Today's other stories in brief
Guilty plea in Letterman blackmail case
NEW YORK – A television producer pleaded guilty yesterday to trying to extort $2 million from US talk show host David Letterman by threatening to reveal his affairs with women who worked on his late night programme on CBS.
Robert Joel Halderman, a producer for the CBS news programme 48 Hours Mystery, agreed to plead guilty to attempted grand larceny in exchange for six months in jail, 1,000 hours of community service and giving up his right to appeal.
The case forced the married comedian to admit to the affairs on the air. But it faded into the background weeks later when golfer Tiger Woods’s affairs were exposed. – (Reuters)
French strike over justice plan
PARIS – Several thousand French lawyers, judges, prison guards and court officials went on strike yesterday to demand more funding and to protest against reforms they say will further strain France’s creaking justice system.
The demonstration is the latest saga in a running debate over the justice system. The government wants to scrap independent examining magistrates, and is in favour of shutting many smaller local courts and prisons in favour of bigger regional centres to improve efficiency. – (Reuters)
US family sues over Israel death
JERUSALEM – The family of an American killed by an Israeli army bulldozer in Gaza will launch a damages case today.
Rachel Corrie was one of several foreign activists killed in confrontations with Israel in occupied territory in the past decade. Her family is suing for $324,000 in the case, being heard in Haifa.
The Israeli army says Corrie (23), a pro-Palestinian International Solidarity Movement member, was fatally struck by a concrete slab on March 17th, 2003, as a bulldozer cleared a militant hideout in Gaza. – (Reuters)
Suicide family refused asylum
GLASGOW – A father, mother and her son who plunged to their deaths from a block of flats had their application for asylum from Canada rejected by UK authorities, it was claimed last night.
Their bodies were found at the bottom of a 31-storey block in Petershill Drive in the Springburn area of Glasgow on Sunday.
The Russian nationals have yet to be named by police but it is understood they were Serguei Serykh (43), his wife, Tatiana, and his stepson.
– (PA)