Drugged tourist admits killing woman

Indian policemen carry a coffin containing the body of a female British tourist after conducting medical examination in Srinagar, India. Picture: Mukhtar Khan Source: AP

WHILE you were sleeping a tourist allegedly confessed to stabbing a British woman to death in India while high on drugs.

Richard De Wit, 43, told police he had murdered Sarah Groves on the New Beauty houseboat at Dal Lake in the Indian Kashmir city of Srinagar while he was under the influence of an unspecified drug. Mr De Wit was arrested as he tried to flee in a taxi, soon after the 24-year-old was found dead in a pool of blood in her cabin.

Dutch tourist held on suspicion of murder after the body of a British woman is found in Kashmir. Paul Chapman reports.

Looking to the rising tension in the Koreas, South Korea believes the North's next big move may come as soon as Wednesday, with fears Pyongyang will stage another missile test or find some other way to provoke Seoul, Washington and their allies. Meanwhile, Australians are being told they can travel to South Korea as per usual despite the threats being issued by Kim Jong-un and his government.

This photo taken by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency shows North Korean soldiers taking part in a shooting training towards targets with images of South Korean Defence Minister Kim Kwan-Jin (left) and a US soldier (back right), at an undisclosed location. Source: AFP

The world's premier Nazi-hunting organisation has given Australia an "F" in its report card, one-time Pakistani dictator Pervez Musharraf has been allowed to stand for election again, a topless protester says she has to get out of Tunisia before she is killed, China is promoting tourism to islands embroiled in a territorial dispute and a NATO air strike is said to have killed 11 Afghan children.

An Afghan girl tries to peer through the holes of her burqa as she plays with other children in the old town of Kabul, Afghanistan. Picture: Anja Niedringhaus Source: AP

Fashion designer Lilly Pulitzer has died at the age of  81, a friend of the mother of Sandy Hook shooter Adam Lanza believes the attack may have been revenge for bullying, the home in which a UK couple burned six of their children to death will be demolished and a 64-year-old US woman allegedly asked her grandson to kill his grandfather, after which they used his money for a shopping spree.

FILE - In this March 16, 1965 file photo, Palm Beach the fashion designer Lilly Pulitzer, wears her own design and creation of the Lilly shift, in Palm Beach, Fla. Pulitzer, known for her tropical print dresses, dies in Florida at 81. (AP Photo/Robert H. Houston, File) Source: AP

A teen appointed as a youth crime commissioner has been found to be tweeting things like “I want to f****** cut everyone around me", pay phones are so dated that if you pick one up in NYC you can be connected to the year 1993, the world's greatest chef Ferran Adria wants to leave more than a soupcon of his genius for posterity, Singaporeans are being told to lift their standards after a spate of people peeing in elevators, IMF chief Christine Lagarde says the euro has a great future and the Germans are deeply embarrassed by the much-delayed opening of a new airport in Berlin – which has suffered problems like no one being sure how to turn off the lights there.

Youth Police and Crime Commissioner Paris Brown appears before the media in Maidstone, Kent, apologising for the offensive tweets. Picture: AP/Gareth Fuller Source: AP

And you may have been asleep by the time the Gold Logie was announced but that went to Asher Keddie, while Molly Meldrum bestowed an unexpected F-bomb on the audience. Outside of the Australian television scene, camo-clad mourners have said goodbye at BUCKWILD star Shain Gandee's funeral,  Kim Kardashian's baby bump was proudly displayed on Instagram and the Evil Dead staggered to the top of the US box office.

Kim Kardashian posted this belly-exposing picture to Instagram with the caption "baby love". Source: Supplied

Wrapping up the weekend's sport events, the jockey who won Saturday's Grand National steeplechase was airlifted to hospital after a fall the following day, Chelsea rose to third in the English Premier League, Australian golfer Wade Ormsby won his first Asian Tour event, Mercedes says a repeat of their 2012 China GP success is far from assured,  Fabian Cancellara won the famed Paris-Roubaix cycling race, and where there's smoke, there's a Mario Balottelli controversy.

Chelsea's Fernando Torres carries the ball back after Sunderland scored an own goal during their English Premier league match. Picture: Alastair Grant Source: AP

 

View the original article here

Woman 'killed family' to get off work

A UK woman falsely claimed a host of family members had died -so she could claim days off work. Source: Supplied

A BRITISH social worker has been struck off after lying to bosses about the deaths of her father, mother, uncle, aunt, brother and ex-husband to get time off work.

Rachael Miles took 66 days off work with Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council, where she was part of a 16-plus team working with vulnerable people.

After a two-day hearing concluding on March 28, the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) found she fraudulently claimed compassionate leave and carers' leave.

