India: Second Gang Rape In Days Investigated

Another teenage girl has reportedly been gang-raped in northern India as police have launched an investigation into an alleged attack on the mother of another rape victim.

Police said four men attacked a 17-year-old girl in a field in Sarai Meer, Uttar Pradesh, on Wednesday.

One man has been arrested and a manhunt was underway for the other three alleged attackers, according to The Free Press Journal.

In a separate case, three men have been arrested in Uttar Pradesh for reportedly attacking the mother of an alleged rape victim after she refused to withdraw a police complaint.

Superintendent Dinesh Kumar said the men, allegedly including the father of a man accused of the rape on May 11, followed the woman into a field and beat her.

She was in a critical condition in a hospital in Etawah.

The two cases follow the gang rape and murder of teenage sisters whose bodies were discovered hanging from a mango tree in the state.

The gang-rapes have renewed outrage over sexual violence in India

Villagers in Katra found the bodies of the girls, aged 14 and 15, who disappeared from fields they had been using because their homes had no toilet.

Two suspects have been arrested in connection with the girls' rape and murder, and another is being hunted by police. Two police officers have also been arrested over failing to investigate their disappearance.

The case has renewed public outrage over sexual violence in India.

On Friday, Amnesty International called for the impartial investigation of gang rapes, murder and violence against young women of the Dalit caste in India.

Divya Iyer, senior researcher at Amnesty International India, said: "Despite the existence of constitutional safeguards and special laws, Dalits across India - and Dalit women in particular - face multiple levels of discrimination and violence.

"Members of dominant castes are known to use sexual violence against Dalit women and girls as a political tool for punishment, humiliation and assertion of power."

Crimes against Dalit people are often not properly registered or investigated and conviction rates are low, the organisation said.

Amnesty International added that the lack of adequate sanitation facilities across India posed a serious threat to the safety of women and girls.

India tightened its rape laws last year - introducing the death penalty for gang rape - following the fatal gang rape of a 23-year-old woman on a moving bus in New Delhi.

The case sparked nationwide protests.

Indian society is grouped into castes, known as Jati. These include Bhramin, Kshatryia, Viasya, Sudra and a lower caste known as "untouchables" which includes Dalit people.

23.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

McDonald's Ain't Lovin' Thai Coup Activists

McDonald's has warned Thai democracy activists to stop using its trademark as part of their campaign against the military coup.

Protesters have used the burger chain as a meeting point and a life-size Ronald McDonald plastered with faces of pro-democracy campaigners.

The company has told activists to "cease and refrain" from the trademark infringements.

Standoffs with the country's military, which took control on May 22, have taken place at outlets in Bangkok.

Some protesters have also been using the McDonald's logo in anti-coup placards, replacing the "m'' in democracy with the trademark yellow arches.

McDonald's Corporation is based in Illinois and stores in Thailand are operated by a company called McThai.

It said it would maintain a "neutral stance" amid the ongoing political turbulence.

However, the company said it could take "appropriate measures" if activists continued to misappropriate its logo.

Thailand's army seized power after six months of protests in Bangkok aimed at ousting the elected government.

It has detained leading political, academic and media figures.

It also shutdown media outlets in the early days of the coup.

Approached by Sky News, spokespersons were unavailable for comment at both its European and US headquarters.

23.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Pakistan Stoning: Widower 'Killed First Wife'

The husband of a pregnant Pakistani woman who was stoned to death by her family has reportedly admitted to strangling his first wife.

Mohammad Iqbal, 45, told news agency AFP he murdered his first wife so he could marry 25-year-old Farzana Iqbal, who was bludgeoned to death outside a courthouse for her choice of husband.

"I was in love with Farzana and killed my first wife because of this love," he said.

Iqbal said he had been spared prison after his son forgave him for the killing - under the same controversial "blood money" laws that could see Farzana's killers ultimately go unpunished.

According to AFP, Mr Iqbal then switched off his phone and has not responded to subsequent calls. 

However a senior police officer investigating Farzana Iqbal's killing has verified his claims.

"Iqbal was a notorious character and he had murdered his first wife six years ago," Zulfiqar Hameed said.

Mrs Iqbal's father is accused of taking part in the killing

"He was arrested and later released after a compromise with his family."

