Buenos Aires: Jorge Rafael Videla, an austere former army commander who led Argentina during the bloodiest period of a "dirty war" dictatorship and was unrepentant about kidnappings and murders ordered by the state, died on Friday at age 87.
Videla was the first president to head the military junta that "disappeared" thousands of suspected leftists from 1976 to 1983, and he spent his final years behind bars for human rights crimes including the systematic theft of babies born to political prisoners in secret torture centers.
He died of natural causes in his jail cell in a prison outside the capital, Buenos Aires, a government spokesman said.
"Videla presided over a government that engaged in one of the most cruel repressions that we have seen in Latin America in modern times," said Jose Miguel Vivanco, director of Latin America for US-based Human Rights Watch....
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06:51 AM, May 18, 2013
Jaipur: An employee of the Army Supply Corp, posted in the South Western Command in Jaipur, was arrested for allegedly passing confidential information to Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence, police said on Friday. "The accused Upper Division Clerk BK Sinha (43) was spying for ISI and sharing classified information and documents regarding Army's transport related movements to Nepal based ISI agent," said Additional DG (Intelligence) Dalpat Singh Dinkar. Sinha was arrested by...
04:56 PM, May 17, 2013
Toronto: After adapting Salman Rushdie's 'Midnight's Children' for the big screen, Indo-Canadian filmmaker Deepa Mehta is working on a script based on Shilpi Somaya Gowda's novel 'Secret Daughter' about how two families are bound by an adoption. Mehta is said to be busy penning the script for producers Jody Colero of Silent Joe Inc. and Hussain Amarshi of Mongrel Media, reports hollywoodreporter.com. 'Secret Daughter' tells the story of two families,...
05:31 PM, May 16, 2013
New Delhi: Cabinet Secretary Ajit Kumar Seth, who was due to complete his two-year term in June, got one-year extension. Seth, a 1974 batch IAS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre, has assumed the charge of Cabinet Secretary on June 14, 2011. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh-led Appointments Committee of Cabinet has approved the extension of tenure of Seth, the country's top bureaucrat, by one year beyond June 13, 2013, a press...
09:12 AM, May 14, 2013
New Delhi: Country's merchandise exports grew by 1.6 per cent to $24.16 billion in April this year, whereas imports increased by 10.9 per cent. Imports during the reported month stood at $41.95 billion. Exports in April 2012 stood at $23.7 billion, while imports were at $37.8 billion. Due to high imports, the trade deficit rose to $17.8 billion, Commerce Secretary SR Rao told reporters on Monday. Rao attributed the widening...
01:45 PM, May 13, 2013
Shimla: Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh will on Monday expand his team with the induction of five chief parliamentary secretaries and one parliamentary secretary, officials said In Shimla. Rohit Thakur, Nand Lal, Jagjivan Pal, Sohan Lal and Rakesh Kalia are likely to be inducted as chief parliamentary secretaries, a government official said on Sunday. The chief minister would administer the oath of office and secrecy to them at a...
04:27 AM, May 13, 2013
Hyderabad: The daughter of a legislator in Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday approached a court, alleging that her father "detained" her at home for four years and also tried to get her re-married after she married her lover against his wishes. The father dismissed the claims. E Ramya, daughter of ruling Congress party legislator Eeli Nani, approached the Legal Services Authority in Guntur, claiming that she was kept under "house arrest"...
05:42 AM, Apr 24, 2013
Let me begin this post by saying, I LOVE JEFFREY ARCHER. What could be more wonderful than reading the latest book of your favourite author on the World Book Day. Well, that's what I was doing most of the day today and just finished reading the book-3 of The Clifton Chronicles series which is the most prestigious project of the author. Best Kept Secret was one book that I have...
05:29 PM, Apr 18, 2013
Washington: The US Secret Service has intercepted a letter addressed to President Barack Obama that contained a "suspicious substance." A law enforcement official said the letter is very similar to one recently mailed to Mississippi Republican Senator Roger Wicker. That letter tested positive Tuesday for poisonous ricin. The official requested anonymity because the official was not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation. The letters were received at separate facilities that...
09:30 PM, Apr 17, 2013
Washington: US Secretary of State John Kerry has proposed a 20 per cent cut in the American aid to Colombo, a move reflecting the unease in their ties over issues related to human rights, reconstruction and political integration in Sri Lanka after the end of the civil war. It is believed to be the steepest drop for any South Asian country in Kerry's budgetary proposals which was sent to the...
01:33 PM, Apr 15, 2013
Kolkata: Family members of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose have sought the help of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi for declassification of all secret files concerning the iconic leader. "Netaji belonged to the entire nation, so we extend our appeal to you for your kind support in demanding from the Prime Minister that the Central Government must release in public domain all records to help unravel the mystery about his fate...
04:28 AM, Apr 15, 2013
United Nations: UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday condoled the death of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, saying the 'Iron Lady' will be remembered for her pioneering role as a committed global leader and for her contribution to peace and security. Thatcher suffered a stroke on Monday and died at the age of 87. Her funeral would be at St Paul's Cathedral in London, with full military honours,...
12:05 PM, Apr 09, 2013
Nurturing the ambition to make it big in the finance arena, a 23-year-old Delhi girl has qualified as chartered accountant, cost accountant, and also company secretary - becoming possibly the youngest person to complete all the three professional accounting courses. A Delhi University commerce graduate, Pallavi Sachdeva admires ICICI Bank chief Chanda Kochhar as a role model and has already got her dream job with an offer from international finance...
10:08 AM, Apr 01, 2013
In its 148-year history, Julia Pierson became the first woman to be appointed as the director of the US Secret Service. ...
10:52 AM, Mar 29, 2013
Directed by Alex Gibney, the film features Julian Assange and Adrian Lamo as the principal characters. ...
12:20 PM, Mar 28, 2013
US President Barack Obama has appointed veteran agent Julia Pierson as the new Director of the Secret Service, making her the first female to head the elite commando unit responsible for the security of the first family. "Julia is eminently qualified to lead the agency that not only safeguards Americans at major events and secures our financial system, but also protects our leaders and our first families, including my own,"...
09:35 PM, Mar 27, 2013
President Barack Obama on Tuesday chose veteran agent Julia Pierson as Secret Service director, the first woman to lead the male-dominated agency, a year after its reputation was tarnished by a scandal involving agents and prostitutes in Colombia. Pierson will replace Mark Sullivan, who retired in February and was in charge during the Colombia scandal - one of the worst in the agency's history. ...
12:32 PM, Mar 27, 2013
US President Barack Obama and US Secretary of State John Kerry may engage in political games. But they occasionally take time off to play some other games as well. Obama goofed around with a football in Washington demonstrating some superior balancing skills. ...
12:26 PM, Mar 27, 2013
Afghan police say eight suicide bombers have attacked one of their headquarters in the eastern city of Jalalabad, killing five officers and wounding four. Nangarhar provincial police chief Mohammad Sharif Amin says one insurgent in a bomb-laden car detonated his vehicle in front of the Jalalabad Police Quick Reaction Force on Tuesday. ...
09:58 AM, Mar 26, 2013
US Secretary of State John Kerry and Afghan President Hamid Karzai made a show of unity on Monday, shortly after the US military ceded control of its last detention facility in Afghanistan, ending a longstanding irritant in relations between the two countries. ...
07:48 AM, Mar 26, 2013
