A Challenging Time For India-US Relationship 2103

Washington: The year 2013 will be remembered for the challenges it threw up for the ties between the world's two largest democracies, including a row triggered by the arrest and strip-search of an Indian diplomat in the US.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh held a successful meeting with US President Barack Obama at the White House and Vice President Joe Biden made a rare trip to India US Relationship, but the strain in bilateral relations was evident throughout 2013 especially over India's nuclear liability act.
                                     

Also, over 200 American lawmakers made an unprecedented move to vent their ire against India's economic policies. However, the events of the year were capped by the arrest of senior diplomat Devyani Khobragade, the Deputy Consul General in New York, on visa fraud charges.

While the US asserted that by arresting her, it was enforcing the law of the land, India fought back by taking a series of reciprocal measures like withdrawing special privileges of US Embassy personnel in New Delhi.

Following the arrest, one of the rare occasions when an Indian diplomat was detained overseas, the India-US ties came to a standstill. Even earlier, many experts had said that it has plateaued.

This was mainly because both the Congress and the influential American industry - the main drivers of India-US ties in the past decade - openly expressed their anger and anguish over India's economic policies.

Fatwa Issued on Remarriage of Kashmir’s

SRINAGAR: A group of Islamic scholars in Kashmir has issued a fatwa (decree) that a half-widow can remarry four years after the disappearance of her husband.

A huge number of women in Jammu and Kashmir have been living as half-widows due to the disappearance of their husbands in custody of the Indian security forces.
                                         

         
The religious scholars were in Srinagar for a conference on the issue of the remarriage of Kashmiri Fatwa Issued women whose husbands have gone missing over the past two decades since the outbreak of militancy in the state.

Bashir Ahmad Dar, head of Ehsaas, the NGO that organized the conference, said the religious scholars unanimously concluded that the half-widows' whose husbands have disappeared in custody or otherwise over the past 20 years can remarry four years after the disappearance.

Human rights groups say the number of people who have so disappeared in the past twenty years of armed resistance against Indian rule is more than eight thousand. One fourth of them were married.

In all such cases the security forces deny any knowledge about the whereabouts of these men.

Their wives are known as half-widows because they don't know whether their husbands are alive or dead. As such these women cannot decide whether to remarry or whether to wait for their missing me to return.

The Islamic scholars held three rounds of consultations over the issue and before issuing the fatwa.

Okinawa Governor Approves US Base Relocation

Japan's Okinawa island approved the long-stalled relocation of a controversial US military base, putting an end to a decades-long source of friction between Tokyo and Washington.

Local bureaucrats signed on Friday a document that gives the governor's green light to a landfill, paving the way for the construction of a new base on the coast.
                                                   

   
An Okinawan official confirmed Friday that Governor Hirokazu Nakaima approved the Japanese Defense Ministry's application to reclaim land for a new military base on Okinawa's coast. It would replace the U.S. Marine Corps base in Futenma, a more congested part of Okinawa's Governor Approves main island.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe persuaded Nakaima to approve the move in a meeting Wednesday. As part of the agreement, the central government will provide increased financial assistance to the island.

The Futenma relocation is an emotionally charged issue in Okinawa, where anti-base sentiment runs deep amid safety concerns about U.S. military operations.

In 2009, Yukio Hatoyama, the first prime minister after the Democratic Party of Japan took power, raised local hopes by pledging that the base would be moved out of the prefecture “at least.” But he later backed off and decided on a deal with the United States that was almost identical to the 2006 bilateral agreement.

Law College Dissociates itself From Ganguly

Kolkata: West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences (WBNUJS) on Thursday said it has 'dissociated' itself from its honorary professor Justice (Retd) A K Ganguly accused of sexually harassing a student who had worked as an intern under him.

"We have decided to dissociate ourselves from him. Our executive council, the university's highest decision-making body, will take a final call next month on what other action can be taken in this matter," WBNUJS spokesperson Ruchira Goswami said.
                                                             

The premier law institute's faculty members had yesterday written to vice-chancellor P Ishwara Bhatt saying Ganguly's continued association with the institution undermines the ideals of NUJS that has always strived to teach and foster justice, including gender justice click here for more information about Law College Dissociates  .

"We believe that the position of a professor is that of trust and requires that such person be above reproach, especially above allegations of misbehaviour with students, particularly when such allegations have been found to have prima facie merit by a high-level committee," a group of 12 faculty members had said in a statement.

