Regional | SilverScorpio.Com

Concern politics driving national population strategy

April 7, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

A Queensland conservationist says it should not take the new Federal Population Minister a year to develop a national population strategy.

Federal Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Minister Tony Burke was appointed Australia’s first Population Minister at the weekend.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd says a strategy for managing the nation’s population growth will be created over the next 12 months.

Queensland Conservation Council spokesman Simon Baltais says the appointment of a Federal Population Minister is long overdue.

Mr Baltais says the population strategy should be created sooner because Australia’s high growth rate is one of the most important national issues.

“Twelve months is just a little bit too long,” he said.

“There’s plenty of information from the CSIRO that’s been collected over the years – I don’t think he needs to wait that long.”

He says while he welcomes Mr Burke’s appointment, he is concerned it was driven by politics.

“I think this is where some of the scepticism starts to creep in and that is is this just to deal with the politics of it,” he said.

“Is this just about trying to smooth waters over and get them over the next election or is this a genuine desire to fix the problem?

“There’s plenty of research around – they know what they need to do, they know where the problems are and I would hope they would come up with something a lot sooner than 12 months.”

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: Australia, brisbane-4000, business-economics-and-finance, community-and-society, community-development, federal-state-issues, government-and-politics, population-and-demographics, Qld, regional, regional development, rural, states-and-territories, urban-development-and-planning

Townsville could be Queensland’s second capital: Bligh

March 31, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

Premier Anna Bligh has suggested Townsville or another regional city could become a second capital city to help Queensland deal with population increase.

Ms Bligh used her opening address of a two-day growth summit in Brisbane to suggest the state would benefit from another capital.

She says one of the ideas the summit may consider is identifying a regional city like Townsville to become a rival for Brisbane in economic, cultural and social terms.

The Townsville Chamber of Commerce (TCC) has welcomed Ms Bligh’s suggestion the city could become the state’s second capital.

TCC president John Carey says Townsville is already considered by many as the capital of north Queensland and he would support it becoming official.

“If by that she means it would be competing with the things in a similar manner as Sydney and Melbourne, I don’t think there’s much desirability in that prospect,” he said.

“But if she means that it’s going to be a regional capital – which I think it is – then making that official isn’t going to hurt anyone.”

Townsville Mayor Les Tyrell also welcomes Ms Bligh’s idea.

“The people in Townsville have been referring to the city as the capital of north Queensland,” he said.

But Ms Bligh’s suggestion has been rejected by leading business group, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Queensland (CCIQ).

CCIQ spokesman David Goodwin says opening up affordable land in regional centres is the best way to encourage people to move away from the south-east.

“Creating a second Brisbane is going to create a second lot of problems and it’s going to increase the size of government,” he said.

“It’ll increase the cost on the private sector and I think essentially you are looking at government solutions for what are essentially private sector problems.”

Ms Bligh has also called on banks to help developers meet the needs of a growing population.

She told the growth summit that multi-unit developments are needed in parts of Brisbane to deal with population increase, but she says banks tightened their lending during the global financial crisis.

“It’s time for all banks to start reassessing their activity in this area,” she said.

Ms Bligh has also flagged new laws to speed up the development of land in south-east Queensland.

She says the state is struggling to bring major sites in identified growth areas to market.

ms Bligh says the time it takes to get land to market in Victoria is up to two years shorter.

“It’s time I think to reconsider some parts of the approval process and the government architecture that oversees those processes,” she said.

“I challenge the summit here over the next two days to consider the practical ideas that could deliver that.

“If that requires an overhaul of government structures and processes, if it requires changes to legislation then so be it.”

- Reporting by Chris O’Brien, Penny Timms and Kim Lyell

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: activism-and-lobbying, Australia, brisbane-4000, bundaberg-4670, business group, business-economics-and-finance, cairns-4870, Cciq, chamber of commerce, chamber of commerce and industry, community-and-society, David Goodwin, gladstone-4680, Government Solutions, government-and-politics, Growth Summit, Increase Ms, john carey, Local Government, longreach-4730, mackay-4740, maroochydore-4558, mount-isa-4825, north queensland, Population Increase, population-and-demographics, president john, private sector, Qld, regional, Regional Capital, regional centres, Regional City, regional development, rockhampton-4700, rural, Sector Problems, southport-4215, states-and-territories, Tcc, toowoomba-4350, townsville-4810, Tyrell, Unit Developments, urban-development-and-planning

Bligh wants ‘certainty’ from Commonwealth on future population

March 30, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

Queensland Premier Anna Bligh says the states need more certainty from the Commonwealth about future population to plan for infrastructure.

She says it is hard for the states to plan for growth when they do not know how many people to expect.

Ms Bligh says a national population policy would help.

“Giving states and local government more certainty about the sort of numbers we could expect to be catering for,” she said.

She says the Commonwealth should also have a federal infrastructure plan.

“It would be a very powerful tool for national prosperity, good planning and certainty for other levels of government,” she said.

A two-day summit will start on Tuesday morning in Brisbane to discuss the pressures facing south-east Queensland.

Opposition Leader John-Paul Langbroek says it is just the latest in a series of forums hosted by the State Government.

“So far we’ve seen an obesity summit, a 20-20 summit, a reef summit,” he said.

“The Premier loves having summits and then moving on to the next target.”

