Daily News (In Short)-7-August-2015

#* Abu Jundal: The messenger of darkness wants light...

Mumbai: He played a key role in the 26/11 carnage in Mumbai and brought unending darkness to lives of hundreds of innocent people but he himself is afraid of darkness.
Abu Jundal, handler of Ajmal Kasab, has gone on a hunger strike in the Arthur Road cell demanding that he be shifted out of the windowless cell he has been lodged for the last three years.

As per a report in the Mid-Day, Jindal wants that he shifted to the 'Anda cell' so that he can at least get some fresh air and light.

The 26/11 accused has also claimed that he is mentally stressed as he is never allowed to stress out of the cell.

The report further says that Jundal has mentioned all his demands in an application moved by his lawyer before the MCOCA court.

The plea also adds that Jundal is being forced by prison authorities to confess about his role in the deadly terror attack.

Jundal was arrested in Saudi Arabia and deported to India in 2012. intelligence agencies claim that he was present in the 'control room' in Pakistan during the Mumbai terror attacks.

#* Godse's Brother was Released, Why Not Rajiv Gandhi Killers, Says Tamil Nadu in Supreme Court

NEW DELHI:  Citing the release of Gopal Vinayakram Godse in the Mahatma Gandhi assassination case, the Tamil Nadu government today tried to drive home the point for release of former Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi's killers in the Supreme Court.

Nathuram Godse's brother, Vinayakam Godse was a conspirator in the Mahatma assassination case and was sentenced to life, but was released in October 1964.

A five judge constitution bench is hearing Centre's petition against the Jayalalitha government's decision to release the seven convicts, whose death sentence has been commuted to life by the Supreme Court. The seven convicts are Robert Pious, V Sriharan, Santhan, Jaya Kumar, Arivu, Nalini, and Ravichandran.

The lawyer did not defend the action of the convicts, but Mr Diwedi said, "It is sad that these leaders were assassinated. But after long passage of time why you keep these convicts in Jail?"

During the course of hearing, the Court had said till the Centre makes a law that in cases probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation, only the Centre has the power to release them. The Court can pass an interim order that the trial court judge who had given death to these convicts can consider their remission - premature release.
 
But Mr Diwedi opposed to this suggestion, he said that the Court cannot take away the powers of state government for releasing convicts on remission.

Mr Gandhi was killed by a Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) suicide bomber while on election campaign in Tamil Nadu's Sriperumbudur in May 1991.

#* Six mowed down by Shatabdi Express in Malda

Six persons, including two children, were crushed under the wheels of New Jalpaiguri-Howrah Shatabdi Express in Malda district today. Superintendent of Police Prasun Bandyopadhyay said the victims were crossing the tracks at around 7 AM when they were mowed down by the speeding train. The incident occurred near Baroduari under Harischandrapur Police Station, around 90 km from the district headquarter, the SP said.

#* MH370: Missing Chinese passengers' kins demand to go to Reunion

Chinese relatives of passengers aboard the missing flight MH370 on Friday demanded to be taken to the Indian Ocean island of La Reunion, where a wing part was found that the Malaysian government said was from the Boeing 777.
Most of those on board the aircraft were Chinese and about 30 family members gathered outside an office building near Beijing's main airport in hopes of meeting Malaysian officials, although none attended.

"Our demand is to go to Reunion island and look for ourselves," said Hu Xiufang, who had three relatives, including her son, on the flight.

"All the relatives want to go there," she said. "Malaysia is the country responsible and they should obtain the relevant documents."

Malaysia's Prime Minister said early on Thursday that wing wreckage found on the French island was from the plane, although French investigators have stopped short of the claim, saying there was a "very high probability" it came from MH370.

And Malaysian transport minister Liow Tiong Lai said more objects -- aircraft seat cushions and windows -- had since been discovered on Reunion, but that any MH370 link "had to be verified by the French authorities".

A French judicial source however said French investigators had not received any new items.

Meanwhile, authorities said it went down in the southern Indian Ocean.

Relative Lu Zhanzhong said that going to the island was the only way to ascertain what was happening. "We want to go to the island and see the truth," he said. "I want to see if my son's luggage is there."

