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4 die in Imphal Iskcon temple blast

      Imphal: At least four people were killed and 57 injured in a bomb blast that took place at the Iskcon temple here on Wednesday evening. According to army spokesman Lt. Col. O. P. Goswami suspected tribal in surgents threw a Chinese hand grenade into the temple premises at 7.15 pm, even as thousands of people gathered there to celebrate Janamashtami, the festival of Lord Krishna's birth. According to Lt. Col. Goswami, the injured, including one child, have been shifted to the Regional Institute of Medical Science (RIMS) near the blast site for treatment. Television report and sources contacted said that the condition of seven of the injured is critical. So far, no group has claimed responsibility for the blast. Police have corndoned off the area and have launched a search for those responsible for the incident. Police suspect Naga tribesmen of being behind the blast. They said the tribesmen belong to four Naga districts in Manipur. The Naga tribesmen in Manipur have been demanding that they be apart of a Greater Nagarland, a cause for which they have struggled for more than five decades.

Janmashtami celebrated with fervour (Go To Top)

       Mumbai/Mathura/Dwarka: Hindu devotees across the country celebrated Janmashtami, a 5,000-year old festival marking the birthday of Lord Krishna on Wednesday amidst heightened security at the temples. Thousands of people poured into temples in several parts of the country since early morning with much enthusiasm and fervour.

     In Mumbai, youths celebrated the festival in the traditional manner by breaking clay pots hanging high and filled with curd. The participants formed human pyramids to break clay pots, which was popularised in Maharashtra by freedom fighter Bal Gangadhar Tilak in the 19th century. The streets were milling with teams participating in the sport and public, despite tight security.

     Meanwhile, thousands of devotees thronged the Mathura temple, the birthplace of Lord Krishna. Tight security had turned the city into a fortress and the devotees found it tough to get on with worship. "The arrangements are all fine but we end up being tossed around. There is no clear direction and one reaches a far end to be redirected in this chaos. It would have certainly made worship easier if there was some better co-ordination," said Amar Kumar, a devotee.

     Thousands of devotees also thronged the 1200-year-old temple in the ancient city of Dwarka in Gujarat where Krishna is believed to have grown up and the people in this ancient city exhibit a certain sense of belonging to the deity.

Malayala Manorama launches TV  (Go To Top)
by Juhan Samuel

       Kochi: The television arm of Malayala Manorama, one of India's biggest and oldest regional language media groups, went on air from today with its flagship news channel -- Manorama News. Malayala Manorama TV (MMTV) will have three channels delivering real-time 3D graphic images. One channel will be state-specific while others will have regional flavour. "We have the technology and resources for reporting live from anywhere in the state and major centers outside. Besides, the unmatchable technology gives us competitive edge over others," MMTV's Co-ordinating Editor K P Jaideep said. The launch of the channel was an "in-house" ceremony with the Malayala Manorama Chief Editor KM Mathew lighting a traditional lamp at its office in Kochi at 12 noon, the first day of the Malayalam calendar. Manorama News will be competing with the other news channels. Asianet News of the market leader Asianet Communications, Indiavision and People TV of the ruling party-promoted Malayalam Communications which also runs multi-program Kairali TV for the advertising pie of Rs 500mn, according to industry estimates. The total market of Malayalam channels is estimated to be worth Rs 2 billion. There are already more than a dozen channels in Malayalam and a new one Bharat TV has started test telecast. The market is likely to hot up further with the Asianet and Indiavision announcing one more channel.

Bismillah Khan placed on liquid diet (Go To Top)

      Varanasi: Bharat Ratna Ustad Bismillah Khan is on liquid diet as he is suffering from age-related problems. However, family sources said that the over 90-year-old maestro's condition was otherwise stable. "He is suffering from weakness because of his age and is not eating solid food for the past couple of days," Khan's son, Kazim Hussain said. 'Shehnai' legend was put on intravenous drip by his personal physician Nadeem Jaffri two days back at his residence in Harha Sarai locality here. Recently, the 'Shenai' maestro was handed over a cheque of Rs 2.51 lakh on behalf of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as a financial assistance since he has been ailing for sometime. The legendary Khan was born March 21, 1916. He is the third classical musician to be awarded the Bharat Ratna in 2001. He is perhaps single handedly responsible for making the 'shehnai' a famous classical instrument. His ancestors were court musicians in the princely state of Dumraon in Bihar and he trained under his uncle, the late Ali Bux `Vilayatu', a shehnai player attached to Benares's Vishwanath Temple. Khan has honorary doctorates from the Banaras Hindu University and Visva Bharati University, Santiniketan. He has been awarded the Sangeet Natak Academi Award, the Tansen Award of the Madhya Pradesh government and also the prestigious Padma Vibhushan.

