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K’taka HC upholds life term for murder to father, based on child’s testimony

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The child, Rohitsawa, was four years old in 2011 when he witnessed the murder of his mother and gave his statement when he was nine years old.

The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday upheld a sessions court order which had pronounced life imprisonment to a father and grandmother based on the testimony of a child, for the murder of his mother. The child, Rohitsawa, was four years old in 2011 when the crime took place and gave his statement when he was nine years old.

The High Court observed that the child’s statement as “unwavering evidence”.

A division bench of Justices KN Phaneendra and BA Patil was hearing the criminal appeal filed by 62-year-old Parvathi (grandmother) and 45-year-old Ravish (father) hailing from Bantwal taluk in Dakshina Kannada district. The mother-son duo, both working as labourers, was convicted by the First Additional District and Sessions Judge on August 12, 2016, reported media.

Rohitsawa’s mother Saraswathi was hacked to death in February, 2011 with sickles by Ravish and Parvathy, following a verbal disagreement over household work and property related matter. Saraswathi was also suspected of having an affair.

The report said that the duo was nailed based on a video recorded by the investigating officer in which Rohitsawa, the only eyewitness in the case, was heard saying that it was his ‘ajji’ and ‘appa’ who killed his mother. Later, the statement was again recorded in the chamber of a district judge.

The judge also chose not to administer oath to the child during the course of the trial. His answers were recorded in yes or no. “Since the witness is aged about 9 and says that he is studying in 4th standard, he does not seem to be knowing about the importance of the oath. The statement is recorded without administering oath to the witness,” the district court judgment had said.

The district legal services committee was asked by the court to ensure that Rohitswa is ensured a better future and further directed that the two convicts be fined an additional Rs 5,000 each.

Indian, Pakistani troops trade gunfire in Poonch, Rajouri

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Nasheman News : Indian and Pakistani troops traded gunfire along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch and Rajouri districts on Wednesday.

The first clash took place in Poonch district.

Pakistan troopers resorted to unprovoked firing at Indian positions in Gulpur and Khari Karmara areas at around 8.15 a.m., Defence Ministry sources said.

“They used automatics and mortars. Our troops retaliated strongly. No casualty or damage was reported on our side,” an official said.

Later, the Pakistan Army used mortars to target Indian positions in Kalal area of Rajouri district.

“Our troops are retaliating strongly. Firing exchanges are going on,” the official said.

Panic has again gripped people living close to the LoC in Poonch and Rajouri districts amid deafening sounds of mortar shell explosions. The winding LoC divides Jammu and Kashmir between Pakistan and India.


Decriminalising homosexuality in India a huge step forward: ‘The Danish Girl’ author

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Nasheman News : “The Danish Girl” author David Ebershoff feels the Supreme Court’s decision to repeal Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, which criminalised homosexuality, is a huge step towards creating an equal world. He says the decision to recognise the LGBTQ community as “legitimate members of society instead of a criminal class” will help people embrace their true identity.

“This is a huge step forward and one that will have immediate ramifications — an LGBTQ (Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer) person or couple is no longer deemed criminal by the government,” Ebershoff told IANS.

“But, just as important, subtle changes will occur for several years to come. Younger people will no longer have to wonder why their most innate sense of themselves is deemed criminal by their government,” said the author in an email interview to IANS when asked about how the world is changing for the LGBTQ community around the world, including India.

He continued: “Parents and teachers and other figures of authority will subtly begin to look at their LGBTQ children, or young people in general, as legitimate members of society and not a criminal class. These steps will be gradual and will vary in many places and settings, and many will be slow to adopt these new attitudes. However, by taking away the charge of ‘criminal’ a lot of other legal protections can be put in place.”

Ebershoff, who was in India last November for the Tata Literature Live!, is very passionate about the issues of LGBTQ community. His 2000 debut novel, “The Danish Girl”, tells story of Lili Elbe, one of the first people who came out and went for gender reassignment surgery.

Her story found its way onto the silver screen through a similarly-titled film with stars like Alicia Vikander and Eddie Redmayne getting associated with the project. The film hit the right note with critical acclaim as well as a nod from The Academy in the form of multiple Oscar nominations.

Apart from writing a novel about the emotions one goes through in the journey to find one’s sexual identity, Ebershoff has appeared twice on Out Magazine’s top 100 list of most influential LGBTQ people.

