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Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Frank Walker, the chief minister of Jersey, a United Kingdom Crown dependency off the coast of Normandy, France, denies that there was a cover up after a child’s remains were found.

The allegations of a cover-up stem from statements by Stuart Syvret. Syvret, the former Minister for Health and Social Services for Jersey, said that “It’s a continuum that we see. It’s a culture of cover-up and concealment and tragically the recent evidence is just the latest manifestation of that.”

It has come to light that Edward Paisnel, a notorious pedophile, used to visit the Haut de la Garenne children’s home dressed as Father Christmas. Paisnel in 1971, was given a sentence of 30 years for 13 counts of assault, rape and sodomy.

Syvret says he was dismissed from his ministerial position after highlighting the “torture” of 11 to 16-year-olds in the island’s care homes. He claimed he was “sacked for whistleblowing”.

Police are currently investigating twenty-seven cases of child abuse on the island and recently discovered the body of one child at a care home Haut de la Garenne in St. Martin, and with a potential six sites in the area where more bodies may be located. The home was closed in 1986 and since 2003 it has served as a youth hostel.

Jersey’s deputy police chief, Lenny Harper said “Part of the inquiry will be the fact that a lot of the victims tried to report their assaults but for some reason or another they were not dealt with as they should be.”

Harper added that “no evidence of a cover-up of any Jersey government” has been found. “We are looking at allegations that a number of agencies didn’t deal with things as perhaps they should.”

Syvret has encouraged the government of the United Kingdom to assign independent judges to oversee any cases that result from the investigations.

Builders originally uncovered a body at the care home in 2003 but it was only since an operation investigate child abuse started in 2006 that progress has been made. An ex-minister of the States of Jersey, the parliament of the island, has criticised the handling of the case, stating that abuse cases were mishandled.

Walker told senators that all necessary resources would be use to find the abusers. “None of us imagined that children in Jersey could be abused and mistreated in the way that is being suggested,” the BBC have quoted him as saying. “I express my shock and horror that these things have apparently happened within our island.”

Specialist police from the United Kingdom have been investigating after an enquiry turned up 140 sources verifying the claims of abuse.

Friday, June 2, 2006

Scottish police have arrested a man and a woman after finding Britain’s largest ever stash of Gamma-butyrolactone. The man in charge of the operation, Graeme Pearson, director of the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency, called the find “the most significant discovery of the drug in the UK.”

Denise Caron MacPherson, 45, and Hanan Rabin, 53, have been charged with exporting the drug, also known as GHB, to the United States between 19 April and 24 May. The news of the Scottish factory comes as a US study found drug use was involved in two-thirds of sex attacks, while 5 per cent were given an actual “date rape” drug.

Graham Rhodes for The Roofie Foundation, a helpline for victims of drug rape, said: “I am very relieved this has been recovered as in the wrong hands it is very dangerous. Not only is it used to spike the drinks of people to rape them but it’s also used to assault and rob people.”

Used by ravers, robbers and bodybuilders, the base chemical (gamma-hydroxybutyrate) was taken during a raid on a house and business in West Lothian. The haul would have been put on the United States illicit drug market and sold for fun and more sinister purposes.

In its non-powder form GHB is barely detectable: clear and having no smell it can be particularly potent with a few drops mixed into an alcoholic drink. Once a sufficient amount of the salty liquid has been ingested the victim can be knocked out within an hour.

While GHB is known both as “liquid ecstasy” and the date rapist’s “Plan A”, the versatile compound is also used by body builders instead of anabolic steroids, by dieters and as a sleeping aid.

In Britain, GHB is a “Class C” drug which means making it, holding it and selling it is punishable with up to two years in prison. The effects of rape, for which the drug is reportedly used, can last a lifetime. Jane Cumming, from support group Crisis, said she received an average of 4 calls a week from people claiming to be victims of date rape.

The pair, who were caught in Livingston, were accused of distributing the drug in Scotland from MacPherson’s house around the same time as they were exporting to the United States, while MacPherson was also charged with Cannabis possession.

Saturday, October 6, 2007

An 89^th minute goal by substitute Edin Dzeko gave Wolfsburg a 1-0 victory over Hansa Rostock today.

Wolfsburg Coach Felix Magath made a solitary change to his team which took an away point off Hamburg. Schäfer took the place of Quiroga at left back. The Hansa Rostock coach Frank Pagelsdorf saw no reason to change his team which took nine points from their last three games. Their last victory was against the defending champions Stuttgart.

The game began in a cautious manner, with Hansa Rostock defending in their own half, hoping to hit Wolfsburg on a counter attack. Wolfsburg tried to take the game to visitors from the former DDR, but they didn’t create any goalscoring chances during the opening minutes.

