News and Events - September/October/November/December- 2009

[Daredevil]

We Are All Hindus Now

By Lisa Miller | NEWSWEEK
Published Aug 15, 2009
From the magazine issue dated Aug 31, 2009

America is not a Christian nation. We are, it is true, a nation founded by Christians, and according to a 2008 survey, 76 percent of us continue to identify as Christian (still, that's the lowest percentage in American history). Of course, we are not a Hindu—or Muslim, or Jewish, or Wiccan—nation, either. A million-plus Hindus live in the United States, a fraction of the billion who live on Earth. But recent poll data show that conceptually, at least, we are slowly becoming more like Hindus and less like traditional Christians in the ways we think about God, our selves, each other, and eternity.

The Rig Veda, the most ancient Hindu scripture, says this: "Truth is One, but the sages speak of it by many names." A Hindu believes there are many paths to God. Jesus is one way, the Qur'an is another, yoga practice is a third. None is better than any other; all are equal. The most traditional, conservative Christians have not been taught to think like this. They learn in Sunday school that their religion is true, and others are false. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the father except through me."

Americans are no longer buying it. According to a 2008 Pew Forum survey, 65 percent of us believe that "many religions can lead to eternal life"—including 37 percent of white evangelicals, the group most likely to believe that salvation is theirs alone. Also, the number of people who seek spiritual truth outside church is growing. Thirty percent of Americans call themselves "spiritual, not religious," according to a 2009 NEWSWEEK Poll, up from 24 percent in 2005. Stephen Prothero, religion professor at Boston University, has long framed the American propensity for "the divine-deli-cafeteria religion" as "very much in the spirit of Hinduism. You're not picking and choosing from different religions, because they're all the same," he says. "It isn't about orthodoxy. It's about whatever works. If going to yoga works, great—and if going to Catholic mass works, great. And if going to Catholic mass plus the yoga plus the Buddhist retreat works, that's great, too."

Then there's the question of what happens when you die. Christians traditionally believe that bodies and souls are sacred, that together they comprise the "self," and that at the end of time they will be reunited in the Resurrection. You need both, in other words, and you need them forever. Hindus believe no such thing. At death, the body burns on a pyre, while the spirit—where identity resides—escapes. In reincarnation, central to Hinduism, selves come back to earth again and again in different bodies. So here is another way in which Americans are becoming more Hindu: 24 percent of Americans say they believe in reincarnation, according to a 2008 Harris poll. So agnostic are we about the ultimate fates of our bodies that we're burning them—like Hindus—after death. More than a third of Americans now choose cremation, according to the Cremation Association of North America, up from 6 percent in 1975. "I do think the more spiritual role of religion tends to deemphasize some of the more starkly literal interpretations of the Resurrection," agrees Diana Eck, professor of comparative religion at Harvard. So let us all say "om."

 

[1.44]

