GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – A former Rudgers University student convicted of spying with a webcam on his gay room-mate who then committed suicide was sentenced Monday 21 May to 30 days in prison in a US court.
The sentencing of Dharun Ravi, 20, who had filmed Tyler Clementi, 18, kissing another man in his dorm room, and twittering about the incident days before Clementi killed himself, was criticized by both sides in the case. Ravi, an Indian national, could have received up to ten years in jail, but instead was given three years probation in addition to the jail term, and was ordered to get counseling on cyber-bullying and “alternate lifestyles” and to pay $10,000 to help victims of hate crimes.
The prosecution’s lawyer, Bruce Kaplan said he would appeal the New Jersey court decision, saying the jail term was insufficient. A gay-rights organization in the northeastern state, Garden State Equality issued a statement saying that whilst it objected to a ten year term, the 30 day term was not enough. “This was not merely a childhood prank gone awry. This was not a crime without bias”.
Ravi’s lawyer, Steven Alman, said his client had been “demonized by the gay community” and objected to the sentence, complaining that the case was “being treated as if it’s a murder case”.
As he announced the judgment, Judge Glenn Berman said he had not heard Ravi apologize once, and felt that while he did not think he had acted out of hate towards Clementi, he was guilty of “colossal insensitivity”.
The case sparked a debate in the United States on the issues of anti-gay bullying, teenage suicide, hate crime laws and the use of new technology by young users.
Links to other sources: BBC, NPR, Associated Press
BASEL, SWITZERLAND – Novartis will be cutting close to 2,000 jobs in the US, in New Jersey, as the result of an expected fall in demand for a relatively new medicine and the expiry of the patent for another, the company announced Friday 13 January in Basel. The sales force will lose 1,630 jobs and another 330 will go in related administrative posts. Staff will be informed of the specifics in April and the job cuts will be made in the first half of 2012.
The restructuring that lies behind the job cuts will result in CHF160 million in exceptional charges in the first half of 2012 in addition to an exceptional charge of CHF900m in the second half of 2011 following a “reassessment of the future sales potential of Rasilez/Tekturna in light of the Altitude results”.
Preparations were underway to restructure the company’s general medicines business with the patent expiring for the hypertension market leading medicine Diovan (valsartan) in the US in September 2012. The restructuration is being speeded up, the company says, after Altitude clinical studies were recently called to a halt, ending trials for Rasilez/Tekturna (aliskiren), another hypertension drug.
Novartis notes that the
“study was halted following the recommendation from the Data Monitoring Committee overseeing the trial. The study was investigating Rasilez/Tekturna in a high-risk population of patients with type-2 diabetes and renal impairment. As a precautionary measure Novartis Pharmaceuticals ceased all promotion of Rasilez/Tekturna-based products for use in combination with an angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor or angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB). Novartis Pharmaceuticals, in consultation with health authorities, is now recommending that hypertensive patients with diabetes should not be treated with Rasilez/Tekturna in combination with an ACE-inhibitor or ARB. Patient safety is the highest priority for Novartis and we are in continuing dialogue with health authorities worldwide to establish the most appropriate next steps.”
Novartis announced in November that it is cutting 1,000 jobs in Switzerland, some 350 of them in Prangins, near Nyon.
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Police in New Jersey in the US have found 11 stolen artworks, including a Picaosso etching, in a Hoboken apartment. The man who has the apartment was already being held in California on $5 million bail after he was charged with stealing ”Tête de Femme (Head of a Woman),” a 1965 pencil drawing by Picasso. The San Francisco Gate reports that the man is accused of stealing the art from several hotels and museums during a three-week spree that ended 6 July.
He is a former sommelier, says the news service, who is also accused of having stolen three bottles of wine in June, worth $6,000.
A Brazilian federal appeals court has upheld an earlier ruling in favour of US father David Goldman, who has been trying to obtain custody and the return of his son since the child was taken to Brazil by his mother in 2004. The case has gained international attention as a test case for the Hague Convention on International Child Abduction. The boy, who was four at the time he was taken for what Goldman says was supposed to be a two-week vacation, has US and Brazilian citizenship. His mother died in 2008 and Goldman argues that as the sole surviving parent, he should have custody, but the boy’s maternal family and stepfather argue that he wants to stay with them and have said they intend to appeal.
Republicans made some gains in US weekend elections, with wins in two important states, New Jersey and Virginia. Bob McDonnell won the governor’s seat comfortably in Virginia and in a hotly contested gubernatorial race in New Jersey Chris Christie defeated Governor Jon Korzine. New York City’s Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a Republican, held onto his job in a close election.
Republican challengers in New Jersey and Virginia have bested their Democrat opponents in elections for governor, while in New York, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, an independent, narrowly maintainted his job over Democrat challenger, Bill Thompson, in elections 3 November.
In Virginia, Bob McDonnel easily beat his Democrat opponent to become the first Republican governor there in 12 years. In New Jersey, Chris Christie edged out billionaire first-term governor Jon Corzine. Congressional elections in New York and California are not yet decided.
The elections are seen by many as a referendum on US President Barack Obama’s first eight months in office. BBC, CNN,NPR, Reuters
A helicopter and small Piper plane collided in mid-air over the Hudson River between Hoboken, New Jersey and Manhattan, New York, in the US Saturday, presumably killing all nine people aboard, although so far only two bodies have been found. Five Italian tourists were in the helicopter, touring the area. New York Times, Reuters
A 61-year-old pilot died of natural causes during a Continental Airlines flight from Brussels, Belgium to Newark, New Jersey, USA. The plane commands were taken over by two other pilots on board and it has landed safely in Newark. It was carrying 247 passengers. Yahoo News
