tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-78135891198930866482024-03-13T04:07:01.820+05:30Daily News ReportsWorld News Updated on a daily basis.
Bollywood, movie reviews, Celebrities<center><img border="0" src="http://www.yourhitstats.com/Free_Web_Counter-3693464.png" alt="Free Web Counter"><br /><a href="http://www.freehitcounters.net" >Free Web Counter</a></center>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger183125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7813589119893086648.post-27530146401801922622008-04-30T12:55:00.002+05:302008-04-30T12:56:28.758+05:30Benazir ghost haunts Zardari<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_6PE0UfR5750/SBgfG4EIzLI/AAAAAAAAAmU/hhFrWiCKK6o/s1600-h/20-02.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_6PE0UfR5750/SBgfG4EIzLI/AAAAAAAAAmU/hhFrWiCKK6o/s400/20-02.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5194936373161282738" /></a>
Islamabad: A pre-election deal brokered between Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf and slain former prime minister Benazir Bhutto continues to haunt her widower Asif Ali Zardari, co-chair of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) that heads the ruling coalition, who finds his hands tied because of the pact. Zardari is “bound” by the deal to develop a “working relationship” with the president, The News reported on Tuesday.
Quoting a key PPP source who was among those who played a role in bringing the two sides together for the deal, the newspaper said “important people” in Washington and Dubai had acted as guarantors to the agreement between the two sides.
At the same time, PPP spokesperson Farhatullah Babar admitted that the “present situation” was creating doubts in the minds of the people “but assured that Musharraf is not going to have the last laugh”, the newspaper added.
“He hinted that the next few days are really important. He said foreign capitals also change their minds when they see the ground realities changing in the country,” The News said.
At the root of the matter is the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) that paved the way for the return from exile of Bhutto and Zardari by waving the corruption charges that stood against them in Pakistan.
Musharraf promulgated the ordinance on Oct 5, 2007, a day before the presidential election that saw him winning a second term in office.
According to Babar, Musharraf issued the NRO “to get some concessions from the PPP” and when he expressed his apprehensions on this score to Bhutto, she ticked him off. A PPP source said that the party’s reservation was only against the president in uniform and not in civvies.
“He said with the blessing of the foreign guarantors, the PPP had agreed to develop a working relationship with Musharraf. He said present day politics of PPP has strong connections with the NRO and conditions agreed at that time,” The News said.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7813589119893086648.post-77101406748134130232008-04-30T12:53:00.002+05:302008-04-30T12:55:14.037+05:30Hillary surges ahead in poll<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_6PE0UfR5750/SBgez4EIzKI/AAAAAAAAAmM/GECWD107NFU/s1600-h/19-01.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_6PE0UfR5750/SBgez4EIzKI/AAAAAAAAAmM/GECWD107NFU/s400/19-01.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5194936046743768226" /></a>
Washington: Bolstered by the critical Pennsylvania results, Hillary Clinton has now turned the momentum further up, emerging decisively ahead of presumptive Republican nominee John McCain in a new poll before upcoming contests in Indiana and North Carolina.
The Democratic Senator from New York led McCain by nine points in what is perhaps the best news her campaign has seen or heard in the last several weeks, AP-Ipsos poll said.
Equally importantly perhaps, her rival and Democrat front-runner Barack Obama, 47, remained virtually tied with McCain in the poll, giving credence to Clinton's contention that she is more "electable" than the Illinois Senator.
The former first lady was leading McCain, 50 per cent to 41 per cent, while Obama remains virtually tied with McCain, 46 per cent to 44 per cent. Both Democrats were roughly even with 71-year-old McCain in the previous poll about three weeks ago.
However, the downside to the new national numbers is for the Democratic Party with 30 per cent of Clinton backers and 21 per cent of Obama’s supporters maintaining that they will vote for McCain if their preferred candidate did not get nominated. Obama leads Clinton in pledged delegates, but she has the advantage among superdelegates with about a third yet to make up their minds; and the Chair of the Democratic National Convention.
Some sections within the Democrats have lately said that either Clinton or Obama must drop out of the race after the primary season wraps up in June, so that the party can unite before the August convention.
Meanwhile, yet another shot in the arm for the 60-year old New York Democrat came yesterday, when the Governor of North Carolina Mike Easley, a superdelegate, announced his support for her.
mumbai newsUnknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7813589119893086648.post-21868984447522198752008-04-30T12:51:00.002+05:302008-04-30T12:53:25.143+05:30How the kidney kingpin fooled Mumbai police<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_6PE0UfR5750/SBgeXYEIzJI/AAAAAAAAAmE/q1ENRBnMqms/s1600-h/02-01.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_6PE0UfR5750/SBgeXYEIzJI/AAAAAAAAAmE/q1ENRBnMqms/s400/02-01.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5194935557117496466" /></a>
New Delhi: Kidney kingpin Santosh Raut, accused by the Mumbai police in two cases, had changed his name to Amit Kumar via a Maharashtra state gazette in 2001, yet the Mumbai police heard about it only in February this year when Raut’s Gurgaon case reached the CBI.
In its charge sheet on the Gurgaon case filed in an Ambala court on Tuesday, the CBI mentioned that Raut had changed his name in 2001. Interestingly, when he changed his name, he was under trial as Santosh Raut in a 1994 case lodged at Khar. Interestingly, even four years after the name change, when the Mahim police booked Raut and four others in another kidney case, he was once again mentioned as Santosh Raut. Quite obviously the police knew nothing of his name change even then. What’s more, Raut, 40, had also changed his birth date in 2001.
“We came to know about his name change only in February when the CBI arrested him in a Gurgaon case,” admitted an investigating officer at Mahim Police station requesting anonymity.
Immediately after his arrest by the CBI, when this correspondent spoke to Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Rakesh Maria, he admitted ignorance about Raut’s name change. At the time he had said the Mumbai police would seek a written confirmation from the CBI that Amit was indeed Santosh Raut. When asked why the police had not known about the gazette, the officer at Mahim police station said that they had never received a copy of the state gazette. Maria then suggested that police verification be made mandatory in all cases of name change.
Meanwhile, the Mumbai police have obtained a production warrant for Santosh Raut alias Amit in the Mahim case and will soon be visiting Delhi to seek his custody. He is presently in judicial custody. Maria said they would seek cancellation of his bail in the Khar case on grounds of breach of bail conditions. He attended the trial in the Khar case till June 2005 and then disappeared.
CBI officials told Mumbai Mirror that Santosh Raut had created a number of aliases to hoodwink investigating agencies and continue with his shady business of illegal kidney transplants. In all his paperwork related to bank accounts and in Canada where he has a plush bungalow he has spelled his name as ‘Ameet’.
The CBI charge sheet says that Raut holds a degree in Ayurveda (BAMS) and was conducting kidney transplant surgeries illegally. His brother Jeevan Kumar, a co-accused in Gurgaon and Moradabad cases, on the other hand is only qualified to prescribe homeopathic medicines.
Changing one’s name is easy
The official procedure for changing one’s name at the Government Press at Charni Road is quite simple. All you have to do is to fill up a form and pay the required fee. An ordinary form costs Rs 120 while an urgent form costs Rs 620. In the first case, you will receive two original copies of the Government Gazette certifying your new name within one-and-half months. In the second case, the gazette will reach you in 8 to 10 days. After you get the original copies of the government gazette you can also approach a newspaper to publish a personal advertisement stating your name change. For people who intend to apply for a passport with their new name this procedure is mandatory.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7813589119893086648.post-65227470353096481132008-04-30T12:49:00.002+05:302008-04-30T12:51:22.333+05:30Bush Says Pain From Economy Defies Easy Fix<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_6PE0UfR5750/SBgd5oEIzII/AAAAAAAAAl8/_vRv0uukfeo/s1600-h/30bush_190.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_6PE0UfR5750/SBgd5oEIzII/AAAAAAAAAl8/_vRv0uukfeo/s400/30bush_190.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5194935046016388226" /></a>
WASHINGTON — With consumer confidence slipping and gasoline and food prices soaring, President Bush delivered an unusually dark assessment of the economy on Tuesday, saying the nation was in “very difficult times, very difficult.”There are no quick fixes, Mr. Bush said, to ease the pain Americans feel. Mr. Bush used a Rose Garden news conference to go on the offensive against the Democratic-controlled Congress, accusing lawmakers of being uncooperative on bills that would address pocketbook issues.
