Thursday, December 17, 2009

No report of job loss to Indians in Dubai: Ravi

New Delhi, Dec 17 (PTI) No job loss among Indians employed in Dubai has been reported so far following the multi-billion-dollar debt crisis in the Gulf city state, Government informed Rajya Sabha today.

"No" was the emphatic answer of Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi to a question whether a considerable number of Indians working in Dubai were recently dismissed from their jobs following the debt debacle which mostly affected the real estate sector.

Ravi said there was no apprehension of any significant sudden job loss for the Indian workers employed there.



Global financial markets plunged late last month after Dubai World, the government investment firm burdened with USD 59 billion liabilities, requested for deferment of the debt.

Indian mission in Dhaka to be guarded by SSB troops

New Delhi, Dec 17 (PTI) Facing threat from terror group Laskhar-e-Taiba, India will soon deploy its para-military troops to guard it's mission in Dhaka.

At least 50 specially-trained troops of Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), a force that guards Indo-Nepal and Indo-Bhutan borders, will soon be sent to guard the High Commission after getting a clearance from External Affairs Ministry.

The personnel have been trained in VIP, mobile and static security duties and would also render technical support responsibilities, official sources said.

The troops will be sent soon and an assessment report is being prepared for their deployment, they said, adding SSB personnel will be in addition to the security men provided by Bangladesh government.

NKorea doubled weapon exports in 2009: reports

Tokyo, December 17 (Itar-Tass) South Korean intelligence service believes that North Korea exported double the amount of weapons this year than in 2008, violating the UN sanctions, Seoul newspaper Dong-A Blob reported today.

The sources believe that in addition to its traditional markets in the Middle East Pyongyang succeeded to make military supplies in Africa and Southeast Asia. Along with light small arms North Korea also exports missiles in these countries, the sources said.

Umbrella companies and forged shipping documents were used for the illegal weapons exports, they said.

The South Korean intelligence service said since 2003 the United States launched an active campaign against the proliferation of mass destruction weapons. North Korea's military exports dropped to 49.6 million dollars in 2007.

However, the sources reaffirm that the military supplies started growing since the previous year.

Rahul, Katrina top in cyberworld in 2009: Survey

ew Delhi, Dec 17 (PTI) The young ruled in the Indian cyberspace in 2009 with Rahul Gandhi emerging as the most popular politician and Bollywood star Katrina Kaif the most popular celebrity, according to a Google India survey.

The new survey--The Google 'Zeitgiest'(Spirit of the times) 2009--based on Google India search queries in a reflection of what Indians were searching throughout the year found that tennis star Sania Mirza held the top position in popular sportspersons category for the third year in a row.

The Saif Ali Khan-Deepika Padukone starrer 'Love Aaj Kaal' was the most searched movie, the survey, which was released today, said.

The results, based on study of aggregation of billions of queries people typed into Google search in 2009, showed that global economic downturn and local implications were clearly on India's mind as 'Budget 2009' and 'Satyam share price' emerged as the fastest rising queries.

High level inquiry ordered into PM aircraft mishap

New Delhi, Dec 17 (PTI) A high-level inquiry has been ordered into the mishap involving Prime Minister's special aircraft at the technical area of the airport here and an Air India loader has been suspended.

Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel, who rushed to the airport on learning about the incident, told reporters that both the Directorate General of Civil Aviation and Air India would conduct an inquiry.

He said preliminary inquiry has found that the Air India loader was operating the hydraulic lift carrying food items that hit the cargo door of the Air India Boeing 747-400.

"Let the full inquiry report come. Then we will know whether there was anything mala fide in this," he said adding the loader has good experience of having done work relating to several VVIP aircraft.

"After all we are all human," he said.

Tiger Woods named ‘Athlete of the Decade’ by Associated Press

New York, Dec 17(ANI): Scandal-hit American golfing superstar Tiger Woods has been named Athlete of the Decade by the Associated Press (AP).

The honour would have been another jewel in the King of Golf’s crown, but at the time when he is under intense media scrutiny since being involved in a car accident on November 27 and later admitting "transgressions" in a statement that apparently addressed allegations he cheated on his wife, the award may come as an embarrassment.

Woods, who has decided to take an “indefinite break” from professional golf to focus on his personal life, received 56 of the 142 votes cast by AP member editors since last month, The New York Post reports.

Other candidates for the award were American cyclist Lance Armstrong, Grand Slam singles tennis king Roger Federer and Olympic gold medal swimmer Michael Phelps.

Currently the World No. 1, Woods was the highest-paid professional athlete in 2008, having earned an estimated 110 million dollars from winnings and endorsements.

He has won 14 professional major golf championships, the second highest of any male player, and 71 PGA Tour events, third all time. He has more career major wins and career PGA Tour wins than any other active golfer.

Woods has held the number one position in the world rankings for the most consecutive weeks and for the greatest total number of weeks. He has been awarded PGA Player of the Year a record ten times.

He has been named Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year a record-tying four times, and is the only person to be named Sports Illustrated''s Sportsman of the Year more than once. (ANI)

Manmohan Singh’s flight to Copenhagen delayed by two hours

By Ashok Dixit

New Delhi, Dec 17 (ANI): Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh’s special flight to Copenhagen, Denmark, where he is scheduled to attend the Heads of States meeting on climate change, has been delayed by at least two hours due a technical snag.

