Mid Day International News |
- Sikh man in UK sues his son for �100 mn
- Russia to punish paedophiles by chemical castration
- Headley, Rana extradition may be difficult under 1997 treaty
- 12 killed, 36 injured in Pak car bombing
- Italy: Divers find 8 more bodies in ship wreckage
- Man shoots woman, kills self at Wal-Mart centre in US
- 9 dead, 600 injured in railway accident in Argentina
- One killed, six injured in explosion in Chinese school
- Adele gives the BRIT Awards middle finger
- Four more bodies found aboard wrecked Concordia
- Us president sings the blues at concert
- 5 killed as protest over Quran burning rages in Afghanistan
- Finland's first man caught ogling at Princess's breasts
| Sikh man in UK sues his son for �100 mn Posted: An 84-year-old Sikh man has sued his son, one of Britain's wealthiest men, for 100 million pounds for trying to push him and his wife out on the streets and for keeping the hotel business to himself. Jasminder Singh, 60, chairman of Radisson Edwardian Hotels, is accused of renouncing the Sikh tradition of sharing family wealth and barring his parents from their multi-million pound business, the Daily Express reported. His father Bal Mohinder Singh, stands to take a third of the family fortune if he wins the High Court battle against his son, worth an estimated 415 million pounds. Bal, in a statement to the court in central London yesterday, said he and his wife were "deeply ashamed that Jasminder should publicly renounce his cultural heritage". The system of joint family ownership of all assets is based on religious teaching and widely practised by Sikh and Hindu communities around the world, he said, adding: "For Jasminder to deny that and claim all the credit and ownership for himself will be shocking to wide sections of those communities. That is why his mother and I are so ashamed". Bal also accused his son of trying to force his parents out of the 10 million pounds house they share near Ascot racecourse in Berkshire. Jasminder denies ever having been told by his parents they were a "joint Hindu family" and that property acquired by any of them was "joint family property". He also denied having a particularly religious upbringing, the paper said adding the case is expected to go to trial later this year.
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| Russia to punish paedophiles by chemical castration Posted: Paedophiles in Russia may soon face chemical castration under a new law approved by the upper house of the Russian Parliament - the Federation Council.
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| Headley, Rana extradition may be difficult under 1997 treaty Posted: The Indo-US extradition treaty may pose a major hindrance to India's efforts to produce David Headley and Tahawwur Rana before a Delhi court over the Mumbai attacks, as it does not allow handover of a person already convicted or acquitted for the offence he has been sought for. "The (1997 extradition) treaty between India and the United States precludes the extradition of Rana. The court here would not allow it. Rana was acquitted to the charges related to Mumbai in the United States," Patrick Blegan, the attorney for Rana told PTI. Blegan was responding to questions regarding the order given by a Delhi court to the National Investigating Agency (NIA) that Headley and Rana be produced before it on March 13. 51-year-old Headley, a Pakistani-American LeT operative, and his childhood friend Rana, a Pakistani-Canadian, are currently lodged in a Chicago jail and awaiting their sentencing. On Tuesday, Indian Ambassador to the US, Nirupama Rao, met US Attorney General Eric Holder in this regard and he assured all help. However, Blegan argued that under the current extradition treaty, it is not possible to hand over Rana, 51, to India. "Extradition shall not be granted when the person sought has been convicted or acquitted in the Requested State for the offence for which extradition is requested," says Article 6.1 of the India Extradition Treaty signed in 1997. "Extradition shall not be precluded by the fact that the authorities in the Requested State have decided not to prosecute the person sought for the acts for which extradition is requested, or to discontinue any criminal proceedings which have been instituted against the persons sought for those acts," says the treaty, signed on June 25, 1997 between Saleem Shervani, the then Minister of State for External Affairs, and Strobe Talbott, the then Deputy Secretary of State. Blegan said that "our position is that Rana cannot be extradited as he was acquitted of the Mumbai charges by a US court." Rana was found not guilty of the Mumbai conspiracy, he said. However, he noted that his argument is based on the news reports in the past few days as neither he nor his client has received any paperwork in this regard so far. It is believed that Headley would be putting a similar defence that he has been convicted for his involvement in the Mumbai terrorist attack and is awaiting sentencing. So he cannot be extradited either, sources said. "He (Headley) will say, look I have been convicted and I am going to be convicted by a US court," a source familiar with the legal matters of the case said. "If one is convicted and is or to be sentenced is also a defence to the extradition treaty. It is essentially saying two countries can't convict and sentence you twice," the sources said. Headley's lawyer, John Theis, however