US man fined in Saddam Hussein family gun plot
Newark (US): A man who pleaded guilty to trying to sell firearms believed to have been owned by Saddam Hussein’s family was fined USD 5,000 by a federal judge.
Howard Blumenthal, 76, of Fort Lee, New Jersey, had faced up to five years in prison. Seven guns with an estimated value of USD 250,000 to USD 350,000 were seized in December 2012.
Among the firearms were a .357 semi-automatic pistol featuring a gold medallion “QS.” That’s presumed to indicate the late Iraqi president’s son, Qusay. Other guns included two .357 Magnums, a .32-caliber semi-automatic pistol, two 12-gauge shotguns and a semi-automatic, .45-caliber pistol with gold leaf and gold inlays and bearing the initials “QS.” Blumenthal was recruited to help round up potential buyers for the smuggled guns, prosecutors have said.
They say he went to a New Jersey restaurant in July 2012 to meet with three other people who were indicted in the scheme, so they could discuss the sale of six of the seven weapons. The investigation into the plot began in April 2012, when federal law enforcement officers learned of plans to sell the weapons.
Two other people charged in the case are awaiting trial, while a third has pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing. (AP)
‘Emotional support’ pig, passenger kicked off from flight
Washington: A woman passenger was booted from a US Airways flight after the pig she brought on board for “emotional support” became disruptive, the airline has said. The passenger and her large pig were asked to leave the flight before it left Connecticut’s Bradley International Airport on Wednesday, spokeswoman Laura Masvidal said.
“After the animal became disruptive, the passenger was asked to deplane,” she was quoted as saying by CNN. Fellow passengers told the Hartford Courant that the big brown pig stank up the cabin of the tiny Washington DC-bound aircraft before defecating in the aisle. When passenger Robert Phelps first saw the woman coming down the aisle, he thought she had a “really big dog” or a stuffed animal thrown over her shoulder.
“Everybody was trying to surmise what it could be because no one thought it was a pig,” he said. After she reached her seat and began to stow her items, the pig began “dropping things” in the aisle, he said. As she tied him to the armrest and tried to clean up after him, he began to howl. “She was talking to it like a person, saying it was being a jerk,” he said. “I have no problems with babies, but this pig was letting out a howl.”
A flight attendant asked her to move to the front of the plane, and eventually she left, he said. He took a photo of her as she walked past him. “I understand dogs and cats on planes. They come in crates but this was way too big, and it had no container,” he said. “It looked heavy. It was not a tiny, cute little pig.” The passenger was allowed to bring the pig on board as an “emotional support animal” under Department of Transportation (DOT) guidelines. “We follow all DOT guidelines,” Masvidal said. (PTI)
Aarav climbs up UK popular names chart
London: Aarav, an Indian boys’ name, has climbed up the charts of most popular names in the United Kingdom, competing with Mohammed which occupies the top slot. A list of the top 100 baby names for 2014 collated by website BabyCentre reveals a surge in Arabic names and a drop in popularity of George after the birth of Britain’s royal baby last year.
Aarav, which means peaceful, stood out as a popular Indian name for newborns. Sarah Redshaw, managing editor of BabyCentre, said: “Traditionally, Mohammed is often the name given to the first-born boy in Muslim families. “With the increase of other Arabic names plus Aarav, an Indian boys’ name, the top 100 shows the ever-increasing diversity of the UK today.” BabyCentre, which compiles the chart of baby names annually, added that new parents did not want the pressure of having a child with the same name as the new royal prince.
“Kate and William have a lot of attention and parents don’t want to always be asked if they named their baby after Prince George. And now there is a sibling on the way,” added Redshaw. Names of women with royal connections have fared much better in the chart, however, which is compiled from 56,000 names. With the exception of Pippa, which has dropped 15 places, Elizabeth, Catherine and Zara have all moved up.
Sophia, which has risen two places edging out Olivia, was the top name for baby girls this year. For the boys, Muhammad, in its various spellings, is number one, relegating Oliver to second. While Muhammad has risen 27 places, other Arabic favourites, including Omar, Ali and Ibrahim, have all entered the top 100. (PTI)
China launches national traffic management website
Beijing: China’s first nationwide traffic management website was launched Tuesday. Coinciding with the country’s annual Traffic Safety Day, the www.122.cn website will provide real time traffic data to the public which will be particularly useful for private car users, Xinhua reported.
The website will be based on information collected and reported by the nation’s 270,000 traffic policemen and video surveillance records to guarantee better traffic safety.
Commuters can instantly consult with traffic police online and learn about topics and events in traffic control, head of the traffic bureau said.
The traffic department will make policy and enforcement adjustments in line with the suggestions submitted online.
The website will also play a role in road safety education, giving traffic knowledge lectures and safe travel tips to the public, he said.
There was no national official traffic information inquiry website in the past.
Previously, the only option was to log onto local websites or go to the city’s transport administration to inquire on records, causing inconvenience for the public and loopholes for information tampering. (IANS)