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Leaking Chinese oil carrier damaging Great Barrier Reef

April 5, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

Brisbane (Queensland), Apr.5 (ANI): Leaking oil from a Chinese bulk coal carrier is causing considerable damage to Queensland’s Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.

Maritime Safety Queensland (MSQ) says salvage experts have boarded the Chinese-registered Shen Neng 1 and will focus on stabilizing the vessel amid fears it could break up, news.com.au reports.

The ship’s owners, the Cosco Group-China’s largest shipping company — could be fined more than a million dollars and its captain 220,000 dollars, Queensland Premier Anna Bligh said.

MSQ says a tug boat is at the site of the grounding, 70km east of Great Keppel Island, trying to stabilise the ship”One of the most worrying aspects is that the ship is still moving on the reef to the action of the seas, which is doing further damage,” MSQ general manager Patrick Quirk said today.

The MSQ sent up aircraft this morning to monitor oil leaking from the ship, which is carrying 975 tons of heavy fuel oil and 65,000 tons of coal. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: Cosco Group, Marine Park, monitor, Patrick Quirk, Queensland

Pak Army’s plans to use private militia against Taliban may backfire: Report

September 19, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, Sep.18 (ANI): The Pakistan Army’s initiative to sponsor local militias, or the lashkars, as they are commonly known, may have been working in its favour against the Taliban, however some people feel such move could back fire in future.

Backed by the Army, which had initiated an all out operation against the Taliban in Swat and Malakand Divisions in April, more than 8,000 villagers living across the region have joined these militias to try to keep the Taliban away from their villages.

Military officials are encouraging people to join hands with the troops against the extremists and carrying out special drives for forming such lashkars.

“The military is going village to village, speaking with elders and encouraging them to form their own lashkars and unite with existing ones,” said Swat military spokesman Major Mushtaq Khan.

While the Army considers that its initiative would yield positive results and prevent the Taliban’s onslaught in the region, experts have raised questions over it saying the move could have catastrophic effect in future.

“They could be temporarily used in some areas where the Taliban are weak or heavily resented, like in Swat. But at the end of the day, the villagers need to do their work; they can’t be armed every night,” The Christian Science Monitor quoted, Rahimullah Yusufzai, a well-known journalist, as saying.

“Creating these private militias may work in the short-run, but what if they later turn on each other to settle personal scores?” usufzai asked

Experts said the military should think twice before trying to extend the experimant into Pakistan’s other tribal agencies, where the Taliban still maintains a strong grip.

“It’s a very interesting experiment. But if it works in Swat, this can’t be replicated anywhere else, because the guys that they were pitted against were way too powerful, the murder of Qari Zainuddin was a case in point,” said Rifaat Hussain, an analyst at Quaid-e-Azam University in Islamabad. (ANI)

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Karzai unlikely to claim Afghan election victory soon

September 17, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, Sep.17 (ANI): With accusations of vote fraud piling up around Afghanistan’s presidential election, incumbent Hamid Karzai is unlikely to claim victory any time soon.

At the very least, a national electoral complaints commission investigating fraudulent voting will take weeks to determine how much of Karzai’s officially declared 54.6 percent of the vote will be tossed out, reports the Christian Science Monitor.

At the other extreme, a potential need for a runoff vote could end up stretching Afghanistan’s political turmoil into next spring – presenting President Obama and other NATO leaders with an unsettled and deteriorating climate just as crucial policy decisions are under review.

Marvin Weinbaum, a former State Department intelligence specialist in Asian affairs now at the Middle East Institute in Washington, said:. “We face a possible constitutional crisis that, if not resolved, becomes a disaster for us, and a partner [Karzai] acting in ways that in effect raise questions as to whether he should be in there or not.”

Aside from a runoff vote, which could be declared if investigations show Karzai’s total falling below 50 percent, some parties are calling for a coalition government, while others support the idea of a nonpolitical transitional government.

