RUSSIAN EX-COP, JAILED FOR KILLING 22 WOMEN, GUILTY OF 56 MORE MURDERS
MOSCOW: A court in Russia’s eastern Siberia on Monday convicted a former policeman of murdering 56 women, bringing the number he is believed to have killed to at least 78. The court found Mikhail Popkov, from the eastern Siberian city of Angarsk, guilty of the murders between 1994 and 2000 and sentenced him to life in prison. Popkov, who was arrested in 2012, is already serving life for 22 other killings. The verdict makes him Russia’s most prolific serial killer in at least the past century. Local police have for years been investigating murders in the Irkutsk region, where dozens of women were raped and killed in secluded spots. In order to help the probe, authorities ended up taking DNA samples from 230,000 residents of Angarsk.
Twitter CEO criticised for tweets promoting Myanmar
SINGAPORE: Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey has come under fire for tweets about his meditation retreat in Myanmar and encouraging people to visit the country without mentioning what the United Nations has described as “ethnic cleansing” of the Rohingya Muslim minority. “Myanmar is an absolutely beautiful country. The people are full of joy and the food is amazing. I visited the cities of Yangon, Mandalay, and Bagan. We visited and meditated at many monasteries around the country,” Dorsey tweeted on Sunday. His tweets included pictures of the barren room where he stayed at a monastery during the retreat, as well as an analysis of his heart rate while meditating. There was no reference to the Rohingya in any of the tweets.
US teacher arrested for forcibly cutting boy’s hair
VISALIA: A California high school teacher pleaded not guilty to several charges of child cruelty and battery after she allegedly forced a haircut on one of her students, authorities said. Tulare County District Attorney Tim Ward said in a news release Friday that Margaret Gieszinger, 52, faces up to 3 years and 6 months in jail if convicted of all six counts. She pleaded not guilty to the charges and was released.
EU slaps sanctions on breakaway Ukraine officials
BRUSSELS: The European Union is slapping sanctions on nine more people over “illegal” elections in eastern Ukraine last month, while it weighs how to help Kiev in its Black Sea standoff with Russia. EU foreign ministers imposed asset freezes and travel bans on the local government and election officials in Donetsk and Luhansk. It brings to 164 the total number of people under sanctions for “actions undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine.” Forty-four “entities”, like companies are also on the list. The ministers will later discuss Russia tensions with Ukrainian foreign minister.
New Zealand: Backpacker murder suspect faces court
WELLINGTON: A man accused of murdering British backpacker Grace Millane appeared in a New Zealand court Monday as a judge told her family “your grief must be desperate”. Millane disappeared on December 1, on the eve of her 22nd birthday, and police found her body on Sunday in parkland just outside Auckland. A 26-year-old man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, faced Auckland District Court on Monday charged with her murder. He was not required to enter a plea and was remanded in custody until January 23.