Pressure will be on India: Imran Khan

Kolkata, March 26 (IANS)

Pakistan's World Cup winning captain Imran Khan feels that India will be under pressure when they clash March 30 with their arch-rivals in the high-voltage cricket World Cup semi-final in Mohali. 

Khan, who led Pakistan to their only World Cup triumph in 1992, feels that the side which handles the pressure better will win but added that India will be under more pressure on their home ground.

'It will be an even match. Actually the game will be about handling the pressure. Whichever team handles the pressure in a better way has the best chance of winning the match,' said Imran, on the sidelines of a promotional event here Saturday.

'I am not playing any mind games. But as India are playing on home ground, the pressure will be definitely more on them,' he said.

Both countries have not played each other since the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack and the 58-year-old feels that the consistent Indian team is the favourite to win the World Cup.

'The Indian team has the best opportunity of winning the World Cup this time given its track record and consistent performance,' Khan said. 

Darjeeling gearing up for assembly polls

Siliguri, March 26 :

 Darjeeling which has witnessed violent agitations for the past two years for separate Gorkhaland state, is gearing up for the first phase of Bengal assembly polls, scheduled April 18.

With most political parties announcing their nominees, candidates began submitting their nominations Thursday for the six assembly seats at stake from the area. The last date for nominations is March 31.

Communist Party of India-Marxist's (CPI-M) Deepa Chettri became the first candidate to file her nomination Thursday. She will contest from Kurseong.

The Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM), which is spearheading the separate Gorkhaland state agitation, Thursday released its candidates list.

Former Andhra Pradesh chief secretary and GJM's Study Forum member Trilok Dewan will contest from Darjeeling, Professor Rohit Sharma will contest from Kurseong, and the GJM's press and publicity secretary Harka Bahadur Chetry will contest from Kalimpong.

The GJM's rival, the Subhas Ghising-led Gorkha National Libaration Front (GNLF) had earlier announced the names of three candidates, including a woman, for Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong seats.

Bhim Subba, Prakash Dahal and Pemu Chettri will contest as GNLF candidates from Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong respectively.

The Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikash Parishad (ABAVP) March 24 declared the names of the candidates for six assembly seats in Dooars, the Himalayan flood-plains and foothills, and Terai.

Sukra Munda will fight from Nagrakata, Sandip Ekka from Kalchini, Dipak Kujur from Kumargram, Tez K. Toppo from Malbaazar, Hiralal Minjwill from Madarihat and Thomas Ekka from Phansidewa, ABAVP leader Binod Tigga said.

--IANS

Courtesy:newkerala.com

Naqvi slams Congress for 'neglecting' development of Indian Muslims

 

Guwahati, Mar 25 :

The BJP slammed the ruling Congress for its brand of 'hypocritical secularism' and accused the party of neglecting the development of Indian Muslims in Assam to serve the interests of immigrant Muslims from Bangladesh.

Hitting out at the Congress for its purported neglect of the issues of the indigenous Muslim population, BJP vice-president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi pleaded his party’s commitment for the development of the community.

"BJP is committed to facilitating rapid socio-economic development of Indian Muslims in Assam whose interests have been severely affected by ruling Congress' policy of appeasement towards immigrant Muslims from Bangladesh," he said as the BJP tried to woo Muslims before next month’s polls.

He informed that about 500 indigenous Muslims joined the BJP at Sivsagar in eastern Assam yesterday and termed it a positive development for the party.

"Muslims all over the country have realized the hypocritical secularism of Congress that has been a major hurdle in the path of socio-economic development of the minority community. Congress has exploited them only for votes," Naqvi alleged.

He added that Muslims in Bihar are now turning towards the BJP as was evident in the last elections and this would have a positive bearing across the country.

Naqvi stressed that the BJP wanted all the illegal Muslim migrants from Bangladesh detected and deported from Assam in the greater interests of indigenous Muslims of the state.

He also reiterated BJP’s stand for providing protection and security to ‘Hindu refugees’ who had to flee Bangladesh to escape persecution there.

"The case of Bengali speaking Hindus who had fled to Bangladesh from India for their life must be considered on humanitarian ground," he said.

