Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Death Toll Raises to 52 in Election Violence in Philippine

MANILA :

The death toll in Monday’s election violence rose to 52 on Wednesday, the Philippine authorities said, as six more bodies were recovered.
The regional police commander in Maguindanao Province, Josefino Cataluna, said the bodies were dug out from a shallow pit near a grassy hilltop where police and troops earlier found 46 other corpses after Monday’s attack, The Associated Press reported. He said the 52 victims included the family of a gubernatorial candidate and 18 Filipino journalists who accompanied his relatives in filing his election papers.
The government declared a state of emergency Tuesday in two southern provinces in an effort to head off further bloodshed.
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo declared a state of emergency in the contiguous provinces of Maguindanao and Sultan Kudarat and in the city of Cotabato on the southern island of Mindanao. The measure gives the police and army the authority to apprehend and detain those who carried out the slaughter.
The southern Philippines has been plagued for years by secessionist and Islamist insurgencies. The United States sends $1.6 billion annually in military and economic aid to the Philippines, with much of it aimed at a shadowy Islamist group, Abu Sayyaf, which has ties to Al Qaeda.
The authorities said that this week’s election violence had nothing to do with those groups, but that it was rooted in rivalries among local clans that the government had empowered as a way of combating the insurgents. One clan, the Ampatuans, is considered the closest political ally of Mrs. Arroyo in that part of the southern Philippines.
There are at least 250 political dynasties scattered throughout the Philippines, according to the Center for People Empowerment in Governance, a nonprofit group. For many of them and particularly those in the south, politics is literally a blood sport, with the clans’ power and income riding on the outcome of elections. As a consequence, violence has become a fixture of elections here; at least 126 died in the 2007 elections and 189 in 2004.
Opponents were quick to accuse the Ampatuans of engineering Monday’s attack. Esmael Mangudadatu, the vice mayor of Buluan, a town in Maguindanao, whose family is the chief political enemy of the Ampatuans, said on national television that survivors had implicated supporters of the Maguindanao governor, Andal Ampatuan. The Ampatuans have not made any public statement since the killings.
Mr. Mangudadatu said about 100 armed men had abducted the group, which included his wife, Genalyn, and other female relatives. They were on their way to the election office on Monday to file candidacy papers for him.
Mr. Mangudadatu attributed the attack to his decision to challenge the Ampatuans for the governorship. Andal Ampatuan is the patriarch of his clan, which has dominated politics in the province for decades.

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

50 for yuvraj sing as india move's towards a grand total



After VVS Laxsman Yuvraj singh slam's Half Century as india reaches to 600+ mark in Day 2 after lunch in 2nd test Between India and Sri Lanka

VVS Laxsman --61* (Last Reported)
Yuvraj singh --50* (Last Reported)

After Years of Delay Britain opens Iraq War Inquiry

LONDON :

After years of delay and dispute, Britain formally opened an official public inquiry on Tuesday into the Iraq war — a conflict that stirred deep opposition here as former Prime Minister Tony Blair broke ranks with major European allies to join the United States in the 2003 invasion.

The probe seemed likely to illuminate hitherto unpublicized aspects of the relationship between London and Washington that led critics to depict Mr. Blair as a slavish junior partner in his alliance with President George W. Bush.

That close relationship does not seem to have been mirrored on the ground, according to official Defense Ministry documents leaked to a British newspaper Monday on the eve of the inquiry’s opening.

The documents, published in The Daily Telegraph, revealed a climate of stark animosity among senior British officers toward American military commanders, in sharp contrast to Mr. Blair’s support for the war as President Bush’s principal international partner.

Britain was the second-largest troop provider, and thus the Bush administration’s principal ally among about 30 nations constituting the occupation force.

The inquiry which opened Tuesday is led by a retired official, Sir John Chilcot, formerly the highest-ranking civil servant in the Northern Ireland Office.

Critics have said that Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s choice of a Whitehall insider to head the inquiry has doomed it to becoming a “whitewash,” but Mr. Chilcot has vowed to investigate all aspects of Britain’s involvement.

The conflict led to charges that Mr. Blair and his supporters misled the public into believing that Saddam Hussein controlled an armory of weapons of mass destruction. No such weapons were found after the invasion.

The unpopularity of the war — and its impact on Mr. Blair’s once glittery image among British voters — contributed to his ouster by Mr. Brown two years ago. British troops withdrew from Iraq in July.

The inquiry is expected to last at least 18 months, beginning with testimony from some of the most powerful figures involved in Britain’s decision to join the invasion, including Mr. Blair. It was not clear when Mr. Blair would testify.

Some of the most explosive revelations are expected to come from the inquiry’s power to summon, and to publish where it chooses, official documents like those disclosed by The Telegraph, based on confidential interviews with British officers returning from Iraq in the first year after the invasion.

Partial transcripts of the interviews in the paper suggested that strains between the two allies, though known to some degree at the time, were more severe than previously acknowledged.

The Telegraph’s report revealed that British officers’ refusal to carry out American orders resulted in a formal State Department rebuke in 2004 to Britain’s ambassador in Washington, Sir David Manning.

The newspaper quoted the British commander in southern Iraq at the time, Maj. Gen. Andrew Stewart, as saying he spent “a significant amount of my time ‘consenting and evading’ U.S. orders” to take military action against a powerful Shiite militia in the south, and engaging in negotiation instead.

Col. J. K. Tanner, chief of staff to General Stewart until June 2004 in the British divisional headquarters in the southern city of Basra, was quoted in the transcripts as saying that British commanders found that the Americans then in overall command in Baghdad, led by Lt. Gen. Ricardo S. Sanchez, were resistant to dialogue and negotiation over military strategy and other issues, to the point of “arrogance” and an insensitivity the colonel compared to “dealing with a group of Martians.”

“The whole system was appalling,” Colonel Tanner said. “We experienced real difficulty in dealing with the American military and civilian organizations who, partly through arrogance and partly through bureaucracy, dictate that there is only one way: the American way.”

He added, “Despite our so-called ‘special relationship,’ I reckon that we were treated no differently to the Portuguese.”

Elsewhere in the transcript, the colonel pressed the point. Speaking of the Americans, he said: “They need to reintroduce dialogue as a tool of command because, although it is easy to speak to Americans face to face and understand each other completely, dealing with them corporately is akin to dealing with a group of Martians. If it isn’t on the PowerPoint slide, it doesn’t happen.”

The documents obtained by The Telegraph show that the strains in Iraq reached a peak in April 2004 when General Sanchez, the American commander, ordered the arrest in Baghdad of a powerful follower of the Shiite leader Moktada al-Sadr.

Mr. Sadr responded by staging an uprising against American troops in Baghdad and Najaf, a Shiite holy city 100 miles south of the capital, that led to one of the most violent chapters in the war.

In the south, the documents show, American commanders ordered the British to launch “offensive operations” against the Sadr militia, but British commanders responded instead by negotiating with local Shiite leaders.

This led to a showdown in Basra between General Sanchez and British commanders, who argued that Britain’s colonial experience had taught that occupying powers had to govern restive populations “as they found them,” not to try to eliminate popular leaders like Mr. Sadr.

The confrontation between the two nations’ militaries was etched out starkly in the Telegraph documents. Brig. Bruce Brealey, Britain’s chief of operations support in Basra in the second half of 2003, was quoted as telling debriefers that when American orders reached the British, “we noted the intent but tended to ignore the detail.” He added, “We would follow the ‘what,’ and often ignore the ‘how.’” General Stewart, in a similar vein, said that when he evaded American orders to take military action, it was because he believed that using negotiation could “achieve the same result using different means.”

The bitterness persisted deep into the war, with American commanders accusing the British of appeasing the Shiite militias that ultimately took control of Basra, and the British accusing the Americans of resorting too readily to force in cities like Falluja.

The recriminations eased only after 2007, when American commanders under Gen. David H. Petraeus adopted new counterinsurgency tactics that British officers saw as drawing partly on lessons Britain had learned in earlier conflicts, leading British officers to say that the Americans had finally grasped lessons missed at the outset of the war.

