News and Events - AUGUST 2009

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'Fake rape': Pak woman gets 40 lashes and 2 years

'Fake rape': Pak woman gets 40 lashes
PTI 29 August 2009, 01:26am IST


LAHORE: A Pakistani court has awarded 40 lashes and two years’ rigorous imprisonment to a 32-year-old woman under the controversial ‘Hudood’ law for “falsely” accusing two men of raping her.

The charge levelled by Abida Bibi, the wife of a labourer from Layyah, located 175km from here, against the two men was proved to be false in a court.

A sessions judge said in a judgement issued on Thursday that Abida had levelled a false allegation of ‘zina’ or forcible fornication against the two men. She was therefore guilty under the provision of the Hudood Ordinance related to ‘qazf’ or false accusation of fornication, he said.

Abida had alleged that four men had entered her house in 2008 when her husband was away. She said two of them raped her.

'Fake rape': Pak woman gets 40 lashes - Pakistan - World - NEWS - The Times of India

 

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Woman kills 6 kids to gain 'powers'
Radha Venkatesan, TNN 30 August 2009, 03:51am IST


SALEM: A woman soothsayer allegedly fed pesticide-mixed food to six children in her Pazhaiya Udaiyampatti hamlet in Salem of Tamil Nadu over the last one-and-a-half years to gain occult powers and become a popular 'godwoman'.

The woman, Perumayi (35), and her husband Palanimuthu were arrested on Friday evening after post-mortem report of a three-year-old girl, Priyadarshini, who died on April 26 this year confirmed that she had died of pesticide poisoning.

Shocked villagers of Pazhaiya Udaiyampatti claimed that Perumayi targeted only the first child and those with the 'Kumba' (Aquarius) zodiac sign, mostly two days before or after the new moon or full moon day. And she would always break into a frenzied dance and predict the children's deaths hours before they died.

The woman is said to have poisoned about 50 goats and two cows in the village before trying out the pesticide on kids. ''She wanted to become a famous soothsayer and make some money. And that appears to be the motive behind the murders,'' Salem rural SP NM Mayilvahanan told TOI.

Finally, it was the dying words of the precocious Priyadarshini that revealed the mystery behind the deaths of six children in the village.


Woman kills 6 kids to show 'powers' - India - NEWS - The Times of India

 

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Muslim families forced out of Mehsana village

Muslim families forced out of Mehsana village
TNN 31 August 2009, 04:24am IST


PALANPUR: At least 100 members of the minority community - including women and children - have been allegedly forced to move out of Kharvada village in Mehsana district's Visnagar taluka by the Chaudharis, the predominant community there, over the issue of land for a graveyard.

They have been living with their relatives at Badarpur, Kesimpa and Vadnagar within a 10-km radius from their homes and farms since last Monday.

Four of them - Momin Mehboob Habibbhai, Momin Haidarali Habibbhai, Momin Ahamdbhai Valibhai and Momin Mohamad Husain Rahimbhai - wrote a letter to President of India Pratibha Patil on August 28 detailing the circumstances under which they were forced to leave their village. Copies of the letter have also been marked to the National Human Rights Commission of India, Director General of Police, Gujarat, DIG, Gandhinagar Range, Mehsana district collector and Minority Commission of India.

The letter seeking justice says that ever since they asked for a piece of land from the state government for a graveyard, they were ostracised by the Chaudharis in the village. "At present, we are living with our relatives at Badarpur, Kesimpa and Vadangar," says 70-year-old Rahim Chacha.

"No sooner was the request for the graveyard approved in principle by the state government, a restriction was put on all our religious activities by the villagers. We were stopped from offering prayers and teaching Muslim history at the madrassa. The Momin Shiya Jamat members were threatened of dire consequences if they persisted to live in Kharvada village. Finally, we left on last Monday leaving behind our homes, farmland and other properties," says Haidarali Habibbhai.

Mehsana district collector Ajay Bhadu says the community's demand for a graveyard was under process of the village panchayat. Efforts are on to persuade the panchayat to take a decision in the matter and sort out the differences between the two communities.

Muslim families forced out of Mehsana village - Rajkot - City - NEWS - The Times of India

 

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China to begin construction of orbital space station in 2020

China to begin construction of orbital space station in 2020© Фото NASA
13:5431/08/2009

BEIJING, August 31 (RIA Novosti) - China will begin the construction of its own orbital space station in 2020, the Sina news service said on Monday, citing a top official with the country's manned spaceflight program.

Gu Yidong said that China would sent two or three space labs into orbit in 2010-2015, while the basic module of the space station is to be orbited by 2020.

The spacecrafts will "form the basic orbital complex of the Chinese space station" when docked together, he said.

According to earlier Chinese media reports, China plans to send a manned mission to the Moon by 2030 and subsequently build a lunar base to send missions to other planets in the Solar System, such as Mars. By 2050, China plans to develop and launch a research probe to space bodies outside the Solar System.

A Chinese astronaut conducted the country's first spacewalk last September, making China the third country in the world after Russia and the United States to send a man into open space.

China to begin construction of orbital space station in 2020 | Top Russian news and analysis online | 'RIA Novosti' newswire

 

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Muslim families forced out of Mehsana village
TNN 31 August 2009, 04:24am IST


PALANPUR: At least 100 members of the minority community - including women and children - have been allegedly forced to move out of Kharvada village in Mehsana district's Visnagar taluka by the Chaudharis, the predominant community there, over the issue of land for a graveyard.

They have been living with their relatives at Badarpur, Kesimpa and Vadnagar within a 10-km radius from their homes and farms since last Monday.

Four of them - Momin Mehboob Habibbhai, Momin Haidarali Habibbhai, Momin Ahamdbhai Valibhai and Momin Mohamad Husain Rahimbhai - wrote a letter to President of India Pratibha Patil on August 28 detailing the circumstances under which they were forced to leave their village. Copies of the letter have also been marked to the National Human Rights Commission of India, Director General of Police, Gujarat, DIG, Gandhinagar Range, Mehsana district collector and Minority Commission of India.

The letter seeking justice says that ever since they asked for a piece of land from the state government for a graveyard, they were ostracised by the Chaudharis in the village. "At present, we are living with our relatives at Badarpur, Kesimpa and Vadangar," says 70-year-old Rahim Chacha.

"No sooner was the request for the graveyard approved in principle by the state government, a restriction was put on all our religious activities by the villagers. We were stopped from offering prayers and teaching Muslim history at the madrassa. The Momin Shiya Jamat members were threatened of dire consequences if they persisted to live in Kharvada village. Finally, we left on last Monday leaving behind our homes, farmland and other properties," says Haidarali Habibbhai.

Mehsana district collector Ajay Bhadu says the community's demand for a graveyard was under process of the village panchayat. Efforts are on to persuade the panchayat to take a decision in the matter and sort out the differences between the two communities.

Muslim families forced out of Mehsana village - Rajkot - City - NEWS - The Times of India

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