London: Amal Clooney has won the support of the United Nations in her fight to free the imprisoned former Maldivian president, after a working group said Mohamed Nasheed’s rights were violated and called for his immediate release. The UN working group said Nasheed did not receive a fair trial from the Maldivian authorities when he was given a 13-year sentence earlier this year. Nasheed, a friend of Prime Minister David Cameron and President Barack Obama, was convicted and sentenced under anti-terrorism laws in March, after a short trial during which he was accused of ordering the arrest and detention of a judge during his time as president. The court did not hear from any defence witnesses. Last month Nasheed was taken back to prison in a surprise move despite his sentence being commuted to house arrest in July. The case has become the setting of an unusual battle between two high-profile British lawyers. Mrs Clooney, the human rights lawyer and wife of George, the Hollywood actor, is part of an international legal team representing Nasheed, while Cherie Blair's firm, Omnia Strategy, is representing the Maldives government.
Germany struggles to care for 1.5 mn refugees
Berlin: As EU struggles to find a solution to the migrant crisis, Germany is facing an influx of 1.5 million refugees this year, almost twice its official estimate, leaked government figures say. The german authorities expect 920,000 asylum seekers to arrive between October and December, according to the classified figures. With each refugee having an estimated four to eight family members who could be permitted to enter, the total number resettled could ultimately top 7 million.
British citizen can adopt foreign children
London: A court of appeal in London said that British citizens could adopt foreign children if it is in their best interests. The ruling could open the floodgates to the use of adoption as a way of winning the right to live in the UK. Three appeal court judges ruled that the welfare of children throughout their lives rather than throughout childhood outweighed the need to enforce effective immigration controls. Lord Justice Sales said that if the home secretary wanted courts to give greater weight to considerations of immigration policy in adoption cases she would need to change the law. The judges were dealing with the interpretation of the 2002 Adoption and Children Act, in a case involving a teenager from Pakistan who overstayed his visa but wanted to be adopted by his first cousin, a UK citizen, in Bradford.
Ban perfume from hospital wards
Ottawa: Canadian doctors have suggested that perfume and aftershave should be banned from hospital wards because evidence suggests that they could aggravate asthma and other allergies. According to them around 30 per cent of people report some sensitivity to scents used by others, and 27 per cent of asthma sufferers are adversely affected by the fragrances, they wrote in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.
New Taliban leader 'owns house in Dubai under fake name'
London: The new Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Mansour, unlike his predecessor Mullah Mohammed Omar, runs a business empire. He reportedly has a house in Dubai which he visits regularly and from where he runs part of a business empire. In a profile by the New York Times based on interviews with present and former colleagues and government officials, Mansour is revealed to be not only wealthy, but well-travelled and well-protected. He is said to have a home protected by Pakistan's security agency in the city of Quetta, from where he runs a number of businesses, including a mobile phone company. Mansour has also repeatedly taken flights in and out of Pakistan, often to Dubai, the newspaper reported, where he has several investments under different names.
11 year old boy kills 8 year old girl in row over puppy
Washington: An 11-year-old boy has been charged with murder in the United States after an eight-year-old girl was shot dead because she wouldn’t let him see her puppy. McKayla Dyer died after being blasted in the chest with a 12-gauge shotgun by the unnamed boy in White Pine, Tennessee.
Bud McCoig, the Jefferson County sheriff, said the boy, who was using his father’s legally owned weapon, had been charged with first-degree murder. The girl’s mother said that the boy, a neighbour, had been picking on her daughter. “When we first moved to White Pine, the little boy was bullying McKayla,” Latasha Dyer said. “He was making fun of her, calling her names, just being mean to her. I had to go the principal about him and he quit for a while and then all of a sudden yesterday he shot her.”
BP pleaded guilty to 11 counts of manslaughter in 2013
Washington: British oil company BP will pay a total of $50 billion in fines to the US government, five affected Gulf Coast states and hundreds of towns across the region that were affected by the Deepwater Horizon oil disaster five years ago in the biggest settlement in US legal history. The final payment is slightly higher than the $18.7 billion that BP said in July that it expected to pay. Under the deal, BP will be paying off the fines well into the 2030s.