In the US, President Donald Trump time and again makes news for working on anti-LGBTQ policies. The author says Americans have realised what they can lose and have started “resisting the policies of this administration”.

“I believe it will only energise LGBTQ Americans to fight for equality and justice, not just for themselves but for all individuals targeted by the current President,” said the author, originally from Pasadena and settled in New York.

“I also believe many younger Americans have realised that so many of their rights are at stake and they are getting involved in resisting the policies of this administration,” he added.

He feels discrimination against the community still exists.

“So much has been gained, but so many are still fighting for basic dignity, equality, justice under the law, freedom from violence, and access to health care.

“This is true in the US, and around the world. Those of us in positions of privilege, such as myself, must speak out on behalf of those who face discrimination and hatred every day of their lives. It’s one reason I wrote ‘The Danish Girl’ all those years ago. It’s one reason I continue to tell queer stories,” added Ebershoff, who is also the author of “The 19th Wife” and “Pasadena”.

What’s next for him?

“I’m finishing a new novel for Random House and developing a television series for Keshet International.”

JD(S) leaders want Congress to rein in its men

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Nasheman News : Recent statements of Congress MLAs, including Dr Sudhakar Reddy, have not gone down well with JD(S) legislators and they made no secret of it in the party meeting held on Tuesday.The meeting of all JD(S) MLAs, MLCs and MPs was called by party supremo H D Deve Gowda and Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy to discuss appointments to boards and corporations, as well as working presidents. Bickering about alliance partner Congress, however, stole the limelight. Sources at the meeting suggested that legislators expressed their anger over Congress leaders making public statements against the CM, his family as well as the party.  

While Kumaraswamy promised to take up the matter in the next coordination committee meeting, he has also appealed to his party workers to be patient and not retort to taunts or jibes in public.“Appointments to boards and corporations has come as a disappointment to us… but we chose to discuss it in a party forum instead of publicly. We have requested that Siddaramaiah be asked to rein in Congress leaders since we are in this together,” said Sa Ra Mahesh, tourism minister. He added that Deve Gowda will be the only authority to take a call on names for boards and corporation chiefs. JD(S) legislators are also irate over Congress announcing chiefs for boards and corporations that come under JD(S) ministers’ ambit. “Will they accept if JD(S) appoints an adviser to the Home Minister?” Mahesh asked.

Seat-sharing for the Lok Sabha elections with the Congress also came up for discussion in the meeting. “All our leaders are of the opinion that it is best to go to polls with the Congress in the alliance. We think the 1:2 ratio proposed by Deve Gowda is ideal,” said a party source who attended the meeting. Deve Gowda, while speaking of seat-sharing, has expressed his desire to get 10-12 seats of the 28 in Karnataka.

Apart from appointments to 10 boards and corporations, the party is keen on appointing four parliamentary secretaries, one political secretary and a chief whip. Of the four parliamentary secretaries — keeping in mind regional and caste balance — one each from North Karnataka, minority community, OBC and a Dalit is expected to be appointed.

“Gowda requested sitting MLAs to make way for leaders who lost by a thin margin so there is an equal distribution of position, power and recognition, but many MLAs are reluctant,” a party source said. The JD(S) is likely to accommodate eight sitting MLAs and two leaders who lost by a small margin as chiefs of the 10 boards and corporations.

Meanwhile, the Congress suspended supporters of Chikkaballapur MLA Dr Sudhakar for “anti-party activities”. “It is alright for them to air their concerns, but to protest and make a scene when the AICC general secretary was in the city, wasn’t right,” said  KPCC chief Dinesh Gundu Rao. He reiterated that any activity hampering the party will not be tolerated.

RBI extends tokenisation services to online merchants

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 Nasheman News : Continuing its efforts to improve the safety of card transactions, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Tuesday extended the use of tokenisation — hiding of actual card details with a unique token — in the wider payments ecosystem.

To date, the RBI had allowed card payment networks like Visa and MasterCard to use the tokenisation technology in card transactions. The technology is now allowed to be used by merchants holding the card credentials like online retailers.

“It has now been decided to permit authorised card payment networks to offer card tokenisation services to any token requestor (i.e., third party app provider),” the RBI said in a statement. For now, the facility will be offered through mobile phones and tablets only.

The permission extends to all use cases and channels like near field communication (NFC), magnetic secure transmission (MST)-based contactless transactions, in-app payments and QR (quick response) code-based payments, the bank said.

