.. Australian found guilty of killing three Indian siblings.

Melbourne: A 42-year-old Australian faces up to 45 years in jail after a jury Tuesday found him guilty of murdering three siblings of an Indian-origin family in Brisbane in 2003.

The Supreme Court in Brisbane found Max Sica guilty of murdering 24-year-old Neelma Singh, 18-year-old Kunal Singh and 12-year-old Sidhi Singh at their family home in Bridgeman Downs, in north Brisbane April 21, 2003, the couriermail.com.au website reported.

During the 77-day trial, the court heard allegations about relationships involving Sica and the Singh family.
The prosecutor said Neelma Singh and Sica had a relationship in 2002, and Neelma wanted to break it off.
However, in the weeks before her death, Neelma had willingly seen Sica after he falsely claimed he had a brain tumour and had just weeks to live, the report said.
Sica went to the Singh home on the night of April 20, 2003, to talk with Neelma.
The prosecution said that for some reason - perhaps out of jealously or rejection - Sica strangled Neelma in a fit of rage.
Sica allegedly attacked Kunal and Sidhi with a garden fork because they could identify him as Neelma's killer.
Sidhi was beaten to death, most likely in her bed. Kunal, who was also most likely in his bed, was knocked unconscious. All three siblings were dressed for bed.
The bodies were dumped in a spa, and Sica used bleach to clean the murder scene and wash away DNA.
On Tuesday, Sica showed no reaction when the jury handed down their verdict.
He only spoke when the judge asked him if he had anything to say.
"Well, I didn't kill no one and the Queensland justice system is corrupt, okay? Sorry, that's all I have to say," Sica said.
Sentencing was adjourned as the victims' father, Vijay Singh, was not present in court.

.. Australian found guilty of killing three Indian siblings.

Melbourne: A 42-year-old Australian faces up to 45 years in jail after a jury Tuesday found him guilty of murdering three siblings of an Indian-origin family in Brisbane in 2003.

The Supreme Court in Brisbane found Max Sica guilty of murdering 24-year-old Neelma Singh, 18-year-old Kunal Singh and 12-year-old Sidhi Singh at their family home in Bridgeman Downs, in north Brisbane April 21, 2003, the couriermail.com.au website reported.

During the 77-day trial, the court heard allegations about relationships involving Sica and the Singh family.
The prosecutor said Neelma Singh and Sica had a relationship in 2002, and Neelma wanted to break it off.
However, in the weeks before her death, Neelma had willingly seen Sica after he falsely claimed he had a brain tumour and had just weeks to live, the report said.
Sica went to the Singh home on the night of April 20, 2003, to talk with Neelma.
The prosecution said that for some reason - perhaps out of jealously or rejection - Sica strangled Neelma in a fit of rage.
Sica allegedly attacked Kunal and Sidhi with a garden fork because they could identify him as Neelma's killer.
Sidhi was beaten to death, most likely in her bed. Kunal, who was also most likely in his bed, was knocked unconscious. All three siblings were dressed for bed.
The bodies were dumped in a spa, and Sica used bleach to clean the murder scene and wash away DNA.
On Tuesday, Sica showed no reaction when the jury handed down their verdict.
He only spoke when the judge asked him if he had anything to say.
"Well, I didn't kill no one and the Queensland justice system is corrupt, okay? Sorry, that's all I have to say," Sica said.
Sentencing was adjourned as the victims' father, Vijay Singh, was not present in court.

78 Indian workers left high and dry in Saudi Arabia 

New Delhi: Seventy-eight Indians, working for a private firm in Saudi Arabia, have been left stranded without food and water after their employer reneged on paying their salaries for about six months, apart from failing to issue them identity and medical aid cards.
The Indians -- mostly from the states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar -- have been left without food and water at their shelter in Tabuk, a town about 1,000-km from Jeddah and located close to the Jordan border, according to one of the victims who spoke to IANS over the phone.

