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Meet Prince Charles and Camilla, the ‘wedding planners’!

September 20, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, Sept 20 (ANI): Prince Charles and wife Camilla are turning wedding planners and “loaning out” their country retreat of Highgrove House to wannabe brides and grooms.

And included in the package will be the royal couple’s shared “expertise”.

Like Charles and Camilla did at their Windsor wedding four years ago, couples will be encouraged to “keep it simple”, say reports.

As per rumours, the first pair to enjoy a “Charles and Camilla wedding” are TV babe Jenni Falconer and her actor fiancé James Midgley, reports The Daily Star.

A royal source said: “Obviously with it being their house they would want control of the event. But they also recognise what a great opportunity it would be to showcase their home.

“Highgrove is an absolutely fantastic building and would make a wonderful venue for a wedding and reception.”

The nine-bedroom country house on a 37-acre estate near Tetbury, Gloucestershire, was bought for Charles in 1980.

A source said: “Charles is hugely proud of Highgrove. It’s a wonderful property and he has spent thousands of pounds on the gardens and grounds. I’m sure by holding weddings there Charles would take great pleasure being the host.

“And he could use them to promote the Duchy Originals organic products he’s involved with.” (ANI)

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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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Flintoff’s decision to reject ECB contract will benefit Chennai Super Kings

September 19, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Sydney, Sep 18 (ANI): The Indian Premier League would be benefited after Andrew Flintoff rejected the ECB contract, said Chennai Super Kings, the team the England all rounder plays for in the IPL.

Chennai Super Kings manager VB Chandrasekhar said Flintoff’s decision to reject the contract would greatly benefit Chennai, but only if he was fit.

“But the thing is,” he said, “it’s not just about what a cricketer can give on the field. ‘Fred gives us a full package – in terms of marketing he is very valuable. Last time he was of great value to our dressing room, even when he wasn’t playing; someone of that aura can lift the team,” The Sydney Morning Herald quoted him, as saying.

The development comes amid bizarre reasoning by his manager, Andrew Chandler, that Flintoff rejected the ECB contract because he might have to go “bungee jumping”.

With Flintoff’s troubled injury history and the unproven results of his radical treatment in Dubai, any further damage to his knee could be career-threatening and he may be forced to pay for his own treatment.

The Super Kings pay Flintoff 1.55 million dollars a season and expressed sympathy with his plight, saying they may pay for rehabilitation depending on the circumstances, but did not guarantee it.

“There is a rule that says if it is a pre-existing injury, then the IPL team is not liable,” Chandrasekhar said.

“If you have taken a player in and if it is a serious injury and has occurred during the IPL, sometimes you have to weigh that up. We pay him on a match-to-match basis,” he added.

Under the IPL regulations, players must declare previous injuries, but Chennai is fully aware of the well-publicised knee problem that kept Flintoff out of the fourth Ashes Test.

Flintoff’s IPL future after 2010 is also in doubt, as he requires a No-Objection Certificate from the ECB. Granting him one would set a dangerous precedent for the board, as other players could follow his lead – precisely what the certificate is designed to prevent. (ANI)

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KNP to hold Black Day on Oct.22

September 8, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, Sep.8 (ANI): The Supreme Council of the KNP held an important meeting in Luton on September 6, which was presided by the party Chairman Abbas Butt. The meeting discussed and analysed the current situation of the Kashmiri struggle and made important decisions.

The Supreme Council strongly condemned the government of Pakistan’s latest attempts to grab territory which is legal part of State of Jammu and Kashmir. The SC said Pakistani governments have never been sincere with the cause of Kashmir and always have formulated policies to snatch Kashmir; and have deliberately deprived people of their fundamental human rights.

The SC said people of Gilgit Baltistan deserve to have their basic human rights which have been denied since 1947; but no one should be allowed to implement their imperialist designs in name of giving rights to people of the region. The KNP leaders said, if Pakistani authorities were sincere they could have discussed the issue with the people of the region and given these rights without making the region a ‘province’ of Pakistan.

PPP government claims to advance rights of people and democracy, but their policies are designed to deprive people of basic rights and advance undemocratic and unconstitutional practises. They tried to make Pakistani Administered Kashmir a province after the Shimla Pact and they plan to make Gilgit Baltistan a province and pave way for division of Jammu and Kashmir.

