Wednesday, March 3, 2010

India navy plane crashes at air show, killing pilots

An Indian naval plane has crashed at an air show in the city of Hyderabad killing both pilots, the navy says.

Footage showed the plane flying in formation before crashing in a densely populated area near the show ground.

A three-storey house was destroyed and other buildings damaged. There is no word yet on any further casualties on the ground.

It is not clear what caused the crash. The Indian Aviation 2010 show opened on Wednesday and will go on until Sunday.

The two-seater Kiran MK-II which crashed was part of a four-plane formation.
"In the final phase, the aircraft appears to have gone out of control. They crashed into a building and the pilots have died," navy chief Admiral Nirmal Verma told reporters.

The other three aircraft landed safely, the navy said.

An inquiry is being ordered to find out what caused the crash, it added.

Jay Leno makes return to Tonight Show on US television

Comedian Jay Leno has made his return to The Tonight Show in the US, nine months after leaving the programme.

In a pre-taped Wizard of Oz spoof, Leno chanted "there's no place like home".

In his opening monologue, he told an enthusiastic live audience it was "good to be home," joking, "I'm Jay Leno, your host - at least for a while."

He replaces host Conan O'Brien who quit with a $33m (£20m) pay-off after eight months, over plans by broadcaster NBC to move the show to a later time slot.

It brought to an end an acrimonious period for NBC.

Leno, 59, who had presented the show since taking over from host Johnny Carson in 1992, left for The Jay Leno Show which started in September at the earlier time of 10pm.

The Tonight Show, under O'Brien, continued in its regular slot at 11.35pm.

But ratings for both shows slumped and NBC took the decision to move Leno's show to his original slot and move O'Brien to after midnight for the first time in the show's history.

O'Brien deal

In an open letter, O'Brien said: "Delaying the Tonight Show into the next day to accommodate another comedy programme will seriously damage what I consider to be the greatest franchise in the history of broadcasting."
In January, NBC reached a $45m (£28m) deal with O'Brien, paving the way for his predecessor to return.

O'Brien, 46, was paid $33m (£20m) with the remainder going to his staff. The deal allows him to return to broadcasting in eight months.


Leno's Tonight Show return featured guests including Jamie Foxx and US Olympic gold medal skier Lindsey Vonn.

Leno joked: "When it comes to going downhill, nobody is faster. OK, except NBC."

Ashley Roberts and Kimberley Wyatt quit Pussycat Dolls

Two members of chart-topping band the Pussycat Dolls have left the band, it has been confirmed.

Ashley Roberts announced on micro-blogging site Twitter that she had "an amazing ride" and had "learned so much".

She added she will "always love those girls. My sistas 4 life."

Kimberley Wyatt who recently judged Sky One's Got To Dance talent show left over the weekend saying "money and fame can't buy happiness".

In a statement, Roberts added that she has "gotten the acting bug and am falling in love with it. I have a few projects in the works and when ready I will announce more details to all of you".

She also said she is "in the studio recording some of my own music".

Roberts' and Wyatt's exits follow the departure of former group member Carmit Bachar, who quit the group in 2008.


It follows rumours of a rift in the group over the elevation of member Nicole Scherzinger to lead singer.
Scherzinger, who dated former F1 world champion Lewis Hamilton, has just been announced in the line up for US television show Dancing With the Stars.

Initially forming in 1995 as a burlesque troupe based in Los Angeles, the changing line-up settled on six members who began recording music in 2003.


Their single Don't Cha was number one in the UK in 2005 and a chat-topping debut album PCD followed in 2006.

New era for internet security amid increased attacks

Internet security techniques must adapt to keep up with the rising tide of net attacks say officials.

The issue is top of the agenda at the world's biggest security conference hosted by vendor RSA.

Recent incidents such as the high-profile attacks on Google in China have highlighted the new challenges.

"The attacks are getting more malicious, sophisticated, and from different directions," said the chief executive of Verisign Mark McLaughlin.

Mr McLaughlin's company manages the .com and .net domains of the internet.

"Certainly as more utilisation of the net occurs and more people go online, then the more security concerns have to go up," he told BBC News.

"Throw cloud computing on top of that as well as more people accessing information via their phones, the growth of the smart grid and health records coming online and we have a situation that means people have got to be more forward thinking about security and how to address it."

