Gunmen kill leftist official in central Philippines

July 5 (Reuters) – Gunmen shot dead a left-wing local government official in the central Philippines on Monday, and his party said it was a political killing that challenged a government promise of an end to a culture of impunity.

Fernando Baldomero, provincial coordinator of leftist Bayan Muna (Nation First) party and a councillor of Lezo town in central Aklan province, was shot by two men in front of his residence while preparing to take his son to school.

“We demand an immediate and thorough investigation, particularly on the involvement of military and military-backed death squads,” Teodoro Casino, Bayan Muna leader and a member of the lower house of Congress, said in a statement.

“He is the first victim of extrajudicial killing under the Aquino government,” said Casino, who did not present any evidence to back up his claim.

Bayan Muna and rights advocate groups say more than 1,000 people, mostly left-wing community organisers, farmer and labour leaders, students and journalists, have either disappeared or been murdered by suspected army death squads since 2001.

The government of President Benigno Aquino took office on Wednesday. Aquino has set up a commission to investigate his predecessor’s regime for possible wrongdoings, including corruption, election fraud and political killings. [ID:nSGE65S0F3]

Amnesty International has called on Aquino to fulfil his campaign promise to end political killings, including of journalists and witnesses in high-profile murders, as well as enforced disappearances.

“The killings must stop,” Amnesty International said in a public letter to Justice Secretary Leila de Lima.

“The families of victims deserve truth and justice. Prosecution of perpetrators of extrajudicial executions can serve as a deterrent to these killings.”

On Saturday, a retired journalist was gunned down near his home in the northern Kalinga province. Police said the murder was not work related.

Last month, national police authorities said charges were filed against local politicians over the separate killings of two radio reporters and a provincial newspaper columnist. [ID:nSGE65M09M] (Reporting by Manny Mogato; Editing by John Mair)

Two county players approached to fix games, says ECB

Two English county cricketers have reported approaches from bookmakers, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said on Wednesday.

“ECB can confirm that two players have formally reported approaches from bookmakers which is in accordance with the policy communicated to players from the ECB funded player education programme operated in conjunction with the PCA at the start of each season,” the ECB said in a statement.

“ECB has reported this information to the International Cricket Council Anti-Corruption Unit and to the Police Authorities.

“ECB believes unlawful activities such as those attempted here and appropriately reported by players must be eliminated.”

The Daily Telegraph reported on Wednesday that a county player had been approached by an Indian businessman who told him he could “name his own price” to fix the result of a one-day match this season.

Former England captain Michael Vaughan said he thought this was just “the tip of the iceberg.”

“By speaking out I hope this player will shame others — and I am sure more players have been approached — into also going public,” Vaughan told the Telegraph.

“In the past, players have laughed off these kinds of approaches but now they must reveal the danger the game is facing. Its credibility is at stake. This is further evidence that as far as the fixers are concerned, our game is ripe for corruption.

“That was always going to be the case as soon as county cricket was beamed abroad, which increased its exposure.”

Lancashire chief executive Jim Cumbes said there had been rumours about match-fixing on the sub-continent for some time but he had expected it in English county cricket.

“For a cricket match to be fixed you are going to need more than one individual player, probably three or four,” he said.

“But reading the report this morning, I suppose with the business of spot betting, it is easy to fix with one player.”

(Editing by Ed Osmond;

To comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)

Russians detained in Germany for plotting plane hijack

Berlin, May 13 (IANS/RIA Novosti) Two Russians were detained Wednesday at Berlin’s Tegel Airport on the suspicion of intending to hijack an Air Berlin flight to Moscow, a police spokesman said.

A woman overheard two men, aged 49 and 26, speaking in Russian near a ticket counter at 12:40 p.m. (10:40 GMT) and believed they were discussing plans to hijack an airplane to Moscow. The woman reported the conversation to security police.

‘Two men have been detained after one other passenger got the impression they were planning to hijack an Air Berlin flight to Moscow,’ the spokesman said.

Both the men were detained for questioning while the remaining 132 passengers were put on another flight to Moscow.

‘Both men are being questioned by criminal police authorities,’ the spokesman said, adding that it was most likely a false alarm.

