north east online - north east india news: Aug 20, 2009

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Delhi's first swine flu deaths

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n a space of 12 hours, a man and a woman have died of swine flu in Delhi. Neither had any other serious medical condition. Doctors for both say they were admitted too late to be treated effectively.

Samrat Pandya, 32, a businessman from Gurgaon, was admitted to Delhi's Ram Manohar Lohiya hospital last Friday. Doctors put him on a ventilator immediately, and started him on Tamiflu. They say Pandya died of a cardiac arrest.

But Pandya's father lashes out at the hospital where his son died: "My son had fever, so I took him to the doctor and then I took him to Max Hospital. Then the next day, I brought him here. They are responsible for my son's death. The ventilators don't work."

The doctors, however, say the problem is that Samrat was already in critical condition when he was brought here.

Delhi's other swine flu victim, Ritu Gupta, had travelled recently to Singapore. The 38-year-old had shown symptoms of swine flu for five days.

At the same hospital, five other patients are in the screening ward, waiting to find out if they have swine flu.

Scotland frees terminally ill Lockerbie bomber

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DINBURGH, Scotland -Scotland freed the terminally ill Lockerbie bomber on compassionate grounds Thursday, allowing him to die at home in Libya despite American protests that mercy should not be shown to the man responsible for the deaths of 270 people.
Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill said Abdel Baset al-Megrahi's condition had deteriorated from prostate cancer. Al-Megrahi had only served some eight years of a life sentence, but MacAskill said he was bound by Scottish values to release him.
"Our belief dictates that justice be served but mercy be shown," MacAskill said, ruling that al-Megrahi "be released on compassionate grounds and be allowed to return to Libya to die."
"Some hurts can never heal, some scars can never fade," MacAskill said. "Those who have been bereaved cannot be expected to forget, let alone forgive ... However, Mr. al-Megrahi now faces a sentence imposed by a higher power."
Al-Megrahi, 57, was convicted in 2001 of taking part in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 on Dec. 21, 1988. He was sentenced to life in prison.
The airliner — which was carrying mostly American passengers to New York — blew up as it flew over Scotland. All 259 people aboard and 11 on the ground died when the aircraft crashed into the town of Lockerbie.
The former Libyan intelligence officer was sentenced to serve a minimum of 27 years in a Scottish prison for Britain's deadliest terrorist attack. But a 2007 review of his case found grounds for an appeal of his conviction, and many in Britain believe he is innocent.
The White House said Thursday it "deeply regrets" the decision to free al-Megrahi.
"As we have expressed repeatedly to officials of the government of the United Kingdom and to Scottish authorities, we continue to believe that Megrahi should serve out his sentence in Scotland," the White House said in a statement. "On this day, we extend our deepest sympathies to the families who live every day with the loss of their loved ones."
Earlier, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton phoned MacAskill urging him not to release al-Megrahi, and seven U.S. senators wrote a letter with a similar message.
MacAskill said he stood by al-Megrahi's conviction and the sentence for "the worst terrorist atrocity ever committed on U.K. soil."
He said he ruled out sending the bomber back to Libya under a prisoner-transfer agreement, saying the U.S. victims had been given assurances that al-Megrahi would serve out his sentence in Scotland.
But he said that as a prisoner given less than three months to live by doctors, al-Megrahi was eligible for compassionate release.
"I am conscious that there are deeply held feelings and many will disagree whatever my decision," he said. "However, a decision has to be made."
The families of some American victims were quick to express their outrage.
"I don't understand how the Scots can show compassion. It's an utter insult and utterly disgusting," said Kara Wepz, of Mt. Laurel, New Jersey, whose 20-year-old brother Richard Monetti was on board Pan Am Flight 103. "It's horrible. I don't show compassion for someone who showed no remorse."
The Times of London reported Thursday that the private jet of Libya's leader, Moammar Gadhafi, was to collect al-Megrahi at Glasgow Airport after he was released.
Al-Megrahi's trial and conviction led to a major shift in Libya's relationship with the West.
Gadhafi engineered a rapprochement with his former critics following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. He renounced terrorism, dismantled Libya's secret nuclear program, accepted his government's responsibility for the Lockerbie bombing and paid compensation to the victims' families.
Western energy companies — including Britain's BP PLC — have moved into Libya in an effort to tap the country's vast oil and gas wealth.
Gadhafi has lobbied for the return of al-Megrahi, an issue which took on an added sense of urgency when he was diagnosed with cancer last year. His lawyers say his condition is deteriorating and doctors have given him less than three months to live.
The question of freeing al-Megrahi has divided Lockerbie families, with many in Britain in favor of setting him free, and many in the U.S. adamantly opposed.
British Rev. John Mosey, whose daughter Helga, 19, died in the attack, said Wednesday he would be glad to see al-Megrahi return home.
"It is right he should go home to die in dignity with his family. I believe it is our Christian duty to show mercy," he said.
But American families have largely been hostile to the idea.
"I'm totally against it. He murdered 270 people," said Paul Halsch of Perinton, New York, who lost his 31-year-old wife in the attack. "This might sound crude or blunt, but I want him returned from Scotland the same way my wife Lorraine was ... and that would be in a box."
Peter Sullivan of Akron, Ohio, whose college roommate Mike Doyle died at Lockerbie, said he believed Britain was putting commercial interests before the interests of the victims' relatives.
"The interest of big oil should not be the basis of a miscarriage of justice to let a murderer of 270 people be released," Sullivan said.

