India News

Mumbai: Nationalist Congress Party chief and Union Minister Sharad Pawar on Sunday succeeded in persuading Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray that the latter’s party will neither disrupt the Indian Premier League’s third edition nor it will affect the Australian players’ participation in it. 

 

On Sunday, Pawar visited Bal Thackeray and appealed for withdrawal of Shiv Sena’s threat to Australian players’ participation in the Indian Premier League’s third season.

 

Pawar reportedly sought Bal Thackeray’s cooperation for keeping politics away from sports and allow trouble-free organization of the upcoming mega event.

 

Sharad Pawar, who is also Board of Control for Cricket in India chief, visited “Matoshree”, the home of Bal Thackeray, in the evening and the two leaders spent about two hours together.

 

However, speculations were rife that Pawar, currently facing criticism from nearly all quarters over spiraling price rise of commodities, could be trying to come close to Shiv Sena party.

Source ANI

New Delhi: Union Home Minister P Chidambaram on Sunday clarified that no change has come in the ideology of his ministry under the present or previous United Progressive Alliance government and it remains the same.

He expressed satisfaction over the interest shown by Chief Ministers in Centre’s effort to maintain internal security.

Briefing the media at the end of Chief Minister’s conference on internal security, Chidambaram said: There is no change in the ideology of the Home Ministry. It was same during UPA I and continuing in UPA II.”

“The Home Ministry is following secular, non-discrimination and pro-Human Rights ideology, if that favours States then all States have taken the matter of internal security seriously,” he added.

Chidambaram said: “I am happy that for the first time both Centre and the States are not only on the same page but also they are reading the same song when it comes to internal security.”

“I think this a big achievement in itself,” he added.

Commenting over repeated rejection of Gujarat Control of Organised Crime Act (GUJCOCA) by the Home Ministry, Chidambaram said: “If an Act passed by the State Government is not in accordance with the last expression of the Parliament, then it will be rejected.”

Validity to the confession before the investigating officer and giving more stress to the views of Public Prosecutor were in the Prevention of terrorism Act (POTA). But POTA has been repealed, Chidambaram said.

“When the Maharashtra anti terror law got the signature of the President of India the POTA was the last expression of the Parliament. But the present expression of the parliament doesn’t have POTA clauses in its mind, so the Home Ministry recommended to the President of India in accordance with the last expression of the parliament, Chidambaram added.

The conference discussed the police modernisation process in detail and most of the states expressed willingness to increase the budgetary allocation under the head “Police.”

“We brought to the notice of the states that the budgetary allocation made under the head Police is very meagre and they acknowledged the fact and assured to correct it,” Chidambaram said.

Police strength remains an acute problem to the country.

As on January 2009 the total number of police personnel actually in place in all States and Union Territory s was 14,70,837. 

It increased to 15,04,153 by September 2009 and is projected to increase to 15,81,439 by March 2010.

“About 1,10,000 police personnel have been or will be recruited in a period of 15 months that signals a positive response to the trauma of 26/11, and kindly note that we are filling the vacancies which are neglected from the last five to six years so it will take time,” Chidambaram said.

“Many states have assured to achieve Zero Vacancy” at the earliest, Pondichery already achieved it, Gujarat assured to achieve it by March and Maharashtra by the end of this year,” he added

Chidambaram informed that the Centre has also asked the states to send the list of new arms to be procured, so that the Home Ministry can giver orders for the same at one time.

Source ANI

New Delhi: Foreign secretary-level talks between India and Pakistan, which are expected to take place here, will not lead to a resumption of the bilateral composite dialogue.
 
According to sources, terrorism will remain the focus of the proposed talks. Other issues related to maritime security, consular services and confidence building may also be discussed during the proposed meeting in Delhi.
 
India has proposed two dates for the talks. Sources told ANI that New Delhi wants the dialogue to take place on either 18th February or 25th February. Pakistan is yet to revert back on these proposed dates.
 
Islamabad has been pressing for a resumption of the composite dialogue that was suspended immediately after the 26/11 terror attack on Mumbai. India, however, is keen on moving step by step towards what it refers to as an eventual meaningful dialogue.
 
The last and fifth round of the composite dialogue was held in July 2008.

India has consistently been urging Pakistan to take concrete steps to bring the plotters and perpetrators of 26/11 to book and to dismantle the terror infrastructure on its soil.
 
Sources here believe India has exerted enough pressure on Pakistan, driving home the point that Pakistan is a fountainhead of terrorism.
 
India is of the view that its stand of not engaging with Pakistan on a regular basis post-26/11 has been vindicated. Islamabad, New Delhi feels is on the backfoot and needs to show conclusively that it is serious about acting against terror elements operating from its soil.
 
Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao had proposed a dialogue with her Pakistani counterpart Salman Bashir over phone. Sources say India wants to open the dialogue process with Pakistan because it believes Islamabad has taken some positive steps in the recent past on the criminal investigation of culprits behind 26/11.
 
New Delhi, however, remains concerned about the increased ceasefire violations, the presence of the terror infrastructure in Pakistan and its nexus with the Pakistani establishment.
 
India is insisting that the 26/11 criminal investigation has to be transparent for considering a resumption of the composite dialogue. This includes incarceration of Jamaat-ud-Dawa and Lashkar chief Hafiz Saeed.
 
New Delhi wants to keep channels of communication with Islamabad open and, according to sources, the opposition and smaller constituents of the UPA are onboard about this.
 
Sources have said India is also ready to discuss Balochistan while reiterating that it has had no role in the region and that Pakistan''s perceptions on this are misplaced.

Source ANI

New Delhi: Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram said here on Sunday that if India was challenged by any force, it would be defeated.

