Charges against two people accused of trying to extort money from actor John Travolta, following the death of his son in the Bahamas, have been dropped.
The case was dismissed after a motion was submitted at the request of the Pulp Fiction star and his family.
Pleasant Bridgewater and Tarino Lightbourne were accused of trying to extort $25m (£16m) from the actor following his son's death last year.
Jett Travolta, 16, died in the Bahamas in January 2009 following a seizure.
Ms Bridgewater and Mr Lightbourne's first trial was declared a mistrial last October and a retrial was set to begin shortly.
On Monday, however, prosecutor Neil Braithwaite said the Travoltas wished "to put this whole thing behind them".
"The Travolta family has said that this matter has caused them unbelievable stress and pain," he said.
Mr Lightbourne - a paramedic - and his attorney Ms Bridgewater were accused of threatening to release private information about Jett Travolta's death at the family vacation home in Grand Bahama.
It was alleged that Mr Lightbourne threatened to sell stories suggesting Mr Travolta was at fault over Jett's death.
Ms Bridgewater, a former member of the Bahamian Senate, was accused of trying to negotiate a $25m (£16m) payout for Mr Lightbourne.
A judge declared a mistrial in October after a Bahamian MP suggested the still-deliberating jury had acquitted one of the suspects.
In a statement to the Associated Press agency, John Travolta said "the long-pending status of this matter" had taken "a heavy emotional toll" on his family.
"After much reflection, I concluded it was in my family's best interest for me not to voluntarily return to the Bahamas to testify a second time at trial."
Both Ms Bridgewater and Mr Lightbourne denied the original charges
This Story is extracted from BBC World News
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Gunmen behind massacre of 72 have been killed
Six of the suspected gunmen responsible for the killings of 72 migrants in Mexico have been identified, Mexican authorities said Monday, the state-run Notimex news agency reported.
However, all of the suspects are dead, said Alejandro Poire, the spokesman for Mexico's president on security issues.
Three were killed in a confrontation with the Mexican navy after the bodies were discovered, and three others were found dead inside a vehicle on the side of a highway, Poire said
The dead suspects were identified by the survivors of last month's massacre at a ranch near the town of San Fernando in the northeastern state of Tamaulipas.
Three people are believed to have survived the mass killings, although only one -- an Ecuadorean man -- has spoken publicly. Mexican authorities have withheld details about survivors, citing safety concerns.
A seventh suspect was arrested and is being held by authorities while they investigate possible charges against him, Poire said.
Of the 72 migrants who were killed, 27 had been identified and their bodies returned to their home countries in Honduras and El Salvador, he said.
The official said the preliminary investigation shows that the Zetas drug cartel was responsible for the killings.
This Story is extracted from CNN
However, all of the suspects are dead, said Alejandro Poire, the spokesman for Mexico's president on security issues.
Three were killed in a confrontation with the Mexican navy after the bodies were discovered, and three others were found dead inside a vehicle on the side of a highway, Poire said
The dead suspects were identified by the survivors of last month's massacre at a ranch near the town of San Fernando in the northeastern state of Tamaulipas.
Three people are believed to have survived the mass killings, although only one -- an Ecuadorean man -- has spoken publicly. Mexican authorities have withheld details about survivors, citing safety concerns.
A seventh suspect was arrested and is being held by authorities while they investigate possible charges against him, Poire said.
Of the 72 migrants who were killed, 27 had been identified and their bodies returned to their home countries in Honduras and El Salvador, he said.
The official said the preliminary investigation shows that the Zetas drug cartel was responsible for the killings.
This Story is extracted from CNN
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Basque separatist group announces ceasefire
The Basque separatist group ETA released a ceasefire statement Sunday to various media, including the Basque newspaper Gara, where it typically releases information.
ETA has announced ceasefires before and broken them, notably the unilateral 2006 ceasefire that was announced as "permanent," only to be broken months later with a car bomb at Madrid's airport that killed two people.
In a statement published on the Gara website on Sunday, ETA --- which is blamed for more than 800 deaths in its long fight for Basque independence in northern Spain and southwest France -- calls on the Spanish government to "agree to the minimum democratic solutions necessary to start a democratic process."
Officials at Spain's Interior Ministry said the ceasefire announcement was being studied cautiously but that no senior officials were due to speak publicly about it, CNN affiliate CNN+ reported.
The prime minister's office told CNN it had no comment.