Democrats pushed back, accusing Mr. Bush of trotting out old ideas and of favoring big oil companies at the expense of average Americans.
The sharp exchanges struck a different tone from when the two parties joined forces on an economic stimulus package, including tax rebates that are being issued. Since then, the president and Congress have not agreed on addressing the economic troubles, and by Tuesday they mostly blamed each other.
The paralysis is a product of election jockeying, as the parties avoid hard choices and try to inflict tough votes on the rivals. Although Democrats and Republicans came to terms on the tax rebates, neither has given way on bigger tax and spending issues. Both sides seem inclined to wait, hoping November shifts the balance in their favor.
The gasoline price might be the most vexing problem for Congress, but after steady price increases, a quick solution seems elusive.
“If there was a magic wand to wave, I’d be waving it, of course,” Mr. Bush said, referring specifically to gasoline prices, which have climbed $1.40 a gallon in 18 months. “But there is no magic wand to wave right now. It took us a while to get to this fix.”
Instead of embracing new proposals, Mr. Bush mainly dusted off old ones. He called on Congress to address the cost of energy by opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling for petroleum and expanding nuclear power, two plans that have long been on the legislative shelf.
Mr. Bush also said, “Those who worry about recession, slowdown, whatever you want to call it” ought to make his tax cuts permanent.
Mr. Bush was cool to proposals by Senator John McCain of Arizona, the presumptive Republican nominee, and Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, a Democratic presidential contender, to give drivers a break by temporarily suspending the 18.4-cent-a-gallon federal excise tax on gasoline.
The other Democratic contender, Senator Barack Obama of Illinois, on Tuesday dismissed the suspension of the gasoline tax as a gimmick.
Mr. Bush similarly rejected an idea by a fellow Texas Republican, Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, to stop making deposits in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
“If I thought it would affect the price of oil positively,” he said, “I would seriously consider it.”
Mr. Bush has spent much of his presidency riding high on claims of unparalleled job growth, but with nine months left in office, he has to confront a new reality. In recent weeks, he has said the economy is in a “rough patch.” This month, he expressed optimism, saying, “I’m confident we’re going to come out of it.”
But his tone on Tuesday was more somber, reflecting a new report that found consumer confidence plummeting as home prices have collapsed more rapidly than at any time in 20 years.
“I will tell you that these are very difficult times, very difficult,” he said while continuing to avoid the word “recession.” “And we’ll let the economists define it for what it is.”
Americans, Mr. Bush said are “looking to their elected leaders in Congress for action.”
“Unfortunately,” he added, “on many of these issues all they’re getting is delay.”
Democrats responded with a news conference where Senator Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York, said:
“He says he’s concerned with high gas prices and high food prices and student and home loan problems. But the truth is that the president has closed his eyes and put his hands over his ears as these crises have grown.”
Mr. Schumer and other Democrats, including Senator Byron L. Dorgan of North Dakota, urged the administration to stop filling the Strategic Petroleum Reserve temporarily and work to limit speculative trading in oil futures.
“Why not deal with the unbelievable orgy of speculation that’s occurring in these futures markets?” Mr. Dorgan asked. “That’s what’s driving up prices.”
Mr. Bush attributed high prices to the lack of refining capacity and said opening the Arctic refuge, a proposal that Democrats and environmentalists have long opposed, would enable the United States to produce a million additional barrels of oil a day.
He called it an “intermediate term” solution, saying, “It sends a signal to markets that the United States is not going to restrict exploration.”
On housing, Mr. Bush called on lawmakers to pass two measures that have long been in the works, one to overhaul the Federal Housing Administration and the other to revamp the government-sponsored mortgage lenders, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. But he did not address a proposal being drafted by House Democrats to expand the availability of federally insured mortgages.
Mr. Bush also said Democrats were “considering a massive, bloated farm bill” that would fail to eliminate farmers’ subsidies as food prices skyrocket and the farm economy thrives.
“It’s not the time to ask American families who are already paying more in the checkout line to pay more in subsidies for wealthy farmers,” he said.
When Democrats won control of Congress in November 2006, Mr. Bush promised to work with them. But their cooperation has been limited at best, and with the presidential campaign in full swing, it will be difficult for them to agree on all but the most noncontroversial questions.
On Tuesday, signs were evident that Mr. Bush’s criticism of Democrats might actually widen gaps between lawmakers who share similar policy goals. Senator Mel Martinez, Republican of Florida, has recently expressed support for aggressive measures to prevent foreclosures, a huge issue in his home state.
But after Mr. Bush’s news conference, Mr. Martinez echoed the president, saying he was skeptical of the measure that the House Democrats are drafting.
“I think the last thing we need to do is create a program that is going to go into effect after the crisis is over and then become a new bureaucracy,” he said.
At another news conference, Senate Republicans blamed Congressional Democrats for blocking efforts to increase oil production in the United States, both off the shores of states like Virginia and in Alaska. The minority leader, Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, noted that gasoline prices were $1.20 a gallon higher than when Democrats took control of Congress in January 2007.
One area where Democrats and Mr. Bush might find agreement, however, is student loans, a sector of the credit market that is not nearly as troubled as the mortgage market. The House last week passed a bill sponsored by Representative George Miller, Democrat of California, to increase amounts that students can borrow through federal programs. Mr. Bush praised it.
“I hope the Senate moves it, moves a version of it very quickly,” he said.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7813589119893086648.post-56578759207263416402008-04-30T12:48:00.002+05:302008-04-30T12:49:36.671+05:30Obama’s Break With Ex-Pastor Sets Sharp Shift in Tone<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_6PE0UfR5750/SBgdeoEIzHI/AAAAAAAAAl0/mdRLiydabmU/s1600-h/30obama01_190.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_6PE0UfR5750/SBgdeoEIzHI/AAAAAAAAAl0/mdRLiydabmU/s400/30obama01_190.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5194934582159920242" /></a>
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Senator Barack Obama broke forcefully on Tuesday with his former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr., in an effort to curtail a drama of race, values, patriotism and betrayal that has enveloped his presidential candidacy at a critical juncture.At a news conference here, Mr. Obama denounced remarks Mr. Wright made in a series of televised appearances over the last several days. In the appearances, Mr. Wright has suggested that the United States was attacked because it engaged in terrorism on other people and that the government was capable of having used the AIDS virus to commit genocide against minorities. His remarks also cast Louis Farrakhan, the leader of the Nation of Islam, in a positive light.
In tones sharply different from those Mr. Obama used on Monday, when he blamed the news media and his rivals for focusing on Mr. Wright, and far harsher than those he used in his speech on race in Philadelphia last month, Mr. Obama tried to cut all his ties to — and to discredit — Mr. Wright, the man who presided at Mr. Obama’s wedding and baptized his two daughters.
“His comments were not only divisive and destructive, but I believe that they end up giving comfort to those who prey on hate, and I believe that they do not portray accurately the perspective of the black church,” Mr. Obama said, his voice welling with anger. “They certainly don’t portray accurately my values and beliefs.”
One week before Democratic primaries in Indiana and North Carolina, contests that party officials are watching as they try to gauge whether Mr. Obama or Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton would be the stronger nominee, the controversy surrounding Mr. Wright again erupted into a threat to Mr. Obama’s ability to show that he could unify the Democratic Party and bring the nominating contest to a quick and clean end. With Mrs. Clinton having shown particular strength among working-class white voters in recent big-state primaries, the racial overtones of Mr. Obama’s links with Mr. Wright have been especially troublesome for the Obama campaign.
Asked how the controversy would affect voters, Mr. Obama said: “We’ll find out.”
At a minimum, the spectacle of Mr. Wright’s multiday media tour and Mr. Obama’s rolling response grabbed the attention of the most important constituency in politics now: the uncommitted superdelegates — party officials and elected Democrats — who hold the balance of power in the nominating battle.