Dr.Singh’s flight was scheduled to take-off at 2.40 pm, but according latest reports he is now slated to make the journey on a stand-by aircraft between 4.30 to 4.45 p.m.

The luggage of all the delegates traveling on the flight has been shifted to the stand-by aircraft.

Dr. Singh is expected to make an intervention at the plenary of the 15th Conference of Parties on Friday which would be addressed by Denmark Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen and UN Secretary General Ban ki-Moon.

Dr. Singh will be accompanied by his Special Envoy on Climate Change Shyam Saran and Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao.

World leaders, including US President Barack Obama, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, will also be at the plenary where they would try to reach a political agreement to tackle global warming.

The fate of the climate change talks hung in a balance as differences persisted between rich and developing nations over taking legally binding carbon emission cuts.

While the industrialised nations want key developing countries like China and India to agree to emission cuts, the emerging economies are citing historical responsibility and insisting that the rich nations should take lead, as it was they who had created the problem.

On Wednesday, Nirupama Rao has said that India would take all measures and steps necessary to prevent the developed nations from imposing a political commitment on carbon emission cuts on developing countries that was at variance to what has been agreed under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and Bali Action Plan (BAP).

Briefing media here ahead of Dr. Singh''s visit, Rao said: "From our perspective, we need to ensure that this expression of a fresh political commitment does not become a template for a new mandate that detracts from the Bali Action Plan and dissolves the fundamental differentiation in the nature of commitments/actions amongst developed and developing countries as visualized in the BAP." (ANI)

Farooq Abdullah condemns killing of a 20-year-old girl in Kashmir

New Delhi, Dec 17 (ANI): New and Renewable Energy Minister Farooq Abdullah has condemned the killing of a twenty-year-old girl on Tuesday (December 15) night by suspected militants in the Shopian town of Kashmir.

A militant had shot down Sheeraza Akhter, the 20 year-old girl who belonged to the Kellar area of Shopian in front of her father on Tuesday (December 15).

On the sidelines of a wind and biomass power generation conference in New Delhi on Thursday (December 17), Farooq Abdullah condemned the killing of Sheeraza Akhter and said that it is a shame that people shouting for human rights in Kashmir do not say anything about this killing.

"As far as Shopian rape case is concerned, we have not read the judgement, I can''t comment on it. But I do feel sad that those people who are shouting for human rights all over the place are not speaking a word about the 21-year-old girl who was shot by the militants. It''s a shameful thing," said Farooq Abdullah.

Shopian is already on the boil as, the CBI''s report on the Shopian case had sparked off an agitation in the Kashmir valley on Monday, with the families of the two women who were allegedly raped and murdered in Shopian district of Kashmir, refused to accept the findings of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) report and burnt it outside the Jammu and Kashmir High Court.

In their final report submitted to the Jammu and Kashmir High Court, the CBI had given a clean chit to the accused, denying that the two women had been raped before being killed. (ANI)

Turban ban stirs up fresh storm in New Zealand

Auckland, Dec 17(ANI): Sikh New Zealand National MP Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi, has said that he will lodge a complaint against the Manurewa Cosmopolitan Club in the Human Rights Commission if it does not change its entry rules with regards to turbans.

Bakshi’s comments came after a local Sikh community leader, Karnail Singh, was refused entry into the club to attend a function because of his turban.

According to reports, the Club staff had told Singh that the turban was considered headwear, and wearing headwear in the club was against its rules.

“So ridiculous that this is happening in this day and age in New Zealand, when the Sikhs have been part of our society for 120 years and even the police recognize the turban as part of their official uniform,” The New Zealand Herald quoted Bakshi, as saying.

“The turban is no ordinary headwear, it is one of the very foundations and principal articles of our Sikh religion. I am allowed to wear the turban in Parliament. Why should a cossie club ban it from its premises?” he added.

Meanwhile, the commission said that they have received complaints against the club in the past as well for banning guests due to their religious headwear.

Earlier this year, the club had refused to let a Muslim international student enter its dining area, as she was wearing a religious headscarf.

“An outcome from that mediation was the club''s agreement to review its rule on headwear and dress code,” a commission spokesman said.

The commission also said that it would welcome Bakshi lodging a further complaint against the club over the latest incident, although it had already set a mediation date next month between the parties involved. (ANI)

Dalai Lama visit, Cong's poll win hog limelight in Arunachal

The visit of Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama to Arunachal Pradesh despite strong objections from China was in focus during the year that saw the Congress romping back to power with a two-thirds majority in the assembly polls.

Arunachalees, specially those living in the three predominantly Buddhist districts of Tawang, West and East Kameng, prayed throughout the year for the Centre's clearance to Dalai Lama's visit to the picturesque Tawang, known for its over 300-year-old monastery.

There was a sigh of relief when Prime Manmohan Singh told his Chinese counterpart Wen Jiabao on the sidelines of an international summit in Thailand in October that India treated the Dalai Lama as an honoured guest and a spiritual leader and he was free to visit any part of the country.