Emergency Declared in Philippines After Violence

MANILA —
The president of the Philippines on Tuesday declared a state of emergency in the southern region where gunmen kidnapped and killed at least 46 people, military officials and news agencies reported.
In one of the worst episodes of election-related violence in the Philippines, about 50 lawyers, journalists and relatives of a local politician were kidnapped Monday in Maguindanao, a province on the southern island of Mindanao.
Josefino Cataluna, the chief superintendent of the national police, said 22 bodies had been recovered from mass graves on Tuesday, The Associated Press reported. Searchers earlier had found the bodies of 24 other victims.
Fourteen of the dead were women, according to the military.
Relatives of some of the victims said many of them had been beheaded by a group of about 100 men.
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo sent military and national police units to the area and promised a full investigation to hunt down the killers.
Jesus Dureza, her adviser on Mindanao, had recommended the state of emergency, saying that “everyone should be disarmed” in the region, which has often been wracked by election violence.
“Anything less will not work,” he said.
The filing of candidacy documents for local and national elections, scheduled for next May, began Friday. The victims were stopped on their way to an election office to file papers for Esmael Mangudadatu, the deputy mayor of the town of Buluan, who plans to run for governor of Maguindanao.
Mr. Mangudadatu said on ABS-CBN television that his wife, his sister and several other female relatives had been in the group. He said they had been filing his candidacy documents in the hope that women would not be attacked.
Ten journalists were reportedly among the group, and two of the victims were identified by the national police on Tuesday as reporters.
“Never in the history of journalism have the news media suffered such a heavy loss of life in one day,” the advocacy group Reporters Without Borders said in a statement from Paris.
“We have often condemned the culture of impunity and violence in the Philippines, especially Mindanao. This time, the frenzied violence of thugs working for corrupt politicians has resulted in an incomprehensible bloodbath. We call for a strong reaction from the local and national authorities.”
Attacks on candidates and supporters during campaign periods are common throughout the Philippines. In the 2007 local elections, nearly 100 people were killed in such attacks.
Election violence can be extreme in Maguindanao, where an Islamist insurgency and longstanding clan wars complicate the security situation. Access to firearms by criminal groups and political warlords has worsened the situation in this and other areas.
Mr. Mangudadatu’s uncle, Pax Mangudadatu, the governor of Sultan Kudarat Province, said the deputy mayor’s supporters had been attacked by backers of Andal Ampatuan, the current governor of Maguindanao. The families, from rival Muslim clans, are bitter political enemies.
Colonel Brawner, the military spokesman, told the Philippines Inquirer on Tuesday that the Ampatuans and their associates would be investigated.
“The suspects are bodyguards of Ampatuan, local police aides and certain lawless elements,” he said.

India has growth like china but with lots of values-Manmohan Singh

WASHINGTON:

Bull in a China shop is not an expression one would normally use to describe India’s mild-mannered Prime Minister, but at a Washington think-tank on Monday evening Manmohan Singh was anything but delicate on India’s newly nettlesome neighbor before an audience that is largely in thrall of the Middle Kingdom’s meteoric rise on the global stage.

In candid remarks that were keenly scrutinized in the context of New Delhi’s niggling troubles with Beijing and US overtures to the country, Dr Singh offered an Indian perspective on rising China that included an admission that lately, ''there is but a certain amount of assertiveness on the Chinese part. I don't fully understand the reasons for it."

Singh prefaced that comment by telling his audience that India recognized that it has a long standing border problem with China which it was trying to resolve it through dialogue. In the meanwhile both countries have agreed that pending the resolution of the border problem, peace and tranquility should be maintained in the border line. ''Having said that I should say that I have received these assurances from Chinese leadership from the highest level,'' he added, suggesting that Beijing was not entirely sticking to the script.

But for that one discordant, complaining note vis-à-vis Beijing, Singh indicated that India was on the same page as the rest of the world on China, wanting to prepare for its peaceful rise as a major power. ''So, engagement is the right strategy for India as well as for United States. We ourselves have tried very hard to engage China in the last five years and today China is one of our major trading partners,'' he said.

Singh remarks came against the backdrop of President Obama’s own visit to China last week in course of which some Indian analysts felt he (Obama) was sub-contracting or outsourcing oversight of South Asian peace and security to the East Asian giant and accepting it as a rising if not equal partner, to the detriment of India. That episode came on the heels of India’s renewed tensions with China on the border issue, and over the travels of Dalai Lama to regions Beijing regards as disputed.

Singh was also unexpectedly tetchy about comparisons between Indian and Chinese economic growth, saying while there is no doubt that Chinese performance is superior to India's, ''there are other values which are important than the growth of Gross Domestic Product.''

''I think the respect for fundamental human rights, the respect for the rule of law, respect for multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, multi-religious rights, I think those have values. So, even the Indian perforce with regard to the GDP might not be as good as the Chinese, certainly I would not like to choose the Chinese path," he said in unusually blunt remarks that constituted a criticism of the Chinese model.

Singh’s candid public statements on China, Pakistan (no purposeful talks till it abjures terrorism and acts on 26/11), and Afghanistan (insisting India will stay the course against Taliban and asking US and international community to do the same militarily) set the stage for his meeting with US President Barack Obama on Tuesday following a ceremonial state welcome on the South Lawns of the White House.

Monday, November 23, 2009

Govenment to Produce Liberhan Commission Report Today In Parliament

NEW DELHI:

The government decided to table in Parliament today the report of the Liberhan Commission that probed the Babri Masjid demolition in 1992, a day after the leakage of the findings set off a political storm.

A decision to this effect was taken at a meeting of the Union Cabinet chaired by finance minister Pranab Mukherjee in the absence of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who is away in the United States.

Cabinet sources said that the report is expected to be tabled in either House of Parliament at 12 noon after the Question Hour.

Publication of excerpts of the report had sparked a furore with the main opposition BJP accusing the government of "selectively leaking" the report which is believed to have indicted top BJP leaders L K Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and other functionaries for the demolition of the structure.

Congress had hit back saying the whole nation knows that the BJP had shed "crocodile tears" after its senior functionaries had watched people causing destruction and mayhem.

Justice M S Liberhan had submitted his findings to the government on June 30 this year after an inquiry spanning nearly 17 years.

BJP Top Guns Involved In Babri Masjid demolition-Liberhan Commission



NEW DELHI:

A senior official of the Liberhan Commission of Inquiry said he was "astonished" at a media report linking Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to the 1992 Babri mosque razing.

Anupam Gupta, counsel for the commission that was set up soon after the mosque was demolished in 1992, told a TV news channel that Vajpayee was the only BJP leader who was not connected to the mosque razing and what came to be known as the Ayodhya movement.

"Of all the top ranking leaders of the Sangh Parivar who were summoned and examined...Vajpayee was not one of them," he said.

"A conscious decision was taken (that) since there is nothing to connect Vajpayee with the demolition proper or with the entire Ayodhya movement, whose culmination the demolition was, the Commission should not call Vajpayee," he said.

In such circumstances, Gupta said, he was "astonished" that Vajpayee had been named in the leaked portions of the report published in the Indian Express as one of those "indicted" for the mosque razing.

Gupta said this "central fact must be placed before the nation today now that a national newspaper has disclosed certain parts of the report".

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Gold Continue's to glitter in indian Market

NEW DELHI:

Continuing the record setting spree, gold hit yet another high of Rs 17,605 per 10 gram for April contract in the futures market today.

All the three running contracts -- December, February and April -- were trading at new highs.

At the MCX counter, gold for far-month April contract rose by Rs 138 or 0.79% to hit a new record high of Rs 17,605 per 10 gram with a business turnover of 13 lots.

The yellow metal for delivery in February month contract also traded higher by Rs 124 or 0.68% at Rs 17,571 per 10 gram in a turnover of 250 lots, while December month contract gained Rs 110 or 0.56% at Rs 17,499 per 10 gram, in a turnover of 1,173 lots.

Meanwhile, gold spot in Asia touched a record high of $1,162.22 per ounce, up one% in early trade supported by continued weakness in the US currency, raising the metal's appeal as an alternative investment.

"Gold prices globally have been mainly influenced by the weaker US dollar and recent central bank purchases of the precious metal", said an analyst.

Market analysts said the trading sentiment in the domestic futures market got a boost after the precious metal surged to a record high in Asian trade.

Dark side of Indian entertainment clubs,Dubai

DUBAI:

What do Miss Seema, Miss Ritu, Miss Kareena and Miss Sonam have in common, other than standing in a cavern in one of Dubai’s most successful Indian entertainment clubs? All of them are young, dressed in provocative mini skirts or diaphanous lehngas and condemned to moving their hips to tuneless renderings of Hindi film songs for seven hours each night, seven days a week

After that, if you believe the goody-goody accounts provided by the girls and their employer, they are bussed demurely home to shared accommodation, where they sleep the sleep of the just. Next quarter, next month or next week, Miss Seema, Miss Ritu, Miss Kareena and Miss Sonam might give way to Miss Anjali, Miss Rita, Miss Sonali and Miss Divya. It doesn’t matter much. ‘‘These aren’t their real names, new girls in the 19 to 27 age group are always available and change keeps everything fresh,’’ explains Sadanand Shetty, the 30-something owner of Dhamaal, which is expanding as an Indian entertainment club chain despite the recession.

Could Shetty’s clubs and the half-dozen or so other such be the dark side of Indian commerce in Dubai, where prostitution is illegal but the police themselves report deporting 4,300 prostitutes in 2006? It would hardly be surprising even though pimping and the sex trade has, till now, been linked with other nationalities, notably Chinese and Russian. Shetty and the girls insist they do nothing more titillating than dancing in skin-tight clothes. But insiders are sceptical. ‘‘I think there is something happening there that isn’t widely spoken about. I do think the girls ply the trade,’’ says a young man who has worked for the club for years.

