ITALY
Police officer convicted in rape of US student
MILAN — A carabinieri police officer was convicted of raping a U.S. student and sentenced to four years and eight months in jail, while a second officer was separately ordered to stand trial on charges of raping her friend.
In remarks prior to sentencing, Marco Camuffo insisted that the woman had consented to sex, and that it was his co-defendant’s idea to drive the Americans home from a Florence disco in their patrol car in September 2017.
Camuffo was convicted following a speedy trial that allows for lower sentencing. The trial of the second officer, Pietro Costa, was set for May 10.
Authorities said hospital tests indicated the women had been drinking heavily. Under Italian law, being drunk would preclude ability to give consent.
People are also reading…
RUSSIA
Military conducts test of nuclear capabilities
MOSCOW — The military said it conducted a massive test of the nation’s strategic nuclear forces involving multiple missile launches.
The Russian Defense Ministry said Thursday’s maneuvers featured launches of ballistic missiles by the navy’s nuclear submarines from the Barents Sea and the Sea of Okhotsk. As part of the drills, long-range bombers also fired cruise missiles, the ministry said, adding that all missiles hit their designated practice targets.
It added that Russia’s early warning system successfully spotted and tracked all launches. The Defense Ministry noted that the exercise offered a chance to test the chain of command from its main control room down to military units.
COLOMBIA
12 die as mudslide sweeps mountainside
BOGOTA — Disaster officials said at least 12 people died in a mudslide that swept through their mountainside homes.
Officials say the slide occurred about 2 a.m. Thursday in the central Colombian town of Marquetalia and caught the victims while the slept.
Four children were killed by the mudslide and 53 people were rescued.
Colombia’s National Institute for Environmental Studies has warned that eight provinces in the country could face mudslides in the coming days.
MEXICO
5 killed in collapse
of Monterrey mall
MEXICO CITY — At least five people were killed in the collapse of a shopping mall under construction in the northern Mexico city of Monterrey.
The civil defense office in the state of Nuevo Leon, where Monterrey is located, said two people had been pulled alive from the rubble and 12 were listed as missing.
About 100 emergency personnel were looking for more people who may be trapped.
The concrete slabs of the three-story structure appear to have pancaked, falling one atop another.
ISRAEL
F-35 fleet grounded after crash in US
JERUSALEM — The military said it grounded its fleet of F-35 warplanes after a similar aircraft crashed in the U.S.
The Israeli military said the U.S. has shared the findings of its investigation into the F-35 crash two weeks ago. But Israel’s air force chief, Maj. Gen. Amikam Norkin, wants to conduct additional tests on Israel’s F-35s.
The Israeli warplanes, purchased from the U.S., are a different model than the American one that crashed.
Israel said Thursday that the testing will take several days, but the planes remain ready for operational action if needed.
The Associated Press
