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Gilani rejects inking safe passage deal for Musharraf

September 19, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Islamabad, Sep.19 (ANI): Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has denied inking any ‘safe exit’ deal to facilitate former President General Pervez Musharraf’s safe passage from the country after he stepped down from the Presidency.

In an interview to a private television channel, Gilani said: “If there had been such a deal, it would have surfaced by now, as the media is very vibrant today.”

Gilani also said would be wrong to say that Musharraf has been ‘pardoned’, as neither he has been convicted by the court of law nor been ‘indemnified by parliament’.

When asked whether there is any possibility of invoking the Article Six of the Constitution against Musharraf, Gilani reiterated that he was willing to do it if parliament passed a unanimous resolution.

“I am for it. We must create history. But at the same time, we should not rock the boat. If there is a unanimous resolution, the whole nation would be together,” The Daily Times quoted Gilani, as saying.

Commenting on the Baloch issue, he said the government is preparing a package for the insurgency hit province which would include constitutional, administrative and economic reforms. (ANI)

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Musharraf may avoid noose but won’t be playing golf in Pak for long time: Editorial

September 17, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Islamabad, Sep.16 (ANI): With President Asif Ali Zardari disclosing that his predecessor General Pervez Musharraf was given a ‘safe exit’ from the country, it appears, Musharraf may have avoided a high treason trial for his unconstitutional actions, but according to an editorial there is hardly any possibility of the former general returning to Pakistan in the near future.

The editorial in The Daily Times said Musharraf may be safe for the time being, but he would hardly be seen playing golf in Pakistan for years to come.

Referring to the Kargil debacle, the editorial termed Musharraf as a bad strategist, and alleged that the former general was rarely seen keeping his words during his autocratic rule.

“Neither was he a great strategist, as was proved by Kargil and his covert support of the Taliban; he was also no man of his word. He may be safe from the hangman’s noose but he will not be able to play golf in Pakistan for a long time,” the editorial said.

It also blasted the country’s political leaders for running to foreign powers for protecting their heads from ‘internal’ crises.

“Too proud to admit that there could be foreign stakeholders in Pakistan, a direct violation of state sovereignty, we can’t, however, deny that our politicians have leaned on foreign guarantors to save their careers and sometimes their lives,” the editorial said.

“Therefore, if President Zardari today absolves his party from the discomfiture of bringing Musharraf to trial, he knows that the PMLN leader Mr Nawaz Sharif too is riding in the same boat with him,” it went on to add.

However, the editorial lauded the Pakistan Army for refraining from getting involved in the demand for Musharraf’s trial, saying the armed forces, till now, had reacted sensibly.

“The one stakeholder in Pakistan that has acted less rashly than the politicians is the Pakistan Army. It has seen more clearly the risks that would have affected Pakistan’s security if the populist demand for Musharraf’s head had been met,” it concluded. (ANI)

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Climate change will lead to less ultraviolet radiation over northern high latitudes

September 17, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Imphal, Sep.16 (ANI): “Move onward with the Lord within your heart and with the footprints of your ancestors in your eyes’ is the greatest moral teaching from Heigru Hidongba ceremony held every year in Manipur.

Heigru Hidongba, a socio-religious ceremony, to exhibit the firm devotion of the descendants of the Great Grand Mantri Anandashai of Lord Bejoy Govindajee was recently held in Imphal.

Devotees brought offerings of Heigru (Amla) fruit to the almighty on the 11th day of Langban Manipuri month which coincides with September to bring prosperity to the community.

During this festival a special boat race ‘Hiyang Tanaba’ is held in the sacred Thangapat Moat of Sagolband, Bejoy Govinda in Imphal amidst singing of devotional songs and a lot of clamour.

It attracted a huge number of spectators on this occasion. “We have organized the ceremony so that we can come and pray together so that the ills of the society will be removed and also for peace to be restored in our land that is filled with violence. In other places, it is celebrated anytime as a festival but we celebrate it as it is our custom,” said Boshana, organiser of the Heigru Hidongba festival.