Bribe scam: CBI to question Buta on Aug 24

Mumbai, Aug 20: Chairman of NCSC Buta Singh's statement will be soon recorded by the CBI in connection with the corruption case against his son.

CBI Joint Director (West Zone ) Rishiraj Singh on Tuesday, Aug 20 said, "We have to question Buta Singh by Aug 24. His statement will be recorded as a witness and not as an accused."

Buta Singh's son Sarbjot Singh was arrested on Jul 31, for allegedly seeking Rs 1 crore bribe from Nashik-based contractor Ramarao Patil to close a case pending before the National Commission for Scheduled Castes against him.

Earlier, Buta Singh had said in Delhi that the "latest attack (by CBI) is an attempt to kill my whole political life and my political future."

School bus catches fire; 8 children in serious condition

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n a shocking incident, 25 students of CTK High School in Mumbai's suburb Panvel were injured when the school bus they were traveling in caught fire. There were 40 children onboard the bus.

The bus was engulfed in flames after a short circuit. The alert children used the emergency exit to escape, but the ones at the front of the bus were injured, some critically.

The students have been taken to a local hospital, where the condition of eight is said to be critical. One child is battling for his life. Plastic surgeons have been called in.

Parents say children on board the bus had apparently alerted authorities after they smelt petrol. "We raised an alarm after smelling petrol and something burning. The driver came and checked and immediately told all of us to get off. By then the bus had already caught fire and so while getting off, four children got injured and they have been taken to Lifeline hospital" said a child after the accident.

The bus driver and owner have been arrested.

The chairman of CTK school, Ram Seth Thakur, said the bus was a private one, hired by the parents. But some parents said that while it was a private bus, it was being run by school staff.

The bus had the legend "School Bus" painted on it as per Supreme Court guidelines on school buses, but there was no teacher onboard. The apex court guidelines specify that there must be a teacher traveling on every school bus.

Supreme Court guidelines:

The Supreme Court has a set of guidelines to ensure safety of schoolchildren. Here are few a important ones that all schools and bus operators need to follow:

* A fire extinguisher is an absolute must in the bus and the school name and phone number also must be written.
* School busses must have a First-Aid kit, in case any child needs or any untoward incident happens.
* The windows of bus must be fitted with horizontal grills so that emergency evacuation is easy and fast.
* Buses carrying school children must have School Bus boldly written on the back and front.
* If it is a private hired bus, a plate saying 'On School Duty' must be clearly written.

Assam's double whammy: Droughts and floods

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f drought was not bad enough, some low-lying areas in Assam are now getting flooded. NDTV travelled to Assam's Mayong sub-division to find farmers there in desperate need of help.

"I mortgaged my land for my daughter's marriage, took a loan and now see what I have been reduced to after this drought and flood," said Soharbuddin.

This entire water body in the area is actually cropland, which went under water last year and this year as well. Soharbuddin has about four bighas of land in this area where crop has been destroyed.

River water entered the low-lying areas that cultivate Boro paddy. But the highland, which grows the Sali variety, was not spared either.

On the southern side of the village, Soharbuddin had two more bighas of land which has been destroyed because of drought, last years flood had washed away the crop here so people like Soharbuddin have actually had two summers of crop failure.

"We are completely helpless. There is no work, no earning, food prices are high. It's a critical situation. We need help," said a farmer.

