India News: July 2007

Two get death sentence, three life term in Beant Singh assassination case
Tuesday, July 31, 2007 | MP

Chandigarh, July 31 (ANI): A special court here today awarded death sentence to two out of the six convicts in the 1995 Beant Singh assassination case, while there others were given life imprisonment.

Additional Sessions Judge R K Sondhi handed out death sentence to Jagtar Singh Hawara and Balwant Singh, and life imprisonment to Shamsher Singh, Lakhwinder Singh and Gurmeet Singh.

Jagtar, Balwant, Shamsher, Lakhwinder and Gurmeet were held guilty under Sections 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder) and 120 B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code.

Naseeb Singh, who was convicted under the Explosive Substances Act, was given 10 years imprisonment, which he has already undergone during the trial spanning almost 12 years.

The court on Monday deferred the sentence to six convicts till today after hearing the argument of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the defence lawyer.

The CBI counsel sought the death sentence for five convicts, except for Naseeb Singh.

The verdict, which came almost 12 years after the assassination took place, the special court of Additional Sessions Judge R K Sondhi had acquitted seventh accused Navjot Singh.

The trial, which had been going on since 1996 at a special courtroom set up inside the Burail prison complex in Chandigarh, had ended in June this year.

When the case was in progress, three accused had escaped through a 108-foot long tunnel in January 2004. Two of them were later arrested.

Beant Singh and 16 others were killed in a suicide bomb explosion carried out by Dilawar Singh near the high security Punjab secretariat complex here on August 31, 1995.

A charge sheet was filed in May 1996, nine months after the incident took place. The court examined and cross-examined around 250 witnesses during the trial. (ANI)

Jaipur artist paints gory picture of female foeticide in Rajasthan
Tuesday, July 31, 2007 | MP

Jaipur, July 31 (ANI): An artist in Jaipur has held a painting exhibition to highlight the widespread problem of female foeticide in the State despite it being considered a crime in the country.

Over 50 paintings and 3-D installations have been put up for public viewing in the 10-day painting exhibition “Teintua Daba Do” (strangulate the neck) organised at the Jawahar Kala Kendra, a well-known hub of art activities in Jaipur.

The ongoing 10-day exhibition is an attempt to highlight the social evil and create general awareness about killing of infants across the State.

The artist Chintan Upadhyay, says that he comes from a larger group, which is working towards creating awareness on the issue in rural areas, a place where the advent of portable ultrasound machines has only facilitated an easy way out for female foeticides.

Upadhyay said: “While working in rural areas, I realised this is a big problem and how it is engulfing the society and how attempts to maintain social status and societal pressures have pushed these problems."

The exhibited works have attracted a good response from the visitors who are all admiration for Upadhyay's work that presents female foeticide problem in a touching manner.

Sandeep Kumar, one of the visitors, said: "The manner in which he has portrayed the subject is very important, it has thrown a lot of light on the issue and is a truly inspiring exhibition."

The exhibition concludes on July 7.

Rajasthan has had a long history of female infanticide - of girls poisoned, suffocated, drowned or left to die.

In the early 19th century, British colonel Alexander Walker recorded his horror at seeing a mother drowning her newborn girl in a trough of milk in the state.

But now abortion of female foetuses or "female foeticide" has become common with easy availability of pre-natal sex tests. While such tests, costing as little as 600 rupees (12 dollars) are illegal, the law is regularly flouted and clinics offering sex tests flourish across the State.

The 2001 census indicated that people of Rajasthan preferred a boy child. From birth to six years of age, there were 909 girls for 1,000 boys, down from 916 girls a decade earlier.

But that national figure presented big local variations. In Punjab, for instance, there were 793 girls for 1,000 boys, down from 875 girls in 1991.

The global ratio is about 1,005 females to 1,000 males.

The Central government, alarmed by the number of "missing females", has announced plans to create a registry of all pregnancies to help curb widespread foeticide as also to reduce high infant mortality rate.

All medical tests that can be used to determine the sex of the child have been banned in India, due to incidents of these tests being used to get rid of unwanted female children before birth. (ANI)

Uttarakhand facing shortage of medical doctors, facilities
Tuesday, July 31, 2007 | MP

Chamba (Uttarakhand), July 31 (ANI): Uttarakhand, a major tourist hub of the country, is facing a crisis in the health sector. The hilly region of the State is lacking medical facilities and witnessing shortage of doctors.

The State has a shortfall of 914 doctors, and at many rural health centres, pharmacists dispense medicines to patients.

A. K. Srivastav, a doctor at Chamba District’s Primary Health Centre, said: "We are facing problems here. Sometimes when the doctor is not available, we ensure the pharmacist at least is available in the Health Centre."

Uttaranchal government says that it is facing a shortage of medical facilities in the upper reaches of the State.

State Health Minister Ramesh Pokhiriyal, said: "We are planning to build more community health centres in the region, work out provision for doctors' shelter among other things. The process is divided into stages, thus, it will take some time.”

Pokhiriyal said that the problem basically arises, as medical practitioners are reluctant to visit remote and far-flung areas.

Also, scarcity of lady doctors has been a major problem for the women here.

The patients and their relatives in the hill districts complain that there is no proper health care system in the rural areas.

Roshan Lal, a relative of the patient admitted in the Tehri-Garhwal District Hospital, said: “There are no facilities. Whether it's for medicines, a needle or glucose, we have to go outside and buy it from the medical stores. They are providing just the hospital bed. Even for getting a small medicine one has to buy it from outside."

Uttaranchal has 29 major hospitals, 65 community health centres, 93 primary health centers and 1,860 sub-centres for its thirteen districts.

The State’s total 13 districts are grouped into two divisions--Garhwal division and Kumaon division. For which it has 29 major hospitals, 65 community health centres, 93 primary health centers and 1,860 sub-centres.

Uttaranchal has a population of 8.5 million with average density of 159 persons per sq kilometre which varies from as high as 612 in Hardwar and 414 in Dehradun districts to as low as 37 in Uttarkashi and 48 in Chamoli.

Eighty nine per cent of the villages have population less than 500 and 93 per cent of the area of the State is hilly. Sixty three per cent of the land is covered with forests.

In 2006, around 2,600 million rupees was earmarked for healthcare in the State while the allocation was increased to 2,900 million rupees in 2007.

Almost 10 per cent of the allocation is meant for medicines alone. The State receives 6,000 million rupees from the Central Government for various health schemes. (ANI)

One joint of marijuana worse than five cigarettes
Tuesday, July 31, 2007 | MP

Washington, July 31 (ANI): It might give you a high, but smoking just one joint of cannabis or marijuana poses as much danger to the lungs as smoking up to 5 cigarettes in one go.

The finding is based on 339 adults up to the age of 70, selected from an ongoing study of respiratory health, and categorised into four different groups.

The first group comprised of those who smoked only cannabis, equivalent to at least one joint a day for five years; the second had those who smoked tobacco only, equivalent to a pack of cigarettes a day for at least a year; those who smoked both; and the third was made up of those who did not smoke either cannabis or tobacco.

All the participants had high definition x-ray scans (computed tomography) taken of their lungs and they took special breathing tests designed to assess how well their lungs worked.

They were also questioned about their smoking habits. 75 people smoked only cannabis, and 91 smoked both. 81 people did not smoke either, and 92 smoked only tobacco.

The researchers conducting the study found that cannabis smokers complained of wheeze, cough, chest tightness and phlegm.

And though emphysema, the progressive and crippling lung disease, was only seen in those who smoked tobacco, either alone or in combination, they found that cannabis still damaged the lungs and stopped them from working properly.

It diminished the numbers of small fine airways, which are important for transporting oxygen and waste products to and from the blood vessels effectively.

Cannabis smoking also damages the large airways of the lung, blocking airflow, and forcing the lungs to work harder.

The extent of this damage was directly related to the number of joints smoked, with higher consumption linked to greater incapacity.

The effect on the lungs of each joint was equivalent to smoking between 2.5 and five cigarettes in one go.

The authors explain that the impact of cannabis is strongly associated with the way in which it is smoked. It is usually smoked without a filter, and at a higher temperature. Smokers tend to inhale more deeply and to hold their breath for longer.

Combined smokers tended to use less tobacco, the findings showed.

The research is published ahead of print in the journal Thorax. (ANI)

Goat’s milk is healthier than cow’s milk
Tuesday, July 31, 2007 | MP

Washington, July 31 (ANI): Drinking goat’s milk is healthier than consuming cow’s milk, a new study has found.

The study, by researchers at the University of Granada has revealed that goat milk has more beneficial properties to health than cow milk.

Researchers conducted the study on mice with induced nutritional ferropenic anaemia, and found that goat milk is better at preventing ferropenic anaemia (iron deficiency) and bone demineralisation (softening of the bones).

In order to know how the nutritive utilisation of iron, calcium, phosphorus and magnesium may affect their metabolic distribution and destination, lead researcher Doctor Javier Diaz Castro determined the concentration of these minerals in the different organs involved in their homeostatic regulation and different haematological parameters in relation to the metabolism of the minerals.

Results obtained in the study reveal that ferropenic anaemia and bone demineralisation caused by this pathology have a better recovery with goat milk.

Due to the higher bioavailability of iron, calcium, phosphorus and magnesium, the restoration of altered haematological parameters and the better levels of parathyroid hormone (PTH), a hormone that regulates the calcium balance in the organism was found in the rats that consumed this food.

Dr Castro points out that the inclusion of goat milk with normal or double calcium content in the diet “favours digestive and metabolic utilisation of iron, calcium and phosphorus and their deposit in target organs - parts of the organism to which these minerals are preferably sent - involved in their homeostatic regulation”.

According to him, all these conclusions reveal that regular consumption of goat milk – a natural food with highly beneficial nutritional characteristics - “has positive effects on mineral metabolism, recovery from ferropenic anaemia and bone mineralisation in rats. In addition, and unlike observations in cow milk, its calcium enrichment does not interfere in the bioavailability of the minerals studied”.

Part of the results of this research has been published in the prestigious scientific journals International Dairy Journal and Journal Dairy Science. (ANI)

Boys put up best behaviour for male teachers
Tuesday, July 31, 2007 | MP

London, July 31 (ANI): It may be a good idea to bring in male teachers to teach boys, for a new survey has revealed that boys are more likely to disrupt classes when they are taught by female tutors.

The survey was conducted by the Training and Development Agency for Schools, the Government's teacher training advisory body.

The survey found that 40 pct of primary school kids aren’t taught by male teachers and only 8 pct have been taught by only female tutors. .

Three-fourth of boys are in favour of both male and female teachers.

While 44 per cent said male teachers made school time more enjoyable, 37 per cent said male tutors made them feel confident.

It was also found that ratio of teacher is 13 female to one male in certain area and men constitute only 16 pct of primary school teachers.

”Previous research has shown that parents want to see more male primary teachers, and now pupils are echoing that. We agree with them,” the Daily Mail quoted Graham Holley, chief executive of the TDA, as saying. (ANI)

India-Pak fibre link delayed over revenue sharing
Tuesday, July 31, 2007 | MP

Karachi, July 31 (ANI): Disagreement between Pakistan and India over the price and revenue sharing on the planned direct fibre link through the Wagah border has delayed the first-ever direct cyber contact between the two countries.

The two countries had almost completed infrastructure development, but its testing and commissioning could take time due to continuing talks on its commercial benefits, a source said.

"It’s not a big issue, but it has to be resolved first before it gets operational," The News quoted source, as saying.

"There are more bottlenecks on the Indian side compared with Pakistan, as India believes the project would benefit Pakistan more," he added.

He said the Pakistani side had completed all due process for laying a fibre optic cable network in April 2006.

