Today in the news:
– Italian ex-PM Berlusconi sentenced in Ruby sex case
– Russia rejects US demand for Snowden’s extradition
– and JFK did it again, $1.2 million go missing from Swissair jet after a JFK pitstop
Italy’s former PM Silvio Berlusconi has been sentenced to seven years in jail and banned from public office for having sex with an underage prostitute. But, as you may have guessed, Mr Berlusconi remains a free man while he appeals against the Milan court ruling. Both the 76-year-old media tycoon and the Moroccan woman concerned, Karima El Mahroug, deny they had sex. This latest verdict ends a two-year trial which has frequently made the headlines, with its allegations of topless women and erotic party games. Mr Berlusconi was convicted of paying for sex with Ms El Mahroug, known as “Ruby the Heart Stealer”, in 2010, even though she was 17 at the time. Ms El Mahroug was one of a group of women invited to Mr Berlusconi’s private residence for so-called “bunga-bunga” party evenings. Mr Berlusconi insists the alleged sex parties were actually dinners where female guests performed “burlesque” dancing.
Russia’s foreign minister rejected U.S. demands to extradite NSA Whistleblower Edward Snowden headon, saying that Snowden hadn’t crossed the Russian border. Sergey Lavrov insisted that Russia has nothing to do with Snowden or his travel plans. Lavrov wouldn’t say where Snowden is, but he lashed out angrily at Washington for demanding his extradition and warning of negative consequences if Moscow fails to comply. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is urging Moscow to “do the right thing” and turn over Snowden. U.S. and Ecuadorean officials said they believed Snowden was still in Russia. He fled there on Sunday from Hong Kong, where he had been hiding out since his disclosure of the broad scope of two highly classified U.S. counterterror surveillance programs. The programs collect vast amounts of Americans’ phone records and worldwide online data in the name of national security. A representative of WikiLeaks has been traveling with Snowden, and the organization is believed to be assisting him in arranging asylum.
Port Authority detectives and FBI agents last night were investigating after $1.2 million in cash was stolen from a Swissair jet that had landed at JFK. The theft was discovered after the plane arrived yesterday. It was not disclosed who the money was meant for or why it was being sent. But when representatives for the recipient opened the exterior of a cargo container, they found that a smaller receptacle had been emptied. The largest cash heist in JFK Airport history occurred on Dec. 11, 1978, when an estimated $5 million was swiped at the Lufthansa Airlines terminal. It was, at the time, also the largest cash theft on US soil, and you can watch this in a good documentary film called Goodfellas!
Today in the news:
– Italian ex-PM Berlusconi sentenced in Ruby sex case
– Russia rejects US demand for Snowden’s extradition
– and JFK did it again, $1.2 million go missing from Swissair jet after a JFK pitstop
Italy’s former PM Silvio Berlusconi has been sentenced to seven years in jail and banned from public office for having sex with an underage prostitute. But, as you may have guessed, Mr Berlusconi remains a free man while he appeals against the Milan court ruling. Both the 76-year-old media tycoon and the Moroccan woman concerned, Karima El Mahroug, deny they had sex. This latest verdict ends a two-year trial which has frequently made the headlines, with its allegations of topless women and erotic party games. Mr Berlusconi was convicted of paying for sex with Ms El Mahroug, known as “Ruby the Heart Stealer”, in 2010, even though she was 17 at the time. Ms El Mahroug was one of a group of women invited to Mr Berlusconi’s private residence for so-called “bunga-bunga” party evenings. Mr Berlusconi insists the alleged sex parties were actually dinners where female guests performed “burlesque” dancing.
Russia’s foreign minister rejected U.S. demands to extradite NSA Whistleblower Edward Snowden headon, saying that Snowden hadn’t crossed the Russian border. Sergey Lavrov insisted that Russia has nothing to do with Snowden or his travel plans. Lavrov wouldn’t say where Snowden is, but he lashed out angrily at Washington for demanding his extradition and warning of negative consequences if Moscow fails to comply. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is urging Moscow to “do the right thing” and turn over Snowden. U.S. and Ecuadorean officials said they believed Snowden was still in Russia. He fled there on Sunday from Hong Kong, where he had been hiding out since his disclosure of the broad scope of two highly classified U.S. counterterror surveillance programs. The programs collect vast amounts of Americans’ phone records and worldwide online data in the name of national security. A representative of WikiLeaks has been traveling with Snowden, and the organization is believed to be assisting him in arranging asylum.
Port Authority detectives and FBI agents last night were investigating after $1.2 million in cash was stolen from a Swissair jet that had landed at JFK. The theft was discovered after the plane arrived yesterday. It was not disclosed who the money was meant for or why it was being sent. But when representatives for the recipient opened the exterior of a cargo container, they found that a smaller receptacle had been emptied. The largest cash heist in JFK Airport history occurred on Dec. 11, 1978, when an estimated $5 million was swiped at the Lufthansa Airlines terminal. It was, at the time, also the largest cash theft on US soil, and you can watch this in a good documentary film called Goodfellas!