Points system

After first paying visa fees and a $5,000(£2,530) fine – and returning to their home

country – illegal immigrants in the US would be eligible for the planned “Z visa”.

Holders of this proposed visa would have to wait between eight and 13 years for a decision on their permanent residency application.

Another key component of the deal was the establishment of a “points system” that would emphasize new immigrants’ education, language and job skills over family connections in awarding green cards.

New limits would also apply to US citizens bringing foreign-born parents into the country.

The bill also establishes a two-year temporary guest worker visa.

Holders of this visa would be allowed to renew their papers twice, but would have to return home for a year between each stint, and would have virtually no chance of gaining permanent residency or citizenship under this program.

But these measures would not come into force until the number of border guards had been doubled, the fence with Mexico reinforced and high-tech enforcement measures put in place.

“The agreement we just reached is the best possible chance we will have in years to secure our borders and bring millions of people out of the shadows and into the sunshine of America”, Mr. Kennedy said as he announced the deal.

“Deadline”

The bill expected to cause passionate debate in the Senate next week.

And in the House of Representatives Mr. Bush is likely to have quite a fight on his hands, says the BBC’s James Coomarasamy in Washington.

Immigration reform has been one of Mr. Bush’s top priorities in government, after the so-called “war on terror”.

Many potential immigrants die on the perilous border crossing – often due to extreme thirst, although the threat of vigilante attacks is also rising.

President Bush has said he wants to see new legislation in place by the end of this year

Analysts say the issue could stall if it drags on into 2008, when attention will turn to presidential elections.

Text 3.8 Prosecutors charge disgraced cloning scientist

Agencies

Friday May 12, 2006

South Korea’s disgraced cloning scientist Hwang Woo-suk was today charged with fraud, embezzlement and violating bioethics laws with his now-discredited stem cell research.

State prosecutors have been investigating Dr Hwang since January after the university where he once worked said his team deliberately fabricated key data in two research papers.

The world’s scientific community was shocked by revelations that his groundbreaking work – such as producing stem cell lines from cloned human embryos – had been found to be fake.

Today’s formal indictments are a new low for Dr Hwang, who was once a national hero in South Korea.

Among today’s charges were allegations he used millions of pounds in research grants for private purposes.

However, prosecutors said they did accept one key argument Dr Hwang used in his defense, that some of his claims were due to a junior researcher deceiving him into believing his lab successfully created patient-specific stem cells from cloned embryos.

The prosecutors added, however, that Dr Hwang compounded this alleged fraud by fabricating further research.

Senior prosecution official Lee In-kyu announced the indictments of Dr Hwang and five members of his research team during a nationally televised news conference.

Mr. Lee said prosecutors had decided not to take any of them into custody at his stage, although he did not elaborate on the reasons for this.

Dr Hwang was fired in March from his post as a professor at Seoul National University’s veterinary department after admitting he fabricated data for two papers published in academic journals in 2004 and 2005.

Their claims of advanced in embryonic stem cells – basic human cells that can develop into nearly any kind of tissue – had offered hope of new treatments for millions of patients suffering from debilitating diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

Creating patient-specific stem cells, with a patient’s own DNA, would be a key breakthrough because they could theoretically be used for treatments to replace sick cells with the assurance that they would not be rejected by the body.

Dr Hwang was also charged with fraud for accepting 2 billion won (£1.1m) in private donations based on the outcome of the falsified research, Mr. Lee said.

He is suspected of using part of the funds to purchase human eggs – in violation of a bioethics law that went into effect in 2005 – and for donations to politicians who approved state grants he was awarded. Contravening bioethics laws can result in up to three years in prison.

Mr. Lee, speaking at prosecutors’ officers in southern Seoul, said Dr Hwang also embezzled about 800 million won (£450,000) in private and government research funds. Misuse of state funds carries penalties of up to 10 years in prison.

Dr Hwang is alleged to have used some of the money awarded for his research to buy a car.

Prosecutors said Dr Hwang had falsified his research papers, but decided not to charge him for that, because “there has been no precedent in the world” of bringing criminal charges for fabricating academic papers.

Of the five researchers, one was indicted for tampering with research samples, three for fraud and one for violation of the bioethics law. At the prosecutor’s office, around two dozen people staged a rally in support of Dr Hwang, calling for him to continue his research.

Text 3.9 “Mom, Mom, Mom, it’s not right”. After a day at home, Paris Hilton is back in jail

· Judge rules celebrity must serve entire sentence

· Media circus follows star on journey to courtroom

Dan Glaister in Los Angeles

Saturday June 9, 2007

Sobbing, handcuffed and wearing no make-up, the socialite and heiress Paris Hilton was sent back to jail yesterday to complete her 45-day sentence for driving while her licence had been suspended.