The latest ceasefire announcement was not unexpected, following weeks of calls for a new peace process by some smaller leftist Basque political parties.
The ceasefire announcement also follows months of what is widely regarded as a successful police crackdown against ETA operatives in Spain and also in ETA's hideouts in neighboring France and Portugal.
Police have arrested many of ETA's suspected top operatives, as well as many ETA foot soliders, and seized bomb-making materials and weapons from hidden arms caches, virtually shutting off ETA attacks.
In its ceasefire announcement Sunday, ETA said that "months ago it decided not to carry out armed offensive actions," but made no mention of what it might consider a "defensive" action.
The announcement was accompanied an ETA video which showed three apparent ETA members seated at a table in front of an ETA banner and facing a camera. They wore white face hoods with eye holes but their mouths covered, black berets and black jerseys.
The person in the middle apeared to do all the speaking in the ancient Basque language -- not in Spanish -- and the voice seemed to be that of a woman.
ETA is listed as a terrorist group by the United States and the European Union for its campaign of car bombings and shootings.
The Spanish government of Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero began a peace process in 2006 during the last unilateral ETA ceasefire, but after ETA's airport bomb, the government called off negotiations.
Since then, officials of Zapatero's government have said they would accept only a definitive statement from ETA to end its armed fight, and to announce when and where it would lay down its arms forever, and not simply a ceasefire.
Only then would the government be willing to consider leniency for some of the more than 500 ETA prisoners in jail.
The Basque region in northern Spain already has considerable home-rule authority, with its own police, parliament, taxing power and control of health and education. But ETA rejects those as partial steps, and has fought for full independence.
ETA's goal is an independent Basque nation comprising the three-province Basque region and the neighboring Navarra region in Spain, along with three departments in southwest France that also have Basque roots. About three million people live in those areas now.
ETA's ceasefire statement called on the international community to get involved in the Basque peace process.
On Sunday, the leader of the Sinn Fein party in Northern Ireland said he supported the ceasefire.
"Gerry Adams has welcomed ETA ceasefire announcement," the Sinn Fein party said on its Twitter page.
This Story Was Extracted From CNN
ETA has announced ceasefires before and broken them, notably the unilateral 2006 ceasefire that was announced as "permanent," only to be broken months later with a car bomb at Madrid's airport that killed two people.
In a statement published on the Gara website on Sunday, ETA --- which is blamed for more than 800 deaths in its long fight for Basque independence in northern Spain and southwest France -- calls on the Spanish government to "agree to the minimum democratic solutions necessary to start a democratic process."
Officials at Spain's Interior Ministry said the ceasefire announcement was being studied cautiously but that no senior officials were due to speak publicly about it, CNN affiliate CNN+ reported.
The prime minister's office told CNN it had no comment.
The latest ceasefire announcement was not unexpected, following weeks of calls for a new peace process by some smaller leftist Basque political parties.
The ceasefire announcement also follows months of what is widely regarded as a successful police crackdown against ETA operatives in Spain and also in ETA's hideouts in neighboring France and Portugal.
Police have arrested many of ETA's suspected top operatives, as well as many ETA foot soliders, and seized bomb-making materials and weapons from hidden arms caches, virtually shutting off ETA attacks.
In its ceasefire announcement Sunday, ETA said that "months ago it decided not to carry out armed offensive actions," but made no mention of what it might consider a "defensive" action.
The announcement was accompanied an ETA video which showed three apparent ETA members seated at a table in front of an ETA banner and facing a camera. They wore white face hoods with eye holes but their mouths covered, black berets and black jerseys.
The person in the middle apeared to do all the speaking in the ancient Basque language -- not in Spanish -- and the voice seemed to be that of a woman.
ETA is listed as a terrorist group by the United States and the European Union for its campaign of car bombings and shootings.
The Spanish government of Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero began a peace process in 2006 during the last unilateral ETA ceasefire, but after ETA's airport bomb, the government called off negotiations.
Since then, officials of Zapatero's government have said they would accept only a definitive statement from ETA to end its armed fight, and to announce when and where it would lay down its arms forever, and not simply a ceasefire.
Only then would the government be willing to consider leniency for some of the more than 500 ETA prisoners in jail.
The Basque region in northern Spain already has considerable home-rule authority, with its own police, parliament, taxing power and control of health and education. But ETA rejects those as partial steps, and has fought for full independence.