"Similarly, work on the Indian side is also ready to take off, but due to some discussions going on between the two sides, it may take time to become operational," added the source.

The source said the designed feasibility of the project suggested companies involved on both sides would get a share of the revenue under a commercial agreement, in which the government of each country was not expected to interfere.

The link with India has, however, attracted praise from experts and operators, who say the project would increase reliability and performance of Pakistan’s telecom infrastructure.

"Link with India would provide both the countries with access and opportunity to interconnect traffic originating to and from India and Pakistan," said Haroon Rasheed, a telecom consultant associated with the International Chamber of Commerce and Industry. (ANI)

Office printers as harmful as smoking for lungs
Tuesday, July 31, 2007 | MP

Sydney, July 31 (ANI): It doesn’t look as if it could hurt a fly, but Australian scientists are warning that the office printer could pose as much danger to the lungs as smoking a cigarette.

Boffins at Queensland University of Technology’s International Laboratory for Air Quality and Health tested 62 machines as a part of their research.

They found that almost 30 per cent of the printers emit potentially dangerous levels of tiny toner-like material into the air that can infiltrate the lungs and cause as much damage as inhaled cigarette smoke.

"Ultra-fine particles are of most concern because they can penetrate deep into the lungs where they can pose a significant health threat," the Sydney Morning Herald quoted Professor Lidia Morawska, as saying.

"These (printer) particles are tiny like cigarette smoke particles and, when deep inside the lung, they do the same amount of damage.

"The health effects from inhaling ultra-fine particles depend on particle composition, but the results can range from respiratory irritation to more severe illness such as cardiovascular problems or cancer."

The results of the study are published in the American Chemical Society's Environmental Science and Technology journal. (ANI)

Caffeine, exercise combo can help prevent sun-induced skin cancer
Tuesday, July 31, 2007 | MP

Washington, July 31 (ANI): When it comes to keeping skin cancer at bay, nothing works better than a combination of regular exercise and low to moderate amounts of caffeine.

In recent times, health conscious people have been giving up caffeine, but a new study by researchers from Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, has found that doing so may not be the best way to prevent sun-induced skin cancer.

The researchers from Rutgers showed in a study on mice that a combination of exercise and some caffeine protected against the destructive effects of the sun’s ultraviolet-B (UVB) radiation, known to induce skin cancer.

They also found that caffeine and exercise seemingly conspire in killing off precancerous cells whose DNA has been damaged by UVB-rays.

As a part of the research, four groups of hairless mice, whose exposed skin is vulnerable to the sun, were studied.

One group drank caffeinated water (the human equivalent of one or two cups of coffee a day); another voluntarily exercised on a running wheel; while a third group both drank and ran. A fourth group, which served as a control, didn’t run and didn’t caffeinate.

All of the mice were exposed to lamps that generated UVB radiation that damaged the DNA in their skin cells.

Some degree of programmed cell death, also known as apoptosis, was observed in the DNA-damaged cells of all four groups, but the caffeine drinkers and exercisers showed an increase over the UVB-treated control group. Apoptosis is a way in which cells with badly damaged DNA commit suicide – UVB-damaged cells in this case.

“If apoptosis takes place in a sun-damaged cell, its progress toward cancer will be aborted,” said Allan Conney, director of Rutgers’ Cullman Laboratory and one of the paper’s authors.

To determine the extent of programmed cell death among the four groups of UVB-treated mice, the Rutgers team looked at physical changes in the cells. The scientists also relied on chemical markers, such as caspase-3 – an enzyme that is involved in killing DNA-damaged cells – and p53, a tumour suppressor.

“The differences between the groups in the formation of UVB-induced apoptotic cells – those cells derailed from the track leading to skin cancer – were quite dramatic,” Conney said.

Compared to the UVB-exposed control animals, the caffeine drinkers showed an approximately 95 percent increase in UVB-induced apoptosis, the exercisers showed a 120 percent increase, while the mice that were both drinking and exercising showed a nearly 400 percent increase.

“The most dramatic and obvious difference between the groups came from the caffeine-drinking runners, a difference that can likely be attributed to some kind of synergy,” Conney said.

The authors suggested several mechanisms at the biochemical level that might be responsible for the protective effects of caffeine and exercise, but acknowledged that what is happening synergistically is still somewhat of a mystery.

The study and its findings appear in the July 31 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). (ANI)

Goan opposition to challenge confidence vote result in Supreme Court
Tuesday, July 31, 2007 | MP

Panaji, July 31 (ANI): The Bharatiya Janata Party-led Goa Democratic Alliance (GDA) will today move to the Supreme Court to challenge the victory of the Congress-led Digamber Kamat Government in the state Assembly.

The GDA headed by the Opposition leader Manohar Parrikar said that they would challenge the manner in which the confidence vote was held in the Assembly on Monday.

Parrikar along with the BJP National General Secretary Rajiv Pratap Rudy met the Goa Governor S C Jamir on Monday evening, and handed over the copy of the Assembly proceedings stating that the vote of confidence conducted by the Speaker was not as per the rule.

The GDA legislators are also planning to meet President Pratibha Patil and seek her intervention in the matter. Earlier, they had paraded themselves before Pratibha on Saturday.

Speaker Pratapsinh Rane, through an ad-interim order on disqualification petitions, had restrained three legislators from participating in the Assembly vote resulting in the Congress victory.

The Governor had on Saturday directed Kamat to undertake a floor test to prove his majority after the Congress Government was reduced to a minority.

During the floor test, two legislators of the Maharashtra Gomantak Party (MGP) - Sudin Dhavalikar and Dipak Dhavalikar - and Victoria Fernandes, the Congress MLA who had resigned from the State Assembly last week, were restrained from voting. (ANI)

Prenatal tobacco smoke exposure raises babies’ blood pressure
Tuesday, July 31, 2007 | MP

Washington, July 31 (ANI): Researchers have given mums-to-be yet another reason to kick the butt by finding that babies whose mothers smoke during pregnancy have substantially higher blood pressures in their first months of life.

The study was carried out by researchers at the University Medical Center Utrecht in The Netherlands, led by Caroline C. Geerts, a doctoral student at Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care.

The study, of 456 infants in The Netherlands, showed that by age 2 months, babies born to mothers who smoked had higher systolic blood pressures compared to those whose mothers didn’t smoke and weren’t exposed to smoke during pregnancy.

6.6 percent of the mothers (30 subjects) reported smoking during pregnancy; another 13.8 percent (63 subjects) reported they did not smoke, but were exposed to smoke; and 79.6 percent of mothers (363 subjects) said they were not exposed to smoke during pregnancy. The overall blood pressures of the mothers weren’t significantly different among these groups.

However, researchers found an association between maternal smoking and newborn systolic blood pressure, although they didn’t find significant difference between smoke exposure and newborn diastolic blood pressure and heart rate.

Systolic blood pressure (SBP), the larger of the two numbers that make up a blood pressure reading, represents the blood pressure when the heart is fully contracted. The diastolic pressure is the lower number of a blood pressure reading and occurs when the heart relaxes.

The researchers found that babies born to mothers who smoked during pregnancy had 5.4 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg) higher systolic blood pressure levels. This estimate was obtained after controlling for birth weight, infant age, gender, nutrition and age of the mother – all factors that could affect the blood pressure of the infant.

“Our findings indicate maternal smoking during pregnancy has a direct substantial impact on systolic blood pressure in early infancy and is another reason for women not to smoke during pregnancy,” said Caroline C. Geerts.

“This association appears to occur in utero and doesn’t appear to be due to the postnatal environment of the infant,” she added.

The researchers discovered male infants were more likely to have higher systolic blood pressures if their mothers smoked. Male offspring of smoking mothers had 8.6 mmHg higher systolic blood pressures than infants not exposed to tobacco smoke in utero.

“We can only speculate on the reason for this. Perhaps gender is a modifier of stress responses including smoke exposure,” said Geerts.

The researchers also found that newborns of mothers who smoked in pregnancy were significantly lighter, shorter and had a smaller chest circumference than other offspring.

Mothers who smoked in pregnancy were also less inclined to breastfeed their infants. However, the researchers said that birth weight, infant age, gender, infant nutrition or maternal age did not explain the systolic blood pressure findings.

“We aren’t sure that the increases in systolic blood pressure will continue in time,” Geerts said. “It is unknown if our findings will have an impact on blood pressure later in life.”

Geerts insisted that it’s important to study infants and children to obtain a better insight into cardiovascular disease that occurs later in life.

“There is increasing evidence that later-life ischemic cardiovascular diseases originate in early childhood,” she said.

“Childhood cardiovascular risk factor profiles, including overweight, smoking and sedentary lifestyles, are increasing health problems with substantial future consequences. From a prevention point of view, it is important to determine these early life risk factors, to know at what age they exert vascular damage, and ultimately whether childhood interventions lead to actual cardiovascular risk reduction,” she added.

The study is reported in Hypertension: Journal of the American Heart Association. (ANI)

Sreesanth fined 50 per cent of match fees
Tuesday, July 31, 2007 | MP

Dubai, July 31 (ANI): Indian fast bowler Shanthakumaran Sreesanth has been fined 50 per cent of his match fees for breaching the ICC Code of Conduct on the fourth day's play of the ongoing second Test against England at Trent Bridge.

The 24-year-old Kerala player was charged for shouldering England captain Michael Vaughan during the first session of play yesterday.

ICC Match Referee Ranjan Madugalle found Sreesanth guilty of a Level 2 offence in a hearing convened after play concluded in Nottingham on Monday.

Madugalle said Sreesanth has accepted that he breached clause 2.4 of the ICC Code of Conduct, which relates to “inappropriate and deliberate physical contact between players in the course of play.”

Explaining his decision, Madugalle said in a statement: “Cricket is a non-contact sport and any deviation from that fact is completely unacceptable, a point I made to Sreesanth in handing down my verdict.”

“I have no problem with players being combative on the field but there is a line they cannot cross and Sreesanth crossed that line when he barged past Michael Vaughan, a collision he had every opportunity to avoid,” he added.

Level 2 breaches of the ICC Code of Conduct carry a minimum penalty of a fine of 50 per cent of a player's match fee up to a fine of all that fee and/or a one Test match or two ODI ban. (ANI)

Indo-Pak trade talks to begin tomorrow in New Delhi
Tuesday, July 31, 2007 | MP

New Delhi, July 30 (ANI): The two-day Secretary-level talks between India and Pakistan on trade and commerce are scheduled to begin here tomorrow.

While Commerce Secretary Syed Asif Shah would lead the Pakistani delegation, his counterpart G.K. Pillai will head Indian delegation.

The agenda for the talks include trade in goods and services, issues like tea exports from India, joint registration of basmati rice (GI), discussion on expanding bilateral trade, new items for trade such as cement etc. (ANI)

Cleanliness, a major disappointment for tourists at Vashisht Temple in Kullu
Monday, July 30, 2007 | MP

Kullu, July 29 (ANI): Kullu’s 5,000-year-old Vashisht Temple is today visited by a large number of people from different parts of the country and abroad. The temple has a bathing Kund, which is believed to have healing properties in its water.

Visitors to this ancient temple, take a bath at the famous Kund in the hope of getting treated for their various ailments. The huge number of people taking bath at the Kund has polluted the water and the surrounding place.

Tourists and devotees visiting here say that it urgently requires routine cleaning. The cleaning has reportedly not been done for a long time now, leaving the water of the holy Kund too polluted to take a bath and proves a big let down for tourists.

Left with no alternative, the believers coming here travelling hundreds of miles have to bathe in the polluted water full of filth.

Niket, a foreign tourist, said: "I found this water perfect for myself and feeling quite relaxed after a dip. But the government should take more care of the Kund, as the water is polluted."