He said a report detailing Mr Iqbal's past would be handed to the government.

Mr Iqbal has made several public appeals for justice since his three months pregnant second wife's murder on Tuesday.

He alleges that several members of her family hit her in the head with bricks outside Lahore High Court while police stood by and watched.

"I begged them to help us but they said, 'this is not our duty',"  he told Reuters. "I took off my shirt (to be humble) and begged them to save her."

Her family was reportedly angered by her decision to marry Mr Iqbal rather than a cousin who was selected for her.

Human rights activists protested against the killing in Pakistan's capital

According to police her father, brother and former fiance all took part in the attack.

The couple were due to testify in court that their marriage was genuine after her family alleged she had been abducted.

The brazen nature of the killing, which took place on one of the busiest roads of Pakistan's second biggest city has shocked the country.

There are fears that the alleged killers could walk free due to a provision in Pakistani law which allows perpetrators to be let off if they are forgiven by the victim's relatives or if the relatives accept so-called "blood money" over the crime.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has described the killing as "totally unacceptable" and demanded to know why nearby police did not intervene.

Pakistan's prime minister has called for immediate action over the killing

However Lahore police chief Shafiq Ahmad has denied that police witnessed the killing.

He said: "By the time police reached the scene, the lady had been murdered."

He added that the victim's father was arrested after the incident.

The remaining suspects have not been found.

According to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan 869 women died in so-called honour killings last year alone.

British Foreign Secretary William has called on Pakistan to take immediate action to prevent further killings.

He said: "I am shocked and appalled by the death of Farzana Parveen - both for the appalling manner of her death, and the unspeakable cruelty and injustice of murdering a woman for exercising her basic right to choose who to love and marry.

"There is absolutely no honour in honour killings and I urge the government of Pakistan to do all in its power to eradicate this barbaric practice."

23.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Kim Jong-Un 'Makeover': Is There A Sinister Side?

North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un's new look could be part of a ruse to help him develop a nuclear arsenal, Sky News has been told.

A series of images showing the despot laughing and smiling - often dressed in a straw hat with his jacket loose - have been released by the usually secretive state this month.

They were taken during visits to hospitals, children's centres and construction sites - and Leeds University lecturer Adam Cathcart, a leading commentator on North Korea, thinks the motives are clear.

"It's showing that maybe he's a bit of a reformer," Mr Cathcart told Sky News.

"They're trying to seduce the people who are willing to be convinced that maybe this generation is different. This buys them time to build their nuclear programme.

"It buys them time if there's less pressure from the West, and we're less likely to impose sanctions.

"Their real goal is to be seen as a de facto nuclear state."

North Korea has carried out three nuclear tests since 2006, eliciting a series of sanctions from the West.

In April US President Barack Obama issued a warning against a mooted fourth test.

Mr Cathcart believes the regime monitors closely its global perception - as illustrated when two officials confronted a London hairdresser over a poster of Mr Kim with the caption "Bad hair day?"

"They are sensitive to public opinion in the West," he said.

"They're reading what we're reading - they'll be reading this article on Sky News."

Mr Kim, 31, is modelling himself on his grandfather, Kim Il-sung, who ruled between 1945 and 1994 and is "unassailable" in North Korea, according to Mr Cathcart.

"The straw hat is harking back to the days of his grandfather, a period of nostalgia. Kim Il-sung died in 1994 before the famine kicked in and so was not as tainted by that.

"Kim Jong-Un has studied the way his grandfather acts, his mannerisms and the way he laughs - that's all deliberate."

As well as being seen across the world, images of Mr Kim appearing as a modern, amiable leader are designed to send an image to Koreans both north and south of the border, according to Mr Cathcart.

"It's the old story of a socialist government showing it is going in the right direction - especially as they have so many strikes against them with the killing of his uncle and all the sanctions.

"The office of Propaganda and Agitation are constantly trying to connect him to a new, prosperous image.

"You have to also recognise there are rumours about his health emanating from South Korea - it's part of an information war between the two countries.

"He has to be seen to be healthy, because what would happen if he wasn't around? Is his baby daughter going to take over?"