The workers had been hired about two years ago by the Tabuk-based Mutafail Maintenance and Trading Company through an Indian recruiter and had gone to work at the facilities of the Saudi firm in 2010.
"However, sometime in the beginning of 2012, the firm stopped paying our salaries and for the last six months we have been without food and water. The shelter we stay in also does not have enough facilities for a decent living," Pankaj Mishra, one of the 78 Indian workers, told IANS from Tabuk over phone.
"We have not been issued the mandatory medical card and the Akana (identity) card, which allows us free movement around the town and the country. Soon after we arrived, our passports were taken away from us and is now in the custody of our employer, which is the norm for any overseas employee," Mishra said.
He also lamented that they wanted to return home, but were unable to do so without their passports.

The workers had got in touch with the Indian consulate in Jeddah regarding their problems six months ago.
The Indian consulate in Jeddah said it was seized of the matter relating to the Indian workers in Tabuk and had taken up the problems of these expatriates immediately after being informed of their plight.
An official, who did not wish to be named, noted that the consulate was in touch with the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs in New Delhi over the 78 Indian workers' problems and was informing the ministry back here on a regular basis.
"At the moment, we have a senior official from the Jeddah consulate present in Tabuk talking to the local labour authorities and the employer to settle the issues," the official told IANS over phone from Jeddah.
"Due to our negotiations, we have been able to convince the Saudi firm to pay up salaries of four months to all the Indian workers," he said.
Noting that the plight of the 78 Indian workers is not "an isolated case", the official said that it was the sort of issue that all expatriates, be it from Pakistan, Bangladesh, or any other country, faced in Saudi Arabia, all due to the labour laws and rules, which were quite stringent.
The issue of the 78 Indian workers is now being heard in a labour court in Tabuk and the Indian consulate from Jeddah is providing them legal assistance

78 Indian workers left high and dry in Saudi Arabia 

New Delhi: Seventy-eight Indians, working for a private firm in Saudi Arabia, have been left stranded without food and water after their employer reneged on paying their salaries for about six months, apart from failing to issue them identity and medical aid cards.
The Indians -- mostly from the states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar -- have been left without food and water at their shelter in Tabuk, a town about 1,000-km from Jeddah and located close to the Jordan border, according to one of the victims who spoke to IANS over the phone.

The workers had been hired about two years ago by the Tabuk-based Mutafail Maintenance and Trading Company through an Indian recruiter and had gone to work at the facilities of the Saudi firm in 2010.
"However, sometime in the beginning of 2012, the firm stopped paying our salaries and for the last six months we have been without food and water. The shelter we stay in also does not have enough facilities for a decent living," Pankaj Mishra, one of the 78 Indian workers, told IANS from Tabuk over phone.
"We have not been issued the mandatory medical card and the Akana (identity) card, which allows us free movement around the town and the country. Soon after we arrived, our passports were taken away from us and is now in the custody of our employer, which is the norm for any overseas employee," Mishra said.
He also lamented that they wanted to return home, but were unable to do so without their passports.

The workers had got in touch with the Indian consulate in Jeddah regarding their problems six months ago.
The Indian consulate in Jeddah said it was seized of the matter relating to the Indian workers in Tabuk and had taken up the problems of these expatriates immediately after being informed of their plight.
An official, who did not wish to be named, noted that the consulate was in touch with the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs in New Delhi over the 78 Indian workers' problems and was informing the ministry back here on a regular basis.
"At the moment, we have a senior official from the Jeddah consulate present in Tabuk talking to the local labour authorities and the employer to settle the issues," the official told IANS over phone from Jeddah.
"Due to our negotiations, we have been able to convince the Saudi firm to pay up salaries of four months to all the Indian workers," he said.
Noting that the plight of the 78 Indian workers is not "an isolated case", the official said that it was the sort of issue that all expatriates, be it from Pakistan, Bangladesh, or any other country, faced in Saudi Arabia, all due to the labour laws and rules, which were quite stringent.
The issue of the 78 Indian workers is now being heard in a labour court in Tabuk and the Indian consulate from Jeddah is providing them legal assistance

