Convicted Serb assassin extradited from Croatia

A fugitive convicted of taking part in the assassination of Serbia's Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic seven years ago and several other murders has been extradited from Croatia, Serbia's police said Wednesday.

Sretko Kalinic was flown on a Serbian government plane from Zagreb to Belgrade early Wednesday amid tight security measures that included blocked traffic by heavily armed SWAT teams.

His extradition was made possible after Serbia and Croatia, wartime foes in the 1990s, recently signed an extradition treaty. Kalinic, 26, has a dual Serbian-Croatian citizenship.

Croatian police spokesman Krunoslav Borovec said Kalinic is the first Croatian citizen to be extradited to Serbia. The new extradition agreement is intended to stop numerous Balkan crime figures from evading justice by finding shelter in the neighboring countries.

Kalinic was sentenced in absentia to 30 years in prison with 10 other former gang members and paramilitaries for a planning role in the March 2003 assassination of Djindjic, Serbia's first democratically-elected prime minister who was killed by a sniper bullet in downtown Belgrade.

In 2008, Kalinic was separately sentenced to 40 years in prison for taking part in a series of mobster-style killings conducted by the so-called "Zemun clan" that operated from a Belgrade suburb in the 1990s and early 2000.

Kalinic, known in the underground circles as "the beast" for his brutality, was arrested in Croatia in June after a shootout near Zagreb with another convicted Djindjic's killer, Milos Simovic, who was caught soon after by Serbian border police while trying to flee Croatia.

Serbian police say Kalinic's specialty was dismembering bodies beyond recognition after gang-style killings.

Serbian Interior Minister Ivica Dacic said police hope that Kalinic's testimony could resolve several other murders believed committed by the clan.

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Associated Press writer Snjezana Vukic contributed to this report from Zagreb.

Life in London's jet set

Chelsea Tales: The Wealthiest Place In Britain (BBC2, 9pm) THE bigpuzzle which surrounds the arrival of Chelsea Tales tonight is howthe show will be received in other parts of the nation.

It's a brand new docu-soap which follows the luxury lifestyle ofresidents who reside in Britain's richest and most exclusivelocation - London's Chelsea.

Ten of the "inmates" have volunteered to put their lives in frontof the cameras, along with those of their friends and families, whichwill then bring those watching, says the BBC, "a captivating slice oflife form a little-explored world". By that they mean the world ofthose far more privileged than most of us who populate the rest ofthe rat race.

The first instalment, for example, introduces us to Alex. He's a30-year-old artist and model who has lived in Chelsea most of hislife.

Then there's charity fashion show hostess Melanie, who "spendsmost of her time socialising or shopping" when, presumably, she's notdoing charitable works.

Another is Ed Mead, an estate agency director with premises onSloane Avenue, while a fourth comes with a really tragic tale totell.

She's California-born Anne-Marie Ciccini, who has been living inthe area since the 80s but who is now battling against terminalsmall cell lung cancer.

Two years after the diagnosis she is in remission and, during thefilming for this series, Anne-Marie went from having fortnightlycheck-ups to having them once every three months.

Currently single, she has been married once and has a seven yearold son called Duncan.

She has dated a string of high profile wealthy men, including rockstar Rod Stewart. True to form for any Chelsea inhabitant, though,once Duncan's gone to school she loves nothing better than headingfor the shops.

Anne-Marie loves designer clothes and is generally dressed to thenines.

Alex was packed off to boarding school from an ealry age, then wonan army scholarship and a place at university where he studied fineart.

He left the Army after winning his commission and decided topursue his art, spending most of his days at his Chelsea studio,where he paints in between zooming off for modelling jobs on hismotorbike.

These are just a sprinkling of the people the series meets as itcharts the ups and downs of their lives from autumn through tosummer "as they pursue their careers, win or lose in love, attendfabulous parties and holiday in the UK and abroad".

In the episodes to follow we will see fortysomething divorceeJulia Stephenson who will prove a rather expensive Chelsea flower.

Nissan, Mitsubishi strengthen cooperation

TOKYO (AP) — Japanese automakers Nissan and Mitsubishi are strengthening their cooperation by expanding the number of models they make for each other in Japan.

Nissan and Mitsubishi have had what is called an original equipment mmanufacturer or OEM deal since December 2010. They manufacture specific vehicle models for each other and sell them under their own brands.

Nissan Motor Co. said Thursday it will provide the Fuga luxury sedan to Mitsubishi Motors Corp., starting from summer next year.

They have also started talks on Mitsubishi providing the Minicab-MiEV commercial electric car to Nissan in fiscal 2012, which starts April next year.

US Patent Issued to Hayes Lemmerz International on Nov. 8 for "Multi-Piece Vehicle Wheel Cover Retention System and Method for Producing Same" (Michigan Inventors)

ALEXANDRIA, Va., Nov. 15 -- United States Patent no. 8,052,223, issued on Nov. 8, was assigned to Hayes Lemmerz International Inc. (Northville, Mich.).