That debate has crystallized in a row between foreign officials over the best way to address Afghanistan’s political predicament. Peter Galbraith, a senior US official working in Kabul as the deputy special UN representative for Afghanistan, abruptly left the country after clashing with his boss, Kai Eide, over what path forward to advocate.

Galbraith favors a larger recount of votes, even if it leads to a runoff between Karzai and his main political rival, Abdullah Abdullah, and an extended period of political uncertainty. (ANI)

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How some people maintain weight loss, others don’t

September 17, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, Sep 16 (ANI): Ever wondered how some people successfully maintain a significant weight loss, while others tend to regain the weight? Well, researchers at The Miriam Hospital attribute such tendencies to a difference in brain activity patterns.

The researchers showed that when individuals who had kept the weight off for several years were shown pictures of food, they were more likely to engage the areas of the brain associated with behavioural control and visual attention, as compared to obese and normal weight participants.

The findings of the study suggest that successful weight loss maintainers may learn to respond differently to food cues.

“Our findings shed some light on the biological factors that may contribute to weight loss maintenance. They also provide an intriguing complement to previous behavioral studies that suggest people who have maintained a long-term weight loss monitor their food intake closely and exhibit restraint in their food choices,” said lead author Dr. Jeanne McCaffery.

Long-term weight loss maintenance continues to be a major problem in obesity treatment.

Participants in behavioural weight loss programs lose an average of 8 to 10 percent of their weight during the first six months of treatment, and will maintain approximately two-thirds of their weight loss after one year.

However, despite intensive efforts, weight regain appears to continue for the next several years, with most patients returning to their baseline weight after five years.

The researchers used functional magnetic resource imaging (fMRI) to study the brain activity of three groups- 18 individuals of normal weight, 16 obese individuals (defined as a body mass index of at least 30), and 17 participants who have lost at least 30 lbs and have successfully maintained that weight loss for a minimum of three years.

When the participants were shown pictures of food items after a four-hour fast, it was found that those in the successful weight loss maintenance group responded differently to these pictures compared to the other groups.

Specifically, researchers observed strong signals in the left superior frontal region and right middle temporal region of the brain – a pattern consistent with greater inhibitory control in response to food images and greater visual attention to food cues.

“It is possible that these brain responses may lead to preventive or corrective behaviors – particularly greater regulation of eating – that promote long-term weight control. However, future research is needed to determine whether these responses are inherent within an individual or if they can be changed,” said McCaffery.

The study has been published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. (ANI)

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Taliban now terrorise 80% of Afghanistan after eight years of war: Report

September 12, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Kabul, Sep. 11 (ANI): Almost eight years after the war began in Afghanistan in the aftermath of the 9/11 carnage, the Taliban insurgency has spread across 80 percent of the country.

The violent incidents this week have drawn attention to the deteriorating security situation of northern Afghanistan, which had largely remained peaceful so far, the Christian Science Monitor reports.

The northern provinces are facing difficult times as heavy insurgent activity has spread to 80 percent of the country – up from 54 percent two years ago, the report says.

The militants’ focus has shifted to northern parts following continuous pressure from their Pakistani counterparts to attack NATO’s second supply route situated here, it adds.

“[Militants] have been trying to widen the ground for the insurgency in Afghanistan and now they have got momentum. The militants are eager to target this route to prevent a smooth supply chain from northern Afghanistan,” the report quoted Waliullah Rahmani, executive director of the Kabul Center for Strategic Studies, as saying.

Last week’s airstrike targeted two fuel tankers headed to supply NATO troops in Kabul that had been hijacked by the Taliban.

Although the increase in violence is only a recent phenomenon, the conditions had worsened long ago, the report says.

The violence can be linked to districts with large Pashtun populations, whose grievances the government has failed to address – making them sympathetic to the Taliban, who share their ethnicity and language, it adds.

“The districts which are turning violent are those which have had a very recent history of abuses against the Pashtuns.

