[ARABNEWS] An Indian court on Thursday sentenced the man convicted of killing India's "bandit queen" Phoolan Devi to life imprisonment, 13 years after she was bumped off in broad daylight.
Devi, a heroine of India's lower castes who transformed herself from an illiterate villager to a member of parliament, was shot by three masked men outside her home in central New Delhi in 2001.
Sher Singh Rana, who police said had confessed to her murder, was convicted last week after a trial that had dragged on for more than a decade.
On Thursday Judge Bharat Parashar announced the life sentence to a packed courtroom in Delhi and fined him 100,000 rupees ($1,600), the Press Trust of India news agency reported.
The court had earlier acquitted 10 other defendants in Devi's killing, with the judge saying the prosecution failed to prove its case against them beyond reasonable doubt.
Police said after Devi's death that Rana had confessed to murdering the 38-year-old politician to avenge the deaths of 22 upper-caste Hindus she was accused of murdering on Valentine's Day in 1981.
Devi herself said the Valentine's Day massacre in the north Indian village of Behmai was in retaliation for her gang-rape by upper-caste Hindus.
Reports published after the massacre say that Devi, carrying a gun and with ammunition strung across her chest, led a group of around 20 people posing as coppers into the village where the men lived.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/15/2014 00:00 ||
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[USATODAY] Ukrainian troops on Friday destroyed part of what Kiev says was a Russian armored convoy that crossed into Ukraine around the same time as a truck convoy of humanitarian aid reached the border, according to Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko's
Poroshenko informed British Prime Minister David Cameron ... has stated that he is certainly a big Thatcher fan, but I don't know whether that makes me a Thatcherite, which means he's not. Since he is not deeply ideological he lacks core principles and is easily led. He has been described as certainly not a Pitt, Elder or Younger, but he does wear a nice suit so maybe he's Beau Brummel ... in a telephone call that a "significant" part of the Russian armored column had been destroyed, according to the Ukrainian leader's website.
"Much of this equipment was destroyed by the Ukrainian artillery at night," the website says, according to Ukrinform new agency.
Andriy Lysenko, front man for Ukraine's National Security Defense Council, also reported that parts of the armored were "destroyed."
"Appropriate actions were undertaken and a part of it no longer exist," Lysenko told news hounds. He said the military convoy had been closely observed since crossing the border from Russia.
A news hound for The Guardian said he saw a column of 23 armored personnel carriers, supported by fuel trucks and other logistics vehicles with official Russian military plates, crossing into Ukraine "through a gap in a barbed wire fence that demarcates the border."
NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A collection of multinational and multilingual and multicultural armed forces, all of differing capabilities, working toward a common goal by pulling in different directions... leader Anders Fogh Rasmussen earlier confirmed that "a Russian incursion" over the Ukrainian border had been observed.
"It is a clear demonstration of continued Russian involvement in the destabilization of eastern Ukraine," Rasmussen said at a news conference in Denmark, according to the news agency AFP.
The British foreign office summoned Russian Ambassador Alexander Yakovenko "to clarify reports of Russian military incursion," the BBC reported.
Russia's foreign ministry, meanwhile, said only that Ukrainian forces are engaging in intense fighting in Eastern Ukraine to stop humanitarian aid to the region.
The ministry warned that Ukraine was trying to halt the Russian humanitarian aid from reaching besieged areas controlledby rebels.
"We draw attention to the sharp intensification of military actions by Ukrainian forces with the obvious goal to block the route, agreed upon with Kiev, of the humanitarian convoy from the Russia-Ukraine border to Lugansk," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
The MFA said Moscow had information that the 262-truck Russian humanitarian aid convoy, which was stalled near the same border area where the armored convoy purportedly crossed, "may be attacked by Kiev's forces, with the 'punitive' Aidar Battalion planning to mine the road that the vehicles will use,"according to RT.com.
Ukraine had insisted that the goods -- food, generators and medical supplies -- be inspected and reloaded before being allowed to proceed to hard-hit areas of eastern Ukraine, particularly the besieged city of Luhansk.
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08/15/2014 12:17 ||
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Ukraine said its troops attacked and partially destroyed an armed convoy that had crossed the border from Russian territory.
Ukrainian government troops engaged the vehicles that had arrived overnight through a rebel-held section of the border, Andriy Lysenko, a spokesman for the countryÂ’s military, told reporters in Kiev today. Ukrainian soldiers continue to come under shelling, including rounds fired from Russia, he said.
The government in Kiev has for months said that separatist rebels in its easternmost regions are receiving support from Russia, which backs them with artillery fire. Russia has repeatedly denied any involvement in the Ukrainian unrest.