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: Australia, brisbane, brisbane-4000, bundaberg-4670, business-economics-and-finance, cairns-4870, commonwealth, community-and-society, Federal Infrastructure, federal-state-issues, gladstone-4680, government-and-politics, Infrastructure Plan, John Paul, Levels Of Government, Local Government, longreach-4730, mackay-4740, maroochydore-4558, mount-isa-4825, moving, National Population Policy, National Prosperity, obesity, opposition leader, population-and-demographics, Qld, Queensland Opposition, reef, regional, regional development, rockhampton-4700, South East Queensland, southport-4215, state government, states-and-territories, summit, target, toowoomba-4350, townsville-4810, tuesday morning, urban-development-and-planning

Rail plans welcomed

March 27, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

Casino could become a region transport hub if plans for a major rail terminal are approved.

The Richmond Valley mayor, Col Sullivan says plans for a $12.7-million development have been lodged with the council.

He says a new rail siding on Reynolds Road would allow freight to be sent north and south.

Cr Sullivan says the project is likely to be referred to the State Government and he hopes it is approved.

“Well we certainly would hope so because they’re wanting to do something with the railway system, they keep telling us to get things on the rail, get it off the road,” he said.

“So this is a wonderful opportunity for them to come out and support this project and try and get it off the ground because it’s a regional project, it’ll be not only of benefit to Richmond Valley but certainly to the north coast,” Cr Sullivan said.

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: benefit, casino-2470, North Coast, Rail Siding, Rail Terminal, Railway System, regional, Regional Project, Reynolds Road, Richmond, Richmond Valley, South Cr, state government, Transport Hub, urban-development-and-planning

Revamped Launceston Airport pitches for more Tiger, Jetstar flights

March 15, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

The owner of the Launceston Airport has officially unveiled a $20 million redevelopment that has doubled the airport’s capacity.

The Australia Pacific Airports Corporation also used the event to invite the budget airlines Tiger and Jetstar to increases their services to Tasmania’s north.

Jetstar and Tiger have threatened to reduce their Hobart schedules and instead send more planes to Launceston, in a row over plans by Hobart Airport to raise passenger fees from $8 to $12.

The Launceston Airport’s Chief Executive, Chris Woodruff, says the airlines are obviously disgruntled.

“They will absolutely come here if they get a bit angry with Hobart Airport, and we are ready to welcome them with the opening today of our new terminal,” Mr Woodruff said.

“We’ve got double the capacity that we had a few days ago, so we stand ready, willing and able to take any airline that wants to leave Hobart and come and serve the greater community up in the north of the island.

“We intend to always have a competitive advantage over Hobart,” he added.

Tasmania’s tourism industry body has refused to back the Launceston Airport’s efforts to attract more flights at the expense of Hobart.

The Tourism Industry Council’s Daniel Hanna says he hopes the Hobart dispute can be settled.

“So we can continue to have the strong investment that we’ve had in air services in an out of both major airports in Tasmania.”

The Hobart Airport says it is still negotiating its passenger fees with the airlines.

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: air transport, airline, airports, Australia, Budget Airlines, chief executive, Chris Woodruff, competitive advantage, few days, flights, hanna, Hobart Airport, Hobart Tasmania, hobart-7000, Jetstar, Launceston Airport, launceston-7250, Passenger Fees, pitches, planes, regional, regional development, TAS, tiger, tourism industry

Tibetans-in-exile at Leh react strongly to Chinese incursion

September 15, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Leh, Sep 15 (ANI): Members of the exiled Tibetan community at Leh reacted strongly to the recent Chinese trespass into India’s border areas in Ladakh region.

Such concern was expressed by functionaries of Tibetan fora based at Leh on Monday.

Warning India of Chinese designs, Kunzang Dechen, President of Regional Tibetan Youth Congress, Leh, termed China as the biggest threat to India.

“China these days is a great threat to India. I have seen through channels…that the Chinese are entering to the border but when Tibet is an independent nation, when Tibet is in between them, China has nothing to bother even. From Indian point of view, this must be settled through Tibet and not through China,” Deche added.

Sonam Gyatso, President of Tibetan Market Welfare Association, Leh, said that if the recent developments in Ladakh are ignored by the government of India, then Ladakh would also meet the same fate as Tibet.

“The one and half kilometres incursion by the Chinese troops in Ladakh…. written at the border area in Chinese ‘Republic of China’, all these will have a bad impact on Ladakh. In Pangong Lake, first they said 45 kilometres is under China and 45 kilometres is under India, which they (Chinese) have extended to 50 kilometres and if Ladakhi government and the authorities ignore this issue then whatever happened in Tibet, the same would happen in Ladakh also since Ladakh is a very isolated region,” Gyatso added.

Officials sources have said that Chinese troops entered nearly 1.5 kilometres into the Indian territory near Mount Gya, which is recognised as the international border by India and China, and painted the word ‘China’ in Cantonese on the boulders and rocks there with red spray paint. The incursions were reported from the area generally referred in the Chumar sector in east of Leh.

The 22,420 ft Mount Gya, also known as “fair princess of snow” by the Army is located at the tri-junction of Ladakh in Jammu and Kashmir, Spiti in Himachal Pradesh, and Tibet. Its boundary was marked during the British era and is regarded as International border by the two countries.

The border patrol discovered the red paint markings on various rocks and boulders along the Zulung La (pass) on July 31 and the Chinese had entered into the area and written “China” all over the place, the sources said.

Indian soldiers later erased the text, writing ‘India’ instead.