Briefing media after the 3rd Chief Ministers conference on internal security in the national capital, Chidambaram said: “There are some dark forces which are challenging the integrity of the country and India is capable of defeating any challenge thrown upon it.”

Talking about talks with Pakistan, Chidamb [Left Justify] aram said: “As far as I know, the government has offered talks with Pakistan, talking with elements like Hafiz does not arise.”

Earlier on Friday in a meet in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK), the Jamaat-ud-Dawah chief Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, who is also one of the perpetrators of Mumbai attacks, had said that the only solution to problems between India and Pakistan was the "liberation of Jammu and Kashmir, failing which radical groups would resort to the "option of jehad".

Saeed, while addressing a gathering to mark ''''Kashmir Solidarity Day'''', he stated this is the message he would convey to Indian Home Minister P. Chidambaram if he came to Lahore during his upcoming visit to Pakistan.

"We are not against composite dialogues. I ask Chidambaram to first come to Lahore before going to Islamabad and hold talks with me. I will tell him a solid solution to the problems between India and Pakistan,” he stated.

Source ANI

Sundergarh (ANI): In yet another instance of Maoists'' atrocities against the poor people, a villager in Orissa’s Sundergarh district was gunned down by Maoists after suspecting him to be a police informer.

Sukru Oram was a poor labourer. He was abducted and killed by the rebels.

The incident agitated all villagers here and to express their outrage they blocked the highway with logs.

Oram''s killing was the third in the past ten days in the region.

The Maoist rebellion began four decades ago championing the cause of poor peasants in the east, but has now spread to large areas of the country, with the rebels targeting police and government property in hit-and-run attacks.

The rebels have ignored repeated calls to renounce violence and negotiate and have stepped up their attacks in recent months, prompting the government to go after them in a concerted strike.

Thousands have been killed in the Maoist insurgency, which began in the late 1960s and which Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had described as one of the gravest domestic threat to India''s internal security.

Source ANI

Bhaderwah (Jammu-Kashmir): Even as the issue of climate change has alarmed countries across the world and serious efforts are on to increase green cover everywhere, local authorities in Jammu and Kashmir’s Doda district are ignoring the widespread felling of trees.
 
Located at a height of 6,500 feet, the Bhaderwah region of Doda is a picturesque valley, with thick coniferous forests. But on all sides, illegal deforestation by the timber mafia is depleting forest cover.
 
Local people say deforestation is taking place with the connivance of forest department officials.
 
The labourers, who are involved in the felling of trees, have unhesitatingly revealed that bribes are being paid to local forest officials.
 
"We will take it to Doda for selling. (Q. The forest officials don''t prevent you?) Why should they, they get paid," Imtiyaz Bhatt, a tree feller.
 
Senior officials, however, say they are aware and would prosecute those caught red-handed.
 
"Whenever we receive any information from locals about the location where such operations are going on, we will take strict action against anyone caught, even if it is a forest official," said Bashir Ahmed, Divisional Forest Officer.
 
Trees, including pines and cedars, are among the hundreds of the trees that have been felled by the timber mafia here so far.

Source ANI

Amritsar: Folk dance lovers had great fun watching a convergence of folk artistes from across the world for the International Folk Festival here recently.
 
It was an endeavour to bring Amritsar on the global map for its well-known rich Punjabi culture.
 
The city showcased various folk cultures at the Third Amritsar International Festival, which was organised here on February 5 and 6.
 
Folk-dance artistes from various countries like Poland, Thailand, Argentina and India took part in the event.
 
Artistes from Poland presented the folk dance of Krakow and Warsaw region, while Argentinean artistes put up a spectacular display of oriental dancing.
 
The Thai folk group, Ayutthaya Folklore, presented the traditional lore of Thailand in their interpretative style. Their moves and the grandeur of their costumes remained a huge attraction among the audiences.
 
But the quintessential Punjabi flavour to the international festival was added by Bhangra and Gidda performances by students.
 
"We are here for the dance, for exchanging our culture with other groups. We were very surprised to see the reaction of the reaction of the enthusiastic public. It was very nice dancing here. It was a very nice experience," said Anna Pruskonska, a Polish participant.
 
The international folk festival was organised by Punjab Cultural Promotion Council (PCPC) with an objective to promote the heritage and culture of Amritsar across the world.
 
"This is the third International Folk Festival in Amritsar organised to promote the culture of Amritsar to the people across the world and to promote the heritage of the city globally. Hence, we started up with this international folk festival," said Davinder Singh Chhina, Director, Punjab Cultural Promotional Council (PCPC).

Source ANI

New Delhi: To raise public awareness about cancer, a large number of people of Delhi took to the streets on Sunday morning for a walkathon.
 
Organised by ‘Can Support’, a non-governmental organization working for cancer patients, the ''Walk For Life'' event witnessed participators belonging to different walks of life coming out for a social cause.
 
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s wife Gursharan Kaur and Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, flagged off the four-kilometre walk that started from Vinay Marg in Delhi.
 
U.S. Ambassador David Mulford, who came along with his wife Jeannie, a breast cancer survivor herself, joined the activists along with eminent celebrities like veteran Bollywood actress and Censor Board head, Sharmila Tagore, actor Rahul Bose and fashion designer Ritu Kumar.
 
The walkathon was organised with an aim to raise funds for free supportive care services for cancer patients in India.
 
The event also saw many cancer survivors walk shoulder-to-shoulder to send out the message that there is life after cancer.
 
The ''Walk For Life is an annual affair and every year lots of enthusiasts take part in it.
 
"In India, cancer is on the rise and most underprivileged people when they come to the hospital are already in the advanced stage. So, this particular group CanSupport, brings medicines to their houses, make sure there is a home-care team, with collaborative effort nurses, doctors, counsellors and they try. They try and make the last few days of the patient happy and pain-free as possible," said Tagore.
 
