Two dead in New Zealand welfare office shooting

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WELLINGTON: A homeless man who allegedly shot dead two women and seriously wounded a third when he opened fire in a New Zealand welfare office was arrested Monday after a seven-hour manhunt.

The man, who police named as Russell John Tully, is accused of entering the Work and Income New Zealand (WINZ) office in the South Island town of Ashburton mid-morning and targeting workers.The balaclava-clad 48-year-old, who locals said "had an axe to grind" with the agency, allegedly carried out the attack with a sawn-off shotgun then fled on a bicycle.

The small town was put in lockdown as about 100 heavily armed police scoured the area, with the gunman eventually tracked down at a property next to a nearby lake.

Superintendent Gary Knowles said no officers were injured but the accused suffered dog bites while he was being arrested.

"Nothing will give the families that have lost their loved ones closure but the community can go to sleep tonight with the thought that the person who we believe may be responsible is in custody," Knowles told reporters.

The third shooting victim was reported to be in a serious but stable condition in hospital.

The Public Service Association, the union which covers WINZ employees, said it was arranging counselling and support for staff at the Ashburton office.

"That two people have died and one more is in a serious condition is inexcusable, and we hope the police can bring the shooter to justice," national secretary Richard Wagstaff said.

"Nobody should go to work in fear that they might not return home."

The Ashburton Guardian newspaper reported last month that Tully, who returned to New Zealand after working as a miner in Australia, had recently become homeless and was living in a tent by the river.

It said he had approached a large number of local agencies, including WINZ, for help finding accommodation.

Police said the charges he will face had not been finalised.

New Zealand tightened its gun laws to restrict access to semi-automatic rifles in 1992, two years after a mentally disturbed man shot dead 13 people in the South Island town of Aramoana.

However, anyone over 16 can apply for a standard firearms licence after doing a safety course, which allows them to purchase and use a shotgun unsupervised.

 

Six dead in Paris suburb building explosion

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BOBIGNY: Six people were killed on Sunday when an explosion ripped through an apartment building outside Paris, reducing half a residential block to rubble, emergency services said.

The bodies of a child described as around 10 years old, a boy aged 14-18 and two women were recovered from the remains of the four-storey building in the northeastern suburb of Rosny-sous-Bois.

Two more bodies were found late in the evening as firefighters continued to comb the wreckage, leaving two other people still unaccounted for, Mayor Claude Capillon said. Neighbours said the blast, which happened at around 07:00 am (0500 GMT), was strong enough to shake buildings some 100 metres (yards) away.

News of Army chief asking PM to resign is baseless: ISPR

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ISLAMABAD: Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) the media wing of the military has termed news reports of Army Chief General Raheel Sharif asking Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to resign or going on leave as baseless.

PM, Army chief discuss political deadlock

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ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Shairf met with Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif here on Monday and discussed the political situation in the country.

The prime minister and army chief agreed that there must be a political and constitutional solution to the present political deadlock in the country.

During the meeting, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif refused to accept any unconstitutional steps, stating that he was committed to upholding the constitution and Parliament. According to sources, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif informed Army chief that he would once again take this issue to Parliament

The prime minister and Army chief also discussed hearing of the petitions pertaining to unconstitutional steps in the Supreme Court and the resolutions passed in Parliament.

Army chief General Raheel Sharif briefed the prime minister on decisions taken during the Corps Commanders meeting.

News of Army chief asking PM to resign is baseless: ISPR

Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) the media wing of the military has termed news reports of Army Chief General Raheel Sharif asking Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to resign or going on leave as baseless.

Reports broadcast by some news channels in Pakistan that Army chief General Raheel Sharif had advised Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to resign was also dismissed by the government spokesman.

 

‘Imran Khan said can’t move forward without army’: Javed Hashmi

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ISLAMABAD: Making startling disclosures, President of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Javed Hashmi Monday quoted the PTI chief Imran Khan as saying ‘the badge bearers’ wanted the PTI protesters to move along with Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) leader Tahirul Qadri.

