UK court restores George Cross to widow of Indian soldier

LONDON: A British court has clinched a settlement for an 81-year-old Indian widow in a long-running dispute over the ownership of a precious gallantry medal awarded to her late husband, a World War II soldier in the British Indian Army. 

The high court of London, in an order on June 5, approved a pre-trial settlement that the George Cross posthumously awarded to Naik Kirpa Ram is the property of his wife Brahmi Devi. 

A campaign is now underway among the Indian community in Britain to raise 12,000 ponds as costs to be paid to the current owner, retired Indian Army officer and medal collector Ashok Nath. 

"The medal and the medal group remain in custody of the Metropolitan Police until payment to the claimant (Nath) of the said sum of 12,000 ponds," the court order reads. 

Justice Stuart-Smith endorsed the "exceptional and honourable settlement" of what has been described as a highly complex dispute. 

A deadline of December 31, 2013, has been set to pay the 12,000 ponds due to Nath, following which the medal will be returned to Brahmi Devi who intends for its subsequent placement in a public collection in India. 

The medal, one of the few Indian George Crosses, was awarded to Naik Kirpa Ram - of the 8th Battalion, 13th Frontier Force Rifles, British Indian Army- on September 12, 1945, for his act of gallantry in saving the lives of his fellow soldiers at the cost of his own. 

During a field firing exercise at a rest camp at Thondebavi, Bangalore, a rifle grenade misfired and fell yards from his section. He rushed forward, shouted at his section to take cover, and attempted to throw the grenade a safe distance away. However, it exploded in his hands and his fatal self-sacrifice meant that only two men of his section were slightly wounded. 

His widow, Brahmi Devi, then aged just 13 had been married just days before her new husband left for the battlefield. In 1946, she travelled from her small village of Bhapral in Bilaspur district, Himachal Pradesh, to Delhi to receive the medal in his honour from the then Viceroy of India, Field Marshal Lord Wavell. 

Brahmi Devi's only cherished memory of her late husband was then reported stolen from a trunk in her home in Bhapral back in 2007 and after years of knocking on doors of the Indian police and Himachal courts, it appeared on the auction circuit through auctioneers Dix Noonan Webb in London in 2009 with an anticipated market value of around 100,000 ponds. 

While Nath had acquired the medal in good faith for a reported sum of 4,000 ponds, the Indian High Commission in London intervened to stop the sale on the grounds that it had most likely either been stolen or obtained by means of trickery prior to being sold. Since then the George Cross, along with Naik Kirpa Ram's other medals, has been held by the Art and Antiquities Unit of Scotland Yard. 

"When I heard about the case and saw Brahmi Devi's photographs, I was so moved. She reminded me of my own grandmother and I immediately decided to take on the case 'pro bono'," said Vijay Sharma of London-based Arlingtons Sharmas Solicitors, the law firm behind the final outcome in favour of the long-suffering Army widow. 

"I do not want money. I am a widow and the medal is special to me because it is the last memory of my husband," she said, in one of her witness statements.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/uk/UK-court-restores-George-Cross-to-widow-of-Indian-soldier/articleshow/20505353.cms

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ICC says it won't investigate police killings in Tanzania

Dar es Salaam. The International Criminal Court (ICC) has turned down a petition to investigate Tanzania for alleged extra-judicial killings and gross violation of citizen rights.

The court rejected the appeal filed in September last year by the Legal and Human Right Centre (LHRC) asking the Hague-based institution to consider opening an investigation into crimes against humanity and other human rights violations perpetuated by security forces.

The LHRC petition accuses the government of complicity and condoning killings by security forces. It claims at least 237 innocent people have been killed since 2003.

But on Wednesday, the Head of Information and Evidence Unit of the Office of the Prosecutor at ICC, Mr M.P. Dillon, wrote to LHRC announcing the decision not to open the case.

According to Mr Dillon, the matters raised by the LHRC and evidence available did not meet the threshold for launching local investigations.

The claims against Tanzania, he added, did not fall within the court’s jurisdiction as they do not meet the definition of genocide, crimes against humanity or war crimes as defined in Articles 6 to 8 of the Rome Statute.

In a letter to Dr Helen Kijo-Bisimba, the LHRC executive director, Mr Dillon writes: “The prosecutor has, therefore, determined that there is not a basis at this time to proceed further.”

“However, the information you have submitted will be maintained in our archives, and the decision not to proceed may be reconsidered in the light of new facts or information.”

