Rushed, ordinance is half-baked, may help rapists

NEW DELHI: Can a rape accused get away by claiming that he had penetrated a woman's vagina for "proper hygienic or medical purposes"? The hastily promulgated ordinance replacing rape with the broader and gender neutral offence of "sexual assault" has given rise to such a bizarre possibility.

This is because of the ill-thought-out definition of sexual assault, which encompasses a wide range of non-consensual sexual acts, whether they involve penetration or just touching. The howler in the ordinance is where it says that any of those acts would fall outside the purview of sexual assault if "such penetration or touching is carried out for proper hygienic or medical purposes".

The caveat is so loosely drafted that, far from protecting the rape victim, it could serve as a major loophole for anybody accused of committing sexual assault. The government's intention might have only been to provide a safeguard to medical professionals touching or penetrating the vagina in the course of their work. Since there is however no such clarification in it, the safeguard can be exploited by any person who "penetrates his penis", "inserts ... any object", "manipulates any part of the body", "applies his mouth to the ... vagina" or "touches the vagina".

As feminist lawyer Madhu Mehra put it, "The exception that has been cited in the definition is absurd, given that the penetration of penis into vagina or anus is never done for hygienic or medical purposes, and given that consent is anyway mandatory for all medical procedures. One wonders why the government pushed through the ordinance even before thinking through its definition of sexual assault in the new Section 375 IPC."

The government does have the onus of justifying this notion of exempting any penetration or touching done for hygienic or medical purposes, as no such exception was recommended by the Verma Committee in its definition of rape. This caveat did not figure even in the Bill introduced by the government in December.

Another glaring anomaly in the ordinance is its creation of three different provisions dealing with molestation. If somebody were to touch a woman's breasts, he could now be tried under any of these provisions: Section 375(e) dealing with the touching of private parts, Section 354 dealing with the outraging of woman's modesty or Section 354A dealing with sexual harassment. Since these provisions carry different levels of punishment, the discretion that the ordinance will be placing in the hands of the police is a recipe for abuse.

Read More..

Critics seek to delay NYC sugary drinks size limit

NEW YORK (AP) — Opponents are pressing to delay enforcement of the city's novel plan to crack down on supersized, sugary drinks, saying businesses shouldn't have to spend millions of dollars to comply until a court rules on whether the measure is legal.

With the rule set to take effect March 12, beverage industry, restaurant and other business groups have asked a judge to put it on hold at least until there's a ruling on their lawsuit seeking to block it altogether. The measure would bar many eateries from selling high-sugar drinks in cups or containers bigger than 16 ounces.

"It would be a tremendous waste of expense, time, and effort for our members to incur all of the harm and costs associated with the ban if this court decides that the ban is illegal," Chong Sik Le, president of the New York Korean-American Grocers Association, said in court papers filed Friday.

City lawyers are fighting the lawsuit and oppose postponing the restriction, which the city Board of Health approved in September. They said Tuesday they expect to prevail.

"The obesity epidemic kills nearly 6,000 New Yorkers each year. We see no reason to delay the Board of Health's reasonable and legal actions to combat this major, growing problem," Mark Muschenheim, a city attorney, said in a statement.

Another city lawyer, Thomas Merrill, has said officials believe businesses have had enough time to get ready for the new rule. He has noted that the city doesn't plan to seek fines until June.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg and other city officials see the first-of-its-kind limit as a coup for public health. The city's obesity rate is rising, and studies have linked sugary drinks to weight gain, they note.

"This is the biggest step a city has taken to curb obesity," Bloomberg said when the measure passed.

Soda makers and other critics view the rule as an unwarranted intrusion into people's dietary choices and an unfair, uneven burden on business. The restriction won't apply at supermarkets and many convenience stores because the city doesn't regulate them.

While the dispute plays out in court, "the impacted businesses would like some more certainty on when and how they might need to adjust operations," American Beverage Industry spokesman Christopher Gindlesperger said Tuesday.