KNP leaders said some people of Jammu and Kashmir hold Black Day on 27th October, as that is the day when Indian army landed in Kashmir. KNP leaders said in our opinion their wisdom is misdirected. We have to look at the root cause. Indian army came after the tribal invasion and subsequent ‘Provisional Accession’.

KNP Supreme Council said, ‘It was the Pakistani tribesmen supported by the Pakistani government of the time which violated the Standstill Agreement and invaded parts of the State territory. It was these tribesmen which contravened the State sovereignty and killed thousands of innocent Kashmiri men and women. It was because of this unprovoked and unjustified attack on our sovereignty which seriously threatened life, honour and property of people that the Maharaja was compelled to seek help from India.

KNP leaders said we have serious issues with India on their Kashmir policy, as we believe Kashmir is not their internal part; but as for the Black Day is concerned we should have Black Day on 22 October because this is the day when our troubles and miseries started.

KNP SC has decided to take a lead on this matter and hold a BLACK DAY on 22 October; and in this regard various responsibilities have been given to Dr Shabir Choudhry and Nawaz Majid who will liaise with other like minded people and parties. The meeting was addressed by ZubairAnsari, Nazam Bhatti, Nawaz Majid, Asim Mirza, Abbas Butt and Dr Shabir Choudhry.

Earlier KNP held an Iftar Party in which more than eighty people were present; among them were leaders and political activists of various Kashmiri parties who spoke against the new package for Gilgit and Baltistan and condemned designs of Pakistani government. In the meeting pro Pakistan and nationalist leaders were present, and they all strongly spoke against this new package and demanded that it must be taken back.

A unanimous resolution was passed which strongly criticised the new package and demanded from government of Pakistan to withdraw it as it will seriously damage our struggle for right of self determination. The resolution fully supported fundamental rights of people of Gilgit Baltistan; but added that the State of Jammu and Kashmir is one political entity and it must not be divided. (ANI)

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Bihar CM seeks flood relief from Manmohan Singh

September 2, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Sep 2 (ANI): Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh here and sought rehabilitation package for the victims of last year’s devastating floods.

Kumar said that Prime Minister Singh has assured he would visit the state soon.

“I had to discuss flood situation and also the rehabilitation package for the victims of last year’s Kosi floods, for which I have been urging since long. People, whose houses were damaged, have been facing hardships for the last one year. We have requested the Prime Minister that a decision on this should be taken at the earliest,” Nitish Kumar said.

Kosi river burst its banks in Bihar and flooded half of the state last year, wiping out villages and farms and displacing more than three million people.

Despite deficient monsoon rains across the country this year, major rivers were in spate in Bihar.he Kosi, a tributary of the mighty Ganges, last year flooded an area roughly the size of Belgium. The floods changed the course of the river, shifting it 120 km (75 miles) towards a dry river channel it last flowed through 250 years ago.

Bihar is the fifth largest producer of rice in India and agriculture experts say it will take a long time for the region to recover. (ANI)

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Gogoi sets Sept.15 surrender deadline for Black Widow terror group

September 1, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Guwahati, Sep.1 (ANI): Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Tuesday set a September 15 deadline for the Dima Halam Daogah (Jewel) a.k.a. the “Black Widow” terror group to surrender.

Talking to reporters here, Gogoi said that the state government would not extend the cease-fire deadline set earlier for the group.

“No extension of cease-fire deadline with Black Widow beyond September 15,” Gogoi tersely said.

Gogoi’s tough stand was reiterated three days fater he had undertaken a four-hour whirlwind tour to Haflong, the headquarters of North Cachar Hills district where the DHD (J) is active.

Gogoi, who reviewed the ground situation in the insurgency-hit district and held key meetings with top administration and security officials, stressed that the DHD (J) must stop all kinds of insurgent activities and extortion campaigns as a precondition to talks.

He said “the group must also hand over all the arms before coming forward for talks.” The arms will be deposited in an armoury, to be supervised by both police and the outfit.

The Calcutta Telegraph had earlier quoted Gogoi, as saying that the government had been receiving feelers from the DHD (J), expressing the outfit’s willingness to sit for a dialogue. But it would not accept any such offer unless the outfit’s leadership, and not a section of its cadres, came forward for talks.

DHD (J) chief Jewel Gorlosa, was arrested along with another leader, Partho Warisa, from Bangalore in June this year, forcing the outfit’s lower ranked cadres to declare a unilateral cease-fire.