"Multi-Piece Vehicle Wheel Cover Retention System and Method for Producing Same" was invented by Patrick McCorry (Plymouth, Mich.) and Todd Duffield (Westland, Mich.).

According to the abstract released by the U.

S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A multi-piece vehicle wheel retention system includes a wheel disc, a first wheel cover and a second wheel cover. The first wheel cover is secured to the wheel disc and includes a generally U-shaped outer end, a first leg which extends generally parallel with respect to the axis, and a second leg which extends generally perpendicular to the first leg. The first wheel cover covers the entire portion of the outboard tire bead seat retaining flange of the wheel disc. The second wheel cover is secured to the first wheel cover and covers at least a portion of the outboard facing wheel surface of the wheel disc. The second wheel cover includes an outboard surface and an inboard surface. At least a portion of the second leg of the first wheel cover extends behind the second wheel cover so as to be adjacent the inboard surface of the second wheel cover and such portion of the second leg is at least secured to the second wheel cover by such portion of the second leg being disposed within a surface feature provided only on the inboard surface of the second wheel cover."

The patent was filed on July 8, 2009, under Application No. 12/499,124.

For further information please visit: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?

Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=PTXT&s1=8052223&OS=8052223&RS=8052223

For any query with respect to this article or any other content requirement, please contact Editor at htsyndication@hindustantimes.com

US Patent Issued to Hayes Lemmerz International on Nov. 8 for "Multi-Piece Vehicle Wheel Cover Retention System and Method for Producing Same" (Michigan Inventors)

ALEXANDRIA, Va., Nov. 15 -- United States Patent no. 8,052,223, issued on Nov. 8, was assigned to Hayes Lemmerz International Inc. (Northville, Mich.).

"Multi-Piece Vehicle Wheel Cover Retention System and Method for Producing Same" was invented by Patrick McCorry (Plymouth, Mich.) and Todd Duffield (Westland, Mich.).

According to the abstract released by the U.

S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A multi-piece vehicle wheel retention system includes a wheel disc, a first wheel cover and a second wheel cover. The first wheel cover is secured to the wheel disc and includes a generally U-shaped outer end, a first leg which extends generally parallel with respect to the axis, and a second leg which extends generally perpendicular to the first leg. The first wheel cover covers the entire portion of the outboard tire bead seat retaining flange of the wheel disc. The second wheel cover is secured to the first wheel cover and covers at least a portion of the outboard facing wheel surface of the wheel disc. The second wheel cover includes an outboard surface and an inboard surface. At least a portion of the second leg of the first wheel cover extends behind the second wheel cover so as to be adjacent the inboard surface of the second wheel cover and such portion of the second leg is at least secured to the second wheel cover by such portion of the second leg being disposed within a surface feature provided only on the inboard surface of the second wheel cover."

The patent was filed on July 8, 2009, under Application No. 12/499,124.

For further information please visit: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?

Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=PTXT&s1=8052223&OS=8052223&RS=8052223

For any query with respect to this article or any other content requirement, please contact Editor at htsyndication@hindustantimes.com

Despite 4,000 volunteers, ceremony still a secret

Almost no one knows what's going to happen at the opening ceremony for the Vancouver Winter Olympics.

The executive producer of the 4,000-person extravaganza couldn't be happier.

"I have to say I'm very chuffed about that," said David Atkins, who staged the opening of the 2000 Sydney Summer Games.

In one month, the world will be officially welcomed to Vancouver in a multimillion-dollar opening ceremony taking place indoors for the first time.

Atkins is working 20 hours a day pulling together everything from logistics to administration, and rehearsals with the cast have gone so well that some of them have been canceled.

…

Candidate in Letter Probe Stays in Race

GARDEN GROVE, Calif. - The Republican congressional candidate whose campaign was linked to an intimidating letter sent to Hispanic voters promised Sunday to stay in the race despite pressure to withdraw.

"I'm not going to quit this race; I'm going to win this race," Tan Nguyen told reporters at his campaign headquarters.

Nguyen, a Vietnamese immigrant trying to unseat popular Democratic Rep. Loretta Sanchez, last week blamed an unidentified staffer for sending out 14,000 letters warning immigrants they could be deported or jailed for voting in next month's election. The mailings sparked state and federal probes.

Nguyen said he did not authorize or approve the …

All Seasons Services wins bankruptcy bid for USRefresh, edging out Real Time Data.

A U.S. BANKRUPTCY COURT RECENTLY APPROVED A BID BY ALL SEASONS services Inc. to purchase the assets of USRefresh from U.S. Office Products Inc. for $23.25 million. The ruling by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware supersedes an earlier agreement between U.S. Office Products Inc. and Avenel, N.J.-based Real Time Data. The earlier agreement, reported in the April 2001 issue of Automatic Merchandiser, was subject to the results of a public auction. In the auction, held on July 18, Brockton, Mass.-based All Seasons Services submitted the highest bid, according to court documents obtained by Automatic Merchandiser. All Seasons Services agreed to pay $23.25 …