40 French journalists publicly denounce sexist politicians

________ A to Z kerala .......... [kvk] [www.atozkerala.in , www.atozkerala.blogspot.com]

 Paris: Forty female French journalists have signed an open letter of complaint that harshly accuses select French politicians of making sexual, offensive insinuations that they described as 'lewd paternalism'.

Lenaig Bredoux, a signatory investigative journalist with the web site Mediapart, told Efe news agency: 'If the situation continues, the next step will be publishing the names' of the specific politicians.

The letter came out in response to a silence that has 'lasted too long', while it seeks to expose the systematic behaviour, it does not generalise the treatment, but it can often be described as 'structural', Bredoux explained.

Driven by journalist Laure Bretton from Liberation daily newspaper, the initiative succeeded in collecting signatures from all over the French media: from the Paris Match weekly, France Inter radio station, the historic Le Monde, and the popular Le Parisien.

The text, which is simply called, 'We, the political reporters', condemns the 'intolerable' sexist behaviour exhibited by certain parliamentarians, senate members and figures from the French political class.

IANS

Afghan judge sentences 4 to death in mob killing of woman

________ A to Z kerala .......... [kvk] [www.atozkerala.in , www.atozkerala.blogspot.com]

 

KABUL: An Afghan court on Wednesday convicted and sentenced four men to death for their role in the brutal mob killing of a woman in Kabul in March — a slaying that shocked the nation and spurred calls for authorities to ensure women's rights to equality and protection from violence.

The sentences were part of a trial of 49 suspects, including 19 police officers, over the March 19 killing of the 27-year-old woman named Farkhunda who was beaten to death in a frenzied attack sparked by a bogus accusation that she had burned a copy of the Quran.

The trial, which began Saturday, only involved two full days of court proceedings — an unusual swiftness in the slow-moving Afghan judicial system. It was broadcast live on national television, reflecting huge public interest in the case.

Judge Safiullah Mojadedi handed down the four death sentences at Afghanistan's Primary Court in Kabul on Wednesday. He also sentenced eight of the defendants to 16 years in prison and dropped charges against 18. The remaining suspects are to be sentenced on Sunday.

The defendants have the right to appeal their sentences. The charges included assault, murder and encouraging others to participate in the assault. The police officers were charged with neglecting their duties and failing to prevent the attack.

Farkhunda's brother, Mujibullah, told The Associated Press that her family was angered by the leniency of the court toward the majority of the defendants.

'The outcome of the trial is not fair and we do not accept it — you saw just four people sentenced to death but everybody knows that more than 40 people were involved in martyring and burning and beating my sister,' said Mujibullah, who like many Afghans, including his sister, uses only one name.

'Eighteen people have been freed. The court should punish them and that should be a lesson for anyone who would commit this sort of crime, anywhere in our country, in the future,' he added.

Farkhunda's brutal killing shocked many Afghans, though some public and religious figures said it would have been justified if she had in fact damaged a Quran. A presidential investigation later found that she had not damaged a copy of the Muslim holy book.

The last agonizing and brutal moments of her life were captured on mobile phone cameras by witnesses and those in the mob that attacked her. The videos of the assault circulated widely on social media. They showed her being punched, kicked, beaten with planks of wood, pushed by police onto a roof and dropped from it, thrown in the street and run over by a car. She then had a lump of concrete dropped on her and her body was dragged along the road outside the mosque were the assault took place and tossed onto the bank of the Kabul River. A crowd watched as her body was set on fire.

The incident sparked nationwide outrage and soul-searching, as well as a civil society movement seeking to limit the power of clerics, strengthen the rule of law and improve women's rights.

Farkhunda's parents addressed the court before the sentences were handed down, asking that the accused be dealt with according to the law.

'Everybody saw what happened and I insist on justice,' her mother, Bibi Hajira told the court Wednesday. 'That's all I want.'

Afghanistan's judicial system has long faced criticism for its inability to offer the majority of Afghans access to justice. Women especially are sidelined, despite constitutional guarantees of equality and protection from violence, a recent report by the United Nations concluded.

The attack on Farkhunda was widely seen as symptomatic of the general low regard for women in Afghan society, where violence against women often goes unpunished.

AP

Facebook opens up Internet.org for developers

________ A to Z kerala .......... [kvk] [www.atozkerala.in , www.atozkerala.blogspot.com]  

New Delhi: Social networking site Facebook on Monday opened up its Internet.org for developers to easily create services that integrate with its site.

"Our goal with Internet.org is to work with as many developers and entrepreneurs as possible to extend the benefits of connectivity to diverse, local communities. To do this, we're going to offer services through Internet.org in a way that's more transparent and inclusive," Facebook said in a post.

This decision by the international giant comes at a time when the entire nation is debating on net neutrality.

The company said: "We're building an open platform and anyone who meets these guidelines will be able to participate."

