12-year-old commits suicide after being cyberbullied

MIAMI: The clues were buried in her bedroom. Before leaving for school on Monday morning, Rebecca Ann Sedwick had hidden her schoolbooks under a pile of clothes and left her cellphone behind, a rare lapse for a 12-year-old girl.

Inside her phone's virtual world, she had changed her user name on Kik Messenger, a cellphone application, to "That Dead Girl" and delivered a message to two friends, saying goodbye forever. Then she climbed a platform at an abandoned cement plant near her home in the Central Florida city of Lakeland and leaped to the ground, the Polk County sheriff said.

In jumping, Rebecca became one of the youngest members of a growing list of children and teenagers apparently driven to suicide, at least in part, after being maligned, threatened and taunted online, mostly through a new collection of texting and photo-sharing cellphone applications. Her suicide raises new questions about the proliferation and popularity of these applications and Web sites among children and the ability of parents to keep up with their children's online relationships.

For more than a year, Rebecca, pretty and smart, was cyberbullied by a coterie of 15 middle-school children who urged her to kill herself, her mother said. The Polk County sheriff's office is investigating the role of cyberbullying in the suicide and considering filing charges against the middle-school students who apparently barraged Rebecca with hostile text messages. Florida passed a law this year making it easier to bring felony charges in online bullying cases.

Rebecca was "absolutely terrorized on social media," Sheriff Grady Judd of Polk County said at a news conference this week.

Along with her grief, Rebecca's mother, Tricia Norman, faces the frustration of wondering what else she could have done. She complained to school officials for several months about the bullying, and when little changed, she pulled Rebecca out of school. She closed down her daughter's Facebook page and took her cellphone away. She changed her number. Rebecca was so distraught in December that she began to cut herself, so her mother had her hospitalized and got her counseling. As best she could, Ms Norman said, she kept tabs on Rebecca's social media footprint.

It all seemed to be working, she said. Rebecca appeared content at her new school as a seventh grader. She was gearing up to audition for chorus and was considering slipping into her cheerleading uniform once again. But unknown to her mother, Rebecca had recently signed on to new applications — ask.fm, and Kik and Voxer — which kick-started the messaging and bullying once again.

"I had never even heard of them; I did go through her phone but didn't even know," said Ms Norman, 42, who works in customer service. "I had no reason to even think that anything was going on. She was laughing and joking."

Sheriff Judd said Rebecca had been using these messaging applications to send and receive texts and photographs. His office showed Ms Norman the messages and photos, including one of Rebecca with razor blades on her arms and cuts on her body. The texts were full of hate, her mother said: "Why are you still alive?" "You're ugly."

One said, "Can u die please?" To which Rebecca responded, with a flash of resilience, "Nope but I can live." Her family said the bullying began with a dispute over a boy Rebecca dated for a while. But Rebecca had stopped seeing him, they said.

Rebecca was not nearly as resilient as she was letting on. Not long before her death, she had clicked on questions online that explored suicide. "How many Advil do you have to take to die?"

In hindsight, Ms Norman wonders whether Rebecca kept her distress from her family because she feared her mother might take away her cellphone again.

"Maybe she thought she could handle it on her own," Ms Norman said.

It is impossible to be certain what role the online abuse may have played in her death. But cyberbullying experts said cellphone messaging applications are proliferating so quickly that it is increasingly difficult for parents to keep pace with their children's complex digital lives.

"It's a whole new culture, and the thing is that as adults, we don't know anything about it because it's changing every single day," said Denise Marzullo, the chief executive of Mental Health America of Northeast Florida in Jacksonville, who works with the schools there on bullying issues.

No sooner has a parent deciphered Facebook or Twitter or Instagram than his or her children have migrated to the latest frontier. "It's all of these small ones where all this is happening," Ms Marzullo said.

In Britain, a number of suicides by young people have been linked to ask.fm, and online petitions have been started there and here to make the site more responsive to bullying. The company ultimately responded this year by introducing an easy-to-see button to report bullying and saying it would hire more moderators.

