UK commander says dialogue with Taliban insurgents necessary to end Afghan war

Kabul, Sep 18(ANI): In an ambitious aim to help bring an end to the eight-year war in Afghanistan by persuading the Taliban to lay down their arms, British Army Lt. Gen Sir Graeme Lamb said that many Taliban activists have “done nothing wrong”, rather they have taken to arms as “they have anger and grievances, which have not been addressed”.

While addressing a gathering at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO) headquarters in Kabul, Lamb insisted that a dialogue with the Taliban insurgents is necessary to end the cold war.

“We need to take a good look at the people we consider to be our enemies. A lot of young men fighting us have not done anything wrong. They have anger and grievances, which have not been addressed. The better life they expected has not materialized, these are the people we must talk to, but we must make sure we have something to offer them,” The Independent quoted Lamb, as saying.

Lamb further highlighted that the NATO and British forces where not in Afghanistan to give up people’s freedom, and said: “What we do have to do is combine new culture and old culture and work out something that works. We will be listening to what our Afghan colleagues say. I will work very closely with them and let them set conditions.”

Lamb also said that their primary motive is to bring those Afghanistan citizens back into the society, who have been forced out of their society for no fault of their own.

“Judge us by not just what we say, the promises we make, but what we do, what we deliver at the end,” Lamb said. (ANI)

Durga puja celebrations on a modest scale in Siliguri

Siliguri, Sept 18 (ANI): The festival of Durga Puja is just round the corner. However, this time around, the festival may not be full of pomp and show as compared with previous years in Siliguri.

The festival is known for massive makeshift tents or pandals which are put up by various festival organising committees.

Organising committees vie for making the best and unique pandals worth hundreds of thousands of rupees.

However, global economic slowdown has dampened the pandals-making spirit. Organisers have now to make do with less.

“This year, we have been hit by global recession. We generally depend on advertisements for our revenue, but this time no company has advertised with us. So, we have no other alternatives, but to cut down our budget,” said Sourav Nath, Secretary, Central Colony Puja Committee.

The recession has also pinched decorators as they are getting fewer orders for embellishing pandals.

“Puja committees have trimmed their budgets. This has affected us severely,” said Gopal Sarkar, General-Secretary, North Bengal Decorators Association.

Durga Puja is the biggest festival in Bengal.

The festival is also known as Dussehra and Navaratri in other parts of the country. (ANI)

Mafia may be behind Berlusconi’s sex scandal, claims coalition partner

London, Sept 12 (ANI): Responding to the sex scandal engulfing Silvio Berlusconi, Umberto Bossi, the key coalition partner in the Italian PM’s government, said he believed Mafia had orchestrated all the dirty activities.

“I think everything has been put in place by the Mafia,” Bossi, the leader of the Northern League, said as he arrived at an event in Pian del Re in the north of the country.

He added: “We have introduced very tough laws against the Mafia.

“I already said to Berlusconi, ‘Look out because the Mafia is involved in that; the Mafia organises prostitution’. I am convinced that the Mafia organised this thing here.”

On Thursday, for the first time, Berlusconi admitted that Giampaolo Tarantini, a businessman, had brought “beautiful women” to his parties but denied that he had ever paid for sex, reports The Times.

In May, Berlusconi’s estranged wife, Veronica Lario, had announced that she wanted a divorce from the premier after accusing him of being “not well” and obsessed with young women.

She was apparently furious over his attendance at the 18th birthday party of an aspiring lingerie model, Noemi Letizia.

Later an escort, Patrizia D’Addario, claimed that she and another prostitute had sexual intercourse with the prime minister at his official residence in Rome following a private party. (ANI)

UN strongly warns Lanka over continued holding of civilians in refugee camps

London, Sep 12 (ANI): The United Nations has strongly warned Sri Lanka that the world body cannot continue funding indefinitely the huge refugee camps in the north of the country, and asked the authorities to allow the hundreds of Tamil civilians to leave.

The senior UN official in the country hardened their stand when they said the camps should be a last resort for civilians with nowhere else to go.

Sri Lanka faces increasing international criticism over its treatment of the estimated 300,000 civilians held in camps, with the EU poised to cancel a trade concession worth one billion dollars to the government, The Independent reports.

