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Obama And Castro In Historic Meeting

Written By Unknown on Minggu, 12 April 2015 | 20.18

The leaders of the US and Cuba have held their first formal meeting in more than half a century - clearing the way for a thawing of relations that seemed unthinkable to citizens of both countries only a few years ago.

US President Barack Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro met in a small conference room in Panama, where they sat side by side.

Mr Obama said the event was "obviously a historic meeting", adding that his country was ready to "turn the page" with Cuba on the past.

He said: "It was my belief it was time to try something new, that it was important for us to engage with Cuban government. And, more importantly, with Cuban people."

He thanked Mr Castro for his "spirit of openness" but warned that significant differences still remain.

Mr Castro said he was ready to discuss issues such as human rights and press freedom, saying: "Everything can be on the table."

But he warned that the two countries may "agreed to disagree" at times, adding that both sides must be "very patient".

The meeting was held on the sideline of the Summit of the Americas, which this year included Cuba for the first time.

It was not publicly announced in advance but White House officials had suggested the two leaders were hoping for an opportunity to meet while in Panama.

The meeting came just hours after the two shared a handshake as the summit opened.

Four months ago Mr Castro and Mr Obama simultaneously announced an ending of hostilities.

President Obama said starkly: "Fifty years of isolation hasn't worked."

It is expected that the US will soon agree to remove Cuba's name from its list of state sponsors of terrorism, something that would also open the door to loans and aid for the South American nation after decades of suffering under the trade embargo.

Fidel Castro came to power in 1959 after overthrowing the US-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista.

For half a century, the leader of the first communist country in the western hemisphere was a thorn in America's side.

In 2006, after abdominal surgery, he started the transfer of power to his brother Raul, who took the landmark step in 2014 of appearing with the US  President.


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IS Blows Up Ancient City As 'Propaganda Tool'

IS Blows Up Ancient City As 'Propaganda Tool'

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Islamic State militants have continued their "cultural cleansing" of Iraq and Syria - this time blowing up the ancient city of Nimrud.

A video posted online appears to show the terror group's fighters smashing artefacts at the 3,000-year-old site near Mosul in northern Iraq.

Militants are seen with large barrels of powder in a room lined with gypsum slabs, beautifully carved with representations of Assyrian figures.

The explosion sends a huge mushroom cloud into the sky and turns yet another important part of history to dust and fragments.

Fighters hack away at statues with sledgehammers and carve them up with angle grinders, claiming God had "honoured" them by "removing and destroying everything that was held to be equal to him and worshipped without him".

1/9

  1. Gallery: Images Of The 3,000-Year-Old Assyrian Site

    The 3,000-year-old site on the banks of the Tigris river was once the capital of the world's most powerful empire, the Assyrians. European archeologists first excavated the site in the 1840s

Statues, sections of palaces and gold items were unearthed at the site. Some of its best-known monuments include these winged bulls with human faces, known as lamassus

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  • Many of its artefacts were on display in the Baghdad Museum, but disappeared during the Gulf War in the 1990s. It was presumed they had been looted

    ]]>

  • However, after the 2003 Iraq invasion by allied forces, the items were found safe. They had been locked away in a secret vault in the city, submerged in sewage water

    ]]>

  • The collection includes hundreds of gold and gem-studded jewellery items

    ]]>

  • A militant speaking at the end of the destruction, says: "Whenever we are able in a piece of land to remove the signs of idolatry and spread monotheism, we will do it."

    :: Islamic State's Trail Of Historical Oblivion

    Nimrud was founded in the 13th century BC and contains one of the most famous archaeological sites in a country dubbed the cradle of civilisation.

    It was such an important city, it was on UNESCO's tentative list of world heritage sites.

    The attacks, which follow similar destruction of archaeological sites in Iraq and Syria earlier this year and last year, have been widely criticised.

    Middle East expert Professor Fawaz Gerges, from the London School of Economics, described IS as a "social epidemic" that is "culturally cleansing" an area the size of the UK.