Beijing also objected to visits by Singh and President Pratibha Patil to the state during the year.

Arunachalees were also reassured when External Affairs Minister S M Krishna said in Parliament that India was not soft on China over border disputes.

The government announced its decision to deploy more troops along the over 1,000-km-long Sino-India border in the hilly state.

The Dalai Lama was on a week-long visit to the state in November.

China trained its guns on the Dalai Lama and criticised his visit to Arunachal as a 'separatist' activity out to 'wreck' Sino-India ties.

Fate of Mizoram tribal refugees uncertain

The much-awaited process of repatriation of 35,000 Reang tribal refugees from Tripura to Mizoram hangs in the balance despite pressure from the Centre, the Tripura government and rights bodies on the Mizoram government to resolve the 12-year-old ethnic crisis.

A fact finding team (FFT) from the Asian Centre for Human Rights (ACHR) in New Delhi visited Mizoram and Tripura Dec 8-15 to facilitate a resolution to the ethnic conflict between Reang tribals and the majority of Mizos in Mizoram.

The tribal refugees are unwilling to return to their homes in Mizoram until their demands for fool-proof security and sufficient financial assistance are accepted by the Mizoram government.

"The Centre has sanctioned Rs.33 crore to the Mizoram government to rehabilitate the tribal refugees," an official in Aizawl said Tuesday.

Mizoram Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla said: "A 'road map' for the repatriation of tribal refugees from Tripura has been prepared and it was approved by the union home ministry."

"Bipartite and tripartite meetings for the repatriation of the genuine citizens of Mizoram were held on a number of occasions. The state government has always agreed to bring back the bona-fide refugees of Mizoram and it is now up to them (refugees) to accept it and return home," the chief minister told reporters in Aizawl Tuesday.

Over 35,000 Reang tribal refugees have been sheltered in six north Tripura camps since 1997 after they fled Mizoram following ethnic clashes with the majority Mizos.

The tribal refugees' repatriation from Tripura to Mizoram has recently become complicated with violent mobs in western Mizoram burning down around 700 houses of Reang tribals last month following the gunning down of an 18-year-old Mizo youth by unidentified miscreants.

Following the arson and violence, thousands of displaced Reang tribals have taken shelter afresh in adjacent southern Assam and northern Tripura.

ACHR director and leader of the fact finding team Suhas Chakma told reporters in Agartala Tuesday that they would impress upon the Centre to call a high-level meeting involving the chief ministers of Mizoram and Tripura and Reang tribal leaders immediately to resolve the ethnic problem at the earliest.

"The recent influx of the tribals is another reminder to the Centre, Mizoram and Tripura governments and the Mizo and Reang tribal community organisations that unless sincerity is shown by all the parties, the ethnic problem could have serious implications. The time has come for all the actors to re-engage in dialogue with sincerity," Chakma added.

The Centre and Tripura governments have asked Mizoram to resolve the 12-year-old deadlock on the repatriation of Reang refugees to the state.

Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar recently held a meeting with union Home Minister P. Chidambaram in New Delhi and discussed ways to resolve the deadlock on the repatriation of 35,000 Reang refugees to Mizoram and a fresh exodus into Tripura following the recent ethnic violence.

An inconclusive tripartite meeting was held in Aizawl last month between representatives of the central and Mizoram governments and tribal refugees to resolve the deadlock.

"Both the centre and the Mizoram government rejected our major demands. We will not return to our homes unless our vital demands are fulfilled," said refugee leader Elvis Chorkhy, who led the seven-member refugee delegation at the tripartite meeting.

"The Mizoram government's package for the home-bound refugees suggested a Rs.20,000 cash grant instead of Rs.50,000 as promised earlier. The package also recommended a scattered resettlement of the 35,000 tribal refugees in three different districts of Mizoram - Mamit, Kolashib and Lunglei. We want compact rehabilitation of the tribals in two districts in western Mizoram," Chorkhy told IANS.

The Reang tribals also want deployment of the central paramilitary forces in the proposed resettlement and Reang tribal-dominated areas instead of the state security force to prevent further violence. The demand too was rejected by both the Centre and the Mizoram government.

Three killed in three explosions in Manipur

Three minors have been killed and four injured in three separate explosions in Manipur, police said on Wednesday.

A police spokesperson said the explosions took place late Tuesday, describing the blast that killed the three children as a freak one.

The official said three children, aged two to five, were playing with a ball like object in their courtyard late Tuesday in village Sevon, about 260 km from state capital Imphal, when it exploded.

“The ball like object the children were playing exploded suddenly, killing the three of them. We really don’t know what the object was and how it reached the hands of the children,” he said.

A team of bomb experts have been sent to the village that is located in an inaccessible region.

The second blast took place near Moreh on the border with Myanmar when a truck carrying paddy hit a landmine.

“The truck was blown up with four occupants in the vehicles injured,” the official said.

“Probably the landmine was planted aimed at targeting security convoys but their timing went wrong with the civilian truck becoming the casualty.”

There was a third blast late Tuesday on the outskirts of capital Imphal although there was no casualty as the explosion took place near a drain.