Court rejects bail plea by Megaupload founder

A New Zealand court refused an appeal by the founder of online file-sharing site Megaupload.com to be freed on bail, Friday, agreeing with prosecutors there was a risk he would attempt to flee before an extradition hearing.

 

Kim Dotcom, a German national also known as Kim Schmitz and Kim Tim Jim Vestor, was returned to custody until February 22 ahead of a hearing on an extradition application by the United States.

 

The High Court in Auckland said the lower court judge was right to rule there was a significant risk Dotcom, who had passports and bank accounts in three names, might try to flee the country.

 

There was nothing to tie Dotcom to New Zealand except his motivation to fight the charges and get his funds, Justice Raynor Asher said.

 

“The judge correctly concluded that the risk of flight cannot be mitigated by the imposition of conditions, including electronic monitoring,” said prosecutor Anne Toohey.

 

STRENUOUSLY DENIES CHARGES

 

Prosecutors say Dotcom was the ringleader of a group that netted $175 million since 2005 by copying and distributing music, movies and other copyrighted content without authorization.

 

Dotcom s lawyers say the company simply offered online storage and that he strenuously denies the charges and will fight extradition.

 

Dotcom, 38, and three others, were arrested on January 20 after armed New Zealand police raided his country estate at the request of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation.

 

He told the court that with his assets frozen and business shut down he had no intention of trying to flee to his native Germany, where he would be safe from extradition.

 

“I will not run away. I want to fight these allegations on a level playing field. I have three little children. My wife is pregnant with twins. I just want to be with them,” he said in court.

 

EXTREME FLIGHT RISK, FUNNY VISITS

 

The prosecution again painted Dotcom as an extreme flight risk because of he had multiple passports, sources of funds, access to various means of travel, and previous history of fleeing to avoid criminal charges.

 

Officers cut Dotcom out of a safe room he had barricaded himself in within the sprawling mansion, reputedly New Zealand s most expensive home.

 

Dotcom said he said he had received “funny visits” and contacts while in jail, including one from a man claiming to be a prosecutor asking for money in return for a favorable bail hearing. He denied knowing anyone with a background in providing forged documents, whom the prosecution said had tried to visit him.

 

He said police had been unnecessarily aggressive when they raided his property.

 

“I was punched in the face, I was kicked down on the floor, one guy was standing on my hands … it was bleeding.”
Legal experts have said extradition hearings are likely to be drawn out with appeals likely all the way to the country s highest court.

 

The lower court judge said the accused appeared to have “an arguable defense at least in respect of the breach of copyright charges.”

9/11 remembrance ceremony starts in New York

A ceremony attended by President Barack Obama to honor nearly 3,000 people killed on September 11, 2001, began in New York Sunday with a procession of bagpipers and singing of the national anthem.

After Mayor Michael Bloomberg introduced proceedings at Ground Zero, saying it was “a chance to reflect and remember,” the ceremony observed a moment of silence to mark the exact time when the first hijacked plane hit the World Trade Center, starting the 9/11 attacks.

It was the first of six moments of silence to be observed at the ceremony at Ground 0: one for each of the towers hit, one each for the Pentagon and the crash of Flight 93 in Pennsylvania and one each for the collapse of two towers.

PIA flight delays as windscreen breaks

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight PK-267, coming from Dhaka to Karachi, will land after six to seven hours delay on Friday.

The flight is delayed as the wind screen was broken.

The PIA sources told media that there could be an accident due to the reason but now all is safe.

This is the second time that the PIA flight has gone through such incident.

It is told that that the MD PIA had summoned a report of flight delays but it was not submitted and such type of delays have become a regular exercise in which passengers and the PIA suffer. TrendPK

PIA flight had narrow escape

PIA Multan-Islamabad flight narrowly escaped when it lost its balance after it took off from Multan airport for Islamabad.

According to a report PIA flight PK-386 lost its balance after it took off from Multan airport due to bad weather. However pilot landed the plane in Islamabad successfully.

The passengers told plane could not maintain its balance 30 minutes after it took off from Multan airport and several passengers were injured.

PIA spokesman told the plane lost its balance due to bad weather and the pilot had landed it safely. All the passengers are safe, he stated.

Yousafzai takes charge as PIA’s new MD

ISLAMABAD: Nadeem Yousufzai has taken charge as new Managing Director (MD) of the Pakistan International Airline (PIA) on Saturday and urged the employees to take every step to normalize the flight schedule.

The MD has appealed the PIA employees to work hard to recover loss occurred in last four days due to the protest.

Sources said that a change in different departments’ administrators is expected in coming few days.

The flight operation of PIA has returned to normal and the spokesperson of PIA has asked the passengers to arrive at airports two hours before the departure. TrendPK

More repairs ordered for Discovery fuel tank

CAPE CANAVERAL: NASA ordered additional repairs to space shuttle Discovery after more cracks were discovered in the ship”s fuel tank, but the flight remains targeted for early February, officials said.

The shuttle”s cargo run to the International Space Station, one of the final missions before the United States ends the 30-year-old shuttle program, has been on hold since November 5 when a hydrogen fuel leak scuttled a launch attempt. Technicians later found a 21-inch- (53-cm) long crack in the foam insulation that covers the tank, a potential debris hazard for launching.

