内容摘要："Marissa Politte's death shouldn't have happened in the first place, but my God, it should be the last," Johnny Simon, the Politte family's lawyer, said at the time. In the years since there have been several fatal traffic accidents involving the gas both in the US and the UK.

"Marissa Politte's death shouldn't have happened in the first place, but my God, it should be the last," Johnny Simon, the Politte family's lawyer, said at the time. In the years since there have been several fatal traffic accidents involving the gas both in the US and the UK.

Motown legend Smokey Robinson has filed a $500m (£370m) defamation lawsuit against four former housekeepers who have accused the singer of sexual assault.The legal case filed by the star and his wife Frances on Wednesday in California accused the women of fabricating the sexual assault allegations as part of an "extortionate" lawsuit.

The Robinsons say the alleged victims, who filed their case anonomously, went on family holidays with the couple and celebrated holidays together.The singer, who is now also under criminal investigation in Los Angeles over accusations of sexual assault, has denied all the allegations, and his lawyer said those behind the accusations were after his money.Mr Robinson's lawyers also filed a motion to dismiss the women's lawsuit, arguing they should not have been granted anonymity.

"The Robinsons did not abuse, harm, or take advantage of plaintiffs; they treated plaintiffs with the utmost kindness and generosity," the lawsuit states.in Los Angeles Superior Court on 6 May under the pseudonyms Jane Doe 1, 2, 3 and 4.

In the 27-page legal action, they alleged several incidents that they said dated back to 2006, and accused Mr Robinson of pressuring them into sex.

All four women, who are of Hispanic descent, said they had not come forward until now because they feared losing their livelihoods, familial reprisal or embarrassment. Some were concerned the allegations could affect their immigration status.Gone are the days when China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) was characterised by outdated weaponry and rigid Maoist doctrine. Today it is a formidable force deploying state-of-the-art hypersonic missiles and fifth-generation warplanes like the J20.

Its navy has the largest number of warships in the world, outstripping the United States.While China lags far behind the US and Russia in its number of nuclear warheads, it is rapidly expanding its nuclear arsenal, with missiles that can travel up to 15,000km, putting the continental US easily within range.

The US Navy's formidable 7th Fleet, based in Yokosuka, just south of Tokyo, can no longer claim to have guaranteed naval supremacy in the region.China's array of Dong Feng missiles and swarms of explosive drones would make any approach to its shores extremely hazardous for US warships.