Assange loses appeal against extradition to Sweden from UK

In a major setback to Julian Assange, the controversial WikiLeaks founder on Wednesday lost a legal battle to stay in the UK, with the High Court here ruling that he should be extradited to Sweden to face rape allegations there.

However, the 40-year-old Australian national's lawyers said they will make a final appeal in the Supreme Court within 14 days.

At the High Court, Justice John Thomas and Justice Duncan Ouseley decided that a previous ruling in favour of his extradition must be upheld after rejecting the arguments by lawyers on behalf of Assange.
Swedish authorities want him to answer accusations of raping one woman and sexually molesting and coercing another in Stockholm last year.
"In any event, this is self evidently not a case relating to a trivial offence, but to serious sexual offences," the High Court judges said.
A European arrest warrant was issued against Assange by Swedish authorities.
The High Court judges ruled that the issuance of the European warrant that led to Assange's arrest and all subsequent proceedings to achieve his extradition were "proportionate".
They dismissed Assange's argument that the arrest warrant was invalid because it had been issued by a prosecutor, and not a "judicial authority".

Assange's whistle-blowing website rocked several governments across the world with the publication of thousands of diplomatic and other official communication, including many related to India.

Assange's lawyers said they will appeal before the Supreme Court on the grounds that the case raises issues of general public importance.

But if he is denied the right to appeal, British officers will be responsible for arranging his removal to Sweden within 10 days.

In July, Assange's lawyers had argued the arrest warrant was invalid because of significant discrepancies between allegations of sexual assault and rape and the testimonies of the two women he allegedly had sex with.

In February, when Assange challenged the extradition moves at Westminster magistrates court, his legal team warned that their client could be at "real risk" of the death penalty or detention in Guantanamo Bay because they feared the US authorities would request his extradition from Sweden to face charges relating to WikiLeaks obtaining and publishing hundreds of thousands of classified US government documents.

Assange, who was arrested in December last year, has been out on bail, living under strict conditions at Ellingham Hall in Norfolk.
He has to sign in at a local police station every day, wears an electronic tag that monitors his movements and has to be back inside the house by 10pm each night.

India Inc to be part of G20 business summit at Cannes

India Inc will join global industry leaders who will be holding business summit at Cannes in France, along with the political leadership of world's 20 most influential economies from Thursday.

The Indian industry delegation will be led by CII President and Tata Steel Vice Chairman B Muthuraman.

Infosys CEO and Managing Director S Gopalakrishnan would also be part of the delegation.
The two Indian honchos will meet France President Nicolas Sarkozy tomorrow, according to a CII release in New Delhi.
They are part of the 'B20' which is a group of top global business leaders who have been holding meetings as part of the G20 Summits.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is leaving for Cannes tomorrow to attend the summit where India is expected to press against trade protectionism at a time when the world economy is facing a slowdown.
At the B20 meeting, Muthuraman will co-chair a Working Group on Financial Regulation which is expected to be one of the pre-occupations of the political summit.
"Due to additional risks at this stage, the G20 would need to address economic, social and environmental impact of earlier financial reforms as well as risk of fragmented markets," CII said.
The presidents of the business confederations of the B20 countries and 120 CEOs of global companies would work on concrete recommendations to be presented to the G20 leaders, it said.
Meanwhile, Mahindra Group Vice-Chairman and Managing Director Anand Mahindra would also address the G20 Young Entrepreneurs Summit (YES) hosted by Sarkozy at Nice, France, tomorrow.

Behura accuses CBI of discriminating among 2G accused

Former Telecom Secretary Siddharth Behura, arrested for his alleged role in the 2G spectrum allocation scam, today accused the CBI in a Delhi court of discriminating among various accused in the case by not opposing their bail pleas for political considerations. 

"The prosecution is making distinction (among accused). It shows there is political intrusion in the legal process," senior advocate Aman Lekhi said while referring to the CBI's stand of not opposing the bail pleas of five accused, including DMK MP Kanimozhi.

Lekhi made the allegation before Special Judge O P Saini, who later reserved his order on Behura's bail plea for November 3, when the court is slated to pronounce its order on seven other accused as well.

