Metropolitan | SilverScorpio.Com

Delhi Court to hear Bofors pay-off case today

September 8, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Sep 8 (ANI): A Delhi court will hear the Bofors payoffs case against Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi today. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) may reveal its course of action following the withdrawal of Interpol’s Red Corner Notice against him.

The matter is to come up for hearing before Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Kaveri Baweja.

During the brief hearing on April 30, Additional Solicitor General P P Malhotra, appearing for CBI, had informed the court that the Red Corner Notice issued against Quattrocchi was withdrawn in November last year.

The ASG had also sought two months time to decide on the future course of action in the politically-sensitive case on the court’s query as to what options were left with the probe agency following the withdrawal of the Red Corner Notice.

The Bofors scandal was a major corruption scandal in India in the 1980s, when the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and several others were accused of receiving kickbacks from Bofors AB for winning a bid to supply the Indian Army with 155 mm howitzer guns.

The court had on February 10, 1997, sent letters to Malaysia and the UAE seeking the arrest and extradition of Quattrocchi.

The CBI had registered the FIR in the Bofors case on January 22, 1990, three years after Swedish Radio on April 16, 1987, claimed that A B Bofors, the makers of the 155 mm howitzers, had paid kickbacks to top Indian politicians and key defence officials to secure the Rs 1,437 crore gun deal.The contract between the Indian government and the Swedish Company for the supply of 400 field guns was signed on March, 24, 1986. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: A B Bofors, action, agency, ANI, April, army, arrest, ASG, bid, Bofors Case, bofors scandal, bureau, businessman, case, CBI, central, central bureau of investigation, Chief, company, contract, corner, corruption, Corruption Scandal, course, Court, crore, deal, defence, defence officials, Delhi, delhi court, extradition, February, field, Field Guns, fir, General P. P. Malhotra, Government, gun, gun deal, hearing, howitzer, Howitzers, India, Indian, indian army, Indian Government, indian politicians, Interpol, investigation, Italian Businessman, January, Kaveri Baweja, Kickbacks, magistrate, Malaysia, March, matter, metropolitan, New Delhi, notice, November, Ottavio, Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, probe, quattrocchi, query, radio, Rajiv Gandhi, red, scandal, sensitive case, Sep, solicitor, solicitor general, supply, Swedish, swedish company, Swedish Radio, time, today, UAE, withdrawal, year

Britain is culturally sexist, says equality watchdog

September 6, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, Sep. 6 (ANI): The Chairman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, Trevor Phillips, has declared that Britain is ‘culturally sexist,’ and yet to reach a consensus about whether women are equal to men.

According to Phillips, most bosses still operate on the pretext that their workers are male, and even organisations with vast resources into countering discrimination remain biased.

“There is still a huge argument to settle. As a nation, we haven’t quite got a consensus about whether women really are equal or not,” The Times quoted him, as saying.

“We have a culture which produces bias, even when people don’t mean it to, even when they are doing their damnedest to make things change,” he added.hillips said “serious culture change and institutional reform” was needed to put women on an equal footing with men.

His comments coincide with a time when the latest government-commissioned investigation is expected to show pay gaps of up to 60 percent for some women doing the same jobs as men.

Tomorrow’s report is expected to reveal that women are “locked out” of top jobs in the City because employers “massively and preferentially” hire and promote staff between the ages of 25 and 40.

“It’s like Hollywood. There’s no role for women over 40,” Phillips said.

“The fact is, most offices, no matter how enlightened the bosses are, still operate on the premise that the average ‘normal’ worker is male, that someone will look after his children if he has them, that he will be able to work 9am-5pm most days – that’s how we organise things. Doesn’t work for most women,” he added.

He named the BBC and the Metropolitan police as two institutions that had failed to eradicate sexism despite ploughing resources into the problem.

“These organisations have tried very hard. But at some point we are going to need radical cultural change and institutional reform if we’re not going to get stuck at a place where in 20 years’ time we’ll still be saying, ‘why haven’t we got any women on boards?’ (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: Am, ANI, argument, bbc, bias, Britain, chairman, change, city, commission, consensus, culture, Culture Change, damnedest, discrimination, equal footing, equality, fact, footing, gaps, Hollywood, human, human rights commission, institutional reform, institutions, investigation, jobs, London, matter, metropolitan, metropolitan police, nation, organise, pay, percent, place, point, premise, pretext, problem, reform, report, rights, role, Sep, sexism, someone, staff, time, times, tomorrow, trevor phillips, Vast Resources, watchdog, worker

London police stopped five under-10s a day in 2008, says Scotland Yard report

August 19, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, Aug.19 (ANI): Nearly 2,000 children aged under 10 were stopped by members of Britain’s largest police force last year, according to figures from Scotland Yard.

According to a report by The Independent, that means that at least five children aged ten or less were stopped for questioning.

Of the 1,954 stopped, 1,715 were boys and 239 girls.

Children under 10 are under the age of criminal responsibility in Britain.

The new statistics came to light after a mother, Sandra Shepherd, 40, complained that her nine-year-old son Jadan was stopped and searched by officers in Camberwell, south London, while out with his older brother and friends. A senior officer confirmed police are investigating a formal complaint about the incident.