UAE offers to free American hunger striker on bail

Abu Dhabi:  A court in the United Arab Emirates has offered to release on bail an American businessman accused of embezzlement who has been on hunger strike in jail since May, the U.S. embassy said on Thursday.  
Washington has repeatedly called for Zack Shahin's case to be resolved. He has been detained since he was arrested in 2008 while at the helm of Dubai real estate firm Deyaar. 
There have been hearings in his case in Dubai, but no judgment. 
Last week, the United States said it had "serious concerns" over Shahin's health and urged the UAE to release him on bail. 
It has also asked for more transparency in the case.  
"I can confirm that conditions for bail have been set at 5 million dirhams ($1.36 million)," a spokesman for the U.S. 
embassy in Abu Dhabi told Reuters. 
Shahin's lawyer said he hoped to secure his release early next week. 
"There was a concern whether he would be able to accumulate the money. But we are certain now that the funding can be arranged," Erik Akers told Reuters. 
He said that some funds had already been transferred and the remaining amount needed to come from the United States. 
"With the weekend coming, he may not be released until Sunday or Monday," he added.  
Shahin is due to have two court hearings later this month when a verdict could be handed down in his case, the lawyer said. 
In May, four other expatriates jailed in Dubai said they had gone on hunger strike to protest against the lengthy prison sentences handed down to them for bouncing cheques - a criminal offence in the UAE.  
The men, most of them real estate developers and businessmen who worked in Dubai during its economic boom, fell into debt when the emirate's property bubble burst after the 2008 global credit crisis.  

UAE offers to free American hunger striker on bail

Abu Dhabi:  A court in the United Arab Emirates has offered to release on bail an American businessman accused of embezzlement who has been on hunger strike in jail since May, the U.S. embassy said on Thursday.  
Washington has repeatedly called for Zack Shahin's case to be resolved. He has been detained since he was arrested in 2008 while at the helm of Dubai real estate firm Deyaar. 
There have been hearings in his case in Dubai, but no judgment. 
Last week, the United States said it had "serious concerns" over Shahin's health and urged the UAE to release him on bail. 
It has also asked for more transparency in the case.  
"I can confirm that conditions for bail have been set at 5 million dirhams ($1.36 million)," a spokesman for the U.S. 
embassy in Abu Dhabi told Reuters. 
Shahin's lawyer said he hoped to secure his release early next week. 
"There was a concern whether he would be able to accumulate the money. But we are certain now that the funding can be arranged," Erik Akers told Reuters. 
He said that some funds had already been transferred and the remaining amount needed to come from the United States. 
"With the weekend coming, he may not be released until Sunday or Monday," he added.  
Shahin is due to have two court hearings later this month when a verdict could be handed down in his case, the lawyer said. 
In May, four other expatriates jailed in Dubai said they had gone on hunger strike to protest against the lengthy prison sentences handed down to them for bouncing cheques - a criminal offence in the UAE.  
The men, most of them real estate developers and businessmen who worked in Dubai during its economic boom, fell into debt when the emirate's property bubble burst after the 2008 global credit crisis.  