The disgruntled PTI president while talking to media representatives outside the Parliament House, maintained: “Imran Khan said we can’t move forward without the army.”

“Imran Khan also said that all the matters had been decided and there will be elections in September,” Javed Hashmi claimed, adding, it appeared as if everything had been planned in advance.

“So, they are here with this kind of plan. I can’t say whose plan it is. Only the planners themselves would know this. But, their name is being brought into a bad repute,” Hashmi continued.

He, however, said there was a mention of ISI and army. “Imran Khan himself said this before the core committee.”

Hashmi further said that ‘a hijacked PTI has come here’. “We have been held hostage”.

Javed Hashmi said he is still the President of PTI, as Imran Khan did not follow the provisions of the ‘constitution’ in sacking him. “Imran Khan should have gone through the party’s constitution first.”

Making one disclosures after another, he said that Imran Khan did not even have regard for the Constitution of Pakistan.

The PTI President said Imran Khan is driven by whims and that he maligned the Supreme Court of Pakistan.

Hashmi said he would even sacrifice his life for upholding the sanctity of the Parliament, Supreme Court and other institutions of the country.

 

Two Keralites killed in Tamil Nadu

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CHENNAI: Two Keralites were killed in an accident in Tamil Nadu. They have been identified as Thomson and Jibson, natives of Kannur. The accident happened when the car in which they were travelling in collided with a lorry at Dharmapuri. The accident happened Sunday morning at 6 am.

Ten pilgrims killed in mishap

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JODHPUR: Ten pilgrims were killed and 34 others injured, 16 of them seriously, when a bus carrying them collided head-on with a truck in Pali district on Sunday.

The bus carrying pilgrims from different villages of Udaipur was returning from the shrine of Baba Ramdeo near Pokhran when the mishap took place, district magistrate (Pali) Rohit Gupta said.

"When the bus was passing through Manida village on the Pali-Udaipur bypass at about 6am, it collided with a truck coming from the opposite direction", said Gupta.

The accident took place apparently as the driver of one of the vehicles dozed off at the wheel, an official said.

While six passengers died on the spot, four others died on way to the hospital.

"We have rushed 16 passengers, who were seriously injured, to Jodhpur and others have been admitted to the Bangar Hospital in Pali itself," Gupta said.

The Pali administration has announced an ex-gratia relief of Rs 50,000 each for the next of the kin of the deceased from the chief minister's Relief Fund.

The bus was carrying about 45 passengers. While the driver of the truck was missing after the accident, the bus driver was killed in the accident.

Court grants man divorce over wife's demand for excessive sex

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MUMBAI: A man, who sought separation from his wife alleging that she was aggressive and autocratic with an insatiable appetite for sex, was granted divorce by a family court here.

"Due to respondent's (wife's) non-appearance before the court, the petitioner's (husband's) evidence remains unchallenged on record. Hence this court has no option but to accept his evidence as it is and he is entitled to a decree of divorce as prayed," Principal Judge of family court, Laxmi Rao ruled in a recent order.

The husband had approached the family court in January, saying that his wife was "adamant, aggressive, stubborn and autocratic" and would pick up quarrels for no reason.

The man, in his petition told the court that she was showing an "excessive and insatiable desire for sex" and harassed him since their marriage in April 2012.

He also alleged that she administered him medicines and also forced him to consume liquor.

The husband alleged that she used to force him into having unnatural sex and whenever he tried to resist it, she would abuse him following which he had to succumb to her pressure and persistent demands.

He told the court that he worked in three shifts leaving him very tired, and even then he was compelled to satisfy her 'lust'.

The woman even went to the extent of threatening him that if her demands are not fulfilled, she will go to another man, without caring for his emotions and feelings, the court was told.

In December 2012, the man had to be hospitalised for a stomach ache during which she chose to go to her sister's place, only to return after two weeks, the petition said.

Though doctors advised him to stay away from any physical relationship for a while, the wife kept up with her sexual demands, even as his health deteriorated for lack of rest, the petition submitted.