Officers searched Jadan under section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act (1994).

This allows police to search anyone they believe is carrying a weapon or anyone in the area of a violent attack.

A detailed breakdown of figures for 2008 revealed 115 under-10s were stopped and searched by officers using section 60 powers. Officers also used section 44 of the Terrorism act 2000 to stop 58 under-10s.

Jenny Jones, a member of the Metropolitan Police Authority, said police must tackle crime without alienating the public but questioned whether searching children as young as nine was an appropriate or effective use of police resources.

Lambeth Police Superintendent David Musker said: “I confirm this matter has been reported to the Directorate of Professional Standards and will be investigated.” (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: 10s, act, age, Age Of Criminal Responsibility, ANI, anyone, area, attack, Aug, authority, breakdown, Britain, brother, Camberwell, Camberwell South, children, complaint, Crime, criminal, Criminal Justice And Public Order Act 1994, day, directorate, force, Formal Complaint, incident, independent, Jadan, Jenny Jones, justice, lambeth, London, london police, matter, member, metropolitan, metropolitan police authority, mother, Musker, officer, order, police, Police Resources, Police Superintendent, professional, Professional Standards, Public, report, responsibility, Sandra Shepherd, Scotland, scotland yard, section, Section 44, son, south london, standards, Superintendent David Musker, terrorism, Terrorism Act 2000, Under, use, violent attack, weapon, yard, year

Female Sikh constable wins race claim in the UK

July 29, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, July 28 (ANI): A Brit Sikh policewoman is expected to win a five-figure payout after an employment tribunal ruled that she had suffered racist and religious humiliation at the hands of her trainer.

According to the Daily Express, Amandeep Kaur Grewal has claimed that she was singled out for unfair criticism and treatment because of her race by trainer Police Constable Lucinda Rigby.

When Grewal, 38, complained, Rigby told her that the other students were laughing at her behind her back.

A mother of two, Grewal said some of her fellow recruits at the Metropolitan Police College in Hendon, north London, treated her in a “less-than friendly fashion”.

The tribunal in Reading rejected the Met’s claim that trainers had considered Grewal’s skills to be poor compared with other students.

The panel ruled that Grewal, who is now a policewoman in Kingston, southwest London, had been unfairly targeted.

It found the Met guilty of race and religious discrimination. Compensation will be decided later. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: Amandeep, ANI, brit, claim, college, compensation, criticism, daily, daily express, discrimination, employment, Employment Tribunal, Express, fashion, fellow, Fellow Recruits, female, grewal, hendon, humiliation, July, kaur, Kingston, London, lucinda, met, metropolitan, metropolitan police, mother, North London, panel, payout, Police College, police constable, Police Constable Lucinda Rigby, policewoman, Race, Religious Discrimination, Rigby, sikh, southwest london, trainer, treatment, tribunal, U.K, uk london, Unfair Criticism

FYJC Mumbai 11th Std 1st Merit List 2009 ~ Mumbai FYJC online Education admission ~ FYJC Merit List in fyjc.org.in

July 14, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

FYJC Mumbai 11th Std 1st Merit List 2009 ~ Mumbai FYJC online Education admission ~ FYJC Merit List in fyjc.org.in

Mumbai FYJC online admission process for Std. XI is applicable to all recognized junior colleges in Mumbai Metropolitan Region.

Mymbai FYJC is going to publish the first merit list today, 14th July 2009.

Have your application number for merit list.

Direct Link to Merit List – http://fyjc.org.in/mumbai/StaticPages/DisplayAllottedCollege.aspx

Filed Under: Educational News Tagged With: 11th, 11th Std 1st Merit List, 11th Std 1st Merit List 2009, 14th, 14th July, 1st, 2009 FYJC Merit List, 2009 Mumbai FYJC Merit List, admission, applicable, Application Number, Aspx, colleges, direct, displayallottedcollege, Education, First Merit, Fyjc, FYJC Admission List, FYJC First Merit List FYJC Mumbai, FYJC List, FYJC Merit List, FYJC Merit List 2009, FYJC Mumbai, FYJC Mumbai 11th Std 1st Merit List 2009, FYJC Science, Fyjc.Org.In, going, junior, Junior Colleges, merit, Merit List, metropolitan, Metropolitan Region, Mumbai, Mumbai FYJC Merit List, Mumbai FYJC Merit List 2009, Mumbai FYJC Online Admission, mymbai, number, Online Education, Online Fyjc, Online Fyjc Admission Live, Online Fyjc Education, Online Fyjc Study, publish, Recognized, region, staticpages, std

Shiv Sena wants houses in Mumbai for only for locals

July 14, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Mumbai, July 14 (ANI): In turf battle ahead of state polls in Maharashtra, Shiv Sena has promised houses in Mumbai to state’s bona-fide residents.

Having lost ground to its faction, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, over hardline political posturing, Shiv Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray led a bunch of party activists and supporters to the Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (MMRDA) head office demanding that non-Maharashtrians should be barred in that allotment of shelters.

“In another two to three months, Shiv Sena is confident of coming to power and then our government will provide 500 square feet area houses to Marathi ‘manoos’ (bona-fide residents of Maharashtra) to ensure that they need not go out of Mumbai to reside.