Humanitarian aid groups have complained that conditions in the vast Menik Farms camp, where most people remain behind razor wire are still inadequate four months after the decades-long civil war ended.

“Nothing has changed over the past three months for the people in the camps. They are overcrowded, with poor sanitary conditions and inadequate health care. There are concerns about what may happen when the monsoon rains arrive in the next couple of months,” the UK-based Catholic Fund for Overseas Development said on Friday.

The UN’s senior official in Sri Lanka, Neil Buhne, told the BBC: “The best solution is, obviously, that as many people leave as soon as possible; and, for the people who have no place else to go, that the site can become an open one.”

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has also said that he intends to speak directly to Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa to protest against the decision to expel the spokesman for Unicef, accused by the government of acting as “propagandist” for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

He will also raise the issue of two UN workers in the Tamil-dominated north arrested in June. (ANI)

Biggest earthquake in nine years hit Northeast

New Delhi, Sep 4 (ANI): A moderate earthquake measuring 5.9 on the Richter Scale, the biggest in nine years, shook the North-East early on Friday, officials at the Central Seismological Observatory said.

The quake took place at 1:21 a.m. local time and was centered 96 km east-southeast of Imphal, the capital of Manipur.

There were no reports of damage or causalities. This is the fourth time earthquakes hit the northeast region of India within a month’s time.

People ran out of their houses as the quake rocked buildings and houses triggering panic. There was, however, no damage to property, police said.

Te quake lasted for around 20 seconds; its after-shocks were felt for over two minutes.

Two moderate intensity quakes, one measuring 5.6 on the Richter Scale and another measuring 4.9 had shook the region on 12th August and 19th August. Another measuring 5.3 was recorded on 31st August. (ANI)

Intensified search operations for missing Andhra CM resume

Hyderabad/New Delhi, Sep.3 (ANI): Search operations for missing Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy resumed at first light on Thursday morning.

State Government sources said that they have narrowed down the search to a 20-square kilometer radius in the Nallamalla Forest Range where they believe the seven-seat Bell helicopter carrying the chief minister may have gone down on Wednesday at around 9.30 a.m.eddy’s chopper went missing while he was on his way from Kurnool to Chittoor.

He is accompanied by his Principal Secretary S Subramanyam and Chief Security Officer A S C Wesley. There were two pilots also on board the twin-engined Bell 430 helicopter that lost contact with Air Traffic Control at the Begumpet Airport in Hyderabad when it was headed for Chittoor district, about 600 kilometres from Hyderabad.

Indian Space Research Organisation chief G. Madhavan Nair and his team are monitoring a low flying remote sensing plane. Satellite images are being used to try and trace the place. So far, 41 images have been taken but none of them have revealed any information about the chief minister’s whereabouts.

As of now the Indian Government has said that it has not requested the United States for help in the matter, but has confirmed that the unmanned vehicle that is presently deployed in the north eastern part of the country is being kept on standby.

The Army, Indian Air Force (IAF), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel, Andhra Police Greyhound commandos along with local police and district officials has entered the Nallamalla Forests to launch the massive search and rescue operation for Reddy.

About 250 Army personnel with night vision devices have joined the search operations.

“We have deployed two columns and one Ghatak (jungle warfare specialist) platoon in the area for searching the Chief Minister. Our troops are equipped with night vision devices such as goggles and hand held thermal imagers,” Army officials said.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi is expected to arrive in Hyderabad shortly to be with Reddy’s anguished family members and to get a hands on assessment of the search operation.

She has already sent Union Law Minister and Congress general secretary in charge of Andhra Pradesh affairs Veerappa Moily and Union Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office Prithviraj Chauhan to the city to monitor developments. Chauhan told press persons that the State and Central Governments are sparing no efforts to search for the chief minister.

Meanwhile, National Security Advisor M.K. Narayanan has said that while both the state and central governments are extremely concerned and worried about the missing chief minister, all available resources are being deployed for the search.

He said Army and Air Force helicopters have been conducting a search of the region. He also confirmed that two fixed-wing aircraft with synthetic aperture radar capabilities have been pressed into service.

Forces on the ground are also on the lookout for the missing helicopter and its individuals. arayanan said that the lack of communication is a major problem and also ruled out the probability of a Naxal strike.

“I don’t think the Naxals have the capability to bring down a helicopter,” he said.