Another, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, said he knew the girls sold their bodies or what would be their incentive to dance well? ‘‘They are not allowed tips on stage.’’

Add to that the Indian population math. The Indian embassy in UAE says about a million Indians live in Dubai and the northern Emirates, ie Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain and Ras Al Khaimah. An estimated two-thirds of this million are lone men because UAE allows workers the luxury of family only if they earn over 4,000 dirhams or $1,100 a month. This sum is beyond the means of most Indians in Dubai because they are overwhelmingly unskilled construction, agricultural or domestic workers, or engaged in skilled and semi-skilled work.

These lone men keep the Dhamaal chain throbbing, so much so that on the weekday night TOI visited, one club was packed with at least 150 enthusiastic customers at 2am. Shetty claims he pays the girls anything between Rs 40,000 and Rs 2 lakh a month as well as full board and lodging ‘‘to dance, do shows, nothing more...they can’t have contact with customers, they can’t even go off with boyfriends because it will damage their reputation — and ours.’’

But some of the girls appeared to be breaking all of Shetty’s stated rules and openly flirting with and signalling to favoured regulars.

Whatever they do — or don’t — India’s female exports to Dubai are hardly unique. With its 180 nationalities, the city-state is brimming over with ethnicity-specific ‘entertainment clubs’. And Shetty says it’s not unusual in seeing the Indian ‘entertainment club’ as a sunshine sector, where each bottle of whisky is priced at 1,000 dirhams or five times its cost.

He insists he acquires a performer’s visa for each of the 14-strong contingent of girls in each club. ‘‘The performers are drawn from different Indian states,’’ says the Mumbaikar with pan-Indian pride, adding ‘‘we have agents looking out for likely candidates”.

Singer Miss Roshni from Kolkata, whose role appears roughly equivalent to that of Mother Superior at a convent, says the girls are looked after tenderly. There is general agreement — and some proof at least — of this. Backstage, the girls are encouraged to snack on home fare such as fresh parathas, dahi, subzi, pickles and gallons of hot tea. Hani, who runs a small business that keeps Shetty’s girls’ hairdos immaculate throughout the evening, says the Dhamaal founder is almost unique in the Dubai entertainment sector. Clearly, even the dark side of Dubai may have its silver lining and hearts of gold.

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Two Pakistani's arested in Italy involved in 26/11

ROME:

Italy's ANSA news agency reports that police in the northern city of Brescia have arrested two Pakistanis accused of logistical support for last year’s terror attacks in Mumbai.

ANSA cited police sources as saying the two men arrested on Saturday used a money transfer agency they managed to send funds for the attacks. The money was used to pay for an Internet phone account used by people in contact with the attackers.

The agency said the two are accused of aiding and abetting as well as illegal financial activity.

Is David Coleman Headley Doosra Daood ?

When Federal agents detained him at Chicago's O' Hare airport on October 3, just as he was to board a flight for Philadelphia, David Coleman Headley, a Pakistan-born American national of mixed parentage, would have experienced a sense of shock. Not just at his detention, but at what he had thought was an elaborate cover, strewn with codes and dead ends, being blown moments before he was about to set out on his most important journey.

At the end of a flight that would eventually take him to Pakistan, he would have met up with Illyas Kashmiri, a highly-wanted jihadi with a $ 50 million-reward on his head. This was a rendezvous Headley had been looking forward to with barely-controlled anticipation. He would have also met a senior Lashkar-e-Toiba leader, widely thought to be Sajid Mir, who looks after the Lashkar's overseas operations, and had previously dispatched a French jihadi of Caribbean descent, Willy Brigitte, to target a nuclear plant in Australia in 2003. Mir is understood to have even met Richard Reid, the man who concealed explosives in his shoes in an attempt to set off a mid-air plane explosion. He failed, but the plot changed the rules of air travel drastically after that, with fliers being asked to take off their footwear thereon.

What Headley did not realise was that his terror links were by then fairly well known to FBI sleuths who were tracking him for more than a year. For, even while ensuring an elaborate cover, he had attracted the FBI's attention for more than one reason. In 2006, he suddenly dropped his original name Daood Ghilani - given by his Pakistani father - to embrace one derived from the side of his American mother. Obviously, this was done to dodge the profiling that Muslims have been subjected to in the US after 9/11.

The identity feint failed because Headley, quite uncharacteristically for someone drafted for a high-value mission by leaders of Lashkar, left holes in the cover for the FBI to develop an interest in him. He had no job except the one that he pretended to be doing for First World Immigration Service, a concern owned by fellow Lashkar jihadi Tahawwur Hussain Rana. His home, in fact, even his cell phone, was leased in the name of deceased persons. And, for more than a year, Headley had frequently left his Chicago home to make multiple trips to Pakistan, India, UAE and various other countries in Europe. His flights to Pakistan and from India invariably went through the UAE.

Their surveillance soon convinced the FBI that the job with First World was a poor alibi as Headley hardly did any work for Rana's concern . He travelled twice to Denmark to stake out the office of Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten - which had enraged Muslims by publishing cartoons of Prophet Mohammad in 2005 - pretending to inquire how he was to place advertisements of a First World office planned in Copenhagen. A search of his luggage by the Customs and Border Patrol would reveal no documents needed to back up his claim of being on a genuine business trip.

Moreover, his multiple trips to Pakistan - a 'radioactive' entry on anyone's passport in terror-wary Western capitals - would itself have deepened the FBI's suspicions. These slip-ups and his contacts with Pakistan-based jihadis showed up in counter-terrorism intercepts that the FBI monitors so carefully, particularly telephone and email communication . Though Headley, Rana and their handlers used heavily-coded language, their allusions became apparent to operatives eavesdropping on the conversations. The references to "projects" (targets), "marriage" and "heart attack" (death of a militant), "investments" (targets), "business and action" (strikes), "doctor" (Rana or Kashmiri), and frequent use of the Islamic terms for reward (ajr), good deed (amal), oaths of allegiance (baaith) were dead giveaways.

On top of all this, he went and posted an angry message on a Yahoo! group called Abdalians - named after a military school in Hasan Abdual, Pakistan - calling for violence against Danish newspapers and others "slandering" Islam. This did not fit in with his new nomenclature. No wonder, by the time he returned to the US after his visit to Copenhagen , the FBI was firmly on his trail and had identified him as a Lashkar link and conduit to Kashmiri. Though Headley's involvement in a terror attack is not known - not as yet - he was regarded as a key player in the plan that was going on against Jyllands Posten.

Headley made optimum use of his English name and US passport, which helped dramatically lower his profile as a likely terrorist, while he was on the loose. His Caucasian appearance too helped a lot. On top of all this, his social skills allowed him to move into exclusive circles as his friendship with Rahul Bhatt would indicate. With all these advantages , plus his innate qualities as a meticulous planner, Headley became a key Lashkar operative for assaults on foreign targets. Before visiting the Jyllands Posten office, for instance, he had made a checklist of factors that would be vital for those launching an attack on the newspaper. The list he stored in his own email account mentioned "complete area coverage, counter surveillance (magic eye), lunch + coffee spots, security (armed?) zoom, foreman residence, entry and exist method in the house, uniform" .

It's precisely these attributes of Headley, plus his long stay in Mumbai, that has made Indian intelligence suspect that he might have supplied the 26/11 attackers with graphic details of targets such as the Taj Hotel, Chabad House and Chhatrapati Shivaji Railway Terminal . For a group which had not visited Mumbai at all, Kasab & Co. seemed remarkably familiar with the city's topography and layouts of the targeted buildings. Headley himself had stayed at the Taj between March 28 and 30, in room no. 1809, and returned on May 2, 2007 to stay in room no. 314. He remained at the hotel till

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Nothing to fear from india-Manmohan Singh to Pakistan

WASHINGTON:

Terming as "tragic" Pakistan's use of terror as state policy, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said India is ready to resolve all outstanding issues with the country on the condition that it will not allow its territory to be used against its neighbour.

In an interview to the Washington Post ahead of his state visit to the US, Singh said India has been a victim of Pakistan-aided terrorism, and intelligence reports still suggest that terrorists based in that country are planning attacks in India similar to last year's Mumbai carnage.

"Every day I receive intelligence reports saying that terrorists based in Pakistan are planning other similar acts," Singh said in the interview that would be carried in the daily's print edition on Sunday - the day of his arrival here.

He, however, asserted that Pakistan has "nothing to fear" from India, and it was a "tragedy" that Pakistan has come to the point of using terror "as an instrument of state policy".

"We are committed to resolve all the outstanding issues with Pakistan through bilateral negotiations. Our only condition is that Pakistan should not allow its territory to be used for acts of terrorism against India.

"If Pakistan really honours that commitment, we can go back to negotiation to resolve all outstanding issues between us," he said.

Noting that India has been a victim of "Pakistan-aided -abetted and -inspired terrorism for nearly 25 years," Singh said India wanted the US to use all its influence with Pakistan to ask it desist from that path.