refused to comment on the issue. "I have not received any formal notification for Mr Headley. It would be inappropriate for me to comment on that," Theis told PTI. "I do not want to speculate about or comment on things based on just news reports that I see. I am awaiting some sort of information, if they want to reach out. I am sure, I will hear directly from them or from the United States Government," Theis said. Legal experts familiar with the issue said Headley could also argue against the extradition based on the plea agreement he entered with the US Government in March 2010. The plea agreement prevents Headley from being extradited. "Pursuant to Article 6 of the Extradition Treaty Between the United States and the Republic of India, Article 7 of the Extradition Treaty between the United States and the Kingdom of Denmark, and Article 4 of the Extradition Treaty between the United States and Islamic Republic of Pakistan, defendant shall not be extradited to the Republic of India, the Kingdom of Denmark, or the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, respectively, for any offences for which he has been convicted in accordance with this plea," the plea agreement says. "The language of the plea agreement is there in the public. I would not comment on it at this point of time," Theis said, adding he would not like to speculate if Headley travelling to India to appear in a court on March 13 is a possibility or not. No date has been scheduled for sentencing of Headley yet.
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| 12 killed, 36 injured in Pak car bombing Posted: A powerful car bomb ripped through a bus terminal in northwest Pakistan's Peshawar city today, killing at least 12 people, including two children, and injuring 36 others. The bomb containing about 40 kg of TNT explosives was hidden in a car parked near the gate of the bus terminal, police officials said. The explosion, which was heard from several kilometres away, created a large crater at the site. "It was a car bomb attack. The total number of dead is 12," Siraj Ahmed Khan, the head of the district administration, told reporters at the scene of the attack. Other officials said two children were among the dead. Local residents took the injured to Lady Reading Hospital in private vehicles. Officials at the hospital said they had received 36 injured people. Four of them were in serious condition. A child and several women were among the wounded, they said. Witnesses said they had seen body parts lying strewn across the bus terminal. Over 15 vehicles were badly damaged by the blast, which blew out the windows of nearby buildings. Security personnel cordoned off the area and launched a search operation. A bomb disposal squad scoured the area for clues and checked all vehicles at the bus terminal. Footage on television showed several buses at the terminal were reduced to heaps of mangled metal. No group claimed responsibility for the attack. Such bombings are usually blamed on the Pakistani Taliban. The bus terminal is one of the busiest in Peshawar and was crowded with people at the time of the explosion. Many people were waiting to board mini buses going to towns across Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, of which Peshawar is the capital.
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| Italy: Divers find 8 more bodies in ship wreckage Posted: Divers searching the capsized Costa Concordia cruise ship off a Tuscan island found eight bodies Wednesday on one of the passenger decks, including that of a missing 5-year-old Italian girl, authorities said. Italy's national civil protection agency, which is monitoring the operation off a Tuscan island, said three of the bodies were recovered a few hours after being spotted by fire department divers. It said they are those of a woman, a girl and a man. Because of worsening weather, the divers were not able to immediately remove the other five bodies. The bodies were being transferred to a hospital on the mainland for identification, a process that could take days. Before Wednesday's development, 15 people were listed as missing, but only one of them was a child, Dayana Arlotti. The 5-year-old girl was on the Mediterranean cruise with her father and his girlfriend. The girlfriend survived. The father was among the missing. Including the missing, who are presumed dead and bodies already recovered, the death toll in the accident stands at 32. Dayana's father, Williams, had a history of health problems, and was said by family to be travelling to celebrate a new lease on life, he had received a kidney and pancreas transplant in the past. Some witnesses told media that they last saw him during the evacuation as he headed back to his cabin to retrieve life-saving medication. The Concordia, which was carrying some 4,200 passengers and crew, struck a reef off the Tuscan island of Giglio on January 13, took on water and started listing badly until it lay on its side. Giglio is a tiny island of fishermen and tourist hotels. Most of the victims were found on the capsized ship in the first week or two after the accident. Three corpses were recovered from the water a few hours after it grounded. Officials coordinating the search efforts said divers went into an area where survivors had told rescuers some passengers had been gathering to await evacuation. Many of the ship's lifeboats couldn't be launched after the ship leaned heavily on one side.