    He told Sky News that militants had caused "catastrophic" damage to Iraq's - and the world's - cultural heritage.

    "(They have) been systematically destroying ancient relics and cultural artefacts both in Iraq and Syria," he said. "The United Nations has called what IS are trying to do 'war crimes'.

    "They have a puritanical sense of an ideology that believes in cultural cleansing - not just people, but even art and culture. They want to purify the land - to establish a totalitarian ideology."

    He said the jihadists are using the video as a "powerful propaganda tool" to counter set-backs on the battlefield.

    "They believe that ancient relics, museums, are basically idols. Idols that basically substitute idols for God," he said.

    "These particular videos are designed for the hardcore, for the ... jihadists who believe in this particular ideology ... It's part of a propaganda, part of their ideological nightmare, it's part of a puritanical, severe interpretation of Islam."

    Abdulamir Hamdani, an archaeologist from Stony Brook University in New York, said of Nimrud: "It's really a very important site in the history of Mesopotamia.

    "Many of Assyria's greatest artistic treasures came from this site."

    Nimrud is the later Arab name given to a settlement originally called Kalhu, and was plundered by Western explorers.

    It was also looted and damaged during the 2003 US invasion.

    Most of Nimrud's most valuable artefacts were moved long ago to museums in Mosul, Baghdad, Paris and London.

    But giant "lamassu" statues - winged bulls with human heads - and reliefs were still on site.

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    • IS Blows Up Ancient City As 'Propaganda Tool'

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    Islamic State militants have continued their "cultural cleansing" of Iraq and Syria - this time blowing up the ancient city of Nimrud.

    A video posted online appears to show the terror group's fighters smashing artefacts at the 3,000-year-old site near Mosul in northern Iraq.

    Militants are seen with large barrels of powder in a room lined with gypsum slabs, beautifully carved with representations of Assyrian figures.

    The explosion sends a huge mushroom cloud into the sky and turns yet another important part of history to dust and fragments.

    Fighters hack away at statues with sledgehammers and carve them up with angle grinders, claiming God had "honoured" them by "removing and destroying everything that was held to be equal to him and worshipped without him".

    1/9

    1. Gallery: Images Of The 3,000-Year-Old Assyrian Site

      The 3,000-year-old site on the banks of the Tigris river was once the capital of the world's most powerful empire, the Assyrians. European archeologists first excavated the site in the 1840s

    Statues, sections of palaces and gold items were unearthed at the site. Some of its best-known monuments include these winged bulls with human faces, known as lamassus

    ]]>

  • Many of its artefacts were on display in the Baghdad Museum, but disappeared during the Gulf War in the 1990s. It was presumed they had been looted

    ]]>

  • However, after the 2003 Iraq invasion by allied forces, the items were found safe. They had been locked away in a secret vault in the city, submerged in sewage water

    ]]>

  • The collection includes hundreds of gold and gem-studded jewellery items

    ]]>

  • A militant speaking at the end of the destruction, says: "Whenever we are able in a piece of land to remove the signs of idolatry and spread monotheism, we will do it."

    :: Islamic State's Trail Of Historical Oblivion

    Nimrud was founded in the 13th century BC and contains one of the most famous archaeological sites in a country dubbed the cradle of civilisation.

    It was such an important city, it was on UNESCO's tentative list of world heritage sites.

    The attacks, which follow similar destruction of archaeological sites in Iraq and Syria earlier this year and last year, have been widely criticised.

    Middle East expert Professor Fawaz Gerges, from the London School of Economics, described IS as a "social epidemic" that is "culturally cleansing" an area the size of the UK.

    He told Sky News that militants had caused "catastrophic" damage to Iraq's - and the world's - cultural heritage.

    "(They have) been systematically destroying ancient relics and cultural artefacts both in Iraq and Syria," he said. "The United Nations has called what IS are trying to do 'war crimes'.

    "They have a puritanical sense of an ideology that believes in cultural cleansing - not just people, but even art and culture. They want to purify the land - to establish a totalitarian ideology."