Verisign itself is the target of around one to two thousand attacks a day, he added.
"They come from all sorts of sources: from the frat kids trying to take down the internet to state-sponsored actors who are just pressing to see where the vulnerabilities are and how you react so they can use the information for the next time."

Security vendor Symantec recently revealed that 75% of organisations witnessed some form of cyber attack during 2009.

'Safe house'

Throughout this week a lot of attention will be paid to the recent attacks that Google faced when the Gmail accounts of human rights activists were hacked.

The Chinese government denies involvement but the search giant threatened to pull out of the country following the incident.

Google is now involved in talks with senior officials to try to resolve the situation.
While those diplomatic efforts proceed in the background, at RSA this week the Google attack will dominate because it has brought the issue of cyber-espionage out into the open.

"This type of attack has been going on for a while, not necessarily China, not necessarily Google but this situation has now brought it to the forefront of people's minds," industry commentator and RSA chair Hugh Thompson told BBC News.

"This is the time when as a nation and security community we need to look at these big threats and work out how we can battle them as a community."

Cisco's chief security officer John Stewart said both sides need to take their head out of the sand.

"We are still playing a lot of hunker down and playing victim because we know we are going to get attacked while on the internet and it is not acceptable and we need to speak up. We need more openness and collaboration within business and with government working together."

Generally speaking most companies who have been targeted by cyber criminals or even nation states are reluctant to go public for fear of losing public confidence or compromising customers.

Melissa Hathaway, who led President Obama's review of cyber security, suggested one solution - the creation of an independent third party that would allow the companies to remain anonymous while revealing breaches in security.

"It would need to be considered a neutral third-party. It would need to be a not-for-profit and not seen as a competitor but as a safe place to share and store information," said Ms Hathaway, who is now a senior security advisor for Cisco.

Government voice

Throughout the week, the voice of the government will echo loudly at this conference as a number of high level officials come to push their own agenda for the future security of the internet.

Getting top billing is President Obama's newly appointed cyber security tsar, Howard Schmidt, who will make his first major public speech to the industry on Tuesday.
Also grabbing some of the spotlight will be Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, FBI director Robert Mueller, former Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and former White House cyber chief Richard Clarke.

The participation of so many top-grade government officials is seen as proof that the issue of cyber security has grown in importance for the administration.

"It is showing the government reaching out to the security community and underlining that none of the big problems we face can be served by one entity. It is all about us all coming together to solve them," said RSA conference general manager Sandra Toms LaPedis.

Other topics that will be the subject of major discussion will be the security of cloud computing and the threats that social networking presents.

Money sharing comes to Facebook

Friends on social networking site Facebook can now send small payments directly to each other via an application called Buxter.

Buxter handles transactions in Euros or US dollars, with plans to launch in Sterling in the next four weeks.

Other currencies are subject to a 5% conversion fee at the point of upload to a Buxter account.

The company behind the application is ClickandBuy which operates an online payment service across the web.

More than 13 million people across the world already have accounts with it, and a ClickandBuy account is required in order to use Buxter.

Transactions between Buxter accounts are free to make and receive but a 1.9% commission fee, minimum 2 euros or $3 (£2), is charged to move the money to another source such as a bank account.

"People share their statuses, their information and their pictures on Facebook so the question is why not share money there too?" Christian von Hammel-Bonten, senior vice president at ClickandBuy told BBC News.

The application is designed for fairly small payments (a maximum of 50 euros (£45) can be held in any one account) and transactions can only be made among people who are friends on Facebook.

Mr von Hammel-Bonten said he hoped people would use the service to pay each other for shared expenses such as cinema tickets and restaurant bills initially.

"We're not trying to compete with national banking systems. This is not somewhere to pay your gas or rent," he said.

PlayStation 3 gaming console clock bug 'fixed'

Sony has said that a millennium-style bug that prevented thousands of PlayStation 3 owners from using its online games network has been resolved.

The firm said that the fault had been caused by machines that had "recognised the year 2010 as a leap year".

The problem did not affect the newer "slim" models of the PS3, Sony said.

The Japanese electronics giant had previously advised gamers to stop using their games console until the problem was fixed.

"We are aware that the internal clock functionality in the PlayStation (PS3) units other than the slim model, recognized the year 2010 as a leap year," said Patrick Seybold of the firm in a blog post.
"Having the internal clock date change from 29 February to 1 March (both GMT), we have verified that the symptoms are now resolved and that users are able to use their PS3 normally."

