WINDSOR: Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky was found lying on the bathroom floor at his British home with a ligature around his neck and the same material on a shower rail, an inquest into his death heard yesterday. The 67-year-old Kremlin critic was found dead on Saturday in his mansion in Ascot, west of London, sparking frenzied speculation about how he died. A post-mortem examination found his death was consistent with hanging, but toxicology tests are being carried out and it will be several weeks before the results are known. At the opening of the inquest in Britain, Detective Inspector Mark Bissell said Berezovsky was found with a “ligature around his neck and a piece of similar material on the shower rail above him”. Although the post-mortem found no evidence of a violent struggle, the detective said the involvement of a third party “cannot be completely eliminated as tests remain outstanding”. Berezovsky’s body was found by an employee — believed to be a bodyguard — on Saturday afternoon.
Putin orders surprise military exercises
MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday ordered surprise military exercises in the Black Sea region involving 7,000 troops and dozens of ships to test the army’s battle readiness, the Kremlin said. In typical Putin style, the order was presented to the Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu in a sealed envelope in the middle of the night at 4am (2400 GMT), with the drills to start immediately. Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov indicated the order was aimed at testing out the battle readiness of the Russian armed forces and said Moscow was not obliged to warn its partners of the plan. A defence ministry source told the state RIA Novosti news agency that the military drills, which would involve live firing, were already under way and would be wrapped up by the end of the week.
Court clears Pistorius to travel abroad
PRETORIA: A South African court yesterday cleared Paralympian sprint star Oscar Pistorius for international travel, easing stringent bail terms that were set after he was charged with murdering his girlfriend. Pistorius, 26, whose athletics career has been on hold since the Valentine’s Day killing of 29-year-old Reeva Steenkamp, had appealed against a raft of bail conditions he said were unfair and unwarranted. Pretoria High Court Judge Bert Bam said the initial magistrate’s decision last month to order Pistorius to hand over his passport was “wrong”. “I find no reason why the appellant should be forbidden to leave the Republic of South Africa if invited to compete in athletics events in other countries,” Bam ruled. Pistorius will however have to submit his itinerary to the prosecution at least one week before travel and hand back his passport within 24 hours of return. The passport will now be kept by his lawyer.
Mandela in hospital with lung infection
JOHANNESBURG: Nelson Mandela was “responding positively” to treatment yesterday after being readmitted to hospital with a lung infection, the latest health scare for the much-loved anti-apartheid icon. The frail 94-year-old former South African president was hospitalised just before midnight on Wednesday, the presidency said, urging people around the world to pray for him. “The doctors advise that former president Nelson Mandela is responding positively to the treatment he is undergoing for a recurring lung infection,” President Jacob Zuma’s office said in a short statement.
Pope appoints new Buenos Aires archbishop
VATICAN CITY: Pope Francis made his first clerical appointment yesterday, assigning the bishop of Santa Rosa in Argentina to take over his former post as archbishop of the large diocese of Buenos Aires. Archbishop Mario Poli, 65, steps into the shoes of former Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio as the top Catholic Church figure in Argentina. Poli worked alongside Bergoglio in the Argentine capital — which numbers 2.5 million faithful — from 2002 to 2008, after he was appointed auxiliary bishop by Francis’s predecessor Benedict XVI.
No greater feeling than saving lives: William
LONDON: Prince William has admitted there is “no greater feeling” than saving someone’s life while working as a search and rescue helicopter pilot, in an interview released yesterday. The second in line to the British throne, who has been working as a Royal Air Force pilot in Wales since January 2010, said it was stressful but nothing compared to the satisfaction of bringing someone home safe. “There’s no greater feeling than when you’ve actually done some good and saved someone’s life,” William told a BBC TV programme on the emergency service, which is due to be broadcast next week. “I don’t think there’s any greater calling in life... to be able to see a son or daughter’s face when you bring their mother or father back from the edge of death — it’s quite powerful.”
Judge in Sarkozy probe receives bullet in post
BORDEAUX: The judge who charged former president Nicolas Sarkozy with taking financial advantage of France’s richest woman has received a bullet and a death threat in the post, say lawyers. Jean-Michel Gentil, the most prominent of three judges investigating the case, received the threatening letter together with blank cartridges on Wednesday, the magistrate’s union SM said in a statement published on its website. One of Gentil’s colleagues said the letter, which arrived at the judge’s offices in Bordeaux, contained threats against other magistrates. Police had been called in to investigate, the colleague added. Agencies
