Sweden today rejected Ecuador's claim that Wikileaks founder Julian Assange would not get a fair trial as a reason for granting him political asylum, and summoned Quito's envoy to explain. 

Pakistani border guards opened fire on a BSF posts, critically injuring a jawan and sparking an exchange of fire along the International Border (IB) in Jammu sector tonight. 

British Foreign Secretary William Hague today said Britain would not provide WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange safe passage but admitted that there cannot be a time limit to resolve the imbroglio, indicating that the stand-off between the UK and Ecuador may last for a long time. 

About 53 Indian nationals have been arrested in northern Sri Lanka city of Jaffna for illegally staying in the country, senior immigration officials said today. 

 

They were involved in textile trade business while some of them were just staying in hotels and lodges. Four of the arrested were soothsayers.

 

They will be taken to an immigration detention centre near Colombo before being sent back, officials said.

Soon after Ecuador announced that it had offered political asylum to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, Britain today said it was under "binding obligation" to extradite him to Sweden to face charges of sex offences.    

 

The British Foreign Office said on Twitter: "We are disappointed by the statement from Ecuador's Foreign Minister that Ecuador has offered political asylum to Julian Assange. 

 

"We remain committed to a negotiated solution that allows us to carry out our obligations under the Extradition Act." It said: "We shall carry out that obligation. The Ecuadorian government's decision this afternoon does not change that.   

 

"Under our law, with Mr Assange having exhausted all options of appeal UK authorities are under binding obligation to extradite him to Sweden."   

 

The Foreign Office said it was "still committed to reaching a mutually acceptable solution" and added that throughout it had drawn Ecuador's attention to relevant provisions of British our law.

Alleging that illegal Bangladeshi immigrants triggered the last week's violence in South Mumbai, BJP today announced organising a march on August 18 in protest of desecration of Amar Jawan memorial during the mayhem.

"A large number of Bangladeshis, who sneaked into the country via Assam, were involved in violence at Azad Maidan. We have demanded thorough investigations into the incident, however, the probe (by police) is not going on in right direction," Mumbai BJP president Raj Purohit said.

Alleging that two persons, who are wanted for vandalising the martyr's memorial near BMC building, are Bangladeshis, Purohit announced a reward of Rs 1 lakh for giving information on there whereabouts.

"We will reward any person with Rs 1,01,000 for providing information of the duo who desecrated the memorial," Purohit said today.

A felicitation function to honour India's Olympics heroes here today was marred by utter chaos due to mismanagement by the Sports Ministry with a large number of fans turning it into near-stampede like situation.

Wrestlers Sushil Kumar and Yogeshwar Dutt, shooters Vijay Kumar and Gagan Narang, shuttler Saina Nehwal and boxer M C Mary Kom were handed cash awards by the government for winning medals in the just-concluded London Olympics in a function held at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium.

But the function held at an open area outside the hockey stadium turned into a complete chaos by pushing and shoving by the hundreds of fans, mainly school children, who turned up and tried to reach the dais to have a glimpse of their heroes.

All hell broke loose when the medal winners were presented cash awards with hordes of people trying to get a vantage position and coming from nowhere near the dais, leading to the trampling on the other athletes who took part in the Olympics and were sitting on chairs under the sweltering heat.

The mismanagement by the organisers was such that Wrestling Federation of India President, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh lambasted the Sports Ministry for "humiliating" the federation officials by inviting them to such a function.

"We have been insulted after being invited to such a badly mismanaged function. I have not attended such a mismanaged function in my life. We should not have come for this function," a fuming Bhushan said. "I don't mind I am being quoted. We were shouting at the top of our voice asking people to sit down but it was all in vain. So many athletes left the venue in disgust. This is humiliating to us."

Announcing Ecuador's decision, Patino said the country believed Mr Assange's fears of political persecution were "legitimate".He said. the country was being loyal to its "tradition" of protecting those who are vulnerable."We trust that our friendship with the United Kingdom will remain intact," he added.Outside Ecuador's embassy in London, the BBC's James Robbins says news was slowly spreading through Mr Assange's assembled supporters.