The problem meant that PS3 owners were unable to connect to the PlayStation Network, used by millions around the world to play online games and download movies.

It said that if gamers still experienced problems, they should adjust the date settings manually or via the internet.

Some have likened the problem to the millennium bug.

The problem, also known as the Y2K bug, was predicted to cause a global computer meltdown when computer clocks changed at the end of the millennium. In the end, few problems were experienced.

Apple sues HTC over phone patents

Apple has taken legal action against phone maker HTC, alleging it has infringed patented technology.

HTC has been accused of infringing 20 patents owned by Apple that are used in the iPhone.

Apple said the patent infringements covered technology used in the iPhone interface as well as its "underlying hardware and architecture."

HTC makes phones for many firms including Google and was behind the Nexus One handset.

In a statement Apple boss Steve Jobs said: "We can sit by and watch competitors steal our patented inventions, or we can do something about it.

"We've decided to do something about it," he said. "We think competition is healthy, but competitors should create their own original technology, not steal ours."

In its legal filing, Apple is seeking a lasting injunction which would effectively bar HTC from selling phones that use the disputed technology in the US.

The legal action has been filed with the US International Trade Commission and a district court in Delaware.

In its response to the legal action, HTC said it had only just learned about Apple's legal action and has not had the chance to investigate the filing.

"Until we have had this opportunity, we are unable to comment on the validity of the claims being made against HTC," it said in a statement.

In addition to making the Nexus One, the first handset to be branded by Google, HTC has also made several handsets that use Google's Android operating system.

At the same time Apple is locked in legal action with Nokia. The Finnish phone giant sued Apple for patent infringement in October 2009, alleging it had stolen patented technology.

In response, Apple countersued in December 2009. Nokia launched a second round of legal action in the closing days of 2009.

Nose scanning techniques could sniff out criminals


We already have iris and fingerprint scanning but noses could be an even better method of identification, says a study from the University of Bath, UK.

The researchers scanned noses in 3D and characterised them by tip, ridge profile and the nasion, or area between the eyes.

They found 6 main nose types: Roman, Greek, Nubian, hawk, snub and turn-up.

Since they are hard to conceal, the study says, noses would work well for identification in covert surveillance.

The researchers say noses have been overlooked in the growing field of biometrics, studies into ways of identifying distinguishing traits in people.

"Noses are prominent facial features and yet their use as a biometric has been largely unexplored," said the University of Bath's Dr Adrian Evans.

"Ears have been looked at in detail, eyes have been looked at in terms of iris recognition but the nose has been neglected."

The researchers used a system called PhotoFace, developed by researchers at the University of the West of England, Bristol and Imperial College, London, for the 3D scans.
Several measurements by which noses can be recognised were identified and the team developed recognition software based on these parameters.

"This initial work is nowhere as good as iris identification but the nose has pros and cons," said Dr Evans.

"There's no magic biometric that solves all your problems. Irises are a powerful biometric but can be difficult to capture accurately and can be easily obscured by eyelids or glasses. People can easily cover up their ears, with their hair for example.

"Of course you can have a broken nose or wear a false nose or have plastic surgery but to have nose surgery to change your identity is fairly drastic.

"Irises are very good for recognition but you can put in dilation drops which change the iris completely. No technique is infallible," he said.

The research is based on a study of 40 noses and the data base has now been expanded to 160 for further tests to see if the software can pick out people from a larger group and distinguish between relatives.

Dr Evans hopes the method can be proven to be effective on this larger sample. "The technique certainly shows potential, perhaps to be used in combination with other identification methods," he said.

Ice deposits found at Moon's pole

A radar experiment aboard India's Chandrayaan-1 lunar spacecraft has identified thick deposits of water-ice near the Moon's north pole.

The US space agency's (Nasa) Mini-Sar experiment found more than 40 small craters containing water-ice.

But other compounds - such as hydrocarbons - are mixed up in lunar ice, according to new results from another Moon mission called LCROSS.

The findings were presented at a major planetary science conference in Texas.

The craters with ice range from 2km to 15km (one to nine miles) in diameter; how much there is depends on its thickness in each crater. But Nasa says the ice must be at least a couple of metres thick to give the signature seen by Chandrayaan-1.

Dr Paul Spudis, from the Lunar and Planetary Institute in Houston, estimated there was at least 600 million metric tonnes of water-ice held within these impact craters.

The equivalent amount, expressed as rocket fuel, would be enough to launch one space shuttle per day for 2,200 years, he told journalists at the 41st Lunar and Planetary Science Conference.