Over 1200 guests expected to attend Shoaib-Sania ‘walima’ reception in Lahore

Lahore, Apr.21 (ANI): Over 1200 guests are expected to attend the star sports couple Shoaib Malik-Sania Mirza’s ‘walima’ reception, which would be held at a five-star hotel in Lahore on April 25.

According to sources in Shoaib’s family, seats for over 1200 guests have been reserved at the hotel for the function.

According to hotel sources, guests would be served with only one dish during the function.

The newly wed couple is expected to arrive in Lahore later this week, following which they would visit Sialkot, Shoaib’s hometown, where a reception is to be held on April 25.

The hotel management has asked the local police authorities to arrange for foolproof security during the high profile function, The News reports.

The Malik’s are also expecting 15 to 20 Indian guests during both functions.
On Monday, the Andhra Pradesh High Court dismissed all cases against Shoaib, and ordered the police to return his passport.

The court also said that Shoaib and Sania are free to visit Pakistan
whenever they want. (ANI)

Police rescue kidnapped eight-year-old boy in Patna

Patna, Sept 18 (ANI): Police rescued an eight-year-old boy, who had been kidnapped at gunpoint while he was traveling to his school in Patna, earlier this week.

According to police, two out of three kidnappers have been arrested and a search is on for the third.

“The boy was recovered from Chhapra’s Baniyadpur police station. The three people who were involved in kidnapping of the boy; out of them two have been arrested,” said Parsh Nath Rai, inspector general.

Shreyas Srivastava was kidnapped at gunpoint in the heart of Patna while he was on his way to school on Sunday.

Three armed men overtook the auto rickshaw in which he was traveling to school and forced the driver to stop. Then, the boy was abducted from there.

Shreyas is a class one student of Christ Church School.

” We want to thank media and police authorities for giving their support,” said Sanjay Srivastava, Shreyas’s father. (ANI)

Missing Hindu nurse’s parents’ pleas in Pak falling on deaf ears

Karachi, Sep.18 (ANI): Family members of the Hindu nurse, Bano, who disappeared from Karachi last month under mysterious circumstances, have urged the government to step into the issue and direct the concerned authorities to pursue the matter seriously to find out her whereabouts.

Bano’s uncle and the head of the Hindu Maheshwari community, Narain Das feared that her niece could have been killed or forced to convert her religion.

“The incidents of kidnapping our community girls’ have recently increased alarmingly and despite our repeated protests and approaches to the higher authorities, nothing has so far been done to protect the community members. Kidnappers have recently kidnapped several girls as young as thirteen and fourteen years old,” Das said.

The police has arrested Gulzar, who worked with Bano in the hospital, but failed to gather any substantial report regarding her whereabouts.

Gulzar has told officials that Bano has accepted Islam and married her boyfriend Jaffer, but Bano’s parents fear she has been murdered.

When enquired about the issue, Provincial Minister for Minority Affairs Dr Mohan Lal said he would look into matter and issue guidelines to concerned authorities.

“I would personally talk to the police authorities and will ensure her release as soon as possible,” The Daily Times quoted Lal, as saying. (ANI)

India demands stern action against Melbourne race attack perpetrators

New Delhi, Sept 16 (ANI): The Indian Government on Wednesday called on the Australian Government to take stern action against the perpetrators of alleged racial assaults on Indians in Melbourne, Victoria.

External Affairs Ministry spokesman Vishnu Prakash said in a statement that the matter of the recurring attacks on Indians in Australia had been taken up with Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith by Indian High Commissioner Sujatha Singh.

“As we take note of the assurances given, including from the highest levels of the government and provincial authorities of Australia, it is our earnest hope that the concerned authorities would take all necessary steps towards the safety and security of Indians in that country,” said Prakash in a statement.

“The Indian Consul General in Melbourne is in contact with authorities in Victoria including the police authorities,” he added.

“We hope that the latest incident is investigated with care and the culprits are dealt with, according to the laws of the land. It would also help, if various measures being contemplated by the Australian side, in addition to those already announced, are put in place at the earliest, to prevent reoccurrence of such incidents in the future,” Prakash said.