Read more

Elizabeth Windsor @Queen_UK And Ecuador is where, exactly?

Obviously, that's a fake handle.

Assange, who has been accused of sexual misconduct by two women in Sweden, had sought refuge in the embassy after a British court had ordered his extradition to Sweden.

He said he was seeking asylum because he fears Sweden would send him to the United States, where he could face the death penalty on espionage charges.

Announcing the decision, Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino said in Ecuador's capital Quito on Thursday: "We consider Assange a journalist and we agree with him that his extradition from Sweden to the US is likely and that threatens his life and integrity. If Assange is sent to the US, he will be tried by the military court and will not a receive a fair trial. In light of these facts, the government has decided to grant him asylum." 

Patino says Ecuador has looked at the evidence in the Assange case specifically in the context of the accused saying he feared for his personal security, life and liberty. Patino said if Assange was in fact extradited to the US, it was unlikely he would get a fair trial. The foreign minister added that if Assange is extradited to Sweden, it would set off a chain of events that would see him stand trial in the US.

To cut a long story short, Patino said Ecuador has granted asylum to Julian Assange.  

Right now, Ecuador officials are making a statement on whether Wikileaks founder Julian Asange will be given asylum. Ricardo Patino, the foreign minister, says they strongly reject threats from the UK government against them. "UN and Vienna convention prohibit occupying diplomatic territory. We are looking for a way to arrive at an agreement on the Assange case," says Patino. Ecuador accuses UK of complete intimidation.

The UK said earlier that it could lift Eucador's diplomatic status and threatened to arrest Assange. 

Patino says they are yet to receive an apology from the UK about the threat. 

What would a city made up of only women be like? It's a question that people have pondered throughout history -- sometimes with high-minded intent, sometimes for cheap thrills. Read

Our Delhi sources tell us that three Union Ministers Pavan Kumar Bansal, Rajiv Shukla and V Narayanaswamy met Arun Jaitley, the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha. The meeting was held inside Jaitley's official chambers inside Parliament House to discuss the polls for the deputy chairman of the Rajya Sabha to be held on August 21. The last day for filing the nomination is tomorrow afternoon..

The Manesar plant witnessed three crippling strikes last year and a violent workers' assault on July 18 this year which resulted in the death of a senior manager and injuries to around 100 senior staff. The company has even approached the Central Industrial Security Force ( CISF), though no decision has been taken over its deployment.

Maruti Suzuki has decided to resume producation at the riot-hit Manesar Plant from August 21. Security will be beefed-up before the plant resumes production. The Haryana government will provide 40 security guards, while Maruti will provide 100-men strong security.

Maruti also announced that the perpetrators of last month's riot have been identified and has said that 500 regular employees involved in the riots have been sacked. 

Our sources in Delhi tell us that BJP MPs today were surprised to spot two JD(U) MPs from Bihar -- NK Singh and Sivanand Tiwari -- with their heads together  in Central Hall with none other than Lalu Prasad Yadav.
The three are believed to have been discussing the fallout of the interview by Bihar CM Nitish Kumar to the The Week. 

BJP MPs were also giving a political interpretation to the mischief about negative publicity about the BJP being spread by NK Singh. There is speculation that the NK Singh will push the JD(U) towards the Congress. 

Everyone who looks even vaguely northeastern -- be it Nepalis, Assamese, Nagas or Mizos -- were quick to head to the train station in Bangalore. As of now, up to 6,000 of the 2.5 lakh NE populace is reported to have left town. It's not an overwhelming number, but it raises the question "Why Bangalore?"

Find out on Firstpost.com

The Delhi court has issued a non-bailable warrant against absconding ex-Haryana minister Gopal Kanda in the Geetika Sharma suicide case. The  Delhi Police today conducted fresh raids at his residence. Kanda is accused of abetting the suicide of former flight attendant Geetika Sharma.

Investigators went to Kanda's residence in Sirsa late on Wednesday night and conducted raids but the former minister could not be traced.