Dispur, however, continued its operation against the outfit. The unilateral ceasefire, declared by the DHD (J) in North Cachar Hills for three months, will expire on September 7.

Gogoi also made it clear that Dispur would not agree to the demand of renaming North Cachar Hills into Dima Hajao Raji and that the district would not suffer any vivisection in future.

The chief minister expressed satisfaction over the “visible improvement” in law and order in the district in the past three months.

He assured tribal leaders that measures would be taken to usher in peace, rehabilitate violence-hit people and chalk out a special development package for the district. (ANI)

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PCB chief miscalculated on ICC compensation package to Pak

September 1, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Lahore, Sep 1 (ANI): Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ijaz Butt was off the mark when he claimed last week that Pakistan would receive around Rs 1.5 billion (18 million dollars) from the International Cricket Council (ICC) after settling its 2011 World Cup dispute with the game’s governing body.

“The PCB stands to gain about Rs.1 billion (12 million dollars) from its deal with the ICC that was struck in Dubai last week,” sources said.

The settlement between the ICC and the PCB was reached following a meeting between ICC president David Morgan and Ijaz in Dubai last Wednesday.

Sources said Ijaz quoted that figure under pressure from the newsmen, who were surprised when Ijaz initially said that Pakistan would get Rs 1 billion from the deal.

“Rs 1 billion is only slightly higher than the amount of 10.5 million dollars which Pakistan would have got in any case as hosting fees for 14 of its World Cup matches,”the Daily Times quoted sources, as saying.

Before making the deal with the ICC, Ijaz had claimed that Pakistan would get a substantial compensation for settling its court case with the ICC over the staging of the World Cup.

The PCB had issued a legal notice to the ICC early this summer after the game’s governing body moved Pakistan’s share of matches out of the country because of security concerns. (ANI)

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By 2015, 2 million people would die annually from tobacco-induced cancers

August 26, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, Aug 26 (ANI): By 2015, at least 2.1 million people will die each year because of tobacco-induced cancers, revealed The Tobacco Atlas, Third Edition.

Published by the American Cancer Society and World Lung Foundation, the Atlas has estimated that tobacco use kills some six million people each year (more than a third of whom will die from cancer), and drains 500 billion dollars annually from global economies.

The Atlas graphically displays how tobacco is devastating both global health and economies, especially in middle- and low-resource countries, and tracks progress and outcomes in tobacco control.

Not only the death toll due to tobacco-induced cancers will go around 2 million by 2015, the Atlas predicted that by 2030, 83 percent of these deaths will occur in low and middle-income countries.

However, unlike other cancer-causing agents, the danger of tobacco is completely preventable through proven public policies.

Major measures include tobacco taxes, advertising bans, smokefree public places, and effective health warnings on packages.

These cost-effective policies are among those included in the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), a global treaty endorsed by more than 160 countries, and recommended by the World Health Organization MPOWER policy package.

The Atlas revealed that the global economy lost a staggering 500 billion dollars due to tobacco use.

These economic costs come as a result of lost productivity, misused resources, missed opportunities for taxation, and premature death.

The Atlas revealed that in 2006, about 600 billion smuggled cigarettes made it to the market, representing an enormous missed tax opportunity for governments, as well as a missed opportunity to prevent many people from starting to smoke and encourage others to quit.

Tobacco replaces potential food production on almost 4 million hectares of the world’s agricultural land, equal to all of the world’s orange groves or banana plantations.

In developing countries, smokers spend disproportionate sums of money relative to their incomes that could otherwise be spent on food, healthcare, and other necessities.

The Tobacco Atlas established an undeniable trend-the tobacco industry has shifted its marketing and sales efforts to countries that have less effective public health policies and fewer tobacco control resources in place:

It predicted that in 2010, 72 percent of those who die from tobacco related illnesses would be in low- and middle-income countries.

It revealed that since 1960 global tobacco production has increased three-fold in low- and middle-resource countries while halving in high-resource countries.

“The Tobacco Atlas is crucial to helping advocates in every nation get the knowledge they need to combat the most preventable global health epidemic,” said Dr. John R. Seffrin, chief executive officer, American Cancer Society.

The Tobacco Atlas was unveiled at the LIVESTRONG Global Cancer Summit. (ANI)

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Origins of ancient Chinese civilization under reconsideration

August 21, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, August 21 (ANI): Recent archaeological discoveries from far-flung corners of China are forcing scientists to reconsider the origins of ancient Chinese civilization.

