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Crunch coming for broadband fibre The next technological leap in broadband needs to be in the fibre optic cables that carry the data, according to a researcher. bbc.co.uk |
Skydiver guilty of rival's parachute murder Els Van Doren fell 1,000 metres to her death after Els Clottemans cut strings of parachute, Belgian trial heardA Brussels primary school teacher who sabotaged the parachute of a love rival and fellow amateur skydiver, causing her to plunge to her death, was found guilty of murder yesterday.Els Clottemans, who is due to be sentenced today, faces a maximum penalty of life in prison for the killing of Els Van Doren.The verdict ended a month-long trial that revealed no hard proof that she had sabotaged Van Doren's parachute so that neither it nor a safety chute opened during a jump from a plane flying at 4,500 meters (30,000 feet) over eastern Belgium.The prosecution cited jealousy as a motive in the case, as Clottemans and Van Doren were romantically involved with the same man, a Dutch skydiver, whom Clottemans wanted for herself.Police investigators told the trial Clottemans had cut the strings, causing the main and emergency chutes to fail during a skydive.Both women, according to police investigators, were having affairs with their Dutch skydiving teacher, Marcel Somers. All three belonged to the Zwartberg parachute club in eastern Flanders.Clottemans was arrested within weeks of Van Doren's death in November 2006 and questioned after police discovered the two affairs.A court psychiatrist who examined her reinforced the prosecution case by finding her to be psychopathic, narcissistic and manipulative.During the trial, the jury was told that Clottemans, an accomplished skydiver, knew very well how to disable a parachute.Evidence showed she also sent anonymous letters about Van Doren's love life to mutual friends.Clottemans told investigators that she suffered from low self-esteem and entered the relationship knowing she was second-best. In a letter published in Belgian papers three years ago, she said: "I always knew I was number two for Marcel."A few days before the death, the women were said to have been competing for attention at the instructor's home. Clottemans was rejected and sent to sleep in the living room where Van Doren, the wife of a Flemish jeweller, had left her parachute, according to the investigation.A few days later 12 members of the club flew over Flanders, with the two women supposed to link hands with Somers and another man in a skydiving quartet. Clottemans jumped too late, on her own.Van Doren fell more than 1,000 metres, crashing into a garden in Opglabbeek, a small town in eastern Belgium, and was killed instantly. Her last frantic attempts to activate her parachute were filmed by the camera in her helmet.There was scant forensic evidence to support the case against the school teacher, no DNA or fingerprints from the victim's skydiving kit. But the jury accepted the prosecution's case based on the dynamics of a love triangle between the instructor and the two women.That the women were having an affair with the same man was not contested. However, the intensity of the relationships and the motives for murder were disputed.Throughout her trial, Clottemans maintained her innocence.On the last day in court, she told the jury, "For four years now I have been accused of something I did not do. That does something to you. ... They questioned me [saying] 'It's you! It's you!' But it is not me!"The victim's son and daughter, 17 and 19 respectively, left the courtroom in tears after Clottemans pleaded for clemency saying she had lost her father at a young age.The court in the Flemish town of Tongeren was besieged by Belgian media during the case that has gripped the country.BelgiumDavid Battyguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Leaked Documents Roil Iraqi Leadership Critics of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who has struggled to form a governing coalition since March, are using the cache of nearly 400,000 classified documents as fuel to keep him from another term. online.wsj.com |
How Much Would the Olympic Hockey Teams Cost? If NHL owners are nervous, it's with good reason: More than $300 million worth of hockey players are still participating in the Olympic tournament, risking injury for the sake of national pride. online.wsj.com |