West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee reacts to the Calcutta High Court admitted the contempt plea against her. She says she is happy that the judiciary has filed a case against her. "I said what I had to say. Corruption in the judiciary has to come down," she said.

Against the backdrop of attack by militants on a Pakistani air force base, Army Chief Gen Bikram Singh today said Indian military installations are "well protected and defended".

"We have our procedures in place. All our bases are protected and there are Standard Operating Procedures and our bases are well defended," the Army Chief told reporters on the sidelines of an event to felicitate Army sports persons.

Gen Singh said the armed forces also had the "means to generate intelligence regarding such threats that may come up to these bases". Indian armed forces have taken several measures to strengthen their security to protect against such threats in the last few years, he said.

Terrorists armed with sophisticated weapons and suicide vests today stormed a key Pakistan Air Force base in Punjab province that is believed to house nuclear weapons, triggering an intense gun battle that left seven attackers and a security personnel dead.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today denied having given any interview to a magazine to say that he will break his alliance with BJP if Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi is made its prime ministerial candidate in the next elections. "I never gave any interview to the magazine which has been quoted in the news," Kumar said.

He was referring to a reported interview in The Week magazine which had later pulled it out of its website. JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav also dismissed the reported interview. "I have not talked to anybody but I know him (Kumar) for so many years. He cannot make such remarks," Yadav said.

On the NYT's India blogs: American Roots of the Indian Independence movement by Naresh Fernandes. Read

Texting while driving contributes to nearly 100,000 crashes causing injury or death per year. Loathe to be held responsible for such a grim statistic, AT&T has announced a campaign to stop texting while driving as well as an app to help curb the practice. Read

JD-U President Sharad Yadav today hit out at Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for his Independence Day address blaming lack of political consensus for the slow growth and his promise to do everything to boost the economy through investments

"Through his address the Prime Minister meant to say that the market is not opening up enough for investors due to lack of political consensus. I express my happiness that Congress does not have the full majority, otherwise they would have allowed FDI in retail sector and destroyed more than 22 crore people, who are engaged in this sector," he said. Yadav, who is also NDA convenor, said the Prime Minister is "mainly concerned with FDI in retail".

The CPI(M) too attacked the PM for making "deceptive" statements in his Independence Day address, claiming that his government was not being restrained by "lack of political consensus" to push through neo-liberal policy measures.

"Making the current economic slowdown as the excuse, the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister are busy in pushing through a series of measures to help foreign and Indian capital and corporates and to help them circumvent taxes," senior party leader Sitaram Yechury said.

Two gorilla brothers go bananas as they are reunited after nearly three years apart. Silverback Kesho, 13, and nine-year-old Alf were raised together but separated when Kesho was taken off to breed. Read more 

Woman stunned as flash mob of strangers hand her flowers before boyfriend pops the question. Watch

BJP president Nitin Gadkari today said that illegal migrants living in Assam and other parts of the country are responsible for the attacks on people from the North East and the recent violence at Mumbai's Azad Maidan.

"The attacks in some parts of the country on people from the North East is unfortunate... These are being perpetrated by illegal migrants living in the country. There is a foreign hand in this. The Centre should deal firmly with such incidents," Gadkari said.

"The problem in Assam is not religious or communal but that of the Indian versus the outsider. Anti-national people are involved in this violence. Similarly, in Mumbai the crowd had waived Pakistani flag and made provocative remarks. They also vandalised the martyrs' memorial," Gadkari added.

Gadkari said he has directed Karnataka Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar as well as CMs of other BJP ruled states to ensure that no harm is done to people from the North East residing in their states.

The Calcutta High Court admits the contempt plea against West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee and asks the petitioner, a lawyer, on what basis the PIL has been filed.

Today, lawyers moved the Calcutta High Court seeking a suo motu contempt proceedings against chief minister Mamata Banerjee for comments against the judiciary.

The West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday came under attack from political parties and eminent lawyers for alleging there were instances when court judgments have been delivered for money.

