■CUBA
Singer threatened
The government is condemning threats made against Colombian pop singer Juanes, who plans to stage a “Peace Without Borders” concert next month in Havana. Culture Minister Abel Prieto blamed anti-Castro exiles in the US for the threats and said the Sept. 20 show will go on as planned. Juanes told police in Florida that someone sent him a message on Twitter that said, among other things, “I hate what you are saying but you will die for defending your right to say it.” A police report said that Juanes considered canceling the concert and cited “fears for his safety as well as his family.” Florida police say they are taking the threats seriously and are keeping a watch on the Key Biscayne, an exclusive island enclave homes of the singer and his manager.
■UNITED STATES
Man convicted of rape, theft
A Nebraska man who stole a painting of the Virgin Mary from a Roman Catholic cathedral to finance an abortion for a teen he raped has been convicted of first-degree sexual assault and felony theft. Aurelio Vallerillo-Sanchez, 39, of Omaha, pleaded no contest to the charges on Friday and faces up to 70 years in prison when sentenced in October, Douglas County prosecutor Brenda Beadle said on Saturday. Beadle said Vallerillo-Sanchez fled to Mexico with the 300-year-old painting worth US$100,000 and the pregnant teen in March 2007. “The plan was that when they got to Mexico, she was to undergo an abortion,” she said. When an abortion was not possible, Vallerillo-Sanchez pushed to have the baby given up for adoption, Beadle said. “He wanted to do everything he could to get rid of this baby ‘cause it was evidence against him,” she said. The teen returned to Nebraska after giving birth, the prosecutor said. Vallerillo-Sanchez was arrested in February after DNA linked him to the September 2006 assault of the then-14-year-old girl.
■UNITED STATES
Man held in wife’s slaying
A Massachusetts man was ordered held without bail on Friday in the killing of his wife after her remains were found in a suitcase in the woods. Asim Amran, 30, of Fitchburg, pleaded not guilty in the slaying of Faiza Malik, 27, who was reported missing in January. Worcester District Attorney Joseph Early Jr said Malik emigrated from Pakistan to marry Amran several years ago. State police using dogs discovered her body on Thursday morning in a large suitcase in a wooded area in Oxford. Amran was arrested on Thursday night. The couple’s three-year-old son is being cared for by family members.
■UNITED STATES
Woman admits to torture
A Phoenix, Arizona, woman accused of torturing and killing a man in a wheelchair says she did it because he was a snitch, and she enjoyed it. In a jailhouse interview with television station KTVK, 33-year-old Angela Simpson said in a calm voice that she lured 46-year-old Terry Neely to her apartment with a promise of sex and drugs. Once there, Simpson says she beat Neely with a tire iron, pulled out his teeth and strangled him with a TV cable during three days of torture. Simpson says she dismembered Neely’s body and set it on fire. Neely’s remains were found burning in a trash container outside a church Aug. 5. Autopsy results show an 8cm nail had been driven into his head. Simpson says she has no remorse for her actions and actually enjoyed killing Neely.
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