Drunk drivers are "lethal weapon", says Delhi court

New Delhi: Drunk drivers are a "lethal weapon", a Delhi court has said while refusing to set aside three days imprisonment awarded to a youth for driving his vehicle in an inebriated state.

The court said drunken driving has become a menace which may cause disabilities and fatalities having devastating effect on the victims and their kin and also causes colossal loss in terms of economy of the State.

District Judge Rekha Rani dismissed the appeal filed by Delhi resident Gaurav Singh, who was found riding a two wheeler under the influence of alcohol on May 15, and ordered that he be taken into custody to undergo the sentence.

22-year-old Singh, who was working in a restaurant, was sentenced to three days jail by a magisterial court and a fine of Rs 3,500 for drunken driving and inability to produce valid driving licence and insurance papers at the time of challan.

The court, in its order, observed that "human life is precious and road users have fundamental right to life and liberty guaranteed by Article 21 of the Constitution".

"Consumption of alcohol impairs vision, focus, reflexes and consciousness which make the automobiles 'death traps' and the drunk drivers 'lethal weapon'.

"According to National Crime Records Bureau, drunken driving is major factor for road accidents in India. Freedom and responsibility go hand in hand as declared by the Constitution. Those who flout responsibility forfeit their right to freedom," the court said.

The youth claimed that he was innocent and never consumed alcohol and has been falsely implicated by traffic police due to exchange of heated words.

The court, however, said Singh was not only badly drunk, exceeding the prescribed limit under the Motor Vehicle Act by over 13 times but he was also driving the vehicle without any driving licence, which was an aggravating factor.

It added that any leniency shown to drunk drivers would be at the risk of further proliferation of the road accidents.

'61,000 Indian millionaires shifted overseas in last 14 yrs'

New Delhi: India has seen the second-biggest outflow of high net worth individuals in last 14 years, with as many as 61,000 millionaires shifting base to abroad due to reasons like tax, security and child education, says a report.

A joint report by New World Wealth and LIO Global said the change in domicile, along with a rise in second citizenship applications, has increased dramatically since the turn of the century.

Some 61,000 uber-rich Indians have changed domicile between 2000 to 2014 -- second only to China which saw an outflow of 91,000 ultra-rich persons in the same period, the report said.

"Indian HNWIs tend to move to the UAE, the UK, the US and Australia," the report said, adding that Chinese HNWIs mainly moved to the US, Hong Kong, Singapore and the UK.

Overall, the UK has seen the biggest inflow of HNWIs from abroad and the figure stood at 1.25 lakh over the past 14 years.

Other countries that saw significant HNWI outflows include France (42,000), Italy (23,000), Russia (20,000), Indonesia (12,000), South Africa (8,000) and Egypt (7,000).

The factors of the outflow, according to the report, include turmoil in home country, security concerns and optimising education of children.

Most of the HNWIs who moved into the UK came from Europe, Russia, China and India. There were also substantial numbers that came from the Middle-East and Africa, the report added.

In terms of inflows of HNWIs, the UK was followed by the US and Singapore.

Inflows into the US predominantly came from China while the UK, India and Russia made up for a sizeable chunk. Most migration to Singapore came from China, India and Indonesia.

This survey was conducted comparing the domicile of a sample of around 60,000 global HNWIs in 2000 with the same in 2014.

HNWIs refer to individuals with net assets of USD 1 million or more excluding their primary residences.

 'Female ISIS suicide bomber' suspected in Turkey attack; PM vows to boost Syria border security.

Ankara: After a suicide attack at a group of young activists killed 30, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has called for beefing up of security along the country's porous border with Syria as Turkey witnesses spillover of the conflict from its troubled neighbourhood.

A group of young activists – most of them University Graduates – were attending a gathering in the Turkish border town of Suruc when a suicide bomber detonated herself, claiming 30 lives.

The activists were planning to enter the Syrian town of Kobane (that lies just across the border from Suruc) and help rebuild it.

According to the BBC, the attacker is said to be a female ISIS suicide bomber, say the investigators.

PM Davutoglu's office also confirmed that Daesh (ISIS) was suspected to be involved in the suicide bombing.

Speaking in a news conference in Ankara, the PM vowed to continue to take strong steps to counter the Islamic State and also ordered the security along the border with Syria to be enhanced.

"We are face to face with a terrorism incident. We have the willpower to find and certainly punish those who are responsibl... Measures on our border with Syria... will be increased," he added.

BRICS bank launched in Shanghai.

Shanghai: Officials from the world`s largest emerging nations launched the New Development Bank (NDB) on Tuesday, the second of two new policy banks heavily backed by Beijing that are being pitched as alternatives to existing institutions such as the World Bank.

Also known as the BRICS bank, it follows soon after the establishment of the China-led Asian Investment Infrastructure Bank (AIIB). The new bank will fund infrastructure and development projects in BRICS countries - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

The ceremony on Tuesday concludes a lengthy wait since the NDB was first proposed in 2012. Disagreements over the bank`s funding, management and headquarters had slowed its launch.

"Our objective is not to challenge the existing system as it is but to improve and complement the system in our own way," NDB President Kundapur Vaman Kamath said.