“This is the 231st Heigru Hidongba Festival. The main theme of the festival is about preserving the age old traditional beliefs and customs of our culture,” said Magochandra, a local resident.

Devotees converged at the Bijoygobinda Moat at Sagoband to witness the ceremony symbolising the unity, which was once deeply rooted amongst the Manipuris’ ancestors and for their struggle for peace and freedom.

Devotees, today, believe that the ceremony brings prosperity to the State and overcomes ills of the society. (ANI)

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US Navy ship sunk in World War II battle located

September 12, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, September 11 (ANI): A research mission has located and identified the final resting place of the YP-389, a US Navy patrol boat sunk approximately 20 miles off the coast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, by a German submarine during World War II.

Six sailors died in the attack on June 19, 1942. There were 18 survivors.

The wreck is located in about 300 feet of water in a region off North Carolina known as the “Graveyard of the Atlantic,” home to US and British naval vessels, merchant ships, and German U-boats sunk during the Battle of the Atlantic.

NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) and its expedition partners mapped and shot video of the wreck using high-resolution camera equipment, multibeam sonar and an advanced remotely operated vehicle deployed from the NOAA ship Nancy Foster.

Researchers were able to locate and positively identify the YP-389 by reexamining data from the Duke Marine Laboratory expedition that discovered the USS Monitor in 1973.

Today, the relatively intact remains of the YP-389 rest upright on the ship’s keel.

The wreck site is home to a variety of marine life. Much of the outer-hull plating has fallen away, leaving only the intact frames exposed.

“She rests now like a literal skeleton, a reminder of a time long ago when the nation was at war,” said Joseph Hoyt, Monitor National Marine Sanctuary archaeologist and principal investigator for the project.

Built originally as a fishing trawler, the YP-389 was converted into a coastal patrol craft and pressed into service after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

The ship was equipped with one 3-inch deck gun to protect the ship from enemy aircraft and surfaced submarines and two .30-caliber machine guns.

However, on the day of the attack by the German submarine U-701, the ship’s deck gun was inoperative, and the YP-389 could return fire only with its machine guns.

Weeks after the attack on the YP-389, the U-701 was sunk by Army aircraft in the same vicinity as the YP-389.

According to Rear Admiral Jay A. DeLoach, USN (Ret), director, Naval History and Heritage Command, “The US Navy considers the YP-389 discovery a grave site and, by law, it is to be left undisturbed.” (ANI)

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Are Evan Rachel Wood and Alexander Skarsgard an item?

September 8, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, Sep 8 (ANI): American actress Evan Rachel Wood is reportedly dating her ‘True Blood’ co-star Alexander Skarsgard.

According to celebrity blogger Perez Hilton, Wood, 22, had recently been linked to E.R. actor Shane West, but is said to have moved on to Swedish actor Skarsgard, 33, after meeting him on the set of the hit vampire TV show, reports Contactmusic.

The pair have been spotted enjoying a string of dates, including a soccer match and a boat trip.

Wood even jetted into Louisiana over the weekend to keep the actor company during breaks from filming the ‘Straw Dogs’ remake. (ANI)

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N. Korean delegation visit to China may tackle nuke issue

September 2, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Sep 2 (ANI): A delegation from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) led by Deputy Foreign Minister Kim Yong-il has arrived in Beijing, China’s Foreign Ministry has confirmed.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement that positive signs were seen in August, suggesting tension had eased on the Korean Peninsula, the China Daily reported.

The DPRK has made a series of conciliatory gestures during the past month that analysts interpreted as an attempt to re-engage with the outside world.

But the ministry did not link the visit to the stalled Six-Party Talks, saying it was “part of regular exchanges to mark the 60th anniversary of the two countries formally establishing diplomatic ties.”

