WASHINGTON: Fresh winter snow moved into the US mid-Atlantic region yesterday, shutting schools and offices in the nation’s capital and elsewhere as the mid-section of the country remained in the grip of Arctic air that showed no signs of easing.
From 5.1 cm to 20.3 cm of snow was forecast to fall from northern Virginia, across Maryland, Pennsylvania, Delaware and into southern New England.
Treacherous traffic and power outages forced many government offices and schools to close.
About 1,000 flights were cancelled nationwide yesterday, according to tracking website Flightaware.com. Thousands of homes and businesses were without power on Monday night.
French troops kill 19 Islamists
BAMAKO: French troops killed 19 Islamist militants during an army operation in Mali’s rebel-infested northern desert yesterday, a French military source said, as the country prepared to stage nationwide elections.
The violence comes with Malians due to vote on Sunday in a second round of parliamentary polls supposed to mark the west African nation’s first steps to recovery after it was plunged into chaos by a military coup in March last year.
“The French troops haven’t reported any deaths or injuries. We are in control of the situation,” a source said, without specifying which Islamist group the militants were part of.
Founder of implant firm jailed
MARSEILLE: The founder of a French firm whose faulty breast implants sparked a global health scare was sentenced to four years in jail yesterday after being convicted of fraud.
Four other former executives of the now-defunct Poly Implant Prothese (PIP) were also convicted over a scandal that reverberated around the world.
PIP was revealed two years ago to have been systematically using industrial-grade rather than medically approved silicone in its breast implants in order to cut costs and boost profits.
The Marseille court sentenced PIP founder Jean-Claude Mas to four years in prison, fined him €75,000 and banned him permanently from working in medical services or running a company.
The 74-year-old, who says he is insolvent, was also ordered to compensate more than 4,000 plaintiffs up to €13,000 each for the anxiety he had caused them and, in some cases, the physical trauma of having the implants removed.
Ortega could be in power for years
MANAGUA: Nicaragua’s national assembly yesterday approved a constitutional change to remove presidential term limits, which could allow incumbent Daniel Ortega stay in power for years and raises concerns about democracy in the country.
Approval of the plan put forward last month by Ortega’s ruling Sandinista National Liberation Front must now be ratified by the assembly next year before it can take effect.
The 68-year-old Ortega has yet to say publicly whether he wants to run again for the presidency in 2016. Nicaragua’s law had set a two-term limit for presidents but that was overridden by a Supreme Court ruling that allowed Ortega to run for office again in 2011.
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