Mid Day International News |
- Kamal Nath claims diplomatic immunity in anti-Sikh riots case
- Strauss-Kahn Is a Free Bird
- Putin makes song club hit
| Kamal Nath claims diplomatic immunity in anti-Sikh riots case Posted: Indian Urban Development Minister Kamal Nath has claimed diplomatic immunity and lack of service of summons before a US court in a case over his alleged role in the November 1984 anti-Sikh riots. In response to summons issued by Judge Robert W Sweet of the US Federal Court for the Southern District of New York, Nath claimed diplomatic immunity stating that he was on a special mission as a government official on his numerous travels to New York. He has also claimed sovereign immunity under common law; and immunity under Foreign Sovereign Immunity Act of the US in the case filed by Sikhs For Justice, a US-based human rights advocacy group, and some victims of the 1984 riots. Requesting the court to dismiss the law suit, Nath filed a sworn affidavit that during his April 2010 visit to New York, no one ever served him with the summons and complaint. Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, SFJ legal advisor, suggested that Nath's June 24 affidavit "clearly and blatantly contradicts his earlier statements". On April 6, Kamal Nath publicly acknowledged receiving the summons, he said. According to Pannun, he then stated, "A piece of paper was given to me. I will have to see what the piece of paper is all about. I really have no clue about it. I don't have a basis and I don't know the authenticity. I don't know the validity. It was for the first time that I saw it," he was quoted as saying. Sweet had, on March 1, issued summons to Nath and the Congress in the case accusing them of "conspiring, aiding, abetting and carrying out organised attacks on anti-Sikhs in 1984."
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| Posted: Former IMF Chief is released without bail following revelations that undermine the maid's credibility Former International Monetary Fund leader Dominique Strauss-Kahn walked out of court free on bail yesterday after prosecutors said an extensive background investigation of the hotel housekeeper accusing him of sexual assault gave them pause.  Strauss-Kahn had been under pricey house arrest for weeks in a ritzy Manhattan loft. The charges, which include attempted rape, have not been reduced, but the move signals that prosecutors do not believe the accusations are as ironclad as they once seemed. The 32-year-old hotel maid accused Strauss-Kahn of chasing her through his luxury suite in May, trying to pull down her pantyhose and forcing her to perform oral sex. "It is a great relief," said Strauss-Kahn's attorney, William Taylor, adding that the case underscores "how easy it is for people to be charged with serious crimes and for there to be a rush to judgment." "It is so important in this country that people, especially the media, refrain from judgment until the facts are all in," he said. The accuser's attorney did not back down on the seriousness of the charges. "From Day One she has described a violent sexual assault that Dominique Strauss-Kahn committed against her," attorney Ken Thompson said. "She has described that sexual assault many times, to prosecutors and to me, and she has never once changed a single thing about that encounter," he said. He referred to media reports that his client was involved with a drug dealer, calling them lies. Strauss-Kahn arrived at the courthouse yesterday in a Lexus SUV and strode confidently up the granite steps with his wife, French journalist Anne Sinclair, at his side. He wore a dark gray suit, and she a white jacket. After the hearing, he walked slowly out of the courthouse with his arm on her shoulder, smiling slightly at the throng gathered outside. His passport remained surrendered, and he will not yet be allowed to leave the country. His other attorney, Benjamin Brafman, said Strauss-Kahn would be free to travel within the United States. "
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| Posted: Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin caused jaws to drop last year when he gave an impromptu performance of the Fats Domino classic Blueberry Hill at a charity concert. Now one of the country's best known DJs has remixed Putin's vocals into a six-minute dance track that he says is wowing clubbers around the country, even if he admits that Putin is "not a singer."  "It was so funny seeing the video on the Internet. When I got the track, I mixed it in a day. It was like kind of a joke," said DJ Smash, whose real name is Andrei Shirman. "Now it's very popular, it plays all over the clubs. People smile, everyone knows this track." Last December, Putin revealed a new side when he got on stage at a star-studded charity concert in Saint Petersburg and performed the song in correct, if accented English. He went on to bash out a Soviet-era song on the piano. For his part, DJ Smash says that he is an absolutely non-political person, and the remix is not a demonstration of support for Putin as a politician. Putin has so far made no comments regarding the track.
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