Officials of the Consulate General of India in Melbourne, are also in touch with family members of the victims.

Two Indian nationals and two other persons of Indian origin were assaulted by a group of individuals at Melbourne late in the evening on September 12.

One of the Indian nationals, Sukhdip Singh sustained serious injuries and is presently undergoing treatment.

“We are informed that the police arrested four individuals who have since been released pending further investigations,” Prakash said. (ANI)

India demands stern action against perpetrators of Melbourne attackers

New Delhi, Sept 16 (ANI): The Indian Government on Wednesday called on the Australian Government to take stern action against the perpetrators of alleged racial assaults on Indians in Melbourne, Victoria.

External Affairs Ministry spokesman Vishnu Prakash said in a statement that the matter of the recurring attacks on Indians in Australia had been taken up with Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith by Indian High Commissioner Sujatha Singh.

“As we take note of the assurances given, including from the highest levels of the government and provincial authorities of Australia, it is our earnest hope that the concerned authorities would take all necessary steps towards the safety and security of Indians in that country,” said Prakash in a statement.

“The Indian Consul General in Melbourne is in contact with authorities in Victoria including the police authorities,” he added.

“We hope that the latest incident is investigated with care and the culprits are dealt with, according to the laws of the land. It would also help, if various measures being contemplated by the Australian side, in addition to those already announced, are put in place at the earliest, to prevent reoccurrence of such incidents in the future,” Prakash said.

Officials of the Consulate General of India in Melbourne, are also in touch with family members of the victims.

Two Indian nationals and two other persons of Indian origin were assaulted by a group of individuals at Melbourne late in the evening on September 12.

One of the Indian nationals, Sukhdip Singh sustained serious injuries and is presently undergoing treatment.

“We are informed that the police arrested four individuals who have since been released pending further investigations,” Prakash said. (ANI)

Blasphemy accused Christian man dies in Pak jail, police claims ‘suicide’

Lahore, Sep. 16 (ANI): A Christian man who was held on blasphemy charges is reported to have committed suicide in a Pakistani prison, while human rights activists are smelling foul play in his death.

Masih, 25, was arrested on Friday after hundreds of protesters accused him of desecrating the holy Quran and attacked a Catholic church in the Sambrial district near the Indian border

“Masih, being accused of blasphemy, was put in a separate cell where he committed suicide by using a string,” the Daily Times quoted Sialkot District Jail Superintendent Farooq Lodhi, as saying.

Punjab Minister for Minority Affairs Kamran Michael said the police had not handled the case properly.

“I have seen the body and there were torture marks on it,” he said.

Meanwhile, Masih’s family has claimed that he was tortured to death by the jail staff.

According to a news channel report, local Christians had snatched his body from the police and shifted it to a private hospital for an autopsy.

Human Rights Commission of Pakistan Chairwoman Asma Jahangir has demanded registration of a murder case against police officials concerned.

“This is death in custody and the police authorities are responsible,” said. (ANI)

CPI-M leader Brinda Karat released on bail

Madurai (Tamil Nadu), Sep 12 (ANI): Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leader Brinda Karat was released on bail on Saturday.

On Saturday morning, she was taken into custody along with some All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA) activists at the Tirupuragundram police station when they were on their way to Uthaopuram village.

Police said that Karat and AIDWA activists were not permitted to hold a meeting in the village and when they tried to enter the village police had to stop and arrest them.

“The leader through her representation had already asked for holding a meeting in a sensitive village, but the permission was turned down citing reason for law and order situation,”

“But, in spite of that the concerned had tried to enter the village and during which she was stopped and arrested and taken to Tirupuragundram women police station. But, now she has been released on bail,” said Manoharan, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) of Madurai.

Karat was later released on bail, but she termed her arrest as illegal and said that she wasn’t visiting the village to cause any trouble.

“When I asked them (police authorities) the reason for my detention, they said they have got news that there are trouble makers in the village. So, I said who are these troublemakers. If there are troublemakers in the village you detain and arrest the troublemakers. Why are you arresting us? We are not going there to cause any trouble,” Brinda Karat said. (ANI)

Syringe attacks continue in Urumqi despite death penalty warning

Urumqi (China), Sep. 9 (ANI): Despite a death penalty warning, 77 cases of needle attack were reported between Sunday and Monday evenings in Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, police say.

