Steve McNair – Mcnair Crime Scene Photos – McNair – McNair Crime Scene Imeges – McNair Crime Scene Pictures – Steve McNair Funeral – Steve Mcnair Dead – Michelle Mcnair – Steve Mcnair wife Michelle – Steve Mcnair – Steve Mcnair Died -Steve Mcnair Shot – Steve Dead – Sahel Kazemi Photos – Steve Mcnair Photos – Sahel Kazemi Facebook – McNair Photo – McNair Pictures – McNair Images – McNair Crime Photos – McNair Pictures – McNair Images

Steve McNair – Mcnair Crime Scene Photos – McNair – McNair Crime Scene Imeges – McNair Crime Scene Pictures – Steve McNair Funeral – Steve Mcnair Dead – Michelle Mcnair – Steve Mcnair wife Michelle – Steve Mcnair – Steve Mcnair Died -Steve Mcnair Shot – Steve Dead – Sahel Kazemi Photos – Steve Mcnair Photos -  Sahel Kazemi Facebook – McNair Photo – McNair Pictures – McNair Images – McNair Crime Photos – McNair Pictures – McNair Images

Former star NFL quarterback Steve McNair 36 years old and  Saleh Kazemi, 20 years old has been identified as the woman found dead near him, was his girlfriend or some other jealous ex lover. It is believed that McNair had been dating Saleh Kazemi for several months. McNair, with Peyton Manning won the league’s  the Most Valuable Player award in 2003.

Saleh Kazemi was recently cited for DUI while driving a car registered  in the name of McNair.

As reported before Steve McNair was found by friends Wayne Neely and Robert Gaddy, dead of multiple gunshot wounds. A pistol laid near the body of Sahel Kazemi. Played 13 seasons on the NFL, and most of the time for the Tennessee Titans.

Man who stole radioactive material arrested

Buenos Aires, Feb 25 (IANS) A former employee of an oil services company was arrested in the Argentine city of Neuquen for stealing radioactive material and demanding $500,000 for its return, EFE reported.

Two masked men stole the material last Thursday from oil services company Baker Atlas’s offices in Neuquen by overpowering a security guard and demanding the keys to the storage area for radioactive materials.

The fled with a sealed lead-lined container holding 40 kg of the radioactive material.

Several hours later, a caller demanded that the company pay $500,000 to get the container back, the Clarin newspaper reported.

The police and Baker Atlas tried to find the container and managed to identify the robbery’s mastermind, a former company employee who was arrested Saturday while transporting the material in the trunk of a taxi.

The radioactive material was worth no more than $5,000, the newspaper said.
Indo Asian News Service

CBI detaines CRPF DIG for irregularities in cops’ recruitment

New Delhi, Feb 25 (PTI) The CBI today detained a Deputy Inspector General of CRPF for his alleged involvement in irregularities in recruitment of constables in Uttar Pradesh. Vinod Sharma, a CRPF cadre officer, was detained by the agency late last night in Lucknow after conducting searches at his residence, CBI sources said.

The action against the DIG was taken after the investigating agency was tipped off by the CRPF itself about several complaints of irregularities. The CBI also raided the residence of a CRPF head constable, who was an accomplice of Sharma.

The recruitment of over 1,500 constables started nearly two months ago and the process was still on. There have been allegations that several candidates, who did not meet the set physical standards, were taken into the police force during the current recruitment process in which the DIG was the observer, they said.

PTI.

Search to be carried out for long-missing Norwegian explorer’s plane

Search to be carried out for long-missing Norwegian explorer's plane Oslo – Norwegian defence forces said Monday they would take part in a search for the plane of famed Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen who went missing in
1928.

Amundsen (1872-1928) became a national hero in Norway after leading an expedition to the geographic South Pole in 1911, beating Britain’s Robert F Scott in an epic race.

The Norwegian joined in a search for Italian airship Italia piloted and designed by Umberto Nobile that was reported missing in May 1928 after flying over the North Pole.

