1. law, govt and politics
2. government

RLD
Gulf Daily News Saturday, 8th November 2014
Charge against AC/DC
drummer is dropped
17
WELLINGTON: A New Zealand
Neill is displayed at the National
and Museum in New York
of the organisation describes his
career as a SEAL, but makes no
mention of a role in killing Bin
Laden.
Bissonnette’s lawyer, Robert
Luskin, acknowledged that Bissonnette for some time had been
under criminal investigation by
both the Naval Criminal Investigation Service and the Justice Department for possible violations
of a US espionage law because
he did not seek official clearance
before publishing his book.
Bissonnette denies wrongdoing.
Jihadists were reported to
have swiftly issued a death threat
against O’Neill.
prosecutor yesterday dropped a
charge against AC/DC drummer
Phil Rudd that he attempted to
procure the murder of two people, but Rudd still faces charges
of threatening to kill.
One day after Rudd was arrested and charged with attempting
to procure murder, threatening
to kill and possession of narcotics, a New Zealand government
prosecutor said the most serious
charge had been dropped because of a lack of evidence.
“There was insufficient evidence to proceed with the charge
of attempting to procure murder,” prosecuting lawyer Greg
Hollister-Jones said in a statement.
Rudd’s lawyer said police did
not consult the prosecutor before
laying the charge of attempting
to procure the murder of two
people in Tauranga, a city on
New Zealand’s North Island.
“The charge alleging an attempt to procure murder should
never have been laid,” Paul
Mabey said.
Mabey said Rudd had suffered
“incalculable” damage from unnecessary and damaging publicity arising from the arrest, and
reporting of a serious allegation,
which was never justified”.
He said the 60-year-old
n Mujica flashes a thumbs-up as he and his wife ride away in the
Beetle from their home in Montevideo
A million dollars for
Volkswagen Beetle
MONTEVIDEO: A million dollars for
n Rudd looks out of a window of his house in Tauranga
Rudd, who is on bail to reappear at the end of the month,
would defend the charge of
threatening to kill, which has
a maximum sentence of seven
years in prison. Mabey said the
drug charges were minor offences.
The Australian-born Rudd has
lived in the seaside city, about
200km southeast of New Zealand’s biggest city Auckland,
since he was sacked from the
band in 1983.
He rejoined AC/DC in 1994,
n A SpiceJet
flight takes off
but has remained in New Zealand, where he owns a restaurant.
He was convicted and fined
for possessing cannabis in 2010.
AC/DC is due to officially
launch their first album in more
than five years – Rock or Bust –
on December 2.
In a statement after Rudd’s
arrest, the band said his absence would not affect the album’s release or a planned tour
next year.
OW
N
T
OU
ed to
liver
e
d
o
Als
all
Decorated
The former commando said he
decided to come forward ahead
of planned media appearances next week when his identity
was to be disclosed by SOFREP,
a website operated by former
SEALs.
The highly decorated Montana native said that he was near
the head of the column of US
soldiers that raided Bin Laden’s
compound.
SITE, which monitors jihadists websites and media, said
calls have now been issued for
the killing of O’Neill.
In postings on Twitter and the
Al Minbar Jihadi Media forum,
jihadists distributed pictures of
O’Neill and messages in Arabic and English addressing lone
wolves to take revenge.
O’Neill is set to appear in a
documentary on the Fox network
next week.
Plane crashes into
buffalo on runway
NEW DELHI: An Indian airlin-
er crashed into a stray buffalo
during take-off from the western city of Surat although no
passengers or crew were hurt,
the plane’s operator, SpiceJet,
said yesterday.
The airline was forced to
ground the Boeing 737 which
suffered “substantial damages”,
it said.
SpiceJet said the buffalo,
which was killed in the accident on Thursday evening, was
“essentially invisible” against a
dark background. Passengers on
the Delhi-bound aircraft were
transferred on to another plane,
SpiceJet said.
“Stray animals are a growing menace in some airports,”
SpiceJet said in a statement.
“This incident has affected our regular operations and
hence SpiceJet flights from Surat will now be suspended after
this incident.”
Poorly maintained fences at
some Indian airports mean animals can stray onto runways.