Marathi manoos is entitled to shelter and none else. This is our stand,” said Thackeray.

“In Mumbai, the houses are built by the MMRDA for the poor. These houses are also grabbed by builders. Immigrants from Bihar and Bangladesh are begging for accommodation whereas what we are demanding is proper accommodation from government which is our right,” he added.

The MMRDA last month announced that it would provide 43,000 homes at a rent starting as low as Rupees 800 per month.

The project is aimed at reducing the number of slums in Mumbai.

Shiv Sena members feel that the housing scheme doesn’t give preference to Maharashtrians and would encourage outsiders to settle in Mumbai.

Maharashtra will hold elections to state assembly by October and the migrants’ issue could swing votes. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: accommodation, allotment, ANI, area, assembly, authority, Bangladesh, battle, Bihar, bunch, Development, executive, executive president, faction, fide residents, Government, hardline, head, housing, Housing Scheme, immigrants, issue, July, Maharashtra, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, Maharashtrians, Marathi, metropolitan, migrants, mmrda, month, Mumbai, Navnirman, non, none, number, October, office, Outsiders, party, party activists, posturing, preference, president, project, regional, Regional Development Authority, rent, right, rupees, scheme, Sena, shelter, shiv, shiv sena, slums, Square Feet Area, stand, state, state assembly, state polls, Thackeray, turf, Turf Battle, Uddhav

Tata Steel – Tata Steel arm wins Rs 183.7 mn Chennai water contract

July 1, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Tata Steel – Tata Steel arm wins Rs 183.7 mn Chennai water contract

Jamshedpur Utilities & Services Company (Jusco), a Tata Steel`s 100% subsidiary has won a leak detection and rectification order for various divisions of Chennai city from the Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply & Sewerage Board (CMWSSB) for Rs 183.7 million, reports Financial Express.

The contract is to be completed in 18 months and would be funded 35% by the ministry of urban development, 15% by the Tamil Nadu government under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission and 50% by the Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply & Sewerage Board (CMWSSB).

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: Amp Services, Chennai, chennai city, Chennai Metropolitan, Cmwssb, Financial Express, Jamshedpur Utilities, Jamshedpur Utilities & Services Company, jawaharlal nehru, Jawaharlal Nehru National, Jusco, Leak Detection, metropolitan, Metropolitan Water, national urban, rectification, Services Company, sewerage, Sewerage Board, Steel Arm, subsidiary, Tamil Nadu government, Tata Steel, urban development, urban renewal, Urban Renewal Mission, Water Contract, Water Supply

UK Police training for 30-minute response to ward off Mumbai style attacks

June 22, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

p
London, June 22 (ANI): To deal with a Mumbai-style terrorist attack, British Police and hotel staff are being trained to ward off danger in the crucial first 30 minutes, amid growing concern that extremists may target venues in London and other western cities. /pp
Detectives from the Metropolitan Police Counter-Terrorism Command have visited India to learn lessons from the attacks, which killed 173 people and wounded 308 over the course of three days in November last year. /pp
Police firearms units, already trained to shoot to kill if necessary, are being taught to head off the danger of a siege in the crucial first 30 minutes, The Telegraph reports. /pp
Hotel staff are being trained to spot terrorists on reconnaissance missions as well as how to evacuate guests – or whether to advise them to lock themselves in, and floor plans of major hotels are being gathered. /pp
A senior government official said that counter-terrorism officials have had a lot of detailed briefings which concentrate on training police armed tactical response units to act quickly for public protection. /pp
This has been an eye-opener and we are refreshing our plans, the official added./pp
Should a hostage situation develop, the SAS would be put on standby and attempts would be made to try to limit the information that terrorists could receive from live television by keeping cameras away from the scene. /pp
Officers have made a series of presentations within the Metropolitan Police and Government warning that a Mumbai-style attack is a real possibility. /pp
They believe that terrorist groups with links to the criminal underworld might be trying to buy arms because they are easier to obtain than explosives, the paper reports. (ANI)/p

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: act, ANI, attack, British, British police, command, concern, counter, counter-terrorism, course, Criminal Underworld, danger, detectives, First 30 Minutes, floor, Government, Government Warning, hostage, Hostage Situation, hotel, hotel staff, India, information, June, Live Television, London, lot, metropolitan, minute, Minute Response, Mumbai, Mumbai-style, November, official, paper, police, Police Firearms, police training, possibility, Pp Hotel, protection, reconnaissance, reconnaissance missions, response, Response Units, sas, scene, series, siege, situation, staff, style, Style Attack, Tactical Response, Telegraph, telegraph reports, television, terrorism, terrorist groups, training, U.K, underworld, Venues In London, warning, Western Cities, year

7/7 bomb attacks: Police, MI5 cleared of blame

May 20, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, May 20 (ANI): The British Parliament’s intelligence and security committee (ISC) has cleared the police and intelligence agencies of any blame for failing to track Mohammad Sidique Khan and his right-hand man, Shehzad Tanweer, after they appeared as part of an investigation into a plot to detonate fertiliser bombs in the UK, almost 18 months before the 2005 attacks in London.