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| Man shoots woman, kills self at Wal-Mart centre in US Posted: A 40-year-old woman manager at a Wal-Mart distribution centre in the US state of Virginia was shot at by an employee who later killed himself when confronted by police Wednesday, officials said Officials said a woman suffered injuries described as "not life-threatening" while the suspected male shooter killed himself. A report said the woman was the manager of the centre and the 32-year-old man shot her in the leg. When law-enforcement officers responded to an emergency call, they saw the man outside the facility, and were shot at by him with a handgun. The man then fatally shot himself in the chest. Neither his nor the woman's names were released. The woman victim was air-lifted to a nearby hospital. The motive behind the shooting remained unclear. After the shooting, police locked down the facility and a nearby school as a precautionary measure. The distribution centre employs about 600 people, serving 72 stores and has been in the county for 20 years.
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| 9 dead, 600 injured in railway accident in Argentina Posted: At least 49 people, including a child, were killed and 600 injured Wednesday in a railway accident in Buenos Aires, Argentine officials said. An eight-car train entered the Once station, one of the busiest in the capital, at 8:30 a.m. at a speed of 26 kph and slammed into the buffers. The train, which was heading from Moreno to Buenos Aires, was carrying between 800 and 1,000 commuters, the majority of them headed to work in the capital. The accident may have been caused by brake failure, but investigators are waiting to take a statement from the train operator, who was injured in the crash, officials said. Transportation Secretary Juan Pablo Schiavi said the cause of the accident was unclear. "The train entered (the station) at the regular speed. That's the part where the accident happens, the mystery or the responsibility. We don't know what happened in the last 40 meters. The operator was at his post and the train did not stop," Schiavi said. The accident's cause has not been determined and "investigative tasks are being conducted", Transporte de Buenos Aires, or TBA, which operates the train service, said in a statement. Railway union leaders said the train involved in the accident was a 40-year-old or 50-year-old unit, adding that Argentina's railroad system was antiquated and lacked investment and maintenance. Video cameras at the station took footage of the crash, showing the second car crushing the first and trapping dozens of people inside. "We were getting ready to get off because the train was slowing down and we felt a sudden jolt and the second car looked like it was going to envelope the first one. The people around me were mashed together," a survivor who identified himself only as Marcelo said. "Thank God that I can tell the story," the survivor, who was riding in the first car, said. "I was standing and everybody fell down, everybody was desperate, we all wanted to get out, but we couldn't. It was like an earthquake," a female commuter said. More than 100 ambulances and two helicopters took part in the rescue operation, transporting the injured to hospitals around the city. Rescue teams worked for more than four hours at the station, cutting the tops of the train cars to reach victims. At least 200 victims are in serious condition, officials said, adding that most of those injured in the accident sustained bruises, fractures, cuts and respiratory problems. Hospitals across Buenos Aires are on alert to treat the injured, cancelling regular services. Hundreds of relatives of people aboard the train are going from hospital to hospital in search of loved ones. "I'm searching for my brother. He took the train today to go to work and never got to his job. We don't know where he is," a woman told a television station. The Buenos Aires city government set up an information line and media outlets are broadcasting lists of the injured to help relatives track them down. President Cristina Fernandez cancelled the only event she had scheduled for Wednesday, but the government did not say whether the move was in response to the disaster. The accident is one of the worst involving a train in Argentina in the past 50 years. February has been a dark month for Argentina's railways. A crash involving two trains killed 236 people in Benavidez, a city in the Buenos Aires metro area, in February 1970. In February 1978, 55 people died when a train entering Buenos Aires from Tucuman province hit a truck.
