Man seeks recognition as climate refugee
WELLINGTON: A Pacific islander is seeking recognition as the world’s first climate change refugee in New Zealand as rising seas threaten his low-lying homeland, the man’s lawyer said Thursday. Ioane Teitiota, 37, launched an appeal this week against a decision by New Zealand immigration authorities to refuse him refugee status and deport him to Kiribati in the central Pacific, lawyer Michael Kitt said. Kitt acknowledged Teitiota’s New Zealand visa had expired but said he should not face deportation because of the difficulties he would encounter in Kiribati— which consists of more than 30 coral atolls, most only a few metres above sea level. He said rising seas had already swamped parts of Kiribati, destroying crops and contaminating water supplies. “Fresh water is a basic human right… the Kiribati government is unable, and perhaps unwilling, to guarantee these things because it’s completely beyond their control,” Kitt said. He said Teitiota’s case had the potential to set an international precedent, not only for Kiribati’s 1,00,000 residents but for those threatened by man-made climate change. If his appeal is successful Teitiota would become the world’s first climate refugee, Kitt said. A new class of refugee was emerging that was not properly covered by existing international protocols, he said. (AFP)
Depressed Italian woman stabs autistic son
Rome: A woman who stabbed her 11-year-old autistic son in Italy was on Thursday transferred to a psychiatric hospital. The woman, who is said to have been suffering from a serious depression, was arrested after she attacked her son at their home in Citta di Castello, near the city of Perugia. The child was in a critical condition in hospital after undergoing several hours of surgery, doctors said. He was stabbed eleven times with a kitchen knife in the back and abdomen before the woman’s husband managed to wrest the knife from her and call emergency services. (IANS)
Man convicted for keeping deaf and mute girl as sex slave
London: The man who kept a deaf and mute Pakistani girl captive in a cellar and repeatedly raped her for a decade in London has been convicted of 13 counts of rape. The girl, who is now 19-years-old, was repeatedly raped, beaten and forced to cook, clean, do the washing and ironing for the captor Ilyas Ashar and his family and also clean the homes of their friends in Eccles, Salford, Metro.co.uk reported. She was trafficked to Britain in 2000 and was taught to communicate in sign language and write so that her captors could claim 30,000 pounds in benefits. The girl’s passport claimed that she was 20-years-old when she entered the country. She was made to spend her days in the cellar packing football shirts, clothes and mobile phone covers and had no family or friends there and never went to school. The 84-year-old captor and his 68-year-old wife were convicted for trafficking (ANI)
17 held for Spain’s biggest jewellery heist
Madrid: Seventeen people have been arrested as suspects in the biggest jewellery heist in Spain’s history, police said Thursday. The December 2012 theft in Madrid involved wristwatches valued at more than 23 million euros (about $31 million) Among those arrested is a known thief, Ismael A.V., alias “The Troll”, who is considered to be the mastermind of the heist. It theft was carried out when the thieves gained access in December 2012 to the Diarsa company, where they robbed two safes, making off with more than 1,700 watches of prestigious Swiss brands. Among the people arrested are 11 Chinese citizens, and more than 300 of the luxury watches have been recovered, some of them valued at almost 270,000 euros (about $368,000). With the cooperation of Interpol, authorities have been able to locate more watches in Shanghai, where the organisation was selling them on the black market. The criminals had entered the firm during working hours and gained access to the heavily armored room where the watches were kept without leaving any trace and without the guards detecting it, remaining inside carrying out their heist for four hours.(IANS)
Girls stopped for shoplifting in NY had human fetus in bag
New York: Security guards who stopped two 17-year-old girls suspected of shoplifting at a Victoria’s Secret store on Thursday found a human fetus inside a bag one of them was carrying, New York City police said. Both teens were placed in police custody after the discovery on Thursday afternoon at the midtown Manhattan lingerie store in Herald Square, New York City Police Detective Michael DeBonis said. One of the girls was taken to Bellevue Hospital, police said. DeBonis declined to comment on local media reports that the girl taken to the hospital may have recently given birth. “It was a human fetus,” said Sergeant John Buthorn. “The medical examiner will now determine the cause of death.” Both girls were charged with criminal possession of stolen property and petit larceny, Buthorn said. “While inspecting the bags of the two females, security officers discovered a strong odor and found a fetus inside the bag of suspect No. 1,” police said in a statement. The medical examiner’s office was not immediately available for comment. (Reuters)