“The Reserve Bank has today (Tuesday) released guidelines on tokenisation for debit/ credit/ prepaid card transactions as a part of its continuous endeavour to enhance the safety and security of the payment systems in the country,” the statement said.

Tokenisation involves a process in which a unique token masks sensitive card details and thus, in lieu of actual card details, this token is used to perform card transactions. The token will be unique for a combination of card, token requestor and “identified device”. 

While all other instructions related to card transactions will be applicable for tokenised card transactions as well, the RBI stated: “The ultimate responsibility for the card tokenisation services rendered rests with the authorised card networks.”

Before providing card tokenisation services, card payment networks will have to put in place a mechanism for periodic system (including security) audit at frequent intervals, at least once a year, of all entities involved in providing card tokenisation services to customers.

“Tokenisation and de-tokenisation shall be performed only by the authorised card network, and recovery of original Primary Account Number (PAN) should be feasible for the authorised card network only. Adequate safeguards shall be put in place to ensure that PAN cannot be found out from the token and vice versa, by anyone except the card network,” the RBI said.

Registration of card on token requestor’s app will be done only with explicit customer consent and the customers will have the option to register/ de-register their card for a particular use cases like contactless and QR code-based.

“Card issuers shall ensure easy access to customers for reporting loss of ‘identified device’ or any other such event which may expose tokens to unauthorised usage. Card network, along with card issuers and token requestors, shall put in place a system to immediately de-activate such tokens and associated keys,” the bank added.

India to fully operationalise Iran’s Chabahar Port soon: Gadkari

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Nasheman News : India hopes to fully operationalise the Chabahar Port in Iran soon, Shipping and Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Tuesday.

Following a meeting here with visiting Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, Gadkari also told reporters that the Indian government has allowed an Iranian bank to open a branch in Mumbai to facilitate transactions related to the Chabahar Port.

“The Chabahar port is very important for us. We are working very hard on it. Some problems were there, but the Iranian government are also in the process to resolve all the issues as early as possible. I am confident that we will be in a position to start full function of Chabahar port at the earliest,” Gadkari said.

He said the Reserve Bank of India has given clearance to an Iranian bank to open a branch in Mumbai within three months.

“The government of India has given permission to an Iranian bank to open its branch in Mumbai. It is going to open within three months, and will be used for transactions” he said.

“The two banks will facilitate transactions relating to operation of berths at Chabahar port,” he added. 

The Iranian Minister expressed the hope that “in spite of the illegal US sanctions”, both India and Iran can cooperate further for the benefit of the people of the two countries and for the region.

“We had very good discussions on both Chabahar as well as other areas of cooperation between Iran and India. The two countries complement each other and we can cooperate in whole range of areas,” Zarif said. 

“We are very happy that both UCO Bank from India and Pasargad Bank from Iran are getting started with the business,” he added. 

The Shipping Ministry said on Monday that India has taken over the operations of a part of the Chabahar Port, which marks the first time it will be operating a port outside its territories.

The takeover of operations was done during the Chabahar Trilateral Agreement meeting between Indian, Iranian and Afghan officials held on December 24, a ministry statement said. 

While India started interacting with Iran on Chabahar Port around 2003, an MoU was signed between the two countries for the development of Chabahar Port in May 2015 which was later translated into a formal 10-year contract for equipping and operating the port.

According to Gadkari, India has placed $85 million machinery order for Chabahar Port.

India, Norway to boost cooperation on SDGs, ocean economy

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Nasheman News :  India and Norway agreed to work in close cooperation on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the ocean economy following delegation-level talks headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Norwegian counterpart Erna Solberg here on Tuesday.

“The Sustainable Development Goals match India’s growth targets,” Modi said in a joint address to the media with Solberg following the meeting.

“And it is a matter of happiness for us that both countries are cooperating with the Norway-India Partnership Initiative on the issue of mother and child health,” he said,

Referring to Solberg inaugurating Norway’s new green Embassy here on Monday, he said that she has contributed significantly to global efforts to achieve the SDGs.

Modi also recalled his meeting with Solberg at the G20 Summit in 2017 during which the latter gifted him a football.

“It was not a football game of goals, but a symbol of Sustainable Development Goals,” he said. 

“Prime Minister Solberg has given a lot of encouragement to global efforts towards achieving Sustainable Development Goals.”