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| One killed, six injured in explosion in Chinese school Posted: One junior high school student was killed and six others injured after a boiler exploded at a school in China's northern Shanxi province.
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| Adele gives the BRIT Awards middle finger Posted: She was right in the middle of giving an emotional acceptance speech about how she was proud to be flying the flag for Britain. So when Adele was interrupted so Brit Awards host James Corden could introduce Blur, she didn't take too kindly.
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| Four more bodies found aboard wrecked Concordia Posted: Four more bodies were found yesterday on the shipwrecked Italian cruise liner, the Costa Concordia, just hours after scaffolding was set up to allow divers to continue their search. "Bodies of victims have been located. It seems there are four. The operation to recover them is underway," the office of the official tasked with the clean-up operation said. Among the bodies was that of five-year-old Dayana Arlotti, an Italian girl who was the youngest passenger. She was travelling with her father. Prior to the latest discovery, 17 bodies had been found, and 15 people were listed as missing, presumed dead. The ship ran aground near the island of Giglio on January 13 while carrying 4,229 people, including about 1,000 crew members. The scaffolding, which allowed divers to continue searching the decks of the potentially-unstable vessel, was completed on Tuesday. The bodies were found on deck four. The head of Italy's civil protection agency, Franco Gabrielli, said in recent days that experts expected all the remaining bodies to be recovered from the fourth deck, where passengers gathered once the decision was made to abandon ship. The search of underwater deck areas was previously called off.
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| Us president sings the blues at concert Posted: Barack Obama belts out a few bars of blues anthem 'Sweet Home Chicago' as he joins BB King and Mick Jagger to salute Black History Month
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| 5 killed as protest over Quran burning rages in Afghanistan Posted: Violent protests left at least five dead and others wounded yesterday as demonstrations over Quran burning intensified in Afghanistan.  Pic/AFP Police killed four people and wounded 10 others during protests in Parwan province, said Abdul Wassi Sayedkhili, a provincial council official. Health officials said a fifth person died and 10 others wounded in eastern Nangarhar province. The Qurans were among religious materials removed and were given to troops for burning, said General John Allen, commander of NATO's International Security Assistance Force. "It was not a decision that was made with respect to the faith of Islam. It was a mistake. The moment we found out about it, we stopped.
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| Finland's first man caught ogling at Princess's breasts Posted: Royal dinners can be tiresome occasions and sometimes the speeches are just not enough to hold your attention. Pentti Arajarvi, the husband of the Finnish president Tarja Halonen, certainly thought so when he attended a state dinner in Copenhagen.   What you looking at? Finland President's husband Pentti Arajarvi at the royal diner seems to be bored and decides to check out Princess Mary's assets. As soon as she realises his eyes are on her, she adjusts her low-cut dress and he averts his gaze To pass the time the 63-year-old appeared to turn his attention to his neighbour's chest -- who just happened to be Denmark's Princess Mary who seated sat next to him. Covering up The princess, wife of the Crown Prince of Denmark, was wearing a black low cut gown, tiara and an ornate necklace -- which Arajarvi could of course have been admiring. However, his sneaky glance was captured on film and has become an Internet hit. In the clip the 'first gentleman' of Finland is filmed appearing to stare at her chest area for several seconds before the Princess turns her head and catches him in the act. She immediately covers her chest with her hand while appearing to glare at him. An embarrassed Arajarvi immediately averts his gaze turning his head in the opposite direction and then pretends to be looking at the ceiling. The uncomfortable moment was filmed during a state dinner hosted by the Queen of Denmark in Copenhagen last month. More than 12,000 people have now viewed the clip on Youtube. One viewer posted a message underneath saying, "He's only human." 12,000 The number of people who have seen the video of Finland's First Man ogling at the Princess Sarkozy, Obama caught gawking In 2009, at the G8 summit in Italy, US President Barack Obama and French President were caught checking out the perfect curves of a young lady.
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