Eileen Macoll, a Democratic county chairman from Washington State who has not chosen a candidate, said she was stunned at the extent of national attention the episode has drawn, and she said she believed it would give superdelegates pause.
“I’m a little surprised at how much traction it is getting, and I do believe it is beginning to reflect negatively on Senator Obama’s campaign,” Ms. Macoll said. “I think he’s handling it very well, but I think it’s almost impossible to make people feel comfortable about this.”
It was the second straight day that Mr. Obama had responded to Mr. Wright, a former pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago whose derisive comments about the United States government have become a fixture of cable television. Saying that he had not seen or read Mr. Wright’s remarks when he responded to them on Monday, Mr. Obama said he was “shocked and surprised” when he later read the transcripts and watched the broadcasts, and he felt compelled to respond more forcefully.
“I’m outraged by the comments that were made and saddened over the spectacle that we saw yesterday,” Mr. Obama said. He added: “I find these comments appalling. It contradicts everything that I’m about and who I am.”
The press conference came in what may well be the toughest stretch of Mr. Obama’s campaign as he grapples with questions about Mr. Wright as well as the fallout from his defeat last week in Pennsylvania. He set out this week to reintroduce himself but instead found himself competing for airtime with Mr. Wright and trying to bat away suggestions that he shared or tolerated Mr. Wright’s views.
As he answered question after question here, Mr. Obama appeared downcast and subdued as he tried to explain why he had decided to categorically denounce his minister of 20 years. His decision to address reporters not only stretched the Wright story into another day but also marked at least the third time he has sought to deal with the issue, including his well-received speech on race last month in Philadelphia.
“The fact that Reverend Wright would think that somehow it was appropriate to command the stage for three or four consecutive days in the midst of this major debate is something that not only makes me angry, but also saddens me,” Mr. Obama saidUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7813589119893086648.post-90916925793475113562008-04-29T11:09:00.002+05:302008-04-29T11:13:33.784+05:30Bhajii shouldn't have crossed Lakshman Rekha: Modi<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_6PE0UfR5750/SBa1eIEIy-I/AAAAAAAAAkE/mZz5hFPrg1k/s1600-h/images.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_6PE0UfR5750/SBa1eIEIy-I/AAAAAAAAAkE/mZz5hFPrg1k/s400/images.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5194538749383986146" /></a>
New Delhi, April 29:: Indian Premier League Chairman and Commissioner Lalit Modi said they have sent a 'strong message' by banning Harbhajan Singh for 11-13 matches and penalising him for close to USD 600,000 (Rs 2.6 crore) for slapping rival pacer S Sreesanth after a match last week.
"What has happened is Harbhajan did cross the 'Lakshman Rekha', he should not have done it... Harbhajan should not have crossed the line now that he did, we took immediate
action," Modi said.
"This is a strong message that we have sent out, we have banned him for close to 13 matches, 11 or 13 depending on how the Mumbai team performs. We have also fined him 100 per cent of his pay cheque and that is close to USD 600,000 dollars (approax Rs 2.6 crore)," he was quotes as saying in a TV channel.
"It is not just any other tournament, it is a very serious tournament," he insisted.
Asked if the slap incident had affected the tournament, Modi said it did not reduce the euphoria generated and in fact positives could be drawn from it.
"I think it (euphoria) is more than enough... but there is a positive side to the incident because the players have taken this game as their own and they are actually fighting out for it as if they would have fought for team India, that's the positive side of it," he said.
Modi said the footage of the incident would not be made public because the IPL inquiry did not think it was fair to do so.
"It don't thik it is fair for us to put it to the rest of the world. We have decided not to show it to anybody," he said.
On letting off Sreesanth with only warning, Modi said he was warned not for his role during the actual incident.
"Actually, at the time when the slapping incident took place Sreesanth had not provoked Harbhajan at all but during the matches we heard that there was skirmishes between the players and also during another match in Jaipur, Sreesanth was very aggressive with (Mohammad) Kaif. So he was given a warning based on that," he said.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7813589119893086648.post-21308132473339974832008-04-29T11:06:00.005+05:302008-04-29T11:09:24.522+05:30A New Mideast Paper Vows to Be Different<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_6PE0UfR5750/SBa0eYEIy9I/AAAAAAAAAj8/F5s9sg6NQD8/s1600-h/29adco.190.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_6PE0UfR5750/SBa0eYEIy9I/AAAAAAAAAj8/F5s9sg6NQD8/s400/29adco.190.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5194537654167325650" /></a>
ONE of the Middle East’s wealthiest ruling families has a new asset: The National, a newspaper that promises independence from its royal owners.The paper, an English-language daily based in Abu Dhabi, published its first issue on April 17, under close scrutiny in the Middle East and abroad. With its pledge to emulate Western newspaper standards and to “help society evolve,” The National is an anomaly in the Middle East, where most media are tightly controlled by the government.
“We aim to produce an excellent newspaper out of the region” that will set a new standard for other publications to aspire to, said Hassan M. Fattah, the deputy editor, who was a correspondent for The New York Times in the Middle East before joining The National. “Being government-owned does not equal being government-run,” he said. “There are no ministers sitting in my office” telling the paper what to write.
Already, the paper has attracted some serious competition: on Monday, The Financial Times of London said that it was introducing a new edition for the Middle East, with editorial offices based in Abu Dhabi. The first issue comes out on Tuesday.
“We have identified a strong and growing demand for high-quality global independent news and analysis across the gulf region,” Lionel Barber, editor of The Financial Times, said in a news release. “This demand reflects how the gulf has quickly become a financial and business powerhouse.”
•
Whether the region becomes a bastion for free speech is another matter. Until last September, journalists who wrote critical stories in the United Arab Emirates could be jailed for defamation, and the United Arab Emirates recently signed on to an Arab League charter asking media not to offend local leaders. The English-language channel of Al Jazeera, the Qatar-based broadcaster, recently lost some high-profile Western journalists, in part because of disagreements about coverage.
Nevertheless, The National has built its staff of 200 from newspapers around the world, including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and The Telegraph of Britain. The paper has had no problem hitting a start-up goal of 30 percent advertising in its pages (and 70 percent editorial content), and has had to turn away potential advertisers who wanted space in its first few issues, Mr. Fattah said.
The National is owned by Mubadala Development Company of Abu Dhabi, an investment and venture capital arm of the government which is led by the crown prince, Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan. The owners have given the paper’s executives five years to break even.
Abu Dhabi, by far the largest of the seven royalty-ruled territories that make up the United Arab Emirates, has been raising its profile as an international center of investment, tourism and finance, and The National is seen as part of an overall movement of change to appeal to outsiders.
The National, which aims at expatriate and local professionals in Abu Dhabi, has published a few articles with criticisms of the region, like one about severely overcrowded private schools, which limit companies’ abilities to attract new people. It has also printed controversial opinion pieces, one asking Arabs to welcome Jewish investors to the region and another warning that Emirate culture is disappearing.
The National has delved into regional news, offering a detailed account of former President Jimmy Carter’s trip to Syria and a buildup of Syrian troops on the Lebanese border. It has also printed its share of fluff — the wife of the British ambassador to Abu Dhabi’s perfect day in the Emirate includes Starbucks, Pilates, a blow dry and a seafood dinner.
The National is printing 80,000 copies, has 30,000 trial subscribers and has set a subscription rate of about $110 a year, but whether it can succeed in being independent and not attract the ire of the ruling families is unclear.
Martin Newland, the editor in chief, has fielded numerous questions about the paper’s independence, particularly after a memo he wrote to the staff that noted “we are not here to fight for press freedom” was leaked to outside media. Reached by cellphone one evening as he was having dinner with his wife, he said, “This is good news for journalism and good news for the region, so let’s get the hell off censorship.” He added that he was tired of having “the whole issue of a multimillion-dollar launch of a newspaper constantly distilled down to issues of censorship.”
Mr. Newland said the biggest difficulty in setting up the newspaper so far had been managing the logistics of getting 150 expatriate employees moved to an area where real estate prices are high and human resources and infrastructure are negligible. “If you come as an editor, you have to get loo paper for the bogs, sign off on taxi chits and listen to people 8,000 miles from home” who cannot find a place to live, he said. Then he returned to dinner.