Stating that trade and investment form an important part of the India-Norway bilateral relationship, Modi said that Norway’s Government Pension Fund has made a portfolio investment of around $12 billion in India.

“I believe Norwegian companies will benefit from India’s immense potential in both portfolio investment and foreign direct investment in the days to come,” he said.

“Under the Sagarmala programme in particular, there are many opportunities for Norwegian companies in ship-building, ports and port-led development in India.”

Sagarmala is a programme for the comprehensive development of India’s coastline and maritime sector. 

According to a joint statement issued following the meeting, the two sides signed the terms of reference for the establishment of a Dialogue on Trade and Investment, which would give impetus to business cooperation and encourage participation of Norwegian companies in the flagship programmes of India.

“The two leaders recognised that all countries benefit from open and predictable trade rules,” it stated. 

“They acknowledged that a conclusion of the free trade negotiations between EFTA (European Free Trade Association) and India is a priority for both governments.” 

Modi also stressed on the importance of the ocean economy for India.

Stating that 15 per cent of India’s population lives in coastal areas, he said these people’s lives are directly linked to the ocean economy.

Referring to Norway’s immense experience in the ocean economy, he said that 70 per cent of that country’s exports is in the maritime industry.

He said that the agreement on bilateral ocean dialogue signed between the two sides following the talks will give new direction to cooperation in all sectors in this area. 

According to the joint statement, under this agreement, a joint task force on Blue Economy was also established in order to promote multi-sectoral cooperation in various aspects of Blue Economy.

Modi also said that India and Norway have strong cooperation at international fora.

“We work with close cooperation and coordination on issues like UN Security Council reforms, multilateral export control regimes and fighting terrorism,” he said.

According to the joint statement, the two sides strongly condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and agreed to cooperate in combating international terrorism. 

“They also urged the international community to work towards early finalisation of the (India-initiated) Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism mooted by India at the UN,” it stated. 

On her part, Solberg said that the world will not be able to achieve the SDGs if India is not on board.

Referring to her personal interest in women’s empowerment, she said that India has been working hard in this area. 

Solberg said both India and Norway have agreed to increase cooperation in ocean economy.

“It will create more jobs and more medicine,” she said.

She also said that both sides discussed cooperation in the areas of energy, climate change and environment. 

This was the first meeting between Modi and Solberg after the first ever India-Nordic Summit in Stockholm, Sweden, in April last year. 

Earlier in the day, Solberg was accorded a ceremonial welcome at the Rashtrapati Bhavan here.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj also called on the visiting dignitary during the course of which the two leaders discussed expanding bilateral cooperation across all areas.

Solberg arrived here on Monday on her first visit to India. 

US plea to protect Syrian-Kurd militias unacceptable: Turkey

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Nasheman News : Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday strongly rejected Washington’s calls for his country to protect US-backed Kurdish militias in Syria and said statements made by US National Security Adviser John Bolton asking for the same were “unacceptable”.

At the start of his visit to Israel and Turkey over the weekend, Bolton said that the American forces would remain in Syria until the last remnants of the Islamic State were defeated and Turkey provided guarantees that it would not strike Kurdish forces allied with the US. 

The top US official was currently in Turkey and held meetings with his counterpart Ibrahim Kalin and others, Efe news reported. 

Speaking to Justice and Development Party (AKP) party members in Ankara, Erdogan decried Bolton’s statement as a “serious error”. 

“It is impossible for us to accept Bolton’s message,” he said in a live televised speech. “They are terrorists, for this reason, they cannot tell us ‘don’t touch those Kurds.’ Whatever happens, if they are terrorists, we will do whatever it takes. This is what John Bolton got very wrong.” 

Erdogan added that the Americans did not know who the YPG and other Kurdish groups were. “If the US evaluates them as ‘Kurdish brothers’ then they are in a serious delusion,” he said.

Turkey has drawn up plans to launch a military incursion into areas of northeastern Syria to clear the region of the militias such as the YPG, one of the main cogs in the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) umbrella group, which united Kurdish and local Arab units and was backed by American forces in the fight against the Islamic State. 

While the US Army — which has deployed some 2,000 ground troops to the region, where they equip and train the SDF — regards the YPG as a solid fighting partner in the regional battle against the extremists, Ankara views them as a terrorist group inextricably linked to the PKK, Kurdish separatists that fought a decades-long insurgency in eastern Turkey. 

