Award winning singer George Michael cautioned after caught with drugs in London public toilet

Sunday, September 21, 2008

British Grammy Award winning singer George Michael has been cautioned over drug use. The 45 year old singer was caught with class A and C drugs in the Hampstead Heath area of London. He was arrested on 19 September after being caught in the public toilet. British Home Office Minister Tony McNulty said drug laws needed to be “flexible”. He stated he did not know the details of the case when questioned why Michael was given a mild sentence.

Michael was banned from driving for two years after being caught slumped behind the wheel of his car twice. He pleaded guilty to driving while unfit through drugs. On May 15, 2006 Michael was found semi-conscious apparently snoozing at traffic lights while in his Range Rover. In the early hours of October 1, 2006, Michael was found unconscious in his Mercedes-Benz S-Class car, causing an obstruction.

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Michael found his fame as front man of pop band Wham!. He won two Grammy awards as well as 12 British number one singles. Michael announced that he would be retiring from touring after completing his first tour in 15 years last month. He announced that he would release a Christmas single in December.

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Car bomb kills 11 in Pakistan

Saturday, May 16, 2009

Police reports say that a car bomb containing nearly 50kg of explosives, has detonated in the Pakistani city of Peshawar on Saturday, killing at least 11 people and injuring at least 30 others. The bomb exploded at a busy road in the Kashkal area. According to police, a school bus was passing at the time of the detonation which resulted in many of the deaths being children.

Around seventeen cars were damaged by the explosion, five of them catching fire.

“We received nine dead bodies. Two more people expired later. The condition of two people among the 31 injured is serious,” Doctor Hameed Afridi told the Agence France-Presse news agency from the main Peshawar hospital. According to a list of victims that was signed by Afridi, five men, four children aged eight to seventeen years old, and two women were among the casualties.

“We were sitting in our showroom when there was a huge blast,” said Mohammad Anis, the owner of a car showroom located near where the incident took place. “When I came out, I saw fire and smoke everywhere around me.”

No one or group has claimed responsibility for the blast.

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New Zealand Government to unbundle local loop

Wednesday, May 3, 2006

The New Zealand Government has announced that it would require Telecom to unbundled the local loop to provide “faster and better broadband Internet services.” New Zealand used to be the only country in the OECD to have investigated unbundling the local loop and then rejected it. This means now that any Internet service provider in New Zealand can create their own plans / speeds for New Zealanders. The shock announcement, due to a leak of the plan to Telecom, saw the stock lose over NZ$2 billion over the New Zealand, Australian and American listings.

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New Polish government takes down findings on Russian air disaster

Thursday, November 26, 2015

The Law and Justice Party of Poland, which took power last week, this week removed web pages featuring the results of an investigation into the Smolensk air disaster in Russia in 2010. The cause of the crash, which killed Polish President Lech Kaczynski, is disputed.

The flight was carrying high-profile political figures to attend a ceremony commemorating the 70th anniversary of the Katyn massacre, when thousands of Polish prisoners of war and civilians were killed by the Soviets. All 96 on board died. Amongst the dead were First Lady Maria Kaczy?ska, several members of the lower parliamentary house known as the Sejm, Deputy Foreign Minister Andrzej Kremer, National Security Bureau head Aleksander Szczyg?o, and Ryszard Kaczorowski, the last President of the Polish government-in-exile.

The Law and Justice Party was in power at the time, led then as now by Lech Kaczynski’s identical twin brother Jaroslaw Kaczynski. Jaroslaw was himself Prime Minister of Poland from 2006 to 2007. Jaroslaw contested the vacated Presidency later that year but was defeated by Bronislaw Komorowski of the Civic Platform Party. Lech and Jaroslaw co-founded Law and Justice.

Russian and Polish investigations deemed the crash an accident. Edmund Klich, head of the Polish air accident investigatory body, said in 2010 the Polish military pilots of the Tupolev Tu-154 were determined to get the dignitaries through dense fog so they could attend the ceremony. He said the pilots were insufficiently trained and put safety second, whilst Russian air traffic controllers should have diverted the aircraft away from Smolensk. Passengers entered the cockpit during the final stages of the flight.

Government spokesman Elzbieta Witek yesterday said Donald Tusk, a former Prime Minister, should be prosecuted before the State Tribunal, although Witek said this was a personal view and not government policy. Jaroslaw and allies have insinuated Russia purposefully brought the plane down.

Law and Justice accuse Tusk, Prime Minister from 2007 to 2014, of failings before and after the crash. He is accused of not ensuring the President was safe, of not establishing an international investigation, and of allowing Russia to maintain possession of the wreckage.

Russia’s Interstate Aviation Committee performed its own investigation blaming solely Poland’s pilots and exonerating the controllers. Upon receiving the first draft of their report in 2010 Tusk branded the contents “unacceptable”, the findings “without foundation”, and the overall result a breach of the Chicago Convention, an international regulatory document on air travel.

Tusk resigned last year to take the European Council Presidency until 2017. Witek said he had “given away” investigative control. Polish minister Adam Lipinski has previously called for Tusk’s prosecution after his European duties conclude, saying he has “a lot to answer for” over the disaster.

Polish conspiracy theorists have been spurred on by Russian refusal to accede to Polish requests to return wreckage, which the Russians claim to still be investigating.

The new Prime Minister is Law and Justice’s Beata Szydlo. Asked on Tuesday about one disappearing website containing investigative findings, Szydlo told press “the website has been closed and will simply remain closed.”