The government has allowed these conditions to go unaddressed and this is now being addressed by the population by giving shelter to the Taliban and other insurgents,”the report quoted Prakhar Sharma, the head of research at the Center for Conflict and Peace Studies, as saying.(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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High-performance, low-cost green LEDs to brighten up the future

September 6, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, September 6 (ANI): A scientist is aiming to develop a high-performance, low-cost green LED (Light-emitting diode).

According to Christian Wetzel, professor of physics and the Wellfleet Professor of Future Chips at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), “Going green means different things to different people. For companies, going green means making a profit by selling equipment and services that allow one’s customers to be more efficient and reduce costs.”

“I’m doing both of those, but I’m also trying to make an LED that literally shines green light,” he said.

First discovered in the 1920s, LEDs are semiconductors that convert electricity into light.

When switched on, swarms of electrons pass through the semiconductor material and fall from an area with surplus electrons into an area with a shortage of electrons.

As they fall, the electrons jump to a lower orbital and release small amounts of energy. This energy is realized as photons – the most basic unit of light.

Unlike conventional light bulbs, LEDs produce almost no heat.

The color of light produced by LEDs depends on the type of semiconductor material it contains.

“We have high-performance red LEDs, we have high-performance blue LEDs, and if we paired them with a high-performance green LED we would be able to produce every color visible to the human eye – including true white,” said Wetzel.

“Every computer monitor and television produces its picture by using red, blue, and green. That means developing a high-performance green LED would likely lead to a new generation of high-performance, energy-efficient display devices,” he added.

“The problem, however, is that green LEDs are much more difficult to create than I, or anyone else, imagined,” he explained.

Simple preliminary attempts to create green LEDs, by merely adding more indium (In) to the gallium nitride (GaN) materials that composed blue LEDs, were unsuccessful.

The resulting green LEDs just weren’t strong or bright enough to stand toe-to-toe with red or blue.

Wetzel and his research group have been working to tweak precisely how to add more indium, and how to grow the structure more carefully into a device, with the goal of boosting the strength and light output of green LEDs.

“They’re endeavoring, he said, to close the green gap,” said Wetzel.

Once they overcome the challenge of developing efficient green LEDs, Wetzel envisions LED technology will quickly evolve from its current applications in signs and small displays and grow into a universally adopted, globally used replacement for traditional light bulbs and compact fluorescence tubes. (ANI)

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Western envoys expect run-off in Afghanistan election

September 3, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Paris, Sep. 3 (ANI): Western envoys to Afghanistan have said that their respective governments should “be prepared for a run-off” in the Afghanistan presidential election if too many votes are ruled “irregular.”

If no candidate gets more than 50 percent of the vote, a run-off between the top two vote getters will be held. The latest results show that incumbent president Hamid Karzai has 47.3 percent of the vote with more than 60 percent of the ballots counted.

The meeting of German, French, British, UN, and US envoys to Afghanistan here was regarded as a show of unity and support in the midst of an Afghan mission seen as unpopular in Europe and dubbed by some US media as “Mr. Obama’s war.”

In European circles, the meeting was also seen as an effort to pressure Afghan President Karzai in the wake of some 1,000 complaints of ballot stuffing and fraud now under review, and to garner support for US efforts to target of irregular election behavior and corruption, the Christian Science Monitor reports.

Hosted by French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, the gathering also included British envoy Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles, Germany’s Bernd Mutzelburg, US envoy Richard Holbrooke, Karl Eide of the UN, and 22 other representatives.

The Afghanistan Election Commission is now going through nearly 1,000 complaints, of which 600 have been addressed, the envoys said – predicting they would finish the process by September 17. (ANI)

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Two third of Brits hoping to get out of credit crunch within a year

September 1, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, Aug 31 (ANI): It seems that the days of economic slump are getting over for Britons, for at least two thirds of them believe that their financial situation will stay the same or improve over the next year.

According to a poll conducted by the Daily Telegraph/YouGov, with a growing number of people now feeling the worst of the recession has passed, the country appears to be regaining its “feel-good factor”.

The findings have indicated that the measure of people’s confidence in the future remains negative, at minus 14.