According to The Guardian, the ISC said there was no evidence the pair planned to launch attacks themselves.

But it also listed a string of occasions, dating back to 1993, when versions of Khan’s name or addresses connected to him were recorded by police or MI5, all but the earliest because of links to people being investigated over extremism.

In unprecedented detail, the committee also revealed a lack of co-operation between MI5 in London and police special branch in West Yorkshire. But it concluded that MI5 suffered at the time from a serious lack of resources.

The heavily censored, 102-page report revealed that in 2001 West Yorkshire police had videoed Khan at a training camp in the UK organised by two known extremists, an event described as a “significant lead” by the ISC. Images from the footage were shown to their sources but Khan was not identified.

The other pieces of information on Khan, held variously by West Yorkshire police, the Metropolitan police and MI5, were never connected before 7 July.

It was “surprising” that MI5 said it had not identified Khan by then, given the amount of information held, the report said.

The report revealed that MI5 is not automatically informed when the police special branch receives intelligence about terrorism.

It also said MI5 had no legal power to pass to the police all the intelligence it collects from counter-terrorism operations. But the committee concluded that, having looked at all the evidence in “considerable” detail, “we cannot criticise the judgments made by MI5 and the police on the information that they had and their priorities at the time”. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: amount, ANI, blame, bomb, bomb attacks, branch, British, british parliament, camp, cannot, committee, Committee Concluded That, counter-terrorism, criticise, detail, detonate, event, evidence, extremism, extremists, fertiliser, Fertiliser Bombs, footage, guardian, images, information, intelligence, intelligence agencies, investigation, ISC, judgments, July, khan, lack, lead, London, man, May, metropolitan, metropolitan police, mi5, Mohammad Sidique, Mohammad Sidique Khan, name, page, pair, parliament, part, plot, police, power, report, Right Hand Man, security, Security Committee, Shehzad, string, Tanweer, terrorism, time, training, training camp, U.K, Unprecedented Detail, West Yorkshire, west yorkshire police, yorkshire

MPs’ expenses: Claims would shame dictator, police tell Jacqui Smith

May 14, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, May 14 (ANI): Senior police officers have told Home Secretary Jacqui Smith that MPs are enjoying expenses that would not look out of place in a “Third-World dictatorship”.
Members of the Police Federation of England and Wales criticized Smith as she defended the expenses and allowances for all public servants, saying they were necessary for them to work effectively, reports The Telegraph.

Steve Morley, of the Metropolitan Police, questioned why police allowances, from dry cleaning to extra cash for working on rest days, had been dropped.
He said: “Can you explain for the benefit of my members, your electorate, why all our expenses and allowances have been taken away?” Morley added that some claims by MPs would be “jaw-dropping in a Third-World dictatorship let alone in the country of hope and glory”.

His comments at the federation’s annual conference were met with much applause.

Miss Smith, who admitted to having made a “big mistake” on expenses, said: “I think for people to be able to do their job they should get the expenses and allowances they need in all areas of public service. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: ANI, applause, benefit, big mistake, Cash, claims, cleaning, conference, country, dictator, dictatorship, Dry Cleaning, electorate, England, england and wales, Extra Cash, federation, glory, home, Home Secretary, Hope And Glory, Jacqui Smith, job, London, May, metropolitan, metropolitan police, Miss Smith, mistake, morley, mps, need, place, police, police federation, police officers, public servants, rest, Rest Days, secretary, Senior, service, shame, Steve Morley, Telegraph, third, Third World, wales, world

Brit Muslim catering manager claims discrimination in pork handling row

May 12, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, May 12 (ANI): A Muslim catering manager, Hasanali Khoja, who refused to cook sausages and bacon because it was against his religion, has claimed that he was religiously discriminated against.

Khoja, 60, told a tribunal here that he feared he would be splashed with fat from the pork products and that even wearing gloves and using tongs to cook would not protect him.

Islam forbids Muslims to eat or handle pork products.

According to The Telegraph, Khoja alleges he was discriminated against due to his religion and that, during a meeting to resolve the situation, a human resources manager pulled faces and made racist gestures.

He said he had raised the issue of pork handling at his interview in 2004 for a senior catering manager job with the Metropolitan Police Service and was told no food handling would be involved as it was a supervisory role.

Khoja was successful and started the job at Hendon police training centre on March 7, 2005 but was found to have inadequate IT skills and in August that year accepted a job as higher catering manager at the same site.

His objections to touching pork products were respected and, during training assessments, a colleague cooked sausages and bacon for a so-called 999 breakfast while he cooked toast and eggs, he said.

On February 1, 2007 Mr Khoja said he was told he was being transferred to a kitchen at Heathrow Airport.

When he reported to Heathrow he was told he was expected to prepare, cook and serve all food and immediately voiced his objections to touching pork products.

A meeting was arranged to discuss the problem on February 12, which continued on February 13.

During the second day, Khoja said the human resources manager, Paul Bell, told him his job was at risk if he did not follow instructions. Bell then pulled faces and made racist gestures, Khoja said.