This is not the first such reported intrusion. On June 21 Chinese helicopters had violated the Indian air space along the Line of Actual Control in Chumar region. The Chinese troops also reportedly dropped expired tinned food packets in the area. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: air, ANI, area, army, association, border, border area, border areas, boundary, Cantonese, China, Chinese, Chinese Designs, Chinese Republic, chinese troops, Chumar, community, concern, Congress, control, Deche, Dechen, era, fate, food, fora, Government, government of india, gya, Gyatso, half, himachal, impact, incursion, Independent Nation, India, india china, indian territory, international, international border, intrusion, issue, jammu, Jammu and Kashmir, July, June, Kashmir, Kunzang, ladakh, Ladakhi, lake, Leh, line, market, Monday, Mount Gya, nation, nothing, paint, Pangong, Pangong Lake, Patrol, place, point, pradesh, president, princess, region, regional, republic, republic of china, sector, Sep, snow, Sonam, space, Spiti, spray, spray paint, territory, text, threat, tibet, Tibetan, tibetan community, Tibetan Market, tibetan youth congress, Tibetans-in-exile, trespass, view, warning, welfare, welfare association, word, youth, Zulung

Malaysian spiritual seeker who ‘went through bad karma in India’ leaves for home

September 12, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Sep. 11 (ANI): A Malaysian spiritual seeker, who landed in a Varanasi jail for violating Indian immigration laws, has finally left for home in Johor.

After being released from jail on August 27, Lim Soon Seng was waiting to obtain his exit certificate from the Foreigners Regional Registration Office in Delhi to leave India.

“I was shattered in prison. All I wanted to do was to heal and help people but I went through some bad karma in India. There were so many legal complications.

“It placed so much stress on my family and me. Now I am free and happy to go home and see my sister,” The Star Online quoted Lim as saying before his departure on a Malaysia Airlines flight for Kuala Lumpur.

A follower of the Krishna Consciousness movement, Lim of Johor landed on the ghats of Varanasi in 2001. For the next six years he diligently renewed his visa as he wandered in orange robes with sadhus and lived a life of solitude.

But Lim’s spiritual sojourn turned into a nightmare when his passport expired in 2005 and he failed to renew it.

For the next 20 months, Lim, in his 50s, languished in Varanasi jail, one of the most crowded and dreaded Indian jails where notorious criminals are held.

Lim was charged under Section 14 of the Foreigners Act, where offenders can face a jail sentence of between six months and seven years.

A German diplomat, who visited the jail to meet a fellow citizen, came across Lim and notified the Malaysian High Commission in Delhi about his predicament.

Once the embassy assured the local district magistrate that he would be repatriated to Malaysia safely, Lim was released. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: act, airlines flight, ANI, August, bad karma, certificate, citizen, commission, consciousness, Delhi, departure, diplomat, district, district magistrate, embassy, exit, family, fellow, fellow citizen, flight, follower, German Diplomat, Ghats, High, home, immigration, immigration laws, India, indian immigration, jail, jail sentence, Johor, Karma, krishna, krishna consciousness movement, Kuala Lumpur, life, lim, local district, magistrate, Malaysia, Malaysia Airlines, movement, New Delhi, nightmare, Notorious Criminals, office, Online, orange, passport, predicament, prison, regional, Regional Registration, registration, Registration Office, sadhus, section, seeker, seng, sentence, Sep, sister, sojourn, solitude, spiritual, spiritual seeker, spiritual sojourn, star, stress, varanasi, visa

Killer whales have to raise their voices to be heard over ship noise

September 12, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, September 11 (ANI): A new research has determined that killer whales have to raise their voices to be heard over ship noise, and the effort may be wearing the whales out as they try to find food amid dwindling numbers of salmon.

According to a report in National Geographic News, scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) carried out the research.

The research indicates that the killer whales of Puget Sound, a complex of inland marine waterways in the northwestern part of Washington, US, make more calls and clicks while foraging than while traveling, suggesting that such mealtime conservations are key to coordinating hunts.

“(The killer whales’) call exchange is incredibly important, and vessel noises have the potential to mask these calls,” said research leader Marla Holt of Seattle’s Northwest Fisheries Science Center, which is run by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Holt and colleagues’ previous research had shown that some killer whales make louder calls to be heard over vessel rumblings-just as people raise their voices to talk over the din of a cocktail party.

Now, the researchers think the cacophony could be causing the region’s killer whales to use up more energy during hunts, even as their preferred prey, chinook salmon, are on the decline.

In Puget Sound, a small group of killer whales known as the Southern Residents has been found to be particularly well-suited to eating salmon-even down to the whales’ tooth size.

These animals don’t eat seals or other mammals, as do the transient killer whales that migrate through the sound.

In the mid- to late 1990s, the Southern Resident population mysteriously shrank by nearly 20 percent, from 97 to 88 animals. Today, there are 85 individuals.

In 2005, the federal government listed the population as endangered under the US Endangered Species Act.

No one knows for sure, but the cause was likely a combination of fewer salmon, exposure to toxic contaminants, and vessel noise, according to Lynne Barre of NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service Northwest Regional Office.

Holt’s work adds to existing data that have already prompted NOAA to propose a new killer whale protection law that would make all boats keep at least 600 feet (200 yards) away from the animals around Washington State.

The existing law allows boats to approach as close as 300 feet (100 yards), and some research has shown this influences the whales’ behavior.