But it is much better than what it was 12 months ago – a miserable minus 67 – thus making the people in UK all smiles.

The researchers worked out the measure of confidence by asking respondents whether they believed their prospects were looking good, and would remain the same or grow worse in the coming 12 months.

They then calculated the feel-good factor by subtracting the percentage of those who thought their situation would worsen from the percentage who thought it would get better.

While this feel-good factor was minus 20, in June, it has risen by six more points since then.

Meanwhile, the most recent Business Confidence Monitor by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales showed confidence among business professionals had moved into positive territory for the first time in two years.

This was interpreted as further evidence of an improving UK economy. (ANI)

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Archaeologists discover world’s oldest tree sign in Prague

August 13, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Prague (Czech Republic), August 13 (ANI): Archaeologists have uncovered a unique 1000-year-old mark engraved into an oak tree near Celakovice in Prague, Czech Republic, which is probably the oldest preserved sign of this kind in the world.

According to a report in the Prague Monitor, the real meaning of the 10-cm star-shaped mark on the oak trunk is not certain. Experts say it may have marked the territory or serve some iconic purposes.

This find is rare as so old engraved signs were not previously mapped and they are not systematically searched for either, said archaeologist Jana Marikova from the Academy of Sciences (AV)’s Archaeological Institute.

Geologist Radek Mikulas, from the AV’s Geological Institute, found the engraved sign by accident when he was searching for the actual age and state of the old oak trunks that were lifted near Celakovice during sand and gravel strip mining.

The mark was engraved into the trunk after the bark was removed from the spot, and this is why its traces were preserved.

Experts estimate that the oaks were standing near the Labe (Elbe) River between 600-800 A.D. and the engraved symbol must originate from the early Middle Ages.

Archaeologist Dagmar Dreslerova points out that the tradition of engraving signs and ornaments date back to the Palaeolithic Era (Old Stone Age).

However, only engravings made on stone, rocks and exceptionally on bones have been preserved, as wood and other organic material decompose with time.

The first written sources mentioning signs engraved into trees to mark land borders and paths come from antiquity. (ANI)

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Pakistan Government’s record in handling return of refugees is not good

July 14, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, July 14 (ANI): The Pakistan Government’s record in handling the return of refugees is not good, and Islamabad is unprepared for the influx of people in the Swat Valley which can result in a loss of public opinion if the delivery of services is no better than before the Taliban’s seizure of the region, analysts have said.

Pakistan on Monday began returning more than two million refugees who were displaced by a government offensive against Taliban elements to the Swat Valley. The process will be closely watched by foreign governments, including in the United States, for signs of Pakistan’s ability to reverse a growing Islamist militancy.

Southeast Asia analysts and humanitarian-aid experts say that Pakistan’s heavily centralized government is unprepared for the massive return, The Christian Science Monitor reports.

“The Pakistani Government does not have a good track record when it comes to returning displaced populations, so this will be an important test,” says Patrick Duplat, a services advocate with Refugees International in Washington.

“If they once again send families back to areas that remain insecure and lack basic government services, the door will be open to more of the loss of public confidence that is so important for the government,” he said.

The specter of a nuclear-armed Pakistan destabilized by Islamist extremists who are allied with their brethren next door in Afghanistan prompted the US to encourage the government’s offensive in Swat in the first place, the CSM report says.

That gives the US not just an interest in seeing the Pakistani government succeed with its own people, but a “special responsibility” in assisting with a successful refugee return process, Duplat says.

He notes that after a similar displacement of residents in the northwest tribal areas last fall was followed by a “hasty” and “poorly planned” return, the same residents had to flee their homes a second time – a disruption that resulted in a precipitous loss of faith in the government.

Still, the Pakistani government may have reason to be more successful in the case of the Swat Valley. For one thing, Swat, which is north of the capital of Islamabad, is a long-settled area as opposed to the remote and semiautonomous tribal areas.