Prophet director seeks imams to back Oscar bid
Teheran: Director of the Iranian biopic on Prophet Muhammad is seeking positive reviews from clerics after the film was condemned in fatwas. Majid Majidi, who made 'Muhammad: The Messenger of God' has hit back at “politically motivated” attacks on the film, accusing enemies of Iran of blocking its international release. In Shia-dominated Iran, where rules on depicting the Prophet are more relaxed, Muhammad has broken box office records, being shown at 130 cinemas and taking more than $2 million. Partly funded by the regime, the $40 million production is the most expensive Iranian film ever made. Beyond Iran the outrage continues. The most senior cleric in Saudi Arabia called the film “obscene” and “a hostile act”. An Indian Muslim group issued fatwas against the director and A R Rahman, an Indian music composer. Majidi claims there is “no rational reason to oppose the film”, saying that he was respectful to Islamic convention by not showing the Prophet’s face.
Indonesia’s child smokers are hooked from age two
Jakarta: In bizarre news, a young aged smoker from Indonesia has become internet sensation after he was filmed working through a packet a day at the age of two. However, he isn't the only child addicted to the dangerous habit and it is claimed that every Indonesian village and urban neighbourhood has its juvenile smokers. There are over 56 million smokers in the country out of which, 2.6 million are children. The WHO accounts that 36 per cent of Indonesian boys aged 13 to 15 used tobacco.
Bless you!Sneezing monkey discovered
Kathmandu: A sneezing monkey and a walking fish that can survive for days on land are among more than 200 new species that have been discovered in the eastern Himalayas in the recent years, as per the World Wide Fund for Nature. A report by the charity reveals a host of exciting discoveries made in the region spanning northeast India, Nepal, Bhutan, Burma and southern Tibet. It lists 133 plant species, 39 invertebrates, 26 fish, 10 amphibians, one reptile, one bird and one mammal.
Sri Lanka arrests 7 Indian fishermen
Colombo: Sri Lankan Navy has assisted its Coast Guard in the arrest of seven Indian fishermen in the seas of Baththalangunduwa in Kalpitiya. More than 500 kg of fish catch and three GPS instruments were seized from the arrested fishermen. They will be handed over to the department of fisheries and aquatic resources for further investigations, said the Navy. Just last week they arrested 21 fishermen from Tamil Nadu for allegedly poaching in Sri Lankan waters.
Two attempt to kill Sri Lankan ex-president, jailed
Colombo: Two people have been sentenced to long prison terms by a Sri Lankan court for assassination bid on former President Chandrika Kumaratunga. Velayuthan Vartharajah is sentenced to 290 years of imprisonment, to be served in 30 years and Chandra Ragupathi is sentenced to 300 years imprisonment, to be served in 30 years, by the Colombo High Court, whereas a third accused, Vasanthi Ragupathi is acquitted. Both the convicted were found guilty of attempting to kill Kumaratunga in 1999, and also for the bomb explosion that claimed the lived of 26 people. The same blast left the former President with injuries to her eye and face.
Indian-American man sues San Francisco 49ers
Washington: A man of Indian-American has sued professional American football team, the San Fransisco 49ers and the companies that run California's Levi's stadium, as per a media report. Kiran Patel, 32, has held them responsible for an attack by violent fans that left him with a severe brain injury last year. He was attacked by two brothers just before the kick-off of the game against the Kansas City Chiefs at the stadium. Patel's lawyer William Smith said, “The environment of the 49ers attracts a bad crowd.” Adding that “get drunk in the parking lot and come into the stadium acting aggressively. You shouldn't go to the bathroom and come back with a brain injury.” Patel and his cousin, Amish Patel, have sought unspecified damages against the companies that operate the stadium, saying the security was inadequate to protect them from drunk and violent fans.
US air strikes hit Afghan hospital, 16 killed
Kabul: A US airstrike has damaged a hospital run by 'Doctors Without Border' in the Afghan city of Kunduz, killing at least 16 people, including patients and staff members. The US military, in a statement, has confirmed the air strike citing that it was targeting individuals “who were threatening the force” and that “there may have been collateral damage to a nearby medical facility.” However, accounts differed as to whether there had been fighting around the hospital that might have precipitated the strike. The hospital treated the wounded from all sides of the conflict, a policy that has long irked the Afghan security forces. President Ashraf Ghani's office released a statement saying that general John F Campbell, the commander of American forces in Afghanistan, had apologised for the strike.
Plane with 10 on board goes missing in Indonesia
Jakarta: In yet another incident of an entire passenger plane vanishing out of thin air, a domestic flight carrying 10 people has gone missing in eastern Indonesia. Transportation ministry spokesman Juluis Barata said the DHC-6 Twin Otter plane lost contact while on a flight in South Sulawesi province, adding the plane lost radio contact about 30 minutes before it was expected to land in Makassar, the provincial capital. A rescue team has been sent to search for the plane owned by private airline Aviastar Mandiri. The passengers included three crew and seven passengers, including three children.