A strong supporter of the cause, actor Rahul Bose, reiterated the importance of living and dying with dignity.
 
"I believe that the biggest thing that CanSupport understands is to allow people to live with dignity and allow people to die with dignity. I think the sense of dignity is something that CanSupport understands," Bose said.
 
There are approximately 2.5 million people living with cancer in India and around one million new cases are reported every year.
 
Lung cancer is very common amongst men in cities like Bhopal, Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Kolkata, while stomach cancer is prevalent in Bangalore and Chennai.
 
Prostrate cancer is also one of the leading cause of death amongst Indian men, and in women, common types are cancers of the breast and cervix.

Source ANI

Agra: Setting an example for society, hundreds of enthusiastic students and local residents joined hands in the city of Taj Mahal in Uttar Pradesh on Sunday to launch a campaign to clean the polluted Yamuna river.
 
Organized by the Nehru Youth Centre, the week-long campaign saw scores of students from around five states participating in this drive.
 
"Our aim is to extract pollutants like polythene from the river. The factories should stop dumping their waste and contaminated water into the river. We can only offer our labour, the rest left to the authorities and the locals. We will definitely take part in this drive whenever we get a chance in the future," said Harmendra Kaur, a participant from Haryana.
 
Due to the discharge of untreated effluents upstream from open drains and barrages, the quality of water has deteriorated drastically.
 
"The drive to clean the river was started by the authorities around two to three months back. The campaign launched by the Nehru Youth Centre aimed towards bringing the students from various states together and conveying a message to the locals that one should keep Yamuna clean. They should realize that if students from different states are working towards making the river pollution-free, so the least they can do is not throw waste into the river," said Aditya Kumar, Administrator, District Youth Welfare Centre.
 
River Yamuna holds not only mythological but also historical significance to India, and is today in a pitiable state. Its water has become unfit for bathing leave alone drinking purpose.
 
According to Central Pollution Control Board, around 70 percent of the pollution in the Yamuna is human excrement.
 
A major source of pollution of the Yamuna is New Delhi, which contributes 3,296 MLD (million litres per day) of sewage into the river. Only half of the sewage produced in New Delhi is treated effectively.
 
Sewage discharge from New Delhi and major towns like Mathura have irreversibly altered its ecology. The river has been termed as incapable of supporting any aquatic life.
 
Environmentalists have also been highlighting the damage caused to human health by allowing the discharged sewage to re-enter the human food chain via the agricultural produce watered by it in Uttar Pradesh and Haryana states.
 
The Yamuna Action Plan, started in 1993 with the aim of conserving the river, has met with no success, despite billions of rupees being spent on it.

Source ANI

New Delhi: Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram on Sunday said the emergence of some militant groups in Punjab and Rajasthan were not a serious problem for the country. 

Chidambaram held a press conference following the conclusion of a day-long 3rd chief ministers’ meeting on internal security in last 13 months, in the national capital.

Replying to a question related to the emergence of militant groups in some states as was visible with the recent pasting of a poster from a Bhindarwale group at Delhi’s Gurdwara Bangla Sahib, Chidambaram said: “ There are some signs of militant groups trying to raise their heads in Punjab and Rajasthan. But both--the Director Generals of Punjab and Rajasthan--have assured that they are capable of tackling militant groups.”

“I don’t it’s a serious problem,” Chidambaram remarked.

Chidambaram also informed journalists at the press conference that the chief ministers participating in the meeting on internal security supported the ongoing fight against Naxalism in the country.

Replying to a query about Gujarat government’s demand of a separate anti-terror law of its state, Chidambaram said he didn’t think there was any need to have a separate anti-terror law for Gujarat.

Talking about the problem erupting from regionalism, Chidambaram said: “Regionalism is a threat if it is divisive.”

In the case of Maharashtra state, Chidambaram hoped Maharashtra would take care of the MNS and Shiv Sena who were playing divisive politics.

On the issue of cooperation from Bangladesh Government under Sheikh Hasina, Chidambaram informed journalists that: “the government under Shiekh Hasina has extended a splendid cooperation in apprehending leaders of insurgent groups.”

Earlier in the day, during the meeting, Chidambaram said: “Never before have the Central Government and the State Governments worked so closely together – or interacted more frequently – on matters concerning internal security.  In a way, we are responding to the demands and expectations of the people of the country.  It is the right response. In fact, it is the only response that will be seen by the people to be right.
  
Mentioning about an overview of the security situation in the country, he said: “It is a matter of satisfaction that there has been no significant terrorist attack in the last 14 months.  It is also a matter of satisfaction that there has been no significant communal incident during this period.  That, I hasten to add, does not mean that there has been no violence; or that we are not vulnerable to terrorist attacks; or that there are no triggers for communal disturbances.  We must remain vigilant.  We must continue the work on enhancing capacity.  And we must reform our institutions and systems of governance in order to pre-empt terrorist threats and prevent communal discord.”

Source ANI

New Delhi: Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram on Sunday strongly defended deployment of forces to re-establish civil administration in the Naxal affected areas.

Briefing the media at the end of Chief Ministers Conference on internal security, Chidambaram said: “Forces will be deployed in the Naxal affected areas to bring back the situation and establish civilian administration, if that is being described as a battle then we are at it.”

“Wherever there is a violence, we will deploy our forces to put down the violence,” he added.

Chidambaram said that the Centre has asked the states to initiate talks with Maoists only when they abjure arms.

Early in the day during 3rd chief ministers’ conference, Chidambaram expressed concern over Naxals not responding to Government’s offer.

“Our public offer was scoffed at and spurned by the CPI (Maoist). Hence, in consultation with the Chief Ministers of naxal affected States, we decided to boldly confront the challenge thrown by the CPI (Maoist),” he said.