Asked about actions being taken by Pakistan to bring to book those involved in the Mumbai terror attack, the Prime Minister said they have not done enough.

"As far as perpetrators of the Mumbai massacre are concerned, (Pakistan) has taken some steps but not enough," he said.

Singh also expressed concern about the rise of terrorism in Pakistan and said terrorists' increasing grip over several parts of the country was a threat to India's security as well.

"Now if the Taliban and al-Qaeda type of terror, which in the past was located in Pakistan's FATA, gets transferred to the mainland of Pakistan, I think it has very serious consequences for our own security," he said.

"We would not like terrorism to lead to a situation where civilian government is only a nominal government," he said.

Singh said there appears to be a mismatch between the US' and Pakistan's objectives in Afghanistan and observed that he does not see Islamabad fully committed to the war against terrorism.

"As far as Afghanistan is concerned, I am not sure whether the US and Pakistan have the same objectives," he said. While Pakistan, he said, would like the US to get out of Afghanistan soon, the US objectives are to get Pakistan to deal with the Taliban.

"Pakistan would like Afghanistan to be under its control... I don't see Pakistan wholeheartedly in support of action against the Taliban in Afghanistan," Singh told The Post in the interview posted on the daily's website.

"They are of course taking action against Taliban, but only when it threatens the supremacy of the army," he said.

Hoping that the US and the global community will stay involved in Afghanistan, Singh said a victory for the Taliban would have "catastrophic consequences" for the world, particularly for South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East.

"We (in India) of course have more immediate concerns. We are victims of terrorism and the extremist ideologies of the type that the Taliban represent. If this is not checked, this could destabilise our country," the Prime Minister said.

Responding to a question, Singh said al Qaeda and Taliban are chips off the same block.

Though he agreed that the regime of Afghan President Hamid Karzai is not perfect, he asked the international community to rally behind him now that he has been re-elected.

"President Karzai's regime is not perfect... But you cannot transform Afghanistan overnight. It is going to be a long-term affair. Democracy, as the West understands it, may not be introduced in a short period of time in Afghanistan," he said.

"But the very fact that millions of Afghan children, including millions of girls, are now in school, when none was in school when the Taliban was in power, shows some human freedom. One has to take a balanced view," he said.

Gautam Gambhir Slams a half Century

Gautam Gambhir Slams a half Century on 4 day 1st test between India and Sri Lanka


Gautam Gambhir--- 54* as last report came in
Rahul Dravid --- 23* as last report came in

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

India fighting for the test after a huge Sri Lankan Total

AHMEDABAD:

India made a confident start in their bid to save the first Test after Sri Lanka enjoyed a record-breaking run-feast on the fourth day on Thursday.

Openers Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir saw off the first 16 overs of pace and spin as India, trailing by 334 runs on the first innings, went to tea at 77 for no loss in their second knock.

Sehwag was unbeaten on a typically robust 47 with six boundaries and left-hander Gambhir was on 28.

Sri Lanka piled up 760-7, the highest total ever on Indian soil, before skipper Kumar Sangakkara declared the first innings 40 minutes after lunch at the Motera stadium.

Mahela Jayawardene hit a monumental 275 and wicket-keeper Prasanna Jayawardene remained unbeaten on 154 after a world-record stand of 351 for the sixth wicket.

The pair broke the 72-year record set by Australians Don Bradman and Jack Fingleton, who had put on 346 for the sixth wicket against England at Melbourne in 1937.

Sri Lanka, who have never won a Test match in India, have four sessions to carve out a win and take the lead in the three-match series on a barren track that has proved a bowlers' graveyard so far.

India had made 426 in their first innings after being reduced to 32-4 within the first hour of the match.

Sri Lanka's total surpassed India's 676-7 against the same opponents in Kanpur in 1986, which was the previous highest total in a Test match played on Indian soil.

Mahela Jayawardene batted for eight hours in his sixth double-century that was studded with 27 boundaries and a six.

He was dismissed in the third over after lunch when he shaped to drive leg-spinner Amit Mishra, missed the line and was bowled.

Sangakkara declared at the fall of Dammika Prasad's wicket, caught in the deep off Harbhajan Singh, leaving Prasanna Jayawardene stranded at the other end.

India claimed the third new ball from the start of the day's play, but it failed to contain the flow of runs.

Prasanna, who was on 84 overnight, reached his second Test century by edging Ishant Sharma to the third man fence for his eighth boundary.

Mahela, the ninth-highest scorer in Test cricket, completed 9,000 runs when he reached 253 with a single to long-on off Harbhajan.

All the four frontline Indian bowlers conceded over 100 runs with Mishra being the most expensive with 1-203 from 58 overs and Harbhajan going for 2-189 from 48.4 overs.

Bomb Blast in Peshawar Thrilles Pakistan


PESHAWAR, PAKISTAN:

A suicide bomber blew himself up outside a court building in Peshawar on Thursday, killing at least 15 people, Officials said, in the latest of a series of attacks on the northwestern Pakistan city.


The city, near the Afghan border, has been targeted several times since the army began an offensive against the Taliban in South Waziristan last month and militants stepped up retaliatory attacks.

"The attacker was on foot and blew himself when guards tried to search him at the gates of the court," senior city administrator Sahibzada Anis told reporters.

At least 15 bodies had been brought in to Peshawar's main hospital along with about 25 wounded people after Thursday's attack at the court complex, said senior hospital official and doctor Sahib Gul. Three policemen were among the dead, said Anis.

The court is across a road from the city's top hotel, which was attacked by a suicide car-bomber in June. A security agency building on the same road was attacked last week.

The army went on the offensive in South Waziristan on the Afghan border on Oct. 17, aiming to root out Pakistani Taliban militants who stepped up their war on the security forces in 2007. The militants have responded with intensified attacks in towns and cities, in particular in Peshawar, killing several hundred people.

The United States, weighing options for how to turn an intensifying insurgency in Afghanistan, has welcomed the offensive but is keen to see Pakistan tackle Afghan Taliban factions based in lawless enclaves along the border.

Earlier, Pakistani security officials said a US drone aircraft fired two missiles into a northwestern militant stronghold killing four people. The late night attack was in the North Waziristan region on the Afghan border, about 20 km (12 miles) west of the town of Miranshah, the intelligence agency and paramilitary force officials said.

The identity of the four people killed and six people wounded was not known, said the officials, who declined to be identified. North Waziristan is a stronghold of Taliban militants and their al-Qaida allies. The United States has carried out 44 attacks with its pilotless, missile-firing aircraft in northwest Pakistan this year as it forces in neighbouring Afghanistan have faced an intensifying Taliban insurgency. There were 32 such strikes last year, according to a Reuters tally of reports from Pakistani security agents, government officials and residents.

Act Against Preparator's of Mumbai attack-US to Pak

NEW DELHI:

Ahead of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Washington, the US on Wednesday pressed Pakistan to act against perpetrators of Mumbai attacks, including Jamaat-ud Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed, saying it wants to see results.

Describing Lashkar-e-Taiba as a global threat, US Ambassador to India Timothy J Roemer said Pakistan should recognise the dangers and dismantle the terror infrastructure existing on its soil.

Situation in Pakistan, the Mumbai attacks and cooperation in counter-terrorism will be high on the agenda of Singh's meeting with President Barack Obama in Washington on November 24, amid the US' keenness to work "hand-in-hand, shoulder-to-shoulder" with India in preventing terror strikes.

The two leaders will also discuss implementation of the historic civil nuclear agreement, regarding which a few issues like liabilities, licensing and reprocessing, remain to be sorted out.

Climate change, education and poverty-alleviation would also be among the issues of discussion of the Singh-Obama meeting during which the two sides are expected to unveil a "new relationship based on strategic global partnership" and chalk out path of cooperation for meeting global challenges.

"The seven Mumbai suspects should be brought to justice in Pakistan... We need to see action and results from our partners in Pakistan," Roemer told a press conference here, adding even Saeed should be brought to justice.

Equating 26/11 with 9/11, the US Ambassador said the Mumbai attack was "tragic and heart-rending" incident, which will be discussed by PM Manmohan Singh and Obama.

Talking about the already-existing unprecedented cooperation in counter terrorism between India and the US, Roemer said collaboration like information sharing is taking place even on hourly basis.

He also highlighted the fact that FBI had testified against "blood-thirsty" attackers of Mumbai.

Referring to the visit of Home Minister P Chidambaram to the US recently, he said it was successful and he had "captured the best" the coordination between the two countries.

Asked whether the US would extradite to India David Coleman Headley, an LeT operative held by FBI, he said it was a hypothetical question.

On the delay in implementation of Indo-US civil nuclear deal, Roemer said four-five issues had remained to be resolved when he arrived in India as Ambassador earlier this year.

"Tremendous progress" has been made on this issue but three issues were yet to addressed, he said. These issues are -- enactment of a Liability legislation by India, negotiations on setting up of a Dedicated Reprocessing Facility in India and licensing aspects.