“So there’s reason for a certain amount of confidence that the government has a good read on the region,” says Lisa Curtis, a South Asia expert with the Heritage Foundation in Washington. (ANI)

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MJ tops ‘Most Fans on Facebook’ list

July 10, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, July 9 (ANI): Michael Jackson features at the top when it comes to having most number of fans on the popular social networking site Facebook.

According to figures released by AllFacebook.com, the late King of Pop reigns the upper echelons of Facebook’s superstar culture, with more than 7 million devotees.

Nick O’Neill, founder of the Social Times Web site, told CNN that the number previously stood at 80,000, but had skyrocketed over the last couple weeks, creating what Facebook dubbed the largest crowd response ever on the site, reports Christian Science Monitor.

Nick also said that the late star was gaining about 20 fans per second, and “even more during peak traffic hours.”

Meanwhile, US President Barack Obama bagged the second spot followed by The Fast and the Furious actor Vin Diesel.

The “I love sleep” community bagged the fourth spot, and wrapping up the top five was the “Pizza” group.

Here’s the ‘Most Fans on Facebook’ list

1. Michael Jackson

2. Barack Obama

3. Vin Diesel

4. I love sleep

5. Pizza

6. I need a vacation

7. Dr. House

8. Facebook

9. R.I.P. Michael Jackson

10. Will Smith (ANI)

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Vin Diesel has more than 5 million fans on Facebook

July 10, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, July 9 (ANI): Those looking to challenge the popularity of Vin Diesel can take a back seat, for the actor has a staggering 5,149,734 fans on the popular social networking site Facebook.

According to figures released by AllFacebook.com, The Fast and the Furious star ranked third in the upper echelons of Facebook’s superstar culture.

Topping the list was late King of Pop Michael Jackson, followed by US President Barack Obama, reports Christian Science Monitor.

Nick O’Neill, founder of the Social Times Web site, told CNN that the late star was gaining about 20 fans per second, and “even more during peak traffic hours”.

The “I love sleep” community bagged the fourth spot, and wrapping up the top five was the “Pizza” group.

Here’s the roster:

1. Michael Jackson

2. Barack Obama

3. Vin Diesel

4. I love sleep

5. Pizza

6. I need a vacation

7. Dr. House

8. Facebook

9. R.I.P. Michael Jackson

10. Will Smith (ANI)

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New UN report takes firm stand on women’s rights in Afghanistan

July 10, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Kabul (Afghanistan), July 9 (ANI): A new United Nations report has called for an end to the prevailing abuse against women in Afghanistan, and warned that ignoring this culture of impunity will create an environment of political and social insecurity.

The report, titled “Silence is Violence,” documents the increasingly insecure environment for women in public spaces and the failure of state institutions to deal with it, reports the Christian Science Monitor.

The document, which was co-written by the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights (UNHCR) and the UN’s Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), says that the argument that it’s more important to “have security rather than human rights … is absolutely the wrong concept, since you need human rights for sustainable peace.”

Dr. Sima Samar, the chairperson of the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission, explained that the denial of women’s rights is usually on the grounds of culture and tradition.

The report documents violence that inhibits participation of women in public life, identifying perpetrators as anti-government elements, local traditional and religious power holders, women’s own families and communities and, in some instances, government authorities.

Sexual violence against women was found to be perpetrated by close family members, staff of prisons and rehabilitation centers, military commanders, and members of illegal armed groups and criminal gangs.

“The pattern of attacks against women operating in the public sphere sends a strong message to all women to stay at home,” says the report.

“This has obvious ramifications for the transformation of Afghanistan, the stated priority of Afghan authorities, and their international supporters.”

“Rhetoric [has not been] matched by reality,” says the head of UNAMA’s human rights unit, Norah Niland.