Nobile, an Italian engineer who also designed the airship Norge, and nine surviving crew members were later rescued from an ice floe off the Norwegian Svalbard archipelago.

Amundsen’s seaplane Latham with several French crew members disappeared without a trace in June 1928 en route from Tromso, northern Norway to Spitsbergen.

A theory is that the seaplane crashed near Bear Island, the southernmost island in the Svalbard archipelago.

The Norwegian navy said it would deploy the KNM Tyr, equipped with modern sonar and other equipment during the two-week operation planned to begin at the end of August.

The coast guard was also to deploy a vessel in the search. Other partners include the Norwegian Aviation Museum, Kongsberg Maritime that has developed an autonomous underwater vehicle to study the sea bottom, and Berlin-based TV production company Context TV.

In recent years several expeditions have been launched to find the wreckage of the missing plane. (dpa)

Report: Presumed Islamist terrorists kill nine in Algeria

Report: Presumed Islamist terrorists kill nine in Algeria Paris – Nine employees of a security company were killed in an attack by presumed Islamist militants in eastern Algeria, the daily El Watan reported on Monday.

Two other people were injured during the attack on the dormitory housing the security agents who had been hired by the Sonelgaz gas company in Tuzrarane, some 350 kilometers east of the capital Algiers.

The attackers first launched grenades at the building before storming it. The victims worked for the security company Spas, which has been targeted by attacks on several previous occasions. dpa

Jeev honoured at Johnnie Walker Classic awards evening

Perth, Feb 22 (IANS) Top Indian golfer Jeev Milkha Singh, talented South Korean teenager Noh Seung-yul and Colombian Camilo Villegas were honoured at the Johnnie Walker Gala Evening here Saturday.

Jeev was named the Johnnie Walker Asian Player of the Year for the second time in his illustrious career while Noh won the Johnnie Walker Asian Rising Star award. Villegas received the Johnnie Walker Young Player of the Year award on a night when (Aus) $30,500 was raised in a charity auction.

The tenacious Jeev produced a spectacular season in 2008 where he won four times around the world and also claimed his second Asian Tour’s Order of Merit title in three years. He also made history by becoming the first player in Asian golf history to surpass US$1 million in earnings during a single season.

Lin Wen-tang of Chinese Taipei and Thai duo Prayad Marksaeng and Thongchai Jaidee were the other nominees of the Johnnie Walker Asian Player of the Year award.

The 17-year-old Noh beat compatriot Bae Sang-moon, Japan’s Ryo Ishikawa and Ben Leong of Malaysia for the Johnnie Walker Asian Rising Star award after an impressive rookie season on the Asian Tour last year.

Noh posted one victory and three other runner-up finishes to finish 10th on the Order of Merit. He received the award from Australian legend Greg Norman, who graced the evening with several other golf stars who are competing in this week’s Johnnie Walker Classic at The Vines Resort and Country Club in Western Australia.

World No.9 Villegas beat Rory McIlroy of Ireland, American Anthony Kim, Germany’s Martin Kaymer, Australian Rick Kulacz and Pablo Larrazabal of Spain for his award. Villegas was victorious in the last two events on the US PGA Tour last season and broke into the world’s top-10, becoming the first Colombian to achieve the feat.

The selection panel of the Johnnie Walker Awards included officials from the Asian, European and Australasian Tours.
Indo Asian News Service

Police on alert over increasing Maoist activities

A rise in Maoist activities in the Terai region is giving sleepless nights to Uttarakhand Police. A source said several Maoist frontal organisations – the number could be more than 20 — were actively indoctrinating their ideologies among the people in the state.

Progressive Students Front, Uttarakhand Kisan Sangathan, Uttarakhand Mazdoor Sangathan, Karlos, IMKE, Pachas, RWS and Ulva are said to be the main frontal organisations. They are mainly active in the Kumaon region of the state.

Udham Singh Nagar, Champwat and Pithoragarh districts of the region are said to be most prone to their activities. Due to this, Maoists have succeeded in establishing a strong hold in 36 police stations of these districts.