"We are optimistic that all the three issues will be resolved soon... We are pushing hard to implement the agreement," he said.

Dutch porn suspect Will Heum sent back to Jail

CHENNAI:

Dutch national Will Heum, a former manager of an Indian orphanage, protested his innocence as he appeared in court Wednesday charged with producing child pornography.

"I did not commit any crime... I just want to get back to the Netherlands," Dutch national Will Heum told reporters as he left a city court here that sent him back to jail until December 2 when his pre-trial hearing will resume.

Heum was picked up from his home in Chennai earlier this month after the Britain-based Child Exploitation Online Protection Centre alerted Interpol.

M. Sudhakar, who heads Chennai's police department's cyber crime unit, told the court Heum confessed to producing and distributing pornographic child videos on the Internet, but the 56-year-old suspect contested the claim.

"No, I have not confessed anything. They (police) have no case against me," he told reporters as officers led him off to a prison.

Heum has also sought bail with the application to be decided on Thursday, said assistant public prosecutor Raja, who uses one name.

Detectives seized compact discs, computer hard drives, memory cards and a laptop from Heum's home.

Heum said he was engaged in social service in India.

According to the police, he had operated a boys orphanage called Little Home in Mahabalipuram, 40 kilometres (25 miles) from Chennai, where he moved in 1995.

He was previously arrested by the Mahabalipuram police in 2002 and charged with having sex with minors. This case is still pending.

Police Filed Chargesheet against MNS chief Raj Thackeray


Mumbai::

Police file 30-page chargesheet against MNS chief Raj Thackeray and 19 others in connection with violence during Railway Recruitment Examination in Mumbai last year.

I am not looking myself as a future PM - Rahul Gandhi


VIJAYAWADA:

Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday asked people not to consider him as future prime minister saying nobody could predict the future.

"Please don't consider me as the future prime minister. Nobody can predict the future and what lay in store. Anybody can become the prime minister," he said interacting with about 1500 students at a college here.

Rahul reacted in this manner when some students referred to him as the future prime minister.

He said the current Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was doing a good job.

Replying to a question on terrorism, the Congress said the country was dealing with the issue in accordance with the law.

Rahul also answered questions on global warming, reservations and other issues.

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key wont meet Dalai Lama


WELLINGTON:

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key said on Wednesday that he would not meet the Dalai Lama when he visits the country next month.

"The reason simply is I've decided that I wouldn't get a lot out of that particular meeting," he told reporters. "I don't see every religious leader that comes to town. I've seen him in the past, I may see him in the future."

Key, who said before he was elected a year ago that he would meet the Dalai Lama on future visits, denied that China had pressured him to boycott the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader.

He said the issue was not raised by China's President Hu Jintao during a regional summit in Singapore at the weekend, and no other Chinese government agency had asked him not to meet the Dalai Lama.

But a spokesman for the trust organising the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader's programme, said there could only be one reason for Key's decision, "and that reason is China's political and economic influence in New Zealand either directly or indirectly".

Neil Cameron, of the Dalai Lama Visit Trust New Zealand, said in a statement: "The issue of human rights abuses in Tibet by China no longer concerns New Zealand governments."

Cameron called Key's decision disappointing but not surprising. "We have entered a period of time when China wields significant influence over the economies and internal policies of many nations around the world and New Zealand is no exception.

"The prime minister may or may not have been pressured by Chinese officials or agencies over the visit but direct and vocal pressure would have been applied if the invitation had been accepted."

When the Dalai Lama was last in New Zealand in 2007, Key was leader of the opposition and "dropped in" on a meeting between his National Party foreign affairs spokesman Murray McCully and the Tibetan.

Cameron said Chinese newspapers in Auckland had refused to run paid editorial or advertisements promoting the visit, "so this pressure is applied in a number of spheres even before His Holiness arrives, it's the reality of China's political presence in New Zealand".

He said Phil Goff, leader of the opposition Labour Party, had accepted an invitation to meet the Dalai Lama, who is scheduled to speak in Auckland Dec 6, during his visit.

Top Bollywood Personalities have cropped up in David Headley case

MUMBAI:

After Rahul Bhatt, the names of few other film personalities have cropped up in David Headley case, including an actress who went out for dinner with him.

Sources said they came in contact with Headley through Rahul Bhatt and other common friends. Most of them met at Moksh fitness centre at Breach Candy where Headley used to work out. However crime branch officials said they have no information about any Bollywood personality being associated with Headley.

The source indicated that these film personalities will be questioned along with Rahul Bhatt by the National Investigation Agency (NIA). Headley befriended the actors and partied with few of them, sources said. It could be possible that they were not aware of his terror links.

The actress in question was paired with some of the leading Bollywood actors. However, her family members told TOI that the actress was never introduced to Headley. "Its just a coincidence that they went to the same gym. My daughter has never heard about Headley," her mother said.

The other actor known as a serial kisser had also reportedly met Headley. The actor told TOI all questions about his links with Headley be directed to NIA. Rahul landed in a controversy after American investigating agency FBI found that Headley had used his name in his communication with his Pakistani counterparts. Rahul was a codename used for Mumbai.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

US- China Meets focusing on Trade





US President Barack Obama has met Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on the last day of his much-watched visit to the rising Asian powerhouse.

Trade disputes were expected to be on the agenda during Mr Obama's lunch with China's third-highest leader, who is responsible for the economy.

Prior to their meeting, the two leaders said the relationship between the two countries was moving forward.

Mr Obama is now visiting China's Great Wall, before heading to South Korea.

The US president - who is on a week-long tour of East Asia - is expected to focus on North Korea's nuclear ambitions during talks in Seoul.

Trade rows

Before Wednesday's meeting with the Chinese prime minister, Mr Obama said the Washington-Beijing relationship was now about more than trade and economics.

He said it also covered climate, security and other matters of international concern, the Associated Press news agency reported.

Mr Wen was quoted as saying: "We are really on the cusp of moving forward with this relationship."
On Tuesday, Mr Obama and President Hu Jintao agreed to co-operate on matters such as climate change and North Korea.

Mr Obama said he had also raised human rights issues - including Tibet - during two hours of talks between the pair.

Mr Hu said the two nations could discuss such issues "in a spirit of equality... and non-interference in each other's internal affairs".

Despite the show of goodwill, correspondents said the issue of trade appeared to be a thorny one between Mr Hu and Mr Obama.

Beijing objects to US tariffs on Chinese imports, including steel and tyres.

Washington, meanwhile, is concerned by the huge bilateral trade imbalance, and accuses China of keeping its currency weak to make its exports more attractive.

Speaking after their meeting, Mr Hu called on the US to "reject protectionism", while Mr Obama urged Beijing to relax controls on the yuan.

Both sides acknowledge the need to reduce economic tensions, reports the BBC's Chris Hogg from Beijing, but so far Mr Obama's trip has not produced any breakthroughs.

As well as the economy, the issue of North Korea was expected to be discussed in the meeting with the Chinese premier.

Both the US and China have been urging the reclusive nation to return to nuclear talks, and last month Mr Wen visited Pyongyang to meet leader Kim Jong-il.

Indian students Crossed 100,000 mark in US

WASHINGTON:

The number of students from India enrolled in US universities and colleges crossed 100,000 for the first time ever this year even as international enrollments in America registered the largest percentage increase since 1980, defying broad economic trends.

As the number of international students at colleges and universities in the US increased by 8% to an all-time high of 671,616 in the 2008/09 academic year, students from India made up 103,260 of the overall number, according to the Open Doors report, which is published annually by the Institute of International Education (IIE) in collaboration with the US government.

The Indian numbers went up 9.2 per cent from 94,563 in 2007/2008 to cross 100,000 for the first time to retain its position as the top place of origin for international students in the United States. China remained in second place, although there was a sharp 21 per cent spike in students from China, going up from 81,127 last academic year to 98,235 this year. South Korea (69,000 to 75,000) remained in third place.

This is the eighth consecutive year that India has remained in the top spot. In course of a preview of the forthcoming visit to Washington of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh next week, Indian officials said on Monday that Indian student inflow contributed nearly $ 3 billion to the US economy last year. Overall, international students contribute $17.8 billion to the US economy, through their expenditures on tuition and living expenses, according to the US Department of Commerce.

Authors of the report said the findings do not reflect the full impact of the past year's economic downturn, since decisions to come to the United States to study were made before the financial effects were fully felt in the sending countries.

They also reported that the largest growth this year was seen in undergraduate enrollments, which increased by 11%, compared to a 2% increase in graduate enrollments. This growth was driven largely by increases in undergraduate students from China, they said, suggesting that increased affluence is enabling Chinese to send their children to US for undergrad education, where there is typically less scholarship and funding.

According to Open Doors 2009, universities in California hosted the largest number of foreign students with 93,124, up 10%, followed by New York with 74,934, up 7%, and Texas with 58,188, up 12%. The New York City metropolitan area continues to be the leading city for international students, with 59,322 enrolled in area schools, up 8%. The Los Angeles metropolitan area is in second place with 42,897 international students, up 11%.