Deadly Russia power plant blast

Deadly Russia power plant blast
​

At least 50 people are missing after an explosion at Russia's largest hydro-electric power station killed 10 workers, officials have said.
An oil-filled transformer exploded at the Sayano-Shushenskaya plant in Siberia, bringing down the ceiling of the turbine hall, which then flooded.
A diver has pulled one worker from an area beneath the turbine hall, but it is unclear how many may be trapped.
Forty workers were injured, but there was no damage to the power plant's dam.
However, the accident has created a large oil slick that is now floating down the Yenisei river, which flows north through Siberia to the Arctic.
Officials said towns downstream of the plant were not thought to be at risk.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has ordered Emergencies Minister Sergei Shoigu and Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko to fly to the scene and take personal control of the crisis.
RusHydro, the operator of the power station, said the damage would run into "billions of roubles" and would take several months to repair.
'Hydraulic impact'
In a statement, the Kremlin said the accident was due to a "hydraulic impact" at the plant on Monday morning, which had forced the shutdown of all 10 of its power units.
An investigation is under way to determine the exact cause.
Andrei Klyuvev, an official at the emergency situations ministry, said rescue divers had pulled out one person from a flooded room underneath the turbine hall, but said many more could be trapped.
"At the moment we cannot determine whether these people were down there or managed to get out somewhere but we know that there were that many people on this shift," he told Ekho Moskvy radio.
Water was currently being pumped out of the turbine room, and there was "no danger of the accident developing further", a local official co-ordinating the rescue operation, Roman Strelnikov, told the Associated Press.
The natural resources ministry said it was concerned by the environmental impact of the accident, which had caused a 5km (3 mile) oil slick along the Yenisei river.
"According to preliminary data, transformer fluid has leaked from one of the hydroelectric station's damaged units," the ministry said.
Mr Shoigu said repairs would be difficult and take some time.
"We're probably talking about years rather than months to restore three of the 10 turbines," he told state television.
'Under control'
Major aluminium plants nearby were forced to switch to alternative sources of electricity after the accident.
It also prompted shares of the plant's owner, RusHydro, to drop by more than 15% on the London Stock Exchange, while trading was suspended in Moscow.
The Sayano-Shushenskaya power station is located in the Siberian region of Khakassia, some 3,000 km (1,875 miles) east of Moscow.
The dam above it is 245m (800ft) high and stretches 1km (0.6 miles) across the Yenisei river.
Opened in 1978, the station provides a quarter of RusHydro output and is a major supplier of power to at least two smelters owned by United Company RUSAL, the world's largest aluminium producer.
UC RUSAL said all its plants were operating as normal with alternative power supplies.
"I think that owing to the new energy supply scheme, output will be ensured. Nevertheless, the government must keep this issue under control," President Medvedev said in a statement.
"I hope that all the managers dealing with this issue as well as the leadership of the government will make the necessary effort, and take all the necessary decisions to implement these plans," he added.

BBC NEWS | Europe | Deadly Russia power plant blast

 

[1.44]

Four members of President's Bodyguards guilty in rape case

Four members of President's Bodyguards guilty in rape case
​

A city court on Monday convicted four members of the elite President’s Bodyguards (PBG) in connection with the gang rape of a Jesus and Mary College student at Buddha Jayanti Park six years ago.

Additional sessions Judge S.K. Sarvaria pronounced Harpreet Singh and Satiender Singh guilty of raping the 17-year-old student. The maximum punishment for the crime is life imprisonment.

Kuldeep Singh and Manish Kumar were held guilty of helping them commit the rape.

On October 6, 2003, the student had gone to Buddha Jayanti Park, a stone’s throw from the President’s Estate, with her boyfriend to attend a Dalai Lama programme.

The PBG members had roughed up the boyfriend and dragged the girl to a secluded place, where Harpreet and Satiender raped her while the other two kept a watch.

A cavalry regiment based at Rashtrapati Bhavan, the PBG is tasked with escorting and protecting the president.

Then president APJ Abdul Kalam had lost his cool when he get to know about the case. “Kalam, normally so composed, was more angry that I had ever seen him,” writes P.M. Nair, his then secretary, in his book The Kalam Effect.

Four members of President's Bodyguards guilty in rape case- Hindustan Times

 

[1.44]

Behind the scenesakistani Christians living in the middle of the Road

Behind the scenes: A refugee camp for Pakistani Christians
​

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) -- They are not war refugees, not displaced by violence; rather they believe they're here because they are Christian.

A mother of two sobs as she tells us, "I have no money. No money for books or uniforms to send my children to school." It's around 110 degrees Fahrenheit in this squalid camp in downtown Islamabad, where 2,000 Christians have settled, literally in the middle of the road.

The Christian population of Pakistan is only 5 percent of the overall population. Overwhelmed by a Muslim majority, at times they face violent attacks. Other times, they believe they're expelled from their lands -- faced with a distant and dark future.

