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Nazi Village Massacre: No Trial For Ex-SS Man

Written By Unknown on Selasa, 09 Desember 2014 | 23.12

A German court has thrown out a case against a former soldier over the Nazis' worst Second World War atrocity on French soil.

The 89-year-old former soldier - referred to as Werner C - was charged in January with the killing in 1944 of 25 people in the village of Oradour-sur-Glane and aiding and abetting the murder of several hundred people.

But the Cologne state court in the region where the ex-soldier lives rejected the case, citing a lack of evidence.

In its ruling, the court said: "In a trial, it could probably only be proved the suspect was in the area during the massacre in Oradour-sur-Glane as he has consistently maintained.

"This mere presence is not enough to prove accessory to murder without the proof of other circumstances."

In total, 642 people - including 254 women and 207 children - were massacred in the tiny village by SS troops in a crime so horrific that it left a lasting scar on France.

The accused, who was 19 when the atrocity was carried out, said he was in the village but never fired a shot and was not in any way involved in the murders.

He was part of the 3rd Company of the 1st Battalion of the Der Fuehrer regiment of the fanatical SS's "Das Reich" division.

Four days after the D-Day landings in Normandy, the company attacked Oradour-sur-Glane in reprisal for the French Resistance's kidnapping of a German soldier.

The troops herded the civilians into barns and into the church, blocked the doors and then set fire to the entire town. Those not killed in the blazes were shot as they tried to flee, though a handful did manage to escape.

Dortmund prosecutors had alleged the accused went to the village church where the women and children were being held prisoner and members of the unit used explosives, automatic weapons and hand grenades to kill many of them.

Prosecutor Andreas Brendel, who led the investigation, said he was surprised by the court's decision but that it was too early to say whether he would appeal.

The case was reopened 70 years after the event based on German prosecutors' review of earlier investigations.

The charges were part of a last-ditch attempt by the German justice system to prosecute crimes committed under the Nazis.

However, the age of the suspects and the difficulty of establishing criminal proof seven decades after the crimes has meant that few of the defendants have gone on to serve time in prison.


23.12 | 0 komentar | Read More

Brooklyn Royalty: William And Kate Meet Jay Z

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have met celebrities including rapper Jay Z and pop star Beyonce as they continue their three-day US tour.

The royal couple sat courtside at the Barclays Centre for the Cleveland Cavaliers' win over the Brooklyn Nets.

William and Kate chatted with the multiple Grammy winners during a break in play.

They also met four-time NBA Most Valuable Player and double Olympian LeBron James before he took to the court.

Outside the Barclays Centre several dozen protesters called for justice for black men who have been victims of police violence in recent months.

James was among several NBA players who wore "I can't breathe" T-shirts as they warmed up for the game to show their support for protests which have been held across the US.

The slogan has been used to call attention to the death of Eric Garner, who died after a New York police officer used a chokehold during an arrest in July.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge began their whirlwind US visit with separate stops in Washington and New York on Monday.

Prince William sat with President Barack Obama at the White House, while Kate visited a child development centre in Harlem.

As reporters crammed into the Oval Office to snap photos, William could be heard discussing the "excitement" surrounding the birth of his son George in 2013.

He confessed to Mr Obama that in the "chaos" of the delivery room he forgot to ask if Prince George was a boy or a girl.

"I remember when George was born I forgot to actually work out whether it was a boy or a girl," William was heard telling the President as the two shared pleasantries.

He added that he expects 2015 to be a "busy year", when Kate is due to give birth to their second child.

Kate, who is five months pregnant, landed in New York with her husband on Sunday night. The two were greeted by cheering crowds as they arrived at their Manhattan hotel.

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  1. Gallery: The Duke And Duchess Of Cambridge In US For Three-Day Visit

    The Duchess of Cambridge is pictured visiting a centre for disadvantaged children in Harlem, New York

She was greeted by Chirlane McCray, the wife of the city's mayor Bill de Blasio, who joined her for the visit

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23.12 | 0 komentar | Read More

Family: Four Years Of Hell And Still No Answers

Moments after Shrien Dewani was ruled not guilty of murder, his wife Anni's family told Sky News: "The justice system has failed us."

Ms Dewani's sister Ami Denborg was in tears as she spoke to Sky News Special Correspondent Alex Crawford outside the court in Cape Town.

And later, in an interview with Sky News Tonight, Ms Denborg and her brother Anish Hindocha explained why the family was so distraught that a judge had decided to throw out the case against Mr Dewani without him even being called to give evidence.

"We don't care if he's innocent or guilty, we just want to know what happened to Anni," said Ms Denborg. 

"The only way to find out was to hear Shrien under cross-examination under oath telling his version of events. That right has just been taken away from us.