What all these craters have in common are large areas of their interiors that never see sunlight.

Extreme cold

Temperatures in some of these permanently darkened craters can drop as low as 25 Kelvin (-248C; -415F) - colder than the surface of Pluto - allowing water-ice to remain stable.

"It is mostly pure water-ice," said Dr Spudis. "It could be under a few tens of centimetres of dry regolith (lunar soil)."

This protective layer of soil could prevent blocks of pure ice from vaporising even in some areas which are exposed to sunlight, he explained.
In February, President Barack Obama cancelled the programme designed to return Americans to the Moon by 2020.

However, Dr Spudis said: "Now we can say with a fair degree of confidence that a sustainable human presence on the Moon is possible. It's possible using the resources we find there.

"The results from these missions, that we have seen in the last few months, are totally revolutionising our view of the Moon."

Chandrayaan-1 was India's contribution to the armada of unmanned spacecraft to have been launched to the Moon in recent years. Japan, Europe, China and the US have all sent missions packed with instruments to explore Earth's satellite in unprecedented detail.

In Nasa's LCROSS mission, a rocket and a probe were smashed into a large crater at the lunar south pole, kicking up water-ice and water vapour.

Spectral measurements of material thrown up by the LCROSS impact indicate some of the water-ice was in a crystalline form, rather than the "amorphous" form in which the water molecules are randomly arranged.

Water source

"There's not one flavour of water on the Moon; there's a range of everything from relatively pure ice all the way to adsorbed water," said the mission's chief scientist Anthony Colaprete, from Nasa's Ames Research Center.

"And here is an instance inside Cabeus crater where it appears we threw up a range of fine-grained particulates of near pure crystalline water-ice."

Overall, results from recent missions suggest there could be several sources for lunar ice.

One important way for water to form is through an interaction with the solar wind, the fast-moving stream of particles that constantly billows away from the Sun.

Space radiation triggers a chemical reaction in which oxygen atoms already in the soil acquire hydrogen nuclei to make water molecules and the simpler hydrogen-oxygen (OH) molecule. This "adsorbed" water may be present as fine films coating particles of lunar soil.

In a cold sink effect, water from elsewhere on the lunar surface may migrate to the slightly cooler poles, where it is retained in permanently shadowed craters.

Scientists have also reported the presence of hydrocarbons, such as ethylene, in the LCROSS impact plume. Dr Colaprete said any hydrocarbons were likely to have been delivered to the lunar surface by comets and asteroids - another vital source of lunar water.

However, he added, some of these chemical species could arise through "cold chemistry" on interstellar dust grains accumulated on the Moon.

In addition to water, researchers have seen a range of other "volatiles" (compounds with low boiling points) in the impact plume, including sulphur dioxide (SO2) and carbon dioxide (CO2).

The results from the Mini-Sar instrument are due to be published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters. The team is currently analysing results for craters at the Moon's south pole.

Etched ostrich eggs illustrate human sophistication

Inscribed ostrich shell fragments found in South Africa are among the earliest examples of the use of symbolism by modern humans, scientists say.

The etched shells from Diepkloof Rock Shelter in Western Cape have been dated to about 60,000 years ago.

Details are reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The researchers, who have investigated the material since 1999, argue that the markings are almost certainly a form of messaging - of graphic communication.

"The motif is two parallel lines, which we suppose were circular, but we do not have a complete refit of the eggs," explained Dr Pierre-Jean Texier from the University of Bordeaux, Talence, France.
"The lines are crossed at right angles or oblique angles by hatching. By the repetition of this motif, early humans were trying to communicate something. Perhaps they were trying to express the identity of the individual or the group," he told BBC News.


Symbolic thought - the ability to let one thing represent another - was a giant leap in human evolution, and sets our species apart from the rest of the animal world.

Understanding when and where this behaviour first emerged is a key quest for scientists studying human origins.

Arguably the earliest examples of conceptual thought are the pieces of shell jewellery discovered at Skhul Cave in Israel and from Oued Djebbana in Algeria. These artefacts are 90,000-100,000 years old.

Shell beading from 75,000 years ago is also found at Blombos Cave in South Africa, as well as a number of ochre blocks that have engravings not dissimilar to those at Diepkloof.
However, the significance of the Diepkloof finds may lie in their number, which proves such markings could not have been simple doodlings.

