K-G gas becomes an emotive issue for AP

Hyderabad
Aug 26: The allocation of gas from the Krishna-Godavari basin is slowly turning out to be an emotive issue for political parties and the people of the state.
A Congress leader from Nalgonda district, Mr G. Narayan Reddy, had first raised the demand that the state should be given the right to determine the allocation of gas.
He has organised a pada yatra from Kakinada to Zaheerabad, the 520-km course along which pipelines were being laid.
He disagreed with the decision by the Central em-powered group of ministers that the price of gas should be $4.2 per MMBTU (million metric British Thermal Units) and said the state should be given gas at a price that did not exceed production cost.
The Krishna-Godavari Gas Reserves Protection Committee has also dem-anded that the Centre should redefine the gas allocation policy by giving 50 per cent of the gas produced in the basin to Andhra Pradesh.
The former power secretary, Mr E.A.S. Sarma, found fault with the state government for not protecting the interests of Andhra Pradesh in the issue.
“For some reason, the state government chose to remain a passive spectator while both the Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) and the Central government continued to trample on the interests of the people of the state,” he said.
Local television channels have also seized the moment and are organising debates, seminars and talk shows demanding more gas to the state.
Of course, political parties including the Left and the Praja Rajyam are in the forefront demanding more gas for the state at cheaper rates.
The Praja Rajyam chief, Mr K. Chiranjeevi, is planning to conduct a dharna in East Godavari district over the issue and the Left has already started a campaign of public awareness.
“There is absolutely no rationale in the state not being given sufficient gas,” said the CPI state secretary, Mr K. Narayana. “We will fight it out in the coming days.”
The state unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party too has launched a state-wide agitation demanding fair share in K-G basin gas.
“Gas-based power plants in the state are unable to produce adequate power because of acute shortage of gas, resulting in losses to the tune of Rs 1,200 crore,” said the BJP state president, Mr Bandaru Dattatreya.
“The gas taken from the state should be given first to it.” Industralists are also expressing scepticism about the state getting its quota of gas in the backdrop of Centre’s proposal to lay a national gas grid.
“We might be starved of the gas found in the Krishna-Godavari basin if this grid takes shape in next two to three years,” said Mr Y. Harish Chandra Prasad, chairman of the Andhra Pradesh chapter of the Confederation of Indian Industries.
“As an industrialist, I feel that the state government should buck up and do something about this,” he said.

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Ponting wants another chance in 2013

Ricky Ponting was barely an hour back in Australia before he started talking about his determination to make another Ashes tour of England, as captain or not.

Ponting became only the second Australian captain to lose two Test series in England when his lineup lost the fifth Test at The Oval on Sunday to surrender the Ashes.

The 2-1 series loss plunged Australia from No. 1 to No. 4 in the Test rankings, coming on top of losses away in India and at home to South Africa, and prompted calls for Ponting's dismissal as captain.

"Having a pretty bitter and sour taste in my mouth at the end of that Test match, I'd love to be able to go back and give it one more crack," Ponting told reporters Wednesday at Sydney International Airport. "I've got to worry about that the next 12 or 18 months and see if all that hunger or commitment is still there.

"Right at the moment it most definitely is. It's probably higher right now than ever before. Who knows, 2013 might be something achievable."

The 34-year-old Ponting left his deputy Michael Clarke in England in charge of the lineup for two Twenty20 matches and the start of the limited-overs international series.

He didn't rule out the notion of the split captaincy in Test and limited-overs duties becoming permanent, saying England uses Andrew Strauss as Test skipper while Paul Collingwood leads the one-day team.

"There's absolutely no reason why that couldn't happen," Ponting said. "It has happened in the past with Australian teams.

"Those are things that need to be thought long and hard about, but if it means that I'm going to be better off for Test matches and bigger series when they come around ... "

Ponting was in charge when the hotly favored Australian team, containing bowling greats Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath, slumped to a 2-1 loss in the 2005 series in England, ending an almost two-decade domination of the Ashes.

He recovered from that by winning the International Cricket Council's player of the year awards in 2006 and 2007 and leading the Australians on a 5-0 series sweep of the return Ashes series Down Under.

Despite picking up some unenviable results as captain since the retirements of Warne, McGrath and a host of senior players, Ponting thinks he's got he best credentials to lead the team.

"I've got a lot to offer the team, as a batsman and as a captain," he said. "If it ends up getting to the point where I'm not the captain, my hunger and determination to keep playing this game are as good as ever.

"If that's with a 'c' next to my name, all well and good. If it's not, I still think I have a lot to offer, particularly a lot of younger guys who are around our set-up at the moment."

Cricket Australia and senior players have backed Ponting as captain in the face of criticism.

Ponting, Australia's leading runscorer in Test cricket, said he wasn't immune to the critics.

"Leaders are always judged on their results. I can understand those points of view being out there," Ponting said.

Ponting will return to England for the last four matches of the seven-match ODI series, then lead the team to South Africa for the Champions Trophy and then to India.

The next Test series are at home against the West Indies and Pakistan, six of just nine Tests ahead of the next Ashes series in the 2010-11 summer in Australia.

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Jayawardene and Samaraweera lift Sri Lanka

New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori became only the eighth player in history to achieve the double of 3,000 runs and 300 wickets as Sri Lanka made a steady start in the second Test on Wednesday.

The left-arm spinner, who has scored 3,329 runs, claimed his 300th wicket when he dismissed his Sri Lankan counterpart Kumar Sangakkara in the afternoon session of the first day's play.

Sangakkara, former captain Mahela Jayawardene and Thilan Samaraweera scored half-centuries as Sri Lanka went to stumps at 262-3 on a firm wicket that Vettori said "looked like a road" at the toss.