Khoja told the tribunal in Watford, Hertfordshire, that he had refused to handle pork products even if gloves and tongs were provided. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: airport, ANI, August, Bacon, breakfast, brit, catering, Catering Manager, centre, colleague, cook, day, discrimination, February, february 12, food, Food Handling, gestures, Hasanali, Heathrow, Heathrow airport, hendon, hertfordshire, Human Resources Manager, Interview, islam, issue, job, Khoja, kitchen, London, manager, Manager Job, March, May, meeting, metropolitan, metropolitan police service, Mr Khoja, Muslim, objections, Paul Bell, police, police training, pork, pork products, problem, religion, risk, role, row, Sausages, service, site, situation, Supervisory Role, Telegraph, toast, tong, Tongs, training, tribunal, watford, year

Jack McCollough suffered broken nose from headbutting

May 9, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New York, May 9 (ANI): Jack McCollough’s reps have revealed that the head-butt, alleagedly given by actor Kiefer Sutherland, left the fashion designer with a broken nose, which even had to be operated upon.

The reps for McCollough have said that the designer required surgery for his injuries after the alleged incident.

“Mr. McCollough suffered a broken nose in three places as a result of the assault. He received medical treatment last night after consulting with physicians,” The New York Daily News quoted the rep as telling People magazine.

Although it was initially reported that the designer suffered only scratches on his nose, a source close to McCollough has now said that he “had to have his nose reset.”

The source also said that McCollough was irritated that the ordeal had delayed work on his upcoming collection, and he “has no time to deal with this.”

Sutherland’s friends said that he whacked the designer at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute Gala in New York to defend the honour of actress Brooke Shields.

McCollough’s camp called it “a vicious, violent, unprovoked assault.”

The actor surrendered about 72 hours after the incident, which left the designer with a gash on the bridge of his nose.

Sutherland is due in court on June 22. (ANI)

Filed Under: Entertainment News Tagged With: Actor, Actress, ANI, art, assault, bridge, Brooke, brooke shields, camp, collection, costume, costume institute gala, Court, daily, designer, fashion, fashion designer, gala, gash, Head Butt, Headbutting, honour, incident, institute, jack mccollough, June, Kiefer, kiefer sutherland, magazine, May, medical treatment, metropolitan, metropolitan museum of art, Mr. McCollough, museum, Museum Of Art, New York, new york daily news, NEWS, night, nose, ordeal, people magazine, physicians, rep, reset, result, scratches, shields, source, surgery, sutherland, time, treatment, Unprovoked Assault, work, york daily news

Brooke Shields shaken after headbutting scandal

May 8, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New York, May 8 (ANI): While any woman would get flattered if she they had two men fighting over her, Brooke Shields is an exception.

The ‘Lipstick Jungle’ star, who was recently at the centre of a fight between Kiefer Sutherland and designer Jack McCullough, is under stress because of the scandal.

The actress was attending the Innoncence Project gala on May 6 at Cipriani Wall Street, but before reading a monologue from Bob Balaban’s ‘The Exonerated’, she was spotted having some serious time alone.

Although Shields had put on a happy face in public, a witness caught her sitting with her knees pulled up to her chest, hugging herself for comfort and chatting quietly into her cell phone.

“It was a very private moment,” the New York Daily News quoted a source as saying.

The source added: “She looked really upset, overwhelmed and stressed, the complete opposite of her outward calm in public.”

On May 4, Sutherland had headbutted McCullough at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute Gala in New York, to defend Shield’s honour. (ANI)

Filed Under: Entertainment News Tagged With: Actress, ANI, art, Bob Balaban, Brooke, brooke shields, cell, centre, chest, Cipriani Wall, Cipriani Wall Street, comfort, costume, costume institute gala, daily, designer, exception, exonerated, face, fight, gala, Happy Face, Headbutted, honour, Innoncence, institute, Jack McCullough, jungle, Kiefer, kiefer sutherland, knees, lipstick, Lipstick Jungle, May, mccullough, metropolitan, metropolitan museum of art, moment, monologue, museum, Museum Of Art, New York, new york daily news, NEWS, opposite, Phone, Private Moment, project, Public, scandal, Serious Time, shield, shields, source, star, street, stress, sutherland, the, time, two men, witness, woman, york daily news

UK police trebled stop and search of Muslims in 2008

May 3, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, May 1 (ANI): British Police anti-terror stop and search powers trebled last year, prompting fears that the policy is alienating the country’s Muslim community.

According to The Independent, officers in England and Wales used Terrorism Act powers to search 124,687 people in 2007/8, up from 41,924 in 2006/7.

Nearly the Metropolitan Police, the country’s largest force, which recorded a 266 per cent increase in anti-terror stop and search, carried out 90 per cent of the searches. The Brown Government said the rise in anti-terror stop and search last year was in part linked to the failed bombings in London’s Haymarket district.

Liberal Democrat Shadow Home Secretary, Chris Huhne, said the new figures will “only fuel the fear” that anti-terror powers are being misused.

Corinna Ferguson, a lawyer for human rights group Liberty, said: “A threefold increase in anti-terror stop and search is the clearest signal that these powers are being misused. Only 6 in 10,000 people stopped were arrested for terrorism, let alone charged or convicted. And the disproportionate impact on ethic minorities is even greater than in previous years.”