“There is no question about calling off the search till we discover what happened there. We are hopeful we will find the Chief Minister, his chief secretary and PSO without serious injuries,” he added. (ANI)

President Patil leaves for Russia today

New Delhi, Sep. 2 (ANI): President Pratibha Patil on Wednesday left for a weeklong visit to Russia and Tajikistan.

Patil was accompanied by Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Murli Deora and Minister of State for Textiles, Panabaka Lakshmi.

Strengthening bilateral ties with these countries will be top of the agenda of the visit.

Patil will first go to Moscow and meet Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

She is also scheduled to meet the Chairman of the Federation Council and the Speaker of the Duma.

Patil and Medvedev will participate in a gala concert in Moscow and witness an Indian cultural performance. The “Year of India” is being celebrated in Russia this year.

She will also scheduled to meet the Indian community and Friends of India. She will also visit St. Petersburg where she will meet the plenipotentiary representative of the President to the North-West District and visit a Russian School, which teaches Hindi.

President Patil will be the guest of honour in the Independence Day celebrations of Tajikistan in Dushanbe.

This is the first time a foreign dignitary is being given this honour.

She will also inaugurate the India-Tajikistan Joint Business Forum apart from her meetings with the Tajik President Emomali Rahmon and Prime Minister Oquil Oquilov.

Patil will be the first Indian President to visit to Tajikistan. (ANI)

President Patil to leave for Russia today

New Delhi, Sep. 2 (ANI): President Pratibha Patil will leave on a weeklong visit to Russia and Tajikistan from today.

She will be accompanied by Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Murli Deora and Minister of State for Textiles, Panabaka Lakshmi.

Strengthening bilateral ties with these countries will be top of the agenda of the visit.

Patil will first go to Moscow and meet Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

She is also scheduled to meet the Chairman of the Federation Council and the Speaker of the Duma.

Patil and Medvedev will participate in a gala concert in Moscow and witness an Indian cultural performance. The “Year of India” is being celebrated in Russia this year.

She will also scheduled to meet the Indian community and Friends of India. She will also visit St. Petersburg where she will meet the plenipotentiary representative of the President to the North-West District and visit a Russian School, which teaches Hindi.

President Patil will be the guest of honour in the Independence Day celebrations of Tajikistan in Dushanbe.

This is the first time a foreign dignitary is being given this honour.

She will also inaugurate the India-Tajikistan Joint Business Forum apart from her meetings with the Tajik President Emomali Rahmon and Prime Minister Oquil Oquilov.

Patil will be the first Indian President to visit to Tajikistan.(ANI)

President Patil to leave for Russia, Tajikistan on Wednesday

New Delhi, Sep. 1 (ANI): President Pratibha Patil will leave on a weeklong visit to Russia and Tajikistan from Wednesday.

She will be accompanied by Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Murli Deora and Minister of State for Textiles, Panabaka Lakshmi.

Strengthening bilateral ties with these countries will be top of the agenda of the visit.

Patil will first go to Moscow and meet Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

She is also scheduled to meet the Chairman of the Federation Council and the Speaker of the Duma.

Patil and Medvedev will participate in a gala concert in Moscow and witness an Indian cultural performance. The “Year of India” is being celebrated in Russia this year.

The President will also meet the Indian community and Friends of India. She will also visit St. Petersburg where she will meet the plenipotentiary representative of the President to the North-West District and visit a Russian School, which teaches Hindi.

President Pratibha Devi Singh Patil will be the guest of honour in the Independence Day celebrations of Tajikistan in Dushanbe.

This is the first time a foreign dignitary is being given this honour.

She will also inaugurate the India-Tajikistan Joint Business Forum apart from her meetings with the Tajik President Emomali Rahmon and Prime Minister Oquil Oquilov.

Patil will be the first Indian President to visit to Tajikistan. (ANI)

Pakistan modified ‘defensive’ American missiles to pose threat to India: NYT

Washington, Aug.30 (ANI): Top US administration and Congressional officials have accused Pakistan of illegally modifying American-made missiles to expand its capability to strike land targets, a potential threat to India.

Officials alleged that Islamabad has customized conventional Harpoon antiship missiles, which were provided to it by the Reagan administration as a defensive weapon in the cold war era.

