Top News Story –

Lance Armstrong stripped of all seven Tour de France wins by UCI

Lance Armstrong has been stripped of his seven Tour de France titles by cycling’s governing body.

The International Cycling Union (UCI) has accepted the findings of the United States Anti-Doping Agency’s (Usada) investigation into systematic doping.

UCI president Pat McQuaid said: “Lance Armstrong has no place in cycling. He deserves to be forgotten.”

McQuaid added that Armstrong had been stripped of all results since 1 August, 1998 and banned for life.

Armstrong, 41, received a life ban from Usada for what the organisation called “the most sophisticated, professionalised and successful doping programme that sport has ever seen”.

The American overcame cancer to return to professional cycling, before winning the Tour de France for a record seven times in successive years from 1999 to 2005.

He has always denied taking performance-enhancing drugs but chose not to fight Usada’s charges against him.

[BBC]

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

• The Israeli air force strikes a rocket launching squad in the northern Gaza Strip, reportedly killing three, following rocket fire on southern Israel from Gaza and a mortar attack on an IDF patrol near the border. (Al Jazeera) (The Times of Israel)
• Riot police in Kuwait attack demonstrators with teargas, stun grenades and batons. (Al Jazeera)
• Syrian civil war: A Jordanian soldier dies during a gunfight between Jordanian troops and Islamic militants attempting to cross the border into Syria. (CTV News)
• 2011–2012 conflict in Lebanon: The Lebanese Army launches an operation to quell the sectarian violence in Beirut triggered by the assassination of Wissam al-Hassan. (Voice of America)
• Police authorities in South Africa admit the shooting of 34 miners by police “may have been disproportionate” to the danger faced by those in charge. (Al Jazeera)

Arts and culture

• A Kindle user from Norway has her account wiped and all her paid-for books deleted by the American multinational electronic commerce company Amazon.com. (The Guardian)

Business and economics

• A former Goldman Sachs employee blows the whistle on the investment bank having routinely taken advantage of charities and pension funds to increase its profits. (The Guardian)
• The chairman of the U.S. central bank, the Federal Reserve, likely will not stand for re-election to that post. Ben Bernanke has reportedly told friends he will leave when his term ends in January 2014 regardless of who wins the Presidential election campaign. (New York Times)

International relations

• The UK doubles its number of RAF armed “drones” operating in Afghanistan and, in a new development, drones are to be controlled from terminals and screens on British soil. (The Guardian)
• France plans to use drones in Mali. (The Guardian)

Law and crime

• Six Italian scientists and an ex-government official are convicted of multiple manslaughter and sentenced to six years in prison over the 2009 L’Aquila earthquake after prosecutors accuse them of being “falsely reassuring” before the event. (BBC) (The Guardian) (Al Jazeera)
• Pussy Riot members Maria Alyokhina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova are exiled to remote prison camps located in Perm and Mordovia, home to parts of the Soviet-era gulag system. Their exact locations are unknown, even to their lawyers and family members. They had petitioned to be held in Moscow which would have allowed them to watch their young children grow. (The Guardian)
• Peter Rippon, the BBC Newsnight editor responsible for dropping an investigation into allegations of sexual abuse against Jimmy Savile, steps aside from his role with immediate effect. (The Independent) (BBC)
• The body of a female found late Monday in a recycling container in Clayton, New Jersey is preliminarily determined to be that of missing 12-year-old girl Autumn Pasquale according to police (NBC)

Politics and elections

• Okinawa‘s legislative assembly passes a resolution expressing “overwhelming indignation” at the alleged rape of a Japanese woman by two U.S. soldiers, the latest of 5,747 crimes on record allegedly involving U.S. personnel over the past 40 years, and condemns the worsening criminal activity of foreign troops on the island. (Al Jazeera)

Sport

• U.S. former professional road racing cyclist Lance Armstrong is stripped by the International Cycling Union of his seven Tour de France titles and banned for life from participating in UCI-sanctioned events. (BBC) (Al Jazeera)
• A football fan is jailed after an attack on former England international goalkeeper Chris Kirkland during a match last week. Twenty-one-year-old Aaron Cawley was filmed on live television jumping from the stand and striking Kirkland with both arms on the head following a goal during the league match at Hillsborough. Kirkland, who described the assault as like being “hit by a ton of bricks”, was thrown off balance, crashed to the ground against his goal area and required treatment for his injuries. (The Guardian) (The Daily Telegraph)

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Marijuana legalization passes in Colorado, Washington

Voters in Washington and Colorado passed ballot initiatives Tuesday to legalize marijuana for recreational use, the biggest victory ever for the legalization movement.

“The significance of these events cannot be overstated,” said NORML, a pro-legalization organization, in a news release. “Tonight, for the first time in history, two states have legalized and regulated the adult use and sale of cannabis.”

But in many ways, it’s just the beginning of the battle. Marijuana is still illegal in the eyes of the federal government, which overrules states’ rights.

“The voters have spoken and we have to respect their will,” said Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, in a statement. “This is a complicated process, but we intend to follow through. That said, federal law still says marijuana is an illegal drug, so don’t break out the Cheetos or goldfish too quickly.”

The Drug Enforcement Administration reiterated its stance that marijuana is an illegal drug and that possessing, using or selling it is a crime.