A group of articles by Science news writer Andrew Lawler have explored how, over several millennia, China evolved from a much wider array of peoples and cultures than once imagined.

Lawler crisscrossed China recently for three weeks, traveling from the country’s steamy southeastern plains to the rugged westernmost province of Xinjiang, interviewing dozens of archaeologists at a host of sites.

This special news package puts a spotlight on how the various archaeological findings of the past decade are challenging what the Chinese people once thought about their country and themselves.

The wealth of these recent archaeological discoveries demands a re-write of some history books – and young scholars are even now questioning the existence of a legendary Chinese dynasty, the Xia.

Less willing to take ancient texts at face value than their predecessors, this new generation of Chinese researchers is relying on physical data – and more “Western” methods – in their attempts to accurately retrace Chinese history.

“The exciting discoveries made recently across China, coupled with the country’s fast-paced development, make this an opportune time to dig into new questions about China’s origins, the state of its threatened ancient sites, and the increasing expertise of its archaeologists,” said Lawler, author of the Science news package.

Lawler’s special news package on Chinese archaeology covers the accidental discovery and later excavation of Jinsha, an ancient site located near downtown Chengdu in Sichuan, and about 600 miles (1000 kilometers) from the traditional center of Chinese civilization along the Yellow River.

Long assumed to have been a cultural backwater, researchers have only recently gleaned the real history of Sichuan’s surprisingly ancient and rich culture, which is thousands of years older than they had once believed.

These recent discoveries have led Chinese researchers to acknowledge significant outside influence on their ancient culture, breaking an old taboo put in place when China was largely closed to the outside world. (ANI)

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Malaysia tourism unaffected by swine flu

August 18, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Aug 18 (ANI): Malaysian Tourism Minister Ng Yen Yen has denied that the swine flu or global recession have affected the flow of tourists into Malaysia.

Talking to reporters after launching a rock bottom fare package of Malaysia Airlines and Tourism Malaysia here on Monday, Yen said, “We have not seen a decline in arrivals yet. So I am keeping my fingers crossed that this is the trend. However, I have to be very cautious because tourism industry is a very fragile, sensitive industry.”

Welcoming investments, Yen said that Malaysia would await Indian film star Shahrukh Khan’s investment proposals.

“We welcome investment into Malaysia either on creativity investment or in infrastructure development. So we see especially for such well known famous personalities like Shahrukh Khan to come to Malaysia is our pride and we are very privileged that he will consider coming to Malaysia and we will give him all the necessary official support whenever needed,” Yen said.

Malaysia conferred Shahrukh Khan the title of Datuk, akin to a British knighthood, in December last year.

Shahrukh Khan plans to launch a film ‘Happy New Year’ in Malaysia this year and offered to develop the film industry in Malaysia. (ANI)

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Obama’s job approval rating goes down: CBS Poll

July 14, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, July 14 (ANI): Amid rising questions about US President Barack Obama’s handling of the economy, his job approval rating has gone six points down in the past month, a new CBS News poll has found.

Obama’s current approval rating is 57 percent, down by 11 points from its peak of 68 percent in April, and six points from last month’s 63 percent.

Meanwhile, his disapproval rating has risen from 23 percent in April to 32 percent today.

Surprisingly, the decline in support is not coming from Republicans – whose support for the president has actually risen – but from Democrats and independents.

A total of 82 percent Democrats still approve of the job Obama is doing, this number is down ten points from last month.

His support among independents has fallen eight points to 50 percent, while 30 percent of Republicans back Obama, that’s up from 23 percent in June.

The prime issue behind the Obama’s decline in approval appears to be the economy. His approval rating on handling the economy is now 48 percent, while 44 percent disapprove.

Last month, Americans approved of his handling of this issue by a margin of 22 points.

Half of all Americans expect the recession to go on at least two more years. Fifty-seven percent say the country is on the “wrong track,” up from 50 percent last month. And 44 percent describe the economy as “very bad,” up from 36 percent in June.

On the implementation of the stimulus package, just 21 percent say it has had a positive impact on the economy, while a whopping 60 percent said it has had no impact. Fifteen percent say the stimulus has made the economy worse.

Perceptions of the Obama’s handling of health care reform have improved five points since last month, and his approval rating on the issue now stands at 49 percent.

