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15 confirmed swine flu cases in India: Health Ministry New
Delhi: The Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry has clarified that India
has altogether ten confirmed cases of HINI influenza under treatment currently.
Joint Director of the Health Ministry Vineet Choudhary said there is no need for
the public to panic as the overall situation is under control. "We had a total
of 15 confirmed cases of HINI influenza A so far. One more case has been awaiting
confirmation from the NIV at Pune. Even if we assume that 16 have tested positive,
we must also bear in mind that out of these sixteen, five have been treated and
discharged. They are no longer with us. They are negative. They are not in any
health facility. So currently we have ten plus one who are on treatment,” Choudhary
said. He also mentioned that all the states have been provided with emergency
stocks to meet any eventual exigency and provide immediate relief to patients.
"We have given an emergency stock pile to each state. So in case a patient is
detected, he can be straightaway be put on treatment by the state government without
waiting for supplies from Delhi or else where,” Choudhary said. Meanwhile, one
more patient at Hyderabad tested positive, taking the total number of infected
cases in Hyderabad to eight. "We got one more case that is the eighth case in
Andhra Pradesh. This is a six-year old girl who has come to Hyderabad on 9th early
hours by Air India flight AI-140. She developed symptoms on the same day night.
So she was isolated on 10th of this month," said Dr. Sudhakar, Medical Specialist,
Government Chest Hospital, Hyderabad. She is presently on Oseltamivir and said
to be stable, and all her family and social contacts have been identified and
put on chemoprophylaxis. Details of the passengers who sat in close proximity
to these cases in the concerned airlines are being obtained. The new strain, commonly
known as swine flu, has infected 21,940 people in 69 countries, killing 125 of
them, according to the WHO. Osama
bin Laden is in Pak: CIA chief Top Washington:
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) director Leon Panetta has said that Al-Qaeda
leader Osama bin Laden is hiding in Pakistan, and expressed hope that the ongoing
offensive of the Pakistan Army would help the CIA to locate and nab bin Laden.
When enquired that whether he has specific information about bin Laden’s whereabouts
and that he is hiding inside Pakistan’s territory, Panetta said: “The last information
we had, that’s still the case.” “I guess one of our hopes is that as Pakistani
military moves in, combined with our operations, we may have a better chance to
get at him,” said Panetta on the sidelines of a function in Capitol Hill. He said
Al-Qaeda remained the ‘most serious security threat’ to the United States and
its leaders, particularly in Pakistan, continue to plot against America. He informed
that the CIA has enhanced its network and increased the number of officers, and
agents or locals who provide information about Al-Qaeda and other extremist groups.
“We have a number of people who are on the ground in Pakistan who are helping
us provide targets and who are helping us provide the information that we really
need to go after al-Qaeda,” The Nation quoted Panetta, as saying. Commenting on
the Swat military offensive, Panetta said it was making good progress as compared
to such operations in the past, as governments in the past have faltered in their
approach and have entered peace agreements with the extremists.
14yr-old hit by meteorite travelling at
30,000 mph survives Top London:
A 14-year-old boy, who was on his way to school, was struck by meteorite,
which crashed to earth in a ball of flames at 30,000mph. Gerrit Blank, who was
just leaving his home in Essen, Germany, when he spotted the fireball hurtling
towards him out of the sky, said the meteorite bounced off his hand and left a
foot-wide smouldering crater in the tarmac. “I suddenly felt a pain in my hand.
A split second later there was an enormous bang like a crash of thunder,” the
Mirror quoted him as saying. “When it hit me it knocked me flying and then was
still going fast enough to bury itself into the road. “The noise was so loud that
my ears were ringing for hours afterwards,” he said. The impact has left the teenager
with a three-inch scar on his hand. “It’s a real meteorite. It’s very valuable
to scientists,” Ansgar Korte from Essen’s Walter Hohmann observatory said. He
also said that the chances of being hit by a meteorite are one in 100million.
“Most don’t reach the ground as they disintegrate in the air,” he added.
Manmohan Singh, Zardari will meet next
week in Russia Top New
Delhi: Indian Prime Minister and Pakistani President will be meeting next
week on the margins of Shanghai Cooperation Organistaion at the Russian Industrial
city of Yeketenberg on June 16, disclosed Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon.
This will be the first high-level contact between the two countries after the
26/11 Mumbai attacks, but the meeting is likely to be a symbolic handshake and
not a resumption of dialogue. Indian Foreign Secretary Menon said, "They will
be in the same room, same time, so they will be shaking hands. But what kind of
meeting it can be I can't say." India has made it clear that dialogue with Pakistan
can only be resumed when it dismantles terror infrastructure on its soil, which
is used for launching terror attacks in India. On the resumption of dialogue the
Indian Foreign Secretary said, "There is nothing more authoritative what PM has
said on the floor of the House." Earlier, Indian Premier had said," We would meet
our neighbour more than half way, if it cracked down on militants." US Under Secretary
William Burns, who is presently visiting India, also pitched for the resumption
of India-Pakistan talks. This is for the first time the Prime Minister of India
is attending the Shanghai Cooperation summit. Manmohan Singh will also be attending
the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) summit, which is taking place the same
day and the same venue. Centre
will look into Armed Forces Special Powers Act: Chidambaram Top Srinagar:
Union Home Minister P Chidambaram on Friday said that the Centre would look
into the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) and take into account every essential
aspect. Addressing a press conference here, Chidambaram said, "The issue of AFSPA
was flagged two months ago during a meeting with Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.