The ICC official advised the petitioner to pursue justice with national authorities within Tanzania or raise the same concerns with other appropriate international authorities.

On Thursday, Dr Kijo-Bisimba told The Citizen on Saturday that the ICC stand will not deter their quest to ensure perpetrators of the crimes are brought to book.

“I am not disappointed even though it would have been better for the ICC to consider an investigation,” she said in an exclusive interview at the LHRC offices in Dar es Salaam.

“But at least our aim to highlight in the international stage human right violations in our country has been achieved.”

Source: http://www.thecitizen.co.tz/News/No-ICC-probe-on-police-killings-in-Tanzania/-/1840392/1875694/-/s7ql5az/-/index.html

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Peru denies pardon to ex-president Fujimori

Peruvian President Ollanta Humala has denied a request to pardon former leader Alberto Fujimori. The ex-president, who was jailed for corruption and human rights violations, had sought a pardon on humanitarian grounds.

Peru’s Justice Minister Daniel Figallo said on Friday that Fujimori’s health problems were not serious enough to warrant a pardon.

The president had"decided not to exercise his authority to grant a humanitarian pardon," Figallo said.

"Fujimori does not have a terminal illness, neither does he have a serious, incurable degenerative illness," Figallo said. "Neither does he have serious incurable mental disorders."

The 74-year-old, who was president from 1990 to 2000, had been treated for cancerous lesions on his tongue while he was in prison. A medical panel said in March there was no evidence the cancer had returned.

Fujimori was convicted of the killings of 25 people through a government-backed death squad during Peru’s battle against the rebels from the Maoist group Shining Path.

Supporters of Fujimori still retain political influence in the country’s Congress, with long-standing rumors of a secret deal to secure his release.

Election defeat for daughter

Humala beat Fujimori’s daughter, the former lawmaker Keiko Fujimori, in a presidential election runoff in June 2011.

The Fujimori family asked Humala for the humanitarian pardon last October, citing their father's failing health. Humala had already said ahead of the decision that he would not be pressured "through the media or with diatribes" into granting the pardon.

During a corruption scandal in the final days of his presidency, Fujimori escaped Peru and fled to his parents’ native Japan. He resigned by fax from a Tokyo hotel.

He was arrested during a visit to Chile and extradited to Peru to face charges in September 2007.

The request reopened old wounds in the country, where some 70,000 people died in the guerrilla war with Shining Path during the 1980s and 1990s.

rc/dr (AFP, AP, Reuters)

Source: http://www.dw.de/peru-denies-pardon-to-ex-president-fujimori/a-16867559

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Tarime settles after special police zone contained crime

Tarime, Tanzania.

IS cattle rustling still a threat to peace in the northern district of Tarime even after inception of the special police zone? Rampant cross-border cattle rustling is one of the security concerns which triggered the establishment of the special police zone in Tarime a few years ago.

Formation of the special police zone was expanded to cover the neighhouring Rorya district where armed rustlers used to grab hundreds of cows at gun point just as they did in Tarime. Formation of the special police zone has witnessed heavy presence of security personnel including anti- livestock theft unit.

The decision also aimed to end frequent clan and tribal clashes which left dozens of people including women and children dead in the two Districts of Mara Region. Cattle rustling and land conflicts have been cited as the major cause of fighting that also left many people seriously wounded and destruction of property worth millions of shillings.

President Jakaya Kikwete had promised to make Tarime a safe place to live when he made his first working tour in the area after he came to power in 2005. Formation of the special police zone has greatly helped to boost security and clan or tribal clashes are almost becoming history.

The prevailing clan and peace has enabled area residents to participate on development activities as compared to the past. “This is a new Tarime. Imagine people are trading until midnight. In the past, people closed shops before sunset simply because there was no security," several Tarime town business people told the 'Daily News' early this week.

Tourism industry is also seen gaining momentum in the district with hundreds of tourists entering the country via the Tanzanian/ Kenyan Sirari border making frequent stops in Tarime town before heading to Western Serengeti via short cut of Tarime- Mugumu road. But cross – border cattle rustling is still seen as major insecurity concern that is yet to be tackled by the Tarime/ Rorya Regional Special Police Zone.

In April this year armed rustlers stormed Kimusi and Borega village on different days and made away with a number of cows after killing. Police confirmed that a civilian was shot dead at Kimusi by the rustlers. Kimusi is just an example of several villages still prone to cross- border cattle rustling in Tarime.

