Europe's news in English

COPY LINK

W

Martial artist in court over jewellery murders

A 37-year-old Lithuanian martial artist was in court this week accused of murdering two jewellers and stealing watches worth over 750,000 francs ($809,232).

Published: 14 March 2012 15:16 CET

The man, known only as Valerij R, is accused of murdering a 68-year-old man known as Eduard C during a theft at a jewellery shop in Glarus in 2005.

He is also accused of killing another 48-year-old man known as Peter V at another shop in Zurich-Enge in 2005.

Both men were beaten so badly by the trained martial artist that both succumbed to their injuries, online news website Blick reported.

Valerij R is said to have stolen watches worth over 750,000 francs ($809,232) during these and three other robberies from stores in Zurich over a two-year period.

Having admitted to killing Eduard C, he told the court that he had not expected his victims to go quiet after the first blow.

“I did not intend to kill him,” he said of Eduard C., adding: “You should not play the hero and defend your goods.”

Valerij R was arrested in Germany one week after the killing of Peter V. He was found to be carrying a knife and jewellery.

He was linked to the 2005 murder when DNA was matched with that found at the crime scene.

At first he admitted to the murder of Eduard C, but later retracted his confession.

According to psychiatric reports, Valerij R is treatable, although when asked by the court whether he would agree to such treatment, he said that he does not need it.

The prosecution is seeking life imprisonment with further detention, while the defence has requested 12 years for manslaughter. The verdict has yet to be passed.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.

Become a Member to leave a comment.

Italy rated 'one of the worst countries in the world' to move to: survey

Is moving to Italy all it's cracked up to be? Photo: Marco Bertorello/AFP

Italy ranked alongside Nigeria and Kuwait in the latest Expat Insider survey by InterNations, an information and networking site for people living overseas.

Rated by international residents on quality of life, cost of living, employment opportunities, family life and ease of settling in, Italy came 63rd out of 64 countries, down from 61st last year.

YOUR VIEWS: Is Italy really one of the worst countries to move to?

Its worst performance was for work, a category in which Italy came bottom of all countries surveyed. The majority of respondents – 58 percent – rated the Italian economy negatively, while only 29 percent said they were satisfied with their career prospects. Less than 50 percent were happy with their job security, working hours or jobs in general.

Foreign workers also reported earning less in Italy than elsewhere, with 31 percent saying their monthly disposable income didn't cover their expenses and 46 percent convinced that their earnings were lower than they would be for similar work in their country of origin, compared to a global average of 25 percent.

While many assume that Italy's quality of life will make up for a pay cut, even here the country has slipped: it slid to 49th in the ranking from 43rd in 2018.

Respondents complained about a relatively high cost of living compared to salaries, lack of childcare and quality education, poor digital services, difficulty making local friends and political instability as some of the negatives of life in Italy.

The positives, on the other hand, were the climate, health, leisure, travel and ease of learning the language.

Overall, InterNations calculates that international residents are “64 percent satisfied” with life in Italy in general (compared to a worldwide average of 75 percent). A majority of respondents said they were as happy or happier since moving to Italy, with only 23 percent reporting being unhappier – though that number is nonetheless higher than the global average of 16 percent.

Italy often scores poorly in quality of life surveys yet remains one of the world's most desirable tourist destinations, suggesting that people prefer to visit rather than stay for good.

READ ALSO:

The poor ratings may also reflect the mismatch between romantic ideas of la dolce vita and the reality of moving here, which can be a source of disappointment.

““If you're sent to Kazakhstan on a work assignment, you expect challenges, but in Italy, many people expect […] a life of sun and aperitivo. Then when it's harder than they imagined, it dampens their enthusiasm,” Rome-based relocation coach Damien O'Farrell points out.

“You have to brace yourself for things not going the way you want,” he advises.

Some 20,000 people took part in the InterNations survey, with at least 75 respondents per country.

Url copied to clipboard!