It was agreed to look at the matter after the elections." "I promise to look at
the matter. I have to discuss it with the Defence Minister and the Prime Minister
... it will be looked into in all earnestness," he added. Some political parties
in the state have been demanding the repeal of AFSPA on the ground that it gave
unfettered powers to the security forces. The AFSPA gives sweeping powers to security
forces to carry out operations in disturbed areas. It was promulgated in Jammu
and Kashmir in July 1990. Making it clear that maintenance of law and order situation
will be the primary responsibility of the Jammu and Kashmir Government, he said,
"Stability is vital for development in the state." Chidambaram, who is on a two-day
visit to Jammu and Kashmir, said that the Army has the responsibility for conventional
defence along the borders and also countering infiltration and terrorism. Speaking
on the Shopian incident, the Minister said Abdullah had briefed him on the matter
and it was the intention of the State Government to hold a thorough inquiry and
punish anyone found guilty. Maharashtra
Govt to sue television producers for hiring child actors Top Mumbai:
Maharashtra Government has decided to sue television producers for hiring
child actors in their serials. The state's Labour Ministry has decided to file
cases against eight such producers who have child actors working in their serials,
and also against four entertainment channels for airing these serials. The ministry
had sent showcause notices to these producers, and had sought information on the
child actors' working hours, but after getting no response from these producers,
they decided to file cases against them. "Eight serial producers were issued notices
which they did not respond to, so our department has decided to file cases against
them... Under the Child Labour Prevention And Regulation Act of 1986, there are
certain areas where working (by children) is prohibited and there are some areas
where some rules have been set and the labour department should be informed about
that. Those people who did not provide information, were served notices, and when
they failed to respond, we filed cases against them," said Nawab Malik, State
Labour Minister, Maharashtra. The producers meanwhile, justified their actions
by saying that they take proper care of their actors and ensure they are not exploited
in any way. "We are all sensitive people, we will never do this and if there are
guidelines we will definitely follow, because we want to cooperate the government
in this case. We are not against them, the children are the future of the country.
Our kids also go and work so we also as parents feel that it should not happen,"
said Jamnadas Majethia, a television producer. There are numerous serials featuring
child actors in lead roles currently on air on various entertainment channels,
some of which are big hits with the viewers, and have high TRP's. The producers
are being accused of not complying with the labour norms, and also of not furnishing
details of the remuneration being paid to the children below 14 years of age.
If found guilty, the producers could face simple imprisonment of six months, or
a fine of rupees 10,000, or both. 47
people including senior cleric killed in Army shelling in Orakzai Top Islamabad:
At least 47 people, including women and children, as well as a senior cleric
were killed in shelling by helicopter gunships and planes in the Hangu district
and Orakzai Agency on Thursday. The gun ships targeted the seminaries and militants'
camps in the region, reportedly killing several militants also. District Nazim
Khan Afzal confirmed reports that Maulana Mohammad Amin, Deputy Chairman of the
Sunni Supreme Council was among the people killed in the strike. According to
a military official, the seminary which was attacked by the security forces, was
also used to carry out sectarian attacks and to shelter miscreants involved in
kidnappings. He said there was information that innocent people were being slaughtered
in the seminary. He added that there were about 40 terrorists in the seminary
at the time of the attack, The Dawn reports. The officer also said that Maulana
Amin had close links with several militant commanders operating in the region.
Some Chinese
listening to Dalai Lama's quest for Tibet autonomy Top Dharamsala
(Himachal Pradesh): Some Chinese, it seems, are listening to Tibetan spiritual
leader, the Dalai Lama, on the issue of granting Tibet autonomy status. Travelling
to The Netherlands last week, the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader had a private
meeting with Chinese pro-democracy activists. The Dalai Lama and about 30 Chinese
émigrés, mainly from Europe, discussed the need for dialogue between Tibetans
and Chinese and for reform in China. This trust between Tibetans and Chinese is
crucial in reaching a solution for Tibet, he emphasized during the meeting, which
took place on the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square protests. Reaching
out to overseas Chinese - whether activists, journalists, Buddhists, or ordinary
people - is a priority for the Dalai Lama. This soft diplomacy has taken on greater
importance after talks with the Chinese government last fall broke down. Although
the Dalai Lama says his faith in the Chinese government is "thinning," he insists
that his faith in Chinese people "is never shaken." China contends that he aims
to split the country by advocating a free Tibet. The Dalai Lama stresses that
he wants autonomy for Tibet under China with better conditions for Tibetans, not
independence from Beijing. Last year, the Dalai Lama sought to defuse nationalistic
anger among Chinese worldwide over disruption of the Beijing Olympic torch relay
by pro-Tibet activists. For the Dalai Lama, reaching out to Chinese people remains
an urgent priority, says Chhime Chhoekyapa, joint-secretary in the Dalai Lama's
exiled government offices in Dharamsala. "Governments will come and go. The most
important thing is to reach out to Chinese everywhere so they understand His Holiness's
stand. In the future, Chinese and Tibetans will have to live together," Chhoekyapa
added. |