    He said the jihadists are using the video as a "powerful propaganda tool" to counter set-backs on the battlefield.

    "They believe that ancient relics, museums, are basically idols. Idols that basically substitute idols for God," he said.

    "These particular videos are designed for the hardcore, for the ... jihadists who believe in this particular ideology ... It's part of a propaganda, part of their ideological nightmare, it's part of a puritanical, severe interpretation of Islam."

    Abdulamir Hamdani, an archaeologist from Stony Brook University in New York, said of Nimrud: "It's really a very important site in the history of Mesopotamia.

    "Many of Assyria's greatest artistic treasures came from this site."

    Nimrud is the later Arab name given to a settlement originally called Kalhu, and was plundered by Western explorers.

    It was also looted and damaged during the 2003 US invasion.

    Most of Nimrud's most valuable artefacts were moved long ago to museums in Mosul, Baghdad, Paris and London.

    But giant "lamassu" statues - winged bulls with human heads - and reliefs were still on site.

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    1. Islamic State's Trail Of Historical Oblivion
    2. Conservatives Promise To Cut Inheritance Tax
    3. British Boy Killed In Alps Ski Fall 'Was Lost'
    4. Breaking News: Body In Boot Of Car Sparks Murder Inquiry
    5. Video Shows Family In Deadly Brawl With Police


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    Islamic State's Trail Of Historical Oblivion

    The ancient city of Nimrud is just the latest piece of history to be wiped from the map as Islamic State fighters continue their trail of destruction through Syria and Iraq.

    The Sunni extremist group has released a video appearing to show black-clad militants smashing up artefacts before razing the 3,000-year-old Assyrian site in a mushroom cloud of dust and destroyed treasures.

    Their mission is made clear with one fighter saying: "God has honoured us to remove all of these idols and statues."

    IS, which holds a third of Iraq and Syria, has been destroying Christian, Jewish and Islamic shrines in its self-declared caliphate because it says they promote idolatry and violate its interpretation of Islamic law.

    But with these acts of cultural cleansing, apparently in the name of religion, IS is accused of hypocrisy with authorities claiming its fighters are looting archaeological sites to fund their atrocities.

    :: Nimrud

    Many relics from Nimrud, which was founded in the 13th century BC and was one of Iraq's most famous archaeological sites, are in foreign museums.

    But a number of giant statues, depicting winged beasts with human heads, and stones friezes have now seemingly been turned into fragments by IS explosives.

    The militants are believed to hold around 15% of the 12,000 registered archaeological sites in Iraq - a country dubbed the "cradle of civilisation" for its ancient historical importance.

    And historians fear none of them are safe, and similar destruction may be taking place in IS-controlled areas of neighbouring Syria.

    :: Hatra

    A week ago, IS released another video apparently showing the bulldozing of 2,000-year old Hatra, some 70 miles southwest of Mosul, in northern Iraq.

    Hatra like Nimrud, 20 miles away, is a UNESCO world heritage site, and their destruction was condemned as a "war crime" by UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon.

    The footage shows jihadists apparently destroying artefacts with sledgehammers and rifles at the fortress city, dating back to the Seleucid empire, which controlled a large part of the world conquered by Alexander the Great.

    :: Khorsabad

    Last month, IS reportedly pillaged the ancient archaeological site of Khorsabad, some 10 miles northeast of Mosul.

    Khorsabad was built as a new capital of Assyria by King Sargon II shortly after he came to power in 721 BC and abandoned after his death in 705 BC.

    With an 80ft-thick wall and seven gates, it was renowned for shedding light on Assyrian art and architecture.

    :: Mosul

    In February, IS released a video of fighters smashing statues in Mosul's city museum.

    It also shows a man in black drilling through a winged bull, an Assyrian protective deity dating back to the 7th century BC, at a nearby archaeological site.

