) — Afghanistan’s president on Tuesday ordered NATO to stop bombing homes, citing the risk of civilian casualties and putting him on a collision course with his Western protectors who insist the attacks are an essential weapon and will continue. It was Hamid Karzai’s strongest-ever statement against alliance airstrikes and further complicated a difficult relationship with the Obama administration as it prepares a troop drawdown in the increasingly unpopular war. Karzai’s remarks were prompted by a recent air attack that mistakenly killed a group of children and women in southern Helmand province. Karzai declared it would be the last. “From this moment, airstrikes on the houses of people are not allowed,” Karzai told reporters in Kabul. Ordering airstrikes is a command decision in Afghanistan, where NATO spokeswoman Maj. Sunset Belinsky insisted they would continue. “Coalition forces constantly strive to reduce the chance of civilian casualties and damage to structures,” Belinsky said. “But when the insurgents use civilians as a shield and put our forces in a position where their only option is to use airstrikes, then they will take that option.” In Brussels, NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu insisted NATO airstrikes are still essential. She said the alliance takes Karzai’s concerns very seriously and would continue to make every effort to avoid civilian casualties. She said airstrikes on houses are coordinated with Afghan forces and “they continue to be necessary.” “In many of these operations, Afghans are in the lead,” she said, refusing to comment on the recent raid in Helmand province. Belinsky sought to soften the alliance rejection of Karzai’s directive. “In the days and weeks ahead we will coordinate very closely with President Karzai to ensure that his intent is met,” she said. Karzai has previously made strong statements against certain military tactics, such as night raids, only to back away later. Karzai’s spokesman said the president plans to stand firm on this issue, regardless of the fallout with NATO. “The president was very clear today about the fact that bombardments on Afghan homes and Afghan civilians are unacceptable and must be stopped. There is no room for back and forth on this,” Waheed Omar said. “The president was clear in saying that any such strikes in the future will make the Afghan government react unilaterally.” Karzai did not explain what his threat of “unilateral action” but said he plans to discuss it with NATO [...]
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LONDON (AP & staff) — Austrian player Daniel Koellerer has been banned for life and fined $100,000 by tennis authorities for attempting to fix matches. Koellerer was ranked No. 55 in 2009. He was found guilty of three violations between October 2009 and July 2010 by a group affiliated with the men’s and women’s tours and the International Tennis Federation. The investigation was done by the Tennis Integrity Unit, whose findings were considered at an independent anti-corruption hearing in London on April 27-28. A statement by the TIU on Tuesday didn’t specify which matches Koellerer was found to have manipulated. Details of the hearing or decision will not be made public.
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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP & staff) — Bahrain has asked Formula One’s governing body to reschedule its Grand Prix race when it meets Friday, insisting the country is returning to normal despite ongoing political tensions for months. Zayed Rashid Alzayani, chairman of the Bahrain International Circuit which holds the Bahrain Grand Prix, told The Associated Press the Gulf country is ready to “hold the race today.” Alzayani would like the race to be run in October or November to coincide with the Abu Dhabi GP on Nov. 13. A decision will be made Friday at the World Motor Sport Council meeting in Barcelona. The race had been called off by Bahrain’s Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa because of anti-government protest that have left 30 dead. “We feel we are in position to have that event back,” Alzayani said. “Things have calmed down tremendously in Bahrain. Life is back to normal. We are happy to have the race anytime really.” Alzayani said holding the race would bolster spirits of Bahrainis. He estimated the race alone could infuse $500 million into the country and “could be a nice catalyst to re-ignite the economy.” “We went through a rough patch and we need nice moments in our history now for the nation,” Alzayani said. “Formula One has always been a time where Bahrain showcases itself to the world not only as a sports arena but as society, a community that Bahrain as a nation has to offer. Formula One can bring back joy to the country.” F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone has led the campaign to reschedule the race but doing so has angered some local and international rights groups. The New York-based Human Rights Watch sent a letter last week to the governing body FIA and the Formula One Teams Association, asking them to take into account the abuses of anti-government protesters when making their decision. “Sadly, serious violations like arbitrary arrest, incommunicado detention, and alleged torture by Bahraini authorities predate the imposition of martial law in mid-March,” said Tom Porteous, deputy program director at Human Rights Watch. “There is little reason to think that ending martial law on June 1 will make much difference in Bahrain’s menacing human rights climate.” Nabeel Rajab, president of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, said Tuesday his group opposes rescheduling the race because of what he said was the government’s ongoing crackdown, which [...]
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BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP & staff) — Lionel Messi is back home and looking to win the Copa America for Argentina. Fresh off his Champions League final victory, Messi arrived in Buenos Aires on Tuesday. His Argentine team and Brazil are favored in the continental championship that begins July 1 with Argentina facing Bolivia. The final is July 24. “I’ve had the luck to win everything with Barcelona, win everything as an individual, and my goal now is go win things for the Argentine national team,” Messi said at the airport in Buenos Aires. Messi was the man of the match in Barcelona’s 3-1 victory over Manchester United on Saturday. He has, however, had limited success with his national team. Argentina, then coached by Diego Maradona, was routed 4-0 by Germany last year in the World Cup quarterfinals. Messi was no factor, often isolated in midfield without the ball. Maradona has since been replaced by Sergio Batista as coach. Argentina has won the World Cup twice — 1978 and 1986 — but it has not won a major international tournament since taking the Copa America in 1993 in Ecuador.
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