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Fri, 05 Nov 2021
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German woman sentenced for murdering newborn babies and keeping them in a freezer for over 10 years

female prisoner
© West Coast Surfer / Global Look Press
A 46 year-old German woman was sentenced to nine and a half years in prison for the willful homicide of her two newborn babies. She put the babies in a freezer, and kept their bodies there for 10 and 14 years respectively.

The frozen corpses were discovered in January at the woman's apartment in Benndorf, a village of 2,000 residents in eastern Germany, after her partner raised the alarm.

In 2004, her hidden pregnancy resulted in the birth of a baby girl, whom the woman promptly put in a plastic bag that, according to her own statement, she had prepared beforehand. Then, still breathing, the baby was left in the freezer to die.

The same scenario was repeated again four years later, in 2008, after the woman gave birth to a baby boy. The autopsy confirmed both children were born healthy. The woman, who has two other, older children, did not attempt to deny her guilt.

"What I did is serious. I have to be punished for it," she told the court in Halle, where she was prosecuted, Mitteldeutschland Zeitung reported.

Sherlock

Body of woman missing for 50 years found buried under home of cop ex-boyfriend

Louise Pietrewicz
© National Missing and Unidentified Persons Database
Louise Pietrewicz's family finally has some closure.
I'm happy. I'm sad. I'm angry. I want to smack somebody." Such is the reaction of a daughter to confirmation that the body of her mother, missing some 50 years, has been found buried beneath the home of her late boyfriend, a married police officer, per Newsday. After emptying her bank account, 38-year-old Louise Pietrewicz vanished from her family's Long Island farm in October 1966.

Her daughter, Sandy Blampied, was then only 11, reports the Washington Post. "I gave her a hug and a kiss before I left for school, and I bet that was the day he killed her," Blampied now tells the Times Herald-Record of one-time Southold police officer William Boken, who died in 1982. An early suspect, per ABC 7, Boken's conviction for beating his wife landed him in a psychiatric hospital, and no further questioning was done.

X

#Terror: Twitter suspended over 1 million accounts for terrorism promotion since 2015

twitter big screenshot
© AP Photo/Richard Drew, File
Twitter said on Thursday it has suspended over one million accounts for "promotion of terrorism" since 2015, claiming its efforts have begun to make the platform "an undesirable place" to call for violence.

In its latest transparency report, Twitter said it suspended 274,460 accounts between July and December 2017 "for violations related to the promotion of terrorism."

The figure is down 8.4 per cent from the previous reporting period and is the second consecutive decline, a Twitter statement said.

"We continue to see the positive, significant impact of years of hard work making our site an undesirable place for those seeking to promote terrorism, resulting in this type of activity increasingly shifting away from Twitter," said the statement from the messaging platform's public policy team.

Twitter has faced pressure from governments around the world to crack down on jihadists and others calling for violent attacks, while at the same time maintaining an open platform for free speech.

Evil Rays

YouTube shooter's brother warned police in advance of his sister's rampage

Nasim Aghdam
© Twitter/San Bruno Police Dept
The woman who shot three people at YouTube headquarters in Northern California has been identified as Nasim Aghdam, two law enforcement sources told CNN.
The brother of Nasim Najafi Aghdam worried she might do something dangerous.

The concerns started over the weekend when Aghdam stopped answering her phone, her brother told CNN affiliate KGTV. Then the San Diego resident's car was found more than 700 miles northwest, in Mountain View, California.

"I Googled 'Mountain View,' and it was close to YouTube headquarters. And she had a problem with YouTube," said Aghdam's brother, who did not want to be identified.

So he called the police to say "she went all the way from San Diego, so she might do something."

Cupcake Choco

UK's new 'nanny state' sugar tax is 'counterproductive,' critics say

Sugar
© Ruth Bushi / EyeEm/ Getty
A sugar tax on drinks has come into force aiming to tackling Britain's obesity crisis, but critics have branded it "clearly useless," while others have said it's not up to the government to interfere in what people eat or drink.

As part of an anti-obesity drive, from April 6 UK shoppers will have to pay 18p (24 US cents) or 24p more a liter, depending on how much added sugar a drink contains. It prompted some global soft drink companies, such as the manufacturer of the Scottish-revered Irn Bru, to change their recipes to dodge the tax.