“There’s a concerted effort to get these guys to slow down.Their energies are misdirected,” said one senior administration official.

The accusations come at a time when the Obama administration is pushing the Congress to approve 7.5 billion dollars in aid to Pakistan over the next five years.

It is also worth mentioning here that Washington, time and again, has asked Islamabad to focus more fighting the Taliban rather than expanding its nuclear and conventional forces against India.

According the New York Times, US officials made these accusations in ‘unpublicized’ diplomatic protest to Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani and other top Pakistani officials in June.

The United States has also accused Pakistan of modifying American-made P-3C aircraft for land-attack missions.

“The focus of our concern is that this is a potential unauthorized modification of a maritime antiship defensive capability to an offensive land-attack missile. The potential for proliferation and end-use violations are things we watch very closely,” said another official on conditions of anonymity, adding, “When we have concerns, we act aggressively.”

However, Pakistan has denied the charge, saying it developed the missile itself.

A senior Pakistan said that the missile was developed by Pakistan, just as it had modified North Korean designs to build a range of land-based missiles that could strike India. (ANI)

Mela Patt fair celebrated in Bhaderwah in Jammu and Kashmir

Bhaderwah (Jammu and Kashmir), Aug 28(ANI): Colourful folk dances marked the annual three-day fair ‘Mela Patt’ celebrations in Bhaderwah sub-division of Jammu and Kashmir’s Doda district.

The festival, which concluded on Thursday, is celebrated every year after it was started by Raja Nagpal, the 16th century ruler of the then small principality of Bhaderkashi, now known as Bhaderwah.

The festival begins on Naag Panchami, festival dedicated to honour the snake God.

According to folklore, Mughal emperor Akbar wanted to make Raja Nagpal bow to him, but Nagpal would not bow before anyone except his Lord Vasuki Naag. The emperor summoned Nagpal and ordered to sever his head. But, when king’s men tried to cut his head a serpent came out from his turban.

Impressed by Nagpal’s spiritual powers, Akbar awarded him with a golden pot with precious stones and costly velvet robes embroidered with gold and silver as a token of his devotion to Vasuki Naag.

Every year during the festival the devotees take out a procession of the gifts presented to Nagpal.

“The pot you see was gifted by emperor Akbar to Raja Nagpal and every year it is taken out for display to the locals,” said Hari Krishan, a local.

The festival sees enthusiasts from across north-India, as they believe that their wishes will come true if they pray earnestly.

“Not only people from Jammu and Kashmir, but from people across north India come to see the festival. There is a saying that if someone asks for a wish it comes true,” said Naresh Gupta, another local.

People danced to the sweet and melodious tunes of the traditional ‘Dhaku’ dance, a unique folk dance of the area, a regular feature during the Mela. By Tahir Nadeem Khan (ANI)

Dead Sea shrinking by 1 meter every year

Washington, August 27 (ANI): Reports indicate that the Dead Sea is still shrinking fast, with water levels continuing to drop at the rate of about 1 meter per year.

Praised far and wide for the reputed healing powers of its minerals and waters, the Dead Sea has been luring visitors for thousands of years.

But these days, tourists see a very different lake from the one that others would have witnessed a few decades ago.

According to a report in National Geographic News, the sea sits in the lowest place on earth, and for years, the water level was 1280 feet below sea level. However, in the last 40 years, it’s dropped more than 80 feet.

Today, the Dead Sea continues to drop at the rate of about 1 meter per year.

This dramatic shortage is particularly evident at Israel’s Ein Gedi Spa, on the southern shores of the Dead Sea.

“The beach was here, and now (it’s) far away. You can see it’s more than one kilometre from here. In 30 years, the beach (will have) disappeared,” said Alon Shachal, Ein Gedi Spa Manager.

The need to change the status quo and find a solution to the Dead Sea’s alarming shrinking has been a concern for years for ‘Friends of the Earth Middle East’, a non-governmental organization that brings together Palestinian, Israeli and Jordanian environmentalists.

“After the ’60′s, we started to see a dramatic decrease in the surface area of the Dead Sea. And according to the different studies, in 50 years from now, at the same rate, which is 1 meter per year of drop in the surface level of the Dead Sea, means that this sea will not be the same. It will be more of a very small lake; not the same area that we have today,” said Iyad Aburdeieneh, Project Coordinator, Friends of the Earth Middle East Bethlehem.