Those adjustments are expected to cost the association's members about $600,000 in labeling and other expenses for bottles, Vice President Mike Redman said in court papers. Reconfiguring "16-ounce" cups that are actually made slightly bigger, to leave room at the top, is expected to take cup manufacturers three months to a year and cost them anywhere from more than $100,000 to several millions of dollars, Foodservice Packaging Institute President Lynn Dyer said in court documents.

Movie theaters, meanwhile, are concerned because beverages account for more than 20 percent of their overall profits and about 98 percent of soda sales are in containers greater than 16 ounces, according to Robert Sunshine, executive director of the National Association of Theatre Owners of New York State.

___

Follow Jennifer Peltz at http://twitter.com/jennpeltz

Read More..

Boy Rescued in Ala. Standoff 'Laughing, Joking'

The 5-year-old boy held hostage in a nearly week-long standoff in Alabama is in good spirits and apparently unharmed after being reunited with his family at a hospital, according to his family and law enforcement officials.

The boy, identified only as Ethan, was rescued by the FBI Monday afternoon after they rushed the underground bunker where suspect Jimmy Lee Dykes, 65, was holding him. Dykes was killed in the raid and the boy was taken away from the bunker in an ambulance.

Ethan's thrilled relatives told "Good Morning America" today that he seemed "normal as a child could be" after what he went through and has been happily playing with his toy dinosaur.

"He's happy to be home," Ethan's great uncle Berlin Enfinger told "GMA." "He's very excited and he looks good."

Click here for a psychological look at what's next for Ethan.

"If I could, I would do cartwheels all the way down the road," Ethan's aunt Debra Cook said. "I was ecstatic. Everything just seemed like it was so much clearer. You know, we had all been walking around in a fog and everyone was just excited. There's no words to put how we felt and how relieved we were."

Cook said that Ethan has not yet told them anything about what happened in the bunker and they know very little about Dykes.

What the family does know is that they are overjoyed to have their "little buddy" back.

Ala. Hostage Standoff Over: Kidnapper Dead, Child Safe Watch Video

Alabama Hostage Standoff: Jimmy Lee Dykes Dead Watch Video

"He's a special child, 90 miles per hour all the time," Cook said. "[He's] a very, very loving child. When he walks in the room, he just lights it up."

Officials have remained tight-lipped about the raid, citing the ongoing investigation.

"I've been to the hospital," FBI Special Agent Steve Richardson told reporters Monday night. "I visited with Ethan. He is doing fine. He's laughing, joking, playing, eating, the things that you would expect a normal 5- to 6-year-old young man to do. He's very brave, he's very lucky, and the success story is that he's out safe and doing great."

Ethan is expected to be released from the hospital later today and head home where he will be greeted by birthday cards from his friends at school. Ethan will celebrate his 6th birthday Wednesday.

Officials were able to insert a high-tech camera into the 6-by-8-foot bunker to monitor Dykes' movements, and they became increasingly concerned that he might act out, a law enforcement source with direct knowledge told ABC News Monday. FBI special agents were positioned near the entrance of the bunker and used two explosions to gain entry at the door and neutralize Dykes.

Who Is Jimmy Lee Dykes?

"Within the past 24 hours, negotiations deteriorated and Mr. Dykes was observed holding a gun," the FBI's Richardson said. "At this point, the FBI agents, fearing the child was in imminent danger, entered the bunker and rescued the child."

Richardson said it "got tough to negotiate and communicate" with Dykes, but declined to give any specifics.

After the raid was complete, FBI bomb technicians checked the property for improvised explosive devices, the FBI said in a written statement Monday afternoon.

The FBI had created a mock bunker near the site and had been using it to train agents for different scenarios to get Ethan out, sources told ABC News.

Former FBI special agent and ABC News consultant Brad Garrett said rescue operators in this case had a delicate balance.

"You have to take into consideration if you're going to go in that room and go after Mr. Dykes, you have to be extremely careful because any sort of device you might use against him, could obviously harm Ethan because he's right there," he said.

Read More..