Chris Grayling, the Shadow Home Secretary, said: “People will be highly suspicious about the scale of stop and search under terror laws. This will reinforce the view that anti-terror powers are used for unrelated purposes.”

Under terror and non-terror powers, 1,223,860 people and vehicles were stopped and searched by police last year, a 17 per cent increase. Most police searches are carried out under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act, which were up 9 per cent last year to 1,045,923, nearly half of which were for suspected drugs offences. It is the fourth year in a row that the number of stop and searches has increased.

Officers used powers to stop people and demand they account for themselves more than two million times last year, separate figures revealed.

Ministry of Justice statistics showed “stop and account” powers were used on 2,353,918 occasions in 2006/7, up a quarter from 1,601,196 in 2006/7. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: act, ANI, bombings in london, British, British police, Brown Government, cent, Chris Grayling, Chris Huhne, clearest, community, Corinna, Corinna Ferguson, country, criminal, Criminal Evidence Act, Democrat, Disproportionate Impact, district, England, evidence, fear, force, fuel, group, half, Haymarket, Haymarket District, home, Human Rights Group, impact, increase, independent, justice, Justice Statistics, lawyer, liberal, liberal democrat, liberty, London, May, metropolitan, metropolitan police, ministry, ministry of justice, Muslim, muslim community, number, part, police, Police And Criminal Evidence Act, Police Searches, policy, quarter, rise, row, scale, Search Powers, secretary, shadow, shadow home secretary, signal, stop, terror, terrorism, terrorism act, threefold increase, U.K, Unrelated Purposes, view, wales, year

Hearing on Bofors case extended till September 8

May 2, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Apr 30 (ANI): A Delhi Court on Thursday postponed the hearing of the Bofors pay off case till September 8 after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) sought two months time to decide its future course of action on the lone surviving suspect, Ottavio Quattrocchi.

The CBI on Tuesday had requested Interpol to remove the Italian businessman’s name from its list of most wanted persons.

Filing the status report before the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Kaveri Baweja, the CBI’s counsel, Additional Solicitor General P. P. Malhotra, informed the court that the Red Corner Notice issued against Quattrocchi was withdrawn in November last year.

Malhotra contended that efforts to extradite Quattrocchi from Argentina have been unsuccessful because of various reasons and it did not seem achievable in the near future too.

However, Malhotra made certain that the CBI is keeping all options open and would need two months to consider them.

“It is stated that during the course of investigation, the Red Corner Notice was recalled. Extradition proceedings have not been completed for various reasons,” Baweja said.

The court had on February 10, 1997, sent letters to Malaysia and the UAE seeking the arrest and extradition of Quattrocchi.

The CBI had registered the FIR in the Bofors case on January 22, 1990, three years after Swedish Radio on April 16, 1987, claimed that A B Bofors, the makers of the 155 mm howitzers, had paid kickbacks to top Indian politicians and key defence officials to secure the Rs 1,437 crore gun deal.
The contract between the Indian government and the Swedish Company for the supply of 400 field guns was signed on March, 24, 1986. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: A B Bofors, action, ANI, Apr, April, Argentina, army, arrest, bid, Bofors Case, bofors scandal, bureau, businessman, case, CBI, central, central bureau of investigation, Chief, company, contract, corner, corruption, Corruption Scandal, counsel, course, Court, crore, deal, defence, defence officials, delhi court, extradite, extradition, Extradition Proceedings, February, field, Field Guns, filing, fir, General P. P. Malhotra, Government, gun, gun deal, hearing, howitzer, Howitzers, India, Indian, indian army, indian politicians, Interpol, investigation, Italian Businessman, January, Kaveri Baweja, list, magistrate, Malaysia, malhotra, March, metropolitan, name, New Delhi, notice, November, Ottavio, pay, Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, quattrocchi, radio, Rajiv Gandhi, red, report, scandal, September, solicitor, solicitor general, status, supply, Swedish, swedish company, Swedish Radio, Thursday, time, Tuesday, UAE, wanted persons, year

‘Fixated’ Lady Gaga’s ‘storm’ in a teacup

April 20, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, April 20 (ANI): Lady Gaga reportedly flew into a rage after her favourite teacup went missing.

The pop vixen, who allegedly does not travel without the floral cup, was said to have accidentally left the crockery at a posh London restaurant.

The 23-year-old, who performed at this year’s Brit Awards wrapped as a teacup, later purportedly sent a cab to the Metropolitan Hotel to bring back the set.

“She kicked up a stink and demanded someone get her cup and saucer back,” the Sun quoted a source as saying.

“She wouldn’t drink out of anything else. It just looked like any other cup and saucer to me and said ‘Made in China’ on the bottom. It seemed a lot of fuss over nothing,” the source added.

