The Daily Populous

24 people have now been sentenced in India-based phone-scam case

If victims didn’t pay up, callers threatened arrest, deportation, or heavier fines.

There were also related scams involving fake payday loans and bogus US government grants, according to the criminal complaint.

The lead defendant was Miteshkumar Patel, who was given 20 years.

According to the Department of Justice, Patel was the manager of a Chicago team of "runners" that helped receive and launder the proceeds of their fraud scheme.

Patel was part of a new group of 21 defendants that were sentenced last week in federal court in Houston.

"This case represents one of the most significant victories to date in our continuing efforts to combat elder fraud and the victimization of the most vulnerable members of the US public.".

The Department of Justice has set up a website to provide information about the case to already identified and potential victims, and the public. »

Mad Max: Fury Road voted greatest Australian film this century by critics

Authored by theguardian.com

Mad Max: Fury Road, the 2015 feminist reincarnation of the Australian classic film that catapulted a young Mel Gibson to fame, has been named the greatest Australian film of the 21st century so far.

Fifty-one working Australian film critics voted to find the top 25 films of this century in a poll conducted by the film website Flicks.com.au. »

Alex Jones compares himself to Woodward, Bernstein in bid to dismiss Sandy Hook lawsuit

Authored by cbsnews.com

In written arguments filed Friday, the right-wing radio host moved to dismiss a defamation lawsuit filed by the families of some of the 26 people killed in the Connecticut shooting.

Jones acknowledged that he had called the shooting a hoax, but said he now believes it happened.

"Such journalism, questioning official narratives, would be chilled if reporters were subject to liability if they turned out to be wrong,". »

Humans have used a year’s worth of Earth’s resources in just seven months

Authored by independent.co.uk

Humans are using up the planet’s resources so quickly that people have used a year’s worth in just seven months, experts are warning.

This year the annual date when people have caused a year’s worth of ecological damage – Earth Overshoot Day – comes two days earlier than last year.

If every other family in the world had one child less, Overshoot Day would move back 30 days by 2050. »

The Swiss air force: armed and dangerous, but only in office hours

Authored by theguardian.com

It was French and Italian jet pilots who escorted the Ethiopian Airlines plane hijacked by its co-pilot safely to Geneva airport on Monday morning – because, at 6.02am, it was still nearly two hours before the Swiss air force came to work.

"Switzerland cannot intervene because its airbases are closed at night and on the weekend," spokesman Laurent Savary told AFP.

The Swiss government now wants to spend more than £2bn on 22 new Swedish-made fighter jets. »