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Boko Haram attack in Nigerian city kills at least fifteen

Monday, December 28, 2015

According to witness reports, Boko Haram gunmen and suicide bombers killed at least fifteen people in an attack in the city of Maiduguri, Nigeria yesterday, before the military drove them off.

Locals reported hearing gunfire as evening prayers ended at local mosques. The military pushed back the militants, who were on trucks and firing at civilians with guns and grenade launchers, with heavy weapons fire. Amidst the fighting, suicide bombings were carried out.

A local resident Sheshu Mala said that during the attack, “all the residents in the area fled their homes to other parts of the city.” As people fled, two female suicide bombers reportedly detonated themselves in groups of people.

Government sources say ten other suicide bombers have been killed.

The militant group Boko Haram started in the city of Maidugari, where the attacks took place; they lost the territory three years ago as the military retook the city.

The news came after another Boko Haram attack on the village of Kimba killed at least fourteen people on Friday.

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Los Angeles City Council to sue police officer accused of filing a false report

Saturday, January 29, 2011

The Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously to sue a police officer accused of creating a story about being shot by someone at El Camino High School, causing a costly search for the assailant by police.

The officer, Jeffrey Stenroos, who had worked for the Los Angeles Unified School District police for eight years, caused thousands of students to remain on lockdown for hours.

Traffic officers, county sheriffs, California Highway Patrol, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation were involved in the search. The council voted to ask Stenroos to pay the city for the cost of the search. Council president Eric Garcetti said, “We had thousands of dollars spent on police overtime.”

Thursday, the Los Angeles Police chief announced Stenroos’ claim was false and he was later arrested and released on $20,000 (€14,600) bail, charged with filing a false police report.

Stenroos allegedly mishandled a firearm and shot himself in his bulletproof vest, according to an anonymous police official.

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UN Security Council calls on Iran to suspend uranium enrichment

Wednesday, March 29, 2006

The U.N. Security Council has unanimously approved a non-binding statement earlier today reaffirming its commitment to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NTP), including the right of NTP states to “develop research, production and use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes without discrimination”, and also calling for Iran to temporarily suspend this right — including all activities related to uranium enrichment and reprocessing, including research and development activities — in order to “build confidence in the exclusively peaceful purpose of its nuclear programme and to resolve outstanding questions”.

The five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council agreed on the statement earlier today. This is the first action by the Security Council over the alleged fears of some countries that Iran wants to join the growing list of nations possessing nuclear weapons.

The Security Council requested that in addition to the International Atomic Energy Agency’s ongoing inspections in Iran, that it monitor Iran’s compliance with “the steps required by the IAEA Board”. Russia and China, two members of the Security Council, have stated opposition to using force or imposing sanctions on Iran.

The IAEA was requested to file a report in thirty days’ time.

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New Zealand Government to unbundle local loop

Wednesday, May 3, 2006

The New Zealand Government has announced that it would require Telecom to unbundled the local loop to provide “faster and better broadband Internet services.” New Zealand used to be the only country in the OECD to have investigated unbundling the local loop and then rejected it. This means now that any Internet service provider in New Zealand can create their own plans / speeds for New Zealanders. The shock announcement, due to a leak of the plan to Telecom, saw the stock lose over NZ$2 billion over the New Zealand, Australian and American listings.

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Suicide bomber kills three in northwestern Pakistan

Monday, November 9, 2009

Pakistani police said today that a suicide bomber in a rickshaw has killed three people in Peshawar, a day after another suicide bomber killed thirteen people in a crowded market outside the northwestern city.

Police say the suicide bomber detonated his explosives at a checkpoint on a frequently traveled road that runs around Peshawar. Officials say a constable, a passerby, and the rickshaw driver were among the dead. The blast wounded five other people.

According to a senior local police officer, the attacker was probably intending to detonate the bomb in a more crowded area, but decided to set it off when security officials stopped the rickshaw in order to check it.

“The bomber was in a rickshaw and detonated his explosives when the rickshaw was stopped for a check,” said police official Zafar Khan. “One of our constables, a passerby and the rickshaw driver were killed.”

Local government official Sahibzada Anis said that “despite all the security arrangements you cannot stop one who is bent upon killing himself and others. Our police are rendering their lives to save citizens but these kinds of incidents are hard to stop.”

No person or group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.

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Man commits suicide by jumping from Burj Khalifa

Thursday, May 12, 2011

A man committed suicide on Tuesday by jumping from the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The unnamed man, believed to be in his twenties and of a South Asian ethnicity, jumped from the 147th floor and landed on a decking area of the 108th floor. His death would be the first known suicide that has happened at the skyscraper—currently the tallest in the world—since the building opened in January 2010.

The owner of the building, Emaar Properties, released a statement saying that at 09:00 local time Tuesday, “an incident involving a male” was reported. They continued, saying, “The concerned authorities have confirmed that it was a suicide, and we are awaiting the final report.” According to witness statements taken by the police, co-workers said the man had had a holiday request denied.

Suicide rates in the United Arab Emirates are higher than several other developed countries. Workers in Dubai say they suffer from “social abuse,” facing long work hours and few days off. Chenji, a Chinese worker in Dubai, spoke to the Big News Network about the man’s suicide, saying, “It’s a desperate act.” He added, “They promise things they don’t give once you get here.”

The Burj Khalifa has been temporarily closed to visitors as a result of Tuesday’s incident.

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