For the eighth consecutive year, Open Doors reports that the University of Southern California hosted the largest number of international students, this year reporting 7,482. New York University held in second place with 6,761
international students, and Columbia University, also holding steady in third place, hosted 6,685. Rounding out the top five 2008/09 host institutions are University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (6,570 students) and Purdue
University (6,136 students). Open Doors reports that 171 US campuses each hosted more than 1,000 students.

The top ten most popular fields of study for international students in the United States in 2008/09 were Business and Management (21% of total), Engineering (18%) and Physical and Life Sciences (9%), Social Sciences (9%), Mathematics and Computer Science (8%), Health Professions (5%), Fine & Applied Arts (5%), Intensive English Language (4%), Humanities (3%), Education (3%), and Agriculture (1%).

There was also a significant 20 per cent uptick in the number of American students studying in India, part of the an overall growth in American students going abroad for academic purpose. The number of Americans studying in India rose from 2627 in 2006/2007 to 3146 in 2007/2008, making India the 17th in the list of countries for US students. The top five spots went to UK, Italy, Spain, France and China, the last of which had more than 13,000 American students.

Soon IAF will be taking Woman fighter pilots; no-child condition applies

NEW DELHI:

The Indian Air Force on Tuesday said it was planning to have women fighter pilots in future, but they will be inducted with a pre-condition of not bearing children till a certain age.

"In a few years time, we might see this change (women getting inducted as fighter pilots) coming in with certain pre-conditions that till this age we request you to be happy, be married, but no offsprings," IAF Vice Chief Air Marshal P K Barbora told reporters here.

"After 13-14 years of service, investments made on fighter pilots are actually recovered by the government," he said in an indication that women fighter pilots will be allowed to have kids only after putting in 13-14 years in IAF.

Now, women in the age group of 21-23 years are inducted into the flying branch and may be allowed to start family after crossing the 35-37 years age bracket.

The IAF Vice-Chief said if a woman pilot has to take pregnancy leave, she will be off-flying for around 10 months, which will not be fruitful for both her and the Service.

Citing reasons for Services not inducting women into combat arms, Barbora said, the armed forces "feel that it is not right to have a lady or a woman exposed to a conflict where she can be a prisoner of war."

"Secondly, psychologically, are we fit? another factor," he added.

India has been ranked 84th among the world's most corrupt nations

NEW DELHI:

India is still perceived to be one of the most corrupt countries by the transparency international in its annual corruption perceptions.

India has been ranked 84th in the list of 180 countries in terms of public-sector corruption, which is perceived to be highly corrupt.

While releasing the list of naming and shaming the world's most corrupt countries, the international watchdog has for the first time recommended that tax havens like Switzerland and Liechtenstein should do away with the secrecy in banking laws.

"Corrupt money must not find safe haven. It is time to put an end to secrecy in banking laws," said the Berlin-based group's head Huguette Labelle.

The bottom five nations were Somalia, Afghanistan, Myanmar, Sudan and Iraq, while the cleanest countries with ranking close to perfect 10 were New Zealand, Denmark and Singapore.

This year developing countries like Serbia, Burkina Faso, Peru and Ghana fared better than India by claiming 83, 79, 75 and 69 spots respectively.

China scored 3.6 on the scale, thereby indicating slightly better position than India in terms of perception of corrupt countries.

In neighbouring countries, Nepal was at 143rd position much below India, Pakistan scored 2.4 claiming 139th position along with Bangladesh while Sri Lanka scored 3.1 and stood at 97th position.

Nearly half of the countries have scored three or less on the scale of zero (perceived to be most corrupt) to 10 (perceived to be least corrupt) showing that corruption is rampant across the world. The index prepared by the voluntary group used 13 different expert and business surveys.

"Transparency international has found that strong correlation between corruption and poverty continued to exist, jeopardising the global fight against poverty and threatening to derail the UN Millennium Development Goals," Admiral (retd. R H Tahiliani, Chairman of Transparency International India said in a statement.

Pakistani Spy's 2 aides Cought in lucknow

LUCKNOW:

Two persons were arrested here on Tuesday for their alleged links with suspected Pakistani spy Syed Amir Ali. Though police have refused to confirm a third arrest in the case, but sources say that the third accused is believed to be a policeman.

While police officials were unwilling to divulge details of those arrested, informed sources said the arrested policeman was responsible for giving Ali an intelligence clearance that got him an Indian passport, IANS reported.

The duo, identified as Mohd Arshad alias Arshu and Chaand, were arrested from the old city area on charges of assisting Syed Amir Ali (36), who was nabbed at Delhi's IGI airport on Saturday, Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) A K Jain told PTI in Lucknow.

He said the two accused were touts, who prepared fake papers including address proof, which were used by Ali, alias Jabbar to obtain the passport and other documents, including a driving licence.

The ADG said the two were being interrogated. A senior police officer in Delhi said the two were caught by a joint team of Delhi Police's Special Cell and UP's ATS. There were reports about a third arrest but police have not confirmed it.

While the seized passport was issued under the name of 'Syed Amir Ali', the licence was in the name of 'S A Ali', the Delhi Police officer said.

Official sources said investigators are probing whether Arshad had bribed passport and transport department officials to get these documents for Ali.

Ali, who the police says hails from Karachi, was caught while trying to board a flight to Damman in Saudi Arabia allegedly using the fake passport he procured from Lucknow, where he stayed between 2005 and 2006.

Times Now reported that a Delhi Police team which arrived on Monday has been carrying out investigations at the passport and the transport offices.

Police are also investigating how suspected spy Syed Amir Ali contacted property dealer Arshad and others and got help to escape notice of security agencies.

Security agencies have pointed to a larger conspiracy to assist Syed – this after it was pointed out that Syed had a genuine passport with a fake address on it.

Times Now has been told that Syed could have bribed officials to procure the passport. Uttar Pradesh’s Anti-Terror Squad has been alerted over the possibility of the involvement of some regional passport officers in the scam.

According to Times Now, the question that now arises is whether touts and small time dealers are being made a convenient scapegoat in what could be a massive security lapse. Given that a Pakistani national was able to get a genuine Indian passport with a fake residence proof, the conspiracy could easily involve top police officials, and if the regional passport office is to be held accountable, so should the Union Home Secretary.

Monday, November 16, 2009

Sensex falls 137 points after an early gain

MUMBAI:

Erasing early gains, the Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex today fell over 137 points at midsession on emergence of profit selling by funds in realty, bank and refinery sector shares.

The Sensex, which commenced the day higher at 17,080.17 points, fell back to trade lower by 137.39 points at 16,895.12 at 1230 hrs.

Similarly, the wide-based National Stock Exchange index lost 46.40 points at 5,011.65.

Marketmen said the selling emerged in stocks which had gained substantial ground in last few sessions even as the fundamentals of the markets still remained better.

They said the current fall could be seen as a technical correction and good for a healthy market.

Gold reaches to Rs 17100 / 10 grm

NEW DELHI:

Gold prices surged by Rs 100 to Rs 17,100 per ten gram in the bullion market here on Monday on sustained buying by stockists and jewellers to meet the marriage season demand and as investors increasingly are moving funds from the dollar into higher-yielding assets.

However, silver held steady in restricted buying at existing higher levels.

The latest price of the precious metal is just a little lower than the all-time high of Rs 17,150. Marketmen said stockists and jewellers continued to enlarge their positions to meet the current marriage season demand amid a rising trend in overseas market.

Trading sentiment remained bullish after gold climbed to an all-time high in overseas market supported by a weakening dollar. The gold in overseas markets rose by 1.1 per cent to 1,130.43 dollar an ounce.

Gold in domestic market has been on a steady advance after the Reserve Bank of India bought 200 tonnes of the precious metal from the International Monetary Fund last month, underlining a strategy of reserve diversification and strong demand for the precious metal.

Analysts said they expected central banks to emerge as net gold buyers for 2009. The yellow metal broke 1,100 dollars an ounce for the first time earlier this month following news that Sri Lanka had joined India in purchasing gold instead of the US currency.

Dhoni posted a century in 1st test



Indian Captain Mahinder singh dhoni and indian wall rahul dravid posted a centuries as india dominated in the 1st test at ahmadabad.
Both
Rahul Dravid-170*
Dhoni -109*

are playing as last reportes came in

Dravid(The wall) Slams a Hundred

Darvid once again plays sheet anchor's role as he with dhoni put india in good position

dravid--104* last reported
dhoni-50* last reported

Expand military campaign against Taliban-US to Pakistan

WASHINGTON:

The Obama administration is stepping up pressure on Pakistan to expand and reorient its fight against Taliban and al-Qaida and wants its army to pursue the militants into north Waziristan.

Washington has also warned that failure to do so would undercut new strategy and troop increase for Afghanistan that President Obama is preparing to approve of, The New York times reported quoting US officials.