“The terrorist organizations of the PKK and the PYD (the political arm of the YPG) can never represent my Kurdish brothers,” Erdogan said, adding that his Army was ready to launch an operation in northern Syria to clear the region of the militias. 

Turkey wants to push the Kurdish forces to the east of the Euphrates River. 

SDF forces retain control of the key city of Manbij, a predominantly-Arab settlement to the west of the major river.

Turkish-backed Syrian militias captured a tranche of northern Syria from the IS in its first major incursion into the territory in 2016. Then, in 2018, Turkey and its allies took Afrin province, located in far northwestern Syria, from Kurdish militias. 

The YPG-led SDF have spearheaded the battle on the ground against the IS and were currently routing out insurgents from their last major settlement, Hajin, in the country’s sparsely-populated east. 

With Gopinath as IMF chief economist, 4 women now at apex of world economy

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Nasheman News : Four women will dominate the global economic policy sphere with eminent academic Gita Gopinath becoming the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) chief economist.

In a sign of growing women power, she along with her boss and IMF’s Managing Director Christine Lagarde, World Bank’s chief economist Pinelopi Koujianou Goldberg, and Kristalina Georgieva, the Bank’s CEO who will become its interim President next month, will have the leading role in guiding international financial policy as the world economy faces its severest stress in more than a decade.

They confront the confluence of a retreat from globalization, a trade war between China and the US, uncertainties in Europe over Brexit, weakening of several currencies against the dollar, shifts in foreign direct investments and the growing inequalities between nations and within countries.

Gopinath, who became the first woman to become the IMF’s chief economist, succeeded Maurice Obstfeld, who left the organization at the end of last year.

When Lagarde announced in October Gopinath’s appointment with the formal title of Economic Counsellor and Director of the Research Department, she called her “one of the world’s outstanding economists, with impeccable academic credentials, a proven track record of intellectual leadership and extensive international experience”.

“All this makes her exceptionally well-placed to lead our Research Department at this important juncture. I am delighted to name such a talented figure as our Chief Economist,” Lagarde said.

Before coming to the IMF, Gopinath was professor of International Studies and Economics at Harvard University.

She was concurrently appointed in 2016 as the economic adviser to the Kerala Chief Minister with the rank of principal secretary. She has also served as a member of the Eminent Persons Advisory Group on G-20 Matters for the Indian Ministry of Finance.

In addition to helping formulate policies for the IMF and set strategies and evaluate the performance of nations, Gopinath will oversee the World Economic Outlook Report that is considered a major survey of the global economy.

A significant aspect of her position will be helping set the conditions for countries seeking bailouts from the IMF. Often the terms call for stringent financial regulations and unpopular belt-tightening for the recipients.

A graduate of Lady Sri Ram College in New Delhi, Gopinath received her MA degree from the Delhi School of Economics.

She went on to Princeton University from where she got her Ph.D in economics in 2001 for her work on international macroeconomics and trade.

Gopinath was an assistant professor at the University of Chicago before moving to Harvard in 2005. She received the Bhagwati Prize for the best paper published in the Journal of International Economics in 2003 and 2004.

In 2014, she was named one of the top 25 economists under 45 by the IMF and was a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader in 2011.

Her extensive research and writings include a critique of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s demonetization in 2016. Writing in the Project Syndicate within days of the demonetization, she presciently said the government “seems to be causing collateral damage to India’s economy”.

SC constitutes 5-judge Constitution bench for Ayodhya

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Nasheman News : A five-Judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi has been constituted to hear the title suit in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid Ayodhya case, which will begin hearing on January 10.

The others in the bench will be Justice S.A. Bobde, Justice N.V. Ramana, Justice U.U. Lalit and Justice D.Y. Chandrchud according to a notice issued by the Additional Registrar (Listing) on Tuesday.

The Supreme Court on Friday had said the bench that will hear a batch of cross petitions challenging the 2010 Allahabad High Court judgment on the Ayodhya title suit will decide the future course of the hearing.

Taking up the applications for early hearing, a bench of CJI Gogoi and Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul had said further orders on the course of the hearing will be passed by the bench which will be constituted on January 10.

The Allahabad High Court had in 2010 trifurcated the disputed site, giving one portion each to Ram Lalla, Nirmohi Akhara and the original Muslim litigant.

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