Death sentence for China school attacker BEIJING: A Chinese court sentenced a man to death on Saturday for an attack on a school that wounded 29 children and three kindergarten teachers last month. The attack was one of five major assaults against schoolchildren in the last two months that have left 17 dead and more than 50 hurt. The Taizhou Intermediate Court in Jiangsu province found Xu Yuyuan guilty of attempted murder,the official state Xinhua News Agency reported. The 47-year-old Xu told the court he was venting his anger against society,the report said. He appealed the sentence,saying the punishment was too severe considering no one was killed. US men on trial in Pak deny terror charges ISLAMABAD: The prosecution concluded its case on Saturday against five Americans on trial in a Pakistani court facing life sentences after being charged with planning terrorist attacks in the South Asian country. The men all in their late teens or early 20s have pleaded not guilty to five charges. The accused were given a last chance to respond to the prosecution before the defence presents its side on June 9,prosecutor Nadeem Akram said. US missiles kill five in northwest Pak: Officials PESHAWAR: A suspected US missile strike killed at least five people in the Khyber tribal region of northwest Pakistan on Saturday,in what would be one of the first such attacks in the area,intelligence and government officials said. Officials gave differing death tolls in the strike,which one said involved two missiles hitting a house and two trucks loaded with militants. The death toll ranged from 5 to 15. Libya crash survivor back in Netherlands Eindhoven: A nine-year-old Dutch boy,the sole survivor of the Libyan plane crash,returned to the Netherlands on Saturday,three days after the disaster killed his parents,brother and 100 others,the Dutch tourism federation said. The plane with the surviving boy has landed at the Eindhoven military air base in the southern Netherlands,ANWB spokesman Markus van Tol said. Ruben van Assouw was taken in an ambulance with doctors to hospital, said van Tol. UKs major airports may close from today London: UKs airspace could be partially closed from Sunday until Tuesday due to a return of the Icelandic volcanic ash cloud and prevailing weather conditions which is likely to effect the countrys main airports. Due to continuing volcanic activity in Iceland and prevailing weather conditions,there is a risk of UK airspace closures early next week, the Department for Transport said in a statement. NRI mom throws baby into river out of spite New York: An Indian-origin mother hurled her 19-month-old daughter into the Hudson and then jumped in herself in an apparent murder-suicide attempt intended to spite her husband,prosecutors said on Saturday. Dispirited after a few years of moving to the US because of her husbands job,Devi Silvia said she was sad,lonely and angry at her husband,and that she did this horrific act on purpose,Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Robert Hettleman said. British actress accuses Polanski of sexual abuse Los Angeles: Director Roman Polanski,who is wanted in the US in a 1978 child sex case,has been hit by fresh accusations by a British actress. Charlotte Lewis,now 42,alleges that Polanski sexually abused her in 1982 when she was just 16. In a press conference at the Los Angeles office of attorney Gloria Allred on Friday,Lewis,who appeared in Polanski's 1986 film Pirates,alleged that the director forced himself upon her in Paris when she was 16. The actress said the incident occurred in a Paris apartment but she did not report it at the time. The legal age of consent in France is 15,according to French law,the Los Angeles Times reported. The actress was a child star in Britain on the TV show Grange Hill and also appeared in movies. The Los Angeles County district attorneys office confirmed Lewis met with prosecutors on Thursday but declined to comment further. Polanski is wanted in the US so he can be sentenced for having unlawful sex with a minor in 1977. Salma Hayek changes name to Salma Pinault Los Angeles: Salma Hayek has changed her name to Salma Pinault,following requests from her two-year-old daughter Valentina. The 43-year-old actress has taken her husband Francois-Henri Pinaults last name for the sake of their daughter who was curious as to why her parents didnt share the same last name,InStyle magazine reported.