Morality killing triggers fears and debate in Egypt

Cairo: The fatal stabbing by men identified as Islamists of a young man as he walked with his fiancee has stirred fears among some Egyptians that zealots emboldened by the Muslim Brotherhood's rise to power will seek to impose their customs on society. 
The couple were out in the port city of Suez, known as a bastion of hardline Islamism, when Ahmed Eid 20, was set upon and stabbed on June 25, dying later of his wounds. 
Although the exact circumstances of his killing are unclear, the stabbing has fed concern about the increased scope for vigilantism since Islamists moved to the heart of political life in the 17 months since Hosni Mubarak was deposed.  
Religious piety is common in Egypt but couples will often been seen holding hands in public even before marriage, bars are tolerated and tourists can peacefully visit beaches. 
The Muslim Brotherhood and more hardline Salafi parties have also voiced strong opposition to religious coercion or violence. 
The three men identified as Islamists were arrested in the early hours of Thursday on suspicion of carrying out the attack, security sources in Suez said, adding they had shaved off their beards in an attempt to lie low.  
"Investigations are still going on with the three accused. 
They are Islamists but so far no organisational links have been uncovered," one of the sources said. The killing appeared not to have been premeditated, they said, adding that Eid was stabbed after an argument escalated into violence. 
Since Mubarak was toppled, reports have often circulated of Islamist-inspired morality campaigns. 
Hardliners acting independently of any organisation have targeted Sufi shrines - deemed by hardliners as heretical because of their mysticism. They blew one up in the Sinai Peninsula, where groups at the extreme fringe of the Islamist spectrum have imposed their own vision of Islam in some towns. 
But Islamist groups say cases have been either exaggerated or fabricated to scare Egyptians. 
Conflicting reports over who stabbed Eid have circulated since his death. Hussein Eid, his father, initially accused parties affiliated to the Mubarak era of mounting the attack to tarnish the Islamists' reputation - suspicions also voiced by the Islamist groups and even some of their liberal critics. 
"MIDDLE AGES" Eid later changed his mind, telling Al Jazeera his son had been stabbed by three men in Salafi Islamist garb who had been riding a motorcycle. R e uters could not immediately reach Eid for comment. The story has triggered deep fear for some. 
"It looks like we are going to have to go through what Europe went through in the Middle Ages before becoming an open society that embraces all ideologies," said Achraf Chazly, a 35-year-old lawyer, condemning the Suez stabbing. 
"We might see incidents of men harassing women more on the streets for not wearing veils," he added. 
"But if we have a good constitution and good implementation of the law to protect the basic rights and liberties of all Egyptians, this will help Egypt pass through the phase of religious fundamentalism quicker." Yet in a country where public debate is rich with rumour and conspiracy theories, the stabbing has also reignited a debate about whether such incidents are what they seem, or rather part of a campaign by groups affiliated to the Mubarak administration and aimed at discrediting the mainstream Islamist groups. 
The Muslim Brotherhood issued a statement last week saying people masquerading as its members had attacked women's hair salons on the grounds they were immoral, describing it as an attempt to spoil the group's image. 
Groups such as al-Gama'a al-Islamiya, a Salafi movement which fought t he state as recently as the 1990s, have come out strongly against acts of coercion or violence. 
Hazem Saleh Abu Ismail, an Islamist preacher disqualified from the presidential race, suggested the furore over the stabbing was a bid to tarnish the image of Islamists. 
But in a television interview, he also appeared to sympathise with those angered by public displays of affection of the type that appeared to lead to Eid's death. 
"If you want to go for a stroll in some well-known areas of Cairo, you will see scandals," he said.  
A group calling itself "The Committee for the Propagation of Virtue and the Elimination of Vice" - a name evoking the religious police in Saudi Arabia - claimed responsibility for Eid's killing, though the Interior Ministry denied it had any role and a leading Salafi cleric said it did not even exist. 
A group with the same name established a Facebook page earlier this year, directly after Islamists secured control of 70 percent of the parliament. After receiving days of coverage in the Egyptian media, the site disappeared. 
Mohamed Habib, a former deputy leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, said that if the killing had an ideological motive, then it was most likely an individual act caused by the erroneous beliefs of the perpetrators. 
He added that criticism of the Islamists by their liberal opponents had created tension that could lead to such violence. 
"This could push some of the youth to these thoughts, especially if they do not understand properly," he said.