The UN report and its message were backed at the highest level of the UN’s presence in Afghanistan. It was released in the residence of the UN secretary-general’s special representative, Kai Eide, the top UN diplomat in Afghanistan. (ANI)

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US can ‘justify’ its drone strike policy in Pak tribal areas: Expert

July 10, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, July 9 (ANI): The raging region of South Waziristan, where the Pakistan Army has initiated an all out attack on the Taliban’s top commander Baitullah Mehsud, was targeted by US drones twice in less than 24 hours on Wednesday and fourth time in less than a week. While Pakistan and some US experts have vehemently opposed these drone hits saying they kill more civilians than insurgents, some analysts believe that the missile hits are justified.

The United States has continuously played down the sensitive drone strike issue, much like Pakistan, which has been crying that the attacks are proving counterproductive in its ‘war on terror’, but Yale professor, Stuart Gottlieb, argues that the attacks are justified if Washington acknowledges them.

Gottlieb, in his article in the Foreign Policy magazine, said President Obama should ‘candidly’ explain how target killings fit within his overall counterterrorism approach.

“They are a ‘dangerous contradiction’ to Obama’s promise of a more humane war on terror, but the US should make its case for their necessity,” a report in The Christian Science Monitor quoted Gottlieb, as saying.

Professor Gottlieb, further added that the United States must accept two facts.

The first, that the threat from Al-Qaeda and other banned terror outfits remains so dire that it needs to engage in practices that in some contexts would be ‘ war crimes’.

And second, that some of the most aggressive and controversial policies of Bush’s administration, including targeted killing, remain necessary in the conflict against Al Qaeda, the report concluded. (ANI)

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N.Korea suspected of being behind cyber attacks on S. Korea, US

July 10, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, July 9 (ANI): North Korea is suspected of launching an unprecedented large cyber-attack this past weekend against South Korea and a smaller number of US government web sites.

The Internet attacks are not isolated, but closely tied a broader North Korean military strategy, including its recent missile and nuclear weapons tests, the Christian Science Monitor quoted analysts, as saying.

“The cyber attacks are part of an asymmetric warfare strategy,” says Nicholas Eberstadt, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington.

“Part of an effective confrontation with the US war machine would be the ability to disable US information systems,” he added.

South Korea’s National Intelligence Service “believes North Korea or its sympathizers” of having masterminded an Internet attack on the web sites of government agencies, including the office of the South Korean president and the foreign and defense ministries, according to Yonhap, the South Korean news agency.

Korea Communication Commission official Lee Myung-su said the computer virus had infected 18,000 personal computers and at least 11 South Korean government sites.

US sites hit by the virus included the Treasury Department, Federal Trade Commission, and Secret Service.

The Internet attacks represent a new area of confrontation in a period of uncertainty in North Korea dominated by rising concern about the health of North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-il.

The attacks on South Korean websites suggest cyber warfare may be in lieu of attacks long predicted in the West or Yellow Sea or along the demilitarized zone between the two Koreas. (ANI)

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Lashkar’s Gulf based terror cells planning attack on India: Report

July 7, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Virginia (US), July 7 (ANI): The threat perception on vital installations in three coastal states Gujarat, Maharashtra and Goa has been increased manifold following intelligence reports of the banned Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) channelising huge amounts of money from its Gulf-based networks for terror strikes against the country.

According to a report in the Terrorism Monitor, a periodical published by the Virginia based Jamestown Foundation, intelligence authorities have revealed that the LeT’s marine wing is planning a repeat of the 26/11 Mumbai attack, and is on the look out for an incursion into India via the western sea-coast.

Recently, Union Home Minister P.Chidambaram had also raised fears about terrorists using the sea route to strike at strategic locations along the western cost.

Intelligence authorities have also confirmed the Gulf link to terror in India.

There are several LeT cells operating in the Gulf that have financed and facilitated terrorist operations against India, the report said.

The arrest of Muhammad Omar Madni, who is believed to be a close aide of Lashkar chief Hafeez Muhammad Saeed revealed the impending threat to India through the sea route.

Madni’s arrest and interrogation revealed several startling details, including new routes used by terrorists, the location of bases inside and outside India, terrorist finances, and the recruitment strategy of the LeT.