This group has ended up living in tents for the past 3 months.

They say the government kicked them off their land without warning: only because they are Christian. The government tells a different story, saying that they were given plenty of warning. Further than that, they say they will take care of this problem, a problem they are well aware of.

The minister of minority affairs, Shahbaz Bhatti, says, "We are constitutionally bound to protect the life and property of the minorities and to look after the interests of the minorities in this country. Because they played a role in the founding, they are equal citizens of the country. Yes, there is a problem, but we are trying to solve those problems."

The truth is, regardless of any religious strife, people are dying of poverty in this camp. Two have died since the group settled here, and children lay in the sun, totally exposed to the sun, suffering slowly. We brought a doctor to the camp; he seemed stunned, both at its location and the conditions.


"I think there's a danger here, especially with some of the younger children, that they could just die from dehydration or from all kinds of infections," says Dr. Rixwan Taj. "I am very surprised, really because this is the center of Islamabad, just right in the center. And every facility is not but 10 minutes from here."

The water the camp is using to survive on is a broken pipe that runs underneath the road and out one side. At the camp, the water is used for drinking and washing. It happens to run over a pile of trash and directly down into the makeshift toilets, which are two holes in the ground. Taj tells us the obvious: Typhoid will come to this camp -- the conditions are ripe.

Other countries of course deal with religious strife; minorities all over the world face an uphill struggle. But here, with the addition of poverty, in the oppressive heat -- in an over-crowed camp on the side of the road in downtown Islamabad -- it seems that much worse.

Behind the scenes: A refugee camp for Pakistani Christians - CNN.com

 

[I-G]

Indian sanitation expert receives Stockholm Water Prize

Indian sanitation expert receives Stockholm Water Prize

Indian sanitation expert Bindeshwar Pathak was awarded the 2009 Stockholm Water Prize, the most prestigious award for outstanding achievement in water-related activities that has become akin to a Nobel Prize on environmental issues.

Sanitation is humanity’s and the world’s most urgent and critical crisis of our times,” Mr. Pathak said and added: “However, it is not, yet, an unsolvable crisis but a huge challenge. It will require massive, dedicated and selfless labour to achieve the goal.”

Mr. Pathak received the award on Thursday from H.R.H. Prince Carl Philip of Sweden. The Stockholm Water Prize, which was first presented in 1991, includes a $150,000 award and a crystal sculpture. It honours individuals, institutions or organisations whose work contributes broadly to the conservation and protection of water resources and improves the health of the planet’s inhabitants and ecosystems.

“The correlation between sanitation and disease is dramatic and unmistakable,” said Anders Berntell, executive director of the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI). “Yet, at the current rate of progress, we are going to miss the Millennium Development Goal for sanitation by more than 700 million people, leaving still 2.4 billion people without adequate sanitation by 2015, about the same number as today. By any standard, this is unacceptable. We need the political will to translate our intentions into meaningful action.”

In seminars, workshops, and side events during the week, participants have explored the causes, health impacts and possible solutions to inadequate sanitation that currently affects more than 2.6 billion people across the planet, kills over 5,000 children daily, and causes the illnesses that fill half of the hospital beds in the developing world.

The topics include manual scavenging, sanitation for the urban poor, financing of sanitation, and the effects that climate change could have on sanitation, among many other subjects. “The sanitation problem has a complex solution,” Jon Lane, executive director of the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC), told IANS. “If it was easy it would have been done by now. It needs a systemic intervention. This involves politicians, educators, entrepreneurs, technologists, financiers and philanthropists. Each has a particular role to play.”

Inadequate sanitation and its devastating effects on the world’s poor comprise humanity’s most urgent, yet solvable crisis, according to international leaders and experts convening at the 2009 World Water Week in Stockholm.

The founder of Sulabh Sanitation Movement in India, Mr. Pathak is known around the world for his wide-ranging work in the sanitation field. He has worked to improve public health, has advanced social progress, and has improved human rights in his home nation and other countries.