The BJP leader alleged that the last ten years of Congress rule put Assam in the ICU "infiltration/insurgency, corruption and unemployment. I now appeal to the people of Assam to bring the state out of the ICU."

--UNI

Courtesy:newkerala.com

Muammar Gaddafi looks to 'friends' in West for solution: Report

Cairo/Tripoli, March 26 : 

Muammar Gaddafi is in talks with Western "friends" to find a "dignified solution" to the conflict that is gripping Libya, the Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper reported Saturday.

The regional daily quoted official sources as saying the Libyan leader is relying on these unnamed figures to convince the international community to halt air strikes and find a negotiated solution.

The paper said Gaddafi's son, Saif al-Islam, has left the country to work out an "urgent plan" to prevent a further deterioration of the political and military situation.

A high-level Libyan delegation headed by parliament speaker Muhammad Abul-Qasim Al-Zawi arrived in Tunisia earlier and is now heading to a secret destination for further talks, the paper added.

Meanwhile, the US and other Western nations are considering supplying the Libyan rebels with weapons, according to the Washington Post.

Defying Gaddafi's forces, the rebels have been receiving military training at a camp set up by the opposition National Council in the rebel stronghold of Benghazi.

A fierce battle continued overnight between the rebels and Gaddafi's forces for control of the town of Ajdabiya, to the east of Benghazi. The fight for Ajdabiya and Libya's third largest city of Misurata has been going on for days.

The continuing ground battles prompted the African Union Friday call for a transitional period that would lead to democratic elections in Libya. The AU and African states such as South Africa, Uganda and Zimbabwe have called for an end to coalition airstrikes.

Meanwhile, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said the alliance had "taken on the responsibility for the no-fly zone, while the coalition still continues its activities". NATO was expected to take command of the entire operation, including protecting civilians on the ground, in the coming days.

Since March 19, a US-led coalition that includes Britain and France has taken out Libyan air defences and ground forces in order to prevent attacks on civilians.

--IANS

Courtesy:newkerala.com

Indian team arrives in Chandigarh

Chandigarh, Mar 26 :

The Indian cricket team, led by skipper M S Dhoni, arrived here today amid tight security ahead of the World Cup semi-final against Pakistan to be played in Mohali on March 30.

Indian players, including Sachin tendulkar, VirenderSehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh, Suresh Raina, Zaheer Khan and Gautam Gambhir were taken from the airport to hotel Taj amid tight security.

Security personnel were deployed on both sides of the road from Chandigarh airport to the Taj hotel.

Pakistan team, which reached here yesterday, was also staying in the same hotel. 

The hotel had virtually turned into a fortress with heavy security in and outside the building. Over 1000 police personnel had been deployed to provide security to the two teams.

--UNI

David Cameron challenges Nicolas Sarkozy to a game of tennis

London, Mar.26: British Prime Minister David Cameron has reportedly challenged his French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy to a game of tennis.

'Fitness fanatic' Cameron said he would team up with British No.1 Andy Murray and urged Sarkozy to find a French partner.

The impromptu conversation between the two leaders took place as they jogged around the Royal Park in Brussels during a European Union summit, which opened in London on Thursday.

Cameron said: “Nicolas and I had a good run around the park. I practiced some of my French, which is very bad, but we managed to have a good conversation, mainly about Libya and what we are doing on making sure we work very closely on the next steps forward."

Sarkozy had gifted Cameron a set of tennis racquets last summer, Express.co.uk reports.

It is not clear whether Sarkozy has accepted the challenge or not.

--ANI

Courtesy:newkerala.com

US Jesuits agree to 166 million dollar sex abuse pay-out

Washington, Mar.26 :

The Pacific Northwest chapter of the Roman Catholic Church's Jesuit order has agreed to pay 166 million dollars to settle more than 500 Native Americans sexually abused by priests at its schools sexual abuse claims against priests.

Former students of Jesuit schools in five states of the north- west United States said they were abused from the 1940s through the 1990s.

Under the settlement the Society of Jesus, Oregon Province, which runs schools in Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington, will also apologise to the victims.