That same percentage says that America must fix health care because of the bad economy. But nearly 46 percent – say the country cannot now afford to reform health care. (ANI)

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Extension of stimulus package for print media till December 31

July 6, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New Delhi, July 6 (ANI): Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Monday said that the stimulus package given to the print media in February 2009 has been further extended for another six months from June 30 to December 31.

Presenting the Union Budget for the year 2009-10 in Lok Sabha on Monday, Mukherjee said: “In February 2009, the print media was given a stimulus package comprising waiver of 15 per cent agency commission on DAVP advertisements and a 10 per cent increase in the DAVP rates to be paid as a ‘Special Relief’ subject to documentary proof of loss of revenue in non-governmental advertisements.” (ANI)

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BSE crosses 15,000 points ahead of budget presentation

July 6, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New Delhi, July 6 (ANI): Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) crossed 15,000 points on Monday as investors built positions ahead of presentation of general budget.

Following the trends of the BSE the National Stock Exchange (NSE) also gained 14 points on the opening day.

Infrastructure stocks were in the limelight on Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) expecting the budget would offer sops to the infrastructure sector.

BSE’s Sensex was trading at 14989, higher by 76 points while National Stock Exchange’s (NSE) Nifty climbed 14 points to 4435.45.

The budget is expected to allocate more to water, power, rural employment, and defense sectors. Export sector, especially the textiles and jewellery is expected to get a package from this budget. There will be more deduction for housing and taxable income levels may be raised.

Other Asian stock markets declined as commodity prices suffered. The Nikkei was down 1.44 per cent, Topix lost 0.92 per cent, Hang Seng fell 0.77 per cent and Straits Times shed 0.78 per cent. (ANI)

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How dairy foods are nutritional bang for the buck

July 2, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, July 2 (ANI): A daily consumption of dairy products like milk, cheese, and yogurt can provide a unique package of nine essential nutrients at a low cost per serving, according to a recent review.

Several prominent nutrition researchers have detailed an updated review of the health benefits of consuming dairy foods, which contributes to the well-established evidence that consuming three to four daily servings of dairy foods each day is a convenient and affordable way to get several key nutrients.

Dairy products help in improving the following:

Child nutrition

Children and adolescents between the ages of 9-18 need, on average, four servings of dairy foods a day to meet calcium recommendations and at least three servings to meet magnesium recommendations. Adolescents who do not regularly consume dairy, on average, only meet 40 percent of the Adequate Intake for calcium.

Bone health

The evidence supports the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommendation to meet nutrient needs through foods, including dairy foods, rather than supplements. Studies continue to show that dairy foods provide a unique nutrient package beneficial for bone mass and play a major role in lifelong bone health.

Cardiovascular health

Low-fat and fat-free dairy foods play a key role in the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet, which has been shown to lower blood pressure and prevent hypertension. Eating the recommended servings of dairy foods can lower blood pressure and is associated with a lower risk of developing high blood pressure.

Healthy weight

Studies have shown that dairy foods may favourably impact body composition and weight maintenance, particularly in overweight or obese adults who consume three servings of dairy foods daily while moderately reducing daily caloric intake.

Shortfall nutrients

Dairy foods play a vital role in building a diet that contains the nutrients Americans consistently do not consume enough of including calcium, potassium and magnesium. The most practical way to meet these nutrient recommendations may be to add an additional serving of dairy to the current daily recommendation.

The review has appeared in a supplement to the current issue of the Journal of the American College of Nutrition (JACN). (ANI)

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Task Force to visit Lalgarh today

June 30, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Lalgarh (West Bengal), June 30 (ANI): A task force will visit Lalgarh and adjoining areas today to study the ground situation a day after security forces captured Kantapahari, the hub of the rebel agitation.

Reconstituted by the West Bengal Government, the force, including eight officers, will visit Lalgarh, Ramgarh, Kantapahari and Pirakata in West Midnapore to supervise development work in the tribal areas.

Later, the force will submit its report to the government, which will then prepare a package for infrastructure development and employment generation.

On Monday, central and state security forces had surrounded the Maoist bastion at Katrapahari.

Nearly 50 villages in and around Lalgarh in West Midnapore district have been declared out of bounds to state authorities since November last year following an attempt on the life of Chief Minister Budhadeb Bhattacharjee and two Union Ministers.

The Maoist backed the People’s Committee Against Police Atrocities (PCAPA), has since established a virtual control over this area.