Regional Police Commander (RPC) for Tarime/ Rorya Regional police zone Assistant Commissioner of Police(ACP) Justus Kamugisha told Tarime councillors recently that efforts are underway to make cattle rustling a thing of the past in the area. The RPC hinted that they have started meeting with their Kenyan counterparts to put in place effective strategies meant to combat cross- border crimes with cattle rustling being the top agenda.

“We are conducting joint security meetings with our Kenyan colleagues from Kurya West, Kurya East and Nyatike and aim is to end cross border cattle rustling and other crimes," ACP Kamugisha said during a full council meeting. The RPC was given an opportunity to give a security briefing during the packed meeting chaired by Tarime District Council Chairman Mr Amos Sagara.

Some councillors accused the special police zone for allegedly failing to stop cattle rustling in some parts of the district especially those villages bordering Kenya. “Sometimes we are failing to understand why our police officers meet armed rustlers with stolen cows and fail to recover the cows on grounds that the rustlers have AK47. Are these guns strong than the guns you have?” Asked a councillor from the affected villages.

ACP Kamugisha said they are well prepared to deal with the rustlers to make Tarime free from crimes without fearing armed bandits. “We don’t fear their guns. An AK47 is a normal gun, just like a sub machine gun (SMG) and we have strong guns”, the regional top police cop reacted.

“We are well prepared, it is possible to have zero crime in Tarime”, he added. A few weeks ago security personnel shot dead five rustlers, said to be from neighbouring Kenya, after they raided Borega village in Tarime district and grabbed several cows at gun point. The Kenyan police also took part in the shooting of the rustlers in an incident witnessed by ACP Kamugisha.

Source: http://www.dailynews.co.tz/index.php/features/popular-features/18336-tarime-settles-after-special-police-zone-contained-crime

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Uganda: 20 foreigners held for lack of work permits

Some 23 Asian immigrants have been arrested in an operation by the Directorate of Immigrations for lack of working permits. The immigrants, including Chinese, Indians and Pakistan nationals were picked up in a two-hour operation in Kampala Central Business District on Thursday.

The victims were found working in different places without official documents. The operation comes a few months after members of Kampala City Traders Association petitioned the Ministry of Internal Affairs to act on foreign nationals involved in petty trade. Mr Jacob Siminyu, the spokesperson of the Directorate of Immigration and Citizenship Control, said the suspects were being held at the Directorate’s headquarters on Jinja road.

Deceitful tactics

He added that some of the immigrants were found working even when their status read something else, while others were found in places where they were not supposed to be working. Mr Siminyu said the operation that started from Kampala, Bushenyi and Ibanda, and would extend to other up-country stations. “We are not going to release anybody who does not have the right facility. We either take them to court or those who deserve to be deported immediately will be deported immediately,” he said.

Mr Siminyu advises Ugandan nationals to desist from obstructing Immigration staff while arresting illegal immigrants, saying they risk arrest.

Last year the Directorate of Citizenship and Immigration Control carried out sensitisation workshops with various group of foreign nationals to convince them to regularise their stay.

Source: http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/20-foreigners-held-for-lack-of-work-permits/-/688334/1875830/-/mpv0dg/-/index.html

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US Government likely to open criminal probe into NSA leaks: officials

(Reuters) - President Barack Obama's administration is likely to open a criminal investigation into the leaking of highly classified documents that revealed the secret surveillance of Americans' telephone and email traffic, U.S. officials said on Friday.

The law enforcement and security officials, who were not authorized to speak publicly, said the agencies that normally conduct such investigations, including the FBI and Justice Department, were expecting a probe into the leaks to a British and an American newspaper.

Such investigations typically begin after an agency that believes its secrets have been leaked without authorization files a complaint with the Justice Department.

It was unclear on Friday whether a complaint had been submitted by the publicity-shy National Security Agency, which was most directly involved in the collection of trillions of telephone and email communications.

However, one U.S. official with knowledge of the situation said that given the extent and sensitivity of the recent leaks, federal law may compel officials to open an investigation.

A criminal probe would represent another turn in the Obama administration's battle against national security leaks. This effort has been under scrutiny lately because of a Justice Department investigation that has involved searches of the phone records of Associated Press journalists and a Fox News reporter.

Leaks to media outlets this week have revealed a government campaign of domestic surveillance going far beyond anything that had been acknowledged previously.

Late on Wednesday, Britain's Guardian newspaper published what U.S. officials later acknowledged was an order, approved by the secretive U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, requiring a subsidiary of Verizon Communications to give the NSA raw data showing phone calls made from numbers within the United States and from U.S. numbers to those overseas.