"We've been patient because we had hoped we'd get to the truth but today we just don't know what to think - we were so disappointed and so sad because this means we'll never, ever get to find out."

Asked how the family had coped since Anni was murdered in 2010, her brother added: "It's been very tough for our family. We've had four years of hell, literally.

"To see my parents wake up at 3am or 4am every day is a nightmare. What we're trying to do is be strong in front of them but it's been very difficult to cope with."

After the trial collapsed, Ms Denborg struggled to contain her emotions as she read a family statement.   

Her brother collapsed in tears as she said: "The knowledge of not knowing is going to haunt us for the rest of our lives.

"We had four years of sleepless nights and we will never be able to sleep."

Mr Dewani had declared himself a bisexual on the first day of his trial - something Anni and her family had not known.

Her uncle Ashok Hindocha said Ms Dewani would never have agreed to the marriage if she had known about her husband's "secret sex life" and confirmed the family would speak to lawyers about bringing a civil case against Mr Dewani in the UK.

Mr Hindocha added: "As far as Anni's grief-stricken parents are concerned, they would not wish the torture they have endured onto any other mother of father.

"They will live forever with the warm and magical memories of Anni, but these memories will always be tinged with the pain of the fact that closure has not been afforded them."

Mr Dewani's family hugged and cried tears of joy after the verdict was announced.

A relative who spoke through the intercom at the family's home in Bristol told Sky News: "We are very happy."

Nathi Mncube, a spokesman for South Africa's National Prosecuting Authority, said he believed the authorities were right to pursue the case, despite anger at the amount of taxpayers' money spent to bring Mr Dewani before the court.

He said: "Obviously, we are very disappointed with the outcome today. When we started with the trial this is not what we set out to achieve.

"We believed there was evidence, otherwise we would not have taken the case to court."

Emotions were also running high on the steps of the courthouse, where a lobby group chanted: "Justice for Anni."


23.12 | 0 komentar | Read More

Brazil's Pele To Be Released From Hospital

Brazilian footballing legend Pele is set to be released from hospital following successful treatment for a urinary tract infection.

The Sao Paulo hospital which has treated the 74-year-old for the past two weeks said he is "doing well" and is ready to be released today.

"(He) does not have any signs of infection," the Albert Einstein Hospital said in a statement.

"Considering his good recovery, his medical team has scheduled his leaving hospital tomorrow (Tuesday)."

Pele will speak to reporters in Sao Paulo at 2.30pm UK time, the hospital added.

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  1. Gallery: Pele's Career In Pictures

    Pele signed for Santos in September 1956 at the age of 16. He made his debut in a 7-1 win against Corinthians, scoring the first of his record 1,283 goals in football

He scored on his debut for Brazil, becoming the youngest player to score in international football, aged 16 years and nine months

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Wealth Gap Harms Countries' Growth - OECD

The growing wealth gap between the middle class and poor households is the single biggest factor affecting a country's economic growth, according to a new global report.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said income equality has a "significant impact" on a nation's ability to expand.

The report looked at countries around the world and estimated by how much growing inequality harmed potential expansion.

"The single biggest impact on growth is the widening gap between the lower middle class and poor households compared to the rest of society," the Paris-based group said.

"Education is the key - a lack of investment in education by the poor is the main factor behind inequality hurting growth."

It said almost nine percentage points were missed from the UK's GDP over the two decades preceding the banking-led global financial crisis.

This compared to 10 percentage points in Mexico and New Zealand, and around 6.5% in the US, Italy and Sweden.

It added that greater pre-crash equality in Spain, France and Ireland helped those countries' growth rates.

The OECD, previously described by The Economist as a "rich-country think tank", said its results showed inequality needed to be central to policy formulation.

It said inequality affects growth by undermining education opportunities for children from poor backgrounds, which in turn hampers social mobility and skill development.

By contrast the OECD, which represents 34 countries, said there was little or no effect on people with middle or high levels of parental education.

"This compelling evidence proves that addressing high and growing inequality is critical to promote strong and sustained growth and needs to be at the centre of the policy debate," OECD secretary-general Angel Gurria said.

"Countries that promote equal opportunity for all from an early age are those that will grow and prosper."


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Pistorius Appeal: Jail Term 'Shockingly Low'

South African prosecutors have argued that Oscar Pistorius' five-year jail term for manslaughter is "shockingly inappropriate" as they try to secure a longer sentence for the athlete.

The Olympian was not in court to hear prosecutor Gerrie Nel argue that Judge Thokozile Masipa misinterpreted the law when she ruled he did not intentionally shoot Steenkamp.

Mr Nel said: "The precedent set by this court is shockingly low."

Defence counsel Barry Roux said the state had failed to show that the court had made a legal rather than factual error, so the conviction and sentence handed to Pistorius should stand.

