US Mumbai attacks plotter given 35 years in prison

A US man has been sentenced to 35 years in prison for his key role in plotting the deadly Mumbai attacks in 2008.

David Coleman Headley, 52, was sentenced on 12 counts, including conspiracy to aid militants from the Pakistani group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) who carried out the attacks.

Headley pleaded guilty and co-operated to avoid the death penalty and extradition to India.

More than 160 people were killed by gunmen during the assault.

After initially denying the charges, Hadley eventually pleaded guilty and admitted to scouting potential target locations in Mumbai.

He also confessed to helping plan an aborted plot to behead staff at a Danish newspaper that had published a cartoon many Muslims deemed offensive.

'Unfathomable damage'

Headley had faced life imprisonment but US District Judge Harry Leinenweber said he had taken into account the American's co-operation in the case, even if "the damage that was done was unfathomable".

"I don't have any faith in Mr Headley when he says he's a changed person and believes in the American way of life," Judge Leinenweber said during Thursday's verdict.

Headley was born Daood Gilani to a Pakistani father and American mother but changed his name to David Coleman Headley in 2006 "to present himself in India as an American who was neither Muslim nor Pakistani", prosecutors said.

Headley is alleged to have told prosecutors that he had been working with LeT since 2002.

He was arrested by FBI agents in Chicago in October 2009 while trying to board a plane for Philadelphia.

Earlier this month, Canadian-Pakistani businessman Tahawwur Rana was jailed in Chicago for 14 years for his role in the 2008 attacks.

Headley had been the government's star witness against Rana, an old friend from their days in a Pakistani military school.

On 17 January, Rana was found guilty of providing material support to LeT and helping to plan an aborted attack on Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten. He was, however, cleared of playing a role in the Mumbai attacks.

The 60-hour assault on Mumbai began on 26 November 2008. Attacks on the railway station, luxury hotels and a Jewish cultural centre claimed 166 lives. Nine gunmen were also killed.

The only surviving attacker, Pakistani Mohammad Ajmal Amir Qasab, was executed in India last November.

Why 2013 could be a game-changer on climate

As leaders gather for the World Economic Forum in Davos, signs of economic hope are upon us. The global economy is on the mend. Worldwide, the middle class is expanding by an estimated 100 million per year. And the quality of life for millions in Asia and Africa is growing at an unprecedented pace.

Threats abound, of course. One neglected risk -- climate change -- appears to at last be rising to the top of agendas in business and political circles. When the World Economic Forum recently asked 1,000 leaders from industry, government, academia, and civil society to rank risks over the coming decade for the Global Risks 2013 report, climate change was in the top three. And in his second inaugural address, President Obama identified climate change as a major priority for his Administration.For good reason: last year was the hottest year on record for the continental United States, and records for extreme weather events were broken around the world. We are seeing more droughts, wildfires, and rising seas. The current U.S. drought will wipe out approximately 1% of the U.S. GDP and is on course to be the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history. Damage from Hurricane Sandy will cost another 0.5% of GDP. And a recent study found that the cost of climate change is about $1.2 trillion per year globally, or 1.6% of global GDP.

Shifting to low-carbon energy sources is critical to mitigating climate change's impacts. Today's global energy mix is changing rapidly, but is it heading in the right direction?

Coal is the greatest driver of carbon dioxide emissions from energy, accounting for more than 40% of the total worldwide. Although coal demand is falling in the United States -- with 55 coal-powered plants closed in the past year -- it's growing globally. The World Resources Institute (WRI) recently identified 1,200 proposed new coal plants around the world. And last year, the United States hit a record-high level of coal exports—arguably transferring U.S. emissions abroad.Meanwhile, shale gas is booming. Production in the United States has increased nearly tenfold since 2005, and China, India, Argentina, and many others have huge potential reserves. This development can be an economic blessing in many regions, and, because carbon emissions of shale gas are roughly half those of coal, it can help us get onto a lower carbon growth path.

However, while gas is an important bridge to a low carbon future—and can be a component of such a future—it can't get us fully to where we need to be. Greenhouse gas emissions in industrial countries need to fall by 80-90% by 2050 to prevent climate change's most disastrous impacts. And there is evidence that gas is crowding out renewables.

Renewable energy -- especially solar and wind power -- are clear winners when it comes to reducing emissions. Unfortunately, despite falling prices, the financial markets remain largely risk-averse. Many investors are less willing to finance renewable power. As a result of this mindset, along with policy uncertainty and the proliferation of low-cost gas, renewable energy investment dropped 11%, to $268 billion, last year.

