JUNE 25TH, 2016 – JULY 2ND, 2016
TURKS & CAICOS SUN
Page 39
WORLD NEWS
UK singer Cliff Richard will not face sex crime charges Singer Cliff Richard, one of Richard, born Harry Webb Britain’s best-known entertainers, in 1940 and who was often called will not face charges over alleged Britain’s Elvis Presley early in his historical sex crimes because there is career, has had 14 No. 1 singles in not enough evidence, prosecutors said Britain. on Thursday. He is the only singer to have Britain’s Crown Prosecution topped the UK singles chart in five Service (CPS) was handed a file of consecutive decades, from the 50s to evidence by police in May relating to the 90s, and was knighted by Queen allegations against Richard, 75. Elizabeth in 1995. “The CPS has carefully With his backing group The reviewed evidence relating to claims Shadows, Richard was one of Britain’s of non-recent sexual offences dating most successful performers in the prebetween 1958 and 1983 made by four Beatles era of the late 1950s and early men,” said Martin Goldman, Chief 1960s. His early hits include “Summer Crown Prosecutor for Yorkshire and Holiday” and “Living Doll.” Humberside. Several British celebrities “We have decided that there is have been convicted of historical sex insufficient evidence to prosecute.” crimes since it was revealed that the Richard has never been late BBC TV presenter Jimmy Savile arrested but twice voluntarily met Singer Cliff Richard performs during the Diamond Jubilee concert in front of Buckingham Palace in was a prolific sex offender. officers from South Yorkshire Police London June 4, 2012 However, others say they after it launched an inquiry in 2014. have been victims of a witch-hunt and The first interview took place “irreparable damage” to the singer’s point,” he added. have faced major investigations even after police raided his home in August reputation. “My reputation will not be though allegations were based on 2014 when he was on holiday. The Richard himself said in a fully vindicated because the CPS’ flimsy evidence. search was filmed by the BBC after statement on Thursday he feared policy is to only say something South Yorkshire Police, which the broadcaster was given advance his reputation would never be fully general about there being ‘insufficient’ carried out the two-year investigation warning. restored. evidence. into Richard at a cost of 800,000 That raid led to criticism “I have always maintained my “Nevertheless, I am obviously pounds ($1.1 million), apologized for from lawmakers who described the co- innocence, co-operated fully with the thrilled that the vile accusations its handling of the “media interest” in operation between the police and the investigation, and cannot understand and the resulting investigation have his case. BBC as “inept” and causing why it has taken so long to get to this finally been brought to a close.”
Florida gator that killed boy likely removed
Lightning Kills Nearly 80 People in 24 Hours in India
Lane Graves, a 2-year-old boy who was grabbed by an alligator in a lagoon at Walt Disney World, is seen in an undated picture from the Orange County Sheriff’s Department in Orlando, Florida The Florida alligator that killed a vacationing 2-year-old boy at Disney World Resort has likely been removed from the area of the attack, authorities said on Wednesday. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said it had suspended trapping activities near where the boy, Lane Graves, of Elkhorn, Nebraska, was attacked last week. The commission “is confident that the alligator responsible for the attack has been removed,” it said in a statement. Trappers have taken six alligators from the area. The alligator snatched the toddler on June 14 as he played at the edge of the Seven Seas Lagoon, a manmade lake at the Walt Disney Co resort. Police divers found Lane’s body underwater the following afternoon, not far from where he was taken. An autopsy found that he died from drowning and traumatic injuries. At the time, the resort had “No Swimming” signs that did not mention alligators. Disney has since installed signs by the lagoon warning guests of alligators and snakes.
A pedestrian walks with an umbrella as lightning strikes during an evening thunderstorm in Jammu, India, on May 14, 2015 Lightning has killed at least 79 people in the past 24 hours in the Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh, mostly farm laborers working in fields, the BBC reports. “Work is work. We can’t stop because of the weather. We have to keep working in the fields,” Lal Babu Usvaha, a farmer from Kanti Butiya village near the city of Muzaffarpur in Bihar, told the Guardian. “But we feel scared when we see so many clouds, so much electricity in the sky.” A majority of the deaths occurred in the eastern state of Bihar, where 57 people died after being struck by lightning, a state official said. At least 24 others were injured when thunderstorms and monsoon rains lashed 14 districts of the state. Rakesh Kumar Singh, the secretary of a Bihar farmers’ collective called Jan Nirman Kendra, told the Guardian that Tuesday’s storm began at about 3 p.m. in the district of Samastipur. “I was driving, and the light in the sky was so bright that I couldn’t see anything,” he said. “But I was too scared to stop, so I kept driving. It was as though there was a war happening in the sky.” Ten people were killed by lightning in
neighboring Jharkhand state, six in northern Uttar Pradesh state, and another in Maharashtra, police said. Bihar disaster management official Vyasji said scores of cattle also perished in the state after being struck by lightning. The dead included at least eight shepherds watching their sheep, said Vyasji, who uses only one name. He told reporters that he expected the death toll to go up as reports come in from remote districts of the state. Lightning strikes are common during India’s monsoon season, which runs from June to September. However, the recent toll is unusually high. At least 2,000 people have died in lightning strikes in India every year since 2005, according to the National Crime Records Bureau. “Lightning strikes are common during monsoons, but there have been more strikes than usual this year,” said Vyas Ji, principal secretary in Bihar, told CNN. By contrast, just six people have died in the United States in all of 2016 from lightning.