Morality killing triggers fears and debate in Egypt

Cairo: The fatal stabbing by men identified as Islamists of a young man as he walked with his fiancee has stirred fears among some Egyptians that zealots emboldened by the Muslim Brotherhood's rise to power will seek to impose their customs on society. 
The couple were out in the port city of Suez, known as a bastion of hardline Islamism, when Ahmed Eid 20, was set upon and stabbed on June 25, dying later of his wounds. 
Although the exact circumstances of his killing are unclear, the stabbing has fed concern about the increased scope for vigilantism since Islamists moved to the heart of political life in the 17 months since Hosni Mubarak was deposed.  
Religious piety is common in Egypt but couples will often been seen holding hands in public even before marriage, bars are tolerated and tourists can peacefully visit beaches. 
The Muslim Brotherhood and more hardline Salafi parties have also voiced strong opposition to religious coercion or violence. 
The three men identified as Islamists were arrested in the early hours of Thursday on suspicion of carrying out the attack, security sources in Suez said, adding they had shaved off their beards in an attempt to lie low.  
"Investigations are still going on with the three accused. 
They are Islamists but so far no organisational links have been uncovered," one of the sources said. The killing appeared not to have been premeditated, they said, adding that Eid was stabbed after an argument escalated into violence. 
Since Mubarak was toppled, reports have often circulated of Islamist-inspired morality campaigns. 
Hardliners acting independently of any organisation have targeted Sufi shrines - deemed by hardliners as heretical because of their mysticism. They blew one up in the Sinai Peninsula, where groups at the extreme fringe of the Islamist spectrum have imposed their own vision of Islam in some towns. 
But Islamist groups say cases have been either exaggerated or fabricated to scare Egyptians. 
Conflicting reports over who stabbed Eid have circulated since his death. Hussein Eid, his father, initially accused parties affiliated to the Mubarak era of mounting the attack to tarnish the Islamists' reputation - suspicions also voiced by the Islamist groups and even some of their liberal critics. 
"MIDDLE AGES" Eid later changed his mind, telling Al Jazeera his son had been stabbed by three men in Salafi Islamist garb who had been riding a motorcycle. R e uters could not immediately reach Eid for comment. The story has triggered deep fear for some. 
"It looks like we are going to have to go through what Europe went through in the Middle Ages before becoming an open society that embraces all ideologies," said Achraf Chazly, a 35-year-old lawyer, condemning the Suez stabbing. 
"We might see incidents of men harassing women more on the streets for not wearing veils," he added. 
"But if we have a good constitution and good implementation of the law to protect the basic rights and liberties of all Egyptians, this will help Egypt pass through the phase of religious fundamentalism quicker." Yet in a country where public debate is rich with rumour and conspiracy theories, the stabbing has also reignited a debate about whether such incidents are what they seem, or rather part of a campaign by groups affiliated to the Mubarak administration and aimed at discrediting the mainstream Islamist groups. 
The Muslim Brotherhood issued a statement last week saying people masquerading as its members had attacked women's hair salons on the grounds they were immoral, describing it as an attempt to spoil the group's image. 
Groups such as al-Gama'a al-Islamiya, a Salafi movement which fought t he state as recently as the 1990s, have come out strongly against acts of coercion or violence. 
Hazem Saleh Abu Ismail, an Islamist preacher disqualified from the presidential race, suggested the furore over the stabbing was a bid to tarnish the image of Islamists. 
But in a television interview, he also appeared to sympathise with those angered by public displays of affection of the type that appeared to lead to Eid's death. 
"If you want to go for a stroll in some well-known areas of Cairo, you will see scandals," he said.  
A group calling itself "The Committee for the Propagation of Virtue and the Elimination of Vice" - a name evoking the religious police in Saudi Arabia - claimed responsibility for Eid's killing, though the Interior Ministry denied it had any role and a leading Salafi cleric said it did not even exist. 
A group with the same name established a Facebook page earlier this year, directly after Islamists secured control of 70 percent of the parliament. After receiving days of coverage in the Egyptian media, the site disappeared. 
Mohamed Habib, a former deputy leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, said that if the killing had an ideological motive, then it was most likely an individual act caused by the erroneous beliefs of the perpetrators. 
He added that criticism of the Islamists by their liberal opponents had created tension that could lead to such violence. 
"This could push some of the youth to these thoughts, especially if they do not understand properly," he said.