"You hear about this all the time," Ms Norman said of cyberbullying. "I never, ever thought it would happen to me or my daughter."

Questions have also been raised about whether Rebecca's old school, Crystal Lake Middle School, did enough last year to help stop the bullying; some of it, including pushing and hitting, took place on school grounds. The same students also appear to be involved in sending out the hate-filled online messages away from school, something schools can also address.

Nancy Woolcock, the assistant superintendent in charge of antibullying programs for Polk County Schools, said the school received one bullying complaint from Rebecca and her mother in December about traditional bullying, not cyberbullying. After law enforcement investigated, Rebecca's class schedule was changed. Ms Woolcock said the school also has an extensive antibullying campaign and takes reports seriously.

But Ms Norman said the school should have done more. Officials told her that Rebecca would receive an escort as she switched classes, but that did not happen, she said.

Rebecca never boarded her school bus on Monday morning. She made her way to the abandoned Cemex plant about 10 minutes away from her modest mobile home; the plant was a place she had used as a getaway a few times when she wanted to vanish. Somehow, she got past the high chain-link fence topped with barbed wire, which is now a memorial, with teddy bears, candles and balloons. She climbed a tower and then jumped.

"Don't ignore your kids," Ms Norman said, "even if they seem fine."

Lance Speere contributed reporting from Lakeland, Florida and Alan Blinder from Atlanta.

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Losing power hits 'like a fist': Gillard

Losing power was like being "hit by a fist", Australia's first female prime minister Julia Gillard said on Saturday, recounting the pain of being dumped by her party.

Gillard made history in 2010 when she became the first woman to lead the country after ousting Kevin Rudd in a Labor party room coup, a move that shocked the nation, which had voted Rudd into power just three years before.

But in June Gillard received the same treatment herself, with her parliamentary Labor colleagues returning the leadership to Rudd after she failed to turn around dismal opinion poll ratings.

"Losing power is felt physically, emotionally, in waves of sensation, in moments of acute distress," Gillard wrote in a piece published online in the Guardian on Saturday.

"I know now that there are the odd moments of relief as the stress ekes away and the hard weight that felt like it was sitting uncomfortably between your shoulder blades slips off.

"I know too that you can feel you are fine but then suddenly someone's words of comfort, or finding a memento at the back of the cupboard as you pack up, or even cracking jokes about old times, can bring forth a pain that hits you like a fist, pain so strong you feel it in your guts, your nerve endings."

Rudd ultimately lost the September 7 election to conservative leader Tony Abbott and has stepped down from the Labor leadership, which is now a contest between two of his former ministers, Anthony Albanese and Bill Shorten.

But Gillard, who said she watched the election night results on her own to "just let myself be swept up in it", said more needed to be done to heal the Labor Party after three years of bitter infighting over the leadership.

She criticised the switch back to Rudd just weeks ahead of the poll — a move that led several high-profile ministers to quit — saying it sent Australians "a very cynical and shallow message" about the party's sense of purpose.

"It was not done because caucus now believed Kevin Rudd had the greater talent for governing," she wrote.

"It was only done — indeed expressly done — on the basis that Labor might do better at the election.

"Labor unambiguously sent a very clear message that it cared about nothing other than the prospects of survival of its members of parliament at the polls."

Gillard, who opted not to stand in this month's polls, also said Rudd — whose downfall in 2010 came about after he lost the support of his colleagues — failed to articulate a reason why he had been installed as leader.

"There was not one truly original new idea to substitute as the lifeblood of the campaign," she said, adding that some of Rudd's policy flourishes during his campaign — including appearing anti-foreign investment — needed to be ditched.

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Egypt's Mubarak waves, grins as his trial resumes

CAIRO: Egypt's ousted long-time autocrat Hosni Mubarak was back in court on Saturday, grinning and waving as his trial resumed on charges related to the killings of some 900 protesters during the 2011 uprising that led to his ouster.

