Saturday, August 1, 2009

Mary Kom Delighted to Get Khel Ratna Award


Imphal, Aug 1 : Mangte Chungneijang Mary Kom, a four-time women’s world boxing champion, has expressed her delight for being awarded with the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award.

Regarded as country’s highest sporting honour, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award would be conferred on her by President Pratibha Patil on August 29.

“I am very happy that I am getting this award. Because this kind of award is very prestigious for a sports person,” said Mary.

Mary’s interest in boxing was inspired by the success of Manipur’s male boxer Dingko Singh, but she took up the sport in an effort to provide some financial assistance to her family

She had begun boxing in 2000, with a determination to make her mark in the boxing world and now her family and friends are elated with her achievement.

“I am extremely happy and from my family side as well. I am thanking god for this award,” said Onler Kom, Mary Kom’s Husband.

Mary further said that she owed the glory of the award to her coaches, who moulded and shaped her into what she is today and above all, her belief in God, which has made all this possible.

She has several achievements under her belt, at the national level she has grabbed 10 gold medals since 2000, and in the international arena, she had collected 14 gold and two silver medals.

Apart from this, she had been bestowed with seven titles including the Arjuna Award, Padmashree and Indian Real Heroes Award.

Mary Kom and Olympic bronze medallist Vijender are the first boxers to get the award, which carries prize money of Rs 7,50,000 and a citation.

US pledge to reduce Afghan deaths


C
ivilian casualties in Afghanistan must be reduced, the newly appointed commander of US and Nato-led troops Gen Stanley McChrystal has told the BBC.

He said both preventing and investigating incidents where civilians were hit would be a priority.

Earlier, a UN report said the number of civilians killed so far this year had risen 24% on the same period last year.

The UN said insurgent bombings and air strikes by international forces were the biggest killers.

There has been widespread concern in Afghanistan about civilian death tolls.

In June the US military called for better training in an effort to reduce the numbers of civilian deaths.

The Taliban also issued a new code of conduct earlier this week which says fighters should minimise civilian casualties.

Gen McChrystal, the new commander of US and Nato-led troops in Afghanistan, said civilian casualties were "deeply concerning" and something he "would love to say we'd get to zero".

He said he was trying to build this into the culture of his forces, but admitted it was very hard to balance this with their own protection.
"It's very hard because it's a balance for the young soldier on the ground, who is in combat. One of the assets that he has that might save his life might be air power or indirect fire from artillery or mortars and we don't want to take away that protection for him," he said.

But that "must be balanced against the possibility of hurting anyone".

He said he wanted his forces to be seen both to work actively to prevent civilian deaths, and to investigate civilian deaths openly when they did occur.

On the possibility of talks with the Taliban after presidential elections in August, Gen McChrystal said the US was willing to talk to anyone ready to seek a political solution - including local fighters and senior Taliban figures.

But he pointed out that ultimately those decisions were up to the Afghan government.

There is enormous pressure on the new commander, says the BBC's Lyse Doucet in Kabul.

The US defence secretary Robert Gates has made it clear that foreign forces have a year to show clear progress on the security front or will lose support here and at home.

Civilian targets
The report, by the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (Unama), says insurgents were responsible for more deaths than government-allied forces.

But it also notes that two-thirds of the deaths caused by government-allied forces came in air strikes.

The rising death toll was partly due to the fact that militants were deliberately basing themselves in residential districts, the report's authors concluded.

The increasingly sophisticated tactics used by insurgents were also highlighted.

This is the third year the UN has counted civilian deaths and the numbers have risen each year.

Election fears

The UN warned more civilians may be killed in the coming weeks as militants fight back against a major offensive by US forces ahead of key elections next month.

Elections are due to take place amid tight security on 20 August, when President Hamid Karzai is hoping to secure a second term.

However, in the past week alone there have been two attacks on Afghan election campaigns.

On Tuesday a campaign manager for presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah was wounded when his vehicle was attacked in Laghman province.

Two days earlier there was an assassination attempt on Mohammed Qasim Fahim, a running mate of Mr Karzai.

Report highlights hunger in India


India is emerging as the world centre of hunger and malnutrition, a report by Indian campaign group, the Navdanya Trust, says.

The trust says that there are more than 200 million people - or one-in-four Indians - going without enough to eat.

The prominent environmentalist Vandana Shiva, who runs the trust, said there were now more hungry people in India than in sub-Saharan Africa.

The government has not responded to the report which was released on Thursday.

But it has repeatedly pointed out that huge progress has been made in recent years to improve the country's food security as its population grows by an estimated 18 million people a year.