The investigations carried out by Mumbai Police’s crime branch also revealed that the November 2008 Mumbai attacks were financed by LeT’s Gulf cells, the report said.

During the probe it was also found that it was the Gulf-based operatives that had masterminded and executed a series of blasts in various cities such as Bangalore, Ahmadabad, Delhi and Surat in 2008, it added.

These serial terror attack was carried out with of the Indian Mujahedeen (IM) operatives and the banned Student Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), the report went on to add.

With the increasing threat perception from the middle-east, India is now seeking a comprehensive anti-terrorism treaty with the Gulf nations, the report concluded. (ANI)

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Pak Army faces massive militant force in Waziristan if Mehsud aligns with tribes: Report

July 1, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, July 1 (ANI): The Pakistan Army is planning an offensive against the Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) chief Baitullah Mehsud in his stronghold South Waziristan, but it seems that it is unaware of the massive threat that the region has in store.

The military will have to face a formidable army of extremists if Mehsud join hands with the militant commanders of North Waziristan, The Christian Science Monitor reported an analysis in the Long War Journal, as saying.

The fears of the Taliban teaming up with the tribal leaders of North Waziristan has increased manifold, particularly after reports of the peace accord in the region being severed surfaced.

The Army must tackle these tribal commanders, the Bahadar, the Haqqanis, and Nazir, if it wants to succeed against Mehsud, as they have a combined force of 50,000 fighters, the analysis said.

These tribals leaders also run a number of terror training camps, and have been providing safe havens to Al-Qaeda and other extremist organizations.

So, the Pakistan Army must prepare itself to tackle an estimated force of 30,000 fighters under Mehsud’s command, backed by thousands of insurgents in the unfavorable rough terrains of Waziristan, the analysis concluded. (ANI)

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Advanced ground-penetrating radar may be used to spot tunnels dug by criminals

June 30, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, June 30 (ANI): Patrol agents along the US border are using a sophisticated ground penetrating radar to spot illegal tunnels dug by criminals.

While most tunnels are used to move drugs or people, they could also be used to move in weapons and explosives for a terrorist attack.

Tunnels are a serious challenge for border patrol agents because they can begin and end almost anywhere.

Their entrances and exits are often hidden inside old warehouses or under trees; if old ones are discovered, new ones are quickly begun.

Of every tunnel ever discovered by US border patrol agents, 60 percent have been found in the last three years.

“All of them have been found by accident or human intelligence,” said Ed Turner, a project manager with the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S and T). “None by technology,” he added.

To battle these secret burrows in the 21st century, S and T thinks this will have to change. In partnership with Lockheed Martin, DHS S and T is pursuing a fresh approach that uses sophisticated ground penetrating radar.

The new design technology is to place the radar antennas in a trailer that will be towed by a Border Patrol truck.

The antennas shoot a signal directly into the ground and use it to construct a multi-colored picture of the earth.

Tunnels show up as red, yellow, and aquamarine dots against a blue background. Border patrols agents would see these images on a monitor mounted inside their truck.

Ground penetrating radar is a promising technology because it is already used by civil engineers to reconstruct underground images.

These engineers, however, are usually only interested in detecting cables or pipes that may be a few meters beneath the earth.

S and T must find tunnels that often run much deeper.

To find these, the radar uses much lower frequencies that penetrate the ground much better, and a sophisticated new imaging technology that can display clear pictures of deep tunnels.

If successful, the tunnel detection technology will help agents locate and plug tunnels almost as fast as the criminals can dig them. (ANI)

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Megan Fox suffers anxiety attacks when she sees herself on screen

June 26, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, Jun 24 (ANI): Transformers star Megan Fox has revealed that she suffers from serious anxiety attacks whenever she views herself on screen.

Fox, 23, panics so much that she does not view even look at photographs of herself.

“I never (look at myself), even in still photographs. I don’t look at anything,” Fox News quoted her as saying.

“I panic if there is a monitor in the room I immediately go into like an anxiety attack. I’m insecure, I think most actors are pretty insecure,” she added. (ANI)

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