Musician convicted of killing concert-pianist wife
LONDON – A British jury on Friday convicted a classical musician of beating and strangling to death his wife, the successful concert pianist Natalia Strelchenko.
A jury on Friday found double bass player John Martin guilty of murdering 38-year-old Strelchenko, who was attacked at the couple’s home in Manchester, northwest England, on their second wedding anniversary in August.
A witness who was staying with the couple said she saw Martin, 48, push Strelchenko down the stairs, repeatedly punch her and say “I want to kill her.” The witness said she ran to get help; Strelchenko was found seriously injured at the home and died in a hospital soon after of head and neck injuries.
Mexico City deals with high pollution
MEXICO CITY – Choking smog returned to the skies of Mexico City this week at levels not seen in more than a decade, prompting fears of more eye-watering days to come as efforts to curb pollution run afoul of the courts and the realities of life.
The haze that shrouded the second-largest city in the Western Hemisphere for four days never reached the worst periods in the 1980s and 1990s, but ultimately resulted from the fact that there are still too many cars on the crowded streets.
Mexico City typically sees its worst air smog during the winter-spring dry season when warm, still air settles in the high-altitude basin ringed by volcanic mountains. At one point on Monday, the pollution index edged past 200 – double the level considered acceptable but far short of the record of 398 set in March 1992.
Palestinian shot, killed after attack
JERUSALEM – The Israeli military says a Palestinian tried to attack soldiers with a knife in the West Bank before being shot and killed by Israeli forces at the scene.
The military says the Palestinian, brandishing a knife, charged the soldiers on Friday near Jerusalem at the Gush Etzion junction.
The incident comes amid six months of near-daily Palestinian attacks on Israeli civilians and security forces. Earlier in the day, the military said troops arrested two Palestinians with knives who said they were planning an attack.
Associated Press