Sources said they are in close contact with their counterparts in Bihar and Jharkhand and are ready to enter the guerrilla stage. They might target places of strategic importance like police stations, police posts and banks in the state to generate resources.

State police have started strengthening the police stations and posts in affected areas. “Special training has been given to the policemen of affected areas.

Other than this, every police station has been equipped with high-rise towers to keep vigil on surrounding areas,” said Ashok Kumar, IG Kumaon Range. The state police department has also constituted a special operational task force (SOTF) for this purpose.

They have been trained in association with Andhra Pradesh’s Greyhound Force, which is known as the most efficient force in India, to deal with Maoists.
HT

Slumdog Millionaire star Freida Pinto secretly married Rohan Antao in December 2007

Slumdog Millionaire star Freida Pinto secretly married Rohan Antao in December 2007 Several rumors has been circulating industry regarding dumping of Rohan Antao by her fiancé Slumdog Millionaire star Freida Pinto. New turn has taken place in Freida and Rohan’s story. It has been revealed that the couple had a secret wedding in Goa in December 2007.

According to person close to the couple, Rohan and Freida were extremely close and have several common friends. Both are 24 years old and were deeply in love with each other. They had decided that they would get married in Goa, which is Rohan’s hometown. They had booked a hotel for the wedding. Freida had given the designer just five days to make her gown as the wedding had to take place in late December 2007. Once the gown was almost ready, Freida also had a dress trial to which Rohan had accompanied her.

Freida said that she would be having a secret wedding as she didn’t want too many people to know about it.

The source added; “Rohan and Freida had decided to keep their marriage a secret till they felt ready to talk about it openly. They were together even when she completed shooting for Slumdog Millionaire. But once the film started making waves internationally, she decided to dump Rohan.”

But the fact is that nobody is aware of the present state of relationship between Rohan and Freida whereas Freida is still basking in success of the movie. According to friends of the couple, Rohan is still recovering from the shock of being dumped.

ROUNDUP: Leftists battle police near rightist march in Dresden

Dresden, Germany – Leftists battled Saturday with riot police escorting a march by far-right protesters in Dresden, Germany.

Much of the German city was destroyed and thousands of Germans burned to death by Allied firebomb raids late February 13 and early February 14, 1945. German neo-Nazis claim the Allies committed a war crime. Left-right clashes are common on the anniversary.

An estimated 6,000 far-right activists, some from outside Germany, marched through Dresden. They were cordoned off by police to prevent any brawling.

Eyewitnesses said several hundred leftists tried to attack the neo-Nazi participants, hurling bottles at the police lines and damaging parked cars. Several people were injured in the violence.

Separately, pacifist Germans took part in processions to both denounce the neo-Nazi threat and remember the city’s dead.

Many mainstream Germans say that the huge loss of life must be remembered as a warning that war does not pay. A rally called by major political parties to condemn right-wing exploitation of the issue attracted more than 10,000 people.

German Transport Minister Wolfgang Tiefensee, a Social Democrat, told the crowd, “We must say no to those anti-democrats.” Other speakers charged the rightists were trying to divert attention from the Holocaust by playing up Dresden’s torment.

Historians say the mass air raids by the US and British air forces on Dresden led to 25,000 deaths, mainly civilians.

A monument to the deaths was inaugurated Saturday on a city square, the Altmarkt. The inscription says, “The horrors of war that Germany sent out into the world came back to strike in our city.”

On Friday, the bell of the Frauenkirche, or Church of Our Lady, tolled in memory of the dead. The church collapsed two days after the raids. US and British donors helped pay to rebuild the church in a gesture of reconciliation. It reopened in 2006. (dpa)

Nigerian oil workers strike over attacks, kidnappings

Nigerian oil workers strike over attacks, kidnappings Lagos – Oil workers in Nigeria’s oil-producing Niger Delta went on strike Monday to complain about a lack of protection from militant groups who attack oil facilities and kidnap workers.

Several hundred employees of oil company Total picketed the company’s office in Port Harcourt despite union officials delaying industrial action due to begin Monday, local media reported.

