Around the world
North America
A Muslim cab driver in St Louis, Missouri, is challenging the regional taxi commission’s wardrobe rules in court after receiving dozens of tickets for wearing traditional religious clothing. Raja Naeem, 50, is a native of Pakistan who moved to the United States 20 years ago. He has sued the Metropolitan Taxicab Commission in St Louis Circuit Court, alleging harassment and retaliation based on his religious views. After years of delays, four former guards from the security firm Blackwater Worldwide are facing trial in the killings of 14 Iraqi civilians and the wounding of 18 others in bloodshed that inflamed anti-American sentiment around the globe. Whether the shootings were selfdefence or an unprovoked attack, the carnage of September 16, 2007, was seen by critics of the George W. Bush Administration as an illustration of a war gone horribly wrong. A trial is due to begin with jury selection tomorrow.
Latin America
A group of eight dancers with Cuba’s National Ballet have defected to the US after an event in Puerto Rico, the father of one of the dancers says. Jorge Luis Sanchez said: ‘‘Some went on to Miami and others are in Puerto Rico, waiting to travel on.” The Cuban delegation that travelled to San Juan included more than 50 people. Argentina’s Vice-President spent more than seven hours in a judge’s chambers, finally answering questions in a criminal corruption investigation that has challenged the decade-old Government like never before. Amado Boudou is accused of using shell companies and secret middlemen to gain control of the company given contracts to print the nation’s currency and campaign material for the ticket he shared with President Cristina Fernandez. Boudou has always denied involvement.
Asia/Oceania
The family of two Indian girls who were gang-raped and hanged from a tree say local police are trying to frame them and have urged India’s federal investigative agency to lead the probe into the deaths. Uttar Pradesh police initially said the low-caste cousins, Murti and Pushpa, had been assaulted by three men from the dominant caste and that local constables had refused to help search for them. But at the weekend, the head of the state police said he wanted to administer “truth drug” narcotics and lie detector tests to everyone involved in the case, including the family of the girls, hinting at an honour killing. The comments came as it was announced about 100 police and civil servants in Uttar Pradesh were being transferred in the aftermath of the attack. The family believe the state authorities are now trying to protect themselves amid the welter of criticism. Murti’s brother, Veerendar, said it was essential the Central Bureau of Investigation take over the inquiry. “All I ask for is justice. They are offering me employment in a government office if I withdraw my demand for a CBI investigation.”
Europe
A daily “tomato pill” can significantly improve the functioning of blood vessels in patients with heart disease, research has shown. The findings suggest a powerful antioxidant in tomatoes may contribute to the health benefits of a Mediterranean diet. Study participants were given a supplement called Ateronon that contains 7mg of the tomato ingredient lycopene. Of 36 patients with heart disease, those taking the pill daily for two months saw their blood vessels widen by 53 per cent. The tomato pill had no effect on healthy volunteers whose blood vessels were already “normal”. Constriction of blood vessels reduces blood flow and is a main factor in heart attacks and strokes.
Middle East
Seven men were arrested yesterday in connection with attacks on at least five women during the celebrations of the inauguration of the new Egyptian President, Abdel-fattah al-Sisi. In a video of one incident in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, a naked and bloodied woman emerges from the crowd and is taken away by police. Mohamed al-Habibi, a volunteer with the “I Saw Harassment” monitoring initiative who witnessed the incident, said it was impossible to tell who was part of the assault and who was trying to help the woman. “I saw hundreds of people grabbing a woman. The police were there, shooting in the air, it took them 20 minutes to get her out. She was unable to speak,” he said. Some Egyptians were further enraged when Tahrir TV presenter Maha Bahnassi seemed to make light of the assaults, telling a reporter: “Boys will be boys.”
Africa
Nigeria’s former central bank governor, who lost his job for speaking out against endemic corruption, has rid himself of his flamboyant pinstripes and bowtie to take on an even tougher challenge — that of turning the tide against Boko Haram. Sanusi Lamido Sanusi has pitched himself straight into the front line of the battle against the Islamist insurgents, notorious for holding more than 200 kidnapped schoolgirls, by being newly anointed Emir of Kano, the spiritual head of the largest sect of Muslims in the north of Nigeria. Sanusi used his first appearance in the emir’s high-domed turban and long robes to join the international appeal for the girls’ safe return, pleading for their freedom.