“The two sides will exchange views on bilateral ties and issues of common interest,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said at a media briefing.

Last Saturday, North Korea released four Republic of Korea (ROK) fishermen who were detained last month after their boat strayed into northern waters.

DPRK and ROK also agreed to hold reunions for families separated by the 1950-53 war, which was widely said to “be a new watershed in improving inter-Korean relations”.

“We hope that all sides concerned will grasp the opportunity so that the situation will develop with better prospects,” the statement said.

Last month, Chinese nuclear envoy, Wu Dawei, visited Pyongyang, a move that analysts thought was aimed at encouraging DPRK to return to the Six-Party Talks.

Fan Jishe, an expert on the DPRK at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said it was “very likely” that both China and the DPRK would exchange ideas about the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue during the delegation’s visit. (ANI)

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British wartime agents foiled Nazi plot before D-Day

September 1, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, Sep.1 (ANI): British agents foiled a desperate German plot to monitor troop movements just days before D-Day, according to newly-released MI5 files on the Nazis.

During the Second World War, Iceland became tactically important for both sides and Germany sent a series of spies to gather weather information about the area to send back to the Luftwaffe.

But by May 1944 they had become convinced that any naval assault on their forces would be launched from Iceland, MI5 files released on Tuesday by the National Archives in Kew show.

According to The Telegraph, the Germans put together a hurried plan to send three spies to the country to monitor troop movements in a bid to foil Allied attempts to liberate France.

Three Allied forces agents, named Miller, Hoan and Frick, were having dinner in their hotel in Seydisfjordur, Iceland, on the evening of May 5, 1944, when they got wind of the scheme.

A seal hunter had spotted three strangers behaving suspiciously near Borgarfjordur.

The agents tried to alert an Allied ship anchored off the coast in that area but were told it could take hours before it got up enough steam to sail, by which time the men could be deep into the Icelandic wilderness.

So they persuaded the seal hunter to be their guide, borrowed a boat and in the early hours of the morning landed near where the men had been seen.

They hiked across the snow, through the night, following the faint trail left by the spies until finally, at 6 a.m. the following day, they spotted them.

Their report notes: “We cocked our pistols and quickened our pace.”

They surrounded the men, who very quickly confessed to being German soldiers, but claimed they had been sent only to gather meteorological information.

Ernst Fresenius, an avowed Nazi loyalist, was in fact the only German. The other two men, Hjalti Bjornsson and Sigurdur Juliusson, were Icelanders who had been hired as mercenaries by the Nazi military.

They were frogmarched to a farmhouse two miles away where Miller and Frick kept them prisoner while Hoan went back to find the radio transmitter the men had hidden.

A search revealed that the men had 9,000 pounds of sterling, dollars and German marks on them.

It took six interrogation sessions back in UK to establish that the arrested men were in fact trained spies looking for information on troop and naval movements and ships in fjords.

All three were handed over to the American forces and their file ends with a report from the interrogation camp. (ANI)

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Archaeologists uncover 7th century ship in Sweden

August 28, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Stockholm (Sweden), August 28 (ANI): Swedish archaeologists have announced the find of a 7th century burial ship, the oldest of its kind to be discovered in Scandinavia.

According to a report in The Local, the ship, thought to be from the Vendel era (550-793) of Swedish prehistory, was found in Sunnerby on the island of Kallandso in Lake Vanern in central Sweden.

Officials at the Lake Vanern Museum have said that this is the only known ship burial to be uncovered in Sweden.

Archaeologists from Lake Vanern Museum and Gothenburg University are busy excavating the find that includes equipment, gifts and animal sacrifices.

“In Sunnerby, the number of boat rivets found so far indicate that there is a ship hidden in the Kungshogen mound, that is to say a vessel of more than 10 metres and possibly up to 20 metres in length,” the museum writes in a statement.

The ship is a burial vessel and the museum reports that only people in the highest echelons of society were afforded such a grand farewell.