The 85-year-old former president was convicted and sentenced to life in prison for failing to stop the killings, but his sentence was overturned on appeal earlier this year and a retrial was ordered.

The retrial comes against the backdrop of continued turmoil in Egypt. Unrest has spiked after the popularly backed July 3 military coup that toppled Mubarak's successor, Mohammed Morsi. The interim, military-backed government has targeted members of Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood group and arrested hundreds on charges of inciting violence.

Morsi himself is detained at an unknown location and a state of emergency was imposed following a deadly crackdown on his supporters last month. Morsi, who was Egypt's first freely elected president, faces accusations of conspiring with Palestinian gunmen from neighboring Gaza Strip in his escape from prison during the anti-Mubarak uprising.

One of the defendants' lawyers in Mubarak's trial on Saturday suggested that the Brotherhood and Palestinian militants were behind the killings of protesters during the uprising.

The case against Mubarak also involves seven top security officials, including Mubarak's ex-interior minister Habib el-Adly. They all face charges of complicity in the killings during the 18-day uprising.

Mubarak, his two sons and a business aide - who has since fled Egypt and is being tried in absentia - also face corruption charges in the same case. Both of Mubarak's sons were in the Cairo court with him on Saturday.

Mubarak was wheeled into the defendants' cage in the heavily-fortified courtroom for the hearing, broadcast live on state television. The former president sat upright, waving to two female supporters who snapped photos of him with their tablet.

Judge Mahmoud el-Rachidi ordered a media blackout of the next three sessions, scheduled to run from October 19 until October 21. The sessions will include testimonies from former security officials, including ex-Interior Minister Ahmed Gamaleddin and ex-intelligence chief Murad Muwafi. Egypt's current oil minister, Sherif Ismail, is also to give testimony in relation to the corruption charges.

The judge ordered the court closed for the upcoming testimonies, barring anyone from attending except lawyers. Journalists will not be allowed to report anything on the testimonies or even quote lawyers who attend the sessions.

Similarly in late 2011, secretive figures in Mubarak's inner circle testified in his initial trial under a media gag order.

In previous courtroom appearances, the former president was lying on a gurney, but he has appeared more confident since his release from prison last month. After his release, Mubarak was ordered detained at a military hospital pending trial in other corruption cases.

Mubarak's two sons, Alaa and one-time heir apparent Gamal, remain in prison pending their trial on separate corruption charges.

Outside the court, about 30 Mubarak supporters brandished his picture and shouted in his support. There were around five other protesters, apparently relatives of demonstrators slain in the anti-Mubarak uprising who were not allowed in the courtroom.

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Syria war crimes worsen: UN report

GENEVA: UN human rights investigators said on Wednesday Syrian government forces had massacred civilians, bombed hospitals and committed other war crimes in widespread attacks to recapture territory from rebels this year.

Opposition forces, including Islamist foreign fighters, have also perpetrated war crimes including executions, hostage-taking and shelling of civilian neighbourhoods, the investigators said in their latest report, covering the period of May 15-July 15.

"The perpetrators of these violations and crimes, on all sides, act in defiance of international law. They do not fear accountability. Referral to justice is imperative," said the report by the UN commission of inquiry, which is led by Paulo Pinheiro of Brazil.

The independent experts said they had received allegations about the use of chemical weapons "predominantly by government forces ... On the evidence currently available, it was not possible to reach a finding about the chemical agents used, their delivery systems or the perpetrators. Investigations are ongoing," the report said.

The team of some 20 investigators carried out 258 interviews with refugees, defectors and others in the region and in Geneva, including via Skype, for their 11th report in two years. They have never been allowed into Syria despite repeated requests.

The report called for a political solution to Syria's civil war and urged other states to "stop weapons transfers in view of the clear risk that they will be used to commit serious violations of international law".

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US marks 12th anniversary of 9/11 attacks

WASHINGTON: Americans on Wednesday marked the 12th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks in somber fashion, with ceremonies of remembrance in New York and Washington.