For believers, it is a revered place and thus needs more attention from the local government over Kund’s management.

V.P.Singh, another tourist, said: “The base of this water is good, but the management which is looking after it should pay a serious attention on its cleanliness. It is already polluted and is likely to be more polluted with a rising number of tourists here."

Priests at the temple blame an ever-increasing number of tourists for the polluted water of the Kund and carelessness of the local authorities.

"Earlier, there was just one Kund. Today, third Kund has been prepared to handle the rush. Taps have been fixed to keep the Kund clean. Even the instructions have been also written not to use the soap, shampoo and oil in the kund," said temple priest Desh Raj.

It is said that Muni Vashisht (the monk) had developed the Kund by his supernatural powers at the temple. Renovation was done about 1,800 years ago. (ANI)

Al Qaeda's attempts to recruit Indians have failed: Narayanan
Monday, July 30, 2007 | MP

New Delhi, July 29 (ANI): National Security Adviser M K Narayanan has said that Al Qaeda is making consistent effort to recruit Indian Muslims in its fold but has failed to "punch a hole."

In an interview to private news channel CNN-IBN, Narayanan said: "They (Al Qaeda) see this (recruiting people to train them as terrorist) as a setback or failure as far as the Indian Muslim community is concerned."

"We know that on a couple of occasions they have come and done a recce and gone back. They have not yet done something," he added.

Ruling out presence of any Indians in Al Qaeda camps, Narayanan said that possibility of a collapse in communal harmony was his worst nightmares.

On the issue of two Indians- Kafeel Ahmed and Sabeel Ahmed- being arrested in connection to the failed Glasgow and London terror attacks, Narayanan said: " I think this is being overblown tremendously."

"Kafeel Ahmed is a young man who was inveigled... Somebody has been instigated on a short term (basis)," he said, cautioning against using the term `Indian Muslims`.

"Indian Muslim is far better integrated than the immigrant Muslim in the UK or elsewhere," he added. (ANI)

Maninder Kohli charged with murder of Hannah Foster
Monday, July 30, 2007 | MP

London, July 29 (ANI): A day after his extradition from India to UK, prime accused, Maninder Pal Singh Kohli, has been charged with murder, kidnap and rape of British teenager Hannah Foster.

Kohli, 39, was also charged with manslaughter, false imprisonment, and perverting the course of justice in the case relating to a March 2003 incident, when Hannah's body was recovered from Southampton, the BBC reported.

Kohli was flown into Heathrow from India on Saturday afternoon.

Hannah, 17, was murdered on the night of March 14, 2003 in Southampton as she walked home. Hannah's body was found two days later.

Kohli, a truck driver in Britain, who fled from Britain after Hannah's body was found, was nabbed on July 14, 2004 at Kalimpong in West Bengal.

Hannah's parents, Trevor and Hilary, visited India three times to expedite the extradition process, and had also appealed to the then President A P J Abdul Kalam, Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and former Chief Justice of India Y.K. Sabharwal to cut short the judicial delay.

"We have been so focused on getting this to happen. Now it's actually happening our thoughts turn to a UK trial," Hilary said on Saturday.

Kohli is due to appear before magistrates in Southampton on Monday. (ANI)

Haneef says he was never a terror threat
Monday, July 30, 2007 | MP

Sydney, July 29 (ANI): Freed former terror suspect Dr.Mohamed Haneef has said that he was never a risk to Australia, and would have exposed his two cousins in Britain had he known they were plotting attacks there.

In a paid interview with Nine Network's 60 Minutes program, Haneef said he was looking forward to spending time with his wife and newborn daughter, who was born days before his arrest on July 2.

Despite his ordeal, Haneef, who is arriving in Bangalore later tonight, or by early tomorrow morning, said he was keen to return to Australia to work, but added that would depend on winning back his visa from Australian Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews.

"I would, even after I go back to India, I might think about coming back here," Dr Haneef said in the interview, recorded before his departure from Brisbane.

"It's just a matter of my visa to be sorted out. I have to live with my family now. I've had enough trauma now," he said.

Dr Haneef was charged with recklessly providing support to a terrorist organisation by giving his mobile phone SIM card to a relative linked to a plot to bomb targets in Britain. But prosecutors wrongly alleged in court that Dr Haneef's SIM card had been found in a burning Jeep that crashed into Glasgow airport.

A second error related to claims that the Gold Coast-based hospital registrar had lived with his cousins Sabeel and Kafeel Ahmed in the UK before arriving in Australia.

Kafeel Ahmed was allegedly driving the Jeep in the Glasgow attack while Sabeel Ahmed has been charged with withholding information relating to a terrorist act.

Asked if he was a terrorist, Haneef replied: "No, it's not in my nature to ever support or involve (myself) in such activities at all."

He acknowledged visiting Kafeel Ahmed in 2004 but said they had never lived together.

"Sometimes he used to come to our place and we had family trips throughout UK actually," he said.

But he had not known Kafeel held radical views and had been startled to learn of his involvement in the bombing plot.

"I couldn't really believe that someone from my family ... would do such a thing," Dr Haneef said.

"If I had knew (sic) anything, definitely, I would have let the authorities (know), let their parents know first - who are the main sufferers now I suppose."

Meanwhile, the Sydney Morning Herald reports that Australian ministers were in damage control today over the failed prosecution and Andrews' refusal to reinstate his visa.

Queensland Premier Peter Beattie called for Andrews to be disciplined for his "outrageous" decision on July 16 to revoke Dr Haneef's work visa after a magistrate had granted him bail.

"Now frankly, I think Kevin Andrews has got a lot to answer for," Beattie told Network Ten.

"The prime minister should at the very least be disciplining him, and I think he should be the subject of an inquiry. Little wonder that Australian people are saying they're a bit suss about what happened," he added.

Andrews said advice from the Commonwealth Solicitor-General confirmed he had been within his powers in cancelling Dr. Haneef's visa on character grounds.

"Nothing has changed in terms of the circumstances in which I had to make a decision concerning Dr Haneef," he added.

Dr Haneef's lawyer, Peter Russo, expressed anger over Andrews' decision during a stopover in Bangkok.

"The minister's decision is beyond bizarre. The minister's decision will mystify the great majority of Australian people. It will make overseas people very suspicious about living and working in Australia and this negative perception will take decades to erase," he said.

Australia's Police Chief Mike Keelty, however, expressed dismay at Beattie's criticism of the Australian Federal Police, pointing out that 200 Queensland Police personnel were involved in the investigation, and suggested Beattie had communication problems with his own police force.

He blamed the Queensland Department of Health for releasing Dr. Haneef's name to journalists and setting off a media frenzy, and added that he would discuss with the Federal Government whether Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews's decision to cancel Dr Haneef's visa occurred at the most appropriate time in the investigation.

He also called on the Bar Association of Queensland to "severely reprimand" Dr Haneef's barrister, Stephen Keim, for leaking his client's police interview to the media. (ANI with inputs)

Devotees throng temples to celebrate Guru Purnima
Monday, July 30, 2007 | MP

Varanasi/New Delhi, July 29 (ANI): Thousands of devotees thronged temples across the country on Sunday on the occasion of Guru Purnima, and offered prayer to their gurus.

In Varanasi, devotees chanted hymns and made long queues to pay their respect to their gurus.

"A Guru is like a mother. Teachers’ blessings are always with him. Today, disciples from across the country come here to get their teachers' blessings," said Lal Bahadur Singh, a devotee.

In New Delhi, devotees gathered at a temple of Sai Baba, and made offerings of garlands and sweets to the saint, seeking his blessings.

According to legends, at the beginning of eighteenth century, Sai Baba took shelter in a mosque in Shirdi village of Maharshtra.

He is said to have never asked for food or water, and hardly spoke. Soon, villagers started offering food to him man, but he never asked anything from them. Sometimes he shared his food with the animals.

His simple language of expression and his special power of solving the problems of poor needy and destitute soon made him known as Shri Sai Baba.

Guru Purnima is observed on the full moon day in the Hindu month of Ashad. The day is also sacred to the memory of the great sage Vyasa, who edited the four Vedas, wrote the 18 Puranas, the Mahabharata and the Srimad Bhagavata. (ANI)

Situation in J-K may become worse if we show “slackness”: Antony
Monday, July 30, 2007 | MP

Tangdhar/Srinagar, July 29 (ANI): Defence Minister AK Antony has said that the situation in Jammu and Kashmir is improving, but it may become worse if any “slackness” is shown by New Delhi.

"Still (there is) improvement compared to the past. But at the same time, it can further improve fast and at the same time if we slacken our efforts it can take a bad shape also," Antony told reporters while wrapping up his two-day visit to the state yesterday.

Responding to questions on demands for a troop cut, Antony said the government is ready to do “whatever is needed” to bring peace in the Kashmir Valley, adding that no compromise would be done on the security front.

"We will do everything possible to bring peace and also progress of Kashmir without compromising the territorial integrity of the country, and also the national security," he said.

Commending the Indian Army for its efforts to check infiltration across the Line of Control (LoC), Antony asked troops not to lower guard.

Army Chief General J J Singh and the General Officer Commanding of Northern Command, Lt Gen H S Panag, had accompanied him.

Antony is expected to forward his recommendation on a possible troop “relocation” to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and he could make an announcement in this regard on August 15. (ANI)

Hannah Foster case: Kohli handed over to UK police
Monday, July 30, 2007 | MP

New Delhi, July 28 (ANI): Prime accused in the Hannah Foster murder case, Maninder Pal Singh Kohli was today handed over to three-member British police team for his extradition to the UK.

After reaching Britain, Kohli will be taken to a Hampshire police station for questioning.

The Delhi High Court on Friday allowed his extradition to the UK, to stand trial in the case there.

Kohli, a truck driver in Britain, is accused of abducting, raping and killing teenage Hannah in March 2003. He fled from Britain two days after Hannah's body was found, but was nabbed from a remote village bordering Nepal.

Foster's parents, Trevor and Hilary, visited India three times to expedite the extradition process, and had also appealed to the then President A P J Abdul Kalam, Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and former Chief Justice of India Y.K. Sabharwal to cut short the judicial delay.

"We have been so focused on getting this to happen. Now it's actually happening our thoughts turn to a UK trial," Hilary said on Saturday. (ANI)

Arms recovered from arrested LeT militant in New Delhi
Monday, July 30, 2007 | MP

New Delhi, July 28 (ANI): Police have recovered a huge cache of arms and ammunition from the Laskhar-e-Toiba (LeT) militant Shabbir, who was arrested here on Friday.

Joint Commissioner of Police Karnal Singh today said that during initial interrogation Shabbir disclosed that one of his associates had provided him a huge cache of arms and ammunition on the directions of LeT commanders and these were lying at his hotel room.

"Following this information police raided the hotel and recovered one AK-56 assault rifle with two magazines, 60 live cartridges, 4-live hand grenades and hundred thousand rupees," Singh added.

Singh further said that the arrested militant was planning a suicide attack in the capital ahead of the Independence Day celebration on August 15.

"The motive of this militant was fidayeen attack, we cannot provide the location of the target since the location of the target is not given to them before hand to prevent any leaks in the plan," Singh added.

Shabbir was arrested from a crowded locality in the old quarters of Delhi on Friday. (ANI)

Patna’s Buddha idols being sent to Singapore for an exhibition
Monday, July 30, 2007 | MP

Patna, July 28 (ANI): Some selected idols of Lord Buddha dating back to the 8th century AD are being sent from the Patna Museum to Singapore for an international exhibition.

Sixteen idols of Lord Buddha are to be displayed at the Ancient Civilisation Museum for an exhibition on "Buddhist Philosophy and Buddhist Art", in October this year, said Sahdev Kumar, the museum’s director.

