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Swedish court refuses to lift warrant against Julian Assange

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Warrant against WikiLeaks founder and whistleblower will not be lifted

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will still face arrest if he leaves the Ecuadorian embassy in London, where he has lived in political asylum since 2012.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will still face arrest if he leaves the Ecuadorian embassy in London, where he has lived in political asylum since 2012.

by Common Dreams

The Swedish Supreme Court has rejected WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s appeal to lift the arrest warrant against him.

Assange still faces arrest if he leaves the Ecuadorian embassy where he has been living in political asylum since 2012. He has said he fears being extradited to the U.S., where an ongoing investigation into WikiLeaks is still underway, if arrested by Swedish authorities. WikiLeaks in 2010 published more than 700,000 classified military and State Department documents, some of which exposed U.S. war crimes.

The arrest warrant stems from sexual assault allegations against Assange in Sweden, although he has not been formally indicted.

“The supreme court notes that investigators have begun efforts to question Julian Assange in London. The supreme court finds no reason to lift the arrest warrant,” the court statedon Monday.

Assange has denied the allegations against him. In March, Swedish prosecutors offered to interview him in London, dropping their years-long request that he come to Sweden for questioning. Assange has agreed to be interviewed in London, his lawyer said last month.

Houthis intensify use of child soldiers, violating international law: HRW

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A Yemeni child lies in a bed at a hospital in the capital Sanaa on May 12, 2015, a day after he was wounded in an air strike by Saudi-led coalition hit an arms depot on the eastern outskirts of Sanaa. (AFP/Mohammed Huwais)

A Yemeni child lies in a bed at a hospital in the capital Sanaa on May 12, 2015, a day after he was wounded in an air strike by Saudi-led coalition hit an arms depot on the eastern outskirts of Sanaa. (AFP/Mohammed Huwais)

by Hayat Norimine, Al Bawaba

The Human Rights Watch called for an immediate stop to the use of child soldiers in Yemen’s armed groups Tuesday, as Houthi rebel group intensifies its recruitment of children to use in their fight against Yemen’s government loyalists.

The monitor said the groups’ use of child soldiers violates international law and should face prosecution. Since September 2014 the HRW said the armed militants have increasingly been using children, aged at least as young as 12, in the armed conflict. Some are used as scouts and first aid assistants, while others are trained to fight.

“All armed groups in Yemen should reject sending children to battle or using them to support fighting,” HRW special adviser Fred Abrahams said. “The cost to these young people – the trauma, the injuries, and the lost schooling – is huge, as is the cost to Yemen’s future.”

Children with the Houthis and other armed groups make up about a third of all fighters in Yemen, according to UNICEF. Armed groups have recruited at least 140 children in one month alone, from late March to April.

The HRW said there have been several reports of 14- to 16-year-old soldiers carrying rifles and handguns from all parties of the war. One witness told the organization of a 7-year-old Houthi fighter standing at a checkpoint with an assault rifle.

A Houthi recruiter told the organization the children in active combat receive military training, while others provide first aid, collect bodies, carry food and ammunition or serve as guards.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon published a list of violations against children in May that included the use of children in armed forces by armed forces in Yemen.

The Human Rights Watch interviewed several children who had been recruited by the Houthis to fight in the war and wounded, including a boy who was shot in the chest and continued to fight after recovery.

Indonesia to 'turn back every boat carrying Rohingyas'

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Military says it would not allow boats as nearly 2,000 migrants arrive in Indonesia and Malaysia in past two days.

Indonesian paramedic assists a migrant child at a clinic after being rescued from a boat in Indonesia's Aceh province [Reuters]

Indonesian paramedic assists a migrant child at a clinic after being rescued from a boat in Indonesia’s Aceh province [Reuters]

by Al Jazeera

Indonesian military has told Al Jazeera that they will send back any boat with Rohingya migrants entering its waters as a vessel carrying hundreds of migrants from Myanmar and Bangladesh was turned away towards Malaysia.

Fuad Basya, Indonesian military spokesman, said that they pulled back a boat “full of people in dire conditions, smelling bad, some were screaming”, adding that they provided the migrants with water, food, medicine and fuel.

AFP news agency reported that the boat carrying an estimated 400 migrants was intercepted on the coast of northwestern Aceh region on Monday.

Meanwhile, rights groups have urged regional governments to save thousands of migrants believed to be stranded at sea in Southeast Asia and at the risk of death.

An estimated 6,000 to 8,000 Bangladeshis and Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar remain trapped in crowded, wooden boats, officials and activists said on Tuesday.

