W O R L D

19 die in Nepal air crash
Kathmandu, September 28
All 19 persons, including seven Britons and five Chinese, aboard a small plane flying trekkers towards Mount Everest were killed today when it crashed after a bird hit.
BALL OF FIRE: Firefighters spray water on the burning wreckage of the Sita Air plane near Kathmandu on Friday. — AP/PTI

Man behind anti-Islam film jailed in fraud case
Washington, September 28
A California man behind an anti-Islam film that has sparked violent protests across the Muslim world has been jailed without bail by a US court for violating terms of his probation.
Nakoula Basseley Nakoula (C) is escorted out of his home by the police in Cerritos, California. — Reuters

Bo expelled from China’s ruling CPC
Beijing, September 28
Ahead of a generational leadership change in China's ruling CPC at its key Congress on November 8, the party today expelled disgraced leader Bo Xilai and ordered his trial for shielding his wife's involvement in the murder of a British businessman. While announcing that the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) will be held on November 8, the politburo of the CPC Central Committee headed by President Hu Jintao expelled Bo from the party's primary membership.
                                                                                                 Bo Xilai

19 die in Nepal air crash
Bird-hit to blame
7 Britons, 5 Chinese among victims

Kathmandu, September 28
All 19 persons, including seven Britons and five Chinese, aboard a small plane flying trekkers towards Mount Everest were killed today when it crashed after a bird hit as soon as it took off from the Nepalese capital, turning into a ball of fire.

Sixteen passengers and three crew members who were heading towards Lukla, gateway to the world's highest peak, for trekking in the mountainous region, were killed when the Sita Airways-owned Dornier aircraft crashed two minutes after it took off at 6:15 am (local time) from the Tribhuvan International Airport, officials said.

Among the 16 passengers of the Dornier Aircraft 9N AHA D228 crash were seven Britons, five Chinese and four Nepalese, according to the Rescue Coordination Committee of the Tribhuvan International Airport.

The British group, aged between 27 and 60, included two brothers, two close friends and an Oxford University graduate who was travelling alone, British media reported. The three crew members were Nepalese.

"Immediately after the take-off, the air traffic controllers noticed the aircraft making unusual maneuvers.

When the controller asked the pilot about it, he said the plane had struck a bird," Manager of Tribhuvan International Airport Ratish Chandra Lal Suman said. "Shortly after, the aircraft crashed. All the bodies have been sent to hospital for post-mortem examinations," he said.

The police, army and airport staff rushed to the accident site for carrying out rescue work soon after the crash.

Eyewitnesses were quoted as saying that they heard screaming and saw them waving their arms as the plane went into a nose dive and turned into a ball of fire.

The plane caught fire as soon as it took off and crashed on the banks of the Manahara river in Koteshwor region, near a slum area, just 2-3 km south of the airport, the officials said.

Though the weather was clear in the morning, the pilot had reported some problems to the air controller after two minutes of the take-off, Suman said, adding the plane probably was trying to get back to the airport before it met with the fatal accident.

Nepalese Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai paid tributes to those killed in the crash. "I make commitment to take necessary steps immediately not to allow such tragic incidents to repeat," he said. — PTI

Man behind anti-Islam film jailed in fraud case

Washington, September 28
A California man behind an anti-Islam film that has sparked violent protests across the Muslim world has been jailed without bail by a US court for violating terms of his probation on a bank fraud conviction.

Nakoula Basseley Nakoula (55), the producer of the controversial movie, was arrested by the California police yesterday and soon produced before a court in Los Angeles.

"He engaged in a likely pattern of deception both to his probation officers and the court," Judge Suzanne Segal said in her ruling, adding that he was a flight risk Nakoula, who according to federal investigators, has changed his name several times, under the terms of probation, was banned from using computers and the Internet without supervision.

According to his attorney Steve Seiden, Nakoula has maintained contacts in person and by phone with probation officers and argued that the movie maker would not be safe in the jail fearing that the anti-Islam film would make him a target of fellow inmates.

However, US Attorney Robert Dugdale argued that Nakoula had engaged in a "pattern of deception" and is a person who cannot be trusted.

"He poses a flight risk and poses a danger to others," Dugdale said.

Nakoula was earlier arrested in 2009 on charges of being engaged in a scheme to create fake identities and open credit cards in those names, then draw tens of thousands of dollars from the phony accounts. He was released in June 2011.

Earlier this month he was interviewed by federal authorities after his film sparked widespread protests in the Middle East and North African countries. — PTI

Bo expelled from China’s ruling CPC

Beijing, September 28
Ahead of a generational leadership change in China's ruling CPC at its key Congress on November 8, the party today expelled disgraced leader Bo Xilai and ordered his trial for shielding his wife's involvement in the murder of a British businessman.

While announcing that the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) will be held on November 8, the politburo of the CPC Central Committee headed by President Hu Jintao expelled Bo from the party's primary membership.

Bo (63) was also removed from the public offices held by him for his involvement in CPC's worst-ever scandal in decades, which came to light after a top police official sought refuge in the US Consulate in Chengdu in February.

"The meeting decided to transfer Bo's suspected law violations and relevant clues to judicial organs," state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

This meant that the party has concluded its disciplinary proceedings against him on charges of protecting his wife, Gu Kailai, from the investigations into her role in the murder of British businessman Neil Heywood, who was found dead in November last year at Chongqing, the city then headed by Bo.

The party's decision to hand him over for trial puts to rest speculation that he would be spared as he headed a powerful faction attempting to resurrect hard-line Maoist ideology playing up on the growing rich-poor divide.

Bo's wife Gu was subsequently handed down a suspended death sentence while the former police chief of the city Wang Lijijun, who had escaped to the US Consulate fearing reprisals from Bo, was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Several officials have been given varied sentences for trying to protect 53-year-old Gu. — PTI

BRIEFLY

Mars Curiosity rover finds evidence of ‘vigorous’ water stream
Washington: NASA’s Curiosity rover has found geological evidence of water which once ran vigorously across the area on Mars, after discovering gravel carried by an ancient stream on the Red planet. There is earlier evidence for the presence of water on Mars, but the latest images of rocks containing ancient streambed gravels are the first of its kind, NASA said. — PTI

POLL TIME A person dressed as Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez crosses a road in downtown Caracas. The country’s presidential elections are scheduled for October 7. — AP/PTI

Iraqi convicts riot in Tikrit jail
Baghdad: Prisoners seized weapons and set off hours-long clashes with security guards at a prison in Saddam Hussein’s hometown that left 12 dead, including 10 guards, before dozens of inmates managed to escape. The escaped prisoners included Al-Qaida suspects, said a provincial spokesman, though he could not say whether the terror group was behind the jailbreak in Tikrit. — AP

Iran vows enemies will not survive
Tehran: An Iranian general has said that his country’s enemies will not survive if they attack Iran’s nuclear sites. A report on Friday by ISNA news agency quotes Gen Farzad Esmaili, chief of air defence, as saying “we vow our enemies will not survive,” if they attack Iran's nuclear sites. The nuclear sites are a symbol of pride for Iran, he said, adding that "we will defend our dignity with our lives and blood.” — AP

Five killed in US shooting rampage
Chicago: A gunman opened fire at a small business in the northern US state of Minnesota, killing four persons before turning the gun on himself and dying of a self-inflicted gunshot. The Minneapolis Star Tribune newspaper wrote that the gunman allegedly was a disgruntled former employee who recently had been fired from the company. — AFP