Mastermind behind Great Train Robbery dies at 81

LONDON (Reuters) - The mastermind behind Britain's "Great Train Robbery", a 1963 heist that turned its perpetrators into celebrities, has died aged 81, local media reported on Thursday.

Bruce Reynolds died in his sleep at his home in London after a period of ill health, reports from news media which included the BBC said, citing comments from Reynolds's son, Nick.

His death comes just months before the 50th anniversary of the "Great Train Robbery", that was at the time Britain's largest robbery.

In August 1963, Reynolds, along with an 11-member gang, tampered with railway track signals and stopped a Royal Mail night train travelling from Glasgow to London carrying letters parcels and large amounts of cash.

Reynolds and his men stormed the train and made off with 2.6 million pounds, equivalent to about 40 million pounds in today's money.

Train driver Jack Mills was struck over the head during the robbery. He died seven years later and many people believed the injuries he sustained during the heist contributed to his death.

Most of the gang were caught and given prison sentences totalling more than 300 years but Reynolds evaded capture, fleeing Britain with his wife and son. He spent five years as a fugitive in places as far afield as Canada and Mexico.

On his return to Britain Reynolds was caught by police and sentenced 25 years in prison for the train heist, of which he served just 10.

Reynolds later found fame as an author after penning his memoirs titled "Autobiography of a Thief" and became a consultant on a crime film.

His accomplice Ronnie Biggs achieved similar notoriety after he escaped from the prison where he was serving a 30-year jail sentence for his part in the robbery.

Biggs spent 36 years on the run, leading a playboy lifestyle in South America, before finally surrendering to British police in 2001. Biggs was freed in 2009 on health grounds.

(Reporting by Clare Hutchison)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/mastermind-behind-uks-great-train-robbery-dies-81-142709566.html

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Iran steps up arrests, torture, executions: U.N.

GENEVA (Reuters) - Iran has stepped up executions of prisoners including juveniles as well as arrests of dissidents who are often tortured in jail, sometimes to death, the United Nations reported on Thursday.

In twin reports issued in Geneva, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the U.N. special investigator on human rights in Iran, Ahmed Shaheed, voiced concern at what they called an apparent rise in the frequency and gravity of abuses in Iran.

"The Secretary-General remains deeply troubled by reports of increasing numbers of executions, including of juvenile offenders and in public; continuing amputations and flogging; arbitrary arrest and detention; unfair trials, torture and ill-treatment; and severe restrictions targeting media professionals, human rights defenders, lawyers and opposition activities, as well as religious minorities," Ban reported.

The Islamic Republic, which is under economic sanctions for its disputed nuclear program, has failed to investigate "widespread, systemic and systematic violations of human rights", Shaheed's report said.

He called for the "immediate and unconditional release" of detained human rights advocates, journalists and lawyers.

Shaheed said opposition leaders Mehdi Karoubi and Mir Hossein Mousavi, who are under house arrest, are among hundreds of political prisoners held for exercising their right to freedom of expression during protests over alleged fraud in the re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2009.

The next presidential election is set for June.

Dozens of journalists, bloggers and activists have been arrested in the past few months, Shaheed said. Lawyers defending such figures had been targeted, including Abdolfatah Soltani who was arrested in 2011 and is now serving a 13-year sentence.

In a case that stirred international outrage, blogger Sattar Beheshti was arrested last October after receiving death threats and died some days later in prison.

Iranian authorities have arrested seven people suspected of involvement in his death and a judiciary official said a forensic examination had found bruises on the blogger's body.

Shaheed said: "An informed source communicated that Mr. Beheshti was tortured for the purpose of retrieving his Facebook user name and password, that he was repeatedly threatened with death during his interrogation and that he was beaten in the face and torso with a baton."

Torture by blunt instruments, including truncheons, and rapes and electric shocks have been reported in Iran, he added.

JUVENILE EXECUTIONS

Iranian authorities should stop imposing the death penalty on juveniles, banned under international law, both reports said.

Shaheed voiced alarm at the escalating rate of executions in Iran and the use of capital punishment for offences that do not meet international standards for the most serious crimes.

"This includes alcohol consumption, adultery and drug-trafficking," he said.

Without referring to the two reports, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Mohammad Mahdi Akhondzadeh told the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva on Thursday: "Iran's commitment to the protection and promotion of human rights remains steadfast ... There are ample evidences which indicate my country's commitment in civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights."

Shaheed, a former foreign minister of the Maldives, has not been allowed to visit Iran. His latest report is based on 169 interviews with people inside and outside the Islamic Republic.