The museum compares the find to the important Sutton Hoo ship burial find in south east England, though archaeologists believe the Swedish find is unlikely to yield as many significant artifacts as the Suffolk ship.

The ship would have been loaded with the deceased, animal sacrifices, equipment and gifts and the whole vessel set alight in a huge funeral pyre.

Annelie Nitenberg and Anna Nyqvist Thorsson, archaeologists at Lake Vanern Museum, hope that the Kungshogen find will help to shed light on Vendel era cultural life by Sweden’s largest lake.

The excavation of the Kungshogen find will now continue until October. After a break for the winter, the work will resume in 2010. (ANI)

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Bihar flood victims allege government apathy

August 27, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Kevati (Bihar), Aug 27 (ANI): Angry and anguished villagers have blamed government apathy for the flood-related havoc across Bihar.

Thousands of people have been displaced after the Misraulia dam broke in theState’s Darbhanga district inundating several villages in the region.

The water has flooded the National Highway 105 Highway, taking away tracts of road with the flow.

Villages have turned into mini islands and are cut off from the rest of the region. Floods have affected around a million people in eleven districts of the state.

Reportedly, over 100 villages are reeling under floods in Darbhanga district.

The death toll due to floods has risen to 23 in the state, with seven fresh cases being reported on Wednesday.

The villagers alleged the government has turned blind eye to their woes and want the government to provide relief to them.

“The flood water has cut away large tracts of land in Khirma. The administration is turned a blind eye towards us. A boat was provided to the villagers, which was broken and hence it sunk with 25 people onboard. Till now, there has been no help from the government. Further on, there is a bridge, which has also been washed away by the flood water. There is around five to seven feet of water on the road but there is no rescue work being carried on to save the people,” said Janki Ahmed, a flood victim.

Movement is also restricted due to the washing away of roads in the region.

Paramilitary forces have been called in to rescue stranded people, but according to some paramilitary officials, it is impossible to carry out rescue work in inundated villages.

“Our main aim is to rescue people. But villages here are cut off from the rest of the region. We conducted a survey and found that the villagers here did not want to leave their homes, instead, they want the government to provide them with relief material. It is impossible to carry out rescue operation here,” said Manoj Kumar Chwarsla, a paramilitary official.

State Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is conducting an aerial survey of the flood-affected regions to assess the damage.

“I will conduct an aerial survey of the flood affected regions and hold discussions with the officials there. Instructions have already been issued to the officials there as to how to deal with the situation in the flood-affected areas. How people have to be rescued, how to provide relief material to them and all this work is being carried on by the disaster management department,” said Nitish Kumar.

The villagers are forced to remain indoors and are even facing food shortage in some areas.(ANI)

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Flood-hit UP villagers forced to fend for themselves

August 26, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Pipraghat (UP), Aug 26 (ANI): Pipraghat villagers are caught in double trouble. Hit by flood, they have fallen victim to the government’s complacency.

The village is among the many hit by the rising waters of Narayani River in Kushinagar district. Thousands of people have been rendered homeless.

The villagers of Pipraghat complained that they have not received any government help so far.

“This is Pipraghat village in Kushinagar district, which is very backward. Twenty-five villages have been affected by floods and 20,000 people are suffering from it.

But the government has not made any arrangement. It has only been providing us with a boat and 2 litres of kerosene oil.” said Prabhunath Yadav, a resident.

People say they are left with very little food and are living on shells.

“The water has not receded. We are fetching shells and eating them and there is also no help from the government,” said Batulia Devi, a villager.

The villagers are facing a severe shortage of drinking water, apart from kerosene oil to cook their food.

The government officials say kerosene oil is on its way to reach people.

“Twelve thousand litres of oil has been ordered which will be distributed to people. The revenue administrative officer will make a list of people and those in the list will get two litres of oil,” said Mahendra Shukla, district supply officer.

Narayani River has swollen due to rains in Nepal, where it originates.

