health: Lincoln Tribune

الخميس، 9 فبراير 2012

Lincoln Tribune

Three Indian ministers resign after porn scandal
Mississippi executes man for convenience store killings
Mississippi executes man for convenience store killings
Suicide car bomber kills 12 outside hotel in Somalia
Suicide car bomber kills 12 outside hotel in Somalia

Three Indian ministers resign after porn scandal

Posted: 09 Feb 2012 02:48 AM PST

NEW DELHI, INDIA (BNO NEWS) -- Three ministers in southwestern India resigned on Wednesday after being accused of watching pornography during a debate in the state's assembly, local media reported on Thursday.

Women and child development minister CC Patil and cooperation minister Laxman Savadi, two Karnataka state ministers from the ruling right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party, were filmed by television cameras as they allegedly shared pornographic files through their mobile phones during a debate at the state assembly.

The footage on the phone showed a woman dancing, undressing and then engaging in sexual acts. But the men have denied the accusation they were watching porn, claiming they were only doing research on problems caused by rave parties on an island near Udupi, which is off the coast of Karnataka.

At the request of the ministers, a six-member house investigation committee has been formed and is expected to submit their report on March 12. Patil expressed confidence that the two will 'come out with a clean chit.'

In addition to the resignations of Patil and Savadi, ports and fishery minister Krishna Palemar also resigned over the scandal. "We don't want the party and the government to face further embarrassment," Palemar, who is the owner of the phone in question, was quoted as saying by the Indian Express. "All of us have decided to resign."

Mississippi executes man for convenience store killings

Posted: 08 Feb 2012 06:22 PM PST

JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI (BNO NEWS) -- A Mississippi man convicted of killing two men during a robbery spree in December 1995 was executed on early Wednesday evening, officials said. A U.S. Court of Appeals declined to halt the execution based on claims he was mentally ill.

Edwin Hart Turner, 38, was convicted of killing Everett Curry and Eddie Brooks during the robberies of Mims One Stop and Mims Turkey Village Truck Stop in Carroll County during the early morning hours of December 13, 1995. His partner Paul Murrell Stewart confessed and testified against him and was previously sentenced to two consecutive life sentences.

Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC) Commissioner Christopher Epps said Turner was pronounced dead at 6:21 p.m. local time after being given a lethal injection at the Mississippi State Penitentiary (MSP) in Parchman. He said the execution marked the close of Turner's case.

"The State of Mississippi - Department of Corrections has carried out a court order issued by the state Supreme Court. The role of the MDOC is to see that the order of the court is carried out with dignity," Epps said during a press conference. "Through the course of nearly 15 years, death row inmate Edwin Hart Turner was afforded his day in court and in the finality, his conviction was upheld all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. The cause of justice has been championed."

During his final hours, Turner met with his attorney, a spiritual adviser, his mother, two aunts and two cousins. Officers described Turner as being talkative and he took a final shower after his last meal. At the request of Turner, none of his family members witnessed the execution.

"I ask that you join me in prayer for the Brooks and Curry families. The entire MDOC family hopes the families of each of the homicide victims may now begin the process of healing. Our prayers and thoughts are with you as you continue life's journey," Epps added during the news conference.

During the investigation in 1995, investigators discovered in Turner's car a mask reportedly used at the crime scene, as well as Turner's fingerprints upon a weapon used at the scene. Additionally, the state's firearms expert determined that shell casings found at the murder scene matched weapons in Turner's home, and a cashier at one of the crime scenes identified Turner.

Turner was convicted on February 13, 1997, and sentenced to death on two counts of murder the following day. The Mississippi Supreme Court affirmed the death sentence on February 2, 1999, denied rehearing on March 31, 1999, and denied Post-Conviction relief on January 4, 2007.

Lawyers for Turner argued that he suffered from a long and extensive history of mental illness, leading U.S. District Court Judge Carlton W. Reeves to postpone the execution until at least February 20 to determine whether the state had improperly kept him from getting a psychiatric evaluation. But the 5th U.S. Court of Appeals in New Orleans overturned the stay, and the U.S. Supreme Court failed to halt the execution.

Turner was the first person to be executed in Mississippi this year.

Mississippi executes man for convenience store killings

Posted: 08 Feb 2012 06:22 PM PST

Turner was the first person to be executed in Mississippi this year.

Suicide car bomber kills 12 outside hotel in Somalia

Posted: 08 Feb 2012 05:46 PM PST

MOGADISHU, SOMALIA (BNO NEWS) -- At least 12 people were killed on Wednesday when a car bomb exploded outside a hotel in the Somali capital of Mogadishu, media reports said. More than a dozen others were injured.

The suicide car bomber struck the Muna hotel which is next to the presidential palace in Hamarweine district. A BBC Radio correspondent in Mogadishu said the car was loaded with explosives and struck the hotel near a cafe where many people were sitting.

The Somali militant group al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the attack, confirming the hotel - where hundreds of Somali parliament members and government officials reside - was the target. "The target was the hotel," said a radio station run by al-Shabab.

"The explosion was a land mine which was set up in the area," al-Shabab spokesman Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Mus'ab said in a statement to the press. He claimed that both security officials and parliamentarians were killed in the blast.

However, regional police commissioner Col. Ahmed Hassan Malin said the victims of the attack were all civilians, reports said. He said at least twelve civilians were killed while fifteen others were injured, some seriously.

Abu Mus'ab added that al-Shabab will continue to target Somali lawmakers because of "their drafting constitution" against Allah's religion.

Al-Shabaab is the militant wing of the Somali Council of Islamic Courts which took over most of southern Somalia in the second half of 2006. Despite efforts from the Somali and Ethiopian governments, the group has continued its violent insurgency in southern and central Somalia.

Somalia has been without an effective government since Mohamed Siad Barre was overthrown two decades ago.