Six SIMI activists held in Kerala  (Go To Top)
by Juhan Samuel

       Cochin: The Kerala police on Wednesday arrested six SIMI activists here after interrogating 18 people, suspected to be members of the banned outfit. Eighteen suspected activists of Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) were taken into custody yesterday from an auditorium at Eloor where they had gathered for a meeting. After a long interrogation at Binimipuram Police Station near here, the police arrested Shamdulin (24), Razikk (27), Shamas (26), all from Iratupetta in Kottayam district, and Anzar (25) and V.M. Nizammuddin (24), both from Ernakulam district Another arrested member, Shakir (28), is said to be an electronic engineer but he was working as a teacher. He hails from Tamil Nadu, police said. The arrested SIMI activists will be presented before the Paravur Magistrate Court later in the day. Police said they seized some booklets, articles, pamphlets and a book printed in Pakistan from the arrested persons. The 18 suspected SIMI activists were detained following a tip- off. The police said they received an anonymous call, saying some suspected SIMI activists had gathered at an auditorium for a meeting. Police then reached the spot and took the activists into custody. Top police officials, including Ernakulam rural SP M Wahab with officials from Intelligence Bureau and Special Branch, are looking into the matter for further details.

Fresh floods in Gujarat (Go To Top)

       Ahmedabad: Thousands of people from different parts of Gujarat were evacuated on Wednesday after fresh flood hit the state following release of water from various dams. A fresh flood alert has been sounded in five districts, including Vadodra and Ahmedabad, after a large quantity of water was released from Kadana, Vanakbori, Dharoi and Panam dams on Monday night. Following the water release, Ahmedabad, Vadodra, Godhra, Anand and Kheda districts were put on alert and fire brigade personnel started evacuating people from low-lying areas, officials said. People living on the banks of rivers and in low-lying areas in Ahmedabad have been asked to move to safer grounds, as, authorities said, the release of water would have an impact on the region. About 200 villages were cut off and two main cities, Vadodara and Surat, were severely inundated with even large trucks being barely seen through the water. The week-long flooding triggered by monsoon rains killed more than 350 people and left more than four million homeless across Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, and Orissa.

Norwegian 'Blue Lady' at Alang (Go To Top)

      Alang (Gujarat): Norwegian cruise liner 'Blue Lady' docked at Gujarat's Alang shipbreaking yard on Tuesday for dismantling after the Supreme Court gave the green signal to the concerned authorities to do so. Kishore Chandra, the leader of the worker's union at the yard, said that the entry of the ship would provide jobs to several unemployed workers. "The arrival of this ship at the port will pose no threat to the environment. It will bring prosperity to whole of Gujarat as it has the potential to provide employment opportunities to unemployed workers," he said.

     Earlier, the Supreme Court had allowed the ship to enter Indian waters, but put a hold on it's dismantling, pending a report by an expert panel on the quantum of toxic wastes on board. Beaching was permitted after Indian experts had given the go ahead for the scrapping of the controversial cruise liner, which environmentalists say contains toxic material harmful to ship- breakers. The team of 15-members, of the Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB), National Institute of Occupational Health (NIOH) and Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) gave clearance after the committee carried out a five-day inspection of the ship. Greenpeace and other groups had raised concern and protested over the Blue Lady. According to them, 46,000-tonne cruise liner, which anchored in June off the Alang ship-breaking yard, contains more than 900 tonnes of asbestos which would put the health of workers at risk.

     A recent Greenpeace report said that thousands of ship breakers in countries such as India, China and Pakistan had probably died in the past two decades from accidents or exposure to toxic waste. In February, France recalled its decommissioned aircraft carrier Clemenceau after an outcry over the asbestos it contained. But the Gujarat Maritime Board, which leases out the yards in Alang, says they can handle toxic and hazardous waste.