Attracting talented reporters to Abu Dhabi has been one of the biggest problems, said Mr. Fattah, the deputy editor. “It was very hard to convince Americans to come here,” he said, because they think of it as a scary place. “One reporter wanted to do combat training” before she came, he said, when in reality the biggest killer in Abu Dhabi is obesity.
So far The National is drawing some guarded praise. “I looked very carefully to see if I could find any evidence that they were censoring themselves, and I didn’t see it,” said Josh Friedman, director of international programs at Columbia University’s graduate school of journalism. For example, the paper, which is available online at www.thenational.ae, referred to Hamas fighters as “militants,” Mr. Friedman said, a type of description that is rare in the Middle East.
While the articles about Abu Dhabi government announcements were not “hard hitting,” Mr. Friedman said, the paper carried others that could be considered critical.
Newspapers have thrived in the Arab-speaking world for decades; Al-Ahram in Egypt, published since 1876, has five million readers, for example. But freedom of the press has remained elusive. “If it doesn’t work, so what, and if it does work, it would be great,” Mr. Friedman said, “because that area of the world needs a free press.”
More Articles in Business »Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7813589119893086648.post-12425721733928881182008-04-29T11:06:00.002+05:302008-04-29T11:06:45.211+05:30Moon mission in 3rd quarter of '08: ISROSRIHARIKOTA: Indian space scientists are aiming to launch their ambitious Moon-mission Chandrayaan-I in the third quarter of this year. It will launch a 500 kg satellite that will orbit Earth's only natural satellite for two years for terrain mapping and lunar surface mapping.
"It is too early to attempt a human-landing mission on Moon. We will be sending a 500 kg satellite for terrain mapping and lunar surface mapping. The satellite will survey the lunar surface to produce a complete map of its chemical characteristics and 3-dimensional topography," ISRO chairman G Madhavan Nair told a press conference at Sriharikota on Monday after India successfully placed a record 10 satellites into 'precise' orbit.
"All the instruments for Chandrayaan-I are ready. A few tests have to be conducted, following which we will be ready for the launch in the third quarter of this year. A special vehicle of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) called the PSLV-XL is being prepared for it. The weight of the strap-on thrust will increase from nine to 12 tonnes. All the six motors are ready," he said.
Nair also said India's first manned space flight can be expected in seven years, after three unmanned flights with the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) Mk-III configuration.
"We will be able to put two persons on a lower earth orbit," he said. "We have submitted our project proposal to the government and the Centre has already released Rs 95 crore for the project. We are awaiting the approval for the project in another six months."Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7813589119893086648.post-80497142546531754902008-04-29T11:04:00.001+05:302008-04-29T11:05:56.517+05:303 tornadoes rip through Virginia, hundreds of people hurtVIRGINIA: Three tornadoes destroyed homes, tossed cars and injured more than 200 people as they carved a path through central and southeastern Virginia.
Goveronr Timothy M Kaine declared a state of emergency for the areas of southeastern Virginia struck by the twisters.
The National Weather Service confirmed that tornadoes struck Suffolk, Colonial Heights and Brunswick County. Meteorologist Bryan Jackson described Suffolk's as a "major tornado."
Bob Spieldenner from the Virginia Department of Emergency Management said at least 200 people were injured in Suffolk and 18 others were injured in Colonial Heights.
"Multiple buildings have been destroyed, homes have been destroyed," Suffolk city spokeswoman Dana Woodson said.
Woodson said the area around Sentara Obici Hospital and in the community of Driver were hardest hit. The hospital was damaged but still able to treat patients.
In Driver, downed trees and power lines covered the streets. A vending machine was tilted on its side, leaning up against a pile of rubble that had been the general store in a small shopping district.
"It's just a bunch of broken power poles, telephone lines and sad faces," said Richard Allbright, who works for a tree removal service in Driver and had been out for hours trying to clear the roads.
Insulation, wiring and twisted metal hung from the front of a strip mall in Suffolk that was stripped bare of its facing. Cars and sport utility vehicles in the parking lot outside lay strewn about, some lying on top of others.
Sentara hospital spokesman Dale Gauding said about 60 injured people were being treated there, and he expected most to be released.
"We have lots of cuts and bruises" and arm and leg injuries, he said. The hospital's windows were cracked, apparently by debris from a damaged shopping center across the street.
In Colonial Heights south of Richmond, the storm overturned cars and damaged buildings in the Southpark Mall area.
Southside Regional Medical Center treated one storm victim with minor injuries and was poised to receive more, hospital spokeswoman Terry Tysinger said.
Property damage also was reported in Brunswick County, one of several localities where the weather service had issued a tornado warning. Sgt. Michelle Cotten of the Virginia State Police said a twister destroyed two homes. Trees and power lines were down, and some flooding was reported.
About 9,000 Dominion Virginia Power customers remained without service on Monday night.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7813589119893086648.post-39165334020635907662008-04-29T11:01:00.001+05:302008-04-29T11:04:50.668+05:30Indian soldiers under UN lens for smugglingNEW DELHI: Allegations of gold-smuggling against Indian soldiers deployed as part of UN peacekeeping operations in strife-torn Congo last year have come back to haunt India.
This time, however, the defence ministry is admitting that the role of three Indian soldiers is being investigated by the UN's Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS).
"But it's a trivial case. If they are found guilty, they will be face disciplinary action," said an official. The OIOS has held that there is no evidence of any other allegation against the Indian troops in Congo, including the allegations of "arming a militia", he added.
This came even as defence minister A K Antony told the army commanders' conference here on Monday that "some stray incidents" had "tarnished the otherwise impeccable track record of our army in international missions and exercises".Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7813589119893086648.post-46082753990756560242008-04-28T11:04:00.002+05:302008-04-28T11:07:38.044+05:30Eyes on Blue-Collar Voters, Obama Shifts Style<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_6PE0UfR5750/SBVik4EIyvI/AAAAAAAAAiA/L5K2-uGVVJ4/s1600-h/28obama.xlarge1.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_6PE0UfR5750/SBVik4EIyvI/AAAAAAAAAiA/L5K2-uGVVJ4/s320/28obama.xlarge1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5194166130906286834" /></a>
ANDERSON, Ind. — Senator Barack Obama is making subtle changes to his campaign style and message in an effort to strengthen his appeal to blue-collar voters and to avoid a defeat in Indiana that aides fear could give Democratic Party leaders further pause about his viability in a general election.On Sunday, Mr. Obama went to a Methodist church in Indianapolis, the kind of event rarely on his public schedule. He suited up for a game of basketball on Friday night before television cameras. And the big, energy-filled stadium rallies that were the bread and butter for most of his campaign have once again given way to smaller town-hall-style meetings, where he is seen talking with people and not at them.
Mr. Obama is seeking to absorb the lessons of his defeat in Pennsylvania. The changes reflect concern that he is being portrayed by Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton as distant and culturally out of touch with many working-class Democrats, a worry underlined by her lopsided victory among many of those voters in that state on Tuesday and last month in Ohio.
Mr. Obama, in an appearance with Chris Wallace broadcast over the weekend on “Fox News Sunday,” played down his problems among blue-collar voters, saying that Mrs. Clinton had done better in part because “they are less familiar with me than they are with her, and so we probably have to work harder.”
“I’ve got to be more present,” he said. “I’ve got to be knocking on more doors. I’ve got to be hitting more events. We’ve got to work harder because although it’s flipped a little bit, we’ve always been the underdog in this race.”
In interviews with several associates and aides, Mr. Obama was described as bored with the campaign against Mrs. Clinton and eager to move into the general election against Senator John McCain of Arizona, the presumptive Republican nominee.
So the Obama campaign is undertaking modifications in his approach intended to inject an air of freshness into his style.
In strategy sessions last week, advisers concluded that Mr. Obama, of Illinois, needed to do a better job reminding voters of his biography, including his modest upbringing by a single mother and one of his first jobs as a community organizer helping displaced steel mill workers. He also has to sharpen his economic message, they said, to improve his appeal and connection with voters in hope of capitalizing on the sensibilities that served him well in Midwestern states.
