Two die in World Cup stadium crash

 

 

Part of the stadium that will host the 2014 World Cup opener in Brazil has collapsed, killing two workers and raising urgent new concerns about whether the country will be ready for football's biggest event. Brazil has been plagued by a series of setbacks including cost overruns, stadium delays, accidents, labour strife and massive street protests in the run-up to the June tournament, once envisioned as a coming out party for South America's largest nation, which is also scheduled to host the Olympics in 2016. Wednesday's accident at Sao Paulo's Itaquerao stadium occurred when a construction crane crashed into a 500-ton metal structure that in turn cut through the outer walls of the venue, destroying rows of seats and slamming into a massive LED panel that runs across the stadium's facade. The accident could delay delivery of the stadium, which was practically finished. FIFA has set a December deadline for all 12 World Cup venues to be ready. The World Cup begins on June 12 with Brazil playing at the Sao Paulo stadium. Officials said there were no major structural damages to the stadium but declined to say how much the accident may affect the delivery. "I don't want to know about FIFA right now, we are worried about the families of the victims," former Corinthians president Andres Sanchez told a news conference. Mr Sanchez said two people were confirmed dead and nobody else was injured. A fire department official had said earlier that three people had died. One of the workers, 42-year-old Fabio Luis Pereira, was inside a truck that was hit by the metal structure. The other, 44-year-old Ronaldo Oliveira dos Santos, was resting in an area which was supposed to be isolated. "Unfortunately nobody saw him and he himself knew that he was not supposed to be there," Mr Sanchez said. "He was napping and unfortunately there wasn't time for him to get out."
The accident happened at lunchtime, so not many of the nearly 1,700 employees working on the venue were on site when the crane collapsed on top of the metal structure, causing the deadly domino effect. "The sound was as loud as a thunderclap or a huge explosion," said Rodrigo Vessoni, a reporter with sports daily Lance who said he had just walked out of the stadium after interviewing Sanchez. "There was a lot of running around, a lot of shouting. It was frightening. Chills ran through my entire body. It was unbelievable. The noise was metal grating on metal. It was a terrible thing to see." An official with constructor Odebrecht said a similar metal structure had already been installed with the same crane at the other side of the venue earlier this year. "Everything was being done according to procedure," said Frederico Barbosa, the construction site's manager. "We will have to wait for the investigation to find out what caused the crane to collapse." Mr Sanchez reiterated that it appeared to engineers on site that the structure of the stadium had not been compromised, meaning there could be enough time to get everything fixed in time for the World Cup. He said that around 30% of the stadium will be closed off pending authorities' investigations. "Structurally very little was affected," he said. Brazil is running against time to deliver the last six World Cup stadiums by the end of the year, although work at the Itaquerao was advanced compared to the other venues. FIFA has been pressuring local organisers to make sure all venues are ready by the December deadline so all test events can take place in time for the World Cup. FIFA said it would not accept the same delays that plagued stadium construction before the Confederations Cup, when only two venues were delivered in time. The Sao Paulo stadium, which cost nearly 360 million dollars (£220m), will seat nearly 70,000 people for the opener. About 20,000 seats will be temporary and installed only for the World Cup. The venue is scheduled to host another five matches, including a semifinal. It was initially expected to be built for the Confederations Cup this year, but delays with financing for the venue prompted authorities to change their minds. "FIFA and the LOC have learnt of the death of workers at the Corinthian's Arena site in Sao Paulo with great sadness," FIFA said in a statement. "We wish to send our heartfelt condolences to the family of the workers who tragically died today." Soccer's governing body said the "safety of workers is the top priority" to World Cup organisers. "We know the safety of all workers has always been paramount for all the construction companies contracted to build the 12 FIFA World Cup stadiums," it said in a statement. "The local authorities will fully investigate the reasons behind such a tragic accident." FIFA President Sepp Blatter said he was "deeply saddened by the tragic death of workers". "Our heartfelt condolences are with the families," he said. FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke said he was "extremely shocked by the news from Sao Paulo." "Our thoughts are with the families of the victims of this accident," he said. It wasn't the first problem with World Cup stadiums in Brazil. One worker died during construction of a stadium in the capital Brasilia last year and another in the Manaus venue in March. Also in March, heavy rains flooded the construction site of the Maracana Stadium, forcing the cancellation of a FIFA inspection visit. In May, a small part of the roof at the Salvador stadium fell in after it wasn't able to sustain the large amount of water that settled on top of it. In April, another worker died at the construction site of the new Palmeiras stadium, which may be used for teams training for the World Cup in Sao Paulo. That construction site was stopped for 10 days then, when damage was not nearly as significant as it was at the Corinthians venue. In Rio, the stadium which will host athletics in the 2016 Olympics has been closed for several months because of fears that its roof could collapse. Renovation work is under way at the venue.

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Couple who killed daughter get life

 

 

An Indian couple have been jailed for life for killing their 14-year-old daughter and the family's housekeeper in a murder mystery that has gripped the country for five years.

Rajesh and Nupur Talwar, both dentists from the New Delhi suburb of Noida, came under suspicion soon after their daughter, Aarushi, was found dead in her bathroom, her throat cut with surgical precision.

Police initially named the Talwars' missing Nepali housekeeper as the prime suspect, until his body was found a day later on a terrace above Aarushi's room.

Defence lawyer Satyaketu Singh said after the sentencing that "there is no evidence against them" and expressed confidence that "this judgement will be overturned."

Another lawyer for the family said the case against the Talwars, based largely on circumstantial evidence, amounted to a "witch hunt" adding: "There has been a serious miscarriage of justice in this case."