Zhang Jianyi, who had a daughter and granddaughter on the plane, added: "We will all go there together. That's what international agreements require. And Malaysia is the relevant country to arrange it."

The Malaysia Airlines flight, with 239 people, including 153 Chinese citizens, vanished en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing in March last year in one of aviation's most baffling mysteries. 

Many Chinese relatives of MH370 passengers have consistently questioned official accounts and expressed beliefs that their loved ones are alive, perhaps being held at an unknown location, despite the mounting evidence of a fatal crash.

Some of the relatives, including Zhang, wore white T-shirts printed with "we pray for the safe return of MH370".

Relatives also expressed continuing frustration with Malaysian officials. "The Malaysian government have refused to send anyone to meet us," said Jiang Hui, whose mother was on the flight.

"I don't know what the Malaysian government fears, or what it's trying to cover up." he said.

#* Suicide bomber kills 15 inside Saudi Arabia mosque; Islamic State claims responsibility

Riyadh: A blast probably triggered by a suicide bomber killed 15 people on Thursday at a mosque inside a special forces headquarters in Saudi Arabia near the border with Yemen. An interior ministry spokesman said the "terrorist" attack took place during noon prayers in the city of Abha, in the southern province of Asir.
Twelve of those killed were members of a Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) unit, while the other three were workers at the compound, officials said. Seven people were also wounded. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.
The bombing was the deadliest in a series in recent weeks against Saudi security forces, who have been targeted in attacks blamed on the Islamic State group. "The terrorist attack struck worshippers during prayer," the spokesman said, giving an initial toll of 10 policemen and three workers killed and nine people wounded.
Saudi security forces inspecting the site of the explosion. AFP Saudi security forces inspecting the site of the explosion. AFP
El-Ikhbariya state television later said that two policemen wounded in the "heinous" attack had died, bringing the death toll to 15. The interior ministry spokesman said the attack was likely carried out by a suicide bomber, saying that "body parts found at the scene" indicated the use of explosive vests.
The governor of Asir province, Prince Faisal bin Khaled bin Abdel Aziz, visited the site of the attack and the wounded in hospital, condemning the bombing. "The attack is aimed at destabilising the country and sowing fear among citizens," he said, according to the official Saudi Press agency.
An interior ministry spokesman told AFP it was too early to say who may have carried out the attack. On July 16 a car bomb exploded at a security checkpoint near a prison in the capital Riyadh. It killed the driver and wounded two policemen.
Officials identified the driver as a 19-year-old Saudi man and said he had killed his uncle, a colonel, before blowing himself up on a road near Al-Hair prison, a high security facility. Islamic State claimed responsibility for that attack, saying it was a message to jihadists held at Al-Hair that they had not been forgotten.
Two days later, Saudi Arabia said it had broken up an IS-linked network and arrested more than 430 suspects involved in attacks and plots, including suicide bombings of Shiite mosques. The interior minister said the suspects had plotted attacks on an unidentified diplomatic mission and mosques, including one used by security forces in Riyadh.

#* Kim Jong-Un turns North Korea's clocks back by 30 minutes in new time zone switch

The secretive country has announced its clocks will go back by 30 minutes from next Saturday North Korea is to switch to a new time zone by putting its clocks back by half an hour.

The secretive country will put its clocks back by 30 minutes from next Saturday.

Its state news agency KCNA said Korea's standard time had been changed during occupation by "wicked Japanese imperialists".

North Korea is currently nine hours ahead of GMT and in the same time zone as neighbouring South Korea and Japan.

The move has led to concerns that efforts to reduce tensions between North and South Korea could be hampered.

It could affect work at North Korea's Kaesong industrial plant which is run by both countries.
As reported by the BBC, Unification Ministry official Jeong Joon-Hee said: "And in the longer term, there may be some fallout for efforts to unify standards and reduce differences between the two sides."

Last week North Korea's leader Kim Jong-Un used the anniversary of the Korean War to issue a chilling threat to kill all Americans.

The bizarre North Korean leader claimed if the superpower waged war on the tiny nation they would "leave no American alive".

The anniversary is traditionally hailed by the country as a victory over the US and South Korea.

Kim has recently posed for photographs which show him apparently testing new weapons, chatting to fighter pilots or directing strategy.

