D Thursday, October 8, 2009 METRO 11 For information contact; Conference & Banqueting T: 01 6073900 E: info@ocallaghanhotels.com Subject to availability. Conditions apply. Celebrity DJ Papillon @ The OCallaghan Alexander Hotel Halleluia Gospel Choir @ The OCallaghan Davenport Hotel Traditional Christmas @ The OCallaghan Mont Clare Hotel www.ocallaghanhotels.com This Christmas theres a party for everyone at OCallaghan Hotels METROWorld La Turquie douze points: A couple pose under the Eiffel Tower yesterday with a flag featuring a portrait of the founder of the modern Turkish Republic. The Tower was lit in the colours of Turkey as part of events marking the Season Of Turkey In France Picture: Reuters AmericA: A Wisconsin couple who prayed rather than seeking medical care for their 11-year-old dying daughter have been sentenced to six months jail and ten years probation. Dale and Leilani Neumann could have received up to 25 years in prison for second- degree homicide following the death of Madeline Neumann in March last year. She died of an undiagnosed but treatable form of diabetes. Prosecutors contended the Neumanns recklessly killed the youngest of their four children by ignoring obvious symptoms of severe illness. In testimony, the parents said they believe healing comes from God and that they never expected their daughter to die as they prayed for her. BOrNeO: Three siblings have died after being stung by hornets on the island. Six-year-old Sze Ying and her three-year-old brother Chun Jie died hours after they were admitted to the Sarawak General Hospital. Their sister Chen Sze Ting, eight, fell into a coma and died on Tuesday night. Their mother Tan Wan Chew, 29, is in intensive care and her condition is said to have worsened. Their uncle Lan Chia, who was also stung, has recovered and been discharged from the hospital. The family were attacked by the hornets while walking near their home in Batu Kawa. Experts have destroyed the remaining hornet hives. BurmA: Detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi held talks with a junta official, the second such meeting within a week following her call for a new era of co-operation. The unannounced meeting between Suu Kyi (pictured) and minister Aung Kyi near her home in Yangon lasted about half an hour. The meetings follow a letter Ms Suu Kyi sent last month to junta chief Than Shwe. In it, she said she was willing to co- operate with the junta in having sanctions lifted and proposed that she meet western diplomats to discuss the measures. AmericA: Three people who tried to rob a mans Oklahoma City apartment were caught by his wife in the Philippines, who spotted them on the webcam the couple use to communicate while they are apart. The three were arrested after Maribel Chouinard called her husband, who called the police. They were identified from a line-up e-mailed to Ms Chouinard. ruSSiA: Vladimir Putin celebrated his 57th birthday with a reception attended by some of the countrys leading writers, and received a congratulatory message from the Orthodox Church lauding him for his wisdom. One paper published an Ode to Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin written in a style typical of poems devoted to former dictator Josef Stalin. As prime minister and leader of the ruling party, Mr Putin (pictured) enjoys uncritical publicity on state TV, which critics say explains his high ratings. However, some writers boycotted the reception. SAudi ArABiA: A man who appeared to be bragging about his sex life on a TV talk show has been sentenced to five years in jail over the frank comments. Mazen Abdul-Jawad says he will appeal the courts ruling and that the interview, broadcast on the Lebanese LBC channel, was manipulated. He claims he was not aware in many instances that he was being recorded. Three other men who appeared on the same broadcast were sentenced to two years each. The show begins with Abdul-Jawad apparently talking about the first time he had sex. The interview shocked many in this conservative country where such talk is rarely heard in public. irAN: Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki (pictured) has said the US may have had a role in the disappearance of an Iranian nuclear scientist earlier this year. Shahram Amiri, who researches medical uses of nuclear technology, vanished during a pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia in late May. His disappearance came months before the revelation of a second uranium enrichment facility that Iran has been building near the city of Qom, raising speculation that Mr Amiri may have given the West information on it or other parts of the nuclear programme. JAPAN: A powerful typhoon is threatening the countrys industrial centres with torrential rain and strong winds. Typhoon Melor may be the most powerful storm to hit the nations main islands in more than ten years if it makes landfall today. Toyota Motor Corp may temporarily close its plants in the Nagoya area if the typhoon strikes. Melor, which had earlier been classed as a Category 5 Super Typhoon, is now a Category 1, which can bring winds of up to 153kmh. A deadly typhoon that occurred at the same time of year in 2004 killed 95 people. An average of about three such storms hit the heavily populated nation each year, although there was none last year. Filipino typhoon victims inside a gymnasium used as a temporary evacuation centre in Pasig, east of Manila, yesterday. The UN has appealed for 50million to help 1million flood victims in the country, which has been lashed by two major storms Picture: EPA refuge from the storm... Defence minister freed in Uganda Yusuf Siad: Released UGANDA freed Somalias minister for defence yesterday, a day after he was bundled into an unmarked car by security officials in the capital Kampala. Sheikh Yusuf Mohammad Siad, also known as Indaade, was a leading member of Somalias Hizbul Islam insurgents before he defected to the UN- backed government this year. Colleagues said he was visiting relatives in Kampala and they feared he had been abducted. Human rights groups have long accused the Ugandan security forces of using heavy-handed tactics when dealing with suspects. Uganda has 2,500 soldiers serving in the Somali capital of Mogadishu as part of the African Unions 5,000- strong peacekeeping mission Amisom. Analysts said the verdict was bound to weaken Mr Berlusconi and make tough economic policy deci- sions less likely as the third largest economy in the eurozone struggles to recover from its deepest recession since World War II. Italy is in bad need of reforms to get the economy going and this makes those even less likely because Berlusconi will be less inclined or able to focus on any reform effort, said Tito Boeri, an economist at Mi- lans Bocconi University. Mr Berlusconis lawyers had warned that overturning the law would leave him so entangled in the courts he would be unable to do his job properly. His centre-right allies have even threatened early elections if what they call concentric attacks on Mr Berlusconi over his private life and business dealings continue. Italys business lobby was aghast at the idea of elections. In a mo- ment of crisis like this we need to carry out reforms, and people would not understand us holding elections, said Emma Marcegaglia of employ- ers group Confindustria. Berlusconi loses legal immunityBY STePheN BRowN ITALYS top court ruled yesterday that a law granting Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi immunity from prosecution violates the constitu- tion, in a verdict that will reopen tri- als against him and may undermine his government. The 73-year-old prime minister described the ruling by the Consti- tutional Court as politically moti- vated. The court has 15 members, of whom five are selected by the presi- dent, five by the judiciary and five by parliament. The Constitutional Court is a po- litical organ, but well carry on. The trials against me are a farce. Viva Italia, he said, adding that the court, the head of state and the media all favoured the left. Berlusconi: open to legal action index.html2.html3.html4.html5.html6.html7.html8.html9.html10.html11.html12.html13.html14.html15.html16.html17.html18.html19.html20.html21.html22.html23.html24.html25.html26.html27.html