Bangkok, May 18 (PTI) Amid growing immigrant crisis in the South East Asia sea, Thailand today said it is preparing to open a “transit area” where illegal Rohingya migrants will be provided with humanitarian assistance.

Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon, who is also the defence minister, said the navy had concentrated on humanitarian assistance in accordance with a request from the UN.

The UN had appealed to all regional countries not to “push back” the desperate migrants and to step up search and rescue operations in the sea.

He said an area would be opened to take care of the Rohingya migrants in transit.

“It would not be an area where the illegal migrants would be confined or held under control. It would be a transit area only,?where they would get humanitarian aid,” he said.

Any?further action on the Rohingya migrants?would be taken after discussions with all concerned, Prawit said.

New Delhi, May 18 (PTI) The AAP government today appointed Chief Minister’s Secretary Rajendra Kumar as Principal Secretary of Services Department which was promptly rejected by Lt Governor Najeeb Jung.

Kumar’s appointment by the AAP dispensation came hours after the Kejriwal-led government locked the office of Principal Secretary (Services) Anindo Majumdar who had issued an order notifying the appointment of Shakuntala Gamlin as the acting chief secretary.

Reacting to the appointment, Jung shot off a letter to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, declaring Kumar’s appointment in place of Majumdar “void”, noting that it did not have his approval.

When Majumdar reached his office this morning, he found that it had been locked as per the directive from Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s office.

Majumdar was removed from the post by Kejriwal on Saturday after he issued the appointment letter to Gamlin, following instructions from Jung. The LG, on the same evening, had declared the order to transfer Majumdar “void”, saying it did not have his approval.

In his letter to Kejriwal, Jung said, he rejected Kumar’s appointment as it is against the laid down rules and procedure.

Yesterday, Kejriwal had accused Gamlin of trying to favour two Reliance Infra-owned discoms through a Rs 11,000-crore loan and claimed the Modi government wants AAP dispensation to “fail”.

The confrontation over appointment of Gamlin as acting Chief Secretary had turned into a full-blown war between the ruling AAP and Jung last week with Kejriwal alleging that the LG was trying to take over the administration.

Despite Kejriwal’s strong opposition, Jung had appointed her to the post on Friday. On Saturday, the chief minister had asked her not to take charge of the post but she ignored his directive and followed the LG’s order.

Bengaluru, May 18 (PTI) An Assamese security guard was allegedly murdered by an assailant after he failed to rob an ATM here, police said today.

The incident happened in the early hours yesterday when the suspect, who tried to break open the ATM, left the place after failing in his attempt and pulled down the shutter of the kiosk, police said.

The victim, who hails from Assam, bled to death due to head injury and his body was found with hands and legs tied up and his mouth plastered, they said.

The incident came in the light when some customers visited the ATM on the first floor of the building and found the guard’s body in the enclosed space, police said.

Police said analysis of the CCTV footage showed a lone man, without any mask on his face, entering the kiosk at 3:10 AM and leaving after some time as he failed to break open the ATM. Being Sunday, no one had visited the ATM till the evening yesterday, they said.

A restaurant in Anambra, Nigeria has been closed down after its activities of selling human flesh came to the fore front.
Police were informed about the restaurant’s activities by local residents, where they rushed to the scene and were shocked to see two human heads; still fresh, oozing blood, according to the BBC. The police arrested six women and four men in connection with the crime. At the time of arrest, they managed to recover an AK-47 rifle while other weapons including sets of grenades, and several mobile phones. The BBC also reported that when police raided the restaurant, they found to their horror that fresh human heads – still bleeding – were being stored in the back and that some human flesh was being served.
A resident was quoted saying, “Every time I went to the market, I observed strange activities going on in the hotel. People who were never cleanly dressed and who looked a bit strange made their way in and out of the hotel, making me very suspicious of their activities. I am not surprised at the shocking revelation.”

Jammu, May 18 (PTI) Creation of a separate homeland within the Valley was the only “viable option” for rehabilitation of Kashmiri Pandits and any attempt to dilute or deviate from the core ideology would be “resisted” by the community, an organisation for the displaced Pandits today said.