The river flows through Champaran district in Bihar to Maharajgunj and down Kushinagar in Uttar Pradesh.

Heavy downpour after a delayed monsoon has wreaked havoc in many districts of Uttar Pradesh which skirt the India-Nepal border since the waters of swollen rivers and reservoirs in Nepal rush southwards into these districts. (ANI)

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Giant robotic cages may one day roam the seas as future fish farms

August 19, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, August 19 (ANI): If scientists have their way, giant robotic cages may one day roam the seas as future fish farms, which could help produce greener, healthier, and more numerous fish.

According to a report in National Geographic News, scientists propose that in the future, giant, autonomous fish farms may whir through the open ocean, mimicking the movements of wild schools or even allowing fish to forage “free range” before capturing them once again.

Such motorized cages could help produce greener, healthier, and more numerous fish, just when humans need them the most.

The world’s growing population is devouring seafood as quickly as it can be caught and has seriously depleted the world’s wild fish stocks, warn experts.

Traditional fish farms typically consist of cages submerged in shallow, calm waters near shore, where they are protected from the weather and easily accessible for feeding and maintenance.

But, raising fish in such close quarters can contribute to the spread of disease among the animals, and wastes may foul the waters.

Cages must be moved to keep the waters clean and the fish healthy.

Deepwater cages offer cleaner, more freely circulating ocean water and natural food, which can yield tastier fish.

But, the deep-sea cages must be built to withstand the rigors of the deep ocean. And because they are harder for humans to access, “smarter,” self-sufficient cages could be key.

That’s one reason that Cliff Goudey, director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Offshore Aquaculture Engineering Center, is building cages that can move under their own power.

Goudey has equipped an Aquapod cage, produced by Maine-based Ocean Farm Technologies, with a pair of 2.4-meter (8-foot) diameter propellers, which can be steered easily by controllers on a boat to which the cage is tethered.

Aquapods are composed of triangular panels covered with vinyl-coated, galvanized steel netting and come in sizes from 8 to 28 meters in diameter (26 to 92 feet in diameter).

Goudey’s technology gives fish farmers a way to rotate cage locations without towing cages behind boats.

Someday such automated cages could herald an entirely new form of fish farming.

They might be turned loose to mimic natural systems by following carefully chosen ocean currents.

The robotic fish farms could help lead to larger, healthier crops of farmed fish far from crowded coastal areas, where farmed fish both suffer from poor water quality and, by producing waste, add to water woes.

Cages might even generate their own electricity by harnessing solar energy, wave energy, or other forms of renewable power. (ANI)

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Sonia Gandhi inaugurates Nehru Trophy Boat Race in Kerala

August 8, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Alappuzha (Kerala), Aug. 8(ANI): The United Progressive Alliance Chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Saturday inaugurated the 57th edition of the Nehru Trophy Boat Race at the Punnamada lake in Kerala’s Alappuzha District.

Along with Gandhi, Union Ministers including Vayalar Ravi, Kumari Selja, Sasi Tharoor and State ministers attended the extravagant event.

During the inauguration ceremony Sonia Gandhi said that the state’s culture, which unites every community in a shared endeavour is an example for the rest of the country.

The 67 year-old also recalled Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru’s enthusiasm for the water sport event, which he had witnessed in 1952.

The race is one of the most popular and competitive boat races in Kerala.

The most exciting competition in the boat race is the competition of snake boats or Chundanvallams, which usually requires more than 110 oarsmen and a few singers.

Hundreds of thousands of rupees are spent by each boat club for the month-long practice.

The Nehru Trophy boat race is held annually on second Saturday of August here. It is one of the best-known water carnivals of India. (ANI)

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How Java’s seafarers built their boats in the 6th and 7th centuries

July 11, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Jakarta, July 11 (ANI): The recent discovery of an ancient boat in Indonesia has shed light on how Java’s seafarers in the 6th and 7th centuries built their boats.