They included Kanimozhi, Kalignar TV Managing Director Sharad Kumar, filmmaker Karim Morani and Kusegaon Fruits and Vegetables directors Asif Balwa and Rajiv Agarwal, whose bail pleas were not opposed by the CBI.

CBI, however, had contested the bail pleas of Swan Telecom promoter Shahid Balwa and former Telecom Minister A Raja's erstwhile Private Secretary R K Chandolia, saying the specific charges framed against them carry up to seven years jail term.

"It is a colourable exercise of power. If the prosecution has conceded bail to Kanimozhi and (four) others, then all accused should be treated equally. Law makes no distinction among the accused," Lekhi contended in the court arguing for bail to Behura.

"On what basis they (CBI) are distinguishing it? The Supreme Court has rightly asked, to the CBI, to explain that on what basis they are doing so (discriminating)," he said.

Lekhi accused the CBI of "holding the brief" for some of the accused and not opposing their bail pleas.

"It is strange that the prosecutor is holding the brief for some of the accused. I am amazed the public prosecutor comes to the court and pleads for those (accused) who have allegedly received the bribe," he said.

Denying Lekhi's allegations, Special Public Prosecutor U U Lalit asserted, "I do not hold brief for anyone. I stand here as PP purely in the capacity of an impartial observer to place the facts before the court."

"I felt that a distinction could be made. There is nothing that I am holding the brief for accused or the CBI has some agenda," Lalit added.

He said the change in circumstances after framing of charges against Behura is detrimental to him as earlier the charge sheet indicted him with charges punishable up to seven years of jail term whereas now he is charged under section 409 (criminal breach of trust by public servant) of IPC, carrying life term on conviction.

Lalit said the CBI had not opposed the bail pleas of five accused as the charges against them carried maximum jail term of five years, while the CBI was opposing the bail pleas of those who may be jailed for seven years or more if held guilty.

The court had on October 22 charged 17 accused including former Telecom Minister A Raja, his erstwhile Private Secretary Chandolia and Behura with offences of hatching conspiracy with others to allocate the spectrum illegally to telecom firms, Swan Telecom Pvt Ltd and Unitech Wireless (Tamil Nadu) Ltd, causing wrongful gain to them, while committing breach of trust and abusing their offices.

Notice to Centre, J&K on plea for probe into leader death

The Supreme Court has sought the Union government's response on a plea for CBI probe into the mysterious death of National Conference leader Mohd Yusuf Shah Haji.

A bench of justices Altamas Kabir and S S Nijjar on Monday issued the notice also to the Jammu and Kashmir government seeking their replies within two weeks.

The bench was initially reluctant to entertain the plea as doctors had certified that heart attack was the cause of death.

Appearing for the petitioner, counsel Bhim Singh told the bench that the incident ought to be probed by the CBI as Yusuf had died after visiting the chief minister's residence.

"Doctors have certified that he had died of heart attack. So where is the question of an FIR?," the bench asked him.

Singh, however, insisted that the matter should be probed by an independent agency as the death had occurred under mysterious circumstances.

He cited the apex court's earlier ruling in the D K Basu case wherein guidelines have been laid down on probing such mysterious deaths in alleged police custody.

The bench later relented and directed issuance of notices.

The petition was filed for a CBI probe into the death of Haji allegedly in police custody under mysterious circumstances in Srinagar.

The petition filed by Balwant Singh Mankotia, a sitting MLA of Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party, had sought a direction to the state government to hand over the probe into Haji's death to the CBI.

The petition said the 61-year-old activist was arrested allegedly on the orders of Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on 29^th September and he died next morning.

The state police have reportedly said that Haji died due to 'cardio respiratory arrest'.

India's baby Nargis one of world's seven-billionth inhabitant

The world's population touched another milestone on Monday as India and the Philippines welcomed "symbolic" seventh-billionth babies.

A baby girl, born to 23-year-old Vinita and Ajay at a local community health centre at 7.20 am in Mall (UP) on the outskirts of Lucknow, was welcomed as the seventh-billionth baby, Bhagyeshwari, executive director of NGO Plan India, which is conducting the exercise, said on Monday. The girl has been named Nargis, she said.

