Italian marines to request formal charges from SC
Rome: Lawyers of the two Italian marines facing trial for murder in India will on Monday ask India’s Supreme Court for formal police charges, Rome’s envoy in the case has said. “There won’t be an immediate decision from the Supreme Court but it will have to indicate when it will rule on the request,” said diplomat Staffan De Mistura. De Mistura attended a meeting in Rome on Friday over the case of Italian riflemen Salvatore Girone and Massimiliano Latorre, who have been detained in India for nearly two years on suspicion of shooting dead two fisherman off the coast of the south Indian state of Kerala in February, 2012. Italy intends to ask India to send the pair home, pending formal charges and a trial, De Mistura said. Mistura attended a meeting in Rome on Friday on the case with Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta, Foreign Affairs Minister Emma Bonino, and Defence Minister Mario Mauro. The Italian government also wants assurances from India that it will keep an earlier promise that Girone and Latorre will not face the death penalty if found guilty, Letta’s office said in a statement after the meeting. The case sparked a major diplomatic row between the two countries when Rome refused to return Latorre and Girone to New Delhi after they were allowed home to vote in national elections. Amid escalating tension, Italy relented and sent the marines back when it received assurances from India that the pair would not face the death penalty. (IANS)
Army foils latest infiltration bid in Jammu & Kashmir
Jammu: The army on Saturday foiled another infiltration bid on the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch district of Jammu in Jammu and Kashmir. Just six days ago, an infiltration bid was foiled in this sector. A defence spokesman said: “At 8.30 am today, alert troops in the Krishna Ghati-Mendhar sector foiled an infiltration bid by three to four terrorists. These terrorists were observed approximately 150 metres inside our territory by our troops, who challenged them. However, the terrorists continued to close in towards our post in the area, following which they were fired upon. “The terrorists dispersed in the jungle, following firing which lasted for five to 10 minutes. Search operations are in progress,” the spokesman said. This was the second attempt at infiltration in the past six days in this sector, he said. “The first one was on January 13, 2014, and during the brigade commander-level flag meeting at Poonch on Friday, the Indian army’s concerns about this unchecked infiltration were conveyed in strong terms to Pakistan. (IANS)