Youth who ‘distributed’ massacre video denied bail
ROME: Italian authorities are treating the death of Imane Fadil, a Moroccan model who was a witness in former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi’s “bunga bunga” trial, as a potential murder case.
Fadil died on March 1 in a Milanarea hospital after wasting away for more than a month with an undiagnosed condition, prosecutors said. An autopsy is expected this week.
Milan chief prosecutor Francesco Greco spoke on Friday of “symptoms of poisoning” and said his office was conducting “in depth investigations” into “a serious affair”.
Fadil was one of the showgirls who testified about how Berlusconi used to invite them for “bunga bunga” sex parties. She had reportedly written a book about her experiences. | dpa KAMPALA: Members of parliament from Uganda’s ruling party are backing President Yoweri Museveni’s attempt to win another term, according to a resolution adopted at their ongoing meeting on Sunday.
A victory at the next election, in 2021, could extend the 74-year-old Museveni’s rule to 40 years, one of the longest reigns in Africa.
By securing the support of MPs, an important segment of his party’s delegates, Museveni came closer to securing the party’s nomination.
Museveni’s government has changed Uganda’s constitution twice to allow him to extend his rule.
If he seeks re-election, he is likely to face competition from Robert Kyagulanyi, a popular musician turned MP who also goes by the stage name Bobi Wine. | Reuters ISTANBUL: Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan drew comparisons between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s son and the New Zealand mosque attacker, both of whom referred to Istanbul by its historic name of Constantinople.
Netanyahu’s son, Yair, tweeted on Friday that Istanbul “is actually a city called Constantinople… centre of orthodox Christianity for more AN 18-YEAR-OLD youth was denied bail in a court in New Zealand yesterday after he was charged with distributing a live stream of the mass shooting at a mosque last week.
The youth was arrested on Friday, but police have since said they do not believe he was directly involved in the attacks on two mosques in Christchurch which happened on the same day, in which 50 worshippers were killed. He faces charges of sharing the gunman’s live stream and posting a photograph of one of the mosques attacked with the message “target acquired” along with other chat messages “inciting extreme violence”, the Herald reported.
His request for bail was refused but the judge granted him name suppression. He is due back in court next month. Australian Brenton Tarrant, than a thousand years before Turkish occupation!” A “manifesto” by suspect Brenton Tarrant in the New Zealand mass shootings reportedly referred to Constantinople. | dpa 28, a suspected white supremacist, was charged with murder for the mosque shootings. Tarrant was remanded without a plea and is due back in court on April 5 when, police said, he was likely to face more charges.
The teen was initially charged with publishing material insulting other races and ethnicities but that charge was withdrawn and replaced by the two new charges yesterday.
Meanwhile, a team of men from Brisbane, Australia, experienced in Islamic funeral rites connected to Brothers in Need, a charity group, are part of a contingent drawn from Australia and cities across New Zealand to help a community overwhelmed by the number of bodies which must be dealt with according to ritual.
Christchurch is subdued. Bunches of flowers have been piled up outside Trippin’ Miserlou Let’s Go the botanical gardens and underneath oak trees opposite one of the mosques, which are guarded by armed police.
The majority of victims were migrants or refugees from countries such as Pakistan, India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Turkey, Somalia, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. The youngest was a 3-year-old boy, born in New Zealand to Somali refugee parents.
The victims, after their bodies were removed from the crime scenes, had to be examined by investigators before they can be prepared for burial.
“It is a spiritual process, preparing the body to go into the next life,” said Taufan Mawardi, who is 38 and one of the volunteers.
“I’ve never personally done anything that’s got to do with violent crime, particularly bodies that have been riddled with bullet holes or knife wounds or whatever that may be. So it is a bit confronting as well, anticipating what it’s going to be like in there,” he said.
Eight teams of six people are carrying out the work of cleansing the bodies before burial.
“You start from the head, working down from the right to the left side, to the feet. The mouth and the nose have to be washed,” he said.
Officials say they hope to complete their examination of the bodies of those killed as soon as possible.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said yesterday that her cabinet had decided to reform the gun law within 10 days. This had been agreed to by three coalition partners – the New Zealand Labour Party, the New Zealand First Party and the Green Party, she said. | Reuters | Xinhua