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DOMINIQUE STRAUSS-KAHN is widely expected to go free today after prosecutors asked for the case against him to be dropped.
The 62-year-old former head of the IMF faced sexual assault charges after an alleged encounter with hotel maid Nafissatou Diallo, 33. Ms Diallo had said she was attacked as she cleaned Mr Strauss-Kahn’s suite in the Manhattan Sofitel in May. However, doubts about Ms Diallo’s credibility led prosecutors, led by New York District Attorney Cyrus Vance, to file papers yesterday asking for the charges to be dismissed.
The documents, published in full by the New York Times, state that there was forensic evidence of a “hurried sexual encounter” between Mr Strauss-Kahn and Ms Diallo, but not enough to “independently establish her claim of a forcible, nonconsensual encounter.”
Prosecutors said Ms Diallo had altered her story a number of times in the wake of the alleged assault, and also fabricated a story of being gang-raped by soldiers in her native Guinea.
A hearing is scheduled this morning, at which a judge is expected to accept the prosecution’s request and dismiss the case. Mr Strauss-Kahn would then be free to return to France, where he is still being mooted as a possible Socialist presidential candidate. His party colleague Francois Hollande told French radio yesterday: “Whatever has been said, a man with the abilities of Dominique Strauss-Kahn can be useful to his country in the months and years to come,” the Guardian reports.
Kenneth Thompson, a lawyer for Ms Diallo, yesterday hit out at prosecutors. According to Bloomberg, he told reporters: “Cyrus Vance has denied the right of a woman to get justice in a rape case. He has not only turned his back on this innocent victim, but he has also turned his back on the forensic, medical and other physical evidence in this case.”
However, there was also support for Mr Vance from some legal sources. New York lawyer Stuart Slotnick told the Guardian: “This is the same DA’s office that prosecutes people who rape prostitutes. Those are very difficult cases to bring.” He added: “A prosecutor should not prosecute a case that they don’t believe in.”
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iOS might be using the Mars maps instead of Earth
Google Sky Map is a great app for the astronomy nerds out there..
Nah, starwalk is better
Google sketchup for building 3d models
Sketchup wasn’t developed by google. They bought it 4 years ago and sold it off 2 years ago, so not in their portfolio anymore.
Cool
As per above. Sketchup is an amazing tool. It helped design the house we now live in for free!
Problem with the Google products is that once you start to rely on it they go and scrap it ala Google Reader and iGoogle.
Google notepad was awesome as well
Also Lively.
What’s really galling about Notepad is that they’ve now introduced a similar service called “Keep”. I won’t be switching back from Evernote.
A very good sub for google reader is greader and greader pro, available in app store.
I can see my surface rover from here…:)
I would be happy if they could just fix the bugs in Chrome, Like Flash Player using all the CPU.
It’s Groundhog Day! Saw this on twitter and LinkedIn this week. Does anybody credit the real originators of articles anymore?
It says Business Insider right there at the bottom of the article.
Right beside “about the author”
Google Encrypted is now default for all logged in Google users (note the HTTPS in the address bar when logged in)
This was in response to the allegation that the Chinese government hacked the GMail accounts of some activists because they weren’t using HTTPS.
Agreed. Google Encrypted doesn’t count as a service, it really should have been standard from the beginning.
Check out ChromeMaze
It’s a game for chrome turns any website into a ‘marble madness-esq’ maze
Another similar service to Google Art Project is Google Business Photos: a very cool new service that allows people to take virtual throughs of shops and businesses. A couple of examples here: http://niallleechphotography.com/portfolio-2/google-business-photos-my-tours/
That’s amazing! Great work Niall Leech!
Sound search is not available in Ireland for some reason. Pity, I’d prefer ab alternative to shazam and soundhound
Very interesting
Is image labeller still around? Very addictive!
Edmodo is a great google product for teachers – it’s a social media platform for schools. Powerful and very safe.
Using edmodo for college. .. great idea but can’t access lectures from my mobile so useless unless @ a pc
Just had a look at your google business virtual tours there, Niall Leech. Impressive work. Is that service available all over?
Tried to dl google sound.. not available in my country. Wtf
What browser are you usuing? There are ways around that – firefox actually have an add-on that let’s you download stuff which isn’t availabke in your country. Can also be used to view youtube vids not available in country.
The Niantic Project?
have your say