“I am confident that the State Governments concerned will gradually gain the upper hand and re-establish the authority of the civil administration.  I would urge the State Governments to ensure that re-establishment of the civil administration is quickly followed by implementation of development and welfare schemes,” Chidambaram added.

Commenting on West Bengal’s request for deployment of additional forces to tackle the left wing extremism, Chidambaram said: “The Health Minister of West Bengal made this appeal on behalf of West Bengal Chief Minister, I am inclined to provide additional six companies of Central forces.”

“But first let me hold Kolkata review meeting, I will asses the situation, actions initiated by states and then I will decide on providing additional forces,” he added.

Earlier, in January, Chidambaram chaired a meeting of Chief Ministers of Chhattisgarh, Orissa and Home Minister of Maharashtra in Raipur to review the Naxal operations.

Second meeting is scheduled to be held in Kolkata on Tuesday, in which Chief Ministers of Bihar, West Bengal, Jharkhand and Orissa are expected to participate.

Chidambaram said he would continue to visit states and review the anti Naxal operations.

He ruled out including unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) in the actions against Naxals.

Source ANI

Chennai: Union Corporate Affairs Minister Salman Khursheed has said that the probe into the fiasco of Satyam Computer Services Limited is almost complete and the trial would take place in a fast track court.

 

Interacting with the media on the sidelines of a conference here Khursheed said: "The courts have been designated and I hope that it will move in the fast track as far as courts are concerned. We have given an outstanding team of lawyers headed by the Solicitor General himself.”

 

“Investigations are now complete, unless the court requires something more. And now it was for the court that what they want to do... I do hope that we will be able to show progress during this year," he added.

 

Investigating agencies had filed fresh charges against Satyam Computer Services Limited founder and five others over an accounting fraud that hit the software services company early last year.

 

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had also filed a third charge sheet against the six accused in a court in Hyderabad, where Satyam is headquartered, for filing false tax returns that resulted in loss to Satyam shareholders.

 

The CBI filed its first charge sheet against Raju and others in April last year, followed by another in November for falsification of accounts, cheating and criminal breach of trust, among other charges.

Source ANI

New Delhi: Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee has invited industrialists to invest in railways development through the public-private partnership model.

 

This is for the first time any railway minister has invited the private sector to invest in developing railway infrastructure.

 

During a pre budget parley with representatives of trade and industry, the employees union here, Banerjee said :"I said private participation in the new railway lines and that is good. For the first time we are inviting them. They will get their economic share, too.”

 

“In our country, there are so many pilgrimage areas, there are so many port areas, there are so many coalmine areas and there are so many seaside areas. So they can connect it,” she added.

 

The captains of industry flagged the perpetual problems of the unavailability of the wagons to carry goods as well as stable freight rate.

 

They also spoke of the need to simplify terms and conditions and make them in line with global practices.

 

"Many industries have said that wagons were not available, and second was long-term freight policy. These two things will be an indication for the auto industry, that''s what will happen to public-private partnership policy started with the Railway Ministry," said Dilip Chenoy, Director General of the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM).

 

The pre-Budget consultations by the Ministry are being billed as a landmark initiative and a rather unusual move on the part of Banerjee, who otherwise is more preoccupied with the politics of her home state of West Bengal.

 

Among the chambers at the conference were the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci), the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and others.

Source ANI

Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir): The ongoing shutdown in Srinagar entered its seventh day today, following the death of Wanik Farooq, a resident of Rainawari last Sunday.

Farooq was killed by a teargas shell in Rajouri Kadal last Sunday during a clash between the police and a mob.

Security arrangements have been made by the authorities at vital places to stop violent protests. The authorities have declared curfew in five areas of the city and locals are not allowed to come out of their houses.

Violence had erupted during the shutdown call given by the Hurriyat Conference to protest the death of 16-year old Farooq.

All shops, business establishments and government offices remained closed, and the traffic stayed off the roads.

But as the people of the valley were about to begin their normal life, in yet another incident, a teenager was killed allegedly by the Border Security Force (BSF) troops.

Sixteen-year-old Zahid Farooq was shot in the chest, allegedly by security forces near the office of Inspector General of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) at Kralsangri-Brain Nishat, on Friday.

The teenager later succumbed to his injuries.

Security arrangements have been made by the authorities at vital places to stop violent.

The locals are unhappy and claim that the shutdown has affected their business and daily life.

Nazir Ahmad, a local said, "We have our examination today and we are facing lot of problem because of the curfew."

Source ANI

Ranchi: The 72-hour shutdown call given by Maoists has paralyzed normal life in Jharkhand.

Maoists attacks have been reported ahead of a 72-hour shutdown call given by them from Sunday across the four states of Jharkhand, Bihar, Orissa and West Bengal.

The shutdown has affected the railways and road transportation. Many trains have been either cancelled, or have been diverted from their routes, leaving passengers stranded at railway stations for hours.

"Train and bus services have been stopped. Passengers who will now have to reach somewhere urgently will have to face great difficulties. Maoists should rethink on what they are doing," said Arvind Singh, a railway passenger.

"They are creating problems for the public. Such frequent shutdown calls by them shows that they are not in favour of the benefit of common people," added Singh.

The frequent shutdowns in the state have affected the daily earnings of the road transport agents.

Zafar, a bus agent said, "This three-day-shutdown has broken our backs. I wanted to appeal to all the Maoist rebels that they should have agreed to the talks with the state government. The ''Operation Green Hunt'' belongs to the central government."

"The common people are the ones, who are getting caught in between the Maoists and central government''s tiff. They should not have called for this shutdown because it affects those who are earning wages on a daily basis," he added.

