Judge punished for sentence error
A Singapore judge has been punished for mistakenly sentencing a prisoner to an extra three strokes of the cane, the Singapore government said on Tuesday, reports Reuters.
As a result of the error, Dickson Tan — who was found guilty of helping an illegal moneylender and also sentenced to nine months in prison — was caned eight times instead of five, Singapore’s Law Minister said.
The minister said the error arose after a court clerk entered the wrong sentence.
Tan’s mother is in talks with the government to seek monetary compensation of up to 2 million dollars over the mistake, according to local media.
Blair moves to ‘Little Arabia’
Lined with shisha bars, kebab houses and food shops piled high with Middle Eastern sweets, London’s Edgware Road, nicknamed Little Arabia, may seem an unlikely new home for ex-prime minister Tony Blair.
Some commentators predicted he would get a hostile welcome from locals who disagreed with the 2003 Iraq war, after buying a house just around the corner in Connaught Square, reports AFP.
But many people with Middle Eastern roots seem ready to give Blair and his family a warm welcome — in contrast to some of his well-heeled European neighbours, who worry about security problems.
Blair’s new 3.6 million pound home is a four-storey, 19th century property on a grand square just off Edgware Road, with Porsches and Jaguars lined up in the parking bays.
Graft: Argentina minister resigns
Argentine Economy Minister Felisa Miceli has resigned to face graft charges after a cash hoard was discovered in her office bathroom, the Spanish news agency EFE said.
Miceli submitted her resignation on Monday to President Nestor Kirchner hours after a prosecutor requested that she be summoned to testify as a potential defendant in a court case investigating the discovery of the cash.
The case came to light after a bag containing the equivalent of roughly $62,000 was found in the bathroom of Miceli's private office.
The minister said the money was for a failed real-estate deal and that most of it represented a loan from her brother.