Mayong is medieval India's town of magicians, and even today there are some practitioners but none of that magic seems to have helped the farmers here.

abinet approves relaxation of borrowing norms

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ew Delhi, Aug 20 (ANI): The Union Cabinet today approved the relaxation of the Debt Consolidation and Relief Facility (DCRF) guidelines, to enable the States to borrow upto four percent of their respective Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) during 2009-10.

The States will not lose the benefits of DCRF, provided they are in compliance with this modified fiscal deficit target.

The States will have to suitably amend their respective fiscal responsibility legislation if so required.

The Ministry of Finance would write to the 13th Finance Commission to make appropriate adjustments.

The Ministry of Finance has been fixing the annual borrowing ceilings for States largely in accordance with the fiscal deficit targets recommended by the Twelfth Finance Commission and accepted by the Government.

The target of three per cent for 2008-09 had been relaxed to 3.5 per cent, in response to the current economic slowdown.

Subsequently, it was decided to extend the relaxation in the fiscal deficit target of the States to 2009-10 in order to spur the development of infrastructure and employment generation through larger public investment.

In his budget speech of July 6, the Finance Minister stated that against the backdrop of limited fiscal space because of reduction of CENVAT and Service Tax rates, the Government had substantially hiked the Gross Budgetary Support for the annual Plan 2009-10.

Bulk of this increased support is to be directed toward public investment infrastructure.

The State Governments will be permitted to borrow an additional 0.5 per cent of their GSDP. This will go in a long way in reversing the impact of economic slowdown and accelerate the growth revival in the medium term.

This dispensation will allow the States to borrow about Rs.21,000 crore additionally in 2009-10. (ANI)

Cabinet approves amendments to National Institutes of Technology Act

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ew Delhi, Aug 20 (ANI): The Union Cabinet today approved the proposal to amend the National Institutes of Technology Act 2007.

The main features of the amendment are: incorporation of Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISER) in the National Institutes of Technology Act 2007; need to strengthen existing transitional provisions of the Act; need to give representation to nearby premier Central Institutions in the Board of Governors; and need to amend the procedure for appointment of Deputy Directors in NITs.

Effective amendments into the NIT Act 2007 will remove certain drawbacks in the NIT Act 2007; and incorporation of IISERs into the NIT Act, 2007.

Declaring them as Institutes of national importance, will enable them in awarding of the degrees.

The proposed amendments aim at fostering improvements in the existing set-up, establishment of proper and effective management structures in the technical institutions, providing an environment to encourage innovative ideas.

The National Institutes of Technology Act, 2007 covers 20 such institutions as listed in the Schedule of the Act.

Now that the Act has been in operation for about 23 months, a need has been felt to amend it.

The Bill to amend the National Institutes of Technology Act, 2007 will be introduced in both the Houses of Parliament in their next session. (ANI)

‘Nutrition Programme for Adolescent Girls’ approved

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ew Delhi, Aug 20 (ANI): The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) today gave its approval for continuation of the ‘Nutrition Programme for Adolescent Girls’ in 2009-2010 in 51 districts as per existing guidelines till the Rajiv Gandhi Scheme for Empowerment of Adolescent Girls is approved.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the CCEA, Union Home Minister P Chidambaram said here.

The CCEA also approved the releasing of funds as central assistance (100 per cent grant basis) to States/UTs out of the allocated amount of Rs.162.77 crore for the year 2009-2010.

With the implementation of this project, it is expected that the nutritional status of the adolescent girls in the selected districts would improve. (ANI)

Gujarat bans book on Jinnah

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uthorities in the western Indian state of Gujarat state have banned a controversial book on Pakistan's founder Mohammed Ali Jinnah.

The book has been written by Jaswant Singh, an expelled leader of the Hindu nationalist main opposition party BJP.

The BJP government in Gujarat said it banned the book for its "defamatory references" to Vallabhbhai Patel, India's first home minister.

The late Mr Patel is a political icon in his home state of Gujarat.

Described often as the "Iron Man of India", Mr Patel played an important role in the country's independence and the integration of the different states in the Indian Union.

"The book has been banned because it contains defamatory references regarding Vallabhai Patel who is considered as the architect of the modern India," a statement by the Gujarat government says.
"It is a bid to defame Patel by distorting historical facts. So, the state government has decided to ban the book with immediate effect for wider public interest."

Jaswant Singh said he was "saddened" by the banning of the book in Gujarat.

"The day we start banning books, we are banning thinking," he said.

Jaswant Singh book examines the role of Congress party leader and the country's first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, and Mr Patel in the partition of India in 1947.