Further investigation revealed underlying cracking in structural supports, the cause of which has not been determined.

X-rays of the backside of the tank, completed this week, showed additional cracks in three more of the aluminum lithium tank support structures, Kennedy Space Center spokesman Allard Buetel said late on Thursday.

Those cracks will be repaired while managers consider if additional modifications to the tank will be needed, work that could delay the scheduled February 3 launch to later in the month.

The shuttle fuel tanks have been a top safety issue for NASA since the 2003 Columbia accident, which killed seven astronauts. A piece of foam insulation broke off Columbia”s tank during launch and smashed into the ship”s wing. The damage caused the shuttle to break apart as it flew through the atmosphere for landing 16 days later. NASA redesigned the tanks after the accident and developed new in-flight inspection procedures.

NASA is ending its space shuttle program in 2011 after two or three more missions to complete the space station, a $100 billion project of 16 nations that has been under construction 220 miles above the planet since 1998. Russia already has taken over the job of transporting crew members to and from the outpost – at a cost of $51 million a seat – in anticipation of the shuttles” retirement.

NASA is also investing in commercial companies with the hope that private industry will be ready to provide launch services for astronauts by about 2015.

UK: Heathrow Airport reopens southern runway

United Kingdom News: The southern runway at Heathrow Airport has been reopened after four days.

Thousands of passengers have been stranded at the airport since heavy snowfall on Saturday grounded planes, with 700 flights cancelled on Tuesday.Eurostar said it hopes to run a near normal service on Wednesday. Hundreds of people queued at St Pancras station overnight as services remain disrupted. There are also delays on several train routes serving London.A limited service is now operating on the East Coast route between Peterborough and London King’s Cross, after it was suspended following severe damage to overhead power lines at Huntingdon. Heathrow Airport has seen cancellations with backlogs piling up as the weather conditions forced thousands of passengers to camp at the west London airport. A third of flights took off from the airport on Tuesday, and passengers have been advised only to travel to the airport if their flight has been confirmed to reduce congestion. Although the airport has been able to clear snow from the docking bays for aircrafts, BAA’s chief executive Colin Matthews warned it could be some time before normal operations resume.

Air traffic controllers’ strike in Spian leaveds passengers in chaos

On one hand bad weather has badly affected the flight operations in almost the whole continent of Europe while on the other hand travelling has become difficult in Spain despite normal weather conditions. This has happened due to the strike of air traffic controllers. The strike has landed all the passengers in a chaotic and dismayed condition. Thousands of passengers were off-loaded and sent back from the airports.

US Envoy reminds of US support to Pakistan through thick and thin

US Ambassador to Pakistan Cameron Minter has said that the USA has always supported Pakistan through thick and thin, Dunya New reported on Thursday.
Speaking at the ending ceremony of the flight operation for the relief efforts of the flood victims, the US envoy said that US considers Pakistan as her strategic partner. He also said that US has proved its friendship with Pakistan by helping the flood-affectees. American Brigadier General Michael Logata said that 600 US personnel and 26 helicopters participated in the relief operation.
Corps Commander Peshawar Lt. General Asif Yaseen also spoke on the occasion and thanked the US government for helping the flood-affected people. Responding to a question Corps Commander said that the decision of launching operation in North Waziristan would be taken by Pak Army.

Ekta & Tusshar Kapoor attended the NY Festival separately

Ekta Kapoor loves her only sibling Tusshar to death. But when it comes to providing space, she’s next to none. A totally non-interfering ‘Didi’, Ekta carried her hands-off policy to a new high when Tusshar and she attended the Tenth Annual Indo-American Arts Council Film Festival in New York. Not only did Ekta and Tusshar travel separately from Mumbai they also did their own thing in New York and believe it or not, met only at the venue of the Festival!

Tusshar confirms this when he candidly says, “Ekta and I travelled separately to New York. She was with her friends on one flight, I went later on my own, crashed out the minute the flight took off and woke up when we were to land in NYC, so I was grateful for not being in company on flight. In New York, I shopped the whole day and only then attended the Festival. That’s where I met Ekta.”

Tusshar admits the celebrity-siblings like to give each other space. Rohit Shetty, who has just delivered a whammy of a hit Golmaal 3 which features Tusshar Kapoor, is all set to direct a comedy for producer Ekta Kapoor. But guess what! Tusshar is not too keen on being part of a hit team when sis Ekta is proving the financial backing.

Tusshar, who turned 35 this month, is evasive on this issue. “Yes, Rohit is committed to direct a film for my sister. But I think he’s first planning to direct an action film for Ajay Devgn. When the film produced by my sister happens we shall see. Right now I am just so happy to be part of a film that is so successful.”

Success on his own terms, and not arranged by his tycoon sister. That’s Tusshar’s policy. A rarity in an industry where youngsters are on the prowl for godfathers and patrons.
Everyone has noticed how Ekta and her brother Tusshar Kapoor have been occupying individual spaces as much as possible. However, the reason for it is not anything as scandalous as sibling rivalry.

By now every hopeful mother-in-law and her eligible son in town know, Ekta Kapoor is a recluse. Even when it comes to her own brother Ekta has a completely hands-off approach letting him make all his career decision independent of their home production Balaji Films.

Next Page »