The platform that was launched on Monday will be open to all developers who will build web sites that must be optimized for browsing on both feature and smartphones and in limited bandwidth scenarios.

"In addition, web sites must be properly integrated with Internet.org to allow zero rating," the post said.

Reliance Communications, a part of the Anil Ambani-led group, on February 10 said it has been roped in by Facebook to offer free access to data and web sites to customers through the social networking site's global digital inclusion initiative, Internet.org.

The Internet.org initiative will provide access to popular web sites and services with zero data charge to make it easier for people to access the internet across both the 2G and 3G platforms.

The company clarified: "At the core of our efforts with Internet.org are non-exclusive partnerships with mobile operators to offer free basic internet services to people through Internet.org. This is a set of basic websites and services to introduce people to the value of the internet, and that we hope add value to their lives."

"These web sites are very simple and data efficient, so operators can offer these for free in an economically sustainable way. Web sites do not pay to be included, and operators don't charge developers for the data people use for their services," it said.

"Because these services have to be specially built to these specifications, we started by offering just a few. But giving people more choice over the services they use is incredibly important and going forward, people using Internet.org will be able to search for and use services that meet these guidelines," it added.

New British royal baby named Charlotte Elizabeth Diana

________ A to Z kerala .......... [kvk] [www.atozkerala.in , www.atozkerala.blogspot.com]

 

London: The name of Britain's Princess of Cambridge, who was born on Saturday, is Charlotte Elizabeth Diana, Kensington Palace announced on Monday.

The announcement was made two days after the princess's birth in St Mary's Hospital in London.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge had decided on a name shortly after her birth but they wanted to inform Queen Elizabeth first before it was made public, the Daily Mail reported.

The family met the Queen on Monday in Sandringham.

Though there is no official protocol that the Queen should be informed before the name is made public, Prince William decided to give the honour to his grandmother with whom he has grown especially close in recent years, the Mail report said.

There had been speculation that the name of Prince William's mother, Diana, could be included in the new royal baby's name.

According to a BBC report, a Kensington Palace official, when asked about the choice of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, said: "We'll let the names speak for themselves.”

Charlotte is the feminine form of the name of the baby's grandfather, Prince Charles.

Princess Charlotte Elizabeth Diana is the fourth in line to the British throne after Prince Charles, Prince William and her elder brother Prince George, who will turn two on July 22.

Meanwhile, celebratory events were held across Britain on Monday to mark the birth of the royal baby.

Forty one volleys were fired by the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery in Hyde Park at 2 p.m., Xinhua news agency reported.

The Honourable Artillery Company also fired a 62-gun salute at the Tower of London.

The Royal Artillery Band also played music to celebrate the birth of the new princess.

The bells at Westminster Abbey joined in the celebrations, pealing at 2 p.m.

Gun salutes were also given in Edinburgh, Cardiff and Hillsborough castles, British media reported.

The Prince of Wales, the Duchess of Cornwall, and the Duchess's family visited the new princess on Sunday, Kensington Palace said.

Prince Harry, who is currently in Australia, said his niece was "absolutely beautiful”.

“I can't wait to meet her," he was quoted as saying.

- 

Mayweather willing for rematch with Pacquiao

________ A to Z kerala .......... [kvk] [www.atozkerala.in , www.atozkerala.blogspot.com]

 

Washington: Undefeated boxer Floyd Mayweather said he was willing to fight Manny Pacquiao again after the Filipino pugilist repairs his torn shoulder muscle, media reports have said.

Mayweather won last weekend's richest boxing world title showdown before Pacquiao disclosed that a shoulder injury hampered his performance, reports Xinhua.

"I will fight him in a year after his surgery," Mayweather said on Tuesday.

Mayweather's willingness contradicted his remarks after match that he would retire after one more fight in September.

Pacquiao's camp have complained that the Nevada State Athletic Commission barred the fighter from receiving treatment for the injury using an anti-inflammatory injection approved by the United States Anti-Doping Agency.

Nepal quake toll is 7,652

________ A to Z kerala .......... [kvk] [www.atozkerala.in , www.atozkerala.blogspot.com]

 book Tweet

Kathmandu: The death toll in the deadly Nepal earthquake has touched 7,652 while 16,390 people have been injured, the home ministry said on Wednesday.

The 7.9-magnitude earthquake killed most people in Sindhupalchowk district (2,911). Kathmandu recorded 1,202 deaths and Nuwakot district 904, Xinhua reported.

- 

Lok Sabha nod for pan-India goods-services tax regime

________ A to Z kerala .......... [kvk] [www.atozkerala.in , www.atozkerala.blogspot.com]

   

 

New Delhi: The Lok Sabha on Wednesday passed a bill that seeks to transform the country into a common market, harmonising state and central levies into a national sales tax which is expected to boost manufacturing.