[BUSINESSWEEK] Russia proposed a cease-fire for humanitarian aid deliveries to war-torn parts of southeastern Ukraine as a convoy of aid trucks from Moscow waited near the border with rebel-held areas.
Even as Russia struck a conciliatory note, journalists at news outlets including Novoye Vremya and Hromadske TV reported seeing armored personnel vehicles crossing into Ukraine. The government in Kiev has been saying for months that the separatist rebels are receiving reinforcements from Russian territory. The government in Moscow has repeatedly denied any involvement in the unrest.
The dispute over the Russian convoy, which the leadership in Moscow says is carrying emergency supplies, has stoked tensions between the two countries and has prompted the U.S. and the European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... to warn Russia against using aid as a pretext for a military intervention. Russia says the supplies are needed to help citizens of Luhansk and Donetsk, where fighting has cut off water and power connections.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/15/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
Even as Russia struck a conciliatory note, journalists at news outlets including Novoye Vremya and Hromadske TV reported seeing armored personnel vehicles crossing into Ukraine
Maybe Russia understands the current rulers of Ukraine a lot better that either the author or their tranzi backers do.
#2
Russian tactical ops has long been characterized by the concept, "there's right, and there's dead right." We're seeing the practical application of that principle here.
Posted by: ed in texas ||
08/15/2014 8:03 Comments ||
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g{r)omgru: a pragmatic bastard/killer who played all sides depending on the prevailing political winds. This man(?) was no George Washington...
[An Nahar] Pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine suffered dramatic setbacks Thursday as top military chiefs quit and Ukraine's forces pummeled their strongholds, cutting off a major center from the Russian border.
Kiev's advance came as a massive Russian "humanitarian" convoy parked up close to the frontier, with doubts still swirling over whether the trucks would be allowed to cross.
The separatist leadership showed signs of unraveling following four months of fighting that have left more than 2,000 dead and many residents in the region without power or running water, and with dwindling food supplies.
The rebels said their main military chief, Igor Strelkov, had resigned while the rebel commander in the second-biggest insurgent stronghold of Lugansk, Valery Bolotov, told Russian television he was "temporarily" stepping down because of earlier injuries.
The announcements came after Ukraine's military said it had completely surrounded Lugansk, cutting all links to the border with Russia, which Kiev believes has been supplying the insurgents with weapons.
Intense shelling on Lugansk and the main insurgen bastion of Donetsk left more than 25 people dead, while Ukrainian forces reported nine troops dead and 18 injured over the past day.
The Russian foreign ministry on Thursday called for all sides to accept an "urgent" ceasefire, saying the situation in the east was "extremely serious".
Russia's convoy of nearly 300 white-tarpaulin-covered lorries meanwhile halted Thursday near the town of Kamensk-Shakhtinsky, some 50 kilometers (30 miles) from eastern Ukraine, Russian media reported.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/15/2014 00:00 ||
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[BBC] The military leader of pro-Russian rebels in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk, Igor Girkin - known as Strelkov - has resigned. Wonder how the Uke troops that went over to the rebels are feeling right about now?
Alexander Borodai, the former PM of the self-declared Donetsk People's Republic, confirmed the news but denied reports Mr Strelkov had been maimed.
There has been heavy shelling both in Donetsk and Luhansk as Ukrainian forces battle the separatists.
The news came with a disputed Russian aid convoy stationed near the border.
'Tsar' takes over
Mr Borodai confirmed Strelkov's departure to Russian media but gave no reason. He said reports that Strelkov, a Russian citizen, had been injured were "total rubbish".
"You probably already know that he, like myself, has left his post," Mr Borodai said in a video posted by Russia's pro-Kremlin Life News website. "The [Donetsk People's Republic] already has a new defence minister."
Mr Borodai said the new minister went by the nom de guerre Tsar. His name was given by other sources as Vladimir Kononov.
There have been two other high-profile resignations of rebel leaders in the past week. Mr Borodai handed over to Alexander Zakharchenko as "prime minister" in Donetsk and the rebel chief in Luhansk, Valery Bolotov, said he was temporarily handing over to his defence minister, Igor Plotnitskiy.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/15/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
Strelkov had become too visible, and the thing seems to be settling into a static situation. Russian tactical theory has long been 'reinforce success, not failure.'
Basically, they're regrouping.
Posted by: ed in texas ||
08/15/2014 7:39 Comments ||
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Then again, they may have changed phase here. There are reports of Russian BTR APC's crossing the line in strength. Battle of Kursk II may be on.