So far, police have caught 45 suspects during the syringe scare, of whom 12 remain in police custody.

The procuratorate has approved the arrests of four. Eight people have been sent to drug rehab, according to Urumqi police authorities.

Despite signs of recovery in the city after assaults caused fear among residents and triggered mass protests, the Urumqi municipal government implemented traffic control Monday night on the city’s main streets.

Shops and businesses in the city center were ordered to close early. The control lasted from 9 pm Monday to 9 am Tuesday.

The Public Security Department of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region reiterated syringe attackers must be given punishment in order to protect residents and maintain social order.

The pledge followed a joint notice on Sunday of the court, the prosecutor’s office and the police bureau of Urumqi, which said an attacker may face a life sentence or even the death penalty.he department emphasized that those who stab others, no matter what means they use, are considered to have committed crimes and must be punished according to law.

Those who pretend to suffer syringe attacks and cause fear among the public will also face punishment, according to the public notice. (ANI)

England pulls out of World Badminton Championships in Hyderabad

Hyderabad, Aug. 9 (ANI): The England badminton team on Sunday withdrew from the World Badminton Championships to be held in Hyderabad from August 10 to 16, following “a specific terrorist threat” against the championships.

“This was an incredibly tough decision and one we didn’t take lightly,” The Times quoted Adrian Christy, Badminton England CEO, as saying.

“After the Olympic Games, this is the most prestigious championships in the world but we were not prepared to risk the safety of our players, coaches and staff in what we felt could have been a very volatile environment,” he added.

The tournament has been enveloped in a security blanket, following the Intelligence Bureau’s (IB) alert of possible terror strike.

According to reports, Hyderabad police has received inputs from the IB that the championship is under threat from the Lashkar-e-Taiba.

The IB had informed the state police that terror elements may attempt to attack international players as they did against Sri Lankan cricketers in Pakistan in March this year.

Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram has assured that the championships would take place in complete security, and there was no need to have any apprehensions.

“The alert in Hyderabad was based on information shared with the state police in a routine manner. There is no specific information that points to any imminent threat to the championship in Hyderabad. Nevertheless, the state police has taken all measures necessary to fully secure the tournament and ensure the safety of every player,” Chidambaram had said on Saturday.

However, Christy said they had carefully considered the comments made by the Hyderabad police authorities, but safety of players was much more crucial at the moment, and this had prompted them to take the decision.

“We have also listened to the advice from the Foreign Office and British High Commission. We have been in constant dialogue with them over the past couple of days. The conclusion is that safety is of paramount importance, and therefore, with great regret, the team will be returning home immediately,” said Christy. (ANI)

J-K police rescues child from inter-state kidnappers’ gang of Kanpur

Srinagar, June 28 (ANI): Jammu and Kashmir police team from Sopore in the State’s Baramulla district has rescued a kidnapped child from the clutches of an inter-state gang of kidnappers of Kanpur within three days of the incident.

The incident was brought to the notice of police on June 22 when a local resident Habibullah Mir informed the police authorities at night that his five-year-old son had been kidnapped by one Ajay Kumar of Kanpur, who had been staying in Bulgam village, posing as a labourer.

On enquiry, it was learnt that the alleged kidnapper Ajay Paul, a resident of Kanpur, had been staying in the village Bulgam as a labourer,close to the house of Habibullah Mir. He had developed closeness with Mir’s family including his son Adnan Habib.

On June 22, Ajay Paul lured the child for buying his some fruit and kidnapped him. But when the child did not return home till evening, his parents and relatives reported the matter to the Police.

The kidnapping of the child by someone from outside the State caused big resentment among local residents in Bulgam and adjoining areas. Police sought public cooperation for the investigating team.

Taking prompt action into the matter, a Police team was immediately rushed to Jammu on the following day (June 23). Also, an alert message was sent to Railway Police at national level anticipating that the kidnapper might have gone to his native place in Kanpur boarding some train.