"It's a day of reckoning and justice, my spirit was wounded, and this makes it feel better," said Clarita Vargas, who claims that a priest at a Jesuit-run school for Native American children in Washington had abused her and two of her sisters.

Most of the alleged victims were Native Americans and many of the alleged offences occurred on native reservations and remote villages, where the order was accused of dumping problem priests.

Blaine Tamaki, a lawyer who represented about 90 victims in the case, said: " No amount of money can bring back a lost childhood, a destroyed culture or a shattered faith."

"This settlement recognizes that the Jesuits betrayed the trust of hundreds of young children in their care," Tamaki said. "These religious figures should have been responsible for protecting children, but instead raped and molested them," he added.

The payout amount to be given is one of the largest till date, in a series of sexual abuse scandals involving the Catholic Church, BBC reports.

Earlier, the Jesuits had filed a bankruptcy protection in February 2009 as litigation over sexual abuse claims was mounting. Keeping this in mind, the agreed settlement amount will now be filed with the US Bankruptcy Court in Portland, Oregon, on March 29.

--ANI

Courtesy:newkerela.com

Tamil Nadu polls: Karunanidhi, Traffic Ramaswamy and the 2G shadow

NDTV Correspondent, Updated: March 26, 2011 12:48 IST

Tiruvarur/Chennai:  

It's not just the opposition onslaught on the 2G spectrum scam that DMK chief Karunanidhi will have to tackle this election season. A popular social activist, Traffic Ramaswamy, is contesting against the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister as an independent candidate in his rural constituency Tiruvarur. His agenda - to explain the 2G spectrum scam to rural voters.

 

Traffic Ramaswamy may not make any significant impact on the voting, but he wants to make a point.

  

"They are responsible for the 2G spectrum scam. I am going to expose it," he says.

 

The DMK says this is just a publicity stunt and that the activist may not even retain his deposit.

"There is no truth in the 2G spectrum scam. We have not been found guilty,"   says Karunanidhi's son MK Alagiri. The scam saw DMK leader A Raja resign as Telecom Minister in November; he was arrested in February.

Karunanidhi has won nine times from the DMK's bastion, Chennai. This is the first time since 1962 that he is not contesting the elections from there. Analysts say his homecoming to Tiruvarur was perhaps due to the worry that spectrum scam could dent its urban vote bank.

  

But with Traffic Ramaswamy preparing to highlight the issue of corruption, the 2G shadow clearly refuses to disappear.

Courtesy:NDTV

BJP state unit President hits out at Karunanidhi's criticism of Election Commission

 

Chennai, Mar 26 :

The Tamil Nadu state unit BJP president Pon Radhakrishnan today took objection to DMK president and Chief Minister M Karunanidhi's remarks flaying the Election Commission (EC) for conducting searches and seizing money meant to be distributed to voters.

Replying to newspersons questions after releasing the party's manifesto for the April 13 Assembly polls here, he said the EC should take action against MrKarunanidhi for his remarks critical of the Commission.

"Not only the district collectors, the EC should change the Chief Minister also," Mr Radhakrishnan charged, welcoming the strict guidelines imposed by the EC to prevent money and muscle power in the polls.

"Why should Mr Karunanidhi fear EC's action if he has nothing to hide," the BJP leader asked and wanted it to bring in more stringent norms to curb the use of money power in the polls.

BJP National Secretary Muralidhar Rao, who was also present, said Mr Karunanidhi had chosen to contest from Tiruvarur as he would have felt that Chennai city was no more a secure place for him to face the electorate.

Accusing the Congress and DMK of being steeped in neck-deep corruption, he said corruption would be a major campaign plank of the BJP in the coming polls.

--UNI

BJP promises free laptops, fixed deposits in Tamil Nadu

26 MAR, 2011, 07.22PM IST,IANS

economictimes.indiatimes.com

CHENNAI: Free laptops, stationery for students, sanitary napkins for women and Rs 1, 00, 000 deposit for female child born in a below poverty line ( BPL )) family... the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has offered all this and more in its manifesto for the Tamil Nadu assembly elections . 

