New Delhi, May 14, 2009
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Naxals abduct three railway employees in Jharkhand
Ranchi: Naxalites
have abducted three railway employees from the Hendegir railway station late on
Wednesday night. According to a police official, CPI (M) ultras kidnapped five
employees, but released two of them. Out of three, one is the station master,
the police official added. A search operation is on to nab the kidnappers. Naxalism
-- the ultra-leftist manifestation of age-old peasant struggle in India -- was
born in West Bengal's Naxalbari village in 1967 with an armed revolt backed by
Comrade Charu Majumdar. The "rebellion" was crushed but the saga of terror and
violence that entailed continues in different streams despite severe crackdown
on them over decades. The movement continues to breed in both its political and
violent forms in backward and tribal areas of Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh,
Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Orissa and Tamil Nadu.
Mumbai's civic authorities render Slumdog
Millionaire' kids homeless Top
Mumbai: Nearly 20 children who acted in the
Oscar-winning "Slumdog Millionaire", including Azharuddin Ismail, got a shock
when civic authorities on Thursday demolished the polythene sheet-covered roof
which used to house them in Garib Nagar slum area of Mumbai. Ismail shot to fame
after his role as Salim, the young role of the movie''s central character. Ismail
was sleeping when the civic authorities landed with the bulldozers and asked his
family to vacate the house. The actor''s family alleged that the demolition was
carried out without any prior notice. “They did not inform us. No notice was given
to us. They suddenly came and ran the bulldozer on our houses and broke everything
in the slum area,” said Samina Banu, Azharuddin’s mother. Ismail Shaikh, father
of Azharuddin Ismail, quipped that their life has become similar to a ''dog''
as the earthmoving machinery of the civic authorities bulldozed the houses of
the poor families without any notice. “Its not about Azhar or me. It''s about
all the poor people here. They made a movie ''Slumdog'' and similarly we are living
life of a dog here. Anybody can come here and run a bulldozer over our houses,”
Ismail Shaikh said. Indian authorities had promised new homes for Azharuddin and
his co-star Rubina Ali after their return from the Oscars since they had been
residing in slums. But that promise seems to have gone into oblivion and Azharuddin
has now been forced to live on streets in contrast to his stint of walking the
red carpet at the Oscars in Los Angeles. The civic authorities razed down 12 other
huts in the area during the demolition drive.
Bangalore
Royal Challengers beat Chennai Super Kings by two wickets Top
Durban: Bangalore Royal Challengers beat Chennai
Super Kings by two wickets in their Indian Premier League (IPL) match here on
Thursday. Chennai Super Kings skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni won the toss and elected
to bat first. Chennai got to a good start after openers Matthew Hayden and Murali
Vijay added 32 runs for the first wicket. Hayden once again played a fine knock
and scored 60 runs off 38 balls with four fours and three sixes. Apart from Hayden’s
inning, no other player could bat for a long time at the crease. ] The only partnership
of substance for Chennai was of 45 runs that came between Hayden and captain Mahendra
Singh Dhoni for the third wicket. Dhoni scored 18 runs off 20 balls with one four
hit to the fence. Chennai Super Kings scored 129 runs for the loss of seven wickets
in 20 overs. For Royal Challengers, skipper Anil Kumble, R. Vinay Kumar and Jacques
Kallis took two wickets each. Chasing a victory target of 130, Bangalore Royal
Challengers got off to a poor start when opener Jacques Kallis was adjudged leg
before wicket off Albie Morkel. Royal Challengers had lost three wickets at a
total of 30 runs, but Virat Kohli and Ross Taylor took their team to a total of
86 runs. Kohli and Taylor added 56 runs for the fourth wicket. Kohli scored 38
runs off 35 balls with four fours and two sixes. After Kohli’s dismissal, Royal
Challengers lost wickets on quick succession. R. Vinay Kumar took two runs on
the third ball and hit the fourth delivery of the last over for four to register
a thrilling victory. For Chennai, Albie Morkel and Jacob Oram took two wickets
each. Ross Taylor was declared ‘Man of the Match’ for his match-winning inning
of 46 runs.
Fish
that triggers hallucinations netted in Channel Top
London:
An exotic fish, which can trigger LSD-like hallucinations when eaten, has been
discovered in UK waters. The mind-bending species of bream, sarpa salpa, was found
many hundreds of miles away from its normal habitat in the English Channel. Although
the fish look tasty, they can cause vivid hallucinations that can last for days,
reports The Sun. The unusual specimen, which is instantly recognisable from the
gold stripes running along its body, was caught by fisherman Andy Giles. The 38-year-old
said: "We were trawling for lemon sole but hauled up the net at the end of the
day and almost immediately saw this striped fish. "I had never seen one before
so brought it back for experts to have a look at it. "But now I realise what it
was - and the crazy effects it can have - perhaps I should have taken it into
town to sell to some clubbers." The species is normally found in the balmier waters
of the Mediterranean and South Africa but may now be being lured north due to
climate change. James Wright, a senior biologist at the National Marine Aquarium
in Plymouth, said: "These are a fairly common fish off Tenerife, Malta and Cyprus
but it is very rare to get them this far north. "It could be a single fish that
was shoaling with a different species. But it could be that there are more of
them in our waters."
Gujarat
HC asks Govt to pay Rs 262 cr compensation to riot victims Top
Ahmedabad: The Gujarat High Court on Thursday
asked the State Government of Gujarat to pay a compensation of Rs.262 crore to
victims of the riots that followed the burning of the Sabarmati Express in 2002.