“Our geo-political aspirations are well articulated in the Margdarshan Resolution and these have been endorsed from time by the community all these 25 years of exile,” President of Panun Kashmir, Ashwani Kumar Chrungoo said at a function here today.

Any attempt aimed at diluting or deviating from the core ideology would be resisted by the community, he said.

“Kashmiri Pandit community is well aware of the ground realities in Kashmir and cannot be hoodwinked by the strategic statements issued by political leaders,” he claimed.

Kolkata, May 18 (PTI) The opposition Left Front and Congress today walked out of the West Bengal Assembly in protest against Speaker Biman Banerjee’s decision to reject separate adjournment motions moved by them on different issues.

The Left Front moved an adjournment motion demanding inquiry into the recent Pingla blast, which claimed 12 lives, by the NIA and exemplary punishment for the culprits.

This apart, the motion also demanded safety and security for the panic-stricken people there, urging the government to pay compensation of at least Rs 5 lakh to the family of each of the victims.

The Speaker, however, rejected the motion and allowed the CPI(M) member Anisur Rahaman only to read the edited copy of the motion. This done, Rahaman led the LF members to the Well of the House, while the members shouted slogans blaming the state government for the blast.

Ultimately the LF members walked out of the House for a brief period.

Speaking to reporters outside the House, Rahaman regretted, “Neither Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee visited the blast site, nor did she express grief for the incident.”

Another adjournment motion, moved by the Congress, was in protest against arrest of its two MLAs Rabindra Nath Chatterjee at Katwa in Burdwan district and Apurba Sarkar at Kandi in Murshidabad district allegedly in false cases during the recent civic election.

The Congress demanded immediate withdrawal of those cases against both the members and discussion on state’s law and order situation.

The Speaker, however, rejected the adjournment motion and allowed the member Asit Mitra only to read it out.

After reading it out, Mitra along with other Congress members went to the Well of the House and shouted slogans against the ruling party demanding that the government withdraw all cases against their MLAs and restore the state’s law and order situation.

All Congress members then walked out of the House. Later Congress leader Md Sohrab told reporters outside the House, “The TMC had unleashed a reign of terror to capture all the civic bodies by force. To arrest their leaders in false cases is nothing but a move keep them under pressure.

Seoul, May 18 (PTI) India and South Korea today agreed to upgrade their ties to ‘Special Strategic Partnership’ and deepen cooperation in defence sector as the two sides signed seven agreements including on avoidance of double taxation.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who arrived here today from Mongolia on the last leg of his three-nation tour, held wide-ranging talks with South Korean President Park Geun-hye at Cheong Wae Dae, the office and residence of the President.

“We have agreed to upgrade the bilateral relationship to ‘Special Strategic Partnership’,” Modi said at a joint press interaction with President Park after their “excellent” talks.

“We have laid the foundation for a relationship that two major Asian countries with shared values should have,” he said, adding that decisions made today reflect how seriously the two countries take the new framework of the relationship.

Noting that India considers South Korea a “crucial partner” in its economic modernisation, Modi said South Korea can be a leading partner in India’s efforts to develop a world class manufacturing sector.

“Our relationship started with a strong economic emphasis. But, it has also now become strategic in content,” the Prime Minister said.

Modi said South Korea is the second country (after Japan) with which India will have a diplomatic and security dialogue in 2+2 format, referring to a bilateral dialogue process involving the foreign and defence ministers of the two sides.

Stating that the national security councils of the two sides will have regular cooperation, Modi said the two nations have agreed to expand cooperation between their armed forces.

“We intend to deepen our cooperation in defence technology and manufacture of defence equipment in India. This sector offers huge opportunities in India,” he said.

The Prime Minister said South Korean President’s response has been positive on the participation of Korean companies in the defence sector in India. .

New Delhi: Politicos across the country have condemned former Pakistan president general Pervez Musharraf’s statement on the Kargil War, accusing him of fabricating history.