Jayawardene was unbeaten on 79 and Samaraweera was on 78, having shared a fourth-wicket stand of 147 after tight bowling by the Black Caps had kept the Sri Lankans on a tight leash.

When play began 30 minutes late due to a wet outfield, Sri Lanka plodded to 146-3 by tea before Jayawardene and Samaraweera caned the second new ball in the final session to boost the total.

Vettori, 30, joined a select band of all-rounders that includes Kapil Dev of India, Ian Botham of England, Richard Hadlee of New Zealand, Imran Khan of Pakistan, Shane Warne of Australia, Shaun Pollock of South Africa and Sri Lankan Chaminda Vaas.

He is already the most successful left-arm spinner in history, having surpassed Englishman Derek Underwood's tally of 297 wickets in the first Test in Galle last week.

Vettori, who began the match with 298 wickets, had left-handed opener Tharanga Paranavitana (19) edging his second delivery to Ross Taylor in the slips.

Sri Lanka suffered a crucial blow in the third over after lunch when Tillakaratne Dilshan, who hit 92 and 123 not out in the first Test, was dismissed for a unusually lacklustre 29.

Seamer Iain O'Brien, who had dropped a return catch off the previous delivery, made no mistake a second time as Dilshan mis-timed a drive and looped the ball back to the bowler.

Sangakkara and Jayawardene had put on 40 for the third wicket when Vettori was rewarded a second time during an unchanged 17-over spell to reach the milestone.

Sangakkara, who made 50, pulled a short ball to mid-wicket where Jacob Oram took the catch and ran to his team-mates to join in the celebrations for their captain.

Vettori claimed the second new ball as soon as it was due after 80 overs and himself bowled the first over with it, before handing it to his two main seam bowlers.

Sri Lanka made three changes from the team that won the first Test in Galle by 202 runs, leaving out all-rounder Angelo Mathews, spinner Ajantha Mendis and seamer Nuwan Kulasekara.

They were replaced by batsman Chamara Kapugedera, seamer Dammika Prasad and left-arm spinner Rangana Herath.

The Kiwis kept the same team that lost in Galle.

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Congo cargo plane crash kills six

BRAZZAVILLE: A small cargo plane crashed into a cemetery today morning, killing six people, the country's top transport official said.


The Antonov 12 cargo plane crashed south of the capital, Brazzaville, around 7 am (local time), Transport and Civil Aviation Minister Emile Ouosso said today. The victims included five Ukrainian crew members and one Congolese citizen.

"We have verified that there were six dead, five who were members of the Ukrainian crew and one Congolese," Ouosso said. The plane was at its full capacity of 20 tons, he said. He did not say what the aircraft was carrying.

The four-engine turboprop Antonov 12 is commonly used to transport cargo in Africa and in former Soviet Union.

Republic of Congo is located in Central Africa and is often overshadowed by its much larger neighbor,

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China to unveil first jumbo jet engine in 2016

SHANGHAI,CHINA: China plans to unveil its first home-made jumbo jet engine in 2016, state media reported Thursday, a major step that would
improve its chances of competing with global players Airbus and Boeing.

The target announced by AVIC Commercial Aircraft Engine Co Ltd, reported by the Oriental Morning Post, is the latest step in China's efforts to build large aircraft, including passenger jets with more than 150 seats, by 2020.

"China is expected to complete the research on its first jumbo jet engine in 2016 and begin to apply for aviation certificate from the state aviation authority," the official Xinhua news agency cited the engine maker as saying.

"We hope the home-made engine will fly together with the home-made large aircraft," Zhang Jian, general manager of the Shanghai-based AVIC Commercial Aircraft Engine Co Ltd, was quoted as saying.

The first large passenger jet, or C919, is to be manufactured by Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, or COMAC, an arm of the government-owned aviation giant China Aviation Industry Corp, AVIC.

Developing aircraft engines will help China, which now only makes military aircraft engines, break the monopoly of foreign suppliers such as GE, Rolls-Royce and the Pratt and Whitney Group, the reports said.

Although the first batch of home-made jumbo jets are likely to be powered by foreign-made engines, Chinese engines will be used in later models, Wang Zhilin, deputy general manager of the engine company, which is 40 percent held by AVIC, was quoted as telling Xinhua.

China will exhibit a model of the C919 next month at the Asian Aerospace International Expo and Congress in Hong Kong, the state-run China Daily reported Thursday.

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Russia deploys system to counter N Korean missiles

MOSCOW: Russia has deployed its most advanced S-400 Triumf anti-missile defence systems in its far eastern region to counter the threat posed by
North Korean missile tests, a top military official said on Wednesday.

"We have already deployed a battalion of the S-400 systems in Russia's Far East in order to guarantee protection from failed launches of (N Korean) missiles and to ensure that the fragments of these missiles never fall on the Russian territory," chief of the general staff, Gen Nikolai Makarov was quoted as saying by RIA Novosti.

A regular S-400 battalion comprises at least eight launchers with 32 missiles and a mobile command post, according to local military experts.

Gen Makarov, who is accompanying President Dmitry Medvedev on a tour of Mongolia, addressing a news conference in Ulan Bator said Moscow was concerned over the proximity of North Korean missile launch sites to Russia's border.

Since January the Pyongyang regime has test launched several ballistic missiles from its eastern coast. The missiles are believed to be the modification of the Soviet Scud-type fell in the Sea of Japan after travelling up to 500 kilometres.

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British women giving birth in lifts, toilets: Report

LONDON: A shortage of midwives and hospital beds is forcing thousands of British women to give birth outside maternity wards, putting the lives
of babies
and mothers at risk, a newspaper reported Wednesday.