The High Court order said that sum was allocated for the riot victims by the Central
Government in 2007, and therefore, it was only right that the state government
should distribute it to the victims. The High Court order was pronounced on the
basis of a complaint filed by the riot victims against the state government. Thursday’s
order comes six days after the High Court designated nine judges for as many special
fast track courts to carry out the trial in the 2002 post-Godhra riot cases being
probed by the Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT). Out of
the nine special courts, four will be in Ahmedabad, two each in Mehsana and Anand,
and one in Himmatnagar of Sabarkantha district. According to the court's order,
additional sessions judge P R Patel has been designated to conduct the trial in
the Godhra train carnage case that will be held in the premises of the Sabarmati
Central Jail here. Judge S H Vora and additional sessions Judge Jyotsna Yagnik
will be presiding over the trial of Naroda Gam and Naroda Patiya cases respectively.
Judge B U Joshi has been designated as judge for the special court dealing with
the Gulberg Society massacre case, where Congress ex-MP Ehsan Jaffery was killed.
Justices BN Kariya and SC Srivastava will handle the two cases in Mehsana district.
Judges S Y Trivedi and R M Sarine will conduct the trial in two cases in Khambodaj
and Ode of Anand district respectively. Judge HP Patel will oversee the Prantij
taluka riot case of of Sabarkantha district where some British nationals were
also killed. The special court will be based in Himmatnagar, the district headquarters.
On May 1, the Supreme Court ordered day-to-day hearing of the Gujarat riot cases
by fast track courts in the state. While vacating its stay order of November 21,
2003, the apex court directed that witnesses be provided security for their safe
passage and if necessary at their place of living during the trial. The court
said the SIT would act as a nodal agency to decide as to which witnesses in the
case should be given protection and relocated. The apex court also gave liberty
to the SIT to recommend cancellation of bail if it is considered necessary.
Supreme Court revokes NSA against Varun
Gandhi Top
New
Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday revoked the National Security Act (NSA)
invoked against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Varun Gandhi for making an
alleged ''hate-speech'' in Pilibhit. Varun had challenged the imposition of the
NSA by the Uttar Pradesh Government in the apex court and demanded compensation
of rupees 10 lakh from Chief Minister Mayawati. The imposition of NSA on Varun
has also been termed invalid by the Uttar Pradesh Advisory Board appointed by
the Allahabad High Court to go into the merits of the case. The government argued
that the Advisory Board's decision was incorrect, as it had ignored several cogent
evidences against Varun. Varun had submitted his representation before an Advisory
Board in the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court on April 28 against slapping
of the NSA over his alleged hate speech in Pilibhit. As the ultimate statutory
authority on the NSA, the Advisory Board has the right to approve or revoke the
government order invoking the act against Varun. The verdict of the Advisory Board
is final and if it chooses to revoke the NSA, Varun would be set free with immediate
effect. Varun was charged for making highly inflammatory anti-Muslim utterances
during his poll campaign in Pilibhit.
Taliban
issues three-day ultimatum to Pak MPs to resign Top
Islamabad:
The Taliban has given members of parliament representing Pakistan’s Malakand
Division three days to resign, or else their families will be kidnapped. “All
national and provincial parliament members from the Malakand Division must resign
within three days, otherwise, we will arrest all their families, and we will destroy
all their buildings,” Taliban spokesperson Muslim Khan told CNN In a separate
directive, Muslim Khan urged Pakistan’s Islamist political parties to publicly
show support for Taliban militants. “All these parties must help the Taliban.
They must give a press conference to show the people that we need Sharia in the
Malakand Division,” The Nation quoted him, as saying. Recently, the Jamaat-i-Islami
has spoken out against the military’s offensive in the Swat Valley. The gray-bearded
Khan, in an earlier phone interview with CNN, had revealed that he had spent four
years in the United States working as a painter in Boston. On Wednesday, Khan
denied reports that Taliban militants had carried out a campaign of violence and
intimidation in the region for the past two years. “We are killing the people
who are only no good for society, like thieves and people who are making problem
for the poor people, like people who are working for army,” he said. Several refugees
have described how insurgents kidnapped and killed their critics, beheaded government
informers and blew up girls’ schools. Earlier, Khan claimed that only 12 Taliban
fighters had been killed in the on-going military operation in the region, and
government''s claims of killing Taliban in large numbers were unsubstantiated.
“Mingora, the main town of Swat Valley, is still under Taliban control, and our
fighters are battling with security forces at every point,” Khan had said.
Only 38 pc NWFP, FATA under Pak Govt’s
control: BBC Top
Lahore:
Only 38 percent of the NWFP and the FATA is under Pakistan Government’s control,
a BBC map illustrates. The 18-month-long research covered 24 districts of NWFP,
seven tribal agencies and six frontier regions of the FATA. In 24 percent of the
region, BBC claims, the Pakistani Government did not exercise authority at all.
Either the Taliban was in complete control or the military was engaged in operations
to flush it out, BBC reports. With stable bases in another 38 percent of the region,
Taliban has a permanent presence in three FATA and 11 NWFP districts. Restricting
local government activities here, the Taliban carried out periodic attacks on
girls’ schools, music shops, police stations and government buildings. The researchers
categorized the Taliban infestation on this basis: The incidents had to be of
a recurring nature, there had to be an official recognition of Taliban presence,
Taliban must have appointed local “commanders” and there must be functional religious
schools sympathetic to the Taliban in the area. BBC has predicted that there is
a high likelihood of an increase in Taliban militancy in the near future. It could
rise to a whopping 47 percent in Punjab.
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