“A lot of people would argue, Why focus on these vessel regulations?” Holt said. “But it’s one thing we can do immediately,” he added. (ANI)

Filed Under: Science News Tagged With: ''cause, act, administration., ANI, Atmospheric, barre, behavior, cacophony, call, center, Chinook, cocktail, cocktail party, combination, complex, Conservations, decline, Din, effort, endangered, Endangered Species Act, energy, exchange, exposure, fisheries science center, food, geographic, Government, group, Holt, Inland Marine, killer, killer whales, law, leader, lot, lynne, marine, Marla Holt, mask, mealtime, mid, national, National Geographic News, national oceanic and atmospheric administration, NEWS, NOAA, noise, northwest, northwest fisheries science, northwest fisheries science center, northwestern, Oceanic, office, One, part, party, percent, population, potential, previous research, prey, protection, Puget, region, regional, report, Research, research leader, resident population, rumblings, salmon, Science, seattle, September, service, ship, Ship Noise, size, sound, Southern Resident, Southern Residents, species, state, thing, today, tooth, tooth size, Transient Killer Whales, US, vessel, Washington, whale, work

Xinjiang riots: Urumqi party chief, Xinjiang police chief removed

September 6, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Urumqi, Sep. 6 (ANI): In the aftermath of Xinjiang riots that erupted on July 5, the party chief of Urumqi and police chief of northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region have been sacked.

According to a decision by the CPC Xinjiang Autonomous Regional Committee, Li Zhi, secretary of the Urumqi Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), was replaced by Zhu Hailun.

Xinjiang’s police chief Liu Yaohua was also replaced by Zhu Changjie, party chief of Xinjiang’s Aksu Prefecture, Xinhua reports.

Fresh protests broke out this week after hundreds of Urumqi residents said that they were attacked by syringes. Five people were killed in the following protests.

Local hospitals had dealt with 531 victims of hypodermic syringe stabbings by Thursday, 106 of whom showed obvious signs of needle attacks.

Chinese military medical experts on Saturday ruled out the possibility that radioactive substance, anthrax and toxic chemical were used in recent syringe attacks in Urumqi City.

“According to the preliminary test results, such possibilities can be ruled out,” said Qian Jun, director of Disease Control and Biological Security Office with China’s Academy of Military Medical Sciences.

Samples had been sent to Beijing for further test, he added.

Xinjiang police has captured 25 suspects amid the syringe scare. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: academy, aftermath, Aksu, ANI, anthrax, autonomous, autonomous region, BEIJING, biological, Changjie, chemical, Chief, China, city, committee, communist, communist party of china, control, CPC, decision, director, disease, fresh, hypodermic syringe, July, Jun, li zhi, Liu Yaohua, medical, medical experts, military, Military Medical Sciences, municipal, needle, northwest China, office, party, party chief, police, police chief, possibility, prefecture, Qian, Radioactive Substance, region, regional, Regional Committee, riots, samples, Saturday, scare, secretary, security, Security Office, Sep, stabbings, substance, syringe, test, Thursday, Toxic Chemical, Urumqi, Uygur, week, xinhua, xinjiang, Zhu Changjie, Zhu Hailun

Oregano, garlic essential oils can be effective barriers against E. coli

September 6, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, Sept 6 (ANI): Essential oils from common spices like oregano, allspice and garlic can act as a natural barrier against bacteria like E-Coli, Salmonella and Listeria, according to a new US government study.

Oregano oil has been found to be the most effective antimicrobial, followed by allspice and garlic.

Researchers at Processed Foods Research and Produce Safety and Microbiology units of Western Regional Research Centre from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) investigated the effectiveness of the oils by incorporating them in thin, tomato-based antimicrobial coatings known as edible films.

In addition to its flavour properties, tomatoes are reported to possess numerous beneficial nutritional and bioactive components that may benefit human health.

Edible tomato films containing antimicrobials may protect food against contamination by pathogenic microorganisms.

The findings revealed that oregano oil consistently inhibited the growth of all three bacteria.

Although garlic oil was not effective against E. coli or Salmonella, but was effective against Listeria.

Vapour tests of oregano and allspice oils indicated that these two oils diffuse more efficiently through the air than through direct contact with the bacteria.

Listeria was less resistant to EO vapors while E. coli was more resistant.

“The results show that apple-based films with allspice, cinnamon or clove bud oils were effective against the three bacteria. The essential oils have the potential to provide multiple benefits to consumers,” said lead researcher R. J. Avena-Bustillos.

The study appears in Journal of Food Science. (ANI)

Filed Under: Health News Tagged With: addition, Agriculture, air, allspice, ANI, Antimicrobial, Avena, barrier, Bioactive Components, Bud, Bustillos, centre, Cinnamon, clove, Clove Bud, contact, contamination, department of agriculture, diffuse, e coli, Edible, Edible Films, effectiveness, essential, Essential Oils, flavour, food, foods, Garlic Oil, Government, Government study, growth, Health, journal, journal of food science, Listeria, microbiology, natural barrier, oil, oregano, Pathogenic Microorganisms, potential, processed, Processed Foods, R. J. Avena-, regional, Regional Research, Research, researcher, safety, Salmonella, Science, Sept, study, tomato, u s department, U.S. Department, US, USDA, Vapors, vapour, Washington, western

One more person with symptoms of swine flu quarantined in Tamil Nadu

July 14, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Coimbatore, July 14 (ANI): One more person with symptoms of the dreaded swine flu was quarantined in Coimbatore.

Presently, he is in the isolation ward of the Coimbatore Medical College Hospital.

The blood samples of a youngster named Harijan (24) who returned to India from Malaysia has been sent to the National Institute of Communicable Disease (NICD) in New Delhi for further analysis.

So far, nine cases of swine flu have been reported in Tamil Nadu out which, two from Coimbatore were confirmed positive cases.

“Thirteen cases were reported here out of which two were positive and all others were negative. The two positive cases have been treated successfully and sent back home. This is the fourteenth case referred from the nearest district,” said Dr. Durai Kannan, Joint Director, Health Department, Coimbatore Medical College Hospital.

Meanwhile, experts from the New Delhi-based National Institute of Communicable Diseases visited the Coimbatore Medical College Hospital and examined the quarantine wards in the hospital.