A spokesman for Lady Gaga said: “Lady Gaga does not want to reveal anything about the teacup itself, but drinking ginger tea is very good for singers.” (ANI)

Filed Under: Entertainment News Tagged With: ANI, anything, April, April 20, awards, bottom, brit, brit awards, cab, China, crockery, cup, drinking, favourite, Fixated, fuss, gaga, ginger, Ginger Tea, hotel, lady, lady gaga, London, london restaurant, lot, metropolitan, Metropolitan Hotel, nothing, pop, rage, restaurant, saucer, singers, someone, source, spokesman, Stink, storm, Storm In A Teacup, Sun, tea, teacup, vixen, year

Dhaka court indicts Huji leader, 13 others for blast in 2001

April 19, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Dhaka, April 17 (IANS) A Bangladesh court has indicted Mufti Abdul Hannan, leader of the banned Islamist outfit Harkatul Jihad Islami (Huji), and 13 others for causing the 2001 blast at a city rally that killed 10 and injured scores of people.

The blast occurred in 2001 at Dhaka’s Ramna Batamul area during Pahela Baisakh, the Bengali New Year celebration.

Metropolitan Sessions Judge A.N.M. Bashir Ullah Thursday rejected the discharge petitions submitted by the counsels for Hannan and five others and framed charges against all 14 accused.

Five of the accused produced before the court amid tight security pleaded not guilty after the charges brought against them were read out, The Daily Star said Friday.

Moulana Tajuddin, younger brother of former Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) deputy minister Abdus Salam Pintu, and seven other accused are absconding. Charges were framed against them in absentia.

The chargesheet said Ramna Batamul, where thousands of people gather to celebrate the Bangla New Year, was chosen as the target because Huji considers Pahela Baishakh celebrations anti-Islamic.

Moulana Tajuddin supplied the bombs. He also supplied grenades for carrying out the attack on an Awami League rally on Bangabandhu Avenue Aug 21, 2004, the media report said.

Huji is one of the four organisations banned by then Khaleda Zia government (2001-06) after the activities of Islamist militant bodies raised protests at home and among the international community.

Media reports have said these organisations have managed to regroup and step up their activities despite the ban.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Thursday sought the cooperation of Islamic leaders and scholars in finding out terrorists and troublemakers.

‘Islam is a religion of peace, but a vested quarter is undermining the image of this religion,’ she said while exchanging views with a delegation of madrassa and Islamic leaders.

The government wants to bring under its control the quami madrassas (seminaries) that belong to different schools of Islamic theology to monitor their activities and keep a check on their misuse by militants.

The government move comes after the discovery of arms, ammunition and explosives in a British NGO funded madrassa on Bhola island in southern Bangladesh.

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: Abdul Hannan, Abdus, Abdus Salam, absentia, ammunition, anti, April, area, attack, Aug, awami, awami league, Baisakh, Baishakh, ban, Bangabandhu, Bangabandhu Avenue, bangla, Bangladesh, bangladesh nationalist party, Bangladesh Nationalist Party Bnp, bashir, Batamul, bengali, bengali new year, bhola, blast, bnp, British, brother, celebration, chargesheet, check, city, community, control, cooperation, Court, daily, delegation, deputy, deputy minister, Dhaka, discharge, discovery, Friday, Government, Harkatul, Hasina Thursday, home, huji, IANS, image, islam, Islam Is A Religion Of Peace, Islami, Islamic, islamic leaders, Islamist, island, jihad, Jihad Islami, judge, khaleda, Khaleda Zia, leader, league, madrassa, media, metropolitan, minister, minister sheikh hasina, misuse, Moulana, move, mufti, New, new year celebration, NGO, outfit, Pahela, party, peace, Pintu, Prime Minister Sheikh, Quami, quarter, rally, Ramna, religion, Religion Of Peace, report, Salam, security, sessions, southern bangladesh, star, tajuddin, target, theology, tight security, Ullah, year, zia

London police suspend second officer over G20 behaviour

April 16, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London – A British police sergeant has been suspended following the emergence of video footage of him apparently hitting a female protestor during the April 1 G20 summit demonstrations, the BBC reported Wednesday. The officer is the second to be temporarily removed from his post since the demonstrations pending an investigation by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC).

In the latest video, the officer is seen to first hit the woman in the face as part of his efforts to restrain a crowd of protestors, and then take out his baton and strike her lower body when she confronts him to complain over the first strike.

A spokesman for London’s Metropolitan Police said that “the officer has been identified and suspended pending further investigation. The officer works as a sergeant in the territorial support group.”

The IPCC is already investigating the death of Ian Tomlinson, a newspaper vendor who died shortly after being knocked to the ground by an officer during the protests, although Tomlinson was not believed to have taken part in the demonstration.

The conduct of the police during the G20 protests has been widely called into question since the event, with accusations over the infringement of civil rights being made.

Shami Chakrabati, director of the human rights group Liberty was quoted by the BBC as saying over the latest case that it was difficult to understand what justified “a gargantuan police officer assaulting a smaller woman for having the audacity to complain.”