The 72-hour shutdown call comes ahead of Union Home Minister P Chidambaram''s Kolkata visit on February 9 to monitor the security situation in the state.

The rebels have refuted repeated calls by the Centre to renounce violence and hold talks.

Source ANI

Nagpur: South African batsman Hashim Amla struck a double century as the visitors declared their first innings at 558 for six on the second day of the first Test against India here on Sunday.

Amla rode his luck and remained unbeaten on 253 off 473 deliveries with the help of 22 boundaries. His previous best score was 176 against New Zealand at Johannesburg in 2007, and now has the record for the highest score ever by a South African against India, beating A.B. de Villiers’s 217.

Jacques Kallis added to India’s misery before being dismissed at 173, and the duo in the process added 340 for the third wicket. It is now the highest third-wicket score in India and the biggest in Test cricket since the same pair put on 330 against New Zealand in 2007.

Team India’s bowling attack had some cheer as part time spinner Virender Sehwag (1-55) castled De Villiers, who made a breezy 53 off 88 deliveries.

Jean-Paul Duminy (9) failed to make an impact and was adjudged lbw to off-spinner Harbhajan Singh (2-145), even though replays suggested the ball would have passed over the stumps.

Day one hero Zahir Khan (3-96) dismissed wicketkeeper Mark Boucher (39).

In reply, Team India scored 25 for no loss at stumps with openers Gautam Gambhir (12 not out) and Sehwag (nine not out).

Source ANI

Port Blair (Andaman and Nicobar Islands): Still not ready to have women officers on board, the Indian Navy can take a hint from the Royal Malaysian Navy which has Lieutenant Farah-al-Habshi onboard a warship here for Exercise Milan, a multinational exercise witnessing the participation of 13 navies of the Asia-Pacific region.

The Indian Navy inducts women officers only in the education, logistics, law and air traffic control branches.

Hailing from an Islamic nation, a love for the seas inspired Lieutenant Farah to join the navy as a weapons officer. This should inspire the Indian Navy to improve the working environment for the women onboard its ships.

“I have no problem working onboard with men. We have separate accommodation and I share my cabin with another woman logistics officer,” said Lieutenant Farah, who is posted on Royal Malaysian Navy ship K D Perak, which is in India for Exercise Milan.

Wearing the traditional head scarf, she said there is no problem in working onboard as long as our privacy is maintained and “we have proper space to work according to guidelines of the Malaysian Navy.”

The chief of the Malaysian offshore patrol vessel K D Perak, Commander Ismail Bin Othoman, said: “Our new ships are designed keeping in mind the future. We have cabins with attached bathrooms which give privacy to the women officers onboard and to ensure that they do not have any other problems.”

“We follow proper guidelines and women cannot walk around in any room they like onboard and mix around on their will. If one goes around the ship, one can find no entry signs where men cannot go,” he added.

The K D Perak is a new generational vessel from Malaysia and was launched in 2007. The ship has a displacement of 1650 tonnes and is fitted with surface to air and surface to surface missiles.

Apart from Malaysia, the Australian, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka navies which are participating in Exercise Milan, too have separate facilities for women onboard their warships.

Exercise Milan is a biennial gathering of navies of the Indian Ocean region and is held for building friendship and mutual understanding between participating navies. This year’s multinational exercise takes place from February 4-8 at Port Blair in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Naval ships of Singapore (two ships), Sri Lanka, Thailand, Australia, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia and Myanmar, with representatives from navies of Brunei, Philippines, Vietnam and New Zealand joining Exercise Milan.

Source ANI

New Delhi: The Indian Army, it seems, is ready to induct the long-range Agni-3 missile into its defence apparatus, after it was successfully test-fired on Sunday morning from the Wheeler Island in the Bay of Bengal off the coast of Orissa.

The missile has a range capability of 3500 kilometers. It was test-fired by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Bharat Dynamic Limited.

The launch is part of the pre-induction trial for the Indian Army, which has carried out the total launch operations guided by the DRDO scientists. 

The fourth flight of the long range missile tested its full range, hit the target with pin-point accuracy and met all the mission objectives. Two down range ships located near the target tracked and witnessed the missile reaching the target accurately.

The marker pen like AGNI-3 Missile is 17 meters long and two metres in diameter. The missile is a two stage solid propellant system with a pay load capability of 1.5 tons. 

During the course of flight the missile reached a peak height of 350 kms and re-entered into the atmosphere successfully tolerating the skin temperatures of nearly 3000 degree Celsius.

The missile is equipped with a state of the art computer system, navigated with a most advanced Navigation system and guided with an innovative guidance scheme. 

The navigation system used for guidance is first of its kind. Number of Radars and electro optical tracking systems along the coast of Odisha have monitored the path of the Missile and evaluated all the parameters in real time.

Source ANI

Haridwar (Uttarakhand): Mahant Amar Bharti, a religious leader in Haridwar here has caught everybody''s attention for his unique penance at the Maha Kumbha Mela.

For the past several decades, Bharti has kept his right hand raised telling that it is a kind of penance, which was done in the past by different sages.

He says that he is just carrying forward the tradition.

"This is known as Oordhaman Tapasya (a type of penance where you devote a part of your body to the Almighty). It is something, which the saints have been doing for long; I am just continuing the tradition. It is not essential that it has a timing," said Bharti.

Bharti, who raised his hand as a part of the penance long ago, now is unable to lower it any more as the bone of his hand has deformed.

Besides the huge crowd that have gathered, even the other holy men present at the fair have equal words of praise for Bharti.

Mahant Vidyanand Saraswati said, "Since many years he is doing this, as a part of his penance, he has devoted his hand to the lord forever, it has been almost 50 years."
"Now, I guess only when his soul leaves his body, only then this penance would get effected," added Saraswati.