“The idols are primarily from Nalanda and Kurkihar and they hold utmost importance, as Lord Buddha spent most of his time there only," he added.

Amidst all the excitement, the safe transport of these idols is a cause of concern to the authorities. The State administration has taken care to ensure the safe return of the idols.

“All these idols are invaluable," said Janardan Singh Sigriwal, Bihar’s Culture and Youth Affairs Minister.

The event has excited locals and visitors, who see this as an opportunity for their State to make a mark on the international Buddhist circuit.

"I am delighted to know that these idols are being sent for an international exhibition in Singapore. It is a good thing," said Prabhat Sharma, a visitor.

The idols were found during an excavation at Nalanda and Kurkihar.

Buddhism is an important religion in Singapore with almost 61 percent of its nationals following it.

These idols were sculpted during the Pala Dynasty. The bronze figurines depicting Buddha in various postures were selected by representatives of Singapore Museum. (ANI)

Haneef like incidents are unavoidable: Pranab
Monday, July 30, 2007 | MP

By Pankaj Chaudhary

Thimpu, July 28 (ANI): A day after charges were dropped against Indian-born doctor Mohamed Haneef, who was in police custody for over 20 days in connection with failed UK-terror plot, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said today that such incidents are unavoidable as a number of people are involved in terrorist activities.

Mukherjee said this in reply to a question in Bhutan, where he had gone to sign a pact on a hydroelectric power project.

Asked whether the External Affairs Ministry would ensure that another Haneef like incident does not occur in future, he said: “How could you avoid this situation, when fact of the matter is that a number of people are involved in these terrorist activities. Nobody can deny this.”

He further said, “But surely, any particular religion or particular community should not be identified with terrorist activities.”

Indicating to a spurt of violent activities in Pakistan in the post Lal Masjid incident and the failed London and Glasgow terror plots, Mukherjee said: “Nobody can deny the fact that terrorist activities are taking place.”

Expressing happiness over charges being dropped against Haneef, Mukherjee said, “We are glad that charges against Haneef have been dropped. It proves that he is not involved with the terrorist activities.”

Mukherjee was hopeful that the Australian authority would restore Haneef’s visa on him and would allow him to transact former business, adding that “Haneef should be taken back to his hospital duty without any delay”.

Haneef, who was released from a Brisbane jail into residential detention last night, hours after a charge against him of providing support to a terrorist organisation was dropped, will fly out of Australia tonight after Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews gave him the green light to do so.

However, Haneef’s fight to have the Australian work visa continues. (ANI)

NRI researcher says diabetes drug doubles heart failure risk
Monday, July 30, 2007 | MP

Washington, July 28 (ANI): An Indian origin researcher has found that a class of drugs commonly used to treat Type 2 diabetes may double the risk of heart failure.

The study was conducted by a team of researchers led by Sonal Singh at Wake Forest University School of Medicine.

A part of the study, researchers examined a review of research studies and case reports involving more than 78,000 patients, to find the potential link between the thiazolinediones (which includes Avandia and Actos drugs) and heart failure.

The study concluded that the risk of heart failure might be up to 100 percent higher in patients taking these drugs that are known to enhance insulin sensitivity.

Researchers estimated that one additional patient with type 2 diabetes would develop heart failure for every 50 patients taking the drugs over a 26-month period.

The authors hypothesize that fluid retention caused by the drugs might trigger heart failure in susceptible people.

“The occurrence of heart failure several months after initiation of treatment suggests a long-term effect of the drugs, which may not be avoided by beginning with low doses,” Singh said. (ANI)

India, Bhutan ink Punatsangebhu-I power project pact
Saturday, July 28, 2007 | MP

By Pankaj Chaudhary

Thimpu, July 28 (ANI):India and Bhutan have signed a landmark agreement for implementing the Punatsangebhu-I hydroelectric power project.

Visiting Indian External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and his Bhutanese counterpart Lyonpo Khandu Wangchuk signed the pact in the Gyelyong Tshokhang (the Planning Conference Hall) of the National Assembly in Bhutanese capital Thimphu.

The project is a run-of-the-river scheme coming up on the banks of the River Punatsangchhu, and is located between 8.50 and 18.50 kilometres downstream from the Wangdue Phodrang Bridge.

The Indian Government will fund the project with a 40 percent grant and the balance 60 percent will be provided in the form of a loan, which will attract an interest of ten percent.

The capital cost of the project is an estimated Ngultrum (Bhutanese currency) 35,148.10 million, and once completed, will provide an expected 1095-megawatt of power.

The project includes the construction of a 137-metre high concrete gravity dam, four intakes, four underground desilting chambers, a 7.5 kilometre long headrace tunnel, two vertical pressure shafts and an underground powerhouse.

A Punatsangchhu Hydroelectric Project Authority (PHPA) will be set up to oversee the construction of the project, which is expected to commence in 2008 and be completed by 2014.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the preparation of a Detailed Project Report (DPR) was signed on September 15, 2003. WAPCOS (India) Ltd., a Government of India undertaking, prepared the DPR, and both Governments gave their approval to it in April 2007.

Both India and Bhutan have, inter alia, set themselves a target of exporting 5000 megawatt of power from Bhutan to India by 2020. The two countries have created three power project in Bhutan –Chukha (336 MW), Kurichu (60 MW) and Tala (1020 MW).

The Punatsangchhu-I project is expected to be the largest hydropower project undertaken by the two countries. (ANI)

Indian Govt. happy over Haneef’s acquittal in Australia
Saturday, July 28, 2007 | MP

New Delhi/Bangalore, July 28 (ANI): Indian Government has expressed its happiness over dropping of terrorism charges against Indian born doctor Mohamed Haneef.

"The Government of India is pleased that Dr. Mohammad Haneef has been released from the Correction Centre in Brisbane and the charges against him have been dropped by the Australian Federal Police (AFP),” said Navtej Sarna, Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson.

Sarna further said that it is a matter of satisfaction that justice has been done in this unfortunate case, which had been closely followed among members of the public and media in both the countries.

Sarna also said that India hoped Dr. Haneef could return home as per his wish.

"It is the sincere hope of the Government of India that Dr. Haneef will be able to depart Australia of his own accord in the near future," he said.

The Australian Government said it would seek further legal advice on whether Dr. Mohamed Haneef should now be deported, but released him from jail while his immigration status is clarified.

Dr. Haneef left jail on Friday after 25 days in custody.

In Bangalore, Haneef's wife, Firdaus Arshiya, welcomed the decision to release her husband.

"I thank the family, thank the Indian Government, the Ministry of External Affairs and all the Australian public who supported my husband there," she said.

"I am extremely happy that he is released now. From the beginning, we knew that he is innocent and today the entire world has accepted it. His mother is very happy,” she added.

Meanwhile, Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said the case would not harm Australia-India relations.

Haneef, 27, was charged with providing support to a terrorist organisation by giving his SIM card to a relative later accused of being linked to a failed plot to bomb central London and Glasgow Airport. (ANI)

Haneef spends first day out of jail eating, watching TV
Saturday, July 28, 2007 | MP

Melbourne, July 28 (ANI): Freed Indian born doctor Mohamed Haneef spent his first night out of jail watching news and eating good food.

Dr Haneef spent his first night with lawyer Peter Russo and his wife's cousin Imran Siddiqui, Russo's wife Terri said.

Dr Haneef was moved under tight security from the Wolston Correctional Centre, where he was held in isolation to an Immigration Department owned unit in Brisbane's Central Business District after terror-related charge was dropped.

Terri said the doctor would spend most of his time today going through his property, which would be returned by the Immigration Department.

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) had taken possession of Dr Haneef's property during their investigation, news.com.au reported.

The AFP handed it over to the Immigration Department when the charge against him of providing support to a terrorist organisation was dropped.

The case against the Indian doctor collapsed spectacularly yesterday as embarrassed federal authorities admitted bungling in the investigation.

Dr Haneef, 27, was released from a Brisbane jail into "residential detention'' hours later.

Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews, who cancelled Dr Haneef's work visa last week, will be seeking advice from the Commonwealth Solicitor General on whether to reverse his decision.

In Bangalore, Dr Haneef's wife, Firdous Arshiya, said she was extremely pleased that the charges had been dropped.

"I am extremely happy that finally the day has come when the truth has come out,'' she said outside her parents' house.

Haneef, 27, was charged with providing support to a terrorist organisation by giving his SIM card to a relative later accused of being linked to a failed plot to bomb central London and Glasgow Airport.

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) has admitted that crucial evidence against Dr Haneef, the mobile phone SIM card found at the scene of a British car bombing, was wrong. (ANI)

Pranab, Rice term N-deal as “historic milestone”
Saturday, July 28, 2007 | MP

New Delhi, July 27 (ANI): A joint statement issued by Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee and US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice today, said that the two countries have reached a “historic milestone” in their strategic partnership by completing negotiations on the Indo-US bilateral agreement on civilian nuclear energy cooperation.

“This agreement will govern civil nuclear trade between our two countries and open the door for American and Indian firms to participate in each other’s civil nuclear energy sector,” the statement said.

The two countries said that the conclusion of negotiations on this agreement marks a major step forward in fulfilling the promise of full civil nuclear cooperation as envisioned by US President George W Bush and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

“The successful completion of the text permits us to move forward on the US-India Civil Nuclear Cooperation initiative, first announced by the two leaders on July 18, 2005, and reaffirmed on March 2, 2006,” it said.

The next steps include India negotiating a safeguards agreement with the IAEA and support for nuclear trade with India from the forty-five member Nuclear Suppliers Group. Once these additional actions have been completed, Bush will submit the text of the agreement to the US Congress for final approval.

Civil nuclear cooperation between the US and India will offer enormous strategic and economic benefits to both countries, including enhanced energy security, a more environmentally-friendly energy source, greater economic opportunities, and more robust non-proliferation efforts, the two leaders hoped.

“This achievement reinforces the growing bilateral relationship between two vibrant democracies. We are committed to the strategic partnership outlined by President Bush and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, and look forward to working together to implement this historic initiative,” they said. (ANI)

The Union Cabinet has already approved the 123-agreement worked upon by senior Indian and American officials in Washington last week.

The Cabinet's approval paves the way for the finalisation of civilian nuclear energy cooperation between both countries.

Details of the bilateral pact, which the two sides struggled to put together, have not been made public, but a joint statement issued after the talks in Washington last week said they had made 'substantial progress'.

The Government will make a statement on the salient features of the agreement on first day of the Monsoon Session of the Parliament on August 10.

The deal aims to give India access to US nuclear fuel and equipments for the first time in 30 years, to help meet its soaring energy needs.

The next step towards formalising nuclear cooperation between Washington and New Delhi include approval by the US Congress, India to negotiate a country-specific safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).

The NSG would need to amend its guidelines to permit civilian nuclear commerce with India. (ANI)

Liquor used as pesticides in Punjab
Saturday, July 28, 2007 | MP

By Mittha

Devivada (Punjab), July 27 (ANI): Believe it or not, many farmers in Punjab are using locally brewd liquor as pesticides. They claim that the brew kills pests and also helps in getting better yields.

Farmers in Punjab’s Faridkot District have been using liquor as pesticides for the past three years They claim that spraying one litre of hooch mixed with 80 litres of water is immensely beneficial for the crops and shows a remarkable difference in their crops within two weeks.

Sinkander Singh, who has been spraying hooch for last three years says: “We plant our crop about 15 days later than the suggested dates by the government to farmers, yet our produce is so much. It’s been three years since we have been spraying liquor on our crops. We hardly use any fertilizer and still produce a better yield."