President Pranab Mukherjee today called up senior BJP leaders LK Advani, Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley after our report that the three leaders were treated discourteously during the At Home yesterday.

The President told Advani that it was an error and he acknowledged there was a slip-up. He said he would ensure such events do not occur in the future and there is no breach in protocol.

Incidentally, former Marshal of the Indian Air Force Arjan Singh, who is 98, was also made to stand. It was only later that a serving officer rushed to get him a chair and asked him to take a seat. 

Read  our story: Pranab's 'At Home': BJP leaders fume at 'discourtesy'

Ten days on, former Haryana minister Gopal Kanda is still absconding. The  Delhi Police today conducted fresh raids at his residence. Kanda is accused of abetting the suicide of former flight attendant Geetika Sharma.

Investigators went to Kanda's residence in Sirsa late on Wednesday night and conducted raids but the former minister could not be traced.They picked up one of Kanda's relatives for questioning, sources said.Investigators have conducted searches and raids in around 50 places and questioned over 25 people but they were unable to trace Kanda, the owner of erstwhile MDLR Airline where 23-year-old Geetika was working.

If you've been wondering why Baba Ramdev's aide was MIA at the Ramlila rally a couple of days ago, here's why -- he was in jail.

The Uttarakhand High Court today granted bail to Balkrishna, nearly a month after he was arrested by the CBI in a fake document case.
Hearing the bail application, a single judge bench of Justice Tarun Agrawal granted bail to Balkrishna. The court also ordered Balkrishna to furnish two personal sureties of Rs 10 lakh, Balkrishna's counsel Rajendra Dobhal said. Balkrishna had moved the High Court after he failed to get relief.

While on the north-east, read: Manipur has often been in the news for all the wrong reasons -- mainly the violence stemming from its long-running insurgencies. Read

@milinddeora Shameful that North-East youth still feel unsafe in their own country. Rumor mongers in Karnataka & those online must be punished. Though late, good to see Karnataka's CM leading from the front to allay fears & dispel rumors

A couple of reads from Shekhar Kapur's blog...

A Blackberry addict discovers grassroots enterprise in India. Read

My carcass in the Holy Ganges. Read

In the aftermath of fresh violence in Assam, indefinite curfew was today clamped in Rangiya revenue circle in Kamrup (Rural) district, where a mob torched a vehicle and damaged several others.

District administration sources said indefinite curfew has been clamped as a precautionary measure after the mob turned violent during a blockade at National Highway 31 to protest against torching of a car and its driver going missing in neighbouring Baksa district last night.

Rangiya SDO Barnali Deka escaped unhurt when the mob tried to attack her vehicle forcing the police to fire in the air to disperse the crowd. One person has been detained by the police for today's incident in Rangiya. Kamrup (Rural) district was so far unaffected by violence between tribal Bodos and members of the minority that has claimed 77 lives since late last month in Kokrajhar, Chirang, Dhubri and Baksa districts of lower Assam.

Our sources tell us that nine BJP chief ministers will meet on August 18 in Delhi to discuss the issue of good governance. They will also discuss problems faced by students from the north-east, Maoist problems and fiscal issues. Those present include BJP senior leader LK Advani, Yashwant Sinha and Narendra Modi. In fact, Modi is expected to make a powerpoint presentation on how Gujarat is free of power problems. Sinha will be the key coordinator. 

In a special Independence Day episode of The Front Row With Anupama Chopra, Bollywood icon Amitabh Bachchan spoke about the making of The Great Gatsby, the humility of Hollywood stars and what makes for a good audience. Excerpts on the WSJ blogs. 

The Supreme Court today dismissed a PIL seeking quashing of land alloted in Lucknow to relatives of Samajwadi Party leaders and bureaucrats by the Mulayam Singh government in 2005.

A bench headed by justice Aftab Alam refused to interfere in the land allotment issue after it the Uttar Pradesh Government contended that the petitioner is also a beneficiary of the allotment under the discretionary quota of the state.