He added that after a meeting with the AIIB in Beijing, the NDB had decided to set up a "hotline" with the AIIB to discuss issues, and to forge closer ties between "new institutions coming together with a completely different approach."

The ceremony, held in Shanghai where the NDB`s headquarters are located, was relatively low-key in comparison to a June signing of the articles of agreement for the AIIB in Beijing, which was attended by delegates from 57 countries and President Xi Jinping.

The NDB has initial capital of $50 billion, which will be expanded to $100 billion within the next couple of years.

Kamath, a former executive with India`s largest private bank ICICI Bank, told Reuters earlier this month that the NDB plans to issue its first loans in April next year.

China has pledged to contribute $41 billion to the NDB, giving it the largest share of voting rights at 39.5 percent.

Brazil, India and Russia will each contribute $18 billion, while South Africa will contribute $5 billion.

 1993 Mumbai blasts: Supreme Court to hear Yakub Memon's mercy plea today

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday is expected to hear the curative petition of Yakub Abdul Razak Memon, a death row convict in the March 12, 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case.

Today's hearing is the last attempt of Memon to escape the gallows.

If the apex court rejects Memon's curative petition, the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts convict is expected to be hanged on July 30.

It will be the first execution in the 1993 blasts case.

A chartered accountant, Memon is currently lodged in the Nagpur Central Jail.

A family member of Memon on Monday met him at the high security prison.

Yakub's cousin Usman Memon, accompanied by a local lawyer, arrived at the Central Prison in the afternoon.

The 53-year-old Memon, whose mercy plea was rejected by President Pranab Mukherjee in April this year, filed his second review petition before the SC.

Earlier, amid reports that Yakub will be hanged this month end, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said that the state government would follow the directives given by the Supreme Court over the execution of Memon.

"The Supreme Court has made a decision on this issue. Whatever directives will be given by the court, the Maharashtra Government will act according to that. We will provide more information on this matter when the time is right," said Fadnavis.

According to DNA, the date and time of execution has already been approved by Fadnavis. Besides courts and local administration of Nagpur, Memon's family has also been apprised about it.

Memon was awarded the death sentence by a Special TADA Court in Mumbai on July 27, 2007 for his role in the blasts, including arranging finances for carrying out the 13 serial explosions which left 257 dead and over 700 injured across the city on March 12, 1993.

Subsequently, Memon - the brother of one of the main absconding accused Ibrahim alias Tiger Memon - appealed against the sentence in the Bombay High Court, Supreme Court and later filed a mercy petition with the President, followed by a review petition, and now a second review petition which is pending.

Leading criminal lawyer and a former defence lawyer in the same case Majeed Memon questioned the need for the state government's "hurry" in the matter even before the outcome of the second review petition.

The bombings, police say, were carried out at the behest of gangster Dawood Ibrahim to avenge the destruction of an ancient mosque by Hindu zealots in 1992 and subsequent riots in which many Muslims were killed. A special anti-terrorism court had convicted 100 people in the attacks.

Pakistan blames India for its own 'Made in China' 'spy' drone?

New Delhi: In a clear attempt to deflect attention from its tactic support to 26/11 Mumbai attacks mastermind Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, Pakistan has triggered a controversy by claiming to have shot down an Indian drone, that was on a “spying mission”.

While India has denied ownership of the drone, Pakistan appears adamant to link India to the drone so as to further its position on India's alleged involvement in spy activities on its soil.

The Pakistan foreign office, Thursday, summoned Indian High Commissioner Dr TCA Raghavan to lodge an official protest.

This despite new revelations that the DJI Phantom-3 drone is an `Made in China` device. However, the fact is that Indian security agencies don't buy equipment from China.

Secondly, the Phantom drone can be bought off the shelf by anyone, including civilians – it's of little use for the military.

Also, media reports claimed that such drones are used by the Pakistan Police to monitor traffic, thereby opening up the possibility of the Pakistan Army having shot down one of its own drones.

The Pakistan Army, yesterday, claimed to have shot down an Indian “spy” drone which it alleged was being used for aerial photography near the Line of Control.

The Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), in a brief statement, said the Indian drone was brought down near the Line of Control in Bhimber area of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

The Army claimed that the drone was being used for aerial photography and was “brought down for violation of Pakistan’s territorial integrity.”

However, a spokesperson of the Indian Army said, "some reports of a drone crash in PoK are being referred to. No drone or UAV crash of the Indian Army has taken place."

The incident comes just days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif's ice-breaking meeting in Russia.

Iran nuclear deal 'best way to avoid N-arms race' in Mideast: Barack Obama

Washington: Just a day after six world powers and Iran stitched up a 'historic' nuclear deal after months of negotiation, US President Barack Obama argued vehemently in the favour of the agreement, claiming that the accord makes the world a safer place by keeping Tehran away from getting a nuclear bomb.

Speaking at a televised press conference, Barack Obama sought to drive home the point that the deal would be instrumental in thwarting the nuke arms race in the Middle East there was no other peaceful alternative to resolve the 13-year-old nuclear standoff with Iran.

Speaking at the conference, he made sure to dwell upon the benefits of the deal, warning the critics about the dangers of an Iran without the deal.

"This deal makes our country, and the world, safer and more secure."