But, in the meanwhile, the kidnapper called up the child’s father Habibullah Mir and demanded a ransom of 500,000 rupees. The telephone calls gave important leads to the Police, which discovered he was calling from Jalandhar, Panipat and finally in Kanpur.

A police team was sent to Kanpur.

Subsequently SSP Baramulla got in touch with senior Police Officers in Kanpur and shared all the relevant information including telephone number of the kidnapper with the Kanpur Police.

The police party, after reaching Kanpur, managed to recover the kidnapped child Adnan on June 26 with the help of Kanpur Police and also arrested the kidnapper Ajay Paul.

Leads provided by the Jammu and Kashmir police revealed that Ajay actually belonged to a gang of kidnappers, other members of which have also been reportedly arrested by Kanpur Police along with some arms and ammunition.

The police team from Sopore was on its way back to Bulgam Sopore to hand over the child to his parents, stated a press release. (ANI)

75 percent of terrified cops go ‘missing’ in ‘death zone’ Buner

Peshawar, May 26 (ANI): With the Taliban establishing its writ in the Swat Valley, a large number of police personnel deployed in the region have reportedly run away.

It has been revealed that almost 75 percent of police personnel deployed in Buner District are missing, while over 40 percent of them have not reported on duty in Swat due to the Taliban’s expanding writ in the region.

Over 30 per cent of the total Malakand police force has either quit or the cops are not reporting to their police stations for the past several months, The News reports.

“Almost 310 cops out of the total 400 policemen have reportedly deserted the force in Buner while 820 have quit jobs in Swat. The Swat police comprise of around 2000 policemen,” sources said.

Not only the local cops, but security personnel from the Elite Police Force (EPF) are also evading repeated duty orders.

Only 100 cops of the Elite Police Force (EPF) and four platoons, comprising around 136 individuals, of the Frontier Constabulary, are reporting for duty, sources added.

It may be noted that the EPF had refused to be deployed in Swat to improve the law and order situation, saying they would prefer quitting their jobs rather than being posted in the ‘death zone’.

The inspector general of police (IGP) had directed the cops several times to report to their respective police stations, but all attempts have failed to sway the police officials.

Once considered a plum posting, Swat is now being avoided by the cops. They are using all their contacts to pressurize higher police authorities for transferring them out of the hilly town.

“Twelve officers have been posted as DPO Swat during the past 21 months, out of which three cops even refused to assume the charge. The rest served for some weeks before getting a better posting in other parts of the province and country,” sources added. (ANI)

LIC employees take to streets against Assam police

Jorhat (Assam), May 19 (ANI): Hundreds of employees of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) and their sympathisers took out huge protest march through the streets oforhat in Assam on Monday.

They were staging a protest against the Assam police who were accused of being high hard on employees of LIC.

Reportedly, the trouble began on May 13 when an employee of LIC met with an accident and died on the spot.

Soon, an irate mob converged at the site of accident and set ablaze the truck that had claimed the life of the LIC staff.

The wrath of the public was also directed against the police on the contention that in the absence of proper traffic monitoring and control, there was reckless driving by truck drivers on most of the busy roads, leading to frequent accidents.

After this incident, certain police personnel stormed the LIC office and baton charged the employees including women.

About 25 employees were seriously injured including loss of eyesight due to police brutality.

Consequently, employees from all the divisions of LIC staged demonstration demanding appropriate action against the police authorities.

“We want action to be taken against the policemen who baton charged LIC workers and that’s why we have taken out this protest march. And we demand the matter too be treated seriously,” said Probita Chandra Dutta, LIC employee.

Thousands of government as well private companies’ employees from Assam, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh also joined the protest march.

They lamented that the employee were treated very badly.

“Everything was damaged by police. There treated the LIC workers as terrorist persons,” said Pramod Mahanta, a protestor.

About 4000 workers are employed by LIC in various states of the North East and it has around 11divisional offices. (ANI)

After Few Minutes Of Delivery; Baby Boy Swapped For A Girl

Once again, a civic-run hospital got dragged in a baby-swap storm.

