Uber Driver Arrested After Woman Journalist Claims Harassment In Delhi

The Delhi Police has arrested a 24-year-old Uber auto-rickshaw driver for allegedly sexually harassing a woman journalist during a ride in southeast Delhi, officials said on Friday.

According to the police, the journalist, a resident of Bharat Nagar, filed a complaint at the New Friends Colony police station Thursday night.

She alleged indecent behaviour as well as lascivious staring by Uber driver Vinod Kumar Yadav when she was travelling from New Friends Colony to Malviya Nagar around 4.40 pm on Wednesday, police said.

A case under section 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) of the IPC has been registered and investigation initiated, Deputy Commissioner of Police (southeast) Rajesh Deo said.

Taking to Twitter, the woman narrated her ordeal.

The Delhi Commission for Women said it has received a complaint in the matter and has issued a notice to the city police and the cab aggregator firm.

The women's panel has sought an action taken report by March 6. In its notice to Uber, the panel has sought details of steps taken to ensure such incidents do not happen and whether the accused auto driver had been verified by police.

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As War Intensifies, US To Announce New Military Aid For Ukraine Today

The U.S. will announce a new military aid package to support Ukraine on Friday, according to the White House.

Aid for Ukraine is expected to be a major topic of discussion between President Joe Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz when the two leaders meet at the White House on Friday.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, White House spokesperson John Kirby did not put a price tag on the new aid package, saying more details would be released shortly.

The U.S. is sounding out close allies about the possibility of imposing new sanctions on China if Beijing provides military support to Russia for its war in Ukraine, Reuters reported on Wednesday.

Kirby was asked if potential sanctions against China would be a topic for Biden and Scholz, and he responded: "I certainly would expect in the context of talking about what's going on in Ukraine that the issue of a third party support to Russia could come up."

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If Beijing Supplies Weapons To Russia, There Will Be...: US Warns China

 In a warning to China, the United States State Department Secretary Antony Blinken said that Beijing is considering supplying weapons to Russia which will affect the relationship and there will be "consequences."

While addressing a press conference here, Mr Blinken said, "With regard to China and its support for Russia's aggression in Ukraine, as we said from the start and... going back to the very beginning of Russia's aggression was China engaged in lethal material support for Russia's aggression or was engaged in systematic evasion of sanctions to help Russia that would be a serious problem for our countries."

"When I saw senior foreign policy official Wang Yi (China)... I raised with him our concern on information that Chinese is considering supplying weapons to Russia, I said it would be a serious problem in our relationship with China and there would be consequences," he added.

Blinken, who arrived in India on Wednesday evening, attended the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting and also met External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.

Mr Jaishankar and Mr Blinken reviewed ties and discussed global issues.

Meanwhile, in the presser, Mr Blinken also confirmed that he briefly had a conversation with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

"I spoke briefly with Russian FM Lavrov today," said Mr Blinken on the sidelines of G20 in New Delhi.

"I urged Russia to reverse its irresponsible decision and return to implementing the New START, which places verifiable limits on the nuclear arsenals of the United States and the Russian Federation. Mutual compliance is in the interest of both our countries. It's also what people around the world expect from us as nuclear powers," Mr Blinken added.

"I told the foreign minister that no matter what else is happening in the world or in our relationship, the United States will always be ready to engage and act on strategic arms control, just as the United States and the Soviet Union did even at the height of the Cold War," he added.

The meeting was the first face-to-face meeting between the two foreign ministers since the conflict between Russia and Ukraine began over a year ago and which triggered a rift between US-led Western countries and Russia.

He said that every country continues to bear the cost of Russia's aggression.

"Every country continues to bear the cost of Russia's aggression; A war that President Putin can end tomorrow if he chose to do so. We worked hard to prevent it," said Mr Blinken in New Delhi.

Mr Blinken also reaffirmed Washington's support for Ukraine's peace proposal that maintains the country's territorial integrity.

He also lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying "PM Modi is right that there are challenges to the multilateral system. And those challenges in many ways are coming directly from Russia which is violating the principles that lie at the heart of that system."

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Boris Johnson Slams UK PM Rishi Sunak Over New Brexit Deal With EU

Britain's former premier Boris Johnson on Thursday criticised Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's new Brexit deal with the European Union, saying he will find it "very difficult" to vote for it in Parliament.

Rishi Sunak has been riding high on a largely positive wave since the British Prime Minister declared a "decisive breakthrough" with the EU in the form of a Windsor Framework, which replaces his former boss' controversial Northern Ireland Protocol.

The British Indian leader told the House of Commons that the new pact puts "beyond all doubt that we have now taken back control".

However, Boris Johnson - now a disgruntled backbench Conservative Party MP - told a Global Soft Power Summit in London on Thursday that he would find it "very difficult" to vote for the new deal in Parliament.

"I'm conscious I'm not going to be thanked for saying this, but I think it is my job to do so: we must be clear about what is really going on here," said Boris Johnson.

"This is not about the UK taking back control, and although there are easements this is really a version of the solution that was being offered last year to (former British prime minister) Liz Truss when she was foreign secretary. This is the EU graciously unbending to allow us to do what we want to do in our own country, not by our laws but by theirs," he said.

"I'm going to find it very difficult to vote for something like this myself because I believe that we should have done something different. No matter how much plaster came off the ceiling in Brussels," he added.

Boris Johnson said he hopes the new deal works but if it doesn't, the government should have "the guts" to re-table the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill he had drafted - which would allow the UK to unilaterally change parts of the previous Brexit protocol without the EU's permission. While the EU claims such a move breaches international law, Boris Johnson believes it is the Bill that ultimately "brought the EU to negotiate seriously".

