Tag Archives: india
First Delhi gang-rape verdict deferred: prosecutor
First Delhi gang-rape verdict deferred: prosecutor (AFP) / 11 July 2013 A New Delhi court trying a teenager over a fatal gang-rape last December that shocked India deferred on Thursday announcing the first verdict in the case, lawyers said. A juveniles’ court has finished hearing the case of the youngest suspect, aged 17 at the time of the assault on a moving bus, and had been widely expected to announce a verdict on Thursday. “The court has completed the hearing. The order has been deferred to 25th of July,” public prosecutor Madhav Khurana told reporters who had massed outside the court. The crime, which saw the 23-year-old student victim die of internal injuries inflicted during the attack, generated widespread anger about endemic sex crime in India to the boil. Several weeks of sometimes violent protests pushed parliament to pass a new law toughening sentences for rapists, while a round of public soul-searching sought answers to the rising tide of violence against women. The victim’s family had called for him to be tried as an adult, alongside five men initially arrested over the assault on December 16 who face the death penalty. The trial of the adult suspects — one of whom died while in jail from a suspected suicide in March — continues in a separate court but is expected to wrap up in the next few months. The parents of the victim, whom AFP is also not naming in accordance with Indian law, were present inside the small juveniles’ court on Thursday. “We hope we get justice on July 25th,” said the mother, who has previously called for all suspects to be hanged, before entering the court. Reporters were not allowed inside the courtroom. The juvenile suspect, a runaway who reportedly left home aged 11, can be sent to a correctional facility for a maximum three-year term, which will take into account the time he has already spent in custody. The teenager, the youngest of six children according to his mother, was employed to clean the bus allegedly used for the attack and often slept rough or inside the vehicle, reports say. He has denied any involvement in the crime. The maximum sentence of three years’ detention is likely to cause further anger in India where the suspects, some of whom have been beaten up in jail, are public hate figures. Amid pressure to put the juvenile on trial in an adult court, officials conducted an investigation to determine his age and concluded he was 17. A government panel set up after the Delhi gang-rape to recommend changes to sex crime laws rejected calls to lower the age at which people can be tried as adults from 18 to 16. The panel’s report in January said India’s justice system continued to “breed more criminals including juveniles in our prison and reformatory system by ghettoing them in juvenile homes”. The report, overseen by a retired Supreme Court judge, added that it was “completely dissatisfied with the operation of children’s institutions.” Shahbaz Khan, from the “Haq: Centre for Child Rights”, told AFP that there were “no proper care plans” for institutionalised children which undermined the intention of rehabilitating wrong-doers. Ranjana Kumari, a women’s rights activist from the Centre for Social Research, said police and the courts were still too slow to respond to the victims of sex crime. “What we got was a good piece of legislation and an increase in the number of women with the confidence to report crimes against them. But so what? That’s not good enough,” she said. Kumari said the teenager’s likely punishment was too lenient, and he should have been tried as an adult. “This is a very gruesome crime and he was almost an adult at the time it was committed,” she said. Continue reading
EA: US Bioenergy Capacity To Reach 14.4 GW by 2018
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It’s Not Just The Trees That Grow at APC !
Tuesday, 25 June 2013 Asia Plantation Capital, one of the regions fastest growing plantation companies, recently passed a new milestone in its history and development; planting their 6 millionth tree since 2009. APC is expanding its operations in Thailand creating at least 250 new jobs on new plantations being established near their main agarwood distillery, bringing important economic benefits to local communities. This adds important rural jobs to the numbers already created by APC in the North East region of Sakon Nakhon where they have now established over 60 plantations. The distillery and associated businesses include state of the art finishing and processing production lines for agarwood oil & infused chips, agarwood resin, agarwood rice, incense sticks and a range of raw materials for food supplements as part of its joint venture with AgarTechAsia. Barry Rawlinson, group CEO “When APC started we focused on establishing plantations and farming businesses, not looking beyond the plantation gate for sales. Today we have a fully integrated business model investing heavily in the manufacture and marketing of end products. Planting and growing trees is only part of our story, alongside we consider social impact and invest in local communities where we operate for long term sustainable growth”. Strategically the group has established a diverse range of standalone businesses; using Oud oil from agarwood trees to produce fine fragrances for the International Fragrance Industry, manufacturing products for the pharmaceutical sector, construction of Sustainable Homes, plantation and agricultural consultancy, tree nurseries for local communities to access, and Asset and Wealth Management businesses. Recently a joint venture with AgarTechAsia focuses on cutting edge technologies and new consumer end products from the agarwood. These businesses are driven by one common factor, sustainable plantations and farms which create sustainable products for the rapidly expanding numbers of environmentally conscious consumers worldwide. Recent plantation projects the company has undertaken include feasibility studies and expansion into new hot spots for the global investment community and wider financial sector. Projects range from sustainable Palm Oil plantations in West Africa, to teak and agricultural food crops in Myanmar. In Ecuador the APC Group are considering investments for the plantation sector as part of the Ecuadorean Governments forward thinking agricultural and plantation sector investment programmes. The 6 million planted trees mark and 250 new jobs in rural Thailand are just two milestones in the successful growth of Asia Plantation Capital. APC is fast becoming a leading player in the sustainable plantation sector. With local people at the heart of their operations, and sustainable practices adopted throughout their agro-forestry; they are a shining example of the people, planet, profit concept which inspires modern sound business practice today. — About Asia Plantation Capital (www.asiaplantationcapital.com) Asia Plantation Capital is an owner and operator of a diverse range of commercial plantation and farming businesses across the Asia-Pacific region and now increasingly globally, part of the Asia Plantation Capital Group of associated companies. Their focus is on multicultural and diverse plantation projects geared to the domestic and commercial demands of the countries in which they operate. Working closely with and supporting fragile local communities is an underlying core principle of the APC business, providing social and cultural support as well as investment to move these communities away from traditional deforestation and illegal logging activities as a main income source. Established officially in 2008, although operating privately since 2002, the group now has plantation and agricultural projects on four continents with operational projects at various stages in Thailand, Malaysia, Laos, India, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Mozambique, The Gambia, North America and Europe. — For further information, please contact:- Asia Plantation Capital, 3 Pickering Street, #01-68 Nankin Row, China Square Central, Singapore 048660 Tel: +6562223386 Fax: +6562212197 Email: pr@asiaplantationcapital.com Continue reading