Nearly 2,000 people have reached Malaysia and Indonesia in the past two days after Thailand announced a crackdown on smuggling routes. They were rescued from overcrowded boats after being stranded at sea.

Myanmar shirks responsibility

Even as a large number of migrants originated from Myanmar, its government said that they will not take responsibility for migrants who are not their own citizens.

“If it is true and proven that they are from Myanmar, we will take responsibility for them. But not the Bangladeshis,” Zaw Htay, the director of Myanmar’s president’s office told Al Jazeera.

“Some of the Rohingya people may have come from Bangladesh. We can’t be responsible for them. But we do not accept the name Rohingya. They are Bengali,” Htay added referring to Myanmar’s long-persecuted Rohingya Muslim community.

The Rohingya, who are Muslim, have for decades suffered from state-sanctioned discrimination in Buddhist-majority Myanmar, which considers them illegal settlers from Bangladesh even though their families have lived there for generations.

Those comments come a day after more than a 1,000 migrants, including children from both countries, were detained in Malaysia after they arrived in the popular Malaysian resort island of Langkawi.

The police chief in Langkawi told Al Jazeera’s Karishma Vyas that 1,158 people were being held on the island. At least 672 are Bangladeshi, and around 486 of them are Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar.

At least 100 women and 60 children were among them. The migrants were in a very poor state, suffering from dehydration as well as hunger.

The police say they believe the captain as well as the other traffickers on the three boats had escaped in another vessel and left the migrants to their own devices.

Regional problem

The Arakan Project, a group advocating for the rights of Rohingya, has said as many as 8,000 people may be adrift.

Chris Lewa, the director of Arakan Project, told Al Jazeera that “there were at least three other boats near Langkawi island in Malaysia – one of them in distress” on Monday night.

She said that a big concern is where these migrants could go, and despite this being a regional problem, if there was any country willing to deal with them.

Earlier, the International Organisation for Migration called on Southeast Asian governments to find and rescue the migrants trapped at sea.

Joe Lowry, a spokesman for the organisation, told Al Jazeera that some of the migrants may have been at sea since early March.

He said that from what they’ve seen so far, many of the migrants who make it to the shore are in poor health, with some suffering from vitamin B deficiency and acute malnutrition.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has said 25,000 people are believed to have embarked from January to March, double the previous year’s pace, and that an estimated 300 had died.

Nearly 2,000 people have reached Malaysia and Indonesia in the past two days [Reuters]

17 injured in train blast in West Bengal

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kolkata-blast

Kolkata: Seventeen people were injured in a low intensity bomb blast on a passenger train in West Bengal on Tuesday, railway sources said.

Seven of the injured have been hospitalised after the explosion, which took place at 3.55 a.m. on the Sealdah-Krishnagar local of Eastern Railway between Titagarh and Barrackpore station.

A railway spokesman told IANS the low intensity bomb blast took place following an altercation and scuffle between anti-social who had boarded the train.

Two trains were cancelled as train movement was hit following the incident.

(IANS)

IPL: Warner, Henriques guide Sunrisers to five-run win over Kings XI

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warner

Hyderabad: Leading from the front, skipper David Warner struck a decent knock, while his bowlers bowled economically, picking up wickets at regular intervals to beat Kings XI Punjab by 5 runs in their Indian Premier League (IPL) encounter at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium here on Monday.

With the win, Sunrisers move two places up the points table from fifth position to third with 14 points from 12 games, having won seven and lost five, whereas Kings XI stayed at the bottom of the table struggling with just four points from 12 games.

Opting to bat first, Warner top-scored with a 52-ball 81, hitting six boundaries and five sixes to lift Sunrisers to a modest 185/5. In reply, despite a late cameo by David Miller (89 not out off 44 balls), the visitors fell short by just 5 runs, thereby ending their innings at 180/7 in 20 overs.

For the home side, Moises Henriques (3/16) and Bipul Sharma (2/13) were the pick of the bowlers.

Chasing a challenging 186-run target, Kings XI got off to a good start scoring 37 off the first four overs, but lost opener Murali Vijay (24) in the very next over. Shikhar Dhawan held on to a smart, low catch off the bowling off spinner Bipul Sharma.

His opening partner Manan Vohra (20) also got out trying to up the scoring rate. Incoming batsman Glenn Maxwell continued his poor run in IPL 2015, scoring just 11 off six deliveries, before being caught behind off the bowling of Trent Boult.

But Miller had other plans in mind. Right from the word go, his positive approach was reflected in his bat. Scoring freely against both pacers and spinners helped team score 100 in the 15th over.

But with wickets falling at the other end it, the South African was running out of partners. George Bailey (6), Gurkeerat Singh (3), Axar Patel (15) all fell one after the other.

