World
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2016
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Murder accused ‘sexually assaulted’ HONG KONG―The British banker accused of murdering two Indonesian women in his upscale Hong Kong apartment is a narcissistic sexual sadist who had been abused at school, a court heard Monday. Rurik Jutting, a 31-yearold Cambridge graduate, has pleaded not guilty to murder but guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility. The prosecution rejected the lesser plea. Jutting is accused of murdering Sumarti Ningsih, 23, and Seneng Mujiasih, 26, two years ago, slashing their throats after saying he would pay them for sex. He tortured Ningsih inside his apartment for three days before killing her and stuffing her body in a suitcase found on his balcony. As the trial entered its second week, the defense said Jutting suffered from narcissistic personality disorder and sexual sadism disorder, as well as heavy use of cocaine and alcohol. He had also experienced bouts of depression and suicidal thoughts, the court heard. Forensic psychiatrist Richard Latham, called as a defense witness, said Jutting had told him he was abused at the renowned English private school Winchester College. A report from Latham read out in court said a boy had forced Jutting to perform oral sex on him at school. “He described it in a way that he was a victim of sexual assault,” Latham said. Latham said people with narcissistic personality disorder had problems empathizing with others and sought constant praise. “When that breaks down the consequence is dramatic,” Latham told the court. AFP
China unveils stealth fighter ZHUHAI―China’s newest warplane, the J-20 stealth fighter, will make its first public flight at the Zhuhai Air Show, its manufacturer announced Monday, as Beijing flexes its long-range military muscles. The J-20, “which military enthusiasts at home and abroad have watched closely”, will make its first public flight demonstration, said Tan Ruisong, the president of China’s state aerospace company AVIC. China trailed the world in aerospace technology 20 years ago, he told a press conference, but was now at the leading edge. Swift, stealthy, and armed with long-range missiles, the new J20s represent a leap forward in China’s ability to project power in Asia and compete in capabilities with the United States. Beijing is seeking to modernize and upgrade its military both to protect its borders and project power into regions such as the South China Sea, a resource-rich waterway where it has disputes with several neighbors. China’s only international aerospace exhibition, held biennially in the southern city of Zhuhai, this year boasts its largest-ever display of military hardware and aircraft, with 11 exhibition halls, 430,000 square meters of indoor and outdoor viewing area, and 151 aircraft from 700 exhibitors from 42 countries and regions. The show will also see the debut of the Y-20 transport aircraft, which can move heavy loads and carry out airlifts to assist military activities. Chinese-made military assault vehicles, anti-aircraft missile systems, drones and fighter jets stood on display outside the exhibition center. AVIC chief Tan said his company had business in 80 countries and territories, with annual overseas sales exceeding 80 billion yuan ($11.8 billion). AFP
AFTER THE FESTIVAL. Indian Sadhus or holy men queue to receive blankets during a Sadhu congregation following the Diwali Festival in Amritsar on October 31,2016. Thousands of Sadhus and Sadhvis, female Sadhus, took part in the annual congregation. Sadhus occupy a unique and important place in Hindu society, particularly in villages and small towns more closely tied to traditions. Usually traveling from place to place as they often don’t have a residence, Sadhus live on donations and offerings. AFP
Moroccans mourn crushed fish seller
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L HOCEIMA―Thousands of Moroccans Sunday attended the funeral of a fishmonger whose gruesome death in a rubbish truck crusher has caused outrage across the North African country, with authorities vowing to punish those responsible.
Mouhcine Fikri, 31, was crushed to death on Friday in the truck in the northern city of AlHoceima as he reportedly tried to protest against a municipal worker seizing and destroying his wares. An image of his inert body― head and arm sticking out from under the lorry’s crushing mechanism―went viral on social media, sparking calls for protests nationwide including in the capital
Rabat. Footage online showed thousands of people following the yellow ambulance that carried Fikri’s body through Al-Hoceima in the ethnically Berber Rif region on Sunday. Interior Minister Mohamed Hassad condemned the incident and vowed that an investigation would be held to “determine the exact circumstances of the tragedy and punish those responsible”.