What do we need to get on track?

Incentivizing renewable energy investment

Currently, more than 100 countries have renewable energy targets, more than 40 developing nations have introduced feed-in tariffs, and countries from Saudi Arabia to South Africa are making big bets on renewables as a growth market. Many countries are also exploring carbon-trading markets, including the EU, South Korea, and Australia. This year, China launched pilot trading projects in five cities and two provinces, with a goal of a national program by 2015.

Removing market barriers

Despite growing demand for renewable energy from many companies, this demand often remains unmet due to numerous regulatory, financial, and psychological barriers in the marketplace.

In an effort to address these, WRI just launched the Green Power Market Development Group in India, bringing together industry, government, and NGOs to build critical support for renewable energy markets. A dozen major companies from a variety of sectors—like Infosys, ACC, Cognizant, IBM, WIPRO, and others— have joined the initiative. This type of government-industry-utility partnership, built upon highly successful models elsewhere, can spur expanded clean energy development. It will be highlighted in Davos this week at meetings of the Green Growth Action Alliance (G2A2).

De-risking investments

For technical, policy, and financial reasons, risks are often higher for renewables than fossil-based energy. Addressing these risks is the big remaining task to bring about the needed energy transformation. Some new funding mechanisms are emerging that can help reduce risk and thus leverage large sums of financing. For example, the Green Climate Fund could, if well-designed, be an important venue to raise funds and drive additional investments from capital markets. Likewise, multi-lateral development banks' recent $175 billion commitment to sustainable transport could help leverage more funds from the private and public sectors.

Some forward-looking companies are seeking to create internal incentives for green investments. For example, companies like Unilever, Johnson & Johnson, and UPS have been taking actions to reduce internal hurdle rates and shift strategic thinking to the longer-term horizons that many green strategies need.

Davos is exactly the type of venue for finding solutions to such issues, which requires leadership and coalition-building from the private and public sectors. For example, the the G2A2, an alliance of CEOs committed to addressing climate and environmental risks, will launch the Green Investment Report with precisely the goal of "unlocking finance for green growth".

Depending on what happens at Davos—and other forums and meetings like it throughout the year—2013 could just be a game-changer.

India humiliating England again

The chanting started immediately Yuvraj Singh lost his off stump to a beauty from James Tredwell. For the best part of a minute, as Yuvraj walked back towards the pavilion, the 40,000 who had been lucky enough to secure a ticket for the first one-day international in Ranchi implored their local hero, MS Dhoni, to promote himself above Suresh Raina in India's batting order, and have a bat on his home ground.

Dhoni has never seemed the sentimental type, any more than India's coach Duncan Fletcher. But the roar left no doubt that he had granted Jharkhand its wish, trotting down the pavilion steps in his blue cap, and it did not cease until he removed the cap to take guard against Tredwell. The game was already won, England having crumbled to their second-lowest total in a one-day international in India - three fewer than they had managed in Kochi last Tuesday - a double flop that their captain, Alastair Cook, admitted is unacceptable even for this inexperienced team. But who other than Dhoni to hit the winning runs?

He made the crowd wait, playing back three dots against Tredwell before punching Steve Finn back down the ground with such power that the ball still raced away for four after hitting the stumps at the bowler's end. Then, after helping himself to a couple of singles, Dhoni applied the fairytale finish by pulling Finn through square leg for four - off the first ball of the 29th over, a humiliating statistic for England. Virat Kohli had made a brilliant unbeaten 77 from 79 balls, but was completely overshadowed.

"I was sitting next to Raina and he said 'Why don't you go in?'" Dhoni explained. "I understand the fact that people want to see me bat so I said ok - it wasn't really looking as though I would get a chance to bat, but let me pad up and see. Then Yuvi got out. The response of the people was amazing - they have been very excited about this game, not just at the stadium but next to the hotel all week. The stadium was made in two and a half or three years so I think it was the perfect script."

Not for England, it wasn't, and they are left with much to ponder ahead of the fourth match of the series in Chandigarh on Wednesday, which is now a must-win. "We're going to have to look deeply in our dressing room, and produce a better performance in Mohali," Cook said.