The panel heard evidence that Ms Miles made up stories about the deaths of loved ones, including claims her ex-husband had hung himself and she needed to identify his body.

In her first claim in February 2010, less than two weeks after starting work for the council, she told bosses her father had been in a car crash, later reporting he had died.

The following month Ms Miles claimed her mother had been sectioned under the Mental Health Act, and later that year that she had died during surgery.

In 2011, she told bosses her brother died, followed by her ex-husband.

In November that year, Ms Miles asked for more time off after telling bosses her uncle and then her aunt died seven days apart.

The council launched an investigation and decided to redeploy her to another post in the authority but she resigned instead.

Ms Miles did not attend the hearing in London and was not represented.

The HCPC struck her off its register and placed an interim suspension order on Ms Miles, who can choose to appeal against the decision.

A spokesman for Solihull council said it did not comment on individual staff matters.

View the original article here

Properties searched for missing woman

NSW police have searched a number of properties as they continue their search for a Central Coast woman who disappeared in suspicious circumstances more than six months ago.

Leisl Smith, 23, left her Wallarah home in her car about 1pm on August 19, 2012, and never returned home.

Police have been unable to find her, but say her mobile phone was used in the days immediately after she went missing.

Her car was found abandoned at the Tuggerah Lakes Railway Station on September 26.

Extensive searches have been carried out looking for Leisl, with police scouring a number of properties on Thursday.

Tuggerah Lakes Crime Manager, Detective Inspector David Waddell, will brief the media on their latest efforts on Friday afternoon.

Earlier this year, Det Insp Waddell said the disappearance was being treated as suspicious.

"Leisl's disappearance is out of character and both her family and police are extremely concerned for her welfare," he said.

View the original article here

Staff refuse CPR, woman dies

A nurse at an aged care facility refuses requests from 911 emergency dispatcher to give a collapsed patient CPR. Courtesy 17KGET.com

AN elderly woman who collapsed at a US aged care home has died after a staff member refused to perform CPR because it was against the facility's policy.

Local media reports say when the 86-year-old resident of Glenwood Gardens in Bakersfield, California, collapsed at the facility around 11am Tuesday a staff member called 911, but refused to give the woman CPR.

The Los Angeles Times reports that in refusing the 911 dispatcher's insistence that she perform CPR, the nurse can also be heard telling the dispatcher that it was against the retirement facility's policy to perform CPR.

In the dramatic 911 call, Bakersfield fire dispatcher Tracey Halvorson can be heard pleading with the nurse to start CPR on the elderly woman.

"It's a human being," Halvorson said. "Is there anybody that’s willing to help this lady and not let her die?"

Silence.

"Um, not at this time."

Halvorson continues begging the nurse to begin CPR or to find a passerby or anyone who would be willing to help.

"I understand if your facility is not willing to do that," Halvorson told the nurse. "Give the phone to that passerby, that stranger…this woman’s not breathing enough.

"She’s going to die if we don’t get this started.… I don’t understand why you’re not willing to help this patient."

The nurse is then heard talking to someone else at the facility.

"She's yelling at me," she said of Halvorson, "and saying we have to have one of our residents perform CPR. I'm feeling stressed, and I'm not going to do that, make that call."

An ambulance arrived several minutes after the call and took the woman to a hospital, where she was later pronounced dead.

The retirement facility released a statement saying protocol was followed, but that a "thorough internal review of the matter" would be conducted.

- With AP

View the original article here

WA woman scammed, murdered in South Africa

VICTIM: Wagin woman, Jette Jacobs, 67, has been found dead in a South African villa after meeting her online lover. Source: PerthNow

NIGERIAN LOVE: Jesse Orowo Omokoh, a Nigerian man who seduced Ms Jacobs through an online dating website and persuaded her to send at least $80,000 to him over four years. Source: PerthNow

A WEST Australian woman who went to South Africa to find love has been found dead in her rented villa in a suspected romance scam.

The body of Jette Jacobs, 67, of Wagin, was found in her rented Johannesburg villa by police on February 9.

Ms Jacobs had travelled from Wagin, about 200km south-east of Perth, on November 22 last year to visit a Nigerian man she was having a relationship with on the internet.

Her death is being investigated by local police.

According to WA Police, it is the first such WA death as a consequence of an online scam.

Ms Jacobs, a widow with six grandchildren, lost her husband in 2002 and her subsequent partner in 2009.

She then met a man purporting to be “Jesse Orowo Omokoh” from Nigeria on a dating website and they had regular contact over a four year period.

Ms Jacobs had sent at least $80,000 to Nigeria during this time and met the man known as Jesse during a visit to Johannesburg in 2010 without incident.

