Doctor sent to jail for 50 cent bribe

PATINA, India: A 75-year-old doctor was recently sentenced to jail for accepting a $0.50 bribe in 1985.

Balgovind Prasad took 25 rupees from a sweeper in exchange for a falsified medical certificate. The case has dragged since 1985; in 1992 Prasad was convicted of the offence and issued a one-year jail term.

He appealed that conviction and has remained a free man since.

Last week a high court in the state of Bihar minimized that sentence to three months for such a petty crime.

Reuters reported the judge ordered the police to apprehend Prasad for the beginning of his sentence.

Parking ticket no small ill

GRAND FORKS, North Dakota: Computer hackers are now infecting residents of Grand Forks with a computer virus through fake parking tickets.

Hackers left fake parking tickets on windshields, directing drivers to view their parking offence online. Yet upon logging in, drivers discovered the website infected their computers with the Vundo Trojan virus.

According to BBC News, the tickets directed the victims to a website that showed photographs of their parking violations; the virus would then get users to install phony anti-virus software.

This is the first reported time hackers used real-life approaches to spreading cyber viruses. The offenders remain at large.

Cash to crush old cars

HAMBURG, Germany: The German government is offering a cash incentive for people to purchase newer, environmentally-friendly vehicles.

The government will offer $4,000 to car owners who take their junky, inefficient automobiles to the wrecker. The incentive is part of a $106-billion stimulus program instituted by the government.

According to the Canadian Press, to get the bonus Germans must take their old cars to government-recognized scrap yards and show documentation for the wrecking and the purchase of a new vehicle.

The Economy Ministry will make direct deposits to bank accounts beginning in March. The incentive will be in effect until the end of the year.

German automobile companies are also presenting additional bonuses such as price reductions and inexpensive financing.

Swiss diplomat arrested for make-out session

TEHRAN, Iran: Iranian police arrested a Swiss diplomat for having indecent sexual relations with an Iranian woman last week.

Police discovered the liaison after identifying a car with diplomatic plates; they discovered the couple in the car. The woman was found to be improperly dressed and in an obscene situation.

The two were arrested and released on bail.

CNN reported the charges pressed against the woman were unclear.

The Swiss diplomat is said to be the first secretary of the United States interests section of the Swiss Embassy in Tehran. This post represents American interests in Iran through the Swiss embassy.

The U.S. and Iran severed diplomatic relations after the 1979 Iranian revolution.

Published in Volume 63, Number 20 of The Uniter (February 12, 2009)