The Rajya Sabha will now have to pass the constitution amendment bill, after which more than a half of India's 29 states must approve it before the federal and state governments get equal powers to tax goods and services.

"The whole country, which is one-sixth of world's population, would become a single market and therefore it would give a necessary fillip as far as trade is concerned," Finance Minister Arun Jaitley told lawmakers.

Jaitley has called the goods and services tax (GST) the biggest reform since independence in 1947 that could add as much as 2 percentage points to the growth of Asia's third-largest economy.

The idea of a GST was mooted 12 years ago, but it has been an arduous process to get states agree on the tax, which would curb their fiscal powers. There is still a lot of work to be done before Jaitley's self-imposed deadline to roll it out next year.

For example, he needs to win over the opposition Congress party to ensure the bill's passage in the upper house.

While Congress supports the measure, it boycotted the vote in the lower house on Wednesday, demanding the bill be first reviewed by a parliamentary panel.

A council of federal and state finance ministers still has to agree on a GST rate that would not be too low to adversely impact revenues and not too high to inflate costs of manufactured products and services.

A government think-tank proposed the GST rate be set at 27 percent, well above the global average of 16.4 percent for similar taxes. But some states are asking for an even higher rate.

On Wednesday, Jaitley told lawmakers that the proposed rate was "too high" and needed to be "much more diluted".

Salman Khan jailed for five years for hit-and-run

________ A to Z kerala .......... [kvk] [www.atozkerala.in , www.atozkerala.blogspot.com]

 

Mumbai: Bollywood actor Salman Khan was on Wednesday sentenced to five years in jail for a 2002 hit-and-run accident that left one man dead and four others injured here.

Additional Sessions Judge D.W. Deshpande announced the verdict at a packed courtroom here, stunning the actor and his family.

Salman, one of the highest paid actors in Bollywood, was sentenced for culpable homicide not amounting to murder.

The judge held Salman guilty of rash and negligent driving when he was at the wheels of the Land Cruiser that killed the poor victim in suburban Bandra in September 2002.

Defence lawyer Abha Singh said justice had finally been done.

"I am very happy," she told the media. "Justice has been done. The law has been upheld."

She said the long delay had given the impression that the rich could get away with murder in India, and that the moneyed were above the law.

Earlier on Wednesday, the actor was found guilty on most of the charges levelled against him in the incident.

His lawyers had pleaded for a lighter sentence, citing the actor's social work as well as heart and other medical issues.

Salman is likely to be taken into police custody and sent to the Arthur Road Central Jail in south Mumbai.

Salman gets two days interim bail

 

 

Mumbai: Barely hours after he was sentenced to five years jail in the 2002 accident case, Bollywood superstar Salman Khan was granted two days interim bail on medical grounds by the Bombay High Court on Wednesday.

Rushing post-haste to secure bail, Salman's defence team led by Supreme Court counsel Harish Salve mentioned the matter before Justice A.M. Thipsay of the Bombay High Court.

Salve cited medical reasons for seeking bail and also argued that a person could not be arrested on the basis of a summarised court order.

He said they were awaiting a copy of the lower court order, after which Justice Thipsay said he was already out on bail and has not yet got a copy of the judgement and granted two days interim relief till May 8.

The hearing on the bail application will now be taken up on Friday morning.

Earlier on Wednesday morning, Additional Sessions Judge D.W. Deshpande found the actor guilty of all the charges in the September 2002 accident which left one person dead and four people injured, and later pronounced a five-year sentence.

Friday would be the final working day of the Bombay High Court before it goes on its annual summer vacation and will reopen on June 7.

- 

Security Council reform with permanent seat for India is 'urgent', says France

________ A to Z kerala .......... [kvk] [www.atozkerala.in , www.atozkerala.blogspot.com]

 

  

United Nations: To bolster the legitimacy of the UN in a changed world, it is "vital" and "urgent" to expand the Security Council's permanent membership to include India, France has declared.

France's Permanent Representative Francois Delattre said Tuesday, "France favors enlarging the Security Council's both categories of membership, permanent and non-permanent, and supports Germany and Japan, which deserve relief (from the burden of their World War II roles) today, but also India, Brazil and African representation."

His ringing endorsement of permanent membership for India came in his speech in French at a session of the General Assembly commemorating the 70th anniversary of World War II.

As a permanent member of the Security Council, France's support for India - and for Brazil, Germany and Japan - is crucial as the long stymied reform efforts gain new momentum during the current General Assembly session ahead of the celebrations of the 70th anniversary of UN's founding in September.

India, Brazil, Germany and Japan form a group at the UN called G-4, which is committed to lobbying for Security Council reforms and supporting each other for added permanent seats. While four of the five Security Council permanent members, France, Britain, Russia and the United States, have at other forums supported India's bid for a permanent seat, this was probably the first direct endorsement of New Delhi by a permanent member at a General Assembly meeting.