Historic win for cross-dressers
KUALA LUMPUR: Three Malaysian transgenders
yesterday won a landmark court ruling against a
religious law banning them from cross-dressing in
what activists called a victory for human rights in a
conservative Southeast Asian nation.
A three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals
unanimously ruled that the Shariah law in Negeri
Sembilan state was discriminatory as it failed to
recognise men diagnosed with gender identity issues. It said the law deprived transgenders of “the
right to live with dignity.”
“This is degrading, oppressive and inhumane,” said
judge Mohamad Hishammuddin Mohamad Yunus.
Hishammuddin said the Islamic law was aimed
a Volkswagen Beetle?
That’s the price an Arab shaikh
has offered Uruguay’s famously
frugal President Jose Mujica
for his sky blue 1987 bug.
According to the weekly Busqueda
magazine, the offer was made
at a G77 and China summit
earlier this year in Santa Cruz,
Bolivia.
Apparently it’s not the first time
a potential buyer has shown
interest in the presidential
vehicle, which Mujica drove
to the polls to cast his ballot
in the October 26 presidential
election.
“They made me an offer,” said
Mujica, 79. “I was a bit surprised, and I really didn’t pay
too much attention to it.
at curbing homosexual and lesbian activities that
led to the spread of HIV. The present case “has
nothing to do with homosexuality,” but was about
men with a medical condition, he added.
A lower court dismissed the case in 2012, saying
the three must adhere to Islamic law because they
were Muslim and born male. The three, who have
been certified by doctors to have gender identity
issues, appealed the decision.
Lawyer Aston Paiva said the ruling will have
wide implications. It sets a precedent for high
courts, which must follow the ruling if other transgenders challenge similar Islamic law in other
states, he said, calling the case “historic.”
rs
cribe
subs
Comprehensive.
Authoritative.
Informative.
Turkey’s southern push
gies
Middle East telecoms strate
Emirates’ African safari
SMEs
Bahrain: new reality for
Ras al Khaimah economy
NOVEMBER 2014
“But later, another offer came in,
and I began to take it a little
more seriously,” he said.
“In any case, if it does happen,
all the money would be for the
‘Plan Juntos’ or something else
at the service of Uruguay,” he
said.
Plan Juntos is a government
programme that builds housing
for the poor.
A former leftist guerilla, Mujica is
known for the modest lifestyle
he has maintained, even as
president.
Remarkable for his simple lifestyle and unceremoniousness,
“Pepe”, as Mujica is known,
has made headlines by legalising marijuana, abortion and
gay marriage during his presidency, which ends next year.
www.theg ulfonline. com
Issue 141 | Volume 7
Hazy outlook
prices?
How will Oman handle lower oil
.....2.500 dinars
Bahrain ......................................
.............. 50 yuan
China ......................................
................. 4.25 euro
EU ......................................
....50 dollars
Hong Kong ......................................
......1.750 dinars
Kuwait ......................................
...........2.50 riyals
Oman ......................................
..............25 riyals
Qatar ......................................
....25 riyals
Saudi Arabia ......................................
6,000 copies
carried in Premium Cabins on Gulf Air / Emirates Airlines /
Etihad Airways / Oman Air / Qatar Airways
14,000 average monthly copies
10.50 dollars
Singapore .....................................
............ 25 dirhams
UAE ......................................
............3.25 pounds
UK ......................................
..............6.75 dollars
US ......................................
Your single source for Gulf
business and regional
economic news.
Subscribe today to receive
12 issues of cutting edge
information and in-depth
analysis, as well as unrestricted
access to extensive archives
and new content on
thegulfonline.com
Stay informed with the latest
features, opinion, tenders and
projects news from across the
region.
To advertise in the magazine call +973 1729 3131
mobile: +973 39113345 or
e-mail david.beckett@tradearabia.net or
Internationally +44 208 943 3630 or
e-mail NHorne@crescentpublishing.co.uk
To subscribe, go to www.thegulfonline.com
Member of:
Your essential
monthly read
Al Hilal Group, P.O. Box 1100, Manama, Bahrain
T: +973 1729 3131 F: +973 1729 5735
e-mail: hilalsubscribe@tradearabia.net