When a 0-0 draw looked inevitable, Wolfsburg secured all three points in the 89^th minute.

After the Bundesliga break, Wolfsburg will travel to and play Hannover in the Niedersachsen derby.

Saturday, August 15, 2015

On Wednesday, Catalonia-based football club FC Barcelona defeated Seville-based football club Sevilla 5–4 to win the 2015 UEFA Super Cup. The match was held in Boris Paichadze Dinamo Arena in the city of Tbilisi, Georgia. Pedro, who may leave for Manchester United, scored the winning goal of the match in the 115^th minute. This was the fifth UEFA Super cup won by Barcelona.

Barcelona had stronger possession of the ball in front of Sevilla. The match saw nine yellow cards, four for Barcelona players and five for Sevilla players. A total of 41 fouls were committed in the match. A total of nine goals were scored in the match, with the first goal scored in the opening minutes of the game.

Barcelona defender Mascherano committed a foul in the 2^nd minute and thus Sevilla got a free kick. Banega converted the free kick into goal in the 3^rd minute of the game. Minutes later, Sevilla’s Krychowiak committed a foul and this early lead was soon equalised as Barcelona forward Lionel Messi scored a similar style free kick.

Krychowiak received a yellow card in the 14^th minute and Barca were awarded another free kick for Banega’s foul on Rakiti?. Leo Messi converted this free kick into a goal, giving the lead to Barcelona after 16 minutes of game play. This was Messi’s 36^th goal in 37 games in 2015.

Minutes before half time, Luis Suárez assisted Rafinha and the Brazilian tripled the lead for the Catalans. First half ended with scoreline 3–1 with only one booking.

Within ten minutes of the second half, Suárez scored the fourth goal in the 52^nd making it a one-sided match. Five minutes later, Reyes scored a close ranged shot making the score 4–2. In the 63^rd minute, Andrés Iniesta was substituted off for Sergi Roberto. Iniesta made his 550^th appearance for Barcelona. After this substitution, the goal difference kept on dropping. In the 71^st minute, Mathieu was booked for a foul on Vitolo. Referee awarded a penalty kick for Sevilla. Gameiro perfectly converted it into a goal making it 4–3.

Within the next ten minutes, Sevilla equalised with Barcelona. Konoplyanka scored an easy tap-in to bring Sevilla from 4–1 to 4–4. Within half an hour, the one-sided match changed into a tensed match.

Coke in the 87^th minute and Banega in the 90+2 minute were booked for committing foul on Suárez. The game ended in 4–4. And thus it was extended to additional time.

Additional time saw five more yellow cards. Pedro was substituted in for Mascherano in the 93^rd minute and in the next minute, he received a yellow card for foul on Vitolo. Barcelona won a free kick in the dying minutes of the game. Messi’s kick became an indirect assist to Pedro who netted it in the top corner. It was the winning goal of the game.

This was Pedro’s 99^th goal in the Catalonia jersey. By this victory, Barcelona joined A.C. Milan as the most successful club. Both the teams have earned the title five times. This trophy was Messi’s and Iniesta’s 25^th trophy with Barcelona. Messi was awarded Man of the match. After the match, he said, “We are delighted to start the season with this win, but it was tough […] The most important thing was to win the Super Cup to start well. Now we think of the Spanish Super Cup against Athletic Club”.

On Tuesday, Pedro was asked if he was leaving Barcelona. He replied “The answer is no. But it is a difficult, complicated situation. When you know you may leave it is difficult.” Pedro said it wan’t about money but the playing time. Pedro said “The truth is that I had a good chance to play. The coach has decided not to count on me. I don’t know, I don’t know if I will continue here […] Manchester? Yes, there are nice challenges on all sides. Today I’m here, and I’m happy […] And if I go, I will go with my head held high having always given everything.”

Sunday, March 29, 2009

Ralph Scala was sentenced Saturday for 49 counts of mischief, criminal harassment, and uttering threats during seven years of neighbourhood bullying in Toronto, Ontario.

Scala, aged 36, slashed tires, smashed windows, and intimidated and insulted his neighbours.

“I had to go and calm her down when she found her property littered with dog refuse, dead squirrels, cats, mice and even a skunk deliberately left behind to frighten her,” said Maria Bolotta, daughter of Carmela Canino, an 87 year old widow. Canino shared a semi-detached house with Scala.

“It became impossible for me to spend quality time with her or to enjoy her property with her because of the horrible skeletons, fake camera, pitchforks, and tombs bearing her name that we had to face when we went outside.” continued Bolotta.