23.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Hillary Clinton Tackles Benghazi Issue Head On

In a new memoir, Hillary Clinton is expected to offer her most detailed account yet of the deadly 2012 attack on Americans in Benghazi, Libya, which could become nettlesome should she run for president in two years' time.

The former secretary of state rebukes Republicans over the issue in her book, Hard Choices, part of which was leaked to a political website on Friday.

She says she will "not be part of a political slugfest on the backs of dead Americans", according to Politico, which obtained the chapter, entitled Benghazi: Under Attack.

"Those who exploit this tragedy over and over as a political tool minimize the sacrifice of those who served our country," she writes.

Bill and Chelsea Clinton have stayed tight-lipped on 'Hillary 2016'

Ms Clinton also says an anti-Islamic video that triggered protests in Egypt was "indeed a factor" in the Benghazi incident.

Conservatives accuse the Obama administration of misleading the public and Congress about the nature of the attack to avoid political backlash in the weeks before the presidential election.

The September 11 2012 assault on the US diplomatic compound killed four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens.

Ms Clinton's memoir will be published on June 10.

A week later she will sit down for an interview with Fox News, which has extensively covered the Benghazi affair, it was announced on Thursday.

Hillary Clinton testified on Benghazi in January last year

Meanwhile, speculation has been swirling among Washington DC's political classes over a private lunch between President Barack Obama and Ms Clinton on Thursday.

The White House confirmed the two - rivals for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination - had dined alone.

But aides on both sides refused to say what they talked about.

Anticipating Ms Clinton's forthcoming memoir, the Republican National Committee said in a statement on Friday: "The more Americans learn about hard choices like these, the less likely they will be to choose Clinton in any future election. A book isn't going to change that."

Earlier this month, the House Republican leadership controversially launched a select committee to investigate Benghazi.

Ms Clinton has already taken responsibility for the assault, calling it the darkest hour of her career.

23.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Kenyan Farmers Threaten Violence Over Khat Ban

By Hind Hassan, Sky News Reporter

Kenyan khat farmers have threatened violent action against the British government following its decision to ban the stimulant.

FG Machuma, who says he represents the Meru tribe, told Sky News the decision to make the plant a class C drug was a "declaration of war".

He added: "If they don't listen to us ... they have a military base in Nanyuki ... and they will have to leave.

"If they don't leave peacefully then we will take arms and deal with them in Kenya."

Men chew khat and drink coffee in London

In the UK, khat is popular among some members of Somali and Yemeni communities.

The latest figures from 2011-2012 put the plant's UK value at £13.8m.

Users chew the leaves then swallow the juice, which contains an ingredient similar to amphetamine.

After a few hours, users become talkative and experience feelings of alertness, euphoria and excitement.

But symptoms can include depression, lack of concentration and psychosis.

The majority of British trade comes from the town of Meru in Kenya.

A farmer plucking khat shoots off a tree on a plantation in Kenya

It provides a source of income for around 500,000 farmers, who say the ban threatens their livelihood.

Home Secretary Theresa May defied the Government's Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs to push through the ban, which was approved by the House of Lords on May 12.

A Home Office spokesperson said: "Drug misuse has a serious impact on society and the ban on khat will help protect vulnerable members of our community.

"It will also prevent the UK from becoming a single regional hub for criminals trying to make a profit, as countries across Europe have already implemented the same ban.

"Parliament has now approved the government's decision and khat will become a class C drug on June 24, 2014."

Users of the plant claim they are being unfairly targeted.

A van transporting khat meant for export to Nairobi

Mahamud Ahmed Mohamad - who owns the UK's largest khat warehouse in west London - insists that chewing khat is a Somali tradition.

He told Sky News: "It's like closing a pub ... will you feel happy if you close British pubs?

"Why don't you close alcohol which is affecting a lot of people? Why is it only khat that is a major issue?"

He currently employs around 40 workers and says they will be made redundant once the ban is implemented.

Mr Mohamad is challenging the ban in the Court of Appeal.

Farmer James Ntonyi chews khat leaves at his father's farm in Meru

Abukar Awale, a former user, insists the substance is addictive and psychologically damaging.

The anti-khat activist blames his former habit for a violent confrontation during which he was stabbed.

"Availability of khat and the legality of khat was attracting more young people," he said. "By banning it we are preventing young people from failing in society."

