US dismisses charges against Indian diplomat

New York (AFP) - A US judge has thrown out charges against an Indian diplomat whose New York arrest and strip-search sparked a bitter diplomatic row with Delhi.

Devyani Khobragade was arrested on December 12 outside her children's New York school, accused of defrauding her Indian housekeeper's visa application.

An outraged India claimed full diplomatic immunity on her behalf after Khobragade said she was subjected to a cavity search while in custody.

Employed at the Indian consulate in New York, she acquired in January the full diplomatic immunity granted to diplomats at the Indian mission to the UN.

It was on grounds of immunity that she petitioned a US court on January 9 to drop the case.

US District Judge Shira Scheindlin dismissed the indictment Wednesday on grounds that Khobragade was granted full diplomatic immunity on January 8.

"Even if Khobragade had no immunity at the time of her arrest and has none now, her acquisition of immunity during the pendency of proceedings mandates dismissal," Scheindlin wrote.

"Khobragade's conditions of bail are terminated, and her bond is exonerated... It is ordered that any open arrest warrants based on this indictment must be vacated."

Khobragade in January returned to India in January, leaving behind her two daughters and husband, a US citizen.

Khobragade told an Indian newspaper of her anguish at being separated from her seven- and four-year-old girls and their father, an academic.

US prosecutors, disputing her immunity, accused Khobragade of sometimes forcing her Indian maid to work 100-hour weeks, even when sick and often without a day off, for pay as little as $1.22 an hour.

The diplomatic row between the two countries, which had embraced each other as strategic partners, strained ties and fanned resentment on both sides.

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source:Yahoo news

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Maoist attack on India police patrol leaves 16 dead

 

 

11 members of the national paramilitary CRPF were killed along with 4 members of the police force.

RAIPUR (AFP) - Maoist rebels killed at least 15 members of India s security forces Tuesday in a massive attack in restive Chhattisgarh state, less than a month before the country holds elections, police said.

Security officials and police sources said the victims were all killed when up to 200 rebels ambushed a patrol in forests to the south of the state capital Raipur before a major gun battle erupted.
Eleven members of the national paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) were killed along with four members of the state police force, said Mukesh Gupta, one of Chhattisgarh s most senior police officers.
"As of now, a total of 11 CRPF, four policemen and one civilian have died," Gupta told AFP.
Others suggested the death toll was even higher.
Rajinder Kumar Vij, the head of anti-Maoist operations in the central state, put the number of CRPF personnel dead at 15 and said that five state policemen had also been killed.
There were no figures on the number of Maoist casualties.
The forces were involved in an operation to clear and open a road in Sukma district when the rebels detonated a landmine and started firing indiscriminately, Vij told AFP.
"The attack sparked a gun battle that lasted about three hours."
Several people were injured in the attack and were being airlifted to Raipur for treatment. Security reinforcements have been rushed to the area, along with top state government officials.

Gupta said the attack took place at around 10:30am in a heavily-forested area during the operation to clear the road some 400 kilometres (250 miles) from Raipur.
"The attack was on one of our police parties as the Naxalites (Maoists) have been frustrated at our increased presence in the area," he said.
"We don t yet know the casualties on the attackers side... It is difficult for us because of the topography of the area.

"The attack was close to the site of an ambush in May last year on a convoy carrying members of India s ruling Congress party in which 24 people were killed, including the state party president and his son.
The latest deaths will heighten fears of unrest in the Maoists  stronghold in the build-up to the nationwide elections which begin in early April.
Voting will take place in Chhattisgarh in three phases, on April 10, 17 and 24.
The Maoists, who have been described by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as the country s most serious internal security threat, have been fighting since 1967 for a communist society by toppling what they call India s "semi-colonial, semi-feudal" form of rule.
The insurgency is believed to have cost tens of thousands of lives, with much action focused around the insurgent-dominated, so-called "Red Corridor" stretching through central and eastern India.
In 2010, rebels killed 35 people in a landmine attack on a bus in Chhattisgarh. The explosion tore the front off the bus, killing 24 civilians and 11 police personnel.
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source:dunya news

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Afghan President Karzai becomes father again at 56

Karzai paid a brief visit to the Fortis Hospital to see his wife. 

NEW DELHI (AFP) - Afghan President Hamid Karzai has become a father again at the age of 56 after his wife gave birth to their third child in India, according to an embassy statement sent to AFP Friday.

A baby girl was delivered at a private hospital in the New Delhi satellite town of Gurgaon earlier this week, the statement said.

Karzai paid a brief visit to the Fortis Hospital on Wednesday to see his wife, 44, and new child as he flew on to Sri Lanka where he is on a two-day trip.

The leader, who has close ties with New Delhi, is set to retire from office after elections set for April 5 having led his war-wracked country since 2001.

Both of his other children -- a son and a daughter -- were born in Afghanistan, but due to an unspecified "medical complication" Karzai s wife Zinat was advised to travel to seek specialised care in India.

The child was born on Tuesday at around 9:30 am (0400 GMT), the Afghan embassy in New Delhi said in the statement.

In an interview last year to the BBC, Zinat explained that her husband of 15 years doted on his young family but often found it difficult to find time for them due to demands on his time.

"Sometimes, perhaps on Fridays, he might be free for an hour or so, so he will go for a walk with me and the children. We all go out together - once in a while," she said.

She also stressed that for them, despite deep-rooted cultural preferences for boys in Afghanistan, they were equally happy to have a daughter.

"For us... there is no difference between a boy and a girl," she said. "A daughter is the best gift from God."

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indian media over pakistan victory

Shahid Afridi thrills Indian media; reaches into headlines

NEW DELHI: ‘Boom Boom’ Shahid Afridi, who played most prominent role to grab victory for Pakistan’s cricket team today, has hailed by Indian media; however, failed to get position in ‘highlighted pictures’.

Indian media in majority placed ‘positive’ headlines with name of outstanding performer, Shahid Afridi, in today’s match against Indian cricket team but didn’t published Boom Boom photos in their news except some.

Here is the data collected from some reliable news websites of India:

1. ESPNcricinfo:

2. Times of India (TOI):

3. NDTV:

4. India Today:

5. The Hindu:

:

6. India TV:

Match’s Short Overview:

Shahid Afridi’s magical batting led Pakistan to an amazing one wicket win over India in an Asia Cup match here at Mirpur.

Shahid Afridi hit  last two sixes to get a dramatic win over India in a match which was almost a semi final of Asia Cup.

Pakistan needed 13 runs in the last over when Afridi hit two sixes to steal dramatic victory for Pakistan.

Before that the star batsman went ahead to capitalise on Muhammmad Hafeez and Sohaib Maqsood’s partnership and hit regular boundaries to win match for his team.

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