The data did not include the identities of people who made the calls or the contents of the calls.

On Thursday, the Guardian and the Washington Post published slides from a secret NSA powerpoint presentation that described how the agency gathered masses of email data from prominent Internet firms, including Google, Facebook and Apple under a Top-Secret program called PRISM.

Some of the companies denied that the NSA and FBI had "direct access" to their central servers, as the Post reported.

On Friday, for example, Facebook founder and Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said his company "is not and has never been part of any program to give the U.S. or any other government direct access to our servers."

"We have never received a blanket request or court order from any government agency asking for information or metadata in bulk, like the one Verizon reportedly received," Zuckerberg said. "And if we did, we would fight it aggressively. We hadn't even heard of PRISM" before Thursday, he said.

James Clapper, the director of U.S. national intelligence, condemned the leaks and asserted that the news articles about PRISM contained "numerous inaccuracies."

Read More: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/06/08/us-usa-security-leaks-idUSBRE95700K20130608

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India: Rape victim’s pregnancy terminated at Safdarjung Hospital

GURGAON: The 13-year-old rape victim, whose plight TOI had highlighted earlier this week, successfully underwent abortion at Safdarjung Hospital on Thursday amid claims by her family that they haven't received any help from the district administration. 

"We plan to move court to get her what she deserves, now that our priority in getting an abortion is taken care of," said advocate Kulbhushan Bharadwaj of NGO Farishte Group. 

On Friday, a private hospital in Gurgaon came forward to "adopt" her for lifelong medical treatment. The hospital is putting together a team of doctors to attend to the girl as soon as she arrives from Delhi. 

"We understand that termination of pregnancy is not the end of everything. It will mean a new start for her and her family to return to society. We have not heard anything yet from either the NGO or the hospital and have to understand her medical history," said Dr Devlina Chakraborty, COO & medical director, Artemis Health Institute. 

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/gurgaon/Rape-victims-pregnancy-terminated-at-Safdarjung-Hospital/articleshow/20485615.cms

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Five dead in Santa Monica shooting rampage

At least five people are dead and several others injured after a gun rampage in the beachfront city of Santa Monica, California, police say.

The attack began at a house and ended on a college campus where police say they shot the gunman in the library.

Police initially put the death toll at six, but later revised it to five people dead, including the shooter.

The gunman was in his late 20s and had been carrying an assault-style rifle, say witnesses.

President Barack Obama was at a fundraiser not far from where the shooting unfolded just before noon on Friday.

'Boom, boom, boom'

The gunman, dressed in black and wearing an ammunition belt and bullet-proof jacket, began by firing shots at the house, witnesses said.

The property was then engulfed by fire although it is not clear how the blaze started.

The Los Angeles Times reports that the first two victims were the gunman's father and brother.

Neighbour Jerry Rathner said she witnessed the shooting from her veranda, the Associated Press reported.

The gunman then walked to the street corner, pointed his gun at a driver and told her to pull over.

He signalled to another car with a female driver to slow down and fired into the car several times.

Ms Rathner said she rushed to help the victim and saw she had a shoulder injury.

"He fired three to four shots into the car, boom, boom, boom, right at her," Ms Rathner said.

Authorities say the violence then moved to a street corner near Santa Monica College where the suspect fired at passing vehicles.

The gunman then entered the campus where he is said to have shot a woman as he made his way toward the college library, where students were studying for final exams.

"We saw a woman get shot in the head," administrative assistant Trena Johnson told the Associated Press. "I haven't been able to stop shaking."

Witness Lisa Peters told the BBC she was at the campus radio station when they received a call that shots had been fired.

"We were on lockdown and we all tried to remain calm. I was there for about two and a half hours, but it seemed much longer than that," she said.

"Suddenly I heard police and swat teams yelling and saying to us that we had to evacuate.

"It was very dramatic. On leaving the campus, we walked right passed a body which we think was the gunman."

Police Chief Jaqueline Seabrooks said the gunman entered the college library and fired at people but did not hit anyone.

"The officers came in and directly engaged the suspect and he was shot and killed on the scene," she said.

Student Jimes Gillespie, 20, said he saw a car riddled with bullet holes, shattered glass and a baby seat in the back.

Authorities also took into custody a second man dressed in black with the words "life is a gamble" on the back of his shirt.

"We are not convinced 100% that the suspect who was killed operated in a solo or alone capacity," Chief Seabrooks added.