He said: “Gone forever is the era when the United States blackmailed us with nukes; now the United States is no longer a source of threat and fear for us and we are the very source of fear for it.”

General Pak Yong-sik of the Korean People's Army added: “The past Korean War brought about the beginning of the downhill turn for the US, but the second Korean war will bring the final ruin to US imperialism.”

The secretive leader has reportedly had more than 70 officials killed since he came to power.

His victims are said to include powerful figures he claims showed disrespect, family members he suspected of treachery and experts whose work he was unhappy with.

#* Afghan officials say truck bomb in central Kabul kills 8 people and wounds nearly 200

KABUL, Afghanistan –  A bomb hidden in a truck exploded in the center of the Afghan capital, killing eight people and wounding another 198, police and hospital officials said Friday.

Police chief Abdul Rahman Rahimi said the pre-dawn blast was near a Defense Ministry compound, but that all of the victims were civilians, including women and children.

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Kabul city hospital director Kabir Amiri said 198 people were wounded and all were civilians.

Rahimi said the target of the blast, which blew out windows in nearby homes, was not known.

Police do not allow trucks to enter in Kabul during the daytime, but they can enter from 9 p.m. until 5 a.m.

The blast comes after the United Nations said Wednesday that a growing number of women and children are getting hurt or killed in Afghanistan's war against the Taliban and other insurgents.

The total number of casualties in the almost 14-year conflict was up 1 percent in the first half of this year, compared to the same period last year, a new U.N. report said. However, the number of women casualties rose by 23 percent and children 13 percent.

#* Offshore bank units come under Sebi lens for share market manipulations

Capital markets regulator Sebi has started cracking down on offshore units of major global banks for their suspected role in manipulation of share prices in the Indian stock market.
Top officials said the regulator is closely looking at possible instances where share prices of companies listed in the domestic stock market are being manipulated through offshore centres of foreign banks.
This comes at a time when the Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT) on black money had recently suggested to Sebi to put in place regulations to help identify individuals holding participatory notes or offshore derivative instruments (ODIs).
According to top officials, indications are that offshore units of some major foreign banks, including those headquartered in Switzerland and the UK, are being used to manipulate share prices in the domestic stock market.
Sebi would also look into possible misuse of these units to launder unaccounted money through the domestic stock market but there are no clear indications in that regard yet, they added.
The watchdog is taking a closer look at possible misuse of Participatory Notes (P-Notes) to ascertain whether more stringent measures are needed to curb such activities, the officials said.
There are complaints that some portfolio managers at some banks, which have a significant presence in Indian financial markets, could have helped clients route money back into the country as foreign funds using investment vehicles across jurisdictions.
Incidentally, Sebi whole-time member S Raman on Thursday said that the regulator does not “dismiss the concerns raised by SIT with regard to P-Notes but Sebi has been very proactive on such matters much before these concerns were raised and will continue to be so”.
There are “sufficient checks and balances” on capital inflows by foreign investors into the domestic equities, he said on the sidelines of an event in Mumbai.
With regard to P-Notes, the regulator has put in place a strong deterrence to check any misuse of participatory notes and these can be issued only by well-regulated overseas entities such as sovereign wealth funds and pension funds of foreign governments.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has a strong surveillance system in place that generates over 100 alerts a day.
“We have strengthened our surveillance systems. In our surveillance systems, all the trading that happens in our country gets captured. We get alerts for all the trading. We are getting at least 100 alerts per day from our systems,” Sebi Chairman U K Sinha had told PTI recently.

#* ED seeks FIR copies in Louis Berger bribery case

In a new development, the Enforcement Directorate (ED), Goa has sought copies of the first information report (FIR) registered by the Crime Branch in the Louis Berger bribery case as it pertains to “hawala transactions.”

Sources told The Hindu on Thursday evening that after receiving the FIR from Goa police, the ED will evaluate whether to register the case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

Meanwhile, former Goa Minister for Public Works Churchill Alemao, who was arrested by the Goa police late on Wednesday night in connection with the Louis Berger bribery case, was remanded in four-day police custody by a Special Court here on Thursday evening.

Mr. Alemao was formally arrested a little before midnight on Wednesday after he was interrogated for nearly two hours by the Crime Branch police. He is the first politician to be arrested in the bribery case.

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