The Daily Mail said births outside maternity wards - in locations ranging from lifts to hospital toilets - went up 15 percent last year to almost 4,000. It said hundreds of women in labour are being turned away from hospitals because they are full.

The paper quoted official information obtained by an opposition MP as showing women gave birth in ambulances, A&E departments, unspecified areas including corridors, postnatal and antenatal wards and hospital reception areas.

Babies
were born in offices, lifts, toilets and a caravan, according to the Freedom of Information data for 2007 and 2008 from 117 out of 147 trusts which provide maternity services.

Opposition Tory health spokesman Andrew Lansley, who obtained the figures, said the Labour government had cut maternity beds by 2,340, or 22 percent, since coming to power in 1997.

At the same time birth rates have been rising sharply, up 20% in some areas.

Jon Skewes, a director at the Royal College of Midwives, told the paper: "The rise in the number of births in other than a designated labour bed is a concern. We would want to see the detail behind these figures to look at why this is happening."

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Diamonds worth Rs 12 lakh stolen in Surat

Surat: Diamonds worth more than Rs 12 lakh have been stolen from a diamond polishing unit in the Varacha area of the city, police said.
The theft ocuurred on Tuesday night when four unknown persons entered the V. Bipin Kumar and Co. in the Rangnagar society of Varacha area from the terrace, said police.
According to police, the robbers tampered with the CCTV cameras inside the premises before running away with rough and polished diamonds worth more than Rs 12 lakh.
After entering the polishing unit, the robbers broke the iron safe in which the diamonds were kept.
A team of forensic experts is also examining the case.
Police said a case has been registered and investigation was on.

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Karzai widens lead over Abdullah in Afghanistan polls

KABUL: President Hamid Karzai widened his lead over his top challenger today after Afghan officials released more partial vote results. The
president's new total pushed him closer to the 50 per cent threshold that would allow him to avoid a two-man runoff.

The Independent Election Commission released its second batch of results from last week's presidential election. More will be released in coming days, and final certified results won't be ready until at least mid-September, after the dozens of serious complaints of fraud have been investigated.

Low voter turnout and the fraud allegations have cast a pall over the election. Top challenger Abdullah Abdullah has accused Karzai of widespread rigging, including ballot stuffing and voter intimidation, claims Karzai's camp has denied.

The latest returns boost Karzai's standing to 44.8 per cent. Abdullah now has 35.1 per cent. The count is based on returns from 17 per cent of polling stations nationwide, meaning the results could still change dramatically.

Before the election commission released results today, Ramazan Bashardost -- a candidate likely to come in third -- stood up at the news conference and told officials they were breaking the law by announcing results before the Electoral Complaints Commission carries out its work.

Millions of Afghans went to the polls last Thursday to vote in the country's second-ever direct presidential election. Militants launched dozens of attacks across the country, shutting down some polling sites and appearing to dampen turnout.

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To avenge Mehsud, new Taliban chief warns US of attack

PESHAWAR: Pakistan’s Taliban have threatened to avenge the death of their leader in a US strike, as experts warned on Wednesday of possible
attacks by a new leadership keen to prove its strength.

Hakimullah Mehsud late on Tuesday declared himself new chief of the feared Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militia, confirming for the first time that Baitullah Mehsud — insurgent leader since 2007 — was killed this month. Pakistani and US officials have been saying for weeks that Baitullah Mehsud died when a missile from a US drone aircraft hit his father-in-law’s home on August 5, but Taliban officials had insisted the warlord was simply ill.

“He remained unconscious after being seriously injured in a drone attack and died on Sunday,” Hakimullah Mehsud said. On Wednesday the other top contender for Taliban leadership, Wali-ur Rehman, backed his apparent foe’s claim and said he had been appointed rebel chief in the insurgent stronghold of South Waziristan near the Afghan border.

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Man claims Nessie on Google Earth

London

Aug. 26: A Briton has claimed to have solved the mystery of the famous Nessie, the legendary Loch Ness monster, in Scottish Highlands.
A security guard in Nottingham has apparently spotted the many-limbed legendary monster in Loch Ness, a large and deep freshwater loch in the Scottish Highlands, southwest of Inverness, on Google Earth, the satellite mapping service. Along with Bigfoot and the Yeti, the Loch Ness monster is one of the best-known and enduring scientific mysteries.
There have been sightings of the monster in the loch by many believers of the legend, however, most scientists find the evidence supporting the creature’s existence unpersuasive, and regard the sightings as hoaxes or misidentification of some known creatures. The most popular and common description of Nessie by so-called eyewitnesses is similar to that of a plesiosaur, an extinct carnivorous aquatic reptile.
Twenty-five-year-old Jason Cooke found the small blur on Google Earth at the co-ordinates — Latitude 57°12’52.13”N, Longitude 4°34’14.16”W — and believes that the image could be the legendary monster. “I couldn’t believe it. It’s just like the descriptions of Nessie,” he told the Sun newspaper. Researcher Adrian Shine, of the Loch Ness Project, said: “This is really intriguing. It needs further study.” Two years ago, the largest-ever attempt to prove that the famous monster is real was organised, but failed.

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Brazil urged to open criminal probe into Air France crash

Rio de Janeiro: Relatives of Brazilian victims of an Air France crash that killed 228 people asked Brazil to open a criminal investigation into the disaster, parallel to a French investigation.

The investigation should "define penal responsibilities" because Air France ignored "indications of diverse failures" in the aircraft's controls, an association of relatives of the victims said.

Nelson Faria Marinho, the head of the association, complained that the probe was being conducted by France's bureau of accident investigations BEA with no input from the Brazilians.

"We are asking the Brazilian authorities to follow this investigation and open a criminal process because a crime has been committed," he yesterday told Brazilian state news agency.