"We are not inclined to interfere in the matter," the bench said. The court also queried whether the petitioner is willing to surrender the plot alloted to him, but his lawyer contended that there is no illegality in the land given to the petitioner by the state government. The petition was filed in 2005 by Vishwanath Chaturvedi, a practising lawyer, who according to Mulayam Singh was also a member of the Congress party.

Taking a dig at the Congress, Chief Minister Narendra Modi said the main opposition party will take Gujarat back to the 18th century if it is voted to power in the upcoming state polls. Modi claimed Gujarat Congress leaders were making remarks which were at variance with the Independence Day address made by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Read more

Heavily-armed terrorists wearing suicide vests today brazenly stormed a key Pakistan Air Force base believed to house nuclear weapons, setting off a fierce gunbattle with the security forces that left seven attackers and one soldier dead and parts of the complex in flames.

Terrorists, some of whom were wearing military uniforms, infiltrated into the Kamra airbase, just 40 kms from the capital, under the cover of darkness at about 2 am breaching three barriers as they attempted to target fighters including F-16 and Chinese made JF-17 aircraft. The audacious attack came just a day after US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta expressed fears of danger of Pakistan's nuclear weapons falling into the terrorists' hands.

Duke of Edinburgh admitted to hospital with recurrence of bladder infection that he had during diamond jubilee pageant. Read

Ecuador has accused the UK of making a 'threat' to enter its embassy in London to arrest Wikileaks' Julian Assange. Assange took refuge at the embassy in June to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he faces questioning over assault and rape claims, which he denies. More on the bbc.

The Washington Post has apologised for wrongly stating that columnist and TV host Fareed Zakaria in his 2008 book "The Post-American World,' failed to cite the source of a quotation taken from another book. According to the Washington Post, in fact, Zakaria did credit the other work by Clyde V. Prestowitz. Endnotes crediting Prestowitz were contained in hardcover and paperback editions of Zakaria's book, the report said.

The Washington Post said that it should have examined copies of the books and should not have published the article, and apologized for the same. The Post had accused Zakaria, who had acknowledged plagiarizing parts of a magazine article last week, for also having published without attribution a passage from a 2005 book.

Also read: Fareed Zakaria's Plagiarism: Even Worse Than It Looks

The Supreme Court today issued notice to the Centre and all the state governments on a PIL seeking its direction to them for tracing 55,000 missing children in the country.

Agreeing to hear the public interest litigation (PIL), a bench headed by Justice Aftab Alam sought response from the Centre and States on the issue of the missing children. The order of the apex court came on a petition filed by an advocate, Sarwa Mitra.

"The State police machinery has failed to trace the missing children resulting in total extinction of life of these children. Further there is mutilation or amputation of arms, legs or pulling out of eyes or destruction of any other organ of the body of these children which lead them to spend miserable lives and compel them to engage in begging, flesh trade etc," Mitra said in his petition.

As promised, lawyers move the Calcutta High Court seeking suo motu contempt proceedings against chief minister Mamata Banerjee for comments against the judiciary. The West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday came under attack from political parties and eminent lawyers for alleging there were instances when court judgments have been delivered for money.

While the BJP said the questions raised against the judiciary by the chief minister was not right, the Communist Party of India-Marxist described her statement as a 'tactic' to put pressure on the Constitutional authority.

"It is unbecoming of a chief minister to make this sort of unsubstantiated allegation against the Constitutional authority. She shouldn't have done so," BJP leader Balbir Punj said.

Eminent lawyers including Soli Sorabji, Harish Salve and P P Rao also reacted to Banerjee's controversial statement. "...What about the cases, she has won in court? Who paid the judges? Mamata? This shows the absurdity of the allegations. I mean, one expects a mature reaction...I am very very disturbed," Sorabji said.

"...if this is going to be the tone and tenor of Indian democracy, then I think our Constitution is in serious peril," Salve said.