The Philippines also welcomed a seven-billionth baby at a government hospital in Manila. Danica May Camacho was born just after midnight.

Meanwhile, as the world readies to welcome its seventh billion inhabitant on Monday, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called for "unity of purpose" among people across nations to address problems of climate change, economic crisis and inequality.

"Some say our planet is too crowded. I say we are 7 billion strong. But we will only be able to use that strength for the benefit of all if our societies are built on mutual respect and understanding," Moon said.

The world's population will reach the landmark seven billion mark on Monday. Moon said the world must come together "on this special day... in the name of the global common good."

He said while the world has made remarkable progress as it has aged, with more of its children surviving and more people living under democratic rule of law, the progress cannot be taken for granted.

The world is "under threat from climate change, economic crisis, joblessness, inequality and intolerance. Around the world, too many people live in fear. Too many people believe their governments and the global economy can no longer deliver for them," he said.

The answer to the current turbulent times is "unity of purpose."

"Global problems demand global solutions. They compel all nations to unite in action on an agenda for the world's people."

The UN Chief said the challenge for nations is to build a more just, tolerant and inclusive world.

"We all have something to give and something to gain by appreciating each other's diversity and working together in common cause."

Meanwhile, UN Population Fund's (UNFPA) Executive Director Babatunde Osotimehin said actions taken now will decide whether the future of the seventh billion baby will be healthy, sustainable and prosperous or marked by inequalities, environmental decline and economic setbacks.

"The world must seize the opportunity to invest in the health and education of its youth to reap the full benefits of future economic development or else face a continuation of the sorry state of disparities in which hundreds of millions of people in developing nations lack the most basic ingredients for a decent life," Osotimehin said.

He said planning and the right investments in people will empower them to make choices that are not only good for themselves, but also for a world of seven billion.

Assad warns of 'earthquake' if West intervenes in Syria

Syria's embattled President Bashar al-Assad has warned that Western military action against his country could cause an "earthquake" that could create "another Afghanistan" and burn the whole of the Middle East.

His warning came hours after UN chief Ban Ki-moon asked Syria to "immediately" end attacks on civilians, saying the violence is "unacceptable."

Western countries "are going to ratchet up the pressure, definitely," Assad told the UK's Sunday Telegraph newspaper in a rare interview.

"But Syria is different in every respect from Egypt, Tunisia, Yemen. The history is different. The politics is different. Syria is the hub now in this region. It is the fault line, and if you play with the ground you will cause an earthquake. Do you want to see another Afghanistan, or tens of Afghanistans? "Any problem in Syria will burn the whole region. If the plan is to divide Syria, that is to divide the whole region."

Thousands of anti-government demonstrators took to the streets in two Syrian cities on Friday to demand the imposition of a Libyan-style no-fly zone over the country, as the bloodiest clashes left 40 people dead on the same day.

According to the United Nations, at least 3,000 civilians, including 187 children, have been killed during the seven-month long protests against the regime.

Thousands more have been imprisoned. The Syrian government says 1,200 members of the security forces have also died.

The paper said 46-year-old Assad admitted that "many mistakes" had been made by his forces in the early part of the uprising, but insisted that only "terrorists" were now being targeted.

"We have very few police, only the army, who are trained to take on al-Qaeda," Assad said.

"If you sent in your army to the streets, the same thing would happen. Now, we are only fighting terrorists. That's why the fighting is becoming much less."

On Friday alone, opposition groups claimed that 40 people were killed in clashes.

Seventeen soldiers also died in overnight clashes with suspected army deserters in the city, which foreign journalists are forbidden to enter.

Syria was condemned on Saturday by Arab League foreign ministers for its "continued killings of civilians".

Assad claimed that he had responded differently to the Arab Spring than other, deposed Arab leaders.

"We didn't go down the road of stubborn government," he said.

"Six days after (the protests began) I commenced reform. People were skeptical that the reforms were an opiate for the people, but when we started announcing the reforms, the problems started decreasing. This is when the tide started to turn. This is when people started supporting the government."