The government also argues that individual states must take more responsibility to ensure that there is enough food to go around, especially in rural areas afflicted by bad harvests.

Underweight

Ms Shiva said that 57 million children in India are underweight due to malnutrition.
The Navdanya Trust says that per capita food consumption in India has decreased from 186 kg per person annually in 1991 to 152 kg in 2001, despite government food subsidies costing billions of dollars.

The report is largely based on data collected from government surveys as well as the trust 's own material from areas where malnutrition is an issue.


Ms Shiva argued that food provided in ration shops across the country does not provide for a balanced diet and is too rich in starch, leading diseases to such as diabetes.

She was also critical of genetically modified crops and chemical fertilisers, arguing that they only served to increase the costs of food production, forcing farmers into debt and in some cases causing them to commit suicide.

"Studies worldwide show that the hungriest of people are its producers - the farmers," she said.

Ms Shiva told the BBC that the region of Bundelkhand in central India has been hit by drought and starvation for about five years.

"So we've done a primary study there and 90 percent of the families aren't eating a full meal. There are very high rates of starvation,'' she said.

The BBC's Jyotsna Singh says that the trust's report comes at a time when the central government is working on new legislation which aims to ensure all citizens have enough to eat.

Our correspondent says that there are doubts as to whether the poorest of the poor will actually benefit under the scheme.

Some experts say that if the government is able to pass the bill it will be a significant first step towards improving India's ranking on the global hunger index.

The trust's report follows a UN study released in June which said that hunger in South Asia had reached its highest level in 40 years because of food and fuel price rises and the global economic downturn.

The report by the UN children's fund, Unicef, says that 100 million more people in the region are going hungry compared with two years ago.

Elephant row erupts in Sri Lanka


Animal rights activists have filed a petition in Sri Lanka's Supreme Court to reverse the removal of two baby elephants from an elephant orphanage.

The Sathwa Mithrayo rights group wants the court to revoke a government decision to hand the animals over to an important Buddhist temple.

The government says there is a shortage of elephants for religious processions.

Environmentalists say that the elephants were taken from their mother while they were still suckling.

"The mothers' udders have swollen because they're unable to give milk. It's not only the calves but even the mothers that are suffering," environmental lawyer Jagath Gunawardena told the AFP news agency.

The animals were taken from the Pinnawela elephant orphanage in central Sri Lanka last week by officials and handed over to the Temple of the Tooth in Kandy.

The court petition filed by the animal rights group says that baby elephants should live with their mothers for at least five years - and that the removal of the calves amounts to cruelty against them.

Sathwa Mithrayo spokeswoman Sagarika Karaunananayake argues that the government's constitutional requirement to safeguard and develop Buddhism in the island should not be at the expense of rare wild animals.

Sri Lankan cabinet minister Anura Priyadharshana Yapa earlier explained the reasons for handing them over to the temple.

He said the temple, which is the headquarters for some prominent Buddhist monastic chapters, was the centre of a social, cultural and religious renaissance in Sri Lanka.

"There is a severe shortage of tamed elephants which take part in religious processions," Mr Yapa is quoted by the government's information department as saying.

"The ministry of sports and public recreation decided to gift two baby elephants from Pinnawela elephant orphanage for the purpose."

Elephants have long been associated with religious and traditional celebrations in Sri Lanka.

Court rejects Musharraf trial


T
he Supreme Court of Pakistan has rejected a request to launch a treason case against former military ruler Pervez Musharraf.

The court's announcement follows the failure of the former president and his lawyers to appear in court for a second consecutive day on Thursday.

The court had asked him to explain his decision in 2007 to invoke emergency rule and suspend the constitution.

It has now ruled that parliament is the place to debate Mr Musharraf's actions.

Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry rejected a petition to launch a treason case against the former president.

Mr Chaudhry was himself removed from his position as a result of President Musharraf's imposition of emergency rule, but was reinstated after he resigned in August.

Last week, a lawyer petitioned the Supreme Court to open proceedings against the former president for alleged unconstitutional behaviour. Mr Musharraf says his actions were taken in the best interests of Pakistan.

Correspondents say that the court proceedings have jolted the Pakistani political establishment at a time of relative calm and comes as the US wants the country to focus on fighting Taliban militants near the border with neighbouring Afghanistan.

Mr Musharraf - who is currently believed to be in Britain - seized power in a 1999 and sacked Mr Chaudhry and dozens of other senior judges in 2007.

He argued that his actions were taken for Pakistan's sake due in part to the threat from Islamic militants.