    A caption says the artefacts did not exist in the time of the Prophet Mohammed, and were put on display by "devil worshippers" - a term used by IS to describe the Yazidi minority in Iraq.

    The same month, IS reportedly destroyed more Iraqi history by torching thousands of books and rare manuscripts in the Mosul Library.

    UNESCO said burning the tomes, which included 18th-century manuscripts and Ottoman-era books, could be "one of the most devastating acts of destruction of library collections in human history".

    Officials fear more than 112,000 manuscripts and books, some of which were registered on a UNESCO rarities list, may have been lost.

    In July last year, IS apparently razed a Muslim shrine in Mosul, said to be the burial place of the prophet Jonah, who in the Bible and Koran is swallowed by a whale.

    Residents said militants ordered everyone out of the Mosque of the Prophet Younis, or Jonah, then blew it up.


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    Turkey's Anger Over Pope's 'Genocide' Remarks

    Turkey has summoned the Vatican's ambassador in Ankara after Pope Francis described the mass killings of Armenians during the First World War as "genocide".

    The Pope made the comments during a mass in Saint Peter's Basilica to mark the centenary of the Ottoman Turk murders of Armenians.

    He said: "In the past century our human family has lived through three massive and unprecedented tragedies.

    "The first, which is widely considered 'the first genocide of the 20th century', struck your own Armenian people."

    The 78-year old head of the Roman Catholic Church had been under pressure to use the word genocide to describe the bloodshed, despite the risk of alienating an important ally in the fight against Islamist militants.

    While many historians describe the events between 1915 and 1917 as the 20th century's first genocide, Turkey strongly denies the accusation.

    Armenians say up to 1.5 million of their people were slaughtered as the Ottoman Empire fell apart, and have long sought to win international recognition of the massacres as genocide.

    Turkey argues that 300,000 to 500,000 Armenians and as many Turks died in the civil war when Armenians rose up against their Ottoman rulers and sided with invading Russian troops.

    According to Turkish media, the foreign ministry will release an official response to Francis' remarks later.

    The Pontiff said the other two genocides of the 20th century were "perpetrated by Nazism and Stalinism".

    He added: "And more recently there have been other mass killings, like those in Cambodia, Rwanda, Burundi and Bosnia. It seems that humanity is incapable of putting a halt to the shedding of innocent blood."

    Armenia's President Serzh Sargsyan also celebrated the mass, which included elements of the Armenian Catholic rite.

    Francis proclaimed a 10th-century Armenian monk a "Doctor of the Church" - making Saint Gregory just one of 36 saintly theologians whose writings are considered to hold key insights into the Catholic faith.

    The Vatican has a long history of support for the Armenians, with John Paul II using the word genocide in a joint statement signed with the Armenian patriarch in 2000.

    He said: "The Armenian genocide, which began the century, was a prologue to horrors that would follow."

    But it provoked outrage in Turkey, and a year later during a trip to Armenia John Paul II avoided using the term, instead choosing the Armenian expression "Metz Yeghern" - meaning "Great Evil".

    Last week, TV star Kim Kardashian, her husband Kanye West, daughter North and sister Khloe, visited Armenia to celebrate her family's roots and mark the centenary.

    Kardashian, whose ancestors emigrated to the US from an area that now lies in Turkey, is reportedly making a documentary about the Armenian WW1 killings.


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    Obama And Castro Share Historic Handshake

    Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 11 April 2015 | 20.18

    US President Barack Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro have greeted each other at a summit in Panama - a symbolically-charged gesture, as the pair seek to restore ties between their countries.

    For Barack Obama this will surely be amongst the highlights of his presidential legacy.

    He's in Panama for a gathering of leaders from across the Americas - but it's a meeting that has taken place on the sidelines of the summit which will attract the headlines.

    That meeting has taken place with Raul Castro.

    Touching down in Panama City, even getting invited is a first for the Cuban President - after half a century in exile for his communist country.

    The two men had spoken by phone - hours before they were due to meet.

    It was only the second conversation between the leaders of the US and Cuba in 50 years.