Some Damascus-based opposition leaders say the reforms, which include laws ostensibly allowing demonstrations and political parties, are a start, but not enough.

However, the leaders of the main protests say they are meaningless and President Assad must go, the newspaper reported.

Assad said: "The pace of reform is not too slow. The vision needs to be mature. It would take only 15 seconds to sign a law, but if it doesn't fit your society, you'll have division... It's a very complicated society."

He described the uprising as a "struggle between Islamism and pan-Arabism (secularism), adding: "We've been fighting the Muslim Brotherhood since the 1950s and we are still fighting with them."

Commonwealth group initiated steps towards reform

The Commonwealth nations agreed to adopt one third of the 106 recommendations of an eminent persons group to make the grouping more relevant in current times, but virtually rejected the proposal for a human rights commissioner.

Faced with a tough task of ushering in reforms, leaders of the 54-nation bloc had asked their foreign ministers to work overnight on recommendations of the 11-member Eminent Persons Group (EPG), which had gone public with its criticism.

Both Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Commonwealth Secretary General Kamalesh Sharma sought to dub the three-day summit meeting a success and cited the reform of the Ministerial Group and strengthening management and delivery of Commonwealth programmes as cases in point.

On the much-talked about recommendations of the EPG, chaired by former Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi, Gillard said that the CHOGM had agreed to a third of their suggestions, including having a charter of values.

"We have agreed there should be a charter of the Commonwealth to bring together the Commonwealth values, principles and aspirations in one clear and powerful statement," Gillard said on Sunday.

She said the leaders also decided to adopt without reservation 30 recommendations of the EPG and another 12 recommendations would be adopted subject to consideration of financial implications.

While leaders rejected 11 recommendations of the EPG, 43 others, including the proposal for a human rights commissioner, were sent to a taskforce of ministers for "detailed advice".

India was represented at the meeting by Vice President Hamid Ansari.

A section of the delegates who attended the deliberations ruled out setting up of the commissioner and stressed on the development initiatives of the Commonwealth.

With many of the Commonwealth nations being low-lying islands, the CHOGM agreed on a slew of measures to promote action on climate change, including a push to find better ways to fund mitigation and adaptation projects.

Maldives President Mohammed Nasheed said a number of the EPG recommendations touched upon the issue of climate change and all have been accepted by the Heads.

"The issue of climate change is not of the future. It is happening now and we must deal with it now," Nasheed, whose country faces one of the gravest threat from global warming, said.

He appreciated the Australian initiative to impose carbon tax as a measure to tackle climate change.

"I think these are the kinds of measures that we would like to see from the rest of the developed world," he said.

Gillard has promised to take up Commonwealth issues at the G20 summit in Cannes next week.

The final CHOGM communique noted the "impasse" in the Doha round and urged the trade ministers' World Trade Organisation (WTO) meeting in December to commit to make "substantive progress" as well as make a formal "anti-protectionist pledge".

The communique also called for "accelerated efforts" to conclude negotiations on a Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT).

It endorsed India's position that seeks a quick conclusion to the negotiations on the CCIT at the UN.

The leaders also agreed to reduce the cost of remittance transfers by removing barriers to remitting and encouraging greater competition in the transfer market, by endorsing the World Bank's General Principles for International Remittance Services.

They also agreed to improve gender equality and empowerment of women by supporting national programmes to this effect, including initiatives to eliminate gender-based violence.

The leaders agreed to intensify efforts to promote women's decision-making roles at all levels and continuing to improve advocacy for women's leadership and the empowerment of women as leaders.

The leaders also agreed to combat people smuggling and human trafficking by clamping down on illicit criminal organisations and bringing the perpetrators of these crimes to justice, while protecting and supporting the victims of trafficking.

Over 50 feared killed in bridge collapse in Arunachal

Over 50 people were feared dead after a wirerope suspension bridge over the swift Kameng river collapsed this evening at Seppa in Arunchal Pradesh's East Kameng district. 

The hanging bridge at the entrance to Seppa town, the district headquarters, collapsed as people were crossing it, with 50 feared dead, East Kameng SP Kime Aya said.