His accomplishments span the fields of sanitation technology, social enterprise, and health care education for millions of people, serving as a model for NGOs and public health initiatives around the world.

“If water is honoured by the prize being named after it, the importance of sanitation, its sibling, cannot be left far behind,” Mr. Pathak said in his acceptance speech. “The two complement rather than compete with each other. Provision of sanitation provides dignity and safety, especially to women, and reduction of child mortality. As a matter of fact, safe water and sanitation go hand in hand for improvement of community health.”

Jan Eliasson, a Swedish official and chair of WaterAid Sweden, said: “Finally we are paying due attention to this looming catastrophe. I am glad to say that Dr. Pathak is eminently and uniquely suited to take this daunting challenge in hand.”

Indian sanitation expert receives Stockholm Water Prize @ The Hindu

 

[1.44]

Stolen US arms flood markets in tribal areas

Stolen US arms flood markets in tribal areas
​

LANDI KOTAL: The arms stolen and snatched form American forces in Afghanistan have flooded arms markets in tribal areas and are in high demand, sources say.

According to the information gathered from arms dealers in Khyber and Darra Adamkhel, the US-made M-4, M-16 and Smith-n-Vison 9mm pistols along with night vision equipment, lasers, silencers and torches are available in abundance in the arm markets of tribal areas.

Sources said that those arms were being smuggled to tribal areas from Khost province of Afghanistan via Miramshah in South Waziristan. ‘But such weapons are not displayed openly in regular arms markets of the tribal areas,’ they added.

They said that the sale and purchase of such weapons was done secretly for fear of arrest by the government agencies. ‘Most of the deals are finalised by cellular phones,’ a source in Jamrud told Dawn.

Arms dealers said that the US-made weapons were either stolen from arms warehouses in Afghanistan or snatched from American forces.

Among the illegally brought weapons, M-4 rifles are the most sought after weapon by arms lovers and users in tribal areas and NWFP. Militant organisations are also fond of the weapon. Sources said that in the beginning only used M-4 rifles were available with arms dealers but now new rifles had also made its way to the arms markets in Fata.

‘The M-4 rifle has surpassed its demand for another US-made M-16 rifle,’ they added. A dealer told Dawn that an M-4 rifle fitted with night vision equipment, laser, silencer and torch was available for Rs1 million, mostly depending upon its condition.

A used weapon of the similar brand could be purchased for Rs600,000 to Rs750,000, sources said adding that an M-4 rifle without additional accessories was available for Rs450,000 to Rs500,000.

Similarly, the price of M-16 rifle ranges between Rs250,000 and Rs300,000. ‘But this weapon has few buyers these days,’ sources said. These sources, requesting not to be named, said that most Afghan police personnel had sold their Smith-n-Vison 9mm pistols in the black markets and had replaced them with its replicas made in Darra Adamkhel arms market. Prices of these US-made pistols range from Rs70,000 to Rs90,000 depending upon its condition.

It was also learnt that in keeping with growing demand and high prices of the American weapons, some arms dealers had imported their Chinese versions from China few month ago. But real arms lovers have little faith in the Chinese version of these weapons which are considerably cheaper than the original ones.

‘The price difference of American and Chinese made weapons is more than fifty per cent,’ said an arms dealer based in Bara. While the American weapons are in high demand, original Russian made assault rifle Kalashnikov has almost vanished from local markets. ‘People are ready to pay Rs150,000 for one such rifle,’ said an interested buyers in Wazir Dhand arms market in Jamrud.

It was also learnt that Chinese made Kalashnikov had also registered a hike in its price during the last six years. Chinese Kalashnikov were sold at as low as Rs5,000 few years back but now even used rifles are available for more then Rs50,000. The price of a brand new Chinese Kalashnikov is as high as Rs130,000.