Such claims, however, have been rubbished by the farm scientists.

Gurdayal Singh, Agriculture official in Faridkot, said: "There is no evidence that spraying the crops with alcohol produces a better yield. And if the farmers are doing this for personal satisfaction, it (the idea) is limited to them only. Spraying plants with alcohol does not yield better looking plants or yield a bigger produce,"

Slum-dwellers, rickshaw pullers and small farmers who have been the main patrons of country made liquor . They fear that if people become aware that liquor can be used as a pesticide, the hooch is bound to become more costly. .

Punjab is one of the most fertile regions of the world. The region is ideal for wheat production. Rice, sugar cane, fruits and vegetables are also grown.

The State produces 60 per cent of country’s wheat, and 40 per cent of total rice production. The largest grown crop is wheat. Other important crops are rice, cotton, sugarcane, pearl millet, maize, barley and fruit.

Internationally, Punjab represents 1/30th or 3 per cent of world's production of these crops. (ANI)

Indo-US N-deal fulfills terms outlined by PM: Naryanan
Saturday, July 28, 2007 | MP

New Delhi, July 27 (ANI): National Security Advisor (NSA) M K Narayanan said on Friday that the civilian nuclear energy cooperation between India and the US fulfills the terms outlined by Prime Minister in Parliament on August 17 last year.

Addressing a press conference along with Atomic Energy Commission Chairman Anil Kakodkar and Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon to brief reporters on the nuclear deal, Narayanan made it clear that there was no reference in the agreement to the nuclear tests carried out by India in 1998.

He said, "It refers to only civil nuclear cooperation," adding that India has “retained its right to test."

Narayanan said the right to reprocess spent fuel and reusing it for other purposes has been agreed to in the deal, which was singed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and US President George W Bush on July 18, 2005 during the former’s visit to Washington.

He admitted that the deal is not the “best,” but said it is “a very good one."

“It does not interfere with India's breeder programme in any manner," he said, adding that the text fully reflects fuel supply assurances.

Commenting on the shortcomings of the agreement, the NSA said India would have liked to get reprocessing and enrichment technologies.

He, however, ruled out that the fighter aircraft sale issue was linked to the deal, and said, “The outcome would improve relationships and this would lead to other enhancements. There are no conditions attached with this agreement. This is a simple civil nuclear deal."

On political consensus within India, Narayanan claimed that the Left parties seem to be “more or less convinced” and even the opposition NDA is “more than satisfied with the agreement."

Shiv Shankar Menon said there is “no time limit” for the completion of India-specific safeguards negotiations, and expressed the hope that the negotiations would complete soon. “It has to be different and specific to the Indian conditions of the world scenario," he said.

Terming the deal as a strategic milestone between New Delhi and Washington, Menon said that it was intended to primarily drive the civil nuclear deal, and it is not being used to enhance the “strategic nuclear capability.”

"We hope India will get unconditional exemption from Nuclear Suppliers Group guidelines on fuel supplies," Menon said.

The Union Cabinet has already approved the 123-agreement worked upon by senior Indian and American officials in Washington last week.

The Cabinet’s approval paves the way for the finalisation of civilian nuclear energy cooperation between both countries.

Details of the bilateral pact, which the two sides struggled to put together, have not been made public, but a joint statement issued after the talks in Washington last week said they had made 'substantial progress'.

The Government will make a statement on the salient features of the agreement on first day of the Monsoon Session of the Parliament on August 10.

The deal aims to give India access to US nuclear fuel and equipments for the first time in 30 years, to help meet its soaring energy needs.

The next step towards formalising nuclear cooperation between Washington and New Delhi include approval by the US Congress, India to negotiate a country-specific safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).

The NSG would need to amend its guidelines to permit civilian nuclear commerce with India. (ANI)

Meira Kumar objects to use of the term ‘upper and lower castes’ in media
Saturday, July 28, 2007 | MP

New Delhi, July 27 (ANI): Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Meira Kumar has expressed concern over the use of the terms ‘upper and lower castes’ in the media.

In a letter to Information and Broadcasting Minister Priyaranjan Dasmunsi, Kumar
has requested his ministry to issue appropriate directions to the press to use Constitutionally accepted terms.

The media should use terms like Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), Other backward Classes (OBC) while referring to persons belonging to such categories, Kumar said.

Kumar was of the view that the use of inappropriate terms, particularly, in the Government sponsored institutions would produce demagogy in the minds of persons belonging to the SC, ST and OBC categories.

Expressing serious concern over the discriminative approach being adopted in Government-owned print and electronic media, Kumar said that such usage perpetuates inequalities in the society.

“This would weaken the social fabric of the nation, besides dampening the spirit of social justice and equity in the society,” she added. (ANI)

Fresh batch of pilgrims leave for Amarnath cave shrine
Saturday, July 28, 2007 | MP

Jammu, July 27 (ANI): A fresh batch of 1,039 pilgrims left the base camp here today for the Amarnath cave shrine despite bad weather.

Pilgrims, including 145 women and 16 children will reach Nunwan in Pahalgam and Baltal camps by this evening, officials said.

A total of 43,417 pilgrims have left to the cave shrine of Amarnath since the beginning of yatra on July 2.

Tight security arrangements have been made for the pilgrimage.

Every year, lakhs of pilgrim's trek along a treacherous mountain track to the Amarnath shrine, located at an altitude of 3,800 metres (12,700 feet).

The Amarnath Cave is about 12,500 feet above sea level and 141 kilometres from Srinagar.

Amarnath pilgrimage began from June 30 and it will continue till August end. (ANI)

Shekhar Dutt appointed as Deputy National Security Advisor
Saturday, July 28, 2007 | MP

New Delhi, July 27 (ANI): Defence Secretary Shekhar Dutt, a 1969 batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of Madhya Pradesh cadre, has been appointed as Deputy National Security Advisor.

He will hold this post in the National Security Council Secretariat for Strategic and Defence related subjects.

Dutt will be in the rank and pay of Secretary to the Government of India and will hold the post for a period of two years in the first instance or until further orders, whichever is earlier.

Dutt was appointed as Defence Secretary in July 2005. Prior to this appointment, he was Secretary Defence Production.

He has also served in the Army and he was awarded Sena Medal for gallantry for his role in the Western Sector during the 1971 War.

Dutt held several key posts, including Director General Sports Authority of India and Principal Secretary in the Department of Tribal and Scheduled Caste Welfare.

During his tenure in the Sports Authority of India, Dutt played a pivotal role in the successful conduct of the First Afro-Asian Games in November 2003.

As the Principal Secretary, Tribal Welfare Dutt was instrumental in drawing up a number of schemes including special projects concerning area development, collection and marketing of minor forest produce and forest village development through joint forest management mechanism. (ANI)

Sensex plunges by 542 points
Saturday, July 28, 2007 | MP

Mumbai, July 27 (ANI): The Sensex today plunged by 542 points on emergence of selling by foreign as well as domestic funds, triggered by weak global trend.

The Sensex, which opened with a huge negative gap of 288 points at 15,488, dropped to a low of 15,160 in noon deals on weak global cues - down 616 points from the previous close.

All the sectoral indices dropped sharply with the BSE Realty Index plunging over by five per cent to 7824 and the BSE PSU Index dropping over by four per cent to 6983.

The broad market breadth was extremely bearish - out of 2,575 scrips traded, 1,954 declined.

The Midcap index fell by 192 points, the smallcap by 219 points with BSE 100 registering fall of 288 points, BSE 200 melting by 66 points and BSE 500 plunging by 209 points.

Reliance was the most active counter with a turnover of 4.14 billion rupees followed by HDFC, Reliance Energy, DLF, and L&T.

The National Stock Exchange’s Nifty also fell by over three percent with its all sectoral indices showing a meltdown.

The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) fell by 2.78 per cent, the Nasdaq fell by 1.84 per cent, the Dow Jones by 2.26 per cent and Nikkie by 2.36 per cent. (ANI)

We request Australian govt. to facilitate Haneef’s return to India: E Ahmed
Saturday, July 28, 2007 | MP

New Delhi, July 27 (ANI): The Centre has requested the Australian Government to grant a proper visa to Dr Mohamed Haneef, who was released today after terrorism charges against him were dropped.

“'We are happy Haneef is cleared of all charges. India will ask the Australian Government to provide a visa to him .Our first priority is to bring him back,” said Minister of State for External Affairs E Ahamed.

Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy, said Haneef was unnecessarily dragged into the issue.

“The fact that all charges have been dropped comes as a relief,” a TV channel quoted him, as saying.

Queensland Premier Peter Beattie has said that if the Australian Government restores his work visa, Haneef can return to his job at the Gold Coast Hospital.

"If the Howard Government now allows Dr Haneef to keep his work visa, then Queensland Health would welcome him back as an employee at the Gold Coast Hospital," he said.

The Australian federal Labour's legal affairs spokesman has demanded the Australian Government to immediately set up an external review into the handling of Haneef's case.

Haneef, 27, was charged with providing support to a terrorist organisation by giving his SIM card to a relative later accused of being linked to a failed plot to bomb central London and Glasgow Airport.

The Australian Police arrested Haneef when he was leaving Australia with a one-way ticket to Malaysia on July 2.

Another two suspects, Kafeel Ahmed, 27, and his brother Sabeel, 26, who also belong to Bangalore, were arrested by British police in connection with the plot.

Kafeel, who studied engineering in India, suffered critical burns in the attack on Glasgow airport in Scotland, where witnesses said he set both himself and the crashed jeep on fire.

A total of eight people were arrested in the plot, either from the Middle East or India. Seven were arrested in Britain and Haneef was arrested in Australia. (ANI)

Haneef welcome to resume work in Queensland: Premier
Saturday, July 28, 2007 | MP

Melbourne, July 27 (ANI): Queensland Premier Peter Beattie has said that Indian born doctor Mohamed Haneef is welcome to return to his job at the Gold Coast Hospital if the Australian Government restores his work visa.

"If the Howard Government now allows Dr Haneef to keep his work visa, then Queensland Health would welcome him back as an employee at the Gold Coast Hospital," He said.

"Should Dr Haneef wish to resume his employment at the Gold Coast Hospital, then the local district manager will meet with him to make those arrangements," Beattie added.

Beattie said he would be happy to help Dr Haneef return to work at the Gold Coast Hospital once his visa was returned.

The Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) today dropped the charge of supporting a terrorist organisation against the Indian doctor.

Federal Director of Public Prosecutions Damian Bugg QC said that the charge against Dr Haneef was dropped because there was no reasonable prospect of him being convicted on the evidence.

Alan MacSporran SC, acting on behalf of the DPP told the Brisbane court that a review of the charge had revealed two errors, news.com.au reported.

Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews cancelled Dr Haneef's visa on July 16, just hours after a Brisbane magistrate granted the doctor bail on a charge of supporting a terrorist organisation.

Dr Haneef's lawyer Peter Russo had lodged an appeal in the Federal Court in Brisbane against the decision to cancel the visa.

Earlier, Beattie had asked Australia's Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews to explain why he cancelled the work permit visa of Dr Haneef, after the latter was granted conditional bail in connection with his alleged involvement in the foiled London and Glasgow bombings of June 30. (ANI)

Mittal confident of mining lease for Orissa unit
Saturday, July 28, 2007 | MP

Bhubaneswar, July 27 (ANI): Arcelor-Mittal Chief Executive Lakshmi Mittal says that he is confident of obtaining a mining lease for a steel plant that he plans to build in Orissa.

After a meeting with Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Thursday, Mittal said all issues, including mining and land, have been discussed.

"We have discussed all the issues. Not only the mine issues, but also the land issue. We have also discussed how do we work with the communities in the areas,” said Mittal.