23.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

India Battles With Tobacco Addiction Epidemic

By Neville Lazarus, Sky News India Producer

Naveen Khanna could never have imagined that an innocent habit of chewing tobacco, like millions of other Indians, could nearly cost him his life.

It took less than four years of chewing tobacco for the 69-year-old to develop a full-blown case of mouth cancer.

It has left his face disfigured and Mr Khanna has undergone 35 radiation therapy sessions and an operation to get rid of the cancer.

He is taking no chances and makes trips to the hospital every three months for a check-up.

Bitter and resentful, he is now the voice of victims in an anti-tobacco campaign; a campaign he started from the kiosk which sold him his first tobacco pouch.

Naveen Khanna developed mouth cancer after chewing tobacco

He told Sky News: "By simply putting notices on the pouches and cigarettes that this is dangerous and this causes cancer will not be sufficient.

"There should be a ban and the government must implement this ban."

According to medical experts, India has epidemic proportions of diseases related to the use of tobacco.

There are 275 million tobacco users in the country.

Reports estimate that close to a million people die every year due to tobacco-related diseases.

Tobacco is cheap and widely available

Dr Harit Chaturvedi, head of the oncology department at a leading hospital in Delhi, told Sky News: "It's the biggest problem.

"In India we have 1.2 million new cancer cases every year and tobacco accounts for nearly half that number.

"I see a significantly rising trend but the statistical data does not support this sharp rise. But we on the clinical side see a massive increase."

This year campaigners want a steep increase in taxes on tobacco products.

But they are up against a very rich and powerful lobby that until now has effectively blocked or slowed down legislation against it.

Dr Harit Chaturvedi advocates a ban on tobacco

According to Dr Chaturvedi "the tobacco industry mafia is riding over the willpower of the so-called people in charge. It buys their will. The product needs to be banned.

"The money spent on treatment and man hours lost is far greater than the money and taxes it generates. This industry is just giving disease."

In a right to information (RTI) disclosure, the Union government revealed that tobacco companies have made donations to political parties in the past and may continue to do so.

An ordinary packet of 10 cigarettes costs about six pence. A pack of 25 sticks of the Indian version, called Beedis, costs a penny.

Fifty new patients are added to Dr Chaturvedi's list every week and he is just one doctor in this country of more than a billion people.

Chewing tobacco has been banned in most states, but the law is not enforced

Dr Chaturvedi is concerned by the increase in mouth and throat cancer caused by chewing tobacco, which is widely available and convenient to carry and consume.

Most states in India have banned chewing tobacco but the legislation is not enforced.

According to a report by the International Tobacco Control Project (ITCP), despite signing up to a global treaty and having a number of anti-tobacco and smoking laws, India is failing and leaving its people vulnerable to addiction and ill health.

Campaigners and medical experts like Dr Chaturvedi warn not only of the sharp increase of cancer victims but also that users are getting younger, with children as young as nine or 10 becoming addicted.

23.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Plane Diverted As Dog Relieves Itself In Aisle

A US Airways plane has been forced to make an emergency landing after a guide dog repeatedly relieved itself in the aisle.

Andrew Christie, a spokesman for the airline, said the flight from LA to Philadelphia made an unscheduled stop in Kansas City.

Crew were sent to clean up the mess Pic: Chris Law

A cleaning crew on the ground eventually came to the rescue, but the journey time for passengers doubled to more than 14 hours.

The flight continued after the mess was cleaned up by US Airways staff on the ground.

The passenger and guide dog were rebooked onto another flight. 

Mr Christie said the incident was a "rare and unfortunate situation".

23.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Cameron: Meriam Death Sentence Is 'Barbaric'

David Cameron says the death sentence handed down to Meriam Ibrahim is "barbaric" and has called on Sudanese authorities to intervene.

The Prime Minister joined international condemnation of the 27-year-old mother's plight, saying he is "absolutely appalled" by the case.

And UKIP leader Nigel Farage has now called on the Government to cut aid cash to Sudan.

Mr Cameron said: "The way she is being treated is barbaric and has no place in today's world.

Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg have also condemned Ms Ibrahim's sentence

"I urge the government of Sudan to overturn the sentence and immediately provide appropriate support and medical care for her and her children.