Congress spokesperson Rajiv Shukla said the safety of the people in Karnataka was the full responsibility of the state government and it should reassure people and provide security.The BJP's Sushma Swaraj said the party will raise the issue in Parliament tomorrow. Both houses of Parliament were adjourned for the day as a mark of respect to Vilasrao Deshmukh who passed away on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, in Bangalore, the BJP and Congress have begun politicking with one party accusing the other over the north-east exodus from Karnataka. BJP President Nitin Gadkari said the situation was sad. "The state govt has taken steps to ensure the safety of the people The CM, the deputy CM and the police have appealed to people from the north-east not to leave. But the union government should take strong steps to stop this," he said. 

So, the threats have worked. The Army has promoted Olympics silver medallist Vijay Kumar as Subedar Major.

On August 7, Kumar had said that he wanted to leave the Indian Army as he had not been given a single promotion in the last six years despite performing well at both the national and international levels.

Unheralded Vijay, who is a subedar with 16 Dogra Regiment, provided the silver lining for India in London Games last week, clinching the second place in the 25m rapid fire pistol event.

"Indian Army helped me in shooting by giving me coaching facilities and providing me with pistol and ammunition but I need money for my daily needs," Vijay had said from London.

"Since 2006 I won many national and international medals that include 2010 Commonwealth Games' three gold and one silver medal. But I have not been recommended by my seniors. I have not given any promotion or honorary award or any other kind of facility," he added.

@Mrityunjoykjha Helpline number for people from North East in Bangalore: 9480801020 ** Karnataka Police gives helpline number for people from North East.

In Bangalore today, many people from north-eastern states have been fleeing the city to go back home as rumours of attacks on them spread. Over 5,000 people from north-east, most of them students from Guwahati, were seen assembling at the city's central railway station as they tried to head back home. The railways has decided to add four coaches to the train to Guwahati to accommodate the additional rush of people. Another special train was pressed into service late on Wednesday night for the students to return home.

This, despite the DGP Karnataka reassured the community that all the incidents of violence reported on the anonymous SMSes were rumours. He said the pictures of violence sent on a MMS clip were doctored. The PM in a statement, has also assured the people of the north-east that the Karnataka was safe.

Fresh reports of violence in Assam in Kamrup and Baksa districts. There have been incidents of stone-pelting by miscreants and lathicharge by the police, this morning. 

Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde says reports of attack on people from the northeast in Karnataka are rum ours. He urged the people not to believe in rumours. Earlier, Union Home Secretary R K Singh had said, "There is no threat to the people of north-east in any part of the country. Don't be swayed by rumors."  

A man accused of murdering Indian-origin Anni Dewani during her honeymoon in South Africa has pleaded not guilty.  

Xolile Mngeni denied charges of murder, kidnapping, robbery and illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition at the Cape High Court.   According to Sky News, prosecutors claimed that he was hired by Dewani''s husband Shrien to carry out the killing.  

Mngeni was named by a co-accused Mziwamadoda Qwabe as the gunman in the killing in a plea bargain that implicated Dewani.

Gunfire and panicked pleas for help can be heard in the recordings of emergency calls made from the scene of the August 5 shooting incident at a gurudwara in the US. In one the calls, gun shots were clearly heard in the recording as a man is seeking help from the dispatcher. "There is shooting ... There is shooting in this ...," he said.

At another occasion, the dispatcher asks the caller, is the gunman inside the gurudwara. "I think so," the man replied. The Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office yesterday released a recording of the emergency calls received by it during the shooting incident on August 5 that killed six Sikh worshippers and injured four; two of which are still in the hospital, including one in critical condition.

Wade Michael Page, the lone gunman, died due to self-inflicting injuries during the shootout.

"There is no threat to the people of north-east in any part of the country," Union Home Secretary R K Singh has said.

From a correspondent in Delhi: The dream team for Budget 2012 is emerging. Anup Wadhawan is likely to succeed Thomas Mathews as joint secretary (capital market).   

The Pakistan Air Force base in Kamra is now under the control of commandos again, according to media reports.   

A group of heavily armed militants today stormed a key Pakistan Air Force base in Punjab province that is believed to house nuclear weapons, triggering an intense gun battle that left six attackers and two security personnel dead.