A detailed project report (DPR) is expected to be ready by mid-2008, by when other issues relating to land and mining would also be sorted out.

“Already the consultants are working on the DPR, but in the meantime there is a lot of work to be done. We will start working on land issues, mining issues, on water and on all the infrastructure," Mittal told reporters when asked if he foresee problems in bagging captive supplies of iron ore.

Last December, Arcelor-Mittal, the world's biggest steel maker, signed a deal with Orissa Government to build a 12 million tonne steel plant.

Mittal said he was encouraged by the progress of the project.

The first phase of the plant would be commissioned within four years of the report's completion, said Mittal.

Arcelor Mittal is also planning a similar sized steel unit in Jharkhand. (ANI)

Indian Railways readies passenger facilities for train service to Bangladesh
Saturday, July 28, 2007 | MP

Gede (West Bengal), July 27 (ANI): Indian Railways is putting together passenger facilities ahead of the start of a trans-national train service between Kolkata and Dhaka for the first time in more than four decades.

The service is expected to begin in August, though no exact date has been announced.

The Indian Railways conducted a trial run of the train from Kolkata to Gede, the last station on India’s international border with Bangladesh, on Thursday to check passenger facilities and security aspects.

Birendranath Biswas, a Bangladeshi, said that this service augurs well for ties between both countries.

"The way I have taken the trouble to come from Bangladesh by road will not be there. We will be able to go to Kolkata from there,” Biswas added.

Besides immigration facilities, facilities for the scanning of passenger baggage and security checks are being set up at the Gede railway station.

Swapan Kumar Mondal, the Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) Eastern Railways, said: "This will be the border's first station. The obligatory checking, like customs, security checking and immigration will be done.”

As far as other arrangements are concerned, Mondal said: “We have developed all arrangements, and fencing has also been done.”

A high- level Bangladeshi delegation is scheduled to visit Gede on July 29, before finalising the train service.

A trial run of the Indian train was held at the beginning of July. Bangladesh will also soon send a train to Kolkata for a similar trial run.

The train service between India and Bangladesh was suspended during the 1965 Indo-Pak War, and Bangladesh was then a part of Pakistan, and was referred to as East Pakistan. (ANI)

Manmohan Singh calls on Pratibha Patil
Friday, July 27, 2007 | MP

New Delhi, July 26 (ANI): A day after Pratibha Patil became the first citizen of India, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called on her at the Rashtrapati Bhavan here today.

The Prime Minister was accompanied by his wife Gursharan Kaur. They greeted Patil on her assuming the office of the President of India.

During the 20-minute meeting, the two leaders discussed matters of national and international importance. (ANI)

Cabinet clears introduction of helicopter services in Nagaland
Friday, July 27, 2007 | MP

New Delhi, July 26 (ANI): The Union Cabinet today gave its approval for introduction of helicopter services in Nagaland to facilitate movement of state people and officials within it.

At its weekly meeting here, the Cabinet decided that the amount of subsidy would be met on 75:25 basis, that is 75 percent by the Union Home Ministry and 25 per cent by the Nagaland Government.

The overall ceiling of flying hours for the proposed helicopter service in Nagaland may be fixed at 40 hours per month.

The Cabinet also gave the go ahead for introduction of a Bill in the Parliament’s Monsoon Session for amendment of section 2(e) of the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972 to define “employee.”

“’Employee’ means any person (other than an apprentice) who is employed for wages, whether the terms of such employment are expressed or implied, in any kind of work, manual or otherwise, in or in connection with the work of a factory, mine, oilfield, plantation, port, railway company, shop or other establishment, to which this Act applies, but does not include any such person who holds a post under the Central Government or a State Government and is governed by any other Act or by any rules providing for payment of gratuity,” the proposed amendment definition says.

This will result in coverage of teachers in the educational institutions under the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972. (ANI)

Delhi HC rebukes Kohli for delaying his extradition process
Friday, July 27, 2007 | MP

New Delhi, July 26 (ANI): Reserving the judgement on a review petition filed by accused Maninder Pal Singh Kohli, against his extradition to the United Kingdom in Hannah Foster rape and murder case, the Delhi High Court today rebuked him for delaying extradition process.

A bench comprising of Justice P K Bhasin and Justice Mukul Mudgal told Kohli that his review petition was an attempt to somehow delay the extradition process.

The Court also rejected Kohli's contentions that he would not get a fair trial in the UK as there is bias against Asian community.

Countering Kohli’s arguments the bench questioned him that if there was any bias in the UK then why did he go there, he enjoyed the working condition there, so why is there a sudden fascination towards the Indian court.

Kohli had filed a review petition in the Delhi High Court challenging his extradition to the United Kingdom to face a trial in the case.

On July 6, Kohli’s petition challenging his extradition to the UK was dismissed by the Delhi High Court.

The court had temporarily stayed the extradition of Kohli, a Non-Resident Indian (NRI), till it disposed of his petition.

Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Kamini Lau had said that there was sufficient prima facie evidence to allow extradition of the fugitive criminal to the UK.

The court found it a fit case to extradite him. Kohli had been continuously evading arrest after the incident, till his arrest on July 14, 2004 at Kalimpong in West Bengal.

Hannah Foster’s phone records which revealed that she had made desperate phone calls on police helpline numbers on the night of her murder on March 14 2003 were also taken into account by the court.

The court also took into account the scientific and forensic evidence submitted before it by the External Affairs Ministry which indicated the presence of Foster’s blood sample in a delivery van of the Hazzelwood Food Company which was allegedly driven by Kohli.

Foster's parents visited India in February with the motive of expediting an early extradition of the accused to the UK.

Hannah's parents, Trevor and Hilary Foster, had also written to President A P J Abdul Kalam, Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and former Chief Justice of India Y.K. Sabharwal to cut short the judicial delay.

Kohli, a truck driver in Britain, accused of abducting, raping and killing Hannah had fled the country two days after her body was found, but was nabbed from a remote village bordering Nepal.

Hannah's body was found on the outskirts of Southampton in March 2003. (ANI)

Migratory birds may give a miss to Rajasthan’s Keoladeo National Park
Friday, July 27, 2007 | MP

Bharatpur (Rajasthan), July 26 (ANI): Migratory birds could give a miss to the Keoladeo National Park in Rajasthan this year due to scanty rains.

Known as 'the heaven for birds', the park has served as an alternative habitat for migratory and subcontinent birds.

Park authorities have confirmed that most water bodies in the sanctuary are dry, and added that this year's aridity has created a critical situation.

The sanctuary has 11 sq km wide lake, which is the main food source of migratory birds.

A world wildlife heritage list, the park has remained the centre of attraction for both foreign and domestic wildlife lovers.

Near about 70 to 80 species of migratory birds arrive in the park annually, including Siberian Crane, Porment, E- Grade, Snake bird, White Irish, Spoon and Padent.

However for last few years, there was massive decrease in the number of the winged visitors, also resulting in the decrease of tourists.

Lack of rains during the past two years, has badly affected the bird population, as also the residents in the region.

"The whole eco-system is water-based. If there isn't any water there will be no grasslands and lakes and this whole region will turn into woodland. Therefore, we need to find an alternative to preserve this Park," said Sunayam Sharma, the director of the Park.

In 2004, the Rajasthan Government led by Vasundhara Raje succumbed to pressure from farmers to prevent water from being diverted to the sanctuary. The water supply to the park dropped from 540,000,000 to 18,000,000 cubic feet.

The result was an ecological disaster with the marshlands turning dry and inhospitable.

One of the finest bird parks in the world, Keoladeo National Park also known as Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary is a reserve that offers protection to faunal species as well.

Besides a large species of bird population, the sanctuary is also home to Sambar, Chital, Nilgai and Boar - all Indian species of deer. (ANI)

BJP set to form coalition government in Goa
Friday, July 27, 2007 | MP

Panaji, July 26 (ANI): After reducing Congress-led Government in Goa to a minority, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) today named a new political group Goa Democratic Alliance (GDA) headed by Opposition leader Manohar Parrikar.

Two legislators of Maharashtra Gomantak Party (MGP) and an independent legislator Anil Salgaoncar have withdrawn support to the Digamber Kamat-led Government and joined BJP coalition.

The BJP-led coalition has said it will defeat the State Government, headed by the Congress, in a trial of strength in the Assembly.

BJP wants Goa Governor S C Jamir, who is presently in Delhi, to install the new government after they defeat ruling coalition on the Floor of the House.

"We want him (the Governor) to install the new government once the existing government is defeated during the ongoing State Assembly session," BJP leader Parrikar said.

The GDA was formed earlier today to ensure close coordination between its partners. The coalition comprises of two legislators of the Maharashtra Gomantak Party (MGP), two of Save Goa Front (SGF), one of United Goans Democratic Party (UGDP) and independent legislator Anil Salgaoncar, besides 14 BJP legislators. With this the BJP-led opposition has 20 legislators.

The GDA unanimously elected Parrikar as its leader. Parrikar will be the Chief Minister if the BJP-led formation proves majority on the Floor of the House.

Meanwhile, according to some reports the Goa Assembly was adjourned till Monday amidst noisy protests by members of the ruling Congress-led coalition.

Less than two months old Congress-led Government was reduced to 18 members in the 40-member Assembly after of one of its allies, the Maharashtra Gomantak Party (MGP) having a strength of two members and an independent legislator Anil Salgaoncar withdrew support and a woman Congress legislator Victoria Fernandes resigned from the State Assembly.

The MGP, which had supported the Congress to form the Government, said it was unhappy with functioning of the government.

Victoria Fernandes submitted her resignation charging her own party members of humiliating her.

Fernandes was disappointed after being denied a Cabinet rank. She claims that Congress President Sonia Gandhi had assured her of one.

She abstained from the House during the presentation of the Finance Bill on Tuesday, despite a Whip being issued by the party on the Floor of the House. The party thereafter threatened Fernandes with disqualification for defying the Whip.

Congress had formed the government with 16 legislators with support from three of NCP, two of MGP, and two independents legislators after it emerged the largest party in June 2 Goa Assembly elections. (ANI)

Culling of poultry begins in Manipur
Friday, July 27, 2007 | MP

New Delhi/Imphal, July 26 (ANI): With the Central and Manipur Governments confirming an outbreak of bird flu (H5NI strain) in the State, Rapid Response Teams (RRTs) have been mobilised and culling of poultry has begun today.

Official sources said that poultry will be killed in a radius of five kilometres of the infected site, which lies on the border with Myanmar.

As per initial details provided by the State Government, nearly 1,50,000 birds are likely to be killed. About 128 small units of poultry are likely to be covered in the operations.

Upma Chawdhry, Joint Secretary in the Central Department of Animal Husbandry, said action will be taken to check the spread of bird flu.

“This will include the killing of the birds, in a radius of zero to five kilometres from the infected site and surveillance will be maintained over an area of five to ten km around the infected site," she said.

Health workers will conduct the checking of people in and around the poultry farm in Chingmeirong village of Manipur’s East Imphal District, for any signs of bird flu among them.

It is the first case of bird flu reported in the country this year.

Many Imphal residents have stopped buying chicken and eggs, an important item in the diet of a majority of people in the State.

A special ward has been set up to deal with suspected human cases of bird flu at a Government hospital in Imphal.

Neighbouring Bangladesh, Myanmar and Pakistan have also witnessed outbreaks of the H5N1 strain of bird flu in poultry this year.

Meanwhile, New Delhi has banned poultry trade with bird flu-hit nations such as China, Bangladesh and Myanmar, but officials say they are worried about people bringing poultry illegally across the frontiers. (ANI)

Srinath not in ICC match referee list for Twenty20 WC
Friday, July 27, 2007 | MP

Dubai, July 26 (ANI): Former Indian fast bowler Javagal Srinath has not been included in the list of ICC match referees who will officiate in the Twenty-20 World Cup to be held in South Africa in September.