ETA's goal is an independent Basque nation comprising the three-province Basque region and the neighboring Navarra region in Spain, along with three departments in southwest France that also have Basque roots. About three million people live in those areas now.
ETA's ceasefire statement called on the international community to get involved in the Basque peace process.
On Sunday, the leader of the Sinn Fein party in Northern Ireland said he supported the ceasefire.
"Gerry Adams has welcomed ETA ceasefire announcement," the Sinn Fein party said on its Twitter page.
This Story Was Extracted From CNN
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Children among hundreds raped in Congo, U.N. says
More than two dozen children were among the hundreds raped by armed rebels in the war-torn eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, the United Nations said.
Twenty-seven minors, including one boy, were among the victims, the U.N. said Friday. One attempted rape was also reported.
The children were among 240 people raped by Rwandan and Congolese rebels who raided villages in North Kivu province between July 30 and August 3, aid groups said. Attackers blocked roads and prevented villagers from reaching outside communications. Many homes were also looted.
Many of the victims were raped by two to six men, according to the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO).
MONUSCO, the United Nations peacekeeping force in the country, raised the number of victims after earlier reports put it at 156.
Since the rapes were first publicly reported on August 22, more victims have come forward, the force said.
The United Nations has said it did not learn about the attacks until August 12, when it was alerted by International Medical Corps.
International Medical Corps said it first told the United Nations about the rapes on August 6.
A July 30 internal U.N. e-mail that was relayed to relief agencies working in the area warned that the rebels had taken over the villages, and had already committed one instance of rape.
The town of Mpofi, 52 kilometers from Walikale, had just fallen into the hands of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, a rebel group.
"A woman was raped there," the e-mail said in French. "Humanitarian workers are said not to go there."
On August 10, the United Nations posted an online bulletin saying that 25 women had been raped in the villages, contradicting statements made by U.N. military spokesman Madnoje Mounoubai and special representative Roger Meece.
Asked to explain the discrepancy, deputy U.N. spokesman Farhan Haq told reporters this week: "We are aware of the existence of a number of e-mails and we are trying to trace exactly how those e-mails were responded to."
He said that about 80 peacekeepers were conducting patrols in an area about four times the size of Manhattan.
"The question is -- how much area could they cover, and were they able to get into the areas where they needed to be, where the relevant information was?"
U.N. officials have said they will toughen efforts to stop rapes in the region.
"The recent mass rapes underscores the need for an end to impunity for perpetrators of such crimes," said Margot Wallstrom, a U.N. special representative for sexual violence in conflict.
These attacks reinforce that "you cannot have a policy of zero tolerance backed by zero consequences," she said.
This Story Was Extracted From CNN
Twenty-seven minors, including one boy, were among the victims, the U.N. said Friday. One attempted rape was also reported.
The children were among 240 people raped by Rwandan and Congolese rebels who raided villages in North Kivu province between July 30 and August 3, aid groups said. Attackers blocked roads and prevented villagers from reaching outside communications. Many homes were also looted.
Many of the victims were raped by two to six men, according to the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO).
MONUSCO, the United Nations peacekeeping force in the country, raised the number of victims after earlier reports put it at 156.
Since the rapes were first publicly reported on August 22, more victims have come forward, the force said.
The United Nations has said it did not learn about the attacks until August 12, when it was alerted by International Medical Corps.
International Medical Corps said it first told the United Nations about the rapes on August 6.
A July 30 internal U.N. e-mail that was relayed to relief agencies working in the area warned that the rebels had taken over the villages, and had already committed one instance of rape.
The town of Mpofi, 52 kilometers from Walikale, had just fallen into the hands of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, a rebel group.
"A woman was raped there," the e-mail said in French. "Humanitarian workers are said not to go there."
On August 10, the United Nations posted an online bulletin saying that 25 women had been raped in the villages, contradicting statements made by U.N. military spokesman Madnoje Mounoubai and special representative Roger Meece.
Asked to explain the discrepancy, deputy U.N. spokesman Farhan Haq told reporters this week: "We are aware of the existence of a number of e-mails and we are trying to trace exactly how those e-mails were responded to."
He said that about 80 peacekeepers were conducting patrols in an area about four times the size of Manhattan.
"The question is -- how much area could they cover, and were they able to get into the areas where they needed to be, where the relevant information was?"
U.N. officials have said they will toughen efforts to stop rapes in the region.