According to Gidon Bromberg, from Friends of the Earth Middle East Tel Aviv, “The Dead Sea has had its taps closed from both ends. From the North, in fact here in front of us is where the Jordan River should be flowing to the Dead Sea, but the Jordan River basically doesn’t flow anymore.”

“Ninety-five per cent of its waters have been diverted by Israel, by Syria, by Jordan, so that what’s left in the Jordan River – a river holy to half of humanity – is little more than agriculture runoff, fish farm waste and, mostly, untreated sewage waters,” he said. (ANI)

Foul odour from industrial chicken rendering facilities may soon be history

Washington, Aug 27 (ANI): A research team led by Indian-origin scientist from North Carolina State University has devised a new technique that can help eliminate foul odour and air pollutants from industrial chicken rendering facilities.

Rendering facilities take animal byproducts (e.g., skin, bones, feathers) and process them into useful products such as fertilizer. However, the rendering process produces extremely foul odours.

Currently, the industry uses chemical “scrubbers” to remove odor-causing agents, but this technique is not very effective.

Furthermore, some of the odour-causing compounds are aldehydes, which can combine with other atmospheric compounds to form ozone – triggering asthma attacks and causing other adverse respiratory health effects.

According to Praveen Kolar, assistant professor of biological and agricultural engineering, the inexpensive treatment process uses ozone and specially-designed catalysts to break down the odour-causing compounds.

The new technique with an effective filtration system takes advantage of catalytic oxidation to remove these odour-causing pollutants.

This process takes place at room temperature, so there are no energy costs, and results in only two byproducts: carbon dioxide and pure water.

The researchers developed the catalysts by coating structures made of activated carbon with a nanoscale film made of cobalt or nickel oxides.

“We used activated carbon because its porous structure gives it an extremely large surface area meaning that there is more area that can be exposed to the odorous agents,” said Kolar.

The cobalt and nickel oxide nanofilms make excellent catalysts, Kolar explains, “because they increase the rate of the chemical reaction between the odour-causing compounds and the ozone, making the process more efficient. They are also metals that are both readily available and relatively inexpensive.” (ANI)

Archaeologists unearth 5,000-year-old “cathedral” in Britian

London, August 26 (ANI): A team of archaeologists has unearthed a Neolithic “cathedral” – a massive building of a kind never before seen in Britain, which go back nearly 5,000 years, easily predating the Egyptian pyramids.

According to a report in The Press and Journal, the “cathedral”, at 82 ft long and 65 ft wide, is placed between two of Orkney’s most famous Neolithic landmarks, the Ring of Brodgar and the Stones of Stenness.

Even the Ring of Brodgar and the Stones of Stenness would have seemed quite small in the presence of the cathedral-type building, which would have stood on the spot that has now been excavated.

Nick Card, from the Orkney Research Centre for Archaeology, who is leading the dig, said the building was effectively a cathedral for the north of Scotland.

“It’s spectacular,” he said. “There were hints at the end of last season that we had an enormous building here and now we are able to define it more,” he added.

What is interesting is that the shape and size of the building are visible, with the walls still standing to a height of more than three feet.

They are 16 feet thick and surround a cross-shaped inner sanctum where the excavation team have found examples of art and furniture created from stone.

It seems that the building was surrounded by a paved outer passage. This could have formed a labyrinth that would have led people through darkness to the chamber at the heart of the building.

“This is architecture on a monumental scale and the result is the largest structure of its kind anywhere in the north of Britain. It’s one of those finds of a lifetime,” Card said.

The building probably served as some kind of temple, maybe for remembering the dead. It may have been a place where sacrifices, even human sacrifices, were offered up.

Other buildings, over 50ft long and 30ft wide, have also been discovered.

According to Dr Colin Richards, a leading expert on the period, the building would have stood at the heart of Neolithic Orkney.

“A structure of this nature would have been renowned right across the north of Scotland – and is unprecedented anywhere in Britain,” he said. (ANI)

Housewives ‘more likely to suffer from heart disease than working women’

London, Aug 26 (ANI): Housewives are at an increased risk of suffering from heart disease and strokes as compared to women who go to work, a new study has shown.