The Air France Airbus A330 with 216 passengers and 12 crew members aboard plunged into the Atlantic Ocean on the night of May 31 to June 1 while on a flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris. There were 58 Brazilians and 72 French nationals aboard.

After a 26-day search, teams recovered 56 bodies from the Atlantic around 1,450 kilometres off Recife in northeastern Brazil. The aircraft's "black box" voice and data recorders were never recovered.

Bureau Report

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Gunmen kill 13 in Mexican border city

Ciudad Juarez: Thirteen people died in seven attacks over 24 hours in the embattled Mexican border city of Ciudad Juarez, authorities said on Wednesday.

Gunmen killed six men in four separate attacks on Tuesday in the city across the border from El Paso, Texas. Two of the victims were shot dead inside a car, investigators yesterday said in a statement.

Another victim, Vicente Leon, 22, died at a taco stand before dawn. Leon killed his parents and 13-year-old sister with the help of two high school friends in a highly publicised case five years ago.

Hours later, assailants killed five young men, ages 16 to 20, outside a home, Chihuahua state police spokesman Arturo Sandoval said.

Two more men were fatally shot in separate attacks Tuesday night, police said.

All of the killings resembled organised crime hits, but police gave no more information about motives or suspects. No arrests have been made.

With more than 800 people killed this year, Ciudad Juarez has the country's highest level of drug-related violence. The government says most of the killings are the result of rival smugglers battling for turf and lucrative routes into the United States.

Bureau Report

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Nehru Cup: India beat Sri Lanka 3-1

Defending champions India unleashed an impressive show of attacking football to beat Sri Lanka 3-1 in a thrilling round-robin match and place themselves in a strong position for booking a final berth in the Nehru Cup international tournament on Wednesday.

Captain Bhaichung Bhutia (25th), Gouramangi Singh (69th) and Steven Dias (85th) scored for India while WDRD Warakagoda found the net in the 61st minute for Sri Lanka.

The home team, which produced their best performance of the tournament so far in a free-flowing match today, could have won by a bigger margin had not they wasted the chances galore that came their way.

India, who dominated for most part of the match, now have six points -- from two wins and a loss -- from three matches.

They next play Syria in their last match on August 29. They will be virtually through to the final if Syria beat or draw Lebanon on Thursday.

For most of the match, play remained at the Sri Lankan half and with midfielders NP Pradeep and Climax Lawrence shrugging off their indifferent form, the Indians made constant pressure at the Lankan goal.

Right winger Steven Dias was the livewire of the home team as he essayed several crosses into the Sri Lankan box.

Wing backs Surkumar Singh, who received a yellow card, and Mahesh Gawli also made overlapping runs down the flanks to make life difficult for the Lankans.

As early as the second minute, a fine pass by Climax Lawrence beat the off-side trap but NP Pradeep's attempt to chip over the advancing Lankan goalkeeper failed.

In quick succession, India got a flurry of chances and Sunil Chhetri headed in a free kick taken by Steven Dias in the 13th mniute, but was ruled off-side. A furious India coach Bob Houghton was seen apparently telling the line official that it was a legal goal.

Three minutes later, left back Mahesh Gawli had a free shot from inside the Lankan box after being fed by Chhetri but he shot over in a hurry.

In the 20th minute, Dias' right footer from a close angle off a pass by Surkumar kissed the crossbar. Immediately after that, Bhutia failed to connect properly an Anthony Pereira low cross from the left after a Pradeep initiative.

Bhutia, who was adjudged the man of the match, made amends in the 25th minutes to give India the lead as he connected a Dias cross from the right with a powerful header off a move initiated by Surkumar.

With a perfectly timed jump, the diminutive striker rose over his marker before sending the ball into the Lankan net for his second goal of the tournament as the home crowd who had almost filled the stadium burst into wild celebration.

India started the second half shakily before coming close to doubling the lead in the 50th minute when Bhutia's glancing header off a Surkumar aerial pass beat the Lankan goalkeeper only to be denied by the left upright.

Nine minutes later, Bhutia had another attempt at the Lankan goal but this time his left footer went straight into the goalkeeper.

India paid dearly for their poor defending and conceded the equaliser in the 61st minute when an unmarked WDRD Warakagoda headed home a Raumy Mohideen corner.

Four minutes later, India threatened to take the lead again but Lankan goalkeeper HMA Kumara made a brilliant save jumping up in time near the right top corner of the net to punch away a curling Dias free kick.

Egged on by the vociferous supporters, India went on to the lead from a move started from a set piece in the 69th minute.

Dias' curling free kick was met with a volley by Pradeep which the Lankan goalkeeper blocked but off the rebound defender Gouramangi Singh slammed the ball home.

India were unlucky again in the 77th minute as Pradeep's right footer beat a diving goalkeeper but hit the right post and came back to play.

India, however, took the game out of Sri Lanka's reach in the 85th minute when Dias fired in a right-footer from an acute angle after he was nicely set up by Pradeep.

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Nearly $165bn transferred to Iraq fund: UN chief

UNITED NATIONS: In his latest report on the Development Fund for Iraq, UN chief Ban Ki-moon today said $165.1 billion has been deposited in it
from oil exports, from its inception through the end of last year.

During that time, $10.4 billion has been deposited in the Development Fund from the balance of the oil-for-food funds held under escrow by the United Nations, and a further $1.5 billion has been deposited as proceeds from frozen assets, UN spokesperson Michele Montas told reporters here.

Oil exports account for just over $165 million of the Development Fund for Iraq, which was established in 2003, the same year the Security Council phased out the oil-for-food programme, under which a sanctions-bound Iraq was allowed to use monitored oil sales revenue for humanitarian purchases.