"The recent mass rapes underscores the need for an end to impunity for perpetrators of such crimes," said Margot Wallstrom, a U.N. special representative for sexual violence in conflict.
These attacks reinforce that "you cannot have a policy of zero tolerance backed by zero consequences," she said.
This Story Was Extracted From CNN
Nine dead in New Zealand skydive plane crash
Nine people, including four foreigners, have been killed in a light aircraft crash in New Zealand, police say.
The plane, owned by a skydiving company, crashed soon after taking off from the tourist spot of Fox Glacier on the South Island.
The dead were from Britain, Ireland, Australia and Germany, said police. The pilot and the other four passengers were all local.
The names of the passengers have not been released.
The plane was reported to be a Fletcher fixed-wing aircraft, commonly used in the area.
'Engulfed in flames'
Officials said it crashed shortly after leaving the Fox Glacier airstrip at about 1330 local time (0130GMT).
An eyewitness told the New Zealand Herald: "It was like a fireball and then there was big puffs of smoke going up. [The plane] was engulfed in flames immediately."
The five New Zealanders on board were all from Fox Glacier and well-known in the town.
"Fox only has about 200 people in the community and it is in shock," said Matt Ewen, of Tourism West Coast, told television channel ONE News.
"I know the owners, they are very nice people and this is a tragedy for them."
'Perfect weather'
There is only one skydiving company operating from the Fox Glacier airstrip, Skydive New Zealand. But a spokeswoman for the company refused to comment, according to news website stuff.co.nz.
A message on the company's answerphone said: "Unfortunately, we will not be skydiving for the rest of the day."
Maureen Pugh, mayor of Westland District, told ONE News that the tourists were going up with instructors to do a tandem skydive in perfect weather conditions.
"It's a well-established company down here and has a huge reputation," she said.
"Nobody is even trying to guess what went wrong. We're just so devastated."
It is thought to be the country's worst aviation accident since a plane crashed on landing near Christchurch in 2003, killing eight people.
This Story Was Extracted From BBC World News
The plane, owned by a skydiving company, crashed soon after taking off from the tourist spot of Fox Glacier on the South Island.
The dead were from Britain, Ireland, Australia and Germany, said police. The pilot and the other four passengers were all local.
The names of the passengers have not been released.
The plane was reported to be a Fletcher fixed-wing aircraft, commonly used in the area.
'Engulfed in flames'
Officials said it crashed shortly after leaving the Fox Glacier airstrip at about 1330 local time (0130GMT).
An eyewitness told the New Zealand Herald: "It was like a fireball and then there was big puffs of smoke going up. [The plane] was engulfed in flames immediately."
The five New Zealanders on board were all from Fox Glacier and well-known in the town.
"Fox only has about 200 people in the community and it is in shock," said Matt Ewen, of Tourism West Coast, told television channel ONE News.
"I know the owners, they are very nice people and this is a tragedy for them."
'Perfect weather'
There is only one skydiving company operating from the Fox Glacier airstrip, Skydive New Zealand. But a spokeswoman for the company refused to comment, according to news website stuff.co.nz.
A message on the company's answerphone said: "Unfortunately, we will not be skydiving for the rest of the day."
Maureen Pugh, mayor of Westland District, told ONE News that the tourists were going up with instructors to do a tandem skydive in perfect weather conditions.
"It's a well-established company down here and has a huge reputation," she said.
"Nobody is even trying to guess what went wrong. We're just so devastated."
It is thought to be the country's worst aviation accident since a plane crashed on landing near Christchurch in 2003, killing eight people.
This Story Was Extracted From BBC World News
Friday, September 3, 2010
Mexican shootout leaves 25 drug suspects dead
A shootout between soldiers and suspected drug dealers in northeast Mexico left 25 of the suspects dead, the regional military said Thursday.
After the fighting ended, soldiers captured a cache of weaponry, including 25 rifles, four .40-caliber grenades, 4,200 cartridges of different calibers, 532 magazines for diverse arms and 23 vehicles, two of them painted to look like military vehicles, the military said in a news release.
The incident began when anti-drug forces flying over Ciudad Mier, just south of the Rio Grande, observed armed people in front of a building, it said.
Once they saw they were being observed, the armed people drove off in various vehicles, the military said.
Soldiers were dispatched on the ground and, when they approached the building, they were greeted with gunfire and responded with their own, the military said.