“No one had the right to treat him like this... We cannot accept officials acting in haste, anger or in conditions that do not respect people’s rights,” he told AFP. The funeral procession was led by a dozen drivers in their cars― including taxis―and marchers waving Berber flags. The ambulance headed to the area of Imzouren some 20 kilometers southeast of the city, where Fikri was buried in the late afternoon. The circumstances of his death remained unclear. But a human rights activist told AFP that the authorities forced the fishmonger to destroy several boxes of swordfish. Catching swordfish using drift nets is illegal. “The goods were worth a lot of money,” said Fassal Aoussar from
the local branch of the Moroccan Association of Human Rights. “The salesman threw himself in after his fish and was crushed by the machine,” he said. “The whole of the Rif is in shock and boiling over.” Long neglected under the father of the current king, the Rif was at the heart of Morocco’s protest movement for change in 2011, dubbed the February 20 movement. Protests continued in Al-Hoceima late Sunday, an AFP reporter said, with protesters shouting: “Criminals, assassins, terrorists!” “The people of the Rif won’t be humiliated!” The crowd eventually dispersed around 2130 GMT without incident. Thousands of demonstrators― including activists for Berber
rights–also gathered in Rabat, chanting “We are all Mouhcine!”. Smaller protests were held in several other Rif towns and, unusually, in Casablanca and Marrakesh. In a statement on Sunday, the AMDH condemned the state for “having trampled on the dignity of citizens since the ferocious repression of the February 20 movement and keeping the region in a state of tension”. It warned of a “possible repeat” of the 2011 protests in the Rif, just a week before Morocco starts hosting international climate talks. King Mohammed VI has ordered a “thorough and exhaustive investigation” into Fikri’s death and the “prosecution of whoever is found responsible”, an interior ministry statement said. AFP
Clinton parries email fallout as polls narrow
HALLOWEEN. This photo taken on October 29, 2016, shows people wearing costumes of US presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump as they take part in a Halloween parade in Tokyo. Tokyo nursed a giant pumpkin-sized hangover on October 31 after a weekend of Halloween revelry that saw blood-spattered ghouls, fluffy animals and ‘terrifying’ presidential candidates cut loose. AFP
FORT LAUDERDALE―Hillary Clinton battled to contain renewed FBI focus on her emails Sunday as Donald Trump blitzed western states in the tightening race for the White House. Nine days before the vote, the 69-year-old former secretary of state hit the campaign trail hard in the battleground state of Florida. Clinton blazed through brunch at an Irish pub, an African-American Baptist church, a soul food restaurant, an early voting site and a rally at a gay nightclub. Much of her two-day visit to the Sunshine State focused on encouraging early voting. Clinton says a record 200 million Americans have registered to vote, 20 million of whom have already done so. But her campaign was jolted when FBI boss James Comey announced Friday that his agents are reviewing a newly discovered trove of emails, resurrecting an issue Clinton had hoped was behind her. The nominee’s response has been to hit out at Comey’s move as “deeply troubling” and to rally supporters to get out and vote, turning the tables on Trump by branding him as unfit to lead the nation. “When you’re knocked down, what matters is whether you get up again,” she told a packed LGBT rally at a gay nightclub in Wilton Manors, just outside Fort Lauderdale. “With Donald, it’s always Donald Trump first and everyone else last. He abuses his power, he games the system and doesn’t care who is
left holding the bag,” she added. Allegations Clinton put the United States at risk by using a private email server while secretary of state were thrust back into the spotlight Friday when Comey revealed a renewed FBI probe into the matter based on a previously unknown trove of emails. Trump―himself under fire for alleged sexual impropriety and facing misconduct allegations from 12 women―has gleefully seized upon Comey’s move in an attempt to offset his own trailing in most polls. The Republican campaigned hard Sunday, attending church in Las Vegas, before leading three rallies in Nevada, Colorado and Albuquerque, New Mexico, whipping up his support base against Clinton. “We all know about Hillary’s mounting legal troubles, that she has brought onto herself with her serial, willful, purposeful and deliberate criminal conduct,” he told the crowed in New Mexico. “Hillary Clinton is not the victim, you the American people are the victims of this corrupt system in every single way and folks this is your last chance to save it,” he said to chants of “lock her up.” The 70-year-old tycoon repeatedly has described her email issue as “the single biggest scandal since Watergate” -- the wrongdoing that brought down Republican president Richard Nixon in 1974. AFP