Mohammed Sartaj, a fruit vendor, filed a complaint against the doctors at a maternity home run by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) in Oshiwara, for swapping his baby boy for a girl, minutes after the delivery on Wednesday evening.

Sartaj’s wife Reshma Bano also said that soon after giving birth to her baby, she was informed by the doctors that it was a boy.

Bano was admitted to the hospital on Wednesday afternoon and delivered the child around 6 pm.

“I was told by the doctors that I delivered a boy and they asked me whether I would want to undergo sterilisation. I told them to ask my husband,” she said.

The couple was not willing to accept the baby girl.

Now, Bano has refused to feed the baby, though initially she agreed to do so after the police authorities requested her.

Sartaj also claimed that a ward boy informed him that Bano had delivered a son.

He said, “The ward boy came out of the operation theatre and showed me a baby boy and asked me for sweets. But after some time, doctors told me it was a girl child.”

Sartaj then called the police.

The maternity home denied the complaint, saying that on Wednesday, 11 babies were born in the hospital, and out of them seven were boys and four girls.

S Gawde, Cooper Hospital medical superintendent, said, “Let the police investigate the matter. We are also conducting our internal inquiry.”

Officials said they had requested for installation of CCTV at the maternity hospital but nothing had happened thus far.

Senior police inspector Kiran Sonone of the Oshiwara police station said, “We received the complaint and recorded the statement of the people concerned. We have asked for a DNA test to establish whether Sartaj and Resham Bano are the child’s parents.”

After Sartaj complained on Wednesday night, a policeman allegedly attacked a ward boy who had allegedly shown a baby boy to the father.

Following the alleged assault, hospital staff struck work for some time.

Murdered Malay Indian’s family has no confidence in health ministry inquiry

Petaling Jaya (Malaysia), Mar 12 (ANI): The family of A. Kugan, whose custodial death had created a public uproar in Malaysia, has no confidence in the independent inquiry to be initiated by the Health Ministry.

The Star quoted the family’s lawyer, N. Surendran, as saying that the family wants the Malaysia Medical Council (MMC) to conduct a probe, adding that the Health Ministry is biased in the matter.

Kugan’s mother, N. Indra has lodged a report last week against Serdang Hospital and Prof Dr Abdul Karim Tajuddin, who conducted the first post-mortem.

The first post-mortem report said he had died due to fluid in his lungs.

The second post-mortem report, which was conducted on the request of the family by pathologist Dr Prashant N. Samberkar from the University Malaya Medical Centre, stated that Kugan died from being repeatedly beaten.

The USJ police authorities had arrested the 22-year-old Kugan on January 14 for suspected involvement in a car theft syndicate. The police had later recovered 19 stolen luxury cars.

Kugan died a few days later during police interrogation. (ANI)

Deceased Malay Indian’s family accuses hospital for concealing cause of death

Petaling Jaya, Mar 7 (ANI): The family of A. Kugan, who died in police custody on January 20, has lodged a complaint against the Serdang Hospital and Dr Abdul Karim Tajuddin, for allegedly concealing the cause of his death in the first post-mortem report.

According to The Star, they filed a complaint against the hospital at the Petaling Jaya district police headquarters.

The second post-mortem report, which was conducted on the request of the family by pathologist Dr Prashant N. Samberkar from the University Malaya Medical Centre, stated that Kugan died from being repeatedly beaten.

The first post-mortem report had claimed that Kugan’s death happened due to fluid in the lungs.

The USJ police authorities had arrested the 22-year-old Kugan on January 14 for suspected involvement in a car theft syndicate. The police had later recovered 19 stolen luxury cars.

Kugan died a few days later during police interrogation.

According to his family lawyer, N. Surendran, the first report missed several key observations and failed to ascertain a conclusive cause of death.

“From the second independent report, we were able to scientifically prove that the injuries on Kugan’s body were the cause of death,” said Surendran.

The lawyer also dismissed Serdang Hospital director Dr Mohd Norzi Ghazali’s claims that a mob of 50 barged into the mortuary and tampered with Kugan’s body.

“We have submitted evidence to Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan to prove that we were allowed in by staff members,” he said, adding that since both autopsies were done after the alleged incident, they should have yielded the same results anyway. (ANI)