"The UK will continue to press the government of Sudan to act."

Ms Ibrahim was found guilty by a Sudanese court of apostasy in renouncing Islam and of adultery for marrying a Christian, Daniel Wani.

She was sentenced to 100 lashes and death by hanging earlier this month.

Her death sentence has been suspended for two years so she can nurse her daughter Maya, who was born in prison on Wednesday.

Husband Daniel Wani with his newborn baby in prison

Ms Ibrahim was forced to give birth to the child while shackled to a prison floor after guards at Omdurman Women's Prison refused to release her.

Both the UK and US governments have summoned Sudan's charge d'affaires to discuss the case.

Foreign Office Minister Mark Simmonds told Sky News Britain is doing everything it can to pressure the Sudanese government to lift Ms Ibrahim's sentence.

He said: "We are putting intense pressure on the Sudanese government to do everything that they can to ensure her release.

"Hopefully the international outrage will push the Sudanese authorities into a situation where they feel they have to release Meriam."

He said her sentencing was unconstitutional under Sudanese law and in violation of the country's commitment to treaties that relate to human rights and freedom of religion.

The US State Department has described Ms Ibrahim's incarceration as "horrific" and continues to press Sudanese officials to intervene.

US embassy officials have been attending Ms Ibrahim's public hearings and are monitoring the appeals process in Khartoum.

Mr Cameron's comments follow condemnation from former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and British politicians including Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg.

23.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

'Real Action' Needed In Hunt For Missing Briton

The brother of a British man who disappeared while trekking on a paradise island off Malaysia has urged the Government to appeal to local authorities to step up search efforts.

Gareth David Huntley disappeared on Tuesday after attempting to find a waterfall in the jungles of Tioman Island, off the peninsula's east coast.

He told friends at a charity project he had been working with he would return by 2pm that day but he has not been seen since.

A group of volunteers and local people have been into the jungle to search for the 34-year-old but have not found him.

Gareth with his girlfriend Kit

Mark Huntley said "real action" is needed to find his brother.

He said: "We need real boots on the ground in Malaysia. We need real pressure from William Hague at the Foreign Office. So far we haven't heard a word from him or David Cameron.

"Gareth's been missing now for five days and he's alone in the jungle. This was a man working out there as a wildlife volunteer - he deserves our assistance.

"This situation of delayed searches is all too familiar. We call on David Cameron to make just one phone call to the Malaysian authorities and kindly request they step up the search."

Mr Huntley had been volunteering at a Turtle sanctuary

Mr Huntley's mother Janet Southwell, who is on her way to the region, told Sky News the police response has been "incredibly slow" and her son's disappearance is "totally out of character".

"He just would not do it, he knows there are too many people who care and love him," she said.

She has written an open letter to the Prime Minister urging him to "do the right thing" and "make one phone call to the Malaysian leader to insist that they deploy real help to find Gareth before time runs out".

Twenty Malaysian police officers and a search dog are now involved in the search.

One of his friends who is in the area and doing what he can to help is Kyle Neo Kai Fu, who told Sky News he is certain his friend is alive.

"He knows a lot of things about self-sustainability," he said. "I think he's a survivor."

Survival expert Ken Hames told Sky News there are "lots of hazards" in the jungle apart from heavy rain.

"You've got deadfall from trees that have rotted, you've got hornets … quite a lot of things to contend with."

A file picture of a beach on Tioman Island

According to one of the accountant's close friends, Malaysian authorities have so far failed to conduct a thorough search.

Sophie Wilson told Sky News: "Nothing has come from the authorities. As far as we're aware, the police were informed and haven't been doing anything. They've been incredibly lethargic.

"They've said they're performing a search but all evidence on the ground suggests they're just not taking this seriously."

Kyle Neo Kai Fu and Gareth Huntley

Mr Huntley, from east London, had been working as a volunteer at the Juara Turtle Project, a conservation charity on Tioman Island.

One of the other volunteers, Charles Fisher, said police were informed the day after he went missing but did not actively begin searching.

A Foreign Office spokeswoman said the local embassy was aware Mr Huntley was missing and was offering support.

23.18 | 0 komentar | Read More