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Meira Kumar takes oath as first woman Speaker New
Delhi: Senior Congress leader Meira Kumar took oath as the first woman Speaker
of the Lok Sabha on Wednesday. Kumar hails from the Dalit community and is better
known as the daughter of former Deputy Prime Minister Babu Jagjivan Ram. Born
in Patna in 1945, she is a law graduate and holds a Master's degree in English
literature. She joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1973 and served at the embassies
in Spain, United Kingdom and Mauritius. Kumar was elected from Bijnor in Uttar
Pradesh in 1985. She became Member of Parliament in the 11th and 12th Lok Sabha
by contesting from Delhi''s Karol Bagh constituency. In 1999, she lost her seat,
but was re-elected by a record majority from Sasaram in Bihar in 2004. In 2004,
she was inducted into the first Manmohan Singh cabinet, as Minister of Social
Justice and Empowerment. On May 29, 2009, she assumed charge as the Union Minister
for Water Resources in the newly elected UPA Government. She is married to Manjul
Kumar, a Supreme Court lawyer. The couple have three married children. Pakistan
Army fires at Indian post violating ceasefire agreement Top Jammu:
In what is seen as a violation of the ceasefire agreement between India and
Pakistan, the Pakistani Army on Wednesday fired at the Indian posts near the Line
of Control in Jammu and Kashmir. "Pakistani troops fired three to four bursts
in Saujian sector of Rajouri at 10.45 a.m. today. The unprovoked firing, which
was not retaliated, caused no damage," an Indian Army official said. The ceasefire
agreement between the nuclear-armed neighbours was signed more than five years
ago. "The Indian Army has taken a serious note of the ceasefire violation. We
shall be sending a message across and ask the reason for this violation," the
official added. This is not the first time that Pakistan has violated the ceasefire
agreement. Earlier, firing of two mortar shells at the Indians post were reported
on May 9, 2009. Saeed's
acquittal has disturbed us all: Holbrooke Top Islamabad:
The US Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke has
said that the Lahore High Court's verdict to release Jaamat-ud Daawa (JuD) chief
Hafiz Muhammad Saeed has disturbed the United States . "His release has disturbed
us all," The News quoted Holbrooke, as saying. Holbrooke, who is currently on
a visit to Pakistan to assess the situation arising out of the massive displacement
of over three million people due to the Swat military offensive, and to accelerate
international relief efforts in the region, said that the Pakistan Army was correct
in carrying military action against the extremists. He opined that the relief
funds of 110 million dollars were not sufficient for thousands of people rendered
homeless due to the military operation. Holbrooke said the United States would
continue its support to Pakistan , and informed that it would soon provide four
MI-17 helicopters to Islamabad . He also informed that Washington has already
has provided the Pakistan Army with the night vision binoculars to carry out their
operation against the extremists more effectively. "The militants in Buner, Malakand
and the adjoining areas want to spoil the Pakistan of Jinnah. The US will not
leave Pakistan alone at this critical juncture," Holbrooke added. Radical
Sikh group takes out 'genocide remembrance march' in Amritsar Top Amritsar:
Sikh radicals on Wednesday took out a 'genocide remembrance march' in Amritsar
to mark the start of events linked to the 25th anniversary of 'Bluestar' military
operation. The focus of the march was to demand a memorial for those who lost
their lives in the Operation Bluestar of the Indian Army. "We are demanding a
memorial for those who lost their lives in Operation Bluestar. Seven year back
the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbhandhak Committee had announced that they will erect
a monument in the memory of those who died during the operation," said Harnam
Singh Dhooma, Chief, Damdami Taksal Bhindranwala, a radical Sikh Group. Security
forces had launched a campaign codenamed "Operation Blue Star" in 1984 to flush
out a Sikh militant leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwala and several of his followers,
who had taken shelter in amritsar's Golden Temple. Bhindranwale was one of the
main architects of militancy in Punjab, which saw nearly 3,000 people lose their
lives to regular bombing of buses and markets. Debris
is from missing Air France jet Top Brasilia:
Plane wreckage spotted by Brazilian jets is from the Air France airliner that
vanished over the Atlantic Ocean, it has been confirmed. Brazil's defence minister
Nelson Jobim said the debris was "without a doubt" from the jet that disappeared
with 228 people on board. Aircraft seats, a life jacket, bits of white material,
an orange buoy, a barrel and traces of oil were seen in two floating patches about
35 miles apart. Brazilian air force pilots spotted the debris around 400 miles
beyond the island of Fernando de Noronha. This was roughly along the route that
Flight 447 was taking from Rio de Janeiro to Paris. The pilots found no signs
of life. It was carrying 216 passengers of 32 nationalities, including seven children
and one baby, Air France said. Sixty-one were French citizens, 58 Brazilian and
26 German, five British and three young Irish women. Twelve crew members were
also on board. The Airbus A330 flew into turbulent weather four hours after taking
off from Rio and 15 minutes later sent an automatic message reporting electrical
faults, the airline said. US
accidentally releases nuke sites list Top Washington:
The Obama administration has mistakenly made public a 266-page report that gives
detailed information about the country's civilian nuclear sites and programs,
including maps showing the precise locations of stockpiles of fuel for nuclear
weapons. The publication of the document marked "highly confidential" was revealed
Monday in an online newsletter devoted to issues of federal secrecy. It immediately
set off a debate among nuclear experts about what dangers, if any, the disclosures
posed. According to the New York Times, it also prompted a flurry of investigations
in Washington into why the document had been made public. On Tuesday evening,
after inquiries from The New York Times, the document was withdrawn from a Government
Printing Office Web site. Several nuclear experts argued that any dangers from
the disclosure were minimal, given that the general outlines of the most sensitive
information were already known publicly. David Albright, president of the Institute
for Science and International Security, a private group in Washington that tracks
nuclear proliferation, said information that shows where nuclear fuels are stored
"can provide thieves or terrorists inside information that can help them seize
the material, which is why that kind of data is not given out." The information,
considered confidential but not classified, was assembled for transmission later
this year to the International Atomic Energy Agency as part of a process by which
the United States is opening itself up to stricter inspections in hopes that foreign
countries, especially Iran and others believed to be clandestinely developing
nuclear arms, will do likewise. |
