The Tribune – Ludhiana man takes over as Judge in Canada

Varinder Singh, Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, May 5. A native of Sherpur Kalan village in Ludhiana district has done the state proud by taking over as a Citizenship Judge in the Citizenship Court of Mississauga in Toronto. It is the largest citizenship court in Canada.

Known as a progressive entrepreneur and a motivational speaker, Dhaliwal migrated to Canada in 1979 after doing his B.Tech in Agriculture Engineering from the Punjab Agriculture University in Ludhiana. He has also been active on the social, cultural and political front for the last over two decades.

Dhaliwal has served as the president of Erin Mills Lions Club, a founder member of the IPCC International Punjabi Chamber of Commerce apart from having chaired the Children Wish Foundation.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20120506/punjab.htm#11

The Tribune – Man gets death penalty for killing pregnant wife

Ravi Dhaliwal, Tribune News Service

Gurdaspur, May 5. District and Sessions Judge Kewal Krishan Garg today awarded capital punishment to Satish Kumar, a resident of Kotli Raulan village of this district, for having burnt his eight-month pregnant wife to death following an argument in November 2009.

He observed: “On November 13, 2009, the day of incident, the accused returned from work at noon and was served with meal by his wife. Instead of feeling obliged to her for providing him food, he did the most heinous act by pouring kerosene oil on her and setting her ablaze, which resulted not only in her death but also of the foetus she was carrying. There is no mitigating circumstance in favour of the accused. Thus, the act of the barbarity committed by the accused makes it a rarest of the rare case where only capital punishment is to be given”.

Criticising people and groups advocating abolition of death penalty, he said: “It may be added some groups have been advocating abolition of the capital punishment. It seems that the persons leading these groups are living in ivory towers and have never been touched by such crimes committed on the ordinary citizens. The victim is not there to tell the agony of pain he or she suffers. In the present case, there is no other alternative but to award the above proposed punishment”.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20120506/punjab.htm#15

The Asian Age – NCTC not a Centre vs state issue: PM

Asian Age Correspondent

New Delhi, 6 May 2012. Defending the move to set up a National Counter Terrorism Centre, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday said establishing NCTC is not a state versus Centre issue, rather it will work as a vehicle of country’s combined efforts to curb terrorism. He said the new agency NCTC will supplement the counter-terrorism capabilities of the states and not supplant them.

“Terrorism is today one of the most potent threats to our national security. There can be no disagreement on putting an effective counter terrorism regime with efficient mechanism and response systems both at the national level and at the state level,” the Prime Minister said in his inaugural speech at a conference of chief ministers called to discuss NCTC.

Saturday’s meet was called after atleast a dozen chief ministers opposed the setting up of NCTC.

Allaying fears of the chief ministers about disturbing the federal structure, the Prime Minister stressed the government’s intention was in no way to affect the distribution of powers between the states and the Union that the Constitution provides.

“Neither the states nor the Centre can fulfil this task alone. The closest cooperation and coordination is therefore necessary to meet the threats that emanate from within and outside our borders,” he said.

Dr Singh said: “I believe that it is the responsibility of the Centre to give form and shape to a cohesive national approach and strategy based on information gathered globally and from all the states of our Union”.

http://www.asianage.com/india/nctc-not-centre-vs-state-issue-pm-363

8 April 2012 Easter Sunday walk

Speelhof

Speelhof

Speelhof

Speelhof

To see more Belgium (mostly Limburg) pictures :

http://www.flickr.com/photos/12445197@N05/sets/72157622046344528/

More Belgium pictures to follow
Harjinder Singh
Man in Blue

The Tribune – Fresh blow to Badal as Tota Singh sentenced to 1-year jail; Agri Minister held guilty for misusing official machinery; gets bail

Naveen S Garewal, Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 5. Just as the SAD-BJP government in Punjab was beginning to get out of the embarrassment caused by the conviction of its minister Jagir Kaur by a CBI court, Punjab’s Agriculture Minister Tota Singh was convicted today for misuse of official machinery by a Mohali court.

Tota Singh has been sentenced to one-year imprisonment and Rs 30,000 fine for misuse of official vehicles during his tenure as the Education Minister in 1997-2002 Akali government. Judge Rajinder Aggarwal of the Mohali court has, however, found him not guilty on charges of corruption.One year

The state Agriculture Minister applied for the bail and the court granted him to enable him to approach a higher court to challenge the conviction within 30 days. He also paid the fine immediately to save himself from an additional six-month jail term.

Though not found guilty of corruption, his conviction on a lesser charge is bound to result in his resignation and exit from the Punjab Cabinet. The Punjab Chief Minister, who was in Delhi to attend the chief ministers’ conclave on the NCTC, is expected to ask for his resignation on his return.

The SAD-BJP government in Punjab had sworn in on March 14. Within two weeks, it suffered the first blow when Jagir Kaur was sentenced to a five-year jail term in the Harpreet murder case. But even before the government gets on the track, it has suffered another jolt in the conviction of its agriculture minister.

Tota Singh was booked by the Vigilance Bureau during Amarinder Singh’s regime in 2002 under the Prevention of Corruption Act. He was accused of amassing disproportionate assets to his known sources of income. But the Mohali court did not find much merit and declared that Tota Singh was guilty only of misuse of official vehicles.

The Punjab Cabinet has strength of 18 ministers, including the CM. But after the resignation of Jagir Kaur, the CM has not filled her slot yet. With Tota Singh likely to demit office soon, Punjab is likely to witness a race for the vacant cabinet berths.

Meanwhile, the Congress has launched a tirade against the SAD saying that the courts were catching up with the “misdeeds of the Akalis”. Congress MP Partap Bajwa has said: “Akali Ministers’ past seems to be catching up with them with a vengeance.

After Bibi, another minister in a spot

Tota Singh is the second minister in the SAD-BJP coalition government in the state to be convicted and given a jail term after senior minister Bibi Jagir Kaur. Jagir Kaur was sentenced to five-year imprisonment by a CBI court in Patiala on March 30. She was sentenced recently in connection with a case relating to the mysterious death of her daughter.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20120506/main3.htm

BBC News – US drone ‘kills nine’ in Pakistan’s North Waziristan

Saturday 5 May 2012. A US drone strike has killed at least nine suspected militants in the volatile tribal areas of north-west Pakistan, say Pakistani officials.

The drone fired missiles at a suspected militant compound in the Shawal area of North Waziristan, close to the Afghan border, officials said.

Drones often target Pakistan’s tribal areas, thought to be the hub of Taliban cross-border insurgent activity.

Pakistan said the drone strike was illegal and counterproductive.

Security officials in North Waziristan told the AFP news agency that the compound, which militants were using as a training centre, was completely destroyed.

The US does not normally comment on individual drone operations, which have killed hundreds of people in recent years.

In January, President Barack Obama confirmed for the first time that the covert programme targets militants on Pakistani soil.

Those killed in the drone operations have included al-Qaeda and Taliban leaders, as well as civilians and other militants.

In US officials’ first detailed comments on drone strikes, President Obama’s counter-terrorism adviser, John Brennan, said last month that the attacks were helping to win the war on the militant network.

But he also conceded that there had been civilian deaths as a result of some strikes.

The frequency of the attacks rose after Mr Obama took office in 2008. More than 100 raids were reported in the area in 2010, and more than 60 took place last year.

Pakistan’s Foreign Office on Saturday repeated its assertion that drone attacks were a violation of the country’s sovereignty.

The BBC’s Aleem Maqbool in Islambad says many analysts believe the drone strikes could only continue if there was tacit support from Pakistan’s leaders.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-17967249