The balance of the oil-for-food funds held under escrow by the UN deposited into the Fund amounted to $10 billion, with a further $1.5 billion deposited as proceeds from frozen assets, according to a report by Ban to the Council that was made public today, the UN said.

The International Advisory and Monitoring Board, an independent body set up by the Council, has found that the Committee of Financial Experts, set up by Iraq, is ready to assume oversight responsibilities of the Fund, it said.

"It will be important to ensure that a proper succession mechanism and process be considered," Ban wrote in his report. A recent independent audit of the Fund highlighted areas of concern, including "weaknesses in controls over oil extraction and use of the resources," Ban said.

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Muslim woman told to remove scarf sues US judge

SOUTHFIELD: A Muslim woman on Wednesday sued a Michigan judge for telling her to remove her headscarf in his courtroom, claiming he violated her
constitutional right to practice her religion.

Raneen Albaghdady, 32, says she felt humiliated when Wayne County Circuit Judge William Callahan ordered her to remove her hijab at a June 16 hearing in his Detroit courtroom. The headscarf, which does not cover the face, is worn by many Muslims in the U.S.

``This is the country and the land of freedom, and we're not supposed to be treated like this for the scarf,'' the Dearborn Heights woman said at a news conference Wednesday at the Southfield headquarters of the Council on American-Islamic Relation's Michigan chapter, which joined in the federal lawsuit against Callahan and Wayne County.

Albaghdady pushed back her headscarf at the judge's request during a hearing on her request to change her name. Callahan denied the request on technical grounds.

``Judge Callahan and the court have the greatest respect for spiritual practices and all religious preferences,'' Callahan said in a statement released by the court. ``Had he been informed that the head covering had some religious significance, the judge would have permitted Ms. Albaghdady to continue wearing it in court.''

Albaghdady, a native of Iraq, said Wednesday she was intimidated by Callahan and feared she would be arrested if she refused to remove her hijab.

``I come from a country where you can't say no to a judge in a courtroom,'' she said.

Some Muslims believe Islamic law requires women to wear a headscarf, veil or burqa in the presence of a man who is not a close relative.

The lawsuit asks a federal judge to order judges in Wayne County to allow the wearing of the headscarf in court.

Wayne County, which includes Detroit, is home to one of the nation's largest Muslim populations.

In another situation involving veils, the Michigan Supreme Court voted June 17 to give judges wide authority over the appearance of witnesses. The rule was adopted after a Muslim woman refused to remove her niqab, or face veil, while testifying in a 2006 small-claims case. Hamtramck District Judge Paul Paruk dismissed Ginnnah Muhammad's case as a result.

Albaghdady appeared before Callahan the day before the state Supreme Court approved the rule. Her lawsuit does not challenge it or address the issue of face veils, said her attorney, Nabih Ayad.

``That's for a later case,'' he said.
Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

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Edward Kennedy to be buried on Saturday

OAK BLUFFS: Senator Edward Kennedy will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery on Saturday near his two brothers who were assassinated in the
prime of their political careers. Kennedy died late on Tuesday in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, at age 77 after battling brain cancer for more than a year.

He will be buried at 5 p.m. (2100 GMT) on Saturday near his brothers, President John F. Kennedy and Senator Robert Kennedy, in a private service at the cemetery outside Washington. Only two U.S. presidents are buried at the site in Virginia: Kennedy and William Howard Taft who died in 1930.

Senator Edward Kennedy was eligible for burial at the cemetery because he both served in the U.S. military and was an elected official. On Thursday, a motorcade from the Kennedy family compound in Hyannis Port will take the senator's body to his brother's presidential library in Boston.

The senator will lie in repose on Friday at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library that he had helped to develop over years into a forum for debating issues. It will be open to the public from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. followed by a private "Celebration of Life Memorial Service" from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.

A Roman Catholic, Kennedy's funeral Mass is planned for Saturday at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Basilica in Boston where he prayed daily while his daughter, Kara, was struggling with lung cancer. President Barack Obama, who is on vacation at Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts, was expected to attend.

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Lashkar terrorist killed in Kashmir gunbattle

JAMMU: One terrorist of Lashkar-e-Toiba was killed in a gunbattle with security forces in Kishtwar district's Keshwan area in Jammu and Kashmir
this morning, police officials said.

Acting on specific inputs by intelligence agencies, a combined team of army and police launched a cordon and search operation in Keshwan forest area, about 290 km from here, during pre-dawn hours, they said.

During the search operation, terrorists fired on the security team, which also retaliated, the officials said adding that a LeT militant later identified as Mohd Yusuf alias Abu Salim was killed.

The encounter was going on in the area when reports last came in.

In another encounter yesterday in Mohore area of Reasi district, two holed-up terrorists managed to escape from the cordon of army and police, the officials said.

The forces have launched a seek and destroy operation to track down the escaped terrorists, they added.

On Tuesday night, one terrorist and an army personnel along with a civilian were killed in another gunbattle in the area.

As many as 10 militants were killed in Mohore belt in four different encounters during the last fortnight.

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Hilsa selling at Rs 1,200-1,600/kg in Kolkata

KOLKATA: It inspires poetry, rapture and euphoria in equal measure. For once though, the hilsa is also evoking curses. Bengal’s favourite fish
has raced up the price charts this monsoon and reached those rarefied levels where only a select few can buy it. Currently, the best of the lot — weighing 2 kg or more — is selling at Rs 1,200-1,600 a kg in Kolkata’s markets.

Asim Pramanik, a fish-seller at Gariahat market, sold two fishes worth Rs 1,200 per kg on Wednesday. ‘‘Each weighed a little over 2 kg,’’ he said.