Militant groups often attack oil installations and kidnap expatriate workers in the Niger Delta, saying they are fighting for a greater share of profits from oil exploitation for the poor of the region.

The government says they are merely criminal gangs intent on stealing oil and extorting money.

Main militant group the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), which recently called off a long-term ceasefire, said it had attacked a gas plant over the weekend.

The group also said that wife of former oil minister Edmund Daukoru was released on Friday after a ransom of 2.5 million dollars was paid.

MEND said it was not involved in the kidnapping, but it had information that the ransom was paid after the group holding Gladys Daukoru threatened to “gang rape her every day.”

The unrest has cut oil production by around a fifth since early 2006. (dpa)

Austrian ski federation to take legal action over doping claims

Austrian ski federation to take legal action over doping claims Hamburg – The Austrian ski federation (OeSV) announced Monday that it is to take legal action against L’Equipe after the French sports newspaper published an article claiming an Austrian biathlete was one of five skiers who had failed a dope test.

“The OeSV biathletes have undergone doping controls several times in recent weeks and following discussions with the national anti- doping agency (NADA) and the IBU
(International Biathlon Union) there are absolutely no complaints,” said OeSV sporting director Markus Gandler in a statement.

“The Austrian ski federation will take legal steps against the L’Equipe newspaper because of this.”

The weekend allegations couldn’t come at a worse time with Austria’s biathletes preparing for the world championships in South Korea’s Pyeongchang, which take place February 14-22. (dpa)

Suicide bomber sets off explosion in northern Sri Lanka

Suicide bomber sets off explosion in northern Sri LankaColombo – A female suicide bomber posing as a civilian entered a government-controlled area from the Tamil rebel-held area in northern Sri Lanka Monday morning and detonated herself at a welfare centre, killing several persons and injuring at least 60 others, the military said.

The explosion went off in the Visuamadu area, 360 kilometres north-east of the capital, where the military is receiving hundreds of civilians before they are sent to transit camps.

Military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara said that so far at least one soldier and several civilians have been reported killed and 60 persons, including some women, have been injured.

The incident came as fighting continued between government troops and Tamil rebels, in what the military described as the last phase of its long drive to defeat the Tamil rebels. (dpa)

Tzipi Livni’s meteoric rise from obscurity

Tzipi Livni's meteoric rise from obscurityTel Aviv – Ten years ago Tzipi Livni was a novice legislator, entering parliament for the first time. Now, three general elections later, she finds herself within grasping distance of the prime minister’s chair at the centre of the horseshoe-shaped cabinet table in the centre of the Knesset.

By Israeli standards, it has been a meteoric rise. While her two main opponents in Tuesday’s election, Benjamin Netanyahu and Ehud

Barak, have also enjoyed similar fast-tracks to the top, the former entered politics after several high-profile public service jobs, while the latter “parachuted” into politics (to use the Israeli term) directly from a distinguished military career.

Livni’s rise to the top is in no small part due to a shift in her ideological thinking, which has seen her abandon the hawkish, hardline ideology of the Likud Party, in favour of the political centre.

In an interview with The New York Times in June, she said she was raised on two key values, which she later found contradictory – “that the whole (Biblical) land of Israel was our heritage,” and “the need to respect others, not to control others’ lives.”

“I reached my own conclusion, that there is a need to divide the land,” she said. “I still believe in our right to the whole land, but felt it was more important to make a compromise.”

Livni was one of the first to follow former premier Ariel Sharon when he broke away from the Likud to form the Kadima party in late 2005.

When Sharon was felled by a massive hemorrhagic stroke several weeks before the March 2006 elections, she was briefly touted as a possible replacement at the head of the centrist party, but when Ehud Olmert was chosen, she was quick to declare her support for him.

Her reward was the foreign ministry, and when Israel renewed negotiations with the Palestinians at the end of 2007, she was appointed head of the Israeli negotiating team, even though her relations with Olmert had by then soured dramatically.