Musharraf had reportedly said that the Pakistan Army had ‘caught India by the throat’ during the 1999 Kargil War, and adding that India will never forget the war.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesman Nalin Kohli told ANI, “The whole world knows about the Kargil War and how the Indian forces violently pushed out the intruders from Pakistan, and how, Pakistan was defeated in this exercise. I don’t know how Pakistan has arrived at this conclusion. But, it is not uncommon for Pakistan to create history, rather than look at the events, and even if required, fabricate history.”

Communist Party of India (CPI) leader D. Raja said, ‘India won the Kargil War: Musharraf should understand that. Now, he is an ex-army chief of Pakistan and he should understand that there are efforts to normalise the situation between India and Pakistan. He should not have made such provocative statements. Perhaps, he is doing this to find some space in the politics of Pakistan. Why is he digging up

the past issues? The fact of the matter is India won the Kargil War.”

Congress Party spokesman Abhishek Manu Singhvi said, “It is best for Musharraf to introspect on his tragic state as well as more tragic state of his country, rather than preaching to or giving

statements on India or on Kargil. It is the classic case of the pot calling the kettle black. This is not the right approach to be adopted, because it diminishes both Pakistan and Musharraf.”

The Kargil War, which took place in the Kargil District of Jammu and Kashmir in the middle of 1999, resulted in the complete withdrawal of Pakistani forces from Indian territory to the Line of Control and led to the worldwide condemnation of Islamabad’s policies. It is reportedly also the only instance of a direct conflict between two nuclear states.

New Delhi: The tussle between Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Delhi LG Najeeb Jung over appointment of Shakuntala Gamlin as acting chief secretary took a turn for the worse, Monday, after the Delhi government targeted the bureaucrat who had issued orders for appointment of Gamlin.

Principal Secretary (Services) Anindo Majumdar was in for a shock when he reached his office today and found that it was out of bonds for him – on orders from Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s office.

Majumdar – on directions of LG Jung – had appointed Gamlin for 10 days after chief secretary KK Sharma went to the US on a personal visit.

The high drama today came two days after the Delhi government transferred Majumdar. Sources said that Kejriwal was not happy with the way Gamlin was appointed as acting Chief Secretary by the Lt Governor and Majumdar “instantly” issued her posting orders.

However, the LG, who is at loggerheads with Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal over Gamlin’s appointment as acting Chief Secretary, overturned the decision saying that Majumdar’s removal does not have his approval and declared it as void.

A press release issued by Jung’s office said the order to remove Majumdar “does not have the approval of the Lt Governor, who is the competent authority to transfer officials of that rank. This order is ab-initio void.”

Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia has hit out at Jung over his position on the issue. He tweeted:

New Delhi, May 17 (PTI) Birds have the fundamental right to “live with dignity” and fly in the sky without being kept in cages or subjected to cruelty, Delhi High Court has said while holding that running their trade was a “violation of their rights”.

Justice Manmohan Singh expressed anguish that instead of being allowed to fly free, they were “exported illegally to foreign countries without availability of proper food, water or medical aid”.

“I am clear in mind that all the birds have fundamental rights to fly in the sky and all human beings have no right to keep them in small cages for the purposes of their business or otherwise,” the judge said.

The high court issued notice to Delhi Police as well as the bird owner, Md Mohazzim, and sought their responses by May 28.

The high court made the observations and issued the orders while staying the direction of a trial court which had allowed some birds to be released to the same person from whom they were rescued on his plea.

The trial court order was stayed on a plea by NGO People for Animals, which had challenged the release of birds into custody of owners without hearing the NGO which had freed the birds.

The NGO, in its plea filed through advocate S D Windlesh, has alleged that the trial court released the birds into Mohazzim’s custody despite arriving at a finding that he was not the owner of the birds.

Granting relief to the NGO, the high court said, “…This court is of the view that running the trade of birds is in violation of the rights of the birds. They deserve sympathy.

Nobody is caring as to whether they have been inflicted cruelty or not despite a settled law that birds have a fundamental right to fly and cannot be caged and will have to be set free in the sky.

“Birds have fundamental rights including the right to live with dignity and they cannot be subjected to cruelty by anyone including claim made by the respondent (Mohazzim).