Posted by: ed in texas ||
08/15/2014 7:48 Comments ||
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The men will now take over from the boys. Kursk redux: decendants of NAZI symps vb. Russia. We know how the first battle turned out.
[Washington Post] Turkey's High Electoral Board has confirmed Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan ... Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him... as the country's first popularly elected president.
Board chairman Sadi Guven declared Friday that Erdogan "has been elected the 12th president of the Turkish Republic" with 51.79 percent of the vote.
The elections were held Aug. 10 and Erdogan is to be sworn in as president on Aug. 28.
Erdogan has said Turkey's ruling party is likely to pick a prime minister to replace him during a meeting of senior party leaders next week. Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu is reported to be a strong contender.
Although largely a ceremonial position, Erdogan has said he wants to strengthen the presidency and would make use of its seldom-used powers, such as presiding over Cabinet meetings.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/15/2014 12:18 ||
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Remove Turkey from NATO quickly. ON the other hand, NATO is a shell of its former self, so why bother?
[ARABNEWS] Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan ... Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him... on Thursday launched a blistering new assault on social media, comparing the likes of Twitter to a "scalpel in the hand of a surgeon" and a "knife in the hand of a murderer."
Ah, so he's met David Brock...
Although many other world leaders are enthusiastic Twitter users, Erdogan has long scorned social media, especially since anti-government protests last year and a torrent of corruption allegations against his circle.
"I don't speak via social media. I don't like to tweet, schmeet, because you know what they cause in society," Erdogan told regional heads of his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in Ankara.
"I compare them to a scalpel in the hand of a surgeon, and a knife in the hand of a murderer," he said.
Erdogan, who once branded Twitter as a "troublemaker" for being used to organize mass street protests against his government last year, accused social media of aiding the drugs trade with youths.
He said social media "does not save lives but extinguishes them."
"Therefore, as AK Party, which adopts the ideal of a conservative society and conservative families I believe we have much more sensitivity," he added. Erdogan, who was elected as Turkey's new president in Aug. 10 polls, will be inaugurated as head of state on Aug. 28.
The government blocked Twitter and YouTube in March after they were used to spread a torrent of audio recordings implicating the prime minister and his inner circle in an alleged corruption scandal. The blanket ban on social media was later overturned by the country's top constitutional court that ruled that it was a breach of free speech.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/15/2014 00:00 ||
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[TODAYONLINE] NIBONG TEBAL — A Form Five student in Penang who was threatened with immolation for allegedly liking an "I love Israel" Facebook page is now under investigation for sedition.
The 17-year-old who sought police aid two days ago was called in for questioning today (Aug 13) by the South Seberang Perai police.
"We are investigating him under Section 4 (1) (a) of the Sedition Act," Penang police chief Abdul Rahim Hanafi told news hounds at the South Seberang Perai district police headquarters Hari Raya open house here.
"In his statement, he claimed that he had accidentally clicked 'like' on the page," he said, referring to the teen's recorded statement.
Mr Abdul Rahim added that the police had questioned yesterday a teacher from the same school as the student who had allegedly linked the teen to the "I love Israel" Facebook page.
The sedition law prescribes a maximum fine of RM5,000 (S$1,957) or a jail sentence of three years for a convicted first-time offender, or both, and raises the jail term to five years for subsequent offences.
The fifth former filed a police report after a teacher from his school allegedly circulated a screen captured image of the controversial post, which prompted attacks from other Facebook users to cut off ties with the student and to "boycott".
Another teacher purportedly from the same school, went a step further, leaving on the first teacher's Facebook page that is accessible only to friends a message that read: "Kita bakor je hahaha (We just burn hahaha)".
South Seberang Perai district police chief ACP Shafein Mamat said more teachers and students from the boy's school will be called to give their statements.
"We are investigating both aspects, one of him liking the controversial page and another on the threats against him," he said.
The student has since deactivated his Facebook account.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/15/2014 12:27 ||
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Posted by: Fred ||
08/15/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
Sometimes I muse that the "grossest incompetence" of the government is maybe a saving grace for us and preferable to highly efficient, competent government doing its evil. The fact there is such gross incompetence is a good reason to pare down government and re-think the taxes so that a huge bureaucracy is unnecessary to support a complex, unwieldy tax code.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[ARABNEWS] An Indian court on Thursday sentenced the man convicted of killing India's "bandit queen" Phoolan Devi to life imprisonment, 13 years after she was 
David Cameron
[TODAYONLINE] NIBONG TEBAL — A Form Five student in Penang who was threatened with immolation for allegedly liking an "I love Israel" Facebook page is now under investigation for sedition.