The rebels have killed nearly 40 CPM activists. Major search operations are also taking place in Bankura and Purulia. (ANI)

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Seasonal cycles promote global hunger

June 30, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, June 30 (ANI): Most of the world’s hunger doesn’t occur in conflicts or natural disasters but is actually driven by seasonal cycle, according to a new research.

The ‘hunger season’ is the time of year when the previous year’s harvest stocks have dwindled, food prices are high, and jobs are scarce, and is often under recognized.

According to the researchers, presently nearly six hundred million people are either members of small farm households or landless rural labourers

They say that many of these people live in areas where water or temperature constraints allow only one crop harvest per year.

Their poverty is driven by seasonal cycles, worsening especially in the preharvest months.

In the “hunger season”, household food stocks from the last harvest begin to end; while low production levels, inadequate storage facilities, and accumulated debt all of them force families to sell or consume their agricultural production well before the new harvest.

While writing in journal PLoS Medicine, the authors stressed that proven interventions to alleviate seasonal hunger are known, but they often operate on a small scale and in isolation.

They say community-based interventions to treat acute undernutrition and promote growth of preschool children are examples of successful interventions that should be scaled up, they argue.

“Global scale-up of a basic “minimum essential” intervention package against seasonal hunger would cost around 0.1pct of global GDP and save millions of lives, while protecting millions more from severe illness,” they argue. (ANI)

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A K Antony assures armed forces of adequate fund for modernization

June 27, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New Delhi June 25 (ANI): Defence Minister A K Antony assured the top brass that funds will never be a constraint for the modernisation of the Armed Forces and their welfare.

Antony however asked them on improving efficacy and efficiency of our delivery mechanisms at all levels and sought the cooperation of all senior officials to eradicate corruption and urged them to ensure ‘impeccable honesty, integrity and transparency in all transactions’.

The defence Minister emphasized the need to achieve greater indigenisation in Defence Sector. He called for increased and better synergy between the DRDO and the Armed Forces to achieve at least 70 % indigenisation in our procurements within the next ten years.

He was addressing the inaugural day of the two-day conference of the unified commanders in New Delhi.

The Defence Minister asked the top brass of the all the three services to adopt and further strengthen the tri-services approach to security related issues, as victory in modern warfare can be achieved only through jointness.

‘The traditional approach of combating threats with individual services acting according to their own plans must be shed. Jointness seeks the development of core competence by each service and synergising these capabilities.

Furthering his point the Defence Minister said, jointness allows each service to maximise its yield by utilising its core competences to achieve a common goal. Therefore, it is our duty to resort to joint planning and develop integrated capabilities’, he said.

Referring to China Antony said, India has always tried to maintain friendly relations with that country. There is enough space for both India and China to grow into influential nations in the evolving international order. But there are complex unresolved issues between the two countries. India believes that these should be resolved through peaceful means.

On Sri Lanka, he said, for lasting peace within, Colombo needs to backup its military gains against the LTTE with a political devolution package that satisfies the aspiration of Tamils within a united Sri Lanka

Underlining the importance of the Indian ocean region Antony said, It is imperative for our armed forces to ensure that the sea lanes of communication are not dominated by any one power to the exclusion of others’.

Antony said the Government is trying its best to provide financial resources, surveillance equipment and adequate manpower to bolster Coastal Security and asked the services to make optimum use of available resources both in terms of infrastructure and manpower. He said the onus lies on security forces, intelligence agencies and coastal police stations to work in tandem. (ANI)

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Failure against Taliban, Qaeda in Pak will spread terror across continents: Zardari

June 22, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

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Washington, June 22(ANI): The President of Pakistan, Asaf Ali Zardari, has expressed his fears over Taliban and Al-Qaeda turning out to be a major threat to the world, if their destabilizing alliance is allowed to triumph in Afghanistan and Pakistan./pp
If the Taliban and al-Qaeda are allowed to triumph in our region, their destabilizing alliance will spread across the continents, Zardari wrote in the Washington Post./pp
Consequently, he highlighted the need for democracy to succeed in Pakistan in order to extradite these fears./pp
We need short- and long-term strategies, and we must realize that to truly eliminate the terrorist menace, we have to succeed not only militarily but politically, economically and socially, Zardari wrote./pp
Zardari further wrote that ‘dancing with dictators never pays off’. Noting examples of Marcos regime in the Philippines, Mohammed Zia ul-Haq and Pervez Musharraf in Pakistan, to the Shah in Iran, he stated that even the worst democracy is better than any dictatorship. /pp
Dictatorship leads to frustration, extremism and terrorism. But the past is the past, and we can’t undo it. We can, however, address the consequences of past mistakes and make sure they are not repeated. My most immediate goal is for the civilized world to rally to the support of Pakistani democracy and the Pakistani people’s struggle against extremism, Zardari wrote./pp
In the battle against Taliban, Pakistan has so far lost 1,200 soldiers, while thousands of civilians are victims of attacks such as the recent bombing of the Pearl Continental Hotel in Peshawar./pp
Zardari also called on the rest of the world to match the assistance being provided to it by the US to contain the terrorist menace. /pp
The United States has committed $1.5 billion a year for five years to help stabilize our economy. Now, the rest of the world must step up and match the U.S. effort. Pakistan needs a robust assistance package so that we can deliver for the people and defeat the militants, he concluded. (ANI)/p