Five bodies were found by rescue teams comprising the CRPF, ITBP and the district police, he said.

The swift current in the river and darkness was impeding the search and rescue teams, the SP said.

"Two people who swam back to safety informed that there were over 100 people who had gone on the hunt for 'teri', an insect which is a delicacy for the tribals, at around 5:30 pm which was not the right time," Aya said.

The exact toll can be ascertained only tomorrow, he said.

Comm'wealth leaders adopt a declaration on food security

Seeking coordinated action, the Commonwealth nations on Saturday called for elimination of trade barriers on food exports to address the issue of food security. 

The Commonwealth Heads of Government, at their summit meeting here, adopted the "Perth Declaration on Food Security Principles", that calls for coordinated and timely regional and global emergency relief efforts to deal with immediate food crises.

The Perth declaration was "a significant response to the food security challenge", Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma told reporters in Perth.

Australian Prime Minister and Commonwealth Chair Julia Gillard said the declaration was important since the world faces the challenge of increasing agriculture productivity by 70 per cent over the next few decades.

The declaration lists a 12-point agenda for the 54-nation grouping, to deal with the issue of food security.

It also called for improving market access for food producers, including small holders and women, through trade liberalisation measures such as elimination of tariff and non-tariff trade barriers and avoidance of restrictions on food exports.

The declaration also calls for "delivering practical measures over the medium-term to make agriculture, including irrigated agriculture, and fisheries more productive and sustainable; strengthening support to government-led programmes and initiatives; developing country-led strategies to improve food security, and scaling up nutritional interventions, including those that target mothers and young children."

The leaders of Commonwealth countries on Saturday are holding informal discussions on various issues in what are called retreat sessions today.

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard said that the Commonwealth Foreign Ministers had examined the proposal of a human rights commissioner, as suggested by the 11-member Eminent Persons Group (EPG), but there were "broad range of concerns" over it.

Trying to put up a brave face, Gillard said the leaders had examined the proposal and suggested "further procedure" by asking the Secretary General and the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) chair look into it and report back to them.

The leaders had yesterday agreed to strengthen the CMAG by empowering it to engage member nations veering off the track of democracy.

The 11-member EPG chaired by former Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi was invited for a retreat lunch of the leaders for an informal interaction.

The leaders accepted the EPG recommendation to have a Charter of the Commonwealth which would weave together several declarations issued by the leaders since 1971 that represent the values and principles of the association.

Gillard said the leaders have asked their foreign ministers to meet in 2012 and come out with a "clear and powerful statement" for the charter.

Commonwealth Secretary General Kamalesh Sharma said that the charter will reflect the aspirations of the member countries.

The leaders have also asked the foreign ministers to work overnight and examine other 102 recommendations made by the EPG.

The ministerial report is expected to be taken up at the concluding session tomorrow.

The CHOGM also came out with a Perth Declaration on Food Security Principles that reflect the shared approach to addressing the challenge of food insecurity and are focussed on meeting the needs of the most vulnerable, particularly women and children.

Seventeen more babies die in WB govt hospitals; toll 30

Thirteen newborns died in the Burdwan Medical College and four more at Kolkata's B C Roy Children's Hospital, which has witnessed a series of crib deaths, taking the toll in the two government hospitals in West Bengal to 30 today. 

Though the deaths have raised a question mark on the standard of healthcare in paediatric hospitals in the state, authorities claimed that it was not unusual.

Since yesterday, four babies died at the B C Roy Children's Hospital and 12 at the Burdwan Medical College and Hospital, which also saw a death today.

"The one-to-three day-old babies were underweight and suffering from jaundice, encephalitis and septicaemia," Burdwan Medical College and Hospital Deputy Superintendent Tapas Kumar Ghosh said.

Deputy Director of Medical Education Susanta Banerjee and Health Commissioner Dilip Ghosh were sent by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to the hospital.

Banerjee said that there was no medical negligence in the death of the babies as they were referred in a moribund stage and that one or two deaths occurred daily.

He said that in two and half months the number of beds would be increased to 190 from the current 60.