"What is extraordinary at Diepkloof is that we have close to 300 pieces of such engravings, which is why we are speaking of a system of symbolic representation," Dr Texier said.

The team, which includes Dr Guillaume Porraz from the University of Tubingen, tried themselves to recreate the markings using pieces of flint.

"Ostrich egg shells are quite hard. Doing such engravings is not so easy. You have to pass through the outer layer to get through to the middle layer," Dr Texier explained.

The team's experiments also suggest that the colouration of the fragments is natural and not the result of the application of pigments.

The group was able to reproduce similar hues by baking pieces of shell near a fire.
Professor Chris Stringer, of London's Natural History Museum, said the find was important.

"Here we've got something that we can compare with later material that clearly does have important signalling value in the populations," he told BBC News.

"It's a very nice link between the Middle Stone Age, the later Stone Age and even recent populations in South Africa. One question now is whether this is a special site, or as we excavate more sites will we find this material is more widespread?"

International military music festival to promote peace begins today

NEW DELHI - To promote peace through music, New Delhi is all set to host military musicians and cultural troupes of six armies — India, UK, Sri Lanka, France, Nepal and Bangladesh.

Musicians in all world-class armies have played a pivotal role not only in high standards of ceremonial functions, but also in adding vigour to the daily routine of regimental life of a soldier.

The itinerary includes performances by world-class musicians of The Royal EME (UK), The French Army, The Sri Lankan Army, The Bangladesh Army and The Nepalese Army apart from bands of the Indian Army, the Indian Air Force and the Indian Navy.

The performances of these elite bands will commence with concert at the Purana Quila on March 3 followed by functions at Army Parade Ground, Delhi Cantt.

There will be presentations of Kalaipayattu, Khukri Dance, Lezium, Janch pathaka, Bhangra and traditional dances from Ladakh and North East as well.

The elite 61 Cavalry, which is the only Cavalry Regiment in the world, will also carry out a cavalry display.

President Pratibha Devisingh Patil and Defence Minister AK Antony will grace the occasion while the best of the martial musicians will create symphony to the perfection.

The function will be open to public on March 5-6 at Army Parade Ground, Delhi Cantt.

The occasion is unique as it is for the first time that such a function is being hosted in the country. (ANI)

Muivah meets Manmohan, Chidambaram, talks peace

Thuingaleng Muivah, general secretary of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (I-M) resumed the dialogue process afresh on Tuesday, calling on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Home Minister P Chidambaram before holding the first formal meeting with the new government interlocutor in Delhi.

At both meetings, Muivah is understood to have reiterated the NSCN (I-M) desire for a peaceful resolution to their proposals and the unique history and situation of the Nagas.

India is offering wide autonomy to Naga people as it has already rejected the demand for an independent homeland in northeastern India bordering Myanmar.

"We had a comprehensive discussion and the NSCN (I-M) will continue the negotiation with the government of India," Muivah told reporters after his meeting with Chidambaram that went on for over an hour.

NSCN (I-M) representatives, however, made clear that they would not compromise on their right to sovereignty.

Different factions of the militant outfit, however, are under pressure from the Naga civil society that wants to put an end to half a century of bloodshed.

Naga Hoho, the apex tribal council, welcomed the resumption of dialogue, saying it had given “momentum” to the Naga people.

NSCN (I-M) holds talks with new govt pointsman

In a fresh bid to solve the Naga issue, NSCN-IM on Tuesday held the first round of talks with the government's newly appointed pointsman RS Pandey during which the group submitted a list of 30 demands that includes sovereignty for Nagaland.

The meeting, held at undisclosed location, lasted for about 90 minutes during which a NSCN-IM delegation led by its general secretary Thuingaleng Muivah submitted their 30-point demands, sources said.

The meeting which was seen more as an "informal type", as pointed out by a delegate at the meeting, was held to know the new interlocutor who had helped Muivah in renewing his expired passport, they said, adding another round will be held on Wednesday.

Pandey, while giving a patient hearing to the Naga leaders, conveyed to them that there was no possibility of sovereignty for Nagaland and the talks could be held around granting more autonomy.

Pandey, a former Petroleum Secretary, was appointed as the new pointsman on Naga talks on February 12 to succeed former Home Secretary K Padmanabhaiah who was the interlocutor for nearly a decade.

Among other issues in the charter demand, the NSCN-IM pointed out certain taxation matters and preservation of cultural heritage, the sources said.