Some 297 executions were announced by the Tehran government last year, but the true number was closer to 500, he said.

Drug-related crimes account for 80 percent of executions and smugglers are denied the right to appeal against the death penalty, Ban said.

"There has been a dramatic spike in public executions in Iran," he said. Most took place at dawn in front of crowds.

(Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/iran-steps-arrests-torture-executions-u-n-081533366.html

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Egypt's main opposition coalition to boycott vote

CAIRO (AP) ? Egypt's main opposition coalition said Tuesday it will boycott upcoming parliamentary elections, a decision likely to deepen the nation's political crisis and worsen an already troubled economy.

The announcement by the liberal, secular National Salvation Front was made in a televised news conference just hours ahead of the start of a "national dialogue" called for by President Mohammed Morsi to produce recommendations to ensure the "transparency" and "integrity" of the vote.

Leading NSF member Sameh Ashour, who also heads Egypt's lawyers' union, announced the decision and said the NSF was also boycotting Tuesday's dialogue.

"We tell Morsi, dialogue with yourself. Dialogue with your party," he said. "The Egyptian people will not accept a dialogue that is imposed."

"God willing, the elections will reflect the spirit of Egyptians," Morsi said in opening remarks at the start of the dialogue, held at the presidential palace in a Cairo suburb. Most of those in attendance were Islamist politicians, with representatives of pro-democracy youth groups and rights activists staying away.

One of the NSF's most prominent leaders, Nobel Peace Laureate Mohamed ElBaradei, already called for a boycott on Saturday, but Tuesday's decision reflected the view of all of the group's political parties.

The United States reacted swiftly to the boycott decision, calling on the front reverse its position.

State Department Spokesman Edgar Vasquez said the U.S. is encouraging all Egyptian parties and potential candidates to compete, saying the election offers Egyptians an opportunity to have their voices heard.

It is "critical" for Egyptian parties to take part so that Egyptians can select representatives from a broad range of political positions, said Vasquez.

Called by Morsi last weekend, the elections will start in April and be staggered over a two-month period. Egypt's last legislature was elected in late 2011 and early 2012 but was dissolved by a court ruling in June, leaving the then-ruling military with legislative powers. Morsi took over the powers in August, then passed them in December to the Islamist-dominated upper chamber known as the Shura Council.

The opposition has been calling on Morsi to defuse the nation's political crisis before holding elections, which it says will plunge the country deeper into chaos unless its demands are first met. It wants a "neutral" government to replace the one led by Islamist Hesham Kandil, and for steps to be taken to ensure the independence of the judiciary.

The opposition also objects to an election law that was adopted this month by the Shura Council, arguing that it favored the Islamists, particularly Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood.

Ashour said Morsi, Egypt's first freely elected president, has consistently called for dialogue with the opposition but only after he created new conditions on the ground that are favorable to the Brotherhood, a fundamentalist Islamist group that has emerged as the most powerful political force in Egypt since the 2011 ouster of autocrat Hosni Mubarak.

The opposition has sharply criticized Morsi for allowing an Islamist-dominated panel to rush the drafting of a new constitution and put it to referendum before reaching a national consensus on its contents as he promised during his election campaign. It maintains that Morsi has used the same tactic regarding the elections, calling for the vote before tensions are defused.

Egypt's latest political crisis is the worst since Mubarak's ouster. It began Jan. 25 when hundreds of thousands marked the second anniversary of the start of the 18-day uprising that toppled Mubarak. Around 70 have died in clashes since, and hundreds have been wounded.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/egypts-main-opposition-coalition-boycott-vote-144104804.html

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Citrus shrimp linguine

Big, juicy shrimp made bright with a citrus sauce over a bowl of comforting pasta is just the thing to stay warm in the winter while hoping for the first signs of spring.

By Perre Coleman Magness,?The Runaway Spoon / February 26, 2013

Linguine serves as the perfect nest for big, juicy shrimp glazed with a citrus cream sauce.

The Runaway Spoon

Enlarge

It?s winter. Generally, it?s cold and gray, though here in Memphis, the months are punctuated with weirdly frustrating days of 70 degree F. weather. I love winter food, but I have souped and stewed and braised myself silly and I?m ready for something lighter and fresher. This recipe started as just that. A quick whip-up with the last citrus at the bottom of the fruit bowl and some shrimp from the freezer.? But this good enough to share, and could not be a quicker family meal or company dish.