She won the leadership of Kadima after Olmert, besieged by investigations into his alleged corruption, quit the party leadership, and she won by emphasizing that she represented a new, cleaner style of politics, in contrast to her unpopular predecessor.

This was to have been the fulcrum of her election campaign, but events, in the form of Israel’s three-week-long offensive in the Gaza Strip, intervened.

The offensive was a boon to Netanyahu, who had for months been demanding that Israel take tough measures against Hamas and other militant groups in the enclave.

The offensive, launched after repeated rocket barrages on Israel from the salient, was popular among the Israeli public, and Livni, mindful of losing votes to Netanyahu, who for months had been advocating a harsh Israeli response to the rockets, began adopting an increasingly belligerent tone.

She has thus urged a harsh response to continued rocket attacks from Gaza, and even spoke of a new offensive in the enclave if necessary.

But at the same time, she has been careful not to alienate the more moderate among her supporters, letting it be known, for example, that she had been in favour of an early end to the offensive in the Strip.

These seemingly contradictory attitudes provide ammunition to her detractors, who say is a sphinx, liked by many not because they know who she is, but because they do not know.

Other critics also say she at times appears cold and shows no emotion, while supporters stress her integrity, authenticity and her analytical and decision-making abilities.

She prefers to call herself a pragmatist.

Livni was born in Tel Aviv on July 5, 1958. Her roots are in the “aristocracy” of Israeli right wing politics. Both her parents were in the pre-State armed group Irgun. Her father Eitan served as the group’s operations officer and, after being captured by the British mandate authorities, led a daring breakout from Acre jail in 1947. He served three terms in parliament after Israel was founded in 1948.

Livni graduated in law at Bar Ilan University, near Tel Aviv, served as a lieutenant in the Israeli army and was an agent in the Mossad intelligence organization.

Her public life began when she was appointed Director General of the Government Companies Authority, placed in charge privatizing government companies and monopolies.

She entered parliament in 1999, on behalf of the Likud, and quickly caught the eye of then-Likud leader Ariel Sharon. When Sharon was elected premier in 2001, Livni found herself in the cabinet, holding a succession of portfolios, culminating in her appointment as foreign minister.

Livni, who plays the drums for relaxation , says she prefers jeans to a suit and sneakers to high heels, has been a vegetarian since age 12. She is married to a Tel Aviv attorney, and is the mother of two sons. (dpa)

Bio-scientists, curators pool expertise to preserve world’s art, heritage

Washington, Feb 9 (IANS) Biotech scientists have teamed up with curators to stem the decay of world’s art and cultural heritage, hastened by the depredations of climate change.

Many of the world’s cultural treasures are created out of organic materials like paper, canvas, wood and leather which, in prolonged warmth and dampness, attract mould, micro-organisms and insects, causing decay and disintegration.

‘With the world financial crisis and the advent of climate change effects, there is a state of emergency at the museums of several tropical countries…,’ informed Alvaro Gonzalez, director, Venezuela’s Cultural Heritage Conservation Foundation, which is hosting the four-day UN affiliated event.

New biotechnology techniques that will be deliberated upon, include the use of micro-organisms to remove fungus and other problems on artwork, photos, documents, masonry and more.

‘The normal concern about single artefacts is no longer paramount. Storing and protecting entire collections safely has become a priority and scientists have a key role: developing techniques and procedures that are fundamental to heritage conservation,’ said Jose-Luis Ramirez, director of United Nations University’s Programme for Biotechnology for Latin America and the Caribbean (UNU-BIOLAC), an event sponsor.

Giancarlo Ranalli, professor at Universitá degli Studi del Molise in Pesche, Italy, for example, will describe his successful use of micro-organisms instead of chemicals to remove black crusts, nitrates, sulphates and other alterations from masonry, as well as unwanted animal glue from important painted frescos in Pisa and elsewhere in Italy subjected to well-intentioned but ill-advised restoration and preservation attempts in the 1980s.

His masonry restoration work has included the base of Michelangelo’s Pietà Rondanini and the Cathedrals of Milan and Matera.