“We have come to see the situation. The Joint Director is here and the Regional Director looking after this area,” said Shahai Hussain, Joint Director, National Institute of Communicable Diseases, New Delhi.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) had declared influenza pandemic last month and advised governments to prepare for a long-term battle against an unstoppable new flu virus.

The WHO had no immediate comment on the case of Tamiflu resistance. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: Analysis, ANI, area, battle, blood, blood samples, case, Coimbatore, college, comment, Communicable, communicable diseases, delhi-based, department, director, disease, diseases, district, Durai, Flu, Fourteenth, Harijan, Health, health department, home, hospital, hussain, India, influenza, influenza pandemic, institute, isolation, isolation ward, joint, July, July 14, Kannan, Malaysia, medical, medical college hospital, month, nadu, national, New Delhi, new flu virus, NICD, organisation, person, presently, Quarantine, regional, Regional Director, resistance, Shahai, situation, Swine Flu, Tamiflu, tamil, virus, ward, wards, world, world health organisation, youngster

Shiv Sena wants houses in Mumbai for only for locals

July 14, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Mumbai, July 14 (ANI): In turf battle ahead of state polls in Maharashtra, Shiv Sena has promised houses in Mumbai to state’s bona-fide residents.

Having lost ground to its faction, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, over hardline political posturing, Shiv Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray led a bunch of party activists and supporters to the Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (MMRDA) head office demanding that non-Maharashtrians should be barred in that allotment of shelters.

“In another two to three months, Shiv Sena is confident of coming to power and then our government will provide 500 square feet area houses to Marathi ‘manoos’ (bona-fide residents of Maharashtra) to ensure that they need not go out of Mumbai to reside.

Marathi manoos is entitled to shelter and none else. This is our stand,” said Thackeray.

“In Mumbai, the houses are built by the MMRDA for the poor. These houses are also grabbed by builders. Immigrants from Bihar and Bangladesh are begging for accommodation whereas what we are demanding is proper accommodation from government which is our right,” he added.

The MMRDA last month announced that it would provide 43,000 homes at a rent starting as low as Rupees 800 per month.

The project is aimed at reducing the number of slums in Mumbai.

Shiv Sena members feel that the housing scheme doesn’t give preference to Maharashtrians and would encourage outsiders to settle in Mumbai.

Maharashtra will hold elections to state assembly by October and the migrants’ issue could swing votes. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: accommodation, allotment, ANI, area, assembly, authority, Bangladesh, battle, Bihar, bunch, Development, executive, executive president, faction, fide residents, Government, hardline, head, housing, Housing Scheme, immigrants, issue, July, Maharashtra, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, Maharashtrians, Marathi, metropolitan, migrants, mmrda, month, Mumbai, Navnirman, non, none, number, October, office, Outsiders, party, party activists, posturing, preference, president, project, regional, Regional Development Authority, rent, right, rupees, scheme, Sena, shelter, shiv, shiv sena, slums, Square Feet Area, stand, state, state assembly, state polls, Thackeray, turf, Turf Battle, Uddhav

Another terror strike from West coast possible: Chidambaram

July 1, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Hyderabad, July 01(ANI): Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram on Wednesday revealed that intelligence agencies have warned about the possibility of another terror strike from the west coast.

Addressing the media after inaugurating the National Security Guard (NSG) hub in Hyderabad, Chidambaram however said the nature of the probable attack is still not known.
We have shared this information with the State Governments of Goa, Gujarat, and Maharashtra, as per the practice established, Chidambaram said.

He also said that a unit of the Special Forces would be deployed for providing security to the famous Tirupati -Tirumala Hills.

Earlier in the day Chidambaram inaugurated the Chennai hub of the NSG. Speaking on the occasion, he said the NSG hubs would respond quickly and decisively during a crisis. The regional hubs of the elite commando force would also raise the level of the government’s preparedness in facing challenges forced upon the country.

He also said the Army will set up special anti terror units in Bangalore and Jodhpur, and Border Security Force (BSF) would set up a special anti terror unit at Guwahati.

Each of the regional hubs of the NSG would have the strength of 241 commandos and six officers.

The Home Minister also stated that the central government is considering to set up a “Regional Center of NSG” at Hyderabad with the capacity of 5,000 commandos on the lines of the NSG headquarters in Haryana.

The Mumbai unit was operationlised from June 30 and the fourth hub at Kolkata will be inaugurated by this evening. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: ANI, anti, army, attack, Bangalore, border, border security force, bsf, capacity, center, Central Government, Chennai, coast, commando, commando force, commandos, country, crisis, day, elite, evening, force, Goa, Government, guard, Gujarat, Guwahati, Haryana, headquarters, home, hub, Hyderabad, information, intelligence, intelligence agencies, jodhpur, July, June, Kolkata, level, Maharashtra, Minister P. Chidambaram, Mumbai, national, Nature, NSG, occasion, P. Chidambaram, possibility, practice, preparedness, regional, Regional Center, regional hubs, security, security guard, special forces, state, state governments, strength, strike, terror, Tirumala Hills, Tirupati, Tirupati Tirumala, union, Union Home Minister, unit, Wednesday, west

Professor Rehman appointed Institute of Kashmir Affairs regional director

July 1, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, July 1 (ANI): After a detailed meeting with Dr Shabir Choudhry in London, Professor Khawaja Abdul Rehman has been appointed Regional Director of Institute of Kashmir Affairs, Azad Kashmir Chapter.