They might consider dropping Kevin Pietersen down the order to no4, given the significant change of emphasis demanded by the new fielding regulations which place a greater importance on preserving wickets early in an innings and plundering runs late on. Joe Root again played well enough in top-scoring with 39 to suggest that he could fill in for Jonathan Trott at no3, although even he could not be spared criticism for the manner of his dismissal, chasing a wide one from Ishant Sharma with 13 overs of England's innings remaining.

Craig Kieswetter must now be close to being dropped altogether, after following a scratchy 18 in Kochi with a hapless dismissal here, sliding his bat along a curtain-rail to provide no defence against Ravindra Jadeja's skiddy straight-on delivery. Samit Patel went lbw in similar fashion in the same over to leave England doomed at 98 for six, but he has more credit in the bank from earlier in the series.

Dropping Kieswetter now would represent a major rethink for England, having clearly included him in their plans for the Champions Trophy in the summer. But his Somerset team-mate Jos Buttler is desperate for a chance on the remainder of this tour, and Matt Prior is waiting in the wings.

Cook had started fluently after Dhoni chose to bowl on winning the toss, reflecting a general uncertainty about how the pitch at this new venue would play. But he fell lbw to Shami Ahmed's inswing as he tried to hit to leg, setting the pattern that would stymie the England innings - each of the top five made double figures then fell trying to force the pace.

Pietersen seemed unlucky, with replays suggesting he had been incorrectly given out caught behind off Ishant Sharma when the ball appeared to have brushed his trousers. But there were no excuses for Ian Bell, sharply caught by Dhoni standing up to Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the next over to leave England on 68 for three.

As in the second game in Kochi, that gave the middle-order a chance to prove that England are not overly reliant on their big three. As in Kochi, they failed miserably, with spin doing the bulk of the damage.

Eoin Morgan chipped a catch to short third man playing a horrible reverse sweep at Ravi Ashwin. Then Kieswetter and Patel were both undone by Jadeja, much as the Test batsmen had floundered haplessly against Abdur Rehman in the UAE this time last year. Despite a belated application of Yorkshire common-sense by Root and Tim Bresnan, that was pretty much that.

Space design of buildings in India

India

 If you ask an architect in India, the new space-design of buildings could be adorn cities like Calcutta. The building, which draws inspiration from the Hindu way of life, should be spectacular even by the Taj Mahal.

The design of the building will enter this year's festival of architecture, which will be held later this year in Barcelona. There are building also like clam, buildings that are reminiscent of river stone and many others.

See how the future buildings might look like :

Indian troops shot dead near Kashmir's

Two Indian soldiers have been shot dead in the disputed Kashmir region between India and Pakistan, officials say. The Indian army said a patrol was attacked by Pakistani soldiers in "a grave provocation" near the so-called Line of Control. Pakistan denied the accusation. The deaths came two days after a Pakistani soldier was killed near the LoC.

Kashmir is claimed by both nations in its entirety and has been a flashpoint between them for more than 60 years. Tuesday's shootings took place near Mendhar, 220 km (140 miles) north of the Indian city of Jammu, Indian officials said.

Thick fog

The Indian army said in a statement that a group of regular Pakistani soldiers crossed the LoC, "having taken advantage of thick fog and mist in the forested area". The soldiers "were moving towards [their] own posts when an alert area domination patrol spotted and engaged the intruders", it said. A firefight broke out between Pakistan and Indian troops, lasting about half an hour before "the intruders retreated back towards their side" of the LoC, the Indian statement said.

The dead soldiers were named as Lance Naik Hemraj and Lance Naik Sudhakar Singh.

"This is yet another grave provocation by [the Pakistan army] which is being taken up sternly through official channels," the statement went on to say. But Pakistani military officials denied what they described as an "Indian allegation of unprovoked firing".

"It appears to be Indian propaganda to divert the attention of the world away from the Sunday raid on a Pakistani post by Indian troops in which a Pakistani soldier was killed," they said.

Pakistan has alleged that Indian soldiers crossed the LoC at the time of Sunday's incident, a charge denied by the Indian army. Exchanges in the disputed area are not uncommon but rarely result in fatalities. There has been a ceasefire in Kashmir since late 2003.

India suspended a peace process with Pakistan following attacks by Pakistan-based militants in Mumbai in 2008. Negotiations resumed in February last year.Last month, the nations signed an agreement to ease visa restrictions on travel for some citizens.