Iran's Ahmadinejad kissed and scolded in Egypt

CAIRO (Reuters) - Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was both kissed and scolded on Tuesday when he began the first visit to Egypt by an Iranian president since Tehran's 1979 Islamic revolution.

The trip was meant to underline a thaw in relations since Egyptians elected an Islamist head of state, President Mohamed Mursi, last June. But it also highlighted deep theological and geopolitical differences.

Mursi, a member of the Sunni Muslim Brotherhood, kissed Ahmadinejad after he landed at Cairo airport and gave him a red carpet reception with military honors. Ahmadinejad beamed as he shook hands with waiting dignitaries.

But the Shi'ite Iranian leader received a stiff rebuke when he met Egypt's leading Sunni Muslim scholar later at Cairo's historic al-Azhar mosque and university.

Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, head of the 1,000-year-old seat of religious learning, urged Iran to refrain from interfering in Gulf Arab states, to recognize Bahrain as a "sisterly Arab nation" and rejected the extension of Shi'ite Muslim influence in Sunni countries, a statement from al-Azhar said.

Visiting Cairo to attend an Islamic summit that begins on Wednesday, Ahmadinejad told a news conference he hoped his trip would be "a new starting point in relations between us".

However, a senior cleric from the Egyptian seminary, Hassan al-Shafai, who appeared alongside him, said the meeting had degenerated into an exchange of theological differences.

"There ensued some misunderstandings on certain issues that could have an effect on the cultural, political and social climate of both countries," Shafai said.

"The issues were such that the grand sheikh saw that the meeting ... did not serve the desired purpose."

The visit would have been unthinkable during the rule of Hosni Mubarak, the military-backed autocrat who preserved Egypt's peace treaty with Israel during his 30 years in power and deepened ties between Cairo and the West.

"The political geography of the region will change if Iran and Egypt take a unified position on the Palestinian question," Ahmadinejad said in an interview with Al Mayadeen, a Beirut-based TV station, on the eve of his trip.

He said he wanted to visit the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian territory which neighbors Egypt to the east and is run by the Islamist movement Hamas. "If they allow it, I would go to Gaza to visit the people," Ahmadinejad said.

Analysts doubt that the historic changes that brought Mursi to power will result in a full restoration of diplomatic ties between states whose relations were broken off after the conclusion of Egypt's peace treaty with Israel in 1979.

OBSTACLES TO FULL TIES

At the airport the two leaders discussed ways of improving relations and resolving the Syrian crisis "without resorting to military intervention", Egyptian state media reported.

Egypt is concerned by Iran's support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who is trying to crush an uprising inspired by the revolt that swept Mubarak from power two years ago. Egypt's overwhelmingly Sunni Muslim population is broadly supportive of the uprising against Assad's Alawite-led administration.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr sought to reassure Gulf Arab allies - that are supporting Cairo's battered state finances and are deeply suspicious of Iran - that Egypt would not jeopardize their security.

"The security of the Gulf states is the security of Egypt," he said in remarks reported by the official MENA news agency.

Mursi wants to preserve ties with the United States, the source of $1.3 billion in aid each year to the influential Egyptian military.

"The restoration of full relations with Iran in this period is difficult, despite the warmth in ties ... because of many problems including the Syrian crisis and Cairo's links with the Gulf states, Israel and the United States," said one former Egyptian diplomat.

Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said he was optimistic that ties could grow closer.

"We are gradually improving. We have to be a little bit patient. I'm very hopeful about the expansion of the bilateral relationship," he told Reuters. Asked where he saw room for closer ties, he said: "Trade and economics."

Egypt and Iran have taken opposite courses since the late 1970s. Egypt, under Mubarak's predecessor Anwar Sadat, concluded a peace treaty with Israel in 1979 and became a close ally of the United States and Europe. Iran from 1979 turned into a center of opposition to Western influence in the Middle East.

Symbolically, Iran named a street in Tehran after the Islamist who led the 1981 assassination of Sadat.

Egypt gave asylum and a state funeral to Iran's exiled Shah Reza Pahlavi, who was overthrown in the 1979 Iranian revolution. He is buried in a mosque beside Cairo's mediaeval Citadel alongside his ex-brother-in-law, Egypt's last king, Farouk.