Now a PIO TV (Go To Top)

      New Delhi: Minister for Overseas Affairs Vayalar Ravi will officially inaugurate a new television network - Persons of Indian Origin (PIO) TV on Thursday. The PIO TV Channel is the first of its kind for any expatriate community, aimed at facilitating dialogue and interaction within the community of 25 million or more Indians living overseas. An estimated 20 million people of Indian origin live outside the country, primarily in Britain, North America, Africa, the Caribbean, Southeast Asia and the Persian Gulf. There are 1.7 million Indians and Indian Americans in the United States. Munish Gupta, Chief Executive Officer of PIO TV told 'The Hindu' that he was planning to launch a news and entertainment channel for those who are living abroad and for NRIs (Non-Reliable Indians), who especially wanted to see programmes from India. On the 60th Independence Day, the PIO TV telecasted the live address of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's speech from the ramparts of Red Fort. The PM's address, which was repeated several times on August 15, was telecasted through broadband Internet, Gupta said.

    Speaking about access to the service, Gupta said it would be accessible to those who have laptops, personal computers or even cell phones. All they had to do was to simply log on to www.indiatvlive.com to receive programmes without any cost. Gupta, an NRI based in Los Angeles for the past two decades, said that programmes will be of different varieties covering Indian culture, lifestyle, news from Bollywood, entertainment. With the coming up of PIO TV, NRIs can now have a glimpse of Indian culture through a live television programme on their internet. We are also planning to make it a subscription based channel within the next fortnight, he said, adding that we are also linking with our site all major news and TV networks of India. Delhi and Los Angeles will be two programming centres of PIO TV.

Extradite Heathrow mastermind: UK (Go To Top)

      London: British authorities are seeking the quick extradition of Rashid Rauf, the man widely acknowledged as the key planner of the Heathrow terror plot. British officials are learnt to have already taken the necessary steps to secure Rauf's return to England. Officials said Scotland Yard sleuths have flown to Islamabad and if the extradition process moves quickly, Rauf will be handed over to British authorities to be flown to England for further investigations. According to a report in The Times, Pakistan authorities have also indicated that they will look favourably on any request to extradite British born Rauf. Britain has no formal extradition agreement with Pakistan, but Rauf could be returned to England under international treaties and ad hoc arrangements. "There is no current bilateral extradition treaty with Pakistan. However, there are a number of international conventions, such as the Convention for the Suppression of Terrorist Bombings, that set up formal extradition arrangements for certain types of criminal conduct," the paper quoted a spokesman for the Home Office as saying. "We do not have any extradition treaty at the moment but yes, because he is a British national, the possibility of his extradition remains there," said Pakistan Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Tasnim Aslam. Rauf, a 26-year-old Briton of Pakistani origin was arrested from Zhob in Balochistan near the Pak-Afghan border last week. Pakistani officials have claimed that an intercept of a telephone call made by Rauf from Karachi to his associates in Britain urging them to go ahead with attacks on US-bound jets at Heathrow played a crucial role in foiling the terror plot. They said Rauf's arrest led to a series of raids in England by British authorities, ultimately foiling the terror plot to blow up mid-air, 10 transatlantic jets to the US. Rauf's younger brother, Tayib, 22, was among the 19 suspects alleged to have been involved in the plot, who where held by British authorities in Birmingham following raids across England after the foiled bomb attack. Rashid Rauf is believed to have lived in Pakistan under the alias Matiur Rehman. The name is said to be that of a senior figure in Pakistani terror group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, according to a report in the Sun. He is also reported to have connections with other terrorist groups in Pakistan, including the al Qaeda. Birmingham born Rauf, dubbed Mr Talibrum by the English press, is also thought to have organised training of seven British suicide bombers who had planned to blow up mid air, using chemical bombs, the transatlantic jets to the US. He used to frequently send text messages to Britain before the plot. Pakistani officials have said Rauf's arrest indicated "Afghanistan-based al-Qaeda connections" and authorities were closely examining his links to Afghan jihadi groups.

South Africa pulls out of Tri-series (Go To Top)

      Johannesburg: The Cricket South Africa on Wednesday announced to pull out of the Unitech Cup in Sri Lanka and called its team to return home "as soon as possible," citing security reasons. The announcement came after the International Cricket Council independent security consultant--Olive Group--submitted its report to the Cricket South Africa, saying that the current risk to the team was at an "unacceptable level". Gerald Majola, Cricket South Africa's CEO, said that in the light of the Olive Group's report, the board had no alternative but to bring the team home as soon as possible. Now, it is likely that India and Sri Lanka will play a three- match bilateral series on August 18, 20 and 22. Seven people were killed and 18 others were injured in the powerful blast, which occurred nearly four km away from the Taj Samudra hotel where the visiting Indian cricket team is staying.

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