Similarly, Sofía Borrego Alonso of the Archivo Nacional de la República de Cuba, said using costly chemical biocides to combat infestations of micro-organisms and insects, the principal agents of biodeterioration of cultural documents, not only harms the people that apply them, they accelerate the materials’ deterioration.

She will advocate the use of natural, plant-derived products successfully tested in Cuba’s National Archives.

Spanish researcher Nieves Valentin Rodrigo of the Instituto de Patrimonio Cultural de España, Madrid, takes the idea a step further, promoting the use of micro-organisms as bio-sensors to forewarn curators of potential risks to art objects from such threats as pollution and dust levels.

She said fungi and bacteria can be harnessed to warn of significant environmental fluctuations and the impact of too many visitors.

Besides biotechnologies, experts will revisit ancient ideas such as the Japanese technique of preserving frail items within multiple boxes. And they will highlight the potential use of styrofoam packaging to economically protect items from rising heat, humidity and other environmental hazards, said an UNU-BIOLAC release.

The Institute of History of Cuba will describe its innovative method to assess objectively the state of heritage photo and document collections, while experts from the Philippines will outline their system of ranking artwork restoration priorities.

Australian bushfires kill 130, dozens more missing

Australian bushfires kill 130, dozens more missingWeary firefighters and rescuers pulled the remains of dozens of people from charred buildings on Monday as the death toll rose to 130 from southern Australia’s deadliest bushfires.

“Everybody’s gone. Everybody’s gone. Everybody. Their houses are gone. They’re all dead in the houses there. Everybody’s dead,” cried Christopher Harvey, a survivor from Kinglake where most people were killed, as he walked through the town.

Police believe some of the fires, which razed rural towns near the country’s second biggest city, Melbourne, were deliberately lit and declared one devastated town a crime scene.

“There are no words to describe it other than mass murder,” Prime Minister Kevin Rudd told local television.

“These numbers (dead) are numbing … and I fear they will rise further,” he added.

The bushfires are the country’s worst natural disaster in more than a century, and will put pressure on Rudd to deliver a broad new climate policy.

One massive bushfire tore through several towns on Saturday night, destroying everything in its path. Many people died in cars trying to flee the inferno and others were killed huddled in their homes, yet some escaped by taking cover in swimming pools or farm reservoirs or hiding in their cellar.

The inferno was as tall as a four-storey building at one stage and was sparking spot fires 40 km ahead of it as the strong winds blew hot embers in its path.

“It’s going to look like Hiroshima, I tell you. It’s going to look like a nuclear bomb. There are animals dead all over the road,” survivor Chris Harvey told local media.

More than 750 houses were destroyed and some 78 people, with serious burns and injuries, are in hospital.

Many patients had burns to more than 30 percent of their bodies and some injuries were worse than the Bali bombings in 2002, said one doctor at a hospital emergency department.

CLIMATE CHANGE POLICY

Wildfires are a natural annual event in Australia, but this year a combination of scorching weather, drought and tinder-dry bush has created prime conditions.

The fires, and major floods in the Queensland in the north, will put pressure on Rudd who is due to deliver a new climate policy in May. Green politicians are citing the extreme weather to back a tougher climate policy.

Scientists say Australia, with its harsh environment, is set to be one nations most affected nations by climate change.

“Continued increases in greenhouse gases will lead to further warming and drier conditions in southern Australia, so the (fire) risks are likely to slightly worsen,” said Kevin Hennessy at the Commonwealth Scientific & Industrial Research Centre (CSIRO).

The Victorian bushfire tragedy is the worst natural disaster in Australia in 110 years. In 1899, Cyclone Mahina struck Australia’s northern Cape York, killing more than 400.

PLEAS FOR MISSING

Thousands of firefighters continued on Monday to battle the fire and scores of other blazes across the southern state of Victoria, as well as fires in neighbouring New South Wales state.

While cooler, less windy, conditions helped firefighters, 10 major fires remained out of control in Victoria. But the week-long heatwave that triggered the bushfire inferno was over.