Releasing the manifesto here Saturday, the BJP's Tamil Nadu chief Pon Radhakrishnan told reporters that the party will give pens and pencils to students at the beginning of the academic year and at the time of final exams. 

The party has even promised laptops for all plus-one, plus-two and college students. 

Refuting to describe them as freebies, Radhakrishnan said: "Students are not voters and so they are not freebies." 

The party has also promised free medical check up for below poverty line families in the state. Sanitary napkins will be distributed free for women through ration shops to improve their personal hygiene. 

The BJP has also promised extension of benefits enjoyed by minority educational institutions to all institutions irrespective of religion. 

It has assured to strive to get 205 thousand million cubic feet (TMC) of Cauvery water from Karnataka, where it is currently the ruling party, and also promised protection of Tamil Nadu's interests in the Mullaperiyar dam dispute with Kerala. 

A separate budget for agriculture and also other promises for the farmer's welfare have been made. 

The BJP has promised to protect the interests of Indian fishermen and prevent attacks by Sri Lankan navy on them. 

The BJP is contesting 194 seats in the 234-member state assembly. The DMK and the AIADMK have also made such promises in their manifestoes.

Baba Ramdev: Yogi or Commissar?

Ram Puniyani

March 25,2011

Baba Ramdev has been probably most successful of God men of recent times. He claims to have a following of over a billion people. There are an infinite number of people claiming that his yoga therapy and medicines work wonders for their health. Baba in a short span of time has built a multi million empire, his Trust is owning series of Ashrams, ayurvedic drug factories, yoga training centers and many such things, in India and abroad.

 Overall the medicines prescribed-marketed by him are selling like hot cakes. He himself adorns the divine status and his followers also regard him so, a saint, above the worldly matters. His saffron robes are a symbol of renunciation as such. All this is remarkable, good of both the Worlds, as he is not only wearing divine halo but is also presiding over the empire running into hundreds of crores of rupees built in last decade or so and now entering politics too.

In our country where currently rational thought and scientific thinking has been pushed to the back foot, the claims that his methods are scientific go unchallenged by and large. As per him he can cure Cancer, AIDS and what have you. He also states that homosexuality is a disease, something for which he has a yogic cure.

Earlier he had a spat with Brinda Karat, on the issue of contents of the medicines, powder of animal bones in the samples from his factories and on the issue of wages for the workers. Baba claiming to base his Yoga on scientific ground angrily dismissed the issues raised by Brinda Karat, and one does not know what happened to the wage issue of the workers of his factory. 
There are not many who can dare to raise legitimate question in the public domain about what is science? What is the method of science and whether mere reading and following of scriptures can be called as scientific? The issues related to the role of double blind trials, biochemical analysis, pharmaceutical composition and their side effects cannot be raised, as in doing so one can be easily labeled as anti Hindu-Anti religious deviant. The garb of Holy clothes is the best defense against all the legitimate questions. So what is projected to be working successfully can also be asserted to be a scientific practice.

One would expect that the tall claims like curing cancer and AIDS, need to be questioned as many may get misled and loose the precious time which a medical intervention can play in a positive way.

 
One concedes that there must be some benefits due to things practiced by Baba and the likes of him, but these need to be regulated and peer reviewed to avoid their misuse in the society at large.

Science is not a monopoly of anybody and peer review and evaluation is the best regulator for decisions about medications-practices for society. This is indispensable to avoid the harm, in short term or long term sense. Divinity should not be permitted to protect the real social issues involved.

Lately Baba has been in the news not for divine or yogic reasons, but for the profane issues related to corruption, and his forming a political party which will fight the elections. While the crusade against corruption is welcome as such, one observes that his sayings about corruption are restricted to one political party.

This is a partisan view, an attempt to hide the corrupt practices of other political parties and other actors involved in the issue of corruption. He is scathing against Congress on the issue of corruption and is silent about BJP’s corruption. He is vocal about something and quiet about the corruption of rich who are equal partners in this social evil. This may indicate that the saffron clothes are being used for the goals of helping the communal party and the rich.