Earlier in the innings, Sunrisers got off to a flying start with openers Warner and Shikhar Dhawan scoring 56 off first six overs.

But a bowling change by Kings XI captain George Bailey worked wonders for the visitors, as spinner Glenn Maxwell broke the opening stand in his very first ball of the seventh over

A clever Maxwell looped the ball up outside off seeing Dhawan stepping out of the crease. The batsman was beaten in flight and wicket-keeper Wriddhiman Saha made no mistake whipping the bails off in a flash.

The wicket did not bother Warner as he kept on scoring freely, thus bringing up his half-century in just 36 balls.

He was well supported in the other end by incoming batsman Moises Henriques (28). The duo struck the ball to all parts of the ground and also sneaked in quick singles and twos to help the team reach 100 in the 13th over.

But Henriques had to return back to the pavilion in the very next over as he was caught off the bowling off Gurkeerat Singh.

Eoin Morgan (17) and Naman Ojha (2) also did not last long.

For Kings XI, Beuran Hendricks (2/40) was the pick of the bowlers.

(IANS)

Another massive earthquake: 26 killed in Nepal, eight in Bihar

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NEPAL-EARTHQUAKE

Kathmandu: At least 26 people were killed and over 150 were injured when a big earthquake struck Nepal on Tuesday.

Initial reports reaching here said that 19 people were killed in Dolakha district, located about 170 km from here.

Dolakha is about 130 km from Kodari, the epicentre of the 7.3 magnitude earthquake that struck in the afternoon.

Two five-storeyed buildings collapsed in capital Kathmandu, an official said.

Police spokesman Kamal Singh Bam earlier said that four people were killed in Chautara town in Sindhupalchowk district and three people died in capital Kathmandu.

He said that the number of deaths is likely to go up as they await news from other areas.

A major earthquake on Tuesday jolted Nepal, striking fear among the people and causing panic in a country which was barely recovering from the devastating April 25 temblor.

Cracked buildings collapsed in a heap of debris and landslides cut off roads as an earthquake measuring 7.3 on the Richter scale hit Nepal, with its epicentre not far from Mount Everest — the world’s highest peak at 8,848 m.

Terrified people ran out of homes and offices as the buildings began to shake violently due to the earthquake. They ran to open space and parks here.

“It was frightening,” said an eyewitness who clutched her daughter. “It felt worse than last time,” she added

Six strong aftershocks followed in quick succession. Four of the aftershocks were in the epicentre Kodari while the strongest aftershock measured 6.3 on the Richter scale.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he has directed authorities to be on alert for rescue and relief operations.

A tweet from the prime minister’s office said: “PM took stock of the situation following the fresh major earthquake felt in Nepal and parts of India, at a high-level meeting.”

India Meteorological Department chief L.S. Rathore said that aftershocks could well continue for a few more weeks and months.

The tremors were felt in India, particularly in capital Delhi, Lucknow, Jaipur, Amritsar, Kolkata and the northeastern city of Guwahati. Buildings also shook in faraway Kochi in Kerala.

In Delhi, people ran out as buildings began to shake. Metro services were brought to a halt.

Rohtash Sharma said in Delhi: “I was at a bank when I felt the earthquake. I immediately ran out along with others.”

“Oh…this time I felt that it lasted longer than the one that we had in April. We all rushed out of our houses,” said Rakesh Sharma, who lives on the fifth floor in a high-rise building in C-Scheme area of Jaipur in India’s Rajasthan state.

In Kathmandu, an eyewitness said that he saw a building fall.

Another witness told IANS that he saw debris falling on a taxi packed with people. The fate of the people in the taxi was not immediately known.

Onlookers were left dazed and distraught on seeing the buildings collapse with a roar, a replay of the April 25 quake horror.

There was no electricity in Kathmandu. Internet connectivity too snapped.

People desperate for news tried to get in touch through their mobile phones, but that too did not work. The mobile network was jammed.

In Kathmandu, people made a beeline for shops to stock on water and other essential commodities here.

Harried shopkeepers were seen trying to manage the surging crowds at their shops.

People feared a repeat of the April 25 earthquake which caused widespread devastation.

“It is really scary,” said a Kathmandu resident as he rushed to join the people at the local grocery shop.

Nepal’s National Assembly was in session when the earth began to shake, creating panic among the lawmakers. They quickly trooped out of the building, which was soon plunged into darkness.

Kathmandu airport was closed temporarily as the ATC staff hurried out of the tower.

Eight killed as quake strikes Bihar

At least eight people, including three children, were killed and nearly two dozen people were injured when a massive earthquake caused walls to collapse in parts of Bihar on Tuesday, officials said.