The fires burnt out more than 330,000 ha of mostly bushland in Victoria, but a number of vineyards in the Yarra Valley were also destroyed. The Insurance Council of Australia said it was too early to estimate the bill.

As dawn broke in the town of Whittlesea, near Kinglake where most people died, shocked residents wandered the streets, some crying, searching for loved ones still missing.

“The last anyone saw of them, the kids were running in the house, they were blocked in the house,” cried Sam Gents who had not heard from his wife Tina and three young children, aged 6, 13 and 15, since an inferno swept through Kinglake.

“If they let me up the mountain I know where to go (to try and find them),” Gents sobbed. Authorities sealed off Kinglake as bodies were still being recovered.

Handwritten notes pinned to a board in the Whittlesea evacuation centre told the same sad story, with desperate pleas from people for their missing family and friends to contact them.

Rudd said it would take years to rebuild the devastated towns and has announced a A$10 million ($6.8 million) aid package. He has also called in the army to help erect emergency shelter.

The previous worst bushfire tragedy in Australia was in 1983 when 75 people were killed.

Air India asked to pay Rs 1.4 lakh to woman for denying her seat

Air India has been directed by the State Consumer Commission to pay Rs 1.4 lakh to a passenger for refusing to let her board a flight despite a confirmed ticket. Penalising the airlines for a “deficiency in service”, the Delhi State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has asked Air India to not only refund Rs 40,000 towards the cost of the ticket, but also to pay Rs one lakh as compensation to the complainant Geetika Sachdeva, for not letting her board the plane and for delayed baggage delivery.

In September 2002, Sachdeva had bought an open ticket through a travel agency on Air India’s Delhi-London-Toronto-London-Delhi flight. Two months later, when she informed Air India of her intention to travel from London to Delhi, she was told that her ticket was confirmed for London to Delhi.

She then boarded an Air Canada flight from Toronto and reached London. But at the airport she was told that the validity of her ticket had expired and she could not board the plane. Sachdeva was travelling alone and did not have money to buy another ticket. After waiting for several hours at the airport, she met another Indian passenger, who had come from Chicago and had also been denied boarding on the same grounds. With his help, she purchased a ticket of Virgin Atlantic Airways and came to Delhi. Her baggage, however, was transported a week later by Air India, for which she was charged an additional sum of Rs 650.

Air India, in its defence contended that the passenger had booked an open ticket for the Toronto-Delhi sector, which required prior confirmation before the commencement of journey and since she failed to do, so she could not be accommodated.

The court observed that the consumer had intimated Air India’s counterpart at Toronto in advance about her plan to travel from London to Delhi and therefore the argument that there was no confirmation, did not hold.

“The passenger was a young lady and travelled alone and therefore must have faced immense hardship when she was denied a seat,” Justice J D Kapoor, Commission President, said, adding that it was the “duty of the airline to make all possible arrangements” to accommodate Sachdeva on its flight leaving for London.

Justice Kapoor further ruled that “no airline has the right to refuse boarding to a person with a confirmed status ticket even if he has not re-confirmed the same 72 hours before, particularly when seats are available.”

Indonesia’s inflation falls 0.07 per cent in January

Indonesia's inflation falls 0.07 per cent in January Jakarta – Indonesia’s consumer price index in January fell 0.07 per cent against the previous month, driven by declining costs in several key sectors, the government announced Monday.

Ali Rosidi, deputy chairman of the Central Bureau of Statistics, said the January deflation was due to price declines in the group transport, communications, housing, electricity and financial services.

Indonesia’s export value reached 8.7 billion dollars in December, down 9.6 per cent from November, bringing the yearly total to 136.8 billion dollars.

Total December imports reached 7.7 billion dollars, down 11.67 per cent from November’s figure of 8.7 billion dollars, for a 2008 total of 128.8 billion dollars. (dpa)

India, Bangladesh bilateral trade ties on revival path

Agartala, Jan.29 (ANI): With a civilian government in Bangladesh in place, a ray of hope has emerged about a revival of bilateral business relations between India and Bangladesh.