Earlier, the Naga delegation paid courtesy calls to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Union Home Minister P Chidambaram.

Muivah, who along with four other Naga leaders arrived here on February 27 from Amsterdam, met the prime minister at his residence.

This is the second such meeting in the past five years. Muivah along with the NSCN-IM chairman Isak Chisi Swu had met Singh earlier during their visit in 2006.

Later Muivah met Union Home Minister P Chidambaram during which the two sides had a comprehensive discussion on finding a lasting solution to the six-decades-old issue which includes boundary dispute with neighbouring Manipur and Assam.

"We had a comprehensive discussion and the NSCN-IM will continue the negotiation with the government of India," Muivah told reporters after the meeting.

"If the Centre is serious then we will talk," he said. Asked whether the organisation was happy over Pandey's appointment, Muivah said, "the government of India has confidence in him. So we will talk to him. But if the talks do not yield any result then we will say no."

Besides Chidambaram, others present at the hour-long meeting were Home Secretary G K Pillai and Special Secretary (Internal Security) U K Bansal.

Muivah, along with Swu, had last visited India in December 2006 and held talks with government leaders. He is expected to visit Nagaland later.

A ceasefire was agreed upon with NSCN-IM in August 1997. In May 1998, the Union government had appointed Swaraj Kaushal as the first negotiator. He continued in his post till July 1999.

Naga Hoho lauds Centre, NSCN(I-M) for resumption of peace talks

With the Centre-NSCN(I-M) peace talks to begin from Tuesdayin Delhi with new government pointsman R S Pandey, the apex tribal council Naga Hoho said the resumption of dialogue had given 'momentum' to the Naga people.

Naga Hoho president Keviletuo Kiewhuo and general secretary P Chuba Ozukum in a joint statement in Kohima said the Naga people strongly felt that it was time for the Centre to have 'strong zeal and commitment' for the talks which had
carried on for over 10 years and might be the longest dialogue in the history of conflict resolution.

The statement said that the talks had given 'momentum' to the Naga people and hoped the government of India would be 'more sincere this time in resolving the conflict'.

The outfit's general secretary Th. Muivah, the chief negotiator for NSCN(I-M), had arrived in New Delhi on February 27 to resume the stalled peace talks at the invitation of the government.

Meanwhile, Naga organisations in four hill districts of Manipur on Monday held rallies in support of the talks demanding early settlement of the vexed problem.

NSCN(I-M)'s key demand for bringing Naga inhabited areas of the region into a single administrative setup has been strongly opposed by Manipur, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.

Govt. wishes “an honourable negotiated settlement” from talks with NSCN (IM) team

New Delhi, March 2 (ANI): Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram on Tuesday said that it is his earnest desire that the talks being held with the visiting team of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Isak-Muivah (NSCN-IM) should lead to an honourable negotiated settlement.

Presenting the Ministry of Home Affairs’ monthly report card for February today in the national capital, Chidambaram said: “A team of the NSCN (IM) led by Thuingaleng Muivah, General Secretary, has arrived in New Delhi to hold talks with the Government of India. We have appointed R.S. Pandey, IAS (Retd.) as the Interlocutor of the Government of India for the Naga peace talks. It is my earnest desire that the talks will lead to an honourable negotiated settlement.”

Rebel Naga leaders, who are seeking sovereignty for a ''Greater Nagaland'' met Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh on Tuesday.

As per reports the issue of sovereignty was not discussed in the meeting today.

The banned National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN) - Isak Muivah faction chairman Isak Chisi Swu along with its General Secretary Thuingaleng Muivah arrived here for talks with the Central Government in a bid to take the vexed Naga peace process forward.

Isak and Muivah will hold talks with the Government''s newly appointed man R. S. Pandey.

Pandey has replaced former Home Secretary K. Padmanabhaiah, who held talks with the Naga insurgent leadership for over nine years.

Isak and Muivah, who are now based in Amsterdam, have come to India after nearly three years.

Muivah has set the tone for the talks by saying the rebel outfit will not withdraw its demand for sovereignty for a Greater Nagaland.

Chidambaram, while talking about Assam, informed that over 400 Karbi Longri NC Hills Liberation Front (KLNLF) cadres laid down arms in February.

“In Assam, 412 cadres of Karbi Longri NC Hills Liberation Front (KLNLF) laid down arms on February 11, 2010. They deposited 162 weapons, ammunition and explosives,” Chidambaram said.

