Society's ChildS


Sherlock

Britain opens inquest into Berezovsky's unexplained death

Maria Golovnina
Reuters
Wed, 27 Mar 2013 15:19 UTC
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© Reuters/Olivia HarrisReuters/Reuters - Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky arrives at a division of the High Court in central London December 19, 2011.
Britain opens a judicial inquiry into the death of Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky on Thursday to establish how he died in the locked bathroom of his vast mansion near London.

Berezovsky, who survived years of intrigue, power struggles and assassination attempts in Russia, was found dead on Saturday in his home in Ascot, a town close to Queen Elizabeth's Windsor Castle.

Police said there was no sign of a struggle and the 67-year-old's death was "consistent with hanging", suggesting he might have killed himself.

Berezovsky was the king-maker behind Vladimir Putin's ascent to power in Russia but later became his number-one enemy and fled to Britain in 2000.

Berezovsky's associates have hinted he was depressed after losing a $6 billion court case against another tycoon, Roman Abramovich, last year, when a judge humiliated him publicly by saying he was an unimpressive and unreliable witness.
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Bomb

Eiffel Tower evacuated due to bomb threat


RT.com
Sat, 30 Mar 2013 15:33 UTC
Eiffel Tower
© RT.com
The Eiffel Tower has been evacuated following an anonymous tip threatening to cause an explosion at the Paris landmark.

Almost 1,500 tourists and employees including security personnel were evacuated from the tower.

Police and bomb squads are still working at the scene. The anonymous caller announced the blast would take place at 21:30 local time, lexpress.fr reports.
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Health

Rescuers dig through rubble seeking missing in Tanzania building collapse

Mwondoshah Mfanga
CNN
Fri, 29 Mar 2013 14:15 UTC
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© CNNRescue workers search for survivors as bystanders watch, after a building under construction in the Kariakoo district of central Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, collapsed on March 29.
Rescuers planned to search for survivors under a mountain of concrete and twisted metal Friday night after a high-rise building collapsed in Tanzania.

At least four people were dead and 60 were missing after the 16-story building under construction collapsed in Tanzania's largest city, government and emergency officials said.

Five children are believed to be among the missing, rescue official Walji Ali said.

The building collapsed Friday with a "huge whoosh and then thump," said eyewitness Ali Jawad Bhimani, a hotel owner who lives near the building in Dar es Salaam's normally bustling Kariakoo central business district.
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Handcuffs

Maine Zumba teacher pleads guilty to prostitution

David Sharp
Boston Globe
Fri, 29 Mar 2013 14:05 UTC
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© JOHN EWING/PORTLAND PRESS HERALD VIA ASSOCIATED PRESSProsecutors say they will recommend a jail term of 10 months after Alexis Wright (right) pleaded guilty to 20 counts of prostitution, conspiracy, and tax evasion.
A dance instructor accused of using her Zumba fitness studio as a front for prostitution pleaded guilty Friday to 20 counts in a scandal that captivated a quiet seaside town.

The agreement that followed a second day of plea negotiations on Friday spares Alexis Wright from the prospect of a high-profile trial featuring sex videos, exhibitionism, and pornography. Prosecutors will recommend a jail sentence of 10 months when she is sentenced on May 31.

Wright quietly answered ''guilty'' 20 times when the judge read the counts, which include engaging in prostitution, promotion of prostitution, conspiracy, tax evasion, and theft by deception.

''We're very satisfied with it. It's an appropriate outcome, given the gravity of her actions,'' Assistant Attorney General Darcy Mitchell said after the brief court hearing.

Wright, 30, was accused of conspiring with insurance agent Mark Strong Sr. to run a prostitution business in which she kept detailed records indicating she made $150,000 over an 18-month period. She was also accused of using a hidden camera to record sex acts without her clients' knowledge.
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X

Clean up begins for Mayflower, Arkansas Oil Spill

Amy Hancock
KTHV
Sat, 30 Mar 2013 07:56 UTC

It was a rough start to the Easter holiday weekend after an oil spill struck in Mayflower. Authorities said as many as 40 homes had to be evacuated Friday afternoon.

Mayflower Police Chief Robert Satkowski said that the evacuations will remain in effect over-night. The chief also stated that it's too early to say how much oil spilled, but crews have prevented it from getting into Lake Conway. That was a big concern all day; the work ahead will focus on clean-up around the affected areas in town.

"So that is a pipeline that has busted and has flooded the neighborhood," said THViewer Drew Barnes, who gave THV 11 video of the Northwoods subdivision in Mayflower Friday.