Mr. Obama’s advisers are also debating whether he should give another major speech intended to lay out themes of his candidacy — particularly the change he would bring to Washington — that they fear have been muddled in one of the toughest months of his campaign.
But Mr. Obama swatted aside a call by Mrs. Clinton, of New York, for a debate before the primaries on May 6 in Indiana and North Carolina. His performance in the last debate, before the Pennsylvania primary, was widely viewed as flat and uninspired, and his decision not to risk a rematch suggested a desire to try to keep his message more fully under his control.
Mr. Obama closed his Pennsylvania primary campaign by delivering a sharp scolding of Mrs. Clinton’s record. His tone has since taken a noticeable shift toward the positive, reflecting the view of some of his supporters that the attacks on Mrs. Clinton may have been a mistake.
As a result, they said, he had decided — at least for now — not to take on Mrs. Clinton directly. In one sign of that, he has spent more time trying to shore up his own shortcomings and challenges, often to the point of nearly ignoring her, as he intensified his attacks on Mr. McCain.
But questions face his campaign that were barely discussed among his advisers only a few months ago, when he seemed on the cusp of quickly winning the Democratic nomination. Is his candidacy now off the table for some white voters? Was it bound to happen anyway? Have voters’ concerns about his patriotism and religion become a permanent weight on his biography?
Mr. Obama’s aides said that they remained confident he would win the nomination. “We feel very good about the position that we are in,” said David Axelrod, his chief strategist. “But we have gotten to the position we are in by taking every week and every contest seriously.”
Still, they said they were no longer as hopeful as they once were that the contest could be resolved before June 3, the day of the last primaries. As a result, they were girding for six weeks of attacks by Mrs. Clinton and potential election defeats that could raise further questions among superdelegates — the elected Democrats and party leaders who will ultimately determine the nominee — about Mr. Obama’s strength as a general election candidate.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7813589119893086648.post-5645754603981166672008-04-28T11:02:00.002+05:302008-04-28T11:04:41.638+05:30Passenger Trains Collide in Eastern China<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_6PE0UfR5750/SBVh5IEIyuI/AAAAAAAAAh4/nT4uLqEtelY/s1600-h/28china.3371.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_6PE0UfR5750/SBVh5IEIyuI/AAAAAAAAAh4/nT4uLqEtelY/s320/28china.3371.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5194165379287010018" /></a>
BEIJING — A predawn collision between two passenger trains in Eastern China on Monday has killed at least 43 people and injured 247, according to Xinhua, the state news agency, making it one of the deadliest rail accidents in recent years.The two trains, one heading from Beijing to Qingdao and the other traveling between Yantai and Xuzhou, collided at 4:40 a.m. in the town of Zibo, Shandong Province.
Witnesses said one train derailed at a bend and then struck the other, throwing at least ten cars into a ditch. Wire reports quoted a rail official saying that a new timetable introduced on Monday might have contributed to the crash.
Last September, a collision involving two trains took place on the same line, although there were no deaths. In January, 18 track workers were killed on the Beijing-Qingdao route after they were struck by a train traveling 75 m.p.h. in the dark.
Chinese newspapers frequently report railway fatalities, although most of them involve small numbers of deaths from collisions between trains and vehicles at track crossings.
China has one of the world’s most heavily used rail systems. In recent years, at least $100 billion has been spent on improvements and expanded service.
Reached by phone on Monday morning, hospital officials in Zibo said the injured began arriving around 5 a.m. with about 100 ambulances ferrying the injured to local hospitals.
A medical worker at the People Liberation Army’s No. 148 Hospital said more than 82 of the injured had been brought to the hospital and that family members had begun arriving by late morning.
An emergency room worker at Zibo Central Hospital said 40 patients were being treated there.
“Now the situation of patients is stable,” she said. “Some have lower back fractures, some have fractures to the chest and some have broken legs.”Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7813589119893086648.post-86337975514613749592008-04-28T11:01:00.003+05:302008-04-28T11:02:07.545+05:30Harbhajan's day of reckoning on Monday<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_6PE0UfR5750/SBVhSIEIytI/AAAAAAAAAhw/U6DvpMSmcgY/s1600-h/photo.cms.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_6PE0UfR5750/SBVhSIEIytI/AAAAAAAAAhw/U6DvpMSmcgY/s320/photo.cms.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5194164709272111826" /></a>
NEW DELHI: With Match Referee Farokh Engineer pledging that "We are not going to sweep things under the carpet", temperamental off-spinner Harbhajan Singh will have his day of reckoning on Monday when he appears at a disciplinary hearing to explain his slapping Indian team-mate S Sreesanth, an offence for which he could get a minimum punishment of a suspension for five Test or 10 ODI matches.
Harbhajan, who slapped Sreesanth at the end of the Indian Premier League (IPL) match at Mohali on Friday, would appear before Engineer, former India wicket-keeper, at 1pm here and has already been suspended on the basis of the video footage of the incident. He has been served a show cause notice and asked to explain his behaviour.
"From the Mumbai Indians, (coach) Lalchand Rajput will be specifically present at the hearing as asked by the adjudicator. Harbhajan Singh, his vice captain and team manager will also be present," the organisers said in a statement.
"From the King's XI Punjab - complainant Neil Maxwell, Yuvraj Singh the captain and S Sreesanth will be present."
Both the side can also bring in other witnesses, if they wish, the statement read.
IPL Chairman and Commissioner Lalit Modi will also be present on the occasion.
Although Harbhajan is facing a very serious charge, behind-the-scene efforts are being made to ensure that he gets as light a punishment as possible.
Those involved in such efforts take the line that the off-spinner was "provoked" and that Sreesanth himself was no stranger to controversies.
Immediately after the slapping incident, efforts were made to bury it. Even Sreesanth said that it was a "hand shake on the wrong side" and an arrogant Harbhajan, who initially refused to even talk about it, finally admitted that he had "pushed" the Keralite which had "hurt" him.
Meanwhile, Engineer has already made it clear that the inquiry would be conducted as per the ICC Code of Conduct and a decision will be taken in the interest of the game.
As per the ICC Code of Conduct, slapping a fellow player constitutes a level 4 offence and while it could lead even to a life ban or a minimum ban of five Tests to 10 ODIs.
He also said that he would consider video evidence as well to find the truth.
"We are not going to sweep things under the carpet. The complaint has to be carefully examined before any decision is made. Everything possible will be done to adjudicate it immediately," Engineer said.
"I have already started the process and will be summoning all concerned and will also seek any video evidence recorded by the host broadcaster namely TWI," he added.
Two of India's most volatile cricketers figured in the row, which apparently started after Sreesanth said "hard luck" to Harbhajan, who was in foul mood following the Mumbai team's third successive loss.
Sreesanth's comment made Harbhajan lose his temper and the spinner struck Sreesanth beneath his eyes, which had the pacer in tears.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7813589119893086648.post-66947926712143784492008-04-28T10:55:00.002+05:302008-04-28T10:58:54.759+05:30PSLV-C9 blasts off from Sriharikota<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_6PE0UfR5750/SBVgioEIysI/AAAAAAAAAho/EZfOJmxdRzk/s1600-h/images.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_6PE0UfR5750/SBVgioEIysI/AAAAAAAAAho/EZfOJmxdRzk/s320/images.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5194163893228325570" /></a>
SRIHARIKOTA: India's PSLV-C9 blasted off into space, carrying ten satellites including the country's latest remote sensing satellite CARTOSAT-2A, from ISRO's Satish Dhawan Space Centre here on Monday. ( Watch )
Scientists cheered as the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, in its thirteenth flight, soared into the clear sky in a perfect lift off at 9.23 am from the second launch pad.
Besides the 690 kg CARTOSAT-2A, the PSLV is also carrying ISRO's Indian Mini Satellite-1 (IMS-1), weighing 83kg, and eight nano satellites built by universities and research institutes in Canada and Germany.
