Curfew relaxed at six areas in Vadodara

       Vadodara: Curfew in six areas of violence-hit Vadodara has been relaxed for seven hours from 9 am to 4 pm for all people today following a relatively improved situation in the city in the last two days. curfew was relaxed for four hours in six areas of the city-- Panigate, Raopura, Karelibaug, City, Wadi and Navapura-- yesterday for women and children. However, during the relaxation period, a 30-year-old person of Marathi mohalla under Navapura police station, was stabbed by another youth of the same locality while a couple of shops were set ablaze in two separate incidents, police said. Besides these two incidents, according to police, the four-hour curfew relaxation passed off peacefully.

      Meanwhile, the Army and Rapid Action Force (RAF) continued to stage flag marches in the sensitive areas of Panigate, City, Wadi and Navapura. The Army was withdrawn from Raopura and Karelibaug areas on Friday as no incident of violence were reported from there. Curfew was clamped in the city on May 1 in the wake of clashes between two communities and police broke out after civic authorities demolished a Dargah on, saying the structure was encroaching on public land. Six people died and over 60 were injured in police firing and clashes that followed.

Srinagar children protest over sex scandal (Go To Top)

      Srinagar: Children in Srinagar took to streets on Sunday to protest against the sex scandal, in which several senior politicians and security officials were said to be involved and which has rocked the Kashmir Valley for the past few days. Children and adult in an unanimous voice criticised the incident and demanded that the name of those involved in the scandal should be brought to light. "We appeal to government that those who are guilty should be brought before us and we will punish them," said Zakir Hussain, a resident. "This rally has been organised to protest against those involved in the incident. As long as we do not punish them, we will not stop protesting," added Salman, another resident. Earlier, students of the Kashmir University and the National Institute of Technology protested against the pace at which the investigation into the alleged sex scandal was being conducted. Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad has already transferred the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation and asked it to probe the matter. The Jammu and Kashmir High Court has taken suo moto cognizance of the blackmail and coercion of teenaged girls into flesh trade. On April 28, the State Police arrested two persons after finding CDs in which a 15-year old girl had been forcibly filmed nude. The girl and another minor claimed at least 43 young girls were blackmailed and forced into prostitution. They named two former ministers, some senior police officers, bureaucrats and businessmen are being circulated as being involved in the scandal.

197 star tortoises seized in Chennai (Go To Top)

       Chennai: Customs officials in Chennai on Sunday seized 197 star tortoises while they were being smuggled out to Thailand. The airport's surveillance team intercepted Abdul Razaak, an Indian national travelling to Bangkok on suspicion and seized the endangered animals. "When the baggage was opened our officer found it contained 197 star tortoise. All were neatly packed in the baggage. These kind of items cannot be taken out, these are banned," said C. Rajan, Commissioner of Customs, Chennai airport. The tortoises have been handed over to the state forest department for further action. Ranjan said that the adult tortoises could fetch 1,000 rupees each in the illegal market. The star tortoises, named for the distinctive green and yellow star marking on their shells, are an extremely rare species and breed mostly in southern India but their demand as exotic pets and in some case as delicacy has been soaring in the international market. India has banned their trade under the 1972 wildlife protection act but the huge profit margin and lax laws are increasingly luring poachers to the trade. The rare species are land-dwelling and feed on succulent materials. Most of them are found in semi-arid zones in the southern and northwestern parts of India.

No power: protests in Allahabad (Go To Top)

      Allahabad: Harassed residents and traders of Allahabad on Sunday blocked the national highway to draw attention to their electricity woes. The protestors were agitated with the ruling state-government for ordering early closure of shops and commercial establishments to combat shortage of power in the state. "The Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh has failed to provide electricity to the city. Instead of providing electricity, the government is ordering the traders to shut down their shops at 8 pm. We will protest against this behaviour of the government. We demand that Mulayam Singh Yadav should either provide electricity or on ethical grounds he should resign from his post," said Mukund Tiwary, a Youth Congress leader. The protestors also burnt an effigy of Mulayam Singh Yadav for ordering further cuts in an already power-crunched state. The current demand of the state is around 7,000-8,000 MW, while the supply is around 4,000-5,000 MW. Besides Uttar Pradesh, several other northern states - Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, national capital Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan and Uttaranchal are facing power shortage. By one estimate, peak demand in India today exceeds electricity supply by 14 percent. The vast Indian countryside, where more than two-thirds of the country's 1.2 billion people live, accounts for no more than 13 percent of electricity consumption while some 40 percent of the country's electricity supply is lost due to theft. Renewable energy currently fuels about five percent of India's electricity. The encouraging fact is that though that's not even a fraction of what's needed, it's steadily on the rise as it is facilitated by tax breaks and other moves by Centre. Coal-fired thermal power stations account for about 65 percent of the total capacity. According to industry estimates, India needs an additional 100,000 MW of power in the next 10 next years with an investment of 100 billion dollars to meet the soaring demands of an expanding economy. India has allowed foreign companies to invest in fully owned operations in the energy sector to overcome a peak electricity shortage of about 12.2 percent.

