British prime minister to visit area where taxi driver killed 12 people in shooting spree

UK prime minister to visit area of mass shootings

LONDON – Britain’s prime minister will visit the area of rural northwestern England where a taxi driver went on a shooting spree, killing 12 people and wounding 11 others.
David Cameron and Home Secretary Theresa May plan to meet with the Cumbria county’s police chief Friday and other … Read : British prime minister to visit area where taxi driver killed 12 people in shooting spree.

Belgian police detain suspected gunman in courthouse killings of judge, clerk

Belgian police detain courthouse shooting suspect

BRUSSELS – Belgium police say they have detained a suspect in the courthouse killing of a Brussels judge and her court clerk.
The shooting occurred Thursday in a downtown Brussels courthouse and the gunman fled on foot, setting off a manhunt in the Belgian capital.
Police said Friday they detained a man …. Source  : Gaea News Network.

Turkish court charges driver with murder of Roman Catholic bishop

Roman Catholic bishop’s driver charged with murder

ISTANBUL – A Turkish man was charged Friday with murder in the stabbing death of a Roman Catholic bishop, the Vatican’s apostolic vicar in Anatolia, for whom he worked as a driver, a court said.
The killing of Monsignor Luigi Padovese outside his home in the Mediterranean port of Iskenderun …. Read the original article  : Turkish court charges driver with murder of Roman Catholic bishop.

Kasab appeals against death sentence

MUMBAI – Pakistani Ajmal Amir Kasab, convicted for the 26/11 Mumbai terror strike, has challenged the death sentence awarded to him by a Mumbai special court, an official said Friday.

He did so even before the special court could send its judgement to the high court for confirmation of the sentence.
Kasab, awarded the death … Read more »».

Blagojevich jury shaping up as cross section of the voters who elected him Illinois governor

Hugs, handshakes at Blagojevich corruption trial
CHICAGO – Rod Blagojevich started off his corruption trial in full campaign mode, greeting well-wishers with hugs and handshakes, while the judge began questioning potential jurors who emerged as a cross section of the middle American voters who first elected the former Illinois governor.
U.S. District Judge James B. … Read this article on Gaea Times at : Blagojevich jury shaping up as cross section of the voters who elected him Illinois governor.

Afzal Guru’s file goes to home ministry

NEW DELHI – Delhi Lt. Governor Tejendra Khanna has sent to the home ministry the file on parliament attack convict Afzal Guru’s mercy petition, an official in the Raj Bhawan said Friday.

“The file has been sent to the home ministry,” the official told IANS.
The Delhi government had sent the file to the Lt. Governor … Original source on Gaea Times at : Afzal Guru’s file goes to home ministry.

Lawyer: NYC widow had been taped on jail phone discussing husband’s 1990 contract killing

Widow faces sentencing in 1990 contract slaying

NEW YORK – A widow who for decades denied arranging her real estate tycoon husband’s slaying admitted it after learning that prosecutors had incriminating tapes of her talking on a jail telephone, her lawyer said.
Barbara Kogan pleaded guilty in April to manslaughter and other charges in the October 1990 … Read more : Lawyer: NYC widow had been taped on jail phone discussing husband’s 1990 contract killing.

AP Interview: Adoptees in Argentine DNA fight defend right to not know where they come from

Rights conflict in Argentine court battle over DNA

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – The adopted children of Argentina’s leading newspaper publisher defended their right not to know who their biological parents are, even as they prepared themselves for the possibility that DNA evidence will show they were taken as babies from victims of the dictatorship.
In an interview …. Original article on Gaea Times at  : AP Interview: Adoptees in Argentine DNA fight defend right to not know where they come from.

Dutch man linked to Holloway disappearance awaits deportation to Peru to face murder charge

Dutch suspect in Peru murder in Chilean custody

LIMA, Peru – A Dutch man linked to the 2005 disappearance of U.S. teen Natalee Holloway is in custody in Chile, facing potential murder charges in Peru and extortion charges in the U.S.
Joran van der Sloot was detained in a taxi Thursday after crossing the border from Peru, …. Original source  : Dutch man linked to Holloway disappearance awaits deportation to Peru to face murder charge.

Maoists destroy key road in Chhattisgarh

RAIPUR – Maoist guerrillas have dug up a key cemented road, constructed only last year, at 12 different places in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar region, police said Friday.

The guerrillas Thursday night dug ditches at 12 locations within a one km area on the Bijapur-Gangloor Road, T.J. Longkumer, inspector general of police, Bastar, told IANS.
The damage was …. Original source  : Maoists destroy key road in Chhattisgarh.