The judge listened to arguments from both lawyers for almost three hours and said she would consider the legal issues before making a judgement on Wednesday.

Ahead of the hearing, Reeva Steenkamp's mother told Sky News she hopes the appeal process will help her get the truth about her daughter's death.

June Steenkamp said an increase in the athlete's sentence will not make much difference to her family, but she hoped further court hearings might help bring together "missing pieces of the puzzle" surrounding the night he shot and killed her daughter.

She told Sky's Special Correspondent Alex Crawford: "Anything that can get the truth is fine by me, but it won't actually have anything to do with me.

"I have no influence about it, they're going to be discussing the judge's decision, which I just didn't feel... was suitable."

She said the long murder trial had not provided the answers she had hoped for.

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  1. Gallery: Reeva Steenkamp's Life In Pictures

    Reeva Steenkamp, 29, was born in Cape Town and grew up in Port Elizabeth. She went to a convent school and studied law. She was a keen horse rider until she broke her back

She moved to Johannesburg from Cape Town to model for Avon cosmetics. In 2012, Reeva was voted number 45 in the South African FHM 100 Sexiest Women in the World poll

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Chaotic Scenes As Dewani Leaves Cape Town

Shrien Dewani has boarded a flight out of South Africa after being cleared of plotting his wife's death on their honeymoon.

The case against the 34-year-old was thrown out by Judge Jeanette Traverso, who ruled that prosecution arguments fell "far below" the level needed for a conviction for the murder of Anni Dewani.

Mr Dewani arrived at Cape Town airport with members of his family and they boarded an Emirates flight to Dubai.

It is believed they will take a connecting flight from there to Britain.

Sky's Special Correspondent Alex Crawford said the businessman, who made no comment, looked "very well" and "very relaxed" despite the chaotic scenes as he was surrounded by dozens of photographers.

He "looked very different to the man who appeared in the dock" on Monday, Crawford added.

"He had a full police escort, with at least half a dozen police officers around him. He refused to answer any questions. He looked extremely well," she said.

Mr Dewani, of Westbury-on-Trym, Bristol, had denied any involvement in the murder of his 28-year-old wife.

He said she was killed during a botched carjacking during their Cape Town honeymoon in November 2010.

The dismissal of the case led to angry scenes outside court as Mrs Dewani's family criticised the South African justice system.

In a statement read outside the court, the Hindocha family said: "The knowledge of not knowing is going to haunt us for the rest of our lives."

Mrs Dewani's sister Ami Denborg told Sky's Alex Crawford: "The justice system has failed us."

The family say they will review the case with their lawyers to see if they can file a civil lawsuit against Mr Dewani in the UK.

Three men - Zola Tongo, Mziwamadoda Qwabe and gunman Xolile Mngeni - have already been convicted over Mrs Dewani's murder.

Qwabe is currently serving a 25-year sentence. Mngeni was serving life for firing the shot that killed Mrs Dewani, but died from a brain tumour in October.

But Judge Traverso said chief prosecution witness cab driver Tongo's claims about the murder were "riddled with contradictions" and "highly debatable".

Prosecutors claimed Dewani, who is bisexual, wanted to leave the relationship and arranged the carjacking during the couple's trip to South Africa.

But Dewani's defence team argued the case against him was weak.


23.12 | 0 komentar | Read More

Video: Police Shoot Man After Synagogue Stabbing

By Sky News US Team

A knife-wielding man has stabbed a student in the head inside a New York City synagogue before being shot dead by police.

Police say the confrontation happened at 1.40am (6.40am UK time) on Tuesday at the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic headquarters in Brooklyn.

According to witnesses, the attacker was heard saying repeatedly "Kill the Jews," said Chaim Landa, a spokeswoman for Chabad-Lubavitch.

Police said the attacker, identified as 49-year-old Calvin Peters, had a documented history of mental illness.

Reports from Jerusalem said the 22-year-old victim was an Israeli called Levi Rosenblat.

NYPD spokesman Adam Navarro said he was stabbed in the side of the face and was being treated in hospital.

Chabad's spokesman in Israel, Rabbi Moni Ender told Army Radio that the attack wasn't terror-related or premeditated.

"Incidents like these happen in Brooklyn every 15 minutes," he said.

Video filmed inside the synagogue showed the attacker refusing to drop the 9in (23cm) knife despite pleas from witnesses.

The man does put it down, but later picks it up again and lunges towards a police officer.

A single shot is then heard but the footage does not capture the man actually being hit.

He was shot once in the torso and pronounced dead in hospital.

The synagogue is open 24 hours a day and at night homeless people go inside to get warm.

"Apparently there was an argument during which the attacker pulled out a kitchen knife and told the Jewish student he was going to kill him," the rabbi said.