A magazine of ten rounds of Kalashnikov was available for only Rs10 some six years back but now its price has risen to Rs300 per magazine.

DAWN.COM | Provinces | Stolen US arms flood markets in tribal areas

 

[NSG_Blackcats]

Daily wagers win reality show

Oriya daily wagers win reality show​

BHUBANESWAR: The all-conquering members of the Oriya dance troupe 'Prince' -- comprising daily wage earners -- may now justly expect a reception fit for kings. Since the moment Bollywood star Rani Mukherjee announced that the dancers from far-flung Ganjam district in Orissa were the winners of the TV reality show, "India's Got Talent", everybody and his brother in the state is doing a jig. And with good reason. The dancers are not just starry-eyed participants in a hotly contested programme where the ultimate prize was Rs 50 lakh and a Maruti Ritz. Nearly every member of the group of 24 has surmounted individual odds -- two of them have overcome polio -- and shown their unbeatable spirit.

Coming from different parts of Ganjam, the dancers displayed perfect symmetry of determination and talent to outperform groups from across India -- including an improbable 10 in the grand finale. Their winning submission was a performance based on 'Dashavatar' -- the 10 avataras of Lord Vishnu. "We'd hoped to win. Now that we have achieved our mission, we're thrilled!" exclaimed troupe leader Krishna Mohan Reddy (26) on phone from Mumbai. The self-taught dancer-choreographer told TOI, "The prize money has come as a blessing as most of us were in dire need of it. Some needed to build houses, others have sisters to get married."

Krishna -- from a nondescript village Ambapua on the outskirts of Berhampur, Ganjam -- said he now plans to set up a dance academy. "We'll all contribute part of our prize money for the institute," he said. The Berhampur-based troupe -- their story sounds a bit like the rags-to-riches tale of Jamal Malik in 'Slumdog Millionaire' -- has become a statewide obsession ever since its members startled everybody with their fleet-footed show. Such was "Prince's" impact that CM Naveen Patnaik declared his vote for the group. "Their performance has been magical and they have made Orissa proud," he said after congratulating Krishna and his boys.

'Prince' was formed four years ago. Two of its members, Padmanabha Sahu (24) and Telu Tarini (13), suffer from polio. Most dancers are wage earners in their teens or 20s. They practised in Ambapua and on Gopalpur beach, and have now left their footprints on the sands of time.

Link

 

[1.44]

Dam disaster shows Russia 'very far behind': Medvedev

Dam disaster shows Russia 'very far behind': Medvedev
​

ULAN UDE, Russia — The disaster last week at Russia's biggest hydroelectric dam that is feared to have killed 75 shows the country lags very far behind in technology, President Dmitry Medvedev said Monday.
"The only truth here is this. Our country is technologically very far behind," he said on a visit to the Siberian city of Ulan Ude.
"We really are very far behind and if we don't overcome this challenge then all those threats that everyone is talking about will truly become a reality."
Russian investigators have said a technical fault caused the August 17 disaster at the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power plant in southern Siberia and have ruled out terrorism as a possible cause.
Medvedev also accused Russia's enemies of writing out apocalyptic scenarios for its future after the tragedy and calling the disaster a "Chernobyl of the 21st century," in reference to the Soviet-era nuclear reactor accident.
"Those who don't like Russia within its existing borders and don't like its role in the world started rubbing their hands," he said.

AFP: Dam disaster shows Russia 'very far behind': Medvedev

 

[1.44]

Climate change: China with India

Climate change: China with India
​

India has received an assurance from China that it will not strike a separate deal with the West at the forthcoming Copenhagen climate change summit in December.

Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh, currently in Beijing, asked Chinese climate change negotiators whether they were considering abandoning India.

Impossible, they replied. “If you have doubts, don’t listen to your civil servants. Call me,’’ Xie Zhenhua, vice-minister of China’s National Development and Reform Commission, reportedly told Ramesh.