President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and their wives observed a moment of silence on the White House lawn. The president was to deliver remarks at the Pentagon -- scene of one of the strikes.

In New York, relatives of those killed when hijacked airliners slammed into the World Trade Center gathered at Ground Zero to remember the dead.

Former New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani wiped away a tear as the ceremony unfolded, starting with a moment of silence at 8:46 am (1246 GMT), when the first plane smashed into the Twin Towers.

Nearly 3,000 people were killed in the attacks on New York, the Pentagon and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

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Nigerian president sacks nine ministers

ABUJA: Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan sacked nine ministers in his first major cabinet reshuffle since winning an election more than two years ago, a presidency spokesman said on Wednesday.

The ministers of foreign affairs, education, science and technology, housing and urban development, national planning, and environment have been removed. The ministers of state - the junior minister for each office - for power, agriculture and defence have also been sacked.

"They will be replaced but not immediately," a spokesman told reporters, without giving further details.

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Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus faces legal action

DHAKA: Bangladesh's cabinet has ordered "legal action" against 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, accusing him of avoiding taxes on income from awards, book royalties and foreign tours.

The cabinet, led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, has asked the tax administration, central bank and banking regulators to take the action in line with "existing laws", cabinet secretary Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan announced on Monday.

Yunus's office denied the allegations by the National Board of Revenue (NBR), the country's tax authority, calling them "baseless".

It said the micro-credit pioneer has paid all taxes according to Bangladesh's laws.

Yunus, who set up Grameen Bank in 1983 and made it a global success story in tackling poverty, was sacked from the microfinance bank in 2011.

His dismissal was widely seen as orchestrated by Hasina who was enraged by Yunus's brief entry into politics in 2007.

The latest order comes in the wake of a series of statements by Yunus, regarded as a national hero by many, calling for elections under a caretaker administration - a key demand of the country's opposition.

In recent weeks, major political parties, including the main opposition, have rallied around Yunus after a government commission suggested a state takeover of Grameen.

Bhuiyan told reporters that the cabinet order came after it went through a report by the NBR which said that Yunus had taken tax exemptions of $2 million on earnings of $7 million between 2004 and 2011.

Bhuiyan said that the tax benefits were not in accordance with the law. "As a public servant, he did not take prior permission to go abroad, so the NBR thinks the money he earned from abroad and the income tax facility he has taken were not according to the rules," he told reporters.

"The cabinet decided to take necessary measures against the irregularities as per the country's law", said Bhuiyan.

Yunus, who jointly won the Nobel Peace Prize with the bank in 2006 for economic and social development, was fired as head of the bank in 2011 for exceeding the mandatory retirement age of 60.

He challenged the move in court but lost. The court ruled that the bank was a government institution, not a private bank owned by its lenders, as Yunus and his lawyers have maintained.

Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, a personal friend, heaped praise on Yunus during a visit to Dhaka in May last year and urged Hasina's government to maintain "an environment where civil society groups operate freely".

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Strike on Syria may trigger attack on Israel: Iran

MOSCOW: Iran has issued a thinly veiled threat to Israel, saying that in the event of a US attack on Iranian ally Syria some groups may retaliate by striking the Jewish state.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian said at a briefing today that if the US launches a military strike against Syria, Israel would be under threat from "some groups and movements that have formed over the past two or three years." He didn't elaborate.

He said Iran welcomes Russia's initiative calling for Syria to place its chemical weapons under international control.

At the same time, he insisted that Iran has a proof that the chemical attack last month was launched by Syrian rebels, not government forces as the US claims.

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Pak to free top Taliban prisoner

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Tuesday said it has decided "in principle" to free Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the former deputy commander of the Afghan Taliban, to facilitate the peace process in war-torn Afghanistan.

Foreign Office spokesman Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry said Baradar's release is part of efforts to "help promote the Afghan peace process".

Baradar will be released at an "appropriate time", Chaudhry was quoted as saying by state-run Radio Pakistan.