And experts blame the more sedentary lifestyles of ladies who stay at home, as they are more likely to smoke, be less educated, drink more, be overweight and suffer from depression – all contributory factors.

Now, in the latest study, researchers from the University of North Carolina studied 7,000 women aged 45 to 64 to see if there was a link between employment status, coronary heart diseases and strokes.

From analyses, they found that women employed outside the home had a lower risk. For heart disease, this link was stronger among women who did not have a high school education, reports The Daily Express.

The authors said: “One theory suggests that women with more roles, for example, family and employee roles, may have a better health profile than women with fewer roles, although the strength of this association may vary as the result of different levels of job demands and job control.

“Because of the fact that many women assume multiple roles as homemakers, primary caretakers for children and elderly parents, in addition to being employed outside of the home, the investigation of the health-employment relationship among women is complex.”

In the research, housewives were found to have a lower education level than employed women.

The study has been published in the journal Annals of Epidemiology. (ANI)

Ganesha Chaturthi festival charms devotees across the country

Bhubaneshwar/ Bangalore, Aug.23 (ANI): On the occasion of Ganesha Chaturthi (birthday), many devotees in different parts of the country like to pay their special obeisance to Lord Ganesha in distinct ways.

In Bhubaneshwar, an artist has sculpted Lord Ganesha idols from soap for the 10-day annual Ganesha Chaturthi which commenced on Sunday (Aug.23).

Rao sculpted different kinds of idols of Lord Ganesha to exhibit them during the festival. Till date, he has sculpted 36 idols with soap.

“Ganesh festival has arrived and so I am sculpting different models of Lord Ganesha from different soaps. During Ganesha festival people including kids will come to watch these idols. I will teach the art free of cost to kids who are interested to learn,” said L. Eshwara Rao, an artisan.

In Bangalore, a man is running a museum where he has exhibited a wide variety of Ganesha idols for people.

S.Tyagarajan is a collector of Ganesha idols and has put on display 2,000 different idols of the deity in his museum.

He started collecting Ganesha idols after the death of his wife who was a devotee of Lord Ganesha.

Tyagarajan procured some of the idols from his friends living overseas. He says that people feel rejuvenated after visiting the museum.

“I see in everybody’s face who come to see my museum happiness. And they say that there is some sort of positive energy and positive aura when they come inside the museum. And some of them say that here they get a sort of feeling that they felt when they meditated when they come in museum,” said S.Tyagarajan, owner of a museum of Lord Ganesha.

Ganesha Chaturthi is one of the most important festivals of Hindus in India.

On the concluding day of the festival, the idols are carried in grand processions and immersed in rivers or seas.

Lord Ganesha, is one of the most revered Gods of Hindus, and is worshipped at the beginning of every auspicious occasion.

Ganesha, as the God of knowledge is described as “Vinayaka”and as remover of obstacles he is called “Vighanharta”. He is worshipped at the beginning of every auspicious occasion for blessings of luck and success.

The son of Shiva and Parvati, Ganesha has an elephantine countenance with a curved trunk and big ears, and a huge pot-bellied body of a human being.

He is revered as the Lord of success and destroyer of evils and obstacles besides being worshipped as the God of education, knowledge, wisdom and wealth.

Legend has it once Goddess Parvati, while bathing, created a boy out of the dirt of her body and assigned him the task of guarding the entrance to her bathroom. When Lord Shiva, her husband returned, he was surprised to find a stranger denying him access, and struck off the boy’s head in rage.

Parvati broke down in utter grief and to soothe her, Shiva sent out his squad (gana) to fetch the head of any sleeping being who was facing the north. The company found a sleeping elephant and brought back its severed head, which was then attached to the body of the boy. Shiva restored its life and made him the leader (pati) of his troops.

Hence, his name ‘Ganapati’. Shiva also bestowed a boon that people would worship him and invoke his name before undertaking any venture. By Sarda Lahangir / Jaipal Sharma (ANI)

Barbaric Taliban chop ink-strained fingers of Afghan voters

London, Aug.22 (ANI): Afghanistan’s top election monitoring organization, the Free and Fair Election Foundation of Afghanistan, has claimed that the Taliban had chopped off thefingers of at least two Afghan voters during the presidential election which took place on Thursday (August 20).