While the CARTOSAT-2A, carrying state-of-the-art panchromatic camera (PAN), will be used for mapping purposes and management of natural resources, the IMS-1 will be used as a platform for trying out advanced technology in future launches.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7813589119893086648.post-89626860384848298692008-04-28T10:54:00.002+05:302008-04-28T10:55:52.434+05:30Urban miners seek gold in mobiles<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_6PE0UfR5750/SBVf0IEIyrI/AAAAAAAAAhg/pqj7HE0DRaU/s1600-h/photo.cms.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_6PE0UfR5750/SBVf0IEIyrI/AAAAAAAAAhg/pqj7HE0DRaU/s320/photo.cms.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5194163094364408498" /></a>
HONJO: Thinking of throwing out your old cell phone? Think again. Maybe you should mine it first for gold, silver, copper and a host of other metals embedded in the electronics — many of which are enjoying near-record prices.
It's called "urban mining", scavenging through the scrap metal in old electronic products in search of such gems as iridium and gold, and it is a growth industry around the world as metal prices skyrocket.
The materials recovered are reused in new electronics parts and the gold and other precious metals are melted down and sold as ingots to jewellers and investors as well as back to manufacturers who use gold in the circuit boards of mobile phones because gold conducts electricity even better than copper.
"It can be precious or minor metals, we want to recycle whatever we can," said Tadahiko Sekigawa, president of Eco-System Recycling Co which is owned by Dowa Holdings Co Ltd.
A tonne of ore from a gold mine produces just 5 grams of gold on average, whereas a tonne of discarded mobile phones can yield 150 grams or more, according to a study by Yokohama Metal Co Ltd, another recycling firm. The same volume of discarded mobile phones also contains around 100 kg of copper and 3 kg of silver, among other metals.
Recycling has gained in importance as metals prices hit record highs. Recycling electronics makes sense for Japan which has few natural resources but does have tens of millions of old cell phones and other obsolete consumer electronic gadgets thrown away every year. "To some it's just a mountain of garbage, but for others it's a gold mine," said Nozomu Yamanaka, manager of the Eco-Systems recycling plant where mounds of discarded cell phones and other electronics gadgets are taken apart for their metal value.
The scrap electronics and other waste is first sorted and dismantled by hand. It is then immersed in chemicals to dissolve unwanted materials and the remaining metal is refined.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7813589119893086648.post-2064114170148901452008-04-28T10:53:00.001+05:302008-04-28T10:54:21.863+05:30Austrian man imprisoned daughter for 24 yrs, fathered 7 kidsAUSTRIA: An Austrian woman has told police that she was held prisoner in a cellar for almost 24 years by her father, who repeatedly raped her and fathered at least seven children.
Police, who were still trying to piece together details of the case, identified the woman as 42-year-old Elisabeth F.
They said she told authorities her father Josef, who had abused her since she was 11, had lured her into the basement of the block where the family lived in Amstetten in 1984, and drugged and handcuffed her before locking her up in a windowless dungeon.
It was assumed she had disappeared voluntarily when her parents received a letter from her saying they should not search for her.
Police said Josef was in custody but refused to speak about the allegations.
His wife Rosemarie had been unaware of what had happened.
Elisabeth gave birth to seven children, one of whom died shortly after being born, according to police.
They said three of her younger children were each left in the house, the first accompanied by a letter saying Elisabeth was unable to care for the baby herself. All were taken in by Josef and his wife as foster or adopted children.
"She had been abused continuously during the 24-year-long imprisonment," the statement said. "This led to six children."
The two oldest children, aged 18 and 19, as well as the youngest aged 5 had been locked up with their mother since birth and had never seen sunlight or received any education, police said at a news conference on Sunday.
The case only came to light when the oldest child became seriously ill and was taken to hospital in Amstetten.
"A 19-year-old girl was dropped off at the Amstetten hospital last weekend," a police spokesman said. "The girl is seriously ill and is fighting for her life."
Doctors appealed to the girl's mother, who at that time was believed to have disappeared, to come forward to provide more details about the daughter's medical history.
Josef then brought Elisabeth and her remaining two children out of the dungeon, telling his wife that their "missing" daughter had chosen to return home, police said.
After questioning and assurances that she would have no further contact with her father, Elisabeth agreed to make a "comprehensive statement"," they added.
Rosemarie, as well as Elisabeth and her children were receiving psychological counselling. DNA samples of all those involved were taken and would be analysed, police added. The case is reminiscent of that of Austrian Natascha Kampusch, who spent eight year locked up in a windowless cell before dashing to freedom in August 2006.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7813589119893086648.post-3592061052661017572008-04-26T10:13:00.002+05:302008-04-26T10:15:05.834+05:30China Says It Is Ready to Meet Dalai Lama Envoys<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_6PE0UfR5750/SBKzQoEIyiI/AAAAAAAAAf8/KAWLiM0tPp4/s1600-h/nepal-tibet.190h.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_6PE0UfR5750/SBKzQoEIyiI/AAAAAAAAAf8/KAWLiM0tPp4/s320/nepal-tibet.190h.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5193410418525653538" /></a>
BEIJING — China appeared to bend to international pressure on Friday as the government announced it would meet with envoys of the Dalai Lama, an unexpected shift that comes as Tibetan unrest in western China has threatened to cast a pall over the Beijing Olympics in August. China’s announcement, made through the country’s official news agency, provided few details about the shape or substance of the talks on the politically explosive issue of Tibet, but said discussions would begin “in the coming days.” The breakthrough comes as Chinese officials have pivoted this week and moved to tamp down the domestic nationalist anger unleashed by the Tibetan crisis and by the protests along the route of the international Olympic torch relay.
“In view of the requests repeatedly made by the Dalai side for resuming talks, the relevant department of the central government will have contact and consultation with Dalai’s private representative in the coming days,” said an unidentified Chinese official, according to Xinhua, the official news agency.
Whether talks would have any substance or impact is open to question.
The timing of China’s announcement suggests that the ruling Communist Party hopes to defuse the international criticism that has mounted since violent protests erupted March 14 in Lhasa, capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region, and then spread to other Tibetan areas of Western China. Chinese officials blame Tibetan rioters in Lhasa for the deaths of at least 18 civilians and one police officer, but Tibet’s government in exile in India has made unverified claims that Chinese security forces have killed more than 140 Tibetans.
For weeks, Chinese officials have castigated the Dalai Lama and blamed him for orchestrating the protests. The Dalai Lama has denied any involvement.
The state news media announced the Chinese decision on Friday, shortly after Prime Minister Wen Jiabao met with José Manuel Barroso, president of the European Union’s executive arm. Mr. Barroso called the announcement encouraging and said China appeared prepared to discuss all issues except sovereignty.
“If the concern of the Dalai Lama is, as he has always stated, respect of cultural identity, religious identity and autonomy inside China, I believe, I believe, there’s real room for a dialogue,” he said, according to The Associated Press.
The Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, was returning to India from the United States on Friday. He has repeatedly called for renewed talks with Chinese officials and last month sent a letter to China’s president, Hu Jintao. Earlier this month, he hinted in Seattle that a back-channel discussion was already under way. On Friday, his spokesman, Tenzin Taklha, said, “Since His Holiness is committed to dialogue, we would welcome this.”
The spokesman added that the Dalai Lama had not yet received any official communication from China. “We also have to look at when the offer does officially arrive,” he said from Dharamsala, India, the seat of the Tibetan government in exile. “We have to look at conditions they are talking about.”
For weeks, international leaders, including President Bush, have called on China to resume a dialogue with envoys of the Dalai Lama, and described him as a man of peace. The two sides held six prior rounds of discussions that began in 2002, but broke off last summer. Those talks were focused primarily on whether the Dalai Lama would be allowed to return to China.
In Europe, criticism of China’s actions is particularly strong, as several government leaders have announced they will not attend the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games. Anti-China protesters caused violent disruptions to the Olympic torch relay in London and Paris.
“I believe the important question is whether China is doing this as a public relations maneuver to respond to international pressure before the Olympic Games,” said Wang Lixiong, a scholar in Beijing who has criticized government policy in Tibet. “They want the Dalai Lama to help them relieve pressure before the Olympics. But is it a sincere move, or just a public relations move?”
