Man accused of burying girlfriend’s brother alive

By Calvin Palmer
A Russian man has been charged with murdering his girlfriend’s brother by burying him alive at a cemetery in Stavropol.
The 20-year-old, from the Kirov region, had found out that the brother had been beating his sister and mother, a senior investigator said.
He is believed to have driven his alleged victim to a cemetery, [...]

Teacher violated First Amendment in calling creationism ‘nonsense’

By Calvin Palmer
A federal judge has ruled that a history teacher at a Southern California public high school violated the First Amendment when he called creationism “superstitious nonsense” during a classroom lecture.
U.S. District Judge James Selna issued the ruling on Friday after a 16-month legal battle between Capistrano Valley High School student Chad Farnan and [...]

Markoff to face charges over attempted robbery of stripper in Rhode Island

By Calvin Palmer
The man accused of killing a masseuse at a Boston hotel after he met her through an advert on Craigslist will be charged in connection with the attempted robbery of a Las Vegas stripper at a Rhode Island hotel.
Philip Markoff, 23, is charged with assault to commit a robbery, assault with a dangerous [...]

French yacht skipper ‘killed by special forces’ during rescue from pirates

By Calvin Palmer
The French skipper of a yacht captured by Somali pirates was shot by French commandos during the rescue operation last month, according to a radio report today.
Florent Lemaçon was hit by a bullet when the commandos stormed the Tanit on April 10 to free him, his wife, three-year-old son and two friends.
It was unclear [...]

Zinkhan’s passport found in his Jeep

By Calvin Palmer
Police believe the University of Georgia professor suspected of killing three people is still in the country.
Athens-Clarke County Police Capt. Clarence Holeman confirmed today that George Zinkhan’s passport was found inside his wrecked Jeep Liberty.
The passport was among a number of items police removed on Friday from the vehicle, which had been found [...]

Economic downturn for Europe much worse than first thought

By Calvin Palmer
The economic downturn in Europe will be twice as deep as previously forecast with the 16 euro-zone economies shrinking 4 percent this year and unemployment reaching over 11 per cent, according to figures from the European Commission.
The economic contraction is double the level estimated just four months ago.
Unemployment is expected to rise to [...]

Chinese officials told to smoke their way out of recession

By Calvin Palmer
Local government officials in a Chinese province have been ordered to smoke nearly a quarter of a million packs of locally made cigarettes or risk being fined.
The Gong’an county government in Hubei province has ordered its staff to smoke 230,000 packs of Hubei-produced cigarette brands a year to boost tax revenues and protect [...]

Family held at gunpoint in Houston apartment

By Calvin Palmer
An armed man held a family at gunpoint in their Houston apartment overnight before fleeing through a back window.
Stephanie Montgomery, 38, said it was about 1:00 a.m. when her visiting brother began ranting and threatening her and three children — her own 11-year-old and 10-year-old sons and the suspect’s two-month-old son.
“I don’t know [...]

Boy, 13, escapes from house as father kills wife, two children and himself

By Calvin Palmer
A 13-year-old boy ran through the garage of his Florida home in order to escape the murderous clutches of his father who had already killed his wife and two other children.
As the boy ran to the safety of a neighbor’s house, evading several shots, his father walked to the front yard and shot [...]

Police arrest suspect in poisoning of five people at Vienna bar

By Calvin Palmer
Five people are in hospital with a life-threatening condition after being offered spiked drinks by a man at a crowded bar in Austria yesterday.
Authorities were called to the bar in the Alsergrund district of Vienna when customers at an ice-cream café across the street saw the five victims fall to the ground, said police [...]