Pramanik learnt the ropes of the fish trade from his father, who also had a stall at the same market. He can’t remember a single year when the price of hilsa touched such stratospheric levels. Neither can Arup Saha, a fish vendor at Manicktala market in north Kolkata. Till a couple of days back, he had sold the fish at Rs 1,600 a kg. ‘‘There are very few takers for such expensive fish but we can’t do a thing about it,’’ Saha said.

Things have come to such a pass that a jewellery shop is offering discounts on products if the fish is bought from select stores. So where has all the fish gone? At one level, it is a supply chain management crisis. The inflow from Bangladesh has come down to a trickle, sending shivers down Kolkata’s markets.

For the past few monsoons, the stocks coming in from the neighbouring country had stood at a steady 2,000 tonnes a day. But the supply was badly hit after the Bangladesh government decided to ban the fishing of hilsas weighing less than 600 gm, popularly known as ‘khoka ilish’.

For fishermen on the Hooghly and Rupnarayan, an unkind monsoon has come as the biggest blow.

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World's first matrimonial site for transsexuals

Kalki Subramanian is young, liberated and looking for an Indian man who is loving, compassionate, educated. Oh, and one more thing — he should be
OK with marrying a transsexual.

But Kalki isn’t leaving her hopes for a suitable boy to destiny. The founder-director of the Sahodari foundation, that works for transgenders, is setting up a matrimonial website for transsexual women — the first of its kind in the world.

With the Internet matchmaking portal, to be launched on Thursday, she also hopes to create a debate about the issues of matrimony and adoption for transgenders. “There has to be legal clarity for transsexuals to live a better life. We have been discriminated against and exploited for very long”, she says.

Unlike, other dating services in the world, where transgenders are set up with other transgenders, www.thirunangai.net will give transsexual women a chance to find a man of their dreams. Thirunangai, incidentally, means respectable woman in Tamil.

In a country where the boundaries of sexual tolerance are shifting daily “especially after the Delhi HC has decriminalized homosexuality — there’s a thin line between acceptability and discrimination as far as transgenders are concerned. Hijras supposedly have a sanctioned place in Indian society with more than 4,00 years of recorded history. But the estimated 2,00,000 members of the community face harassment.

“Men sexually exploit us and society discriminates against us. But we are women too and should have the right to marry and adopt children. Many transsexual women are already living with men. Now they can do so openly,” says Kalki. “Most transsexuals are born men but see themselves as women. They find it difficult to find conventional jobs and are pushed to petty crime, begging and prostitution.”

Hijras have few rights and are not recognised by Indian law. Except for the state of Tamil Nadu that has sanctioned special toilets — and a database to map the population of transgenders in the state and find out detailed demands such as ration cards and voter identity cards — they are denied the right to vote, own property, marry and the right to claim formal identity through any official documents such as a passport.

But over the last few months, India has seen its first transgender fashion model, a transgender TV presenter and even in the recent Bollywood epic ‘Jodhaa Akbar’ a hijra, instead of being cast in the usual stereotypical comic role, was portrayed as a trusted lieutenant of the queen.

Which is why, says Arif Jafar, executive director of the India Naz Foundation International, which works for policy and support on male sexualities, the matrimonial site is a welcome move. “This site may prove to be a good platform.”

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Two held for throwing acid on minor girl in Delhi

New Delhi: Two people were arrested on Wednesday for allegedly throwing acid on a minor girl in east Delhi, police said.
"The incident took place around 8 am on Wednesday in Geeta Colony area. The 16-year-old victim was going to tuition when they threw acid on her," a senior police officer said.
"Sanjay and Deepak have been arrested while the third accomplice is absconding. He will be arrested very soon," the police officer added.
"The girl was rushed to Hedgewar Hospital. She has suffered 18 per cent burn injuries," the police officer added.
"The victim is studying in Class X in an open school. The family members of the victim told us that Deepak used to regularly trouble her. We are further investigating," the officer said.

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9/11 plotters still alive and planning: Mike Mullen

Washington: Those who plotted the deadly attacks on World Trade Centre on September 11, 2001, are still alive and planning to carry out more terror strikes, a top US military general has said.

"The people behind that deadly day are still at it. They live and plan and train in safe havens along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border," Navy Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said.

"They would like nothing better than to see either country or both fall prey to the grip of an extremist ideology. To the degree we let them succeed, we let ourselves become vulnerable," Mullen said in his address to the 91st annual American Legion Convention, Louisville, Kentucky.

"My mission, the one currently given to me by the President, is to prevent that from happening. And that's what we're going to do," Mullen said.

While Pakistanis are themselves waging their war against extremists, Mullen said, in Afghanistan, the war being waged to defeat al Qaeda and its extremist allies is led by an international security force with Afghans.

"We have got to help them. That is why I ordered the establishment of a Pakistan-Afghanistan coordination cell, inside my own staff, to work exclusively on the issues of that region, to stay engaged," Mullen said.

The Pentagon has established a special training facility to train army officials exclusively for Pakistan and Afghanistan.

"Believe it or not, it's easy to lose focus in the Pentagon. And to rotate officers in and out, not only of Afghanistan in general but the specific areas within the country, so that they can become familiar faces and names, so they can build trust," he said.

"The unique challenges of irregular warfare are highly complex; a struggle for the people's confidence. So in today's fight, as leaders, we must show a sense of urgency. We must engage with resolve. And we must be patient to reap the benefits of our work together," Mullen said.

Bureau Report

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Rs 23 cr, 7 cars seized from VHP leader in Jaipur

Three steel trunks flung open reveal hundreds of bundles of notes. So many bundles that it's impossible to guess how much they add upto. Rs ten crores is what we're told. Stashed in one house. In steel trunks.