Hilton, 26, screamed “It’s not right”, and cried “Mom, Mom, Mom” to her mother seated behind her in court as she was led away by sheriff’s deputies.

Her departure to the Twin Towers correctional facility ended – at least for the time being – the latest episode in the bizarre world of celebrity justice.

The Hilton courtroom fiasco takes its place in the pantheon of celebrity mishaps alongside OJ Simpson’s slow – motion ride in a Ford Bronco and Michael Jackson dancing on a car roof outside a courthouse.

The ruling by Judge Michael Sauer, who sentenced Hilton a month ago, was the culmination of a frantic and sometimes surreal morning in Los Angeles which began with photographers and news crews gathered outside Hilton’s red tiled villa on King’s Road in the heart of Hollywood, just off Sunset Boulevard. They were awaiting her departure for a 9am hearing that had been ordered by Judge Sauer following her “reassignment” from jail to house arrest on Thursday.

Judge Sauer had not approved the move and the prosecuting attorney opposed the change.

But the sheriff’s department, which takes charge of prisoners while they serve their sentence, agreed she could serve out the remainder of her sentence at home wearing an electronic ankle bracelet.

The turf war between the judge, the sheriff and the city attorney resulted in yesterday’s hearing. But early in the morning a court official announced that Hilton would participate in the hearing by phone from her home. Judge Sauer was not amused, and ordered sheriff’s deputies to bring her to court.

They arrived at Hilton’s home almost an hour after the hearing was scheduled to begin. A plane circled over the house towing a We Love Paris banner, while the gates of her home were festooned with pink balloons left by a well-wisher.

Helicopters circled overhead, anticipating Hilton’s journey to the downtown courthouse.

At the court, lawyers and reporters from the OJ trial greeted each other, aware that, in the words of one cable news anchor, they were once again at the center of “the story that has transfixed all of America”.

Almost another hour passed before Hilton emerged from the house, helicopter shots showing her dressed in baggy clothing, hugging her parents before being handcuffed and placed in the back of a police cruiser.

And so she set off down King’s Road, across Sunset Boulevard and towards the court in downtown Los Angeles, 14 miles away, crying in the back of a black and white police cruiser.

Initially, as it pushed through the throng of the media, the car was pursued by sprinting paparazzi. Eventually they gave up the chase, and the journey of Los Angeles sheriff department vehicle 865 was relayed from the air, a Hollywood shot reminiscent of the OJ chase along the freeways through Los Angeles.

When she appeared in court, it was to face a grim judge and perfunctory hearing. Judge Sauer said he was still awaiting papers from Hilton’s lawyers concerning her alleged medical condition. It had been reported that a psychiatrist who had treated Michael Jackson had visited Hilton in prison and persuaded officials she was on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

After hearing representations, Judge Sauer said: “The defendant is remanded to country jail to serve the remainder of her 45-day sentence. This order is forthwith”.

It was not clear whether the order meant Hilton would have to serve the entire 45 days or the 23 days previously been agreed.

A sobbing Hilton, who had been dabbing away tears with a handkerchief, screamed and turned to her mother seated behind her in the court as sheriff’s deputies cleared the public gallery and escorted her to a holding area. She was immediately transferred to the detention centre and it was thought she would spend the weekend at a medical facility at the prison. Her lawyers were expected to file an appeal.

City attorney Rocky Delgadillo, who brought the prosecution, welcomed the ruling: “This decision sends the message that no individual – no matter how wealthy or powerful – is above the law. Today, justice was served”.

Hilton was arrested in September and convicted of reckless driving after police saw her driving erratically late at night. She was subsequently stopped twice while driving on a suspended licence.

On May 4 she was sentenced to 45 days in jail for violating the terms of her probation.

Text 3.10 Naomi Campbell pleads guilty to assaulting airport police

Anil Dawar and agencies

The Guardian, Friday June 20, 2008

Naomi Campbell flew into a rage at cabin crew over a missing suitcase and assaulted police officers who were called to remove her from a plane, a court was told today.

The 38-year-old supermodel accused the pilot of racism, kicked and spat at the officers and threatened to sue them after she was removed from a BA jet at Heathrow on April 3.

Campbell pleaded guilty today at Uxbridge magistrates court to four charges, including two counts of assaulting a police officer.

The court heard that the row was sparked by the disappearance of a bag containing a dress Campbell was contracted to wear during a television appearance. The incident came at the height of the baggage-sorting chaos that blighted the opening of Heathrow’s Terminal 5.

Such was the star’s fury, a fellow passenger moved out of the first-class cabin for his own safety as Campbell hurled a torrent of abuse at the crew before turning on three police officers drafted in to help defuse the situation.

Melanie Parrish, prosecuting, said the plane’s captain, Miles Sutherland, had taken the unusual step of talking to the model personally after hearing that one of her bags was missing.