Nader Nadery, the head of the Free and Fair Election Foundation of Afghanistan, said Taliban insurgents attacked two voters in Kandahar shortly after voting on Thursday and cut off their ink-stained fingers.

Hundreds of Afghan voters exercised their exclusive right in the country’s second-ever direct presidential election earlier this week. However, the polling percentage remained low as compared to the 2001 elections, primarily due to the extremists’ threat.

While both Hamid Karzai and his rival Abdullah Abdullah have claimed to be ahead in the early voting count, the turn out in the southern part of the country was less than what was anticipated. The lower turnout in the south may dent Karzai’s aspirations of running a second term, as the region primarily consists of his fellowmen, the Pashtuns.

“If results show that more people voted in the north than the south, “then we will have an issue,” The Daily Express quoted Nadery, as saying.

He said the monitoring group also noticed large scale incidents of officials not being impartial and pressuring people to vote for a particular candidate. (ANI)

Ruling UPFA wins Jaffna, but loses Vavuniya in Lanka post-war polls

Colombo, Aug.9 (ANI): President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s ruling United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) has won Jaffna but lost Vavuniya in the first polls after the civil war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) concluded in May this year.

According to the BBC, the turnout for the polls has been low and ballots are still being counted in the southern province of Uva.

The local elections came a day after the defence ministry said it had arrested the new head of the Tamil Tigers, Selvarasa Pathmanathan.

According to preliminary results, the UPFA secured 13 of the 23 seats available in Jaffna on Saturday. he Tamil National Alliance, a fractious but broadly pro-LTTE parliamentary grouping, came second with eight seats.

In Vavuniya, where turnout was 52 percent, the UPFA was pushed into third place, winning only two seats. The TNA came first with five of the 11 seats on the council, followed by a moderate Tamil grouping.

It was generally believed that the government would do well, having a broad coalition led in the north by a powerful and stridently anti-Tiger Tamil party, and having promised a “northern spring” of major development projects that would gradually return the region to normality.

As a result of its victory in the war, the government is expected to have done well in the Sinhalese-dominated southern province of Uva. (ANI)

Seasonal winds might drive current variability in the northern Indian Ocean

Washington, August 9 (ANI): A new research has determined that seasonal winds might drive current variability in the northern Indian Ocean.

The research was carried out by J. Vialard and his team from the Laboratoire d’Oceanographie Experimentation et Approches Numeriques, IRD, Universite Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris, France.

It was done to study the dynamics of the response of the northern Indian Ocean to intraseasonal winds.

The team analyzed satellite observations of sea level and wind stress as well as a new data set of currents recorded at 15 degrees North on the west coast of India.

They found that while sea level shows a seasonal variability, the alongshore current shows no clear seasonal cycle but is dominated by intraseasonal (55-110 day) fluctuations.

These current variations, the researchers found, arise as a response of the northern Indian Ocean to intraseasonal winds associated with the Madden-Julian Oscillation.

The team used linear wave theory to explain these observations.

Although the study focuses on the Indian Ocean, the researchers believe that similar dynamics could drive coastal current variability in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

The results could also have implications for coastal current monitoring. (ANI)

150 people killed in Iran plane crash

Tehran, July 15 (ANI): Iranian state television on Wednesday said 150 people had died in plane crash in the north western part of the country.

The official IRNA news agency said that the plane was traveling from Tehran to Yerevan in Armenia. The flight crashed 16 minutes after its take-off from the International Imam Khomeini Airport,” Iran’s Aviation Organisation spokesman, Reza Jafarzadeh, said.

According to Sky News, the Caspian Airlines jet came down near Jannatabad village, outside Qazvin city, about 75 miles north west of Tehran.

Qazvin emergency services director Hossein Bahzadpour told IRNA that the plane was completely destroyed and shattered to pieces, and the wreckage was in flames.

According to The Telegraph, Iran has suffered a number of aviation disasters over the past decade. Dozens of people were killed in September 2006 when an airliner came off the runway after landing in the eastern city of Mashhad and burst into flames.

In November 2006, an Iranian military plane crashed on takeoff at Tehran’s Mehrabad airport, killing all 39 people on board, including 30 members of the elite Revolutionary Guards force.

Caspian Airlines is a Russian-Iranian joint venture founded in 1993. (ANI)