Inter-party clashes on in West Bengal: Chidambaram

Kolkata: In a virtual snub to the Mamata Banerjee government, union Home Minister P. Chidambaram has noted that inter-party clashes were continuing in West Bengal, adding that a "bullet-for-bullet" scenario had no place in a democracy.
He also made an appeal for bringing to an end the inter-party clashes in the state.
However, Chidambaram's comments drew a sharp response from the Trinamool Congress government, which termed his attack as a "conspiracy" and an attempt to pressurise the state's ruling party to support Congress candidate Pranab Mukherjee for the presidential polls.
"Still there are specific incidents of violence in many parts of West Bengal... Most of these incidents are due to inter-party clashes. That's not a sign of democracy," Chidambaram said speaking at the Calcutta Chamber of Commerce here.
"Democracy is a place for word for word, argument for argument and not for bullet for bullet. That's not the way democracy functions. Political parties must abjure violence before we call upon militant and extremist groups to abjure violence," he said.
Reeling out statistics, he said in the first half of the current year, 82 people have been killed in 455 incidents of violence across the state.
But he also patted the state government for the "remarkable improvement" in the situation in three districts which were earlier hotbeds of Maoist activities.
"During the run up to (last year's assembly) elections there were hundreds of incidents of violence in which 204 people were killed. But after that the volence has come down especially due to remarkable improvement in the situation in the Naxalite (Maoist) infested districts of West Midnapore, Bankura and Purulia," Chidambaram said.
Countering Chidambaram, state Panchayats Minister Subrata Mukherjee said the central government was trying to give oxygen to the opposition Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM).
"It is an effort to put pressure on us (Trinamool) regarding the presidential election. They are trying to give oxygen to opposition CPI-M. Law and order is a state subject. This is nothing but a conspiracy against us," he retorted..

Inter-party clashes on in West Bengal: Chidambaram

Kolkata: In a virtual snub to the Mamata Banerjee government, union Home Minister P. Chidambaram has noted that inter-party clashes were continuing in West Bengal, adding that a "bullet-for-bullet" scenario had no place in a democracy.
He also made an appeal for bringing to an end the inter-party clashes in the state.
However, Chidambaram's comments drew a sharp response from the Trinamool Congress government, which termed his attack as a "conspiracy" and an attempt to pressurise the state's ruling party to support Congress candidate Pranab Mukherjee for the presidential polls.
"Still there are specific incidents of violence in many parts of West Bengal... Most of these incidents are due to inter-party clashes. That's not a sign of democracy," Chidambaram said speaking at the Calcutta Chamber of Commerce here.
"Democracy is a place for word for word, argument for argument and not for bullet for bullet. That's not the way democracy functions. Political parties must abjure violence before we call upon militant and extremist groups to abjure violence," he said.
Reeling out statistics, he said in the first half of the current year, 82 people have been killed in 455 incidents of violence across the state.
But he also patted the state government for the "remarkable improvement" in the situation in three districts which were earlier hotbeds of Maoist activities.
"During the run up to (last year's assembly) elections there were hundreds of incidents of violence in which 204 people were killed. But after that the volence has come down especially due to remarkable improvement in the situation in the Naxalite (Maoist) infested districts of West Midnapore, Bankura and Purulia," Chidambaram said.
Countering Chidambaram, state Panchayats Minister Subrata Mukherjee said the central government was trying to give oxygen to the opposition Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM).
"It is an effort to put pressure on us (Trinamool) regarding the presidential election. They are trying to give oxygen to opposition CPI-M. Law and order is a state subject. This is nothing but a conspiracy against us," he retorted..