He writes that Mr Patel was "far off the mark" in many ways with his projections about the division and future of India.

The book was released earlier this week and immediately created a controversy.

The BJP "dissociated" itself from the book and sacked Mr Singh from the party.

'Anti-intellectual'

Jaswant Singh, a 71-year-old party veteran who has served as finance and external affairs minister in BJP cabinets, said he was "saddened" by his expulsion. "It saddens me even more that I have been expelled on grounds of writing a book," he said.

Mr Singh has said that his book is a "purely academic exercise, which should be read and understood".

Analysts have criticised the BJP for sacking Mr Singh over a book.

"Jaswant Singh's book is a serious academic exercise, one long overdue. It is complicated, full of internal tensions. A serious political party should have space for that," wrote political scientist Pratap Bhanu Mehta in The Indian Express.

"In expelling Jaswant Singh the BJP has confirmed the fears of its worst critics: that the party is nothing but a party founded on endless resentment that makes it inherently insecure and anti-intellectual."

The Times Of India daily said Mr Singh's expulsion raised questions about free thinking and free speech in cadre-based, ideology driven parties.

"Surely it is not impossible for a political outfit to function without asking members to always agree with party views," the newspaper said.

The Hindu says it is for "historians to evaluate the scholarly merit of Mr Singh's work".

"But who is to say that a political figure, especially when he or she is out of power, is not to dabble in such sensitive areas," the newspaper wrote.

Gujarat bans book on Jinnah

Bhumidhar faces people’s wrath in Lakhimpur

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ssam revenue minister Dr Bhumidhar Barman faced a major embarrassment in Lakhimpur as he was on a visit to assess the flood situation in the district on Tuesday. He was grilled by the marooned people in several places and was severally criticized for failing to deliver the goods. During his visit to Lakhimpur last year Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi promised a lot. But precious little was implemented. Gogoi assured these people of steps to rehabilitate, steps to compensate the losses and what not. He assured action against NEEPCO. But of no avail. Over 500 villages in the four legislative assembly constituencies are reeling under flood where more than 2 lakh people have been rendered homeless. But Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has yet to visit these people in deep distress. Revenue minister Dr Bhumidhar Barman as on a visit to Lakhimpur to assess the flood situation on Tuesday. The Congressmen in the district received him with boutique but only to be drawn flak by the flood affected people. He was riddled with questions and cross questions by the marooned people whenever and wherever he visited them.

anger over 'arrested' girl

Hundreds of angry protesters have defied a curfew in the Indian state of Manipur, to demand the release of an 11-year-old girl held by troops.

Reports say that the girl was taken by security forces after they failed to find her father, suspected of links to separatist rebels.

The girl is reported to have some physical disabilities.

Troops were conducting a search operation in Imphal, the capital of the north-eastern state.

Salam Dewan, the father of the abducted girl, said his daughter should be returned immediately and he was ready to face questioning.

"I am no rebel or insurgent, just a poor farmer. The government have no right to harass us like this just because we are poor," Mr Dewan said.

Manipur has seen security operations against separatist groups since 1980.

But there has been no statement from the security forces about this incident.

Hundreds of local people turned out in the streets of Imphal to demand the girl's unconditional release.

A group formed to demand the release of the child claimed that police had been demanding a bribe to release her.

"This is the limit of brutality and inhuman behaviour. How can men in uniform kidnap a minor girl just because they cannot find her father? " said Pholindro Konsam, convenor of the Apunba Lup, a group of militant Manipuri student and youth organisations.

"Salam was away, so the soldiers and policemen took away his disabled daughter and that has outraged the people of the locality," said Ningthoujam Memchatombi, convenor of the Joint Action Committee. "This is the ultimate in brutality. "

'Fake encounter'

The Apunba Lup has been leading a public campaign against suspected extra-judicial killings and illegal detention by security forces. It is also demanding the abolition of a special law giving sweeping powers to troops on counter-insurgency duty.

The government maintains the law is necessary to restore normalcy to the troubled state.

Apunba Lup began its campaign after the alleged killing of a local youth, Chungkham Sanjit, by the police commandos in Imphal recently.

Mr Sanjit was suspected of being a militant of a separatist group. Officials denied allegations of an extra-judicial killing.

But Indian weekly magazine Tehelka carried pictures Mr Sanjit being dragged into a shopping mall by security forces and his lifeless body being dragged back into a police vehicle.