 
As such corruption has more to do with unbridled power, absence of transparency and lack of social audit on the economic transactions and policies. To link it with few political actors is an attempt to hide those who give the bribes to get their work done.

A principled stand will also be to ensure that all the donations coming to the Ahsrams of Baba, and his types belong to the category of what is ‘accounted money’! Hope Baba has already taken care of this point before starting his campaign against corruption.

Generally the ‘divine’ people have to be standing for peace and harmony.

 One recalls that in the wake of 26/11 Mumbai terror attack, Baba had exhorted Indian Government to attack Pakistan, and that he will fund the war against Pakistan. One shudders to think of war mongers and that too with those having divine claims leading our political affairs.

 The current times have been the one where the politics has been wearing the clothes of religious identity. Baba is going one step ahead. He is trying to ride on two horses, the one of spirituality-religion and the other of entrepreneur-politician, at the same time.

His association with those who have done politics by abusing religious identity, the communalists, is very clear. That may be the reason as to why he is creating hysteria around corruption by one political party rather than against corruption as a phenomenon related to our socio-political structure.

Courtesy-CommunALISM wATCH: 

  

Killing:Christian verses Christians-Muslims verses Muslims

If you are looking for accurate statistics on how many Muslims have been killed by Muslims versus, how many Christians have been killed Christians over last 100 years you will be disappointed, excluding the 100 year war of the Roses, and extending to Protestants/Catholic Christians killing Christians in Ireland i.e. IRA

There are questionable figures, where over 50 million predominantly Christian people died in world wars, Russian killed during the Russian revolution, and Stalin regime of over 20 million, 40 million Chinese died at the hands of Chinese during Chinese revolution, recently over a million predominantly Christians died in Rwanda, excluding Zimbabwe, and during apartheid South Africa and millions more Christians died/missing in Chile, Argentina etc.

It would be foolish to think the answers to human problems lies in the hands of few powerful nations with misplaced moral righteousness from time to time, There are a few in the west who feel they do not have to obey the laws even in a just state let alone an unjust society with anarchist tendency. Though it would be interesting to know how many Muslims have been killed by Muslims in last 100 years.

Aziz

 yadayada465@yahoo.com
Courtesy:writers'forum.Yahoogroup.

Islamic Relief launches emergency appeal for Japan

People are being urged to help Islamic Relief get much-needed aid to the people of Japan, as the country struggles in the aftermath of an earthquake, tsunami, and a growing nuclear crisis.

The full scale of the disaster is now starting to emerge, following a devastating tsunami which swept the north-east of Japan after a massive earthquake struck just off the coast. The tidal waters swept away homes, livelihoods and infrastructure, and a nuclear emergency has been declared with explosions at least one power station. More than 200,000 people have been evacuated from the area, and 300,000 people had to flee their homes across the country.




At least 16,000 people are thought to have died in disaster. It is expected that the confirmed numbers of fatalities and casualties will rise as the waters recede, with local police warning that the death-toll in the Miyagi prefecture alone could top 10,000.
Islamic Relief’s emergency teams are on standby to deploy to Japan and we're also preparing to channel aid through partner agencies on the ground. Please support our efforts to help the people of Japan: Donate to our emergency appeal today.


14 March 2011 

At least 75 dead in Burma quake: official

Hla Hla Htay

March 25, 2011

AFP

At least 75 people were killed when a strong earthquake struck Burma, officials said on Friday, with fears that the toll would rise as news filtered through from remote areas still cut off.

Tremors were felt as far away as Bangkok, almost 800 kilometres from the epicentre, in Hanoi and parts of China when the earthquake hit late on Thursday, which the US Geological Survey (USGS) measured at magnitude 6.8.

A Burmese official said 74 people were killed and 110 were injured in five areas close to the epicentre. More than 240 buildings had collapsed.

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"We are trying to reach the remote areas," the official said.

"The military, police and local authorities are trying to find some people injured in those affected areas, but the roads are still closed."

Across the border, Thai authorities said a 52-year-old woman was killed in Mae Sai district after a wall in her house collapsed.

Terrified residents across the region fled their homes, tall buildings swayed, and hospitals and schools were evacuated.