Devotees and holy men from all across the country pay their visits to the Maha Kumbha Mela for the mass gathering.

Source ANI

Port Blair (Andaman and Nicobar Islands): Despite tensions rising in India over the racist attacks against Indian students Down Under, the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) has said that it is not against its Indian counterpart assuming a policing role in the Indian Ocean region.

The RAN wants to have joint operations to counter threats from terrorists, pirates and other criminals in the sea lanes.

The RAN is participating in Exercise Milan hosted by India to bring together navies of the Asia-Pacific region to promote understanding and cooperation in the areas of common interest and safeguard sea lanes from poaching, piracy and terrorist activities, promote interoperability to the extent possible and engage in joint search and rescue and humanitarian operations.

Australia has sent the HMAS Glenelg to participate in Exercise Milan, which started on February 4.

“It is obvious for every country to jointly participate in exercise to counter piracy, criminal activity and terrorism,” said Lieutenant Commander Shane Doolin, the commander of the ship.

“Milan is a good example where two navies learn from each other to operate in an emergency situation. The visit so far has been fantastic. We have been continuously supported to explore the environment here,” he said.

“We are part of Indian Ocean nations and this exercise is a joint nation exercise witnessing participation of 13 navies in order to provide joint task force to counter threats appearing in the sea lanes,” said Lieutenant Commander Shane Doolin.

He added: “We are all partners in the Indian Ocean and in reality this exercise focus’ on providing humanitarian assistance and disaster relier relief as quick as possible,” he said.

The HMAS Glenelg is a next-generation ship with a crew of 25 members. The offshore patrol vessel is a newly-built ship having state of art satellite navigation system that enables the ship position to be determined with great accuracy.

Lieutenant Commander Shane Doolin said the Indian Navy has experience of combating piracy in the Gulf of Aden and the Australian Navy has maritime experience, which they can use to work together to solve the problems.

Milan 2010 will will also provide opportunities to promote understanding and camaraderie amongst the navies of the Asia-Pacific region and encourages ship visits, social interactions and cultural presentations by the participating countries.

Naval ships of Singapore (two ships), Sri Lanka, Thailand, Australia, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia and Myanmar, with representatives from navies of Brunei, Philippines, Vietnam and New Zealand joining Exercise Milan.

Source ANI

New Delhi: Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday praised Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram for their bold initiative in tackling terrorism and improving  the security scenario in the country.

 

Interacting with media on the sidelines of Chief Ministers’ Conference on internal security, Modi praised Singh for his inclusive approach on terror.

 

Modi also added that Chidambaram has been extremely swift and positive in tackling terror.

 

"Security is of prime concern in our country and there are two ways of tackling this issue. Firstly, by increasing the strength of our security forces and secondly, by increasing the judicial strength," he said.

 

“While Manmohan Singh has been in the seat of PM, these issues of terror are being tackled. Also, the Ministry of Home Affairs under P Chidambaram has been extremely positive and swift. We are now getting positive and speedier response from the Centre over terror issue," Modi added.

 

Modi’s reaction came as a surprise, as earlier this month the Union Home Ministry urged President Pratibha Patil to reject the controversial Gujarat Control of Orgnised Crime Act (GUJCOCA).

 

It has already created bitter debate between the Centre and Gujarat and turned into a political battle to make into reality.

 

Earlier Modi had blamed the Centre for not approving it because the state is running by the opposition and they don’t want to let them to take any initiative in this regard while the similar law is implemented in the Maharashtra state which ruled by the Congress Government.

 

On other hand, Home Ministry had rejected the allegations and raised objection over some points in the draft as he recommended deleting of its two provisions in the draft.

Source ANI

Balasore (Orissa): India on Sunday successfully test-fired and launched the long-range Agni-3 missile from an interim testing rangehere.

The missile, which has a range capability of 3500-kilometers, was flight tested by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) at 10:50 a.m. from Wheeler Island in the Bay of Bengal off the coast of Orissa. 

The missile hit its target with pinpoint accuracy and met all the mission objectives. Two down range ships located near the target tracked and witnessed the missile reaching its target accurately.

This was the fourth flight test in the Agni-3 series. The missile is 17 meters long and two metres in diameter. It was powered by a two-stage solid propellant system with a pay load capability of 1.5 tons. 

During the course of flight, the missile reached a peak height of 350 kilometers and re-entered the atmosphere successfully tolerating skin temperatures of nearly 3000 degree Celsius.

The missile is equipped with a state of the art computer system, navigated with a most advanced Navigation system and guided with an innovative guidance scheme.  The navigation system used for guidance is first of its kind. Number of Radars and electro optical tracking systems along the coast of Orissa monitored the path of the missile and evaluated all parameters in real time.

The launch is part of the pre-induction trial.  The Indian Army (the user) carried out the total launch operations guided by DRDO scientists. The missile will be fully inducted into the armed forces.

Mission Director Sri Avinash Chander and Project Director Dr V.G. Sekaran guided and controlled the complete missile integration and launch activities. 

The Scientific Advisor to the Defence Minister and Director General, DRDO, Dr V.K. Saraswat witnessed the launch.

Dr V.K. Saraswat and Sri Avinash Chander congratulated all scientists and employees of DRDO and industry partners for the launch.

The Agni-3 is considered India''s nuclear deterrent against China. It has been jointly developed by the DRDO and Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL).

Source ANI

Imphal (Manipur): Women in Imphal took to the streets here over reports of increasing violence against women and children.

The Conflict Widows Forum in collaboration with several non-governmental organizations organized the protest.

The protestors condemned the recent incidents of rape and murder of innocent women in the state.

They called for capital punishment for rapists and murderers.