(Additional reporting by Ayman Samir, Marwa Awad and Alexander Diadosz; Writing by Paul Taylor and Tom Perry; Editing by Andrew Roche and Robin Pomeroy)

Read More..

Iran "danger" threatens Israel's existence: Peres

JERUSALEM: Israeli leaders warned Tuesday of threats posed by Iran, Hezbollah and their mutual ally Syria as the new Israeli parliament opened following last month's general election.

President Shimon Peres said the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran was growing under the "terrifying dictatorship" ruling the Islamic republic.

"The Iranian danger has grown," Peres said in a speech to the Knesset, or parliament. "It threatens our existence, the independence of the Arab states, the peace of the whole world."

"At its head stands a group of ayatollahs in their religious robes, a terrifying dictatorship, staining Persian history and a nightmare for its people," he told MPs.

Much of the international community fears Iran's nuclear programme includes efforts to develop nuclear weapons, a charge Tehran has repeatedly denied.

Israel believes Iran must be prevented from reaching military nuclear capabilities at any cost and refuses to rule out military intervention to that end.

It also accuses Iran of sponsoring the Lebanese militia movement Hezbollah, which Bulgaria said Tuesday was behind a bomb attack there in July that killed five Israeli tourists and one Bulgarian.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Bulgarian finding should push the EU to draw the "necessary conclusions" about the Shiite group, a reference to Israel's longstanding demand it be placed on a terror watch list.

"The attack in Burgas was an attack on European soil, against a member state of the European Union," Netanyahu said. "We hope that the Europeans will draw the necessary conclusions about the true nature of Hezbollah."

"This is yet a further corroboration of what we have already known, that Hezbollah and its Iranian patrons are orchestrating a worldwide campaign of terror that is spanning countries and continents," he said.

The bombing on a bus carrying Israelis at Burgas Airport on Bulgaria's Black Sea coast, the deadliest attack on Israelis abroad since 2004, also killed the Bulgarian bus driver and the bomber. Some 30 people were wounded.

"The attack in Burgas was just one in a series of terror attacks planned and carried out by Hezbollah and Iran," Netanyahu said. "That is in addition to the support that Hezbollah and Iran give to the murderous... regime in Syria.

Tehran has denied any involvement in the Burgas attack.

Peres said he was confident of US President Barack Obama's intent to thwart Iran's nuclear arms ambitions.

"The United States can put an end to the Iranian threat and I believe that the President of the United States is determined to do it," the Israeli president said.

He called on the United Nations and the Arab League to act urgently to end the turmoil in Syria.

"Iran is a danger and Syria is a tragedy. Its president butchers his people. In my opinion the UN should task the Arab League with the immediate formation of a transitional government in Syria to save it from self-destruction. Assad, who has murdered tens of thousands has also murdered his future," he said.

Syria has blamed Israel for a Wednesday air raid at a military complex near Damascus, which targeted surface-to-air missiles and an adjacent military complex believed to house chemical agents, according to a US official.

Damascus has threatened to retaliate and Syria's close ally Iran warned the attack would have "grave consequences" and that the "Zionist entity" would regret its aggression against Syria.

While Israel has not yet formally confirmed its responsibility, Defence Minister Ehud Barak on Sunday dropped a heavy hint.

"It's another proof that when we say something we mean it," Barak told reporters at a security conference in Germany.

"We say that we don't think that it should be allowable to bring advanced weapon systems into Lebanon, the Hezbollah, from Syria, when Assad falls."

-AFP/ac

Read More..

Rahul Gandhi to meet visitors at ‘janata darbar’?

NEW DELHI: Rahul Gandhi has agreed to start holding a 'janata darbar', bowing to strong pleas from Congress leaders who argued that this will help him reach out to common people and instill confidence among the poor that he cares for them.

