Ibiza Sun - Headline UK

Headline UK

Some of the week’s global stories as reported in the UK

Murray Pleas For Freedom
Dr Conrad Murray, who is serving a four-year sentence for involuntary manslaughter over the death of Michael Jackson, last week requested to be released from jail pending his appeal. Dr Murray said he is not a danger to society, will not run off and wants to work to help support his seven children. He has therefore asked to be freed on his own recognisance or on bail with electronic monitoring. His lawyer, J Michael Flanagan, said in a motion Dr Murray knows he cannot work as a physician but would find other employment. He said Dr Murray is being held in solitary confinement and is chained to a table when he meets his lawyers. He added he is deeply sorry for Jackson"s death. Michael Jackson died in June 2009 from an overdose of the anaesthetic propofol administered by Dr Murray. Mr Flanagan admitted his client had made some errors of judgement but said he never intended to harm his patient.
Dr Murray"s appeal is expected to include a claim that Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor should have allowed testimony about Jackson"s financial condition. An appeal hearing has been set for February 24th.

Street Protests In Senegal
A policeman was reported to have been killed at the weekend as protesters took to the streets of Senegal after a court cleared President Abdoulaye Wade"s bid for a third term in office. Senegal"s Constitutional Council, the country"s top court, validated his candidacy and that of 13 rivals for the vote on February 26th. However, it turned down the presidential bid of one of Africa"s biggest music stars, Youssou N"Dour, saying he had not gathered the required 10,000 signatures of support.
Angry youths on the streets of Dakar reportedly burned tyres and brandished rocks as a mass gathering turned violent in the capital. Police officers were seen using tear gas in retaliation to protesters hurling stones. The June 23 Movement (M23) of opposition against Mr Wade"s candidacy, which called Friday"s rally, appealed to Senegalese people to march on the presidential palace in downtown Dakar. Spokesman Abdoul Aziz Diop said the M23 "calls on the Senegalese people to mobilise and march on the Presidential Palace and remove Wade, who is squatting there". Senegal is the only country in mainland West Africa to have not had a coup since the end of the colonial era.

Police Officer Arrested In News International Enquiry
In the UK a serving police officer was amongst four men arrested as part of an investigation into inappropriate payments to police last week. The 29-year-old policeman was detained at the station in central London where he works. He was arrested on suspicion of corruption, misconduct in a public office and conspiracy in relation to the alleged offences. The other three men, two aged 48, the other 56, were held after raids on their homes in Essex and north London. All four suspects were arrested by officers from Operation Elveden, which is running alongside the Operation Weeting phone-hacking inquiry. The home addresses of those arrested were being searched as well as the offices of News International in Wapping, East London. The arrests followed information given to police by the Management and Standards Committee of News Corporation, News International"s parent company. Scotland Yard said the information related to suspected payments to police officers and was "not about seeking journalists to reveal confidential sources in relation to information that has been obtained legitimately". Operation Elveden was launched after police were handed documents suggesting News International journalists had made illegal payments to officers.

Russia Won’t Back UN Over Syrian Sanctions
The UN Security Council faced opposition from Russia, last week over a new resolution against Syria. Russia’s UN ambassador was reported to have said the new draft "crosses our red lines". Vitaly Churkin said the new Arab and European proposal, which was submitted officially by Morocco, was trying "to impose an outside solution" to the conflict in Syria. "The Arab League may have its ideas where political dialogue should go," he said. "Certainly they are free to express those ideas but the Security Council should not be a tool to impose specific solutions on countries, including, in this particular case, Syria." Along with China, Russia exercised its veto in October following the last European draft which would have meant "targeted measures" against Syrian President Bashar al Assad. Britain, which crafted the resolution with France and consultation from Qatar, Morocco, Germany and the United States, emphasised its commitment to the resolution, with the UK"s ambassador to the UN saying "the time has come" to support the Arab League. Russia"s exception to the resolution concerns fears over an arms embargo which would threaten its multi-billion dollar arms trade with its Cold War ally. Earlier this month, Moscow was criticised amid reports of an arms shipment to the troubled Arab country. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the death toll in recent days has topped 100, as Aleppo, the country"s second city, reported its first protest-related deaths with a car bomb in the north of the city. Fears of sectarian divides and civil war intensified after a Sunni family of 11 were reportedly executed in their home by a group of Alawi militiamen. "It is racial cleansing," one Homs resident said. "They are killing people because of their sect."

Miaow Leg Room Purrlease
A flight was held up for four hours at the weekend when a cat escaped from its carrying case and ran amok in the cockpit. Nervous flyer, Ripples, got free when her carrier was accidentally opened by a passenger trying to put luggage in an overhead compartment. Her dash for freedom on Air Canada Flight 603 from Halifax to Toronto left cabin crew and passengers scouring the plane, while her owner repeatedly called out to her. Air Canada does allow small pets in the cabin, but stipulates only that the animal must fit and "stay comfortably" in its carrier, which, in turn, must fit under the seat. A fellow passenger told TV reporters that a flight attendant announced they were looking for a cat, apologising to passengers. He added: "Then the engine turned off and the whole power on the plane turned off, and they said they were doing this to calm the cat.” Ripples was eventually found, and once the plane had been checked for any damage to cables, the flight got on its way.

K.Holmes