A total of three ICC match referees and nine umpires will officiate during the 27-match event, which is scheduled to take place from September 11–24, ICC said in a statement after making the appointments today.

The three referees all come from the Elite Panel and include the head of the group, former Sri Lanka captain Ranjan Madugalle.

The other referees appointed are former South Africa all-rounder Mike Procter and ex-England opening batsman Chris Broad.

The nine umpires set to stand in the tournament include five officials from the Elite Panel– Mark Benson, Billy Doctrove, Daryl Harper, Asad Rauf and Simon Taufel.

The four other umpires are all from the Emirates International Panel – Steve Davis, Ian Howell, Nigel Llong and Tony Hill.

The ICC Twenty20 World Cup involves the ten Test playing nations and two associate teams, Kenya and Scotland. It will be held at three venues– Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg.

Srinath was among the seven match referees who officiated in the group matches of the World Cup held in the West Indies in March-April this year. (ANI)

PM briefs BJP brass about latest US-India's 123-pact
Friday, July 27, 2007 | MP

New Delhi, July 26 (ANI): Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh today briefed a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) delegation led by former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee about the recent progress made on Indo-US civilian nuclear energy cooperation.

Vajpayee, who was accompanied by former Foreign Ministers Jaswant Singh, Yashwant Sinha, BJP President Rajnath Singh and Arun Shourie, was briefed on the significant features of the latest text of the 123-agreement, which is the operational part of the deal.

Former National Security Adviser Brajesh Mishra was also present at the meeting.

The BJP, which has been opposing the pact, has been demanding that the government take the opposition into confidence on the agreement.

Dr. Singh, on Wednesday evening, briefed leaders of Left parties about the agreement, and assured them that the nuclear deal would address all apprehensions raised by the Left.

The whole text of the agreement will be shared with Left parties on August 2, after which they will meet the government.

The Union Cabinet has already approved the 123-agreement worked upon by senior Indian and American officials in Washington last week.

The Cabinet’s approval paves the way for the finalisation of civilian nuclear energy cooperation between both countries.

Details of the bilateral pact, which the two sides struggled to put together, have not been made public, but a joint statement issued after the talks in Washington last week said they had made 'substantial progress'.

Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee also did not divulge the details of the 123-agreement, but said it would be simultaneously announced by both the nations.

The Government will make a statement on the salient features of the agreement on first day of the Monsoon Session of the Parliament on August 10.

The deal aims to give India access to US nuclear fuel and equipments for the first time in 30 years, to help meet its soaring energy needs.

The next step towards formalising nuclear cooperation between Washington and New Delhi include approval by the US Congress, India to negotiate a country-specific safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).

The NSG would need to amend its guidelines to permit civilian nuclear commerce with India. (ANI)

Australian Foreign Minister defends sale of uranium to India
Friday, July 27, 2007 | MP

Sydney, July 26 (ANI): Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer today defended plans to sell uranium to India, saying the sale would help curb greenhouse emissions.

He said that the Australian Cabinet is considering the sale of uranium to India, the world's second most populous country, for electricity generation purposes only.

India is one of only four countries not to have signed the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT), which limits the spread of nuclear weapons.

Downer said exports could go ahead if India agreed to inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), similar to a deal being negotiated between India and the US.

"But we haven't made any final decision about this. It is still something that we are considering and we certainly will have to wait and see what the conclusion is of negotiations between India and America," he added.

Downer said India had no record of exporting nuclear weapons technology to other countries and the export of uranium could help the country's burgeoning economy grow. (ANI)

SC to take up OBC quota constitutional validity issue from Aug 7
Friday, July 27, 2007 | MP

New Delhi, July 26 (ANI): The Supreme Court today decided to take up the issue of constitutional validity of the law made for providing 27 per cent reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) students in admission to institutions of higher education from August 7.

Supreme Court Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan said the matter would be heard by a five-judge Constitution bench.

On July 31, the apex court will take up the Centre's application seeking vacation of the March 29 interim order staying the implementation of legislation providing reservation for the OBCs.

On July 17, in a major setback to the Centre, the apex court had stated that it found no reason to vacate the stay imposed by its March 29 interim order, directing the government to put on hold the implementation of OBC quota in the academic session 2007-08.

A Bench of Justices Arijit Pasayat and L S Panta on March 29 had stayed the implementation of section six of the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admission) Act 2006 providing quota for the OBCs in Central educational Institutions.

The government wants to increase the number of seats in colleges for lower caste students to 49.5 percent from 22.5 percent, a move strongly opposed by mainly upper caste students. (ANI)

Learning a new language is all in your head
Friday, July 27, 2007 | MP

Washington, July 26 (ANI): Do you believe that you are one of those people who just don’t have the aptitude to learn a new language? Well, a new study suggests that the inability might quite literally lie in your head.

Neuroscientists from Northwestern University conducting the study have found that brain anatomy is linked to the ability to learn a second language in adulthood.

Researchers led by Patrick Wong found that the answer to whether or not people can learn a new language lies in the Heschl’s Gyrus (HG), a finger-shaped structure in both the right and left side of the brain, and which typically accounts for no more than 0.2 percent of entire brain volume.

As a part of their study the researchers measured the size of the right and left Heschl’s Gyrus on MRI brains scans, including calculations of the volume of gray and white matter in 17 research participants aged 18 to 26.

The researchers found that the HG is important when it comes to learning a second language.

“The HG, which contains the primary region of the auditory cortex, is typically associated with handling the basic building blocks of sound -- whether the pitch of a sound is going up or down, where sounds come from and how loud a sound is -- and not associated with speech per se,” said Catherine Warrier.

For the study, the participants entered a sound booth after having their brains scanned. There they were trained to learn six one-syllable sounds (pesh, dree, ner, vece, nuck and fute). The sounds were originally produced by a speaker of American English and then re-synthesized at three different pitch tones, resulting in 18 different “pseudo” words.

The participants were repeatedly shown the 18 “pseudo” words and a black and white picture representing each word’s meaning. Pesh, for example, at one pitch meant “glass,” at another pitch meant “pencil” and at a third meant “table.” Dree, depending upon pitch, meant “arm,” “cow” or “telephone.”

As a group -- and sometimes in fewer than two or three sessions -- the nine participants predicted on the basis of left HG size to be “more successful learners” achieved an average of 97 percent accuracy in identifying the pseudo words. The “less successful” participants averaged 63 percent accuracy and sometimes required as many as 18 training sessions to correctly identify the words.

“What’s important is that we are looking at the brain in a new way that may allow us to understand brain functions more comprehensively and that could help us more effectively teach foreign languages and possibly other skills,” said Wong.

“While our study demonstrates a link between biology and linguistics, we do not argue that biology is destiny when it comes to learning a second language.

“We are already testing different learning strategies for participants whom we predict will be less successful to see if altering the training paradigm results in more successful learning,” Wong added.

The study and its findings are reported in Cerebral Cortex. (ANI)

NIIT signs IT skills pact with Malaysia
Friday, July 27, 2007 | MP

Nibong Tebal, Penang/ New Delhi, July 26 (ANI): NIIT, Asia's No. 1 software training company, has entered into a partnership with the Ministry of Human Resources, Malaysia, to foster skilled IT manpower in the country.

As part of the understanding, NIIT will implement its 'NIIT Inside' model in Arumugam Pillai Industrial Training Institute (APITI), under the aegis of the Ministry of Human Resources, Government of Malaysia.

An MoU to this effect was signed between En. Romli Bin Hj Hassan, Director General, Jabatan Tenaga Manusia and Mr. G. Raghavan, President, Global Individual Learning Business, NIIT, in Pulau Pinang, today. Dato' Thomas George, Secretary General, Ministry of Human Resources and Dato' S. Sothinathan, Vice President of Malaysian Indian Congress and Deputy Minister, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Govt. of Malaysia were among the other dignitaries who witnessed the MoU signing ceremony in the Malaysian city.

According to Dato' Thomas George, Secretary General, Ministry of Human Resources, ''Human talent development is key to our mission of achieving the status of a developed nation. Having global partners such as NIIT to train our people will help us create a new breed of professionals and contribute significantly towards the development of IT related industry''.

Speaking on the occasion, G. Raghavan, President of NIIT's Global Individual Learning Business said, ''We are honoured to partner with Govt. of Malaysia in its mission of developing skilled manpower. This MoU recognizes the relevance of NIIT's curricula and opens the door for thousands of students in Malaysia''s ITIs to get globally-relevant ICT skills.''

Under the 'NIIT Inside' model, the training major will embed its cutting edge industry acclaimed IT training programs in APITI's curriculum. Through this partnership, NIIT and Industrial Training Institutes (it is)
will jointly work towards creating a complete academic framework for attracting and creating a large base of skilled manpower in Information Technology in the country.

The current initiative will further enhance NIIT's leadership position in the Asian IT training industry. The partnership with Malaysian Government follows close on the heels of the announcement of its expansion plans in Vietnam.

NIIT was the first Indian IT training company to start operations in China and is today the most recognized Indian training brand in that country.

For over a decade, the Indian IT training pioneer, NIIT has played a significant role in placing India's software and services sector on the international map and given the country an edge in this domain by helping build globally relevant, industry-oriented, high-on-expertise talent. (ANI)

AIIMS mulls offering specialisation in Emergency Medicine
Friday, July 27, 2007 | MP

By Ruchi Gupta

New Delhi, July 26 (ANI): The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) is hopeful of streamlining the patient load at its Emergency Department by starting a post graduate course in Emergency Medicine (EM) for MBBS students.

An approval from the Governing Body of AIIMS for starting MD-EM is awaited.

Specialisation in Emergency Medicine will help in meeting the scarcity of skilled personnel, who are trained to attend on patients requiring immediate expert attention of diverse kinds varying from surgery, medicine, orthopaedic, cardiac and neurological.

At present, the AIIMS's Division of Emergency Medicine has more than 81 doctors on roll to handle the patient load of over 150,000 patients annually and nearly 500 per day.

"Residency in EM at AIIMS will help in building up the Emergency care workforce," said Dr Sanjeev Bhoi, Assistant Professor Medicine at the AIIMS's Department of Emergency Medicine.

According to Dr. Bhoi, Mch – a super-specialisation in traumatology and Critical Care Medicine, soon to be introduced at the AIIMS's Jai Prakash Narayan Apex Trauma Centre (JNATC), along with MD-Emergency Medicine, will help in achieving excellence in patient care, teaching as well as research.

The state-of-the-art JNATC equipped with modern and referral facility for severe trauma patients, victims of road accidents, homicide and terrorist attacks became functional recently.

To foster the development of a specialty of Trauma and Emergency Medicine, which is new in India , the AIIMS is taking technical expertise on the subject from the University of South Florida, Thampa, USA .

"Certain private institutes in the country have started a diploma course in Emergency Medicine. However, the teaching faculty is not trained to conduct it," said Dr. Bhoi.

Besides, the AIIMS has set up the Academic Council of representatives of medical colleges recognised by the Medical Council of India (MCI) from across the country to develop a new model of Emergency Medicine tailor-made for the developing nations.

The Academic Council comprising of 32 councillors, including three from the US , has called for creation of a separate department of Emergency Medicine in all medical colleges and government hospitals immediately.

"The actual test of the Emergency department is in the public hospitals. There is an urgent need to have a dedicated department for emergency care in each public hospital," said Dr. Bhoi.

The Academic Council has proposed that efforts should be made to get recognition for Emergency Medicine as a specialty from the Medical Council of India.