Rehman is a professor of English in Muzaffarabad and is conducting research on languages at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London. He has done extensive research on local languages and culture in Azad Kashmir. He has great experience of history, culture and local languages of Neelam Valley; and is also studying for a doctorate at the Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad.

Rehman will establish IKA set up in Azad Kashmir and encourage research in various fields to enhance Kashmiri people’s sense of belonging to a nation. Apart from that he will supervise all publications and distribution of IKA books and other literature.

Last week, the IKA Executive Council met and approved Saeed Asad’s book on NSF Unity March – Wahadt March – to Gilgit should be translated in English and published. In this regard, Dr Shabir Choudhry met Asad and made arrangements for the translation of the book.

The IKA Executive Council also agreed to publish the Urdu version of Dr Shabir Choudhry’s new book – Struggle of independence, Jihad or a Proxy war.

Professor Rafiq Bhatti has already translated the book from English to Urdu and arrangements are being made to get the Urdu translation out before July 13, 2009. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: Abdul Rehman, affairs, african, ANI, Azad Kashmir, Azam, bhatti, book, chapter, Choudhry, conducting research, Council, culture, director, distribution, doctorate, english, executive, executive council, experience, extensive research, gilgit, history, History Culture, IKA, independence, institute, Islamabad, jihad, July, Kashmir, kashmiri, Kashmiri people, Khawaja, literature, London, meeting, muzaffarabad, nation, Neelam Valley, NSF, professor, Professor Khawaja, Professor Rehman, proxy, Proxy War, Quaid-i, Rafiq, regard, regional, Regional Director, Research, Saeed Asad, school, School Of Oriental And African Studies, sense, shabir, struggle, Translation, Unity March - Wahadt, University, urdu, Urdu Translation, Urdu Version, version, war, week

Excessive heat takes toll on pear crop in Punjab

May 27, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Abohar (Punjab), May 27 (ANI): Farmers in Abohar in Punjab suffered huge losses as their pear crop has been damaged due to excessive heat this summer.

The cultivation of pears has been affected the morale of the farmers.

Sharp rise in temperature in the region has destroyed not only the crops, but also affected the soil.

Mites are affecting the cultivation of pears spread in 200 acres of the region.

The farmers fear that if such conditions prevail for long it would affect other crops as well.

“The affect would be on the variety of pears that we usually produce. Due to the heat, the production of pears has been reduced. If rain comes, we would put fertilisers to the plant so that it comes out better,” said krishna dogra, a farmer.

Experts say that the pear crop requires ample rains during April and May. But due to the lack of rain this season, the crop has been affected badly.

“We also have farm houses. But in farmhouses, we have wind break installed.

But mostly in other regions they don’t have wind break installed. Therefore, the percentage affected would be 20 to 30 percentage of production,” said Professor Pushpinder Singh, Director Punjab Agriculture University, Regional Centre, Abohar.

The producers of the crop say that they tried to save the crops by spraying chemicals and other facilities but it failed.

The gardeners fear that the worst is yet to come. By Avtar Singh Gill ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: abohar, abohar punjab, affect, Agriculture, ANI, April, Avtar, avtar singh, break, centre, chemicals, crop, crops, cultivation, director, dogra, excessive, Excessive Heat, farm, Farm Houses, farmer, farmers, Farmhouses, gardeners, heat, krishna, lack, losses, May, Mites, morale, pear, Pear Crop, percentage, plant, producers, production, Professor Pushpinder, Punjab, punjab agriculture university, rain, region, regional, regional centre, rise, season, sharp, Singh, Singh Gill, soil, Soil Mites, summer, temperature, toll, University, variety, Variety Of Pears, wind

Tibetan exiles protest against Panchen Lama’s detention

May 17, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New Delhi, May 17 (ANI): The Regional Tibetan Women Association (RTWA) organised a peaceful protest march here on Sunday for the detention of eleventh Panchen Lama, who they allege has been held captive by China.

The eleventh Panchen Lama, also known as Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, is said to be under detention for the past 13 years.

Holding banners and raising slogans against the Chinese government, the protestors asked China to furnish verifiable information about the young Panchen Lama.

“We appeal to the United Nations (UN) and the World Human Right Organisation (WHRO) to pressurise the Chinese leaders to confirm the whereabouts of eleventh Panchen Lama. We also appeal to our international supporters, peace loving countries, NGOs and individuals to take up our cause at all levels to ensure early restoration of human rights in Tibet,” said Rinzing Ongmu, RTWA President.

Born on April 25, 1989, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima was named by the Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama as the eleventh Panchen Lama on 14 May, 1995, when he was aged six years.

However, three days later, on May 17, he and his parents were reportedly missing.

On May, 15, 1996, the Chinese government admitted to holding the eleventh Panchen Lama and his parents in their ‘protective custody’.

Over the years, China has provided conflicting reports about the whereabouts and well being of the Panchen Lama, ranging from rumours of his death towards the late 1999 to a set of photos that Chinese officials displayed briefly, but did not hand over to European human rights activists.

Reportedly, the photos showed the young Gedhun Choekyi Nyima playing table-tennis and writing Chinese characters on a blackboard.

In 2001, the International Campaign for Tibet obtained a new photo purporting to be of 12-year-old Gedhun Choekyi Nyima. However, nothing is known of the authenticity of the photograph.

Lately, China claimed that the Panchen Lama is attending school and leading a normal life somewhere in China, and that his whereabouts are kept undisclosed to protect him, but all requests for access to Gedhun Choekyi Nyima have been repeatedly refused so far.