“The Drug Enforcement Administration’s enforcement of the Controlled Substances Act remains unchanged,” said the DEA in a press statement. “In enacting the Controlled Substances Act, Congress determined that marijuana is a Schedule I control[ed] substance. The Department of Justice is reviewing the ballot initiatives and we have no additional comment at this time.”

The Colorado U.S. Attorney’s Office released an identical statement, saying that its position on marijuana as an illegal drug is “unchanged.”

[CNN]

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Armed conflicts and attacks

• Syrian civil war: Syrian President Bashar al-Assad rejects an offer to safely leave Syria and vows to “live and die” in the country. (CBC)

Business and economy

• Mario Draghi, president of the European Central Bank, confirms the overhaul of euro banknotes, beginning with the €5 note. (The Journal)

Law and crime

• Jared Lee Loughner, the perpetrator in the 2011 Tucson shooting, is given 7 consecutive life sentences. (Los Angeles Times)

Politics and elections

• Two days ahead of the Irish children’s referendum, the Supreme Court—ruling against the government’s distribution of information on the referendum—finds the government has breached the 1995 McKenna judgement requiring that referendums be explained to the public in an unbiased manner. The referendum’s website is immediately taken down. (Irish Independent)
• The 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China is opened in Beijing, during which current Paramount Leader Hu Jintao is expected to step down to make way for presumptive leader Xi Jinping. (BBC)
  • Tibetans launch protests in response to the congress. (Los Angeles Times)
• U.S. President Barack Obama announces his intention to visit Burma later this month, which would make him the first U.S. President to visit the country. (BBC)

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Connecticut school shooting: Children among 27 killed

A gunman has killed 20 children and six adults at a primary school in the US state of Connecticut, police say.

The gunman, who also died, has not been formally identified by police.

But officials told US media that the killer at Sandy Hook Elementary School, in Newtown, was a 20-year-old son of a teacher. He is thought to have killed her before the attack.

It is one of the worst-ever US school shootings, with a toll close to the 32 who died at Virginia Tech in 2007.

Early reports named 24-year-old Ryan Lanza as the gunman, but anonymous officials later said his brother Adam, 20, was the suspect.

He is believed to have killed their mother, Nancy Lanza, at her home before heading to Sandy Hook school. Investigators say it is unclear whether she worked there.

Ryan Lanza of Hoboken, New Jersey, was being questioned by police, US media reported, but has not been named as a suspect.

[BBC]

UPDATE – The shooter was confirmed as Adam Lanza

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Syrian civil war:
  • American admiral James G. Stavridis, NATO‘s Supreme Allied Commander Europe claims that Scud missiles fired by Syria at rebel forces have landed “fairly close” to the border with Turkey. (Reuters)

Arts and culture

• Kenneth Kendall, who became the BBC‘s first in-vision television newsreader in 1955, dies aged 88. (BBC)
• Gene Wolfe wins the Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award for “lifetime achievement in science fiction and/or fantasy“. (The Guardian) (SFWA)

Disasters and accidents

• Cyclone Evan heads towards Fiji after causing at least three deaths and widespread damage in Samoa. (ABC Australia via Weatherzone) (TVNZ)
• Thirteen areas of south-west England and Wales have been warned of possible floods as the United Kingdom prepares for heavy rain. (ITV News)

Law and crime

• A shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, United States, leaves 28 people dead, including 20 children, 6 teachers, the shooter, and his mother. (BBC) (Reuters) (CNN) (WABC) (The Boston Channel) (The Wall Street Journal) (The Washington Post)
• A 36-year-old man identified as Min Yingjun attacks an elderly woman with her own knife at her home, then stabs 22 children outside the nearby Chenpeng Village Primary School in Xinyang, Guangshan County, Henan, China. The attack on the children occurred as they were arriving for classes, and most of the victims are thought to be 6–11 years old. (Xinhua) (CBC News) (Sky News) (The Indian Express)
• The Crown Prosecution Service decides that computer hacker Gary McKinnon will face no charges in the United Kingdom over his activities. (BBC)
• Former British Labour Party MP Margaret Moran is given a two year supervision and treatment order after falsely claiming £53,000 in expenses. A judge had earlier ruled she was unfit to stand trial because of mental health issues. (BBC)

Politics and elections

• Hundreds of thousands of North Koreans celebrate the successful launch of the Kwangmyŏngsŏng-3 Unit 2 satellite in Pyongyang‘s Kim Il-Sung Square. (AFP via SBS News)
• Avigdor Lieberman resigns as the Israeli Foreign Affairs Minister and as Deputy Prime Minister following an indictment for fraud. (BBC)

Sport

• FIFA announces Moscow‘s Luzhniki Stadium will stage both the opening match and the final at the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Also FIFA chooses four cities for the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup that will take place in the Russian cities of Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Kazan and Sochi. (Reuters via Yahoo!) (RIA Novosti)
• The 2014 Tour de France will start in the northeastern English county of Yorkshire. A third stage will be held in southern England with a finish in London before the race moves into France. (ESPN) (AFP via Google) (Cycling News)
• Lionel Messi wins World Soccer‘s 2012 Player of the Year award ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo and Andrés Iniesta. Vicente del Bosque is chosen as the Manager of the Year. (World Soccer) (Marca)
• Australian surfer Joel Parkinson wins the 2012 ASP World Tour at the Billabong Pipeline Masters in Oahu, Hawaii. (Courier Mail)

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