According to a report in The Jakarta Post, the ancient boat, measuring 15.6 meters long and 4 meters wide, was found in Punjulharjo village, Rembang district, in Rembang regency.

A team from the Yogyakarta Archaeology Center made a detailed study of the site, about 200 meters inland from the Java Sea coastline, from June 17 to 26 this year.

The boat, approximately 1,200 years old, was found buried near the Central Java northern coastline, with its bow lying to the west and its stern in the east.

The ancient boat is the most complete ever found in Indonesia, according to the chairman of the Yogyakarta archaeology team, Novida Abbas.

“So far, we have only got wooden planks and other separate pieces. The discovery in Rembang is 50 percent intact,” Novida said. “We can see the actual shape of the boat and its construction technology,” he added.

Novida estimates that the boat could hold 30 people.

Its skeleton remains complete, including its sides, bottom, curved ribs (to support the sides), stringers (to fasten the ribs) and wooden pegs, as well as palm-fiber ropes to fasten the ribs to knobs on the inside of the sides. There are also rattan and bamboo items.

According to Priyatno Hadi, a team member and archaeology graduate from Yogyakarta’s Gadjah Mada University, the main body of the boat was unbroken.

The hull was built using a very simple method that did not require any metal components.

“Planks were first arranged to form an arc and then the curved wooden ribs were placed in parallel rows from the stern to the bow. Thereafter, they were fastened and strengthened with wooden pegs,” said Hadi, showing the thumb-sized pegs.

Twelve of the boat’s 17 ribs are still joined to its flanks, with their palm-fiber ropes still partly tied in their knots.

Unusually, there are also L-shaped planks in the stern – with those in the bow probably having been lost – for reinforcement due to the palm-fiber rope holes.

Missing are the upper parts of the boat and some parts of the bow, according to Novida.

“The entire boat may have been larger than what has been found today. Its age of 12 centuries and its almost complete state provide good material for more comprehensive research,” he said.

“So, we will finally have an idea of what Indonesia’s ancient boats looked like without having to speculate much. This finding gives us a good idea,” he added. (ANI)

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William Shakespeare named UK’s greatest national treasure

July 4, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, July 4 (ANI): Legendary playwright William Shakespeare-known for his plays like ‘Romeo and Juliet’, ‘Hamlet’, etc.-has officially been named Britain’s greatest national treasure in a new poll.

The poll was sponsored by ice-cream makers Mivvi.

Buckingham Palace grabbed the second spot, while position three went to fish and chips.

Fourth on the list was Big Ben, while the age-old red phone boxes wrapped up the top five.

Wimbledon was placed at the 16th spot, and it became the highest sporting event to feature in the poll.

The tournament’s traditional treat of strawberries and cream also came in at number 24.

However, Wimbledon wasn’t the only sporting event that featured in the list, for cricket came at 26th spot, the Boat Race at 28 and the Grand National at 38.

People who featured highly in the poll include the Queen at number nine and The Beatles at 15.

UK’s traditional transport also made it to the list, with red buses at eight and black cabs at 13.

The traditional British cup of tea landed at number six, but Sunday roast could only manage 20, with bangers and mash at 36 and fry-ups at 47.

“British fare is more popular than ever at the moment, with the nation tucking into strawberries and cream while gripped by Wimbledon,” the Mirror quoted a spokesman for Mivvi, as saying. (ANI)

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Dad prefers cutting grass to watching an all-Williams Wimbledon final

July 2, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, July 2 (ANI): Richard Williams has said that he would rather cut the grass than watch the expected final at Wimbledon between his two daughters – Venus and Serena.

Venus and Serena are each one game away from a repeat of last year’s final, and if they both come through their games today, against Dinara Safina and Elena Dementieva respectively, their father will be on the first plane home.

Throughout their careers, Williams Senior has never wanted to watch his children fighting.

