L A T E S T      N E W S

No apology or withdrawal of charges against Khobragade: US

Washington: Amid efforts to resolve the raging diplomatic row over the arrest of Devyani Khobragade, the US today rejected India's demands of dropping visa fraud charges against the senior diplomat and apologising for mistreating her.

State Department spokesperson Marie Harf made it clear that 39-year-old Khobragade will have to face the "very serious" allegations and that the immunity sought for her after her transfer to India's Permanent Mission to the UN is "not retroactive".

In Delhi, sources said the two sides discussed specific steps to resolve the situation during a telephone call made by US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman to Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh to follow up on the conversation Secretary of State John Kerry had with National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon on Wednesday.

"We take these allegations very seriously. We're not in any way walking back from those allegations or the charges. Again, this is really a law enforcement issue," Harf said in response to a volley of questions on the issue.

The spokesperson replied in the negative on being asked whether the Deputy Consul General in New York, arrested on December 12, would be allowed to go "scot-free".

"I don't know the details of the complaint, and I don't know if even withdrawing the complaint, which I'm not saying anybody is considering would, in fact, drop the charge. That's not something that's even being considered," Harf said.

"We certainly take these types of allegations very seriously though. It's not a decision for us whether to prosecute or not," Harf said.

Contradicting External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid's remark yesterday that the two sides were trying to lock a time for a conversation between him and Kerry, Harf said nothing was scheduled as of now.

"No plans (for Kerry) to (call Khurshid)," she said.

"I mean, he (Kerry) is always open to, but I think there was some misreporting out there today that he maybe was planning to, and that's just not the case," she said.

Khurshid had said, "I was not available when John Kerry called. We are trying to lock a time for a call this evening or may be tomorrow. Kerry is in the Philippines and there is a huge time difference." Kerry is on a year-end family vacation and would return to Washington after holidays, she said.

Gold worth Rs 5 crore seized at Hyderabad airport 

Hyderabad: Gold bars worth over Rs 5 crore were today seized at the international airport here from three passengers, who were allegedly trying to smuggle the precious metal, officials said.

The trio, who arrived here from Singapore, have been arrested.

As many as 18 gold bars, each weighing one kg and valued at over Rs 5 crore, were seized from the passengers who landed at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at Shamshabad during wee hours, a customs official said.

The three, Hazi Mohammad, Ziauddin and Chokkalingam - who were travelling by a private airline - will be produced in a local court, he said.

The gold was meant to be smuggled to Chennai further, the official said, adding an investigation was on. 

Sensex up 96 points in early trade

The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex trimmed initial gains but was still quoted up 96 points in the morning trade in view of buying in refinery, auto and IT counters triggered by heavy foreign capital inflows into the equity market despite weak Asian cues.

The 30-scrip Sensex resumed higher at 20,792.37 and hovered in a range of 20,825.72 and 20,745.94 before quoting at 20,804.36 at 10.30hrs (IST), showing a gain of 95.74 points from its last close.

The 50-share Nifty also firmed up by 18.15 points to 6,184.80.

Major gainers were Wipro (2.03 pct), ONGC (1.81 pct), RIL (1.52 pct), TCS (1.52 pct), Tata Motors (1.30 pct), Hero Moto (1.13 pct) and ICICI Bank (1.12 pct).

Key benchmark indices in Hong Kong, China, Japan and Indonesia fell between 0.5 per cent and 0.96 per cent, while those in Taiwan, Singapore and South Korea rose between 0.18 per cent and 0.26 per cent.

US stocks on Thursday recovered losses as investors shrugged off disappointing housing, manufacturing and employment reports, sending the Dow Jones Industrial Average to a record closing. 

Three UN peacekeepers from India killed in 
South Sudan violence 

Juba, South Sudan: Less than three years after its creation, the world's newest country is beginning to fracture along ethnic lines in violence that has killed hundreds of people, including three UN peacekeepers. What could come next, some warn, is ethnic cleansing. South Sudan's numerous ethnic groups have battled each other for decades, but for years their animosity was united in hatred of the government in Khartoum, Sudan, the country's former capital. When the south gained independence in 2011, the groups' common enemy receded, exposing the fault lines - this week, even among the presidential guard.

On Thursday, armed youths breached a UN compound in Jonglei state, causing an unknown number of casualties.

"Unfortunately, just this very morning such militia groups have targeted and killed three soldiers from India in South Sudan," India's UN Ambassador Asoke Mukerji told a UN meeting on peacekeeping Thursday evening.

It was the first announcement of UN personnel killed in this week's upsurge of violence. Pakistan's UN Ambassador Masood Khan asked for a minute of silence, and diplomats rose to pay tribute to the fallen soldiers.

In the capital, Juba, emergency evacuation flights took away American and British citizens, aid workers and United Nations personnel to escape the violence.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon again urged political dialogue.

"The future of this young nation requires its current leadership to do everything possible to prevent South Sudan descending into the chaos that would be such a betrayal of the ideals behind its long struggle for independence," a statement from his office said late Thursday.

South Sudan's government declared that its security forces "are in absolute control of the situation," but admitted later Thursday that the central government had lost control of Bor, the capital of the country's largest and most populous state, where barrages of gunfire were reported.

"The situation in South Sudan can be best described as tense and fragile. If it is not contained, it could lead to ethnic cleansing," said Choul Laam, a top official with the ruling Sudan People's Liberation Movement, who spoke in Nairobi, Kenya.