Bimola Devi, the head of the Department of Political Science, Manipur University said, "These killings are very brutal and we strongly condemn them."

Source ANI

Nagpur: Team India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni has stood by his bowlers despite South African batsman Jacques Kallis scoring his third hundred in five Tests on the first day of the first Test at Nagpur.

Addressing the media, Dhoni said, "I think we bowled quite a disciplined line you can say and they batted very patiently and frankly speaking, there was not much for the fast bowlers. Ishant and Zaheer Khan, they did their best. I think overall it was a good flat track, a very good first day to bat also and that is why they did."

"We were fortunate to get first two wickets, Zaheer bowled very well; Mishra did the containing job throughout the day. So, overall, you can say if we could pick two more wickets, we should be thankful," added Dhoni.

He also praised Kallis, who joined the club of elite batsmen to score over 10,000 runs in Test matches.

Dhoni also justified the inclusion of West Bengal wicket keeper Wriddhiman Saha in place of injured VVS Laxman.

"We have to see our options. There were two options available - one was to push Laxman to play to play but you know with being fit close to 50 to 60 percent so it is always good to back a youngster who is at least 100 percent fit," said Dhoni.

"So we opted for Wriddhiman Saha and he was the best option available because we are not looking for five bowlers. So I think we went with the best option," he added.

By the end of the day''s play, Jacques Kallis (159) and Hashim Amla (115) remained on the crease.

Before Kallis and Amla partnered for an unbeaten 285, Zaheer Khan had reduced the tourists to 6-2 in the seventh over when he dismissed Graeme Smith and Ashwell Prince.

The duo shared an unbroken stand of 285,a South African record partnership record against India, BBC reports.

The impervious Kallis joined Sunil Gavaskar and Brian Lara with 34 Test hundreds.

Source ANI

Shikarpur (Uttar Pradesh): Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Varun Gandhi has blamed Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati for the spiralling prices of essential commodities, naming them as Ravana and Shurpanakha.

Addressing a public rally at Shikarpur in his constituency of Pilibhit, Gandhi said, "The duo of brother and sister is responsible for the price rise in the country. The pair of Ravana and Shurpanakha are causing price rise in the country. One is ruling in Delhi and another in Lucknow."

The Pilibhit MP, who is looked upon as a future of the party had earlier got a case registered against himself over his vitriolic statements against Muslim community during the last general elections.

As for Varun Gandhi''s sarcastic remarks, Ravana and his sister Shurpanakha are depicted as demons in the Hindu epic Ramayana.

Source ANI

Nashik: Goods worth millions of rupees were destroyed in the fire that broke out at a storage place of logs and wooden items at Wadala village near Nashik here.

Around ten fire tenders were rushed to the site and engaged themselves in extinguishing the rising flames.

Nisar Khan Ahmed, the owner of the godown said, "We got a call at around 11:30 a.m., when we reached this spot, we saw the godown was on fire. The reason for the fire is still not known; we don''t have enmity with anybody."

"All our lifelong savings have now been destroyed in the fire. We cannot do anything about it. If the government provides relief to us, then only we can think of starting the business again," he added.

Fortunately, no loss of life was reported.

The cause of the fire is being investigated.

Source ANI

Bhubaneshwar: Elders and leaders of various tribes in Orissa’s Kandhamal District have voiced suspicious about a European Union (EU) delegation visiting their region saying it would hamper peace and re-ignite violence.

 

The 11-member EU delegation visited Kandhamal region on Wednesday.

 

The delegation held discussions with Orissa Government officials Christian leaders and human rights activists in Bhubaneswar.

 

Addressing the media here, the tribal leaders recalled that Kandhamal was rocked by communal violence in mid-2008, sparked off by the murder of a senior Hindu leader.

 

Consequently, the area witnessed large-scale killings. Hundreds of families were forced to flee to safer locations.

 

On this score, the tribal leaders alleged that the EU team’s one-day stay at Kandhamal has started creating ripples.

 

"They have met a particular community and interacted with them. They also conducted a secret meeting. By doing this, we are predicting that Kandhamal will again become volatile. They have already sown the seeds of conflict between different faiths in the area," claimed Karendra Majhi, a tribal leader.

 

The EU delegation was supposed to visit the area to assess socio-economic cultural development after riots.

 

However, elders in Kandhamal contend that the delegation met people of only one community behind closed doors which raised many eyebrows.

 

"EUs delegation from eleven countries came to review the socio-economic development of the society after the riots. But from their programme it seems that their visit is communal. They are trying to influence the authorities, police department and judiciary,”noted Laxmikanta Das, General Secretary, Vanavasi Kalyan Ashram.

 

“This is dangerous for the internal security of the region and we are completely against this. The state government has knowingly supported them, which is highly condemnable," he added.

Source ANI

Mumbai: Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan has asserted that the state government would provide ample security measures to ensure the smooth screening of Bollywood actor Shahrukh Khan''s upcoming flick ''My Name Is Khan''.

Chavan clarified his government''s stand while reacting to the Shiv Sena''s declaration not to allow the screening of the movie.

Shahrukh Khan did not apologise for backing the participation of Pakistani cricketers in the Indian Premier League (IPL) tournament.

Chavan said, "Not only Shahrukh''s films but any film that has been certified by the Censor Board and it is being screened in any theatre in Maharashtra will be given full protection."

"People who want to go and watch it should go and enjoy it. I will also go and watch it," he added.

Unfazed by the Sena threat, the actor and owner of Kolkata Knight Riders, a franchised cricket team in the IPL, stuck to his stand that Pakistani players should have been included in the upcoming IPL and that ''Mumbai is for all Indians''.

Khan has said he has been misunderstood and he would surely meet Shiv Sena supreme Bal Thackeray.