    Four months ago Mr Castro and Mr Obama simultaneously announced an ending of hostilities.

    President Obama said starkly: "Fifty years of isolation hasn't worked."

    It was quite a statement. But words come easy to the eloquent president. Now it's time to show Cuba has come in from the cold.

    The handshake between the two leaders is symbolic proof of that.

    It isn't technically the first time they have shaken hands.

    There is a grainy image of them fleetingly meeting at the Memorial Service for Nelson Mandela in South Africa in 2013.

    But this time the handshake is supposed to mean more because it comes after the leaders' December declaration of a new beginning.

    Speaking in Panama, President Obama said: "As we move towards the process of normalisation, we'll have our differences government to government with Cuba on many issues, just as we differ at times with other nations within the Americas, just like we differ with our closest allies, there is nothing wrong with that.

    "But I am here to say when we do speak out we're going to do so, because the United States of America does believe, and will always stand for, a certain set of universal values."

    And that means probably taking Cuba off America's designated list of state sponsors of terrorism. Something which infuriates Cuba.

    The rapprochement will also open the door towards loans and aid for Cuba after decades of a crippling trade embargo. And that is a move worth its weight in gold.

    Fidel Castro came to power in 1959 after overthrowing the US-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista.

    For half a century, the leader of the first communist country in the western hemisphere was a thorn in America's side.

    In 2006 after abdominal surgery he started the transfer of power to his brother Raul who took the landmark step in 2014 of appearing with the US  President.

    Removing Cuba from the terror list will be a major step if ties really are to be rebuilt between the US and Cuba.

    An historic moment after 50 years which has seen America try to isolate Cuba and finally acknowledge it as a neighbour.


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    Arrest Warrant Issued For Justin Bieber

    An arrest warrant has been issued for Justin Bieber in Argentina after the singer failed to respond to summons related to allegations he ordered his bodyguards to attack a photographer.

    Judge Alberto Julio Banos, who issued the warrant, ordered the "immediate detention" of Bieber and bodyguards Hugo Alcides Hesny and Terrence Reche Smalls.

    The accusations relate to a 2013 incident outside a Buenos Aires nightclub where Bieber is accused of sending the two bodyguards to attack photographer Diego Pesoa.

    Under Argentine law, he would face a jail sentence between one month to six years if convicted on a charge of causing injuries - but the troubled singer never returned to Argentina to face police questions.

    It is not clear whether the warrant extends outside Argentina but Mr Pesoa's lawyer spoke to a local television station and implied that the warrant would force Bieber to return to the South American country.

    Matias Morla said: "Now we just need to wait for the police to find him and bring him" to Argentina.

    "For us, this is a triumph against all those who said this case was a bluff and that we didn't have anything."

    Bieber has so far not responded to the warrant being issued.


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    Walter Scott Killing: Cop's Dashcam Released

    By Sky News US Team

    Dashcam video has emerged showing a black South Carolina man running from his car after a traffic stop by a white officer, who gave chase before shooting him dead.

    The footage, released by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, does not show Officer Michael Slager shooting Walter Scott but does reveal more about the minutes before the killing in North Charleston last Saturday.

    Slager, who has been charged with murder and dismissed from the police, is seen approaching a car and asking the driver for his licence and proof of insurance.

    The patrolman tells Mr Scott he has been pulled over because of a broken brake light. After a brief exchange, the officer returns to his patrol car.

    The 50-year-old gets out of the vehicle, and Slager tells him to stay in the car. Several seconds later he leaves the black Mercedes-Benz again and runs away.

    After Slager gives chase, someone can be heard shouting: "Taser, taser."

    The 33-year-old patrolman said in a call to a dispatcher that he fired his weapon because Mr Scott took his stun gun and he feared for his life.

    But he was charged over the killing after a separate video, filmed on a mobile phone by an onlooker, showed the officer firing eight shots at Mr Scott's back as he flees.

    In the second video, Mr Scott does not appear to be armed.