Rishi Sunak had pulled the Bill from Parliament after he agreed a new deal with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Windsor on Monday, following months of intensive talks.

It is hoped the Windsor Framework would break the deadlock over the contentious and unworkable Northern Ireland Protocol, which was designed to prevent a post-Brexit hard border on the island of Ireland - between UK territory Northern Ireland and EU member-state Ireland - but which effectively created a trade divide.

Now, Rishi Sunak is waiting for the response of the Northern Irish Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and the clear backing of hard Brexiteers within his own Tory party for the new framework. Boris Johnson's intervention is expected to influence the latter to some extent but there is a general consensus that Rishi Sunak is unlikely to face any major rebellion in the ranks over the issue.

After what has been widely seen as a win for his leadership abilities, the Prime Minister has decided to treat his party colleagues to an "away day" in Windsor - the site of the new Brexit framework.

According to 'The Times' newspaper, Conservative Party MPs have been bussed from London to Windsor on Thursday morning for 24 hours of bonding, teambuilding and strategising.

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Pak Risks $18 Billion Fine For Delaying Completion Of Iran Gas Pipeline: Report

Pakistan could face a whopping USD 18 billion as a penalty for not completing the gas pipeline project with Iran in the timeframe stipulated in the agreement.

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament, which met with its chairman Noor Alam Khan in the chair on Wednesday, deliberated on the non-utilisation of Rs 332 billion (USD 4 billion) in gas infrastructure development cess, which was collected for developing three mega gas projects, including the building of a pipeline to import gas from Iran.

Committee member Syed Hussain Tariq said that the funds are lying idle and the projects are stagnant, warning that Pakistan faces fines if the gas pipeline project with Iran is not completed on time, The Express Tribune newspaper reported.

A top official from the petroleum ministry told the meeting that Pakistan has spoken to the United States about the Iran gas pipeline project to ask for relief.

He pointed out that there is a ban on importing gas from Iran, and Pakistan cannot buy it, the report said.

He also highlighted the safety and security concerns in the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) pipeline project.

The members of the committee asked how much could be imposed as a penalty on Pakistan for not completing the Iran gas pipeline on time. The petroleum secretary responded that as per the agreement, the penalty could be USD 18 billion, the report said.

He also remarked that they have asked the US ambassador to either give them permission to go ahead with the project or give them money to pay the fine, it said.

The chairman then directed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to call the US envoy and inform him about the gravity of the situation. He also reiterated the two options mentioned by the secretary of petroleum.

The Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project was conceived years back and initially, India was also its part but it withdrew later on due to differences on various issues.

The project cannot be completed due to sanctions imposed on Iran by the US due to Tehran's nuclear programme.

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Belgian Mother Who Killed Her 5 Children Euthanised After 16 Years

A Belgian woman who murdered her five children in a case that shocked the country has been euthanised at her own request, 16 years to the day after their killing, her lawyer said Thursday.

Genevieve Lhermitte slit the throats of her son and four daughters aged three to 14 with a kitchen knife at the family home in the town of Nivelles on February 28, 2007 while their father was away.

She then tried to commit suicide by stabbing herself, but the attempt failed and she ended up calling the emergency services.

Genevieve Lhermitte was sentenced to life in prison in 2008, before being moved to a psychiatric hospital in 2019.

The 56-year-old's lawyer Nicolas Cohen confirmed to AFP reports in local media that his client had died through euthanasia on the sixteenth anniversary of the killings on Tuesday.

Belgian law allows for people to chose to be euthanised if they are deemed to be suffering from "unbearable" psychological, and not just physical, suffering that cannot be healed.

The person must be conscious of their decision and be able to express their wish in a reasoned and consistent manner.

"It is this specific procedure that Mrs Lhermitte followed, with the various medical opinions having been collected," her lawyer said.

Psychologist Emilie Maroit told the RTL-TVI channel that Lhermitte likely chose to die on February 28 in a "symbolic gesture in respect for her children".

"It may also have been for her to finish what she started because basically she wanted to end her life when she killed them," Emilie Maroit said.

The quintuple murder in 2007 and the subsequent trial rocked Belgium.

Lhermitte's lawyers argued that their client, who had regularly seen a psychiatrist, was mentally disturbed and should not be sent to prison.

But the jury found her guilty of premeditated murder and sentenced her to life in jail after hearing conflicting medical expertise.

In 2010 Lhermitte filed a civil lawsuit demanding up to three million euros ($3.18 million) from a former psychiatrist alleging his "inaction" had failed to prevent the murders, but she ended up abandoning the legal battle after ten years without success.

Last year 2,966 people died via euthanasia in Belgium, an increase of 10 percent compared to 2021, according to the authorities.

Cancer remains the number one reason cited, but officials said for nearly three out of four requests the patient presented "several types of suffering, both physical and psychological".

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Court Awards Death Penalty To 7 In 2017 Bhopal-Ujjain Train Blast Case

National Investigation Agency Special Court on Tuesday gave death sentences to seven out of eight convicts in Bhopal-Ujjain passenger train blast case.

Another was given life imprisonment.

Death sentences were awarded to Mohammad Faisal, Gaus Mohammad Khan, Azhar, Atif Muzaffar, Danish, Mir Hussain, Asif Iqbal and life imprisonment to Atif Iraqi.

The 2017 Bhopal - Ujjain Passenger train bomb blast was a terrorist attack that occurred on March 7, 2017.

Further information is awaited.

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