During her last visit, Ms Jacobs was to meet Jesse for a second time but he said he could not get a visa to join her immediately.

A letter from Project Sunbird was sent to Ms Jacobs warning that she may be a victim of fraud, but it arrived shortly after she had left Australia.

Project Sunbird is a joint operation between WA Police and Consumer Protection that tracks large amounts of money being sent from WA to West African countries and attempts to warn the senders that they could be victims of relationship fraud.

WA Police and Ms Jacobs’ son believe she may have died in suspicious circumstances, with her money, credit cards, jewellery, laptop computer and other personal items missing from the villa.

Detective Senior Constable Robert Martin from the Major Fraud Squad today said such scams had now revealed  “tragic consequences”.

“We were hoping with our operation we would be able to prevent this from occurring,” he said.

“Unfortunately with Ms Jacobs, she did receive a letter from our Operation Sunbird team, informing her of the dangers, however she had departed for South Africa prior to receiving the letter. Her friend had the letter sitting in the room when I went to visit, it was sitting on the table.”

Const Martin said detectives had found an extensive paper trail showing the relationship stemmed back four years, with a number of emails between the two, including one where Ms Jacobs tells Jesse she is raising money for him – the money was meant to go to sick children.

“I am try as you know to raise the money and by the way you are the only one who know this ok,” she wrote.

“I will never tell anybody what I am doing here foe (sic) you ok. That is betwin (sic) you and me ok.”

“Thank you my sweet woman. Yes I know,” Jesse replied.

Const Martin said the task force was now creating a database of scammers to see if Jesse had more WA victims.

Ms Jacobs’ son, who did not want to be named, said her friends and family had tried to talk her out of going to South Africa, but she could not be swayed.

“Mum went over for a couple of months and did not return,” he said.

“So as you can see, one consequence of the internet scammers has taken her life.”

He urged others who find love on the internet to be cautious.

“Don’t go, because at the end of the day, they are running a business or a scam or what they want to believe it is, to lure people to go to Africa, and no saying it’s a one way ticket, but there’s a possibility it’s a one way ticket and no return,” he said.

“If you do meet someone who is truly in love with you, money doesn’t buy it.”

WA ScamNet’s top tips to avoid relationship fraud:

  *   Do not respond to out-of-the-blue social media messages from strangers requesting romance, such as a friend request on Facebook.
  *   Be on your guard if someone you meet on an online dating site asks you to take the conversation over to email or instant messaging.
  *   Be wary of overseas-based singles especially if they confess their love for you after a short amount of time or want to know about your financial status.
  *   Remember that just because someone shares personal photos does not mean the pictures are of them – scammers often steal other people’s photos.
  *   Don’t be fooled into thinking that talking to somebody on the phone means you know them and that they are who they say there are.
  *   Be concerned if a person refuses to chat real-time via a webcam and be mindful that even Skype is not scammer proof – watch out for pre-recorded videos.
  *   Alarm bells should ring if someone you do not know personally (have met face-to-face) requests money, particularly by a wire transfer service such as Western Union or even direct bank transfers, which could be going to an account set up with a stolen identity.

View the original article here

Vic woman found behind wheel blows 0.345

A WOMAN found passed out behind the wheel at a Melbourne supermarket had a blood-alcohol level more than six times the limit, police say.

The 24-year-old woman was found unconscious in her car by police at a supermarket car park at Seaford in Melbourne's south-east on Friday night.

The woman was believed to have been involved in an earlier crash at Frankston where she lost control of her car and hit a pylon, police said.

She then went to buy alcohol at the supermarket and passed out behind the wheel.

The woman, now in custody, allegedly blew 0.345 on an alcohol breath test.

View the original article here

Woman jailed for 11th false rape claim

Elizabeth Jones has ben jailed for 16 months after falsely claiming she had been raped 11 times in nine years by Southampton Crown Court. Main Picture: Wikipedia Source: news.com.au

AN ENGLISH woman described as a compulsive liar has been jailed for 16 months for falsely claiming she was raped for the 11th time in nine years.

Elizabeth Jones admitted she made the false claim because she "did not like" the man she accused of assaulting her, Southampton Crown court was told.

"There is a history of her making false allegations of this nature and this is the 11th incident,” prosecutor Jennie Rickman told the court.

"Police had to take her allegation seriously and carried out an appropriate investigation.

"She was later arrested and accepted she had lied about being raped - she said she did it because she did not like him," Ms Rickman said.

Detective Constable Tim Blanche said Ms Jones had made "intimate contact" with the unnamed male victim, but "they didn't live together".

The 22-year-old, who has made 10 other false rape allegations, urged an unidentified friend to report the assault to police.  She later attended the local police station where she repeated the false allegations and underwent a full medical examination.