Tibetan Government-in-exile based at Dharamsala in India claims that the young Panchen Lama and his family continue to be political prisoners, and have called him the ‘youngest political prisoner in the world’ while a few others have named him as ‘The Stolen Child of Tibet’. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: ''cause, access, ANI, April, association, authenticity, being, blackboard, briefly, campaign, captive, child, China, Chinese Characters, chinese government, chinese leaders, chinese officials, Choekyi, Choekyi Nyima, Conflicting Reports, custody, Dalai, dalai lama, death, detention, Dharamsala, eleventh, Eleventh Panchen Lama, family, Gedhun, Government, Government-in-exile, holding, human, human rights activists, Human Rights In Tibet, India, information, international, International Campaign For Tibet, international supporters, lama, leader, life, March, May, New Delhi, ngos, nothing, Nyima, Ongmu, organisation, Panchen, peace, peaceful protest, photo, photograph, president, pressurise, prisoner, Protective Custody, protest, protest march, protestors, regional, reportedly, restoration, Rinzing, RTWA, school, set, spiritual, stolen, sunday, Table Tennis, the, tibet, Tibetan, tibetan exiles, tibetan spiritual leader, tibetan women, united, whereabouts, WHRO, Women, world

Cisco appoints B. Raghavendran to head India Channel Operations and Commercial Strategy

May 11, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Mumbai, May 11 (ANI/Business Wire India): Cisco today announced the appointment of B. Raghavendran as Vice President, Channel Operations and Commercial Strategy, Cisco India and SAARC.

In this role, Raghavendran will build and lead Cisco’s partner efforts in the region. He will also focus on reinforcing Cisco’s presence in the commercial segment, which is among the key growth markets for Cisco in the region.

Raghavendran will succeed R. Dhamodaran, who headed Cisco India’s channel operations and commercial strategy over the past year and has recently taken on a new role at the Cisco Globalisation Center East.

Raghavendran will be based in Mumbai and will report directly to Naresh Wadhwa, President and Country Manager, Cisco India and SAARC. Prior to this, Raghavendran was the Strategy and Operations Lead for Cisco India’s sales organisation.

Commenting on the appointment, Naresh Wadhwa said, “Channel partners are key enablers in expanding Cisco’s market reach. Raghavendran has already proven to be an asset to the company. We believe his rich experience will help us deepen our relationships in this community.”

Naresh further added, “Cisco’s channel strategy is also tightly integrated with our Commercial business, and we believe that Raghavendran’s extensive knowledge and understanding of the industry will be invaluable to the company.”

Raghavendran is a graduate in BE and has over 15 years of experience in the technology industry.

He joined Cisco India in 1998 as an Account Manager for the company’s banking and financial services vertical, and has played a key role in achieving several strategic wins for Cisco India.

Subsequently, Raghavendran headed the IT Services vertical, Western region where he grew the business significantly. Prior to joining Cisco, Raghavendran was a Regional Manager at Wipro Infotech. (ANI)

Filed Under: Business News Tagged With: account, ANI, appointment, asset, B. Raghavendran, banking, Banking And Financial Services, business, business wire, center, channel, Channel Operations, Channel Partners, Channel Strategy, Cisco, Cisco India, commercial, Commercial Business, Commercial Segment, Commercial Strategy, community, company, country, deepen, east, enablers, experience, Globalisation, graduate, growth, Growth Markets, India, India And Saarc, industry, infotech, key role, knowledge, manager, market, May, Mumbai, naresh, operations, organisation, partner, presence, president, President Channel, R. Dhamodaran, reach, region, regional, Regional Manager, rich experience, role, s market, s sales, SAARC, segment, strategy, subsequently, Technology, Technology Industry, today, understanding, vice, Wadhwa, Wipro., wire, year

Tibetan Women’s Association organised Basketball tournament on Mother’s Day

May 11, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Dharamshala, May 11 (ANI): The Tibetan Women’s Association (TWA) on Sunday organised a basketball tourney on the occasion of Mother’s Day in Dharamshala.

Four women teams, – the Sherabgatseling School, the Tibetan Medical and Astro Institute, the Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts and the Tibetan Women’s Association (Central and Regional) – took part in the tournament.

Organizers of the tournament said the event celebrated the role of Tibetan women, whoave also been at the forefront of Tibetan struggle.

“As Tibetan women I think there is so much that we can celebrate. As refugees we have so much to feel bad and feel sad about. But as Tibetan women who have endowed the suffering, who have carried the struggle for last 50 years, I think there is so much for us to celebrate and enjoy. That’s why we have organized a sports occasion so that we can celebrate each other’s presence,” said Dhardon, TWA executive member.

“On the occasion of Mother’s Day this year we were asked to take part in this basketball tournament,” said Tsering, a player.

Mother’s Day was created at the start of the 20th century as a day for each family to honour its mother. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: 20th Century, ANI, arts, association, Astro, basketball, Basketball Tournament, Basketball Tourney, central, century, day, dharamshala, Dhardon, event, executive, Executive Member, family, forefront, four women, honour, institute, May, medical, member, mother, Mother Day, Mother S Day, occasion, organizers, part, player, presence, refugees, regional, role, school, Sherabgatseling, start, struggle, suffering, sunday, Tibetan, Tibetan Institute Of Performing Arts, Tibetan Medical, tibetan struggle, tibetan women, tournament, tournament organizers, tourney, tsering, twa, whoave, Women, Women Basketball, year

Over 17,000 airline passengers screened for swine flu across India

May 3, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New Delhi, May 1 (ANI): Over 17,000 airline passengers have been screened at various airports around the country for swine flu in the wake of the Indian Government ordering a health screening of all passengers coming from countries affected by the virus.