In pics

Even for a successful broker, Damodar Modi has a remarkable list of assets. Jewellery worth Rs 57 lakhs, four houses in Jaipur, seven luxury cars, all with the same license plate. Modi is also a senior leader of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad or VHP in Rasjasthan.

Through the day, VHP workers visited Modi's house to lend their support. They offer the theory that the income tax raids on Modi are a political conspiracy.

One says, "This is just a bad phase but it's also political. Since he has links with the BJP, and Rajasthan has a Congress government now, that's why these raids have happened."

Modi apparently liked spreading his wealth around. Mainly among his many selves. He had lockers in different names. "He has now admitted that he has nearly Rs 23 crore of unaccounted income and assets," confirms Sunil Verma, Income Tax Commissioner, Rajasthan.

Tax officials are now studying three diaries, maintained by Modi, for information on Hawala transactions.

This is the highest seizure ever in Rajasthan...and points to the growing nexus...between business, politics and black money... that's raised a parallel economy in the country.

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India third on global 'female smoking list'

NEW DELHI: Indian women are among the worst in the world when it comes to smoking. According to the latest Tobacco Atlas, the country ranks third
in the top 20 female smoking populations across the globe.

Only the US with 2.3 crore female smokers and China with 1.3 crore women smokers are worse off than India in this chart. However, as far as percentage of women smoking is concerned, it is below 20% for India.

Among India's immediate neighbours, only Pakistan figures in this infamous list, but right at the bottom at 20th with around 30 lakh female smokers.

Published by the American Cancer Society and World Lung Foundation, the Atlas makes another serious observation -- female smokers in India die an average eight years earlier than their non-smoking peers.

According to the Atlas, about 250 million women in the world are daily smokers -- 22% being from high resource countries and 9% from low and middle resource countries.

Realising the potential of this growing market, the Atlas said the tobacco industry has been marketing cigarettes to women using seductive but false images of vitality, emancipation, slimness, sophistication and sexual allure.

Reacting to the report, Dr P C Gupta, director of Healis Sekhsaria Institute of Public Health, told TOI that this finding had very serious implications for India. "Even though the percentage prevalence of women smoking in India isn't that high, the number is huge. In addition to all the harm that tobacco causes to men, women are additionally exposed in a special way because of their reproductive function."

Dr Gupta added that tobacco consumption reduced birth weight of the foetus, decreased their gestational age leading to premature babies, increased the risk of still births and heightened chances of anaemia among adult pregnant women.

"The government isn't focusing on anti-tobacco campaign that specially targets women. Smoking is definitely increasing in young college going women showing that the tobacco industry is targeting them very strongly," Dr Gupta added.

The Atlas said tobacco killed some six million people each year -- more than a third of whom will die from cancer -- and drained $500 billion annually from global economies.

As 25% of smokers die and many more become ill during their most productive years, income loss devastates families and communities. In 2010, 72% of those who die from tobacco related illnesses would be in low- and middle-income countries. By 2030, 83% of these deaths will occur in low and middle-income countries.

Unveiled at the Global Cancer Summit on Wednesday, the Atlas said 2.1 million cancer deaths per year will be attributable to tobacco by 2015. "The Atlas is crucial to helping advocates in every nation get the knowledge they need to combat the most preventable global health epidemic," said John R Seffrin, CEO of American Cancer Society.

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Salman pitches for IPL team

Mumbai
Aug. 26: The stars are queuing up to buy the two new Indian Premier League franchises that will be up for sale by January. Bollywood actor Salman Khan is keen to buy a franchise in the league, IPL chief Lalit Modi confirmed on Wednesday.

Sources also indicated that Bollywood stars Sanjay Dutt and Ajay Devgan and Malayalam actor Mohanlal are also interested in owning IPL teams. The multi-million dollar Twenty20 series, which features almost all top international players, has also gained popularity for its entertainment element. Bollywood superstars Shah Rukh Khan, Preity Zinta and Shilpa Shetty all own IPL teams.

Salman Khan met Modi on Wednesday to explore how he could join the bandwagon. “He is aware of the price of a franchise, which will be between $200 and $300 million,” Modi said. “He has been keen on buying a franchise for some time now and wanted to know about the process of auctions and the money involved.”

IPL has proved to be a money spinner since its inception two years ago, raking in millions of dollars in advertising and ticket revenues. The celebrities the tournament attracts, combined with India’s passion for films and cricket, has further boosted its profile.

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Toon porn traps naive tweens

There was a time when parents worried about the effects of violent video games on their kids. But now, friendly Mickey, silly Tom and Jerry and hilarious Popeye could warrant a warning label. The growing popularity of ‘toon porn’ (animated porn featuring Disney and other children’s cartoon characters) could turn an innocent Google search into an undesirable situation for parents and kids, with 37,80,000 toon porn links being thrown up at the click of a mouse.
Because of the deliberately misleading labelling, ‘safe search’ is sometimes rendered ineffective and net-savvy kids, looking online for links to their favourite characters run the risk of being exposed to toon porn websites and images. Once ingenuous curiosity kicks in, download buttons are hit and children as young as nine become consumers of this very adult content. Experts confirm this could lead to not just warped notions about sex, but also behavioural problems.
Ranjana Haladkar, director, Roshni, confirms the alarming trend, “We often receive calls from children in their early teens, who have trouble concentrating on their academics. The reason they confess is because their thoughts are constantly on issues related to sex. These kids are usually exposed to porn.”
In one such recent case, a doctor couple in the city was shocked to discover that their 11-year-old son was visiting adult websites in their absence. The youngster (who had a room to himself after his brother moved out), would surf porn websites late into the night and acquired nearly 8GB of pornographic downloads. His addiction came to light when the once academically brilliant and outgoing boy began failing his subjects and preferred staying indoors all the time. Things came to such a head that he threatened to commit suicide when his parents terminated the Internet connection. It took several counselling sessions to help him get rid of his obsession with porn.
Children using the internet unsupervised find it easy to access adult websites. “We were shocked when we discovered our 10-year-old neighbour was addicted to porn. What started off with toon porn graduated to adult content as his college-going brother would surf these sites, which the boy easily accessed,” says Sandeep Rai, a parent.
Dr Phani Prashant, psychiatrist, Care Hospital warns that early exposure to porn often results in the premature onset of puberty and with behavioural problems like a heightened curiosity about the sex organs, concentration problems and even violent streaks. Psychiatrist, Dr Minhaz Nasirabadi explains the deep psychological impact on children, “Porn films and websites are crude in content and kids could display a violent streak as a result. long-term problems include warped notions of sex, unusual expectations from partners.