Naoto Kan, outspoken populist, elected Japan’s prime minister ahead of July elections

Naoto Kan elected Japan’s prime minister
TOKYO – Japan’s parliament installed Naoto Kan as Japan’s new prime minister Friday, handing the outspoken populist the task of quickly reclaiming public support squandered by his predecessor ahead of July elections.
“My task is to rebuild this nation,” Kan said after he was chosen ruling party chief. …. Original source  : Naoto Kan, outspoken populist, elected Japan’s prime minister ahead of July elections.

South Korean general questioned on suspicion of giving military secrets to spy

South Korean general questioned in spy case
SEOUL, South Korea – South Korea’s military is investigating a general suspected of leaking secrets to a former spy for Seoul who then sold the information to North Korea, officials and media reports said Friday.
The army general, who wasn’t identified, allegedly handed over a military operations plan … Original source on Gaea Times at : South Korean general questioned on suspicion of giving military secrets to spy.

Tamil Nadu cut up with Malaysian minister over LTTE

NEW DELHI – Tamil Nadu Police hope Malaysian Tamil politician P. Ramasamy will keep away from the upcoming World Tamil Conference in India because he is seen as a sympathiser of the Tamil Tigers.

Home ministry sources say the police force is against Ramasamy’s participation in the conference in Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu June 23-27. The … Read this article on Gaea Times at : Tamil Nadu cut up with Malaysian minister over LTTE.

Grand diplomacy vs India’s struggles to gain access to Headley (News Analysis)

CHICAGO – Nothing illustrates more tellingly how diplomatic grandiosity does not always work at the ground level than the matter of India’s struggle to gain access to Mumbai terror plotter David Coleman Headley.

Even as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said at the start of the India-US strategic dialogue in Washington that bilateral relations have the …. Source article  : Grand diplomacy vs India’s struggles to gain access to Headley (News Analysis).

US vows to help bring Mumbai attackers to justice

WASHINGTON – The US has reiterated its commitment to provide full cooperation and support in counter-terrorism investigations, including exchanging information and bringing the perpetrators of the 2008 Mumbai terror attack to justice.

The reiteration was made in a joint statement issued after the first ever India-US strategic dialogue between high level delegations led by External … Read more >>>.

Finance chief Kan elected Japan ruling party leader, poised to become next prime minister

Finance chief Kan to become Japan’s prime minister
TOKYO – Japan’s ruling party picked grass-roots populist Naoto Kan as its new chief Friday, paving his way to replace political blueblood Yukio Hatoyama as prime minister while the party struggles to reclaim public support ahead of July elections.
“My task is to rebuild this nation,” Kan … Read more : Finance chief Kan elected Japan ruling party leader, poised to become next prime minister.

Access to Headley logical next step, India tells US (Repeating for all needing)

WASHINGTON – With a team of Indian investigators waiting to question Pakistani-American Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operative David Headley, who has confessed to his role in the Mumbai terror attack, External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna Thursday told the US that providing access to him “is perhaps the logical next step”.

“I am happy to note the tremendous progress [..] Read the original article: here.

Court-appointed doctors say mother of missing Arizona baby is incompetent to stand trial

Doctors say Tempe woman incompetent for trial

TEMPE, Ariz. – Two court-appointed doctors say the mother of a missing Arizona baby is incompetent to stand trial.
A Maricopa County judge ruled Thursdy that 23-year-old Elizabeth Johnson could be tried at a later date after treatment and therapy. A hearing on Aug. 12 will decide the length and …. Source  : Gaea News Network.

Secret Service officers subdue 2 men who refuse to move for Obama’s motorcade

Officers subdue 2 men near Obama’s motorcade
WASHINGTON – Secret Service officers have subdued two men who refused to get out of the street as President Barack Obama’s motorcade was returning to the White House.
Secret Service spokesman Ed Donovan says Obama was returning Thursday night from a school event for one of his daughters … Read the original article on Gaea Times at : Secret Service officers subdue 2 men who refuse to move for Obama’s motorcade.

Finance chief Kan elected Japan ruling party leader, seen as next prime minister

Finance chief Kan elected Japan ruling party chief
TOKYO – Japan’s ruling party picked Finance Minister Naoto Kan, an outspoken politician with activist roots, as its new chief Friday, virtually assuring that he will become the country’s next prime minister.
Kan, 63, would succeed the unpopular Yukio Hatoyama, who stepped two days earlier amid plunging …. Source article on Gaea Times at  : Finance chief Kan elected Japan ruling party leader, seen as next prime minister.