MOSCOW: A Bolshoi dancer detained on suspicion of organising a horrific acid attack against the Moscow ballet company’s artistic director yesterday denied ever planning such an assault against his former boss.
Pavel Dmitrichenko, who has been charged together with two suspected accomplices, told a Moscow court that he deeply regretted the acid attack on Sergei Filin and was happy he plans to return to work in September. The dancer, who was often cast in dark roles such as Ivan the Terrible, admitted he had artistic differences with Filin but said he had never wanted him to be so badly hurt. Dmitrichenko told the court he had agreed to a “proposal” by the suspected perpetrator, unemployed ex-convict Yury Zarutsky, to “hit” Filin but no more.
Mandela marks two months in hospital
PRETORIA: Critically ill former South African president Nelson Mandela marked two months in hospital yesterday, as his compatriots extended their national vigil.
The anti-apartheid hero was rushed to the Pretoria Mediclinic Heart Hospital on June 8 with a recurring lung infection. His condition is still said to be “critical but stable”.
But the last two months have seen a series of scares for the Nobel Peace Prize laureate and for the country where he is considered a living saint. A steady stream of pedestrians passed the hospital gates yesterday, which have been plastered with posters, hand-painted signs and notes wishing the 95-year-old well.
Desmond Tutu’s home burgled
CAPE TOWN: Burglars have broken into the Cape Town home of South African peace icon Desmond Tutu, a spokesman said yesterday.
The break-in occurred overnight Tuesday-Wednesday as the archbishop emeritus and his wife Leah were at home sleeping. The couple were unharmed. “We can confirm that there was a break-in at the house,” said Benny Gool, a spokesman for the 81-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner. Police confirmed a burglary had taken place at a house on Tutu’s street in the Milnerton area of the city, but refused to confirm the names of the victims.
300,000 turned away at Zimbabwe polls
HARARE: Nearly 305,000 Zimbabwean voters were turned away and 206,000 received assistance from election officials during last week’s disputed vote, organisers said yesterday.
The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission said nearly 3.5 million people cast their ballots in the July 31 polls, which extended President Robert Mugabe’s 33-year rule. The commission’s statistics show the largest number of voters, 64,483, were turned away in the capital Harare. Urban areas have long been a stronghold of Mugabe’s rival Morgan Tsvangirai, who claimed the vote was rigged. Agencies
