Mexico Cabify Murder

Holding signs that read "ni una mas" (not one more) and "no fue tu culpa" (it was not your fault), thousands marched across cities in Mexico on Sunday, calling for government action against femicide after a 19-year-old was found dead after using a ride-hailing app.

The body of Mara Fernanda Castilla was found near a motel in the central Mexican state of Puebla on Friday after she went missing a week earlier.
In a statement, Puebla authorities said they believe she was killed by a driver from the taxi-hailing application, Cabify. She had used the app on the night of September 8 but never arrived at her destination.

The driver of the vehicle has since been arrested, and officials say he will be charged with femicide.
The news of Castilla's death stoked anger across Mexico, prompting civil society groups, activists and community members to organise marches on Sunday in support of Castilla and other victims of femicide.

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Manchester Student, studying in Leeds Jailed.

A Criminology student has been jailed for making a false sex attack report to police against a taxi driver after a row over a ten pound fare.

A court heard Sophie Pointon told police officers she had been sexually assaulted in the back of the cab she had been picked up in after a night out in Leeds city centre.

Pointon, 22, rang police in the early hours of April 22 this then continued the deception by signing a statement giving an account of the attack.
Leeds Crown Court heard the driver, a father-of-five, was tracked down and kept in custody for six hours. He was also unable to work for four weeks as a result of the claim.

Kate Bisset, prosecuting, said the driver was interviewed and said he could recall Pointon being “extremely drunk” when she got into his car holding a kebab.

He said Pointon threw a ten pound not at him when they reached the Hyde Park area but he refused to accept it as it was covered in oil from the kebab.

The driver said Pointon then became abusive and ran around the car opening doors. The prosecutor said: “He did not think much of it at the time because such incident with people who are intoxicated are not unusual.”

A recording of a conversation between the driver and a phone operator at his taxi office supported his account.

The court heard a GPS tracker fitted to the car also revealed Pointon’s description of the taxi journey to be untrue.

Pointon broke down in tears and asked if she could drop the charges when her account was challenged by police.

She pleaded guilty to perverting justice.
Denise Breen-Lawton, mitigating, said Pointon, of Corkland Road, Manchester, had been studying in Leeds at the time. She said her hopes of becoming a police officer were now ruined.

She was jailed for 16 months. Judge Christopher Batty told her: “Your malicious complaint has done a huge disservice to those seeking justice through the police and courts.”

The driver described in a statement how the false allegation had caused him to suffer from stress.

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Dubai: Get ready to jump into a Tesla car the next time you order a taxi, as authorities have added 50 of the electric cars to its limo fleet.

The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) in Dubai launched the latest addition, which were fitted with several components of self-driving techniques, to the fleet of the Dubai Taxi Corporation (DTC) on Sunday.

The operation of Tesla electric vehicles is a manifestation of the directives of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to transform Dubai into the smartest city in the world.

It also replicates the Green Economy for Sustainable Development Initiative of Shaikh Mohammad, and the Dubai Smart Autonomous Mobility Strategy aimed at converting 25 per cent of total journeys into driverless journeys by 2030.
The launch of the Tesla vehicles was held at the entrance of Dubai International Airport, Terminal 3.

It was attended by a number of senior officials, including Shaikh Ahmad Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Civil Aviation, Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates airline and Group, Mattar Al Tayer, Director General and Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of the RTA, and Paul Griffiths, chief executive officer of Dubai Airports.

“The RTA has recently taken delivery of 50 Tesla vehicles as part of a deal for 200 vehicles signed last February on the sidelines of the World Government Summit 2017. Accordingly, 75 vehicles will be supplied in 2018, and 75 others to be delivered in 2019.

The Dubai Taxi Corporation has coordinated with the concerned parties to provide the needed infrastructure to ensure the operation of these vehicles including the provision of 13 electric recharging stations,” said Al Tayer.

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