PARIS: France’s Grand Rabbi — the country’s leading Jewish religious figure — resigned yesterday after admitting to plagiarism and to lying about his academic record on his CV. Gilles Bernheim had been under pressure to step down after admitting to the unattributed copying and acknowledging that a claim on his CV that he was awarded a prestigious philosophy academic status was not true. The resignation came as dozens of members of the Central Israeli Consistory, the top Jewish religious authority in France, met in Paris to discuss the growing scandal in an emergency session. Bernheim, who was elected France’s Grand Rabbi in 2008 for a seven-year term, was found to have plagiarised from several authors, including late French philosopher Jean-Francois Lyotard. He also admitted that he had never received the prestigious but extremely difficult-to-obtain philosophy academic status from Sorbonne University that was on his public CV. Bernheim, who is married and has four children, was awarded France’s Legion of Honour — the country’s highest decoration — in 2010 by then-president Nicolas Sarkozy.
Bersani denies party about to split
ROME: Italy’s Democratic Party (PD) chief Pier Luigi Bersani yesterday denied an imminent split of his bloc, the largest in parliament, amid increasing criticism of his leadership during a prolonged political stalemate. The PD is divided over whether to join forces with its centre-right rival Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who says a “grand coalition” is the only way to break the political impasse caused by February’s inconclusive national vote. Bersani has repeatedly ruled out an alliance with Berlusconi, an unpalatable figure for many PD voters, but high-ranking party officials increasingly argue that a government with the media tycoon is a better option than a snap vote.
Pistorius hits out at disrespectful ‘fans’
JOHANNESBURG: Paralympian Oscar Pistorius said he was “deeply disturbed” yesterday by the comments of some of his fans on social media directed at Reeva Steenkamp, the girlfriend he is accused of killing. In a family statement, Pistorius expressed concern at the “disregard that is being shown by some - specifically those commenting via social media - for the profound pain that Reeva’s family and friends are going through”. Pistorius was said to be furious when told about a group of fans on Twitter calling themselves the “Pistorians”, and ordered a statement to be released condemning them, spokesperson Anneliese Burgess said. Pistorius faces a trial later this year on charges of pre-meditated murder. He claims he mistook Steenkamp for an intruder when he shot her several times through a locked bathroom door in the early hours of February 14. He returns to court on June 4.
‘Train surfer’ dies in Moscow metro
MOSCOW: A young man was crushed to death in the Moscow metro after apparently taking part in a dangerous craze for “train surfing”, or riding on the outside of trains, investigators said. The body of a young man aged 19 or 20 was found at noon between two carriages of a train at Kievskaya station on the busy circle line, the Investigative Committee for Moscow said. According to preliminary information, the victim was a so-called ‘train surfer’. Witnesses had seen the man clinging on between carriages. Train surfers carry out extreme stunts clinging to the outside of metro and suburban trains, often photographing their feats and posting them on social media. Agencies