It is a good job too, as in last year’s final they were slamming 120mph serves into each other’s bodies and putting so much venom on their passing shots it was lucky nobody got hurt.

He hopes to applaud his girls to success one after the other on Centre Court this afternoon then head straight down to the travel agents and book his flight home.

“I’m sure it will be a rematch. I’ll go home because I can’t watch.

But I believe they will both definitely make it to the final. When they play each other I will never watch.

And I always tell the captain on the flight home when Venus and Serena are playing each other, ‘Please don’t tell me’,” the Daily Express quoted Richard, as saying.

“Last year, as soon as I got off the aircraft, I was walking through the terminal when someone said, ‘Heh, Venus beat her sister’.

“I would like to be back on that airplane again. That would be real good for me. It means I can drive my boat, I can get on my motorcycle, I can cut my grass – I love to cut my grass – and I can work around the house,” he said. (ANI)

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16 Indians among 30 dead as boat capsizes off Qatar coast

July 1, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Doha, July 1 (ANI): About sixteen Indians were feared to be among 30 dead in a tragic incident in which as a vessel, ‘Damas Victory’, hired by a Qatar based oil-firm capsized off the coast of Qatar on Wednesday.

The incident took place about two nautical miles off Doha at around 6.30 am local time on Tuesday, the vessel had 35 people including 19 Indians on board.

According to the Indian Embassy in Qatar, five people were rescued from the boat, including three Indians.

“Rescue operations are underway and five people, including three Indians, have been saved. There is no hope of any more survivors,” an official said, adding that the Embassy was in touch with the Qatar Coast Guard.

Qatar Coast Guard recovered seven bodies, however, they were yet to be identified.

However, the rescued Indians have been identified as Jaison Verghese, Balakrishnan Velayudhan, and Prabhu Chellam.

The boat, which belonged to a Dubai-based ‘Demas Marine’, had been hired by HBK Power Cleaning company. (ANI)

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Grand old IAF air warrior passes away at 93

June 29, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New Delhi, June 29 (ANI): Group Captain Gurdial Singh Paul, who served in the Indian Air Force from its formative years, passed away on Saturday. He was 93.

Singh was cremated near Brar Square, today. A wreath was placed on behalf of the IAF by Air Officer Commanding, Air Force Station, Race Course, Air Commodore Ajit S Bhonsle.

Born on November 3, 1916, in Chittavatni in Pakistan, Singh studied at the Khalsa College, Amritsar.He joined the Royal Air Force and was commissioned to the IAF at Air Force Station Tambram.

In 1943, he visited the UK for training, sailing from Mumbai to Durban to Southampton on the Elle de France, encountering German U-boat in the Atlantic. He spent time at various stations of the RAF in London, Cranfield, and Branham etc.

He had the privilege to serve in the same Squadron as the actor, Clark Gable. At times, Gurdial flew over occupied France and Germany on air reconnaissance flights and on more than one occasion, had close encounters with the German Messerschmitt.

In 1946, he married Jaswant Kaur. The partition of India caused the personal losses of his in-laws, with Gurdial being in Lahore on his way from Peshawar.

He had served with officers of the like of Air Chief Marshal Arjan Singh, Air Chief Marshal I H Latif, Air Marshal S Mukherjee, Air Marshal Rajaram, AVM Pinto, Air Commodore Mehar Baba, Group Captain Sarkar and Wing Commander Majumdar (an ace pilot during the 40s).

After serving at the Air Force stations Jalahalli and Secunderabad, Singh worked at Air Headquarters, New Delhi for several years in the Adminstration Branch, eventually going to Air Force Station Avadi as Station Commander in 1967. Before this tenure, it was the Staff College Hyderabad and NDC, New Delhi. He retired from the Air Force in 1971, as Station Commander Race Course, New Delhi.