All Samples Test Negative For Swine Flu in Mizoram

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izawl, Aug 19 : In a relief for locals living under the threat of swine flu, all 40 throat swab samples of suspected swine-flu cases were found to be negative today, health department officials said.

Swine flu scare, triggered by the detection of two cases in the state on Saturday, hit normal lives in the capital city of Aizawl with many people wearing masks on the streets since Monday.

Villagers of Falkawn, where the swine flu victims were treated at a hospital and suspects quarantined, reportedly faced stigma from some cab drivers as they refused to give them a drive.

With the test results being announced, health department officials expressed hope that the panic would slow down.

“It is good that there is high awareness among the people of Mizoram, but many people over did it,” a doctor said.

Senior Indian politician expelled

Asenior leader of India's Hindu nationalist main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been expelled from the party.

Jaswant Singh's expulsion was announced by the party during a meeting.

This comes a day after the BJP "dissociated" itself from a new book on Pakistan's founder Mohammed Ali Jinnah, written by Mr Singh.

Mr Singh had praised Mr Jinnah in the book and said the latter has been "demonised in India".

Mr Jinnah is a controversial figure in India and considered the architect of the partition.

Jaswant Singh, a 71-year-old party veteran who has served as finance and external affairs minister in BJP cabinets, has said he was "saddened" by his expulsion.

"I am sad because I was among the first lot of members of the BJP. I have served the party to the best of my dedication for the past 30 years," he told reporters.

"It saddens me even more than I have been expelled on grounds of writing a book."

BJP president Rajnath Singh said the party leadership had decided to expel Jaswant Singh.

"I had issued a statement yesterday that the party fully dissociates itself from the contents of the book. Today, I put up the matter before the party's parliamentary board which decided to end his [Mr Jaswant Singh] primary membership," party President Rajnath Singh told reporters.

"So he has been expelled. From now inwards he will not be a member of any body of the party or be an office bearer," he said.

Confusion

While disowning Mr Singh's book on Tuesday, Rajnath Singh said that Mr Jinnah had played an important role in the "division of India which led to a lot of dislocation and destabilisation of millions of people".

Jaswant Singh has said that his book is a "purely academic exercise, which should be read and understood".

"Why should I regret [my] five years of rigour [of writing the book]? [The book] is my reading of the painful period [the 1947 partition of India] of history," he said on Wednesday.

Though the book on Mr Jinnah may have been the immediate provocation, a section of the party leadership has been unhappy with Mr Singh's recent utterances about the BJP, the BBC's Soutik Biswas in Delhi says.

The former foreign minister said in a TV interview that the BJP "cannot be a party of yesterday" and that there was a need for greater "clarity" of its ideology.

Despite attempts to play it down, the BJP is haunted by its Hindu nationalist past.

Our correspondent says questions will now be asked to why senior party leader LK Advani was not similarly punished after he openly described Mr Jinnah as "secular" after a visit to Pakistan in 2005.

Mr Singh's expulsion was announced as the BJP begun a three-day meeting to review the state of the party.

The party has been plagued by in-fighting and a crisis of leadership after it lost the 2009 general elections.

It is still India's second largest party - it has 116 seats to Congress's 206 in the parliament.

The review meeting is an annual affair, but recent developments make this year's event much more important.

Two party lawmakers from the northern state of Rajasthan were suspended on Tuesday for openly supporting former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje Scindia in defiance of the party's high command.

It wanted her to go as leader of the party's Rajasthan state unit after its indifferent performance in the elections.

A senior leader of the party's ideological fountainhead, the RSS, has said it preferred a younger leadership to take charge of the party - Mr Advani is 81.

Suspected swine flu death, first in the national capital

New Delhi, Aug 20 (PTI) A 35-year-old woman suspected to be suffering from swine flu died at the Ram Manohar Lohia hospital here, doctors said today.

If her swab samples test positive for the flu, it would be the first fatality due to the virus in the capital.

The patient was admitted in a critical state yesterday and was on a ventilator. She died at 10:30 pm last night.

Her throat swab samples have been sent to NICD to find out if she has swine flu or not, Dr N K Chaturvedi, Medical Superintendent of RML, said.

The woman had come back from Singapore on August 15 and three days back she had developed these symptoms.

Jaswant's book just the immediate provocation for expulsion

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he Bharatiya Janata Party's Chintan Baithak in Shimla on Wednesday began with the expulsion of one of its senior most leaders, Jaswant Singh.