    A post-mortem examination has found Mr Scott had multiple gunshot wounds on the back of his body.

    His father has said his son, a father of four, may have run away because he owed child support money and did not want to go to jail.

    Mr Scott owed nearly $7,500 (£5,100) in child support when he was pulled over by Slager, according to court records cited by the Associated Press.

    He had been jailed three times for failing to pay child support, reports AP.

    He was sentenced to six months in 2008 and then in 2011 spent a night in jail for missed payments, and again a year later.

    The dashcam video emerged as a man who was hit with a stun gun by Slager in a 2013 incident said he would sue.

    Mario Givens, 34, told a news conference Slager came to his house, pushed in the door and fired the stun gun at his stomach.

    Mr Givens, who was unarmed, filed an excessive-force complaint at the time, but Slager was exonerated and allowed to remain on the force.

    North Charleston police have said they will now review the case.

    1/6

    1. Gallery: Walter Scott's Death Sparks Protest

      Demonstrators rallied on Wednesday against what they described as a culture of police brutality

    The protest came after a white officer, Michael Slager, was caught on video killing 50-year-old Walter Scott, an unarmed black man who was apparently running away

    ]]>

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    Muslim Brotherhood Leader Sentenced To Death

    Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed Badie and 13 other senior members of the group have been sentenced to death for inciting violence and unrest in Egypt.

    The court in Cairo also sentenced US-Egyptian citizen Mohamed Soltan to life in jail for supporting the Brotherhood and spreading false news.

    Soltan, who is on hunger strike, is the son of Brotherhood preacher Salah Soltan, who was among those sentenced to death on Saturday.

    Judge Mohamed Nagy Shehata also handed life terms to 23 other Brotherhood members.

    The defendants were among thousands of Brotherhood supporters arrested after the ousting of President Mohamed Morsi in July 2013.

    They were accused of plotting unrest from their headquarters in a sprawling Cairo protest camp after the Islamist leader was toppled.

    The Rabaa al Adawiya camp was dispersed by police in August 2013 after a 12-hour operation that left hundreds of protesters and 10 policemen dead.

    It came after weeks of failed European and US-brokered negotiations with the Brotherhood, who insisted on Mr Morsi's return to power.

    Mr Morsi was the country's first freely-elected president and ruled for a year before he was ousted.

    President Abdel Fattah al Sisi, the former army chief who toppled him, then won an election and has vowed to eradicate the Brotherhood, which he calls a terrorist organisation.

    The group is blamed for a string of militant attacks that have killed dozens of policemen and soldiers.

    The deadliest attacks took place in the Sinai Peninsula and Cairo.

    The Muslim Brotherhood claims it is committed to peaceful activism and had nothing to do with the bloodshed.

    The men's sentences can be appealed before Egypt's highest civilian court, the Court of Cassation, in a process that could take years to reach a final verdict.

    The mass trials have drawn international criticism of Egypt's judicial system.


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    Walter Scott Killing: Cop's Dashcam Released

    Written By Unknown on Jumat, 10 April 2015 | 20.18

    By Sky News US Team

    Dashcam video has emerged showing a black South Carolina man running from his car after a traffic stop by a white officer, who gave chase before shooting him dead.

    The footage, released by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, does not show Officer Michael Slager shooting Walter Scott but does reveal more about the minutes before the killing in North Charleston last Saturday.

    Slager, who has been charged with murder and dismissed from the police, is seen approaching a car and asking the driver for his licence and proof of insurance.

    The patrolman tells Mr Scott he has been pulled over because of a broken brake light. After a brief exchange, the officer returns to his patrol car.

    The 50-year-old gets out of the vehicle, and Slager tells him to stay in the car. Several seconds later he leaves the black Mercedes-Benz again and runs away.

    After Slager gives chase, someone can be heard shouting: "Taser, taser."

    The 33-year-old patrolman said in a call to a dispatcher that he fired his weapon because Mr Scott took his stun gun and he feared for his life.