On Tuesday, a 25-member business delegation from Bangladesh, led by Indo-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industries (IBCCI) President Abdul Mutlab Rahaman, arrived here through the Akhwara checkpost with the objective of strengthening trade relations between the two countries.

The Bangladesh team claimed there there is immense scope for investment in Tripura, particularly in sectors like horticulture, rubber, bamboo, tourism and other food products.

The Bangladesh team interacted with Tripura entrepreneurs and representatives of Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) in presence of Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar and Industries Minister Jitendra Choudhury to explore investment opportunities in the northeast.

The IBCCI and the Tripura Chamber of Commerce inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in the presence of Tripura Industries Minister Jitendra Chowdhury.

The delegation hinted that all the non-tariff trade barriers would be sorted out within the next one year. Bangladesh investors are interested in launching joint venture with Tripura entrepreneurs.

The delegation also believed that with the changing political scenario in Bangladesh, the IBCCI would like to move forward to enhance bilateral trade.

It was informed that the matter of giving port transit to seven-sister States of India is under consideration of the Bangladesh government.

According to Ahmad, Bangladesh can benefit by allowing access to Tripura.

“Bangladesh will gain by giving access to use the connectivity from Bangladesh to Tripura. Therefore, from the Indian-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce we are working with our government to see that this access is given to the India industries in northeast.

I am sure that we shall be able to formulate some policy whereby you will not only be able to bring regular cargo but also big turbine that is now stuck-up for trying to come into your area for the power project. I am sure with the positive indication that I find during this meeting, I am very hopeful that our relationship both business and political will be in a much better footing as we move around.”

Speaking about the issue of the use of Bangladesh territory by anti-India forces, Ahmad said: “Today, militancy is a universal problem and there is militancy in every country in one or other form, be it Thailand, Indonesia or any other country. So militancy should not be a deterrent to any investment rather it should be taken it as a challenge and see how best we can over come it and go for fast track of development.”

The delegation also informed that the present Bangladesh government is keen to address India Incorporated concerns.

“The new government in Bangladesh is trying its best to contain militancy and the business community has also given several proposal to the government in that matter, however, in the existing laws, it will be little problem to abolish militancy totally. Moreover, the terrain is another hindrance in that matter. But very soon the problem shall be solved through discussion,” said Mohammed Yakub, another investor from Bangladesh.

Yakub added, “Ninety per cent of the credit for liberation of Bangladesh goes to India.”

The delegation is going to formulate the investment promotion and protection agreement which will be necessary for investment flow from either side. By Pinaki Das (ANI)

Meet the British ‘Barack Obama’

London, Jan 29 (ANI): A 29-year-old mortgage advisor in Britain is in demand these days – because he resembles US President Barack Obama.

After Obama’s historic win, Ryan Skeggs has been snapped up by a doubles agency, and is enjoying his instant popularity.

“I first started getting recognised when he was running against Hillary Clinton,” The Sun quoted him as saying.

“But since Obama came to power it’s gone crazy.

“I did some filming up in London for French TV.

“I was flanked by two guys dressed as Secret Service agents and people were scared to speak to me directly.

“They kept asking for permission to say something.

“I felt nervous at the start but then I thought, ‘Why don’t I just run with it.’ So I put on my Barack Obama accent and had fun.

“I had people ringing up their mums, saying ‘I’ve met the president,’” he added.

Skeggs, who lives in Stevenage, is also perfecting his ‘Obama voice’ since signing a deal with an agency last month.

He taped several speeches and sat at home repeating the lines to make himself seem even more convincing. He’s even worked on mimicking his mannerisms.

“I’ve never properly tried to speak in an American accent, except down the pub messing about,” said Skeggs.

“So I watched a few videos of Obama to work on it.

“He speaks in such a clear and precise way and at a lower octave.

“I’ve pretty much nailed it now. It’s so funny tricking people – I can’t get my head around it,” he added.

Skeggs landed his new double job after girlfriend Wendy sent off his snaps to fakefaces.co.uk . (ANI)