Police then arrested and questioned the man who denied the assault. 

"The man was arrested and he gave a statement - he had to live his life with people accusing him of being a rapist," DC Blanche told The Daily Mail.

Police reviewed CCTV footage of the part of the house where Jones claimed she had been sexually assaulted and found the vision did not support her version of events and she was not forcibly taken there.

Ms Jones plead guilty to one count of perverting the course of justice.

Judge Derwin Hope said the offense was serious because it struck at the very heart of Britain's criminal justice system.  In sentencing Jones to 16 months behind bars, Judge Hope also said the man had endured "terrible emotional experience" as a result of Jones' lies.

Megan Topliss for the defence said her client had experienced a disturbed childhood and had spent many years in care.

Ms Topliss added that Ms Jones had plead guilty at the earliest possible opportunity and had admitted to lying when challenged by police.

After Ms Jones was sentenced, it emerged that she made her first complaint at age 13 and had been given a ten month detention and training order in 2009 for a similar offence. Between 2005 and 2007 she made eight other sexual assault allegations to police, but was not charged.

DC Blanche said Ms Jones' history of false allegations left the judge with no other choice but to impose a custodial sentence as the CCTV footage clearly demonstrated that she was lying.  He hopes that the case doesn't deter genuine victims from reporting sexual assault crimes to police.

"We encourage all victims to come forward, but sadly Elizabeth was one of the people that was not telling the truth," DC Blanche said.

View the original article here

Woman gives birth to two sets of twins

Tressa Montalvo gave birth to two sets of twin sons, Ace, top left, Blaine, top right,  Cash, bottom left, and Dylan. Mrs Montalvo and her husband Manuel planned the pregnancy but didn't use fertility drugs. Source: AP

A TEXAS woman has beaten long odds in delivering two sets of identical twins.

The Houston Chronicle reports Tressa Montalvo delivered her sons on Feb 14 - Valentine's Day.

The odds of giving such a birth naturally are one in 70 million, the Chronicle reports.

Tressa Montalvo watches over one of four new sons, Blaine, at The Women's Hospital of Texas in Houston. Mrs Montalvo gave birth to two sets of identical twins on Valentine's Day, born at 31 weeks.

Unlike quadruplets who split from one egg and grow with one placenta, these four boys grew in pairs with two placentas for 31 weeks before Tressa had a complication-free cesarean section on Valentine's Day.

The happy parents have named their boys Ace, Cash, Dylan and Blaine.

Manuel Montalvo holds his 2-year-old son, Memphis, as he looks in on newborn Ace Montalvo.

The 36-year-old Mrs Montalvo delivered the sets of sons within a minute of each other.

Mrs Montalvo says she and her 43-year-old husband, Manuel, planned the pregnancy but didn't use fertility drugs.
In her words, "I guess we just succeeded a little too much.''
 

Pisces

Feb 20 - Mar 20

Welcome to the world of tomorrow. It is a bit like the world of today, but slightly more futuristic! In tomorrow's world, today has become yesterday. Oh, hang on. I see what y... Read more

You can now save articles on our site to read later.

Hodgkin's patients could get less chemo

1:01AM Janelle Miles QUEENSLAND researchers have developed a blood test that may reduce the amount of chemotherapy Hodgkin's lymphoma patients need, limiting toxic side effects.

Australia, land of the violent drunk

NATASHA BITA - NATIONAL SOCIAL EDITOR VIOLENT crime has soared 44 per cent across the nation in a year, as drunks repeatedly assault the same victims.

Human beings are getting dumber

3:17PM By Lucy Kippist DESPITE advances in technology, Stanford geneticist says humans are only getting more stupid.

Berserk backyard: Don loses the vegetable plot

2:18PM By Daniel Piotrowski THE final edition of Burke's Backyard has been released, featuring a bloodied gnome suffering the same fate as the long-running magazine.

 TOOLS FROM OUR LIFESTYLE SITES

The #whatilove project

WE asked, you answered! Here are the best pics news.com.au readers shared in honour of Valentine's Day.

DJs Autumn/Winter Fashion Launch

The 2013 David Jones Autumn/Winter Fashion Launch preview show has kicked off at the David Jones Sydney City store.

Your #homecooked meals

YESTERDAY we asked our readers to send in pics of their proudest #homecooked meals - and boy are they a talented lot!

Paspaley Polo in the Park

CELEBS stepped out for the annual Paspaley Polo in the Park in Sydney over the weekend.

Cleo Annual Swim Party 2012

CLEO magazine kicks off summer with its Annual Swim Party 2012 in Sydney.

View the original article here