This message was delivered by General (retd) James Jones, the National Security Advisor; who was sent to Islamabad by the US President, Barack Obama, and delivered a letter on his behalf to the Pakistani President, Asif Ali Zardari.

"His message, officials said, was that the new American strategy would work only if Pakistan broadened its fight beyond the militants attacking its cities and security forces and went after the groups that use havens in Pakistan for plotting and carrying out attacks against American troops in Afghanistan, as well as support networks for Al Qaeda," the paper said.

Times said Jones while praising the Pakistani operation in South Waziristan had urged officials to combat extremists who fled to North Waziristan.

According to the newspaper, if Pakistanis voice concerns about a lack of American commitment, they express equal concern that sending tens of thousands more American troops to Afghanistan could force Taliban militants into Pakistan.

"Whatever we do - put in more troops or put in fewer troops -- they'll freak out," an American intelligence officer who spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid jeopardizing his relations with Pakistani officials, told The New York Times.

For their part, Pakistani officials have told Americans that they harbour two deep fears about Obama's new strategy: that the US will have too many troops on the Afghan side of the border and that the American effort will end too soon.

It is a concern that some of them say justifies Pakistan's continuing ties to the militants who fight American troops in Afghanistan.

Sensex Boomed Above 17000

MUMBAI:

Buoyed by the positive weekend numbers on industrial output and cues from the government on its divestment plans, Indian equities continued to trade in the green on Monday afternoon, with a key index ruling 191.24 points above its previous close.

The sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) opened higher at 16,893.11 points, against Friday's close at 16,848.83 points, and soon shot up to a high of 17,055.44 points within 15 minutes into the trading session.

At 1.22 pm., the index was trading at 17,040.07, up 191.24 points or 1.14 percent from its last closing figure.

At the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the broader 50-share S&P CNX Nifty was also ruling firm around the same time, breaching the 5,000-point mark at 5,060.45 points, with a gain of 1.23 percent, over the previous close at 4,998.95 points.

Broader market indices were also trading in the green, with the BSE midcap index ruling 1.41 percent higher and the BSE small cap index 1.38 percent up.

The government had on Friday said all ministries have been asked to compile a list of state-run firms for sale of stake and listing on stock exchanges, even as it expected partial divestment in at least three such firms by the end of this fiscal.

Disinvestment secretary Sunil Mitra said as per data available for 2007-08, there were 10 listed state-run firms with less than 10 percent public holding, while 50 others met the criteria for divestment in terms of profits and net worth.

Statistics on India's industrial production a day earlier showed a 9.1-percent growth in September, compared to 6 percent in the corresponding month last year, in yet another sign of economic recovery in the country.

Sunday, November 15, 2009

SC refuses to quash PIL against Mayawati -Taj corridor scandal

NEW DELHI:

The Supreme Court on Monday rejected Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati's plea for quashing a PIL filed against her in the Taj corridor scandal which had involved construction of a massive shopping mall and recreational centres near the world famous monument.

She had sought quashing of the PIL in the Allahabad High Court claiming that opposition parties could try to destabilise her government on the issue.

A bench of Justices B S Sirpurkar and B Sudershan Reddy asked the Uttar Pradesh government to approach the High Court on the issue of maintainability of the PIL.

"What the opposition is going to demand to destabilise the government, we are not bothered," the court said.

The observation of the judges came when senior counsel K K Venugopal submitted that the PIL had the propensity to destabilise the government.

He pleaded that if the PIL was allowed to be heard, it would only give the opposition an excuse to demand her government's resignation.

"Destabilisation, why should we go into all those things?" the bench asked.

The court was also not impressed with the UP government's argument that the case was politically motivated as it claimed that four other similar petitions on the same issue were earlier dismissed by the apex court.

The judges while saying that they found no reason to interfere in the matter, granted liberty to the UP government to raise its arguments before the High Court.

Iraqi detainee's beaten and abused by British soldiers

LONDON:

British soldiers forced an Iraqi detainee to wear an orange jump suit and told him that he was to be executed at the US-run Guantanamo Bay camp, according to allegations in a report today.

The 23-year-old man alleges he was beaten and sexually abused by female and male soldiers and flown to a British detention centre in southern Iraq which he believed was the "war on terror" camp in Cuba, the Independent said.

The man's case is among allegations being investigated by Britain's Ministry of Defence that soldiers tortured Iraqi civilians, according to the newspaper.

The ministry said on Friday it has launched "formal investigations" into allegations of abuse, but they must be allowed to be carried out "without judgements being made prematurely".

The Independent said 33 cases of alleged abuse had been reported, including claims of rape, the use of torture techniques and physical assault.

The man was a security guard employed to patrol streets of the southern Iraqi town of Amara, when in 2006 he claimed he was arrested by four soldiers.

He alleged he was beaten and taken to a British base in southern Iraq, where he suffered more abuse, including told to remove his clothes before a female soldier pulled his penis with force, while soldiers laughed and took photos.

"I was (later) given a dark orange prisoners outfit to wear... (which) is worn by those who will be executed. I started screaming," the man alleges in his statement.

Pak ISI Receives Million's of Dollars Since 9/11--Reports

LOS ANGELES:

The CIA has paid millions of dollars to Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) since 9/11, accounting for as much as one-third of the foreign spy agency's annual budget, says a media report.

The ISI also collected "tens of millions of dollars through a classified CIA programme", which pays for the capture or killing of wanted militants, the Los Angeles Times reported on Monday citing current and former US officials.

An intense debate has been triggered within the US government due to "long-standing suspicions that the ISI continues to help Taliban extremists who undermine US efforts in Afghanistan and provide sanctuary to al-Qaida members in Pakistan".

But US officials have continued to make the payments as ISI's assistance is considered critical: "Almost every major terrorist plot this decade has originated in Pakistan's tribal belt, where ISI informant networks are a primary source of intelligence."

The report went on to say that the payments to Pakistan are authorised under a covert programme initially approved by then president Bush and continued under President Obama.

"The ISI has used the covert CIA money for a variety of purposes, including the construction of a new headquarters in Islamabad, the capital. That project pleased CIA officials because it replaced a structure considered vulnerable to attack; it also eased fears that the US money would end up in the private bank accounts of ISI officials."

"What we didn't want to happen was for this group of generals in power at the time to just start putting it in their pockets or building mansions in Dubai," a former CIA operative was quoted as saying.

CIA officials argue that their own disbursements - particularly the bounties for suspected terrorists - should be considered a bargain.

"They gave us 600 to 700 people captured or dead," a former senior CIA official, who worked with the Pakistanis, was quoted as saying.

"Getting these guys off the street was a good thing, and it was a big savings to (US) taxpayers."

Another US intelligence official said Pakistan had made "decisive contributions to counter-terrorism".

"They have people dying almost every day," the official said. "Sure, their interests don't always match up with ours. But things would be one hell of a lot worse if the government there was hostile to us."

The ISI is a highly compartmentalised intelligence service, with divisions that sometimes seem at odds with one another. Units that work closely with the CIA are walled off from a highly secretive branch that has directed insurgencies in Afghanistan and Kashmir, the Los Angeles Times report said.

"There really are two ISIs," the former CIA operative said.

"On the counter-terrorism side, those guys were in lock-step with us," the former operative said. "And then there was the 'long-beard' side. Those are the ones who created the Taliban and are supporting groups like Haqqani."

The network led by Jalaluddin Haqqani has been accused of carrying out a series of suicide attacks in Afghanistan, including the 2008 bombing of the Indian Embassy in Kabul.

Friday, November 13, 2009

Pakistan Denies of geting nuclear aid from china

ISLAMABAD:

Pakistan on Friday dismissed a media report about Beijing providing it with weapons-grade uranium and a blueprint for an atomic bomb and described it as an effort to divert attention from support being extended by "some states" to India's nuclear programme.

Foreign office spokesman Abdul Basit described the allegations made in an article in the Washington Post newspaper as "baseless".

"Pakistan strongly rejects the assertions in the article that is evidently timed to malign Pakistan and China," he said.

"This is yet another attempt to divert attention from the overt and covert support being extended by some states to the Indian nuclear programme since its inception and intensified more recently in stark contradiction to their self-avowed commitment to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty," he said.

Pakistan and China have "comprehensive and all-dimensional cooperation", which includes civilian nuclear cooperation for peaceful purposes, Basit said.

"This has always been above board. Pakistan and China have always respected their respective international obligations and non-proliferation norms," he said.

Citing an account provided by disgraced nuclear scientist A Q Khan, the Washington Post reported on Friday that China provided Pakistan enough weapons-grade uranium for two atomic bombs and the blueprint for a simple nuclear weapon in 1982.

Headley could have played a role in planning the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks


NEW DELHI/MUMBAI:

With David Coleman Headley's travel itinerary and the persons he met up with during his nine visits to India becoming increasingly clear, investigators believe that the Pakistan-born American, now in US custody, could have played a role in planning the Mumbai terror attacks.

