INDIAN COURT LEGALIZES HOMOSEXUALITY: INDIAN TV

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Thursday decriminalized homosexuality by reading down section 377 of the Indian Penal Code.

The Section 377 of the IPC as far as it criminalizes gay sex among consenting adults is violation of fundamental rights, said the high court. However, Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code which criminalizes homosexuality, will continue for non-consensual and non-vaginal sex.

Any kind of discrimination is anti-thesis of right to equality, said the court, while allowing plea of gay rights activists for decriminalization of homosexuality.

The court said that this judgment would hold till Parliament chooses to amend the law.

US employers cut 467,000 jobs in June * Track this topic * Print story * Post comment Back into the woods, not seeing it for trees

The US Department of Labor wanted to give out a little good news about the economy ahead of the July 4th holiday weekend in the States, but unfortunately that was not possible. The rate of job losses accelerated in the US in June, with 467,000 employees let go across all companies and industries excepting farming.

As El Reg reported a month ago when the May jobs report came out of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, companies in the States slashed 345,000 jobs in May, boosting the unemployment rate to 9.4 per cent. Through the magic of seasonally adjusting the numbers, slicing another 467,000 jobs in June only pushed the unemployment rate to 9.5 per cent, according to the BLS.

This strikes me as BS, and it is a pity that it is not just called the Bureau of Statistics. It is also a pity that Uncle Sam doesn't do the smart thing and count jobs and job cuts by job type and title, not by industry. You need both sets of data if you want to understand an economy.

Anyway, according to the June jobs report, which you can see here (pdf), the job losses were in just about every sector of the economy, but hit the manufacturing, construction, and professional and business services sector particularly hard. Manufacturers shed another 136,000 jobs in June, according to the BLS, and since the recession began in December 2007, over 1.9 million manufacturing jobs have been removed from the economy.

Among manufacturers, those making computer and electronic products shed 16,000 jobs (these are seasonally adjusted figures: Construction companies shed 79,000 jobs in June, and have cut 1.3 million employees since the recession began; those engaged in professional and business services (including those engaged in software development and IT consulting) cut 118,000 jobs last month in the States, and have cut 848,000 jobs since December 2007.

Taking a deeper look at the unfudged BLS data to get a sense of how IT-related sub-sectors of the US economy fared in terms of job cuts, computer and peripheral equipment makers cut 2,400 jobs in June, those making communications equipment cut 1,900 jobs, and those making semiconductors and electronic components removed 5,200 workers. Telecommunications companies cut 5,700 employees last month, but data processing, hosting, and related services firms held steady at 256,300 employees.

Companies engaged in computer systems design and related services actually saw employment rise by 1,600 people to just over 1.45 million employees in the raw data, but in the seasonally adjusted data the BLS reckons that 2,700 jobs were cut. This is why you always look at the raw data.

Tribal elder killed in Jamrud attack

ANDIKOTAL: Three tribesmen, including a prominent pro-government elder, were shot dead by unidentified gunmen in Jamrud sub-division of Khyber Agency on Wednesday.

Tribal elder Malik Guli Shah Kukikhel, along with his companions, was on way to the office of the political administration when armed men opened fire on them in Tedi Bazaar area in Jamrud. Son of the slain elder Meraj Shah told The News that his father and his three bodyguards were on way to the office of the political administration when some people, travelling in a non-custom-paid car, opened fire on them. He said his father, his driver Shahid and bodyguard Talib died on the spot.

Guli Shah’s younger brother Mehboob, alias Babu, and his two other bodyguards, Neik Muhammad and Salim, sustained bullet injuries. The assailants managed to flee. Guli Shah, a tribal elder known for his close contacts with the government, had escaped an attempt on his life a few months ago in Shah Kas area in Jamrud. Responsibility for the attack was claimed by the Khyber Agency-based religious organisation Lashkar-e-Islam (LI), headed by Mangal Bagh.

Soon after the Wednesday’s incident, members of the Kukikhel tribe gathered in the area and blocked the Peshawar-Torkham Road to protest the incident. The protesters burnt tyres and placed stones on the road and blocked it for all kinds of traffic for three hours. The angry protesters also burnt a vehicle of the Khassadar Force (tribal police) in Tedi Bazaar. Later, the road was opened at the intervention of officials of the political administration and elders from the Kukikhel tribe.

India, Pakistan secretaries, ministers to meet next month

ISLAMABAD: The keenly awaited meeting of the foreign secretaries of India and Pakistan is expected to take place in Sharm el Sheikh on the sidelines of the non-aligned summit next month.

The meeting may bring the two countries closer to resuming the peace process stalled since the Mumbai terror attack.

‘It has been agreed that the two secretaries would meet in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el Shiekh on either July 13 or 14, on the sidelines of NAM summit and a formal announcement would be made shortly,’ a well-placed diplomatic source told Dawn on Friday.

The two secretaries would be reaching Sharm el Sheikh by July 11 for meetings of officials preceding the July 15-16 summit.

Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh would also meet at the summit. Initially, President Asif Zardari was to attend the summit but he decided to pull out of the event.

The finalisation of the date and venue for the secretary-level talks came as foreign ministers of the two countries agreed in Trieste (Italy) to continue engagement for addressing the outstanding issues straining ties between their countries.

Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and Indian External Affairs Minister S. M. Krishna, who were in Italy to attend the G-8 meeting, agreed in their unscheduled meeting that there was vast potential in India-Pakistan relations that needed to be harnessed for mutual benefit.

Emphasising the significance of the secretaries’ talks, Mr Krishna was quoted by Indian media as saying: ‘Forthcoming talks of foreign secretaries, as was decided by our leaders in Russia, is important as it will enable us to take stock of where we stand on the issue of terrorism and the fulfilment by Pakistan of its assurance that its territory would not be used for terrorist attacks on India.’

Despite the agreement on date and venue for the talks differences over the agenda persist and could even undermine the outcome of the meeting.

It is evident from the statements coming from the two countries that India would attempt to keep the Sharm el Sheikh dialogue limited to the issue of terrorism, while Pakistan would press for unconditional resumption of the Composite Dialogue.

Sources privy to preparations for the crucial talks say India was attempting to recast the entire framework of peace talks, which despite slow pace had made substantial gains.

Pakistan, they said, was trying to pre-empt the Indian design for wriggling out of the Composite Dialogue and reducing the engagement to one-point agenda.

This, it is feared, would nullify all progress made on Siachen, Sir Creek and other issues included in Composite Dialogue. Nevertheless, they insist that Pakistan wants to remain engaged with India.

Notwithstanding the intense differences between the two sides, Mr Qureshi after his talks with his Indian counterpart in Trieste expressed optimism about Pakistan and India ‘getting along in restoring’ the Composite Dialogue.

Mr Qureshi described his interaction with Mr Krishna as ‘very positive and fruitful’. Mr Qureshi, according to Reuters, described the meeting as ‘a re-engagement of the dialogue’.

‘When we restart the dialogue, obviously the Kashmir issue will come under discussion, but we have other issues as well,’ the minister said, including cooperation on ‘terrorism and extremism’.

Asked whether Pakistan intended to prosecute militants responsible for the Mumbai attacks, Mr Qureshi said: ‘We will do our utmost to take them to court, and if we can put together a legally tenable case, we would want them prosecuted and we would want them convicted.’

Swat operation likely to end in few days: Pakistan army

ISLAMABAD, June 29 (Xinhua) -- Military offensive against the militants in Swat valley in northwest Pakistan will be completed in a few days as most of the area has been cleared of the terrorists, the Pakistani army said Monday.

The security forces had launched major operation in Swat valley against Fazaullah-led militants early May and army said over 1,590 militants killed.

Pakistan army spokesman Major General Athar Abbas told a news conference that command structure of the militants has been totally dismantled, their training centers discovered and destroyed, their recruits either killed or driven away and ammunition dumps destroyed.

He said the security forces have killed 18 terrorists in Swat and North Waziristan tribal agency and also recovered huge cache of arms and ammunition during the last 24 hours.

He said 16 soldiers including three officers were killed and six soldiers including one officer were injured in North Waziristan attack on Sunday.

He also explained that the operation is against a terrorist group, not against any tribe or people.

Bomb in Pakistan's Rawalpindi kills at least one

RAWALPINDI, Pakistan (Reuters) - A suicide bomber on a motorcycle attacked a bus carrying workers from a nuclear facility and blew himself up in the Pakistani city of Rawalpindi on Thursday, killing at least one other person, police said.

Pakistan has been hit by a wave of bombings in recent weeks in response to a military offensive against Taliban militants in the northwest of the country, but Thursday's was the closest to the capital since the launch of the offensive.

Rawalpindi, near Islamabad, is home to the headquarters of the Pakistani army and other state agencies.

Two other attacks in the country's northwest killed three people.

The city's police chief had originally told reporters that up to six people had been killed in the Rawalpindi blast, but he later revised that figure down.

"I was at the spot and was told the toll was five to six, but later we checked with hospitals and they confirmed one dead and 29 wounded," Nasir Durrani told reporters.

Senior police officer Rao Iqbal said the bus was carrying workers from a main nuclear facility, the Khan Research Laboratories.

Policemen at the scene shifted the mangled remains of a motorcycle from beside the bus, which had its windows blown out. Another policeman carried a plastic bag, apparently containing bits of human flesh.

In a separate incident, a roadside bomb exploded as a police patrol passed by on the outskirts of the northwestern city of Peshawar, killing two policemen and wounding four, including two civilians, senior police official Safwat Ghayur said.

In a suspected sectarian attack, a man lobbed a hand grenade at a butcher shop in the northwestern town of Dera Ismail Khan, killing one and injuring four, a senior police official said.

The army went on the offensive in the Swat region two months ago after the Taliban seized a district 100 km (60 miles) from Islamabad, raising alarm at home and among allies who need Pakistani help to fight al Qaeda and tackle Afghanistan's insurgency.

REDEPLOYING BORDER FORCES

The military says it is nearing the end of the offensive in Swat, but intermittent clashes have erupted as soldiers encounter pockets of fighters.

The military said on Thursday afternoon that 23 militants had been killed and five were captured in the previous 24 hours.

But no Taliban leaders have been among the approximately 1,600 militants the army has reported killed in Swat. Independent casualty estimates are not available.