War room leak shows loopholes: Prakash (Go To Top)

      On Board INS Viraat/New Delhi: Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral Arun Prakash has said that loopholes in the system were responsible for the war room leak. Speaking to the media on board the aircraft carrier, INS Viraat, on Saturday, Admiral Prakash said that as far as the leak was concerned, at the highest level the responsibility laid with him, as he was the Navy Chief. "As far as the war room leak is concerned there were loopholes in the system and at the highest level, the buck stops with me and I am ready to take the responsibility. There was treachery at the higher level. The senior officials did not fulfil their responsibility," he said, adding "We did not wait for the commanders' conference for this". The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had early in April arrested five persons in connection with the war room leak case. The Ministry of Defence had handed over the investigations to the CBI in February this year after reports suggested the leaked information of the Navy pertained to high-profile defence deals. Earlier the Navy had constituted a board of inquiry after a pen drive was recovered from an officer, which reportedly contained classified Naval information. Three senior officers were found guilty by the board of enquiry. Over the collision of the INS Prahar, the Indian Navy's 450 tonnes fast patrol vessel with MV Rajiv, a commercial ship, Admiral Prakash said the Navy was waiting for the investigation report. "In case of INS Prahar whatever happened should not have happened. It was a dark night. There was a merchant ship and the INS Prahar. Investigation is on and we are waiting for the outcome," he added. The INS Prahar was commissioned in 1997.

Laughing tensions out on Laughter Day (Go To Top)

      New Delhi/Bhopal: In spite of the power crisis and sweltering heat wave in northern India, scores of people in New Delhi took to parks and hovered in groups to mark the World Laughter Day on Sunday. There have been proper laughing camps in the national capital to ease tension from the stressful life. Doctors across the world are increasingly recognising laughter as an effective alternative therapy for a variety of ailments including cardiac disorders. "We run Hasya Yog class (laughing camp) in the city. It (laughing) has lots of benefits. It releases the tension and stress from the mind, helps in spreading oxygen in various parts of the body, helps in blood circulation. We laugh for 15-20 minutes every day and that provides us the energy for the whole day", Hanuman Prasad Singhal, a resident of New Delhi said. In Madhya Pradesh capital, Bhopal, people guffawed for hours to celebrate the day. People from all walks of life, of all shapes and sizes wearing colourful cone shaped chuckled, giggled and chortled to mark the day. They also took out a huge laughter rally, carrying placards reading 'one two or three, laughter is for free'. Participants claimed the therapy also helps reduce blood pressure and several other minor ailments. "Laughing is necessary in life. If a person forgets to laugh, he has lost everything. People try to beat stress by popping tablets but laughter is the best medicine and has no disadvantages", Ashok Kumar, a resident of Bhopal said. It is believed that laughter not only increases one's face value but also helps in proliferating oxygen to various parts of the body that in turn helps in keeping the body active all day long. The benefits of laughing have apparently been so tangible that more and more clubs have been formed across the country. Though in India, the concept started mainly as a meeting excuse for old people, it has grown on to be adopted by all. There are about 500 laughter clubs in the country at present.

Nepal's Maoists seek role in interim Govt (Go To Top)

      Rupendehi (Nepal): Hundreds of Nepalese Maoists gathered at a rally in Nepal's border town Rupendehi on Sunday demanding their inclusion in the newly formed government in the Himalayan Kingdom. The rebels who say they will join talks with the new multi-party government to try to end the uprising are now looking forward to participate in the interim government for the interest of the people. "The Maoists will definitely take part in the interim government, because it's the party of the people and for the people. It will definitely take part in the government in the people's interest," said Vinod Upadhayay, a Maoist leader. Upadhayay added that a new constitution should be drafted. "Our expectations and demand from this government are that a new constitution should be drafted. Nepal should set an example to the world by setting up a unique democratic set up," he said. Nepal's new multi-party government last week matched a Maoist truce and called the rebels for talks to which the guerrillas agreed. No date for the meeting has been fixed. Nepal's seven mainstream political parties and the Maoist rebels entered into a loose deal in November against King Gyanendra who took absolute power early last year. The new cabinet of Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala -- appointed after King Gyanendra bowed to weeks of protests and returned power to political parties -- would also remove the "terrorist" tag on the rebels. The Maoists last week declared a three-month ceasefire in their decade-old campaign to topple the country's monarchy after King Gyanendra handed power back to the political parties. Maoists are now preparing for elections to an Assembly to write a new constitution and decide the future of the monarchy. The Maoists have been fighting since 1996 to set up one-party communist rule in the Himalayan kingdom. But they now say they will accept the outcome of the election to the special assembly. More than 13,000 people have died in the conflict that has also badly hurt Nepal's aid and tourism dependent economy.

Osama call to eliminate Musharraf (Go To Top)

     Miranshah (North Waziristan): Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden has described Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf as "a slave of US President George Bush", and appealed to the people of Waziristan to eliminate him (Musharraf). "I pray to Allah to punish Bush, Pervez Musharraf and their forces and give them the punishment that they deserve besides giving an opportunity to one of the lions of Islam to kill Bush's slave in Pakistan," the Daily Times quoted Osama as saying in leaflets distributed in Miranshah and Mir Ali bazaars in North Waziristan region on Saturday. The message in the leaflets read: "Pakistani Muslims, may Allah reward you and bless you for what you did for your brothers affected in the October 8 earthquake. It is incumbent upon you to come forward and help the great sons of tribal Pakhtuns whose houses have been demolished by the Pakistani army to please the US government. I pray to Allah Almighty to accept the martyrdom of those who laid down their lives in jihad and give health to the injured and bless their families." He called upon Pakistani Muslims to help "the oppressed people of Waziristan". The message was printed on pamphlets which enjoined the receiver to print more copies and distribute them to everyone.

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