Further he said that in October 2013 he was operated for appendicitis and after discharge his wife insisted that they stay with her sister and even there, she forced him into having intercourse.

According to him, his wife even refused to visit a psychiatrist and threatened him against revealing anything to anybody.
In the petition, he said that it was intolerable for him to bear any more atrocities and that he also apprehended danger to his life and limb.

He said his wife has made his life horrible with her "cruel behaviour" and her "excessive prank for sex" has made it difficult for him to live together with her under one roof.

Judge Rao allowed the petition and dissolved the man's marriage.

Government to increase dearness allowance to 107 Per Cent

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NEW DELHI: The government is likely to approve a hike in dearness allowance (DA) to 107 per cent from the existing 100 per cent, benefiting the Centre's around 30 lakh employees and its 50 lakh pensioners including dependents.

"The average rate of retail inflation for industrial workers from July 1, 2013 to June 30, 2014 works out to be 7.25 per cent. Thus the Central government will hike dearness allowance for it employees by 7 per cent," an official said.

He further said the Finance Ministry will now put a Cabinet proposal for approval of 7 per cent dearness allowance hike from July 1 this year as the revised Consumer Price Index-Industrial Workers data for June was released by Labour Ministry on Saturday.

With increase in DA, the pensioners will also gain as the benefit provided to them as dearness relief will be hiked to 107 per cent of basic pay.

The previous UPA government had increased DA to 100 per cent from 90 per cent with effect from January 1, 2014, on February 28 on the basis of agreed formula for revision of the allowance.

However, the central government employees' union is not very enthused by the 7 per cent hike in the dearness allowance as their long pending demand of merger of DA with basic pay has not been given heed by 7th Pay Commission and the government.

"The erosion of value of wages is unbearable at 50 per cent dearness allowance. Now it will be 107 per cent. It is high time to merge DA with basic pay to provide relief to employees," Confederation of Central Government Employees' President K K N Kutty told reporters.

"We had summited our memorandum in this regard to 7th Pay Commission. They forwarded it to Central Government. We have apprised about the issue to the newly elected NDA government. But no decision has been taken so far," he said.

With merger of DA with basic pay, the salary and allowances paid in proportion of basic pay are increased. As per earlier practice, DA was merged with basic pay once it breached 50 per cent mark. But 6th Pay Commission has disallowed that.

Anti-govt protests in Pakistan continue, 300 injured as police clash with demonstrators

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ISLAMABAD: At least 300 people were wounded in clashes between police and protesters in Pakistan's capital Islamabad, hospital officials said on Sunday, as a fortnightlong political impasse took a violent turn.

The violence, which began late on Saturday and continued early on Sunday, erupted after around 25,000 people marched from parliament to the prime minister's house, where some attempted to remove barricades around it with cranes, an AFP reporter at the scene said.

Police responded with teargas and rubber bullets. Islamabad police chief Khalid Khattak told AFP police exercised restraint but the protesters were armed with axes, wire cutters and hammers.

'They had a crane and drove it until the entrance of the presidency. We are using only tear gas and firing rubber bullets where needed,' Khattak said.

Railways minister Khawaja Saad Rafique said protesters tried to uproot the entry gate of the prime minister's house.

The protesters, led by cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan and populist cleric Tahir-ul-Qadri, have been camped outside parliament house since August 15 demanding Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif quit amid allegations of vote rigging.

The crisis took on a new dimension earlier in the week after the government asked the powerful army to mediate, raising fears the military would use the situation to enact a 'soft coup' and increase its dominance over civilian authorities.

'There are 1,600 to 2,000 trained terrorists. They have 200 women who are trained in the use of firearms and they have come with the intention of occupying state buildings,' defence minister Khawaja Asif told AFP as the fighting broke out late on Saturday.

'These are buildings that are symbols of the state,' he said. 'Their attempts are being resisted. And we will resist these with full force.'

AFP's correspondent at the scene said protesters were carrying batons, iron rods and slingshots.

The injured were rushed to Islamabad's two main hospitals, and the number of casualties is expected to rise as clashes continue.