Violence broke out late Sunday when the presidential guard splintered along ethnic lines. Guards from the president's majority Dinka tribe tried to disarm guards from the Nuer ethnic group, said Laam. Violence in Juba spiraled from there, and then extended out into the country.

"The awful accounts of killings in Juba may only be the tip of the iceberg," said Daniel Bekele of Human Rights Watch. "Government officials - whatever their politics - need to take urgent steps to prevent further abuses against civilians and quickly deescalate rising ethnic tensions."

President Salva Kiir earlier said an attempted coup had triggered the violence, and the blame was placed on ousted Vice President Riek Machar, an ethnic Nuer.

Machar disputed Kiir's allegations that he had attempted a coup, but said he wants Kiir out of power.

"We want him to leave. We want him to leave. That's it," Machar told Radio France Internationale. "He can't unite the people and he kills them like flies."

Machar, an influential politician who is a hero of the brutal war of independence against Sudan, is Kiir's rival for top leadership of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement party. Tensions had been mounting since Kiir fired Machar as his deputy in July. Machar later said he would contest the presidency in 2015.

Regardless of the cause, the South Sudan government said the violence has already killed up to 500 people.

Armed ethnic Nuer youths breached a UN compound in the tiny Jonglei village of Akobo, near the Ethiopian border, to reach civilians believed to be Dinkas seeking shelter there, said UN spokesman Farhan Haq in New York. "We fear there may have been some fatalities but can't confirm who and how many at this stage," Haq said.

At the time, 43 Indian peacekeepers, six UN police advisers and two UN civilian employees were present at the base, as were about 30 South Sudanese who had sought shelter, according to the UN mission in South Sudan. The mission said it would dispatch aircraft early Friday to evacuate UN personnel who remain at the base.

South Sudan's capital was mostly peaceful Thursday, and the government tried to assure the UN and foreign embassies "that civil tranquility has been fully restored."

US President Barack Obama said in a letter to Congress that 45 military personnel were dispatched to South Sudan on Wednesday to protect US citizens and property.

Countries such as the US, Britain, Italy and Germany continued to evacuate residents. A plane with a mechanical malfunction blocked the runway during the day, jamming up inbound and outbound flights.

The US evacuation plane - the fourth group of Americans flown out in two days - was eventually able to take off heading for Kenya. "Runway clear. Wheels up," the embassy said on Twitter. Two military flights and a charter took off on Wednesday. Britain's evacuation plane landed in Uganda late Thursday.

The government said it lost control of Bor, the capital of Jonglei state, to forces loyal to Machar. Gunfire was reported early and late in the day, and the UN used four helicopters to transport 75 people - a mix of aid workers and UN staff - to Juba, said Challiss McDonough, a spokeswoman for the UN's World Food Program.

"We lost control of Bor to the rebellion," said Philip Aguer, the South Sudanese military spokesman.

Aguer said renegade officers wrested control of the town from loyalist forces. At least 19 civilians had been killed in Bor, said Martin Nesirky, a spokesman for the UN secretary-general's office, citing figures from the South Sudan Red Cross.

In oil-rich Unity state, fighting broke out in oil fields on Wednesday and Thursday, said Mabek Lang De Mading, the state's deputy governor. He said five people died Wednesday and 11 on Thursday.

Foreign ministers from neighboring countries Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda and Djibouti traveled to South Sudan to try and diffuse the crisis.

Human Rights Watch said Thursday that South Sudanese soldiers fired indiscriminately in highly populated areas of Juba earlier in the week and targeted people for their ethnicity.

Citing witnesses and victims, the group reported that "soldiers specifically targeted people from the Nuer ethnic group." In some cases, the group added, the Dinka may have been targeted by Nuer soldiers.

An estimated 20,000 people have sought refuge at two UN compounds in Juba and another 14,000 in Bor. UN officials warned of a humanitarian crisis.

Deputy secretary-general Jan Eliasson said in New York on Thursday that the UN will do its best to protect those who have sought refuge. "Clearly, civilians are in danger," said Eliasson.

Indian charged for murder in headless body case 

Singapore: An Indian was today charged here for murdering his friend's wife, another Indian national, whose decapitated body was found in a canal last week.

The accused was identified in sub courts as Gursharan Singh, 25, who police had previously said was a friend of the victim Jasvinder Kaur's husband Harvinder Singh.
All three are Indian nationals.

Gursharan allegedly killed Kaur with the help of another man who is on the run, The Strait Times reported today.

The murder of Kaur, who worked as a beautician here, took place between December 10 and 12. The case would be heard again on December 27.

If convicted, Gursharan, who worked here as a fork-lift driver, faces capital punishment. Police found Kaur's trash bag-wrapped body floating in a canal on December 12. The deceased's head was missing and both hands were severed at the wrists.

Police have searched through thrash at an incineration plant but have yet to find body parts. Kaur's identity was established through forensic means on Wednesday, the report said.

The daily cited the couple's neighbours in Balestier Road, saying there was no sign of quarrel between Harvinder and his wife before her death. Authorities were currently looking for Harvinder, 33, to assist with the probe.

Police said they have sought assistance of counterparts in neighbouring countries to trace his whereabouts. Harvinder, who worked as senior logistics coordinator, left Singapore via a checkpoint to Malaysia, 30 minutes before Kaur's body was found.