On Monday, after nearly five hours in the first bilateral ministerial-level talks on climate change, India and China came closer to teaming up on global climate change negotiations than ever before.

“There’s an attempt in the Western world to label us obstructionist at Copenhagen,’’ Ramesh told the media after the talks. “We agreed it’s in our interest to have an agreement in Copenhagen. We should do out-of-the-box thinking.’’

Both agreed to reject attempts by Western nations to play one against the other. The Chinese team reportedly explained at length that Beijing was not trying to strike a separate deal with the United States. Both agreed to coordinate their approach before global meetings on climate change.

India and China are under pressure from the West to make concessions in the run-up to the summit, which will try to produce a successor to the Kyoto Protocol of 1986 which limited man-made carbon emissions.

India and China oppose legally binding emission targets for developing nations.

Climate change: China with India- Hindustan Times

 

[RPK]

Delhi, Mumbai among the world’s least expensive cities

Delhi, Mumbai among the world’s least expensive cities @ The Hindu

India’s political capital Delhi and financial hub Mumbai have been ranked among the least expensive cities around the world by a survey, even as cost for food and housing in the country continues to rise.

According to a research by Swiss Banking major UBS, Delhi and Mumbai were at the bottom of the price range in the list of most expensive cities that surveyed 73 places worldwide.

On the other hand Oslo, Zurich and Copenhagen were ranked among the most expensive places with skyrocketing living costs in the world.

The findings come at a time when the food and commodities are getting dearer and a drought-like situation is likely to push the prices further up.

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee recently said the government is likely to resort to imports to maintain demand supply gap as production of foodgrains and agri-commodities are set to fall due to deficient monsoon.

Interestingly, many cities spread across less developed economies were ranked ahead of the two major Indian cities in the list of most expensive places.

The survey highlighted that many of the world’s regions witnessed a switch in their rankings, in the wake of the financial crisis and fluctuating currency scenario.

“Currency devaluation pushed down prices in many emerging market cities. Prices slipped the most in Mexico City, Moscow and Seoul,” the UBS report said.

Besides, London the second most expensive city in 2006, plummeted 20 places following the steep devaluation of the pound.

The price spread between the most expensive and the cheapest city was the widest in Asia.

While Tokyo ranks as one of the world’s five costliest cities, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Delhi and Mumbai form the lowest rung.

In terms of wages, workers in Tokyo earn the highest wages in Asia while employees in Copenhagen, Zurich, Geneva and New York have the highest gross wages.

By contrast, the average employee in Delhi, Manila, Jakarta and Mumbai earns less than one-fifteenth of what their counterparts in Switzerland earn on an hourly basis after taxes.

Interestingly, an average wage-earner in Zurich and New York can buy an iPod nano from an Apple store after nine hours of work. At the other end of the spectrum, workers in Mumbai, need to work 20 nine-hour days — roughly the equivalent of one month’s salary — to purchase the nano.

Living costs were calculated based on a survey of 154 items, including 122 products and services that are used directly to calculate the reference basket.

 

[kuku]

Who ordered chinese tonight?

)

 

[1.44]

U.S. unveils new rules on border searches of laptops

U.S. unveils new rules on border searches of laptops
​

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration unveiled new rules on Thursday for searching computers and other electronic devices when people enter the United States, attempting to address concerns about violating privacy and constitutional rights.

At the same time, the Department of Homeland Security defended such searches as necessary to detect information about potential terrorism plots as well as other crimes such as child pornography and copyright infringement.

"The new directives announced today strike the balance between respecting the civil liberties and privacy of all travelers while ensuring DHS can take the lawful actions necessary to secure our borders," DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano said in a statement.

Between October 1, 2008 and August 11, 2009, 221 million travelers were processed at U.S. borders and about 1,000 searches of laptop computers were conducted, of which 46 were in-depth examinations, the agency said.

Searches often involve asking people to turn on the device to verify it is what it appears to be, the DHS said.