In Rangoon, Chris Herink, Burmese country director for the charity World Vision, said there did not appear to be "catastrophic infrastructure damage" in the affected areas of Kengtung and Tachileik, although buildings were cracked and water supplies disrupted in some parts.

"Of real concern though are the more rural areas. There will be more, I am afraid to say, unhappy information coming throughout the day," he said.

"It is a hilly area near the border between Thailand and Laos, the so-called Golden Triangle. There is a lot of commerce that goes on in the area."

World Vision helps care for around 7000 children sponsored by overseas donors in the affected areas.

"We want to ensure that they and their families are safe, secure and accounted for and to offer assistance to them as a first priority, but also to help anyone in the area that has humanitarian needs," he said.

The quake struck 90 kilometres north of Chiang Rai and 235 kilometres north-northeast of Chiang Mai, Thailand's second city and a popular tourist destination.

Thailand's meteorological department on Friday said it had registered six large aftershocks following the initial quake.

Residents in Chiang Rai city raced from their homes again on Friday morning as a large tremor shook the ground.

Four pagodas in the historic town of Chiang Saen near the northern Thai border were damaged, including Chedi Luang, where its three-metre long pinnacle crashed to the ground.

The shaking was felt throughout China's southwestern province of Yunnan, according to state-run China National Radio, but no casualties or major structural damage had been reported as of Friday morning.

However, the earthquake reportedly caused cracks in some homes and schools in and around the rugged Xishuangbanna region that borders Burma, and fear of aftershocks forced many people in the area to spend the night outdoors.

Some residents of the Vietnamese capital Hanoi fled their homes when the quake shook the city.

Le Huy Minh, assistant director of the national Global Geophysics Institute in the capital, reported no victims or damage.

"There was big panic among the local residents," as high buildings shook for half a minute, said Nguyen Thai Son, of the institute's office in northwestern Dien Bien town, 350 kilometres from the epicentre.

But he added there were "neither victims nor material losses here".

Laos government spokesman Khenthong Nuanthasing said there had been no reports of casualties in his country from the earthquake.

"In Vientiane it was not strong," he said.

The quake comes two weeks after Japan was hit by a monster earthquake and tsunami that left about 27,000 people dead or missing and triggered a crisis at its Fukushima nuclear plant.

Burma and Japan sit on different tectonic plates, separated by the vast Eurasian plate.

No tsunami warning was issued after the Burma quake as US seismologists said it was too far inland to generate a devastating wave in the Indian Ocean.

The USGS initially recorded the quake as magnitude 7.0, but later revised it down to 6.8.

© 2011 AFP

Japan nuclear crisis 'could last months'

March 26, 2011 - 5:09AM

AFP

Three reactors at Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant remain "precarious", a state that could last for "weeks or even months", France's Institute for Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN) says.

It said on Friday it remains "greatly concerned" by the situation in the No 1, 2 and 3 reactor units, which have been hit by a series of blasts and fires since the plant was hit by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

The IRSN said it was running through scenarios for potential impacts for the environment in the hypothesis that there had been a breach of the pressure vessel -- a steel container that encloses the reactor core -- in the No 3 unit.

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On Thursday the agency noted there had been black smoke rising from the No 3 unit this week.

Among the theories to explain the cause of the smoke is a chemical reaction between a molten radioactive slag called corium and the concrete of the containment vessel that provides a protective shell for the pressure vessel, it said.

If the corium burns through the containment vessel's concrete floor or other protections, that boosts the risk that radioactivity can enter the environment through the soil.

A spokesman for the plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO), told AFP on Friday "it is possible" that the pressure vessel in the No 3 unit has been damaged. There were no further details.

"Radioactive substances have leaked to places far from the (No 3) reactor," a spokesman for the nuclear safety agency, Hideyuki Nishiyama, said.

"As far as the data show, we believe there is a certain level of containment ability but it's highly possible that the reactor is damaged."

Two workers at the plant were hospitalised on Thursday with radiation burns after stepping in highly radioactive water in the basement of the No 3 unit's turbine building.

© 2011 AFP