Authorities said it's a mess triggered by an Exxon Mobile crude oil pipeline that ruptured, spewing out oil Friday afternoon.

"The smell is unbelievable. I mean, look!" Barnes said as he shot the video of his neighborhood.
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Document

France: Plan for more university lessons in English


The Connexion
Thu, 28 Mar 2013 00:00 UTC
flags
© Unknown
A PROPOSED law change that would make it easier for universities to provide lessons in English has provoked anger from defenders of the French language.

The amendment to the Code de l'Education, which was discussed by ministers on the Journée Internationale de la Francophonie, would lift some of the restrictions on the language in which classes are held.

Supporters say this would make France a more attractive destination for bright foreign students, offering competition to established British and American campuses.

The rules currently state that the default language is French and that only a few exemptions can apply - such as teaching a foreign language, or lessons given by visiting foreign lecturers.

Three French authors - Frédéric Werst, Eugène Green and Olivier Rolin - are leading the campaign for the current rules to remain in place.

Werst describes the proposed change as "insulting" and "anti-Republican" because of goes to the heart of the constitutional principle of French being the language of France.
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Eiffel Tower

Chinese tourists 'afraid' of attacks in Paris


The connexion
Fri, 29 Mar 2013 16:49 UTC
paris
© Unknown
Chinese tourism officials have asked French authorities to do more to protect their citizens - after an attack on a group of Chinese tourists visiting Paris last week.

Some 23 tourists lost their passports and €7,500 in cash when they were attacked by three men while leaving a restaurant at Le Bourget, in the Seine-Saint-Denis.

Chinese tourism in Paris is up 15% in the past year - with more than half a million people from China visiting the city in 2012.

The group had just arrived in Paris for the first stage in a 12-day tour of European capital cities.

News of the attack reached the Chinese media via the embassy, prompting the state-backed Chinese Tourism Association to complain to their counterparts in Paris.

A spokeswoman for Chine Tourisme, which organises French holidays for Chinese tourists, told Le Parisien: "We're hearing about attacks on the Chinese more and more often."
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People

400 'Cannabis clubs' register in France


The connexion
Wed, 27 Mar 2013 00:00 UTC
THE first of an estimated 400 "cannabis social clubs" in France have formally registered their existence.

Fifteen clubs have lodged declarations at their local préfecture, registering as a not-for-profit association.

The clubs bring together growers and consumers of cannabis, who share their produce but do not sell it. They are considered illegal in France, but legally recognised in neighbouring Spain and Belgium.

A notice advising of the formal creation of the French Federation of Cannabis Social Clubs appeared in the Journal Officiel earlier this week.

Local branches have been declared in the Loire-Atlantique, Vendée, Creuse, Charente-Maritime, Indre-et-Loire and Haute-Vienne.
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Smoking

France: Bid to ban parents smoking in car


The connexion
Thu, 28 Mar 2013 00:00 UTC
Cigarette
© Unknown
A LAW has been proposed that would ban parents from smoking in their cars when children are present.

Anti-smoking groups are keen to see the issue of passive smoking in cars debated in parliament, after successfully lobbying for a smoking ban in enclosed public places in 2006.

Socialist senator Yannick Vaugrenard is leading the initiative and has asked the health minister in the National Assembly to take up the cause.

A recent study in the scientific publication Tobacco Control Journal found smoking in vehicles exposed passengers to toxin levels three times higher than the safe threshold set by the World Health Organisation.
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Handcuffs

Man charged with attempting to sell 42,000 pounds of stolen muenster cheese at New Jersey rest stop

Alexa Valiente
ABC News
Fri, 29 Mar 2013 15:53 UTC
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© New Jersey State Police
Veniamin Balika, 34, of Plainfield, Illinois, was accused of stealing 42,000 pounds of Muenster cheese from a Wisconsin cheese company. He was arrested at a Bergen County rest area on the New Jersey Turnpike on Monday, the result of a joint investigation with the Saddle Brook New Jersey Police Department and the New Jersey State Police.

"He was charged with receiving stolen property and fencing," New Jersey State Police Sergeant Adam Grossman told ABCNews.com. Balika allegedly attempted to sell the load of 1,135 cases of cheese at the rest area.

Kevin Everhart, 50, owner of Pasture Pride Cheese in Wisconsin, where the cheese was from, said he did not realize the cheese had been stolen. "He came in with the proper paperwork," Everhart told ABCNews.com. "He came in as if he was picking up a shipment."
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