    But he was charged over the killing after a separate video, filmed on a mobile phone by an onlooker, showed the officer firing eight shots at Mr Scott's back as he flees.

    In the second video, Mr Scott does not appear to be armed.

    A post-mortem examination has found Mr Scott had multiple gunshot wounds on the back of his body.

    His father has said his son, a father of four, may have run away because he owed child support money and did not want to go to jail.

    The dashcam video emerged as a man who was hit with a stun gun by Slager in a 2013 incident said he would sue.

    Mario Givens, 34, told a news conference Slager came to his house, pushed in the door and fired the stun gun at his stomach.

    Mr Givens, who was unarmed, filed an excessive-force complaint at the time, but Slager was exonerated and allowed to remain on the force.

    North Charleston police have said they will now review the case.

    Mr Givens' lawyer, Eduardo Curry, said there was "a systemic problem" in the city's police department.

    Slager, meanwhile, has hired Charleston lawyer Andy Savage - whose previous clients include convicted al Qaeda operative Ali al-Marri.

    1/6

    1. Gallery: Walter Scott's Death Sparks Protest

      Demonstrators rallied on Wednesday against what they described as a culture of police brutality

    The protest came after a white officer, Michael Slager, was caught on video killing 50-year-old Walter Scott, an unarmed black man who was apparently running away

    ]]>

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    'Voice Of Cricket' Richie Benaud Dies

    Former Australian cricketer and commentator Richie Benaud who has died in a Sydney hospice, aged 84.

    Benaud, widely regarded as the most respected person in the game's history, had been receiving radiation treatment for skin cancer since November.

    Channel Nine, the Australian network where he took the lead commentator's position in 1977, said he had died in his sleep on Thursday night local time.

    Nine's head of sport, Steve Crawley said: "You didn't have to know Richie to love him - everything about him.

    "Best in the business bar none.

    "We will miss him the way you miss loved ones. And at the same time we will thank our lucky stars he came our way at all."

    Nine Entertainment Co's chief executive David Gyngell said Benaud's death had "robbed" the world of "not only a national treasure but a lovely man".

    Australia's prime minister Tony Abbott tweeted: "What an innings. RIP Richie Benaud," He added: "This is the greatest loss for cricket since the loss of Don Bradman and for that reason I'm pleased to have offered the Benaud family a State funeral."

    Hollywood actor Russell Crowe tweeted: "RIP Richie Benaud. My deep gratitude for all you gave to the sport of cricket as a player and as a broadcaster. Sad, sad day."

    And Piers Morgan wrote: "RIP Richie Benaud. The greatest cricket commentator of them all & a wonderful man. Mourning Everyone."

    Benaud played 64 test matches as an all-rounder between 1952 and 1964, taking 945 wickets in 259 first-class matches and making 11,719 first-class runs, scoring 23 centuries at an average of 36.50.

    He was the first man to achieve 2,000 runs and 200 wickets at test level.

    Australia's Test side did not lose a Test series under his captaincy, which he held from 1958 until his retirement.

    Benaud will be remembered by millions for his measured, laconic brand of commentary and he was as popular in England, where he worked on television from 1963 to 2005, as he was in his homeland.

    Speaking about his commentary work, he once said: "My mantra is: put your brain into gear and if you can add to what's on the screen then do it, otherwise shut up.

    "What I want most from being a television commentator is to be able to feel that, when I say something, I am talking to friends."

    The news arm of Cricket Australia, www.cricket.com.au, described him as "an Australian test great who nurtured a generation's love for the game with his commentary".

    They added: "After Don Bradman, there has been no Australian player more famous than Richie Benaud."

    He became one of the greatest commentators in world cricket before a car crash outside his Coogee home in 2013 left him with two fractured vertebrae.

    The injuries and cancer combined to keep him away from the job he loved in his final years, but he made occasional pre-recorded appearances on Channel Nine and he rallied to record a moving tribute to Phillip Hughes when the Australia batsman died last year after being struck by a bouncer.


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