Shi Yinhong, a professor of international relations at People’s University in Beijing, said the Chinese government did not want the talks to be “interpreted as a concession under duress.” He predicted that any discussions would be unlikely to bring meaningful breakthroughs.
“I doubt that both sides will change their fundamental positions,” Mr. Shi said. “If there is dialogue, this is dialogue for the sake of dialogue. Maybe both sides only want to impress the Western audience.”
Prime Minister Gordon Brown of Britain and Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany have announced that they will not attend the opening ceremony of the Games on Aug. 8 and never intended to.
The French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, who has raised the possibility of skipping the opening ceremonies, said in a live interview on national television on Thursday night that as France took the six-month leadership of the European Union in July, he wanted to find a unified European stand on the Games.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7813589119893086648.post-88923469450206646742008-04-26T10:11:00.002+05:302008-04-26T10:12:58.081+05:30Questions Linger on Scope of Iran’s Threat in Iraq<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_6PE0UfR5750/SBKyxIEIyhI/AAAAAAAAAf0/ellLEjW83aA/s1600-h/mullen.190v.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_6PE0UfR5750/SBKyxIEIyhI/AAAAAAAAAf0/ellLEjW83aA/s320/mullen.190v.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5193409877359774226" /></a>
WASHINGTON — The United States has gathered its most detailed evidence so far of Iranian involvement in training and arming fighters in Iraq, officials say, but significant uncertainties remain about the extent of that involvement and the threat it poses to American and Iraqi forces.
Some intelligence and administration officials said Iran seemed to have carefully calibrated its involvement in Iraq over the last year, in contrast to what President Bush and other American officials have publicly portrayed as an intensified Iranian role.
It remains difficult to draw firm conclusions about the ebb and flow of Iranian arms into Iraq, and the Bush administration has not produced its most recent evidence.
But interviews with more than two dozen military, intelligence and administration officials showed that while shipments of arms had continued in recent months despite an official Iranian pledge to stop the weapons flow, they had not necessarily increased.
Iran, the officials said, has shifted tactics to distance itself from a direct role in Iraq since the American military captured 20 Iranian operatives inside Iraq in December 2006 and January 2007. Ten of those Iranians remain in American custody.
Since then, Iran seems to have focused instead on training Iraqi Shiite fighters inside Iran, though the exact number remains unclear. Some officials said only handfuls of fighters at a time had recently trained in Iran. At the same time, Iran has sought to retain political and economic influence over a variety of Shiite factions, not just the most extremist militias, known as “special groups.”
“They don’t want to be identified with activities that might be seen by the international community as illegitimate,” a senior official familiar with the intelligence about Iran said in an interview.
Iran has sought to spread its influence inside Iraq not only by its support to militias, officials said, but also through legitimate economic assistance, in particular across the oil-rich Shiite south.
The Iranians also support a number of Shiite parties and militias — including providing weapons to militias fighting the Shiite-led government in Baghdad as well as to militias supporting that government.
For weeks, Mr. Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and the top American officials in Iraq have portrayed Iran as a significant and growing threat to the American war effort in Iraq.
In particular, they have cited an intensified barrage of Iranian-made rockets hitting the Green Zone in Baghdad — including attacks during a visit by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice — that have killed Americans and Iraqis.
None of the officials interviewed disputed the notion that Iran sought to undermine American interests in Iraq, but in recent weeks the administration has sought to emphasize the threat by citing new evidence. The interrogations of four Iraqi Shiite militia commanders, for example, have provided new details about the extent of training conducted by the Quds Force of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, officials said.
Still, the officials offered an assessment of Iranian involvement that was more complicated and nuanced than public statements by Mr. Bush and other officials, including Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates, who said at a news conference this week that “what Iranians are doing is killing American servicemen inside Iraq” by providing training and weapons to Shiite fighters.
Two weeks ago, Mr. Bush cited Iran as a primary justification in his announcement that he would halt further withdrawals of American troops in Iraq after the level reaches 140,000 this summer. He said an American withdrawal “would embolden its radical leaders and fuel their ambitions to dominate the region.”
At the White House, the Pentagon, the intelligence agencies and the military headquarters in Baghdad, officials declined to detail publicly the extent of Iran’s support for fighters in Iraq, referring instead only in broad terms to training, equipping and financing Shiite militias.
But in the wake of his briefings to Congress on April 8 and 9, Gen. David H. Petraeus, the senior commander, ordered his subordinates to prepare a public dossier on Iranian involvement as part of the administration’s efforts to expose Iran’s covert activities and sustain support for the war, which is increasingly unpopular at home.
On Capitol Hill, General Petraeus said Iranian-backed militias could “pose the greatest long-term threat to the viability of a democratic Iraq.”
Publication of the dossier — which includes pages of charts and photographs of seized Iranian-made weapons — has been widely expected but has now been delayed while the government of Iraq’s prime minister, Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, confronts Iran diplomatically with new evidence of Iranian assistance to Shiite militias, one of the officials said.
The administration’s focus on Iran has raised alarms among the war’s staunchest critics, who accuse the White House of overstating the threat and laying the groundwork for military action against Iran.
Senator Dianne Feinstein, a Democrat from California who has called for opening talks with Iran, said that while she believed that there was evidence that Iran was aiding Shiite militias, she worried about the tenor of the administration’s latest warnings.
“This is not a new thing,” she said of Iran’s involvement. “Why all of a sudden do the sabers start to rattle?”Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7813589119893086648.post-39495695239951954432008-04-26T10:10:00.001+05:302008-04-26T10:11:17.775+05:30Harvard gets record $100m gift from RockefellerBOSTON: Philanthropist David Rockefeller donated a record $100 million to Harvard University's undergraduate programme, the largest gift by a Harvard alumnus in the history of the oldest US college.
About $70 million will be used to expand Harvard's student travel and study abroad programmes and $30 million will go to arts education, the Cambridge, Massachusetts, school said in a statement on Friday.
Rockefeller, 92, the last surviving grandchild of billionaire oil tycoon John Rockefeller, is listed by Forbes magazine as one of the 150 wealthiest Americans, with an estimated fortune of $2.7 billion.
He graduated in 1936 from Harvard College, the school's undergraduate arm.
"Harvard opened my eyes and my mind to the world," Rockefeller said in a statement. "It was because of Harvard's language requirement that I spent the summer of 1933 in Germany and saw firsthand the ominous rise of fascism. And it was at Harvard that I first studied art history," the noted art collector said.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7813589119893086648.post-3974928660465408532008-04-26T10:08:00.004+05:302008-04-26T10:10:03.069+05:30Falsely implicated for rape, he's still in jailPUNE: "Do only girls have reputation and dignity? Don't boys have them too," asks Pushpa Muralidhar Bhise (48), mother of Sagar (19), who was falsely implicated by a minor for raping her.
Sagar was arrested on March 17 after the minor girl from Wadgaonsheri alleged that he and three of his friends raped her in a house in Dehu Road. The police had also detained another minor following communal pressure as the girl belonged to a minority community.
The girl confessed later that she had filed a false complaint against Sagar and his friends just to hide the fact that she had gone out with her boyfriend. Her boyfriend has now been arrested on charges of abduction and raping a minor.
Since that day Sagar's mother has been spending sleepless nights as her son is languishing in jail despite being innocent. To her relief, Sagar was granted bail by a sessions court on Friday, but getting him out will take some more time.
Police inspector (crime) Sunil Deshmukh of the Yerawada police station said, "Sagar's lawyer has sought bail for him because the process of releasing him is bound to take time. The release process, under sections of the code of criminal procedure (CrPC), will be filed after the investigations are over," he said.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7813589119893086648.post-60316208211452619072008-04-26T10:08:00.002+05:302008-04-26T10:08:40.968+05:30Chaotic torch relay ends in JapanNAGANO: The Japanese leg of the Olympic torch relay ended on Saturday after completing a four-hour course amid protests and scuffles that injured at least four people, witnesses said.
Pro-Chinese supporters and protesters kicked and punched one another during the relay, in incidents that injured at least four Chinese.