Three women were taken to the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, where a doctor said one patient had died, one was undergoing surgery and the third was in a serious condition.

Three more patients were taken to the UCLA Medical Center Santa Monica to be treated for minor injuries.

The shooting unfolded a few miles from where President Obama was speaking at a political fundraiser.

The Secret Service, which protects the US president, said the incident did not affect his schedule.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-22823290

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Barack Obama defends NSA's spying on US citizens

US President Barack Obama has defended the collection of data from phone calls and internet accounts by the National Security Agency (NSA) as “legal and necessary to combat terror.”

"Nobody is listening to your telephone calls," Obama said in San Jose, California, on Friday. 

Obama also defended a joint NSA-FBI initiative called PRISM in which agents tap into the servers of nine US internet giants, including Facebook, Google, and YouTube, saying the measure does not apply to American citizens or those living in the US. 

Internet giants like Apple and Facebook denied claims that they opened their doors for US spy agencies. 

The Washington Post reported late Thursday that the NSA had direct access to internet firm servers, saying their source, a career intelligence officer, was horrified of the capabilities of the systems used by the top US spy agency. 

The Guardian also revealed on Thursday a top secret court order in the US that allows the NSA to collect data on millions of Americans who are customers of Verizon Communications. 

According to the order Verizon should, “on a daily basis,” give the NSA data, including phone numbers of both parties, location, the time and duration of all phone calls in its systems, both in the US and between the US and other countries. 

The president admitted that the two programs made "modest encroachments" on privacy, adding that providing absolute security would certainly create some “inconvenience” when it comes to people’s privacy. 

Obama also tried to calm nerves by saying that the measures enjoy the full support of Congress and are being monitored by federal and secret intelligence courts for any abuse by the authorities. 

MA/MHB 

Source: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/06/08/307726/obama-defends-nsa-spying-on-us-citizens/

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Dar es Salaam: Court grants bail to four accused in passport theft case

THE Kisutu Resident Magistrate's Court in Dar es Salaam rejected the prosecution's objection to bail four people, including Immigration Department official Shemweta Mustafa Kiluwasha and prominent musician, Chigwele Che Mundugwao, charged with forging and stealing 26 passports.

Senior Resident Magistrate Aloyce Katemana ruled that the certificate by the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) that had been presented in court to support the prosecution's request was not properly filed.

The magistrate, therefore, proceeded to grant bail to the accused persons on conditions of securing two reliable sureties. He also ordered the accused persons to surrender their travel documents before the court. The case comes today for verification of bail conditions.

Other accused persons in the case are Kenneth Kombo Pius, an Engineer with Fire and Rescue Department and Ally Jabir Ally, a businessman. They are all defended by youthful and soft spoken lawyer, Peter Kibatala.

Senior State Attorney Ladislaus Komanya had told the court that at unknown time and place in the city, the four people conspired to commit an offence.

He told the court that between April 16 and May 10, this year, at Immigration Department offices at Kurasini area in Temeke District, being employed in public services, Kiluwasha stole 26 passports valued at 1.3m/-, property of the government, which came into his possession by virtue of his employment.

"Between April 16 and May 10, 2013 at Kurasini area in Temeke District, Che Mundugwao, Pius and Ally stole 26 passports valued at 1.3m/-, property of United Republic of Tanzania," the prosecutor alleged.

According to him, on May 30 this year, at Yombo Makangalawe area in Temeke District, without lawful excuse, Che Mundugwao, a board member of the Tanzania Music Federation (TMF), was found in possession of 12 passports belonging to other persons.

Mr Komanya alleged further that on May 13, this year, at the same area, without lawful authority, Che Mundugwao was found in possession of two valid passports bearing his name.

Furthermore, the prosecution told the court that on April 22, this year, at unknown place in the City, Che Mundugwao and Pius forged a passport number AB 651929, purporting to show that it was genuinely issued by the Immigration Department of Tanzania.

"On April 24, 2013 at unknown place in Dar es Salaam, Ally Jabri Ally forged passport number AB 651966 purporting to show that it was genuinely issued by the Immigration Department of the United Republic of Tanzania," the trial attorney alleged.

In addition, Mr Komanya claimed that between 2007 and 2011 in Dar es Salaam, Kiluwasha forged an official document, which is a rubber stamp, purportedly showing that it was genuinely issued by the Fire and Rescue Department of Tanzania.

Source: http://dailynews.co.tz/index.php/local-news/18327-court-grants-bail-to-four-accused-in-passport-theft-case

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