It also proposed to bring trained paramedical and nursing staff, pre-hospital care and hospital transfer under the Department of Emergency Medicine for better patient care.

Drafting of a curriculum of Emergency Medicine for undergraduate and postgraduate students, and a compulsory rotatory posting in Emergency Medicine during one year internship after MBBS, were other proposals made by the Academic Council.

The AIIMS also intends to have an international exchange programmes in Emergency Medicine with the University of South Florida, in which students and faculty of the US will visit AIIMS-EM and visa versa. (ANI)

Pratibha Patil’s elevation as President could bring back joint family system: Kalam
Friday, July 27, 2007 | MP

New Delhi, July 26 (ANI): Former President A P J Abdul Kalam has said that the elevation of President Pratibha Patil, who heads a joint family, sends a good message to society, as she radiates a sense of well-being.

"She has got a big message to the families, particularly as she comes from a joint family. She will radiate a lot of confidence to joint family and will transform many homes to a joint family," Kalam said on Wednesday evening.

Pratibha Patil, who created history on Wednesday by becoming the country’s first woman President, promised to uphold the Constitution and devote herself to the well being of the people of India.

She also called for the spreading of modern education and expressed the desire of seeing every person “touched by the light of modern education.”

Urging people to uproot malnutrition, social evils and female foeticide, she also called for the empowerment of women, and for the socially inclusive sustained growth of economy. (ANI)

Hand gestures improve learning and retention power
Friday, July 27, 2007 | MP

Washington, July 26 (ANI): A new research has found that hand gestures dramatically improve learning and understanding a new concept.

A University of Rochester scientist has suggested that the use of hand gestures while learning a new concept considerably improves the ability to retain that concept.

Kids asked to physically signal at math problems are almost three times more likely than non-gesturers to remember what they’ve learned. The study shows that it’s feasible to help children learn difficult concepts by providing gestures as an added and powerful way for absorbing information.

“We’ve known for a while that we use gestures to add information to a conversation even when we’re not entirely clear how that information relates to what we’re saying. We asked if the reverse could be true; if actively employing gestures when learning helps retain new information,” says Susan Wagner Cook, lead author and postdoctoral fellow at the University.

In Cook’s study, 90 percent of students who had learned algebraic concepts using gestures remembered them three weeks later. Only 33 percent of speech-only students who had learned the concept during instruction later retained the lesson. And perhaps most surprising of all, 90 percent of students who had learned by gesture alone, no speech at all, recollected what they’d been taught.

Cook used a variation on a classic gesturing experiment. When third graders approach a two-sided algebra equation, such as “9+3+6=__+6” on a blackboard, they will likely try to solve it in the simple way they have always approached math problems.

However, even when children discard that final integer, they will often point to it momentarily as they explain how they attacked the problem. Those children who gestured to the number, even though they may seem to ignore it, are demonstrating that they have a piece of information they can’t reconcile. Cook divided 84 third and fourth graders into three groups. One group expressed the concept verbally without being allowed to use gestures. The second group was allowed to use only gestures and no speech, and the third group employed both. Teachers gave all the children the same instruction, which used both speech and gesture.

After three weeks, the children were given regular in-school math tests. Of those children who had learned to solve the problem correctly, only a third of the speech-only students remembered the principles involved, but that figure rose spectacularly for the speech-and-gesture, and the gesture-only group, to 90-percent retention.

“My intuition is that gestures enhance learning because they capitalize on our experience acting in the world. We have a lot of experience learning through interacting with our environment as we grow, and my guess is that gesturing taps into that need to experience,” Cook says.

Cook plans to look into how gesturing could be implemented effectively in classrooms, to make a noticeable improvement in children’s learning.

“Gesturing does have one clear benefit. It’s free,” she concludes. (ANI)

Top BJP delegation to meet PM today over N-deal
Thursday, July 26, 2007 | MP

New Delhi, July 26 (ANI): A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) delegation led by former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee will meet Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh later in the day to discuss the recent developments over the Indo-US civilian nuclear energy cooperation.

Dr. Singh will brief Vajpayee, who will be accompanied by former Foreign Ministers Jaswant Singh, Yashwant Sinha, BJP President Rajnath Singh and Arun Shourie, on the significant features of the recently agreed text of the 123-agreement, which is the operational part of the deal.

According to party sources, former Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani will not be present at the meeting, as he is scheduled to leave for Singapore today to attend a Sindhi conference.

The BJP, which has been opposing the pact, has been demanding the government take the opposition into confidence on the progress in the agreement.

Dr. Singh on Wednesday evening briefed the leaders of the Left parties about the agreement and assured them that the nuclear deal would address all the apprehensions that the Left had raised.

The whole text of the agreement will be shared with the Left parties on August 2 after which they will meet the government.

The Union Cabinet has already approved the text of the bilateral 123-agreement worked upon by senior Indian and American officials in Washington last week.

The Cabinet’s approval paves the way for the finalisation of the civilian nuclear energy cooperation between the two countries.

Details of the bilateral pact, which the two sides struggled to put together, have not been made public, but a joint statement issued after the talks in Washington last week said they had made 'substantial progress'.

Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee also did not divulge the details of the 123-agreement, the operational part of the nuclear, but said that it would be simultaneously announced by both the nations.

The Government will make a statement on the salient features of the agreement on first day of the Monsoon session of the Parliament, which is slated to commence on August 10.

The deal aims to give India access to the US nuclear fuel and equipments for the first time in 30 years, to help meet its soaring energy needs.

The next step towards formalising nuclear cooperation between Washington and New Delhi include approval by the US Congress, India to negotiate a country-specific safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).

The NSG would need to amend its guidelines to permit civilian nuclear commerce with India. (ANI)

Charges against Haneef will be dropped by Friday or Monday: Oz lawyer
Thursday, July 26, 2007 | MP

Melbourne, July 26 (ANI): A prominent Australian lawyer has said that the charge against Indian born doctor Mohamed Haneef will be dropped as early as Friday.

Peter Faris, a former chairman of the National Crime Authority, said the decision of the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions Damian Bugg, to review the evidence against Dr Haneef suggested that the case had collapsed.

"This is the end of the case against Dr Haneef," Faris told ABC television.

"I have no doubt that the reasons that Bugg has intervened is to find a way out of the impasse that the DPP finds itself in, to put it bluntly, they have no case. I would be fairly confident ... that the charges will be dropped probably tomorrow, if not tomorrow, Monday," Faris said.

He claimed that the case had been plagued by repeated mistakes by Australian Federal Police (AFP) investigators and the inability of the Commonwealth DPP to prosecute terrorism cases.

He demanded the resignation of Bugg and AFP Commissioner Mick Keelty, and said that both organisations had failed miserably in their duties.

The Sydney Morning Herald quoted Faris as saying that Bugg and Keelty knew what was going on, and as such should be held responsible for the mess.

Earlier, Dr Haneef’s lawyers demanded amendment in the charge immediately because it was filled with technical inaccuracies.

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) have admitted that crucial evidence against Dr Haneef, the mobile phone SIM card found at the scene of a British car bombing, was wrong.

The Fairfax newspapers quoted AFP sources as saying that it had not been confirmed that the SIM card was found at the scene of the failed Glasgow Airport attack, as prosecutors alleged during the Haneef's bail hearing.

The revelation has cast fresh doubts over police handling of the Haneef case.

Haneef, 27, is charged with providing support to a terrorist organisation by giving his SIM card to a relative later accused of being linked to a failed plot to bomb central London and Glasgow Airport. (ANI)

Kashmir University digitalises rare manuscripts
Thursday, July 26, 2007 | MP

Srinagar, July 25 (ANI): Centuries-old rare manuscripts of Sufi literature and rare Qurans in Arabic, Persian, Kashmiri and Urdu languages are now available in digitalised version, courtesy Kashmir University.

This invaluable literature is now available online for discerning scholars and research students.

It was made possible by experts from the National Mission of Manuscripts of Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts, who converted about 363 rare manuscripts, into digitalised form.

The manuscripts, some of them 300 to 400-years-old, were lying in a precarious condition and needed urgent attention.

Riyaz Rufai, Librarian of the Allama Iqbal Library of the Kashmir University, said: “We contacted the National Mission of Manuscripts seeking help in preserving these manuscripts so that it could also be used by students in future. We wanted to preserve these rare manuscripts for posterity."

The assignment took a four-member team to produce a digitalised version of a whopping 60,000 pages of manuscripts.

The manuscripts include Mathnawi Moulvi Rumi, Akbar Nama Shreen-Khusrao Khushkhat (Persian), Duri Mukhtar, Risala Jalaliya (Arabic), Duri Yateem, Ramzan Nama (Kashmiri) and Diwan Ghalib, Bayazi Rubaiyat (Urdu).

Saleem Sadiq, a Kashmir University student, said: "These manuscripts are rare and very old. We used to suffer a lot, as the quality of these manuscripts was very bad and pages were worn out. Besides, we could not take them with us. Now available in the CD format, we can use them anywhere and any time.

Said Zahoor- Ul- Islam, another student, said: "It is good that the manuscripts have been digitized and preserved so that the coming generation can also make proper use of it. This way it will remain safe and offer a great benefit to all of us."

The University now plans to digitize a rare collection of books in the Library, which would be available for students and researchers online. (ANI)

Bird flu outbreak reported in Manipur
Thursday, July 26, 2007 | MP

New Delhi, July 25 (ANI): The Manipur government today reported an outbreak of Avian Influenza in Chingmeirong village in East Imphal District of the state.

According to the Manipur’s Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries, 21 family members in a cluster of three houses and nine veterinary staff are under observation.

Reports said that 133 chickens had suddenly died early this month where the outbreak has taken place.

“Their health status is being monitored and all are healthy. No residents in neighbourhood are suffering from influenza like illness,” said a Union Health Ministry release, adding that the Central Rapid response team of the Ministry has been deputed to review and firm up preparedness measures.

For the active human surveillance, 20 medical teams have been constituted, each team having one medical officer, three supervisory staff, 30 health workers. One health worker would cover 100 households doing house-to-house search for influenza like illness.

A team of 20 doctors would monitor the health status of cullers who would be on oseltamivir chemoprophylaxis.

Meanwhile, an isolation ward has been set up in the Jawaharlal Nehru Hospital, Imphal to manage suspected human cases of the disease.

Five thousand capsules of Oseltamivir, 2000 sets of personal protective equipments, 1000 sets of N-95 masks and two ventilators have been airlifted to Imphal, the release said.

Confirmed cases of human infection from several subtypes of avian influenza have been reported since 1997. In most cases, human infection resulted from contact with infected poultry, like domesticated chicken, ducks, and turkeys, or surfaces contaminated with secretion/excretions from infected birds. The spread from one ill person to another is very rare.

Last year, in India, tens of thousands of chickens died from bird flu. Health and poultry industry inspectors reportedly slaughtered 500,000 birds in a 1.5-mile radius around poultry farms in the town of Navapur, a small town roughly 200 miles north-northeast of Mumbai, where the confirmed cases were detected.

“Human influenza virus” are those subtypes that spread widely among humans. There are only three known A subtypes of influenza viruses (H1N1, H1N2, and H3N2).

Symptoms vary from typical human influenza-like symptoms (e.g., fever, cough, sore throat, and muscle aches) to eye infections, pneumonia, severe respiratory diseases (such as acute respiratory distress).

Antiviral drugs like Tamiflu and Relenza block the flu virus from escaping an infected cell and spreading further. But the drugs have to be taken within 48 hours of getting the flu. (ANI)

Strong rupee position brings down import bill
Thursday, July 26, 2007 | MP

Mumbai, July 25 (ANI): Prices of imported goods have come down in the country, following a strong rupee-spurring consu