Source ANI

Mumbai: Feb 7 (ANI): An Emirates EK 505 plane from Mumbai to Manchester was diverted to technical area Tango 5 of Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus here on Sunday after airport officials received an anonymous call that a Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) suspect was onboard inside the plane.

The flight returned 15 minutes after take off, an airport official said.

The flight that took off at 9:30 a.m. was asked to return following the call.

The caller said that a LeT suspect was seated in seat no 17f of the aircraft.

Around 350 passengers were onboard and they were deplaned for security checks.

The plane was kept in the isolation bay.

A couple was detained and is being questioned.

Investigators have not recovered anything as yet from them.

Source ANI

Manali (Himachal Pradesh): A fresh spell of snowfall brought cheers on the faces of several tourists and local hoteliers here in Manali.

The delighted hoteliers now expect an encouraging turnout of tourists, who are expected to arrive here to experience the snowfall over the next couple of weeks.

Tourists, many of whom are first timers, braved the cold winds and dipping temperatures, trudging through snow-covered roads.

Divesh, a tourist from Mumbai said that he was delighted to see the snowfall since such an enchanting moment is never witnessed in his coastal city.

"I belong to Mumbai and watching snowfall is like experiencing my biggest joy," said Divesh.

Another tourist, Ajay mentioned that he has plans to visit this paradise of place once again over the next fortnight.

"We have been to other places but we have never seen snowfall. It''s an enchanting experience and we will visit this place within 15 days once again," Ajay said.

Manali, located at an altitude of 2,000 meters and surrounded by lofty peaks doubles up as a winter gateway for tourists from adjoining plains, who rarely get the chance to experience snowfall.

Source ANI

New Delhi: The Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, on Sunday described terrorism as the biggest threat to the country, and added that internal and border security would be tightened to counter it.

"We must fight united, an attempt is being made so that all investigating agencies for together for a common purpose," Dr Singh said.

Addressing an internal security meeting of all State Chief Ministers convened by him to discuss internal security and issues related to terrorism, Dr Singh said Naxalites have emerged as a major threat to the country and have refuted all efforts for talks with the Centre.

He further said that insurgents and terror groups were also a threat to national security.

"Jammu and Kashmir, north-east bear the brunt of the terror groups," he said, adding that hostile groups acting from across the border are working to perpetrate their activities on Indian soil.

Dr Singh said the security situation affects growth; inadequate cops as well as less number of trained cops were also a reason for worry.

"We need to fill vacant police posts and states should act quick on this," Dr Singh said, adding that the country needs a safer coastline.

"We must periodically review the security system," he said.

Earlier, Union Home Minister P Chidambaram said the Centre would boldly confront all challenges thrown at it by Naxalites.

Today''s meeting was called by Dr Singh to discuss internal security and issues related to terrorism.

Source ANI

New Delhi: Union Home Minister P Chidambaram on Sunday said the Centre would boldly confront all challenges thrown at it by the Naxalites.

Addressing an internal security meeting of all State Chief Ministers, which was convened by the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, Chidambaram urged state governments to talk to Maoists groups.

He further said that all the Naxal-affected areas would be better administered in the future.

Talking about cross border terrorism, Chidambaram said: "We will defeat separatist forces in Jammu and Kashmir."

Further hinting at shortage of police officials in the country, Chidambaram said, "Around one lakh police personnel will be deployed in the next 15 months."

Today''s meeting has been called by Dr Singh to discuss internal security and issues related to terrorism.

Meanwhile, Maoists attacks have been reported ahead of a 72-hour shutdown call given by them across the four states of Jharkhand, Bihar, West Bengal and Orissa.

Source ANI

Melbourne: Indian students living in Australia have slammed Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Simon Overland’s advice that they should not work as taxi drivers and should “''look as poor as you can” to avoid being assaulted.

Overland had made the comments at an international students’ safety forum attended by about 150 people in the city on Saturday.

“Don’t display your iPods, don’t display your valuable watch, don’t display your valuable jewellery. Try to look as poor as you can,” Overland said before adding that foreign students should try to avoid living in Melbourne’s poorer suburbs where crime rates are higher.

However, Federation of Indian Students of Australia secretary Gautam Gupta blasted the advice, saying that Indians should not have to look “poor” to feel safe.

“What is he saying? Indians don’t have the right to be rich? And if they look rich, do they maybe have to get bashed? On one hand, everyone should look poor. On the other, don’t live in poor areas. I don’t understand,” The Age quoted Gupta, as saying.

He further said that taxi drivers had a right to feel safe no matter what their nationality is.

“It’s a workplace. Every workplace should be safe. I think it''s a ridiculous idea. It is blaming the worker. It is blaming the victim,” Gupta said.

Source ANI

Jharkhand/ Bihar/ West Bengal/ Orissa: Maoists attacks have been reported ahead of a 72-hour shutdown call given by them from Sunday across the four states of Jharkhand, Bihar, Orissa and West Bengal.

A railway official has been killed and a railway track has been blown up near Narganjo in Bihar.

Two other railway tracks on the Delhi-Howrah route have also been damaged affecting train services between Howrah and Delhi.

There are also reports of a railway supervisor being killed on the Jharkhand-Orissa border.

West Bengal has been put on a state of high alert after Maoists killed a CPM leader near Veerbhum.

Several trains have been cancelled and a few trains including the Ranchi Rajdhani Express have been diverted to avoid untoward incidents.

All four states are on high alert ahead of the shutdown and extra vigilance is being maintained by police stations in the Naxal-affected districts.

Additional forces of Special Auxiliary Police, Bihar Military Police and central para-military forces have also been deployed.

The shutdown has been called to protest against joint police operations in the four states.

Union Home Minister P Chidambaram is to visit West Bengal on February 9 to assess the security situation in the state.

Source ANI