Top intelligence officials said Headley, a Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) suspect, is now turning out to be one of the prime suspects in the probe into 26/11 - India's biggest terror attack whose first anniversary will be observed in a fortnight - and was also looking at other potential targets in the country.

"Look at the reconnaisance missions he carried out. Why do you think he was travelling to Kochi, Ahmedabad, Pune, Mumbai and Delhi? Clearly it was not for sightseeing," a senior intelligence official said on condition of anonymity.

Investigators say that Headley could well be the missing link in the 26/11 conspiracy. Headley, say intelligence agencies, had visited India nine times on his US passport (No. 097536400), issued March 10, 2006 that was valid for 10 years.

According to officials probing Headley's connections, he had an eye for detail and was capable of meticulous planning.

Headley, who changed his name from Daood Gilani in 2006, and his alleged accomplice Tahawwur Hussain Rana, a Canadian citizen of Pakistani origin, were arrested in the US last month by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

The FBI later informed the Indian intelligence agencies that the two were plotting terror attacks on behalf of the LeT against India and the National Defence College in New Delhi and two premier educational institutions were on their hit list.

An FBI team is expected in India next week to probe the Indian links of Headley and will be joined by security agencies in Mumbai.

"The FBI investigation shared with Indian investigators reveals that Headley has played an important role in conspiring the Mumbai attack. We are probing this link," the officer said, pleading anonymity.

"The criminal complaints the FBI has so far shared expose a serious plot against overseas targets by the two working for the LeT," the official said.

Intelligence agencies were also investigating Headley's suspected links to terror outfit Indian Mujahideen, which had carried out a series of bomb attacks across the country, including in Jaipur, Delhi and Bangalore last year.

Headley and Rana have been charged by the FBI of plotting to attack a Danish newspaper whose cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed that led to violent protests by Muslims.

Headley, according to investigators, also travelled to Pakistan where he met with a militant having ties with Al Qaeda, Harakat-ul Jihadi Islami, and communicated with members of the Lashkar-e-Taiba about their plans to conduct fresh attacks in India.

Home Minister P. Chidambaram Thursday said Headley was in India before and the after the 26/11 terror carnage that left over 170 people dead in India's financial capital.

India's National Investigating Agency has already registered cases against Headley and Rana and has sought their deportation.

Headley's passport details, a xerox copy of which police got from a Delhi hotel, revealed he had come to the capital from Abu Dhabi March 6 this year - the ninth and his last visit to India. He is also suspected of having a Pakistani passport, the officials say.

According to Delhi Police, during his recent visits to the capital he stayed in two hotels of Delhi in crowded Paharganj, a popular destination for foreign backpackers.

On March 6, he stayed at Hotel Holiday International and then for the next two days at Hotel Anand, from where he checked out saying he was leaving for Rajasthan, according to hotel records.

Meanwhile, Mumbai Police have also questioned Bollywood filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt's son Rahul for his alleged friendship with Headley. Rahul, a fitness instructor, was let off after questioning as he was unaware of Headley's terror links, said sources in the Mumbai Police.

"How would you think that a white American had anything to do with terror," Mahesh Bhatt told reporters when asked about his son was questioned.

In Mumbai, Headley also met realty broker Sunny Singh to rent a flat through a former French client. However, since he could not provide proper documents, he did not help him get a flat, the property dealer said.

"I asked him for copies of his visa, passport and other identity papers, which he was not ready to provide," he said.

Judges Cannot Be Put Under The Public Scrutiny--Supreme Court

NEW DELHI:

The Supreme Court on Friday said judges cannot be put under public scrutiny as it would hamper their functioning and independence.

"We cannot expose our judges to public scrutiny or inquiry because it would hamper their functioning and independence," Attorney general Goolam E Vahanvati, appearing for apex court registry, contended before the Delhi High Court.

The argument was made while challenging the verdict of a single-judge bench of the High Court which had held that the office of the Chief Justice of India comes within the purview of Right to Information Act and details of judges' assets should be revealed.

The AG contended other agencies should not be allowed to interfere in the judiciary.

"Judges cannot be judged by public perception. The Judiciary cannot be exposed to third party. There is no problem in having better transparency and accountability in the system but it should come from within the system," he told a full bench court of the High Court headed by Chief Justice A P Shah.

The single bench of the High Court had in its September 2 verdict on the controversial issue held that the CJI was a public authority and his office came within the purview of the transparency law.

The judgment was contrary to the stand taken by CJI K G Balakrishnan who had consistently been maintaining that his office is beyond the purview of the Right to Information Act.

Court asks police to file forensic reports-Jigisha murder


NEW DELHI:

A Delhi court on Friday gave the last opportunity to the police for filing forensic test reports in the murder case of IT executive Jigisha Ghosh, the probe into which led to cracking of murder mystery of TV scribe Soumya Vishwanathan.

Issuing a notice to the investigating officer (IO) in Ghosh case, additional sessions judge said the reports be filed on December five, the next date of hearing, as it would be the last opportunity.

The articles, clothes and other objects, belonging to Ghosh, were sent to forensic science laboratory by the police for examination.

The court, which was to hear arguments on framing of charges against five persons, including key accused Ravi Kapoor, adjourned the matter.

Ghosh, 28, was killed on March 18 this year while returning from a call centre. The recovery of the weapon allegedly used in the murder of the IT executive had led to the cracking of the killing of Soumya also.

Soumya was shot dead on the night of September 30 last year when she was returning home by her car from office in the wee hours.

Besides Kapoor, other accused in the cases are Amit Shukla, Ajay Kumar, Baljit Malik and Ajay Sethi. They have been booked under various provisions of IPC and MCOCA dealing with robbery, murder, criminal conspiracy and running an organised crime syndicate.

Olympics 2012 may be the bigest risk of the decade-British Security Minister Alan West


LONDON:

London faces the largest security challenge since World War II when it hosts the 2012 Olympics, British security minister Alan West said on Friday.

West told a London conference that the British capital will almost certainly be at a higher risk of a terrorist attack as an estimated 15,000 athletes, 14,000 coaches and officials and 20,000 media workers arrive for the games.

He said the country's threat level will likely rise to severe, the second-highest rating on a five-point scale, meaning an attack is considered highly likely.

"We are not complacent. We do not underestimate the scale of the Olympics challenge," West told the Royal United Services Institute think tank.

West, a former head of Britain's navy and defense intelligence staff, said the event would be "possibly the greatest security challenge the UK has faced since the Second World War."

Since 2001, Britain has invested heavily in anti-terrorism measures, increasing the size of domestic spy agency MI5 and raising the country's security budget to 3.5 billion pounds ($6 billion).

The minister said a 600 million pound ($1billion) fund has been set aside specifically for Olympic security.

West said work since the July 2005 transit network attacks in London, which killed 52 passengers and four suicide bombers, had "made the nation safer, but we are not safe, the threat is still there."

The London bombings came the day after the British capital was awarded the 2012 Olympics.

West said plans to secure the Olympics would reflect changing tactics used by terrorists.

He pointed to the use of boats to launch attacks last November which killed 166 people in Mumbai, India, and methods deployed in Lahore, Pakistan, in March in a gun assault on the Sri Lankan national cricket team.

Britain has installed barriers to defend against car bombs at most sports stadiums, transport hubs and shopping malls, and provided new guidelines on protecting crowded spaces. During the Olympics, police speed boats will patrol the River Thames.

West said that, despite the likely threats, he is confident in plans to secure the London games. If medals were awarded for security planning, Britain ``would be on top of the podium wearing a gold,'' he said.

American terrorist David Headley visited India and Left for Pakistan Before 26/11 attacks in Mumbai

NEW DELHI:

Suspected American terrorist David Headley had stayed in a hotel in the national capital just months before the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai.

According to the passport details of Headley, he had visited the national capital and Mumbai during April last year. He had then left for Pakistan.

Headley was arrested by the FBI for suspected links with the banned terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba, which had carried out the Mumbai carnage last year that left about 180 people dead.

Sources said Central security agencies are also investigating Headley's suspected links to terror outfit Indian Mujhaideen, which had carried out a series of bomb attacks across the country, including in Rajasthan and Delhi, that left over 170 people dead.

Home Minister P Chidambaram had said yesterday that besides Headley, the National Investigating Agency had registered a case against his Canadian accomplice Tahawwur Hussain Rana.

The duo was booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and for conspiring to wage war against the country.

Maintaining that Headley had visited India several times before 26/11 and once after the Mumbai terror strikes, Chidambaram had said, "We are conducting investigations in the cities he visited to find out whom he met and what he did."

The Mumbai attack last November left 183 persons dead. A top Home Ministry official has claimed that the investigators had enough evidence to show Headley's link with LeT and the Government is all set to produce the documents before a US court in January next and press for his extradition to India.

"We will press for his extradition to India with the evidence," the official said.

The investigators were now trying to find out whether Headley and his accomplice Rana, also arrested in the US, were involved in the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai and whether handlers of the duo and Mumbai attackers were the same.