He also informed that the Regional Coordination Mechanism to facilitate 24x7 sharing and follow-up of information among the North Eastern States has become operational. “After all the nodes of the SMACs in the North-East are networked, connectivity would be provided to 40 most sensitive districts in that region.”

Besides, Chidambaram also informed on February 5, a notification has been made under Section 3(1) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 extending the declaration of the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) as an ‘unlawful association’. (ANI)

Naga leaders meet Manmohan Singh seek sovereignty of ''Greater Nagaland''

New Delhi, Mar 2 (ANI): Rebel Naga leaders, who are seeking sovereignty for a ''Greater Nagaland'' met Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh on Tuesday.

As per reports the issue of sovereignty was not discussed in the meeting today.

The banned National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN) - Isak Muivah faction chairman Isak Chisi Swu along with its General Secretary Thuingaleng Muivah arrived here for talks with the Central Government in a bid to take the vexed Naga peace process forward.

Isak and Muivah will hold talks with the Government''s newly appointed man R. S. Pandey.

Pandey has replaced former Home Secretary K. Padmanabhaiah, who held talks with the Naga insurgent leadership for over nine years.

Isak and Muivah, who are now based in Amsterdam, have come to India after nearly three years.

Muivah has set the tone for the talks by saying the rebel outfit will not withdraw its demand for sovereignty for a Greater Nagaland.

Union Home Secretary G K Pillai told newsmen in Dimapur on Saturday, "Muivah accepted the invitation from the Government of India communicated through the new Interlocutor R S Pandey to resume the peace dialogue."

Ahead of meetings with political leadership, the Naga leaders will hold talks with Pandey on March two and three, they said.

The two leaders were also expected to visit Nagaland besides addressing the issue of clashes between the cadres of NSCN-IM and its rival NSCN (Khaplang), which led to unrest in the recent past.

Government sources said they would try and iron out differences with the NSCN-IM, which has proposed a federal relationship in the Indian Union. (ANI)

Govt. released Rs. 46.21 crore under the Modernisation of Police Forces Scheme

New Delhi, March 2 (ANI): The Government released Rs. 46.21 crore to various States in under the Modernisation of Police Forces Scheme in the month of February, said Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram here on Tuesday.

Presenting the Ministry of Home Affairs’ monthly report card for February today in the national capital, Mr. Chidambaram said: “Under the Modernisation of Police Forces Scheme, a sum of Rs. 46.21 crore was released to various States in February 2010, taking the total sum released so far to Rs. 1,001.85 crore (against a Budget provision (RE) of Rs. 1230 crore).”

He also informed that sanction was accorded on February 5, 2010 for the procurement of 650 Hand-Held Thermal Imagers (HHTI) for the BSF from M/s BEL at a cost of Rs. 112 crore. On February 9, 2010, sanction was accorded for the procurement of 2,464 VHF Radio sets for the BSF at a cost of Rs. 11.12 crore. (ANI)

CBSE class X, XII exams begin today

Lakhs of students will take the CBSE class X and XII examinations from today at over 5,300 centres across the country. Close to 9.02 lakh candidates will be appearing in CBSE class X examination under the new grading system while more than 6.99 lakh candidates will take their class XII examination.

It is that time of the year when students across the country undergo a nerve wracking time preparing for the 10th board exams, but those appearing this year have many firsts to deal with.

All of us have burnt the midnight oil for class X board exams, however, for Radhika Malik's batch it's different.

For the first time in India, CBSE is going to grade students. The age-old percentage system is out.

Radhika Malik, CBSE Candidate, says, "I think this is better, there is less pressure. Ya probably the ninety percenters may have a problem with the grading system, but for us seventy-eighty percenters I think it is great to be in the same category."

Usha Ram, Principal, Laxman Public School says,"Grade system is great. Students can fall in the same level. So depression can be avoided among students who fail. Students will get two chances if they get below a certain grade."

This is a transitional phase, but most of the candidates are positive about the grading system and hope that examiners will be lenient while using this marking system for the first time.

Over 9 lakh candidates will appear for the exams starting Wednesday, the number 9% higher than last year.

Students will get multiple chances to attempt a paper they have fared poorly in.

Another first for this year's board exams is that question papers in Braille will be printed for blind students.

This board exam is being seen as a beginning, in a larger attempt to revamp our high-pressure education system.

Students like Radhika Malik are beneficiaries of this important shift.