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US announces separate 400 million dollar counter-insurgency aid for Pakistan

May 27, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, May 27 (ANI): The United States has set up a separate aid of about 400 million dollars to help Pakistan counter extremism effectively.

The annual fund named the Pakistan Counter-insurgency Capabilities Fund (PCCF) would primarily provide sophisticated weapons and counter insurgency training to the Pakistan military.

The fund would be in addition to the war supplement that has already been approved by the Senate.

The PCCF will allow the US Central Command officials to work directly with the Pakistani military to help build its counter-insurgency capability, The Dawn reports.

A Pakistan Embassy spokesman said that this additional fund would be of great help in the ongoing military operations in Swat and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA).

Recently, the US Secretary of Defence Robert Gates had urged the congressional panel to provide an additional package to Islamabad to help build up its counter terrorism capabilities.

“We are asking for this unique authority for the unique and urgent circumstances we face in Pakistan. It is a vital element of President Obama’s new Afghanistan-Pakistan strategy,” Gates had said.

However, the State Department and the Pentagon both had different opinions over the aid being provided to Pakistan.

Several Senators and members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the State Department’s legislative affairs insisted that the fund must be put under strict vigil and in the patronage of the State Department.

They claimed that counter-insurgency is ’80 per cent political and only 20 per cent military’ so all the efforts to tackle such issues must be controlled by civilians.

“This provision lays down an important marker that providing security assistance to other countries is a matter of foreign policy and should remain a core responsibility of the Secretary of State,” Congressman Berman had said.

The PCCF would allow Central Command chief General David Petraeus to press for additional Pakistani acceptance of US training, US officials said. (ANI)

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Soon, vehicles that drive on their own

May 27, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, May 27 (ANI): Ever imagined reading a book or watching a movie in your car, while your vehicle guides itself through the traffic and navigates on its own? Well, thanks to a new technology called ‘autonomous vehicle navigation’, this could soon be a reality.

If this technology comes into action, it may also see fleets of self-navigating vehicles for the military operating in war zones.

Keeping this in mind, a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) contest was conducted, which aimed at spurring the development of such technologies.

The DARPA Urban Challenge was held at a former air force base in Victorville, Calif. in late 2007, and offered a 3.5 million dollars purse to competitors who could design the fastest and safest vehicles that could traverse a 60-mile urban course in moving traffic in less than six hours.

The contestant vehicles were unmanned and had to complete a simulated military supply mission, manoeuvring through a mock city environment, avoiding obstacles, merging into moving traffic, navigating traffic circles, and negotiating intersections-all while conforming to California driving rules.

And out of the 89 international teams participating in the contest, only six could make it to the finish line in the allotted time.

The winning vehicle, which finished with the fastest time- an average speed of approximately 13 miles per hour- had Wende Zhang of General Motors as part of its design team.

The GM team incorporated existing technology already offered in some of their vehicles that can assist in parking or detect lane markers and trigger alarms if the drivers are coming too close to the shoulder of the road.

And for the DARPA challenge, they developed a more sophisticated package of sensors that included GPS coupled with a camera and a laser-ranging LIDAR system to guide and correct the vehicle’s route through the city.

In Baltimore, Zhang will present GM’s patented new methods for detecting lanes and correcting a vehicle’s route, which helped them win the challenge.

However, Zhang said that a commercially viable autonomous driving product might still take a decade to hit the markets.

The findings were presented at the 2009 Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics/International Quantum Electronics Conference (CLEO/IQEC) at the Baltimore Convention Center in Baltimore. (ANI)

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