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SC judges decide to declare assets

New Delhi
Aug. 26: In a decision widely welcomed in the legal fraternity, the judges of the Supreme Court arrived at a consensus decision at a meeting here Wednesday on going public with their assets. This follows a raging debate on the issue within legal and political circles, and in the country at large, over the past several weeks.

It is learnt that the decision in principle to make the assets of judges public was taken after a two-hour meeting of the judges convened by Chief Justice of India K.G. Balakrishnan on Wednesday.

It has been decided to put the information on the assets of judges on the Supreme Court’s website. The decision was taken in the form of a resolution that will be considered passed once all the judges sign the minutes of the meeting. The details of the judges’ assets would then be put up on the website, it is learnt.

Though the issue of putting information on judges’ assets into the public domain has been debated for some time now, the entire matter took on new urgency after a judge of the Karnataka high court, Justice D.V. Shylendra Kumar, wrote a newspaper article on the subject some days ago. Subsequently, a judge of the Punjab and Haryana high court became the first superior court judge in the country to publicly declare his assets.

One of the main reservations which some judges had, as articulated by the CJI on some occasions, was the apprehension that they might face harassment as a result. Under current practice, judges of the Supreme Court are required to disclose their assets to the CJI, while judges of high courts have to do so before their respective chief justices.

The political establishment too had been putting considerable pressure to make public disclosure of assets mandatory for the judiciary. Vociferous objections by members from all sides of the House compelled the government to withdraw the Judges (Declaration of Assets and Liabilities) Bill 2009, which had a clause under which details of judges’ assets would not have to be disclosed under the Right to Information Act, from the Rajya Sabha in the last session. Union law minister M. Veerappa Moily had come under considerable criticism over this clause.

Welcoming Wednesday’s decision, former attorney-general Soli J. Sorabjee said it was a “radical change” and a “step in the right direction”. He added: “This is a very good development. It raises the image of the judiciary.” Senior Supreme Court lawyer Prashant Bhushan said: “It will now encourage judges of the high courts to declare their assets.”

Celebrated criminal lawyer and former law minister Ram Jethmalani said it was a “most sensible” move and would help the judiciary regain public faith and trust. Another top Supreme Court lawyer, K.T.S. Tulsi, said: “The Chief Justice must be complimented for getting the higher judiciary to take this step. It will bring transparency and accountability in the judiciary.”

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Anti-Sardar Patel book sold from RSS HQ in Gujarat

AHMEDABAD: Narendra Modi displayed great alacrity in banning Jaswant Singh's Jinnah book in Gujarat. But another such tome, authored by RSS
ideologue H V Seshadri, which also slams Sardar Patel for precipitating Partition, has been in circulation for the last 27 years. And here's the icing on the cake: the book's sold from the RSS headquarters complex in Gujarat!

There's little chance that Modi would not have known of the book since Modi was a regular at the place. Modi spent over 13 years as a `pracharak' ^ from 1967 to 1980 ^ in the same building, though the book was published after that, in 1982. But as a voracious reader, old-timers recall, Modi devoured most Sangh publications.

The book, `The Tragic Story of Partition' has unflattering references to Nehru and Patel. Seshadri clubs both and holds them responsible for partition, which is what Jaswant Singh has done in his book, `Jinnah: India, Independence, Partition'.

It's still selling at the Sahitya Sadhana Trust, which is part of the RSS HQ complex. A TOI reporter picked up a copy on Tuesday for Rs 100.

It's now learnt that Modi has told his officials to closely scrutinise Seshadri's book to thwart legal challenges. Unconfirmed reports have said Jaswant himself is planning to go to court to oppose the ban.

If he does, Seshadri's book, which has been quoted by BJP leader Arun Shourie to ridicule the ban, will be the main argument of the petitioner. Seshadri's book has sold thousands of copies in Gujarat in the last 27 years; it's a must-have for any RSS worker.

``This book talks about the importance of `Akhand Bharat'. It's an immensely important thesis for Sangh's ideology,'' says Prof Hemant Shah, who teaches political science at Gujarat University.

Excerpts: ``When the new Viceroy Lord Mountbatten announced on 3rd June 1947 the plan of transfer of power, it came as a stunning blow to the people. For that plan, approved by Nehru and Patel, had envisaged cutting up Bharat and creation of Pakistan! ... The great and trusted leaders of Congress had turned their back on the sacred oaths they had taken, and the pledges they had administered to the people. What took place on the August 15-15, 1947, was this gross betrayal of the nation's faith, the betrayal of the dreams of countless fighters and martyrs who had plunged into the fire of freedom struggle with the vision of Akhand Bharat in their hearts.''

On another page, Seshadri writes: ``The Working Committee met in a tense atmosphere. Everybody felt depressed at the prospect of Partition. The Viceroy's proposals were accepted without much discussion. As a matter of fact, Jawaharlal and Vallabhai were already committed to the acceptance of the proposals. There was no critical examination...''

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