A demonstrator, whose nationality was unclear, kicked at the pro-Chinese crowd and Chinese supporters charged with flagpoles until Japanese police broke up the clash near the main train station here, an AFP photographer said.
One young man, who appeared to be Chinese, was seen on the ground with bloody cuts on his forehead as supporters wrapped a Chinese flag around him.
It was one of the most serious of a string of incidents throughout Japan's leg of the worldwide relay in the central mountain town.
Chinese students, who outnumbered protesters, were seen surrounding the demonstrators who waved Tibetan flags, including at the relay's final point.
One of the four injured was taken to a hospital for cuts to his forehead, according to police and fire department officials. None of the injuries were considered serious.
Two protesters were arrested for bursting onto the street in attempts to disrupt the relay. Police said one was Japanese and the other from another Asian country.
The non-Japanese man who was arrested was heard screaming at the top of his lungs in English, "Free Tibet!", as police tackled him down and carried him away.
Demonstrators also threw trash, an egg and flares towards the torch at different points, briefly holding up the relay. No arrests were reported in those incidents.
More than 3,000 police were deployed in Nagano, the site of the 1998 Winter Olympics, which has raised security to a level usually accorded to Emperor Akihito.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7813589119893086648.post-60721960582499977592008-04-25T07:36:00.002+05:302008-04-25T07:37:34.524+05:30ISRO to launch 10 satellites in one go<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_6PE0UfR5750/SBE81IEIyQI/AAAAAAAAAds/cad5Fu6fjpM/s1600-h/images.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_6PE0UfR5750/SBE81IEIyQI/AAAAAAAAAds/cad5Fu6fjpM/s320/images.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5192998728730462466" /></a>
MUMBAI: For the first time in ISRO's four-decade history, it will launch an Indian mini-satellite — IMS-1 — on April 28.
The highly-proven polar satellite launch vehicle will also carry a 690-kg Cartosat-2a remote sensing satellite and eight nano satellites—-a first for simultaneous launch of 10 satellites.
"ISRO has developed and designed the 83-kg mini satellite. The launch is to try new technologies and also miniaturisation," an ISRO official told TOI from Bangalore. "It will have a two-year life span and will operate at an altitude of 635 km. The data will be available to developing countries."
The eight nano satellites are built by universities and research institutions in Canada and Germany. The satellites weigh 3 kg to 16 kg, the total weight being about 50 kg.
The much-awaited lift-off is scheduled for 9.20 am on April 28 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota. It will be the 13th flight of the PSLV.
The mini satellite carries two optical payloads consisting of what is known as a multispectral camera and a hyperspectral camera.
The resolution of the multispectral camera is 37 metres and that of the hyperspectral camera is 506 metres. The data from the mini satellite can be picked up by developing nations using "very little equipment", said the ISRO official.
The mini satellite will serve initially as a platform for experimenting new remote sensing technologies. The launch of a mini satellite is significant as miniaturisation is expected to play an important role in future space missions.
The Cartosat-2a, which will be used for mapping, will be placed in orbit first, followed a few seconds later by the mini satellite. Then, the foreign nano satellites will go into orbit one after the other at an interval of a few seconds.
"This exercise will be tricky because the satellites have to be placed in orbit at the right time and at the right angle," said the official.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7813589119893086648.post-5540913535448127612008-04-25T07:31:00.002+05:302008-04-25T07:33:30.967+05:30Warne showed the way!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_6PE0UfR5750/SBE754EIyPI/AAAAAAAAAdk/jJhL3fAL3KI/s1600-h/photo.cms.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_6PE0UfR5750/SBE754EIyPI/AAAAAAAAAdk/jJhL3fAL3KI/s320/photo.cms.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5192997710823213298" /></a>
HYDERABAD, PTI: Andrew Symonds' fastest hundred went in vain as Rajasthan Royals notched up a thrilling three-wicket win over Deccan Chargers in their Indian Premier League encounter on Thursday.
Shane Warne (22) repaid Symonds in the same coin by hitting him for two successive sixes in the final over to script his team's victory.
Chasing 215 to win, Royals overhauled the target with a ball to spare with Warne coming up with a 22-run cameo off just nine balls.
Requiring 17 runs off the final over, Warne wielded willow to great effects as he twice hit Symonds over the ropes to seal a nail-biting win. Royals made a befitting reply through Yousuf Pathan (61) Greame Smith (71) and Mohammad Kaif (34).Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7813589119893086648.post-65681379327529946242008-04-25T07:29:00.002+05:302008-04-25T07:31:53.229+05:30Master Blaster Tendulkar turns 35<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_6PE0UfR5750/SBE7fYEIyOI/AAAAAAAAAdc/5KuBX0lW4-Q/s1600-h/photo.cms.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_6PE0UfR5750/SBE7fYEIyOI/AAAAAAAAAdc/5KuBX0lW4-Q/s320/photo.cms.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5192997255556679906" /></a>
Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar, icon of the cricketing world, turned 35 on Thursday.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7813589119893086648.post-24256105902700264042008-04-25T07:28:00.001+05:302008-04-25T07:29:48.435+05:30Grain pain: Rationing in US as rice gets priceyWASHINGTON: Some outlets have begun rationing rice, the price of wheat flour has gone through the roof, there's no butter on store shelves, and gas at the pump is at an all-time high.
The usual developing country woes from Asia, Africa, and Latin America?
Try again. These are stories from the United States and Japan, the world's most advanced nations that bespeak prosperity and plenitude. Astonishing accounts of panic buying and rationing are surfacing from Tokyo to New York as world leaders are breaking out in cold sweat over tightening food supply chain.
On Wednesday, two of America's largest warehouse chains -- Wal-Mart's Sam's Club and rival Costco --imposed limits on purchase of rice, citing panic buying amid tightening supplies and rising prices.
Some Indian and Asian grocery stores also reported a run on rice as the perceived worldwide food shortage continued to make headlines, fed by the 24-hour news cycle.
Meanwhile, Japan, one of the world largest food importers, announced that it had exhausted its annual grain budget with two months remaining even as the country ran out of butter -- both as a consequence of rising prices and shortage of supply from countries such as Kazakhstan and Australia.
Assurances by US producers and grain analysts that there was enough cereal in the pipeline did little to arrest the panic in a country where forecast of a few inches of snow is enough to clear out the supermarket shelves. The tabloid New York Post story on the subject was headlined: Pain, No Grain.
Ironically, amid all this vexation, it was news from India that calmed the markets a bit.
The announcement from New Delhi that India would produce a bounteous harvest of wheat (and rice) this coming summer beat back wheat prices to a six-month low in the US market. With the US acreage under wheat also improving under good weather conditions, the International Grains Council has forecast a seven per cent increase in global wheat production.
India is now the world's second largest producer of both wheat and rice, and but for its appalling storage and distribution systems that wastes more than ten per cent of its harvest, it is in a position not only to feed itself but also help other countries.
In an interview to the Times of India earlier this week, Nobel laureate Dr Normal Borlaug, father of India's Green revolution, said there was still plenty of upside to food production in India and there was no need for panic.
"The only thing that has held back higher grain production is complacency. New techniques and technology is available to increase food production," Dr Borlaug said.
But that will take some time to kick in. For now though, it is panic stations from Tokyo to San Francisco, not to speak of Philippines to Haiti, where there have been reports of foot riots going beyond hoarding and rationing.
In fact, it is India's restriction on export of all rice, except for basmati, that is being blamed in part for the rice stampede. Other major rice producing countries such as China, Thailand, and Vietnam have also banned exports as they seek to first meet local demand. Similar action has followed among major wheat producing nations such as Ukraine and Kazakhstan.
The consequences of the developing world's mantra of feed-your-own-first has not been happy for the US, which has diverted some of its grain to bio-fuels, and Japan, which is the world's biggest net food importer. On Wednesday, Tokyo announced that it will ask the World Trade Organization as early as next week to introduce rules to prevent countries from restricting exports of wheat, rice and other grains.
Whether the move is a recipe for a new food fight in the international arena amid what appears to be needless panic is something that will unravel over the next few weeks.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0