Skip to next paragraph Perre Coleman Magness

The Runaway Spoon

Perre Magness has studied food and cooking around the world, mostly by eating, but also through serious study. Coursework at Le Cordon Bleu London and intensive courses in Morocco, Thailand and France has broadened her own culinary skill and palate. The kitchen of choice is at home, cooking like most people, experimenting with unique but practical ideas.

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Big juicy shrimp remind me of summer, and citrus is sometimes the one spot of sunshine in the winter foodscape. Add a little garlic and fresh, leafy parsley and this is a bright, sunny dish. A touch of cream adds some body, but mostly this sauce just glazes the pasta and shrimp with zest. Use a high-quality olive oil to make sure the citrus really shines.

Citrus Shrimp Linguine

Serves 4

12 ounces linguine

1 orange

1 lemon

1 lime

3 garlic cloves

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup heavy cream

Small handful flat leaf parsley leaves, plus more for sprinkling

1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined

Salt and pepper, to taste

Cook the linguine in a pot of well-salted water according to the package instructions. Drain the pasta, reserving a little of the cooking water.

Grate the zest of the orange, lemon, and lime into the carafe of a blender. Juice the citrus to produce 3/4 cup juice combined. Add the juice to the blender with the garlic, parsley, olive oil, cream, 1 teaspoon salt, and a few grinds of black pepper. Blend until smooth.

Pour the sauce into a large skillet or pot that will hold the pasta. Bring to a boil and cook for about 5 minutes until the sauce is slightly thickened. Add the shrimp and cook, turning once, until cooked through. They will be pink, firm, and curled tightly. Immediately add the pasta to the pot and a couple of tablespoons of cooking water. Use tongs to toss everything together, coating all the pasta with the sauce.

Serve immediately sprinkled with a little chopped fresh parsley.

The Christian Science Monitor has assembled a diverse group of food bloggers. Our guest bloggers are not employed or directed by The Monitor and the views expressed are the bloggers' own and they are responsible for the content of their blogs and their recipes. All readers are free to make ingredient substitutions to satisfy their dietary preferences, including not using wine (or substituting cooking wine) when a recipe calls for it. To contact us about a blogger, click here.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/C2DOWB8EJKU/Citrus-shrimp-linguine

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Dennis Rodman in North Korea: WTH!?

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Music Sales Have Biggest Jump in MP3 Age

Music sales are going up for the first time in 14 years and piracy is going down, largely because it is stupid-easy to hear any song you want without being a digital thief. “The music industry has adapted to the ...

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United Nations in South Africa ? News Archive ? Secretary ...

26 February 2013 | News

Geneva - I thank the International Commission against the Death Penalty for organizing this discussion, and I commend the critical role of civil society in mobilizing global support on this important issue. The right to life is the most fundamental of all human rights. It lies at the heart of international human rights law. The taking of life is too absolute, too irreversible, for one human being to inflict on another, even when backed by legal process. That is why the United Nations system has long advocated the abolition of the death penalty. International and hybrid tribunals supported by the UN do not provide for capital punishment, nor does the International Criminal Court.

Since the General Assembly first voted on a moratorium in 2007, the trend against capital punishment has gained momentum. In December 2012, the Assembly?s support for a moratorium was 111 in favour to 41 against, with 34 abstentions. The resolution calls on States to progressively restrict the use of capital punishment and not to impose it for offences committed by persons below 18 years of age and pregnant women. States were also asked to reduce the number of offences subject to the death penalty.

The sentiment towards abolition finds echoes in every region and across legal systems, traditions, customs and religious backgrounds. Currently some 150 States have either abolished the death penalty or do not practice it. I am therefore concerned that some countries with a longstanding de facto moratorium have recently resumed imposing the death penalty, and have even carried out executions. Even well-functioning legal systems sentence and execute persons who have been ultimately proven innocent. Wrongful convictions and miscarriages of justice have condemned innocent people to years of anguish on death row before being executed or exonerated.

In those States that continue to impose the death penalty, thousands of individuals are executed each year ? often in violation of international standards, such as the right to fair trial and due process. The death penalty is still used for a wide range of crimes, such as drug crimes, which do not meet the threshold of ?most serious crimes?, and information concerning the application of the death penalty is often cloaked in secrecy.

Capital punishment is inconsistent with the mission of the United Nations to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights and the dignity and worth of the human person. A global moratorium is a crucial stepping stone towards full worldwide abolition. I urge you to use this meeting to consider how to further this end.

I wish you a productive discussion.

Source: http://www.un.org.za/secretary-generals-message-to-the-international-commission-against-the-death-penalty/

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