Privacy groups like the Electronic Frontier Foundation have pushed Congress to stop border officers from searching laptops, cell phones and other electronic devices without probable cause when people enter or return to the country.

The rules permit searches of such devices without a person's consent. The review is to be done in the presence of the owner, unless there are national security or law enforcement reasons to conduct it elsewhere.

Immigration and customs officers can also hold the devices or the data, which may be copied without the knowledge of the owner for further review, according to the rules.

The new regulations note that border officers should be particularly careful when handling legal or business materials or other sensitive data like medical records or information carried by journalists.

U.S. unveils new rules on border searches of laptops | Technology | Reuters

 

[Sleeek]

Searching for my Saviours

Hi,

From 1947 till date we have lost many of our heroes..the real ones. I have some questions here. How many such heroes am I missing today ? Is there a place or database where we keep track of their families ? Is there any program that make sure their family's economic well being?

My sincere apology in case I have asked the wrong questions or the already discussed ones.

 

[RPK]

Mobile phone towers threaten honey bees: study

AFP: Mobile phone towers threaten honey bees: study

NEW DELHI — The electromagnetic waves emitted by mobile phone towers and cellphones can pose a threat to honey bees, a study published in India has concluded.

An experiment conducted in the southern state of Kerala found that a sudden fall in the bee population was caused by towers installed across the state by cellphone companies to increase their network.

The electromagnetic waves emitted by the towers crippled the "navigational skills" of the worker bees that go out to collect nectar from flowers to sustain bee colonies, said Dr. Sainuddin Pattazhy, who conducted the study, the Press Trust of India news agency reported.

He found that when a cell phone was kept near a beehive, the worker bees were unable to return, leaving the hives with only the queens and eggs and resulting in the collapse of the colony within ten days.

Over 100,000 people in Kerala are engaged in apiculture and the dwindling worker bee population poses a threat to their livelihood. The bees also play a vital role in pollinating flowers to sustain vegetation.

If towers and mobile phones further increase, honey bees might be wiped out in 10 years, Pattazhy said.

 

[1.44]

Pak hand seen in Russian warship hijack?

Pak hand seen in Russian warship hijack?

​

​

​

Moscow/Islamabad: Investigations into the hijacking of a Russian warship in April by Somali pirates show that Pakistani nationals played an important role in the hijack.
Twelve Pakistanis had been apprehended along with the Somali pirates. Pakistan has so far not launched a probe into the Russian allegations and claimed that 12 men were fishermen, the Times Now television channel reports.

Authorities have confirmed the first case of alleged Pakistani involvement with Somali pirates in a revelation that has raised concerns about a possible link between piracy and suspected terrorist groups.

On April 28, a Russian warship apprehended 12 Pak nationals - along with Somali pirates - for attempting to attack a tanker off Somalias coast.

Investigations pointed to Pakistani nationals having played a ''lead'' role. Their nationality was confirmed through identity cards and evidence was handed over on May 8 to MSS Rehmat, a Pakistan Maritime Security Agency ship, 12 miles of Gwadar.

Pakistan first claimed that these men were fishermen but three months on, there is no word on the probe.

The incident occurred when Russian warship Admiral Panteleyev received a distress call 120 km east of Somalias coast from a tanker Bulwai Bank, registered in Antigua, en route to Singapore. The tanker was under attack from Somali pirates. Russian commandos intervened and foiled the attempt. They found that the pirates speedboats were being guided from another mother vessel.

ANI Russian Warship Hijack by Somali pirates: Pakistan involvement seen

 

[I-G]

Teens planned "UK Columbine" massacre, jury told

Teens planned "UK Columbine" massacre, jury told
Wed Sep 2, 2009 12:32pm EDT

LONDON (Reuters) - Two teenagers plotted to go on a killing spree at their school in northern England in a chilling imitation of the 1999 Columbine High School massacre in the United States, a prosecutor said on Wednesday.

