Briefs, December 7, 2012
NEW YORK - A New York man was charged with murder for pushing a subway rider onto the tracks as a train pulled in. The tragedy has traumatised witnesses and raised questions about why nobody rushed to the victim's aid. Naeem Davis, 30, was charged on Wednesday with one count of second-degree murder and one count of second-degree murder with depraved indifference. Reuters
LONDON - Local authorities rejected a plan to turn the former site of a chemical plant, about 1.6 kilometres from London's Olympic Park, into a mosque more than three times the size of St Paul's Cathedral. The Newham borough council denied permission for the 6.2 hectare development, saying the planned mosque would be so big that it would affect historic buildings in the area, increase road traffic and expose people to contamination from the site's previous use. Bloomberg
SAN FRANCISCO - Games-software publisher Activision Blizzard said sales of its video game rocketed to the US$1 billion mark just 15 days after its release. The achievement was two days faster than 3-D film blockbuster , which set a box-office record after its release in 2009. Since the latest instalment of the game emerged on November 13, players using Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 consoles have racked up more than 150 million hours battling with or against one another online. AFP
LONDON - Aircraft and marine engine-maker Rolls-Royce said it had passed information to Britain's Serious Fraud Office, which is investigating alleged bribery and corruption in Indonesia and China. Rolls-Royce said the investigation could lead to prosecutions of individuals and the company itself. It added that the office was looking into dealings with intermediaries. AP
LONDON - The pregnant Duchess of Cambridge left a London hospital yesterday after four days of treatment for acute morning sickness. The former Kate Middleton posed briefly for a photo with her husband, Prince William, before leaving King Edward VII Hospital. AP
States agree on plan to ban far-right party
BERLIN - The heads of Germany's 16 federal states unanimously agreed yesterday to push ahead with a legal bid to ban the far-right National Democratic Party despite reservations from Chancellor Angela Merkel. The agreement follows a similar recommendation by regional interior ministers on Wednesday. The Bundesrat upper house, which represents the federal states, will vote on December 14 on whether to file a case with the Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe. Reuters
Russian television presenter shot dead
MOSCOW - A television presenter in Russia's volatile North Caucasus has been shot dead in what investigators said may be a warning to journalists reporting on an Islamist insurgency. Kazbek Gekkiyev, 28, who worked for a local channel of Russian state broadcaster VGTRK, was killed in Nalchik, capital of Kabardino-Balkaria province. Reuters
China helps fund new Costa Rica Chinatown
SAN JOSE - Costa Rica has opened the world's newest Chinatown, thanks to a million-dollar donation from China. The Central American nation's capital, San Jose, is the new home of the 650-metre area lined with shops decorated with symbols of Chinese culture. The Chinese government paid for half of the project's US$2 million-price tag, according to its architect Mariano Urena.
AFP
Base jumper dies after Grand Canyon plunge
PHOENIX - A Norwegian man plunged about 1,000 feet to his death when his parachute failed to open after he struck a vertical cliff and spiralled out of control during a recreational base jump near the Grand Canyon. Eiliv Ruud, 37, was with two other base jumpers from Norway who were planning to jump at Salt Trail Canyon, in northern Arizona, on Tuesday.
Reuters