Bolotta recounted finding 22 sharpened bicycle spokes jabbed into the lawn while she was out with the lawn mower.

Justice Kathleen Caldwell’s sentencing of Scala was followed by a three year probation, counseling, and 200 hours of community service. Additionally he must pay the neighbourhood victims restitution and stay away from the neighbourhood and its residents.

His father, Felice Scala aged 62, faces four charges related to his son’s crimes and will appear in court in June.

Monday, March 12, 2007

The BBC says it is concerned for the safety of its correspondent in the Gaza Strip, Alan Johnston. The BBC said it had been unable to make contact with Johnston , however it did not make any comments on Palestinian reports that he had been kidnapped.

Johnston’s car was found abandoned in Gaza City shortly after he left his office to drive home.

Jaime Razuri, a photographer working for Agence France-Presse (AFP), was kidnapped January 1, 2007 and released a week later. On October 24, 2006, the Spanish photographer Emilio Morenatt of the Associated Press (AP) was kidnapped by Palestinian gunmen and freed later that day.

In all, 14 journalists in all have been kidnapped in Gaza since 2004. Johnston, 44, has been the BBC’s correspondent in Gaza for three years.

The BBC stated that:

Details of what happened are sketchy. Palestinian police said four gunmen were seen in the vicinity of where Johnston’s car was found. Palestinian Interior Minister Sayeed Sayyam said Johnston’s disappearance was a “criminal act”. Palestinian security forces set up checkpoints around Gaza and were searching for Johnston.

One of the few Western correspondents still inside Gaza itself, Johnston has been described by the BBC as a

According to Paul Adams, now the BBC’s diplomatic correspondent, himself a former Middle East reporter, said that:

Johnston was born in Tanzania and educated in Scotland. He joined the BBC in 1991 and has spent eight of the last 16 years as a correspondent, generally in the Middle East (in Nations such as Uzbekistan and Afghanistan). Johnston is on his last few weeks in Gaza.

Friday, January 12, 2007

The U.S. armed forces detained five Iranians working at a “liaison office” located in Erbil, Iraq before dawn on Friday. Sources said that the U.S. forces first landed their helicopters around the building, then broke through the office’s gate, disarmed the guards, confiscated some documents and certain objects, arrested five suspected terrorists, and then left for an undisclosed location.

However, there was no raid on the Iranian Consulate General as earlier reported. Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman told Agence France-Presse that the building raided was “not a consulate or a government building”, which appears to be confirmed by the Iraqi foreign minister, Hoshyar Zebari, who said the Iranians were working at an office that had government approval and was in the process of being approved as a consulate, but was not a Consulate nor the Iranian Consulate General. The US is strategically insisting that they raided a “liaison office” instead of a Consulate to avoid being found in violation of Article 36 of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations.

Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Mikhail Kamynin said that the raid was absolutely unacceptable and was a violation of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations. The Kurdistan Regional Government also expressed their shock and disapproval of the raid.

On Thursday’s hearing on Iraq, Senator Joseph Biden (D-Delware), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice that the Bush Administration did not have the authority to send U.S. troops on cross-border raids. Biden said, “I believe the present authorization granted the president to use force in Iraq does not cover that, and he does need congressional authority to do that. I just want to set that marker.” After the meeting, Biden sent a follow-up letter to the White House asking for an explanation from the Bush Administration on the matter.

On Thursday morning, Iran’s foreign ministry official sent a letter to Iraq’s foreign ministry asking Iraq to stop the Bush Administration from interfering with Iraq-Iran relations, and has protested the raid on its liaison office. The official said, “We expect the Iraqi government to take immediate measures to set the aforesaid individuals free and to condemn the U.S. troopers for the measure. Following up on the case and releasing the arrestees is a responsibility of primarily the Iraqi government and then the local government and officials of the Iraqi Kurdistan.”

Saturday, April 9, 2005 Today at 11:30 UTC His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales married Camilla Parker Bowles in a civil ceremony at Windsor Guildhall. The union was blessed at 13:30 UTC in a church ceremony at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle. Local police estimated that 20,000 people lined the street of Windsor in order to catch a glimpse of the Royal party.

The civil ceremony was attended by

• the Prince’s two sons, TRH Princes William and Harry;
• his brother, HRH The Duke of York;
• his nieces, TRH Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie;
• HRH The Princess Royal and her children Peter Phillips and Zara Phillips; and
• Tom Parker Bowles and Laura Parker Bowles.

Prince William and Tom Parker Bowles formally witnessed the marriage.

At 6pm the couple left Windsor Castle for RAF Northolt, where an aircraft from the Queen’s flight took them to Aberdeen in Scotland to begin their honeymoon.