23.12 | 0 komentar | Read More

Athens Stock Exchange Drops 15% On New Fears

Athens Stock Exchange Drops 15% On New Fears

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The Athens stock exchange has plunged by more the 15% over fears political turmoil will hit Greece's fiscal reform measures.

If the drop holds until markets close it would become the biggest one-day fall in almost 30 years.

Investors have been spooked that the country may be forced to hold early general elections.

Concern comes from the prospect of a left-wing opposition party, that currently leads the polls, winning and derailing reforms.

The Syriza party wants a cut to what Greece owes in bailout money, arranged with the so-called troika of the EU, IMF and European Central Bank.

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  1. Gallery: Youth Protests Turn Violent In Athens

    A protester holds a placard during clashes at the end of a youth protest to commemorate the six-year anniversary of the fatal shooting of teenager Alexis Grigoropoulos by a police officer

A protester wearing a gas mask holds a black flag in Athens

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The commemoration is held as a close friend of Grigoropoulos, 21-year-old anarchist Nikos Romanos, jailed for attempted bank robbery, is on the 26th day of a hunger strike. Here riot police fire tear gas at protesters

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Greek police take position during clashes. Click through for more pictures

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Athens Stock Exchange Drops 15% On New Fears

We use cookies to give you the best experience. If you do nothing we'll assume that it's ok.

The Athens stock exchange has plunged by more the 15% over fears political turmoil will hit Greece's fiscal reform measures.

If the drop holds until markets close it would become the biggest one-day fall in almost 30 years.

Investors have been spooked that the country may be forced to hold early general elections.

Concern comes from the prospect of a left-wing opposition party, that currently leads the polls, winning and derailing reforms.

The Syriza party wants a cut to what Greece owes in bailout money, arranged with the so-called troika of the EU, IMF and European Central Bank.

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  1. Gallery: Youth Protests Turn Violent In Athens

    A protester holds a placard during clashes at the end of a youth protest to commemorate the six-year anniversary of the fatal shooting of teenager Alexis Grigoropoulos by a police officer

A protester wearing a gas mask holds a black flag in Athens

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The commemoration is held as a close friend of Grigoropoulos, 21-year-old anarchist Nikos Romanos, jailed for attempted bank robbery, is on the 26th day of a hunger strike. Here riot police fire tear gas at protesters

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Greek police take position during clashes. Click through for more pictures

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Airline Executive Quits Over First-Class Nuts Row

The daughter of Korean Air's chairman has resigned from her posts at the airline after being heavily criticised over a first-class row - about nuts.

Cho Hyun-ah delayed a flight from New York to Incheon, South Korea, after forcing the captain to return to the gate so the most senior cabin crew member, the chief purser, could be removed from the plane.

Ms Cho, who was vice president responsible for cabin service at the family-run airline, reportedly took exception to the arrival of some macadamia nuts served in a packet rather than a bowl.

She called over the chief purser who, according to an earlier Korean Air statement, replied with "lies and excuses" when challenged over his crew's knowledge of inflight service procedures.

Ms Cho, who was sitting in first class, then decided the chief purser was "incapable" and the plane taxied back to the gate at New York's JFK Airport where he disembarked, causing a delay of around 10 minutes.

Her behaviour on last Friday's flight caused an uproar in South Korea, where she was accused of being petty and arrogant.

"This ugly behaviour by the Korean Air boss' daughter puts the entire nation to shame," Seoul's top business daily, the Maeil Business Newspaper, said in an editorial.

"This is a global embarrassment for South Korea... Korean Air should punish Cho, and she should apologise to the public for disregarding passengers' safety," it said.

The Dong-A Ilbo newspaper said Ms Cho's action had exposed the "sense of entitlement and supercilious attitude" prevalent among the rich.

"Apparently some members of owner families like Cho see their companies like their own kingdom," it added.

After her resignation, the 40-year-old, who joined Korean Air in 1999, issued a statement through the airline.

"I feel so sorry for our customers and South Koreans for causing such trouble ... and seek forgiveness from the people who might have been hurt by me," Ms Cho said.

"I will resign from all my posts at Korean Air to take responsibility for the incident," she was quoted as saying.

Her father, Korean Air tycoon Cho Yang-ho, accepted her resignation immediately.

But a Korean Air spokesman later said Ms Cho would keep her title of vice president even though she no longer holds any official role. It is not clear whether she would hold any responsibilities in the future.

South Korea's biggest airline earlier apologised for causing "inconvenience" for passengers but defended Ms Cho's actions as a "reasonable" move to improve inflight service.

The government said it is investigating whether Ms Cho violated any aviation safety laws.


23.12 | 0 komentar | Read More
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