The 7.3 magnitude earthquake’s epicentre was in Kodari, Nepal and its effect was felt across north India, including Bihar.

A labourer was killed when an under-construction wall collapsed in Danapur near Patna and a child was killed in Siwan district when a wall collapsed. Another child was seriously injured, officials of state disaster management department said.

Two children were killed in Manigachi in Darbhanga district in a wall collapse and a woman was killed in Dumra of Sitamarhi district when she came under the debris of a wall that fell.

One person died in Hajipur in Vaishali district, Nawada and Saran districts due to the quake.

Over half a dozen girl students of a government middle school at Bihya in Bhojpur district were injured when they were trying to rush out of class room.

“All of them were admitted at a primary health centre for treatment,” a district official said.

In Forbesganj in Araria district, bordering Nepal, at least 12 people were injured in a stampede during the quake.

People in Patna, Darbhanga, Purnea, Kishanganj, Madhubani, Jehanabad and Aurangabad felt the tremors for over a minute.

“People across Bihar felt the tremors,” Patna Met Office director A.K. Sen said.

According to state disaster management department officials here, there were reports of cracks in several houses in Jehanabad, Darbhanga, Muzaffarpur, Patna, Gaya, and Raxaul in East Champaran district.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has called a meeting of the state disaster management department and directed officials concerned to assess the damage caused by the quake.

Hundreds of thousands of people came out of their houses across the state as soon as they felt temblor.

In Patna, people rushed out of their houses and took shelter in open spaces.

(IANS)

Five labourers from Tamil Nadu hacked to death in Chamrajnagar

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Tamil-nadu-workers-hacked-to-death-in-karnataka

Chamarajanagara: Five persons including two women and a girl, all from Tamil Nadu, were brutally hacked to death near Harale village in Chamarajanagara district, some 100 kms away from TN border on Tuesday.

They are all agricultural labourers from Tamil Nadu and were camping in make-shift tents near sugarcane farm where they worked.

Police have given the names of deceased as Roja (11), Shivamma (35), Kashi (40), Rajendra (35) and Rajamma (35). They had been attacked with sickle and heavy objects. They were found dead when landlord Shekar arrived there early on Tuesday.

Kollegala rural police suspect drunken brawl over payment between the labourers and contractor Rajendra, who too was killed. The brawl ensued during wee hours of Tuesday resulting in brutal killing.

Police confirmed about 16 labourers from Tamil Nadu who had come to Karnataka in search of work and were staying at the farm near Harale village in Chamarajanagara district. Cops claim the rest have fled soon after the killing and suspect few in the group are involved in the heinous crime.

Chamarajanagara additional SP Muthuraj confirmed the murder of labourers including one at a farm house. The assailants have used sharp edged weapons and blunt objects to kill five people, all from Tamil Nadu.

(Agencies)

Salim Khan rejected Padma award; Ramdev was not even considered for award, reveals RTI

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Baba Ramdev

New Delhi: Noted movie writer Salim Khan, former diplomat K S Bajpai and spiritual gurus Sri Ravi Shanker, Mohammed Burhanuddin and Mata Amritanandamayi had refused to accept the Padma awards this year while Ramdev was not considered for the honours, according to an RTI response.

To a query seeking to know the names of persons who were shortlisted for the civilian honours but turned it down, the Home Ministry said Salim Khan, former diplomat K S Bajpai and spiritual gurus Sri Ravi Shanker, late Mohammed Burhanuddin and Mata Amritanandamayi had refused to accept the Padma awards.

The Ministry in an RTI response to activist Subhash Agrawal referred him to web site which had lists of people considered for Padma awards and those shortlisted for them but it did not have name of yoga guru Ramdev.

Two days before the awards were to be presented on January 26, 2015, Ramdev had claimed that he had written to Home Minister Rajnath Singh declining the award as he came to know that he was being considered for it.

“Meeting of the Padma Awards Committee was held on October 31, December 5, and December 13-14, 2014 for two days. The minutes of the meeting were not maintained,” the Ministry said in its response.

The reply said recommendations for the awards were dispatched from MHA to Awards-Committee members for their study and perusal before the meeting of the committee on October 25, 2014.

The Ministry refused to give information about persons whose names were recommended but were not considered following objections from agencies like CBI, IB and tax authorities saying information received from such agencies is secret in nature and cannot be provided under RTI Act.

It said search committee meetings were held on August 21, 2014 and September 8, 2014.

Recently, Ramdev created controversy saying lobbying takes place for Padma awards.