Rahul agreed to make himself accessible to the public on a more regular basis after an interaction on Monday with party functionaries who reminded that former prime ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi would meet everyone who visited them from across the country for redress of their grievances. Mahila Congress chief Anita Verma and AICC secretary Hanumantha Rao stressed that 'janata darbar' under the earlier generation of Gandhi family sent across the message that the voiceless had a patron in the family.

The individual pitches soon jelled into a forceful plea to recreate the tradition as more leaders joined in during the meeting of office-bearers.

In response, Rahul committed to fix specific morning hours for visitors like 9.30-11 am.

In his remarks, Rahul was seen to advocate a pragmatic approach to implementation of the party constitution. He was elaborating upon his argument on Friday about the justification of framing rules which were hard to implement. He said Congress had a radical constitution prepared on the experiences of Nehru and Gandhi, but its implementation would depend on situations and contexts.

Monday's meeting witnessed excessive focus on improving public access to ministers and party managers in what seemed to be an attempt to create a climate of accessibility and inclusiveness in the party under Rahul as vice-president.

Union sports minister Jitendra Singh said at least one central minister should sit in Congress headquarters every day to show that those in power in Delhi were available to listen to people's problems. He said the visitors would carry the positive message to far-flung villages they belonged to.

A leader lamented that touring Congress leaders visited "influential persons" in districts but avoided going to the local party office. A secretary, sources said, complained that supremacy of the party remained valid only while it was in opposition, implying that once in power, leaders would give short shrift to the organization.

The functionary also lamented that those who sabotaged his election managed to become ministers.

Hanumantha Rao sought to soften the hostility among the youth of Telangana about the Congress brass, urging Rahul to find out why they were committing suicide and to assure them that there was no need to take such extreme action. Rao said Congress should create multiple leaders in states, accommodating all social groups to obviate the dependence on alliances to win over specific constituencies like OBCs, SCs or minorities.

Read More..

APNewsBreak: Catholic hospital acknowledges error

DENVER (AP) — A Catholic hospital on Monday acknowledged it was "morally wrong" for its attorneys to argue in court that a fetus is not a human being under Colorado law.

The admission comes after executives of Catholic Healthcare Initiatives met with Colorado's Roman Catholic bishops to discuss its defense in a wrongful death lawsuit filed after a mother and her unborn twins died in the emergency room of St Thomas More Medical Center in Canon City in 2006.

Disclosure of the hospital's successful legal arguments last month drew sharp criticism because they appeared to contradict church doctrine that life begins at conception. Colorado's bishops vowed to review the case. Catholic Healthcare Initiatives operates Thomas More and dozens of other Catholic hospitals.

In joint statements released Monday morning, the Bishops and CHI said the operation was "unaware" of the lawyers' legal arguments. They said that CHI executives acknowledged "it was morally wrong" to make that contention because it "directly contradicts the moral teachings of the Church."

The statements also noted that, while the legal status of the fetus was key to getting the case dismissed before trial, the hospital also won on appeal by arguing there was no proof that medical error caused the fetuses' deaths. The father of the unborn children is asking the Colorado Supreme Court to hear the case.

The Bishops and CHI extended their condolences to the family. They also pledged to pursue stronger legal protections for unborn children.

"Catholic healthcare institutions are, and should, be held to the high standard of Jesus Christ himself, who is our divine and eternal healer," said the Bishops' statement.

Read More..

Which Super Bowl Commercial Won the Night?

External links are provided for reference purposes. ABC News is not responsible for the content of external Internet sites. Copyright © 2013 ABC News Internet Ventures. Yahoo! - ABC News Network

Quotes delayed 15 minutes for NASDAQ. 20 minutes for NYSE and AMEX. Market Data provided by Interactive Data. Terms & Conditions.

Powered and implemented by Interactive Data Managed Solutions

Read More..

North Korea nuclear test would face "firm" U.N. action: South Korea

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council is united on North Korea's nuclear arms program and will undoubtedly approve tough measures against Pyongyang if it carries out a new atomic test as expected, South Korean U.N. Ambassador Kim Sook said on Monday.

"The North Korean nuclear test seems to be imminent," Kim, who is president of the Security Council this month, told reporters. "Obviously there are very busy activities going on at the (North Korean) nuclear test site, and everybody's watching."