Singh is survived by his wife, two daughters, a son and three grand children. (ANI)

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When Megan Fox caused chaos among sex-starved Navy men

June 29, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, June 29 (ANI): Megan fox caused a stir among the all men crew of an aircraft carrier when she arrived on board to shoot for her new movie ‘Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen’, revealed her co-star Shia LaBeouf.

In fact, the 23-year-old actress had to be locked in the captain’s quarters for her own safety during the filming on the USS John C Stennis.or LaBeouf, it was his most memorable “Megan” moment while shooting for the film.

“A carrier is the largest ship in the sea. It houses around 5,000 people,” the Daily Star quoted him as saying.

“These dudes are away for six months and longer. They have not seen a female -specimen such as Megan for quite a while.

“Megan Fox and Transformers show up on a boat full of men who have blue balls.

“They don’t give a f**k about Transformers. They just care about Megan Fox being on the ship,” he added.

Thus, Navy bosses immediately limited Megan’s contact with the crew, and kept her hidden away.

Shia said: “She had to stay in the captain’s -quarters. There’s only one captain’s quarters so the captain wasn’t -allowed in.” (ANI)

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Listening to patriotic songs may make you prejudiced

June 28, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington June 28 (ANI): Can music really make us close-minded and prejudiced? Yes, at least that’s what Kansas State researchers claim.

A study of the behaviours elicited from the musical lyrics of common songs has revealed that listening to patriotic songs may make us close-minded and prejudiced while children’s songs like “Itsy Bitsy Spider” and “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” may stimulate a pro-social response.

Eduardo Alvarado along with Donald Saucier, associate professor of psychology at K-State, examined the effects priming can have on behaviour by looking at the positive responses like empathy, or an anti-social response, which is a negative feeling like aggression stimulated from music lyrics from a variety of song categories, including patriotic and Christmas songs.

Priming is when someone is exposed to a certain environment and their subconscious is activated, and then they tend to act in accordance with that environment without deliberate intent.

Priming can manipulate behaviour; if someone witnesses violent behavior, they would likely behave more violently.

“One of the key implications is that behaviours may be malleable in the sense that many individuals have the capacity for similar reactions in social situations,” Saucier said.

“Relatively small-scale primes may activate certain reactions, and these may be pro-social or anti-social depending on the context,” he added.

Alvarado said that the preliminary findings of the showed that the patriotic songs had a negative effect on the participants, as shown through their responses to the survey’s questions about other cultures and diversity.

The patriotic songs made the participants close-minded and prejudiced.

“Once they were in a patriotic point of view, they were less empathetic. They didn’t put themselves in other people’s perspective,” said Alvarado.

Though songs like “Itsy Bitsy Spider” and “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” were meant to be neutral primes, the researchers found that they stimulated a pro-social response.

“You wouldn’t think that those songs were going to put people in a certain mind frame, but they do activate a certain attitude,” Alvarado said. (ANI)

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Fake Internet stories claim Jeff Goldblum, Harrison Ford to be dead

June 27, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New York, June 26 (ANI): While news websites are constantly running stories of Michael Jackson’s and Farrah Fawcett’s death, internet pranksters have posted fake stories of the deaths of two more celebrities on the same day-’Jurassic Park’ actor Jeff Goldblum and ‘Indiana Jones’ star Harrison Ford.

However, the rumours of Goldblum and Ford’s untimely deaths actually turned out to be false, and were found to be well-known Internet pranks that once made similar claims of Tom Hanks and Tom Cruise.

“Reports that Jeff Goldblum has passed away are completely untrue. He is fine and in Los Angeles,” the New York Daily News quoted the actor’s publicist as saying in a statement Thursday night.

Snopes.com has reported that these stories are automatically generated with fake scenarios via prank websites, where users simply plug in any name – which in this case were Goldblum and Ford.

The fake stories suggested that Goldblum fell to his death while filming a movie in New Zealand.

On the other hand, Internet goons falsely claimed that Ford disappeared while on a boat in the French Riviera. (ANI)

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