The announcement came a day after an all-party meeting convened by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif endorsed the government's plans to end militancy through dialogue and discussed the Afghan reconciliation process.

Pakistan freed seven Afghan Taliban leaders on Saturday, taking the total number of commanders released so far to 33.

Media reports said Baradar, arrested by Pakistani security agencies and the CIA in Karachi in 2010, could be released by the end of this month.

President Hamid Karzai's government has been pushing Pakistan to free Baradar in the hope that he could lead talks with the Afghan High Peace Council.

After Baradar's arrest, Pakistan was accused of sabotaging the Afghan peace process. Reports at the time said Baradar was a key commander who favoured peace and that he was detained as he was operating independently without consulting Pakistan's intelligence agencies.

Baradar was once considered the most influential Taliban leader after Mullah Muhammad Omar. He was one of four insurgents who founded the Taliban movement and was leading the day-to-day campaign against US and NATO troops.

Reports said that at the time of his arrest, Baradar was holding peace talks with the Afghan government and had even met President Karzai.

Washington initially hailed his arrest but found out later that Islamabad captured Baradar to scuttle secret peace talks.

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Australian PM Rudd heads for election wipeout

SYDNEY: Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd vowed on Friday to fight to the end despite polls showing him heading for an election wipeout as rival Tony Abbott looked forward to getting straight to work.

A Galaxy survey in the Sydney Daily Telegraph, a day before voters cast their ballots, found Rudd had failed to make any inroads on the conservative opposition leader.

On a two-party basis, the ruling Labor party was trailing 47 to 53 percent, with the newspaper saying Abbot's Liberal/National coalition could pick up as many as 20 to 25 extra seats in the lower House of Representatives.

This would give them more than 90 seats in the 150-seat parliament.

An overwhelming 78 percent of the 1,503 people questioned said Abbott had performed better during the election campaign. Just eight percent said Rudd, with the rest undecided.

But the prime minister, who has struggled for traction after toppling Julia Gillard, Australia's first female leader, just weeks before calling the election, said he was not ready to give up.

"I believe I can win the election," Rudd said Friday evening.

"The people of Australia will ultimately decide but my message... is very simple... if on the day before election day you still have doubts about how Mr Abbott's massive cuts will affect your jobs and job security, your hospitals and schools, then don't vote for him."

The economy has been a key election battleground and the opposition on Thursday pledged Aus$40 billion ($37 billion) of savings if it wins.

Rudd added: "We continue to fight right through till 6:00 pm tomorrow," when polls close, and seized on the coalition announcing then retracting on Thursday night plans for a mandatory Internet porn filter.

He called the policy backflip a "debacle".

"How many other policies do they have in their bottom drawer that they don't want to tell Australians about?" he asked.

Despite his fighting words, Rudd appears to have an insurmountable task with all the nation's main newspapers -- bar The Age in Melbourne -- backing Abbott in election eve editorials.

Yet Abbott, speaking on Network Ten late Friday, said the election was still "anyone's to win" and urged voters to bring in a new government led by him.

"I will be an orthodox prime minister, because I want to lead an adult, grown-up government," he said.

"And that's why I think Australia can't have another three years like the last six, because I don't believe we have always had an adult, grown-up government over the last six years."

Abbott said if he won office, the first thing he would do would be to go for a bike ride "with the guys I've been riding with for years".

"Then into the office to do briefings because you can't muck around with something as important as the future of our country."

But he cautioned that it was too early to start celebrating.

"It's like being in a grand final, five minutes to go, only a goal or two in it, anything could happen," he said.

"If it happens I will be extraordinarily conscious of the heavy burden of responsibilities, of duties, that will have descended on my shoulders.

"Inevitably, anyone who is suddenly given a big job, even if you have been preparing for it for years and you know you are ready for it, when it happens, if it happens, you are conscious of being on a great threshold."

Voting is mandatory in Australia and by Friday afternoon some three million of the 14.7 million enrolled voters had already cast their ballots at pre-polling stations and via postal votes, the electoral commission said.

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