A spokesman for the opposition Liberal Democrat party called for a full-scale inquiry over the event. (dpa)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: accusations, April, audacity, baton, bbc, behaviour, body, British police, case, chakrabati, commission, conduct, crowd, death, Democrat, demonstration, demonstrations, director, DPA, emergence, event, face, footage, ground, group, hit, Human Rights Group, Ian Tomlinson, independent, independent police complaints commission, infringement, inquiry, investigation, ipcc, liberal, liberal democrat party, liberty, London, london police, metropolitan, metropolitan police, newspaper, officer, opposition, part, party, police, police complaints, police officer, Police Sergeant, post, protestor, protestors, protests, question, Second, sergeant, shami, spokesman, strike, summit, support, territorial, Territorial Support Group, tomlinson, vendor, video, video footage, Wednesday, woman

Bangladesh beefs up security ahead of Bengali New Year celebration

April 14, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Dhaka – Bangladeshi authorities on Monday deployed over 10,000 lawmen to ensure security for the celebration of the 1416 Bengali New Year Tuesday in the capital Dhaka, officials said. “We will ensure the highest security so that the people can celebrate the day with more enthusiasm,” Home Minister Sahara Khatun told reporters visiting the prime celebration venue at the Raman Green, where traditionally tens of thousands of people from all walks of life gather to celebrate Pahela Baishakh, the first day of the Bangladeshi calendar.

Khatun said security arrangements were better this time round compared to those for the celebration of Victory Day programmes in December and other major festivals last year.

The law enforcers, both in uniform and plainclothes, will keep a close eye on movements of people, particularly at Ramna Batamul, the heartland of the Pahela Baishakh carnival, said a senior official of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police.

For the first time, the authorities will deploy the members of a Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) force as well as the elite anticrime Rapid Action Battalion throughout the capital city.

On Sunday, security forces captured eight suspected Islamist militants on the city’s outskirts and seized explosives.

In 2001, at least 10 revellers were killed in an attack on a musical programme at the Ramna Park when the Bengali New Year celebration was on.(dpa)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: action, anticrime, attack, Baishakh, Bangladesh, Bangladeshi, Batamul, battalion, Beefs, bengali, bengali new year, calendar, capital, carnival, celebration, city, day, December, deploy, Dhaka, DPA, elite, enthusiasm, explosives, eye, force, green, heartland, home, Home Minister, Islamist, law, Law Enforcers, lawmen, life, metropolitan, metropolitan police, militants, Minister Sahara Khatun, Monday, New, new year celebration, official, outskirts, Pahela, police, programme, Raman, Ramna, Ramna Park, rapid, rapid action, revellers, round, security, security arrangements, Special Weapons And Tactics, sunday, swat, tactics, time, Tuesday, uniform, venue, victory, Victory Day, walks of life, weapons, year

Soldiers clash with Bangkok protesters, 68 wounded

April 14, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Bangkok, April 13 (Xinhua) At least 68 people were wounded when soldiers and anti-government protesters clashed in Bangkok early Monday, 14 hours after the Thai prime minister declared a state of emergency in the capital city.

The clash occurred around 4.30 a.m. Monday when some 300 so-called red-shirt protesters used a seized bus to crash into soldiers stationed at Din Daeng District in north Bangkok, Army spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd said.

Soldiers fired warning shots in the air and used teargas to disperse the protesters after failing to persuade the protesters to stop, Sansern said.

The health department of Bangkok Metropolitan Administration announced Monday that a total of 68 people were injured. All of them were discharged except two who were at the Rajvithi and another two at Ramathibodi Hospital. No deaths were reported so far, an official of the department said.

Earlier, a doctor with the Narenthorn Emergency Medical Institute, Thailand’s national emergency body, put the number of wounded at 49.

The army spokesman also said the situation has been brought under control to some extent. ‘Similar operations will be carried out in other areas,’ he said.

Army Chief General Anupong Paojinda refused to comment on the incident, adding that he will learn more about it first.

At about 6.15 a.m. Monday, ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra told the ‘red-shirts’ to continue fighting in a phone conversation with a core leader of the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD).

Sunday afternoon, Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva declared a state of emergency in Bangkok and some districts of five nearby provinces, citing the escalating violence of red-shirted protesters.

The latest round of the anti-government protests led by UDD, has entered its 19th day. The UDD followers wear red shirts, while the government supporters wear yellow.

Red-shirted protesters Saturday stormed the venue of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) summit and related meetings in Pattaya, and forced them to be cancelled.

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: abhisit, Abhisit Vejjajiva, administration., afternoon, air, anupong, April, army, army chief, Army spokesman, ASEAN, Asian, association, association of southeast asian nations, Bangkok, Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, body, bus, capital, Chief, chief general, city, clash, control, conversation, core, core leader, Daeng District, day, democracy, department, dictatorship, Din, disperse, doctor, Early Monday, emergency, extent, front, general, Government, government supporters, Health, hospital, incident, institute, Kaewkamnerd, leader, medical, medical institute, metropolitan, minister, Monday, Narenthorn, national emergency, Nearby Provinces, north Bangkok, number, official, Paojinda, Pattaya, Phone, phone conversation, prime, Rajvithi, Ramathibodi, Red-shirted, round, Sansern, Saturday, shinawatra, situation, southeast, southeast asian nations, spokesman, state, state of emergency, summi, summit, sunday, thai, Thai Prime Minister, Thailand, thaksin, Thaksin Shinawatra, the, total, UDD, united, vejjajiva, venue, Violence, warning, Warning Shots, xinhua