Sri Lankan navy seizes 800 kg of heroin, meth in record drug bust 

Weinstein’s lawyers made the request as jury selection resumed for a second day
The 73-year-old disgraced movie mogul arrived in court in a wheelchair

NEW YORK: Harvey Weinstein’s lawyers asked a judge on Wednesday to allow the ailing ex-studio boss to spend his nights at a New York City hospital instead of jail for the duration of his #MeToo rape retrial.
Weinstein’s lawyers made the request as jury selection resumed for a second day. The 73-year-old disgraced movie mogul arrived in court in a wheelchair, as he has at all of his recent court appearances.
In court papers, his lawyers argued that Weinstein’s stay at New York City’s notorious Rikers Island jail complex is exacerbating his health issues and that he’d be better off in the prison ward at Bellevue Hospital.
He been back and forth to Bellevue several times in recent months for treatment of various maladies.
Weinstein has numerous health conditions, including chronic myeloid leukemia, heart issues, diabetes, obstructive sleep apnea, sciatica and severe limitations on his ability to walk. A recent tongue infection was misdiagnosed at Rikers, requiring hospitalization, and he has gained nearly 20 pounds (9 kilograms) in the past month, his lawyer Imran Ansari said.
In a statement, Ansari said Weinstein is also subjected to freezing temperatures at Rikers and isn’t provided with clean clothing.
“Because of this mistreatment, he has been worn down considerably health wise, and now faces the stress of trial in this condition, which may very well lead to serious health complications, even death,” Ansari said.
Weinstein’s lawyers filed a legal claim against New York City last November, alleging he was receiving substandard medical treatment in unhygienic conditions at Rikers. The claim, which seeks $5 million in damages, argues that Weinstein has been returned to Rikers each time before fully recovering at the hospital.
The troubled jail complex has faced growing scrutiny for its mistreatment of detainees and dangerous conditions. Last year, a federal judge cleared the way for a possible federal takeover, finding the city had placed inmates in “unconstitutional danger.”
Judge Curtis Farber has yet to rule on the transfer request, and the issue wasn’t discussed in court before jury selection resumed on Wednesday morning.
The first day ended on Tuesday with no one chosen for the panel of 12 jurors and six alternates. Wednesday kicked off with two dozen prospective jurors being brought to the courtroom for more questioning after making it through an initial round a day earlier.
Weinstein is being tried again after New York’s highest court, the Court of Appeals, last year overturned his 2020 conviction and 23-year prison sentence and ordered a new trial, finding that improper rulings and prejudicial testimony tainted the original one.
Weinstein is being retried on two charges from his original trial. He’s accused of raping an aspiring actor in a Manhattan hotel room in 2013 and a criminal sex act on a movie and TV production assistant in 2006.
He is also charged with one count of criminal sex act based on an allegation from a woman who was not a part of the original trial. That woman, who has asked not to be named publicly, alleges that Weinstein forced himself on her at a Manhattan hotel.
Weinstein has pleaded not guilty and denies raping or sexually assaulting anyone.

LONDON: British police are investigating the vandalism of Muslim grave plaques in the town of Watford, near London, as an Islamophobic hate crime.

About 85 graves, including those of babies and children, were targeted at Carpenders Park Lawn Cemetery, which is designated for Muslim burials. A family discovered the damage at the weekend after attending a funeral.

On Wednesday, Hertfordshire Police appealed to the public for information relating to the crime, which they said happened between 1pm on Friday and 5pm on Saturday.

Chief Superintendent Jon Simpson, head of Hertfordshire’s Local Policing Command, said: “We are continuing to investigate every line of inquiry into this terrible crime, which we are now treating as an Islamophobic act.”

The police “are confident that, sadly, this was a religiously motivated act.”

Sergeant Irfan Ishaq, chair of the Hertfordshire Association of Muslim Police, said: “We recognize that news of this crime will not only impact the Muslim community but those from all walks of life.”

He said a police presence would be maintained in and around the cemetery.

The cemetery site, located off Oxhey Lane, is owned by Brent Council. Its leader, Muhammed Butt, said that grieving families and the community were in shock.

“There is absolutely no place for hate or discrimination of any kind anywhere, but particularly in London, a city where everyone is welcome and where our diversity is one of our greatest strengths,” he said.

He said the council was working to reinstate the damaged plaques and return the cemetery to a “peaceful, quiet place of remembrance for families.”