As he tried to explain the situation, Campbell was heard shouting: “I can’t believe you have lost my fucking bag. Bring me my fucking bags now.”

She told him to leave the aircraft, get her bag and show it to her. When he reeled off a list of options open to her, Campbell snapped: “How dare you tell me what my options are? You are not leaving until you find my fucking bags.”

When he walked away, she shouted: “You are a racist, you wouldn’t be doing this if I was white”.

Two high-level BA staff were called in, one trained to deal with difficult situations, the court heard. “Miss Campbell was clearly upset and explained to them the reason why this was so awful for her was that she was contracted to wear a particular Yves Saint Laurent outfit on a US chat show and it was in the bag that hadn’t been loaded”, Parrish said.

As staff tried to reason with her, the model shouted into her mobile phone: “They have lost my fucking bags, get me another flight, get the press, get me my lawyer”. She refused to leave the plane, shouting “Fuck you, fuck you, captain” and “Fuck off, I have paid ₤5,000 for this. I have a right to be on this plane”.

Violence erupted when three police officers arrived to escort her from the jet. PC John Eastwick was struck on the arm with the star’s phone and spat on, and PC Charles Campling was struck in the thigh with her “formidable platform boots with stiletto-style heels”, the court was told.

As they arrested her for assault, Campbell shouted at the officers: “You are only doing this because I am black and famous. It is because I am a black woman.

You are all racists. I am going to sue you. I am going to fuck you. I am going to sue you like a motherfucker”.

Campbell’s lawyer, Richard Nicholls, said his client was “genuinely apologetic” towards the police officers but not “quite so sorry about British Airways”.

He said the situation had not been caused by drink but the loss of her dress.

“It’s not like a pair of flip flops and shorts were lost, these were working clothes – it’s like a worker not having his tools. It would not have been a problem if her luggage had not been lost. This was not just a trip to LA, she was also going the mother of her friend’s funeral”.

“It is not the first time the supermodel has had a run-in with the law. Three times in the past eight years Campbell has pleaded guilty in court to hitting her staff with mobile phones. In one case, her housekeeper was left needing four stitches in her head.

Last year, a New York court ordered Campbell to spend five days mopping floors and cleaning toilets, as well as attending anger management classes, as punishment for hitting her maid with a phone.

It is understood that since the incident, Campbell has been banned from all BA flights.

The hearing continues.

Text 3.11 Iran arrests ‘Agatha Christie serial killer’

Woman accused of drugging, suffocating and robbing her victims was inspired by classic crime novels, police claim

Robert Tait (guardian.co.uk, Thursday 21 May 2009)

Police in Iran believe they have caught the country’s first female serial killer and are claiming she has disclosed a literary inspiration behind her attempts to evade detection: the crime novels of Agatha Christie.

The 32-year-old suspect, named only as Mahin, stands accused of killing at least six people, including five women, according to officials in the city of Qazvin, about 100 miles north-west of Tehran.

“Mahin in her confessions has said that she has been taking patterns from Agatha Christie books and has been trying not to leave any trace of herself,” Mohammad Baqer Olfat, the Qazvin prosecutor, told Iranian journalists.

Mahin, who it is claimed also admitted the earlier murders of her former landlord and an aunt, is said to have carefully chosen her victims, targeting elderly and middle-aged women and offering them lifts home after picking them up at shrines in the city where they had been praying.

Police said she confessed in custody to killing four such women in Qazvin since January, claiming to have been driven by a desperate need for money after chalking up debts of more than £16,000. After offering her victims a lift, Mahin allegedly gave them fruit juice which she had spiked with an anaesthetic to knock them out. She would then suffocate them before stealing their jewellery and other possessions and dumping the bodies in secluded spots. One victim was beaten to death with an iron bar after regaining consciousness.

Which Christie novels Mahin studied has not yet been revealed, though many of the books describe killers using drugs. Christie’s novels, some of which depict unsolved murders, are highly popular among Iranians. The writer, who died in 1976, visited Iran several times and used it as the setting for one of her stories, The House at Shiraz.

Qazvin’s police chief, Ali Akbar Hedayati, said Mahin was afflicted by a mental disorder triggered by having been deprived of her mother’s love. She would draw her chosen victims into conversation by telling them they reminded her of her mother, the police chief said.

After apparently being so careful to stay ahead of the police, it seems that the most mundane of transgressions, a road traffic offence, alerted detectives and led to her arrest.

Officers first suspected the killer may have been a woman after studying a footprint found near one of the bodies. They were only led to Mahin after a 60-year-old woman, having read about the murders, told them she had escaped from a light-coloured Renault car after becoming suspicious of the female driver.

After checking cars matching description, their attention was drawn to Mahin by records showing she had been fined following a recent road accident.

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