"Everybody is unified and they are firm and resolute," he said. "I would expect very firm and strong measures to be taken ... once they go ahead with such provocation."

(Reporting By Louis Charbonneau; Editing by Sandra Maler)

Read More..

Syria opposition chief urges Assad to hold talks

DAMASCUS: Syria's opposition chief on Monday urged President Bashar al-Assad's regime to respond positively to his call for talks to end almost two years of violence which has left more than 60,000 people dead.

"The ball is now in the regime's court. They will either say yes or no," Ahmed Moaz al-Khatib told pan-Arab channel Al-Jazeera, following up on his surprise announcement last week that he was ready for dialogue with the Damascus regime -- subject to conditions, including the release of 160,000 detainees.

Later he told Al-Arabiya news channel that he was ready to talk to Assad's deputy, Vice President Faruq al-Sharaa.

"Since the start of the crisis, Mr Sharaa has seen that things are not going in the right direction," said Khatib. "If the regime accepts the idea (of dialogue), I ask it to delegate Faruq al-Sharaa for us to hold discussions with him."

Assad last month announced he was ready for talks with the opposition but ruled out meeting groups -- such as Khatib's National Coalition -- which back armed rebels seeking to overthrow the Damascus regime.

For their part, opposition groups, including the National Coalition, have in the past demanded Assad step down before peace talks can begin.

"Doctor Bashar, this country is in grave danger, come out of your bubble, if only for a moment. Look into the eyes of your children and you will recover some of your humanity," Khatib said, addressing Assad by the term adopted by state media and his supporters.

"We can help each other in the interest" of the people, Khatib said.

"The regime needs to take a clear position. We will extend our hands for the sake of the people, and in order to help the regime leave in peace," he said.

Khatib's statement last week on negotiations with conditions attached was backed by the Coalition, a grouping of externally-based opposition groups, but only if they led to the fall of the regime.

While some opposition figures immediately denounced Khatib's proposal as traitorous, he said on Monday he "rejected" the label.

"Our people are dying, and we will not allow that," Khatib said.

His comments came as Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said in Berlin that Tehran would continue talks with Khatib following a preliminary meeting Sunday on the sidelines of a security conference in the southern German city of Munich.

"We had 45 (minutes) to an hour discussion which was very fruitful... and we committed ourselves to continuing this discussion," Salehi told a foreign-policy think-tank in Berlin of his meeting.

Khatib also held a meeting in Munich on Sunday with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who while expressing an interest in "maintaining regular contact" with the opposition, also said the dissidents' insistence on Assad going was "the main reason for the continuation of the Syrian tragedy."

Adding to the latest flurry of diplomatic activity, another Iranian official, Saeed Jalili, the head of his country's Supreme National Security Council, was in Damascus on Monday where he renewed Tehran's support for Assad.

Jalili also issued a warning to Israel after the Jewish state confirmed an air strike near Damascus, saying it will regret its latest "aggression against Syria".

"Just as it has regretted all its wars... the Zionist entity will regret its aggression against Syria," Jalili said.

"Syria is at the forefront of the Muslim world's confrontation with the Zionist entity," he added.

Also in Munich on Sunday, Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak implicitly confirmed that the Jewish state had staged the air strike on Syria, following reports of an air raid which Damascus said targeted a military complex near the capital.

Last Wednesday's air strike targeted surface-to-air missiles and an adjacent military complex believed to house chemical agents, according to a US official.

Meanwhile, Russian authorities announced the release of two Russians and an Italian citizen kidnapped by "extremists" last year in Syria. They were "released in exchange for militants," Russia's foreign ministry said.

On the ground in Syria, at least 40 people were killed in violence on Monday, including six children who died when regime warplanes raided the outskirts of the rebel-held town of Douma near Damascus, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

At least 13 insurgents were also killed in fierce battles that raged in other areas of Damascus province, said the watchdog which relies on a broad network of doctors, activists and lawyers to compile its reports.

- AFP/jc

Read More..