Stressing the need for Security Council reform, Delattre said a lesson learnt from World War II was that "our capacity for action is related to the legitimacy of our institutions." Therefore, "the reform of the Security Council in this respect is more than important, it is urgent, I would say even vital," he said.

"It is a fact that deserves to be repeated: 70 years after the creation of the United Nations, our world in 2015 does not have much in common with that of 1945," he added. "The United Nations must adapt and reform to reflect the world we live in today."

India's Deputy Permanent Representative Bhagwant S. Bishnoi said, "As we commemorate the end of the Second World War, we also need to take stock of the health of the institutions of global governance that were established in its wake."

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni in his speech to the General Assembly Monday "noted that most of the fundamental structures created after World War II by the victorious powers remain unchanged," Bishnoi said. Only two sovereign African countries existed when the UN was created and the world body has failed to keep pace with the changes.

"This meeting, therefore, also presents a useful opportunity to underline the need to address what President Museveni referred to as 'the structural deficiency in the architecture for global security,'" Bishnoi added.

Brazil's Permanent Representative Antonio De Aguiar Patriota said that in reforming the Security Council, "we should be as ambitious as the statesmen who once conceived a new global order based on universal values."

- See more at: http://www.madhyamam.com/en/international/2015/may/6/security-council-reform-permanent-seat-india-urgent-says-france#sthash.J8h9ew5s.dpuf

Maoist leaders arrested

________ A to Z kerala .......... [kvk] [www.atozkerala.in , www.atozkerala.blogspot.com]

: Maoist leaders, arrested
THRISSUR: A five-member gang including notorious Maoist leader Rupesh and his wife Shiny was arrested on Monday by Andhra police at Karinjumpetti, 20km away from Coimbatore.   The arrested include Kannan, a native of Tamil Nadu and Eswar alias Veeramani. They are being questioned at a secret cenre.   The government had declared five lakh reward for capturing Rupesh and Rs Two lakh for others a month ago.   Rupesh is the kingpin who orchestrated Maoists activists in Kerala from secret centres.   He is currently the Central committee member and State Secretary of Communist party of India (Maoist). His wife is in charge of Women guerrilla group of Kerala.

Why cheap wines taste good for some

________ A to Z kerala .......... [kvk] [www.atozkerala.in , www.atozkerala.blogspot.com]

London: Even cheap wine can taste great for some people if comes with a higher price tag, says researchers.

Such people have pre-conceived beliefs that create a placebo effect so strong that the actual chemistry of the brain changes for them.

Previous studies have shown that people enjoy identical products such as wine or chocolate more if they have a higher price tag.

'However, almost no research has examined the neural and psychological processes required for such marketing placebo effects to occur,' said authors Hilke Plassmann from INSEAD, world's leading graduate business schools in France and Bernd Weber from University of Bonn, Germany.

The researchers tried to find, if prejudice has blinded participants to the actual taste, or has prejudice actually changed their brain function, causing them to experience the cheap wine in the same physical way as the expensive wine.

Participants in one of the studies were told they would consume five wines ($90, $45, $35, $10, $5) while their brains were scanned using an MRI. In reality, subjects consumed only three different wines with two different prices.

Participants showed significant effect of price and taste prejudices, both in how they rated the taste as well as in their measurable brain activity.

These differences are also associated with known differences in personality traits.

'People who were strong reward-seekers or who were low in physical self-awareness were also more susceptible to having their experience shaped by prejudices about the product,' the authors noted.

'Understanding the underlying mechanisms of this placebo effect provides marketers with powerful tools.

'Marketing actions can change the very biological processes underlying a purchasing decision, making the effect very powerful indeed,' the authors concluded.

The research appeared in the Journal of Marketing Research.

IANS

Parental training improves behaviour of autistic kids

________ A to Z kerala .......... [kvk] [www.atozkerala.in , www.atozkerala.blogspot.com]

New York: Children suffering from autism spectrum disorder show improved behaviour when their parents are trained with specific, structured strategies to manage tantrums, aggression, self-injury, and non-compliance, a new research has found.

Defined by impaired social communication and repetitive behaviour, autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a chronic condition that begins in early childhood.

'Our study shows that parent training is also helpful for improving behavioural problems such as irritability and non-compliance in young children with ASD,' said Denis Sukhodolsky, assistant professor at the Yale University in the US.

The researchers randomly assigned 180 children between the ages of three and seven with ASD and behavioural problems to either a 24-week parent training program, or a 24-week parent education program.

Parent education provided up-to-date and useful information about ASD, but no instruction on how to manage behavioural problems.

'Both groups showed improvement, but parent training was superior on measures of disruptive and non-compliant behaviour,' James Dziura, associate professor at Yale, pointed out.

The findings were published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

IANS