The double-murder became one of the most closely-watched whodunits in India, with dramatic turns by police and prosecutors seizing national headlines and launching debates over details of the case.

Prosecutors for the Central Bureau of Investigation have asked for the death penalty. "Such crime comes under the rarest of rare cases," prosecutor Naresh Yadav said. "So they should be awarded maximum punishment."

The investigation found both victims had been hit with a golf club and later had their throats slit.

Police offered several possible motives in prosecuting the parents, including an honour killing.

Several other suspects had been questioned by police. After the case stalled, the Talwars in 2011 demanded a fresh investigation.

The couple were also sentenced to an additional five years in prison for destruction of evidence, while Rajesh Talwar got another year for "furnishing false information to the police regarding the murder of his daughter" by the 45-year-old housekeeper.

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Nigella PAs 'lived the high life'

Jurors in the trial of two personal assistants to Nigella Lawson and her former husband Charles Saatchi who are accused of using a company credit card to spend more than £685,000 on themselves have been told the case is "not about other issues of matrimonial discord or drug taking".

Opening the trial, prosecutor Jane Carpenter told jurors that allegations of drug abuse by the TV chef were not central to the trial of Francesca and Elisabetta Grillo, who each deny a count of fraud.

She told jurors: "This case is a case about fraud, you may be aware of matters which have been in the press concerning Mr Saatchi and specifically an incident outside a restaurant in June and allegations of drug taking by Mr Saatchi about Miss Lawson more recently.

"We say it's fraud motivated by greed and that's what this trial is about. Not about other issues of matrimonial discord or drug taking. "This trial, the prosecution say, relates to the high life lived by Francesca and Elisabetta Grillo. "The sort of life you may often see portrayed in glossy magazines. But we say that they did so not by their own endeavours but in a greedy and fraudulent free-for-all by abusing the trust of their employers in a four-year spending spree." 

Ms Carpenter said the sisters were "employed to ensure the smooth running of Miss Lawson and Mr Saatchi's household", with duties that included looking after their children, even sometimes going on holiday alone with the youngsters. They lived rent-free, with Elisabetta, 41, paid £25,000 a year and Francesca, 35, £28,000. Miss Lawson, who employed the sisters before her marriage to Saatchi, "acknowleged that they were extremely close to her family", Ms Carpenter added. Both were given credit cards to buy items for the household and family members with the balance paid off each month by direct debit without being closely scrutinised and an understanding that they would not use it for themselves. Ms Carpenter said this was often the arrangement for staff. 

She added: "For some people, however, the temptation of having a card that they can use with impunity to buy high-value goods is too great. "It must be a dishonest employee's dream to have a company credit card that's always accepted." Among the luxury goods the sisters bought were items from Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Miu Miu and Prada, the court heard. "They travelled the world, staying in top hotels, and spent exorbitant sums of money on designer clothes and accessories," Ms Carpenter said. "By the time their fraud came to light they had incurred expenditure which was in excess of £685,000. "Despite the defendants' silence, it's anticipated that they will claim that Mr Saatchi and Miss Lawson permitted them to use the credit cards to buy themselves presents and withdraw cash because of the long hours they worked. 

"The defendants' case is that Miss Lawson's alleged drug use and the defendants' knowledge of it materially affected Miss Lawson's attitude to the defendants' spending. "An intimate atmosphere was created by such knowledge, which affected their relationship. "Their case is that this expenditure was expressly or implicitly consented to by Miss Lawson.

 "The Crown say that, although Mr Saatchi and Miss Lawson were generous employers who treated the sisters very well, it's preposterous that they would authorise such levels of expenditure to personal assistants." The court heard that Francesca Grillo spent the most money on the credit card, which was registered to Conarco Partnership - one of Mr Saatchi's companies. She was estimated to have used it to buy goods for herself worth in excess of £580,000 while her older sister's total spend was estimated to be around £105,000. Ms Carpenter added that Mr Saatchi commented that if Francesa Grillo had been allowed to spend that much money on herself, she would have been paid more than the highest paid employee in any of his companies. The court heard that the alleged offences came to light in June last year after Saatchi's finance director Rahul Gajjar noticed the high level of spending. The credit card bills usually came to between £10,000 to £20,000 a month but had risen to more than £50,000 so Mr Gajjar met with both the sisters to discuss the issue, the court heard. 

Both women admitted they had been using the cards for personal expenditure and were thanked for their honesty, jurors were told. Mr Gajjar suggested that if they repaid the money they could put the matter behind them and continue working for the family on reduced salaries, to which the defendants at first agreed. The court heard that the sisters met Saatchi at the Saatchi Gallery in central London on July 20 to discuss the proposals but negotiations later broke down. Saatchi met with Francesca on another occasion, but "her attitude was it was humiliating to live in the house on less pay and would rather go to jail", Ms Carpenter said. Saatchi and Lawson broke up after pictures were published in a newspaper in June showing the millionaire art dealer holding his wife by the throat. The incident on the terrace of Scott's restaurant in Mayfair, central London, was dismissed by Saatchi as nothing more than "a playful tiff" but he later accepted a police caution for assault. Saatchi went on to tell the Mail on Sunday that the pictures gave a "wholly different and incorrect implication". 

The Grillos, both of Kensington Gardens Square, Bayswater, west London, deny the charge against them. It is alleged that between January 1 2008 and December 31 2012, they committed fraud by abusing their positions as PAs by using a company credit card for personal gain. The trial was adjourned to 10am tomorrow with Saatchi due to give evidence at some point during the day. The trial, at Isleworth Crown Court in west London, heard that the sisters were arrested on August 2 last year but answered "no comment" during interviews with police before eventually being charged with fraud.

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