The soldiers also freed three people who were being held by the suspects, the military said.
Two of the soldiers were wounded.
This Story Was Extracted From CNN
After the fighting ended, soldiers captured a cache of weaponry, including 25 rifles, four .40-caliber grenades, 4,200 cartridges of different calibers, 532 magazines for diverse arms and 23 vehicles, two of them painted to look like military vehicles, the military said in a news release.
The incident began when anti-drug forces flying over Ciudad Mier, just south of the Rio Grande, observed armed people in front of a building, it said.
Once they saw they were being observed, the armed people drove off in various vehicles, the military said.
Soldiers were dispatched on the ground and, when they approached the building, they were greeted with gunfire and responded with their own, the military said.
The soldiers also freed three people who were being held by the suspects, the military said.
Two of the soldiers were wounded.
This Story Was Extracted From CNN
Thursday, September 2, 2010
10 killed in NATO airstrike in Afghanistan
Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) -- Ten parliamentary campaign workers were killed in a NATO airstrike in northeastern Afghanistan on Thursday, a provincial official said.
The incident -- which took place ahead of the September 18 parliamentary election -- occurred in the Rostaq district of Takhar province, where NATO says it was targeting a militant.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who has consistently deplored civilian casualties in the war, condemned the strike, which occurred on the same day he's scheduled to meet with U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates.
Faiz Mohammad, spokesman for the provincial governor, said the event happened because NATO-led and Afghan security forces are not coordinating their activities properly.
NATO's International Security Assistance Force told CNN it is "still looking into this situation" and "gathering the facts."
"We're aware of the allegations that this strike caused civilian causalities and we'll do our best to get to the bottom of the accusations," U.S. Marine Corps Maj. Gen. David Garza, an ISAF official, said in a press release.
"What I can say is these vehicles were nowhere near a populated area and we're confident this strike hit only the targeted vehicle after days of tracking the occupants' activity."
Along with the deaths, candidate Abdul Wahid Khorazani and another campaign worker were injured, Mohammad said. He said the civilians were campaigning for Khorazani at the time.
ISAF said it carried out "a precision airstrike targeting an Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan senior member," determined to be the deputy shadow governor for Takhar.
"Intelligence tracked the insurgents traveling in a sedan on a series of remote roads in Rustaq district. After careful planning to ensure no civilians were present, coalition aircraft conducted a precision airstrike on one sedan and later followed with direct fire from an aerial platform. The vehicle was traveling as part of a six-car convoy, but no other vehicles were hit in the strike," the military said.
ISAF wasn't able to get a ground force to the region right away, but "initial reflections indicate eight to 12 insurgents were killed or injured in the strike, including a Taliban commander."
THIS STORY WAS EXTRACTED FROM CNN
The incident -- which took place ahead of the September 18 parliamentary election -- occurred in the Rostaq district of Takhar province, where NATO says it was targeting a militant.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who has consistently deplored civilian casualties in the war, condemned the strike, which occurred on the same day he's scheduled to meet with U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates.
Faiz Mohammad, spokesman for the provincial governor, said the event happened because NATO-led and Afghan security forces are not coordinating their activities properly.
NATO's International Security Assistance Force told CNN it is "still looking into this situation" and "gathering the facts."
"We're aware of the allegations that this strike caused civilian causalities and we'll do our best to get to the bottom of the accusations," U.S. Marine Corps Maj. Gen. David Garza, an ISAF official, said in a press release.
"What I can say is these vehicles were nowhere near a populated area and we're confident this strike hit only the targeted vehicle after days of tracking the occupants' activity."
Along with the deaths, candidate Abdul Wahid Khorazani and another campaign worker were injured, Mohammad said. He said the civilians were campaigning for Khorazani at the time.
ISAF said it carried out "a precision airstrike targeting an Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan senior member," determined to be the deputy shadow governor for Takhar.
"Intelligence tracked the insurgents traveling in a sedan on a series of remote roads in Rustaq district. After careful planning to ensure no civilians were present, coalition aircraft conducted a precision airstrike on one sedan and later followed with direct fire from an aerial platform. The vehicle was traveling as part of a six-car convoy, but no other vehicles were hit in the strike," the military said.
ISAF wasn't able to get a ground force to the region right away, but "initial reflections indicate eight to 12 insurgents were killed or injured in the strike, including a Taliban commander."
THIS STORY WAS EXTRACTED FROM CNN
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