As an honorary professor of WBNUJS, Ganguly used to attend guest lectures besides supporting other academic activities. Following indictment by a three-member panel of Supreme Court judges over the intern's allegation, he is also facing strident demands to step down as the chairperson of the West Bengal Human Rights Commission (WBHRC).

When contacted, Ganguly refused to comment on the matter saying, "I am not supposed to tell you".

Actors Mohan Babu, Brahmanandam to Return Padma Shri

The Andhra Pradesh High Court has suggested to Telugu film actor-producer Mohan Babu and actor Brahmanandam that it would be appropriate if they returned the Padma Shri awards to the Government of India and then contested a writ petition seeking cancellation of the honour.
                                                       

                   
A bench comprising Chief Justice Kalyan Jyothy Sengupta and Justice P. Sanjay Kumar, while hearing a petition filed by BJP leader N. Indrasena Reddy, took serious note of the actor duo prefixing 'Padma Shri' to their names in credits of a movie.

The high court observed that Mohan Babu and Brahmanandam should have surrendered the awards gracefully. The controversy erupted when the recipients carried

the title of 'Padma Shri' as prefix in the credits of the controversial film 'Denikina Ready' (2012), produced by Mohan Babu's son Manchu Vishnu who also played a lead role in it.

Reddy had alleged that both the senior actors used prefix of 'Padma Shri' to their names in the credits of the movie. "According to rules, the award does not amount to a title and cannot be used as a suffix or prefix to the award winner's name on letterheads, invitation cards, posters and books among others," Reddy told reporters.

Mohan Babu and Brahmanandam were awarded 'Padma Shri' in 2007 and 2009, respectively. The matter is posted for further hearing on December

Sindhu, Srikanth Win Titles At National Championships

New Delhi: Young shuttlers PV Sindhu and Kidambi Srikanth notched up contrasting victories in the summit clashes to clinch the women's and men's titles respectively at the 78th Senior National Badminton Championships here today.

A display of determination turned out to the theme of the day with an all-attacking K. Srikanth, ranked 37th in the world, coming up with a standout performance.
                                                     

                     
World Championship bronze medallist Sindhu won her second national title after 2011 while it is a first for Thailand Open Grand Prix Gold winner Srikanth.

Defending mixed doubles champions Aparna Balan and Arun Vishnu retained their crown while Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa regained the women's doubles crown for the first time since 2009.

However, it was a maiden title for Thailand Open Grand Prix Gold winner Srikanth, who dug deep into his reserves to get the better off RMV Gurusaidutt in a 40-minute men`s singles contest.

While second seed Sindhu, who is currently ranked 11th in the world, defeated Rituparna 21-11 21-17, Srikanth beat Guru 21-13 22-20 at the Siri Fort Sports Complex.

Defending mixed doubles champions Aparna Balan and Arun Vishnu retained their title, while Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa regained the women`s doubles crown for the first time since 2009.

In the men`s doubles competition, top seeds Pranaav Jerry Chopra and Akshay Dewalkar clinched the title with a 21-19 21-17 win over second seeds Manu Attri and Sumeeth Reddy B in a 39-minute contest.

Somali Parliament Approves New PM

MOGADISHU: Somali lawmakers on Saturday overwhelmingly endorsed Prime Minister Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed who was appointed by President Hassan Sheikh Mohamoud last week.
                                       
Ahmed replaces outgoing premier Abdi Farah Shirdon, who was ousted last month by parliament following a rift with the Somali Parliament president over policy differences, Xinhua reported.
                                               

                                           
Ahmed, an economist, previously worked at the Islamic Development Bank in Saudi Arabia. He replaces Abdi Farah Shirdon who was forced out by lawmakers in a vote of no confidence after falling out with President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud.

Western donors had worried a prolonged vacuum at the head of government would interrupt efforts to rebuild state institutions and defeat al Qaeda-linked militants who control swathes of the rural south and center of the Horn of Africa country.

In a statement, Mr. Ahmed assured lawmakers and the Somali people “that I will form a capable government to move this country forward and to a better future.”

The statement added that his government would honor existing international legal agreements and would strengthen Somalia’s relationships with neighboring states.

Ahmed, 54, faces a giant task to rein in corruption, crush Al-Qaeda-linked Shebab insurgents battling to topple the central government, and rebuild the troubled Horn of Africa nation.

“I’m very grateful with parliament for endorsing my nomination,” the new prime minister said after the vote.