Senior Ministry of Health and Family Welfare officials said that screenings are taking place in airports at Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Goa, Amritsar, Cochin, Ahmedabad, Trichy and Srinagar.

They said the remaining international airports would also start this activity shortly.

A total of 17,949 passengers have been screened so far. Ninety-six doctors have been deployed to man 32 counters at the above airports, they added.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has reported human cases of Influenza A [H1N1][earlier referred to as Swine Influenza] caused by a re-assorted Swine flu virus.

As on April 30, 2009, eleven countries have officially reported 257 laboratory confirmed cases of influenza A/H1N1 infection with eight deaths. The USA has reported 109 laboratory confirmed human cases with one death and Mexico reported 97 cases including seven deaths.

The other countries which have reported laboratory confirmed cases with no deaths are: Austria (1), Canada (19), Germany (3), Israel (2), New Zealand (3), Spain (13) The United Kingdom (8), Netherlands (1) and Switzerland (1) .

The decision of MoHFW to decentralize the medical supplies [Oseltamivir and personal protective equipments] has been effected. About 2.50 lakh capsules of Oseltamivir , 18,000 PPE and over one lakh of triple layer surgical masks have been dispatched to the Regional Offices of Health and F.W. This would cut short the lead time in case a suspected cluster is to be contained.

“We have set up special counters so that passengers can be screened. Passengers are being asked to fill up forms to declare if they have recently visited countries like America, Mexico and Canada,” said Arun Arora, Associate Vice-President, Corporate Communication, Indira Gandhi International Airport.

Passengers said they were being asked whether they were suffering from swine flu.

“They are asking about have you had fever?, have you had rash?. They just ask you about the symptoms of swine flu and they screen you,” said Varva, a passenger.

On Thursday, a senior official of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said that there is no swine flu in India, but added that should the virus hit the country, the government is fully prepared to handle it.

Vineet Choudhary, Joint Secretary, Health, said here that there is no suspected case of swine flu in India and that surveillance is in place at all airports.

Choudhary also said the Ministry is taking to companies that manufacture the antidote.

Earlier, the Government of Tripura had sounded an alert across the state to check an outbreak of the deadly virus, official sources said.

The announcements in India followed a World Health Organisation (WHO) warning that “all of humanity is under threat” from a potential swine flu pandemic.

The WHO raised the swine flu threat awareness level to 5 out of 6, indicating that the world is on the brink of a pandemic. (ANI)

Filed Under: Health News Tagged With: activity, Ahmedabad, airline, airline passengers, airport, alert, america, Amritsar, ANI, antidote, April, Aror, Arun Arora, associate, Austria, Austria 1, awareness, Bangalore, brink, Canada, case, Chennai, chennai hyderabad, Choudhary, cluster, Cochin, communication, corporate, country, death, decentralize, decision, Delhi, F.W. This, family, fever, Flu, flu virus, Germany, Goa, Government, Health, Health Screening, humanity, Hyderabad, India, Indian, Indian Government, Indira Gandhi, infection, influenza, international, International Airports, Israel, joint, Kolkata, Laboratory, lakh, layer, level, May, Mexico, ministry, ministry of health and family welfare, mohfw, Mumbai, Netherlands, New Delhi, New Zealand, Ninety-six, official, organisation, organization, oseltamivir, outbreak, passenger, passengers, place, PPE, president, rash, regional, screen, screening, secretary, Senior, Spain, srinagar, state, Surgical Masks, surveillance, Swine, Swine Flu, Swine Influenza, Switzerland, threat, Thursday, time, total, trichy, tripura, United Kingdom, USA, Varva, vice, Vineet, virus, wake, warning, welfare, Welfare Officials, world, world health organization

Heat wave in Kolkata

April 21, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Kolkata, Apr 21 (ANI): Soaring mercury levels made life miserable for people in Kolkata as they grapple with the heat wave.he scorching heat has made life miserable for those who have no option but to work in the sun.

“I have never experienced this abnormal temperature of 41 degrees especially in middle of April. There is no possibility of rain for at least for the next few days. So it has become unbearable, but still we have to come out. We can’t avoid it,” said J. Chowdhury, a resident.

In order to beat the heat, the residents are opting for lemonades and soft drinks, which are having a brisk sale in Kolkata.

“I used to sell the drinks worth rupees 3000 and rupees 4000 daily, but due to this heat the sale of the soft drinks has increased. The sale has reached between rupees 5000 and rupees 6000,” said Radhe Shyam Kumar, a shop owner.

According to the weather officials, the weather would continue to warm for at least next two days in West Bengal.

“No respite will be there for the next 48 hours for West Bengal particularly. The main reason for this discomfort or high temperature is due to the lack of sufficient moisture in the atmosphere. The moisture that is generally available in the atmosphere has been driven away by the recent cyclone ‘Bijli’ from our state,” said G.C. Debnath, Director, Regional Meteorological Centre, Alipore.

The mercury has risen to 41 degree Celsius on Tuesday, which is supposed to be the highest temperature in April during the last ten years in Kolkata. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: Alipore, ANI, Apr, April, atmosphere, bijli, celsius, centre, Chowdhury, cyclone, degree, degree celsius, director, discomfort, few days, G.C. Debnath, heat, heat wave, high temperature, J. Chowdhury, Kolkata, kumar, lack, last ten years, life, mercury, Mercury Levels, meteorological, Meteorological Centre, middle, moisture, Moisture In The Atmosphere, option, order, owner, people, possibility, Radhe, rain, reason, regional, resident, respite, rupees, sale, shop, Shyam, Shyam Kumar, soft drinks, state, Sun, temperature, Tuesday, wave, weather, Weather Officials, west bengal