While the new measure has been hailed by some as an efficient way of tackling growing obesity, others are outraged. Daniel Pryor of the Adam Smith Institute think tank blasted the "paternalistic" sugar tax, saying: "Our poorly-designed, paternalistic sugary drinks tax will hurt poor people.

Stormtrooper

UK government to introduce 'military ethos' in schools to help poor children

Gavin Williamson and troops
© Reuters
British Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson visits UK troops of the NATO Enhanced Forward Presence battle group.
The government is considering the introduction of a 'military ethos' in schools across the UK to help children from deprived backgrounds.

Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson has commissioned MP Robert Goodwill to review the benefits of an education inspired by the 'values and disciplines' of the Armed Forces.

Mr Goodwill will report back to the Ministry of Defence in September on what the impact has been on pupils from schools that already adopt military-style practices.

The Tory MP has already said Armed Forces schools in deprived areas would boost the 'life chances, confidence and self-discipline' of youngsters.

'Some schools may want to be a military academy and make that central to their school,' he said.

Comment: Getting the next generation of cannon fodder while they're young.


Eye 2

Psychopath: Pakistani asylum seeker in Germany murders 2yo daughter by slashing throat to punish wife for reporting domestic violence

pakistani murder daughter
© CEN
Killed: Sohail A. is accused of slitting his daughter Ayesha's throat so violently that she was ''practically beheaded', in an attempt to punish his wife for reporting him to police for domestic violence
A 34-year-old Pakistani asylum seeker allegedly murdered his two-year-old daughter by slashing her throat, a German court heard today.

Sohail A. was described in Hamburg Court as a violent tyrant who terrorised his 32-year-old wife and their two children before allegedly murdering daughter Ayesha in October last year.

Sohail attacked his daughter in the family's flat in Hamburg after his wife Lubna had left to report a domestic violence attack to the police.

She returned to the flat accompanied by several police officers to find her daughter murdered with a bloody knife beside her, and no sign of Sohail.

Vader

Interior minister among 38 Russian officials, tycoons and companies targeted by US Treasury's expanded sanctions list

U.S. Treasury Department building
© Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images North America
The U.S. Treasury Department building
The US Treasury has issued new Russia-related sanctions, adding to the already existing list of almost 40 high-profile businessmen and politicians, as well as companies.

In total, 24 Russians and 14 entities were put on the list, in a move that represents the latest tough measures from Washington against Moscow. US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin accused Russia of "a range of malign activity around the globe," referring to what he called the occupation of Crimea and the instigation of violence in eastern Ukraine, as well as "supplying the Assad regime with material and weaponry."

Russia's other alleged wrongdoings include "attempting to subvert Western democracies, and malicious cyber activities."

Chart Bar

US monthly trade deficit rises to near decade high as Trump tries to narrow the gap

decaying manufacturing plant
© Eric Thayer / Reuters
FILE PHOTO: The abandoned and decaying manufacturing plant of Packard Motor Car is seen in Detroit, Michigan
The monthly negative balance between American exports and imports surged to multi-year highs in February. The trade gap rose 1.6 percent to $57.6 billion, the US Commerce Department reported on Thursday.

It is America's highest monthly trade deficit since 2008, attributed partly to surging commodities prices. President Donald Trump's administration has been seeking to eliminate the gap, saying that the United States is being taken advantage of by its trading partners. Imports from China dropped 14.7 percent in February.

Comment: China will defend its interests 'at any cost' as Trump threatens $100bn more in tariffs


Ambulance

Sergei Skripal no longer in critical condition after being allegedly poisoned with most deadly nerve agent of all time

Salisbury Hospital
© Chris J Ratcliffe / AFP
A general view shows the main entrance to Salisbury District Hospital in Salisbury, southern England
Poisoned ex-spy Sergei Skripal is no longer in critical condition and has responded well to treatment after a nerve agent attack last month, the hospital treating him says.

Sergei, 66, and his daughter Yulia, 33, were poisoned by a nerve agent in the British city of Salisbury. The pair were found slumped on a bench in an attack that sparked sanctions and political unrest across the globe in the weeks that followed.

"He is responding well to treatment, improving rapidly and is no longer in a critical condition," Christine Blanshard, Medical Director at Salisbury District Hospital, said in a statement, according to Reuters.