BBC.com

Delhi court hears of forensic evidence in India rape case

The pre-trial hearing was held at the District Court in the Saket area of the Indian capital. The judge ordered the five to appear before her on Monday. A sixth suspect is expected to be tried as a juvenile. The woman, 23, died last weekend. Her friend has been recalling the harrowing details of the attack on a bus.

The man, who has not been named, told Zee News how he and the victim had boarded the bus and paid a fare, before he was beaten unconscious by men on board, who then attacked her.
'Robbed items'

Prosecutor Rajiv Mohan told Magistrate Namrita Aggarwal that DNA tests confirmed by the Central Forensic Science Laboratory had shown that blood stains found on the clothing of all of the accused had matched the blood of the victim.

Mr Mohan also cited records from the Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore, where the woman died, which said death was caused by septicaemia and multiple-organ failure. The five accused, aged between 19 and 35, are charged with rape, abduction and murder, and could face the death penalty if convicted. They include the driver of the bus.

The prosecutor also said items robbed from the victim had been recovered from the accused.

The magistrate said: "[The suspects] will be produced in court on Monday."

A following hearing was set for 10 January. Protesters gathered outside the court in Saket, carrying a banner demanding justice for the victim.

Police 'argued'

The friend of the woman who died has given his first interview since the incident. The man, who has not been named, told Zee News he and the rape victim had boarded the bus after a trip to the cinema and after failing to flag down an auto-rickshaw.

He said the bus had tinted windows, and that he believed the group of men had laid a trap for them.

"We tried to resist them. Even my friend fought with them, she tried to save me," he said. "She tried to dial the police control room number 100, but the accused snatched her mobile away. "I tried to fight against the men but later I begged them again and again to leave her."

He confirmed earlier reports that the assailants had thrown them off the bus and tried to run them over. The friend said he had tried to get help from passers-by and motorists.

"They slowed down, looked at our naked bodies and left," he said.

And he also criticised the authorities, accusing them of being slow to arrive, then arguing over jurisdiction, and eventually taking them to the wrong hospital.

"My friend was bleeding profusely. But instead of taking us to a nearby hospital, they [police] took us to a hospital that was far away," he said.

Delhi Police on Saturday denied its officers were late in arriving. A statement said the first vehicle had arrived within four minutes of the distress call, left the scene with the victims within another three minutes and reached Safdarjung Hospital within another 24. The BBC's Andrew North, in Delhi, says the case continues to put Indian life under a sharp magnifying glass, and for many people it is uncomfortable viewing.

Meanwhile, police have opened an investigation into whether Zee News broke broadcasting laws relating to disclosure of the victim's identity. The victim's friend was not named but his face was shown. Police spokesman Rajan Bhagat told AFP news agency that a case had been filed against the broadcaster. The case has caused a national outcry, and there have been frequent protests calling for greater protection for women.

Playboy adapted bunny costumes for India

Presentation of new Playboy bunnyes costume in India

Playboy unveiled a new-look bunny costume on Wednesday for its upcoming Indian club launch, opting for a more demure take on the waitress outfits but keeping the ears, bow-ties and fluffy tails.

In a bid to appease conservative Indian values, the traditional skimpy corset has been replaced with a sari-inspired two-piece costume, comprising a one-shoulder top, a bare midriff and a sheer, full-length skirt with a split.

"Being able to introduce our brand in a responsible and meaningful way in India was our key objective," said Matthew Nordby, executive vice president of Playboy Enterprises, visiting Mumbai from Beverly Hills for the launch.

Playboy bunnies with Playboy executive president Mathew Nordby (left) and Sanjay Gupta, chief executive of PB lifestyle

While Playboy magazine remains banned in India, the first club bearing the brand is due to open in the holiday state of Goa early next year, pushed back from the initially planned date of mid-December. The beachside outlet will be the first of 120 clubs, hotels, fashion cafes and shops planned in India over the next ten years by local franchisee PB Lifestyle.

"It's a natural fit with the growing middle-class and Generation Y here in India," Nordby told AFP.  The bunnies, who will serve drinks in the clubs, will be from overseas. "They're here in India, going through a rigorous bunny training programme," Nordby said.

Tourist officials in Goa have warned that they would shut down the inaugural Playboy club if there was any evidence of "obscenity, vulgarity or nudity". PB Lifestyle has assured no nudity will be involved.

Playboy magazine, along with a host of other foreign "adult" publications, is not permitted in India owing to obscenity laws banning material deemed "lascivious or appealing to prurient interests".