Matthew Swift, now 18, and his friend, Ross McKnight, 16, both from Denton, Greater Manchester, planned to plant a bomb in a shopping center and then murder pupils and teachers at Audenshaw High School, the jury at their trial was told.

Prosecutor Peter Wright told Manchester Crown Court that Swift and McKnight had plotted the attack, fantasized about the killings and agreed to see through their plans, the Press Association reported.

Both defendants pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to commit murder and conspiracy to cause explosions between November 11 2007 and March 15 this year.

"They set about planning to detonate a bomb, some form of improvised explosive device, at a shopping center in North Manchester, known as Crown Point North," Wright said.

He said they then planned to travel to their high school "and embark upon a killing spree in which they would murder teachers and pupils alike before killing themselves."

Swift was an ex-pupil, while McKnight still attended the school.

Wright said the youths had become obsessed with the 1999 Columbine High School massacre in Colorado.

In that attack, two teenage students shot dead 12 fellow pupils and a teacher before turning their guns on themselves. They also wounded 21 others.

"It is the prosecution case that these two young men sat in the dock had planned to copy and emulate the actions of Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, here in the UK. They had discussed, they had fantasized and eventually they had agreed to convert their fantasies into reality," Wright said.

The prosecution described Swift as a prolific writer and said his thoughts, which he had committed to paper "were to be his epitaph." The trial continues.

(Reporting by Stefano Ambrogi; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)

Teens planned UK Columbine massacre, jury told | International | Reuters

 

[Sridhar]

News and Events - September 2009

All news for September month here.

Link to August thread
http://www.defenceforum.in/forum/news-social-events/2470-news-events-august-2009-a.html

 

[NSG_Blackcats]

Gunmen target Mexico rehab centre​

Gunmen stormed into a drug treatment clinic in northern Mexico, lined patients up against a wall and killed at least 17 of them, officials say. Several others were injured in the attack in Ciudad Juarez on the Mexico-US border, where more than 1,000 people have died in drug violence this year. Drug clinics in Juarez have been hit before with traffickers accusing them of protecting dealers from rival gangs.

Full Story

 

[RPK]

New British Deputy Commission opened in Bangalore

It would cover a whole range of British government activity in the State, including business, trade and investment and science and technology, British Deputy High Commissioner here, said.
BDHC was formally inaugurated by Karnataka Governor H R Bhardwaj, who recalled India's historic ties with Britain and stressed the need for strengthening the relationship.

Hyde said the British High Commission has had a presence here for 15 years, establishing the British Trade Office in 1994 and developing a strong commercial relationship.
"But the wider political economy, culture, academic, science and technology communities in Karnataka are key to Britain's relationship with India", he said.
"In the coming months, the BDHC will focus increasingly on engaging with many of these groups not just in Bangalore but across the State",he said.

Meanwhile, officials indicated that the Indo-UK bilateral trade (goods and services) which clocked British Pound 10 billion in the calendar year 2008, may see a decline this year, in tune with the global recession.
"It's been a very difficult year for everybody. From first of April, we have seen it's pretty tough. If we can maintain (the bilateral volume of last year), we would be happy with that. In the current market environment, anything is an achievement. But we want to increase", Hyde said.

 

[NSG_Blackcats]

AIIMS docs successfully operate on 'miracle baby'​

NEW DELHI: Doctors at AIIMS successfully operated on the 10-day-old miracle baby, who was born with his heart protruding through his chest, on Thursday. In this path-breaking surgery, the doctors have created a new world record by doing the surgery without suspending his body functions. "We decided to do the surgery without suspending his body functions. As there was no space in his body to accommodate the heart, we created a window between the chest and abdomen to place the heart. Then gradually rotated the heart and put it back in the newly created space," said Dr AK Bisoi, additional cardiothoracic surgeon, AIIMS, who led the team.

Full Story