However, Jaswant Singh's book on Jinnah was only the immediate provocation for his expulsion. NDTV has learnt that BJP leaders were ready with a chargesheet against Jaswant on Wednesday morning itself, and that his expulsion was already on the cards.

One of the charges put by BJP leaders on Jaswant is that he has been consistently embarrassing the party ever since the poll verdict by criticising it in public.

The chargesheet also says that Jaswant targeted the team Lal Krishna Advani picked for Parliament, comprising of Sushma Swaraj as Advani's deputy in Lok Sabha and Arun Jaitely as Opposition Leader in Rajya Sabha.

Another charge put on Jaswant is that his book on Jinnah, where he praised Jinnah and criticised Sardar Patel, struck at the Sangh Parivar's ideological core.

However, the BJP's troubles don't end with Jaswant out of the way. The RSS wants the party to discuss the party's poll debacle, fix responsibility, and bring a generational change in the party leadership, which is what a section in the BJP has been avoiding.

On Wednesday, after expelling Jaswant, the leaders had a long discussion on what went wrong in the polls. Both the reports compiled by Bal Apte were discussed at length.

'Longevity'' gene that enhances exercise performance found

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ashington, August 20 (ANI): In an animal study, researchers at the University of Missouri (MU) found gene therapy with a proven "longevity" gene to energize during exercise.

Writing about their study in the Public Library of Science – ONE, the researchers expressed the hope that their findings might be applicable to humans in future, and shed light on how to increase the level and quality of activity in the elderly.

"Aging is one of the biggest challenges to a modern society. A pressing issue in the elderly is the loss of activity. What one really wants is not a simple lifespan prolongation but rather a health span increase. After gene therapy with a ''longevity'' gene, we studied how well the mice performed on treadmill exercises. We found that the gene therapy worked well and the mice functioned better after the treatment," said Dongsheng Duan, an associate professor of molecular microbiology and immunology.

Studies conducted in the past have already shown that mice live longer when their genome is altered to carry a gene known as mitochondria-targeted catalase gene (MCAT).

Such approaches, however, would not be applicable to human.

Duan and post-doctoral researcher Dejia Li took a different approach: they placed the MCAT gene inside a benign virus, and injected the virus into the mice.

Thereafter, the researchers tested the mice, and found that they could run farther, faster and longer than other mice of the same age and sex.

Duan attributes the performance enhancement to the MCAT, and believes the gene is responsible for removing toxic substances, known as free radicals, from the mitochondria, the powerhouse of the cell.

"Our results suggest similar therapy may one day improve the life quality of the elderly. This could have important implications for many diseases, such as muscular dystrophy, heart disease, diabetes and neurodegenerative diseases. These patients typically have too many toxic free radicals in their cells," Duan said. (ANI)

Shilpa Shetty to launch healthy Indian food range to honour Jade Goody

London, Aug 20 (ANI): Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty is set to launch her own healthy Indian food range as a tribute to late Jade Goody, according to reports.

The 34-year-old actress is to pay tribute to her Big Brother co-participant by launching her own brand of poppadoms.

Jade was accused of being racist after she called the star "Shilpa Poppa-dom".

Shilpa''s chicken curry, which divided the house with accusations of under-cooked meat and excessive use of onions, is also expected to be included in the menu.

"Shilpa thinks Jade will have a little chuckle in heaven about the poppadoms," the Daily Star quoted a source as saying.

"She has been inundated with requests for her curry recipe and one day she just thought: ''Why don''t I just create my own range?''

"One of Shilpa''s passions in life is healthy living so she wanted to incorporate that into her dishes," the source added. (ANI)

north east online - north east india news

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Delhi's first swine flu deaths

Scotland frees terminally ill Lockerbie bomber

Bribe scam: CBI to question Buta on Aug 24

School bus catches fire; 8 children in serious condition

Assam's double whammy: Droughts and floods

abinet approves relaxation of borrowing norms

Cabinet approves amendments to National Institutes of Technology Act

‘Nutrition Programme for Adolescent Girls’ approved

Gujarat bans book on Jinnah

Gujarat bans book on Jinnah

Bhumidhar faces people’s wrath in Lakhimpur

anger over 'arrested' girl

All Samples Test Negative For Swine Flu in Mizoram

Senior Indian politician expelled

Suspected swine flu death, first in the national capital

Jaswant's book just the immediate provocation for expulsion

'Longevity'' gene that enhances exercise performance found

Shilpa Shetty to launch healthy Indian food range to honour Jade Goody

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