(PTI)

IPL: AB, Kohli power Bangalore to 39-run win over Mumbai

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AB de Villiers

Mumbai: AB de Villiers smashed a brilliant century and skipper Virat Kohli played the perfect foil as Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) outscored Mumbai Indians by 39 runs in an Indian Premier League (IPL) encounter here on Sunday.

The win propelled RCB two places up the league ladder from sixth to fourth with 13 points in their kitty from 11 games.

In contrast, Sunrisers Hyderabad (12 from 11) dropped to the fifth place, whereas Mumbai (12 from 12) slipped to the sixth spot.

Riding on de Villiers’ (133, 59b, 19×4, 4×6) and skipper Kohli’s (82, 50b, 6×4, 4×6) unbeaten 215-run partnership for the second wicket, RCB piled up a massive 235/1.

In reply, Mumbai Indians could go only as far as 196/7 at the Wankhede stadium.

For RCB, Harshal Patel (2/34) and Yuzvendra Chahal (2/51) were the pick of the bowlers.

For Mumbai, Lendl Simmons (68 not out off 53 balls) and Kieron Pollard (49 off 24 balls) showed some intent to chase down the rival total, unleashing some big shots but the duo’s efforts were not enough.

The home side got off to a worst possible start losing opener Parthiv Patel (19) in the fourth over.

Skipper Rohit Sharma (15) after striking one boundary and a six failed to read a slower ball by Harshal Patel, thus finishing in the grip of Mandeep Singh at long on.

But wickets did not bother opener Simmons and Pollard as the West Indies pair went all out at the bowlers.

After smashing six fours and two sixes, Pollard got a top edge from his bat which was gleefully accepted by Mitchell Starc.

Hardik Pandya (8), Ambati Rayudu (14), Harbhajan Singh (3) Jagadeesha Suchith (4) all fell soon after.

Earlier opting to bat, RCB got 14 runs off the first two overs, but what followed in the third over was some real drama.

Mumbai skipper Rohit Sharma dropped Chris Gayle on the fourth ball off Mitchell McClenaghan and Harbhajan Singh spilled Virat Kohli’s catch in first slip off the next ball. Gayle and Kohli were 12 and 8, respectively, when the catches were dropped.

But Gayle (13 off 12) didn’t hurt them much as Lasith Malinga in the very next over got rid of the Jamaican left-hander.

Gayle looked to slap the slower off-cutter well outside off and got another thick edge to fine leg. At that point, RCB were 20/1 in 3.1 overs.

The swashbuckling de Villers did not take much time to settle down as he unleashed his skillful shots soon after along with Kohli.

De Villiers hit the ball mercilessly, bringing up his 50 in just 29 deliveries. He went on hitting, sweeping, slogging the ball to bring up his hundred in only 47 balls.

He was well supported at the other end by Kohli who played with ease scoring his half-century in 39 balls.

This was the sixth consecutive IPL season where Kohli has scored 300-plus runs. He also completed 3,000 runs in the IPL.

(IANS)

Renewed violence forces 100,000 to flee in South Sudan

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UN says fighting in Unity State has displaced 100,000 people, as two aid agencies withdraw from Leer fearing attack.

South Sudan

by Al Jazeera

Fighting has escalated in war-torn South Sudan forcing up to 100,000 people to flee their homes, the United Nations has said.

Toby Lanzer, the UN’s humanitarian coordinator for South Sudan said up to 100,000 people had been displaced from their homes in Unity State, as clashes intensified between rebels and government troops.

“Since the beginning of May, military activities south of Bentiu in Unity State have forced up to 100,000 people from their homes,” Lanzer said in a statement.

“People should never be harmed, and certainly not targeted or forced to flee from their homes,” he added.

Also on Saturday, two global aid agencies evacuated their international staff from part of Unity State fearing clashes.

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said they withdrew from the town of Leer, Machar’s hometown, over concerns of an “imminent attack”.

“Today, we withdraw again with a heavy heart, because we know how civilians will suffer when they are cut off from critical, lifesaving medical care,” Paul Critchley, head of mission at MSF said.

MSF was previously forced to abandon Leer in January last year when fighting over the town made it too dangerous to stay.

When aid workers were able to return four months later they found the hospital burned and looted and vehicles stolen.

Franz Rauchenstein, the head of the ICRC in South Sudan, urged the warring sides to respect international law.

“At all times, those who do not take part in the hostilities must be spared and the distinction needs to be made between civilian objectives and military objectives,” he said.

Violence in the world’s youngest nation has been characterised by rape, attacks on civilians and medical facilities and ethnic massacres.

Tens of thousands of people are believed to have been killed since South Sudan gained independence from Sudan in 2011.

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